#I am not; as my blog title has been apparently just BRANDING me without my awareness; Black!

[falconfriend]

I..........,,,,,,

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Crown For Two {1}

Henry Cavill AU x OFC Xari Thornton AU

Warning: Plot, Mild Cursing, Cheesy Christmas Themes, 

Words: 6.1k

Summary: Xari Thornton is a travel photographer with a blog and social media that garners some heavy-duty traffic. People tune in to see where she is and what she’s doing there, all in hopes of either living vicariously through her or to plan their next vacation.  

Her slogan; “Traveling the path to the most off-beaten places, so you don’t have to.”  

Her next stop on her four destination travel itinerary of “Places You May Never Have Heard Of” is Sandvell, a small European country. When her plane makes an impromptu stop due to bad weather, she has no idea where she is. It feels like she’s stepped inside of a snow globe and back in time in a modern way. It leaves her fascinated. 

This bad weather forces her to stay at an Inn, The Beaux, for the night. Rather than letting the hours tick by in her room, she explores and meets the friendly locals. While taking photographs, one local in particular captures her lens with eyes as blue as the ocean and a jaw that was chiseled from stone. They strike up conversation during their time drinking at one of the local bars, Ickles. Once they separate, she gets herself into a harrowing situation.  

As soon as she awakens, she realizes she’s not in some fever dream, but a palace and the owner of the palace is none other than the local she met before with the piercing blue eyes, His Royal Highness Henry Wellington Leopold Danglishton, First of his name, Crown Prince of Brexendor.

Note: All right, all right people, the ride begins. I really, really hope you enjoy this. As a note, it’s going to be fast-paced a bit, and I am gonna overload you with pictures because why the hell not, it’s a Christmas Fic. 😁 Feel free to come by and tell me what you guys think.

As always, thank you all for reading, I appreciate each and every one of you.

If you enjoyed this, please, LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG!!! ❤️❤️

***Loosely Edited/Proofread***

***Interactive***

***Picture Heavy***

Chapter One

“You were supposed to be on your way home.”

 You rolled your eyes as you scoffed. You’d mentioned nights ago that you thought you should just go home, but then you went to your next destination. It was a moment of weakness or it could have been loneliness. Your schedule took a lot out of you. No one saw it because it was all behind the scenes. All anyone ever saw were the incredible places you went to, the fun things you experienced, and the culture you soaked up. What they grasped was whatever you posted in your pictures.

 “You know I can’t. I started this series, and it’s gotten the eye of a lot of sponsors, and one of them is even talking about some really big ideas at the end of it if it goes really well. that could be incredible for my brand,” you explained.

 Anika sighed loudly. You knew she was annoyed with you right now, especially it being December.

 “I know you’re disappointed. I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”

 “Whatever.”

 “Attention, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. It looks like we’re headed right into a storm. We’ll be experiencing a little turbulence as we veer off course a little bit as we try to evade this thing. Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts.”

 You sighed while buckling your seatbelt, preparing for what was coming.

 “What’s happening?”

 “Going through some turbulence. It should be fine,” you assured your sister.

 “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to hang up.”

 You nodded to the flight attendant and promptly ended the call promising your sister that you’d call her back when you landed in Sandvell. As soon as you hung up, the turbulence began. It started out with slight bumps, that you could sip your drink through. Then graduated to bigger bumps that had you gripping the elbow rests. When the entire plane started to shake, your heart leaped into your throat. One minute passed, then two, and after five minutes or so, the speaker came back on.

 “Ladies and gentleman, your captain again. We’re going to be landing shortly. This storm is not one to be messed with. I apologize for the inconvenience, folks, but on this airline, we choose safety above all else.”

 You weren’t going to argue with him. You definitely didn’t want to risk your life over getting to your next destination. What was a one or two day delay? Once the pilot got to a lower altitude, the majority of the turbulence subsided. It was another ten minutes before the plane landed, but when it did, all you could see from the window was white overcast with darkness.

 When you had your belongings gathered and began walking off the plane along with the other fifty or so passengers, you tried to find cell service, but you had zero bars.

 “Excuse me, where are we?”

 “Uh—I’m actually not sure, ma’am. Patricia, where are we?”

 The two flight attendants looked puzzled. The second asked a third, and that third asked another. None of them seemed to know. That was not a good sign, you thought. Once you’d walked down the long corridor that served as the connection between the airport and the plane, you found yourself in one of the classiest airports you’d ever been in, and you’d been inside quite a few as a travel blogger. As far as the eye could see, it was class, with the exception of the floor.

You looked around you and marveled at the detail in the design that was around you. Where most airports were mainly logically designed without lavishness. This one looked like lavishness was the first priority. The floors looked to be made from the finest paonazzetto marble. You remembered the name because of the substantial time you’d spent in Italy trying to capture architecture through your camera lens. Reaching for your camera around your neck, you began snapping a few frames of the floor. Getting lost in picture taking, you found yourself at one of the many glass windows snapping pictures of the airplanes on the tarmac.

 Hearing the commotion of raised voices behind you, you looked back and saw the passengers of the plane you’d just disembarked from gathered in a huddle. You walked back toward them in time to catch a question from a concerned passenger.

 “How long are we delayed? When will we get back in the air? I have to get to Sandvell.”

 A man wearing a mixture of royal blue and white colors cleared his throat then spoke. “I apologize, ladies and gentlemen, for the delay. There is a storm heading right for us on the path to Sandvell. Continuing through it would be lunacy. Our only viable option is to wait it out.”

 No one seemed to like that answer. All the questions flew out at once. All their voices overlapped, and you could tell that the gentleman was overwhelmed by not only the volume of questions but also their voices.

 “According to our team here, we’re expecting possibly a twenty-four to thirty-six-hour delay.”

 Everyone groaned in unison, everyone but you. You’d traveled enough to always expect the unexpected. Things like this didn’t bother you so much now, three years into your career. The only thing that bothered you now was that you’d have to rearrange your hotel plans as well as finding somewhere to sleep tonight.

 “You said here,” you began with all eyes trained to you. “Where exactly is here?”

 The gentleman cleared his throat again. “Brexendor.”

 The crowd murmured as they looked at each other. Clearly, no one had ever heard of Brexendor. Some even pulled out their travel map to scour it for the country.

 “So what are we supposed to do now? Where do we stay?”

 “We are in the process of arranging accommodations at one of the inns within the capital. If you all would work with us so we have your names to get your luggage to you in a timely fashion so you can be shuttled over to the Inn, that would be appreciated.”

 Everyone filed into a line in front of one of the four airport staff, hoping to hurry matters along while you searched your phone for any information on where you were. When you typed in Brexendor into the search engine, the first thing that popped up was a map of the country. Apparently, it was next door to Sandvell. They were considered sister countries.

 “Population three million, run as a monarchy, considered one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Average life expectancy one hundred and ten years. Well, damn.”

 Someone clearing their throat brought your attention up in front of you. You were next in line.

 “Sorry.”

 The woman with brown eyes and blonde hair smiled warmly. “It’s all right, Ms--.”

 “Uh, Thornton, Xari Thornton.” You handed her your passport and boarding pass and waited as she scrolled through her tablet.

 “Ah yes, Ms. Thornton. Here is your paperwork. On it, you will find where you can retrieve your luggage and the shuttle number that will be taking you to the Inn. Once at the Inn, just provide your name, and you will find everything has been taken care of. On behalf of Brexendor Aviation, we humbly apologize for this snafu.”

 Her customer service training was on point, you thought. Her smile was warm, as if she really meant the words she’d just said. Finding it refreshing, you took the paperwork and proceeded to where she was motioning. Everyone you passed as you walked the fancy halls had a warm smile plastered to their face and even warmer words of welcome. You felt as if you’d stepped through into some alternate universe. You made a voice note about everything you encountered. You wanted to make sure you captured your authentic feelings and reactions in real-time. It made writing about your experience on the blog page easier. You’d even found that readers and supporters liked the play by play with your added thoughts. They commented it added personality.

Once you’d made it to the baggage claim area, your jaw dropped at the change in décor. There were Christmas trees that sparsely decorated the space, and they were all lit with the same blue, silver, and white theme. It contrasted with the latte color of the leather seats and the cream offset tables. The design gave the space an elegant but also comfortable vibe. When you slipped into one of the chairs, you released an audible moan. It was like sitting on a cloud.

 After gathering your luggage, you followed instructions through a hall lined with Christmas trees, stopping every so often to take a few pictures before you made it to the front of the airport. As you stepped outside, your eyebrows shot up seeing the fresh snow cascading from the sky. The bite in the air had you bundling your jacket tighter, but it did not stop you from snapping a few pictures. One turned to ten and ten to fifteen until another person clearing their throat brought you back to reality and to the waiting bus ahead of you.

You took a break from pictures and called the hotel in Sandvell, hoping to alter the dates of your stay. What you expected to be a hassle and a long drawn out process ending in them saying they were booked and nothing could be done, turned out to be quick, easy, and painless. The Luxembourg Hotel assured you that your room would still be available and there would be no charge for the altered dates. You made another note on your phone, a point you had to stress when you wrote your piece.

 You continued snapping pictures from the window of the bus with an easy mind. Everything you passed seemed like it didn’t belong. It all looked so old fashioned but so modern all at the same time. The buildings looked to have been standing since the beginning of time in the materials they’d been built in, but the displays were from the twenty-first century. It was the most exciting contradiction. The only word you could think to describe it was—quaint.

 When the bus drove over a bridge, you got a semi-bird’s eye view of the town across the water, and your jaw nearly dropped.

 “Brexendor? What the hell?”

 The entire drive had you widening your eyes like a child seeing an insane amount of presents on Christmas morning. Buildings were decked out in Christmas lights, and every door had a wreath with blue and silver Christmas ornaments. Almost every few feet, the sidewalks were decorated with poinsettia trees that were half the average human’s height, and the way the freshly fallen snow-dusted their tops only made it even more perfect.

 By the time the bus stopped, you’d taken so many pictures, and part of you was dreading having to go through them to choose the ones that would make the cut. You knew it was going to be a next to impossible decision. As you stepped off the bus, you felt like you’d walked right into a snow globe.

“Holy shit!”

 You spun, taking in a full three-sixty view of your surroundings. all the glistening lights and the falling snow only made it feel even more magical. You didn’t know where the hell Brexendor was or why the hell they rolled like this, but you were excited to see more. When you stopped spinning, you realized several other people were snapping pictures and looking just as marveled as you were. After gathering your luggage, you followed instructions and walked across the street to the building that a friendly looking man with slightly greying hair was standing before beckoning you inside.

 For the second time that night, you felt as if you’d stepped into a Christmas movie set. The interior was set so cozy. It felt like a Christmas cottage, and you loved it. Instinct had you reaching for your camera and taking a few shots of the Christmas tree in the corner by the fireplace and the plaid decorations on the leather couch. Even the pictures on the walls got a snap.

 “Miss?”

 Looking back to the owner, you smiled and approached the desk.

 “Hi, I’m so sorry. This place is so gorgeous.”

 “Thank you. I wish I could take the credit, but it is all my wife.”

 Just then, a beautiful brunette came out wearing a bright red sweater and one of those spoof reindeer antler headbands that bounced with every move.

 “Hi, there darling. Welcome to The Beaux. I’m Anita, and this is my husband, Borik. I heard all about your ordeal. I’m so sorry.”

 You shrugged but kept your smile plastered on your face.

 “It’s all right. Can’t control the weather, right?”

 Anita smiled and nodded. “Definitely not in Brexendor.”

 “I have never heard of this place before, and I am lost how. Everything is gorgeous and so quaint. How have you stayed under the radar?”

 Anita and Borik looked at each other with an all-knowing look that you wanted in on.

 “Guess it’s just happened,” Anita cheerfully said.

 You knew they knew something. Staying this under the radar, including from America, didn’t just happen. This took work. You wondered who in charge in their right mind would make a stupid decision like that.

 “Okay, what’s your name, darling?”

 “Uh, Xari Thornton.”

 “Ah-ha, I told you, Borik. Once we were contacted with a list of names that would be checking in, and I saw your name, I told him I just know she’s gorgeous and look. You are a vision.”

 You couldn’t help but smile widely while trying to keep your head under proper proportions.

 “Thank you.”

 “You must have quite the many suitors where you’re from,” Anita continued.

 You snorted and shook your head. The reality was you were as single as the number one with no prospects.

 “No suitors here.”

 Both Borik and Anita looked shocked, as if you’d said the most appalling thing.

 “That can’t be true. Borik. She’s single and at twenty-eight. Even our Kennedy was at least engaged by the time she turned twenty-seven. Here that is unheard of. A woman is usually married by twenty-four, especially if she’s a looker.”

 You pinched your lips, trying to keep your laughter in. this was not the first time you’d been called an old maid. Hell, your mother said it often, especially since you flat out turned down Maurice’s proposal three months ago. She was livid.

 Anita must have sensed the awkwardness of the moment because she cleared her throat and brought all her attention back to the reservation.

 “Well, your room is prepared. I took the liberty of giving you one of our prettiest rooms. Would you like Borik to carry your bags up?”

 “Uh—no, I’m sure I can manage,” you began.

 Borik stood, shook his head, and came around to you.

 “I won’t hear a thing about it. I’ll happily carry your luggage up. Follow me.”

 “That’s my Borik, ever the gentleman,” Anita filled in with an enamored smile before Borik walked off, leaving her to check in a few of the other passengers from the plane.

 You listened to Borik tell the story of the Inn and how it got its name. You kept one ear on his story while you took in every detail around you. The wood looked so rustic, and you guessed that was what gave the place such a warm and welcoming feeling. The higher you climbed, the more you saw, and the more you saw, the more you liked. You followed Borik down a hall, noticing that all the doors you passed had mini wreaths decked out in the same blue and silver ornaments like at the airport and throughout the streets.

 “Ah-ha, here we are,” Borik said before he put the key into the lock and pushed the door open. Once he did, the scent of cinnamon and pine hit you in the face. It was like the hand of Christmas came out and smacked you.

 “My wife loves the smell,” Borik explained as you stepped inside. You smiled and thanked him for his help.

 “If you get hungry, you have a few options. There are plenty of places nearby you can eat some authentic Brexendorian food, but also my wife cooks every night, and dinner usually is at eight o’clock, but tonight Anette has agreed to keep some heated for anyone who would like some. It’s stew, rabbit.”

 “Oh, thumper. Wonderful.”

 Borik laughed loudly with that one. “I know that one, Bambi, the children’s cartoon. Good one Ms. Thornton.”

 You smiled. “You can call me Xari, Borik.”

 “Well, have a good night,” he said before he walked out.

 Finally alone, the first thing you did was text your sister to let her know not to worry and give her an update on what was happening. After you let Anika know what was happening, it didn’t take long for your phone to ring. The next ten or so minutes were spent talking to Anika and telling her how amazing the things you’d seen so far were. You could not shut up about the decorations, the way the snow looked to have been groomed to lay on things perfectly. It was that damn picturesque. Since you couldn’t stop talking about it, Anika was the one to suggest you go out and enjoy it before you got back on the plane. It was a suggestion you fully intended on listening to.

 Fifteen minutes later, you were back downstairs bundled with your camera and your purse, ready to explore. When you told Anita your intention, she gave you a map of the city and highlighted places to look at but cautioned you to hurry because stores would be closing soon, and nights during Brexendor winters could be brutal. You promised you’d be quick and careful, then stepped out, ready to explore like Dora.

 Your first stop was a block down, a children’s toy store. It was decked out with all the latest toys along with some traditional things that Santa would have brought specially made from his workshop. While you were snapping pictures outside the window, a kid ran up to the window and pressed his nose to it. His eyes were wide, and his mouth matched their size. You asked the adult with him if you could take a picture. When they approved, you got one or two from a few different angles before they walked off.

 As you walked through the city, enjoying the scenery, you took pictures of everything that caught your eye, ornaments, trees, people, stores, even pets. Christmas wasn’t your favorite holiday, but it was your second favorite, and being here really as inching it higher on the list.

 When you felt a strong wind hit you, it stopped you in your tracks. It was strong enough to have you stagger backward a little, allowing a chill to sweep through you. You looked around and saw a few feet away was some sort of bar, and behind it was swirling snow that looked like a tornado. You hurried toward the building, being careful not to slip on any ice that may be hiding underneath the snow. Once to the door, you walked inside, and the sound of Christmas carols filled your ears.

 “Jesus.”

 If the scent of the Inn felt like Christmas slapped you in the face, the look and sound of this place was the one two-hitter that settled that you were in a whole nother world here. You looked around and found a coat rack along the left wall. After placing your jacket and scarf on the hook, you walked to the bar and slid onto a stool. As you waited for the bartender to come over, you looked around. Here it didn’t smell like cinnamon, but the pine was present, along with the smell of alcohol and licorice.

There were several small dark wooden tables around the bar with chairs and even booths that decorated the walls. The floors matched the tables, and those matched the walls. This place looked like somewhere you’d find in the middle of nowhere. The window to the back of the establishment showed the dark woods with tall snow-covered trees and that howling snow tornado.

 When you turned back to the back, the huge elk head above the wall lined with alcohol bottles had you gasping.

 “Jeez,” you said as you snapped two of three pictures of the creepy looking thing.

 “That is Hogan’s prized possession.”

You looked beside you where the voice came from to see a very attractive man there. When you’d sat down, you didn’t notice anyone beside you, so to see his piercing blue eyes boring holes into you. Your eyes traveled lower to his awkwardly shaped nose. It looked like it had been broken once or twice and never quite went back to normal. You didn’t mind it, though. Who liked a perfect face, especially when looking at him, seemed like that was about the only thing that was not absolutely perfect. His jaw was carved to precision like he was specially crafted and not born. When your eyes fell to his lips, you purposely forced yourself to look away.

 “Is—is that right?”

 “Yes. I bet you cannot guess why,” the stranger said in a crisp European accent that was very close to British. You weren’t one hundred percent sure if it was or not, he just sounded proper as hell, and it was actually a bit of a turn on.

 You shrugged while looking at the bottles that lined the back of the bar. “Enlighten me.”

 Just then, a large man with blond hair in a man bun walked over. He had to have been over six feet tall, and if this were America, he’d definitely be a shopper at the store Big & Tall. The man looked to the one seated beside you, ready to speak but suddenly closed his mouth.

 “Hogan, Ms--,” the stranger began waiting for you to fill in your name.

 He thought he was so smooth; you thought as you smiled to yourself.

 “Xari.”

 His eyebrow shot up, and he smiled sweetly. “Wow, what a beautiful name.”

 You smiled, and as you felt it widening, you bit onto your bottom lip to stop it. “Thanks.”

 “Ms. Xari would like to know why Shandoe is your most prized possession.”

 “Shandoe?”

 Hogan looked behind him at the Elk’s head then smiled. “It’s been in my family for generations. It was the first thing my great-great-great-great-great grandfather ever killed for himself to feed his family. They ate everything but the head and decided to keep it as a reminder of where we came from.”

 You were expecting some weird manly story but what you got was a wholesome and heartwarming tale. You smiled, raised your camera, and snapped Hogan, and as he stared at the Elk’s head with such a loving look on his face that was such a contradiction for his large frame.

 “Are you a reporter?”

 “No, no. Not at all. I’m a travel influencer and blogger. I go around and soak up what the world has to offer while taking pictures and writing about it on my blog for others to read about.”

 The man beside you nodded, then raised his glass to his head.

 “What can I get you?”

 “Uh—what is he drinking?”

 “The Mistletoe Bomb.”

 You snorted, unable to contain yourself any longer. “What in the world is that?”

 “You laugh now, but it is a blend he makes special for me. It is not for the faint of heart,” the man beside you informed.

 “Oh no, well looks like I’ll be having one of those.”

 Hogan looked to him, then back to you. “It is all right, Hogan. Give the lady what she wants. I am assuming fell strength is also what you require?”

