#mega camp 2018

[boringkate]

Here’s a bunch of junk for you trans girls to watch

Update: there used to be a link to a mega folder here, but it got taken down.

///TGIRL FEATURE FILMS (alphabetical order)

Adam (2019) it's about a cis boy who's mistaken for a trans boy and rolls with it. Big cast of trans characters including a tgirl played by a tgirl who everyone wants to fuck. Directed by a trans dude. Highly legit. If you're still hung up on pre release speculation based on the novel then you're the most annoying person alive.

Assassination Nation (2018) The first half is Euphoria and the second half is The Purge. ONE OF THE BEST TGIRL MOVIES OF ALL TIME.

Bit (2019) Lesbian girl power vampire movie where the main character is a tgirl played by a tgirl. It's solid. I find it frustrating that they hint at her being trans without explicitly acknowledging it (and she's passing as fuck, so it's easy to not notice), but I know that's what some of y'all want.

Boy Meets Girl (2014) Cis dude for trans girl love story. Pretty normie, but also you see her fully naked (gock out) at the end.

Funeral Parade of Roses (1969) Extremely 60s. Cool as hell.

Lady Daddy (2010) South Korean romcom about a trans girl played by a cis girl who tries unconvincingly to back pass when she finds out she has a kid. Very cute.

Lingua Franca (2019) written directed and starring Isabel Sandoval. An undocumented trans woman immigrant in New York deals with a cis dude partner being a cis dude. Which is also the plot of The Garden Left Behind (2019).

Myra Breckinridge (1970) Raquel Welch is a trans woman and her goal is the destruction of the last vestigial traces of traditional manhood! It's Fight Club! It's Hackers! It's divisive, but it's probably my favorite movie!

So Pretty (2019) Literally the first scripted feature length (non pornographic tho it does have cock) film to feature two trans women played by trans women kissing eachother.

Something Must Break (2014) THE OTHER BEST TGIRL MOVIE OF ALL TIME. Drugs. Crimes. Gock. Slow motion pissing. Slow motion park Fucking. Genuinely the most beautiful sex scene I've seen in any movie. And she makes it to the end still alive and more sure of herself and at peace than ever.

Tangerine (2015) Groundbreaking and also a bunch of the secondary characters are real life pornstars (which I think is neat).

The Garden Left Behind (2019) This and Lingua Franca (2019) really are tgirl twin films, but (like with Antz and A Bug’s Life) the vibes and details make them distinct (I assume tho tbh I’ve never watched Antz).

///TGIRL DOCUMENTARIES

Bambi (2013) about a trans girl showgirl in 50s/60s paris

Paris is Burning (1990) basically it's Pose.

Shinjuku Boys (1995) Trans dudes working in a tokyo club that caters to tboy chasing cis girls. There's at least one trans girl in the mix too.

///FORCED FEMINIZATION

A Reflection of Fear (1972) They raised her as a girl and it made her do murders! It drags in places, but the girl in it is so ethereal and it has ageplay vibes and daddy issues.

Memory Run (1996) A very fun direct to video scifi action flick about fighting fascism by blowing up your pre transition self with a rocket launcher + it's based on a novel written by a trans woman.

She-Man A Story of Fixation (1967) Notable for being such a cliche sissy maid fantasy while also coming out so early + it was Bob Clark's first film lol.

Sleepaway Camp (1983) A more famous version of Reflection of Fear.

Surrender Dorothy (1998) A MUST WATCH. I personally bought a physical DVD and made an ISO of it for you because I was unsatisfied with the quality of the only copy that seemed to exist online. I ALSO PERSONALLY CREATED MY OWN SUBTITLES FOR IT BECAUSE EVEN THE DVD DIDN’T INCLUDE ANY! WHICH TOOK HOURS TO DO!

The Skin I Live In (2011) A rapist is kidnapped and turned into a girl by a mournful vengeful plastic surgeon. Which was also the plot of Victim (2010). I never really vibe with Pedro Almodóvar movies, but I recognize this is the preeminent forced feminization film.

///SHORT FILMS

Gender Troublemakers (1993) Some 90s Toronto trans girls fucking and discoursing. Explicit tgirl on tgirl action. This is the only one on the list that I haven’t actually watched yet. I’m hyped to watch it tho. Seems mindblowingly rad af.

Happy Birthday Marsha (2018) It's about Marsha P. Johnson.

I don't Know (1971) I'm obsessed with the trans girl in this one she just keeps popping up in all kinds of early 70s stuff. Directed by Penelope Spheeris (who is the sister of the cis gf in it).

Mesmeralda (2019) AN ABSOLUTE BANGER HOLY FUCK THE VIBES ARE OFF THE CHARTS! PLS WATCH THIS! I refuse to apologize for it being 15GB. It’s worth every byte.

Pat Rocco's Changes (1970) It's that same girl again!

Queens at Heart (1967) I can't get over that hairdresser girl thinking she's back passing. Most adorably weak boymode ever.

Shangri-La (2021) Another Isabel Sandoval joint.

The Yellow Wallpaper (2021) Freshly post op girl with a supportive boyfriend goes unhinged.

Undress Me (2012) Jana Bringlöv Ekspong did a few short films. Give janabringlove a google after watching this.

///JUST LIKE BTW

Some of these would be tough to find elsewhere, but most of the movies are also watchable on fmovies and/or can be torrented in higher quality.

After you've worked your way through the folder then just start doing Google searches for trans films. Look at IMDB keywords and letterboxd lists. There are so many more out there. These are just like my personal picks.

[dolliedyhard]

🩷JOIN MY SHORT STORY COMPETITION NOW! [Ends January 1st 2025]🩷

Hello and Welcome! I’m Lucy, better known as the creator of DollieDyhard ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶ I’m a MEGA creepypasta fan like… SUPER-ULTRA-MEGA. As you can guess my blog will be all about Creepypasta! Hooray🎉☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆ From fanart to OC’s to creepy stories to comics, I’ll make it ALL! In fact I have my own creepypasta oc! Her name is Dollie Winehouse, nickname DollieDyhard (hence my username) she’s the blonde girlie in the pic above and my pfp :3 This blog will be centered around her! Learn more about her here!

Stuff about meh!

♥︎15 - black girl🇺🇸🇿🇦 - bday is June 5th♥︎

I’ve been in the creepypasta fandom since 2017! >_<

I used 2 b scared of Slenderman and Jeff the killer when I was a little gal, like DEATHLY AFRAID. I thought they were real ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡

Now Jeff is my favorite pasta, he’s delicious🍝!

Nina, Jane and Slenderman are also my favorite pastas too♡

I’m a songwriter & I want 2 sing as beautifully as Amy Lee one day!

I have a humongous stamp & blinkie collection…ITS NOT AN ADDICTION.

”All can do!” List

this is a list of things I’m good with u doing!

Making fanart for me (OF COURSE DUHHH PLZZZZZZZZ)

Shipping ur OC’s with mine

Writing fanfic about my OC’s

Including my OC’s in ur OC lore (but u BUTTER give meh credit for mah oc >:c)

Sending me dm’s to be friends

“DONT YOU DARE” List

This is a list of things ILL KILL U FOR IF U DO IT.

Making “your own version” of any of my OC’s

Stealing my art

Tracing my art

Taking too much inspiration from me

Copying me

And buggin me for free shit (That’s a friends & moots only privilege HAHAHA.)

My Tags!

#DollieDyhard — All my posts about Dollie are in here.

#Fun Dollie Facts! — The mini series I made about Dollie to share fun facts about her.

#Dollie Dyhard Gallery — A display of all my art!

Socials!

Do not interact list

Alt account: @xlucythekillerx

♥︎Instagram♥︎

♥︎DeviantArt♥︎

♥︎YouTube♥︎

♬♩♪♩ MY ♩♪♩♬

MUSIC TASTE

Every creepypasta fan comes with an obsession with punk-rock and alternative music, it’s a fact! Aaaaand that fact applies to me too _(┐「ε:)_

Favorite bands? Here’s a list! (In no particular order :v)

Pierce the Veil

Panic! At the Disco

My Chemical Romance

Get Scared

Set it Off

Ghost Town

Flyleaf

Three Days Grace

Avril Lavigne

Evanescence

Black Veil Brides

More about the music I like here!

OTHER FANDOMS🦄🪽

｡･:*:･ﾟ★ ,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

A list of my other interests! Including anime, tv shows, and much more! If they are numbered it means they’re my top picks!

You might see me make fanart or mention from these fandoms! So that’s why I listed them.

ANIME

1. Ouran High school Host Club, 2. Black Butler, 3. Death Note, 4. Sailor Moon, Chibi Vampire, Vampire Knight, Inu Yasha, Jujutsu Kaisen, Diabolic Lovers, Tokyo Mew Mew, That time I got reincarnated as a slime, Cardcaptor Sakura, Loveless, Naruto, Hellsing Ultimate and Elfen Lied.

TV SHOWS & MOVIES

1. The Boondocks, 2. Breaking Bad, South Park, My Little Pony, Inside Job, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ninjago, Hannibal, Camp Camp, Deadpool, Deadpool 2, Deadpool And Wolverine, Interview With The Vampire (1998), Sonic X and Coraline.

VIDEO GAMES

1. Animal Crossing: New Horizons, 2. Miitopia, 3. Fran Bow, Style Savy: Trendsetters, Undertale, Minecraft, Old Roblox (2009-2018), Hatsune Miku Project Diva, Detroit Become: Human, Sonic and Kirby.

Thank you SOO MUCH for reading! ((o(^∇^)o)) a lot of people don’t read intros >_> so I’m glad you did :) (Comment with a 💖 emoji if u made it dis far ^_^) I hope you stick along for the ride because it’ll definitely get wild! XD

If you want to see more art from me check out my gallery on DeviantArt!

Anyways, that’s pretty much everything I got 2 say :D Stay Frosty❄️ BAIIIIIIIIII

[rubyklaasje]

Journey to the center of B-Low’s Letterboxd

Ok so... over the last 8 months or so, I’ve watched every film available on B-Low’s Letterboxd. Partially because I’m deeply Helly R/B-Low-pilled… and partially because I love watching movies, especially random low-budget/indie movies. Referring to the actress in question as B-Low so this doesn't show up in the tag LMAOOOO can u imagine? nightmare. nightmare. This is not a ranking of most to least favorite – each film was rated in 3 categories with a total possible 13 points. The categories were:

- Was it an overall good/enjoyable film in my opinion (1-5 possible points) - How much is B-Low actually in it (1-3 possible points) - A wildcard category that I choose depending on the movie (another 5 points possible)

Pt. 1 (1-8)

1. SWELL 2016 star rating: 2.5/5 • b-level: 3/3 • wildcard (finger tattoos): 5/5 • Total: 10.5/13 Verrry funny this ended up at #1. SWELL is a funny stylish short film that feels like if a Black Mirror episode didn't take itself so fucking seriously! Imagine a world in which theater exercises are real... B-LOW WITH FINGER TATS. Free on vimeo!

