Netted jellyfish :) little clumsy on the execution but I do think the visions there and I ALSO think it would be a lot of fun in like a scene or something. Get my hands on a shoebox and go wild kinda thing

So a little inside baseball ... but let's assume you are excited about starting a female empowerment narrative pro sports league for a niche sport that's never been done before where athletes get to tell their own story and make cash so they can continue their sport after college.

Narrator: It's not the first time, it's only new in concept in that it's structure is more ambitious and less obviously feasible.

So you are wanting to start a pro league for, let's say for the sake of argument, oh I don't know, women's gymnastics. You have all this attractive market research data available based on the popularity of NCAA gymnastics. But one of the very basic things when you launch a new product is you see if someone has launched a similar product before or if there is a similar product else where in the world.

Narrator: Yeah that step? These people don't appear to have done that.

So talking to some people who have heard the pitches for this league both to sponsors and athletes here is the first major mistake they made (aside from you know, not doing research). Imagine that you are some well meaning gymnastics coaches and a marketing executive that has tried to start several (apparently folded) sports leagues in the past. You've lived through the dumpster fire of the USAG sexual abuse scandal. You think... oh I'm going to tell all these potential sponsors that we have nothing to do with USA Gymnastics. That will give them confidence.

And maybe at the height of the dumpster fire in 2018 in the wake of the victim impact statements that might have been the call. But it's a terrible reading of the room now. And really it was a terrible reading of the room a year ago when they apparently started pitching this to sponsors. Corporate sponsors have been returning to USAG. Whatever you think of Li Li, this was her job, to right the ship and her job experience (unlike the women running this enterprise) is dealing with major sponsors. So what the pro league people thought was going to be reassuring to sponsors in fact was a red flag to them.

See, no one loves a sports national governing body (or an international one), but what they have is institutional knowledge, access to equipment manufacturers, to athletes, to venues, they know how to run meets and in general they provide a certain amount of safety net on basic organizational issues. Every sports league founded in the last few decades that is successful has some support from the governing body even when there is tension between the players and that organization. The national women's soccer league has ties to USA Soccer because you need those ties to function as a league and I promise you there is no more love between women's soccer player/fans and USA Soccer than there ever was between USAG and women's gymnastic fans.

This stance probably seemed even more out of touch in 2023 than it was in 2022 as USAG emerged from the sponsorship wilderness and started seeing much bigger names having confidence in putting their names next to them.

Who in this group decided that "we have nothing to do with USAG" was a good move I don't know.

They also apparently spent a lot of time being concerned that the potential sponsors fit their leagues ethos. Which is not inherently bad, you don't want a case like US Figure Skating being sponsored by the It's not a Diet It's an Eating Disorder App - Noom. But that becomes less something I trust them with when one of the big name founders has previously shilled a weight loss MLM.

But anyway apparently the sponsors also looked at the reaction among the fandom to the launch of the website in June and were put off by the fact that there was less enthusiasm and more skepticism than the league founders had expected.

I know I was active in those few discussions and if I was a sponsor I'd probably be concerned about one of the things that @darthmelyanna raised: the nature of gymnastics means injuries will happen and the league didn't seem to be providing insurance meaning that we were likely to see a lot of medical expense Go Fund Me's n the future.

But all of these missteps with sponsors also has a side issue. Apparently they finally did realize they need to get insurance for their league (I can't imagine a venue was willing to host one of their events without it and I would hope that athletes wouldn't be signing up to this without it). Supposedly they then went to USAG... the organization who they were badmouthing to sponsors (who themselves were trying to recover sponsors so was very much aware of that)... and they inquired about getting USAG to add them to their insurance pool for gyms.

I'll just let you think about what the answer might be to that. Because that would be a profoundly bad financial stewardship decision for USAG to do for their overall membership/insurance pool. Even if they wanted to help these people.

Meta Marcy Wu

           Marcy really does have that energy of like. Someone who doesn’t have a whole lot of ‘opinions’ on bigger matters (such as the conflict between Toads and Newts, Sasha and Anne, Maddie and her sisters, etc.) so she just sort of. Awkwardly waits and sits off to the side, kind of biding her moment for when it’s finally over. Letting others take charge so long as she gets her own little space to function in. She’s not against or for anyone in particular, she just needs people to decide for themselves who she should follow, Marcy prefers to be a follower and ONLY that- Her debut has her asserting her own control for herself, but she doesn’t seem to care much else about others, I’m afraid.

           Contrast that with Anne, who needs her own control- BUT she also has the Heart, so she cares about others, she’s proactive and has agency despite initially being told to be reactive and not stand up for herself. Even if she can’t stand up for herself, she will stand up for others… And I think she was lowkey influenced by Sasha’s obsessive desire to protect the girls, and that played into Anne being a little bit toxic, but ultimately learning and having that inner fire to take a stance on things based on moral reasons, whereas Sasha seems more concerned for power than the actual social plight of the Toads- So even if Anne isn’t with the rebellion, it’s ultimately something she WOULD fully dedicate herself towards, like when we saw her stand up for the Frogs against Bog and the other Toads.

           And like, I have to wonder if Marcy’s more hands-off, simple follower approach is lowkey what contributed to Sasha’s belief in controlling others, because it validated that- But at the same time, we talk about how Sasha might care more for Anne than Marcy, and we see how Sasha is frustrated by Toadie, who is but an echo chamber for her. So maybe while Marcy is convenient to her, she’s just a bit too passive and thus not as ‘fun’ as a friend as Anne, who is also a concern because she has genuine motive to question Sasha not just on the basis of their friendship, but people OUTSIDE of it, which Marcy doesn’t.

           Anne being fiercely loyal and protective and sticking up for others, it also could’ve fed back into Sasha’s own tendencies as well. And of course these more proactive, in-your-face girls, always on the frontlines, are going to clash, while Marcy the forgotten follower, the wall-flower, the one in the background focused on more ‘nerdy’ things that are less glamorous, like logistics and whatnot… SHE’s the lynchpin that actually tips the scales- Because she’s the third girl who ‘sides’ with Anne between the initial conflict from Season 1. She’s the one with Andrias, flipping things up when Anne and Sasha are going to fight, contributing to that prophesized endgame.

           Marcy is the one, ironically, with the power –albeit as an extension of Andrias really- and so she’s the antagonist who’s clashing with Sasha, who is also power-hungry, but really beginning to learn as well. Marcy is caught up in her own little fantasy land and world, both literally and figuratively, happily enjoying and watching as a witness and bystander, almost detached in a sense to really participate and appreciate it as a very real thing… And being separate and an ‘audience’ member, Marcy is of course forgotten by Sasha and Anne, who play the part of characters; Fitting, because in that one flashback, they were Captain Hook and Peter Pan, while Marcy worked back-stage, literally pulling the strings (well, rope) for Anne!

           It’s Marcy who’s obsessed and fascinated with the meta of fandom and fiction, so of course she’s the one who steps back and observes it like media, takes the time to comment on it as if it were all tropes, watching and enjoying while for Sasha and Anne they participate directly without that kind of detached meta awareness, the kind someone like Andrias would have, because for THEM it’s real, there are stakes, power for Sasha and people for Anne! And Marcy is the backstage audience, fourth-wall crewmember, unnoticed by all who forget and ignore her, and she’s used to it. Maybe Marcy even enjoys and prefers it that way, and/or learned to- And it’s too late to pay attention, to see themselves as characters in that wider play and story and plot, unlike Andrias who notices and takes advantage… And may have been writing since who knows HOW early?

           If I could get into meta, Marcy playing that quiet, unnoticed support role, doing whatever’s convenient- It reminds me of how the visual basis for your typical Ninja in black garb… It came from plays where performers in black garb would maneuver props, and the audience was supposed to intentionally ignore them, see them as separate from the actual story; But every now and then, one play might have a ‘twist’ where that background actor actually IS a character, and assassinates someone to reveal themselves as the hidden Ninja!

          So maybe Marcy is like that… The background crewmember, not calling attention to herself in the acting role- In plain sight but we figure we’re meant to ignore, and so we’re utterly blindsided when she DOES strike! It’s Marcy who appreciates the little technical know-how and details, valuing the role that Frogs and agriculture play, considering Newtopian infrastructure, working back-stage in a Peter Pan play… Appreciating the writing conventions and tropes of her favorite games and fantasies, and so that in a way enables her to ‘game’ the system in a sense, play into it with her own hands, or even set up that game and story in the first place, because she knows how to make one!

          She is the drummer while Anne and Sasha play guitar and sing, not as glamorous or recognized amongst a crowd, but just as vital as the rest… She’s a very META kind of person, befitting her choice of METAmorphosis as part of her drummer costume! You don’t pay mind to a caterpillar, but then little do you know, it becomes an even more unnoticeable cocoon… Only to sprout into a brilliant butterfly! But while the BLUE butterfly is associated with Anne and her connections back home through Pearl Paddock, who is representative of familial bond, remembering who you are… Marcy is disconnected, she’s a GREEN butterfly, green like the lilypads of Amphibia, and she wants to stay there!

          And the best part, I think? I don’t think Marcy herself is even fully aware of what she’s doing… I doubt she sees herself as some clever manipulator. She’s just doing what she can, having her fun plans and machinations like in New Wartwood, but she’s not ACTUALLY approaching this as some devious mastermind- She’s literally just a kid! She gets caught up in her own things, because she is an autistic mood, and I get that! I resonate with that! And so it’s so easy for Marcy to be blindsided by HERSELF, by her own flaws and borderline antagonistic role in the story, to realize what she’s doing is kind of messed up and trivializing- Because we know that she WANTS to care, but it’s so easy and convenient for her to forget and play into the fantasy… Especially with someone like Sasha, and especially Andrias, to enable her, to provide that safety and support net that MARCY doesn’t complain about or take for granted, unlike that ‘ungrateful’ Anne, as Sasha might’ve one said!

           And if Marcy isn’t really self-aware of her own issues or even the full messed-up scope of her actions, to take a look back and critically examine herself the way she might a character or even her own friends; Then that can also make her a victim to her own antics, just as Sasha kept burying herself into a deeper hole. And it’s hard to do the right thing, if you don’t even realize you’re messing up in the first place- Recognizing your fault is kind of one of THE foundations of actual reform, growth, and redemption. I think Marcy needs guidance, and she needs to show more initiative and take a stance not just for herself, but regarding others as well… And that can lead to her choosing between Anne and Andrias.

           Andrias, whose name is like Anne’s but more fantastical, who is blue like Anne’s motif… And who looks after her like a good friend, makes things easier and promises they will be! And he’s invested into the fantasy, he doesn’t want to go home and complicate things, get into fights with Sasha, because it’s the person in charge who decides how it is, right? Which is why True Colors continues to concern me… Amidst, you know, the many OTHER issues as well.