 “Yes, full strength. I want all the mistletoe and all the bomb.”

 Hogan went to work, making the drink while you continued looking around.

 “Em, I’m Henry.”

 You looked to him to find his hand outstretched to you, waiting for you to place yours in it. When you did, you repeated your name as you noted how soft his hands were. It felt like he’d never done a day’s work with them. Henry rose your hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on the back of your hand. It was one small action, but that action had butterflies flitting in your belly and your cheeks heating as if a heater was aimed directly at your face.

 “I am delighted to make your acquaintance,” Henry uttered while looking into your eyes.

 “Same,” you whispered.

 Henry released your hand and turned back to his drink at the same time Hogan placed a mug before you.

 “One Mistletoe Bomb for the lady.”

 You looked at the large mug then to Hogan, who waited expectantly. When your eyes drifted to Henry beside you, he too was watching and waiting. No matter how much you felt like this was a setup, you persisted, not wanting to back down. When you took your first full mouthful of the drink, your eyes immediately bugged. Your tongue was on fire in seconds, and it seemed the longer you held the liquid in your mouth, the worse the burn was. You gulped it down and instantly knew the mistake. Not only was your mouth on fire, but now your throat and chest as it burned a fiery path to your belly.

 “Holy fucking shit!”

 The two men boisterously laughed, the sounds booming off the wooden walls before filling the entire room. You looked around, noticing for the first time it was completely empty.

 “What the hell is that?”

 “Something that will put hair on your chest,” Hogan teased.

 “No, shit.”

 Henry seemed to like that response; he laughed again then finished his mug.

 “How can you drink this?”

 He shrugged, then turned his body to you. You gave him a well-paced once over, taking in his furry winter boots, dark pants, and dark sweater to match the pants. Underneath the sweater, though, you saw peeks of a crisp white shirt. He dressed like he had money, you thought.

 “I have done it for half my life. I do not even feel the burn anymore. Do you know why he calls it Mistletoe Bomb now?”

 You giggled and nodded, pushing the mug away. If you drank that, you’d need to be carried out of here. As Hogan appeared to take the mug away, Henry reached for it, insisting he’d finish it while Hogan placed a beer bottle in front of you.

 “Would you like a straw?”

 You looked at Hogan as if he were crazy. Who drank beer with a straw? You shook your head and raised the bottle to your lips to take a swig. This was more your speed, not pure petrol.

 “So you are new in town,” Henry began.”

 “Kind of. My plane had to detour because of the storm, so here I am in a place I’ve never heard of and cannot figure out why.”

 “Is it strange to never have heard of every place in the world?”

 You thought about it for a moment as you took another mouthful of beer then nodded.

 “Yes. I’m from America,” you began.

 “Ah, American. Let me guess. Everything has to be discovered, and if it is not, then either it doe not exist, or it is being hidden.”

 You snapped your mouth shut. He’d guessed American thinking in one try. “Well, that’s not fun,” you added. Henry laughed and took his mouthful of fire.

 “I am sorry. I know America well,” Henry informed.

 “Oh, so you’ve been?”

 “No. I do not need to. I have spent my entire life learning it.”

 You looked back at him, confused by what he meant.

 “Every country gives lessons on other countries of the word, especially powerhouse countries,” he explained.

 “Well, your studies have paid off.”

 “Do you really believe that everything has to be discovered?”

 “No. where is the fun in that? I believe that the world has to have some mystery.”

 “Then welcome to Brexendor,” Henry said with a smile.

 “Brexendor. What’s it’s deal?”

 You leaned closer, resting your elbow on the wood of the bar as you watched him.

 “Deal? I am afraid I do not understand.”

 “What I mean is, the people are nice. Everyone I have encountered, including at the airport, is nice. You know airport staff can be so mean, but not here. The people who own the Inn I am staying at are so sweet. Even strangers I bump into don’t;’ seem to mind. Not to mention, this place has the whole snow globe effect down. It’s incredible. What is the deal? Is the president some fantastic guy who pays everyone well and gives them ample vacation time for them to be so happy?”

 Henry smiled, dipped his head lower, then rubbed the back of his neck.

 “Would that be unusual?”

 “Yes. Compared to what America has going on—highly unusual.”

 “Well, the first thing to know about Brexendor is, a president does not run it,” Henry clarified.

 “Ah right, it is a monarchy. So does that mean there is a king, and queen, lords, dukes,” you began, then gasped, remembering more. “Princesses?”

 Henry smirked, gulped his drink, then nodded. “Yes.” He continued to take another swig from his mug.

 His words slowly resonated. “What!? You’re serious?”

 He nodded, then placed the glass onto the bar.

 “Wow. How interesting. So this King and Queen are they the good kind?”

 Henry’s smile turned somber before it disappeared altogether.

 “Did I say something wrong?”

 “No, no. Yes, the King and Queen are the best kind,” he filled in before he took the last mouthful of his drink. “They would like you.”

 You laughed loudly and shook your head. “Me? I doubt that. While all the mothers of my boyfriends have loved me, I don’t think the King and Queen would care for me.”

 “Boyfriend, so uh—you’re involved,” Henry said as he avoided your eyes.

 His words sounded like a statement rather than a question, so you remained quiet. After a few moments, he looked at you expectantly. You pinched your lips before you finished your beer.

 “Are you involved?”

 Henry took a deep breath looked forward to the bottles at the bar as a pained and confused expression washed over his features.

 “I’ll take that as a yes,” you replied.

 “I am not—involved,” he answered.

 “You said it like you weren’t sure.”

 “It is complicated.”

 “Well, I am a stranger in a bar—an empty bar. You’ll most likely never see me again, and I’ve been told I’m a great listener.”

 Henry smiled then turned back to you, resting his elbow on the bar mimicking your stance.

 “You have not answered my inquiry.”

 “Inquiry?”

 Henry smiled again, then bit his bottom lip. That is where your eyes went to. He had nice lips, you thought.

 “On if you are involved,” he clarified.

 “I am not involved with anyone. If you ask my mother, she will tell you I’m an old maid with no prospects.”

 “I do not believe that. You are funny, intelligent, fun to be around, and quite beautiful. There is no way you have no admirers.”

 You smiled and began toying with your necklace.

 “I’m sure you say that to all the girls you meet in deserted bars during a snow storm.”

 He snorted, and you felt his breath across your cheek. It was then you realized how close the two of you were to each other.

 “To be honest, I have never found myself alone with a woman in a bar. You are my first.”

 You bit your bottom lip feeling more flirtatious than usual as you gazed into his hypnotizing eyes. He was gorgeous and becoming even more so with every passing minute. The two of you ordered more drinks, then drifted off to one of the booths on the wall that was more hidden and even more comfortable. You talked about nearly everything and nothing at the same time. He spoke a lot about philosophy and astronomy and the sciences that motivated a lot of the earlier theories. It was fascinating just listening to him speak. There was something about his mouth and the properness of the words he used. Never once did he use slang or even a contraction. You’d never met anyone who didn’t use contractions. The longer you sat there, the more you felt like never getting up.

 “There is something about you that is so comfortable and easy,” Henry began.

 “You too.”

 “I feel like I can talk to you about anything. I even want to.”

 You smiled, “You too.”

 Your eyes lingered, and you saw him sway forward, but then he stopped only to do it again and again. With your faces were centimeters from one another, it was then you noticed the slight speck of brown in his left eye. You felt Henry’s hand gently cup your cheek; then, his thumb slowly stroked your skin. The heat from his palm seared your cheek, and every stroke of his thumb send heat tendrils down your jaw to your lips, making them tingle and yearn for his.

 This had never happened to you in your entire life. You’d known this man a few hours and were ready to possibly bring him back to the Inn with you. Henry didn’t move. It was like he was giving you the last few centimeters to make a decision, but you didn’t make it. A phone went off, but you both ignored it until the sound went off. You raised your hand to rest on top of his. Once your skin touched his, Henry lightly sighed out. Before either of you could make another move, a phone rang again. This time Henry groaned before he looked away just as you did.

 You cleared your throat and slid from his body as he checked his phone.

 “I have to go,” he announced.

 Frozen, you sat there trying to understand if you’d read this entire thing wrong.

 “I am sorry, something—urgent has come up.”

 You snapped out of it, then nodded. “It’s fine. I should probably get back to the Inn anyway. They say a storm is brewing.”

 Both of you stood from the booth while straightening your clothes.

 “I really enjoyed tonight,” Henry added.

 You smiled and nodded. “Me too. It was—nice.”

 Your eyes lingered again, and your bodies drifted closer. It was you who looked away first and stepped back. You reached for your purse, but Henry stopped you.

 “It has been taken care of. Let us call it a tourist special, right Hogan.”

 “Right your--,” Hogan began before Henry looked at him, cutting him off.

 Henry ushered you to the coat rack on the wall by the door then helped you into your jacket.

 “Can I drive you back to the Inn?”

 “No, please. I am more than capable of getting back,” you assured.”

 “Are you sure?”

 You nodded then turned to walk out, but Henry pulled you to him. “I want to see you again.”

 “I don’t see how. I leave tomorrow as soon as the storm passes.”

 Henry looked to be thinking before he sighed. “I guess it was not meant to be,” you whispered, a tinge of sadness filling you as reality set in.

 “In another life,” Henry softly said.

 He came closer then placed a slow, chaste kiss on your cheek before he released you. The two of you stared at each other for a few moments, and in those moments, anything felt possible. When you faced that anything could have been possible but not for you, you sighed. A few seconds later, you turned and walked out of the bar.

Once outside, the rough wind caught you off guard. You took a few moments to bundle yourself, then continued walking back to the Inn. The swirling snow in the air made it a little challenging to see, but you tried the best you could. Several times, the wind picked up and shoved you where it wanted, forcing you to grab on to something to hold until it passed.

 Suddenly a big gust of wind blew you to the right and knocking you off your feet to roll for several feet. When the wind slowed, you rolled over onto your back to spit out the mouthful of snow that you’d managed to ingest. It took you several tries to stand, but when you did, you tried to see where you were and what direction you needed to walk in. That was when the wind picked up again, making you scream. When you turned, you saw two headlights coming right at you, then all you felt was pain before you were out cold.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TagList:

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[hatchetfieldtheories]

Return to Hatchetfield-Town – The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals Part 1

Alright settle down kiddos. Get comfy, find a warm blanket and hug your favourite fwendy-wend as we start our Return to Hatchetfield-Town series.

I’ll be rewatching all the Hatchetfield scripted content (i.e. not livestreams or interviews) and jotting down what happens, explaining some concepts and delving into some of the key theories in the series (and using the word “implications” that often it will cease to have meaning).

Even though I’ll be doing the rewatch by show in order they came out, there will be spoilers for all Hatchetfield content that is available as of the rewatch.  

I’ve also linked to a number of other blog’s theories here because they are amazing, but if you aren’t happy with your theory being included I will be more than happy to remove it!  Just let me know.

[Part 2]

The Guy Who Really Hated Brigadoon

TGWDLM starts off with the greatest song ever to feature dancing zombies… at least I can’t think of any other notable ones.

In the title song, the cast of singing and dancing zombies explain to us that all great stories have to have a hero, someone who knows right and wrong and that the best way to do this is through singing and dancing in musicals.  This with the later line of “they evoke the philosophical” make me think that Pokey took a class in Campbell’s Hero Myth in College and became that guy.

Hatchetfield Challenge: try not to shrug your shoulders along with the music at the chorus. Its impossible. No wonder the Hive spread so quickly.  Literally killer dance moves.

So then they introduce us to an awful Grinch named Paul and we hit the first point in the show where I laugh out loud every single time I watch.

I know TGWDLM was not originally intended to be the first Hatchetfield show but starting this series with a song which sets up the story so well is truly spectacular.   And is there anything more Starkid than introducing your main character by having other characters sing about how awful they are?

One thing I have noticed while writing, reading and collating Hatchetfield theories is that while most Black Friday and Nightmare Time theories are usually about the overall Hatchetfield lore, most TGWDLM theories are usually quite self-contained and focused on this one show.  TGWDLM – while so fully within the Hatchetfield extended universe, is definitely the show that can best stand-alone without the others.

It’s the end of the world, Paul

If you don’t sing

This is the bridge, Paul

Where we globalize everything

And the words will come to you

We swear we will teach you

What it means to love

What it means to obey, Paul!

On a first watch this is very funny.  On your 10th watch this is terrifying.

CCRP Technical: No-one here knows how to use their printer

Following the absolute bop of a title song we find ourselves in CCRP Technical and all feels very… normal. It’s very weird following all the revelations in subsequent Hatchetfield media, to be watching a show where there was genuinely nothing obviously fishy about CCRP.  We’ll obviously discuss CCRP more when we get to Nightmare Time, but for now all we know is that Paul works in the technical department of CCRP – an unknown corporation, with some key characters, Charlotte, Bill and Ted.

We also find out more about Grinch Paul’s personality and honestly, Paul is me pre-pandemic just outright avoiding social interactions and suddenly going for coffee in the middle of the work day. (I have become a changed woman in lockdown – someone please invite me somewhere… anywhere!)

For all the dark humour and death in the Hatchetfield series, Starkid do know how to bring the joy – I love how excited the town of Hatchetfield are for a touring production of Mamma Mia.  

Fake Fact: TGWDLM is actually an allegory for Europe in the 1970s, when we all became mind-controlled by Abba’s Waterloo.  (Find me a better explanation for Eurovision, I dare you!  The sequins were just too shiny!)

“The idea of sitting there… trapped in a musical.  That is my own personal hell.”

Two words: Emma Perkins – need I explain any more?  

Ah Hot Chocolate Boy.  I really look forward to finding out more about him.  Where does he come from?  He just appears out of the ether. What’s his story?  How old is he? How many hot chocolates does he have per day? I know we have since had some confirmation on who he is, but they raise more questions than answers. For now I will just point you to a gorgeous Mood Board by @hatchetfieldmoodboards which features a bit of a spoiler. 

For real though – is it just me who would love a full version of “I’ve been brewing up your coffee”?

Hatchetfield Challenge: Try not to sing “Shut the f*ck up” along with Emma.

“Watching people sing and dance makes me very uncomfortable”- oh boy Paul… you’re not going to enjoy the next hour and 40 minutes.  Also, Paul, you’re making me uncomfortable watching you throw your brand new coffee around as if you’ve just been given an empty cup.  There’s imaginary coffee everywhere.  Hopefully, HCB won’t slip on it before it’s cleaned up… he’s already having a bad day.

“Thunder and Lightning… very very frightening.  But a big rock hurtling through the clouds is no biggie.” – all the residents of Hatchetfield apparently.

The next sequence happens so fast and we get introduced to a lot of characters.  Notably Greenpeace Girl, Alice and Deb, Sam, and Hidgens (though we don’t find out his name until much later). This scene impresses me because they do such a great job of very quickly bringing out so many characters who nonetheless are memorable when they return later in the show.

Peanuts the Hatchetfield Pocket Squirrel is an Eldritch Being. I won’t go into Peanuts theories here as that could be a whole post in itself – and many a person more brilliant than I have written some fantastic theories on this. You can learn all about how a Squirrel took over the fandom in the following posts:

@dahlialupine : x

@frombothofmyhearts​: x

@abiimaryy​: x

And finally mine which is definitely a serious theory: x

It’s… A… Musical!

Now to remember we are actually watching a musical.  La Dee Da Da Day is such a happy joyful song performed spectacularly by a throng of the undead.

The song is about the Hive singing about how much of a great time they are having now they are tap-dancing zombies, and trying to find ways to convince Paul he should join them too. So the grins on all their faces are not at all terrifying.

 It’s worth noting also that according to the laws of the TGWDLM world, only those infected by the Hive can hear the music in the background.  This becomes important later when it becomes clear some characters have started being infected before they are fully turned into zombies, but for now it just paints quite a funny picture of what Paul must be witnessing. I definitely think for him, this whole scene just sounds like this clip of Greased Lightning without the music: x

The important thing here however, besides Mariah’s singing, is that the Hive leave Paul alone.  They don’t actually attempt to turn him at this point.  I have a theory on the implications of this, but note this has big spoilers for the end of the show and Black Friday.  It was written before we knew that the Hive (Pokey) was related to Wiggly but the content still stands: x

Charlotte, Honey, you don’t need that much sugar – you’re sweet enough

For reference:

@melchron​  noted that the lyrics for La Dee Dah sound very similar to the incantation for soul transferal read out in Jane’s a Car, which leads me to two possible implications.

The Freaky Furbies have a language other than English that they use for their incantations so this is why they sound similar.

There is soul transference happening to the souls of the bodies the Hive take over.

Or it’s just Starkid using similar sounding words for their content…. Three! There are three possible implications…

Paul – just print off another copy of the report

From this point on the musical numbers really do come thick and fast.  We move on to the first instance of Jeff Blim encouraging Paul to talk about his feelings, which I am sure is not important and isn’t worth discussing.  Paul goes through a musical rendition of a promotion interview, which is actually the Hive attempting to find out if he will be the “hero” of their story.  They picked out Paul for the role from the start. That he was chosen was inevitable.

What do you see for this company? I'm looking for someone with strong ambition Someone to sell their specific vision Someone to share with precise precision their thoughts 'Cause I want you to want…To want

So it turns out these will be looooong, so I will end here and see you in part 2!  I’m not sure yet what the upload frequency will be.  It takes quite a while to go through the show like this but it is a lot of fun!

Hatchetfield High Homework:

Where do you stand on the Peanuts the Hatchetfield Pocket Squirrel debate?

Why do you think that the Soul Transference Spell and La Dee Dah sound so similar?

Go follow all the lovely people mentioned in this post!

Bonus points if you know the reference in the post title.

[Part 2]

[sonjaohno]

Democracy in America

Hello dear friends and family,

October is off to a crisp start and I've been busy squirreling away at the library. It's already been one month since I arrived, which makes it high time for some reflection. I've been working hard to come up with clever answers to the question of "what my impressions are" mainly because (and a list of so-called impressions follows):

I thought Finns were insecure, with their country branding workshops and whatnot, perennially worried about what other people (read: the Swedes) think of us, but I can tell you, Americans are worse. In all the years I've lived in Berlin, not once has a German person (nor a Berliner—these are two completely distinct groups of people) asked me to tell them what I "think" about their country, or what my "impressions" are. Maybe they know better than to ask. Maybe they really don't care. Americans, on the other hand (including New Yorkers, though a similar non-equivalence exists here), cannot get enough of foreigners' interpretations of their country. I think it's because they genuinely don't know what to think about their country themselves and are waiting for somebody to tell them what the hell is going on here. So, what are my impressions so far?

America is home to some really great things. So far, my top three list is i) cinnamon-flavored chewing gum ii) hazelnut-flavored filter coffee (a mystery but a delightful one) iii) pecan-pumpkin-spice-flavored filter coffee (again, I don't know who came up with this or what they do to make coffee taste like a Hallmark card but I fuckin love it) iv) ditto, snickerdoodles (both the word and the pastry). Oops, that's four.

There is, however, clearly something wrong with a country that has to keep toothpaste under lock and key at the drugstore. I mean, toothpaste is expensive here—$5.99 for a tube, are you kidding me?—but it's still not exactly a luxury item. I literally have to ring a bell at Duane Reed to get an employee to open the toothpaste safe for a tube of Colgate. I wondered about this out loud to a New Yorker, who told me it's because the Duane Reed I went to is located at a "minor transportation hub," in the corner of W 110th and Broadway, which presumably means that this ludicrously wealthy Upper West Side drugstore frequented mostly by Columbia students and faculty is some kind of a crime hotspot. I should probably start carrying a gun.