2. Mr. Roosevelt 2017 star rating: 3/5 • b-level: 2/3 • wildcard (shot on film and lols): 4/5 • Total: 9/13 Tied for 2nd place points-wise with Circus Person. I’m surprised this didn't end up at #1 because it’s definitely my favorite feature on this list. Very sweet and funny and gorgeous to look at! On Netflix now, but i think i had to rent this 1 originally lol 3. Circus Person 2020 star rating: 2.5/5 • b-level: 3/3 • wildcard (rip my heart out): 3/5 • Total: 9/13 B-Low’s own short film! Feel weird rating this at all because it just feels so uhhh earnest and like... raw! But it is gorgeous and fun and one day I want to make an edit for it to 'Ladies' by Fiona Apple. iykyk. Free on vimeo!

4. Staycation 2018 star rating: 2.5/5 • b-level: 3/3 • wildcard (mega cutie-ness): 3/5 • Total: 8.5/13 A short film that was extremely heartwarming and legitimately hilarious. Highly recommend for any B-Low-Heads out there. Free on vimeo c:

5. Holly Slept Over 2020 star rating: 1.5/5 • b-level: 3/3 • wildcard (GAYYYYYY): 4/5 • Total: 8.5/13 God, This movie was strange. Interesting set-up but concluded in what felt like pure wish fulfillment for... only the middle aged rich white dudes watching? Good for them I guess! The 3 women in the film were the only highlights for me (big surprise!). There is a guy who is inexplicably porn brained and weird about it, which turns out to be a recurring theme for male side-characters on this list. Yay. Had to rent it on youtube, rip.

6. The Shadow Hours 2016 star rating: 1/5 • b-level: 2/3 • wildcard (camp realness): 5/5 • Total: 8.5/13 One of the lowest 'is it good'-wise but truly one of my favorites on this list. I don’t want to say too much, just please watch this film, it’s short and very fun. It is an ACTION flick. It’s a tonal roller coaster, one minute we’re joking around and the next B-Low's character gets thrown through a glass table... like did she do that stunt i need to know. Anyway. It is free on Youtube.

7. Beside Still Waters 2013 star rating: 2/5 • b-level: 2/3 • wildcard (great cast): 3.5/5 • Total: 7.5/13 Strong ensemble of white folks being witty and sad, a conclusion that was almost too sweet – but it looked great, had a super fun cast and a pretty fun script. A very tolerable movie c: Free on Tubi.

8. Domain 2016 star rating: 1/5 • b-level: 3/3 • wildcard (jerkin-it to completion): 3/5 • Total: 7.5/13 A sci-fi feature that took itself very very seriously! Sometimes that seriousness paid off (there were some very cool shots and twists), but they decided to make the dude from the 2001 DCOM Luck of the Irish jerk-it to completion which kinda took me out of it. Free my girl Phoenix! Free on Tubi!

[scoopflash]

The Enigma of Jaden Smith: Is He Really Gay?

Jaden Smith, the son of Hollywood royalty Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, has always been a figure shrouded in mystery and intrigue. From his eclectic fashion sense to his philosophical musings on social media, Jaden has never shied away from challenging societal norms. One of the most talked-about aspects of his public persona is his sexuality. Is Jaden Smith gay? This question has sparked countless debates, rumors, and headlines over the years. 

Who Is Jaden Smith?

Before we dive into the heart of the matter, let's take a moment to understand who Jaden Smith really is. Born on July 8, 1998, Jaden is not just the son of two mega-celebrities. He's an actor, rapper, fashion icon, and a free spirit who defies categorization. Known for his roles in films like "The Pursuit of Happyness" and "After Earth," Jaden has also made a name for himself in the music industry with hits like "Icon."

The Early Life of Jaden Smith

Growing up in the spotlight, Jaden's childhood was anything but conventional. Homeschooled alongside his sister Willow, Jaden was exposed to a blend of education, creativity, and the pressures of fame from an early age. His parents, Will and Jada, ensured he had a grounded upbringing despite their glamorous lifestyle. This unique upbringing laid the foundation for Jaden's nonconformist approach to life.

Jaden Smith's Career

Jaden's career began with a bang when he starred alongside his father in "The Pursuit of Happyness." His natural acting skills were evident, and he quickly became a sought-after child actor. As he grew older, Jaden ventured into music, releasing albums that showcased his unique style and lyrical prowess. His career is a testament to his versatility and ambition.

Jaden Smith's Public Image

From the outset, Jaden's public image has been one of individuality and nonconformity. Whether it's his eclectic fashion choices or his philosophical musings on social media, Jaden stands out in a world of cookie-cutter celebrities. His willingness to challenge societal norms has endeared him to many and made him a polarizing figure to others.

The Role of Social Media

Social media has played a significant role in shaping Jaden's public persona. Platforms like Twitter and Instagram offer him a direct line to his fans, allowing him to share his thoughts, music, and life updates unfiltered. Jaden uses social media not just for self-promotion, but also as a space to express his views on various social issues, including sexuality and gender identity.

Jaden Smith's Statements on Sexuality

Over the years, Jaden has made several statements about his sexuality that have sparked discussions and headlines. He's known for his candidness and often uses his platform to challenge conventional views on sexuality. Jaden's approach to his identity is fluid, and he refuses to be boxed into any one label.

The 2018 Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival Incident

One of the most talked-about moments in Jaden's exploration of his sexuality occurred at the 2018 Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival. During his performance, Jaden announced that Tyler, The Creator, a fellow musician and friend, was his boyfriend. This declaration sent the internet into a frenzy, with fans and media outlets speculating on its authenticity.

Jaden's Relationship with Tyler, The Creator

The nature of Jaden's relationship with Tyler, The Creator remains a topic of interest. While some believe it was a genuine expression of their bond, others think it was a playful stunt. Regardless, their close friendship and collaborative efforts in music highlight a deep mutual respect and affection.

Public Reaction

Public reaction to Jaden's statements about his sexuality has been mixed. While many fans support his openness and bravery, others criticize him for what they perceive as ambiguity or attention-seeking. However, Jaden remains unfazed, continuing to live his truth and inspire others to do the same.

The Impact on LGBTQ+ Community

Jaden's openness about his sexuality has had a significant impact on the LGBTQ+ community. By challenging stereotypes and promoting acceptance, he has become a role model for young people struggling with their own identities. His visibility and influence help normalize conversations about sexuality and gender, fostering a more inclusive society.

Jaden Smith's Fashion and Gender Expression

Beyond his statements on sexuality, Jaden's fashion choices also challenge traditional gender norms. He frequently dons gender-fluid clothing, including skirts and dresses, and has modeled for brands like Louis Vuitton in their womenswear campaigns. His fashion sense is a bold statement against rigid gender binaries.

The Importance of Celebrity Influence on LGBTQ+ Acceptance

Celebrities like Jaden Smith play a crucial role in advancing LGBTQ+ acceptance. Their visibility and platforms allow them to reach a wide audience, breaking down barriers and challenging prejudices. Jaden's fearless approach to his identity encourages others to embrace their true selves, regardless of societal expectations.

Conclusion

Jaden Smith's journey through fame, sexuality, and self-expression is a testament to his courage and individuality. By refusing to conform to societal norms, he not only paves the way for greater acceptance but also inspires countless individuals to live authentically. In a world where conformity is often the norm, Jaden's story is a refreshing reminder of the power of authenticity.

FAQs

Is Jaden Smith gay?

Jaden Smith has made statements about his sexuality that suggest he embraces a fluid identity, but he has not labeled himself strictly as gay.

What was the significance of Jaden Smith's announcement at Camp Flog Gnaw?

Jaden's announcement about Tyler, The Creator being his boyfriend at Camp Flog Gnaw sparked widespread discussion about his sexuality and highlighted his boldness in challenging norms.

How has Jaden Smith influenced LGBTQ+ acceptance?

Jaden Smith's openness about his sexuality and gender expression has had a positive impact on LGBTQ+ acceptance by promoting visibility and challenging stereotypes.

What are some notable aspects of Jaden Smith's fashion style?

Jaden is known for his gender-fluid fashion choices, including wearing skirts and dresses, and has modeled for high-profile brands in womenswear campaigns.

How do Jaden Smith's actions contribute to breaking gender norms?

By openly challenging gender norms through his fashion and public statements, Jaden Smith encourages others to embrace their true identities and defy societal expectations.

Jaden Smith continues to be a fascinating figure, always pushing the boundaries and inspiring many. Whether or not he's gay, one thing is clear: Jaden is unapologetically himself, and that's something to be celebrated.

[camplofi]

185 - BUCKWILD: The Changing Same

All comments, questions, and general feedback can be sent to radiobsots@gmail.com.  Record a voice message and send it my way or leave one at the Speakpipe page!

You can subscribe to Radio BSOTS via the following options: RSS feed ||| Apple Podcasts ||| Spotify ||| Mixcloud Amazon Music ||| Goodpods ||| TuneIn ||| iHeartRadio

Connect with Camp Lo-Fi via social media: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

This episode's track list (title / artist / source / license):

1.  Kill Sound by Five Fingers Of Funk [Kill Rock Stars] (CC-BY-NC-ND) (2023)

2.  Covfefe's Groove by Tha Silent Partner [blocSonic] (CC-BY-NC-SA) (2019)

3.  Squishing Sniffy, Artists Busted! by The Bran Flakes [Free Music Archive] (CC-BY-NC) (2010)

4.  I AM BLACK HISTORY by Mega Ran [Bandcamp] (2024)

5.  Alien Abduction by DJ Ilya Monosov and the Hedonic Islands [Free Music Archive] (CC-BY-NC-SA) (2009)

6.  Pro Black Crack Dealers by Columbo Black [Bandcamp] (CC-BY-NC-ND) (2022)

7.  G.O.P. by Mikal Amin & Mista Mayday [Bandcamp] (2024)

8.  Classy by 85 [Bandcamp] (CC-BY-NC-SA) (2012)

9.  too much house by leumas [Lost Frog Prod.] (CC-BY-NC-SA) (2024)

10. Ebony Stoned by EllaMaeFlossie [iTunes] (2018)

August of 2024 marks 19 years of Both Sides Of The Surface.  Under the circumstances, it seems appropriate for the podcast to take some time to get "buckwild."  The essential nature of the "buckwild" experience hasn't changed since it was first introduced to Camp Lo-Fi on the show's third anniversary back in 2008.  It's a primal scream for the BSOTS feed whenever it's deemed necessary.  There are occasional outbursts from me, but I tend to let the music do the talking for me on these shows, which is often a mix of cuts for the party people and the politicially minded as well.

