#z nation universe

[disturbingstar]

Z nation trivia

• Several of the actors/crew lived together while filming the first season in Spokane, Washington, to save on costs. This included Anastasia Baranova (Addy) and Michael Welch (Mack).

• The first season was recorded on a tight schedule, with an episode being fully recorded within six days, with most shoots only allowing three takes.

• Keith Allan (Murphy) was working for The Asylum production company as a stage hand when they were tasked with Z Nation (2014). They suggested he audition for the role of Murphy and he ended up getting the part

• In one of the episodes, survivors are seen eating "Twinkies" - a nod to Zombieland (2009).

• As the character of Murphy continued to evolve, it was decided that the blue skin aspect of the character would be removed. This was largely due to the fact that the makeup itself was extremely irritating to actor Keith Allan, causing some minor skin complications as he had no choice but to wear the make up sometimes over 12 hours a day during filming.

• As of the end of season 5, 10K's kill-count is 8,999.

• Season 3 was still filming while the first episodes of season 3 aired.

• Russell Hodgkinson, who played Steven "Doc" Beck, also appeared in Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017) in the same role.

• Kellita Smith currently plays Lt. Roberta Warren on Z-Nation. She then played Sergeant Roberta Warren in the movie Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015). Both are productions of The Asylum.

• On December 23, 2018, Syfy canceled the series after five seasons.

• Tom Everett Scott knew when agreeing to play Garnett that his character would be killed off in episode 6 Resurrection Z (2014). Before recording the episode some producers brought up keeping his character on longer but this idea was shot down.

• According to Karl Schaefer the apocalypse of Z Nation began on November 9th 2016.

• Russell Hodgkinson (Doc) and his wife came up with the idea for 'Z Weed' while gardening in their backyard. Simply grow marijuana using compost containing dead zombie parts.

• As of Season 4, although still listed in the credits as part of the main cast, Anastasia Baranova is no longer a regular member of the cast and has been reduced to "recurring" status. Anastasia's contract is non-restricted, leaving her open to pursue other projects. During filming for Season 4, Anastasia was already tied to 3 other projects, including 2 television series and a movie. The character of Addy has therefore been temporarily written out of the show until Anastasia could commit to working on it again.

• Katy O'Brian confirmed that her character, George, is gay.

• Four different actresses have played Lucy in the series as of the end of season 3

• In the episode "Welcome to Murphytown," The Man escaped hand cuffs by cutting off his own hand. This is a reference to the movie Deadpool (2016) where he does the same thing. It also occurred in The Walking Dead when the character Merle was handcuffed on the roof. He cut his hand off to get free.

• Anastasia Baranova wanted her character, Addy, to be bi-sexual to represent more of the real world.

(All trivia is from IMDb)

[that1-trashman]

If anyone's wondering...this the photo of my header. Yes I made this collage. It's of my favorite characters. Go ahead. Analyze it. Call me out on my patterns.

[project-sekai-facts]

While no real-life social media sites are mentioned due to copyright, a few are referenced via slightly-altered names. Most notable is Nightcord, which is a substitute for Discord based on the name and UI.

Other notable examples include TrickTrick, a video sharing site with lots of popular dance trends, which is a substitute for TiKToK, and PicShare, an popular image sharing site that Ena uses to upload her selfies and art, which is probably a substitute for Instagram (coincidentally, there is also a real site called PicShare).

In the English localisation only, Ena references Twitter in her Social Media Obsessed Artist 1* story. Additionally, an in-universe site called Z was given as a possible answer in the Proseka National Exam, an obvious substitute for Twitter's new name, X.

[zvaigzdelasas]

A North Korean propaganda song extolling Kim Jong Un as “a great leader and a friendly parent” has gone viral on TikTok, with mashups and dances racking up millions of views, leading to South Korea banning the tune due to “psychological warfare.”

Seoul’s media regulator on Monday announced it was blocking access to versions of “Friendly Father,” the cheery propaganda hit that became an unlikely social media sensation.

The song was unveiled in April during a nighttime concert to mark the completion of a housing project in the capital Pyongyang, according to North Korean state-run Korean Central News Agency.

Its lyrics praise Kim [...] as “a great leader and a friendly parent,” and the music video depicts North Koreans enthusiastically belting out the orchestral song proclaiming that Kim “takes care of us with affection.”[...]

The song went viral after content creators around the world used it to make their own edits of the music video adding dances and unserious captions to their own short one-minute clips on the platform, garnering over 2 million views.

“This isn’t Gen Z suddenly declaring allegiance for the regime,” said Alexandra Leonzini, a Cambridge University scholar conducting research on North Korean music.

“They’re laughing at the regime not with the regime.”

Nonetheless, South Korean security officials came down on the parodies. The Korea Communications Standards Commission decided to block 29 videos of the song, following a request from Seoul’s National Intelligence Service. But some versions of the song on YouTube were still accessible to users in South Korea as of Wednesday.[...]

The ban was not a surprise, as the country’s National Security Act blocks access to North Korean government websites and media, restricting exposure to Kim’s autocratic regime and penalizing behaviors promoting its authoritarian and nuclear-armed neighbor.

22 May 24

[centrally-unplanned]

The trick on the whole "Israel banning UNRWA" thing is that most militaries - like say the US in Afghanistan for example - directly provision aid. American soldiers would often be handing out food packages themselves, and even if they weren't the aid organizations would be directly contracting with the US government and the Department of Defense. You have a group in the military and the government that is like, okay, how do we feed people, let's hit those targets.

So if Congress decided to ban the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan in 2006 from operating in the country or whatever, that bill would say like "we hand over its mission to USAID, which has been allocated $2.1 billion dollars in FY-2005 to do X Y Z". It would probably be a dumb move that would create unnecessary friction and cost lives for political bullshit, but that is also life, people dying for political bullshit is a universal constant. It would probably be pretty small bore in the scale of things, like switching over contractors.

That isn't how Israel does things. I might be wrong about this, Israel is deliberately opaque about these things and I just gave this the ol' half hour of googling, I am open to being contradicted here. But my current understanding of net spending by the government of Israel itself on aid to Gaza is...$0. They do not provide aid. They permit aid from other organizations, funded by other countries, to be provided! But they don't take responsibility for the provision; meeting targets, outcomes, etc, none of that is their job. (I am sure it isn't literally zero btw, but I think you get my point)

It is really telling that when you look up pro-Israel statements by say AIPAC on aid, their headlines are:

Israel Facilitates Humanitarian Aid to Gaza as Hamas Continues to Attack

And they criticize the UN because the UN trucks aren't being delivered:

The United Nations and other international agencies are largely responsible for the existing delays in aid deliveries into Gaza. The U.N. has not been able to distribute aid at the rate that Israel is processing it, causing back-ups at the border crossings after Israeli inspections are completed. On March 3, the U.N. received 234 trucks in Gaza but only distributed 131 trucks of aid to civilians in the enclave.

