#90's tech was just straight-up magic

[ghostblazewrites]

Children of the Forest Intro

BASIC

genre: fantasy, adventure,

status: finished first draft, editing

key themes: found family, exploration, fantasy, nature, mythology, magical realism, siblings, childhood friends, nostalgia, parasites, at this point i'm just listing things in my book i'll stop

𖡼 𖤣 𖥧 𖡼 𓋼 𖤣 𖥧 𓋼 𓍊 𖡼 𖤣 𖥧 𖡼 𓋼 𖤣 𖥧 𓋼 𓍊 𖡼 𖤣 𖥧 𖡼 𓋼 𖤣 𖥧 𓋼 𓍊 𖡼 𖤣 𖥧 𖡼 𓋼

STORY

Two boys are born in a willow tree inside a forest brimming with magic. They become obsessed with uncovering the secrets of this forest, exploring and researching the wilderness along with their childhood friends. When the forest suddenly vanishes and then reappears in struggling condition, the boys are left wondering what happened to their home, and if they can save it.

CHARACTERS

Theo Winter (he/him)

Impulsive, always-smiling, and just a tad bit reckless. He's the class clown, never one to take things seriously and it backfires. a lot. Theo's just having fun ok? Not his fault the god of the forest decided his body would be perfect as its puppet!

age: 17

quote: “I highly doubt any of what you said is gonna be a problem,” Theo said distractedly, then grabbed onto Kian’s backpack urgently as another thought struck him. He was always active, and always filled with energy. Kian didn’t think he ever saw Theo without a grin on his face or his blue bandanna off his head.

quick facts

he's trans (ftm)

adhd king

playboy (don't worry, he learns very quickly this isn't good)

inspired by oliver queen and lance mcclain

heart of the forest

Kian Winter (he/him)

Intelligent, oblivious, and always locked in his own world, he's always operating at 100% and extremely determined/stubborn. the inventor of the group, his tech assists his research on the forest.

age: 17

quote: John’s veins bulged from his neck, his eyes slitted. He turned slowly to look at him and his voice was low. “You’re dead.” “I’m very much alive. It’s Mothsong who is dead. I think.” Kian rushed to pick up his robotic insect’s limp body from inside the mess. “I’m sure I can fix this–”

quick facts

autism king

inspired by zane (ninjago) and gansey from the raven boys!!

always wearing his goggles and his jacket with a million pockets in them- with almost any gadget you can think of

gayyy

always known as the younger brother of theo even though they're technically twins and no one knows who's older

brains of the forest

Rue Ezeani (she/her)

Quiet, sarcastic, and always willing to stand up for what she believes is right, she's a punk who got kicked out of her home, and she's brutally protective of her friends. also, flowers grow on her quite a lot.

age: 16

quote: “Poverly, you don’t know shit about me,” Rue growled, taking a step towards them. “I’ve been to this forest longer than you, it’s more important to me than you’ll ever know. Of course I was working to get it back.”

quick facts

has freckles

trans lesbian

first friend kian and theo made

inspired by blue sargent (wow who could've guessed) and killer frost

eyes of the forest

can play electric guitar

i love her

Becca Hill (she/her)

Smart, cold, and competent, she is known as the 'normal' one of the group, although she has her issues, don't worry. Gets skeptical and annoyed easily, but connects with nature and animals very well. Natural-born leader.

age: 17

quote: “Oh my god, you guys can’t just break ceilings and destroy classrooms. Do you have any idea how much those cost?” Becca pressed her lips together, concerned.

quick facts

'token straight friend' (sure...)

inspired by laurel lance and pip fitz amobi!!

has a pet dog, turtle, and bird

complicated relationship with theo

ears of the forest

Cove Poverly (they/them)

If you thought Theo was impulsive, think again. They're a fighter, with a short temper and witty humour. Chews gum, tobacco, straw, lollipops...they like to keep busy. Mastered the 90's + 2020 aesthetic at the same time? A reaaal southern kid.

age: 16

quote: “Trouble in hetero relationships. Can't relate," Cove casually chewed on a piece of gum. They brushed past Theo, picked up a twig, and began drawing something on a nearby rock.

quick facts

heterochromia! (one eye is blue, one eye is hazel)

inspired by... tbh i have no idea where cove came from they just popped up

very blunt/no filter

nonbinary

m e n

likes arguing with rue (affectionately, they hate each other)

fists of the forest

Amora (she/her)

Mysterious, sassy and flirtatious imp, lives deep within the forest and a master of manipulation. Is she truly evil? Who knows? Some hate her, some love her, but no one trusts her.

age: ?

quote: Amora grinned, her eyes a deep mauve in this lighting. “No games, Thorny. I’m just here to help you save the forest. It’s my job.” She stretched the last part, singing it with a tilt of her head.

quick facts

wears a red cloak

inspired by darcy wu and parisa kamali

seduces like half of the characters

she has elfish ears

twig horns and long black nails

also has ties to a god/spirit...

Miiba (it/its)

no picrew for this mf but basically this is the god of the forest, it's a big pain in the ass for our main characters because there's...occasional possessions and flora growing everywhere on their clothes/body. it has questionable morals due to being immortal and its sole purpose is to preserve the forest. it doesn't have a corporeal form, instead bouncing its consciousness around any creature/living thing in the forest (plants, trees, animals)

AESTHETIC

FACTS

𖡼 i wrote this entire book during nanowrimo!! i won, but i added 13k after november so it's only 63k right now, but i am editing to make it longer. it took me two months to finish draft 1

𖡼 i came up with the idea during summer of 2022, based on a playlist that a close friend gave me - they said boom, make a story, and i did!!

𖡼 the story is set in the fictional town of pinevale, canada, and i do not have a name for the forest yet (i should probably get on that so it's less vague when i talk about the forest

𖡼 it's third person and the POV switches between kian, theo, rue and miiba, and amora for like one pov (i'll probably make it more consistent in the 2nd draft)

LINKS

spotify playlist

pinboard

𖡼 𖤣 𖥧 𖡼 𓋼 𖤣 𖥧 𓋼 𓍊 𖡼 𖤣 𖥧 𖡼 𓋼 𖤣 𖥧 𓋼 𓍊 𖡼 𖤣 𖥧 𖡼 𓋼 𖤣 𖥧 𓋼 𓍊 𖡼 𖤣 𖥧 𖡼 𓋼

if you want to know more, please tell me! this took SO LONG but i loved doing it. i'll probably do it for my other wips!!

[randomvarious]

Today's mix:

Past Lessons / Future Theories by Slam 2000 Tech-House / Techno / House / Deep House

Oh, hell yes, folks. Today, we've got an exquisite turn-of-the-millennium double-disc mix, courtesy of Glasgow's greatest techno DJ pair to ever do it, Slam. Back in the early 90s, these guys were part of the group that was responsible for co-founding the terrific Soma Quality Recordings label—also based out of Glasgow—and these days they play sets all across the globe, have their very own festival, and host one of techno's most popular weekly podcasts too: Slam Radio. Needless to say, in a genre whose overall ephemerality tends to be so key, and with so many acts who debuted in the early 90s having naturally fallen by the wayside, the fact that these two have managed to become, and still remain, an institution in this space is such a commendably rare feat in and of itself 👏. And a mix like this serves as a stellar example as to why they've managed to stick around and stay in the top echelon of techno DJs for so long. Past Lessons / Future Theories certainly doesn't catch Slam in their earliest days, but it's still only the second mix of theirs to ever be released commercially, and the first since 1996's Psychotrance 4, on Moonshine Music. And while the first disc is the far chiller of the two and sees them tying to shy away from dropping the straight-up techno jams, it's the second disc where they decide to really channel their true, uninhibited inner selves, and get down to brass tacks 😤.

Now, while most mixes tend to have names that you really shouldn't read too much into, I think there's a meaning behind this one's in particular, and that it's really exemplified by a single track: Josh Wink and Lil' Louis' "How's Your Evening So Far?" Real house heads who know their history are already undoubtedly familiar with the name Lil' Louis, as he's the guy who made one of the biggest ever house tunes of the 1980s, with the warm and chuggingly sensual "French Kiss." But with this track from 2000 here, Philadelphia's Josh Wink manages to revive that classic while simultaneously cozily wrapping it in his own techno knowhow, yielding a total banger that, over 20 years later, still satisfies plentifully 😌. So, if Past Lessons / Future Theories means taking what you've already learned and then building something new and lasting directly on top of it, then Wink really knocked that whole concept out of the damn park with this song here.

And also, while this second disc largely seems to run a slightly dark, yet eclectic contemporary techno gamut of sorts, I still definitely gotta give it up especially for Mad Mike Banks' "String Mix" of The Aztec Mystic's "Jaguar." This is a tune that builds itself in anticipation to a boiling point with its very prominent, sharp, and dramatic orchestral string work, with those strings eventually transitioning into creakily seesawing Hitchcockian stabs when the drumbeat finally comes in at the end. Such a phenomenal track!

So, in all honesty, after listening to this album's first disc, I was starting to get ready to conclude that while Slam had been trusted veteran DJs for a good while by the year 2000, this release itself didn't actually have the transcendent 'wow' factor that you might expect. But evidently, these guys were just saving up all their magic for disc 2. Disc 1 isn't a total skipper by any means, but that second one really shows you what these Glasgow legends are capable of weaving together, and to that end, why they've managed to outlast almost all of their peers as well.

Listen to CD1 here. Listen to CD2 here.

Highlights:

CD1:

E-Dancer - "Heavenly (Juan Atkins Remix)" Flunky - "Love Song (Dub)" Sueño Latino - Sueno Latino (Bushwacka! Tek Mix)" Mark Flash - "Timbales Calientes" Silicone Soul - "Right On, Right On"

CD2:

Bushwacka! - "Healer (House Mix)" Hipp-E & Eric Davenport - "Jesus Loves 2000" Valentino Kanzyani - "Fever" Trevor Rockcliffe - "A Sound Called House" Samuel L. Session - "Tribe Cut" Death In Vegas - "Dirge (Slam Mix)" Josh Wink & Lil' Louis - "How's Your Evening So Far?" Black Odyssey - "The Stand" Gaetano Parisio - "1999" Slam - "Positive Education" The Aztec Mystic - "Jaguar (Mad Mike String Mix)"

[govindhtech]

The Honor MagicPad 2 Best Features & Specs Lunch On 2024

MagicPad 2

Honor MagicPad 2 with Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 and 3K 144Hz OLED goes global. Honor debuted the Magic V3, their next foldable phone, at IFA today. The company also introduced the MagicPad 2, a high-end tablet that competed with the Galaxy Tab S9 and OnePlus Pad 2. Let’s study tablet characteristics.

Honor MagicPad 2 Specs

Like the company’s folding phone, the MagicPad 2 is sleek and portable. Tablets are comfortable to use and carry at 555g and 5.8mm. Honor uses high-frequency 4320Hz PWM dimming and AI Defocus Display to reduce eye strain during prolonged usage.

However, the MagicPad 2 is more than just pretty. The tablet is DTS and IMAX Enhanced certified for excellent audio. Honor’s proprietary Spatial Audio Technology increases sound field breadth by 25% over the MagicPad model.

The latest Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 CPU powers the MagicPad 2’s gaming and multitasking. A 66W converter charges a massive 10,050mAh battery that powers everything.

However, the MagicPad 2 is more than just pretty. The tablet is DTS and IMAX Enhanced certified for excellent audio. Honor’s proprietary Spatial Audio Technology increases sound field breadth by 25% over the MagicPad model.

The latest Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 CPU powers the MagicPad 2’s gaming and multitasking. A 66W converter charges a massive 10,050mAh battery that powers everything.

Honor MagicPad 2 Features

The Honor MagicPad 2‘s revolutionary design, cutting-edge technology, and versatile features set it apart in the fast-changing tablet industry. Honor meets professional, tech, and student need with power-mobility devices.

Design & Exhibition: Outstanding Visuals

Beautiful design is one of the Honor MagicPad 2‘s greatest features. The tablet’s small, lightweight form and high-quality materials make it portable. Long-term comfort is important in device ergonomics.

Clarity and 120Hz refresh rates make the display fast and responsive for users who appreciate smooth scrolling. Eye protection technology also reduces blue light emissions from constant use.

Powerful CPU and Storage

An elite Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor drives the Honor MagicPad 2, ensuring fast performance and multitasking. This CPU delivers lag-free performance while utilizing graphic design tools, playing demanding games, or switching apps.

Customers may pick between 6GB, 8GB, and 12GB RAM and 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB internal storage on the Honor MagicPad 2. This makes it easy for power users and casual users who need a lot of storage for photos, videos, and business data to pick a configuration. Tablets can also utilize microSD cards to add up to 1TB of storage.

Full-Day Battery Life

Tablet battery life is vital for on-the-go business and enjoyment. The Honor MagicPad 2‘s 10,050mAh battery is designed to last all day. Customers won’t have to recharge often and may use for longer.

The tablet charges from 0% to 100% in 90 minutes with 66W quick charging, one of the fastest in its class. Customer energy never runs out thanks to lengthy battery life and rapid recharge.

Camera: Best Tablet Photography

The Honor MagicPad 2‘s strong camera technology improves tablet cameras’ reputation. The rear 16MP camera takes sharp, detailed photos for business or painting a gorgeous landscape.

Additionally, the 8MP front camera is perfect for content creation, selfies, and video chats. AI improves low-light photos from the front and rear cameras, reducing noise and improving clarity.

The camera system’s superb video quality and noise reduction ensure you look your best, particularly for virtual meeting and online class attendees.

Software and User Interface: A Smooth, Natural Feeling

MagicUI 7, which is based on Android 13, provides a smooth and user-friendly interface for the Honor MagicPad 2. With the many customization possibilities offered by MagicUI, users may tailor the interface to their tastes. To help customers get started straight away, the tablet also comes pre-loaded with a number of work and leisure applications.

One notable enhancement is the ability to link the MagicPad 2 with other Honor devices via the multi-screen collaboration function. This function greatly increases productivity, whether you’re sharing files, mirroring your screen, or utilizing the tablet as an expanded display for your laptop.

Moreover, the tablet is designed to maximize split-screen capabilities, which streamlines multitasking. The tablet is an excellent tool for work and study since it allows users to run two programs concurrently side by side.

Audio: A Fully Immersive Soundscape

The Honor MagicPad 2 has a quad-speaker arrangement with DTS Ultra sound technology to go along with its amazing display. Whether you’re taking part in conference calls, enjoying music, or watching a movie, this provides an immersive audio experience. Rich and deep audio is guaranteed with 3D surround sound, giving customers an unmatched auditory experience.

Features for Connectivity and Security

In the fast-paced world of today, it’s important to stay connected, and the Honor MagicPad 2 guarantees customers have access to the greatest connection alternatives. With Wi-Fi 6 capability, the tablet offers improved range, quicker download rates, and more dependable connections in congested locations. For consumers who need lightning-fast internet on the move, the gadget is also future-proof thanks to its 5G connection (in supported locations).

The MagicPad 2 also includes Bluetooth 5.2 for simple pairing with speakers, headphones, and smartwatches. The device’s in-display fingerprint sensor and face unlock keep your data secure and accessible.

