#also in art alley I found some nice art to my collection<3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[inkly-heart]

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[insomniamamma]

15 questions

Thanks for the tag @oonajaeadira

1. Are you named after anyone?

My middle name is my Mom’s best friend’s middle name. My first name comes from a late 70s tire commercial.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Maybe two weeks ago? I had a bad stomach bug and things got messy. Cried mostly from being grossed out and humiliated.

3. Do you have kids?

Yep. He’s 8 and he outsmarts me on a regular basis

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

it’s a survival mechanism at this point

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Vibes I guess. I can generally tell within minutes of meeting someone if I’m going to get along with them or not. Eyes and faces as far as physical features are concerned. I like people with interesting faces.

6. What’s your eye color?

Medium brown.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Both.

8. Any special talents?

I write, I draw. I sing, but i’m a bit rusty at that. My hubby and son seem to think I’m a good cook. I’m good with my hands in general.

9. What are your hobbies?

Art, writing, cooking, making friends with neighborhood cats, losing my mind over Pedro Pascal. I like to fish but I haven’t gone in quite some time.

10. Where were you born?

New Jersey

11. Have any pets?

I have two cats. Tasha is my inside cat. She’s somewhere around 16 years old. I’m not entirely sure of her age because she was a rescue. She’s a tuxie and her fur is super soft, like a rabbit’s fur. She’s a grumpy little thing, but she is also very patient with my son who was a bit grabby when he was smaller. Orange is my outside cat. We think she had a family at some point and she got dumped in our neighborhood. She had a litter of kittens under my deck so I ended up finding homes for the kittens and getting her spayed. She can’t be an indoor cat, we’ve tried. She knows the sound of my car and comes bolting across the alley. We have a screened in front porch so in the winter we keep food and water and a cat bed with a heating pad for her so she can keep warm. She’ll let you pet her but does not like being picked up. All the dogs in the neighborhood are afraid of her.

12. What sports do you play/have you played?

I am not a sports person. I am catastrophically clumsy and I have super-tight hamstrings.The only class in gym that I remember enjoying was archery because I could pretend i was in Lord of the Rings. I was one of those goth-girls who refused to change for gym and just sat on the bleachers reading.

13. How tall are you?

5'7″

14. Favorite subject in school?

Art and biology. Art because my teachers generally let me do whatever I wanted. I had a ceramics teacher who’d just plop down a big thing of clay and be like the rest of these guys are making snowman banks for christmas but you do whatever you want. Doing whatever I wanted usually involved dragons. Biology because I was fascinated by it. The endless intricacies of it. I LOVED dissections. That probably makes me sound like a lunatic and I’m pretty sure my mom and my teachers thought I was some sort of proto-serial killer, but anatomy just fascinated me. Still does. I have a collection of skulls and bones i’ve found in the woods over the years. My high school biology teacher told me how I could preserve the things we’d dissected in class in jars full of rubbing alcohol, so between his class and AP biology I had a nice collection of pickled dead things. My mom threw them out when I moved out and I’m still a little salty tbh.

15. Dream job?

I don’t know? Jobs are not something I dream about. I would like to be able to have time to do the things that make me happy.

np tags: @oo-hazel-oo @grogusmum @honestly-shite @quica-quica-quica @spookoofins @shitty-pigeon-nest39 @writeforfandoms

[madmadmilk]

lmao ok, i’ve been feeling kinda mopey and i would like to share some cheer.... so let’s do a question of the night! a nice, cozy, soul-crushing one. >:)

Question of The Night: What is the most embarrassing interaction you’ve ever had? Let’s share some laughs and learn from one another 😂✌️💔💕

feel free to send ‘em on anon. or not, we’re quarantined so–– no one can do or say anything about it 😇. no judgement, just love and laughs! 🌈

but ok ok , here’s a collection of mine:

every single “first kiss” i’ve ever had with a dude has been SO BAD. like i shrivel up inside thinking about it bleh! and it’s only been 3 🤢🤮

..... i will.... never get over how fucking hot my face was after meeting tom holland. i truly will just be going about my day and then i just remember and i have to sit down and wistfully look away

jfc i wrote “i like you” in someone’s yearbook in high school..... 🤡 ????

.... in art school, for a performance art class,...... i took a “bath” in an alley...... half-naked.... filmed it........... showed it to my class........ and i think my dumb-ass also posted it on facebook????? 😓

and well, i think that every time someone has found my fanfiction or journal or diary.... i like lose the ability to speak 😭

yeah that’s just the few that i can think of right now hahahaha, ask me about mine or let me know about yours? 

love you guys! hopefully this keep our spirits up for a bit! stay safe! ✌️🌈

[ignis-scientia-estrogen-brigade]

~ISEB in Japan: A Photo Journal~

If you’ve been following me on Twitter lately, you’ll know that I’ve been traveling through parts of Japan the last couple of weeks with my Ignis Play Arts Kai figure in tow. I posted a few pictures over there during the duration of my trip, but those barely scratched the surface of everything I got to do while in Japan. So I thought I’d put together a blog post of my journey while it was still fresh in my mind, featuring everyone’s favorite strategist in what I’ve been dubbing my Great Final Fantasy XV Adventure of 2019!

[Image-heavy content + commentary under the cut]

A brief backstory: I’ve wanted to go to Japan my entire adult life. For years, I’ve watched friends make the trek while I’ve been stuck at home with a severe case of FOMO. The only thing that ever stopped me from going was money (or a lack thereof), so I made the decision last summer to buckle down and sock away every dime I made to make it happen. My only concern before hopping on the plane was that I had missed the wave of FFXV popularity by about a year, but I would quickly learn that—other than not getting to eat any of Ignis’ recipes at the Square Enix Cafe—I had little to worry about.

Literally the only reason I brought my Play Arts Kai figure was so I could take this picture of Ignis at the Citadel (a.k.a. the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building), which was the very first place I stopped at on my first full day in Tokyo. The building + the surrounding plaza, while not 100% accurate, is a fairly impressive facsimile of the one in the game. It’s located in Shinjuku, which also boasts a lot of similarities to Insomnia. Having finished Episode Ardyn mere hours before jetting off on my trip, it felt like I had stepped off the plane and right into the game!

There just so happened to be an Animate right near the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, so I popped in to get a feel for what kind of FFXV merch I’d be able to find two years after the game’s release and a year after its height of popularity. Turns out, there was quite a lot of swag to be found! Truth be told, I’ve never been one to chase down official merchandise (unfortunately my job doesn’t really afford that luxury), but I gave myself special permission while on vacation to buy anything I wanted. So I did! Including everything you see above. ^^;;

The next thing I did was take the train to Ginza to meet Lyle/@landscape-gonna  (@landscape_gonna on Twitter), and I simply cannot say enough nice things about her. If you don’t know who she is, there’s a 99.9% chance you’ve seen at least one of her Ignis costumes, and they are A. M. A. Z. I. N. G. We had chatted a bit previously on Twitter before I went full-on stan mode, asking her if she'd be willing to meet up with me (a total stranger) to have lunch and talk Ignis and Final Fantasy. Not only did she say yes, but she gifted me with copies of her incredible cosplay zines and was not the least embarrassed when I busted out my Play Kai Arts figure in the middle of a busy Japanese dessert restaurant haha.

See? Zero embarrassment here.

We even did Noct’s ultimate pose! In public!

I can’t begin to articulate how special meeting Lyle was for me—being brought together from opposite sides of the world to share in our love for Ignis/FFXV is a memory I will cherish my entire life. So Lyle, if you are reading this: どうもありがとうございます ! ٩( ᐛ )( ᐖ )۶

Lyle wasn't the only friend I had in Japan. Another friend of mine, Asuka (who happens to be well-versed in anime/video game culture), volunteered to be my guide through Ikebukuro/Otome Road the next day. Quick otaku lesson: Kbooks is a chain of stores that specializes in the resale of licensed merchandise. For example, if you missed out on some of the limited availability items from the Movic and the Square Enix Cafe collaborations, you might be able to find them at a Kbooks. Otome Road in particular has something like seven different Kbook shops in a 3-block radius, each one specializing in different products (sports anime, idols, cosplay, etc). I, of course, beelined for the video game shop...

...which is where I found this fucking thing:

I’m not gonna lie, I almost bought it. I just didn’t know what I would do with it besides scare the living daylights out of people when they least expected it lol.

Yoooo Adam I found ya boi in Ikebukuro

We popped into the cosplay Kbooks shop since it was right across the street and I found an Ignis costume for sale! Please enjoy this picture of me pretending to come up with a new recipeh (since this is likely the closest I’ll ever come to cosplaying as Ignis).

One of the things Asuka introduced me to was Hanami (picnic under the cherry blossoms, basically). I had timed my trip to coincide with the blooming of the sakura, and the experience of being in Japan during that time was indescribable. I took a bajillion pictures of the sakura while I was there and unfortunately none of my photos ever quite captured the beauty and magic of them in person, but here’s a lil’ pic of a tree in bloom at Yoyogi Park (with the Movic Ignis charm I bought at Kbooks earlier that day).

Another item on my Japan checklist was to stay at a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Hakone, a town famous for its onsen/hot springs. Nothing in Hakone is cheap (at least, not during peak sakura season), and I had spent an absurd amount of money on a night at one particular ryokan with a private bath (shy husband haha). The private bath could only be reserved in 30-minute increments, and by the time we finally rolled into Hakone the bath we wanted only had one slot available for the rest of the night. So what did I do?

If you said, “Waste the first 15 minutes of your 30-minute, super-expensive onsen experience taking the perfect Ignis-in-a-hot-springs photo” then you would be absolutely correct lol.

I actually wasn’t planning on taking a bunch of photos of my Ignis figure on this trip, but after my husband tucked Ignis into my futon while I was in the bathroom, documenting my trip vicariously through Ignis ended up taking on a life of its own. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I popped back over to Tokyo after my stay in Hakone, which is when I finally got to make the Great Nerd Pilgrimage™ to the Square Enix Cafe! Had the FFXV collab been going on while I was there, I might’ve forked over the cash to eat at the cafe, but I opted to skip out on lunch so I could spend more money in their shop. They still had a small collection of FFXV merch...

...including this acrylic Ignis stand that I wanted but thought I would never own after failing to find it at Kbooks earlier in the week. Huzzah!

Also, I just feel the need to let everyone know that this is what the outside of the Square Enix Cafe in Tokyo looks like lmao.

Our next stop was Kyoto, which we arrived in on Gladio’s birthday (April 2nd). Unfortunately I didn’t have time to draw anything for his b-day, but we did stop for a Nissin Cup Noodle in honor of Gladio!

One of the most memorable moments of my trip was when this boating incident happened, and it requires a little bit of backstory. On my first full day in Kyoto, I attempted to field two of the most popular tourist destinations in Kyoto: the bamboo forest in Arashiyama, and the Fushimi Inari Shrine. Both places have their beauty and historical significance, and I suspect during the off-season are inspiring sites to behold. In my case, both places were absolutely swarming with tourists, which really put a damper on my enjoyment of them. Defeated, I followed a local canal back toward my hotel, which is where I spotted a miniature boat enthusiast controlling a boat that looked eerily similar to the Royal Vessel. I pulled my Ignis figure out with the intention of simply taking a photo of the boat in the background; when the man saw me holding my figure and fumbling with my phone, he flagged me over and gestured for me to put Ignis in the boat. I wish I had documented how it all went down a little better, but as I was literally wheezing with laughter, the above was the best I could capture.

One of the more off-the-cuff decision I made was to dress in kimono for a day while in Gion (Kyoto). As the cherry blossoms were at their height during my stay there, you couldn’t sneeze without hitting someone who was dressed traditionally for the numerous festivals that were taking place throughout the city. As a white foreigner, I initially had reservations about wearing a kimono (for fear of cultural appropriation), but I did everything I could to be as respectful and reverent whilst wearing the garb (and the rental shop was certainly happy for the patronage). It was an amazing experience and I would definitely do it again!

Speaking of being respectful, I made it a point not to take pictures of Ignis while visiting any shrines (because nothing screams ‘douchey American’ quite like whipping out an action figure on sacred grounds), hence why I don’t have pictures of any of the major shrines we visited in this post. I did, however, spot this miniature shrine arch in an alleyway, and thought it would be okay for my equally miniature strategist to pay his respects.

Literally, a tiny shrine in an alleyway. I suppose even alleys have their deities!

Osaka is about 20 minutes away from Kyoto by train, and since I had already traveled all the way out to Kyoto, I went the extra few miles to stop by the Square Enix Cafe in Osaka. They actually had a smaller selection of FFXV merch than the one in Tokyo and I didn’t end up buying anything, but I would’ve never stopped wondering if I had missed out on something if I hadn’t gone and seen it for myself!

My last day in Kyoto was a week into my trip, and I still had five days left to go. After walking ~10 miles every day (no joke, I have the GPS screenshots to prove it!), I was really starting to feel the grind. I’m sure Ignis was also desperate for an Ebony after being lugged around in the bottom of my purse for a week lol.

Back on the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo!

Weeeeeee (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

Said hi to Fuji-san!

Stopped for a delicious matcha parfait! (Shout-out to my husband who never once got annoyed with me whenever I busted out my figure in public spaces lol)

This was without a doubt the craziest and most unexpected find of any of my merch runs. I had gone to the video game Kbooks in Ikebukuro earlier in the week and had sifted through all their Ignis merch with a fine-toothed comb. This particular Movic charm was one I had been on the lookout for, but it was a rare pull even when they were readily available a year ago, and the only Ignis charm I came across in my first trip to Kbooks was the normal Ignis one (see my Hanami pic). I had no real reason to return to Ikebukuro after I got back from Kyoto, but on a whim I went one last time and BAM—this guy was hanging out there in his lil’ baggie, just waiting for me to get my grubby little hands on him. Jackpot!

All in all, I spent way too much money and I couldn’t be happier for it. The only thing I couldn’t find for the life of me was the Ignis cologne by Movic, but after searching through several Animates and Kbooks, I began to suspect it might be an online-exclusive item that wasn’t available in stores. (Which was probably a good thing for me cause I was already stretching my budget to the limit by this point haha.)

On my last night in Japan, I went back to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building—only this time I went at night when it was all lit up! I also went up to the observation deck on the 45th floor (something I didn’t know you could do the first time I was there) and enjoyed a fantastic view of nighttime Insomnia Tokyo. It was the perfect bookend to a perfect trip, and my heart is absolutely overflowing right now with love for both Japan and Final Fantasy XV!

[maniactypewriter]

The backlog, week 3 [day late and a dollar short edition]

Sorry this one is so late. I decided to play through the entirety of the last game in this week’s pool. So sorry for the minor delay. I don’t have anything really to mention in this opening paragraph… Bloodstained ritual of the night looks good….

Absolute Drift playtime: 30 min

I was half tempted to just link the tokyo drift or initial D soundtracks. But I knew that would be a cop out. And I am not that much of a hack yet. The basic premise of this game is DEJA VU I SWEAR I'VE BEEN IN THIS PLACE BEFORE.  Ahem sorry. The whole thing of this game is drifting. You have to drift to win. The better you drift the more points you get. I had trouble wrapping my febil mind around how to drift in this game. Im sure if I practiced enough I would get good enough to get good scores. But for my short time with the game I ended up crashing a lot and spinning out a lot more. It is a fun game if you understand how to drift, but i just could not figure it out. Bumping into walls and spiraling out of control was just not fun for me. Play it if you like racing games. 7.8/10 not enough eurobeat /s

Absolver play time: 1 ½ hours.

To put it simply, Absolver is dark souls, but if it was a fighting game. You wander around a big open ish map and get into fights with random mobs, collect loot, level up, and occasionally get the [poop] beaten out of you by randos on the internet. There are a few differences in Absolver though. The aforementioned randos are always there in the world, no summoning or invasions required. Teamwork is also recommended. Some of the mini bosses are much easier if you have someone there to help with the beat downs. And if one of you bite it, you have 60 seconds for your fight friend to revive you. There is a dearth of options for fighting. Downside, is that you have to learn new moves by dodging them. So learning new moves is slow and not an exact thing. The art style is simplistic yet beautiful. A phrase you'll read me saying a lot this week. The soundtrack is low key, in that I don't remember having an opinion on it. This game is a lot deeper than my time with it has shown. If you're looking for a different flavor of Souls, Absolver might be up your alley.

ABZU: play time 40 min

Don't play this game if you are afraid of sharks or the ocean. For all of us non Galeophobes, abzu is an amazingly beautiful game. Most of the discussion about the game is around just how gosh darn pretty this game is. The game is set entirely underwater. I don't quite know what the story is all about, but i know you have to travel from place to place revitalizing shrines and small areas of the sea. And maybe try to close an all consuming black hole? I don't know. What i do know that this game is drop dead gorgeous. The oceanic environments are stunningly colorful and vibrant, with many different kinds of fish swimming about and doing their fishy business. There are even shark statues you can sit on and  just watch fish. The calming soundtrack only enhances the mellow tone that the game is trying to set. Abzu is a chill out game. A game you can put on after a hard day at work and just swim around and enjoy looking at the pretty fish.

Oh,  and uhh… it controls alright too.

AER: Memories of Old. playtime 1 ½ hour.

so … I found a crab rave in this game. I got an achievement for it. I thought that was funny. But that's not important. Half of this game is amazing. In this game you play as a lady who can turn into a bird. You are on a pilgrimage to the three shrines to fight the void or whatever. Like Abzu before it, this game delivers on movement that feels great and satisfying. One of the coolest things to do is to fly really fast and then turn back into a human and glide down to your destination. You fly around a bunch of floating islands, most of which contain some bit of this game’s deep (but sort of boring) lore, and impressive ancient structures… or crabs. However, while the flight is fun, there does come a point where you have to land and enter a temple. In the temples and caves of the world, you can't turn into a bird. If you could that would break a few puzzles. So you're stuck walking around, at a pace that feels fast but is just slow enough to be annoying, solving puzzles and looking a ghosts with your magic lantern. These temple parts bored me. Their only saving grace was the fact that they looked great. This game does the low poly art style nicely. Between the gorgeous visuals and the satisfying flight, this game could use a sequel where there is more flight and more to do in the temples than just walking around.  

Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders play time 5 hours

This is the game that caused this week’s reviews to be late. This game is based off of the book of the same name, penned by the prolific mystery novelist Agatha Christie. You play as inspector Poirot. A detective with a brilliant mind, a silly accent, and a beautiful mustache. It is your duty to investigate a trio of strange murders perpetrated by the elusive ABC. the game play is your standard point and click adventure game affair. You meander about a space, clicking on things, talking to people, and solving puzzles. The latter two are the most dominant of the mechanics. You must thoroughly examine your surroundings, carefully interrogate witnesses and suspects, and rifle through everyone’s personal belongings.  That last part is tricky though, as it seems the new fad in 1930’s England is to have most important objects in your home be obtuse puzzles. The writing is great, as it should be considering this game was originally a book. The graphics are a bit simple, but they get the point across. The game’s story had me hooked and i just wanted to finish it all in one night. Which wasn't hard as it not a long game. However, im sure I missed some things. Special interaction I could have taken to gain more points. (one of the minor actions you can perform is clicking on a mirror to fix Poirot’s Exquisite mustache). The game showers you in achievements for every little bit of story progression, and I don't understand how I earned a fourth of the ones I did. Overall, I enjoyed my time with this game. Now i want a murder on the orient express game. Not bad for the people who made Garfield kart.

[ithacamoma]

20 QUESTIONS FOR: TAMMY SALZL

image courtesy of the artist and DC3 Art Projects

1.Name:

Tammy Salzl

2.Occupation(s):

Artist, Sessional Teacher in Senior Level Painting at the University of Alberta.

3.Where are you from and what is your education?

I was born in Edmonton, AB, into a gigantic dysfunctional family with 18 aunts and uncles, 42 first cousins and barely one parent. I spent my summers being tortured as an English speaking city slicker in French speaking prairie farm communities. Retreating into art and stories and animals was the salvation I didn’t find in the fundamentalist religion I was periodically thrown into. For my undergrad I did 2 years at ACAD (Now called AUArts), and finished my BFA at the University of Alberta.  I received my Masters in Studio Arts (Painting) at Concordia University in Montreal 2014 and have been expanding my practice to include video and multimedia installation since graduation.

4.Where do you live/work (neighbourhood/city/country)?

For the past 3 yrs I’ve been splitting my year between the Southside of Edmonton, AB. and Parc Ex in Montreal QC. I have family in both places, which makes this both possible and necessary.

5.Does your location affect your practice?  

Definitely! Emotionally, psychologically and logistically. I’m lucky to be able to spend time in both eastern and western Canada. Sometimes they seem like entirely different worlds and it’s a privilege to be able to step into both. It broadens my field of vision.

6.What is your favourite tool in the studio?

I have two favourite things. My glue gun, because I love glueing stuff, it makes me feel like a little kid again! I also love it when I have a fresh, unused brush in hand.

7.Where do you look for your source material?

Everywhere! Movies, books, (I love sci-fi books, and I just finished 2 books by Yuval Noah Harari - Sapiens and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century - so gooood!) mythology, ecology, weird/wondrous animals (like the barrel eye fish or the Aye-aye), bus stops, Edmonton’s River valley, back alleys in Montreal, weird stop motion animations, the fresh sights, sounds and smells that come with travel, looking at art and, occasionally, the bottom of my wine glass.

8.What is you daily art world read?

I email subscribe to a bunch of art blogs (like Hyperallergic and artdaily.org etc), and I also try to read Border Crossings and Canadian Art magazines, but honestly a lot of my art world reads come from instagram. Cuz you know… pictures.

9.What is your daily non-art-world read?

I love science and nature blogs. I really enjoy nature.com, naturecanada.ca,  futurism.com/, and for quick global news stuff I like Quartz Daily Brief. It’s hard…you don’t want to be ill informed yet it’s so bleak out there…I think overexposure to media can be harmful. I try to find a balance.

10.What role does writing play in your practice?

Sadly, not much. It’s an inescapable task for every artist, and one I dearly wish I could escape. That said, aside from the necessary evil of artist statement/proposal/grant type of writing, I sometimes play at creative writing. I make little one page tales that turn into paintings, or I write a short narratives based on something I’ve made. I’ll often have automatic writing embedded in my underpaintings, and if you look hard enough you can sometimes find traces of a word here and there.

11.What role does research play in your practice?

Because I peddle in tales, I research the history, culture, psychology, pop culture, philosophy of whatever traditional tale or mythology I’m referencing, and how others have interpreted those tales over time - even if I’m referencing something like Dr. Seuss. I often tie that into the research I do out of my interest in ecology and nature. For me, working representationally means there is intension in everything. I try to have layers of meaning and make work that engenders multiple interpretations. I research the symbolism and history of objects, places, animals, colours , etc. With my installations there is a lot of material research involved as well.

12.What role does collaboration play in your practice?

Since expanding my painting practice into intermedia work, I’ve done quite a bit of collaborating in the form of “I don’t know how to do this technical thing so I need to find someone who does”. It’s taught me a lot in terms of learning to communicate and work with others. As a solitary person, it’s a challenge for me, but I also find it incredibly rewarding and enriching. Also, a couple of years ago 4 female artist friends and I began an art collective called IFPP (incubator for phantom pregnancies) We’ve staged a couple exhibitions and have some upcoming shows, and it’s been really great. You learn a lot about yourself in a collaborative process, and it’s exhilarating ending up with this thing you helped create, but in a mind hive kind of way.

13.How does success affect your practice?

Ideas of success are pretty subjective, no? Speaking in terms of non-commercial success, I would say it helps drives my practice forward. It gives you the incentive and confidence to keep going, to make more, to take risks and think bigger. Sometimes commercial/monetary success can do the opposite because you’re expected to make more of the same, sellable stuff - to keep the formula and not colour outside those lines.

14.How does failure affect your practice?

Failure is an opportunity to learn, and can lead to amazing things. I suck at it. I can be super stubborn and fight with a painting that’s not working for days and days. I’m often my own worst enemy. I’m learning to walk away, to turn the bloody thing facing the wall and only come back to it when I can be more objective - when I’m in a better place to paint over the 100 hours invested and start over.

