#i made a lot of other versions of the background so i��ll probably post them all on my instagram later this week

[alonelyhollowgram]

I Listened To 40 (+1) King Covers

I decided to listen to a bunch of King covers since there are so many and why not? This is my feelings on them. The song is originally by Kanaria sung by Gumi. I don`t know who this post is for. Under the cut due to the length.

Flare - This is the first cover I`ve listened to, so I might be biased. I really like this one. Flare`s deep voice fits the song perfectly and she sounds great with plenty of energy.

Risu - Definitely not bad. I`m kinda missing  some pow in her voice though.

Kanata - It sounds good. I do wish she went a  bit lower in tone. Also her “hahaha”s felt more like she`s giggling, personally I prefer the clearer “Haha” ones instead. 

Towa - Towa`s voice is really great in general and I feel like it shines in songs like this. I`m not the biggest fan of  the “pah”s (0:56), it sounds like it has gone through a filter. 

Shion - Shion`s cover seems to be the most viewed cover in Hololive and I can understand that. She sings the song a  bit softer all around (1:00, for example). This makes the cover feel a bit smugger, which plays with Shion`s strengths. 

Roboco - Holy harmonies, batman! That was my first reaction. This was a unique take on the song by adding things like  harmonies and extra laughter. She sings some of the lines differently by changing the tone of her voice at certain points reflecting the lyrics. However, I feel like her voice becomes a bit too airy at some points in the songs,     especially at the high notes (0:21). This is a bit off topic, but  shout-out to the English subtitles! You can tell that effort has been put into it.

Matsuri - It sounds fine, but it doesn`t really stick out. I really like the way she rolls R in Ratata (1:28) though, so much that it`s kind of a highlight of the cover.

Watame - Her voice fits this song. I`m not entirely sure what the choir (?) is (0:52). It`s a bit strange, but it doesn`t detract from the cover. I like her “Haha”s.  

Sora - Sora`s cover isn`t very intimidating/threatening, I find it rather cute! I really like how the “pah”s goes in the left ear and in the right ear independently. The instrumental kinda sticks out too.

Reine - Wooow. That was great! I`m at the point that I can really appreciate someone having a different take on this  song. The remix sounds good, the MV adds a lot of energy and Reine sounds good too, of course.

Sukoya - Let`s finally step out of Hololive. Yeah, this is pretty good. She sings this a bit softer (like Shion) which fits her well.

Chima - Good. This cover uses a bit of an echo thing which I think makes it sound better (1:07).

Asano Sisters - I think the one singing is Ruri? I`m not familar with them. It doesn`t really stick out, but she sings it well. 

Nui - Her voice is smooth. She also uses the choir effect, not as effectively as others though. Not the biggest fan of her “Haha”s.

Kizuna Ai - This is the 15th one I`ve listened to in a row She sings it well, but it doesn`t stick out.

Gero - This is the first cover by a guy I`ve listened too. Just that makes it special. I like it a lot. The instrumental sounds unique with an organ sound at times and it has extra voice effects.

Luz - This one uses a lot of backing voices like a creepy whisper and more. Pretty OK all around.

Meychan - Pretty good. Not much more to add.

Nanana - This one surprised me. It was a  pretty standard cover until 1:40 when her voice became deeper, and the  avatar changed to someone with shorter hair! Very exciting. Just by being different makes this one better.

Soraru - He sounds good. I like his “Haha”s.

Kagura Nana - Pretty good. She adds laughter in the     background sometimes and puts her voice through a filter. It makes it     sound different. The last “you are king” (2:14) was really     cute. 

Lumi Celestia - This cover was sung very soft and airy. It doesn`t sound as good as I`d like. Another shout-out to the English subtitles. They are really nice.

Kotone - I like her voice. Sounds strong. 

Kuzuha - I think this might be the cover with the most views. Wow. i get it. He sounds good and the song fits him.

Shien - His voice is nice. It fits the song. His “haha”s are a bit weak.

Alfakyun - There are multiple people singing  this, right? It sticks out on that alone. Well, it sounds nice.

Rinu - I like how she sings this. Makes it feel  different than the others. 

Honma - Wow the MV! I haven`t been this  excited since Reine`s cover. I`m not that into her voice, it`s a bit too squeaky.  

Inamtr/ 猪七 祭 -いな まつり -  This one gave me quite the laugh haha.

Rion - This was nice. Her laughs were cute.      

Tojiro - I wasn`t very into his voice, but sometimes he sings kind of like a growl which is interesting. 

Shima - Back with the choir and organ thing. It sounds fine, but it doesn`t stick out.

Mafumafu feat.  nqrse - This was a pleasant surprise. It starts off with an original rap. This version is a duet. Both do a good job, the inclusion of nqrse was a good decision. It sticks out a lot.

Tamaki - It`s fine. He doesn`t sound as good with the high notes though.

Sukoya (again) - Turns out there is another version. This time it`s a remix by DJ WILDPARTY. At this point I`m just happy for something different. It sounds good, but some parts are better than others. 

Utako Suzuka - This one reminds me of Nanana`s cover because both change their voices to be more masculine later in the song. I prefer Nanana`s cover over this one, but it still sounds fine.

Melissa - This cover isn`t that different from the rest, but I like it a lot. They sing it well and from 1:55 and to the end is unique with the growl Melissa does and more. 

Kaida Haru - This cover can get rather breathy at points lol. I`m not the biggest fan of that. 

Chigusa - I think this song shows off her vocals well. This is another that changes voices in the middle of the song. From short hair to long hair this time contrasting the others that changes the voices. It sounds good.

Leona - Her voice fits this song well. Sounds nice all around. I`m into it.

*Belmond - It`s been a couple days since I listened to the King covers, so the break gave me time to clear my mind. The first though I had after listening to Belmond`s version is wow. He made the song his own. The first 30-ish seconds was quite the first impression. I thought it was really cool. The entire instrumental felt like that to me, it was nice. Belmond`s voice is so powerful in this song. It sounds good, and it complements the instrumental well. The video itself is also nice. The smoke is a nice touch.

I`m done! Wow, that took some time. I was probably more open to the starting ones than the rest. I guess that`s what happens after listening to the same song so many times. I`ll take a long break from this song haha. 

 Anyway, here is a list of the standouts:

Flare: She was the first cover I listened to and I do really like it.

Reine: This one was very good. Definitely worth a listen.

Roboco: This was very unique. 

Nanana: The change is pretty cool.

Inamtr: This one gave me a laugh.

Mafumafu feat.  nqrse: Another unique one.

*Melissa: Yeah, I thought this one was nice.

*Belmond: This might be recency bias kicking in, but still.

(* signifies an edit.)

[wedreamedlove]

Bai Qi In Love - Character Study

Archiving from Reddit. This is also the main post I wanted to bring over but it required my previous Bai Qi - Character Study post LOL.

So I went through Bai Qi's Spring Festival Date and I have not been the same ever since, so I wanted to expel all my emotions in another character post.

Had a couple of songs in the background while I was writing this, so feel free to put them on too while reading this post LOL.

Contains spoilers up to Chapter 15 and lines from unreleased CN cards. Translations are from the CN and JP version, so may have differing lines from the ENG version.

My road map this time is starting out with the origin of Bai Qi's love, moving onto his letter, how he's gone through his life with MC being his North Star, and then finishing off again with just how much he wants to share every moment of his life with her.

I mentioned before in my Speech Quirks post that Bai Qi always defaults to absolute sincerity when he's not sure how to respond to MC and I hope this reminds you of that, and just how he has a sixth sense when it comes to MC. Every cell in his body is attuned to her.

Normally, this level of devotion to someone is probably unhealthy but, well, MC is the paragon of goodness here so he's in good hands LOL.

FALLING SLOWLY (IN LOVE)

First (another song here!), this is the JP translation of ground zero in the [Campus Date]:

The man raised his knife and attacked Bai Qi, stabbing the sharp blade at him. But still, Bai Qi desperately countered.

Finally, everyone was knocked down but Bai Qi, who was bleeding horribly, stumbled. In his hazy consciousness, the sound of the piano gradually weakened. It was like falling into light from heaven.

In that moment, the boss of the gang took this chance to kick Bai Qi and, because of that hit, Bai Qi fell from the rooftop.