Americans are loud. I feel like shushing people all the time, which makes me feel like a bad person. If anyone asked me to, I'd be more than happy to provide instructions for adjusting the volume of one's speech to different situations. It'd go something like follows: i) When outdoors, use what you would consider an "indoors voice." ii) When indoors, use what you would consider a "library voice." iii) When in the library, shut the fuck up. Pretty simple, huh?

The American economy would collapse if people stopped living on takeaway meals and coffees. I have never seen people so comfortable dishing out $20-50 per day for food they don't like and coffee they don't need. I mean, I'm not even able to get out of bed without several cups of coffee in the morning but I'd find it really hard to justify a $10 daily budget for iced-mocha-swirly lattes and another $10 for dumplings, when you can just pack a sandwich. The number of students able to afford this kind of lifestyle is just astounding. (This is Columbia, I am aware that the people without trust funds constitute a minority.) I feel positively frugal with my leftover lunches and thermos bottle of coffee (this week it's Donut Shop Roast, which disappointingly does not taste like donuts).

Americans like to think of themselves as libertarians and are famously opposed to state-imposed regulation—but I've never felt as regulated and rule-bound as I have here. It's just that the rules aren't handed down by government officials but by the various enterprises, including private businesses and universities (the latter is included in the former but deserves a honorary mention of its own), who would rather impose elaborate codes of conduct than leave people to their common senses and be sued when something inevitably happens. As one particularly pointless example, I have to complete an online covid-symptom checklist every morning before I'm allowed to enter campus—a "Daily Attestation," it's called—where I solemnly swear that I did not have a cough or a sore throat that morning, either. The only conceivable purpose of this useless exercise is to ensure that if somebody does show up on campus sneezing and wheezing their viral particles around, Columbia can't sued for not having done everything in its power to prevent the virus from spreading. Airing out rooms, though, is strictly out of the question—presumably because it's against some other rule designed to stop students from committing suicide by jumping out a third-floor window. As a person who is physiologically unable to follow pointless rules, I find this kind of self-serving, counter-logical box ticking absolutely infuriating.

It's not all bad, though. Yesterday I went to a Japanese jazz speakeasy around Midtown. We had to stand in line for about an hour, between a group of 17-year-old musical theater majors and 27-year-old jazz enthusiasts. The former were bursting out in spontaneous, perfectly synchronized song every few minutes, the latter were debating scales or keys or some such—I'm telling you, it was like walking into a badly-written scene of Glee. It was worth it though. At one point, during a several-minute-long drum solo, I experienced what can only be described as a moment of pure transcendence. People were all around me were yelling over the music and gesticulating wildly and, for a few seconds, time compressed to something graspable; a thing crackling with energy. An oceanic feeling is, in the words of turn-of-the-century mystic Romain Rolland, “a spontaneous … feeling of the ‘eternal’ (which can very well not be eternal, but simply without perceptible limits, and like oceanic, as it were).” If eternity can be found in a midtown basement, Manhattan can’t be all bad. (Below a video clip I took discreetly when entering.)

P.s. A friend of mine said that I should write an Alexis de Tocqueville -type report about my time in America, which explains the title of this post. For the literary agents and non-fiction editors reading this blog (jk, apparently it's my mum and three of her friends who read these entries—hi!!!), you can email me at sonjaohno at gmail dot com for a book deal.

[familiarvulpes]

Tool - Fear Inoculum Album Review

It feels good to review albums again. I reviewed albums last year for about six months but it just became too much trying to juggle everything with personal life and day job and writing songs for the channel and creating stuff for the second channel. But now instead of doing video reviews, I can do blog reviews. To be honest I don’t know why I did not think of this sooner. Album reviews will be about once a month. If I am feeling giddy then maybe two. Another good thing with doing reviews through this blog is I can spend more time on each album talk about it more and give more thought to each review. Like before with the reviews that were on the YouTube channel. Each album will get a score between one and ten. The higher the score, the more I enjoyed the album. It is just a number on how much I enjoyed it. It is just an opinion. One thing I am going to add is that in these reviews here on the blog, I will go track by track and talk about each one specifically.

The first album I am going to review or talk about is the brand new album from Tool “Fear Inoculum.” The first time I heard Tool is a toss up because I can't really remember. It was either on the video game Guitar Hero World Tour. It had three songs from them. “Vicarious” “Parabola” and “Schism.” The other time that it could have been the first time I heard Tool is when in high school I was in the car with my band mates and he played Tool. I believe it was Sober. Either one of those two were the first time but ever since then, I have been obsessed with them. They are the reason I make the music I do. I never knew you could make with dark spin and a hint of ambiance. Unfortunately, by the time I discovered them it was after “10,000 Days.” If you are a Tool fan then you know that is a horrible time to become a fan because it would be 13 years before any new music would come out. I am not going to talk about each time there was a rumor on the internet buring the span or the lawsuits had to deal with during that time. All I want to talk about is the new album.

The first time I listened to the album in full, I was in complete silence and in awe. You can say I was fangirling, I don't care. I love this album. The fillers I am not the biggest fan of but the songs themselves are amazing. You know you are doing something right when you right a ten minute song and it goes to number one on the billboard top 100. My personal favorite on the album is “Culling Voices.” It is the calmer one of the main songs and the lead vocals just make the song. Maynard James Keenan and his haunting voice makes this album very special. I love the album. The wait is worth it. I know people complain about it. I knew once it came out that people would have a problem with it. When you wait 13 years to release an album, there will always be people who expect way too much. I knew that when this would come out that people would feel underwhelmed. This album has become almost a deity with all its rumors and hearsay. Number one rule in life. Don’t try to make other people happy. You can’t make everyone happy. That doesn’t mean be rude to everyone but do things that benefit you. Now onto the songs.

Fear Inoculum

The First song on the album, and the single, opens up with your classic Tool ambiance. From faded in and out guitars that pan left to right , which is a good touch, to the drums and synths from the incredibly talented Danny Carey. After a while the bass comes in. What brought me to love Tool is the bass riffs. They play bass like a guitar which gives them part of their sound I believe. If you would ask me what is the heart of Tool music, I would say the bass. I know not a lot of people would agree with me but I can not think of another rock band has the bass guitar be so unique. Most of the time the bassist is just playing the root notes of what the guitarist is playing. But with Tool, the bass gives something more to the songs. Then Maynard James Keenan comes with the vocals. His vocals on not just this one but all of the songs sound amazing. The vocals are crisp and clear and just the overall tone of his voice is beautiful. The word inoculum I had to look up and it turns out Maynard talked about ‘inoculating’ in an interview about his wine making business. This interview was like three four years ago. The title was right in front of us for so long and yet we were looking for some weird spiritual things. No, its a wine making things, at least I think. I am not the greatest at grammer. Worst subject in school. At one point Mayrd does this whisper type of vocals and goes right into singing. The melody during the ‘chorus’, I was not expecting. Do not get me wrong, it was a pleasant surprise. Then after a whole the bridge hits and it is classic Tool. Almost dissonant guitars with punchy bass riffs. It calms down with the whole band with Maynard doing a very eerie vocal performance. The next vocal part is chant like. This song just goes into one thing after another. The transitions between are performed smoothly and precise which I expect no less from these guys. Then at the end of the songs everything picks up and gets heavier. At times it sounds like there are two drummers but in fact just one drums with 42 arms. I don’t know how the guy does it. You also have a guitar solo that sounds similar to something you would hear on 10,000 days. Then the very end is just guitars and crazy drums. I love this song. I think it is the perfect single for the album because it is the ‘catchiest’ on the whole thing.

Pheuma

The second song on the album is called “Pneuma.” This might be the most “Toolest” title ever because the word pneuma means the spirit or soul of a person. The song starts with a guitar riff that is kind of hard to explain. It is unique but hard to explain. Then the drums come and play some complicated groove that I am not going to even try to count because I am bad at math. Then it fades out to a bass riff that is in an odd time signature with a delay effect so the whole thing so far is in classic Tool fashion with being in an odd time signature. The guitar joins the bass in the same groove with a delay affect so it gives it a more spacey vibe to the riff. Then the Maynard comes in and the song officially starts. This song also has some chanting like parts from Maynard which is a theme in the album so far. I can only imagine what it is like live. After the chanting it goes into open chords and drums fills and just a huge sound. The quality on this record just surprises me every time how clear and crisp it is. The song continues a little while instrumentally and then goes back in the chanting like vocals with a little bit different guitar. This song is much more trippy and spacey than “Fear Inoculum.” It continues the pattern so far for quite a while. For some, I could see that being a turn off but I enjoy mainly because I love the sound to begin with but I can see why people would say that the record is too repetitive. I think it is meant to be repetitive because I have always seen Tool as a band that make music for meditation and it is hard to meditate to a three minute song. After several rounds of the same thing it breaks to just bass and what I think are bongos but I could be wrong. Then Synths come into the mix. That is another thing I believe they added more of than the previous releases is synths. I have noticed that synths are making a comeback, especially analog or modular. They’re just fun toys and super easy to make trippy music with. The song has a solo that sounds like a Tool solo. That is one thing about the solo’s is that once you hear you can instantly know who plays it. After the solo, it goes into a super heavy riff that is one of my favorites in the album. It is almost like a breakdown. The guitar tones rip through the mix in the best way possible and then song goes back into the chanting like vocals with the whole band just going crazy. The whole song explodes at the end. This song is becoming the fans favorite one I can see why because it has all the classic Tool characteristics but more. The song slowly fades out with instruments. My favorite thing of the song is the bass and delay effects. I am a huge nerd for delay effects and reverb so anytime I hear stuff like this I just love it.

Litanie contre la Peur

This is the first filler song for the digital album. Funny story about this song. First off you have to know what it sounds like. It is this super creepy synth that fades in slowly. The sound is very disheartening and creepy. One night at 4 in the morning, myc at apparently got on my computer keyboard and hit the play button and this song is the song that played. I was so freaked out. I thought the raptured happened or aliens invaded or a ghost with a broken flute was haunting me but it was just my silly cat. The song is ok. Like I said before, I am not the biggest fan of the fillers. I just am not sure why they put them in. If it was to make the album more than ten songs then ok maybe I understand. It is just ok this one. But lesson learned. Don’t have your cat walk on your computer keyboard.

Invincible

This is one is to me the best song lyrical on the album. It starts with a sweet guitar riff. It goes on for a bit but there are some changes in the riff so it is not the same thing over and over. Then the bongo whatever things come in and then Maynard starts singing. Like I said before, the lyrics on this one are amazing to me. From what I got from it is a person struggling to stay relevant, which is kind of the theme on the whole record but this song really hits the nail on the head on that theme. Then after a while a break happens with another Tool bass riff with a delay affect on it and goes back into Maynard singing. Just like before but without guitar and a more of a focus on the bass. After a little bit, the guitar comes back and whole the whole bands plays this trippy whatever you call it. One thing about this song is the chugging is real in this one and yet still has parts of ambiance in it. Like the ones before, the transitions are smooth and clean. For about the first half of the song they kind of repeat the riffs and parts but add little differences to them. Pretty much you are going to hear something different every time you listen to it. Around the six minute mark there is the first breakdown. Again the tones are monster. The breakdown does not last long but later in the song, they make sure to properly do a breakdown. It is kind of weird to talk about and the usage of breakdowns but they do great at them I think. Around the seven minute mark, it cuts to what is almost a different song or a different tempo. Super trippy and psychedelic. Then goes into a very tribal chugging part. It sounds like something you would hear from a tribe like thousands of years ago that is about to go to war or sacrifice some goat or fish or something. Maynard adds some vocals in this part with some effects on his vocals. I am not sure what the effect is though. The tribal chugging continues for a bit then breaks into super heavy chugging even though it's the same riff. It is just really heavy. Only complaint about this super heavy thing is that it does go for a long time. I would’ve liked to hear some ambient stuff or something different as the breakdown went along. Then all of the sudden when you think the song is over the whole band comes back in with a killer riff and picks up the tempo a little bit. The end of the song, the whole band just jams out and does what Tool does best. I love this song especially the lyrics on it.

Legion Inoculant

This is the second filler. More ambient-synth stuff. It is border-line noise music. You hear some vocals from Maynard from songs on this album. This is my favorite filler on the album because I do love noise/drone music.

Descending

This one the band has been playing bits and pieces of for a couples before the release of the album. It starts off with ambient noise and then comes in a bass riff with what sounds like a phaser or chorus effect. This riff is the riff they played at shows before the release of the album. Not long after the riff starts Maynard starts to sing. The songs start off very calm and hypnotic like but you can already tell it is in an odd time signatures. This song is more ambient than the others and somewhat chiller than the others. I am not saying that is a bad thing at all. Sometimes you gotta chill and relax and not listen to constant tribal chugging. Around the five minute mark, things pick up and up, not much and then the guitar and bass ring out to start with chugging on the guitar and the bass riff that was in the beginning of the song. This song so far is just one big build up. The part in the song where Maynard sings loudly “Stay Alive” is just so haunting. Around right before the seven minute mark the band goes into a massive jam session with Danny Carey just destroying the toms and the bass and guitar sounding massive. Adam Jones goes into a solo that just Tool. One thing I did not expect was the harmonizing on the guitar during the solo which I thought was a very nice touch. Then the ambiance comes back with the guitars fading in and out and the same bass riff that was in the beginning of the song. The jamming comes back in the while the band and you almost forget you’re listening to a song because it puts you into a trance, at least it did to me. Then another solo comes in and Danny Carey is just destroying the drums. This song just has so much in it. I think over half the song is instrumental and if you know me, I love that. The song just ends with the band going crazy. There is not much more to say about it that that.

Culling Voices

This song is hands down my favorite. It starts off with some sweet ambient noise and goes into a beautiful guitar riff. Maynard comes shortly after. What I like about this song is the vocals and melodies. That are so haunting and hit so hard. The song itself so almost creepy it is so haunting and I love it. This is actually, when it comes to songs, is the shortest at ten minutes and five seconds. Says a lot about the album when the shortest actually song is over ten minutes. My favorite part of the song is when Maynard sings “Don’t you dare point that at me.” I don’t know why I love it but I do. Maybe it is the style of singing he is doing or maybe it hits with me personally. I don’t know. I just love it. The guitars for most of the beginning of the song remind of a post rock band. It could easily be mistaken for a post rock band like God is an Astronaut or Russian Circles if you added more reverb to it. After a while the bass comes in with its own riff and of course sounds amazing. Around the six minute mark, you can tell the song is slowly starting to pick up. As Maynard sings “Don’t You Dare Point That At Me,” The song grows and explodes with full band just going crazy. Even Maynard after a while pretty much screams it in like a whisper cream. The song has a little break near the end but of course picks back up with another jam. This album is full of jams. Every now and then on the internet you will see a person ask for an instrumental album from Tool. There are plenty of instrumental parts on this album that will suffice their fancy. This song is great, I love it. It is my favorite it and I don’t feel like it is talked about enough.

Chocolate Chip Trip

This is my least favorite thing on the album. The synths I do not care but this is just a drum solo. I Know Danny carey is a monster of a drummer but the synths on this just ruin it for me.

7empest

The Longest song on the album. Clocking in at almost sixteen minutes. It starts with a guitar intro that similar to ones throughout the album but then goes into a riff that sounds like it could be on a Tool album in the 90’s. Reminds me of chevelle almost. They said in interviews I believe that they had this riff for years and now are able to put it into a song. The song sounds like it could be on undertow. Even the vocals and melodies sound like undertow. Out of all the albums, Undertow is my least favorite but has one of my favorite songs on it. That album to me feels like they were beginning to find their sound. Around the two minutes and forty second mark, they do a quick chugg thing then go right back into the song. Maynard’s vocals are angriest on this one when compared to the whole album. Of course it is in an odd time signature. I am not going to try to figure it out. The more you listen to the song, the more you hear other albums on it. It is ike every album into one song. The band even goes hard on this song. They let everything loose and just go insane. There are guitar solos, sweet bass riffs and insane drums throughout the whole song. The guitar solo goes for quite a while. And more impressive is that it is in an odd time signature as well which of course makes sense. At times I wish there was more singing but I am totally OK with these exteneded instrumental parts. It is hard to digest the whole song in go since it is over fifteen minutes long. Around the half way point of the song, they do this really fast guitar chugging which at first listen took me by surprise because it is just so cool. They have done riffs like that before when it is chugging pull offs but not the fast before. This song is really something else. It is a behemoth of a song because there is so much in it. I could only imagine the writing process for it. No wonder it took so many years to write the album. Around the ten minute and forty second mark they do a nasty breakdown that you can’t but help bob your head to and right after that, goes right back into a solo. Once the solo ends, you hear the guitar riff you heard at the very start of the song. It picks back up and the band goes crazy again. This song is a rollercoaster. At the end you heard that nasty breakdown with vocals for a short period and everything fades out at the end.

Mockingbeat

This is the last song on the digital version and probably the weirdest filler thing on the album. I am not sure what it is. I don’t really understand. But they put it on the album for a reason and there is probably some hidden meaning behind it but we will probably never know. Or maybe we are looking to much into it. Oh well.

Final Thoughts

The albums is a 9/10 For me. At times, I wish there was more singing and yes at times it does repeat a lot but that does not take away from the masterpiece that is this album. And now time to wait 54 years for the next Tool album.

If you want your album reviewed. Email perfectdourthrecords@gmail.com. There is a small fee but email for any other questions.

[meetnombre]

I promised myself that would keep this blog sfw. That I would fill it full of things that would make many other people happy and to help them escape from the outside world. It was supposed to be my little corner of the web that would be free from real world politics. I guess, today is finally that time where I have to break that promise.

The whole thing started just as Hasbro released the last episode of the first season of My Little Pony. I discovered it all at once when I marathoned through the first season. For 6 months afterwards, I have been following the pony fandom with a passion, but from a distance. Checking out other peoples art, lurking in forums, sending anon messages to other people’s tumblrs. That kind of stuff. (what can I say? To this day, I am still a bit of a social outcast)

It wasnt until one fateful day when I came across a certain someone’s tumblr blog through another person’s livestream. Not gonna mention any names (SilverBlaze! XD), but anyways! It was through this person’s tumblr that I was encouraged very strongly to introduce myself to someone from the fandom for the very first time. What pretty much happened was that I whacked this awesome guy an anonymous donation through his paypal associated with his new tumblr. What immediately happened afterwards was that his OC absolutely freaked out. Maybe I shouldnt have anonymously sent the post: “Here! Have a bag of free money!” as an anon...oh well XP This person helped me to muster the courage to create an online identity that I could use to interact with the fandom a lot better. He drew me my very own pony! (I still remember the livestream, where Silver started drawing “nombre” without a reference…remember the “meet nombre” image that used to be at the top of my tumblr? That was a modified screenshot of what Silver actually drew for me XD. He then scribbled it out, and began drawing my very own nombre! He asked me if I wanted nombre to be a boy or a girl, as he already started to draw long eyelashes for nombre. I was like “Nombre is a boy! NOMBRE IS A BOY!”, and he quickly removed the eyelashes after that X) ). I eventually took my brand new oc, created my very own tumblr…but then decided to wait until a better time to reveal my tumblr, as I kind of accidentally got Heart Lift, Sparks, and Toast Lift to swap bodies on purpose XP

But yeah! Finally went public with my tumblr, and eventually met someone else (Kappa! XP). I visited quite a few of her livestreams (when silver wasnt streaming, obviously XP), and we just…talked. We caught up with each other so much…we really gotta catch up with each other some more. But what happenned eventually was that Kappa invited me to a group chat where Silver and so many other awesome people got to hang out with each other. I met so many idols of my time and so many new faces, all of which soon became mutual friends. I literally felt like one of the richest people on the planet. I even met someone (Andie!), who soon became my girlfriend!