15.What do you identify as the biggest challenge in your artistic process?

My own stubbornness! My own rules and obsessiveness and need for control. I can get restrained by fear of making something ‘bad,' and I struggle to let myself play more, to let myself ‘fail’. I can get too caught up in my own head. I struggle with a lot of self doubt. A dear friend of mine recently sent me a beautiful quote by Robert Hughes in an attempt to assuage my doubt:

 “The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize.” 

I’m not so sure this is the case, but it’s nice to hear!

Also, like so many of us, I struggle socially and will hide in my studio rather than go to an art opening when I know I should be trying to make “connections”. Wine helps tremendously in all my struggles.

16.Who are some historical artists you are thinking about?

This fluctuates a great deal. I often find myself interested in artists I thought I didn’t like years ago, and will lose interest in artists I thought I loved. Art crushes come and go. I just bought a Frida Kahlo book and am rediscovering my fascination with her.

17.Who are some contemporary artists you are thinking about?

Everyone and no one in particular. I was in LA last January and saw an amazing Outsider Art show at LACMA. There was a piece by Greer Lankton titled, “Candy Darling” depicting a transgender actress who was featured in several of Andy Warhol’s films and was one of Lankton’s icons she looked up to as a trans woman. It’s exquisite with an edgy sexuality - totally blew my mind. I also saw some Mark Bradford works at The Broad that really surprised me. You have to be in front of them to understand how profound, beautiful, raw and sophisticated they are.

18.How do you describe what you are making now?

Right now I’m bouncing all over the place with various mediums. I’m working on a new series of oils, sort of taking the piss out of patriarchal old fables and the misogynistic way they portrayed women by retelling them through a contemporary lens. I’m also making a series of small, intricate “naughty fairies” made out of Sculpey (imagine tinker bell-like creatures going down on each other), some larger installation pieces that incorporate a variety of materials - video, sound, found and crafted objects, and I just completed my first short narrative video with footage shot on an artist residency I did in Norway last year. 

Sometimes I feel like I’m spreading myself too thin and there’s an invisible pressure to focus on one thing, but I’m a storyteller and I use whatever mediums best suites the tale. I think everything I do remains distinctly me, it all has connective threads. Generally I paint in the morning and move onto video and sculpture in the afternoon/evening. Painting is mentally challenging in a very singular way; it’s super humbling and I need a fresh, rested brain to do it.

19.Who is an artist that you think deserves more attention?

Oh man. Too many to count. Seems to me art world trends often translate into amazing artists not getting their due. I think Canadian artists in general deserve more of the international spot light. There’s so much talent here.

20.How can we find out more about you (relevant links etc)?

I keep my website pretty up to date, including upcoming shows and press links etc.

www.tammysalzl.com

[lucalicatteart]

Uvra Istill: brief species overview

(lol this is such an older species i don't have any good photos for them except for this random sketchy thing from like 2 years ago but I guess that'll have to do for now) .  Sometimes for smaller species/subspecies/groups that aren't very much focused on in my worldbuilding yet, I'll just do these sorts of posts where it's just a small outline of main points about the species, rather than an elaborate multi-part series of informational posts (like how I do with the Avirre'thel, or what  I plan to do with certain major groups of Elves or Jhevona, etc.) , so here's a smaller condensed bit of info about them. And if I choose to work more on them in the future, I'll make new posts and elaborations, but for now it's just a brief bit lol (info under read more)

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!! (NOTE: for some bastard reason this ‘read more’ sometimes doesn’t work when viewing the blog in the sidebar and it just shows up as a full long post?? Sorry if it shows up super long for you, I promise there is a ‘read more’ here, and it’s supposed to keep most of the text of the post hidden unless you click on it, but for some reason sometimes it glitches or something and it just shows up on my blog full length. If you’re having this problem just view my blog in a new tab on it’s own or etc. instead of in the sidebar way. Sorry about that, I still have no idea what’s causing this glitch (which only started recently I think) and i don’t know why the read more works on some posts but not others. If you have any info about how to fix it let me know lol hhh) !!

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✵Overview✵

♤ Uvra Istill are a catlike hybrid species that mostly all reside in a closed off area on a collective living property. They aren’t capable of magic but typically do have  higher than average physical  abilities and are known to excel at strategy, hunting, hand eye coordination, and thinking quickly (though people are unsure whether this is actually an innate inclination or more to do with how strictly they're raised and trained in these skills since childhood).

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♤ They may come off to outsiders an uncivilized due to their common imagery of bones, dead animals, and rocks/caves, but they are actually highly "civilized" (in the common use of the word, meaning they utilize/understand most modern science, technology, etc.)

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♤ They’re known to be frequently in conflict with neighboring groups, due to a few of their very outspoken members, but overall they keep to themselves by nature. Though they do commonly show up at supernatural realm wide events, and are closely involved in politics and business of outside species, they consider this just meaningless social participation for the sake of being polite.

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♤ Lifespan is currently unknown, since none have died of natural causes at this point. But the oldest member has gotten to live to about 1465 years old (with the aid of magic and spells and enchantments they purchased).

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♤ They’ve never given themselves a specific name, ‘Uvra Istill’ is simply a nickname given to them by the natives of the land they settled in a few thousand years ago, and the name stuck. It translates to ‘Animals of Death’, which most of the species found amusing and decided to keep using the name sarcastically for the humor of it.

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♤ Their culture can be brutal and hostile to it's own members, though they attempt to put on a nice appearance for outsiders.  However it's usually not like they're out killing each other and torturing members of their own species, despite bickering a lot, they do all still have a very strong group mentality, very "us VS. them" in terms of wholly supporting themselves and finding the lives and ideas of outsiders usually worthless, etc. So even when angry, they usually consider their own kind to be too sacred to ever harm one of their own too badly.  They've designed harsh rules against harming their own kind, just to dissuade anyone who may even think about it. They’re not usually thought of as the most law-abiding group of people, but most can agree not to harm each other, and those few that don't would still follow the rules simply out of fear of these punishments if nothing else.  So they're not really harming each other physically or anything, but by 'brutal' I guess I mean in terms of how strict and overly structured they are, and practices that can be mentally harmful (which they culturally don't recognize as a form of harm really lol, like locking someone in a closet for 4 days wouldn't break the "don't harm others" rule, but punching once someone would, so this kind of absurdly narrow definition of harm tends to foster a lot of passive aggressive behavior as everyone just thinks of worse and more indirect ways to harm each other)

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♤ There are only about 1500 in existence. Most of them live communally in the same area, but they have been known to leave the tribe and pursue their own interests. About 5% of them do this. But it’s typically preferred to stay. Though they’re not the most peaceful in terms of personal relation, they do all prefer to be around their own kind, and they have a sense of superiority about this. They can at the very least relate to each other culturally, and at the end of the day they will strongly look out for their own. Staying in the community is usually just a more rational decision, since it guarantees a sense of security and shared resources. They own a large section of fenced in property, and have three main mansions that they stay in collectively. (shown below.. which looks pretty tiny when drawn but like.. the whole property is massive in real life, there's so much on it, it's probably equivalent to like the size of a small town, but just if every town person threw their resources into a collective pool to bulldoze the entire place and build a single giant property out of it lol)

♤ Guide to above map :   

 1 - The main mansion, most of this is reserved for rooms where people live and sleep. About 1,300 Uvra Istill live on this main property (the other 200 have left for varying reasons), and out of those, about 800 of them live in this building. It’s 15 stories tall with elaborate decoration and design, and most of the rooms are very well sized, with personal bathrooms, walk in closets, and usually personal kitchens or extra rooms,, though these areas are often shared between 1 - 3 people (or more in the case of families, like a mother with 4 children or etc. may get a larger personal area to fit everyone in, etc.).  

 2 - This mansion is mostly empty, reserved for elaborate events and parties that they throw. It’s more of a ‘guest house’ technically. It’s  smaller than the residential ones, but is still massive. The upper floors are closed off, and reserved for who knows what. And there’s a large basement that leads to a intricate map of underground caves, but it’s not used often. There are many trap doors and false walls and hidden rooms,  since they are a very playful bunch and still like to play lighthearted (or sometimes not so lighthearted) tricks on people who come to visit them. 

 3 - This is the secondary residential mansion, with the rest of the Uvra Istill having bedrooms here. Typically this is where the community leaders and highly respected individuals  will live, it’s smaller, but the individual rooms are larger and more lavish. The bottom floors double as hobby rooms, with a massive library, science labs, athletic rooms, game rooms, lounge rooms, indoor pools and spas, fully stocked communal kitchens, arcades, art rooms, a full history museum dedicated to the species, their own art gallery, a cinema, bowling alley, sewing rooms and a fashion show area, and much much more. 

 4- The schooling area and large academic building with training courses, classrooms, and tons of rooms dedicated to a massive variety of academic subjects.

 5 - A  fancy ball sport area (probably the equivalent to humans having a golf course), running track, various sports courts, and an outdoor athletic pool.  

 6 - Elaborate gardens, including greenhouses, hedge mazes, multiple sitting/picnic areas, actual gardens with crops and trees of fruit and etc. where vegetation type food is produced, and massive flower walls or decorative flower arrangements. 

 7 - A large lake where people swim, fish, do boat racing, build waterslides, and participate in various water sports that require a space bigger than a pool (bodies are also dumped here sometimes lol).

 8 - A large courtyard with a fountain and different arrangements of seats and plants, where outdoor festivities are often held. When they throw parties, the guests will usually stay for about a week, so the parties often start out here and then move inside as the night progresses and people go to their rooms. 

 9 - A circle of thick dense woods which are nearly impossible to get through. They use this as a second layer of defense, in addition to the huge outside fences, they’ve engineered this treacherous string of miles of woods full of swamps, dangerous plants, extremely dangerous animals, impossible terrain, various traps, security cameras, robotically controlled weapons,  and hazardous chemicals. It’s guaranteed to keep people out (or in, possibly). 

 10 - The main gate, this is the only way in for guests. It’s the only break in the huge 30 foot thick reinforced metal fence that spans the outside of the entire area, and the only safe path through the woods. It takes about 30 minutes of keys and codes and unlocking security systems to get through,  so getting in or out is ensured to never be an easy or fast process. 

 11 - A second gate closure, not visible from the outside and only accessible or known about to the Uvra Istill. This doesn’t take as long to get through, and cuts straight under the woods, so they reserve this as a means of emergency evacuation (in the case that their helicopters or private jets are unable to just carry them out of the area). About 32 feet underwater in the lake, there’s an entrance to an underground cave system, which will take you under the woods and to the hidden gate on the other side. This is thoroughly covered in tricks and traps as well, but an Uvra Istill will already be informed of what areas to avoid.

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✵Physical Details✵

(bhbghg this is just a blurry screencap of an old sloppy image that's probably barely readable but, I don't have anything else for them. I plan to redo a lot of this old art and make it more visible and etc. but for now this is all I have to show their anatomy and etc.)

✵Culture✵

♤ They don’t have many traditions or ceremonies, but they do occasionally throw grand elaborate balls and parties once every few years. These events are notoriously controversial, as mishaps often occur (usually at LEAST one death happens, if not more), and most suspect foul play.  Despite this, thousands of people still show up at their events when the species has them, since they're pretty good at marketing themselves in a way that makes them seem mysterious and exclusive, thus desirable to people who are elitist or always wanting to get into things that nobody else is invited to or etc.. Lots of like, elven royals or random rich supernatural realm folks who always fall for the flattery of receiving an ~~Exclusive Invitation~~.    Additionally, many upper class folks seem to be more invested in thrilling exclusive entertainment than the lives of others, so honestly the fact that people die there may even be a selling point for them rather than a downside. It's interesting and exciting when things turn into a murder mystery party, and they would never be the one to die of course, since they're too rich and important, thus the spectacle of someone else dying may just be a fun experience that they can brag about to their friends in the royalty who didn't get to go, enthused by the potential Drama of it all etc.

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♤ They are still a fairly new species, so they haven’t had much time to evolve and progress as a culture, but they do still have a few characteristics of society and stereotypes they are well known for, despite only having existed in their current state for just around 500 years. (mostly due to their frequent attempts to win the favor of nobles and royalty and more powerful groups than their own, though they may not be well known to any common folk, they are definitely known about in many royal circles (though mostly as 'that weird death cult that throws amazing parties' lol))

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♤- How Outsiders View Them :  Though not everyone is the same, and of course there is naturally variance between individuals, just by way of cultural influence, they are known to be arrogant, sarcastic, cold , and somewhat argumentative. During political events that they attend, they’ve been known to be outspoken, and this doesn’t much help their relationships with other groups.  Though also being known for jokes, they simultaneously seem to  take themselves extremely seriously,  often refusing to participate in events because they find them ‘silly’ or ‘irrational’, which probably only contributes to their perceived air of superiority and people assuming the Uvra Istill feel they're above everything.  Though despite being known mainly for their less desirable traits, they do have great charm, and are skilled at getting people to agree with them. Other species often avoid doing business with Uvra Istill, out of fear that they'll be convinced to agree to an unfair deal that's not helpful to their interests. They may be moderately controversial, but they do have many positive assets and some  groups  appreciate this.  They're currently most closely allied with groups of elves that are in the Elven Alliance, solely because they're currently the dominant political power in the realm so obviously the Uvra Istill want to be liked by them. Though this kind of earned them the disfavor of the Avirre'thel, since the Avirre'thel helped send the species aid back when nobody else would very early on in their history before the Uvra Istill were even established,,, only for them to later suck up to/ally with the same group of elves who have consistently tried to destroy the Avirre'thel for thousands of years. The Uvra Istill tried to maintain relations by explaining how it's not actually a big deal and they didn't mean to seem insulting but they're just being practical or etc. but the Avirre'thel just like... don't care lol... Like, the Uvra Istill don't have any resources or technology or anything that the Avirre'thel really want to serve to gain from being on good terms with them, so they were just kind of like "...uh, okay... well anyway, bye." and kind of cut off political contact with them lol. Though the Uvra Istill try to trade with them or contact them from time to time the Avirre'thel are still just like "dude... we could not care less lmao... we don't need any of your traded goods.. please just let us self-isolate like we've been doing for centuries and stop trying to send letters to our government officials and shit... goodbye" .  The Uvra Istill have also been mildly involved with some groups of  humans (native to Nanyevimi, not earth humans)  in the past, but despite the Uvra Istill literally not having any magic or abilities that would really put them above humans, besides maybe having claws and shit, they still see humans as weaker than them and usually their only contact is in regards to trying to trick a group of humans into giving away all their resources or etc.  The Uvra Istill  are generally also viewed as tricksters, known for commonly pranking people or joking others for fun. Which of course this reputation mostly stems from what people see of them at their frequent exclusive parties, during which guests are usually toyed with quite a bit. Most of this is simply playful and lighthearted, but it can sometimes come off as more harsh or legitimately conning others, so people often have a complicated relationship with this species, they’re either extremely liked or vehemently hated, with hardly any in between.  But they have reasonably sized political and financial influence, so people are forced to do business with them regardless (and most of them are greatly amused by this, they find great humor in the fact that people hate them but are forced to come to them anyways lol).  They're also usually seen as a cult, even by people who are positive towards them and welcome alliances with the Uvra Istill. Because of their history as basically an entire species genetically engineered by one individual, with a culture set by basically one individual, all living on one collective property and "ruled" by one individual (or, now that individuals remaining family members since they've died), and also their very strict culture and odd practices and worship of death and etc.,, even from the most positive of outsiders they still tend to be viewed as a cult first and a distinct species second,, though they are genetically distinct and are technically their own species, also like 99% of the members of said species exist in the same area in a very weird cult-like environment so. Though definitely in the past they seemed more like a regular species and had their own cities and differing groups and schools of thought and etc., after ending up on the property they live on today and going through a few cultural changes (everyone being forced to follow strict personal rules set by the leader, etc.) it is a pretty strange atmosphere.

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♤ - Everyday life:  Many Uvra Istill spend most of their days just hanging out on their property, playing games, reading books, and practicing hobbies or academics. They have elected officials who will go and speak to outside species, but other than those few, most of them don’t leave very often.  Though their personalities differ greatly and they all break off into friend-groups and cliques amongst themselves, they do mostly all share traits of being highly self focused and self involved, so there’s not as many community activities as would be expected from people living so communally. They prefer to work on the things that interest them, and honestly couldn’t be bothered about much else. They do work together, but only because they know that by furthering the species, they are also helping themselves.  Despite their arrogant and outspoken reputation, many are actually very isolated and reserved, it just happens to be that the elected officials of the species can sometimes misrepresent their group as a whole (i.e., everyone perceiving them as being highly argumentative, just because many of the officials who represent them have been so, though in reality most of them are not, etc). Though some of the stereotypes are true for like 70% of the population (such as being very prideful, pretentious, serious, clever, and being easily amused by their own antics), many stereotypes actually are not, and tend to be exaggerations of misrepresentations.  Many do pair off into couples, but it’s common for their relationships to be somewhat volatile. In a culture that nearly breeds people to be controlling and dominant, it can be hard for them to get along with each other without always clashing heads and trying to out-compete or constantly take control of one another. Luckily, they’re also taught to be very rational, so most conflicts will eventually always be worked out and resolved, or sometimes will just go away because they’ll be tired of wasting energy on fighting.    They do have a hierarchy, with clearly defined leaders and other societal roles, but they also place importance on the fact that all of their members are provided for, so things are never too horribly imbalanced. They want their numbers to stay up and for people to not leave, so aside from the childhood training and heavy indoctrination, the second biggest way they do this is to have a luxurious environment where every member feels valued and provided for and is better than any other living situation they could access, which is where part of their focus on their property literally being like.. an elaborate mansion paradise comes from. They want to emphasize that members of the species have it better than everyone else, and have the personal freedom to just relax and lounge on golden couches all day, or doing whatever leisure activity they please.  This also helps with species pride, how they feel they're better than other groups and more advanced and etc., since every member of their species is living a better life than pretty much a majority of any other group in the surrounding areas, A paradise which they obviously deserve, since as a group they are all superior together.

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♤ They’re incredibly rich and live lavish lifestyles, which once again helps them manage to win over so much influence in politics and business.  Most of their original income was from crime (particularly anything involving assassinating or hunting people) , black market trades, bounty hunting, and selling corpses/meat. But they invested their money carefully and now own a few large areas full of important trade resources, so make most of their money through that. Though they do still often partake in their old ways of making money as well, it’s not as much of a necessity as it once was,  so they usually don’t feel like going through the effort. Those who enjoy the thrill of the hunt/murder or get cheap kicks from high-stakes illegal trading are allowed to stick with it and do as they please, but a majority have walked away from that lifestyle and now prefer to invest their time in hobbies and self-improvement, only occasionally hunting for personal gain when they have the impulse.  Usually these trades and resource management and stuff are negotiated by the leader of the group and their other close respected officials, and it's their responsibility/job to keep up with (on top of running everything around the property). These are the only people who actually HAVE to have a job, and must be working at all times, all other member of the species really don't have to do anything if they don't wish. Species members are allowed to have their own jobs (like being assassins, trading on their own, selling their crafts, etc.) outside of the property if they want, but they only get to keep 40% of their income, and the rest is invested back into the collective property, like to buy food for everyone and pay for servants to upkeep the mansions, etc. Nobody really has a problem with this though, since they recognize that being part of this collective is the only way they're able to live as luxuriously, as if they were on their own, even being able to keep 100% of their earnings, they'd still have a pretty measly existence (especially give then area they live in, like the places outside of the property), therefore even if it means giving a little bit up, being part of the collective is the only thing that allows them their otherwise perfect and leisurely lifestyle.

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♤ They are still similar to cats in many ways, most notably in their common cultural ideal of bringing dead things to their loved ones to show affection.

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♤ - Attire: As a culture, they place a large amount of significance on death, and even glorify it. They enjoy the imagery of death, and much of their clothing and decoration is inspired by this.  Their usual dress is a mix of dark but fancy looking clothing, often with elaborate designs and layers and patterns, mixed with more earthy items like bones and rags and rope.  Bones are extremely common accessories, especially as a way to honor relatives (like wearing your sister's bones after she dies in an accident), or for those who take pride in their kills and may wear them out of meaning or significance (ex: “This is my mother’s skull, she abused me so I reported her and she was publicly executed. I’m proud of that so I wear it to remind me of my victory over her”, or like  “This man killed my best friend so now I’m wearing his ribcage as an accessory.” , etc.) .    The tradition of modifying skulls and other bones to wear as masks or body decor has stuck around since the very olden days, when they used to use this as a tactic to intimidate others. As a young species they were still very weak and hadn’t physically bred themselves to a desired strength yet, so they often had to stalk other species and simply go after their leftovers in order to get food. Back in this time when they would follow a larger hunting species around, they commonly adorned themselves in any way to look larger and more threatening, so they wouldn’t be attacked themselves in the process. Though it serves no real purpose anymore, most of them keep doing this because they just find it fashionable, and sometimes humorous. They often adorn modified skulls with decorations and carvings, usually other strings of bones. They also commonly use smaller bones as piercings or buttons on their clothing, and medium sized ones are often strung into ornaments or necklaces. Larger ones may be worn as defensive armor, or just for show, often in more elaborate or culturally significant outfits.  The most common colors in their clothing are blacks, reds, grays, gold, and dark purple. They like thick very decorated and rich looking fabrics, with a bit of a tendency towards over-decoration or being almost absurdly showy. They basically just like to wear anything that communicates:  "Hey, I’m here, I’m fabulously rich, superior to you, intimidating, and highly skilled, ,  I could probably purchase your entire family with just the money I have in my pocket, and I also have an intense morbid fascination with death.“

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♤  Children are extensively trained in a highly competitive school-like environment. A regular kid will do about 65+ hours of skills training a week, and it’s encouraged to have at least completed a “high-school level” of education by 11 years old. By around 16 years, all mandatory training and education is complete, and the individual is free to pursue whatever they’d like, but up until then, their curriculum is brutal.  It’s not uncommon for some children to even resort to trying to kill each other just to take the top spot of their class, even though murder within the species isn't allowed, they put the children in such a hyper-competitive and strictly controlled environment that some are willing to risk punishment to try to harm a classmate sneakily or something. Their schooling usually involves a lot of physical training but also plenty of mental exercises, children are expected to be broadly knowledgeable about the world and proficient in a variety of subjects and skills. Additionally they spend plenty of time on "personality training".  Certain personality traits are culturally encouraged, and if an individual fails to possess them by the end of schooling, they are usually killed . When they see “just no hope for an individual”, their life may be voted on. The only type of murder permissible in the group is when a claim is made that a certain person should die, so the entire group gets together to debate the pros and cons, and casts votes at the end.  Though it can't be too close, if the votes were like 60% yes, 40% no, the person may let go or the subject would be re-voted on at a later date. But if over 75% of the group (all 1,000+ of them) decide that it would be reasonable to kill a certain person (for crimes they're accused of, or just failing to meet the group's standards and being a 'weak link', etc.) , then they're publicly executed.  So it is possible that some children can be put to death simply for not meeting certain standards of personality traits and ability.  Though this is extremely rare, since most people who train the children are very determined about it, they would rather push someone to the point that they die from working too hard than just giving up on them and sentencing them to a dishonorable public death. They would see that as a reflection of failure in themselves, which is unacceptable. So most trainers will stop at nothing to make sure the children will succeed, even occasionally resorting to methods that could potentially be considered borderline torture to “bring out the right traits in the individual”.  It is common for children to sometimes band together and try to escape, and there is actually a whole group of Uvra Istill who exist outside of the main community and call themselves “ex-members”, as they often proclaim that the entire species of Uvra Istill is just a massive cult (since the entire breeding of the species and creation of culture as a whole seems largely influenced by just one person alone, similar to the leader of a cult), and they hold extreme contempt for their own species.  Many “ex-members” wish to reform the species of Uvra Istil, or at least separate into two distinct branches, hopefully eventually evolving into different species entirely, but this is hard when the Uvra Istill name is so prominently associated with the society of the non ‘ex-members’.  The typical opinion of those still within the community, is that the “ex-members” are just weak, and are not deserving of sharing blood with them.  The main Uvra Istill are actually surprisingly open about their willingness to kill any “ex-members” (especially if they’re caught before escaping), just as many “ex-members” are openly aggressive about their desire to kill those who are still in the community. It’s a largely ignored conflict that many Uvra Istill feel hasn’t been accurately resolved or addressed, but most community leaders think it should just be ignored, which many people question.  Some outside groups in the past have distanced themselves from the Uvra Istill over this, as they have heard about some of the mistreatment, but the Uvra Istill are very secretive so most people they trade with don’t know the full extent (if they knew how severely children were sometimes being  psychologically abused and manipulated and traumatized to alter their personality (and also like doing stressful training sometimes over 70 hours a week, plus being killed if they don't meet the standard of the group), they would probably stop all trade with the Uvra Istill entirely , but they’re not currently fully aware.  (Though some groups like the Fanyiniri elves probably wouldn't give a shit lol)  Though it's hard for children, most when growing up actually don't mind anything that happened to them (though this is probably just a result of the indoctrination and propaganda they're taught) , because they kind of see it as a trial to earn their right to their positive existence. Yes, from age 6 - 16 you're going to be experiencing grueling training and be almost regularly traumatized (sometimes quite severely), but after that, you get to live for free, on this amazing beautiful property, with everything you've ever wanted provided for you at no cost, pretty much never having to train or work again if you don't want to (though most do want to), having the absolute freedom to just live a live of leisure free of any worldly concerns.  This is how they often frame it and feel it's justified, basically it's like you just have to just work your way up to conforming to the standards of the group and kind of earn your way into the species, but once you've made it past that threshold, you're one of them now, and they'll care for you and protect you at all costs. So it's still, incredibly, incredibly shitty, but many traumatized children find it worth it and justify it in retrospect by how many privileges and benefits they get afterwards.

