#how to start a4 paper business

[newbusinessideas]

A4 Copier Paper Manufacturing Business Plan

Want to know how to make paper pay off? 📝 Learn how to start your own A4 Copier Paper Manufacturing Business and unlock a world of opportunities! 🌟 Hit follow and stay tuned for more business insights! 📲 #EntrepreneurGoals #BusinessGrowth #SideHustle

Paper is widely used in our daily lives and despite the transition to digital media, the demand for paper continues to increase. And A4 paper is the largest paper in the world. It is used for many documents, including magazines, catalogues, articles and documents belonging to various businesses and organizations. Therefore, starting an A4 paper business is a profitable business. So, If you’re…

[kurohe]

Things you can do to actively participate in the revolution

Here's the list !

I know some of those will look really silly, i promise they are not. And obviously, this is not a checklist, you don't have to do everything. But they're steps that you can absolutely take if you wish to, and they WILL help.

(i am continually correcting things when people point out mistakes. Thanks everyone for your help)

(under the cut !)

1) Let's start off with a very easy one you can do right now: stop using Chrome. It's a google owned browser, and it sents all of your data towards it. Mozilla is a very good replacement, but almost anything will do, really. We revolting against capitalism as a whole, and this is a good first step

Also, resign your amazon prime subscription.

2) Start stealing things from supermarkets and malls. I am not kidding. Little things, that aren't really monitored: a can of food, a lighter, a pair of socks. Condiments are particularly easy to hide in bags or pockets. Steal hygiene products, steal food.

Remember that you should have access to those for free, and you don't because a few rich guys don't want you to.

Additional tip: train station stores are very easy to steal from, because they're so busy. But don't put yourself in danger. Check beforehand if they check bags at checkout, look out for employees that might notice what you're doing. Don't be reckless.

(edit: this used to also say airports, but i've been told it's way too high risk as it's considered a federal crime. Thanks for letting me know)

3) In the same line, if you see someone stealing anything from a big store, no you didn't.

4) I know a lot of people are scared of disrespecting rules. By fear of being caught, or by guilt. My advice is: start disrespecting stupid, meaningless rules. I don't have specific exemples, but you'll encounter them and wonder why you're doing that. Stop doing it. This will train you to be able to disobey autority way easier.

5) Put stickers everywhere. If you already have them, go ham. Especially on public property (lamposts are amazing). If you don't, buy them from artists or independant stores, not big brands. If you cannot afford them, remember that you can simply write stuff on an A4 paper and plaster it to walls. Or even post its !

6) Carry a sharpie with you at all time, the big black ones. If you see propaganda, scribble it out. Keep a look out for terfs stickers, maga posters, etc. Also good for getting rid of transphobic and sexist stuff written on public restroom stalls !

8) Learn how to sew. I know, that sounds dumb ! But i promise you, not only will it be amazing to trade with other people ("i'll sew back ur shirt and in exchange, you give me a can of peaches !"), corporations also haaaate when you know how to fix your clothes. Because they want you to buy more. You'll spend a lot less money if you know how to fix em

7) Buy locally. This means going to the market or small stores, and thrifting your clothes. If you can't for money or accessibility reasons, try trading with your friends, family and neighbours. Get communication going in your circles, and you'll realise there are a lot of things that you can simply trade with or buy from people around you. Like a jar of jam against some eggs, or a pair of socks for a t-shirt you don't wear anymore !

9) If you have the space and the money, grow your own food, and share it or sell it around you. Be careful, some assholes will call the FDA on you. Do that with people you trust.

Additional tip: growing vegetables and fruits can be a real nightmare. You can absolutely start by just growing some basil or mint :)

10) Organise. Join leftist groups online, even if it's just to see what's being said, you don't even need to interact. Follow creators, repost and share their content. By doing that, you'll stay informed on group movements like strikes, protests and boycotts, which you can then participate in. It's very important you're connected to other ppl and the movements that are started !

11) Unionize. I'm very sorry I don't know the exact way unions work in the US, but if you can, join one. They will help you in times of needs, especially if you're a student or a worker. If you're not sure how to do that, absolutely ask around to people you know are very active politically, around you or online. People will help.

12) Stay. Informed. Follow independant papers and news outlet. If you can afford it, give them a dollar or two. They are fighting everyday for access to unbiased information for all, and sadly, their independance means that they rely almost entirely on donations and people simply engaging with what they put out.

If you can't access those: do not get your news from TV. Ever. Or anywhere else that has been bought by the far right. Sadly, the majority of TV channels are just the worst.

13) Share that information. Talk to those you trust and who are ready to listen to you, and tell them about what's happening. Get angry with them. Revolution stems from people coming together and realising that they're being used and profited off of. Share videos and posts relating to politics, especially informative videos.

And, most importantly: fact check. All of the time.

14) Go to protests ! If you've never been, i know it can be scary. But you can stay in the middle (don't go all the way to the front, that's where stuff can get heated) and scream and walk with everyone else. You'll meet people who, like you, want things to change. Capitalism wants you to stay as unconnected to others as possible, and that's a great way to fight that.

Sometimes, there are sites that have a planning for all protests happening in a city. Look up if one exists for yours

15) Create and strenghten community. I know i really struggled with this one, because it's so vague. But here's a few places you can start:

-Go and introduce yourself to your neighbours, if you deem it safe. Give them a little gift if you can afford it, like a pack of pasta.

-Make new friends, even if they aren't deep friendships. You need connections. Online or irl, both are fine- don't stay isolated.

-If you already have community, go check on them right now. Ask your friends how they're doing, and if they need anything- ask how they're being impacted by what's happening right now politically.

16) Look for ways to fuck over the institutions in easy ways. One example that went around tumblr a lot is letting dandelions grow in your backyard, because landlords fucking hate it. If you work in retail or fast food, cheat. Accidentally forget to scan the diapers. Put in 7 nuggets instead of 6.

17) Engage in art. MAKE art. Music, shitty paint drawings, craft, anything as long as you're being creative. Share it. If you feel like you can't do that, then support artists. Make a point to look up cool illustrations, and new music. Go to the cinema.

(edit: been told that it's very risky for walmart workers to not scan things, so beware.)

If you're an artist currently in an underpaid office job, please, by the love of god, be creative during office hours. You're underpaid, they do not deserve your full time and attention. Take 30 minutes to write that snippet you've been thinking about.

(and actually, if you're underpaid at all: do the minimum required. So that you can't be fired, but that's it. Any more effort is not worth it. Companies will never be thankful for what you do.)

18) Look up books that your state banned, and go read them. You can get them secondhand, or as pdfs online. (if anyone needs ressources, i will glady look for and share them.)

19) Seek education. There's a lot of youtube channels out there talking about educational subjects in a fun way. Some things the rich assholes who run the country specifically don't want you to learn more about are: biology, history and archeology, social and economic sciences. GO LEARN ABOUT THOSE.

And, actually, read books in general if you can. Yes, fanfics count !

The people in power don't want you to be educated. It's why they eviscerated the education system.

20) PIRATE. I cannot stress this enough, anything you can pirate (that isn't from small, indie creators, except if you absolutely can't afford it) do it. Download music illegally, torrent movies and games. If you want access to academical studies and papers, some writers will give them to you for free if you email them about it. There are also ways to go around paywalls.

21) Don't fall for the traps of "progressive brands". Lately, i've seen a lot of praise for Ben and Jerry's for openly supporting lgbtq rights and being globally anti-trump. They are still a brand. Avoid buying from any big names when you can. That being said, if you have to, check beforehand which ones and what their history is. Some are more evil than others.

Additional tip: a lot of brands you see in stores are actually owned by bigger brands. One prime example of this is Nestle, who are fucking evil, but they own a shitload of other big names. Be careful what you buy.

22) I hate to say this, but be prepared to defend yourself. Revolutions are never peaceful. You will get in danger. If you can, get in ok physical shape. If you can't, buy a gun. (Remember Alabama has a 99% acceptation rate, you can get one in 10 minutes.) I hate firearms, but the enemy will have them too. Arm yourself.

If none of those are available options to you, please, make sure you have someone around you that will be able to protect you, or a place where you can be safe. Whether you are disabled, a minor, or anything else. Don't put yourself in more danger than is necessary.

23) Last but not least, be kind. When someone cuts off a woman speaking, interrupt and give her the floor back. Shame those who think it's right to say bigoted shit in public. Listen to those around you. If you can't act, then remember to always have empathy for the homeless, for drug users, for immigrants. Understand they are people just like you. You are not immune to propaganda and prejudice, no matter who you are. Always question yourself and your biases.

(if you've read this far, please repost. We need this to reach as many people as possible)

I want to remind you that you're not alone. I know things seem hopeless, but the simple fact that you're reading this is proof it's not. I don't live in the US, but i'm supporting you as best i can from where i am, and sending you strenght.

If you have any questions, do ask away. I'll end on this image that's very dear to me:

[witchthewriter]

𝑴𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆   𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

Paid story for @yourwinchesterbros. Word Count: 3k Warnings: swearing

ᵐᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡⁱˢᵗ

Time seemed to go by quickly. With work, seeing Jax and bonding with the boys, your life seemed so … full.

Compared to a few months ago, when it was just you, your life seemed a little lost. No grand ideas or plans. Just working at Skeeter’s and taking it day by day. Now, well you barely had time to yourself. Except when Jax was away, and you were at work at 3am.

Jax promised that when he got back he would take you out on a date. One that would be the best date yet. To make up for him being away so much.

  And that’s what you were thinking about when you heard a loud bang at the back door. You knew Skeeter had forgotten his key. Huffing, you wrapped your jacket closer around your body and trudged from the front desk through the cold building and down the few steps to the back door.

  The back room was an awful yellow colour, a possible attempt at brightening the room. Although you had asked again and again in the past, Skeeter had never let you re-paint it.

  White and chipped, the door was as old as the building itself. With a brass knob, you had done all you could to clean this room up.

Wriggling the bronze key in the keyhole, you twisted it and pulled, and a gust of air blew in.

   “Forgot my-“

“Yeah I thought so,” you cut off Skeeter, who shut the door behind him.

   “Everything all good?” He asked, wrapping his arms around himself. He let you lead him back to the front desk.

  “We actually have a few things to discuss… and I don’t think you’re gonna like it.” You said with a grimace, having a small business – but this particular niche small business meant weird forms and certain taxes had to be paid.

  Office work wasn’t exactly your forte, but you helped where you could because of how comfortable you were working here.

  “Well fuck, lemme have a look at them,” you shuffled the papers and gave them to him, and he sighed as soon as he started reading.

  “I’m gonna handle these,” he said, shaking the white bunch of a4 papers while lumbering off. His big boots made the ground shake.

With your shift nearly over, and with nothing else to do, you decided it was the perfect time for a smoke break.

   Outside was sickly cold, but you weathered it, barely able to light the roll-up. Taking a few tries, you sighed in contentment as you leaned against the wall. Usually Happy would be here, and you’d have almost mental conversations; the ability to speak with just your facial expressions – and sometimes, even your eyes.

  But he had gone with Jax, and you were alone.

You didn’t mind it.

The quiet.

Well, except for the chirping crickets, and the eyes that blinked from bushes.

A chill ran down your spine.

You had watched documentaries about the Appalachian mountains and the horrors that resided in them.

