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#last full moon of 2021
fluffypotatey · 2 months
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okay so:
the year is 2021. the month is june. the new season of hermitcraft, season 8, has just started, and everything is great! the hermits are all messing around, having fun, building insane things within the first week of the server being active, and generally having a good time. everyone's collected themselves into little factions, pranking each other, and it's all the fun, lighthearted, mostly-vanilla content hermitcraft is known for.
and then the split between minecraft versions 1.18 and 1.19 is announced. the delay of new terrain, and especially of new mobs like the warden, considerably disrupt several of the hermits' plans. but it's fine, they'll figure something out, they're professionals, and it mostly goes unnoticed.
about two weeks later, on november 9th, grian turns to mumbo jumbo in one of his episodes, and asks the famous question that would seal hermitcraft season 8's fate:
"mumbo, is the moon... big?"
suddenly, the fans panic. they search back through videos and streams, and realize that the moon had been abnormally large and stuck in a full-moon phase since october 30th. the Moon Big event has begun.
this is where the roleplay really starts. once the moon's size has been brought up, the hermits start a weird combination of scrambling to figure out why the moon's growing, and how to stop it- but also of ignoring it, hoping it won't be a problem, hoping someone else will deal with it. the moon keeps getting bigger, more hermits start realizing it's going on, and a creeping sense of dread starts to grow. but it's fine. it's fine, right? they do little plotlines like this all the time. they'll figure something out, the moon will go back to normal, and we'll laugh about it when this is all over. it's fine.
and then, blocks start flying away. just floating up out of the ground, and falling right back down! like for a moment, a square meter chunk of dirt has decided it's a ballerina and leaped out of the ground! but it's fine, right? the blocks are coming back. no lasting harm is done. they're going to fix it all... right?
the moon gets bigger. it's growing every day- local hermit weirdguy joe hills measures it every stream. the blocks start flying higher. gravity starts getting... weird, with players getting the slow falling effect at random, and being lifted off of the earth themselves. the players form cults and rituals and whatnot to try and appease the moon, convince it to leave them alone, making plans to escape. nothing works. things keep getting worse, and the moon keeps getting bigger. but it'll be fine. these storylines never leave lasting harm, or at least they never have before. they'll be fine.
and then the blocks stop coming back, just floating into the sky forever. the players have the slow falling effect more than they don't now. the moon is now so big it's visible even during the day, and fills the entire sky at night. they start planning their escapes in earnest, and say their goodbyes. some hermits jump into a void hole in the overworld (it was the centerpiece of their village). some flee to the End, some to the nether, some just fly with elytras and hope they can get far enough away in time. one brave hermit, tango, flies himself to the moon in a futile attempt to blow the whole thing up before it can crash.
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but in the end, the moon crashes into the server, and everything they'd built was destroyed. and the whole time, there'd been nothing any of them could've done. season eight was over, a full six months before anyone had expected it to end, and season nine wouldn't start until about three months later. and im still not okay about it.
(here's a cool animatic of the moon's crash! honestly i dont think you need too much hermitcraft knowledge to get the gist)
(also the moon crash happened on the day before my birthday lmao.)
….
holy shit
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absolutebl · 5 months
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Hi ABL! After watching episode 1 of Between Us, I was impressed with the level of "thirst" between Boun and Prem's characters in the last couple of scenes. Are there shows or scenes of shows, regardless of actual heat level, that you think did "thirst" well, regardless of how that's resolved at the time? Subjective, I know, but would love to get your take on this!
20 BLs with the BEST Thirst!
Thirst wants to slide a hand under his waistband right tf now and grind. Horny wants to rip his clothes off, and probably pop buttons and laugh about it. Yearning wants to run both hands up his back while they kiss deeply. Hunger wants to lift him by the ass and slam him against the wall.
Raise your glasses please, to THIRST.
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I Cannot Reach You - Japan 2023
It's fresh in my mind, so first on this list.
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Secret Crush on You - Thailand 2022
This scene in particular sprang next to mind, just because for me it kinda defined thirst in Thai BL. (Also see my #1 pick for sides at the end.)
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Jun & Jun - Korea 2023
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We Best Love: Fighting Mr 2nd - Taiwan 2021
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2 Moons: Ambassador (AKA 2 Moons 3) - Thailand 2022
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Eternal Yesterday - Japan 2022
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Why R U? - Korea 2023
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HIStory 3 - the BL that shall not be named - Taiwan 2019
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Bed Friend - Thailand 2023
They sleeping together but King still thirsty af
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Big Dragon - Thailand 2022
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My Beautiful Man - Japan 2021
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Between Us - Thailand 2022-23
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Minato's Laundromat - Japan 2022
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Ghost Host Ghost House - Thailand 2022
the infamous leg scene alone qualifies them, but they very mutually thirsty in general
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My Personal Weatherman - Japan 2023
It's the point.
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I Feel You Linger in the Air - Thailand 2023
The oil scene is a stroke of genius.
Well, several strokes.
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Old Fashion Cupcake - Japan 2022
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I Told Sunset About You - Thailand 2020
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Love in Translation - Thailand 2023
Just because of that damn convenience store make-out scene.
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Nitiman - Thailand 2021
I find thirst is often (although not always) the provenance of the seme character.
Mutual thirst is really rare.
Side dish gravy
Shorts, side couples, and so forth.
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Oh My Sunshine Night - Thailand 2022
Noh appears 2x on this list. He's GREAT at thirst. Possibly the only Thai actor to give Japan real competition. GIVE HIM ANOTHER LEAD!
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HIStory 4: Close To You - Taiwan 2021
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Gen Y 2 - Thailand 2022
@heretherebedork and I call them PokeTongue for a reason.
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Y-Destiny - Thailand 2021
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kiss x kiss x kiss: Perfect Scandal - Japan 2022
No shocker that Japan is the only one to field a micro on this list. Usually thirst takes more build up.
Defining THIRST
I make a distinction between thirst and other types of physical desire. This is just me and language.
Thirst usually leaps off the screen and has an edge of danger to it. Like they gonna get caught, or go out of control just from wanting to touch. They gonna die without physical contact. It's pure survival need. Japan kinda specializes in this.
There's no humor to thirst, but horny can get kinda cheeky. It's more fun and mutual (ee.g. KinnPorsche). More want than need. So it's more Thailand and Taiwan.
There's also yearning (e.g. The 8th Sense), which has a more emotional soul tether to it. Korea in particular, but also like GMMTV and lower heat prestige stuff, high school things for example (My School President).
And finally hunger, which I tend to think of as desire but with a nourishment component. It's I want what's MINE. Like Taejung in Cherry Blossoms After Winter.
These aren't mutually exclusive, mind you.
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I dithered but they didn't quite make the list
Irresistible Love - China 2016
Second Chance - Thailand 2021
Takara & Amagi - Japan 2022
Love Area - Thailand 2022
Takumi-kun - Japan 2007
Moonlight Chicken - Thailand 2023
My Engineer (RamKing) - Thailand 2020
It's why we're all still mad we never got full RamKing
(source)
This posted dated end of 2023. Not responsible for thirsty BL that happens after. Check the comments for additions and other's thoughts on the matter.
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fullcoffeemoon-nem · 7 months
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Timeline Theory
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First update: 9-21-23
Lats update: 11-14-23
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Hi there!
After another re-watch and the head to pay attention to the small details, perhaps I have reconstructed a possible
Timeline of Helluva Boss
It would be better to define them as hypotheses. First of all, here is an outline of the episodes and their release dates.
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I know, I also included the one whose title we know, just for the sake of general overview. The theory for the moment covers 2 seasons out of 4 announced.
Here the synthetic timeline. From the estimate version I have removed the year here, we'll get to the reason.
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Here I also report some of my thoughts:
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Already from the first episodes there's a strong focus on clocks and time, it is much more striking in Oops, where Asmodeus' clock marks the whole day.
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I'm not sure about the year, but also from the analyzes carried out later, 2021 could be the year of the narrative arc that goes from Murder Family to Ozzie's.
(*) The Verosika's tour t-shirt was official and linked to the episode, at the moment I'm undecided on its validity at the year level, althought the date could be very possible.
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However, my research started with Seeing Stars because it's the first episode to feature an almost specific date: the 20th of a 30-day month.
In my opinion it could be April chronologically and it's agreed with the information in the subsequent episodes.
The only problem is that the full moon would't coincide with what was marked by Blitz.
Noteworthy:
Blitz's calendar suggests that the full moon that month is the 14th.
Stolas wrote in the Western Energy chat that Blitz was supposed to come that evening and that therefore the full moon was the 20th.
We are certainly either in 2021 or beyond given Moxxie's coin in Seeing Stars.
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From the chat we can understand that:
About a month passes between the trio Ozzie's - Queen Bee - The Circus (1 moon)
About 3 months (3 moons) pass between Seeing Stars and Western Energy
Western Energy is placed a week before Oops and among these the week told in Unhappy Campers
From Millie's flyer we know that her and Moxxie's mission ends on Friday July 17th. We know from Blitz that this lasted a week, so it started on Monday 13th July.
According to what Striker says to Crisom, Western Energy should be set around July 11th and Oops around July 18th.
We should be in 2022 though, but in that case July 17th was a Sunday.
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In Mammon's magnificent concert Blitz says on the call with Ozzie that it's a weekend.
Theoretically, it should be the week parallel (July 21-22th or 28-29th) to the events of Western-Unhappy-Oops. At the latest the following month (August).
Here we come to the gap:
(*) The Mammon's official t-shirt is clearly linked to the episode, but the date (2023) and month (October) cause the information to conflict.
So, at this point we have this options:
The official t-shirts are tied exclusively to the release date of the episode.
They are official at the date level but not at the year level.
They're official and we're actually 2 years removed from Murder Family.
I think it is more canonical to consider a connection with the month of July shown in the episode and maintain the hypothesis.
Seeing Stars -> April
Wester Energy to Oops -> July
In the end, I report here some of the most interesting posts from Blitz and Stolas' Sinstagrams, due to that they're the only two accounts that hide canonical information.
(Thanks @timkontheunsure for the source)
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I underlined my opinion, they certainly respect real events but I don't think that in terms of dating they are canonical.
What a mess...
What do you think about it?
