.

I think how successful dragon ball was at rewriting its entire genre in its image obscures just how much of a sports manga it is. or practically a game manga like yu-gi-oh. you know, where the entire arc of the universe bends absurdly towards the characters' past-time.

You might think that doesn't count when their past-time is "fighting", which is a standard way of resolving conflicts that have escalated beyond verbal or legal resolution, but this vastly undersells just how many bullshit magical problem-solving resources the heroes of DBZ have at their disposal, including but not limited to:

Spaceships, time travel, flight, teleportation, the ability to teleport other people by touching them, a magical dragon who can grant you wishes once a year, a backup magical dragon that can also do this (who is on another planet...that they can teleport to), pocket-sized capsules that can contain temporarily-shrunken objects up to the size of a house, a watch that can shrink you, telepathy, a deity on-call (via telepathy) who can see everything in the universe, beans that heal all your wounds, multiple friends who can also heal all your wounds, a room where time passes at 1/365 the normal rate, shadow clones, laser beams that can destroy planets, friends in the afterlife who might let you visit the world of the living again for 24 hours as a favour...

...like, my point is, you give this to most adventure heroes and they're like sweet, tools to solve problems with. But these guys are so beautifully devoted to their sport that they're just like sweet, tools to turn every problem into something I can resolve with an MMA bout.

A Terminator-style warning from the future that robots will take over the planet in three years? Should we use magic to find the scientist and talk him out of it, or failing that just ice him? Bulma actually suggests this, but of course not. Then we wouldn't get to do karate at a robot! We'll just spend three years doing really good workouts so we can spin-kick the T-1000 through a wall, duh.

A magical demon who could devastate the universe is unsealed by a wizard? Should we employ some kind of counter-magic to seal or destroy it? Use teleportation to put it inside a star or something? After all it very specifically has the power "made of magic regenerating rubber, punches literally do not affect it"--ahh, I see, you're using teleportation to lure it to an empty planet so you can punch it harder, using your sway over life and death to resurrect a second guy to punch it alongside you, and then using the magical wish-granting dragon to make you not tired anymore so you can do the ultimate martial arts move (giant ball that kills you).

As I hope my tone conveys, I'm not saying this like it's a problem with the series. I just think it's an underappreciated part of the appeal that this shit is exactly like yami yugi always finding himself in situations where the fate of the world Must be decided via trading card game.

The lads just love sports so much.

02/29/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Cast & Crew Sightings; VicoOrtiz; Gypsy Taylor; Samba Schutte; How to Help: Ranker Polls; BBC News; New Appreciation Events; Rhys' 50th Birthday; NewarkNewark Watch Party with @adoptourcrew; Watch Party Reminders; PeopleOfEarth; TheseThems; SaveOFMDCrew; Calendar;Fundraiser Goals; LeapDayBingo; FanSpotlight; Collages;Trading Cards; LoveNotes; Daily Darby/Tonight's Taika

= Cast&Crew Sightings =

= Vico Ortiz =

Sorry were you planning on getting anything done today?

Vico has so much going on! "These Flowers Might Be Ours" read by Vico is available now on Amazon.co.uk!

Also too, ActNow: LA's LQBTQ+ Acting Class will be doing a scene study with Vico starting March 10th!

= Gypsy Taylor =

Our favourite costume designed Gypsy Taylor was interviewed by @screenaustralia! Check out the Podcast episode here. Src: Gypsy's Instagram

= Samba Schutte =

Just a little celebration of Leap Day!

== How to Help ==

Polls are still up! So that Ranker poll is still there! It's still taking responses, please feel free to stop in and push OFMD up! (You could even do it on multiple browsers!... not that I'd recommend something like that). Our friend @patchworkpiratebear was kind enough to make a helpful infographic since it is a bit of a goofy set up. Link to the Ranking

Step 5: You can actually rank the other shows and they still affect the ranking of OFMD.

== BBC News ==

So this was a cool catch by @queerly-autistic, our friend over here on tumblr and twitter. "A Pirate Comedy with a cult following". Talk about making noise!

I know I've seen several asks lately regarding whether or not the time slot change for OFMD on BBC was a good or a bad thing. @queerly-autistic had some great insight on this. Please check out their thread here. "It's a really great slot to have the show advertised in, and I was so surprised and thrilled to see them giving it that space (and specifically pushing people to watch it on iPlayer)"

== New Appreciation Events! ==

March 21: Rhys' 50th Birthday

Do you have prepared best wishes for our pirate captain? 

Use the hashtag #youwear50well in your social media posts! Also, here's a neat list of time zones to ensure our birthday wishes will be the first thing Rhys sees (depending on whether he's in NZ or LA at that time!) Tweet/Insta at the times of your zone to ensure timely impact. 

12 AM on March 21 in New Zealand is: 

    12 PM on March 20 for AEDT/Sydney

    11 AM on March 20 for GMT/London

    7 AM on March 20 for EST/New York

12 AM on March 21 in LA is: 

    6 PM on March 20 for AEDT/Sydney

    7 AM on March 21 for GMT/London

    3 AM on March 21 for EST/New York

Thank you so much to our lovely friend @yronnia and all the other folks working on this project! Super cool!

= More Watch Parties! =

Please join @adoptourcrew for a @NewarkNewark watch party on March 5th at 10 pm GMT/ 2pm PS / 5pm EST!

== Watch Party Reminders! ==

Coming down to the end of s2 Friends! #People Of Earth continues tomorrow and then a whole rewatch on Saturday! 10 pm GMT / 5pm EST / 4pm CST / 2pm PST!

= Mar 1: THESE THEMS WATCH PARTY =

Join @adoptourcrew on Friday 3/1 for a watch party of #TheseThems! Times haven't been secured quite yet but mark your calendars!

Watch Party Hashtags:

#TheseThems

#These Gems

#AdoptOurCrew

== Save OFMD Crew ==

= Calendar =

Tomorrow is #ImmoderateCitrus Day! (National Sunkist Citrus Day in the US). Feel free to reach out to the @saveofmdcrewmates about citrus-related faves: food, drink, clothing, recipes, or art!

= UK Advertising Fundraiser =

The truck stretch goal was met! The final stretch goal is getting petitions up in the tube in the UK! As always friends, donating is not a requirement but if you want and can afford it, that's great too!

== Leap Day Bingo ==

Today was Leap Day Bingo! Bingo credit to the lovely @OFMDBingo42 on Twitter or @Our_Flag_Means_Bingo on IG! There are several versions, see how many you can find across our socials. 😘

== Fan Spotlight ==

Febuary 29 bring the February LOVE #OurFlagMeansDeath Collage Fest to a close! Thank you again @wndrngnomad for taking the time to make such lovely dedications to our favourite show, cast, and crew!

Wanna see them all? Check them out here!

== Cast Trading Cards ==

Appropriate timing considering all the Vico sightings we've been seeing lately! Our lovely @melvisik has done it again. I didn't realize Vico was in Harley Quinn!

== Love Notes ==

HEY YOU!

Yes, YOU!

LOOK AT YOU!

With your awesome face, and your sweet ass smile!

Who do you think you are bringing all the swagger and charisma up in here? You're gonna blow this world away with that kind of powerful aura!

You are kicking ass today! Seriously, give yourself a big hug and a fist pump and say, "HELL YEAH!" because you are rocking it!

Now get out there and do whatever you're doing-- sleeping, playing, working, strutting, etc-- and show the next 24 hrs who'se's boss!

Love you crew <3

== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==

Today's Darby is brought to you by none other than @sherlockig.

Daily Taika is by @memzhay. Why are these related? Idfk know, they just felt like generally the same vibe. Rhys being a cat chasing a string, and Taika a pup playing dead. (It's opposite day cause it's Leap Day, I guess).

Don't ask me how my mind works. I gave up many many moons ago.

what changes would you like to see in a rf1 remake?

rf2?

Hello, hello!♡

I want to preface a question like this with how I view video game mechanics and criticism; I don't like talking about things I dislike. I don't like comparing things that aren't as good. I dislike being negative. So as I answer, I answer with musing thoughts and hope! These are positive remarks about things that could be so helpful!