If this was the US military, and the UN was getting aid trucks and failing to send them, we would send more of our own trucks? That we have? Because aid is part of the military operation. But Israel doesn't do that - because it doesn't have any trucks. Because aid isn't part of the military operation.

Which is why the bill banning UNRWA that is being passed does not mention aid provision to Gaza:

The international community has raised alarm over the legislation, which was passed without a plan in place for a humanitarian agency to replace UNRWA.

Again going off news sources here, link for the actual bill is currently down, if I am wrong will correct here, but I think it all tracks. So in the article above, you get statements from the government when people ask about aid, they reply, oh yeah these other aid organizations will fill the gap.

Then you ask the aid organizations themselves and they go, no, we won't fill the gap! We don't have the resources to do that! Which is logical when you realize Israel isn't funding those orgs. They don't know or care about their funding status. Hopefully someone else will figure that out - aid is someone else's problem. Those government remarks are just off the cuff, they aren't a plan.

Which I want to loop back around to the casus belli for the ban - UNRWA having ties to Hamas. That, to me, is one of those "uh duh, and?" things - Hamas is the government of Gaza. UNRWA runs schools there? And medical clinics? You think they do that...without contact with the government? This is just silly, the UN Mission in Afghanistan obviously had connections to the US Government! Government officials, working in both, par for the course.

But, and this is far more important, it is irrelevant. I completely agree that UNRWA has many people who are sympathetic to Hamas in it, because obviously they do. You want to ban it, dumb but okay. You propose a bill outlining the $2 billion dollars and the 5 partnered aid organizations and the 400 IDF trucks that will deliver aid to replace their work, sure. Whatever man, do your small bore politics bullshit.

That is not what they are doing.

Now, Israel has in fact allowed a bunch of aid in Gaza, I don't doubt that like USAID and the non-profit community and the governments of the UK and Japan and so on are gonna pivot funding to a bunch of organizations that will do herculean work stepping up operations and interfacing with the IDF checkpoint system and get aid in. Maybe they will do such a bang-up job that the cost in suffering won't be that high. Israel did give 3 months after all, they aren't the literal worst they could be.

But I do think at a certain point, the line between indifference and malice just ceases to matter. The UNRWA bill isn't some breaking point or big policy shift - it is just a highly revealing moment in the Israeli approach, why the war there has gone the way that it has. And it is, as the kids say, not a good look.

(h/t @loving-n0t-heyting as this was initially a reblog of their post, but they mentioned getting drama in the notes so I split it off; sorry to deny you the precious +1 internet point)

[ns-imagines]

Nikto никто

Nikto Character Introduction

If you find yourself drooling over possessive and obsessive!Ghost or König lemme introduce you to Nikto…

SFW [ all cannon information ]

Word Count: TBA its a lot

Warnings: Disorder mention; Torture mention; dissociative disorder mentioned;

A/N: Lemme talk to you for a moment…

My new masked crush. Heart and coochie go brrrrrrrrrrrrr

Post has not been checked for grammar corrections / Not requested :D

Cannon Information:

Nikto (Neeek-toe) is a Operator in Spetsnaz for the Allegiance faction which is within the KorTac Organization. Basically hes a contractor for the contractors. Its cannon that he has facial scarring which is why he wears a mask. Not a turn off for me ah ha ha

So he isn’t necessarily a good guy like the 141 guys (even though now they’re considered war criminals I suppose) but he’s also not a bad guy. In summary, man does what he gets hired to do.

Anyways, after going AWOL in October 2022 from the Russian contracting military group he resurfaced in June 2023 (also the introduction of his character in the game). He resurfaced being the leader of a military group which was overtaking the Dutch city of Vondel.

On the Official Wiki he is only given two paragraphs of biography. You can read it here -> https://callofduty.fandom.com/wiki/Nikto

Also mentioned on the page [ for the COD Mobile universe ] is that theres cannon beef between Ghost and Nikto!! Yes, you heard me right. So on the wiki it is mentioned that Nikto was working for a guy named Templar. Whom is betrayed and killed by Ghost. Then when Ghost went after everyone else in the helicopter he shot Nikto. It was thought that Nikto died from the shot but he didnt….

Nikto reappears when he takes a group of people hostage and records a video explaining that the world has failed them and has left people like (Nikto) to beg and then fight over the scraps. Price (yes Price) tries to convince Nikto to let the hostages go and to basically chill out but Nikto wins by blowing up the building. With the hostages inside.

Okay maybe he has beef with all of 141… and is kinda a bad guy I can change him

SO then time passes and Nikto reappears again seeking a gun deal with a dude named Gunzo. Gunzo asks Nikto “why a man wanted on every continent, doesnt have guns” this pisses Nikto off. Nikto replies with “i dont need guns” then proceeds to buy the guns from Gunzo. Then Nikto gasses the fuck out of Gunzo and his men with Nova Gas. Nikto explains to Gunzo that the world is failing blah blah. He then goes on to brag about how he doesnt need a gas mask to breath like everyone else because hes that edgy and then he just executes Gunzo. We can fix him

Nikto disappears again only to reappear flying a F-85B Bullshark and leading a military riot. He then orders a attack on Prices convoy (video below) and basically down their helicopter. In the video below you can see small arms fire, an RPG, and then a finishing shot. Which was shot by Nikto’s aircraft. Okay maybe he is bad, we can fix him ?

Which you can watch here -> https://youtu.be/dDaCTCu82t0

In game bio from MW, CODM, and MW2

It is referenced in his bio MW and CODM that he has acute dissociative disorder. Which according to WebMD

“Dissociative disorders involve problems with memory, identity, emotion, perception, behavior and sense of self. Dissociative symptoms can potentially disrupt every area of mental functioning. Dissociation is a disconnection between a person’s thoughts, memories, feelings, actions or sense of who he or she is.”

Which is explained to be from when he was tortured by Mr. Z. That event is also where he got his facial scarring from. Although he is Russian; in current MW2 timeline his nationality and language is [ REDACTED ]. I was looking around on the internet for why and Reddit believes its due to current world current events/tension. Rewording to: we can accept and love him. I dont think we can fix him.

I don’t expect this post to get a lot of attention but for those who like it my requests are fully open ❤️

i will definitely be posting more Nikto content and what I think Nikto looks like and how he acts.

Thank you for reading! -Kiv

[arinzu]

My Headcannons for Yoichi Isagi, Rin itoshi and Alexis Ness💕

Part 1 l part 2

Might not be accurate

💗💗💗

Yoichi Isagi :

✿He took a photo once of his hair slick back and his fan went absolutely feral.

✿He time to time stalks Rin to observe what he does.

✿Isagi probably stares at the ceiling when he's about to sleep and think about all of the opportunities he missed.

✿If he played any other sports it would be chess, since his vision is great for mental games.

✿Tbh is he was a sin he would be greed/gluttony.

✿If he could ask anything from his parents, it would be to have a little sis.

✿Does skin, body and hair care every few days.

