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drleevezan · 29 days ago

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My writing for 2024

Below the cut, a recap of things which I released in 2024:

January:

An Oxbow in the River of Time - A mini-story for The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids, serving as a bonus scene for my 2022 anniversary story Marksmanship-526 and the Secret Society Stratagem. Time-altering-reptile-prince Cornelius Crocodile takes advantage of the newly-attained public domain status of a certain iconic cartoon to further his dastardly plans - and to have some unplanned fun basking in the simple joy of a dance with Minnie Mouse.

February:

The Reviews Are In - A fifth-anniversary tale for The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids. The Cupids' various friends, foes, and miscellaneous acquaintances gather to make them an anniversary video - but will they, in fact, find anything good to say about the little clockwork nuisances before the day is out?

April:

A Fish in Time - The notorious Faction of the Fooling Fish invade the Cupid Homeworld and quickly discover that they are (against all odds) not the most chaotic things there - beset as they are by prankster Larrikin-1029 and his makeshift classes on mischief-making, the infinite labyrinth of nightmares that is eldritch demon Lord Thymon's humble home, and the most fearsome obstacle of all: a rambunctious time-shifting toddler.

Uh Oh, Spaghetti Woes - An OOPS vignette, and a contribution to Arcbeatle Press's delightful April Fools' Day anthology, The Noodle Incident. The Odd Otherworldy Pick-Up Squad seem to have gained a new member of late - a new, suspiciously noodly member. Sure, some people say that he’s nothing more than an annoying cash-grab shoehorned in to sell merchandise - but OOPS just can’t understand that point of view. After all - he’s the Noodle Man! He’s such a great guy! …Isn’t he?

Noodles on a Copper Platter - Another contribution to The Noodle Incident! Having found himself at the very start of The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids, the Noodle Man begins noodling around with the series’ history - with predictably disastrous results for anyone who doesn’t happen to be made of noodles.

May:

Misadventures in the Interdimensional Scrapyard - A contribution to Ostara Gale’s The Castaways of Ishiok series. When interdimensional scavenger Abraytha Janus Colefia and his newfound companion Xiantio find themselves marooned in the Interdimensional Scrapyard, they find their budding friendship strained by flaring egos and buried insecurities. And an unseen threat is lurking, somewhere beneath the rusting rubble and tangled machinery - an old monster of the scrap, waiting to snatch away any unwary traveller who finds themself braving the dangers of the Scrapyard alone.

August:

This is the Shifter - for Jenny Everywhere Day, my freewheeling love-letter to the open-source Jenny Everywhere community, journeying through worlds inspired by the various eras of Jenny's collaborative creation.

In non-writing creative matters, I also contributed as an editor to James Wylder and Molly Warton's fantastic WARSONG story Sang Mi Investigates!

October:

The Trick-or-Treaters: The First Door - A Cupids mini-story for Halloween. When Jenny and Thymon are visited by their trick-or-treating daughter Sophie Everytime on Halloween night, they don’t expect a parade of her future selves to follow, returning to the same doorstep on the same night, again, and again, and again…

The Trick-or-Treaters: The Second Door - Briar, friend and travelling companion to interdimensional adventurer Century Smith, is thrown into a panic from days long past when her Halloween night is interrupted by a wandering spirit knocking at the door. With the endless opportunities to try again that possession of a timeship affords, will Briar and Smith come to the right conclusion before they’re smothered by creeping shadow?

November:

Cupid Courier: Issue 2134 - co-written with Aristide Twain - an extra-long edition of the Cupid Homeworld’s one-and-only newspaper, featuring attacks, abductions, and advice for aspiring bakers.

Dromedary Days - written and drawn by Aristide Twain based on my outline. We check in on Lila, the current Head Assistant Researcher of the Drove of the Database-Compiling Dromedaries, to see what sorts of changes she’s been making since the ousting of the infamous Director Darius.

December:

Cupid Courier: Issue 2135 - co-written with Aristide Twain and Thien Valdram. A December edition of the Cupid Courier, featuring horoscopes, poetry, dinosaurs, and mysteriously-disappearing advent calendars.

December also saw the re-release - with new illustrations by Aristide Twain - of several pieces which I’d contributed to Arcbeatle Press’s wonderful anthology The Book of the Snowstorm in 2023, including the short story The Baublekeeper’s Tale and, as part of the collaborative story Our Finest Gifts We Bring, scenes featuring Wendy and the Queen, the Blue Feather, and Hope.

And that’s not all, for my December creations also included a brand-new full-length Copper-Colored Cupids prose story - delayed slightly by circumstances, but coming very soon! I present a special preview below:

There were some things which stood so solidly in the landscape of the mind that it was impossible to believe that they were truly gone. Friendships so integral that they couldn’t really be over, and periods of one’s life so important that they couldn’t possibly be finished. The day after Christmas, it was quite impossible to believe that Christmas had passed. It was still too vivid in the mind — somehow, somewhere, it felt as if it must still be Christmas. If you could only reach through the frosted glass into the parlour, friends and family loved and lost would still be gathered there, opening presents and playing a game of snap-dragon onward and onward forever. As far as Aletheia-548 was concerned, it would never be Christmas again. And yet, somehow, it must still have been happening somewhere — her life, her real life. It couldn’t possibly be over. The thought simply didn’t make any sense. Lethe couldn’t bear to spend December the 25th walking the Cupid Homeworld, that land of Ghosts of Christmas Yet-to-Come, that awful vision of the future as it might arise if she wasted thirty-five years on a foolish obsession, writings in stone cruelly presented to her with no hope left of sponging them away. This wasn’t her life — she had missed that. And it certainly wasn’t her Christmas. That was happening somewhere else — in some other winter, long, long ago.

#My writing #Recap #The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids #Jenny Everywhere #Sophie Everytime #Arcbeatle Press

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thebeginnersguide-mkg · 2 years ago

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Well, well! You've been met with a curious fate, haven't you? A box! A box, a box, a box! You and your friends, picked up a box, traveled across time and space, met your new friends, and then found out you're in a KILLING game, on top of that? My, my, my! Well, let's reintroduce all of you, shouldn't we? After meeting a pair of strange hosts in this stranger labyrinths, aren't introductions in order?

You've already been introduced? Really? Well...you didn't have faces, before! Let's try this again, from ground one!

Allison Melander- Barista

Briar Hughes- Topiarist

Cerise Arava- Historical Research Assistant

Conny Cameron- Supreme University Level Video Editor

Filomena Cabrera- Research Assistant

Filomena Cabrera- Maestri of Periplanar Studies

Hellfire- Firefighter of ACT

Jinhai Xi- Lighthouse Keeper

Klara Dietrich- Private Investigator

Marzia Fiorentino- Entomologist

Min-ho ‘Milo’ Satō- Plushie Doctor

Roxanne Decatur- Environmental Warden

Santa Claus- Toy Deliveryman

Sephiroth 'Sephie' Yoshiya- Director

Stella Lunetta- Space Resort Host

Tomoe Kuwesa- ✰ASTRONAUT✰

Tyche Douglas- Antique Shop Owner

Una- World Eater

Xertz- Shopkeep

Zach Walker- Radio Host WELCOME Images by Oxbow

Mascot Splash 'Welcome to our Game!' by Star

Cast art by Star, Knightly, and Charlie

#danganronpa rp #danganronpa #danganronpa oc #fanganronpa #fangan rp

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they-of-clay · 6 years ago

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Hi had a dream that @cutegrowlithe and @adhdprompto had a youtube channel where they hunted down aliens to interview them and spread awareness about their culture and Clark's cat Keith was their interpreter and he would spout eyestalks and extra legs ala Stitch when speaking Interplanatary and could echolocate.

Their channel's name was Kryptokat.