Bai Qi reached out with both hands, trying to grab something as he felt himself plummeting.

Suddenly, a melody reverberated, filled with a strong energy, pressure, and tension.

That sound crossed space and time and resonated with Bai Qi's memories.

The sight of his father wearing a military uniform and his gentle mother... memories of his childhood poured into him all at once.

"Lieutenant General, regrettably, there was no evidence of Evol in his genes."

"There's no meaning for such a useless thing to exist."

Since his mother passed away, he was always alone. It was like he was the only one in this world.

If he died, those guys would probably be happy.

Bai Qi heard rhythmical and strong piano notes and, as he was engulfed in the fierce winds, he felt his body becoming lighter.

"NO!"

Not like this.

His life didn't need his father, friends, or a meaning.

Bai Qi clenched his hands into fists with these strong emotions and the power, sleeping deep in his body, awakened.

He felt a pulse in the wind and, between the vast expanse of heaven and earth, life spread through on the wind.

The melody he heard eventually turned into something overflowing with emotions. In the depths of autumn, the gingko leaves blown up by the wind danced and glimmered in the air.

Bai Qi traveled through the air like a bird and small birds, with their wings spread, gathered happily around him.

Entranced with the piano notes, he hummed freely to the song.

The birds flapped their wings, startled by Bai Qi's sudden humming.

Bai Qi gently picked up a small bird and continued to hum.

It was joy for his reborn self and a declaration of the coming light and end of darkness.

He heard the singing of a girl along with the piano notes.

That clear voice had a powerful force which captured people's hearts and wouldn't let go.

The girl's singing and piano drew Bai Qi's mind and body over strongly.

The wind lifted Bai Qi's body and carried him to a window. Looking inside, he saw a girl playing the piano.

Maybe it was the reflection of the gingko leaves fluttering outside the window, but the girl's eyes sparkled like stars.

She continued to accompany herself on the piano and it was as if she was resonating with the wind.

It was an ordinary girl, but he felt a strong spirit from her.

The girl's hands danced on top of the white and black keys and her piano song shook Bai Qi's heart.

He quietly watched her, feeling that the seed sown in his heart was sprouting.

The girl had no idea that her piano saved a boy who was about to fall into a dark abyss.

And there was no way for the girl to know that the boy swore on his life to protect her.

BTW, the song MC was playing at this time was Liszt's Liebestraum No. 3 (Love Dream). During the second anniversary, Papergames confirmed some of the piano songs in the game.

I don't think it needs to be said that Bai Qi was literally going to die at this moment. Not only physically but I'm sure he was mentally at his limits too. Despite the tough act he puts on about being used to loneliness and not caring for what other people think about him, humans are social creatures. He felt like he was all alone in the world and was about to give up on life. I feel like we can draw some analogies to depression here.

There's also an intentional foil in [Chapter 12] between Bai Qi, Jay, and Josie. There's a reference to Josie in [Chapter 7] and MC was sympathizing about how Evol made Josie get treated like a monster, and that sort of darkness can easily change someone. Bai Qi's reply is:

[Main Story 7-18]: "Then I'm very lucky. There was someone who caught me right before I hit the bottom."

But going back to the scene with Jay in [Main Story 12-8], when he's being interrogated, he accuses Bai Qi of not knowing anything about the despair he went through. But, as we all know, Bai Qi lost his father (when he didn't show Evol genes), lost his mother (in the fire), and lost his younger brother (their father took him away and their relationship soured after the death of their mother).

Yet, unlike Jay, he didn't lash out at society and turn to the darkness because he met MC.

[Campus Date] is such a critical date about Bai Qi's character and his convictions and how, while a part of it was formed to go against his father's version of justice, it really solidified because of MC. He learned to love life and cherish its preciousness because of MC.

Because of just how important this ground zero is for Bai Qi, we see references made to this scene again and again and again:

[Main Story 15-7]: "And you saved me. Don't lower your head, look at me. Don't feel insecure and don't feel like you're useless. You caught me again right before I hit the bottom."

[Spring Festival Date]: "The day I met her, there were gingko leaves drifting and falling slowly through the air, and it was the most beautiful time in late autumn. It was also the darkest time of my life. But she was the one who caught me tightly when I fell."

[CN Rumors and Secrets: Ashes]: Bai Qi is bleeding out and touches the picture of MC that he always keeps on him in his breast pocket and sees that a corner of it is stained red. Then he thinks back to the time he heard her play the piano, lightly, gently, slowly, and how it seeped into his body and heart. [Context: this is before he reunites with MC].

THE. LETTER.

We learn about it in [Chapter 7] and how Bai Qi gave it to Minor to pass to the MC, but she saw the bloodstains on it and, because of the bad rumors around Bai Qi and how she misunderstood the sight of him threatening a student to cough up (stolen) money, she thought the letter was a threat LOL.

I'm laughing out loud, but rest assured I'm actually crying inside.

However, the truth is that it was a goodbye letter:

[Main Story 7-20]: "What I regret the most? Probably not handing that letter to that girl personally. [Was it a love letter?] No, it was a goodbye letter. [Why did you write a goodbye letter?] Why should I tell you? [Bro, look, everyone's listening. Give me some face] Because that girl said that she hated it the most when people leave without saying goodbye. [One last question. Could you tell us what was in that letter?] It doesn't matter. Let's just leave that letter in the past. We'll have lots of time in the future together."

For those curious, the contents of the letter is from [CN Rumors and Secrets: Angled Light] but I think this is part of the Dream Heart Lake event series and so won't be released: "Saturday, 9:00AM, I'll be waiting for you in the school library."

By the way, to make things more tragic, you also learn here that he waited for 14 hours at the library, until he was forced out because it was closing, and before he left he slid a gingko leaf into a book that had a collection of Lord Byron poems, which the MC often carried.

The reason he wanted to say goodbye to MC was because, after his Evol awakened and he was going to graduate, his father enlisted him into special training and (threatens) points out that Bai Qi now has someone he wants to protect, but MC is special and she won't have a peaceful life. Does Bai Qi really think he can protect her (as he is)?

It doesn't say what page Bai Qi placed the gingko leaf into, but in [CN Rumors and Secrets: Ashes] Bai Qi thinks he finally understands one of the poems in the book.

Lord Byron's "Don Juan" - Canto the Ninth, XVI and I bolded the part he quotes:

"To be, or not to be?" — Ere I decide,       I should be glad to know that which is being? 'Tis true — we speculate both far and wide,       And deem, because we see, we are all-seeing; For my part, I'll enlist on neither side       Until I see both sides for once agreeing; For me, I sometimes think that Life is Death, Rather than Life a mere affair of breath.

Meanwhile, in [CN Tide of Light SSR Chasing Dreams Date]:

"That year, I did want to give you that letter personally. But I gave myself a way out and left it up to luck. I knew that, at the time, I was still lacking a lot and so I decided that I had to meet you again with my best self."

On a last note, in [CN Yesterday's Breeze SSR Former Days Date] MC asks Bai Qi if he has ever imagined them not reuniting with each other again:

"I've thought about it before. I've thought about how, if I wasn't there, would there be people who would bully that girl and would there be anyone who'd get back at them for her? I've also thought about whether there'd be someone who'd give her a love letter and if she would end up loving someone else... So, if I was to ever meet her again, I had to make sure to catch her. And I'd never let go again."

BTW, in this date, MC has some sort of dream projection where she goes back to their high school days (but the past her also exists LOL so there's two of them) and she has some fun interactions with a grumpy high school Bai Qi. But the heartbreaking part is that MC sees the letter and runs to find him and you get to hear Bai Qi say, self-deriding, that he knew "she" wouldn't come...

HIS (GUIDING MOONLIGHT) NORTH STAR

So, after seeing just how important MC is to Bai Qi, is it any wonder that every atom of his body is attuned to her? SOBS HE JUST LOVES HER SO MUCH. Xu Mo may have the red string of fate, but Bai Qi has "all roads lead to you". She's his lodestone and his compass always points to her.

[CN Lost Forest SSR]: "I will always walk towards you first. You're forever my flag, the one I've kept to throughout every moment of my life."

