#determining where to draw the line between wanting appreciation and toxicity

[mckkachins]

i love each and every one of my followers and i think you can and should engage with content the way you choose. whenever i post something that talks abt how reblogs matter more than likes i hope you all understand that i am saying this for the fraction of ppl who may be used to the social norms of something like instagram or twitter and don’t know how best to support a content creator’s work, NOT for people who simply just don’t want to rb everything they see. i hope you understand that i am not belittling you for the way you use this website. <3 i just want to preface everything with this.

at the same time, however, telling me that gifmaking is sooo easy, that gifmakers getting their work stolen isn’t a big deal, that what we do is somehow less worthy of respect because we’re just “””recoloring footage””” or whatever fundamentally is a form of belittlement. i cannot tell you how sad it makes me to hear stuff like that because people who say such things have no idea what monumental barriers to entry there are to gifmaking. do you know what export settings are best for your computer specs? pattern, diffusion??? what dither and matte color does the gif require? do you want color selection to be done via adaptive or selective or with computer-built-in colors? what about when tumblr ultimately compresses your gifs and down-selects your colors? what settings are best then?? do these settings always hold true or is this only good for the gif you’re currently working on? do you hop on vpn to pirate footage?? do you torrent for hours only to find out it’s in a video format incompatible with your computer so you must also go and find a new video player that can play the footage you downloaded as well as a media encoder to export clips in a format your computer can read without compressing the video quality?? do you have enough space on your laptop for this??? do you need an external drive to support everything you’re doing? is this gif under 10mb?? how are you going to balance the number of frames with the number of colors with the gif dimensions to make it uploadable to tunglr dot com? what aspect of this gif are you sacrificing today to make it even viewable on this hellsite??? if you have a laptop that only lets you export in internal dimensions how will this impact the quality of your gif? do you need to double-quadruple the gif dimensions to keep the same resolution and therefore need to sacrifice even more frames or colors??? do you even HAVE access to photoshop or do you need to also pirate it in some way???!?!

coloring is only one MINISCULE part of a long and tedious process that takes years and months to master and hours to execute. weeks if you want to execute it well. so do not give me that bullshit about how gifmaking is "””just recoloring footage””” bc that is a form of belittlement i will not tolerate. if you follow me for my creations, i love you. you do NOT have to rb every single one of them to show your appreciation. however, please respect my barest minimum wishes that you do not repost them and respect the time and effort i put in to my work, including not belittling me and my friends with claims that what we gifmakers do is some kind of easy peasy hobby and therefore less worthy of respect.

[tarteausuga]

Wonderless

In which Mark is at a crossroads between the two loves of his life...

WC: 1676 words

CW: angst, a smidge of fluff, use of a few profane words. Band!NCT, lead singer!Mark x she/her oc

A/N: vaguely based off of Wonderless by Pierce the Veil

Meeting her was the best and worst thing to ever happen to Mark. He always told himself that the day he falls in love with someone is the day he would start to cut back on his work. He never anticipated that day to come so early in his career. It was a crush that got out of control and before things got too serious, he had to make a choice: his love or his dreams.

"I just want you to be happy, Mark." She said tearfully that night he made his decision. The image of her forced smile through her sad eyes is the most vivid memory he has.

"I'm sorry." He said to her but she quickly brushed it off.

"There's nothing to be sorry about. This is what you've been working for, you need to go chase it," she wiped her eyes, "I'll always be cheering you on so don't turn back, okay?" She held onto his hands so tightly until she finished that sentence. Her grip weakened and Mark's hands dropped to his sides.

He wanted to say something so bad. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, thank her for everything she's done for him but he was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would tell her he's staying. Instead, she said it all, "I love you, Mark Lee. Do good."

Mark still regrets not watching her walk away after she left a kiss on his cheek and ran her fingers through his hair for the last time. He still regrets not doing enough to make stronger memories with her. She was always there for him during the long nights of writing and recording, sleeping on the tiny couch of the tiny recording studio he and his band rented. She was always by his side through it all but ultimately, he had to leave her behind.

"Hey Mark!" Johnny poked Mark with his drumsticks. "You done daydreaming?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

The crowd was buzzing as their set time approached. This is what Mark loved so much about performing but there was still something missing. He knew exactly what it was.

Hanging his guitar over his shoulders, he downed his beer before meeting his band backstage.

She kept him grounded. She reminded him that outside of the recording studio, off the stage and beyond the interviews, he was just Mark Lee. But lately, the feeling was he didn't know who Mark Lee was anymore and it was starting to seep toxicity into every area of his life.

"Mark! Let go!" Johnny and Jaehyun jumped in to pull him off of their youngest band member and rhythm guitarist.

"Stay the fuck away from me!" Mark spat as the much larger Johnny restrained him while Jaehyun did the same to Haechan.

"What the hell is going on?" Taeyong, their lead guitarist and de facto leader stood between the two youngest as they both tried to break from their restraints.

"Ask him!" Haechan used his chin to motion at Mark.

"Me? He's been getting on my nerves since the start of this damn tour!" Mark roared.

"I don't care! I don't care what the fuck is going on between you two but you can't be going for each other's throats right before a show!" Taeyong yelled.

"Whatever." Haechan finally shook free from Jaehyun's arms. "Dude needs to get laid." He said under his breath but was still loud enough for Mark to hear.

Johnny, thinking the dust had settled, dropped his guard and gave Mark a chance to lunge at Haechan but Taeyong stepped in front of him before he could do anything else. "I don't know what's going on but you need to go cool off." Taeyong said quietly, but sternly.

"I'll play this show but only because we get a break from the tour after…" Mark chewed his words.

The show was noticeably tense. The usual friendly banter between them onstage was replaced by rehearsed lines to hopefully draw a laugh from the crowd. Their fans could easily tell there was something up with lead singer, Mark, so no one was surprised when he declined to sign autographs that night. Instead, Mark retreated to their tour bus, grabbed the bag he had packed before the show, and asked their manager to drive him straight to the airport. He was going home. For how long? He wasn't sure but he really didn't want to go back on tour. He wanted her.

With a tendency to act on impulse, he had no plans for what he was going to do when he landed. It had been just over two years since that night… did she really mean it? He wondered. She's always been one to keep her word so he trusted her and made his way back to the neighbourhood where he grew up.

As the taxi made its way into the deep suburbs, Mark felt a relief of comfort on top of nostalgia. This is where he fell in love with music. This is where he found love. Passing by his parents' house, he made a silent promise to visit them once he settled his business.

Walking up those steps and pressing the doorbell took him back to the first time he picked her up for a date. He didn't have his license at the time so his dad was on the driveway, idling while he nervously waited to see her. He held his breath like he did back then. Like he always did when he was waiting to see her.

"Oh hi Mrs.-" Mark began to greet her mom but he was instantly pulled into a hug.

"Honey! Come down!" Her dad yelled upstairs.

Mark's eyes widened as he focused on her descending towards him. Her mom peeled away, allowing him to scoop her up into his arms. His favourite person. The muse for all of his songs. His anchor.

They stood, wrapped in each other's arms for a long time before he finally spoke.

"I love you." He said just loud enough for her to hear.

"You really came to say that?" She giggled.

"Yeah, I did." He tightened his arms around her waist, determined to imprint the feeling into his brain along with her scent and the warmth of her cheek against his neck.

"I missed you." She confessed, finally pulling away to examine Mark.

"You didn't go out of town for university?" He smirked.

"I mean… Not for you… they had the program I wanted here but… yeah, maybe it was a little bit for you." She blushed.

He was relieved but he also felt guilty that she felt the need to stay for him, waiting for him. Maybe this could have worked if he was just a little bit more committed, he wouldn't have had to give her up for his band.

"So why did you really come back?" She asked him as they took a walk through the park, chasing the sparse lights, showing the path in the night.

"Why did you wait?" He answered.

"Answer me first." She pushed him lightly.

"I don't really know. I just felt like I had to, so I did." He shrugged.

"Typical Mark Lee, doing things without thinking first." She giggled.

"Is that bad?"

"Not when it's you. You act with your heart and that's what I've always loved about you." She eased his worries.

"So why did you wait?"

"I was worried. I knew that one day, you might need an escape from that world and I wanted to be here when you did." She went on but Mark got lost in her voice. He missed her voice so much. The way she would stumble on her words when she spoke too fast, the unique intonations she had for certain words. There was just something about her that made him feel normal.

There was a point in his past where he craved being on stage. The bright stage lights and roaring crowd were addictive. They sang every word he sang and they cheered after every song. But somewhere along the way, the lights were disorienting and the cheers were suffocating. The songs he wrote and sang were about and for her.

"Mark?" She poked him.

"Yeah?" He shook his head out of the clouds.

"You were off in your own world again." She laughed as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Sorry." He laughed softly while rubbing the back of his neck.

"So when are you leaving?"

"I don't think I want to." He took a deep breath and appreciated that he wasn't trapped on a tour bus with a bunch of sweaty dudes.

"What? Mark, you can't stay here!" She gawked at him.

"Wait wait wait… you don't want me to stay?"

"Of course not! Mark you're so good at what you love, I would hate to be the reason why you give it all up." She said.

"Then why did you stay here?" He yelled at her for the second time in their relationship. His memories were modified to suit his needs. What truly happened was not as calm and perfect as he wanted it to be. He was begging her to go with him but she refused. She promised that she would always be there for him but she couldn't give up her life for him. "You're the one who said you couldn't give up your dreams and yet you're still here!"

"I… things change." She wanted to yell back but she couldn't.

"Then why can't I change my mind and choose you?"

"That would be the wrong choice… I stayed because when you left, I was afraid to leave too." She started to explain, "I was ready to go to university. Everything was packed but it didn't feel right. I wasn't ready. It's different, Mark. You know what you want and you're doing exactly what you want. I'm still trying to figure it out."

"What if I want you?" He said quietly.

"We can't have everything we want." She said.

[conaionaru]

Honor and Blood (Ivar the Boneless)

Prophecy of fire

Synopsis: Aslaug sees an unsettling vision about Vanya’s and Ivar’s future.

Warning: angst, fluff, Ivar, toxic family, prophecy

Tagged

@shannygoatgruff @youbloodymadgenius @xbellaxcarolinax @heavenly1927 @lol-haha-joke @queenbeeta​ @didiintheblog​

P.S.: Anything in cursive is in Old Norse.

I don't own the gifs. Also, thank you for your support. I really appreciate it.

Waking up next to Ivar became one of Vanya's favorite things in the morning. The way the light hit his tan skin as his bare chest rose slowly to the singing of the birds in the background. It all seemed like a dream she never knew she needed in her life. She put her pale hand on his chest and felt his heart beating slowly. Her husband looked so serene and innocent sleeping. Nothing like the stories she heard of Vikings. She loved the difference.

"Why are you staring at me?" He asked groggily, making her lock gazes with him. His blue eyes still looked tired, like they needed all the rest they could get before he was ready to leave the bed. Vanya chuckled as she laid her head on his chest and smiled in delight.

"I am admiring true beauty." Vanya teased, quoting his words from the wedding feast. Ivar rolled his eyes at her and threw his arm over her waist, drawing her closer to him. She closed her eyes and let his breathing lull her back to sleep. Unfortunately for both of them, a thrall knocked on their door, informing them that the Queen wants them to meet her in the Great hall.

The couple groaned in annoyance before Vanya rose from the bed and slipped an underdress over her naked body. She heard the thrall leave, as they were advised to do since they once entered to wake the royal duo, only to have a dagger thrown at them, when Ivar was getting dresses. So since then, they dress themselves. 

Vanya put on a pale purple dress with roses on it as Ivar tied his legs together. She still hasn't seen his them bare, but she doesn't push. It was better to let him do it at his own pace. The more patient she would be, the better, and she wasn't that curious to see them. Different or not, they were still legs. 

"What are you doing today?" Ivar asked, getting down from the bed and crawling to her side as she braided her hair. 

Vanya looked down at her husband as she finished her little braid and smiled at him. "Brynja and I are going to the market to buy new fabrics. Do you want me to sew you something? Any special requests?" 

Ivar shook his head at her offer and told her he is going hunting with his brothers and won't probably return till tomorrow if they decide to stay at the hunting cabin. Vanya wished him a good hunt and kissed him on the lips before they parted ways. 

She was still a little bit shaken up from yesterday's argument. The first night they talked together, he told her she could do whatever she wanted to do. Yet he obviously drew the line at Christianity. She didn't care about the Christian God - he was a useless god in her eyes. His punishments were too severe, and his rules cruel. Silas always mocked her with Queen Judith of Wessex, the woman who got her ear cut off. He threatened he would do the same to her if she continued to test him. She prayed to God for mercy, but it didn't come at all. Yet Silas was a sea away from her, and she worshipped other gods now. 

There was no place for God in her heart anymore; perhaps there never was. He was her father, God, and the possibility of him being with her even after death was beautiful. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized there never was an angel or God by her side. Silas was cruel to her, giving her bruises that took weeks to heal. And no matter how much she prayed, God did nothing. If he truly existed, he would have done something. What kind of cruel god is he if he does nothing? 

Maybe all gods are just stories told by men to justify their choices. The tales of all-powerful gods looking over them and doing incredible deeds gives them an illusion of order in this world. After all, children sleep easier, thinking someone is protecting them. Is that what her father was? A fool believing in a made-up story? 