Honor MagicPad 2 Price

Priced affordably, the basic model of the Honor MagicPad 2 starts at around $499. Pricing varies according to RAM and storage combinations, allowing enabling flexibility to accommodate various user requirements. Because of Honor’s clever pricing approach, the MagicPad 2 will always be more reasonably priced than other high-end tablets, which will appeal to customers who seek premium features without going over budget.

Honor MagicPad 2 Release Date

With a worldwide release scheduled for Q4 2024, the tablet is anticipated to be accessible in many locations. Global release of the Honor MagicPad 2 is scheduled in Q4 2024. Although an official release date hasn’t been announced, industry sources and leaks estimate October to November 2024. This predicted tablet will likely launch in important areas initially and expand to other countries. As launch day approaches, watch Honor’s announcements for further information.

In summary

The tablet industry has advanced significantly with the release of the Honor MagicPad 2. It’s the perfect tablet for work and pleasure because to its strong performance, gorgeous display, extended battery life, and user-friendly software. The MagicPad 2 provides a complete solution that can be used by both professionals and students in different contexts. It may be used as a productivity tool for students or as a flexible device for professionals.

Read more on Govindhtech.com

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh Season Zero: The Yo-yo Crimes of Jounouchi Pt 2

OK, last we left off, we were in a different Youtube video. This one I grabbed off of 2 different videos (you’ll see their watermark in the corner change) and it makes me appreciate the quality that our other episodes have been, honestly. A little bit of compression going on in these, just to give you even more of that nostalgic feel of watching a bootleg anime from the 90′s your brother got from his weird high school friend’s Napster account.

Because this is done with subtitles on, it takes more caps to cover it. Part of why I rewrite the dialogue in these recaps is to help abridge stuff, and so consider yourself warned...there’s a lot of caps in this one. For most of you, that’s probably not much of a problem. But I’m just letting you know because...I sure wasn’t expecting it to be over 40 caps for half an episode, and I’ll probably just type less to make up for that. (Tumblr keeps Erasing All My Words anyway, so this is for the best, but that’s a tech issue I already went into in another post.)

(read more under the cut)

So, to start off, Yugioh and co. walk up to a bar like a really weird version of a bar joke and are like “do you know where we can find the yo-yo gang?” And, much like a video game npc, the bartender was like “I know EXACTLY what you’re talking about, and I heard every part of their intimate conversation. Let me give you all the details, children.”

Hey, PS, there’s an entire Wikipedia entry about the bar joke. And that is wild. Apparently the first bar joke was from Ancient Sumeria, and Wikipedia was like “Here is the Sumerian joke, but we Do Not Get it. Please don’t try to get it.”

The joke being: "A dog walked into a tavern and said, 'I can't see a thing. I'll open this one'."

Damn. I can’t believe the Sumerians were onto meme humor before we ever invented memes. They were in the Galaxy brain over there in the land before time, holy crap. Depositing their memes knowing that 7,000 years later mankind would look at the world’s first joke and be like “I don’t get it!” while all the millennials and zoomers with our MB of nonsense memes on our phones are like “No. I get it.” Good on you Sumerians, that is freakin the best joke ever made. 7000 years to get to the punch line of confusing the hell out of all us. Bless.

They promptly tell Miho that everything was resolved and that she should go to bed and she was like “Cool!” and exited stage left. Bye, I guess. Anzu also went home, but she didn’t have to be tricked into doing it, she just went the hell to bed.

(PS, I just realized that if I want to write less...I should probably not look up Wikipedia articles about the world’s first ever bar joke. But y’all, habits die so freakin hard, and I just feel like it’s very pertinent to this Yugioh recap, although I know it’s really not.)

Yuugi and Honda decide to visit the warehouse and harass Jounouchi. In the context of the show, they’re going out of their way to pull their best friend out of society’s systemic downward pull of a life of crime and most likely turning into exactly like his Father. But, the way that it’s storyboarded makes it look a lot like these kids just show up out of the corner and this gang was like “Damn it, again? OMG small children, please leave us alone!”

Honda hands over the symbolism sash, to which Jounouchi symbolically says “Nyeh.”

And Honda didn’t take it very well.

After tending to his kidneys for a little while, Honda decided to go back at it again at the Krispy Cream and do some sort of insane parkour over this completely ordinary fence.

Ah, the very first instance of real duel law where you duel over a relationship. In later seasons duel law is invoked for things like Mai’s marriage and the right to date Tea (and then just kind of forgetting you ever won the right to date Tea twice). But to think the very first time was Honda dueling for the right of Jounouchi to be part of nerd gang because Jounouchi had fallen to the dark side yo-yo gang across the street run by some 40 year old man with blue hair.

How many times is Honda gonna fight with a broom? Like are they just magnetized to his location? where are they even coming from?

Freakin janitor powers over here, put him in a Final Fantasy style RPG. I want to see what his limit break would be.

Not like it matters, because Hirotani very quickly explains why these yo-yo’s are at all a threat.

Which honestly shouldn’t be...so lethal? Seems like the weight is all you need, not really the spikes. But it’s at least stronger than Honda’s janitor stuff.

Unfortunate for Honda that he just destroyed an antique.

So with lightning reflexes, Yuugi does what he does most:

The death yo-yo ricochets back and does this little itty bitty scrape to this guy’s face and he’s real bothered by it. Although it’s like...well dude, you’re a 50 year old high schooler, I don’t think people will notice the scrape compared to everything else falling apart in your life.

And so then the Yugioh Season Zero team was like “oh shoot is it time to torture Yuugi???” and they got hella excited.

Like I thought it was just Yuugi’s class that were a bunch of disturbing criminal disasters, but I guess it’s the whole city. Like...was Yuugi’s class the good school?

I mean, it can’t be, there’s no way...

but like...is there a good school in this universe? How does anyone survive till graduation? If you so much as disgrace a yo-yo, you will get the torture treatment that I sure did expect in Yakuza games, but not so much in Yugioh, tbh.

Just a reminder: This is the third time we’ve beat up Yuugi this episode. Within the first meeting of Yuugi and Hirotani, he beat the tar out of Yuugi within eye shot of Jounouchi. So like...Jounouchi was reallllllllllllllllly lax on that deal, right? Like...he took his toot sweet time to realize “yeah this just ain’t ever gonna happen.”

And then the yo-yo wars begin.

Just like Solid Snake crawling through the radiation chamber.

Hirotani throws his Fyper-yoyo, Jounouchi intercepts with his Eireboy, and Hirotani’s completely terrible yo-yo just flies off the string again because Hirotani should have just sticked to using his fists. No wonder they wanted to recruit Jounouchi so badly, their yo-yo game is so off.

We never get a door to darkness in this episode, dipping our enemies into mind horrors. Instead, we get home-alone style traps. But, this makes sense. Not only do the show makers have to make Yuugi avoid solving problems with magic in front of Jounouchi, they also have to make it Jounouchi’s choice to leave Hirotani behind. If Yuugi did it for him in like...some sort of duel law situation...then that sort of leaves out Jounouchi’s choice in the equation.

Not like this ever really comes up in later seasons, since who even follows through with duel law and marries Mai? But like, it does feel like Season Zero calls out the later Seasons a bit in this regard. Honda got beat up because he tried to win Jounouchi back by force (or game, I guess.) That was just another form of coercion on the heels of Hirotani’s. What Jounouchi actually needed was to make his own decision to leave.

...most other anime I’d be like “I’m sure that’s just a translation error” but not this one.

So Yuugi runs to the roof where Jounouchi will never see this.

My audible sigh reading this line about fight club roof.

These stupid gang members went into Yuugi’s native territory, not just a fight club roof, but on a warehouse? They were dead before they arrived.

This was like maybe 3 frames of animation in just rapid succession, it was pretty silly and good.

Reminder that like 4 minutes ago, Yuugi was about to get like executed on a meat hook.

Speaking of getting executed on a meathook:

Hope you like the idea of glass in your eyes, because this anime’s got it.

They chase Yuugi around, in a sequence that was done mostly to conserve frames, so you rarely saw the ground until this shot:

Lots of falling down this episode, but unlike Tea, who fell from a warehouse ceiling once and just kind of rubbed her ass after and was like “ah damn it.” these guys won’t come out of it virtually unscathed.

Also, Honda is here now:

Jumping off of his symbolic sash trapeze, he decides to do in Hirotani for good.

Hey so like...walk the dog is a fairly gentle walk that a yo-yo does slowly on the ground right?

Just pointing out how sensitive Hirotani’s fingies are.

And he...didn’t appear to be dead, so I don’t have to add to the bodycount...but it’s gonna be a real long road for recovery.

And now, with the gang back together Jounouchi is back at school knee deep in make up assignments he’ll probably completely ignore since we know that in a years time, these fools are going to be trapped on Pegasus’ island, and at that point school will be just that place you talk about when you try to remember why you’re friends with Bakura.

---hey aren’t those chairs attached to the desks?

Because...holy crap, Anzu.

Honestly this is what you see before you die, but I guess Jounouchi died off screen after the episode ended, so I don’t have to add him to the deathcount (again). RIP.

Alright! That took like...8 tries to get Tumblr to save this one, but it managed! (well...I guess “managed” isn’t the word you’d use for a typing program that takes 8 tries to save)

Next time, we’ll be back to S5, for an arc I’ve heard is kind of boring. We’ll see. If it truly is, I can condense episodes into fewer posts. Or maybe it’s a secret gem? I guess we shall see.

And if you just got here this is a link to read all the Season Zero recaps from the start:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yuugi-muto/chrono

(there’s also a link to read all the Yugioh posts we wrote from the start in chrono order but straight up, this file won’t freakin save, and I just can’t even will myself to look up that link again. It’s on the home page of this blog on the right.)

[riotwritesthings]

Coffee and Bad Words

WinterIron, T, 1.5K, convenient amnesia

For the @winterironmonth​

Fun fact, this is probably my favorite prompt I’ve written for the month so far it’s so goofy I regret nothing.

SFW Wednesday, Amnesia AND “All I do is drink coffee and say bad words.”

-

Bucky walks into the lab with a half formed plan for how he’s going to try and coax Tony out. The man’s been locked up down there playing with some weird bit of tech they picked up on their last mission for almost 36 hours now, and everyone is starting to get concerned. Bucky is pretending not to know why he was chosen for this job.

The doors open for him, and the second he steps into the the lab Tony spins to point at him and demands “you. We’re friends, right?”

“Um,” Bucky says, because that’s the big question isn’t it? Bucky would certainly like to think so, at least, he’d even like to think maybe he’ll work up the balls to try for more than that sometimes soon. Especially if the rest of the team keeps mocking him about his ‘totally obvious’ feelings. Still, he’s not sure what answer Tony is actually looking for here, so he finally settles on a hesitant “yes?”

“Right,” Tony says, nodding and turning back to the million screens opened up before him, spanning nearly the entire workspace and displaying what looks like various clips of security feeds from the lab. “Right, of course we’re friends, you spend so much time down here. We’re totally friends. That makes sense. I’ve hardly seen anyone else on these feeds, and look, look I’m even laughing in this one.”

Tony pauses to point to one of the screens and Bucky remembers that day. He doesn’t remember exactly what stupid pun he’d made, but he remembers the way Tony had laughed, eyes squeezed shut and head thrown back.

“Tony,” Bucky says slowly, and he’s starting to get a bad feeling about this, but before he can say anything else Tony spins back towards him with a victorious grin.

“Tony! That was going to be my question, thank you!”

Bucky’s heart drops into his stomach. His bad feeling gets exponentially worse.

-

Turns out, the fancy new gizmo Tony had been playing with activated somehow, and apparently wiped his memory. All of it. And instead of telling anyone, Tony has spent the past twelve or so hours alone, watching security footage.

“Why didn’t you tell someone?” Bucky can’t help demanding, heart racing, and he has to get Tony to medical, get him checked over, what if there’s something else-

“Because I had to figure out who I am, first!” Tony insists, breaking into Bucky’s panic spiral, throwing his arms in the air, like somehow Bucky is the one being ridiculous here.

“So you’ve been watchin’ security footage of yourself?”

“A man is most himself when alone,” Tony says obnoxiously and Bucky resists the urge to roll his eyes. Then Tony considers the screens again and adds “and when you’re here, I guess, you’re down here like all the time. You didn’t even leave when I snorted a questionably green shake out of my nose, which, gross. Although you did laugh at me, that’s real friendship I guess.”

Bucky ignores the heat trying to rise in his face because right, sure, friendship. “You couldn’ have tried the internet?” Bucky asks instead of addressing the fact that it really is obvious how much time he spends hanging around Tony now that it’s all laid out like this, “or, I dunno, asked JARVIS?”

Tony’s nose wrinkles adorably as he demands “the ceiling voice?! Like hell am I trusting that, next thing I know it’s going to be refusing to open the pod bay doors!”

“Oh my god, you’re so paranoid,” Bucky groans, slumping onto one of the stools and resisting the urge to drop his forehead to the table.

“See, you do know me!” Tony says brightly, smile lighting up his face, and despite everything Bucky’s heart gives a little flutter. “So far, I’ve been able to determine that all I do is drink coffee and say bad words.”

“Well, you’re not wrong there,” Bucky mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose, and Tony laughs again.

“Also, am I building a robot army? What up with that?” Tony asks, turning back to his many screens with a thoughtful look.

“You are a robot army,” Bucky says, and he’s about to actually explain the suits of armor lining the walls when something on the screens catches his eye instead.

He remembers that day, too. Tony in a tank top, working on one of the armors, grease smeared across his bare arms. Bucky feels his face heating up, because he remembers what happens next, too. On screen, Bucky wants into the lab, catches sight of Tony, and promptly trips over DUM-E and goes sprawling to the ground. Not his proudest moment, but not the worst he’s ever embarrassed himself in front of Tony with the man, somehow, miraculously not noticing.

Bucky glances over at Tony, to see if maybe he’d managed to miss Bucky’s face plant this time too, only to find Tony already watching him with a considering look. Bucky opens his mouth with absolutely no idea what he plans to say, but Tony beats him to it anyways.

“Did you know,” Tony starts slowly, and apparently he doesn’t need his memory to get the same look on his face when he’s putting the pieces together, “that when you moved the couch to get the ball one of the weird robots lost, I straight up fell off my chair and nearly stabbed myself with a screwdriver on the way down?”

“Uh,” Bucky says, because he had not known that, and the knowing look that’s slowly growing on Tony’s face is making him nervous. For multiple reasons. And a part of him can’t stop wondering how many other stupid things Tony has seen him doing in these feeds, how many stupid things Bucky has missed Tony doing over him.

“So, new question,” Tony says, sidling towards him with an amazing amount of confidence for someone with no memories. “Are we, by any chance, right on the delicate edge of more than friends?”

“Uh- you,” Bucky stutters out and he can’t back away fast enough, his hip bouncing painfully off the corner of a table because he can’t drag his eyes away from the way Tony’s tongue swipes out to wet his lips. Finally Bucky gets his brain back online enough to insist “we’re not having this conversation when you don’t remember anythin’!”

Tony pouts but at least stops advancing on him, and it’s incredibly difficult for Bucky to drag his attention away from the swell of Tony’s lower lip. “Fine. And I suppose you’re going to make me go talk to doctors now,” Tony says with a roll of his eyes, and Bucky’s not sure if it’s a good or bad sign that Tony’s dislike of going to medical isn’t reliant on his memories either.