Have you noticed any other details that could clarify the mystery? Make me know it and let's solve the mystery together :}
Bye~
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indelibleme · 4 months
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Detective Conan | Magic Kaito Fic Recs
I've realised I write consistently for only one fandom at any given time (DCMK lol), so here are some of my (completed!) works that I'm quite proud of! (Titles in order of posting, newest to oldest)
Yōkai? Ryōkai! : Chps 1/1. 12k words. KaiShin. Shinichi and Kaito finding a place with each other while solving a yokai murder mystery. (Written for the DCMK Secret Santa Event 2023!)
All Things Bright And Beautiful : Chps 1/1. 15k words. KaiShin. In which Prince Kaito and enemy Knight Kudo Shinichi really have no business falling in love, stuck on the brink of a political firestorm, but they do so anyway. Enemies to friends to lovers. (Written for the DCMK Secret Santa Event 2022, rated E)
Wilting Beauty, Blooming Nightshade: Chps 7/7. 22k words. KaiShin. Hanahaki AU! Kaito has been pining for nearly 5 years now, as the flowers he coughs out reminds him. Caught in a murder mystery on a cruise liner, he has (probably) his last chance to confess his feelings. (Written for the KaiShin Reverse Bang 2022.)
Includes 4 gorgeous pieces of coloured artwork and 5 sketches by my artist partner of the event @rux363
Two Is Company : Chp 1/1. 2k words. KaiShin. Post-canon slice of life, where Kaito and Shinichi meet as professors in a university.
The Ace Up Your Sleeve: Chps 7/7. 16k words. KaiShin. Post-canon. Kaito attempts to play detective when a case involving a BO member surfaces after years of inactivity. And the enemy is not who he expected at all. (Written for the KaiShin Reverse Bang 2021)
Under The Full Moon: Chps 1/1. 4k words. Gen fic. There is a ghost on the loose, with spirit detectives Kudo and Hattori on the case. Kaitou Kid would just like to get out of this mess. (Written for the DCMK Halloween Exhange 2020)
In the Name of Science! : Chp 1/1. 1k words. Crack fic. Humor. Akako and Ai decide to collaborate on a project, and Hakuba suffers for it.
Jar, Not Jewel: Chp 1/1. 1k words. KaiShin. A take on the acquisition of Pandora, and its aftermath. (Written for a Fandom Games event on Tumblr)
Hyacinths and Roses : Chp 1/1. 5k words. KaiShin. A heist stake out and a police stake out cross paths. A thief is asked to "lend a hand" in help. (Rated E)
A Case of Identity: Chps 10/10. 49k words. KaiShin. Identity reveal AU. Post-Conan, Shinichi meets Kaito, as Ran's to-be-boyfriend.
Silver Bullet: Chps 3/3. 7k words. Vermouth, on meeting the two most important people of her life.
Kindly Cruel: Chp 1/1. 2k words. KaiShin. Detectives are like sharks in the ocean, ruthless hunters after blood, and Shinichi especially so.
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frechiiie · 2 years
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alright, so here’s the deal since I need to come clean with y’all
I’m paying off my 2021 year taxes since I owed them money and stuff, I made a payment plan with TurboTax and shit and I’ve already made 2 payments out of 4. I’ve been paying that pack easy and on time; no issues there. However, I got a letter from the irs saying I was 2 months late on my payments (which I wasn’t) apparently I made the payments in the wrong year or section?? I have no fucking clue tbh; I thought I was paying it right but apparently not. BUT luckily the 2 payments I made were still under my name and social but they were unclaimed. I gave them a call to sort it out and got the 2 payments back to the balance of where it should’ve gone! I was firm to tell them I was already in a payment plan (I have them the 2 last dates on the other 2 payments I need to do) and we AGREED to stick by it. All is good, I thought I sorted it out. I got another letter confirming it and everything. Awesome!
Then yesterday I got YET another letter from the irs, basically they want me to pay the full remaining balance (aka: 3.5k) by AUGUST 28th of next month. So uh, I’m a little stressed out and anxious about that because idk about y’all but I literally do not have 3,500 dollars. IF I DID…I WOULD’VE PAID IT OFF.
So now I have to wait for the 4th to pass so I can give them a call and ask them why they decided to fully charge me the rest by that date instead of the payment plan we agreed on. If worst comes to worst; they’re going to tell me it’s all due on august with no exceptions. And if it is, I’m literally screwed. Because I do NOT have that kind of money.
Part of me wants to open comms but I literally can’t, my body will not handle that kind of pressure with what I already have on my shoulders. I would take like maybe 2 comms but I deadass doubt anyone would even pay 100 dollars for my art. It’s not that good enough unless it’s a comic and right now? I don’t wanna be doing comic comms. No way.
And what’s worse is that I haven’t paid for shipping on the other plush orders that are done (sun, moon and teddy Freddy and Gregory) as-well as gotten the bulk order on the keychain plushies finalized because the met amount hasn’t been reached yet. I honestly wanted to cry because I felt like a complete failure,
I am not nor will I ever use the money for shipping to make any other purchases than what they are intended for, that would be irresponsible of me to do so. That money was from you guys for me to ship your orders and that will NOT be touched.
My friends lightly suggested that I upped my princess on the plushies because they cost a lot more to produce and ship, and they’re right but if I charged more then they won’t be affordable and won’t make much sales, I’m thinking after the keychain plushies I should just go back to sticking with chains, pins and stickers. BUT what I will do is charge the keychain plushies from 30 to 40 dollars because I sold my blueberry plush for 40 so it’s only fair.
I wouldn’t be struggling too much if I knew what I was doing as a small business owner but since I’m new to it I practically don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve been suggested to look for other stuff that I can do for me to make a profit while not spending too much. And target stuff I know will sell well.
But right now? I gotta go as planned, so I am begging for help.
Please please let’s try to get the stuff on my shop sold out for me (if possible), you can share to whoever you want and purchase whatever you see of interest in my shop! And if you can leave a tip that’ll help a lot!
And if you can’t buy anything on my shop, that’s okay! You can also buy me a Kofi or two! ANYTHING helps!
I’m trying to prepare for the worst, I just hope that’s not the case but I’m deadass loosing my grip. so PLEASE PLEASE help me in any way you can if you want!
The goal for my stuff is to make others happen with stuff that I create, art is something I love to do and want to make a career out of, and your support would mean a lot! Thanks!
I’ll update y’all on what happens after I give the damn irs a call on Tuesday. In the meantime, im gonna try not to spiral. Links to my Kofi, Shop and even Paypal are down below! Thank you!
https://ko-fi.com/frechiiie/shop
https://ko-fi.com/frechiiie
https://www.paypal.me/Frecher
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heartnosekid · 3 days
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my personal favorite stimboards masterlist!
so, as it turns out... i've made a lot of stimboards since 2021 when i made my first favorite stimboards stimboard. i wanted to make another stimboard of the boards, but i quickly found out i had way too many favorites to fit in a stimboard that my computer or phone could handle lol.
so, instead of the stimboard, here is a bunch of links to my favorite stimboards with some descriptors. as far as name stimboards go, i love them all too much so i couldn't decide on a concise list of favorites lol enjoy! comment your favorites if you want to!
concept / music based:
clowncore with bright primary colors | butterflies, spiders, & moths in purple & blue | nature, flowers, & bugs in pink & yellow | aroace sunset flag with nature | lunar rainbow | pansexual with nature | black & neon glowcore | hot pink color board
demeter & young persephone | black arches moth | carnivalcore, kidcore, & kitties | smile - the beach boys album art | pink, elegant, & floral | death's head hawkmoth | virginian tiger moth
night skies, the moon, biblically accurate angels, books, & moths | yule pagan holiday board | rain by sleep token | "i know love is real because i exist and i am full of it" | sidewalk chalk kitty
character / franchise based:
marie (splatoon) based on only her hair colors | dark magic hat creampuff cookie (cookie run: ovenbreak) | seer (apex legends) | floral sacrifice soul weaver (identity v) | super pusheenicorn (pusheen) | haku (spirited away) | skitty (pokemon) | wish bear & love-a-lot bear (care bears) | baby hugs & tugs (care bears)
custom camper (animal crossing: pocket camp) | banette (pokemon) | royal livery bloodhound (apex legends) | caregiver zacharie & small batter (off game) | a gaze eternal revenant (apex legends) | raiden (metal gear rising: revengeance) | fleur fairies (jellycat)
bog witch ad (goatlings) | wicked harvest bloodhound (apex legends) | neon skeleton squishmallows | mirage (apex legends) | k_k (deltarune) | renji & uta with cafe elements & greyscale (tokyo ghoul) | ione (animal crossing) | zucker (animal crossing) | oyster cookie (cookie run: kingdom)
lime cookie (cookie run: ovenbreak) | blue eyes white dragon (yu-gi-oh) | alice in wonderland 1951 film | lobo (puss in boots: the last wish) | miffy kidcore positivity (miffy & friends) | trans calico critters (sylvanian families) | king rauru (the legend of zelda: tears of the kingdom) | catalyst (apex legends)
g1 pony bride (my little pony) | white pearl cookie (cookie run: kingdom) | soft pastel blue dratini (pokemon) | dusk from the hex girls (scooby doo) | frilled jellyfish cookie (cookie run: kingdom) | uboa (yume nikki) | sayaka miki (puella magi madoka magica) | fog canyon (hollow knight)
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wartakes · 1 month
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Firewatch (March 2024 edition, Part 2)
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(This is Part 2 of my innagural edition of "Firewatch" becuase I was dumb and didn't realize what the character limit is. Read Part 1 here). Full piece beneath the cut.
Smoldering Embers
These are the conflicts that, while not yet to the point where the flames are rising and heating up, smoke is starting to billow (or has been billowing) and there's potential for a real blaze to suddenly flare up at a moment's notice. You may have heard about them in the news here and there, but they're likely only popping up for your attention once in a blue moon because they haven't gotten bad or dramatic enough yet to fully grab the world's attention amid everything else going on.
West Africa/Sahel
The Sahel regions of West Africa are no stranger to crisis and conflict. Multiple countries in the region have already been dealing with internal political discord and armed conflict for years, but now multiple factors and various players seem to be converging in this part of Africa, positioning it to take a number of different paths forward in the coming months and years – few of which look very good.