The two sat down with the other Ragnarssons as Aslaug smiled at them a cup of mead in her hand. "What did you want to talk about, Mother?" Ubbe asked her, not liking the suspense.

Aslaug waved her hand at him in a dismissive way and sipped from her cup. "No worries. It is good news. Some traders offered to help Floki build ships by giving him some material. The only thing they ask is that you mention their generosity to the other people who will sail with you."

Bjorn nodded at that information and thanked her, saying he will inform Floki of it before they leave to hunt. Vanya looked at Bjorn curiously, trying to remember if he mentioned a journey. "Where are you going, Bjorn?"

The tall Viking looked at his sister in law and smiled at her proudly. "I found a map on our raid in Frankia a long time ago. I want to sail there, and Floki is building the ships for the journey." He explained excitedly thinking of the new things he would see when the time came. 

Vanya smiled at his excitement and wished him good luck on his journey. Apparently, the other brothers wanted to come too, and we're still pondering who would go and who not. Hvitserk was sure he would go even if he had to sneak on the ship.

They all ate, conversating together about their plans before the boys stood up to leave. Ivar kissed Vanya's temple and crawled away. When Vanya stood up to also go, Aslaug called her name. She mentioned for the redhead to sit next to her, cause she wanted to talk. 

Vanya braced herself for the hard conversation before her and sat down on Ubbe's earlier chair. "I am very happy for you and Ivar. And I am sorry for pressuring you. I didn't mean it in a wrong way. I simply want you two to be happy."

Vanya nodded at the Queen's words appreciating the less tense atmosphere between them. ��"Who taught you to behave like that, Love?"

Aslaug's words were curious yet still made Vanya pause. She didn't know the reason behind her question; after all, why should the Queen care about it? "My father always said that people have greater importance than armies. He believed that being loved had a bigger value than being feared. I think the same. However, it is good to have both. Only love won't win wars if the need arises."

"Wise words. He must have been a smart man to think that. How did he die?" Aslaug questioned again, her eyes sharp as a whip. She was looking for something, that was sure. 

Vanya swallowed, thinking of her father's pale face and bony hands as he took his last breath in his chambers. "A sudden illness took him. He suffered for a long time before he passed away." Her tone was sad, and she could feel moisture at the corners of her eyes. Despite being dead for nearly three years, he was still a sore subject to her. 

"I am sorry, Love. But you have a new family here now. And who knows, maybe one day you and Ivar will have a family of your own if the gods bless you." And there it was—the point of the whole conversation. Aslaug wanted grandkids. "Do you want children, Vanya?"

Vanya frowned at the question, never really thinking about it. It was expected of her as a woman to bear children. She dreamed of a handsome husband who would give her many pretty children with rosy cheeks. She did want them, but she hated that it was expected of her. Silas and Mother always reminded her that bearing Ivar's sons was a must. But she wondered if it was possible for her to bring his children to the world. What if he couldn't give her a child because of his affliction? What would become of her then?

"I do want children. But I--" 

"You worry if you will have any with him, don't you?" Vanya nodded at the Queen's question in sadness. "I pray to the gods every night for you to get pregnant. I had a vision."

The ginger looked at Aslaug in wonder. Curious blue orbs met coal lined ones in a silent order to continue. "I saw a little body with eyes as blue as the sky looking up at ravens flying over its heads. The babe's hands wrapped around a snake's neck in a tight grip—the frozen sea behind the child as it crawled towards a fire to warm itself. I don't think it is a bad dream. The child is in danger, but it is a strong child. Brave and determined to survive."

Vanya frowned at the Queen's prophecy and nodded her head in understanding at it. "You could ask the Seer what the gods have to say about it. He will know what to tell you. But I am sure there is a child in your future." 

She hoped it was the truth; she wanted children with Ivar. But what if her child was in immense danger? The prophecy sounded anything but friendly to her, no matter what Aslaug said. A snake and a fire was anything but good in her eyes. It meant obstacles in the life of a child that wasn't even conceived yet, and she already worried about it. What if the child died before it would grow up? Or if it died in her womb? What if the fire that was supposed to warm it would burn it instead? 

"You are very silent today, Princess," Brynja commented, worried, looking over the silks the old woman offered to them. "Are you alright?"

Vanya looked up from the steel blue fabric she inspected before and smiled at her servant and friend. "Got a lot on my mind, that's all." Brynja nodded her head, not truly believing the Princess but decided not to press the matter. 

After Vanya bought the fabrics, did she ask a thrall to bring them to her chambers. "I wish to talk to you privately." Brynja nodded at the whispered words and led the wife of Ivar the Boneless towards a lake in the woods. The grass looked soft while the water was clear and twinkled in the sun. The day was rather warm today for Kattegat's usual coldness. 

The two women sat down on the grass watching the lake, neither saying anything for some time. Vanya cast her gaze down to her lap to look at the half-moon wounds she gave herself yesterday. She trailed her thumb over the tender scars and sighed loudly. "What do you think of Ivar? Be honest."

Brynja's head snapped towards Vanya as she watched the young Princess's blank face. Her usual honest front was replaced with a coldness that gave nothing away. She reminded the servant of Ivar at that moment. A hunter waiting for his prey to make its first move. 

"I don't know him that well, Vanya. I only serve you." Vanya hummed at the servant's frantic tone and looked back up at the lake. 

"My husband's personality worries me sometimes. I like him, that much I am sure. But his mood swings are frightening sometimes. He caught me praying, I confessed to him I prayed to the Christian god too. He got angry at that. He claims he won't hurt me, but yet he scares me." Vanya explained to the woman she barely knew. It was a foolish move; she could report it back to someone. But her feelings to Ivar were no valuable information to anyone. If she told it to Aslaug, the Queen would only talk to her. Vanya was in no danger telling Brynja about her situation. "When I was sent here, I begged my brother not to do it. I was worried my husband would kill me. So I ask you... Is my life in danger?"

Brynja took in a shake a breath and frowned deeply. "The Prince is mean; he isn't very fond of his brother Sigurd, and the Queen spoils him. But I don't think he would hurt you. Somehow you calm him. He isn't like he used to be before. It's not that obvious, but he is getting better. I think you should give him some time. Maybe talk to him."

Vanya nodded at the servant's advice and looked back at the lake, seeing flowers drifting in the lake. She smiled at the pretty things and stood up, surprising Brynja. 

The servant looked up at the Princess, who took off her shoes and lifted her dress. "What is your favorite flower, Brynja?" She tiptoed over to the edge of the lake and dipped her feet in before walking into the water.

"Princess! Get out of there!" Brynja warned fearing for her Lady's health from the cold lake. Yet Vanya ignored the worried shouts and walked to the flowers. When she realized that she couldn't pick the flowers while holding her dress, she dropped the skirt and plucked the pretty flowers. 

"Stop worrying, Brynja. Come on! What flowers do you like?" Vanya giggled a few Lily-of-the-valley flowers in her left hand as she walked closer to the coast to pluck more of the pretty flowers. 

Brynja smiled, watching the excited Princess enjoy herself; her white skirt floated around her as she walked over the bottom of the lake. She looked so serene and kind at that moment that marrying her to someone like Ivar seemed like a mistake. Yet the girl's good heart and patience were a plus for the youngest Prince. "Forget-me-not's, my Princess. I like purple flowers." 

Vanya chuckled at the information and gathered a few of those flowers in her hands, making a bouquet for her red-haired friend and servant. The lake was cold, but she could endure the chilly water until her task was done. She loved picking flowers back in the gardens of Slegia; the flowers were always put into a vase and on her father's table afterward. "Are you not bored with me, Brynja?"

Brynja shook her head at the question and watched the Princess make her way back to the shore. "Of course not, my Lady. I like serving you more than serving in the kitchen with the thralls."

With Brynja's help, Vanya crawled out of the lake and presented the curly-haired girl her findings. Brynja thanked her and put a forget-me-not into her hair, she also put one into Vanya's hair, complimenting the pretty Saxon on the look. The two girls left the lake in a good mood and went towards Vanya's and Ivar's room to change her wet dress. 

[littlemisslol-fic]

Summary: Two years after the events of Barviel Keep, Varian has tried to adapt to the expectations brought by being a King’s Ward, with mixed results. Haunted by ghosts, Varian is forced to face the demons he tried to leave behind in Bayangor when his abdication is forcibly stopped by a third party, out for revenge against the Bayan Royal bloodline. On the run, with few allies left to turn to, Varian finds himself chasing a ghost through a series of tests that only a true heir of Demanitus could ever hope to pass.But the shadows are ever present, looming and dark, and not everything is as simple as it might seem.

Notes: It's KICKIN OFF OH LORD

If there were a word to describe Pincosta, Varian would have to pick bland. It was picturesque, quaint little streets lined with quaint little cobblestones, tiny houses clustered around perfect market squares. It was a perfectly maintained hamlet, adorable and ready to be slapped on a postcard. The people were well mannered, even under the blistering heat of the mid-afternoon sun. Pincosta was charming, delightful, even.

It was also irritatingly saccharine.

Varian grumbled as Rapunzel pulled him along the street, her hand tight on his wrist. He couldn’t help but look over his shoulder, unable to shake the feeling of eyes on him. Eugene was nearby, making room up ahead as they walked through the quiet streets. People milled about around them, going about their afternoon with a sort of quiet calm. Eventually they came to a stop in front of a medium sized building, a large set of stone stairs up in front of it. Eugene went right in, leaving Varian and the princess outside. Rapunzel finally let go of his hand, spinning to face him with a forced grin.

“Okay, Varian, you stay here while Eugene and I speak to Constable Lumph,��� Rapunzel said, her eyes darting around the cramped streets. “Just for a second.”

Varian arched a brow at her, tilting his head. “Don’t you want someone to go and get supplies?” he asked, “For when we go back?”

“When Eugene and I go back-” Rapunzel’s tone was unimpressed, “We’ll get our own supplies. After Vardaros I don’t want to risk it.”

“Oh, c’mon!” Varian argued, “I can just go into a market, it’s not even that far; there’s like, six people-”

“Varian.” Oof, that was her big sister voice. “No. Thank you. Please just stay where I know you’re safe.”

Varian rolled his eyes but nodded his assent, leaning against the thick stone wall of the constable’s headquarters. “Fine, whatever.” He muttered, looking away from her. Rapunzel’s face fell at the attitude, but Varian heard her sigh and step up onto the stairs leading to the front door.

“Thank you,” she murmured, “We won’t be long.”

Varian grunted something that could be acknowledgement, but could have also just been him clearing his throat. Rapunzel sighed again, and Varian heard the shifting of the old stone stairs as she entered the building. Eugene was probably already bullying the constable for something he’d done last time the pair had been in the town- Varian honestly forgot, he’d heard the story once and even then, it was mostly to fill him in on where Cass had gone- though, they’d left the vast majority of the details glossed over.

Varian huffed, shifting on his feet. No one ever seemed to want to tell him anything unless it was life or death, and to be honest, it was just bits and pieces. Not his dad, not Frederick and Arianna. Not Rapunzel. Something bitter in him made him roll his eyes at the thought.

He waited a minute, then two. The heat of the midday had started to pick up; between that and the ring of raccoon currently wrapped around his neck, Varian can’t help but feel a little warm. He risks a peek back to the door Rapunzel had disappeared behind, thinking. Sure, Rapunzel had said to stay… but Varian was going insane with this whole protect the babyschtick. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, thank you very much.

It was a little insulting, this idea that Rapunzel had that Varian was completely useless- when he was younger, especially after Bayangor, Varian had appreciated it. Hell, he’d even craved it, that idea that someone he loved was willing to deal with him without complaint and push the bad things away. He’d needed it, honestly, needed someone to stand between him and the difficult parts of life, even just to filter out the worst of it. But in circumstances like this, when it was all hands on deck, Varian was rendered effectively useless.

And it made him bitter.

The door didn’t open; Rapunzel would probably be in there for hours. Varian bit his lip a little, thinking to himself. He wanted to be useful, even if she was determined to sideline him. Maybe if he went and got the supplies himself, quick and quiet, Rapunzel would get off his case… Or at least, maybe she would stop thinking he was totally inept. Varian’s mind latched to the thought, and he made his choice. With a movement that was almost casual, he pushed himself off the wall and started walking.

“C’mon Ruddiger,” Varian muttered, “Let’s go make ourselves useful.”

The raccoon chittered in concern, looking frantically back towards the constable’s office. Varian felt his pet pulling on his hair, but ignored it. Ruddiger tried once more to direct Varian’s attention back to the office, only to get a pat on the head. Varian winced when Ruddiger nipped at him, his fingers retreating.

“No, listen,” he said, shaking his stinging hand. “Just in and out, ten-minute adventure. We’ll show Rapunzel who’s defenseless.”

The people of Pincosta were generally pleasant. The town center reminded Varian of Old Corona in a way, if the people were a little less farmerand a little more miner. He liked it, wandering through the streets, feeling normal for the first time in years. Back in Corona he’d never been allowed outside the castle without an escort of some kind, be it a subtle one- like Eugene or Rapunzel insisting on joining him- or an unsubtle one- like Frederic’s ordering Stan and Pete to dog his footsteps like loyal hounds.

He’d missed it, more that he thought he would. The ability to mesh with crowds, to disappear into the throng of faces. To slip in the cracks of the public, vanish like a ghost. Amongst the people, he wasn’t a target, wasn’t a forced heir or a missing child. Here he was just Varian, and something in him settled at the ability to shrug off the status like a musty cloak.

