#audience of approximately four

[heavenstarship]

what if the boingoverse was set in the wild west and danny was the sheriff of the town they all lived in and one day his asshole second half strolls along and says "im going to make your life hell just to spite you"

character info below the cut

reptaniel: snake oil peddler who sneaks back into town every so often, usually with new disguises and new oil. hated by all but begrudgingly tolerated, at least to some extent.

farewell: reverend who has almost completely lost their mind. their sermons often go entirely off the rails and too emotional for their own good.

b.e. dead: saloon’s piano player. also reanimated by danny; this was by b.e. alive’s request, as he wanted to see his brother again. pay varies from leftover booze to common findings of an ofrenda.

yo-cat: saloon owner and asshole bartender. known to chase people out with brooms, especially reptaniel. makes all of the alcohol served right in his backyard (or possibly his bathtub).

b.e. alive: skeleton reanimated by danny during a time he was seeking companionship. danny sort of pretends b. alive is so-lo sometimes because he misses "the old so-lo."

danny: sheriff of the town with a secret or two up his sleeve. necromancer, doctor with the mystic remedies that don’t seem like they’d work (but they do!)

so-lo: notorious outlaw currently wreaking havoc on the town. came to find danny and maybe reconcile with him; after seeing that he “lost the juice” so-lo made it his mission to piss him off.

julie: like an avon lady if avon was a thing back in the old west. makes all the makeup she sells herself; mostly uses the door-to-door method to hang out with princess and mary.

johnny: former ruffian, current stable master. quite handy with farm equipment in the ways they’re supposed to be used, as well as the ways they’re really not. hesitant to use guns.

louis: resident barn cat. johnny’s since he was a kid.

patty: works at the general store. resident damsel-in-distress. often finds herself tied to train tracks. may secretly be a part of the outlaw gang, but who’s to say? johnny and julie's caretaker.

mary: teacher at the town's one-room schoolhouse. had her eyesight removed by farewell when she was younger for refusing to use her powers for their purposes.

peter: just a kid. like, literally just someone's kid. nobody knows who they belong to. babysat by most of the trusted adults in town.

fred: farmer and so-lo’s right hand man. mostly puts up with his antics, but when they go from being harmless fun to hurting others he puts his foot down.

princess: the one really running the whole place. a bit spoiled, but she doesn’t mind. has dirt on everyone in town, and if she doesn’t have it on you she’ll find it.

satan: mayor of the town, though he doesn’t seem to really do much. more often than not is drunk off of his ass. spoils and pampers his wife like crazy.

mr. vator: mysterious railyard investor. supposedly loaded. might be in kahoots with johnny!? (gasp!)

w.y. stay: traveling salesman usually with all sorts of odd wares in stock. brings things to the town that none of its residents have ever seen before.

[ambernotember]

🍪 wip wednesday 🍪

can we say plot bunny?? (recipe and tag below the cut)

— — —

“Hello, and welcome back!”

“Welcome back!” Jee echoed.

“Today we are making Miss Jee’s favourite chocolate chip cookies,” Buck drew out the word favourite dramatically, getting a giggle out of the young girl. “Now, adults, you’re going to like these because they are actually as fast to make as the recipe says, and I’ll link that below. You’ll need a bowl, beaters — you can use a stand mixer if you have one but handheld works just fine! — a spatula, a spoon if you want, and approximately two baking sheets. You might need more depending on how big you make the cookies.”

Jee tugged on his sleeve.

“Don’t worry Miss Jee, we’re getting to the ingredients,” the camera moved to show off the arranged ingredients on the kitchen island. Jee happily pointed to each one and listed them off. “All the measurements are in the recipe,” Buck assured the audience from behind the camera.

The scene cut to Buck and Jee behind the kitchen island.

“Okay, first we are going to mix together the sugars and the butter,” Buck said. “Jee is going measure and add the sugar, and I’m going to pour the melted butter because the bowl is still hot.”

Jee carefully measured the white and brown sugar, adding them to the bowl. Buck poured in the melted butter, putting the empty bowl into the sink.

“Now we get to crack an egg. Jee, do you want to try this time?”

Jee nodded enthusiastically, and Buck handed her an egg and a bowl.

“Now, for anyone new to cracking eggs, it’s always a good idea to break your egg over a separate bowl. If you do get any shell in it, it’s a lot easier to scoop out that way. We don’t want any accidental crunch in our cookies!”

“No crunch,” Jee agreed, cracking the egg against the rim of the bowl with all the care a four year old could muster, pulling the two halves apart and letting the egg drip into the bowl. Buck held out the compost bin for the shell, and then the two of them checked the bowl.

“Miss Jee! Amazing! No shells at all.” Buck tilted the bowl so the audience could see. “Is this your first egg with no shells Jee?”

Jee nodded. “It is!”

“And we got it on camera! Your mom will be so pleased.” Buck let Jee pour the egg into the bowl, and he added the vanilla. “Now, we beat them together. You want to do it just enough that everything is mixed, but if you do it too long, they're not as soft.”

Buck plugged in his handheld mixer and let Jee take it first, wrapping his hand around her small one. “Little hands can definitely help with this, but adults, they might need a little assistance.”

Jee hit the switch to start the beaters, and they mixed the ingredients until everything was combined. Buck turned the beater off, and used the spatula to get the remnants off the beaters.

“Now, the dry ingredients.”

Jee took over again, pouring in the carefully measured flour, baking soda and salt. Buck held the bowl while she used the spatula to mix everything together.

“And last, the chocolate chip cookies! Now you can use chips, chocolate chunks, we’ve even used salted caramel chips before and those were delicious. But I found some unicorn white chocolate chips at the grocery store so we’re going to use those today.”

Jee poured the chips into a measuring cup, then into the bowl.

“What do you think Jee, do we need a few more?”

Jee looked at the bowl critically. “Yes,” she declared, and held her hand out. Buck poured some chips into her hand, and she ate them rather than add them to the bowl.

“Adults, watch out for the sugar high,” Buck laughed, adding a few more chocolate chips to the batter.

They both washed their hands, then Buck used the spoon to scoop batter into Jee’s hands, letting her roll it into balls and place them on the baking sheets.

“Now, you can make these cookies as big or small as you want, just watch your cooking time,” Buck told the audience. “We like to make them about the size of Jee’s hands so it’s easy for her to hold them.”

Jee placed her hand next to one of the cookies on the sheet to show the size comparison.

“And now, into the oven! Nine to eleven minutes, usually, but watch them the first time you make them, ovens can all heat a little differently. You want to take them out when they’re still puffy and look a little underbaked.”

The scene cut to the cookies being pulled out of the oven.

“Give them a couple minutes to finish cooking, and cool down enough to eat,” Buck’s voice came from behind the camera.

The scene cut again to the cooled cookies, Buck and Jee each holding one, a glass of milk in front of each of them.

“Cheers!” Jee said, and they tapped their cookies together before taking a bite.

“Do you like the new chocolate chips Jee?” Buck asked.

“They’re yummy,” Jee declared. “And pink!”

“There you have it folks, the softest chocolate chip cookies. Enjoy!”

The channel’s logo, Baking with Buck and Jee, took over the screen before it went to black.

no pressure tagging @geddyqueer @alchemistc @liminalmemories21 @livelaughlou @thecarrott @beanarie @apollabarnes @rcmclachlan @leashybebes @setmeatopthepyre @26-cats-in-a-trenchcoat @harmless-variety-of-garden-snake @herrmannhalsteadproduction @momotonescreaming @chimneyz @devirnis @robinminustherichard @spicycinnabun @trombonechurchill @screamlet @ladyeyrewrites @emphasisonthehomo

actual recipe cause those cookies are damn good

[dear-ao3]

well good day to all of you. i have a tale. a classified, certified absolute god tier disaster of a tale.

at the ripe hour of 6:45 am i was awoken from my slumber by a Noise. what sort of noise? you might be asking.

the sort of noise that usually accompanies my father getting up at the ass crack of dawn and trying not to turn on the tap loudly so that he doesnt wake us up.

for one blissful moment i thought that i was at home, in my bed, and all was right with the world.

and then i remembered that i live approximately four hours away from my parents and all is not right with the world.

so i did what any person would do. waited for the noise to go away.

but it did not.

so i investigated. in all my bleary eyed glory.

and found that my bathroom ceiling light was pissing.

not just a little either.

a severe, unauthorized amount of water was streaming out of my bathroom light fixture.

so after banging on katyas door and finding a bucket and throwing on a sweatshirt i dragged my tired ass down to the front desk and reported the tea as it were.

now one thing you need to know about our building is that it is old. the second thing you need to know about our building is that the maitenance guys (we call them the boys) are absolutely incredible, like tumblr funny guy posts but irl, however they take for fucking ever to respond to any situation.

this time though, nothing was in clear danger of exploding or lighting on fire. so we made some breakfast. drank some coffee. watched the bucket that we had put in the bathroom fill up with water. and we waited.

and waited.

and waited some more.

then i noticed that if you stepped on some of our kitchen floor tiles they started squelching.

so back downstairs i went and explained the tea as it were once again.

and let it be known, that i worked for two very solid and very miserable years as a resident assistant in college. i know all about the woes of people complaining to you to fix things that you cannot fix and you cannot tell them when it will be fixed because the person who needs to do the fixing is otherwise indisposed. so my general attitude towards this whole situation was "hey man you can't make this better for me and im really not pressed about it as long as someone eventually comes and sorts out my pissing ceiling." which is a great attitude to have in this general situation. and especially so because it was about to get even more strange.

at approximately 9:30am our apartment was graced by the presence of one of the boys. the maintenance man. we will call him james.

we have encountered james before. he delt with our fuse box nearly exploding. that situation was not nearly as chill as this one was.

hes also incredible.

so he comes in and he goes "hey how's it going" and i say "well you know things are just leaking!"

he proceeds to tell us that the fridge in the apartment above us had a connection pipe that froze and exploded some how and that managed to leak all into our apartment. not nearly what i was expecting but hey! at least they know what's going on!

we tell him about the squelching tiles and he says that he will bring us a dehumidifier after he turns off the water and deals with the mess of the fridge above us. we say ok great! this is wonderful!

and he goes to leave the apartment. out of habit i had locked the door when he entered. he goes "aw man did you lock me in?"

and i say

"oh sorry!"

and he pauses.

and he looks at our door in disbelief. perhaps even utter horror.

and this, my lovely audience, is what he was looking at:

surprisingly. he was not staring at the entertainment for man and horse plaque that katya and i found while thrifting. nay. he was staring at the unfortunate combination of the printed photo of lando norris and max verstappens face.

now why are lando norris and ax verstappen on the back of my door? you might be asking. you might even be asking who they are.

and if youve been following the lore of this blog, you might recognize them as formula 1 drivers. lando norris of course being a mclaren driver and max verstappen being the reigning world champion of team red bull.

and how did they wind up on my door? well at christmas katya thought it would be funny to put a picture of lando norris on top of our christmas tree and so we got one printed at cvs but when you get wallet sized photos printed they print you four of them so we ended up with four of the same photo of lando. one went on the tree, one went to my sister, one is in our bathroom and now one is on the back of our door.

as for max. well. katyas partner drinks red bull and he was on the red bull box so we cut him out and stuck him there. neither of us are particularly big max fans, it was just funny.

but anyway. i digress.

james is standing there staring at this array of perplexing stuff and goes.

"really? him??"

and i go

"yeah..." not knowing what else to say.

and james turns. and he looks at us. and he goes. and i shit you the absolute fuck not.