I still remember bits and pieces of the first group voice chat that I had with this group. One of the guys first impressions was “Is this guy serious?” (Kaipo XP), and “I’m more concerned that this guy works with live explosives for a living” (Rainboom XD)

It didnt last forever. Nothing lasts forever. One of my close friends from that group was forced to leave because he kept on getting anonymous hate from someone else. He didnt know who it was, so he was about at that stage where he was going to shut himself off from ‘everyone’. Good job anon! Good job! *slow clap*

I remember very well the time when that group that helped me with my depression got themselves a new certain member. Things were all good for a while…until that certain member made a techno remix, and asked the group as to what they thought of it. The problem was the title that he chose for it, as it was completely unrelated to the music itself, completely unnecessary, and pretty offensive to a lot of people (I’m pretty sure it was something like “Retarded Austistics” or “Autistic Retards” or something simular…..yeah…). That person was eventually removed from the group, but there was a bit of mayhem in the process, as ‘every single member of the group had moderator powers’. The incident served as a wakeup call to the group, so what happenned was that everyone was disbanded from the old group, and a new group was established…

…but here’s the thing. Not everyone was allowed into the new group. There was one person, who apparently the slim majority at the time decided that they didnt want in the new group. A lot of dramas happened since this event, but this particular separation in my opinion was a pretty big deal, as she was kind of a big part of the group at the time, and a big part of my life.

So! The one big group of people who meant so much to me ended up splitting into 2 separate groups. I stayed silent about the whole thing since then, hoping that someday maybe everyone will let bygones be bygones, because we were all friends once. Instead the opposite happened. Years later, a lot of people started forgetting each other. I could have been more proactive at the time to try and preserve what we all had, but I was worried about hurting someone in the process. I didnt know what to do.

My girlfriend broke up with me, and it was pretty much my fault. After being together for 3 months, she approached me and said that she needed some time apart...and I absolutely flipped my shit. I ended up saying a ‘lot’ of stupid shit that sent her into an absolute chronic panic attack. This drove her to the point where she told me straight up that I was no different from any of the other horrible people in her life. I felt like a real asshole when she said that. I said a lot of things that I shouldnt have said that day.

I was very fortunate to still have her as a friend after all of that. ‘Very’ fortunate.

It was about 3 months after this however that she decided to close her tumblr and delete her skype. She told me that she found happiness outside of this world that she built up. Over 2 years passed since she sent me that post, 2 years that she went missing. That’s long enough to legally declare anyone dead (not kidding either. After all of the low’s that she had been through, my mind was really starting to wonder into some pretty dark places as to what might have happened to her. I was so scared). But everything was okay! I actually got a message from her after all of those years from her telling me that she was doing very well and has settled down with someone else.

All I wanted was the best for her and for her to be happy. Nothing has changed. Even if is with someone else, I dont care. She ‘is’ happy, and she ‘is’ doing what is best for her, and thats all that matters. Hell, I’d approach this guy and shake his hand if it wasn’t for the fact that it would probably make things awkward for everyone XD

But as for me, I’m stuck. I dont really know what to do with myself anymore. When you give someone your heart and things dont work out, most people would get over it. Most people would have found a rebound relationship right now or something, but I guess I’m just not like most people. It’s not just because of my past, but its also because of my toxic present and future. I work in a workplace that can be pretty toxic at times. It’s like, you go back to work after your rostered days off to be meeted by ‘many’ old fashioned people who ask you inappropriate questions like “Hey Nombre! Did you get a root on break?” or “Hey Nombre! You should go get a hooker! You might like it!” over and over because they think its funny to do so, it just puts me off so much. I’m fine as I am! I dont mind being single, even if its for the rest of my life...but there are a lot of people out there who think its okay to treat other people like shit because they are ‘different’, when in reality, my workplace is full of old dirty perverts.

Meanwhile, I’m hardly ever online anymore. Every time I do manage to return to eavesdrop on everyone, it feels like everyone is just becoming more and more isolated from each other. I saw a post on ‘that’ group from someone who said that they wondered what I was up to, to which someone else replied that I pretty much only use tumblr now...and that really hurt me a lot. I cant blame them for thinking that way though, given that I hardly appear anymore. I deserved that.

Every time I look into my tumblrs past posts, I always have dramas. This was supposed to be a place of fun, but because the peak of my tumblr career involved the misadventures between myself and my ex and a certain red horse, looking back always brings up a lot of repressed memories.

I dont want to quit tumblr. But at the same time, I dont want to keep going. I dont know what to do. I really wish that things could have been like they were back in the first quarter of 2013. I liked that.

Over 5 years since then, and I dont know how to move on. I really dont.

[dotsondotson1-blog]

Type MMO Plays Pretty Well On Console.

JBL's Legend CP100 is actually an engaging reason to update your auto stereo system along with Android Auto and also Apple CarPlay for certainly not a lot of amount of money. Exercises in vogue maintains Queneau's daily tale as well as the majority of the literary metaphors as well as narration gadgets he makes use of in the source component, while this freely adjusts the rest of the designs, which are apparently much also complicated and also reliant on the reputations from the French language to become consistently deciphered. Morgan and Cocks have been performing this given that 2004, as well as currently millions of readers check their blogging site to chortle at their most up-to-date barbed messages, which satirize clothing and also their users in equivalent action. While rightwing, the blog site is anti-establishment in the broadest sense, so can easily pursue the Tories too. Leave for a bit, and also if you can easily always remember one thing in your shopping bags that you were definitely, genuinely excited about and also/ or this fits in your design or even budget, after that receive that. Reach the app draw button and also on top from the up and down scrolling food selection you'll receive a row from encouraged applications - the ones the X Design thinks you'll wish accordinged to your utilization. When you develop a style resource for a web provider that prevails to place every thing online, but you may additionally generate internal manuals, and keep all of them on a local intranet or host all of them confidentially behind a customer login webpage. It supports the majority of the popular APIs, bar Tumblr, as well as creates a decent hand from deciphering your blogging site information. Basically, Vintage style from interior design may be referred to as having a little from recent handful of many years into the here and now if you want to develop a new design from interior design that is actually each modern-day and also exciting. The style White profers typically makes easy authors appear even more energetic, a lot more particular, and even more strident compared to most any kind of author is. Although she touches on design in this publication, it is less about design dos and carry out n'ts, and extra regarding her past history, and also the instructions her life has actually had. Live Writing a blog is actually a fantastic plugin that lets you generate a single article that may at that point be upgraded live (without calling for individuals to revitalize the webpage in their internet browser). MirrorLink appears just like the title implies: it exemplifies your phone display with accessibility to assisted applications just, like CarPlay and Android Automobile. When your blog post looks you're happy with, copy it throughout the characters and deal with photos of your new social networks accounts - steady branding will certainly aid individuals remember you. And also the blog lately disclosed that America's Birthplace Security are actually - very seriously - seeking a terrorist operating within WoW. I will perhaps backdate a lot of personal ventures (using the days on forum blog posts even more after that likely) mostly only to develop the chronology of the projects (I desire it perfectly crystal clear my early ventures were actually a very long time ago) consequently that visitors later on could easily watch the advancement and also growth from both my capabilities as well as concepts. Certainly not overly, however good enough thus. You acquire this strange mix from creative, self-indulgent, and also I am actually- the-teacher-teaching designs that do not create this the best of reads through. I directly like Lauren Conrad's style which allows me to entirely appreciate this publication yet this does certainly not simply focus on her type yet cultivating your own personal style. Writing Bonuses enables you to make certain that all info featured in the blogging site is accurate. The volunteer initiatives from several people from Colorado and also New Mexico assisted to pinpoint and verify the titles those citizens from New Mexico which gave funds to the cause. Automotive industry sales amounts may be as knowledgeably cut, diced as well as provided for usage as conveniently as my favored TV pitchman, Vince, demonstrates his most recent kitchen space gadget. This imports all your old Writer accounts, then provides a straightforward as well as complete technique to upgrade your blog site off phone. I decided to read this because I had come across Garance as a popular style writer, and also due to the fact that I knew her to be the partner from The Sartorialist, whose books I have actually also reviewed. By utilizing th I have been blogging on Rebecca Reads for over four years now, but I still think that a first-timer when that concerns my brand new weblog, Product line After Line, which focuses on my homeschooling and also education adventure as well as markets items, each complimentary and also spent, in the blogosphere. KSS likewise features a Dark red public library that parsessass, scss, andcss files chronicled along with the KSS suggestions right into a neat type quick guide. Yet another multi-format blog site that digs behind the titles, frequently supplying messages that are as intriguing to folks in the games field regarding gamers. A lot of my tips for rhymes stemmed from these psychological talks accordinged to monitorings of the human psychology. The Tudor home type is actually based loosely on early British building customs popular in the course of that nation's Tudor age coming from 1485-1603.

[asterinjapan]

KOKIA in Nagoya Blue Note [2018.08.11], first stage review

Hi everyone!

I got back from Nagoya, and there's something I want to get wordy about. You see, KOKIA held a performance at Nagoya Blue Note today, and I was lucky enough to get to attend the first stage. Naturally, I want to tell you all about it, so my review follows below the cut!

Without further ado, first the set list (from memory, but I’m fairly confident about it):

Bye bye blackbird Tenki ga ii, biiru o nomou (’the weather’s nice, let’s drink a beer’) Power of smile/the girl from Ipanema Kangaroo pocket Kirin (’Giraffe’) Waraenai hanashi (’a story not for laughing’) Obake ga kowai nante (’ghosts aren’t really scary’) What a wonderful world Moment ~ima o ikiru~ (’live in the now’) kono chikyuu ga marui okage de (’thanks to this planet being round’) Summertime

The setting was really intimate, like a jazz bar. I was on the left of the stage in the front, close to the pianist, and close enough to touch the stage if I were to lie on the ground here, haha. Pianist, bassist, guitarist and drummer all entered the stage before KOKIA went up herself. I think this is the first time I've seen her wearing pants, with a glittery top this time. It fit the casual atmosphere. 

I was right with my jazz reference as she started with bye bye blackbird, a cover song I haven't heard live from her yet and in fact, I'm fairly sure she hasn't performed it in a while to begin with? The sounds were light and upbeat, getting us in the mood for a comfortable afternoon. 

I think it was after this song that she started referring to the hot summer weather,  as the next song was very aptly titled: tenk ga ii, biiru o nomou: the weather's good, let's drink a beer, haha. (You needed to get at least one drink here along with your ticket.) It's from the new album, Tokyo mermaid, and fit right in the jazzy and light hearted flow that blackbird had started. She got her band members to join in on the occasional cheer halfway through the song,  haha. After that, she mentioned the drink she had as a specialty for today, since we should be in the mood for drinks on this hot, hot summer day, obviously! (I definitely agree. In the mean while, I had barely touched my iced tea yet because I was so enthralled already, haha. ) She then asked for us to enjoy the next song, after which the pianist started a song I didn't immediately recognize at first. Then she started singing and it clicked: blast from the past, Power of Smile! It was, again, a more jazz inspired version of the song, pretty similar to the version she rearranged for her best of album pearl, subtitled a gentle breeze. I loved KOKIA's own smile as she delivered this song, light and sweet. Halfway through, we were in for a surprise: the song morphed to English,  and then KOKIA covered girl from Ipanema. That was a very fun surprise! Next up,  she talked about how much fun she's had with her upcoming album, ikimono no ongakkai (concert of living beings), part 2 of her animal series. She already teased about a preview and indeed, she mentioned the kangaroo and its pocket, which she identified with because you can just swing your child around in a pocket in front of you like that, haha. So next up, the kangaroo song, Kangaroo pocket! It was still kind of jazzy and the lyrics went a catchy "kangaroo-roo-roo pocket", and she did the whole swinging thing too, haha. So cute! The first animal album was quite a change from her previous works as it's explicitly intended to also be enjoyed by little children, so there are also a lot of animal noises in there which was apparently a lot of fun in rehearsals. We weren't yet done with the animals! I actually felt the song sounded a bit like the giraffe song from her first animal album in terms of general atmosphere, and in keeping with that atmosphere, we got - the giraffe song! (Actually, considering giraffe is Kirin in Japanese which is also a beer brand, I'm wondering as I type this whether she was still trying to get us to drink, hmmm.)

Of course, she also came back to her most recently released album, Tokyo Mermaid, which she's really proud of and she hopes that those who haven't gotten it yet would give it a listen. For now the appetizer: two songs from the album! I must confess I am not super familiar to all songs yet, so I had to rely on the lyrics to identify Waraenai hanashi (’not a story to laugh about’). The sound of it brings me back to earlier albums, and although it is a song that didn’t stick out to me right away, it got stuck with me now. And then, she started a song I immediately did recognize because it's the first one from the album and also one that I latched on almost instantly: obake ga kowai nante (ghosts aren't really scary). From what I heard from the DVD preview, she slowed it down considerably for the 20th anniversary concert, but this was the normal rhythm. I think it could be a pretty sad song, but she kept her smile and the song felt light instead. I really love this song and i was so glad she'd put it on today's set list!

Next up was a song with mostly just KOKIA and piano, which is a combination that always makes me happy. This was a song all of you know: What a wonderful world. She sings it a bit slower than the original, but so kind and sweet. I feel like her English has improved a lot over the years, and she definitely knows what she's singing, as she gestured and smiled knowingly when the lyrics about children growing up came up.

With the intro of the next song however, I immediately perked up because I knew this one very, very well. I think she's performed it every time I've seen her live, which is a blessing, because this was moment ~ima o ikiru~ (live in the now), which is an impressive song on its own but even more amazing live. Gone was the light tone of the previous songs: suddenly, the small venue seemed much, much too small to hold her powerful voice as she didn't hold back. I really tried not to cry, because this song hits me hard, but KOKIA looked almost straight at me when she was looking at her pianist for cues and I didn't want to cry on her, haha. This was marvelous. The lights swelled with the song, she effortlessly held her ridiculously long tone (last time I remembered to record it, I clocked it at 22 seconds!), and just - wow. That's not the most insightful review ever, but I'm just so blown away every time, especially contrasting the previous songs. Although KOKIA is without a doubt a professional and at ease on stage, it was like she just let loose all of the reins to deliver on moment, and delivering she did. I barely remembered to sip my drink as she took the microphone again for a talk.

She mentioned her upcoming concerts, of which there are a LOT (trust me, I run a fan blog and I've been having trouble keeping it up to date this year, haha), but the first ones up will be in China. Not entirely coincidentally I suspect, her next song was kono chikyuu ga marui  okage de (thanks to this planet being round). This is a song that swells, although not quite as much as moment, haha. I really like it though. 

It definitely was a little earlier, but KOKIA also mentioned the last time she performed here in Nagoya, which was last year’s birthday live show, when the audience apparently started singing Happy Birthday to her. The pianist tried to sing it now too, but shied away once he was offered the microphone, haha.

I think it was during this time that KOKIA started to thank the musicians, but we weren't done just yet: suddenly, she picked up the tempo and the volume, as the final song felt too big to be contained in such a small space, wow. KOKIA really is an amazing singer: she sounds like it's effortless live, and this was no exception. The song was English and very appropriately Summertime, though definitely a more powerful and slightly more up-tempo than the versions I can find online (I don’t know a lot of jazz, okay, sorry about that, haha) .

And suddenly, it was over, just like that. I mean, it makes sense since she has two performances today, but I was still overwhelmed by her performance and kind of meekly sipped on my iced tea while people around me were getting up. As it turned out, there was a shop with merchandise, and it was still open! When I went over to check, we noticed KOKIA sitting in the next room over - she was having an signature session.  Ohhh boy! I mean, with how small the venue was I was hoping for it, but being able to see KOKIA this close and getting to talk to her twice within a year was a bit much for my heart, haha. 

I'm a spoiled brat who already had all the albums for sale, but I did spot the normal version of her 20th anniversary best of album, which has a lovely but completely different cover and packaging from the special edition (which I had pre-ordered, because come on, have we met). So I ended up buying an album I already have (technically twice even, since it's a collection), but it did mean I could queue up! Keeping with the atmosphere, this session was much more up close and laid back than the Christmas concert back in December (but honestly, I was already amazed she held an autograph session at all back then, given how huge that venue was). KOKIA was seated at a high table putting her at eye level, and the queue was so short I was getting fidgety trying to remove the packaging as quickly as possible, haha. And suddenly I was at the front, and she seemed pleasantly surprised to see me (I'm fairly sure I was one of the very few obviously foreigners here today, at least from what I saw). I thanked her profusely for today (I never quite know what to express but gratitude when it comes to KOKIA), and we actually got to talk a bit. I mentioned I was from the Netherlands, and she was impressed with my language skills since, as my blog demonstrates (and she knows it's there!), I speak at least 3 languages,  haha. I'm not quite as fluent as I wish in Japanese, but this talk went pretty alright with some help here and there. I explained that moment as a song meant a lot to me and asked her to sign the booklet at that page, and she wrote it out to my name with a smiley face, hee. There were still people waiting for their turn, so I thanked her again and got to shake hands before leaving.

And with that, I think I summoned up today's main event pretty well! I'm currently in the train back to my hotel, so I'm typing this on my phone.

Aaand now I’m back at the hotel and have just finished tidying up this review a bit, haha. I hope I didn’t forget to mention anything, but I’ll stalk twitter a bit for the other fan reviews there.

Thanks for reading my rambling thus far and if you’re reading this, KOKIA, thank you again for a wonderful afternoon! It was very different and a sharp contrast from the last live show (when she did a huge hall concert backed up by a full orchestra), but I can’t help but fall in love with your music all over again every time.

See you soon again!

[ennergetics]

FILLED REQUEST: down with love, a fuckboi! seongwu au

(image credit)

pairing: ong seongwu x reader genre: fluff, angst wordcount: 3023 summary: Ong Seongwu is the campus’s resident type-A fuckboy. when you, an unknown writer, attempt to steal his spotlight, he tries to get revenge by making you fall in love with him. warnings: provocative situations, but nothing too steamy (inspired by the movie of the same name! same verse as the sungwoon prince au, but with a different reader + earlier time period. cross-posted on ao3.)

one | two

Each term, Ong Seongwu beats three of his own personal records: the number of features editors who’ve quit at the campus publication he heads; the amount of attention its social media has garnered under his editorship; and the size of his contacts list, the names of interviewees mingling with those of all the people he’s slept with.

Everybody on campus knows Ong Seongwu, and he wants to keep it that way. A consummate professional, he entered university knowing exactly what he wanted and how he was going to get there. After all, one doesn’t become an excellent reporter and social media influencer overnight; Seongwu built his brand through hard work, god-given good looks, and a knack for making people laugh. He flirts with all of them and fucks them without batting an eyelash, and none of them can say they didn’t know what they signed up for.

Yes, it’s easy to fall for Seongwu, with a story like his: a talented boy on scholarship with big dreams, eager to find someone to share his life with. The best lies are half-truths, after all. Seongwu does work hard, but he doesn’t think there’s a place in his life for love. Still, that doesn’t mean he can’t have fun, and he’s broken the many hearts of people who’ve wanted more.

PRODUCE, the publication he helped found as a freshman, is his current project and only love. He can’t help it if all the features editors up to this point have fallen hopelessly in love with him, tried to change him, and quit their jobs after failing. They were then banned from ever returning to PD101, the fond nickname for the publication’s office on campus. It’s been Seongwu’s home for his entire stay at college, and no simple flings would be able to drive him out of there.

Seongwu is at his usual spot in PD101, alternating between scrolling through PRODUCE’s social media accounts and editing the article queued for publishing within the week, when someone clears their throat.

“Boss, I’ve got an interesting piece you might want to look at.” The current features editor is a deceptively quiet boy with a knack for finding the best stories. Park Woojin quite easily turned down Seongwu’s early attempts at banter, and Seongwu’s glad to find an editor who might actually last till the end of the year and beyond. Woojin is clever enough that Seongwu might bring him onto the team when he expands PRODUCE beyond the campus, but that’s not important right now. If Woojin says a story’s got promise, Seongwu’s willing to bet on it.