Blaming it on the cold, you cut your smoke break short and went back inside.

 Since Jax was gone, you thought you would bring out your own bike. A 2004 Vulcan Kawasaki 800. Black, a bit of a fix-up, but you loved her.

However, you had been hiding your little lady from both Jax and the club, knowing an Old Lady...or any other woman in these men's lives weren't supposed to ride. But you’d had her before getting into the club, and you weren’t going to give her up now.

    Whenever the Sons were away on business, you were partial to bringing out the ol’ gal, and now you started to bring her to work.

It wasn’t a secret per say, but you liked to keep the information on the down low. You didn’t know how other’s would react. There wasn’t a lot of biker women, not ones that were involved in the club. Hell, even Gemma didn’t have her own bike and she was seen as Queen of the bikers.

  So, you feel as though you had to keep the information to yourself.

Unser and a few of the prospects were looking after the clubhouse while the rest of the Sons were away. And you had a heavy emptiness in the pit of your stomach. They were a big part of your life, and you missed them a lot. But you would never let them now that...

  Maybe it wasn’t the best decision, but you rode over to the clubhouse and wanted to look around. Make yourself familiar with it. Your reason was that you thought you left an item of yours here a few months ago – when you had been kidnapped.

  Oh, what a fucking thought. You had been kidnapped…was there something wrong with you? Because it didn’t rile anything up in you. Nothing at all. It was the same as saying, "tomorrow is going to be cold."

  Your mind emptied as you sat on your bike in the lot. Letting the sun beat down on your black leather jacket and dark jeans. It felt nice. Filling you with warmth, so much so that it bordered on contentment.

What a sentiment.

That emotions could be evoked by physical actions. Or rather, emotions can be evoked by the elements themselves.

While sitting there, the motor switched off, a car came up beside you.

Taking off your helmet, shaking out your hair and flicking on the brake pedal. You looked to find a man in a light blue car. Not Wendy and not Gemma, you thought with a sigh. They must be looking after the boys.

   Stepping off your bike, the stranger exited the vehicle the same time and you ended up walking towards the clubhouse at the same pace. Weird?

   “Hey cariño (sweetheart), how are you?”

You couldn’t deny that this tall, tanned man was handsome. Maybe not conventionally, but there was a lot of charm that radiated off of him.

   “I’m good, thank you.”

You hadn’t seen this man before, and had no idea what to do. Ask him if he needs any help? It’s not your shop … God what if he asks if you need any help?

 While lost in your thoughts, you had both walked to the benches.

    “I’m Nero,” he held out his hand and you took it.

“I’m Zo,” you replied going in for a shake, but Nero gently twisted your hand and brought the back of it to his lips.

   “Oh-“ you huffed, and smiled, wide-eyed. You were so telling Jax about this. Would he get jealous? You hoped so.

Nero seemed to saunter away and you watched him with a cocked head, completely confused. “I have no idea…” you shook your head and walked into the clubhouse.

  It was empty. As in… really empty, and quiet, which didn’t feel right. But it was a mess, and from the corner of your eye, you saw a croweater picking up trash.

    Fuck croweaters have it bad, you thought. But your heart was too kind to let her do it by herself. You wouldn’t spend all day here, but lending a hand wasn’t too big of a commitment.

   “Have any extra trash bags” You asked her, with your black heeled boots, tight jeans, black shirt and leather jacket.

  “Uhh, you don’t have to-“

“I know, I want to.” You said as you spotted the bags. Ripping off one, you started filling it with everything.

    “I’m Tina,” the girl said. She wore revealing clothes; a tube top, high heeled stripper shoes, and booty shorts. You had to look away every time she bent over. (The first time you didn’t look away in time and saw her lace g-string.)

Five minutes later, you heard the door open and close. You were on your second bag when a croaky voice filled the room.

    “Hey, aren’t you Jax’s new girl? Zo?”

You turned to find an average height white man, he was balding and wore a run-down shirt.

 “Sure am,” you replied with a small smile, still picking up rubbish.

“I’m Unser, nice bike.” He came over and shook your hand and regretted it immediately because it was sticky from liquor.

     “Sorry,” you mumbled and gave him a wry grin. Trying to ignore the bike comment.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said and nodded his head. You were struck by the feeling of kindness. This man had a lot of heart. And a lot of goodness in it.

Only a day later, your wait had ended. At home, you switched off your tv as you heard the oncoming sound of a bike engine.   

Jax had returned, and you were just as excited to see him as the first time he went away.

Even though he came back at the most odd times in the night (to a regular person), you were awake and bright, ready to welcome him home.

  You were wearing a t shirt and a pair of underwear when you answered the door. A few beers already thrown back throughout the night, in anticipation and anxiety. But as soon as you saw him, all that dread dissipated.

    “…Zo,” he didn’t waste a moment.

Picking you up, a hand on your bum and the other around your waist, your wrapped your legs around him and instantly you melted together.

 “Oh, I missed you,” you whispered in his ear, biting down on his earlobe.

    A low chuckle that promised … something… made your insides squirm. His lips attached to yours and didn’t leave your body all night. Not until you had both fallen asleep and woken the next day.

The next morning, after a night full of love-making, sex and fucking; yes all separate things. Jax's gravelling morning voice woke you.

“I’ve planned our day,” he said as he laid against the headboard. You were leaning against his stomach, perfectly contented. Jax twirled a piece of your hair around his fingers, marvelling at its colour. Brown with tinges of red in the sunlight.

     “Oh- have you now?” You said, lightly biting a piece of flesh exposed.

“Yes-ow,” Jax replied, hunching over, and laughing.

   “Oh, I didn’t even bite you that hard, you baby,” you said with a dramatic roll of your eyes.

“Huh, really?” Jax looked at you and you saw the intention before he even moved. You squealed as he jumped on top of you and started biting your skin. Not any harder than you had, but it made you giggle.

   “Jax!” You yelled, and the dogs came running. They jumped onto top of the bed and started digging into Jax’s armpits and licking his feet.

    “Ah!” He laughed, and you pinned him to the bed, the distraction giving you the upper hand.

   Pinning his arms above his head, you gave him a deep kiss and said, “So, what do you have planned?”

  Flipping you over, laying his body atop your own, he grinned down at you.

     “Big breakfast, because later tonight I’ve got the boys to make a drive in for us.”

You blushed deeply because that was one of the things that you loved most. Drive-ins. It meant that he had been listening to you.

  “Really?” Your ears felt hot, and Jax could see they were slightly pink. He reached out and rubbed the tip of one.

  “I know I’ve been away a lot, and that’s not fair. Especially since we’ve just started this … thing between us.”

The breakfast was wonderful. Bacon, toast, eggs, juice; you deduced that Jax had one of the Sons, probably a prospect, to run out and get all the groceries. When? You had no idea. Whenever you were near Jax, time seemed to stop. As if you were in a trance.

  You never thought the day would come. But it had, and here you were, with the Prince of Charming.

  You felt like royalty. Well…you were royalty…In this world of guns and dealings, you were the partner of the leader. And his club was prospering, which meant you were the Queen of a prospering land.

  Both you and Jax moved about your kitchen, scraping left overs into the dogs bowls’ and cleaning up the dishes and pans. You moved like magnets, opening and closing drawers and cabinets, washing and drying.

 You wondered if he noticed.

He did.

 Jax knew how he felt here. So, at ease. He couldn’t wait for tonight. And for the rest of the nights to come.

The night came by quickly, and slowly at the same time. It was one of those weird times when time itself hurried and yet took too long. It was most likely because you were filled with so much anticipation that you could barely sit still.

You watched a movie with Jax and then he left for a few hours, to fill the van with a mattress, pillows, and blankets. Two six packs and a lot of snacks.

During that time, you fretted over what to wear. Even though you would be looking at a screen for a few hours, you wanted to look your best.

Curled hair, a dab of concealer here and there as well as mascara.

  He came to pick you up just as dusk was blooming across the sky. A brilliant swirl of purple, pink and orange. The clouds had departed and you looked up in awe. But only for a moment, because the man of your dreams was finally in your grasp.

With the car pulling up, you put on your shoes, picked up your bag and walked out the door. Walking towards the car, Jax got out and met you.

  Holding your head in his hands, he kissed you deeply and when you pulled apart he gave you a wink.

   “Let’s go.”

Jax walked around to your side and opened the door, helping you in. He took a moment to stare at your ass. And you definitely noticed but didn’t say anything. When he started the van up, your nerves turned into pure excitement.

You nearly gasped at the set up. In one of the unused parks, was a white sheet and a projector that was waiting for the two of you.

 Chucky sat behind the projector and waited for the signal. Bobbing his head up and down, he was just as excited as you are.

You and Jax wriggled to the back, took off your shoes and got underneath the covers. With a fizz and a pop, Jax handed you a beer and you took it gladly. Clinking his against your own, you smiled up at him and snuggled into his side.

Chucky received the message and rolled the tape. A classic. 'IT,' starring Tim Curry.

   In all honesty, if someone asked what movie you were watching, you wouldn’t be able to answer them. You were too engrossed in the look of Jax. The way he looked, especially after taking a sip of his beer. He was entrancing.

Thanks to all the beer you'd ingested, you blurted something out.

   “Sometimes I feel like I don’t know you,” you said to him underneath your breath. You didn’t even mean to say it, you weren’t even thinking of it.

The night wasn’t cold, but it was nice to feel Jax close. His sent was musky, mixed with leather and cigarettes and a certain brand of cologne. You'd have to find out what it was.

“Well there were things about you that I didn’t know until today,” he looked at you with a raised brow and a ghost of a smirk.

   “Oh, he told you, that fucking-“ you shook your head as your mouth gaped. Unser, yeah great with secrets.

   “Babe, why didn’t you tell me you rode?”

“Because … Old ladies aren’t supposed to? I don’t know. I just didn’t want to give those who hate me another reason to.”

Jax raised both of his brows.

  “And who hates you?” His arm pulled you closer to his chest, a silent reminder that he was here.

“Um, your mother, Wendy, the croweaters, I think Bobby doesn’t like me all that much-“

    “First of all, Bobby is a short fat man with a permanent frown on his face. And he doesn’t hate you. Wendy feels territorial – as does my mother. I can speak to them tomorrow if you want me to-“

     “No, no. Please don’t. If there’s going to be any talking it has to be from me.” But even as you said it, your stomach churned.

  “And who is Nero? Because I met him during my visit to the clubhouse…” you trailed off, and watched a flicker in Jax’s eyes.

  “He’s um, a partner in one of the club’s businesses,” he said shortly and you nodded, not asking anything more about it.

You were going to tell him about the hand kiss, but there was something there, something you could tell would hurt rather than be humorous.

So, you stayed silent.

The night ended earlier than you would have liked. Right in the middle of the movie, Jax got a call.

“What? How? Jesus fucking – okay, okay,” he shook his head and gave you a sorrowful face. The darkness of the van changed from comforting to distressing. For some reason, you wanted to turn on a light or ... transport yourself back home.

Something didn't feel right.

“What’s up?” You asked, already knowing the answer. Club business.

“I’ve got to go away again. Tonight.” For some reason, you felt sick. A churn in your stomach.

“I’m sorry babe, I know I said no more for a while but some shit has gone down and Chibs and I need to hit the road, tonight.”