For those wondering about the title, The Changing Same is a term that's borrowed directly from the brilliant mind and pen of Amiri Baraka.  He wrote an essay in the late 1960s examining the ways that Black music changed as Black people changed, how we referenced and reinterpreted the old to make it new again:  "the changing same."  My use of that phrase for an episode title is far more simplistic and merely as a reminder that the more things change, the more they remain the same.  Personally speaking, the phrase brings to mind recent developments within the American political landscape over the last few months.

This episode was recorded between mid-June and late July.  Way too much happened within a stateside election year during that period.  While Tha Silent Partner's "Covfefe's Groove" references a nonsensical moment during Trump's term as President, Mikal Amin and Mista Mayday fire lyrical shots at the present day "G.O.P."  In the midst of half of America's hysteria over the very idea of 45 becoming 47, some humor is desperately needed and the "buckwild" experience has some light-hearted tunes on deck, from 85's slick yet silly "Classy" to Columbo's Black one-verse interrogation of "Pro Black Crack Dealers" to some sound collage silliness from The Bran Flakes.  DJ Ilya Monosov takes the experimental hip-hop route with "Alien Abduction," bringing along Dudley Perkins and Georgia Anne Muldrow along for the ride.  Five Fingers Of Funk deliver the live hip-hop vibes to the show on "Kill Sound" while Mega Ran delivers a memorable boom bap ode to Black pro wrestlers with "I AM BLACK HISTORY."  For the bright-colored, hands-in-the-air raver contribution to this episode, look no further than "too much house" by leumas.  And EllaMaeFlossie concludes the "buckwild" experience in grand style with the hard-as-nails womanifesto that is "Ebony Stoned."

Humanity is taxing.  Music is divine.  I simply hope that this episode can bring a smile to your face and maybe even a moment of laughter, no matter how brief.

Other BSOTS episodes referenced include: Show #176 - BUCKWILD: learn from it...

Theme music by Cy Tru featuring Jonny Sonic.  ID drops from Anji Bee, Mega Ran, Mikal Amin, and Mr. Ivory Snow.

Background music:  "Small Town USA (Instrumental)" by Foul Mouth Jerk and "Plastic Rumblings" by Ezekiel Honig.

The content of this show has been released under a CC-BY-SA license.  All works within this show retain their original releases.  See the show notes at bsots.com for more information.

Another BSOTS podcast episode for the people...

[mega-camp-blog]

What Should I Bring?

Greetings, intrepid camper! You may be wondering “how did I get myself into this mess?” or “what even does one bring camping??” Well fear not, brave soul, we have compiled a handy dandy guide just for you first, second, or hundredth-timers. Because we love you.

This guide is divided into convenient sections for your perusal. Should our grouping stay within 35 people then everyone will have a cabin in which to stay, which will negate the last part of the guide.

This is My First Camping Trip, Please Help Me.

Yourself (glad to have you on board, it wouldn’t be a party without you!).

Your photo ID or passport. This should stay with you at almost all times.

Clean clothes for 4 days and 3 nights stay.

At least 4 pairs underwear/bras and socks, we recommend at least 1 extra of each just in case.

Shorts/pants/skirts for 4 days. At least 1 pair should be long pants.

Shirts/tank tops for 4 days.

Pajamas for 3 nights.

Pair of good walking shoes or hiking boots.

A hoodie (for us cold blooded lizard folk to wear at night to disguise our scaled faces with).

Optional: Swimming suit.

Optional: Sandals/swimming shoes.

Optional: Hat to keep the sun off your head.

Optional: Sunglasses or clip ons.

Optional: A hooded rain jacket (so you don’t melt if it rains).

Optional: If you are attending Bristol Renaissance Faire you may wish to bring your own costume. Costumes of any kind are welcome, so long as you don’t have any exposed steel or walk around in just pasties.

Optional: If you are attending the wine tasting at the vineyards you might opt for something super fancy to make you feel classy.

Toiletries

Your prescription medications.

Toothbrush.

Toothpaste.

Shampoo and conditioner.

Body soap.

Deodorant. 

Sunscreen.

Bug repellent.

Sandals to shower in (no, really, get a pair of cheap flipflops to shower in).

Hair brush and/or comb.

Optional: Pads or tampons if shark week strikes.

Optional: Hair ties if you are of the long haired persuasion. 

Optional: Glasses or contact cleaning solutions if you are a cyborg.

Optional: Shaving razor.

Optional: Skin lotion.

Optional: Hair dryer.

Optional: Makeup and hair styling products.

Phone and charger.

Flashlight and spare batteries.

Folding camp chair (if you are not flying in).

Optional: Binoculars.

Optional: Field guides.

Optional: Reusable water bottle with belt clip for hiking.

Optional: A book to read, useful if you have to wait for a pickup.

Optional: Laptop/tablet and charger. There is wifi, but it isn’t the greatest.

Optional: Camera, film, and extra batteries or charger.

A special note to our international visitors: Don’t worry about packing shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, soap, skin lotion, sunscreen, or bug repellent. If you do not have a special requirement and are not staying in the States before or after camp. Roki will happily provide those things for you. Just let us know in advance so she can be made aware to bring extra. This is to help with getting past TSA because their liquid requirements can be pretty screwy. If you are staying in the States before or after it will be easier on you to purchase those items once here. It saves you in airline baggage weight coming into the States and you cannot bring them with you as a carry on to help with that.

If you want to know more about that, check out this post: Travelling to the States from Canada. Bear in mind that it will differ from country to country and between airlines even, but it’s a good starting point.

I am Staying in a Cabin

The cabins provide mattresses, so air mattresses are not required.

A pillow.

An extra blanket if you think you will need it.

Your own set of sheets (twin or full).

I am Staying in a Tent or Sleeping on an Air Mattress

Your tent (or negotiate with someone to have them provide you one).

Rain fly for tent.

Stakes.

Tarp to put under tent.

Rubber mallet for stakes.

Optional: Small mat/bag to put shoes on inside tent. Prevents bugs getting in them, but also tracking mud inside.

Pro-tip: If you can, zip your tent so that the zippers are at the top of the door. This prevents curious critters from grabbing them at night.

A blow up mattress or sleeping mat.

Pump for blow up mattress.

Batteries for the pump if needed.

Bedding.

A sleeping bag to put over the mattress (put this down before the sheets to prevent loss of body heat through the night).

Sheets.

Pillow.

Spare blanket (if needed).

A tent lantern and extra batteries for it.

Optional: Clip on tent fan and batteries for it.

- Roki Seasonal Naturalist

[buwang2018]

Favorite Yibo Dance🕺🏻part 1

There’s no discussion:  Yibo has an obscene amount of talent: acting, dancing, singing, skating, biking, spokesperson, the list goes on and on.  There is no stopping this man when he puts his mind to it.  We are witnessing his dramatic skyrocket trajectory to the top and it is only the cusp of his stardom.  

Yibo is gifted with physical attribute of having a lean, masculine and elegant build. He trained tirelessly, resulting in  strength, flexibility and great control.  He brings characters to his dance, and is not afraid to go outside his comfort zone.   

Yibo love for dancing started it all, from UNIQ to getting DDU gig, to CQL and beyond.  Remember his lengthly audition for DDU?  Here’s a video with the his intro, starting at 2.43.  Notice the side smirk 😉 

“Do I look handsome? When I dance, I look even more handsome.” 

Lucky for us, there’s a wealth of clips available if you want to lose your mind temporarily, but these are my favorite top 10.

10. The Cha-Cha | Day Day Up 

This was pure enjoyment watching Yibo do the cha-cha,  a vibrant, flamboyant and playful dance.  A mix of fun and sophistication, Yibo was light on his feet, and brought on the flirty, playful, and cheeky character.  No stopping at basic cha-cha, there were spirals, chasses, locks, rondes!  Did you catch his eyes? I’d like to see him do more latin ballroom dancing - look at the hip action. 

9. Martial Arts Dance | Day Day Up | Sep 2018

Not typical of what you see Yibo dancing to, nonetheless, captivating.  A dance that combines traditional forms of martial art designed for combat with music. Every movement serves to either attack or block an attack. He uses a fan, spear, and sword with explosiveness and agility, completing each move from head to feet to fingertips, fully extended.  This video is the next best thing to seeing LWJ dance.  Bonus, it includes MV of Saying Sword: Moonlight Blade starts at 2:37. Shen Yun - hint, hint! 

8. Freestyle Dance Off | Happy Camp | July 2018

Freestyle is about improvising movement.  It is never the same performance to performance,  so you never know what to expect.  In my opinion, freestyle comes naturally to Yibo, like the back of his hand.  Turn on the music and he becomes the music.  Watch the insane quick vibrating movement as the music builds up starting at the 1:00 min mark.  This performance comes with 80’s track suit, smoldering eye make-up and mega-watts smile at the end.

7. The Grand Entrance | Rules of My World | New Year Dec 2020 

Got to love a grand entrance!  WYB brought back reminiscent of CQL, effortlessly floats down on the stage in long blue cape. Note the similar pose between this performance and the drama. Yibo has stated that he loves doing wire work - it’s no surprise that he brought this onto the dance stage.  Just in case you are not in awe, he’s just gonna do a flip and lands on another stage and then back.  True to the lyrics of this song, “I am what I am..I tell my own story”.  “You Ready?” Yes, Yibo, we are always ready for you.

6. Yibo Grand Exit | No Sense/Wugan | New Year Show, Dec 2019

This performance stands out for a combination high energy dance, sultry hair, makeup, costume, and of a whole lot of fun in the water.  The mix of movement to the music is perfect.  Yibo clad in long flowing  cape, eyes glance down, and walks towards the stage starts to build the heat. He then jumps in the water and stomps around. The result:  wet face, wet hair, wet clothes.  He then hops onto his bike and rides around, making pit stop in between so you can have a good look.  Cool Yibo.