“For starters,” Bucky grumbles. That’s right, he just has to deal with this one thing at a time, first they make sure Tony is okay, then they figure out what’s going on with his memory, and then-

“And then we can make out?” Tony asks hopefully and Bucky almost trips over exactly nothing.

“Would you please just- grab the thing and we can go talk to someone?” Bucky demands and Tony’s little smirk is really not helping anything.

“Fine, fine,” Tony says, smirking wider as he turns to grab the small device still sitting on one of the tables.

There’s a bright flash of light.

Bucky wakes up on his back, blinking at the ceiling in confusion.

“Are you kidding?! It was that easy?!” Tony’s voice demands from somewhere on the other side of the lab, “I hate magic. So much.”

“I know,” Bucky says with a groan as he pushes himself upright again, and then pauses, “wait, you remember that?”

“I also remember taking my midterms in a hula outfit, which I haven’t remembered since the 90’s, so that’s fun,” Tony says and his head pop up over one of the tables, looking a little dazed, a little confused, but no worse for wear. “Apparently, when I get my memories back I get all of them back. Including the things I’d rather not.”

Tony continues complaining as they pick themselves back up, dust themselves off, and Bucky is just trying to figure out what the hell he’s supposed to say now. Does he act like they didn’t just have an accidental revelation? Chalk it all up to the effects of the magic mind wiper and never speak of it again?

As usual, Tony beats him to the punch. His eyes flick up to the screens again, and a hopeful smile spreads across his face. “So, did we have to go upstairs right now, or..?” He trails off, wiggles his eyebrows, and almost manages to hide the nerves in his voice.

“Or,” Bucky says, surprising himself with how firm his voice comes out considering he had no idea he was going to say it. He’s not taking it back through, not missing this chance because knowing himself, Bucky could spend the rest of his life finding excuses to wait.

“Yay, we’re gonna make out,” Tony says, giddy and goofy and oh, Bucky’s heart is swelling almost painfully in his chest as Tony picks right back up on advancing on him.

“Just a little,” Bucky says, already reaching out to pull him in, “then it’s straight to medical for you.”

“Boo,” Tony tries to complain, but Bucky just kisses him quiet.

[faranae]

If you don’t mind me asking but how can the word queer be used as a positive thing to say about the LGBT community, As every time I hear it it has been used in the negative way.

First thing’s first: I’m very sorry that’s been your experience Nonny. I don’t mind you asking at all, but it’s just not an easy question to answer. 

Here’s the thing: I’m not an educator. I’m just one queer dude trying to fight for the right to identify myself as I see fit without being tackled to the floor and accused of being a “cis white neurotypical homophobe” for it. (I do wish I were exaggerating, but my inbox has been hella wild this week and I can assure you I am maybe one of those things, possibly two but I am honestly just not ready to dive into the technicalities of what qualifies as cis right now.) 

As for your question: I can give my own take on things, but I’m the first to admit it will be biased. 

Story time! Long post incoming:

I hail from a tiny village in Ontario, Canada, where I was raised by my grandparents. 

Where I grew up in the early-mid 90′s and beyond, queer was used as a slur just as much if not less frequently than gay, lesbian, dyke, butch, twink, and any number of currently acceptable(?) LGBTQ+ terminology. Consider this my point of argument, I suppose: A good portion of the stigma is absolutely based in locale/environment. In my personal history, they were all bad. Especially since baby Fara was raised in the Roman Catholic school system. 

Then came the opportunity to leave: I was accepted into a specialized arts program at a high school in the city. I moved away, and nosy neighbours and an unshakeable reputation were traded in for public transportation and being lost in the crowd. It was the best thing to happen to my baby gay life. 

Ninth grade was a wild awakening. I’d already known for years that I wasn’t exactly “normal”, but the sudden exposure to all of these divergent teenagers was really something. I was quickly adopted into this massive group of queer peers, and there was a lot of education in that short year as I learned about myself and others through them. 

We were the group of kids that took up a good third of the cafeteria every free period, playing Magic: the Gathering and euchre and singing songs and laughing amongst each other. We were the theater kids, the artsies, the techs, and the nerds. We outnumbered the jocks and other social stereotypes by a decent margin. A quick social media check on my part shows most of those kids identify as LGBT, queer, or otherwise allies in their adult lives. 

Those kids taught me that queer was a weapon for us as much as it was for “them”. Someone on the bus calls you gay? Turn on your heel and plant an innocent kiss on your best friend’s cheek. Don’t be vulgar, but absolutely fight for what you believe in. Some were… Considerably more aggressive in their acts of expression. Queer was ours. It was what we made it. What that old lady on the bus said with disgust, we held over our heads with pride. 

A lot went wrong after 9th grade. My mother pulled me from the arts program and as such I was sent to a brand new school elsewhere in the city. What happened there made it very clear that experiences are not universal. Where I’d previously had a massive group of support and strength, I found myself forced back into the closet for my own safety. 

Not only was “queer” a negative expression once again, it was violent. 

Within a week of reluctantly admitting to a counselor at this new school that I wasn’t straight, I was very publicly pulled from PhysEd and assigned an isolated changing room for the rest of the semester. Only a few days later and my new peers suspected I was “one of the gays”, all without me saying a single thing in public about it. 

Make no mistake: I was a shy, quiet kid for the most part. I tried to be brave and embrace the change as I’d learned from my peer group at the first school. I made the mistake of wearing a pride pin to school after that; my quiet little rebellion against what they’d started to say about me. I held my chin up through the glares where I could, and shot coy smiles at those who used those words against me like they were supposed to mean something unforgivable. I even called a few girls pretty out of spite. (They were actually quite pretty, but also very ugly on the inside.) 

My “cocky” and “unapologetic” refusal to be insulted was met with a group of girls beating the everloving shit out of me while I waited for the bus after school that day. All because I was “queer”. I didn’t go back. 

A lot’s happened since then: I dropped out of high school and got my GED as soon as I was legally able. I found my tribe again after that, and reconnected with a good chunk of the original crowd. I discovered there was a word and culture based around my take on how relationships should be (polyamorous). I got married. Had a kid. Bought a binder. Did a lot of living and made a lot of mistakes. Still am. 

I hunted for literal years trying to find one word, one flag, one identity that fit me. What I wanted. Where I belonged. I was especially sore about it whenever Pride Month rolled around:

(From the end of pride month in 2018)

Most terms that seemed to fit always had some exceptions or exclusions that turned me off or disqualified me from using them by saying I straight-up wasn’t welcome. It was only in the past couple years that I finally said “fuck it” and settled on “Queer”, an identity I’d had since ninth grade but always wrote off as “too vague”. I hadn’t realized that it wasn’t vague, it was intentionally inclusive of anyone who wanted to use it. 

And that, that’s the important distinction there I suppose. Are there those who don’t want to use queer or find it makes them uncomfortable? Absolutely, and that should be respected. We all have different experiences; different origins that paint our perspective of what is and is not acceptable. To some queer is power or comfort, it’s rebellion, it’s a fist in the air screaming that we exist and aren’t going anywhere. To others, it just digs at old wounds. To another group, they read that it was a bad word online and dug their heels in. 

The problem lies in that only one side of this argument seems to be respecting those distinctions. If one does or doesn’t want the Q in LGBTQ to apply to them, that’s their choice. You don’t see gay dudes up in arms saying “There shouldn’t be an L in LGBTQ since I’m not a Lesbian and I don’t appreciate people implying I am.” Or you shouldn’t see that, anyway. And yet we see that very thing happening with the Q. 

Members of our community are being pitted against each other by people who have no business instigating such fights. The same rhetoric and strategies are being used to shove queer out of the spectrum as are being used to exclude aro/ace and bi folk, and trans to a point as well. 

The culture itself is being twisted. People aren’t looking into why and how queer has come back into the spotlight as a “slur”, when we’ve been peacefully using it ourselves and reclaiming it since the late 80′s. Hell, we were “queer” before we were ever “gay,” with that use of the word originating in the 1800′s (gay popped up as an alternative to homosexual in the early to mid 1900s). 

In 2005, when same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide here, we threw parties and held each other and cried at how far our queer butts had come. 

In 2020, I look at the next generation on social media and see them screaming that my identity is now an unforgivable and homophobic slur. 

I hope you can understand where I’m a little skeptical and even bitter here. 

We’re going backwards, and it hurts. 

So yeah. Queer is seen differently by many people based on our experiences and exposures. Unfortunately that paints it in very different lights in different corners of the community. 

I am queer. At no point will I ever apply that label to another person who doesn’t want it to be. In my experience anyone who implies that “the queers are trying to force you to be queer too” is either very ignorant, very misinformed, or malicious in their intent. 

It’s no different than the “foreigners are going to take our jobs”, “gays will corrupt our children”, or “foreign religions will take away our freedoms” arguments. They are started and spread with malicious intent, and latched on to by those who don’t yet know any better. It’s why civil discussion is so, so very important. 

Thank you for asking so politely, Nonny. I’m sorry that I couldn’t do much more than give some personal anecdotes, but the use of the word queer is something that isn’t entirely black and white for anyone nowadays. I can’t just pull a bunch of citations out of my butt and say “this is why it’s a good thing”, because it really is subjective you know? 

Besides, this is my blog, not my old Comms class in college. Nobody’s convincing me to write a full APA-compliant essay on the subject unless they’re paying or professionally grading me on it. 

[bionicdragonguardian1]

Ranma 2/4

Yup... I’m doing it... yes this how I plan, shut up

Part One: Chapters 1-12

Genderfluid Ranma Saotome

Bisexual Akane Tendo

BAMF!Akane if it kills me

More modern America take on LGBTQIA+ themes

Bisexual Ryoga Hibiki

Fuck the Kunos

Full Series AU because I am a fool who doesn’t know restraint

Magic Rules are a thing

I am actually going to keep a consistent timeline if it kills me

I have a PLAN

Very Minor changes to the actual plot cuz economics

Bad Parenting is addressed

Harassment is Addressed

I will make them acknowledge Physics/Medical because I’m an asshole

Pulling from both the Anime and the Manga

Still working through the Manga as I plot

Friendly reminder that Genma is crap

Friendly reminder that Nodoka is crazy

Poor Mousse

Soun Tendo TRIES really hard but grief fucking sucks

Nabiki is morally grey

Toxic Shampoo

Kasumi gets Character Development or so help me

polyship cuz surprises

I promise I do love this anime

I’m just stunned that so many people didn’t get a lot of character development

Actual fucking ENDING

I do actually hate Shampoo tho

I watch dubs

Ranma slowly starts using they/them pronouns vs switching

Ranma wears a bra, fuck you

Yes I’m using 2020 LGBT stuff BUT I will keep the tech as close to the 90s as I can (tho fair warning I was BORN in the 90s)

Toxic Masculinity addressed (yes I mean Ranma’s)

Ranma is awkward as hell

bc that’s what happens when you isolate a child, Genma!

Also, they spent closer to 1-2 months in China bc of how many things happen while they’re there

Homophobic/Transphobic Language

Ranma uses Ranko WAY more often cuz it makes sense

Tatewaki is actually not as stupid as he is in canon, but he’s worse

Kodachi… on the other hand... IS stupid

Canon Heights are used (hence the “actual magic” tag, it’s how Kuno explains it and is still wrong)

Ranma is a shitty liar, and trusts his friends (kinda)

I’ve never like Shampoo, I don't hide that

While reading the manga I’ve realized how often Ranma wears a hat in the early chapters

I love it

Laws Exist

Rule Enforcement

Adults aren’t useless

Demiromantic Ranma

Ace/Demisexual Ranma (I haven’t decided yet)

Demiromantic Akane

Pansexual Ryoga

YES Akane is Bisexual AND Demiromantic. It’s a thing!

Genma is a sonnova bitch and piece o shit

Diasuke x Hiroshi

Sayuri x Yuka

Polyamory discussions

Hiroshi x Yuka

Protective Ranma

Protective Akane

Protective Ryoga

Tendos adopt Ryoga bc they care

Cologne sucks, I didn’t realize that was justified until now

Minor Anime over Manga Arc Choices

People aren’t oblivious those around Ranma a lot pick up on the transformation thing (eventually)

Ryoga’s crush on Akane turns into something normal, I may be ~Aro but even I know that’s bad

The “Akane Can’t Cook” Joke was funny once or twice; NOT the whole series Akane learns to cook

WAY fucking sooner than she did in the Anime

Look, I get the stereotype but it’s NOT funny!

Manga Chapt6Pt3 cover gave me too many ideas for what I want to do to Ryoga & IDK how I feel (Tiny pigtailed girl Ryoga is just too cute that I want to drop him the niángnìquán)

I will use Wiki-Mandarin-Spellings for Jusenkyo Springs cuz I don’t understand a lick of Chinese

Certain Arcs will be skipped entirely because I HATED THEM (any time they showed up)!

YEET Tea Ceremony Arc(s), mainly cuz an outsider I didn’t get it like I’m sure I was supposed to

If I could just kill Happosai I would, but I can’t

Expect him to be VERY dead/gone post-Canon

Fair warning tho cuz I hate him more than I hate Shampoo or Cologne

Shampoo still sucks

I wish the scene w Hiro/Dai was in the Anime cuz it’s hilarious

Ranma’s hat is back! I love it!

Is… is Ranma ADHD or is that me projecting again?

God, these two are hopeless dorks

Was someone going to TELL me that Ranma’s classmates figured out the transformation BEFORE the Romeo thing or was I just supposed to sit there stunned when it happened?!?

Goddammit, I hate Romeo and Julliet

I don’t mean the ep, I mean the play/movie/etc cuz my school years have done it 1.6 million times that I just can’t stand it anymore

Gosunkugi… wtf is wrong with you?

STILL hate this play

I’m American, ok

this has been shoved down my throat since I was 8 so It never occured to me that Ranma not knowing Romeo & Julliet at all wouldn’t be weird

Ranma learns his lines (kinda)

Kuno is 600% the reason they go off script

...And Gosunkugi being creepy af

TBH where they go off script (like Akane’s sleep scene) I’ll probs redo purely cuz I know this play

Still hate this play

Lol, tape ain’t a thing, that’s hilarious

Ranma kissing Kuno, yes

Akane kissing Ranma, NO

It’s called FAKING it

You either get over it or learn to fake it

Is it wrong that it’s tempting to get rid of P-chan in chapt8?

Don’t answer that… I know it is

Akane you need to learn to trust Ranma

Like seriously… that’s the 1 thing that drove me batty

100% going for the Anime version of the Japanese Speong of Drowned Man cuz it’s funnier

(I’m still tempted to change Ryoga)

Since the Cookie thing came before any comment about Akane’s cooking (Anime) I just figured Ranma was like me and can’t eat a ton of processed sugar (yes, make you that sick) so... HEADCANON!!

But Ranma’s still awkward af talking about it

Yup, subbing out Sasuke for Gosunkugi

Ranma not realizing his dad was committing crimes NEEDS to be handled better

I see angst potential

Ukyo is def still cis-fem, that point at least works

Ukyo’s dad is NOT in the clear here

Friendly reminder that Genma TOLD Mr. Kuonji that Ranma had a fiancée

Jealous Ranma’s fun

Ranma… just cuz you’ve 6.5k fiancé doesn’t mean everyone does

I’m just saying, Ryoga only falls for Ranma

Is Ranma wearing a binder while cursed bad? I honestly don’t know…

Poor Ranma, I’d DIE!

