#there's also a lot of treasure islands so this is another selection

[adaptations-polls]

Which version of this do you prefer?

[misscammiedawn]

I wanted to say thanks for that write up on the depiction of DID and Mr. Robot! You said everything that's been burning in my head for years now after watching. Hearing another system's thoughts on it was something we've been looking for.

Part of our inner world is also part of the NHM in London lol.

Truly and sincerely thank you.

First off, I am delighted to know that we're not alone in having the Natural History Museum as host to a segment of inner world. Would love to know which exhibit/area you see when you visit, though no obligation to respond. We know that these things can be deeply personal.

The show may not strike with every system but no two plural folx are going to have the same connections and attachments and comforts and that's 100% okay. For those who share our affection for Mr. Robot I am glad you get to enjoy the show and our ramblings on it.

Wishing you and your system well and thank you again for the ask. You've no idea how much feedback comforts and encourages.

Asks are always open.

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Post the asker is referring to in the question, btw:

Also... have some random rambles about Mr. Robot in a readmore, because I feel like typing a bunch.

-

Also, because it gives us an opening to talk about it. Have some random Robot thoughts:

Mr. Robot is and remains my favorite show. I had started typing "our" favorite and got a sharp rejection so shall use singular pronouns. It has its issues, the use of the term "real" for instance, but with good faith a lot of it can vanish. Not all. But most.

I've been thinking about things a lot more since writing the essay and there are things I wish I had spent longer discussing. For instance during the portion where I wrote about how Coney Island represents a safety in nostalgia, a fortress for the Alderson siblings to hide in their treasured childhood memories; I didn't mention that both Trenton and Mobley use their own nostalgia as their hacker aliases with Trenton being where she lived when young and DJ Mobley clearly being someone Mobley found joy in at a younger age.

Similarly Hot Carla's name is selected because of a hair dresser who validated her gender identity and sheltered her when her parents were abusive. Whiterose's hacker alias is the last moment her life could have been the "good future" that she envisioned and worked so hard to force into reality.

I do like that pretty much every character who has an alias picks their alias as an identity forged in positive memories. Elliot clearly did with Mr. Robot being the store where he and his dad were friends and his other alias (The Gentleman) is a reference to The Careful Massacre of the Bourgeoisie, a movie he and Darlene watched every year that became the entire iconography for the fsociety movement.

If I were to ever do another Mr. Robot essay I think it would be on the way each character insists on living in the past in order to escape their present and how that relates to the way trauma invades the present. Not going to promise that, though. We're already snowed under with our Loop and Beatrice essays.

I think that can be one of the big failings of the show, actually, especially for those watching it as it aired. The show is deeply ingrained in the perspectives of characters who have critically distorted beliefs on reality and the show doesn't really start laying down objective reality until late season 3 after the cyber bombings.

Someone watching the show for the first time can watch Elliot's edgelord rants about "Fuck Society" and think that the show believes these things rather than its main character and we do not get the show delivering the message that it's small minded and childish (which, given that Elliot is stuck in trauma time and perpetually reliving a horrifically abusive childhood he cannot fully understand because he won't allow himself to remember clearly, is exactly what he is) until Irving and Price each spell it out to Mr. Robot in S3E7/9 or Whiterose outright calls Elliot on it in their final confrontation.

I adore the show for its patience and how it tells such an emotional and complicated story over its 45 hour runtime but I do understand people watching the first hour, getting the wrong idea about where the journey is going and opting out.

Hell I understand a system going in for DID representation and not having the patience to stick around the show's Fight Club pastiche era before starting to get to the meat of things.

But hey. I gave the show a shot and can't go back now. I love it too darned much.

Also because I don't want to start another thread on it, I do want to say that the show is truly frustrating in how it depicts economic collapse for society and yet none of the characters are ever impacted by it.

Darlene is homeless throughout the show, spare her stint living in an FBI safe house and she has no job through the show's run. She is never hurting for money, even when the banking system of the world collapses. She likely is stealing but it's frustrating that we only hear about the financial ruin in the periphery. We learn of the eviction of Elliot's neighbors spare for the kind older man who takes care of Flipper but Elliot himself can buy entire new computers on a whim and go months between jobs or spend a season in prison and not be impacted.

Like the show depicts the world going into a major decline during the economic crisis and it's clear by Season 4 that the show is venting frustration that when the banking system failed in 2008 the ones responsible were not harmed at all and it was the public who suffered and things just went back to how it was in time; it's just... every character is living comfortably in New York and Darlene is the closest we have to a "poor" character.

But that's a rant we have on every show. Poverty doesn't really exist in television. You watch a show like Ted Lasso and everyone is a millionaire. Even the Kit Manager (Nate, not Will) has parents who own a home, sent him to higher education and gave him private violin lessons. Kit Manager salary is about £25-50 per year, even for a Premier League Team.

...but my discomfort with how poverty is never represented on TV is just a random rant and I'm going way off topic.

I'll stop rambling now.

[bengiyo]

8 Shows to Get to Know Me

The rules seem pretty simple, just to list 8 shows to get to know me. Some people have explanations and some don't so we'll see.

I was tagged by: @negrowhat, @farewellnverland, @wanderlust-in-my-soul, and I think @introvertedkeni. I’m sorry for putting this off, but I have watched so much stuff in my life. 

1. Star Trek: Deep Space 9

I’ve been watching Star Trek since I was seven days old with my dad, and Deep Space 9 remains my favorite series. I like how it makes the future feel like a real place that people live in. Unlike the other shows, we can’t just fly away from our problems. We have to live with them and with our differences. I admired Benjamin Sisko so much. I have a deep love for Nog, and he and Jake are one of my first ships. I regularly return to this Star Trek more than any of them, and it’s an easy way for me to mention Babylon 5, without which this show would not exist. This may be the black sheep of Star Trek, but it is the show that I think legitimizes Star Trek the most. 

2. Yu Yu Hakusho

I grew up in the heyday of Toonami, and I find myself returning to Yu Yu Hakusho even as an adult. It’s one of the rare shows I think is actually more enjoyable in its English dub. I just enjoy how different each arc feels, and the Dark Tournament is still one of the most compelling tournament arcs in anime history.

Also, Smile Bomb is still the best intro song ever used IMO.

3. Black Sails

I put this show just under the Wire in terms of how well I think it built on its own mythology over its runtime. The philosophical ideas at the core of this show are so potent, and it’s one of the few shows that isn’t necessarily about the queer experience in which the desires of queer people are the driving forces of the narrative. It’s amazing to think that this is a Treasure Island prequel blandly described as “Wet Game of Thrones,” but it’s one of the most compelling shows about anti-imperialism I’ve ever experienced. 

4. The Fosters

I started watching this show because I saw two lesbian civil servants raising all dem kids. In this show we have a black assistant principal and a white police officer who are raising the cop’s oldest son (a pianist), their adopted latinx twins Mariana and Jesus, and then they pick up Callie and Jude. Jude was queer, and I was thrilled to finally see a show about queer people raising a queer child. The actor who played Emmett on Queer as Folks (Peter Paige) was one of the showrunners. I think this show became a hot mess after season 1a, and instead started focusing on the kids way too much. However, I have an undying love for Stef and Lena, and the Jonnor pinky touch is still the best we’ve ever had. 

This show is objectively not that good, but this is one of the few shows during the time of the Clexa Incident and the Great Lesbian TV Purge that went through that unscathed. I also spent a great deal of time fighting off Brallie fans in the era; I do not miss that. We just didn’t have a lot of options at the time, and this show was a beacon of frank queer life that I desperately needed.

This is another show who I think has a perfectly selected intro. This show also is a case study in the shift from ABC Family to Freeform. 

5. Avatar: The Last Airbender

I was almost 15 when this started airing. It was my first time having to track a show down because of the erratic airing schedule. I think this show has one of the most satisfying arcs in all of TV history, and it is my default show to use when I talk about how to do a serialized story well. Avatar fans can refer to specific episodes so easily and quickly, and yet we can appreciate how each episode contributes to the global narrative. It really is a masterpiece.

6. What Did You Eat Yesterday?

As much as I have fun with BL, it’s really the queer shows that stick with me. A show about two gay men in their 40s trying to maintain a committed relationship despite their differences, and grounded around the meals they share together? This was always going to be one of my favorite shows of all time. I adore Shiro and Kenji, and I hope to have a partnership as good as theirs someday.

7. One Day At a Time

I’m a sucker for a good sitcom. I was excited about the revival of this classic and centered around a Cuban-American family in which the daughter comes out as a lesbian. Also, Rita Moreno is here. This is one of the Netflix cancellations I will never forgive. The finale of the second season is one of the most memorable cries I’ve ever had in television. I adore this cast so much. This is a show that is so much greater than the sum of its parts.

8. Moonlight Chicken

This is Aof at his best, and I don’t foresee anyone making anything that will replace this show for me. If I Told Sunset About You fixed the Love of Siam (2007) sized hole in my heart, Moonlight Chicken is the intergenerational queer family drama that I need as an adult. What we need as adults more than anything is a little bit of kindness and a great deal of compassion. Aof has so much care for all of his characters, his actors, his crew, and the viewers. This is one of the most gentle stories I’ve ever experienced about some extremely difficult topics. The intergenerational love flowing out of this show is so strong. I have been forever changed by this show. 

tagging: @shortpplfedup, @liyazaki, @flukenatouch, @kyr-kun-chan, @elnotwoods​, and anyone else who wants to participate.

[yttd-joe-obsessed]

My 3 a.m. Low Quality Analysis on the Alternate Ending In Sara's Mini Episode (Spoilers)

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As the title says, this'll be a sorta? analysis on the alternate end that is in Sara's mini episode (under the cut). This'll contain spoilers for the mini episode itself, along with the alternate ending since it will be the main focus of the essay (also spoilers for the main story, of course).

Quick warning before I start though! As (again) the title says, this is incredibly low quality since I wrote this at 3 a.m. and I'm also really bad at this sort of thing (like, is this even an essay?). Some of the stuff that I wrote may be entirely incorrect, and it's also pretty informal a lot of the time with a bunch of parentheses as I typed. It's kinda edited? but the edits were by that same 3 a.m. brain so. yea. Also the analysis ended up having no end goal so it's all over the place (and it's really long. like, 12 paragraphs long) ^^;

Anyway! Without further ado, I hope you all enjoy whatever garbage I came up with! And if there's any mistakes in what I wrote and you want to point them out, and/or if you'd like to share your own opinion, please do so!!

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The alternate ending in Sara's mini episode is unlocked via selecting all of the red text options throughout the episode, leading to a variation of the main ending in which Sara almost confesses her feelings to Joe before having a small breakdown and then going back to deciding to introduce him to Ryoko. Along with this, it also shows a window into what could have been, displaying a scenario in which Joe got enough votes to survive with Sara and leave everyone to die, Sara's breakdown happening immediately after the player is shown that scene.

     The scene could be interpreted in many ways (these are mainly just some theories that came up in my head while I was thinking). For example, it can be viewed as the possibility of the Death Game being some sort of simulation, with Sara having memories of it and it still deeply hurting her. Another example could be that it's Sara reliving (reminiscing) the memory of the day while in the Death Game, after Joe's death, and thinking of things that could have gone differently, which I will elaborate on much (much) later on. Yet another theory could be that the hangout event itself could be a simulation, and Sara's knowledgeable of this and is pretending that it's all real, a theory that matches with a possible theory regarding Your Time To Shine, the island survival spin-off. There's also many other interpretations, however I'm not all that acquainted with them. (Aka they just haven't crossed my mind yet since I'm not that good at coming up with this sort of stuff. If you guys see it any other way, let me know! I'd love to hear your thoughts!)

     Despite the possibilities, the ending does show that Sara might have had romantic feelings for Joe (or not, elaborated on along with the reminiscing theory), but decided to not act on them in exchange for being able to continue to treasure his friendship. In the main story, Sara's strong feelings towards Joe are laid out, though whether those feelings are platonic or romantic aren't elaborated on as they mainly just show how important Joe was is to her. However, in the mini episode, the alternate ending hints at Sara's feelings possibly having been romantic at some point, or having been romantic the entire time. However, this could simply be speculation as nothing is directly confirmed, and the red text hints at something different (elaborated on later along with the other two things).

    Another detail of the alternate ending is its shift in atmosphere, which is similar to some of the atmosphere shifts in the main story (or maybe just to me since for some it could be different). It goes from being completely cheerful to being solemn and melancholic. Sara's words and personality shift also match more with her personality later on in the main story (going from the emotion/Kanna route since I still haven't seen the logic/Sou one). She also voices her genuine fears, fears that strongly match her current fears in the main story. And Joe, as the kind and understanding boy he is (totally not biased), says that he would still stick with her through everything (and he did).

     One of the things that stands out the most overall is the scene showing the what-if containing Joe winning the votes needed to escape with Sara. Placing this scene to take place before the main story completely rules out the possibility of it being canon, since supposedly Sara would have had no knowledge on the Death Game's events and would not be thinking of the scenario. However, with one of the theories mentioned earlier, they do help sort the scene into the timeline somewhat. They would explain why Sara thought of the past possibility of escaping with Joe, while also having multiple other implications depending on the theory.

     So. What does this all mean? I'm…honestly not that sure. However, regarding the main story and placing this scene before the Death Game, certain parts in the alternate ending could be canon. Since the what-if scene has Death Game information, that immediately rules it out of the list of being potentially canon in this scenario. Sara having potential feelings for Joe and possibly almost confessing to him could be entirely possible, and isn't debunked by any main story information. Lastly, her confiding in him with personal fears is also a strong possibility, for the same reason as the aforementioned scenario.