HITTING NEW HEIGHTS

BY MARCUS SCOTT

ORIGINAL RENT STAR DAPHNE RUBIN-VEGA TAKES YOU INSIDE THE IN THE HEIGHTS FILM

Qué quiere decir sueñito?” The disembodied voice of a girlchild ponders. “It means ‘little dream,’” responds an unseen authoritative figure, his feathery tenor with a soft rasp and tender lilt implying there’s more to the story.

Teal waves crash against the white sand coastal lines of the Dominican Republic and a quartet of children plead with the voice to illuminate and tell a story. Usnavi de la Vega (played by Anthony Ramos), sporting his signature newsboy flat cap and full goatee, begins to narrate and weave a tall-tale from the comforts of his beachside food cart: “This is the story of a block that was disappearing. Once upon a time in a faraway land called Nueva York, en barrio called Washington Heights. Say it, so it doesn’t disappear,” he decrees.

And we’re off, this distant magic kingdom ensnared within the winding urban sprawl of farthest-uptown Manhattan, the music of the neighborhood chiming with infinite possibilities: a door-latch fastening on tempo, a ring of keys sprinkling a sweet embellishment, the splish-splash of a garden hose licking the city streets like a drumstick to a snare fill, a manhole cover rotating like vinyl on a get-down turntable, the hiss of paint cans spraying graffiti like venoms from cobras and roll-up steel doors rumbling, not unlike the ultra-fast subway cars zigzagging underground. So begins the opening moments of In the Heights, the Warner Bros. stage-to-screen adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical by composer-lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) and librettist Quiara Alegría Hudes (Water by the Spoonful) that is set to premiere in movie theatres and on HBO Max on June 11, 2021.

This stunning patchwork of visuals and reverberations combine to create a defiant and instantly memorable collage of inner-city living not seen since Walter Hill’s 1979 cult classic The Warriors or West Side Story, the iconic romantic musical tragedy directed on film by Robert Wise and original Broadway director Jerome Robbins. With Jon M. Chu at the helm, the musical feature has all the trademarks of the director’s opulent signature style: Striking spectacles full of stark colors, va-va-voom visuals, ooh-la-la hyperkinetic showstopping sequences and out-of-this-world destination locations.

WANT TO SEE MORE STORIES LIKE THIS?

SUBSCRIBE NOW

A Kind of Priestess

Joining the fray of proscenium stage vets in the film is Broadway star Daphne Rubin-Vega, who originated the role of Mimi in the Off-Broadway and Broadway original productions of Rent. She returns to major motion pictures after a decade since her last outing in Nancy Savoca’s Union Square, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011. When we caught up with Rubin-Vega, she was hard at work, in-between rehearsals with her In the Heights co-star Jimmy Smits on Two Sisters and a Piano, the 1999 play by Miami-based playwright Nilo Cruz, a frequent collaborator. Rubin-Vega netted a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role as the enraptured Conchita in Cruz’s Anna in the Tropics; that same year Cruz was awarded the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, making him the first Latino playwright to receive the honor. Despite significant global, social and economic disruption, especially within the arts community, Rubin-Vega has been working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“People around me have [contracted] COVID… My father-in-law just had it. I’m very fortunate,” Rubin-Vega said. “This collective experience, it’s funny because it’s a year now and things seem better. Last year it was, like, ‘Damn, how inconvenient!’ The one comfort was that, you know, it’s happening to every one of us. That clarity that this is a collective experience is much more humbling and tolerable to me.”

The last time Rubin-Vega graced Washington Heights on screen or stage, she acted in the interest of survival and hunger as a probationer released after a 13-year stint in prison and given a new lease on life as an unlicensed amateur masseuse in the basement of an empanada shop in Empanada Loca, The Spalding Gray-style Grand Guignol horror play by Aaron Mark at the LAByrinth Theater Company in 2015. In In the Heights she plays Daniela, an outrageously vivacious belting beautician with a flair for the dramatics, forced to battle a price-gouging real estate bubble in the wake of gentrification.

“She’s like the deputy or the priestess,” Rubin-Vega said. “Owning a salon means that you have a lot of information; you’re in a hub of community, of information, of sharing… it’s also where you go for physical grooming. It’s a place where women were empowered to create their own work and it is a place of closeness, spiritual advice, not-so-spiritual advice. Physical attention.”

She said, “Daniela also being an elder; I think she’s not so much a person that imposes order on other people. She’s there to bring out the best—she leads with love. She tells it like it is. I don’t think she sugar-coats things. What you see is what you get with Daniela. It’s refreshing; she has a candor and sure-footedness that I admire.”

With the film adaptation, Chu and Hudes promised to expand the universe of the Upper Manhattan-based musical, crafting new dimensions and nuances to two characters in particular: Daniela and hairdresser Carla, originally portrayed as business associates and gossip buddies in the stage musical. On the big screen they are reimagined as romantic life partners. Stephanie Beatriz, known to audiences for her hilarious turn as the mysterious and aloof Detective Rosa Diaz in the police procedural sitcom romp “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” co-stars as the fast-talking firecracker, Carla.

It’s been a year waiting, you know. It’s like the lid’s been on it and so we’re just so ready to explode.

Where Is Home?

“Well, Quiara and Jon really expanded on what Lin and Quiara originally created and now they’re partners—and not just work partners, right? But they’re life partners,” Beatriz said at a March press event celebrating the release of the film’s two promo trailers. “What was so gratifying to me as a person who is queer is to see this relationship in the film be part of the fabric of the community, and to be normal, and be happy and functioning, and part of the quilt they’ve all created.”

She continued, “So much of this film is about where home is and who home is to you. And for Carla, Daniela is home. Wherever Daniela is, that’s where Carla feels at home. I thought that they did such a beautiful job of guiding us to this, really, you know, it’s just a happy functioning relationship that happens to be gay and in the movie. And I love that they did that, because it is such a part of our world.”

Rubin-Vega said she had no interest in playing any trope of what one might think a lesbian Latina might look or act like, noting that the queer experience isn’t monolithic, while expressing that the role offered her a newfound freedom, especially with regard to being present in the role and in her everyday life.

“Spoiler alert! I felt like not wearing a bra was going to free me. Did I get it right? Am I saying that gay women don’t wear bras? No, it was just a way for me to be in my body and feel my breasts. To feel my femaleness and celebrate it in a more unapologetic way,” she said, laughing. “To be honest, I was really looking forward to playing a lesbian Latina. It’s something that I hadn’t really explored before. Latinos [can be] very homophobic as a culture, and I wanted to play someone who didn’t care about homophobia; I was gonna live my best life. That’s a bigger thing. It’s also like, maybe I’m bisexual. Who knows? Who cares? If you see that in the film, that’s cool too, you know?”

Stand-out performances abound, especially with regard to the supporting cast; newcomers Melissa Barrera (in a role originated by Tony Award winner Karen Olivo) and Gregory Diaz IV (replacing three-time Tony Award nominee Robin de Jesús) are noteworthy as the aspiring fashion designer Vanessa and budding activist Sonny. Olga Merediz, who earned a Tony Award nomination for originating her role as Abuela Claudia, returns to the silver screen in a captivating performance that will be a contender come award season. However, Rubin-Vega may just be the one to watch. Her performance is incandescent and full of moxie, designed to raise endorphin levels. She leads an ensemble in the rousing “Carnaval del Barrio,” a highlight in the film.

Musical Bootcamp

“We shot in June [2019]. In April, we started musical bootcamp. In May, we started to do the choreography. My big joke was that I would have to get a knee replacement in December; that was in direct relation to all that choreography. I mean, there were hundreds of A-1 dancers in the posse,” Rubin-Vega said. “The family consisted of hundreds of superlative dancers led by Chris[topher] Scott, with an amazing team of dancers like Ebony Williams, Emilio Dosal, Dana Wilson, Eddie Torres Jr. and Princess Serrano. We rehearsed a fair bit. Monday through Friday for maybe five weeks. The first day of rehearsal I met Melissa [Barrera] and Corey [Hawkins], I pretty much hadn’t known everyone yet. I hadn’t met Leslie [Grace] yet. Chris Scott, the choreographer, just went straight into ‘let’s see what you can do.’ It was the first [dance] routine of ‘In The Heights,’ the opening number. He was like, ‘OK, let’s go. Five, six, seven, eight!’”

Rubin-Vega said that she tried to bring her best game, though it had “been a minute” since she had to execute such intricate choreography, noting that they shot the opening number within a day while praising Chu’s work ethic and leadership.

“There was a balance between focus and fun and that’s rare. Everyone was there because they wanted to be there,” she said. “I think back to the day we shot ‘96,000.’ That day it wouldn’t stop raining; [it was] grey and then the sky would clear and we’d get into places and then it would be grey again and so we’d have to wait and just have to endure. But even the bad parts were kind of good, too. Even the hottest days. There were gunshots, there was a fire while we were shooting and we had to shut down, there was traffic and noise and yet every time I looked around me or went into video village and saw the faces in there, I mean…it felt like the only place to be. You want to feel like that in every place you are: The recognition. I could recognize people who look like me. For now on, you cannot say I’ve never seen a Panamanian on film before or a Columbian or a Mexican, you know?”

Another Notion of Beauty

Rubin-Vega’s professional relationship with the playwright Hudes extends to 2015, when she was tapped to [participate in the] workshop [production of]  Daphne’s Dive. Under the direction of Thomas Kail (Hamilton) and starring alongside Samira Wiley (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Orange Is the New Black”), the play premiered Off-Broadway at the Pershing Square Signature Center the following year. Rubin-Vega also starred in Miss You Like Hell, the cross-country road musical by Hudes and Erin McKeown, which premiered at La Jolla Playhouse in 2016 before it transferred to The Public Theater in 2018. With her participation in the production of In the Heights, she is among the few to have collaborated with all of the living Latinx playwrights to have won the Pulitzer Prize; Hudes won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play Water by the Spoonful, while Miranda took home the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Hamilton. Speaking on her multiple collaborations over the years, Rubin-Vega also acknowledged having known Miranda years before they would join voices.

“Lin to me is like a little bro or legacy; he’s a direct descent to me from [Rent author] Jonathan Larson, which is a bigger sort of all-encompassing arch,” she said, though she stressed that she auditioned like everyone else, landing the role after two or three callbacks. “Quiara and I have a wonderful working and personal relationship, I think. Which isn’t to say I had dibs by any means because…it’s a business that wants the best for itself, I suppose. […] So, when I walked in, I was determined to really give it my best.”

Life During and After Rent

Rubin-Vega has built an impressive resume over the course of her career, singing along with the likes of rock stars like David Bowie and starring in a multitude of divergent roles on Broadway and off. From a harrowing Fantine in Les Misérables and a co-dependent Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire to a sinister Magenta in The Rocky Horror Show, her evolution into the atypical character actor and leading lady can be traced back 25 years to January 25, 1996, when Larson’s groundbreaking musical Rent, a retelling of Giacomo Puccini’s 19th-century opera La Bohème, premiered at the New York Theatre Workshop. On the morning of the first preview, Larson suffered an aortic dissection, likely from undiagnosed Marfan’s syndrome and died at the age of 35, just ten days shy of what would have been his 36th birthday.