Obvs changing the rules of the pill from “first person of the opp sex”

I’m thinking “first person you’d be attracted to” cuz it’s nice and inclusive and won’t make someone fall for someone they wouldn’t normally

I’m just tryin’ to avoid some gayboy from fallin’ for a girl or some straight girl fallin’ for a girl

I mean Ranma’s still gonna Insta Cologne

Rule gets stricter the longer the pill lasts

also incest needs to be excluded

Look, I am NOT condoning Mousse’s obsession

but Shampoo still sucks

Is me making Tsubasa mtf bad?

Someone tell me cuz I’m not sure

I think I accidentally made Ukyo transphobic… oops

Redemption? Hopefully, idk yet

Do you realize how much anti LGBT shit I have to work through?!?

Tsubasa’s issue is 600% that she’s a lesbian so Ranma being a guy (even sometimes) weirds her out which for the record is FINE since they haven’t been dating at all & Ranma didn’t tell her!

The ½ white ½ brown dog IS actually Ryoga’s?!?

I didn’t know I needed this!

Also she’s staying!

Is Sasuke an Anime character?!?! Idk how I feel about this…

Ranma is a little shit & I love it

My idea may’ve been wrong (and Ranma!) but I love the idea had that I’m tempted do it anyway

Alright, Ranma is def going too far… even I can admit that

I’m quite sad this arc wasn’t animated

I don’t know which one I want! Kuno sick vs sneezing cat?

I can’t pick!

They’re both perfect!

Yup, Shampoo is evil

Akane… tone down the weapons kay?

[sfaioffical]

John Lindsey, once a night manager at Pete’s Cafe—situated on the roof of San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) on Chestnut Street—now runs The Great Highway art gallery in the Outer Sunset. After eight years of establishing the gallery and himself as a curator, John decided that now is the time to facilitate a reunion-like exhibition and recreate an experience that fostered a community of now globally recognized artists—Pete’s Cafe - SFAI in the 90s.  

Alongside salon-style hung photographs and letters from the 90’s, lives a wall full of memories featuring works by forty artists who either attended and/or worked at SFAI during that time period. On Saturday, January 11, during the opening reception, there was a truly euphoric feeling of reunification in that small, overcrowded room next to some of the most renowned contemporary Bay Area artists who all share a common experience of being a part of the school’s café.

What was it like to buy from or serve food to someone you just slammed in a painting critique? Or, to embody the idea that you can’t please everyone—a contradiction to the ‘customer is always right’ so popular at the time? Read all about the emotion, passion and feelings that were on display at the café, in a conversation I had with John.

Bojana Rankovic: Why Petes’ Cafe, and why now?

John Lindsey: Pete's Cafe was a very influential time in my life. The first time I worked there, I didn’t take any classes, but I fell in love with it there and I was having such a good time, that I never even thought about taking any. Then, the second time I worked there, I wanted to try to change my life, get out of cooking, and go into graphic design. I loved being at SFAI, I loved art, I loved the people, and mostly I just found everyone to be so wonderful and inspiring.

And then there was Pete. He is a guy who created this very unique environment, and I felt like I was a part of that and it was something special. It turned out that a lot of these people who were at the school, at that time, and the people who worked in the cafe, went on to do really amazing work. It was a magical time, a magical place and a wonderful group of people—so that's why Pete's Cafe, this exhibit.

I wanted to do this show now because  I have had my gallery for 8 years, and I felt that it would have been forward of me to ask Alicia (McCarthy) to be in the show the first year I was open, or to ask Barry (McGee), or Eamon (Ore-Giron) or Xylor (Jane) or Colin (Chillag) or Mads (Lynnerup) or any of the other people, Cliff Hengst, Scott Hewicker.. They are all the people that never left the community, and have worked very hard in the arts and have devoted their lives to it. When I got out of school I went off and worked at a tech company, and then that whole ‘.com’ blew up and I just started doing graphic design on my own, so I didn't stay in that community myself.

When I got the gallery it was just gonna be my office, and people were asking me if I wanted to rent it out to them, but I wanted to have my own space. Then I thought of an even better use for it would be to become my studio- a little printing studio, and I could show artwork, too, because I didn't have to invest capital to do that. It's a consignment shop for all intents and purposes, a viewing space, and so it was something I could use to speak to the neighborhood. I've been in this neighborhood, and I’ve been surfing out here for 30 years, and I'm tired of talking about just surfing. I was trying to bring different conversations around the coastal environment than just surfing, so that's what led the programming throughout the years.

I always wanted to do this show, but like I said, I was apprehensive to call in favors, so for eight years I’ve been doing things like, when Alicia had the Orfn show at Luggage Store Gallery- I donated a piece, and stuff like that, slowly becoming a part of the community- in positive ways and working. And now, I think I've got 50 shows under my belt. So now I know how to do it, I'm a better curator, at this stage, because I've been doing it for so long, and I know the window and I know the neighborhood and I know my neighbors and the unique situation out here. 

Then, all of a sudden, Pete comes and shows me the boxes, and I knew it was time to do a show. The timing felt right. When I saw Pete’s timeline installation (by Patricia Kavanaugh and Tanesha Jemison) that was originally on the back wall of the Cafe, I thought that could be the anchor of the show. So, that's why it happened now - because it took that long for me to get there, it took that long for Pete to show me the stuff, and because it took me time to figure out how to anchor the show.

What was it (at SFAI) that made you want to get more involved in the arts, like take classes, and now have your gallery? Were you interested in art even before your job at Pete’s?

I was a chef, and I was always good with computers. When I went to the University of Utah for a couple of years before moving out here and going to cooking school, I had the first Macintosh computer and we were doing very rudimentary things with it, but that was part of the foundation. I was feeding people's stomachs and then I turned into feeding people's eyes and minds. And frankly, I was never going to be a graphic designer, I wanted to take the arts that I was learning at the Art Institute and use that as the foundation of my graphic design practice. I got into it all at the Art Institute, and I was into art before and I was a very creative person, but just in a very different way.

Can you talk about how the strong sense of community, centered around Pete’s, influenced the students in an individual way, and what it felt like to be a part of it?

Part of it is that the school store and the cafe were centers of necessity on that campus. People have to eat and people need art supplies, and so those two places had some value beyond just taking classes at a regular university to people. There was some power in those two places. A friend of mine would come in late at night and I would give him a baked potato or whatever and students would give away food...things like that, and we never busted people...well, actually we did, I have a memo here of one person we had to kick out because he was just straight-up stealing food; but we took people in, and then the administration would come to Pete and bring a student who's not really fitting in, and ask him if he can give them a job and get them assimilated into the school. If you had a job at the school store or the cafe - you met everybody, and you were serving everybody and you were engaging with everybody. If you were not fitting in or you were lost at school and if you work in the cafe, all of a sudden you were front and center, for good or for bad. 

That was one way that we were influencing students and then we just had a lot of fun, and the making of food is a creative practice, the culinary arts, whether you want to call it art or not. And not everybody worked well at the cafe, some people are not very good workers and that's just life but some people really enjoyed what was going on in there and it was good for them, it fed a lot of people, if you work there you got free food so that was a whole other benefit to it.

And then we were good chefs, we are both professionally trained chefs, we worked together at Hayes Street Grill, and then Pete got the job at the Institute first and brought me over. We weren't opening a lot of cans, we were trying to make really wholesome wonderful food that was also cheap. Rice and beans was the whole thing, $2.75 I think is what we charged when we first started selling it. Then, Thanksgiving dinners, stuff like that, it was good healthy food, and it was all in a beautiful setting, working in the cafe—the view all day long.

There were a few complaint letters up on the wall next to all the art. What are the stories about them, and who was it that had issues with Pete?

Well, it is an art school, isn't it? Critique is a huge part of it.

We are offering a service and you can't please everybody. There were students, faculty, staff, administration who were all very happy with it and then there were also people who found it to be too loose. Sometimes, people might get offended, but you know that was it, it was biting, we were able to study everyone that came in through that school and we were the observers to some degree, and there was a slight bit of power and control in the fact that we had the food. I'm sure that our customer service was not perfect, a lot of the time...I mean there's one letter here when Xylor and Ted are complaining about somebody, but it just is what it is. Also, you're there with everybody all the time, so during the summer it would just be me, Peet and Tad and we'd wait on all the staff and administration throughout the summer and then the student workers would come back in the fall or late summer and then all the students would come back and all heck would break loose.

You also have to remember...let's say I'm waiting on you, and we were just in a painting critique and I said something really nasty and horrible about your painting or the other way around. There was that type of stuff that went on all the time, as well. There were also relationships that were going on, that the students had, and all that type of stuff, just like any school, but it was all on display at the cafe...emotion, passion, feelings.

How did the opening reception night go for you? How did it feel to see everyone after all these years?

It was really incredible. 

I've been living with this for almost 3 weeks now, putting it up, looking at the pictures over and over again, reading everything over and over. For me, personally, it's been a constant barrage of old memories coming back, which is really neat at this stage in my life. So, that was just personally a cathartic thing, but then I felt like there was so much love and energy in the room and it was so neat.

When I’m at the openings, I have to work, talk to certain people, help them purchase things, make sure that my daughter is doing a good job behind the bar, that nobody is getting in trouble outside, so I'm not fully engaged out beyond the desk, but seeing everyone just be this happy was really touching and special. 

Someone suggested that I could do this show again, somewhere else, and I could, but there will never be a night like that ever again. That was really what was amazing about it.

Is there someone whose career took an unexpected turn? Anyone who ended up in a field you would never expect them to be? Or ended up applying their practice in a way that radically changed?

Wow...I would say that someone who I think is just super awesome is Colin Chillag, who had a tough time in school. I just love his paintings and what he is doing now, his wicked sense of humor. He's one example but I guess I would say that it applies to everyone because I was so naive when I was working there, I am just blown away by all of them, by Alicia and Ruby and Colin, and Eamon, Xylor, and Cliff who worked at the school store, and Mads, who was the goofiest kid when he was working at the cafe, and what he’s gone on to do is just wonderful and amazing.

And then, surprisingly, some people for whom you thought were the most talented people in the entire world have drifted away, and they took a completely different track, maybe they have gone into administration or they've joined the fire department or something like that, that's a big change.

What is coming up next at The Great Highway? Anything you are particularly excited about?

I have another opening on Saturday, January 18, that is going to be on the other wall across from Pete’s Cafe, and that is the MLK Surf Photography Show. In 2013, on the Martin Luther King Day weekend, there was a really amazing swell at Ocean Beach and all these photographers took photos of it, including myself, so we're going to have a show here and we're in collaboration with Mollusk. There will be artwork and photographs there, and photographs here, there will be a band at Mollusk, and I’m going to show surf videos on my screen. 

So that's the next show is and what's cool and neat about it is that I’ll get a whole new group of people here, and not only will they see the surf show, but they will get to see Pete’s show. It won't be as well attended as Pete’s show, but there will be about 50 to 100 people. All those who normally wouldn’t have seen Pete's will be introduced to the San Francisco Art Institute.

Pete’s Cafe—SFAI in the 90s runs from January 10–February 14, 2020 at The Great Highway in San Francisco. Details here.

[magicalgirlmindcrank]

Okay. Every Single Battle Costume In Cardcaptor Sakura Ranked by my preference. Below a cut because its forty-one images with light commentary!

41.

Its Just... The shoes, the balls the hat... its so bad... Tomoyo please...

40.

WHAT is that HAT. She looks like a Twi’lek. Its a pity tho cuz the rest of it is kinda cute.

39.

It’s not as egregious as #41, the colors, skirt and boots are pretty cute but I just dont like.

38.

I don’t hate this but I don’t like it. the Thunder Cat costume did a much better job and the Froggy raincoat did a job leagues better at being animal themed.

37.

Not feeling those shoulder pads or the ribbons. 

36.

This isnt ugly, its actually pretty cute but I had to double check this was a battle costume because like... its so plain. If theres one true sin for any magical girl its having an outfit thats too plain.

35.

leagues better than her other bunny outfit, but still not great.

34.

Tomoyo this is supposed to be for a stealth mission. Also not a fan of the diamond patterning.

33.

On paper this works but theres something about it I just dont like.

32.

Tomoyo sure loves this jester theme huh? 

31.

Colors are nice, the hat looks silly. 

30.

Just not that into this one!

29.

This ones pretty cute actually! Would be very cute if you cut the awkardly shaped cape but still!

28.

Okay yeah! Shoes could be better but for being ox themed this is cute!

27.

This is really cute! It would be higher if it wasn’t just the dress from Alice in Wonderland but Tomoyo brings her own touch to it! Or maybe Sakura just makes it look good, its hard to tell.

26.

Its cute for sure, I really love the gloves, skirt, boots and hat. I think this is another one that’d be stronger without the tail but this one looks...okay.

25.

Simple, but cute! The bow theme does a lot here to tie it together.

24.

Adore the contrast of the gold and black on the lower half here. You also have pink on black. A very serious look for Sakura and it works well. 

23.

The yellow trim is wonderful, The way the gloves and sleeves open up into each other looks great and the pom-poms and ribbons are cute.

22.

The Pink and beige look great and the light trimming pops on this one!

21.

Pinks and Purples look great pretty much always, also its themed after her namesake! The Sakura flower in the hat is nice touch.

20.

Absolutely adore me some asymmetrical stockings.

19.

Cardcaptor Sakura does Wings and Stars a couple times as themes and this one pulls off the wings theme exceedingly well. It makes being all shades of yellow work too.

18.

Honestly I just really love the colors here and the star brooch adds a lot. It does a lot with a little.

17.

Like Nya

16.

Queen of hearts? More like Queen of my heart. Seriously cute. 

15.

Goes in on the Stars theme and does it very well! Maaaaybe a few too many around the collar but I adore the dress.

14.

This has SUCH a good 90′s Tech Feel to it, it makes me wanna buy something atomic purple and see through. I absolutely adore the headphones and shoulder pads here.

13.

Holy SHIT. Tomoyo did Witch once but she fucking NAILED it. The Dark blue shorts against the lighter red, the wing brooch, The hat, the BOOTS. Love this. 

12.

Okay normally when you put this many flames in an outfit it looks bad but Tomoyo is fucking genius. The sash really makes this. The only two people allowed to wear fire print are Guy Fieri and Sakura in this outfit.

11.

Its just such a fun looking costume! I think it has my favorite shoes she wears.

10.

This dress looks like its straight out of a high fantasy princess’ wardrobe and it has that asymmetrical stocking thing going on. When I saw this in the Clear Card OP I stopped worrying if it was gonna live up the original run.

9.

She looks like shes the hero of an RPG! I Adore the cape and the way the stars are placed on the outfit. The dark red lining makes the yellow boots and dress pop and yellow dress makes the lighter red shorts pop. The hat is also adorable.

8.

Much like the one above, the way its all layered here is incredibly excellent. The Dark blue sleeves do kinda visually blend into the dark red cape which just makes her hands and thus her staff and cards pop even more. A very dramatic look.

7.

90′s Space Themed.  Incredible. Inspirational. Adorable.

6.

You never really get to see a monochromatic outfit for in magical girl shows and that because this outfit already did it better than anyone else ever could! 

5.

This dress is illegally cute and I love the shawl. 

4.