This is a hard question because of just how old those games are. RF3 got off easy as it already had a significant number of "quality of life" changes that had carried into 4.... Though 2 does have the advantage of already having the request system and the start of interactions between villagers. As much as I love it, 1 is lacking and archaic. It still has a world, plot, tone and art syle charm that I adore, but. I have to be honest. Both games will basically need to be entirely redone, but I think if they do 2, they HAVE to do 1- 1 will have so many tie-ins to 4 that people will be curious. Or, so I hope.

Aside from things like the modern stacking, inventory organizing, etc;

2 -- More villagers referencing/interacting with one another, more emphasis on the rival relationships, more consequences from the earthquakes, and I hope they would leave the temple as difficult as it was.

Don't shorten it's time or change the rarity of items to get in there. Don't remove the 2 gen system. I would also love to see a scene where Kyle confronts Fiersome and maybe a battle the player is scripted to lose before the generation switch! Why do we only get to talk to Venti and Aquaticus? (I don't mind not knowing who Kyle is, despite being told he got his memories back, as I have loudly said my personal headcanons, but. That'd be a cool tidbit and I love lore!)

1 -- A request system, my gosh. I could see it playing into the LP of characters like Melody, Tabatha and Felicity, along with being something else to do in a day. As always, addition of villager interactions, who actually knows who?? We never see anyone together. More of a hint that Kardia is supposed to be this important trade crossroads? Some lore hints at this, while the game makes Kardia feel like a lost, isolated little place, a paradigm I struggle to get out of my head at times.

They should NOT shorten the game, keep its number of dungeons, keep Misty Bloom unable to be gotten to until the 1st winter. (Maybe after that, magic or a bridge could get there during a non-winter season. But. Keep that early limit.) More use of characters like Sharron and Ivan?? Please? Explain (at least to the viewer) who they are, what they know. And, for the love of every dragon, don't lighten the tone; that would mess up the story. I said very recently to people that 1 has a gravity to it that gets lost in later games-- the way it uses the Empire/Norad struggle, and makes the amnesia not just a convenient plot device but a defining moment for those involved... Don't take that away. Especially when the game can now hint to things to come in 4! (And yes, I want to talk to Terrable after we calm him down, too. Ivan can talk to him, why not Raguna?)

And. Postgame. Actual family interactions. Why have 2 candidates that the story must be finished to wed, with no other reward? And if they wish to be so clever, cement that Frontier is supposed to happen after this game with some cute hint or something.

And lasty- I still beg and plead for a world map.

i do wonder sometimes! i think having so many desi friends here also reminds me of it too because like. idk it feels similar, some people grew up in the mother country, and then sometimes people talk about how they grew up in places where there is an abundance of street food, which is something my dad talked about getting when he was a kid... but like. i can't really fathom what cambodia would be like now without the khmer rouge. like. there's so much history we wouldn't have lost? so much music and so many movies and like all of this art and history and all these statues that were destroyed? it kind of just makes me feel angry when i think about it now lmao because as much as i wish i could be wistful and imagine what it might have been like. i don't even KNOW. and we can't know because of how many records and films and documents were burned to ash by the cpk. that shit was stolen from us and it wasn't from europe or the wider civilized west, but our own people who decided that they were better than everyone else, and now we are a third world country that is basically just a tourist attraction 👍👍👍 it kind of sucks a lot haha. there's a lot my parents lost too since they were really young when they left, so it's just like, even if they met they wouldn't be the same, so i don't know if i would actually be able to go up against the beauty standards and stuff the way i do now. and also i don't even know if i would have met you guys which would be a whole different kind of sucky tbh!!!! net loss!!! even as much as i wish i knew all those languages from a young age i don't know if it would be a good trade. even if i got to grow up with chickens :/

No yeah that makes a lot of sense! It's like...you want certain aspects of both, the now and the what could have been, but some of the way things and who you are now as a person are are only possible because you lost the what could have been. And trying to reconcile the two and imagine what you lost is still present is near impossible, because they fundamentally cannot exist together. But you still want them to? If all that makes sense

And being around people does remind you of it, because you each have different experiences, different pieces of the overall community/identity, and you can see pieces you wish you had but if you did have them. You wouldn't be you. Yeah I wish I grew up with more mexican foods at home and was taught them instead of learning on my own, but that wouldn't be me, because the me I am has learned the language from scratch on my own and found resources and recipes on my own and etc. so like...to want those pieces and the different options is like wanting to be a different person, and do I want to be a different person? very complicated feelings

Then at the end of the day it's like should I even bother thinking about it when there's literally nothing to be done about it, history and my connection to everything is already in place. I can't change what languages and food I grew up with, where I was born and raised, etc.

Because it's a very emotional topic! There's anger, like you mention, but also so much grief and loss...it's quiet overwhelming. And of course the specific histories for each of us is very different, so I in no way mean to speak for or over your own experiences. This is just what you reminded me of based on what you said and my own reflections. I try not to think about it too often because when I do...oh boy is that a nasty hurt on so many levels

yes, i remember hearing that about disney having the rights for tarzan until around 2005 as well! i wonder if kingdom hearts being a collaboration between disney and a completely different company may have complicated things further for them. the second game "chain of memories" was released in 2004 and has a plot where sora revisits every single disney world he visited in the first game, in the form of essentially replicas of those worlds created out of his own memories... except the tarzan world (deep jungle) is inexplicably missing. there is, however, an early development image from that game that indicates it was planned to appear at one point and was removed. it's a shame, i would've loved a chance to see more parts of the world and interact more with tarzan and jane.

this reminds me, there's been quite a few other disney crossover projects over the years that tarzan characters have never appeared in and i'm sure it must be because of the copyright issues. the mobile game "disney magic kingdoms", for example, features nearly any disney movie and any character from said movies that you could think of except of course for tarzan! and i wish something could be done to allow them to appear. i don't know if you've heard of the disney lorcana trading card game, but the cards from it have some gorgeous art and even though it's still pretty new, it's done a good job so far of representing some of disney's more neglected properties. but obviously there's no tarzan cards and i fear that eventually it'll be the only movie in the disney animated canon to not have any. i am glad that the characters were allowed to show up in the recent once upon a studio short, at least. ooh, yeah, i've never been to the festival of the arts either but i've seen videos and pictures from it online! i would love to be able to go and see all of the beautiful art and the disney on broadway concerts in person. i'm actually not very familiar with the tarzan musical, but i love several of the other musicals disney has done. also, i'll definitely have to check out those artists you mentioned! i highly agree with you about howard ashman. i don't know if you've seen the documentary about him, simply titled "howard", but i definitely recommend it. another one of my favorite things about beauty and the beast is the way that belle and the beast are both people who have been ostracized from society in different ways but who are able to connect and find happiness with each other. and when i think about how howard was a gay man with HIV who poured so much of himself into the lyrics he wrote and all of the ideas he contributed to the movie, it just breaks my heart that he never got to see it completed. he and alan were such a perfect team. -🌟

That's a good point, that probably did make things more difficult. The more companies involved, the more legal stuff to work out. I'm so glad Tarzan was included in the first one, but so sad they never brought him back, especially when it looks like they wanted to.

Disney Magic Kingdoms is the only game I actually do play! I've never had any hope we'd get Tarzan in that, even with how good they are with rarer movies… they even just added the Black Cauldron!!! But I've often dreamed of what could be. The thought of what the tokens might look like, and the attractions they could do?! Obviously the Treehouse, but maybe one based on Trashin' the Camp, or a "tree surfing" roller coaster?

I haven't really looked into Lorcana, but I have seen some of the artwork, everything I've seeing looks so incredible!! Would be so amazing to see Tarzan characters included. Darn that copyright!

Once Upon a Studio was so amazing. I watched "knowing" there would be no Tarzan, but they took so much pity on us. Still incredibly short, but there was so many Tarzan characters in it!!

I've seen Howard a couple of times, it was so well done and so worth the wait for it. I agree with you about Belle and the Beast. Howard really brought that out in a way no one else could. It's so unfair he never got to see the masterpiece he helped create, but what a gift he gave to the world.

