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recurring-polynya · 4 years ago

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Oh boy!!! Polynya I have a sudden ferocious hankering for Byakuya and Aizen being viciously passive aggressive to each other. Most of the time you write B he is in the company of his family or his loved ones. So clearly the ultimate way to bring out the knives is an AU in which all the captains are in the same Homeowner's Association. I have no preference for ships; I crave only drama, the pettier the better.

Alopex. Alopex. Why. Why u do this 2 me. You’re my favorite, tho, I cannot refuse you. I hope this is petty enough. I almost made this whole thing an epistolary fanfic that took place over NextDoor, the worst “social media”, but I think it worked better with everyone in person.

Read on ao3 or ff.net

🏠 🏠 🏠

“Gosh darnit, the only K-cups left are apple cider and pumpkin spice!”

“Oh, that can’t be right, I know I filled up the carousel just before the meeting! Retsu! Retsu, honey, we’re out of K-cups, and I bought a whole carton at Costco and I just don’t understand--”

Kuchiki Byakuya glanced up from the presentation materials he was reviewing for the six hundredth time. For starters, Byakuya wasn’t really sure anyone should be letting Hitsugaya Toushirou have coffee in the first place. It was 8p.m., and the child couldn’t be more than twelve. Byakuya had never been very clear on a) why the Seireitei Estates Homeowners’ Association let the child attend the meetings in lieu of his father (or possibly step-father?), a doctor who worked late hours, and b) why a young child would want to attend a Homeowners’ Association meeting anyway, but he had more sense than most of the other board members, so Byakuya didn’t ask questions.

Byakuya also wasn’t sure why they had to have “refreshment breaks.” Breaks were for quitters, in Byakuya’s opinion. Granted, the meeting was being held at Unohana’s house this month, which meant that the baked goods were impeccable, but Unohana’s high-strung wife tended to radiate so much nervous energy that Byakuya worried the woman was going to spontaneously combust.

“Oh, sunflower, I’m sure they just got pushed behind the croquembouche,” Unohana purred reassuringly. “I’ll help you look-- oh, excuse me, Mr. Ichimaru.”

As Unohana pushed past that weaselly shyster Ichimaru Gin, she swung her hips, knocking into him. Approximately thirty K-cups tumbled out of the pockets of Gin’s couture tracksuit.

“Oh, there they are!” Unohana sang innocently.

“How did those get in there?” Gin gasped, as though he were genuinely puzzled.

Byakuya shuddered. Ichimaru worked for the second biggest law firm in town, after, of course, Kuchiki and Sons. Byakuya dreaded the day he might find himself across a negotiation table from the man. Not that harbored any doubts about annihilating that idiot in a contest of the law, he just didn’t like being in the same room with him.

“Here you go, dear,” Unohana said, popping a K-cup into the machine and patting little Toushirou on the head. Toushirou was too busy glaring at Gin to notice.

“That looks like some presentation you’re givin' after the break, eh, Kuchiki?” Ichimaru drawled, selecting a bearclaw from the pastry tray. “Or didja bring home the paperwork from the Tsunayashiro merger?”

Byakuya sniffed and shuffled his papers back into their portfolio. “I approach all areas of my life with the same diligence as I do my professional work.”

“What a coinky-dink! I do, too-- I don’t work hard at anything.”

Byakuya had no interest in frittering away his preparation time to small talk with a moron. “I am going to set up,” he said coolly.

“Good luck!” Ichimaru trilled, giving a saucy little finger wave.

Byakuya returned to Unohana’s sitting room, where he had left his easel and poster board near the hideous faux fireplace with its tacky LED candles.

Aizen was sitting at the cardtable he’d set up at the front of the room, fiddling with his chintzy little gavel. “You look very prepared,” he said, in a tone of voice that was almost as insipid as the oatmeal-marl turtleneck sweater he wore. “Do try not to run too long, though. I’m only the substitute president, you know! I want to run a tight ship, ha ha!”

Byakuya narrowed his eyes. He was still slightly salty that President Yamamoto had felt the need to take a last minute trip on a “Single Seniors Cruise.” Something something about a flash sale and when you’re old you have to take advantage of the time you have left, etcetera, etcetera, but if there were anyone that Byakuya could count on take his side in the matter, it was that antediluvian rule-enforcer. For that matter, Byakuya wasn’t actually sure whether Yamamoto even cared about clipped hedges and shoveled sidewalks or if he just liked yelling at people and slapping them with fines.

Aizen was also a bit of a stickler for the finer points of home maintenance, but the man had no substance to him, with his floppy hair and his chunky knitwear and his horn-rimmed glasses.

“All right, everyone!” Aizen called in his stupid simpering voice. Byakuya had no idea what the man actually did, but Byakuya figured he was a preschool teacher or an art therapist or something equally touchy-feely. “Please take your seats! The next item on our agenda is a presentation on, uh, ‘A Secret But Important Topic, from our neighbor over at number six, let’s give a big hand for...Byakuya!”

“Hold the applause,” Byakuya said sternly, holding up a hand. “I come to you today to call for-- nay, demand the expulsion of one Zaraki Kenpachi from the Board of this Homeowners Association, and possibly also the entire neighborhood, if that’s possible.”

“We can’t kick people out of the neighborhood,” Aizen stage-whispered to him.

“Is he actually a member of the HOA Board?” Kyouraku asked, scratching his shaggy mane. “I’ve never seen him at one of these meetings.”

Byakuya turned to Tousen, the Board treasurer, who had taken his seat at the front table with Aizen and Ichimaru. “Mr. Tousen, did you happen to look into the dues records, as I requested?”

“I did, yes,” Tousen replied. “It turns out that Mr. Zaraki is excused from paying dues. There was a post-it note in President Yamamoto’s handwriting that said,” Tousen made finger quotes, “‘Zaraki fixed my car, excused from dues.’”