#personal #i love my friends #and this is v on brand for them #Artoo had a cyborg signif who was their cameraperson #as in the person who was the camera #and Briar was the video editor #grunkle em irl #kinda

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lucky-sevens · 4 years ago

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mechanisms fiction!

also known as: i read all the fiction so you don’t have to!

under the cut: summaries of each fiction, word count, and content warnings! the summaries are of my own writing, and unlike the ones on the website, i’ve opted for useful rather than intriguing. i’ve also ordered the list to make a bit more sense/fit better timeline-wise!

some of the fiction has an audio version; i’ve included links to TheVoidSings’ lyric videos of said audio where applicable!

i’ve put the ones with relevant lore in bold, the ones i personally like in italics, and i’ve put a * after all the ones that include the mechs!

AURORA AND THE CREW

breakup*

summary: nastya and aurora have an argument and then both go off to sulk. mostly focuses on nastya. interesting thing: scuzz is in this one!

word count: 707

content warnings: implied nsfw

the story of the toy soldier*

summary: it’s the toy soldier’s backstory! covers what’s probably at least a decade and has a lot of lore! also has illustrations, most likely courtesy of ts!

word count: 605

content warnings: murder, images of choking, implied rape

who killed doctor carmilla?*

summary: carmilla’s just been pushed out an airlock and various mechanisms are going around trying to get an alibi out of everyone.

word count: 647

content warnings: n/a

interview transcript 34/08/7012*

summary: a police officer attempts to interview jonny when he’s in prison. includes a lot of information about him that’s nice to have for characterization!

word count: 782

content warnings: discussed murder, including child murder; attempted suicide

archive footage*

summary: an ivy character study, pretty much! goes into her fucked up brain and how it works. one of my personal favorites, as it’s very well written.

word count: 1390

content warnings: death, minor blood/gore

octokittens*

summary: a short one-off featuring some ashes and jonny banter!

word count: 208

content warnings: guns, animal death

feeding the octokittens*

summary: another one-off: this one has some quality tim, ivy, and nastya content. very fun!

word count: 455

content warnings: animal death

tales of the blogbot*

summary: comes off as an odd fiction, addressing the ‘blogbot’, the thing that used to send out the updates on the mechs mailing list (among other things) and makes passive-aggressive comments about them occasionally. goes through a few answers to what the bot is, and comes to no conclusion, but directly links to the next fiction in my list, ‘ghost in the machine’.

word count: 988

content warnings: referenced mass murder, implied nsfw

ghost in the machine*

summary: what happened to aurora’s programmer when jonny and carmilla took over ‘her’ ship (which is explained/expanded on in ‘how the aurora was won’); lots of aurora lore, as well as a more close view into the actual atrocities the mechanisms commit.

word count: 1152

content warnings: death

how the aurora was won*

jonny steals the aurora from the cyberian navy, in the most unsettling way possible!

word count: 631

content warnings: suicide, graphic depictions of violence

a bedtime story*

some fluffy nastyaurora for the soul!

word count: 326

content warnings: n/a

drive the cold winter away*

part of a group with cyberian demons and nomadic spacers! i think i’ve arranged them chronologically, but might have messed it up.

nastya visits the ruins of cyberia. jonny and ashes are there.

word count: 432

content warnings: n/a

cyberian demons*

a nastya character study- reflections on her memories, as she works on destroying what is left of cyberia.

word count: 1699

content warnings: blood, violence

nomadic spacers*

an outsider pov on the events of ‘drive the cold winter away’ and ‘cyberian demons’.

word count: 1120

content warnings: death

out*

nastya leaves the mechanisms for good after she finds her love, aurora, is no longer who she once was; presumably, this is her death.

word count: 1210

content warnings: suicide

ONCE UPON A TIME [IN SPACE]

gingerbread

hansel and gretal’s villain origin story! (they were the scientists speaking in ‘the twins’)

word count: 609

content warnings: child neglect, murder, needles/syringes

midnight

a bit of a cinders character study/some more of her backstory!

word count: 628

content warnings: n/a

mirror, mirror (audio version here!)

post-pump shanty/snow’s flight. the beginning of snow’s descent into a worse person, and how it overlaps with the myth of snow white/how she begins to take on the role of the evil queen.

word count: 860

content warnings: smoking

a fireside chat

a radio broadcast by scheherazade, king cole’s chief propaganda minister.

word count: 842

content warnings: mentions of concentration camps, death, and bombings

a rebel yell (audio version here!)

counter to ‘a fireside chat’- a radio broadcast by tom thumb, the voice of the rebellion! one of my personal favorites, as it’s very funny.

word count: 574

content warnings: mentions of mass murder

chapter’s end*

mad jack spratt and jonny d’ville play cards.

word count: 790

content warnings: discussions of death

by any other name

basically all the lore around briar rose, in a form of a report by hood, the rebellion’s hacker!

word count: 2023

content warnings: murder, graphic depictions of violence

this little piggy

all of the (incredibly fucked up) lore around the three little pigs!

word count: 993

content warnings: child abuse, brainwashing, non-consensual body modification, medical abuse (it’s a very intense one, please stay safe!)

what big eyes

all the lore we have on hood, in the form of king cole’s intelligence officers trying to figure it out.

word count: 1946

content warnings: mentions of war crimes and death

in the army*

the toy soldier and a group of rose reds hang out in a bar together! it’s a very fun one, with lots of banter! presumably takes place before the toy soldier met the mechanisms, but we don’t know that for sure. lots of lore about the rose reds, as well!

word count: 707

content warnings: mentions of war crimes and death

true love

colonel belle’s report on her efforts to manipulate adam ‘the beast’ bete into joining the resistance. (the mechs’ take on beauty and the beast). also a small bit of lore about rose!

word count: 1151

content warnings: manipulation, torture, unhealthy relationships

one thousand and two

a character study of scheherazade- the thoughts running through her head as rebels are about to find and kill her.

word count: 2236

content warnings: suicide; mentions of torture, concentration camps, and child death

ever after*

you know how jonny was being annoyingly cryptic about what happened to briar rose! well, they have a fiction that says!

word count: 680

content warnings: graphic depictions of violence

ULYSSES DIES AT DAWN

you’ll have to tell us the story sometime*

the mechanisms explore the ruins of the city, thousands of years after the events of ulysses dies at dawn!

word count: 469

content warnings: n/a

death in the metropolis

not anything super relevant- a news article about gang violence and the increased shifts for acheron workers as a result, setting a bit of a mood for the city as a whole. establishes hermes’ role in olympus.

word count: 547

content warnings: nothing to note, but there’s the background fucked-up-ness of the city going on and mentioned!

how not to die

another news article, this one focused on a group of people (’helljumpers’) trying to escape the acheron.

word count: 926

content warnings: suicide

fao: hermes – not urgent

a bit of a followup to the previous two fictions! the editor, herodotus, gets in trouble for discussing the helljumpers.

word count: 453

content warnings: n/a

orpheus, dionysus, muriatic acid and the strange whirring thing*

a look into orpheus’ character and how he ended up in the ulysses job! (mechs don’t heavily feature- just a note of the role brian took on, as well as mentions of ashes of course)

word count: 5017

content warnings: addiction, suicidal thoughts, police; implied nsfw, but only in the context of orpheus being a sex worker

orpheus and narcissus go to the seaside

i personally really love this one! it’s low-key the mechanisms’ take on the great gatsby- takes place a few years prior to the above fiction, and explores orpheus and narcissus’ friendship! it’s morbidly funny, with lots of very good banter/interaction!

word count: 6300

content warnings: eating disorders, addiction, implied nsfw (again in the context of sex work), suicidal thoughts, mental institutions (even if that’s not normally a problem for you, they get very dark and graphic, so be careful), non-consensual drugging; technically self-harm, but it’s a lighthearted joke

in the madness of war

how ulysses was forced into the war (a darker take on the story about him attempting to avoid it at first).

word count: 817

content warnings: n/a

the hacker’s mistake (a fiction to accompany prometheus)

prometheus is revealed as corrupt, but that doesn’t stop people from believing in him, so he is made an example of.

