#we got a glimpse of it in the astronaut!

[raplinesmoon]

My dream is for Jin to completely embrace his inner indie/alt rock and go full Black Keys/Arctic Monkeys mode

[hedgehog-moss]

I saw an astronaut walking on the side of the road today, which is the kind of thing my brain will placidly accept at first, only to go "Wait, an astronaut" a minute later once I'm done with my previous train of thought. By then I felt like it might be too late to stop my car, but I ended up stopping anyway because I didn't want to spend the rest of the afternoon wondering.

I waited for the astronaut to catch up with me since they were going in my direction, but they didn't. Eventually I got out of the car and retraced my steps, and after a bend in the road when I saw no one walking towards me I decided the visitor must have gone back to their spacecraft and I would never get an explanation for this—and then in the distance I caught a glimpse of the white space suit disappearing into the forest.

I managed to catch up with them and they turned out to be a distant neighbour of mine (let's call her M.), and what looked like a space suit when I was driving by was a beekeeper's outfit! (Sorry for the pointless suspense but I was taking you on the same little journey my brain went through.) M. was tickled when she learnt that I mistook her for an astronaut—she told me she'd borrowed her husband's too-big shoes which made her drag her feet, hence why she looked like she was having trouble readjusting to Earth's gravity.

Then she said that one of her hives had swarmed, and she was pretty sure she knew where the swarm was. I had no idea how swarming worked so as we walked in the woods she explained that when a hive becomes too crowded, the queen will get replaced by a new one, and the old queen will leave along with half of the bees. After this split, the swarm will cluster somewhere nearby and wait while scout bees fly away in search of a new hive location. "That's when you have to catch them—if you can find the swarm. But here it is!"

I wasn't expecting quite so many bees!! I'm pretty scared of all flying creatures so allow me to pat myself on the back for what came next—I thought I was about to learn how to catch a swarm from a prudent distance, but M. asked if I could give her a hand, seeing as her husband was supposed to be here to help but clearly wasn't.

The first step of catching a swarm was spraying the bees with sugar water, and I was glad not to be asked to help with that, as it seemed like something that could make bees angry. ("On the contrary, it makes them less agitated!" I was told, but that remained to be seen.) Step 2 was pulling on a rope tied to the tree branch in order to lower the swarm into the new hive, and that was the job I was recruited for. The rope was long enough that I could stand several metres away to pull on it, but my role in this swarm-catching business was still all too clear to any angry bee looking for someone to blame.

I remembered reading that bees can sense the electric field of flowers, so I thought there was no way they wouldn't sense the staticky nervousness coming from the rope-puller, but thankfully they completely ignored me.

M. was offering one fun fact about bees after the other, in a very relaxed voice, which was very interesting and very soothing for both me and the bees. She said this particular colony was very sweet ("some bee colonies are meaner than others?" "yes of course"), and that swarming usually happens a bit earlier in the year "but it's been raining so much lately, the bees had to postpone all their activities, just like us" and also "swarming involves quite a bit of planning ahead of time; for example worker bees have to put the queen on a diet so she won't be too fat to fly. Did you know that?" I did not!

Unfortunately our first attempt to catch the swarm failed. The bees entered the hive, had a quick look around their new home, then left in disgust and formed a thick, angry, buzzing cloud over our heads, while I tried to think nothing but bee-loving thoughts to make my electric field harmless and friendly.

Then one after the other all the bees returned to the exact same spot on the branch where we'd first found them. ("Because it smells like the queen" said M.) We examined the near-empty hive and found that a mouse had made a nest in there! She was no longer here but the traces of her passage were evident (some of the comb was very nibbled.)

As we were removing the supplies brought in by the mouse (sticks, hay), M.'s husband joined us and he had brought a spray bottle containing some sort of bee-attracting liquid (pheromones?) (I didn't have a close look at the bottle because I made sure to stay far away from the bee-attracting liquid, while he sprayed it inside the hive.)

He had also brought a white sheet which he spread under the tree, explaining that the bees will want to get away from the bright surface and look for darkness, thus hopefully getting inside the box. Another thing I learnt is that once the queen enters the hive, the nearest worker bees will spread the message by turning round and fluttering their wings to send a chemical signal in specific directions, which will be picked up by other bees farther away; at strategic intervals some bees will light the beacons of Gondor turn round and fan their wings to relay this scent-message until the entire colony is informed of the queen's new location.

We were more successful the second time around! This time the bees who went in didn't immediately get out again to return to their branch. Well I say "we" but I didn't volunteer to pull on the rope again, so I can't claim any role in this victory. But my personal victory was that I stood quite a bit nearer this time so I could watch everything closely, and I felt more intrigued than nervous. Bees were constantly zipping past me but it had become clear that my electric field was pure and they bore me no ill will. I was always fond of bees from afar and happy to see them do their thing in flowers in the spring, but today's adventure got me interested in their daily life as well, so I think I'll read some books about bees this summer!

I was reading last month about the morality of termite colonies (Maeterlinck's La vie des termites) and I had a feeling this man must have written some poetic stuff about bees as well—and he did. Here's a translated excerpt from his book "La vie des abeilles" :)

[redflagshipwriter]

Hot Ghouls in Your Area

Chapter 2

It was a very weird ride. Danny felt like he was an authority on uncomfortable and strange conversations, given his bizarre family and all the experiences he'd had: but it was exquisitely uncomfortable sitting next to his bride sacrifice and making conversation.

The guy didn't offer his name. He was- honestly, he was built. Danny tried not to get caught visually measuring how absurdly broad the guy's shoulders were. He was weirdly offended that the cultists had sent him someone who was more ripped than he was.

"What's that?" The guy prompted. Jason. This guy's name was Jason. It was a little hard to keep in mind given he didn't really look like a Jason. He looked like… The Red Biker 👻😱🩸 or some shit.

Danny mentally rewound his own babbling and brightened when he realized that there was at least some interest in NASA's newest telescope. He infodumped on rote. It genuinely was an interesting topic! But he'd told 3 people about it already so it didn't take all of his attention.

At one point, Jason pinched his middle finger and used the grip to pull off his glove. Danny swallowed. He tried not to stare at the first glimpse of skin. It was not super light or super dark– a little tanner than Danny, maybe. Not that that said much when he was living like a cave creature in a dorm room, trying to get the grades to be an astronaut.

'He's human,' Danny thought. Of course he was, he'd been sent from earth, but-

He just felt like a ghost.

The confusion put his hackles up. It was weird to perceive this guy as a possible threat. But he wasn't! He was just some hot dummy who got caught by friggin Jeremy Waters. Jeremy. Come on. It didn't get much sadder than that.

But overall? He could see why the Infinite Realms had gotten mixed up enough to accept this guy. Red was definitely weird enough to be a ghost, dressed up for the combination war front/biker bar/club. He hadn't made a move to take off his ugly motorcycle helmet the whole time they'd been talking. It was kind of creepy, to be honest.

The most disturbing part was that he smelled, like, really good. He smelled like sexy death and Danny kinda wanted to roll around in it like the world's most educated cat.

It was with some relief that Danny bounded away from his semi husband, up the stairs to Clockwork. "You know who it is and why I'm here!" He hollered, hands making a megaphone shape around his mouth. "Help me! I'm too young to be a child bride."

"Technically," Clockwork said, floating pleasantly into view, "you are too old to be a child bride. As you are not a child, Danny."

He waved that off. "I'm a kid on the inside," he dismissed. "And 19 is basically a high schooler."

"As you say." Clockwork drifted away. Danny followed. "How is your university coursework?"

"It's fine." Danny shrugged. "The Gen Eds are giving me war flashbacks to Mr. Lancer, though."

"You liked him," Clockwork said.

Danny bristled. "I did not!"

He kinda had. Mr. Lancer could have been a lot worse.

That was beside the point. Danny caught up to his ghost mentor. "I can't be distracted from this," he said, aiming for stern. "There's some human out there who wants to go home. I also want him to go home. How do we make that happen ?"

"Why Danny, have you forgotten about portals?"

Danny scowled. "You know what I mean," he groused. "I want to send him home single. Unattached. Not married to me at all."

Clockwork finally stopped moving and looked directly at him. His large eyes held only a kind of curiosity. "I suppose that you could banish him. That would have the effect of ending your relationship."