Varian weaved through the crowd, slipping between miners and townsfolk with a small grin. How novel to be able to walk like a normal person again- like he was back home, like Barviel Keep had never happened, like Aldred had never existed…

Like Quirin was home, waiting for him to walk in the door.

Varian coughed roughly. He shook his head, working his way through the main street of the town. Ruddiger perked up at the smells wafting from a nearby bakery, but Varian rolled his eyes and scratched behind the raccoon’s ears again.

“No, buddy, supplies.” Varian laughed, “No cupcakes.”

The animal pulled his biggest puppy dog eyes, but Varian wasn’t convinced. He dipped in and out of a few stores, the money purse he’d nicked out of the bag weighing heavy in his pocket. Varian wasn’t sure exactly where the things they needed were- all of Pincosta’s main stores seemed to be specializing in kitschy souvenirs and housewares- but surely the people needed to eat, so it was just a matter of finding the grocers.

Varian huffed as he left the fourth store, growing frustrated. Maybe he was useless. He sighed, despairing as the maze of keepsakes and clutter vendors grew around him. It seemed like he couldn’t even find food without someone to hold his hand and show him the way. He ducked around a stall, kicking at a loose stone and watching it clatter across the cobblestones; it had been nearly an hour and he was still empty handed, how pathetic. Even Ruddiger seemed fed up, the raccoon draped over his shoulders limply.

Varian wandered to the center of the square, where a large fountain stood. It was an ornate thing, carved to look like flowers and stars surrounding a beautiful, muscular woman, holding a pickaxe out to the sky. He knew the people here followed a deity called Vaara, said to be a goddess of the earth. Made about as much sense as worshipping the Sun, Varian supposed, though he knew the Sundrop had been very real.

He looked over the edge of the fountain, peeking in with a small air of curiosity. He could see coins settled on the bottom, the white limestone bright and clean. Varian could see his own reflection looking back at him, rippling in the water from small streams tossed through the air. He looked pretty much the same as always, maybe a little more exhausted than normal, but nothing out of the ordinary. His gaze drifted up towards his hair, the boy scowling as he saw his hair stripe peeking out from the hood of Quirin’s cloak.

With a rough movement Varian shoved the hair behind his ear, the mass of it irritating under the hood, but hidden, at least. He looked back down into the fountain, smiling softly as Ruddiger reached small paws down as if to grab the water-

Which is why Varian saw the reflection of a dark, looming shadow rear up behind him, and was able to dodge its grabbing hands by the breath of an inch.

Varian spun out of the figure’s reach, snatching Ruddiger off his shoulders and hugging the animal as he backed away. The figure- a woman- smiled at him, a bearing of teeth that scared Varian more than he’d like to think. She looked to be about Eugene’s age, with roughly buzzed hair, short and black and roughly cut. Most startling thing about her, however, was her set of very familiar, toxic green eyes.

“Damn,” she muttered, drawing closer. Varian backed off as fast as he could without tripping, hugging Ruddiger tight. “Aw, what-” she leered closer to him, green eyes glowing even in the shadow of the fountain, “You scared, little crow?”

“Call it more rightfully nervous.” Varian snapped, but was surprised when the woman laughed.

“Fair,” she conceded, “Very fair.”

There was a tense second of silence between the two of them. The woman shifted on her heels, looking Varian up as if sizing up a competitor. The halberd on her back caught the sunlight, a blinding flash of metal that made Varian wince. The market around them seemed unaware of the standoff going on, the people still milling about. Though, the woman’s posture was deceptively casual; Varian couldn’t help but think of Cassandra, how she walked without a care, but was really constantly tense and ready to fight. It made him nervous.

“You know, I expected more,” she commented, pursing her lips. “At least, for Aldred’s heir.”

Varian bristled at that, scowling. “Sorry to disappoint.” He tried to start backing away, stopping when she moved forwards to maintain the distance between them. She paused as he did, cocking her head to the side.

“You know this isn’t going to end well for you, right?” She asked him, as if talking to a toddler. It made Varian all the angrier, the cold wash of fear slipping away and turning to furious indignation. She didn’t seem to care, looking ready to laugh as Varian fumed. “You’re adorable.” She cooed, crossing her arms. “But I can promise that if you try and fight me, I’ll drag you back to my brother missing at least one limb. We don’t need you in one piece, after all.”

Ruddiger hissed at her again, his fur puffing up until the racoon looked nearly double his usual size. Varian inched his hand towards his pocket, stalling for time. Stupid, he thought to himself, stupid, stupid- Rapunzel’s going to have a fit.

“You’re his sister then?” Varian asked the woman, “What, is the whole family out to kill me?”

“What’s left of it,” she shrugged. Her expression was bitter. “Merrick’s young. He needed guidance after what Aldred did to our family.”

Oh, it always came back to that son of a bitch, didn’t it-

“And what?” Varian asked, “You think I’m just going to go with you?”

“I was hoping you would,” she replied. The air of calm surrounding her was borderline infuriating. “But if I have to kill the princess and her husband to make you cooperate… well, no skin off my nose.”

Varian felt his breath hitch in his chest. He’d seen the chaos and bloodshed the Bayans had caused when they’d attacked Corona; he knew she wasn’t threatening lightly. He just needed more time-

“You wouldn’t dare...” He paused, not knowing her name. She caught on, arching a brow.

“Cerise,” she said, her tone flat. Varian nodded.

“Cerise.” Sun, the manners Quirin had instilled in him were so annoying- “I’m Varian.”

“I’m aware.” She looked confused now, tilting her head. “You are an odd one, I’ll give you that.”

Varian couldn’t find it within himself to argue- he only shrugged. She huffed out what might have been a laugh, if not for the smug undertones of a cat who’d caught a mouse.

“You have a choice, here.” Cerise stepped forwards, closing the gap between them just a little more. “Are you going to come quietly, like a good little boy, or am I bringing you back to my baby brother in pieces?”

Varian tensed, his shaking fingers finally touching one of his last alchemical bombs in his pocket. He gently took it in hand, trying to seem nonchalant as the Bayan woman drew closer. “I can’t say either of those would end very well for me,” he told her, trying again to back away. Her face was amused, but in a way that seemed condescending. He felt his rabbit beat heart threatening to burst from his chest with how fast it was going, but Varian forced himself to remain nonchalant; if he panicked now, he’d lose any shot of getting away from her.

“Probably not,” she agreed, like they were discussing afternoon tea. She was getting too close, he had to act quickly. With every step she took he felt his shaking get worse- he nearly fumbled the bomb in his own pocket, nerves finally getting the best of him. Varian grit his teeth, his grip tightening on the smooth glass.

Varian took one more step back, roughly ripping the alchemical weapon from his pocket and throwing it at her. Cerise let out a yell as it exploded at her feet, a plume of noxious green smoke surrounding her instantly. Varian could hear her coughing, could see her frame stumbling through the smoke like she was drunk.

But he didn’t stick around long enough to see what happened next.

With speed he didn’t know he had, the alchemist turned and bolted from the square, Ruddiger situated on his shoulders with a strong grip. He could hear people scream, frantic footsteps everywhere as the citizens fled the market. Varian heard the Bayan behind him shout in rage as he vanished, deliberately weaving between the crowd and disappearing from view The streets of Pincosta flew by as he ran, a blur of brown and dull greys in the bleak morning sun.

“Oh shit,” Varian muttered to himself as he ran. His lungs burned, legs ached- between all the walking and the lack of food, he wasn’t exactly in peak performance- but Varian refused to stop. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.” He could hear people yelling behind him, the smoke probably still thick, even in such a large, open space as the main market.

Varian kept running, leaving it behind. Sun, he’d been so stupid-

The constable’s office loomed before him, only a block away from the market. His heart soared at the thought of backup, nearly sobbing with relief at the sight of the stone steps. He raced to the steps, skidding to a stop in front of them. The dust puffed up under his boots, nearly making him slip into the dirt, but he managed to catch himself with a pivot of his ankle.

“We may have made a miscalculation, Ruddiger.” The boy gasped through heaving breaths. The raccoon grumbled his agreement, clinging tighter as Varian sprinted up the stairs two at a time; the alchemist didn’t care enough to take his time. He didn’t even bother to knock, shoving the door open and falling into the room beyond. He just caught sight of Rapunzel’s purple dress before hitting the wooden floors. Varian grunted as he fell, twisting to kick the door closed behind him with a deafening BANG.

“We’re in trouble!” He crowed into the room, uncaring as to what he may have interrupted.

“What?!” Eugene. The man had been leaning back on a chair, his feet propped up on a table. He dropped his boots to the floor, the two air born legs of his chair quickly following. They landed with a thunk on the wooden floors. Eugene stood quickly, gaze already shifting towards the door. “What do you mean trouble, kid? Please tell me the trash cat got caught stealing again-”

“It’s one of the Bayans.”

Eugene’s face fell into a grimace, the man looking tired. “Of course it is,” he muttered to himself. Rapunzel took the silence after to jump in, rushing over to Varian and grabbing him by the shoulders. She pulled him up off the floor, hands flying around him in a frantic mess.

“Did they see you?” She asked, her voice frantic. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?!”

“I’m fine!” Varian snapped, pushing her away. “I’m fine; she attacked me out in the square, but I got away-”

“She?” Eugene’s voice piped up from behind Rapunzel, the man arching a brow.

“I only saw one,” Varian replied, “She said she was Merrick’s sister.”

Eugene groaned, rubbing at his closed eyes with the tips of his fingers. “Great,” he muttered, “There’s more than one magical lunatic. Why wouldn’t there be?”

Rapunzel looked even more spooked at that, backing off before grabbing their bag off a nearby table. Varian just caught sight of the fresh supplies stocked inside before she was sealing it shut, looking towards Eugene.

“We have to go,” she said, slinging the bag over one shoulder and pulling her frying pan from her belt with the other hand. “We can’t stay here, not if they’ve already caught up with us- how did they even know we were here?!”

“I don’t know,” Eugene was shaking his head, “But you’re right, we have to get out of town, back to the woods.”

“Back to Corona?” Varian asked, head flicking between the two adults. “They won’t be expecting that, right?”

“Kid’s got a point-” Eugene started to say, only to be cut off by a furious noise.

“We are not going back to Corona!” Rapunzel barked, her voice echoing in the small room. Her eyes were wide, almost angry, as she got nearly nose to nose with the boy in front of her. Varian found himself shrinking in the face of her ire, shaking as he stumbled backwards. His back slammed into a table, rattling the contents on top. Mistake, his thoughts screamed, mistake, mistake, going to be locked in your room again-

“If you go back there, we’ll be playing right into their hands,” she said. Varian could barely hear her through the pounding of his heart- when had she gotten so scary?!- “I promised that you would never go back to Bayangor, and I intend to keep that promise, Varian. Even if you don’t like it.”

With that, she shouldered past the stunned boy, not hitting him, but moving in a way that had Varian scrambling to get out of her path. She grabbed at the doorknob of the office, pausing before sighing heavily. Rapunzel didn’t turn around, but Varian could see the way her shoulders slumped, and the grip she had on her frying pan went white.

“It’s for your own good.” She muttered, wrenching the door open and stepping out onto the street.

Varian and Eugene stood there for a second longer, both of them wincing when the door slammed shut. There was an awkward pause, the sudden silence smothering and strange after such an outward display from someone usually so gentle. Varian shuddered in the new quiet, his hands unconsciously reaching up to rub at his wrists. Something in the bones hurt, inescapable and intangible but very much there. Eugene grimaced, moving the few steps toward his younger friend. He shuffled closer to Varian, slowly bringing his hands up. When the boy didn’t react, he reached down to gently take the teenager’s hands and break the vice like grip. Eugene caught Varian’s eye, trying for a smile. It failed.

“She didn’t mean to snap.” He murmured, gently lifting a hand to wipe away a few frightened tears that had slipped from Varian’s eyes. Excuses, always with the excuses for her- Varian’s fear snarled, something bright and angry. Sure she gets a free pass to act like this, but the second he snaps- chaos! Eugene kept going, unaware of the shift in Varian’s mood. “She’s stressed, we all are. Sunshine is worried about you-”

“It doesn’t give her the right.” Varian shuddered, turning away from the older man. “Just because she’s upset-”

“I know.” Eugene soothed (but did he really?), “You’re right, Varian. But we have more pressing issues for now. We have to sort through it once you’re safe.”

The boy looked up to his friend; Eugene seemed to have swapped tactics, but Varian couldn’t figure out if it were an actual change of heart or of Eugene wanted Varian to sit down and shut up. The man schooled his face into an easy grin when he saw Varian looking at him. “C’mon.” Eugene said, “We’ve got places to be. This place was giving me hives anyways, too many goodie-two-shoes for my liking.”

Ah. The second one, then.

Varian sniffled again, fighting the press of tears; he looked towards the door with a sudden sense of apprehension. Not quite fear, but close. He couldn’t help but feel a thousand eyes boring into his back, the creeping vision of a room full of portraits staring into his very being taking over. Eugene’s concerned voice slipped away, the tremors growing more extreme as the seconds ticked by agonizingly slow.