[CN Go See Him: Military Uniform]: "This uniform and these medals are my convictions, and you are the direction I move forward in."

[CN Southern Wind SSR Road Trip Date]: "The start and end of this journey is you."

I feel like I'm missing more, because I swear the majority of Bai Qi's cards all seem to have some sort of direction quote and relating it back to MC.

Anyway, I won't bother bringing the examples I put in the other post (because they're over there) but this is also why it melts me whenever there's description about Bai Qi's eyes following MC or whenever he's just focusing his attention on her (with heart eyes) in the ASMRs.

Additionally, in my previous character study for Bai Qi, I talked about how MC and Bai Qi both encourage each other to grow with unconditional love and acceptance, but I want to add some quotes here about just how much he takes becoming a better person for MC to heart:

[Spring Festival Date]: "She's the one who told me I could live more strongly, and she's also the one who told me I could live more gently."

[CN Clear After the Rain SSR]: "You're the only one who can find the real me."

[CN Drunk Easterly Wind SSR Three Worlds Date]: "Regardless of whatever lives we have, I will always take my best self and give it to you. This isn't an undertaking and it's not a joke. All of these are just words from my heart."

[Slightly Drunken Date]: "No matter which side of me, they're all yours."

What can I say except that's love, baby! You don't need to complete each other, you just need to encourage each other to be the best version of yourselves!

FOREVER BY YOUR SIDE

Now that we've gotten through the bulk of what I want to say, I'm just going to dump all the romantic stuff Bai Qi has declared to MC.

It really bothers him that he wasn't there for most of her early life, but he maintains his optimism (wouldn't be surprised if he learned it from her) and looks forward to their future together.

[Prank Date]: "I wasn't there for your university, middle school, or elementary school years, and even the time before then. In my memories, there's only the sight of you in high school. At that time, your hair was longer than it is now. But it doesn't matter. From here on, we have time to create new memories."

[Love of my Life SSR Goodnight Wish Call]: "I just... thought about you in many small instances. For example... a movie, a song, a lyric, when I'm crossing the road, and... the moment I close my eyes [...] As long as you're willing, I want to take all the time that's considered yours and turn it to "ours" [...] I want to know how you were before I met you. I want to walk the roads you've walked before, see the sights you've seen before, and... brand my mark on all those moments [...] Yes. I really care about that. I want to make up for all the time I wasn't there in your life. But, right now, what I care about more is our future [...] In our future... I want to hold your hand and walk to the end of our ever after. That's the best future I can imagine."

[Mediterranean Date]: "The missed holidays, the dates I couldn't make, and the many times I had to disappear without being able to tell you... I've never had the time to make up for all of these things. So, no matter what we do, no matter where we go, as long as the person beside me is you, I won't have a single objection."

[Love of my Life SSR Wish Call]: "My wish? From the second I met you again, the wish I made to the stars every night has already been realized."

[2018 Birthday Message]: "Sometimes, whenever I pass an interesting place, I'll think about when I can bring you here to walk around. Whenever I eat something good, I'll buy one more on habit. And, whenever I run into danger on missions, I just need to think about you and my will to fight is rekindled. Because you're here, happy occasions went from being for one person to being for two people. And all the things that would worry someone have disappeared into nothing. Is it strange to hear me say this? But I want to tell you, just how important you are in my life. I don't believe in fate, but I believe in miracles. Meeting you is the most precious miracle in my life."

[Spring Festival Date]: "In the rest of my life, I want to use it all to accompany you, care for you, and love you. This is all genuine. They're all words I want to say to you... words said only to you."

[Main Story 14-22]: "I'll be with you, until the very last moment."

MOM, I LOVE THIS 2D MAN SO MUCH!! Haha, sorry, I just had to get that out of my system. Thank you for reading up to this point and I hope this lets people appreciate Bai Qi more. Gotta spread more propaganda for him and convince people that he's not just the boring vanilla character.

He's someone who was teetering on the edge of darkness and could have become someone who lashed out at society like Jay, but instead he chose to be a protector of the people and to uphold justice (even if his methods are unconventional and morally grey).

He struggles with insecurity but it never gets in the way of what he wants to do and instead motivates him to continue to better himself for MC. There's nothing wrong with setting someone or something as your goal to get through life. Baby steps until you learn how to run on your own, or not when you find someone who will walk the road of life with you.

He's a man who loved the person who literally saved his life (and is probably his raison d'être) for 7 years, never forgot her during that time, and has finally reunited with her.

Okay, ending this post for real now with the Lunar New Year card. BTW the ENG version is totally fine and I have no qualms with its translation, but I just like the nuance more in the CN and JP version.

CN goes 你是我的此生眷恋 which is literally like "you're my affection/attachment in this life". If I wasn't separating it from the English version, I'd translate it as "love of my life" too to simplify it and make it flow. But I find it interesting that 眷恋 (juan lian; sentimental attachment) is used instead of 挚爱 (zhi ai; true love) and the way you'd actually write "love of my life" is 此生挚爱 (ci sheng zhi ai) rather than the card's 此生眷恋 (ci sheng juan lian).

JP goes おまえは俺の一生の憧れ which is literally like "you're the aspiration/longing of my life". Again, I find it so interesting that neither JP or CN are using the character for love 愛 (ai) and JP's 憧れ (akogare) bundles in feelings of yearning, longing, desire, and aspiration. IMO the JP version drives in the fact that MC is someone Bai Qi's trying to catch up to. He's loved her for so long, tries so hard to better himself, and all of it is to become a person he believes can stand by her side.

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Postmortem: You Suck

I don’t really talk about my love for Mortal Kombat near as much as i do for Marvel, Fate, Star Wars, or Batman, but i adore that bloody franchise. Seriously, the vast majority of this blog is just Marvel and Star Wars content but, i mean, I'm an Eighties baby. That was a massive chunk of our childhoods. See? Even in an essay bout Mortal Kombat, Marvel and Star Wars found it’s way into the conversation. I have a problem but that’s not the problem i want to address in this essay. The problem i have with this one, is the f*cking Mortal Kombat release that just dropped. F*ck did they get so much wrong! I haven’t felt this frustrated with a movie since The Old Guard. I wanted this to be a Comparison but, as i tried to coalesce my thoughts about both films, it became mad apparent to me that the Nineties version of this movie would runaway with it. How is it possible that a film which came out twenty-six years ago, sh*ts all over one with modern shooting techniques and effects? How can a PG-13 movie, saturated with tongue-in-cheek camp and constant nods to the camera, do the Enter the Dragon knock-off franchise more justice that the blockbuster, R-rated, third attempt? Yeah, so this is a postmortem now.

Issue: Cole Young

Why? F*cking why? Listen, I'm all for reimaginings. I love when people can take an established work, recontextualize it, and present something new but familiar. That’s why i keep seeing Batman movies. You can only tell that dude’s story so many times but it’s how you present that story which grabs me. I like the idea of Cole. A fresh face for the audience to view these fantastical circumstances through? Good idea. I hate the execution of Cole. Punk ass weenie who literally develops powers by getting his ass kicked, portrayed by an actor who can’t act, but brought in because of his stunt background, only to nerf the physicality of the role, relegating dude’s greatest strength to his greatest weakness? F*cking, why?

Fix 1: Drop Cole Young, Start Liu Kang

Look, Liu Kang IS Mortal Kombat. He’s their Ryu. He’s their Link. He’s their guy. Drop the family. Drop the Scorpion stuff. Drop the professional fight thrower shtick Build him up as a dude who learned all of this in the Buddhist orphanage he grew up in, denying all of it as just legend and storytelling, until he’s attacked by Sub-Zero. Force him to fight Subby-boy, only to get his ass beat without his Arcana, but have Jax save him just in time. Basically follow Cole’s plot going forward with an emphasis on Liu’s training.

Issue: Shang Tsung

Listen, Ng Chin Han is a get. Dude is a decent actor and i enjoyed he take on the shapeshifter but come on? If you’re not trying to do a Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, you’re doing it wrong. Shang Tsung should be snarky, quippy, and overconfident. This dude has won nine straight Mortal Kombat tournaments. It’s fine for him to be conniving and deceitful, Deadly Alliance, but this version of Shang is just too flaccid for the title. Hell, when Tagawa came back for the game, he STILL exuded that same smarmy energy and it was perfect.