Danny hesitated. He'd learned that accepting suggestions on their face could go very badly. "That seems kinda harsh," he said. "Would there be any repercussions of that?"

Clockwork hummed from the back of his throat. "Yes, it would prevent young Jason from becoming a ghost when he passes again. Excuse me, I want that shelf behind you."

Danny moved out of the way on reflex before he processed those words. "That sounds bad."

The older ghost seemed to shrug. "The Ghost king can banish ghosts, and your paramour is ghostly enough to qualify. It would solve your current dilemma."

He deliberately chose not to respond to the word 'paramour.'

"I'm actually looking for a solution that doesn't interfere with the state of his soul and afterlife," Danny said dryly. Then he blinked. "You're really gonna call him Jason?"

Clockwork reached up and withdrew a metal object from the shelf. It clicked in his hand. "Indeed."

Danny waited for another divorce suggestion. When Clockwork didn't give one, he groaned. "How do I find another solution?" He asked, tired. This was another test, wasn't it? It was a chance for him to problem solve on his own.

That netted him a beaming smile. "You should take him to the royal library."

"And look for information about ghost divorces?" Danny asked. Clockwork gave him an enigmatic smile.

He chose to believe that was a yes. Danny patted his mentor's shoulder. "Thanks!" He shouted, already turning on his heel. "I'll do that. Have a good day!"

"Goodbye, Danny."

Jason hadn't moved at all, sitting weirdly tense and tall in the passenger seat. Danny gave him a nervous smile as he jumped in.

"Did you find out anything?" Jason asked. His voice was even enough to obscure whatever it was he thought, and the helmet made the words come out kinda flat and mechanical.

Danny winced. "Yes and no," he said, trying to find cheerful. "The first solution seems kinda bad, to be honest, so let's go to the library and look for another one!"

"...Ghosts have public libraries?" Jason said.

"No," Danny said. And then he frowned. "Maybe? I don't know. I haven't seen one but I haven't been here long. We're going to Pariah's creepy old castle to look at his library." He started up the Specter Speeder and took off. "It's big. And he was a real creep, so he probably had, uh." He cleared his throat. "Paramours." His face was getting hot and red. Maybe it wasn't obvious. He tried to look unaffected. "Probably why that ritual was out there," he babbled. Wow, the minutes separating their destinations felt very long when he was digging a verbal hole. "He probably had a lot of sacrifices he accepted, maybe that's where the skeleton army came from actually."

"Skeleton army?" Jason managed to sound incredulous through the world's ugliest motorcycle helmet. "How do ghosts and skeletons both exist in proximity?" He cleared his throat. "I mean, if you don't need the physical body to exist, why would anyone retain their corpse?"

Danny laughed nervously. "Yeah, that's weird," he agreed.

'Don't ask me afterlife questions,' he mentally begged. 'I just work here. I don't know the answers.'

"Metaphysically-"

"Do you like sports?" Danny interrupted in a high voice.

Jason paused. "No. Do you?"

"...Not really," Danny admitted, thinking of getting ganged up on in dodgeball and knocked down in basketball.

They existed in what felt like a confused silence for a few minutes. Danny parked the Speeder outside of the castle and I clicked his seatbelt with a rush of relief. "We're here," he said. He threw open the top.

Jason didn't move from where he was flat against the backrest, only lifting his head. "... Should I come too?"

Danny blinked down at him and waved a hand in invitation. "Yeah, let's go. This is kinda my place now so I can invite you in."

Jason moved forward abruptly, like he'd just gotten unstuck from the seat. Something about it looked wrong to his hindbrain. But Danny dismissed it and started off at a jog. It wasn't his business if Jason was a weird little guy. (Weird big guy? It didn't sound the same, but Jason wasn't petite.)

Jason paused on the battlements. Danny looked back and tried to see it from his perspective. The architecture was jagged, pitch black, and without any of the friendly colorful touches a castle should have. "It's kind of creepy," he said apologetically. "Pariah has just the worst vibe. Rancid energy."

"...Is it smart to say that?" Jason wondered. He started walking again.

Danny shrugged. "What's he gonna do to me?" He asked rhetorically. "Get his butt kicked again?"

[letterful]

❝ “Columbia now nine times the speed of sound.” “Roger that, Dan, I’ve got a solid TACAN locked on, uh, TACAN twenty-three.” “The, uh, tracking data, map data and pre-planned trajectory are all one line on the block.”

These authentic samples of communication between NASA and astronaut Dan Brandenstein on the space shuttle Columbia place us in orbit around our planet. Kate has said of “Hello Earth,” “…this is the point where she’s so weak that she relives the experience of the storm that took her in the water, almost from a view looking down on the earth up in the heavens, watching the storm start to form - the storm that eventually took her and that has put her in this situation.” Our narrator is having another out-of-body experience but this time it’s not nearby, on terra firma, but literally out of this world, and it seems to be final. She is high up above our earth, looking down, and there is a shocking sense associated with that as so few human beings have ever left our world to look back on it. There is a disconnection from what is common, known. I am reminded of The Overview Effect, the very real psychological and cognitive shift experienced by astronauts and cosmonauts—anyone who has left the planet and gone a sufficient distance to look back and perceive our planet not as a familiar home, but as a tiny, fragile ball, barely protected by a thin membrane of atmosphere. This awed feeling is described as one of ultimate compassion and understanding of the imperative to preserve and safeguard the planet.

After the NASA samples, we join our narrator floating in space like the Star Child in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” of the earth, but no longer attached to it, in fact freed from it. The tether has been cut. She is detached from her life and its meaning: there is an innocent, bemused approach as she plays a little game. She is so far from home, she can hold up one hand and block the planet from her field of vision—the earth is a toy. And we shift place, time, and point of view (as Kate so often does in her music) to our narrator driving home in a car at night, looking up at the sky, her loved one asleep on the seat beside her (a sweet, gentle, highly cinematic image, and all the more moving when we understand where our narrator currently is and the loss ahead), when she sees something bright streak across the sky. As she watches it shoot through the stars, she sings, amazed, “Just look at it go!” And what is “it?” Shooting star? Satellite? Space shuttle? A “little light?” If all time is simultaneous, has she glimpsed her own soul shooting past the planet? It is her own little light, a mind-boggling and heartbreaking idea—the cry in her voice when she sings this line indicates that she understands the meaning of this object, and its finality.

At this point, something very unexpected happens. An ethereal, arresting male choir sing a passage based on a traditional Georgian folk song from the Kakhetian region called “Tsintskaro.” It is a shocking transition, one that makes us hold our breath so as not to disturb this sudden, delicate, transcendent moment. Kate on the men’s chorus: “They really are meant to symbolize the great sense of loss, of weakness, at reaching a point where you can accept, at last, that everything can change.”

Our narrator, in full Overview Effect at this point, watches storms form and move to threaten the lives she sees below. She cries out to them in vain, all of them, the sailors, life-savers, cruisers, fishermen, anyone on or near the sea, to protect themselves. We hear in this section a few of the Irish instruments, bringing in echoes of meaning from the previous song “Jig of Life.” Here I am reminded of the idea of the Asian goddess Kuan-Yin, or the Buddhist idea of a Bodhisattva, a human who has attained ultimate awareness (Buddhahood) but motivated by compassion, refuses to leave this plane of reality for the benefit of all sentient beings. Our narrator, moved by the end of her own life, is now able to perceive the ephemeral nature of all creation. Everyone can be exposed to danger, everyone can suffer, everyone can—and will—die. This truth is universal. But she is unable to prevent or stop this truth. No one can.

She then sings a passage that is full of several meanings. She says she was there at the birth, out of the cloudburst, the head of the tempest. This could be the storm that took her, or it could be, from her newly widened perspective of awareness, the start of life itself, the start of the universe. We were all there, we are all made of the matter from a singularity—we are all star dust. The murderer of calm is this physical reality itself. All that is born must die. Entropy exists. She understands this and cries out, “J’accuse.” Hence the ultimate compassion for this tiny little blue ball.