He takes the tablet from Woojin and skims the article someone sent in to their submissions email. The sender, one L/N Y/N, doesn’t even have a picture up on their profile, which is a red flag for Seongwu. He gives it a cursory read-through, his expression souring as he gets further. It’s well-written, sure, but the article hinges on a tip for those lost in love: take control of their romantic lives ‘by not fucking scrubs more than once.’

He vaguely remembers what the word means: it’s a gender-neutral word for “fuckboy” that was popular in the ‘90s. Seongwu snorts. “Of course we’re not publishing this. It’s barely worth the minute I gave it my attention.” He doesn’t really think that, but PRODUCE is his magazine and he’s not going to publish anything so contrary to his own lifestyle. There’s something about this piece that feels like a personal attack, though Seongwu can’t quite place his finger on it. Before texting his next hook-up for the week, he gives Woojin a look; Woojin shrugs; and that’s the end of that.

Two days later, everyone on campus is talking about an explosive blog post promoted through the school’s online billboard system, titled “DOWN WITH LOVE.” Seongwu checks out the link and finds a more polished version of what had been sent in, complete with properly sourced memes and gifs. That annoys Seongwu enough, but now none of his regular fuck buddies will pick up his calls or reply to his texts—that is, except for the three who sent him a link to the blog post.

Seongwu looks you up and discovers you’re quite attractive, your photos tastefully shot and social media clean. He’s scrolling through your twitter when he sees a question about whom you think ‘the worst scrubs on campus’ are.  There’s only one name there: his. “Never met him, but everybody tells me he’s an ass,” your answer says.

That’s the moment he decides he’s going to get his revenge. Ong Seongwu doesn’t lose, and it should be easy enough to make you fall in love with a self-proclaimed fuckboy like himself. You’ve never met him—in fact, you refuse to meet with him or any of the PRODUCE staffers—and his carefully curated social media means he can control his image perfectly. Seongwu puts on glasses, parts his hair in the middle, and borrows from his friend Jisung’s wardrobe, making himself practically unrecognizable, then sets himself up as a new student in your project management class.

Adopting a Busan accent that’s a passable approximation of Woojin’s way of speaking, Seongwu strikes up conversation with you. “Hey,” he says softly, “have you got a copy of the syllabus? I just shifted into this class.”

“I do,” you say, your tone oddly hopeful. “You don’t know who I am?” You look surprised that he’s talking to you. He imagines you must not be popular; infamous, yes, but you probably didn’t make many friends publishing and promoting your post like that. Your campus is filled with easily identified scrubs who probably didn’t take too kindly to having their beds suddenly empty.

Seongwu cocks his head in a way he knows makes hearts flutter, blinking at you. “No, should I?”

“No, no, not at all!” you say, a grin lighting up your face. “Here, I’ve got it on my phone.” You hand him your phone, and Seongwu makes sure your fingers touch his. He exaggerates his reaction, looking down with a sheepish smile, but he feels his cheeks turn warm. Seongwu shakes his head. It’s been a while, he tells himself, and that’s all it is.

The class starts and he has no chance to return your phone. You’re engrossed in the professor’s explanation—something about the various management frameworks, and Seongwu realizes he’s in over his head here as a communications major—but you glance at him occasionally, worrying your lower lip with your teeth.

Within ten minutes, the class is over, the first day a simple explanation of the syllabus. Seongwu doesn’t need to graduate with Latin honours, but he wants to. This class is beginning to look like an obstacle, and he curses how foolhardy he was with this plot. It spoke volumes about how much you’d shaken up his routine. Still, there was a way for him to kill two birds with one stone.

“Um, thank you for lending me your phone,” he says, scratching at the back of his head. “It’d be great if we could be study buddies?” Seongwu says, letting his hair fall over his forehead just so. “I’m Hong Sungwoon, but my friends call me Ong. They say I’m too much of an old man,” he says, chuckling. This way, you’ll use a name he’ll recognize, but won’t know it’s him.

You’re smiling up at him, then he sees a spark in your eyes. Bullseye. “Maybe I should get your number, Ong-sshi,” you say. “It wouldn’t be hard to study with a cute face like yours beside me.”

Seongwu covers his mouth with his hand. “Gosh,” he says, “I’ve never had anyone be this forward with me before, especially not someone as attractive as you.” Your eyes soften, and Seongwu admits it’s a look that makes him feel warm inside. He almost feels bad about how he’s going to break your heart.

“Then we’ll both be lucky,” you say, handing him your phone. Your fingers linger at his arm, tracing a light pattern on his bicep as Seongwu inputs his number. He ignores the shiver up his spine at your lazy smile, keeping the act up and trembling slightly when he hands your phone back.

Your first study session is in the following week, right before a quantitative quiz Seongwu has no idea how to answer. Hong Sungwoon is a man afraid of crowds, so the two of you study at the roof of the old biology building, a spot you’ve apparently been keeping to yourself since you got to university. It’s conveniently near PD101, so everything works out for Seongwu.

He’s sitting with his side flushed against yours, watching you push up your glasses every few moments while explaining the necessary diagrams to him. When he feels you shiver at the chill, he places an arm around you as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “You shouldn’t be cold,” he says, wide-eyed.

You grin up at him, snuggling closer and leaning your head on his shoulder. The hand with the papers you’re scribbling on falls onto his upper thigh, and when you show how the items flow from one department to another, he feels the pressure of your finger against his skin.

The rest of the session continues like this, with Seongwu finding excuses for innocent touches here and there, with you escalating each one. Your breathing becomes shallow, a cute flush beginning to show on your skin. Seongwu resists the urge to pull you into a kiss, internally reminding himself of the part he has to play. It’s when you’re done explaining the whole lesson, practically sitting in his lap, when you turn to him and place your hand on his chest.

You draw your face close to his and whisper against his mouth. “Ong,” you say, looking into his eyes, “how would you feel about lessons of a different kind?” And Seongwu springs away as if burned, sputtering while trying to hide his laugh at how corny your line had been.

“I couldn’t possibly do that, Y/N-sshi!” he says. “I mean, I’ve never really done that kind of thing before, and I want to save myself for someone special, you know?” But before you can say anything else, he adds, “I would certainly be honoured to take you out on a date, though. You seem swell, and I’d love to get to know you better.”

Seongwu sees you considering it, and for a moment he’s worried you won’t take the bait. “I mean,” he says, pressing his hand into the small of your back, as if he doesn’t feel you shuddering under his touch, “it’s hard for me to control myself when you’re so pretty, but you could be...”His fingers curl up, scratching lightly against your shirt in a way he knows you’ll feel. “…you could be my first.”

He’s got you there, and right after a grueling, fifty-point quiz, he takes you out to a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant. The auntie running the kitchen waves at him when he ushers you in, flashing both of you a big smile. “I’m not the most well-off,” he says, milking your sympathy. As you look around with wide eyes, though, he feels his throat itch with apprehension. In a way, this is an honest side of himself, one no one, especially not his hook-ups, ever get to see.

“I love it,” you say solemnly. He orders for the both of you, and you dig into the home-cooked meals with gusto. Seongwu makes sure to feed you once or twice, ignoring how your tongue slips out to lick the rich sauces off your lips. The whole time, you both talk about how you ended up at the university, Seongwu giving you a sanitized version of his history, omitting how cutthroat he’d been throughout the years while building his virtual empire. He finds out that you’re just as driven as he is, with a mind skilled at data visualization and a minor in publication management.

You insist on splitting the bill, but the auntie surprises you both by telling you the meal is free. “This young man is a regular customer, and I’m happy to see him finally out on a date,” she says, and Seongwu thanks the stars for having her back up the alibi he’s given.

He walks you home, and at your doorstep, you give him a kiss that tastes like auntie’s best tteokbokki, and Seongwu deepens the kiss for a moment before remembering the long-term plan. You’re breathing hard when he pulls away, your pupils dilated and your grip on his neck tight. “Come in,” you say breathily, your hand moving to stroke at his jaw.

“I-I’m not sure that’s a great idea,” Seongwu says, though every bone in his body—as well as all the blood that rushed south at the feel of your hips against his—disagrees. “I’ll see you in class next week.” He kisses you on the cheek before extracting himself from your grasp.

Numerous dates and study sessions go by, with your hands wandering his body more and more desperately and his famous self-control slowly but surely being eroded by your touch. One night he gives in and you make out on your couch, his grip around your waist tight as you grind against each other. He waits till you come and leaves with a terrible case of blue balls, insisting on being a gentleman all the while. Never mind how dirty his groans are when he jacks off later in the shower, your name on his lips. As he leans his head against the shower stall, his heavy pants fogging up the glass, Seongwu thinks something has to be done.

You’re at one of the smaller study halls, one rarely frequented by students, when Seongwu decides it’s time to enact the final phase of his plan. He ignores the uneasy feeling at the back of his mind, willing himself not to feel anything when you thread your fingers between his. For once, the two of you aren’t caught up studying, and he pulls you to a rarely visited section of the hall, where you crowd him against the bookshelf and pull his lips to your own.

Your lips are puffy and his hair’s a mess when he pulls away, stilling the gentle grind of your hips with one steady hand. “I’m not sure,” he says, putting all the confusion and turmoil he’s feeling into his next words. “I think—I think you’re the one for me, but I don’t know how you feel.”

Seongwu’s set up a hidden camera on the top shelf, ready to record your confession for posting at prime-time. Everything’s in place for him to succeed, but he can’t deny the apprehension he feels. He wants you to confess because it means he wins, that you’re a hypocrite who doesn’t walk your talk. But part of him wants you to confess because he wants to know how you’ve felt about these last three months you’ve spent together.

You sigh once. Seongwu holds his breath. “I’m in love with you. I wrote an article decrying love and its associated pains, but it all feels like a lifetime ago. You’ve made me so happy these past three months. It was impossible for me not to fall for you.” And Seongwu smiles, having won both your heart and the competition you hadn’t even known about.

“That is, if I hadn’t fallen for you already, Ong Seongwu.”

You stand on your tiptoes and reach for the camera, switching it off. Seongwu’s jaw hangs open, and while he’s staring at you wordlessly, you begin to speak. “A year ago, an impressionable junior applied for the features editor opening at PRODUCE magazine. I needed some experience for minor credits, and yours was one of the most-talked-about and better-run among the accessible publications. I was starstruck by you then, so smooth and suave and skilled. You knew precisely what you wanted and how to get it.

“I told myself that I wouldn’t sleep with you, even as your flirting got more intense. It’s easy enough to fall in lust with you, Seongwu, but the sides you showed during the magazine’s times of trouble, the rare moments you bared your heart—in the end, I fell hard. You took me to bed during the Christmas party and never talked to me again.”

Seongwu’s brows furrow. “So you wanted revenge by getting me to date you?”

“No, you silly boy,” you say, reaching out to touch Seongwu’s face. “I just wanted you to like me. I knew it’d be irresistible to you, the idea of making someone crack, to the point that you’d let down your cool exterior and be the you no one else gets to see.”

He’s floored. There it is, that feeling again, of being bested by someone else—the same someone, no less—but it’s overshadowed by the realization that everything you’re saying is true. Maybe he hasn’t fallen in love with you just yet, but he’s certainly getting there. Ironically enough, words aren’t always easy for him, and he hasn’t verbalized the meaning behind his enthusiasm as he checks for your messages in the morning; the energy he feels after laughing in class with you; the tenderness of your interlinked arms as he walks you home.

“I do like you,” he says, “more than I knew. More than I should. But we can be happy now, can’t we? I’ll release this cover story, we’ll go on dates for real, I’ll ask you to go steady, and we’ll live a good life, or whatever it is always comes at the end of romantic comedies.”

You look troubled for the first time, and Seongwu feels the seed of worry grow. “I can’t. So many people here on campus are better off because of me. No more awful ghosting, no more one-night stands that they expected more from, and no more silly attachments.” You shrug before pulling him close. “I’ll miss you.”

Taking the camera with you, you smile sadly, giving Seongwu one last chaste kiss. “I guess I’m a down-with-love kid, after all.”

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: Kawaii Box Nov 17

Hello, welcome to another review.... I’m sick again. Or should I say, still sick? Because I don’t think the cold bug actually ever left- he just went on a temporary break.

Well that and it’s probably because on Sunday night we went to the Christmas Lights fair in the country and it was very chilly out.

Anyhoo, here we are now ( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/ I hope you enjoy the review! But before that I want to remind any new Cuties, you can hover the cursor over images to make them easier to see. 

Kawaii Thanksgiving Parade!

First up is this cute bag by Kanahei, featuring the recently popular Usagi and Piske, a bunny and bird duo with simple but comedic features. The fabric is very soft, and features two string pulls, along with Piske and Usagi sewn on with some words above them. 

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

It’s an ultra-soft bag; I really want to cuddle it :3 Which I did, and it felt amazing~

The sewn on details are really nice and smooth, and this bag is a decent size so I feel like it could be pretty useful too. I was able to fit in all of my essentials with no problem (and I have many). I also like how it came in this plastic bag, which will keep it protected from getting dirty.

It might just be me, but the draw-strings seem a little cheap in comparison to the rest of the bag. This fabric (from past experiences) tends to weaken or thin over time, and I sort of wish they matched the rest of the bag. While it might not be obvious in the image, it’s painfully obvious in real life that it does not go with the bag at all.

I’m just going to point out right now that I don’t know if this is official or fake. I know a few people are accusing Kawaii Box of fake products and have shown me some pretty convincing evidence. But I want to believe Kawaii Box wouldn’t be trying to rip people off knowingly.... I try to remain impartial on the subject.

Anyway, this is a Techi Techi Gomarachi Plush. Gomarachi is this adorable seal by Amuse. He has tons of merchandise, and there’s even a Japanese DS/3DS game for him. It looks really cute and I considered buying it when I saw it ♥

I got Gomarachi, as you can see by this checklist picture. I really like the two girl seals though, so I kind of wish I got one of them. But they are all really cute and squishy marshmallows~

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ 

It’s really cute... but it’s a little cheap. Again the picture fails to do my description any justice. It’s soft and bouncy, but it has that “cheap fluff filling“ I noticed in a few other plush toys that don’t seem to do as well as others I’ve gotten from other crate brands.

I also noticed its face is slanted （・□・；） Nothing lines up proportionate wise except for its 3 mouth. Not even the muzzle. It’s not super noticeable, so I’m not sure this was intentional or not. It’s paws/hands/flippers aren’t evenly stuffed either, and there’s a loose string by its muzzle as well...

Here’s an adorable pair befitting of the image on the included card I showed you on top of the page. A Rain Boot Ink Pen, and a Let’s Go Mini Notebook.

How adorable is this pen?? It’s so cute! It has a cute little animal face on it, and a small platform piece where the heel of the boot is. The tip of the pen is fine and has a tiny plastic bit over it to keep the ink from making a mess.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

It’s a very simple pen, and while the cap is adorable... I wish it was a little bit more decorative? It’s literally a plain grey stick with a cutesy cap. But the cap is capable of sticking on both sides, which is another good quality since I worry about losing the caps if I can’t put them on the pen’s top.

The only thing that has me confused is the way the heel of the boot is shaped/designed, I feel like it is meant to stand. But it can’t, because I tried it on a few different surfaces and either I have it on the wrong one, or I gave a strange decision choice too much credit. It would have been cool if it could have stood though!

To go with the pen is this sweet little pink notebook featuring a small girl with cherries, a simple border, and writing that says Let’s Go!! and Accompany growth. The inside is very plain, featuring lined pages with a small section for a title, name, and date. I has 80 pages in it.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I love it’s simple and cheery design x3 It’s very sweet, and I like how it’s in this protective translucent cover- which not only gives it some support (something that’s kind of bugged me with over notebooks I got in these boxes), but once you finish using it you could probably find a replacement to slide in it’s place.

If you’ve been reading this blog for even a short time, you can probably recall that I LOVE hair accessories!

Especially cutesy hair clips like these Harajuku Food Hair Clips. They go perfect with some past colorful drink-type Harajuku pins I got from from Kawaii Box ♥ I believe this is some peanut butter, toast, and... ketchup?

I won’t criticize accuracy in spelling (buteer, instead of butter), but as much as I love pink, I’m not actually sure if that is ketchup or something else. For all I know it’s lemon sauce!

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

（。＞ω＜）。

I. ADORE. These.

Not only are they kawaii, but the clip pieces they used are pretty cute too, and they seem to work fairly easily without too much force. The last time I got cute hair clips they were extremely loose (I had to glue them back on before I even got a chance to wear them), so I thought this would be a repeat of that. I was delightfully surprised to see it wasn’t- and I can’t wait to use them with my pins!

As usual we can look forward to some cute stickers! This month we get two sets, including the Twinkle Jewel Seal Deco Diamonds, sparkling gem-like stickers that you can use for deco purposes.

I love these, I’m obsessed with gems and shiny things, and hearts. I can’t wait to actually find something to deco with them now, although I still have the other set I got from my first Kawaii Box, which was a colorful set full of different shapes. 

The other sticker sheet is full of Gudetama! Who lately I find is gathering more and more steam where I live. Not that I’m complaining- who doesn’t love this cute lazy egg? Especially when he’s getting into trouble and playing with other foods x3

The background of the stickers are see-through too, which I like.

Ratings:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

They’re both stickers, one is deco purpose, the other is for whatever. I don’t have any issues with these, so I really don’t have anything to remark upon either. 

Our last item for this box is a little bag of Kasugai Chibi Vege Ramune Candies.

I eat vegetables, but not often, and I’m very picky with them. I was expecting these to taste like vegetables- so I admit, I waited until I had to get pictures before trying them.

Also, according to the bag this is supposed to be a really good candy for those with food allergies. It has no egg, grains, seeds, peanut, shell fish, crab, and something that looks like milk/dairy.

Of course I am wondering what’s in this- but I can’t translate what’s written on the back.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I love candies like these, and once in your mouth they melt into softened mounds. In terms of taste... I can’t exactly identify what they are. I think the pinkish-purple is on the grape side, while the white seem to have a very faint lemonish taste... but I don’t think it’s lemon.

Weirdly they smell like soy sauce rice snacks I’ve eaten in the past o_o I don’t hate the smell, and thankfully they don’t taste like that because while I love soy sauced rice snacks I’m not sure how it would be in candy form...

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content -  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  I liked everything essentially. Nothing really wowed me though, which seems to be a running gag for me by now. That’s kind of bad, but sometimes it happens, especially with how predictable this box has become lately. For the price we paid I feel like we got just about our money’s worth. 

Quality -   ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  Everything is perfectly fine- I was very happy with the hair clips especially. But tiny details made it a little... meh? Like the odd plush, and that plain pen and it’s weird heel.

Theme - ♥ Um... I’m starting to think there isn’t mean to be a theme. At least some times. Like the message said THANKSGIVING, but the design on the front depicts a rainy season picture... None of the items really screamed any sort of apparent theme either. But I do like how the images on the items listing match the items we got. Sometimes they don’t.

Total Rank: 10 out of 15 Cuties. Um... this one only barely did better then the previous one. I do like it, but the box has become so predictable it doesn’t really offer much surprise at the time. They do change the contents, and if I really had to request anything I’d say, “please include squishies again“ or “go back to including DIY candy“, which they stopped doing a while back. I think they did it to save a buck or two, but I could be wrong.

♥ Cutie Scale ♥

1. Kanahei Bag - I really didn’t think this would be my top choice initially. But I fell in love with it’s really soft texture and feel. It’s amazing~

2. Harajuku Hair Clips - Odd color choices or not, I can’t deny how fun and cute they look. I’m really excited to star using them!