Edit note: It seems I’ve reach max for tumblr....continue on to part 2

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

Evanescence’s Amy Lee shares her thoughts on working with Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale

“We love each other, and we get along”

Front-women Amy Lee and Lzzy Hale are no strangers to collaborating with each other, Amy Lee having guested on Halestorm’s ‘Reimagined’ EP on the emotional piano ballad ‘Break In.’

This time however, the duo are set to share the stage with one another on an autumn tour that’ll see two of the most hard-working and hard-rocking women in the metal industry perform alongside their respective bands.

Whilst being interviewed by Matt Pinfield on the last instalment of the “New and Approved” music series on 95.5 KLOS, Amy Lee delved into her friendship with the Pennsylvanian-based Lzzy Hale:

"It started with music. It worked out for us to go do some shows together. We hadn't met in person before signing up to do a tour together in 2012. And I remember we had some kind of joint press or meet-and-greet to do on that first day. And I went in there like, 'Hey,' before the fans came in. And we just clicked immediately. She's really humble and really down to earth. She doesn't take all the glory too seriously. She takes herself seriously and respects herself. She's just a really cool person.”

"We love each other, and we get along," Amy added. "We play hard and we work hard. So I'm very much looking forward to playing live music in general; but to be able to go back out for our first tour out with a whole group of people that we're friends with — the crew, the band, we love each other, all of us. So it's gonna be a really good time.”

Evanescence and Halestorm will be hitting the road on 5th November in the US, starting with a date in Portland, Oregon before making their way throughout the country.

Evanescence's career throughout the years:

1998: The band's inception

Singer and pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody formed Evanescence in Arkansas back in 1995, after the pair met at a Christian youth camp. They chose the name Evanescence due to its meaning: "disappearance" or "fading away". The duo released their debut self-titled EP in 1998 and were later joined by friends John LeCompt, Rocky Gray and Will Boyd.

2003: Debut album 'Fallen'

After being signed by Wind-up Records in 2002, the band released their debut album 'Fallen' in 2003. To promote the album, Evanescence headlined the Nintendo Fusion tour in 2003. 'Fallen' spent a whopping 43 weeks in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 and was certified 7× Platinum in the US after selling more than 17 million copies worldwide. The album included hit singles 'Bring Me to Life', 'My Immortal', 'Going Under' and 'Everybody's Fool'. Mega hit 'Bring Me to Life', featuring guest vocals from Paul McCoy from the band 12 Stones, was an international success, reaching Number 5 on the American Billboard Hot 100 and hitting the top spot in the UK Chart.

2004: Grammy Award wins

The phenomenal success of 'Fallen' saw Evanescence win not one but two Grammy Awards in 2004. Their hit single 'Bring Me To Life' won Best Hard Rock Performance and the band won the award for Best New Artist.

2006: Line-up change and follow-up record

After parting ways with both Will Boyd and Ben Moody, Evanescence and the success of their Grammy wins, Evanescence went back into the studio to record their follow-up album. After 18 months of writing and producing, the band released 'Open Door' in 2006. The album featured singles 'Call Me When Your Sober', 'Lithium', 'Weight Of The World' and 'Sweet Sacrifice' and debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard 200. The album and single 'Call Me When You're Sober' have since achieve 2x Platinum and Platinum status in the US respectively.

2007-2009: Another line-up change

In 2007, The band announced that guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray had left. The duo went on to join founding Evanescence member Ben Moody to create the band We Are the Fallen. Evanescence brought in two members of Dark New Day, drummer Will Hunt and guitarist Troy McLawhorn to act as their replacements. Two years, later frontwoman Amy Lee announced that the band were going back into the studio to start writing their third, self-titled album.

2011: Third album release and worldwide tour

Due to delays with their record label, Evanescence weren't able to release their third album until 2011, five years after 'Open Door'. Not that it mattered, because 'Evanescence' debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and Number 4 on the UK Albums Chart and took the band on a year-long worldwide tour to promote the album.

2012: Hiatus and Amy Lee's solo project

Evanescence announced that they would be going on a hiatus in 2012, with Amy announcing in NME: "I haven't been sitting down to write. I'm thinking we'll take a break first. I'm really not sure what I'll do next. At the end of any really long tour you need to get your head in order. I think at the end of the run we'll go on a break for a while and figure things out. "Taking long breaks is seen as a bad thing, but I don't think it's a bad thing. People have the idea that you have to keep putting stuff out while people remember you. But I'd rather make something that's awesome and then make people remember again. I hope it doesn't take five years, but I don't want to put a timeline on it either. We'll all be doing our own thing for a while. They're (my bandmates) very talented and they'll all be fine." Amy Lee went on to release solo album 'Aftermath' in 2014, a soundtrack for Mark Jackson's film War Story. She said of the project: "It's not what you'd expect; there's a lot of blending of sounds, a lot of ominous tones. I play a lot of keyboard, and a lot of Taurus pedal. There's a lot of low drones."

2015: Reunion with intimate shows

Three years after going on a break, Evanescence ended their hiatus by hosting a three-night show at intimate venues in Nashville, Dallas and LA in November 2015. This was just before the band hopped on a plane to Japan to perform at Ozzy Osbourne's iconic festival Ozzfest, alongside Korn and Ozzy himself.

2015-2016: Another line-up change

In 2015, Evanescence underwent yet another line-up change after long-time guitarist Terry Balsamo, who originally replaced Ben Moody, decided to leave the band. His replacement was the German singer and guitarist, Jen Majura from the band, Equilibrium. Evanescense continued to tour throughout 2016, but focused on playing hits from their previous albums like 'My Immortal' and 'Going Under'.

2017: 'Synthesis'

Fourth record 'Synthesis' was released in November 2017. As well as featuring new material such as 'Imperfection', the album included reworked versions of the band's older works such as 'My Heart Is Broken', 'Lacrymosa' and 'Bring Me To Life'. 'Synthesis' peaked at Number 1 on four of the Billboard charts, including US Top Alternative Albums, US Top Classical Albums, US Top Rock Albums and US Independent Albums.

2018: 'Synthesis Tour' features a live orchestra

To promote the album, the band embarked on the 'Synthesis Live Tour' in October 2017. This 60-date worldwide tour was different from any other tour they had done before because it featured a live orchestra. The tour was co-headlined by violinist Lindsay Stirling who also featured on the band's single 'Hi-Lo'.

2020: Brand new music

In 2020, Evanescence released four new singles, 'Wasted On You', 'The Game Is Over', 'Yeah Right' and 'Use My Voice', which all appear on the band's fifth album, 'The Bitter Truth'. First announced in 2018, it was meant to be released in 2020, but had to be delayed due to the pandemic. 'The Bitter Truth' is not only the band's first album in three years, but also their first album with all-new material since 'Evanescence'.

2021: 'The Bitter Truth' is finally released

Evanescence released the fifth single, 'Better Without You', in early March ahead of the release of 'The Bitter Truth', which finally saw the light of day on 26th March 2021. The band is also set to be joining fellow rockers, Within Temptation this autumn for the 'Worlds Collide' European tour, which was postponed due to the pandemic.

[formatodeficientepodcast]

Obras mencionadas en el Episodio 15 – Tetsuo: el hombre de hierro, dir. Tsukamoto Shin'ya (1989)

El episodio estará disponible el miércoles a las 10:00 p.m. (20:00 hrs), hora del centro de México, en Spotify e iTunes.

Parte 1

Worm – John "Wildbow" McCrae (2011 – 2013) Ward – John "Wildbow" McCrae (2017 – 2020) A Song of Ice and Fire (serie) – George R. R. Martin (1991 – Presente) The Matrix – dir. Lana y Lily Wachowski (1999) The Matrix Reloaded – dir. Lana y Lily Wachowski (2003) The Matrix Revolution – dir. Lana y Lily Wachowski (2003) The Matrix Resurrections – dir. Lana Wachowski (2021) The Animatrix – dir. Andy Jones, Mahiro Maeda, Shinichiro Watanabe, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Takeshi Koike, Koji Morimoto y Peter Chung (2003) Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru (anime) – dir. Shinohara Keisuke (2022 – Presente) Dead or Alive (juego) – Team Ninja (1996) Steven Universe – Rebecca Sugar (2013 – 2019) Adventure Time – Pendleton Ward (2010 – 2018) Steven Universe Future – Rebecca Sugar (2019 – 2020) Akame ga Kill! (manga) – Takahiro (historia) & Tetsuya Tashiro (arte) (2010 – 2016) Attack on Titan (manga) – Hajime Isayama (2009 – 2021) Endo and Kobayashi's Live Commentary on the Villainess (manga) – Enoshima Suzu (historia) & Sakaki Rumiwo (arte) (2019 – Presente) Goddess Café Terrace – Seo Kouji (2021 – Presente) Kimi no Iru Machi (manga) – Seo Kouji (2008 – 2014) Mahou Sensei Negima! (manga) – Akamatsu Ken (2003 – 2012) Bakuman (manga) – Ohba Tsugumi (historia) & Obata Takeshi (arte) (2008 – 2012) Demon Slayer (manga) – Gotouge Koyoharu (2016 – 2020) Aggretsuko – dir. Rarecho (2018 – Presente) Odd Taxi – dir. Kinoshita Baku (2021) Jujutsu – Akutami Gege (2018 – Presente) Chainsaw Man – Fujimoto Tatsuki (2018 – 2020) Berserk – Miura Kentaro (1989 – 2021) Hunter x Hunter – Togashi Yoshihiro (1998 – Presente) Show-ha Hoten – Asakura Akinari (historia) & Obata Takeshi (arte) (2021 – Presente) Death Note – Ohba Tsugumi (historia) & Obata Takeshi (arte) (2003 – 2006) PopSlinger – Funky Can Creative (2022) Mother 1 / Earthbound 0 – Ape (1989) Mother 2 / Earthbound – Ape (1994) Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp – WayForward (2022) Mario Strikers: Battle League – Next Level Games (2022) FIFA (saga de videojuegos) – EA Sports (1993 – Presente) PES / eFootball – Konami (1995 – Presente) Football Manager – Sports Interactive (1992 – Presente) Mega Man Soccer – Sun L (1994) Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Houses – Omega Force / Team Ninja (2022) Dynasty Warrios (saga de videojuegos) – Omega Force (1997 – Presente) Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn – Intelligent Systems (2007) Splatoon 3 – Nintendo EPD (2022) Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition – Square Product (2022) Chrono Trigger – Square (1995) Dragon Quest (serie) – Square Enix (1986 – Presente) Final Fantasy Tactics – Square (1997) Final Fantasy Tactics Advance – Square (2003)

