#also posting about bears right now and queueing up bear posts makes me feel sick

[fuckyeah-bears]

The thing is for me personally tho, this is so fuckin important right now but its always felt like you were a constant break in a sea of political content. Im asking you as politely as i can please dont stop the bears because of how much they help give a space to sit and think about the barrage of shit just going on and on in the world that just feels like the worlds on fire and we have nothing to put it out with. If you need to stop the bears thats totally fine too, I'll find something else. Because your mental, physical, and emotional well-being come before any need for bears.

Lots of love

A person you turned into the biggest bear lover his friends know <3

i won't stop posting bears. i promise. but i am going to scale back on how many posts a day i do. right now i'm looking at 1 prescheduled post a day instead of my previous 3 per day.

i understand how necessary a break from reality is, which is why i created bearotonin in the first place. and i will continue to run it. but for me, it just makes me feel so utterly sick and wrong to go on business as usual and ignoring the horrific atrocity going on right now. because that's what the whole fucking world is doing. that's what the media is doing. that's what almost all our countries are doing. just pretending it's not happening or it's not that bad. and i can't do that. i can't act like that. it makes me feel sick to my stomach just thinking about being part of that.

especially because i have some degree of a platform with bearotonin and i feel like i morally need to be using it. but i still want bearotonin to be a refuge and haven for people who need it.

so i've decided that i will keep running bearotonin. and in order for it to be a haven, it has to be an escape from the real world, with no reference or mention to real world stuff on it. but i can't just do business as usual and pretend nothing is happening. i literally could not live with myself for doing that. so my compromise is to reduce the volume of bear posts. i will still be providing daily bear programming to make life bearable. but just less than before.

this blog however, will not be that 'haven'. because i need to speak up against what's going on. and i have more followers here than i do on main. so i may occasionally post bears here. but i'm also going to keep posting a lot of what's happening to palestine. because i need to. it is the bare (bear) fucking minimum i can do as a human being to stand by palestine and not be silently complicit in another genocide

Free Palestine 🇵🇸

[jediofbooksandsnacks]

Caged in Psycho-Pass

So, I wanted to talk about the feeling of being caged in Psycho-Pass and the Psycho-Pass movie, mostly in the movie. It’s a motif that shows up a lot with both Akane and Shinya. This is a long and screenshot-heavy post, so I’ve placed it under the cut.

For a quick reminder, it shows up as a theme in the S1 anime. Please also keep in mind that hounds can be caged. So, here is Akane, talking to Kogami after Makishima kills one of her friends:

(I mean, Ko’s reading napalm-loving Heart of Darkness and is taking in some kind of get-better-juice that is the same color as Makishima’s eyes--I might suspect we know where this is going.)  Anyway, that’s only one example, I think there are more? In particular, though, it’s in the ending theme:

“Nobody knows the troubles I seen.”

Hard to get more caged than that. 

So, caged in the movie. Here is Akane, feeling caged in her apartment:

“Aim carefully and eliminate the target.”

You can see the Dominator in the shape of the window and see how it cages Akane to her promise to Sibyl in the shadows of the blinds. Sibyl asked a lot of her in sharing the brain continuum (brainiuum?) and asking one person to shoulder that burden is ethically and morally A Lot. Which is how Sibyl is breaking Akane down, too.

Plus, Akane thinks she is the only one who knows this secret. Keep in mind that Akane doesn’t know that Sibyl told Mika, the mirror-verse Akane, about the pickled brain situation in season two. (I kid about Mika. I just want to see her get some real development in the show.) So, Akane is cut off from her family, her friends, her coworkers--all of her pillars of support.

So, when she discovers where Shinya is, she goes off after him. (Go get your man, Akane.) And who wouldn’t want to escape from the cage of these heavy expectations? (Just like Shinya did.) Who wouldn’t want to tell him everything, even if that would break her promise? (Which she can’t do at the point.) Who wouldn’t want to recapture their old relationship, whether it was a mentor/mentee or something romantic?

So. They go to the temples in Cambodia, which are structured with slats along the sides. Like this:

Temples of Cambodia: The Heart of Angkor is on point with the iron bar slats for this metaphor. It’s like they are stuck inside a temple acting as a defacto cage. And here they are, walking through that temple:

“Ah, nostalgia.”

I had to brighten some of these in order to see them--sorry if the colors are wonky. So here it is, acting as a metaphorical cage. He asks about Gino, here, bringing up all of their iron-barred, hunting-dog, Enforcer histories. He hasn’t let go of the old, and she’s mainly there to bring him in. So, not much has changed between them. And then they go to a funeral for the fallen soldiers, so. (I really hope that is not foreshadowing.) Yeah. Not exactly a happy occasion.

Then, later:

*queues up In Your Eyes*

(That’s a link to my previous post about eye color. Here’s a link to the actual lyrics to the song.)

Super awkward! In this image, the chairs he’s trying to sleep on (and totally failing) are also caged, putting up another Inspector/ Enforcer barrier between them. He’s caught up in and caged by her unexpected presence (you might say it’s arresting) and the rising (!) memory of his life in Japan, and she’s caged by her memory of smart, insightful him and then that ringing, final gunshot (and now how he won’t come back); it’s both the barrier between them and it ties the two of them together, now, for better or worse.

(“...in sickness and in health, for better or for worse.” There’s a whole marriage thing going on here, too. I might post about that later.)

(I could write an essay on this scene.)

ANYWAY. When she gets up and heads outside, he follows her, here:

“Tell me your sorrows, Kogami. Cuz I am definitely not hiding a thing.”

Caged by the temple, again. Notice that she is in a white shirt and he is in black, signifying their relative stances right now. She’s good and pure but is holding a life-altering secret, he is guilty and sad and is trying to make peace with his decision to become a murderer and everything that came after. She is hiding something, and he is vulnerable, here, which I like. He acts all tough, but he’s a mess inside. Frankly, she’s a mess inside, too. Thanks, Sibyl.

And then (last one):

“She came here for a booty call and I didn’t even put out. WTF am I doing?”

(Ok, I kid. This post leans Shinkane, but YMMV.)

So, this is near the end of the movie. It lingers, which sets my spider-fiction senses on high alert, but I have a feeling he’s thinking about things. He’s once again caged by the shadows in his environment, this time after Gino bears down on escaped Ko with all of the weight of the still-serving latent-criminal Enforcers making heavy his right hook. Also: his father. (I’m not sure if this is brotherly-Gino or rival-Gino, but that was a nice jab, Gino.) Gino tells him to stay away from Japan, to stay away from Tsunemori. And, well. Yeah.

So, both are caged by a set of expectations--Akane by her promise to Sibyl, Shinya by the weight of his past non-Sibyl approved (killing) actions. Plus, remember how I said that hounds are caged? Shinya realizes he can’t escape that, even now. Maybe later he can, but not now. 

I haven’t seen Sinners of the System, yet, so I can’t comment on those. And bring on season three.

Phew, that was long. Thanks for sticking with me to the end.

[faveficarchive]

The Hitch Hiker

By Bongo Bear

Pairing: AU Xena/Gabrielle

Rating: Mature

Synopsis: AU Xena/Gabrielle meet after an airport an airport snafu, and their past selves are dredged up. CW: dub!con

Personal Note: This right here is the OG Uber-fic for the Xenaverse. Bongo Bear LITERALLY COINED THE TERM UBER for Xena fic, and fanfic in general, so bless her for her contributions. Bongo and Bat Morda paved the way for you to enjoy every Mel/Janice, Xena/Gabrielle uber fic you’ve ever read. You ain’t got nothing on this woman. I don’t usually post ubers that don’t contain 99% pure X/G or M/J in their named glory, but this one has to be preserved, as it was the first. I’ll also be posting a few more of her stories as I can find them.  

I was in a real snit, to put it mildly. I was tired and hungry and still had a long way to go. I had just lost my boarding pass after the bags were already checked in and loaded on the plane. Time was running out and I was desperate enough to call upon a higher power.

So, I supplicated myself to a priestess of air travel at the altar of Customer Service. I begged her to let me join my luggage on the flight that was about to leave in five minutes from the gate a hundred yards away from where I prostrated myself before her. I made offerings of Mastercard, Visa, and American Express to no avail. She looked at me with sympathetic eyes, but no way was she going to violate security protocols and let me on board without the missing pass. I sighed deeply and started to look at the flight schedule to other cities when I heard a voice call out to me.

I turned at the sound and saw a woman sitting in the waiting lounge nearby. She smiled and waved at me. I pointed to my chest, who me? She nodded vigorously, yes you! I walked over to this woman whom I had never set eyes upon before and asked, "Ahh, did you want to say something to me?"

"Yes, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation over there," she pointed to the counter. "I'm going to Vancouver as well and missed the same flight, but for different reasons. Now, I'm on a flight to Bellingham; it's just an hour drive to Vancouver from there. If you get a seat on the Bellingham flight, I'll drive you over. The plane leaves in thirty minutes."

