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cyantomatos · 2 years ago

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Before and After

Notes: So I know I’ve been kinda silent for a while with writing, and I promise I hate it. I have a lot of ideas, not to mention a whole ass series waiting to be finished, but it feels a little like pulling teeth to get any of them down on paper. So I wanted to share this bit of original writing I did for a prompt contest on Reedsy. You can read it on the original post here. Prompt: Set your story during a complete city or nation-wide blackout

No one really thought about how reliant we were on electricity. How the world would fall apart if the electrical grid was taken out.

And how easy it would be to do that.

When I say no one thought about it, that's a small lie. There were some people who thought about it, quite a lot actually. Survivalist enthusiasts that got laughed off as crazy or paranoid. The same people who hoarded food in their basements and clutched their guns like a Southern grandma clutched her Bible at church. They thought about the power grid. Despite how society might have seen their mental state, those people were acutely aware of what could happen to most major countries if we lost power for any major length of time.

It doesn't matter how paranoid you are if you're right.

Powerful people thought about it, too. People high up in the government, those whose job it was to worry. People who knew about all the safety plans in place in case of any number of disasters, and who knew how fragile those plans were. Certain people in the governments of any given country reliant on electricity spent quite a lot of their time thinking about the electrical grid, about what could and would go wrong.

There's no amount of worrying that can account for everything that can go wrong.

So there were people who talked about it. People who thought about it, worried about it, planned for the inevitable. But we didn't. The average person never gave a thought to what would happen without electricity, not until we were without it. A storm rolls through and knocks the power out for a few hours or days and everyone realizes how fragile everything is, how we don't know how to function without our fridges or phones or electric furnaces.

But then it comes back, like it always does, and we forgot.

How easily we forget. Humans don't like to remember things that make us uncomfortable. Women forget the pain of childbirth soon after it's over, because if they remembered most would never give birth again. Survivors of traumatic experiences can forget whole events or even people if their mind can't handle remembering them. Forgetting is a useful tool, a way to keep from losing our minds over things we can't control.

But some things need to be remembered. Some things shouldn't be forgotten, no matter how painful or uncomfortable they are.

It started small.

A power plant in North Dakota went down. It didn't supply power anywhere important, mostly small towns and rural schools. A couple manufacturing plants, making outdoor recreational vehicles and furnaces and windows, had to halt production for the day. There was some worry about the missile silos, some of which held dangerous nuclear weapons, but they had their own back-up power and weren't an immediate worry.

School let out early for the day when it became clear power wouldn't be back soon. Children chatted excitedly on the busses while staff whispered in the lounges. One student, a senior on the edge of graduating and entering the world, sat in the back with a pit of worry forming in their stomach. Their parents had talked about this, they'd seen the movies, they'd heard the whispered discussions. They knew how badly this could spiral out of control. How easily.

When people look back, it seems obvious now. That one small plant in the middle of a mostly empty state should have raised alarms, should have made people worry.

That it might have been a test.

A day later, New York City lost power. Sixteen minutes later DC went dark, then L.A. eight minutes later. One by one, all of the major cities fell, like monolithic dominoes on the world stage, the ground shaking with each one.

It wasn't just America, either. Canada and Mexico both went dark at almost the same time. It was visible from space once night fell, the bright dots across the continent winking out, no more than fireflies to the astronauts that started to wonder how they get home if home no longer has power.

We don't know much about what happened after that, though. Once America lost power, we had outside contact for a while, long enough to find out what happened to Canada and Mexico. Then everything went dark, in more ways than just the lights being out.

Humanity does awful things in the dark, when we think no one can see our sins. When it became obvious the darkness was going to last much, much longer than anyone had assumed, things got bad.

Sometimes it gets hard to remember what it was like, before. Sometimes I lay awake at night, trying to remember what the hum of the fridge sounded like, or how easy it was to just flip a switch if I wanted light. I regret it now, taking it all for granted. I miss music the most, I think. Some people still have music, manual record players and battery-operated CD players, but most of us don't. They're a luxury now, right alongside those survival flashlights you crank up or battery-operated power tools. Sometimes I think I'd kill just to have a stand mixer back.

The stars are beautiful in the darkness, though. So much brighter than they ever were before.

There are kids now that don't know what electricity is. They know in theory, obviously. There's still schools, although they look more like something out of Little House on the Prairie than anything I attended. They learn about the past, what it was like before the darkness. About the wars and violence that most people assume lead to the power going out, this time for good. About the machines that built the world, big hulking hunks of metal that spewed out noxious fumes and pumped out things for people to buy at alarming and unsustainable rates. Cars that seemed to fly down the road and planes that literally flew across the skies. Toys that lit up and made noise, that talked back to you. Televisions and computers and cellphones. Long-dead factories and desolate airports and empty malls are field trips, chances to get a glimpse into the world their parents lived in.

No one really knows what happened. People have theories, obviously. People always have theories, even about things that don't need theories. Most people assume it was some sort of terrorist attack, but there are others that think it was scientific. The Earth rising up and finally striking down humans, taking away one of our greatest tools for harming it.

I don't think anyone actually cares about the how anymore. Or even the why, really. It's just something to talk about, something to keep our minds off the growing fear that creeps at the edges of our minds bit-by-bit, day-by-day.

Most of us don't care. We just want to survive.

#writing prompts #original story

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silocityreadingseries · 2 years ago

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June 11, 2022 Silo City Reading Series featuring poets Richie Hofmann & Albert Abonado, musicians Yuki Numata Resnick & Clarice Jensen and an art installation by Pat Cray & Max Collins. Photographs by Melody Hyatt.

#Silo City Reading Series #silo city #buffalo new york #just buffalo literary center #Richie Hofmann #albert abonado #yuki numata resnick #Clarice Jensen #Pat Cray #Max Collins

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noahfalck · 6 years ago

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Talked with Fear No Lit about the Silo City Reading Series

#fear no lit #Silo City Reading Series #interview

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felassan · 4 years ago

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Dragon Age Library Edition Volume 1 annotations & additional pages/art compilation

Dragon Age Library Edition Volume 1 is a hardcover collection of some pre-existing Dragon Age comics that was released in 2014. It comprises of all issues of The Silent Grove, Those Who Speak and Until We Sleep. In places, it includes additional annotations/commentaries by the illustrators and authors, as well as a few additional pages with additional art. iirc these additional annotations and pages/art aren’t featured or available anywhere else (in the franchise I mean; other people have probably put them online at some point I’m sure).

From what I can see at least, Library Edition Volume 1 is no longer in print, and as such listings for it on resale sites etc are.. price-inflated & prohibitively expensive (~£100+, which I’m sure we can all agree is just not reasonable or accessible to most people). Due to this, I’ve compiled the additional annotations and pages here in this post. Thank you and credit to @artevalentinapaz, who kindly shared the material with me. This post has been made with their permission. The rest of this post is under a cut due to length.

These commentaries are in the context of The Silent Grove, Those Who Speak and Until We Sleep. If you notice any errors or annotations missing, or need anything clarified, just let me know. I think the annotations are in chronological order. In places I elaborated in square brackets to help explain which part of the comics an annotation is referring to. A note before you proceed further: some of the topics referenced in the annotations/additional pages are heavy or uncomfortable. The quotes here are word-for-word transcriptions of dev/creator commentaries, not my personal opinions or phrasings.

(Also, I do recommend always supporting comic creators by purchasing their comics legitimately. I own each issue of these comics having bought other editions of them all legitimately. The reason I put this post together is because this specific Library Edition volume has been discontinued and the consequently-inflated cost is so high, rendering the additional material inaccessible to most.)

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The Silent Grove annotations

Illustrator Chad Hardin: “I used to be an environmental artist for video games, so I built a 3-D model of Antiva City using the program Silo. Many of the buildings are simple cubes, but a few are more detailed. Overall, I spent the better part of a day building it, but I used it again and again throughout The Silent Grove to maintain continuity in the backgrounds.”

Script Writer Alexander Freed: “Even working with David Gaider, it took me several drafts to find Alistair’s voice. His narrative had to convey his humor and self-doubt from Dragon Age: Origins while suggesting a newfound weariness earned during his years on the throne. For readers familiar with the character, he needed to seem like a changed Alistair - but Alistair nonetheless.”

Chad Hardin: “If you read a lot of comics, you might wonder why the majority of the heroes wear skin-tight suits. Well, I can tell you: they are easy and quick to draw. In video games, you build the model once and then animate it, so details don’t slow you down. In comics, everything has to be rendered by hand. Varric and Alistair’s outfits were quite detailed. It took me a long time to get used to them, and even longer to memorize the designs until drawing them was second nature - Varric’s knee armor in particular! Oy vey!”

David Gaider: “One of my favorite scenes in the entire series [when Varric and Isabela are disarming traps and picking locks together while Alistair looks on]. Isabela and Varric, doing what rogues do. I had a suggestion for how to put it together, but Alex managed to make it fit and did a great job with it.”

Chad Hardin: “I never used to keep any of the artwork I created for comics. I would just hand the pages over to my agent to sell. This page [when Alistair, Varric and Isabela are in a tavern together, with hookah in the foreground] I kept for myself. I love the hookah-smoking elves in the second panel and Isabela’s face in the last panel. I rendered the first four chapters of The Silent Grove in grayscale using ink washes, gouache and Copie markers.”

David Gaider: “For a little while, Varric [in these comic stories] was supposed to be Zevran from Dragon Age: Origins, which would have made sense, Zevran being Antivan and all. I know that some fans would have loved to see him, but the dynamics of the group just didn’t work as well. Then a planned cameo later had to be cut for space. Ah well, Zev, another time.”

Alexander Freed: “Isabela at her most dangerous [climbing up the side of the cliff]. This scene - featuring a scantily clad, dripping-wet woman who tends to flaunt her sexuality - could easily have come across as exploitative, but Chad did a lovely drop portraying Isabela as purely focused and deadly.”

Chad Hardin: “Isabela rising out of the water and scaling the cliff with the knife in her mouth is one of my favorite parts of The Silent Grove. It is one of those moments where the writing really inspired the art. Hats off to Alex and David. This is another page I kept for myself.”

Colorist Michael Atiyeh: “This is one of my favorite Dragon Age pages. Chad is such an amazing artist; I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him.”

Chad Hardin: “I love that this page [when a guard spots Varric and shouts ‘Intruder!’] made it in uncensored. So many times in comics, I draw something and some stuffy lawyers come out of the woodwork and tell me to tone it down. Dark Horse and BioWare always let me have fun, and this turned out to be one of my favorite pages with Varric and Bianca. Any guesses to which word he is mouthing in the second panel?”

Alexander Freed: “Note the simple decency of Alistair as he gives his cloak, without comment, to Isabela. For all his flaws, he’s genuinely kind at heart - a rare enough trait in Isabela’s world that I think it’s much of what she values in him.”

Chad Hardin: “I love the opening panel to this chapter [the opening panels to Chapter 3, when the team are on a ship at sea]. It’s the image I use on the homepage of my website. This page was a gift to my cousin Wendy, who loves pirates. Seascapes with sailing ships might be clichéd in fine art, but for me it was a first.”

David Gaider: “I wanted to have this story center on the group travelling to a Witch of the Wilds other than Flemeth, and originally I had set it somewhere else - until I remembered a Codex entry from Dragon: Age Origins that offhandedly mentioned a witch in the Tellari Swamps. Brilliant! It’d look like I planned it all along. I didn’t.”

Michael Atiyeh: “I love opportunities where I can show a change in the time of day as you move from panel to panel [when the ship heads towards and the team arrive in the Tellari Swamps]. I feel the palette of each panel is very distinct and beautiful.”

Alexander Freed: “Why did Alistair choose two people he barely knows to be his companions on this quest? We never make this explicit, but of course Varric is on the right track. Alistair wants to surround himself with people who don’t know him and won’t judge him, yet it’s Alistair’s idealism that Isabela and Varric work to preserve.”

Chad Hardin: “Another page where the writing inspired the art [when the group suddenly encounter a dragon]. I love the dragon bursting onto the scene and Isabela’s stare. Some writers will try to cram six or seven panels on a page like this and the pacing just doesn’t allow the artist to give each moment the right punch. Can you imagine if the first panel was crammed into a single square inch?”

Chad Hardin: “Yavana was one of the only characters that we did no preliminary sketches for. I don’t know how that happened, but thankfully it worked out.”

David Gaider: “I love how Yavana looks like a cross between Flemeth and Morrigan. Flemmigan? She’s totally Chad’s design, and it’s great. Typical for these witches, she never says things straight. In my mind, this Alistair is the one who did the Dark Ritual in Dragon Age: Origins - and I was half-tempted to have him lose his cool in this first scene [opening panels of Chapter 4] with her. Too early, though.”

Alexander Freed: “Through this whole sequence [the page when Varric aims Bianca at Yavana], Yavana is dropping cryptic hints and Alistair is refusing to play along. He’s met Flemeth and Morrigan - he knows Yavana won’t give him a straight answer, and he won’t give her the satisfaction of asking needlessly.”