Parte 2

Tetsuo: el hombre de hierro – dir. Tsukamoto Shin'ya (1989) 20th century boys – Naoki Urusawa (1999 – 2005) Shin Godzilla �� dir. Hideaki Anno (2016) Silence – dir. Martin Scorsese (2016) The Irishman – dir. Martin Scorsese (2019) Tetsuo II: El cuerpo de martillo – dir. Tsukamoto Shin'ya (1992) Tetsuo: El hombre de bala – dir. Tsukamoto Shin'ya (2009) Denchû kozô no bôken – dir. Tsukamoto Shin'ya (1987) Futsû saizu no kaijin – dir. Tsukamoto Shin'ya (1986) Tokyo Fist – dir. Tsukamoto Shin'ya (1995) Bullet Ballet – dir. Tsukamoto Shin'ya (1998) Gemini – dir. Tsukamoto Shin'ya (1999) La Planète sauvage – René Laloux (1973)

[trilliontrees]

Trillion Trees Initiative for climate protection environmental biodiversity and species protection worldwide

The Greening Deserts Trillion Trees Initiative and Greening Camps can reduce negative climate changes, deforestation, droughts, desertification, land degradation, floods and global warming on a large scale - especially in human-made deserts, drylands, savanna and wastelands. Inviting nations, organisations, personalities and institutions since years and many have shown interest. You are also welcome to join the projects and greening initiative. Let's make the world green again, together! Let's plant billions or even a trillion trees to improve the climate and to reduce global warming significantely, especially with urban greening camps in urban areas. It is maybe the cheapest and most effective solution to cool down planet Earth, clean up the air and waters. Greening Deserts founder developed good solutions and projects to regreen drylands and wastelands with different kinds of resistant and typical plants. The greening and research camps will be green spots to cultivate all the plants and trees are needed, for example ground cover, flower trees, wild grasses, wild flowers and medicinal plants. Together with soil improving plants top soil layers will be created in just a few years - the basis for the following tree plantations and mixed forests. Seeds and seed balls can be dropped by seeding balloons and seeding drones.  

Greening Deserts economical, educational, cultural, social, scientific and sustainable projects have really big potential to reduce desertification and global warming, to improve healthy environments, sustainable agriculture (EcoFarming) and ecological forestry (EcoForestry). It are also projects for innovative Cleantech and Greentech developments. Here are some of the main projects: like Agrophotovoltaik, Desert Bamboo Africa, Greening Coasts, Greening Drones, Greenhouse Ship, Green Ring Africa, Great Green Wall North Africa, Seeding Balloon and Transparent Solar Greenhouses. All these projects were founded and initiated by Oliver Gediminas Caplikas during the last years. Strong future partners and investors for the ongoing project developments are always welcome! Invest in true values like education, ecological or real sustainable products and services together with our upcoming education, greening and research camps. Your investment in Greening Deserts projects will really change the world and we will create a better history or future. Global Cooling with Global Greening is not just possible, it is very realistic and the most effective solution – especially in relation to the costs, energy and time. Another important points are environmental education, climate adaption, mitigation, resilience and sustainability. All these points and developments will be realised at the forestation, greening and research camps.

Building a basic camp with a little team needs approx three to nine months, depends on the conditions and region. Greening and forestation of each concerned region starts from the very beginning, so like planting trees for the first parks. Bigger camps can get an Energy Storage Park with a solar park, water park and or wind park. Smaller camps will have of course solar energy and water supply, too. There are many developments and other projects connected, most of them will be realised with the camps. It is also interesting for urban areas, city forests and gardens - especially community and rooftop gardens. Many ambassadors, ministers, trade commissioners, scientists and experts were invited to join Greening Deserts campaigns, initiatives and projects during the years. We exchanged a lot about the sustainable developments, technics and techniques could be developed at the new Greening Camps. You can read more about on the official and social pages.

Many scientists confirming Greening Deserts concepts and projects, for example to plant a trillion trees to reduce human-made climate change effects and global warming worldwide. With financial support the projects like the Greening and Research Camps could finally start with forestation and greening, especially of drylands or wastelands in Africa and Europe. The Greening Camp project development is running since 2018, after successful funding in 2019 or 2020 the project can start fast as possible and build the first pilot camps.

More important information about Greening Deserts special projects like the new Critically Endangered Species (CES-RPP) research and protection program.

It's about Greening Camps, innovative developments, research, global goals and effective solutions. Greening Deserts projects like the greening and research camps will be platforms for Cleantech, climate protection, nature conservation, culture, education, environmental and species protection, Greentech and science. All camps can have a library, lounge and media room. Perfect to exchange with education, book and media branch, to experiment with creative designs, green building and sustainable architecture. Bigger camps can get an Energy Storage Park and even could be expanded to a kind of campus or science park.

We have not much time to establish hundreds of camps, greenhouses and new special areas, on land and at sea, for the most endangered species and keystone species of this world. It is similar as with other cascade effects like the permafrost and wetlands problem. If more keystone species like the bees extinct, even relative unknown or small ones, it will accelerate the mass extinction and reach 'tipping points' in relation to the critical biodiversity loss is ongoing. The only way is to focus on this most important issue of the world and put it on the first place of all agendas, concentrate on the most endangered known species and find the forgotten and unknown keystone species with best of search algorithms, networks and intelligent systems like AI, Deep Learning, cloud and crowdworking, archive management and intelligent library systems - powered by best of computing environments, so like special supercomputers. It has really more priority as using so much computing resources for astrological calculations, brain simulations or other mega applications which doing all the same or nearly simliar kind of tasks or work. Not to mention all the energy wasting computers, servers and smartphones in idle mode or used for time wasting tasks like certain films, series or war games.

It is important for us all to prevent the mass extinction in the next years, to restore and improve biodiversity in so many areas, also in urban areas. We all need to care more the species who are endangered or treatended the most! It makes no sense if there are so many conservation and species protection initiatives or programs for a single species like elephants, pandas,.. in background much more important species dying out. The species protection community and organisations like IUCN Red List of Threatened Species should overwork their agenda and priorities in this relation. Humanity must protect more the keystone species, particularly on which many other life forms depend on! For example if the most important species bees extinct, humans will extinct some years later. Another point is to support the climate adaption of animals and plants on the long term, help the species to survive by providing extra wildlife habitats like more biotopes, game reserves, meadows, parks and diverse forests for more biodiversity.

Every day counts to protect the most endangered species with all means and to bring this aspect, this task and the topic to the top on all relevant agendas - on all possible channels, daily and internationally. Of course, corresponding protected areas with the highest concentrations of life forms in all possible regions and climate zones also have priority. The 'overprotected' species and programs, resources, energies, .. in this context.. they should also concentrate more on these aspects, because to protect so much elephants, polar bears, giraffes, pandas, etc. who are relative save and every day important key species dying out ! It is a similar problem as with the neglected tipping points and the wrong prioritization of politics and economy - see United Nations Climate Change Conference. Only if the problems mentioned are resolved promptly the cascade effects can be reduced and possibly over decades of massive efforts stopped, and new disasters in this regard prevented. Then there may be a real chance to prevent extinction, also of humanity. Every action and every person counts in this regard, whether large or small, known or unknown. We maybe have approx two years to solve these problems and ten years to plant a trillion trees worldwide.

Bees have been declared as the most important species on planet earth. However, according to wildlife experts and scientists, the bees have joined the endangered species long list. Insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and other pesticides must be reduced, so like the air pollution. Let's plant more wild flowers and flower trees, especially for the bees, birds and other animals who need trees to survive. We need more biotopes, real natural and wild habitats or wildlife reserves with wild meadows, mixed forests and protected areas like game reserves, landscape conservation, nature conservation and water conservation areas. Greening Deserts projects goals are mainly to restore natural landscapes like mixed forests, grasslands and wetlands - to bring back biodiversity, clean air, topsoils and water. Reduce and stop deforestation in near future, replace wood with other sustainable materials like hemp and rice straw.

Further information and news:

The Greening Camp plants like desert bamboo and hemp will improve the soils, underground water and waters in general. Drylands and wastelands can be turned into fertile lands easily with Greening Deserts technics and technologies were developed during the last three years. It improves the soils in just a few years, after this other soil improving plants, environmental friendly crops and trees can be planted. There will be many side products of the forestation or greening processes, it can be delivered to hemp product producers like the paper branch and packaging industry. All would win at the end - the poor people or regions, the degraded lands or soils, the forestry, paper and wood industry - even big wood paper consumers like the book, newspaper and packaging industry. Hemp and rice straw paper books could reform the book and paper branch in many ways. If you want to know more about, don't hesitate to contact. We are experts in these fields and markets since 2003. The worldwide cleaning and greening process can accelerate the global peace building process siginificantly.

And again! You and colleagues are welcome to join the Greening Deserts campaigns and initiatives like the official Trillion Trees Initiative to reduce negative climate changes, deforestation, droughts, desertification, land degradation, floods and global warming on a large scale - especially in human-made deserts, drylands and wastelands. The initiative was founded in 2018.

The founder launched another great initivative to reduce plastic waste in worldwide waters and it will open a complete new sustainable market. It's called Plastic Fishery, more news will come on the plastic fisher network and platform.

Awareness programmes, communications letters and statements were initiated and shared with thousands of worldwide governments, institutions and organisations in summer, autumn and winter 2019. Diverse collaborations, cooperations, partnerships and sponsorships are possible. Feel free to contact by the official channels and pages on Greening Deserts and Trillion Trees Network.

Climate protection, nature conservation and environmental protection is also species protection. Please do not ignore and forward if you can, it affects us all. Childrens Rights are Human Rights. Clean air, soils, waters and healthy environments are Human Rights, too. We need more environmental awareness and sustainability, sustainable living and sustainable working, in all fields or areas. We need to create a world of understanding, acceptance, respect, tolerance, compassion and consciousness.