I'm not accustomed to the unexpected generosity of strangers, so I looked her over. Even though she was seated, I could tell that she was tall, taller than me. Her dark hair was gathered in a long ponytail that curled over her shoulder. What really caught my attention were her incredible, deep blue eyes. They matched the indigo denim shirt she wore under her black leather parka. I thought for sure that Mother Nature didn't make eyes like that and that she was wearing contacts. I looked for the tell-tale rings in the corneas, but I couldn't find them.

"Well, are you interested in my offer or not?"

I mentally slapped myself when I realized that I was falling into her eyes. What was she offering me? Oh, yes, a ride. "Yeah, sure. Why not? You don't look like an axe murderer." I grinned at my lame attempt to break the ice.

"That's a relief! I hate to think that people find me threatening. My name is Alexandria, but you can call me Alex," she said as she stood up and extended her hand to me.

"I'm Gwen, short for Guinevere," I said, shaking her hand. A strong grip. I liked that. Some women, when they shake hands, only grasp the fingers and give them a weak wiggle. That always made me feel like they were hiding something because they weren't willing to give all of their hand to me. What else would a person like that hold back? Alex's hand was large enough to encompass all of mine. She shook my hand firmly, yet gently. I could trust her. Completely. What the hell am I thinking, I thought.

"Guinevere is a very old, very auspicious name," Alex observed.

"My mom was a big fan of Le Morte d'Arthur. Now, Alex is an unusual nickname for Alexandria."

"I throw people for a loop whenever they meet me. You know, they're expecting some guy instead of me. Besides, I'm more memorable that way," she said matter-of-factly.

No kidding, I thought. "Hmm, I need to buy my ticket. Will you watch my backpack for me?" I set my heavy pack in the empty seat next to Alex and walked over to the ticket counter. When I returned, she was studying the blueprint tube sticking out of the top of the pack.

"It's a practice sword called a bokuto," I said as I pulled the tube out of the pack and sat down. I removed the protective tube and handed her the wooden sword. "I'm a student of Iaido..."

"The Japanese martial art of drawing a sword and striking down your opponent in a single stroke," she finished. "By the way, where's your live blade?"

I looked at her quizzically, "My sword's at home. Security would get antsy if I carried on three feet of razor sharp steel. How did you know about Iaido?"

"I'm a professor of military history. Actually, my specialty is Greek warfare, but I keep up with other cultures as well," she said as her hand caressed the smooth wood of the sword's blade.

This time, I stopped myself from staring at her graceful hand and said, "I'm an architect. I've just finished a guest lecture on design here in Denver."

"So are you going to Vancouver for another lecture?"

"No, Vancouver's a working vacation; Denver was just work. You promise not to laugh too hard?" Alex nodded. "I like to write on the side. So I'm attending a writers' workshop in Vancouver. When I was in college, I had to decide whenever to major in literature or architecture. I've always had a bent for the written word as well as drafting and design. I chose architecture for the money, but I never gave up writing for the pleasure."

"I understand. It's good to cultivate many talents: public speaking, word smithing, and sword play," she said as she handed my sword back to me. "Boarding call....let's get in line." She put her hand around my upper arm. I let her guide me out of my seat and into the queue.

"'Word smithing' to describe scribbling stories is a bit overly dramatic, isn't it?" I said, a little embarrassed by the flourish she gave that part of my life.

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's part of what you are. That's nothing to be ashamed of. The attendant wants your pass," she said as she directed my gaze to the waiting attendant.

We boarded the plane. It was a lot smaller than I had expected for such a long trip from Denver to near the Canadian border. The plane, being as tiny as it was, transmitted every swoop, turn, and sudden updraft directly to my stomach. I held my head between my knees. I knew I was going to hurl into the barf bag I held to my mouth. Alex, seated next to me, rubbed my neck and my back to try to soothe me. She had me sit up, then she grasped my wrist tightly. Suddenly, my motion sickness faded from the full-blown tempest to a slight churning in my gut.

"What did you do?" I asked Alex. She said, "I've activated a pressure point on your wrist. Like this." She demonstrated again. It was like a toggle switch. Hit the point once the nausea goes away. Hit again and it comes right back at you. "Oh god, I'm gonna be sick." She quickly switched off my stomach. "Thanks, I can relax now," I said.

Feeling a bit conversational, I decided to find out more about my unusual traveling companion. "So, what brought you to Denver?" I asked.

"I did some hiking in the Rocky Mountain National Park. Ever been there, Gwen?" 

I nodded. "It's one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Not too many places have skies as blue, snow caps as white, or lakes as clear." I watched her face intently as she spoke. I could almost see the stormy blue skies over the Rockies reflected in her eyes.

"I assume that you hiked by yourself. Do you like communing with Nature all alone?" I asked.

"I've traveled with a friend in the past, but now I travel alone. I would prefer a companion," she said almost shyly. She looked at me expectantly. I wasn't sure how to respond.

"Please go on. I want to hear about your trip," I said relaxing into my seat. I felt her fingers burning into my hand as she touched me to emphasize a point. Her voice fell into a sing-song that slowly dropped octaves and the volume softened to a low whisper. I stopped hearing any more of her words, as I fell into a light snooze that quickly deepened into REM sleep. I dreamt about Alex, but not Alex.

******

A tall, dark beauty looking amazingly like Alex walks tentatively towards me. She's wearing what looks like a one-piece leather bathing suit with a matching set of breast armor, gauntlets, and arm bands. She smiles brilliantly at me. I approach her, but she won't let me touch her. I can't hear what she's saying. She leans in to kiss me on the lips. I close my eyes and purse my lips in anticipation...

******

"Gwen!" Alex tried to shake me out of the dream. "Wake up!" She shook me hard enough to throw my upper body into the aisle.

"Uuhh, what? Oh, it's you," I said. She said that I was talking some nonsense aloud and she didn't want me to embarrass myself. "What did I say?" I asked warily.

"Nothing intelligible, but the other passengers started to look at you funny," she said.

"Great, thanks for waking me. My ears are killing me. We must be landing." I looked out of the window and saw white. Not just the white of flying through cloud cover, but the white of the ground covered with snow and the white of the sky whose horizon was increasingly indistinguishable as the day came to a close. "Are you sure we can drive through this mess? It looked like it snowed ten feet down there!"

Alex patted my hand, "No, problem. I grew up here and know the area well. Besides, we can rent a four-by-four SUV when we land."

******

We pulled out of the rental car lot and were on the road to Vancouver in no time flat. Alex drove while I rode shotgun. She tuned the radio to a local NPR station that was playing classical music. Soon she was humming softly to the strains of Mozart's Magic Flute. I leaned back against the head rest and squinted my eyes at the setting sun as it outlined Alex's features.

She concentrated all of her attention on the road because of the driving snow. I took the opportunity to look at her, to really see this intriguing woman. The fading sun illuminated the profile of her face. The planes of her high cheek bones complemented her long, straight nose. Her countenance had a classic beauty that the typical Barbie doll beauty queen lacks. Her face projected strength, confidence, and something else that I bet scared the holy shit out of her students when the mood struck her.

She must have felt my stare, for she said, "What are you looking at, Gwen?" She kept her eyes on the road.

"You," I said brazenly, almost wishing I hadn't said anything at all. "I know I've met you before..." She just smiled enigmatically at the windshield.

Alex turned on the headlights. The falling snow sparkled as it fell through the beams. It would have been a lovely sight if the snowfall weren't so heavy. The visibility was reduced to mere feet once the sun went down. "We'll have to pull over. It's too dangerous to drive in these conditions. I'll park away from the road so that we don't have to worry about a car hitting us in the night."

"Where can we stay? I'm not too thrilled about camping out in the SUV tonight," I whined.

"We'll be just fine in the back. I have camping equipment in my luggage."

I looked out at the heavy falling snow. It was wet and stuck to everything. The wind whipped around what didn't stick and obscured everything else but the small space directly in front of the SUV. I blew out a sigh between my lips. The window immediately fogged. "Damn, we're snowbound."

******

Alex put down the back seats of the SUV to form a flat surface and laid her sleeping bag across it. "There's only one bag," I said, pointing out the obvious. "I know. We'll have to share. My bag's big enough," Alex said.

How convenient for you, I thought. "I'm not comfortable with that. Why don't you sleep back there and I'll just curl up in the front seat?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Besides, it's much warmer if we sleep together." She shrugged herself into the bag, looked at me, then patted the empty space next to her. I shook my head no. "Suit yourself."

Thirty minutes later, I was freezing and not getting a wink of sleep. Cold moonlight poured through the windshield, dimly lighting the interior. I looked back and saw her shivering a little in her sleep as well. I crawled back there and gently woke up Alex. She said sleepily, "Changed your mind? Come here and lie down."

I took off my heavy parka and snuggled up inside. I laid the parka over the bag for extra warmth. Alex had done the same with hers. I laid flat on my back and peered straight ahead so I wouldn't have to look at her. Like I could actually ignore her. I felt her body heat radiating into my side.

"Gwen, why were you staring at me earlier?" She propped herself up to face me.

"Umm, no particular reason. You're just interesting to look at." I still stared at the ceiling.

"Uh huh. You said you knew me from somewhere else? Do you remember where?" She caught a lock of my hair and began to twirl it in her fingers.