Byakuya scowled. “That doesn’t seem… sufficient… it is of no matter.” He grabbed the bed sheet covering his posterboard, and dramatically swept it away. It would have been more dramatic if the bedsheet weren’t covered in Chappy rabbits, but there was no way he was bringing one of his own 800-thread counts into a house that contained cats.

“I have been closely watching Mr. Zaraki’s residence for the last few months, as his rear yard backs to mine, and I believe he may be operating a fight club in his garden on weekends. They do move into the garage if the weather is unpleasant.”

A hush fell over the room, except for Isane and Ukitake Juushirou, who were discussing the merits of blind-baking pie crusts.

“Er, sorry, did I miss something?” Juushirou asked apologetically, after realizing he was the only person talking.

“Kenpachi seems to be running some sort of fight club,” his scruffy husband supplied, looking deeply confused, as usual.

“Goodness!” Juushirou exclaimed. “Are you sure?”

Byakuya cleared his throat. “Allow me to present the evidence I have gathered.” He picked up two large binders, and handed one to Soi Fon in the front row, and the other to Aizen, who immediately passed his, unopened, to Ichimaru. “There are about two dozen disreputable personages who are frequently found loitering about the premises. The first page of the binder indexes each of them by a descriptive nickname, including times I have seen them. Photographic evidence follows.”

“They seem to be washing cars in most of these photos,” Soi Fon pointed out, flipping a page back and forth. Or are they fixing the cars? I can’t tell.”

Komamura craned his head over, curiously. “Wow, is that a ‘73 Stingray? Nice.”

“Yes, they also like to get together to maintain and detail their vehicles,” Byakuya snapped. “Usually at ungodly hours of the morning. I am almost positive that many of those cars do not employ catalytic converters. In any case, it is easier to take pictures of them during the day.”

“Looks like they like to spray each other with hoses, too,” Gin noted, waggling his eyebrows. “Why are there so many pictures of this one guy with the red hair and tattoos? He sure doesn’t like to wear a shirt, does he?” Aizen appeared to be leaning to the side, trying to look at the book out of the corner of his eye.

“My dutiful sister did the photographic surveillance! She is very thorough, and I appreciated the help!” All these questions were knocking Byakuya off his game. He smacked his pointer against the poster. “May I direct your attention to Figure A, a bar chart of traffic on his street vs. hours of the day.”

“Tell us more about the fight club,” Soi Fon interrupted, shoving her binder over to Komamura. “Are there weapons involved, blunted or otherwise? How many people usually show up? Is it held regularly, or do you suspect there’s, say, an email list or something?”

“I think it’s some sort of mixed martial arts,” Byakuya said, rubbing his forehead. “There are often up to a dozen of them, but sometimes it’s as few as three or four.”

“You know, I’m looking through the bylaws,” Aizen said, turning pages in the bylaw binder without actually looking at them, “and I’m not exactly clear on whether fight clubs are actually… you know, forbidden.”

“They’re illegal,” Byakuya bit off.

“Per-haaaps,” Aizen drew out. “But what really constitutes… a ‘fight club,’ am I right? I mean, Dr. Unohana teaches kickboxing classes in her basement studio, is that a fight club?”

“No,” Byakuya replied.

“Exactly, and we wouldn’t want her to be painted with the same brush for just trying to teach other women the arts of self-defense, now would we?”

“It’s not for self-defense,” Unohana clarified.

“Or what about having a bunch of friends over and hitting each other with foam swords while you pretend to be werewolves?” Ichimaru broke in cheerfully. “That’s just our rights as citizens, to pretend to be werewolves in our basements with our friends.”

“It’s a tabletop RPG,” Komamura growled. “I am not a LARPer. There are no weapons. Also, you really do not need to bring it up every single board meeting. It is a perfectly normal adult hobby that I do to spend quality time with my friends.”

“Speaking of which,” Gin turned his binder of pictures around, “isn’t this guy in your group? With the sunglasses?”

“Hmm?” Komamura flipped a few pages. “Oh, huh, yeah, that’s Iba.”

“Surely a good friend of yours wouldn’t have anything to do with an illegal fight club, eh, Mr. Komamura?” Aizen suggested.

Komamura made a non-commital grumble. “I mean, I could ask him if it’s a fight club, if you want me to.”

“I have yet to hear any evidence that supports the existence of this so-called ‘fight club,” Tousen broke in.

“That’s because I keep getting interrupted, I have an audio recording and also some several emergency room admission records--”

“Mr. Zaraki is an upstanding citizen of our town and a devoted father,” Tousen continued. “Are you suggesting that Mr. Zaraki is not a responsible parent?”

“Well, now that you mention it…” Byakuya mused.

“Juushirou, you and Shunsui babysit for little Yachiru all the time, don’t you?” Aizen asked sweetly. “Have you ever seen any evidence that she isn’t the sweetest little girl in the entire world?”

Toushirou raised his hand. “Excuse me? She is a menace, actually?”

“Oh, no, Yachiru is always a ray of sunshine!” Juushirou beamed. “Very active child.”

“Eats a lot,” Kyouraku added.

The edges of Byakuya’s vision were beginning to bleed into red. “We are not talking about the Zaraki child--who, by the way, buried an entire ham in my prize tulip bed--”

“It sounds like you have a grudge against the entire family, Kuchiki,” Aizen replied mildly. “These board meetings are not a venue for airing your petty grievances.”

“You are not even listening! If you would just turn to page--”

“I think you’ve wasted enough of everyone’s time.” Aizen turned his doe eyes to the audience. “Is there anyone here who wants to invest any more energy listening to Byakuya’s vitriol?”