Michael Atiyeh: “Sometimes it’s the little things on a page that spark my interest. Here [when the team navigate vines and mud to get to the temple], the sunset panel came out great and the mud looks really thick and gooey. It’s fun to focus on these details and make them stand out.”

Chad Hardin: “I hated drawing this scene [when Isabela gets kicked] where Isabela gets the boot to the face. Call me old fashioned, but I was raised to believe that only a coward would ever hit a woman (even a battle-hardened pirate adventurer). I draw at home, and my girls often watch me work in my studio. This was a page I didn’t want them watching me draw. I do like, though, that Isabela gets up, yanks the arrow out, and then soldiers on (and later extracts brutal revenge).”

Michael Atiyeh: “Poor Isabela. It seems I gave her more bruises and black eyes than any of the other characters. [when Isabela is yanking the arrow out]”

Chad Hardin: “It’s always interesting to go back and look at artwork because it reminds me of what was going on in my life at the time. I inked this page [opening panels of Chapter 5] at a ‘draw night’ session at an anime convention in St. George, Utah. I was one of the special guests, but I missed the first day because I was at my grandfather’s funeral in Las Vegas, Nevada. Seeing this page brought back those memories.”

David Gaider: “‘Bianca says hello.’ [quoting the panels being referenced] I adore Varric. I was tempted to have him narrate the entire series [in reference to these three comics], but then again I liked the idea of having each series center on one of the trio’s viewpoints. This book belongs to Alistair, but that doesn’t stop Varric from getting all the best lines.”

Alexander Freed: “Claudio, of course, is not a terribly sympathetic figure. But I wanted to emphasize that he takes this fight as personally as Isabela - he sincerely loved Luis and blames Isabela for the man’s death. I think it’s important to give every character, even the most loathsome, some dignity. [when Isabela and Claudio are fighting]”

Chad Hardin: “Payback! Here is where Isabela extracts her revenge on Claudio [when Isabela stabs Claudio]. I never enjoyed killing off a character so much. I particularly enjoyed putting the look of shock in his eyes. He had it coming. There is something satisfying about killing a ‘made man’.”

Chad Hardin: “Every now and then when drawing comics, I wish I could animate some panels and watch them as a cartoon. It would be great to see this sequence [when Yavana catches Claudio’s soul] in full motion as Yavana snatches Claudio’s soul, makes it reenter his corpse and then extracts information from him until he bursts into flame. It was a very Hellboy-ish moment. I enjoyed the movie that played in my mind while drawing this scene. Hope everyone liked the result.”

Chad Hardin: “As I mentioned on page 17, I rendered the first four chapters in grayscale, which made the black-and-white art look great, but had a neutralizing effect when it came to colors. By the time I drew chapter 4, I had seen the effect it was having and decided to stop using the grayscale so the colors would pop. When I saw this page [when Alistair says to Yavana ‘And we helped you find it’] in print, it confirmed to me that I made the right decision. I honestly feel this art was the best of The Silent Grove.”

Chad Hardin: “I practically painted these pages [when Yavana says ‘It is permitted. Tonight and only tonight’] in thumbnails hoping it would help me choose how to render them in ink. It is so hard trying to figure out how to get a full range of value out of just black and white. There are some artists and inkers that make this look easy. Mark Schultz comes to mind. Michael saved my bacon. Colorists really do so much work when it comes to rendering; this page came out awesome because of him.”

David Gaider: “Here we reveal the existence of Great Dragons (as opposed to High Dragons), and also that Yavana was the source of the return of dragons to Thedas after their departure for so many centuries. But why? There’s the rub, and not even Alistair can trust that she’s telling him the truth.”

David Gaider: “Here’s the controversial scene [Alistair killing Yavana]. I think some fans don’t like that Alistair did this, and have said they consider it out of character. I don’t. From his perspective, Flemeth and her daughters have been toying with the world for reasons that can’t be trusted. They dragged Maric away from his family, from him. One might think his judgement foolish, but considering what Alistair was capable of deciding even back in Dragon Age: Origins, it’s certainly not out of character.”

Chad Hardin: “[same scene as above] This was a controversial page, and there were a lot of people who thought it was out of character for Alistair to kill Yavana (I didn’t see it coming - I mean, you just don’t kill a Witch of the Wild), but here is the thing: this page is Alistair acting as a king. Yavana has been manipulating him, trying to play him like a pawn, and he just can’t allow that. There’s too much at stake, for himself and for his subjects.”

Alexander Freed: “The end? An end, at least [the trio walking off into the distance]. The series needed a note of closure while leading into Those Who Speak (which wouldn’t arrive until many months later). David tweaked the ending in the outline several times, and I did my best to balance resolving Alistair’s emotional journey without resolving the quest. It’s not as clean as I’d have liked, but fortunately, now it’s all in one volume...”

Those Who Speak annotations

Alexander Freed: “Capturing Isabela’s narrative voice was much easier for me than capturing Alistair’s - partly because I’d already written The Silent Grove, and partly because of my own writing proclivities. Rereading now, I wonder if I laid on the (mild) profanity a bit too thick. I’ll leave you to judge.”

David Gaider: “I like the additional detail Alex and Chad put in, letting us see more of Qarinus and more of Isabela’s crew. Alex wanted to give her crew more of a presence, and let her first mate have some face time, so they weren’t just parts of the scenery. Good call on his part.”

David Gaider: “I’m really fond of the formal getups Chad made for the party. Isabela’s actually comes from a concept we didn’t use from the cancelled Dragon Age 2 expansion, if I remember right. And Maevaris came from me asking for ‘someone who looks like Mae West’ - with the wonderful outfit all Chad’s doing.

Chad Hardin: “Maevaris. I love Mae. When David and Dragon Age art director Matthew Goldman spoke to me about designing Mae, they wanted her to be fully female with the exception of her biology. They told me to think ‘Mae West’. Well, when I think of Mae West, I think of her... womanly shape. So, drawing Maevaris was always walking a fine line between portraying Mae’s identity and her biology. The process endeared her to me.”

Michael Atiyeh: “Just like in The Silent Grove, we are introduced to another gentleman from Isabela’s past [when the team meet Lord Devon and Isabela threatens him]. As was the case with Claudio, he will meet his fate at her hands.”

Chad Hardin: “When I was drawing Titus, my kids asked me why I was drawing ‘angry Jesus’ or ‘evil Jesus’. I can’t remember which term they used exactly, but it made me chuckle. I was going for a mix of Rapustin and Joe Stalin, but ‘evil Jesus’ would do.”

David Gaider: “I’m not sure it’s apparent here [when Alistair says ‘I’d really rather not’], but Alistair was supposed to be using one of his Templar powers on Titus (that’s why Titus recognizes what he is on the next page) and disrupting his magic.”

Alexander Freed: “Isabela is witty and charming enough that it can be easy to forget that she’s not, in fact, a nice person. Even after finishing the outline, David was concerned about making her too unsympathetic - but I loved his approach in this series. The dark deeds Isabela commits - this murder included [Isabela killing Lord Devon] - are what make her guilt tangible and no easy matter to overcome.”

Alexander Freed: “I thought the notions of Isabela’s pride in her captaincy and dedication to her crew were some of the most interesting aspects of her character in David’s story. In scenes here [when Isabela is on her ship saying ‘Keep them focused and keep them sober’] and elsewhere, I did my best to emphasize their place at the core of Isabela’s world.”

Chad Hardin: “Most of the time I draw from imagination, but because of the complexity of this page [Qunari trying to board Isabela’s ship] I decided it would work better if I had photo reference. On this page are my nephews Jared (Varric) and Adam, my niece Melissa, my kids Erica, Tasey Michaela (Isabela) and Chad (Alistair), my friend’s daughter Amy, my wife Joy, and the neighborhood kids as Isabela’s pirate crew. (The crew member mooning the Qunari is out of my ol’ noodle.) I paid their modelling fee in pizza and root beer. Also, I had originally drawn cannons on Isabela’s ship, so if there are parts of it that look slightly wonky, chances are there was a cannon there.”

David Gaider: “Ever since the BioWare artists finally did a concept for female Qunari, I’ve been itching to include one in the game. It’s always slipped through my fingers, so I was going to be damned if I’d have a Qunari plot in a comic - without the same technical limitations - and not have one present.

Chad Hardin: “I had no idea this was the first time anyone outside of BioWare had seen a female Qunari.”

Michael Atiyeh: “I really like the lighting in this sequence [Isabela in her cell thinking ‘I haven’t eaten in days’], especially the strong white light and the characters in shadow.”

David Gaider: “The entire sequence of Rasaan interrogating Isabela was something I plotted out in detail when this series began. Here they discuss names - something treated in a manner peculiar to the Qunari, considering how much importance they apply to what things are called (and not called), because it forms the core of their identity. Isabela brushes it off, but as we find out later it’s also at the core of her identity. I liked that parallel.”

Alexander Freed: “To balance out the relatively static talking pages elsewhere in the issue, I hoped to make the interrogation and flashback sequences beautiful and full of information. I proposed an approach to Chad, and he wisely reshaped it into what you see here [the page with the scene where Isabela says ‘I’ve made a lot of stupid mistakes’]. Anything that succeeds on these pages should be credited to him; anything that fails is my fault.”

Chad Hardin: “Probably the most challenging spread I have ever done. My friend Stacie Pitt was the model for Isabela on this page, and my wife Joy was Rasaan. I saved these pages [around the scene when Rasaan says ‘Mistakes can be corrected’] for myself.”

David Gaider: “Sten from Dragon Age: Origins becoming the new Arishok of the Qunari was something we'd planned even during Dragon Age 2. This was a great opportunity to show that, and also to show that Sten didn’t acquire horns even despite the makeover the Qunari received in DA2. Hornless Qunari are considered special, and Sten is no exception.”

Michael Atiyeh: “I think that David, Alex and Chad handled Isabela’s flashback [to when she was sold by her mother] in an interesting way, and it created a nice flow to the story.”

David Gaider: “This was a controversial scene [what happened to the slaves Isabela was transporting], the end result of a lot of discussions between me and Isabela’s original writer on the team, and it went through a lot of revisions over that time. It needed to fit with the story Isabela told the player in DA2, but fill in the blanks of what she didn’t tell. We didn’t want Isabela to be someone who became who she is because she was ‘broken’ but instead as a result of her own actions - yet also not be completely beyond redemption.”

Chad Hardin: “These were hard pages [as above] to draw. It was difficult knowing that events such as this are part of human history, such as the Zong massacre in 1781, where the British courts ordered the insurers to reimburse the crew of the Zong for financial losses caused by throwing slaves overboard when faced with a lack of water. Horrifying beyond words.”

Michael Atiyeh: “Here, Isabela visits here crew, and I wanted to play up that she was in the light and they were in a dark cell. The light streaming through the bars gave me the opportunity to highlight Brand, who also had dialogue in the scene.”

Alexander Freed: “I struggled to find a way for Varric to contribute to victory without distracting from Alistair and Sten’s big fight. I’m happy with the solution: a brazen lie seemed appropriate to the character without taking away from the main show.”

David Gaider: “I believe my original plan had Isabela’s and Alistair’s fight scenes happening separately, but I like how Alex intertwined them in the script and I especially like how this ends up highlighting the differences between their characters when their fights are resolved. Isabela is defiant, revealing her name not because Rasaan demands it but because it’s her choice. In both cases, mercy is strength.”

Michael Atiyeh: “The brush I created for the clouds really gave them a nice watercolor effect here [on the deck of the ship, Sten calling Alistair ‘kadan’]. That brush has become a staple in my toolbox.”

Alexander Freed: “With the strong theme of names running through these issues, I liked the notion that Isabela had outgrown being, well, ‘Isabela’. When her name comes up in Until We Sleep, it’s largely played with ambiguity.”

Until We Sleep annotations

Alexander Freed: “The story of ‘Arthur’ is one of my favorite minor sequences [Varric infiltrating and fighting his way into the fortress]. It tells us something about Varric and it delivers plot information - and it’s also a reminder that our heroes kill an awful lot of people during these series and cope with it in their own ways. In general, writing Varric let me skirt the edge of metacommentary, which I greatly enjoyed.”

David Gaider: “Varric, as always, is my ‘voice of the narrator’. Here he’s expressing some of my own amusement at Alistair’s growing list of peculiarities [‘Your majesty is quite the special snowflake’]. To think, back at the beginning of Dragon Age: Origins he was just the player’s goofy sidekick who grew up in a barn.”

Michael Atiyeh: “By the third series, Until We Sleep, I really started to have a complete feel for what I wanted the final art to look like. As an artist, it’s important to continue to evolve and grow. The close-up of Sten’s face [same page as above] is a perfect example of how I wanted the rendering on the characters to look.”

Alexander Freed: “David’s outline called for a short, somber reveal of the Calenhad story by Sten. Fueled by my desire to avoid ‘talking heads’ sequences, I scripted it as a full-on storytelling flashback. David made sure the history worked (at least from the Qunari point of view), and Chad did a beautiful job handling it in a mere two pages.”