West Africa and the Sahel are feeling a series of different pressures converging all at once. Since 2020, the region has seen a historic number of coup d'etats – both failed attempts and successful ones – which often come with a large amount of public support amid frustration with institutions and leaders that appear to be failing them. One reason for this frustration (among others that should be unsurprising, like economic troubles) is increasing amounts of instability throughout the region. Affiliates of both Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State both have footholds in the region, and are engaged in insurgencies against the governments of Mali (its most recent coup being in 2021, and also fighting a simultaneous insurgency by Tuareg separatists), Burkina Faso (most recent coup in 2022), and Niger (most recent coup in 2023), with Nigeria also dealing with a well over-decade old insurgency against Bokho Haram.
Niger's coup last year, in particular, seems to have been a watershed moment for the region and beyond. The country was strategically important both for its mineral resources (which unsurprisingly have not translated into economic and social development for the people of Niger themselves) and as a geographically well positioned outpost both for France (who's colonial legacy hangs heavily over the region) and the Untied States and other foreign powers, who all had troops stationed in the country to conduct counter-terrorism operations. The coup was seen as serious enough that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) issued an ultimatum to the Nigerien junta this past summer, threatening that if it did not cede power back to the elected President that ECOWAS would intervene to restore the legitimately elected government (as it has in the past).
Ultimately, the ECOWAS threats have not come to fruition and don't seem likely to – despite some apparent moves to do so in the aftermath of the coup. But out of those threats, Niger has joined into a new political and military alliance called the Alliance of Sahel States with both Burkina Faso and Mali (all of which had been suspended from ECOWAS due to their respective coups) to provide for collective self-defense against foreign intervention. Since 2023, French troops have been forced out of both Burkina Faso and Niger – with Niger now seemingly on the verge of doing the same to the remaining US troops in the country, while Vladimir Putin's Russia has seemingly been on a charm offensive to befriend the members of new alliance signing economic and military agreements and even reportedly dispatching troops – with mercenaries such as those from Wagner already having been active in the area (now operating under the new name of the "Africa Corps").
All these factors and more combined suggest that things in the Sahel are liable to get very interesting in the near future. As stated before, a number of different paths seem to unfold ahead for the region: if the ongoing radical insurgencies continue and are victorious, we could see a new territorial caliphate in West Africa and the Sahel mirroring that of IS in Iraq and Syria in the 2010s (and all the horrors that came with it). Barring that, as Russia deepens its ties to the AES, it could further turn the region into even more of a battleground in the multilateral Cold War we find ourselves in (as Russia is not the only authoritarian power seeking to deepen its influence in West Africa, as Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also attempting to get involved there). Those are only two potential options out of many, and the myriad of other options in a region that is heavily populated and on the radar of multiple great powers means that it bears continued monitoring going forward.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo/Rwanda
Now this is one that I imagine is probably flying under the radars of most people who aren't deeper into my field, but is probably one of the most immediately pressing in Africa. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been fighting against a rebellion by the armed group known as "M23" in its East for a decade now – that much isn't new. But now the conflict is threatening to turn onto a state-on-state war in Africa's Great Lakes region, as M23's primary back of neighboring Rwanda seemingly steps up its direct involvement into the conflict.
Rwanda has been backing M23 for some time now, with both Rwanda's government (under long-time President Paul Kagame) and M23 itself being primarily led by members of the Tutsi ethnic group. Rwanda also has a history of armed interventions in the DRC as well, so that in itself is not new. But in recent months the long-running tensions and low-level conflict between the DRC and Rwanda has threatened to boil over into outright, full-scale war, amid a series of fresh escalations – one prominent example being Rwanda firing on a DRC fighter-jet that it claimed violated its airspace. The high level of tensions has been further evidenced by more direct US involvement recently than is typically seen in this part of the world, with the United States and other governments attempting to broker some kind of peaceful resolution between the DRC and Rwanda. These efforts do not seem to have made much headway, with this past month the United States resorting to publicly urging both the DRC and Rwanda to "walk back from the brink of war." US mediation efforts may well be undermined, however, by it's (and many other Western countries') cozy relationship with Rwanda – despite its autocratic leader.
The trajectory for the current crisis remains unclear. A sideline meeting during the African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa appeared to make some progress in at least getting both the DRC and Rwanda to sit at one table and discuss a return to a peaceful dialogue to resolve their differences. However, that same day, the DRC accused Rwanda of having launched a drone attack in the city of Goma – a key objective of M23's advances, seemingly pouring cold war on the idea of constructive and peaceful reconciliation for the time being. Most recently, the DRC appears to be acquiring drones of its own, with China reportedly set to supply the DRC with nine CH-4 armed drones (apropos of nothing, China has also supplied a fair amount of military hardware to Rwanda in recent years, as well as military training).
With little other news available on the crisis since February (with other global events taking precedence), it remains unclear where things with the DRC and Rwanda go from here. There have been reports that the DRC and Rwandan leaders may be preparing to meet face-to-face once more, through mediation by Angola. At the same time, little seems to have changed with the personalities at play. DRC President Felix Tshisekedi was recently re-elected (under conditions labeled a "farce" by the DRC opposition), and has previously taken a hard line on the crisis, threatening to "march on Kigali" if re-elected and the issues with Rwanda persist. The DRC's acquisition of drones from China seems to reinforce that it has no plans of backing down in its confrontation with M23 and Rwanda, even if Tshisekedi doesn't follow through on his more bellicose threats. Meanwhile in Rwanda, Kagame announced his intent to seek a fourth term as President – amid criticism for lifting term limits in order to stay in office longer (criticisms that he has made clear he cares very little for if at all), and so has an impetus to maintain his own hard-line on issues with the DRC.
A further ticking clock has been added to the DRC-Rwanda situation by the fact that the United Nations mission in the Congo – which has been assisting the DRC fight against rebels (including M23) for almost two decades – will now be leaving the DRC by the end of 2024 at the request of the DRC government, stating that the force had not been able to resolve the war with M23. This comes after the DRC government also ordered troops from the East African Community (EAC) that had been present in the country as well to leave in late 2023 – for the same reasons it ordered the UN force to leave. While the DRC may well be right that neither force has helped it to beat M23, the withdrawal of these troops may very well shift the entire balance of the conflict and not necessarily in a way that the DRC wants. The South African Development Community (SADC), led by South Africa itself, is seeking to fill the gap left by the UN and EAC, but it remains to be seen how quickly they can do so and if they can change facts on the ground any more than the UN or EAC could. Once again, we see a number of potential factors on a collision course, and while cooler heads may still prevail, we see the prospect of yet another major war in the heart of Africa's Great Lakes regions that could have significant impacts for the people of the region, the continent, and the world. It is definitely worth keeping an eye on this developing situation (to the extent you can even find news on it).
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, like Myanmar, is a country that has shown up in the past when I've done a round-up on pertinent conflicts in the world. However, unlike with Myanmar, I'm afraid I can't report that things are getting better in Ethiopia's case or that there's much cause for hope at this point. In fact, things seem to be getting actively worse.
The last time I substantively talked about Ethiopia, the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was engaged in a war in the Tigray region against the Tigray People's Liberation Force – even allying with his former long-time adversary of Eritrea to do so in a war that threatened to rip the country apart while engaging in brutal authoritarian actions that I'm sure are making the Nobel Committee really regret giving him that prize in retrospect. After a seesawing of the fortunes of war back and forth for both sides, the conflict was seemingly brought to a close by the signing of a peace agreement between the TPLF and the Ethiopian federal government. All's well that ends well, done and dusted, right?
Well, actually: no.
Just less than a year after the Tigray War ended, Abiy apparently tripped over his dick into a new internal conflict in mid 2023, this time with Amhara people and forces in the eponymous Amhara region (Ethiopia's second most populous) rather than Tigray. The spark for this conflict was apparently born out of the haphazard way in which Abiy ended the previous one. One of Abiy's key allies in the Tigray War were militias and security forces from the region of Amhara, including an influential armed group known as the "Fano." However, the peace deal that Abiy struck with Tigray did not sit well with many Amahara people, who felt betrayed by the deal due to Tigray claims on their territory (as well as the fact that the Ethiopian federal military and security forces had been unable to prevent the TPLF from occupying Amahara territory during the war). This rift was only made worse by crackdowns by Abiy's government against the Fano, coupled with a plan to absorb Ethiopia's regional security forces into Ethiopia's federal military and security forces, which was not received well among the Amhara. These tensions and more came to a head from April through August 2023, with the result being Abiy's government facing down a fresh and ongoing revolt that doesn't appear to be ending soon.
The result of this bridge burning by Abiy has been a growing war in Amhara occurring under the umbrella of an ever prolonged state of emergency in Amhara that gives Ethiopian authorities broad powers to carry out arrests, impose curfews, and ban public gatherings. This is a continuation of the Abiy's playbook of gross human rights violations from the previous war in Tigray, with accusations being leveled against his government of arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial executions, and indiscriminate killings – including indiscriminate drone strikes against targets such as schools and public transit stations (apropos of nothing, once more, Abiy has acquired his fleet of armed drones from Iran, Turkey, and China – as well as purchasing new fighter jets from Russia). If you're wondering why you haven't heard more about all this, its because Abiy has made heavy handed use of another favorite tactic of his from the previous war (and that it has even used against Amhara in the past), which is information and specifically internet blackouts, which make it very difficult to get information out of Amahara as the conflict drags on (as it did in Tigray during that war).
Abiy's uncanny knack for burning bridges and making enemies isn't limited to within his own country, but has made tensions rise throughout East Africa. At the start of 2024, Abiy signed an agreement with the breakaway region of Somaliland in Somalia, which reportedly gives Ethiopia a naval port on Somaliland's coastline in exchange for recognizing the region's independence from Somalia (something that no other UN member state does). All of this appears to be part of Abiy's quest to regain Ethiopian access to the sea (lost after Eritrea became independent), which has included efforts to re-establish the Ethiopian Navy. The reaction to this deal has been, unsurprisingly, poorly received in Somalia, with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud even threatening the possibility of war if Ethiopia follows through with it and accusing Ethiopia of outright trying to annex part of Somalia. Somalis are not the only ones unease about Ethiopia's quest for access to the Red Sea, with other East African states such as Djibouti, Eritrea, and Kenya all having previously voiced concern about Ethiopian actions.