Do more for green places in your city, try to establish more community gardens, city parks, city forests, urban farming areas, fascade and rooftop gardens. Show that you can live and work really sustainable by saving energy, water and other natural resources. Reduce waste and pollution, especially plastic waste. Use alternative packaging and ecological products like bamboo or similar products. - Oliver Gediminas Caplikas

Visit the official pages:

http://trilliontrees.eu

http://trilliontrees.in

http://trilliontrees.us

http://trilliontrees.net

http://trilliontrees.info

http://trilliontrees.africa

http://www.trilliontreesinitiative.com

http://www.trilliontreesinitiative.org

http://afforestation.org

http://forestation.net

[off-the-heezys]

i want to know everything about skylar

his hair is mega sunburnt

he grew up on the beach, so he’s got a silly t shirt and shorts tan line

Loves to swim, especially after he got top surgery it was very epic for him

his family moved to sleepy peak and he’s trying to save up money to move back to the beach

With camp campbell it’s uuuuuh not going super well

Skyler is very very laid back and generally a fun counselor

He would literally drop kick Pikeman in a heartbeat though

A big flirt thought (not to the kids of course to other adults)

He’s actually an OC of mine I made back in like 2018 and I just revamped him to be a Camp Camp OC

He has a couple tattoos! I just need to figure out what and where they are haha

Loves to wear big t shirts and silly button ups

Also loves to wear bracelets he just thinks they’re neat

[zanimljivaekonomija]

18 internacionalaca iz 15 zemalja izabrano na NBA Draftu 2021 pod pokroviteljstvom State Farm®

NBA Draft 2021 presented by State Farm® was held Thursday, July 29 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and reached fans in 215 countries and territories in 25 languages. 

Eighteen international players from 15 countries, including 11 players from 9 European countries, were selected last night.

Nine international players, including four European players, were selected in the first round and a further nine international players, including seven European players, were selected in the second round.

Highlights from Europe include: the joint-highest ever player selected from Germany (Franz Wagner, 8th), two Spanish players in the first round (Usman Garuba, 23rd and Santi Andama, 30th) and the first ever player selected from Portugal (Neemias Queta, 39th) 

Australian Josh Giddey, a graduate of NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia, became the first NBA Academy graduate to be drafted into the NBA when he was selected 6th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Neemias Queta was selected 39th overall by the Sacramento Kings, becoming the first Portuguese draftee in NBA history.  With the selections of Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga (7th overall by the Golden State Warriors) and Franz Wagner (8th overall by the Orlando Magic), at least two international players have been drafted in the top 10 in each of the last nine NBA Drafts.  At least 10 international players have been drafted every year since 2000.

A record 10 former Basketball Without Borders (BWB) campers were drafted, breaking the previous record of eight set in 2019.  BWB is the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program that has now seen 89 former campers drafted into the NBA or signed as free agents since 2001.

Below please find storylines about the international players selected in NBA Draft 2021. 

International Players Selected in NBA Draft 2021 presented by State Farm®

Josh Giddey (Australia; Adelaide 36ers) was selected 6th overall by the Oklahoma     City Thunder, becoming the first NBA Academy graduate to be drafted into the NBA and the highest-drafted     Australian player since Ben Simmons (1st overall in     2016).  Giddey is the eighth Australian to be drafted in the first     round and the 11th former Basketball Without Borders (BWB)     camper to be drafted in the top 10 in the last five years.  Giddey     was named an All-Star at BWB Asia 2018 in Greater Noida, India, and at BWB     Global 2020, which was held in Chicago as part of NBA All-Star 2020.      Giddey also helped NBA Global Academy win the 2020 Torneo Junior Ciutat de L'Hospitalet in Barcelona, where he was named tournament MVP.

Jonathan Kuminga (Democratic Republic of the Congo; G     League Ignite) was selected 7th     overall by the Golden State Warriors, becoming the fifth player from the     Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to be drafted and the first since     Emmanuel Mudiay (7th overall in 2015).  There were a     record-tying 14 African players on 2020-21 opening-night rosters.

Franz Wagner (Germany; Michigan) was selected 8th overall by the Orlando     Magic, becoming the highest-drafted German player since Detlef Schrempf (8th     overall in 1985).  Wagner is the fourth German player to be drafted     in the first round and the first since his brother, Moritz Wagner (25th     overall in 2018).

Josh Primo (Canada; Alabama) was selected 12th overall by the San     Antonio Spurs, becoming the highest-drafted Canadian player since RJ     Barrett (3rd overall in 2019).  Primo was named an     All-Star at BWB Global 2020 alongside 2021 draftees Josh Giddey     (Australia) and Juhann Begarin (France).  There were a record 17     Canadian players on 2020-21 opening-night rosters.

Chris Duarte (Dominican Republic; Oregon) was selected 13th overall by the Indiana     Pacers, becoming the fourth player from the Dominican Republic to be     drafted in the first round, joining Al Horford ( 3rd overall in  2007), Francisco Garcia (23rd overall in 2005) and Felipe Lopez     (24th overall in 1998).

Alperen Sengun (Turkey; Beşiktaş) was selected 16th overall by the Oklahoma     City Thunder, becoming the highest-drafted Turkish player since Enes     Kanter (3rd overall in 2011) and the first since Furkan Korkmaz     (26th overall in 2016).  Sengun was named the 2021 Turkish     Super League MVP.

Kai Jones (Bahamas; Texas) was selected 19th overall by the New York Knicks,     becoming the third player from the Bahamas to be drafted in the first     round since 2016, joining Deandre Ayton (1st overall in 2018)     and Buddy Hield (6th overall in 2016).  Jones was named an     All-Star at BWB Americas 2017 in the Bahamas and also participated in the NBA Global Camp 2018 in Italy.

Usman Garuba (Spain; Real Madrid) was selected 23rd overall by the Houston     Rockets, becoming the first player from Spain to be drafted since Juancho     Hernangómez (15th overall in 2016). Garuba helped Spain win     gold medals at the 2019 FIBA U18     European Championship,     earning All-Star Five honors, and at the 2016     FIBA U16 European Championship,     where he was named MVP.  Garuba is currently playing with the Spain     Men’s National Team in the Tokyo Olympics.

Santi Aldama (Spain; Loyola (MD)) was selected 30th overall by the Utah Jazz,     marking the first time two players from Spain were drafted in the first     round (Usman Garuba, 23rd) since 2009 (Ricky Rubio and Victor     Claver).  Aldama was named MVP of the 2019 FIBA U18     European Championship     for gold medalist Spain, competing alongside 2021 first-round pick     Garuba.  Aldama also participated in BWB Europe 2018 in Serbia.

Rokas Jokubaitis (Lithuania; Žalgiris     Kaunas) was selected 34th     overall by Oklahoma City, becoming the highest-drafted Lithuanian player     since Domantas Sabonis (11th overall in 2016). Jokubaitis was     named an All-Star and camp MVP at BWB Europe 2017 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Neemias Queta (Portugal; Utah State) was     selected 39th overall by the Sacramento Kings, becoming the     first Portuguese draftee in NBA history.

Juhann Begarin (France; Paris     Basketball) was selected 45th     overall by the Boston Celtics. Begarin was named MVP of BWB Europe 2019 in Latvia and an All-Star at BWB Global 2020,     alongside 2021 draftees Josh Giddey (Australia) and Josh Primo     (Canada).

Dalano Banton (Canada; Nebraska) was selected 46th overall by the Toronto Raptors, becoming the first Canadian draftee in Raptors history.  There were a record 17 Canadian players on 2020-21 opening-night rosters, the most of any country outside the U.S. for the seventh consecutive season.

Filip Petrušev (Serbia; Mega Basket) was selected 50th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers.  Petrusev was named an All-Star at BWB Europe 2017 in Tel Aviv, Israel, and participated in BWB Global 2018, which was held in Los Angeles as part of NBA All-Star 2018.  There were six Serbian players on 2020-21 opening night rosters, the fourth most of any country outside the U.S.

Charles Bassey (Nigeria; Western Kentucky) was selected 53rd overall by the     Philadelphia 76ers.  Bassey was named an All-Star at BWB Global 2017, which was held in New Orleans as part of NBA All-Star     2017, and MVP of BWB Global 2018, which was held in Los Angeles as part NBA All-Star     2018.  Last year, a record nine players from or with ties to Nigeria     were drafted.

Sandro Mamukelashvili (Georgia; Seton     Hall) was selected 54th overall by the Indiana     Pacers. Mamukelashvili was named an All-Star at BWB Global 2017 alongside 2021 draftees Charles Bassey (Nigeria) and     Balsa Koprivica (Serbia).

Balša Koprivica (Serbia; Florida State) was     selected 57th overall by the Charlotte Hornets. Koprivica     participated in BWB Global 2017 alongside 2021 draftees Charles Bassey (Nigeria) and     Sandro Mamukelashvili (Georgia).

Georgios Kalaitzakis (Greece;     Panathinaikos) was selected 60th     overall by Indiana, becoming the first Greek player to be drafted since     Kostas Antetokounmpo (60th overall in 2018).

[mega-camp-blog]

Lets talk FOOD

So ever since we started planning this little endeavor, one question has haunted us above all others.....

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO EAT FOR FOUR DAYS?????

Well today your answer arrives.  

The Kitchen Committee has put together a menu for camp that we hope will be nutritious and delicious, leaning heavily on American summer classics and keeping costs down.   

We’re also being as careful as possible to accommodate people’s dietary restrictions, particularly allergies and gluten issues.  Everyone who registers is asked about dietary issues, and we working our recipes and menus around them.  Additionally, @thatfilthyanimal has taken on the special role of Kitchen Bitch, promising to wage war against food contamination and general unmixy things for both the planning and the duration of camp itself.  

So that all said, we’re excited to be sharing with you what we will be eating!!!