word count: 903

content warnings: torture

one of the chosen

another low-lore worldbuilding piece- this one about a teenage girl who gets conscripted to the acheron early.

word count: 824

content warnings: n/a (it’s fairly dark, though, so be careful).

eskhatos*

after the events of ulysses dies at dawn, the mechanisms leave, but not without causing a bit of chaos first.

word count: 464

content warnings: cannibalism

HIGH NOON OVER CAMELOT

the fastest shot

guinevere’s backstory!

word count: 792

content warnings: murder, child abuse, alcoholism

the sharpest aim

a western-style tall tale, starring lancelot!

word count: 1667

content warnings: relationship abuse, murder, violence

i will rule this town*

another personal favorite! expanding on ‘ten caliber railgun he got off a bandit in the flooded sectors’, it deals with arthur’s attempts to bring down nimue, the lady of the lake, and gain control! also has some lancelot/arthur/guinevere fluff, and a bit of an insight into his friendship with brian- as well as his original hopeful mindset, and how that diminished.

word count: 1488

content warnings: murder, drowning

the wake

morgan le fay (mordred’s surrogate mother)’s funeral, and mordred’s decision to go seek out camelot.

word count: 1045

content warnings: death (but only in the context of it being a funeral), cultural cannibalism

pellinore and the beast (audio version here)

this one’s a bit of an odd one- i’ve included it for the sake of completion, as it’s on the fiction list, but it’s just the lyrics to the mechs song pellinore and the beast? i’ve excluded the word count and content warnings for this one, as it’s literally just the lyrics. unsure of what to do here.

OTHER

the prisoner of dorian gray

the mechanisms’ take on the story of dorian grey! this one is part fiction, part song lyrics with a note of the tune they should be sung to.

word count: 1746

content warnings: suicide, torture

and that’s it! the fiction is all very good and well written, and i’d highly recommend reading at least a few of these!

#the mechanisms #the mechs #my posts #compiliation post #reference

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officergrimes-muses · 6 years ago

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I made this edit video for Briar x Bingsepticeye (specifically @bingsepticeyerping ) I own most of the edits BUT I did use some other tumblr's edits that I would like to give them credit. Those tumblrs are: @art-is-a-hassel @genderless-ghostie @frostedpixels and @bekadmfb all of you are amazing editors! You all deserve the credit! I hope you enjoy this as well.

Song: Tag you're it by Melanie Martinez

#briarrosefischbach #oc rp blog #septic egos #bingsepticeye #edits #edit #tag youre it

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recentanimenews · 3 years ago

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SPY x FAMILY Anime Reveals Six More Cast Members, Opening Theme Animation

The second episode of the anime adaptation of Tatsuya Endo's SPY x FAMILY manga premieres today, and with it comes some slick new announcements. In addition to six new cast members, the official accounts revealed the opening theme animation, combining some fantastic visuals with the "Mixed Nuts" song by Official HIGE DANdism.

RELATED: Official HIGE DANdism's SPY x FAMILY Opening Theme Releases Full Music Video

Check out the video below, and read on for the new cast members!

youtube

New cast additions include:

Yuri Briar: Kensho Ono (Floch Forster in Attack on Titan Final Season)

Camilla: Umeka Shouji (Yuuko Kumagai in World Trigger)

Millie: Manaka Iwami (Rean in To Your Eternity)

Sharon: Mirei Kumagai (Xiuying Hong in Shenmue the Animation)

Dominic: Shohei Kajikawa (Hien in Log Horizon)

Garden Shopkeeper: Junichi Suwabe (Leone Abbacchio in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind)

／追加キャスト情報????✨ ＼ ????ユーリ·ブライア　#小野賢章 ????カミラ　#庄司宇芽香 ????ミリー　#石見舞菜香 ????シャロン　#熊谷海麗 ????ドミニク　#梶川翔平 ????〈ガーデン〉店長　#諏訪部順一彼らの今後の活躍にもご注目ください????#SPY_FAMILY #スパイファミリー

— 『SPY×FAMILY（スパイファミリー）』アニメ公式 (@spyfamily_anime) April 16, 2022

Source: Official SPY x FAMILY Twitter

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Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine and the Editor-in-Chief of Sci Fi Magazine. You can read his comics at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox.

By: Joseph Luster

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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ratabrasileira · 3 years ago

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You have me intrigued and now I am wondering if the youtube video was about Tamlin and Briar or not. They usually put the actual name of the theory for those who want to see it. I had to hold back from watching it because this could be an Aaron and Erica thing

Lmao you got me so curious that I went to search for it and holy fuck 43 minutes of video no no thank you!!

Anyways, as a lazy person that I am, I search in the comments and I found this among lots of Earons folk and...

For what it seems, they are theorizing about Briar being a "tool" to redeem Tamlin and they're questioning about why did Sarah and her editors named Briar if she's just a random character (valid since we don't have LoA's name 😤)

If you're willing to watch 43 minutes about this and see if I'm correct, pls be free!

However, I don't second this. To develop Briar and Tamlin's relationship would be messy. See; for 4 books Tamlin is known as a abuser. If SJM wants to put him in bright lights I'd like to read his actions not being toxic and from what PoV would we see that? Elucien's? No, thank you very much, but I prefer lots and lots of steamy and sexy scenes instead of Tamlin. Idk Tamlin needs therapy not a mate.

But it's only a guess, I haven't watched the video!

#ask #anon #tamlin #briar

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thorne93 · 7 years ago

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Old Flame, New Problems (Part 15)

Prompt: You’re in a serious relationship with Sebastian Stan, when news from your first love informs you that he’s now single and in need of a friend. Will your old flame burn out or will the flames get fanned and consume you?

Word Count: 3433

Warning: language, angst, fighting (verbal), cheating, drama

Notes: This idea came to me when news hit about Hayden and Rachel splitting. Of course I’m sad that a long time relationship such as theirs is ending, but it also means he’s single sooo…Also, no hate towards Rachel. I don’t know her, don’t know what really happened between them, etc. It’s a fic and in no way reflects what I think of either of them or their precious daughter ^.^

Beta’d by my #1 gal @like-a-bag-of-potatoes

Forever Tags: @capsmuscles @cocosierra94 @essie1876 @magpiegirl80 @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @harleyquinnandscarletwitch @iamwarrenspeace @marvel-imagines-yes-please @superwholocked527 @myparadise1982sand @missinstantgratification @thejemersoninferno @rda1989 @marvelloushamilton @munlis @thefridgeismybestie @bubblyanarocks3 @random-fluffy-pink-unicorn @hardcollectionworldtrash @igiveupicantthinkofausername @kaliforniacoastalteens @feelmyroarrrr @kaeling

Sebastian Stan Tag: @nedthegay @lostinspace33 @alwayshave-faith @elleatrixlestrange @buenostardissherlock @lenawiinchester @the-red-world-of-jess-chibi @memory-of-a-goldfish @mellsstark @crazybutconfidentaf

Old Flame Tag: @blackwidow-romanoff @seargantbcky

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

The following morning, you woke up to a note on the pillow.

“Have to take care of the animals. Be back soon.”

You sighed and sat up, taking the note in your hand then putting it on the empty nightstand beside you, save for one light. Then it hit you. This must be Rachel’s nightstand. In an instant you became curious and upset all in one. You pushed Rachel far out of your mind and you suddenly heard heavy footsteps in the hallway, coming towards the bedroom.

“Oh, you’re up,” he cheered happily as he walked in, donning a jacket, jeans, work boots, and a dark plaid shirt.

“Yeah.”

“Do you want coffee or anything?” he asked as he sat down on the bed.

You shook your head. “No. I’m good.”

“Okay, well help yourself to some if you’d like any,” he said with a small smile. “What?” he wondered with a bemused chuckle.

“What?” you asked.

“You’re smiling at me…”

“Oh,” you said, not realizing you were. “You just look really good,” you stated honestly.