There's also the matter of Ethiopia's previously mentioned issues with Egypt over the Nile River, in particular Ethiopia's construction of a massive hydroelectric dam known as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (or "GERD") on the river that Egypt worries could have a devastating effect on its water supply downstream if Ethiopia acts without considering Egyptian concerns. Despite numerous efforts to come to an agreement over the dam and the river, every attempt thus far has ended in failure, with Egypt continuing to refer to GERD an "existential threat." Egypt has also made it clear that it stands squarely with Somalia regarding the sea access debacle, with Egypt's autocratic President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi asserting that "Egypt will not allow anyone to threaten Somalia or affect its security," creating a fresh avenue for tension between Egypt and Ethiopia in addition to the GERD issue. This is all in addition to concerns that both Egypt and Ethiopia could be drawn into the aforementioned civil war in Sudan, with numerous potential negative consequences for all involved.
The long and short of things when it comes to Ethiopia, is you have no shortage of opportunities for more intense conflict in the near future, both within and around the country. Abiy's continued heavy handed approach to both domestic and foreign politics creates an ever increasing possibility that one day he will bite off more than he can chew, and potentially spark a conflict of such scale and scope that it could engulf all of East Africa in a major war and potentially even destroy Ethiopia – the second most populous country in Africa – as a polity. Given the potential consequences, this is a part of the world meriting very close observation going forward.
"Do You Smell Something Burning?"
In this final section, I want to touch briefly (as I've already gone on for a few thousand words) on some hot spots in the world that are cause for concern and have been for a while, but have nothing major going on at this moment in time. While they may be quiet (at least relatively speaking, compared to everything else we've just talked about), they have the potential to spark up in the mid to long term and become a problem once again.
The Korean Peninsula
By this point, we're probably all used to North Korea (under its dictator, Kim Jong-Un) shooting off missiles and making bellicose statements. That's par for the course for them. But in recent months, Kim and his government's rhetoric have taken a new and more hostile turn. North Korea has stated it has abandoned the idea of peaceful unification with the South, instead naming it North Korea's "principal enemy" which it will "annihilate" if it is provoked. This comes as North Korea continues weapons tests and conducts multiple military drills – with Kim often in attendance.
While I wouldn't worry about a continuation of the (yet unresolved) Korean War just yet, this may well be cause for concern. While tensions are typical on the Peninsula, we haven't seen rhetoric like this from the North in quite some time. And while full-scale war may be unlikely at this moment (though not impossible), 010 showed us that under the right conditions, the Peninsula is never far from violent skirmishes and incidents between the two Koreas, such as the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island and sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan. While wider conflict was avoiding in those cases, now that South Korea has a more reactionary President wanting to present a hard line towards the North, it raises questions about it may react to provocation. Again, while I wouldn't be panicking just yet, it may be worth keeping your ear to the ground on this one to keep from being caught unawares if tensions suddenly spike further.
Armenia and Azerbaijan
Well, they finally did it. I've also written about this conflict several times now, and it looks like by all accounts, Azerbaijan has gotten exactly what it said it wanted. After the world stood by and did largely nothing in its 2020 war against the ethnic-Armenian enclave of Artsakh (AKA: Nagorno-Karabakh), Azerbaijan decided to finish the job once and for all with a fresh offensive on the heels of a nine-month blockade this past year. With next to no prospect of outside assistance, and weakened by the blockade, the Artsakh forces quickly folded, and almost the entirety of the ethnic Armenia population promptly fled in the ensuing days and weeks to avoid violence at the hand of Azeri forces, leaving Azerbaijan free to complete its cultural genocide of the region. But now that its over, surely Armenia and Azerbaijan can find a way to live in peace with this new reality? Right?
Ha ha, no.
In what should be surprising to absolutely no one, Azerbaijan has celebrated getting what it wanted in Artsakh by shifting the goal post once more. Now its new demand is a land corridor connecting it to its ethnic exclave of Naxcivan on the opposite side of Armenia – referred to as the "Zangezur Corridor" (after the Azeri name for the Armenian Syunik province that it would pass through). Armenia seems highly unlikely to agree to such a demand, which it views as an unacceptable infringement on its sovereignty, which likely means – as has been the case after every war fought between these two countries in the past – a new war is almost certainly on the horizon as Azerbaijan will not stop until an outside force compels it to stop and will use the Armenian rejection as an excuse for fresh conflict. 2024 has already seen fresh skirmishes on the border between the two countries, showing that the tensions remain very much present.
It's not clear when this new war will occur, but we can only hope that in the interim more nations step up to actually assist Armenia. We have seen hopeful signs of greater support from other countries, with France and India selling arms to the country to help it defend itself. However, I can't take any of that for granted, with how the world has left Armenia out to dry time and time again. If Azerbaijan does decide to go to war for a land corridor, it also risks potentially sparking a wider regional war, as Iran has called such an action to cut off its land border with Armenia a "red line" (though whether or not it would really take military action in response remains unclear). Anyway, keep your ears to the ground on this one, because like with the other wars Azerbaijan has launched it'll likely come out of the blue.
I'm Very Tired.
I've just thrown a lot of information at you, so I'm going to try and keep this conclusion short and sweet (for me). First, I'll lay out a few takeaways about the wider world situation, and then some general closing thoughts.
Looking at the general state of things with the conflicts I've laid out, I'm going to infer a few things about the general state of global security. For one, Africa is in a dire state in multiple regards and seems to be the biggest place to watch for trouble on the horizon at the moment, as it has several crises that seem ready to boil over into major wars in the near future – if they haven't already in some cases. These crises and conflicts have the potential to pit some of the most populous countries on the continent against one another, and also to rip some of those same countries apart internally. Short of that, Africa is also seemingly getting teed up to be the sight of a new round of intense great power competition for influence and resources the likes of which we haven't seen since the Cold War, with said competition not just involving big players like the United States, Russia, or China, but attracting newcomers to the influence game too – as the UAE's involvement in Sudan's civil war has shown. Finally, it's also worth noting that now that we're in a post-Russian invasion of Ukraine world where large scale state-on-state conflict is back on the menu after many "experts" thinking it was dead and gone, it makes some of the fault lines we're watching here even more important to keep a close eye on.
There's almost certainly more that I say here, but these are just some big overarching themes to take away from this round of observation. Now, for the closing thoughts:
I know you're tired. We all are. I am.
That being said, we can't give up in our fight for a better world for everyone living in it. That requires remaining well informed (to the extent that you're able) about what's going on in that world. This is especially true if your government is playing a role in it (for good or for bad), or it isn't and it should be. Information is, in its own right, power.
I know that your emotional energy is precious, and likely being eaten up but a number of different things at any given moment. I'm not ask you to drop everything and devote all your time and energy to these causes or others, nor am I trying to shame you for not paying as close attention to them as I or others have. Simply, to add them to the Rolodex of your brain as something that matters and that you should check in on once in a while so you're not caught unawares when new developments occur that may affect you and others.
There's only so much that all of us can do about any one issue, either at home or abroad. But we do what we can, and in order to do that, we need to have an idea of what's going on. So take that as you will after reading all this (or anything else that I write or post, for that matter).
On that note, I'll let you get back to whatever else you need to do. But thank you for taking the time to read this and potentially learn more about events you may not have known much about and their potential impacts. I'll hopefully see you again for my next essay, but in the meantime: stay safe out there and don't give up.
Photo credit: africanews/AFP.
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yesloulou · 7 months
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i cannot stop thinking about your gorgeous art for so close, we combust! i'm wondering if you can give us a little director's cut about it? like how you chose the images, anything that you want to share? it makes me want to launch myself into space and eat the moon like cheese.
em im so honored by this ask and i too want to eat the moon like cheese bc it sounds like a very fun activity ❤️‍🔥
soo basically the first pic was my inspo bc it was just so so SCWC (so close, we combust by @officialmood) coded. it had an imbalance to it. for starters we can only see max looking like he was about to explode from fondness while daniel had his back turned and we can't see his face. and like. everything was straightforward for max. the genuine affection for daniel came so easily to him. it was so transparent. but since they were hugging daniel had no idea max's face looked like that when he hugged him. and based on what we know about cool cocky nonchalant RB daniel, one is likely to assume daniel wasn't equally affected by it – and i think they would be right. that hug was at daniel's last race with red bull. there were walls of ppl lining up to congratulate him and send him off. and max was at the end of this line. by the time daniel got to him the impact of it would've been softened by all those that came before. it was like. daniel was saying goodbye to the whole team in one sitting and max was only saying goodbye to daniel. all the imbalances here really remind me of the first part SCWC, where daniel was aware of everything, yet more or less took it for granted, so used to being on the receiving end of max's attention and affection. SCWC daniel "didn’t know at the time that this would be the kind of memory he would turn over and over, trying to cut himself against the sharp part", canon daniel likely also underestimated how rare and precious it was to have the whole team (and max) adore and support him like that.
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and it was all about to change. the hug (2nd gif) after AD 21 was a whole other dynamic. it was a much more reserved hug. there were so much complicated emotions that went into it: before daniel went up to max in parc ferme, he had just witnessed max overtake lewis during the final laps of the most dramatic recent f1 season to take his first world title. and since daniel had been lapped by both max and lewis, he literally had to watch it all unfold right in front of him, first hand. and now max, his old teammate, the reason he had to leave his team, the one he on some level saw as a younger sibling, the one ppl said he ran away from, was a world champion before him when that exact wdc dream had slipped further and further away from daniel, who in fact had just had the most bizarre season in his whole f1 career.
it was just a lot of complicated emotions for daniel at that point. i think it must've taken effort for him to feel happy for max at all, let along going up to him and congratulating him right then and there. but daniel did it anyway. and it was a painfully hasty hug imo esp compared to how it went with lando and carlos. it was even a lil awkward bc you can tell max had both of his arms up but daniel didn't plan on going in with a full hug. but still, he wanted to congratulate max and he did.
it wasn't a fun moment to recall as a daniel girlie but it also has such a nice echo with the second part of SCWC. they were hugging/hanging out like all those times they hugged/hung out before. but everything had changed. max looked like a whole different person now (both in scwc and irl in the gif set), and he became comfortable being in control. and for daniel, this time he was the one with all those emotions going into it. neither scwc pt. 2 daniel (in max's apartment) or 2021 canon daniel (in parc ferme) was all that comfortable, but they were both there anyway, looking for a shred of reality that vaguely resembles what he and max used to be, holding on to the hope that a part of them survived despite everything.
anyways, basically as soon as i had the first pic as inspo i decided that i wanted the second pic to also be one of their hugs but with a completely different dynamic, just like in pt1 and pt2 of scwc they were doing the same things (hanging out) completely differently. and then i just thought of that second hug. and with hugging being the subject there is also the sense of like, the closer they came, the more the reality sank in, that max had won before him, that all their conflicts had come to a boiling point, that the deal had been sealed. it's just like what the title says, came so close we combust.
idk if im making sense with everything here but hopefully this has been a fun read :) ty for this ask em and again ty liza for blessing us with SCWC!!!