✿Swears in videos games often. Those little brats think they're so gOoD but once isagi finishes his puzzle he'll devour them

✿Tried to hit Kaiser in the head with the ball after a practice match, but Noel Noah was there

✿Gossips with kurona and hiori about kaiser and ness, It's perfect since kurona doesn't know what they're doing but hiori has a lot of dirt on them.

Boyfriend Headcannons💤

♡Plays football w/ u and teaches you by beating you, not even to destroy your self esteem.

♡ such a sweetheart while you are on your menstrual cycle (if you're a girl)

♡ gossip about every teammate with you, like a whole book of players he wants to gossip to you about

♡ once you were sick, he drove to the local store at 2 am just for you. He's so sweet.

♡ Cooks very well like he'll cook food decently

♡ Not that toxic? Maybe that's probably up for debate

♡tells you about his problems like it's the national news to be discuss

♡ Has that romantic playlist he made just for you and him to enjoy.

♡Due to being in blue lock he hasn't texted you often so in return he tries to send gifts every month

♡ Calls you darling and sweetheart multiple times a day

Rin itoshi

✿Drools in his sleep (Me too Rin)

✿I feel like he'll stand awkwardly in a party not even interacting with anyone

✿Is good at cleaning, not barou level but up there

✿Perfect grammar, also TOP at his English

✿Never uses any gen-z/alpha slangs or any type of slang infact

✿Dry ass texter...

✿Gets really weirded out by any of his THOSE fangirls/fanboys... Like wdym you wanna have the reproduction LIKE HE'S ONLY 16

✿Knows knife play at some point, don't ask him why (he doesn't know)

✿Artistic in secret... Like he'll paint the beach or anything that shows the happy times of him and sae

✿Gets nightmares of that day... (Pretty sure everyone has that headcannon by now)

Boyfriend Headcannons💤

♡Cuddles every time he gets a chance with you. That kinda prevents him from getting those dreams....

♡ even if he's not as romantic as the others, you guys still go on weekly dates and THEY are expensive or just casual date like movie date🫶

♡After getting traumatized by sae, he almost broke up with you, Thank goodness, that you manage to make him snap out of it.

♡ After getting convinced by your and his parents he went to couple counseling and saw his mistakes

♡One of his favorite things to do with you is Playing football, I mean two things he loves in one? Count him in!

♡ Bring extra clothes with him whenever you're around, just in case it gets cold and he doesn't need to give you his hoodie.

♡Does not have much of a soft spot for you BUT, his eyes sparkle whenever he sees you like the good old times

♡ Almost made you cry when you both were on a movie date, it was those scary ahh movies that you don't know what's coming next.

♡Has a separate Love notebook from his early days of middle school that he reads when he misses you.

♡Calls you lukewarm as a word of affection when he sees you

Alexis ness

✿Would probably be in good terms with isagi if it didn't end like this

✿Has a mental breakdown every few days because of kaiser paying too much attention to isagi

✿Makes Kaiser a birthday cake every year and even bought him EXPENSIVE stuff from his hometown

✿Keeps the magician outfit he had when he was just a child, he cherish it like it's the most valuable thing in the whole universe

✿Would be friends w/ Charles if they interacted more, I mean like opposite friends, Ya'k

✿If richer than his awful siblings back home, if not then... It's because of the plot.

✿If he didn't met kaiser he'll probably be better than what he is now.

✿Has surprisingly good fashion taste, It's better than most blue lockers I can tell you

✿Has that changing color book lamp at the side of his bed he use when he's upset or just sad

✿He would like science if it weren't for the fact of his childhood

Boyfriend Headcannons 💕

♡Is actually quite the gentleman to you and your family members, since he a very toxic household

♡Always makes your favorite dish, if he doesn't know the recipes he'll find it by your guardian/ by how you like it.

♡Gives you a lot of gifts, I MEAN A LOT like everyday you'll find things that you enjoy at your doorstep

♡Due to being away from blue lock, he gets awfully jealous of the boys around you. Even if it's just a friend

♡Husband material frfr

♡ Punch a dude that was making you uncomfortable, and then ran with you to flee the scene.

♡Prefers the value of affection than the materialistic value of a gift you give him

♡ Loves being the small spoon but if you want, he can be the big spoon, anything for his precious angel.

♡Yandere tendency!!! Whether a girl or boy, he will get jealous if you spend more attention on them than him!

♡Call you angel or any kind of German words of affection, he will use it

That's it y'all💋

Thank you for reading this! It too me longer than expected!

So thank you for staying till the end even tho it was just 3 blue lock characters!

💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

[postcardsfromheapside]

I thought I was done, but no, like Lewis Black I return to shout again.

I feel like a lot of you are upset because Veilguard raised a lot of complicated questions about how history is indeed actually unreliable and religion can be based entirely on a lie, and maybe gods or a creator doesn't exist and the universe could be unfeeling and unthinking and how do you square that with the need to be good people who take care of each other, especially knowing that in the past people WEREN'T and DIDN'T and it makes you uncomfortable.

And it's not the job of the developers to answer those questions for you. They presented them in the form of banter and cut scenes between companions and you are supposed to interrogate that with yourself. In the outside world. The game is merely telling a story. And it tells that story well. The rest of it is literally up to you.

I did see right after release that people were upset about how questions about the elven gods and Harding's questions about the Maker were handled but the game is not obligated to make you feel like there are answers to these complicated topics. You actually have to do some thinking, and some of it applies to the choices in-game, but the rest of it is meant for your own brain.

And even then. Veilguard is ultimately not about these complicated questions, even though they inevitably get asked because they're part and parcel with what the group is dealing with philosophically in the immediate.

Veilguard is a story about a strike force trying to prevent two absolutely insane beings from taking over Thedas, and preventing a third from letting his grief and regret destroy it afterwards.

*Inquisition* was a story about building a religiously motivated army to handle an event no one had any information on, and because it happened in a religious nation at a religious site, it was treated as a religious event. Maybe if it had happened in Nevarra, a Fade expert like Emmrich would have said "wow, so, not so much Andraste but x, y, or z” but that's not what happened, and Solas kept his lying liar's mouth shut and a religious army built itself up and gained political power (by the way Rook has zero armies or clout, Rook is not an Inquisitor) and now a lot of you are comparing two completely different games with two completely different regions and two completely different events.

Why are you comparing religious notes. Why do you care if Veilguard has many fewer mentions of the Maker or lady Jesus. It's literally a different story, about a scrappy bunch of weirdos, and they talk about their relevant religious nonsense *when it matters*.

[hawkatana]

So, given everything that's happened in recent hours, I thought I might give people who don't know about Gundam some stuff to learn about. Hopefully I can give a balanced and not-racist take like some people.

What is Gundam?

Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino with help by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and animated by the studio Sunrise (currently Bandai Namco Animation, though I refuse to call them that), the original Mobile Suit Gundam released in 1979 to initially-limited success, though would gain popularity through a combination of fujoshis shipping the characters, the sale of plastic model kits referred to as "Gunpla" and a recut of the series into three compilation movies throughout the early 80's. And as of 2024 is the 66th highest-grossing media franchise of all time, beating out Scooby Doo, Minecraft and the Simpsons.