You sighed but followed him to the front of the van. He slammed the back doors shut and jumped in the front.

"I'm sorry," he said. And you just nodded. A dark feeling washing over you. The drive back was silent, but he grasped onto your hand, and you held back just as tight.

At home you helped him packed.

You plucked his bag from the floor and started filling it with things he might need. Toothbrush, toothpaste, extra shirt, socks and underwear. But your hand felt something square and hard.

Furrowing your brows, you took it from his bag, but as you were about to open it, you heard his footsteps coming down the hall.

You shoved the leather cube back into his rucksack. Just in time to feel his arms slid around your waist and head rest in the crook of your neck.

“Just be safe okay?” You murmured and then turned to give him a bone crushing hug.

The tension in your shoulders started to build.

When he was ready, you walked with Jax outside, Angus and Django trailing behind you.

“I’m so sorry,” he said. For a moment he just held you. Taking in your scent, the way you looked in this moment, he nearly sighed. Your beauty was only one reason why he loved you, but he knew that word was much too soon to be said out loud.

Kissing your forehead, he rested his against yours and promised once again to be back soon.

“Please be safe,” you said with a sad smile, rubbing your thumb against his cheek.

“I will, Chibs is coming. The rest of the boys will be home. Here to look after you."

"I'd rather they be with you. I have a bad feeling Jax-"

"Babe, please. I'll be fine. I love you."

And the words were said. They couldn't be taken back, or unsaid. It was a slip of the tongue but he meant it.

You were gobsmacked and had nothing to say. So, that's how Jax left you. Open-mouthed and wide-eyed.

You watched him get on his bike and leave. But on the inside you were chanting the same thing.

He’s fine, he’ll be fine, there’s no one better for him to be with than Chibs, he’ll come back.

Those thoughts became a mantra over the next few days, especially when he wasn’t able to contact you.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

HI ITS ME AGAIN good morrow tis i #1murielstan99 im coming out of my anon cage ihtdjvd aaaand uhh for my debut *ushers you into the living room to sit u down on a chair facing a makeshift stage consisting of more chairs a blanket and cardboard boxes. a banner of glued A4 printer paper reads "UR ALL REALLY COOL & I LIKE U THAnk you for tolᵉʳᵃᵗⁱⁿᵍᵐᵉ" in increasingly squished lettering. everything is covered in glitter* ive decided to ✨steal your gig✨ hkhfgdvjgd NO IM SORRY i just wrote you something yippiee!! its tiny i just felt inspired and i got so excited to try it its uh. kinda specific but it came to my head and the ideas just came so fast after i spent like 5 hours on this and didnt even notice them slip by lmao OK ROLL THE CLIP

MC and M6 are walking along a footpath/sidewalk together and along the way they happen upon a whole parade of snails/tiny frogs!!/earthworms/crabs?... (choose your own adventure i guess i cant make up my mind khgxhfx), that came out for a lil sip of the early morning dew, covering up a considerable distance of our duos way. theyre perfectly content to be living their best wet life and blissfully unaware they could get stepped on at any moment when people start to roll out of their houses to carry out their own busy schedules! MC shall categorically not allow that!!! they at first discreetly then with increasing urgency start picking up the little creatures and tossing them to the closest safest space in reach.

Julian: oh worm? yeah hes battled enough leeches in his day to have a good grip on this task. these dont even bite! this is gonna be *grabs snail too hard and hears a crack* OH fu-

some quick healing magic later he decides to observe you for a while at first to figure out the best approach, squatting next to you and fawning over how gentle you are and how many you can fit in your hand. he offers his gloves to you but they dont fit and only make it harder. tries again when he feels more confident and makes his way through the crowded path close behind you

Asra: sits himself down on the grass near you, teases you lovingly about how seriously youre taking your Hero of the Realm job, not letting a single endangered soul go unnoticed under your watch. helps a little, takes a break when his back starts to ache from bending down, gets some more again, feeds some to faust while youre not looking, and one when youre looking for good measure, uses a spell to move them dozens at once to make it faster when the sun starts to get too hot to stay for much longer

Nadia: applauds your devotion to protecting the environment but are you sure this doesnt qualify for an infestation and perhaps we should let natural selection run its course? in the end you spend enough time there for her to get invested too. Doesnt grab any by force, places her hand out and waits for something to catch a ride (in the snail scenario you just stare at her stoically holding the same position while the speciman inches towards her but when it boops into her finger it starts equally slowly turning around (to her hidden but great disappointment))

Muriel: you just give each other a look of determination and nod. commence operation Back in the Wild immediately. youre trained proffesionals, with countless hours of experience on the job gained on your forest patrols while dealing with more worn out mainstream dirtpaths used by a bigger population of people regularly and on early morning trips into town where you have encountered this scenario often enough. you got this covered.

you get your Tools of the Trade (never leave home withoutem) out of your pockets: glass jars magically perma-moistened with water to provide Ultimate💯Slippagge💯Comfort while simultaneously discouraging escape and little thin but blunt sticks (designed & made by the mountain himself) for lifting the snails heads up to get them to peel off the ground so as not to tear their shells off when picking them up/scooping up earthworms to grab them easier and gentler than with your fingers/stopping a tiny frog midjump and blocking it from escaping, try to get it to hop on the stick (thats the hardest one to get right. many attempts and abundant patience needed)/giving a crab the stick to pinch on to neutralize it, pop it in the jar baby

you work with sharp efficiency, well versed in all the techniques and get nearly all the little buddies out of harms way before the sun gets beaming too high & hot and they fry to a crisp. you exchange a fistbump put on your cool sunglasses awesomely and walk off with your back to a bunch of explosions, sick guitar licks and a disembodied "YYYEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!" audible in the distance. 💯💯💯🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💥⭐🤙🤙🤙🤘🤘life is good

Pasha: well we were kind of in a rush to get to a business meeting, and shes not exactly fond of the pests that she has been locked in eternal combat with in continued efforts to protect her garden, but. aww, they are pretty adorably tiny and helpless! alright lets do this quick! she holds out her skirt/jacket/apron as a container for you to place them into for safekeeping, when you collect them all she promptly YEETS them over onto the nearest green patch as is her signature move when getting intruders off of her prized parsleys & peppers. well. theyre small enough not to take fall damage anyway. you hope

Lucio: he keeps walking, after a minute notices MC lagging back, jogs back to you shouting to ask whats the holdup, proceeds to accidentally step on a snail. after a thorough scolding keeps his distance for a bit, refusing to pick up a single slimy little bastard no thank you hes had enough bad experience with that sort of thing he'll sit this one out. after 20 minutes of grumbling and pacing and watching you pitterpatter to n fro he gets to ground level to observe the critters. why do you even care cmon theyre so teeny weeny. pokes the snails on their lil eyestalks to his great amusement when they squash their faces into themselves. from there we work up to gentle picking up. he retches a lil when he sees you with a whole handful of wormies. hopes to god you didnt see that. you pretend you didnt💕

ok this is slightly less tiny than what i first had in mind and a lot more snail centered than advertised dgkhdtyfg wow you totally cant who i wrote this in mind with no favoritism here no siree anywAy this week was the most fun ive ever had i think. also after writing this i think i can safely say ive decided on a snail familiar for me xDD i can only hope youll enjoy this in some way lmao god i hope theres so weird incomprehensible mistakes i checked it like 27 times i swear ok im clicking send nnnnnnnnnnnnnnoW 321GOAAAHH

@tetsuooooooooooo hi!! I'm so excited to make a new friend!!

And oh. my. WORD, these kinds of scenarios are what makes headcanons some of my favorite fandom things to read! Thank you for sending this, friend, these are priceless and I love them!!! ^.^

The different reaction to the slimy little things, too, it's all too cute for me, and the sunglasses were such a perfect mental image for Muriel's B)

[euopligue]

Home Sick

Muichiro x reader| Modern Au | series pt. 1| pls don't repost

In the middle of August there you are in your room drowing in your tears. You just moved 8hrs away from your house or should you say your old home, not only you left your house but you left the city you grew up in and left youre friends all behind wondering if they miss you or not. "Y/n come and help me" was the words your aunt said when you were in a middle of a break down. "Coming" you said as you wiped your wet tears away from you face so you did what you were

Told and went downstairs to see boxes coming from a white truck

"Oh don't worry honey they'll like you plus your sweet kind and pretty they'll love you" said you're aunt trying to find you missing waterbottle "you don't know that" you replied sounding like you'll cry any minute now. "Oh I'm sure" said your aunt handing you your missing water bottle she filled up. "Now come on your mom is outside waiting for you, you better Hurry up" said you aunt pushing you out the door "bye-" you said before you were cut off by the door slamming.  As you got in the car you mom broke the silence  by asking if you were ready for your first day of school, you just nodded in return knowing 100% that ur not ready at all.

When you reached the school it turned out you were late, the hallways were empty and it was 8:43 so ofc school started. What a perfect way to start the school year you thought to yourself "May I help help you?" You turned around to see a tall lady with white hair and purple eyes with glasses "um yeah I'm new here and I don't know were I'm supposed to go rn" you said hoping you wouldn't get in trouble "Oh you must be Y/n L/n?" The lady questioned. You nodded at return " Oh then come along I'll show you the class your supposed to be in" said the lady walking away "your class is A4 right?" Said the lady still walking down the halls " um yea" you said looking down at your paper full of classes while trying to keep up with the lady " Oh then it should be right here" said the lady pointing a door that was labelled A4.

" here I'll go in with you to sort out things with the teacher, so you won't get in trouble" said the lady opening the door to see a class full of students watching a video on human cycle. The teacher sitting on the chair stood up paused the video and went towards the lady. The two were talking about you and how you were new here, while that was going on you could feel the whole class staring at you and it was quite embarrassing. After the talk the lady nodded and left the room while you were being introduced to the whole class.

"Everyone this is Y/n L/n please be kind to her and make her feel welcomed in our school since she's new" the teacher announced, she looked at you and smiled " well y/n you can go sit next to Muichiro over there" the teacher pointed at a boy in the back of the class he had long black hair and teal tips with teal eyes looking down at you. You nodded and walked over to the desk next to the boy covering your face with you hands becauseof how embarrassedyou were. There was a moment of silence before the teacher unpaused the video to the class "So you're Y/n?" Said the boy looking down at his pencil, you put you hands down and replied with a yeah. "The teachers were talking nonstop about you they thought you were missing or absent" said the boy still refusing to male eye contact. "Oh" were the only words that came out of your mouth. The boy giggled "oH" he said in a mocking tone.  You sighed,  this is gonna be quite hard being a new student you thought to urself

During lunch time you found out the boy you sat next with Muichiro had a twin brother named Yuichiro, but during lunch you were busy finding out which club you were gonna join. There were many choices like chess club, video game club but you choose art club since you were allowed to make origami crafts and ever since you were little you loved origami crafts so you thought it would be a good idea. So during lunch you went to the office to sign in for art club. "Oh hi there y/n" you turned around to see the same lady that you met in the beginning of school "hi" you said in return to the lady  "I see you joining the art club" said the lady holding a bunch of papers in her hand

" Oh yeah I heard your allowed to make origami crafts" you said in return hoping it was true " yup it true I know alot of people here that do origami, plus you might make some friends" said the lady putting down the papers on a black desk. There was moment of silence before you broke it " So I never got your nae, or you the principal here or sm?" You questioned " Oh no I'm not the principal here my husband is his name is Mr.Ubuyashiki" said the lady. You apologised for your miss understanding " Oh don't worry sweetheart it happens she said giving you a smile. The bell rang and it was time for class so you waved goodbye to the lady and went on you're way to your next class so you won't be late (again)

did author-San make a wattpad series on tumblr 🤔 Yes, yes I did 💅

[horizon-forbidden-sheesh]

Writing Process: Timelines & Trackers

Okayyy, so I've written about the drafting process in detail. But along the way, logistics problems tend to pop up that can't be solved in words alone.