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♤ They have a mostly modern diet now, but still enjoy plenty of raw meat, bones, rocks, and dirt as they’ve eaten in the past. They’re pretty big on alcohol, and enjoy creating new sorts of drinks to unveil every few years at parties.

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♤  Despite their sometimes harsh society, many actually report high levels of happiness and feel content with themselves and their lives. The most common issues they have are with managing emotional outbursts, anxiety, and symptoms of depression, but those have almost become so commonly accepted that there’s usually a variety of strategies for dealing with them, and as a group they are surprisingly supportive in helping each other with these.  Other than that, people seem typically very fulfilled, and are highly self confident and content, especially since most don’t have the stress of having to handle a job, and are allowed to just explore and improve their own interests, never running out of things to do to keep busy. Though there’s probably many dark things that go on behind the scenes and there are many ideas in their society that face wide criticism, they don’t accept outside criticism in the first place , and don’t care to listen to outside opinions of them, so for now things will continue as they are, which isn’t even bad at all, in their opinion.  Regardless of controversy, they are still one of the most prominent newcomer species in the supernatural realm as a whole (so gradually gaining influence and resources), and are an essential part of a few local economies, governments, and societies in the realm.

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♤ Cultural beauty standards include:  Dark dyed hair and dark lips/eye makeup on everyone despite age or gender, different adornments of bones, dark sick looking eyes, just generally looking dead, short hair, shiny well kept claws and hooves, braiding tail fur, hanging things from the ears, sharp dark slicked down eyebrows, sometimes shaving patterns into the fur is popular. They may use dark colored dyes to stain the tips of their fangs, and more extreme modifications include cutting shapes into the skin for decorative scars, and shaping their ears using surgery. It’s also common that in more elaborate outfits they may take some sort of gold paint or gold sheets, and line their claws, hooves, and parts of the face with gold. There is wide variance in facial features, since they are a largely mixed species with a larger gene pool in the past, so individual preference varies, but culturally they seem to prefer more cat-like faces, and especially admire the beauty of people with large mouths and larger sharper teeth.

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♤ They have no religion, but often state that they worship death in a more abstract sense, though there is no set of religious guidelines that they follow.

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♤ Many Uvra Istill keep pets and like the idea of sidekicks or small companions. They often walk around with small animals on their shoulders or in their hair. Most popular are owls, snakes, foxes, medium sized cats, lizards, spiders, and sometimes bats. They often hire mages to come in from the outside world and perform spells on their animals, so that they’re able to communicate with them or so that the animals will have some sort of supernatural abilities. Nearly 80% of them have small companion animals, sometimes more than one, it seems to be a widespread cultural thing.

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✵History✵

–(There’s like thousands of years of history so obviously I’m just summing it up and not going into much detail because that would take too long. The easiest way is to just frame it through the lens of one of their very influential members. So if it seems very focused on one person, that’s because it is, for the sake of brevity. It’s just like if you were telling the history of an organization there might be extended focus on the founder of said organization, while smaller details about the other people are perhaps ignored)–  The Uvra Istill started off as a very regular form of cat-person, usually used for servants or messengers, and not of very much class or value in the supernatural realm. They were usually very mistreated, often living poor and dying early of illness or starvation, not being given much for food other than rotting animals, bones, and dirt.  Eventually one of these cat people by the name of  Brivgi gathered up about 50 or so of them, and decided that they would move somewhere and start up a society of their own. They stole a boat, and raided the city at night, stealing as many supplies as they could make away with, before setting sail without having any idea where the hell they would be going. Brivgi just decided that she would make the best of wherever they ended up, and that anywhere was as good of a place as where they were. She was a charismatic leader with big ideas who gathered people in a time of hopelessness when many of her kind felt they didn't have any options for living anything other than their current miserable lives, so she didn't really need to have a plan lol. Most were happy to follow her since like, even if they just sank their ship and died in the ocean or something, that's really no worse than their current lives as abused servants living on rotting animal scraps and sleeping bruised on the plain muddy dirt floors of basements.  By the time they reached land, 15 of them had died during transit, and 10 more were killed when they were ambushed immediately upon approaching the shore, but luckily Brivgi and a few others had managed to escape.  They settled in an area of caves, since that was the only place they could find that wasn’t owned by anyone. There were a few scattered tribes of species here and there, but they were mostly the only inhabitants of this area. Here is where the Uvra Istill bloodline actually went from regular cat-people to a more engineered species of hybrids.    Brivgi became obsessed with making her kind into the ultimate species, even bringing in the outside help of sorcerers and demons and whoever she could find, to speed along the evolution process with magic, paying them in whatever she had (sometimes even trading away her own members, and once trading one of her own children).  She saw it as urgent that they must immediately start the most advanced and capable society possible, and her dream was to have a whole group of those who were perfectly designed to hunt, kill, outsmart, and ultimately dominate society. Many of her group began to have doubts, feeling that Brivgi was  unstable and delusionally obsessed with unrealistic ideals, so occasionally they would sneak away in the middle of the night, but many of them stayed and were utterly devoted to her, since regardless of her intense and sometimes immoral ideas, she was still an incredibly dedicated and charming leader who believed she was doing the best for everyone.  They simply stayed in the caves for about 800 years, breeding and evolving and being turned into the vision of what Brivgi desired. They weren’t strong enough to hunt the large animals that were in the area at this time, but they did often  follow around larger predator animals and local tribes of humanoid beings, feeding off of whatever they left behind after a kill. They would often cover themselves in bones and rocks and facepaint, anything to make them come off as more intimidating for protection. They mostly lived on small animals and scraps, bones and rocks, and occasionally stuff like tree limbs and sticks, sometimes leaves or fruits, but they really didn't desire that type of thing and had to have meat of some kind. After a while of just surviving and developing, they decided they had enough numbers, strength, and resources to attempt to relocate.  There were now about 4,000 in total, so it was going to be a massive task to move them all, but they were growing too large for current lands, so Brivgi and her advisors decided it would be the best course of action. They journeyed for about 5 months, during that time only loosing 800 members, and actually keeping together fairly well. They settled in a new open expanse of land, located in a fairly good spot in between some mountains and a large city. Since they were so close to the city, there were new career options open to the Uvra Istill, and the most appealing of those seemed to be crime. Just given their natural skill set (or I guess, the genetically engineered skill set that Brivgi planned for them), they were very proficient at jobs involving assassinating or hunting people, selling corpses/meat, and bounty hunting, and these were often very quick ways to make a lot of money in a short period of time. They continued on this way for a few hundred years, flourishing and building their own little city, and greatly increasing their numbers.  Around this time there were nearly 10, 000 Uvra Istill, older generations and new generations and different evolutions of the species all living together . Brivgi still lead them, often advising their business decisions and holding councils for the community, happy to basically have created her own small civilization, especially content that they were prospering under her guidance and the course she set for the species. By now she had generations of children who served alongside her as advisors and understudies.  However, a few hundred years after finally feeling settled in, a natural disaster struck the area, which also lead to a war over resources amongst the Uvra Istill and other species/people in the surrounding cities. They had already lost half of their city in floods (and about 6,000 of their people), so they decided to  refuse to give help to neighboring communities, since they saw it as more important to provide for their own. The Uvra Istill had massive reserves of resources though, so the outside cities felt it was ridiculous and unfair for them to keep it all to themselves when the people around them are dying and in need .  There was a surprise uprising, their whole city being attacked from all sides by people from all surrounding areas combined, desperate to survive in any way thy could (whether the Uvra Istill agreed to share or not).  Resources were stolen, and though the Uvra Istill had superior combat skills and technology, they were still massively outnumbered, and the  outside attackers managed to kill about 3,000 of the Uvra Istill during the first two weeks of fighting alone. Around the third week, Brivgi gave up on trying to hold onto the city, gathered as many resources and people as she could, and she fled, evading the outside attackers by using underground evacuation tunnels she had built years ago as a precaution.  She knew they would have nowhere to go, and would be found if they resurfaced, so she simply blocked off the other side of the caves and holed up inside of them with her remaining people for a few days, still close enough to hear the sounds of destruction and more of her people dying not too far away above ground. With no other options, she started to call upon all of her vague contacts, reaching out to anyone she had done business with in the past, looking for someone who would help them. They were running out of food in the caves, and though they didn’t hear fighting above ground anymore, Brivgi still feared they’d be hunted and killed if they didn’t have an immediate escape plan upon leaving. She sent out her best most skilled fighters in disguise, to sneak around and act as messengers. After only a day or two, one of the messengers finally received word back from someone, the Avirre'thel agreeing to give them a temporary plot of land and place to stay in interim. They evacuated quickly , finally leaving the underground hideouts, and heading to the place that was agreed they could stay temporarily.  Still having managed to sneak away with a little bit of resources, Brivgi made a deal to simply buy the entire plot of land from them, and there laid the foundation for the modern Uvra Istill property. With only around 200 members of the species left (others having died from the fighting, floods, during underground hiding, being left behind, or dying during travel), Brivgi was largely discouraged, but still determined to bring her visions to light and fight for her species (which she saw as like, perfect beings of her creation, she felt intense responsibility for them and dedication to be a good leader, despite the recent upsets to their way of life and loss of a majority of their species and everything they owned and etc.)  Though she did start to get a bit weird after this, many of her children had died, and she began to carry their bones around with her, wearing them, keeping them in her bed, in her room, and spiraling into a further obsession with death. Her few children who remained were largely concerned about her, but still did anything to help with her ideas for their society, and they were typically her most loyal of followers. The Uvra Istill were still a largely suffering people, most of them having just been through some of the worst events of their lives, so any leadership was good leadership to them, and the constant ceremonies and imagery of death didn’t bother them, they quite embraced it, they still saw Brivgi as one of the only people who could bring them security and hope, and with all of the loss they had personally suffered as well, the indulgence into death resonated with many of them  (side note: Brivgi had been artificially prolonging her life with magic and etc. and some people think that played a role in her getting a bit weird and obsessive, like the constant exposure to enchantments that she, as someone from a non-magical species, wasn't used to, could have started to impact her health and body and mind. Though it also fits totally fine into her personality profile to have just become strange simply due to the loss and upset of her life, since she did take it very personally that something she had been improving for so long (her species) had been destroyed. So it really could be either, or a mix of both lol) . With the resources she still had,  Brivgi laid blueprints for three mansions,  large facilities,  and massive improvements to the property, hoping to provide for her species a safe haven paradise where they could live and have everything they’d ever want, and this time she kept a large focus on extreme security measures. She wrote out curriculums,  programs, and rules, all incredibly strict and designed to make the species the best it could ever be (like setting cultural standards and the rules of education and of conduct, laws of the property, etc.), to be ultimately powerful, unable to ever be stopped or harmed no matter who attacks them. The focus became even more about being strong, and also about not trusting outsiders/not being open to trade, after the losses they had just suffered at the hands of other people, which Brivgi mostly blamed on them just not being strong enough, and that they should never have trusted the other cities enough to live near them in the first place.    She put all leftover money into savings, businesses, and other investments, hoping it would pay off over time. Before the construction on the property was entirely completed, not long after finishing her 25,000 page manifesto on how the Uvra Istill should be governed and run, Brivgi called a meeting of her people, where she dragged herself into the courtyard (along with the bones of her children she'd been carrying around), curled up into a ball underneath a decorative velvet blanket, and abruptly  publicly executed herself in front of all of them, her last words being something along the lines of “I feel that I’ve left everything in very capable hands. If we are to succeed, then I am so very glad. But if we are to fail, I simply do not want to be around to see it.”  By this point, she was over 1,000 years old, and clearly had been suffering physically and mentally, so her children quite easily came to terms with her death and quickly picked up where she had left off.  Particularly her eldest daughter Vivrinia, who is currently still in a leadership position , ruling over the current Uvra Istill. Though she is considered much more callous than her mother, she still strictly follows the words Brivgi left her, which unfortunately for her,  does include being kind to her own species from time to time. She is still always making a constant effort to improve the society, and make sure that they are as influential and capable as they possibly can be, despite her somewhat resenting having such extreme responsibility thrust upon her at a young age. Currently,  all construction is completed, the property is gorgeous, there’s extensive training in place for all children, people of the society still have strict standards of embodying the “right traits”, and the political , social, and financial influence of the Uvra Istill is ever growing across the whole realm (so everything is going according to the rules Brivgi outlined). Though it’s been nearly 500 years since Brivgi’s death, and they’ve evolved as a culture on their own since then,  it’s still clear to see how much she had impacted the entire society of the Uvra Istill, especially in her later years. Many of her ideals, cultural preferences,  traditions, and philosophies are still extensively practiced and embraced by the Uvra Istill of today (like the worship of death and constant use of death imagery). She is widely honored, considered to be the creator and savior of the species, and has multiple statues, rooms, and museum sections dedicated to her on the property.

(here's a n ancient pixelated sloppy sketch of Brivgi I guess lol) 

 And that's all about the Uvra Istill,  for now at least !! 

[piggyofoz]

Hello everybody and welcome to Week Five!  Once again I’ve got some really good stuff in store for you - if you will just follow me to that inconspicuous, rusty old van in that dingy back alley. :) And here’s this week’s topic:

Week Five - A Junker in a Dress

I actually never specified which one, but it turned into some kind of impromptu Junkrat fashion show, and he’s very delighted to show off all of his pretty clothes. So please lean back and enjoy!

- An Anthology of Attraction Chapter 6 by @sillyscrunchy (Part 4 of the SecretBoyfriend!AU <3)

Hana's punishment for Jamie lying backfires... kind of.

- Neon Smoke Chapter 4 & 5 by @armatages (makes sense to read this together)

They set up a date. Mako’s self-doubts are crushed by Jamie’s choice of attire. 

- Junkrat’s Favorite Chapter 2 by me *waves* (Canon!Junkers)

Roadhog really doesn't need Junkrat to be pretty to want under his skirts.

- Strawberry Dress by @thyme-basalt (Canon!Junkers are retired B&B owners AU - so lovely)

Jamie enjoys his new found profession as a B&B owner to the fullest - including his new wardrobe he needs to show off to his husband. 

-  Whakawahine by @murasakidoku (Demon!AU continues <3)

Jamie did promise Mako some eye-candy after all.

You guys are amazing, thank you so much for contributing so much to this, so far these assignments have been an absolute pleasure <3  At this point also a big thanks to the readers, thank you for sticking with us. I hope you enjoy this bite-sized treats as much as I do. Please leave some nice words for my friends if you like their stuff. :) I also want to remind you that these prompts are not exclusive, if anything tickles your muse, just go for it and contribute to our lovely Junkers’ adventures, fandom can only ever profit from more fics and art being put out there.  Have a great week everybody! See you next Monday <3

[realityisnoplacetolive]

Lost In Translation | Phandom Big Bang

Author: realityisnoplacetolive

Artist: @themessafterthemarty (the art is awesome omg)

Beta: @always-okay-katie (thank you so much for all your help!!)

Word count: 11k

Rating: PG

Warnings: None

Summary: In a world in which everyone is born with their soulmate’s first words to them tattooed somewhere on their body, it would seem that loneliness is finally cured. But Phil Lester has a problem. His tattoo is in a language he can’t speak.

A/N: Additional thanks to @awesomesockes, for being Danish and therefore occasionally helpful in the endeavor :p And to Gina, for giving me really awesome advice about pacing, which i was too stubborn to actually implement, but I appreciated nonetheless <3 (you tried)

His situation wasn’t exactly common, but it wasn’t unheard of either. Phil’s mum often tried to assure him of this - he wasn’t the first person on Earth to have a language barrier between him and his soulmate. But that was easy for her to say, when she was born with the words ‘Have you got a partner for the assignment yet?’ tattooed in neat script across her collarbone. Phil’s father had asked her this question at the start of year five, and despite the response she’d given him of ‘Sorry, Charlie’s just asked me’, the two had been fast friends ever since. Those five words covered his dad’s left calf, and he often teased his wife about how her first words to him were rejection.

But Phil Lester would’ve given anything for something as simple and direct as that. The twenty-two year old sighed at the foreign phrase printed across his right forearm for what felt like the millionth time.

“Yeah, well, beats mine anyway,” his older brother had assured him. Phil had to giggle, remembering the ‘Would you like to order drinks?’ tattoo on Martyn’s bicep.

As teens, a group of his brothers’ friends had started a sort of competition for who could find their soulmate fastest. Of course, it didn’t really work that way. The first meeting was something predetermined before birth; trying to rush fate was pointless. And while they believed that on some level, impatient young people were notorious for trying to manipulate their situations to make it happen a bit sooner.

Martyn’s friend, Jack, for example, had been born with the tattoo ‘Try not to move - it might be broken’. He’d taken it as an open invitation to try all kinds of extreme sports, from BMX biking to water skiing. By the age of seventeen, Jack had already broken eleven bones with no luck on the soulmate front. In the end, he’d had to trip over a rolled up floor mat and sprain his knee while walking into Asda before finally meeting Emma.

Not one to be outdone, poor Martyn had taken nearly every penny he’d earned from his summer job at a bowling alley and spent it trying out various restaurants and sneaking into bars. He’d get his hopes up with each new server, only to have them dashed again every time the waitress remained unphased by his drink order. Eventually, he’d made peace with it. He’d meet her when he’d meet her, and that was that.

But with a line like ‘Er det dine briller?’ inked into his skin, it seemed foolish for Phil not to prepare a little.

The phrase was in Danish: are these your glasses? Translating it had been the easy part - his parents had done that for him with the help of a Danish-English dictionary they’d purchased about a week after he was born (after first spending a few afternoons in the library determining the tattoo wasn’t German or Dutch or Swedish). What to do with that information next, however, was a little less obvious.

When Phil was little, having such a mark was almost a relief. Much like a child taking their first steps or graduating school, meeting one’s soulmate for the first time was considered such an important milestone in someone’s life that it wasn’t uncommon for parents to hover over their children’s first interactions with strangers, hoping to hear those magic words. But with Phil’s odds of simply bumping into his soulmate on the playground at next to nil, much of the pressure involved in making new friends was off. In a way, it was nice.

For his thirteenth birthday, Phil’s parents had bought him a ‘Teach Yourself Danish’ book series, complete with audio tapes to practice with. But after a few weeks of struggling to wrap his mouth around the foreign words, Phil’s enthusiasm dwindled and the series took up residence in the corner of his book shelf where it collected dust for years to come.

xx

Phil was nineteen before things changed. He and one of his best friends, Amber, were spending the day at a funfair. She was eating candyfloss off a stick, while he was a very pale shade of green and trying his best to keep his lunch down after the Tilt-A-Whirl.

“Want a bite?” Amber said, offering the sugary pink substance to him. He grimaced and looked away. “Might help.”

“Doubt it.” He moved toward an empty bench a few feet away and sat down with a little groan, closing his eyes. Amber plopped down next to him, and they rested for a few minutes.

Phil had met Amber on the first day of sixth form. She was one of the very few girls Phil knew who didn’t place much stock in the soulmate system. Amber had a bit of a rebellious streak, and never shut up about how dumb she considered it that some unknown force in the universe was supposed to decide who she should spend her life with.

“When I do meet him, I bet I won’t even like him,” she often complained. “I feel sorry for the bloke, honestly.”

She’d gone out with several different guys throughout their school career, which had earned her a certain reputation with many of the other students in their year. She rarely ever did anything with these boys, she’d confided in Phil once, but she found everyone else’s assumptions about her fascinating. Plus, there was something so liberating about spending the evening sitting on the sofa, “wasting her time” - as her grandmother often chided - by getting to know someone who’d only leave her in the end.

“But that’s exactly the point,” Amber would argue back. “There’s no pressure this way - no promise of a future. Just right now.”

Honestly, Phil wished he could have such a flippant attitude about the whole matter. Amber was on a whole new level.

“You’re not gonna eat that?” a male voice interrupted Phil’s thoughts.

Phil’s eyes snapped open again, and he noticed a young man approaching them. Amber sat frozen with one arm reached out, just getting ready to drop the last bit of her candyfloss into the bin next to the bench. Phil’s heart leapt and he shot his friend a look of amazement.

“Why?” Amber replied to the stranger, a mixture of nervousness and excitement in her voice. “You starting a half-eaten candyfloss collection?”

“Holy fucking shit on a stick!” the stranger exclaimed, his eyes lighting up with the same excitement. “That’s my tattoo!”

Grinning, Amber lifted the leg of her jeans just enough to show the ‘You’re not gonna eat that?’ tattooed on her ankle. “And you?”

The stranger, with an even bigger smile, held out his forearm. “Half-eaten candyfloss collection! Who even says that?” He laughed. “I was worried I’d never find you! My name’s Matt by the way.”

As Phil walked along the rest of the day, listening to Amber and Matt chat excitedly several paces ahead, he began to understand the meaning of the term “third wheel”. He also resolved to sign up for Danish lessons as soon as he got home.

xx

It was another three years before Phil finally got his chance to visit Denmark. Amber and Matt - now recently engaged and sharing a flat - had booked him tickets to Copenhagen as a part belated birthday, part ‘sorry that we found true love and ran off together while you’re over there all alone’ present. But he wasn’t about to be one to turn down a free trip, even one born out of pity.

Phil greatly increased his language studies in preparation. He’d found an internet proxy that allowed him to stream the Danish national television channels, and was thoroughly enjoying Danish X Factor. It turned out horrible talent show auditions were universal.

“So are you like, fluent now?” Martyn asked him that evening when he came to visit, the night before Phil set off. He stood in the doorway to Phil’s room with his arms crossed, leaning against the frame, as he observed his younger brother. Phil was sprawled out in his bed with his laptop, watching Huset på Christianshavn - a sitcom from the late 70s featuring an odd bunch of Danes living in an apartment complex who did an appalling amount of drinking and not much else.

“Uh, no. Not quite there yet,” Phil answered without looking up. That was an understatement - his eyes were currently glued to the rapidly moving subtitles, which gave him his only hope of comprehension.

“Ah, well, I’m sure you’ll do fine,” his brother said. He moved from the doorway and sat down on Phil’s desk chair. “Cornelia says hi by the way - she wanted to come along and send you off properly, but she’s got some huge chemistry exam tomorrow morning. Says her professor is a nightmare.”

Even just mentioning Cornelia’s name, Martyn’s face seemed to light up. Phil had noticed this with most of his friends who’d found their soulmates and a familiar pang of bitterness hit him. He swallowed it down before he spoke.