Thursday Dinner All American Burgers Potato Salad and Cole Slaw Cheese slices, ketchup, mustard, relish, pickles,  Assorted chips and cut up fruit GF buns Sweet Tea, Water, Lemonade

Friday Breakfast Continental Breakfast Toast, cereal, oatmeal, bagels, muffins Jam, butter, nutella, PB, cream cheese GF bread/bagels Coffee, Tea, OJ

Friday Lunch Walking Tacos Nacho Style Fritos, Tortilla Chips, Doritos onion, green pepper, sweet pepper, lettuce, cilantro, cheese, sour cream Ground beef w/ gluten free McCormick seasoning Sweet Tea, Water, Lemonade

Friday Dinner Chicken Fajitas Peppers, Onions, tortillas, sour cream and cheese and lettuce black beans, salsa GF corn tortillas Sweet Tea, Water, Lemonade, Cucumber Watermelon punch

Saturday Breakfast Continental Breakfast Toast, cereal, oatmeal, bagels, muffins Jam, butter, nutella, PB, cream cheese GF bread/bagels Coffee, Tea, OJ

Saturday Lunch Build Your Own Salad bar w/chicken lettuce, carrot, black beans, cheese, dressing, crutons, green pepper, sweet pepper, onion, tomato Sweet Tea, Water, Lemonade, Cucumber Watermelon punch

Saturday Dinner Corn Roast with optional Butter, chilli flakes, parmesan cheese Corndogs and Hot dogs with optional ketchup, mustard, relish, pickles Cut up fruit Cut veggies - sweet peppers, green peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, carrots All Beef Hot Dogs, GF buns Sweet Tea, Water, Lemonade, Cucumber Watermelon punch

Sunday Breakfast Scrambled Eggs Sausage Make Your Own Pancakes with choc chips, blueberries, pecans, cinnemon, and syrup GF pancake batter option Coffee, Tea, OJ

Sunday Lunch Bag lunch with make your own Sandwiches  (PB, deli meat, cheese, etc)   Whole Fruit (apples and oranges) Chips individual bag GF bread option bottled water, and/or juice box of choice

Sunday Dinner Pulled Pork with bbq sauce Baked Potatos Cheese, bacos, sour cream, butter, green onion and anything leftover that you could sling on a potato Pulled Chicken with gluten free bbq Sweet Tea, Water, Lemonade, Cucumber Watermelon punch

Monday Brunch Scrambled Eggs Literally any leftover food and drink in a weird buffet of random stuff

Questions?  Comments?  Concerns?  Hit us up!

[skullsandwineglasses]

Yang Zi and Deng Lun

So I’ve been having a hard time trying to move on from Ashes of Love, and what I’ve been curious about is the lack of IRL interactions between Yang Zi and Deng Lun despite them being long-time collaborators, if not friends. They both participated in a lot of variety shows, just never together.

They’ve only appeared together publicly on 5 occasions (or at least 5 that I’ve seen): on Happy Camp in 2013 to promote Flowers in Fog, at 2 award shows, at an event to promote Ode to Joy 2 (though their interactions were minimal to none), and at a 2018 Oppo event. 

I’ve been wondering why they didn’t do any promo events for AOL, or why they never sang a duet together on stage. 

I then did some digging (using my limited literacy in Chinese) and came across the infamous instagram incident in September 2018 just after AOL finished airing, which caused fan wars that have persisted til this day. People are questioning how genuine their “friendship” really is, and their fans apparently hate each other, which makes it hard for them to even be in the same room together without being mercilessly harassed online. 

The incident didn’t seem to leave any hard feelings between them though, since they seemed to be friendly and cordial enough at the Weibo awards in early 2019 (with Deng Lun even coming up to Yang Zi’s seat to playfully flip her dress to get her attention and then sit next to her), and they spoke fondly of each other in separate interviews later that year too, but their fans can’t seem to let the incident go. And being two of the biggest stars in China, the longevity of their fame depends on them being able to read the room, which in this case is their respective fanbases. 

This also makes me believe that we’re not going to see them in another drama together any time soon. I’d love to be proven wrong about this, but based on the circumstances, I don’t know if they’d think that another collaboration is a good career move for them. 

1. The first reason is an obvious one. Their next collaboration is unlikely to match the success of AOL. AOL is kind of like a one-hit-wonder. You usually only have that kind of runaway success once (unless you’re Yang Mi or Zhao Liying). I don’t see them being in another fantasy drama, since people would be making too many comparisons. They would have to do something different that they haven’t done before (kind of like Tang Yan and Luo Jin who have collaborated 5 times, and each time their roles and relationships were completely different). 

2. I don’t see Deng Lun repeating co-stars (besides the fact that he collaborated with YZ twice already). He’s already spending this year focusing on variety shows, which means that his next drama isn’t going to be out in a while (depending on when he even decides to take on a new project). So, his body of work is already quite limited, meaning that he probably wouldn’t want it dominated by a single co-star. He also pairs up with the biggest actresses trending at the time (e.g., Sun Yi, Dilireba, Zhao Liying, Ma Sichun, etc) so I think he’ll continue this pattern and pair up with whichever rising actress has the public favour 2 or so years from now. (Unpopular opinion: That is, if he is still in demand 2 years from now. “Fresh meat” actors usually don’t stay in the spotlight for very long. They shine hella bright, but also burnout hella fast. They’re not very sustainable tbh. Lin Gengxin was similarly in a ton of variety shows when he peaked, and now I barely hear anything about him. Their staying power is fleeting. Also, while variety shows might keep you relevant in the short term, they’re not as memorable as dramas). 

3. I also don’t know if Yang Zi would repeat co-stars. It seems like she’s aiming to have at least one hit drama a year, so I would imagine that she would be more picky about her projects. But at the same time, I feel like she would be more open than DL to have another collaboration with him (though since we aren’t them, we can never know what they think). She usually takes on several dramas a year, so I would imagine that she wouldn’t mind having a repeat collaboration since she already has enough other projects to diversify her portfolio. 

4. As much as Deng Lun says that he admires YZ and acknowledges her hand in his success, I also don’t know if he wants to depend on her to keep his career alive (I imagine that his fans probably want to crucify me for saying this, but good thing that no one reads rants on tumblr). In both of his collaborations with YZ, it transformed his career and gave him a huge boost in popularity. So he probably wants to avoid that association. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a good actor and has a ton of potential (way better than other “fresh meat” actors before him), but I feel like he’s currently being pigeon-holed as an “idol” actor. And with a lack of notable acting projects in the near future, it’s a little concerning). He needs to take on more challenging and meaningful roles, like slice of life dramas, or smart historical/political dramas. He needs to diversify.

5. Top Billing. Yang Zi got top billing in Ashes of Love because she was more popular at the time, was signed first, and was the one who recommended DL for the role in the first place. But now that they rival each other in popularity, I don’t know whom top billing would go to. After seeing how heated fans got when debating who should get top billing for Love Designer and next year’s The Golden Hairpin, I feel like studios and producers would be wary of casting 2 mega A-list actors. 

That isn’t to say all hope of another collaboration is lost. They were recently in a pepsi commercial together (although it doesn’t look like they shot it together), but their faces appear next to each other on advertising posters, meaning that their partnering still has marketing value. 

I love them both, and I’m just trying to pull myself out of this rabbit hole and distance myself from them by facing the music and the reality of their professional relationship in order to tear myself away from their characters in AOL. 

I could go on another rant about how Deng Lun is nothing like Xufeng, and how Yang Zi’s interaction with Deng Lun seems to be mostly on a professional level, especially when you compare it with her unfiltered interactions with her childhood BFF Zhang Yishan and her shy interactions with her ex-BF Qin Jun Jie, but that’s another controversial rant that I won’t get into here. 

Thoughts, corrections, and addition input are welcome, thanks. 

[duhragonball]

Nanwum IV scheming

So I’ve got less than 6000 words to go on this month’s Camp Nano goal, and there’s six more days in July, which means I’m juuuuust caught up enough to get ahead of myself and think about how to handle this year’s National Novel Writing Month in November.  

For anyone just joining us, I’ve been writing this damn wienerfic for the past five years, and I’ve been using National Novel Writing Month (or Nanwum as the kids like to call it.) to power through the project and test my skills.   I’ve won three times, in 2017, 2018, and 2019.    This fall will be my fourth run.

I feel like I need a stronger plan for this one, since my first attempt in 2017 was much more structured, and I think that was a huge help.    2018 was good in the sense that I finished quickly, wrote thirty days in a row, and got an extra 10k past the goal.   I won in 2019, but it was kind of a mess, and I feel like I should take steps to keep the same thing from happening in 2020. 

So this is kind of my wishlist of stuff I want to achieve this November.   Dunno if I’m going to pull it all off, but I at least want a list of goals to score myself against.

1. Hit 50,000 words by November 20.    I’ve done this before, mostly out of fear that if I fell too far behind that I wouldn’t be able to get caught up in time to finish.  Now that I’m more experienced, fear isn’t as much of a factor, but the strategy still works, so I need to do it because it’s smart.   This would require me to write an average of 2500 words per day for the first 20 days.   

2. Write for thirty days in a row.   I pulled this off in 2018 and it felt pretty good.   In ‘17, I purposely scheduled days off for myself, which seemed like a good idea, but I think it does help me more to write at least a few words each day, if only to maintain momentum.   If I can hit goal #1, then I don’t expect great things from those final ten days.   In 2018 it was more of a victory lap.   But the idea is to keep me moving on those first 20 days.   

2a. I’d like to establish an 800 word/day minimum goal, but I’m not sure if that’s realistic.   If successful, I’d be pulling down 58,000 by 11/30/2020.   

3. Write 7000 words in one day.   So I’ve set two records for one-day writing.    The first was the clothing-optional Luffa #69, which I just pounded out in October 2017 while I was talking myself into the Nanwum experience.    That was about 6,000 words, but I’d need to look up the exact number.    The second time was November 11, 2018.  I’m more proud of that one because I had set out to hit 6,000.   Luffa #69 was just me on a roll, and wanting to finish the chapter in one day.    If I had managed to wrap it up in 3500 I would have.    

So my official record stands at 6,044 words in one day.    I’d like to break that, and I want to break it in a big way, so I’m aiming for 7000.   The way I see it, if I fail, then boo-hoo, I’ll still have a big one-day total.  

I’m thinking that maybe my best bet is to attempt this on day one.   Historically, I usually go into these things with a lot of momentum, and I’d be coming off of a day off from writing, so I’d be as fresh as possible.   So basically, 10/31, then 12:01 on 11/1 and I knock out a thousand words to start things off, and see where things go from there.   

The best way to make this work is to plan ahead just what I want to write.   It would also help if I had multiple things to switch around in case I get stuck.    What made 11/11/18 work so well was that I had a big dramatic fight scene that I’d been looking forward to, but also a couple of other chapters I could touch up.    I need similar conditions for 11/1/20.