     However, there is one main reason that I have labeled the alternate ending as semi-canon, and was the cause of me writing this before thinking. And it isn't because of the romance, and it isn't about Sara sharing her fears. It's because of a specific thing that Sara tells Joe after confiding in him: "You're…my precious best friend…"

     She does not call Joe her best friend in the regular route of her mini episode, and Joe even complains about the fact that Ryoko is on a higher level than him ("Your best friend…Above even me…Ngh…"). Yes, I know that after the scene Sara calls them both her precious best friends, but when Joe complained, Sara never stated that he was also her best friend, instead saying "Ahaha…Why so vexed, Joe?", as if agreeing that he isn't her best friend (or wasn't at the time, perhaps). This is most likely me just nitpicking the dialogue, but it bothered me and I wanted to mention it because it's been rotating in my mind.

    However, this is all ignoring a major issue in the situation. Mainly that we've been conditioned to believe that red text = bad, which for the most part is correct, and it's also the case here as well. "But Ink," you might be thinking, "I thought this was going in the direction of the red-text options being an alright thing here!" (even if you aren't thinking it, bear with me please, it helps with the next part of my essay here.) And you'd be semi-right! But also semi-wrong, as many of the options visibly appear forceful and not right for any scenario that they appear in. Specifically, the "Hug" and "Kiss" choices (And the final third option when combined with the other two make it also appear to be forced). They seem out of place and extreme for their situation, and I've seen some people (mainly in KGOKev's comment section since I haven't seen anything else about others' opinion on the alternate ending) mention many different things regarding it. This then brings up the possibility of this being Sara thinking back on this time with Joe and imagining what could have gone differently, with her using Joe's emotions against him and her mind immediately backing out of the plan because she genuinely cares about Joe and would feel horrible feeling like she's using him (because in a scenario where she would romantically get together with him to survive, it would indeed be using him).

     So, where does this leave us? Once again, I have no clue. The goal of this was originally to show how this alternate ending was semi-canon, and I feel as if I've done the opposite of that. But, it would technically be canon if it's in the case of Sara thinking about it after Joe's death in the Death Game, so I got something with that, at least! Along with it patching up the what-if scene into the timeline, it also makes the most sense considering all of the canon components at our disposal.

     As for the romantic side, did Sara really romantically like Joe? Did she not? With the post-Joe death scenario, it can go in multiple ways. It can go in the way that her feelings were completely platonic, and she felt that if she had pretended to like him romantically, things would have gone wrong and she would've felt horrible about using him and playing with his feelings like that. Another possibility could be that she did genuinely like him romantically, but felt that she would have much rathered just stayed as his best friend instead of becoming something more, and though losing Joe hurt immensely, the thought of losing everyone else horrified her immensely, along with the knowledge that she knows now having that possibility leave a sour taste in her mouth as it would either way feel like she would've been using him.

     In conclusion, using what we currently know (or believe) to be canon, the most possible reasoning for this alternate ending revolves around Sara reminiscing about the day post-Joe death. This post-Joe death scene would have been her thinking of alternate possibilities of what she could have done differently, then deciding to go back on those thoughts as these forceful choices would have been like as if she'd be using him. If it were to be before the Death Game, there would be multiple inconsistencies, such as Sara's sudden actions and the what-if scenario that leads to Sara's breakdown, but certain parts could hint to things that could possibly be canon, such as Sara (possibly) secretly having feelings for Joe and Sara confiding in Joe about her fears. So, which is true? The only way to find out is to wait for the end of the game, I suppose. And when the truth comes, we'll all be there, patiently waiting and ready to cry.

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[greeksuperherbsco]

The Health Benefits of Ikaria Honey for Sale – A Taste of Greek Longevity

Ikaria, a secluded island in Greece, is renowned for its magnificent sceneries, blue waters, and colorful wildflowers. But this beautiful island is even more famous for a treasure hidden from most of the world: Ikaria honey. This special honey - available for sale in pure, raw form - has, for centuries, been appreciated by local inhabitants. Ikaria honey for sale is not just a sweet treat, but also a natural superfood with a lot of health benefits: antioxidants, enzymes, and essential nutrients. While it can be bold, herbaceous thyme, honey with the milder flavor profile of wildflower, Ikaria honey will keep you coming back for more of its goodness.

Why Choose Ikaria Honey for Sale?

The honey of Ikaria is gathered from the still wild surroundings of the island. Bees collect their nectar from a wide variety of wildflowers and herbs that thrive in the rugged, sun-baked environment of the island. That makes Ikaria honey a pure and unadulterated product by the standards of purity that also reflects the unique biodiversity of the island. The flavors of Ikarian honey again depend on the variety, with thyme honey providing a strong, herbaceous taste and wildflower honey a delicate floral sweetness.

One of the reasons why Ikaria honey is so highly regarded is due to the exceptional health benefits it offers. It is rich in antioxidants, which help fight free radicals in the body and prevent oxidative stress. Thyme honey, in particular, is packed with thymoquinone—a powerful antioxidant known for its immune-boosting and anti-inflammatory properties. This makes it an ideal addition to your diet if you’re looking to support your immune system or enhance overall health.

Supporting Longevity

Ikaria has been one of the "Blue Zones," where people live longer and healthier for a long time. Among their secrets of long life are diet composed mostly of natural products, such as honey from Ikaria, an island considered a place where people live longer and healthier. The extract of honey is part of the regular diet of centenarians in Ikaria and is also among their provisions for a healthy life. Studies show that the antioxidants and nutrients in honey are said to benefit life expectancy by furthering heart health, boosting immunity, and generally reducing inflammation.

Ikaria honey also serves as the greatest natural energy booster. Whether added to morning tea or used as drizzled yogurt, natural sugars in honey are a perfect, quick, sustained source of energy without the big crash that is so common with processed sugars. It's the ideal way to fuel up while relishing natural's sweet, robust flavors.

A Versatile Superfood

Another positive fact about Ikaria honey is its versatility. From the bold, herbal flavor of thyme to the lighter floral notes of wildflower, it can be used in a variety of ways. Sweeten your tea, drizzle pancakes and yogurt, or even add a little of it as an ingredient for savory dishes for a little twist. It’s also a great alternative to processed sugars in baking and cooking, offering both a natural sweetness and a health boost.

Order Ikaria Honey Today

If you're looking for a sweet and healthy addition to your diet, look no further than Ikaria honey for sale. Whether you’re seeking the immune-boosting benefits of thyme honey or the mild, versatile sweetness of wildflower honey, Greek Superherbs offers the finest selection of pure, raw Ikaria honey. Packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, this honey not only elevates your dishes but also promotes overall health and longevity. Shop now from Greek Superherbs and bring the essence of Ikaria’s natural beauty into your kitchen.

[starprincejelly]

A list of ideas I have for this concept

(Gonna be a long list so it's all below here)

• A go at your own pace story where Sonic has to rebuild a town and get all his friends back to live there, the starting cast being of course Sonic, Tails, and Amy (of course the story likely wouldn't be canon to the games timeline but all characterizations and facts about them would be treated as canon)

• A mystery dungeon system where you can gather materials like ore, gems, and treasures, these would also be cleared as a way to get some companions (probably more stubborn characters like Shadow and Knuckles)

• Villain inclusion, Eggman, Infinite, Mephilies, all the major ones you can think of throughout the games, of course they'd have difficult quests/dungeons but they'd have powerful skills to help the town

• Character skills, Tails can make you sturdy tools for your work, Amy and Knuckles can help you clear rubble faster, Shadow and Silver would have great skills for dungeons, things like that

• Chao garden comes back! Chao raising would fit right in with a concept like this

• Characters have liked and disliked items, there's a friendship chart and friendship events with characters similar to Stardew Valley's system

• Reoccurring holiday events that parallel the real world like in Animal Crossing

• A huge selection of outfits and accessories for both Sonic and the companions that live in town, similar to Animal Crossing you can gift companions things and they will actually use them provided they like them, clothes can be labeled under different styles that characters can have different preferences in

• Another thing similar to Animal Crossing, everybody gets unique houses that show off their personality, Sonic's house being the one you can customize as your own and upgrade for more space

• Fishing unlocked by getting Big back to town

• Knuckle's return unlocking berry farming (I like the headcanon that Knux knows a lot about plants from his time on Angel Island)

• Multiplayer being explained by some strange crystal opening up a small tear in the multiverse, the multiverse is already a notable thing throughout Sonic media, it'd fit and be pretty funny

For those who've read all the way to the end please feel free to add ideas in tags or comments, I'd love seeing other cozy feature ideas for this theoretical Sonic game

The Sonic game I really want, Sonic but it's animal crossing with like pmd style dungeons to go through and get materials from

[verdantspringcourtyard]

Sealand Homecoming Event

A new week long event that coincides with the release of SP Ootakemaru and SP Ubume. It is the 1st half of the 2 part event "Promise with the Ancient Sea". It's similar to War of Mt Oe and some more recent events that have characters replace our onmyouji like Bound by Love. Consists of 3 main parts; False Islet, True Island and the Final Battle. There is also is a puzzle but it's more of a side thing that you should be able to complete without even trying.

General Info

Battle Report

Like War of Mt Oe, there is an "event chat" labelled Battle Report. In the Battle Report there are 3 tabs;

Report - displays how long until the Evil Spirits start attacking the Sacred Trees, how long the attacks will last, how much of total HP/shield for the Sacred Trees is left, a daruma that displays rewards for protecting the Sacred Trees every evening when tapped on, etc.

Chat - event chat, unsure if this tab will be CN only.

Treasure - view Morale and Treasure, this tab is removed when the Final Battle starts.

Treasure

Morale is a server-wide buff for ATK and DEF on the True Island map. Every time an Evil Spirit Lair has been successfully defeated(?), Morale will go up by 1 level and every level increases ATK and DEF by 0.5%.  

Personal Treasures are found on the False Islet map by clearing Treasure Hunting zones. They provide buffs that only affect you in battles on the True Island map.

Treasure effects;

Jeweled Fish: Event AP cost to challenge Evil Spirits on the True Island map is decreased by 1.

Bell Taiko: Changes the effect of Morale from "every level increases ATK and DEF by 0.5%" to "every level increases ATK and DEF by 1%".

Japanese Umbrella: Increased conversion of Miasma Crystals into shields for the Sacred Trees (was 30%, now increased to 50%).

Lunar Jade: Damage dealt to Evil Spirits in their lairs is increased by 10%.

Suzuka

Upon starting the event you may notice that the character you'll be controlling and who'll be replacing your onmyouji is Suzuka. She has her own upgradable skills, 3 are slightly different versions of her existing skills while another 3 will be passives. Her skills can up upgraded with Bells obtained in Treasure Hunting zones and by donating 30 Miasma Crystals to a Sacred Tree. The passives have extra effects that can be upgraded multiple times even after reaching max skill level.

Her skill description can be read on the wiki version of this guide.

Recommend upgrading Suzuka's special 2 first. After all skills are maxed, focus on doing additional upgrades to passive 2. If you want to min-max then only focus on special 2 and passive 2, ignore her other skills.

False Islet

During the event you can explore the map of Mt Suzuka by going "Treasure Hunting" or going to the "Evil Spirit Lairs" and "Sacred Trees".

Treasure Hunting

Everyday there will be a couple of these Treasure Hunting zone you can clear until all 4 Treasures have been found. Clearing a zone gives 10000 event currency and after clearing a most of the zones for a region, a Treasure will be revealed on the map. To clear an area you must clear all 2-4 activities in it, all activities cost 3 AP to do, can be done on auto and all give Miasma Crystals. Activities do not need to cleared all at once, you can leave and re-enter areas if you want to. Activities are;

Evil Spirits (Bosses): Defeat 1 of 3 types of bosses, can be done solo or co-op. There is a 3 minute time limit but HP carries over between attempts.

Evil Spirit: Has ~240k HP and has 5 minions. Drops ~5000 event currency, random 5-6* souls and evo materials. 

Young Spirit: Has ~190k HP, has 2 minions and are very weak. Drops ~3000 event currency, random 4-6* souls and evo materials. 

Fierce Spirit: Has ~640k HP, has 5 minions and can hit a little bit harder than a regular evil spirits. Drops ~13k event currency, 1 random 6* soul and evo materials.

Knowledgeable Evil Spirit (Quizzes): Answer the questions about Sealand. Answer incorrectly and you'll have to fight a boss. Depending on the question the boss might relate to it, ie if the question is about Kani then the boss might be Kani. Alternatively, you can skip answering altogether and just fight a boss (solo or co-op). On auto only the correct answers will picked for you.

These quizzes are not ones used for Demon Encounter. Rewards are the same regardless of whether you answer the quizzes correctly or fight the boss instead.

Sealand Daruma: Defeat the tanky daruma boss for daruma shards, can be done solo or co-op. Drops ~5000 event currency.

Treasure Paper Doll: A paper doll gives you rewards such as puzzle pieces, bells, R-SSR shiki shards and daruma shards.

Tamatebako (Turtle Reward Box): Get rewards such as bells and select 1 of 4 items (30 AP, 1-5 white daruma shards, R-SSR shikigami shards or 15k gold).

Tales of Mt Suzuka: Listen to the Sea Butterfly tell tales of Mt Suzuka and get rewards such as a bells, R-SSR shiki shards, daruma shards and gold.

Since Treasure Hunting zones are only available for the first few days of the event and the activities to clear them aren't very hard either, would not recommend doing it on auto. Save your mochi for other stuff.

Evil Spirit Lairs

Fight the bosses of these lairs, costs 5 AP to do and can be done on auto. A total of 100 Miasma Crystals and 100 additional event currency drops can be farmed from the bosses, this amount is shared between all 4 so there's no need to fight each one 100 times. They drop 5000 event currency, event AP, a Miasma Crystal, orochi scales and random 4-6* souls. The types of souls you'll get can be chosen from a daily selection, kind of like Choose Your Soul weekend events. The faster you defeat a boss, the more event currency you get.

*Special Note: Memory Scroll fragments can also be obtained as drops here, however the drop rate seems to be rather low.

