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stevenuniversallyreviews · 5 years ago

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Episode 125: Doug Out

“It can't be all ‘Bam!’ ‘Pow!’ action all the time.”

(First things first: Lamar Abrams’s delightful promo art leans away from traditional cards with the title and storyboarders, and this is my favorite of the bunch. He really knocks the visual pun out of the park.)

Dr. Maheswaran is a titanic presence in her daughter’s life, and while she does have a canonical first name—Priyanka, according to Ian Jones-Quartey—it says a lot that the show itself only presents her as “Doctor” or “Mom.” She, not Doug, is the person Connie must reconcile with in Nightmare Hospital. She, not Doug, is the one that’s late picking Connie up in Storm in the Room. She, not Doug, takes the role of Yellow Diamond in Stevonnie’s psychic dream from Jungle Moon. And Doug, as should be clear now, has a first name that we actually hear on the show. Hell, it’s in the name of the episode.

Doug’s status as a background character allows his characterization to be more fluid than his wife’s. In Fusion Cuisine, which is a weird episode period in terms of Maheswaran behavior, he tells a joke to break the tension and disapproves of Steven and Connie hugging. In the far superior Winter Forecast, he’s frustrated with Greg in the bad timelines, appreciative of Greg’s cherry sweater in the good timeline, and we learn that he can’t drive in the snow (but thinks he can). Connie has told us that her parents are strict, which logically means he’s strict, but we see more impatience than strictness in his voiced appearances.

None of what we’ve witnessed lines up too well with the Doug we get in Doug Out: sure, we’ve seen his awkwardness, and I guess his tendency towards jokes at inopportune times means he can be funny, but he’s super silly in this episode. Normally such a huge shift in characterization would bug me, buuuut:

Doug is such a minor character that it’s not a huge deal that his personality adjusts to fit the story better, and

We’ve only seen Doug with Dr. Maheswaran nearby and I can totally buy that he acts differently when she’s not around.

It would’ve been nice for the canon if a little more of Doug’s behavior from Doug Out had been established earlier, but yeah this isn’t a dealbreaker for me. It’s already weird that Connie said in Bubble Buddies that her family moves around a lot because of his security job, considering they don’t move at all over the course of the show and her mother’s job certainly pays more than her father’s, so at least showing Doug at work lends some consistency to her claim.

Entering the episode by pulling a prank on Steven is a succinct way for the show to tell us this is a new Doug. We do get references to the Maheswarans being all about safety, namely his concern over Steven's hydration after eating salty fry bits, but he’s simultaneously silly with the kids and proud that his daughter is a “swashbuckling swashbuckler.” Plus his dopey smile is the same as his daughter’s dopey smile and it’s the most precious thing in the world.

There hasn’t been any indication that Connie is distant from her father, despite his lack of screentime; in fact, one of my favorite unspoken bits of characterization for the family is how she (and through her, Stevonnie) often wears his signature flight jacket. But it’s still great to see them get along so well, keeping up the light mood from the beginning of the episode and amplifying it through paternal playfulness.

While bringing kids along for a security mission after hours doesn’t sound like something an ultra-responsible parent would do, I choose to see it as a sign of Doug’s respect for his kid and her friend. He knows they’ve handled dangerous situations before, and it’s neat to see him acknowledge this by allowing them to ride along. Moreover, the whole point of the episode is that he doesn’t think his job is exciting, so it’s not like he thinks he’s throwing the kids into a violent situation. And considering he wants to see more action like his daughter does in missions or his wife does in the hospital, I’m glad that this jealousy never turns petty or mean-spirited: this wasn’t a given, as he’s been unfriendly in the past. Doug sort of rules in this episode, and it’s nice that veteran voice actor Crispin Freeman finally gets something to do with him.

The goofiness isn’t limited to Doug, as half of what makes him great is his playing along with Connie and Steven’s prepackaged goofiness. The kids are in top form in Doug Out, dressing as ridiculously-named parodies of Carmen Sandiego and Mario while they’re on the case (Connie’s assertion that Pizzapoppolis sounds more Greek than Italian is in contention with her bemoaning the laws of physics in the Gravitron for the best “Connie’s A Nerd” joke of the night). They’re down to mess around and ruin a teen’s night, and I’m here for it.

Still, I wouldn’t call this a full-on goofy episode, particularly when it evolves into a sequel of sorts to Gem Hunt. Aivi and Surasshu’s soundtrack evokes exaggerated noir as Doug talks shop, but shifts to a menacing drone as the trio encounters evidence of something sinister afoot at Funland. Steven and Connie stay in-character during the chase, but drop the act when discussing the possibility of a Gem Mutant or Homeworld Gem. Whatever they’re hunting is clearly hunting them, and perhaps the most impressive aspect of Doug Out is maintaining a tone of genuine looming danger that isn’t undermined by the episode’s numerous jokes.

The mystery, as in Gem Hunt, is complicated by a red herring. During Connie’s first big mission we’re led to believe that a Corrupted Gem might be healing itself, given the multiple distinct footprints, but we learn in the third act that it was Jasper all along. This time we get a wide array of dangerous possibilities, so the third act Onion reveal initially comes as a relief. But we’ve never seen him this scared before, and his distinct silhouette doesn’t match that of the shadowy figure on the roof.

Before we can think about the hints that Onion isn’t our perp, the focus shifts back to Doug as we conclude his character’s episode-long arc. He wants to be taken seriously, projecting a badass vibe that’s often undermined moments later by an intentional joke (like calling his daughter by her “Cucamonga” alias with a straight face) or by the emergence of his inner square (pretending to be undercover by removing his glasses then instantly relenting because he needs them to see). He’s not incompetent, correctly deducing that the culprit isn’t a regular teen and quieting the children to listen for clues, but he’s just a normal security guard in a family with a surgeon and a kid hero. You can’t blame the guy for developing a bit of an inferiority complex.

So again, I really appreciate that his behavior doesn’t devolve into toxic overcompensation, because that’s the obvious route to go and it would’ve made this episode so much worse. He respects the kids and doesn’t pretend he needs to protect them, and he doesn’t let his desire for action let him get in over his head—in another similarity to Gem Hunt, he stresses the importance of calling for backup instead of stubbornly going it alone. When Connie talks about how much she loves and values him, we’re allowed to feel it, because she’s reiterating what we’ve seen rather than letting a petty control freak off the hook.

We’re coming off another terrific Dad Moment in Lion 4, but Greg being great is par for the course. Most Dad Episodes are understandably about him: other father/child relationships have their days in the limelight (Fryman and Peedee in Frybo, Kofi and the Pizza Twins in Beach Party, Bill and Buck in Shirt Club, and Yellowtail/Marty and Sour Cream in Drop Beat Dad), but Greg gets more focus episodes than all of those combined. So while I would’ve liked to see more of him in an arc that hinges on the phrase “my dad,” I love that we get one last new Dad Episode to kick off the end of Season 4, especially if it lets us see Connie again before her kidnapping.

Onion may be a red herring, but the whole ending with Doug and Connie’s sweet talk is another red herring, tricking us into thinking the episode is wrapping up and that despite the suspicious inconsistencies, Onion was just being Onion. Unlike Gem Hunt, our heroes don’t solve the mystery, and because they don’t, neither do we. We have more information than Steven that something sinister is afoot, with an alien threat that for some reason is going after Onion, but before our sleuths can learn more, we cut to black.

After the victories of taking the ocean back from Lapis and saving the world from the Cluster, Act III of Steven Universe is the first with a tragic midpoint, and the fallout of Steven’s sacrifice at the end of Season 4 ripples through the first third of Season 5. Episodes like Storm in the Room and Lion 4 bring plenty of angst as well, so Doug Out wisely gives us some comic relief before the sweet-and-somber flavor of The Good Lars and the tension that follows. That tension is still present here (we get a cliffhanger, after all), but I’ll take moments of pure happiness where I can. This isn’t a silly episode in the vein of The New Crystal Gems, but it’ll still be a while until we have this much fun in one episode again.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

It’s time again to expand our Top List, from a Top Twenty to a Top Twenty-Five! Most are Act II classics that got pushed down by the sheer volume of great episodes, but Lion 4 makes the cut as well. We’ll keep it at 25 until Change Your Mind; normally I’d switch to 30 at Episode 150 to keep up the Top 20% trend, but it seems more fitting to expand when the original series concludes.

Doug Out sadly does not make the cut, but it’s still an episode I love. We’ve had plenty of cliffhanger episodes that feel incomplete, and while this one also leaves us wanting more, it still works as a full story and not just setup. And the story is great!

Top Twenty-Five

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

Last One Out of Beach City

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Mindful Education

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

Steven’s Dream

When It Rains

Catch and Release

Chille Tid

Lion 4: Alternate Ending

Keeping It Together

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

We Need to Talk

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Back to the Moon

Kindergarten Kid

Buddy’s Book

Gem Harvest

Three Gems and a Baby

That Will Be All

The New Crystal Gems

Storm in the Room

Room for Ruby

Doug Out

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Bubbled

Adventures in Light Distortion

Gem Heist

The Zoo

Rocknaldo

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

Know Your Fusion

Future Boy Zoltron

Tiger Philanthropist

No Thanks!

6. Horror Club 5. Fusion Cuisine 4. House Guest 3. Onion Gang 2. Sadie’s Song 1. Island Adventure

#doug out #steven universe #su #steven universally #review

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hanalwayssolo · 6 years ago

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Somewhere Between The Music and Lyrics: Ch. 1

A/N: I’m terribly off my own schedule, as usual! So. This Prompto one-shot became a monster I did not expect so I’m splitting it into two chapters. Honestly, among the chocobros, Prompto’s the first one that came to mind when I wanted to do a band AU of sorts—because I’ve heard Robbie Daymond sing on one of their LAVA streams and it is glorious. Anyway! Song featured for this first half is Gavin DeGraw’s We Belong Together.

Tagging pals! @raspberryandechinacea @noboomoon@emmydots @bleucommelhiver @gowithme @hanatsuki89 @valkyrieofardyn @animakupo @lazarustrashpit @blindedstarlight @mp938368 @boo-dangy

Prompto had been busily sifting through The Lost Boys’ unanswered emails at the back of their tour bus when he hears his song.

Except, it’s not quite his song.

He recognizes the lyrics in an instant—and he of all people would know of course, since he had written those words as a cry for help for his hopelessly romantic soul. But the song that aches through the speakers holds none of Ignis’s electric riffs, the swell of Gladio’s drums, the steady hum of Noctis’s bass, let alone his own vocals. The one he hears is his music stripped to its rawest, the words made vulnerable by a melancholic leak of a lone acoustic guitar and an exquisitely soulful voice.

We belong together Like the open seas and shores Wedded by the planet force We’ve all been spoken for

Prompto scrambles to the front lounge to find Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis huddling by the booth over a laptop set on the table, their eyes glued to the screen in wild wonder.

Curiously, Prompto eyes them—still grinning wide in awe—and asks, “Are you guys hearing what I’m hearing now? Am I dreaming? What is happening?”

Noctis snorts a laugh. He swivels the laptop to face Prompto. “You might want to check this out, my friend.”

Prompto excitedly moves closer. Immediately, he sees the video accompanying the song entitled “we belong together (cover) by my amazingly talented roommate!!!” posted by username MasterPelnaK. He barely even notices how this video has been raking almost five hundred thousand views and likes in the last twenty-four hours as his attention zeroes in on the stranger sitting on a bean bag, equipped with nothing but the guitar and that voice.

What good is a life With no one to share The light of the moon The honour of a swear

Gods. The tone and vibrato is so on point it sends shivers down his spine. But then, Prompto begins to wonder why this person is not even looking directly at the camera. Were they even aware that they were being recorded? It seems all too candid given the angle, as if the camera had just been discreetly set up on a low-lying table. Not to mention the very personal space in the background, too: a well-lit room of white walls, a cozy looking sofa, an impressive shelf of books and vinyl records tucked between potted fiddle leaf figs. Somewhere out of sight, hushed whispers could still be heard. Was this only recorded from a mobile phone?