Mostly, it has to do with knowing exactly where someone is or what someone is doing at the same time as another character I'm writing. For instance, when does Alva get back to the Base? How long is she there before Aloy shows up?

I didn't always take detailed notes on this during my first play-through. And after I abandoned my Scrivener file, (more about this here ⚙️) I decided to refine my timeline.

I already had a great foundation based on my first play-through and my New Game+ speed run. So, I started fresh, with a new game file and good old fashioned pen & paper. I'm still working through this as I write. (Just finished the Scorcher side quest!!)

*This is in a Master-size (A4) Leuchtturm notebook, in which I'm working back-to-front. I prefer purple pen and grid paper always.

Yes. I know. I am a psycho. As I mentioned in the Preamble, gaming timelines are a special interest. 💁🏼‍♀️ Plus, I build client-friendly Gantt charts for design projects IN MY SLEEP. So, taking my timeline from paper into Spreadsheet status felt like a v natural next step.

💡I started with a weekly at-a-glance, mostly because I needed to coordinate when various characters arrived back at Base:

Why yes, I am tracking Zo & Aloy's periods. Because there is no single, magical herb you can take to stop pregnancy. Don't get me wrong, I dig this trope! It's important to discuss family planning, and our genre is ✨fantasy✨ after all. But I can only suspend my disbelief so far, and there are other ways to get around this, which a Matriarchal society would probably be clued in on.

💡 This quickly evolved to a daily at-a-glance once Kotallo made it to the Base:

This spreadsheet helped me IMMENSELY as I was writing chapters 13, 14, 16, 17, & 19! Basically any time Aloy & Kotallo are not in the same location. Knowing what Kotallo is doing at the Base while Aloy is off mid-adventure has been super important to make sure their Focus calls work and feel natural.

Likewise, knowing exactly what day Erend returns, and how long they have before Aloy gets back all helps with continuity and flow.

Other Things I'm Tracking:

💡Datapoints. The whole point of the GAIA Gang is that they're sorting through the data Aloy collected during the events of HZD. And since that was an absolute whirlwind year for Aloy, I'm thinking her files are a fucking shit show—and almost none of the people sorting through them even know how to read. 😵

So, I started by accumulating all the files by location. I am assuming they're probably geo-tagged—if not, they're at least assembled in order of pick-up, which would mean they're ordered by Aloy's general location at time-of-discovery anyway.

*I crossed them out as I moved them to the next spreadsheet tab...

From this hot mess, I figure that Zo, in her infinite wisdom, took one look at Aloy's files and went, "Oh hell no."

💡Here's the way I imagine Zo organized her playlists, much to Varl, Erend, & Kotallo's relief (Meanwhile, Alva re-filtered everything, and discovered entirely new metadata categories, obviously):

The most important detail here was time!! Most of these are like 1 minute long... but 1 minute in the game is like, 20 minutes IRL. So you've gotta figure the GAIA Gang is back at Base binge-watching an entire docu-series, while simultaneously learning how to read (and procrastinating with hours and hours of bodycam battle footage).

No wonder they're always busy when Aloy shows up!

💡 And yes, these are all tabs on a single spreadsheet:

💡 "Population" is literally just a mess of numbers & formulas as I try to figure out how we went from ~20 E-9 Cradle inhabitants to multiple tribes in the span of ~700 years.

I mean in 3041 we're prolly sitting at like... maybe ~15k in the U.S.?

*On second thought, that Oseram number is probably higher.

Anywayyyy, as fun as a blank page is, my brain really does work best on a grid. The process is totally intuitive, and I create the necessary docs as I go, the same as I would for any client or project. Sometimes, you need to explain things in a way so everyone is on the same page, and I find spreadsheets invaluable in that regard. (Y'all should see my wedding planning spreadsheet, lol.)

This whole process has helped me to find what works for me, and writing fanfic is truly preparing me to write my own original works. What I've discovered is that spreadsheets are part of my flowstate. They bring me a deep sense of peace and they help me to stay on track and oriented while I'm in the weeds.

🖤 Really, I want to come back to something I said in my second 'Process' post: Do what feels natural. Everyone is different. If being 'organized' steals your joy, don't do it. Stay messy! Whatever! Who cares? The most important part is that you find your flowstate.

I found this old Hindu saying while I was copywriting for a Chinese Medicine client, and it really stuck with me: "There are a hundred paths up the mountain, so it doesn't matter which path you take. The only one wasting time is the one who runs around and around the mountain telling everyone else that their path is wrong."

I'm just here documenting my own path up my mountain. And part of me thinks that it's all incredibly self-indulgent and cringe, but hey—when has blogging ever not been?

If you've read this far, I'm grateful. It's all a bit shouting-into-the-void out here, especially when you're this deep into a niche that moved on a while ago. But I've always loved a slowburn. (And if you do too, you might consider reading The Marshal.)

xo, Sheesh.

[caltropspress]

RAPS + CRAFTS #13: Algernon Cornelius

1. Introduce yourself. Past projects? Current projects?

I’m Algernon Cornelius, producer/rapper based in Manchester (UK). A lot of my early work consists of instrumental beat-tapes (which can be found on my bandcamp), along with collaborative works like Mortal Deck, as well as some side-projects like Philip K. Dickhead. I wrote my first rap in 1993 (co-written with my Dad tbf), but didn’t start writing properly until 2003. Around the same time I started producing by making pause tapes in a little cassette recorder and then by the same process but with cheap CD turntables into an Archos Gmini 402 mp4 player. I started using Cubase in 2005 and then moved on to Ableton in 2014. 

Somewhere along this path I briefly let go of rapping to focus more on beat-making, that is until about 2016 when I made the song “Zero Hour Contract” (the vocals were recorded on a dictaphone). That return to writing was most likely sparked by hearing ELUCID’s Valley Of Grace record. I followed that up with another single: “Witchita”.

There are multiple stories you can choose to follow when you explore my discography. Perhaps the easiest route is through the rap time-line, which is as follows…

Neither Gloaming Nor Argent: Both Before And After The Dark (2020)

The Miraculous Weapons of Clarkus_Dark (2021)

Me No Sen You No Come (2022)

SEGUNDO (2023) NGNA is a compilation of singles I recorded before, during and after the making of MWxxCD (think 13 Songs by Fugazi or The Sagas Of… by Klashnekoff). MWxxCD is my debut album. MNSYNC is an EP, and SEGUNDO is my 2nd album.

2. Where do you write? Do you have a routine time you write? Do you discipline yourself, or just let the words come when they will? Do you typically write on a daily basis?

I wish I did write on a daily basis, but most of the time I just ponder about living my life being busy or procrastinating, until something hits me. Usually it’s one line that sounds interesting or funny to me. There have been times when I’ve tried to be more disciplined and write something every day. These bursts typically happen in the new year and then eventually fade away, in that respect being undisciplined is my discipline. But when it comes to it I can be anywhere. For this album specifically I went back home to the house I grew up in while my parents were away and just wrote for 10 days straight (probably helped that I got covid and couldn’t leave). I set everything up in the dining room and had the mic in one hand to record demos as I wrote with the other. I’ve never really written in that way before, but it was definitely good for me. Being alone, and having a mission, and knowing exactly how my voice would sound as I was writing. I can’t do that in my current living situation because I live with other people and I’m very self-conscious. I think being in a space I knew well and felt comfortable in really helped too.

I don’t write everyday, but ideas are usually always kicking around. I like to leave room for experiences to write about.

3. What’s your medium—pen and paper, laptop, on your phone? Or do you compose a verse in your head and keep it there until it’s time to record?

It used to be a pen and sheets of A4 white paper. Then it became lined notebooks. Then it was my laptop. In the past five years or so it has been in the notes app on my phone, and then typed up in a Google doc where it can be edited and refined. I can’t keep new lyrics in my head for long because they tend to metamorphosise into something else very quickly, so they have to be preserved outside the brain. I’ll then rehearse over and over until I know it off-top and it becomes muscle memory, because I would rather not be reading off something in the booth (that isn’t always possible with last minute rewrites). The best way is if I can play it live a few times because then I really get a feel for it and know what the energy is like and I have more confidence behind the flow, I know what the pockets should feel like.

4. Do you write in bars, or is it more disorganized than that?

Oh it’s very disorganised. But then again that can depend on the beat. Some songs encourage more free-form structure.

5. How long into writing a verse or a song do you know it’s not working out the way you had in mind? Do you trash the material forever, or do you keep the discarded material to be reworked later?

I think when I feel uncomfortable or cringe is when I know it’s not working. I know you have to kill the part of you that cringes but that’s 100 gecs' job. You really have to feel genuine with what you’re saying, and that’s an integrity that keeps you grounded in who you are as an artist. That gets a lot easier as you get older and you don’t have to put on a voice or adopt certain language.

My line of thinking is that it begins with a jump-off, so the first line is the provocateur. The attention grabber. Often this may not have anything to do with the rest of the verse, but it’s integral to getting to the rest of it. The big bang. In this way my verses probably tend to make more sense towards the end.

I try to keep everything, and this is why I would like to move back to writing on paper. I kept everything on paper. In a Google Doc it’s very easy to erase history. With SEGUNDO I tried to not be scared of the rewrite. I can be very precious about my work, but I had to give the mic to the voice that says “you can do better”.

6. Have you engaged with any other type of writing, whether presently or in the past? Fiction? Poetry? Playwriting? If so, how has that mode influenced your songwriting?

I have loved writing since forever. I was always writing stories as a kid and got a lot of encouragement from my English teachers at school. I still somewhat regret not taking English Literature at 6th Form (age 16-18 in the UK). I’ve been writing a lot more poetry recently and have sketched out some ideas for short sci-fi stories, and at some point want to go into script writing and learn to make films. I used to write about music a lot, for a few blogs and some larger platforms that shall remain nameless. I don’t know if that’s influenced my songwriting because rap is what got me into playing with language, so that informs everything else.

7. How much editing do you do after initially writing a verse/song? Do you labor over verses, working on them over a long period of time, or do you start and finish a piece in a quick burst?

I am trying to edit more. That was a key thing in the making of these last two records. I take ages to start things but once I get going it’s very quick, so it’s more like a stream of consciousness ting. You can end up trying to cram in too many ideas that way, and with SEGUNDO specifically I wanted to introduce more space in my rhymes, so I would cut some things to make that happen. Songs like “...AND THE LIVING” happened very quickly, but with “WHERE WE ARE” and “PLAGUES” there were several different versions I made until it sounded right. When something happens quickly I often have no memory of how it happened, it feels like it comes from another place (manic brain memory loss).