Sacred Trees

Use Miasma Crystals to restore the shields protecting the trees. Get 200 event currency per 1 Miasma Crystal. Using 10-20-30 crystals gives 15 AP, 5 Mochi and 3 Bells.  

True Island

To switch between the True Island and False Islet maps, tap the eye at the top of the screen. This can only be done when Evil Spirit Forces start attacking.

Everyday from 6 PM the server must fight Evil Spirit Forces to prevent them from attacking the Sacred Trees. The various Evil Spirit Forces coming out of their lairs all have their own stats for strength, HP and mobility. As the days go on there will be more and more of of them. Each one also has its own timer showing how long until they reach the nearest Sacred Tree. Challenging them requires 4 event AP, battles have a 2 minute time limit and HP is shared server-wide. Drops of event currency depend on how much damage you dealt, for reference; dealing ~3mil damage gives 7500 and dealing ~5mil gives 12000.

When the 4 Sacred Trees take too much damage, this bar at the top of the screen will decrease and the server-wide rewards for protecting the them will also decrease. To qualify for the server-wide rewards everyday, you must do a total of 8mil accumulated damage and/or donate 30 Miasma Crystals. The rewards can viewed by tapping the red daruma at the top of the screen or in the Battle Report tab.

Rewards for total remaining HP for the Sacred Trees:

100% - 10000 event currency, 3 black daruma shards and 40k gold

75% - 8000 event currency, 2 black daruma shards and 30k gold

50% - 5000 event currency, 1 black daruma shards and 20k gold

25% - 3000 event currency, a blue daruma and 10k gold

0% - 2000 event currency, a blue daruma and 10k gold

The rewards will sent out after reset and claimed from a paper doll in your courtyard.

Final Battle

After the last day (on the 2nd Wednesday of the event after maintenance), the server must work together to purify the Evil Spirit Corpse form of SP Ootakemaru to return him normal. There is no specified end date but we're intended to defeat the boss within a day.

When the boss enters a weakened state, the boss won't attack and we must purify the 4 objects on him (boat, sword, lantern, torii gate). The weakened state is basically a free damage phase, so if you're a beginner try to do much as damage as possible. The state ends when 1 of the 4 objects has been purified. When 4 objects are purified, the boss gains an new skill.

Costs 8 AP to challenge the boss and there's a 3 minute time limit. Can get ~1000 event currency per 1mil damage dealt. Before challenging the boss, can pick Kujira, Kani, Fuuri or Sasori to give you a buff. Can change the buff at any time.

Buffs;

Kujira: Suzuka has 60% chance to double crit when dealing crits.

Kani: Crit damage for all allies is increased by 100%.

Fuuri: Suzuka becomes immune to normal attacks.

Sasori: All allies deal 20% splash damage when dealing single target (and random target) attacks.

The rewards for total accumulated damage are; 50k gold, 50 AP, 50 gold orochi scales, 4* specoal kekkai/realm card, 3 black daruma shards, 10 skin tickets and an icon frame.

Handbook

Main Story: Can reread the main story of the event here.

Side Stories: Can reread the stories involving Yaobikuni, Uminari, Kujira and Kani Hime here.

Puzzle: Puzzle pieces received from paper dolls in Treasure Hunting zones will be automatically placed here. The total rewards for completing the puzzle is; 50000 event currency, a white daruma, a 3* white daruma, a 4* white daruma and a loading screen illustration.

Past Stories: Can reread the 15 short stories told by the Sea Butterfly encountered in the various regions of Mt Suzuka here.

Exchange Shop

The most notable items in the first tab are: lots of event AP, 2 event icon frames, 2 loading screen illustrations, new Sasori Onna skin, random SSR/SP, black daruma, 3-4-5* white daruma, lots of daruma (white, blue and red), 4 blue summon tickets, lots of skin tickets, totem tickets, demon souls, AP, mochi, lots of gold, special realm cards, etc. The icon frames are the exact same, one is still and one is animated.

The type of items that can be obtained from the packs are;

Jewelry: gold, jade, AP, evo materials, bio affection items, etc

Sculpture: R-SSR shikigami shards, gold and EXP buffs, etc

Painting: 6* souls, EXP souls, orochi scales, demon souls, totem zone tickets, etc

Gourmet: daruma, daruma shards, realm cards, bio affection items, soul and evo buffs, etc

Recommended Teams

Don't need very specific teams for this event, so as long as you already have teams that are regularly recommended for events you should be fine.

False Islet

The Treasure Hunting zone bosses and lair bosses aren't very strong, so you should be able to use the same team to clear everything.

True Island

If you don’t have Enmusubi, you could potentially use Shoyou/Bukkuman for the last 2 teams instead.

Final Battle

As long as you have a team that does really well against a single enemy, you shouldn't have too much trouble with this.

If you’re not using a team that needs kyoukotsu on Ushi, then remember to swatch her set from shadow to watcher as the fight goes on.

As for which buff to pick, Kujira's and Kani's buffs are probably the best ones. If you're a beginner and you want to give Suzuka some survivability then pick Fuuri. If you're using Kinnara/SP Tama + double Youkinshi or double Shuten + Shira then Sasori's buff is an option.

[mostlycompetentwriter]

Treasure- Part 4

M/F Pairing: Y/N x Kim Hongjoong (Ateez)

Genre: Fantasy AU, Pirate AU

Word Count: 3.5K

Warnings: Smut at the end, language throughout

Tag List:  @ pastel-crystals @ purpleprincesslea @ x-lilyofthevalley-x @ baekxhwa @ bootysand @ suju-hit-me-like-a-wreckingball @ yunderfullthings @ dreamshopesforward @ kiara-reighns @ fivesecondsofsarang @ speedilyunadulteratedcandy @ sansugar @ xxhzxqhxx @ erica-kay @ teeztheflag

Despite his promise, Hongjoong never demonstrated more than a comfortable camaraderie whenever he requested my time. I was always expecting the command to which I would willingly obey, but the Pirate Captain usually offered me a quiet dinner with surprisingly civil conversation. He often asked about my life back on the island, posture relaxed while he listened to me speak. It was a surprising shift in character considering Hongjoong’s initial attitude when I was brought on board. Now, he treated me less like a prisoner and more of a possession to be treated with care. 

As for the rest of the crew, I enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with the other pirates. In the mornings, Yunho would always prepare breakfast, ensuring that I was fed before his members. When the sun was at its highest point, I sometimes assisted San and Wooyoung with their chores down below the main deck. And at night, I envied the mysterious Yeosang who kept watch from atop the crow’s nest for potential threats. On occasion, the younger boy would allow me to join him up there amongst the stars, looking out over the ocean and listening to the splash of the water against the hull. 

At other times, the crew gathered together in the evenings to play a rather unique card game. On the first night, I had watched them from afar, learning through observation how to play the correct hand. Because there was a certain science to the game that involved a lot of wits and careful planning. It was also important to keep a close eye on San and Wooyoung who were more than willing to cheat their way to victory. When I finally felt confident enough to join them for the very first time, I sat in the middle of the troublesome boys and joined the chaos that was becoming a very competitive gambling tournament.

I had also become well-acquainted with the other crew members on Hongjoong’s precious ship, like the brilliant Jongho who demonstrated on more than one occasion his uncanny strength. There was also Park Seonghwa who was in charge of navigation. He liked to find the strangest places to unfold his maps, charting our next course with precision. I admired his careful organization, keeping attention to detail as he explained his work to me with a passionate tone. And I was almost positive that he was a certified genius.

Finally, there was Mingi, the older pirate who still regarded me with an air of contempt. It was obvious that he didn’t like me very much, but I think he tolerated my presence since the Captain still allowed me onboard. Because that was the one thing that all these interesting characters had in common, their profound loyalty to the baffling Pirate Captain who had proven to be nothing like I initially believed.

In the end, everything always came back to Hongjoong who I had slowly started to feel comfortable around. He was deeply affectionate with his crew members, and I was starting to become a recipient of his caring nature. It certainly made life more tolerable on the ship, especially when it was obvious that I had earned their respect.

Currently, our crew was set to sail for the fabled British waters. Hongjoong intended to keep his promise to the Pirate Lords and lead a series of attacks against the naval vessels. He wanted to set an example, hoping to demonstrate his power in an effort to dissuade future Commodores from attacking innocent Pirate crews.

We had been sailing for almost a week without reprieve and I was starting to feel the effects of being away from land for so long. I never complained because I felt like I had no reason to voice my discomfort when Hongjoong never forced me to work like the others. But it was becoming increasingly difficult to sit still throughout the day and watch everyone else move about the ship while I had nothing substantial to do for fun. 

This is why I decided to create my own special version of the card game, twisting the rules of what the rest of the crew had already established. Thus, I settled against the side of the deck that morning, organizing a blank set of cards that I had procured from Yeosang who always possessed the most interesting objects. Hongjoong found me later that day in this predicament, resting in the shadows as I shuffled through a deck of cards. “It’s not a game to play alone,” the Captain greeted me.

“I’m trying something new,” I told him in return.

“New?” he chuckled, leaning against the banister. “I’m impressed.”

“Just wait,” I grinned. “I want to try it tonight with the other guys. I think it’ll keep San and Wooyoung from trying anything nefarious.”

“Obviously you don’t know them very well,” Hongjoong said. “They always find a way to break the rules.”

“We’ll see about that,” I said determinedly. “Was there something you needed?”

“A request,” he replied. “If you’ll accept?”

“I guess it depends on what you want,” I said.

“Just your time,” Hongjoong said. “Tonight in my cabin.”

“Oh?” was all I said in return, remembering the last time I had visited Hongjoong’s cabin, expecting him to act on his promise from a month ago. Instead, the Captain had me sit on his bed while he busied himself with Seonghwa’s maps, occasionally asking for my opinion on a particular route. I was surprised that he wanted my input but entertained his questions until he quietly dismissed me without another word.

“We might reach British waters as early as tomorrow evening,” Hongjoong said.

“Really?”

He nodded. “Don’t think less of me, love. There are difficult decisions ahead of us.”

His words confused me, but I knew it was impossible to figure out Hongjoong’s intentions. “When should I come?”

“Midnight,” he said, sparing me a quick, fleeting glance before he returned to the helm.

“Hello, boys,” I grinned, shuffling through the stack of cards in my hands while observing their current game. 

“What do you want?” Mingi grumbled, barely paying me any attention while shoving a cigarette between his teeth.

“I have something fun for us,” I said. “A new game I made.”

“A new game!” Wooyoung perked up, disregarding the favorable selection of cards in hand to look at me with wide eyes. “What is it?”

“Something I spent all afternoon working on,” I said, dropping the cards onto the edge of the table. “We should play this instead.”

“No thanks,” Mingi said, rolling his eyes while he attempted to return Wooyoung’s attention to their game.

“It might be interesting,” San spoke up, abandoning his cards to retreat around the table, standing over me with his chin tucked on my shoulder. 

“Thank you, Sannie,” I grinned, grateful that the younger boy had always been there to lend me his support since I first stepped aboard the ship. When he wasn’t causing all sorts of mischief with Wooyoung, San was a pretty remarkable person who was incredibly intuitive. 

“I want to try Y/N’s game,” Wooyoung said, leaning against Yunho for support. “Please?”

Despite his tough appearance, Yunho was actually warm-hearted and he held a soft spot for Wooyoung. “I don’t mind,” he said.

“Whatever,” Mingi grunted, kicking back his stool with more attitude than necessary. He glared at me as he passed by before disappearing below the deck with a muttered curse. Meanwhile, Wooyoung and Yunho were already clearing the table of the discarded bottles of alcohol while Seonghwa politely sorted through everyone’s cards.

“Okay,” I said, sliding into Mingi’s abandoned seat. “The rules are simple.”

In actuality, I did my best to make the game as convoluted as possible. Because it left no room for Wooyoung and San’s cheating if they could barely grasp the concept of our card game. Plus, I was still determined to challenge Park Seonghwa who was far too smart for his own good. 

For the most part, the game was very similar to the cards the boys had taught me when I had been first welcomed. Back then, I often sat next to Yunho or Jongho and allowed them to talk me through every move and careful decision. I learned rather quickly and started playing on my own, even though it was often difficult to emerge victorious when it came to Wooyoung and San. Still, it was nice to feel like they wanted me around with the exception of Mingi who continued to insist on ignoring me whenever I happened to come around.

“What do the dice have to do with anything?” Wooyoung asked now, obviously quite irritated as he struggled to understand the rules.

“It depends on the card you draw,” I explained. “Certain cards allow you the opportunity to roll the dice.”

“Oh, whatever,” San huffed. “Let’s just play.”

“No problem,” I agreed, shuffling the cards before distributing seven to each player who had joined our small circle while the other crew members lingered in the background.

I held up my stack, passing my eyes across each card. “I’ll start with this,” I said, turning over one of my cards.

Wooyoung studied my card with intense scrutiny. “Okay, I’ll put this down,” he said, somewhat hesitant in his movements. 

After everyone played their first card, I carefully explained how betting would work during each round. “Two chips each,” I said.

“How do you come up with that?” San asked, clearly perplexed as he watched me slide two of my tokens into the center pile.

“I told you at the beginning,” I said, laughing at the look of utter confusion on his face.

I waited for each player to select a new card. “Does anybody have something that can complete a hand?”

“Me!” Yunho yelled, swiping a golden-tinted card from his stack. “An automatic completion.”

“No fair!” Wooyoung protested, watching Yunho drag the pile of chips in his direction.

“I don’t see a problem,” Yunho quipped in return. “Who draws next?”

“Me,” San quickly interceded, reaching for a card from the shrinking deck at the center of our table. “What the hell does the horse mean again?” 

“Take another two cards,” Seonghwa replied, an intense look of concentration sharpening his features. 

“My turn!” Wooyoung grinned, but I knocked his hand away before he could take a new selection. 