David Gaider: “Blood is important in Dragon Age, as a theme. Here we tie in the dragon blood that was mentioned all the way back in The Silent Grove and explain what it means at last. I was a bit hesitant to tarnish the legend of Calenhad the Great in this way, but I comfort myself with the knowledge this tale is but a viewpoint and not necessarily the entire truth.”

Michael Atiyeh: “Titus melting the attacker is a great example of classic comicbook storytelling and exactly what made me fall in love with the medium.”

David Gaider: “I was really happy with how Chad handled the reveal of Mae as transgender [the scene with Mae in the cell]. My worry was that Varric finding her disrobed might be potentially titillating, but I think he handled it nicely. I only wish there was more time to have Mae properly respond to being exposed in this manner, even to a friend.”

Chad Hardin: “I originally drew Mae as female [same scene as above], then changed her anatomy, so the psychological violation and humiliation she felt would be the focus. Hope that came across.”

Chad Hardin: “When in doubt, have Bianca shoot it [Varric shooting the artifact].”

David Gaider: “This scene [Varric and Bianca the dwarf] with Varric was one I wanted to do for a very long time. We’ve hinted that Varric’s crossbow was named after a real person, someone he never wants to talk about. Now I finally had the chance to show why.”

Chad Hardin: “Of all my Dragon Age pages, this scene was hands down my favorite, because Varric is my favorite. It was awesome to get to draw Bianca in her dwarven form. These scenes give you a glimpse of the love Varric and Bianca shared. It doesn’t tell you the whole story, but you can assume plenty from what is shown. You get to see Varric mostly naked (you’re welcome), but most of all you witness Varric’s heartbreak. I felt privileged to draw it. I got so obsessed with drawing this page I did an entire watercolor painting based on the last panel [Varric gets up to leave, ‘This isn’t right’ - ? or perhaps the scene where he opens the door to leave].”

Alexander Freed: “Unreliable narrators are always tricky - done wrong, they can just confuse the reader. But I’m fairly happy with Varric’s lies throughout this series, most of which are used to downplay the emotional cost of events rather than whitewash the events themselves.”

Michael Atiyeh: “This palette worked perfectly [Varric standing in front of the doorway/portal in the Fade proper], but I can’t take all the credit because BioWare provided reference for the Fade. I added the hot orange energy for the doorway, which looks great with the sickly green sky.”

David Gaider: “This scene [Isabela’s Fade nightmare] was actually inspired by a fan named Allegra who did a cosplay as a Qunari version of Isabela. I knew I wanted something like this for Isabela’s Fade section of the comic, but it didn’t really solidify until I saw the cosplay.”

Chad Hardin: “Isabela is more affected by her encounter with Rasaan than we were led to believe. A portent of things to come?”

Michael Atiyeh: “I love this shot of Mae in the fourth panel [on the page where Isabela is affected by vines]. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention what a great character she is in the series, and Chad captures her beautifully in this shot.”

Alexander Freed: “I saw this issue as a sort of downbeat victory lap. Over the course of the previous series, our protagonists largely came to terms with the inner demons the Fade confronts them with here. The fact they’ve come so far lets them win this last battle... but they still have scars that will never completely disappear.”

David Gaider: “Maric was in the first two novels I wrote for Dragon Age. Seeing Chad’s rendering of him as a regal, grown-up version of Alistair made me incredibly nostalgic. Some characters you just never let go of.”

Alexander Freed: “I feel Varric’s lines (‘tell yourself the stories you need to tell’ but ‘never live your own lies’) are the natural endpoint of all the exchanges he’s had with Alistair, starting from the end of Chapter 1 of The Silent Grove. And of course it plays off the story of ‘Arthur’, as well.’’

Chad Hardin: “I’m happy with the way Titus came off in these pages [Titus attacking and saying ‘The last magisters of Tevinter were so close’]. He looks threatening and powerful when fighting Alistair, Isabela and Varric, but genuinely confused by his inability to defeat Maric. Bye-bye, evil Jesus.”

Alexander Freed: “I can’t help but feel for Titus. He was unthinkably corrupt, but I see him as genuinely motivated by Tevinter’s glory. (The fact Alistair reads zealous ideology as a lust for power says a lot about both characters.)”

Michael Atiyeh: “I love the seamless transition of color from Titus’ magic to the dragon breath and then back into the orange remnants of his magic in the smoke. This was a really fun panel to color [Titus saying ‘Die by what wrought you’].”

David Gaider: “‘You are not the dreamer here. I am.’ I always have a scene or a line that’s in my head when I begin a tale, and this line of Maric’s was one I wanted all the way back when I started working on The Silent Grove.”

Chad Hardin: “I love this page [Maric and Alistair clasping hands]; Mike’s colors are spot on. We get to see all our heroes in an ideal state for the last time. This is the last Dragon Age page I saved for myself.”

David Gaider: “This scene kills me [Alistair destroying the Magrallen]. I knew it needed to happen; I knew I wanted it to happen even back when I began the story. Alistair lets Maric remain in the Fade rather than dragging him back to a world which has moved on. Alistair’s ready to move on, but forcing him to give up that hope... it makes me feel like a bad person.”

Chad Hardin: “Heartbreak for Alistair as he realizes that once again, as a king, he must kill: this time, his own father (granted, the Magrallen did most of the work). I really like how Maric crumbles away in the end. This was my last page, and the emotions on the page and in my studio were very final. Altogether, this was a year of my life in the making. On my last page, I wrote a thank you to everyone involved, the crew at Dark Horse and the crew at BioWare. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them again. It was a thrill. Finally, a huge thank-you to the Dragon Age fan community, whose support was overwhelmingly awesome.”

Michael Atiyeh: “As the story came to an end, I knew I was going to miss these characters. Writing these annotations reinforces the fact that I hope to work with this great creative team again one day. Many thanks to Dark Horse and BioWare for the opportunity to work on Dragon Age.”

Alexander Freed: “The tension between the art and the narration on this page [the one with Alistair sitting on his throne while nobles argue] is something you can only pull off in comics. Neither tells the full, bittersweet story alone. Similarly, these issues wouldn’t have been possible without everyone on the team; thanks to David, Chad, Michael, and everyone I lack space to list!”

Additional pages / art

Library Edition Volume 1 also came with some additional pages, with additional art and commentary. These are as follows (I’m including them for the sake of completion, click the links to see):

1. Alistair and dragon concepts

2. Rasaan and Maevaris concepts

3. Sten, Titus and Yavana concepts

4. A series of cover pages 1

5. A series of cover pages 2

In case anyone has trouble reading the notes that accompany these images, I’ve transcribed them below:

1. Dragon Age Sketch Book

Alistair Concept

Dragon Age / Dark Horse

Chad Hardin: “The headshot of Alistair is from a finished sketch with a rejected armor design. In order to save time, the redrawing was completed on the computer, where tweaks and changes are quick and easy, if somewhat less glorious.”

[Dragon] Head #1 / Head #2

Chad Hardin: “Everyone liked this dragon sketch so much that Dark Horse printed it for signings at conventions. You can see I did multiple proposals for the dragon’s head. It was more effective than drawing the body over and over.”

2. [arrow pointing to Mae’s sleeve] concealed [I think that’s what it says anyway] daggers / shurikens?

Chad Hardin: “When designing Rasaan and Maevaris, I wasn’t exactly sure how their roles would play out in the series. Maevaris’ outfit was inspired by brothel madams of the Wild West. I thought it would be cool to have some weapons concealed in the formal wear. These never came into play in the series, but they were there in my mind.”

3. Chad Hardin: “Although we only see Titus in his battle garb in one issue, I really liked the design of his armor. The sketch of Yavana was done on the fly and served as both a rough preliminary sketch and as a panel layout. You have to work hard and smart in comics to keep up with the deadlines.”

4. Cover Artist Anthony Palumbo: “This was my first assignment for Dark Horse, and I was both excited and nervous. I drew pencil sketches of the main characters, scanned them and played with different arrangements, poses and color schemes in Photoshop.”

5. Anthony Palumbo: “Fellow illustrator Winona Nelson helped me by sitting for photo reference. I created the mock-jewelry with gold-painted Sculpey. That’s a quick photo of my own gaping maw, to help with the image of Varric.”

#dragon age #bioware #video games #artevalentinapaz #alistair theirin #fav warden #morrigan #queen of my heart #long post #longpost

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avenuecanyons · 5 years ago

Photo

Living/Working/Learning by Example: Visiting Bauhaus, ‎Dessau, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany I nearly missed the train departing Berlin Südkreuz at 9:30am for Leizpig. Once I was aboard and had caught my breath I could calm down and appreciate the countryside, flat open pastures, framed by rows of deciduous forest and small grain silos. It felt exotic to me, and so picturesque. The clouds over Berlin have been huge billowing cumulonimbus. Each day at 4/ 5pm they gather and grow dark until they violently rain over the city. It felt incredibly humid today and the sun blazed and it was difficult to imagine the impending storm that was brewing. I arrived in Dessau-Roßlau at 11am and made my way through the quiet streets toward the university campus. It’s quite modest as far as campuses go. What struck me was the open space around the structure that gave it a certain gravitas/breathing space from the traditional housing surrounding it. The building appears as a series of grids operating at different scales and on different axes. It’s definitely not a foreign idea, as it has been employed in design and still is to this day. It gives the starkness of the building a familiarity. The iconic lattice of windows has a fabulous translucent effect, allowing light to pass through, whilst students can their exhibit work. They strike me as performing like the gills of a fish, filtering air, light, sound and information in different directions. The building appears a lot lighter than anticipated, in feeling but also with the use of windows and rough plaster texture on the walls. There is a crafted quality and softness to the building that makes it feel warm and humane. This is accentuated by the exposed utilities like central heating radiators and noticing re-bar in structural concrete elements. This contradicts my prejudice around modernism, and the more I explore the campus more is revealed. These designers are inventers on all levels and their notion of design is all encompassing. The use of materials and attention to detail feels modest and humble. The school incorporated tangential practices of what we would call product/industrial design today. It contained flexible use spaces for textiles, furniture design and many more interdisciplinary fields. This kind of fusion of thinking is what really calls it a renaissance and its something that I see us struggling with today. As job titles change and fragment we become specialists within our fields to produce the most effective and streamlined design. However I think there is weakness in that, because we lose oversight for direction. I think about international design movements that were sweeping the western world in the early 20th centaury as a response to industrialization and mass production, the Arts and Crafts Movement for example. These Bauhaus modernists were apart of that but in the within the context of the German identity and the effects of the Great Depression and WW1. I can only ponder what the cultural climate might have been like, I imagine they would have been very resourceful, problem solvers, hence the stripped back/compositional aesthetics. And then to see beauty in that? Was that something one learned/unlearned (to deconstruction the ornate) or was that the progressive trait of the new generation of designers and thinkers? The two upper stories of the main building have clear programs, studio space and staff offices. The two portions of the structure are connected by a cantilevered walkway. It could be mistaken as just another wing of the building, as it contains classrooms, the director’s and administrative offices. I find the use of cobalt blue on certain surfaces interesting, as it symbolizes the use of color beyond a functional purpose. I wonder if it’s to highlight what they consider ‘compositionally aesthetic’ or if it does serve some kind of way finding requirement. This is seen throughout some of the rooms, balconies and stairwells in the Master’s Houses located nearby. All designs were by Gropius and they were testing the same principals and thinking as the main campus building. The rigidity of these designs feels more evident, as they are residences, not institutional spaces. Your attention is drawn to color and geometry. In the Kandinsky residence, the walls are painted exquisite colors as opposed to white/grey that dominates the other domiciles. Some of these structures were bombed/destroyed during the war, after the whole Bauhaus school had been shut down by the Nazi regime in 1933. I read a locale new paper article from the time, saying that the Dessau community regarded the housing with suspicion, observing its strangely shaped windows and building façades, it appeared as an alien spaceship or spy residence. After visiting the master’s houses I go to explore some of downtown Dessau-Roßlau. I don’t want to stray too far from the train station but I walk down to Stadtpark and observe the vastly different master planning. Buildings seem to frame the outside of city blocks, creating small, contained cell-like forms with green gardens in the middle. I cant quite fathom the differences this has with Los Angeles (where I have been working these past few years), where private built spaces encompass the entirety of the block and public space is squeezed out to the periphery of the side walk. I see a few Bauhaus/modernist buildings and admire them. I can tell they are built later, with different technology and maybe a little less inspiration, but seeing them through a slightly different lens.

#Bauhaus #walter gropius #design #architecture #landscape architecture #master planning #urban planning #university #campus #campus design #bauhaus architecture #modernism #minimalism #dessau #dessau-roßlau #german architecture #ww2 #the great depression #mies van der rohe

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semicolonthefifth · 5 years ago

Text

CROSS ch.2 - Bad Moon Rising

The night was still strong, and the moon past the mountains helped shine the way.

For 3 hours now Jason Cross had been driving down the Black Road. On the drive since, Sid had been weakly banging against the car for the first hour before stopping on the second - at least that’s what Jason was sure had happened. Throughout the drive, Jason had been listening to the radio. Every now and then he’d switch the channels whenever a song failed to capture his attention. He’d mostly been ignoring Sid’s antics from within the trunk, and had been in the need for something to fill his mind till he reaches his destination.