“It’s alright,” Phil said dismissively. “It’s not like I’m gone a year. Just six days.”

“Who knows,” Martyn grinned, “you might just be so smitten after you meet them that you decide to stay.”

The words struck a nerve. “You know, I wish everyone would stop putting all this pressure on me,” Phil snapped. “There’s no guarantee that I’m meeting anyone on this trip - there never is.”  

“Hey man, it was just a joke…” Martyn tried.

“No, it’s not! It’s the one person that the universe has decided is compatible with my soul and I have to fly to bloody Denmark to even have a shot at meeting them!”

“That’s not true, you-”

But Phil cut him off. “All my friends are getting engaged or moving in together or just out having their own adventures because at least they know they have an equal chance of meeting their soulmate wherever they might end up, but here I am, preparing myself for my one chance to meet someone I won’t even be able to communicate with!”

He paused for a breath. It was as if a dam had been opened - now that all his worries were flooding out, he felt powerless to stop them. He went on, “And if this fails, then what? Wait to save up enough and try again? Move there? What if I don’t even like this stupid country?”

“They all speak English there,” his brother reminded. “They learn it from like, year one. They’ll probably be better than you.”

“But will they think English?” Phil asked, something akin to desperation in his voice. “Will they feel English? When we lay in bed and tell each other our deepest secrets, will their words come out effortlessly in English, or will it constantly be work for them to translate their every thought to a language not their own because I’m a piece of shit who was literally born with an assignment printed on his arm but put off studying for twenty-two years?!”

Hot tears were sliding down Phil’s face now. He slammed the laptop closed and pushed it aside before sitting up on the bed and pulling his knees up to his chest.

Martyn rose from the desk and moved over to sit next to Phil on the edge of the bed. He offered his shoulder, and his brother, grateful for the comfort, lay his head against it. “You are way overthinking this, mate,” Martyn said softly.

“I know…” Phil breathed back. And deep down, he did know. “It’s just…” He cut himself off with a sigh.

“Just what?” his brother prompted.

“Just… what if it all goes horribly wrong? You know, like Great Uncle Ronnie….”

Martyn rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Phil, your soulmate speaks Danish and you don’t. That man was born with the tattoo ‘Time of death: 7:46’ on his chest. Your situation is not even close to that level of depressing.”

“But what about-” Phil began.

“Enough,” Martyn cut in. “You have six days of free travel in a beautiful foreign country. For once in your life, let’s just forget about this whole soulmate business and focus on that. Can you manage that?”

Slowly, Phil nodded his head.

“Good.” Martyn ruffled his brother’s hair with his hand before turning to the empty suitcase lying on the floor. “Now let’s get you packed. And bring an umbrella - I just checked the weather and it looks like six solid days of rain.”

Phil let out a sigh. “Fantastic.”

xx

Keeping his word to Martyn ended up not being nearly as difficult as Phil had imagined. There was plenty to do and see in Copenhagen besides soulmate searching. In four days’ time, Phil had already seen The Little Mermaid statue (which was significantly smaller than he’d imagined), visited two castles, explored Tivoli Gardens, gone for a canal tour, a bus tour, and a bike tour, and posed for his mandatory selfie in front of the capital guards.

But even with all the activities to occupy his time, he’d be lying if he said choosing to wear his glasses rather than contact lenses that week was just a coincidence, or that the few instances where he’d left those glasses sitting on restaurant tables or park benches had been complete accidents.

It turned out, most Danes kept to themselves. He was rarely spoken to by anyone, though one man did give a small cough and incline his head in the glasses’ direction. Phil had acknowledged him with a nod and gave a slight smile before retrieving them. Non-verbal interactions seemed to be Denmark’s speciality.

But finally, after several of these such attempts, a stranger fell for his bait. Phil had taken off his glasses and set them on the cafe table where he’d been sipping a latte. He’d walked halfway to the door, and was just about to complete his routine of acting as though he’d suddenly realized they were missing and backtracking to the table, when he heard a phrase that sent a chill down his spine.

“Excuse me, are those your glasses?”

Phil spun around excitedly at the words, but his eyes met those of a woman in her mid-fifties. She wasn’t exactly his type, but then again, platonic soulmates, though rare, were still a possibility…

“Mine b-briller?” he stuttered back, the words sounding all thick and wrong in his hopeless accent.

The woman looked puzzled. “Nå! Er du dansker?” she asked.

“…What?” Phil replied.

“I guess not.” The corners of her mouth turned up a bit into a smile. “I asked if you were Danish,” she explained, a slight accent to her voice. “I think you left your glasses on the table.”

“Oh, right, thanks,” he mumbled. Phil picked them up and stuffed them into his bag. He didn’t even need them at the moment - he was wearing his contacts anyway.

The woman was already moving to join the queue at the counter, and Phil considered just letting it go. But no, he’d come all this way; he had to be sure.

He hurried back over to her. “Sorry, excuse me?” he said quickly. She turned to look at him. “I’m sorry, I just have to ask something. When you asked me about the glasses the first time, were you speaking Danish or English?” He’d been so startled by her question before that he hadn’t even noticed.

She frowned. “English, wasn’t it? I saw the book you were holding, so I just assumed. Something wrong?”

Phil could’ve kicked himself. Of course. When carrying a book titled “Tourist in Copenhagen”, he wouldn’t look exceptionally Danish.

“No, nothing’s wrong. I guess I just got my hopes up for a second.” Feeling he owed her an explanation, Phil gave a small sigh and pushed his right jacket sleeve up to reveal his tattoo.

The woman squinted to make out the words, and then her expression instantly changed to one of understanding. “Nåh. I’m afraid I’m taken.” With a kind smile that crinkled up the corners of her eyes, she tugged down the top hem of her shirt just enough to expose the writing on her collarbone: Mine underbukser har fået hjemve. Then she held up her left hand and wiggled the fingers. The sunlight glinted off her wedding ring.

If she hadn’t been so sweet, Phil thought he might have died of embarrassment. “I’m so sorry, really. I’ll go now.” He spun around quickly toward the door.

“It’s alright!” she laughed after him. “And count your blessings - at least your tattoo doesn’t declare to all the world that your soulmate’s first words to you were that he had a wedgie.”

Even with his cheeks burning as they were, Phil had to giggle as he ducked out of the cafe and back to the walking street.

xx

Despite his horrible luck on the soulmate front, Phil had managed to enjoy his time in Denmark for the most part.

Martyn had been wrong about the weather after all. Or, mostly right - it had been storming all morning, but the clouds above had parted in the last twenty minutes and the sun was shining brightly enough now that Phil stopped walking to shrug off his jacket and locate his sunglasses.

He’d just managed to free them from his bag when he felt some kind of strap hit the back of his knees, tripping him up. Three large, eager dogs had suddenly appeared on his right, accompanied by a woman on his left who was simultaneously riding a bike and struggling with one arm to hold on to three leather leashes, which were wrapping around the back of Phil’s legs. Two of the dogs crossed in front of Phil, twisting the leashes even further around his ankles and pulling both himself and the cyclist off balance. The bike toppled over, while Phil fell backwards, smacking the back of his head on the landing. Suddenly all five of them were lying on the pavement in a pile of tangled limbs and barking animals.

“Undskyld! Undskyld!” the woman apologized profusely, then proceeded to babble on. Context, plus the limited Danish he could comprehend, told him she was explaining something about how her dogs had gotten away from her, how she was terribly sorry about that, and then asking whether or not he was alright. Not wanting to cause a fuss, Phil simply nodded as they disentangled.

A headache was already building from the jolt. He slowly made his way up to standing and started brushing off his pant legs, which now had damp spots on the back where they’d touched the ground. His possessions were scattered over the street, and the woman, still rambling on in Danish, was hurriedly trying to help him gather everything again.

“Er det dine briller?”

But it hadn’t been the woman asking the question. A new voice had joined the mix. The words startled Phil and his heart leapt in his chest. He spun around to see another guy, late teens or early twenties, stooping down and holding out Phil’s sunglasses.

Are these your glasses? The words seemed to be sung in angel chorus. This was his moment. Phil Lester had had twenty-two years to come up with an answer to that question. He’d rehearsed in front of the mirror, night after night, what fluent Danish response he might say back. He had taught himself affirmative replies, negative replies, replies that were somewhere in the middle - hell, he’d even learned a pick up line or two.

Yet despite all that, when presented with the question that had been inked into his skin since the day he was born, Phil became a blubbering mess. “Ja!” he pointed to the glasses excitedly and then to himself. “Du er min!”

The stranger raised one eyebrow and cocked his head to the side curiously. “Snakker du til brillerne? Eller til mig?”

“…What?” Phil questioned. The stranger deposited the glasses into Phil’s open hand, looking amused. “Jeg snakker kun lidt dansk,” Phil admitted, using one of the first phrases he’d ever learned of this language: I don’t speak much Danish.

“Clearly,” the man snorted under his breath.

“Oh! Engelsk?” Phil squeaked hopefully. “You speak English?”

The man was grinning now. “I should hope so,” he replied. “Twelve years in the English public school system should have taught me that much.”

Phil’s world was spinning now. He brought a hand up to his head, which was throbbing. “Wait, does that mean… you’re not Danish?”

“God no,” the man snorted out a laugh. “I’m from Wokingham.”

“But you spoke…?” Phil trailed off, looking confused.

The stranger nodded, having grasped Phil’s not quite finished question. “My dad lives here, so I’ve been picking up the language. Plus there’s some online Danish program I do when I can be arsed to remember it.”

“Oh, me too I guess…” Phil mumbled. “Er, not the dad part. Just I’ve been trying to learn, I mean.” The cyclist had managed to gather the dogs and bike together again and was starting to limp away. He’d offer to help her, if he wasn’t also slowly dying himself.

“Cool,” the stranger remarked. His look changed to one of concern, as Phil had gone quite pale. “Hey, you alright?”

“Yeah, just… my head…” Phil slurred, bringing his hand up to prod at the rapidly swelling lump. “I-I should sit down.” He glanced around desperately for a chair.

“Oh. Um…” After a second of hesitation, the man took Phil’s arm and guided him back into the cafe, and then into a booth. He disappeared and then reappeared a minute later with a bottle of water, which he offered awkwardly.

Phil gave him a small smile of gratitude and took the bottle before letting out a tiny groan. “This wasn’t how I planned this day to go.”

The man smiled kindly at him. “That’s life, isn’t it?” He extended his right hand. “I’m Dan, by the way. Dan Howell.”

“Phil,” Phil replied, shaking it. Clumsily, he reached into his pocket, mumbling, “I can pay you back for the water…”

“Oh, no.” Dan waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not everyday something like… this happens.” The words seemed to trip him up at the end.

Phil changed the subject. “You said your dad lives in Denmark?”

“Yeah, he works for an international shipping company,” Dan explained, perking right up. “I live with my mum though, back in England. But I usually come visit a few weeks every summer and every other Christmas.”

“I see…” Phil nodded, then regretted that as the throbbing in his head increased. “But you’re fluent in Danish?”

“Oh no, not even close,” Dan snorted. “I don’t even think most Danes are fluent. Have you heard this language? You might as well just cram a large vegetable down your epiglottis - that seems to be what it would take to choke out half their vowel sounds.”

Phil was starting to feel a little foolish now. He brought the water to his lips, but pulled it away again before taking a sip. “I… I’m sorry. I’m just having a little trouble taking all of this in. I think I hit my head when I fell. But you’re saying you’re not Danish? Not at all? Not even like, half?”

“I mean, if you go back a few generations on my dad’s side, there was a bit of scandal that may or may not have involved the Crown Prince, but nothing was ever confirmed….”

Phil nodded, slower this time. Again, he tried to take a drink of water, but the questions were bursting inside of him to get out. He set the still full bottle back down on the table. “Right, sorry, still trying to get this straight. You’re telling me that the last twenty-two years of my life have been a lie? That all along you were just some English bloke I could have met at home?”

Dan seemed to take offense at this. “Hey, I’m not just some Engli-”

Phil cut him off. “I-I planned my life around this! I picked a course at uni that I could transfer internationally! I learned Denmark’s history! I studied this bloody language - do you know how hard is it to find Danish courses in England?!”

“Actually, I do,” Dan replied stiffly, “but what has any of that got to do with-”

But Phil pressed on. “All the nights I spent lying awake, worried I wouldn’t be able to communicate with my… my soulmate -” He spat out the last word in disgust, “And… And now…”

At the mention of that word, Dan’s gaze shifted away; suddenly he appeared very interested in the salt and pepper shakers.

Phil stopped abruptly, feeling ashamed. He could understand Dan’s response. Personally, Phil had known he was bisexual since he was fifteen, so the fact that the universe had paired him with another male didn’t come as a complete shock to him. But he had no way of knowing yet where Dan stood on the matter. Regardless, he definitely wasn’t making the best first impression.

“I’m sorry. I’m not normally like this.” Phil gestured an open hand vaguely around his head. “I - I hit my head,” he finished lamely.

“Yeah, you mentioned. Like three times now.” Most of the stiffness had gone from Dan’s tone. He watched as Phil rested his elbows on the table and brought his hands up to cover his face. This seemed to soften him even further. “Uh, how bad is it? Do you need to call someone?”

“No, no… It’s fine,” Phil muttered into his hands. “Just hurts.” He lowered his hands again and looked back up. “But… you did ask it, right? I mean…” For the second time that day, Phil held out his bare forearm to a stranger, revealing those four troublesome words: Er det dine briller. “These were your first words to me?”

Dan shifted in his seat. “Er… Well, yeah, but…”

Phil felt himself deflate at the response. “But you have a different tattoo,” he finished. Of course he did - how could Phil have been so stupid? “I’m so sorry, I should have known better. God, this day has been awful. I’m so sor-”

“Ja, du er min,” Dan whispered.

“Sorry?”

A little more confidently now, Dan spoke again, “Ja, du er min. That’s what you said back.”

“Wait.” Phil frowned, recalling the incident. “Didn’t I say det er min? As in, they - the sunglasses - are mine?”

“Nope.” Dan grinned and shook his head. “You definitely said du er min. As in, you are mine.”

“Aw damn it,” Phil muttered, “I’m always messing up the pronouns in this language.”

Dan snorted in amusement.

“Can… Can I see your tattoo then?” Phil asked tentatively.

Dan’s eyes darted down to his own lap. “Oh. Uh… Maybe another time.”  

Phil looked hurt. “If this is because of what I said before, I really am sorry. I never should have implied you weren’t who I thought you’d be. I was just so shocked and-”

“No, it’s not that,” Dan said quickly. “I just… don’t really feel comfortable showing you right now.”

Phil drew in a long, deep breath before biting his lower lip. This didn’t make any sense - nothing about this meeting had gone even remotely like he had pictured. His throat was tightening and he had to blink a few times to keep his tears in check. Crying in front of the man would really put the icing on the cake, wouldn’t it?

“You… You don’t want to show me your mark?” Phil questioned. He was fighting to keep the pleading tone out of his voice, but it slipped through anyway.

“Er, not right now, no,�� Dan confirmed. Though he looked apologetic.

“But you’re sure we’re soulmates?” Phil pressed on. “Like, sure sure?”

“Du er min,” Dan said with a nod.

“Then, I just don’t understand.” He was thoroughly exasperated now. “Why can’t I see it? I mean, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but we just met, so-”

“Exactly! We just met. Which is why I’m not particularly comfortable showing you such a private thing.”

“But then how will I-”

“It’s on my bum, alright?!” Dan exclaimed in frustration.

Phil blinked at him. “Sorry, what?”

“On my arse, in huge fucking block letters, I have a tattoo that says ‘Ja du er min’,” Dan clarified. “I can assure you, you are the first person to ever greet me with those exact words.”

At that point, Phil realized his mouth had been hanging open and quickly shut it. Virtually all soulmate tattoos were on perfectly innocuous parts of the body: arms, wrists, ankles, collarbones, feet. He’d heard once of a German teenager who’d come out claiming his mark was on his penis and that was why he’d been harassing half the girls at his school with dick pics. The story had been on the news and everything. But the mark had turned out to be fake - his real soulmate tattoo was at the base of his neck, covered by his long hair, and simply said ‘Nein’.

With wide eyes, Phil leaned in closer and whispered “…For real?”

His soulmate nodded miserably. He seemed thoroughly embarrassed.

“But… But that’s so cool!” Phil grinned.

Now it was Dan’s turn to blink back. “How is being tramp-stamped from birth in any way cool? Do you know what they call tattoos like that in Denmark?” he demanded.

Phil shook his head.

“Røvgevir. Ass antlers.”

But as Phil dissolved into giggles, Dan gave up trying to act annoyed. “Alright, it’s a little funny,” he admitted. “But realize that anytime I wanted to see my soulmate’s first words to me, I had to take down my pants and read them backwards in a mirror.”

“And it really says those exact words?” Phil giggled on.

“It really does. ‘Yes, you are mine’,” Dan recited back the translated version. He was snickering too now.

“God, you must have thought I’d be a serial killer!”

“Or perhaps a raging drunk,” Dan put in. “Speaking of…” His gaze traveled down to his backpack, then over to to the door. “Do you wanna get out of here?”

xx

After exiting the cafe, the two found a grocery store and stopped in to get some sandwiches and paper cups and plates to take with them. The rain had managed to stay away and, for the first day since Phil had arrived, the sun was actually shining. But even if they had walked directly into a hurricane, the day couldn’t have seemed anything but gorgeous to him.

Together, they crossed a few streets, and several minutes later arrived at the large square garden that surrounded Rosenborg Castle. Around them, there were people walking their dogs, riding bikes, or just relaxing in the rare bit of sunshine. Dan guided him over to a spot on the grass near a statue of Hans Christian Andersen and surprised Phil a bit by pulling a blanket from his backpack and spreading it out on the slightly damp grass.

But if the blanket had been unexpected, it only got stranger as Dan proceeded to pull an unopened bottle of champagne out of the bag. Phil looked at him curiously.

Dan shrugged at the reaction. “I always like to be prepared.” Noting Phil’s look of incredulousness, he laughed and explained, “Nah, I bought it when you went looking for the paper plates. It’s funny not getting asked for ID here - there’s no drinking age in Denmark, you know?”

Phil picked up the bottle and scanned the Danish label. “Looks fancy.”

“My dad told me this brand is the best.” Dan popped the cork off, seeming a little surprised as the fizz rushed out. Phil handed him two of the little paper cups and Dan poured them each one.

“Cheers,” Dan said. “Or I guess we should say skål.”

“Skål,” Phil repeated, tapping his paper cup to Dan’s. He took a sip of the liquid, but immediately had to fight to keep from scrunching up his face at the taste. Not wanting to offend his soulmate any more than he’d already done, he hummed, “Mmmm…”.

Dan, who had also sipped his, now frowned and peered into the cup. “Huh. Tastes like ass.”

“Yeah…” Phil agreed with a giggle. “I wasn’t gonna say anything, but…”

“Should’ve known Dad was taking the piss.” Dan scooted over to the edge of the blanket and poured his cupful out into the grass. “So much for that.”

“Still, it was a nice thought,” Phil said. “I should have thought to do something cool for you…”

Dan glanced down and his cheeks reddened again. “Oh no, it’s no big deal,” he mumbled quickly. He looked back up. “And you said you’d been learning Danish, didn’t you? That’s a huge something.”

Phil gave a humorless laugh. “Yeah, that was a great use of my time, wasn’t it?” With a sigh, he lay back on the blanket and brought his hands up over his face again. “This day has been so humiliating,” he moaned. “Why does this soulmate business have to be so complicated?”

Dan laughed and joined Phil in stretching out on the blanket. “Tell me about it.”

xx

Phil made it about thirty minutes into their picnic before an acute increase in pain and dizziness upon sitting up caused him to vomit his half-sandwich and ass-champagne over the side of the blanket. Mortified, he tried to stand up and move away, but his world was spinning so much that he would have toppled right over if not for Dan grabbing his arm to steady him.

“Whoa, hey, hold on,” Dan commanded as Phil tried to pull away from his grip. “You need to sit back down.”

“I-I need to g-go,” Phil slurred, not entirely sure where he was trying to get to. Besides away, that is. Preferably some place dark and quiet and far removed from other humans. His head was pounding.

“I know, we’re going, just hold on,” Dan assured, though he sounded nervous. Once he was convinced Phil could stand on his own, Dan ducked away to gather everything back into his bag. Phil let his eyes close as he swayed in place, just focusing on remaining upright.

Things were a blur from that point on, due mainly to the persistent ringing in Phil’s ears. Dan moved him to a park bench and then started asking him all kinds of questions. But Dan’s voice was hard to make out - almost like Phil was underwater - so Phil couldn’t give many answers. The questioning finally stopped when a concerned-looking Dan took out his phone and stepped a few paces away to make a call.

About ten minutes later, Dan was ushering Phil into a taxi. Phil had a vague sense that he really shouldn’t be getting into a cab with a man he’d just met an hour or two before, soulmate or not, but he was feeling too out of it to protest. Next thing Phil knew, he was being led into a reception area of a bright waiting room and nudged toward a chair.

“…This a hospital?” Phil mumbled as he sank into his seat. The change in location had made him feel a bit more coherent.

Dan scratched the top of his head, looking awkward. “Yeah… I think you need to get your head checked.”

“Rude.”

“What?” Dan frowned at first, but then his eyes widened in understanding. “Oh no, not like that! I just meant because of the…” He trailed off as he noticed Phil was smirking at him. “Oh. Got your sense of humor back, I see.”

Phil giggled a bit. Gingerly, he lifted his hand up to feel the lump on the back of his skull and winced. It had definitely gotten bigger.

“I should go sign you in,” Dan decided, glancing to the front desk. “Have you got an ID on you?”

Nodding slowly, Phil reached into his pocket and pulled a card from his wallet. “I hope they speak English here,” he mumbled, passing the card to Dan.

“I wouldn’t worry about it.” Dan dismissed him with a shrug. “Pretty much everyone here does.” Once again, Phil felt dumb for having spent so many years worrying about the potential language barrier.

Dan examined the card. “So it’s Lester, is it?” he mused. Phil gave a small grunt of confirmation. “Philip Michael Lester… I like it.” Nodding to himself, Dan turned and took the card up to the reception desk.

The waiting room was surprisingly quiet for a hospital, which Phil greatly appreciated. If only it wasn’t so damn bright. He let his eyes close to block the light out. He must have started drifting off because a few moments later he felt someone gently nudging him back awake. Phil opened his eyes to see Dan had returned and was poking his shoulder, holding a clipboard in the other hand.

“You really shouldn’t sleep with a head injury,” Dan said as he sat down in the chair beside Phil. “This happened to my cousin once and I remember my aunt had to keep waking her up.”

Phil gave a tired grunt in response, his gaze falling to the clipboard which Dan had balanced on his lap.

“Normally they’d just have you scan your ID and then all your info is in the system already, but it won’t work because you’re not from Denmark so we’ve got these forms instead,” Dan rambled in explanation. Phil really couldn’t have cared less how the Danish healthcare system worked at the moment, but he nodded anyway. Leaning forward in his seat, Phil rested his elbows on his knees, allowing him to support his forehead in his hands.

“Do you live with your parents?” Dan’s voice asked.

“Just right now,” Phil mumbled back into his hands. “I’m planning on moving out soon… just don’t have things quite…” he trailed off feeling slightly embarrassed.

Embarrassment was really the emotion of the day for Phil. In the past twelve hours, he had accused a random Danish lady of being his soulmate, then gotten knocked down by a pack of dogs and helped to his feet by a man who turned out to be his actual soulmate, spluttered at him in a foreign language only to discover he spoke English all along, offended the man, and finally made up with him only long enough to puke all over his picnic.

“It’s okay, I live with my family too, whenever I’m home from uni,” Dan said, cutting his thoughts off. “Do you know your mum’s phone number?”

“Er… seven, one…” He closed his eyes tighter and rubbed at them. “Or…Or maybe it ends in seven one?” Normally he knew the number, but his head felt fuzzy and he was tired - so tired.

“That’s alright. What’s her name?”