“We have to wait for San.”

“This is so confusing,” Wooyoung whined, slamming his cards down against the table with a pout.

Meanwhile, San examined his cards with narrowed eyes. “Four of a kind,” he grinned, presenting the cards in overdramatic fashion. “I get to roll the dice now!”

“Let me check,” Wooyoung insisted, snatching San’s cards away with a heavy sigh. Meanwhile, San was already throwing the dice across the table.

“Six!” he said, holding out an expectant hand. “Pay up, assholes.”

With a grimace, Seonghwa reluctantly pushed his chips in San’s direction. “This game makes absolutely no sense.”

“Of course it does,” I said. “I spent all afternoon working on this.”

“Well, you didn’t do a very good job,” Wooyoung muttered.

“You’ve been complaining all night,” I said while observing my remaining cards. “Nobody forced you to play.” 

“Yeah? But there’s nothing better to do,” he complained. “You’re gonna win anyway because you actually understand what’s going on.”

“Really?” I smirked. “Since you can’t cheat now!”

“I never cheat,” he lied smoothly. “Sometimes, I try and help my situation.”

“By cheating,” Yunho said, shuffling through his cards as he tried desperately to find what he was looking for. “Fine, I don’t have the stupid Dragon so Seongwha wins.”

The ship’s navigator grinned triumphantly while dragging Yunho’s chips into his rapidly accumulating pile. “It looks like Seonghwa understands.”

“But he’s a genius so it doesn’t count,” Wooyoung said.

“Are you saying that you want to give up?” I challenged the younger, but Wooyoung was never one to turn away from an obvious taunt.

“I’ll figure it out,” he insisted, even as his chip pile continued to grow lower and lower with each subsequent round of play.

Eventually, despite Wooyoung’s best efforts, it came down between me and Seonghwa and I was suddenly more determined than ever to win. “My heart completes the hand,” I said, exposing the card so that he could clearly observe my victory before reaching for the pile of chips. 

“But I draw first,” Seonghwa said, eyeing his new card with interest.

I frowned. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” he chuckled, tucking it away before adding an extra chip to our new betting pile.

But I knew Seonghwa better than that at this point in time. And I was on edge the longer we continued to exchange cards and chips, waiting for the finishing blow. “I have money on you Seonghwa,” San said, growing impatient as he started to pace back and forth.

“I hope it wasn’t a lot,” I said, finally securing the card I had been waiting for, playing it shamelessly as I sat back in my chair with a smirk. “I win.”

Seonghwa was silent for a moment, fingering the edges of the familiar card he had previously drawn. However, he eventually released a dramatic sigh, returning his cards to the pile before pushing his chips across the table. “Congratulations, Y/N.”

Wooyoung squealed from behind me. “That’s the first time Seonghwa has ever lost!”

I felt a warm pride settle in the center of my chest as I counted the chips in front of me. “He can’t be good at everything.”

“I guess I’m not,” Seonghwa said, offering me a quick wink before giving up his chair to an eager crew member who was demanding that we play a new game. I was quick to acquiesce, grabbing the cards to start shuffling while watching Seonghwa from the corner of my eyes. He was talking to Yunho, smiling brightly despite his recent loss, which confused me because I didn’t think Seonghwa would take to losing so generously...And I couldn’t help but think that Seonghwa had let me win on purpose.

I knocked on Hongjoong’s cabin door at midnight, prompt as usual since the Captain emphasized organization and timeliness to the rest of his crew. However, I couldn’t help but wonder if he would be willing to make an exception for me. After all, Hongjoong rarely raised his voice around me anymore, even if I did something mischievous like raid Yunho’s store of chocolate with Wooyoung.

“Come inside,” Hongjoong said when he answered my call, taking a step back to allow me enough room to slip in through the doorway.

“You know, this is rather late even for someone like you,” I remarked, admiring the display of candles on the mantle.

“Yes, but the crew are asleep,” Hongjoong said. “We’ll have privacy.”

I arched a brow at him. “Is there something you want, Captain, that necessitates privacy?”

He smirked knowingly. “I just want a promise from you this time, love.”

“A promise from me?” I repeated. 

“Yes,” Hongjoong nodded. “It might not make any sense now, but it’s important to me that you keep your word.”

“Of course I will,” I affirmed, even if I wanted to point out the hypocrisy behind Hongjoong’s words.

“There might be a moment when you feel like I’ve treated you unfairly,” Hongjoong began, and his serious tone suddenly seemed out of place. “I want you to know that I would never do anything to hurt you. Even if it might seem like I did, you have to remember this moment.”

I simply stared at the Captain. “What’s going on?”

Hongjoong sighed like the entire weight of the world rested solely on his shoulders. “There’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“It doesn’t seem that way,” I said, watching him sit down at his desk. “I’m worried.”

“Don’t be,” Hongjoong said, grabbing a pen from its ink container. “My intentions for you, love, always take into account your well-being.”

It didn’t seem that way to me, especially since Hongjoong seemed burdened by everything he was saying. “You seem sad,” I observed, reaching out to curl my fingers into the fabric of his jacket. “Have I done something wrong?”

Hongjoong chuckled. “If anything, love, you’ve been too perfect.”

I shifted backward, watching as he removed the jacket to reveal a thin cotton shirt underneath. “Is that the only reason you asked me to come here?”

“Not exactly,” he said, turning his head to the side as if to make sure I couldn’t possibly misinterpret his words. “I think it’s time I keep my promise to you, love.”

“T-tonight?” I stuttered, clearing my throat because I didn’t understand why I suddenly felt so nervous.

“Unless you don’t want to,” Hongjoong said, finally dismissing the stack of papers on his desk. He stood tall over me, cornering me back against the frame of the bed. “I won’t force you.”

“I know,” I said, hesitantly reaching out to steady my hands against his chest. “But it’s been so long and I didn’t know if you were even interested in me anymore.”

He tilted my chin up, forcing our eyes to meet. “You’re the most interesting person I’ve ever met, Y/N. Never think otherwise.”

It was strangely emotional, the way he spoke to me. “I won’t,” I managed to say because my heart was racing in my chest and he was very close to me. 

“Lay down,” he instructed me gently and I wordlessly complied, making myself comfortable against the sparse sheets. Meanwhile, Hongjoong had grabbed the hem of his shirt, bringing it over his head before tossing it into the floor. My breath hitched in my throat, admiring his lean torso, muscles building his frame from years of hard work aboard the ship. “You’re beautiful,” he told me earnestly. “Can you take off your clothes for me?”

I nodded in response, trembling fingers making quick work of my pants, fingernails scratching the skin of my thighs as I quickly forced them down my legs. I toed them off on the floor, reaching down for my shirt before allowing it to join the pile of clothes we were accumulating against the hardwood floors of the cabin. I slowly exhaled when I was fully naked, resisting the urge to cover myself because Hongjoong’s gaze was intense, eyes moving up and down my figure with barely constrained lust. “Perfect,” he whispered, weight dipping along the edge of the bed. I was a complete mess, barely holding back when he was hovering over me, all sinewy muscles and hard lines from the crest of his shoulders to the curves of his legs. 

“Please,” I groaned, tangling my hands in the soft strands of strawberry hair before forcing his mouth against mine, kissing him with an urgency resulting from an entire month of covetous glances on the main deck. 

“I want you so much,” Hongjoong said, voice husky as his words made me feel nothing short of desired. 

“You shouldn’t have kept me waiting,” I teased him, despite the Captain’s crooked smile.

His kisses were scorching, igniting a flame of desire in the parts of my soul that had never been touched before. I felt his hands trail down my legs, parting my thighs so that I could finally feel his hot erection. “Yes,” I moaned, breaking our kiss to look at the place where he was sliding inside, bringing us together intimately while he started to nose along the side of my neck. “I can’t trust myself around you, love,” he said. “You make me a very dangerous man.”

His cock hit deeper. “You were already dangerous, Captain.”

Fingers brushed teasingly down the sides of my waist, thumbs digging into the jutting bones of my hips. “Let me try again,” he insisted. “I can’t control the way I feel and that makes me dangerous to everyone, including myself.” 

I moaned when his teeth followed the curve of my neck, arched back against his ministrations. “Which is a bad thing?”

“Very,” he agreed. “When I would sacrifice everything, even my own life, just to see you safe.”

“You don’t mean that,” I said, gasping at an aggressive thrust that nearly knocked the air out of my lungs.

“Look at me,” he growled, a sound that went straight to my growing arousal, but I still forced my eyes to open. “I do mean it,” he said. “I would do anything for you.”

I started crying, the weight of his words and the heavy presence between my legs were all playing with the delicate string barely anchoring me to reality. He was a master of seduction, breath hot as he moved in closer to my ears. “I’ll ruin you.”

That was all that I needed to tip me over the edge, losing myself completely to Hongjoong. I cried into his shoulder, gripping tighter to the smooth skin of his broad shoulders, riding out the lingering pulses of pleasure and verging on overstimulated. “Hongjoong,” I gasped, feeling his grip on my thighs tighten as he pushed in harder, barely allowing me any room to breathe. His lips were messy as they demanded long, passionate kisses.

“Hold on for me, love,” he said, hips rocking against mine for a moment longer before stilling completely. 

He collapsed next to me, chest moving up and down to accommodate his exhaustion. “You weren’t a liar,” I commented with a delirious giggle, crowding even closer to him with one arm wrapped over his waist.

Hongjoong was quiet, the only indication that he was still awake being the slow way his fingers traced along my spine. Finally, he gripped my chin, tilting my head to meet his gaze. I was surprised to see the sadness there, despite our previous coupling. “I love you,” he whispered earnestly while a few stray tears fell from the corners of his lovely brown eyes.

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece - Void Century Theory Dump

So as promised I am ready to do a dump of theories that mainly involve the Void Century, so that’s the stuff involving the Great Kingdom, the Initial D, the ancient weapons etc. They will be like my other Theory dumps I’ve done on this page but possibly in more detail. Spoilers for Chapters leading up to Chapter 968

Right so the Void Century happened 900 years ago, it’s a Century which led to the World Government being formed of the 20 Kingdoms, the fall of Shandora and the Great Kingdom, Joy Boy failing to keep his promise to Fishman Island and leaving something of his in Laugh Tale, the Tontattas being oppressed in Dressrosa and the overall forbidding of reading Poneglyphs. There’s a lot there that can be digested and there are a lot of theories about it already, so sorry if some may sound familiar. Im the Immortal

We’ll start with the one who sits in the empty throne, Im or Imu, is a mysterious individual. Gentle to butterflies but knifey to sweet princesses who did nothing wrong. It is a common theory that Imu is an immortal being, someone who has lived since the Void Century, but I believe it goes a little deeper. Imu isn’t immortal ‘just because’, Imu is immortal because he has had the Perennial Youth Operation, what makes the Ope Ope no Mi one of Marejois’ most beloved treasure. It’d explain why the Gorosei answer to them despite being pretty old themselves and how they could keep to themselves so much that nobody really knows that they exist.

Eight Moons

It’s a combination of many theories I’ve seen, but I do believe that the One Piece world has 8 Satellites orbiting it. Of course there’s the standard moon otherwise known as Fairy Vearth, but Ohara’s globe showed at least 5 other satellites, including one with a satellite of its own, but we always see this kind of globe from the front, as if there’s a missing moon behind the planet. The idea that there are eight moons go beyond just the globes of Ohara, the Kozuki Crest and the Alabasta flag also have a symbol of a circle with eight dots around it. Right now I do believe that at one point Wano’s borders were very open, it’d explain why Toki was born in Wano yet never saw it - since her time jumps do not affect her geographical position. It’s also unusual how often the moon is a focal point around the planet, from the Minks’ ability to perform Su Long, the ancient city of Birka and the Wano Daimyo names all relating to moons. A Spaceman Came Travelling...