The piece ends with whale song, sounds of radar, and a very mysterious, arcane passage spoken in German which, when translated into English, means “Deeper, deeper, somewhere in the deep there is a light.” In German, the word “tief” can also mean “profound,” and I am reminded of the Latin phrase at the beginning of the Christian Psalm 130 “De profundis clamavi ad te:” “out of the depths I cry out to you.” In the depths of sorrow, in the endless well of suffering, there is a light. Compassion is the light. ❞

via: (x)

[mokkemusic]

Have some thoughts about my feelings toward the latest TBHK chapter what emotions and questions and responses it’s now stirred in me with this altered time line. Also a note no I didn’t waste time editing I just wanted to jot my thoughts down so yea.

There is just so much I want to unpack with this. But I guess I just lost a lot of confidence with my thoughts and feeling for a while in every regard so I don’t know if I have the right words or I make sense but man MAN

I was just talking to Erin today about what if we do see Amane in his 60’s with the life he was supposed to live the dreams he was supposed to have! And ok maybe he really can’t make it all the way to the moon but he can think about the moon everyday and look at the stars and share his passion for that to kids who’s he’s teaching astrology to. He can live a life!

And not to be too depressing about this but really the story of Amane at his core is that if you die there is nothing for you. And I know that sounds horrible but that’s the point. We see this silly ghost boy through Nene and everyone’s perspective but then we have these moments that are like no … he’s dead. There is no future there’s nothing.

But imagine we really see a flesh and blood Amane who got to grow up. Now I know that some people have expressed how well they don’t want to see that cause that would mean Hananene wasn’t together and thats ok trust me I somehow want something where things could work out too so much but I’m not Aidairo and I can’t predict any direction. But I don’t think that .. I think we’re seeing this because just like the picture perfect arc and just like even bookstacks even though this is a “real” yet altered timeline and not a picture world it’s gonna show the gravity of the situation when we don’t see that school hat and the seal on his cheek or Hakojoudai. But a lab coat and graying hair and wrinkles and a character filled with memories and accomplishments no matter how small. How his presence and him being alive affects people. What relationships he’s never had a chance to form, what students he’s touched, who he’s maybe gotten to love (before throw daggers at me yes that’s the bittersweet of this like I said don’t think this is the final timeline but if it is I can’t control that) I just know I am gonna have so many mixed emotions for feeling Nenes conflicted emotions, for feeling the pride and peace of that non existent guilt Tsuchigomori harbors, and for myself who got into Hanako and deeply as she did because of bookstacks. I loved and it was great fun. But when they showed the glimpse of “oh that’s.. oh” no matter what I will cry so much when I think about bookstacks when I think about how Amane sat on that ledge and said “he didn’t want to go anywhere ever again” and then he didn’t. It wasn’t uplifting it was just something that Tsuchigomori held onto for years and years, with his most precious possession being the moon rock his student left in his care cause he couldn’t take it with him where he was going.

The amount of fics we’ve all written about how we wanted to see Amane as a teacher and happy or an Astronaut… I can’t explain why it affects me the way that it does but that’s MY thing. The part that got me the most a boy that wanted to go to the moon and (even though we don’t have all the details and background as to how much control he had over it) then essentially let go of all that and life.

So at the same time I would be feeling the angst and the pain if Aidairo is gracious enough to let us see him (and not just a photo that doesn’t have have his full face on Tsuchigomoris desk) I will also be conflicted-ly sobbing tears of joy. Just getting to see this.

Who knows what if the reason he’s Tsuchigomoris former co worker is because he really did then go on to become an astronaut or some position closer to reaching and studying the moon then just being an astrology teacher with the support of his colleagues and students.

I don’t think so but it’s a nice dream you know? 🥹

What if not only we get to see as readers but what if Nene herself somehow gets to see that. The conflicted emotions and sadness and happiness inside me will just truly break me and make me think and yea…

It would have impact. I just hope in whatever capacity this arc really can show that the harsh reality.

[drstonetrivia]

Chapter 224 Trivia

Happy birthday Senku! He's finally in space! 🎉🚀

We can see the approximate distance to Treasure Island from the mainland in this shot, the only other indication of where the island is is in the (non-canon) Reboot side story. My guess is the exact island used is Aogashima.

Another summary of the journey, this time including prehistory. We have depictions from the most recent ice age (though could be later, mammoths and sinomegaceros were around for a while afterwards, even in Japan), early civilization similar to Ishigami Village, and ancient Rome.

For the parts present in the manga itself, I've added the chapter numbers to each of the panels.

The books Senku has here are "General Chemistry" and "たのしい 科学" ("Fun Science"). The latter may be a reference to a children's science education book series named "たのしい! 科学のふしぎ なぜ?どうして?" ("Fun! The Mysteries of Science: Why? How?").

We get a glimpse of the docking system here. Possibly based off the SSVP, as it was used with almost all the Soyuz craft and Russian space stations to connect modules.

This docking area then opens up, becoming the transfer tunnel so astronauts can enter/exit.

I suppose the astronauts were completely naked in their space suits so that when the revival fluid is released, their skin will definitely get touched?

I can't think of any other reason for it, but it does make the previous chapter funnier.

Senku's petrification scars are now fully healed!

(Stanley's are too, poor Xeno is the only one with them now.)

The mystery of how Stanley is meant to use these "cigarettes" remains.

These belts are the middle part of the external space suit, so it's probably how the top and bottom parts are locked in. After they change, they tighten the fabric inside so that it stays attached to them.

I'm not entirely sure why they need it, since current space suits usually just attach the top to the bottom directly.

They're using both CRT and LCD screens. My guess is the LCDs are more convenient (it's easier to display things from computer->LCD than it is to a CRT, also text is more legible due to the pixels), but they still have several CRTs from earlier so they may as well use them too.

Stanley asks about their oxygen supply, meaning they may be limited until the rocket is assembled. Normally, there's recycling systems onboard to collect waste products and convert it into clean air or water, but Stanley and Xeno's discussion makes me think they don't have one.

Obviously, the astronauts have new outfits, but they don't seem to follow any previous astronaut outfits depicted in the series.

Senku's popped collar is still present, but now he lacks his signature equation.

Stanley's outfit changed the least, it remains form-fitting and solid black, with white gloves.

Oddly, Kohaku is still wearing a dress in space, but it's a lot neater and more modern than her previous roughly-hemmed one. She's also got both long socks and boots without a heel.

The spray dryer does a similar preservation process to what they did when freeze-drying ramen, however this process is better for foods (and pharmaceuticals) that are sensitive to temperature.

Here, they dry a liquid (like ramen broth) using a hot gas, turning it into a powder.

In true Francois fashion, the ramen packets made by them contain more meat and garnishes than the ones Byakuya ate. They're also visibly more delicious-looking.

Without regular boosts, the ISS would fall to Earth in around 6 months, however this number can vary a lot depending on atmospheric conditions and the relative angle/position of the ISS to the direction of travel.

Basically, unless someone/something continued to control it almost immediately, the ISS is definitely gone.

(Rei didn't, the Reboot isn't canon.)

[kanmom51]

I’ve been wondering if Jungkook is working on his solo album at all. We don’t hear much about that, other than his Dreamers schedule. Is there any news on when he might be releasing something or at least some timeframe for any teasers? Jimin has been steadily working really hard and we get small glimpses through the reveals of his collabs, but crickets about JK. I can’t help but wonder what he’s doing with all his time. Maybe someone’s heard something I haven’t come across.

We haven't heard about Suga either. Or Tae. But they are all working on their music, their albums or collabs.

Idk if you remember the Festa dinner months back, but there we were told Hobi will be first to release, and although they didn't share the actual order of releases JK did blurt out something about Suga being next and him to follow Suga.

That was all thrown out of the window with RM pushed forward and Jin's Astronaut. I also think the Busan concert threw them off a little too.

We don't know what brought about the change in order though.

Is it the order of their upcoming military service or perhaps issues with the actual material for the solo albums, not being ready yet.

BTS have been working damn hard over the past few months. Don't let the lack of content and unknown schedules deceive you.

I'd go so far as to say that the past few months leading up to Jin's enlistment have been one of the busiest and hardest times they had gone through. Working on creating content to fill close to 2 years of absence, working on their solo music, preparing for the Busan concert, working with other artists on collabs etc.

Add to that the uncertainty, the stress, the anger, not easy times.

I think the reason we aren't hearing about JK's activities is because he's not the next nor the next next, lol, to be releasing his solo.