"Stop that," I said, grabbing her hand. "You just look very familiar; that's all! Is there a point to the twenty questions?" I said impatiently, releasing her hand.

"Maybe..." She put her hand on my stomach and began to rub it in slow circles through the sleeping bag.

"Like you're trying to seduce me?"

"Who me?" she asked as innocently as possible for her.

"I don't see anyone else here." I rolled over and pretended to search around the cramped loading area of the SUV. She caught my hand and placed a fingertip in her mouth. Then she kissed the palm of my hand before nibbling the sensitive spot on the inside of my wrist. Don't...do...that..." I objected weakly.

"Why not?" she said. 

Why not, indeed. I couldn't think of a good reason to refuse her attentions. She was beautiful, aroused, and getting me there, too. I was wondering if her suggestion to travel with her back at the airport was a mere coincidence or if it was somehow fated. Why here, why now, why me?

"I can see the indecision on your face, Gwen. A lot of questions going through that hard head of yours." She quickly closed the distance between our lips. "Have you made up your mind, yet?" I responded by rolling her on top of me. "I'll take that as a 'yes'," she said, looking down at my wide open eyes. Her long hair tickled my neck and my nose. She deliberately moved her head so that the soft strands brushed against my skin, making me laugh.

"You're all flushed. Let's get you out of those clothes." She picked herself up, then pulled me to a sitting position. As she kissed me, she slowly unbuttoned my flannel shirt. She bent down and placed her soft lips on my exposed skin as each unbutton came undone. The wet kisses left a trail of goose bumps. By the time the trail led to my navel, I was ready tear the rest off myself. I kicked away the top of the sleeping bag, then leaned back so I could unzip my jeans. Her hands beat me to the zipper. She pulled the jeans and underwear off in a single motion and was tugging at my socks. "Leave them be," I said panting slightly. She looked at me with a questioning eyebrow. "I don't want to get cold feet."

She smirked at the unexpected humor. "All right. The socks stay put." Her voice grew husky, "Is your foreplay as good as your wordplay?" Before I could answer, she pushed me back into the bag and straddled my hips. Since she was facing the front, the moonlight struck her full in the face. The effect left me breathless. Her brilliant blue eyes, glittering with an internal fire, were set in her pale face like sapphires lying on white satin. She held my gaze and began to murmur softly in a foreign language. Ancient Greek? My lids grew heavy as the rhythm of her voice swept me into delicious unconsciousness. The last thing I remembered were those dazzling eyes.

******

A tall, dark beauty named Xena walks tentatively towards me. She's wearing her usual one-piece leather battle tunic with a matching set of breast armor, gauntlets, and arm bands. She smiles brilliantly at me. I approach her, but she won't let me touch her. I can just barely hear what she's saying. She leans in to kiss me on the lips. I close my eyes and purse my lips in anticipation.....

"Gabrielle, please look at me," Xena said. Gabrielle opened her eyes and saw her lover for the first time in a century. She hugged the warrior tightly and sighed 'Xena' into her shoulder.

"Little one, I'm glad to see you, too! I'm sorry it took so long to make contact, but your host is a little too reserved; repressed even." Xena caressed her bard's hair as she spoke.

"You mean she actually resisted your charms?" Gabrielle asked with a touch of surprise.

"Yeah, can you believe it? I had to seduce then hypnotize her before I could bring you out."

"Are you sure she's a descendant of mine? She seems so different. She doesn't even look that much like me. Her hair is a darker blonde - almost a mousy brown. And she's taller..." Xena stopped her bard before she could tick off any more points.

"Gabrielle, she has your most endearing qualities: propensities for speaking, writing, and whining," Xena said with a very big grin.

"Very funny. But really, she seems a little like you, too. Especially the affinity for swords and a stubborn streak. Could it be that she's a descendant from both of us?"

"Possibly. That could explain why the Fates practically dumped her in my lap. I had almost given up since it had been so long, yet there she was. Just standing there at the airport."

"Hmmm, if she is descended from you as well as me, be careful not to piss her off."

"I don't piss people off any more," Xena said defensively. Gabrielle dropped her chin and cocked her eyes skeptically. "Okay..not as much as I used to."

"Just teasing. Seriously, how do you plan to explain our situation to her? I can take over her body now that she's asleep. But will she share when she's fully awake?"

"Don't know. But for now, let's take full advantage of the situation," Xena said as she bent her head to finish the kiss.

******

The rays of the morning sun reflected off the snow drifts and directly into my face. I tried to pull the sleeping bag over my eyes to block out the light, but there wasn't enough slack. I cracked one bleary eye open, then coaxed the other one awake. Stretching out above my head, I felt the soreness of my arms and legs. I sat up in sleeping bag and looked down at my still sleeping companion. Alex's lips were slightly parted in relaxation. Impulsively, I reached down to caress the side of her face and brush my fingers lightly across her moist lips. She involuntarily closed them on my fingertips. I quickly withdrew them, not wanting to wake her.

I looked around and noted that the snow drifts covered half of the SUV. The doors of only one side could be opened. Fortunately, it was on my side. I fished out my discarded clothing from the corner, dressed, and went outside. Sunlight sparkled on the snow, rendering the landscape an almost blinding white. The pine trees were softly outlined with only a few green branches poking out of the white blanket. I breathed in the cold, sharp air and bent down to wash my face with the clean snow. This isn't so bad, I thought. What am I, nuts? I'm in the middle of the frigging woods! With a very strange, but fascinating woman. Well, I can't do anything about it now.

On a whim, I went back to the SUV and pulled out my sword and a sweatshirt. A few drills would loosen up those sore muscles. I stepped out into a clearing a few yards from the SUV and changed into the sweatshirt. I finished the first seven kata and was meditating about the past day's events when I heard the car door slam shut. I heard Alex's feet crunch through the snow toward me. I felt her arms around my waist as she whispered in my ear, "Good morning, I slept like a rock. How about you?"

As I turned around in her arms, she met me with a brief kiss. I pulled her arms away from me and stepped back a little. She seemed alarmed by my cool reception. "I may as well have slept on a rock; I hurt all over. On top of that, I'm missing out on the workshop, which is already paid for. I'm sleeping in the woods like a goddamned bear. And from the looks of the SUV," pointing to the half-buried vehicle with my chin, "and of the road," pointing in the opposite direction to the non-existent paved surface, "I'm going to have to go through this again!"

"You're certainly acting like a bear. Come on....was last night really so bad?" she asked as she caressed my face. I started to brush her hand aside, but decided to just hold it between us instead.

"Actually, I don't remember very much about it. I just felt unusually sore this morning." I rubbed my lower back to ease a knot.

"At least you can't see the teeth marks on your..." Alex clamped a hand over her mouth to shut herself up.

It was my turn to raise eyebrows. I twisted to glance down at my hip pocket. "On my butt? No, you didn't!" Alex just stood there with a huge toothy grin on her face. "Aah, you did!" I threw up my hands in exasperation.

"Hey, I've been vaccinated!" Alex said defensively, though still smiling. I cocked a skeptical eye at her.

At this point, I was very unhappy camper. I pushed my index finger into Alex's chest, slowly backing her into a tree.

"Whatever possessed you," Poke.

"To bite me," Poke.

"Anywhere?" Poke.

When she couldn't move any further, I looked up into her eyes, "Much less my butt!" Poke.

Looking down at me, she gently pulled my irate finger from her bosom and kissed it. Then she said, "For someone who's not much of a morning person, you're asking very astute questions."

"Huh?" I retrieved my hand to rub the back of my neck, "Things are going on that I don't understand. What exactly happened last night? I feel like I've been through a marathon."

"I'm not surprised considering that Gabrielle and I did give your body quite a workout last night," Alex said carefully, watching my reaction. It was simply, "Who the hell is Gabrielle?"

She sat me down and told me the long sordid tale of her illustrious ancestor, Xena the Warrior Princess and the love of her life, Gabrielle, the famous bard of Potedeia. I never heard of either of them. She explained how their souls were forever intertwined and therefore fated to be together. Throughout the centuries since their deaths, their souls have inhabited the bodies of a select few of their descendants. I'm supposed to be a descendant of Gabrielle for sure and possibly even Xena. Once inhabited, their descendants lived together much as their progenitors did in life. Alex finished her story with a beatific smile. "We're so relieved to have found you, Gwen. You're just perfect. Just perfect."

"Great, I'm perfect for what? Look, I don't share your enthusiasm. I'm not even sure you're completely sane. You're Xena's descendant and she's supposed to be you now? Let's say for the sake of argument, that what you've told me is completely true - "

"It is," Alex interjected.

"And I'm supposed to let Gabrielle take over my body, so you two can live in bliss the rest of my life?"

"That's how it usually works," Alex nodded her head. "You understand now?"

"I understand that neither of you two have considered the rights of the people you inhabited." Alex looked stunned at my words. "When Gabrielle took over, where was I? Where was my soul?"

"Your soul was still there. You were just unconscious for the whole time."

"Do I have to be unconscious for her to take over completely?"

"Yes. But she can keep you conscious. In that case, you would experience everything as if it were happening to someone else," Alex answered.