On April 29, 1996, due to overwhelming popularity, Rent transferred to Nederlander Theatre on Broadway, tackling contemporary topics the Great White Way had rarely seen, such as poverty and class warfare during the AIDS epidemic in New York City’s gritty East Village at the turn of the millennium. Rubin-Vega would go on to be nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for her role as sex kitten Mimi Márquez, an HIV-positive heroin addict and erotic dancer.

  The show became a cultural phenomenon, receiving several awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and four Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Rubin-Vega and members of the original Broadway cast were suddenly overnight sensations, recording “Seasons of Love” alongside music icon Stevie Wonder, receiving a photo shoot with Vanity Fair and landing the May 13, 1996 cover of Newsweek. Throughout its 12-year Broadway run, many of the show’s original cast members and subsequent replacements would go on to be stars, including Renée Elise Goldsberry, who followed in Rubin-Vega’s footsteps to play the popular character before originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

When the screen adaptation of Rent hit cinemas in 2005 under the direction of Chris Columbus, Rubin-Vega’s conspicuous absence came as a blow to longtime fans. The confluence of pregnancy with the casting and filming process of Rent hindered her from participating at the time. The role was subsequently given to movie star Rosario Dawson.

“First of all, if you’re meant to be in a film, you’re meant to be in it,” Rubin-Vega said. “That’s just the way it goes. It took a quarter of a century but this [In the Heights] is a film that I wanted to make, that I felt the elements sat right. I always felt that Rent was a little bit darker than all that. Rent to me is Rated R. In The Heights is not. It’s also a testament. Unless it’s sucking your soul and killing you softly or hardly, just stick with it. This is a business and I keep forgetting it’s a business because actors just want to show art. So, it’s really wonderful when you get a chance to say what you mean and mean what you say with your work. It’s a really wonderful gift.”

Rarely-Explored Themes

Like Larson’s award-winning show and the film adapted from it, In The Heights is jam-packed with hard-hitting subject matter, addressing themes of urban blight, immigration, gentrification, cultural identity, assimilation and U.S. political history. When Rubin-Vega’s character Daniela and her partner were priced out of the rent for her salon, most of her clientele moved to the Grand Concourse Historic District in the Bronx. Her salon, a bastion of the community, is met with a polar response when she announces she’s joining the mass exodus with the other victims of gentrification who were pushed out by rising rents. The news is met with negative response from long-time patrons who refuse to take the short commute to the new location. Daniela counters, “Our people survived slave ships, we survived Taino [indigenous Caribbean people] genocide, we survived conquistadores and dictators…you’re telling me we can’t survive the D train to Grand Concourse?”

The question is humorous, but also insinuates a more nuanced understanding of the AfroLatinidad experience in the Western world. The film also looks at the American Dream with a naturalistic approach. Leslie Grace, who plays Nina Rosario, a first-generation college student returning from her freshman year at Stanford University and grappling with finances and the expectations of her community, noted that while her character “finds [herself] at some point at a fork in the road,” she may not have the luxury to be indecisive because of the pressures put on by family, community and country.  

“The struggle of the first-generation Americans in the Latino community is not talked about a lot because it’s almost like a privilege,” Grace asserted. “You feel like it’s a privilege to talk about it. But there is a lot of identity crisis that comes with it and I think we explore that.” Speaking on the character, she elaborated: “Home for her is where her heart is, but also where her purpose is. So, she finds her purpose in doing something outside of herself, greater than herself and going back to Stanford for the people she loves in her community. I really relate to where she’s at, trying to find herself. And I think a lot of other people will, too.”

Worth Singing About

For Miranda, a first-generation Puerto Rican New Yorker that grew up in Inwood at the northernmost tip of Manhattan before attending Wesleyan University where he would develop the musical, this speaks to a larger issue of what defines a home.

“What does ‘home’ even mean? Every character is sort of answering it in a different way,” he said. “For some people, home is somewhere else. For some people, home is like ‘the block’ they’re on. So, that’s worth singing about. It’s worth celebrating in a movie of this size.”

Given the current zeitgeist, it’s no wonder why Chu, Hudes and Miranda decided to pivot with adapting the stage musical for the big screen, leaning in to tackle the plights and predicaments of DREAMers [children of undocumented immigrants seeking citizenship] stateside. In one scene, glimpses of posters at a protest rally read “Immigrant Rights are Human Rights” and “Refugees Are People Too.” Growing up in a multicultural household as a Latina with a Black Latina mother, a white father and a Jewish American stepfather, Rubin-Vega said she was used to being in spaces that were truly multiracial. Nevertheless, there were times when she often felt alien, especially as a du jour rock musical ingenue who looked as she did in the mid-1990s through the 2000s.

“Undocumented people come in different shapes and colors,” she noted. “To be born in a land that doesn’t recognize you, it’s a thing that holds so much horror… so much disgrace happens on the planet because human beings aren’t recognized as such sometimes.”

The film “definitely sheds light on that, but it also talks about having your dream taken away and its human violation—it’s a physical, spiritual, social, cultural violation,” Rubin-Vega said. “There’s a difference between pursuing dreams and being aware of reality. They’re not mutually exclusive. What this film does, it presents a story that is fairly grounded in reality. It’s a musical, it’s over the top… but it reflects a bigger reality, which is like an emotional reality…that people that are challenged on the daily, have incredible resolve, incredible resoluteness and lifeforce.”

She said: “Growing up, looking like me, I got to ingest the same information as everyone else except when it came time to implement my contributions, they weren’t as welcomed or as seen. The dream is to be seen and to be recognized. Maybe I could be an astronaut or an ingenue on Broadway? You can’t achieve stuff that you haven’t imagined. When it talks about DREAMers, it talks about that and it talks about how to not be passive in a culture that would have you think you are passive but to be that change and to dare to be that change.”

Dreams Come True

Dreams are coming true. Alongside the nationwide release of the much-anticipated film, Random House announced it will publish In the Heights: Finding Home, which will give a behind-the-scenes look at the beginnings of Miranda’s 2008 breakout Broadway debut and journey to the soon-to-be-released film adaptation. The table book will chronicle the show’s 20-year voyage from page to stage—from Miranda’s first drawings at the age of 19 to lyric annotations by Miranda and essays written by Hudes to never-before-seen photos from productions around the world and the 2021 movie set. It will be released to the public on June 22, eleven days after the release of the film; an audiobook will be simultaneously released by Penguin Random House Audio.

Hinting at the year-long delay due to the pandemic, Rubin-Vega said, “It’s been a year waiting, you know. It’s like the lid’s been on it and so we’re just so ready to explode.”

Bigger Dreams

“Jon [Chu], I think, dreams bigger than any of us dare to dream in terms of the size and scope of this,” Miranda said. “We spent our summer [in 2018] on 175th Street. You know, he was committed to the authenticity of being in that neighborhood we [all] grew up in, that we love, but then also when it comes to production numbers, dreaming so big. I mean, this is a big movie musical!”

Miranda continued, “We’re so used to asking for less, just to ask to occupy space, you know? As Latinos, we’re, like, ‘Please just let us make our little movie.’ And Jon, every step of the way, said, like, ‘No, these guys have big dreams. We’re allowed to go that big!’ So, I’m just thrilled with what he did ’cause I think it’s bigger than any of us ever dreamed.”

Speaking at the online press conference, Miranda said, “I’m talking to you from Washington Heights right now! I love it here. The whole [movie] is a love letter to this neighborhood. I think it’s such an incredible neighborhood. It’s the first chapter in so many stories. It’s a Latinx neighborhood [today]. It was a Dominican neighborhood when I was growing up there in the ’80s. But before that it was an Irish neighborhood and Italian. It’s always the first chapter in so many American stories.”

Hataraku Saibou, journey through your body continues! [Breakfast Anime]

The inside of the body is the home of roughly 37 trillion cells who work eagerly and energetically each day to keep the body working.

Hataraku Saibou the journey through our body!

Let’s start our new series with our own body, diving into the next anime you can watch while enjoying your daily breakfast!

What exactly is a breakfast anime you may ask?

Basically something more light-hearted to watch in the morning while you eat your breakfast, while Hataraku Saibou may not be a typical breakfast anime for everyone it was still something that lifted up the mood and started the day thinking about our own body before heading into the rush of life once more.

In this post I will give you a slight insight of Hataraku Saibou 2 and why you should watch it, spoiler-free of course.

Hataraku Saibou or also known as Cells at work! is an anime that is not only for entertainment but also accurately teaches the viewer things about our own body and what is going on inside, making us more aware that all what we are doing is affecting our body in the end.

We already got to know a lot of characters in season one with its 13 Episodes back in 2018 and since the popular anime seemed like it wasn’t enough to tell all the viewers who enjoyed the show about our own cells, in the beginning of 2020 the second season started airing adding another 8 Episodes on top!

As the first season showed us all kinds of interesting scenarios such as allergies, colds, hemorrhage and even the conflict of cancer cells in our body in many interesting ways the second season doesn’t come short with even more special scenarios happening inside.

While we got to know about the overall concept and how the cells work with each other in season two for those who forgot there are still short introductions coming for each single character.

Plot

Like mentioned before as the first season already showed us many interesting fights, correlations between characters and even an almost dramatic end of the body with one of our main characters the red blood cell AE3803 dying, as well as the birth and death of cancer cells and the way they perceive themselves of being just an equal cell as any other cell in the body.

In season two we get to learn about new things, as we slowly get a recap in little bits of relevant pieces of what had happened before, characters being reintroduced or important processes with new information are explained.

Also what makes the anime plot so fascinating is that this isn’t just simply a little story about some cells but very true to the reality of what is happening in our body just a bit easier explained, as you can see even some little things out of our biology classes being shown there in much more detail than expected.

From Antigens and Antibodies, to the usual routine of white blood cells the second season keeps the amount of action, splatter and comedy as well as the interesting dynamics like those of T-killer cells, NK cell, Mast cell and all the other characters that we know just like in the first season if not even a bit better due to many new things happening.

To not tell you too much, the second season yet again turns the tables towards the end as many (and not only one) plot-twists make the ending unnerving as we do not know if the body could see it through or not.

The topic being about the body makes you wonder if the author could just turn it all around like in our daily lives, sudden deaths or accidents happen which would also affect it on the inside as seen in season one.

Unlike season one, season two had much more bigger arcs that covered more than two episodes despite it being a short anime with only 8.

Concluding, season two did not make a repeating plot which could bore you after watching 13 Episodes already but makes you wonder what the next episodes are about since each and every episode tells us another scenario happening in our bodies.

Characters

New season, new characters at least that’s what most people think and there is also a truth to it yet we see many recurring characters.

Red Blood Cells

Just like in season one we already see in the beginning of season two all of the familiar faces and especially our cute little deliveryservice the Red Blood Cells!

In the rush of getting nutrients and oxygen to every cell no matter how tight the alley might be, the job of many red blood cells is to cover every and each one of them so the cells can function properly.