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kakiastro · 6 months
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Lunar Taurus Eclipse
Date : October 28th, 2023
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Hey yall! I decided to start doing important transits announcements. As you know and probably been feeling is the upcoming lunar Eclipse. Now mind we still feeling the effects from the Solar eclipse in Libra
What is in an eclipse?
-It’s when the celestial bodies, the Sun and Moon light is blocked for a short period of time.
How long do they last?
- the actual eclipse don’t last long but the energy of the eclipse last for 6 about months.
What do they mean spiritually and astrologically?
-Many astrologers and spiritualist alike believe eclipse are signatures of life changing events. Whether it’s the ending of a cycle or the beginning of a new one.
This is the last Taurus eclipse cycle that we’ll have for a while. This Taurus eclipse cycle started back November 2021 so check back on the events in your life during that time.
-for me, this is when I started my Tumblr blog, so it’s full circle that I’m making this post lol. Taurus rules my 11h of social media!
-Taurus is the 2nd sign of the zodiac. It rules over our values, self worth, finances, our physical home, our voice.
-Lunar (Moon) is our emotions, mom, immediate family, the karmic cycles in our life. Whenever the moon changes phases so do we!
This eclipse is ruled by Venus which is in its fall of Virgo. Venus isn’t comfortable in Virgo so this transit will be intense
Taurus eclipse is also opposing the Sun, Mercury and Mars which heightens the restless feelings.
So what do you need to do?
Rest, drink lots of water, listen to feel good music. Watch your words and thoughts. Journal or do voice notes if you need to get the words out of your head. Emotions will be strong so try to only watch feel good movies and shows. Release what no longer serve you.
Affirmations I personally use, now you can create your own but for beginners who need an example on where to start.
“if there’s anything or anyone blocking me from reaching my potential, then I release them with love.”
“I’m thankful for all the lessons I’ve learned in this cycle whether it was through people or through my own situations. I’m ready to start this new cycle in my life with an open mind and heart, let my new journey be one filled with love.”
“With this new journey, let it be filled with people who has genuine love, and wants the best for me and I them.”
After saying or writing these, just start living your life normally and let God/Universe/Source, whoever you believe do the rest.
Eclipse energy is tiring plus we’re still feeling the last one. So try to get as much rest as you possibly can.
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12-seconds-to-live · 9 months
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(Un)Lost: Half a heart
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Pairing: F12022/3!Grid! x Fem!Driver!oc
Warnings: DNF’s, angst, a little bit of love, episodes of anxiety.
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Lando P.O.V.
Charlotte Robyn-Jones, the girl I fall in love.
Some people say that I’m just a lucky guy. To be young, full of energy and to be chosen as a formula one driver for McLaren. But even being so talented doesn’t make you feel complete, even when you’re surrounded by people who tell you how good you are, how loved, how lonely.
By the end of the 2021 season, my attention of how the standings finished for formula two wasn’t important at that time, so when the news of the driver for Williams came as a surprised. Another girl, I thought, wrong, she’s something else. I kept myself quiet when she was around just waiting for her eyes to look at mine, knowing that at the end, her smiled always showed up.
Charlotte is beautiful, intelligent, polite and loved.
I always wanted to know if she feels the same as me when the attention is higher. Nobody can deny how well is she doing this year and what the future may bring to her, I hope something good.
When Carlos introduced me to her I was scared, I feel my cheeks red and my anxiety higher that ever, I wasn’t brave around her but the way her eyes light up when she met someone new, how she talked about her mother, how she always laughed with the boys, almost everything about her made me smile.
The day she was included in the groupchat with the drivers, I decided to text her, I was nervous but she was funny and tell me I was the first of the boys to talk to her. We looked for each other in the mornings and almost every night we spent talking about things outside our carreers.
I was falling in love
No.
I’m still falling.
The problem is me, scared of a non-existing future, but at the same time I know that she is the better half of me.
I looked for her every morning when we arrive at the paddock, hoping she would be sitting in the front of her hospitality waving to every person who said hello to her, cracking jokes with the mechanics as she ate her favourite snack.
Every place I walked into, I was looking for her, hoping she wouldn't be looking at me first as I was embarrassed, of not knowing how to express my emotions, let alone tell her.
I don’t even like coffee but she is like a warm cup of coffee in a cold morning, she'll make me shiver without warning, make me laugh as if I'm part of the pranks she was always into with Daniel or Pierre, she’s the full moon and I’m the stars, not outshaining her, no, I’m 
She was like a warm cup of coffee first thing morning, waking me up and setting me up for day, or like the first bite of my favourite meal that I always wanted to repeat.
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Charlotte Robyn-Jones made me feel things I had never felt before.
She invited to spend a week with her dad and Carlos’s family in Mallorca. We spend the day doing many activities with the others, but when it was time to sleep, she sit next to me in my room’s balcony, sometimes in silent, she trying to teach me a bit of spanish or talking about whatever come to our minds, but in my mind was the feelings I have, pictures of us.
My last night with them I was brave and I went for the kiss.
Once she told me that she likes to go straight to the point, she hates waiting, she hates when you can’t tell her the truth, maybe she knew about me. I told her that she always looked beautiful when her eyes shine looking to the sky, how her green eyes seemed like almost change to a different shade. She looked at me with a smiled and told me that the sun made mine look like color olive with a small shade of yellow and she really liked it.
I took her hand and she asked if she can kissed me, I did it. My hands cupped her cheeks, her hands went to my back, like a hug, I didn’t want to let her go.
I learned too much about her, she feels lonely since her mom passed away. How she is still picking her broken pieces even when she is always smiling and trying to make everybody happy. She wanted to grow up into F1. She is scared of dying and left things to say. She hates to wake up in the cold mornings to go to the gym. She hates to feel uncapable to love and being loved.
“I’m not gonna leave you, I promise to love you. Teach eachother to love. I’m here whenever you need me even if I’m thousand miles from home”. 
“I finally see what it means to be complete”
And I kissed her again.
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You're going to realize it one day- that happiness was never about your job or your degree or being in a re-lationship. Happiness was never about following in the footsteps of all of those who came before you; it was never about being like the others.
One day, you're going to see it--that happiness was always about the discovery, the hope, the listening to your heart and following it wherever it chose to go. Happiness was always about being kinder to yourself; it was always about embracing the person you were becoming.
One day, you will understand that happiness was always about learning how to live with yourself, that your happiness was never in the hands of others.
It was always about you. It was always about you.
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📍London, UK
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Liked by charlotterjones, carlossainz55, mclaren and 1.102.031 others
landonorris With you, I’m happy being me.
user1 THIS WASN’T ON MY BINGO CARD
user2 SOMEONE CHECK CARLOS
carlossainz55 glad to see you man up, cabrón
charlotterjones London or Madrid?
landonorris As long as I am by your side
user3 CHARLOTTE? OH MY
user4 Carlos and Lando are going to be real family fr
mclaren @/williamsracing now we are family
williamsracing  💙🧡
danielricciardo Charlando ❤️
maxverstappen1 you owe me 50
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intro
part one
part two
Taglist: @evans-dejong @omgsuperstarg @bibissparkles @hoely-maria @mochimommy2002 @noope306 @eugene-emt-roe​ @80sloverry​ @rens-daylight @honeydanny​
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ruiniel · 6 months
Text
In Aeternum - II
Fandom: Castlevania series (2017-2021)
Relationship: Alucard x Reader
Count: 1.9k
Rating: M
Tags: Pining, Alternate Universe, First Meetings, Dark Romanticism/style, Castlevania References, Reincarnation, Post-Castlevania 2017-2021, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, AFAB Reader, F!Reader, Herbalist Reader, Magic, References to Speakers, Creatures, Shapeshifting, Second Person POV, Adventure, Alternate Universe - canon divergence
Part I
Summary:
Alucard centered story, where his s/o in ~1476 is a herbalist who eventually dies of old age. Fast forward to the 1790s, Alucard stumbles into you: a herbalist and magician, with the same appearance of the one he knew long ago.
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II.
You close the door behind you, wondering what had just happened, more than a little unsettled by the abrupt departure of your new acquaintance.
Why? 
Another part of you is, in contrast, more than a little intrigued. It was as if he could sense your concern about the eavesdropping townsfolk, but that's not necessarily unusual if he's one versed in reading people. You lock the door still pondering on this, on how you nearly died today for the first time in a long while, on how fortuitous his presence had been.
The act of unwrapping the herbs and roots you collected then laying them to dry helps to quiet the mind and alleviate those constant, flowing questions. Somewhat.
You take your time, and the hour is late when you finally set to wash and change. Your feet hurt as you climb the old set of stairs leading to a cramped little attic room you use for a bedroom.
Crawling into bed, you notice the moon is still up in the sky, its silver face shining through the long, tilted window.
Bundling yourself in an old throw and lying on your side, you can’t shake the memory of a warm gloved hand helping you to your feet, and a lingering scent.
Lavender… the thought occurs, inescapable, the last as your eyes close.
That night, you dream of running through a shadowy forest to catch the dawn, your feet bare and dewy, chasing a white wolf and laughing as castle spires rise beyond ancient trees.
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The next day passes, uneventful; as does the following, and the one after it. There are rumors and unrest seeping through the fabric of life as you and others know it, but for now, they amount to nothing more than words and sometimes worried, sometimes hopeful predictions.