Isn’t this just like the most adorable thing ever? Just look at it! I gasped when I saw this one revealed because I didn't expect it to be so damn cute. The way it moves on screen is a joy too.

3.

I literally cried when I saw this outfit spoiled in the previews for next weeks episode. Sakura has a few animal themed costumes but this blows them all out of the water. Particularly fond of the gloves here. Absolutely adorable.

2.

Honestly this outfit is a masterpiece. I was amazed that the first Battle Costume of Clear Card was this good. The dress, The Gloves, the Shawl The way the lining and the ribbons mirror each other, the asymmetry with those ribbons, the simple but incredibly cute boots, the frills. Tomoyo Truly outdid herself, she must have been sitting on this one and refining it during the two year in-canon hiatus between clear card and cardcaptor. Just incredible. I’d Kill to wear this.

1.

Okay so there was a very large debate between me and myself for the last 5 over who gets the #1 spot but in the end, I don’t think it could’ve ever been anything else. After all, its supposed to be ranked by my preference. It just holds such a special, magical place in my heart. I see this and it goes: This is what being a magical girl is. Theres not a single thing on this outfit I don’t love dearly. The hat, The Wings, The Dress, The Frills, The gloves, the stockings, the shoes and the bows throughout the outfit tying it all together. This is My Personal favorite outfit in Cardcaptor Sakura.

[comicteaparty]

August 3rd-August 9th, 2019 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from August 3rd, 2019 to August 9th, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question:

Describe your comic’s setting.  What made you choose this setting?

Steph (@grandpaseawitch)

For https://oldmanandtheseawitch.tumblr.com/, I chose a very nebulous interbellum period because I felt like that sort of gave me the best of all worlds. At heart, I just love me some vintage settings, especially the early 20th century. I knew I wanted a setting without modern conveniences, not only because it helps the comic stand up to aging and reduces the risk of falling out of date, but presents its own challenges and advantages. But while I wanted a vintage setting, I also wanted one that I felt like hadn't been done before in regards to mermaid stories, which are almost always set either in modern days or in the rough time period of the Little Mermaid--1700s to early 1800s. Interbellum Scotland felt like a unique setting that was, at once, hearkening to classical mermaid settings with sailboats and old-timey fisherman, tiny fishing towns, but with some trapping familiar to modern readers even they have vintage twists, like telephones but with switchboards, cars but they're old model Ts, things like that. I also felt like this period brought some neat ideas. I've never seen mermaids dealing with old radios or model Ts or a setting that had just recovered from a brutal world war with trenches and ocean mines and diesel and radar. Transitioning from pastoral to industrialized. Where does this element of fantasy, the mermaid story, come into play and interact with this? And you'll see that, even between Witchy and Ainsley, things revolving around mermaids are more fantasy-based with monsters and magic, while things revolving around humans are more realistic and down to earth, wondering about income and walking to work and selling your goods and what's going on south in england. And over time, things start to overlap and entwine as their relationship progresses, magic seeping into the human world and the mundane seeping into the mermaid world.

But overall I just love drawing and researching vintage things. ;3 And Scotland's just pretty as heck.

Respheal

Galebound http://www.galebound.com/ takes place on a tidally-locked planet shortly before their equivalent to earth's industrial revolution. Steam engines are getting more popular, mostly used by merchants where the fixed wind and currents aren't helpful, and they're on the cusp of science and medical advancements that will make their planetary and magical system very problematic. The tidally-locked world came first, just 'cuz they're neat! Planets like that have one side constantly facing their sun so you get that whole fire-ice world with a narrow band of eternal twilight and safety in between. These type of planets, if they have a good atmosphere, also usually have a giant storm at the subsolar point. So I made that storm the carrier of their magic system, the Gale, because why not. This sorta setup causes some interesting narrative features, like the complete lack of night and seasons and huge swaths of the planet that are completely uninhabitable. The time period sort of just happened, but it worked out. I wanted it to take place later than sword-and-sorcery times, but it couldn't be too modern, so the early 19th century was about right. Also it sort of sets a time limit on fixing certain things, because certain scientific advances would make the magic system so ridiculously broken I don't think it could be salvaged ahahaha :'D(edited)

spacerocketbunny

http://www.ghostjunksickness.com/ the setting in GJS is in a universe that has a variety of different time period aesthetics in one. It takes on a retro futurism where there's outdated tech from the 80's and 90's but there's also spaceships and technological advancements to make travelling from one planet to the next into a day trip. There's aliens and a variety of different people that make humans a minority in the population in a very mixed and blended cultural mosaic. The main setting of the story, which is a planet called June7 is also a place recovering from a inexplicable catastrophe which destroyed a majority of the planet's surface. It's unstable and crumbling structures make it difficult for the residents to thrive and something like transient bounty hunters have pretty much taken over the main livelihood of the planet.

We wanted to make a really well lived in setting, so we took inspiration from a variety of different cultures and stories that the science-fiction genre hadn't quite delved into.

LadyLazuli

For Phantomarine, http://www.phantomarine.com/, the basic concept was simple - I like the ocean, and I like ghosts, so I mashed them together into a haunted ocean But I also love worlds where beauty and danger are close neighbors - in this case, a network of sacred lighthouses keeps swarms of hungry ghosts away from the living population of the sea. I love stories where civilian life is pretty uncomplicated and chill - I've got a nice tropical fantasy vibe going on in these last couple chapters - but there's always a massive danger element looming over everyone's head. What if those lighthouses fail? What if you fall overboard outside the barrier? All that relaxing energy can change to morbid tragedy in a flash...(edited)

LadyLazuli

In terms of rough time period, I've kept it incredibly vague, mostly for my own enjoyment I have sailboats and motorboats existing side by side, color cameras, radios, electricity... certainly not technologically advanced, but it's got some 19th-20th century bits-n-bobs here and there. It's a fantasy world, but more supernatural than magical - gods, ghosts, some humans with strange gifts, but more often than not, a very strong boundary between ordinary and extraordinary. It's a story where a few normal people get swept up into all sorts of divine shenanigans, and have to find their way through.

Steph (@grandpaseawitch)

Finally getting a chance to read through phantomarine and I thought that blanket was familiar! Absolutely love the PNW-inspired outfit, @LadyLazuli !

LadyLazuli

AAH! Yes yes! I've spent far too much time at the Museum of Anthropology here in Vancouver to NOT be inspired by it. My world is truly a mishmash of cultures

Steph (@grandpaseawitch)

OHHH I WANNA VISIT SO BAADD. I need to get my washington license upgraded so I can take a trip up there to the museum!(edited)

But your whole comic is a delight. <3 I'll be retweetin' it in a bit when I finish reading.

AntiBunny

AntiBunny http://antibunny.net/ is pretty straight forward. The city is inspired by film noir, hardboiled comics, and detective novels. It's an old city, so everything should look weathered, especially the old town district where most of the stories take place, so it's all brick work, broken plaster, cracked window panes and such. To some degree I also take visual inspiration from the historic district in my home town, and surrounding areas.

MJ Massey

Black Ball http://welcometoblackball.com/ is set in an alternate 1920s in the New York area. Because of course you set a 1920s comic in New York! But also, I used to live in the metro area and loved it, so to me it was natural to have the setting there. There's a lot of good reference, and lots of sneaky places one can hide a speakeasy. There are a whole bunch of good historical references as well, which makes it easier.

snuffysam

Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/ is set in a deliberately anachronistic fantasy world. There are biplanes and 20's cars, but there's also online message boards and cell phones. Fashion makes no sense, climate makes no sense, etc. The reason I built the world like this is because I wanted to mix up my background designs (and crowd designs) between scenes, and making a world that has no real consistency was the best way to get away with this in my mind. One town has modern art and roller skates, another has tents and open-air shops, there's a city on a hexagonal grid with triangular skyscrapers, this city: http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/comics/524/ uses a fractal pattern for its layout, etc.

Desnik

http://ask-a-warlock.tumblr.com/ is based on the idea that a medieval fantasy can be MORE than a DnD piggyback ride. And like, the medieval time period was a couple thousand years, yo, there's differentiation between different time periods. I used it as an opportunity to revamp my worldbuilding techniques and I've learned a lot about frontier-style governments and societies that function without a central authority. Also marginalia are the best comics and no one can tell me otherwise.

Attila Polyák

The setting of Tales of Midgard https://talesofmidgard.com/ is at a glance pretty much what you’d expect a generic fantasy world to be. Aaaand in a way that is right. The setting is a world that used to be kinda medieval-Europe like a long time ago, magic became commonplace, and the world reacted. Instead of developing technology, like in the real world, magic became technology and ultimately it became so common that it satisfied the needs of everyone in every niche possible. And then modernization happened, because why wouldn't it? What we in real life call science and technology slowly got discovered and integrated with a magic-based economy. The end result is a world that looks a bit anachronistic but if you look at it more closely you’ll notice that most things either don’t have a real-life counterpart or if they do they actually mean very different things. This is the point where my main story takes place and the world we see in my comic.

Funari (Raison d'Etre)

Well for Raison d'Etre ( http://raisondetrecomic.com/ ) I was always inspired by anime and general Japanese culture/pop culture growing up, so I had a handle of 90s/00s Japan pretty well that I wanted to use it! I also grew up during the 00s as a teen so the fashions and stuff have stuck. Kinda giving off a sense of nostalgia with the memories that way. And the "Present Day"'s trends are just based off what I grew up with and what a future would look like if we re-cycled back to millennium pop culture, including the love for 60s/70s-inspired stuff, so it's a "neat mess" of that stuff

We haven't shown much of the other planes of existence yet, but we plan to soon. But the idea with those is alternate/fantastical takes on plain ol' Earth (the Middle Plane). Mildly so, though, as even Umbria and Celeste have evolved over time like Earth's denizens have. Little bits of modernization, and assimilation with Earth trends due to the eventual discovery of these planes by Earth's NKP folks.

KAME (commissions open!)

Describe your comic’s setting. What made you choose this setting? For http://tapas.io/series/dragonclawcomic I chose fantasy because I’ve always loved stories about epic adventures, and magical creatures, and I also love the elements from mythology that are often integrated into fantasy stories (gods and demons, heroes and villains, etc.). There’re so many wonderful worlds and characters and creatures that exist within a fantasy setting, and so many more you can create on your own, it’s overwhelming (I mean, Dragons, man, they’re awesome!). Probably one of the first things that got me into fantasy was the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon show, but recently and more importantly, the thing that inspired me to write my own story was the The Legend of Drizzt novels, which I absolutely love (and I’m thankful to my brother who sent me the first like 9 novels for me to read, when I didn’t know a thing about them, and now there are over 20?, I lost count, but I always look forward to the next book) and needless to say have and keep inspiring me a lot

[bookenders]

11/11/11 Tag Game: Rounds 14 and 15! (I think. I’m bad at math.)

Back at it again, folks! Thank you @ofvisitorsthefairest and @fictionshewrote for the tags!

I think I’m gonna stop counting them after these. I can’t keep the numbers straight.

Rules: Answer the 11 questions from whoever tagged you, then made up 11 of your own questions and tag 11 people.

Bilbo Taggins: @starlitesymphony​, @hannahs-creations​, @toboldlywrite​, @quilloftheclouds​, @myreidola​, @minusfractions​, @inexorableblob​,  @ink-flavored​, @misfitgirlwrites​, @writinginslowmotion​, @aurumni-writes​

If you like these questions, by all means, answer them! And tag me so I can see!

My Questions:

Make a Mary Sue in your story’s world! What powers do they have, if any? How are they better than everyone else? What is their tortured past that is a blessing but also a curse? What kind of unusual eyes do they have? Which member of nobility/royalty/god/vampire/demon is their parent?

Which would your OCs choose: Legolas or Aragorn? Which would you choose?

What’s your favorite trick to pull on readers?

If you were to teach a creative writing class, what books would be on your syllabus?

What’s your opinion on semicolons?

What’s your favorite movie, based on its story?

What’s the dumbest thing your character(s) have ever done? What’s the dumbest thing they could do?

What one item could you introduce to your story to completely derail the plot? Where would it go from there?

What’s your favorite MacGuffin?

How do you name your characters and locations? 

How have your hobbies and passions influenced your writing/how you write?

My answers under the cut!

@ofvisitorsthefairest‘s Questions:

1. Does music inspire you to write?

Not unless I’m doing songfics as a warm-up or something. I usually use it as a tone/mood guard rail as I’m writing. That’s why I make story/character playlists! They keep me on track, especially if I’m revisiting a scene I haven’t thought about in a while.

2. Which WIP did you learn the most from writing?

My Romanian story, for sure. I had the help of my thesis director/mentor with that one, thank God. I learned how to establish a scene quickly, how to do flashbacks like other people do them, how to incorporate languages without messing up the pace or losing the reader, and how to write historical things. 

I learned a whole lot about what not to do from my Story That Shall Not Be Named Because It Bad, too. 

3. Is there something your OC should be afraid of that they aren’t?

I think Gemma should be more afraid of being found out than she is. I mean, she’s technically a witch (an unregistered magic practitioner, because of her potion-making which is classified as pseudo-magic) who has no social security number, lives in secret, and does illegal internet things. She could get into some serious trouble. There are even more nasty consequences that I can’t reveal because spoilers, but let’s just say she has no idea they could happen and they ain’t pretty.

4. Is there something they don’t need to fear, yet do? Irrational phobias?

Yep! It’s one of the cores of her character. She’s afraid of being left alone, abandoned, kept out of her found family. Being used for her skills and ignored as a person. I don’t think they’re irrational, but she has never listened when people tell her not to be afraid of those things.

5. Do you prefer reading physical books or e-books?

Physical books, by far. E-books for my college student wallet, though. They saved me when I didn’t have time to order books, too. I have a crazy good “where in the physical book did this event happen” memory. Like, I can name an event and flip to the page very quickly based on how far into the book it was. Very handy for citations. And I love the feel/smell of a book in my hands and all the contorting I do when I read one (seriously, I almost always end up upside down or completely sideways in a chair).

6. What’s some details of your world building that you like?

All the little things! Academic internet piracy network to help witches, how magic interacts with daily life, tweaking folklore to fit story lore, 

7. Have you ever created a magic system? What was it like?

Oh, boy! Yes, I have made several. My favorite might be the one from my TV show where the only magic is healing/life manipulation magic. The way it works is that when healers do their thing, they physically take on their patient’s injuries. If you have a broken arm, now the healer has a broken arm. Works with diseases, too. Here’s the snippet from the Show Deck about it:

In the darkest corners and dingiest alleys, magic pulses through the veins of the downtrodden. Seen as evil and taboo, magic operates by the law of an eye for an eye, a life for a life. Sacrifice fuels these dark arts, and those who manipulate them are covered in scars and never-healed wounds. Healers operate in the shadows and lead short lives, field medics are scarce, and the king has two sorcerers by his side at all times, bound by a blood contract to give their lives in his name.

Here’s a link to some posts about my magic system in my current WIP, Heart to Heart! I made magic types based on different sciences and artistic disciplines! 

We’ve got astronomy/astrology, carving/linguistics/physical art/symbology, politics/making powerful friends/handshakes/marketing/political science, geology/archaeology/product design. Also some secret types that involve psychology, sound design/sound engineering, and water treatment/environmental science/architecture.

There are also pseudo-magical professions that blend with tech and science, like potion making!

Here’s a decent explanation of how magic works in the world of H2H.