We already know that the Shandorians, Birkans and Skypeians all once inhabited the moon thanks to Enel’s cover story arc of him going to Fairy Vearth, whereby he entered the advanced and abandoned city of Birka. Given that there is potentially 8 Moons, why could there not be life on those moons. I speculate that this story runs much deeper, we know there are even Space Pirates from the cover story, but what if most of the races from these 8 moons all came down to the planet and they comprise of the 20 Kingdoms. Not only that but this could explain how some races could’ve come to be, the technological advancement of Birka and the fact that their automata match the invention of other automata Enel meets is proof of that but the Minks’ ancestral race may’ve also come from the moon, since they seem to react to a full moon’s radiation. This could also be why there are races such as longarms, longlegs, fishmen and merfolk. The Creator Race

So, through Enel’s cover story we can prove that there was a dude that happened to create 4 Automata that almost exactly matched the design of Automata in the Moon City of Birka, this robotist happened to live on one Karakuri Island as well, the birthplace of Dr. Vegapunk. Vegapunk has been a heavy mystery himself almost as much as Im, what we know of Vegapunk is mainly through their creations; Seastone manipulation, Cybrogs, Artificial DF, Lineage Factor, Artificial life etc. It seems that there’s only certain things that Vegapunk has failed to achieve; Climate Control and Gigantification which could be key to other parts of these theories. Now Vegapunk could simply be a born genius, or maybe he’s from a race that was the most advanced race out of the 8 moons, Oda did say in an SBS that Vegapunk may already know what Devil Fruits really are and thus how they work, and the World Government have him locked up so much that even the threat of Kaido has made CP0 only hesitate about handing Vegapunk over to Orochi - how Orochi would know of Vegapunk is another question, was Vegapunk from Wano? Digging deeper this could also explain how the races of moon people integrated themselves into the ‘Blue Star’ and even created some of the aforementioned races like Minks, Longarms and Longlegs, even maybe the Kuja and the Three-Eyed Tribes, all a product of Lineage Factor tampering or natural selection not unlike how humans created dogs out of wolves or oranges out of citron. A key point could also be the theme of Electricity, Enel was able to call himself God by virtue of having a lightning Devil Fruit, all Minks naturally have the ability of Electro, the city of Birka ran on electricity and like in the modern world electricity had been key to many advancements. Of Dwarves and Giants

One of the things I mentioned that Vegapunk failed at was Gigantification, it seems a little odd that he would need to research that. But imagine that normal humans were from the moon, a much smaller land space, and they come to the Blue Star where everything is either Huge or Tiny. We know that Giants can live for at least twice as long as a One Piece human would and that they have always been a sought after force, even Big Mom believes that with the Giants she would be unstoppable. So perhaps the Giants are the native race of the Blue Star, alongside the Tontotta dwarves. There is some evidence to this as well, Oda seems to lean on a lot of Norse myth (even Im’s name is based off of a Jotunn) and if Giant Jack is a part of Elbaf’s Yggdrasil tree that could further fan the flames. The interesting thing is that the Giants and the Dwarves seem to live in areas where flora thrive, often a sign that they are symbiotic with the ecosystem, there’s also the matter that there are various giants; Oars, Saul and the Yeti Cool brothers being different kinds and sizes of giants, even Kaido and his Numbers could be a form of Oni giant and attempting to obtain gigantification the ways they influenced other races led to smaller scale creatures like Ceasar and outliers like Magellan, Big Mom and Whitebeard, people who seem like they could be like giants. The Kingdom of the Dawn

This then leads to the ‘Great Kingdom’ that Clover was talking about in Ohara, a kingdom whose name Clover couldn’t even speak of before being shot. When you hear Kingdom though you think of one country or one island, but what if the Great Kingdom was actually an empire. I mean you’d think it excessive for 20 Kingdoms to need to take on one right? But what if the Great Kingdom was a combination of kingdoms that included Shandora and Wano, two countries who have been called the ‘City/Country of Gold’. It’s worth reminding that neither of these lands had a ‘King’, Shandora may’ve had a God and Wano has a Shogun (sans an Emperor) but not a king nor a queen. I definitely believe that Wano had ties with the Great Kingdom, the main reason being Poneglyphs: Wano is where the texts were made, where the language was written and taught how to translate, if the Kingdom ‘disappeared’ leaving their story on Pongelyphs then that implies a Wano connection, potentially from the Amatsuki clan - as demonstrated with Toki not being in Wano when we meet her properly - or the Kozuki clan given their blood bond with the Minks on Zou, their crest being placed under a Rio Poneglyph of a millenia-old City. A common thing is also the term of the ‘Dawn’, a symbol of an event in the future where dreams will come true and I believe like others that this is the core belief of the Great Kingdom, a kingdom of many races and cultures living freely and prosperously, the Kingdom of the Dawn. Though whether that was its actual name I’m not sure of, I feel like it’d have another name since Luffy was born on ‘Dawn Island’, so I feel like if the WG didn’t want that name out there so badly they wouldn’t allow one of their Affiliated Kingdoms to have that kind of name. I think it’d have a name similar to the pirate havens like Tortuga, Port Royal, Libertatia and New Providence. This Kingdom however was clearly something threatening to the other leaders of the world to the point that they were terrified of their skills and the creation of what they deemed ‘(Ancient) Weapons’, which led to a war that caused the fall of Shandora (but didn’t ravage their gold) and possibly the closing off of Wano. The Great Kingdom ‘Disappears’

Defeat is feasible yes, but it was rare even for the WG to eradicate even a single island, would they really be able to do that 900 years ago? Part of the reason CP9 wanted Pluton was for its destructive power. So how did the Great Kingdom ‘disappear’? The wording makes it out like it just vanished rather than dissolved. So what if the main country of the Great Kingdom did really disappear, just not in the way that the WG thought. Remember that the Pluton was said to be able to destroy an entire island and we know that Poseidon could command Sea Kings that were capable of carrying the Noah, so what if the Country itself was ‘blown up’ by the Pluton itself but secretly, the island was scattered across the world with the help of the Kingdom’s allies; the Sea Kings and the Giants. Oars is known as a ‘Continent Puller’ so it’s possible to have that strength, and if that is true then maybe islands such as Zou, Ohara and possibly even Dawn Island and more could actually be remnants of the Great Kingdom, hidden or assimilated into the world. The Nefertari Redemption

Alabasta is noted as being one of the 20 Kingdoms that made up the World Government, but the only ones that didn’t go to Marejois after the Void Century. Why seems to be the appropriate question and the appropriate answer could be because they regretted the outcome of the war. It’s possible that the Alabasta Kingdom was the Garp to the Great Kingdom’s Roger, there was emnity but also understanding, which could explain why Alabasta then held not only a Poneglyph but also the entire Pluton hidden within their kingdom. Perhaps Alabasta regretted the side they chose and instead decided to withhold the Ancient Weapon (remember Robin scoffed when Cobra said that the country was charged to ‘protect’ Pluton) from the newly established World Government, and sometime down the line after holding the Poneglyph explaining where. An answer Robin never found because she never read the First Poneglyph the Straw Hats first came across. There are other ‘Ancient Weapons’

As said in a Sherlock Episode “There’s always something so comforting about the number 3″, so far we are told of 3 Ancient Weapons; the ship Pluton that can destroy an Island, the Mermaid Poseidon who can command the Sea Kings and Uranus. Each of these weapons were named after Gods because of their incredible power, but what if there are other ‘weapons’. People speculate that Momonosuke is Uranus or Zunesha was Pluton, but do we consider that there are other things that could be tools of destruction? Take a Dragon for example, Kaido is considered the strongest creature but the WG doesn’t call him a Weapon, it’s gotta be odd as well that Oda mixed the namings up to have the common trifecta of Sea, Sky and the Underworld but gave two of them names of Roman Gods and one the name of a Greek God. It’s possible that there are other weapons out there but they’re not deemed weapons because the World Government have them, and thus don’t fear it being used against them. The Tequila Wolf Project

Tequila Wolf has been a World Government project for at least 700 years, a massive bridge with an unknown stopping point starting in the East Blue. We saw it with Robin and recently Oden so the question is why is Tequila Wolf important? If Kuma wanted Robin to meet the Revolutionary Army why not send her to Baltigo, the army’s HQ? There was something here that Kuma wanted Robin to see, something she needed to learn about it to better prepare herself for the New World. Its name may be a hint, Tequila is named after Santiago de Tequila (much like how Champagne is after the French Province or Stilton after the English Village), the village translating to ‘Place of Tribute’ so it’s possible that this bridge is a Tribute - though wolf does imply deception, like the Crane and the Wolf fable. I personally think this was the WG’s plan to lock in all the islands they deemed important and like most nobles we have seen, leave the outside to suffer, thus the trickery of the wolf, while in Japan once worshipped for protection the rest know it to be a trickster that deems itself superior. Joy Boy and the Initial D.

Recently, the name “Joy Boy” returned to the limelight having been the writer of the Poneglyph in Fishman Island, then we discovered that Joy Boy was a key part of what lived in Laugh Tale, a gift he left behind being able to bring the Roger Pirates to tears of laughter as Roger muses that he wished he lived in his era. So who was Joy Boy? What was Joy Boy?  I think the answer lies in the giant Straw Hat, Joy Boy was a giant, or at least partly giant, a leader of the Great Kingdom who constantly smiled and brought joy to people around him, was able to turn even his enemies to friends, someone of deadly strength that his allies are called ‘Ancient Weapons’. Joy Boy is the person I believe is the reason the World Government outlawed the use of D. the D stands for something that Joy Boy’s real name had, whether the D is his smile, Dawn, Dragon, Devil or something else, the D likely comes from Joy Boy and the people and friends that rode with him as Nakama thus adopted the name D to carry on his will. A small thing I want to note as well, I feel like each of these D holders initially named themselves after animals or parts of an island; Monkey, Jaguar, Rocks, Water, it’s possible other D holders over time married into other families or corrupted their names (imagine if Roger’s family were Gull then changed to Gol) while keeping the D a secret note to the will they carry. Inherited Will

Joy Boy may’ve been this charismatic figure, but there’s still the matter of Fishman Island, his failure to bring the Fishmen and Merfolk to the surface via Poseidon being a deep regret for the character. This could’ve been a human trait had it not been for Chapter 968 alluding to the fact that Joy Boy can ‘reappear’. I don’t think this is Joy Boy pulling a jesus though, I think Joy Boy’s particular race is capable of reincarnation the same way Poseidon is. Poseidon is reborn over time in a Mermaid Princess so maybe the timelines of reincarnation are iffy and the Poseidon of Joy Boy’s time died (or Joy Boy themselves were dying) thus rendering them unable to carry the Noah. If certain characters are able to reincarnate this can give a whole new dimension not only to the Will of D but Inherited Will as a whole. Luffy may’ve inherited Roger’s Will but what if Roger inherited Joy Boy’s Will first and thus Luffy is the reincarnation of Joy Boy that Roger was hoping his ‘son’ would be. This can be further evidenced by the fact that Luffy does intend to reopen Wano’s borders for Momonosuke, thus the point where Joy Boy has returned to Wano. The Devil Tree

Which leads to our finale part of the theory dump. It’s often considered that Devil Fruits were born from a moon, since as Enel noted the moon has no Water. However it cannot be Fairy Vearth, since Enel found a dried canal. So the Birkans, Shandorians and Skypeians did not have the Devil Fruits, instead I believe that the Devil Tree came from the same moon that brought Im and/or the founders of the Great Kingdom and with them they brought a seed for the Devil Tree. From what we know of SMILE, a Devil Fruit seems to take away a key property of its eater, usually their ability to swim, so it’s possible that the Devil Tree’s fruits were initially normal, but when eaten or exposed to a property reincarnated itself into the Devil Fruit we know today, leading to an endless cycle of gestation within a host and reincarnation through the lineage factor. The tree was likely also called the ‘Devil Tree’ not because of its properties but because the ones who planted it sported horns, which can explain why SMILE Gifters and Pleasures grow horns after consumption. I also believe that the Devil Tree isn’t the only tree brought by this race, like many things Trees seem to have properties unlike the simple tree would, there’s the Sabaody mangrove with its bubbles, the Boin Archipelago Venus Fly Trap islands, the Tree of Knowledge, Treasure Tree Adam sporting strong wood durability, Sunlight Tree Eve which can emit light (Like Dressrosa’s sunflowers), Hiriluk’s fabled healing Cherry Blossoms, Weather balls and Shandora’s trees of cultural significance. The Key note of the Devil Tree was its further cultivation, something I believe was the role of the Donquixote family. Doflamingo was key to the production of SMILE and he seemed to want to follow in the footsteps of his ancestor. So it’s possible that back in the Void Century, the dwarves were enslaved to use their botany skills to cultivate multiple Devil Fruits, a fate they’d then repeat with SMILE. Phew! That took a lot out of me, but that’s my Piece, whether it’s key to One Piece we’ll have to wait and see, but I’ll just wait by the phone, see if Oda gives it a ring.

[imagitory]

D-Views: Muppet Treasure Island

Hi, everyone! Welcome to another installment of D-Views, my on-going written review series for films that fall under the Disney umbrella, as well as those that were influenced by those films! For more reviews for movies like Mary Poppins, Treasure Planet, and The Prince of Egypt, please consult my “Disney Reviews” tag and, of course, if you enjoy this review or any of the others, please consider liking and reblogging!

Today’s film is one of my childhood favorites, starring a cast of some of my favorite people, as well as frogs, pigs, and even whatevers. This is Muppet Treasure Island! (Thank you for your votes, @the-alexandrian-alchemist, @silvvergears, @extremelybears​, @livinlifelikeishould​ and @karalora​!)

Ever since 1976, the characters of the Muppet Show have been American pop culture icons. The show itself won a total of 21 Emmy nominations and four television awards over its long run, and by 1990 its cast had also starred in several critically acclaimed films (The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, and The Muppets Take Manhattan) and the very popular animated TV show Muppet Babies. And all of that wouldn’t have been possible without the Muppets’ creator, Jim Henson.

Like at the Walt Disney Company, the loss of their leader in 1990 hit Jim Henson Productions very hard. One silver lining, however, is that just like with Walt Disney, Jim Henson was memorialized not just by the characters he created, but by his many achievements and the many friendships he’d made in life. He received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame alongside Kermit the Frog; was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame; earned a memorial in his hometown Hyattsville, Maryland; was posthumously named a Disney Legend; was the focus of the heartfelt TV special The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson; and was laid to rest with two formal funeral services complete with performances of some of his favorite songs. And just like the Walt Disney Company, even after the death of someone who meant so much to them, Jim Henson Productions got back up and promised to do more in the memory of their lost leader. Jim’s son Brian Henson took the reins and directed the Disney-co-produced Christmas movie The Muppet Christmas Carol in 1992, before he moved on to their next project and today’s subject, Muppet Treasure Island.

So, here’s the thing -- I have a LOT of nostalgia for this movie. I will be upfront about that. But even with that acknowledged, I was sort of stunned when I found out how lukewarm the reaction to this movie was, when it was released in theaters. Sure, I knew it hadn’t broken the bank, but even if it earned about $34 million worldwide, it received no honors or awards, only hit third at the box office opening weekend behind the movies Broken Arrow and Happy Gilmore, and even now only boasts an average 73% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Critics at the time criticized how it was more “Treasure Island” than “Muppet”, with Roger Ebert calling it “less cleverly written” and Gene Siskel even more coldly deeming it “boring.” Although I’ll readily acknowledge that reading those reactions makes me want to run outside and scream “FUCK YOU, GENE SISKEL” at the top of my lungs, I promise to give a more rational review of this movie instead, one hopefully that acknowledges any possible shortcomings, but also will celebrate this film and how completely NOT boring it is.