“Mum…” Phil answered sleepily. His eyes were closed, so he missed Dan’s eyeroll. The tiredness won out and Phil drifted back off again until Dan’s voice startled him back to reality. “Wha..?” Phil mumbled.

“I asked if you’re on any medications,” Dan repeated his question.

Phil frowned. Soulmates or not, surely that wasn’t appropriate to ask someone you’d just met. “No? Are you?”

“Huh?” Dan replied. “Why?”

“Well why did you ask me?” Phil tried to demand. But it came out more like a whine.

Dan giggled a little, tilting the clipboard Phil’s direction as he did so. “Because it’s line twelve on this form.”

“Oh.”

After having filled out as much as he could, Dan returned the forms to the desk and Phil’s name was soon called by a nurse. Dan helped him to his feet and followed him to the doorway, but the nurse stopped him there.

“Sorry, only family is allowed in the exam room,” she said gently.

“Oh okay, I’ll wait here,” Dan said, turning.

“No!” Phil protested, more forcefully than he’d intended. Both Dan and the nurse froze. “I just mean, can’t he stay?” Phil pleaded. “We’re… we’re soulmates.”

Dan looked uncomfortable. “It’s okay,” he assured, glancing down to his feet. “I can just wait.”

“Please?” Phil begged. He wasn’t scared of hospitals exactly, but they always made him nervous, especially now when he wasn’t thinking totally clearly. Plus, having finally met Dan, he had no desire to let the man out of his sight so soon.

The nurse cast him a sympathetic smile before giving a quick nod and leading both of them back to the room.

The exam was fairly straight forward. First Phil had recounted the story of how he’d injured himself after being tripped by a cycling dog-walker (which the doctor declared with a chuckle to be the most Danish accident he’d ever heard). Then he’d been given both a physical and neurological exam, the latter requiring Phil to repeat certain words and solve a few very simple puzzles. In the end, he was diagnosed with a mild to moderate concussion.

“For the next 24 to 48 hours, it’s important that someone monitors you,” the doctor went on to explain to his increasingly drowsy patient. “Since it doesn’t seem to be too serious, it’s not necessary that you stay here overnight, so long as you have a family member or friend who can check you regularly to ensure your condition doesn’t worsen.” He glanced over to Dan. “The two of you are traveling together?”

“Er, well, not exactly…” Dan began sheepishly. “We sorta met today.”

“…But we’re soulmates,” Phil added groggily. Dan’s cheeks reddened.

The doctor raised his eyebrows. “Congratulations are in order then. This is a big day for the two of you -  a shame it had to end in meeting me,” he chuckled. Turning back to Phil, he asked, “Do you have someone who can stay with you to monitor your condition? Otherwise I’ll have to admit you.”

“Uhh…” Though Phil’s head was feeling better than it had two hours ago, he still felt like he was in a fog. He recognized all the words being spoken to him but it was as if they were devoid of any meaning. “I… what?” he asked. He glanced over to Dan and gave him a confused look.

“He’s asking if you have friends in Copenhagen that you’re staying with,” Dan clarified. “Or if you need to sleep here.”

Phil latched onto the second part of that question and frowned. “No, I don’t wanna sleep here.”

“I understand,” the doctor said kindly, “but someone needs to look after you for the next day or two.”

Whether it was from the concussion affecting his emotions or the realization that he might have to spend the night alone in a foreign hospital, Phil suddenly felt like crying. He bit his lower lip to keep it from quivering.

“I can stay with him,” Dan piped up, then turned to address Phil. “I mean, if you’re okay with that of course.”

Quickly brushing the tear that was threatening to roll down his cheek away with his hand, Phil cast him a grateful smile.

Satisfied that his patient would be monitored, the doctor went on to explain to Dan exactly how to do the neurological checks and what to do if Phil’s condition changed. Phil used this opportunity to let his heavy eyelids drop, not exactly sleeping but not really listening either.

After a few more minutes, he heard the door click shut as the doctor left and was nudged back to alertness.

“Alright, time to go,” Dan said gently. He helped Phil to his feet and guided him through the door. “I’ll need to call my dad when we get outside to let him know I’ll be staying with a friend tonight.”

Phil looked confused as they entered the hallway. “I thought… I thought you were staying with me?”

Dan rolled his eyes and gave a half-laugh. “It’s you, Phil. You’re the friend.”

“Oh. That’s good.” Phil smiled sleepily. Dan was good company, he decided.

xx

“Phil? Phil, time to wake up.” Someone was gently shaking Phil’s shoulder.

“No…” Phil groaned back without opening his eyes. He tried to tug the duvet up higher around his neck, but the someone was sitting on it. “Tired.”

“This will only take a few minutes,” the voice continued on. Under his breath, he added, “Just like the last five times…”

Eventually, Phil managed to pry his eyes open. He was in a small room lying on a double bed, engulfed in a very white duvet. Next to him sat a man who looked exceedingly familiar, but whom Phil couldn’t quite place. His confusion turned to panic and he sat up quickly. At the sudden movement, his head rushed and then started pounding.

“Whoa careful there…” the man warned. He reached out a hand toward Phil’s shoulder, but Phil scooted himself back against the headboard.

“Who are you?” Phil demanded.

“That was actually my first question for you,” replied the other with a smirk. He held up a small notepad and waved it in Phil’s direction. That also was definitely familiar. “Go on then, who am I? You know this one - at least you did an hour ago.”

Phil’s face screwed up in concentration. It was on the tip of his tongue. “Er….”

“I’ll give you a hint. Starts with D.”

“D?” Phil’s face screwed up in thought. “D… Don? Dave? Dan!” It was all flooding back now. “You’re Dan. I met you today. We had a picnic and you made me drink champagne that tasted like ass.”

“Ooh you’re getting better at this,” Dan remarked. He jotted something down on the notepad. “Took you three more hints last time. And you are?”

“I’m Phil.”

“Good.” Dan made another note. “Know where we are?”

Phil looked around. There was a desk in the corner of the room containing a phone, a mini electric kettle, tiny coffee cups barely large enough to hold two gulps of liquid each, and a stack of what looked to be tourist information brochures in mainly red and white colors. “A hotel,” he deduced. “In Copenhagen. Because I’m on holiday.”

“Excellent,” Dan confirmed. “And that goose egg you’re currently sporting on your skull which necessitates this hourly game of twenty questions is because…?”

Phil screwed up his face in thought. “I think… I fell?”

Dan snorted. “Technically, yes, you fell. Multiple choice bonus question: a group of what species animal tripped you? A, pigeons, B, dogs, or C, squirrels?”

Phil grinned. “Did you know that a group of squirrels is called a scurry?”

“You’ve mentioned that a few times now.” Dan smiled and shook his head slowly as he made another note on the pad. “Funny how that detail sticks when I can’t for the life of me get you to remember the current prime minister…”

“…And a group of ferrets is called a business,” Phil added helpfully.

“Yes, yes, moving on…” Dan answered without looking up from his paper. “What’s the square root of sixteen?”

“Uh… eight?”

“Amazing,” Dan remarked, making a note on the sheet. “No matter what your level of coherency is, you consistently believe that to be eight.”

Phil frowned. “It’s not?”

Dan gave an exasperated sigh, indicating they’d gone over this a few times already. “It’s four, Phil. Four squared is sixteen. Ergo, the square root of sixteen is four.”

Phil gave a sheepish smile. “Yeah… I haven’t had maths for a few years…”

“I’m starting to gather that much,” Dan muttered. He ran his pen down the list one last time. “Alright, you passed. You’re cleared to sleep.”

Phil’s smile faded. “Oh.” He was feeling a lot more alert than he had in awhile and wasn’t quite ready to return to unconsciousness. He glanced around for a clock. “What time is it?”

“Around midnight,” Dan answered. He stood from the bed and transferred over to the desk chair, settling right down into it. “We got back to the hotel at half six and you’ve been out since then. Except for our little interrogations every hour.”

“What have you been doing in between?”

Dan gestured to the small TV on the wall. The sound was muted, so Phil hadn’t even noticed it was on until now. The camera was panning out to show a group of islanders participating in some kind of physical challenge involving paddling a raft full of coconuts.

“What show is that?” Phil asked.

“The Danish version of Survivor, I think. That or it’s a really weird porno - with this country you can never quite tell. I’ve seen four dicks so far. They don’t even blur them out.”

Phil giggled at this. “I saw a bunch of Danish films to help me practice before I came here. I understand.”

Dan raised his eyebrows. “You really went all in, didn’t you?”

“I guess I was just nervous,” Phil said with a shrug. “I wanted to be sure I could relate to you, you know?”

“But isn’t the whole point of a soulmate that you don’t have to worry about that? That you have a promise from the day you’re born that someone out there is going to be perfect for you?” There was something odd about the way Dan said it - an almost bitter undertone.

“Well, yeah, in theory,” Phil defended. “But can you honestly say you never worried about getting along with your soulmate?”

“Didn’t really have to,” Dan mumbled under his breath.

Phil was about to ask what he meant by that when his soulmate brought his hand up to his mouth to cover a massive yawn. “Haven’t you slept at all?” Phil asked.

Dan shook his head. “Not yet. I was going to see if maybe they have a rollaway mattress I can borrow.”

“Oh.” Phil felt a little twinge of guilt. He glanced to his side. “You can take the bed if you want. I’ve slept a lot already…” But even as he suggested this, he felt his own eyelids drooping. Stupid head injuries.

Dan gave a half-laugh and waved Phil off with his hand. “There is no way I’m kicking the guy who’s so concussed that he was unsure of his own name a few hours ago out of the only bed in the room. I’m fine here.”

“Or…” Phil glanced over to the space next to him. “We could just share?”

Dan looked skeptical. “Oh. I don’t know…”

“I mean, unless that’s weird for you,” Phil backpedaled. “I just thought, you know…”

“No, it’s not that,” Dan said quickly. “Just, I don’t want it to seem like, I don’t know, like… I’m taking advantage?” His intonation went up at the end of his sentence, making the words sound more like a question than a statement. “You know, moving too fast?”

Phil thought this was a bit of an odd thing to worry about, given that the universe had already quite literally granted them its stamp of approval. In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for newly discovered soulmates to actually sleep together on the eve of their first meeting (though each generation denied to their parents that this was the case). But he just shrugged. “You’ve already seen me fall on my head, throw up my lunch, and forget my own name. I don’t know how much more intimate we can get.”

“You’ve got a point there,” Dan admitted. He flicked off the TV and stood to his feet. “Alright, budge up.”

xx

Dan and Phil got up late the next morning, exhausted from the hourly coherency checks. Or, at least they started out hourly. By three am, Phil had declared himself (in a rather whiny voice) to be “completely healed” and Dan hadn’t been awake enough to argue, so they’d finally silenced the alarms for good and eventually woken to sunlight streaming in through the curtained window. Thankfully, the extra rest seemed to have done Phil a lot of good - his head felt much clearer.

“What exactly is this?” Phil questioned, indicating the very dark, dense bread his soulmate was currently spreading - no, spackling - with butter. The two were seated in the small dining area of the hotel, eating their complimentary breakfast.

“It’s called rugbrød,” Dan explained. He added a piece of cheese on top before passing it over to Phil. “It’s like pumpernickel on steroids.”

Phil took a small bite and chewed it slowly. He’d never been much of a fan of cheese, and this grainy brick-like bread wasn’t helping.

Dan smirked at him, before taking a bite out of his own piece. “Kinda gotta get used to the texture,” he explained with his mouth full, “but between this stuff and potatoes, that’s like 90% of the Danish diet right there.”

“I’m starting to think I might not be cut out for the Danish lifestyle,” Phil said. He wrinkled his nose up and carefully set the bread back on his plate. “First the bicycling dog walkers… now this.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Dan reassured. “Even my dad can’t stand rugbrød and he’s lived here seven years.” He passed Phil one of the plain white bread rolls they’d grabbed as back up.

Phil took the roll gratefully. “It’s funny, really.” He started spreading it with butter. “All my life, I just assumed that I’d end up living in Denmark. It’s weird suddenly feeling like… I dunno, like, I have a choice, I guess.”

Dan nodded thoughtfully. “Like you’re in control for once.”

“Exactly.” He added a piece of ham to his roll and took a bite. “It’s a weird feeling.” Privately, Phil wasn’t sure whether or not he liked this feeling. There was something comforting in the idea that the universe - God or whatever was up there - was looking out for him. That he was part of some greater plan.

They ate in silence for a few moments before Dan said quietly, “You know… sometimes I wonder if this whole soulmate mark business isn’t more trouble than it’s worth.”

“What do you mean?” Phil asked, looking puzzled. “If we didn’t have our marks, how could we ever be sure we’re with the right person?”

“But even with them we can’t be sure sometimes,” Dan countered. “Like my parents for instance. Both of them have ‘Hello’.”

Phil winced in sympathy. Greeting word marks were among the most common soulmate tattoos for sure - he’d had three classmates with ‘Hi’ in primary school alone.

“Nearly everyone they met was a potential candidate,” Dan went on. “They’d known each other four years before they finally decided they might be soulmates and went ahead and got married. Never really could be completely sure.” He paused and then added in a subdued tone, “I kind of think it was the uncertainty that made them split up in the end.”

Phil didn’t really know what to say to that, so he settled for making a small humming noise in his throat. Dan was looking as though he regretted adding that last part. It was understandable; due to most folk’s fervent belief in destiny, divorce was rare. The soulmate bond was something that was meant to be unbreakable.

Quietly, Dan began gathering their used plates and cups together. “It goes the other way too,” he went on after a moment. “One of my uncles… well, he and his wife were definitely soulmates. I can’t remember quite what their tattoos were but it was something completely random, to the point where there was no question they were meant to be. But after a few months, she started being really awful to him - verbally, mostly, but then sometimes she’d hit him too. And my uncle wouldn’t leave her. He said they were meant to be together and nothing should ever separate what fate had joined.” Dan paused and shook his head slowly.

Phil was floored. “But how could that happen? If they were really supposed to be soulmates, how could she treat him that way?”

There was distinct bitterness in Dan’s reply. “Yeah, well the Howell family has never had much luck with the soulmate business.”

Together, they rose from the table and started walking their dishes over to the cart in the corner. “I’m sorry,” Phil said softly. “About your family.”

“It’s not your fault,” Dan said with a shrug. “It’s not really anyone’s fault.” He inhaled deeply before adding on the exhale, so low that Phil just barely made it out, “And that’s the worst part.”

xx

Phil’s flight back to England would be at seven that evening, so after their meal, the two made their way back to the hotel room to prepare to check out. Though they’d been chatting easily earlier in the day, Dan had stayed fairly quiet since their conversation at breakfast. He sat on the floor next to Phil, seemingly lost in thought as the other stuffed his final dirty socks into his mess of a suitcase.

“What are you thinking about?” Phil asked finally, in what he hoped was a casual voice.

“Nothing really,” Dan replied, without looking up. “Just… well it’s weird, isn’t it? To think we just met yesterday and now you’ll be leaving again.”

“Yeah, but we’ll see each other again,” Phil promised. “Once you’re back home, it’s only about a four hour train ride from my house in England to yours. And there’s always Skype.”

“I guess.” Dan sighed lightly. He noticed the corner of a t-shirt sticking out from under the bed, pulled it out, and tossed the shirt over to Phil.

Phil caught it with a grin. “Thanks.”

Dan hummed in acknowledgement, then let his gaze move back straight ahead of him. Phil started zipping the now overstuffed suitcase closed.

“I swear this all fit when I left home,” Phil grunted as he struggled.

“That’s how it always is, isn’t it?” Dan mused. He seemed to be mustering up the courage to say something. “Er… Phil?”

“Yeah?”

“Uh…” Dan began again. “Before you leave…”

Phil paused and looked over. Dan was tugging at his shirt sleeves absently now. “I meant to say it before,” Dan went on. “But I just didn’t know the right time and then you were hurt and all wonky so I didn’t want to do it then…”

“What is it?” Phil asked. His heart was beating faster now.

“I just…” He took a deep breath, which seemed to strengthen his resolve. “It’s about my tattoo,” he blurted. “It’s…” Another breath. “It’s not like it’s…” He started again, then paused. Two breaths this time. “I didn’t exactly… “ He trailed off.

But he couldn’t seem to get the words out.

Finally, Phil spoke instead, his voice low. “It’s alright. I know.”

Dan looked surprised. “What?”

“I know, Dan,” Phil repeated softly. Abandoning the suitcase and crawling across the floor to Dan’s side, he let out a half-laugh of irony. “God knows I’ve been trying to convince myself otherwise, but I’ve known.” Now it was his turn for a breath. “We’re not really soulmates.”

In a flat voice Dan asked, “When’d you figure it out?”

“I’ve had doubts the whole time,” Phil said. “You won’t show me the mark, you look uncomfortable every time I say the word…” He smiled sadly. “I just couldn’t figure out why you’d lie about something like this.”

“But I didn’t lie…” Dan started.

Phil rolled his eyes. “Dan, c’mon. In that cafe, I flat out asked you if we were soulmates.”

“No,” Dan said quickly, “You asked I had a different tattoo. Which I don’t.”

“Same thing.”

“No, it’s not. Look, I’m sorry - I wasn’t honest. I don’t have your mark.” At Phil’s frown, Dan’s words started tumbling out even faster, as though he was scared if he didn’t let them all out at once, Phil would cut in. “But I didn’t lie - not exactly! I was watching you, because… well, because I thought you were cute and I knew I could never have anyone like you for real, and I know that makes me sound like a stalker but I swear I’m not!”

He paused for a breath before diving right in again. “Then you tripped. So I came over because I just wanted to see if you were alright, and your sunglasses were just laying there so I picked them up, but your sleeve was rolled up and your tattoo was right there. And I read it and it just fit so perfectly - like it was meant for that exact moment! And so I asked it - er det dine briller? And your eyes just lit up, and for once in my life I felt like destiny was on my side.”

“But you don’t have my mark,” Phil countered. “We don’t match. You’re meant for someone else.”

“I’m not! I’ll prove it!” Before Phil had time to register what was happening, Dan had stood up and whipped off his own t-shirt. Next came the socks. But as Dan started unbuckling his belt, Phil regained his wits.

“Whoa! What are you doing?” Phil exclaimed, throwing Dan’s shirt back at him. “Put your clothes back on!”

Dan made no attempt to catch the shirt and it fell to the floor next to him. “But don’t you see?” he asked desperately, fingers still fumbling with the buckle. “I’m nobody’s! I have no mark! Nothing! No one!”

Tears were starting to run from Dan’s red eyes down his cheeks now. His words came out thick with emotion. “The universe - God, or whoever is up there - looked at me and decided there was no one compatible with my soul. My parents thought I’d die young - maybe that would have been better than growing up knowing from the start that no one would ever love me like that!”

Phil sat frozen in shock. When a baby was born unmarked, it was always a sobering occurrence. Usually, it meant that the child would die before ever speaking their first words. One of his cousins had been unmarked and died a mere six hours after birth. But to live to be Dan’s age without a tattoo at all was unheard of.

Phil’s attention was drawn to a long, jagged scar on Dan’s otherwise unmarked torso. It started just below his ribs and stretched several inches to the top of his belly button. Dan seemed to sense Phil’s gaze. “A doctor told my parents once he had a theory it might be on the inside,” Dan said in a whisper, running his fingers over the scar. “I was seven years old when I decided I had to find it.”

Phil felt faint. “You… You did that to yourself?”

Dan nodded. “Used the pocket knife Dad got me for my birthday that year. Mum had a fit when she walked into the bathroom and found me in the middle of my little surgery.” In a lower voice, he added, “It was one of the last fights they had before they split.”

“I… I don’t know what to say,” Phil stammered.

Dan laughed humorlessly. “No one ever does.” His tears had stopped just as abruptly as they’d started and he wiped them away roughly with the back of his hand.

It was a long moment before Phil spoke again, and the words came out cold. “You still lied to me.”

“And I’m not trying to get your sympathy - I swear,” Dan assured. “Just… trying to give you a reason.”

Phil let out a long exhale. Finally, he stood and moved back to the suitcase to finish zipping it. “I think I’m going to go now. I’ll get a cab to the airport. It was nice meeting you, Dan. I just… I need to think.”

“I know,” Dan whispered. “I’m really sorry.”

“Me too.”

With that, Phil turned and starting walking to the door, wheeling his luggage behind him. But upon reaching the doorway, he stopped and spun around again.

“One question,” Phil demanded. “Your mark - why’d you say it was on your bum?”

Dan looked sheepish. “I panicked,” he answered simply.

Phil waited a second for an explanation, but none came.

“Alright then,” Phil said finally, the faintest hint of a smirk visible on his features. “I’ll see you around, Dan.”

And then, Phil really did leave.

xx

It was a chilly morning in November. Dan paced the platform of the train station anxiously. The butterflies in his stomach had given up fluttering the moment the train had arrived and taken to dive-bombing his insides instead. His eyes scanned the crowd, taking in each arriving passenger as they stepped off.

It had taken Phil five days after he’d flown back to England before he’d even replied to a message, and another three after that before he’d agreed to a phone call. He’d said he needed time to think over everything, and Dan had thought that more than fair.

Now, four months and countless Skype calls later, the two were finally meeting up again. Dan spotted his friend in the crowd.

“Phil!” he cried. Dan waved an arm in the other man’s direction. Phil turned his head at the sound and broke into a grin. He pulled his backpack on and rushed over before throwing his arms around Dan and pulling him in tightly for a hug.

“Whoa,” Dan giggled, caught off guard. “What happened to ‘We’ll take it slow this time’?”

Phil shrugged. “Slow is a relative term. We’ve already slept together.”

“Platonically!” Dan argued, releasing himself. “And that was when you were convinced that fate had already given us its stamp of approval.”

“I mean, didn’t it though?” Phil asked seriously. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot the last four months. Your first words to me are tattooed on my skin. Isn’t that how this whole game works?”

“Yes but I cheated,” Dan pointed out. “I read your arm.”

Phil shrugged. “Who’s to say you weren’t destined to cheat?”

At this, Dan rolled his eyes. “Sure Phil, that’s totally how this works.”

Epilogue:

*Seven years later*

“Dan? You almost done in there? I need to shower!” Phil’s voice called from outside the bathroom door.

“I’ll be out in a minute!” Dan called back to his boyfriend. Reluctantly, he began pulling up his trousers, covering the still healing script of the freshly aquired tattoo that he’d been admiring in the full length mirror. He giggled at the recollection of himself and Phil, stumbling drunk into the parlor last week, declaring they’d had the most brilliant idea ever.

His ass now agreed. “Ja, Phil,” he giggled, “du er min.”

To read my other fics, click here!

[nostalgic-blood]

so i went to california a few weeks ago and...

No, I didn’t go ham. I had friends who were like “HERE HAVE THIS” and then I had this thing, and later went to a convention and THEN I went ham. 

Also this was my first non-family trip so I sort of bought a souvenir anywhere I deemed important enough to do so... America, you took a lot of my money. Oh and Disneyland too. 

...also I couldn’t fit some things and forgot others in that top pic.

this wall scroll my cat is trying to destroy

a backpack I bought solely so I was able to even bring all this back, and the posters/prints I STILL needed a friend to ship back anyway...

and this cute koishi i bought, all of three of which were from fanime, yes...

Disneyland souvenirs! A friend (Souless) bought the one of the left. You may have noticed Minnie Mouse ears on the first photo! I didn’t actually get them from Disneyland itself, t’was a gift from our Disneyland veteran who led us to many-a-ride and the least amount of waittime possible, Souless’ fiance Kat. :)

And yes Inside Out is my favourite Pixar movie. Watched Coco recently which was really good, but it’s only second to Inside Out. P:

Let’s start off with my ridiculous friends who decided I needed to own more merch:

All of this was bought by my friend Cannibalfood AKA Akira who went to cons and saw stuff I might like but never got around to actually shipping them to me.. and then, came with me to California and brought this stuff. This is why Negima is on there. It’s been that long.

Oh the non-weeb stuff is souvenirs I got with her while we were in San Fran, including Alcatraz touristy photos since we have few pictures together, a taxidermy place where we each got matching stingray barbs, how romantic. The rock was my very first souvenir. I wasn’t expecting on buying anything else in that shop, so it is the most boring thing here.