8. Do you write to a beat, or do you adjust and tweak lyrics to fit a beat?

I go through different waves. When I’m not writing for a project I just stream a load of bars out and have them all in a document. Most of the time these can’t fit to any of the music that I write, but I can nick certain lines that fit. “I Am Not The Moon” from Miraculous Weapons used a lot of lyrics from a couple of verses I wrote over a loop of The Wanton Song by Led Zeppelin when I was 18. I carry several verses around in my head that can’t really squish into a typical song format. I keep them there in case there was ever a situation where I got into a cypher and needed to prove something. As yet this has never happened, and may never will, perhaps this only happens in movies. I will just keep reciting them in the shower until that day comes. But when it’s for a project the beats always come first, so I’m gonna sit down and go through in sequential order and write like that. Doing it that way you’re carving out a route so the listener can follow your path (that is of course if they listen to albums front to back in one sitting and not on shuffle).

9. What dictates the direction of your lyrics? Are you led by an idea or topic you have in mind beforehand? Is it stream-of-consciousness? Is what you come up with determined by the constraint of the rhymes?

The music, first and foremost. That’s always the mood setter. That’s why the stuff I write without music tends to be more random and glitchy. In fact I have a load of stuff like this which I’m planning to release as a poetry book later this year called The Glitch and the Goof. But when I’m working on a record I make all the beats first and then sequence the album because it has to make sense musically, the instrumentals dictate the journey you’re gonna go on. Also whatever I name the instrumental when I export it, that usually informs the direction. I should probably be more careful with that. Although “Stress” was originally called “Night Goat” (after the Melvins song) and there was no mention of goats in that. There aren’t many of my songs that stick to one subject (Kool Moe Dee definitely would’ve scored me low for sticking to themes). On “DUNKEL” I do and that’s because of the sample, which is literally saying “dark” so that was the direction I gave Val and myself. “DECEMBER 25” is obviously one of the most focused theme-wise because I’m trying to tell a very specific story and it’s perhaps the most clear and personal I’ve been on a track. Funnily enough that song came about because I was working a temp job at a University and my fellow temp comrade (the only other black guy who worked there, it’s actually incredible they allowed 2 of us to work on the front desk at the same time now that I think about it), anyway we were chatting about white English reactions to diaspora foods, like having rice with your Sunday roast and how kids in school thought that was weird, but it was normal for us. We laughed about it and then I thought about it for a minute and wrote down “rice in my roast, what the whites will never know”. That’s the jump-off line right there. And as I already had the loop I wanted to sample for it in my head on rotation (it had been stuck in my head for almost 2 years), by the time I was on the bus home I just continued writing on my phone. The mood was already set and I just started thinking about this story I wanted to tell. I got home and immediately looped that shit up and then worked more lyrics around it, following the bassline. 

In terms of being constrained by the rhymes, I think yes this can happen, but then it’s all about vocab and finding ways back home if you go too far out. The patterns you weave doing that can be beautiful. That’s like looking at a brain-scan create an Etch-a-Sketch. Having that constraint can pull out some wild juxtapositions and create a really interesting image.

10. Do you like to experiment with different forms and rhyme schemes, or do you keep your bars free and flexible?

Absolutely. I always think about Method Man, especially on his earlier records, where he basically switches up the flow almost every line. That’s the stuff that got me so excited as a kid. As a rapper you are just an instrument, so as you would with drums or a bassline or a keyboard, you can switch it up to take the song somewhere. It’s always about what’s best for the song for me. I don’t like to get too self-indulgent as an emcee. I am no better than the beat really, I’m part of an ensemble cast, and we’re all working for the song. I don’t tend to think about my rhyme schemes as methodically as I used to, perhaps because it comes more naturally to me now, but I remember for a while I was experimenting with reverse compound structures where the 2nd line would be close enough to a  phonetic reverse of the previous line. I have a crude example from an unreleased song where I say: “High-hitting hats when I relapse into narcosis / Whenever I’m focused you can tell where I have been at with my hidden eye” Maybe I will go back to getting more scientific with ideas like this.

11. What’s a verse you’re particularly proud of, one where you met the vision for what you desire to do with your lyrics?

On SEGUNDO I think “DECEMBER 25” obviously because it took a lot for me to get there. I mean really that’s one of the reasons why it’s the last track on the album. I don’t think there’s been a time where I’ve listened back to that song and I haven’t cried, so it did what it was supposed to do. That was a similar case with “Adieu” from NGNA. “CLOY ROYSTER” because that’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to a true freestyle (I can’t freestyle for shit). The 2nd verse of “Tentative”, which originally I left open for a guest but then I ended up surpassing my own expectations (I originally gave the beat to R.A.P. Ferreira but then ended up using it on my album, then he came back with “No Word For Wack” which ended up on the Ruby Yacht album). ”Lightning Bolt” as well, that was a real one. I wrote the lyrics, made the beat, recorded it  and then posted it on bandcamp maybe all within 2 hours. Extremely raw shit. (It’s called "Lightning Bolt" because that’s who I was going to see play a gig that night). That’s actually an example of where I wrote it all out on a piece of paper first and then made it fit to the beat, and I mean it helps that the beat doesn’t have any drums, it’s just six pads of noise. “Notes On A Native Sound” was written from a dream I had the same night I made the beat and I feel that’s maybe one of the most synergetic songs in terms of the music and lyrics. It all came out of two sides of the same trip.

12. Can you pick a favorite bar of yours and describe the genesis of it?

“Flexi disc under the x-ray / Mexican death day / Haters wanna flex I slip their disc and press play (…AND THE LIVING)

Like I don’t care if anyone rates that or not, for me it always makes me feel like this and that’s all I ever wanna do for myself. I had that line in my head for time, just a silly little boast innit? But with some very niche deep Wikipedia level references. Also me and my peers have very serious concerns about back pain. “Become a man before the onus is on the shoulders of the taurus / And the horns begin to grow again, blow through them / The tone of brass bones does not atone for intonation" (The Flood)

Men go a bit weird in their late 20’s, you ever notice that? This was sort of a way of saying check yourself before you wreck yourself. I used 3 zodiac signs for Miraculous Weapons; the Bull (Taurus), Snake and Crab (Cancer), and they all work as points of reference across the album. A lot of it is to do with ideas of fate, determinism and essentialism and trying to escape that (which actually I've just realised that’s at the core of most of my work). The titular Clarkus_Dark is basically the bad character (as Lord Quas might say). My dad used to have this Shofar in the house which I used to play with (he was a religious studies teacher) so that’s probably where I got that imagery. I also used to play trombone so there’s your brass bones, and you can hear some trombone at the end of “How Good’s The Funeral?”. It’s all tied together. Now that I think of it this was also one where I wrote the lyrics before the music and then made it fit afterwards too. Cat, who is the first person you hear whisper “SEGUNDO” at the start of the album, I wrote that in her living room in the middle of a crisis.

13. Do you feel strongly one way or another about punch-ins? Will you whittle a bar down in order to account for breath control, or are you comfortable punching-in so you don’t have to sacrifice any words?

Punching-in I have no qualms about. Like I said before it’s about what’s best for the song. There are cases when a punch-in can fuck up the flow, there are cases where cutting out a breath can make it sound too clinical. Just depends on what you want out of the recording. I’m getting better at editing stuff down in the writing so it’s about clarity and rhythm. I’ll preface this with the fact that I’m old enough where I’m going to use Big Daddy Kane as an example…but you know when you’re starting out you just wanna show off and fit as many syllables in a line as possible (yeah, like Big Daddy Kane)? Well when you play live you come to the compromise, because I have so much energy I need to get off I can’t be running about and do all that, especially as I get older. No matter how much I push I have to understand my body has limits, so then it becomes a choice of what you’re trying to give. Is it lyrical-miracle virtuosity? Or clarity? What is going to connect with your audience? Because at the end of the day that’s what you’re trying to do, you have to make a connection otherwise there’s no point.

14. What non-hiphop material do you turn to for inspiration? What non-music has influenced your work recently?

Definitely films. For SEGUNDO there were things about Spike Lee joints that informed the feeling in songs like “PLAGUES” and “CURRY MILE”, in particular his use of the double dolly technique. I wanted to do that with music. When I was writing I rinsed seasons 3 and 4 of Top Boy, the Andy Warhol documentary on Netflix, The Power of the Dog, Call My Agent! and Fast & the Furious 9. Obviously I’m not sure how that last one had any effect on me, but the hook in SEGUNDO was inspired by Basquiat in the Warhol doc. 

I’d never really dipped that heavily into the work of David Lynch before, and I had wondered if it was just too late for me. Like is all the weirdo shit I already like just jacked from Uncle DL? But I saw Mulholland Drive for the first time and it shook me pretty deep, like really got right inside me in a very particular way that I don’t know how to put into words, and there’s not that many films that have done that. That kind of made me think differently about the structure of SEGUNDO and what it meant, because to be honest the meaning was missing for me for a long time and it felt like the process of making this album was almost in search of that, and then towards the end it started to make sense, but as if the answer had always been there. The lyrics to “SLOW WOUND” are mostly inspired by Mulholland Drive if you look closely enough. 

I’m always inspired by food, I’m always thinking about that. It’s so tied to memory. Sometimes I can’t remember the details of a certain trip somewhere but I can tell you exactly what I ate and what it tasted like and how it made me feel.

A lot of SEGUNDO was inspired by nature. Again it’s about space but in many forms. The pandemic is what set that off, everything became still and empty, internally and externally. I was locked down in Manchester so I ended up taking huge walks out to anything that remotely resembled a bit of countryside, a park or a bit of woodland surrounded by a highway. I grew up right in the middle of the North Yorkshire Dales and Moors, there was so much expansive space there, your mind could just wander off into the distance. Can’t see shit for terrace houses here in Old Trafford, it’s like being trapped on the set of Coronation Street (I wrote this and then afterwards took a walk to the shop for some caraway seeds and the sun was beaming and the red bricks look so gorgeous in the light, so it’s not always so gloomy to be fair)

When some of the lockdown restrictions were lifted, me and my girlfriend’s first trip was to a remote converted farmhouse on the side of a mountain in North Wales. Some days you’d be trapped indoors because a huge rain cloud had engulfed everything, but on sunny days you could see as far as the Lake District and the Isle of Man. You’d set off on a walk and you’d maybe meet 1 or 2 people all day, unless you walked 5 miles to the nearest village pub. There were more wild ponies and sheep than people. That was a really important time for me where I could have the space to think while the music of SEGUNDO circled in my head.

Another trip like that was when we went up to the Scottish highlands (to stay with my girlfriend’s friend (Sarah Bernstein who is also a writer), again very remote. You’d wake up one morning and see a pod of dolphins making their way across the bay. It was in September so all the purple heather was in bloom. I was getting high just looking at all that purple, it looked like them Richard Mosse photographs of The Congo. That’s what inspired the autotuned part in CURRY MILE. It may have been born in south Manchester, and then settled in Snowdonia, but it grew wings in the highlands. I think there’s more of a nature sound on this record, it’s like halfway between the concrete streets and nature. Like there’s earth, air, ice, water, moss and a small fire trying to stay alight under it all.