Byakuya looked out over his audience, looking for an ally. Komamura shifted in his seat uncomfortably. The Kyouraku-Ukitakes refused to make eye contact. Unohana was reading a magazine about decorative wreaths. Toushirou raised his hand again with a helpful smile, but no one actually ever cared what he thought.

“Soi Fon, you’re an actual police officer!” he begged.

“It’s just a fight club,” Soi Fon shrugged.

Byakuya was desperate. “Dr. Kurotsuchi?”

Kurotsuchi looked up from his phone. “Eh?”

“Have you been paying attention to any of this?”

“Of course not, I only come for the snacks.”

Byakuya gritted his teeth. “Zaraki is running a fight club and these fools wish us to turn our heads and look the other way.”

“Well, it’s not a very good fight club,” Kurotsuchi agreed. “I’ve been. They don’t allow poisoned weapons and the beverage selection is quotidian at best.”

“You see! You see, right there, Kurotsuchi has even attended! That’s proof that a) it exists and b) it defames the character of the neighborhood!”

“I’m declaring this issue closed,” Aizen replied breezily. “And Kuchiki, I really think you should try to get along better with Kenpachi. You are neighbors, after all.” He brightened. “Oh, I know! We’ve got the community yard sale coming up in June. Why don’t you go ask him if he wants to join the planning committee?”

“Byakuya… will...ask....Zaraki...to chair…the yard sale planning committee,” Gin read aloud as he wrote it into the minutes.

“I agreed to no such thing!” Byakuya howled.

“Onto the next topic!” Aizen chirped. “Trash pickup happens every Friday at 7am and a few of our neighbors have been leaving their bins out as late as noon.”

Later, after the meeting, as Byakuya was packing up his binders and his posterboard, Aizen walked up to him, munching on a rhubarb scone. “Really nice presentation, Byakuya. Good fonts, well cited, you obviously put a ton of work into it. Also, that Zaraki is a blight on the neighborhood. Ideally, he would be thrown in prison.”

Byakuya stared at Vice-Presiden Aizen, mouth agape. “Then why did you and your cronies ruin my presentation and shut me down at every turn?”

Aizen’s eyes narrowed. His mouth curved into a cold smile. Light glinted off his glasses. “You dared to usurp my rightful place as the winner of the Spring Spirit Most Beautiful Yard competition.”

Byakuya blinked at him blankly. “You cared about that? A man’s lawn is his pride. I keep my yard beautiful as a matter of principle, not for some silly competition.”

“You pay for a lawn service. You shouldn’t have even been eligible.”

Byakuya didn’t even recall entering, he’d just received a letter that he’d won, and a festive yard sign appeared next to his front walk, which he had immediately removed and thrown in the garbage. “The prize was a gift certificate to a miserable chain restaurant. I would give it to you, except that I already gave it to my sister to go out with her hooligan friends. They are perpetually short on funds. I could get you another one, I suppose. The amount was paltry enough, although I was given to understand that the place offers ‘unlimited breadsticks’.”

“It’s too late for that,” Aizen declared. “You have made a powerful enemy. You will feel my revenge in a thousand cuts.”

Byakuya wondered how much of a hassle it would be to just move. He’d heard there were some nice houses over in Karakura Acres.

~end

Shinigami’s Cup: GOLDEN!

“Do you think it would help if I infiltrated the fight club?”

“I appreciate your zeal, Sister, but, no, I do not think it would help.”

“Because I think I might have an in. I feel like I would be really good at going undercover. I could wear a body mic.”

“Rukia, you know I have the utmost faith in you, but are not even five feet tall. I do not, in any way, see how you could realistically ingratiate yourself to an organization populated by large, lumpy men whose raison d’etre is to clobber each other in the face.”

“I have cat-like reflexes! I am really good at dodging and weaving!”

“Rukia.”

“And I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos about muscle cars. Go on, ask me something about Dodge Chargers!”

“Rukia.”

“I even ripped the sleeves of an old t-shirt, I look super tough in it. Please, Byakuya, please can I?”

“All right, fine. But do not drink any alcoholic beverages that have ‘light’ or ‘ice’ in the title. It is against our pride as Kuchiki.”

“Thank you Brother, you’re the best!!”

#my writing #wacky au requests #is this...the first time i have written aizen?#wait i wrote some aizen in a flashback scene of a little in love #i do not write very much aizen #it was...kinda fun #the man is petty as hell and i am here for it

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duhragonball · 3 years ago

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OC-tober #31: Free Day

And here we are at the end of this OC-tober thing. The last prompt was a wild card, so I wasn’t sure what to do for it, but then I saw this challenge on Twitter from@/Crescentnocturn, which dared people to draw their OC in this outfit. And hey, I did it! Digitally! Let’s discuss that under the cut.

So first off, the outfit is here.

I didn’t see anything specifying boots, so I just went and made up my own. Then I decided that I should really go ham and try to do this in Clip Studio Paint, which I bought during a sale and hadn’t used much.

I had a hard time getting it to do what I wanted to do, and so I decided to stick to pen and paper for a while, and build my confidence. And I think this OC-tober thing has really helped me, because I’ve at least improved to the level where I can tackle CSP more objectively. Before, if I had a technical problem, it was easy to blame it on my lack of skill. This time, I sketched my figure on paper an put it on my computer to do the rest.

And that may be how I do it going forward, because I enjoy coloring this stuff, but it’s a real gamble whenever I use markers and colored pencils. With image software, I can just use the undo button to fix a mistake, but sketching is a LOT easier on paper.

I still have a lot to learn either way, but I’m pleased that this piece turned out so well. It’s not something I would have attempted without the prompt, and the public nature of the challenge kind of lit a fire under me to make it look good, or at least as good as I can make it. This isn’t something I’d normally have Luffa wear, but I didn’t want to just do the gag thing where the OC is super-embarassed or horny. My OC usually dresses like she’s doing her laundry, but I think it’s important to establish that she can serve looks when she wants to. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t see some new fanart of Goku and/or Vegeta looking like the hero of a romance novel. We must therefore conclude that the Super Saiyans of Legend were at least as hot as they are, if not hotter. That’s not something I focus on much, but I do want to make my position clear.