Logically Suga should be next, as he would have to enlist by the end of March, which is probably why we got Suga and his talk over drinks 'show'.

As Hobi is already done, JM will follow. And we've seen him hard at work. He also told us he's hard at work. And this is by his choice (all the photos posted by the people he's worked with wouldn't have seen the light of day if he hadn't agreed to them being posted).

It's funny how people are saying JK is doing nothing. Less talk about Tae probably because he's being more visible (even if not by working on music).

Kind of plays to the same rhythm as something wrong with Jikook because we don't see them together. They aren't sharing their work process with us, doesn't mean they aren't working. We knew about Left and right for the first time around JK's trip to NY before their visit to the White house. He recorded it way before that. I also want to remind you of RM talking about Indigo, telling us how long he's been working on that album. JK or Tae not being up next does not mean they aren't working on their music, for their own solo albums or for collabs with others. Doesn't mean they aren't writing, producing, recording.

Either of them not sharing their work with us doesn't mean they aren't actually working.

Add to that how JK has gone all stealth on us in the months following the wipeout of his IG account. At first he was sharing with us. Moments, clips, stories with actual fan interaction, showing his utter love for army. But something happened. Was this a belated reaction to the whole JM stolen mail and breach of privacy issue? Was his reception at NY the final straw? Who knows. What we do know is that it's all gone, and replaced by a super professional very cold concept with zero to little moments shared, that is, that aren't promotional in one way or another. Very pretty. Very detached and distant. JK said "I've had enough" and disconnected.

Anyways, bottom line, work, in some shape or form, is being done even if we aren't privy to it.

[ternfic]

Bluebird

Chapter Three: Space Oddity

Benny was apparently something of a celebrity in Cape Space. He really was the youngest astronaut- a record that, even twenty years later, had yet to be beat- and the inventor of the cryostasis system, just as he’d said. Not only that, but apparently something of a hero, too. The details of that story weren’t particularly clear, but it sounded like he’d saved the lives of his crew when something happened to their ship. Benny would be happy to hear that they had indeed been found, very shortly after splashdown, alive and well.

It also explained the manner of his waking, somewhat.

Metalbeard wondered why there was no mention of Benny’s old crewmates after their initial retrieval, though. Had something else happened to them? He understood that he and his crew weren’t exactly in the need-to-know for that, but he hoped they at least told Benny, he deserved to know.

The residents of Cape Space had a lot of questions for them. Where had they found Benny? How had they found him? Did they still have his stasis pod? What was he like?

There was one other concern Metalbeard had, and after dropping several very specific words, he found who he needed to talk to about it.

Who knew the Director was sympathetic to the Master Builder cause?

“Captain, this doesn’t leave my office.”

“Aye, I understand.”

“Blue’s crew are still alive. Black and Yellow are here, but Red and White had to go into hiding- they started training to become Master Builders shortly after they were all retrieved, I think it may have something to do with the accident. But they never mentioned Blue ever training for it…”

“He didn’t have a very high opinion of us at first, so I doubt it. But I know what I saw- the lad was shapin’ metal with his bare hands. Only Master Builders can manipulate matter like that. I’ve no doubt he be one of us, somehow.”

“I’ll send word to Black, she’s the only one who’ll know how to get ahold of Red and White. They’ll want to see him for themselves.”

“I’d like to see the lad as well.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. Only relatives are permitted to see him right now.”

“What? But ye can let his crew see him?”

Browning quirked a rueful smile at the captain. “They’re the only family Benny has left.”

Benny heaved a bored sigh, toying with one of the few leads still attached to him. There had been so many tests, since he’d been brought to the hospital. So many tests. And they wouldn’t give him the results of any of them. But he hadn’t really received much for treatment, so he supposed he was in decent health. He did get scolded for using his head as a battering ram, though- it was a miracle he didn’t have a concussion. When he brought up the numbers, he only got odd looks. He didn’t bring them up again.

The nurses had told him that his new pirate friends had inquired about him, but no one else had come to see him. His family, he wasn’t surprised about, but his crew… They would have knocked down every door between them, just for a glimpse of him. If they were still alive. He hadn’t been told anything of them one way or the other. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself not to start crying again. He felt like such a baby.

There was a commotion in the hallway, and he wiped at his eyes as his door opened to admit a rather harried doctor. “You have visitors,” he announced flatly before promptly leaving again. Benny tilted his head. There was something familiar about all that racket…

“BENNY!” came a chorus of shouts as a very colorful crowd of four piled through the door, and he lit right up.

“Guys!!” He gave up trying to stop the tears when they crowded around him, practically smothering him with affection. “You’re all okay?!”

“I can’t believe you’re still alive!” Jenny sobbed as she clinged to him. Benny clinged back just as fervently. “They announced you officially dead when we couldn’t find you after a year…! We started to think you got burned up in atmo with the ship…”

“I asked so many times, but nobody would tell me anything about whether you guys were still alive or not…”

“We’re still here, Bluebird, thanks to you,” Ken assured, giving him a squeeze. “We were drifting for just under a day before they managed to pick us up.”

Benny frowned as he realized something, pulling back to look at them. “Hey, why do you all still look so young?”

“I’m assuming they haven’t said a word to you about that either,” Penelope ventured.

“No,” Benny confirmed. “They’ve put me through an absolute shit ton of tests, but not a single word about what they’re for or what the results are. What’s going on?”

“It’s because of the cryostasis,” Lenny answered. “It worked too well. It’s been twenty years since the accident, and yet we’ve barely aged one. And we were only under for about twenty-two hours. Benny… you…”

He drew in a shaky breath. “Just tell me, Lenny.”

“Barring any catastrophic events that would leave you in itty bitty particles, it’s looking like you’ll effectively be immortal. You might even recover lost limbs,” Penelope said. “Your regenerative abilities are off the charts right now.”

Benny gave a wobbly grin as it sank in. “Hey, does that mean I’m the cure for cancer?” he tried to joke.

“You might be,” Penelope answered, all seriousness.

“Oh, God.”

“Hey, it’s not all bad, is it?” Lenny said, giving him a reassuring smile. “You’ll still have us for a good long while.”

“But not forever,” Benny said quietly, miserably. “And what if… What if I meet someone? And fall in love and get married? He’s only gonna have a normal lifespan, I won’t be able to grow old with him, I’ll lose him way too soon…”

“Hey, we don’t know for sure yet,” Lenny soothed. “And even if Penn’s right, they might still wind up finding a cure for us.”

“Yeah right,” Benny huffed, leaning against him. “It was hell trying to figure out how to make the system work in the first place.”

“There’s one other thing, Benny,” Ken said. Benny looked back at him. “You’re, uh. Kind of on Lord Business’ hit list now.”

“What? Why? I’m not a Master Builder!”

“Actually, you are,” Lenny said softly. “Metalbeard told us about what you did to his ship, to help everyone escape. Tell me, have you been seeing anything weird? Floating numbers, maybe?” Benny froze. “You have, haven’t you?”

“How did you…”

“Ken and I are Master Builders now, too. But we had to train for it; how you just up and became one is beyond me.”

“Then why are you guys here? Why aren’t you in hiding?”

“We were,” Ken said. “Soon as Penn and Jenny told us you’d been found, we had to come see you.”

“So that’s what took you all so long…”

“And why no one would tell you anything about us.”

“Nobody here is going to breathe a word about you, either,” Jenny assured. She grinned. “We’re actually here to ‘break you out’, as it were. So they have an alibi.” Benny’s eyes went wide.

“But- but what if I’m not-”

“You’re fine,” Penelope assured. “Like I said. Regenerative abilities. You’re actually cleared to leave now.” She tossed a backpack at him. He caught it and unzipped it; his blue spacesuit was inside. “Get ready Benny, we’re blowing this popsicle stand.”

[umnitsa]

I think the Drabble “I just got out of the shower, I can’t dance. What if my towel falls off?” Is perfect for a story with alexei

There we go. So, I must admit I agree completely, and it goes hand in hand with my headcanon that Alexei loves music. I feel like I went overboard with cute on this one, but it wouldn't leave my head, and I hope you like it! (oh, I like Russian music, but I don't actually speak Russian, so... Translations are Google Translate provided, and I am sorry <3 I just wanted to shove two of my favorites in the fanfic.) ****

You knew Alexei had spent a long time locked away. He didn’t talk about it, preferring to talk about earlier memories from when he considered himself a hero. But you knew.