“You look even better,” he responded as he leaned toward you, a tiny smirk planted on his face. Your breathing seemed to speed up as he got closer, the air had that same statically charged feeling it was three months ago on his couch.

All thought vanished as you leapt at him, your lips crashing together, giving into desires you had for what seemed like eons. You were on your knees, trying to get closer to him as your hands went to his neck, his hair. He wrapped his arms around your waist and lifted you onto his lap, so that now you were straddling him. A lustful moan escaped his mouth as you continued to plant heated kiss after kiss on his lips and jaw. He pulled back to nip at your neck, making you sigh in satisfaction. He pulled you down with him, so that he was lying and you were hovering above him, the kissing still going strong. Until his hand slid up your shirt and your own hand whipped down to stop him. You pulled back slightly, biting your lip.

“What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?” he asked, his brows knitted together in concern.

You shook your head. “No...I’m just...not ready for that. If that's okay.”

He sat up with you, you still on his lap. “Y/N, I told you whatever speed is fine. Stop worrying,” he assured as he leaned forward and gave you a quick, sweet kiss. “Now, do you still like video games? I was thinking we could play them today. I’ve been in the mood. I got a new game I want to try out.”

“I’ll never say no to kicking your ass,” you teased before you climbed off of him and he got up, grabbing your hand and lead you to the living room.

---------------------------

The two of you spent all day playing games, until you needed some sustenance, then you took a break, made a nice dinner, and sat together, eating and sharing wine. You told him all about the Stephen King deal now that some of the details had been sorted out, informing him of the prompt you two were playing around with. He seemed thrilled for you. He told you what little he could about the film he was involved with right now. The dinner felt nice, relaxing...but one thing still bothered you: it didn’t feel like a date, or a romantic evening at all. It felt like two friends catching up.

Sleeping next to him felt the same that night: comfortable, safe, a little awkward, but nothing you wanted to push away.

It was strange to feel this way. You’d pined after Hayden for years now, and these last few months, it seemed he was nearly all you wanted. Willing to hurt Seb just to kiss him, or hang out with him. Yet, now that you got that….it didn’t feel the same as it used to.

---------------------

The following morning, he was in bed next to you, greeting you with a kiss. He asked what you wanted to do today, but you said you actually had work you needed to catch up on. You needed to see if Stephen had replied to your last email, you needed to see what your agent was saying on the success of your last book, and you needed to see what your editor thought of the first few chapters of your southern gothic novel.

He said he had work to do himself, all around the farm. At any time you were free to join him, but he’d probably be working until dark.

You stole away in the office, bringing your laptop to life, when you looked over and saw a family photo. Briar Rose on Hayden’s shoulders, a huge grin on his face, he appeared to be mid laugh, with Briar’s hands swirling about. Rachel was beside them, her hair blowing in a breeze, looking at the two of them with joy and adoration.

The photo brought a sense of happiness and torment to you. Jealousy touched your heart, but so did joy and the love. It made you very happy to see Hayden happy. He had struggled with anxiety and depression for some time, and you had always known this. You were glad he at least found something to keep him happy, even if it wasn’t you.

As the day went on, and you went around the house doing things from going to the bathroom, showering, making a snack, watching TV, sitting in their office....It all had a touch of their lives together. Her things might be gone, but her presence was still here. In the decor, in the photos all over the walls, in the interior design. And now...you were sleeping in their bed. All of it felt so...wrong. Even Hayden had changed. His favorite shows were now ones he barely cared to watch, and he liked shows he used to hate. He was wearing cologne that she liked, not that you liked. He was using body wash she found appealing, not you. Even the things he ate was different. For better or worse, he and Rachel had double the years experience as a couple, something you couldn’t rival.

The night was the same again, cuddling and sleeping, awaking to a good morning kiss. Hayden seemed happy, not quite as happy in those photos you’d seen all over the house, but that would take time. He’d have to get over Rachel and get used to you again.

This would be your fourth day, and not being able to talk to Sebastian was hell. You could probably call him, and he’d probably be happy to hear from you, but he would be more upset that you broke the cardinal rule: don’t contact him. He was giving up a lot to let you do this, and in order for this to work, you couldn’t be contacting Seb every time you missed him or it defeated the whole point of giving Hayden your full attention.

You wondered why you missed him so much more now, than before when you stayed up here and you two barely talked. Thinking on it, you realized it was because you’d eventually go home to him, you’d see him, you were both busy with work. Typical, adult, couple things. But now, all you wanted was him. If he showed up right now to take you home, you’d jump in his arms and squeal like a child.

Not that you weren’t happy that you felt like you were finally making a decision, you wondered why you were just now feeling this way. You’d been pining for Hayden for God knows how long now. Why did it suddenly not feel the same?

The two of you went your separate ways again until dinner, then you shared a lovely meal together while watching TV. The feeling took you back to when you two were living together, it was both comfortable and inviting, but it also had a new feeling to it that you couldn’t pin down.

Hayden went to take care of one final thing outside for the farm, leaving you all alone. You thought and thought, throwing your feelings back and forth. Throwing all the information you knew together, trying to come up with why you felt the way you did. Why things were feeling off these last four days.

After an hour of debating, you finally made your decision. You packed your bags, got them moved the foyer, and you were about to call a cab when the back door closed, making you jump the tiniest bit. Hayden started to walk toward the kitchen, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw you, standing with all of your luggage.

“Wh--” he started, but you interrupted.

"I can't do this," you said with a heavy heart.

"What?" he breathed, seemingly confused by your statement.

“I can’t do this, all of this. I can’t sit here and pretend you didn’t have a life with her.” Your throat swelled, but you swallowed it back down, biting back the tears as Hayden went to say something but you cut him off. "Why did you pick her? After one year of dating. Why did you ask her to marry you?" you asked suddenly. You had wondered this question for years, but never dared ask it.

He stuttered a bit, a frown forming on his face. "I...I didn't want to lose her the way I'd lost you."

You laughed, no light or humor in it, but it was a soft, unbelieving laugh. "Right. So five years with me wasn't enough, but one year with her was?"

He pursed his lips, his eyes cast to the floor, avoiding yours. "Do you remember a few months before we broke up, when I asked you if you’d move out to LA with me?" he questioned in an even tone.

You thought for a moment, trying to recall memories from so long ago. “Yeah, I remember that. You asked me to move out there but I told you I was still doing my writing, and then we had a fight.”

“Right,” he concurred, nodding, his brows knitting together. “Had you said yes...I would’ve asked you to marry me then and there, but I had to know you were serious about us…”

Your heart twisted at his words. You were his first choice? He did want to marry you? How is that possible?

You shook your head, trying to fathom his words. “But wait, I was serious about us. I didn’t want us to break up,” you argued.

“I know,” he said. “But I was young, and in my eyes, my career was stationed in LA and you could write anywhere. I guess I had hoped you’d give up your dreams for mine, which was wrong of me. I shouldn't have wanted to marry you for sacrifices you made. I should’ve been supportive and made it work,” he acknowledged. “But we were young and headstrong. I knew your career meant a lot to you and I couldn’t ask you to give that up. So...when Rachel and I started dating, she was nearby and I didn’t want to fuck up with her as I did with you.”

A lump swelled in your throat. So he did want you? But because of you, he didn’t ask you to share a life.

But that didn’t change anything. He could’ve still come after you before asking her. If he really loved you, and meant it when he said you could try again in the future, then he could’ve tried again.

“That doesn’t change anything,” you whispered, unshed tears blurring your vision as you refused to look at him.

In a soft voice, he said, "I thought you wanted to give us a chance."

"That was ten years ago, Hayden. You had your chance. I was available back when you started dating Rachel. You could've contacted me, we could've tried again, like you said we would when things calmed down. But you didn't, did you?" Your eyes steeled on him. This was heartbreak and rage twelve years in the making coming out of you. "No, instead, I got a call telling me you asked Rachel to marry you. So...you made your choice. You chose Rachel. I kept thinking I could get over it. Get past the pain and hurt that you chose to share our future with her, and that maybe we could try this whole thing again. But I can't. I just can't go on knowing that you love her more."