"Then I might as well be dead! If I let her take me over forever, she'd be living my life. I like my life. She can't just take it over! Both of you lived full lives, fuller than most, centuries ago. I have the right to live my own life."

"But we're destined to be together forever! The gods have ordained it. You can't refuse to let Gabrielle live again through you."

"Oh, yes, I can. Even if she lets me remain conscious, I won't have my own will. She'd still control everything. I'd just be aware of being trapped in my own body."

"Gabrielle should be the one talking to you. She's much more persuasive than I am," Alex said worriedly. "Gwen, I love you. You've got to understand!"

"Alex, Xena, whoever you are... we just met yesterday. You can't possibly love me. You love Gabrielle. You made love to Gabrielle last night, not to me. You've used me for your own selfish pleasure." Alex winced at that comment, but continued to listen.

"You easily seduced me and I probably even let you. I might even come to love you someday," I said as I stroked her hand. "But Gabrielle will always have your heart. Not me, not the person I really am. Remember how you hated how the gods meddled in your life. You're doing the exact same thing to me. You and Gabrielle will just have to work something else out." I turned, grabbed my coat, shirt, and sword, and stomped back to the SUV to get warm again. The look on Alex's face was like I had just killed her best friend. Maybe I just did.

******

Alex followed me back to the SUV. She grabbed my shoulder and spun me around to face her. "I need Gabrielle by my side. I can't go on living alone like this." Alex was practically pleading with me. A tear welled up in her eye and threatened to roll down a perfect cheek. I automatically reached out and brushed away her tears. She caught my hand and held it to her cheek. Oh god, I groaned inwardly. I snatched my hand away before she took anymore liberties.

"All right, don't get all mushy on me. I thought you were the tough one, Alex."

"Actually, that part of my personality has mellowed a lot. Before Xena merged with me, I was a real wuss. You know, a sentimental, simpering romantic. Her darker personality gave me some balance."

"So it is possible to 'merge' the souls in a body rather than have one dominate the other?"

"No, not really. The dominant soul still controls the body. But sharing the body is more like a merger if both souls want it. I wanted and needed it. It's only a problem if the original owner fights the process. Then it becomes possession," Alex's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Are you threatening me?" Rising up to the challenge, "I got news for you, kiddo. If I've inherited bits of both Xena's and Gabrielle's personalities, I'm stronger than either of you individually. Don't misunderstand; I'm sympathetic to your loneliness."

"As I am to yours," Alex said catching me by off-guard. Holding me by my upper arms, she asked gently, "Gwen, you have your life, your career. But who do you have? How do you wake up in the mornings? All cold and alone? Just like your nights?" I opened my mouth to wordlessly respond, how could you know? Her blue eyes shined into mine. "Who is your soulmate?"

I stood there dazed like a deer in headlights. How did she know what I've needed - wanted - all my adult life? Somehow, she knew about the one-night-stands where I sought temporary relief, only to wake up alone in the morning. She knew that sometimes I cried myself to sleep hugging a pillow, wishing it were a lover. I looked down into my heart and found the answer.

I told her the truth in a quiet voice, "No one."

"That's where you're wrong. I'm right here," lifting my chin so she could see my eyes. Alex reached out to touch my chest. The warmth of her fingers seeped through. "I can help fill that emptiness. We're not being selfish at all. What Gabrielle and I had when we were alive is a gift we bestow on our descendants: the gift of eternal love. You'll never be alone again."

Long minutes passed while I considered what she said. Taking a deep breath, I began slowly, "I suppose....we could come.... to a mutual agreement. There are some things about Gabrielle that could bring balance to my life."

"Yeah, like you could use some lightening up," Alex quipped, a smile turning up a corner of her mouth.

"Hmmph," I sniffed. "She could help me with my writing. Yeah, that's it. Make me more empathic. Who knows? Gabrielle may learn a few things from me." This could work, I thought. "Just because she's dead doesn't mean she can't learn new tricks. But I don't want her messing with my swords. Let's make a deal."

"I'm listening."

******

Alex and I dug the SUV out of the snow drift. The highway plows eventually came through and we were able to get back on the road again. Alex dropped me off in Vancouver. When we parted, she gave me a deep kiss that lingered for hours later. I told her that I wanted to see her again, very soon.

I think this compromise will work out just fine. I'll spend time with Alex because I want to. After all, she is hard to resist. Alex will have to learn to love me for who I am, not who she wants me to be.

Gabrielle will live vicariously through me, but without direct control. Her influence will be subtle and only with my approval. Gabrielle will just have to deal with the fact that I'm driving and she's riding shotgun. Good gods, was that noise my stomach? I wonder what passes for nutbread around here.....

Finis

[wolfpawn]

Life is a Game of Risks, Chapter 60

Chapter Summary - Alexianna begins to get morning sickness and not long after; the first hospital visit, leading to the reality of everything hitting home for Tom who is not prepared for the experience, while Alexianna is forced to deal with an issue within her own mind that she has had to fight since this began.

WARNING - CONTAINS REFERENCES TO PAST POST-NATAL DEPRESSION

TRIGGERS - Past domestic abuse, Past emotional abuse, Past sexual abuse.

NOTES - 

a few things; - Morning sickness tends to begin circa 6-8 weeks into gestation. - a pregnancy is usually dated from the beginning of your last period/menstrual cycle pre-conception, so though conception usually occurs halfway through a cycle (*usually* but not exclusively day 14 of a 28-day cycle) so where alexianna can date the conception to a particular event, it is still calculated to 2 weeks previous. - Portland Hospital is the fancy hospital of London, Ben and Sophie's boys were born there, royal babies are born there, the Beckham's kids were born there, translation, it is *the* place to have a baby, and Tom would only want the best for his prince/princess. - In Ireland, and I'm fairly sure Britain, vaginal ultrasounds are *NOT* the norm, I know in some countries they are, but not in this neck of the woods. I have not had a baby in Britain, but from the women I have compared public health services with from here, they are only done, like in Ireland, for particular reasons as it is seen as unnecessarily invasive. - I know I keep dragging Alexianna back to certain things, but like all abuse victims, she is forced to bear scars of her trauma, but she is fighting valiantly to move on.

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Alexianna did not have to wait long for the morning sickness to start, and like with Lily, she did not think the title for such illness to be accurate. The first bout of it started on a Sunday afternoon at just over seven weeks. Tom had just returned from Ace Comicon in Arizona. She thought nothing of it as she prepared dinner for them, herself and Tom planning to decide what date to plan for the initial hospital visit, as they were due to have her first check-up, once Lily went to bed. She was innocently seasoning the salmon Tom had brought for their dinner when the smell of the raw fish turned her stomach completely, forcing her to hold her hand over her mouth and pray she did not vomit as she felt herself gag. Tom quickly removed her from salmon duty. He cooked the fish, but every attempt to get into the kitchen for Alexianna resulted in her gagging again, she settled to hide until the smell was gone, then eat some vegetables.

It was at its worst in the afternoon, though six PM seemed to be when the vomiting liked to begin as opposed to just nausea. Tom commented she seemed best when she woke up and very much suggested she work around that, leading to Alexianna eating the most of her day's intake of food between six in the morning and midday. It left her with a very complex situation at work, she was eating throughout her office hours, much to the notice of her manager, who was less than impressed but could say nothing as she still did her work. She also changed all of her afternoon shifts for morning ones when possible and rarely stayed in work past five, opting instead for coming in an hour earlier to ensure she was not there for the evening time, her most ill times. College was more difficult, but she forced her way through it.

The hospital agreed that her best options were to continue as she was doing as she and Tom explained her situation to her Obstetrician on the first visit. Tom had insisted that for privacy and level of care, there was going to be no discussion on the matter, Alexianna would have the baby in Portland Hospital, the private exclusive hospital in London that Ben and Sophie had their sons in, where anyone of note in London had their child in. Though Alexianna stated that the care she received with Lily was quite good, she agreed that the non-existent queueing times, having the same staff throughout the pregnancy was a settling situation and with Tom being who he was, knowing that it would not be slapped on the front page of the paper by midwife before she even had a chance to tell Daniel or even Emma gave her incredible ease of mind.

The midwife spent over an hour documenting every last detail of Alexianna’s medical history, discussing the notes that had been sent from the hospital she had given birth to Lily in and discussing the issue that had forced her to get a C-section. Tom also was subject to questioning on his own health, hereditary diseases in his family and other such details. It took an age to go through it all, as well as getting blood samples from Alexianna to ensure everything was as it needed to be. Tom was every bit the concerned and supportive partner through it all, asking her if she wanted or needed anything, ensuring she was happy with her surrounds, everything. When the time came to get a scan to see if the heart was beating, Tom was practically vibrating with excitement. He seemed transfixed with the gel going onto Alexianna’s stomach, which, he realised the week before, was already getting an ever so slight rounding at the bottom when she stood before the screen began to show an odd grainy image. The doctor moved the wand of the machine around for a moment before clicking on the image.

