#and then I had an art crisis and ended up restarting | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bubbledabelle · 5 months ago

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Thanks for visiting my blog! Here's a little bit about me:

Good morning, night or afternoon - whatever time it is for you - my name's Bubble. Bubble daBelle 🫧

I'm an artist and animator working to get my pieces out there and recognised, like most. I'd like to do my art full-time and that's a goal I'm consistently working towards ✊

What do I do??

Digital art (original and fan-art)

Traditional art (original and fan-art)

Animation (mainly 2D but I dabble in 3D)

Write stories: world-building and characters

Character design

Logo design

Learn programs to apply my skills to

Cross-stitching (currently only premade patterns but I'd like to try expanding into making my own 👀)

Do my best to exist in this world as peacefully as I can 🙃

🌈 I am a LGBTQIA+ Ally! I sincerely hope you consider this a safe space.

Although I don't personally like to go into sexual stuff too often, I still believe anyone can love anyone 💙💜

Stay away from minors in that regard, though.

🧠 Also a supporter of neurodiversity, with first-hand experience.

All brains work differently and I don't judge people based on how "well" they survive or cope on this planet. I personally work very differently to a typical person and it's usually a struggle. I ask for your patience with me! I'm doing my best, and that's all I can do 🦁

Okay, time to face my past 😩

^ that title is 100% clickbait lol but I still wanna share:

Over the years I've had multiple identity crisis when it comes to my "brand" as an artist and I'm ashamed to admit that I'm a chronic restarter ✋

I've stupidly lost sleep about how I want to portray myself online. Being neurodivergent doesn't assist this and probably plays into most of the reasoning: it's personally been hard to commit to *one* sona/portrayal over the years because, due to growing up, maturing or changing my mind, things not feeling as new/exciting, gaining another special interest etc. I've felt like I've become detached to what I had previously worked so hard to put myself out there as.

This leads to me essentially deleting my progress, effectively restarting my journey as if starting a new save file in a videogame. I gotta do ALL the quests again; it's tiring and I've only got myself to blame 🤦‍♀️

Speaking of, you may recognise these aliases:

Fawny Owl (Tumblr, DeviantArt, Instagram)

DaAnim8or2000 (YouTube) - now deleted

@flosflowin-blog

Well... they're also me lol.

⭐ DaAnim8or2000 was my first YT and I posted animations up there from 2013. I eventually deleted it because I stupidly let one measly comment get to me (at the time for my baby brain it was warranted because the comment was from someone I really looked up to in the community but of course, it was a stupid decision). I regretted the decision because even though I stopped posting for a while due to life getting in the way, it was still my work that I was proud of at the time.

This now meant I couldn't show improvement, which grinded my gears and gave me a mental block for posting at all, because I also had a thing where I didn't want to post CURRENT work if I hadn't posted PREVIOUS work. Chronological order and all, y'know... But then reposting my old work meant I had to go through the whole thing of "questioning my worth and skill" again - hopefully that makes sense? It's stupid and I DEFINITELY overthink but I'm working on that perfectionism.

⭐ Fawny Owl was my first rebrand; it was inspired by my love for owls and my discovery of Bambi II, then the idea of a character design emerged and I got SUPER into it. After a while I got detached from the sona because I thought up a whole backstory for her, so she no longer felt like "me" 🤣 so I retired her to be an OC (still super excited about the story, though, and I'll probably end up doing a comic or try to make it into a show in the future)!

⭐ The blog was my first Tumblr and I moved because I made a new email to become Fawny Owl, so instead of sticking with everything I'd become, I decided to up and yeet off to a brand new blog (that "new blog" is now abandoned too because I made THIS one to start completely anew... Again lmao). Probably to also try and run away from my past cringey self (a mass majority of that OG blog was me as a minor - I was still a minor when I created Fawny Owl).

- I'll probably keep those blogs up but just have them as unused archives rather than deleting them, as I already made the mistake of deleting my account once. Unless I think of something to do with them, I won't use them and I'll just be using this blog lol.

Am I over explaining everything? Probably. I just wanted to share my dumb journey to provide at least some understanding 😂

Honestly if you've made it this far, kudos for surviving my essay lmao ✌️

For real, though, thanks so much for reading 💕 I really do appreciate it and I hope you join me as I work towards my dream 🤩🥹

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If I make any mistakes regarding communities or cultures, please don't feel afraid to correct me! I'm open to criticism and I believe everyone can always be more educated.

🫧 *pop* 🫧

#introduction #rambles #bubble dabelle #about me

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acacia-may · 9 months ago

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Princess Tutu Zwei is really impressively animated, and I think it definitely fits in with the original series really well. I'm not sure my opinion carries much weight though since (and my sister tells me this is a very controversial take) I was actually relatively satisfied with the ending of the original Princess Tutu so I don't personally feel the same kind of desperation for a continuation of the story. That said, my sister was very disappointed in the original Princess Tutu's ending so her opinion of the Princess Tutu Zwei is probably more meaningful than mine and she absolutely loves it. She's always talking to me about the new episodes and sending them to me. When you had mentioned in that one post that you had hoped for more from the end of the series, I thought maybe this might be up your alley. ^^

I'm glad I'm not the only one who can see the Langris parallels to "Everything I Ever Thought I Knew." [Spotify; YouTube] (It was actually a huge inspiration for my story, "Wine Therapy!") That overall sense of loss of identity and the loneliness and uncertainty of all that really fits his character, I think, but it's really the line, "If none of it was really me then who am I supposed to be?" that just screams Langris to me.

I think Langris really derives his value and entire sense of self from his accomplishments: being the heir to House Vaude, a well-respected noble, a powerful mage, a successful magic knight ect. If you asked him to describe himself I think those are the type of descriptors he would use, the things he does or the roles he plays. I think you can see it in the canon when Finral comes in and "declares war" on Langris and they restart this rivalry to see who will become the head of House Vaude. I think Langris kind of has this identity crisis and feels like his brother is ripping the rug out from under him in a way because for Langris it's not that his brother is just trying take the title to their House, it's really like he's stealing Langris' whole life and his whole identity because without those things who is he? Who is he supposed to be? I'm not sure if Langris knows the answer. (Of course, Finral isn't trying to steal Langris' life, but I think that's what it feels like for him. If only they would talk to each other... but alas...). I think it also stems from Langris' insecurities too--he's confident in his abilities but not in who he is as a person--and he needs to learn to like himself for who he is not just what he does. In my mind, I like to hope that this challenge by his brother will really force Langris to confront these things in himself and will really be the catalyst for him to think about who he is and who he wants to be outside of being this 'perfect son' and heir to House Vaude. But I digress...

In so many words, Langris just doesn't know who he is outside of the roles he has been assigned and the parts he has had to play. He has lived his whole life the way he was expected to, being the person he is supposed to be and never really thinking there is anything else. I think that since he's built his whole life around these accomplishments, he really doesn't know who he is without them and losing them whether it's handing the role of vice captain of the Golden Dawn off to Yuno or his brother challenging him to take over as the head of their house, makes him question who he even is and if everything he ever knew about himself wasn't ever really him in the first, then who he is?

In terms of other Tangled the Series songs that remind me of Black Clover, I actually did a whole art piece (not a very good artist but I stand by the concept of this piece) based on "Waiting In the Wings [Reprise]" and a whole group of Black Clover characters. It's probably the most fitting, I think, but there are a lot of the other songs from the series that I can connect to BC. I'll just list a few that immediately come to mind...

"Set Yourself Free" reminds me of Vanessa especially when she leaves the forest of witches for the first time (there is an actual line about "testing limits" after all). I actually listened to on repeat while writing "Yellow Flowers" 😊

"Crossing the Line reminds me of Finral and Langris during the Royal Knights Exam arc.

"Let Me Make You Proud" reminds of Finral and his determination to make his father acknowledge him... And I swear "I've Got This" and Rapunzel's part of "Life After Happily Ever After" are what will happen to Finral if he tries to take over House Vaude (sometimes we don't actually want what we think we want, you know?)

Oh and of course, it goes without saying that "I'd Do Anything" makes me think of my dear Spatial Mage Brothers 💚💙

There are others, but I think those would be a little harder to explain (i.e. I have a whole Finral x Vanessa universe based on "If I Could Take This Moment Back"...but I've rambled enough already 😅).

Back to Tangled the Series in general...it's a really good show! I'm glad I watched it. I binged when I was really sick with a flu shortly after I had finished the Black Clover anime so I was making all kinds of connections, I think, but it's great on its own and I absolutely agree that Varian is an awesome character. You should really talk to @randomsprinkles sometime because she is a HUGE Varian fan and really, really into Tangled the Series (and probably has a lot more to say about than me, I think)! ^^

Thanks for answering my ask! Cheers!! 💕

Hi there, Greta! I've been meaning to ask you if you had heard about the fan-made Princess Tutu sequel, Princess Tutu Zwei? The episodes are released on YouTube [here's the link Princess Tutu Zwei - YouTube] and the animation is really pretty. There's no voice over in any language, but the story is told in subtitles. My sister (who is an extremely passionate Princess Tutu fan) has been following it very closely and watching episodes as they're released, and I've watched several of the episodes myself. It's really good, so I thought I'd suggest it, in case you hadn't heard of it already.

Also, Tangled the Series is great! ^^ My sister finally got me to watch the series by sending me the songs out of context and connecting them to BC back in the day ("Everything I Ever Thought I Knew" is such a Langris song, imo), but it's a great show in its own right and the music is fantastic! It's always fun to find another fan of it out in the wild! Cheers!! 💕

I haven’t heard of it— oh my gosh it looks so well made!! Thanks for bringing it to my attention, I’ll have to check it out. The princess Tutu brainrot is strong right now haha!

I’ve never thought of Everything I Ever Thought I Knew in the context of BC before but now that you point it out it is SUCH a Langris song (I’d love to hear about the other ones you’ve connected to BC 👀 💜). The music in that show is incredible. I am a huge fan of Varian, as I love my morally grey victims who get redeemed (side-eyes Langris). Off the top of my head I’d say my favorite from the soundtrack is Nothing Left to Lose.

#why am i not surprised this somehow turned into langris meta #whoops sorry 😅#thank you again for answering my ask!#tangled the series #princess tutu #langris vaude #greta 💐

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sugarbubbleslove · 5 years ago

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Cloud & Tifa - Remake

So I ended up restarting FFVII Remake because I screwed up *sighs*. and I had reached Chapter 9 and was in the process of saving Tifa.

No biggie, I get the chance to level Tifa up some much and swoon over her.

Under the cut for spoilers - just to be on the safe side

But seriously guys - I CANNOT get over how SOFT they are with each other. Honestly, I’ve reached Reactor 5 and the way Cloud pretty much dismisses Barret for his idea but is so open to Tifa’s idea. How he just smiles at her and she smiles back.