"now what's wrong with lewis hamilton???"

(sir lewis hamilton being the mercedes f1 driver, 7 time world champion and absolute icon)

and katya and i go

"oh no no! we love lewis hamilton! we just respect him too much to put him on the door!"

which is true

and james goes "now what did you think of him going to ferrari?"

and i say "i thought it was an interesting choice"

and katya says "i was surprised."

and james says "you and me both" and then he shuts the door behind him.

katya and i look at eachother. and we both fall to the floor in fits of laughter.

let it be known that james has come face to face with a giant tapestry of mr worldwide mr 305 pitbull himself that is in our bathroom, on several occasions, and yet, he chooses to comment on our choice of formula 1 driver that is taped to the back of our door.

im still in a state of disbelief. my ceiling is still pissing. my floor is still squelching. and my maintenance man felt the need to call our my choice of formula 1 driver at 9:30 on a saturday morning.

[incorrect-green-lantern-quotes]

A Brief Introduction to Planet Oa

Nestled in the very heart of the cosmos, at the center of Sector 0, the planet of Oa serves as both the homeworld of the Green Lantern Corps and a symbol of order for the universe at large.

Oa is one of the oldest planets in existence. Its parent star, Sto-Oa ("Light of Oa" in the Maltusian language) is a red hypergiant that formed shortly after the Big Bang. There are eleven planets in the star system (five terrestrial, three gas giants and four ice giants) most of which serve as farmland and resource mines.

Oa is the fourth closest to the star, and it takes approximately 574 Earth days to complete one revolution around its star. The planet is actually tidally locked in its orbit, meaning that it does not have a natural day-night cycle.

However, the Guardians of the Universe have constructed a massive ring of solar arrays that slowly revolves around the planet. The shadow cast by this megastructure simulates "night" by blocking out Oa's parent star from the hemisphere that it shines upon, while simultaneously refracting Sto-Oa's light to the far side to create an artificial "day."

(Would it have been more practical to simply force Oa to spin in its orbit? The Guardians are certainly powerful enough to induce planetary rotation. When asked why they chose this as a solution instead, they declined to comment.)

The Guardians chose to set the length of Oa's "day" equal to their ancestral home's, exactly twenty-and-a-half Earth hours. There are no seasons or months, as the planet does not have any natural moons and only has an axial tilt of about 3°, so the Oan year's subdivisions are almost entirely arbitrary and exist purely for the purpose of timekeeping.

It takes 672 Oan days for the planet to complete one orbit around Sto-Oa. The Oan year is based off the old Maltusian calendar and consists of eight months, each of which is twelve weeks long. Coincidentally, the Maltusians also had seven days in a week.

(That the Oan/Maltusian week has the same number of days as Earth's does is merely coincidence, not an indication of any shared cultural history.)

Oa was a barren rock before the Guardians came and terraformed it into a lush oasis with four oceans and nine continents that host a variety of biomes, ranging from polar to tropical to downright toxic for most life-forms. It has the most varied environments of any world, again thanks to the Guardians’ technology. They engineered Oa's biosphere in this way because the planet also serves as a safe haven for species from all across the universe.

(The Green Lanterns seek to preserve every inhabited world, or failing that, evacuate the populations to safety. But they do not always succeed.)

This myriad of environments on Oa is what allowed Appa Ali Apsa to create the Mosaic World. Even in the throes of his insanity, he was able to utilize the extant biomes to house the cities he kidnapped. In most cases however, those who are brought to Oa are refugees who only live on the planet temporarily until the Green Lanterns find a new home for them.

Consequently, the only permanent settlement on Oa is the Emerald Citadel, which is located directly at the center of the starside hemisphere. It's a grand city consisting of enormous skyscrapers that are built to varying scales to accommodate the many body shapes and sizes of the Green Lanterns- as well as any diplomats who come to seek an audience with the Corps or the Guardians. The Central Battery of the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians' Council Chambers are located here.

Oa has been attacked and even destroyed on multiple occasions. The Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe have had many powerful enemies over the centuries, such as the Empire of Tears, the Reach, and various other Lantern groups. Some have questioned the wisdom of maintaining a static headquarters in a known location, even with all the power that the Guardians can bring to bear.

But the value of Oa extends beyond the mere strategic. It is not the nature of the Green Lanterns to hide in the shadows. Their light is as symbolic as it is functional. For all that the Guardians have their skeletons in the closet, the Green Lanterns are the defenders of justice and peace for the universe at large. No evil shall escape their sight, and in turn they will not hide themselves from the sight of those they protect.

Of course their homeworld is the shining jewel at the center of the cosmos.

[ryttu3k]

So I got up to the Mystra scene in my Gale Origin run and I have A Lot of thoughts, most of them boiled down to "FIGHT ME, MYSTRA", but also a theory on Mystra orchestrating the whole thing with the Orb. Few too many caps to post all of them, so I've typed them up. My comments in parentheses.

Narrator: "Just as Elminster promised, you stand before no ordinary idol. Beneath the silent stone surges a relentless current of purest Weave. A summoning channel, the kind commanded by Mystra herself. How many times have you dreamed of this moment? An audience with the goddess who loved you. Who abandoned you. All you have to do is reach for it…"

(Shift of expression here - from fear to determination.)

Halsin: "Speak your mind, Gale. Let go of that weight you have been carrying for Mystra."

(I loved Halsin speaking up here! Unsure if it's a romance-only line but it felt very sweet and appropriate.)

Reach out. Go to Mystra.

(Expression of dread. He looks like he's being sent to the gallows.)

Mystra: "Gale of Waterdeep. You look well."

Gale: "You break up with me, cut me off from the Weave, leave me to die, and that's all you have to say? You look well?"

(First response to seeing Mystra after a full year of pain and suffering. He looks anguished seeing her again, and how... dismissive her response is.)

Mystra: "I did not come here to suffer a mortal's admonitions. Certainly not yours. I've been watching your journey here. Your triumphs. Your temptations. Your doubts. You discovered what lies at the Heart of the Absolute - the Crown of Karsus - and you disobeyed my instruction. Why?"

(1. The 'certainly not yours' feels especially callous. 2. The way she phrases this implies that she knew what it was already. She wasn't sending Gale to kill himself to destroy a new god, she was sending Gale to kill himself to destroy an elder brain wearing a Crown that has previously threatened her personally.)

Gale: "Because my life isn't yours to throw away. You had no right to ask that of me."

Mystra: "You were my lover, my Chosen, yet still you know so little of me. I hoped hindsight would help you see what you could not perceive before. Do you understand why I severed our connection?"

(The hell is hindsight supposed to do? This is one of the biggest things that gets to me with the whole Orb thing - how was he supposed to know?)

Gale: "I let you down. I was a fool, and fools don't deserve the love of a goddess."

(Expression - he looks so hurt here. He absolutely blames himself.)

Mystra: "The past cannot be undone with self-pity, nor can a future be forged. Only with the truth will you see the way ahead. The fragment of magic you tried to return to me was not of my creation. It was the Karsite Weave. It is a corrupted, half-born magic wrought in the brief moment Karsus ascended to godhood. It hungers for power just as he did, and it can never be sated. You unleashed something that would consume all magic in existence, and yet you thought only of preserving yourself."

(So she blames him for unleashing the Orb. Again, how was he supposed to know? Probably the only ones who know about Karsite Weave were Karsus himself, Mystra, and probably Ao. How was a thirty-four-year-old mortal human dude supposed to know of a completely new and unknown form of magic that existed for the approximately six and a half seconds Karsus was a god for? Elminster points out at one point that Mystra is omniscient. Gale is not. How was he supposed to know? Second, 'you thought only of preserving yourself'. She left him to die! And the minor issue of if he did die, he'd take out Waterdeep in the process!)

Gale: "I never intended to do harm. Only to prove myself worthy of you."

Mystra: "You were already worthy. What you lacked was patience, and it cost you dearly. When the Karsite Weave entered your body, your gifts were the first things it consumed. The only reason the 'orb' sleeps is because I have allowed it to feed on the true Weave - a temporary measure, but one that will not be enough to save us. With each day that passes, the elder brain threatens to become a new kind of god, its worshippers a scourge of soulless illithids. If you will not use the orb to end this abomination, then you must find a way to separate Crown and host. When you've done this, you must surrender the Crown to me. Perform this service, and I will see you cured. You will be forgiven."

(1. 'Your gifts were the first things it consumed'. Sorcerer Gale, natch. 2. So that more or less implies that she could have stablised the Orb at any time. Even if she couldn't - for whatever the reason - warn him about it ahead of time, she could have still prevented the year he spent in pain, the year he spent weakened, desperate, isolated, and depressed, the year he spent thinking that one wrong move would not only kill him but destroy all of Waterdeep with him! She didn't just risk him out of spite, she risked a two-million strong population!)

Gale: "You're the mother of all magic, the Weave incarnate. Can't you just destroy the Crown yourself?"

(His expression is downcast for most of the conversation. Here, he finally looks up. Beseeching. Not just, "Why couldn't you do this?", but also, "Why couldn't you prevent this?")

Mystra: "It is not my place to destroy another god's creation, however temporarily he joined the pantheon. It must be you, Gale. You are the one who carries Karsus' power within you. You are the only one who can."

(But of course, it's entirely her place for her Chosen to do it for her. Will get back to this point in a moment.)

Gale: "Very well. The next time we meet, I'll be bringing you the Crown."

Mystra: "Thank you. May the Weave's light guide your purpose, and its wisdom guide your hand. The future of magic rests on your shoulders, Gale of Waterdeep. I promise you - it is a burden you are strong enough to bear."

(Yeah, the Weave's guided him great so far. No pressure!)

So, there's a couple of questions here.

First, what did Gale believe he was doing?

He believed he was restoring a fragment of Mystra's lost Weave to her. He knows that Karsus' Folly was the crux of it, but all he knows - all he possibly can know, at this point - is that magic was restored except for one fragment. He wanted to be seen to be worthy of Mystra, and so believed that restoring that fragment to her would be both a symbol of love and devotion, and also something that'd be of tangible help to her.

Indeed, he thought he was carrying out her mission. "The goal of Mystra's faithful is simple: that magic be preserved and promulgated throughout the Realms." Was it perhaps a sliiight sign of hubris that he wanted to do it to prove himself worthy of her love and admiration? A little, yeah, but what else did she expect? He had been groomed since childhood to be the greatest wizard he possibly could. He was thirty-four, he was Mystra's Chosen and lover, he knows mortals can be elevated to higher powers. This very incarnation of Mystra only became so in 1358, after being one of Mystra's followers!

Ambitious, yes. But he never wanted to supplant her. He wanted to be seen as worthy and perhaps achieve apotheosis, which is exactly what she did herself.

Second, though, and more importantly, is what did Mystra see Gale doing?

She is, per Elminster, omniscient. She can sense any magic being used. She knows when Gale just reads the Annals of Karsus. She had to have known that what her Chosen was about to unleash was Karsite Weave, and...

She opted to do nothing, let Gale nearly be killed by the orb, let him suffer for a year, then tell him to fix it by killing himself, only when the Crown itself came back into play.

Think of it from Mystra's perspective. The year is 1491 DR. She's spent a good chunk of her actual godhood dead and has only relatively recently been restored, although she has, at this point, indeed been fully restored to all her powers. One of her Chosen is a young human wizard named Gale, who she's also taken as her lover. Gale is ambitious - of course he is, he's an insanely talented Chosen wizard - and actively wants to please her.