“There it is, a little camera shy, but in there, all the same.” She smiled. “I will just make sure we only have one before we can focus a little more on measurements. I know this is uncomfortable on a full bladder, and I am very sorry, but we need to be sure.” She moved the wand around Alexianna’s lower abdomen, pressing slightly as she did. “Okay, we do seem to have just one in there. Give me a moment to do my measurements and we can have a better look then.” She pressed on the orb like dial on the machine a few times, taking the length a few times before bringing the screen around so they could see properly. “This is the baby. It is about nine weeks, four days, as your dates would suggest, so your prediction of the first of September is very much accurate. It is no longer an embryo but a foetus now, as no doubt you have read, and that,” she pointed to the centre of the bean-shaped object on the screen, where there was a peculiar movement every second or so. “Is it’s heart. It’s got a good strong rhythm, so that is great. I will print you a couple of photos for you to take away, I dare say your daughter is excited?” She smiled, having read about Lily in the file.

“She doesn’t know yet, but she will be.” Alexianna knew that when they did tell Lily, she would be lucky if she would be allowed to keep even one of the scan pictures for herself. She looked at Tom, wondering why he had gone so silent only to see him staring at the screen. “Tom?” He did not respond. She leant over and touched his hand, causing him to look at her. “Are you okay?”

“It’s actually a baby.” There was a notable amount of shock to his voice.

Alexianna could only give a small laugh as a response. “What were you expecting?”

“It’s just, it’s so real.”

Alexianna squeezed his hand a little. “Is this only hitting you now?”

Tom half nodded, half shook his head. “How am I...Fuck.”

“It can be like that for father’s sometimes.” The doctor nodded sympathetically. “It is so much more real to a mother, since she is the one ill and feeling the changes happening. The fathers tend to only realise when they see the baby on the screen, or in some cases when they are physically holding them.” She rose from the chair. “I need to get some roll to wipe this gel off you, I won’t be a moment.”

Alexianna nodded slightly and watched the other woman leave before looking worriedly to Tom. “Tom? Are you having doubts?”

Tom had gone back to looking at the image on the screen. On hearing her question, his head immediately turned to her again. “What, no. I...are you?”

“No, I am perfectly okay with this now, but you seem to not be. Is everything okay?”

“We made a baby.” He pointed to the screen. “We made a little human being. It’s alive, we made it.”

“I know, I was there.” She joked, she amazed smile on his face told her it was nothing bad that was causing his stunned demeanour. “What else did you think was in there?”

“I just….This is amazing.” His smile grew. "And we get to tell our family and friends soon."

She could only smile in response, elated that Tom was so thrilled with the situation, forcing herself to not allow Jonathan’s reaction into her head. His smile at the news was never as reassuring as Tom’s and she had not felt so sure of how everything would go from one day to the next. With Jonathan, she was always waiting for the man she had married to return, the belittling and horrible man that made her feel worthless, but Tom, he gave no such feeling, and she made sure to remind herself of that. That was something she had been so adamant of doing; reminding herself she had not repeated her past mistakes, Tom was Tom, he was the man she had loved for so long, the boy she trusted so deeply since she was just a child, he was not Jonathan, he never would be. The loving smile on his face, the way he kissed her hand with a loving look in her eyes made her see that, even if her mind sometimes for a brief moment tried to lie to her and say it would be the same, she knew it was wrong. It could be, from time to time. Mr Barrows had told her, our thoughts, as much as they try to convince us otherwise are not always right.

[doujinshijo]

Comic City Spark 12 #3 - ticketing and what to prepare on the day

You can check out part 1 and part 2 here.

Right, now for ticketing. Basically, your ticket to CCS12 is your brochure:

This brochure is hefty. It’s about 2-3cm thick and contains all of the information about the event you could want including circle locations, maps and even a cartoon explaining how you should conduct yourself on the day. It’s invaluable, not to mention the fact that you physically must carry it around with you as it’s proof that you paid your entry fee. 

There are a couple of ways to get the brochure:

buy it in advance from an approved store. Most big anime/manga chains like Animate, Melonbooks etc are stockists, but you can check a list of confirmed stores on Akaboo’s site. It’s worth noting that this is both more expensive than buying it on the day (1,900JPY compared to 1,600JPY on the day) and subject to selling out pretty quickly. I wasn’t able to get one this way, but then I didn’t actually ask until the day before the event so…yeah.

buy it on the day at the event entry tents. The brochures are issued one per person, so you can’t buy one for you and your mate - they must buy it themselves separately. A word of warning - you can NOT use a single banknote higher than 1,000JPY to buy it. Make sure you have change.

I believe you can buy a separate entry ticket without brochure for 1,400JPY - but I'm not 100% sure that’s the case, and at any rate your brochure is your backup in case your online prep doesn’t cut it (particularly because it contains detailed maps which you can detach from the book itself). Plus, it’s an awesome souvenir.

The day before the event: This is your last chance to make sure you have everything you need for the big day. I prepared this handy dandy checklist of everything I brought and found useful:

Why a flat, shoulder-carried tote? Very simply - you will be buying doujins in very cramped quarters (there’s just about enough room for a 2-person-deep queue on each side of the row and a narrow lane of traffic to pass by in the middle) and at high speed to keep queues moving. A flat tote is easy to open and slide a book in, and will keep them flat. It also means you don’t need to take a backpack off your back, open it, put the book in, close it and put it back on…trust me, when you’re surrounded by people in a rush to get past you you will be grateful that you optimised your stashing speed. You also need your hands free to prepare money, pick up books, hold queue markers if necessary…so a simple flat tote will be your best friend.

Now, when I went to this event, my plan was to show up very early to get a good place in the queue. I got into the queue at 8am (opening time 10am) and there were a couple of hundred people in front of me. If you’re planning to show up late in the afternoon once the crowds have subsided you may not need items like snacks etc. Water though is always a good idea, particularly if it’s hot out as the halls can get warm and you may be standing/queuing for a while for popular circles.

Check your mode of transport. Akaboo ask that visitors do not come by car - instead, you should use public transport (which is adapted according to the demands of the event - Comiket influences the entire infrastructure of the area, including mobile phone services, when it’s on!). The closest station is Kokusai-Tenjijo which is about 7 minutes walk away and on a direct line (JR Saikyo line, which changes to the Rinkai line without leaving the train) from Shinjuku station. It takes about 35 mins from Shinjuku JR station. Note though that trains don’t run this full route as often as other JR trains, and part of the journey isn’t covered by the JRPass so will cost you an extra 330JPY one way. You can find more on Tokyo Big Sight’s website.

Finally, Akaboo recommend getting a good night’s sleep and to avoid attending if you’re sick.

The day of the event: Check the weather. If it’s sunny, make sure you bring something to cover your head/neck from the sun if you’re planning to queue early, and apply sunscreen. If it’s raining, bring an umbrella, for there is no cover in the queue area. You may also want to bring something to sit on as you will be perched on the tarmac until opening time - some of the more hardcore participants had mini folding stools. If you’re happy to sit straight on the ground (I was), that’s cool.

Wear flat shoes. Please don’t be tempted to make a statement in any kind of heels or fancy footwear - it’s not worth it if you will be hurrying about and queuing, plus there is literally nowhere to sit inside the halls.

Leave early to catch your train. Follow the crowds to TBS - you can’t miss it. Check the signs - there will should be signposts for the East halls (東) or West halls (西). Note it’s quite a long walk - maybe 10 minutes or more - to get to the East Hall queuing area from the station-end of the site, and you’ll end up walking all around the building feeling like you’ve been sent off to the middle of nowhere…trust me, it will all make sense when you get there. 

If you get stuck you can try asking the staff directing the crowds, but be aware that not many speak English as this is not really considered a tourist attraction. I used very broken Japanese - “Kippu kaimas (literally “ticket buy” - hey, all I had was my English-Japanese dictionary)” - to find where to queue if you didn’t already have a ticket, but I think people actually queue in the same place regardless so you can just ask where to go for East Hall 1, West Hall 3 etc (or, if you looked up which “Event category” your circles are in e.g. Splash!, RTS!! etc using Navio, you can point this out on the checklist carried by staff). The staff I spoke to all recognised the names of the halls in English perfectly, and certainly helped as much as they could by pointing me in the right direction. 

When you get to the start of the queuing area you will see the ticket tents. There are a couple of queue options which are clearly marked - 1,400JPY for (I believe) ticket only, or 1,600JPY for brochure entry (recommended). As I mentioned before, do not attempt to use any 5,000JPY or higher notes or - heaven forbid - credit cards to pay; you will be sent to a separate queue to get change first, and there are no facilities to accept credit card. Anywhere. Inside or out.

Next, if you’re queuing in the East area, you will be divided into queuing groups depending on which halls you want to go into. This is where your online prep pays off; head for the sign for your chosen hall. I wanted to prioritise East 1 as about 5 of my favourite circles were in there, so I headed to the sign marked  “東 1.2.3″. We were asked to sit in lines of 4 wide and about 40-50 long. Once the line was full, the next block of 4 wide would be started alongside. When the queue moves to the entrance you’ll be moved in your original block of 4 wide, so there’s no chance of you losing your spot to someone that arrived later than you. It also doesn’t matter if your friend queues beside or behind you as you will move together regardless (my partner sat behind me, but most people sat next to their friends).