15. Writers are often saddled with self-doubt. Do you struggle to like your own shit, or does it all sound dope to you?

I constantly have self-doubt. I’d argue that’s what keeps me in check, but if there’s too much of it it becomes a real hindrance. I love my own shit but I have had to work for it. I always think of myself as someone to whom rapping does not come naturally. First off I’m from this cursed island of britain, and not even the happening part. There was no culture where I grew up, you had to get it all from television and radio, or movies and magazines. I was the only person I knew who wrote raps or was even into Hip-Hop (apart from Joanne from school who also liked Dizzee Rascal). If I ever came across another rapper it’d be the white kids who were into spitting over Makina and New Monkey type beats. So what I'm saying is I’ve taken many years to find my voice, and being quite isolated from any sort of rap scene has been both a good thing and a bad thing. Maybe my sword would be sharper if I was dueling on the daily. Maybe it’s ok to be a quirked-up country boy curry goated with the sauce busting it down Supreme Clientele style (we’ll get to that later). Either way I've put myself out there on the line and learnt a lot. 

When I was 15 I sent my first demo to DJ Excalibah who was doing the late night slot for underground and UK rap on BBC radio 1Xtra (he’s now an acclaimed theatre director), he gave me very honest constructive feedback. Something to the effect of the recording quality was bad (which it was) and I needed to work on my flow and my voice (tell me about it), but that my writing was up there with the best of them. That last part was enough for me to keep going. Meeting people like Moor Mother who was one of the first people to tell me she liked my voice really gave me encouragement to not doubt myself. I try to remember moments like this and do the same for others when they’re out here. 

It’s also having good honest mates around you, like Claudia (featured on the final reprise of MAKE THE SUN tagged on the end of CLOY ROYSTER), she suffers from a rare disease where she cannot lie to people, so that’s helpful in knowing what’s good. When James from the band Yard Act started demoing stuff with me for Miraculous Weapons he made a few suggestions to change a couple of lyrics because they were too on the nose, and usually I’m really stubborn and defensive about stuff like that but I trusted his opinion and he was right to be fair. Trust the people that know you.

16. Who’s a rapper you listen to with such a distinguishable style that you need to resist the urge to imitate them?

Ghostface is my anchor. My all time favourite rapper. He gave me the blueprint for my style of free-association. I even did an art project in school based on his verse on "Daytona 500." Him and DOOM (and probably Pos from De La Soul) basically show up in my life when I’m 14/15 and show me how beautiful and fun language can be. So while I may not imitate them per se, they gave me a key to unlock something in myself to put my own spin on how I see the world. Another key rapper I would say is Danny Brown, and that’s mainly because he’s such an anglophile. He bridges the gap between Grime and American rap. He could do a whole album spitting over 140 bpm beats (I mean he does this so effortlessly over Benga’s "26 Basslines"). You can hear that influence on “WHERE WE ARE” for sure. I love Mos Def so much and that’s probably why I gravitated towards Mach-Hommy, it’s the tone and melody they bring. I’m one of those rappers who secretly wishes they were a singer. I’ve always been really big on Dancehall emcees with really gruff voices too. I started doing this growl which I mostly do live, which is partly inspired by more doomy sludgey bands, but you listen to BackRoad Gee and he’s doing something really interesting with it. I played with Sons of Kemet one time and while I was backstage I could hear Shabaka practicing his horn coming through the vent in the next room, and he was listening to drill music and playing along to it. That’s what it is, the voice is an instrument and he shows you that through his music, he’s playing certain lines and I’m immediately thrown back to my living room after school watching emcees on Channel U, he makes very specific references to certain grime flows.

I’d like to think that I have so many influences that they all get mangled together to form something different, or that my bad impressions become a new voice altogether, at least I hope.

17. Do you have an agenda as an artist? Are there overarching concerns you want to communicate to the listener?

At the most basic level I just need something to rap over. I feel something and I wanna say something, so I make something, and then I try to make you feel what I felt. Now with that comes connection, but also unintended misinterpretation. And really the latter is what keeps this whole ting spinning. Evolution is just endless mistakes. Failure upon failure until it works for the moment and then until it doesn’t again. Hip-Hop is all about the flip, not just in terms of flipping samples but shifting perspective, I hope I can do that in my own way to some degree. I also want to just show people how connected they are, bring people together that wouldn’t be able to otherwise. It’s mad when I think of all the people I know and how most of them don’t know each other. You just gotta be a node and keep vibrating higher innit.

RAPS + CRAFTS is a series of questions posed to rappers about their craft and process. It is designed to give respect and credit to their engagement with the art of songwriting. The format is inspired, in part, by Rob McLennan’s 12 or 20 interview series.

[cricutsetupmac]

How To Use Cricut Transfer Paper On Vinyl? [Step By Step Guide]

If you usually make Cricut or Silhouette projects, you will have to use transfer paper once in a while. Cricut transfer paper eases the process of getting the design from backing paper and transfer it to final project. If you don’t know how to use Cricut transfer paper on vinyl, this guide is for you. The cut vinyl appears as a big sticker that you need to remove from the backing paper and attach to your project. However, the vinyl is very thin and difficult to transfer using your hands. Plus, it gets more difficult with complicated designs.

Hence, if you are starting to make vinyl craft stickers, transfer paper will be useful for you. We will reveal the use of transfer paper with vinyl. The process is simple- cutting and weeding the vinyl, transferring the vinyl to the transfer paper, and then transferring the design onto the final project.

There are many vinyl projects to create. You can increase your business with a Cricut machine, permanent vinyl, and good-quality transfer tape. If you haven’t used transfer paper on vinyl, read this blog that describes a step-by-step guide.

What Is A Cricut Transfer Paper?

Cricut transfer paper looks like a paper roll or A4 sheet pack. You can also say transfer paper as transfer tape. You can print on transfer paper via an inkjet printer. For instance, printing a design onto a shirt. Transfer paper is sticky and transfers vinyl to the final material and can work on various materials such as mugs, glasses, cups, etc. It is a good tool to transfer the vinyl decal to the material you need to personalize.

Cricut transfer tape has two sides. The bottom side is the paper backing that you need to remove, and the sticky upper side is composed of a plastic film. The top sticky side is attached to the top of the vinyl. Crafters use mugs, cups, and tumblers using adhesive vinyl. However, if you are working with heat transfer vinyl, you won’t need transfer paper. For the vinyl projects that have to be frequently washed, such as cups and mugs, you should use permanent adhesive vinyl.

What Are The Types Of Transfer Tape?

Transfer paper is available as a regular and strong grip. The standard transfer paper is used for most projects and has a strong grip on glitter vinyl, as you need extra strength to grip the surface. If you have an issue lifting the vinyl from the backing sheet, use a strong grip transfer tape.

How To Use Cricut Transfer Paper On Vinyl?

First, cut the design from adhesive vinyl with your Cricut machine. After that, weed the excess vinyl in and around the design. When you only have the design you need to transfer, you need to peel off the transfer tape.

Follow the steps to use transfer tape on vinyl:

First, cut the transfer tape a little larger than your design. Before you get rid of transfer tape you should use it several times. Hence, take a little larger transfer tape for your project for proper adhesiveness.

Then, peel back the backing paper. Keep the paper backing to use later to stick to the transfer tape.

Place the transfer paper on your design and burn it down. You can use a scraper or an old gift card or a credit card.

You can either turn the piece, take off the backing paper, or lift the transfer tape. You need to fix the design on the tape.

Now your design is on the tape, and you can move it to your project.

Then, press the vinyl down and burnish it once again.

After that, peel back the transfer tape. Make sure that your project surface is stuck properly to vinyl. Remove the tape and burnish it a little more if it is still lifting.

What Kinds Of Projects Can You Make With Permanent Vinyl?

You can make many projects using permanent vinyl and transfer paper. You can put the design prints on glass, plastic, ceramic, or acrylic surfaces. It means that you can transfer designs on wine glasses, notebooks, flower vases, and many more.

FAQs

Why Use Cricut Transfer Paper For Vinyl?

Cricut transfer paper or tape is generally used to transfer the vinyl with designs to materials such as water bottles, mugs, and tumblers.

Do I Need To Mirror Vinyl While Using Transfer Paper?

In the case of permanent vinyl, there is no need to mirror the design on the Cricut Design Space. The design mirroring is necessary in the case of heat transfer vinyl.

Can I Use Any Type Of Vinyl With Transfer Tape?

The answer is no; you cannot use any type of vinyl with transfer tape. For heavy vinyl, such as glitter, you must use a high-tack transfer tape. But for standard vinyl like holographic, you should use a medium tack transfer tape.

Is Cricut Transfer Tape Reusable?

Yes, Cricut transfer tape is reusable. Once you finish the project, put a Teflon sheet or parchment paper on the transfer tape and save it to use later. Next time you can use it if it has enough adhesion for the transfer.

Which Side Of The Vinyl Should I Put On Transfer Tape?

The shiniest or top side of the vinyl should be put on the transfer tape. On the other hand, the sticky side of the transfer tape should stick to the top of the vinyl.

design cricut.com download

design.cricut.com/setup

[graphypixllc]

Car Magazine Cover | 20+ Best Automotive Magazine Templates

This car magazine layout is a professionally designed layout ideal for automotive enthusiasts and businesses from GraphyPix LLC. Perfect for car magazines, racing booklets, or driving magazines, it comes in both Illustrator AI and Vector EPS formats. With a stylish format, this template is easy to customize for a variety of projects.

Whether you’re a car dealership, a racing event organizer, or a motor magazine editor, this car magazine layout will drive your content to the finish line. Its clean layout and vector graphics make it suitable for both print and digital use. Supports comparative features like Envato , Behance, and Graphicriver. Fuel your passion for automobiles with versatile best car magazines.

This is a DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, which means it is an affordable way to personalize your home or office, saving you shipping costs and delivery time.

Get Advanced Tips & Tricks while You Design! Read the blog

Buy some of our DIY-trending products:

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4. https://graphypix.com/downloads/fashion-magazine-template-1398/

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Product Features of Car Magazine Layout:

WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE IN CAR MAGAZINE COVER TEMPLATES

4 ready-to-print high-res 300DPI JPG files printable in the following aspect ratios

2:3 ASPECT (Printable at 24x36in, 20x30in, 16x24in, 12x18in, 8x12in, and 4x6in.)

3:4 ASPECT (Printable at 18x24in, 15x20in, 12x16in, 9x12in, and 6x8in.)

4:5 ASPECT (Printable at 16x20in, 12x15in, 8x10in, and 4x5in.)

A-SIZE (Printable at A1, A2, A3, A4, and A5.)

car magazine layout contains 20 pages

Photo-rich spreads in car magazine online

Instant access to the car design illustration after purchase.

A PDF guide for car magazine layout

The car magazine template includes

Illustrator Ai, Vector EPS car magazine template illustrator download

InDesign Indd, Vector Idml car magazine template InDesign

Final printed size: A4, US Letter

Color space: CMYK for car magazine layout

Canva template file (optional)

Get free & premium graphic design templates on GraphyPix LLC. Buy Now

WHAT CAN BE EDITED IN CAR MAGAZINE DESIGN

You can edit text, font, font size, and colors in the car magazine layout and placement or delete them completely.

Edit your photos (cut, resize, etc.) in Adobe; no additional subscription is required.

Insert your actual design elements.