The 100 2023 rewatch ep 1.4

Murphy's Law

Man I wish Wells had survived. I wish we could have seen who he became. :(

The wall has been built. Good for them. Clarke is outside it in the growing graveyard, mourning Wells. Finn sneaks up on her telling her what to do. (shouldn't be out here) says the guy who spent another night exploring out in the woods. Oh he got her something did he?

And she's charmed by the art supplies. It makes her remember Wells who was trading his own stuff to give her supplies. NOW she starts blaming her mother. I mean, fine it's her mother's fault, but oh she realizes what she can do to make her "feel it." Vengeful child. And feel it she does. The first terminated signal in over a week. She is freaking out over Clarke maybe dying.

Meanwhile, Monty needed a working wristband for the comm signals. "Well be talking to the Ark by nightfall." Monty's such a sweety and so competent.

Look at those delinquents working hard building walls. Look at Murphy being a dick to the kid who stumbles. Look at Bellamy being dad bellamy and teasing little Charlotte. OMG WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU MURPHY??

I forgot he peed on that poor kid who wanted a water break. WHAT A DICK. How in the world did they redeem him. But they did.

O is leading Jasper out into the woods. And she gets grabbed. By one of the Johns. Then he trips and sees Wells' severed fingers. Hello Trauma capital T.

Dick Kane is tracking Abby and wanting to know why he's going to Mecha. She lies and says someone has strep. "We don't want another outbreak." And he backs off. She lies again saying she'll keep him informed. Mecha has Raven fixing the tincan. No pressure regulator and they can't ride in the shuttle.

The metal knife from the drop ship. The grounders didn't kill Wells, it was one of us. Bellamy points out there's more than one murderer in the camp. Ooooh. Bellamy and Clarke conflict. he wants the news quiet. Keep people afraid and they'll work for him. Fear of the grounders is building the wall. Don't even know who's knife that is.

OH really? JM. John Murphy. The people have a right to know. SHe goes RIGHT to Murphy and blames her for killing him. He of course denies it because he didn't. AND BELLAMY believes her. "I don't have to answer to anyone!"

Come again? Asks bellamy. And he says the knife and fingers were found together. Poor murphy. He really didn't do it. The kid he peed on wants him floated. "It's justice." She says revenge isn't justice. WOW that's a lot of delinquents jumping Murphy. O wanted to stop it. She was a lot less blood thirsty in season 1. I wish we coulda stuck with that.

Clarke is saying they can't string him up

Oooh. this is graphic. Clarke says Bellamy can stop this and the peed boy says Bellamy should do it. They start chanting his name. And Clarke says she saw him in the woods and she knows he's not a killer.

OMG they actually drop him. THat is awful. Awful. WOW>

HOLY SHIT. I forgot how HORRIBLE that was in the immediate reveal that Charlotte did it.

Horror on top of horror on top of horror. That's how this show dragged us in. We never had a chance to recover or even process one horror before finding another.

Meanwhile Bellamy REALLY does not want to do this, but he's going with the crowd. He's NOT in control, but he's afraid that if he stands against them he'll lose control.

Nigel's "little bird" needs a pressure regulator. What for? Regulating pressure. She says she has her mother's sense of humor. And she doesn't move machine parts. How bout some moonshine and herb. She tries to pimp Raven out to the chief of electrical. Her mother would have taken that deal. In fact, she did, many times. We forgot about Raven's history, didn't we.

"I was just trying to slay my demons, like you told me."

Little girl never learned about metaphors and symbolism. What that little girl could have used was a good ENGLISH TEACHER!!! That's right, an english teacher could have saved Wells. lol

Bellamy blames Clarke. If she didn't tell then those idiots would still be building the wall. Meanwhile he wants to save Charlotte the actual murderer. "Giving the people what they wanted."

Now Murphy is trying to get the delinquents to string up Charlotte. "It's okay to string me up for nothing but when this little bitch confesses, you wanna let her walk." And Murphy slams Bellamy and tries to get the girl. This is jam packed.

Clarke and Finn run off with Charlotte into the woods.

UH OH. The arc medical unit. There's a lot of kids not doing so well. Oxygen deprivation. Raven can't get the part. Nygel has the part, and Abby is going to take care of it. I actually always wanted to see Nygel on earth. She would have been GREAT as a villain. Trading morphine for a pressure regulator.

Charlotte tries to hold Clarke's hand and Clarke is MAD. "Clarke she's just a kid." "She's a killer. Look at me, you can't just kill someone to make yourself feel better."

Finn found a bunker for hiding.Art supply store. "I can't believe you kept this place quiet." Clarke agrees with me. Repurposing and sharing with the group. He bribes her with colored pencils. Jerk. They're using a shit ton of candles. Wasteful.

She thinks if she hadn't told none of this would've happened. Finn says she couldn't have known. "Bellamy knew."

Kane's mom Vera. It's funny whose names i remember. The magic earth tree. It's just a bonsai. Nygel tells Kane about Abby. She sucks. Great villain. He calls her a plague on the ship.Oops theres the morphine.

Clarke fell asleep on Finn's shoulder and she grins, she's got a crush on the worthless jackass. And Charlotte's gone.

Bellamy has found her. It's Charlotte hunting season. Bellamy is trying to help her. "I'm not your sister." She's got your number B.

"Listen to me Charlotte. I. Won't. Leave. You."

She calls for Murphy.

Raven and Abby fixing the shuttle as we wait for Kane to come. She finds out that Kane knows the morphine is gone. They're gonna be here in five and Raven needs 20. "Only one of us needs to get to the ground. 300 people will die if you don't." "They'll float you." "Then they'll float me."

Bellamy is carrying Charlotte over her shoulder before running into the cliff. Here comes murphy. He's ready to take a few of them with her. Clarke arrives. "This has gone too far."

Murphy grabs her and holds a knife to Clarke's throat. A trade for Charlotte. She wants to trade herself. She's feeling guilt. So she jumps over the cliff.

Bellarke's first lost child.

Now Murphy is like, "bellamy..." and bellamy is going to bet him to death. "he deserves to die."

"NO! We don't decide who lives or dies, not down here."

This is when they become partners. "We need rules."

"And who makes those rules? YOu?"

"For now WE make the rules. We banish him."

Bellamy is with her. Threatens him if he ever sees him in camp again. And says the other four can be with him or die with Murphy. THey choose Bellamy.

Finn is all emotional. And useless I might add.

Raven racing against the clock to regulate pressure. And Nygel gave her a bum part. Great villain. She sees a space suit. oh that will work.

Abby tells Kane that she's trying to save "all of us." He arrests her and continues the search for Raven Reyes WHO has just taken off in a rusted tincan. She floated HERSELF bitch.

Clarke and Bellamy speaking to the collected Delinquents and nodding to each other. Partners.

Monty has gotten the wristband working. Morse code. OH no. It fried every last wristband. Fried them all? Then how did they use the wristband in season 3??? Oh it might have been one of the ones the took off before.

Meanwhile O is rewarding "brave" Jasper with a kiss. He picked the wrong girl to have a crush on, I tell yah.

Oh UGH. Finn is destroying the bunker because "we're dead to them." we're not alone. YOURE Not alone. No it was Finn who kissed her not Clarke who kissed finn. Now they have their love scene. Meh. Short.

With his girlfriend Raven coming down AS they're doing it.

Rude. Honestly what a soapy mess. Clarke and Raven shoulda gotten together and left Finn out completely. Damn right.

Anyway. That's a jam packed episode. Very dramatic. High stakes. Life and death on the small scale with the delinquents and the large scale with the Ark.

The hanging scene was BRUTAL. Like it was really violent. And the Charlotte reveal was a gut punch. The acting has stepped up big time. (I still don't love O and Jasper, I never really did, but everyone else.)

Murphy is absolutely despicable in all conceivable ways. Clarke is desperate. Bellamy is floundering. Finn is just standing around doing nothing while Bellarke does it all... sorry, he's judging. He does that. Raven is a super star. Abby is determined. Kane has a stick up his butt but he honestly does think he's doing the right thing, although he's still a dick. Monty is a genius. Jasper is terrified. O is a lot kinder in this episode. She loses that later, too bad. We got a lot of worldbuilding for the Ark in this episode with the politics and blackmarket and health crises and Raven's backstory.