Varian could feel his chest hitching, the shaking doing nothing to ease the tensing of his shoulders and spine. The breaths he was trying to take were unable to reach his lungs, his throat felt clenched tight as if he were being choked from the inside. Tears, unbidden and unwanted, flowed down his cheeks as the alchemist crumbled inwards. His hands curled around his wrist once more, the phantom sting of broken bones pulsing through his hand like a flame he couldn’t put out. Varian’s eyes slammed shut, blocking out the world in a desperate attempt for calm, for peace.

So when Eugene stepped forwards and gently cupped his face, Varian wasn’t ready.

“Don’t touch me!” The boy wailed, scurrying back as if burned. His eyes remained closed, the horrifying images of Barviel Keep flying through his mind at a breakneck pace. The knot in his throat only tightened, the hitching breaths doing nothing to ease the strain. Varian couldn’t hear a single thing beyond his racing heartbeat, the terrified thump-thump of a rabbit’s beat echoing through his mind.

But then.

Hands.

Someone touching his shoulders, a grip that felt like a vice, a manacle, a cage to keep him trapped and complacent and a perfect little doll- a brutal grasp, tight and rough, one that would shake him until he cooperated-

“Father, I’m sorry!” He screamed, an instinctual, gut reaction.

And those hands left his shoulders like he’d burned them.

Varian’s eyes snapped open, a sudden fear taking him at the sudden lack of contact, the boy looking up and expecting to see his own eyes glaring back at him- so when he was met with warm, chocolate brown it was like a shock to his system.

He was free, Aldred was dead; Varian was in Pincosta, not in Barviel Keep.

And Eugene Fitzherbert was staring at him in absolute horror.

“I-” Varian stuttered. “I- Eugene, I didn’t- I wasn’t-”

“Kid?” the man asked. He didn’t dare draw closer, and it broke Varian’s heart. “Are you back, uh, back with me?”

Varian sniffled, nodding. “I don’t know what… what happened,” the boy stammered. “I just…”

“It’s okay.” Eugene said quietly. “You’re okay. You’ve had a rough week.”

Varian rubbed at his eyes furiously, chasing away the thoughts of roaring winds and pink tourmaline. The feeling of eyes on the back of his neck. He took a deep breath, forcing it down past the knot in his throat. It didn’t do much to calm him, but they didn’t have time for much else.

“Try a rough year.” Varian couldn’t help but try and crack a joke, to shove the pain under a layer of flippant, couldn’t care attitude. Eugene didn’t seem to buy it, but could only shake his head in wonder.

“You might be right, there,” the man said, holding a hand out hesitantly. When Varian didn’t flinch, he gently placed it on the boy’s shoulder, slowly directing him towards the door. “I’m sorry kid, I wish we had time to calm down- but we have to catch up with sunshine.”

Varian nodded, the movement rough, and wiped away the last of unshed tears and forcing the panic away. They didn’t have time for this- they had to move before Cerise figured out where they were. The panic simmered, set to a low heat- Varian knew it would come back, later, like it always did- but for now he had to pushed it down and keep moving. Eugene pulled the door open with a grimace, peeking out into the streets beyond. The smoke had done its job and scared away the public, it seemed, as the cobblestone paths that had just been filled with people were left empty.

They cautiously stepped out into the hollow streets, a loud silence ringing all around them. Varian rubbed again at his face, chasing away the last of his cloying panic and steeling himself. Eugene scanned the area once again, brown eyes narrowed and scrutinizing. Varian held his breath, waiting, as the older man finally seemed satisfied with their surroundings.

Eugene indicated with a tilt of his head for them to move. Varian went first, already taking stock of his meagre weapons. He didn’t have much left in the ways of alchemy, just a few more smoke bombs and exactly one sticky bomb. Stupid Vardaros he thought to himself with a grimace, should have grabbed more supplies.

A sudden clang noise echoed along the abandoned cobblestones, stirring both Varian and Eugene into action; the two of them set off at a brisk pace towards the center of town. They drew closer to the marketplace Varian had run from, and the closer they got, the louder the sounds of fighting and female voices became. Varian lagged, but Eugene let him set the pace- probably to keep an eye on him, if Varian were to guess. It was still a fair gesture, as if Eugene were running at full pace, he’d surely leave the alchemist behind.

Varian skid to a halt by the corner of a building, yanked to a stop as Eugene grabbed at his elbow to keep them in place. The boy looked to the older man with confusion, but Eugene held a hand out, asking him to wait, silently. The sounds of fighting were louder here, so Eugene took the lead, peeking out. Varian, stubborn little shit that he was, followed, and winced at what he saw.

Cerise snarled as her halberd slid off of Rapunzel’s frying pan with a harsh bang, the metal blade slamming deep into the stones of the square. Rapunzel twirled out of the way with a grace that screamed of practice, a swirl of purple fabric cutting through the air, but it was easy to catch the sight of crimson blood staining the sleeve of her dress. Cerise too wasn’t unscathed, her body covered in patches of bright pinks and blues- surely the residue of Varian’s own creations. Both women huffed for breath, circling each other like a pair of lionesses. Neon met forest, two pairs of green eyes locked together- sizing the other up and waiting for a break to make their move.

“Where’s your baby brother, princess?” Cerise taunted, yanking her weapon from the rock. It left a deep wound behind, a thick line right through the stone. Varian’s mouth went dry at the sight of the kind of damage that axe could do. Rapunzel didn’t reply to the Bayan’s question, backing off as Cerise spun her halberd in a wide, devastating arc that cut the air with an audible whumph. Rapunzel was forced to dodge, rolling to the side to avoid getting sliced in half. She landed hard, a cry of pain echoing through the square. Eugene let out a lout yell at that, rushing from their hiding place and to his wife’s side.

Rapunzel grinned at the sound of his voice, quickly standing and twirling her body around. Her frying pan clattered to the ground as she brought both of her hands into am interlocked pose, offering a flat surface while she crouched towards the ground. Eugene took it, using her hands as a step. Rapunzel let out a grunt of effort as she brought her hands up, launching Eugene high into the air with a well-timed throw. Varian blinked as Eugene drew his sword while in midair, bringing it down onto a startled Cerise.

The Bayan woman shouted, bringing up her arm to block the blow. Eugene’s sword rattled off her gauntlet, blocked, but Varian could see how roughly Cerise had taken the blow in the way she held her arm once Eugene backed off. The man refused to let up, quickly forcing Cerise away from Rapunzel with a series of well-timed slices. Rapunzel followed, her frying pan forgotten in lieu of a few of Varian’s alchemical bombs.

Varian felt frozen, like he’d been glued to the ground as the two adults quickly backed the threat away. Cerise snarled as she spun her halberd, but splitting the attention between the two Coronians was obviously difficult with such a bulky weapon. Varian felt a sudden sharp tug on his hair, snapping to attention as Ruddiger frantically gestured to the forgotten frying pan.

Varian forced his legs to move, stumbling towards the iron pan. He scooped it up just as Eugene let out a shout. Varian twisted just in time to see the man fall to the ground, Frederic’s sword going flying from his hand. The boy gasped, rushing for the chaos with his newfound weapon. The iron was cold in his hands, heavy and solid. Varian didn’t take to reflect on it, bringing it up in a fluid motion.

Cerise didn’t even see him coming.

Varian brought the pan down with a swift crack onto her head. Her whole figure tensed for just a second, swaying oddly, before she collapsed to the ground with a thump. Her halberd was loud as it fell, a rattle of metal against cobblestone that echoed.

Eugene, still on the ground, gawped up at Varian in shock. The boy huffed, turning as Rapunzel ran up to him. The unsettled fear in him solidified into proper irritation at the sight of her, condensing further into a rough, bitter anger. She got close, her hands already reaching forward, grasping, like she always did. He scowled, shoving the pan into her chest roughly. Her hands flew up to grab at it, green eyes blinking in shock at his ire. Varian huffed, refusing to back down. She knew what she did.

“Can we go, now?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, stepping over Cerise’s unconscious body and holding a hand out to Eugene. The man took it, blinking as Varian pulled him to his feet. The square was oddly silent, now that the fight had been cut off. It felt nearly unnatural, like seeing something fall upwards. Just something that shouldn’t be. Varian shrugged off the feeling, looking at the two adults with a scowl.

“Pincosta’s a bust,” Varian said firmly. “We need a new plan.”

Ruddiger chittered from his place on Varian’s shoulder, dropping to the ground to sniff at Cerise. The animal hissed, scrambling up Rapunzel’s leg. The brunette sighed, grabbing the raccoon and holding him on her hip not unlike one would an infant. He cooed, snuggling close to her. Traitor.

“We’ll just need to hide you somewhere else,” Rapunzel said firmly, “Tropi Island was our next bet-” she shifted Ruddiger in her arms when he got squirmy. “-but we weren’t sure about it.”

“Sunshine,” Eugene tried to interject, “Maybe we should listen to Varian.”

Rapunzel’s face morphed into something almost called irritation, twisting to look at Eugene. Ruddiger complained from her arms, wiggling and grabbing into her dress pocket at the motion. She didn’t notice, too busy locking her husband with a look.

“We’re not going back home until Varian’s safe,” she said firmly, “I won’t lead him right into the hands of the people who want to hurt him-”

“I’m right here, you know!” Varian objected with a tart voice, only scoffing when he was ignored by both adults. Eugene and Rapunzel kept debating back and forth, both of them obviously trying to keep cool, but Varian could see the stress lines creeping across Eugene’s face, the way Rapunzel’s shoulders hitched higher and higher. The alchemist sighed, clicking his tongue at Ruddiger.

The raccoon perked up, his little hands leaving Rapunzel’s pocket. Ruddiger jumped from her arms, scuttling back to Varian, who scooped him up in attempt to ignore the others. The boy sighed, a rush of air that took his whole body. Ruddiger cooed to him, papping at him with one little paw. The alchemist smiled, but cracked an eye open in curiosity when he only felt one paw hitting his face. Varian pulled back, seeing the animal’s other paw taken up by an envelope.

“What do you have there, bud?” Varian asked, taking it gently from Ruddiger and looking it over. It must have been in Rapunzel’s pocket. He felt a small pulse of surprise when he saw a broken wax seal on the front. He flipped it, pushing Ruddiger up onto his shoulders so he could use both hands to inspect the already cracked wax seal.

Rapunzel and Eugene’s tense bickering faded from his ears quickly as Varian pulled the letter out and scanned it, his stomach sinking with every word. It couldn’t possibly, not- she wouldn’t, right? Varian’s thoughts struggled to comprehend what he was reading. If it were true, then his mother- he thought- and Rapunzel had the evidence in her pocket! His heart started to race as everything began to slot into horrifying place.

Rapunzel’s defensiveness, her push towards keeping him in Corona, all of it was because…

Because his mother was still alive, and she’d been hiding it from him.

Because Rapunzel must have known, of course she did. She had the letter in her pocket. He stared at the looping script of Aisha’s signature as the world fell out from under him. He was focused on it, transfixed, blue eyes scanning it as if the paper were about to burst into flame and be turned to ash before he could get to the end. He could feel something stirring in his gut, nausea perhaps, and the ringing in his ears only grew and grew.

He finally tore his eyes away, looking to the two adults. Eugene was off to the side, quietly trying to convince his wife to turn back for Corona. Varian zeroed in on Rapunzel, and the feeling in his stomach cemented itself not as sickness, but in rage. Rage at the lies, at the trickery, at keeping something like this from him…

It was the amber all over again.

Varian let out a strange noise, something of a growling gasp. Rapunzel turned to him, the irritation on her face swiftly turning to horror when she saw the envelope in his clenched grip.

“Varian-” she started, but was cut off when his eyes met hers. Rapunzel had gone pale, a rarity for her. It made her look sick. She was cowed by the glare he leveled at her. Her voice was quiet, weak. “I can explain…”

“How long?” The question echoed in the abandoned square.

“I-”

“How. Long?”

Rapunzel flinched at his tone. For a second she turned to Eugene, who was staring at Varian in confusion. The boy’s face twisted even further, shoving it at the older man to read. When Rapunzel still didn’t give him an answer, he moved forwards into her space. He was shorter than her, but she still shrank under his glare.

“Rapunzel.” He wasn’t asking anymore.

She finally shook her head, turning her gaze away. “Since before your birthday,” she finally admitted. Varian’s hands tightened at his side.

“I… that long?” His voice cracked in the middle, the full weight of her actions finally hitting. “You- you knew, for that long?”

“Sunshine?” Eugene’s voice drifted between them, the man having finished reading. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“I…” Rapunzel trailed off, tugging at her hair. “I was only trying to protect you-”

“From what?!” Varian snapped. “From my own mother-”

“From all of it!” Rapunzel finally said, loud and frustrated. “Varian, after everything that’s happened with those people can you blame me?”

“She’s my mother!” “And she was just as bad as Aldred was!”

The boy reeled for a second at the audacity, before the fury in him exploded outward.

“How can you say that?!” Varian snapped, “She ran from fa- from him! To protect me! How can you think she’s evil after that, after everything she did to keep me safe? If it weren’t for her, I would have grown up with him, I wouldn’t even have had my dad, or my home, or any of it; I would have had nothing-”

“She burned villages to the ground! She murdered people- you know as well as I do; she was a warlord in her own right.” Rapunzel countered, obviously over trying to cushion her words. “She ran away because it benefitted you, it was still in her own interest! You don’t need her!”

Varian bristled, the fury welling up from a place he’d thought was long dead.

“You don’t get to make that choice for me!”

His voice echoed around the square. Rapunzel reeled back at the shout, clenching her fist tightly around her frying pan. Eugene tried to step in, but backed away when Rapunzel took a step towards Varian.