3. Gomarachi Plush - He’s so sweet looking, even if he is a little lop-sided~

4. Mini Notebook -  I love it’s soft and simple design on the front.

5. Twinkle Jewel Seal Deco Diamonds - I’m a sucker for hearts, gems, and pink things~

6. Vege Ramune Candies - The packaging is fun with the doggies wide-opened mouth :D

7. Gudetama Stickers - They are cute and funny to look at. I always smile when I see Gudetama :3

8. Rain Boot Pen - Pretty sure this is the plainest pen we got yet. The cap is cute but it’s not enough to save the rest of it.

Okay, so that will be it for this review. I know I didn’t really have too much to remark upon regarding some items. I found myself feeling indifferent/neutral about the box in general.

I still have 2 or 3 November boxes remaining, and while I usually save Tokyo Treat for last I might do it next. I did open a couple of things last week when I intended to get to the review but that didn’t happen.

Until next time, stay cute!

[chroniclesofedward]

I Need a Kit Kat

Hey readers, I have recently re-branded my channel, i’ve changed the icon, the header, and the name of the channel itself. Now Wayward Edward is no more, it’s chronicles of Edward now, the previous personality I wanted to portray was a very saturated one, as well as exuberant, all presented through the aesthetic of pixel art and emojis. I’ve replaced that image with a new more serene one.

It took such a long time to make everything, the icon was especially tricky to make, 

it went through a bunch of changes, in the end I used Van Gogh’s painting, for the background, the only element that remained from the initial design was the cubic letter E design. And the header was inspired from the world war 2 video from the Crash Course Channel, 

and the background gradation was inspired from an iOS game The Sailor’s dream. 

It took about 1 to 2 weeks to make all that. Overall i’m pretty proud, of how it turned out. But i’m not looking forward to doing graphic design, at least not anytime soon, I was partly motivated to rebrand because Dan aka Danisnotonfire. Has came to a realization that using a name like that doesn’t quite reflect well on the owner of the name. And I thought that makes sense. So now I’ve switched to a username that is less extravagant. That and because my previous design which no longer suits me.

Along with my rebranding, I have a rule to decree for my youtube channel channel, it’s not exactly a new rule it’s more of a restoration. Back at the end of 2013 I was feeling pensive because the year was about to end, and I felt like i’ve wasted another year, because I haven’t done anything with my life, so I tried to retrospect on the year that was about to end, and I was right, the days seemed to blend into one, and it was all empty. I had been drifting through life, I had no purpose or motivations. My days were so dull that almost none of them left a mark as they passed by. It felt like I had just been dormant for the past year. It felt like I was going to shrink and shrink until I disappear. To lead a life that others don’t find remarkable is common, but to lead a life that even I myself find forgettable, that’s a whole new level of vapid. And I felt a moderate degree of terror, because I came to a realization that this is the only life i get, and if I don’t do anything with it, i’m going to die with a bunch of wasted yesterdays.

So i opted to make a scrapbook to keep record of what i’ve experienced throughout the following year, so when I retrospect about my life again, I won’t feel that terror anymore, because I have evidence that I did indeed experience the year for myself. But that would require me to own a polaroid camera and I never got around to having one. So I made another compromise. I started a blog instead. And I switched to making vlogs. And here I am.

So initially this channel was created for me to keep records of my own life. But gradually I have —without realizing it— shifted  the orientation of this channel to appeal to external viewership, as if I have any. And this factors into the script i write and what I include or exclude from these videos. When i’m writing with the intention of being externally appealing, the outcome would differ, from the scripts that I write for the sake of chronicling my life. Youtubers make compromises to make their content appealing to the mass of crowds, and I am not so willing to make such compromises. But as I said I have gradually shifted the orientation of this channel, therefore this calls for a reinstatement of the of this channel, I am reorienting this channel to it’s original purpose, to serve as a reserve for my days gone by. Therefore from now on, I will start my videos by saying “Hey Future Edward.” So that when I begin to write my next video scripts, having addressed myself in the beginning of it, I would be oriented to write for myself.

That doesn’t mean I don’t welcome external viewership, if anybody else enjoys the contents I create, then you’re welcome to listen in. I just had to establish the purpose of this channel. This also doesn’t mean I want to put less effort in producing these videos, because like Plato said, when you do or make anything, have the ideal version of it in mind. And then aspire to match it. When I look back in my life, I don’t want to just see a bunch of lousily made videos, but i’m still working on that, as for the videos I make now are still pretty lousy. I want to look at it through a lens that allows for HD resolution, not 360p not 480p, but 720p the least. I want to have the accounts of my life to be in the form of interesting videos.

Well then, anyway i’m on my holiday right now, and It takes so much work to make a vlog, it requires me to write a script, recording myself reciting the script takes much time because speaking itself is hard for me, and computer editing takes the longest time and is the most tedious because I have to edit out all the pauses and make cartoons and download and insert pictures, just editing alone can take up to a week even when I work full-time each day. It would be tremendously easier if I can speak in fluent streams of words. and as much as this is a voluntary hobby, this is also a form of labor.

And I am just tired of any forms of labor right now. I don’t even want to play video games. As I said I am having my long awaited graduating holiday right now, and I want to rest up, after having gone into overdrive mode during mid April. I need to lie down and cocoon. Which is why this video is titled “I need a Kit Kat” because that’s when you have a break, apparently, when you have a kit kat. I don’t get it, it’s been 2 months since I graduated, and I still feel tired. That said, I just bought a new camera, well my father bought it for me, 9more about that on my next video) so I am going to make another video, using that camera, before I go for a hiatus. I don’t know how this hiatus will end, n’sync or one direction. Although i’m not sure one direction is a proper opposing counterpart to N’sync because they might not get back together. Anyway you get the point.

So don’t be confused when I start my videos by saying “Hey Future Edward” when and if I make another video okay?

Well then, that’s all for this entry of Chronicles of Edward. Goodbye.

[kevinalevine]

12 Lessons I’ve Learned from 100+ Link Building Campaigns – Wins & Fails

One of the first things that beginner SEOs get in contact with is link building, often far before they even hear about content quality or even basic things like proper keyword research or title optimization. 

  Link building is the most controversial topic in SEO and I believe that we should encourage people on not focusing too much on links alone . And in years of doing link building campaigns, I’ve learned a thing or two.  So here they are: 12 lessons I’ve learned from dozens of link building campaign I’ve been working on.

    BlackHat Spam Link Building Tools Don’t Work

Building Free Links Manually Takes Ages & Comes With a Lot of Disappointment

Bought Links and PBNs are Too Expensive & Too risky

Forum Posts & Blog Commenting ARE Useful for SEO

Nofollow Links DO Help You Rank Better

Google Can’t Penalize Everyone & Won’t Penalize You for What You Did 5 Years Ago

Focusing on Link Building Alone is Just NOT Worth It Overall

Guest Posts are Useful… But…

Links With Branded Anchors Work Best

Internal Linking is An Awesome Way to Include Commercial Anchor Texts

Unlinked Brand Mentions Can Pay Off Really Well

You CAN Rank a Website High by Earning Links

  1. BlackHat Spam Link Building Tools Don’t Work

  If you’re an experienced SEO, you’re probably not very impressed about this first point. But there’s a big reason why it’s first in this list. I’ll ask you a question:

When you first started building links, what was the very first thing you tried?

If you’re an honest man, you’ll probably say that some sort of blackhat link building.

  As I said, new SEOs often learn about link building first, far before they hear about anything else. Don’t believe me? Well, with all the (often contradicting) information overload on the internet, people turn to forums to get answers cleared out, because they can read the opinions of a dozen different people at once, or even ask questions directly themselves. Just take a look at one example from a forum:

    Now you might be saying “Yes, but that’s a BlackHat SEO forum. I know it.” Well, that’s true, but take a look at how he says he’s new to SEO and has $600 to spend, yet he already knows about tools and link buying.

  So it’s pretty clear that this beginner already knows something about SEO, just not the right stuff. Why? Because BlackHat SEO looks appealing. You apparently get quick results for very little work. Coming up with cool content ideas is hard and time consuming. Writing them even harder.

  In reality, BlackHat SEO tools are expensive and have a huge learning curve. You’re better off building something solid and safe from the start.

  How am I so sure? Well, because I’ve been there. I wanted to make my life easy. I purchased ScrapeBox, GSA Search Engine Ranker, Captcha Breaker and other software, in an attempt to easy my job.

  I spent weeks if not months to learn the software, time in which I had other expenses that I wasn’t aware of at first, such as proxies. In the end, I realized that most links the tools were building were crap ones, because most websites didn’t only had captchas (which Captcha Breaker could occasionally pass) but were also moderator approved.

  The results? Not impressive. Low to medium results with pretty much a lot of money, effort and stress put in. By low to medium results I mean not on page 1.

  All this happened because I missed one key point. The user. I was so caught in my link building that I completely ignored other things. If I did any OnPage SEO, I constantly thought of ways to include more keywords on a page without looking TOO obvious, but never actually thought about the end user for a bit.

  And I haven’t even mentioned penalties yet. I haven’t really experienced penalties personally (yet again I didn’t quite stick with blackhat methods for long) but many of our cognitiveSEO users and clients that I personally consult know very well the dangers of blackhat link building.

  The real results started kicking in when I finally thought about how to make my website and content genuinely useful for the users. Sure, there are a lot of advanced tactics, technical optimizations and marketing schemes you can perform, but at the core, user experience is king.

  There are also ISP (Internet Service Providers) issues. If you start spamming the web, they will eventually phone you to ask you if everything’s alright. You’ll have to lie, obviously, because it’s against their ToS and probably even illegal in some places.

  A Black Hat Link Building Story

  I interviewed a guy once and he told me about how he used to make around $1000 – $2000 per month by spamming the web. That sounds good, but he ended up with very little profit.

    At first, he was only spamming with one computer and a dozen of proxies, averaging about $75 to $100 per month. So he then thought “Hey, why don’t I scale this up?”. Well… scaling up was a big investment. He ended up buying around 20 computers and also spent a lot of money on the energy bill and the internet service package. The total spending was close to $10000.

  In about 3-4 months, Google started catching up with his scheme and penalized his websites. He started everything allover again, trying to stay under the radar, but each time, Google caught him. It took less and less for Google to catch up. At first 2-3 months, then 1-2 months until he abandoned everything.

  With only 2-3 moths of full earnings, he ended up banking less than he spend on the whole setup. He could of course profit by selling the setup, which is a lot more time consuming than purchasing it. In the end, he ended up having nothing solid and realized it isn’t worth it. 

  2. Building Free Links Manually Takes Ages & Comes With a Lot of Disappointment

  Clients ask about links almost all the time. “They heard that it helps with rankings, so they want as many as possible.” People usually ask for SEO consultancy offers and how many links per month they contain. it seems that in order to have an “SEO package”offer, you need to have some links there.

  However, coming back to reality, it just isn’t possible to promise someone a number of links per month, unless you have a predefined set of website you link out from, which makes everything less relevant and more risky.

  Not only that but you also put everyone at risk, because similar link patterns attract more attention and can impact the whole network. This means that if Google hits one site for link spam, it might hit every site with a similar link pattern. This is also the case with buying links, not only with building them. BlackHat tactics affect everyone, not only the performer.

  I’ve been able to outrank and pull out my middle finger to websites that had dozens of very expensive links purchased and probably PBNs, all with almost no link building at all. I also did manual ‘link building’ here and there, but we’ll talk about it later in the article. I’ll explain why I’ve put link building between brackets, so keep reading.

  To be honest, building links manually is just like using a BlackHat link building tool, but 100000 times slower and infinitely more frustrating, because there’s no filter for the failure (like the software), which now goes directly into your soul.

  You, doing manual link building.

  A friend of mine was recently assigned to build some manual links at his work place. After about one week, he sent me this message: “I feel like I’m doing this for nothing.”

  3. Bought Links and PBNs are Too Expensive & Too risky

  After finding out that manual link building literally makes you cry blood, I decided to purchase some links.

  Here and there, you could get an occasional $10 per link, on a random worthless blogspot. For the real links, on news websites, for example, we were talking about $400 to $1000 per link. Many would also ask for monthly payments of $50 to $200 to keep a link online.

  Of course, these prices apply to the markets I am familiar with; in other niches, links are probably a lot more expensive.

  PBNs can probably be more efficient, however the risks are high and you also need to spend a lot of time creating them and making sure Google won’t catch them. 

  A Private Blog Network’s primary cost is content, which you could be very well creating on your main site.

  Here’s a glimpse of how much it would cost you to build a PBN if you want to avoid doing the work yourself. Although these guys probably know what they’re doing, the risks are still there.

    As long as you have multiple quality websites that you take care of, I don’t see the problem with interlinking them. However, you have to take into account the fact that Google might see it as a PBN and penalize it. I’d focus on one website first and when it really goes good and competition is already behind, I’d expand with another one.

  It’s just that… sometimes, dofollow links ‘for SEO’ are more expensive than a regular advertising post on a high authority, high traffic, well established website. I consider the latter to be more effective. If you find a great advertorial opportunity/deal to get your product or website featured, then by all means go for it. But it’s a better idea if the link has a nofollow tag and if the promotion is clearly specified in the article.

  4. Forum Posts & Blog Commenting ARE Useful for SEO

  Wait! Isn’t this a BlackHat Tactic? I know, this might sound counter intuitive. But the answer si no, it isn’t a BlackHat tactic.

  Forums are communities in which people share opinions, ideas and they are also a great resource. Blog comments are the way readers and content creators interact with each other.

  In order to get links, you need to build connections. If you build connections then you’re doing forum posting and blog commenting the right way. Connections help you get more link opportunities. You get to know one webmaster, then they introduce you to another and so on.

  But that’s not the only way to build connections. You can also go to meetings. Meetings and events are probably the most efficient marketing strategy you can spend time on. You can build more connections, land more leads and secure more clients in one single event ore meeting than you can in months of online efforts.

  Sometimes, it’s not easy to find an event in your niche, but there definitely are adjacent niches where you can go. You just have to think outside the box. Alcohol brands, for example, promote a lot on music festivals. If you make shoes, you don’t have to find a shoemaker meeting. Just go to a fashion meetup, or maybe sports one, depending on your products.

  Me (on the right) networking at an E-commerce Summit 2018

  You might often meet bloggers in similar or adjacent niches and you can collaborate with them. You can also connect with them online, on their blogs. Chances of you getting your comments approved now are much higher. Most of the forum and blog comment links are nofollow anyway, but that’s not a problem, because nofollow links actually help you rank better. I have proof, keep reading.

  If you have a small/medium website or a blog, don’t dismiss comments and forum posts completely.

  5. Nofollow Links DO Help You Rank Better

  We all want dofollow links. Not just for SEO, but even for our own sake. A nofollow sounds sort of like mentioning someone, but talking badly of him. In reality, nofollow links aren’t bad. They can still help you rank better. If you want proof, check out this article about nofollow links.

  Countless times has it been proven to me that nofollow links help you rank higher.

  If you do purchase an advertorial with a link, not only will you theoretically be legal by using a nofollow link, but you’ll tell Google “Hey, I’m following the rules. Are we cool?”.

  Try it and you’ll see for yourself. Just don’t bother building useless nofollow links from spam or random posts on random blogs and forums. Use proper advertising on relevant websites with good traffic and adequate audience. That’s the best way to go for.

  It’s funny, I’ve even found another “X link building mistakes” article which states that building nofollow links is in fact a mistake. A mistake is having an unnatural link profile and a 100% dofollow link profile is definitely unnatural.

  The problem with dofollow links is that Google wants them to come naturally, without any monetary incentives. So Google decided to create the nofollow tag to be added to sponsored links. Obviously, nobody cared about that and Google had to bring in penalties.

  So everytime you buy dofollow links, you’re exposing yourself to the risk of penalty. Google penalizes sites both ways, so publishers started avoiding giving dofollow links altogether.

  John Mueller confirmed that adding a nofollow tag to any kind of paid or incentivised link will remove the risk of a Google Penalty.

  Nofollow links are fine.

— John ☆.o(≧▽≦)o.☆ (@JohnMu) January 15, 2018

  Now I’m just making assumptions, but I don’t find it hard for Google to realize a MyBusiness review is fake, if some account with a high activity in local stores from Texas reviews a restaurant from North Dakota, without ever visiting it.

  Same goes with buying links. We’re all using Gmail, and even if we don’t, we’re probably logged in a Google account in some way, through our browser. It wouldn’t be hard for Google to figure out connections between webmasters.

  I know, it sounds paranoid, but since they have patents on listening to what you say through your microphone to server you personalized ads… I don’t know what isn’t possible.

  6. Google Can’t Penalize Everyone & Won’t Penalize You for What You Did 5 Years Ago

  At first, when looking at a very competitive niche and seeing a ton of BlackHat links, you might be thinking that it works and that’s the way to go. That’s not the point. Google doesn’t rank the website with the most links, it ranks the best website.

    What John is saying is that most unnatural links are actually ignored. So if a site does have unnatural links, it doesn’t mean it isn’t still the best result out there. Google tries to satisfy the user, not the other websites. If the user isn’t satisfied, it stops coming on Google.

  For example, let’s suppose that Adidas and Nike do a lot of BlackHat SEO, but some Chinese ghost brands like Abibas and Nikae do WhiteHat SEO. Should Google rank those when people search for “best sport shoes brands”?

  And if all websites that rank for a keyword were to be penalized… who would be ranking? Nobody?

  If your competitors are ranking above you but they have a lot of spammy links, you might want to read this article about how to outrun them.

  You have to take into account that Google gives a lot more damns about user experience that it gives about links. If you build 100 links and Google boosts you up, it won’t be long until it drops you back forever if your website sucks.

  If your competition is full of spammy links or purchased links, you’re at an advantage. Google is always looking for the perfect candidate to put it on spot #1. Focus on doing something better or just as good as them. Only after that think of ways to promote your website and obtain backlinks.

  Also, if you start doing SEO for a new client, unless the client is obviously penalized, focus on earning new links instead of getting rid of old ones.

  7. Focusing on Link Building Alone is Just NOT Worth It Overall

  Now… Don’t get me wrong. Links are useful. You should try to get them, as much as possible. You should be always looking for new link opportunities.

  So if someone tells you “Hey, cool content man, I’ll write about it and link to you.” don’t go and tell them “No thanks, man. I don’t do link building.” That would be… dumb. It’s just that people get it wrong and instead of acquiring links the right way, they sell their souls to the devil for links.

  Quality links are a byproduct of good marketing, the one thing you should be chasing instead of links alone.

  Even here, at cognitiveSEO we’ve focused more on content creation and promotion over the past 2 years. The results were visibly better than anything we’ve tried in the past, when building links was the cool kid. Our traffic went up and so did the interactions with our content.

  By writing quality content we were even able to land a couple of guest posts every year, without even asking for them. People would simply read our content and ask us if we can write for them. That’s a great way to get a link back to one of your articles or even products. Now imagine our success rate if we actually chased guest posts. However… 

  8. Guest Posts are Useful… But…

  You see, when you do guest posts, the best possible outcome for you is to write something really good. If you write low quality guest posts, you get low quality results with them. Nobody will read them and the host will probably never work with you again.

  If you write a successful post, that ranks high and actually drives traffic to the hosts website and even gets people to link to it, then you’re prone to write again there soon. Isn’t it awesome to have a writer that can bring traffic to your website? I hope you see where this is going.

  Wouldn’t you rather have a good writer that brings targeted traffic… on your own website, instead of someone else’s website?

  A couple of guest posts here and there on really authoritative websites in your niche are useful, of course, and you should go for it. But I’d rather spend some money on an advertorial on a website that won’t accept guest posts but could actually bring me real traffic. It’s a lot less work and probably a lot more profitable.

  Often times the links you get from guest posts aren’t even dofollow. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the best outcome would be if those links actually drove targeted traffic to your website, instead of just staying there only for Google. It’s not even guaranteed that Google will take it into consideration.

  Spend more time creating quality content on your website instead of creating quality content on other people’s websites.

  9. Links With Branded Anchors Work Best

  When you analyse a website, you should always perform an SEO competitor analysis as well.