Insert and customise as many photos as you want.

Create and personalize additional pages.

How to work on your car magazine layout

Download your files, print at your local print shop, print at home, or upload the files to your nearby printing service, frame, and hang!

After checkout, you will get an on-screen confirmation and an email from GraphyPix that your car magazine layout order is ready for download.

Make a copy of your design and start editing car magazine covers.

You will have unlimited access to these downloads after purchase in case you accidentally delete or lose them.

Please note that the colors may vary from monitor to monitor as well as from printer to printer.

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Printing your car magazine layout

At Home:

We recommend using heavy paper like cardstock or art paper for the best results

Local Printer:

For example, when printing at home, make sure to provide your local printer with the proper aspect ratio. You can print your artwork both online and in stores such as Staples, Walmart, or Walgreens. Make sure to get heavyweight paper no matter what type of printer you choose.

[kiaaraagarwal]

How to Start Your Paper-Making Business?

The paper industry is growing rapidly and is expected to continue doing so in the coming years. Demand for paper products is increasing in various sectors including packaging, writing, printing and speciality papers. Alone the packaging paper and paperboard market is growing at an annual rate of 8.2%.

So, if you are looking to start a business then it could be a profitable business for you. If you need more details then this article is for you. Go through the article, do proper research and start your paper-making business.

Common types of Papermaking Businesses

The paper industry is a diverse and growing industry that includes a variety of paper products and businesses: 

Paper manufacturing: Many types of paper products can be manufactured, including tissue, kraft, stone, thermal, butter, art, synthetic, seed, notebook, paper bag, and paper cups. 

Handmade paper: A handmade paper business requires funds, space, and raw materials. You will also need handmade paper making machine tools and manpower and you can start making handmade papers easily.

Crafting and DIY: A4 and A3 paper can be used for a variety of crafting and DIY businesses, such as card making, scrapbooking, origami, and custom invitations. 

Basic steps to start a paper business

Here are some things to consider when starting a paper business:

Research: Learn about the demand for different paper grades in various markets and trades. 

Raw materials: Consider the availability and price of raw materials like pulp, fibres, and chemicals. 

Manufacturing expertise: Ensure you have a competent team of engineers and consultants with the right experience. 

Machines: You will require Hollander beater, hydraulic press, handmade paper making machine, choppers, dryers, tanks, machines and tools as per the business requirements. Try to buy them from one single place, where spare parts are also available.

Competition: Check out your direct competition, their market share, and how their products are priced.  

Profitability: Analyze how profitable your business could be, taking into account production costs and market shares. 

Sustainability: Consider combining recycling with your business model to be more sustainable. 

Digitalization: Embrace new strategies and technologies to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Starting a paper paper-making business now will be highly fruitful and has wide potential. The demand for packaging paper and paperboard as well as all types of paper will continue to increase in the future. Whether you are looking for a Hollander beater, dryer, hydraulic press, handmade paper making machine or any other machine visit Universal Engineering Corporation. They have everything your business needs, so whether you need machines or guidance contact UEC today!

[emilydeananimates]

Storyboard Progress

I've started hand drawing my storyboard on smaller pieces of paper that I cut out from A4 sheets, In some cases, I've drawn the same panel but from different angles, that way I can get a feel for which angle works better. I've using foam board to pin the panels to, so I can move around panels if I feel they work better elsewhere.

Once I'm happy with the storyboard on paper, I'll start drawing it in Storyboard pro with the actual character desgins, rather than the place holders I've done at the moment. From Storyboard Pro I can then create my animatic and get more of the timing for my project.

Again I started with/continued the final scene (that I had originally started on Storyboard Pro, but my tutor recommended starting this way first).

The scene isn't finished yet, I only bought three foam boards too. I definitely underestimated how many boards I would need so it looks like another trip to the hobby store is in order!

I have fallen behind from my schedule sadly. Originally I wanted this draft of the storyboard done, I knew this week was a busy week but overestimated how much I could get done.

We've been told we need to prepare a presentation for next Friday, including an animatic, backgrounds, test animation, character turnarounds, models and assets. Unforunately, I don't think I'm going to have enough time to prepare all of that and had planned those things over the next two months for the hand-in in January. I've gotten a shift covered at work to try and give me more time. For the presentation I aim to have a completed storyboard, final character designs and character turnaround, and a 3D model of the statue for the first scene. If I get all of this done then I will start the animatic.

I will do my best to get as much as possible done.

[snapshotspeirs]

Camera-less Project

08/09/2024

The first post for the account is me starting the process of the "Camera-less" project for uni.

After work today I picked up some sheets of tissue paper, transparent film, brushes, UV lamp and the cyanotype kit. The uv lamp is pretty flimsy for the cost it just about broke when I was putting it together 💀 I have also mixed the two bottles that came.

I was planning on mixing the dye with the tissue paper and leaving it to dry overnight but the packaging said for the best result to let it sit for 24 hours so I'm gonna listen to the cardboard.

In excitement to start this tho I've been looking up what folk have done to give me ideas of how I want to mess with it, the transparent film is for me to make negatives on, I'm keen on working out how to do that properly and mixing that with other physical objects also.

I am also very interested in bleaching the blue out of the print and using a toner like tea bags to give it a different colour, very excited to see if I can maybe combine colours to make a full coloured print. But there's are all just ideas I have so far with nothing done! Excited to give it a go tomorrow :^)

Also saw online folk tend to use droppers for this so I'll probably try and find some also.

09/09/2024

I tried to print a few images on a4 acetate in the college but the quality was horrible, asked around for assistance and nobody seemed to have any answers until someone told me to nip to a printers. I ended up going to 5 different printers, 4 of them didn't seem to print them anymore. Got 5 acetate prints of 3 different images of different sizes just to see what I can produce and see what I might want to layer with it for my prints.

I'm about to apply some of the cyanotype mix to a few of the paper sheets to see how the turn out.

Got my first two test papers painted, got one that I used masking tape for the smaller ones see if I like the affect it gives, also have one that is just smothered in it all.

For the smaller scale one I only used about a quarter of each the droplets but for the larger one I used about 2 3rds. I tried to keep my brush strokes consistent but we'll soon find out if that matters.

I'd say that's a successful first test! I don't think I'm too keen on this paper, I thought it'd like the more textured look but I'm not thinking otherwise. This was with a pretty low amount of the cyanotype mix and exposed for 15 minutes under a UV lamp. It's pegged up and drying now. Going to have a good go with the 5 other sheets I've got tomorrow.

10/09/2024

The print from last night turn out pretty well I think. Realising it may have been a stroke of beginners luck tho, tried two more of the same image but different sizes and neither of them seem to be turning out great. It could be a number of things that have happened so I'm going to try and do a test strip and see if that helps me get an idea of exposure times.

I have also ordered cartridge paper online, I'm not really enjoying how the cotton paper is turning out like I thought it would.

15/09/24

Been a busy week done a few prints. I feel like I'm starting to get the exposure times down, halved the time from 15 minutes to 7 -8 minutes and that seems to be working could possibly even do them shorter. I have also been trying ti expose just object in my flat and mixing that with some negatives also.

[jargonautical]

Contingency

IN MAINDER’S LATEST absence the shop neither caught fire, fell down, nor disappeared into an eldritch dimension - none of which was a surprise since he left it in very capable hands. If those capable hands didn’t exist he simply wouldn’t be travelling, certainly not on his customary month-long jaunts to London and further afield for collectors’ fairs and auctions and catching up with old friends from ‘back home’, as he calls it. He lets himself in at the back of the stockroom as usual, poking his head around the adjoining door to give Krzysztof the nod that he’s back, and continues up to the flat. 

On the top landing a little oak table with barley twist legs has the usual scattering of post waiting for his attention. Not much to show for his time away, maybe four or five items that Krzysztof decided he couldn’t deal with or that didn’t need dealing with at all. He suspects his assistant leaves a few random items for him to look at just so he doesn’t start to feel redundant. Today’s crop certainly bears out that theory. A couple of glossy cards offering broadband upgrades - he’s never even owned a computer. Discard. One limp brown envelope addressed to ‘The Occupier’, ditto. Safe to ignore. One official-looking letter addressed to him personally by name and franked by machine, that could be something. He opens the flat’s front door and, with the letter clamped between his teeth, wrestles his luggage inside and dumps it in the hall. Unpacking can wait. 

No heavyweight Basildon Bond this time, no embossed coat of arms or handwritten script - it’s come straight off some office printer, spelling mistakes and all, transplanted from screen to dreary, grey-tinted recycled A4 and shoved into a fragile white window envelope with the address so misaligned it’s a miracle it reached him at all. 

‘An opening has arisen for a consultant position which we feel would be well suited to your particular skill set’, it advises him, and his eyebrows rise a notch. ‘Please advice at your earliest convenience if such a contract would be mutually agreeable. If you could call our office to indicate whether you can be available for the upcoming schedule of project briefings [see below]. Kindly allow twenty minutes ahead of briefing start time to be processed by security.’ His face creases further into a you-cannot-be-serious grimace. Gods help him if the individual responsible turns out to speak the way they write - he’ll be hard pressed not to laugh in their face. It’s signed with an unreadable squiggle, cheap blue biro skipping over the terrible paper and tearing a notch at the final downstroke, and typed underneath is ‘Dr Bryan Patterson FRSA EdD MArc, Project Director, Warrington Institute.’. The ‘upcoming schedule’ is a solitary appointment slot for the next morning. 

Well now. At this short notice he could easily get away with being unavoidably busy. He could send his apologies in the same atrocious style as this invitation, a stilted mockery of polite corporate communication. The notion makes him laugh out loud, alone in his tiny kitchen; he drops the letter on the table and spends a few pleasant minutes brewing coffee while composing increasingly more ridiculous and convoluted responses in his head. ‘We regret that our availability at this time is unconfirmed, and request that a further schedule be considered.’, perhaps. No, an ‘alternatively convenient schedule’. Oh, that’s good. Or how about ‘We appreciate your consideration of our potential suitability for the role mentioned and will be in touch at the earliest opportunity.’. Nice. That has to be good for raising somebody’s blood pressure, and he has no doubt that whoever is responsible for this travesty will not only deserve it, they won’t even register how ruthlessly they’re being lampooned. 

The coffee pot squeaks and rattles just then, the heavy lid snapping up and down in a staccato plea for aid. He responds, deftly handing the pot off to the cork mat on the counter and pouring himself one perfect cup. These things matter, to Mainder; if you’re going to choose a vice - a visible and socially acceptable one, that is - you should at least put the effort into doing it properly. 

At last he sits down again with his steaming cup to peruse the letter one last time and shakes his head in resigned amusement. He’ll go along, of course he will. It’s exactly where he needs to be. 

..............................................................................................................................

 “You OK there, boss?”. Krzysztof peers around the door. The thumping and swearing from the stockroom started shortly after lunch, and he was more than half expecting to find his erratic employer trapped under a toppled shelf. 

“Fine. I’m fine.”. Mainder waves an irritable hand. “Just trying to recall where I put something, that’s all.”. 

That something must be both important and urgent, judging by the state of him - hair sticking up at all angles, shirt smeared with dust and cobwebs, and the usual lurking twinkle in his eye banished by a grim focus. 

“Maybe I can help.”. 