He spent hours trolling through youtube, listening to music, trying to catch up with the times or at least cover the gap in his knowledge. He was curious.

And suddenly, he had a playlist. Playlists. Plural.

He would just start playing one of them when he got in a certain mood. And the music would be a tiny window, a glimpse through his gruff exterior, into his soul.

He was in the shower, humming happily, music drifting through the speakers in the house. It was Russian, with a deep melodic voice following a catchy bop and an orchestra that made you smile. It sounded like something from the seventies, the marked cadences and brass sections making your hips move side to side.

You could hear Alexei reciting the song, keeping the rhythm, conscious he couldn’t sing to save his life. So he wouldn’t sing. Instead, it became a tiny performance, Alexei acting out the song, his voice booming as he marched around, hands out. The shower stopped, and you could hear him moving. His noises seemed to be in rhythm with the song.

As you expected, his voice started getting louder, and you moved to face the bathroom door. He was beautiful when he looked happy.

Alexei opened the door; his voice was thunderous as he recited the lyrics. His hand was closed over his heart, and he faced the floor, his face contorted in sadness. He opened his eyes, then frowned, looking at you, his acting disappearing suddenly.

“I just got out of the shower; I can’t dance.” He said, pointing at your hips. You realized you were still unconsciously dancing, which made you giggle.

“I’m sorry, it sounds… fun. I can’t help.”

“It is a sad song, you know? It’s a farewell song.” He moved close to you, towel wrapped around his waist, and leaned against the wall. He frowned, trying to find the best words. “Goodbye, and don't promise anything, don't say anything. To understand my sadness, look into the empty sky.”

“But the tune…”

“Yeah, the sadness… It’s in the voice.” Alexei scratched his belly. You started dancing again, amused. He chuckled, and you raised your eyebrows at him in a challenge. “Can’t dance.”

“Why not?”

“What if my towel falls off?” He looks down, chuckling, patting his thigh. You noticed how the enormous towel still looked tiny around him, showing some of his meaty thighs. Unconsciously, you stretched your back, desire pooling in your lower belly.

You sighed, considering what could go wrong if his towel fell off and it downed on you; you couldn’t find one thing.

The song ended, being substituted by some progressive rock, a soulful guitar intro leading to a soft nasal voice.

“This one is about an astronaut missing home. Enough is enough.” Alexei chuckled and moved to the mobile phone. The playlist shifted into a funky groove carried by a deep bass; the guitar sounded almost like part of the percussion. “Bedroom.”

You quickly moved to the bedroom, the soundtrack filling you with this strange sense of familiarity. Throwing yourself into the bed, you turned right in time to see Alexei at the door, tugging on the towel, then carelessly discarding it on the floor. He smiled, slowly moving in your direction.

“This rhythm I can dance to. They call it Porn Groove.”

[synergysilhouette]

Remaking 3 more of Fox's "X-Men" films

Here we go! I hope you liked my other post for Fox's X-Men, because I've got more ideas for their other films.

X-Men: Phoenix--I honestly didn't know what to do with First Class since, to my knowledge, it's mainly an original story. Because of this, I'm forgoing the past X-Men stories and keeping everything in the present, continuing on with the Dark Phoenix arc. I'm probably about to screw up this storyline (I wouldn't be the first one) since I have A LOT going on, but I do hope you appreciate some of my creativity. Given the content, this could probably be two movies. I was torn on whether or not to go the comic-accurate "space adventure with a cosmic entity" or the modern "alternate personality" route. I went with the former for the fans, but tell me if the alternate personality concept would be better!

Recap: Decimation has already happened, leaving Wolverine, Storm, Havok, Jean, Shadowcat, and Colosuss (as well as younger mutants) as the only X-Men with powers. As a result in the decline of mutants, Xavier's institute has formed a contract with the government to ensure the remaining mutants' safety and protection. Returning from mission to rescue NASA astronauts, Jean in exposed to a solar flare that unlocks her full potential as a telepath.

During this point, many powerless students have returned to their normal lives, though some (such as Cyclops and Rogue) stay at the mansion still, earning ire from some anti-mutant groups. However, life is somewhat better: Scott can see without his glasses, and Rogue is able to socialize without reservation. However, following Jean's declaration that she is called the Phoenix, she dissappears, and several months afterwards, Scott goes on a mission to find her, believing to have found her at a family reunion in Alaska, but is shocked to find she has no memory at all, and is bewildered by his question about the phoenix and calling herself Madelyne. Owing her survival to a scientist named Nathaniel Essex, Scott feels indebted to him and accepts Essex's offer to help Jean unlock her memory. Alex, at the reunion also, alterts the Professor, who advises him to keep an eye on Essex. During this period, Madelyne says she has strange dreams, which Scott assumes are her memories resurfacing. We catch glimpses of them, such as the reparation of an alien crystal.

At this point, it is revealed that Mastermind still has his powers, and hopes to join the Hellfire Club, consisting of Emma Frost, Sebastian Shaw, Donald Pierce, and Henry Leland. During this period of time, we see via Jean's dreams that Mastermind seduced her into believing she is the black queen. At this point, Essex encourages Cyclops to return home, as the stress of helping Jean has gotten to him, though Alex insists on staying. At this point, it's revealed that seeing Jean being seduced by Mastermind were actually present-time events, as the X-Men (Wolverine, Colossus, Storm, Shadowcat, and new recruits Dazzler, Banshee, and Forge) find out after being captured by her. The Madelyne is a clone, though Xavier doubts she has knowledge of it. It's noted her dreams were actually of being cloned, and that we were secretly seeing the real Jean as Phoenix.

As Alex feels bad for Madelyne's abuse by Essex and Clone Jean appreciates his kindness, they begin a relationship while Alex tries to find a way to beat Essex, who has much more secrets. Emma Frost attempts to distract a newly-returned Cyclops from finding out where the real Jean is, but he rebuffs her advances and attempts to find Jean, only for Mastermind to probe his memories with the clone and betraying Jean. It's revealed that Jean is possessed by a cosmic entity known as the Phoenix, and the Hellfire Club crave her power, especially since there aren't as many mutants here anymore. This twists her even further, fleeing to space, where she devours a planet for nourishment. The Shi'ar empire is alerted to her presence, but she easily defeats them when they try to destroy her.

Jean returns home, and she notes how she can't hold back the Phoenix for much longer. The X-Men arrive to try to talk her down, and she wonders if she'll ever be free of other people's fear. It is revealed Xavier managed to track down Wanda, who restored his powers in order to fight Jean, though she refuses to help anyone else. The X-Men have reservations about this, given how much of a threat Wanda is, and they blame her further when the phoenix defeats the professor as soon as he secures psychic barriers around her mind to give Jean more control. The film ends with the abduction of the X-Men by the Shi'ar.

Post-Credits Scene: It's revealed that Emma Frost has her own school that has a small share of mutants, which has received an influx of students, given renewed hate for mutants. Beast notes that the Xavier Institute also receives new students, dubbing them the New Mutants. Havok returns with Madelyne, claiming Essex disappeared suddenly. It is revealed that this is not true, as Alex have been brainwashed by Essex, going by Mister Sinister, to keep tabs on the X-Men, and hints that Madelyne is pregnant--strangely at 9 months. Bonus: It's not shown a lot, but we see certain relationships grow stronger (Colossus and Kitty's romance, as well as Kurt and Rogue's sibling relationship). I'd also introduce Gambit around here, and show a blossoming relationship with him and Rogue.

New Mutants: I won't lie. I never saw the movie. This is just my idea, loosely based on my take on them in my "X-Men: Evolution" remake. I'll try to condense it more than the Phoenix saga.

Following her failure to control the Phoenix force, Emma Frost turns her attention to her own school, which houses a small amount of mutants, who she uses as weapons. Seeing that the X-Men are in space, she decides to wage war on the remaining mutants at the school with her Hellions, who include Hellion, Empath, Wither, Dust, Magma, and Warpath. Beast, being the only teacher left, cultivates what mutants are left, forming a team out of the strongest of them: Magik, Mirage, Wolfsbane, Cannonball, Sunspot, and Cypher. Amidst all of the emotional stuff within the Phoenix Saga, I enjoy the idea of this being a lot lighter, more fun, seeing the teens at school with a rivalry from the newly transferred Hellions, punctured by the Inferno storyline.