  Most of the times, the #1 competitor has a higher percentage of branded anchor texts, averaging at about 60-70%.

  Here’s one competitive analysis from the cognitiveSEO Tool:

    If we take a look at the anchor text distribution or the top competitor (the one with score 9), we’ll see that it mostly has branded anchor texts. They know it works, so they do it. This is valid regardless of the naturalness of the link profile. Even if the links are natural or unnatural, sites with more branded anchor texts tend to outperform the ones with only commercial anchor texts.

    Branded anchor texts are great because they help grow the overall authority of your website. This means that when you’ll have new posts, they will rank better on their own, without needing to get any links to them.

  However, it’s always a good idea to also have some commercial keywords there as well. This will let Google better understand what the page is about.

  But it’s just so more much natural for people to link to a website using it’s brand rather than a very specific keyword. Just think about it. If you were to link to a new product, how would you rather do it?

  Example:

  Go to shoes.com if you want to purchase these awesome running shoes.

You can find these awesome running shoes on shoes.com.

  Using commercial anchor texts just feels so… forced. It’s so obvious even for a common reader to realize that the keyword is put there on purpose.

  Many times, editors and webmasters even naturally use miscellaneous anchor texts like ‘official website’ or ‘click here’.

  Example:

  To get these awesome shoes from Nike you can click here.

  However, you don’t even need to build commercial anchor texts externally, because you can do it on your own website, which takes us to our next lesson…

  10. Internal Linking is An Awesome Way to Include Commercial Anchor Texts

  If you can’t get any commercial anchor text backlinks without emptying your wallet, then you can use your own website to create keyword right anchor texts through internal linking.

  The only issue here is content. If you don’t have any, you won’t be able to interlink. If you have a very popular article about a very common question in your niche that you’ve answered, you can use that article to pass its authority to a page you want to rank, such as a product category one.

  Lacking internal structure is a massive waste of opportunity, because it’s something you have complete control over. It’s easy to do, but as anything else in SEO, overdoing it is risky. Read our guide about internal linking if you want to learn how to do it the right way.

  11. Unlinked Brand Mentions Can Pay Off Really Well

  If you want to get some relatively easy links, then look for people that have mentioned you, but haven’t linked to you.

  A great and easy way to find these unlinked brand mentions is to use … BrandMentions. Pretty straight forward, isn’t it? The tool does a great job at identifying these and also at filtering them.

    Before you reach out to the webmasters asking them to quickly link to your website, remember that building a connection is more important. It’s a good idea to thank them first and then suggest or ask for a link.

  This only really works well if you’re an already established brand, but also for local businesses and events. You can also use the tool to monitor when any other keywords (such as your product category) shows up on the web.

  12. You CAN Rank a Website High by Earning Links

  I’ve ranked plenty of websites without any link building, just by creating great content consistently and promoting it properly.

  I’m not saying that these websites didn’t have links at all, I’m just saying I wasn’t building or buying them. The came naturally from genuine connections and proposals and quality content.

  Instead of link building, you can take the link earning approach. The concept is simple. Do stuff that deserves and attracts natural links

  Easy to say, right?

  Well, it’s not that hard to do either, actually. Here are just some ideas, besides the general rule of thumb of creating high quality content.

  debating a long time controversial topic

engaging audiences in real time through live blogging/vlogging

interview interesting people in your industry

  However, for this to work, you have to remember that building connections is the best thing you can do. Although network marketing can be annoying, the truth is that we all are network marketers, one way or another.

  Conclusion

  These 5 years of experience taught me enough to know that I can spend my time better somewhere else. I’ve learned a lot more things, but I’ve tried to cover the most important ones. Maybe I’ll expand the list some day.

  As a closing note, content creation and link earning > spam & link building. You can try both paths to figure it out yourself, or you can just avoid the pain by taking my advice. In the end, you’re the one to decide.

  Building content isn’t only helpful for SEO, but also from a marketing perspective. If you don’t become a publisher, you’ll keep paying publishers to feature your products.

  Most of the publishers out there are usually review and affiliate websites, because that’s what people look for before they buy. Of course, if you’re a maker, you can’t review yourself or your competitors. But you can win their trust by answering questions. And trust, in business, is priceless. It cannot be bought. Only earned.

  What have you learned about link building in your SEO adventures? Share it with us in the comments and let’s chat about it!

The post 12 Lessons I’ve Learned from 100+ Link Building Campaigns – Wins & Fails appeared first on SEO Blog | cognitiveSEO Blog on SEO Tactics & Strategies.

12 Lessons I’ve Learned from 100+ Link Building Campaigns – Wins & Fails published first on http://nickpontemarketing.tumblr.com/

[stompsite]

dev blog #0000 - Origin Story

You might have heard that I’m working on a video game. This is true. I am working with some utterly incredible folks on a video game. We call it Game One.

I’ve tried to get various game project started over the years. When I first got sick, I ended up with inflammation in my brain that messed me up somethin fierce. Reading, writing, programming, all gone. I worked really hard, and I got the writing back over half a decade or so. Reading too. Nowhere near as good as I was, but passable. Programming, though? That never came back. Maybe, with treatment. Maybe. It would be impossible without other people, though.

Every time I’d suggest a project--that first person XCOM, the tiny linear shooter, heck, the little business management game, the strategy game--people would get all enthusiastic about it, I’d draw up a design document, and, of course, nothing would come of it. Getting people organized online is like wrangling cats. The furthest we got, some art folks actually did art, didn’t tell anyone, played Minecraft, and wondered why we hadn’t made a game of the art we didn’t know existed.

Then along comes my friend Phillip Bastien. I’d hit on this new idea for a story, I thought it was great, I was telling him about it, and he goes silent. Something like ten minutes later, he hits me up with a drawing of a character I’ve been calling the Plague Knight. Not a great name, but it gets the job done, and the drawing? Well, wow. It was awesome.

One of the great things about Phillip is that he gets what’s in my head better than most. The only difference between my vision and his is that I had the guy with candles floating above the head, but I think Phillip’s version works better.

Here’s the most recent finished piece:

We tossed some stuff back and forth. Visuals started taking shape. I’m lucky to have a friend like Phillip. One thing I’ve learned is that the greatest physical motivator is having a visual. People don’t believe the game is real until they’ve got concept art. That’s the key thing. I’d never had good concept art before. Mine is awful, and I don’t know many artists willing to sketch some stuff up to help the project move along. This game would not have happened without Phillip.

It was readily apparent that this shooter was too big; I think an early description framed it as “an RPG shooter that blends elements of Halo, The Legend of Zelda, and Shadow of the Colossus with the movement of Mirror’s Edge” or something. Too big. Way too big. Not like the smaller games. Plus, single-player shooters don’t really sell that well unless they’re big, open-world titles with big brand names behind them.

I knew that making a competitive shooter was simpler--it’s why most mod teams (and Valve, which has that weird flat structure thing) work best with them--but competitive indie shooters don’t sell. There’s a reason most of you aren’t out there playing Nexuiz, Screencheat, Contagion, or Toxikk. Heck, competitive shooters rarely do well in any space.

Co-op I figured we could do. Payday: The Heist and Payday 2 had done pretty well, for instance. Borderlands games are pretty popular. Gamers seem to enjoy cooperative shooters, and good ones sell reasonably well. Horde was Gears of War 3′s biggest mode; Halo fans begged 343i for a return to Halo’s Firefight mode. This genre seemed like a great place to start. Plus, I, and the people I’d been talking about making a game with, were all experts in the cooperative shooter space. If there’s one style of game design we knew, it was this.

I had a world I liked. A visual approach that felt right. And the right genre. I took to calling it Game One, because nothing I tried felt right. Turns out some amazing friends, like my buddies Cameron, Kevin, and Jacob, were into it. We got started properly early in 2016, though various real-life events (graduation, moving, illness, computer death, learning how to use source control) conspired against us. Progress is being made. It’s slow-going, but it’s happening. This game is real.

I’m trying to describe a nonlinear process in a linear way; this may seem kinda disconnected because of that. Sorry. Things will start making more sense in future blog posts.

Personally, I don’t want to talk about the game world much; I don’t like reading about other people’s lore until they achieve the end result. In general, I think a lot of folks get caught up in talking about their lore and how interesting they think their lore is, and that’s all well and good, but it’s not what interests me. I’d rather surprise you with a cool universe you can explore in-game than go into detail about it right now. What I can do is tell you about the most interesting ideas.

Game design is, ultimately, a means of problem solving, and Game One is meant to address a bunch of problems, which I’ll talk about in the coming weeks.

Problem 1: The Abilities Need To Be Interesting

One of my comrades, Kevin, expressed a big problem he had with a lot of shooters, which is that a lot of characters have just one ability. In Borderlands, you pick a class, and that class uses that ability and that ability only. Same thing in Destiny. You have multiple sub-classes, but it takes time for abilities to charge, so when you switch sub-classes, you have to start over from 0, so effectively, you have just one ability in most missions.

This isn’t a bad style of design, mind you, but it is predominant, and it can get old after a while. We wanted to have provide players with a more interesting way to play.

Problem 2: The Guns Need To Be Interesting

You’d think this would be a given. If someone is making a shooter, shouldn’t their weapons be interesting? Unfortunately, way too many shooters utilize the same basic weapon paradigms; the resulting combat rarely requires thought from the players. How do you make shooter guns interesting again?

Problem 3: How to Eliminate The Boredom Created By Min-Maxers

One of my good friends became a bad person to play games with. He was directly responsible for my waning interest in Payday 2, because he wanted to play the same two missions over and over again, because this let him earn the maximum possible XP. This gets boring after a while because, well, you’re only playing two missions.

Destiny faces a similar problem, especially early on; repeating content gets boring, especially when it’s predictable. When content becomes repetitive, players naturally want to start optimizing. Pretty soon, Destiny got to a point where players all had to use similar loadouts (Gjallarhorn was the optimal rocket launcher, for instance) or risk being dissed by their peers. I remember playing one particular match where I started using a gun I liked, only to be asked, with disgust, why I would ever use that gun, when I should be using more ideal weaponry. “Because it’s fun” was met with jeers.

This goal was important to me personally; I’m a big shooter fan in part because I love shooting creatively. It’s frustrating to hear a friend say “this shooter was boring because I only used one gun the entire game, but it was the best gun.”

I think having a good metagame is important, but all too often, players find ways to run with optimal loadouts or play styles, and I wanted to do my best to circumvent that, encouraging players to try new things rather than doing the same thing over and over again.

Problem 4: Movement Needs To Make A Comeback

Shooters ought to have interesting movement. Since I started messing around with Game One, a bunch of games, like Destiny, Doom, and Titanfall have launched, pushing the need for movement into the foreground. Awesome. I still think there’s some room for improvement, so I’ll be talking about that at length really soon.

There’s a bunch of other stuff I could talk about, but that’s for future devblogs. Tonight, I just wanted to let you know what the plan is: in between my normal games criticism stuff, I’m going to start showing how I’m trying to practice what I preach, and, way more importantly, how absolutely incredible my brothers in arms are, and the lessons we’ve learned along the way.

Anyways, we’re making the game now. It’s a real thing. It’s playable. We’ve got dedicated servers working, and we can play the game together. It’s rough, of course (a lack of manpower working part time will do that to you), but it’s getting there. Hopefully, we’ll find a cool indie publisher willing to back us so we can get this thing out the door soon.

Stick around, would you?

[mister-69]

CUSTOMER DEMANDS OR DEVELOPMENT TRENDS?

You know how things are overdone but they’re still being done? Like the same archetype you see over and over again in Japanime video games? Why do we still have 17 year old protagonists who are hotheaded and oblivious to the feelings of the female lead? Often, we are told “Because it sells. That’s what is hip and popular in Japan.”

But who is saying this? The actual Japanese players themselves? Someone who knows someone living in Japan? Or someone who thinks they understand Japan culture and tastes? You can single out something in the West and say “Oh, Americans are into twerking” when in reality,  there are many people who are just as ashamed or disapproving of this fad. And yet, the popularity is still there, for better or for worse.

But we don’t have someone saying “Well, there’s actually a lot of people in Japan who want older protagonists.” It’s easy to blurt out a plausible trend in other countries when they already exist, and then it becomes a convincing argument. But it’s much more difficult to dispute the trend, when the opposing voice could be ignored in Japan in the first place.

The point is, it’s dangerous to generalize the tastes and preferences of other regions just because there’s “evidence” to support it. There is a saying going around, that “JRPG genre is dying” or that the “Golden Age of RPGs has passed” but the reasons for this are not consistent. Are Western games gaining the edge because they are more accessible to the casual player, or are JRPGs just going out of fashion, or a combination of both factors?

Obviously, it’s a combination of both. Over time, JRPG developers have lost touch with how to make good games, causing the JRPG genre to shift inward towards the same identity—having the same protagonists, villains, plot, story, mechanics, illustration, etc. Even titles that strayed from the norm wrote themselves into a corner—Square released an unforgiveable trilogy, and Tales degraded to releasing low budget titles left and right. Final Fantasy XIV Online’s initial release was a disaster and Star Ocean was never good again.

Was it too difficult to keep coming up with original ideas? Did developers get complacent in the popularity of the JRPG genre? Because there are hundreds of developers, I don’t think we can pin it down to a one single correct explanation. But we, including the Japanese themselves, can all agree that the JRPG genre declined. Take a look at this excerpt between Iwata and Takahashi, who leads the development on the Xenoblade series.

Iwata: Oh, I see. The JRPG genre was able to attract game fans all over the world in the 1990s, but after that, gamers in the West didn't give soaring reviews to the genre like they did before, so you thought that they might not pick up Xenoblade Chronicles.

Takahashi: That's right.

Iwata: But that didn't turn out to be the case. It seemed that fans in the West felt they were finally seeing the evolution of JRPG. Why do you think that is?

Takahashi: Looking back, I wonder if it satisfied a craving they had.

Iwata: Perhaps the 90s game fans felt that the "future of RPGs" they envisioned was never realized, but that your Xenoblade Chronicles offered them hope for the future of RPGs.

Without a doubt, it was a combination of declining JRPG quality and the appeal of Western games that contributed to the dwindling popularity of the genre. As gamers craved for more of the same experience, developers felt they could get by on name and fame. With each passing disappointment, gamers turned to other genres (mainly from the Western hemisphere) that was worth their money.

With declining sales, JRPG developers were scratching their heads wondering why their games weren’t selling. They certainly took no time self-reflecting, because they continued releasing more of the same garbage! Why? Perhaps they attributed their loss to the changing trends and tastes of consumers preferring Western games, rather than the declining quality of their own work. And this perception is apparent in the interview between Iwata and Takahashi, who just realized and speculated that perhaps there was a “craving” that was never satisfied because JRPGs didn’t “evolve” in a good way.

So because they never took accountability for their mistakes, the genre became a negative connotation in the West. A lot of the cringe-worthy anime tropes that were more prevalent than ever in Japanime games were an instant turnoff to gamers. They wanted an original storytelling experience with innovative mechanics that the Japanese were known for, without the embarrassing tsundere moments or awkward implied incest.

And because of this dominant perception of JRPG games in the West, we suffered a period of time in which we missed out on Japanime games.  Gems like Tales of Rebirth, Destiny 2, Ao no Kiseki, Zero no Kiseki, Phantasy Star Online, Monster Hunter, and many more came and gone, never to seen in Western shores. It’s because both regions believed that bringing over such games would be a huge risk. The sales of the game have to justify the costs of localization, and that was not a risk they were willing to take. Remember how I said it was dangerous to assume the tastes and preferences of an entire region? Well, there you go. Even though there was a clear demand for these games, the overall perception of the genre led developers to believe that these games would not be successful.

Both parties suffered—the gamers who didn’t get to enjoy their games, and the developers who could have made more sales on their games. Every time a new JRPG came out, there was little hope of it ever coming over. Finally, with the release of Xenoblade Chronicles, the fans made their voices heard. They started petitions, created a website, and were loud and clear about their demands.  

Europe localized the game in their region, which further galvanized the call for localization in America, and finally the game was released 2 years later. The game gained worldwide recognition and sold out everywhere. This is not a one hit wonder that will be forgotten, this is a legacy that will be forever remembered. In 2015, fans voted its spiritual sequel Xenoblade Chronicles X, as the most anticipated game coming out on the Wii U. The game was shown in E3 trailers and from the start, was announced for localization to the West.

Fast forward to today with Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which has a worldwide release date, so that fans outside of Japan don’t have to wait as long. Even Shulk’s inclusion in Smash Bros. 4 made the internet around the world explode. Many have dubbed Xenoblade Chronicles as the second coming of Golden Age era JRPGs, describing as a JRPG that others should aspire to be. Ever since the release of Xenoblade Chronicles, we’ve seen two things: 1) an increased in localized games and 2) shorter periods between Japanese release date and localized release dates.

Xenoblade Chronicles isn’t just one of the best JRPGs in existence. It’s a trend-setter, a game changer, and its impact in the Western hemisphere should not be underestimated. It went from being a title that almost never made it over, to one of Nintendo’s biggest titles in their Directs. Monolith Soft’s open world designs are so wonderfully crafted and engineered, that they were enlisted in the development of Zelda Breath of the Wild’s development.

Before I get ahead of myself here, I’d like to throw out a disclaimer that I’m not attributing the success and localization of ALL JRPGs to Xenoblade Chronicles. Tales pulled itself out its own slump with its worldwide release of Vesperia and right now its games are consistently localized. However, there is a “return” of sorts with the JRPG genre and Xenoblade Chronicles is the center of that movement.

Unfortunately, JRPGs still have that negative connotation in the West. The genre is no longer an attraction like it used to be, now it’s a repellant to consumers. It’s easy to blame the “uneducated masses” who generalize the genre based on a few examples, but you also got to remember that they went through many years of bad anime games localized by NISA and Atlus. It doesn’t help that Nintendo is adding to this with their design changes and marriage system in Fire Emblem Awakening and Fates.

When you think about it, the genre is fighting against stereotypes. Fans of the genre now have to convince people who are on the fence to give these games a try. In a blog talking about Trails of Cold Steel, XSEED addresses the concerns of those who stay away from anime games.  The localizer described her efforts to have siblings and students using each other’s real names as opposed to “senpai” and “nii-san” but remained honest that the game is still rooted in Japanese culture.

Having played the game myself, I can assure you it’s an excellent JRPG. If you have an RPG craving, this game is definitely for you. Even if RPGs or anime games aren’t your thing, the localization and dub of this game makes for quite the amazing storyline that unfortunately, will never be widely known because of its genre.

I do not think there is an easy or possible solution to restoring the fame and trademark quality of JRPGs. Too much damage has been done and the stereotypes about the genre are out there. The decline of JRPGs as a genre, is only a cautionary tale in the larger scale problem I am about to address.

Retracing our steps back to the decline of JRPGs, I wanted to say that this decline didn’t just happen outside of Japan— it happened inside of Japan as well! Sales for even the biggest iconic brands continued to fall, but developers continued releasing the same product over and over again. Which brings me back to my original question of “It’s overdone, why do they keep doing it?”

After reading all of this, you can’t say “Because it sells” anymore, because it doesn’t sell. The answer to this question is not logical or economical. You may have remembered earlier in this article, that I speculated that developers attributed the decline of the JRPG genre to “the changing trends and tastes of consumers preferring Western games, rather than the declining quality of their own work.”

Whether this is true or not is not the point. The bigger point is that developer trends supersede customer demand. In this case, the trend of developing anime games with generic shounen protagonists superseded the customer’s demand for an original storytelling experience and innovative battle system. The idea is that “all of our competitors are getting on this, we can’t miss out!” so everyone ends up making the same thing, and it’s hard to tell the games apart.