So many stations littered the airways, from Calberi to Moresatta - all throughout the Black Road passage. Dozens of stations settled along the road, and all of them had the same idea on what to play. Humanity isn’t creative anymore, all they want are the oldies - the kind of stuff that used to play back on the Old Earth. Way back when, before they left for far off stars, only to then realize what a mistake it was; before they had settled on so many worlds, got into as many problems, and wished greatly that they hadn’t forgotten the way back. So, every station plays the oldies - the songs from the far ago generations.

You’d have such stations as: “Classics of the Great Wars”, “Music of the Groovy Times”, “3R’s Real Revolition Radio”, “The Legends of Rock n’ Roll”, and even “Electric Orchestras of the 2nd Millennium”. Most of the stations Jason had blocked out - he’s listened to them all, especially the ones off “Country Listenings” some time back. He’d stop listening to them altogether, maybe find a station making new stuff - if they ever come to existence. Though till then, “60’s Power Radio” still had some things he hadn’t yet listened to as much.

A couple turns of the dial, and he had come into the station just as when a favorite of his came on: “Bad Moon Rising”, by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

The moment the tune picks up, Jason’s stresses from the long drive started to fade away. Though he hated to admit it, the feeling was nice. He began to ease up on his grip of the wheel, and allowed himself a chance to relax when the lyrics came into play - and slowly he sung it to himself.

“I see the Bad Moon Rising…”

“I see trouble on the way…”

“I see earthquakes and lightning”

“I see bad times today.”

His singing became almost automatic - it always felt like that with songs he has in his head longer than he should. He recalls seeing adverts and news clippings, all about what some experts from the cities call the “Nostalgic Disease”. It isn’t like an actual sickness, it was something Jason would refer to as ‘being all in the head’. It affects plenty of folks, especially in the cities. Those affected claw over whatever they can from the Old World, and then get hooked on it. They listen to a song 40, 80 times in a sitting, trying to capture that ‘magic’ off those stories they hear about from the old homeworld. They want more though, and soon enough they try to live it.

Jason recalls a story he heard once: a man became so addicted to the music from some millennia old musician named Elvis Presley that he was convinced he was the guy himself. The man paid millions for surgeries to look the part, using a couple of surviving photographs off a museum. Even went as far as to get an artificial voice box installed so he’d have a voice straight off the radio, crackle and all. Last he heard, the copycat ate himself to death as soon as a gray hair got through the fake ones. The worst part of it all was that it wasn’t the only story of its kind - there’d been many others, many copycats - changing themselves to copy ancient figures, celebrities and even fictional characters alike.

Jason laughs to himself a bit when thinking back, but then realizes that he’s singing the final lyrics to the song. He realizes where he is at the moment, and immediately switches the radio off. It’s good timing at least, as further down the Black Road he could see a set of white buildings off to the side. After a quick shake of his head to wake his senses, he grips the wheel tight and gets ready for the turn off the Road.

The Black Road has always been the greatest landmark in the arid wastes of Aurora, in both size and importance. Ever since the United Republic of Earth colonized and settled down here, the road has been the deciding factor for easier trade and travel between its two cities on what is often a sun-blasted desert. Although the alien natives aren’t subtle about their hatred for the road, every human loves the seemingly endless stretch of pure black pavement that has helped them settle these lands. All the humans love this road, especially those wanting to cause trouble for everyone around them.

With the creation of the road came the bandit and the raider - groups who constantly harass and devastate the various settlements that line the Black Road. For as far as Jason could remember, there have always been raiders murdering and setting fires along the road. There has been an ever-increasing level of violence along the wastes of colonized Aurora, and furthermore an increase of groups who set themselves to fight back - and in response, an act from the UROE had to be made. To ensure that the worst of humanity are to be dealt with, and that the best are sufficiently rewarded, they settled the bounty offices - a way to put a mark on any bandits in the area, and pay off those willing to do the job.

One such office, a mile off the Black Road - stationed the same distance either way between the two major cities at the ends of the Road - was set in the middle of the open plains. It was close to the Eastern mountainous wall that runs parallel to the road, visible in the night through the twinkling lights in the pitch darkness.

It was easy to make out. The buildings of the site was painted a bright white, which appeared clearly against the mountains and dunes. Within the site there was a main two-floor office facing South with another, smaller building nearby. The office appeared boring and simple, with little other features aside from some windows and utilities to keep it functional. The side building meanwhile only possessed a door and a singular window, but no light was shown to be coming from it. Remaining to note was an appropriately sized water silo, a generator, several solar panels, and a discreet radio tower barely peeking from the office roof. All of which were encircled by a vast perimeter of chain-link fencing guarded by a single guard post. A flag of the UROE flew proudly - bluish green in color, with a white emblem of the Earth surrounded by stars and the various flags of the Republic’s states. It stands out, even against the brightness of the office it decorates.

The drive takes a while, but Jason’s car soon rolls up towards the post. He quickly rolls down the windows and presents his license and contract, allowing himself through and towards the main office itself. He stops right in front of it, turning the car off once he’s parked.

Before Jason gets out, he suddenly remembers the gun he had taken from Sid at the bar - and for a moment he takes some time to examine it.

It was a seemingly impressive thing: the custom decoration had a ‘cool’ look to it, as Jason though, and it appeared that the metal trims appeared legit. It all depicted a road waving wildly, with a road-sign reading ‘66’ at the center - etched on both sides, practically mirroring each other. However, as Jason turned it over, he began to notice some issues. It had a pretty face, but nothing more. The grip felt loose- the trigger stuck badly; there were indications of grime and dust that was only cleaned surface deep. The way the gun jostled and clicked when waved, you’d figure the thing would’ve blown the man’s groin much sooner.

He carefully tosses the gun aside, but not before skimping the leftover ammunition and storing it into the glovebox. He can’t use it, as badly as he would’ve needed to. Almost any gun would be better than no gun - yet in this case, he liked to have one that actually worked.

Jason finally leaves out the car, and as he makes way for the office he gives a smack of his hand against the back where Sid’s been kept. “Don’t you let me catching you leaving any time soon.” He snarks aloud, chuckling before whistling a tune.

5 seconds into his whistling he recognizes it as “Bad Moon Rising”.

He stops immediately after.

Eventually he enters through the door, and the moment he does so he can feel a jet of cool air hit him square in the face. He barely stifles a low, soft moan before giving into a bit of shaky laughter. He happily calls out, “Damn Barry! When were you gonna tell me you got that AC fixed!?”

Jason stands right under the open vent, an easy feat considering how high he stands. Cool air blows across the main floor office: a fairly open, presentable area with a half-wall barrier blocking off a series of desks lining the floor. To the sides are doorways leading to other, smaller officers, with only a singular staircase off to the back. The place was for show, for the most part - all but one of the offices were empty with only the standard supplies atop the desks. Only one office, towards the side, had decor that was easily seen from the main entry-way.

From where Jason stood, he could see various knick-knacks, some maps, and one man.

The man exits out, giving Jason a hefty smile and a jolly chuckle.

“Just recently!” He shouts, making his way over

He is a graying, blond-haired man whose as wide as he is tall. His complexion is that of a man barely touched by the Auroran sun, only made slightly pink in color. A gray collared shit wraps around his body, tightly tucked into a set of dark grey pants complete with well-shined black laced shoes. On his chest is a small badge, clipped to his left with a photo of himself and his name - “Garry Barr”.

Immediately he goes to Jason for a handshake, and Jason allows it without an inkling of complaint. Barry then proceeds to push far close into Jason’s space, giving the young man a strong slap to the shoulder fueled by celebratory glee.

“Jason Cross you bastard! Thought for a moment you wouldn’t be back so soon. You got Sid, right? Got him good?”

Cocky, Jason shrugs and gives a comical grin. He looks down at Barr with about half the amusement. “Of course! I told ya I’d get the bounty. The fucker put me through a whole lotta runnin’ across the road and back, but I did get him.”

“And just for that, I’m grateful. Absolutely touched. Just as happy as can be!” Barr lets out another bit of laughter before proceeding to hook Jason over and direct him to his office. He speaks further before Jason could get a word in. “You want a drink? I can get you a drink. We ought to get a drink, a smoke - something!”

Jason chuckles awkwardly, but tries to answer through Barr’s rambling, “Had enough, actually. You mind calmin’ down? What’s the occasion anyways?”

“I’ll get right to it!” Barr happily shouts, still leading Jason on.

He’s soon brought to a chair, though Jason kindly rejects and opts instead to lean against the doorframe while Barr moves to his desk. The man bends down and retrieves a box kept in the lower shelf, all the while Jason’s eyes wander around the room.

Barr’s office is full of memorabilia of the Old Earth. Model tanks line the shelves by chronological order, all positioned at the same direction and without a bit of dust to ruin their clean, pristine appearance. Several posters of films and wars from the 40’s covered the walls - all of which contained behind glass frames to protect their quality. They mostly covered topics like “War Bonds” and “Liberty”, but Barr didn’t care for the aboutism - he was more drawn to the looks. Lastly, hanging right behind his desk was a replica shotgun, locked behind a glass case with but one plaque reading, “Winchester Model 1987. Trench Gun”.

Jason’s eyes shifted back to see Barr open the box, and from it he nearly brings out a small rectangular bottle with an amber colored liquid and a yellowish-green cap, along with a tin lined with cigars. The tin advertised “Babe Ruth Smokes; Great Vintage Taste from a Great Vintage Era”. with a picture of a grey colored man in striped pajamas.

Barr sat down nice and comfy, rubbed his hands and delightfully waved his fingers over the items laid upon his desk. He sniffed the air, savoring it even from afar. Jason taps the doorway, breaking Barr from his ecstasy.

“Uhh, Barry? What’s the… uh, situation here?” Jason asked, his smile still uncomfortably kept, but his tone presented as respectful as can be.

Finally, Barr answers, with exhaled excitement, “Promotion. I am getting a promotion. All thanks to you.”

“Me?” Jason responds, confused. His face contorts in surprise before returning to his previous expression as he continues, “Uh, I don’t see what you’re talking about here.”

“That bounty you brought in: Sid Leibers. We’ve been looking for him, and here you are. You bring him in to us, and now I’m finally going to get my dues for once in my life. So for that, yes! You boy, I thank! Now then, do you still want the smokes? You ain’t too old yet to celebrate, and I hope you got the taste for cigars. They say these got the old taste right - exactly how it’s described in the old archives.”

“Again, pass.” Says Jason. He brings his hand up to scratch his head, still unsure exactly on what is going on. He then asks the question that had been running through his mind every now and then. “You know Barry, now that you mention it - why have you guys been hounding for Sid so badly? I mean, 850 creds? I know he killed some people, but the worst murderers and arsonists I’ve seen get a bounty of at most 400 alive. Least those people got about a dozen more bodies under their names, and they’re way more sadistic and messed up than this guy ever was.”

Barr leans over his desk, takes a long look towards the hall outside his door and then to the window before looking back at Jason. He whispers, with a wide-eyed look, “You really want to know?”

Jason pauses, jokingly pulls a similar look, and replies in the same tone, “Sure.”

Barr sits back, chuckling lightly for a bit as he then explains - all while his fingers come and rest upon each other. He begins, “I shouldn’t tell you, honestly, but might as well since it’s going to be old news soon. You hear about some gang making a big hit further along the Western mountain ridge?”

Jason shakes his head.

“Well, they’re causing a mighty fine problem for a lot of people along the Black Road. Plenty of hits, ranging from kidnappings and ransoms, arson, murder - just about everything. For the past few months they’ve been pressing the villages for protection money, else they’ll come back and cause even more damage.”

“Sounds to me like your typical, small raider band.” Jason states.

“Not quite.” Counters Barry, elaborating more seriously now. His tone shifts to faithfully present the rank and affiliation he holds within the government on Aurora. “Now they’re not as sadistic as a raider or as large, but they’re smart - at least, whoever is leading them is. They have a good understanding of the environment, and are able to move about without anyone being able to track them. The gang’s hiding out within the ridge, but every time we get to a base they’ve already moved out days before. Not to mention this isn’t like those raiders; these guys can stay put in the mountains for weeks at a time, and we suspect that they possess enough of a survivalist skillset to make use of the wastes without issue. From what reports we’ve managed to scrounge up from those willing to talk, their numbers range from around 12 to 20 men. Not big, but we’re still running blind with what we got on them. Many of the villages affected are too scared to talk, and others ain’t much trusting of our offices to say anything anyways. The guard we have here at the nearest outpost can’t do anything unless we get further intel on the enemy - the command won’t devote manpower to what they see as ineffective searching.”

Jason nods and nods, taking in the information but ultimately not really caring. He keeps his opinion to himself that these guys don’t sound special - no different from any gang he’s dealt with in the past. Folks will join any group if the money’s available, and smarts don’t matter a thing if all they do is the same thing by running around like a bunch of crooks. Still, none of what Barr said had satisfied Jason’s question. “Ok, but what does this have to do with Sid? He’s just some punk, nothing else.”