The Crown of Karsus is sealed away in Mephistopheles' vaults. The Orb of Karsus is sealed away in a book. (Who knows where the Sceptre is.) She knows it's a threat, but one that's currently under control.

She sees her Chosen approach the book the Orb is sealed in. She must realise that her Chosen has no idea what's in it, because she's well aware he's never read the Annals of Karsus, and he certainly wasn't there at the time. What's the more logical response here?

Tell your Chosen that what's sealed in the book is an extremely dangerous form of anti-magic that is an immediate threat to you, to him, and to everyone around him, and that if he isn't willing to just leave it alone, he should instead destroy it for you, or

Let your Chosen unleash it without warning him, nearly killing him and posing a very real threat to two million people until it's stabilised, which you can do at any time but don't?

She must have been thrilled when the Crown was stolen, right around the same time. Suddenly, she has a way to rid herself of the blight of Karsus - use one artefact to destroy the other! Never mind that one of those artefacts is currently lodged in the chest of her Chosen and doing so would kill him and a great many others, she's got rid of a greater threat.

The Crown was stolen and Gale was hit by the Orb around the same time, a year before the game. Which came first? What if the Crown was stolen first, what if Mystra grew worried about it because look at what happened last time, and, knowing that one of the only things strong enough to destroy the Crown would be another of Karsus' artefacts, she deliberately guided Gale to it? What if she intentionally abandoned him in order to prime him to want to do anything he could to gain her forgiveness, which she could conveniently grant if only he used the Orb to destroy the Crown?

Either way, it was cruel. If it was just sheer neglect that saw her fail to warn him, it was also stupid. She's omniscient. She could have warned Gale any time. She could have stablised the Orb at any time. Why leave him to suffer? Was it petty sadism, or did she always intend to use him as a tool to destroy the Crown, and never mind the consequences?

She's already willing to sacrifice half the Sword Coast to an illithid invasion if it means getting rid of the Crown. What's one more life?

Hashtag fight me Mystra, hashtag Gale deserves better.

[growth-opportunities]

AMBROSIA MILL, AZ - The Rainbow Mayhem Music Festival lived up to its name over the weekend as chaos erupted in the middle of one of its performances. In this case, the mass confusion wasn't the result of a pyrotechnic effect gone awry or overzealous fans going out of control. In fact, very few of the festivals visitors were there to see Earth Chronicle perform. The thumping bass and crackling electronic sounds that thumped from the speakers overall failed to seriously impress their audience, but the debut of a brand new, as of yet unnamed, song would surely turn the audience in their favor.

Approximately two minutes into the six minute song, several women in the audience began to feel discomfort in their clothing. By the four minute mark, a singular voice rang out, now determined to belong to one Jessica Ramirez of Sioux Falls, South Dakota: "Holy [expletive]! My [breasts] are growing!" It is easy to dismiss an individual experience, but the fact that it was now shared caused similar, affirming eruptions from many of the other women in the audience.

"At first, I thought it was just the heat that was making me uncomfortable," explained Anne Peters, a concert goer who had traveled from Vermont to be there. Her outfit was not unlike many of those who had attended the festival, except now the pearl-covered bikini seemed several sizes too small. At many points throughout the interview, she was forced to adjust them to make sure everything was covered. "But then, as soon as I heard that voice, I looked down and saw what was actually happening to me."

As her alarm faded, Peters found herself surprisingly satisfied with what had happened to her. "I mean, I left for the concert a C cup and now I must be, I dunno, twice as big? Maybe even three times? I came to this concert to get over my ex and now they're gonna be so mad when they see this! Screaming, crying, throwing up, all of it!"

An investigation from our colleagues at KDBG that the event ultimately stemmed from a random audio sample the band had used to form the baseline of the song. Front-man Lawrence 'Lawman' Pearson said that the sample, simply titled BE112, was sourced from a audio library which the band had purchased a license to use. Pearson claimed that he was unaware of the subliminals (very low frequency tones, related to hypnotic suggestion) that were mixed into the track. "...[In-house engineer, Laxmi Reynolds] must have listened to that song fifty times a day when we were producing the song, and I don't remember her growing at all!" Reynolds did not return KDBG's request for comment.

It is now believed that the intense sound system of the festival amplified the subliminal effect, which caused those in attendance to gain, on average, six inches to their bust before the song was interrupted.

A settlement was reached with Roy G Biv, LLC to cover damages to the concert equipment during the chaos. No one in the audience has attempted to bring charges against the band.

As of the time of writing, the remaining four concerts in Earth Chronicle's tour have completely sold out. According to statement put out by Visionary Ink Records, they are looking into adding more cities to the tour to meet the needs of the Earth Chronicle's "growing fanbase." The record label did not return our request for further comment.

[mediumgayitalian]

“Will, can I tell you something?”

“You can tell me anything.” He glances up from his clipboard, grinning wide and wry and sparkling. “Especially if it’s that you’ve got food.”

Nico knows his best friend, so he does have food; a pack of twizzlers the size of his face that he tosses, deliberately quickly, at his face, smiling to himself when he misses and dives down to grab it anyway. His clipboard clatters to the ground, pen bouncing after it, as he tears into it, inhaling at least ten twisty candies in half as many seconds.

“Gods, I love you,” he groans, mouth open like the disgusting mannerless loser he is.

Nico coughs. “Funny you should say.”

He’s spared from having to jump clear through the nearest window and landing right on his neck by the honestly uncomfortable noises Will continues to make — by the gods if he finds out it’s been another twenty three hours since William has eaten he is going to kill him and resurrect his skeleton for permanent manual labour — and instead worries himself with the first random task he sees unfinished. Do the kiddie Band-Aids actually need to be emptied from their boxes and sorted by size and vibe? No. But Will won’t stop him. And Nico needs, like, twenty minutes of recovery. So.

“What did you want to ask me, by the way?”

His mouth is still — somehow — full, so it sounds closer to whaa joo wanna asme. Nico, brave veteran that he is, feigns confusion.

“Hm?”

“Question,” Will swallows, an actual, audible gulp, gods, where have Nico’s standards gone, “that you had.” There’s the sound of joints cracking and a deep sigh, then quick footsteps, and then Will is in front of him, eyes squinted, mouth wide and crooked, leaning on the counter. He has been up before the sun and working the entire time, people pouring in and out like ants to an anthill, and Nico knows he has not rested, but energy still sparks all over his skin. He bounces, almost, from his frizzy ringlet curls to the balls of his feet, humming, twitching, moving.

“I.” Nico’s throat is dry, and his eyes move from the bandages, to Will, to the bandages. “Well.”

When Nico was a kid he would stutter over his words. He was a shit speaker. Bianca spoke four languages by the time she was six, and Nico could barely ever manage the one; he knew what he was trying to say, and he would say it, only somewhere along the way his brain sent the wrong sparks or maybe his tongue got twisted or maybe his mouth made the wrong shapes. Or he blended them all together, like ice sleet on helicopter blades, and everything left his mouth just fine but got smashed to bits in the air outside of him, never reaching his audience quite right. And then he was ten and everything he cared about was smashed to dust and he stopped caring about where the words got twisted and stopped relying on them at all, and stared, instead; glowered, let his face speak for him, even if they weren’t saying the same thing. It annoys everyone around him. It frustrated his mother and pisses off his father and annoys or frightens every other person around him, and everyone guesses, fills in the blanks, deciphers what he is going to say to make his presence just a little easier to bear.

But Will waits, rocking, as he always does, eyes flicking around the infirmary, a handwidth of space between them. Fingers, drumming on the curve of his thigh, too-big front teeth gnawing on his chapped bottom lip. Waiting. For the words, for the time, for the courage.

“I missed you today,” Nico blurts, and it isn’t what he meant to say, not by a long shot, but it’s an approximation and it will count. And Will is suddenly smiling, huge, too big for his face; beaming, brightly, beautifully. “I hate it when you work too long.”

“Yeah?”

Nico exhales, cheekbones ruddy. “Yeah.”

“That’s not a question, Neeks.”

“Oh, stuff it.”

Will laughs, then, and the room gets brighter, and Nico gets warmer, braver, and takes his hand. He walks even both out of the infirmary and Will goes willingly, even though there is work too be done, swinging their hands, and he talks, and talks and talks and talks, and then he waits, quietly, humming to himself, and Nico says nothing, although he thinks things, and Will acts like he has said them. And his palm is still rough and warm against his, and the sun is setting, and Will smells like artificial strawberry and lavender body wash, and Nico thinks, You can tell me anything, and he vows that he will. And he holds his hand, and squeezes it around his, and smiles, and waits, easily, contentedly.

[chlorinetothevoid]

Book Discussion: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

SPOILERS FOR SUNRISE ON THE REAPING AHEAD!!!

SPOILERS FOR SUNRISE ON THE REAPING AHEAD!!!

SPOILERS FOR SUNRISE ON THE REAPING AHEAD!!!

-

I consumed this book in approximately a day and a half and have no one to discuss it with irl so here I am ranting to the internet void once more. This is a final warning for in depth spoilers for Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. Please close out of this post now if you are trying to avoid those.

This book was frankly diabolical in the best way possible. I was one of many Hunger Games enthusiasts as a child and I directly cite the original Hunger Games trilogy as the books that cemented my interest in reading. I have a lot to thank the original trilogy for and Suzanne Collins as an author. Thus, my lens through which I perceived this book is HEAVILY biased.

This book had me in a chokehold from Chapter 1 all the way through to the Epilogue, dragging me kicking my feet and hollering the entire way through. I knew it was going to be a trip when the novel opened on four quotes centered around perception and propaganda from established figures such as George Orwell, William Blake, and David Hume. Collins was not messing around this time, clocking her audience before Chapter 1 even began as if to say "some of you didn't get my message the first time so let me tell y'all again for the people in the back". The president Snow/Tom Blyth thirst edits following the release of A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes combined with the original trilogy getting pinned to an objectively lop-sided love triangle between Gale, Peeta, and Katniss really took its tole on society at large.

If Lucy Gray Baird in A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was the pinnacle of haunting the narrative then Haymitch Abernathy in Sunrise on the Reaping is the pinnacle of being doomed by the narrative. The absolute whiplash of the Chapter 1 lore drops between Haymitch stating he doesn't drink, the reveal of Burdock Everdeen being one of Haymitch's best friends, Haymitch's love interest being a covey girl named Lenore Dove Baird, and ending off with Haymitch's name NOT being called in the reaping was a lot to handle. Haymitch being illegally reaped after defending his girl from Peacekeepers kicks off the overall theme throughout the novel of propaganda being organized even if you cannot see it in the moment. It forces the reader to look at not only the events within Sunrise on the Reaping but within the original trilogy and media at large. Any story can be spun if the people telling it have enough finesse to make it seamless and enough influence to keep the people involved quiet. The staging of the reaping and later the events of Haymitch's games as a whole drive home the point that was deeply examined in A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: the narrative is whatever the people in power want it to be.

Gonna also give an honorable mention here to chaos of the reaping after the original second male tribute ran and was shot. A moment occurs where everyone is forced to their knees and Otto Mellark freezes upright. Burdock Everdeen is the one to punch Otto Mellark's knee in, forcing him to the ground and thus saving his life. Everdeens saving Mellarks and Mellarks saving Everdeens is an invisible string tying the stories together.