I'm actually really enjoying watching this show for story OUTSIDE of Bellarke. There's a lot that I've forgotten.

Watchmen Issue by Issue Finale: A Stronger Loving World (Patreon Review for WeirdKev27)

The clock has struck midnight. Armageddon has been prevented.. but it took armageddon to do it. But questions linger, questions that may never get a satsifactory answer as we enter the final chapter of one of the greatest comic books of all time.

This has been an intresting experiment. While Kev came up with the idea and bankrolled it, it was still intresting to go through watchmen again and i'm coming out of the other side with a new appreciation for the work: the style, the sheer beauty and mastery in Gibbons art and layouts, and just how precise the story is. Like a watch some guy throws out a window because he thinks nuclear physics is a better thing for his son to take up and isn't good with Subtely. It's been a long, intresting project and i'm sad to see it over, but happy I did it. This comic is everything it's built up to be and more. IT dosen't mean i'm done with Watchmen, as I still have a movie to get to and I may return one day to cover one of the sequels or prequels. We'll have to see how I feel and what time brings. But this is still the end of a project that while I wish was more cohesive I don't regret taking on. Taking a nice slow look helped me see all the intricate wonder of this comic and I won't trade that for anything. I AM glad that the next year long patreon project Kev has for me is, while once again a massive tonal shift, FAR lighter in both covering it and in tone, but that dosen't mean it's bittersweet getting to the end of this one. So let's watch one last time as our heroes have failed.. and have to decide what they can do next… and if they should.

We open with easily one of the most horrifying sequences i've ever seen in a comic, possibly ever: just six straight pages of horror as we see giant tentacles strewn about dozens of corpses. Half of New York, as Adrian later puts it, is dead. And in the middle a horrifying alien face… and a familiar blue one as Dr. Manhattan arrives just after everyone is dead. Turns out there was some interfernce, but it wasn't the bombs going off like he thought: something cough adrian cough kept him from looking here. Laurie for her part.. can barely look at it and given i'm just seeing it on page I can't imagine what seeing all this up close, the smells, the sounds… or possible deathly quite.. just thinking about it has me about to collapse in horror. Jon takes her away from this and to his credit, he actually realizes it may of been bad taste to pontifcate on the how while surrounded by horses. HIs character growth from realizing humanity's worth.. has stuck.

Back at the fortress our two heroes have taken diffrent approaches to the news: Dan is in DEEEEEEP denial while Shackles fully buys it: Adrian isn't lying. Even the holes all add up as Adrian gleefully fills them in: the brain was from a young psychic, simply bloated and weaponized by Adrians people. The assians bullet? Well he can catch those. How he did it? Simple: Lethal informatoin: alien worlds, sounds: anyone not dead of the psychic shockwave will be driven mad. And anyone who was involved.. is dead. Killed by assasians or Adirans own plans. That leaves dan in the uninveable position of asking "What happens to us?" which is NEVER a question you want to ask when your hip deep in a supervillian layer after the evil genius at the heart of it just laid out how he killed any other person who could possibly out his plan.

Thankfully hope arrives in all it's naked blue glory as Jon shows up outside.. and leaves Laurie out there because he's still a dick just only mostly a dick now. And he quickly lets himself in, leaving Adrian to soil himself as he tries to use a death trap and a kitty cat. He then murders HIS OWN KITTY BUBASTIS to trap Jon, using the same machine that made him to try and kill him.

Honestly out of all the horrible crimes he's commited, this one is up there. Seconds later Laurie confronts him with a gun and nearly shoots him dead. He DOES catch the bullet like he said he could.. but his next line is telling

He's lost control. He's gone from plans he know will work with deadly efficency.. to barely keeping ahead of his foes. He launches into yet ANOTHER monologue after dan understandably gets pissed about him shooting laurie and tell shim to grow up. That superheroics have no place i his new world and that he's the outer god and.. wait what's that your all looking at?

As satisfying as it is though, seeing Jon utterly wreck this smug bastards day…. it sadly dosen't last. In any other superhero story Jon would likely kick his ass, find some way to turn him in and our heroes, while living in a still tense would, would find a better one. Instead.. Adrian simply flips on his giant tv wall which is somehow also a massive chekovs gun, as it shows our heroes.. that his plan worked. Tensions have ceased between the US and USSR, focusing on a new threat instead. Adrian reacts with all the grace and subtley you'd expect at this point

There is some depth here: The tear down his cheek, a hold over from the previous panel, shows that there's some part of him, however arrogant that was worried this woudln't work. That no matter what he did no matter how many dogs he kicked and cats he murdered that this woudn't work. But i'ts quickly overrid by him sliding into how he's going to fix the world, and smugly assuming he's going to get away with all this. It shows Adrian's true colors: While he plays this as being for the world and what not.. he really did it for his own ego. He did genuinely want to save the world.. but he had to do it in a way that showed what a clever clever boy he is. It's the only reason he just didn't fire missles at Dan and Rorshach and be done with it: He needed SOMONE to gloat to. Someone to brag about how only he could pull this off. How he did all the pieces. To revel in his "genius". Sure he hid all the evidence.. but it meant nothing if he didn't get to lay it all out. His gloating comes off as well planned as everything else. Even Dr. Manhattan, as scared as he clearly was, had a counter ready for him.

It's what makes Adrian's plan and genuine hope ring hollow: to him those half a city's worth of people he gruesomely murdered, the islanders he slaughtered, the scientests he poisoned, even his good boy sweet boy kitty cat, they were all acceptable losses. All for his grand masterstroke. Adrian posed a question to day last issue: "What do you think I am, some kind of republic serial villian?"

Just because Adrian WON dosen't make him any less of a super villian. It's the great irony of the work: Watchmen was a world with maybe one super criminal but no one who could really stand up to dr. manhattan for long or who really deserved the title.. and when it got one he was too good at his job. He made the heroes seemingly obsolete. Adrian Veidt.. is a monster. And i'ts summed up all too well from some lyrics I love, from the Run the Jewels Song "A Few Words for the Firing Squad"

I used to wanna get the chance to show the world i'm Smart Isn't that Dumb? I Shoudl've focused Mostly on the HEart Cause I seen Smarter People Trample Life Like It's an Art So Bein smart ain't waht it used to be that's fuckin dark.

That's Adrian: Trampling life like it's an art and bragging about it like he just did his piscasso.

Our heroes though are stuck:

This again dosen't make Adrian right… it just means they can't stop him. They do.. and this was all for nothing. They don't and they still have to live with letting a mass murderer get away. No one wins. Rorshach disagrees.. but even then it's hard to take him seriously. So dan and Laurie find solace in each other, with Laurie just a sobbing mess… to her after seeing all that carnage nothing matters.. nothing.. except love. Except comfort. Except the two of them. She just needs something to make sense and to her, Dan does. She may of left.. but it was only to try and save us all. Now.. she has all she needs.

Rorshach.. does not get such a happy ending. Pun unintended. He plans to leave.. but Jon stops him. Even the faint chance of him threatning things is too much. And shockingly despite often being such an unlikeable pirck.. Rorshach's death.. is probably the saddes, most powerful in this entire work.