While taking the group on a "fun" stop in Limbo, Ilyana's demon powers emerge. While she marvels at her powers and the other mutants practice their own, Madelyne gives birth to twins, though to her horror, Ilyana's lack of control of her powers teleports them away from her. Discovering their disappearance, Sinister shows up to discover what has occurred, making Alex and Madelyne defeat the mutants and kidnap Beast, who Sinister brainwashes through cruel torture. He also reveals to Madelyne that she is a clone of Jean Grey, made out of Sinister's obsession with Jean and Scott's DNA, believing they will give birth to the perfect mutant. Viewing Alex as a satisfying alternative to Scott while Sinister searches for the twins, he manipulates Madelyne by reminding her of Alex's true love for her.

Curropted by her demonic urges, Ilyana decides to invade Earth, and her teammates rush to stop her, managing to convince Warpath and Magma to help them. Rahne and a human Nightcrawler eventually manage to talk her down, but even after shutting down the portal and preventing more demons from coming to Earth, the demon N'astirh possesses Madelyne and vows to find her children in order to use them as sacrifices to reopen the portal for Limbo. However, in an attempt to not be used as a pawn any longer, she wills herself to die at the combined onslaught of the New Mutants and some of the Hellions, revealing that she was created with a spark of the Phoenix Force. Emma, in her bid for power, makes herself a host for the force, though it bids her to return to one form, making her go to find Jean.

The film ends with Sinister destroying the mansion, but to the mutants' surprise, there are people willing to take in some of the mutants, having seen them go against the demons (not realizing it was Ilyana who caused it). Warpath and Magma join the New Mutants as well, with Warpath having let go of his hate for the X-Men.

Post-credits scene: The X-Men arrive on the Shi'ar ship, and are told that Jean Grey must die. Meanwhile, we see Emma Frost approach them, claiming she wants to help and knows how to defeat the Phoenix, not revealing that she intends to take this power for her own.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix--I'm gonna try and keep this concise. You know how this story goes.

Xavier challenges the Shi'ar empress Lilandra to a duel, which she cannot refuse. During this time, we see flashbacks of Jean as a child, joining the X-Men (with the original group being made up of her, Cyclops, Beast, Storm, and the Professor), as well as how her romance has impacted Wolverine and Cyclops. Forge takes note of the Shi'ar technology here, as well as Cyclops rebuffing Emma's seduction attempts, due to his feelings for Jean, as well as his experience with Madelyne and Emma's affiliation with the Hellfire Club.

When Charles wins the duel, he insists on letting the Imperial Guard and the X-Men fight in order to decide who will deal with the Phoenix. Wolverine and Jean share a tender moment, and Scott is vulnerable enough for Emma to invade his mind, mentally sleeping with him as Jean, but Jean sees this and once again feels as though Scott has betrayed her. Xavier, trying once again to tighten the control on Jean's mind, is killed in his attempt, leaving the X-Men horrified. Emma, sensing her chance, attempts to absorb the Phoenix power for herself, only for Jean to strip her of her spark, as the phoenix sees Jean as a more powerful host.

Jean attempts to hold back with what little willpower she has, though the X-Men realize the Phoenix cannot be contained. They battle the imperial guard, thinking back on times that they got to share with Xavier, as well as thinking about the message Alex sent Charles on the events of the previous film. During the battle, Scott is severely wounded after he jumps into battle to save Jean, and he laments that he couldn't live a normal life with his family while still knowing Jean, promising that he only truly loved her. He dies, and Jean's final restraints threaten to break. Noticing an ancient Shi'ar weapon, she uses it to destroy herself, releasing the Phoenix into the atmosphere. The X-Men return home, grieving their losses, with a defeated Emma Frost with them. They attempt to pick up the pieces, only for it to be revealed that any hope for normalcy once again threatened, this time from Mr. Sinister, as Alex warns them of the danger Sinister presents, especially if he finds his and Madelyne's children. While searching, they discover Collosus has gone missing.

Post-credits scene: It is revealed that Mr. Sinister was working for Apocalypse, the first mutant, and has recruited his horsemen: a brainwashed and repowered Angel (now Archangel) as Death, Polaris as Pestilence, a new mutant named Sunfire as Famine, and Colossus as war.

Lemme know what you think! I was gonna do the Apocalypse saga next, but I wanna get feedback on this, first.

[13thpythagoras]

wow cute rabbit hole

So no scientist disputes that the moon is hollow.

This will cause cognitive dissonance, because it's one of those facts not taught in schools because standardized test writers weren't aware. But check wikipedia if you're curious, I've posted that link many times and won't bore my followers with it yet again. Just google the apollo 12 seismic survey and read closely. People aren't aware of this because it's hidden behind other text - scary....

No scientist would dispute that there is too much momentum in the earth-moon system than can be accounted for even by the Theia hypothesis, and it's not even close.

In my circles, we know there is more than a "man" in the moon, there are cities of ETs in the moon. That's why just about every apollo mission reported seeing UFOs, because it's a legit base for ETs. Look in your mind and you will see them. They will be able to possibly look back at you seeing them if you do this so tread cautiously and only take fleeting glimpses. There's a famous psychic who made contact with them and realized they're somewhat hostile to us, or at least to us becoming more psychically active.

Google Ingo Swann's story about psychic entities within the moon if you care to learn more there, but Mr. Swann isn't the only psychic reporting these experiences.

https://www.nytimes.com/1971/06/22/archives/astronaut-tells-of-e-s-p-tests.html

^

"What is your take on President Carter crying when briefed on aliens?"

^

Was he losing it over stories like this?

why does the moon have way too much radiation than can be explained by interstellar rays?

ultimately this is the most difficult piece of the puzzle to manage until you hear the full theory

The hypothesis holds that the moon is actually a radiation shield for an armada of alien motherships, that the moon was piloted through interstellar space long ago, potentially over a billion years, this journey left it with elevated levels of radioactivity due to the interstellar travel, as well as significant scarring on the leading side of the moon, which now faces earth. However those traveling inside the moon would not have experienced that, and would have likely had a comfortable ride. This theory allows for an origin story to the gods that may have appeared to those who wrote ancient "holy" texts. It's plausible that these civs within the moon are genetically engineering life on earth to match their wishes, and not all their wishes are exaclty the same, which is a theme we see repeated in many ancient religious texts.

It's possible that a number of alien species live within the moon / on the far side, they don't all get along, and that's why we don't all get along on earth either; we are perhaps avatars playing out the larger struggle of the heavens; and me I'm perhaps that religious reformer connecting these galactically-disparate ideas that actually relate to each ohter.

It's possible that the myriad ET species that came in with the moon are terraforming and genetically engineering life on earth to accelerate its trajectory toward their goals and ideals, which may overlap in areas, and in other areas, may compete. Obviously there's a government for these ETs somewhere...food for thought, unfinished thoughts clearly

[dialaster]

The Starboy and The Astronaut

A Date in Space?!

(Short fanfiction I wrote about Norm and Eddie<33 [Sheriff's Star] I love gay people!)

Soon it'll all be over at least that's what Norm told himself. He wasn't quite sure where he was. In fairness, he didn't know if he would ever get out of the wormhole alive.

He spaced out, lost in thought, until he caught a glimpse of light which captured his attention.

A star? attached to... a man? Another man floating in space? Norm couldn't believe his eyes, the seemingly distressed guy was alive.

Although he didn't look completely human, the astronaut's sense of justice got the best of him, he couldn't just leave an innocent living being to die.

Norm wasn't all that confident in his choice. This could lead to his demise for all he knew. He reached for his holster, getting ready to protect himself in the possibility, he needed to be cautious, having no idea what species the creature belonged to, though, before he could ask any questions, he was met with warmth accompanied by soft sobs. This man is cryin' in my arms. He doubted if this was all an act to make him let his guard down for a moment, before realizing the vulnerability of the person standing before him. He returned the embrace, he'd hate to admit that he needed this as much as the stranger did.

After crying his heart out, all was quiet and calm, the both taking some time to enjoy the short time.

Pulling away, the odd fella chuckled nervously, sheepishly introducing himself “S-sorry about that, it's... I had a long day? Week? I actually don't know how long it's been...