Our main character from season one and also in season two is the red blood cell AE3803 who is among the red blood cell a very clumsy one and known to get lost easily and being a tad simple-minded, yet worries a lot and cares about her new underling the new red blood cell at her side who might seem like the older one sometimes. We also see her being the one who cares a lot about the white blood cell U1146 as she always checks if he is resting properly, cheers him on or even searches for him after a fight since they grew very close after season one. She also is very fond of the platelets as she is easily carried away to either spoil them, play with them or take care of them making her forget about her own work from time to time, she never ceases to find them less cute no matter how often she sees them.

White Blood Cells

Another character we know well is among the white blood cells we also get to see even more often in the second season, especially the ones affiliated with our main character U1146 who surely had more screen time than any other character this season.

Despite his aggressive nature to protect the body from germs at all costs, U1146 has a very soft spot for the red blood cell AE3803, platelets and a few other characters but the formers are maybe the one he just cannot leave out of his vision.

He is often patrolling the body, seen killing germs or helping around even if it is not his job as we already saw in season one that he tried his best to also help the red blood cells and other cells around him when there is not something he has to take care of first.

Despite that being eager and narrow-minded considering his only target to kill germs, he is often viewed as an idiot or softie by Killer T cells and also as scary by some other cells since he doesn’t hesitate just like his other companions the row down any germ that appears.

Killer T Cells

Despite that we have the white blood cells that protect the body from germs there are also Killer T cells who are even stronger than the white blood cells as they can kill germs with just one punch if needed.

Killer T are depicted as much stronger and almost military-like people in the body next to the other cells as they march around in their daily routine and are more on the harsh side as the commander of Killer T cell often looks down on U1146 telling him he is a softie for being considerate towards the other cells and helping them instead of using his time to train and only focus on germs.

As we saw in season one along with the NK cell Killer T was able to even defeat cancer cells when needed and is shown to be able to punch through tissues of the body easily. He is very strong-built but also obnoxiously loud and a hothead as he is easily offended and has a big ego. 

Despite that he is shown to have a kind and soft core as he used to be very weak prior to becoming a T cell in his apprenticeship, making the T helper cell one of his childhood friends but also a strong rival.

Platelets

For their size they are still important  when damage happens like wounds as they are the little constructor workers of the body.

Under the supervision of the white blood cells the little platelets show off their flexibility and agility as they work together to stop the blood from rushing out of the wound and form a fibrin net to stop the bleeding and glue the wound back together.

They are well-liked by everyone as they are smaller than the usual cells or red and white blood cells yet work their hardest to transport things in boxes usually bigger than their own size.

Never seen alone and always in a group the most reliable of the platelets is their leader who keeps the others in track.

Germs

As the antagonists the germs in their many forms and sizes appear throughout season one but also in season two with different designs for each bacteria. Despite them being always defeated by other immune cells they don’t back off and try to invade the body through any opening that comes their way. They even take hostages if needed or cheat. Surprisingly the design often matches the germ’s name as it’s not far away from what it’s supposed to represent.

Animation

Like in season one the animation still keeps depicting many fighting scenes and doesn’t cut off with dynamic and action scenes in a very good quality. The character’s appearance almost stayed the same if not with slight changes that are almost unnoticeable. Especially towards the last episodes the many action-filled and dramatic fights that appeared had a good animation in which the viewer firstly is sucked into the whole tragedy of it all but also is not left with empty hands when a good fight is happening.

 Voices

One thing that we can appreciate as well are the ever so familiar voices we find again in Hataraku Saibou season 2. As for example many popular japanese voice actors like Nobuhiko (voice of Bakugo, Nishinoya, Accelerator etc) as the Dendritic cell whose soft personality has a little bit of a twist in it but also Hanazawa as the red blood cell (known for her voice of Mitsuri in Demon slayer, Chiaki from Danganronpa 2 or Mayuri from Steins Gate). We also have many others under them Daisuke Ono as Killer T or Kikuo Inoue as Macrophage. Even the Memory T Cell who shares his overdramatic personality with many characters who Yuichi Nakamura voices ( Kuroo from Haikyuu, Hawks from BNHA and Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen).

I personally love to see the voice actors of many characters I enjoyed in other series sharing the same voice in another series, it’s fun to suddenly hear them in a totally different environment as seeing Nobuhiko who is known for his eccentric characters he voices suddenly voicing the Dendritic Cell.

 Spin-off

Already watched Hataraku Saibou and just didn’t get enough? Or maybe it was a tad too happy for your tastes?

Maybe for the darker mode of Hataraku Saibou you should watch the spin-off that is still airing: Hataraku Saibou Black!

Despite it being very close in a sense of the dynamics and character construction it’s a much sadder version since it plays in a body that is living an unhealthy lifestyle consumes alcohol, smokes and even more making you overthink how your actions play out inside of your body.

I didn’t watch it yet but already the trailer sent down shivers as I watched especially the other version of the red blood cells looking much more gloomy and living through an almost dystopian like world compared to an almost healthy body of the original first work.

Many Manga readers of Hataraku Saibou black already mentioned that they overthought and became more aware of their own body and how they treat it after reading the many tragedies happening in a body that is functioning on high stress, junk food and so on.

This is not the only spin-off but the franchise today splits into many others as there is a Cell not at work version, a bacteria one and even the platelets have their own time to shine as well in their own series.

Conclusion

All in All  Hataraku Saibou is a very good anime to watch when not wanting something overly dramatic yet interesting that also boosts your awareness throughout the day. It may not be the perfect breakfast anime due to the splatter and maybe some people may find the idea of watching something correlated to the inside of one’s own body while eating breakfast a bit bewildering but it has a good potential if you are not sensitive to the factors stated.

It also puts a little smile on the faces with the little comedic dynamics and heart-touching moments, as well as learning something new about the body since even the knowledge shared in the anime is accurate to what is happening in real life just a bit more simplified.

Until then, let’s kill all the germs!

-Makii

Original Source

Lyrical Poets

There was a pretty diverse set of musical interests represented in this competition - a wide variety of artists and genres, which definitely kept things from getting dull on my end. Without further ado, let’s jump on in!

@antmations​ - Erissa, Bog Witch

Flavour: Spooky big bog witch makes everybody feel like dying. I'm not sure it communicates why I'm better off that way, but I'm sure she knows what she's talking about. Mechanics: A deathtouch creature is already a pretty significant deterrant to attacking, so adding extra downsides makes it especially unattractive. Be careful with effects like this because they often put the opponent in a position where they feel they can't progress the game without dying, which just makes the gameplay grind to a halt. Templating/Nitpicks: Nope, nothin'. Overall: Bog Big witch energy.

Charmera - Bad Moon Risen

Flavour: I respect how literally you played into this, especially the references to old card names. Kudos. Mechanics: Obviously with taking things as literally as you did, the design kinda has to wind up all over the place. My biggest takeaway from this one is that it feels like it should be a Saga that just ticks up through the lines you're referencing. Templating/Nitpicks: On MTG.design, you can use asterisks (*) to drop bullet points into your modal effects. It's super convenient. Overall: The chorus of this song is commonly misheard as "There's a bathroom on the right." That would probably be harder to design. 

@corporalotherbear​ - Tranquility, the Trickster

Flavour: You chose a very simple effect which gave lots of room for flavour text. Just with the lines included I still don't totally understand the why, but it definitely conveys what's going on. Mechanics: This is repeatable removal, and pretty strong removal at that. Red is supposed to be weak against creatures with high toughness, but besides actual-factual walls this will generally circumvent that. Templating/Nitpicks: While a creature technically can fight itself, if you asked players what that means probably 9 out of 10 would get it wrong. The correct way to template this would probably be to just write out, "deals damage to itself equal to twice its power." Overall: It is a heck of a trick, tho.

@dabudder​ - Unbounded Truth

Flavour: The lyric you chose is really wholesome and pleasant. Revealing cards feels like "saying what we mean", though it fights the theme a bit that only our opponents get in on that action. Mechanics: Peek with some incidental lifegain tacked on sounds reasonable, I suppose. Control decks probably wouldn't mind knowing what answers they need to dig for while giving themselves more time to do so. Templating/Nitpicks: You're looking for "card", not "spell", and converted mana costs are "high" rather than "great". It probably comes out, "You gain life equal to the highest converted mana cost among cards revealed this way." Overall: Thanks for going to the trouble of submitting it until it went through. I expect next week to go a little smoother for you. 

@dim3trodon​ - Paladin of Silence

Flavour: The lyrics are pretty evocative, and I can imagine a paladin saying (or explicitly not saying?) exactly that line. Good choice to lean on the spell Silence to define what exactly that means. Mechanics: I'm not sure what's Blue about this one. Perhaps it was for the Flash, but it's worth noting that every color has access to Flash for effects that genuinely require it to work - this would be one of those. Templating/Nitpicks: Kudos on being careful around flicker effects, though also be wary when you have to do that. It can be a sign that the core effect isn't very fun. Overall: 

@dimestoretajic​ - Kawejitch, the Unrestrained

Flavour: Thanks for putting a face to the lyric that's been stuck in my head since my childhood. Only a little surprised that face has a trunk. Mechanics: This is functionally unblockable, but Mardu probably adds up to that. The rate could probably use some attention, as an 8/5 unblockable for six is better than anything that's been printed. Putting combat keywords on a creature that's nearly impossible to block feels like a miss; I think it's to really stick the "couldn't hold me back" thing, but I feel like super-menace delivered on that well enough. Templating/Nitpicks: I hope I'm not the only that gets unreasonably happy reading lines of text like this. Overall: I've been talking to myself out loud the whole time I've been typing this. 

@emmypupcake - Burden of Despair

Flavour: Between the art and the flavour text, I can certainly feel the despondency of the situation. Mood. Mechanics: This is reasonably flexible removal, getting rid of little dorks entirely and mosty disabling bigger ones. The power drop feels pretty irrelevant since the creature can't attack or block anymore, but I suspect it's just there for symmetry. Templating/Nitpicks: Yours is one of only a couple submissions that correctly represented both title and artist in the flavour text. I'll be clearer about it in the future, but gold star for you in the meantime. Overall: Bog Big mood.

@fractured-infinity​ - Erase From Time

Flavour: I'm not sure what the art is showing me, but the flavour text does more than enough to set the tone. Gone for good. Mechanics: This is quite the clever little innovation, a variation on White's more permanent exile removal that is relevant in multiplayer. I'm a little curious why it phases instead of exiling, since the nonlegendary clause means it wouldn't hit Commanders either way, and the two are equivalent in most other cases. Templating/Nitpicks: No need for hyphens in "nonland" and "nonlegendary". Overall: This is one of those moments where you come up with a cool concept, you develop an awesome design around it...and somehow that design just no longer fits that concept. The biggest thing keeping you out of the winner's circle this week was that your innovation played in the opposite direction of your theme by making the removal less permanent. Solid design work, though.