Yes he's being stubborn, yes he's not a great person… but at th eend of the day… despite all he got wrong over his crusade he's right. He's ultimately the only person willing to tell the truth, that as Adrian pointed out no one would believe anyway, and he's paying for it. What's one more corpse among the foundations? And while I don't like Rorshach I will admit his death.. was on his own terms. Pulling down the mask so Jon had to look him in the eye, tears streaming down knowing this was it and sad tha tthe truth seemingly dies with him. I haven't hid how much I hate this man, the fact he spews out tons of right wing propoganda and has only gotten more horribly relevant as a charcter with age as a result dosen't realyl help.. but I can pitty him as he explodes in the snow, cold alone and in his mind the only one who could do right. He didn't compromise in the face of armageddon, held fast to who he was.. and it amounted to sadly little: the conpsiracy he worked to unravel won, life goes on and he's just one last ink blot in blood on the snow to be washed away along with any legacy. His life is just.l.. a sad one.. a traumatized man who needed help, refused to take it… and ended his story in tragedy instead of moving on. We get a sweet moment as Jon heads back inside.. and smiles at Dan and Laurie. BEfore he was detached from the stiuation, ressigned to it.. but now.. he's just happy she's happy at last. He goes to talk to adrian, and while he regained his intrest in humanity he's leaving.. but leaves his "friend" with some advice

This is the true hell for Adrian Veidt and a satisfying conclusion: He WON.. but there's no guarnatee his peace is the eternal world peace he smugly thought ti'd be. That any of this lasts. He wanted to be a better alexander.. but there's no guarnatee it won't go up in ruins> And wether it does or not the possiblity will forever haunt him. And i'm going to enjoy it

We cut to a few months later: it's Christmas! Huh I forgot this ended on Christmas. We wrap up Dan and Laurie's story as they visit her mom under assumed identities. She reveals what she learned.. and as her mother apologizes she says.. it's okay. She gets sometimes the worlds messed up and you do things you can't admit to people. And it's okay. She never did wrong by her. It's a ncie message of not blaming a victim or blaming someone for a moment of weakness. Just letting it pass. Laurie and Dan baanter ab it happy while Laurie prepares to put on a gimp mask and gun like her old man.

I'll admit the message here is kinda.. fucked that Laurie will be more like her dad.. who was a pretty awful person… I can't tell if she's reclaming it for herself or their implying it's a good thing. And maybe tha'ts the point.

So the world goes on, the newstand is replaced by a booth, and at the fronteirsman… a clueless intern trying to find some content to fill for his asshole jingoist boss.. finds the journal. About to publish it. What does it do? Well.. that's up to you. As a wise naked man once said.. it's never over. What happens next is in your hand

Or in the sequels but.. we'll table those for now and I question why make them as this endings ambigiuity is what makes it work: We don't know if this Journal will destroy everything or just be dismissed as writing. If dan and laurie's new careers work out. What JOn's new life will be. And that's the point. As he said.. it's never over. life moves on.. and what happens next for better or worse. .is out of my watch

Watchmen is a masterpiece. That statment isn't at all new, but revisiting it has made me see just how masterfully i'ts put totgether. It's not to say it's without fault but most are with age: The sexual assault stuff is handelded very poorly, Laurie feels mildly underwitten compared to the male cast a lot of the time, the handling of gay people is bleh, and some of the language used is sur eis from the 1980s. LIke a lot of comic books, parts of it have aged like old tissue paper, but what keeps it despite it's issues.. is the central themes; of looming war, of what superheros can really do about it and of the beauty of just being alive and how it can be takena way from us. Watchmen has perserved for a reason. Like Dan and Laurie it may of aged a bit.. but it's still got a long ways to go. Did it need sequels or prequels? Probably not, but we can analyize tha tanother day. For now… the clock is ticking past midnight and while the comic is over.. there's one last show to catch. So thank you for reading this, i'l lbe collecting all these reviews shortly.. .I just have a movie to review first. Yes next time we take a look at Zac Snyders watchmen and see if it's that bad. Until then… smile, even in the face of armageddon.

Tbh it sucks because Friends is so special to me but it tanked, actually got canceled unlike the other gens, the arcade game and merch sales weren't doing it so they tried to rework the series for the next gen

Aikatsu on Parade and all it's merchandise was partly an attempt to scrape up more money for Planet's release but??? I don't think it worked??? the first couple episodes mention all these really cool ideas about their idol world and then nothing came of it, it was a cute concept but I really think they just fell reaaally under budget and tried to skate by hoping nobody noticed

ever since Stars things have just been kind of mismanaged 😭 like why is the majority of their merch acrylic character stands?? you are a trading card rhythm game for 8 year olds 😭

I LOVE how diverse the music is!!!!! all the "standard idol stuff" really stands out too imo. Signalize was one of my favorites from the start, it just hits so different, most idol anime start with that extra sparkly guitar happy type of song but the instrumental for signalize was so unique, I always thought it was a bold choice for a show like that their rock music is so good. like so so gooddddd

I swear out of the like 700 songs of this series there are maybe 6 I don't enjoy?? ALSO WOW THATS A LOT

Same about the animation, OG s2-onward & Friends was great!!! I also love in the movie when Ichigo performs Kagayaki no Etude, there's a slow spinning scene when she's talking on stage about what the song means to her and every couple seconds it switches from 2d to cg angles and it's so seamless, I love it 😭💗

I think Planet's cg was also beautiful, I don't have much of an attatchment to the season but the character designs look really nice, good fluffy hair physics, and they've TOTALLY perfected the in-the-dark glowy look by then!!

another thing most of the fandom agreed on, Stars feeling kind of uncanny.. and the auras kept covering idols art certain parts so that's why they changed all the arches early on, they ACTUALLY got written complaints from kids 😭😂

I always wanted to see an idol with no type or a couple!!! Before Kaguya was introduced there was a huge theory going around that she was actually a Sexy/Cool type and since pairs were the point of Friends, we thought we were finally getting double type girls

I also wished the concept of my coords was used in more than that one ichigo gen ep, where you mix up brandless pieces, one of my favorite things to do is mix and match outfits in the ds games so I was hoping to see like idk maybe soleil could split their PR coords together one time or something??? idk would have been cool though!!

Ugh I do agree with you on the merchandise. Like I can’t play any of the card-based games because America so the cards would basically be glorified trading cards. This might be my doll collector brain talking, but why didn’t they make fashion dolls? I know they did for Friends but they didn’t expand on the concept at all, they just made two dolls. I want to see the girls in their basic coords and then fashion packs for each brand, like a set of multiple Futuring Girl rares or just one PR. I would have gone absolutely apeshit for that. It would also allow for mixing and matching, so maybe it could have tied into the show a lot more like with the concept of PR mixing you brought up! I feel like most PRs in units work pretty well together so I’d like to see the mix ups.

Yeah, I really do not care for planet. I think it really didn’t work, and was an awful lot like PriPara when it didn’t need to be! While the cg is admittedly gorgeous, I also feel like it tried to be so ✨aesthetic✨ all of a sudden instead of being bright and colorful like it’s always been! But maybe I just hate change.

I’ve heard that a lot of people find Raki to be a Mary Sue and hate the way she copied the designs of others. I don’t know enough about her to form an opinion, really, but what do you think?

I love the fact that the kids complained during Stars. They may be kids, but they have standards!!

I think double type idols would be super cool and really flesh out the world. Tbh I think there could be a few idols that could be double typed with only a few minor tweaks (I always thought Mikuru was a pop/sexy idol tbh). One thing I think would be interesting is to see how brands would react to it. Brands appreciate dedication, so would dual type idols have a hard time getting PRs because the pure-type brands would worry about being thrown aside? Cool conflict imo.

Now I have to ask, are the ds games any good? Are they able to be played as someone who speaks absolutely no Japanese? I’ve never really thought about getting one of the games before because I have no clue how they work

Do I feel vibrant (in general)?

I don’t feel “vibrant” at all. This whole thing makes me laugh, too. You can laugh about it from the right standpoint. You can laugh at how fucking pathetic someone like me is, and you can do it with spirit. Laughing at the whole concept of “vibrancy”.

Do I feel sexually desirable?

Still don’t feel this way, and if anything, I feel more “away” from this than coming closer. what the fucking fuck does it mean to be desirable anyway.

Are my sexual needs being met? (by me, by someone else)

I disowned my sexuality. I don’t give a shit.

Do I care about my sexual life?

(see the above)

What is my comfort level with talking about sex and sexuality and communicating my needs?

I have talked about sexuality every day this week and I still am not comfortable at all.

How am I feeling about my body?

Still meh. Can’t say I love it or hate it. Working out definitely does something for me given I’m losing weight and it’s dropping like a stone, but if we’re talking “desirability”, that doesn’t even cross my mind. I literally don’t even think about that. I think more about my physical health than anything. I actually tried to for a day but it didn’t last. I don’t have anyone to impress. All things aside, I don’t see the point. Sexuality just doesn’t cross my mind. If I do anything for any reason, sexuality is the last thing on my mind.