And all that’s left to do is sit down and wait until the staff move you to the entrance area about 20-30 minutes before the door opens. There are (a very small number of) toilets that you can use, and you can stand up and stretch etc but that’s pretty much it. The beauty of queuing in Japan is that everyone respects the queue, so you can leave your stuff in your space and go stretch your legs briefly and will still be able to return without hassle - just make sure you remember where you were sat, as there are no landmarks to navigate by and it’s very easy to lose your bearings in a sea of visitors! Also, Akaboo warn that the queue can be moved at any moment if necessary, in which case you could lose your place. Try not to leave if you can.

This is a great time (provided you arrived early enough and everyone is settled) to go through your brochure maps and circle the tables you want to visit. Since this is quite a picture-heavy post I’m going to dedicate part #4 to it - so for more on looking up circles, please check it out!

When times comes to move, all instructions will be in Japanese so just follow the lead of the people around you. The queue remains remarkably well structured as they lead you to the doorway, so don’t try to push ahead or change lanes - stay in your original group of 4 wide and follow the person in front, and you will be fine. As I already mentioned, queues in Japan work very well so you don’t need to defend your spot from people pushing in (unlike London) - just keep up with the person in front.

Just before the doors open there was an announcement, after which everyone applauded. A few minutes later the door opened and the queue started filing in. At this point there had to be between a around 150-250 people in front of me in the queue, and we still got in in a few minutes - everyone moves quickly but in a controller manner, so there is zero reason to panic or push. Go with the flow til you get through the door - then it’s all hands on deck!

Next up - your brochure, and event etiquette.

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/business/mobile-barbering-its-like-uber-but-for-haircuts/

Mobile barbering: 'It's like Uber, but for haircuts'

Image copyright Other

For many black British men, barber shops are a place to hang out, chat and meet friends. But for others they waste too much time, which is why two young men have come up with a new approach – a barber shop on wheels that you book via an app.

A van painted in bright colours drives slowly down a leafy, residential road in Norwood, south London. A young man in the front garden of a house, clutching a phone, waves at the driver, who parks nearby.

They shake hands, then the driver pulls back the sliding door of the van. This reveals a sparkling, silver barber’s chair, a large mirror, a hair dryer and pots filled with a variety of scissors.

The young man hops in and puts on an apron, syncing his phone to the speakers to get some music playing. The driver – who is now his barber – gets to work with his electric clippers in the tight space. The door is still wide open to let in sunlight.

A woman walking her dog along the pavement does a double take, craning her neck back in disbelief.

“My service is like Deliveroo, or Uber Eats, but instead of delivering food, we deliver haircuts,” explains Darren Tenkorang, 24, co-founder of Trim-It.

He currently has two vans buzzing around south London and another in the north-west of the city.

Darren is confident he’s on to something.

“Male grooming is a super-important part of my culture,” he says.

But in a van? Yes, he says.

“My generation really values convenience above all else, you see.”

Darren grew up in Brixton, south London, where his mother worked as a cleaner and his father as a security guard; they had arrived from Ghana in the 1980s and had dreams of him becoming a banker, lawyer or accountant.

University was always part of the plan for him, but when the time came, he wasn’t sure which one would feel right.

It was a barber shop that helped him decide.

“It sounds silly, but the fact that there was an Afro-Caribbean black barber immediately when I got out the railway station at Brighton, to visit the University of Sussex, made me think instantly, ‘I could be OK here, I could feel at home,'” Darren says.

Afro-Caribbean hair is different from European hair and it takes some expertise to cut it well. Darren found he usually got better results with barbers who specialised in it.

“I actually prefer it if a regular hairdresser admits they don’t know how to do my hair,” he says.

“I’ve had a few bad haircuts when someone is too polite to say ‘no’, and the results can be terrible.”

Studying Business Management at Sussex, he got a one-year placement at a re-insurance firm in London – just the kind of thing his parents wanted for him.

But while he was there he realised something that made him think hard about his future. He is dyslexic.

Initially it was just a hunch, but Darren sought a professional opinion, and the diagnosis was confirmed. When he told his parents, his mother said she’d known since he was at primary school, but hadn’t mentioned it.

“She thought if I knew it might hold me back,” says Darren.

Darren reassessed his career plans.

“I became worried about all the big numbers that would be flashing around in the corporate world,” he says.

So he decided to make his own way as an entrepreneur.

Immediately he set up his first venture. It was a digital platform that used an algorithm to match clients’ personalities with all kinds of tutoring services – it quickly folded.

The following year he entered the StartUp Sussex enterprise competition for student entrepreneurs.

He decided to work on an idea he was passionate about: male grooming.

Image caption As a teenager Darren got his hair cut in traditional salons like this

Afro-Caribbean barber shops are well-known for offering a social, convivial atmosphere – a place to hang out with friends.

“My dad used to take me to the barber’s in the morning and we’d be there for hours,” says Darren. “We’d watch the football, and he would usually sip a pint of Guinness, chilling with his boys.”

Darren had enjoyed those times. But as he got older he became increasingly frustrated with the slow tempo of the experience.

“I got sick of waiting for an hour at the barber, especially on a Friday or Saturday,” he says.

Or it would be your turn next in the queue, and then the barber would go to eat, or to pick up a child, he remembers.

There was a special feeling of community, but perhaps that was more necessary for the generation before his, he wondered.

“The new generation, like me, just want a trim and to get on with their day,” says Darren. “We live our life fast-paced.”

And so the idea came to him of an app that would allow you to book an appointment at a salon for a fixed time with a specific barber.

He thought this would appeal to everyone, not just those who use Afro-Caribbean barbers. Indeed some apps were already offering a similar service.

He included within his proposal an idea that seemed to him slightly far-fetched. He would eventually like to employ barbers directly, who would drive to clients in a van: mobile barber shops on wheels.

Image caption Darren met business partner Nana Darko while at University of Sussex

Darren’s Trim-It app won the competition, and he was named the University of Sussex’s Student Entrepreneur of the Year.

The prize was £10,000. To get his company up and running, he recruited a rival from the competition, a fellow student called Nana Darko, whose confident air had impressed him.

Darren promised to make Nana rich. He was similar to him, a young black man from south London with dreams of business success.

Together they pounded the streets of Brighton, signing up barbers to their new app – all barbers, not just the Afro-Caribbean ones.

Through hard work they built the app to the point where it was getting 2,000 bookings a month.

But at the same time, the idea and the fledgling business were unravelling, says Darren.

There were constant problems with barbers not turning up on time at the salon. Negative customer feedback was building up. They also hadn’t figured out how to make any money from the platform.

In 2017, Darren left Brighton and took a full-time job with a multinational company that specialises in sports betting, while trying to keep Trim-It going in his spare time.

The competition money had dried up and the app seemed ready to die a natural death in the app store.

“Self-doubt and a bruised ego had become something I was used to dealing with,” he admits.

Nana too was feeling bitterly disappointed. He had graduated with a first in engineering. But he was missing out at dozens of job interviews in the corporate world and he couldn’t figure out why. Was it the way he presented himself, the way he talked, or perhaps the colour of his skin?

It was at this low point that Darren and Nana decided to take a risk.

They would focus on the side of the business that had at first seemed so implausible and try the idea of mobile barber vans – only this would allow them to control the whole customer experience.

Image caption Kris is a full-time barber, operating from the van

Through family and friends they were able to raise a five-figure sum in a last-ditch attempt to jump-start the business and in February 2018 the first van was ready – a Ford transit Darren customised outside his parents’ house. The back of the van was all stripped out, to turn it into a mini-barber shop, powered by an electric generator.

They recruited two full-time barbers, updated the app and waited for the bookings to come in.

Very quickly those bookings arrived. In fact by July 2018 the van was permanently fully booked.

Word spread partly due to some celebrity customers such as musicians Charlie Sloth and Sneakbo, who both have hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram and Twitter.

As Darren and Nana had intended, the kind of people making the bookings were mostly young, black millennials – people like Lewis, from West Norwood.

“If I was 15 or 16, then I’d go to a barbershop,” says Lewis. “But I’m 23, managing properties and working part-time, so I don’t have time to go to a salon and wait for my turn.”

He might miss some of the banter in a typical Afro-Caribbean salon, but if he feels like company he can invite friends into the back of the van where there is a small bench for them to sit on, he says.

Buoyed by the early interest, Darren was able to sign up more investors, allowing the team to raise a six-figure sum. Around the same time it was becoming clear that there was a shortage of barbers catering to Afro-Caribbean people in parts of London with large numbers of well-paid workers.

“We’re finding that because there is a bigger black middle class and there’s more people working in the City, that we have pockets of customers there,” Darren says.

The van also turned out to be attractive to a new generation of black middle-class professionals looking for a haircut while working in trendy areas such as Old Street, Bethnal Green and Shoreditch.

In the first year, about half of the van’s business came in this way, says Darren.

As of this week, there are three vans in operation. The increasing number of black professionals may mean that the relatively high cost of a Trim-It cut – £25 – is not an obstacle to growth. But there are others.