Anyway, not that any of these things mattered. Prompto has rarely come across other artists covering their songs, and when he does, each one he cherishes dearly. But this one—this one, for heaven’s sake—has moved him the way the winds bend the trees to its will, a tiny flint that sparks a flame. He didn’t realize that the words he had written could be afforded such lyrical heft, that the music he had created had been a delicate and honest confessional that could fit someone else’s voice so beautifully, like finding a piece of a puzzle he never knew he had been missing.

Where have you been all my life?

So Prompto watches it again. And then a couple times more. Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis gather to watch him curiously. Prompto briefly skims through the comments section and is thoroughly relieved to read overwhelmingly positive feedback. He didn’t even mind when he comes across a comment that says “this is even better than the original!” because fuck it, he shares the same sentiment.

And before Prompto could even scroll back up to replay the video, Gladio drags the laptop away from him.

Prompto sneers in protest. “Dude. Not cool at all—”

“What’s not cool is obsessing over a cover of your own fucking song,” Gladio says in jest.

“Hey, it’s a fucking cool cover, okay!” Prompto scoffs and flicks his eyes on the ceiling—almost rolls them, but not quite so. “And please, big guy. I’m not obsessing. I’m too chill to be obsessed, thank you very much.”

“I clearly remember you saying to the crowd earlier how you’re never the ‘chill’ person of sort, and my word. How quickly the tables have turned,” Ignis casually remarks as he takes a sip from his mug of coffee.

Prompto’s mouth falls open. He did say that onstage during their performance back at Leiden Fest. His immediate regret is letting Ignis triumphantly take it against him.

Meanwhile, Noctis lifts a suspicious eyebrow at Ignis. “Iggy, are you sure you’re not drinking tea? ‘Cause you just poured a scalding one right there.”

“I’m impressed—that’s a good one.” Gladio gives Noctis and Ignis a thundering high-five. They burst out in a gale of laughter.

“You guys are enjoying this, huh.” Prompto grabs a pillow and smashes it at Noctis, who only yelps in between fits of laughter. He hurls one at Gladio, too, but the big guy has reflexes of a jungle cat, so he only ends up catching the thing. Ignis, however, Prompto hesitates at the last second when he shoots him a menacing glance. “Okay, I’m not even going to bother attacking you, ‘cause I’m pretty sure you will kill me if you spill that coffee.”

Ignis gives him a smile and a nod, and returns to his drink.

“Also,” Noctis says, “now that I think about it, you’re giving off that same look and vibe the first time you were crushing on Cindy.”

“What? I do not—okay, okay—” Prompto groans, jabbing a finger at Noctis— “that is different. Cindy is our road manager, so I’m choosing not to cross the line. While this…” Prompto pauses and takes a deep breath. “This is also different. A very surreal and magical kind of different.”

“Now I’d say someone’s been bitten by a lovebug.” Ignis leans back on his seat, arms crossed, regarding Prompto with a pleasant smile.

Gladio laughs. “Tell me about it.”

“I can’t believe I’m friends with you guys,” Prompto says in a miserable groan.

But frankly, Prompto is far from miserable having Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis as friends. He considers himself quite fortunate to have found brothers in them, painfully annoying as they may be from time to time. Besides, it was through their music that helped them bond and weather the toughest of their adolescent years: they were no stranger to teenage angst, to riotous episodes of rebellion, to whirlwind romances and crazy ex-lovers, and to the turbulent journey that led them to be the band that they are today. Naming themselves The Lost Boys seemed to be a fitting tribute to the misadventures of their youth: Always lost and never found.

And yet, regardless of their highs and lows, the four of them have always had each other’s back. And that has not changed even now that they are in their thirties.

Perhaps Prompto is being overly sentimental at this point, but that’s just how it is.

Or maybe, he really has been bitten by a lovebug.

“In any case—“ Noctis firmly clasps Prompto’s shoulder— “this amazing cover of your song is breaking the Internet as we speak.”

“Well, yeah.” Prompto shrugs, though he cannot hide it in from his face how pleased he truly is. “Though I do wonder who this MasterPelnaK is.”

“Definitely not the person in the video, that’s for sure,” says Gladio.

“If I may?” Ignis reaches for the laptop from Gladio. “Let’s see here—“ the boys squeeze themselves into the seat so they could also get a look as Ignis hovers around the profile page— “this Pelna Khara happens to be a video game blogger—“

“It’s a vlogger, Iggy—get in with the times,” Prompto corrects cheerfully.

Ignis exhales an exasperated sigh. He returns his attention back on screen. “Apparently, this vlogger streams gameplays and commentaries—“

“Really?” Noctis interrupts out of a sudden rush of excitement. “Do you think he has one for Assassin's Creed—“

Prompto nudges Noctis by the arm. “Dude.”

“Right. Sorry,” Noctis says sheepishly. “Carry on.”

“Anyway.” Ignis is unfazed by the interruption as he goes on: “It appears that this is the first time this Pelna fellow uploaded this sort of material.”

“Oh and look, he’s very popular, too,” Noctis says. “Ten million subscribers? What the fuck—“

“Wouldn’t be surprised now that the video got so many hits overnight,” Gladio notes pensively. “And check it out—“ he points at the bio section— “he lives in the city. Says his hub is somewhere in Downtown Insomnia.”

As if struck by the same spectacular idea, Noctis and Gladio exchange knowing glances. Ignis, of course, is quick to catch on.

It takes a while for Prompto to understand what’s going on, and when he finally does, he shoots them all a dubious gaze. His friends are up to something, and the glint in their eyes could only spell mischief.

“Guys—” Prompto starts as calmly as he could, hands raised in an almost surrender— “whatever you guys are thinking, we don’t need to do this—”

“We don’t need to—but you do,” Gladio claps Prompto’s back. “We got ya, my guy.”

“And before you all intend to push through with this,” Ignis says, “would anyone be so kind as to ask Cindy if we can change our course and make a quick pitstop. And let Iris know, too, since… well. She’s our handler, after all.”

Gladio rises out of the booth. “On it,” he says as he makes his way to the driver’s seat.

“And allow me to send a message to this fella,” Noctis adds promptly, already typing away in front of the laptop.

Prompto sinks helplessly to the seat beside Noctis. “Why are we all friends again?” he says loudly, and the meaningful response he receives is the sound of their amused laughter.

“I want that video deleted right now.”

Pelna winces at the sharpness of your words. Crowe, on the other hand, looks like she is ready to give you everything the world has to offer. In the years you have spent sharing a flat with them, this must be the first time you have ever seen them this apologetic. Which is only fair because this is the first time they have done something quite outrageous to upset you. Yes, sure—Crowe and Pelna might think you’re overreacting right now, but you’re no video blogger or Internet celebrity like the both of them are, so that’s entirely beside the point. As they sit side by side cowering on the couch and you standing over them—hands on waist, jaws clenched, eyes seething in fury—it’s as if they have committed a crime against all of humanity that cannot be forgiven.

Except the casualty of the said crime is you, and only you.

“Look, you have every right to be mad at me for my negligence—” Pelna nervously raises a hand, trying to look at you dead in the eye but flinches as if you are burning bright like the sun— “but I fucking swear, it wasn’t me who uploaded the thing! Okay, I admit—I’ve been tempted to record you for some time now ‘cause in case you don’t know this yet, you’re a really good singer. But trust me on this! I really have no idea how that video got out, I promise!”

“And it’s certainly not me who recorded you!” Crowe adds in their defense. “My alibi may not be perfect but I was already drunk that time! And even if I’m sober, I wouldn’t dare barge in Pelna’s room and tinker with his toys. Gods know what I’d find in there—”

“Only the good stuff, my dude,” Pelna says, suddenly pleased with himself. “Nothing but the good stuff—”

“How about we focus on the issue at hand, yes?” You pace back and forth, and in dire resignation, you finally flop on the armchair next to the couch. Fucking hell. It’s too early in the morning to have a head-splitting migraine. You wish this had been from a hangover or some other sickness, but it’s insane how this is all caused by seeing a video of yourself on the fucking Internet with no recollection of recording it at all. Sleuthing to find out the events that unfolded the night of Pelna’s birthday only seemed to make throbbing in your head even worse. As far as you could remember, most of the folks had been severely battered—which was why you had the guts to pull out your guitar and sing the blues away as everyone dozed off in their drunken stupor. But in your tight-knit circle of friends, if there’s anyone who could impressively hold their liquor the same way they could hold a knife, it could only be...

“Wait a fucking second.” Crowe narrow her eyes at Pelna, and then at you. She fishes out the phone in her pocket and hurriedly dials a number. With her phone on loudspeaker, the line rings once, twice, thrice. And then, a voice.

“What’s up, Crowe—”

“Nyx.” Crowe’s tone is already accusing that you didn’t even bother butting in. “You’re the one who uploaded the video on Pelna’s channel, weren’t you?”

A suspicious pause. Then, Nyx laughs. “Maybe.”

Pelna grabs the phone from Crowe. “I swear I will kill you when I see you, man! How dare you dishonour me—” as a knee-jerk reaction to his response, you kick Pelna in the shin that he yelps when he says— “and how dare you dishonour our friend!”

On the other line, Nyx is still laughing. “Wait, on a scale of one to ten, how angry is —”

“Not the fucking point!” Pelna snaps back. “How did you even manage to get into my account, you piece of beautiful shit?”

“Well, maybe next time you should make sure you always logout, alright?”

“Well, fuck you.”

“Thanks, but no thanks.” Nyx says breezily. Even in a phone call, his voice never fails to carry his air of arrogance. “But hey, kidding aside. You all said that we should help each other in living to the best of our potential, right? And our friend right there with you, Pelna—yes, you, I know you’re listening, too—do you even realize how fucking talented you are? You have been serenading us all our life, and this is the least I could do to share how proud I am to have a gifted friend like you. I’m sorry if it’s a jackass move, but I know if I asked for your permission, that thing would never see the light of day.”

The four of you bask in a sudden uneasy silence. You should not have been touched by Nyx’s words, but here you are, almost moved into tears. Despite his occasional display of pride and vanity, Nyx is one of the kindest human beings you have ever had the pleasure to meet. He may not seem like it, but he’s the very definition of a jerk with a heart of gold. You just hope he could completely forego being the jerk and stick with his golden heart instead.

This time, you take the phone from Pelna and say, “Treat the three of us for dinner for the next two weeks, and I’ll decide if I should forgive you.”

“Consider it done. I’m a man of my word,” Nyx says, and the sound of his relief is evident in his voice. “Now... am I out of trouble?”

“Certainly not, you dickhead. Later.”

You drop from the call and hand the phone back to Crowe. The two of them gape at you as if you have finally turned out to be the monster they have always known you to be.

“Wow. You really did that,” Crowe says, looking very impressed. “You actually shut Nyx up and made him agree to pay for two weeks worth of dinner. Aren’t you a delight.”

You manage a small smile. Pelna heaves one loud sigh of relief. “Now that we’ve finally cleared things up, are you sure you want me to take the video down? You’re really getting a lot of hype from my channel, I mean we’re close to half a million views! And—“

The shrieking sound of the doorbell cuts your conversation in an abrupt halt.

“Wait, I’ll get that,” Crowe gets up and rushes toward the door.

“So? Whaddaya say?” Pelna urges fervently. He is still invested on persuading you, and you can see it in his kind eyes. “It’s one video, I know… but you gotta believe us, you really are a fucking talent—”

“Pel, it’s not that. It’s...” You get on your feet, circling around the coffee table, as if it would help you articulate all the reasons behind your sense of trepidation. Honestly, you appreciate having Pelna and Crowe as friends for their selfless outpour of love and support for your craft. But how can you explain to them that sometimes, your own music terrifies you? Is there any logical explanation behind being scared of your own voice? So here you are, standing in front of Pelna, falling extremely inadequate to gather the words out of your mouth. Instead, you say, “I’m… just worried. What if The Lost Boys had seen it? And what if they’d hate me for it?”

Pelna offers you a weird, strained look. “Well, about that—”

“I don’t think there should be anything to worry about. We love it!”