Here’s a joke I made about my magic system.

Here’s the Magical Aptitude quiz I made that tells you more about the magic types in H2H.

/end ramble

8. What was your first favorite book?

I’m 90% sure it was the American Revolution Magic Tree House book. Or one of those books. They were the best.

9. What time of day are you most motivated to write?

7pm-4am. Yep, I hate it. I’m trying to push it closer to 2pm-9pm but it’s tough.

10. If you could step into the shoes of one of your characters for a day, which one would you pick?

If we’re talkin’ H2H characters, I honestly would not have a preference. Everyone in that story is pretty dang chill. If I had to choose, I’d go with Jill or Treena. They’re both artists and artisans who have cool houses and great friends.

11. What are some little quirks you like to give characters? Ex: a lot of mine have freckles Just Because.

There are Many. A lot of my characters have curly hair because I have curly hair. Many of them are left handed (especially my sword-wielding ones). A bunch of them have scars. A lot of them know curse words in other languages. 

@fictionshewrote‘s Questions:

1. What do you want to see more of in the book world? (more rep, more of a specific genre, etc)

I have a rant about this, but to sum up: fewer straight white men dominating publishing, more open acceptance for new voices and ideas, less focus on easy-sell formulaic stories, less prejudice against certain genres... the list goes on. Also, in the publishing world, fewer submission fees and more journals that pay.

2. What time of day are you most productive writing-wise?

Answered above! Evenings and nights. It’s starting to shift to late afternon to late evening though, which is a nice change.

3. Do you have a designated space where you write?

Nope! I usually use my laptop wherever I can sit down or stand without my back screaming at me. I hate writing on my phone, though. Too small, too many typos.

4. What kind of platforms/programs/tools do you use to write? (Word, notebooks, Google Docs, Scrivener, etc)

Scrivener! It’s so helpful for my disorganized ass. I only use Word for academic papers now. When I’m having trouble getting ideas out of my brain, I write by hand in a hard back spiral notebook. I can’t stand writing in journals without spirals. 

5. Hardcover or paperback?

I like both. When I read, I sit weird and hardcovers prevent the pages from bending, but paperbacks are good for traveling with. And they’re cheaper. But hardcovers are so pretty... 

6. What’s your favorite story trope? Are you using it in your wip(s)?

There are a lot of tropes and I can never pick just one. I like friends to lovers, almost everything in LoTR and all those high fantasy things, complicated political/family dynamics, etc. I don’t typically like to write the same things I like to read, though. I have trouble naming them sometimes, but I know I use a bunch of them. 

7. If you had to send your favorite OC on a blind date with a character from someone else’s book, who would that character be and why?

Oh boy. I’m watching the Lord of the Rings extended editions right now, but I’ll try not to be biased.

If I were trying to be funny, I’d set Fred up with Aziraphale from Good Omens. I feel like they could have some good weird conversations.

Gemma and Nicholas Flamel from The Alchemist would be fun, too. Or Oz and Boromir. 

8. Do you write scenes in order or out of order?

I like writing them in order, but sometimes that doesn’t work out like I want it to. Now it really depends on the story. I wrote the first part of AOPC out of order and it messed with my head a little, so I’m trying not to do it for my longer projects. My short stories are always written one and done, in chronological order, usually. Especially the ones under 2k words. WYSiOaD was written in order, then switched around to fix the flow and plot.

9. If your favorite OC was a superhero, what would their superpower be? (assuming, of course, they aren’t a superhero to begin with!)

I do have superhero/villain characters! Here’s some others, though:

Gemma - Empathy / Transferable Rapid Healing and/or Regeneration

Oz - Truesight / Invulnerability

Mel - Animal Friendship or Shapeshifting / Conditional Foresight

Fred - Domino’s luck power but backwards and framed like happy accidents that always seem to work in his favor. So... Mr. Magoo.

Teva - Earth sculpting or something like earthbending

10. Describe your ideal writing session.

I sit and I write a whole short story in one hit. Then I wait and edit another day. 

I am a simple bean.

11. What do you think would turn your protagonist into a villain?

Seeing what was lost and having it torn away forever before she gets to claim it again.

[boctis]

37- What is your ideal bed? Why? 110- Say 5 facts about your bestfriend(s): 111- The last person you hugged? 226- Share the story of something that makes you smile: 253- One thing you’re excited for: :D

These are great questions, anon! I’m going to have fun answering them >:)

37- What is your ideal bed? Why?

Usually it’s pretty chilly where I am, so I have two blankets. One fluffy thin blanket, that feels like my cat’s fur, and another horrifically thick duvet on top. I love drowning in my blankets :’)

In summer, I usually just have a thin sheet, or nothing at all. Summer nights are too balmy for a covering…

110- Say 5 facts about your best friend(s) 

If you know me, you’ll know that I love my friends to ABOMINABLY HIGH LEVELS. LIKE, MT EVEREST ALTITUDES.  Sometimes I lie awake at night and randomly think about them and start smiling like a strange wolf, haha… I really do love them to absolute bits and pieces :’D

In no particular order!

1. Three of them are lactose intolerant. Two of them can have small amounts of dairy in foods every day, and the other can’t have any dairy at all, otherwise she’ll get violently sick. 

One day, we made… biscuits, I think? for food tech, and she was stuffing about five of them into her mouth.

After about a minute, we both realised what she was eating.

To this day, I’ve never seen a girl Naruto-run so fast out of a classroom like she did…

2. One of my friends is Bangla, but she hates fish. All fish. Every. Single. Type. Of fish.

Even smoked salmon.

She disappoints me every day.

3. One of them is my partner for all the sciences, and whenever she goes about making her jokes and innuendos and whatever, she giggles and whispers SO LOUDLY OMG. SHE’S SO SO CUTE, BUT WHENEVER WE TELL HER THAT SHE’S WHISPERING TOO LOUDLY SHE ALWAYS DENIES IT. SHE’S SO GODDAMN CUTE AND AN ABSOLUTE DOOFUS!! SHE CARRIES CLASS DISCUSSIONS LIKE AN ABSOLUTE WARRIOR BUT THEN THE NEXT MINUTE SHE GOES ‘HEY GUESS WHAT, CHEMISTS DO IT ON THE TABLE PERIODICALLY’ AND THEY’RE ALWAYS SO BAD BUT WE CAN’T STOP LAUGHING BECAUSE THE JOKES ARE THAT BAD AND SHE PROBABLY GOT THEM OFF FECKIN GOOGLE!!

4. One of them brings sweets absolutely everywhere. 

Once, in the morning, I witnessed her stuffing about seven strawberry laces into her mouth. She looked at me, smiled, and stuffed some blue stuff into her mouth, too. 

I don’t even know what the blue stuff is, but I will forever thank her for being my sweets supply wherever I go.

5. One of them gives the best hugs. just. omg. She’s quite a bit taller than me and she’s so so cuddly, and whenever she sees me (or any of our friends!) she does this Olympic athlete sprint towards me and gives such a warm and tight and long hug and it’s AMAZING I KID YOU NOT I LOVE HER TO PIECES

Aw, I wanted to gush for longer! ;–;

111- The last person you hugged?

No. 5 above, after English on Friday! Honestly, though, I hug a lot of people every day - at least 10, I’d say, so this question was pretty hard to answer. :’)

226- Share the story of something that makes you smile

MY BRONZE DOFE EXPEDITION LAST YEAR, HANDS DOWN. 

For context, I was with a group of 7. All of them are my close friends, and we were all pretty enthusiastic about the expedition. :’D

Mind if I make a list? The entire expedition is a whole story by itself, and I won’t do it justice if I make it short!

(Under the cut because this got long!)

I was in charge of bringing the matches. I FORGOT TO BRING THE GODDAMN MATCHES

You know the friend from above - my ever-faithful sweet supplier? As a joke, we all told her she should bring as many fizzy drinks as she could carry.

She brought a 12-pack of Monster. And an entire loaf of bread.

Traipsing around in the British countryside is super fun!

Until you realise that you have no flippin clue where you are, and an angry farmer is driving at you with epic deadly intent in those little golf-cart vehicles that farmers magically seem to have (and probably with pitchfork in hand, too…. hsdfajgfh he was… an Experience)

I read the map upside down. (I still hate myself for this)

Most of the time we were looking at awe at the countryside scenery.

ALL THE OTHER TIMES WE WERE SWEARING LOUDLY AT THE MUD. IMAGINE A GAGGLE OF SPOTTY TEENAGERS CRAWLING THROUGH MUD ON A SATURDAY AFTERNOON IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, SPITTING AND SWEARING AT THE GROUND

Petting all the horses! THEY WERE SO CUTE.

I led my team through a thicket of brambles. They were really painful!

Until I realised that I led them in the wrong direction.

WE WERE CHASED BY ALPACAS. EVERYONE RAN, BUT I DIDN’T, BECAUSE I THOUGHT THEY WERE FUCKING HORSES

(We jumped a fence to escape. I don’t even know whose field we ended up in-)

At one point, we were so lost that we ended up going off the map. 

(At that point, we all sighed, threw down our rucksacks and proceeded to munch on Doritos, because, logic.)

At about sunset, we ended up on a motorway.

Obviously, logic dictates that you’d get off the motorway and find a safer place to read the map again, right?

WRONG.

WE WALKED ALONG THE FUCKING MOTORWAY.

PLEASE DON’T DO THIS. IT WAS SO STUPID AND DANGEROUS AND TO THIS DAY I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE WE DID THAT

It was getting super super dark, and we still hadn’t reached the campsite, and we heard a man’s voice behind us?? And we were very frightened???

It was actually a really sweet Chinese couple who asked us if we were okay! (I love them sm, they were so so kind)

We wanted to get to the campsite at 3pm. We got there at 10pm.

We made smores at camp, and did that thing where you twirl the stick around in the air and watch the flame trail it leaves behind. Our campsite was next to a lake of sorts, and lemme tell you that having smores and laughing around a campfire with your close friends and the most wondeful scenery ever is so, so beautiful.

All 7 of us (and another who joined because, reasons!) squashed up in one tent, instead of the two we were supposed to, because, friendship.

Y’see, 8 people is definitely too much for one tent. But we made it work!

(I was laying diagonally across 4 people, squashed on top of @kokoscrazyblog ‘s stomach. She repeatedly told me to get off, but I said something along the lines of ‘hhhrrrrghghghghh no, I Warm Am…’)

(Two people were crouched at the tent entrance, munching crisps all night long. I kid you not, I woke up halfway through the night, and saw them in quiet conversation, stuffing their faces like goddamn hamsters)

At one point, my friend screamed, because I was sleeping with my eyes open, and my head was tilted nearly 90 degrees in her direction. (She called me traumatising and satanic. :( )

At another point, I dimly registered the soft pit-pattering of rain on the tent ceiling. Obviously, I told my friends to watch out for the rain whenever they wanted to go to the toilet at night.

In the morning, my friends looked at me weirdly. Koko informed me, later, that I had actually told them that ‘it was raining eggs… Watch out for the eggs…..’

I tried to toast bread with a trangia, Everyone laughed at me. :(

Near the end of our expedition, we all picked up walking sticks, and pretended we were all Gandalf. (It was GOOD)

Honestly, I think I’ve forgotten so many things, but DofE was something I enjoyed immensely, and the entire experience was so amazing that I’ll never forget it :’) Doing it with the right people is key! Ahh, I want to go back now…

253- One thing you’re excited for: :D

SUMMER! I’ve got so many things planned!

First, straight after my last exam, my friends and I are going to watch Incredibles 2, eat a lot of popcorn, and then find a park and bask in the content feeling of friendship. And no more exams. And summer, in general.

In summer, I’m hoping to have a ton of movie marathons (Harry Potter, LotR, every Bollywood classic there is, STUDIO GHIBLI and much more!) Probably a Mario Kart party, and if SSB5 is out by then, I’ll have a Smash party, too :D

Starting Gold DofE! That’s a very big thing.

The Challenge will take up three weeks by itself. I don’t know if I’m going on holiday (probably not), but yeah - summer should be amazing.

Thank you for the questions, anon! I had tons of fun thinking up answers for these :’)

send me a number and I’ll answer it!

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh Ep 34 S4: The Boys (and Mai) are Back in Town

OK, back to the writing table! It’s been a while! So I made the mistake of like...scrolling down on the playlist when I realized...

This duel is like 6 episodes long (7 even? It’s a lot) and like...yo I have no idea if we’ll finish this season in 2020! Damn you 2020. Damn you.

But wtv, what I like about this side project of mine is that I don’t have to rush things, and I can really spend the time with each episode and just...enjoy the moment. So often I watch a whole series in like half a week and then it’s like...I don’t get to enjoy it. This series I’ve enjoyed for years now. That’s kinda neat. So...we’re gonna be slow...but lets just enjoy this weird ass anime moment together. 2020 deadlines are all fake anyway. I’m not even sure if 2020 was a real thing that happened or like...an alternate universe opening a door and letting through just so many terrible ghosts. We might never know.

Last we left off, everyone has decided to hallucinate Dartz’ terrible backstory.

Unfortunately we have NO darts in the past. Was really hoping to see at least one darts reference in this entire season, just one darts board on his wall. But alas, we will not have a Season Zero death darts match with Dartz. (Man I need to get back to Season Zero. And FMA. And a lot of things)

I feel like if I watched the original version there would have been some things different. First off...what ocean? Second off...well, we’ll get to that. There’s some things I think were changed for English TV.

Including censoring the nude people like it’s James Cameron’s Avatar.

Fun fact did you know that James Cameron’s Avatar was supposed to be ass naked and that they were supposed to have like 8 cat nipples? Yeah.

Man, that movie was a mistake. I’m so glad we all decided to collectively forget James Cameron’s Avatar.

(read more under the cut)

The actual locations of anything in Atlantis does not match up with it when it’s zoomed out. We have giant cities, we have sprawling wheat fields, and we have...THIS situation. This active volcano next to...pine trees?

I feel like they wanted it to feel vaguely Pompeii, since I know people like to put Atlantis in the Mediterranean. Maybe? Maybe that’s what they were going for here?

One of my top ten favorite Yugioh plot twists ever was finding out this episode that this snake who has no limbs somehow created these...rocks...that all of our main characters have been wearing and obsessing over this entire time.

And so this is my theory, this is the thesis of my Yugioh college paper. These rocks are turds. There’s no way these rocks aren’t turds. There’s no way this snake didn’t poop out a bunch of glowy magic stones and then stuff them into a volcano.

THE ROCKS WERE TURDS THE WHOLE TIME.

God bless, Yugioh.

Seto spends this entire episode groveling that he isn’t playing cards that will absolutely kill him. Like Mokuba, Seto isn’t happy until he’s cheating death.

(I really wish we got more super past future tech. I love that type of concept art. Instead, we just got a lot of flying boats--the same boat that I think the team flew on in S1 when they went to Seto’s video game universe.

So those boats are 10,000 years old? They existed in the 10,000 year old Pangea, huh?

Neat.)

Anyway, lets take a gander at Princess Zelda circa Ocarina of Time.

SUPER princess Zelda, and I know it’s not 1:1 but damn it feels so much like a late 90′s Princess Zelda outfit to me. Check out that PURPLE. That low poly circlet. The random ass sword. The thick ass belt. 

Also check out this super dead family.