What is my relationship like with my orgasms?

Nonexistent. I haven’t masturbated at all this week because, again, there’s no point. What is the point of developing an appetite when there is no need for it. What is the point? I keep looking for a point and I just am not seeing it. There’s no point.

What is my connection like with others?

Still complete shit. I know I fucked it all up. No one asks me questions. No one does art trades or anything like that with me. I have to fight to gain the interest of other people. It’s not good enough to be myself.

When I think of sex, what comes to mind?

Nothing good or happy or stimulating, and the whole concept of pleasure tied with sex flies right over my head. My sexuality is ugly, and unnatural, and a demon, and I wish I could kill it—I finally disowned it because it serves me no purpose. I have no reason to put it to use.

Do I feel tapped into God (Source, Universe)?

No.

*bonus question: What fun am I having in my sexual life?

No fun. It’s agonizing and makes the worst crime of them all: it’s BORING.

“You should be more open.” I AM BEING OPEN. there’s literally nothing in there. This whole fucking thing just constantly makes me angry and you should understand why I disowned my sexuality. Looking for a point and I genuinely cannot find a point to having a sex life, or good reason to not hate my sexuality.

“Why does it make you angry?” Because I can’t stop thinking about how I don’t measure up. I can’t stop thinking about all the sex we’re exposed to on a regular basis. I can’t stop thinking about so-called “sex symbols” and people who are just so fucking confident in themselves and I think, “goddamn, I could never measure up to that”. I could drop down to my high school weight and I still wouldn’t be able to be sexy. I can’t stop thinking about what’s considered sexy and what isn’t. I can’t stop thinking about how fucking boring and dry and nonexistent my own sex life is: it doesn’t exist. I don’t have sex, I don’t think about it, I can’t imagine anyone wanting it with me. I look at my journal questions, like “write about the best sex partner you ever had” and “when did you lose your virginity?” and the only thing going through my mind is “what do you want me to say?” Really, what do you want me to say to this. I’ve never had sex, and I can’t envision a day where it’ll happen to me. I genuinely don’t know why I bother with this, aside from maybe feeling like there has to be more here. I looked and there isn’t. I make sexual jokes because they make me laugh, not because ~I’m feeling sexy~. My art is not sexual, and neither am I. I’m a virgin. I’ll probably die alone and without knowing what sex feels like with another person.

I don’t know what “makes me feel beautiful”. Don’t really like wearing dresses—when I was little, I wore Patagonia dresses, but they were red flannel ones, they weren’t anything special. They were like the one example of wearing a dress and letting me be warm against the harsh, cold Nevada winds. I wear pants and coats more for (physical and practical) comfort than beauty. My sense of style is utilitarian, okay? I have drab taste.

Yes. I’m assigned female at birth. I have monthly periods. I have boobs. I have a vagina. That doesn’t mean I have a desire to get married and get pregnant. I met very young children in my early twenties and I didn’t know what to do—I see children of that age now and I think back to that. I’m not good with children. And I just figured I’m not going to get married. I see those figments of the female gender and shrug them off: looking away from those, I’m met with the blackest blackness ever. Rather than be filled with wonder and like “the possibilities are endless”, I’m mortified. I look at the female gender and what we know about it and I can’t force myself into it because I know it won’t be right.

I’m just so… lost. And broken. I’m not whole and no one will tell me what to do about it. I really have no choice but to rid of it.

I'm completely neutral on the subject so I hope I don't come across as disagreeing with you or anything but why do you dislike TNN/P5? I've just noticed you've stated that a few times now so I wanna know the deets🤣

You definitely don't come across as disagreeable at all! I'm not offended by curiosity, or even respectful disagreement. So, feel free to disagree with me after this answer. I dislike TNN for a few reasons, some directly related to the phase, some simply for the state of fandom at the time, which isn't exactly TNN's fault, but it is what it is.

How it started - I distinctly remember Damon remarking that he felt bad that fans missed 2D on Humanz, which led to him recording TNN (or at least played a notable role in his decision). This was the first crack in my faith in the project. For all the hyping fans do about Jamon ~not caring what people think, and ~not caring about dumb popularity points like those other stupid artists, this was..unexpected. I'm probably projecting my own philosophy as a creator here, but it's incredibly difficult for me to imagine a scenario where I would change my plans because my audience wanted me to. My original vision, my creative process, is all important to me, even if people get annoyed or disagree with how I operate. More than anything, creating has to be fulfilling for me. I used to think Gorillaz was the same, and maybe they still are to some extent, but I didn't like the idea of Damon essentially creating an apology album.

The album was boring. Come at me! Lmao. But yeah. I've analyzed the fuck out of "Souk Eye," but I've only listened to it all the way through once. I would take another Humanz over TNN, musically.

Murdoc being the plot, but never in any art. People always complain about Murdoc "taking over the story." I agree to a point. P5 still sucked for me as a Murdoc fan because there was barely anything for me to gif or edit this phase. I would trade Murdoc in a support role for more Murdoc animation.

Murdoc being in jail the entire, Murdoc "dying." TNN took place during a time where Murdoc hate was at its peak. I wrote out of spite, but it was genuinely annoying to see people I was friends with being told they were terrible people/abusers etc for liking Murdoc. When he "died," even though it was obviously temporary, people only got harassed and mocked more. This may sound petty, but it was SO annoying.

The set up didn't lead anywhere. If I was going to suffer through so many unfunny memes and people obsessing over their hate for a fictional character, it could have at least ended with something. I was relieved and happy it didn't turn into a 2D possession story line, but the ending was so botched. I just wish it had been a different plot entirely.

But I can also say good things about TNN. It gave us 2D's journal, and "Souk Eye." Murdoc actually re-joined Gorillaz on my birthday that year - literally on the exact date (not that Jamon had any way of know or planning for that, but it was wild).

TNN came out when I wasn't expecting it. I had started writing The Answer at the end of Humanz with the hope that the I wouldn't make too many waves writing 2Doc with a less active fandom. Gorillaz always took long hiatuses, so this was what would happen this time, right? Lmao. Needless to say, it made me very anxious. I also had to adjust my plans chapter to chapter to stay up to date with TNN "lore." It again wasn't anything Gorillaz could control, nor was it their responsibility, but ngl, this did frazzle me at the time. In the end, I see it as a positive because it challenged me, and helped create a fandom experience that I would never exchange for anything. That story means a lot to some people (and me for that matter!), and I would also never want to take that away from them.

So, the final assessment is that my feelings are very mixed. I had fun in the little section of fandom I carved out for myself at the time, but everything around me I associate with chaos and volatility.

Hi. I have a little tiny rant that is both fucking funny but damn that sucks. I literally selfship with a charge that has no damn content or fanfic, anything. I selfship with the character from the ghibli movie Laputa castle in the sky. The character is the pirates family his name is Charles. And there is no content about him and kinda sucks. Idk it’s sad that there is nothing for this goofy cute character. Just a rant honestly. Kinda sucks. I wish there was content for this man but sadly there isn’t. Not even art. Just screenshots from the movie. Idk sorry for the tiny rant I hope to find something but I doubt it

dude you have SUCH good taste i literally love this character hes so skrunkly. im sorry you cant find anything for him i have a few f/os like that and it sucks </3 if you like really want actual help, what i do is commission artists and writers within the self-ship community!! There are a lot of us who could appreciate the money!! If you can't afford to commission, there are a lot of people always looking for art or writing trades if you're a creator! If neither of those options seem compelling to you, you can always use sites like AI Dungeon or Dreamily, which help you make AI generated stories! I use sites like that to make self-ship fanfic all the time!! ^^

I love camp. Today was great. I am happy to be home with James right now but I am super excited to sleep there next week for a few nights. Not the whole week but still. I'm just really jazzed.

I slept alright. I had trouble falling asleep again. I am having trouble because I am having a really hard time finding something to listen to. Like I don't want to listen to something sad. But it can't be to interesting. Or to scary. Or to loud. But it has to be interesting enough. But not to interesting. You see the problem right??