The bell-like bounce of the voice that spoke clearly does not belong to Pelna nor Crowe, nor does it fit in the ordinariness of the space of your shared apartment.

You turn—hesitantly, too carefully—to see three of The Lost Boys standing by the doorway with Crowe. And standing in front of you is their frontman, Prompto, smilingly extending his hand to reach yours.

This horribly sunny day is getting stranger and stranger, and it’s not even noon yet.

Pleasantries have been made—and a little bit of internally slapping yourself in the face to make sure this is all happening—and now, it has all come to this. Leaning from the bar counter, you watch as the four infuriatingly beautiful men of The Lost Boys struggle to squeeze themselves in the poor thing you all call a sofa. Across from them is Crowe, sitting cross-legged on the coffee table, analyzing each of them from head to toe with the sole purpose of intimidating the shit out them. Which is no surprise, of course; Crowe rarely gets star-struck in the presence of famous people, and even if she does, she hides it effortlessly well. Meanwhile, Pelna is playing a staring game with the band’s drummer—and frighteningly the tallest and largest in the group—that you cannot help but wonder if Pelna has some sort of a death wish that he needs to get fulfilled right this instant.

“So, let me get this straight—” Crowe says, crossing her arms— “and I hope you don’t mind if we’re being cautious ‘cause, well, we don’t want our roommate to get dragged into something sketchy, but… you came all the way down here to this shabby neighbourhood after you saw the cover of your song, and now you want to collaborate on a song? Is that it?”

Prompto is the one who willingly answers with a vigorous nod. He seems unfazed with Crowe’s intention of scaring them off. He glances your way before he says, “And there’s no need to worry about the contract and all that legal stuff, ‘cause we’ll have that arranged. Right, Ignis?”

“Indeed,” says Ignis. “I know this arrangement seems completely out of sorts, seeing as we came here on such a short notice, but I can assure you that we offer nothing but the best of intentions.”

“Really?” you say as you move from behind the counter to sit together with Crowe. “But you’re all men. And you know what’s more dangerous than men? Celebrity men.” No one said a word. A moment’s silence lingers as you study each of their faces, and then: “So how do I make sure that I could trust you with… this? That this isn’t some publicity stunt you’re trying to pull—”

“It’s not like that at all,” Prompto says firmly. “And if you have any doubts with your safety, well, I’m sorry if our friend Gladio looks so menacing for our image—”

“Seriously?” Gladio scoffs, turning to Prompto. “You really hurt my feelings.”

You try to stifle your laughter. Somehow, now that you look closely at the four of them, they remind you of Nyx, Libertus, and Pelna.

And suddenly, you feel bad for putting them in a hot seat like this.

As The Lost Boys begin to discuss amongst themselves with what you assume to be a stream of their inside jokes, Pelna sidles up to you while Crowe loops her arm around yours. Whispering, she says, “I think you should do it.”

Pelna discreetly adds, “And if they ever get you into trouble, Nyx is a lawyer so he should have your back. I already texted him and he’s ready to keep an eye out for you.”

You let out a rueful sigh. You have to admit, it’s hard to stay mad at Crowe and Pelna and Nyx when this is the way they exhibit their unwavering friendship: with a flourish of genuine love and steadfast support.

Empowered by your friends’ confidence, you clear your throat and you turn your attention to the four men sitting in front of you. You fix your eyes at Prompto, and you ask, “So. When do we start this thing?”

#final fantasy xv #ffxv #ffxv fanfiction #fanfic #prompto argentum #older!prompto argentum #prompto x reader #older!prompto x reader #my writing

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jenbrookmodel · 7 years ago

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Matchmaker XII: Lost in New York

It’s been several years since I sat here with my laptop; earphones turned to max, music pouring its way through my emotive veins at an undetermined time of the darkened morning. Curtains closed, alarm set for shortly. Here I am.

Oh, jetlag, you.

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When was your year? My sister and I spent last weekend reminiscing our short lives and the possibility of a self defining year, ‘the year of you’...so far. She said mine was 2013 and I agreed. I sharply exited an 8 year relationship that was never destined to survive the adult world and as I left it behind, I grew as a model and a person in every way.

I discovered a new world beyond my own doorstep; venturing to the big smoke alone, touring for the first time and stretching tiny wings that soon saw flights to Montreal and L.A. solo - I barely recognised the brave adventurer I’d become. I made three of the greatest creative friends I’ll ever have - Brooke, Ben and Devin. I started urban exploring with a friend from my past who allowed me to talk uninterrupted and bleed my sadness out into abandoned uncharted buildings, that echoed my feelings back. I approached brands to seek out successful work and I networked day and night using a project I later called Dreamcatcher, to grow. I got angry at badger cullers and dolphin trainers, and I made sure everybody knew. Yes, 2013 was my year; the year I became more than the silent clotheshorse.

Reviewing my blog archive, it seems that by February 2014, I was ready...and I found my Matchmaker man. For those who followed the 10.5 episode series, you’ll know that the story concluded (in blog form) with our first night spent together. Fourteen months later (and three years to this very day), we had our own home - two deckchairs, two mugs, a lamp, a plant and a mattress on the floor to our name. And now four years on...we’re here again, with another chapter to my unwritten autobiography.

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October 2017 - my heroine, P!nk, announced her Beautiful Trauma Tour - the 14th time I would see her. With European dates still dwindling in the distance, he said “let’s do NYC”...and I didn’t wait to be asked twice. So, we saved and saved and treated ourselves to five nights in an art deco themed tower on Park Avenue, with a rooftop that overlooks the Empire State.

Straight through to April...it was time.

We arrived late, Saturday 31st March. Having barely slept for a full day, we crashed hard and awoke the next morning to patchy skies, overlooking the city like no other’ the city that never sleeps. Three wonderful days soon flew by, visiting the usual tourist hotspots and cooking up a storm of steps around the concrete jungle of 60 miles on foot.

Wednesday, 11pm and we were walking home from Madison Square Garden - with me still singing ‘So What’ as he clutched the Starbucks crushed cake we’d forgotten from his pocket.

“So, so what?! I’m still a rockstar! I got my rock moooooooves and I don’t neeeeeed you! And guess what? I’m having more fun, now that we’re done. I’m gonna show you, tonight...” my voice echoed quietly into the Subways that filled the ground.

We were only six blocks away as we marched the path back to our hotel upon newly dried pavement, after a few days of undecided showers and a flurry of deep overnight snow. Blinded by the glare of Times Square and the flashing lights of the Big Apple cabs, stars above were completely invisible, but on such a perfectly clear night of perfectly wonderful happiness, I knew they were up there somewhere, looking down.

Drunk on Pink, high on life, I was skipping all the way home. All of my favourite things in one place together - NYC, Matchmaker and a 5ft 4 superstar, who’s unknowingly been there, in my life, all along.

We hurried through the glassed porch entrance of the hotel, greeted by the perfume of elegance that they pump into the lobby - something I’ll always remember; an essence that screams ‘we go the extra mile, don’t forget us’.

Ten floors up, we were ‘home’.

“Turn around, I’ve got a present for you” he said, as I ventured my way into the bathroom. “Hurry up then” I badgered, “I need a wee”. Knowing it would be the lemon drizzle he was speaking about less than a split second before, I span around and.....whaaaaaaat?! There he was, down on one knee, a sparkling diamond glistened in the tungsten light above the bed.

“Will you marry me?”

....”Are you serious?? Oh my god, I don’t understand! Do you mean it??”

I battled through the salty water that appeared in a single blink, blurring my vision. I stumbled to greet him on the carpeted cream coloured floor. Still spilling sweet nothings into the sweet smelling air, we landed in a soggy heap, me holding his crumpled shirt tightly, pulling back only to stare at him and cry more.

“I wanted to do this last year. I knew when we walked onto Main St at Disney and you burst into tears, that ‘this’ was the moment I was meant to do it...but I didn’t know it ‘til then and I didn’t have a ring! I started searching for places in Florida and thinking of how to get you one. I panicked! I’m sorry it’s not as perfect as last summer, but I know how much you love Pink and this seemed like a good second. You’re my world, my best friend and I don’t ever want to be without you. I want to marry you...I’m presuming this is a yes, right...right?”

I was frantically nodding, still sobbing, still listening, still staring into those emerald eyes I’d fallen for four years ago, gleaming rocks in a box still clutched between my sweaty palms.

“So when Pink announced this tour, I knew I’d do it in New York. But our first day here was April Fools Day...and you were complaining that your bum was hurting on the bike ride...and you were a total zombie with no sleep - so it couldn’t have been there. Then it snowed...and then it rained...and we fell out because you had wet feet! We’ve had such a good holiday, haven’t we? But there wasn’t a moment that stood out. I’m sorry it’s happened in a hotel room, I wanted to do it in Central Park, but it wasn’t right...” he waffled on.

“Shut up you idiot! This is the most perfect day ever!” I screamed in his face, sliding the shimmering sparkles onto my left hand. My ears were still ringing with the sounds of Madison Square Garden and nobody was looking at me, but him. It was everything I’ve ever wanted.

We were still intertwined on the floor, holding each other tightly, laughing through choked up tears about the fact he had been carrying the ring around for five whole days, waiting impatiently - narrowly avoiding the most inappropriate proposal ever, when security at the 9/11 memorial museum asked him to turn out his pockets on arrival.

So, here you go. Here I am. Here ‘we’ are.

Four years on and you were there from the start...that first blog about our first date and our more than coincidental meeting; all those moments of serendipity that brought us together. I’ve come home from America in the best kind of daze and can’t stop looking at it...at him, and squeezing my eyes so tightly shut with gratitude that I finally got it - someone who shares my happiness, who loves me through my faults and who supports me in everything that I do. I love him so very much.

I love him and now, I’ll be his wife...Mrs Matchmaker.

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“Have you ever wished for an endless night? Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight Have you ever held your breath and asked yourself Will it ever get better than tonight? Tonight”

#new york #city that never sleeps #big apple #engagement #Wedding #matchmaker #match.com #happiness i

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pokemaniacal · 8 years ago

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Pokémon Moon, Episode 7: In Which My Culinary Skills Are Pushed To Their Limit

Since the next Captain, Kiawe, is a Fire Pokémon specialist, he lives on a volcano. Because of course he does. Fire trainers don’t really ‘do’ subtlety. Wela Volcano, which is named for the Hawaiian word for heat or burning, and corresponds to Haleakala in the real world, looms over the northeast corner of Akala Island. Although many of its basalt flows are still glowing red from the last eruption, the volcano is perfectly safe – or at least, this is the claim made by the Seismic Sisters, a set of Alolan triplets who maintain tunnels that provide surprisingly easy access up and down its slopes. Among the hardy, fire-tolerant Pokémon that live there is a wily black lizard Pokémon called Salandit, a Fire/Poison-type, which nearly blows my Trumbeak out of the sky with Dragon Rage. I decide to retire my Butterfree and recruit one in her place (a female, which I’m told is important); that Dragon Rage is sure to come in handy as long as we’re still low-level.