Fix 2: Give Shang Tsung more agency

I, personally, love smarmy Shang Tsung but if you want to go different, go brutal. Make Shang the spear head of the offense. Give him a seen where he is just mowing down jobber monks in Raiden’s temple before getting real intimate with Hung Lao. Have Tsung absolutely brutalized Lao as Liu watches, breaking his neck before sucking the sole out of his limp body. You got an R, Lean into that sh*t. You gotta give Liu that Chan moment. Lao’s death not only establishes Shang as a straight up force, but activates Liu’s Arcana, fulfilling the prophecy.

Issue: The f*cking prophecy

Bro, you gotta get rid of all the Scorpion prophecy sh*t. That doesn’t fit. It doesn’t make any sense. The prophecy is supposed to be a foreshadowing of Outworld’s downfall. Tying everything to Scorpion and Sub-Zero just because Ed Boon loves the character is kind of ridiculous. And that’s coming from me, a guy who uses Scorpion as his main since MKI. I love Scorpion, Dude is my favorite character in the entire franchise but giving him such a prominent role in this first film was a mistake.

Fix 3: Make it the Shaolin Prophecy

Have Shang Tsung send Sub-Zero into the Shaolin Temple with a team of Jobbers, probably Tarkatan or other Lin Kuei, and murder everyone. It is whispered that a great champion, kin to Master Kung Lao, would defeat the armies of Outworld, sealing Earthrealm off from the Emperor's grasp. baby Liu and Kung are saved, sent off to an orphanage in the US where they grow up in an orphanage run by a weird old man who tells stories. Eventually, the two separate, Kung returns to their homeland, Liu stays in the states, and they live their lives. Fast forward a bit and Shang gets wind that there are two survivors and he dispatches Sub-Zero to go after Liu. Fast forward to the temple, Liu reconnects with his cousin, Kung, who explains his powers activated during a battle against, let’s say... Baraka? Raiden feels it, recruits Kung Lao, who has been training in the temple ever since. He spars with Liu, teaching him the secrets her learned from Master Bo Rai Cho, until Raiden’s Temple is singed. Everything lays out like it did in the film except Liu watched Lao die at the hand of Shang, his Dragon Arcana activates, and the Sorcerer knows he dun goof’d.

Issue: Fights

The fighting sucked in this, man. It was shot like none of the principal actors were physical enough to pull off the fight scenes, which is ridiculous, because that opening scene was exceptional and those dues are old as f*ck. The dude who plays Scorpion, Hiroyuki Sanada, is f*cking sixty, man. You’re telling me these youngsters with actual stunt backgrounds, can’t give me a scrap as entertaining as a sixty year old man? Word?

Fix 4: Oh, there’s a lot here, bud

First, shoot the scraps better. Holy sh*t, that Taken editing was stupid. We live in an age of John Wick, The Raid, and Jason Bourne films, but you chose to shoot these scenes like this? Really? Bro, no. Hell, the fights in Enter the Dragon are some of the best I've eve seen and that motherf*cker dropped forty-eight years ago. Just do whatever he f*ck they did, just do it with a modern twist. Two, cast motherf*ckers that can believable execute the choreography. The chick that played Sonya in the first one, had to learn her fighting n set during the downtime of production because she as late to the shoot. THAT chick was a more believable fighter than the dude who played Cole and that was his f*cking job before he was an actor! F*cking, how?? Three, hire better stunt coordinators. These fights needed to be plotted out much better. Sure, fatalities are cool and special moves are awesome but they aren’t necessary. Liu Kang through one fireball in the first MK film and it was ll the better for it. I don’t need giant flame dragons and head claps and sh*t, i just need brutal, intense, violence inflicted upon a person. These people are in the fight for their lives. I need to feel that. Four, hire more jobbers. Too many actual named characters died in this movie. Too many actual named characters appeared in this movie. Why the f*ck was Nitara in this?

Look, there’s still SO much i would change about this flick. The costumes, the tone, the choice in music, the writing; All need to be adjusted. I would hold Scorpion back until sequel. Have him breaking out of the Netherrealm as a post credit stinger or something. This movie is broken and i think that’s because WB just made this thing to secure rights or a a backdoor pilot for HBO max content. Either way, this movie is bad, man and it didn’t have to be. You can make dope ass, martial arts films, on the cheap, especially when you “ground them in reality.” Why the f*ck didn’t that happen here? How the f*ck is the budget so high, and the film so cheap looking? I miss the ingenuity of the Eighties. Cats had to figure out how to make sh*t work because CG was too expensive. Now, that sh*t is everywhere and it’s a detriment to film. That sh*t takes casualties out of practical films and Mortal Kombat is definitely one of those.

[motakimask]

Living on Icarus Colony Part 4: The Rel clan.

Nemmenitah, known for many things such as being one of the most social races on their native galaxy or being exellent hunters even at a young age but, a little detail that surprises some, is their clans, and our local Nemmenitah, Zet, is going to elaborate a little bit on how they work.

Zet: Aye´teh, Io-tah´me coibrea-ih (Okay, I´ll ask her), Tia! can you come here for a second?

Tia: Yeah, why- Hi Ms. Aih,Rel.

Aih´Rel: You can call me Aih, ih´okora (translate to a formal version of daugther in law)

Tia: I cant, it feels like I´m disrespecting you...

Aih´Rel: that how we do it here, no need to feel ashame for it...

Zet: Ey��phe, we already talk about this, humans dont have the clan system we got...

Aih´Rel: Ke! ah-meih´tó coah! io-kota´náyoh! (Ke! come here! i got a question!)

Ke´Rel: Aye´teh- Zet... Hi Tia...

Zet: Hi Ae´phe...

Tia: Hi mrs. Ke´Rel...

Aih´Rel: Dont humans call their parents in law by their names?

Ke´Rel: If they are somehow close and sometimes because they hate each other, as far as I know, but I could be wrong, why do you ask?

Aih´Rel: see, you can call us by our name!

Zet: *Facepalms*

Ke´Rel: Aih, humans have different manners...

Zet: Yio´káh! (thanks you!)

Ke´Rel: by the way, when are you getting married?

Zet: *Almost falls of the chair* Ae´phe!

Tia: Whit all respect, we aren´t thinking about marriage right now, I know how important of that but we agree on giving ourself some time before that kind of decision...

Aih´Rel: Well, when that finally happends you´ll be welcome into the Rel clan!

Ke´Rel: Please dont get her scared...

While Zet´s parents discuss over that, the voices of two little kids and what would be a girl into what Nemmenitas call teenage years scream at the background...

Min´Rel: ih´vira!

Tia: hi...

Ya´Rel: Tia! When are you coming to visit us?

Min´Rel: it shouln´t be difficult, aren´t you half Eldemaeran?

Di´Rel: Aye´teh! hu-ku´reahn tsóht! me´to-shiou coah... sorry for that (Hey! you plittle pieces of shit! come back here...)

Ke´Rel: we... we´ll thalk abot that later...

Aih´Rel: Ok... when your simblings start a fight means that we already talk enought... We´ll talk another day, Yóh´nneah!

Ke´Rel: Yoh´nneah ekoro...

Zet´s simblings: Yóh...

Zet: Yóh´nneah ve!

Tia: Ok... goodbye...

After an awkward goodbye (specially for Tia) Zet just turn of the holo-screen of the phone and just fell on the floor and covered his face while screaming “why”...

Tia: Dont get me wrong, I like your family but sometimes they can get a little bit...

Zet: Annoying? I know...

Tia: Dont worry, I can handle everyone in the clan...

Zet: You got no Idea how our clans are?

Tia: Huh?

Zet: *Gets up* Nemmenitah clans are big, like seriously, seven simblings like yours are nothing, in fact, everyone criticizes my parents for having only five, and now one is dead...

Tia: Ok... Tell me everything... You always listen to my stuff so the least I can do is to do the same...

Zet: Is not only my parents and simblings, you also got my grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, even the pets are part of the clan and let me tell you, it is a mess, everyone in my mom´s side is... a mess...

Tia: And on your dad´s side?

Zet: I dont know them, that how it works, when a couple gets married one moves to the clan with more “prestige”... I cant find a better word...