“You’re right, he is just a pink,” Barry agrees, but his tone becomes progressively chipper. “But - he’s a punk with the right connections. See, what we managed to get from one village is that Sid had recently become a member of this gang. Now, he is dangerous, but he’s thankfully an idiot as well. The bastard was bragging about how he had just gotten in with the gang, completely away from the ears of his operation. With him looking to be our best chance, I commissioned the Bounty Board team to issue a large price on him - alive. Once he’s in our hands, we can interrogate him for all he’s worth.”

There it was, the answer - and Jason had to admit it: it felt good knowing that now. He did some good, albeit without having a clue about it beforehand Of course, the price was what really mattered. “Smart move.” He comments, smiling, “I got to say, you guys are awfully clever. But, how’re you sure he’ll talk? Man ain’t exactly lookin’ to be the agreeable sort.”

“We’ve got out ways, Jason. Man’s an idiot, like I said - and, from the profile we got on him, this ain’t exactly the longest he’s been with a gang. He’ll crack to something, sooner or later, and when he does we’ll have what it takes to nail those fuckers for good.”

“Then congrats to you, friend.” Jason remarks, giving a half-assed salute, though his smile tells Barr that he genuinely does mean well.

“No, thank you. Still! We should toast!” Barr exclaims, rising from his desk with the cheeriest of attitudes. “How about we get Sid out the car and give him a ‘congratulations’ drink? Let him know he’ll be in good hands.”

He starts power-walking out the door towards the front, with Jason following after at a slower pace. Jason comments, “Sure, might as well give him a chance to stretch his legs.”

The two exit out the front and right outside, and almost immediately Jason starts to miss the cold breeze.

With keys in hand, Jason moves around to the back of the car with Barr, and with a wide grin on his face he starts to unlock the trunk. Barr is barely able to contain his excitement, so much so he’s practically hopping in place and thinking past 10 different ways to greet the creep. With a CLICK the trunk swings open, and the two men stare inside - then when they see Sid, their expressions sink.

A long moment of silence falls between them, but especially Sid. The punk lays in a puddle of his own blood from within the trunk, his hands limply placed against his crotch. All color had drained from his body, with the last bit of it being the dark mellow blues of his eyes and lips. His eyes stared off at nothing, not registering one bit to the two men staring at their owner, whose expression is utterly blank.

Barr then breaks the silence, stating dryly, “Well thanks a-fucking-lot, Jason. You killed our man - way to go.”

“Now wait a minute.” Jason starts, holding a finger up as his eyes are kept locked onto the body in the trunk. He doesn’t say anything else, or for that matter can’t find a good reason to right now. With an open palm, and some slight hesitation, he reaches forward and gives Sid a couple smacks across the face. Twice, thrice, four and five times he does this. The slaps get a bit harder, but the body doesn’t move.

He turns sharply towards Barr, momentarily at a loss for words. Barr looks back, his once jolly expression giving way to an equally strong frown. Jason holds his hands up a bit and attempts to make a point, “Let me explain… he was alive when I brought him here.”

“Yeah, well he ain’t alive anymore.” Barr shoots back.

“The dude was banging the trunk door on the way here. He was causing all sorts of a fuss! For all I knew, when coming here, he was still pretty much alive.”

“And in that time.” Barr replies, almost about to blow, “Did you, at any point, dress this man’s wounds?”

“I… didn’t think it was serious.” Jason mumbles.

“The man’s balls are shot off!” Barr screams, his face turning a hot pink. “I think that calls for a fucking band-aid at the very least! Goddammit!” He yells, even louder - to the point his voice began turning course. He slams the trunk, causing Jason to jump back while Barr storms off back towards the office.

“Come on Barry!” Jason pleads, following after the man before Barr does a 180 and stops him dead in his tracks.

“Don’t you ‘Barry’ me, ya moron! This was supposed to be my break. MY promotion! Best chance I’d get to saying goodbye and good riddance to this hell blasted planet!”

“Now that ain’t fair, Barry…”

Barr resumes back into the office and is just about ready to shut the front door when, suddenly, Jason grips it from the outside. Jason peaks in, crying out, “Wait, wait, wait, wait!” Barr listens, and after a moment Jason calms down before asking politely, “What about my payment?”

Barr’s eyes grow wide, his mouth agape, and the punks on his face become a peppery red. He stammers, “You just-- I don’t-- Why’d you-- I should strangle the fuck out of you! Fucking payment?! Read the damn contract! ALIVE! You get the bounty if he comes alive! Alive - Payment! Dead - hit the dirt and LEAVE!”

Then with a quick pull he slams the door, right onto Jason’s fingers. Jason lets out a harsh scream, but doesn’t let go. It takes another three slams from the door before he finally releases, as he trips onto the dirt and holds tight to numb the furious pain going on in his fingers. Barr finally shuts the door and locks it, before walking off into his office in pure rage.

Jason shakes the pain away as best he could, right before looking back at the office door. He yells and begs, “Barry! You can’t leave me with this body, Barry! It’s gonna stink my damn car!”

After a minute of getting not a single answer from Barry, Jason curses and nurses his injured fingers. He lightly blows on his bruised digits, all the while slowly making his way to the back of his car. Stopping, he looked with disgust at the dead body attracting flies in his car. Delvitely he slams the trunk shit, wincing from the pain in his hands, before finally getting into the front seat to drive on out of there.

He speeds on out of the gated area, setting course for the Black Road.

First on his agenda: finding a place off the side to dump the body.

Second: looking somewhere to get some ice - for both his hands, and his drink.

#original work #my writing #CROSS #KRONOS #eyeofsemicolon #the5thsemicolon #semicolonthe5th #short story #science fiction #original story #Jason Cross #writing #western

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catch22inareddress · 6 years ago

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Master list Updated November 08

Please feel free to message me if you would like a forever tag or just want to talk about Marvel. I love it so much!!! GIFS ARE NOT MINE

I have a tag list link here: LINK

Comments are welcome and loved!!

All series are completed Twin Phœnix which is still in progress. Thanks for reading.

James Buchanan Barnes

Twin Phœnix (Biker Bucky AU): In-progress

On the run, two sisters find safety in a small town in California with a close-knit group of friends that welcome with no judgment. Fleeing from their past and hiding from the man that tried to kill them can they actually start anew? Friendships form and as the young woman begin to shed their former selves the past catches up with them. Can the motorcycle club and the men that they have grown to love and form a bond with save them? Will they rise like a Phoenix from the ashes or crash and burn from the mistakes of their past?

Warnings: Warnings: Violence, angst, smut, strong language

Warnings: Violence, angst, smut, strong language

Chapter One: The Rarity of it All

Chapter Two: Breaking the Shackles

Chapter Three: Feel It In My Fingertips

Chapter Four: In All the Ways We’ve Fallen

Chapter Five: Nothing Lasts Forever

My Soldier of Winter Completed

The story takes place after the Accords and revolves around you, the reader. You are the Goddaughter of Tony Stark and his protege. You have helped with the Avengers since its birth and when the Accords were in talks before Steve found Bucky in Romania, you and Tony had a fallout. You could no longer be a part of something that you didn’t believe in. You have helped Steve, Bucky, and the fugitives from behind the curtain you have not seen them and have not met the infamous Winter Soldier. They have since made a tense amends with Tony and a new threat looms in the future requiring the team to unite against the enemy for the greater good. You are in the crosshairs as the successor and ultimately seen as Tony’s daughter and those who want to hurt him are after you. However, you have built a new life for yourself this past year and refuse to speak with him and are not yet fully aware of dire circumstances that you may be in but willing to risk everything to do the right thing. Bucky is your soldier and your protector.

Warnings: Violence, angst, smut, strong language and mentions of torture.

Chapter One: Longing

Chapter Two: Rusted

Chapter Three: Seventeen

Chapter Four: Daybreak

Chapter Five: Furnace

Chapter Six: Nine *NSFW

Chapter Seven: Homecoming

Chapter Eight: One

Chapter Nine: Freightcar

Invidentia Series Completed

After Civil War Tony decided that the Avengers needed a facelift and brought you in. Someone from a long line of military background making you damn near military royalty. Tony had followed you from a young age and knew you would make a perfect addition to your loyalty and quick wit. You put others above yourself. Just what the team needed to mend itself. A year later the team is mended and you’re close to Bucky but how close is too close? Especially when he sees you struggling to break it off with a man that is breaking you. You’ve mended the team and out everyone needs in front of your own. Now it’s your turn to be taken care of.

Warnings: domestic violence and smut. Strong language

Chapter One: Concido

Chapter Two: Secundo Casu

Chapter Three: Extremo Agmine

Chapter Four: Versus Finem

Deserve Her Series Completed

After you broke up last year with your boyfriend he turned abusive and wouldn’t stop stalking you. You work with the Avenger but on the analyst side and don’t live in the tower. You’ve come to work shaken the past few days and the team has taken notice especially Bucky. You and he have become close over the past year. Other than Steve, you are the only one that he confides in and has even let you past his walls.

Warnings: Strong language and some violence. Triggers domestic violence

Chapter One: Deserve Her

Chapter Two: Becoming His

Chapter Three: My Savior

Wasteland Completed

On a mission in Siberia to check a military silo for intel you and Bucky are left with a dead end and stuck in a snowstorm. Things need to get heated to stay alive. Warnings: Smut and Language

Part one

Part Two NSFW

Sassafrass Completed

The newest Avenger is feisty and just what everyone in the tower needs. Everyone that is sav,e Bucky. He’s not quite sure how to take the foul mouth beauty who dishes it out to everyone and doesn’t take his shit. Will she be more than Sargeant Barnes can handle or just or the perfect dame for the job?

Warnings: Language and eventual smut

Chapter One: Sassafrass

Chapter Two: Part Deux

Chapter Three: Third Times a Charm

Chapter Four: Sliding into Home

The List Completed

So this is for #Emsmarvelouswritingchallenge @writemarvelousthings with the prompt

“Quick! Hide behind the sofa!”

I hope that you enjoy this because I had hella fun. Its pretty much smut with a smallllll bit of plot. Sorry, I'm not sorry. MWAHAHAHAHA

The List

Steve Rogers

Abandoned Series completed

When you arrived at the Tower you were quiet and traumatized having been experimented on by an expelled HYDRA doctor. Bucky and you formed a relationship and while you were still learning your powers and just when you let your walls down with Bucky, he abandons you for a year with radio silence from the Avengers. Now he’s back and your not the same innocent little girl that he left behind. He may still want you but do you still want him? Especially when the last person you thought you would ever fall for is the first person you run to.

Warnings: Smut and Language

Chapter One: Missing You

Chapter Two: Stepping Stones

Chapter Three: Cap’s New Mission

Chapter Four: Memories and Misunderstandings

Chapter Five: Breaking the Walls

Chapter Six: Never Alone

Language Series completed

You came to the tower as a shy strategist with no friends and starting fresh in a new city thanks to Tony Stark. With the help of America’s golden boy, Captain America, you were welcomed in the Avengers fold with open arms and had friends and a family now. So what if you could repay him and help him dirty up the perfect image to get some of his friends and teammates off his back, would you do it. Hell yes! This is the story of a girl next door who helps dirty up the all American boy next door all while in the dreaded friend zone she’s desperately trying to get out of.

Warnings: Language (although it’s in the title) and Smut

Chapter One: Learning a New Language

Chapter Two: Language Ma’am

The Three Times You Sang To Steve Rogers completed

Requested by @Shorteststories97

For as long as Steve can remember he’s had to be the perfect soldier and leader to the men and woman that follow him. Never showing weakness and always being the perfect man and soldier. After you have joined the team a year ago you found the perfect Captain but you have also managed to break down his walls ever so slightly and see the real Steve. Will you be the one that can finally let him be him? Not a leader, not a soldier, just a man who may be broken but still deserves the world instead of always saving it.

Warnings: Language

The Three Times You Sang To Steve Rogers

Stolen Choices Completed

Summary: TRIGGER WARNINGS: Domestic Abuse

From a young age, you were thrown into a life that you despised by people that made choices for you. When the first opportunity to make your own arrises would you make the right one? Or would you sign your own death warrant?

After years of having your decisions taken away from you, it’s time for you to take your rights back. It started with going to SHIELD and handing over HYDRA secrets that your husband left behind when he left the county in hiding. Little did you know that Captain America would step in and start making the decisions for you. By SHIELDS orders, you were to help him infiltrate your social circle as your new security detail in hopes of gaining access to your husband.

Just when you thought you were done playing the pawn in a never-ending game of chess it turns out you have a few more moves to make.

Chapter One: Cindered Conscience

Chapter Two: Tarnished Man

Chapter Three: Revelations

Chapter Four: Down the Rabbit Hole

Chapter Five: Staking Claim

Chapter Six: Simply Ravenous

Chapter Seven: Fight Club

Chapter Eight: When It All Crumbles

Chapter Nine: Putting it Back Together

Love is a Verb: Completed

This was a request from anonymous for a Captain America imagine where he is shy and gets a blowjob. I also based this in part on a song by Incubus called Here in My Room.

Y/N is a talented therapist tasked with assisting the World’s Mightiest Hero’s in check. To allow them the opportunity to talk about the horrors seen or just vent about someone stealing their last cookie from the pantry. She strives at being not only a therapist but a friend.