I love their little battle conversations. Where Cloud is impressed with her fighting ability and she teased him.

The first time they fight together, the way she admires the way he charges in and he tells her her it’s just a warm up, damn boy, you really know how to flirt with Tifa, that’s for sure.

Honestly, it’s such a change when you can see what he is like with the Avalanche and Tifa, how he slowly warms up with the team but there is still that bit of distance between them but with Tifa, man the boy just melts around her it’s like watching two different people (Well - technically 3, but that’s a whole another post at some other point, maybe).

Ooh, I also love the way Cloud tells her to keep her gloves up and she remarks back, calling him Coach. That just gives me sparring-partner vibes like crazy!!

One thing I noticed - Cloud and Tifa’s earring are on the same ear - It didn’t look like they had their ear pierced during the promises so is it possible they got them pierced just before Cloud left? Because I vaguely remember Cloud taking his helmet off when he first meet Zack in Crisis Core and he had his ear pierced...

But come on! This game is just FEEDING me Cloti, like I didn’t even realised how hungry I was for them until they handed them to me on a silver platter and I’m just like...can I have more? Please?

The train scene. Oh boy, the train scene. I had a feeling they could have just stayed like that.

But another thing is how I like how Barret is slowly softening toward Cloud in this. I do think part of it is how Cloud treats Tifa. He is initially distrustful of Cloud because he is Shinra - even though Ex - but still. But it feels to me like he is softening more in Reactor 5 because Tifa is there and he sees how soft Cloud is with Tifa.

Probably cause even he can see Tifa has doubts and sees how Cloud tries to reach for her.

Damn it. Come on. Like I don’t have enough with my heart bursting with them.

PS - Does anyone else like Stamp Tune? Cause that is so freaking awesome. I have this image in my head that Cloud boots it up when he gets back to Seventh Heaven and Marlene gets to see him doing so, maybe bobbing his head to the music and she finds herself liking him and joins in with him without Cloud actually realising it and Tifa is just...melting at the scene because come on - Cloud and kids are so freaking adorable in this game.

Plus - Did Cloud actually say that Tifa had a white cat like the one in the quest? I keep thinking I did and there was an art of Tifa cuddling a white cat so if so, how the hell do yo trigger that part? Did I have to meet the cat closer to the entrance first to get that scene?

OH - can I say just how so freaking MISLEADING that quest ‘Alone at Last’ was?! Seriously, you had my hope up, I’m not gonna lie. Shame you on SE for doing that to my poor heart.

Hmph, I’ll probably be back with some more. I need to squee over Aerith of course, but that can wait until I’ve reached her again.

#Cloti #Cloud/Tifa #Cloud Strife #Tifa Lockhart #Come on SE #Stop trying to kill me with cuteness and softness #Final Fantasy VII Remake #ffvii remake

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hellowishstuff-blog · 4 years ago

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5 Online workshops for Event organisers to host

The event industry met with a great recession earlier this year, with the announcement of lockdown all across the globe.

This intensely affected the people who were associated with this industry. Be it the organizer or the workforce who worked on-site. Everyone faced a crisis.

Currently, event organizers have emerged as people of importance unlike the other times.

In the current circumstances where everyone is advised to stay home and maintain a needful physical distance due to pandemic, the event industry turned out to be virtual that is online.

Specifically, online workshops started trending in times of COVID as everyone used the opportunity and extra time in hand to uplift their skills which were otherwise not possible with the busy hustle of life.

We have all had skills and long-lost hobbies to restart and lockdowns made it possible to achieve them.

Virtual events are in demand and every event organizer is leveraging this opportunity the best way possible.

There are numerous kinds of workshops that an event organizer can host which will tap their target audience.

So, I've listed down 5 types of online workshops that an event organizer can plan:

1 – Art – Music, Dance, Acting, Painting, Writing, etc.

Image Courtesy Pexels

There have been plenty of people who have devoted their time during lockdown towards up scaling their craft or polishing their hobbies which they always dreamed of.

There are infinite art forms on which one can organize a workshop.

For instance, on a musical instrument, Dancing (Choreography), Taking acting workshops, Painting, writing (poetry, songs, literature), etc.

There is no literal end to this list. Budding artists are always keen to level up their game. They are always looking up for ways to enhance their art. You can be part of this passage and act as a mediator.

This is going to be an absolute mine for you.

And this can only be possible if you get a learned professional and if possible a well-known one to host the event and impart their knowledge, intricacies, and experiences of the art with participants.

2 – Health & Wellness –

Image Courtesy Pexels

We all have heard of health is wealth but always overlooked it. Now nature has taught us the hard way. And made us appreciate the life we are gifted with.

We all have realized now the importance of good and sound health.

Again, taking the example of the current situation of COVID-19, people have understood how prominent it is to stay fit and healthy both physically and mentally.

We all are striving to stay fit. Increasing our immunity to fight viruses. It’s no more a choice but a need for all of us.

You can organize workshops on yoga, exercises, mental health, dieting, meditation, sports, nutrition, etc.

This is powerful if you consider and educate the participants with a qualified panel.

3 – IT & Software

Image Courtesy Pexels

We all are somewhere associated with some sort of software in our working spaces.

Getting better and sharper is always a need. And therefore, many of us have used this time to learn something new and get better at it.

Technology is getting smarter and better with time. Every task that we perform has technological dominance. And this is an amazing opportunity for you as an event organizer.

You can host an online workshop for educating people about a vast range of software that one uses.

And I’ve created an article on how to host an event. You can have a look at it for detail spec.

For instance Adobe Premiere Pro, Illustrator, after effects, Final Cut Pro are being used for visuals. Or something related to music Logic Pro X, Cubase, NUENDO, etc.

You can even tap into the corporate arena where there is extensive use of Microsoft Office. You can plan events for learning Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.

Apart from all this, there has been a substantial amount of rising into learning coding languages be it C++, JavaScript, Python, Swift, C sharp, or anything of this sort.

There is infinite possibility in this zone.

4 – Personality Development

Image Courtesy Pexels

It doesn’t seem to be important to mention the significance of personality development.

The success of a person, be it in his personal life, towards a relationship, or his professional life in his career is subject to oneself.

Everything depends upon the person itself. The best part is that striving for success has gone very far. Everybody wants to be successful. And, one is always keen to enrich their knowledge and lives as fast as possible.

And towards striving, they are always looking for means to develop themselves, you as an event organizer can take this as an opportunity and create workshops.

For leadership, time management, personal branding, stress Management, personal productivity, etc.

By bringing in the real successful people and mentors on board. Who have tested the fragrance of success and have been at the pinnacle.

5 – Business Skills

Image Courtesy Pexels

Startups are gaining recognition and trust in the business ecosystem like never before.

The ideas that aroused years ago have taken the form of million-dollar organizations. Which not only bought revenue but also revolutionized the lives of millions of people.

And this doesn’t happen with a magic wand. People have polished themselves throughout. Learned skills that became their companion on the path of success.

Business skills are an aspect where you can target and leverage as an event organizer.

Be it an employee of an organization or are the one who runs the organization itself.

They are always keen to up their game and knowledge.

The certification event works best.

You can organize workshops for building better communication, for sales, marketing strategies, digital marketing, how to manage a team, or how to start a startup, etc.

You can target every aspect of an organization to create a workshop.

Again, the host matters the most.

Conclusion

Being an event organizer I would suggest not to get restricted with any particular category of events or workshops.

You should get yourself familiar with every form of workshops, from art to business to every aspect. And just simply explore and have an adventurous journey ahead.

In order to get attendees you can also look for online platforms which hosts social groups of various categories. One of such platform is Bylde, which has enormous potential.

The different types of online workshops listed above are credible enough to get you attendees and will result in a successful workshop. And you as a successful event organizer.

The only thing that I would like to put forth apart from all above is that the most important thing is adding value to people’s lives. If you gift them value, appreciating their time and money it will work out no matter what.

So, which one would you like to go with first?

Let me know.

#events #online #workshop #hosting

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definealetheia · 5 years ago

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Note to self when I feel like I'm going insane (unfinished)

STOP OVERTHINKING!

Sit back, relax, and take deep breaths.

Listen to chakra tune up meditation music. Unblock your chakras and let the energy flow through your body.

Don't intentionally block your heart chakra. Stop suppressing your feelings, whether it is good or bad. You have to deal with them and heal your wounds. The more you suppress your feelings, the longer your agony will get.

Do you still have doubts about the connection?

Remember that you have already let go of the label Twin Flame. The question whether he is your Divine Masculine or not is not important anymore. The Universe may or may not give you the answer after all. BUT you can honor what you feel is true. You love him. This is your truth. You don't need the Universe to tell you that.

It is okay to doubt the connection sometimes. It is normal to experience doubts and fears in this journey. It is scary and full of uncertainties.

I don't get why other twins refer to someone they meet as "catalyst" who will activate your awakening and you believed as your twin but ended up as otherwise. Same logic goes for false twin. I don't get it. I don't think there is a false twin or a catalyst. That person is either your twin or not. Why would you need a catalyst to activate you? Your twin can do that himself. It doesn't make sense to me. People who started their spiritual journey even before they met their twin were awakened due to several possible reasons. May be because of traumatic experiences or they come from a spiritual background. As for those who were not awakened until they met their twin, I don't understand why the person who activated them ends up only as a catalyst. What for? You will only recognize that person as a catalyst once you meet your true twin. And then it would be like you're restarting your twin flame journey with your true twin! Wth.

Remember the reasons and synchonicities that lead you to believe he is your twin.

He activated my spiritual awakening.

It was August 29, 2018. I met my twin online right after I graduated from grad school. I finished another milestone in my life. I finished a job contact and ready to start a new life. I was optimistic about the future. I've been single for years and thought it would be nice a start a new one. But I didn't want to start a relationship just for the heck of it. I wanted to find the one. I've been saying this to the Universe for a quite some time. I might have manifested it when I met your twin without knowing it.

I've been suffering from MDD and GAD for years. I was in medication and went in and out of hospitals after every suicide attempt. For a long time I was suffering from an existential crisis. I did not know who I am or why I am alive. I did not have dreams of my own and was just living to fulfill the expectations of my family and society. I did not have any goals nor did I have reasons or motivations to pursue anything except meeting others' expectations of me. I needed to finish school and establish a good career, help my parents, and then have my own family. As good as those things were, I did not have the right motivation to do that.

I have always felt I don't belong anywhere. I was bullied in school and even at work. It made my depression even worse. Everywhere I go, terrible things always end up happening. I always felt uncomfortable, unsafe, and being wronged by people. I felt unlucky and miserable all the time. Everytime I try to turn my life around and gain a little hope, terrible things happen and that little hope I had get taken away from me.