"Y/N," he started, reaching for you.

"No. No, Hayden, you don't get to pretend you love me any more. I waited for years for you. Over a decade. I waited. I compared everyone to you, and none of them measured up, that's why they never lasted. I'd leave them in search of someone like you. And while I was waiting, you were off starting a new life and family with someone else. How pathetic is that?” you asked with a humorless laugh, this was so absurd. “That I waited and waited for a man who didn’t want me? I hoped and prayed one day you'd wake up and realize I was your true love, but that day never came. I took years trying to get over you. It took you all of one year,” you spat, livid.

“You think that’s what happened?” he demanded, taking a step forward. “You think I just took a year to get over you? Do you know how much time Rachel and I spent together just trying to assuage my choice over leaving you?” he asked, raw despair in his face.

You shook your head, you had no idea that’s how they spent their time. From the outside looking in, he stepped out of your relationship into theirs, no hesitation, no heartbreak, nothing holding him back. He seemed to be all in.

“When we met, we were friends and I started to confide in her more and more about you. She was there for me, telling me it was for the best. Eventually, she became a good distraction, and it just happened. One moment she’s my friend, the next, I saw in her what I always saw in you. Drive, compassion, sympathy, caring, kindness. It started out sort of casual, but I couldn’t deny how I felt about her,” he explained, and for some reason, it didn’t hurt. Hearing Rachel’s name used to send a wave of jealous rage and depression through you, but now....you found it oddly comforting knowing she was there for him.

“I had no idea,” you breathed, in disbelief. “It still hurt to get that phone call,” you said.

“So why didn't you ever call me? You could have. Told me how you felt…” he wondered quietly.

“Oh, call my boyfriend who left me to beg for him to take me back? No thanks, I would rather keep my dignity…” You scoffed but then stated in a thick voice, trying like hell to keep the tears from just exploding onto your face, “I did think of it...all the time… up until you had Briar Rose...I wanted to call you so many times….but...I didn't. I wanted you to do it. I wanted you to call me...I wanted to know I wasn't alone in wanting us to be together.”

His guilt ridden eyes barely met your face as he shook his head. “Y/N, I never asked her to marry me with the intention to hurt you.”

"I know that but…You told me we could try again. You said when everything slowed down. That's why I waited. But you? You took the chance to be with someone else. You broke off the engagement for three months with her. At that point, you could’ve chosen either one of us, but you chose her, Hayden. That’s what hurts so fucking bad. You chose her over me."

He nodded. “You’re right. I did. I was hoping you would do the same. I never tried to string you along or make you believe….that I had any intention on trying us again. When we broke up, yes, I said that, but nothing changed. Not really...You were still heavily needed in New York and I love the country life, you couldn’t have moved out here for this when you need New York. Eventually...I saw that we couldn’t work out again, that’s why I moved forward...moved on. I really wanted that for you, too. Y/N, all I ever wanted was your happiness.”

A small, sad smile played at one corner of your lip. “I guess I just always thought my happiness would be with you,” you answered with a lazy gesture to him.

“I did too, for a long time. In fact the first year or so with Rachel I was still pining for you a bit, but I knew that wasn’t fair to anyone. Rachel didn’t deserve that, you deserved your life and future without me pressuring you to leave it, and I deserved my happiness too.”

"I know," you said calmly.

Softly, he said, “Y/N, I can’t help who I love...Who crossed paths with me at the right time or the wrong time. All I can do is choose who my heart tells me to go to.”

Swallowing the lump in your throat and nodding while the tears rushed down your face, you nodded. “I know...I know. That's why I'm choosing Sebastian. You got your chance at a happy ending, I think it’s time I did too. He may not be perfect, he may forget to call, he may not always help around the house, but at least he’s willing to wait for me. Despite everything that's happened between us, he chose me, after everything I've done to him, he still wants me. He chose me first, and that’s all I ever wanted to be...was someones first choice." You shrugged, laughing as tears rolled down your cheeks. “He’s willing to sacrifice our relationship and let me go, just so I can be happy,” you mused. “Sounds familiar.” You gazed at him, a friendly smile on your face. Hayden had let you go to pursue your career, to make sure you had a shot at your dream first. And now, Sebastian had let you go just so you could figure out who you loved more.

Hayden gave you a soft smile. “You should be with him,” he said somberly.

"Hay," you started, "you'll always be a great friend. I'll always love you, as a friend, as the first love in my life. But we'll never be in love again, not like we used to be." You lightly shook your head. "I'm not mad at you for choosing Rachel. Yeah, it hurt, and for the longest time, I wanted to be the one you picked...but the truth is, you love her. We may have been each other's first loves but we were never meant to be the last loves."

He nodded solemnly, some quiet tears coming down his face.

"I know you're hurting from Rach. I'm sorry for that, sweetie, but I think this thing that happened between us was a long time coming. You wanted someone who loved you to be around again, and I wanted a chance at the happy ending with you, but my happy ending isn't with you. It's with Sebastian."

"I never meant to hurt you," he informed.

Gently, you nodded a couple of times. "I know that. It's not your fault. We drifted apart, we were on different paths at different times all the time... Maybe in another life," you offered with a depressed, empty smile.

This was it. It was really over between you two. It had been for a long time, it just took time for your heart to accept that. Maybe you were scared to. Scared that if you let someone else in, the way you'd let Hayden in, it'd happen all over again and you'd get your heart broken. Maybe you'd held onto hope that you and him would reconcile just so you could fix your broken heart from all those years ago.

“What we had was really special, wasn’t it?” he asked, probably recalling hundreds of memories of you two, just as you were doing. Images of laughter, smiles, lingering touches, long days and even longer nights, feelings of being home, feelings of adventure all swirling in your head and heart. But for the first time in forever...they felt like your past. Something to lock away, but hold dear to your heart. Something...to make way for your future.

You nodded and emphatically answered, “Yeah.”

More tears from him and you poured down before you swiftly closed the gap, your arms crashing around each other. He gripped you tightly, crying hard onto your shoulder as you cried softly into his chest. For the last time, you took in his scent, you let the feeling of comfort and familiarity of home surround you, entirely enveloping you.

"I will always love you," you whispered.

"I love you too," he echoed.

#old flame new problems #sebastian stan fic #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan #hayden christensen #hayden christensen fic #hayden christensen x reader

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thebeginnersguide-mkg · 2 years ago

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Your Explorers

After clearing pre-prologue content, we are ready to share the full cast list! Enjoy, and thank you to everyone who applied! We really, truly, could not mean it more when we say how difficult picking this cast process was, and appreciate the world of everyone who showed us their support-- as well as to anyone who keeps up with the blog in the future!

There will be more assets to share as we approach Chapter One, so feel free to keep an eye peeled! OUR EXPLORERS

Allison Melander- Barista Briar Hughes- Topiarist Cerise Arava- Historical Research Assistant Conny Cameron- Supreme University Level Video Editor Filomena Cabrera- Research Assistant Filomena Cabrera- Maestri of Periplanar Studies Hellfire- Firefighter of ACT Jinhai Xi- Lighthouse Keeper Klara Dietrich- Private Investigator Marzia Fiorentino- Entomologist Min-ho ‘Milo’ Satō- Plushie Doctor Roxanne Decatur- Environmental Warden Santa Claus- Toy Deliveryman Sephiroth 'Sephie' Yoshiya- Director Stella Lunetta- Space Resort Host Tomoe Kuwesa- ✰ASTRONAUT✰ Tyche Douglas- Antique Shop Owner Una- World Eater Xertz- Shopkeep Zach Walker- Radio Host

#danganronpa rp #danganronpa #danganronpa oc #fanganronpa #fangan rp

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the-record-columns · 5 years ago

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March 11, 2020: Columns

Just Call Mule...