@gollumni​ - Guildless Anarchist

Flavour: I assume the flavour text is mostly connecting with the first ability. Some designs just need the added context of a set or cycle to really make sense, and that's okay. Mechanics: Part of me suspects the first ability is a little overcosted, because it doesn't actually net you a card - see Haunted Crossroads for reference. That said, the repeatable removal and/or Lava Axe of the third ability seems pretty strong to make up for it. Templating/Nitpicks: Magic is picky, so you only "return" cards to the battlefield or your hand; you'll just "put" this one where it goes. Also, you'll want to include "untapped" in the cost of the third ability; the rules don't strictly require it, but templating praxis does. Overall: "Slaughtermatic" is my new word of the day.

@hypexion​ - Ravenous Extraction

Flavour: I've never heard it, but even just reading it that flavour text seems catchy. It has a clear message, and the Treasure tokens have added meaning thanks to the "inheritance" line. Mechanics: This hearkens back to Squandered Resources, both mechanically and thematically. Moving it to Red is probably correct in the modern color pie, though admittedly I'm not sure at what rate either of these effects would be fair. Nyxbloom Ancient triples your mana more permanently for seven, so...maybe five is fine? Templating/Nitpicks: For poetry, line breaks are as much a part of the writing as the words. If it's not possible to fit with line breaks intact, you'll want to include slashes to indicate where they should be. Geist of the Moors is an example of what that looks like. Overall: I'm going to have to look up this song to see how close it sounds to how I'm reading it.

@ignorantturtlegaming​ - Angel's Song

Flavour: An angel's song is definitely magic-appropriate flavour, and has a lot of room for interpretation. "Eternal life" as doubling your life total makes sense, though the burn part feels more like punishing the gathering than calling it. Mechanics: Moving Sphinx's Revelation to sorcery speed does hurt its power level, though I'm not sure it does it enough to compensate for all the upsides this has. Having the option of using it as a sweeper is huge, and the life doubling on top of the first mode seems like it gets out of hand quickly. Templating/Nitpicks: Modal spells only really have their modes. If you want the conditional part to occur regardless of which mode you pick, the correct way to do that is to include it in both modes. I agree this feels weird. Overall: A song called The Gathering was such an apt choice, kudos.

@illharg-the-rave-boar​ - The Key and the Gate

Flavour: I'm definitely picking up the "thrall to Yog-Sothoth" feel. And the card is powerful enough that it communicates a sense of powerlessness against cosmic forces. Mechanics: This card is quite the beating, but I suppose three-color, seven-mana spells generally should be. This is a pretty clear 'game over' in most cases - unless your opponents have another source of cards, the fact you're stealing one each turn and doming them for 7 every time they whiff should end the game pretty quickly. Templating/Nitpicks: There are enough details of the lyrics that lend themselves to Magic vocabulary (rainbow, cascade, even walls) that I wish the design were a little more explicit, but I understand there's only so much room. Overall: Songs these days really have nothing on great old ones.

@khyrberos​ - Neutral Physician 

Flavour: Few things make me happier than "deniability" on a card that  literally denies an ability. This has a few different things going on, but they're all pulled reasonably well from the text you're referencing. Mechanics: All the different pieces of this card kinda drag it in different directions. While they're clearly pulled from the lyrics, they don't really create a unified mechanical identity, which makes it hard to imagine how a card like this should be used. Templating/Nitpicks: If you want it to counter death triggers, you can actually just do that. "Counter target triggered ability if a creature dying caused it to trigger" does what you want without the weird timing restriction. Overall: I think there's actually something here, it just needs a little polish.

@macaroni-and-squeez​ - Rising Form-Claimer

Flavour: Using the untap trigger to show the creature "woke up" that way is really clever. Mechanics: The delayed trigger feels a little hard to track, and I can't help but think there must be a simpler way to achieve a similar feel. I do like the fact that the tap in the cost of the ability sets up the untap trigger, which makes the design feel internally consistent. Templating/Nitpicks: There's a comma missing between your costs, and you probably mean to say "When CARDNAME becomes untapped during your next untap step," otherwise the trigger hangs around indefinitely and goes off every time it untaps. Overall: Is this thing skinless until you activate the ability? Oh no.

@machine-elf-paladin​ - Goblin Firework Festival

Flavour: This line feels so much like a goblin rhyme, I'm really pleased that you felt that in it too. The unpredictability of the end result, and flavour of blowing up your friends and fireworks feels very resonant. Mechanics: This is a finisher, with a pretty clear multiplayer leaning. I think in practice this would generally kill whichever player is at the lowest life total, encouraging them to sacrifice everything they have, in turn possibly killing another player and encouraging them to do likewise. While the effect feels fun to read, I'm not convined the actual gameplay would feel interesting most of the time. Templating/Nitpicks: Gold star for the use of slashes to indicate line breaks in your flavour text. Overall: I hope this song is as fun as this design implies it is.

@martian-june - Blood Pact

Flavour: Combining a group hug effect with a group slug effect to convey "friends who bleed" is pretty clever. Mechanics: This is an interesting combination of 'White' and Black effects. The card draw is something that Black can do at this rate, and the opponents drawing cards probably covers any cost of the life loss. I'm not sure precisely what deck is looking for the combination of these effects, but it's neat to see them done together. Templating/Nitpicks: I don't think there's any strong reason for the "if" clause, there are very few effects that would prevent that from happening anyway. Overall: I like centered cards too.

@milkandraspberry​ - Taunting Slander

Flavour: I can see how "stupid butt" might get one's hackles up. Them's fightin' words. Mechanics: A fight effect with a little extra reach seems sensible enough. You'll often lose your creature along with theirs, so it's a little bit like a Heartfire. Templating/Nitpicks: "...each get +1/-1..." is the template you're looking for. Apart from that, I'd just like to see the flavour and reminder text italicised - it subtly communicates that I should be reading it differently, which is surprisingly helpful. Overall: Not too strong, not too bad.

@misswamyn​ - Bardic Inspiration 

Flavour: I can definitely imagine how a great song could get your troops a-movin'. I do wish there was a little more to make me feel why this song has this effect, but the overall effect definitely makes sense. Mechanics: The biggest miss is that there's nothing particularly White about it. Otherwise, perfectly solid. Templating/Nitpicks: This is a really simple line of text that has apparently never appeared on a Magic card before. Those are always a treat. Overall: Makes me wonder what the actual greatest song ever would do.

@mistershinyobject​ - Ghastly Grasp

Flavour: Drain is definitely a classically Black way to illustrate the concept of touch. The impression I get is that the creature is the one overwhelmed by your touch, though I'm not sure I immediately connect with the "almost convinced me I'm real" line. That part seems especially poignant, so I'd love to see it show through in the mechanics. Mechanics: You expressed some concern over whether this was allowed in Black - personally, I don't think it's even a bend. Because Black can get full drain at roughly this rate, it certainly wouldn't be a break for it to get only half of that. Dealing damage without any lifegain would have to be a bend then, but this sets itself up to gain life almost every time it's used. I think you're fine. Templating/Nitpicks: Power seems like an odd choice over toughness, just because it feels like it's operating on an entirely different axis. Overall: Killing a Rampaging Ferocidon with this would be so satisfying.

@misterstingyjack​ - Keeper of the Fourth Mystery 

Flavour: I wouldn't have picked up on what this card's flavour text was saying without your explanation, though with the explanation I can pretty clearly see what motivated your decisions. Mechanics: Expanding your tutor effects is an interesting space to play in, I wonder if there's a good way to make it work. Templating/Nitpicks: Unfortunately, this template probably doesn't do it. I don't believe an effect can really look forward to see where the searched card is going to be put, and I'm not sure the search replacement would work as intended anyway. This is a tough templating challenge though, so I think this was a valiant effort. Overall: A honestly hope to see a more polished version of this in the future.

@morbidlyqueerious​ - Lethal Prominence 

Flavour: It works a little hard to convey its theme, but I think it gets there. Mechanics: You're right that it came out a little wordy, and I suspect there's probably a more elegant way to deliver on the notes this is trying to hit. I think it gets dragged in too many directions trying to incentivise everyone (the counters, the Gold, the attack requirement). That said, I do like where it's aiming. Templating/Nitpicks: Nothing stands out, which is good. Overall: This is exactly the kind of lyric I had in mind when I created this challenge.

@nine-effing-hells​ - The First Home of Crafters 

Flavour: It does do the work of tying Dwarves, Artifacts, and Artificers together thematically. Mechanics: Lands that tap for multiple mana are often a problem, and there are enough cheap artifacts that I would expect the other two types to be largey irrelevant. That deckbuilding restriction is a limitation, but history has shown that cheap artifacts tend to be good together without a lot of extra help. Templating/Nitpicks: You noted that the wording on the trigger is hard to follow, and I have to agree. I think it does function correctly though, so points for that. Overall: It's definitely a song.

@quillpaw​ - Mercury in Retrograde 

Flavour: It's hard for me to connect what the flavour text is telling me to the resulting effect, which is unfortunate because each of them seems cool on its own. Mechanics: This is definitely a variant of Kruphix that feels Red. I think it feels a bit bad that it costs so much, because by the time you can start holding onto your mana it's going to kill you pretty quickly trying to do so. I think the downside feels appropriate though. Templating/Nitpicks: Those are two different abilities, so they should be spaced a little differently. And generally you'll want quoted flavour text inside quotations marks. Overall: I still can't figure out if it's a friend or not.

@real-aspen-hours​ - South Wind 

Flavour: Cute to evoke the spell Hurricane for a song of the same name. The second half is...Shatterstorm, which I suppose is on the storm theme? Mechanics: Suspend is something we probably won't see much of soon, and this isn't the kind of effect that plays especially nicely with that mechanic. When your opponent knows a sweeper is coming, they just know not to play into it. Templating/Nitpicks: I put the card image together for you. I think I do good work. Overall: You've got at least three more winds to design now.

@reaperfromtheabyss​ - Question to the World 

Flavour: The design itself asks questions without answering them, which is kind of an interesting place for this to be. Mechanics: The coolest part of this design is that it asks your opponent whether they want to bother dealing with it (and giving you cards) or just letting it live as a minor inconvenience. This came close to winning, and my only problem with this design is that the combination of evasion and hexproof takes most of your opponent's ability to interact with it away, leaving that one interesting question pretty moot. Templating/Nitpicks: Cards would be exiled "with" it, not "by" it. Overall: Did they ever get an answer?

@scavenger98​ - Horizon's Turn 

Flavour: I definitely get the sensation of leaving the surface world behind and taking to the skies, which is a neat story. Mechanics: This a tough one. It's a six-mana (twelve, if you count the skipped untap) sorcery that can often do actual nothing depending on your opponent's deck. The frustrating part is that there's no real way to build around it, because it relies entirely on your opponent's things. Also, skipping untap steps is just rough. Templating/Nitpicks: Nope, nothing in particular. Overall: I feel like there's more story to this than I'm picking up on, and it genuinely makes me want to know more.