But I did fall asleep eventually. I woke up pretty tired. I gave myself a few minutes to shake it off. And tried to get James attention once I was standing on the bed. They waved at me from the little couch. I made the bed and went to get dressed.

I would actually change though. That outfit did not work out. It was entirely to hot today. So I changed into this yellow dress. I did not mean to wear yellow two days in a row but whatever. At least I could mostly be cool. It was slightly annoying to walk around camp only because it doesn't have any stretch. But I felt like a princess so that was nice.

I did wear eyeliner today. I was telling Jess yesterday I was feeling a little bad about myself. It was like 80% the humidity. But I needed the security blanket of eyeliner today. Probably for the last time this summer unless it's for something special.

I left here and stopped for breakfast. And had a good ride down to camp.

I got there a little before 830. I hung up the hammock and did some poking around making a plan. And then I headed down to meet the rest of my coworkers.

We were meeting at trading post. Charlotte was there. Hello Charlotte. I wish she was easier to read. I still feel like she doesn't like me. But it's whatever. James says she likes me. She's just not warm.

But CJ was there and she is warm and she looked great. I know her surgery went well but she's still hurting so I had to make sure not to squeeze her. And it was nice to see Maggie form last year and her boyfriend. And I was just in a good mood.

I would head to arts after the check in. Heather was like you said you were done! And I was like no I'm done unpacking!! There is other things to do. So I would go start working on my examples.

After a while though I headed to the office to ask about ordering supplies. Alexi got me set up on the computer and I got to order basically everything I wanted. I did not order theme supplies but it's progress.

Because guess what I'm doing theme again. I did not want to do theme. But I am weak when asked and so I would spend about an hour choosing every project for the entire summer. I will work on the supply list next. But man am I weak when someone asks me for help. At least we have more staff to make sure it happens this year without as much stress on my shoulders.

I had my lunch early. And worked on my popsicle stick house. Alexi asked me to cut out Lego heads to use as masks for the camp kick off tomorrow. A few people came up to help me. And they decorated their faces. It was cute. And it was nice hanging out with them.

I am super awkward though when people are in my space. I did not know what to do with it after a bit. So the natural ending when we had to circle back up at 2 worked out nicely.

We got our new camp shirts! Which are a lovely dark green. And we got new fanny pack! I feel weird calling them that with the internationals because fanny means something else there!! But I don't know a better name for them. Hip bag?? Regardless I'm excited for a new one. I love my beaded and embroidered one. But now I have a new canvas.

After that we played some games to learn camp rules. No flip flops. No running off the field. Try to stay off your phone unless it's senior staff or the office. And then we headed to the pool.

We had a ten minute break to grab our swim stuff. I went to arts and got my bathing suit and sunscreen. And went to learn about pool etiquette.

We would learn about what the whistles meant. And how we should supervise. Alexi came and talked about drowning and being observant and stuff like that. It was a lot. Dark at times. But it was important to know. Like when I made sure everyone knew that the kids epipens and rescue inhalers didn't count in the "medication can't be with the kids" rule. Safety is so important.

I was super excited to swim though. I got changed and would go get a pool noodle and soon Laura would get one too to come and float with me. She's great. She looks like my cousins. Cute round face, long hair that makes me think it's strawberry but it's blonder then I remember every time, round nose, happy eyes. And she's funny. We pretended to surf on the noodles and almost got hit with a football from an intense game of catch the boys were having. But it was hoenslty the best.

We floated and talked. But I ended up feeling very hungry. So I tapped out and said goodbye to everyone.

I walked up to arts and got changed and remembered to change my shoes before I went home.

I texted James about dinner and they said I should stop for a sandwich. So I went to Wawa. Got a hoagie and some chips. And had a nice ride home.

I was very tired by the time I got back. James was doing their podcast. So I went and had my sandwich in the other room and watched a video. And once they were done they joined me and we would hang out.

Mom would text me and let me know they dad is struggling the infection is still here. So now they look at other options. Which is something I have been expecting for like a year. I really truly hope that whatever happens they can just give my dad his life back. It is not fair that both of them have been basically trapped by something completely out of their control. They should be going out and having fun and enjoying being together. Not dealing with sickness and feeling burnt out and sad. I had thinking about them being sad. I want them to both be happy and content and healthy! I really hope that happens soon.

Eventually we went to sit in the other room and played a video game and had ice creams. My eyes were so tired and I honestly wasn't having a lot of fun because my eyes hurt.

So I went and laid down. I was to tired to do anything else. But I watched videos and texted with CJ and eventually went to take a shower.

That helped me feel better. But man am I tired. Tomorrow I have the market and that will be busy! But I am truly hoping it is just a beautiful day even if it will be a lot.

I hope you all sleep well tonight. Take care of yourself. Please stay safe.

I just graduated and I'm 18 so what do I do now

What do you want to do? Seriously. That's the important question. And that’s not one I can answer for you. Do you want to go to college? If so, do you know what you want to study? Can you afford it? Because I don't recommend going entirely on loans, I'm still dealing with mine. Would you rather go to a trade school? Or just skip the whole potentially unnecessary hassle altogether and focus on getting a job and spend your time learning what you want to learn at your own pace while enjoying the hobbies you want to enjoy? You don't have to decide right away. God knows I wish I had taken time to figure myself out before going to college. Might have saved myself the hassle of school transfers, extra courses to compensate, and realizing toward the end of Junior year that I didn't actually want to be studying my major after all but was too far in with student loans to be worth quitting or adding another year or two by switching majors. Whether a degree is even important depends entirely on what you want to do for work. And I'll be honest, even with a degree the chance of getting that job immediately after graduating is generally low (and in some fields just about nonexistent) for most people. And even though society is going to try to pressure you into it, you don't need to go for further schooling if you don't want to. It's not mandatory. Do you want to stay where you are or move? If you want to move, you'll want to start looking for jobs in the area you want to be. Many places will ask if you're willing to move if hired, so even though you aren’t there yet you could still put in applications to business in the area if you’re thinking of a more long-distance move than “just a town or two over”. And you'd want to start looking at prices for rents. Check what the minimum wage in the State is because that's the lowest you could be paid so you can use that number to see how much you could afford for rent/transportation/groceries/etc. Could you afford the costs on your own or do you need to start looking for roommates? (How to find people is not something I can give suggestions for, sorry) Or are you in a situation where it's safe and healthy for you to remain with your parents while you figure out what you want to do? Because for most people independence begins with figuring out income and access to transportation, and that’s not always easy. Especially if you don’t have access to some sort social network for mutual support (these come in many shapes and sizes, family and friends often count, and what individuals need varies person to person, and I’m really not the best person to ask for advice on obtaining this since I’m a bit of an anti-social recluse in person). Another thing to consider in all of this is what makes you tick. What is the thing, no matter what anyone else says about it, that makes your day good when you engage with it? This doesn’t need to be your job, but it does deserve to be a factor in your choices. For me that's a certain degree of intellectual study and craft things, and I enjoy being able to teach. My job requires attention to detail, precision, some degree of artistic ability, and because of how long I’ve been doing it I have training responsibilities. So even though my job has nothing apparently related to my degree or my hobbies it still somewhat satisfies that part of the brain that says "this is why I enjoy these hobbies" if that makes any sense. For my sister her thing is art, so she tries to make time for it and doing so helps reground her after dealing with work stress, and the jobs she's enjoyed the most have been the ones that give her a chance to exercise some sort of creativity. She's also much better than I am with people so a job that puts me dealing with people all day would fuck my head right up, but she has a higher tolerance threshold before she has to go scream. And being able to help people is part of what gives her a sense of personal satisfaction at the end of the day. Or are you someone who actually enjoys cleaning? I don't, it makes me stressed, but I have a relative who worked as a house cleaner part time for a while because she genuinely enjoyed it. These are things to consider. Being an introvert doesn't mean you can't enjoy a people job, and being an extrovert doesn't mean you won't thrive in a job that is more private. But everyone has different personalities and different strengths, and you’ll be happiest in your choices when you take that into consideration (and on that note, remember that if you move across State lines you may experience some mild culture shock depending on where you move to, which can easily manifest as personality clashes, especially in a work environment).