Haymitch being outlined as having the attitude of ending the games at the cost of his life due to to president Snow marking him for death only for Haymitch to win the games anyway... I am so impossibly emo about all of this. Watching the rebellion plotline unfold with the alliance of the non-career districts combined with the help from previous Victor mentors knowing there's no possible way for it to succeed was an exercise in agony. Collins knows exactly what she is doing, setting up the foundation for Haymitch to have an almost motherly relationship with Mags, an intellectual respect for Betee and Wiress, and later watching Katniss pick those exact people as allies in Catching Fire. Haymitch and Katniss are more alike than anyone could have ever guessed. Haymitch, the boy with the striker but not enough fuel, mentoring Katniss, the girl who caught fire, is excellent story telling.

The idea that rebellion had been brewing since almost the very beginning but needing the correct spark to light the whole thing up is so, so important. Rebellions take time. Having the original trilogy exclude Katniss from rebel plans either through her own desire to survive or through omission gives the reader a skewed sense of what was truly going on behind the scenes. Rebellion had always been brewing and Katniss was nowhere near the first attempt. Betee's plot to take down the arena during Sunrise on the Reaping had to fail so it could succeed in Catching Fire.

This is the obligatory mention of Ampert because that storyline was diabolical. Betee's twelve year old son Ampert is reaped as punishment for Betee's acts of defiance. Ampert and Haymitch team up with the other non-career districts but share the same goal of drowning the arena from the inside. When this inevitably fails, Ampert is attacked by mutts from the gamemakers and absolutely nothing could've prepared me for the description of his body being a picked clean skeleton. It was more gruesome of a description than any amount of blood or gore or horrific injury could've impacted. I mistakenly thought that Ampert was meant to be the Rue-esque figure here. The age and innocence was aligned and even their similar relations to the older figure BUT that honor, in my opinion, falls to Maysilee Donner.

Maysilee Donner, the original owner of the Mockingjay pin, is one of the female tributes reaped from District 12. She is feisty and unafraid to clap back verbally or physically. Her and Haymitch start as enemies but as she endears herself by fixing tokens for the other tributes, her and Haymitch come to the conclusion in the arena that one of them must win. After forming a sibling like friendship, the duo encounter a set of career tributes and a set of gamemakers. Maysilee and one of the careers kill the gamemakers and are punished for it by death. Maysilee and Haymitch are separated when she goes back for food. Her screams alert Haymitch but the bird mutts sent after her have done the damage. Her final goodbye to Haymitch is a pinky promise; a promise that he will win the games and not let the capitol control their narrative. It's gut wrenching in a way that the shock of Ampert's death could not properly achieve.

There are many other aspects of this story that I adored but am struggling to mention as I am running out of time and steam to continue. I would be remiss by omitting Wyatt and Louella/Lou Lou entirely. Wyatt being the oddsmaker and Louella the sweetheart as the remaining tributes from District 12. Louella tragically dies in the tribute chariot parade and Haymitch carts her body before president Snow, cementing his "fate" so to speak. She is replaced with a body double they call Lou Lou, a drugged and hijacked child who is determined to be from District 11. Wyatt runs the odds and picks Haymitch as his winner over the careers. He becomes protective of Lou Lou and later dies for her in the arena. Both are tragic in their own right.

Haymitch wins his games by essentially collapsing to dodge an ax thrown by the remaining career. He cheated his fate in the arena but doing so doomed his homecoming to be a Doomcoming (thank you Yellowjackets for that name). He is forever doomed by the narrative to survive while he loves and ever will love will die. The narrative cannot and will not ever allow him happiness. The overall experience reading this novel was a gut wrenching one that left me blankly staring at a wall. I give this book a 5/5 stars.

The chief complaint I have seen about this book (mostly via twitter). Is that it reads like fanfiction/it was too convenient how everything connected. In my opinion, there is a stark difference in reading something that was concocted to capitalize on shock and awe versus something that is emotionally impactful but still plays within the bounds of the established world. Lines that seemed to be throw-aways or one offs from the original trilogy suddenly take on a whole new meaning within the prequels and vice versa. All of the stories within the Hunger Games universe play off of each other through not brute force but by design, making the so called fan service cameos have more substance than style.

I will always be a Suzanne Collins/Hunger Games defender.

[techramonic]

The Game of Common Interests: The Symbiotic Relationship of Terrorism and The Media

Mass media and terrorism have developed an interdependent relationship. The media is the terrorist’s breath of fresh air, and it is the lifeblood and sustenance of terrorism, where the media often capitalizes on the public's confusion, intrigue, and paranoia following terrorist attacks by producing sensationalized news that captures widespread attention. This dynamic, however, plays into the hands of terrorists, who exploit the extensive coverage to spread the agency of their extremist agendas and beliefs, particularly targeting and influencing vulnerable audiences, such as the youth. Professor Taha Najem of Naif Arab University had described this relationship as “symbiotic”.

In Najem's own words:

"As for the extremists, they precisely calculate the scope, location, and timing of their attacks to generate ample media attention,—or in other words, to generate advertisements for their messages on a global scale. The broader and more prolonged the media coverage of terrorism turns out to be, the greater the terrorists' feelings of accomplishment, influence, and power." (Najem, 2017).

Bruce Hoffman, the Director of the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University said:

"Only by spreading the terror and outrage to a much larger audience can the terrorists gain the maximum leverage potential."

Najem argues that the relationship between the two can be understood through the media's tendency to capitalize on horrific tragedies. It often uses these as newsworthy scoops that not only provide information but also serve as marketing opportunities and profitable publicity. In some instances, the media may unintentionally promote terrorist operations by offering excessive coverage, which is driven by their own incessant need for fame, power, money, and influence. This aligns with the perpetrator's likeness, where some stage attacks often with the sole purpose of gaining publicity and creating propaganda rather than resolving political demands.

Researchers have established that media coverage is pivotal to the success of terrorist attacks, with the scope and intensity of coverage often being more important to terrorist groups than the quality of the reporting. However, this perspective can also be overly simplistic, as it overlooks the complex relationship between media coverage and public reaction. It also fails to consider that not all terrorists prioritize publicity over their other tactical or political aims. Additionally, the complex interplay between the media and terrorism cannot be fully understood without considering the role of the state. 

Not only does this occur in mass media, but also creating trends within specific online communities. From this, we can see how there is a benefit in both parties: terrorists gain the publicity they desire, while the media profits from the heightened public interest, increasing the influx of coverage because of the heightened value. Furthermore, many individuals drawn into terrorism have been influenced by channels, websites, magazines, and other forms of media that promote bombings and suicide missions, highlighting the powerful role media can play in the recruitment and radicalization process. With this, here are some ways in which the media benefits terrorism, and vice-versa. Allowing media prevalence through marketability and terrorism through radicalization. 

World Trade Center Bombing, 2001.

On September 11, 19 terrorists from al-Qaeda hijacked and attacked the World Trade center, following four coordinated bombing-suicide attacks against the U.S. There were 2,996 deaths and approximately 6,000 injured. Over the past two decades after the attack, mainstream media audiences have witnessed a significant shift in how news was presented: the rise of dramatic and emotional storytelling, or what can be termed as "public drama."

This approach has increasingly dominated the media landscape, being a central focus on various platforms: lead stories on news programs, main broadcast discussions, and bold headlines on newspapers. This had become a prominent framework for delivering news, particularly in television, due to its entertainment-like qualities. By simplifying complex stories into easily-digestible and compelling narratives with vivid images, the audience is more engaged. News organizations and media professionals favor this dramatic approach because of the direct and cost-effective production. 

The 9/11 attack is a prime example of this trend. When news broke of a plane crashing into the World Trade Center, broadcasters were initially unprepared for the unfolding catastrophe and the dramatic and chaotic nature of the events presented challenges in conveying the news. With initial coverage featuring footage of billowing flames and smoke from the collapsed towers, the explosion of the Pentagon, and the emergency response—all were easily committed into the viewer's memories. These images captured the raw scale of the disaster and its immediate aftermath. The people were confused, afraid, and intrigued—then they became invested. Thus, the sensationalization of news was adapted.

Oklahoma City Bombing, 1995.

On April 19th, just the second anniversary of the end of the Waco siege, domestic terrorists Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh detonated a nitrate-fuel oil bomb in the Alfred P. Murrah Building, claiming 168 lives and injuring  680 others.

Timothy McVeigh was one of America’s most notorious domestic terrorists, and with his involvement with the crime, he was then sentenced to death by lethal injection. In June 2001, the Federal Bureau of Prisons was responsible for the execution of McVeigh.  Linda Smith and John Roberts, in their journal article, delve into one significant instance where media demands placed a heavy burden on the Federal Agency. During this time of McVeigh's execution, the Bureau faced a difficult dilemma: balancing the need to facilitate media coverage of the execution while ensuring the safety and security of the maximum-security penitentiary where it was conducted.

This situation highlights a broader paradox faced by many federal agencies. They are tasked with providing information to the media while simultaneously navigating ethical, budgetary, and legal constraints that limit their engagement in traditional public relations activities, such as advertising and lobbying, common in the private sector. Public affairs officers are legally obligated to release non-sensitive information, yet they must carefully avoid disclosing material exempt under the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act, as individual officers can be held criminally liable for such breaches. This tension between transparency and security underscores the complex challenges these agencies must navigate in their public communications.

Boston Marathon Bombing, 2013 and INSPIRE MAGAZINE.

On April 15th, exactly on America's Patriot's Day, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar (Jahar) Tsarnaev detonated two pressure cooker bombs at 2:49 p.m., just a few of hours after the winner completed the Boston Marathon, totaling to 6 deaths and 281 injuries.

Jahar had a fascination with fireworks and explosives, while Tamerlan exhibited early signs of radicalization.  Although there were no proper links of the two to terrorist groups, Jahar had revealed that the two obtained plans from Inspire, specifically its first issue revealing a step-by-step recipe on creating pressure cooker bombs or Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

Inspire is an English online magazine published by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), infamously known as the group that perpetrated the 9/11 and PAL 434 attacks. The magazine is one of the many ways AQAP spreads its online agenda. Both international and domestic extremists have been motivated by radical interpretations of Islam and, in some cases, used its bomb-making instructions in their attempts to carry out attacks. 

The insurgence of the 'Jihadi John Slideshow Trend'

During the period of 2014, youtube videos uploaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) started surfacing on the internet. This was characterized by a series of masked militants criticizing the American or British government and then tying in the statements by the gruesome beheadings of hostages, ransoms, and soldiers.

Terrorists had often used their media presence as a driving force to influence the youth into affiliating themselves with terrorist ties. One of these was Jihadi John, unveiled as British militant and Kuwaiti-born Mohamed Emwazi. In these videos, Emwazi is often seen looming over the camera holding a knife and standing next to a kneeled hostage. He ends every video by beheading his victims. One of his most famous videos was the beheading of American Journalist James Foley.

Around June 2010, Emwazi was detained and in the middle of 2020, the insurgence of the “Jihadi John Slideshow” trend had reached tiktok. While the origins of this trend still remains obscure, this has left a lasting impact on the youth. Often, the demographic consisted of teens, specifically young males, who romanticized and glorified the acts of violence portrayed by Emwazi and the aesthetic of militaristic weaponry. Many had credited this behavior to “edgy” standards and humor, however, this idealism was proven to be more unironic than it seemed. Eventually, in the proceeding years, the trend had died out, however, it had came back a few times during period intervals of 2022 to 2023.