@shakeszx - Leave Breathless 

Flavour: The "doesn't untap" clause is normally used for ice effects, but I can see it being used for breathlessness. Adding the activated ability bit certainly sells it as something different. Mechanics: Split second isn't a favourite of mine, but I suppose it's there to make sure the activated ability line gets to do its thing. This is only moderately better than normal freeze effects, so I'm not sure the color-intensive cost is really necessary. Templating/Nitpicks: It's a little weird that the effects last for different periods. I'd probably just attach the activated ability limitation to "until it becomes untapped", as many activated abilities won't be usable until then anyway. Overall: That line is a pretty good choice, I gotta say.

@snugz​ - Caught in the Act 

Flavour: A song as well-known as this one is a bold choice because it comes with so many preconceptions. I'm not sure I'm picking up where all the different parts are fitting together thematically, and that could be part of it. Mechanics: This is some nifty little soft removal. It feels a bit like a Blue Stab Wound - most often, this will be used to immediately kill small opposing creatures (by leaving up a blocker big enough to eat it in combat), but occasionally it’ll be stuck on something harmless to achieve the recurring effect. In most cases, mill two each turn is not going to be too scary (and is even an upside at times), but in a mill deck every recurring source of mill is key. Templating/Nitpicks: Reimagining the artist of the song as a character was an interesting little addition. Overall: I would not be at all surprised to see something like this printed in an upcoming set.

@sorustyitshines - Fire-Forged Bond 

Flavour: This definitely conveys the theme of two creatures fighting and enduring hardships together. I feel like you have the space to do a little more to really sell the theme, but it's certainly clear from what you've got. Mechanics: This is an effect that doesn't exist yet, which means it's got that much going for it. I think the theme gives you space for a little more innovation than what you took advantage of; something like "those creatures gain indestructible for as long as you control both of them" is a slightly more unique space that leans a little harder into the story you're trying to tell. Templating/Nitpicks: The effect wants "each of two target creatures", otherwise it sounds like you're splitting the one counter between them. Overall: It probably doesn't need to be rare, but otherwise this is a very printable card.

@teaxch​ - Sink and Drown and Die 

Flavour: I had to actually listen to the song to piece together what was going on, as the flavour text only went so far. That said, aligning the three effects with the three verbs was really cleverly done. Mechanics: My only real qualm here is that your opponent makes all the decisions. This would probably be in the winners’ circle if you picked the three permanents and they picked what to do with them (a kind of Kiss, Marry, Kill effect). Templating/Nitpicks: The existing templating looks perfect, so instead let's imagine the Kiss, Marry, Kill version: "Choose three nonland permanents controlled by the same player. That player returns one of them to its owners hand, puts another on top of its owner library, and sacrifices the rest." Overall: Just hoping the flavour text wasn't aimed at me.

@tmstage​ - The Lone Digger Club

Flavour: You were correct in assuming I'd seen the video, so I did have a sense of what was going on here. That said, I warned that the card was the context I was most interested in, and it doesn't serve to communicate all of that itself. Mechanics: This is a really cute way to evoke the effect you were going for. Forced blocks (and attacks, for that matter) can be done within Blue, and the aggressive feeling definitely justifies the Red inclusion. Templating/Nitpicks: Nowadays attack restrictions refer to "combat" rather than "turn", so that it's clear how they interact with multiple combat phases. Overall: The purple art on a Blue-Red card is so satisfying.

@whuh-oh​ - The Demon Within 

Flavour: I can see how each of part of the lyric is supposed to correspond to one of the activated abilities, though it's not immediately obvious which effect is which line. Mechanics: Free mana is often very strong, and being able to turn 2 life into three mana each turn feels strong - I suppose it's only a turn sooner than Gilded Lotus with a higher color requirement, but it's also a lot more flexible than that. The fact that the third ability doesn't seem to interact with the other two makes it feel a little out-of-place, especially since three abilities and the activation restriction means you could pretty easily have them work cyclically (i.e., have the last ability read "BBB: You gain 2 life."). Templating/Nitpicks: You'll want it to read "only once each turn", because templates. Overall: Form of the Demon is a pretty neat idea.

@wolkemesser​ - Memnarch's Manic Plan 

Flavour: The strongest flavour points for this card go to the fact that it makes you think like the character; you immediately start to imagine the payoffs for doing the thing, and the costs just become an afterthought. I think that was really cleverly done. Mechanics: The biggest obstacle is that this is a bit of a one-card combo. As long as your deck has any game-winning combo somewhere in it, you just build up a lot of permanents and play this, hoping to draw into your combo and immediately have the mana to play it out. Either you succeed and win on the spot, or you don't and your opponent picks you apart while you try to piece things back together. It's possible this gives you enough resources when it works not to immediately fold to pressure, but if that's the case there's just not much risk to playing it after all. Templating/Nitpicks: Looks like you missed the word "cards" after "draw X", otherwise you're golden. Overall: I was really pleased to see Memnarch show up on this, thanks for that.

--

That’s our feedback this week - I wanted to get it out of the way so that you all could focus on @teaxch​‘s challenge starting today. Thank you all again for letting me share one of my favourite design exercises with you, and I hope that some of you will keep it in mind the next time you’re struggling to nail an idea down.

Until next time,

~Mod [ @3smuth​ ]

How do you find the motivation and will to go to the gym and work out with depression? I'm finding it hard to just get out of bed....

oh babe thats a big question, and im so sorry youre dealing with this in such a rough state. right off the bat, the major reasons i can go to the gym regularly is i have a job that means i have to wake up on time 5 days a week no matter what, and i genuinely love my gym. in saying that ive gone months where i just stop going and cannot find the mental energy to do anything but the bare minimum of function, and i think the most important thing is not to beat yourself up about it.

on the second point, trying to recenter Why you want to workout and figure out the best way to get there can help a lot too, for me it got MUCH easier when i shifted my focus from "i should lose weight" to "i want to get strong" bc it finally felt like i was working out sincerely for myself, and i didnt have the added angles of pressure and self-loathing from trying to fit myself into some kind of fitness box. youre already struggling with depression, theres no reason to compound it further by making working out a stressful and negative thing right. maybe you want to be able to do chin ups, maybe you want to run a mile, maybe you want a reason to get out of the house, whatever it is you need to take some time and talk to yourself and see what motivation works to give you the push to get up, bc thats the only way itll stick.

i know it can sound kind of stupid to think this deeply about working out but motivation is a really hard thing, and this can be a good jumping off point for tackling bigger issues later. also, working out WILL make you feel better and have an impact on your mental health i promise. i always feel clearer on days i exercise and the mental boost is something i hold onto to push me to go the next day and so on. for me its also a phenomenal anchor when im really going through it, if i can push the rest of it away and work out ill feel better for that part of the day if nothing else.

personally i find a gym is a much better way to keep myself accountable than working out at home bc i can easily say "no" 5 mins into an at home exercise, but once im at the gym im There and i Have to follow through. my gym is a circuit style, so i can just go there and do whatever exercise theyve got set up, so i dont have to think at all, which is also why its easy, bc i can have a blank brain the whole time.

but hey you say you cant get out of bed some days, so gyms and schedules are a ways down the road and thats normal. in my experience routine is imperative. but youre not gonna just wake up and be consistent, bc thats stupid and not realistic and thats also normal. you can just do it once and thats still okay. if you workout one day and then not again for another month or three thats okay. youre not starting from scratch every time even if it feels like it. it took me literal years to begin working out regularly and honestly sometimes it takes that long, and sometimes you cant help it, but i think the key truly is just getting back on that horse even if it takes you months or years to get back up.

dont push yourself when youre starting bc it WILL make you hate it and youll want to quit. just do what you can honestly. walk down your driveway or your block and when you feel "god this sucks" turn around and go back home, literally just do a bunch of stretches in your room if youre not up for anything more bc as boring as they are they will 100% make you feel just a little better.

christ its 3am and i hope this has made sense and been helpful. its a process and its ongoing and the best way is to let yourself reset every 24 hours and take it on anew in the morning.

the two things unfortunately go hand in hand, and the hardest thing is to try and build new routines and safety nets while youre at the bottom, but you absolutely can. motivation and willpower are difficult elusive things bc legitimately the only person who can find them for you is YOU. its hard as shit but babe, at some point, you just have to get out of bed, even if you cant. theres just no way around it. i really really hope you can take the time to think and chat to yourself and find the thing that sounds good to you and use it to pull yourself up, and if you want to figure it out together im here!! 💕💕

Leading Ways To Do Standalone

Many people who else begin with embroidery like a activity will spend the lots of time looking for all the tools they could need. A embelleshment hoop or structure is not really an vital product connected with products even though it might help a person immensely with your fans. The Embroidery Hoop The particular embroidery hoop is generally created from two separate items, one hoop over which in turn you place the information, in addition to a new second benefits of which you add on best involving the materials for you to protect it throughout place. The most notable hoop also like the little enthusiast, which in turn is tightened to help assure often the fabric stays inside spot. These embroidery hoops can be found in many diverse styles from tiny ones with regard to items of standalone that will be supposed for sa charge cards, in order to very large kinds to get huge embroidery projects such as a cushion handle or perhaps wall holding. Team Shirts At this time, adornments hoops are produced from a array of supplies, however this most typical being clear plastic and real wood. Depending on the sort of wood employ, the value for these types of adornments hoops can vary significantly. Typically the ideal associated with the particular adornments hoop, is definitely that is certainly reduces typically the textile that you happen to be using, to allow easy embelleshment. Typically its not necessary a good substantial hoop to cover the complete project, you can apply a good smaller a single in addition to transfer the hoop about to the place inside which you need to apply that, as fans hoops are very easy to help boost. Typically the lower side with many embelleshment nets is that many people will be not 100 % free standing up, on the other hand you can purchase means all of them from quite a few activity merchants, although these kinds of may possibly not be suitable. Try and get a have by the producer or your hoop. Critical embroiderers may well likewise get put away from nevertheless the activity of often the fabric, often this will be due to help the steps of typically the as they are planning through typically the material. This could use stopped by gathering bias binding around the particular inner fans hoop. The Adornments Body The embroidery body is definitely normally built way up coming from two portions connected with round wood aid jointly with the edges simply by 2 square portions involving wooden to make the rectangular or oblong framework. Every of these round bits of wood commonly has the little bit of textile attached, often the concept is usually that the particular adornments materials can always be sewed on each and every end for the 2 components of wooden then it can be hurt till tight. The disadvantage while using standalone frame is that will you can only work on a piece of adornments the same size or perhaps smaller than the structure, you will need to get a larger sized frame if anyone may be task a bigger item of fans. Having said that 1 of the most significant gains of utilizing the fans shape over the standalone hoop is the potential to find many, if not almost all of often the area a person are doing work on; exactly where as with the standalone ring you are required for you to take baskeball hoop off in order to get some sort of overall see of this job finished. The adornments structure are going to also have work flat (all be it, rolled all-around the wood), just where as the embroidery ring will definitely cause raised places to be able to seem on the particular materials even though you happen to be functioning into it, though these can be ironed out there after the embroidery work is completed. Most standalone frames can certainly be purchased with the agreeable have. The stands readily available have a much bigger range than those for this fans hoop. You will find holds that are free position, add to a dining room table, attach to the couch or maybe are actually created to be able to suit over your toy. And so, which type will need to you choose? It can the very very hard choice, and thus you ought to base the idea for the type of standalone you might be doing. A good work associated with tapestry or even various other woollen adornments is going to fit incredibly fortunately over the adornments framework; even so it could well be next to unattainable for you to fit it out a good adornments hoop. While a new gentle piece of Cross-stitch or even Blackwork embroidery on the handkerchief would look busy in the embelleshment frame. Consequently choose your aid based on the size of often the completed venture or structured about the thickness from the wools and fabrics.