There is but one certainty you feel in your bones as others do: change is coming.
You rub at the back of your head, then at your eyes, still nibbling on a crust of bread well past the time for a midday meal—your sales had never been bountiful, but in the past two years especially, they all but sank as prices soared and folk became more and more impoverished.
It’s not until late afternoon that you sigh, thinking to close up for the day, but not before there comes a knock on the window of the apothecary shop.
You turn, and smile without thought.
“Well met, Martin,” you open the door, meeting a pair of blue-green eyes.
“Miss,” the young man smiles back, “How did it go, today?”
“… so and so. And you?”
Martin shrugs, shaking his head. “Interest in poetry has dwindled, but the cobbling business still goes, for better or worse.”
Since you’ve known him, Martin has always kept a buoyant outlook on life and sees the full side of the glass no matter if it’s water or poison. And yet, he is no fool. It is, perhaps, one of the reasons he’s become your friend—of the few you boast in this place.
Even now, with his clothing ragged and the gauntness in his cheeks more prominent, he smiles at you.
“How is your father?” you ask, biting your lip.
“Oh,” his smile fades. “He’s been better, but the joint pain keeps hindering his movement, and—where are you going?”
“Wait here.” You’re gone inside only to return, producing a small jar. “I had this ointment freshly made yesterday. He can try massaging the sore area with this twice a day. It should alleviate some discomfort.”
Martin gazes down at your offering, his brown curls falling into his face; he looks uncomfortable. “I… you know I can’t pay for this,” he pushes your hands away.
“Martin, don’t.” You take his larger hand and press the glass receptacle into his palm. “I know, all right? Just take it.”
He looks down at your hand over his, features scrunching. “It should not be this way, you know. All of us, struggling to get by.” He looks up at you, all mirth gone from his face. “Have you eaten today?”
“Of course,” you smile now, but you know he’s right. Just as you know he came to see you now, before the end of your day, because he cares; and so do you, though perhaps not in the same way. “Go rest, Martin.”
“Only if you promise to do the same. And to ask once again that you don’t head out into that damned forest alone, as you used to. There's... been another disappearance. I heard about it at the tavern on my way—that’s what I came here to tell you. Be careful.”
Heart beating faster, you nod. “Of course, thank you, same goes to you.”
Half a crooked smile shows he’s satisfied—and with a last friendly nod, pressing the gifted ointment jar to his chest, he walks away. “Until tomorrow.”
“Until then…” your words fade in your mouth as you turn back inside, wondering what the world is coming to.
You remove your apron just as the door creaks, signalling an arrival.
“We’re closed for the day,” you say, placing the apron on a chair.
“Oh. Should I come by another time, then?”
You freeze. Your body jolts at the mere inflection of that voice, and slowly you turn, meeting his eyes.
Adrian stands there, unassuming, wearing black as usual, his long coat trimmed with yellow. He looks much too pale in this light, but then the ghostly allure does something for him. His face changes into a dim smile; his bright eyes are smiling too.
Running, barefooted… the wolf stares back, ensuring you follow.
You shake your head, realizing you’d been wordless for too long. “No, I’ll make an exception. I mean—for you, of course I will. Come, come,” you urge, going behind the counter and donning a near-professional manner. “Let’s see, then. What can I help you with today?”
Adrian nods, and only then steps forward, reaching inside his coat. He retrieves a piece of paper, showing it to you.
It looks yellowed with time and use, and you’re wary of touching it for fear the frail-looking parchment might disintegrate between your fingers.
But he’s handing it over with no apparent concerns and before your hesitation turns to embarrassment, you gingerly take the paper to glance at the etchings.
“Hmm… this script is...”
“Old?… Yes.”
You look up at him briefly, finding his gaze intent on the torn slip.  “Valerian root,” you read the first word, turning to the shelf behind you. “... evening primrose,” you head over to another shelf, this time going around Adrian, your attention focused on the items. An unusual meld, and you wonder what kind of concoction this may be. “Bloodroot,” you say, frowning as you skim over the next item scrawled in a flowing hand. “... Frankincense.” You turn around, meeting the eyes of your last minute customer. “I don’t keep stock of this,” you add, but then the list does look quite out of sorts with everything else on there. It’s also very unlikely he wrote it, but you resist the urge to ask as you hand him back the note.
“No, of course not,” Adrian gently reaches for the paper and tucks it back inside his coat at his chest. “The rest will do.”
You nod, and after pulling on a glove, take the quantity required of bloodroot from one basket at your feet. You look down in earnest and carefully wrap the herbs and roots requested. The sun has dipped low enough to beam through the window, splashing light over your working fingers. You raise your head.
Sunset looks good on him, too; enhancing the shimmer in his hair, setting a pale flame to his eyes. “What spells are you up to, Mr. Țepeș?” 
You smirk around your question. You don’t mean to be nosy, and it’s none of your business after all to know what strangers go about doing in their spare time. Even if said strangers are unreasonably strong shapeshifters that prevented your demise.
Too late to bite your tongue, anyway. 
“Adrian, remember?”
Heat pulses through your body, warming your cheeks. “Adrian.”
Adrian shakes his head, and his face softens in another smile; one that comes easier this time, warmer and more sincere. “Nothing that should worry anybody,” he replies, sliding into an assured, simple manner. “Thank you.” And he reaches inside his pocket, at which point you realize he wants to pay and so begin shaking your head and wagging both index fingers at him.
Adrian regards you with owlish confusion, comical on his otherwise dramatic features.
“Please, no need,” you gesture for him to place his satchel on your small counter. “You saved my life, remember?”
Adrian pauses with his hand inside his coat, a bemused frown on his face.  “... henceforth, I have earned an unlimited supply of free herbs?”
You scoff, “Well… why not? I mean, I... I suppose?”
He’s laughing before you know it, head falling back in delight; the sound is so unexpected, so lively and musical in this red sunset that your smile freezes on your face, and that feeling from the woods slithers right back between your ribs as if it never left. There is magic on him again. Something unrevealed. Its arcane flickers speed towards you and your own strength, recognizing another conductive vessel.
A glamor. You can’t quite grasp what it shields, but it lacks any form of malice, and so fails to worry you. For now.
You cross your arms as a strangeness rises at the back of your mind again, pulsing like something strong and familiar and warm, eager to break its bonds.
You’re staring as Adrian simmers, tilting his head slightly to one side with a contemplative air. “Forgive me, I am not laughing at you, it was… just the way you said it.”
“How about this?” You offer back the satchel. “Whenever you need supplies...” you add in a faux affected tone, “... henceforth, I’ll do my best to provide you with what I have on stock. Without charge.” Before he can protest, you add quickly, “My trade, my rules.”
Adrian retrieves the satchel you’ve filled with the herbs, bringing it over one shoulder. “I appreciate it, but I don’t know if that’s necessary, especially considering the proven risks you take to gather these.”
“Nonsense,” you say, foolish in your sudden excitement. Perhaps it’s the idea of being able to do something for him that has you so riled, so drunk on this exchange. Perhaps you’ve simply been lonely, and welcome the interaction. It makes you bolder, and before you know it, your traitorous tongue goes off. “Why did you leave so suddenly last time?”
Adrian taps a gloved finger on the wooden counter, his expression unchanged. “I… did not realize I had. I am sorry if I did. I truly am.”
You want the floorboards to swallow you whole. “There’s nothing to apologize for, I’m sorry it was not my intent to pry this way, I—” 
The crash is so loud, so deafening, you lose balance, your back striking the shelves. Adrian rushes over and you grab at his arms to steady yourself against the pain as a second blast hits somewhere outside, causing the windows to shake. 
“What now!?” You release him, turning to the door. 
“Wait!”
You don’t hear him, cannot see the muted desperation on his face as you throw the door open, as you run into the street thinking of Martin and how he was on his way home, as flames burst to engulf you.
The last you see is red: red beams, red lightning, cutting between you and devouring fire.
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MASTERLIST: CASTLEVANIA SERIES x READER
More of my work is on AO3
BLOG MASTERPOST (all you need to know)
Likes/comments/reblogs always and forever appreciated
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tokyokookmin · 1 year
Note
Have you seen the super long video someone just uploaded of jikook from 2013-2021? If not here it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y6RhdFIE-g
I've noticed so many things and have so many thoughts but if you've seen it what are your take aways seeing everything in one place like this in chronological order?
Hi, anon!
I have seen this whole video a while ago, this video is dedicated towards the growth of jimin's and jungkook's relationship. It was beautifully edited and all of jikook's moments were compiled together in chronological order from 2013 (when they first debuted) till 2021.
Well, anon, feel free to send in another ask or you can also hit me up in the DM's! I will gladly give my take on the moments you have thoughts about! Since this video is extremely long and full of moments, I can't possibly give my observation for every single moment. If you were more specific on which moments, I will not hesitate to elaborate more about it.
youtube
Nevertheless, here's a quick run-through of jikook's dynamics throughout the years.
2013/2014
looking at 2013 chemistry, we have seen jimin being very brave to acknowledge that he's affectionate towards jk. He likes to call jk cute and does like to compliment him but bear in mind that this was just only the beginning of BTS's debut. Jimin didn't have much time to connect with the members as he was one of the last members to join :)
Based on my observation, Jimin felt more connected towards Jungkook as he was the group's maknae and is from Busan which I where Jimin's from (Im not ignoring the fact that Tae also played a big part as a close friend towards him) Jimin just wanted to build and establish a great bond with jk. (just too attached)
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For JK, it's not like he never liked jm, it's just that he was more reserved and was getting into the zone. He had always endeared jm and valued jimin's presence. He has always had those shiny eyes for his hyung ever since the beginning!
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Then in 2014, we saw the equations developing gradually.
Things were going on as usual, the normal teasing was going on, the same old wooing and casual chats, jimin wanting to go on a trip with Jungkook.
2014 was just a slow process for the dynamics to progress.
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2015
I believe jikook's relationship hit a milestone in 2015. Things started to show very much. It was a turning point.
We saw jungkook turning vocal. His body language and expressions were clear enough for us to know that something was up between them. The sudden praising and flirtiness coming out of that guy were crazy.
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We saw them being closer and more flirty throughout 2015. The back hug-slow dance that not many noticed.