Tia: kind off like someone taking their spouse´s last name?

Zet: Yeah... acording to dad, he came from a clan of gatherers, he met mom when he joined the local hunters, at the point they got married dad join the Rel clan and he ended up staying home to raise my simblings and I...

Tia: So you get married, lost contact with your family and abandon your job to take care of the kids?

Zet: I know it sound bad but... I´ll give it some context, dad never get along with his orininal clan, in normal circumstances we would actually knew his clan, as for the job and kids part, it use to be a rule a long time ago but nowadays is not necessary, dad started to work from home when Xa was born...

Tia: Doesn´t sounds as bad as I tought it was...

Zet: Listen, I love my family, I love my clan, I got nothing againts them but... For us marriage is something important, a lot, more than what you spect and I love you but I dont want to preassure you into-

Tia: I dont think we are ready for marriage,but I´ll still want to be with you, I know your parents probably want some sort of ceremony but I... may have an idea...

Zet: What are you talking about?

Tia: Didn´t you have a tradition involving necklaces?

Zet: Engaged couples give them to each other, is like humans using rings.

Tia: We aren´t engaged but I guess we can buy a pair of those and explain your clan that is our way to say “hey, we love each other even if we haven´t get married”

Zet: Well... my dad made my mother´s necklace, and Xa´s fiance give her something personal, grandpa got grandma something with her name...

Tia: Does it needs to be something specific?

Zet: If we are going to do that I want to give you something that has a meaning...*takes off an extremely long bracelet* here... it´s not a necklace but i guess if you untie it...it could fit on your neck...

Tia: but I got nothing to give you... WAIT!

Tia runs towards the wardrobe in their room and searches for an old dress she hasn´t wear in a while, rips off something located on the back of the dress and gives it to Zet.

Tia: I never knew why someone would put strings with of crystals in the back of a dress but hey, they finally got a purpose... I hope this counts...

Zet: It´s... More than perfect! *hugs Tia*

This obviously ends up in both of them just kissing, laugthing and just such way that this narrator can only describe as “so sweet that would give you diabetes”...

Motaki´s notes: the ending says it all, besides I felt like I should write something focusing on their relationship, at least how it is when they have those cliche and sappy moments because most of the time they just act the most casual way ever, and yes, this happened before Naga visited them... And i deleted the original post and re-upload it because for some reason it would disappear from my porfile and then appear after re-loading the page for a few times...

[jerepars]

Lionheart Extended Story Notes

Hyperlinks appear in blue (underlined on mobile). The story is posted here.

Jughead made arrangements to borrow the often-neglected car Veronica had gotten for her sixteenth birthday the year before. What did a rich girl with a chauffeur need with a Lexus hybrid anyway? Although it pained Betty and Jughead to be driving a vehicle whose engine didn’t purr until it was going well over 40 miles per hour, it was the best option they had. It was easy with Veronica. Jughead mentioned that Betty wanted to go to an exhibit at The Rosenbach and he wished he could take her…and Veronica took the bait. Anything for my B, she’d said all too quickly as she flipped her hair over her shoulder.

The Rosenbach is a literary museum in Philadelphia at Delancey Place that houses rare books, manuscripts, and the like. One of the reasons I chose for Betty and Jughead to go to Philly over somewhere in New York or New Jersey was this place. It seemed right up their alley not just as a cover but as somewhere they would actually go (which I guess is what makes it the perfect cover, ha). One of the current exhibitions is called Clever Criminals and Daring Detectives. Like, come on, they are literally a couple of teenage sleuths. It's perfect.

He didn’t really like being Forsythe Jones from Delaware. He felt much better holding Betty’s hand in the elevator, seventeen and Jughead Jones, both of them giggling about what they were getting away with, like they were living on the edge. They hadn’t gotten to do the short road trip in FP’s old truck like something out of a Great American Romance but they’d still listened to Bruce Springsteen singing of wild hearts, blue jeans, and white t-shirts as they’d meandered south through New Jersey on the Turnpike.

I'm actually really pleased with this paragraph. Obviously Bruce Springsteen is from New Jersey and when I think of music with a romantic Americana feel, I always think of The Boss' iconic album Born in the U.S.A. I listened to "I'm on Fire" a lot while writing this scene. I feel like it captures the mood of the scene.

The line about wild hearts, blue jeans, and white t-shirts is actually a reference to "Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts" by The Gaslight Anthem, a New Jersey band that has covered, referenced, and played with Springsteen. The Boss has definitely sung about the topics in the line I used and the actual album cover of Born in the U.S.A. is blue Levi's and a white t-shirt.

And finally, the fact that I got to mention the New Jersey Turnpike makes me so happy. I believe there are a lot of pop culture references to it. For me in particular, the line in Saves the Day's "Jessie & My Whetstone" that goes it was summer then and I drove home whistling down the pike is one that has come to mind for years and years. To finally fit it somewhere in one of my stories feels like a bit of an accomplishment.

“Just…look. Listen.” Jughead repeated the same words, this time gesturing around them. “You can hear the city traffic outside. And this blank canvas, above our heads. Pure and unadulterated, ready to be whatever we want it to be, whatever we want it to mean.”

So the whole inspiration for writing the scene like this is the overhead angle from the scene in 1x11 where Jughead and Archie are in Archie's room discussing FP. Sadly, I can't find the clip on YouTube (understandable; a lot happens in 1x11) but if you have access to the show on Netflix, the scene is from around 15:08 to 16:28. I've only been able to find pictures and gifs of it. But yeah, seeing that overhead shot of Juggie staring at the ceiling just made me think that I needed a scene of Juggie and Betty staring at the ceiling.

Betty’s expression softened at his words. She could hear the sounds of the city, faintly, through the glass of their hotel window. It wasn’t the same white noise that filtered through when they were in their small town. It wasn’t the sound of vultures in the woods of Eversgreen Forest or the current of Sweetwater River or the deafening silence of her neighborhood at three in the morning. It was vibrancy—cars honking, sirens in the distance, footsteps walking purposefully on pavement. And the blank ceiling above her and Jughead was pristine with endless possibilities. Untainted. Un-ruined. They were far from home, and not only in distance.

Is it Evergreen Forest or Eversgreen Forest? It sounds like Eversgreen Forest when Betty says it in 1x07 (3:24 to 3:33), right? The Wikia says Eversgreen. Let's go with Eversgreen.

When he told her that he loved her, it was always special. It was earnest. So she didn’t mind that they didn’t say those words to each other constantly and that when they did, it was in hushed tones, like a secret vow that only they were privy to. She never wanted those words to lose their meaning and run hollow.

I guess I wanted to make the point that this is a very different Betty than the one who was in love with Archie all those years. This Betty loves Jughead and loves the way that he loves her. And I like this idea that for them saying 'I love you' is never going to become meaningless. I feel like it's romantic and sweet and honest in their way, not anything from Betty's childhood fantasies or teenage expectation or standard practice. That's not what I want for them, I suppose. To me, 1x13 leading up to the 'Believer' moment is such a big deal for Jughead. It gets me every time I watch it. The way he takes the beanie off. The look on his face when he says it. The look on his face when she says it. So in my headcanon, Jughead isn't just going to go from 0 to 100 declaring his love all the time even if this is set more than a year after they've established their relationship.

I could be wrong. We could get season 2 and he could be dropping L-bombs every episode or multiple times an episode. I don't know. But I don't think so.

She meant what she said. They weren’t sad tears. Jughead could see another one of her colors in the rings of her jade eyes. It was a shade of what he thought she reflected earlier when she’d joined him on the plush hotel bed. It was still pure, but it was something else, too. More electric. Orbiting around the black of her pupils it was there: white, hot fire. The color was just like all the fiery hardcore songs she’d come to like, blinding light emanating, sparkling embers flying. And the fire in her eyes wasn’t only just for herself or for him. It was for them, as individuals and together.

The original title for this story was Love Her For Her Fire. As I started writing I realized that I have ideas for a lot of one-shots or short stories involving Bughead and it's always this version (this universe?) of them. In the notes for the previous chapter I said that this feels a lot like character analysis and development disguised as a story. And maybe that is what I actually ended up doing, giving myself background for future stories about this version of Bughead. So I guess I want to write those stories and sequence them all into a series (Spoiler alert: Heartthrob would probably be the last story in the series so you already know it's a happy ending no matter what I put them through). One way to link them all, I think, is by giving them all one-word titles. I'll reveal in the final chapter why Lionheart is what stuck for this one.