Harold ‘Mule’ Ferguson

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

I first met Harold “Mule” Ferguson in the early 80’s when I began my long-time association with the Rotary Club of North Wilkesboro.

It was years before I was actually invited to join the club, and I then worked for Thursday Magazine, predecessor to The Record, and we began printing the program for the Wilkes Agricultural Fair which the Rotary Club sponsored. Mule was a faithful Rotarian; the club’s president 1986 to 1987 and was honored as the Distinguished Rotarian of the Year, 95-96. He tirelessly worked to raise money for Rotary to fund community projects of all kinds, even organizing the very successful Balloons over the Blue Ridge hot-air balloon rally for several years.

Mule and his wife, Debbie, continued to support Rotary and its projects long after his active membership had ended.

By the time I got to know him, he had retired from Lowe's and was running full-out on his new job, enjoying life. Mule and Debbie have been just about anywhere that is worth going to, and seen about everything worth seeing. And if you were lucky enough to see one of his travelogs, it was a treat like no other.

Mule loved to fly.

I cannot begin to tell how many times I would see him flying one contraption or another over the Wilkesboros. We would kid him about having a flying lawn chair and he would simply laugh and tell us that about anything could be made to fly with the right equipment. When pressed about the safety of his collection of exotic aircraft, which was sometimes called “Mule Ferguson and his Famous Flying Machines,” he would cut his eyes at you for a brief serious moment and say, “Never lose sight of somewhere to land.”

And, he never did.

As time passed, I became more and more impressed with the way he embraced change. The cameras and ancillary equipment he used in his Pumpkin Creek Video Productions business was always state of the art. And, he was never satisfied unless he had the absolute latest, best, and most innovative equipment on the market. “It takes good equipment to turn out good work.” he would say.

But, mainly I want to remember Mule today as the good, kindhearted person he was. Some years ago I was allowed to interview some Wilkesboro citizens for Mayor Mike Inscore’s project to preserve more history of the town. Mule was doing the editing work and called to tell me he had just finished the piece I did with Ray Stroud, and wanted me to come by. He knew how much I thought of Ray and said he just wanted me to get to see it first.

Just call Mule.

He was also a musician and singer and performed for us at The Record’s ChickenFest and at our veterans events. He traipsed around the saw briars and chiggers of Dellaplane helping me, and The Record's editor Jerry Lankford, as we tried to locate and film the burial place of the hand, yes I said hand, of Otto Wood the Bandit, Wilkes County's most prolific and famous desperado. This was the first of several Otto Wood trips; from filming famed bootlegger Thurmond Sparks down in Antioch, to traveling to Salisbury to the site of Wood's fatal shootout with police in 1930. And he wouldn't even let me give him gas money.

Just call Mule.

Countless times we would get a call here at The Record from someone needing help with a video transfer or some other electronic problem. I would look up Mule's number and tell them to call. I would always tell them that, if for some strange reason he can't help you, he will know who can. One lady I sent to Mule's office in Town Hall called me back and said she felt as though she had been in the control room at NASA.

Just call Mule.

A few years ago, I got to go on a Rotary Honor Air Flight taking 130 World War II veterans to Washington D.C. There was some kind of link to some kind of site I needed for a presentation I was working on about the flight for a meeting at the North Wilkesboro club. I was told that this particular “computer guru” was the only person who could do what I needed, and I called him.

On the day of the meeting I went by to pick up the disc and he told me what I wanted “...couldn't be done,” going on to say “...equipment to do what you want does not exist.”

It was 2:30 and the meeting was at 6:30 that evening. I left very agitated and called Mule on my way back to the office. “Bring it to me” he said, “I'll look at it.”

In two hours he called me back to pick up the disc for my program which ran perfectly at the meeting. As he refused any payment, he remarked he was glad to help his Rotary Club anytime.

Just call Mule.

The problem with this column is not what to put in, but what to leave out.

I suppose I will end it for now with a note about the preparation for Mules memorial service and reception, which were held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on this Saturday past. A fella named Peter Kulsziski had been working on two video pieces—one was about Mule and his connection to the start and growth of MerleFest, and the other about Mule and Debbie. As irony (or good karma) would have it, Peter finished them and on Monday afternoon emailed them to Mule and Debbie, and they got to see them. As many of you know, it was Monday evening when Mule became suddenly ill.

Well, on Thursday, Bill Hurd was working on the two videos to play at the reception after Mule's funeral, and was having some difficulty. He knew I had copies as well and called and asked me to forward them to him, which I gladly agreed to do. When he expressed his concerns in a technical language that may as well have been Greek to me as the saying goes, I instinctively knew I could help.

Before I gave it a thought, I said in pure reflex, “If what I send gives you trouble, just call...

And I caught myself.

Bill knew exactly what I was going to say, and I smiled and felt just a bit less sad.

Rosie The Riveter: March is National Women’s History month

By HEATHER DEAN Record Reporter

During WWII, women were entering the workforce in unprecedented numbers, with more than 310,000 women, making up 65 percent of the total workforce, which was only 1 percent pre-war.

Almost everyone in the world is familiar with the morale boosting poster bearing a young woman in work overalls, a red polka dot bandana, flexing her bicep with the tag line “We can do it!”

This was “Rosie the Riveter” a fictional patriotic character of the hard-working women who kept the military factories humming, giving hope of those caught in the midst of another world war, some still reeling from the last.

Oh. Did I say fictional character? Fun fact, there were several real life women, who inspired editorials, songs and several posters of Rosie.

I grew up watching PBS. It was about the only station that would come in, in the era of rabbit ears and (gasp) having to walk to the TV and turn the channel manually, in an age where there was actually something good to watch. I heard the words “Thank you to the Rosalind P. Walter Foundation” over and over.

Who was this lady, besides someone who used her privileges and wealth to make sure I had fantastic programming? Turns out, she was the first of many Rosies…

Rosalind Palmer (Roz to her friends) was born on June 25, 1924, in Brooklyn, N.Y. She went to the best schools, dreamed of attending college. But at the age of 19, like many women, she was recruited during the war effort, and served selflessly on the night shift as an assembly line worker at the Vought Aircraft Company in Stratford, Conn. A riveter on Corsair fighter planes, F4U marine gull-winged fighter airplanes, and this girl not only did her patriotic duty, she also broke records for speed on the production line, while advocating for equal pay for her female co-workers.

Enter Igor Cassini, a syndicated newspaper columnist. Roz’s story caught his attention, and Cassini wrote about her in his “Cholly Knickerbocker” column. And the rest as we say is history.

In 1942 Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb wrote the song, "Rosie the Riveter." which was recorded by Kay Kyser and The Four Vagabonds, their inspiration was Cassini’s column.

Roz was not our ‘only’ Rosie, but she was the first. She and other women like her became sensations. Norman Rockwell drew his version of Rosie for the cover of the May 29, 1943, issue of The Saturday Evening Post. His model was also a riveter, Mary Doyle Keefe from Vermont. Mary died in 2015. His Rosie, still in overalls, work goggles on her head, and machine oil smeared on her face from the hard and dirty work is shown eating a sandwich from her lunch pail as her riveting gun rests on her lap, the American flag waving in all its glory behind her, her foot placed firmly on the cover of Adolph Hitler’s Mein Kampf.

J. Howard Miller drew a Rosie poster for Westinghouse war factories, and is the aforementioned one that we still see today. The model for that Rosie was Naomi Parker Fraley, who was photographed working in the machine shop at the Naval Air Station in Alameda, Calif., in a red polka dot bandana. Naomi died in 2018.

Other Rosies of note were Geraldine Hoff Doyle of Michigan, who worked in a Navy machine shop as a metal presser during World War II — she died in 2010 — and Rose Will Monroe, who worked as a riveter on B-24 and B-29 planes at the Willow Run Bomber Plant near Detroit and featured in a promotional film for war bonds. Rose died in 1997.