This trend had also harmfully villainized harmless ideologies, distorting these ideas to the point where it is repulsing for the public’s perception. An example of this is the concept of Jihad, where it is essentially the Islamic philosophy of struggling to defend the religion and attaining peace within the community  and outside of it. It promotes the unity and solidarity of individuals where militaristic action is only done as a last resort of intervention. Often, Jihadi groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS have spread distorted and extremist versions of this ideology, creating a brand new concept of utilizing violent militaristic resistance to protect Islam. With this dangerous approach, muslim communities are stigmatized, discriminated against, and stereotyped. This is especially harmful because it is a large problem that affects the community in various ways, especially when terrorists rebrand concepts initially striving to attain peace as acts of hatred and war, tainting a beautiful religion with images of violence.

Conclusion

Circling back to Prof. Najem’s analysis, without the media’s attention and focus, terrorists are unable to achieve any of the following four objectives: (1) recognition of the group name or ideology, (2) ability to communicate with supporters, (3) communicate with members of the local government, (4) and depict itself as a legitimate political alternative to the current governments. To conclude this essay, the relationship between mass media and terrorism is a complex and interdependent one, where the intricacies of both entities should be carefully observed and analyzed to unravel the deeper connections between the two.

While some researchers argue that media coverage is essential for the success of terrorist attacks, this view is sometimes overly simplistic and does not fully capture the intricate relationship between media portrayal and public reaction. Additionally, not all terrorist groups prioritize publicity over their other objectives. The symbiotic relationship between the media and terrorism is further complicated by the role of the state, which must balance transparency with security.

Several case studies, including the Oklahoma City Bombing, the Boston Marathon Bombing, and the rise of figures like Jihadi John, highlight the ways in which media coverage can both shape and be shaped by terrorist actions. These examples demonstrate how terrorist groups leverage media to spread their message and recruit new members, while the media, in turn, benefits from the increased attention and revenue generated by such coverage.

Ultimately, this relationship underscores the powerful role that the media plays in both perpetuating and combating terrorism. The challenge lies in finding a balance between reporting news and preventing the unintentional promotion of extremist ideologies.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: YA Fiction

YA fiction - (an abbreviation of young adult fiction) is a genre of literature that bridges the gap between middle-grade fiction (which is typically targeted at middle schoolers) and novels written for adults.

Elements of YA Fiction

Age-appropriate content: YA novels are written to be appropriate for readers approximately 14 and up. Despite its teen characters and themes, YA writing also draws adult readers. Thanks to this adult audience, some YA fiction, such as The Hunger Games series, can top the New York Times bestseller list.

Teenage protagonists: The heroes of YA novels are almost always teenagers, although characters of all ages can be represented.

A manageable length: Young adult novels are typically in the range of 60,000 to 100,000 words.

Popular Genres of YA Fiction

Nearly any genre that would make for a compelling adult novel can also make for good YA literature.

The same principles that elevate all great novels—a strong point of view, emotional truth, a relatable main character, entertaining secondary characters, fluid use of language, and a story worth investing in—are what elevate YA books.

As a general rule, if a book would succeed as adult literature, there’s probably a reimagined version that would also resonate as a young adult novel.

Teenage readers typically respond to a certain degree of edginess, which makes horror, thrillers, and dystopian sci-fi quite popular within the world of YA. Some of the specific YA subgenres include:

Science fiction

Horror

Coming of age stories

Fantasy

Sports novels

Thrillers

Tips for Writing Compelling YA

Legendary author Judy Blume has written extensively in both the middle grade and YA genres. She has also written four novels for adult readers, each one a New York Times bestseller. Here are some of Judy’s wisdom for first time YA authors interested writing young adult fiction that is both relatable and engaging for more than one age group:

Recall what you liked to read as a young adult. Returning to your own childhood doesn’t mean that you’ll need to simplify or dumb down your ideas. Children are much more complex and understand a lot more than they’re sometimes given credit for. Their lives are complicated and they want to deal with reality. Judy notes that when she was growing up, she desperately wanted to read about real life and about kids who were like her, who were dealing with the same things she was.

Avoid obvious themes. When Judy writes, she stays away from themes. Themes in books tend to hit readers over the head and not give them enough credit. This can turn readers, especially young ones, off. Present situations and characters instead, and leave your readers to make their own minds up about the story’s meaning.

Write complex teenage characters. In real life, the teenage years are difficult. They’re full of both inner conflict and outer conflict. To accurately capture the POV of that age group, you have to write characters who go through struggle, and those struggles don’t always have a clean resolution. Judy notes that all kids face problems growing up that affect who they are. The best YA writers take this to heart and imbue their characters with real problems that they must conquer over the course of a novel.

Take your writing seriously. Judy is a big advocate of taking yourself seriously as a writer. Treat writing as your job, and make time for it. Judy doesn’t believe in writer’s block. Instead of giving up when you hit an obstacle on that first draft, write something else or go back to your notebooks to regain your momentum. Get away from your desk. Do the laundry. Go for a walk. Don’t forget to make some space for your personal life, though, too. Remember that real-life events and observations are key to keeping your idea box full.

Young Adult Fiction vs. Middle Grade Fiction

Middle grade books are for late elementary schoolers and early middle schoolers—think ages 9 to 12.

They are another step up from chapter books, and tend to have more challenging vocabulary, few illustrations, and upwards of 60,000 words.

Children in this age range can appreciate humor, mystery, and even small thrills.

By contrast, young adult novels target older teens and even adults. They tend to have teenage protagonists, but many peripheral adult characters offer an adult perspective.

YA readers respond to topics like coming-of-age stories. Popular genres tend to skew toward fantasy and science fiction.

Edgier books may feature a troubled main character struggling to confront an emotional truth. A YA novel can push beyond 100,000 words.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

By Nikhil Prasad

Medical News: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, new research highlights a startling link between the virus and metabolic disorders. A study conducted at the "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Timisoara, Romania, reveals how COVID-19 can trigger insulin resistance, even in individuals with no prior history of diabetes. This development sheds light on the long-term metabolic consequences of the virus, raising concerns for millions of COVID-19 survivors worldwide.

The research team focused on understanding the relationship between long COVID-19 syndrome and metabolic disruptions. This Medical News report aims to make their findings accessible to a wider audience, emphasizing the risks associated with the virus's lingering effects.

The Study: Design and Key Findings This prospective observational study included 143 non-diabetic individuals who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between January 2020 and December 2022. Participants underwent evaluations at the time of hospital admission, and follow-ups were conducted four and twelve months later. Researchers measured fasting glucose, insulin, and C-peptide levels using intravenous arginine stimulation tests, along with body mass index (BMI) and inflammatory markers like high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).

Key findings from the study include: -Insulin Resistance and Long COVID: Approximately 30.7% of the participants developed long COVID-19 syndrome. Of these, 75% exhibited insulin resistance and eventually developed diabetes within one year, compared to 55.8% of those without long COVID-19.

-Impact of Obesity: Among obese participants (BMI > 30 kg/m²), 62% experienced elevated blood glucose levels a year post-infection.

Surprisingly, obesity rates did not differ significantly between those with and without long COVID-19, suggesting that other factors, such as chronic inflammation, play a pivotal role.

-Inflammatory Markers and Metabolic Disturbances: Elevated hs-CRP and ESR levels correlated with insulin resistance, highlighting the role of inflammation in disrupting metabolic health.

However, the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, another marker of insulin resistance, showed weaker correlations, pointing to the complexity of the underlying mechanisms.

Chronic Inflammation: A Central Culprit The study underscores the role of chronic inflammation in the development of insulin resistance among COVID-19 survivors. Prolonged activation of the immune system, potentially triggered by viral remnants or autoimmune responses, can interfere with insulin signaling. This disruption leads to poor glucose absorption by cells, resulting in elevated blood sugar le vels.

The virus's ability to infect pancreatic beta cells, which are crucial for insulin production, exacerbates this problem. By binding to ACE2 receptors on these cells, SARS-CoV-2 can impair their function, causing a decline in insulin secretion. This interplay of inflammation and cellular damage creates a perfect storm for the onset of metabolic disorders.

Implications for Public Health and Patient Care The findings highlight the urgent need for healthcare systems to prioritize monitoring metabolic health in COVID-19 survivors, especially those with long COVID-19 syndrome. Routine screenings for insulin resistance, glucose levels, and inflammatory markers could help identify at-risk individuals early, enabling timely interventions.

For patients, adopting a healthier lifestyle becomes more critical than ever. Weight management, regular exercise, and a balanced diet can help mitigate the risk of developing insulin resistance and other metabolic complications.

Future Directions in Research and Treatment The study opens the door for further investigations into the molecular mechanisms linking COVID-19 to insulin resistance. Understanding these pathways could pave the way for targeted therapies to prevent or reverse metabolic damage. Potential treatments might include anti-inflammatory drugs, insulin-sensitizing medications, and advanced glucose-lowering therapies like SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists.

Moreover, ongoing trials, such as the DARE trial examining dapagliflozin's efficacy in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, may offer insights into how existing diabetes treatments can benefit long COVID-19 sufferers.

Conclusion This research highlights a concerning connection between COVID-19 and insulin resistance, even in individuals without prior metabolic conditions. The long-term implications of this link extend beyond the immediate health crisis, signaling a potential wave of diabetes cases in the years to come. As healthcare providers and researchers grapple with these findings, a comprehensive approach addressing both respiratory and metabolic health will be crucial.

The study findings were published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Personalized Medicine. www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/14/9/911

[cherrirui-official]

Friendlocke Violet Gijinkas (Part 5/7)

Like i said previously im gonna try to finish these before the end of the year so expect to see the rest of these guys very soon (hopefully)

I plan on posting them in order by groups of three, so there’s gonna be seven parts in total, all of which I’ll be linking here when done vvv

(Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three) (Part Four) (Part Six) (Part Seven)

!! These will contain personal headcanons I have for the cast, little fun facts, and also spoilers for Friendlocke Violet (for both the edited vids and the streams) !!

@saltydkart-reblogs

Designs under the cut!

JAYWEED:

Jayweed used to be part of the Sprigatito line before death, as evident by his cat-like features and his vague association with plants.

His arms are transparent, and can't really come into contact with anything besides Jayweed himself.

Can see spirits and talk to them, but chooses not to. He doesn't want to "waste his time" with the dead.

The creepiest thing about Jayweed is that his pupils aren't attached to his eyes... I...don't know what to do with that information but hey! It's info!

Somehow able to escape the friendbox without any outside interference. We don't know how he manages to do that.

He knows where you are. Start running.

LUKE:

Despite popular belief, Luke is not affiliated with Tulip in any way, shape, or form. They have done a collaboration at one point though.

He started his cult after growing bored of his mundane life as a simple model. He knows all the stuff he says is completely fake, but his followers still eat it up anyways. Pests, the lot of them.

Luke often goes on different podcasts in order to preach his word to a wider audience. Most of them seem to be outputted by him... well except for Braidy and Mykyie.

Luke is the only one to know about Cookie's past, but he never brought it up to anyone else for some reason...

He isn't afraid to put himself in danger, in fact he seems to enjoy the thrill of it.

It takes approximately 45 minutes for Luke to do his hair.

GERBICYCLE 2:

Gerbicycle 2 was made by Turo after being commissioned by Iono to make a delivery bot for her.

He met both Grace and 4est before the events of friendlocke, as they were all in Area Zero at some point in the past

It is scarily easy to convince him to go through even the most ridiculous of plans, as Gerbicycle doesn't exactly put much thought into consequences and stuff like that. It seems that somebody took advantage of that.

He initially wasn't programmed to feel emotions, though he is slowly learning how to.

When he's not in his work attire he likes to wear hawaiian shirts... it is unknown when or why he started to wear them.

Gerbicycle 1 died of food poisoning... how that happened to a robot is unbeknownst to me.