Image copyright Trim-It

Image caption The service has also attracted some white and Asian customers

One obvious problem is parking. When visiting residential areas, customers often provide tips on where to park, to avoid getting a ticket. It can be easier in the evenings, when parking is free of charge.

But to cut hair in working hours in central London, the team has to find a place where they can park for a short period free of charge – no mean feat – or pay for a spot.

The difficulty of reaching customers in different parts of the city, bearing in mind London’s traffic problems, is expected to reduce if and when more vans come on stream, each serving a smaller area.

But there is also the problem of climate change – will young clients continue to feel comfortable having their hair cut in a van that runs on fossil fuels.

And of course many people in the black community still feel a strong emotional attachment to the barber shop, which was such an important meeting place for first generation immigrants.

Lawrence Agyemang works at a barber shop in Oval, south London, where Darren had his hair cut as a teenager.

Image caption Lawrence used to cut Darren’s hair when the entrepreneur was a teenager

“Young guys still want to hang out here in front of the shop, to show off their new hair styles,” he says.

And older people come even when they don’t really need a haircut, he says, to socialise, watch sport, or just share a joke.

Darren says that if his parents, 20 years ago, had thought their son would go into the barber shop business, they would have been “horrified”.

But if he can overhaul the barbering business, he thinks he might just make them proud.

“Mobile barbershops will be a thing, trust me,” he says.

Follow journalist Doug Shaw on Twitter: @dougalshawToldnews

You may also be interested in:

Gina Atinuke Knight’s white mum loved her, but her childhood in a white family meant it took her years to embrace her blackness. Her hair was one of the first things she came to love, which is why she became a hair blogger and wig-maker.

Join the conversation – find us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

[xtrahxtrah]

Elrow were coming back to London town for a whole weekend of debauchery with their 2 insane themes ‘From Lost To The River’ and ‘Singer Morning’. The former was running at Village Underground on Friday/Saturday evening and Sunday daytime. The latter was debuting in the UK at Tobacco Docks on Saturday daytime. What is less known about these themes is that the Spanish translation for Singer Morning, Canta Mañana is someone who is really out going and doesn’t care about what other people think. Similarly, From Lost To The River, Perdido Asta El Rio is a Spanish saying for someone who has a do it and whatever goes kind of attitude. This was clearly an assignment that was made for me. Elrow describes itself as an immersive experience which you can break down into 4 parts; music, performance, decoration and crowd. It’s pivotal to them that everything clicks together and the crowd gets involved as much as possible. The inflatables, performers and decor aren’t just gimmicks as you might find at other parties. They are truly there to make the crowd feel that they are part of the production. Imagine going to a West End show in London and the actors and actresses inviting you to take part in the theatrical performance. This is what separates Elrow from other event companies in the marketplace and why I couldn’t wait to embark on the mayhem myself!

Friday night I got home from work and changed for the weekend; leopard skin onesie, multicoloured wig, flower necklace and Moschino jacket. I was buzzing as I had missed out on tickets 5 months earlier (which sold out in 45 minutes), seen videos of their shows at Row 14, Studio 338 and Space Ibiza and only heard praise from all corners of the internet. I arrived at Village Underground with my partner in dance floor crime at around midnight. First people we bumped into were a couple wearing leopard skin jackets and pikachu rucksacks. We bonded over the leopardyness and jumped into the queue with them. It’s unfortunate the queue was so long as we were missing Lord Leopard on the decks but hey, sometimes you just can’t catch em all haha. Once inside we found ourselves chucked straight into the Elrow pan per se with performers enacting Droopy The Dog (carrying a doobie) and Rowgelia the mascot chicken dancing enthusiastically around the place. I’m not exaggerating when I say that every inch of ceiling space was covered up with cartoon props of some manner from fried eggs to laughing walnuts to 1 tonne weights. The stage was emblazoned with a lit up Rowshow sign and flanked by a giant Rowlex (see what they did there). Getting started on the decks were Waze & Odyssey. It goes without saying that the W&O Street Track honchos know how to throw it down. With recent release Down With Tha on Eats Everthing’s imprint Edible fresh in my mind I knew they would get the crowd pumping and they delivered as expected; 2 hours of straight up attitude that would get even the most hard nosed raver bouncing. The tech house went in heavily with the percussion with the odd bit of acid mixed in there for good measure. I was certainly a happy leopard by the end of the first night. I didn’t stay right to the end of Toni Varga’s closing set. I may have been a slightly tipsy leopard but not a stupid one. I had another 3 Elrow events to go. Pace was the word of the night and I got home for a good 2 hour nap before Tobacco Docks the next day.

Saturday morning I woke up at around 10am to a beautiful morning. The sun was shining which is always a good way to start rave day. I had never been to Tobacco Docks and it was certainly one venue I was looking to knock off the bucket list. I arrived bright and early knowing that Jacky would be starting proceedings. I had no idea what to expect walking into Tobacco Docks at 12:30pm except that it would be huge, accommodating 6000 heads from all over the UK. The first thing I noticed upon entry was that all the staff were wearing vibrantly red wigs. There was also a stand central to the open air venue housing all sorts of inflatables from unicorn lidos to goofy looking strawberries to mischievous monkeys. I had a little gander to get my bearings and decided to explore the floor above. It was here that the 2 main rooms hosting shows would be; one adorned with the Singer Morning theme in all its glory whilst the other had the Elrow City theme throughout. There was also an area where one could win drinks, tokens and candy floss by playing various games; sumo wrestling, spin the wheel, score a goal etc. On my way to the VIP bar (to get my first rum and coke of many) I stumbled onto the glitter stand called Starlight Boutique Facepaint. Now I’ve had my fair share of paints and glitter but these ladies did a particularly cracking number on me. Not surprised that they’re heading to Junction 2, Glastonbury, Secret Garden Party and DC10 to name just a few this Summer. Post-vajazzling and drink ready I decided to warm up in the Singer Morning room to Jacky and The Menendez Brothers. The Singer Morning room was filling up. Like a warm bath before bubbles.

Being a fanboy of Hot Creations I decided to head down to the ground floor at 1:15pm where the third main room ie carpark was located. It wasn’t really a room being honest, it was more like long dark tunnel, and a fucking sick one at that. As I walked closer to the light I found myself looking at at a giant jukebox with a selection of Elrow releases displayed at the bottom whilst Patrick Topping and Andres Campo were having at it in the centre. That Hot Creation sound was booming from the box and the crowd couldn’t have been happier getting their groove on. After a good hour of raving I headed out for a much needed cool down and smoke, grabbed myself a rum and ginger beer and went backstage to see if I could find a couple of artists. Ended up bumping into Jamal Edwards and co. from SBTV again. Last saw him when Solardo were down at Egg a couple months previously...mandem likes to rave ya’know. Jacky, The Menendez Brothers and Andres Campo had finished working the crowd and were taking full advantage of downtime. The Elrow residents De La Swing, Toni Varga and Marc Maya were buzzing around as well. In the artists area was an old school double decker bus servicing everyone with alcoholic beverages. Never seen one so alive and busy in my entire life haha.

By this point the Data Transmission videographers Nathan Babalogbon and Felix Morey-Burrows had arrived. I showed them round the site and we got to work starting first with Richy Ahmed in the Singer Morning room. Richy delivered as one would expect; a tropical tech house thunderstorm for 2 hours straight. The room was heaving and the crowd pumping. Me and fellow Data Transmission resident Archie B went straight in and got involved. Of particular note were the performers. God knows how the ones on stilts got through the human carpet that was the Singer Morning room at that point but revellers were treated to a wash down; shower caps on, loafers ready and cream going everywhere haha. Flanking the DJ booth were windows filled with various performers. I seem to remember seeing mermaids, a crazy cat lady, Mario and Luigi, what looked like Rick James strumming away on a guitar and a baby carrying a giant lollipop but maybe I was imagining it. A true visual treat for the masses. By now I was a cooked rave sardine and I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that the giant ice blasts that pushed out what must have been hundreds and thousands of confetti pieces was nothing short of orgasmic haha. After sweating it out I went back to the double decker bus to catch a couple of ice cold ciders. Seeing a woman doing a downward facing dog on the way didn’t surprise me much. In fact nothing really surprises me much these days, especially after you’ve experienced Elrow.

When I saw man of the moment Eats Everything arrive I got back on it. Videographers at the ready we caught some great footage of the big man himself tearing it up in the Singer Morning room. It was my 5th time seeing him live and I have to say he has never slipped in all those times. He still keeps that energy and fire burning so if you ever get the chance to see the magic for yourself just do it. It was now reaching mid-point of the Elrow weekend and a pit stop was needed. Following on from Eats Everything’s incredible closing set I went with The Menendez Brothers and co. to their old school garage night called Eastbound at The Book Club in Shoreditch. Lucky for me this was right next to Village Underground so it was meant to be...in my mind at least haha. Matt Jam Lamont seemed to be having a ball on the decks.  