Anyway, that concludes the OC art business. Monday, I go prose-only for a while, but I’ll try drawing some other stuff one of these days. Maybe some actually popular characters, for a change. Keep watching the skies.

#oc tober #luffastuff #when you got a hot date at 6 but you're blowing yourself up at 7

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redqueenmiku · 5 years ago

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Well, boys and girls, Miku’s finally made the big boy move. I’m now joining the ranks of all the cool art kids. I finally caved and bought Clip Studio Paint.

I was on the fence about it for a good while, but I tried it out today and wowee zowee. The stablizers make my lineart nice and pretty, the blending modes work amazingly and frick is that airbrush like butter it makes me melt inside. Also it’s on sale, so that helped too.

Anyway, commercial aside, I spruced up a sketch of Dante I’ve had lying around for a while. Usually when I draw him I cover up all his pretty green skin and it makes me sad. His green makes him special, so here it is. He’s a funky alien child uwu.

#Dante Speed #Cannonfire #an rqm original character #my art #my sister's been using clip studio for a while now #and she made sure i knew about every single time it went on sale #quick swerve but ive been scratching my head about what dante's age should be #i mean he's been 11 for a while #but part of me wants him to be a slight bit older?#i mean cannonfire doesn't have time so it could probably be like...#an 11-13 sort of limbo maybe?#that's what I'm thinking anyway #he's not bound by the petty laws of time #he's a temporal nonentity after all

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patchworktail · 7 years ago

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ITS 4:30 AM AND I DONT FEEL LIKE SLEEPING so I’m gonna do this meme that i got tagged for twiCE and totally forgot to do til now!!!! (i had 2 dig through your blogs to find them omg)

ANYWAY i was tagged by both @mooitstimdrake and @cynessie (I MISS U BOTH BTW ❤)

RULES: Share 11 facts about yourself, answer 11 questions provided by the tagger, tag 11 awesome people and leave 11 questions for them to answer!

(I’m gonna skip tagging people/asking 11 questions - 1) because I’m lazy 2) because a lot of people who I would tag either have already been tagged or woN’T DO IT and 3) I have to answer two sets of 11 questions anyway so I’ll let one of those sets take the place of my 11 questions!!)

11 Facts

I was supposed to leave to move into my college 3 days ago but since my college is in Savannah they pushed off move-in/orientation for a weEK BECAUSE OF HURRICANE IRMA AND I’M STILL UPSET/DISAPPOINTED

That being said I’m about to start as a college freshman at art school, planning on majoring in animation! :D

I binged all of Buzzfeed Unsolved in like 2 days and I fuckin LOVE IT

Also BNHA is like my current main obsession???? I fell in love w that anime and uhhhh I’d Die For My Kids

I almost never use skype anymore - I’m always on Discord now (mutuals may add me just message me if you want my tag :3c)

I loooove creating OCs and my main OC is a forest elf named Rally and he’s precious and I LOVE HIM AND COULD TALK ABOUT HIM FOR HOURS (also my best friend @/harpxer and I have a huge ongoing rp with him and her mountain elf oc, Kahl!! they’re really gay)

Hmmm fun fact I guess I’ve been involved with internet communities since I was 10 years old and I made my very first internet friend when I was 10 and we’re still great friends and talk p much every day to this day (hi @/fiishr)

I want a tattoo super bad but idk what I’d geT

I worked at a jewelry engraving stand at an amusement park this summer and one night I accidentally gave myself a 1st degree burn on my finger from the hot glue gun and it hurt So Bad

I had my graduation party this July and it was really fun but the best part was when 14 of us played this giant game of spoons and it got really intense, made worse by people randomly screaming during it, and then we collectively decided to blast hardcore rap music from the speakers and Let Me Tell You i have not been involved in a more stressful card game in my LIFE

I’ll always always always fall for the hero/happy character/protagonist basically....idk what it is about me but I’m so Predictable...I love cute optimistic brave characters who just wanna do Right.....I don’t cARE IF PEOPLE THINK THEY’RE BORING I THINK THEY’RE PERFECT AND AMAZIGN AND I LOVE THEM

AS FOR AN EXTRA 12TH FACT ABOUT ME AS U CAN SEE I WRITE WAY TOO MUCH AND ALSO I’M THE BIGGEST OVERSHARER E V E R IT’S SO BAD SOMEONE STOP ME

ANYWAY ONTO THE QUESTIONS :3c

@mooitstimdrake‘s Questions:

If you were to make a new blog dedicated to one single thing (fandom, hobby/activity, etc) what would it be? Honestly, right at the moment probably BNHA!!!! it’s legit my most recent big obsession and I love it?? so much???

If you could have any kind of animal as a pet, what would you have? A RACCOON!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THEM SOSOSOSOSOS MUCH and some people actually do have them as pets! They can be difficult though but WORTH IT

Who was your favorite teacher and why were they your favorite? OH BOY......I’m gonna say it’s a tie between my AP studio art teacher and my AP US government teacher from this past year, my senior year! My AP art teacher because our class was super tiny, 12 kids, and it really felt like a family?? She was a-okay with letting us all goof around and say weird shit, she was really chill and funny and like. part teacher, part friend, which was always nice. As for my AP gov teacher, he was SO. FUCKING. FUNNY. OH MAN. NOT EVEN ON PURPOSE he just like? put up with SO MUCH? we had some real character kids in that class and my teacher’s reactions were HILARIOUS. he had a sarcastic streak too so his responses were equally as funny when someone did something weird. He would say the funniest stuff just ask @/harpxer I would tell her so many stories from that class sohboshrb. Aside from the humor that class was really interesting, and he’s a really good, invested teacher - he wanted us to learn, he’s super passionate about government and history, and he always started off each class with 2 current events which was really nice and helped me learn more about things happening in the world too!!! overall that was like my fav non-art class I’ve ever taken!!!!