That's it for now! Uhmm... disintegrates

[inanimateinsanitywiki]

okay enough smacking the blue chipmunk's corpse with a stick time for my actual review of the remaster so far

i liked it!! i understand why some people didn't, but i feel like it found a good balance between new and old dialogue and jokes. it feels more like a refurbishment than a full blown ship of theseus situation. i definitely noticed it's a lot faster paced than the original, but i feel like that's a mix of both the crew getting better and snappier at writing, and modern cartoons being faster paced in general. i can definitely feel the absence of how genuine the original felt, however. the remaster feels a bit too self aware of the fact that it's doo doo ass and often feels like it's winking and nudging at the audience. i don't know how that could have been avoided though, unfortunately 💔 i do like the new jokes added in their own way though! you still get the feeling that the cast is a bunch of freshly formed homunculi instead of the well-rounded people most of them ended up becoming. i say most because. looks at salt. don't worry guys salt character arc in s4 trust

by the way since i'm sure you're all curious how Knife Guy feels about his new voice, i like it so far!! you can tell it's a different person, but it doesn't feel jarring. that's honestly impressive given how distinct knife's voice is, but they surprised me with how on-point's bow's voice was in the finale, so i guess adam's just gotten good at recasting characters after having to do it approximately one shitillion times over the past 14 years. (also i think knife's new va is a trans woman like bow's current va? trans women are carrying this show's cast at this point everyone say thank you trans women).

on the topic of voices though, i'm a little bummed they didn't get a chris mcclean impersonator on board to do mephone's "host" voice. there's obviously no way they could get potenza back after all the shit that's come out about him over the years, but there are SO many voice actors who can do a nearly one-to-one chris impression, the person who voices chris in the comprehensive roast of total drama videos would have been perfect. it just feels like a missed opportunity.

also they got rid of the elephant shit you CAN'T DO THAT!!! okay i'm joking i get why they did lol. the gross-out humor earlier on was definitely a result of the show being made by teenage boys and i imagine they wanna move past that. i will miss the elephant feces, but i will come to terms with losing her despite it all.

anyways i'll rate the episode on a scale of 1-10 hows that sound. as both a remaster and standalone episode it gets a solid 7/10 from me!! my main fear when the remaster was announced was that they would be fully updating it to match the standards of modern seasons, but they managed to maintain a healthy amount of the earlier crust, and i can still look at it and go "yeah. that's inanimate insanity season one!!" good job mario and luigi. yes we are calling brian and adam mario and luigi now. no more core four or key three. it's mario and luigi. and it's awesome.

anyways i'm expecting someone to draw bookshelf as a beautiful fat butch woman by the end of the day. that's not even just because it would benefit me personally (i'm not into women) i just know that someone is gonna do it. and i will send it to all my lesbian friends and they will all go "hell yeah" and it will be so cool

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

Today I Do: Part One

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.1k

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Summary: Emily's past is coming at her like a freight train with no signs of slowing down, and it's getting harder to keep it from the team. You're getting suspicious not only for her but about your own troubles. Someone is trying to make it known that they're watching you.

Season Six Masterlist

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If any warnings exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them.

x

"It's hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head." - Sally Kempton

When you and Spencer walk into the briefing room, you notice Emily in there alone and on the phone. She only manages to get out a single name before noticing you and Spencer walk in.

"Lauren Reynolds is dead." She turns away from you and Spencer. "Just be careful and send Jeremy my love. Bye."

"Who's Lauren Reynolds?" Spencer asks.

"She was a friend of mine."

You frown and notice the way she tenses slightly at the name. Even if you didn't have your abilities, you can tell she's lying. You don't want to upset her and call her out in front of an audience so you keep your mouth shut, and she seems grateful for that.

"How did she die?" Spencer asks.

"Car accident."

"I'm really sorry."

Just then, the rest of the team files in.

"Good morning. Let's get started," Hotch says.

"Thank you all for coming," Penelope says, "and time is of the essence. Molly Grandin, twenty-five years old, has been missing for approximately twenty-four hours. Her car was found abandoned in a strip mall parking lot."

"Syracuse police chief just called me to tell me that four months ago, another woman named Gail Langston, also twenty-five, went missing," Hotch says.

"Yes. Gail's body washed up three days later in Onondaga Lake. She'd been held captive, her hands and feet smashed, and then she was stabbed to death. Her car was found in the same parking lot as Molly's."

"Other than abandoned cars, what makes them think it's the same offender?" Emily asks.

"Both women packed a bag with enough clothes and toiletries to last them for the weekend, and in both cases, the bags were found in the car along with their purses and cell phones."

"If the unsub is sticking to the same MO, then Molly only has thirty-six hours left."

"Let's go," Derek says.

"The plane awaits."

You want to ask Emily about Lauren but she's the first one out of the room. You have a feeling she did that to get away from you, and you sigh.

"Garcia still hasn't found any overlap between Molly and Gail's lives," Derek said once in the air.

"For two girls that didn't know each other, they had a lot in common," Ashley says.

"What's the first thing that jumps out at you?" Emily asks her.

"Their body types are both small, but it's not just physical. They both shy away from the camera and clearly don't enjoy being photographed. It seems like both are easily overpowered and controlled. At twenty-five, they'd be much older than most undergrads at Syracuse University."

"You know, their college transcripts are littered with incompletes and missed semesters," Spencer says as he reads into their backgrounds. "Both are from blue-collar backgrounds with no scholarship. It must be hard to keep up while working a full-time job."

"So, going to a private school could have been worth it for appearances' sake. If the unsub met them on campus, he could be another student."

"He may not be a student. He might be an employee like from the janitorial staff or security."

"Well, they both packed bags to go away with him for the weekend. That trip's romantic."

"Yeah, he's not just getting to know them, he's dating them," Derek says.

"Prentiss and Morgan, go to Molly's apartment. If she knew the abductor, there might be evidence there. Reid and Y/N, go to the dump site," Hotch says.

"Gail's body was found almost four months ago. Won't all the evidence be gone by now?" Ashley wonders.

"You can actually find out a lot about an unsub by where they choose to leave their victims."

"Plus, spiritual energies rarely ever go away. The dead leave behind so much, it's overwhelming at times," you say. The plane's phone rings and you answer Penelope's call. "What's up, Pen?"

"Syracuse Police Chief Barrows brought a suspect in for questioning five minutes ago. His name is Lyle Donaldson. Molly's ex-boyfriend."

Lyle owns a boat and fishes twice a month in the same area where Gail was found. He's also a student with her at SU, and he's known for his anger problems. He has three arrests for assault with two of them being that he beat Molly up.

It's unusual for serial killers to go after someone with such a strong connection to them, but the profile will be able to eliminate him if he's not the unsub.

You get to the place where Molly was dumped which is by a bridge overlooking a very small lake. You park off to the side and exit the car with Spencer who is holding Molly's file. You walk to the thick concrete railing of the bridge and stare at the place where Molly's body was found. She stands at the edge of the water just watching you. She walks into the water slowly until she disappears below the water's surface.

She doesn't come back up.

"You know, a body would be found here rather quickly, especially if it wasn't weighed down," Spencer says. "There was no postmortem damage from being tied to the weights. Everything else about Gail's capture was carefully planned. It seems unlikely this guy would just suddenly panic and lose control. He prioritizes control. I mean, Gail's body was beaten in a very specific way--a mallet to the hands and feet. Look at this. The stab wounds are parallel to each other."

Spencer shows you the wounds from the pictures in the file.

"They look more like puncture wounds," you say.

"The ME thinks it's a Phillips head screwdriver. Which means he uses tools instead of traditional weapons. The wounds definitely have a purpose."

"I don't think we're dealing with a man. I think the unsub is a woman."

"How do you know?"

"You mean besides the fact that it's a water burial and men don't do that? Apart from yours, I don't see a shred of male energy. Right where Molly was found, it's all blue which means it's a female."

"I agree. I mean, with the water burial."

You chuckle and take out your phone to call Emily. "Hey, Spence and I think we might be looking for a female offender."

"That explains why there was no sign of sexual assault. With an unsub this obsessed with control and power, it's usually part of the territory. It looks like there was a female living in the other bedroom of Molly's apartment."

"We'd have been told if she had a roommate."

"Yeah, so Molly must have wanted to keep it a secret for a reason. Whoever she was, she left recently and in a hurry. I'll put a canvas out now. Thanks, Y/N."

You and Spencer leave the bridge and head back to the police station at the same time Emily and Derek get back from Molly's apartment.

"So, neighbors did see a woman coming and going from Molly's apartment over the last few months, but nobody saw her close enough to get a sketch."

"No one met her?" Rossi asks.

"No. The best description we got was a white female, in her mid-twenties with light-brown hair, and plain."

"Molly never mentioned a roommate to her father or her coworkers. Lyle didn't know, either."

"Is he still here?"

"No. We couldn't charge him, so his lawyer walked him out."

"Alright, we need to start over and go back over both Gail and Molly's cases and look at everything from the perspective of a female unsub," you say.

"I'll bring in Gail's family and ask about the women in her life," Rossi says.

"Prentiss, you and Y/N go back over to Molly's apartment. Find out what else she's hiding."

You and Emily leave together and get to Molly's apartment within ten minutes. Her bedroom is pretty normal except for a bunch of different colored sticky notes with short quotes on them posted nearly everywhere.

"Looks like she was overdosing on daily affirmations."

"Yeah, saying you're happy isn't the same as being happy." Emily gets on her knees to look under the bed, and she produces a small white box. Inside is a book and lots of pills. "Oh. I think I found her dark secret." She stands and reads through the book. "This is a diet journal. Check with Garcia and see if her spending reflects a disorder."

You take out your phone and call Penelope, putting her on speakerphone so Emily can hear.

"Hey, how much money did Molly spend on food every week?"

"Let's see here. It looks like she spent thirty bucks a week at the grocery store. Thai food every Friday. Yikes, she is worse than me. $8.00 a day for coffee."

"What about a couple of months ago?"

"Oh, my. Back then the spending tells an entirely different story of the unhealthy sort. Lots of drugstore purchases and fast food places. Only a few dollars a week at the grocery then seventeen dollars at McDonald's."

"Binge night. Anything in the journal?"

"It's intense. She recorded not only what she put into her body but what came out. Calories expended during exercise, and she weighed her bowel movements."

"Anorexia and bulimia."

"The last entry is ten weeks before she disappeared. When did her spending change?" Emily asks.

"About three months ago. She got a membership at a yoga studio and stated paying for cooking classes."

"We need to find out if Gail had a similar pattern before she was killed."

"Rossi is speaking with her family right now." You hang up with Penelope and text Rossi one of the more famous affirmations in Molly's room: Today I do, tomorrow I will. You look at Emily and get flashes of her when you think of Lauren Reynolds. You know you shouldn't but you can't help but push this. "Look, Em, I know I said I wouldn't bring it up unless you did, but who is Lauren Reynolds?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business. I told you, a friend."

You chuckle but there is no humor behind it. "My best friend in high school called me the human lie detector. Can you guess why?"

"Look, I'm not doing this right now. I really do like you which is why I'm asking you to drop this. Please."

"Em, who are you afraid of?"

She doesn't answer. She just walks away from you. She doesn't say a word the entire ride back to the police station. Spencer is writing the affirmation on the whiteboard since Gail's family confirmed she used to say this all the time, too.

"You know, this phrase doesn't seem to have a particular source or author. It's found in pretty much every self-help book--I read twenty-two of them today--all touting the same basic three-part plan.