After a short breather sonically from the tech house I marched on to the second night of Elrow at Village Underground. I arrived at around midnight and the first thing I saw was a woman with purple hair, flossing a blue tassel skirt and pink yoshi rucksack. This was followed closely by a guy with a full on glitter beard, sparkly red bowler hat and yellow feather scarf. Loved the effort. In fact that goes for the entire weekend. Big up all the people who went all out with their get ups. On entry Rob James was taking over from Mele on the decks and lighting it up. I was holding rock steady on stage with Juan Arnau the guy who conceived the whole Elrow concept. His family are a legacy starting both Monegros Desert Festival and one of the world’s most iconical clubs Florida 135 in Fraga, Spain. True party entrepreneurs and connoisseurs. BBC Radio 1 resident DJ Monki also happened to be in attendance. We had a chat but I can’t remember exactly about what. In fact I don’t remember a great deal past this point. Lucky for me my snapchat skills are strong like the Jedi and it seems that I stayed right to the end of De La Swing’s closing set like a true soldier. The vibes that night in my opinion were the best out of all three Elrow events at Village Underground. The true party people from Tobacco Docks kept the energy going all night long. I have no recollection of the journey home but it seems from my snap that I eventually got into bed at 7am.

A brief 3 hour power snooze later I woke up in time for work on Sunday. You read that correctly. I had a shift at this pub I work at part-time from 11am-5pm. God knows how I got through the busy Sunday shift but as soon as I finished I rushed home, got back into my leopard costume and made my way to Village Underground for the third and final instalment of Elrow at Village Underground. I frogmarched in with Data Transmission videographer Nathan Babalogbon at 7:15pm. A psychedelic rabbit, wearing purple spandex covered in pink elephants, with a show stopping dragon tattoo on her back was the most eye-catching view I saw on arrival. Marc Maya and Gonçalo were on the decks closing off the Elrow weekend with panache. Backstage we managed to grab 10 minutes with Victor De La Serna, the bookings director for Elrow. We conducted an interview with him as shown below. Give it a watch to see what Elrow is all about straight from the horse’s mouth.

The 36 hours of Elrow was thoroughly exhausting but jheez was it worth it. One for the record and memory books for sure. The organisers pulled out all the stops on production. Never have I seen so much attention paid to the details which resulted in an aesthetically pleasing and flawless run from start to finish. The music program was superb and the DJs certainly kept the energy high right until the very end. I often ask myself do I have a life or am I just living. Needless to say if you ain’t living what’s the fucking point. Next up Elrow Comes To London Town on August 19th at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. For more information → http://elrowtownlondon.com/about/

Thanks for reading all. Hope to see you on the dance floor soon! ;-)

[eurolinguiste]

Hello, hello! It’s time for this month’s #clearthelist! 

If you’re new around these parts, #clearthelist is a linkup where we share our monthly goals, and by we, I mean myself, Lindsay of Lindsay Does Languages, Kris Broholm of Actual Fluency, and Angel Pretot of French Lover.

We’d absolutely love for you to a part of our community. You can join us by adding a link to your own goal post below.

So let’s get started, sharing our goals and motivating one another to #clearthelist!

Please feel free to tag your posts or photos with either #clearthelist on your favorite social media channels!

Last Month’s Highlights on Instagram

  My #clearthelist post goes up on Monday so I am sharing my instagram recap now. This was a great month! #goalsetting #goals #languagelearning

A photo posted by Shannon Kennedy (@eurolinguiste) on Jan 28, 2017 at 8:06pm PST

Last Month’s Blog Highlights

Travel

Guinness Storehouse // Things to Do In & Around Dublin, Ireland

Antica Sacrestia // Things to Do In & Around Venice, Italy

  Language Learning

Getting the Most Out of Your Language Lessons // How to maximize the money and time you invest into working with a language tutor.

There are No Shortcuts to Learning a Language // Why you shouldn’t believe the hype about learning a language fast and why you need to commit for the long run.

How to Use Chunking to Fire Up Your Language Learning // An inspiring post by Fiel Sahir in which he applies his experience as a musician to language learning.

  Last Month’s Goals

Continue filling the gaps in my Mandarin vocabulary I’ve noticed since Little Linguist’s arrival. // Yes! I learnt a bunch of new vocabulary this month that has been really helpful.

Read one more language related book. // Yes! I’m making nice, steady progress in my Spanish course book.

Keep playing Zelda Ocarina of Time in Mandarin Chinese. // This is one of those things that I didn’t really do, then remembered that I said I was going to do it and then did a bunch of it at the end of the month. So, still counts, right?

Get ahead reading my language reading challenge books. // I’m both ahead and behind. I am in the middle of several of the books for the challenge, but haven’t actually finished any of them. An odd place to be.

Keep working through my YouTube Queue.  // I’ve worked through it, but I also added more to it this month than I got through, so my number of ‘to watch’ videos is higher than it was last month. I’ll still count this as a win because I did technically watch some of the lessons.

Keep reading my other Pooh Bear book in Chinese // Yes. I kind of procrastinated and didn’t do this until the end of the month, but I still got in my four chapters.

Have something I’m reading that’s in French or Spanish. // Yes! I’m re-reading one of my favorite books in Spanish.

Finish Pimsleur Chinese IV // Done! This was hard because I was really sick and didn’t go to work for a while, and thus, didn’t spend as much time in the car as I normally would. Thankfully I only had about 15 lessons left, so I was able to squeeze them in on the days I did drive.

This Month’s Goals

Continue filling the gaps in my Mandarin vocabulary I’ve noticed since Little Linguist’s arrival. // As long as I’m still speaking to Little Linguist in Chinese, this one is here to stay. And it will always be a priority.

Read one more language related book. // Keep working through my grammar book in Spanish.

Keep playing Zelda Ocarina of Time in Mandarin Chinese. // It’s all about making language a part of my day-to-day life.

Get ahead reading my language reading challenge books. // Since I’m all over the place with this one.

Keep working through my YouTube Queue.  // Because there still are just so many language lessons in there I need to do!

Keep reading my other Pooh Bear book in Chinese // Since I did four chapters this past month, my goal is to do yet another four chapters this month.

Finish adding in my sticky notes to the first Pooh Bear Book. // I’ve been putting this off because Mini M was being a bit nosy and went through my notes. He ended up mixing them all up so they were completely out of order. It’s been a nightmare trying to figure it out and put it all back together so I’ve kind of avoided this task. But I really want to read this book with Little Linguist, so I’m going to stop procrastinating.

Have something I’m reading that’s in French or Spanish. // Since I completely slacked on this one this past month.

Do at least 15 Pimsleur Chinese V Lessons. // And then if I get through that, get through some of the Melnyk’s lessons I’ve put on hold.

Resources I Used This Month

A quick recap on the materials I am using.

What I Am Using to Learn Chinese

iTalki Lessons – I have weekly Chinese lessons

Pimsleur V 

Memrise – I do 12,000 points minimum per day

ChineseClass101

Melnyk’s

Antosch & Lin email newsletters

FluentU – I watch anywhere from 3-6 videos per day and then work on the “Learning” section for each of the videos

DramaFever

Chinese version of the Nintendo 64

What I’m Using to Brush Up/Improve My French:

Immersion (we speak franglais at home)

Reading books written by French authors

Listening to French radio/podcasts

Chatting with family

Watching movies and other videos in French

What I am Using to Learn Russian:

Perfectionnement Russe

RussianPod101

iTalki Lessons

The penmanship practice books from Russian Step-by-Step (a lot of you have been asking me about these)

Memrise

Pimsleur

What I am Using to Learn Korean:

Memrise

Assimil’s Korean Phrasebook

Pimsleur

Trial of 90 Day Korean

What I am Using to Learn Spanish:

Lingoda (use code FM2J6Y )

Coffee Break Spanish

Schaum’s Spanish Grammar

What I’m Using for Little Linguist

Pooh Bear and Baby Bear

Little Pim

YouTube

Day-to-day interaction

His Chinese lullaby is from Mantou Riji and his French is Une Souris Verte

The Biggest Lesson I Am Taking Away from This Month

  That I really need to work harder at keeping things in Chinese with Little Linguist. Particularly because I was sick and traveling quite a bit this month, and then he was sick, I was just too tired and kept slipping back into English. I know it’s not the end of the world, but I am his only source for Mandarin so I just need to persevere a little more. 

He’s at the stage now where his babbling has consonants, so it’s interesting watching how things change in his speech. He says gah, geh and deh a lot and he has really long conversations with some of his toys that probably make sense to him but just make me giggle.

Don’t forget that I would love to hear all about your goals for this month! Please join us by adding your post to the linkup below! 

Clear The List Linkup Rules:

1. Share your goal post whether it includes your aspirations for the month or year. Submissions unrelated to the theme or links to your homepage will be deleted.

2. Link back to this post. You can use our button if you wish.

3. Follow the hosts: Lindsay from Lindsay Does Languages, Shannon from Eurolinguiste, Kris from Actual Fluency, and Angel from French Lover.

4. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: Please visit the site of the person who linked up immediately before you and leave them an encouraging comment! By hosting this linkup, we’re hoping to create a positive community where we can all share our goals. If you do not do this, you will be removed from the linkup.

5. Share on social media using #ClearTheList

An InLinkz Link-up

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The post Language Learning Strategies | #CleartheList March 2017 appeared first on Eurolinguiste.