Uh... Name's Eddie! Eddie Stella, it's nice to meet you- your name is?” he awkwardly held out his hand.

Norm could finally see what Eddie really looked like, he took note of his appearance... his head was a star-shaped telephone, not all that surprising, object heads were slowly becoming more commonplace at the time. What truly fascinated him was the tail, slim and long with a glowing star at its end and his paws, the bigger part was heart shaped while the smaller were little stars. Aside from that he looked fairly normal, he was wearing a nice light blue suit, the color broken by the dark blue of the tie with tiny pois on it reminding Norm of the starry sky at night. Additionally, he had two pins, one was a star, matching the rest of his outfit and judging from the text “I only cried 5 times today.” him as a person too. He couldn't figure out what the other pin meant though, it was a rainbow infinity symbol.

“Mr astronaut guy? Are you there?” Eddie mumbled. Norm recognized that he had been staring for a concerning amount of time.

“'scuse me, pardner, I ain't quite used t' seein'... people like ya. 'm sergeant Norman Allen.”

“Sergeant Norman Allen... Norm Allen...” the telephone man muttered under his breath. It sounded oh so nice. Like no word or name ever has... he could repeat his name forever. “O-oh, oh! Yes- I figured, you must be human, I'm what you'd call an alien...”

Norm's eyes widened, he's talking to an alien. The same alien he soothed. The one he saved. He decided not to let the information shock him too much though. Asking the next question he would've liked an answer to.

“Eddie, how did y' end up here? Don'tcha got a home-planet t' return t'?”

Eddie's tail moved between his legs. Uh oh. Shouldn't have asked that. “Can we please talk about this later? I promise I'll explain- I... don't wanna break down in front of you again.”

Norm felt empathy for the strange alien, figuring that might be a sensitive topic for him. “O' course, lil fella, let's get outta here.”

The cowboy smiled at him as Eddie's tail wagged. He thought he'd never forget that gorgeous, charming, smile. That beautiful grin he could stare at for hours... It was making him feel something he has never felt before. He didn't understand... Is that how humans make you feel? Is that why other aliens were wary of them? It was pleasant though... Like a bunch of butterflies were playing around in his stomach. Maybe he liked humans... Perhaps he wanted to spend more time with him.

[buzzinfoxyz]

Netflix Latest Movies List: What's New on Netflix?

Netflix, the popular streaming platform, continues to amaze its subscribers with a wide range of captivating movies. Whether you enjoy thrillers, romantic comedies, or action-packed adventures, Netflix has got you covered. In this article, we will explore the latest movies added to Netflix's extensive library. From acclaimed blockbusters to hidden gems, we'll reveal the must-watch films that will keep you entertained for hours on end.

The following section presents a comprehensive list of the latest movies recently added to Netflix's collection. Prepare your popcorn and get ready for an incredible cinematic experience:

"The Trial of the Chicago 7":

Director: Aaron Sorkin

Genre: Drama/Thriller

Summary: Based on true events, this gripping courtroom drama follows the trial of seven individuals charged with inciting riots during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

"Enola Holmes":

Director: Harry Bradbeer

Genre: Mystery/Adventure

Summary: Embark on an exhilarating journey with Enola Holmes, the teenage sister of Sherlock Holmes, as she embarks on a quest to find her missing mother while unraveling a dangerous conspiracy.

"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom":

Director: George C. Wolfe

Genre: Drama/Music

Summary: Set in 1920s Chicago, this powerful film depicts the tensions and struggles faced by a talented blues singer and her band during a recording session.

"The Midnight Sky":

Director: George Clooney

Genre: Science Fiction/Drama

Summary: George Clooney directs and stars in this post-apocalyptic tale where a lonely scientist in the Arctic races to stop a group of astronauts from returning to a devastated Earth.

"I Care a Lot":

Director: J Blakeson

Genre: Thriller/Comedy

Summary: Rosamund Pike delivers a stellar performance as a cunning legal guardian who deceives her elderly clients until she encounters a wealthy woman who proves to be more than she bargained for.

"Pieces of a Woman":

Director: Kornél Mundruczó

Genre: Drama

Summary: Vanessa Kirby delivers an emotional portrayal of a woman who grapples with the loss of her baby and the resulting consequences on her relationships.

"The White Tiger":

Director: Ramin Bahrani

Genre: Drama/Crime

Summary: Experience the dark realities of social inequality in India as a driver rises from poverty and becomes entangled in a web of ambition, corruption, and murder.

Why Should You Watch Netflix's Latest Movies?

Variety: Netflix caters to a diverse range of movie lovers. From nail-biting thrillers to heartwarming dramas, there is truly something for everyone.

Convenience: Unlike traditional theater releases, you have the freedom to watch these compelling movies at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home.

Fresh Content: With new films being added regularly, you'll always have something to look forward to and be up-to-date with the latest releases.

Acclaimed Performances: Many of these latest movies feature stellar performances from renowned actors, promising an unforgettable viewing experience.

Timeless Stories: These movies offer a glimpse into different eras, societies, and cultures, providing a rich and immersive storytelling experience.

Netflix's latest movies list presents a treasure trove of cinematic delights for movie enthusiasts. With an ever-growing collection of captivating films, Netflix ensures that there is never a shortage of quality entertainment. From thought-provoking dramas to adrenaline-pumping adventures, the platform continues to push boundaries and cater to all tastes. So, grab your remote, sit back, and immerse yourself in the world of Netflix's latest movies!

[alicemaeisawitch]

An Introductory Post

hi, I'm Alice Mae and I haven't got a clue what I'm doing here!

OK, that's actually a bit of an exaggeration. I don't quite know the ins and outs of Tumblr, I'm fairly experienced at journalling. I have kept journals since I was a teenager - everything from dear diary, to scrapbook journalling, gratitude journaling, reflective, guided... I have shelves of notebooks filled and it always gives me such joy.  

I've never shared these thoughts, so the idea of posting it online gives me some sense of apprehension. I need to work out what level of my life I feel comfortable sharing, how deep this is going to go. Time, of course, will tell and the only way to find out is to jump in. 

So why am I now choosing to bring my journalling online?  Mostly it's because I'm nosycurious about reading others, and it only seems fair for me to do the same. I love people watching, I am endlessly fascinated in the story of human beings, our cultures and the societies we form, and how we interact with each other, within our own societies & cultures and with those from different ones, and with the world around us - there's a reason I have various degrees in anthropology & archaeology (and it's not just because I still want to be either Lara Croft, Sydney Fox, Indiana Jones, Daniel Jackson or Blair Sandburg when I grow up!) I'm looking forward to the opportunity to shares the things that bring me joy, and the chance to get a little glimpse into peoples lives through the things they choose to share genuinely fascinates me! 

It also only seems fair to share a little about me. The basic details are I'm Alice Mae, I'm over 30, I'm Welsh and I live in Devon. I'm a white cis-gender bisexual woman and my pronouns are she/her.  My main interests are Egyptology, archaeology, anthropology and folklore (especially Egyptian mythology and witchcraft, and the witch trials of Early Modern Europe (and beyond)). I have a growing interest in aliens, ufology and the psuedo-history/science of ancient aliens/ancient astronaut theory. No, I have no idea why either, but I've learned to not question random interests - instead I embrace them and see where they go!  I also enjoy reading, crossword puzzles, visiting museums, and am regularly kicked out of coffee shops becase they want to close and I've lost track of time in the back corner! I am fuelled by copious amounts of caffeine, sugar and heavy metal music. 

I am about to make another post about my fannish interests because this one is getting a bit long now. 

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading and welcome to my blog. It's lovely to meet you, please feel free to leave me a comment and tell me a little about yourself (this is obviously not some kind of requirement - it would just be nice to know!).  And, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

[nicanicani]

THE MOON movie review

Let's start with minor details before I write my movie review. I watched this movie with my two college friends, they are 2/3 of my movie buddies. And the movie was sponsored by Vampedia in exchange of a review.

Me and my friends chose to watch the block screening hosted by one of the fanclubs dedicated to EXO here in the Philippines, named EXO Vento PH. As far as I know they handle events that are related and dedicated to EXO as a group and it's members' individual activities. It was my first time joining their event, it's simple but organized. The admins were friendly and accomodating.