"Let me guess, phase one is positive thinking and visualizing goals?" you ask.

"That's to work up the courage to get to phase two which is taking real steps to achieve said goal. Gail committed to school and got grades like never before. Molly gave up her obsessive food journal and started eating better."

"It's hard to believe motivational sayings alone would allow them to make these types of strides."

"Maybe that's why the unsub moved in with them. She could offer support and encouragement day and night," you suggest. "She'd be around to watch Molly's diet or Gail's study habits. At first, her methods worked. She gets to be the hero, the savior."

"She's a pure narcissist, so helping her victims is only about gaining their appreciation and dependence. The more her victims gain confidence, the less they need a full-time cheerleader. That's when her motivational plan goes completely off the rails. Phase three is normally about maintaining the tenets of the program independently, but her program doesn't end. She holds them captive and destroys them physically."

"She's the motivational speaker from hell," Emily scoffs.

Since you know what type of person you're dealing with, Hotch calls for a profile with the Syracuse police department and Chief Barrows.

"We're looking for a white woman in her mid-twenties, most likely blue-collar and local to the Syracuse area. She probably has a job that puts her in the role of caretaker, such as a masseuse, a nail or hair stylist, or a personal trainer. Women feel comfortable opening up to her about their personal lives, revealing details about their insecurities that she later uses to manipulate them."

"Do you think she tries to pass herself off as a therapist or a counselor of some sort?" Chief Barrows asks.

"That's doubtful. Her narcissistic personality wouldn't allow her to listen to anything that didn't revolve around her for more than a few minutes at a time. It's hard to learn anything when you always need to be the expert. We don't think she's capable of getting a degree of any kind."

"Wouldn't she need some kind of certification for the jobs you're talking about?"

"She would, but she's a master manipulator. She probably talked her way into many jobs before they realized her credentials were fake, so check gyms, spas, salons, and yoga studios for employees fired in the last two years."

"We need to ID this woman as fast as possible if we want any chance of finding Molly alive."

x

Want to be tagged? Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[nekohime19]

Macaque study # S1

I've seen people arguing that Macaque's redemption was rushed and didn't feel natural and while I never felt like that myself I also wanted to re-watch the show to really see how this redemption plays out and have more insight than just a “gut feeling” about it.

So this is just me analyzing Macaque redemption arc more deeply and how Macaque character is handled in the show 😁.

It's gonna get very long, I’ll go into details. Of course everything stated here is my opinion and you can totally disagree, and maybe what I'm saying is like crazy obvious idk, I just wanted to share it.

Also, I'm gonna cut this in multiple posts, one for each season, cause if not the post is gonna get so long 😭.

First, what I think is important to consider before delving into the episodes and dissecting them is the format of LMK.

LMK is a ten minute episodes series with approximately ten episodes each season and four specials. It's important to consider this because ten minutes is NOT long and it means one season is basically 2h30 which is a very short frame of time to build and develop something. With this being said, what you have to pay attention to is the purpose of the episodes. With the episodes being this short, LMK have to be very direct with the purpose of their episodes and get to the point.

You cannot have multiple episodes focusing on Macaque, his hatred for LBD, why he's doing all of this. Everything has to be decisive. Moreover, even if Macaque is a very recurrent character he's not the MC, his struggles and arc will obviously take a backseat to MK own story no matter how much you wish otherwise. LMK is not a show about redemption, it's a JTTW adaptation following a young boy discovering his powers/destiny. Macaque is a side character, and thus we have to accept that eventually his redemption arc will always take backseat over the main story arcs. And that's probably why it'll always feel as fast-paced or incomplete.

Now with this in mind let's see the episodes and how is Macaque's character portrayed.

Season 1 ep 9

LMK season 1 is basically an introduction to the characters and MK's powers. In each episode we either get the time to know a character or the time to know one aspect of MK's powers. For example, s1 ep3 (“coming home”) is focused on Mei and her relationship with her family and through that we get to understand her character better, the way she grew up and her struggles (not fitting in her family).

S1 ep9 is Macaque’s introduction and that's very important to keep in mind. What is the purpose of an introduction? It's to make the audience see a character and get something out of it. Hero? Villain? Confusing in-between ? The purpose of the introduction is to give you a frame of the character, a first, often one-dimensional frame that can evolve later on. While first impressions are often striking, we always have to keep in mind that characters can evolve and are not defined by their first appearances.

So what does s1 ep9 tell us about Macaque?

First thing you notice is the name of the episode. S1 ep9 is the only episode in season 1 that is eponymous. It might seem like nothing much but I think it's a very important detail considering we're in the introductions season! Even our first taste of LBD is not an eponymous episode despite her being a main villain. Our first taste of LBD appears in “Skeleton key”, s1 ep8, which focuses on what is most important about her character right now : her release.

So why an eponymous title? Why not “The other mentor” or “Focus” to make a call back to the reason MK defeats Macaque in the episode. Why “Macaque”? All other episodes have titles that are centered around either an event or a struggle so why not this one? Even Mei's episode is not titled after her, “coming home” as a title reflects more her struggle than herself. I think having a simple “Macaque” as a title is already very explanatory. It's just Macaque. No indication of good and evil. Just raw unadulterated Macaque.

In this episode, Macaque is the event, Macaque is the struggle, it's about Macaque. What are you gonna get in s1 ep9? You're gonna get a plate full of Macaque. We haven't seen the guy yet and we already know he's gonna be very important later on. You do not get an eponymous episode centered around you in a short 10 episode series without being important.

Also, what is interesting to notice is that Macaque episode is in between two episodes focusing on LBD (ep 8 and ep 10 are about LBD release and possessed DBK) . Guys, the Macaque episode is already circled by LBD's episodes. Considering our knowledge of what will happens to Macaque, I think it's interesting to see his episodes being circled by LBD's episodes. The placement of the episode is also important, we're this far in the season (ep 9 in a 10 episode serie) and we get a new guy? Nah, you know this guy will reappear later on. That's why his episode comes so late. Obviously as an audience you're gonna remember the later episode of s1 when you begin s2. And the later episodes of s1 are Macaque's and LBD's.

Now let's delve into the episode content.

Story wise, I was always a bit confused as to why Wukong is telling MK to destroy a mural of the pilgrims? Maybe it can signify some sort of renewal? But if you put into perspective that it's Macaque's episode then oh boy this gets a whole new meaning.

First scene of the episode? Macaque is not even there and yet you can already tell he's gonna be trouble.

Having close shots of the pilgrims being all covered in cracks. Having shots of Wukong like this in Macaque's episode? Boy, not even one minute in Macaque's episode and we already get drama. Destroying the pilgrims in Macaque's episode is I think a really powerful symbol, especially since in JTTW Macaque symbolizes the side of Wukong that wants to do the journey alone. Obviously this is not JTTW, this is LMK, and we have to separate the two at times but I also think as the source material JTTW should not be completely ignored either. Having the mural destroyed in the beginning of Macaque's episode could be a symbol of how Macaque wants to destroy this image of "the perfect hero Wukong" that is portrayed in the mural with the pilgrims. Mayhaps this is me reading too far into this, but I like to think it is.

The first scene is also a direct confrontation between MK and Wukong on teaching. You have two opposites. The young, impatient mentee. And the inflexible, silent mentor. I say Wukong is silent because our golden guy isn't really good at explaining the purpose of his lesson.

Two very opposite forces that will clash if the wedge between them widens.

So in the first minutes of Macaque's episode, you already get a confrontation between Wukong and MK and Macaque is not even here yet. You can tell this episode will bring trouble between the two, maybe even a wedge. And that's exactly what will exploit Macaque later on. He will use this tiny crack and expand it tremendously.

What is the first appearance of our guy?

This is the very first clear shot of Macaque. And boy I was not ready for it. You got a yellow-colored shot which is generally Wukong color pallets. Obviously, since MK confuses Macaque with Wukong the color of this shot is here to also confuse the audience. But make no mistake. What you have behind Macaque is very important and something I did not notice before rewatching this. This is clearly an eclipse. You got something reassembling the moon before the sun. This is not a meaningless detail especially with the Shadow play episode in s2. First shot of Macaque in the entire series and you already got the moon and sun imagery. Even better, the moon is obscuring the sun, it's overshadowing it and in turns it makes Macaque shine.

First shot of Macaque and you got the sun being obscured by the moon while having Macaque still basking in Wukong's colors. Basically you got the guy whole trauma in one single shot. This is not the moon and the sun being in harmony, this the moon overshadowing the sun. This is Macaque wanting to surpass Wukong, wanting to defeat him but still basking in his colors, so still Macaque following Wukong leads and not his own.

Maybe I read too much into it. But this post is basically me reading too much into things.

Wanna points out that Macaque rarely uses his staff in the entire series and when he uses it, for his introduction, it's when he's trying to trick MK and appear as a hero? Macaque imitating the only hero he knows, which is Wukong, to trick MK is at the same time very ironic but also a testament of how much Macaque's life was and is still centered around Wukong. He's obsessed with him.

What I like in meeting between MK and Macaque is the unsettling feeling you got about Macaque. But yet, he act sin such a compelling way, you can't help but see him as somewhat geniune. MK is the one to approach Macaque, to ask him his name, to question him, to ask him to be his mentor. MK is the one who initiate the contact, which creates the illusion that MK is the one in control, he's the one leading the dialogue with his questioning. At the same time, Macaque doesn't jump at the opportunity of being MK's mentor, he points out that “Monkey King” is already MK’s teacher (by the way this episode is one of the rare time in the entire series that Macaque calls Wukong “Monkey King”, obviously a way to not appear familiar with him to MK).

So in theory he seems good right?

But then you got this very unsettling shot :

Macaque : “But you can't have too many teachers right? I'm sure Monkey King would agree. It's not like he wants to hold you back.”

This dialogue with this particular image is why you are thinking : this is a shady guy. First, the shadows are in a very strange twisted angle and only in one corner of the frame. This gives an unsettling feeling, especially since they are on the edge of a building. Twisted angles are used a lot in this episode to give Macaque an unsettling feeling. The music, those low notes, are also a bit unsettling.

Then you look at what Macaque is saying and you realize, yeah, something is up. He begins with an affirmation to explain why it's good for MK to have multiple teachers. Then he uses Wukong's name to give credits to his words and ends with something that appears genuine but in reality is really manipulative. Saying “It's not like he wants to hold you back” is implicitly saying that if Wukong doesn't agree with MK having multiple teachers, then Wukong wants to hold MK back. And MK, idolizing Wukong, would never think this of Wukong and thus, with his own desire of wanting to know cool techniques, will agree to Macaque proposition and convince himself that, no, Wukong doesn't wants to hold him back and thus even if he doesn't ask Wukong permission, Wukong has to agree with this.

At the same time, this is the first seed of doubt Macaque plants in MK minds. Does Wukong want to hold MK back?

We got classic manipulation here.

At the same time, it's the first appearance of Macaque and even if he's not here Wukong is mentioned a lot. MK confuses Macaque for Wukong, the whole colors of the scene (except for Macaque and the monster) are yellowish, Macaque mentions Wukong multiple times, the staffs are shown (both Macaque's and Wukong's). Then you got Macaque replacing Wukong's symbol on MK's jacket with his own.

Okay. They're not trying to hide it, this is not MK’s enemy, Macaque is Wukong's enemy. It shows. Everything is about Wukong. Macaque is about Wukong.

By the end of the scene, you know Macaque is not to be trusted and everything about him is unsettling. What you got is essentially : a shady guy who's somehow linked to Wukong.