All developers can be faulted for this, Western or Japanese. In the West, there is an abundance of shooter games, many of them taking place in a post-apocalyptic world (after Last of Us started the trend). And guess what? The dialogue is nearly identical in all of them—everyone speaks to each other in sarcastic insults. In the spirit of “your choice matters,” you can also choose between different dialogue options for different results. And the progression of the storylines? It always boils down to an ultimate goal but you’re constantly following a lead, doing favors in exchange for information, and getting intel on your next lead. In a lot of ways, these games also fall victim to tropes and checklists.

The problem for all developers, is that they see something successful and imitate it, with little to no regard for innovation and creativity. Then it becomes a trend, which replaces customer demand because developers see the trend as “this is what customers want.” And when it’s not successful, they wonder “What’s wrong? What happened? This is what you wanted isn’t it?” while conveniently forgetting that their game lacked substance and content.

Let’s take a look at Final Fantasy XV. Sorry to keep picking on you Square, but you promised a vastly open world game with a ton of things to do. But what do we get instead? Extermination quests and fetch quests that you see in every MMORPG with generic rewards. The inability to go off road with the vehicle, which destroys the point of driving it in the first place! And limitations to explore the open world at night. Oh, and the biggest crime of them all- fully rendered and detailed cities but only being to explore a fraction of it. Keep in mind, prior to the game’s release, they released concept art boasting about how there will be so much to explore in the cities.

Square picked up on the trend of open world RPGs without picking up on any of the characteristics that make it great. Because I’ve been using Xenoblade a lot as an example, let me defer to Witcher 3. So one day, I wandered to an empty village and that by itself triggered a side quest. Using the character’s senses, I followed a blood trail and deduced that everyone was killed. I found the only survivor of the village—a little girl, who saw everything happened. With her testimony, I found the guy who did it, and listened to his story. Turns out he exterminated a monster for the village but they planned to kill him so that they didn’t have to pay him. So he got angry and killed them all, and stopped short of killing the girl because she reminded him of his sister. After you listen to his side, you can decide whether to kill him or not. I decided not to, and he gave me the location for his hidden treasure. Afterwards, I guided the girl to her last living relative. This is just one of hundreds of side quests in the entire game—and your choices actually make a difference!

Even if you decide not to take any quests from NPCs, every nook and cranny to explore is filled with something of interest. You might run into someone who needs saving, find hidden treasure like rare equipment, or run into powerful enemies. Often times, you will find a letter that triggers a side quest. The letter also serves as world building, as it provides lore to the area in which it was found. They tell the stories of the dead people who were there and what they were trying to do.

It’s discoverable happenings such as these that make an open world RPG great. RPGs naturally have a big world because of the scale of their stories, but it would be a waste to create a whole world and not roam around in it. So obviously, the next step is to make the roaming worthwhile by filling it with meaningful content and substance.

Witcher 3 and Xenoblade both accomplish this, but each in their own ways. So why couldn’t Square do it? Sorry, but they’ve done open world before—see FFXI Online and FFXIV Online, and there’s Lightning Returns which was terrible but nonetheless, the expertise was there. The budget was there. There is no excuse for following a trend and not studying what makes it good.

Whether it’s mobile games, open world RPGs, fighting games, or post-apocalyptic shooters, there will always be trends and it is natural for developers to follow the hype. But along the way, developers lose their way—and end up creating something the fans don’t want. Falling into the trap of developer trend is dangerous to the gaming industry, because you run the risk of ruining your brand name, a video game series, or even worse—the entire genre.

So if I complain about something that is “overdone,” I don’t want a smart mouth telling me “because it sells.” I refuse to believe that developers are trapped into a narrow criteria that must be met in order for the game to sell, especially if the quality of the game has to suffer for it. The quality of the game is what sells the game, but I realize that this isn’t always true.

Ghost Trick on the DS was not promoted enough by Capcom. Radiant Historia released when the 3DS was phasing out the DS. And Yatagarasu simply didn’t have the advertising dollars in the face of more popular fighting games such as Street Fighter, Marvel, and BlazBlue. But Ghost Trick was later ported to the iOS, and Radiant Historia is receiving a remake that will be localized. But unfortunately… Yatagarasu just kind of… stayed dead.

The point is that if the game is good enough, fans will love it and spread the word. They will push for it and promote the game, just like what they did for Xenoblade Chronicles. One way or another, I like to believe that good games will succeed. Getting word out was difficult back then, but now it’s easier to communicate and spread the word.

[muddyshuttermedia-blog]

There are people who love to hunt over dogs and then there are people who LIVE to hunt over dogs. Bird hunting, especially upland, has a special niche carved into the outdoor industry. It’s in this niche that we find a truly special combination of hard-running dogs, flushing birds, and the camaraderie of shotgun-totting hunters. This lethal combination sinks its teeth deep into you and doesn’t let go. We’ve met one such individual and he just happened to start a business that’s thriving in this beautiful sport we call upland hunting.

Introducing, Anthony Ferro, founder and mastermind behind the Fetching Feathers brand. Fetching Feathers is a newly-minted upland apparel company that is quickly making its mark on the hunting world. It was extremely apparent to us that Anthony displayed such a fiery passion for the sport and lifestyle of upland hunting that we decided to reach out and really get to know him and his brand.

This is quite a long interview, but we believe it is extremely inspirational and informative to see how one balances the hunting and entrepreneurial spirit. Enjoy the interview below:

Tell us a little about yourself, your dogs, and your lifestyle. How do you carry that into Fetching Feathers?

I grew up South of Kansas City in the suburbs of Johnson County. With no influence in the hunting realm associated with my family, there was a strong dose of fishing, camping and lake life. By the grace of God, I was gifted some friends who introduced me to the hunting world and the rest is the man who stands in front of you today. Really diving into turkey and the uplands in my early college years, my purpose started to reveal itself. 4 years later, hundreds of ducks and upland birds, coupled with 3 mature Eastern Gold long beards, the hooks dug deep in my soul. Come my 5th year of college AKA “Victory Lap,” I purchased my first bird dog, Gnarli!

Not growing up in a country family or being blessed with land ownership, my passion guided me to the publics lands of our great nation. To this day, I have hunted and harvested birds in 8 states – all on public land. I have never been to a game preserve or paid for a kick and shoot type scenario, it’s not a knock on you, it’s an atta boy to me. I take great pride in harvesting public land habitat and public lands alone. It’s who I am and what my passion and business are created upon. Currently owning 3 German Shorthaired Pointers, the team is strong and we show up to go to work. I couldn’t imagine living any other life.

How did you get into upland hunting and what do you think sets it apart from any other type of hunting or outdoor activity?

I was introduced to the uplands and gun dogs my freshman year of college. I am a member of Fiji; one of many great fraternities at Kansas State University. It was there my heart would reveal itself to me, on my first opening weekend of pheasant season in Western Kansas. It became an annual hunting trip I cherished for the following 5 years at KSU.

For me, the journey of the uplands set it apart from other species and forms of feather fetching, assuming of course we are placing the companionship of our dogs at the top of this list.

The places my feet have taken me and the sunrises and sunsets I’ve shared with my hounds and good friends, nothing else can compare.

Waterfowling, you scout for the x, set up, and lay them down – what an absolutely magical experience. To scout them, call them off their migration path, decoy them and drop the hammer…. GET SOME! Furthermore, wild turkey hunting is what got me really hooked in the hunters life, but again the journey is somewhat limited.

Scout for the roost, set it up and watch the show. Granted, if you own the land you can really run and gun, but again public and private land has property lines. The journey feels limited in this regard. I live for the subtleties of that mother nature provides, those moments that most don’t recognize, and that the majority of hunting shows aren’t capturing.

How did Fetching Feathers come about? And what drove it to fruition?

Other than the moments and the palpitations we all chase and day-dream about in the off-season, Fetching Feathers was really put into motion due to the current apparel and gear available to the upland hunter. I was so sick of walking into every outfitting store (Cabelas, Bass Pro, Gander…) to discover a bleak section of drab, non functional, unflattering upland gear.

The standard tan and orange shooting shirt, made of the industries most non breathable fabric wasn’t cutting it for me so I decided to do something about it. You see, I’m a bird hunter first and an apparel entrepreneur second – opposed to the occasional hunter whose primary focus is business. The difference is really quite simple, I can’t live without bird hunting, but could easily let go of the business. I decided to create a brand based on the passion, campfire stories, and moments that are shared and experienced.

I began to ask my friends what they knew about the owner of the brand name products they were wearing or using, Carhartt, Nike, Benelli, Primos, etc., The answer as one could assume was nothing, yet they spend 100’s to $1000’s of dollars on those products annually.

When working with Ray Wolfram of Wildrum Media on building my website, it was imperative my website reciprocated MY vision, it’s like no other clothing or retail website you’ll ever visit. I take the viewers on a journey with the first 5 tabs/headers of my personal background as well as my dogs, a blog, the Journey and what FF is, photo gallery and more.

In fact, the very last tab and the least of my concerns – is the apparel and gear. The point is to make you feel something, I want to provoke the emotion of the hunt, hunters and the reader. If you so happen to “feel” the journey there just so happens to be a tangible product that reciprocates the passion of the hunt – do indulge, you wont regret it.

What are you currently working on? And what is your goal for the next year for Fetching Feathers?

There is always a slew of ideas in my head and less than a lot of money to fund the dream. That being said, the future is bright and 2017 is chalked full of greatness. I am currently working with American Bird Dogs and the K9 Joint and Recovery supplements. I have recently added them to the website and I’m excited to push a quality product for our best 4 legged friends.

Jeb Choke Tubes and I are getting ready to join forces, as I will be selling them on the website, and will be representing as their first upland ambassador. Garmin and I did some turkey hunts together this season and are on the verge of joining up and pushing the upland line of product. I’m extremely humbled to be having conversations and sharing a blind with such an awesome brand and group of guys. Last but not least, I’ve got a few more blogs to write for Project Upland and we will be teaming up this fall for quite the visual project.

As for the clothing and the business of FF for the next year, hang on tight. I am currently working on exiting the graphic-tee market, as it’s not profitable nor the long-term future of the business.

Look forward for leather goods for both humans and dogs, shooting shirts, tight clean plaids, chaps, boots, vest, and so much more.

Please let me remind everyone, the success of this business isn’t based on the revenue on product. The true future of this business is the continued passion of storytelling.

More writing, video content for training and such, but most of all I aim to dive into more short films. For me, film provokes the emotion I aim to convey,  it the best way to share the true experiences of the journey.

What or who is your biggest inspiration? And why? How does it help your business?

I wasn’t always this emotional wanderlust rambler you read about today. In fact, I was emotionless. I was lost, angry, vengeful and substance-less. My number one inspiration in everything I do today is Jesus Christ.

My success is his success, I aim to make a difference in his glory – not mine. Mother nature has a way of touching even the most stubborn of men, I feel obligated to share such a forgiving pastime.

Aside from our Almighty, there are a handful of gents that have made a large impact on my passion and my success. Ray Wolfram of Wildrums Media, built my website and continued to reassure my direction well before it was tangible. Ken Barentsen has been not only an invaluable teacher of the uplands and field management, but a father figure that every young man seeks.

I’m not very influenced by “famous” folks on tv or public figures of the 2017 social media streams.  I relate to the “nobodies” of the world. Small time, small social media following with big passions and dreams! I think that makes me real and relatable.

I write about my hardships and failures of the hunt and shy away from the pile of dead birds.

Everyone is a hunter when they experience the peaks, but the real hunters and harvesters, they are made in the valleys.

Any tips for the aspiring hunting, fishing, and outdoor entrepreneurs out there? What would you do differently or not do differently?

I have so much advice to give, but I’ll stick to the meat and leave out the taters… STAY TRUE TO YOU! Make your logo how YOU want it, sell the products YOU want and don’t ever sell out for the “Pro Staff” title or the fame.

Don’t stage your photos of fake shooting at birds, fake drawing your bow in a stand or blowing your duck call at the clouds. Don’t worry about your hair, your gear, or your make up. Sell the passion, sell the campfire stories, and sell the ideas you think about in your plaid pajama pants with your hound on the couch.

There is so much fake in the world – in this industry in particular. Always be a person of substance, grit grind and good old-fashioned hard work.

What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned since starting Fetching Feathers?

Everyone has an opinion and most people don’t want to see you succeed. I read a quote recently that went a bit like this:

“ Support your friends business’s like you do the one you didn’t grow up with”

You will quickly learn who is in your corner and who talks about you at night in bed with their spouse. Pay attention to those who don’t clap when you hit a home run, it’s an eye-opening experience.

Adversely, I have learned just how many like-minded supportive people are out there. I’ve learned the power of sharing my passion and it goes much further than selling some hats, but changing lives.  I’ve learned we have the ability to affect people with our words both good and bad. Choose to make a difference on the good side of things and leave the bad for the rest. Lastly, I’ve learned that there is no mistake in chasing your dream, and that if you truly want something you can work it into fruition. GET SOME!

In your opinion, What’s the biggest problem facing the hunting and fishing world today? And how do we solve it?

What does the majority think about when they hear the word Conservation, land management, and rehab? Game species and population management? I think the biggest problem we are facing is the idea and lack of sharing this passion and replacing yourself.

This idea of “that’s my hunting spot” is ruining the progression and longevity of our beloved sport. In my opinion, there is no greater task asked of us in the world of conservation – than replacing yourself.

The other obvious issue I see is this social media famous facade that we are experiencing. The staged photos shooting at nothing, the idea of pro staffing everyone to grow your brand, and the continuous idea of showing skin to sell a product and produce likes is disturbing. We need more emotion and reality of the hunt and less Uncle Benny Fish stories.

  Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Anthony. Good luck out there this fall!

Follow Anthony and his pack of GSPs at

@fetchingfeathers

  Check out our interview of Anthony Ferro, founder of Fetching Feathers, LLC. Fetching Feathers is an upland apparel company based out of Colorado. We'll definitely see him in the field this fall! There are people who love to hunt over dogs and then there are people who LIVE to hunt over dogs.

[annakarcher]

Attack of the A.I. - Draft 2

Present Time

o   Walk through the front door

o   Put keys on counter

o   Take off coat

CUT TO ME WALKING TOWARDS THE COUCH

o   Sit on couch

o   Open up laptop

o   Look confused

CUT TO THE LAPTOP

o   Click on folder titled, “My Blog”

o   Inside folder: 3 videos (part 1, part 2, and part 3) and a Notebook document [Explains that these are videos of my time working at Google]

CUT TO MY FACE OVER THE LAPTOP

o   Reads notebook documents out loud

CUT TO THE LAPTOP

o   Clicks on first video

o   Play first video

CUT TO FULL SCREEN OF VIDEO

Future video – Part 1

“Hey world! Um, My name is Anna and I am an intern at Google.”

“I don’t normally do these video blogs, but Greg, the guy who now owns Google, says it will make the company more relatable. So, now everyone in the company has to make one.”

“Uh, so, this blog will primarily be about the new tech Google comes out with and what my thoughts are about it. To start off, I will be reviewing the latest “Google Plus.”

POINT TO DEVICE ON HEAD

“As most of you know, this nifty device came out in May of 2036. I’m not sure exactly how it works, but essentially, you can place it anywhere on your forehead. Once you do, it’ll attach itself to your skin, you’ll feel a little pinch, and it’ll start sending signals to your brain.”

“It’ll then take about 5 minutes to calibrate to your Google Home and then you’ll be able to start controlling things! That sounds weird, but you get use to it after a while.”

“Uh, I’ve had this for a year now and it’s hard to imagine my life without Google Plus. I can turn on the lights in my house, I can have music playing in my head without the use of headphones and it is really convenient when I can’t find my house keys or I’m carrying a lot of things and I can just command the front door to open with just my voice.”

“Here’s a little demonstration to prove that it works.”

“Hey Greg.”

“Hello Anna.”

“Turn on the main room lights.”

MAIN ROOM LIGHTS TURN ON IN BACKGROUND

“Anything else for you?”

“Please lock the front door.”

SOUND OF A HEAVY DEAD BOLT LOCKING

“Anything else for you?”

“No, that’s all for now.”

“Isn’t that cool? For those who live under a rock, that voice was Greg. He’s the new A.I. for Google. Hey! I just realized that it’s the same name as my new boss! What a strange coincidence.”

“Anyway, that’s the end of this blog post. I guess you’ll be seeing more of me in the future. Bye!”

Present Time

o   Exit out of first video

o   Clicks on second video

o   Play video

Future video – Part 2

“Happy new year, world! It’s me again with my first blog post of 2047! To kick things off, I wanted to give you guys a quick update on my life.”

“Over the holidays, my husband and I just found out that we will be becoming grandparents! I know it may not look it with Google Plus’ new de-aging feature, but I am a grandmother, finally! There will be updates to come, so keep an eye out for those.”

“I also got promoted to Senior Graphic Marketing Designer here at Google. And with my new position, I get to announce that Google and Samsung were successful in their merger. So now, Apple is the only thing standing in Greg Google’s way to being the sole tech provider for the United States.”

“I still think it’s a bit strange that he changed his last name to Google, but if I was the owner of a trillion dollar company, then I guess I’d do the same.”

           GETS A LOOK OF CONCERN

“You know what’s really strange? The fact that this company just went through a huge merger and yet we are quickly becoming under staffed.”

“Emily, the girl who worked in the same cubicle as me, hasn’t shown up for over a week now. She hasn’t missed a day since she started working here 3 years ago. . .”

“. . . and now that I think about it, a few other people around the office have been going missing as well. . .”

           STARES OFF INTO THE DISTANCE FOR A FEW SECONDS

           GOOGLE PLUS TURNS RED AND I SIT UP STRAIGHT AND BECOMES SUPER HAPPY

“Hello Anna.”

“Hi Greg!”

“Why don’t you tell your fans about our new feature.”

“Sure thing, boss. Have you heard? The Google Plus can now control emotions! If you’re ever feeling extremely angry or upset, the Google Plus can now help you get back to your normal, happy self! No more need to worry. So make sure you go out and get your Google Plus with new Emotion Control adapter, today!”

“Bye for now!”

Present Time

o    Exit out of second video

o    Clicks on third video

o   Play video

Future video – Part 3

IS IN DISTRESS AND TALKING IN A LOW VOICE

“Hey Past Me, it’s Future You. I know all of this is confusing, but I don’t have much time to explain.”

“Remember Emily? The girl I mentioned in the second video? Well, it turns out that she and Greg were friends working over at Apple together. They came up with a device called Apple Core what would play music in your head and control your IPhone with just a thought. Apparently, the board of directors at Apple denied to produce the product. They claimed it was inferior to their brand and wouldn’t become popular. After that, Greg disappeared.”

“He re-appeared a few years later asking for Emily’s help to make his dream a reality. He said that he created a time machine that would allow them to travel to the past and pitch their idea to Google as a second chance.”

“So she agreed and they went back to the year 2036 and sold their idea to Google. In the year 2047, Emily discovered the truth. Greg wanted revenge on Apple, so he programmed the Google Plus Emotional Attachment to control people. He wanted to  create an army and start and all-out war against Apple.”

“She tried to stop him, she realized it was too late. After that last blog post, Emily reached out to me and a few others to form a resistance. Our plan was to use the time machine to go back and stop Greg from selling his idea to Google.”

“Unfortunately, since Greg kept all the time machine blueprints in an unknown location, it’s taken some time for us to re-build the time machine. It’s now the year 2057  we were able to build just enough of the time machine to send back a warning message to our past selves.”

“And that warning is this: Don’t fight over which better, Apple or Google. It’s not worth it. Both create great products and no one should look down on another device just because it’s not what everyone else is using.”

“That fight is what got us into this mess, and it’s your job to prevent this war from happening. Good Luck.”

           VIDEO CUTS TO BLACK

Present Time

CUT TO MY FACE IN SHOCK

o    Slowly closes laptop , gets up and walks out of frame. All with shocked face.