The bare-chested Fire Captain is already waiting for me in the middle of a circular platform within the volcano crater itself. With him are three sinister-looking black Pokémon with bone staves, their tips glowing with spectral green fire. Wait… are those Marowak? As I stare quizzically at his Pokémon, Kiawe explains the terms of his trial. He and his Marowak are fire dancers in the ancient Alolan tradition. They will perform two dances for me, and my task is to discern the difference between them. “…that’s it?” I ask suspiciously. “No battle? No Totem Pokémon? What’s the catch?” Kiawe returns a sober frown. “Alolan fire dance is no trifling entertainment. It is a sophisticated union of art, worship and discipline, performed to honour Tapu Lele. The slightest change in position or tempo can alter the meaning of the entire dance. My trial will tax your powers of observation to their limit.” Duly chastened, I sit down cross-legged at the edge of the stage to watch. Kiawe nods solemnly and turns to his three Marowak. “Begin!” The Marowak march in a circle, spinning their flaming staves, then freeze in a set of coordinated poses. They hold their positions for a moment, then at a nod from Kiawe, spring into action once more. The motions and tempo seem identical, but when the dance stops, one of the Marowak is facing in a different direction than I remember from the first time. I point to it. “That one. That one’s stance is different.” Kiawe gasps – and the Marowak leaps right at me, spinning its staff once again. With a strangled, squawking yell, I summon my new Salandit and order her to open fire with Dragon Rage. Scorched by the brilliant energy, the Marowak soon kneels in submission. “Right,” I say, more than a little breathless. “Right, okay. Wrong answer. Do I get another try?” “No, no!” Kiawe stays hastily. “Marowak was so pleased by your right answer that it simply had to battle you!” The Marowak twirls its staff again and bows low. “Oh,” I say. “Oh. Okay. Sure.” So presumably the other two Marowak will challenge me in turn. “Onward to the second dance!” I watch the three Marowak closely as they run through their practiced motions. When I think I have them memorised, I nod to Kiawe, who commands the Marowak to repeat their dance. Again, I see no differences until the dance is almost ov- “BLAAAARGHAGHAH!” “AHHHH! What the-!” I flail my arms wildly and tumble backwards off the stage as a scruffy hiker leaps in front of me, shouting and making gruesome faces. “What the HELL, dude!? This is, like… a sacred quest thing, or… or something!” I squint at the Marowak, frozen in their final poses, but my concentration has been broken. Is… the one on the left holding its staff at a different angle? “Damn it, I couldn’t see the end of the dance properly,” I complain to Kiawe. “How am I supposed to-” The hiker, crouching on my right, starts chuckling. “You stay out of this!” I snap at him. “Just because you paid for the ‘authentic Alola experience’ doesn’t mean you get to be part of whatever- what- whatever…” I pause. Oh. Ohhhhh. Oh, this is ridiculous. I turn back to Kiawe, then point at the hiker. “It’s this idiot, isn’t it? He’s what was different about the second dance.” Kiawe looks startled. “You… you are correct! B-but how!?” I give him the most withering stare I can muster. “So… ‘ancient tradition’? ‘Sophisticated union of art and worship’? Really?” “Well…” Kiawe begins, slowly. “Alola’s booming tourist industry has been very good for the region. Tapu Lele looks kindly on visitors, and permits us to… uh… involve them in our rituals.” “…you know, this is gonna sound totally hypocritical of me… and it is… but I don’t even care: tourism has ruined this region,” I tell Kiawe flatly. He does his best to ignore me. “Uh, Kiawe, m’dude,” the hiker says. “Do I get to, uh…?” Kiawe smacks his palm to his forehead. “Go ahead…” he mutters.“Radical, dude!” the hiker shouts, then jumps to the centre of the stage, faces me, and calls a Magmar from a Pokéball. “We’re doing this? Really?” I sigh, and deploy my Salandit’s Dragon Rage once again to defeat the Magmar. Kiawe coughs. “My… hiker friend was so pleased by your right answer that he… simply had to battle you,” he says, with no enthusiasm whatsoever. “Onward to the final dance.” This time, the hiker actually leaps in amongst the Marowak near the end and joins in their movements. Kiawe lets me observe their final positions for a few moments, then commands the dance to begin again. Once more, I watch closely for any change. Then, moments from the end… “SALAAAA!” A huge black and pink lizard springs over the opposite edge of the volcano crater, lands in the middle of the dance, and flings its arms wide, with a grin and a wink. I half expect it to pull out a cane and a straw hat and start tap-dancing. I stare at the lizard, then at Kiawe, then back at the lizard. “…okay I’m just gonna fight this thing now.”

My opponent is a Salazzle, a weirdly salacious-looking evolved Salandit. My own Salandit is clearly outclassed, but she knows Dragon Rage and the Totem Salazzle seems not to; nor does the Salazzle minion that it summons. Unfortunately, the second Salazzle hits mine with a Torment to keep her from blasting the Totem Pokémon repeatedly, and we are forced to retreat. This thing is actually quite nasty. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. I send in my Slowpoke and perform the wave-like dance motion that Lana taught me to activate her Z-Crystal. Slowpoke summons a terrible Hydro Vortex that sweeps up the Salazzle, batters it around, and throws it off the top of the mountain, wailing piteously as it falls. The little Salandit still has some tricks, though, hitting my Slowpoke with a cloud of Poison Gas and following up with a devastating Venoshock that knocks her out. I briefly pause to applaud its bravery, then send in my own Salandit to finish the job. Kiawe salutes me, and presents me with his Z-Crystal, known as the Firium-Z, several Quick Balls, and the ability to summon a new Pokémon with my ride pager: his Charizard. Charizard, like Latias and Latios in Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby, replaces the Fly HM, and can take us to a variety of locations both inside and outside of towns and cities, including between Alola’s four islands… and beyond.

On the outskirts of Alola lies a chain of small islands known as the Poké Pelago. They are beyond the reach of any regular ferry routes (but not Charizard’s wings), and only one human appears to live there: a fellow with the uninspiring name of Mohn, who acts as their caretaker. Mohn is a cheerful hermit who seems to have gotten just a little too much sun over the years. He suffers from a crippling addiction to Pokébeans, and lives in a leaky, run-down wooden hut perched precariously atop a distressed-looking raft tethered just off the coast of Isle Abeens. Thanks to some suspicious technology of Mohn’s, trainers’ Pokémon can visit the islands whenever they like, warping directly there from… wherever it is Pokémon go while in a PC box. On my first visit to the Poké Pelago, Mohn promises that, if I help feed his Pokébean habit, he’ll get off his butt for an afternoon and develop some of the islands to make them more pleasant for Pokémon to visit. Mohn describes five islands to me, all with stupid names, and each suited for different activities: harvesting Pokébeans, growing berries, searching for treasure, training, and relaxing. Despite my… suspicions of Mohn, I find it hard not to love the Poké Pelago, because it embodies something I’ve wanted these games to have for a long time, namely some way of giving meaning to the 90% of your Pokémon who aren’t with you at any given moment. The notion that we’ve been leaving most of our Pokémon in internet limbo for weeks or months on end this whole time is easily one of the most troubling things about the series, and extremely difficult to reconcile with either the anime’s portrayal of Ash’s off-duty Pokémon or the games’ own attitude to Pokémon as friends and partners. This is a major item ticked off my long-term wishlist – and it does a bunch of useful stuff too.

Once my first visit to the Poké Pelago is finished and all my B-team Pokémon are getting settled in, I strike out along the northern coastal road for the location of Captain Mallow’s trial: the Lush Jungle. The road itself is unremarkable, but many of the people and Pokémon I meet give me pause for thought. The first is a truly odd creature called a Stufful. It… seems to be literally a soft toy. Its type is Normal/Fighting, it looks like a teddy bear with a smiling pink face, and its ability grants it damage reduction against contact moves but makes it weak to Fire, because it is made of stuffing. I am not sure whether I should be disturbed by it. Not far along the road, a sterile-looking white prefabricated structure houses some researchers from an organisation called the Aether Foundation, a syndicate of scientists and conservationists working to protect Pokémon from evildoers like Team Skull. I can’t argue with that, and it sounds like they do good work. Only… their uniforms… they look exactly like the people I saw chasing Lillie when I first came to Alola, whom I’d assumed were airport security apprehending a dangerous terrorist. Why would they have been after her and Nebby? There can only be one conclusion…

Lillie is definitely a member of Team Skull. Her professed fear of them is merely a smokescreen, to keep me from realising the truth about her. Her wickedness is without limit and beyond comprehension.

Down near the western end of the road is the entrance to a secluded valley, where a self-professed scientist is trying to begin the construction of a theme park filled with prehistoric Pokémon reanimated from fossil remains. Because that’s a project that’s never gone horribly wrong before and is guaranteed to have no negative consequences. “So… just out of curiosity, did Jurassic Poképark ever get released here in Alola?” I ask him casually. “Oh, absolutely! It’s one of my favourite movies of all time!” he enthuses. “Huh. Really?” “Yes indeed! I had to leave after the first half-hour, unfortunately, but it was truly inspiring! One of these days I’ll find the time to watch it the whole way through.” If I find any fossils, this guy should be able to resurrect them for me… although, to be honest, I’d almost prefer to brave the customs desk and take them back to Kanto to be examined by an actual scientist. The last stop before Mallow’s jungle is a motel with an attached Pokémon Centre. That weird, angsty Gladion kid appears to be staying here, but he is in no mood to talk, refusing to say anything but “get out.” I try to explain to him that, where I come from, wandering Pokémon trainers are usually allowed to enter any building or room freely, as a matter of simple courtesy, but he is unmoved. I divert my attention to the rocky shore below. Here, on the northwest coast of Akala Island, is the habitat of a weak and cowardly Pokémon called Wimpod, a Bug/Water-type with poor stats in everything but speed, no moves but Struggle Bug and Sand Attack, an ability that causes it to flee in terror from any battle when its health is low, and a propensity for eating rotten food. If I know Pokémon – which I do – Wimpod is bound to evolve into something downright terrifying, and who better to make it happen than me? Wimpod itself, unfortunately, has other ideas, and won’t battle me at all until I loop around to the far end of the beach to cut off its retreat from its burrow. I’m going to turn this Pokémon into an all-powerful terror whether it likes it or not!

We’ve made a full circle around the volcano: the Lush Jungle where Captain Mallow makes her lair is just north of Brooklet Hill. The jungle and its mistress promise Grass-types, and that promise is music to my ears. It’s about time Alola gave me something worth bragging about when I get back to Kanto. We’ll just see whose Grass Pokémon are stronger when I blow a hole in your ceiling with my Grass-type Z-Crystal, won’t we, Erika? Next year’s Flower Power Grand Prix is mine, you smug, condescending little- “Oh, hello! Thanks for stopping by!” Mallow’s voice jolts me out of my reverie as she welcomes me to the jungle. She looks me up and down, smiles approvingly. “I knew it the first time I saw you and your team… You’ve chosen only the finest ingredients! That’s why I’m gonna make you help me- er, no! I mean, that’s why you should try my trial!” I sigh and try to give her a friendly smile. “Listen, if the trial is just, like, doing your laundry or whatever, I don’t mind. I’m sure you’re a busy girl, and I just want to tick all the boxes so Tapu Koko will get off my back.” “What? Oh, not at all! I hope I didn’t make you think- oh, dear. No, I just get a little overexcited sometimes. Trust me, my trial will be just as challenging as any of the others you’ve faced so far.” Mallow closes her eyes for a moment, breathes deeply, and then flings her arms wide and looks up into the lush canopy as though searching for inspiration. “Ah… the breath of the jungle…” she sighs rapturously, then suddenly turns her attention back to me and snaps her fingers. “I can tell just what today’s special should be! My personal specialty: the Mallow Special! I’m gonna need you to find four ingredients for me!” I blink a couple of times. “Wait… your trial is a cooking challenge?” “Yep!” She grins at me. “What were you expecting? Hope that’s not gonna be too tough for you!” “Oh… I think I’ll manage.” I’ve studied the local cuisines of every region I’ve visited (well, except Kalos… bunch of stuck-up food snobs refused to teach me a single thing after I dared to question whether a boiled bone was an acceptable restaurant dish, but Kalosian cooking is overrated anyway). This should be a piece of cake. Perhaps literally. “I’ll need… Mago Berries, Tiny Mushrooms, some Revival Herb, and a Miracle Seed!” Mallow continues, counting off on her fingers. I nod sagely as I consider the ingredients she’s specified. It’s an interesting combination of flavours. The odd sweet-and-bitter combination of the Mago Berry and Revival Herb has something in common with some old central Hoenn dishes I’m familiar with, while mushrooms are basically alien to the traditional Hoenn diet, but should ground the other flavours quite nicely. My guess is we’re going to boil it all into a sort of stew or broth. Mallow gives me a final piece of advice before I take off into the jungle: her Stoutland will be invaluable in finding the best ingredients.