Also, I'm pretty sure it's what sparked Japanese sci-fi's obsession with O'Neill Cylinders.

The original anime takes place in the year 0079 of the Universal Century, where the Principality of Zeon: a nation composed of orbital space colonies declares a war of independence against the Earth Federation. This "One Year War" has already claimed half the human population by series start and is waged through the use of "Mobile Suits": bipedal mecha powered by a fusion reactor capable of effectively fighting out in the reaches of space.

Main character Amuro Ray is the son of a Federation engineer who lives in an out-of-the-way space colony, though soon finds his home under attack by a Zeon infiltration. After finding the secret Mobile Suit project his father was working on: the RX-78-2 Gundam, he fights off the Zeon invaders, though finds himself and a bunch of other kids conscripted by the Federation to fight the forces of Zeon aboard the ship the White Base. Throughout his journey, Amuro and the Gundam fight many battles against Zeon, including against their mysterious masked ace pilot Char Aznable.

The series was responsible for the codification (but not creation, people get this wrong all the time) of the "Real Robot" subgenre of mecha, where the robots were relatively more realistic and used as weapons of war as opposed to the more fantastical "Super Robot" subgenre pioneered by Mazinger Z and Getter Robo.

A major theme of the show, and the franchise as a whole is "War is bad", as demonstrated through this meme:

Yes, this is the original version of this meme format.

Anyway, Tomino, a renowned pacifist who grew up in the shadow of Japan's involvement in WW2 tried to use his platform as an anime director to try and tell a story that would get people to realise war's futility and brutality.

So I hear you asking, "That's nice and all, but what about the space lesbians who beat Destiel on their home turf?" Well, let's get into that.

What is the Witch From Mercury?

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, or "G-Witch" for short is one of the more recent entries in the Gundam Franchise and a (very) loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Set in the year 122 Ad Stella, the solar system is under the de facto control of the Benerit Group: a megacorporation with borderline-medieval internal politics that maintains a system of capitalism that benefits Spacians at the expense of those who live on Earth.

Main heroine Suletta Mercury enrolls at Asticassia School of Technology owned by the Benrit Group at the behest of her mother: CEO Prospera Mercury of the Mercury-based Shin Sei Development Corporation, and wins a Mobile Suit duel against a bully in her own MS: the Gundam Aerial. This however means she has now won the hand in marriage of daughter of the Benerit Group CEO: Miorine Rembran, beginning a series of consequences that shape the very political landscape of the solar system.

G-Witch was a massive hit, both critically and commercially. The first episode: the Witch and the Bride attracting record numbers for the studio and the Gunpla kit for the Aerial is currently the best-selling Gunpla kit ever.

Contrary to popular belief, G-Witch is not the first piece of Gundam media to feature a female protagonist. That honour would go to the 2002 Japan-only manga École du Ciel, nor would it have the first queer main character, which goes to 1999's Turn-A Gundam (and if you were to ask any fan of the series, they'd so it goes back to the very beginning). But it became notable for its lesbian representation in anime (in spite of Sunrise's attempts to downplay it, to the anger of the director, writer, producer, artists, animators, cast, fans and even their own parent company Bandai Namco who forced them to back off).

One thing I need to clarify: You don't need to have watched the original series to enjoy G-Witch. They're not even in the same continuity.

So if you're interested in the series and you've only watched G-Witch, I'll give out three recommendations for you all to enjoy:

Mobile Suit Gundam 00

Gundam 00 takes place in the year 2307 (the only series to use our own calendar), where the world is divided between three global superpowers: The Union of Free & Solar Nations (The Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Japan), the Human Reform League (China, South, East, Southeast and Central Asia) and the Advanced European Union (all of Europe, including all of Russia west of the Urals) who each control a space elevator near the equator and wage proxy-wars in Africa and the Middle-East over Earth's dwindling resources. This eventually culminates in the emergence of Celestial Being: a terrorist group consisting of Setsuna F. Seiei, Lockon Stratos, Allelujah Haptism and Tierria Erde, all of whom use powerful "Gundam" Mobile Suits and try to forcefully impose global peace on the Earth.

00 is pretty slow-paced and is more about the world than the individual characters, but said characters are really well-written, especially the characters from the three power blocs who are the de facto protagonists as they try to stop what are in their eyes a bunch of crazed terrorists preaching a hypocritical and incoherent ideology of "peace through force".

And to address the elephant in the room, this series is VERY post-9/11. Constant talks about terrorism, proxy-conflicts in the global south (especially the Middle-East), religious extremism, dwindling resources and the wars fought over them. While the franchise has always been political and of-its-time, you can just tell 00 was made in the mid-2000's. Again, it's good. But just something to keep in mind.

Turn-A Gundam

Turn-A Gundam is one of the weirder elements of the franchise for a myriad of reasons. Not the least of which being its unique setting taking inspiration from the famous sci-fi novel War of the Worlds.

In the Year 2345 of the Correct Century, human civilisation is at a level of technology reminiscent of the late-19th/early 20th centuries, save for the Moonrace on... well, the moon. As part of their queen Diana Soreil's plan to reintegrate both Lunar and Terran societies, several scouts are sent to the planet to set up their return to the planet. One such scout: Loran Cehack integrates into Terran society as a driver for the wealthy Heim family, though at a coming of age ceremony for the family's second daughter, a member of the Moonrace attacks the technologically-inferior Terrans. However, a mysterious mustached statue breaks apart to reveal a "White Doll": the Turn-A Gundam, allowing Loran to fend off the invaders. rest of the series becomes more of a mystery to how the supposedly-peace loving Moonrace could allow of such brutality.

The setting of the Correct Century timeline alone is one of the draws of Turn-A, though its excellent characters and compelling mystery also help a lot.

I do however have two warnings for people interested in watching it. The first is that this series was never dubbed. While it did receive an official sub in 2015, there still isn't a dub for the series. So if that bothers you, there's your warning.

The other is that there's a pretty big twist in the latter part of the series that while I will not spoil it here, it's such a big deal that I can't not mention it. It doesn't make any sense, and it actively detracts from not just the series, but the whole franchise. You'll know it when you see it. It doesn't ruin my enjoyment, but a lot of people don't like Turn-A for that alone.

Mobile Fighter G Gundam

Favourite entry. Don't care. It's peak.

In the Year 60 of the Future Century, war has been abandoned by the nations of humanity in favour of the Gundam fight: a quad-annual fighting tournament between Gundams representative of the countries of the world where the winner rules space until the next Gundam fight, all while leaving the Earth ecologically devastated in the fighting. Neo-Japan's Gundam Fighter: Domon Kasshu arrives on Earth seeking information on his older brother Kyoji, who killed their mother and led to their father's arrest before stealing the experimental Devil Gundam to Earth, beating up every Gundam Fighter in his way. However, he eventually learns of far more dangerous revelations about the incident.