Here’s a look at the Touhou artbooks!

One of two CDs, this one with best 2hu on it. I recall from reading the back that one of these has some TAMUSIC on it, which has lovely classical pieces. 

Here’s a semi-random page with some artwork. I recognize some of the artists!

The other one! I cannot read anything in these books, and yes there’s plenty of text as well as the art.

Some sample of the art! I’ll have to revisit these books later but from first glance I think I prefer the art of the first book? Idk.

Next is stuff given to me by various people. The gacha is from Magus, the guy who I stayed at for about half the trip and spent the entire trip WITH since he also went down to SLO and I also shared hotels with him for Fanime. Awesome host, will do again. 10/10. I have another button from someone else but I accidentally included it wit my fanime merch pile photos, so it’ll be along shortly.

The dreamcatcher was made by SlimeMush’s friend who I paid $10 for, and for some mysterious reason it kept being returned to him every time he tried to send it to me. I couldn’t get a good pic of it alone because my cat kept attacking the feathers. SlimeMush also gave me the Flareon button! Apparently all the Eeveelutions he had went to those whose favourite was so-and-so, and apparently there’s equal amounts of love for all of them except for the two he kept himself because he loved them the most. Yes. Flareon is my favourite. :D

The gacha is a ditto + a ditto version of Sableye. 

This Monster Hunter blindbox was given to me by Wolfe, whom I’ve had a few MonHun merch exchanges with so far. I also gave him a MonHun figure from another line, which I’ll elaborate further (because I gave them all out similar to SlimeMush giving out the Eeveelution buttons) and kept whichever was left behind. This is Monoblos! I didn’t fight him all too often so I don’t have much impression of it as a monster, also I thought he was white but w/e, still very cool looking to add to my collection!

Now of all my loot THIS is the stuff I really could have done without in terms of when and where I spent my money. I bought that Incineroar evolution line figure sort of on a whim at a random city in the middle of nowhere, California while on the long drive down to SLO. The Touhou blindboxes, Digimon CD, and RWBY manga came from Kinokuniya in Japantown. Just wanted to buy them because. Even if the Tri series was mediocre in the end the nostalgia still has a strong grip on my heart, especially that music with Kouji Wada. ;_;

And the most touristy thing was buying this wind chime at a gift shop in a spa that I really didn’t need but it was pretty so w/e.

See? Pretty.

The results of the blindboxes. Not the luckiest result as I wanted other characters but you CANNOT SAY NO TO WEEB MERCH!

As much as I have been distancing myself from the show, RWBY’s manga has wondrous art. It also decided to focus on some random unknown side character named Ruby instead of the main characters, which I thought while was quite the bold move, was rather refreshing. 

DELICIOUS WEISS BACKSTORY. I recall posting something about this particular chapter on here before. YEEEEE!

So yeah I went to the island prison in San Francisco where AAAAAALL the tourists go. In my defence I have a genuine interest in prisons. Just ask my 300k RWBY fanfiction in which the first quarter of it is set in a prison. It is also not my first prison fic. I put lots of research in that setting to write that kind of shit. 

Also all the souvenirs were the most gimmicky things possible that I didn’t think I’d ever use or would just be paperweight. Except this bag! I may actually use this bag! I know!

And excluding the stuff that is too big or I forgot to take a pic of near the beginning of the post, THIS was the Fanime loot! Magus got me the Monokuma onesie which was extremely nice of him and now I am no longer perpetually cold. Ah yes the warmth of the hide of a psychotic bear. So good.

I could not believe the artist who made one of my favourite Aya pics EVER was at the artist alley. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. Obviously this was an instant purchase. This was my phone background for the longest of times. She had Touhou artbooks too but they sold in the first twenty minutes of the first day of the artist alley. Wow. My friend may try to snag me some at AX in July, so here’s hoping!

I didn’t see a lot of specifically Weiss prints there, and this was the best of the lot IMO. My only wish was that it was a brighter print, or that Weiss herself being so white would stand out more because it’s the least noticeable thing on my wall atm, which is a shame. 

I say this when I saw precisely ONE Aya print (jackpot) and one of another coming up in this bombardment of pics.

THIS IS PERHAPS THE MOST PROVOCATIVE ONE HERE LOL. But it was the only Tenko, and DRV3 merch was the most difficult of everything I was looking for to find. Unlike 95% of Tenko art SHE ACTUALLY HAS VISIBLE ABS HERE, which according to the official artbooks she’s supposed to have, so bonus points for that. I had a brief discussion with the artist too and we both agreed Tenko was the best and Ouma was overrated. He has great taste.

Overwatch on the other hand was all over the place in this con, from merch to art, to cosplayers. There were so many cosplayers they didn’t even have enough time to run through half of the tanks and all the supports at the shoot! So sad, so sad. This piece of Widowmaker is beautiful though, so I had to have it.

I saw this online a while back and really loved this image of all the Overwatch ladies being formal. There was a suit-version too, but for whatever reason I preferred this one. Sadly this print is quite small, as it probably would have benefited the most in being larger what with the many characters and thus detail.

Out of all this mess the one thing I wanted the most and hunted for the most was charms. I found NO GOOD CHARMS that fitted my taste and interest, and the closest were these buttons. Oh, and I met my good friend Raphyninja at Fanime and he gave me EXCLUSIVE RAPHYNINA MERCH! Thus that button being here and not in the friendo pile. ANYWAY. There was a deal, 3 for 5, so aside from the obvious ones I grabbed Kork. I love Kork. I didn’t think I would for that type of character, but somehow DRV3 managed it. He will of course be very far away from Tenko and Himiko though. >_>

Here’s a page from one of the Touhou doujins I got, which in hindsight I maybe should not have got? Way too late I noticed that I recognized the seller who I think showed up on a Tumblr post warning of a creeper at the Touhou shoots. He’d try to take pics of cosplayers in a private hotel room at weird, uncomfortable angles as far as I remember, so uh, oops? I was just so excited at finding Touhou doujin for the first time ever that I paid zero attention to the person selling so hopefully I am wrong and they were just someone that resembled that person.

Also I recognized this artist for their cute Satori Koishi content, but could not find any of their Koishi doujins. Sadness.

I bought two Monster Hunter blindboxes at Fanime because CLEARLY I need more, right. I got a Nargacuga, including the box left remaining in the pile I gave away and the one I already have...  I now have three Nargacugas. That’s quite a lot for something I never fought before...

I also got this tiny Zinogre. If we include my buttons I have FOUR Nargacugas now and FOUR Zinogres. The difference is I have fought Zinogre multiple times (I have no idea exactly because I have 600 hours in 4U >_>) and actually really like him! Sadly, in grand tradition like the last time I visited San Francisco (when I was five) I lost something, that being my favourite MonHun button, Zinogre. It is now in the wild with my teddy bear and my hat, forever gone in the California abyss. ):

I got this at the swap meet for 6 dollars. It may not have a stand and is rather dusty, but damn is that a bargain. My only regret is not having the GIGA DRILL BREAKAAAA model instead. I also got that Monokuma bag there too, but that was just because I went there and couldn’t find a single thing I wanted until I saw the bag, which I was on the fence on but wanted to buy SOMETHING from there and got it, thinking that was it ... but then this and the Touhou doujins showed up, soooooo...

Finally this other Nargacuga that was left behind became my monster in that line of figures, the rest in the hands of my friends. It’s actually cuter than I expected, and barely fit in this cheap crappy display case I bought at a Daiso. I moved my dresser a nudge and the Pokemon fell over, so yeah. 

You may have noticed a drop in quality in the photos and that’s because I cannot be bothered to touch up such a gargantuan amount of images anymore, not with the time I have. Would be nice tho. SO, THAT IS THE GIANT POST OF SPOTTO’S MERCH, NOW WITH 100% MORE QUANTITY THAN BEFORE! I spent too much money so I might as well get something out of it by BRAGGING about it! Right? 

Ye.

[theloniousbach]

PROGRAM NOTES: WGTE'S JAZZ SPECTRUM, 5 DECEMBER 2020

Back in early November, my old friend asked if I wanted to put together a show. He'd had some election time voting rights legal work and probably needed a breather. I offered this playlist as a draft show for 14 November, but he fell ill on 11 November and this simply remained in the queue.

I'm really really glad he's better and pleased that this show got aired.

I had contributed some of the Charlie Parker Centenary segments and experimented with grand themes shows (in September in celebration of Artemis's album release or a celebration of St Louis's jazz heritage). This show recycles elements of those drafts, but I loosen things up to make a series of smaller statements and follow threads, some of which are there to amuse me. Above all, I tried to include some of the compositions that have caught my ear. There is also plenty of Ellington/Strayhorn and Monk as there should be every week.

These notes then are to explain the little puzzles and to remind myself of the inside jokes.

SET 1

Anat Cohen Tentet, Happy Song, “Happy Song”

Artemis, Artemis, “Goddess of the Hunt”

Ingrid Jensen/Steve Treseler, Invisible Sounds, “Everybody’s Song But My Own”

Happy Song just makes me happy just as Anat Cohen does and not just with her catchy tune. She's part of the supergroup Artemis, making this set a condensed part of that theme. Artemis is the Goddess of the Hunt, so Allison Miller's tune is a show case for the band as a whole. Ingrid Jensen is the trumpeter in the band and her project honoring fellow Canadian trumpeter Kenny Wheeler becomes a chance to feature the iconic Everybody's Song But My Own.

Set 2

Melissa Aldana and Crash Trio, Melissa Aldana and Crash Trio, “Ask Me Now”

Fly, Sky and Country, “Dharma Days”

Lee Konitz, Motion, “All of Me”

This set explores the sax/bass/drums trio with players who fill the space not so much with big muscular tones or extreme flurries of notes, but just damn smart ideas. Melissa Aldana is also part of Artemis and she gets in the first Thelonious Monk tune. Mark Turner intrigues me and cites both Warne Marsh and John Coltrane--an interesting combination--as influences. Playing Lee Konitz and from his landmark album is always a good idea.

SET 3

Kenny Wheeler, Angel Song, “Kind Folk”

Kenny Werner, Kenny Werner at Maybeck, “In Your Own Sweet Way>Naima”

More Kenny Wheeler in his own voice and from an album with Konitz, Bill Frisell, and Dave Holland kicks off a Kenny run. Werner is one of the pianists I've discovered as streaming lets me be part of the NYC jazz scene. He's full of taste and ideas, including this brilliant Dave Brubeck/Coltrane medley.

Set 4

Kenny Barron/Dave Holland Trio, Without Deception, “Warm Valley”

Duke Ellington, The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo”

Oliver Nelson, Blues and the Abstract Truth, “Yearnin’” or Tommy Flanagan Trio, Moodsville, “Come Sunday”

Duke Ellington, Such Sweet Thunder, “Up and Down, Up and Down”

Another Kenny with taste and ideas is Mr. Barron and he gets the first Ellington/Staryhorn tune.

This is part St. Louis set, part Ellington set. If “Yearnin’” (picked for its Dolphy solo) is too long, then it’s an Ellington set.

Set 5

Clark Terry, Serenade to a Bus Seat, “Serenade to a Bus Seat”

Miles Davis, Young Man with a Horn, “Dear Old Stockholm”

Lester Bowie, The Great Pretender, “Rios Negros”

This segment is lifted intact from the St. Louis show in honor of our town's trumpet heritage. More Clark Terry with one of his best known compositions before some early Miles when East St. Louis was maybe still a part of his sound as it was forming. Lester Bowie is also from here though he was well established with the Art Ensemble of Chicago by the time he recorded this album on ECM that was on my turntable often when we were discovering the music.

Set 6

Tony Bennet/Bill Charlap, The Silver Lining, “The Song is You”

George Mraz with Cyrus Chestnut and Rich Perry, "Christina"

George Cables George Cables Songbook, “AKA Reggie”

I have only four singers tonight with three of them for the upcoming Song of the Week (and two of those singers are Frank Sinatra). I treasure The Song is You and Bill Charlap and Tony Bennet, so win/win/win. Christina and AKA Reggie are treasured tunes that I found via stream in this odd season, a bit of lemonade from the bushels and bushels of lemons we have. Cyrus Chestnut and George Cables have been nicely present too across the venues.

Song of the Week—“Everything Happens to Me”

Set 7

Frank Sinatra, The Essential Frank Sinatra with the Tommy Dorsey Orchester

Thelonious Monk, Alone in San Francisco

Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker with Strings

Chet Baker, It Could Happen to You

Set 8

Bill Evans Trio, Time Remembered

Sonny Rollins, On Impulse

Frank Sinatra, Everything Happens to Me

The Song Is You might well have been in this slot, but I discovered Everything Happens to Me at the end of an archived Kenny Barron/Charlie Haden gig. So I hared down versions as many versions of the tune as I could. I've tried to see how the magic works as I play both tunes when I sit at the piano. Early Sinatra and then late Frank book end the sets. The last is just so emotionally powerful. Sure there are strings and full arrangement, but it is such a booze and cigarettes song that makes late Sinatra perfect. Chet Baker offers a different vulnerability plus a trumpet solo. Monk recorded his version while his beloved Nellie was in the hospital, so there's some pathos in his version too. You may have heard of the other three. Hardly random filler.

Set 9

Charlie Haden with Geri Allen and Paul Motian, The Montreal Tapes, “Dolphy’s Dance”

Kenny Barron/Charlie Haden, Night and the City, “Twilight”

If I owe my discovery to Barron/Haden, I wanted to include them. This then is a Charlie Haden set with his tribute to Dolphy who is one of the heros.

Set 10

Tommy Flanagan, Theolonica, “Pannonica”

Hank Jones, Bop Redux, “Ruby My Dear”

Sir Roland Hanna, Sir Roland Hanna and George Mraz Play for Monk, “In Walked Bud”

Barry Harris, For the Moment, “Monk Medley: Reflections>Light Blue>Well You Needn’t>Rhythm-ning”

Fritz had suggested listening to these four Detroit pianists. Besides being a good idea in its own right it opened up a Monk set. These are such solid thoughtful players and Monk is so foundational.

Set 11

Charles Mingus, Mingus in Europe, “Orange Was the Color of Her Dress Then Blue Silk”

Jack DeJohnette’s Special Edition, Tin Can Alley, “Pastel Rhapsody”

Pastel Rhapsody was one of the treasured tunes of my youth so it's how I wanted to send the show out with it. Jack DeJohnette's piano seemed an important element of his overall musicianship. Charles Mingus is a lion of the music, but his band with Dolphy was magic.

This was huge fun with all its little twists and amusements. It opens up distinct possibilities for putting together future shows and segments.

[steves3511]

So you want to convention

I am going to show you all the supplies you need to rock out your next Comic Convention

At my last convention I attended I was asked about writing a blog post about how I prepare for shows and the essentials I bring with me.  Since I have been thinking of writing a post on this very topic for a while I thought that this was the kick in the pants I needed to finally start writing .This is my third year attending and exhibiting at shows, my second year exhibiting full time as my primary source of income.  Over those three years and almost 30 shows I have exhibited at I have learned a lot about booth setup, packaging, and selling and interacting with customers; and I want to share with you those insights I have learned through trial and error so you wont make those same early mis-steps and hopefully help you have the best show you can.

     First things first, you decide to test out selling at comic conventions and you are like "San Diego Comic Con here I come!"  Hold your horses there brother;  I like many artists strongly recommend starting with your local shows, its hard enough making money at your first show, you don't want to add to that by having to pay for travel and hotel costs as well.  If you are lucky like me and have several friends and family scattered around the country offering a free couch to sleep on it certainly makes things easier, thought that airfare is still pretty killer (baggage fees grrr).  Make things easy for yourself start local and expand out from there.

     So you signed up for your local show, now what? First and most importantly if you are an artist in artist alley you are going to need prints of your work. At shows and online I often get asked where I get my prints from, or if I print myself from home (hell no!!).  Having good prints is really important, it doesn't matter how good your image looks on a computer screen, if it doesn't look good as a print nobody will buy it.  I get my prints from El-Co Colorlabs in NJ (dont worry non New Jersians they ship anywhere)  The prints are more expensive than other places, though I will argue those cheaper prints do not come close to matching the quality of el-co, and I will happily pay a little more for that higher quality. (I challenge anyone to find a place that has better quality at a cheaper price)

High quality photo luster prints for an affordable price, what do you not love about that?

If you are looking to start out slow before splurging on more expensive prints and save a few bucks at the start I know several people get prints from MGX copy and have had pretty good results.  They are a great beginner bang for your buck printer.

     The next big thing you will need is some sort of backdrop.  From experience a lot of the people walking around shows do not look down at the tables, they are all looking up looking for something to catch their eye.  It is really important to have your work up high so people can see it, and to see it from far away.  Every show I have people come up to me saying “OMG I saw your work from way down there and I just had to come over”

     For my backdrop I use a photo backdrop display.  When looking for displays there are a bunch that are cheap and affordable, I strongly recommend getting the most expensive display you can afford.  Those cheap light weight displays are on the flimsy side and may not support your work, try to find one that looks like it is made out of a thicker sturdier metal and preferably says it can support 30-40lbs before bowing.  This is the display I have

Ravelli ABSL Photo Video Backdrop Stand

This is is a similar setup to mine, sturdy enough to hold your prints and also easy to travel with

     Now that you have your display you need something to drape over it and a way to hang your prints.  At my very first show my booth neighbor and super awesome and fellow dragon aficionado Tyler Walpole had a very similar setup to this.  It looked so easy for him to set up/tear down his display, the display also went up high so people could see it from across the hall.  Watching him pull customers in and rake in sales I decided then and there to follow in his footsteps. (note, walk around the show when you can, taking notes on other artists setups and ask them questions, everyone I have met has been happy to answer questions and give helpful advice, you can learn a TON from from your fellow exhibiting artists)  

     What I do is drape a large sheet of felt fabric (Joe Ann’s) over the display and use clamps to hold it in place.  To attach the prints to the fabric I tape the edges of my prints to a backing board and then place velcro to the back of the backing board, the backing board and the print then “sticks” to the fabric and hangs in place.

Heavy Duty Muslin Clamps

I place velcro on the 4 corners and then tape the corners of the print to the backing board.  The print stays flat against the board and to hang it you just "stick it" to the fabric.  Super easy.

     I do recommend having larger prints behind you so it is easier for people to see, these larger prints are my fancy 18X24 limited edition prints.  I use these both as large display prints and also as a higher premium item for customers.  If someone loves your work and has cash to spend and you only have $20 prints then all you are going to get from that customer is $20.

     Okay, now that the backdrop is taken care of now I need a way to display my prints on my table.  First I have some black fabric (Also from Joe Ann’s) draped over the table to make it look all fancy. I then lay out these foldable display stands, one for each print.  Have as many of your prints out on the table as possible.  From experience it is hard to convince people to flip through a print bin/book, so the more stuff you have out on the table the easier it is for people to see and look at.

You can see I have all of my prints laid out in a line so its easy for people to see, you never know what print is going to catch someones eye, solve that by having all of them out.

Gibson Holders 6 DCWB Adjustable Wire Display Easels

If you cant fit everything on the table a good solution for a print bin I have found is this foldable bin I found at Target.  Its the perfect size to hold 11X17 or my 12X18 prints, and its light weight for easy storage and transport.

For the display prints on the table you need some way to protect them and make them stand up.  I currently bag and back all of my prints.  I get re-sealable bags from clearbags.com and the backing boards from Uline (if you don't want 400 backing boards to start you can find them on amazon and elsewhere in packages of 20 or so)  To start out you really only need the backing boards for the display prints; later on as you get busier and want to save precious time during the checkout process you can pre bag all of your prints before the show.  Dont skimp on the bags though, you need some sort of protective bag for people who purchase prints, otherwise they may not buy for fear of damaging them.

     In addition to my prints I also sell tabletop gaming playmats or otherwise known as gigantic mouse pads of my work.  If you are a fantasy artist like me this is a great product to have, gamers love collecting mats that have cool art on them.  Also it helps me stand out from everyone else at the Con, I am usually the only one who has them and its a great option for people who have run out of wall space with all of their prints.  You have no idea how many times at a show I get “holy crap, he has game mats…I need a game mat”  Just beware, these things are super heavy and add a lot of weight to your setup.  If yo are interested in trying out some game mats I strongly recommend Drew Baker, I and many of my friends use him for his mats.

If you do fantasy art, Game mats are a great way to stand out from the crowd and offer something no-one else has

Okay now that you have your super awesome setup, you just sit back and watch people start flooding to your table buying up everything you have….right?  Unfortunately not quite.  No matter how good your work is you still need to sell it to people.  Over the course of a weekend I maybe get 3 or 4 people total that just walk up and say “I need to buy this, how much” every other person that buys from me I have to sell my work to them in some way.  I have seen several artists at shows sit back with their arms folded looking down because sales aren't as good as they hoped.  Trust me, you don't want to be that guy.

     The thing is nobody wants to approach you when you are down in the dumps, at that point it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy where you are bummed you aren't doing well and people aren't approaching you because you are bummed, thus making you even more bummed.

     The best way to break through that cycle is to put on a “Con face” be happy and engaging, say hi to as many people as you can.  No matter how bad a day/week you are having you cannot let it show while you are behind that table.  Smile, be upbeat, say “Hey hows it going” try to get them to stop and start a conversation, and then lead that conversation towards you and your work.  (in my opinion standing behind a table not talking to anyone for 8 hours is boring, if I am not making any money I mine as well have fun talking to people) No matter how bad the day is going you CANNOT let people know, you gotta be happy and engaging the entire time.  There is plenty of time to vent at the bar after the show talking with your neighbors and fellow artists.

     The selling thing is really what is going to make or break your experience at a show.  No matter how nice your display is, no matter how good your work is, if you do not have the confidence in yourself and your work to tell people they should buy this, conventions will be a struggle.

     That being said, my final bit of advice for first time con goers is to just have fun.  Chasing sales throughout a weekend is a stressful endeavor, dont get bummed if you only make back the table cost.  There are a lot of up front costs associated with exhibiting at shows, so if you dont earn a profit at your first show, do not despair and give up (I did not make back the costs of my first show, these things take time to build up).  Have fun, work on your sales pitch, talk to your booth neighbors and ask them lots of questions, and scope out ideas for a better/improved booth setup.  Use the show as a learning experience to apply to future shows and you will have a good time, and the knowledge of this show will make the next one even better.

Finally, if you are looking for more information and knowledge about conventions and selling and running a booth I highly recommend checking out 1 fantastic week.  These guys host a weekly webshow going over not only conventions but how to earn a living as an artist (useful topic dont you say), I learned a lot about selling at conventions and running my business from them and I cannot recommend them enough.

[delightfully-difficult-pirate]

Assassin’s Creed: Misthaven (6/18)

Summary: For hundreds of years, the Brotherhood of Assassins and the Templar Order have waged war.  For Princess Emma of Misthaven, that war has become personal.  After a mission gone wrong, the Templar Grandmaster, placed a curse on Emma’s son that is slowly killing him.  Emma will stop at nothing to save Henry, even if it means going rogue from the Brotherhood and consorting with pirates.

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic Violence, Sex, Adult Language.

AN: A special thank you to @preciouscucumber for being an ever patient and diligent beta.  She is always challenging me to “Show, not tell” actions and feelings. To @cocohook38 and @utopiozphere for the awesome artwork they have created.  I love the bits they made for this chapter, so check them out!  And to @icecubelotr44 for her encouragement every step of the way.  This chapter also wouldn’t exist without all the fantastic people in the AC fandom, and Ubisoft who has been so generous with their designs, who have figured out how a hidden blade could actually work.

AO3

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Art for Chapter 6 by @cocohook38

Art for Chapter 6 by @utopiozphere

             Emma woke with a head full of cotton, eyes that felt like they’d had sand rubbed in them, and a powerful thirst.  This was how she usually felt after she’d overindulged in alcohol, but she didn’t remember any drinking.  All she remembered was…

              All she remembered was stabbing Jenny and hiding her body in the alley behind some rubbish.  Tying her tunic in a way that hid most of the blood and requesting a room from the barkeep.  Filling the washbasin with stale water from the jug in the room and trying to wash Jenny’s blood from the fabric.