I was never religious nor spiritual. Having a master's degree in Philosophy, I have an extensive experience on critical thinking and being skeptical. I don't label myself as agnostic. In fact, when it comes to my spirituality, I refrained from associating myself from any religious group or any spiritual belief. However, during one Philosophy class where we talked about religion where some of my classmates studied in Catholic seminaries, I remember sharing that I don't believe in (Christian conception) God but I do believe that there is someone or something, maybe it be metaphysical, divine, or a force that governs everything in the Universe.

I have always had the affinity to look at the sunset and the night sky. I has been part of my routine. My childhood dream was to became an astronaut or astronomer. But life happened. Part of my routine was talking to the Universe while watching the night sky. Whenever I feel suicidal I always tell them that I don't belong down here. I want to be among the stars. That's where I feel I belong, not here. I talk to the stars as often as I can. They saw me cry and all. They let me know they are listening by showing me shooting stars. I even saw asteroid Juno and other comets during one of my nightly routine. It always feels magical when they show me how beautiful the Universe is.

Recognizing the soul connection

I have been interested in Japanese culture and martial arts. I've been practicing a japanese sword martial arts since January 2017. Since I wanted to learn the language, I installed a language exchange application on my phone and that's where I met him. To be honest, I was open to the thought of possibly meeting someone online but I did not realize that I would actually meet someone like him. I met men who were more interested in flirting with me than learning another language. That's very common online. But I was not interested in them but when I met my twin, I did not know that from then on, my life will turn bat shit crazy. I was just following ramdom people on the app but I also made sure they did not look sketchy or suspicious. He followed me back. He suddenly commented on a picture I posted of me and my cat and then he sent me a private message. My first impression of him is he was very flirty and straithforward with giving compliments, unlike most Japanese I talked to who were polite and unsure of themselves. When I looked at his picture, I immediately felt something different about him especially when I looked at his eyes. But I couldn't put my finger on it. I never felt anything like it before. I felt like I knew him. There was a sense of familiarity and comfortabilitily. We started talking on Line, sent audio messages, and even talked on video call for hours. He send messages when he wakes up, goes to work, while working, coming home, and before sleeping. It like was a honeymoon phase of a relationship. I told myself it was too good to be true.

I needed to know more about him so I asked him if he was single. He wasn't. I felt like a bucket of cold water was thrown at me. He was still flirty and acting like there's more to us than acquaintances. But because of that reality check, I kept asking myself where I stand. Sometimes he treats me like a girlfriend all then all of a sudden he acts like a stranger. When the conversation gets hot and he becomes more flirty than normal that's where I remind him that he has a gf and I don't want to be in a third party. He told me they haven't talked for a while and he felt lost. I felt worse. I felt like he was just bored and wants to use me to fill in the void. Since I knew I was falling inlove, I made it clear to him that if he wants to continue talking to me like we are in a relationship, then I want to be only one. There should be no other woman. He couldn't give me an answer. He always dodged the question to the point that I get frustrated and just drop it. Add the language barrier to the mix. During one of our arguments, I kept asking him how he really felt about me and his answer was that he wanted to meet. I did not expect that answer. Even if I agreed to that, I reminded him that he has gf and he just told me they hadn't talked.

When he came back to Japan from one of work trips, that's when things went downhill. He used to give me updates on where he was or what he doings but that time I did tell me he already came back. His messages became short. Sometimes just one word. It's obvious he didn't want to be bothered or he just didn't want to talk to me. There were even sarcastic messages. It was my cue to leave him be.

We stared with talking to each other all day everyday until it became more and more seldom. There were days when he wouldn't talk. Then a sudden message after days of silence. I did not chase him or beg him to talk to me. But I once told him how I sad was that he changed. I was crying a lot. My heart got broken so many times. October 2018 came and after over a month of the honeymoon phase, he finally ghosted me.

Kundalini awakening and rising

I became more and more depressed and desperate for answers. I kept asking the Universe: Why did this happen? What was the point? I closed myself off for years and stopped dating after experiencing traumatic relationships. Right when I finally decided to take a risk, open my heart, and love again, this happened to me? I did not understand the point of it all. Letting another person in and then he just breaks my heart? This was the last chance I gave myself to love and this shit happened. Before I met him, I told myself that if I ever meet someone and fall in love, it will be the last time. I want to me the one. I am tired of being hurt so many times.

I was so confused. I was hurt, angry, and frustrated. Wanting to find the answers, I started watching tarot readings on Youtube. I never believed in Astrology. I was too skeptical for that. But I watched hundreds of readings out of desperation to find the answers. I got mixed result on the readings. There were times that the readings resonated so much that my mind was blown so many times. But there were others that just made me more confused and paranoid. The best takeaway from those readings is that divine timing is at work. I have to trust in the Universe and give them space to work things out. I can't force things to happen. The only thing I can do is set healthy boundaries and don't let anyone treat me like a doormat.

I spent the next few weeks just watching readings, crying at night, and trying to cope with the pain. The readings said that there will be communication and it did happen. By the time happened, I literally said "this shit is real." I was surprised that he messaged me and asked how I was. But after the inital shock, I was overcome by anger and hurt. He wanted communication just when I was starting to gain balance and not think of him that much. I was torn between telling him off and just accept that he is back. I replied 2-3 days later telling him I'm doing good.

The communication started again but I was seldom. He called me on 11/11 but I couldn't answer. He just randomly sends a message after a few days of silence and or calls all of a sudden and then disappear again. So flakey! I got fed up and set my foot down. I asked him why he wants call or talk to me. He said he always wanted to call and enjoys being with me. I called out his BS. I reminded him that he stopped talking to me. He can't just come in and out of life as he pleases. He should stop playing mind games with me. He just said to me "Oh don't say that 😭." I told him I deserve an explanation and tell me why he disappeared. He said he did not disappear. I told him it hurts me that he's not being honest with me. He said he was being honest. See the pattern here? I asked him again what happened and he just answered "I don't remember." That was it. I told him I'm a very patient person (I'm a fucking Taurus okay) but he pushed me too far. I won't ask anymore. It's obvious he didn't wanna answer. I'm done.

I was livid. I'm done dealing with a player and emotionally unvailable jackass. That's the start of our separation. It was 11/12.

I spent the rest of November dealing with rollercoaster of emotions. One moment I'm angry, and them I'm in pain, and then lonely ect. It was a torture. There were times when I went into relapse. I thought I have officially gone insane. I just wanted to die.

The first time I came across the term twin flame was through watching tarot readings. I never heard of the time before even when I met my twin. I wasn't interested in learning more about it at first. All I know was that it was different from soulmates and it was rare. I have never thought of myself as special (just different) so I did not think I needed to know about it. But curiosity got the better of me and finally decided to do some research. Lo and behold, I resonated with most of the signs that were listed. The things that happened to me made more sense now. But that was not enough to convince me.

More and more meditation music started appearing on my youtube suggestions. It was December when I finally decided to try a guided meditation. It's my first entry. I felt the urge to do it more and more often until I came across a meditation to awaken my spirit. Before this entire journey I would never think of trying it but since I have been activated, might as well continue on improving myself. I played the music when looking at the sunset. When I came to opening the third eye, I started seeing particles in mid air. They look specks of light or little transparent bubbles floating around. As weeks went by I seem them clearer. I don't even have to concentrate or be in meditative state to see them. I see another invisible layer in my environment as well. I see rain or drizzle even if it's not really raining. I also see "rain" and particles even indoors now. As long as there is light. I tune up my chakra almost everyday. I don't feel right when I don't meditate in a few days.

10/13/2019 ~ 2:41 PM (this has been saved in my Drafts since Jan/Feb -- I'm not sure anymore)

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daisysmartt1021 · 6 years ago

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Work in Progress: Week 11

I had a #crisis this week and nearly restarted my project, but kept on working at it and revisited some of the elements like the type and colour. Although the blue was nice, it wasn’t quite getting across the vibe I have in mind. Purple fits the scene much better I think. I have also changed my pattern and ended up forming something super Art Deco-y with a couple of simple geometric shapes. I played around with the opacity and filter on it to make it less dominant overall, but it is still visible enough, I think... I was thinking about the design of the pattern way too hard earlier in the week which pushed me to have a meltdown, so coming back to basics was definitely beneficial.

I am also pretty happy with how my mock up is looking so far with the embossing on the logotype. The only thing I am uncertain about is the imagery on the front of the box, but I will wait for next week’s peer feedback before changing it.

Also included in this post are my scaled versions of the logotype and also the reverse and inverse versions. I think how I have done them is right but I’m not 100% sure.

#wip2 #semester 1

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didanawisgi · 7 years ago

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More than 30 years ago, when UC Berkeley researchers discovered telomerase — an enzyme that lengthens chromosome ends and prevents them from fraying enough to kill a cell — speculation ran wild about its role in aging and cancer, setting off a full-court press to produce drugs to activate or block the enzyme.

While neither telomerase-based anti-aging drugs, touted as a “fountain of youth,” nor anticancer drugs have yet appeared, the publication today by UC Berkeley scientists of the first detailed picture of the molecular structure of human telomerase should jump-start that effort, allowing more targeted drug screens and intelligent design of new drugs.

“It has been a long time coming. It took a lot of persistence,” said Kathleen Collins, a UC Berkeley professor of molecular and cell biology who has worked on the enzyme for 26 years.

Collins and Eva Nogales, also a professor of molecular and cell biology, are the senior authors of a paper describing the 3-D molecular structure of the human telomerase enzyme published this week in the journal Nature.

One bottleneck has been obtaining pure samples of this complex molecule, which is composed of an RNA backbone decorated by six types of protein that move around as they add DNA to the ends of chromosomes. Labs around the world have debated whether the enzyme operates singly or as conjoined twins, and how and how many proteins decorate the RNA backbone.

Without consensus on these questions, it has proven difficult to design a drug to target the molecular machine and either destroy telomerase activity – which could stop a cancer that has boosted its telomerase levels – or restart telomerase, perhaps to prime the body for rapid cell division after a bone marrow transplant.

Rotating view of telomerase structure, showing RNA backbone in blue, associated proteins in orange and red, and the heart of the enzyme, a reverse transcriptase, in green. (Kelly Nguyen graphic)

The newly revealed structure still lacks fine detail, but combined with knowledge of the gene sequence of human telomerase, it provides enough information to start thinking about potential targets for drugs, said first author Thi Hoang Duong “Kelly” Nguyen, a Miller Institute postdoctoral fellow at UC Berkeley.

“The best previous images of human telomerase had a resolution of only 30 Ångstroms; we were able to get about 7 to 8 Ångstroms resolution using cryoelectron microscopy,” Kelly said. “When I got to the point where I could see all the subunits – we had 11 protein subunits in total – it was a moment of, ‘Wow, wow, this is how they all fit together.’”

Nguyen, Collins and Nogales are actively working to improve the resolution to 3 or 4 Ångstroms – about the size of two carbon atoms – which is sufficient for drug design.