G Gundam is to put it bluntly: bat-shit insane. And I love it. It basically took a look at the then-stagnating franchise in the wake of the wet fart that was Victory Gundam and said "I know what can save this franchise, Bruce Lee movies!" And it somehow worked.

Word of advice: watch it dubbed. Mark Gatha absolutely kills it as Domon every time, and puts just the right amount of ham into every line.

So yeah, that's some stuff on Gundam. This was a long post to write out. I'm gonna take a break now.

[agendabymooner]

the couple of the universe ! lewis h. x ofc (miss universe!ofc)

summary: everyone’s wondering why lewis is a careless being this season— and the announcement of his marriage (without further explanation) said enough about his attitude. OR felicia sevilla, the 2015 miss universe, gave him all the reason to be more free and happy.

content warning: use of explicit language, secret marriage, roscoe content, social media files, power couple vibes, a little backstory (they met through united nations soccer aid 2012 campaign done by lewis when he went to manila), literally just a pastime post lol, miss philippines!ofc (faceclaim: pia wurtzbach)

note: again… this is just a load of bs done as a pastime thing lol enjoy xx

a - n masterlist

o - z masterlist

💌re:moony’s planner is opened!!!

tagged valentino, liciasevilla, britishvogue

liked by kylieversoza, charles_leclerc, georgerussell63

mercedesamgf1 things you guys did: mothered and fathered 😌

user1 have my kids. either or 😋

landonorris she’s everything and he’s just lewis 🤷‍♀️ liked by lewishamilton

lewishamilton real 🙌

user2 barbie era lewis?!!!!

georgerussell63 babe wake up new barbie movie just dropped 😂 liked by lewishamilton

lewishamilton 😂😂

user3 my man lewis is just responding to everyone. are you finally gonna admit to being a simp for felicia???

lewishamilton imagine.

user3 LMFAO OKAY

liciasevilla yeah imagine. 😴 liked by lewishamilton

roscoelovescoco luvs my mummys and dads 🐶🐶🥰 liked by lewishamilton

liciasevilla rococooooooo my baby 😩😩

user4 my guy is really out here acting like he’s roscoe 😭😭

user5 let him be— i like this lewis. i like happy lewis.

lewishamilton me too

tagged liciasevilla

liked by pierregasly, charles_leclerc, mickschumacher

comments have been disabled

tagged lewishamilton

liked by mercedesamgf1, charles_leclerc, maxverstappen1

comments have been disabled

[judassmyvirtue]

Hey folks, just dropping some resources here for those of you who, like me, are always on the hunt for free reading material, whether it's for research or just to satisfy your curiosity. Check these out:

Library of Congress: Absolute goldmine for academic researches and historical documents. You can spend hours diving into their collections.

Z-library: A treasure trove of books, articles, and papers on pretty much any topic you can think of. Quick downloads, no fuss.

Project Gutenberg: Free e-books galore, especially if you're into classics. Saved me from many a boring commute.

Internet Archive: A digital library offering free universal access to books, movies, and music, plus archived web pages. Endless hours of browsing joy.

Google Books: Sometimes you just need a quick peek inside a book without committing to buying it. Google Books has got your back.

Google Scholar: It scours through scholarly sources, journals, theses, and more. Just be ready to sift through some dense material.

JSTOR: Another heavyweight in the academic world. JSTOR is packed with scholarly articles, books, and primary sources across various disciplines. Some stuff may be behind a paywall, but there's still plenty to explore for free.

Newspaper Archive: Want to browse through historical newspapers? This site has a massive collection spanning centuries and covering a wide range of topics. Perfect for digging up primary sources.

Newspapers.com: Need more historical newspapers? Look no further.

Perseus Digital Library: Focuses on ancient Greco-Roman materials, perfect for those deep dives into classical history.

Digital Public Library of America: Another treasure trove of digitized materials, including photos, manuscripts, and more.

Europeana: European cultural heritage online. Images, texts, the whole shebang.

DOAJ: Open access journals. DOAJ indexes and provides access to high-quality, peer-reviewed open access research journals.

Open Library: Another digital library offering over 1.7 million free eBooks.

Librivox: Audiobooks for when your eyes need a break.

National Archives (UK): Offers access to a wealth of historical documents, including government records, maps, photographs, and more.

Sci-Hub: For the rebels. Access to scholarly articles.

Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB): Looking for free scholarly books? DOAB has got you covered with a vast collection.

Digital Commons Network: Free, full-text scholarly articles from hundreds of universities and colleges worldwide.

Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR): Find open access repositories worldwide.

Gallica (Bibliothèque nationale de France): French flair for your research.

DigitalNZ: Your gateway to New Zealand's digital heritage.

[cushfuddled]

I saw a post which claimed since Americans are spending unprecedented amounts of money on holiday gifts this year [1][2]...

the American public isn't actually as strapped for cash as we say or think we are, and

Americans didn’t vote for Trump out of economic frustration.

Like.

I hope you guys know Americans aren't splurging on gifts because we can afford to do so.

The majority of Americans live paycheck to paycheck [3], and yet vacations are on the rise, with Millennials and Gen Z-ers at the front of the trend. [4][5]

It’s not excess capital. It’s nihilism.[6][7][8]

"If you work hard and save your money, someday you can buy a house/raise a family/retire." So goes the conventional wisdom, now fine viscera under the wheels of an Amazon forklift. Even older generations can't afford to retire these days [9]. You can buy a shed for the price of a master's degree. And how are you supposed to raise a child when your full-time job barely covers your grocery bills?

Knowing they'll never travel as a retiree, people are splurging on plane tickets right out of school. Knowing class mobility is a lottery pull, people are dumping their last few pennies into meme tokens and other get-rich-quick schemes. Knowing they're already saddled with lifelong debt, people are saying "fuck it" and grabbing a shovel—because at this point, what's a car payment on top of every other loan they'll never repay? "Things will keep getting worse anyway."

Americans are spending stupid amounts of money on vacations [10] and extravagant gifts [11], yes—but they're not spending THEIR money. They're spending Klarna's money, and the bank's money, and when the bills come due people aren't paying them. We're all just doing kickflips on our way down the drain.

The question, "How does killing the UnitedHealthCare CEO solve anything?" misses the point. The shooter may have believed he was doing the American people a favor, but I don't think the majority of Americans are cheering on Brian's death because they believe it will manifest universal healthcare. It's just nice to see the rich criminals who profit off our pain suffer for their choices.

Even if the Dems had acknowledged our financial straits (I find Atrioc's video "Slowly, Then All at Once" to be very helpful re: why the numbers look good but nobody can afford to live)...I still don't think Kamala Harris would've won the presidency. Again, Americans don't believe progress is possible anymore—at least not via our current system of government. Extremists are banking on a wholesale descent into anarchy. Your everyday worker is distracting themselves from impending financial implosion with daily Beverages (I'm stopping here to take a sip of my Rockstar energy drink). Hope is a heavy burden. Instead, people keep their eyes on their feet. One day at a time. Sometimes on its way to the brick wall, their speeding car hits a CEO—and sometimes it mows down a crowd of schoolchildren. Sometimes we're all just trashing the bathroom.