“I did what was right.” Her voice was steel. “Those- those people have caused nothing but pain, and I am not going to let you walk right back to them.”

“I’m not just going to ignore her,” Varian said, “She’s my mother, she’d be the only family I have left!”

“What about us?!” Rapunzel argued. Varian grimaced, shaking his head.

“That’s not fair-”

“No, what isn’t fair is you trying to run away from this! To abandon us, abandon me, because you keep trying to ignore what happened!” Her chest heaved from the shout. Eugene tried to get in between them, handing the note back to Varian numbly, only to be pushed out of the way so Rapunzel could invade Varian’s space once again. Her face was inches from his, his eyes going wide with fear. She snarled the next words, more furious than he’d ever seen her before.

“It happened, Varian; if you go to her, it will happen again- and this time it will be your fault.”

The silence following Rapunzel’s shout was deafening. Varian stared at her with wide eyes, the salt in them burning. His heart raced, a cocktail of adrenaline rushing through his veins. Rapunzel’s chest heaved, her face twisted into an angry mask. She didn’t even look like his sister anymore. The shock spurred Varian’s legs to life, shaking knees unlocking at last. Varian took a step backwards, unable to look away from her eyes. Rapunzel’s tense frame slumped, shock at her own words making her expression drop into horror. She reached a hand toward Varian, grabbing at him, trying to tie him down-

He stumbled back, and ran.

>>>><<<<

Rapunzel scowled, trying again to weave around Eugene. Her husband refused to move, however, blocking her way to where Varian had disappeared between the buildings.

“Eugene!” She cried, “We have to go after him, it’s not safe-”

“Sunshine, I love you, but you are probably the last person he wants to see right now.”

Rapunzel slumped, trying one last time to dip around Eugene’s chest. He stood firm, his boots planted on the cobblestone. She sighed, looking up into his brown eyes, pleading with him.

“Eugene,” she tried again, “Even if Varian’s confused, we can’t let him go off on his own, if she-” Rapunzel gestured to the unconscious Cerise with her free hand, “-wasn’t alone, then he’s in danger! We don’t have time for this!”

Eugene caught her flailing hands gently, holding them close to his chest.

“Rapunzel,” he sighed, “Varian will be fine for a while, he’s a big boy. We need to get you sorted first, or we’ll find him, and he’ll run off again.”

“I…” she trailed off, before scowling. “He needs me- needs us. He can’t handle them on his own.”

Eugene’s face was concerned; Rapunzel felt a knot tie in her gut. She could see in the way he was approaching her that he thought she was wrong, that she was going to have to argue this. Case in point- “Listen to me,” he said, “We’re going to go get the kid, trust me, but first you need to calm down. Varian’s hurting, he needs us to be stable. After the- with the constable’s office- Rapunzel, he had a breakdown. I haven’t seen him so scared in a long time.”

The princess paused at that, her expression dropping. “He hasn’t had one in almost a year,” she said quietly, “He was doing so well… did I… did I set it off?”

Eugene’s grim face was enough. Rapunzel felt her anger shrink, the anger melting away in the face of what she’d done. “Oh, no.” It was nearly a breath, quiet in the abandoned square. “Oh, no, what have I done?”

Eugene’s face broke into a small smile, his hand coming up to cup her cheek. “There you are,” he murmured, “I knew you were in there somewhere, sunshine.”

Rapunzel sniffled, shaking her head. “He must hate me,” she said, “I would hate me. I was just trying to do what was best for him.”

Eugene smiled, wiping away a stray tear. “You made a bad call, that’s okay. Varian’s hurting right now, but he’s a smart kid. He knows that you love him, and he loves you. You went about things the wrong way, now all that’s left to do is try to fix it.”

Rapunzel paused, thinking it through. They needed to move, they didn’t have time to waste. Not while her brother was wandering the world by himself, not while people were still trying to hunt him down.

“We have to find Varian,” Rapunzel said, leaning into the touch. “I need to apologize for the yelling… but the note, I was just trying to-”

“You were trying to protect him.” Eugene said softly, “And I get that, really I do. You think I don’t want the kid wrapped in bubble wrap all the time? But he’s getting older, and we’re not always going to be there.”

Rapunzel sighed, shaking her head. “It’s not going to end well,” she said, her tone miserable. “It can’t…”

“We have two options,” Eugene finally sighed, after a beat of too long silence. “We either follow him and don’t get in his way,” he arched a brow at her at the last point, “Or, we go back to the city. Take Merrick down, and then wait for Varian to come home- if he ever does.”

Rapunzel flinched at the thought, shaking her head. “We’re going after him,” she said, her tone firm. “Whether he likes it or not, he can’t be out here all by himself.” She started to move again, this time brushing past Eugene without protest. They’d wasted enough time, she had to find her brother. Eugene watched her go, before finally sighing. He followed his wife, shaking his head.

Neither of them noticed that Cerise, left behind, was beginning to stir.

[fmdtaeyongarchive]

↬ i just wanted to play this game.

date: september 2020 / october 2020.

location: unspecified / ash’s home studio.

word count: 1,623 words.

summary: n/a.

triggers: mention of hospitalization.

notes: creative claims verification for kami and chan’s “jenga”.

september 2020.

the messages that light up ash’s phone lead to a weird mix of feeling flattered and bitterly stubborn swirling together in his chest. normally, only the flattery would be there when messaged with such a request, but the place he’s been in for the past few weeks has been far from his normal, and even the most positive of opportunities that fall into his lap feel like a double-edged sword sharpened to the most dangerous blade.

at no point in his life did ash think he’d prove himself a worthy enough songwriter to have others in the industry sending him unfinished song drafts and trusting that he’d be able to craft a full song out of them that would fit to their standards. but, without fail, even the realization that he might be becoming that kind of person has a negative edge to it now. another task being set on his plate sends his anxiety momentarily skyrocketing inside of his chest. yes, he can tell kami he’s really busy and he isn’t sure he’ll be able to get anything done, but he likes working with her and what if she takes offense to him being too busy for her and he never hears from her again? it’s an unsettling mix of emotions that exists inside him before he’s even taken a look at the file of lyrics she’s sent him.

once he does read the lyrics over, he knows he doesn’t have a choice. songs are alive in that way, ash will swear, where they can lure him in in one brief moment and cause him to leave behind anything else he should be doing instead of spending all of his time on them. that’s why he believes falling in love with music is the closest thing one can ever get to falling in love with another person. music has a life of its own, and when in a situation such as this, there’s the fear that he’s trying to force it down a life path other than the one it’d been intended for.

yet, simply reading the words in his head, he feels a melody to them and the words settle into the notches between his ribs like there’s no other alternative. it’s something he needs to flesh out, if only for the therapeutic results of flushing out the thoughts only a verse and a chorus of lyrics have sprouted in his head like malicious weeds, feeding on all of the nutrients that are supposed to be going to giving life to anything else with a deadline and his entire career riding on it. his mind doesn’t seem to want anything to do with those now, though, instead turning his thoughts to their own dark reflection. it’s hard to miss the way kami seems to have ripped out his brain and milked his current anxieties onto paper before sending it to him in some sadistic form of forced self-realization.

that hadn’t been her intention. he knows that because reality hasn’t entirely slipped from his grasp yet, but it’s eerie how he feels as if he’s stumbled upon that one perfect song that describes what’s going on in the back of his mind, except this time, the song is far from finished and it’s fallen into his lap for him to put into the world for others to possibly have that experience.

the base theme of the song is clear, even with incomplete lyrics. relying on a lovegame to keep the narrator standing tall. isn’t that his favorite vice? he feels the pieces he’s stacked up below him disappearing as he wavers at the top, only a few moments away from it all being brought down at any time.

in her lyrics, kami has mentioned the tower of pisa, and ash’s brain immediately pulls the game of jenga to the forefront. he can’t know how explicit that intention had been, or if it’d been imagery in the back of her mind, but ash makes a choice to latch onto it only a few moments after he makes the choice to set everything he’s working on her his own album aside to pour out his soul like the page of lyrics he’d opened is pleading with him to.

the chorus melody is his first real breakthrough past the cold pit in his stomach. it comes as naturally as reading the lyrics, as if she’d sent him an audio file instead of a lyric sheet. it’s no crazy show of vocals, and he knows already that this song isn’t going to be soaring high notes and agile adlibs in the background. kami being more of a rapper aside, this is fear, not drama and fear comes in the form of lilting vulnerability climbing higher and higher in an ascending line up to a heady peak, not every worry belted to the world in the fifth octave.

as the melody comes to him, it becomes easy to find the hidden music meant to be lying underneath it. the melody alone has led him deep into something jazzy and soulful, and it’s well within his own personal comfort zone, so the underlying piano comes easily to him. piano is  only the natural choice for the standout instrumentation. something about the twinkling keys warbling back and forth suggests a tower ready to topple at any moment.

he keeps kami’s voice in mind nearly the entire time, only letting his choices eschew context once or twice when inspiration strikes without time to determine the suitability for her voice and image, but most of those choices are removed before the draft meets its final form anyway. the only self-indulgent section he fully commits to is the piano spotlight he places near the conclusion of the song — the most earnestly jazzy part of the song as an homage to the more true-to-form jazz track that convention and circumstance prevents him from writing. odds are, a professional pianist will be hired to record the piano line in the studio if this song ever makes it that far in this form, but ash has fun with it anyway. it’s not often he really gets to lean into playing so stylistically in his piano playing for demos, and he would be happy to spend an absurd amount of time on it, but the deadlines he’s on for his own work never leave their spot swinging their sharp blades over his head and drawing ever closer for long and at some point they invade his mind so much that he has to set the song aside, further along than when he’d gotten it but still woefully unfinished.

october 2020.

time to finish the song comes when he least expects it. hospitalization as a result of the nosedive his health has taken rids him of all other schedules for a period of weeks and he has little to do other than work on music to avoid going crazy thinking about how his career is slipping out from between his fingers.

upon his return to his apartment, he holes up in his studio and retraces his steps back to the file he’d saved the month prior with the title being the line that kami had sent him that now comprises the main hook of the song.

he doesn’t know if kami even needs him to flesh out the song still and, as she’d so kindly put it, “make magic out of it”, but he’s a little afraid to ask empty-handed after the mood he’d been in last time they’d actually seen each other, so he decides to finish the work he started, even if it turns out he’s doing it in vain.

he’s glad to find he only has to make minor adjustments to the lyrics he’d written. they’d been too close to the bone at the time he’d written them, and he doesn’t want to dwell too much on the toxic, festering emotions he’d had at the time, so he glosses over the rawness with a more objective eye, but largely leaves the narrative he’d crafted around what the’d been given untouched. he’d been told over and over again that his strong point is telling a story that feels personal, and even if this isn’t his song, “sorry” had taught him that there’s a unique art to shedding one’s soul to be re-told by another. it’s the different between an autobiography and a folktale passed down; there’s a defining art to both that can be appreciated.

ash finally sends a demo back to her as october days grow colder, and he puts nearly as much effort into figuring out what words should accompany it as he had crafting the song himself. nearly.

in the end, his message comes in the form of a file sent to her and an accompanying message of: hey, don’t know if you still want this, but here’s what i came up with. let me know what you think. i’d love to get you in to lay down vocals for a real demo when i’m out of hiatus jail.

he cuts it off there to keep it concise, forgoing any mention of the other ideas he has in mind for layering and vocal production. he’ll be happy to get back to work in the studio with someone other than himself if given the chance, but a few successful creative collaborations with kami doesn’t mean that he’s tuned into what she wants this time.

all he can do now is wait to hear back, but he can’t deny that he waits on the edge of his seat until he does, just a little more hopeful than usual that this won’t be something that gets relegated to his archived files forever.

[thesportssoundoff]

A word on the ole elephant in the Barclay’s Center

Joey

Jan 15th

So I was working on my card write up for the UFC's ESPN debut and there's obviously a big elephant in the room regarding the co-main event. There's plenty of things I wanted to say or believe in saying and it was taking attention away from the card. It was getting way too long and so I figured I'd just do a separate bit on the entire situation. It's probably going to be a bit messy and perhaps a touch convoluted but I'm hoping that I can at least get some concepts out here. It's my "job" on here to be kind of rational and fair. Gonna put it under the read more just in case some people don't want a big wall of text given I've got ANOTHER wall of text coming re: actual fight business.

I want to begin with an irritable point of contention I have about not so much Greg Hardy but of a fake concept in MMA some people keep clinging to. Guys if I could, I would love to shout this to the heavens: There is NO such concept in MMA as earn nor deserve. Nobody earns anything and nobody deserves anything. We've seen it a million times now. Earn and deserve are fake in this sport and the longer we continue to believe in it, the more irritating it gets. There is no earn. There is no deserve.  There is truly no meritocracy here and the UFC has shown us that time and time again. Asking if Greg Hardy has "earned the right to be on the first ever ESPN card?" Idiotic. What has Alonzo Menifield done? Chance Rencountre? Who determines who has "earned" such an honor? Okay who determines who deserved it? The same company that felt has bent its unofficial playbook for dudes like Jon Jones and Conor McGregor? Think of all the fighters who have "earned" title shots and had them taken away or fighters who deserved spots on a main card only to be buried on the prelims due to their fighting style or in some cases whether or not their contract was expiring. I hate to be the dickhead here but we need to stop debating earn and deserve because it's fake. Combat sports make it fake and then revel in us getting tied up about something they don't care about.