Rosalind P. Walter sacrificed her opportunity for furthering her education in serving our country. This led to her using her inherited and married wealth to supporting public television; as the documentaries and other programs helped fill in the gaps. In total she helped produce almost 70 well known and loved shows.

The Rosie collective left a lasting impact on future generations for women, forever changing the workplace, once dominated by men. You see, the call for women to help was supposed to be temporary… they were expected to leave their jobs when men came home from war. When the men did return, seeing the selfless efforts of their women, men could no longer claim superiority over women.

Rosalind P. Walter, the last of the Rosie’s, died last Wednesday, March 4, 2020. But even in death, Roz left women across the world a message: “March forth.”

The apple of God’s eye continues to twinkle

By AMBASSADOR EARL COX and KATHLEEN COX

Special to The Record

As a regular traveler to Israel and one who has lived among the Jewish people, although I am not Jewish, I am continually amazed at how this land and its people manage to maintain their sense of balance, direction, and joie de vivre being surrounded by enemies on every side.

Israelis unceasingly confront crisis after crisis yet somehow their spirits remain high and their collective moral compass stays true to their love of life (all life), freedom and democracy, and their faith in God.

Israel’s list of woes is practically unending. Under constant attack from terrorists in Gaza in the south and Hezbollah to the north, Israel is the only civilized country in the world whose very existence is threatened on an almost daily basis by its hate-filled neighbors all around. It is the subject of worldwide BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) campaigns trying to topple its economy and is unceasingly maligned by the left-leaning media and the United Nations.

Yet, in spite of the emotional stress and turmoil inflicted on this tiny nation, Israel continues to flourish. Even during this time of worldwide panic over the Corona virus, Israel continues to cautiously host tourists. Until the recent outbreak, restaurants and hotels were full to overflowing. The streets were crowded with pedestrians, cyclists, and shoppers. People gathered day and night on streets such as the famous Ben Yehuda Street and Jaffe Street not to protest or create violence, but rather to dance, sing, and celebrate life, family, friends and faith.

For almost two decades my wife and I have been pro-Israel advocates. As a Christian broadcaster and journalist, my focus has been on telling Israel’s side of the story – truthful and fact-filled. It’s frustrating to be constantly met with opposition from the mainstream media which is bombarding the world with misleading messages about Israel and her people and always portraying them as villains and the reason there is no peace in the Middle East. The fact of the matter is tiny Israel is the only oasis of stability and freedom in the region.

While being forced to live in a very tough neighborhood, somehow Israelis manage to carry on celebrating life while the Palestinians continue to carry on celebrating death by strapping explosives on the bodies of their little ones and sending them off to suffer a martyrs death. By the way, dying as a martyr is the only way a Muslim is assured of their entrance into Islam’s heaven. It’s the reason so many Palestinian mothers encourage their children to participate in this murderous performance.

Israel, known as “The Start-up Nation,” is constantly contributing to the betterment of mankind. They lead the world in the advancement of science, technology, medicine and agriculture, to name only a few. Their sense of belonging and connection miraculously allows them to rise above their circumstances creating positives where, naturally speaking, one would expect negatives.

Israel’s existence is somewhat paradoxical. While dancing in the streets embracing life and hoping for peace, Israelis must also be about the business of building bomb shelters. In fact, bomb shelters are standard fare on all children’s playgrounds. Just part of the “normal” equipment the same as swings and sliding boards.

Yes, Israel is dealing with the Corona virus just like most of the rest of the world. Some have even attempted create fake news that Israel is responsible for the virus! While certainly not the cause, it would not surprise me one bit if Israel were to produce the solution. Long live Israel and may it continue to be a light unto the nations.

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dawnajaynes32 · 7 years ago

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The Most Influential Designs of the Past 33 Years

Enter the HOW Promotion & Marketing Design Awards by March 12 for your chance to land a lunch date with your design idol and get your work published in 365 days of Design Inspiration, a hardcover book from HOW+PRINT, along with other great prizes!

Feast your eyes on a sampling of the work that has informed, provoked and inspired the graphic design industry since the first issue of HOW rolled off the press.

Since 1985, HOW has taught readers about design, the designers who shape visual culture, the principles and methods they adhere to, and how design impacts culture around the world. Design has become media agnostic—it can be anything—and it appears everywhere we look, whether in printed form or in a digital landscape on the web, in an app, or in augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR). We know design when we see it. But knowing what makes great design, truly memorable design, is a bigger challenge. Does it need to be award winning? Does it need to have turned a profit? And what about client satisfaction? Sometimes, we don’t know those details. We’ve only seen the work, and it speaks to us, leaving an indelible memory. Great design resonates, sparking interest as soon as we see it—perhaps even making us recall it many, many years later. And in some cases, great design motivates us to become designers, and to continue the process—pleasurable or painful—that we must work through to create evocative, emotional, expressive, visual communication.

The Most Influential Designs of the Past 33 Years

1980s

Macintosh Icons 1984 A–Z

Susan Kare began her career at Apple Inc., creating screen graphics and fonts for the original Macintosh (1984)—a computer that forever changed the way designers, artists and illustrators worked. The third model in the Macintosh line—the Macintosh Plus (1986)—was a significant improvement over prior models, further advancing the way designers would work. Kare continues to release special-edition prints of Macintosh icons at kareprints.com, and designers around the world continue to recognize the icons that she created decades ago. kareprints.com

Kenneth FitzGerald on Emigre (1984–2005)

“Emigre was a transformative journal of critical thinking and making, engaging all aspects of design activity. Rudy VanderLans’ keen editorial sense identified essential issues defining design, and fostered new perspectives and writers. Texts were often set in the inventive faces of Zuzana Licko, who pioneered digital type design and distribution. Emigre’s pages were revelations of possibility, not only of form but DIY determination and innovation. Throughout, it promoted responsible action toward society and culture. Relentlessly challenging convention, it set a standard that subsequent discussion and conception rarely attempts or reaches.”

— Kenneth FitzGerald is an educator, writer and designer, and former Emigre contributor from 1996–2005. ephemeralstates.com

Photograph of assorted Emigre issues courtesy of Kenneth FitzGerald

Adam Ladd on Malcolm Grear Designers’ Presbyterian Church USA Logo (1985)

“One of the early inspirations for me in design (namely identity design) was Malcolm Grear. His portfolio is filled with marks that achieve both depth and simplicity. A strong example of this is the logo design for the Presbyterian Church. It takes a more-is-more approach with eight separate elements carrying their own meaning, but needing to work together with the others to form the whole. Somehow it’s still quite simple and functional.”

— Adam Ladd is a graphic and type designer. ladd-design.com

Designs courtesy of Malcolm Grear Designers

Rich Barrett on the Maturation of Comic Books

“In the 1980s, there were a lot of advancements due to improvements in color printing and paper quality, early experimentation in digital art and new formats—notably the graphic novel. In addition to Watchmen and the crossovers from that era, Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns changed the landscape. Comics began to look contemporary, with the type of grunge design that was happening in other media such as film, music videos and magazines (think David Carson’s Ray Gun, the music video Smells Like Teen Spirit or Nine Inch Nails’ Closer). Dave McKean’s covers for Sandman were photographic and collage-like, appealing to a whole new audience that might have previously considered comics too childish.”

— Rich Barrett is an illustrator who writes about comic books, most recently for Mental Floss. richbarrett.com

Images courtesy of DC Entertainment

Willi Kunz’s New York–Paris Poster (1986) for Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture

For decades, Swiss-born Willi Kunz has used type and image to create evocative and memorable designs. His New York–Paris poster is a case study in economy of means, of less is more, with black and white photographs juxtaposed over—and behind—a blue circle representing the planet earth. willikunz.com

Image courtesy of Willi Kunz

Cranbrook Academy of Art Poster Promoting the Graduate Design Program, Designed by Katherine McCoy (1989)

McCoy’s poster blends image and text into an intertwined composition, with two-dimensional typography overlapping three-dimensional elements. As a definitive piece of postmodern graphic design, it’s as enticing to look at today as it was in 1989.