And really, the unsettling feeling doesn't stop there.

The next scene is the training scene with Macaque.

He feeds on MK's insecurities by telling him he expected better of THE Monkie Kid and thus pushes MK to overwork himself. MK wants to be recognized and Macaque knows it and uses it to his advantages.

There are cool parallels between Macaque's training and Wukong's training.

You got Wukong who's very far from MK and lounges on his cloud, not training with his mentee. There is a distance between them. Meanwhile you got Macaque training alongside MK, doing the gestures with him. You might think : does this mean Macaque is a better mentor? But then you see that Macaque training alongside MK is once again a shot with only their shadows and it unsettles you, because shadows are not really you, they're reflections, a lie of some sort. And Macaque is lying in this scene, he's pretending.

Then you have MK confrontation with Wukong and you got this :

Like, this is unnecessary. If your plan is to defeat Wukong, why the hell would you reveal your existence to the guy like that? It's because more than defeating Wukong, Macaque wants to torment him. He's taunting him. Erasing Wukong’s symbol and replacing it with his own. Even the symbol face is taunting, mocking Wukong. Because what Macaque wants is to get Wukong's attention, to taunt him, to torment him, to upset him.

The next scene is the battle with the Shadow monster and Macaque just cannot stop being unsettling. The camera is slightly shaking (re-watch the episode to see it) and this is so twisted, having Macaque not even fully in the shot, pressing down on MK, then pushing him forward :

He's doing a pep talk, trying to lift MK's spirits, but you know his true intentions with the shots. He's not genuine. He's manipulating him, pushing him.

And then the betrayal, which I think is really interesting when you catches some details :

First, you got the monster becoming Macaque. Literally. The moment of the betrayal the monster MK was chasing becomes Macaque. Pretty telling imagery about how Macaque was the true enemy all along

But even more interesting :

The Macaque that was with MK since the beginning becomes the monster. I didn't catch this at first. You can see in the first image there are two Macaques, the one at MK's side who's been with MK since the beginning of the episode, and the one holding the golden flame who is the monster turned into Macaque. But then, the Macaque we know since the beginning leave MK sides and turn into the monster (second image).

Pretty cool imagery of the monster was at your side since the beginning.

Does this mean the Macaque who's been with MK all this time was a clone???

Macaque overshadowing MK, having his shadow looming over MK like this, you cannot have a more telling image about MK's feeling in this situation. He's helpless and he has been in Macaque's shadow since the beginning of the episode despite being the MC. And this shows, because the fight just after is between Wukong and Macaque and MK is on the side until the end of the episode where he takes the spotlight back from Macaque.

The dialogue of this interaction is also very telling of the relationship between the two :

Then Wukong arrives and the two monkeys talk/banter.

Macaque : Monkey King! It's good to see you bud.

Wukong : Are you ever going to get sick of living in my shadow? It's time to get back what you stole.

Macaque : You are such a gem. It's gonna be so satisfying killing you with your own powers.

The taunting on both sides is so heavy you wonder why even they're doing this. First you got Macaque emphasized on bud ( a nickname we know Wukong used with Macaque in the past) to imitate Wukong and mock him. He uses Wukong's title, Monkey King, as a taunt, an insult to wound Wukong's pride. Wukong doesn't have to respond to the taunt and yet he does with a taunt of his own, calling out one of Macaque's insecurities we learn in season 2 (the shadow play episode, being left in Wukong's shadow). We know Macaque is affected by this taunt because despite him smiling his eyebrows are twitching. Then Macaque answers by sarcastically praising Wukong (wonder if the use of gem is because Wukong is a stone monkey) something he might also used to say in the past and end with literally “I'm gonna kill you” which in a kid's show is surprising. I think the fact Macaque found it satisfying to kill Wukong with his own powers is a testament of how Macaque primary goal is not to kill Wukong in itself but to take revenge, to humiliate him, to upset and torment him.

They both know each other and they know how to hurt the other with their words. They know how to get under the other's skin.

The fight between the two monkeys is just full of parallels between the two. When one uses a power, the other will use the exact same power. They're equal in this sense, two faces of the same coin. I'll go back to this idea of equality between the two monkeys in the later seasons.

Once again Macaque's dialogue is very interesting when he's fighting Wukong :

Macaque : seriously? You fell for that? (laughing/ after he take MK appearances to trick Wukong in the fight). Sorry kid, nothing personal.

Okay, first using MK appearance is so dirty Macaque but he's already been introduced as a very manipulative guy so no surprise here. The fact he says “nothing personal” really speaks volumes about how all of this is truly about Wukong and how Macaque doesn't have any grudges towards MK in particular. In a way, we can say Macaque truly has nothing personal against MK as an individual, this whole mess he's causing is because he wants to rile up Wukong.

Macaque : Come on! Show me the real Sun Wukong! The whole you would have leveled this whole mountain range to stop me! But you're scared of hurting some kid? Pathetic!

This is gold, because it subtly shows what Macaque really wants. He wants the old Wukong. At the same time he wants to torment Wukong but he also doesn't like the change Wukong endured in the pilgrimage (who likely caused their fight). He wants to get Wukong back to his old ways, perhaps to prove that Wukong never changed, that him being a hero is nothing more but a scam.

I can see how after being brought back to life seeing your old buddy so wise and changed, being so different from what you knew, is unsettling. Personally, I think there is a form longing there. Macaque wants his old bud back. But there is also a twisted need to prove Wukong never changed, perhaps because Wukong being a hero is, in some ways, what marked the end of Wukong and Macaque's relationship (we'll see that in the Shadow Play episode).

In the end, Macaque is defeated by MK, which I think is a nice way to round this up and give MK his spotlight back as the MC.

The sunlight piercing the clouds, the more soft yellow colors after Macaque's aggressive purple, and the two of them hugging is a nice way to solve the struggle of Macaque's episode.

The wedge between MK and Wukong being one of the main plot points of Macaque's episode is really symbolic. In a way, maybe Macaque sees himself in MK, or more precisely sees himself in MK and Wukong relationship. As such having MK and Wukong mending their wedge is a nice parallel of Wukong and Macaque which never truly mended their own wedge and instead kept widening it.

So we got our first taste of Macaque and oh boy it was something. Of course, the introduction doesn't define the character for the rest of the series, character development often happens. I think a lot of people stay stuck in their first impression of Macaque. Especially since Macaque has such a strong and appealing introduction in terms of imagery and symbolism. The shadows shots, despite being unsettling, are really cool, the imagery is unique and weirdly appealing. Macaque’s theme is also not like any other of LMK's themes, it's more somber, more quiet. I'm vibing everytime Macaque's theme begins. Macaque introduction marks you but it doesn't mean the guy doesn't get any developpement afterward.

So, after Macaque introduction, the audience have one thing in mind : villain confirmed ✅. Even if you don't catch all the details, you know this. Macaque is also more scary than the other villains. He's more manipulative, smarter, he can go toe to toe with Wukong (in this episode), at this point he's the most terrifying villain of LMK (LBD not being fully introduced yet).

Okay, so this was my analysis for Macaque in season 1, of course you can disagree. I'm not a professional in terms of animation nor in analyzing stories, nor do I claim to be and every theory is welcome and worth it. I just wanted to do it and I thought some people might be interested in it 🤷.

I'll post the analysis of Macaque in season 2 in another post.

Next

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

By Susan B. Tuchman, Esq. and Morton A. Klein

With antisemitism growing at an alarming rate across the world, including in K-12 schools, it is indefensible that the National Association of Independent Schools, or NAIS — the largest association of independent schools — is contributing to the problem. Its recent “People of Color” Conference, attended by approximately 8,000 educators and students and touted as its prized commitment to equity and justice in teaching and learning, turned into what some described as a “festival of Jew hate.” Yet to date, NAIS has failed to condemn the antisemitism expressed at the conference, let alone acknowledge it.

NAIS prominently featured Dr. Suzanne Barakat as the keynote speaker at the conference, who used her podium to falsely and offensively accuse Israel of “genocide.” Had she been truthful, Barakat would have lodged the genocide accusation against Hamas, the U.S.-designated terrorist group that is openly committed to destroying Israel and murdering every Jew. Barakat not only downplayed Hamas’s slaughter, rape and mutilation of bodies in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but also rationalized the terrorist group’s atrocities. Instead of using her microphone to educate the audience of teachers and students about the historical fact that Jews are indigenous to the land of Israel going back thousands of years, Barakat labeled Jews as “colonists” and disgracefully stated that Israel was “founded on ethnocentric superiority and an inherently systemically racist framework.”

Almost more troubling than Barakat’s antisemitic speech was the response to it: Thousands of educators at the conference, who teach at some of our country’s most prestigious schools, stood up and cheered.

Barakat was blatantly violating NAIS’s commitment to equity and justice in teaching and learning, but not a single NAIS official intervened to stop her — as someone surely would and should have had any speaker used NAIS’s platform to demonize Blacks, Asians, Muslims or any other ethnic or racial group, with lies. To date, NAIS has not condemned Barakat for abusing the platform she was given to fuel already soaring antisemitism.

That was not the end of the hate and misinformation at NAIS’s conference. The closing speaker, Dr. Ruha Benjamin, continued the attack on Israel and the Jewish people. Benjamin repeated the false “genocide” accusation against Israel and denied Israel’s right to defend itself — again, shamefully to the applause of the crowd. Despite marketing the conference as a “safe space” for people of “all backgrounds,” NAIS was sending the message that the conference was a safe place for everyone but Jews.

The impact on Jewish students and educators who attended NAIS’s conference was devastating. One student reported that he and other students “felt so targeted, so unsafe, that we tucked our Magen Davids [Stars of David] in our shirts and walked out as those around us glared and whispered.” A teacher described the experience as “like being punched in the gut.” These reactions were understandable: An association supposedly dedicated to inclusivity and inspiring excellence in education had instead helped to indoctrinate thousands of teachers and students to hate Israel and Jews, based on lies.

After the conference, four national Jewish communal organizations complained to NAIS that the conference “normalized” antisemitism. Debra P. Wilson, NAIS’s president, immediately responded, expressing her “profound remorse” to the four Jewish groups. She assured them that changes to NAIS’s speaker selection and content review processes were underway. NAIS also posted “an important note” on its website referring to its exchange with the four Jewish organizations. But the note downplayed the Jew- and Israel-hatred expressed at the conference, chalking it up simply to “divisive and hurtful comments expressed on stage.” NAIS did not condemn the comments or even acknowledge them as antisemitic.

Remorse is not enough

Especially at this frightening time of rising antisemitism, NAIS must do more and without further delay. It must send a forceful message directly to all its member schools and associations of schools, condemning the conference speakers by name who abused their platforms to attack Israel and Jews with falsehoods. NAIS must condemn their speech as antisemitic and explain why it is antisemitic. NAIS must also apologize for failing to fulfill its values and assure its members that it will never again promote or tolerate antisemitism, including when it is masked as criticism of Zionism or Israel.

In addition, NAIS should use its platform to educate and empower its members by encouraging them to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, including the definition’s examples of contemporary antisemitism. The IHRA definition is so widely accepted in the United States and around the world for good reason: It’s an excellent tool for understanding how antisemitism is expressed today, including related to Israel. NAIS should emphasize to its members that they cannot expect to address antisemitism effectively if they do not understand this bigotry in all its manifestations.

In the wake of NAIS’s hateful and hurtful “People of Color” Conference, a remorseful letter to four Jewish groups is woefully inadequate.