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The year when jungkook started praising jimin numerous times!
( CONTEXT- here, jk is saying that jm eyes are beautiful)
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Jungkook's description of Jimin in Malaysia's press conference (MY armies, where are yall, lol)
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Their moments in public started developing even more and we had lots of intimate hugs and moments that year. Not to forget, we also got many selcas and jikook lives!
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There's no possible way to exclude the 2015 OSAKA JIKOOK moment, am I RIGHT? 😂
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2015 was a year great for them, things began to be great between them, and the intimacy between them grew. They also were exploring their feelings that year, which I think is a great thing!
2016
Even more giggles and flirtiness. Just jikook being very obvious that year. But first, check this out.
If you're lazy to run through that post, here's a quick recap for you.
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this incident was a year before serendipity.
Apart from that, Jikook received a term from karmy and the media. Karmy started calling Jikook the Sun and Moon duo in 2016 after the coming-of-age ceremony. Jimin is known as the moon and jk as the sun.
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We got amazing selcas that year and plenty of interactions as well!
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They went on a break together around early 2016.
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Them talking about their shopping experience together while shopping for Jk's birthday.
fast forward
2017
Oh boy, this one has got to be one of my favourite years of jikook chemistry. This was officially it, you know? From serendipity, gcf-t to award shows. Good lord, save my heart.
We got the iconic gcf-t in Tokyo which was a phenomenal video jk made (no one expected that coming) "running, running just to get my hands on you". Jimin through Jungkooks eyes <3
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I genuinely feel so happy for both of them!
Then we got the Serendipity MV. Serendipity has A LOT OF DETAILS! It's connected to jikooks relationship. I find that song very therapeutic and full of warmth and love.
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If you remembered what I said (linked my Zico post) in the 2016 timeline, you would notice that the "you are me and I am you" has a connection with serendipity. That trail of 너는 나고 나는 너야 ( Neoneun Na Naneun Neo) began from there. Jikook's never-ending usage of that quote will forever be our favourite 🥰
serendipity post (1)
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Of course, we will not forget jikook in Bon Voyage, lol. We got so much of jikook crumbs that year. Damn, it's crazy, lol.
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Oh man, this one screamed LOUD! We got jikook as a pair for the SUMMER PACKAGE 2017! Was it intentional to use the rainbow unicorn floaties?
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This one is quite scandy, lol. We got jikook wilding in the People interview.
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Just Jk saying things, don't mind him 😂.
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jk, what you tryna tell oml.
OOPS. Well, I ran out of the pic and link usage. I will continue the 2017 - 2021 timeline as soon as possible. Thank you again for bearing with me. I had this post in the drafts for an extended period. Anyways, this is only my observation, it might be right or wrong, but all we know is that we are all jikook supporters.
This post took me quite a long time to collect information and links. I hope that you guys will enjoy it 💕🥰
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drstonetrivia · 4 months
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Chapter 223 Trivia (Part 1)
The final chapter of 2021! This time last year, Senku and the others were crossing the Andes and Suika almost died falling into a canyon.
How time flies!
(...Unlike Suika.)
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The astronauts are training underwater to simulate space's weightlessness. You'll notice they have frames around them. This is to ensure neutral buoyancy: they'll neither float to the surface nor sink to the bottom.
This is harder than it sounds, with a quarter of astronauts returning with injuries to their hands and their shoulders especially due to pressure against the rigid space suit. Because of Earth's gravity, doing the underwater tasks can actually be harder than doing them in space.
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I think they gave up on giving us accurate calendars after the "10 year time skip" situation in chapter 215…
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This tube is to prevent contaminating the astronauts so they don't bring anything to the moon. It's more important for missions to extraterrestrial bodies than, say, missions to the ISS since the ISS is already contaminated by people and it's fairly self-contained.
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These space suits look more similar to atmospheric diving suits, especially JIM suits, than the softer-looking space suits we're used to. This might be because they lack the ideal materials, or possibly to avoid the problem of decompression sickness:
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Hard-shell suits can withstand more pressure, so there's no need to adjust to the lower-pressure limits of the soft suits moving to/from the rocket. The other advantage to these suits is that there's no counter-force: the astronauts don't have to exert force to hold a position.
The suits are probably inspired by the RX series by Litton Industries, in particular the RX-2 (which had aluminum joints) and the RX-3, both from the 1960s.
Other space suits can be found here.
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The udder-like valves at the front of the suit are for the various hose connections needed, such as breathable air and water cooling. You may notice that they're at similar positions to Stanley's revival outfit (probably a coincidence).
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You're probably laughing at how awkwardly everyone's standing, and that's because the suits don't have a full range of movement. To make working with their hands easier, the suits are biased towards the front.
Shoulders are really complicated joints!
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Remember last week when I said the gloves need to be fitted well so the wearers can use their hands properly?
I'm not even sure anyone can form a fist, let alone shoot a gun.
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There's no visual difference between the suits, so once everyone has their helmets on it might be hard to tell who's who.
Unless the black and white manga is preventing us from seeing that they're bright red, blue, and green or something.
The transition from Stanley and Xeno being an inseparable pair, chasing their other half around the world, to Stanley admitting that "it ain't just the two of us anymore" really shows character development.
Xeno following it up with "we" makes me feel something though… 🥺
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Xeno gives Stanley a pack of chewing tobacco because he can't smoke in space, but chewing tobacco needs to be spat out afterwards unless Stan intends to eat the cigarette, paper and all.
I really hope we see Stanley use one because I don't know how they're meant to work.
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As of March 2021, in-flight accidents have killed 15 astronauts and 4 cosmonauts, making the fatality rate 3.2%. However, if you include the Apollo 1 launch pad fire that happened on the ground, this brings the total to 22/439 astronaut fatalities, which is the 5% Senku mentions.
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(Next part)
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thepersona · 2 years
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A non-romantic K-drama starter pack
If you're interested in K-dramas but don't know where to begin, and aren't interested in (or would like to take a break from) romantic storylines, then this is for you!
P.S.: Some of these dramas may contain romantic side plots that don't necessarily define the main storyline. List not sorted in any particular order, and only includes completed dramas.
Gifs not mine!
Stranger (2017; 2019)
A political crime thriller full of red herrings, "Stranger" (Season 1) follows an investigation into the murder of a man who has bribed countless officials from multiple levels and branches of government. Led by stoic prosecutor Hwang Shi Mok (Cho Seung Woo) and feisty detective Han Yeo Jin (Bae Doona), this well-paced, well-acted drama is full of twists and turns that will make you suspect everyone at some point.
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Kingdom (2019; 2020)
Historical political drama meets zombie thriller in the 2019 hit "Kingdom" (Season 1). The story follows Crown Prince Yi Chang (Ju Ji Hoon) as he investigates an outbreak of a mysterious plague that turns average citizens into rabid monsters while fighting to keep  his rightful place as heir to the throne. The hit series has led to a second season and a prequel TV movie "Ashin of the North" (2021).
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Signal (2016)
Featuring a mysterious walkie-talkie that links the past to the present, "Signal" is one of the most beloved police dramas of the last decade because of its refreshing take on the genre and the top-notch performances of its three leads: Kim Hye Soo, Lee Je Hoon, and Jo Jin Woong. 
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The Uncanny Counter (2020)
"The Uncanny Counter" is a comedy-drama about four "counters", or grim reapers who have been lent superhuman abilities by a group of spirits. Their main job is to stop demons who possess violent criminals that become more powerful by consuming the souls of their victims. Funny, colorful, and action-packed, the show features wonderful performances from the main actors: Jo Byeong Gyu, Yoon Joon Sang, Kim Se Jeong, and (my personal favorite) Yeom Hye Ran. The hit series has been granted a second season.
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Racket Boys (2021)
If you need a feel-good drama that's not too heavy on the tears, crime, and lovey-dovey tropes, then this may be for you. "Racket Boys" is about an underdog middle school badminton team that dreams to make a mark on the national level and beyond. The rural setting and endearing ensemble cast, led by the talented Tang Jun Sang, allow for lighthearted moments but are never too cartoonish. A puppy love storyline exists between the leads, but it's very wholesome and innocent, and given far less importance than the struggle surrounding the national tournament.
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Squid Game (2021)
International smash hit "Squid Game" is about a mysterious organization that selects individuals with impossible debt to participate in a series of children's games to have a shot at winning 45.6 billion won. The catch: only the winner gets to live. Features an amazing ensemble cast led by Lee Jung Jae, Park Hae Soo, and impressive newcomer Jung Ho Yeon.
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Dear My Friends (2016)
A slice-of-life comedy drama featuring a stellar ensemble cast of the most accomplished Korean actors and actresses over 60, "Dear My Friends" follows 40-year-old writer Park Wan (Go Hyun Jung) as she chronicles the stories of her mother, her aunts, and their families. There are two romantic side stories here but the overall plot is more invested in how your friends can become your family especially after you reach a certain age. Think "Golden Girls" but in Korea. Praise-worthy acting from everyone involved, especially the main quintet: Na Moon Hee, Kim Hye Ja, Go Doo Shim, Park Won Sook, and Oscar winner Youn Yuh Jung.
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Live (2018)
"Live" is a slice-of-life, police procedural drama that tells the story of rookies and veterans at Hongil Station in Seoul, where there is no shortage of petty and violent crimes. The crimes featured examine the decisions that South Korean cops have to make especially in dangerous situations wherein the gray areas become even grayer. There are romantic storylines between the four leads but they never overshadow the cases. Wonderful acting, especially from Bae Sung Woo and Bae Jeong Ok who play the veterans Oh Yang Chon and Ahn Jang Mi, respectively. Also stars funny man Lee Kwang Soo and the angelic Jung Yu Mi (Train to Busan).
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Vincenzo (2021)
Born in South Korea, adopted into an Italian family, mafia lawyer Vincenzo Cassano (Song Joong Ki) flies back to Seoul after falling out with his adopted brother following the death of his boss/father-figure. His mission is to retrieve gold hidden beneath the dilapidated Geumga Plaza before it is ultimately demolished by the evil Babel Group that constantly harrasses its tennants to move out. Teaming up with the feisty lawyer Hong Cha Young (Jeon Yeo Been, Vincenzo uses mafia tactics in his war against the conglomerate that thinks itself above the law. What sounds like a heavy premise is offset by the physical and witty comedy provided by the charismatic leads and supporting cast. There is romance between the leads (who share great chemistry nonetheless) but it is by no means the driving force of this story. They could have recasted this with two male leads as more of a bromance story and the outcome would be quite similar, but Jeon Yeo Been gives a unique, quirky flair to her character that makes her difficult to replace.