Stoutland first leads me to a cluster of mushrooms, guarded by a slender mushroom Pokémon, Shiinotic, the evolved form of Morelull. My Trumbeak deals with it swiftly; then, as I rummage through the assorted fungi, Mallow shows up. “Ooh, a Tiny Mushroom! That’s great! There’s a secret to why they’re so popular with some people. You’ll have to try one to find out what it is!” Is… is she trying to get me into drugs? But actually, that gives me an idea. Mallow’s request for “Tiny Mushrooms” was pretty vague; there are a lot of different species in this small patch alone… I mean, she was probably talking about the Alolan shiitake, but there’s also some azure chanterelle, Pyroar’s mane, urchin Shaymin, and… oooohh… I spot a single pinkish, black-spotted toadstool on the edge of the patch. Could it be? The legendarily delicious Milktank’s glory cap, said to produce a soup so rich it would make a king weep? Hmm. Well. Unless it’s the equally rare lookalike, destroying Snubbull, in which case eating it would cause catastrophic organ failure.

…eh. What’s life without a little risk, right?

Continuing to follow Stoutland’s nose, I head into the northwest part of the jungle and come upon a grove of fruit trees. My Salandit dispatches the Fomantis guarding the trees, and I start picking Mago Berries. Then I keep going. Mago is nice, but we could get a more complex flavour by adding some Persim Berries too, and… oh my god are those Spelon Berries? I f&%#ing love Spelon Berries, and they’re a classic central Hoenn flavour; let’s take a handful of those… A few more Fomantis lurk in the grassy northern area where Stoutland and I go to search for Revival Herb. We should only need a tiny bit; the intense bitter flavour is what makes the dish, but even slightly too much could just as easily wreck it. I pull up a fistful of the rare herbs and sniff deeply. Wow this stuff is pungent. No wonder it wakes up fainted Pokémon. There’s an old family legend that my great-grandmother used so much Revival Herb in her cooking that the smell of her stew could actually raise the dead. Probably apocryphal, of course, but there must be some reason my family got kicked out of Lavender Town. One ingredient left… Miracle Seeds are packed with a veritable rainbow of nutrients, so they tend to get dug up and eaten by wild Pokémon unless they’re buried in spots that are very hard to get to – like under piles of crumbling boulders. Stoutland confirms the presence of something interesting under one such pile in the eastern part of the jungle, and with a little help from Hala’s Tauros, we’re able to smash it out of the way and dig up the precious seed hidden beneath. Time to get cooking.

“Great!” Mallow enthuses, when I confirm that I have everything. “Now that we’ve got all the ingredients, we just need…” “Sorry to keep you waiting,” calls out a voice from the entrance to the jungle. It’s the other Captains, Kiawe and Lana, who have brought their own… contributions to Mallow’s little culinary experiment. Kiawe’s Thick Club and Rare Bone, used to crush and mix the ingredients, should theoretically impart a little of their own flavour to the stew, and the Fresh Water that Lana has brought from Brooklet Hill is the purest around. Lana’s also brought a Rocky Helmet to mix it all in, which… y’know what, I feel like this is some kind of weird inside joke between the Captains that I’m never going to get, so I’ll just drop that one. I light a small fire, heat the water, and start grinding up my ingredients. As the stew begins to cook, a tantalising smell wafts through the jungle, and Mallow mentions, casually, that this should summon her Totem Pokémon. “…wait what?” I suddenly feel distinctly and disturbingly watched, and slowly turn around. “Luuuu-RAAAAAAAAN!” screams the huge orchid mantis behind me. “OH SWEET MOTHER OF MEW!” I scream back at it, frantically grabbing my Pikachu’s Pokéball. She knows Hidden Power: Ice, and this thing – Lurantis, the evolved form of Fomantis, as the Rotomdex unhelpfully explains while I continue screaming – is a Grass-type, so- “LU-RAAAN!” the Lurantis screeches, igniting a massive blade of radiant solar energy from the tip of its claw and slamming it down on my poor Pikachu’s head. Another screech summons a wild Trumbeak to its side. “AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!” I keep screaming, in hopes of confusing the Lurantis, as I call on my Salandit and perform the motions Kiawe taught me to activate the Fire-type Z-move, Inferno Overdrive. The Lurantis is injured, but not critically, and quickly heals itself with Synthesis… then keeps healing itself as its Trumbeak grinds down my Salandit. “THAT’S IT; NOW I’M MAD,” I shout, sending my Raticate to crush the Trumbeak. The Lurantis, more bemused than concerned, X-Scissors my Raticate, and then calls out again, summoning… a Castform. “…ohhhhhh $#!t,” I say to myself quietly. If that thing can take control of the weather, the Lurantis will be able to start spamming Solar Blade, and then I’m dead for sure. I back away from the Lurantis, grab Lana’s stew-filled helmet, and hold it out in front of me. “Lu-ran?” the Totem Pokémon asks. “Uh… here! Take it!” I shout, putting the helmet down on the ground and then diving for cover behind a boulder. The Lurantis sniffs cautiously at the stew, then begins gorging itself. I watch, heart pounding and fingers crossed. A few moments later, the Lurantis’ eyes widen, it stands bolt upright, turns bright red, begins venting steam from its ears, and starts running around in circles wailing. Moments after that, it stops abruptly, as though it had run into a glass wall, exhales a cloud of smoke, and then keels over, twitching. Mallow stares in abject shock. “…um… are you quite sure you got all those ingredients right?” I give her a nervous smile. “…you know, my great-grandmother always used to say cooking is more of an art than a science… and, uh… well, sometimes more of a gamble than an art…”

Ridiculous quote log:

“I want to make my Kadabra evolve! Friends! I need friends!” Listen, man, if that’s your only reason for wanting friends, you’re going to have a hard time making any.

“I guess I wasn’t able to make use of the potential energy of being in a high place.” Is this the Pokémon equivalent of “it’s over, Anakin; I have the high ground”?

“Research! Research! I will research the Pokémon!” …calm down, dude.

“So! What do you think of the largeness of my area?” …it’s great. Really great.

The team:

Tane the Dartrix Male, Timid nature, Overgrow ability Level 25 Tackle, Razor Leaf, Astonish, Pluck

Rhea the Trumbeak Female, Lax nature, Keen Eye ability Level 25 Pluck, Roost, Fury Attack, Rock Smash

Ashley the Pikachu Female, Timid nature, Static ability Level 24 Thundershock, Hidden Power (Ice), Nasty Plot, Thunder Wave

Hypatia the Slowpoke Female, Hardy nature, Own Tempo ability Level 24 Confusion, Yawn, Headbutt, Scald

Soot the Raticate Female, Hardy nature, Hustle ability Level 25 Crunch, Tail Whip, Hyper Fang, Focus Energy

Joanna the Salandit Female, Timid nature, Corrosion ability Level 24 Flame Burst, Sweet Scent, Dragon Rage, Smog

#pokemon moon playthrough #pokemon #alola #kiawe #mallow #mohn #salandit #salazzle #stufful #wimpod #shiinotic #lurantis #wela volcano #lush jungle

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jeffrmayhugh · 5 years ago

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BITCOIN BREAKING DOWN!! $2400 TARGET? Programmer explains