One of the best things about this movie hits us in the face right off the bat -- the music, written by scoring giant Hans Zimmer and Nick Glennie-Smith. As much as I enjoy a lot of Muppet musicals, I attest that Muppet Treasure Island has the most cohesive score overall of any Muppet production. The Muppets were always creatures of the short, sweet vignette -- of the variety show -- of many disparate pieces sewn loosely together into a whole like a patchwork quilt. Even though The Muppet Christmas Carol’s soundtrack comes very close in its cohesion and I would say The Muppets (2011) -- my personal favorite Muppet movie -- is truer to the spirit of the Muppet Show in its music while also paying tribute to old-fashioned movie musicals, Muppet Treasure Island just paints a full-bodied picture from the off-set, building on refrains that return and morph over the course of the picture. From the very beginning, we get that this venture is NOT a standard Muppet movie. Like The Muppet Christmas Carol, the Muppets’ humor will only be part of the story told -- in TMCC, it takes a backseat to sincere emotions like love and redemption, while here in MTI, it takes a backseat to adventure and swashbuckling action.

The score also seamlessly flows into our first song, “Shiver My Timbers,” which just screams “pirate!” I’ve loved pirates ever since I was a little kid, and Muppet Treasure Island was one of the main reasons why. I was okay with Peter Pan, but Muppet Treasure Island was what really got me excited about pirates. They were rough, ruthless, and dangerous, but it was exciting to face off against them in an epic musical adventure, even if your only weapons were a couple of artfully thrown starfish. In the 90′s, pirate films weren’t really “in” -- it wouldn’t be until 2003 with the release of Pirates of the Caribbean that they became popular again -- but I think Muppet Treasure Island, through its music, really embraces the fun, action-packed thrills that Disney would later capitalize on in the Pirates films.

After our prologue, we meet Billy Bones (played by the perfectly cast Billy Connolly) and, of course, our hero, Jim Hawkins, played by newcomer Kevin Bishop. Kevin was the very first of a hundred kids who showed up for the audition to meet the casting agents, and he was selected for the part then and there. Sadly post-Muppets he moved on to stage and television, but for what it’s worth, I quite like Kevin in the role of Jim. He’s distinctly depicted as a boy, complete with a pre-puberty “boy soprano” singing voice (which I acknowledge is an acquired taste, but I personally enjoy), but that characterization only serves to accent how large of an arc he goes through over the course of the film. He starts off as smart, sincere, honest, and dreamy, but also very innocent and trusting, and over the course of the story, he learns to ground himself in who he is and what he believes in, to the point where he has to sever ties with someone he once considered a friend and mentor. Accompanying Jim in his journey are Gonzo and Rizzo, who largely serve as comic relief but do still serve as good friends and companions to Jim, as evident by the three characters’ “I Want” song, “Something Better.” Yes, Gonzo and Rizzo are sidekicks, but they’re still distinct personalities that bounce well off each other and “straight-man” Jim. Originally the filmmakers had considered simply having Gonzo and Rizzo being two characters called “Jim” and “Hawkins” respectively (splitting the part in two, not unlike what they did with Statler and Waldorf in The Muppet Christmas Carol), but due to concerns that the choice would result in a lack of heart in the finished product, that idea was scrapped. I think it ultimately was the better decision to leave the drama to the humans -- it’s not that the Muppets can’t conjure sincere emotion (just look at “Pictures in my Head” or “Man or Muppet”), but I still think having any of the existing Muppets fulfill the “coming of age” narrative the original Jim Hawkins goes through would’ve been a bit of a stretch. Even in The Muppet Christmas Carol or non-Muppet-show Jim Henson production Labyrinth, the main characters with a story arc are played by human actors who are able to ground the picture despite the cast of colorful, irreverent characters.

One of the main criticisms that critics of the time lobbed at this movie is that it feels more “Treasure Island” than “Muppet”, and in a way it’s a decent point, if not phrased very badly. Unlike in other Muppet projects, the humor plays second fiddle to the plot and the characters are not the characters we know from the Muppet Show with their Muppet Show backstories and consciousness. In The Muppet Christmas Carol, the film could very easily be seen as a “production” being put on by the Muppets, even if it’s never overtly stated as such, thanks to Gonzo (as Charles Dickens) constantly breaking the fourth wall. In Muppet Treasure Island, however, Gonzo and Rizzo have their own non-Muppet-show history as friends of Jim Hawkins way before ever meeting the other Muppets like Kermit and Sam the Eagle, and Kermit and Miss Piggy have a whole soap-opera romance that involves a wedding and getting marooned by pirates (we’ll get to that later). So yes, this is more “Treasure Island,” but it’s not less “Muppet” -- it’s less “Muppet Show.” These Muppets have different histories, but they’re the same characters despite this. Gonzo is an eccentric thrill-seeker -- Rizzo is a cowardly cynic -- Kermit is a soft-spoken pacifist -- Fozzie is a lovable dimwit -- Piggy is a self-centered diva. Think of Muppet Treasure Island as a Muppet AU fanfiction -- these may not be exactly the characters you know, and yet...they are! They’re the exact same big personalities with the same quirks, strengths, and weaknesses, just in an alternate universe. And honestly, I think it’s really cool, to see these sorts of characters so exclusively used for comedy in a world that’s not flat-out comedic -- one that’s kind of dirty and rough around the edges, with swashbuckling action and real danger around every corner.

The nice thing is that although yes, the comedy isn’t the central focus anymore, there is still really good humor in this film, a lot of it thanks to the shift in tone. There’s just something so very, very funny to me about Billy Bones’s death scene being followed up by Rizzo, Gonzo, and Jim just flat-out freaking out and dashing out of the room screaming like stupid kids, or the tense action scene where the pirates storm into the inn being punctuated by Rizzo trying to help Gonzo load the gun, only to spill the bag of bullets, or the epic entrance of the illustrious Captain Smollett’s carriage ending with the tall, solemn coachman stepping aside to reveal the Captain himself, played by Kermit the Frog. I think it plays into the ideas of subverting expectations and building up a punchline properly before delivering the joke -- as each scene is built up, we’re left constantly unsure if the film’s going to play things straight or just be completely irreverent, and the contrast is what can make a joke much funnier than in a purely, solely humorous scenario. There are a few points where the contrast can become a bit labored, but I laugh so much more during this movie that I ever have watching my favorite reruns of the Muppet Show, no matter how much I enjoy them. It’s something that, again, the Pirates of the Caribbean films would capitalize on much later. (Too bad they couldn’t incorporate that humor into any catchy musical numbers! Disney, where’s my Pirates of the Caribbean musical?)

Aha, and now we come to the brightest of the shining stars in this film -- our villain, Long John Silver, played by the amazing Tim Curry. I’m sorry, it’s an incontrovertible truth that Curry is a unique, magical ingredient that, when added to any movie, just elevates the cinematic dish to a whole new level and leaves you drooling for one more scene with him. I remember someone once saying that Curry is sort of like a Muppet in human skin thanks to his outrageous, yet likable acting, and...yeah, it makes it so that he fits perfectly in this movie, where he has to interact so closely with the Muppets. The nice thing is, though, that he also has a lot of chemistry with his human co-star Kevin Bishop, to the extent that you sincerely feel for the relationship that forms between Jim and Silver even if you know Silver’s intentions from the start. I particularly like their exchange in the ridiculously catchy “Sailing for Adventure,” as well as their scene at the front of the ship where they discuss their fathers and the stars.

Just as the adventure is getting going, however, it stops dead with the wind’s abandonment of the Hispaniola. Out of nowhere, the ship breaks out into the most ridiculous, most “Muppet” of all of the musical numbers, “Cabin Fever.” The song was one of my favorite parts when I was little and it’s always made me laugh, but it’s definitely the biggest detour of the movie that up until that point lived in its own pirate-centric world. It’s a very short-lived detour and as I said, it’s ridiculously funny, but it doesn’t have any bearing on the plot and I could see how people might find it kind of pointless, particularly since it doesn’t even feature three of our main characters, Jim, Silver, or Smollett. One other critique I will give the film is that some of the effects nowadays don’t look very real, like the Hispaniola being composited over still matte paintings -- there are points where the production values remind me a bit of the old Wishbone TV series, where they have to angle the shot just so or get creative just to try to make the ship look as big as it should be. But honestly, there were points where Wishbone impressed me with those same sorts of layering and green-screen effects despite its limited budget, and those cheaper effects don’t look tacky or out-of-place, so I personally don’t mind them that much.

Because this is a Muppet movie, it’s unsurprising that our Mr. Arrow (played by Sam the Eagle) isn’t really killed, instead just being tricked off of the ship by a manipulative Silver, but it says something that, even with that softened plot turn, the stakes are not completely dismantled. We still see the pirates as a legitimate threat when they kidnap Jim and take over the Hispaniola, even when they burst into song. Tim Curry’s “only number,” “A Professional Pirate,” is a perfect expression of his expert, charming showmanship, which in my mind truly can’t be matched by any other performer in Hollywood, past or present. No one gives a performance like Tim Curry. It makes it so that even when I was a bratty kid getting irritated about Silver calling privateer Sir Francis Drake a pirate and using “buccaneer” as a synonym for “pirate,” I would sing this song at the top of my lungs, trying to even reach 75% of the energy Curry put into his vocals.

At long last, Miss Piggy makes her grand debut as “Queen Boom Sha-Kal-a-Kal,” a.k.a. Benjamina Gunn. Although the diva doesn’t end up getting much screentime, she certainly gets a grand entrance, complete with an elephant steed decorated with flowers and a full musical number complete with a tribal chant and ethereal vocalizing. And true to form, when she lays eyes on her one true love, Kermit...she smacks him so hard that he’s thrown backwards off his feet and into a gong. What’s particularly interesting about Piggy in this movie is that although she and Fozzie are voiced by Frank Oz as always, both she and Fozzie were actually puppeted by Kevin Clash, as Oz was unavailable during this film’s production, and Oz’s vocals for both characters were added in post-production. Despite the difference in puppeteer, however, both characters are just as likable as ever -- I’d honestly had no clue that they weren’t performed by the same person! The film even got to use the full-bodied remote-controlled puppets for Kermit and Piggy for the love duet “Love Led Us Here,” which is kicked off by an Evita joke I never got as a kid but as an adult makes me grin like a friggin’ idiot. Fortunately the duet is inter-cut with Silver and the pirates finding the treasure, rather than it being chock-full of romantic flashbacks or prolonged looks between the two lovebirds, giving it a lighter tone than it would’ve had otherwise.

With a much reduced crew comprised only of Rizzo, Gonzo, Squire Trelawney, Dr. Honeydew, Beaker, and the newly returned Mr. Arrow, Jim comes to Benjamina and Smollett’s rescue and returns to Treasure Island to face Silver and the pirates. The action scene is full of humor, but because of the world established in the rest of the film, I would argue it still has stakes. The blows still hurt and there’s still a threat of defeat and danger, most notably when Long John Silver prepares to fight. Even if you don’t think the Muppets are going to die persay, you still feel the suspense in wanting to see what’s going to happen next. And when Silver surrenders, he himself can see the real treasure Jim found on his adventure -- a family...a group of people Muppets who will support him and encourage the very best in him.

Silver’s escape scene is a beautifully heart-wrenching scene -- one that could only have been earned by two excellent performances over the course of the film by Kevin Bishop and Tim Curry. Even though both Silver and Jim know that they’re different people and they could never walk the same path, it doesn’t mean that they don’t still greatly esteem and care about each other. In Jim’s case, it’s especially difficult, given that in parting ways with Silver, he has to cut loose of a very poor potential father figure who would’ve only dragged him down in the long run, but who was so likable in his own damaged way. It proves to be a very bittersweet scene sprinkled into a very happy, cheerful ending, complete with the chipper island-inspired end credits bop “Love Power.”

Muppet Treasure Island is -- in my opinion, at least -- one of the best Muppet movies ever made. It broke away from quite a few Muppet conventions, like the characters breaking the fourth wall and being aware of themselves being in a movie or TV show, and embraced a much less humorous tone in both its writing and cinematography. Yes, it reimagined a classic book like The Muppet Christmas Carol did, but this movie took the next step, embracing the world of the original novel as well as the set-up and immersing the Muppets’ cast of characters in it. Although I can see why some people would be more partial to the original Muppet movie formula and love it a lot myself, I really, really respect Brian Henson and the rest of this film’s crew for taking the Muppets in such a different direction. It was an entertaining, action-packed, funny pirate movie before those sorts of movies became popular again, and it remains my favorite “pirate” movie of all time, as well as my personal favorite incarnation of the Treasure Island story (barely beating out Treasure Planet). I know childhood nostalgia can play a role in what media can give you joy as an adult, but I truly don’t think it’s the only factor here -- it’s also just a really good movie, and I can only hope that more people will consider giving it a chance and have just as much fun Sailing for Adventure as I did!

[recentanimenews]

We Dig Giant Robots! Recommendations for Mecha Anime Available on Crunchyroll

  Nothing gets your heart pumping like an exciting mecha battle. From the planet-destroying action of Gunbuster to the eternal rivalries of Gundam, giant robots are a mainstay of anime. We're always looking for new titles to dig into — both literally new and new-to-us — and with more than half a century of shows out there, there are plenty to choose from.

    Naturally, Crunchyroll is stocked up with plenty of awesome giant robots old and new, including a few you may not know are in our library! You can always peruse our mecha tag for a wide variety of shows, but here are a few hand-selected series to discover (or enjoy again):

  Beast King GoLion

  This massive combining mecha only saw average success in Japan — but in the West, the Beast King GoLion became what we know as Voltron, launching toys, sequels, and modern remakes. If you've never seen it in its original form, this is your chance!

  In the far-flung year of 1999, five space pilots return to a post-World War III Earth only to be kidnapped by the alien Galra Empire. Fortunately, they escape to the planet Altea, where they become the pilots of the five robots that make up the titular robot. You'll see a few differences between GoLion and its US adaptation (the state of Earth at the beginning of the series, for one thing), but your favorite heroes are still there in one form or another. And if you're wondering where Vehicle Voltron went ... well, that's a whole other show, originally titled Dairugger XV.