April Greiman’s The Modern Poster, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (1988)

Greiman was an early adopter of computer technology, including the Apple Macintosh, embracing digital media when others shied away from it. Greiman pioneered what would become known as the California New Wave of design and typography. She used pixels to digitally paint and draw, incorporating imaginative textures, graphics and shapes with type and image. Part of design’s past, present and future, she continues to practice design through Made in Space, where she leads a multidisciplinary consultancy.

Anne Jordan on Skolos-Wedell

“No design retrospective of the past 33 years would be complete without Nancy Skolos and Thomas Wedell. Skolos-Wedell was one of the first studios to truly embrace digital tools, combining graphic design with photography in surreal and unexpected ways. Their innovative poster designs push the boundaries of type and image, and celebrate the infinite possibilities of form-making. In addition to their groundbreaking design work, Skolos and Wedell influenced a generation of designers by teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design. They continue to share their inventive collage process and contagious enthusiasm for design with students today.”

—Anne Jordan is a graphic designer. annatype.com

Editor’s Note: Nancy Skolos is one of seven Regional Design Awards judges this year. Enter today to boost your work, get discovered and get the recognition you deserve.

Image courtesy of SKOLOS-WEDELL

1990s

Cover for Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park (1990) by Chip Kidd, Published by Alfred A. Knopf.

As an in-house designer for Knopf—which he still is to this day—Kidd created an iconic and memorable cover for Crichton’s book, a story that was later adapted for the big screen. The T-Rex that Kidd rendered has been used as part of the movie’s logo since Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film, and it will appear again in the 2018 movie Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. It seems that some dinosaurs—or dinosaur logos—will never die. chipkidd.com

Image courtesy of Chip Kidd

Donald Partyka on Dance Ink Magazine

“I had just graduated from art school and discovered Dance Ink. I was working for a small two-color publication, and was amazed to see what pre-Pentagram J. Abbott Miller and his studio Design/Writing/Research with Ellen Lupton were doing with two colors. It made me push the limits of publication design in my own work.”

— Donald Partyka is the creative director of Americas Quarterly and he teaches typography at the City College of New York. donaldpartyka.com

Dance Ink photograph courtesy of Donald Partyka

Ray Gun Magazine Designs by David Carson

Carson’s work for Ray Gun took place during the height of the alternative rock scene, a time when alternative graphic design began to spring up. Ray Gun was as electrifying, emotional and energetic as the music covered within its pages. The father of grunge typography continues to design—and surf—on a routine basis. davidcarsondesign.com

Ray Gun image courtesy of David Carson

Briar Levit on the Importance of Björk’s Post Album Art

“Björk’s Post (designed by Me Company, 1995) was seminal for me both in musical and graphic awakening. I was raised a solid classic/prog rock-lover, but in my teens was developing my own tastes. Here was this artist—a solo female one at that—and this album she’d made was totally of my generation! I remember kneeling in front of the stereo, staring at the cover. From the saturated pinks, purples and oranges in the photography, to the international mailer robe that wraps Björk’s body, to the feminine yet bold and energetic 3D computer-rendered typography and flora on the back of the CD—I was in awe of that album cover (still am). It’s the classic story of not even knowing I could have a career in graphic design at the time. But I do distinctly remember simply wanting to align myself with this aesthetic, whatever that meant. This was a gateway to graphic design, and it would only be another year before I figured out that I could do it myself.”

— Briar Levit is an educator, designer, and filmmaker who made the documentary Graphic Means. briarlevit.com

Björk’s Post book and other design ephemera photographed by Briar Levit

James D. Nesbitt on James Victore’s Self-Published Racism Poster (1993)

“I met James Victore at the exact time I was about to give up on design. His work is raw, biting and, above all, truthful. It turns clichés on their heads and adds a barb so damn sharp it’ll leave a scar. His work is proof that the power is in the message, not how you kern your typography.”

— James D. Nesbitt is a graphic designer. @jamesdnesbitt

Image courtesy of James Victore

Nina Stössinger on Type for the Web

“In the early days of the web, extended reading on low-resolution screens seemed impracticable. Then came Verdana & Georgia (1996), typefaces designed specifically for screen text by Matthew Carter for Microsoft. One a wide, open humanist sans serif—Verdana—the other a sturdy transitional serif with a cursive italic—Georgia. These are screen-native fonts designed from the pixel grid up, and each feature of their design thoughtfully accommodates low resolutions, resulting in refreshing readability. Carefully hinted and widely distributed, they rightfully went on to transform and dominate typography on the web and beyond.”

— Nina Stössinger is a senior typeface designer at Frere-Jones Type. ninastoessinger.com

Microsoft’s Verdana by Matthew Carter

Clint Schultz on House Industries, and Remembering Rich Roat (1965–2017)

“House has always had an amazing portfolio of work, and their wide range of designs and typefaces have influenced and inspired my work in film. As far as my own design career is concerned, there is not a more important foundry or design firm. On top of all their other design accolades, it turns out that they are actally really great people. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Andy, Rich and many of the talented people at House. Rich had such a wealth of knowledge about the industry, and he always had a great answer or design experience to draw from. We would also talk about my film career, or Rich’s bicycling, and we definitely talked about everything House was doing. Rich always made me feel like I was part of the inner circle of House, and his knowledge, influence and sensibility will be missed.”

— Clint Schultz is a feature film graphic designer.

Flyer fonts package design courtesy of House Industries

Wally Krantz on Why the FedEx Logo Continues to Resonate

“Several times a year I’ll receive a text or email telling me a story about someone seeing the arrow for the first time. Two weeks ago, I received a text from a colleague’s friend who teaches art to fourth grade students: ‘I showed one of my classes the FedEx logo today. I can’t express how fulfilling it is to watch their minds being blown. They’re so genuine. I may not teach them art, I may not influence them to be kinder or more helpful citizens, I may not affect their life in any meaningful way, shape or form, but from now on they can never unsee that arrow.’ We found a way to engage both designers and non-designers, and that’s why the FedEx logo has stayed a part of the conversation.”

—Wally Krantz is executive creative director at Landor and was one of the designers on the Landor team that created the FedEx logo and visual identity system in 1994. @wkrantz

FedEx logo courtesy of Landor

Paula Scher’s The Diva Is Dismissed (1994) Poster

Paula Scher’s The Diva Is Dismissed (1994) posterfor The Public Theater in New York used explosive typography and striking colors for an unorthodox design approach. The work resonates as much today as it did then, thanks to Scher’s command of composition.

Image courtesy of Paula Scher

The French Paper Company Swatch Book Poster Series (1999)

The Charles S. Anderson Design Company created the French Paper Company Swatch Book Poster Series (1999) to promote French’s paper line using a distinct graphic personality. Grainy, colorful, layered and tactile, the posters are a coveted item for collectors—and not easy to come by. Anderson’s work for French Paper Company coincided with this magazine’s debut. “HOW began publishing in 1985, the same year that I started working with my friends at the French Paper Company. It seems fitting that you selected some of our earlier French Paper promotions for the final paper issue of HOW. We’re honored to be included,” Anderson says. csadesign.com

image courtesy of Charles S. Anderson Design Company

Stefan Sagmeister’s Poster for an AIGA Detroit Lecture (1999)

Stefan Sagmeister’s poster for an AIGA Detroit lecture (1999) tried “to visualize the pain that seems to accompany most of our design projects.” His intern Martin cut the type into his skin, and according to Sagmeister, “Yes, it did hurt real bad.” sagmeisterwalsh.com

Stefan Sagmeister creative direction, Tom Schierlitz photography, image courtesy of Sagmeister & Walsh

LIGHT/YEARS

Pentagram’s Michael Bierut and Nicole Trice created an all-typographic poster with the look and feel of a photogram for the Architectural League’s Beaux Arts Ball (1999).

Poster image courtesy of Michael Bierut

Click to the next page to see the most influential designs of the 2000s and 2010s.

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