Telomerase tops up the telomeres

Telomeres were first detected at a molecular level in the late 1970s by Elizabeth Blackburn, then at UC Berkeley and now president emerita of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. Working with the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena, she and colleagues showed that the ends of the chromosomes are capped by repeating sequences of DNA. Armed with knowledge of telomere sequence, researchers then showed that telomeres in tissues of multicellular organisms grow shorter each time a cell divides. The telomeres protect the DNA strands from fraying and getting damaged at their ends, much like the plastic tip on the end of a shoelace. The fact that they drop off with each cell division is thought to protect us from cancer, when a cell is hijacked and proliferates continually.

As cells age, their telomeres are shortened. Because most adult cells have no telomerase to lengthen the telomeres, when they become critically short, cell growth is halted and cells either die or become senescent. In cancer cells, telomerase is turned back on and replenishes telomeres, allowing them to maintain a stable telomere length and live forever.

In 1985 at UC Berkeley, Blackburn and then-graduate student Carol Greider discovered telomerase, an enzyme that adds DNA back to the ends of chromosomes, lengthening them and extending the lifespan of the cell. Blackburn, Greider and another colleague, Jack Szosak, shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of telomerase.

Scientists have since found that, in humans and other multicellular organisms, telomerase is expressed only in the embryo, not in most adult cells. That means that most cells at birth have a predetermined ability to grow and divide, after which they die. Many scientists believe that depleted telomeres are a major cause of aging.

Collins has been trying to determine the structure of telomerase ever since the first human telomerase protein was discovered in 1997, and she and her colleagues have discovered and extensively characterized many of the proteins in the large enzyme, as well as the broken-up hairpin structure of the RNA backbone of telomerase. Yet how they all fit together was an enigma because of conflicting results from many different labs.

Nguyen was able to isolate the active enzyme and purify it much better than anyone had before, and employed a new, state-of-the-art cryoelectron microscope to determine the structure of the active telomerase unambiguously. Cryo-EM is a technique for determining molecular structures of compounds that cannot be crystallized and imaged with X-rays, and its developers won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

According to Nogales, cryo-EM is ideally suited to studying human telomerase because it can deal with the extremely small amounts of purified sample, and it can produce a structure even when the molecule under study is highly flexible, as is the case with human telomerase.

Once the UC Berkeley team had the structure, Nguyen said, it became clear why genetic mutations in some of the proteins in telomerase interfere with the enzyme to cause disease. In 1999, Collins discovered the first known human disease caused by a telomerase mutation: a mutation in a telomerase protein called dyskerin that is responsible for a rare disease called dyskeratosis congenita. Patients develop anemia as well as skin and gut problems, and most frequently die from bone marrow failure.

The reason, Collins says, is that there are two dyskerin molecules bound to the RNA backbone that have to not only reach out to the network of other proteins but also touch one another, and disease-causing mutations prevent these linkages, crippling the ability of the RNA backbone to survive in cells. Some children with dyskeratosis congenita have telomerase levels about 25 percent of normal and a lifespan of less than two decades. Those with half the normal level of telomerase typically reach a health crisis in mid-life.

Collins is ecstatic to finally have a definitive structure for telomerase and looks forward to learning more about the intricate assembly process of one of the most complex enzymes in the body: a polymerase as complicated as the ribosome, which reads RNA to produce proteins.

“I didn’t think it would be this complicated when I decided to study this molecule,” she said. “I became curious about how telomerase works in 1991, when I was just finishing as a grad student, and I was looking for a really simple polymerase system in which to understand nucleic acid interactions. And I thought, my god you can’t be simpler than this. That was super naive.”

The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (GM054198) and the Miller Institute for Basic Research. Other UC Berkeley co-authors are Jane Tam, Robert Wu, Basil Greber and Daniel Toso. Nogales is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, and with Collins a member of the California Institute for Quantitative Biology.

#Telomeres #telomerase #regenerative medicine

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rebclheartsarchive · 7 years ago

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god my ass is so pumped for modern au event, y’all have nO IDEA. this is gonna be so exciting agshdhkgakjfdshjaf. anyway, here’s a quick rundown of all my babies in the au world. also a psa that i’m gonna keep mica while the event is on and then once it’s done he’s getting officially retired.

cordelia

so my girl had a shitty upbringing. she grew up with an abusive father and her mama died when she was young after giving birth to her youngest sister. she got her justice tho bc she fuckin deserves it and got him thrown in jail for his abuse. after that her little sisters and her went to live with her aunt and she’d just turned eighteen and it was kinda the first time she didn’t really have the responsibility of taking care of her sisters? she could start focusing on herself and she started going to therapy, started actually healing. delia also got really interested in law and ended up being accepted into oxford. her twenties was basically spent studying and being vocal in class and spending her nights in clubs and waking up with Regrets. was hired by a hot shot law firm straight out of oxford and she honestly became such a fucking asset to them. delia was made to argue with old white men in court and fight for justice. mainly takes on cases defending victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse, but tbh she’ll take on any case as long as she believes her client to be innocent. she doesn’t do guilty. she’s actually won most of her cases and is arguably the best lawyer at her firm. lowkey imagine that she makes a shit ton from her cases but she isn’t really materialistic?? mainly buys nice clothes to wear to court and work, but otherwise she saves her money.

delia’s aesthetic is definitely tight pencil skirts, blouses and high heel. also rarely seen without red lipstick. which is a funny contrast bc her at home is casual af with a messy bun. this bitch honestly lives on coffee and whiskey, loves visiting her favourite pub with her best friend. personality wise, she’s a bit more open than she is normally? like she doesn’t care if people know she’s having a shitty day and she opens up to the people she cares about with more ease. she went through a shit ton of therapy and still goes to sessions every now and then tbh to keep herself moving forward. she is defs more stubborn tho, also more sarcastic and takes zero shit. will 10/10 call you out on your bs. she also recently married her best friend’s cousin and she’s happier than she’s ever been. is in a v happy newlywed bubble rn and she’s kinda juggling the idea of starting to have kids. she so wants to be a mom, but she also doesn’t want to give up her career to do it and she wants to enjoy being married first.

lukas

my boy lukas had a pretty happy childhood? his parents were always lovely and got along with almost all his siblings really well, so his childhood was p simple. he was one of those jocks in high school that was really popular but also really nice. also such a nerd for science. such an english and history nerd honestly my god. spent so much of his time writing stories and reading poetry, was such a nerd. was also kinda a fuckboi tbh. he slept around a lot and went to a lot of parties, wasn’t really thinking a whole lot about anything after high school at that point. he went to uni to become an english teacher after high school and then boom, simple life came to an end when his dad got shot dead. the loss really devastated him and it kinda changed his perspective on his life. he wanted to do something more meaningful than that, so he actually dropped out of uni to join the police force, mainly bc his dad’s killer never got caught. kinda started as a vengeance thing mixed with wanting to protect people. rose in the ranks over the years to chief superintendent and he’s hoping to end up as commissioner one day. he’s also a little bit shady?? kinda uses his position in the force to keep his father’s case open and keeps looking into it, he just can’t let it go.

when he’s not in uniform, his style kinda is just whether his clothes are clean or not. wears a lot of jeans and shirts and converse. he’s a pretty chill dude most of the time, fairly patient kinda dude but once you get on his nerves you’re kinda there forever. can definitely hold a grudge, tho he avoids conflict like it’s the damn plague. is kinda a single dad atm, is separated from his wife and only really sees her when he’s picking up his son. . is currently having a mid life crisis because of all the shit going on with sabinah, definitely has started listening to more bruce springstein than normal. can also be found sitting in parks writing poetry when he has spare time bc he is such a Nerd .

violeta

y’all know that violeta couldn’t be anything but a stone cold bitch even in au. she’s a fucking trust fund baby tbh, her parents own a multi-million dollar oil company that originated in spain. she lived there for most of her life before papa and mama delgado moved the family to london to broaden business opportunities. violeta was highkey Bitter about the move bc she loved spain and didn’t really want to restart her life. honestly toughened her up a bit tho and she was pretty popular at school? lowkey became a bitchy queen bee, won prom queen, was on a million committees bc she loves bossing people around. her parents put a lot of pressure on her to be perfect, hence her being a major over achiever. this also played into when she got a little older and went into the family business. her parents always wanted one of the kids to take over for them and considering vi always idolized her dad, she wanted to be the first choice. she got a business degree and aced all her classes while she made her way up in the company, eventually ending up second in command. papa delgado basically started grooming her to take over and then when he got sick, he promoted her to ceo, bitch.

in modern au she’s less on the cold side, and more on the bitchy side. she has a high opinion of herself and her worth, honestly that line from that ariana grande song “but something just keeps telling me i’m better than the rest”. also major fallon carrington vibes. highkey wears power suits and dresses and heels, probs always wears sunglasses so people don’t see her rolling her eyes every five seconds. hates most people unless she considers them intelligent. also has no issue with the fact that she’s. basically. poisoning the environmwnt bc she cares more about money asdfghj. which is funny that she ended up married to a guy who loves the environment and nature and they now have a newborn daughter.

michel

used to be such a sunshine child. he was always really quiet as a kid and often either had his nose in a book or was doing craft by himself. was always such a loner nerd, probs got teased a lot in school for it. also has always been pretty reactive, so once someone pissed him off you can bet that he started swinging. he always kinda just kept to himself and cruised his way through school, graduated and didn’t really know what to do with his life from there. he did know though that he wanted to join the army. he looked up to his brother a lot and thought dedicated some of his life to helping others was a good idea, so he spent two years in afghanistan. he came home by choice after realizing that war was not at all what he thought it would be. he had some major ptsd after some of the shit he saw and did and had a really hard time assimilating back into everyday life. goes to tomas’ meetings and that’s how they met. also goes to therapy and actually talks about his shit? probs took him like two years to actually open up about anything, but anyway. also enrolled in art school bc he wants to be a painter, works a shitty job to pay the rent on the apartment he and anton live in.

his aesthetic is literally just black jeans, white t-shirt, leather jacket and boots on repeat, i swear this boy owns nothing else and is so fucking minimalist. he’s forever got paint stains on various parts of his body bc he’s always painting. he’s a p quiet guy, doesn’t really talk a lot, kinda hates most people aside from his boyfriend and his family. he lives on black coffee, smokes way too much and rides a motorbike bc he is a thrill seeker okay. also red wine is his Religion, but he drinks vodka when he’s out. he lives on ramen noodles bc he can only really cook like, two meals, it’s obvs that anton does most of the cooking in their house. is also the dad of a black cat named yoda bc you can’t be a gay art hoe without a cat. he and anton have been together for like, 4/5 years now? both of them are broke ass bitches bc they just had to be artistic. also mica has been keeping a wedding ring in the back of his sock drawer for like a month now and is trying to find the right time to propose.

and yah, those are my kids! this got really long and rambly, i’m so sorry and if you read this i love you. also feel free to like this and i’ll slide into your ims for some plotting!