Krzysztof comes fully into the room to find the tall shelves pulled away from the far wall, books and boxes on the floor in a haphazard pile to expedite the move. The newly cleared wall is a patchwork of brick and stone from different phases in this room’s history, and a neat hole in the brickwork at roughly chest-height is almost exactly the dimensions of the rusted lock box now resting on the shelf beside Mainder, showing all the signs of having been wrenched open by a man in too much of a hurry to remember where he put the key. 

“No, it’s done. Do you have a minute?”. 

“Sure.”. He darts back out to the shop to flip the sign on the door to ‘Gone To Lunch’. Mainder half turns as he reappears, eyes flitting between the door and the lock box and pursing his lips as if deciding how to begin. 

“So …”. He tails off, staring at the box with a far-away frown. “I thought it would all be okay, and - I don’t know, maybe it still will. But I don’t want to leave anything to chance. You understand?”. 

The cautious look of bafflement on Krzysztof’s face clearly signals that he absolutely does not, and Mainder backs up a little. “Okay. Right. You and Aggie, you’re happy here?”. 

“Sure. It beats picking fruit.”. That old flippancy, the one he and Aggie use at home between themselves, slips out before he can stop it and he hastens to clarify. “Seriously though, yes. Very happy. Aggie just got the flat nice, just the way she likes it, and we put the children’s names down for the school just last month. We were hoping to settle down here. Is something wrong?”. Alarm crosses his face, and it’s Mainder’s turn to reassure. 

“No, nothing. Nothing that affects you. It’s just, how can I put this, the possibility of my past life catching up with me, and I might need to disappear for a while. Possibly a long while. If that happens I need to be able to leave someone I trust in charge.”. 

“How long exactly are we talking about?”. 

“I can’t say. But if one morning I can’t be found, if I’m gone for more than one full moon without getting word to you somehow, I need you to know what’s up.”. 

One full moon … a strange way to specify a month, but Krzysztof doesn’t question his employer’s funny little ways anymore. 

“And what is ‘up’?”, he asks, though he isn’t sure he’s ready for an answer. If it turns out he’s been working for a criminal all this time, some tawdry front for something dreadful, he – actually, he doesn’t care. If Mainder needs his help, after everything he’s done for him and Aggie, he shall have it even if it means Krzysztof has to perjure his soul to do so. 

Mainder looks at him keenly, as if effortlessly reading the thoughts ticker-taping across Krzysztof’s honest forehead, and his usual spark of mischief reappears. 

“I wouldn’t dream of troubling you with the details, my friend. If it happens there’ll be a letter in this box for you, alright? It’ll explain everything.”. 

No less mystified, Krzysztof nonetheless nods firmly. This he can do. “You leave it to me, boss. If it comes to it I’ll take care of the place for you.”. 

“I know you will.”. 

This is accompanied by Mainder’s smile - the real thing, a warming of approval and confidence that’s honestly the main reason Krzysztof agreed to work for him in the first place, and furthermore the reason he’d never consider leaving. It’s like - as he once tried to describe the man to Aggie, before she’d met him herself for the first time - when he smiles at you like that it’s like sitting beside a comfortable fire in a safe place. Like that. 

To his surprise she hadn’t mocked his foolish words, just nodded in that way she has and murmured, “Ah, dusza.”. He let it slide, not having been raised in the same ways as her, but it wasn’t long before he’d come to realise she was probably on to something. There’s something not quite here-and-now about the man he calls ‘boss’. 

..............................................................................................................................

If anything, Krzysztof was too diffident. He flat-out loves working at Mainder’s, especially compared to the other jobs he’s had since they came to this country. Picking fruit is all very well, and it kept them fed and housed (barely) to begin with. He didn’t precisely hate waiting on tables either, though he could have done without the finger-snapping and the casual xenophobia from a small minority of customers. But this now, this suits him down to the ground. He gets to use the degree he studied so hard for back home, mineralogy and geology, writing neat little cards explaining the properties of the carved trinkets on the racks and the baskets of loose gemstones. The customers are easy to deal with. Most importantly of all though his treasured Aggie has finally lost the haunted look that she used to wear, anxiously counting up their combined pay packets and parceling notes and coins out into the row of jam-jars on the mantelpiece against future bills. Now what he brings home alone covers the essentials, and they can look ahead further than the next rent payment. 

Braced for signs of trouble, it’s an odd sort of relief mingled with disappointment when the rest of the day continues in the usual prosaic pattern. The predictable afternoon rush of disinterested holidaymakers looking for something to do before they wander back to the B&Bs for dinner. The pre-closing checklist, flitting around the shop tidying the quick and easy areas like the bookshelves and the baskets of trinkets. Flipping the sign to ‘Closed’, counting the takings, stashing the next day’s float in the tiny safe behind the counter, and finally sweeping the floor, with a quick once-over to make sure everything is in order for the morning. The shelves are firmly back in their place in the back room when he goes through to empty the dustpan, all the mess swept up and no sign of ever having been disturbed. If he’d not seen the hole he’d never have known it was there, and that ancient lock box looked like a genuine antique. Strange. 

He flicks off the lights, locks the door behind him and heads home for his own day’s end ritual; dinner, a precious hour or so playing with the children before bedtime, and then curling up on the sofa with Aggie to watch TV.

[mariaperera-mga3385]

WEEK 7 - MANUAL DESIGN TECHNIQUES!! 📝 🖊️🌟 (Part 1)

This week was a fun to be honest. We had to get ✨crafty✨ The last time I ever got crafty was when I was in grade 5 (Those were traumatizing school times💀) but I’m glad to say that these manual design lectures were chill, fun and inspiring 😆🤸‍♀️✨

On Monday we were taught how to make collages by Alain. He started off with the presentation on what he does and what he uses as inspiration. He started a business called ‘Public works’ where they create any kind of story for their clients based on ‘Evocative Emotions’.

Now when I first heard about Evocative Emotions I was confused. I thought “Emotions are Emotions right?” But these emotions have a speciality to them.

- Alain taught us about the evocative emotions from the ‘Rasa Theory’ which derives from Natya Shastra! According to this theory there are 9 types of Rasas/ emotions.

After learning about the ‘Rasa Theory’, our lecturer gave us an assignment for the day. We were told to pick one emotion and using A4 colored sheets and magazine/ newspaper cutouts we had to create a collage portraying that emotion.

Right off the bat, I was invested in doing Fury (No I wasn’t angry about anything. I was just feeling violence that day😈) So I went ahead and flipped through the magazines and news papers and picked out different things I could used for my collage.

- I picked the Red and Black A4 papers and these characters from the magazine. This was the initial design I was planning to go for.

Now before I explain about changing the collage, I want to explain why I chose certain things and how it portrays ‘Fury’. While I was flipping through one magazine I came across and article talking about the rise in Inflation in SL and on the next page I found an article talking about the economy crisis of the country with these little characters in it. So I used my last to brain cells and thought “I should use these to show the fury the Lankan people have towards the government! Perfect!”

After I finished arranging the initial collage, I showed it to Alain and he told me to avoid having so much black around the edges and to keep the focus on the characters. So I decided to rearrange the collage to make it look better. This time I decided to paste the characters into the black paper so that the focus would be on them.

- This is the final design for the collage! I was pretty much happy with the design. It was simple, structured and communicated Fury perfectly!

- After we all finished our individual collages, we got them scanned and printed to see the final result

When I tell you I fell in love with the printed version, I mean it with a passion! Even though there isn’t much color in it the torn paper effect looks super cool. What more can I say, I was proud of my collage🥳💃✨

- These are some additional notes I wrote related to the collage design!

That’s it for this week’s part 1. Stay tuned for part 2😋✌️

[moeshachare]

FAS3000 - Printing Workshop 1 - ink and heat transfer prints

For this workshop, I continued to use my primary sources to experiment ink and heat transfer prints. I was introduced to using various colours of ink to create mark making. Unintentionally, I made circular marks to emulate the sky and with the colours it started to look more like a sunset. I then tried various brushstrokes to recreate the Bullring Tower to represent the significance it has in the city.

i am satisfied with my mark making because I felt it resonated well with my narrative and the marks are free and fluid that can be developed into something more. I developed this by cutting strips of all the different marks and glued them onto A4 paper as layers of chaos due to the busy movements of the marks. My idea was to let these layers of chaos fade into the sunset which has more freedom and calmness.

This is how I formed my 1st heat transfer print and I was very impressed with how it came out. The colours were a lot more vibrant than I expected but it still represented the sunset element of my narrative well.

I continued this idea for my 2nd sample where I then tried the sunrise element. This involved more solid layers and shapes rather than the busy marks compared to my sunset sample. I enjoy the simplicity of this sample, particularly the textures from the brushstrokes which emulates the sky fading away.

To me, this shows a contrast between sunrise and sunset as the sunrise is consisting of solid colour and less texture which feels pure and refreshing just like a new day; almost like a fresh canvas. In comparison, there is the sunset where at the end of the day, there has been a lot happening; it has been busy, unsettling and ongoing and I feel that it is reflected through the sunset colours.

I now want to develop this further by adding hand free machine embroidery onto the samples and using these prints as a potential background in my sketchbook.

[theartist1996]

I Was Never Alone

It's been weeks since this realization happened. I was once again in a dark moment. I am a 27 year old woman, resigned from a job, and broke. I was in an existential crisis. I questioned my life and how I am nearing the dreadful 30, I felt that I've achieved nothing in my life. And so, I dropped whatever it was that I was trying to achieve, which was setting up a business and finishing an animation project. I don’t know what exactly I was thinking but I ended up expressing myself through visual arts. I found myself bringing out my paints and paintbrushes and started on working on some portraits. I started with a trio of portraits of beloved characters from musical films, then I moved to creating my own concepts.

In one of those concepts, I wanted to do a horror-type painting of a ghostly woman looking eerily at the viewer.

I guess I wanted to express my depression. It took me several attempts to pull it off but none succeeded. And so I ended up doing something of a vintage portrait of a Japanese woman.

Feeling defeated but unwilling to give up, I wanted to give it another try. But the next attempt would never happen. After a fight with my significant other, I isolated myself in my brother’s bedroom, which he no longer uses. I wanted to be alone and, I guess, wallow in my own misery. I brought my art materials with me, because it was the only thing that could help me through the situation at the time. There, I thought about starting my third or fourth attempt at my horror painting.

Oddly enough the horror turned into divine. Instead of doing a portrait of a ghoulish woman, I ended up making a portrait of Our Lady of Sorrows. I didn’t really know why but I had this itch in my hand that I should make a portrait of Our Lady. I’ve always admired her for her obedience and faith to the Lord but I was rather inconsistent with my devotions to her.

The painting is a bit bigger than an A4 size paper and I used acrylic paints to paint it. I was rather astonished at the work that I did. It was and is beautiful. And as I looked into the painting, a feeling came over me that Our Lady was empathizing with me. From then on, my faith has been re-ignited.

I realized that for every moment that I thought I had no one, there has always been someone up there sharing the pain with me. And even better, I had this understanding that sufferings happen not because God wants to punish us, but because they are essential to our growth as a person. I’d like to think that as I go through challenges, Our Lady and Jesus are with me every step of the pain and helping me get through it. I think they wouldn’t intervene with the will of God the Father but comfort is what they can give to us.