That's Donald Trump's presidential win, to me. Let the horse take over the hospital, America declared—why not, if none of us can afford a hospital visit anyway. Let the nation descend into anarchy and fascism—why not, if we never had rights/liberty to begin with.

It's not logical. It's lashing out in pain like a cornered animal.

The rule of law doesn't apply to the wealthy, as emblemized by our incumbent president's 34 felony charges. It punishes the marginalized by design, for the benefit of corrupt institutions. Harris would've given us a chance to get back on our feet...but with her centrist prosecutorial approach, she represents the law. Donald Trump represents chaos. He's a champion of the CEOs who bankrupt and maim and kill us, but as a certifiable toddler with no object permanence and a suitcase full of ketchup packets and nuclear launch codes, he's also a fucking nightmare to babysit around the White House. That's the best some people can hope for in this country: To give their tormentors a headache. To "trigger the libs." To treat their representatives to the smallest taste of their own helplessness and hopelessness and fear and anger and pain.

People do not have money. People do not have hope. People do not have compassion.

I don't feel any sympathy for Trump voters, and I don't mean to minimize the role of bigotry in this election. This country was founded on genocide and slavery, and that legacy still permeates our culture. I only mean to explain—not excuse—some of this group's behavior. It's a trend suffered on all sides of the aisle: Nihilism externalized as sabotage, whether directed at oneself or others. People are so sick of watching this boat sink into the ocean they've set it on fire just to feel like they had a say in it.

[thursdaygxrls]

thin ice — two

part one | part two | part three

summary — peter invites her to his hockey game, and shocker, she shows up.

pairing — uni hockey player!peter parker x fem!journalist!reader

disclaimer — i do not own peter parker/marvel. marvel pls don’t sue me for making peter sexier 🙏

warnings — reader is referred to as ‘kitty’ (there’s a reason, i promise), slight one sided enemies to lovers, possible maybe slightly ooc, and very unedited

Stark Memorial Rink was a lot more crowded than she remembered. To be fair, when she was there two days ago, it was during a closed practice. Now it was loud, crowded, and filled with the blaring noise of the patrons and loudspeakers.

“What are our seats again?” MJ asked, hanging off her arm with a big, goofy smile. She was dressed in an Empire State University sweatshirt—‘I have to show my school pride’, she said. Sure, that was the reason.

“Section one hundred ten, Row C, seats four and five,” she replied, her voice near robotic.

“Y’know, you can at least pretend to be excited,” MJ teased. “I’ll buy you a soft pretzel if you act like you’re having fun.”

“Woo-hoo. Yippee. Hooray,” she said monotonously, a small grin curling on her lips.

“Come on,” a whine leaves MJ’s lips, “This is cool! It’s not just any game, this is the tournament—like, national. If they win this, they’ll make it down to eight teams. Eight teams!”

“And your sudden love of hockey spawned on its own, right?” She raised a brow at her friend’s words, “Not because of some sweaty guy who likes to ice skate?”

“I’ll pretend you didn’t say that,” MJ mumbled in reply, though her eyes softened a bit, a smile adorning her painted lips. They shuffled through the crowds of people with some struggle, but eventually made it to section one hundred ten.

When she was there days ago, she hadn’t quite paid attention to the format of the seats. The assumption, though, was that they flowed in alphabetical order, making Row Z the one closest to the plexiglass. They slipped towards the steps, ready to descend just a few stairs when they looked down. A big, yellow ‘Z’ was right under their feet. That meant–

“Oh, my God.” Her voice was more like a whisper than anything.

“You said Row C, right?” MJ asked, her eyes glued to the letter.

“Row C,” she confirmed, sucking her teeth. Was it even possible? Okay, sure, this was just a university game, but this game was a big deal. The place was insanely crowded. How could he just give away seats that close to the glass?

“Well, let’s go,” MJ interrupted her train of thought, tugging her arm to follow her. One, two, three, four…they descended lower and lower until the sound of ice scraping along the skates of those practicing was louder than the buzz of the crowd. Their seats gave them a perfect view right behind the net. Purple and black jerseys whizzed by in a flurry of sticks and pucks and ice shaving off the ground. They say for a minute, soaking up the reality of where they were before MJ let out a cough.

“So, Kitty, soft pretzel?” She glanced over with a smile.

“Yeah,” she agreed, already popping up from her seat. Shuffling back to the stairs, her gaze was pulled back to the rink where she caught a flash of a neon purple ‘13’ zipping by the glass. Hazel eyes settled upon her through the brackets of the helmet—but only for one second. One small ounce of time in which their eyes connected like laser beams. And then he was gone again, and so was she.

“I’ll get you a slushie, too, if you do a little cheering,” MJ’s voice pulled her back.

“Extra large?” She raised a brow in return.

“Whatever size you want,” MJ beamed.

By the time they were back to their seats, the game was almost starting. The National Anthem was sung by a local high school talent. The team introductions flew by (MJ, of course, screaming for Harry). When number thirteen, Peter Parker, Empire State Lightning Bolts Team Captain was introduced, the thunder of feet pounding on the floor rang through the stadium. He slid across the ice in an oddly graceful fashion. He was sort of gangly, and the bulk of the uniform provided a strange juxtaposition, but his movements were clean and precise, more like a figure skater than a hockey player.

“Look at that, number thirteen,” MJ giggled into her ear, receiving a smack on the arm for her laughter.

“I have eyes, I can see.” Was her grumbled response.

The game was intense. They were single-round eliminations, meaning that if ESU lost this, they were out of the tournament. Pennbrook, in their glossy green jerseys, were just as vicious. The net in front of them was the home side first, so they were able to see every goal that was blocked, and inevitably the ones that slipped through. What seemed to (begrudgingly) stand out the most, though, was Peter.

He was aggressive. At first, she thought it was just excitement, or anger, or some irrational emotion that sent him flying across the ice and ramming into people. But the face under the helmet was always calm. Cold, even. Every outburst was a precise calculation. Yes, he was combative, but it was never out of his control. Nothing was out of his control, not even when the puck went skidding across the ice on the other side. It took him seconds to cross the rink and swoop in for quick saves. Time seemed to flash by. The buzzer signaled the end of the first period, and the teams skated back to their respective sides.

“It’s not that bad, right?” MJ nudged her, sucking down the last of her blue raspberry slushie.

“I’m definitely viewing something,” she responded in a sarcastic tone. MJ groaned, nudging her as she collected their empty cups and discarded napkins.

“Keep up the good attitude,” she shot back, sticking out her tongue as she went to throw away the trash.

The second period was similar to the first: high tensions, high testosterone. By the third period, the score was 4-5 with Pennbrook taking the lead. It was, of course, only a momentary lead. A play by Harry and Miles tied them up again, and then a swift shot by Zack got them the lead. Pennbrook’s number ‘36’ had been on Peter’s ass nearly the entire game. He was always so close that half of the ice shavings on Peter’s ankles were probably from him. But it hadn’t been anything more than a chase until Peter brought the score up to 7-5.