The block screening was held at SM Grand Central Cinema 2 last August 27, 2023. We paid for the movie tickets plus a fan kit that includes some fanmade photocards, The Moon wristband, The Moon attendee card, and The Moon movie postcard. Early birds got the chance to score some free snacks too, but too bad for us we're late and missed the free snacks.

Since we are from Bulacan, we traveled 2 hours by bus and then by grab car going to SMGC.

Prior to this event I won a penguin crocheted keychain from their twitter giveaway and I claimed it during the block screening. It's penguin because penguin represents Kyungsoo. 😂 10/10 for the penguin it's super cute!

Before, during, and after the movie we all eat. 🤣

KFC chicken and rice meal before the movie

Fruit smoothie and popcorn during the movie

Popeyes chicken and spaghetti after the movie

We chose a cheaper ride going back home to Bulacan. We rode LRT from SMGC then bus to SMF then jeep to SMSJDM. Wow mall hopping. 😅

Brought home donuts for my family

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GOING BACK TO MOVIE REVIEW NOW.....

The Moon is about an astronaut who is stranded in the moon, Hwang Sun-woo wants to successfully land on the moon to fulfill his father's dream but misfortunes and tragedy follows him. Stuck in the far side of the moon alone, during meteor shower, with limited oxygen, and damaged spaceship. He and his team also struggles to get help from NASA.

So..... it was sooooooo good, and this is coming from a person who's not a huge fan of sci-fi films, Kyungsoo being my EXO biased is just a bonus. I will try my best not to drop too much spoilers BUT my reviews always includes spoilers. So if you're sensitive to spoiler please stop reading this review now.

1. Storyline -

I kind of expected the movie to be confusing and complicated just because it's sci-fi. That's my prejudice about this genre. But surprisingly the flow of the story was smooth and easy to digest. There were side stories here and there, some flashbacks too, but they presented it clean and it did not confuse the viewers. There were some small twists and it made the story more emotional. Also there were some part where we can't help but laugh. The dynamic of the heavy situation mixed with minor comedy is comforting. I love that while we were worried about the main character, the film still gave us some laughs that balanced our emotions.

2. Cinematography -

Hands down to all the people behind the effects both in visual and in sounds. Me and my friends kept praising how beautiful the effects are, this movie has high budget and that will make the viewers more satisfied. The explosions, the moon itself, the sound effects, all of those are perfect. The meteor shower was scary, got a glimpse of how it looks like through this movie, it's both fascinating and scary.

3. Characters -

So this part, one of the main reason why I decided to watch this film was because of Do Kyungsoo. And it did not disappoint me, Hwang Sun-woo which was played by D.O. is a very likeable character. Sun-woo is strong-willed he is determined and while he lacks knowledge in fixing their ship, with his efforts he managed to bring himself back to the other (safer) side of the moon. I love that he never forgets his colleagues. The supporting characters has their own strength as well, even the father of Hwang has a huge impact in the film. Some characters will annoy you but most of the supporting characters are good. My favorite character aside from Hwang (of course he is my most favorite in this film), is Minyoung/Jennifer, she works at NASA and used to work with Hwang's father. She chose to sacrifice her position for Hwang to get help and return to the earth. I love that despite of a possibility that she will be kick out from NASA and lose her job, she still did all her best to help Hwang Sun-woo and his team. It takes courage and empathy to do that, she set aside her dreams and hard work to save a life. And I know it's hard to sacrifice yourself for others but if it could save a life then like her, I believe it's worth the shot.

4. Actors/Actresses -

Everyone was good, I am familiar with most of the actors inside this film, but I never saw the characters they portrayed before in this film, they owned their characters here and that just proved how good and versatile South Korean actors are. Do Kyungsoo deserves a best actor award for this film and role.

5. Ending -

The ending was good as well, the movie started good and it ended good. They just missed some important parts like the rescue, I was hoping they will include that part.

Movie Rating: 10/10

No biased, but this film is one of the bests this year. Do Kyungsoo will surely bag awards for this movie, I am manifesting this because he deserves it. I'll definitely rewatch this again and I encourage you people to support and watch The Moon in cinemas. It's worth the money and time (and long travel in our case).

my short version of movie review for Vampedia

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I would like to thank Vampedia and its admins for giving me another opportunity to make a review. 🫶🏻

EDIT: I think I forgot to mention that we cried, we cried in first 15 minutes, we cried in the middle, we cried before the ending and the whole cinema applauded after the movie.

[world-cinema-research]

Similarities of Blue Velvet and Chungking Express by Natalyn Wakeling

Blue Velvet 1986 and Chungking Express 1994

Starting from my perception of the films, I found similarities between both of the films of elements I liked and disliked about them. I enjoyed how both films had moments that made me think deeply, and reflect. In Blue Velvet, it was certain glimpses we got of Dorothy and Jeffries interactions, and their inner conscious being revealed. In Chungking Express, it was the aspect of human longing in both storylines. This particular line of dialogue from Chungking Express really resonated with me: "We're all unlucky in love sometimes. When I am, I go jogging. The body loses water when you jog, so you have none left for tears." I thought it was a very deep and great way of explaining the feeling of human longing.

Critically, both films received praise from scholarly sources. University of California Press dismisses a lot of the negative commentary on Blue Velvet's sexual content, and focuses on the plot, visuals, and character connections in the film. They particularly applaud the symbolism of the scene with the white picket fence and the man collapsing to the ground with all the bugs lying under him. Chungking Express was noted by Harvard to be "genre bending" and having great visuals that create a dreamlike feel to the film. I could see this is scenes in the way they depict time, like when May is watching the officer in the shop and everyone is walking by fast but they are both in slow motion.

University of California Press on Blue Velvet

 Harvard Review on Chungking Express

The films were released almost a decade apart, which means that the particular social, economic, and political climates of the times were different, however, there are some aspects of similarity in the events that happened these years. In 1986, release year of Blue Velvet, the Challenger Space Shuttle incident occurred. This was a big social shock to everyone of the time because "McAuliffe was to conduct at least two lessons from orbit and then spend the following nine months lecturing students across the United States.". This was the teacher who was amongst the astronauts, and many people anticipated her lectures both in space and at her return. It was also a very widely broadcasted event, and many people watched the space shuttle malfunction in live time. (Challenger Shuttle Disaster) That leads into another historical event, this time in the year 1994. This event is similar to the Challenger event because it too had many social implications, and was widely broadcasted. That would be the verdict of the OJ Simpson Trial. His "not guilty" ruling stirred a lot of people, and there were groups both in favor of and against the ruling. "majority of African Americans supported it, seeing Simpson’s acquittal as a victory in a legal system that systematically discriminated against blacks." This event was very widely broadcasted, which gave people an outlet to form opinions on the ruling decision. (OJ Simpson Not Guilty)

In terms of style of the film, there was one aspect I noticed was similar to both. The dreamlike scenes that were included in both that added a great visual and deeper meaning aspect to the films. In Blue Velvet, it was the colors when Dorothy was performing, and the music in general that created this dream like state.

In Chungking Express, the dreamlike state of the film was created through filming technique and timing effects. There were people being chaotically chased by the camera often times throughout the film which made it feel almost as if it were a dream. Also the speed of certain scenes and inner monologue created the scene as if it were almost a dream.

The inner monologue and filming technique of this scene reminds me of when I am running in a dream. The eerie lighting, point of view changes, and music are all dreamlike.

The last similar aspect of these films is that both of them are unconventional. Both are not the average, stereotypical Hollywood film. They fall more under the art category in terms of both having lower budgets, and the content. Both of these films I don't really see in terms of casual viewing. Blue Velvet had potential for a stereotypical murder mystery story line, but the sick and twisted aspect of Frank's character and his abuse of power and sexual impulses made it an uncomfortable watch for even critics like Ebert. Chungking Express was a Hong Kong film, that was low budget and had a storyline that was hard to follow. The basic concept of the film was easy to follow, but the two storylines and almost unfinished and missing pieces to both made it hard to follow at times. The inner monologue and style of filming are also very representative of an unconventional art film.

Overall, even though both of these films are quite different, and I would never normally compare them, it wasn't hard to find similarities in terms of styles and themes found in both films. Even though they are filmed almost a decade apart, there are also some similarities of the social climate of the times.