However, I will warn you now that even though you try to do everything right you may find times in your life when you do have to accept an uncomfortable job for a while, or what sounded like a good job turns out to have an asshole boss and you have to start looking for a new one again. Or an apartment that seemed nice turns out to have really shitty neighbors and you have to put up with it for a while before you find a new place (been there). So if that happens don't give up, almost everyone has been there at least once. Honestly, right now you've got an endless range of possibilities in front of you and the only one who can make the choice of what you do next is you. So. What do you want to do? Once you find your answer to that you can start looking at what is needed to get there. And you always have the ability to change that goal at any time you want. You don’t stop learning, changing, or growing once highschool is over, so don’t let anyone demand that you lock down an unbreakable plan for the rest of your life right now.

Blog Post #4

-What are you passionate about?

I’m quite passionate about illustration, photography, design (obviously), playing video games (specifically the Sims 3), listening to good music, eating good food, and learning stupid things from the internet. All these interests mostly stem from just learning about things I like. Once I’m invested in something I have to know everything about it.

-What culture/geography/region/country do you identify with?

Canada, not really, but I’ve lived here my whole life. I’ve actually never been anywhere outside of Ontario and Quebec. I’d love to travel around but I’m not rich :*). I’m also Portuguese, but I've unfortunately never been to Portugal. I’d love to go but I don’t know any of my family over there and they probably don’t know of my existence. However, my boyfriend and I would really like to go to Japan! I don’t personally connect with it, but we made plans to go eventually, sometime after graduation and I’m set on making the trip happen.

-Is there a design, object or product that you love or hate and why?

D2L/Brightspace!!! I hate it (lmao). It’s not awful but there are way too many ways to do the same thing, which makes everyone so confused. Blackboard was surprisingly much easier, and I kind of miss it (like Stockholm syndrome). I just wish I could see my grades properly in 2DL, blackboard had a nice grades panel and you could compare your grades with your classmates anonymously.

-Are there any recent events/news, Canadian or otherwise, that you FEEL for?

Yesterday (Sept. 26th) there was a guy swinging an axe outside of TMU (toronto metropolitan university). My sister goes there, so it was kinda scary. She thankfully is taking a course that operates outside of the campus grounds, but it’s so wild that people would go to a college campus and swing axes.

-Is there an experience that impresses you while travelling [people, place, service]?

I rarely travel, but I went to Italy once in 2021! The people were nice-ish even though I didn’t speak Italian, and the food was quite good. I was shocked however, that they rarely serve vegetables (I was dying for cucumbers or broccoli after the trip). The trains were also quite fast, but it was still a long trip when taking them. My family and I went from the top of Italy (Del Garda) all the way to Rome in one day. We actually went twice, but it was exhausting.

-Do you consider yourself a T-shaped individual? If so, what area/discipline do you know well? What other areas/disciplines do you know to some extent?

I would consider myself a jack of all trades when it comes to art (aside from sculpture, I suck at that). I’m quite good at photography, design, illustration, and pretty much use any kind of physical medium (oil, acrylic, pastel, water colour, ink, pencil crayon…) due to the years I spent doing art over having life experiences (T-T). I would say I have a deeper knowledge in design, as that's what i’m studying, and I like learning more about it to hopefully aid me in future job prospects. However, in terms of weird knowledge (my favourite kind), I know a lot about video games, but with specific video games, I know A LOT about them. More specifically, Undertale…I KNOW cringe. What am I 13? I got invested in the game when it came out and I still get really invested in topics I like. I will go out of my way to learn everything I can about them, almost to the point where I learn things that aren’t even true, just theories (a game theory :0 -matt patt).

For someone who frequently claims they arent in the art community you sure do care alot about other people's agency regarding their own OCs in an art trading game.

The reason why everyone was getting annoyed with you is because, you asked a question (which is fine), and they gave you an answer, however the answers were clearly not something you wanted to hear so your approach is to simply ask again, but at that point there are no more answers to be given because everything that's been said has already been said. You literally already had a predetermined stance on the situation by calling people's boundaries "dumb" before you posed your question so at that point, no one's answers would be satisfactory to you.

I'm going to address a few things you said:

Saying shit like "well im gonna just draw our ocs together out of spite" is how you get blocked. Go ahead. Do it. Just don't get upset with the consequences. I don't care if you didn't mean it, or if it was out of anger, you've already put it out there and now people have reason to avoid you.

Just because YOUR intent was to draw them in a "100% sfw matter" does not make the boundaries any different or less in place. When someone says "I don't want my OC drawn with other OCs" they mean it in ALL fashions. PERIOD. SFW or NSFW. They want NONE of it.

"I tend to not follow rules that don't make any sense" as neurodivergent person myself I will tell you right now that just because something doesnt make sense does not give you a right to go against someone's wishes. That applies for alot of things.

"It's not like im publishing a whole novel or anything with their characters in it" LITERALLY no one is expecting that nor wanting that. It doesnt matter what form the content is in, whether novel, artwork, sketch, ANYTHING. They do not want your OC interacting with theirs UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. REGARDLESS OF THE MEDIUM. Everyone has different reasons for not wanting their OCs drawn with other people. Maybe they had a triggering experience, or someone broke their trust, or they simply just don't feel comfortable. Whatever the reason may be, THEY don't owe you an explanation. It is entirely okay to find something stupid. You are in your right to find things stupid or not understand things. That is a human thing and we all do it. The problem is that you are actively choosing to bother yourself over boundaries some random people have, when you could be seeking out people with permissions/boundaries that match YOURS. FIND people who DO want their OCs drawn with yours and move on! Who cares about a small group of individuals who don't want their OCs drawn with yours?? You literally could have avoided getting yourself blocked and avoided by alot of people in ArtFight if you just said "hey you know what, I don't get this but whatever. I'll go find some other people" and moved tf on but instead you've made yourself known to be an asshole in the community. You still have a chance to rectify this but you need to understand that the entire world is not going to play by your rules and you're going to learn that very quickly.

I’ve stated multiple times that I only call it dumb out of spite because they were getting on me for not getting it

2. I’m not apart of it especially since I haven’t really interacted with it before because all the shit I’ve seen n this is exactly why

3. If you read further you’d know that I found an actual good reason n I’m now 50/50 on this situation

4. Yes, I will admit I was wrong for saying “I’ll draw it anyway out of spite” yes Im 100% in the wrong for that because I’m not finna hurt innocent people. I said that because I was fed up with people like you assuming shit n getting on me for asking more questions because I like to see all sides before I make a final verdict n I ended up making my final verdict n y’all still mad at me

5. I have said time n time again, I am not using my autism as an excuse nigga, it’s just a reason why I was fixated in making it make sense. It’s almost as if neurodivergent people are different people

6. Also if “no one owes me an explanation” how come, negative n positive responses, niggas been giving me multiple explanations??? That I still can’t, besides the comment that made it make sense to me, understand their point of view???

7. I’m allowed to complain on a literal DRAMA BLOG. I wanted to fucking vent!

8. N y’all keep insisting I’m an asshole JUST BECAUSE I asked a QUESTION. Besides who tf cares if I kept asking more questions??? I was trying to make something, that, for one, I’ve NEVER seen or HEARD of before make any sense

9. It’s pretty ironic you’re gonna say that “the entire world is not going to play by your rules and you're going to learn that very quickly” to ME but we’re not talking about my rules

10. Also one question. How about the people making these rules not confuse people? This is the whole reason I’m venting about it in the first place because if they say they don’t mind their characters with other characters but would prefer not to n me or anyone else WAS to do it anyway, how would that be being disrespectful?? Because I was told this TWICE by two different people from Art Fight.

All I’m getting from these interactions with artist, especially that discord server, is the fact Y’ALL NIGGAS HATE PEOPLE QUESTIONING THEIR SURROUNDINGS. By not questioning everything is how you end up being used n played with constantly! But like I said, my stance is 50/fucking/50 now. I don’t think anyone with the rule is stupid because the people with those rules I respect them, I just thought it was dumb. Maybe I wouldn’t have been more inclined to accept it if y’all weren’t being assholes about it. Literally just asking questions = I’m an asshole ig n having a different opinion from everyone = bad