Name: NuWave Embroidery Address: 4266 Plank Rd STE C Fredericksburg,

Zipcode:  22407

State: Virginia

Country USA

Also, sciles with #64 please

He’s playing. On the field. With the team.

Even after Scott started grinning and nodding eagerly as he assured Stiles that yes, he’d heard it too, Stiles still couldn’t believe it. He only joined the team because Scott wanted to, and he wasn’t stupid enough to believe he was any better at lacrosse than his best friend, but a man can still dream, right? 

Finally, the dream has become reality. And the reality of it, to be frank, is not very celebratory. They’re two and a half minutes into the game and Stiles is already sweating like a pig. He’s kind of having trouble seeing through his helmet and even if he could long or fast enough to be of help to his team, he wouldn’t know where or when to do it. He’s being pushed and tackled. There’s a lot of yelling too, because lacrosse players are just so damn dramatic. Stiles prefers to be the only dramatic one in his vicinity. 

The point is not that Stiles is getting too little attention for his liking. It’s a sub-point, maybe. Probably. But the real point is, he’s playing. On the field, with the team, and it’s not looking so good. 

Of course, Stiles wouldn’t be Stiles, and Beacon Hills wouldn’t be Beacon Hills, and the damn high school wouldn’t be what it is either if nothing out-of-the-world crazy happened there to him. Must be a curse, he’s pretty sure of it. 

“Stilinski!” he can hear Coach shouting, but there’s no way to understand the instructions he’s trying to give. Stiles runs into the direction that his coach seems to be gesturing towards and prays that he’s not ruining all of his chances to ever play again. On the field. With the team. 

“Run left!” Danny yells at him from behind, so Stiles runs left. 

“Stiles, to the left!” Scott adds seconds later, which leads to the surprising discovery that his teammates are referring to the other left, not the one Stiles has been going for. 

By some weird miracle, their little misunderstanding causes Stiles to be in the exact right spot in the exact right moment. 

“If you manage to screw this up...” Jackson threatens through gritted teeth before he passes the ball to Stiles. Way to put pressure on him, thank you very much, Jackson, you absolute delight of a teammate. 

There’s not exactly much room to screw up, though. Stiles doesn’t do anything but stand at stare as the ball flies through the air and then crashes against his lacrosse stick that almost slips out of his hands at the impact. Stiles flails, almost falls, but ultimately holds on and the ball hits the net. 

The inside of the net. Of today’s opponent’s goal. Which means he just scored. Which means that he’s not only playing. On the field, with the team. But he’s also scoring. With his lacrosse stick. Accidentally, but who cares about that? The only thing that could make his day even better right now would be... 

Better not dream that big. 

Around him, Beacon Hills’ players start cheering. Scott pulls off his helmet and comes running straight towards him. There’s that smile again. Right there on Scott’s face, that slightly uneven, heartfelt smile that he can’t get rid of once something has made him really happy. 

Oh man, that something is Stiles. 

“You did it!” Scott shouts at him. He’s possibly even more excited about it than Stiles is. Which really, is the true victory of the moment to Stiles. 

He takes him helmet off too because when Scott makes his happy-puppy-face, Stiles needs to make his own alien-like attempt of it back at him. It’s a law of nature. Scott is practically beaming as he crashes into Stiles with open arms, almost throwing him off his balance. 

While he’s playing - on the field - with the team - and after he’s scored - a goal - with his lacrosse stick - and with the most important person in the world clinging to his shoulders, there shouldn’t be anything left to top the whole thing off. 

There is, though. 

Maybe Stiles could have been dreaming a little bigger from the beginning. 

“I’m so proud of you,” Scott says as he pulls back to look Stiles in the eyes again. And then he takes Stiles’ face between his gloved hands. 

And then he kisses him. 

On the lips. 

With his mouth. 

Not by accident. 

Stiles doesn’t even care about playing anymore. Kissing Scott is the best thing in the world. He should have spent his high school career working on getting his mouth on Scott’s instead of getting his skinny, relatively talent-free ass on a lacrosse field. 

It feels so good that Stiles needs a few more moments after Scott pulls away. If he opens his eyes, he’ll see his Coach punching holes into the air with a triumphant fist. He’ll see his team celebrating and the audience applauding him. He was so obsessed with the thought of it happening one day. 

If he doesn’t open his eyes, he can pretend that it’s just him and Scott. At least for a few more seconds. Like there’s nobody else around but the best friend he was afraid would never become more than the best friend. Like they didn’t need him to accidentally score a goal to finally kiss. Like Scott and Stiles are Scott and Stiles. Like nothing else matters. 

So he keeps his eyes closed. Scott pulls away from his lips but keeps his hands on him. He’s probably watching him, seeing all of the raw emotions on his face, but that’s okay for Stiles. He just needs a moment before he can function again. 

Before he can play. 

On the field. 

With Scott.

i thought about at first like having that town they share have two gym leaders ala older gens where a town might have an unofficial underdoggish type and a Big Fancy official type

 totally aside i think lateral town is in reference to event horizon where time is believed to “split” in a blackhole? so does this suggest like multiple timelines, i like  pkmn game theories like that! 

anyway it was first like allister is just doing his thing in a boarded up run down haunted house ride where a cart goes through but thats sorta less fun then giving him his own thing, i like his design well enough and what little personality we get i want to run with it! i Cannot begin to express that the Most creepiest card in the game is not canon in this nuzlocke,

(in fact its like impossible to get clear photo of him at all, there's always orbs or mist around him, sometimes even his face blurs out and theres always some sort of technical difficulties during his matches) 

(ability: disguise, moves: curse, wood hammer, shadow sneak, mimic)

(while he's still painfully shy, the mask is also a functioning prosthetic, he'll change up the story of the accident and why he has the mask when he is cornered long enough for an interview, an autographed card of his is the rarest of all but the resell value of his cards average less than other trainers, he has fans of course,)

(ability: mummy, moves: protect, memento, crafty shield, night shade)

(he entered the league at 18 and is the youngest gym leader at 22, most believe, even direhard fans of leon and raihan, that allister could take the cup and their rank if he wanted to, only he doesnt, every year he strategically keeps his rank #4 in the region)

(ability: flame body, moves: will-o-wisp, hex, inferno, giga impact)

(he’ll only use this one in the gym battle)

(in the town he reps in, ill figure out a name later, come kind of pun on funeral marches and maybe more nods to his namesake, he lives in in a grand manor along side a massive historic cemetery)

(ability: levitate, moves: shadow sneak, confuse ray, astonish, haze)

(the accident that injured his face also left him without parents and his older sister, he moved in with his great aunt and uncle, who are the title owners of the land and have been keeping care of the cemetery like milo's home town, the residents are mostly older but unlike milo allister doesnt appear interested in bringing new blood into the town)

(ability: disguise, moves: curse, pain split, draining kiss, grudge)

(this is actually the same mimikyu from the gym! he only ever uses four pkmn, i thought id just break the text up by seeing them again, in the gym battle he doesnt dynamax tho the gym supports capabilities to do so)

(he's often absent from league business due to his fears so its not terribly surprising when he doesnt show up)

(his sponsor is biggest provider of funerary services in the region, its actually against the law to use any others, because this provider is the only one with approved sanitation licenses but that doesnt stop citizens of galar in smaller communities from practicing cultural burial practices or from bigger cities to body dump in parks and the like)

(ability: magic bounce, moves: metal burst, dazzling gleam, reflect, mirror coat)

(this is a cup pkmn! im really pro the idea of gym leaders having impossible in regular game play pkmn)

(much less flashy than other gyms, his challenge is basically a self guided ghost tour! with  many locked doors, winding mazes, invisible paths with pit traps, and deep galarian lore; all throughout the city! on the way you may encounter ghost pokemon and just straight up ghosts! when you do get to the end of the city wide maze, the key you find will let you into the manor, before you can claim the key there’s a gangar that dynamaxes on its own that you can find off the beaten path, weird right?? better send it to the prof! )

(allister will be locked in his bedroom, you have to talk with him a while for him to agree to meet you in the study, there might be an item sliding under the door involved? like a hand written note of encouragement on his fave stationary in invisible ink, all of which involves a fetch quest)

(ability: pressure, moves: shadow punch, lick, darkest lariat , conversion 2)

(its the same duskull just all evo’d up now! who’d he even trade with?? fun fact, i use to really really really hate the evo line, but now i have an appreciation the concept and design work! like ancient concepts meet new era imo the dusk stone should be used to get a dusklops, yea i know its a c im ignoring and then having dusklop On The Net somehow to become like a grim reaper for a digital age, like i just dig it so much more)

(they really focused on this thing having fists and not that its a techno reaper with a mouth belly huh)

(by time you get to the study hes already there! he'll show you a secret passage way behind the fire place that lets you two out to the stadium, avoiding meeting any paparazzi and fans on the way) 

(the field is a graveyard! a fake one,,,maybe! your pkmn might flinch or be too scared to move! rattled and other abilities that take effect when hit by a ghost move are triggered by the field, the air is cold which reduces the speed of water moves, reduces water moves by 30%, with a 50% of the move becoming an ice type! fire moves do 30% more damage, dragon type pkmn may randomly fall asleep, ice attacks do 30% more damage and ice type pkmn are faster, grass type pkmn without ice or ghost or fire as a secondary type may lose a small amount of hit points, ghost type pkmn may gain a small amount of hit points)

(ability: mummy, moves: shadow claw, phantom force, destiny bond, cure)

(he dynamax’s this pkmn in the cup, he’ll probs say something like sorry about this, it has a special attack because i said so that’s mummy’s curse which makes the terrain poison type so pkmn take heavy poison damage at the every turn until this pkmn undynamaxs or is knocked out)

Getting involved00 With Sports Betting

안전놀이터 Athletics betting is simply adding a bet on some sort of sporting event. That you are gambling that your team, moose, dog, or driver can win. If they accomplish succeed, so do an individual! If they shed, anyone lose your bet sum. Sports betting takes spot around the world, though in the particular United States this variety of bets is definitely not as highly established because it is in European union.

안전놀이터

On the net sports betting will be probably the smart choice regarding those who are useful in striving it intended for the first time. When you have certainly not tested out online sports bet, you actually are missing so considerably fun in addition to excitement, as well as it can all come about in the comfortable natural environment of your abode! The art associated with sports betting can sound difficult at first, but when you're familiar with some regarding the jargon currently in use in order to explain the concepts and also logic behind each style involving bet, it is usually all preferable to understand.