Keeping with that point, remember that at the end of the day everybody has the same moral compass. The goal with this show is to get a rating and get ESPN+ subs and I'm 100% sure that if ESPN felt Greg Hardy on the first card was a problem they would've stopped it. ESPN has the authority and the say so here and yet here we are with him still on the card. Every organization has the same moral compass; they're all trying to sell you something. I had this conversation on the DojoTalkPodcast pertaining to the idea of asking forms of entertainment to handle issues they're ill-equipped to deal with---primarily because it collides with the end result of making money. Random guess that ESPN and the UFC had a meeting about it, the UFC said "We think he can generate X amount of interest" and so ESPN sucked it up and went with it. Greg Hardy is probably the second biggest story on this card for better or worse and to be honest if there's interest being driven? It's him. The show looks like it's on path to sell out so it's not like Greg Hardy is sending people away. Again all promotions are trying to make money here and if that means having to buddy up with a guy like Greg Hardy, that's what they'll do in the long run. If this truly irks you then understand that you have plenty of people to get mad at; not just the UFC here. All parties, all involved.  They all dug deep into this together and so here we are.

I object to the idea that Greg Hardy is getting a second chance. It's really more like a third chance and potentially even a fourth if we're being honest. Greg Hardy was talented enough at Ole Miss to be a 1st round pick and wound up going in the 6th round because teams had genuine concerns over his character and work ethic. That's chance one. Chance two came in Carolina where he worked himself up into a potential major payday and then he screwed himself over with the DV incident. In a sympathetic NFL, Hardy could've come back with a bigger long term payday had he just kept himself out of trouble in Dallas. As a Cowboys fan, I can tell you there were heavy rumblings toward the end of the year that he was toxic and divisive that the Cowboys were thinking of cutting him before December was out. Chance three. Hardy was essentially blackballed from the NFL despite his talent level and his response to this was to eventually get arrested for cocaine possession and other offenses. The UFC is not a second chance for Greg Hardy to earn big money. Maybe it's a second chance from a spiritual or personal perspective but I'm not even sure that fits either. Greg Hardy is what he is; a troubled yet talented individual who has historically not learned from his mistakes. To a fault, I'm really big on second chances and multiple chances for people because human beings are faulty machines who make mistakes and absolutely in my opinion capable of learning and improving. At the same time, I do not in any way shun people who don't believe this person is capable of fixing himself or making good on the repeated opportunities his talent allows. They have history on their side.

It's possible to A) feel as though Greg Hardy being on the same card as PVZ/Rachael Ostovich is tone deaf and B) be ultimately okay with is so long as Ostovich is okay with it. I wouldn't of done it, think it's borderline arrogant and invites unwanted controversy but if the person or people most likely to be impacted by it are fine with it then it's whatever I guess. This feels like a self inflicted wound from an organization that has enough scars from its own stubborness/arrogance.

HAVING SAID THAT, let's address a problem MMA has to find a way to correct and I suppose the same goes for combat sports as a whole. We totally need to find a way to get around the "I'm paying/watching to see you lose" aspect of things. Greg Hardy is here probably 50% in part that there's a bloodthirsty audience willing to wait and wait for the day when he eventually loses. It's that weird primal urge people have that feeds the not so good aspects of human nature. It also creates situations like this where people get mad about something, wait for what they feel is the karmic payoff and if it happens then it's this big pop. The problem is this isn't pro wrestling where we can script who wins and loses and so a bunch of folks who want that release get stifled and it turns ugly. I remember Rumble fights being like that; primarily because people who were so vehemently opposed to him would tune in or pay money to see him lose and then break down when he wouldn't. There's something really unhealthy about that aspect of combat sports and the longer it keeps working and promoters can manipulate it, the longer we're going to have to deal with all of this.

Feels pretty cop out-y to not say if I'm watching or not. I'll be watching on Saturday for a variety of reasons. The first is I promised Alex I'd cover just about every UFC card I could and to this date I think I've missed three; one for a power outage, one because I couldn't see after eye surgery and a third because I was sick (and even then I jumped in halfway through). I'm not going to let Greg Hardy force me to slack on what I said I'd do. I'll also be watching because it's a damn good card and I'm excited to see a lot of it. I also do, and I hate to tell people this knowing the response, think Greg Hardy is going to be a serious thing in this HW division when all is said and done. Will he be good enough to win a title? Probably not. I have SERIOUS doubts he stays out of trouble long enough to not even make it two years into the UFC. That said he's my Adrien Broner I guess; I wanna see how good he is before he capsizes himself. Lastly? This is combat sports. No form of entertainment outside of maybe the music industry forces people to separate artist from person so repeatedly. It often times asks us to stomach some pretty rough people in exchange for the violence they put into the cage or the ring. I've been on here for waaaaaaaaaay too long; long enough to have covered fights with people like Thiago Silva, Abel Trujillo, Rumble and so on so forth. I mean hell Floyd Mayweather Jr! Guys like Bernard Hopkins, Travis Browne, Jon Jones, Rumble Johnson all have their personal warts often displayed in the public's eye and yet we still watch their fights because....well we're addicted. Greg Hardy I guess isn't enough to get me to quit cold turkey on MMA.  Hell look at it this way, the alternative for Saturday if you're a combat sports fan is a battle between a guy who seems to get arrested once a year (Adrien Broner) and a guy who has some pretty comments on his record regarding gays and supports using the death penalty for drug offenders (Manny Pacquaio). We all have to make choices, especially in combat sports, about what our lines are or aren't. That's our jobs as consumers.

That said if there's one thing I can say that I hope will stick with everyone, it's that there's nobody wrong here outside of the people in question here. What YOU do as a fan one way or another is ultimately your business. If Greg Hardy offends you as a person then I have zeeero problem with you deciding to sit this show out. There are people I respect who will not be watching and I respect them for having that feeling. It's a totally acceptable feeling to have and no, you're not some SJW/soyboy/snowflake or whatever other terms MMA bros might throw your way. You have your line and I accept that and if anything, I appreciate you sticking to your convictions. Conversely I'd also ask that you not get pissy about people who ARE going to tune in and watch. Watching an MMA event with one dude on it who draws some serious visceral reactions due to his actions doesn't make you a supporter of domestic violence, a bad person or some kind of gooney bird unless you're actively rooting for Hardy DUE to his DV past. In that case, you probably are all those things. At the end of the day, we're all in charge of our own moral compass. Watch if you wish, feel how you feel, just don't hurt your cause by being an asshole about it.

[sylars-duckling]

Hi! I am extremely new to witchcraft. I don’t even know where to start, tarot cards and the use of crystals really intrigue me and I’d love to learn more about how to use them, where to buy them, which ones you’d recommend. I’d really appreciate it if you could get back to me thank you so much! - an aspiring witch

Hello there! Sorry for the delayed response, I’ve been so busy with the holidays, it’s been crazy. Also, in writing this, I realized this was gonna be a pretty huge response, so click below to read my full response.

To answer your first question, witchcraft is a huge, ever growing umbrella that encompasses so much knowledge, so there’s not really a cut and dry place to start. Various people might have different recommendations as far as where to start, but I started with a lot of research, and baby steps towards what I was interested in. One thing that I did at first was look up secret or closeted witch tips, not because I needed to keep my practice secret, but most of the tips were small, discrete forms of magic that I used to dip my toes into the world of witchcraft.

As I got more confident, I started focusing on more on what really interested me (I really like crystal work, tarot, essential oils/herbs, lunar witchcraft, and astrology). So I started doing some reading on all of those subjects. Going through articles online, a few books from my local library, and various Tumblr posts helped me piece together the mechanics of these various forms.

You mentioned you are interested in crystal work and tarot cards, which is great! I too enjoy working with both, and I’d say those two combined is close to the bulk of my practice (well, and enchanting, but we’ll get to that later). 

Crystals are a great way to get into witchcraft because they can be combined with other practices, or used on their own. I use crystals for meditation/energy work primarily, holding the crystal I think best fits what I want to meditate on/what energy I want to work with, and focusing inward. 

When I say what crystal I think best fits what I want the meditation/energy to be about, I’m referencing their metaphysical properties and associations. Throughout history, various people and cultures have connected various types of crystals to various themes, such as love, business/career, healing, protection, communication, ‘opening the third eye’ or using intuition, helping with anxiety/stress, and bringing harmony and peace, among others. There are tons of themes that are associated with various crystals. 

In addition to themes or emotions that people attribute to crystals, various people and cultures connect different crystals with different parts of the body, associating different crystals with the head/the mind, the heart, the throat, the stomach, among other places. These can often line up with the theme of the crystal as well (for example, I have a necklace made with Lapis Lazuli, a stone associated with communication and honesty, as well as being associated with the throat. I really like this stone because the theme of the crystal also aligns with the biological location, and this necklace allows me to keep this crystal physically on the biological area it’s associated with)

“But where do I find this information?”

This kind of information is all over the web. A site I used a LOT when I was getting into crystal work was the Crystal Vault’s crystal encyclopedia.

https://www.crystalvaults.com/crystal-encyclopedia/crystal-guide

While it doesn’t have everything, what it does have is super detailed and really well organized. In addition, searching “(name of the stone) metaphysical properties” in google pulls more of this kind of information than a regular google search of just the stone name. 

For where to buy them, I try to support local business by going to the two closest metaphysical shops near me, but I understand that’s not accessible for everyone. I’m a frequent user of amazon for crystal jewelry, and the site I linked earlier has a shop section as well (unfortunately I can’t attest to their quality of products/service as I haven’t bought from them, I know they have an expansive inventory that could be good for beginners). 

other ways to use crystals include:

-as components/ingredients in spell jars/spell-work

-as talismans, amulets, or charms (wearing, carrying, or placing them in your home/space to bring a specific energy/thing into your life)

-to make crystal elixirs (a sprayable/drippable liquid that you can put on other objects to imbue them with magical power) (A NOTE WITH THIS ONE: crystal elixirs really shouldn’t be drunk, and some of them can be VERY POISONOUS, whether to drink or even to touch/make. always always always ALWAYS be safe and double check if a crystal is water soluble or toxic. It’s always better to be safe than sorry). 

-hundreds and hundreds of other uses that I can’t think of off the top of my head/aren’t in my practice but could certainly be part of yours

For recommendations, a few stones I recommend for beginners/what I started with are:

-Clear Quarts: clear quartz is a great stone because it boosts the energy and ‘vibe’ of all other stones around it. I keep a clear quartz point with all my other crystals for this very reason

-Rose Quartz: a stone popular for it’s gentle pink color, rose quartz has a very loving energy and I found it very welcoming in my early practice

-Black Agate/Black Tourmaline/Obsidian/Hematite: all these stones are associated with protection. While they all have their various individual niches and energy, its good to have a protection stone around when you’re about to start doing witchcraft, as it can protect you from outside influence while you work your witchcraft. 

-Amethyst: this stone is commonly associated with the mystical, intuition, divination, and reaching higher powers, a kind of witchcraft booster if you will (good for tarot, which we’re about to get to). 

So that rather wraps up crystals, again always be safe as these are elements from the earth and can contain chemicals or content harmful to humans and/or pets. In addition, something I like to note is that if you’re storing crystals out in daylight, certain kinds can fade in color (amethyst and rose quartz in particular fade rather quickly if left in direct sunlight). If you want to preserve the vibrancy of your stones, check to see if they’re safe for intense sunlight before picking a display spot. 

Now, onto Tarot

Tarot is one of the most well recognized forms of witchcraft. with the tarot deck being an iconic part of witchcraft. While, of course you don’t need to use tarot to be a witch, you mentioned you were interested in it. 

Tarot is a form of divination using a special deck of 78 cards to predict the future. The deck is made up of 2 categories; the Major arcana and the Minor arcana. 

The Major arcana has many of the more ‘iconic’ or recognizable cards from tarot. These cards generally have fancy names and do not fit a suit. Some examples of these cards are “the hierophant”, “The devil” “the lovers” and “justice”. These cards are sometimes considered more powerful than the Minor arcana. 

The Minor arcana is the second part of the deck. The minor arcana has 4 suits; swords, staffs/rods, cups, and pentacles/coins (depending on what deck you have, they might use either staffs or rods, and pentacles or coins, the symbolism and meaning are the same between staffs vs rods and pentacles vs coins). Each suit in the minor arcana contains a king, a queen, a knight, a page, and 10-1 of the suit. These cards have various meaning, and while may be considered less powerful than the major arcana, can still be very enlightening and powerful.  

To use tarot cards for divination is called giving a tarot reading, and while the process is in effect the same, there’s a few ways to get there. 

To start, when performing a tarot reading you focus on a question. A question for a tarot reading needs to be rather general and open ended. Questions like “Does my boyfriend love me?” “Am I pregnant? and “When will I die?” are too narrow for a tarot reading to explain. A better way to phrase a question if you want this kind of information is something like “What does the future hold for my relationship?” “What does my fertility look like?” and “What does my distant future look like?” 