              Emma closed her eyes and fought back the tears forming in her eyes.  

              Jenny.

              She’d killed Jenny.

              Forcing herself to get up, Emma placed her feet on the floor and stood, feeling a little unsteady.  As she reached for her tunic, which was hanging over the end rail of the bed, more memories assaulted her.

             Hook, bursting through the door.

             Hook, looking up at her with a shocked look on his face after she’d pushed him back from his inspection of her body for injuries.  

             Hook, cradling her close and crooning in her ear as she cried out her sorrow.  

             Hook… and the soft touch of his lips against her skin after he’d put her to bed.  

              When Emma pulled her tunic over her head, she realized that it wasn’t the one she had been wearing before.  Not only that, it wasn’t even one of her shirts.  It fit, though, and wasn’t stained with blood, so she wore it anyways.  Hook, she surmised, must have bought it for her.

              Just as she was thinking of the implications of Hook buying her clothing, there was a light knock on the door to the room.

              “Swan, are you awake?” Hook called.  

              “I am, and yes, you may enter,” she told him.

              Emma noticed the sorry state of the door’s lock, damaged by Hook’s dramatic entrance the night before, and reminded herself to pay the barkeep for the damages.

              “My men and I took care of the Assassin’s body during the night.  We buried her in the graveyard that the locals use for visitors who die while here,” Hook said as he entered.

              “Thank you,” Emma said, truly touched by Hook’s consideration for the remains of her compatriot.  

              “Ah, you’re welcome,” he said, scratching behind his ear with his hook.

              Emma smiled, finding his nervous tic endearing. He watched her, obviously hesitant, as she approached him.  Slowly, Emma reached up and wove her fingers into his hair and pulled his face down to hers.

              The kiss began as little more than a press of lips, but Emma felt a shock move through her system as soon as the two of them touched.  Hook’s arms came around her, holding her close, and she relaxed into his embrace. She pressed her tongue against the seam of his lips and they opened for her.  Their tongues tangled, but the kiss remained relaxed, never gaining the passion that their first had on the deck of The Jolly Roger.  Even so, this kiss was so much more.  

---

              Back on The Jolly Roger, Emma spent the remainder of the day trying to distract herself from her grief by helping Tristan in the galley.  She probably was more of a nuisance truly, but Tristan was patient with her.  Together, they produced a rather good goat stew.  Hook hadn’t been kidding about Tristan ability to make delicious food when he had access to the ingredients to do so.  It was also a nice change to eat meat that hadn’t been salted first.  She would miss it when they returned to sea.

              The limited social contact did its job.  The next morning, Emma was feeling more composed and decided to seek out Hook.  She found him helping Hawkins fix the rail the loose cannon had destroyed during the storm.  Thankfully, this was the last major repair that needed to be done while in Silverbrooke and they would hopefully be on their way to Camelot soon.  

              Emma waiting off to the side and allowed herself to appreciate the sight of a shirtless Hook , muscles straining pleasantly with the weight of the wood he was holding in place.  The kiss the other night still played on her mind and she wondered at the constant pull she felt toward the arrogant pirate.  

               She had hoped that the one night they had spent together physically would have dampened her desire for him, but nearly a week later, it was only growing. Additionally, she was becoming emotionally attracted to him as well.  

             Emma felt herself blushing as she remembered how gently her onetime lover had handled her in her distraught state.  Many men she knew would immediately run from an emotional and crying woman.  Not Hook, though.  Instead, he’d held her close and soothed her until she’d passed out from exhaustion.

             When the rail was finally in place and Hook free from manual labor, Emma approached him, trying to keep her eyes of the trails of sweat making their way down his chest.  It was wrong, she decided, to be ogling Hook given what she was about to ask.

             “Will you show me where you buried Jenny?” Emma requested.

             Hook nodded, his eyes soft, “Of course.  Just give me a few minutes to get cleaned up.”

             Emma returned to her cabin and dressed in her full Assassin garb.  Her blue waistcoat was a little loose after a few weeks of eating a sailor’s diet.  No matter how skilled the cook, he could only make the normally bland food taste better, not be more nutritious.  

             The sight of her in her official outfit must have surprised Hook, because he furrowed his brows at her when she emerged from below deck.  

             “It is only proper, when paying respects to a fellow member of the Brotherhood,” Emma told Hook before he could ask.

             Hook had cleaned himself up a little as well.  His greatcoat looked as if it had been recently cleaned and he’d donned a black velvety looking vest over his shirt.  

             They walked in silence through the town and along the path that lead into the woods to the west.  The informal cemetery, no more than a disorganized scattering of graves, was located in a small glade.  Hook led her to the freshest burial.        

             Only a rough cross made of branches marked it, but there was a flat piece of wood inscribed with the name ‘Jenny’ propped against the base.  Hook’s work, she realized; she vaguely remembered screaming Jenny’s name at him when she’d broken down.

             Emma keeled down at the base of the grave, vaguely aware of Hook returning to the edge of the clearing to give her some space.              

             “Jenny, there are no words in any language that would allow me to express how sorry I am,” Emma began, throat closing up as she lost the hold she’d had on her grief.  “No excuse I could give to justify my taking of your life.  We were sisters, comrades-in-arms, and I betrayed you.”

             Emma didn’t bother fighting back her tears; she allowed them to flow freely down her face.  “I do not ask for your forgiveness.  I do not deserve it.”

             Reaching into her pocket, Emma removed a pure white feather.  Normally, she would use it to collect the blood of her official assassinations, to prove she had done the job assigned to her. Instead, she made a shallow cut across her palm and used it collect her own blood.  She laid the now red feather at the base of Jenny’s grave.  

             “I can only hope that you show me mercy when we meet again in the world after this one, even though I was unable to grant you any.”

---

             Hook immediately took note of the cut on her palm, but remained silent as he handed her his black handkerchief to stem the bleeding.  This time, she tied the knot herself, but the sudden memory of him tying it with his mouth sent a shiver down her spine.

              “There is a hot spring not far from here, just along the river.  I would like to spend some time there,” Emma informed Hook, heading toward the shore so she could follow it further into the woods like the innkeeper’s wife had told her to do.

              “Is that wise, Swan?” Hook asked as he followed her. “Far be it from me to deny you the chance to refresh yourself, but what if your associate wasn’t working alone?  There could be another Assassin in the area.”

              Emma stopped and turned, releasing the hidden blades on her forearms.  “I am not a defenseless maiden, Hook.”

              “I’m not saying you are, Swan,” Hook raised his hand and hook in front of him, “but there is no need to put yourself in danger’s path if it is unnecessary.”

              Emma narrowed her eyes, unhappy with Hook’s assessment but recognizing the truth in his words.        Still, she was unwilling to give up the chance to soak away her stress.

              “Come with me, then.  You can stand guard, if you believe me to be in any danger.”

              Hook blinked at her, clearly taken aback by her invitation.  

              Not waiting for his answer, Emma continued on her way upstream; and after a minute, Hook joined her.  They walked in silence, but there was a tension underneath it that Emma hadn’t felt before.  She’d expected her invitation to involve at least one flirtatious comment from the pirate, but instead he’d was stoic as they searched for the hot spring.  

              After a mile or so, they came upon an area where the river widened.  Off to the side, there was a part blocked off by a ring of stones, creating a small pond where the warm waters of the spring were separated from the cold of the river.

              Hook did a quick walk around the shoreline then placed himself on a large rock facing downstream, hand resting on the hilt of his sword.  Emma chuckled to herself as she began to remove her layers of clothing.  She folded her attire carefully and placed it and her gear far enough away from the spring to remain dry, but close enough she could reach them should she need to arm herself quickly.

              Emma hissed lightly as she stepped into the hot spring.  Taking her time to adjust to the heat of the water, Emma slowly crept further into the pond. The water only came to her stomach at its deepest point, so she kneeled down in order to fully submerge her upper half. She moaned when the hot water came up and over her breasts.

              From the corner of her eye, Emma saw Hook shift on his stone seat and she realized that she must have been louder than she had thought or intended to be.  Regardless, she couldn’t help vocalizing her pleasure as she shifted herself to the edge of the pond and allowed warmth of the rocks to sooth the tension in the muscles of her shoulders.

              “If you are doing that a purpose, lass, I beg that you stop.  Or I may need to find private place of my own,” Hook called to her, his legs shifting again.

              “Why go off alone when you could just as easily join me?”

              Emma’s words hung in the air between them.

              After a minute, Hook replied, “That would be unwise, love, but I thank you for the invitation.”

              Taken slightly aback, Emma rose from the pond and carefully walked across the shore until she was behind Hook.  His breath hitched when she laid a hand on his shoulders. The muscles were tense, nearly as hard as the stone he sat on.

              “Why, Captain, would that be unwise?  We have already spent one night together.  Why deny yourself another day?” She asked, pulling lightly at his shoulder to get him to turn around.

              Hook denied her physical request and continued to stare resolutely ahead of him as he spoke.

              “Because your offer is not made with pure intentions, lass.”

              “You’re right.  I have the most decidedly impure of intentions,” Emma whispered in his ear, before biting lightly at the lobe.

              Her actions caused Hook to jump from his seat, muttering a few choice words about the powers of a siren.  He turned to face her, but quickly closed his eyes when he caught sight of her nudity.

              “Really?” She asked, incredulous.

              “Play fair, love, please.” Hook removed his greatcoat and held it out to her on his hook.

              Rolling her eyes as his dramatics, Emma grabbed the coat and quickly donned it.  “Better?” She asked.

              Opening only one eye at first, Hook released a sigh of relief when he saw that she was no longer naked.  Though by the ways his eyes slowly assessed her, she wasn’t sure the coat was doing much to calm his obvious desire.

              “Love, I would give up the treasure of Atlantis its self to spend another night of passion with you,” Hook said, holding up his hand when she made to approach him.  “But not now, not today.  You are grieving, Swan, and it would not be in good form for me to take advantage.”

              Emma’s face must have darkened a little at his words, for Hook quickly tried to clarify himself.

              “Not that I could take advantage of you, for you are a woman who can take care of herself.  But, lass,” Hook paused, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck, “People like us, who have experience with death and the taking of life, that sometimes, in the aftermath, we seek to reaffirm our own living status by engaging in…. lively activities.”

              Emma watched as a pink tinge appeared on Hook’s cheeks and for a moment she wondered how a man who was so obviously open with his attractions could be so shy when speaking about sex.

              “I would not be a gentleman if I allowed myself enjoy what you are offering.  It would not be fair, to either of us.” Hook gave her a small smile, obviously hoping his words had come across more clearly this time.

              Emma took a step forward, and when Hook made no move to stop her, continued until she stood directly in front of him. Placing her left hand on his cheek, she lightly rubbed the small scar that adorned it.

              “Just who are you, Hook?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

              “Wouldn’t you like to know?” he replied, his smile now more full and genuine.

              “Maybe I would.”

--

              The afternoon following their trip to the hot spring, Hawkins declared that the Jolly Roger would be ready to return to sea the next day.  Killian was beyond pleased, anxious to get underway.  He knew that the ship wouldn’t have been repaired this quickly without the hard work of his crew, so that evening, Killian gave them permission to spend the night ashore.  

               As captain, Killian remained on board, checking the Jolly Roger from stem to stern to ensure that everything was in order. Hawkins and his sons had done a good job repairing the damage his ship had taken.  Starkey had made sure that the ship had been restocked with casks of freshwater, fruits, and he even stumbled upon a group of chickens roosting in a corner of the hold.  

              He expected to be alone on the ship, with everyone one taking their last chance to enjoy the pleasures the town had to offer. He was proven wrong when he came upon Swan laid out along the bowsprit of the ship, staring at the sky.  

              Not sure if she would welcome his intrusion on her solitude, Killian stayed back.  He busied himself by climbing the rigging and confirming the conditions of each sail for himself.  Thankfully, he found nothing amiss.  Everything was in perfect order for the remainder of their trip to Camelot.

              Killian returned to deck to find Swan watching him.

              “My apologies if I disturbed your stargazing, love,” he said.

              Swan shrugged. “I’ve never been good at finding the constellations anyways.”

              “Well allow me to rectify that, then.” Killian held out his hand to her.  When Swan took it, he guided her to the quarter deck, where they would have a better view of the sky.

              Killian stepped behind her, pressing her back to his front.  Swan tensed for just a moment, but then relaxed against him.

              “The first star you want to find is Polaris. Especially when out at sea,” Killian wrapped his hand around Swan’s wrist and pointed her hand toward the sailor’s guiding star at the end of the Ursa Minor constellation.  

              “Once you’ve found Polaris, you’ve found north. Now, what constellation do you want to find?” Killian dropped his voice and whispered in Swan’s ear.

              Her voice was unsteady when she answered him, “Draco, the dragon.”

              “It’s easiest to find the great dragon’s tail,” Killian said as he turned the two of them to face east.  He guided Swan’s hand along Ursa Minor, to the cup of the constellation.  

              “It wraps around Ursa Minor, and then all you have to do is follow it to the beast’s head.”

              Swan tilted her head to follow his movement of her arm and then allowed it to rest on his shoulder.  He pressed his cheek against the top of it, enjoying the sweet smell of her hair.

              “Tell me, Captain, what is your favorite constellation?” Swan whispered.

              Wrapping his other arm around her waist, Kilian turned them again so they were facing west.  He pointed her arm at Deneb, the top most star in the constellation of Cygnus.

              “I have always been partial to swans.”

--

              Emma felt her body being turned again by Hook and found herself staring at the constellation she had taken her pseudonym from.

              “I have always been partial to swans,” he crooned in her ear and she couldn’t help the shiver that traveled down her spine in response.

              “I would have guessed Pegasus.  A noble steed to carry you wherever you wished,” Emma said, tapping her foot against the ship below them.

              Hook chuckled and Emma could feel the reverberations against her back.

              “Aye, Pegasus would serve me well.  However, there is nothing quite like the transformative beauty of a swan.”

              Emma turned and stared deep into his eyes as he spoke, finding no hint of a lie in his words.  When Hook’s head leaned in and his eyes began to close, she didn’t pullback.  Their lips met in a gentle kiss.

              The kiss escalated quickly and Hook’s arm around her waist pulled her tight against him.  Emma could feel his growing arousal through his trousers, pressing against her stomach.  As much as it pained her to do so, Emma broke the kiss before they could go any further. Instead, she laid her head on Hook’s chest and listened to his rapidly beating heart.

              Emma remained wrapped in Hook’s arms until both their heart rates returned to normal.  When she finally pulled back, she told him, “It would not be wise for us to… dally this evening.”  As much as she desired another night with Hook, she was currently at her most fertile and did not want to risk another unintended pregnancy.  She had been only remembered where she was in her cycle upon returning to the ship after her failed seduction of Hook at the hot spring and had been doubly thankful for his gentlemanly nature in turning her down.  

              Hook tilted his head to the side. “I’m not sure anything the two of us do is wise, love.”

              Emma laughed, knowing he was right.  “Yes, but tonight would be extra hazardous.  There is a no moon in the sky.” Knowing Hook was an educated man, she hoped that somewhere in his learning he had read about the moon’s symbolism in relation to women.  

              Hook looked skyward, obviously to confirm her statement that there was indeed no moon in the sky.  

              “There is, indeed, no moon.  I take it that you are currently in the middle of your womanly cycle, then?” Hook asked.

              Emma felt her cheeks heat at his bluntness and cursed herself for her embarrassment.  She was a woman grown, a mother, she reprimanded herself.  She would be able to speak candidly with a lover about her cycle.  

              “I am,” she said.

Although there were other ways for the two of them to bring each other pleasure without having sex, Emma didn’t fully trust herself to not through caution to the wind in the heat of the moment.  It was better to avoid the temptation all together, as hard as it was.

              “Then allow me the pleasure of seeing you to your quarters, Swan, where I shall bid you a good night.” Ever the gentlemen, Hook held out his right arm for her to take.

              Rolling her eyes at his formality, Emma nonetheless looped her arm through his and allowed herself to be escorted below deck and to the door of her cabin.  

              “Good night, m’lady.” Hook brought her hand up to his mouth and placed a delicate kiss upon the knuckles.

              “Good night, Captain.”

--

             Alone in her cabin, Emma flopped onto her small bed.  Burying her face into the pillow, she let out a cry of frustration and cursed herself for a fool.  She shouldn’t have kissed Hook and wound them both up.  She had wanted nothing more than to strip Hook from his layers of leather and take him there on the deck of his ship.  Instead, she was alone in her cabin, exceedingly aroused, with only herself for company.  

              Knowing she wouldn’t get any sleep keyed up as she was, Emma stripped out of her clothing and laid back along her bed. The cool air of her cabin caused her nipples to pebble.  Emma reached a hand up and rolled one between her fingers, while the other hand traveled downwards.  Fingertips just grazing over her skin, causing the muscles of her abdomen to jump. She brushed them through the blonde curls above her womanhood before slipping them into her cleft.  Her body flooded with heat and she couldn’t hold back her moan of pleasure.  

              Emma wondered if Hook had returned to his cabin to take care of himself just as she was doing.  She imagined him sitting in the chair in his cabin, legs spread wide and his cock in his hand.  She slowly massaged her clit, matching the speed her imaginary captain was using on himself.  The captain would take his time to draw out his pleasure.  Up and down his hand moved along his cock, sometimes fisting over the head.

             Her hand moved further down and she pushed two fingers against her entrance. She pumped them inside, wishing it was Hook’s cock instead.  She pressed her thumb against her clit, which caused her muscles to ripple along her fingers.

             The imaginary Captain’s hand had picked up speed and his head was thrown back in pleasure.  His cock was flushed, ready for release, just as she was.  Emma began pumping harder with the hand between her legs and her thumb circling her clit, while the other hand continued to pinch and pull on her nipples.  

             In her mind, the captain reached completion and his cock shot his seed upwards, where is splattered onto his stomach.  

             The image brought her to the edge, so she curled her fingers within, aiming for her favorite spot. Finding it, she moaned long and loud as she crested. Her breath came in gasps as she rode the wave of her orgasm, gently teasing her clit to extend the ride.

              Sated, Emma was too relaxed to bother to dress in her sleeping gown.  She simply pulled a blanket over her nude form and fell asleep.

             The Jolly Roger left Silverbrooke at dawn six days after arriving.  Killian kept the ship moving due south at the fastest speed she could manage to make up time to offset the delay caused by the need for repairs.  The gods were apparently on his side; they clear skies and good winds for the entire journey so they managed the normally weeklong journey in only five days.  

              Swan had taken the news that the capital city of the kingdom of Camelot, also named Camelot, was not located on the coast, as she had been led to believe with aplomb.  Loath as he as to leave The  Jolly Roger, the river that connected the port town of Hedge’s Run to Camelot was too shallow for her to manage, so Killian booked passage aboard one of the river barges for himself, Swan, and fifteen members of his crew. He had intended to leave Starkey in charge of The Jolly Roger while he was away, but his stalwart quartermaster had insisted on coming along to Camelot, so Theo was left as acting Captain instead.

              The journey upriver would take half-a-day and once they were underway, Killian found himself quite enjoying the trip. Camelot was a beautiful country and the scenery along the river was a nice change from the endless miles of ocean.

              Swan had staked out a spot among the goods being transported, away from everyone else, and had so far spent the entire journey doing maintenance on an impressive collection of weapons.

             Seeing her wrist blades removed, Killian approached her and asked, “Lass, could I get a look at your wrist blades?” He’d always been intrigued by the Assassin’s trademark weapon but had never had a chance to handle any himself.

               Swan nodded, handing one of them over. “Have a care not to stab yourself,” she told him.

              Killian took a seat on a bundle of wool and examined the weapon.   The blade was secure in a metal sheath and the assembly was fitted into the underside of a leather vambrace.  Swan’s vambraces were simply decorated.  A metal rendering of the Brotherhood’s symbol was inlaid in the leather.  In its center was a small five-petal flower, which seemed familiar, but Killian was unable to place.  The same flower was etched into the leather in various other places as well.

              Feeling along the sheath of the blades, Killian searched for the trigger that would allow the release of the blades.  Unable to find anything, he frowned.

              Hearing laughter from beside him, Killian turned to face Swan, and found her looking at him with an amused expression on her face.

              “Here,” she said, taking one of the weapons from him and holding it up to the sun so he could see inside.  “There is a small pressure switch on the inside of the brace. We press it by flexing a muscle in our arms in a specific way.”

              Swan grabbed his hand and guided his finger along the inside of the brace, until he felt a small bump in the leather. Killian pressed down and with a click, the blade ejected.

              “Older models were triggered by a ring worn on the pinky finger, but they also required the removal of the wearer’s ring finger,” Swan told him.

              “That’s some serious dedication,” Killian replied.

              Swan hummed, “It also made Assassins easy to identify. Thankfully, the design was improved upon around 200 years ago.  No more dismemberment needed.”        

              “It would be a travesty to destroy such lovely hands as yours,” Killian said with a wink.

              Swan rolled her eyes at his flirtatious remark and went back to sharpening a dagger with a whetstone.

              Killian continued to his study of the now revealed blade.  It was longer than he had imagined.  He pressed on the tip of it with his hook and watched in wonder as the top part of the blade receded into a portion below it.  The blade was three separate pieces, he realized, and each piece tucked into the interior of other.  Much like those nesting dolls he’d once seen in a market in Arendelle, imported from some kingdom far across the sea.    

              “Would you like to try it out?” The question caught Killian off guard and he looked at Swan in shock.

              “Here,” She said, reaching for his arm and rolling up the sleeve of his shirt.  He’d forgone his coat in deference to the heat of the day.

              Killian’s heart skipped a beat as Swan’s fingers skimmed across the underside of his wrist as she slipped the vambrace onto his forearm.

              “This won’t be the best fit, since these were made especially for me.  But it will give you a general idea about how they feel.” Swan pulled on one of the straps, securing the weapon to his arm.

              “Now, flex your wrist back.  That should release the blade.  Just make sure your fingers are out of the way or you may lose one.”

              Killian laughed and followed her instructions. With a flick of his wrist, the blade ejected.  It extended only an inch or so past the tip of his middle finger, but Killian remembered it looking longer on Swan’s smaller hands.

              “These are amazing,” Killian muttered.  

              Swan snorted. “They are pain to learn to use properly.  I was lucky I had magic, so I could heal the numerous cuts I gave myself.”

              “I stabbed myself more times than I can count when I first started wearing my hook,” Killian shared.  He held his wrist out to Swan, silently asking her to undo the buckles.  

              She did and then gently pulled the leather from his arm.  As she did so, her nails scratched along his arm, and that caused a shiver to travel down his body.

“Now, tell me lass, how do you plan to subdue this Rumpelstiltskin and keep him from destroying my ship on the way back to Misthaven?” Killian asked, taking a seat on the deck of the barge and stretching out next to Swan.

              If she was thrown off by his sudden change of topic, she didn’t show it.  She simply extended her right leg and gently kicked a leather satchel she had brought on board with her.  

              “I have a set of manacles that will render Rumpelstiltskin powerless.  As long as he wears them, he should pose no threat to your ship, or any of its crew.”

              “May I?” Killian asked, gesturing toward the satchel.

              Swan hesitated at first, but nodded her permission after a few moments of apparent consideration.  

              Killian pulled the satchel towards him and heard the familiar ‘clink’ of metal chains.  After removing them from the bag and the layers of cloth they were wrapped in, he studied the workmanship.  Though he was no blacksmith, he could tell they were well made.  There were small runes carved on each link and cuff, which he assumed gave them their ability to nullify a sorcerer’s magic.

              Out of the corner of his eye, Killian noticed Swan shift.  She looked uncomfortable and was scratching at the inside of her wrist.

              “Do they bother you?  Lass, you should have said!” Killian exclaimed, hastily re-wrapping and stowing the manacles back into the satchel.

              Swan shook her head, but Killian could see that she was obviously more comfortable with the chains packed away.

              “Do they work on all magic users?” Killian asked.

              “They are only supposed to work on those who practice dark magic,” Swan replied curtly.