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

And we’re alive. Yes. Welcome to another episode of Good Morning crypt only here on I will not take or of course broadcasting live straight out of Stockholm Sweden. And we do the show each and every day at 8:00 a.m. Central time but on weekends on weekends. It’s 11:00 in today Saturday today Saturday guys. Welcome welcome everyone who is watching this life. We do have some important news in the markets right now. We are breaking down from a bear flag. Many people are freaking out. Many people are calling for two thousand four hundred USD for a bitcoin in regards to the current situation in the market. We’re going to discuss that. Whether it’s true whether it’s not true and really how to approach this market because there’s so much psychology there is so much skill you need to have. That only has to do with the way you view things the way you viewed the market the way you psychologically make your way through this jungle through descriptive jungle. And we’re going to discuss it a lot. This episode is actually going to be a lot about psychology how to navigate all of this and how to think about this but at the same time also we’re going to discuss some specific targets that now people are putting out. That’s going to be number one. Number two actually we’re going to discuss how to make money within the FTC how to make money flipping and their fees. And you know that I have a long experience doing that not necessarily NFTE but flipping digital assets. And the reason is because as a kid I played a lot of Rusedski you know Rusedski plays this game game you can go around you for you fetch different things you you make different or more you go and you slay monsters. It’s a medieval game and I know many of you know this game. Let me know in the chat if you’ve played and you know a part of room Skip is that it has its own economy and an infinite sale a real escape economy is better than the national economy. We discussed just a few days ago how they actually stored their wealth in the room escape gold because look it’s more stable than when you Zealand currency but also you can flip a lot of things. So you look at for example different items like gold bar and you can also see the progression of the price of gold in room escape or you can see the progression of pricing like old clothes. I mean there are thousands and thousands of these items and as you can see some markets can be very volatile. So for example old clogs. They had the bull market up until December of 2009 seen that since then they enter the bear market and a moonscape. So as you can see there’s a lot of experience you actually get from playing games as a kid. That’s why parents by the way should never restrict playing games because I learned my first market mechanics in this game. I learned my first pump and dumps mechanics in this game because you see so much in crypto and you recognize that a lot people who haven’t played through an escape they don’t recognize that look this might have been a pump and dump but because I knew it from my early days I recognized all of them in crypto like we had during 2017 18. I mean I got my first experience being dumped upon in the in run escape because you see people pumping up prices of various assets here and this economy is truly a reflection of the real world. So we’re going to discuss how to do flipping in crypto and how to do it with NAFTA and how to do research and how people are really doing right now in this market. Also we haven’t introduced from Microsoft. Microsoft has now a patent on crypto mining with your body. You know that your physical human body. Now Microsoft can make crypto with you. It sounds a bit a bit dystopian. I’m personally thinking a bit about matrix you know that the matrix you have people lying in cocoons in the schools and then they are getting extracted their energy is getting extracted to power the matrix or to power this economy of machines and old people. They have this illusion in their brain that they’re living in the real world. In reality everyone is just lying in the cocoon and their energy is being extracted maybe for a bitcoin mining amendment that is what make us the strain to do. But we’re going to discuss exactly what that is. And so many other things many people are even talking about the hyper wave theory now coming back and we have been discussing it on the channel with Socrates for quite some time already. Guys I do see the chatter rolling. Amazing to see all of your life so good to see you guys. And if you’re watching on YouTube you have already missed our delight from your only watching a recording you’re not getting information first hand because we’re only a live streaming on I don’t like that com slash line. So go there and subscribe right now. And all of you who are here. CHARLES FUCHS Robert shield women Slavin and I will Shawn Hunter Rob. Welcome everyone. SLOBODAN Slobodan junior Jonah George Joakim manage you guys. Welcome welcome. How are you guys doing. I see a lot of money printer going out in the chat. It’s an amazing meme. It’s an amazing meme that is used all across the world and it is amazing because now people are starting to question how for how long can we go. But that’s for sure. That’s for sure. Hey guys let me know where you from. Let me know where you are coming in from this fine Saturday morning. And as always let me know what you’re drinking today we’re drinking black coffee no milk no sugar involved as always and there’s good. Good to be back to coffee also have some extra hydration here and I will need it because we have so much to discuss I’ll put my extra hydration here now looking on the markets we web the on situation we have bitcoin minus five point four percent were dumped even lower because I remember when I woke up it was actually even lower. Web e at minus four point six percent were X R B minus one point three. All in all quite the red day quite the red day especially because Bitcoin has broken some significant support. And looking on the big winners we do have some crazy action in EDC block chain. But remember the volume is basically nonexistent. So it’s just a bump. Could be a dump coming up. Could be a pump and dump so be careful and be absolutely careful thought next. One hundred and eighteen percent. These guys they have a bit more volume so that’s good. Did you buy it. Seven percent. Oh no not many winners only like this was official winner and maybe you can say this is a real winner. Two million in volume yet I guess I would be careful with this one as well. And looking on the top losers web eternal minus 17 percent Google and shares. So all in all mostly losers today. Not a lot of winners mostly mostly the losers. Now you should remember guys that we have released our defy. Course one. And this is the perfect time to learn about defy in this Coroneos situation in this situation of you having to sit at home so while you’re sitting at home and you cannot go outside at least try to learn something. So here with teach you everything about how rad the relay looping zoo idea excluding swap cable network work soon asks you I’m a microdot. I mean we teach you everything about how they actually work how you can use them and how also you can utilize them to your advantage. You also learn about insurance protocols like Nexus mutual open con vexes you. This is all decentralized insurance protocols and you not only know how to use them but also how they work and you are instructed by Amadeo brands and he’s from maker Dow. That’s important. We’re teaching you and our instructors are the first hand source. So this guy knows so lot because he’s literally makers. So that’s very important. And as always we do have our collaboration with Bybee so if you use the link below you can trade Bitcoin a theorem iOS SRP you can long you can sure we can make money when the market goes down or up or up and you can do it with these currencies but you’ve got to be careful because only for professional traders use the link below and you can get a small capital to get started but use the link below. Now let’s get into the main situation because many people are right now freaking out and maybe I can start with this. The moon went out saying that hey the next target is approximately two point four A.D. it’s already a few days back on the twenty six. But the reason why we’re covering it right now is because his scenario is now playing out because we’ve broken this bear flag that was forming we broke into the downside. Now we are at approximately six point one six point two okay. And many people are very similar. I mean now many people are turning very bearish. For example Don alt is now comparing the situation we had right before the previous breakout and now comparing the situation to right now and there are many similarities. Many people are now starting to freak out for real and look at the end of the day. You can either you can either look at the day to day movements like you like we’re doing right now or you look more long term and obviously could it happen that would go to two point four. It could it could. But at the same time you’ve got to realize that what we’re seeing right now is unprecedented action by the central banks. So no prices really really matter at them. So either you have bitcoin which is sound money or you have confetti. That’s basically the main question we need to be asking ourselves because in reality we don’t know the prices right now it’s all artificial in terms of for example the stock market as well. But what’s important to see now is that we’re still seeing the sell off this run for a safe seat in the global world in the global world of finance. And what’s important to note is that we have never seen this kind of mad money creation ever in modern history that we’re seeing right now. So I think the better question to ask yourself is not whether we’re going to go to two point four in the short term which might be the case which might be the case. At the same time you’ve got to be thinking do you want confetti or do you want sound money. This is the most important question to ask in the long term because we understand that all all of the fiat currencies that we’re witnessing right now being hyper inflated once they enter the circulation they become confetti and circulation has to do obviously with money velocity like we’ve been discussing with Mike Maloney on this channel and that is why when you’re seeing something like this you get to understand that this is a measurement against the dollar. And while it is very significant for all of us obviously to see our portfolios go up dollar wise you also get to understand that at the end of the day that metric will become outdated sooner or later. And so when when people are starting to become super bearish number one you get to realize that most people are usually wrong. Most people are usually pointing in the wrong direction at the same time. This could happen absolutely. That would go to two point four. I don’t want to sugarcoat it could happen. But at the same time looking long term it doesn’t really matter how it is two point four or 2.5. What’s important though is that we do see our most important models still holding like stock to flow. So if Milken goes down to two point four that’s when stock to flow will be tested and that’s maybe the biggest importance of us not breaking down too low. So the stock to flow model breaks because I can assure you that if stock to flow model is no longer statistically valid that the integration breaks does going to be a very very bearish event for the entire crypto space. And the reason is because too many people follow Plan B and too many people follow his account and they’re looking out for the having. And if his model breaks if we’re no longer following stock to flow that’s definitely something that’s going to cause a lot of confidence and a decrease in our community. That’s no question about it because it’s the most important model that many people know about right now and many people follow. So that’s why it’s important to really do to really really have a very cold blooded approach to this because most people they only have two modes in their brain either formal or fad which means that they formerly and at the top at the very peak and they fad at the bottom they sell everything at the bottom and that’s always like that. That’s always like because somebody somebody sold a three point nine K just a few a few weeks ago when we had this huge collapse someone so sold there at the same time someone bought up forcing came in in the in last year during the summer when we reach those all time highs in them two thousand and nineteen for all time high for 2019. So get understand that somebody did did that and you get a bit more cold blooded and you got to look at this more and more calmly and you got to understand what kind of approaches you can take in terms of psychology and this is really how I want to transition into this next topic about psychology how to treat this kind of environment and how to not lose money by being too emotional. And we have this great article from bank lists and this is a blog run by Ryan Shawn Adams that we have featured him on the Channel several times. And so now he had the guest on his blog from the poker space you know that poker space is very like crypto. It’s very like crypto in many cases in many regards and many perspective. I mean one big similarity between poker and crypto is that it is this mostly mostly young people who are trying to do something something that is completely new and something that is completely different from everything else. And you have the disconnection. You have the disconnection of people doing something online that is fascinating they’re using their skills just from home and they’re doing something that is very very isolated and also something that many people see as some kind of grey area some kind of grey area. So online poker basically went through the same stages that that group is going through right now. So you might remember from the early days who did use online poker sites. Well it was mostly people who were early to the internet who were early users who trusted the payments method on interest in the early days because right now people are trusting the fact that you can just put in your credit card on the Web site just under 10 years ago just 10 years ago. Think about that Justin. Years ago it wasn’t the fact most people were still a bit worried to pay online. Who knows if my credit card will get stolen. So to be an early adopter of online poker you had to be early adopter of the Internet. So that’s something we’re witnessing right now as well. That to be encrypted also going to be kind of an early adopter and have this mindset of exploration. And at the same time you saw the regulators really take very harsh actions against against online poker and from the beginning there were no KYC you could just play and win money however you want. But then it became more and more and more regulated kind of like crypto right now. But what’s important is that we’re seeing a lot of similarities also in terms of psychology and in terms of culture. And the countercultural cultural aspect is quite big. For example in poker you do have your own culture in terms of means in terms of different ways. You speak about each other so you have for example fish regulate recreational players who play for fun and usually lose against pros and you have like bad big bad run under a lot of these poker specific terms and the crypto industry is the same that you have a a whole situation with verbs with different subjects. How do you even say it like subjective verb adjectives that are only grouped are related. You see whales for example you see all kinds of others follow the formal funds are safe for such stuff like that. It’s only Krypton. But what’s important is that the behavior of crypto people is also very like the behavior of poker of poker players and poker owners. It’s jargon exactly jargon jargon. Exactly. So for example many poker players they are behaving in the manner that is like intraday traders in crypto. They start with a capital each day they tried to trade. They tried to make some money. And the psychology is very very very like in crypto. And something that is different obviously is that in poker you basically have to be an intraday trader. You can not really huddle like in group tossing crypto would you have another level of huddling where a lot of people reside but also a lot of people try to time the markets and try to ride the waves. Like in poker. And so this guy gives basically some important mental mental tips and mental advice how you can handle this Marcus and how you not do not go mad and become too emotional on base again. Then of day you lose you lose your money. So no one. Is ditch result oriented thinking for example just because we lost two aces against some crap hand a yesterday we shouldn’t consider giving up the next time we we’re dealt with two assess losses from poker obviously but this is like in crypto just because we made money on Verge verge days in 2017 it doesn’t mean that trading shed Elkins is a good thing term a long term strategy we should pursue. So just because something was yesterday or a day ago or a year ago doesn’t mean that it will work in the future. So just because some something gave you results in the past doesn’t mean that it will give you results in the future which is an important and important aspect of this. So just because the price of ecstasy went up doesn’t mean that it is fundamentally a good investment. And we’re seeing this a lot in crypto because fundamentals on price in the short term are very very different in the long term. They converge. But in the short term they are quite different in many cases. Now another thing is to focus on the game and not on the score. And this is key. I mean this is my favorite advice of the mall this number two because we’ve all been there. We’ve all been there when we’re new to this industry where we’re checking the portfolio each and every hour and we want to see exactly what happened and it’s okay to check portfolio I mean even experienced them traders and experienced participants of this industry the check portfolio quite often. But the difference is that you don’t get this energy drain energy drain. And I remember from early days when I was doing this industry you could really feel this energy drain coming out of you when the numbers go down when the numbers go down and look and they go up and down all the time all the time. And it’s important to keep it to keeps up some track of them. But it’s important not to be affected energetically. So no go up no go down fear greed charter anxiety these demons drain energy occupy our precious mental space and distract us from what’s important actionable stuff. So when you start blindly on the chart because you’ve made some kind of big bet or because you’re just psychologically not really trained for this industry yet you understand that you will only be staring at it. You will not be able to do anything else you’re staring there and you’re hoping for