  Mazinger Edition Z

  Speaking of classic mecha with new takes, Mazinger Edition Z is a shiny new version of Go Nagai's groundbreaking concept from the 1970s. Mazinger marked the first case of the "man in the mech," an orientation we consider standard today, and this iteration dives back into the original source material and its variants from across the decades.

  Pointy-sideburned hero Koji Kabuto is still at the controls, protecting Japan from the evil Dr. Hell and his strange minions. But the mythological aspect of the series gets amped up — from the histories of some of said minions to Mazinger's connection to Zeus (yes, the Greek god Zeus). Much like Giant Robo's treatment of the work of Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Edition Z also brings in creations from other Go Nagai series like Violence Jack and The Abashiri Family. And if a massive Rocket Punch isn't enough awesomeness for you, how about a robot that turns into an even bigger Rocket Punch? This and more awaits you.

  Giant Gorg

  1984's Giant Gorg hails from Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, the character designer and director of classics like Gundam, Combattler V, and Brave Reideen. This series does something a little different from many mecha anime, though: it makes you wait to meet the titular robot.

  Instead, our focus is on young Yuu Tagami, whose father was killed as part of a cover-up surrounding the mysterious New Austral Island. Tagami teams up with Doris, the sister of Dr. Tagami's former student, to investigate the seemingly unknown island. Political intrigue follows them in the form of an organization called GAIL — but the pair are rescued by the island's protector, a robot named Gorg. Together, our heroes attempt to uncover the secrets of the island without losing their lives along the way.

  If you love classic anime and are in search of a "buried treasure" show, rustle up Giant Gorg from our catalog!

  Dai-Guard

  At last, a series where office workers save the day!

  Dai-Guard takes place in a world where, initially, its main robot isn't even necessary. After an attack on humanity by an alien race known as the Heterodyne, Dai-Guard is built to protect against the next wave ... but that next wave never comes. The mech becomes little more than a curiosity, with its trained crew serving as office workers and tour guides. Then, in 2030, the Heterodyne return ... and the staff have to take up their original roles to save the world!

  Gurren Lagann

  It wouldn't be right to leave out this Gainax great! Gurren Lagann brought hot-blooded anime back to the forefront in the 21st century, as two boys from underground drilled their way to the surface with the help of their two-part robot. Their robot, their bravery, and their team continued to grow in size as they fought to regain humanity's place in the universe ... even after a shocking mid-series drop.

  The legacy of Gurren Lagann is one of bravery, friendship, and ... let's be real, ludicrously huge robots. If that's what gets you fired up and you still haven't taken the plunge, rest assured: you have galaxy-sized battles to look forward to. Literally. And astronomical values aside, there's a lot of heart to this series. Friendship, love, and unity are strung all throughout ... and some of those bonds will break your heart by the end.

  A Few More for the Road

  One feature isn't big enough to hold Crunchyroll's entire giant robot catalog — there will still always be more to discover ... but we're going to try and squeeze in a few more:

  Martian Successor Nadesico lets its geeky protagonist Akito Tenkawa live the dream of being a mecha pilot ... almost. He'd prefer to cook, fly his robot, and watch classic anime series Gekiganger III, but the largely-female crew has the hots for him en masse. And considering there's a little alien war on, there are even more problems. (Show-within-a-show Gekiganger III became so popular on its own that it got a short spinoff!)

  Super Robot Wars OG is an interesting case, in that it's a spinoff of a massive giant robot crossover. The Super Robot Wars series initially crossed over Gundam, Getter Robo, and Mazinger Z before filling out its roster, with original characters and robots providing the link between players and their favorite shows. The anime brings together many of those fan-favorite characters for their own original story.

  If you're looking for something a little more down-to-earth, Full Metal Panic! is all about attempting to be just that. Battle-hardened pilot Sousuke is tasked with protecting high school girl Kaname for her potential hyperintelligent abilities ... which means a mix of combat and trying very hard to be normal. The mecha in this series are militaristic as opposed to galaxy crushing.

  What's your favorite giant robot anime? Anything you're looking forward to watching? Let's show some mecha love in the comments!

  By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[mwcowan]

Mark & Georgia’s Big Trip

Chapter Seven – Miscellaneous Ramblings II

Another busy week, but that’s become the norm. At least this week we saw good progress towards getting everything together that we’ve been trying to get together. But not much of a theme so just some thoughts on the important events of the week.

Caretakers

The biggest milestone this week was that we selected and hired our housekeeper and caretaker. Plus their two boys – we will soon have a new family in our home, and we’re very excited. You’ll soon meet Ranny and Pina, and their boys Prince Denver and Ethan, who will take up residence in our caretaker’s apartment.

Ranny (pronounced “Ronny” – remember that the vowels AEIOU are pronounced here, without exception, Ah, Eh, Ee, Oh, Oo) for the previous seven years has worked as a groundskeeper for Kawayan Cove so he comes with excellent gardening and tree maintenance chops. Pina has been a homemaker, is a great cleaner and a good cook; Georgia says she’s a good student and will quickly learn our favorite dishes. She already knows that I like fresh fruit every morning – half the battle’s won already! Prince Denver (8 yrs) and Ethan (4 yrs) are just normal boys, though very polite. I think it’s going to be fun having them around.

Capiz

Capiz is both a province in the Philippines, on Panay Island, as well as an oyster from the area known for its special shell. A capiz oyster is on the left, the harvested and cleaned shell on the right. One shell of the oyster is flat, growing to 3-5 inches in diameter, and importantly, translucent.

You find all sorts of items here made from capiz – Christmas ornaments, outdoor lights, ashtrays, you name it. When we lived in the Bay Area, Georgia always said you could tell a Filipino’s house because of the capiz lights in the trees. Harvesting and producing craft items from the shells is today the principal livelihood of the people of Capiz. Historically, capiz is important in Philippines heritage and culture, one that’s given away by the Capiz oyster’s Western name: windowpane oyster. For thousands of years the shell served as the “glass” in Filipino windows; many older homes still feature these windows today.

So why this story about capiz? On this week’s trip to Manila, we were wandering around a mall and walked into an antique store. Stacked against the back wall we found a number of dusty old capiz windows. The shop owner had no hard information about their provenance but said they were likely from the 1800’s. They looked it; the Narra and Molave wood was weathered but the craftsmanship was still evident and not of this century. No nails or screws, the window frames are joined with hand-made mortise and tenons, held with wooden pegs. The capiz was dirty, but almost 100% intact – it looks fragile but is actually pretty sturdy stuff. We’re not sure yet what we’ll do with them, but we now have three panels. After an afternoon spent cleaning them we have a treasure we’ll proudly display.

Calamansi

I don’t think Calamansi has been featured in my Strange Fruit of the Day series; it’s really not that strange anyway. Calamansi is the citrus fruit of the Philippines. About ¾ to one inch in size, they look a lot like a key lime but aren’t limes. The insides and juice are orange, but they’re not oranges. They aren’t lemons either, they’re just Calamansi. They flavor many Filipino dishes: you’ll typically squeeze one onto your Pancit before eating, or onto your grilled fish, and they’re often an ingredient in the dipping sauces served with many dishes.

There are no limes here, so I had a dilemma: how to make a proper Gin and Tonic. Finding decent gin was easy (S&R/Costco), and after searching a few stores I found tonic water. But no limes. Calamansi to the rescue! I’m now able to enjoy my favorite summer cocktail. And it’s always summer here! Cheers!

The Massage Table

Massage is a way of life in the Philippines. Go to almost any beach and there will be massage tents set up, in the city there are plenty of establishments, or just call for home service. My only complaint, actually my neck’s complaint, is that the traditional Filipino massage is performed on a flat bed, not a massage table. You’ll sometimes find a real massage table but it’s rare. Fast forward to our weekly trip to S&R, and there it was! My neck had a sudden seizure as I tried to walk past, so into the cart it went! We set it up on the “meditation deck” and brought in a masseuse that Hervé and Lett turned us on to. She’s expensive, about $12 an hour, but good. Very good. Ahhhhhhhh, heaven!

Friends with Furniture

Our friends from Manila, Noel and Michelle Tanada, who have been mentioned before in my blogs (they’re the members at the Balesin Island Club with whom we’ve had some memorable trips) visited us yesterday. I don’t think I’ve ever said much about them. Michelle is a former local TV star/singer; after that career a serial entrepreneur, starting and running businesses in the advertising field. Noel was originally headed for a career in law, but left that world for his art, which encompasses traditional forms such as painting and sculpture, but his real passion lies with interior design and furniture design. In all they do they only use native and sustainable materials, or recycled materials, and always local labor. You can learn more and view some of their products at www.ecohomeart.com. They are also both active environmentalists, deeply involved with coral rehabilitation (www.coralmovement.org). This shot is with them at Balesin Island last year.

Today’s visit was more than a social call as they delivered a van full of furniture, some of the last items for our living room. We’d asked Noel to create some custom bar chairs, a breakfast table and chairs, and a credenza. Since we live in Kawayan Cove he chose a bamboo theme (kawayan is the Tagalog word for bamboo). He also brought a special floor lamp for us. All beautiful and unique pieces we’re proud to have.

House Tour

Finally all the major furniture is here and the house is feeling pretty livable (though we did fine with just a plastic card table and a mattress on the floor for the first 2 weeks…). So, I’ll wrap this up with a photo tour of our newly furnished rooms.

First up is the living room. The coffee and end tables from the acacia slab have arrived, we’re very happy with them and like the way they go with the sofa and love seat. The turtle on the coffee table is from Puerto Vallarta and has a special connection with Kawayan Cove – every fall Olive Ridley sea turtles arrive at Kawayan Cove to lay their eggs.

These are two of the barstools Noel designed for us. Using 100% native and sustainable materials, the backs feature split bamboo and the upholstery is hand-woven Tikog grass from Leyte. Besides a warm an inviting look, Tikog is durable and has a very nice, soft feel. It’s woven into many items here, historically the Banig which is the traditional Filipno sleeping mat.

Also in the same style and materials are this breakfast table and chairs. Noel feels the table design is sexy, resembling a woman’s curves. You decide!

One of Noel’s more creative pieces is this dramatic floor lamp, reflected in our corner windows. The lamp is made of water hyacinth reeds. Beyond being a sustainable material, the use of water hyacinth has an additional benefit as it’s a nuisance here, growing quickly and clogging rivers and harbors.

New in our master bedroom is this computer desk, made of mahogany from our design by Boyet, one of the construction foremen for our contractor. Boyet also made all of the cabinets in the house.

Our small guest bedroom, the one with the great view, has two new side tables of acacia, which we picked up pre-made at the same place where we got our slab. Note the baskets on the wall, which made their way here from the White Sulphur Springs Ranch rummage sale!

Last up is our second guest bedroom. In trade for the lack of a view you get a larger room, with a sofa and coffee table, which is the final piece of our acacia slab. Any of you who visited the Mokawk Community Resource Center last fall will recognize two paintings by Tyler Jacobsen, and a woven wall hanging by Salli Wise. Sorry the bed’s not made, we’ll make sure that’s done before you arrive!

[acitycouncilwomanme-blog]

An Impartial Perspective on Singapore Condo Incident

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SG Property Reviews is mostly a Singapore property blog dedicated to supplying its visitors with the greatest real estate insights. You may also sign up for our mailing list to receive notifications. Be aware this list isn't supposed to be exhaustive. It's an extensive collection of expatriate tenants making it a perfect selection for investors. Another amazing feature is you will feel at ease with network camera that gives you the ability to maintain a watch over your children when they're at the compound.

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The nation's biggest business district since the 1960s, the city is still the location of several prominent local and worldwide businesses and organizations. It is also considered as the shopping hub of the country. It is also where some of the country's top educational institutions can be found. The Toronto condo construction has actually blown up in the last ten decades, which has re-imagined the current skyline. Get in touch with us if you're interested to get any of the condo projects below. Kindly contact us if you would love to purchase or lease any of the condo projects given below.

[worldbeyondtheworld]

Kingdom Hearts Rewrite, part 2

Part 1

Summary: A self-indulgent rewrite of the entire series so far, with foreshadowing, consistent symbolism, etc.

I pondered that a week leads up the big storm on Destiny Islands to give room to characterize Kairi, Riku, and Sora and Destiny Islands, allowing to grow emotional attachment, and to parallel Roxas’ one week in the digital Traverse Town. Each day you’d play as a different kid of the Destiny Trio, playing all of them on the seventh. (I just realized that this is a bit like how BBS is structured as a game which fits - because the Wayfinder Trio and the Destiny Trio have many parallels, but aren’t copies to each other.)

More ideas, in no particular order, with warning for spoilers for all games:

- The game menu and how the stats show would look the same for all kids in the beginning, Xion and Roxas too. The only difference are the colors and the icons to list items / objectives. The more the kids grow, the more their menus become individual, often reflecting where they currently stand emotionally and story-wise. Examples:

In KH2, Kairi’s is a collection of written letter on lined paper that you switch through as you select the submenu, Destiny Islands at first making up the background. Flowers lines the edges. Forget-me-nots as well as seashells, fading into view with sketchy lines, become prominent when she’s in the World That Never Was.

An effect like frosted glass creeps up on Jiminy’s journal and the menu, eventually covering or destroying most of personalized details, the more Naminé changes Sora’s memories in CoM.

- Rethinking what I said in part 1, Kairi regularly is the one who issues challenges to Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka or initiates playfights.