What’s your guilty pleasure (and I’m challenging you not to say some kind of food)? HMMMMM. Honestly I’m gonna go ahead and say really cheesy or lame movies/shows (like, Disney channel movies, dumb shows - like the one summer I watched all of Glee LOL, stuff like that). Like yeah I know 90% of it is terRIBLE but it’s still amusing/lighthearted stuff that makes me happy KLSDJVLSDHB

Favorite pizza topping? EXTRA CHEESE IF THAT COUNTS, if not then pepperoni!!

What’s the last thing you bought (that wasn’t food)? I’ve actually been buying a lot the past few weeks in prep for college/spending a little money for ONCE since I worked all summer. I got a bunch of boring stuff but the things I’m most excited about are: two posters I got for my dorm (The Office is one and one is Lord Huron), a giant wall tapestry (it’s Up themed!!!), tWO BNHA/POKEMON CHARMS THAT CAME TODAY AND EVERY TIME I LOOK AT THEM I START CRYING BC THEYRE SO CUTE, and oh my GOD I BOUGHT THIS GIANT PILLOW FROM TARGET AND IT IS THE SINGLE SOFTEST THING I’VE EVER FELT AND IT’S HUGE AND IT IMMEDIATELY BECAME MY #1 COMFORT OBJECT AND TOP FIVE FAV THINGS IVE EVER BOUGHT!!!!!! I guess MOST recently though I just bought Clip Studio Paint online today (art program) since it’s on sale for 50% off and I’ve heard great things about it!

What upcoming movies/tv shows are you looking forward to? UHHHHH as for movies... justice league part 1, the incredibles 2, kingsman 2, the neW POKEMON MOVIE I CHOOSE YOU, probably a lot more I can’t remember rn. AS FOR SHOWS HMMM I’m...excited for the next season of the good place and izombie, and oh I’m excited for the punisher netflix show!! and the next season of voltron of COURSE!!! and next season of stranger things!! probably more I’m forgetting too tbh

Any recommendations (this could be anything just throw your best pitch at me)? JFISDJKLBJ I DON’T KNOW OMG tbh rachel you watch a lot of the same things I do already LMAOOO

What’s your favorite thing to wear that you own? OH FUCK I DUNNO HMMM I really like wearing my various leggings and scarves, but as like a Single Item....I like wearing....uhhhh I have this giANT sweater like it’s WAY too big for me but it’s so COMFY and I love it. I also love wearing my Star Labs sweatshirt bc it’s soft and comfortable

What was your first pet? my cat!!! we took her in as a stray kitten living in our backyard when I was like. 2 or 3 and so we’ve basically had her my whole life!!

If you could learn any language, what would it be? UHHHHHH honestly probably spanish - I took it 4 straight years and was okay at it in class but one year went by with me not taking it and I forgot everything LOOOL I’m...bad....at languages....

@cynessie‘s Questions:

Where is the coolest place you’ve ever been? I haven’t been many cool places :( I guess the coolest isssss I dunno it depends? Lake George is where I go on vacation every year, I LOVE NYC, I love Savannah too and it’s where I’m gonna be for college so?? ?? ? ? I’VE NEVER BEEN OUT OF THE COUNTRY AND I’M SAD BUT I’M POOR AND CAN’T AFFORD IT

What was the first thing you remember wanting to be when you grew up? veterinarian!!

Look to your right. What do you see? a dirty plate on my desk, my bed just past that, and my CHARMS THAT CAME TODAY THAT ARE SO CUTE I CRY EVERY TIME I SEE THEM

What are you procrastinating on? ajkldjboidj lik e 4 art commissions,,,, and 7 MAP parts,,,, and my pre-work for 2 of my classes,,,,,,,and cleaning my room,,,, and sending thank-you notes to relatives,,, SOMEONE KICK MY ASS AND MAKE ME DO SHIT

Which family member are you closest too and what is their name? UHHHH.... I guess my younger brother Luke? or maybe my mom? I’m not on bad terms with anyone though, I love both my older brothers too and we all have a good sibling relationship I just talk more with my younger bro I think - second closest would be with my second older brother Connor!

What’s the last song you listened to? I’m listening to Ultralife by Oh Wonder right now :3c I’ve been on a huUUGE Oh Wonder kick lately!!

What do you generally carry in your bag/pockets when you go out? my wallet (w my license and money and debit card and all), travel size lotion, phone, and chap stick!!

What is one thing you are excited for? FINALLY GETTING TO COLLEGE NEXT WEEK AND STARTING CLASSES FJIODFHINBDFHBNSBO

Do you believe in ghosts? I’m gonna hesitantly say YES but I’m not 100% convinced I don’t think

What is a skill you want to learn? MAYBE THIS IS WEIRD but I think learning how to act would be kinda neat. On a more realistic note I wish I could learn to exercise without dying

Tell me a joke. I’M BAD AT JOKES DON’T DO THIS TO ME NESSIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SO YEAH THAT’S ALL FOLKS it’s 5am now...Nice..... :’) I love my ability to stay up obscenely late while also getting Nothing Done JLSDNVDHAGHVDLAK

#about me #my life #hell ya i havent done one of these in a while but it was FUN #sorry for not tagging anyone......im lazy.............