Jughead had doubts. He always had doubts and fear. That was a byproduct of growing up around an alcoholic father who loved him but could never keep his shit together and a mother who’d abandoned him and taken his sister away, too. People left. He was always left behind. He still wasn’t entirely convinced that Betty wouldn’t one day leave him behind, too.

But a preview of the life he yearned for, in a big city, without the curse of his past troubled home life, and with Betty, it snapped him to attention. He wanted to be all in.

I kept the hardcore references to the bare minimum in this chapter since the final chapter is like 5000 words of them being at the show. In fact I think the only mention of hardcore in this chapter is when Jughead talks about the fire in her eyes. The last sentence in the quoted text above is a very, very discrete reference to the last 8 seconds of "Ante Up" by Bane.

[anneedmonsonus]

How to Make An Amazing Succulent Bowl

If you have ever admired a pretty succulent bowl but thought they looked too tricky to make one at home (or that you’d kill it anyway) I have good news! Succulent bowls are super-easy to put together; and even if you’re a total black thumb with plants, you can keep one alive and thriving, I promise.

Now I’m no gardening expert and I’m sure there will be lots of right ways and wrong ways to make succulent planters, but this is what I tend to do and it has always worked out, so today I’m going to give you my tips. One of the best things about succulents, aside from their huge amount of variety, it that they are really hardy and resilient, so if you’ve never tried to grow them and have always wanted to, I hope I can inspire you to give it a crack.

The other day I was talking about how I think hobbies for adults – especially parents – are so important and I rambled on about how much I love succulents and what a nice pastime planting succulent bowls has been for me while I watch the kids. I’ve made so many now! (Succulent bowls, not kids. Just two for me thanks).

I think I’m slightly addicted but I love mucking around with plants – it is a relaxing, slow, relatively mindless thing you can do with your hands while being able to keep one eye on the kids. Succulents are very forgiving, so if there are sudden murderous screams coming from your children over a Paw Patrol toy and you need to abandon ship in haste, your forgotten plant isn’t going to die because you’ve accidentally dropped it (probably not, anyway!)

I think a nice succulent bowl looks terrific on a table or on a windowsill – and they’re great things to keep around for presents, like host/hostess gifts. Ever been off to a friend’s house for dinner and you’re running late and you’d normally bring a bottle of wine but you realised you’ve already drunk all the wine you had while watching bad TV? (Totally understandable). Grab a plant instead. Wine and plants are great gifts, always. Like who is ever like, “It’s ok, I have enough wine and/or plants.” (Who says that? No one worth being friends with). Little Nerd, who’s four – loves to make succulent bowls with me too. He’s also a dab hand at quickly filling my trolley at the nursery with plants I wasn’t really intending on buying, but hey, it all works out.

So let’s get started!

HOW TO MAKE A SUCCULENT BOWL – MY TIPS

Find your bowls or planters. These can get pricy, but I always find Kmart has a nice range of very affordable pots and planters, Bunnings has some nice little terracotta pots, people on Facebook Marketplace or at markets often sell them cheaply. Whatever you get, try to get one with a hole/holes on the bottom for drainage.

These basic black bowls are $7 from Kmart.

  You can even find free planters! I keep an eye out at markets for pots and bowls and for vergeside collections because lots of people throw out old pots or things that could make cute planters – look at this old mid-century letterbox I found on the side of the road, it made a perfect succulent planter.<blockquote class=”instagram-media” data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=”https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp1kjUJBoO6/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” data-instgrm-version=”12″ style=” background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% – 2px); width:calc(100% – 2px);”><div style=”padding:16px;”> <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp1kjUJBoO6/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=” background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;” target=”_blank”> <div style=” display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;”></div> <div style=”display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;”> <div style=” background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;”></div> <div style=” background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;”></div></div></div><div style=”padding: 19% 0;”></div> <div style=”display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;”><svg width=”50px” height=”50px” viewBox=”0 0 60 60″ version=”1.1″ xmlns=”https://www.w3.org/2000/svg” xmlns:xlink=”https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink”><g stroke=”none” stroke-width=”1″ fill=”none” fill-rule=”evenodd”><g transform=”translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)” fill=”#000000″><g><path d=”M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631″></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style=”padding-top: 8px;”> <div style=” color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;”> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style=”padding: 12.5% 0;”></div> <div style=”display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;”><div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: 8px;”> <div style=” background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;”></div> <div style=” width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: auto;”> <div style=” width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);”></div> <div style=” background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);”></div> <div style=” width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);”></div></div></div></a> <p style=” margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;”> <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp1kjUJBoO6/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=” color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;” target=”_blank”>My friend Katie and I went verge hunting and we found this cute broken terrazzo letterbox in front of a mid-century house in Melville. I hefted it home and filled it with succulents I was going to paint it black but now I think I'll leave it. #needsucculentemoji . . . . . #plantnerd #housenerd #home #succulents #succulentbowl #potplants #indoorplants #greenlove #terrazzo #letterbox #recycle #deck # #reloved #thrifting #vergehunting #kerbside #vergepicking #midcenturymodern #midcentury #mailbox #homeblogger #gardeningwithkids</a></p> <p style=” color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;”>A post shared by <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/housenerd/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=” color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;” target=”_blank”> House Nerd | Maya Anderson</a> (@housenerd) on <time style=” font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;” datetime=”2018-11-06T11:22:33+00:00″>Nov 6, 2018 at 3:22am PST</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async src=”//www.instagram.com/embed.js”></script>

You don’t have to do this step, but I like to add a bottom layer of rocks at the bottom of your pot for drainage – I just use that cheap bluestone.

Succulents usually tend to like well-draining, slightly more sandy soil, but they are not fussy. I’ve used both soil just dug up from our garden and specialist succulent soil/potting mix – both have worked fine.

You know how you buy some plants or seedlings from the nursery and the little tag tells you to space them 25 – 30cm apart. Succulents are different – you CAN squish them together. They don’t mind it! So go for it. You don’t need to plant baby ones and wait until they grow big, as you create your DIY succulent bowl, you can plant them all quite tightly up against each other.

Don’t overwater succulents, they hate having really soggy roots. Think about where most succulents are from – really dry environments. It makes sense that they don’t like being overwatered. I tend to give mine a light misting with the hose every few days, but they can go for longer without being watered.

You can generally tell by looking at the leaves, or gently touching them, if your plant needs water. If the leaves look a little puckered, or you gently squeeze a leaf and it feels soft and squishy, it needs watering. If the leaf is firm, it should be fine.

Keep your succulent bowl in a well-lit place – in sun or under a patio with indirect sun is great.

You can add a layer of gravel or small riverstones on top, but this is just a matter of preference. It can look nicer and stop dirt splashing up onto the leaves.

The Golden Rule! I think I’m too stubborn so I don’t like ‘rules’ in general when it comes to plants (create what you like to look at!) but one ‘rule’ I’ve heard about making succulent bowls is, “You need a thriller, a filler, and a spiller.” So if you think about it, a thriller would be something kind of speccy or strange or sculptural, a filler to me is like echeveria or graptopetalum, and a spiller is a tumbling variety that will spill over the edge of your bowl.

My sister messaged me a photo the other day with all her newly-bought succulents and an empty bowl on her outdoor table and went “HELP. What do I do now.” Like I said, I don’t really like ‘rules’ for things that are meant to be just for pleasure, but I think if you feel a little hesitant, a good way to start off is by putting one larger, taller, more spectacular (or spiky! Like an aloe… or try something like a haworthia) plant just off-centre in the middle of your bowl. Then I’d put a big rosette-looking type of succulent – the ones that kind of look like flowers (like aeoniums – aeonium dinner plate, Black Rose, or Lily Pad, or echeveria or sempervivum) close by it, also off-centre. There’s something about the neat symmetry of a rosette that looks so nice next to something big and sculptural. And then I’d add in a few more rosette-types or sedeveria and frilly little succulents around the edges (where you can also plant your ‘spiller’, the trailing succulents that tumble over the edges, like donkey’s tail, string of pearls.