Yo so this is a 00′s thing, a period of time where we liked to tell stories like LOST, with just a bunch of random ass plot twists in flashbacks instead of just...telling a story from start to finish. And can be a great and fun way to do it--but at the sacrifice of actually making me care about these characters while they were still alive.

Like I would have maybe cared about Chris and Ironheart dying if I had known that Dartz was killing his whole family? With...lightning strikes? But alas, these dumbasses decided NOT to tell us they were royal. It’s so strange both from a logical perspective and a storytelling perspective.

Man...missed opportunity, IMO, but I can see why they did it. The wanted the ‘Gotcha!’ I feel ambivalent about it, honestly.

And who am I kidding, people are still doing unpredictable plot twists this. It’s a way to tell a story. Is it the most impactful way? No. It’s...it’s a gotcha!

It’s at this point in the story that things start ramping up, but it’s not clear if it takes place over years or just a couple hours. People just start going a little cray and turning into Monsters.

Straight up, though--did they turn into monsters that already existed and are modern Duel Monster cards, or are the monsters from modern Duel Monsters cards actually descendants of Atlantis who were once human?

They don’t say, actually. Maybe...maybe every card was a human once. That would be a freakin weird Yugioh twist if Kuriboh was like a 45 year old dude.

PS Dartz was married...soak that in.

ROMANCE ON YUGIOH ALERT.

Love it every time. She was there for like...half a second, and Dartz was like throwing so much shade about how “only the people with evil in their hearts were turned” and it’s like...

...dude that’s your wife? OK then. I can see you guys got along real well.

Anyway, so long to the ship of IonaxDartz, you were here for even less than the amount of time that Seto dated Blue Eyes White Dragon in a hallucination, which kind of sets a new record for us.

This might be the shortest-lived ship in all of Yugioh and they have a 12 year old daughter and what I assume was a 12 year marriage for that entire time.

that is if they...HAD the concept of marriage 10,000 years ago on Atlantis Pangea island. Maybe?

I mean they might have not had the concept of dating and marriage yet because he gets over this like immediately. The show will never hover back to that time Dartz watched his own wife turn into a creature. We have no idea if he was like “OK honey lets uh...let just get you a haircut and maybe no one will notice?” We have no idea how long he was desperately trying to remain married to the beast that was no longer human and was also trying to eat everyone else in his court. We just don’t know.

Dartz just had a lot of other things to think about. He’s been King for like...a year...he’s only 21...he’s just doing a bad job at everything.

(Biden opens Pres Trumps bedroom in the White House come January and it’s juts full of glowing green evil golf balls) (OK that was my last 2020 joke I swear to you) 

Anyway, Dad is here, but it’s a little too late to really do anything with the situation. Everyone is worshiping little snake turds. What can you really do about that?

One eye golden, the other eye, the color of a glistening Leviathan turd.

After the rest of the surviving royal family was chased out of the castle, Dartz decides to just wave his hands around a lot.

I’m not entirely sure what Kings do...never really had one...but I think they’re supposed to do more than wave their hands at a crowd like the Pope. Like...everyone’s dead right? Like everyone?

Who’s he talking to?

Meanwhile, Chris and Ironheart decide to revive some monster tablets to get some real actual duel monsters to do their bidding.

So apparently some monsters are in the tablets, and other’s have just always been here...and...

They didn’t know violence but they did have the cards?

There’s a lot of vague stuff they didn’t feel like ever writing, because it would have probably been boring to write about. I guess we’ll just let our imagination fill in the rest and ignore all the inconsistencies. It’s a kid’s anime. well........kind of a kid’s anime. A lot of people have died this episode and I don’t even know how to add it to the death count.

How many people live in Atlantis? I dunno.

Are the inhabitants of Atlantis even dead, or are they just turned into Monster cards? I dunno. Clearly the Great Leviathan wasn’t awoken this first battle so...did all those souls get returned? I dunno.

Either way I’m not gonna bother the death count about it because I just do not know if they died, and since it was neither an implied death or an on screen death...I dunno.

Just feels like a bit of a translation snafu--where maybe they couldn’t kill that many people on English TV, so they were like “AND IT’S A DRAW!” but also...it could be canon to both versions. The leviathan didn’t work the first time, maybe no one died? I dunno.

In this shot, PS, Raphael just gently backs up out of this flying plane, and it looked really funny to me. I probs won’t cap it because it’s split between two other cuts, but just...they just kind of moved that sprite to the right really slowly, no animation, it was great.

Dartz decides to end the backstory hallucination, and we get introduced to a new twist--a better twist than that last one, that’s right, all our boys are cards!

Including this asshole!

Been a while since our boys have been cards! Man, I miss Bakura!

Yes, I looked back to earlier episodes this season to see what was going on with Pegasus’ new look. I think what happened is that it’s always been this shade of gray purple--but when you put purple next to it’s opposing color (which is yellow colors) it looks even MORE purple. It’s just how color works. Love color theory. mm. Good stuff. Good purple hair.

I can’t wait until Yami kills Yugi for the 3rd time in one season.

Anyway, that’s all for now, and like always, here’s a link to read these in chrono order.

[nixonsmoviereviews]

"X2" ("X-Men 2")- Arguably the best of the series. Thoughfull, exciting and exceedingly well-constructed.

With nine films thus far and at least two more on the horizon, all released over a near-twenty year window, 20th Century Fox's "X-Men" film franchise is something of a wonder in today's world of near- constant reboots and remakes. While it has by no means been a smooth ride, the fact remains that the long-running series has been a widely beloved and infinitely important one, especially when placed into historical perspective. Director Bryan Singer's original entry was one of the first major comic-to-film adaptations that convinced studios and audiences alike that comic-book movies could not only be mature and enthralling, but could be certified hits once again after the genre seemed to die-out in the 90's. And thus, a franchise was born and has stuck around ever since, through thick and thin. It's almost a surprise, however, that one of the best entries in the entire saga came so early- 2003's follow-up "X2." With Singer once again at the helm, the film is in every conceivable way an improvement over his excellent first film- it's more thoughtful, more daring, more exciting... I think one could even reasonably say that not only is it arguably the greatest film in the franchise- it just might be one of the best comic-to-film adaptations of all time. Yes, it's that good. Some time after the original film, a brainwashed mutant called Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) is sent on a mission to try and assassinate the President of the United States under the guise of being a martyr for Mutant Freedom. Despite the mutant being stopped, the troubling event gives Colonel William Stryker (Brian Cox) the political edge and backing needed to get approval for an "investigation" on Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters- but his investigation is actually an invasion, as he storms the school, taking many students hostage and forcing the remaining X-Men to flee. At the same time, Storm (Halle Berry) and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) are sent on a mission to collect Nightcrawler and learn his motivation for the attack, Cyclops (James Marsden) and Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) are captured by Stryker's mysterious bodyguard (Kelly Hu) and the shape-shifting Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) helps her former leader Magneto (Ian McKellan) escape from his high-tech prison. Soon, the remaining mutants (including Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Anna Paquin as Rogue and Shawn Ashmore as Iceman) are forced to team up with their former adversary to try and stop Stryker's scheme to use Charles and his powers to wipe out all of the mutants on Earth. Given the film's nature as an ensemble piece, it's near-impossible to discuss the performances of each actor individually. But to keep it brief, everyone returning from the original is great in their respective roles. Special commendation goes to Hugh Jackman and his continued excellence in the role that helped to define him as a superstar and to Famke Jannsen, who gets a lot more attention this time around. They are by far the stand-outs of the returning cast. I also highly enjoyed Stewart and McKellen, who bring a sense of class and elegance to their roles and are incredible as always. The newest additions are also outstanding. Brian Cox is one of the greatest actors of our time, and his turn as Stryker is quite remarkable. He gives the character both an easily- "despiseable" sense of threat and dread, yet also a nice and subtle sense of pain and pathos. He's a cruel man, yet he has a past that might explain why he is the way he is. Alan Cumming is just magical as the frightened yet also amusing Nightcrawler, and there's a lot of great moments in his performance. And Kelly Hu makes for a fun and furious adversary as Styker's second-in-command "Lady Deathstrike." Singer returns to direct from a script by "X-Men" scribe David Hayter and the writing duo of Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris. Singer got his start with hard-hitting thrillers like "The Usual Suspects" and "Apt Pupil", and I think that's part of what gives him an edge with the storytelling. He plays the stories straight and gives them a sense of real and honest threat, while also maintaining an emotional core that feels realistic despite the outlandish nature of the story and heavy Science-Fiction leanings of the material. He's also a very gifted visual artist with a slick and savage sense of composition and flow that lends itself well to the needs of high- concept action. His work on the series has always been nothing less than stunning. The script is very tightly written and juggles the plethora of characters well- everyone has their moment to shine, every major player has a clearly defined role and arc and the pacing is superb. Some wonderful work is done with the writing, and it's an honest shame that neither Hayter nor the writing partners of Dougherty and Harris were involved in the third entry. The rest of the production is just marvelous. (Pardon the bad joke) Composer/co-editor John Ottman shapes some wonderful and memorable musical themes that compliment the tone and style perfectly, and he weaves together shots and sequences with a masterful touch. Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel's visual palette is cool and visually arresting, and his work is just stunningly gorgeous. Some wonderful visual flair is given thanks to his talent. And production and costume design courtesy Guy Hendrix Dyas and Louise Mingenbach respectively is just fantastic. The film is made with nothing but top-notch work from top-notch artists. As it stands, "X2" is easily one of the best if not the single best entry in the long-running series. Its phenomenal direction, sharp and thoughtful writing, beautiful production and outstanding cast weave an enthralling and thrilling cinematic experience that still stands tall well over a decade later. It's up there with the best of the best in terms of comic-book movies. There's no other way to look at it- "X2" easily earns a perfect 10 out of 10.

[metalotaku-da]

Ot3 allurancelot. Modern college au. characters/background

Jellyfish princess meets, 90’s helpless nerd to love interests of the popular person over a bet to give them a makeover.

 Popular clique 1.

Lotor- 21 bi racial, bi boy, dyes his hair white to match his rival bestie Allura. Childhood friends those two. Lotor has a low key crush. Going to school for business, just like his father wishes. Father is white. Mother is African American. Father is a rich ceo of a multi-billion dollar company. Father plans for him to take his place, Lotor is more interested in starting his own empire. Hasn’t told his father that though. Coffee

Axca- 21 pre law for business. Caucasian lesbian, dating Ezor. Does yoga with Ezor on occasion. Work-a-holic. Enjoys shopping though and a good mall crawl. Comes from a family of powerful rich lawyers who work for Lotor’s father. Lotor’s confidant. Knows he’s crushing on Allura. Tea

Ezor- 19 afro-Brazilian decent. Pan. Sex anthropology. Does yoga and loves doing make up, dance and shopping. Does Narti’s makeup every day, and helps style her, to make sure she doesn’t have clashing patterns or colors. Both her Mothers are models. Dyes her hair hot pink with a yellow and green streak If hot water goes in it she will drink it. But usually goes for cocoa

Zenthrid- 20 chemistry major. Caucasian, pan. Enjoys working out. Often goes to the gym with Shiro. They do kick boxing together. One dad is a rich board member in the business of Lotor’s father, the other is a model. Believes in looking good and being a badass. Dyes her hair purple and pink ombre Best friends are Ezor and Narti. Coffee

Narti- 20 Middle Eastern decent. Muslim. Lesbian. Wears a head scarf. Blind. Has a Seeing Eye dog named Kova. Studying religious anthropology. Enjoys music and food. Likes to try new restaurants and food trends. Records her critiques of them and shares them online on her food blog. Her friends will help her take pictures. Her father is a big investor in real-estate. She had a stay at home mom. Her mother passed away. Closest to Zenthrid. Has a low key crush.  Tea

 Popular clique 2.

Allura- 20 bi racial, bi girl. Father is black British, mother is Chinese. Father is a rich investor friends with Lotor’s dad. Comes from old money. Immigrated to the u.s. when Allura was 4. Mother was into helping with charities and was a stay at home mom. It’s how she met Shiro. Her mother passed away. Going to school for marketing and advertising with a minor in business. Dyes her hair white. Tea

Shiro- 21 Japanese American gay going to school to be pilot. Father runs the American branch of a Japanese corporation. Stay at home mom who does a lot with charity organizations. Likes working out and kick boxing and video games with his boyfriend matt. Was in a car accident with matt. Hit by a drunk driver in high school. Lost his arm and had some scars one on his face. Has a high tech modern prosthetic. Dyes the front of his hair white as a tease to his bestie Allura. Calls it his friendship mark. Coffee, if he’s had a bad day he will brew it with red bull.

Matt- 20 Caucasian bi photography major because he likes capturing beautiful people, likes computers and video games and tech. father owns a huge tech company he founded. Mom’s a high school superintendent. Likes to have his boyfriend Shiro lift him up onto his shoulders as music events and other outings for taking pictures. Was in a car wreck in high school with Shiro. Has some scars to show for it. One on his face. Likes coffee and tea.

Shay- 19 Middle Eastern decent. Straight. Geology mother is a successful and popular artist, father owns popular chain of casinos. Enjoys rock climbing, both indoor and real. Has a love for makeup, piercings and tattoos. Cocoa

 Nerd squad incoming freshmen.

Keith- 19 pan bi racial Caucasian Korean. Going to school for electrical engineering adopted at 13 by Shiro’s family. Was used to not having nothing to get thrown into the home of a rich family. Remembers his roots. Loves astronomy and the 80’s from the movies, music, fashion, video games, and anime. Going so far as to have a mullet. When they do cosplay as a group he’s the do what he’s told needs to be done member. Paint sand sew on buttons by hand. Been friends with pidge since he was adopted. When their families hung out they were the odd ones out. So they stuck together forming a salty close friendship. Keith has a big crush on her. Coffee drinker

Pidge- 17 pan with male preferences, gender fluid. Caucasian. Birth name Katie. Goes by pidge, or whatever bird themed pet name lance and hunk run with. Into video games (pc preference), computers and robots. Has a love for mecha anime. Older brother is matt. When they do cosplay she helps construction props and forms they need. Crushing on Keith. Dated hunk for a short time. Introduced Keith to hunk and through hunk they both met lance. Pidge and hunk met through a love of building and fixing things. Pidge had dragged one of her robots to school to work on during lunch freshman year. He was intrigued and offered up parts he thought would help them. And took them to his locked filled with parts. Best friends since. Even if she snapped at him the first he had tried to touch their bot. Coffee drinker. Sometime joins Shiro with the red bull coffee even if their friends try to stop them.