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ulyssessklein · 6 years ago

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Guitarist Tom Guerra Talks about His Music, American Garden and Mambo Sons

By: Rick Landers

Images courtesy: Tom Guerra

Tom Guerra

Some music lovers are “All Rounders” and shoulder the weight of their guitars, amps and other gear, yet also find the time to work in other areas of music beyond performing and recording.

Guitarist Tom Guerra also has a talent for writing and has interviewed musicians for Guitar Player, Guitar World, Vintage Guitar, Guitar International and others for a few decades.

Although, I’d guess he’d call himself a working musician, he’s now developing a following with his solo music, as well as albums and performances he’s done with colleagues in Mambo Sons.

His music has always been a mix of rock and pop, a bit of rave up and grit, always melodic, always catchy and oftentimes serving up life lessons or tributes to those he admires or elects to honor.

Guerra’s latest release, American Garden, is an eclectic mix that tracks well, without going off on some tangent. Guerra sticks to the knitting with solid and interesting riffs, adds some Tom Petty and Byrds jangle, grabbing influences and driving them home to make them his own. The production is excellent and serious….thoughtful.

Tom’s past work was cool, but on American Garden he’s raised the bar, and it’s evident that he paid close attention to every track, there’s no filler. Each song in its own way packs a punch. At first glance, the title track seems to be a novelty, but that quickly fades away the more you listen, catch the clever lyrics, give in to the trance-like groove and let the song take you to another place, a deeper place.

Tom Guerra reaches into his musical soul to make his music, keeps his love of rock and pop honest and genuine, no extra splash of glitter here, no frenzy. There’s even a cover of Brandi Carlile’s hit, written by Phil Hanseroth, “The Story” that captures the beauty of the original with its balladeer beginning, then the drums snap down on it with a heavy guitar riff and it’s off with a bit of a turgid heavy clip.

Singer, songwriter, music journalist, guitar aficionado….Tom Guerra has found a niche in the world of music that fits like a fist in a velvet glove….perfect.

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Rick Landers: Your music career seems to be rather eclectic, not only in your style of music, but in the paths that you’ve taken to build a solid base of friends, fans and professional colleagues. How would you describe your path, any strategy or was this more happenstance, based on interests?

Tom Guerra: This have definitely progressed on an organic level, vs. a planned approach. Like in any field, if one’s been at something for a long time, meeting and clicking with certain people just sort of happens. We [Mambo Sons] were on a label that got us known in places beyond our reach, so I am grateful for that. I’ve been playing and writing music for about forty years now, and for about half that time, have also been writing about music and musicians, so both paths have converged over time.

Rick: It seems your approach to songwriting doesn’t track in similar ways with songs that are rock, blues and some that venture into what some might call folk-style topical areas and more. I can only imagine that some are channeled from a collection of influences, but a few are clearly purposeful, intending to convey a message. How would you describe your spectrum of songwriting approaches?

Tom Guerra: The thing I love about songwriting is that you start with a germ of an idea, be it a lyric or musical hook, and then can use different components to set a mood, or paint a certain picture. By “components” I mean progressions, grooves, tempos, feel, clean vs. dirty tones. Arrangement and production also shapes things. Certain songs I have written have been very spontaneous, like “Nevermore” which kicks off the American Garden album, while others such as “Blood on the New Rising Sun” and the title track “American Garden,” were written to convey a message or to shed light on something I felt strongly about. As far as inspiration, we are all a collection of our influences filtered through our own imaginations.

Rick: Making music is wonderful, but most would like to gain some bucks along the line. The music business has changed so much over the course of the past several decades, since you’ve been working at it, what course corrections have you had to make, and what are you learning now to keep the music alive, while pulling in some income?

Tom Guerra: You really have to put aside the old business model and figure out what is going to work best for your own situation. About 20 years ago, people got the idea that they no longer had to pay for music. This concept was sort of fostered by indifference from the record industry, and then the whole model blew up.

So now, you have to get creative to survive in the music business. I have friends that do this by touring the world constantly, selling merchandise to supplement ticket sales. Others I know have created new market opportunities in other ways, writing jingles, doing lessons via Skype, writing for guitar publications…Some get into the gear aspect of the business, buying and selling guitars, parts, amps…On a personal level, I am trying to get my music out there via much online promotion, college radio station promotion, and have been doing ok selling both physical albums and downloads.

Rick: You’ve rubbed shoulders with The Yardbirds quite a bit, including writing some for the current members, right? How’d that come about and what was that like?

Tom Guerra: I’ve been friends with their bassist Kenny Aaronson for years…he played on the first Mambo Sons album back in ’99. When I started doing my solo records, I asked Kenny to play on them because besides being a world class bassist, has such great ideas and we’re both cut from the same rock and roll cloth. He is a great collaborator as well. So about a year and a half ago, The Yardbirds decided to do a new album of original material. At the time, the band featured Johnny A. on lead guitar and they were just on fire.

Anyway, Kenny called me up one night and asked if I’d be willing to collaborate with him on songs for this record, and of course I jumped at the chance. Over the next several months, we developed about a half dozen songs and took three to completion. When you are writing for another band, you take what you consider to be the best qualities of that band and use those as parameters to help you shape the songs. For The Yardbirds, I thought those qualities include great guitar lines, socially conscious lyrics and strong hooks.

So, the three songs, “Goodbye to Yesterday,” “Family of One,” and “The Lyin’ King” were presented to the band and the producer, Jack Douglas, who I am told really dug what we’d done. The band was in process of learning the tunes in preparation to record them when I got word that they’d pulled the plug on the record, disappointingly. Kenny and I had put so much into these songs, which we both thought were very strong, that I said “these are going on my next album,” which I was working on at the same time. So they all appear on “American Garden…”

Rick: I’d really like to hear the story about how you ended up with that white Strat, that I think is on loan to the RnR Hall of Fame…

Tom Guerra with his Howling’ Wolf guitar that he loaned to the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame.