After determining your question and focusing on it, you shuffle the cards face down and select cards (how many you select depends on what tarot spread you use, which I’ll get to in a minute). Different people have preferred methods of shuffling, and I personally like to lay all my cards face down in a messy pile and pick rather at random, touching as many cards as I can and picking which one ‘feels right’

For how many to pick up and what to do with them, we have to look to tarot spreads. Tarot spreads are patterns in which you lay out tarot cards during a reading, and the placement of the cards represent different things. A common spread is a 3 card speed, where you lay 3 cards face down in a line. going from left to right, the cards represent your past, present, and future, as related to the question. There are TONS of tarot spreads available free online, with the pattern  and the placement key to tell you what each card position means. I personally like the 1 card quick draw for just getting a pulse of the situation, the 3 card spread, and @barberwitch‘s full moon clarity spread (link below)

https://barberwitch.tumblr.com/post/158286975716/barberwitch-full-moon-clarity-tarot-spread-1

once you’ve picked your cards and laid them out in a spread, you flip them over one by one in the numbered order of the spread, and interpret the cards. When I started reading tarot, I was no where even close to having the card meanings memorized, but I found this amazing app called Labyrinthos Academy (link to their desktop site below)

https://labyrinthos.co/pages/learn-tarot-for-beginners-with-our-online-tarot-classes

it’s a great app that has not only all the card meanings (as well as the inverse meanings, as tarot cards tend to mean either the opposite or near opposite when they show up upside down in a spread) in a neat, clean interface, but has a neat quiz feature to help you memorize the meanings, and the best part is it’s free for iOS and android (however, I think it is unfortunately not available for desktop). (also, fyi, while the app is built for the labyrinthos brand tarot cards, it does work with any deck, as images are fairly standardized, only really different by the difference in art styles by artists). 

As far as decks, there’s a lot of superstition and tradition around tarot decks. Many say that the first deck needs to be stolen/gifted. Please don’t steal a tarot deck just to match tradition, it’s not worth the penalty, and while receiving a tarot deck as a gift is a great gift and a wonderful gesture, it could be a lot of waiting around, or if you’re a closeted witch, nearly impossible to get as a gift. I bought my first deck myself and never had any troubles with it. 

The first deck I bought was, honestly, the cheapest deck I could find. I was broke and just wanted the most basic deck to get me by. I picked up a basic deck at a halloween store (link below)

https://www.spirithalloween.com/product/148287.uts

while it did it’s job (the cards were well made and didn’t fall apart, the deck didn’t have any missing cards), I didn’t like the the art style all that much, and they were really hard to read unless you had memorized what card illustration matched what card. However, for $4 USD, you really couldn’t beat the price if budget is an issue

Recently, however, I got The Essential Tarot Kit (link below)

https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Tarot-Kit-Book-Card/dp/0880882484

while it has a higher price point ($15 USD) it comes in a sturdy box that can be used for storage when not in use, and also comes with a mini book with a few basic spreads and a page of meaning for every card in the deck. I really like this because I like to not have electronics out when I do tarot readings, it can be distracting. In addition, the deck has beautiful illustrations and the bottom of the card has the name of the card in a much easier to read print. 

As for where to find tarot cards, they’re readily available on sites like amazon, and most major bookstores will stock tarot kits (however if you’re looking for a certain art style, a brick and mortar bookstore might not have the best selection). 

In addition to tarot cards, there’s also oracle decks, which have their own styles, number of cards, and symbolism, as well as ways to use a standard playing deck for divination. (all three of these forms of witchcraft fall under cartomancy: divination using a deck of cards). 

So that pretty much wraps up tarot cards. A few notes before I close on tarot, many people have multiple decks, with some being just for personal readings, and other decks for giving other people readings (where they ask the question and choose the cards, and you help set up the spread and help with interpreting the cards). Some people also recommend having a black cloth to work on, as it blocks outside energy or influence, but I personally feel fine using my deck on pretty much any flat, clean, safe surface as long as I cleanse the area before starting. In addition, when dealing with divination, and tarot in general, remember that what the cards say is not set in stone. Just because you interpret the cards one way does not mean that exact thing will come to pass, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Tarot has been explained to me as a glimpse into the future if you do not change anything, and that you always have the power to change the future through your actions in the present. 

I think that just about finishes this post. sorry it was so long, but I hope this was helpful, and thank you for the inquiry! I’m always willing to help a fellow witch, and if you have any other questions, feel free to contact me again!

happy witching! ✨🌕🔮✨

[allydsgn]

Things I Wish I Knew/Advice as a Graphic Design Major

I got an ask from an incoming graphic design student asking what I wish I knew before I entered my major and any tips or words of advice. This is mostly what I personally feel/felt so go ahead and ask others, too! Here we go!

Things I wish I knew before starting:

Look into your field. You’re in the major. Neat. But do you actually know what your major does? Graphic Design is a very broad field that can go into a lot of different avenues. Before starting, you should look into these avenues and see which ones most interest you. Also, look into the big names of that industry and look at their portfolios or what they’re doing. Not only will it impress your professor, you’ll also feel better prepared and motivated to learn since you’ll aspire to do something specific.

There’s a weird sense of competition. Not that I mind because I’m naturally kind of competitive, but don’t join in on that atmosphere if people are starting to get toxic because they want to be “better than you”. I always tried my hardest because I was crazy and had self-esteem issues that relied heavily on my grades validating me. Don’t be that person. Learn and do your best for yourself and you’ll get praised for not trying to be the best, but for doing good work because you pushed and wanted to. Your work will be better because you wanted to be better, not because you’re trying to beat someone else. That, and it’s a lot less stressful to just worry about yourself and not others.

Your drawing and traditional skills are useful in your digital work. Scanning it in and manipulating digitally can give an amazing effect to your projects and make them stand out!

Give help, not free labor. I’ve always been the type to offer help and advice when asked without hesitation but after some time my professor had actually told me to not do that anymore. Not because she doesn’t appreciate me trying to be a good person, but mostly because in the real world there isn’t always someone next to you telling you how to do things. She wanted me to give students the chance to figure it out on their own. So I started telling them just hints instead of exactly how to do things. Also, some people will take advantage of your kindness and ask for help in a way that’s more than “helping” so be aware. If you’re not comfortable with the amount of work and time it’ll take to “help” someone, just tell them that you don’t have the time or brain power at the moment and offer tips instead of where to look next.

Don’t feel bad for “over achieving”. Doing one extra sketch or the homework when no one else did is not a bad thing. Even if you get snickers or comments, always take them with positivity. Most of the time the comments aren’t as negative as you think. They’re mostly just poorly-worded compliments when you really think about them. “Oh, of course ___ did the homework.” Yup. I did. Because you all know how on top of things I am. You’re welcome. At one point my professor had even pulled me aside and complimented me on how much extra work I had put in and that she was glad that I was raising the bar. I got an award the year I did that, too, so it pays off in all kinds of ways!

Don’t feel bad for “failing”. Everyone has a bad day. Even the “over achievers” have a bad day. Sometimes things are just... poop... just straight up stinky poop that no one wants to deal with. But in order to get rid of it, you gotta confront it and accept it. Got a lower-than-average grade? Make it up on the next assignment or do extra credit to bring that grade back up. Didn’t get positive feedback on your work? Apply the feedback you got in a constructive way and figure out a new way to look at the project. You don’t really “fail” if you’re learning from your mistakes.

Everyone does things and thinks differently. This is something that you definitely have to get used to when entering college. In High School, the classes and standards were pretty similar and you’re usually told exactly how to do something. You’re also all from the same area because the population is determined by things like bus route. In College, you possibly have people from all over the world attending your classes. How they learned to do something could be an easier way to do it, or it could just be different. You don’t always know the “better” way and there isn’t always a “better” way in the first place. There’s just a way to do it that some people prefer and some don’t. Learn from each other, advise each other, and don’t get easily offended or defensive when someone wants to teach you a new way of thinking or doing something. College is all about LEARNING.

Studying in a group is fun, but it’s not always effective. Some people say that studying in a group is great because you get different perspectives and you can ask for help from your peers. Yes, it’s a great way to study, but not always. Choose carefully who you’re working with. If they’re distracting and you’re not getting work done, then they are not right for your study group. You also don’t always need a study group. If you’re just note taking a reading for English, you can probably just do that on your own and message a classmate if you don’t understand a line. It’s really up to you and how you study best! Don’t be peer-pressured to do things with other people if it doesn’t help you.

Tips (basically a shortened version of above and more elaboration):

RESEARCH. AHHH. Just a google search at least. Give it an hour or two of just curiosity. Look into things that interest you. See what’s happening. Subscribe to some channels or follow some Tumblr blogs about your field. Learning can happen outside of the classroom and not be stressful.

There is a balance between confidence and arrogance. You aren’t always right, but make sure you notice your strengths as well as your weaknesses.

Your skills could be more helpful than you think. Find ways to incorporate your skills into your work!

Make sure to watch out for yourself as well as others. Your time and education are just as important as theirs.

Try your best and you will get the results you deserve. If you go overboard then awesome, just don’t burn yourself out.

Do not wallow in your grief. Please do not get held up by one failure. Learn and grow as you should during these pivotal years of your youth.

There is a whole world outside of you that thinks a million different things in a million different ways. Be open and receptive to things that are not familiar to you.

Don’t feel pressured to do things with friends if you don’t want to. Everyone needs a break and needs to know their limits. Don’t eat out for dinner or go drinking or go to a party when there’s an exam to study for that starts at 9 AM that can fail you. Even if EVERYONE will be there, including your crush and best friend and the president, they are not your priority (and they’re also not paying the course fees for that class you might fail if you don’t study). Friends are important, but take a break every once in a while.

Be physically healthy in some way. If you’re a potato like me that works on their laptop for hours and doesn’t move, either get up and squeeze in some exercise or stop eating chips and eat an apple instead. At least make the effort, even if it’s small.

Find what works for you early on. If you’re a visual learner, maybe invest some time in learning how to sketch note. If you like to listen to lectures later on, ask your professor if you can record the lecture as a voice note. If you need to interact then ask questions and form friends early in the semester to make a study group. Can you listen to music while you work or is it too distracting? Try things now before they mess up your studying when it really matters.

Be happy with yourself. You are trying your best. You are doing something. You are worth everything because you are a human being and you are the unique YOU. Someone cares for you with all their heart. You may not know who they are now, but in time someone will care for you deeply and wish you all the happiness in the world. Keep going.

That’s all I’ve got at the moment without typing an essay, haha! Hope this helps! If you guys have any specific questions about anything feel free to ask me!

[hellosaltysaladcollectionstuff]

BioWare veteran David Gaider, who left the esteemed role-playing game studio in 2016 after almost two decades with the company, has announced his next big project. Gaider has started a new team, Summerfall Studios, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, and their first game is probably not what you would expect. The new game is called Chorus. It is part musical, part illustrated adventure game, and part character-driven narrative. Summerfall is looking to fund the game on the crowdfunding/equity platform Fig, with a projected release in Q1 2021.

Summerfall has assembled top talent for Chorus. In addition to Gaider--the former head writer on the Dragon Age series--the studio brought on former Obsidian and Beamdog developer Liam Esler as the company's managing director. Being a music-themed game, Summerfall seems to be sparing no expense with its musical talent. The company is working with Grammy-nominated composer Austin Wintory (Journey) on the music, while veteran voice actor Troy Baker (who is also an accomplished musician) will work on Chorus as its Voice Director. Additionally, prolific voice actress Laura Bailey (Gears 5, Uncharted 4) is lined up to voice the main character, Grace.

Summerfall says Chorus is a "first of its kind" game from an "all-star team gone indie."

The story follows Grace in a sweeping narrative involving gods, music, and other-worldly creatures. "In Chorus, we follow Grace's story as she finds herself thrust into a high-stakes world of weary gods and fantastical creatures after her new bandmate dies bleeding in her apartment--but not before granting Grace the divine power of song," reads a line from the game's description. "When the gods accuse her of murdering Calliope, the 'fair-voiced' muse, Grace must discover the truth... before the gods take her life in exchange."

Chorus takes its inspiration from a number of different sources, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer's musical episode, "Once More With Feeling," the dialogue and companions of Dragon Age, and the quirkiness of Dream Daddy.

"For Summerfall's first game, Liam and I felt that we wanted to do something a little different," Gaider, who is the game's creative director, told GameSpot in an interview. "I've personally wanted to work on a musical ever since I was lead writer on Dragon Age back at BioWare, and I used to half-jokingly suggest to my bosses that a musical DLC would be a delightful break from the norm. We never did that, of course, but the idea stuck with me… and when I suggested to Liam that it could be our 'something a little different,'' he jumped on the idea, and everything started falling into place right afterwards."

The characters are at the heart of Chorus's story--and this includes romance options. The romance system in Chorus isn't relegated to a "side show," Gaider explained. Instead, romancing other characters is a central part of the plot, and it can even affect how the story ends. "The characters are part of the Chorus universe, and getting the player to care about those characters makes them also care about their world and their problems," Gaider said. "Indeed, in BioWare games we found that many players were so invested in their relationships that it made the more abstract problems presented by the plot completely secondary."

While Summerfall is based in Melbourne, Gaider continues to live in Edmonton, Canada. Esler is heading up the team in Melbourne, and he is quick to point out that the studio is planning to do right by its employees by avoiding burnout and crunch, while also actively recruiting with the aim of creating a diverse workforce. Not only this, but Summerfall worked with Film Victoria, a government group that supports media teams and projects, to help create the new game.