What happens when the lines between doctor and patient get blurred? Especially when the object of your affection is the very guarded and timid Captain America himself.

Warnings: Language, smut, general Steve Rogers Cuteness.

Love is a Verb

Sebastian Stan

Carry you- Completed

Summary: TRIGGER WARNINGS: DEPRESSION, ANGST

A request based on the song Carry You by Ruelle ft Fleurie (Link in Fic)

You and Sebastian's relationship is on the rocks because of your previous agreement to keep it private. You’ve had to watch him from behind a screen and have him deny your status for far too long. Your self-doubt and anxiety have taken over and you are nearly drowning in it. Is it too late for him to save you and carry you through? Can he redeem himself and his actions of putting you in the shadows?

Carry You

Thrice Tipsy

You and Chris had been friends since childhood, you were nearly siblings. Over the span of all of your years with Chris you had known your limit with alcohol and yet it seemed that over the course of your new friendship with Sebastian you constantly ended up drunk. It didn't matter if it was your first meeting or because of him or just a random event, the man always caught you at your worse. He was your friend though, right? Seeing you at your worse really shouldn't matter except well when your drunk you always threw yourself at him and he was ever the gentleman. Always making an extremely awkward morning after.

Warnings: Angst, general swearing, smut

Chapter One: Incident Numero Uno

Chapter Two: Dos...Equis

Chapter Three: Thrice Unlucky

Chapter Four: Suddenly Sober

Halloween Confessions Completed

You have yearned to meet Sebastian from afar for years. When the stars aline and you are hired to do a contemporary dance routine at a Halloween Party that he will attend, will you have the courage to follow through and finally meet him? Tonight is all about Halloween and Confessions….now, where is the bar because your gonna need a stiff drink?

Halloween Confessions

Our Colors: Complete

Sebastian has always had you as his best friend and confident. One night changes it all and he sees you in a different light. Every color explodes around him and he sees you the way that you have seen him for years. What happens in the morning though? Will you still want him or will it be the closure that you needed? As both of you go through the events of last night and come to terms what happens when you come face to face with one another? The true colors will be exposed for the final time.

Our Colors

David Budd (Richard Madden)

Bodyguard Completed

You lived the chaotic life of a celebrity with red carpet affairs, charity events, and notable friends. However, your life is turned upside down when a stalker sends threatening letters and starts breaking into your home. Your friend, Tom Hardy, enlists a buddy from the London's Metropolitan Police department and gets you your own protection detail. What will happen when you fall for the man that is normally reserved to keep politicians safe? He has a troubled past that haunts him deeply and you are currently struggling with the trauma of a stalker and living in constant terror. Can you save each other before your stalker catches up with you and his past pulls him into the deep?

Warnings: smut, violence, smut, angst

Chapter One: Broken

Chapter Two: Heavy

Chapter Three: Putting Your Guard Down

Chapter Four: Failed Missions

Chapter Five: When Darkness Turns to Light

Chapter Six: The Finality of It All

Chris Evans

Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice Completed

Halloween has always been your favorite holiday, and with the past few years being very hard on you, this one was special. New home, new life. What the hell were you supposed to do when a very handsome and clumsy Chris Evans falls into your bookstore hiding from fans? Do you rescue him or throw him to the werewolves. Tonight is the night where you could dwell on the past you’ve been running from or focus on new beginnings. Which one would you choose?

Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

Richard Madden

Masquerade- Completed

What happens when a shy woman gets the chance to go to a Halloween masquerade party and put all her fears aside? The opportunity to be a different person for one evening. When she meets a charming stranger and has an evening unlike any other she thinks that perhaps it can lead to more than one night. When reality comes tumbling down will she stay or run away?

Life is much easier when you can hide behind a mask.

Masquerade

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jkottke · 5 years ago

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Serendipity v algorithmy

I've always liked the concept of serendipity, even more since being involved in the early days of coworking, where we used the term "accelerated serendipity" quite a bit. The idea that, through the creation of a welcoming space and a diversified and thriving community, you could accelerate (or concentrate) "the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way." (Oxford English Dictionary)

So it's probably a mix of Baader-Meinhof effect and well, serendipity, that these two articles grabbed my attention. In The Serendipity Engine, Gianfranco Chicco explains that he quit his job and will use the time to purposefully built up serendipity, seek fields he knows little about, learn new things, read an eclectic mix of books, be open to meeting strangers, visit new cities, etc. "Slowing down and renewing the commitment to a series of personal rituals."

The Serendipity Engine works just like an internal combustion engine and, like with a high performance muscle car, you need to feed it with the right kind of propellant. In this analogy, the fuel is made of different activities, skills, and conversations. In my case I select them so that they are deliberately out of or tangential to my current professional domain. The engine also requires maintenance and fine tuning via iterations and changes to the activities or skills I become involved with.

He also connects his engine vision with Steven B. Johnson's use of the concept of the adjacent possible, describing how different elements and ideas can be combined in various ways to create new elements and ideas.

The Serendipity Engine operates in a similar way, adding new stimulus into my life allow new and unexpected things to emerge.

Dan Cohen on the other hand, realized that he's missing serendipity in the redesign of The New York Times app. Between the algorithmic "For you" tab and the pseudo old-school but very siloed "Sections," he feels that he can't bump into something new, he's either presented with typecasted suggestions or enclosed in sections that don't flow together, drawing you in from one to the next, like actual old-school paper newspapers did. For the sake of engagement, the NYT forfeits serendipity.

The engagement of For You--which joins the countless For Yous that now dominate our online media landscape--is the enemy of serendipity, which is the chance encounter that leads to a longer, richer interaction with a topic or idea. [...]

Engagement isn't a form of serendipity through algorithmically personalized feeds; it's the repeated satisfaction of Present You with your myopically current loves and interests, at the expense of Future You, who will want new curiosities, hobbies, and experiences.

In a related idea, Kyle Chayka mourns some cancelled Netflix shows which were never presented to him because viewers are only shown a supposedly algorithmic homepage on Netflix (and elsewhere). In reality, that selection is corrupted by the business incentives of the company, pushing some shows to us, independent of our interests.

Sometimes there's an algorithmic mismatch: your recommendations don't line up with your actual desires or they match them too late for you to participate in the Cultural Moment. It induces a dysphoria or a feeling of misunderstanding--you don't see yourself in the mirror that Netflix shows you.

One way to interpret all of this is that, even though we are supposed to be well served by algorithms, we end up not only missing some randomness, but we even have to actively seek it, busting our bubbles and building our own versions of Chicco's engine. Or, as Chayka says below—and likely one of the reasons you are reading this blog:

Often we have to turn to other sources to get a good enough guide, however. Journalists, critics, and human curators are still good at telling us what we like, and have less incentive to follow the finances of the company delivering the content to us.

-- Found in the engine article; did you know that the word serendipity comes from the the Persian story of The Three Princes of Serendip? And that Serendip is one of the old names of Sri Lanka?

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nicolemagolan · 5 years ago

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Books I Read In June 2019

This month was nearly entirely dominated by science-fiction, but Nicholas Eames’ high fantasy novel prevented that. I have no regrets! Not a wholly satisfactory reading month, as these books ranged from excellent to underwhelming. Read on to find out which was which!

Sand by Hugh Howey

3.5/5 stars

“And so it went, sand piling up to the heavens and homes sinking toward hell.”

Sand is a sci-fi story in the same vein as Howey's previous Wool series, set in a scary dystopian future. This one, however, despite being exceptionally well-written, falls short of greatness.

The plot doesn't ever seem to go anywhere -- nowhere interesting anyway. There is a lackluster feeling to the world-building, and a lack of threat because of this. In this world, the characters live in a desert, and make their living by diving through sand as if it's water to collect treasures buried under the dunes. An interesting concept, but the society around it was not explained much, and I am left unsure of how their society actually functions.

The characters were great though. The focus was on a family of 4 siblings, and I loved seeing their dynamics and how they played off each other. There was a lot a nuance to the characters and their relationships.

Hugh Howey is an excellent writer. There were so many beautifully crafted sentences and paragraphs, and riveting action scenes. The dive scenes were horrifying and enthralling. I was constantly in awe of how good Howey's writing style is. Despite the lack of world building, Sand developed a gritty atmosphere that I enjoyed. I'm looking forward to reading more of his work, but I hope they're more balanced.

I was under the impression that Sand tied into Wool in some way, but I couldn't find a connection. It's possible that the buried cities are the Silo's, but it wasn't used for any effect. Could have been any old city, and it wouldn't make a difference. I was disappointed at the false advertising.All in all, I would recommend the Wool trilogy over this. But, if you read and enjoyed that this might just fill the void.

The Walking Dead, Issue #192: Aftermath by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard (Cover Art), Dave Stewart (Cover Art), Stefano Gaudiano (Artist), Cliff Rathburn (Artist)

5/5 stars

I can't believe they actually did the thing. This issue is brilliant. I don't have anything else I could possibly say.

Star Wars Battlefront II: Inferno Squad by Christie Golden

4/5 stars

“It’s all for the glory of the Empire, honey, and don’t you forget it.”

Another win for the new Star Wars canon! Inferno Squad is a gripping tale of undercover imperial agents going undercover in the Rebellion to find out where or who is leaking top secret information. It's somewhat lacking in true white-knuckle action, but it makes up for that with well-developed and distinct characters. Iden Versio, the lead character, at first seems like the typical Empire-loving, cold, and one-dimensional trooper that we're familiar with in Star Wars canon. But as the story unfolds, her character builds into a complex, intriguing, and empathetic -- and yet still rather cold -- lead.

I was worried this would be a typical, cheesy story of an imperial agent suddenly realising the error of their ways and joining the rebels...but that wasn't the case. Nor was it completely a one-note "the Empire is always right" perspective; there was enough nuance to keep it compelling.

As for the other characters, they were all fine, and developed individuality. But I didn't feel there were any other standouts.

There were a few cringey moments within the writing style -- MULTIPLE instances of "they let out a breath they didn't know they were holding"...Can we let this overused line die, PLEASE. And descriptions were a bit lackluster. But for a Star Wars novel, I would say it was actually pretty decent.

I highly recommend this to Star Wars fans!

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

4/5 stars

“As individuals they were each of them fallible, discordant as notes without harmony. But as a band they were something more, something perfect in its own intangible way.”

Kings of the Wyld is an epic romp through a world both colourful and gritty. It has incredibly balanced flavours of Rock & Roll and hard-hitting fantasy. Plus, it's hilarious. And heartfelt. And totally badass.

Okay, Kings of the Wyld is a little vulgar for my tastes. The language and gore doesn't pull punches, and the depiction of female characters is sometimes over-sexualised. Not always though, thankfully, and it's usually for some purpose.

The world-building is wack. The fantasy setting feels like it's being pieced together with bright lego bricks as you read, but sometimes instead of sticking together lego, you're just getting pelted with mud. Information about the world is dropped in dialogue and metaphor as if you already have any clue what they're talking about. Sometimes it works, sometimes it's overwhelming. The informal and funny style of writing gives it a cartoony feel (and I don't mean that in a negative way), and it feels very original while still reshaping classic tropes and paying homage to the greats.

But the characters. The characters. The story follows this group of old warriors, getting their mercenary band back together long after their glory days are over. They've settled down and had families, become fat and drunk, gone a bit mad. And when one of their daughters is in mortal danger, they reunite to take on the impossible quest to save her.

The lead character is Clay Cooper: the sweetest, most wholesome murderer you'll ever meet. Easy to root for, plenty of compelling back-story to dig into, and snarky comments galore.

My second favourite is the wizard Moog. He is a total weirdo and he knows it. I love how ridiculous and passionate he is.

There's Mattrick, who's become a sad, fat King with a terrible marriage and kids that aren't his. But he's still a menace with his knives.

Gabriel is the leader of the group, and the one who is trying to find his daughter. He was one of the less-developed characters, but it worked because he was wholly focused on his daughter. His love for her was nice.

Lastly there's Ganelon, the terrifying warrior with no emotions. Except there are emotions! The scenes showing his vulnerability are fantastic, but where he truly shines is the battlefield.

The comradeship of the band is so natural and entertaining. Their relationships felt fully developed and like they had real history. They are so easy to root for!

The plot does plod a bit, with a bunch of mini-quests along the way that begin to drag towards the end. I think one or two of the little adventures could have been cut-down for the sake of building towards the epic final battle and touching conclusion.

I'll definitely be looking out for more from this author. And if you want a fantasy novel that's a little something different, definitely give this a go!

Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne

2/5 stars

Brightly Burning is a retelling of the classic Jane Eyre, but set in space! Wooooo! I don't know why I thought I would like this. It does exactly what it says on the tin. It has the plot, characters, and atmosphere of Jane Eyre. But when a character looks out a window...it's space. Maybe if I was a huge fan of the original story, I would be able to appreciate this re-imagining of it. But I don't think Brightly Burning did anything exceptionally interesting with the premise. The language is full of modern colloquialisms that are weirdly balanced with the futuristic world building. It often feels cheesy or just plain silly to me, but this is much lighter sci-fi than I anticipated. I'm kinda dumb though, because of course it's a fluffy/angsty/tropey romance and not a compelling, twisty, or fresh sci-fi take on the classic story. It serves its purpose and it does so with moderate success. me @ me, closing this book:

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

3/5 stars

Sleeping Giants is..........good? I guess? It's a kinda entertaining sci-fi tale told through interviews, self-recorded journals and other audio files. It follows a cast of mostly-military characters as they discover and search for the scattered remains of some strange and potentially alien technology. This premise could really be taken in any direction...unfortunately the compelling concept is bogged down by a dumb LOVE TRIANGLE. Whyyyyy. Minor spoiler territory here, but it becomes clear early on that the alien tech is essentially a mech-style robot thingy. I am wondering how anime it's gonna get, when one of the characters is like 'gee, this sure is something out of Star Wars huh.' GIRL WHAT. No. It really isn't. Anywayyy I love the title, and the cover, and the characters are well-developed. Nothing of real interest happens within the story to be honest, and the ending is kinda lame. I'm not interested in the sequels but I appreciated my time with the audiobook -- it has a full and talented cast.

My reading hopes for next month are high as Semester 1 is over and my holiday has begun! I have big reading plans, folks. Big plans. Like, 5,000 page plans. :)

Have you read any of these books? Let me know what you thought of them!

#reading wrap up #june reads #books #booklr #book review #wrap up #sand #hugh howey #twd #twdc #star wars #swbf2 #inferno squad #kings of the wyld #brightly burning #sleeping giants

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lindoig4 · 5 years ago

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The Zephyr - 8-10 July

Today, we are leaving San Francisco and boarding the Californian Zephyr for Chicago. I think we slept a bit better last night, maybe the jet lag is starting to lag, but we were still up by about 6am and checked out before seven. As we were checking out, I saw the TV with news of a series of serious earthquakes with a lot of damage and casualties about 300 km from here. We are fine, but I thought the earth moved a little for me at one stage when we were out walking yesterday. Perhaps I wasn’t just imagining it after all.

Our train is called the Californian Zephyr, despite it traversing California, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois!

We walked through a dank and foggy San Fran down the hill to the bus station and in due course were transported across the magnificent kilometres-long Bay Bridge to Emeryville where we caught the train. The bridge is quite wonderful, an engineering masterpiece affording great views of the huge turbid bay and its surrounds with its ships and docks. We even drove across Treasure Island and although I kept an eye out, I never saw Long John Silver (although I did see two Jolly Rogers swinging from the flagstaffs.).

We followed the shore for quite a long way before crossing a very wide area of marshland where I saw a few birds and even identified a couple. For the rest of the day, though, we saw very few birds, all too far away, too small, too fast, too fleeting or just too uncooperative for me to identify. The only ones I did identify were four Canada geese swimming along close to the track when we were travelling very slowly. And the only non-bird animal I saw all day was one lonely white butterfly.

I should make a declaration at this point! I have already run out of superlatives and the next few days make superlatives pretty pathetic anyway. Please just add as many ‘spectaculars’, ‘fantastics’, ‘brilliants’, ‘gorgeouses’ and so on as you can and I will limit my amazement in my comments and retain it primarily in my memory. There simply aren’t words or pictures adequately to describe the wonder of some of the things we saw. But here goes anyway…..

We climbed up into the Cascades and passed through range on range of steep hills and deep valleys, mainly covered by a few varieties of conifers. We transitioned through several landscapes during the day, but after the marshlands, we were very quickly into heavily wooded conifer forest and steep mountains with valleys disappearing into the deep gloom. There were patches of dirty snow hidden among the trees, still laying around almost in the middle of summer and large areas of pristine snow on the mountains a little further from the train. Everything seemed so clean, fresh and green, but no doubt cold as well if it were not for the air-conditioning in the train.

Then we were into open grassland that reached the horizon in all directions with just a few stunted trees scattered about. There were areas that weren’t flat – indeed, where nothing was flat. It was as if a group of giant children had been playing at mud pies and left lumps of dirt and mud everywhere – often mound on mound with one misshapen lump running into the next. It was strange to see such a jumble of small round hillocks crowded one on the other and to wonder how in the world they formed and why they haven’t weathered uniformly.

Further on, we were in desert: large flat grey muddy patches in otherwise brownish-grey scrubby expanses. The bare earth didn’t look sandy. Rather it looked more like dried mud in such a neutral ‘muddy’ colour that it was indefinable. And the scrub was almost the same – dull green that was almost washed out of any colour at all. It was real ‘cowboy country’ that we saw in so many Westerns a hundred years ago. (But wait until tomorrow!)

At dinner time we went through a flooded area, a waterlogged grassland with lots of birds, but again, very hard to identify. I eventually identified several with a reasonable level of confidence – just enough to claim them – but I will talk more about bird identification later.

During dinner, our bunks were set up by our steward (Maclin – a huge friendly black man and a lot of fun) but they took up so much of the cabin space that we virtually had to go to bed. I was in the top bunk and it was quite coffinlike. Not a lot of room between the bunk and the ceiling and I recalled a lot of the Edgar Allan Poe horror stories I read as a teenager about being buried alive or confined in small caves, etc. The mattresses were rock-hard and we slept very badly with aches and pains, perpetually either too hot or too cold, but we survived the night. We had a very long stop in Salt Lake City in the middle of the night so on our first day, we had crossed California, Nevada, Colorado and half of Utah.

We were up early next day and looking out, I immediately saw some antelope – about 20 or so in singles and several small groups. I also saw a jack rabbit just outside the window on one of our stops. There were lots of stops, some for small stations, but also for traffic reasons. They had some extreme heat here recently and there was an amazing rain storm and a couple of hours of continuous(!), completely uninterrupted(!!), lightning on our second night combined with signal problems around Denver and an escaped alpaca on the tracks later on – all contributing to our trip being exactly 7 hours longer than expected. The slow progress due to the heat risk and rainstorm resulted in the crew being over their maximum legal stretch of shift so we sat at one little siding for a long time until a fresh crew arrived from another station to relieve them. The end result was that instead of arriving in Chicago at 2:10pm, we arrived long after dark sharp on 9:10 in the evening.

In the daylight, Utah was really iconic cowboy country. Nothing seemed quite as big and grand as Monument Valley, but all the features were there, just a bit more crowded and closer together. Massive buttes and mesas, unbelievably jagged and craggy rocks, every conceivable structure. Buttes and long ranges of hard rock with precipitous cliffs falling to great triangles of scree around the base – typical Western badlands landscapes and impressive beyond words. We sat agape, staring out the windows, clicking frantically on our cameras as each more magnificent vista paraded in front of us. Did I say ‘Spectacular!’?

Then there was the Canyon country. We traversed two very long canyons beside the Colorado and Fraser Rivers with towering cliffs on both sides, incredibly rugged, with the rivers roaring past – the Colorado hurtling westward to the Grand Canyon and the Fraser racing eastward to the Mississippi. The speed of the rivers was breathtaking, especially after an apparently extremely wet season, and the rapids were awesome – many turgid Category 4s and 5s. We saw hundreds of canoeists and rafters – and one long stretch of the Colorado is nick-named Moon River – due to the long-established routine of the rafters ‘mooning’ the train as it passes. We saw an awful lot of (awful) bums over maybe 100km.

We were now well into the Rockies and again, words fail me. I never imagined I wold see them and they are not quite what (or where) I imagined, but maybe even more spectacular. Towering mountains, craggy rocks everywhere, plenty of snow-caps not too far away. Quite an awesome journey, but equally impossible to describe. Imagine as much as you can and double it – and then again a few more times!

We continued eastward through Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois, all less awesome, but still fascinating. Gigantic swathes of corn fields – enough to feed the entire world surely – truck farms and increasing industrialisation as we approached our destination. Many little towns, all amazingly neat and symmetrical, quite quaint in many cases, but with little to separate them from their neighbours. Lots of silos, some for corn, but mainly for silage – in goes mountains of grass, it ferments and out comes astronomical volumes of stockfeed.

Because we were running so late, they had to provide an extra meal on the train (everyone got beef stew and veges for that one). The food was generally very good with about 6 choices for each meal (the same set of 6 each day) and a fair choice of alcohol that we had to pay for. Staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful – maybe with an eye on their anticipated tips, but they seemed genuine enough. Tipping is alien to us, of course, but we did what we thought reasonable and hope we didn’t offend anyone or appear too stupid to them.

Chicago at last and a cab ride to the hotel where we checked in and slept in much more comfort than the hard mattresses on the train.

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acehotel · 6 years ago

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Just/Talk: Justin Strauss with Jenny Schlenzka

Jenny Schlenzka was writing her Master’s Thesis at NYU by day and waiting tables in SoHo by night when a friend mentioned a job as a German-speaking assistant for a curator who had just started at the Museum of Modern Art. That person, Klaus Biesenbach, would later become the Chief Curator at Large at MoMA and appoint Schlenzka as the first Curator of Performance ever at the storied institution during his tenure. For this edition of Just/Talk, Schlenzka, now the current Artistic Director of Performance Space New York, chats with legendary DJ and longtime Ace friend Justin Strauss about reimagining apocalypses with queer artists of color, using performance art to engage with the world and trusting her intuition when building with new artists.

Justin Strauss: How did your journey begin, ending up here in New York and working in the arts?

Jenny Schlenzka: It wasn't planned. I came to New York in 2002 to study at NYU. I had a year-long scholarship and was supposed to go back.

Justin: Had you been here before to visit?

Jenny: I had been here once to visit a good friend of mine who was living here, so I really wanted to visit her. I was 23 or 24.

Justin: And where were you from?

Jenny: From Berlin. My university in Berlin was a partner university with NYU. I applied for this exchange and I got it. I was deeply confused about actually what I wanted to do professionally with my life. I was only supposed to stay for a year and for a while I went back and forth but ended up moving here and waiting tables, mainly in SoHo to pay my rent. I was studying for my master’s, so I was writing my master’s thesis during the day and then waited tables at night.

Justin: What part of town did you live in?

Jenny: I literally lived all around. I started out in Financial District, which was a year after 9/11, so it was very different down there. And then I moved to SoHo and then moved to the Lower East Side, East Village, Brooklyn, Tudor City, Midtown, Upper West Side.

Justin: Wow. Pretty much everywhere.

Jenny: And then Long Island City, and now back to the East Village. I came here in 2002, so that's like 16 years ago. It's been a while. And then, I was writing my thesis on actually film and television. I did a lot of media studies, so my studies were very broad like everything and nothing. And then two friends of mine approached me and said, “There's this German curator who just started at MoMA, he needs a German speaking assistant, would you be interested?” And I was literally like, “Curator? What exactly am I doing?” I was like okay, can't be worse than waiting tables and the curator turned out to be Klaus Biesenbach. I went there and started working for him.

In the beginning because Klaus was still involved with Kunst-Werke in Berlin, I was traveling to exhibitions between KW in Berlin and PS1 in Queens. But he was a curator at MoMA, so my office was with him at MoMA. In a really quick time, I got the most amazing insight into what a curator does and met all these great people and artists and pretty instantaneously fell in love with the idea of working with artists. What I also really like about this job is you keep learning because every project is completely different and it needs different knowledge and skills.

Justin: And so working with Klaus, he was a kind of a mentor but you also just learned as you went along.

Jenny: Yeah, I always say he threw me in the cold water repeatedly and I had to learn swimming quite quickly. I think it was a point where his career really took off, so he became a curator at MoMA and then was still deeply involved with PS1 and KW.

Justin: What's KW?

Jenny: Kunst-Werke. It's the equivalent of PS1 in Berlin. An independent alternative art space that was founded in an empty deserted building. He had so many projects that eventually they fell off and I picked them up and ran with them. Pretty naively, which in hindsight I think helped because I was just trying to get things done and dealing with it. And then he became the Chief Curator. They basically created a department for him first for Media and then Media and Performance. And then he was looking for a curator for performance and he basically gave that job to me. At first I felt shy and insecure about it. It was a weird mix between being naive, not even understanding what a big position that really was, in a historical place like MoMA to be the first curator to deal with performance. At the same time, I didn't know if I could do it, but just went with it really.

Justin: Did you have any background or interest in performance art?

Jenny: I was always interested in art. My parents would go to museums and I had an aunt who was a filmmaker and she would expose me to art and films. But really my background, was mostly film and video, so not performance. However, when I was at NYU I took a PhD class and a grad class at the Performance Studies program. So there was definitely some interest, but it was not something that I ever... as I said, when someone told me about this curator, Klaus, I didn't even know what a curator was really doing.

Justin: So then you just learned on the job.

Jenny: Yeah, and he was great in a way that just kept throwing things at me and I had to figure them out. Of course he was around to help me. And then I rose through the ranks. At some point, he left from MoMA to PS1 and I stayed at MoMA. I think for two years or so we didn't work together, and then he asked me to build the performance program at MoMA PS1.

Justin: And so that included the Dome?

Jenny: Exactly.

Justin: They had already been doing the Warm Up music series every summer?