Tom Guerra: Sure…About 20 years ago, I bought a well worn white 1963 Strat that quite frankly, reeked of whiskey and cigarettes, and had the letters “LIL BILL” on the pickguard. This was in the early days of the internet, but I typed “LIL BILL” and “GUITAR” into the search engine, and up popped a pic of an old bluesman with another guitar that also said “LIL BILL” on the pickguard. His name was Alex “Lil Bill” Wallace, and he played an important part in blues history as he was the guy that convinced B.B. King to sing the blues vs. gospel. He was still alive, and living in a nursing home down in Greenville, Mississippi.

I sent him pics of the guitar and then called him a week or so later. Not only did he identify the guitar, but said that it once belonged to Howlin’ Wolf.

Of course I was skeptical, never even having seen Wolf with a Strat, so I then got in touch with Wolf biographer Mark Hoffman, who sent me several pictures from 1964 of Wolf playing a relatively new white Strat with a distinctive chip in the upper treble bout. I remember going home that night and comparing those pics to the Strat, and getting a chill when I saw that same chip in the horn.

Later on, Hubert Sumlin (Wolf’s long time guitarist) verified the guitar and Wallace’s son collaborated how Wolf with stay with his father when he went back to Mississippi, and how his father got the guitar from him. After a story about this axe ran in a guitar magazine, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame contacted me and asked if they could display it as part of their “Roots of Rock” section. They’ve had it for the past three years now…

Rick: How did the Mambo Sons come together and how do you all keep things working constructively and keeping it fun? Who brings what to the party?

Tom Guerra: Mambo Sons initially came together as a songwriting collaboration with my friend of almost four decades, Scott Lawson Pomeroy. Scott and I went to college together and have always shared a love of the same type of music. He’s very active to this day with several New England based bands, and is an immensely talented singer/songwriter.

By the late ‘90’s, I had built a nice little studio and we really amped up our writing partnership. Over the next ten years, we put out four albums, our last being the double album called “Heavy Days,” and played a ton of shows around New England. We were on a little indie label called Omnicide Records, and the owner was a great guy named Marko Van Der Werff. Marko got our music to Eastern Europe, where we charted.

Sadly, right after we put out the double album, Marko passed away after being hit by a drunk driver. That was it for Omnicide Records, and after doing the double album, we were kind of burnt out, so we agreed to put the band on hold as we both pursued other musical endeavors. Since then, we have gotten together for several shows each year, and have brought in special guests including Jack Sonni of Dire Straits to round out the band.

We are playing this summer to help promote my American Garden album, and the band consists of our longtime drummer Joe “The Cat” Lemieux, a great guitarist / vocalist named Russ Waesche, Scott and me.

Rick: Hey, yeah…great new release with American Garden. I loved the dark humor of the title track and the chopper, the cover of Carlile’s “The Story” and the others, and the production was excellent. Who’d you work with the get the production side of it down so well and how’d you work together?

Tom Guerra: Thank you for noticing the production. As with the Mambo Sons albums and my first two solo records, I was the only producer. I think the key to good production is good arrangements, and having an idea of what you want the listener to focus on throughout the song. When you start to have songs with 20+ tracks, it is very important that the mixes retain clarity.

Mixing is itself an artform and can be very time consuming, yet taking your time to get the mixes as clear and dynamic as possible is critical. Once I start to get the mixes close to where I think they need to be, I listen on several different systems, including car stereos, and tweak from there. Once they are together, they are sent to a mastering house for the final sparkle, and I have had a great experience with John Scrip of Massive Mastering in Chicago, who has done my three solo albums.

Rick: Since I brought it up, how about giving us the background on the Vietnam era track (“American Garden”) and how that song evolved or was it a straight from the hip, quick draw writing thing?

Tom Guerra: Over the years, I have listened to many Vietnam veterans tell their stories, experiences of returning home and feeling survivor’s guilt, nightmares, PTSD, struggles to make sense of what they’d seen and done, sometimes being rejected by their fellow Americans.

The verses here are their stories, and the chorus is my take on how they were treated…In tracking that, I used an eBow through a flanger to give it a kind of spacey sound, and Kenny helped me produce the vocal on that to make it sound a bit psychotic. That song has taken on legs since an Austrian artist named Berndt Ertl approached me about illustrating the lyrics in a video, and he did a great job.

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Rick: As a Tom Petty fan I was pleased to hear “Walls” covered and the Petty style vocal was evident on at least one other song. And, of course, some of that Petty/Byrds jangle going on. What’s the connection, if any, you have with him?

Tom Guerra: Tom Petty was one of America’s great songwriters, and dedicated every move to making the song better. His songs transcended trends, as great songs tend to do and his influences were the greatest songwriters of his generation, from Dylan to the Beatles to the Brill Building songsters.

Plus, he was a Traveling Wilbury [Laughs]. As a songwriter, I admire him immensely…I have hung out with The Heartbreakers, interviewed Mike Campbell a few times and have gotten to play some of his guitars, and we share some mutual friends, so I did feel a connection. On the night Tom passed, I had realized what we had lost, and a few days later, I recorded “Walls” as my tribute to him. The trem drenched solo in it is something that I did as a tribute to Mike.

Rick: What projects are underway, solo or with the Mambo Sons?

Tom Guerra: Mambo Sons continues to play shows, and we’re doing some of “American Garden” live, which is cool. As always, I am continuing my writing, and have talked with former Yardbirds guitarist Johnny A about covering “Family of One,” one of the tunes that Kenny and I wrote for that band.

I also am looking forward to doing more with Jon Butcher, who played on “Blood on the New Rising Sun” from American Garden. I want to keep collaborating with different people as well, as most of the joy I get from music nowadays is from the creation of new songs.