#me: okay short blurbs #me: *writes more than a short blurb*#crowns.auweek #abuse tw #ptsd tw #murder tw

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davewakeman · 5 years ago

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Talking Tickets--3 April 2020: StubHub! Bailouts! Marketing! More!

Hey!

Welcome to April!

Let’s hope March really did go out like a lamb. Because that lion part was very apt, am I right?

How is everyone holding up? Let me know. You can just reply to this email.

If you want to join our Slack community, we are all figuring it out together but there are about 150 folks from around the globe in the channel, talking all areas of tickets.

I’m also co-hosting a Happy Hour this afternoon at 5 PM EDT with Ken Troupe. So swing by, have a drink, and a chat.

And, if you think someone would benefit from this newsletter, share it with them, or send them to this link to sign up.

To the tickets!

————————————————————————————————————

1. StubHub seems to be teetering on the edge:

I’ve had a lot of conversations about StubHub this week.

I put together a couple of thoughts late on Tuesday night because I was trying to wrap my head around what the big issues are.

The two big ones that I keep coming back to are the fact that so many big businesses don’t have the cash reserves to last a week or two. And, in the case of StubHub, there didn’t seem to be the necessary guardrails or risk mitigation in place to deal with a situation where mass cancellations happened.

The other one is the fact that I believe when we are on the other side of this, there is going to be a fundament rethinking of the way tickets are sold and marketed. That’s the primary and the secondary, just to be clear.

This pandemic and financial crisis initiated by the pandemic are exposing that there is a lot more smoke and mirrors going on in entertainment than most people realized.

If you read the balance sheets and talked to folks widely, you had a feeling that something like this could happen.

As a friend of mine mentioned to me, “you’re always talking about what comes next anyway…” true.

But what does come next?

I’m talking to folks and trying to figure out where we do go from here. And, if I had action items that I would suggest:

1. Rethink your value proposition 2. Rethink who your customer is and who you want it to be 3. Rethink what your organization is doing to acquire and keep customers

Not sexy, just the basics.

Also, what does this mean for the merger with Viagogo?

2. Will things go back to “normal” when we are able to come out of physical distancing?

I’ve had a lot of conversations the last 3 weeks about what will happen when events come back and a lot of people are just blindly offering up the opinion that there will be so much “pent up” demand for live events that things will be gangbusters.

I believe I mentioned a conversation I had a few weeks back with a friend at an NBA club that was pretty frank in the opinion that if we are being honest, in a lot of markets, attendance never really came back after 2008.

While I don’t look at DAZN as indicative of anything currently, I do think if they can successfully find a way out of their rights payments and some of their commitments, it opens the doors to others doing the same.

Variety shared some research that showed attendance is likely to take a hit in the aftermath of the pandemic. And, I’m pretty certain that some things will come back faster than others.

I don’t put too much stock in any research or any one opinion right now because no one can tell you with great certainty what is likely to happen on the other side of this.

I can tell you from experience that you should be rethinking your offerings, reimaging how you are going to deliver value to your customers, and how you will relaunch your business because restarting your business isn’t likely to be the right answer.

What are all of you thinking about relaunching your businesses? Rethinking things?

3. Wait!? What?! Folks are talking about marketing as a key to success in the future?!:

Welcome aboard everyone!

My name is Dave and I’ve been holding this spot for all of y’all for many years now.

From where I’ve been sitting, marketing was something that needed to be improved for a while now.

Explaining the value of seeing the arts, attending sports, going to live events should be a slam dunk, but somewhere along the line we’ve gotten way too comfortable with the idea that the value should be inherent and that people should just no.

That was never true and it is one of the primary causes that we find teams trying to sell based on wins and waiting on a show to get great reviews to become “hot”.

My belief is that marketing is the most powerful tool we have in our business arsenal…and as a marketer, my job is to make sure people understand that and use marketing well.

Rant over!

4. Some leagues and teams may be in trouble or are grappling with what their sports will look like:

This is a global challenge and no one has the answer fully figured out.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen the Premier League, UEFA, the AFL, and other sports struggle with the decisions around continuing their seasons, playing games again, and managing their staff.

As with any downturn, some teams are in better positions than others.

While we wait for the isolation orders to end and for the worst of the virus to pass through, it will be interesting to see how teams and leagues managethis challenge.

The money we see in sports in the US and in parts of Europe isn’t the same so there isn’t a one-size-fits-most approach that is likely to be sufficient. 5. Does the live event industry deserve a bailout?

Tim Chambers brings an interesting take on the need to think about using government money to help create and promote events as a way to help instill confidence in the general population.

While Tim writes with the perspective of someone in Europe where the support and funding of culture in the arts takes a much higher priority than is often the case in the States, as we work towards the time when we are able to go back to our daily lives including entertainment, the idea of the government supporting events and experiences as a way to accelerate people’s renewed comfort with large groups.

I would caution that I think any program of the sort likely needs to come with clear expectations…I’m looking at you, Kennedy Center.

Though I do find it unlikely that the secondary market will get a bailout. Though I have to say, watching the machinations of getting one and doling that out might make for extremely entertaining watching.

But besides all of this, Richard Howle reminds us that we really have to do a better job of planning for challenging circumstances.

This is really important because while it is an inconvenience for us, the customer is the one that gets really hurt and is likely to not come rushing back to us when things turn around if we haven’t done right by them when things go wrong.

—————————————————————————————————————-

What am I up to this week?

I’ve been hosting a bunch of free webinars this week on rethinking ticket sales, adding value in tough times, and sales leadership. I’ve also figured out how to add those as audio-only versions for my podcast so look for those to start dropping this week as I get time.

2 more webinars next week:

Tuesday, April 7…I’ll cover brand building for sports and entertainment organizations with 7 key reasons folks need to focus on their brand. This came out of a question during the webinar on rethinking the way that you sell tickets and I thought it deserved a full fleshing out since branding is often not completely understood for being a driver as a protector of pricing, awareness, and demand generation.

Thursday, April 9…Managing Stress: Ideas For Staying Healthy Today with my friend, Andy Romero-Birkbeck. We will cover ways that you can manage stress and keep your head on straight today, but also in the future.

I’ve got a new ebook I’m working on about what comes next in ticketing…I’m working with Booking Protect to create another ebook this time with ideas about what the new opportunities in tickets and entertainment will look like. If you have specific folks or people you’d be interested in hearing from, let me know and I will see if we can work them into the piece.

Please follow and like us:

Talking Tickets–3 April 2020: StubHub! Bailouts! Marketing! More! was originally published on Wakeman Consulting Group

#branding #DAZN #marketing #nba #sales #strategy #stubhub #tickets #value #Viagogo

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aion-rsa · 5 years ago

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New DC Universe History Begins in May

https://ift.tt/2SNNFAt

DC's Generation One: Age of Mysteries kicks off a new look at the DC Comics timeline, with a story about the JSA.

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It looks like the timeline of the DC Universe, and the scope of DC continuity as a whole is about to undergo some seismic changes. To give readers a better picture of what the new DC Universe timeline looks like, DC Comics will tell their complete superheroic history with a Free Comic Book Day one-shot followed by five self contained prestige format books that will see release between May and September. By the time that final book is revealed, we'll have an understanding of what constitutes the new shape of DC continuity.

First up is Generation Zero: Gods Among Us, which will hit for Free Comic Book Day on May 2. "It all starts here, and everything counts" the publisher promised in a statement. The 32-page comic features two stories, one focused on Wally West and the other on Wonder Woman. The first is an epilogue to the Flash Forward mini-series, which details the ongoing saga of Wally West after the events of Heroes in Crisis.

"In order to save his children and the multiverse itself, Wally West makes the ultimate sacrifice, taking his place in the Moebius Chair. Unbeknownst to him, the chair is packing a little extra power, having been imbued with the godlike powers of Dr. Manhattan! Now armed with infinite knowledge – and the powers of a god – Wally West can see the past, present and future of the DC Universe all at once."

Despite how Doomsday Clock was surprisingly successful in how it integrated elements of Watchmen with the wider DC Universe, continuing that connection here with Dr. Manhattan and Wally seems like a reach, but let's see how this all plays out.

The second story in Generation Zero reprints Scott Snyder and Bryan Hitch's tale from Wonder Woman #750, which saw Diana reveal herself to the world by saving President Franklin Delano Roosevelt from an assassination attempt at the 1939 World's Fair. Wonder Woman's appearance in 1939, and the implication that she was the inspiration for other heroes to reveal themselves, was the first official indication that DC was shifting its continuity again. That, along with the return to prominence of DC's first superhero team, the Justice Society of America in the pages of both Doomsday Clock and Justice League, an upcoming story in The Flash #750 focused on Jay Garrick, and an Alan Scott story arriving in the Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular on May 20th, all help fill out the earliest days of the DC Universe timeline.

And then comes the next big reveal, and the one most likely to unlock the mysteries of the Justice Society of America in the new DC timeline, with Generation One: Age of Mysteries on May 27.

“The Generation series of specials are built to bring the new DC timeline to life,” said DC Publisher Dan DiDio in a statement. “With Generation One: Age of Mysteries and every subsequent volume we’ll be shining a spotlight on the 80-plus-year publishing history of the DC universe while charting the course for the bright future of DC’s characters. All of our greatest stories and events will create the backdrop and context for the great new adventures we have planned. Everything counts, and we guarantee there’ll be surprises along the way!”

Didio's statement builds on comments he made back in October at New York Comic Con, when he first revealed plans for a new DC timeline at the DC Nation panel.

“The whole idea here right now is from our standpoint we are trying to organize our stories in a way that makes cohesive sense from beginning to end, from the start of DC Comics to today,” Didio said in October. “This timeline will build a continuity that makes sense across all our characters, showing when they were first introduced, how they interact with each other in one big story that will be the basis for all DC Comics for the future...What you see right now is a story that will be consistent, because ultimately, when you guys get all upset or concerned about reboots and restarts, those things occur because the stories stop making sense and the continuity basically slows down our storytelling and nothing’s being done at the same style or pace.”

The story in Generation One: Age of Mysteries by Andy Schmidt with lead art by Doug Mahnke, will tell of the early days of the era of costumed adventurers through the eyes of Wonder Woman, Lucius Fox, Alfred Pennyworth, Green Lantern (Alan Scott), The Spectre (Jim Corrigan), Mister Terrific (Terry Sloane), "and others" as promised by DC. The inclusion of Alfred Pennyworth here is the first clue that making Wonder Woman the first hero on the scene isn't the only major change to the DC timeline, and there's likely more to come. DC promises that this special issue will answer questions like...

What was the previously undocumented “big bang” of the Age of Mysteries?

Which character truly ushers in the dawn of Super Heroes, inspiring all the rest?

What was the real reason behind the Justice Society of America’s retirement?

Which Golden Age hero will become history’s greatest villain?