The movement was quick, but not nearly as unnoticeable as he likely intended. While sliding behind the net, 36’s elbow came up to check Peter. He was probably aiming for his shoulder, but everything just came out wrong: Peter turned his head toward 36, 36’s elbow jabbed at an awkward angle, and the hit ended up slamming into Peter’s face.

Her breath caught in her throat. When he turned back to the plexiglass, blood was dripping down his chin. He’d been clipped just right so that his lip busted against the hard plastic of the mouthguard. Resounding ‘boos’ sounded through the stadium, but the sounds fell deaf on her ears as she watched Peter throw off his glove and swipe the blood from his skin. It was like she could see the gears turning in his head. Hit, blood, fight. He looked to 36, ready to raise his bloodstained fist. Then, for just a second, his eyes flitted to her.

He knew she was there. He knew she was watching. None of the hardness left his eyes, but there was something new there, too. Pride, maybe? Excitement? It lingered in his vision the entire time his eyes were on hers. When his bloodied lips curled into a smirk, she forced herself out of the breathless haze she was caught in. She was only concerned because that was the normal human reaction; you see someone get hurt, you worry. Or you laugh. It wasn’t like she was—

Peter’s fist connected with 36’s cheek. She could hear the hard smack through the glass to Row C. 36 stumbled back on his skates but regained his balance. Before he could deal a blow, refs blowing hopelessly on their whistles swarmed the two, pulling them like two growling dogs. Once again, Peter looked up at her, making sure that she was still watching. When he smiled at her, she could see that his teeth were now coated in blood from the wound on his lip.

“Holy shit!” MJ was squealing, but her voice was lost on the girl next to her.

“Yeah,” she nodded, “Yeah, holy shit.”

Neither Peter nor 36 were let back on the ice for the rest of the game. A penalty was dealt to ESU, but any other punishment was still unknown. She watched the rest of the game on high alert, trying to stop her eyes from traveling to the penalty box where Peter was seated. It was hard to view him from her position, but she could see a shock of brown hair every once and a while.

When the game was over, ESU had won 8-7. The crowd roared as the buzzer sounded, and when MJ shot up, she joined her. Adrenaline shot through her as she watched the guys on the rink scream and nearly slam into each other. Her view, though, quickly adjusted to Peter as he fled the penalty box. He slid onto the ice with the same practiced ease he’d used during the game. She could see him say something to Zack as he grabbed him by the shoulders. When his eyes finally landed on her, her pulse thrummed in her ears. He knew she was watching him, and that’s just what he wanted her to do.

“Where y’headed?”

The sound of someone’s voice nearly made her throw her water bottle. She’d only just left Xavier Hall when she was accosted (or rather spoken to) by someone who seemed to appear out of nowhere. Her head whirled around to meet hazel eyes and a busted lip.

“Are you stalking me?” She spat out, her eyes wide.

“Stalking you? Oh, my God, no,” Peter laughed, wincing when his split lip tugged into a smile, “I used to do a little photography for the paper, I know where the meetings are.”

“Right,” she nodded, “But, like, how did you know I would be leaving right now?”

“Lucky guess?” He suggests, cocking his head in a boyish way. She narrowed her eyes, but before she could say anything, he was already speaking again; “Saw you at my game yesterday.”

“It technically wasn’t your game. It was the team’s game. Both teams’ game.” Her voice was pointed as she spoke. When she began walking down the stone pathway that led to a dining hall, Peter followed without question.

“But I was there,” he responded, “And so were you.”

“MJ didn’t want to miss it,” she dismissed his words.

“Oh, yeah, she and Harry are getting pretty serious,” he hummed.

“Mhm,” she replied. She didn’t want to look at him, really. Every time she did, her gaze was drawn to the nasty gash on his lips. Her eyes, however, decided to betray her. She studied it, the way it moved with him, the way it would inevitably split further each time he grinned.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Peter said, almost as if he was reading her mind. Her eyes shot up to meet his.

“Did you get kicked off the team or something?” She asked as if she didn’t already know the answer.

“Hell no,” he laughed, “Just a slap on the wrist. Couldn’t finish out the game, but you already knew that.”

“Uh-huh,” she nodded, “I would’ve thought there would’ve been a little more.”

“I’ve never really gotten in a fight–and that wasn’t even a real fight,” he grinned

“So was that just you showing off or something?” Her brows creased.

“Something like that.”

They reached the entrance of the dining hall. Peter, in all his gangliness, was able to swipe his card before her and open the door. His smile just seemed to widen as she eyed him with a generous amount of suspicion.

“Thanks,” she said slowly as she stepped through the door.

“No problem,” he replied, “See you around, Kitty.”

“You can’t call me—”

He was gone before she could finish her sentence. The door fell shut in his absence, and she watched him walk away through the glass. He carried on down the pathway with his hands shoved into his pockets. A groan slipped from her lips when she realized that she was just staring at him. Her body moved into the dining hall, but her mind wandered (unwillingly) to Peter. He was annoying, and cocky, and smiled way too much for someone with a busted lip. Yet, the main thing stuck in her head was his hazel eyes and the way he watched her with them.

a/n — hey babes!! thanks for the love on this series so far. i’m not sure how long it’s gonna be, but i def have some plans, it’s def gonna get smutty at some point. anyways, hope you enjoyed!!

[stikybug]

Im so sorry but i have gotten even more thoughts about this because of the connection you made with ultra beasts and travelers because of like. One particular case. In sun and moon necrozma actually made an entire universe go dark because it absorbed all its light right?? I'm not saying that's something the empire would do but that's something the empire would totally do . Because of the light and dawn theme I would say it would be funny for that to have been a successful mission of star admiral/prefect luminary

Pokemon Teams: Lovebrush Chronicles

So, for Pokemon Day, I just had a little fun creating teams for the main cast of Lovebrush Chronicles. I tried to make sure I wasn't too on the nose, and that these picks were a little bit more realistic. I hope you enjoy!

AYN: Talonflame, Grimmsnarl, Urshifu, Dondozo, Tatsugiri, Incineroar

Ayn is a tryhard when it comes to battling. I gave him a team that is legitimately competitively viable, and that fits to his character. Incineroar and Dondozo draw parallels to his cat motif and Alice the whale, respectively. He also has a Buneary that mainly acts as a house pet.

ALKAID: Mantine, Teddiursa, Blissey, Sawsbuck, Minior, Tropius

While a capable trainer, Alkaid doesn't focus on battling, but on outdoor activities with his Pokemon. He loves Matine surfing, as well as going on hikes with Sawsbuck and flying on Tropius. He caught most of his team while on his travels. He names his Pokemon; his Teddiursa is named Sparkles.