an exact candle to be better than the last one. And it’s very understandable understandable because I think most of us have been there at one point or another. Now many online poker players he says counted their winnings losses only once a week. So this is very good advice for everyone in the space as well. If you’re checking too much and you’re getting worried and you’re getting affected you will not be very efficient in this industry because you’re basically based on emotions you’re based on emotions 100 percent. So would you rather want to do is read make notes about what’s going on learn and try to analyze instead of just blindly looking at the numbers and calculating basically your losses or your winnings each and every second each and every minute. Now. Another important one is thinking about the bets. So this is basically expected return that you want to calculate. But it’s a bit more complicated because you have to basically create some kind of model how you think you’re going to perform in this market. But you can read more if you’re if you want for yourself. I will link it in the description. It’s all about the fact that you can basically create a statistical calculation that will show you how you’re likely to perform and then you can adjust it as the time goes by. And another one that is key is to not bet the farm and have bankroll management. The only guys the only the only loyalty you have when you are in this market at the end of the day is true to yourself to your family to your business. What you’re doing and this indirectly means to your capital so your loyalty is to your capital. And two million people in this space they get to be tribal eyes and the other be tribal eyes. So that means that they might be in some kind of delusional state really believe something and they become loyal to something that simply doesn’t make sense. And they do not follow bankroll management rules. For example the fact that you should not bet more than a few percent on different all coins that you should very very very big be thinking a lot about your capital and that you respect it’s respect your capital don’t respect some kind of project more than your capital because you might get disappointed that project is not as loyal to you as you are to them with your capital. So number one respect your capital that’s number one. Everything else is secondary. And so if you trade go for 1 2 3 percent of capital per position. If you invest in else you should go for three to 7 percent in one position. But obviously bitcoin if and others could be higher. But once again just double check. So sure number one loyal to capital number two loyal to cryptos. So that that’s important. Like as Leighton says dollar cost average. Exactly. Now mental game is very important. You can read more yourself about exactly the ins and outs of this point. But another thing is this. Number seven. Number seven that I want to focus on and that is that look we’re still living in the very very early industry and it is early days and it’s a small industry. This is amazing because it means that the potential of this industry is huge. And you’re here early so you can make your positions you can make your bets. But at the same time it’s also good if you know something else. If you have some kind of other hobby as well now it’s a very difficult tradeoff because personally I don’t really follow that. I’m all encrypting mentally psychologically with my skills and everything but I am coming from I.T. I’m coming from software so I’m already diversified in my skill set so I’m already diversified in whatever I’m doing. Look I still have my HCM programming skills. But if you only if you’re only out of college I think you should definitely go all in crypto because this is the biggest opportunity of your lifetime. In many cases but try. But try also do it in a way that if it is the case that you have to live crypto for one one reason or another look life can really be unexpected. So if you really have for some reason live crypto that you have something you have something else you have something else and that is why it’s important to for example learn a bit of programming. Eamon Seth Schilling me. Absolutely. So that’s why it’s important to learn a bit of programming. So when you’re learning for example how to become a developer in the crypto you also learn how to do javascript how to do C++ and that is applicable even outside of crypto. So this is important you learn basic web development together with if you was smart contracts and how to deploy everything and do and do it in the right way. So definitely check out the academy or to learn in some other way by the Academy is better because you get all structured and all really really thought through and it doesn’t have to be development. Look maybe you can learn something else maybe you can learn about macroeconomics more but you’ll learn it from the crypto perspective because I think it’s important to bet on crypto a lot. But you can also think about it in the way that you have something else you can rely on. If if you have to leave crypto for one reason or another and you don’t know. I mean something could happen with the family I mean you don’t never know. You never know something could happen in your local country something you’ll never know. So that’s that’s why you should never go bust or basically. And something really happened with Boca. I mean the reason why I’m telling you this is because we’ve seen that happen with poker. We’ve had the poker Black Friday because overnight the USA banned online poker and shut down one of the biggest poker rooms. So if it is the case that you only played poker without doing anything else then obviously now your whole industry has changed. So this poker room later turned out to be insolvent and we had a Mt. Gox situation and the same issue also occurred a bit later on when the majority of fish. You remember this Rich Rick recreational players that lost most of their money because they just played for fun they weren’t professional. They also basically could not play anymore because they only played for fun while professionals played as a living. And so these guys that play for fun obviously they could they could just do something else so they could find another hobby while you if you’re only a professional poker player. Now you cannot do anything and now you’re basically stuck with skills that are not relevant anymore. So that that’s very important. And while it’s important to see the grand future of crypto and really bet on it as I always always tell you and I’m betting on it with my time with my skills with everything but also try to do it in the way that you get something else as well that you know and you’re capable of doing something else. So and look at the similarities to just continue we’re lucky to be exposed to answer those fully remote and digital is to provide alternative to failing financial system offers a lot of different roles for people to fill. So basically what’s important is that you try to broaden your perspectives. It’s still small enough for everyone to make it without harsh competition. I’m always telling you that is the biggest arbitrage in the history. If you work in crypto you are squeezing low hanging fruit. You have the biggest unfair advantage in your lifetime right now because this industry is literally transforming finance and you’re here already and has untapped opportunities and inefficient markets which is huge as well. So I understand that if you judge by just your being in crypto you automatically will learn a lot of other things. But I think you also need to be serious about that mentally and understand that you need to learn a lot about of other things to really really be a long term for yourself. Now yes it’s a lot to discuss in this article I will link it in the chat. I’ve already done it before. I will do it again and you can check it out more in detail. Now I want to move onto this which is a system for mining crypto using your body. And to me it seems like they’re doing something that will basically encourage people to move or do exercise or something. This is a pattern by Microsoft where you have the cryptocurrency system so basically a blocking network. Then you have communication network basically Internet and then the users are having a device and with a sensor and this sensor can basically see what you’re doing. It can measure whether you’re running or what you’re doing it can see your game. And basically they now patenting this system of mining where the device can tell the person what to do. And if you do you will be rewarded. So they’re saying that a server may provide the task to a device over user which is communicates civilly coupled to a server and sensor communicates evilly coupled to or compromised in the device of any user my son’s body activity of the users and body activity data may be generated based on the sense body’s activity on the user. So the sensor will basically see what you’re doing. This is what they’re saying. There should be a currency system communicate civilly coupled to the device of the user may verify may verify if the body activity data sites satisfied one or more conditions. So basically your data that you produce in this sensor by moving it goes into the block chain here and there is a small country that basically verifies that you’ve done your your exercise for example and are worried that crypto currency to the user whose body activity data is verified so could be some kind of fitness thing some kind of fitness coin could be just the fact that we see a dystopian matrix situation but it’s more likely to miss some kind of fitness item not some kind of fitness maybe it is the fact that we’re witnessing right now this viral outbreak and maybe just the fact if you stay home you get reward that maybe I don’t know yes it’s really up to up to you and to everyone else to try to deduce what kind of use case it will be. Now what surprises me is that you can patent this. I mean this is surprising to me how can you patent this because it’s so simple. I mean you have an app that collects data and sends to the block chain. And yet they have pattern that it I don’t know. Yes it’s it’s a bit strange that you pattern that because it’s basically common sense like anyone can build it. It’s not so revolutionary anyway basically we’re replacing proof of work with expensive sorry. They have expensive batteries but you’re replacing that with your body movements basically anyway. Anyway we’ll see. We’ll see how it goes. We’ll see how it goes. Maybe it’s about mining encrypted while watching ads. It could be. It could be but I’m surprised that you can ban something that’s my number one thesis. OK. Yes it’s a yes. I don’t want to say it but I see Maxim. It’s a sad application for adult industry exactly. Ivan must do more push. Yeah I’m gonna do after this. After this stream go to go to gym time to go. And now they’ve opened again because the gyms have been closed for two weeks but now they’re back online. Soon Microsoft will patent oxygen. Exactly. I mean it’s like it’s what it feels like. When they’re patenting so it’s so obvious things so simple things Nate any updates on Swedish hospitals and Coronas. Well yeah. We’ll have some updates. I mean a big update is the fact that now you’re not allowed to meet more than more than 50 people just a few days ago it was 500 so. And still to date 500. But tomorrow will be the new rules with only 50 people so you cannot have. You can not have a gathering more than 50 and you also get help from the government when it comes to taxes. So if you are a company you can get the 5 K maximum per employee. They’re basically cutting the social security cost and you can deduct up to 5 or sorry it’s 5 K Swedish crowns is 5 minus 500 dollars. Basically you get 500 dollars per person for four months. So really right now they’re saying you get to the two thousand dollars because it’s 500 dollars for four months. So altogether it’s two thousand dollars per employee that they’re giving you now. Obviously if you have 10 employees suddenly it’s 20 k. If you have 20 it’s 40 k. So yeah I mean it can really help a lot of restaurants and stuff but for us for our business that doesn’t really help. But also it’s not that we’re hit a lot by cronies. To be honest but I really hope they would do more. Maybe they will do more but yeah Corona is really hurt hurting everyone including us but the restaurants are obviously hit much harder. Everything is calm in Belarus but you have some infected. I saw aswell I saw swell Ivan which errors some computer science are most important for crypto. To be honest with you you need depends on what you’re doing. If you’re building apps then you need obviously knowledge of basic programming like British thing in our academy. So for example need to know either JavaScript or C++ or Python really basic programming or basic object oriented programming and then you can create your first normal. Easy easy adapts but if you want to take it to another step and you’re asking computer science like what is in computer science if you’re just building the apps you should know about security. I mean you should know about formal verification. So if you really want computer science terms you should start the formal verification. That is key. That is absolutely key. What else is important. Any type any type of time complexity analysis is important. If you truly want computer science related deep knowledge any type of time complexity experience. Basically you can look at a piece of code and you can say okay this is or do and or or the end squared whatever you know that because it’s all about efficiency. So in order for you to build efficient smart contracts that are not utilizing a lot of gas you need to know time complexity and how to optimize your smart contracts for time complexity. That’s very important because if you are operations then the better the smart contract in terms of cost. Gas cost and user experience fake names as is advanced math important. No no no. You don’t need advanced math you will need if you are creating protocols but you don’t have to. You don’t have to. I mean most of the positions are not creating protocols is building on top of protocols so that I would say form of reflection number one and time complexity. Number two now if you want to build the on Kara Daniel you obviously in functional programming. So functional programming is needed for Kasdan on the end Tasos. So that does the areas I would I would check out. And would teach you most of it in our academy. So go to academy the times that come and enroll if you want structured way of learning. But now yes I want to move into NFTE and I want to talk about flipping items in in crypto. I don’t like how can a novice Boston developer get sufficient practice to build confidence in the field Sonic. You build stuff. So in our academy it would show you how to build stuff and build small projects. So that’s can be a first step. But if you know already how to program just build your own hobby projects deploy on the test net. Show them to the community and get people to use them. Build something useful so that is how you get sufficient practice and sufficient confidence you’ve got to be building on the end of the day. You can build however you want. Like you can construct the boat however you want but to truly test the boat you have to put it in the water meaning that you can do as many tutorials. That’s why so many people when they’re learning they get stuck in this tutorial Heller because they’re just building you know small kind of things. Exercises but in our academy we teach everything from scratch and we actually show you how to build real things so you can test your your skills in the wild because as I tell you you can build the world’s best boat but until you put it in the water you don’t know whether it has holes in it. So yeah that’s a good that’s a good point. So look I once again I want to start with my experience as a kid because here’s where I learned a lot about markets. I was tracing these kinds of items and there are so many items here and I think it’s not even is the most rated last seven days but you know root escape it has so many items it’s thousands and thousands and thousands. And as I told you this is here’s where I learned my first first economical experience from for example market cycles or pump and dumps or the fact that you have manipulated prices things like that. So for example if you go to some asset like solar room for example let’s see if it works. If you go to six months view or is it is it bugging out. It just works yeah. Here you see that the price are changing all the time. Some markets are more illiquid than others. So that’s another important thing you learn in in the game that is very different. Let’s see molten glass maybe has a more natural. Yeah. So as you can see many asses the enter bull and bear markets all the time and now you do have a similar opportunity in crypto because you have a very important industry that is growing which is the collectibles industry. And you can make money obviously if you know how it works. And if you know what’s hot or not and if you have a strategy for that. And here I want to give you a strategy for that. So you understand that number one this will require consistent work because you need to do research and you need to know what’s hotter and not in them in collectibles and the return on investment is also immense because as Ryan says he made up to 30 percent on the money and in some cases even 400 percent. But you got to really find the right items. So right now we have inefficient markets. So this is what I’m telling you. One of the biggest opportunities in crypto are inefficient markets. What does it mean. It means that the prices are not optimal. Some things are missed price. You can buy and see cheap and sell is expensive. There is no real efficient market with a lot of participants trading all the time and arbitrage ing away all the opportunities because this market is so small and new. And as you can see right now this guy has basically collected through using non-functional dot com. Different the flippers and people are making real money here. So if you just look at the Central Land you have this address who flipped to a total profit of eighty one thousand dollars. You have this address just flipping land making thirty three thousand and this address flipping land in the Central Land flipping all the way to Twenty eighth at twenty eight thousand. So that scheme. So people are really really making their profit here but it’s not it’s not easy. You have to study but there are many opportunities in some cases it may be easier than just raising the markets because here you’re not competing with professionals you’re not competing with algorithmic traders you’re not competing with bots to the same extent because it’s such a new market and still there are many opportunities now. And if these are obviously collectibles different game items different items on the blocks that are used in different games or adapt people collect them and each item is unique each item is unique. So for