What contentious alliance kept the Wayne family dynasty alive after Thomas and Martha’s deaths?

Who are the new, never-seen-before wildcards that will be instrumental in fashioning DC’s push to the future?

The idea that the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne took place while the JSA was still on the scene appears to point towards a pretty significant shift in the timeline that will have ramifications far beyond Wonder Woman and the Justice Society. This book will be followed monthly by Generation Two: Age of the Metahuman, Generation Three: Age of Crisis, Generation Four: Age of Rebirth, and Generation Five: Age of Tomorrow.

If I had to guess, Generation Two: Age of the Metahuman will detail the arrival of the second wave of heroes like Barry Allen and Hal Jordan, as well as the birth of the Justice League. Age of Crisis seems self-explanatory and will likely have a lot to do with the rise of the New Teen Titans and the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths and beyond, while Age of Rebirth is likely the most recent decade or so of DC storytelling. But what could Generation Five be about? Well, if the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne being placed somewhere during the period when the JSA are active (they likely retire in the early 1950s), don't be surprised if something happens that makes more of its heroes age in something closer to real time, perhaps requiring a new generation of legacy heroes to take over for Age of Tomorrow.

The clues to what this new timeline means are likely contained in Doomsday Clock by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Doomsday Clock introduced the concept of the "Metaverse," which posits that Superman's arrival on Earth is the focal point of the DC Universe, and every time that event moves forward in time (from 1938, to the Silver Age of 1956, and so on) the multiverse divides, and a new DC continuity takes shape around it. It doesn't replace any existing DC multiverse concepts, and instead embraces them all. However, in the final chapter of Doomsday Clock, Dr. Manhattan mentions that "in the year 2020, Superman's timeline is bombarded by the reckless energies of the old gods, once again warping the Metaverse." Could those "old gods" be the "never-seen-before wildcards" mentioned by DC in the Generation One announcement as being "instrumental in fashioning DC's push to the future?" If that's the case, we're going to speculate that something happens which "fixes" the DC timeline in place, and thus eliminating the "sliding scale" timeline that defines not just DC, but pretty much all superhero continuity, from applying. This is speculation at this point, of course.

Other talent contributing to the Generation story includes writers Brian Michael Bendis, Dan Jurgens, Andy Schmidt, Robert Venditti, and Joshua Williamson, with a roster of artists that includes Doug Mahnke, Bryan Hitch, Mikel Janín, Ivan Reis, David Marquez, and more. Generation One: Age of Mysteries goes on sale on May 27, 2020.

Mike Cecchini is the Editor in Chief of Den of Geek. You can read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @wayoutstuff.

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Feb 16, 2020

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gameridernews · 8 years ago

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Ex-Aid review: Month 8 (Episodes 30-33)

After a bit of a break during the show's biggest status quo shaker, it's time to see how May turned out.

We left off with some major Kamen Rider Chronicle goings-on. Ride-Player Nico, Kamen Rider Poppy, and some other things I don't care about mentioning here because hey it's just cool to see those two still kicking ass. And I'm glad that the blue eyed version of Poppy from the toy catalog artwork and opening is a thing that's getting some use.

The collecting of the Gashatrophies is a bit abridged, though I can't complain since it does give me stuff I could use for fanfiction...

Continuing the plot where Parad possesses Emu, the two duke it out in what feels like final episode levels of brutality. I'm surprised at how well Ex-Aid can match his strength outside of the Maximum Gamer armor, implying that he still has some kind of power boost since he's technically using that form. And we even get to see Para-DX's Rider Gauge go down quite a bit.

Something tells me that Parad won't end up being the final boss. I mean, we clearly have what will be a final boss, but one could have assumed Parad was the kind of character to... well, do what he did to kill off Kuroto before. My point, though, I suspect this is what the show consider's his last big moment.

Still, Emu would have been killed, had it not been for our shining star in this dark dark world...

THE GAME MASTER HAS DESCENDED TO THE MORTAL REALM.

Okay, so everything leading up to this is just filler, because the clear meat of the month is Kuroto Dan's return, for many reasons. Poppy goes to the world of Mighty Action X using the Proto Mighty Action X Gashat Origin, and finds a Bugster who it turns out is Kuroto Dan. Sort of. He's got a jacket that says "Game Master" so I think he's legit.

We learn that Kuroto Dan has become self aware and is embracing the fact that he's now a meme. Or at least, that's what I'd like to think - he's become a very cartoonish guy, and somehow it doesn't feel out of character. When we learned of his true identity as Genm, it was clear that his calm businessman persona was just a lie - we're now witness to the Black Blood Of The Earth version of Kuroto Dan... go on, look it up, I know that’s a stretch of a reference.

Something that was made apparent to me, the more I thought about it... I'm not sure how this works? Like, they've clarified that the data of a person who died is saved in the game of the person that killed them, or something to that effect - Saki was killed by Graphite so her data is in Proto Drago Knight Hunter Z. Kuroto must've very recently, before his death, stored a "backup" of himself on this hidden Gashat... but then, would he have the memory of his own death? It's not something they've explained well, and I don't think it's intended to have a proper explanation. So that's a bit of a glaring plothole to me.

In his new Level 0 form (a form that could've used normal eyes since the silver makes him less evil), his game area does away with Parad's possession of Emu, so that's... convenient. He also has a kung-fu grip that brings your level down, which is kind of a fun idea. And of course, no one can hate the Continue pipe. Shapeways folks, make something happen.

With a new shirt likely plucked from the closet of fellow god Ryoma Sengoku, Kuroto gives us exposition aplenty about his... actually good deeds with regards to the Rider Gashat system and the battle against the Bugsters.

I say "good" but let's elaborate. With what he put into place, Kuroto decided that anyone who dies would not actually be gone forever, but instead reborn as immortal data. Or as a Bugster, as he calls himself. While it's implied that his mother's own health may have been part of his motivation, he makes it seem like he's in it for himself, but I feel like that's almost a lie.

The double edged sword here is... he basically invented immortality that requires a person to be killed, and being turned into data doesn't really sound like "living". Emu certainly disagrees with the notion and for good reason.

I find this fascinating because I - and many others - was skeptical about his revival since that one image of him and Emu transforming together gives this implication of "Oh, redemption arc." Kuroto Dan went a dark path and was fueled by a mighty god complex, and... I'm impressed that their version of a redemption arc for him didn't really change anything other than having someone FORCE him to aid the enemy of his enemy. He's still crazy, and the things he's doing that are meant to be good are still very grey.

I've been the biggest doubter saying "He should stay dead because they've done all they can with him", and now I'm marveling at how they somehow managed to take him from chaotic evil to chaotic good. Bravo.

I suppose I should back up a bit and talk about something that I skimmed over: He infected his mom with the Bugster Virus to help her when she was in the hospital for unrelated reasons, and it just so happens that she took form as... Poppy Pipopapo!

So, that means that Poppy is now Kuroto Dan's mom... and that's certainly not the twist I was expecting them to go with. It's a simple twist, I guess, but I do have to applaud them for catching me off guard.All this time the theory was that Poppy’s host was just some nurse or employee at the Ministry of Health.

Kuroto's actually got some semblance of good in him, and the show does an actually heartwarming scene with her embracing him to take an attack, showing the kind of care a mother gives to their child - regardless of how spoiled they are.That’ll wake you up real good.

Once they have a moment of rest, he even goes out of his way to give gifts, giving a Gashatrophy for Poppy, a second Gashat Gear Dual B so Hiro and Taiga don't need to share, and gives Hiro the motivation to get his girlfriend back since they've confirmed no one truly died. I'm sure that won't backfire...

Everything's comin' up Milhouse for our heroes! That's not a red flag, is it?

Oh, oh yes it is.

Here we have Masamune Dan, a character I've just been waiting to see have his day in the sun for a long time. From the moment we saw Kiriya talk to him in prison, I thought "Mm, this is a character we're gonna come back to." Every moment he had on screen, with Kiriya then with Emu and Asuna, it was framed in an ominous way... as if we need to watch out for this man. That's ignoring the implications of why he's in prison.

Which is why, when people were absolutely certain that Kuroto would go on to become Kamen Rider Cronus, a big ol alarm went off in my head going "Then what was the point?!"

In... what I guess is not a surprising twist if you've seen prison-relevant stories, Masamune was let out of prison for good behavior, and since this is a kids show with toys to get to, he is quickly made the president of Genm Corp once again.

The fact that everyone at Genm Corp is excited about this makes me realize how much the actual company itself ISN'T evil... they just have the same luck with presidents as Hogwarts has with Defense Against Dark Arts teachers.

At this point, the Gashatrophies are more or less collected, leaving only the interesting ones I would actually want to see in Gashatrophy form: Toki Meki Crisis, Drago Knight Hunter Z, and Perfect... Knock Out? They combine Para-DX for obvious reasons.

The only thing worth mentioning here is the appearance of Genm's Zombie Action Gamer form, which is Level X-0. If it were up to me there would be some Drive-style mixing of suit parts but it makes sense and I'm glad to see an oddball combo. Also this bit made me realize that Genm is armed with the Gashacon Breaker now, which finally justifies giving him Ex-Aid's Rider Gauge design with the hammer.

But, you know... you know that I'm stalling. There's a new Rider, and it's the one with the most intrigue out of any of these characters. Unless you count those pre-show days when we debated if Lazer was a robot.

KAMEN RIDER CRONUS.

We get an interesting teaser beforehand where Kuroto explains that the power of Kamen Rider Cronus is the only thing that can beat the otherwise unbeatable boss of Kamen Rider Chronicle, a game design decision that will likely be seen in the next Dark Souls game. When they drop that, someone who has seen that Cronus will become the villain... understandably lets out a dark chuckle at the cruelty of their storytelling.

Masamune Dan transforms into our new villain, and immediately shows off his ability to use ZA WARUDO-- I'm sorry, I have no right to reference that yet, I'm only on Part 2 of JoJo. But still, my understanding is that he's on the same level right now with the ability to pause and restart. Thems some special admin privileges you're abusing, chief. It doesn't matter if he has a level or not when he can just control time like this.

Something I'm not sure how I feel about is the explanation for how he's able to use the Buggle Driver II. He reveals that Emu wasn't the only first infected, but so was he? And has had years of immunity built up so that he can transform? I dunno, it sounds an obvious fancharacter idea or even a throwaway movie villain origin. Not a huge huge fan of the "You're not the only one who ___" origin, even if I'm prone to use it. I guess it had to happen at some point.

The thing that I am incredibly delighted by with this debut is his dialogue. They immediately establish his personality when he looks to Kuroto, his own goddamn son, and decides to stop calling him Kuroto Dan... and refer to him, as well as the others, by their game names. He dehumanizes them all, and he also talks in metaphors which may or may not be the fansubbers' liberties but they work so well.