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Hyena (2020)
I know I said this wasn't a list for romantic K-Dramas but hear me out. There's romance but it's not what you think (the leads kiss a grand total of 3 times, twice in the first ep then once a little later). "Hyena" explores the world of corporate lawyers who serve the South Korean 1%. It's a dog-eat-dog world where the most conniving and least picky hyena reigns supreme. The hyena in question would be the brilliant renegade lawyer Jang Geum Ja (Kim Hye Soo). Sparks fly as she goes head to head with the by-the-book, elite lawyer Yoon Hee Jae (Ju Ji Hoon), whose ideals are constantly challenged as his world unravels around him.  The cases are challenging and the solutions that the leads come up with are intriguing. Romance doesn't drive this drama, but the chemistry between the leads is undeniable. 
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xenonmoon · 1 year
Note
Have you thought about trying to draw different versions of his costumes from the comics? Or maybe an evolution of all his different costumes?
Took me a while, but it turned out to be a great idea! Drawing the same subject over and over with different tools helped a lot getting a bit more familiar with the new program. I've ended up doing one sketch / drawing for each costume moonie uses in the comics I've read so far, starting with: 1. Werewolf By Night
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(original: Don and Howie Perlin)
The debut costume! While I liked the slim cape tied at the wrists, the collar always felt a bit off ad silly to me. Loved the silver knuckles and braces inspired by cestus gladiators though!
Fun fact: it was apparently meant to have red eyes at first, as we see in the cover of Werewolf By Night #32. I remember him popping out with red eyes 2-3 more times even in later comics, one for sure #24 from the Moench run
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2. Moon Knight (Volume 1)
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(original: Bill Sienkiewicz)
When Sienkiewicz joined the team it was requested (I think the editor? I've read it a long time ago) a small design change on the cape, making it more like Your Average Superhero Cape(tm). Doug Moench didn't quite dig the idea at first since he found the previous design more unique for the character, but he ended up liking a lot how Bill made it flow in his panels.
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(original: Bo Hampton)
After Bill Sienkiewicz left the series there were a number of different artists taking up his pencil, but two in particular (Keith Pollard and Bo Hampton) unexplainably made him forget what the "under" in "underwear" really meant. Loved how no one quite understood if the suit was of a heavily shaded white or a glossy black, so sometimes it's black with lots of reflections and sometimes it was plain white, lol
3. Fist of Khonshu
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(original: Mark Beacham & Geof Isherwood)
I refused to draw this costume in its entirety and just went for a rendition of my favourite panel lmao
Like really, who thought that golden braces / ankles and wrestler-style belt were a good idea. And the ankh instead of the moon in his chest? Ah well. Didn't last long anyway.
4. West Coast Avengers
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(original: Al Milgrom & Joe Sinnott)
Basically the same as Fist of Khonshu's but THE MOON IS BACK
There is a big gap from here on since I've only just started Marc Spector: Moon Knight and know little to nothing about what's between here and the 2014 run
5. Moon Knight (2014) - Mr Knight & Moon Knight
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(original: Declan Shalvey)
This is actually the first comic I've read. I believe this was the first or one of the first appearances of the Mr. Knight costume? A way to keep helping around (esp. with the police) without Moon Knight's reputation getting in the way. I've forgot a lot about the overall plot, perhaps for the best - I'll read it again eventually, this time knowing what happened before!
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(original: Declan Shalvey & Jordie Bellaire)
I absolutely LOVE this version of the MK costume. It's simple and effective, more than just a skintight suit but less than a full armor so to make it believably flexible to wear, at least to some extent. The black-and-white contrast makes it less flat and easily recognisable. I'm glad it was carried over to later runs, along with the "classic" one.
6. Moon Knight (2016)
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(original: Greg Smallwood)
I'm a sucker for Smallwood's art. I can't help it. I'm almost glad Marc spends a lot of time without any mask in this run, his faces and expressions are just *chef kiss*
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(original: Greg Smallwood)
Did one even for the improvised costume in the asylum, since the other MK suit that appears in this run is identical to the classic one (if I remember well?)
7. Moon Knight (2021) - Mr Knight & Moon Knight
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(original: Alessandro Cappuccio)
I've read the first 3 issues of this run and peeked into some of the later ones for now - I'm not a big fan of how he draws Marc/Steven/Jake's face but the apart from that the art in this run is bloody gorgeous.
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(original: Alessandro Cappuccio)
Ok this took me a bit more than the others. #2 gotta be one of my favourite issues so far.
I saw Moon Knight's costume doesn't change much from the earlier runs and Mr Knight's basically identical, it seems they've reached a bit of consistency lately? I'm still missing some of the runs
Anyway, thank you sm for the ask! I had fun drawing these! Some of these deserve their own post, I'll probably do that later.
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royalpain16 · 8 months
Text
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THE SECOND ANNUAL SUMMIT WILL UNVEIL THE FIFTEEN 2023 EARTHSHOT PRIZE FINALISTS WHO ARE TRAILBLAZING CLIMATE SOLUTIONS TO REPAIR OUR PLANET BY 2030
The Earthshot Prize and Bloomberg Philanthropies today announced they will co-host the second Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit on September 19, 2023, in New York City with the founder of The Earthshot Prize, Prince William, expected to attend.
Held during New York Climate Week and the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly, the Summit will convene previous Earthshot Prize Winners and Finalists with policymakers, global business leaders, philanthropists, and climate activists to scale their innovative solutions.
At the Summit, The Earthshot Prize will reveal this year’s 15 Finalists and introduce their groundbreaking climate and environmental solutions to repair our planet this decade on one of the biggest international stages.
To help drive meaningful change, and accelerate the collaborations and investments needed to scale those solutions, the Summit will connect the new and previous Earthshot Prize Finalists and Winners with forward-thinking business leaders, philanthropists, and governments already working to regenerate the planet. September’s Summit begins the countdown to The Earthshot Prize’s third annual Awards ceremony in Singapore, where, on November 7, 2023, five of the 15 Finalists will be awarded a catalytic £1 million to scale their cutting-edge solutions.
Alongside Prince William, Michael R. Bloomberg, Global Advisor to the Winners of The Earthshot Prize, will address the assembled guests. Other featured speakers will include policymakers, business leaders, climate innovators, and previous Earthshot Prize Winners and Finalists. The full agenda will be announced in due course
Founded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in 2020, The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental prize to discover, accelerate, and scale ground-breaking solutions that can help put the world firmly on a trajectory toward a stable climate where communities, oceans, and biodiversity thrive in harmony by 2030.
Inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot, which united millions of people around the goal of reaching the moon, The Earthshot Prize recognizes Finalists and Winners across five challenges, or ‘Earthshots’: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean our Air, Revive our Oceans, Build a Waste-free World, and Fix our Climate. The Prize aims to turn the current pessimism surrounding environmental issues into optimism and will discover 50 winners over 10 years with the power to repair the planet
The inaugural 2021 Earthshot Prize Finalists have already driven incredible impact with more than 1.5 million people benefiting directly from their solutions. Over 7,000 hectares of land and almost 2.1 million hectares of ocean have been protected or restored, while over 35,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions have been reduced, avoided, or sequestered. The 2022 Finalists, announced this past autumn, are well on their way to creating similar impact.
To help accelerate the work of the inaugural Finalists at last year’s Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit, Bloomberg Philanthropies committed more than $20 million through direct grants, co-funding, and other efforts to support the success of the inaugural Finalists and Winners of The Earthshot Prize 2021, including:
Scaling Takachar’s technology, which reduces smoke emissions from agricultural waste by up to 98%, through a pilot program in villages in the state of Punjab and Haryana, India.
Supercharging Pristine Seas’ 30×30 ocean protected goal through funding major ocean expeditions, helping establish more marine protected areas, and enhancing diplomacy and advocacy efforts. Pristine Seas has already helped establish 26 marine reserves worldwide, across an area over twice the size of India.
Scaling Coral Vita’s research capabilities to identify new restoration sites and monitor both restoration progress and local marine health after installation. Coral Vita’s cutting-edge methods to grow coral up to 50 times faster than nature can help replant our oceans and give new life to dying ecosystems.
Expanding the capacity of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs and Blue Map App to scale its data, research, and reporting capabilities.
Convening at least ten North American and European cities in partnership with C40 and NRDC to accelerate efforts to address food waste and food insecurity by sharing best practices from and helping to scale the City of Milan’s Local Food Waste Hub initiative, which currently provides about 260,000 meals to those most in need, to other cities.
As a mayor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, Michael R. Bloomberg has long been a global leader in the fight against climate change. He has committed more than $1 billion to efforts across the world to mobilize cities and local leaders to reduce emissions, improve air quality, advance the global transition to clean energy, protect and preserve ocean ecosystems, and help unlock billions of dollars in sustainable finance.
Bloomberg helps lead a number of efforts including the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, America Is All In Coalition, Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, Climate Finance Leaders Initiative, and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero.
“To effectively tackle the climate crisis, we need to invest in innovative solutions and new ideas that can accelerate global progress and help repair the planet. This year’s Earthshot Prize Finalists are great examples of the kind of bold action and creative thinking we need, and our team is looking forward to working with Prince William to support them as they expand their ambitions.”
Michael R. Bloomberg, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions, Founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, and 108th Mayor of New York City
“The Earthshot Prize scours the world to find entrepreneurs and innovators who exemplify the power of human ingenuity to address our most significant climate and environmental challenges. Our next class of Finalists are on the cutting-edge of some of the most exciting ideas and technologies, and with the support of our Global Alliance Partners and the global community gathering at the UN General Assembly, they have the potential to transform communities around the world for the better. By spotlighting the incredible work of our 2023 Finalists at the Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit, we hope to inspire a wave of positive change and unlock a more sustainable and resilient future.”
Hannah Jones, The Earthshot Prize CEO
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