Lots of succulents are toxic to children or pets if they eat the leaves – so just exercise caution if you have a pet or child that puts plants in their mouth. Our dog has never eaten plants, neither has our little boy (now four year old) but our one-year-old girl puts everything under the sun into her mouth and is also seriously destructive so I keep our succulent planters well out of her reach!

Lastly, have fun! I think playing around with succulents kind of feels like you’re making a living artwork. And just like art, I don’t think you can go too wrong. If you put one in and you don’t like where you’ve put it, or you go a few weeks and it doesn’t seem too happy in its bowl, you can just take it out again and put something else in. Succulents can handle tough love.

Need to get your succulent stocks up? Here are some cool places in Perth you can get succulents on the cheaper end of the scale.

WHERE TO BUY SUCCULENTS IN PERTH

Andrew’s Succulents in Neerabup Blooming Good Succulents in Wanneroo Farmers Markets on Manning at Clontarf every Saturday morning Melville Rotary Markets on Sunday mornings

Zerascapes in North Fremantle No Vo’s Home Nursery, Leeming

And if you don’t fancy making a succulent bowl but would love to buy one, here are some terrific small businesses that sell gorgeous ones – how spectacular is this picture of one at Andrew’s Succulents?

PERTH SUCCULENT BOWL SELLERS

I Wet My Plants @i_wet_my_plants_ Pretty Little Thingz Succulents @prettylittlethingz_succulents Andrew’s Succulents @andrewssucculents The old Italian lady at Melville Markets Perth Succulent Bowls No Vo’s Home Nursery

Have fun! Let me know if you make one! Maya x

The post How to Make An Amazing Succulent Bowl appeared first on House Nerd.

from Home Improvement https://house-nerd.com/2019/09/15/how-to-make-a-succulent-bowl/

[platonicfox]

timbledum fEarful 156 adventure (New Zealand)

Useful link: a metric dimensions conversion spreadsheet with dynamic thickness.

Full gallery here.

If you are interested in the budget, this thing cost me NZD$1,100. You can find a breakdown here.

I got the plywood supplier to cut the sheet into two 1200x1200mm squares for transport home. My cut plan based on this is here (or here for the svg version.)

My aspirational post on fEarfuls written around ~6 years ago is here – good to see that I finally followed through!

Background

This is a low tool build with some substitutions due to living in middle earth.

So I have been wanting to build a fEarful cab for quite some time now. However, the timing has never been right… until now!

Initially I was simply too poor to afford to build one as a student/graduate accountant, and I had a secondhand Sunn 410 that I was using in my punk and alt-rock bands (consecutive not simultaneous) so the demand wasn't urgent. I then temporarily stopped playing the bass to focus on my professional accounting exams for about two years.

I have been back playing bass sans-rig for maybe the last two years but have been getting sick of playing on borrowed gear and through PAs. I am also now getting a decent salary, and am pre-kids (just!).

I had not really planned the whole build at the beginning, as there were a lot of problems to solve and a lot of things to learn! Pretty overwhelming! So I just took the build one step at a time. I am pretty green with this kinda stuff, so this was all very exciting!

Step 1 – Buy the plywood

This is a very confusing part of the process, as the world of plywood is so varied and wide! Unfortunately we cannot get Baltic Birch here (the standard it seems), so it seems that the next best thing is some sort of marine grade plywood, such as hoop pine.

After ringing some places and having no real luck, I decided to go to Plyman in Henderson and just have a look around. Prior to leaving, I carefully calcuated that I would be able to fit a sheet of 2400x1200mm in the Nissan Wingroad if I got them to cut it in half (two squares), and tested this with a cheap scrap piece I had lying around – the end of the scrap was still at factory dimensions.

I got to the place and they had a super friendly guy at the counter – much recommended. I mentioned marine grade and Baltic Birch to him. He didn't know anything about Baltic Birch so he steared me to the Euro Birch which looked great! I also looked at the marine Gaboon stuff, but it had a pinky colour that I didn't really like.

So I went with the Euro Birch for about $115 all up, and the guy cut it in half for me for free, and we went to get it into the back of the wagon. It was a friggen mission! We ended up getting it diagonal and just pushing (hard) into the boot! They finally slid in one after the other.

It was even harder getting them out on the other side. My flatmate and I spend a good ten minutes figuring out how to get them out. We ended up having to push hard against the framing of the boot to get the plywood over the lip, and then squeezing the plywood through the plastic framing – we left permanent lines as reminder of the plywood for all time.

It turns out the plywood was actually 2440X1220 – the 2 extra cm squeezing through the boot was all the difference! Gahhhh!

Also turns out that I realised when we got it home that the outer birch vaneer is super thin – not like Baltic Birch at all! The main advantage of BB is apparently that all the plys are equal fitness, which gives it a lot of structural integrity and makes it easy to work with (you don't have to worry about sanding through the veneer).Pretty disappointed about that, but we'll see how we go!

I also hit up Bunnings on the way home and grabbed some misc supplies, including the Sika Supa Grip glue substitute recommended [here](Sika Supa Grip 30min Adhesive per http://greenboy.us/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1106&p=42527#p42527).

Step 2 – Cut the plywood

On the way out from Plyman, I grabbed a long thin offcut which I thought I could use for making a straight-cut jig for the circular saw. I mounted this onto a shorter sheet of crappy plywood that I had left over (trying out the Supa Grip glue – worked great!), and made a cut with the circular saw leaving a straight edge that I could rely on for making all of my cuts accurately.

More or less – it turns out there was a 1-2 mm bow in the "straight-edge" over the metre or two of length. This did mean that I later had to do some sanding to fit. To do this, I glued some ~40 grit sandpaper to a ~300mm long piece of plywood as a makeshift plane, which took some elbow grease but worked fairly well

Cutting the plywood was nerve-racking for me, as I had no experience with this kind of thing, and I was paranoid in ruining the investment in the plywood I had purchased. I used painter's tape for most cuts to ensure a clean cut. I also bought a higher tooth blade which seemed to work quite well. I probably veered on too long for most cuts, which resulted in more sanding down the line. There also ended up being a bit of bow in the old painting (thanks wife) worktable that I was using – this made it tricky to get a clean cut and required a bit of downward force throughout the cuts.

I did most of the big cuts during a solid Saturday afternoon of cutting, and finished off the rest on another day. The bracing (although fiddly), wasn't as bad as expected, as I essentially cut a bunch of planks with uniform width, then cut to length with a hand-saw – I found it more accurate this way. There was, again, sanding down the line to get these all to fit correctly.

Laying out (ruler and pencil) was a lot more time consuming than I expected, partly as I was paranoid! I measured everything multiple times, but even then it took me a while to get used to which side of the line to cut, how to get the lines square, etc. Not easy! I have definitely learnt the value in good quality layout tools, and this was the first project that I have used a square (shocking I know). I was pretty happy with my make-shift compass for laying out the speaker holes.

I had an old very cheap jigsaw which was ~$20 from Bunnings (maybe my memory is exaggerating). However, after a test cut, I determined that it cut the circles great! The bottom of the mid-box which is a bit of a weird shape was also cut partially with the jigsaw. I judged that precision was not a necessity here.

I did later make a layout error with the handle holes – I carefully calculated where my handles should go (based on guesstimate), and jigsawed/rasped/sanded the hole to accept my first handle. I laid out and triple checked the second hole, and drilled the hole for the jigsaw to start, before (on a whim) checking it visually against the other side. It didn't match! It turns out I was measuring from the bottom rather than the top, so the two sides were mis-matched.

Fortunately, I had only done the drill-hole, so I was able to fashion a plug from plywood with a coping saw. After cutting the rough shape, I hammered a nail into the plug, mounted onto my drill, and rounded the plug on a piece of wood that I had glued some rough 40 grit sandpaper onto. I was then able to plug this into the hole with more Sika! Thankfully, this plug blended fairly well, and ended up being half-covered by the handle anyway. Phew! Every cut is so high stakes!