example each land. In the Central Land has a unique coords in it. It’s real. It’s it’s located in a specific and unique location. So it’s very very like nothing else like nothing else. The same with cryptic tickets each cryptic city is unique. The same with the chests in different games and cars and car games and so forth. So first and foremost what are the strategies you can you can use one big strategy is to buy in bulk and sell individually. What does this mean. It means that when you have a new project like a new NFC game or a new NFC universe launching the developers or auctioning a lot of items and then you have big whales coming coming in and buying a lot of these items wholesale because they’re early investors just get it a lot of items very early and they’re taking a big risk. And so now they’re sitting there with a lot of this answer a lot of these items. Now this whale is not interested in learning the ins and outs of everything that he bought and how different items are are unique. So this whale. He will sell his stash to somebody who can just buy everything because he already made a profit. He invested early. Now he just wants to sell and cash out and move on to the next opportunity. And here is where you come in because one strategy that Ryan recommends is to buy wholesale from these whales and then sell each item individually because then you yourself can spend time. You can learn about different items how they’re important and really try to maximize profit for each item. So that’s not something that these whales will really do. And this is a good strategy. You can have. So that’s number one. Another strategy that is important is that you can do something that is that is more in terms of you trying to each and every time the price pumps or dams trying to ride the waves trying to see momentum. That’s important. Another one that you can have is just accounting for new opportunities. And did the whale yourself be that whale yourself that purchases early and and the sales later but that’s more risk. And so basically as you become better at scouting opportunities negotiating fight finding buyers getting connected networking and keeping on the top of the strong markets you’ll make more money. And this is a much better strategy than to simply hold all manner or other clients to do these kinds of things because they’re so inefficient this Marcus. And there is a lot to gain kind of like I did as a kid in rule escape because here you can for example take a vial you can fill it with water you get water vial and you sell it more expensive for example and people who don’t have time to fill their vials with water. They just want to buy a vial of water because rulers gave it so much you have to do. You have to do manually. And by the way adjusting the article and the same as for example with gold bars look an easy way to make money and escape was to take gold ore and then melted into gold bar because you need to do this action. And people who just want the gold bar they don’t have time to melt. So that’s kind of the same mindset you need to have what kind of time can you save people by being active in the NFTE space. And it can be different in different markets. It can be different in different ecosystems. So the mindset the framework I would like to have is number one study the different games and the different ecosystems. It’s crazy how passionate these communities are. Each of these protocols it has a lot of community and they are extremely passionate go to for example non tangible that come and do your research. Number to try to find pain points for example as I told you when I was a kid a big painful painful for people was to just create these items that they needed for questing or four or more or something and creating these items took a lot of time for them. So you had an opportunity the market was not efficient because the price between a gold bar and gold or was quite big. So the same is for you if you’re in in non fungible world of crypto How can you close the gap between the different the different people and the different items that they need. And one big gap is as I told you in the beginning it is whales just wanting to sell everything they have because they bought earlier when the game just started. So some tips some advice and all in all you have little competition because we’re very new and the lefties are even newer if you compare to other crypto. It is a huge moneymaking potential if you know what you’re doing. Obviously if you’ve spent time a few people have made six figures profit within a year just doing NFC flipping and pioneering completely new and emerging industry and you got to realize this is only only the start. And it depends obviously on your interests whether you’re interested in this because you got to have this collectible mindset that you would like to collect things and you would like to stage these things and that. And if these have only grown since the rise to fame with group tickets from digital land to digital pets to everything and is just growing as we are speaking as funding comes in innovation will thrive in creating all sorts of mechanisms like Rocket NFC for example. Now you can even take out loans with your with your let’s see rock get. Why is it not working rock rocket and FC because I also read about rockets and FC maybe they’re still in development basically you can get loans backed with your end of. But maybe they’re still not haven’t launched yet land rocket virtual Yemen it’s it’s still not like or it’s not working or what rocket and the rocket nifty Yeah I don’t know yes maybe they’re still have they still haven’t launched or they already closed down we’ll see it we’ll see I thought they launched and but this is one of the big things that is going on right now that will will have collateralized loan with NFTE in the near future if not rocket and if someone else will do it someone else will do it or I guess that’s it for today. To summarize the final thoughts and also yeah I forgot this one group dot com. Our collaborator will collaboration with them now they’re expanding to Sweden. So if you’re watching this from Sweden you can get these gift cards with crypto. And if you go to AMC the concierge deals you can get this 50 dollar bonus if you just go to the console shields and click this link and they’re launching in all kinds of different countries. So that’s important. And I really like that they are tailoring their offering for the local market. Like here you have Ticketmaster city on things that Swedish people recognize next story because otherwise if you have gift cards to international companies that are not really really really recognized in Sweden as much as this local and native companies it’s not going to be as effective to launch a business. So that’s key that’s key. Yes. All right. What’s going on in the shop. I want to invite everyone right now in the chat. How are you guys doing. Can you do a focused e-mail on your academy talk about the market. Carrier and more that we do monthly QNX in our academy. So if you are in the academy you should already you know when the next one is. And if you did not get notification just e-mail support that I’m under attack and would do monthly you know it’s always of course. Be careful about nonfarm payrolls Ivan. Do you remember when you spoke of beating like a platypus. Yes of course. And that was that was not that long time ago. It became broke to 2.5 level. It means that Bitcoin failed that store of value. Maybe the other parts of camera are still in play. Look I mean store of value is more measured long term. So look yes if you are watching year to year between these volatile it is volatile. Now whether it will break to 2.5 and lose this store of value it’s only something that the history will tell because it’s not that. OK. We reached 2.5 and now it’s no store of value. If we are 2.5 I think stock to flow Mondale will be tested. It only says how much we usually go up in terms of the halving and that will basically rise exponentially after each halving. That will be tested whether bitcoin has failed as to our values not something that one price level will tell you is through time through time and how the fundamentals of Bitcoin really hold with the real world. And I think it’s so important to release that bitcoin today because we see a lot of artificial markets I mean all markets right now outside of crypto are so so artificial because of money printing. So that’s important. Dino says defect courses are fire. I started yesterday. I hope you like them. I hope you like them because this guy created a AMA. You did a great job. And he’s from makers. So basically you’re sizing course made by maker and you’re learning about all kinds of different protocols like the rather relay looping the way they experience what Khyber. And you also get practical practical not only theoretical where you learn how they work exactly but also practical you use them you use them. What will happen to the BTC price. When the world decides to switch currency. So good question because what is the price. What is the price that we measure bitcoin then. I think a better way to keep track of bitcoin is to measure it in gold to measure it in something something more tangible to measured in commodities. Because what we have to understand is that what we’re witnessing now is something we’ve never witnessed before. Just look at this. I wanted by the way to show you this a bit earlier. So in 2010 the M2 money stock was eight point four trillion. And that is when Bitcoin really started to grow in 2010. Now in 2020. The M2 money stock is already fifteen point six trillion because obviously the same in 10 years probably is going to go to 30 if not more trillion and Bitcoin flow business supply is exactly the same. So while short term we’re seeing these crazy markets moves in bitcoin and the stock market as well. The thing is that Bitcoin is now less less volatile than the stock market. S&P 500 is more volatile than bitcoin because right now the S&P 500 has volatility that is so high compared to its average. That’s insane. Basically jumped to 200 percent on Wednesday nearly 10 times the average reliability of 27 percent. If you look at the past 12 months in the stock market and so we’re we’re witnessing something we’ve never seen before. And they do think that at the end of this mess Bitcoin will become victorious will come out of this victorious because the fundamentals are speaking for themselves. What about glass note are there any signals is basically the same signals. I mean most of the signals are the same that we discussed yesterday a lot with the glass node has to do right now with unchanged metrics and by the way if you go to I went to the com slash deals. You can also get all of this on chain metrics and you can get them for free if you go to islands that com slash deals and you click here on glass not on chain so you will get all of this for free at least most of it but it’s more than enough. And so one of the most important indicators in these times that I would look I look at is for example software and a supper this indicators so you can definitely check them out but it’s not something that significantly significantly has changed in any of this. And when we do see significant changes that’s when we cover it here. But for now nothing significantly is different. Also for old clients like I showed you with Khyber one of the most important and indicators is half in dollar half in the index because this shows the distribution of the different old coins. So for example if you look at the rise of different all coins you can try to correlate them to this to this index. And right now what we’re witnessing in Khyber for example is the fact that when the hurt in the index fell in January it it means basically that the coins are becoming more and more distributed that’s when the price rallied. And when it started to fall the price basically followed as well. And basically something that you definitely get to keep in mind or more correctly look when the terminal index is falling it is bullish because it getting more distributed. And here you started to see the first signal of bearish because it became it became more and more sold off the exchanges. So hoping that index was actually able to tell you that the sell off is coming. And and you can use it together with other indicators because when this green chart goes up it becomes that you do it means that you do have centralization in supply which for example means that people are selling off to exchanges when this thing goes down. Green one it means that the currency is getting more and more distributed. So yeah that’s how it is. Is a stock to flow model like Circuit Breaker model. I’m not sure really what you mean by that but the thing is so many people follow it. So if Plan B would come out and say that hey stock to flow is not longer working I don’t think it will be bullish for bitcoin at least in the short term. Ivan would you recommend to buy a stable coin with Fiat and then DCA everyday in small portions. Depends on which stable coin. I wouldn’t buy too much tether because you got to realize they can be frozen at any day. The US government or some other government could freeze their accounts up any day if they truly wanted to. Because at the end of the day it’s just a bank account that you are relying on that they have money in their bank account. I wouldn’t be really trusting that so I would diversify maybe a bit of tether maybe a bit of use to see maybe a bit of Di Di is the most trust list one but you still realize that the technology is new so I wouldn’t put bet the farm on die either. So you got to do a bit of both. And also have some some normal fear as well. Because really what you realize is that you never never are too safe in stable coins in crypto either. But the thing is the thing is that you can withdraw them to your wallet so the best thing that you can access them at any time you can deploy them into the market at any time while normal Fiat is obviously slow to deploy. And that takes time and stuff. Yeah. This is hot hash it will also halve as 50 percent of the miners will switch from PCH to Bitcoin. That’s very possible. By the way I’m betting the farm on Dice says women. Bill Gates for V.P.. Will be bullish for sure for DLC. Interesting. Not sure really how you mean with DLC and Bill Gates but now you even see people building and blocking applications for this viral outbreak which is interesting. Basically IBM wants to create a data repository. Where they tried to verify the integrity of the data where they ensure that it’s not been tampered with. So we’re going to see but a lot of this private belongings are not real blotches is just databases with better control of who has access and more stricter rules who can change and things like that. But at the end of the day you cannot even compare it to normal block chains. That’s why we have this discrepancy that this is somehow a block chain. It’s not really a blog. It’s more like a database. But with more people being involved it’s distributed running on several different machines. They’re saying that we need to kickstart a consortium basically kick start a network of different stakeholders. And while it has some similarities to a block chain in reality it’s not really it’s not really. But if people are are investing in blushing because it’s called blushing then good for them. Good for them. John McAfee is on a forum these days. I haven’t really followed him in the last days to be honest but he is always fun on Twitter. It’s always fun to follow him on Twitter. I haven’t thought about the besiege harming how will that affect BTC volatility or that it will not have relevant impact. To be honest I don’t think it will have too much of an impact because that ecosystem is not really significant for Bitcoin. What we might see short term is some miners switching to bitcoin because busiest hopping will happen earlier. So some miners might see an opportunity to earn some and some bitcoin because bitcoin still hasn’t halved. So that’s the only thing. What else guess what else. Bill Gates resigned to focus on philanthropy. Got it. How long will the lockdown be. Nobody knows. That’s the most scary thing and that’s the most uneasy things for the global markets because we don’t know and uncertainty creates volatility and creates fear and fear is never good for markets. So we’ll see yes we’ll see. Maggie he’s still talking like Coronas is less bad than the flu. Get it together it get it. I don’t really really agree with it because we’re seeing how serious it is. We’re truly starting to see how serious a serious this and my mom works in one of the big hospitals here in Sweden. And it’s not a joke. This is absolutely not a joke. So I’m guessing first hand reporting actually does I will share with you that I will share with you once we have some more news. Log down three months minimum phases phase release after all. But you did. Judith you don’t know if you don’t know how long it’s going to be because you don’t dictate the timeline. Trump doesn’t dictate the timeline. Your government doesn’t dictate the timeline. Nobody details the timeline except for the virus. So that’s the only thing that can dictate the timeline. You and I cannot do it. So that’s important. I haven’t. What’s your opinion on the old. M.A. markets for passive income. You could find some opportunities still. But unfortunately M.A. is quite it’s quite an efficient market nowadays. You don’t really have crazy deals on master nodes right now. And this usually expensive to get started so personally I would say that if you have any kind of interest go into any of these better go and try to flip NFTE that is going to be better return. But you got to have more time. It’s a bit more risky because you can actually lose money as well if you buy something that nobody wants to buy from you. But with marginals you have basic basically certainty that you will get paid but it’s not a lot. It’s not a lot. McAfee antivirus is almost useless. I never had it but I know it’s annoying to uninstall it because McAfee created the whole video about it. Have you seen it. It’s hilarious. It’s hilarious. I think it’s whole called how to uninstall McAfee. Oh. Have you seen this or not this one. How to uninstall McAfee antivirus nine million views. I’m sure you’ve seen it. I’m sure you’ve seen it and it is true that it’s a bit difficult to uninstall. Apparently apparently go go and watch it. If you haven’t yet. I don’t want to show too much as you’re going to go and watch it anyway. Thank you so much for being here. We will be back to morrow at 11:00 a.m. because it is a weekend tomorrow as well it’s Sunday and then on Monday we will be back 8 a.m. So 11:00 a.m. on Sunday and Saturday and then 8:00 a.m. on weekdays. So guys have a good day. Enjoy your day and I will see you all tomorrow. So thank you so much for contributing yet again. And goodbye guys. Goodbye goodbye goodbye.

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BITCOIN BREAKING DOWN!! $2400 TARGET? Programmer explains

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