              Killian nodded, letting the topic drop.  They lapsed into a comfortable silence as Swan continued cleaning her weapons.

              “Have you ever been to Camelot?” she asked after sometime.

              “Only once, just after I left the Templars,” Killian admitted.  A high-ranking member of the Order had been residing in the capital city when Killian had been enacting his revenge for the death of Liam.  “It’s a nice city, as cities go.  Right on the edge of a lake.  Smells overwhelmingly like fish when the weather gets too hot though.”

              Swan nodded, a contemplative look on her face. “And the castle?”  

              “Built on a peninsula with only a few connections to the city, from what I saw.”

              “We will need to scout the area when we arrive. There is a local Brotherhood base in the city, but I won’t be able to press for certain details without giving away too much information,” Swan admitted, fiddling with a throwing knife.

              Killian grinned. “I may have the perfect solution.”

Chapter 7

[atelierfresh]

NO. 15 GREAT PULTENEY HOTEL |  Wake up to a Demure Henrietta Park view

QUIET GEM. Bath has easily become one of my favorite little towns in the world. With it’s cosy lanes and homely cafés, it was quite novel to find myself scurrying through old British alleys like a mischievous Peter Rabbit. When I had to choose my stay in the town, I wanted one out of a old English tale - No. 15 Great Pulteney was the perfect doll house to transpose through time in.

Spanning across three townhouses on the most iconic neoclassical street in Bath, the No. 15 Great Pulteney Hotel is a recently opened new addition to the town. As a Grade I-listed historic building with Georgian facades, its 40-bedroom getaway demurely submerges into the rest of the pale chalky streetscape, just steps away from Laura Place and its fountain. So magical - an escape we really needed after 10 busy months in our mother city Hong Kong.

We had just finished a 13-hour redeye flight to Heathrow, and immediately embarking another 2-3 hour coach ride to Bath. Feeling worn out and hangry was an understatement. After a quick breakfast at the Cosy Club near the station, we lugged our baggages across the cobblestone paths across the famous Pulteney Bridge to our hotel.

Like opening a doll house, the interiors of the boutique hotel greeted us with its playful eclectic collection of art pieces. Some would view the decor as busy, while others may see it as a casual whimsical choice of furnishing. The lobby is that of a family living room, with bold leather pieces with classical upholstery. Comically, a large model of Big Ben Tower stands on the side and a large chandelier made of earrings hangs in the ceiling centre. A painting of a young man stares blankly into space, as if wondering why he belongs to such a room. Purists may be appalled by this hotel need for art. But as I first entered into the reception half-dazed and half-asleep, I truly only noticed the details and decor in the space on our check-out. For me, I was quite amused!

Although we had arrived quite early to town, our receptionist was lovely to arrange an early check-iin for us as well as an upgrade to our room. Amazing! Definitely good start to our trip! Standing in front of a doll house, which I found to be the reception, she helped us arrange and very courteously shared a few locations nearby to visit. Very genial hospitality service!

Walking to our room. The rest of the hotel were scattered with art pieces by the Art School in the area. Random art installations that stepped up along the stairwell, and amusing old tennis rackets near the lift hall - to name a few. The more I explored this boutique hotel, the more I  felt I was visiting an old English grandmother’s home, filled with her history and prized possessions. It’s a hit or miss for me, either way, it was a colourful place to visit and admire. For those who love posing in front of art pieces or installations, you’ll easily spend hours here - I have a lot of Hong Kong girls in mind!

English Tea in our Pulteney Junior Suite

Our room was really memorable and a fantastic place to start our trip. First, it was MUCH larger than we expected! The suite was equipped with its own little living room area to relax in between the day, something quite convenient being in the small town of Bath. Second, the reserved chalky pale walls, to the large sash windows that looked out towards Henrietta Park and Great Pulteney Street, I felt very snuggly and ready to pass out in my new English home. Make me a hot cocoa, because I am ready for my Peter Rabbit bedtime story! 

In general, the hotel gave us a humble yet luxurious stay. There were hints of opulence despite the muted colours. The coffee table was filled with little feminine treasures, while beautiful China cups and coffee machine hides itself behind a doll house near the window. Haha for the designer in me, it was quite excessive, but I agree it definitely help me well remember my experience here. The bed was ornamented with a simple mural depicting a lace canopy, like right out of a children’s story book.

The view outside our suite was also such a calming and story-like scene. For a city girl that I am, seeing glass and and concrete is a norm. But here, I was greeted with lush greenery and endless skies, something you can only dream of in my rough modern home. Maybe I was over-indulging too much, but such a simple scenery makes me imagine old characters who have already perished animating around these beautiful strong trees which has transcended through time to greet us today. Yup, I’m daydreaming too much ~

Modern Touches to the Classical Taste

Despite the antique taste that is strong throughout the interior design, the hotel is sprinkled with the latest gadgets, being only newly opened in December 2016.  A Roberts Revial iStream was placed at our bedside, along with a fancy sleek phone - a play with the 1950s retro style while allowing us to easily connect to radio and spotify through wifi. The bedding was fitted with Hynos Landsdowne Cashmere, so comfortable my jetleg melted away with my night. Hairdryer was a James Dyson, hell yea!

The bathroom was simple with hand-crafted ceramic basins. Large space with tub or shower to choose from, yet nothing particular to share or highlight, unlike the rest of the hotel. As a keen avid of nice toiletries, the supply provided to us were not too memorable - let’s just end it there. 

Afternoon Break at the Bar 15

It’s a shame we never had time to spend in the Bar 15 at the hotel. The space was nicely decor in soft pastels, while the brazenly colourful bottles of alcohol shined through like gems. Like our coffee table, the tables were furnished with cobalt-blue jewellery and beaded necklaces. Quiet views that look out onto from the seats - cute and pretty.

We had complimentary breakfast in their Cafe 15, but not food that was worth the sorts of sharing here with you. Eggs benedicts were homely made and great, but for a traveller visiting from afar, we would suggest spending time experimenting other restaurants and cafes outside instead. Yet for a setting like Bar 15, I definitely think it is worth to come relax and absorb the details of its design with a drink midday between schedules.

Home Away from Home

Located at the end of the Pulteney Bridge, I was grateful I had so many excuses to always pass by the famous monument and take another picture of the calm river scene. The hotel was a perfect central location and setting for those who wish for luxury yet a little demure. Taking a break midday in our ensuite lounge was a huge luxury for us before heading out again for the evening events. Walking through the townhouses and heading towards No.15, we do felt as if we were heading home like the other residents along the streets. For a moment, we felt at ease and in place.

No. 15 Pulteney Hotel gave me a chance to experience Bath in a very artful way. Don’t be fooled by its neutral palette, as you explore, the hotel unravels its idiosyncratic sides with its quirky styles and collections. If I were to visit this beautiful Bath town again, Pulteney would definitely be my home again. It’s one you never forget.

[thekoreanlass]

On to our next stop, it’s time to recharge ourselves after experiencing a one of a kind gastronomical trip with Jin! Through Suga‘s recommendations we will find the best healing spots in Seoul.

Shall we look around and find somewhere to relax? Let’s go! It’s time for Suga’s ‘Recharge‘ Seoul Tour now!

#1 Starfield Library (COEX Mall)

Starfield Library, which is at the heart of COEX Mall in Gangnam, Seoul, is a space open to the public where locals and tourists can come to read books and rest. Lots of books  of various genres line the many tall shelves of the library, which you can take your time reading. Good news is, the library is free. You don’t have to pay to get in. What’s more is that being inside is like entering another world (I was once there and can’t take my eyes off the tall shelves and enormous book collection!). It’s so fascinating that taking a picture is a must!

Location: B1, 513 Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul Open Hours: 10:30 – 22:00 Website: www.starfield.co.kr

#2 Cheonggyecheon Stream

With a very long history down from Joseon Dynasty, Cheonggyecheon Stream has been restored over time to become comfort to those in the city. The stream divides up the districts of Jongno-gu and Jung-gu and acts as a public rest area for everyone where performances are welcomed for passing visitors to watch. It is a very good place to walk along at night with your family, friends or your significant other while enjoying the fascinating illumination that lines up the stream.

Location: Cheonggyecheon-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul Website: http://www.sisul.or.kr/open_content/cheonggye/

#3 Jimjilbang

Jimjilbang (or Hanjeungmak) are definitely famous to Korean drama lovers, since we all know how well utilized such locations are by K-drama characters. I’ve grown up only seeing them in front of my screen, but a fan must never miss it out! So, if you’re heading to Seoul in your next out of the country trip, be sure to visit it.

These Korean bathhouses are actually famous for its traditional kiln saunas, but nowadays they have also come with other facilities such as internet cafes, theaters, internet cafes, bowling alleys and restaurants, making them famous to people of all ages. As you get in, you will be given a change of clothes to be worn indoors. Sweating out in their sauna is definitely a good way of getting rid of the tiredness of your body and mind, but taking a sip of sikhye (sweet rice punch) is a must to quench your thirst afterwards!

Location: 39-2 Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul (Jamsil Suyang Hanjeungmak w/c is in Suga’s Seoul Tour video) Website: www.suyang.kr

#4 Seoullo 7017

What used to be a highway overpass that was about to be demolished has been transformed into a pedestrian walkway in Korea–Seoullo 7017. It’s the first one of its kind in Korea, which takes inspiration from New York’s High Line. What makes it unique and a true masterpiece is that the sky garden takes pride at it’s innovative design. At night, it is being lit up by LED lights hanging from 1,121 poles through the length of Seoullo 7017 that connects together 17 pathways, adding a truly magical vibe to the area.

You won’t regret visiting Seoullo 7017. That’s for sure. It is truly a magical place from my memory, since I was there in 2017. Back then, though, I was just aimlessly walking and wasn’t sure where I ended up, so it took me a long time to find a way down. That’s funny, but I tell you, the ambiance is so mesmerizing you’d definitely get lost in it while there.

Fun fact: Seoullo 7017’s name is derived from its founding year 1970 and the idea that it’s connecting together 17 pathways.

Location: 432 Cheongpa-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul Open Hours: Apr to Oct – 9AM-9PM; Nov to Mar – 9AM-8PM | (Closed during Monday) Website: seoullo7017.seoul.go.kr

#5 Some Sevit (Sebitseom Island)

Some Sevit (Sebitseom Island), which literally means ‘three shining island’ (‘se’ = three; ‘bit’ = light/shine; ‘seom’ = island), is the world’s first floating cultural space. It is made up of four artificial islands (Some Gavit, Some Chavit, Some Solvit and Some Yevit), which can hold various performances, exhibitions or events. Some Sevit’s night scene that’s illuminated by LED lights as it floats at the edge of Han River has become pretty popular that it has been utilized to some famous dramas like ‘She Was Pretty’ and ‘Athene’, as well as the movie ‘Avengers 2’.

In Suga’s TVC, we also see a boating activity called ‘Tubester’, which is available near Some Sevit. This is a must-try activity since it’s truly going to be a very good experience for visitors where they can enjoy eating while floating in the water and talking with their friends or family! Enjoy the beautiful scenery at the Han River through them!

Location: 683 Olympic-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul Website: www.somesevit.co.kr

*Han River Some Sevit Tubester Open Hours are below:  – (Apr-May/Oct-Nov) Weekday (Mon-Fri) 15:00 – 23:00, Weekend & Holidays 13:00 – 23:00 – (Jun-Sept) Weekday (Mon-Fri) 16:00 – 24:00, Weekend & Holidays 14:00 – 24:00

#6 Seoul Botanic Garden

Seoul Botanic Garden is the city’s first botanical park that officially opened last May 1, 2019. Located in Magok, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, the park boasts of how a forest, garden, lake and marsh coexist together. Visitors will enjoy the park’s theme zone, which houses plants that represents 12 major cities in the world. Currently, these plants range from around 3,100 types which they will later expand to at least 8,000 types to actively promote exchange, research and propagation.

The Seoul Botanic Garden (Park) was built to create an advancement to the urban ecology of Seoul. And as a city that’s appreciated for its modern yet close to nature ambiance, this is the city’s effort in expanding their green spaces that a lot love. So, if you’re someone that appreciates nature and would want to unwind or relax despite being in the city, I think this is the perfect escape for you.

Location: 07789  161 Magokdong-ro, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Korea By subway: Magongnaru Station (subway line 9, AREX) exit 3

Open Hours: – Park (Open Forest, Lake Zone, Marsh Zone) – open 24 hours – Botanical Garden (Theme Zone) 9AM to 6PM During Holidays: – Park (Open Forest, Lake Zone, Marsh Zone): Open all year round – Botanical Garden (Theme Zone): Closed during kMonday

#7 Nanji Riverside Swimming Pool

If you want to cool down yourself but really doesn’t want to go out of the city just to experience that one of a kind relaxation you’ve been craving for, then why not try the water parks by the Han River?

In particular, a crowd favorite out of many water parks by the Han River is the Nanji Hangang Water Park due to the availability of an infinity pool where you can have a nice view of the Han River right in front of you. It was also constructed with a relatively shallow depth (at least around 80cm) to remind people of how they used to play in the water by the riverside. This is also a good way of creating a really family friendly place who wants to come with their children.

Location: Nanji Hangang Information Center, 162 Hangang Nanji-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul Open Hours: 9AM to 7PM Admission: Free for children under 5 years of age / Children 1,000 won / Teenagers 2,000 won / Adults 3,000 won Website: http://hangang.seoul.go.kr/

#8 Gyeongui Line Forest Park

The final stop for our healing trip is down the Gyeongui Line Forest Park in Mapo-gu, Seoul, which is a rising attraction to a lot of visitors.

This forest park used to be where the Gyeongui railway line was until it was moved underground. It dates back to roughly 100 years until today when over the railway (which now rests underground) finally sits its crowning glory–a line of pure green and nature, which is very accessible to visitors since its length rests in the center of Seoul, So, it’s really a good place for walks while trying to appreciate nature in the middle of an urbanized area. Like a breath of fresh air among the tall buildings of the city. Hongdae and Yeonnam-dong are also just along the park, so after a fun stroll, why not explore them for food, music, and many other trendy art forms?

Location: Areas of Yeonnam-dong and Daeheung-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul (서울특별시 마포구 연남동 및 대흥동) Directions: Hongik Univ. Station (Seoul Subway Line 2, Gyeongui-Jungang Line, Airport Railroad), Exit 3. Walk approx. 7-8 min.

–

Done! Finally. I thought I’m not going to be able to finish this posts today since I added more information to try and match what was in the TVC, but I really had fun researching about it so I got inspiration by the facts and pictures I’ve read and seen. It makes me want to go to Seoul right now to try out the various places I’ve been telling a story about in my blog. I really want to go there if I can. You know that kind of feeling? That strong urge to check off something from your bucket list? Yeah. That feeling. It makes me excited and really look forward to the future.

But for now, I’m ending this post here! See you in the next post, which will then showcase J-hopes recommendations in Seoul!

Suga’s Seoul City TVC

ADDITIONAL SNAPS FROM THE TVC

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Sources: Visit Seoul | Visit Korea | some sevit

[TRAVEL] BTS TOUR: Suga – ‘Recharge’ Seoul Tour On to our next stop, it's time to recharge ourselves after experiencing a one of a kind gastronomical trip with Jin!

[beedujourblog]

I had to return to France for my graduation, which I had to postpone last year due to work obligations. I planned to spend just 1 week to catch up with friends,and visit the little places I never got round to. So in this post, I will show you all the spots I visited on this trip and recommend you also check out and do if you’re in Paris during the winter season.

Winters in Paris

In my opinion, winters in Paris are pretty mild. I guess because I had after having lived 4 years in some of the coldest winters on this planet in Korea have made me think any other winter is mild. My Canadian friends thought the same as me…..well they are from Canada. However, winters in Korea are -15 to -20 on average, and its friggin’ freezing. So, the comfortable 11 and 7 degrees in Paris are nothing. But hey, we’re all different.

I’d recommend just bringing a good coat for the evenings. Otherwise, it’s not bad. I didn’t even need gloves or a scarf. I do have to point out that this winter in 2018 was actually much warmer than the winters from when I lived here a few years ago.

Places I visited

The Fragonard Perfumerie and Museum

I LOVED this popular little perfumerie located next to the Opera Theatre! The Fragonard perfumerie is one of France’s oldest perfumeries and houses a Perfume museum and workshop. Parfumerie Fragonard first opened up in 1926 after the First World War by entrepreneur, Eugene Fachs. He names the brand after the famous French painter Jean-Honore Fragonard.

I have very sharp sense of smell and so I take delight in the sweet aromas of perfumes found across the globe. It is also usually one of the first impressions I pick up from a person.

The museum is free and so is the tour! It also turned out to be more interesting than I thought. We got to learn about the history of perfume in Europe, what it was used for and what is came to mean amidst the societies over the centuries. There is also information on how a scent is produced in the workshops and the value of certain ingredients.

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The Fragonard Perfumerie is an excellent place to visit when in Paris. They house a perfume museum, workshop & store. The history of perfumes was fascinating too. For someone with uber sensitive sense of smell like me, it was a treat. Also, I went a bit mental shopping here! .. #fragonardparfumeur #fragonard #perfume #paris #france #visitparis #visitfrance #france🇫🇷 #parisjetaime #parismaville #parismonamour #iciestparis #capetownblogger #voyage #blogeuse #travelpics #thingstodo #tlpicks #beautifuldestinations #parisigers #igersfrance #igersparis #instagramparis #gltlove #girlsthattravel #파리 #프랑스 #thisisparis #lonelyplanet

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At the end we also got to smell Fragonard’s signature scents and guess what made them up. I had fun with this and guessed them pretty much right. I went mental in the shop, stocking up on lotions and perfumes. The prices are pretty decent too. I didn’t get to do the workshop, but I imagine it must be a fun experience.

Musee d’Orsay

I have been countless times to the Louvre, but always overlooked this museum that lies just across from it on the Seine.

The Musee D’Orsay was once a train station and was turned into a beautiful museum that houses a really cool art collection. Mainly focusing on Western Classical works, the museum focuses on works from the 1800s – early 1900s. The exhibition rooms on Degas and the impressionists were beautiful. I had learnt so much about Degas when I did art at school, it was amazing to actually see his sketch books, works and miniatures up close as he improvised to capture movement.

A small collection of Van Gogh is also on display at the Musee D’Orsay. I first saw his works at his museum when I was in Amsterdam, so it was nice to see the pieces I had missed.

The famous clock that overlooks the city of Paris was a bit busy. If want a nice shot, go in the week. I went late afternoon when it was more relaxed. If you want to get a more fine tuned version of a Parisian art museum without the pressure of trying to see everything in the vast Louvre, then the Musee D’Orsay is a great choice.

The Opera Garnier

The Opera Garnier was completed in 1875, by the architect Charles Garnier. This Baroque inspired building is the main opera theatre in Paris and was once the main ballet theatre. This beautiful opera house is breath-taking from the outside, just as it is inside. Many fancy soirees and theatrical productions were housed, and this Opera house also served as the inspiration for Andrew Lloyd’s Webber’s infamous play ‘Phantom of the Opera”.

The theatre also houses a ballroom area that was inspired by the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles. If you have been to Versailles, you can definitely see the references. The dramatic balustrades, marble interiors, and ornate furnishings all resonate an air of excitement and drama from those who once walked these halls and performed some of the world’s best theatrical masterpieces.

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The Opera theatre in Paris is just as beautiful inside as it is outside. This amazing architectural piece devoted to the arts was also the inspiration for the famous play The Phantom of the Opera. I'll post more soon. 📷🗼🎭🎶🎼 .. #paris #etudiant #fashionstudent #graduation #studyinfrance #france #frenchstyle #gltlove #girlsthattravel #livingabroad #frenchaffair #etudiant #voyage #nikontravel #travelblogger #nikonphotography #capetownblogger #iciestparis #igersparis #igersfrance #travelphotography #livinginparis #beautifuldestinations #파리 #패선 #프랑스 #tlpicks #lonelyplanet #parisjetaime #parismaville

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Read more about living in France

Paris Cite?

What is Paris Cite you may ask? Paris Cite is actual a small island that lies smack bang in the Seine in the 3rd Arondissment. It was actually the first “city” and predecessor of Paris before it started to expand around the Seine. This Gallo-Roman centre was first home to the Gallic tribe of Parisii before the Romans took over. Back then it was actually known as Lutetia or Lutece and was the main “hub” while small farming homesteads of old French tribes lived along the Seine.

The famous Notre Dame Cathedral is located in Cite, and the oldest first bridge in Paris is located here. I love walking through this small island, and you can still see remnants of old roman styled masonry in the foundations of the building in between the alleys. The views around the island are cool too, and try and have dinner or lunch at either cafes Esmerelda and Quasimodo if you can.

Read more about visiting Notre Dame Cathedral

Galleries Lafayette’s Rooftop

Galleries Lafayette is one of the world’s oldest and most famous department stores and it has an awesome rooftop to view the city of Paris! The multi-level department store is a beautiful building in its own right and the interior is def worth checking out. Every year, during the festive season, the department store goes waaaaaay out with the window displays and find new fun designs to decorate the Christmas tree.

I checked out the rooftop a few years ago with my friend Alyssa when we used to live here. We revisited it on this trip again. There is a really nice buffet styled restaurant and free art gallery if you want to explore the Galeries Lafayette more. You can obviously do a bit of shopping, if you have lots of cash to blow!

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Galeries Lafayette is one of the most famous department stores in the world. I wont lie, to shop here is sh*t expensive and its mainly aimed at tourists looking to fulfill that whole "I -wanna' shop- in Paris- fantasy". It's still worth checking out for its beautiful interiors and cool rooftop view of the city!🗼📷💳💲 .. #paris #etudiant #fashionstudent #visitparis #studyinfrance #france #frenchstyle #gltlove #girlsthattravel #livingabroad #frenchaffair #etudiant #voyage #nikontravel #travelblogger #nikonphotography #capetownblogger #iciestparis #igersparis #igersfrance #travelphotography #livinginparis #beautifuldestinations #파리 #패선 #프랑스 #tlpicks #lonelyplanet #parisjetaime #parismaville

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Centre Pompidou

The Centre Pompidou is located in the 3rd arrondissement, and a spot I would regularly frequent during lunch breaks at Uni or just to chill after class. I loved this little area. There was always something happening. The main attraction is the uber cool Pompidou Museum, designed by French architect Charles Pompidou. This museum is a work of art in itself. With its unconventional architecture for the interior and exterior.

You can watch visitors walk through the levels from the outside. The colourful pipes against the fragmented steel façade is pretty eye-catching. Sitting by the fountain or the on the cobble stones with tea/coffee and watching street artists perform is always fun.

Palais Royal

Ok, this re-visit was inspired by numerous posts of social media. I have walked through here lots of times but never bother to take a photo and now I wanted one. This art piece by French artist Daniel Buren, consists of a large check board with various sized striped columns. I liked the modern contrast it makes with the classical architecture around the courtyard.

The royal house of Orleans and numerous other royal folk had lived in the palace. Most notable were the younger brothers of King Louis XIV and Cardinal Richelieu (yes that brandy is named after this guy)

Restaurant Kaitleen

This one is special. On my last night, I arranged a dinner at Restaurant Kaitleen, a cool little restaurant near Opera opened up by my former classmate Charles! I follow his restaurant account on Instagram and the food always looks so good.

The food was as good as it looked. The atmosphere was cool for such a small space and service was great. I’d recommend you check it out. Seeing everyone together was fun and it turned out to be a good night. A nice way to end me and my friend’s last night in Paris before she headed off back to Canada and I to S.A!

A Winter’s Week in Paris

This was a busy week for me. Going into university, prepping for grad, collecting stuff and catching up. If you’re thinking of visiting Paris in winter, it’s really not a bad idea. Of course this depends on what your fantasies of this city are about or if you planned a summer wardrobe for your vacation photos. I’ll admit the city is much quieter and there are not as many tourists crowding up the place. At least, you can def get in that Eiffel Tower shots with almost nobody in the background!

In my next post on France, I will write more on what it’s like to study here and live the student life.

Bee

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Visiting Paris in Winter I had to return to France for my graduation, which I had to postpone last year due to work obligations.