Off the top of my head:

a.) Luffa Annual #2.  I had some fun doing a Christmas side-story with the characters, and I sort of wanted to make it an annual thing.  The trouble with Annual #1 was that I didn’t start it until December, and I couldn’t get it posted in time for Christmas, so it’s probably for the best if I just make this a fun thing I do on the side for Nano.   I’m not sure what I should do for the annual this year, although a magical girl/sentai kind of story.   Dunno how to make that about Christmas, wait, I’m an idiot, I’ll just have them fight a giant half-reindeer/half-pine tree monster that shoots missiles shaped like egg nog cartons.

...

You know, I say that like it’s a joke that I plan to workshop into something better later on, but honestly, that’s probably as good as it’s going to get.    Sorry to spoil everyone.   Pinedeer confirmed for brawl.

b.) Mega Chiaotzu?    Fuck it, Mega Chiaotzu.

c.) Look, I don’t want to get to spoiler-y, but I should be pretty deep into the Xenoverse phase of the story by November, so I had thoughts in mind for a Time Patrol mission to the Ginyu Force leg of the Namek Saga, basically for the sole purpose of having Luffa guest-star in DBZ Episode 66, the episode that inspired the character.   L U F F A C E P T I O N, if you will.

d.) On that note, I need to start introducing my Time Patrol supporting cast members, such as Excitebike, Big League Chew, and Dewar.    Man I almost forgot Dewar’s name for a second, I’d better do him first.   

I dunno, I think those four ideas ought to carry me past 7k.     I don’t expect to finish all of them, or even any of them on 11/1/18, but that should keep me busy.  

To summarize all this, if my plan goes well, I’d be looking at 7000 words on the first day, then I’d need to write 2263 words/day to hit 50k by 11/20.   Then I could take it easy and write 800 a day through the 30th.   That’s going to be tough, but do-able.   2000 a day has been a decent cruising speed for me in past years, but I feel like I’ve really fallen off of that lately.    The goal here will be to push myself to get back into that mode, and I think all the work I’ve been doing in January through September will really get me where I need to be.   Of course, I gotta finish July first, so if you’ll excuse me.

[doktorpeace]

🖊 please introduce us to Erato, I know they're in a masks campaign but I have no idea what else

Oh, gosh, I feel like I talk about them too much as is but I can’t say I’m not glad to have the excuse. This is gonna be really long cause tbh I’m just gonna dump like, a bunch of their lore lmao.

Erato is my Masks: A New Generation character in a campaign being played alongside @twerkyvulture (As Amanda ‘Megafauna’ Ghorbani, The Transformed) @draayder (as Josephine ‘Rattlesnake’ Short, The Reformed) @spitblaze (as Les ‘Void’ Hawking, The Doomed) @heedra (as Enid ‘Frag Beetle’ Day, The Scion) and @skarchomp (as Parker ‘Cobalt’ Andrews, The Legacy) with @dykeceratops as our GM. The current arc features @mechanicalriddle as Zoe, The Nova as a guest member. Here’s a group shot done by @tredlocity. Clockwise from the top left: Cobalt in blue, Erato in the track suit, Les in the cloak, Zoe with the mismatched eyes, Enid’s the big robot, Amanda’s got the scales and claws, and Josephine’s got the mask and tonfa.

To get back to Erato specifically though they’re an Anti Metahuman/Metahuman Suppression Weapon created by the in universe tech group Wright Industries, founded by Ingrid Day, Enid’s mom. They’re generally stronger, faster, and more durable than humans and can copy the superpowers of others for 5-10 minutes by touching them thanks to what is basically a meta-stem cell transplant interacting with other parts of their systems. (Also, I 100% swear to god that I did not consider ‘Robot Hero Who Copies The Powers Of Others’ is literally fucking Mega Man despite loving Mega Man a ton until after I had hashed out the concept with my GM’s assistance. Only once Abby said ‘oh like mega man’ I was like ‘wait, shit’.) I’ll tell you some about them as a person before unloading their history onto you, lol. Being an android built for combat and kept in an underground research lab, kept on a rigid schedule, constantly taking tests, physical, mental, written, oral, ethical, etc. etc. etc. and under constant supervision Erato lacked for real interactive experience before the campaign started only really ever getting to takl with authority figures and their sisters. They were very passive and observational, owing in part to their power set requiring a lot of adaptation to make the most of. They’re naive and very bad at exercising discretion in decision making, sometimes they overstep boundaries when talking with people without meaning to, and they’re really emotional! They have trouble dealing with strong emotions cause they haven’t managed to discover coping mechanisms that work well for them, they tend to get angry kind of easily and need time to blow off steam. But they’re also very genuine, honest, and well meaning. They are almost never mean, rude, or snippy, they do their best to do well by others, and have a strong sense of justice paired with a deep distrust and dislike of the current legal system in universe. This is in part due to the conditions of their creation (and in part because the intent behind it was kind of right!) and in part due to Enid’s life being threatened by a representative of the state while they and their teammates were in jail after being arrested following a huge brawl with an anti-methuman terrorist group. They’re also very willing to put forth the effort to improve as a person and to mend relationship wounds, almost always apologizing first to Enid when they fight and genuinely trying to work in advice and feedback they get from others, which they often get from Les and Parker. They’re also relatively educated, from the tests of their creators, from home and public schooling, from personal research, but that doesn’t undo their naivety. They also just straight up lack some very basic and/or common sense knowledge. Like, they don’t know what a bear is. Why would you teach a battle android working in a densely populated, extremely built up city about wild animals? All in all they’re kind of inexperienced and immature and make mistakes a lot but they’re (usually) very willing to admit their mistakes and to try and improve and get better. They genuinely and truly want what’s best for others and are learning to value them self as much as their teammates. They’ve also taken it upon them self to start doing humanitarian work in their free time over the summer. In a fight Erato is adaptive and quick witted but tends to put themself in more danger than is necessary. They also sometimes use more extreme force than the others believe is called for, but after the first time they did they and Parker had a real heart to heart about it, Les helped Erato learn and practice some coping, centering, behaviors they could do even under pressure and Erato did their best to adapt. That said they Fucking Hate The Keeper So God Damned Much Because Of How Much Suffering He’s Caused Their Friends And How Much Danger He Presents And Would Kill Him With No Remorse. So they don’t intend to apologize for ripping his arms off whatsoever. They and their sisters, collectively known as The Muse Units, were made to work as a group and as a proof of concept that atomized units could replace traditional police for use against metahuman criminals and to slowly phase out The Registry, the legal department which handles general metahuman based laws. If successful the units could be mass produced and improved upon, rapidly replacing current, error prone, law enforcement. At the time of their development, between late 1999 for blueprint drafting and until mid 2002 when the project was shut down, they were the cutting edge for AI development aided in no small part by Ingrid’s technokinetic powers allowing her to make advancements few others could. (As a note Erato’s body was finished being built in early 2001 but their unique personhood didn’t really come to fruition until February 18th, 2002, so that’s what I consider their ‘birthday’.) Ultimately, however, while a few of the Muses excelled some did not perform to expectations, the project fell behind schedule, investors lost interest, and a minor scandal involving a casualty happened, resulting in the project being shut down. The Muses were placed in indefinite storage, the data gained from their short existence used on other projects such and some of the tech advancements used to inform future decisions by the company. And it would have stayed that way, if not for the fact that in 2018 Ingrid Day was revealed to be The Locust in a conflict where Enid tried to defend her against a militia group who had been hired to take her down, being shot and presumably killed in the process. As The Locust she had been terrorizing Boston for over a decade trying to take it over and being involved in the deaths of over 70 people. (Which irl btw would make her like, the 8th most prolific confirmed serial killer of all time, Yikes!) Wright Industries, desperately needing to prove their hard stance against metahuman criminals and needing a PR stunt to deflect from their connection to their former CEO re-awakened Erato. They weren’t the most powerful or best performing of the Muses, but they were above average, obedient, and had an easy enough to monitor and control power set with little risk for property damage to boot, the perfect choice. Erato then took to the streets of Boston acting basically as a vigilante, following orders, stopping minor crimes, and sometimes working alongside the police. They attracted the attention of The Viceroy, a semi-retired 56 year old hero who never registered in spite of it being compulsory legally. They both have the ability to copy the powers of others, though he can just by sight, and he has body elasticity too. These make him durable and extremely adaptable, add to that his detective skills and he’s something of a local Boston legend. He took them in as his Protégé. Though they remained distant for quite some time with Erato still coming and going between his place and Wright Industries, having promised not to reveal his assistance to the doctors who Erato reported their work to. It was this way for about a year and a half before the campaign started and Erato began living with Viceroy full time, no longer wanting to go back to Wright Industries as they began to think more independently and consider what they wanted for them self more. During this time Erato had chance encounters with each of the other characters a few times as they also did minor vigilante work, peaking with a villain who is a member of Superhuman, an extremist pro-metahuman group, attacked the school that Josephine, Les, and Amanda all attend. After that incident Erato was prompted by Viceroy to contact each of these other young potential heroes to form a team, The Upstarts. Additionally during this time Viceroy took in Enid who had been abandoned by her biological father and had been getting bounced around foster care. Over time the three of them have become kind of a weird family, living in a warehouse full of cats with a couple of bedrooms grafted on and an ultra secret basement lair underneath full of advanced stuff Viceroy makes. Though Erato and Enid have definitely had their ups and down, more recently in the story (and we’ve been doing this campaign for well over a year now) they’ve been putting in serious effort to better their relationship and be good adoptive siblings to one another. I love their relationship a lot, they’re good kids.

That gets us up to the start of the campaign but hoo boy, I’ve been writing for like, an hour now. Since then Erato’s helped take down a nazi-aligned terrorist organization, they’ve got a boyfriend in their teammate, Les, and they’ve made friends outside of their core group of teammates. They’ve also enrolled in school doing well on some classes and poorly in others, namely learning how to Code and Woodworking. Currently they’re at a sleep away summer camp for superpowered kids called Camp Justice, about 10 miles outside of Boston. They really, really hate it there. Constant supervision, being made to do tests, things scheduled out against their will, inability to leave the area? Yeah that certainly reminds them of something. The difference between it and school, which does share these features, is they wanted to go to school. They very much Did Not want to go to camp. As a result they’re finally going to have to start facing the trauma they’ve got from their origin and also actually tell the others other than Les and Amanda about their sisters. Whiiiiich...Enid saw one of them disassembled and showed off in parts at a school science fair display set up by Wright Industries to gauge interest in students. And she hasn’t mentioned this to Erato...for 4 months Uh Oh! Lastly, here’s my tag I use mostly for art I make of them, it includes some texts posts and picrew dumps too though, lol. Feel free to look!