LARS: Lapras, Ludicolo, Pyroar, Lycanroc, Flamigo, Pyukumuku

Lars doesn't like battling; his Pokemon are solely extended parts of his family. Any sort of evolution is usually done with private training, or via vitamins. He got his Pyroar as a Litleo, and cherishes it. He loves surfing out on the lake with Lapras, and his Pyukumuku was caught while at the beach.

CLARENCE: Nidoking, Liepard, Tyranitar, Swanna, Skitty, Zweilous

Clarence much prefers Pokemon research and biology. His love for monsters and for cats shines through with this team. However, one of these is not like the other: his Skitty. His Skitty is often seen outside of its ball and will follow him around like a lost puppy. Pokemon, even dangerous ones, seem drawn to Clarence.

CAEL: Espeon, Milotic, Frosmoth, Aegislash, Gardevoir, Lunala

Elegant but deadly, Cael's team is unsuspecting and can pack a punch. Gardevoir specifically can see the future and make small black holes. Cael is also the only character with a box legendary, albeit one that isn't deemed as "rare" due to its extraterrestrial nature and its evolution cycle from a Cosmog. Cael has quite a few Ultra Beasts, though he rarely uses them outside of his own home world.

MC: Smeargle, Espurr, Cosmog, Ninetales, Frosslass, Mandibuzz

I know I said I'd avoid Pokemon that were too on the nose, but Smeargle is the only Pokemon with the powerful move, Sketch. It perfectly represents her Illustra powers. Likewise, her Cosmog is a gift from Cael. She also names her Pokemon; her Espurr is named Beanie.

[kpop]

Music Spotlight: MIYAVI

Are you ready for a special Music Spotlight guest appearance? This week, we’re featuring popular singer/songwriter, guitarist, and actor MIYAVI to celebrate the release of his anime cover album MIYAVIVERSE. Check out our full interview below!

Tell us about your recent album, and what you hope fans take away from it.

The new one is an anime song cover album. We cover anime songs like Evangelion or Naruto or Hunter, classic ones. One of the reasons why we did that was because I am Japanese, so it’s great to relearn that content, and I’m sure so many of my fans will be familiar with those anime. It’s a fun process to bring those anime tracks to MIYAVI’s world. It’s a different kind of vibe—anime songs, J-pop. But once I start playing the guitar, it’s like the original universe of the sound—and that’s why we named the album MIYAVIVERSE. It doesn’t have to be only the anime songs—it’s more like when we covered ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, or ‘Youth of the Nation,’ or other Japanese tracks as well. Obviously it’s MIYAVI’s sound, but it’s a fun process to do a cover.

Your 14th studio album is themed around hit anime songs—what would you consider your favorite anime of all time, and your favorite opening/ending song?

My favorite is Dragon Ball Z. I know, it’s too classic, but that’s the thing I was watching when I was young. And every anime lover is going to respect Dragon Ball Z. To be honest, it’s too hard to cover that song—we can do it, but I don’t know if it's doable to perform on stage in a cool way. So that’s why we gave that one up.

Your illustrious career spans the last 20 years and multiple mediums—what would you consider the highlight up until now? Are there any major moments of growth you can recall?

Yes, a lot. First of all, when I moved to Tokyo from Osaka when I was 17 years old. I was kind of beginning to start finding myself as an artist. And then I became a solo artist, and then, you know, I started focusing on the guitars, and people started calling me a guitarist—so what’s my name? And then, in 2008, I started going on world tours, learning English, and acted in the film Unbroken with Angelina Jolie—so of course, you know these are big moments. And then I became an ambassador for UNHCR—that’s huge.

If you could give your younger self advice on how to cope with the pressures of society, especially in the entertainment industry, what would you tell them? Would you give your kids that same advice?

First of all, keep going and polishing up your skill, what you have—you know—your talent. That’s everything in the end. Nothing else helps you. I still just keep telling myself that. You know, it’s not about the connection or relationship or, of course, personality is counted—it’s included. More than that, as an artist, what you can give to the world is everything—so just keep going. As long as you have "it".

What are your biggest passions outside of music and acting? Are there any hobbies you turn to when you need to destress?

I play games. It’s a great connection with my daughters. It’s a huge connection, and then even while I'm away from home, I can still communicate with my daughters. And then it’s great to have something you share with your family. At the same time, it consumes a lot of time. So that’s the thing—once we start playing, it’s like we keep playing because it’s fun, and we go crazy. But at the same time, time is time, and I do need to work. But that is the hard part, and it is working well for our relationship. It is also the same thing if you play soccer or basketball or sports, it’s kind of the same thing.

This year marks your 20th anniversary, and in that time, you’ve racked up an impressive list of accomplishments. Is there anything you haven’t done yet that you’ve always wanted to? And are there any opportunities you regret not taking?

Basically, there are no opportunities that I regret not taking because I take everything. I never miss opportunities, as you know. When schedule conflicts, and some things that I was not able to do, there are some of course. But, personally, I never missed any opportunities in my life—so there is no regret. But there are tons of things that I have not accomplished, and want to accomplish. We haven’t gotten any GRAMMYs. These are not everything you know, but that's a great goal to have—and I have to work harder to accomplish it.

Want more MIYAVI? Check out his new anime song cover album MIYAVIVERSE here.

[katanadepapel]

MY TURN 🤗!!!!

OUR DESIGNER 2/2

MY S/I IN WILD KRATTS UNIVERSE!

I like green, blue, black, orange and especially purple (but the spots were already filled 😔)

So I decided to put one of the other colors I like on my s/I, turquoise! And there it is!

Bio of my S/I:

•Name: Samara Barros

•Nickname: Sammy, S2, Redhead, lime orange.

•Age: 24 years old

• Sex: Female

•Date of birth: 01/09

•Nationality: Brazil/RJ

•Sign: Virgo

•Signature color: Indigo, Turquoise or Violet

•Eye color: Medium brown

•Skin color: Fair

•Hair color: Copper

•Relatives:

Sara (older sister)

•Friends:

Chris Kratt 💚

Martin Kratt

Jimmy Z

Aviva Corcovado (BFF)

Noah Tyer

Koki

Paisley Paviment

•Appearance:

Samara is a young woman with short pixie style hair; She is thin but average, even though she is a little taller than her sister.

•Personality:

Samara is lively, funny, has a huge taste for adventure and a thirst for new challenging experiences; She is competitive, intelligent but she is also calm, until her calm ends, because she knows how to give a beating to the person who mainly messes with her sister, but also, 50% of the cases, Sammy is emotionally cold.

•Occupation: Reptile zoologist, interior design, architect and landscaper.

•Likes: Chris Kratt 🤭, animals, reptiles, her tortoise, draw, art, math, science, calculate, help Aviva with technologies, keep everything tidy, plants, flowers, purple and chocolate with lemon.

•Dislikes: Soft foods, dirt, Zach Varmitech, the villains, mistreating animals, people and plants

*Sammy is autism (mild level)

*Sammy, like your sister, she speaks Brazilian Portuguese, her native language, in English, Spanish and German fluently