As I do not plan to combine this box with a second cab, and most commercial cabs have two inputs/outputs for daisy chaining, I decided to leave this cab with just the one speakon connector. I did not bother with a connector plate, opting to mount the connector directly onto the plywood. Yes, it protrudes a little bit, but it does the job, and is a very simple, clean solution. I drilled a hole for the connector, then used a rasp to enlarge it to accept the round connector more or less perfectly. I also made sure to use the gasket tape when installing to make a nice clean seal. You can see a shot of the nubbin in the finishing section.

Step 3 – Assemble the cabinet

So I wanted a wood finish Scandinavian inspired cab, with a natural clear finish. This meant I didn't want any fasteners (screws/nails) marring the aesthetics of my beautiful creation. However, this set me up for a fairly tedious build, as each join needed to be glued up separately.

I also have no joining apparatus (such as dowel jig, biscuit joiner, pocket hole jig), and limited clamps (two smallish clamps). Getting things aligned correctly was fairly stressful with the limited set time of the Sika. Fortunately, a work colleague lent me two sash (long bar) clamps – despite their griminess, I wouldn't have been able to build the cab without them.

The glue was fantastic, but definitely had a learning curve. I was unprepared for how slippery the glue was while still setting. I also took the wrong approach for the squeeze out – I tried to rub sawdust into the wet glue, which apparently works for white PVA glue, but not for poly-based glues like the Sika. Fortunately the ugly matt smear from this only affected the port. The better approach was letting the squeeze out mostly harden, then cut off with a chisel. You can see the ugly squeeze out here:

I was also unprepared for the glue-up pressure! You really have to get things done – fairly high stress environment. One time in particular I had my wife put her head in the garage asking a question, and I had to politely tell her to please leave, I am gluing!

I did try to use a screw to attach the shelf to the port divider, which was a total disaster. Despite all my measurements and layout, the port divider hadn't been aligned perfectly in the centre, and I don't think the layout on the shelf was that flash either. This meant having to re-drill the pilot hole in the intense glue-up pressure. This epically failed, and I actually broke a tip of a drill bit, which is still somewhere in the port divider to this day.

And so I continued – glue up by glue up, each one not too onerous, but with heaps of separate glues to do. The 'clamps only' approach seemed to work out well, and I created many ingenious jigs to ensure that everything was positioned mirror less accurately and my limited supply of clamps (augmented with weights) did the business.

The wood did slightly warp, and the cuts were often a mm or two out, so there was a good bit of rasping/sanding near the end to get the last final pieces to fit. One of my best ideas was to glue some low-grit sandpaper to a scrap piece – the poor man's plane.

Step 4 – Buy and assemble the crossover/electricals

At first when I saw the price of the components, I thought it would be easier to source local component equivalents here. However, after chatting to my acoustic engineer bud, it turns out components of this size are just expensive. So I bit the bullet and paid the $100 to get everything shipped from Erse all the way down under.

This was by far the most daunting part of the project, as I have no electrical experience and had to learn everything from scratch, especially how to decipher the circuit diagram! I also had no idea how to attach everything, and finally decided after looking at other builds to base it on a terminal block.

For some reason, I decided to make a "breadboard" from a scrape piece of ply from the project by drilling a whole bunch of holes in it (I glued on some graph paper to get these more or less aligned). Although tedious, this made it much easier to cable-tie the components to the board, and hopefully provides some cooling. I put some foam pads under the four corners of the board, so there is some room for air to get underneath and rise through the components.

On one Wednesday night, with the wife out teaching an art class, it was time to do the assembling!

I couldn't find any glue sticks, and my wife had the car, so I had to cycle down to The Warehouse. They didn't have any real glue sticks, so I ended up buying a mini-glue gun and mini-glue sticks! Around $10 all up.

I used the hot glue + cable tie combo to secure the components. I was super paranoid with the two inductors, putting them at opposite ends of the board.

Here you can see my pencil schematic of how the wires actually needed to be laid out – I think it would be next to impossible to do this based on the plans, especially with the terminal to terminal connections (very confusing, but it works!) I do not foresee myself ever going through the hassle of building one of these again, so I didn't bother with the switch (although it took me a while to figure out which configuration the padded one was – turns out it is the configuration that the wiring is set in the plan.)

For wiring, I used the same cable used internally, so I had to do a lot of stripping. My solders are probably overdone, but I tested the mechanical integrity of each one so I think they were OK! Please do not judge my soldering lol. I also glued down most of the wires for extra measure.

I ended up mounting this on the shelf. It took up two thirds of the shelf and hung over the port divider by ~10mm – hopefully not a big deal!

Step 5 – Buy and install the speakers (the expensive part)

I actually did this much earlier due to excitement! I ended up buying both of them from eBay – even with shipping and customs they were much cheaper than in NZ. I think the Eminence one was actually semi second hand – they had bought two for a project but never made it, so I got a fairly good price. Pretty exciting!

Step 6 – Hardware and finishing

I bought most of the hardware from a sketchy place called Surplus Tronics – at this point one of the spring handles has already failed. However, everything was fairly cheap, and it was handy getting the corners, wiring, terminal block, feet, handles, and speaker covers from one place. One of the springs in the spring handles has already failed though, but it isn't very expensive to replace.

I took a bit of time figuring what batting to use, as we don't have denim insulation here. I almost bought some fibreglass pink batts, then changed my mind and decided to go the polyfill way. I was hoping to get away with quite cheap for this, and put out a cry for help on Facebook with no success, so I forked out the ~$20 at Spotlight to buy some 'Polyester Wadding' – a 30mm thick sheet 122cm x 150cm. This did me very nicely, with only some left over.

I used a combination of PVA glue and hot glue to attach the sheets to the plywood. I think the hot glue was more effective, at least immediately. I put down two layers on the back, with one layer most other places.

After running the internal wiring (mainly with hot glue), and gluing the batting, I could finally glue on the back of the beast!

Sanding took a lot of time. Despite my best efforts, I had a bit of overhang in some of the joins, and used a bit of pine wood filler to fill some gaps and to fillet some uneven joints. Overall, I am happy with how it turned out. A lot of the imperfections seem to be only visible to my eyes! Wood filler also helped a lot with voids in the plywood.

Once this was all done, it was time for the finish. I managed to get some satin water based polyurethane from a friend who had it left over from some flooring. It was old and had bits of crustiness in it, but it did the job. Water based is supposed to be a lot clearer (less yellow), and was very pleasant to work with – I didn't have to worry too much about it getting on my hands. It was a very strange creamy white, but dried to a silky smooth clear finish.

I made the mistake of laying down the finish way too thick on the first coat and was left with visible drips and runs all over the cab. After a good deal of sanding, I learnt my lesson and the subsequent two coats were much thinner and more successful.

I sanded up to about 160 before finishing, and sanded up to 300 between coats with an electric sander. I put down three coats, then had to do three coats on the bottom too. I spent a bit of time before finishing rounding over the corners with a rasp and sandpaper to accept the plastic corner protectors. I also slightly rounded off the edges.

I did have some issues trying to find "gasket tape" – I ended up just buying weather proofing closed cell tape in black. Was much more expensive than I hoped, but seemed to do a good job of sealing the handles, speakon plug, and 18sound speaker (the Eminence 15 already had some foam around the speaker.)

Step 7 – Trying it out!

I was super scared to try this out. The main thing was the wiring/crossover – if I stuffed something up here, I could blow drivers (I think!). I had no certainty that I hadn't made a mistake, or accidentally shorted something… let alone making errors with the box itself (air leaks, etc.)

One of my friends came around with his Markbass Little Mark II and nervously, we turned it on.

It worked! Boy this thing is sensitive! A lot louder than I expected, especially in our lounge, although it definitely keeps up with a drummer as well. I am yet to really push it though.

I am very pleased with the cleanness and transparency of the sound. It gives me great joy to hear a new level of distinction between my bass pickups (Stingray HH), let alone playing with the tonal variety of the VT bass.

Overall, this has been a very rewarding project, and my confidence in problem solving and DIY has grown exponentially. I have just learnt so flippin much over this project. I especially learnt a lot from the Greenboy official forum. Although i have not posted on the forum, I have lurked pretty hard, and the amount of helpfulness and knowledge there is outstanding, so thanks to everyone there! And a special thanks to Greenboy for making these amazing plans and resources free for us all to use!