Oh and since I did a rare thing and used subtitles in this screencap to show that... yeah I guess Lovelyka is gone. He was a lovely man and served his purpose as a beautiful character, a despicable villain, and a somber realization for his comrades.

Also he kicked Lovelyka in pause town, which means that he spends an eternity in a limbo where he can't be resurrected. That is not only a chilling way to up the stakes, but also it's kind of hilariously overpowered depending on how you describe it. I hope to perfect a proper description to share with friends who aren't watching this show.

Wasting no time, Masamune gives the Bugsters his condolences for killing their comrade, by which I mean gives them a mafia-style threat to keep Kamen Rider Chronicle going if they don't want to suffer the same fate. We see Parad at his most vulnerable, left as speechless as a scared child at the realization that they are really, thoroughly screwed. This was lovingly chilling to witness.

Especially when we learn what he plans to do next - he's going to import Chronicle to the rest of the world, and while it would normally be good to get your American hands on a Kamen Rider game without region locks, this not only delivers a worldwide Bugster threat but also seems to be tailored with the promise that they'll be on a tight leash.

As he demonstrates by literally erasing Salty from existence with the press of a button. Good lord, Masamune's threat level went from 0 to 120 in the span of 1 1/2 episodes.

Also a frequent point of discussion, as mentioned before, was Saki. I'm of two minds on this subplot - on the one hand, yeah, it checks out. Hiro lost a girlfriend, and is dueling with the morality of bringing her back as a data being. On the other hand... he hasn't really dwelled on her until this month, ever since the episode where he overcame his struggle regarding her death, and y'know... killing Graphite, the one who took her life to begin with. It feels odd in the same way that any subplot is when it hasn't been relevant for a couple dozen episodes.

Again, though, this isn't exactly something that a person easily recovers from - it was probably only pushed to the back of his mind in the face of Genm's heel turn, Bugster god genes, the Parad uprising, and the Chronicle controversy. These are all wonderful news article titles for the world of Ex-Aid.

After this, we get to see what Emu and Kuroto's big plan is to get rid of Cronus' pausing ability, which is kinda clever. It ultimately gets thwarted by Brave, who's decided to take the villain's side for reasons we can pretty much figure out. Good job... asshole.

I forgot what I took this screencap for, but I guess it makes a good wrapup image.

Okay, to followup the thing I just ended with on Brave's turn, I don't hate him for it. It's a rough spot for him to be in - Cronus has added a dynamic no one was ready for, and it's already making some huge hurdles for the team to deal with.

I'm very interested to see where this goes... annnd I don't have too much of a wait since I've let so many episodes build up! And despite being well aware of who makes an appearance, I have managed to stay spoiler-free.

#reviews #feed

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tellemaywhy · 6 years ago

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#TelleMayMore 🌸

Turning 25, Adulting and Avoiding a quarter-life crisis 💫

There comes a point when a girl stops being a little less "excited" about her birthdays, because it usually brings up her age, which meant she's getting ~older~. For me, it was 22. After the year that iconically has a right-of-passage-song attached to it (if you've been living under a rock, Google Taylor Swift's 22), I feel like my age has stopped and I'm forever22, and I'm no longer aging LOL Now that I'm 25 this May 25, I wanted to share my thoughts about how I'm currently handling adulting and how I'm trying to avoid a quarter-life crisis, in the best possible way I could think of, by doing a fun shoot of course! 💁🏻‍♀️️

I could still remember, when I was 7 years old, I said to my mom that I couldn't wait to turn 20 and already be a young adult. She replied to me with a sigh, "wag kang nagmamadali anak, you won't notice how fast time will pass by." At that time, I didn't understand how that could be pagmamadali, as in my mind, turning 20 was like so so so so long from where I was before. But, come my 18th birthday, I had a traditional debut celebration here in the Philippines, 18 roses and all, that's when I realized what mom had said. That's when life was starting to shift gears and pick up the pace a lil bit faster.

18 was the year I decided to shift courses. From BS Applied Physics, I decided I wanted to do something else in my life. I just couldn't see myself in that path. A little back story - I only took up Applied Physics cuz it was a premed course in UP Manila, and I had an inclination to medicine, but again, I just couldn't imagine myself in that path anymore. I was always inclined to the arts. But I wanted a course that would challenge me (ohh and challenge me it did!) in terms of it not only being purely arts. I wanted it to have math and science too. That's why I chose BS Architecture!🌃

Okay, fast forward, I successfully shifted to UP Diliman, but there was a little bump in the road... Actually, it wasn't little. It felt like a big mountain that I had to hike over! Even though I passed all of my subjects from my first two years in Applied Physics, I had to go back to first year since Archi semesters required to have 1 Design class per semester, and they didn't allow them to have 2 or more in each sem! I WAS SHOOKT I TELL YA!! 😱Going in, I thought I could take all of these archi subjects together, but imagine my surprise during the general assemble when the College Secretary was explaining this. WHY wasn't this explained to us when we were shifting???

Come December of my first year in Archi, that's when I first started to feel it. The heavy feeling of being "late" in life. I know, it may seem OA for some, but really, it was so hard! You see your HS batchmates start to post grad pics of themselves (DLSU peeps have 3 year courses, and technically this is my 3rd year in college, so that's why they're already posting grad pics) and you're here, restarting your 1st year, one can't help to feel a little miserable (add to the fact that you're still finding yourself amidst the design insecurities that one might have, as expected of any art course!)

Fast forward again to third year aka hell year, and then fifth year which was thesis year, both years were difficult, the latter being the toughest! But I managed to graduate with flying colors and even bag a latin honor 💁🏻‍♀️

It was the start of a new chapter for me. Sure, it may have taken more pages compared to others, but I wouldn't tear off any page from those added 2 years in my life. If it weren't for those years, I wouldn't have met the people that are close to me right now, I wouldnt have experienced all of the fun things I enjoyed in college with them, and as cliche as it may sound, those years gave me character building.

Adulting is a whole 'nother level from college guys. In fact, I can't say that I'm already 100% adulting. I'm still under the gracious house of my parents, so I don't have to pay my own rent, electricity and water. But it's the start of making a conscious effort of trying to make ends meet.

As a fresh grad of Architecture in the Philippines, I'm so mad at our industry. I know not everybody knows this but, architects are already so under appreciated in our country, imagine how they treat those who haven't had their boards yet? (archi grads are required to take 2 years of ~working experience~ before being able to take the boards) It's a sad pill to swallow, but we have to keep moving forward. One step at a time. I'm currently taking it one day at a time and keeping my eye on my next target, which is the boards gahhhh it gives me so much anxiety thinking about it! 😭😅😂

With all of these things, come turning 25, you'd start to think about exactly where your life is going... is this the right path? Am I on time? Can I save enough money to buy my own house by the time that I turn 30? Will I have enough savings for my future wedding?? CHZ 😂 And if you really delve into these questions, you'd start to have what we millennials like to call, a quarter life crisis! 🙃

Sure, it's good that you're thinking about these things and planning ahead, but the moment that your thoughts become toxic and it paralyzes you, that's when it becomes worrisome. Don't dwell on your problems. Try to make concrete steps on how you're going to solve them. No matter how big or small each step may be, it's still a step towards growth and self betterment!

Generally speaking here are my big goals for now, finish my 2 years of work experience, and pass the boards. After that, I'm still planning what to do next. As for my little steps, I learned to take care of myself more and not be too hard on myself.

1. Give yourself a breather

After graduating, if you have the time and means, give yourself a break before starting to find a job. I'm glad I had one, and all of my friends who immediately started working regretted not having one. It was the perfect way to detox and recharge yourself. And if you're already working now, do give yourself breaks where you get to relax and not stress about anything! Life's not all work.

2. Do what you love

In that period of break, try to do as many things that you love! Hobbies and activities that excite you. Things that you didn't have time when you were focused on your studies during college. For me, it was my b/vlogging. There were busy months wherein some of my friends and family thought I've fully taken on the b/vlogger life because of the back to back events, but as much as I'd love to, I know I wanna be an architect someday, so that's my main focus. And now that I'm working, I try to squeeze in my hobbies every now and then to make each week happier and more exciting. You have to have something to look forward to!

3. Take care of your body - Physically

Having 8 hours of sleep, eating healthy and exercising regularly can make all the difference to your mind and body! Okay so this part, admittedly I'm having a hard time as well. Having 8 hours of sleep is a struggle for me as I'm always busy, I try to eat as healthily as possible so that's why I bring baon to work so I don't have to buy fast food, and as for exercising, I'm too tired after work that I don't have time for it anymore. My goal now is to incorporate these more in my life and be a better version of me. Who says resolutions are only for new years?

4. - And emotinally/spiritually

Now, I don't want to sound all preachy, but I really do find peace whenever I talk to God. During those toughest times, I always prayed to Him and asked for his guidance and holy spirit to help me find my way. If you find going to church isn't your thing, try to find a quite and safe space where you can meditate. Clear your mind and just release all the negative energy.

5. Celebrate yourself!

Self love isn't selfish! Give yourself a pat in the back. You worked so hard, don't wait for anyone's appraisal. Treat yo self. With your fave food, drink, movie, or anything actually (in my case, a fun shoot with a creative photographer and hmua team hi josh, danica and camille 💁🏻‍♀️)

I hope my MMK blog post of my quarter life crisis helped you in any sort of way! If you related to it in some way, I hope you get to apply my simple steps onto being and feeling better 💖 Love lots, Tellemaywhy.

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louisdupont · 8 years ago

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Come Here Often? (I Do, Actually)

So this is an idea @hollywoodx4 and I have been kicking around as we scream at each other about how much we love Pippa Soo.

It’s a stage door AU--basically, what would happen if Eliza was a stage actress, Alex saw her show by chance, and then they meet at the stage door afterwards. I’m thinking maybe 3 or 4 parts.

“Wait, where are we going? Why?”

Alexander Hamilton looks up from where he’s been typing the most colorful string of expletives he’s been able to think of into his Word doc. It’s better than than the four pages “yousuckyousuckyousuck” he had last week, or the dinosaur of binder clips he’d built yesterday in lieu of any speech drafts he’d been trying so hard to conjure. His brain was clicking emptily at the moment, like a speaker crackling with static instead of the best Common rhymes. It was only matter of time before his boss told him to get out and try for his true calling, like pulling beers or maybe posing as one of those campy Statue of Liberty tourist grabbers in Midtown.

“I’ve been trying to see this show forever, but tickets are hella expensive. So, I entered the lottery, actually won great seats, and everyone knows if you ignore a blessing, the devil follows you for six years straight.”

As Alex’s eyebrows climb higher and higher toward his hairline, John shrugs.

“That’s what my abuela says.” He throws Alex a look before he goes back to the piano he’s been tinkering at for the last half-hour he’s been Alex’s place. “Oh, and no one else is free, so you're it.”

“Who says I can go!?” Alex shoots back indignantly, even though he knows what's coming and it has nothing to do with the fact that he's a last resort.