- Another edit. The confrontation between her and Riku on Destiny Islands as they playfight potentially happens on Day 4 which happens in Sora’s POV for narrative and emotional tension because he’ll miss things from his limited view. (Also, SYMBOLISM. DAY 4 => 4 is a unlucky number in Japan). Because Riku and Kairi are moving, their backs are sometimes turned to him, so he hears his harsh words to her (which he calls him out on) but his expressions are unseen to him. When Riku suddenly leaves, Sora congratulates Kairi on kicking Riku’s butt, but her smile is strained.

- Variation. The confrontation happens on Day 3 from Riku’s POV, his expression also unseen in that moment. In this version, the tension is already higher between him and Kairi on Day 4 that is only noticeable on first glance if you look closely. Because Sora doesn’t at first.

- We see the fight from Kairi’s POV on Day 5 in a flashback, which shows Riku’s unexpectedly rageful snarl at her getting an effective hit at him. Rocketing up tension because the trio wants to leave in two days.

- Kairi knows Yuna and Rikku as her upperclass mentors (Yuna is two years older than Kairi, Rikku one year). She admires Yuna’s elegance as well as her dancing and singing. She wants to be as outgoing as Rikku. They have also tutored her in mathematics and history. Riku and Sora only know the two older girls distantly when seeing them at school, which is why Sora doesn’t recognize them when they are the Gullwings. It’s been more than a few months since he last saw them.

- Rikku and Yuna manage to escape from Destiny Islands when the Darkness swallowed them, because Yuna’s latent light powers protects them. But ensuing events transformed them and a girl named Payne to pixies / fairies and sealed their memories. There is a way for them to return to human - or so somebody claims - but for that they need a lot of munny plus valuables. The treasure hunters The Gullwings are born.

- I need to determine how they meet Kairi and return to normal. I need to.

- Uncle / Papa Cid from Destiny Islands. Cid from Radiant Garden. They must meet.

- Rikku and Yuna build Kairi a hovering motorcycle which shifts parts to drive on water like a jet-ski. Keyblade shenanigans + Yuna’s magic shenanigans + memories of seeing Aqua’s glider = Kairi is the first of the Destiny Trio to figure out how to transform her keyblade into a vehicle. She keeps the motorcycle.

- Riku is the first to figure out how to conjure keyblade armor after seeing Ventus’ armor in Sora’s dream. Sora is still the first to figure out formechange for his keyblades after fighting Lingering Will and experiencing, painfully, how it transforms its keyblade into different weapons.

[fluorescentpipedream]

Both pictures are for the same character. Read below @musesnotebook 

Yorgi Thursten - Yorgi is immortal and has ties to Jack, Sara, Vance, and Rhaegar. Originally serving as what amounts to an oracle to his people he began having dreams involving a “strange young woman from a different time” who would play a very important part in Vance’s life, which ultimately prompted the latter to kidnap her from the marketplace where she was with Sinbad and his crew following her teleportation by Loki and Ares. (Why they sent Sara there is anyone’s guess, I think they were looking to get her out of the way or it could have been just a random selection, but considering how many things she’s taken part in since that first trip, I’m guessing it was anything but). Yorgi is viewed with respect by most of the ship though treated carefully as he’s a little crazy. (If you were having dreams about the distant future (our time) back in the realm of the Vikings, you’d be crazy too.) Seeing how Vance begins treating Sara, as though she’s his personal sex slave and still having dreams of what she will eventually become even if he can’t really make much sense out of it, Yorgi starts to be kinder to her and eventually agrees to help Jack and Rhaegar get her off the ship and back to Sinbad’s care. I think he may also have told Sara how to find the portal that eventually takes her to Xena/Hercules in Greece. 

His deceit angers Vance though because what Yorgi is to their people he can’t outright kill the man. Instead, he finds ways of undermining Yorgi’s visions and turns the village against him, ultimately forcing him into exile on a small island near their main home. Not too long after he is first exiled, a young girl who was impregnated by the former leader of the tribe (ousted by another) is sent to the island as well. Yorgi begins to care for her and after the birth of her son, they get married. While it’s not recognized by their people because both of them are no longer, technically, a part of them, it’s enough for them. He also raises her son as his own, and they have two more children, another son, and a daughter. Over their years together Yorgi notices that he isn’t aging, unlike his wife and their children. Believing it to be some kind of curse, he tries communing with the gods in order to find out what is going on, all the while still having dreams about a very strange future. Yorgi ends up sending his children away and buries his wife when she passes on and ultimately feels as though he’s gone completely insane, attempting to barricade himself inside of his home lest he leads to anyone’s death aside from his own. The first son returns nearly 10 years later to find Yorgi still there, still trying to contact the gods and still completely unchanging. Seeing it as a gift from the gods rather than a curse, the young man has become the new leader of the tribe and suggests to his father that he leave rather than become stagnated there. 

He and Vance cross paths a few times, the first following what should have been Charles’ first death only to wake up and see Yorgi sitting beside him, grinning down at him. Angered and believing at first that his immortality has something to do with the old seer, Vance attacks him and during the fight, both of them are mortally injured but neither die. Unable to rationalize it, they break from one another with Charles intent to track down the “little bitch”, now blaming his inability to die on Sara. Yorgi does tell him there may be something to that but leaves Vance with a rather ominous warning that he should always be careful of how he speaks. For his part, Yorgi carries on, simply looking for something to give meaning to his still being around. A lot of the time he actually spends resting, waking up every couple of centuries and traveling a bit, though he really has no rationale for why he continues to live. 

Around the 12th century, he makes another appearance. This time he’s a little less crazy, having found ways of getting around in the world, though he does still see things in his dreams, he’s taken to writing most of it down in scrolls and books he carries with him. Most of it means nothing at the current stage of life though he seems to have some knowledge about cars, the first world war and something that makes even the nightmares of napalm seem like child’s play (Serenity.) When he “decides to exist” in this century it is really only to seek out Jack and give him instructions on how to make an iron coffin with bolts in order to trap Vance and hold him beneath the sea for an “undetermined amount of time” or basically until he’s needed. If allowed to continue as he was going, Vance would have become one of the most dangerous men of that time and potentially could have killed Sara when he has her. Rather than telling Jack this, however, he tells him to seek out the village of Nottingham, he’ll find something dear to him there. He also has come into possession of a fragment of the crystal Sara has been seeking which he gives to Jack and tells him not to open it. He’ll know what it’s for, in time. Yorgi had been keeping the fragment inside of a locket Sara had when they first captured her when he found the crystal he stashed it inside the locket and held onto it until he found a way of getting it to her. He’s not sure why but he knows she needs it. 

Yorgi disappears throughout time, reappearing here and there when he wants to. He marries several times and starts several families before finally making his way to Nassau around 1650, during the years of piracy. He serves in Flint’s crew for a while before finally taking up residence in the city itself, though what exactly he’s doing there, I have no idea, though once again it involves Sara’s arrival. I think there’s something he’s supposed to tell her, but for the life of me, I don’t know what it is yet. Following the sacking of Nassau, Yorgi is taken prisoner by the British and taken to the Tower of London where he is locked in a cell, presumably to die there. He ends up being tortured there for years, the torture master seeming very interested in how he can be dismembered, disemboweled or potentially killed only to come back to life. Eventually, however, the man gets bored with him and leaves him handcuffed to a cell where he’s left to die. Yorgi is discovered there some 50 years later, emaciated but still alive and once again driven slightly mad by his visions. Once found and set free, he is cleaned up but as he is unaccustomed to his freedom and the harshness of the light he is placed in charge of the six ravens that live inside the tower. (He’s where the legend of the monarchy crumbling if the ravens should ever leave comes from, it doesn’t actually have any merit but was a joke he wanted to play on the people he was working for after being locked away in their dungeons and tortured for so many years.) 

Around the 17th century, he disappears again, wanting little to do with years that are going to follow and instead decides to return to Norway and his little island to sleep. His people are now nothing but history, though there are some records of the successors of his original family bringing peace to their people until the war finally overtook them all. The island where he was exiled has been shrouded by fog and is nearly impossible to get to without knowing exactly where it is, though he likes that just fine. The small house he and his first wife lived in still stands though it’s in ruins now. He doesn’t bother to fix it but rather builds himself a small tomb beneath it where he proceeds to lie down to sleep. He wakes up again in 1996 and decides that the 20th/21st centuries are where he should like to live. 

Throughout his many lives Yorgi, who chooses the name Jørgen Thursten, has saved fragments of his wealth, making quite a little treasure trove for himself in the process. He uses this to track down someone who can help set him up in the new years, providing him with a convincing back story, parents, a birth certificate and everything else he’ll need in order to make a life in the now. With this he takes the slow path, finding it somewhat amusing how wrong people have gotten history, and decides to get a degree in that as well as creative writing, though he opts to teach the first since he can’t very well publish the things he used to dream about. While his scrolls and journals still exist, he keeps them locked away so no one can see them, and for the most part, upon waking up in the 20th century he doesn’t seem to have visions of the future any longer. He still has the nightmares of Serenity though he doesn’t really count them as anything other than bad dreams these days. 

While in university for his teaching degree he gets married and after graduating, he takes a job at UCLA as a professor. From what he says he didn’t choose that school for any other reason than he liked the weather in California, and it’s the city his wife got a job in and was actually very surprised to see Vance was a professor there as well.

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Is Hiring Capri Boat Transfer Very Simple And Inexpensive

Capri boat transfer Enticingly rising from the deep blue Mediterranean Sea, the Isle of Capri�s craggy landscape is resplendent in the light. You can discover as many treasures as possible yet there is nothing impressive than spending a whole day in Capri boats to discover the island from the sea. The famous Blue Grotto, Faraglioni rocks, the spectacular lighthouse, dramatic promontories, intriguing inlets, awe-inspiring cliffs towering overhead, and transparent blue-green waters are some of the wonders you can see on the trip around the Island because the exceptional coastline of Capri reveals itself gradually along the way. Capri refers to be one of the major highlights of the Bay of Naples due to its quiet coves, spectacular views, and attractive villages. Though reachable only through boats, the Isle of Capri makes for a fun and easy day tour from the bay of Naples. If you want the best value for the money spent, opt for group tour that helps you in maximizing your time and visiting multitude of sites in one day. Some of the top attractions of Capri Island include the Roman ruins of Villa Jovis, Blue Grotto, the towns of Capri & Anacapri, and the rock formations of Faraglioni. Besides these, Naples to Capri transfer lets you enjoy a few stopping at the cost of Amalfi, Pompeii, or the Sorrento. Private tour provides a flexibility itinerary and a more personalized experience, which can be custom made to your interests. You can get pleasure from the undivided highlights of your private guide when you visit the attractions like the Villa San Michele, Marina Grande, and the Gardens of Augustus. There is also an option to take a picturesque boat ride across the Blue Grotto or even drive along the most popular Mamma Mia. With the private speedboat transfer, you can able to save time and at the same time, you are likely to explore the island at your very own pace.

Boat is the only means of transport you can used to reach the island of Capri as its location is on the gulf of Naples. Most of high-speed ferries from Naples reach Capri in 45 minutes, whereas the day tour from the bay of Naples last for about 8 to 10 hours, as it includes hotel pickup, round trip transport, and much others. Visiting the island of Capri at the time of hot summer is quite frustrating, because the climate here is Mediterranean. Therefore, wear sub blocks and take plenty of water while visiting this loveliest island on the Mediterranean Sea. With your loved ones, you would enjoy a truly unique experience from the intimacy of luxury motor yachts. Being a short excursion for passengers, this tour is done on cruise ships that dock at the port of Naples as soon as you arrived at the train station or else from the local hotels. The private skipper meets you at the dock of port of Naples and takes you to pier through a short ten-minute minivan transfer. From where, you would board our private luxury boat of your preferred choice. We let you select the starting time of the tour. However, make sure that your chosen time will match the schedule of cruise ship. Upon riding fast on blue sea, you can cross the Bay of Naples to get a panoramic view of the city with a backdrop as the Mount Vesuvius. Very soon, you can reach Capri and circumnavigates the island by stopping along several ways to enjoy some of the most interesting points like the world-famous Blue Grotto where you can enjoy a spectacular effect created by the rising sunlight. In addition, you can also enjoy watching the Green and White grottos. Needless to say about the Faraglioni rock formations, which rise tall from the sea level. Marina Piccola is another lovely attraction, as this small beach receives the attention of many locals. If you would like to swim in this clear water during your Capri boat transfer, just ask your skipper to stop in these wonderful sites. In the island of Capri, you can able to explore the island on your own for about 3 hours. You can also get private guide from us, as we are always happy to serve you anytime. For sightseeing purpose, hiring a taxi is the best way. Otherwise, you can opt for funiculare that seems to be a cable railway carrying you upwards to the Capri town. Island is not just suitable for enjoying shopping and sightseeing, yet also for having lunchtime in one of many excellent local restaurants located on seawater. We can also guide you select the nice restaurant among others. To watch beautiful gardens together with some incredible views, it is best to visit the Anacapri town, which is home to the amazing Villa San Michele. With much dedication and commitment, both the yacht and private skippers serve you to fulfill your special wishes. We can also give you the option to tailor the itinerary according to your requirements. The reason why we are here to customize the excursion matching your preferences is because of lots of things to do at seashore including exploring the island, sunbath, swimming, and snorkeling. There are also several awe-inspiring places available around the Bay of Naples and Salerno to get pleasure from it. We provide you a short excursion to the Amalfi coast or even a cruise along Positano. These are definitely beautiful places waiting for tourists and travelers to enjoy on their boat tour. Selecting a boat that perfectly matches your mood is what you have to do if you would like to explore the Capri Island yourself. It is really hard to plan things in an unusual setting. So, why don�t you Transfer to Capri by using our local knowledge a nd getting an outstanding time? Just inform us about your needs and requirements, because we are available round the clock to do anything for your satisfaction. Our only intention is to make you leisure. Drop a mail or call us and stay in touch, as we will surely make your vacation to Capri an unforgettable in the most reasonable way. You are truly going to get a lifetime fun with our easy tour.