Lance- 18 bi, Cuban American. Family emigrated from Cuba. He is the youngest of 6 the last three kids being born in America. Speaks Spanish. Cosplay sewing nerd, likes to draw marine life. He has to thrift his clothing and their cosplay supplies. Or raid his hand me downs. He uses his sewing skills to make things his own though. And make cosplay designs from non-human characters. Likes popular shojo and shonen anime and manga. He enjoys video games he can play at his friends’ houses, or at the cons he volunteers at game rooms. He has a ds that Keith bought him as a present and a few games. Has glasses freckles and curly hair. When with his friends or feels comfortable he’s very outgoing and excitable enjoys bring attention to himself at those times and joking. But is also very shy with strangers or when he’s uncomfortable. He and Keith didn’t get along at first when they met through pidge and hunk. Lance thought they were stealing his best friend from him and wouldn’t want them around. So he got defensive at first causing them to fight, but when Keith found lance being picked on, he came to his defense, got a suspension for it too. And they’ve been close ever since. Keith could relate to thinking the other was going to take their only friend. It was what caused him to lash out at lance too. Drinks coffee

Hunk- 18 straight, American Samoa, family emigrated state side when he was 6, ended up next door to lance. Been best friends ever since. Enjoys mecha and magical girl anime has a ds he got as a gift. Like lance he is from a poor family, so he has to thrift his clothing and hobbies. He often does repairs for spare change on people bikes or machines. He tends to pick up broken items at thrift stores or even dumper dives for some of his invention ideas and builds. When they do cosplay hunk builds their props most often. With pidge. His father Is a mechanic and mother works as a house keeper at a hotel. They had odd and late hours so he spent a lot of time with lance’s family, being watched by his older siblings. He and Keith didn’t have the best relationship at first, but after Keith saved lance from bullies, he was quick to bring Keith into his and lance’s little world. The four are now inseparable.  

[hadarlaskey]

It’s All True: A Conversation with David Fincher

From the pen of Jack Fincher comes Mank, the story of how perma-soused Hollywood hack Herman Mankiewicz happened to write one of the greatest screenplays of all time. Sadly, Jack didn’t live long enough to see the words he had written transformed into sound and light, but it’s something that his son David had wanted to realise for close to three decades.

It’s been six years since Fincher Jr’s last feature film, 2014’s Gone Girl, and in the interim we’ve had two series of Rolls Royce TV drama in the form of Mindhunter. For someone who has already made a tech bro riff on Citizen Kane (2010’s The Social Network), and a melancholic homage to his late father (2008’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Mank combines these two career poles, while also posing such existential hypotheticals as, what makes a man? And not only that, what makes a writer, and what makes a director?

LWLies: Let’s go on a quick flashback to the early days and the creation of this amazing script by your father, Jack. He was a journalist and author by trade. Did he pivot to screenwriting later in life?

Fincher: I think he wrote a screenplay that was optioned and Rock Hudson wanted to do it – this was in the late ’60s. That fizzled out. Then he wrote spec screenplays in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, and then when he retired in the ’90s, he came to me and said, ‘I’m going to have all this time on my hands, what do you want to read a script about?’ I said I had always been interested in ‘Raising Kane’ which I was exposed to in middle school. I had read Pauline Kael’s essay on microfiche in the school library, and then I noticed a copy of it in my father’s library, and we talked about it. Then, 12 years later, I was about to go off to do Alien3, and he was retiring and wanted a new challenge.

Did he have a certain curiosity about things?

Yes he did. At one point in his life, he wanted to create a board game and he disappeared down a well for about a month trying to make this card game work. And then, at one point, someone showed him a magic trick that he became obsessed with, and he worked his way all around it, trying to figure out how this thing was done. It was impossible that there wasn’t a force involved in some way, exerted by the person doing the trick. But it was a mathematical trick that had something to do with 52 integers of playing cards. He would find these things and he would become interested in them. So this was my invitation to termite art. And so he went and he wrote this screenplay.

What was your take on his first draft?

Well, ha ha, the first draft was very much a screed against the Directors Guild of America and the hubris of autocratic dictators in cinema. I had just come back from Alien3 and I was reading this thing that was about how these all-powerful directors were ruining storytelling, and I was like, ‘That’s… not something I’ve experienced with moviemaking.’ It illuminated for me at that moment that my father had a pretty good understanding of how movies worked, but didn’t have any understanding at all about how they were made. Which is probably 98 per cent true of Pauline. So he wrote this thing, and it didn’t really jibe with what I had been through, where I was basically a migrant worker who was there to clean up after everyone else’s sweeping policy decisions.

Did you nudge him in a direction that was closer to your experience?

We argued about it for a while. It was just flashbacks at that point – a fairly straight Kane remembrance. Then it became clear to me that what I was interested in was the notion of the enforced collaboration. That a movie is really the by-product of a mother and a father and not just one entity. Very different care and feeding are required to go from the two dimensional intention to the three dimensional reality. My newfound experience was that I had gone through five or six writers on Alien3, and nobody was particularly invested. Everyone was picking up their $125k a week, in some cases taking dictation, and in others saying, ‘Well this is what I think it should be, but the kid wants to do something else.’ My experience was very different to the Welles experience at RKO.

Was it easy for Jack to empathise with your side of things?

I tried to explain that to Jack, and it wasn’t that he was resistant to it, more that he had no personal insight into it. In any case, we set the thing down, I went off to do Se7en, and he came back with this notion of folding in Upton Sinclair’s ‘End Poverty in California’ campaign during the 1934 gubernatorial election and how it had been sabotaged by Hearst and Louis B Mayer and Irving Thalberg. At first I dismissed it out of hand thinking it was too complicated. It seemed too tangential.

When did it click for you?

It started to work in an interesting way because it became a story about a guy finding his voice, and a guy finding out that things that he said mattered. For somebody who was preternaturally witty, ideas were a dime a dozen or, as he says in the film, they cost a whole lot more than that during the Depression. For him, that stuff was easy, so how could he respect it? Here was this guy in Herman Mankiewicz who, on his way to the frolic room, would toss off these notions of, ‘All the stuff in Kansas should be in black and white, and all the stuff in Oz should be in Technicolor,’ and then he gets fired off the movie, never gets a screen credit on it, but it might be the greatest special effect in cinema.

It seemed like an interesting idea that the imaginative power of creation that brings about black and white to Technicolour to black-and-white is also the instinct that saves a 10-dollar contribution to a reelection campaign and goes, ‘You don’t need my 10 dollars, you’ve got everything you need right here to convince everybody.’ And in that moment, the movie as you see it kind of coalesced.

I love this ethereal aspect of the film in which Mank is seen engaging with the landscape, drinking it all in, storing up material.

Self worth is a very ethereal concept. It’s a very different thing for different people. The movie’s also about people taking advantage of other people. It’s also about absolute power and entitlement. This was just one route that could extend from the trunk of this thing and hopefully find tap water.

The dialogue in the film feels like it’s the product of those writers’ room guys. Do you have any insight into how Jack was able to create that voice? Was he a funny guy himself?

Oh yeah. But when he told me about Citizen Kane the first time, there was no mention of Mankiewicz. I don’t even think he thought about Mankiewicz, it was always about Welles. His idol was Winston Churchill. ‘Yes, I am drunk. You are ugly, and tomorrow I shall be sober.’ He loved that kind of stuff. He ate it up. But this has been 29 years in the making. There were so many lines that were written based on idle conversations between us. The moment where Rita says, ‘You’re not writing an opera,’ and he says, ‘I am writing an opera’ – that actually happened to me, and I told him the story.

I was on Alien3, and I was summoned back to Los Angeles with a 24-hour cut of a trailer for the film to show the executives at Fox, and to hopefully get them to give me nine or 10 more days to finish. And they said we need to see something, and so I jumped on a plane with this trailer which had been cut to Prokofiev’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. I played it for them to see, and the executives at Fox said to me, ‘What is this?’ And I said it’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, it’s just a piece of music, it’s not intended for use, it’s just something to cut with. And one of them said, ‘You’re not making an opera.’ I sat there thinking to myself, ‘Actually, I am making an opera.’ I told my dad that story and he said we need this in the movie.

How much was Jack’s script tinkered with over the years?

Eric Roth came in and one of the first things we did was go back and check all the research. Scenes changed in terms of length – some are shorter and some are longer. Some of the passages got moved around in order to make it cleaner in terms of the drama. But every scene was the scene that was written. One of the things that’s indicative of what it is to understand cinema from the outside – and filmmaking from the inside – is that I was going over the drama of the first scene of Mank being brought to Victorville and pillows being fluffed, etc, etc.

He gets into the bed in his body caste and everybody is introduced. And then he gets a phone call from Orson Welles. I was trying to explain to Jack what this meant for a writer who is a pro, a hitman, his job is to punch stuff up and make it better and terser and lop this and that off. That’s how films were made back then. There was none of this precious The Voice. This guy has found himself in a situation where the only person he needs to answer to is himself and Orson Welles. Jack referenced the fact that Welles had final cut, and when I talked about this to Eric Roth, he pointed out that this is terrifying for a screenwriter. You don’t have anybody to blame. So in terms of what we did to the script, we just combed through the spaghetti.

“Movies aren’t science, you can’t just adjust the slider and get a little bit more or a little bit less.”

There’s a scene early on where we first visit San Simeon and Mank stumbles onto a movie set. It’s a pointedly unromantic depiction of filmmaking. It’s like a construction site. How close is it to reality?

Entirely. It’s exactly that. The problem with film – not cinema, and not film as a medium – but with the movie business, is this incessant mythologising about how everything the audience is seeing has been wind-tunnel tested and perfected to within an inch of its life by experts. If people really understood how much grab-ass and chin-scratching and effort it takes to make something look effortless, to look like it just happened, how many times can you go, ‘Can we just shave a little bit more time off that; when you break the glass can you surprise yourself a little bit more; no that’s too much!’ You’re constantly modulating this thing that you can’t ever really control. Movies aren’t science. You can’t just adjust the slider and get a little bit more or a little bit less. It requires everybody to get it to work. And there’s mud and people hammering things and people sawing stuff. It’s not NASA.

Do you feel that the biopic form inherently invites sentimentality?

Sure, yeah, sure. I don’t know how a guy like Mank, who had as many people who adored him as he did, was allowed to drink himself to death. He must’ve been very charming when he was drunk. Otherwise, it seems like they would’ve been some grand intervention. There are Dudley Moore aspects to our presentation of Herman, but we’re also not just talking about… It’s meant to be a movie-movie. It’s not Lenny. It’s playing with Mankiewicz tropes. There’s the witty banter between a room full of the greatest Algonquin exodus types, and that was meant to be like that kind of Mankiewicz-esque movie. All the little flashbacks, where they’re oriented in time, typed across the bottom, the soundtrack including typewriters and bells. All of that stuff is to make it a “movie”, and hopefully under the hood of that, there are some insights into what we’re imbuing the character of Mank with as it relates to his own… self-immolation?

‘Raising Kane’ caused some controversy when it came out, and there have been various ripostes and deconstructions of it, most notably from Peter Bogdanovich in his Esquire article ‘The Kane Mutiny’.

Citizen Kane may or may not be one of the greatest American movies ever made. I tend to think it is. More important than that, it’s one of the first great American amalgams of interesting, literate, adult writing that requires you to listen to it and put it in its proper context and glean from it profound meaning. You have a piece of literature as the framework underneath this thing, and then you have this consummate showman who is also a raucous and inspired storyteller. On his left is Mank. On his right is probably one of the two greatest American cinematographers who ever lived [Gregg Toland]. And of those three guys, one guy dumped a phone book into another guy’s lap, that second guy cut the phone book in half, chose the pieces he wanted, he then went over to the third guy, who happens to be an unparalleled cinematic genius, and planned the shit out of a movie with him.

Together, they made this thing. I would include Bernard Hermann in this too. It was a time when really, really talented people – and I include every actor from the Mercury company – who had trust in one another and great skill sets and incredible curiosity, were fuelled by the idea of showing these Hollywood sell-outs how it’s done. They got a great script out of a guy who, in my estimation, had no plans for arbitrating the screen credit. He had signed away his rights and was perfectly happy under cover of night, talking these pot shots at William Randolph Hearst. It’s only when people found out that he was off in the desert helping Welles and that he tested the waters by turning the script over to Charlie Lederer who then gave it to Hearst legal, and from that Marion found out about it.

Why do you think Mank changed his mind about the credit?

It was two things: people’s response to the material, which was, ‘Mank you should be very proud of this’; and also, ‘you’re no longer the man behind the curtain. Everyone knows what your culpability is here.’ And it was at the moment where he said, ‘Sorry guys, I want this one on my tombstone’. So that’s how we presented it. Now, the facts of it are very different in terms of how the timeline worked, but the truth of it was that Herman Mankiewicz was fine doing this secretly, needed the money and took the gig.

He was fine to help this young upstart sharpen his stick for someone else’s eye. And then when he disgorged it and saw what it was and that it had real artistic merit, he said, ‘I’d like to rethink this’. Welles has a small role in the film, but it isn’t really about him. Welles had a vision in his head. He was doing a Francis Coppola, the American Zoetrope – ‘I want it to be all about us, and for it to be all about us, it needs to be presented by me because that’s how everyone understands it. I’m just gonna grab these people who I know and love, and they’re gonna come, and here’s this guy who has a checkered employment history with the studios, but I’m gonna give him a chance because I know he’s got a rapier wit and I know he knows the subject matter, and if he can come up with an idea, I’m probably going to be able to figure out a way to present it to an audience.’

But then you have the other side of Welles, who said there’s nothing you can’t learn about cinematography in an afternoon. That… um… can only realistically come from someone who’s standing three feet to the left of Gregg Toland. It is more complicated than that. But in his mind, he feels these are the working elements that he needs to tell his story, and he’s not wrong. So who wrote Citizen Kane? Herman Mankiewicz wrote Citizen Kane. And everybody else pitched in to make it what it was. And nobody else photographed it, nobody else directed it, and I think probably if Welles fought at all to be included on that title card it was out of a misplaced sense of this is the way the marquee was meant to be.

Is writing, or sculpting dialogue, not inherent to directing?

I don’t happen to believe that if I come up with a line or word that bridges two scenes, or say, ‘This works so much better if she doesn’t say this whole thing, she just looks at him and walks off,’ I don’t think that makes me a writer. A director’s job is to take the writing and breathe behaviour into it, and employ the ballet of how the camera interacts with those faces, with those bodies, with that environment. It’s a conductor and a composer set-up.

In an interview you did with Playboy, you said, ‘I’d direct Se7en in a different way now. It was only by the time I’d made Zodiac and Benjamin Button that I knew what I was doing.’ How have you changed as a director since those films?

Erm, I don’t enjoy the shooting. I don’t think I ever will. To me it’s very chaotic. It feels to me like it’s just a string of compromised pearls. Having said that, I think that I have a greater understanding of how to help a story in the telling of it. Whereas, it was probably after Panic Room that I realised I wanted to go in a different direction. I had made two movies in a row that were kind of assaultive in terms of the way they presented the material, and I just sort of felt like, I don’t know if I’m that interested in engaging the eye in the same way. I liked the idea of presenting things in a tableaux or a proscenium and watching them. Maybe not cutting as quickly, or shooting as many close-ups.

Your taste just evolves. The way you want to see people behave next to each other changes. There’s nothing about the performance style in Mank that has anything to do with Gone Girl, you know? Gone Girl was very much ‘this is reality television’, and Mank is, ‘this is contract players who are good at saying their lines and not knocking over the furniture’. That’s not to take anything away from anyone. What we’re trying to beat out of everyone is, take the emotion out of it and don’t worry about being the containment vessel for the deepest, darkest most intimate secrets of these characters. They can exist here just to support these ideas. It’s the style of those movies in the ’30s and ’40s – you never think, ‘What’s Gary Cooper going through?’ You’re like, ‘Let’s have Gary Cooper turn around one more time in the doorway.’

Mank is available on Netflix from 4 December. Read more in the latest print edition of LWLies.

The post It’s All True: A Conversation with David Fincher appeared first on Little White Lies.

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