“The fact that you look like a what happens to an avocado when you put it in a mini Ninja chopper.” Alex should be pissed, but he set up John’s jab perfectly, so it’s kind of on him. He's also been avoiding mirrors for the last day because he knows it's true. John continues. “Rumpled, mushy, and kinda destroyed.”

Despite this onslaught of facts--he hasn’t left the apartment in a day and his place looks like a printing press had thrown up paper enough to wallpaper it--Alex never concedes so easily.

“The theater medium of storytelling is ridiculous because it insists on remaining elitist and classist with the pinnacle of the industry concentrated in a single city, and ticket prices are ridiculous, limiting the exposure of such art to a select few people who can afford it, and I don't think--”

John's seen this tactic a billion times and doesn't even blink.

“Dude, you’ve been at that speech for future congressman ‘Bland’ for three days with nada to show. Something new will be good for your brain--break the block.” He makes a face. “Fresh air too. Be ready at 6:15. Look decent, and wear something that wouldn’t make a mannequin want to throw itself off a cliff.”

And that's how Alex ends up sitting a small, albeit historic theater, showered, with half-beard shaved to stubble and a decent collared shirt and jacket on with his nicer jeans. A woman had given him the once-over after he & John had walked in, so he figures he’d done okay for someone being forced (also, he made a mental note to maybe find that woman after the show).They’re in the second row, which surprises him.

“They really give away such good seats for this thing?”

Truthfully, he's never even been to a play, but second row seems important.

“Lotto wins are like that sometimes,” John says. “Although I'm a little surprised--this one has the senator’s daughter in it. You'd think they'd be choosier with her bringing people in.”

At that, Alex’s ears perk up. “Wait, who? Which senator?” His mind is still spinning, trying to figure out if he knows this person, or if he should, when John nudges him to shush as the lights go down.

And the show is fine, really cute even, and Alex feels himself relaxing as he amuses himself catching the eye of a few actors while they do their thing. The benefit of sitting so close, he supposes.

He almost misses it, but there's a huge cheer when a new actor enters from upstage that has him looking around in confusion before he focuses. And then he gets it.

Aphrodite herself has appeared on the stage, so no one should really blame him for letting out an audible “holy shit” once his eyes process this fact. This woman is fucking luminous, and he knows he's gawking as she slips into her first song.

Of course whatever words are coming out her mouth are just as gorgeous--goddesses are usually talented too--and he thinks he finally understands why people come to the theater. It's so obvious now, really. His brain wasn't clicking anymore, at least not emptily--it felt more like things were falling into place, like some shadowed, previously undiscovered corner of his brain had been revealed to be full. Weirder still, his chest felt tight as she sang about love and dreams, and he wondered about heart attacks for a second before realizing this was the pang of a warm memory of a feeling he hadn't felt this in years. Maybe not ever, like this.

His hands fidget in response, and he’s a startled when he realizes it’s a little to do with want. John nudges him again, the beginnings of a smirk on his face, and Alex refocuses on the stage, on her, only to find she was looking right fucking at him.

Yep, her eyes were looking at his eyes. They were as pretty as the rest of her, so much so that he was feeling a little too warm for a public place at the moment. In an attempt to regain some advantage in the staring contest (that couldn't have lasted more than a minute, really) he licked his lips, glancing away (and promptly losing the “contest,” nice).

It would restart a few times though--this girl had a thing for torturing innocent first-time theatergoers apparently--and they caught eyes several times throughout the rest of the show. Which, incidentally, was great, even aside from this angel’s stunning performance. When it ended, Alex was buzzing with energy, but he was also thinking that he couldn't believe he was actually thinking about running out of this place and jacking off to a show tune of all fucking things. The evening had taken a sharp left turn.

“So what’d you think?”

John hasn't noticed his internal crisis apparently, and Alex tries his best to express what had just happened to him in the two hours the lights were down.

“I. Wow.” Really excellent words, some of his best work.

“I wow.’ Is that your official review?” John cracks up as they stand and move to exit. “Are you broken?”

Alex just shoots him a pissed, yet pouty, look while John laughs and laughs, and they get clear of the theater doors only so Alex can come face to face with a wall ad featuring his new muse. He’s staring, even at this static rendition, and yeah, there's probably not a version of her that's not absolutely beautiful. The back of his brain wonders if he keeps looking at her, that he’ll always feel like this. Stupidly, he’d left his playbill with all the bios (and more importantly, names) in the theater. Maybe John still had his. Maybe she was on Facebook.

Before he can vocalize the thought, his friend is already pulling him away from the direction of the train they'd come in on.

“Come on, they come out over here.”

Alex’s skin is a little hot still, and he was looking forward to getting home for one particular reason he was not about to admit, so his response comes out a little more annoyed than it should.

“What? Who?” There's a gathering crowd and some barricades where John is motioning.

“The performers. They come out, sign stuff, meet the fans. Let's go, I wanna see ‘em.”

Alex’s brain is quicker this time, but it’s a fight to keep casual.

“All of them? The actors?” Or, her, which is all he cares about, but he doesn't say that.

John already has a spot at the front of the barricade and is saying something about how meeting fans is important for Broadway exposure, but Alex isn't listening as he's pulled forward too. He tries to grip the metal for a reality check. He is absolutely not thinking about that girl and her smile and her voice and how marriage probably wasn’t really an outdated institution like some said (maybe he should ask what she thinks?).

Despite the hurricane in his brain, he actually does alright with the first few performers that exit the stage door and sign John’s playbill, complimenting them for the experience and such. They seem grateful enough, and Alex’s breathing sort of normalizes.

So it’s great timing when the stage door opens yet again, and another, now familiar, shout goes up among the crowd around him. Around the obnoxious theater mom jostling him, he sees long dark hair, a petite figure, and that smile.

Well, shit.

#hamliza #in which alex is basically a self-insert for me at the stage door of amelie but whatever #my writing

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toldnews-blog · 6 years ago

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New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/business/our-vision-is-never-to-lay-anyone-off/

'Our vision is never to lay anyone off'

Image copyright Manuel Mazzaro

Image caption Matias Fernandez Moore travelled the world to try to save his workers’ jobs

The BBC’s weekly The Boss series profiles a different business leader from around the world. This week we speak to Matias Fernandez Moore, chief executive of Argentine leather products firm Vacavaliente.

Matias Fernandez Moore knew he had to act fast if he was going to try to avoid making staff redundant.

As the boss of Argentine company Vacavaliente, back in 2015 when the country’s economic woes were returning, he expected domestic sales to fall sharply.

The business didn’t export anything at the time, but as Argentina slid towards recession Matias knew he had to look overseas – and quickly.

Determined that none of his 50 employees would lose their jobs, the then 35-year-old took Vacavaliente on a global roadshow, displaying its leather home, office and fashion accessory goods to potential buyers around the world.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Argentina’s economic woes have led to protests on the streets of Buenos Aires

“Our vision is to never lay anyone off,” he says. “These are the people who took us to where we are.”

Over the next three years the company went from zero exports to selling in 42 countries, including the US and UK, and no employees lost their jobs.

Today 75% of Vacavaliente’s $4m (£3.1m) revenues come from international markets, helping it to more than double its annual turnover every year since 2015, despite ever worsening economic conditions in Argentina.

Mired in an economic crisis, the country currently has an interest rate of 60% as it wrestles with inflation of 48%. Meanwhile, government spending reforms and cuts in subsidies have seen utility bills quadruple, and the currency, the peso, lost half its value in 2018.

Against that backdrop Matias’s stewardship of Vacavaliente is impressive, more so when you consider that he is a university dropout who joined the company as an intern.

Image copyright Manuel Mazzaro

Image caption The company makes a range of products from recycled Argentine leather

Being Argentine can be both a blessing and a curse for a business, and Vacavaliente’s initial success owed much to the country’s culture.

Vacavaliente, which means “brave cow” in Spanish, was created in 2006 by designers. They wanted to use recycled leather to create everything from briefcases to notepads, wine racks and pen holders.

This leather was in abundant supply, off-cuts from a leather industry that is itself a by-product of Argentina’s vast cattle industry.

Matias joined Buenos Aires-based Vacavaliente later in its first year. Aged 26, he was taken on as a design intern, just as the firm was about to have a major stroke of luck.

Its handmade products caught the eye of curators at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMa), who invited Vacavaliente to showcase one item in an exhibition called Destination Buenos Aires, along with 11 other designers.

The piece the company presented at the exhibition remains one of its bestselling items – a leather desktop kangaroo that can be used to store pens, pencils, paper clips and mobile phones.

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Media captionArgentina is a difficult place to do business, but Vacavaliente shows that success is possible

It became a huge hit at the MoMa gift shop, and Vacavaliente’s kangaroo was featured in the New York Times and Washington Post newspapers.

“We were very lucky,” says Matias. “The company had started in a living room and hadn’t existed for more than a year, but suddenly our product was already being shown and sold in one of the most recognised showcases of the design world.

“That gave us a huge boost. We were an immediate success.”

Two days after the exhibition opened, MoMa placed an order for their product that was 10 times the original agreement. Vacavaliente subsequently received enquiries from 20 countries wanting to import their leather kangaroos.

With just a dozen or so people in the company, Matias took the opportunity to show that he was much more than just a design intern.

“I started off with other interns in the small design office we had,” he says. “And from there I started to notice gaps and problems in different parts of the company.

“I began taking responsibility for them in a natural, organic way. Soon I was a key part in the decision-making process of the company, which led me to take on more responsibilities.”

Image copyright Vacavaliente

Image caption Matias successfully rebuilt the company’s export business

As Vacavaliente grew, Matias quickly rose through the ranks until eventually he was offered a stake in the business. By this time, his commitment to the firm was taking its toll, and he dropped out of an industrial design degree course.

While Vacavaliente’s success initially came from overseas, it slowly started focusing more and more on the domestic market until it eventually stopped exporting.

More The Boss features:

This made sense at the time because Argentina’s economy grew strongly for a decade from 2003.

Domestic sales were still on the rise in 2011 when some partners left the business and Matias was appointed chief executive. But four years later he had to quickly restart exports.

Image copyright Vacavaliente

Image caption The company is based in the Argentine capital

Mark Ramondt, a member of the executive board at the Association of Argentine Entrepreneurs, says Matias has the “classic Argentine entrepreneur gene”.

By this he means that Matias is prepared to tackle problems that most businesspeople elsewhere on the planet don’t understand.

“To survive here you need a high level of entrepreneurship just to get through the day,” says Mr Ramondt. “You need to wake up and figure out how to deal with a skyrocketing dollar, huge inflation and insecurity on the streets.”

With no end in sight for Argentina’s economic woes, Matias says he just gets on with things.

“I haven’t run businesses in other parts of the world, so I wouldn’t know what it is like in other places. I only know this,” he says.

“So I just work with what I have and I don’t complain.”

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