Jenny: Warm Up, yeah. That existed. Even when I came here in 2002 it already existed. I built Sunday Sessions, a weekly program of live arts. And because of the sheer amount of programming, it really quickly became very interdisciplinary. So I worked obviously with performers and artists, filmmakers, musicians, chefs, writers, architects, at some point, even comedians.

Justin: Well, doing that, you learned a lot about performance. When you were curating shows, what was your connection to New York? Did you feel like that was important to bring that in or were you just looking from all over?

Jenny: Well, the easy answer is my budget was such that it had to be local. Later after a couple of years we started bringing in international people, but in the beginning it was very New York-centric. The Dome holds 400 people and we really tried to get a good crowd every Sunday. I think that's something that I really learned and now is useful here in my role as the director of Performance Space New York. We would sometimes do several events on one Sunday. For example we could have an architecture book launch and a concert in the Dome and then maybe a dance presentation in the building. And then all these different communities that can be quite siloed in New York would overlap out in Queens. But speaking of Queens, it was not easy to get people out there which is way easier here in the East Village on a weekly basis.

Justin: PS1 already had the Warm Up series going pretty strong. It was packed every Saturday. So people were figuring it out and there were less and less things happening in Manhattan that were interesting and seemed like a lot of the “cool stuff” was happening in Brooklyn and Queens at the time.

Jenny: I know, that's all true. But there's this bridge and tunnel mentality of people, even though it's literally one stop from Manhattan, it makes a difference asking people to come out to Queens.

Justin: Was it your idea to do the Dome?

Jenny: That was Klaus' idea. So he had the Dome and he hired me and said, “I want to have a weekly program changing every week and I want the house packed every week.”

Justin: Good luck.

Jenny: Yes. And you'll have a $500 budget per week.

Justin: And you managed to do it pretty much.

Jenny: Yeah, and we grew. There was also no team really. I learned in hindsight so much on that job. I had to build a team, I had to build a profile and to build this program and needed to market it, and I really learned to think about audience, which when you're at MoMA, the audience is kind of built-in. You never worried at MoMA that people won’t show up. So that was actually really good school.

Justin: And had you been very aware of the history of performance art in New York?

Jenny: Yes. Especially at MoMA. When you work at a place like MoMA, history becomes really, really important and there's nothing you do that is without thinking about lineage, history and influence. So I did a lot of research. I have to say that it was always more pre-80s. Maybe it was just not the time yet, but in the textbooks or history books, the performance art history would usually stop in the 80s. I think one of the reasons for that is that performance art went from the galleries and the lofts to the nightclubs. And so everything was taking place after midnight and there were just less art historians or critics in the clubs. I don't know. It's also changing now. After we've done the 60s and the 70s ad nauseam, people are interested in the 80s. The best thing about this gig as the first performance curator at MoMA in New York City was that the history was alive. So I reached out to everyone whose name I read in any book or heard about and introduced myself and said, “Can I come over and talk to you?” And everyone said yes. So really that history I mostly learned firsthand, which is great.

Justin: There was a strong connection of nightclubs and artists back in the early 80s when I started deejaying that was really inspiring obviously.

Jenny: And that we now really looked at more in-depth with our inaugural season, which we call the East Village Series.

Justin: So you're at MoMA and then PS1 — how many years did you do the performance curating?

Jenny: I think I was at MoMA five years and then at PS1 five years. Something like that.

Justin: Tell me about this building that we are in now and its transformation into Performance Space.

Jenny: So PS122, how we were named until very recently was originally a public school, hence the PS. It was in 1979, 1980 that a bunch of artists who were living in the neighborhood in the East Village came and started doing work in here.

Justin: And it was still a functioning public school?

Jenny: No, not as a school. I think that ended during the white flight probably in the 60s or so. So when everyone moved to the suburbs, they closed the school because they didn't have enough students. So it was an empty building similar to PS1 in Queens. Very similar story. And then artists came in here, started making work. We still have painting studios in the building as part of Painting Space 122, a lot of great painters camp out of here. Keith Haring had a studio here. Peter Halley had his first show. Martha Rosler was here, a lot of really great artists went through the program.

Justin: And was someone organizing this?

Jenny: It was self-organized during the first years.

Justin: So were the artists paying rent, or were they able to work here for free?

Jenny: The city allowed them to be here. They didn't necessarily pay rent, but they had to pay the operating costs. It was legal, it wasn't even necessarily illegal. Maybe there was a short period.

Justin: It seems to me like Europe and other places are way more supportive of artists and art. When here in New York and the rest of the country where there is this great talent pool of people now and certainly was back then, it’s impossible to get funding from the government for art.

Jenny: Well, there's almost no public support. However, the fact that we have this building, it's now been renovated by the city and we don't pay rent, we pay a lot of operating costs but that's already huge for American standards. Yeah, I agree, in Europe we would have this building for free plus a big check every month. So, it’s a different system.

The cafeteria had a wooden floor so it was really attractive to dancers and performers and they started coming here and also doing work and then doing performances for their other artist peers. And slowly throughout the years it became really an institution with grants and with a smaller staff and became really famous and was a very important venue for contemporary performance.

Justin: What years was that taking place?

Jenny: Beginning of 80s. It was more a local phenomena and then I would say end of 80s, beginning of the 90s it really had a worldwide reputation as the place where you come to see contemporary American performance art. There was a lot of very political monologues. Artists like Karen Finley or Spalding Gray or Penny Arcade. Their histories are very intertwined with this place.

Justin: And there was a very healthy scene going on in this neighborhood back then with Club 57, which recently had a retrospective exhibit at MoMA, and the Pyramid Club and others.

Jenny: Exactly, yes. And as I said earlier, a lot of performances took place in clubs back then.

Justin: Right. Like the Mudd Club had an upstairs space, there was a lot of performances and performance art taking place.

Jenny: Which is why we had a show called “Club” by Tiona Nekkia McClodden here for the inaugural season to really look at that history and also how it changed because of the economic or the real estate situation in New York City, clubs do not really exist to such an extent anymore.

Justin: Artists like a Keith Haring or whoever would come here from Nowheresville and get a place for $200 a month on Broome Street or wherever and would be able to work on their art.

Jenny: Yeah, and that doesn't exist anymore.

Justin: So what do young artists do now?

Jenny: Well, in terms of nightlife, they still have parties, but it's not so much run by clubs. It's not bound to particular spaces anymore. It's bound to hosts and parties and they move around mostly outside of Manhattan. But I think there's still quite a scene.

Justin: Like back then it seemed like the galleries were like actively seeking to work with young artists.

Jenny: I think that still exists. It's just different. It's more decentralized. It happens for example more in the virtual space.

Justin: There was definitely like a scene. There were this group of artists that were just hanging together, working together.

Jenny: Honestly, I think that exists still too. It's just more scattered and they don't all live in the same neighborhood anymore. They're spread out. Some are in Queens, some are in Brooklyn, some are up in Harlem or the Bronx. So it's different, but I still think that nightlife is still really a center of creativity in New York City. It's just harder to come by. You have to work for it.

Justin: And how did you end up here? You're at your job at PS1, and what happens?

Jenny: Well, they asked me to interview and I just had my first child. I had a good job at PS1 but it had been five years and I felt like there was not that much more growth in that job. If a prestigious institution like this asks you to come and interview, you do it.

Justin: And had you been aware of this place?

Jenny: Yes. I lived in the neighborhood and walked by this building many times. I've been here only two or three times because the building closed in 2011 for renovation. By the time I became a performance curator, which was around 2008, it was only open another three years. So I was aware of it. I was vaguely aware of the history, not to the extent I am now.

Justin: And who reached out to you?

Jenny: The board was searching for a new executive artistic director. I interviewed and then part of the interview process — while the building was still under construction, they brought me in here to see the spaces and that's actually really when I fell in love. We have this big 3,600 square foot theater with high ceilings with this gorgeous view over Downtown. And then a smaller space, I think it's 2,400, sits up to a hundred people. The big one sits up to 200 and much more standing room. When I saw these big two spaces, it's something that I had always dreamed of at PS1, to work more with juxtaposition in performance, and these two spaces right next to each other.

Jenny: So right now we have an exhibition in there by the American artists Sondra Perry, Caitlin Cherry and Nora Khan. They built this wild structure in there like a “tiny house.” This is all part of the current season, the Posthuman Series, which incorporates perspectives that are beyond the human, the merging of the human and machines, animals and nature, for example. The apocalypse and the end of the world is a big theme too. So they built a tiny house to live off the grid, to be mobile once the apocalypse hits. It’s also a reference to the so called Prepper Movement. I didn't know so much about it, and they did a lot of research. Basically, the premise is, they built a tiny house for queer people of color because usually it's a pretty white heteronormative movement, and what they're saying is that people of color in this country basically have been living the apocalypse, surviving the apocalypse for centuries. So who better to talk about survival and the apocalypse than them.

Every season we have one or two exhibitions in the program and which happen in the bigger space. We just had Ron Athey in there and before that Underground Resistance from Detroit who are about the merging of men and machines. I love having all these very different perspectives in dialogue with each other.

Justin: What's your vision for this place?

Jenny: I think the main goal is to become a truly artist-centric organization, which I think is in our DNA because this organization was founded by artists for artists. I earlier said that in the beginning it was artists making work and the audience was other artists. So really to have a space that listens to what artists actually right now need and what they want to do and how we can support that. Part of that is creating new and supporting existing communities, which also this space has always had... there's always been communities supporting it, running it, and we have the great fortune to looking back over four decades of artist generations coming through here who all feel connected to the organization.

Justin: A lot of them are still connected to this place.

Jenny: Yeah, very much so, which is really great. That's a real gift. Everyone talks about the gentrification of this neighborhood, which absolutely is true and exists but there is still a sense of a true neighborhood with functioning communities. If you walk four blocks further east, there's definitely still a lot of working class — it’s not all rich and bougie.

Justin: Yes. There is still something here, hanging by a thread, but there's still something here whether it's just walking by and seeing Gem Spa or Moishe’s Bakery or just a few things that are still able to survive in this climate is remarkable to me.

Jenny: And being a space for really local people and at the same time make an impact internationally. Talk about what is performance art? Why are people so interested in it? It seems like people are extremely interested in it more than maybe 15 years ago. And how can performance art help us to engage with the world in a meaningful way, so to say. Hence, we have those themes where there are connections between all the individual programs. They might be very different in form and their history might be a different one, but somehow we always try to make connections between them.

Justin: I love how you always seemed to have some kind of musical elements connected to the art, which we were talking about before. It seems to have faded away for a long time. How would a young artist get his work in here? How do you decide?

Jenny: There's not one straight way. We are having several programs where we invite guest curators with the idea to bring in artists that might actually not be on our radar. It's a program that we're announcing actually today called Octopus. You know how the animal has eight arms, and each of the arms has an individual brain. So they actually act and sense independently. But there's the brain and the heart and they all belong together and work together as one body. So, word of mouth, I go out and see a lot. My team goes out and sees a lot. But I try to see as much as possible. If people invite me to see a show, I try to go as much as I can. Honestly, it's really by either seeing something or someone telling me, “You should really check out this work. It's amazing.”

Justin: Instagram?

Jenny: I have to admit Instagram's become actually really important.

Justin: Social media and the arts.

Jenny: I do get a lot of ideas from there, also probably because I'm a mother now and don't go out as much as I used to. I do really follow artists on Instagram more than I would like to admit, but maybe that's just the times we're in. I get asked this question about decision making a lot and I think it's a mix about being informed and intuition. I've given artists commissions who I’ve never seen any of their work but just had a great conversation with them and I felt like I really want to see what this person would do... and most of the time, knock on wood, I've been right. There was always something there.

Justin: And in the current political climate in this country and a lot of places in the world, this place would seem to be a vessel for artists who are rebelling or who have a voice that is opposed to what's been going on. And I guess you are very open to that.

Jenny: Absolutely. And again, it goes back to our history. During the culture wars in the 90s, most of the artists who were under attack by Jessie Helms, who was the Republican senator attacking artists’ freedoms, the so-called “NEA Four” had all showed here the year before the big trials. So this place was always very political, very loud. We have been very involved in gay rights and AIDS activism. I think if anything, looking at our history, and what we could do better, is being more inclusive in terms of race and ability which we're really paying a lot of attention to now. And it also quite frankly I think is where most of the interesting work comes from right now. It's from traditionally unheard voices I'm most interested to hear from right now.

Justin: The world is in such a weird state. What's your feeling about the state of the world right now and what can art do to make that better?

Jenny: I don't know. I think like everyone I have my moments where I get really scared because you think it can’t get any worse. You check the news and then it does get worse. I do feel and know and live it every day that artists have traditionally been and still are the guiding lights to lead societies through difficult times. Activism is something different than art even though there's a lot of people that we work with where that overlaps, but I do feel art has a different role and ultimately it's about telling stories and finding, creating — like this exhibition — “The Wild Ass Beyond: Apocalypse Right Now,” we have on right now is really about creating possibilities for new and different worlds in a world that seems to be over. And I think artists are the people who have always been doing this and will always continue doing it.

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