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Rick: There are plenty of great young musicians today who are looking to have careers in the music industry. What kinds of advice would you give them before they fall into some of the traps that can pop up along the way?

Tom Guerra: I would just say “everything in moderation,” except for maybe in the process of discovering new music. I would also advise anyone looking to have a career in music to be flexible and to stay in school for as long as possible to learn the type of skills which would enable you to make a living, in any field.

Rick: What kind of rig are you playing at gigs and what guitar’s your “go to” at home to noodle around with to “find” some new songs?

Tom Guerra: Over the years, I’ve used Ampegs, Marshalls, Fenders, but for my recent live shows, I am alternating between a Colby-dtb-50 and an old Vox AC30 TB. I have a couple pedalboards that I use as well, which contain the stuff that players of my generation use, including an old Tubescreamer, a wah and an analog delay.

In terms of “go to” guitars that I tend to write on, I have several…For Strats, it tends to be a maple necked 1970 4 bolt that has a nice spank to it, and for a Gibson, it’s a P90 equipped Les Paul goldtop which I’ve owned for about 35 years. For acoustic, my ’63 Gibson LG-1 is never far out of reach and many ideas start with that guitar.

Rick: Having a solid music career these days is tough, how much of it is luck and how much of it is hard work and perserverance?

Tom Guerra: The guys I know that are recognized as top tier stars will tell you that it’s a combination of luck and hard work and I would agree.

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annasadventuresabroad · 7 years ago

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Anna’s Art Adventures: Musée Delacroix

I planned to come here after the Louvre back in November, but was too exhausted after 4 hours of art that time that I postponed and postponed until finally, today was the day! Though the online reviews are mixed (ranging between “charming” and “disappointing”), I was excited to see the studio of this French master who captured one of my favourite paintings of all time that hangs in my library:

So yes, my expectations were pretty high - and my excitement about going to a gallery dedicated to solely 1 artist was even higher due to the lack of art for over a week (hashtag essaywriting). Here it goes.

For starters, I had a bit of a hard time finding it, as it’s truly a bit hidden. My google maps was helpful, as there were no signs - something quite strange, considering that the Louvre ticket (if I remember correctly) includes a free visit to this museum on the same day. Anyways - I was on a small square and then entered a small gated street and then saw this, which meant I hit jackpot:

(Note: A French drapeau and a plaque always means something important.) Thrilled, I entered and got my “Free under 25 EU citizen” ticket and went upstairs. 3 rooms. There were two or three explanatory texts (in French, English and German), all of which said in different ways that the selected artwork were chosen by a French (?) writer with whom they (the museum) had the honour to collaborate. Alongside wonderful wonderful lithographs on literary works like Faust and Romeo and Juliet, there were also some other artists who were pretty much irrelevant. I thought I’ll give it a shot, but soon I just got annoyed by this selection. A German film maker’s clip from a street. A horse sculpture by someone. A poor watercolour watercolour sketch of a cologne bottle and something else next to Delacroix’s detailed and skillfully drawn slippers. To put it short, I thought there was very very little for the 1. amount of space and 2. normal entrance fee. I found out more from this information book about the museum than from the exhibition itself. That’s probably an indicator about the place. Also, here wasn’t even a single explanation why this French writer is significant enough to make this selection...

So far quite... meh.

Delacroix’s studio is located right next to the house of this “special” exhibition - and to get there, you have to go down the stairs. En route, you notice a wonderful sight: a petit charming garden! Turns out, this garden was specially architected and renovated in 2012 by the head gardeners from the Tuilleries (that fancy huge garden space in front of the Louvre) to match that in Delacroix’s time. Again, there was an attempt to “modernize” it by having some halo-glass, sound-making “art” installation in the middle of the grass square, which was extremely distracting and unnecessary. (The cable coming out of the house is probably electricity cord for this installation, I now realise.)

As for the studio itself - it has >only< Delacroix’s paintings, which was a joy. Red walls, paintings (mainly portraits, studies and a few sketches), a little bit of light from the garden, creaky floors. I had it all to myself for a while, which was nice. According to that information book, the studio was in the hands of some local society and it just barely got saved from destruction. Shame shame that there wasn’t enough interest/success to keep it as Delacroix had it in the same way that Monet’s atelier is well-kept in Giverny. It’d surely be interesting to see how Delacroix’s working space looked in real life.

I bought some postcards in the ticket office - sadly, they didn’t have any of those wonderful lithographs, which is quite a pity. They were really exquisite, especially the Faust ones that had a line or two below the drawing.

While I was happy to finally visit this museum, I must say that they could do better. I’ll live without having a small postcard of Delacroix’s lithograph, but somehow the place lacked any excitement and warmth. It was also rather not really smart nor considerate that the studio is reachable only by stairs, hence making the only-Delacroix-works-filled rooms unaccessible to the elder or handicapped visitors (while reading that book, about 3 turned away once they noticed the stairs outside the door leading towards the garden). There surely is a way to improve these things, but generally I do understand why people found this place disappointing. :( On the plus side, I had it for free so my wallet isn’t crying and the sun began peeking out, so the charming houses got some more colour:

I then headed to (yet) a(nother) coffee place that was ranked for having “drinkable” covfefe. Malongo was fine, more canteen-like than coffee shop, but decent cappucino. There I wrote some postcards and found my route to another exhibition, as it was only 2:30 when I finished at the Delacroix.

Conclusion:

Anna’s Art Adventures rating for Delacroix: 2.5/5.

+ lithographs, good information book (on sale), good detailed commentaries in every room in English, well-kept garden.

- Irrelevant, unfocused modern artwork by an unknown writer, could do with some text about the paintings on the walls, hard-to-access studio and garden for elderly/handicapped visitors.

Would visit again/recommend? Not really, better to look at Tripadvisor pictures.

#annasartadventures

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