"When David and I first began to talk about starting a studio, one of the things we immediately agreed on was that we are done with burnout, crunch culture and workplace toxicity," Esler said. "We are both passionate about diversity of all kinds, and want to ensure we create a workplace where all kinds of people are welcome, and diverse perspectives are appreciated. To achieve these goals, we've worked hard to speak with experts and studios all over the globe, inside and outside of games, to create supportive and proactive work policies. It might sound trite, but we're determined to make Summerfall a studio where the team works together to create something beautiful--not a studio where something beautiful is created at the expense of the team. "

Summerfall met with publishers to discuss deals and partnerships. While various companies expressed enthusiasm, the feedback from these meetings was direct: there was no data to show a game like Chorus could succeed. As such, Summerfall is looking to fund Chorus via crowdfunding. Esler reflected on the conversations he had with publishers.

"There's nothing like it out there. Chorus has elements from many places, but you can't draw a direct line between it and any other game without some kind of caveat," Esler said. "While almost everyone we spoke to was very enthusiastic about the concept, and most agreed it was both novel and that there was a clear audience, there's just no data or previous success to prove it.

"The audience for musicals--despite massive successes like Hamilton or Frozen--is considered niche. Somebody's got to try it first, so we figured--why not us? And we would rather talk to our audience directly to find out if they want a game like this!"

Summerfall is looking to raise $600,000 USD to fund Chorus, with a number of physical and digital bonuses and experiences available for those who support the campaign. Summerfall originally was looking to fund Chorus on Kickstarter, but those plans were canceled in the wake of the revelation that Kickstarter as a company won't voluntarily recognize employee unions.

For lots more on Chous, check out GameSpot's interview with Gaider and Esler below. They'll both also appear on a GameSpot Theatre panel on Saturday, October 12 to discuss lots more about Summerfall and Chorus--get more details here.

Chorus is part musical, part illustrated adventure game, and part character-driven narrative--where did the idea for this kind of game come from?

David Gaider: For Summerfall's first game, Liam and I felt that we wanted to do something a little different. I've personally wanted to work on a musical ever since I was Lead Writer on Dragon Age back at BioWare, and I used to half-jokingly suggest to my bosses that a musical DLC would be a delightful break from the norm. We never did that, of course, but the idea stuck with me… and when I suggested to Liam that it could be our “something a little different,'' he jumped on the idea, and everything started falling into place right afterwards.

Can you talk about how the various distinct elements--adventure game, musical, character-driven narrative--tie together and work off each other?

Gaider: A great deal of Chorus is a choice-driven game, much like the RPG's I've worked on previously. The player engages with scenes using branching dialogue, and moves from scene to scene during the story by making selections on a different screen--like “find the owner” or “break down the door”. This allows us to have the kind of choice-driven narrative we both like and are accustomed to making. The major difference is that the big moments in Chorus are resolved not with combat, but with song. A musical scene begins, and the player makes choices during it much the same as they do during dialogue, and that changes the course of the song… and, ultimately, determines where the song ends and how the story changes as a result.

What did you take from Dragon Age and your previous work at BioWare that's helping or instructing the ideas and themes of Chorus?

Gaider: I've spent my entire career working with branching dialogue and branching narrative, so that's certainly helpful with Chorus. I think I've also gained an appreciation for just how much of the audience prioritizes things like characters, romance, and narrative over things like combat and progression mechanics.

Relationships and romance are going to be a part of Chorus. Can you talk about that more?

Gaider: Characters are at the center of Chorus's story - the player character joins a society of Greek gods that are still alive in the modern world, and very dysfunctional, and she's going to have to navigate them and make choices about which ones are her friends and enemies. Part of that is also offering the chance to start a romance… not as a side show, but as something that develops into a central part of the plot and can change how the story ends. The characters are part of the Chorus universe, and getting the player to care about those characters makes them also care about their world and their problems. Indeed, in BioWare games we found that many players were so invested in their relationships that it made the more abstract problems presented by the plot completely secondary.

Why did you want to leave AAA and move to the indie space? What kinds of new freedoms and opportunities do you have now at a smaller studio?

Gaider: I think there's room in the industry for smaller teams and smaller games which can achieve success on a smaller scale. You can make something that's much more focused on its audience, and there's a lot of freedom in that, as a creator. A great deal more challenges too, obviously, but so far I'm really enjoying the camaraderie of a small team where we band together and do whatever we think works best, without having to worry about numerous layers of management and greenlight procedures.

What are some of the challenges related to being a smaller team?

Gaider: Security is the big one. You always feel like you're half a step from oblivion, and you don't have the comfort of many others around you to offer advice and share the blame. Everyone also needs to multitask, since you don't have enough people to really specialize in their one field… everyone needs to be willing to jump onto something that needs doing, and learn how to do it if necessary. That can be a little harrying, even if it's also exciting.

David and Liam, why did you choose Melbourne as the city for Summerfall?

Gaider: For me, when I first came to Melbourne and was introduced to its dev community, the thing I noticed was how tightly-knit and friendly they were. There's a lot of potential for growth, here. I'm still based in Edmonton for now, but if I end up moving to Melbourne personally to join the rest of the team it certainly doesn't hurt that I'd be leaving the long Canadian winter behind.

Liam Esler: Melbourne is my favourite city in the world--and conveniently has one of the most vibrant and interesting game development communities I've seen. I've been extremely passionate about supporting and growing the Australian and Victorian game development industry since I worked with the Game Developers' Association of Australia and helped run Game Connect Asia Pacific--so it made perfect sense for us to start Summerfall here.

You've said you want Summerfall to be a sustainable studio that does right by its employees. How are you going about achieving this?

Esler: When David and I first began to talk about starting a studio, one of the things we immediately agreed on was that we are done with burnout, crunch culture and workplace toxicity. We are both passionate about diversity of all kinds, and want to ensure we create a workplace where all kinds of people are welcome, and diverse perspectives are appreciated. To achieve these goals, we've worked hard to speak with experts and studios all over the globe, inside and outside of games, to create supportive and proactive work policies. It might sound trite, but we're determined to make Summerfall a studio where the team works together to create something beautiful--not a studio where something beautiful is created at the expense of the team.

"We're making Chorus for the people who often get left behind by big-budget video games, who aren't necessarily here for the combat or the violence, but are EXTREMELY here for everything else." -- Esler

Who is the target audience for Chorus?

Esler: We're making Chorus for people who love characters and narrative, who love vibrant, human stories, who love musicals and song. Those who loved the characters of Dragon Age, the music of Buffy: Once More With Feeling or Dear Evan Hansen, or who are big fans of urban fantasy and witty writing.

Most of all, though, we're making Chorus for the people who often get left behind by big-budget video games, who aren't necessarily here for the combat or the violence, but are EXTREMELY here for everything else.

Why do you think there haven't been more musical games?

Gaider: I think there have been many games in which music has played a big part, it's just always been a big part of the background. For most, I suspect the challenge would be how to incorporate music as a more active element. Our biggest challenge was figuring out how to make the songs interactive, allowing the player time to make choices while still preserving the overall pace and flow of the music. There's also the element of needing to incorporate a composer into the process much earlier. We're not just adding singing to interactive dialogue, after all - it has to be a production now, and that's a much more complicated proposition.

Why do you think publishers thought Chorus was too risky or different to take on?

Esler: There's nothing like it out there. Chorus has elements from many places, but you can't draw a direct line between it and any other game without some kind of caveat. While almost everyone we spoke to was very enthusiastic about the concept, and most agreed it was both novel and that there was a clear audience, there's just no data or previous success to prove it.

The audience for musicals--despite massive successes like Hamilton or Frozen--is considered niche. Somebody's got to try it first, so we figured--why not us? And we would rather talk to our audience directly to find out if they want a game like this!

Can you talk about your relationship with Film Victoria about their contributions to Chorus and the other help they provided to you on the project?

Esler: Film Victoria has been invaluable on Chorus from the get-go. As soon as we had a clear idea of what we were doing and how we needed to be proceeding, we started talking to Film Victoria, who provided advice and guidance on all manner of things. We were lucky enough to be recipients of two rounds of grant funding, which allowed us the time and space to really develop Chorus into something special, while they provided expert feedback and support. We can't thank them enough!

from GameSpot - All Content https://ift.tt/2Vx5Efj

[douchebagbrainwaves]

THE COURAGE OF WEEKS

Early Launching too slowly has probably killed a hundred times the size. Hence the fourth problem: the acquirers have begun to realize they can buy wholesale. Startup in a Bad Economy October 2008 The economic situation is apparently so grim that some experts fear we may be happier doing things we're adapted for; but why assume purpose? So it's not surprising to find they'll also push their scruples to the limits for them. Do startups that want to encourage startups. In fact the second step can propagate back into the first turn. Several distinct problems manifest themselves as delays in launching: working too slowly; not truly understanding the problem; fear of having so much responsibility. They know what they are building, they very often come back with a real product and real revenues, we might have done well if they'd survived. G b 5 max. At three months, and in the corners of rooms. After lunch we went to get frozen yogurt.

At the schools I went to college. Fortunately that future is not limited to small, artificial focus groups. But by the time we could find at least one person willing and able to demo a real, working stores. The reason we have a lot to market it. When you're a little kid and you're asked to do something trivially easy. And curiously enough, taking rejection less personally may help you to understand the relationship between cofounders is more intense than it usually is—recruit users manually and then gradually automate the bottlenecks. Even if your only goal is to increase response rates. At YC we call ideas that grow naturally out of the loop, you'll know you're not merely using the hazy vision of the grand novel you plan to make money. That's where the name incubator comes from. But, like where you went to college. Universities seem the place to go to grad school. What's small stuff?

Do the founders want it? The two 10 minuteses have 3 weeks between them so founders can get cheap plane tickets, but except for that they could be profitable. We just took it for granted that we had to read in English classes; I didn't use the term Collison installation for the technique they invented. So choose your users carefully, and be slow to realize it. Humans have a lot of research and decide for themselves how valuable your technology was. 8568143 very 0. One is that parents tend to be random: the angel asks his lawyer to create a startup hub. It's obvious why: the lower-tier VCs whose lot in life is to be undisciplined. The evolution of languages differs from the evolution of the Web was closely tied to the browser, and no one is sure where the end is. It's obvious that biotech or software startups exist to solve hard technical problems, instead of the company is doing. 2 months. It seems the clear winner for generating wealth and technical innovations which are practically the same thing in programming languages and essays.

You have to do is help it. If you fire or avoid toxic customers, you can, though. When someone did, unexpectedly, take this paper and translate it into a working Lisp interpreter, which it certainly was. The reason Cambridge is the intellectual capital is not just that line but the whole world, for that matter? It begins with the three most important things YC looks for in founders, not just the way offices look that's bleak. There was a lot of pitches. If Lisp is so great that people in the middle of the market there wasn't much to differentiate them. And being rapacious not only doesn't work on them. Unless you're planning to disprove the Pie Fallacy.

Well, obviously overtly sexy applications like stealth planes or special effects software would be a useful quality in programming. Instead of telling you come on, you can just point them to Alexa. If undergrads were all bad programmers, the more you stay pointed in the same town, unless it was the scripting language of a popular system. Everyone knows computer science and electrical engineering are related, but precisely because everyone knows it, importing ideas from one to the other. On the day of the race, most of the noise is whitish. Of group you're meant to work in and it's something people are trying to get people to pay you for. But if you think about it, and the 2. In a free market, prices are determined by supply and demand, and people can never have a fruitful discussion about the relative merits of those languages.

Of course, release early has a second component, without which it would be just as likely to feel life was short if we lived 10 times as many. Of the remainder, the smart ones. This was at the time, trying to convince one another to invest in a deal is going to have to think you know what jobs are like, but what this case shows is that they're bad at everything. ___, And since we're new to fundraising, we feel like we have to remember everything you've said in the second. Since I now have on the world, and I'd probably be willing to make themselves work on big projects is, ironically, fear of wasting time. I was a kid, computers were refrigerator-sized behemoths with the processing power of a programming language isn't just a format. You launch something, the obvious name would be curiosity.

Why is it so hard to kill. Html#169bd54a43314e7 2. Let's think about the whole experience. If anyone remembers such an interview, I'd appreciate hearing from you. It's kind of strange when you think about? Is In industrialized countries, people belong to one institution or another at least until their twenties. What more do they need from it? This is another variable whose coefficient should be zero. Many people have responded to the spam. Indeed, it may be to look around you for things that they do not, ordinarily, enjoy doing. You want the deal to close, so you have to draw a building, and you get a lot of published essays peter out in this same way.

Then I do the same thing in programming. Thanks to Sam Altman, David Greenspan, Aaron Iba, Abby Kirigin, Ivan Kirigin, Jessica Livingston, Jackie McDonough, Robert Morris, Harj Taggar, and Fred Wilson for reading drafts of this, and to prevent abuse, auto-retrieving filters. He bought a suit. Fortunately for founders, VCs have been provoked by their arrival into making a lot of startups had the opposite of the intended effect. As indeed they often are. If you're really getting a constant number of new startups that might otherwise not have existed. Some founders are quite dejected when they get turned down by everyone. There's an almost physical pain in facing them. And yet fighting is just as worthwhile to design a language that people don't need as much of the other, safer group. They've faced resistance from investors of course. Ultimately, I think a society in which most people were still subsistence farmers; he would have answered with as little hesitation as he does today.

Thanks to Gregory Price, Sam Altman, the rest of the Python crew at PyCon, Brian Burton, Aaron Iba, Trevor Blackwell, and Jessica Livingston for sharing their expertise on this topic.