Just one of the best means for you to practical experience this engaging way to be able to think on your treasured racing along with sporting situations is to get up to date with on the web sports wagering. However, as a way to best have advantage of all that will athletics betting has for you to offer, you need to help know more about the idea.

Sports Betting instructions Typically the Odds

How does on the net sporting activities betting work? Anyone should begin studying typically the odds for the having event you are many serious about placing a guess upon. When working with online activities betting, you can get these possibilities in the a variety of on the internet sports books as used by Online gamers everywhere. You will need to available an account with a on-line sports book ahead of you can area your own personal bet, but this can be very simple to do.

Once a person have decided on where an individual are going to complete your sports activities betting, anyone need to decide the way you might place your side bet. There are several ways for you actually to wager your selected volume of money, but initially, let's focus on the pass on and how it could possibly have an impact on the amount you wager.

Sporting activities Betting - Often the Pass on

The spread is definitely a place advantage with sports gambling, which is actually usually given to they that is generally estimated to drop a special sporting event. In the event you consider that you will guess about the team that will be expected to earn, many people will have to gain by means of more than often the spread number in addition to deal with the spread until you are viewed as to have chosen appropriately. If you choose the actual team that is required to lose, that team need to lose by less in comparison with the particular spread number within order for your personal opt for to be considered accurate. If by chance they wins by the variety of details that ended up chosen as the distribute, the game is known as a force.

No a single who engages in athletics betting wins a matter should a game is named as a generate, nevertheless you do get typically the amount of your own unique bet back. The propagate is done in get to make often the most of the bets occur out perhaps for the actual sports book, and is particularly normally done for sports including basketball or football.

Activities Betting - The Side bet

If you were in order to bet resistant to the spread, almost all likely you would put a type of think called the 11-10, as well as spread side bet. By bets $11, a person win $ if your team's rating covers the distributed. That is another way in which the on the web sports reserve makes it has the money.

The over-under wager is in addition an 11-10 guess. Having this type of think, the sum score of the particular two clubs that enjoyed will be sometimes around or under the full score that was shown ahead of game was gamed. Bet on the report being through is referred to as 'betting on the ball'. Betting on the credit score staying under is identified as 'betting for the clock'.

Any proposition side bet is a new type of bet the place that the online sports book decides on what the odds as well as the ailments of typically the bet are going to be able to be. Such type of bet could be most interesting, a good little fun at moments, for any conditions can end up being as unusual since which often of two sports squads will make the nearly all touchdowns, which of a couple field hockey teams will ranking essentially the most three pointers, or even even which will individual guitar player will make the go for the team. It can be for this kind connected with bet are now and again 11-10, although can be considerably better or perhaps worse depending on often the situation.

A parlay wager if you are bet on a couple of event, commonly three. This bet allows you a much bigger payout if you really should win, even so the catch is usually that all the functions you bet on will probably have to get. In the event that even one of these people a loss, they all reduce, and you get rid of the actual amount that you guess.

Some sort of money line think feels rather formidable, mainly for you to someone who is definitely just getting into on the net sports betting, but the item is very one of the particular simplest bets of the. The item is also called the Straight Up side bet, and also there is no position pass on to consider. You actually will just decide on your current sport, and then they you think will always be either typically the underdog or maybe the favourite. In a very dollars line bet, often the sporting activities book will have statistics listed that are inside the countless, with often a plus or maybe a take away sign beside these individuals. These kind of numbers are considered the actual 'money line', and are usually the multipliers for the particular bets.

If the income line for your workforce shows up as 100, an individual will call and make an even wager. This means you might gamble the same amount this you will get again. If the money range flows -110, then anyone must jot down the total of money you include decided to guess, and also 10%. This excess 10% is known by typically the name of 'juice'. In the event the money line for ones team is listed while +110, then you easily place your own personal bet having the amount where you will think. If you win any money line bet, you have the amount of your personal bet additionally 10% rear. For example, in the event you side bet $10. 00 along with $1. 00 in liquid with a -110 money brand and it wins, you actually get $21. 00.

A new teaser wager in activities betting serves as a proposition guess that allows you to help replace the odds for often the bet throughout either course so that the guarantee is in your give preference to. You could go up as well as down with points, in addition to must pick out at lowest two teams, live performed in a parlay think. You can have seeing that many as 6 different teams included on some sort of teaser bet, but all of of the competitors preferred have to win for your bet to possibly be proclaimed a winning just one. Once the video game titles are generally over, the things by the teaser bet usually are added or subtracted from final scores. The likelihood to get teaser bets can certainly be several each time frame, so it is a new good decide to always look at the sports e-book previous to placing your side bet.

Hankies/Handkerchief 101

-Don’t horde your hankies, use them then stick them in the wash ASAP. Maybe keep hold of two or three (large) hankies if you’re sick. Use one then stick it in the wash and grab a clean one.

(I use a large hankie so this may change if you prefer small hankies or ‘one blow/single use’ hankies.)

Also known as hankie etiquette because there is a limited number to go around. It can be hard not to horde hankies to ensure you have enough hankies when you’re sick but dirty hankies and/or a bunch of clean hankies sitting doing nothing never helped anyone so you’re better off keeping them moving.

Also in my experience good hankies are either 1) borderline impossiable to find, 2) really expensive or 3) require you to make them yourself. So better to use the (good) hankies you have as efficiently as possiable.

-Keep the hankies rotating quickly through the wash expecially when people are using lots of them/people are sick.

I recommend a ASAP bag/ quick wash bag for things that need to be washed quickly like hankies and uniforms.

A wet bucket is also useful for wet kitchen clothes and wet hankies.

I know washing is the last thing people want to do when sick but making sure that you always have clean hankies means keeping the hankies rotating through the wash is key. I tend to have a fairly large stash to work from however if I don’t keep it rotating it can run out very quickly.

For tissue paper converters try and picture how full of tissues your rubbish bin gets when you’re sick, now imagine that many hankies. Even if you use a hankie more then once if you don’t wash your hankies you are going to need /a lot/ of them hence why keeping them rotating through the wash is key.

-use a netbag when washing hankies particually with sheets

Hankies have an annoying habit of getting caught in clothing and then falling on the ground when you take clothes out of the basket to hang them up, particually when it comes to sheets. Netbags can really help avoid this problem.

I don’t use them all the time particually if there is only one or two hankies but it can be really helpful sometimes. Also if you have bras without clips that you use a netbag for, then you can put hankies in there as well. Just make sure the bag is only roughly half full max to allow things to move around in it, 2/3 full is probably pushing it.

-hang hankies by one corner on the washing line in sets of three

So this ‘rule’ will probably change depending on your local weather or how thick your hankies are. For example if I was to make hankies from bed sheets I might only clip two hankies together or three if I was running out of room. Although the closest I’ve done to that was to clip some DIY cotton bed sheet napkins together but that seemed to work okay.

-fold the hankie over used areas.

Really this depends on personal preference as to how you do it. I expect there may be a little learning curve but I’ve always used hankies so I can’t really help you there aside from suggest practice and hope that helps.

Also I remember once someone mentioning about me ‘looking’ at what came out of my nose. Um no, cue me manipulating my hankie into a better position to avoid mess getting on my fingers.

(Although to completely contradict myself if you want an idea of how sick you are, how yellow and thick your snot is, is a fairly good indicator.)

-hankie size

This is completely up to preference. Personally I like large hankies because I can use them more then once which is good for when I’m on the go. Other’s prefer smaller hankies because they fit small pockets better. Trying to fit large hankies into small ‘women’s’ pockets can result in a lump particually if you’re sick and want to store a few of them. I tend to wear jeans with bigger pockets so this doesn’t tend to be an issue for me unless I’m stick and carry around a stack of hankies. If you want a ‘one blow only’ hankie like some tissue to hankie convertors do then small hankies may be the way to go.

Note, shops have a extreamly annoying habit of labeling small hankies ‘women’s hankies’ and large hankies ‘men’s hankies’ and I recently ran across the ‘children’s hankie’. So expect flowers and ‘pretty’ hankies if you go shopping for small hankies. I also highly recommend ditching the impractical lace and frills if you want something that’s functional and not just for looks.

Then again I’m bias, large practical ‘mens’ hankies all the way with no frills. Some hankies with frills or decorate holes around the boarders may actually be practical as long as they keep the decorations to the borders of the hankie. If you want decorations I recommend looking for hankies that have an undecorated centre aside from fabric patterns. Ironed on or sewed on patterns in the centre area not recommended.

-wet hankies

Yes it happens particually when you’re sick and have a limited hankie supply on you so your hanky gets overused/your noise is simply runnier then normal.

If you have two pockets handy I recommend trying to seperate dirty and clean hankies to try and help keep the clean hankie dry for as long as possiable.

Note, you don’t have to use this method but it is an option for you. Using a shirt pocket for roughly folded up clean hankies can also be useful. (This gets easier if it’s winter and you have a jumper on to help keep if flat for those with breast who might be worried about unevenness.)

Hankie fabric when buying:

So good hankies are really hard to find because the competition with cheap tissue paper means readily available hankies tend to be cheap and nasty. With see through fabric that you blow straight through. So I really wouldn’t recommend the cheap hankies you normally find in shops. Be wary when buying hankies.

Personally if you can get your hands on the hankies try to look for good quality cotton. I can see through my good hankies are little bit particually light wise or if they are white but I can’t see through them like I can my cheap hankies. When you look at them close up they are just thin nets that everything goes straight through. I never used to understand why people hated hankies and talked about blowing gunk straight onto your hands, now I do.

Note, hankies aren’t perfect they will get wet if overused or if you have a really runny nose but they should ‘catch’ most of the mess rather then it blowing straight into your hands. If your hanky is doing that you need a thicker hankie.

DIY upcycling hankie fabrics:

So I haven’t tried making a hankie yet but I did experiment with a scrap of summer cotton bed sheet that worked well. A scrap of flannel bed sheet was way too thick for my tastes. (Some people sell that so I experimented.)

I grew up with thin (thick) hankies having a thick hanky was weird and awkward to manipulate. Also very bulky in the pocket, you’d need to decrease the hanky size or carry around less to make them manageable. No thank you. Personally I like big hankies I can use more then once.

I do have some old thin flannel sheets that might be thin enough for my tastes but it’s so thin it’s probably lost that ‘soft’ factor that people want when they consider flannel hankies.

The flannel hankies being sold could be a thinner fabric then flannel bed sheets but if you are planning on DIY upcycling flannel bed sheets then I wouldn’t recommend upcycling them.

Note, my opinion is from someone who prefers large, multi use hankies that fit in a large jeans pocket. Single use hankie users who keep them in a jar may not have the same ‘bulky fabric’ issues I do. Also tissue paper to hankie converters may have different tastes in terms of softness so please take that into consideration.