#i had a very busy day (including job and creative stuff as well as shopping for magic cards and watching more glow up with my girlfriend)

[silhouettecrow]

365 Days of Writing Prompts: Day 313

Adjective: Rapid

Noun: Skin

Definitions for those who need/want them:

Rapid: happening in a short time or at a fast pace; (of movement or activity) characterized by great speed

Skin: the thin layer of tissue forming the natural outer covering of the body of a person or animal; the skin of a dead animal with or without the fur, used as material for clothing or other items; a container made from the skin of an animal such as a goat, used for holding liquids; the peel or outer layer of certain fruits or vegetables; the thin outer covering of a sausage; a thin layer forming on the surface of certain hot liquids, such as milk, as they cool; the outermost layer of a structure such as a building or aircraft; a strip of sealskin or other material attached to the underside of a ski to prevent a skier from slipping backward while climbing; (computing) a customized graphic user interface for an application or operating system; (informal) (British) a skinhead; (informal) (especially in jazz) a drum or drum head; (informal) relating to or denoting pornographic literature or films

[just-a-carrot]

How does the main five (including Cecil and Hunar) feel about their occupations? Do they all like their jobs or do any of them just do it for the payment?

is this in regards to their jobs in OW or their jobs in OC?? there would be a difference there at least for some...

i'll start with OW:

Iggy: Does enjoy his job for the most part. He likes that he can work freelance from home. And he likes coding and problem-solving. However, he hates networking and dealing with clients. It's not his dream job by any means and he does hate it sometimes, but it's not the worst. So I'd say a somewhat positive neutral.

Genzou: Chose to go into bikes mostly on a whim and because he couldn't think of anything else and really hated it at first when he was in training, but grew to love it and working with his hands in general. He does get a lot of joy out of his work and he loves having his own shop, getting to work with bikes all day. He doesn't enjoy the financial and business aspects of it though and he's often stressed about profits. But the job itself he does enjoy and he even tinkers around on his own personal projects in the shop, too.

Orlam: Hates everything about his job lol. Does it literally because he has nothing else to do but needs the money to pay for rent and food.

Gidget: Certainly believes they want to be a model lol. And I do think they get a lot of pride out of choosing outfits and going in for shoots. But it's not what they'd really like to be doing. Also they need to do a lot of random odd jobs and occasional part-time work to afford it, which they hate.

Bucks: Didn't like working the delivery truck that much, especially because of the weird hours and because she spent most of the time sitting in traffic or driving long hours, so she didn't get to move around much. Does mostly enjoy her manager position though as she's a good manager and it lets her interact more with people and be more active. Is definitely not her dream job though, she wants to be out playing softball or at least doing something physical and active, some kind of team sport or as a trainer, etc.

Hunar: Well, he doesn't really do much in OW. He's a writer and would love to spend his full time writing or being somewhere quiet to think and read, or maybe go on trips or quiet hikes to think up ideas. He's not really able to do this because of Saydie though. And even before that, since Bucks was busy at work, he had to take care of most of the house-related stuff, dealing with finances, mortgages, planning, family stuff, etc.

Cecil: His job is just attending to Gidget??? LOL he knows nothing else, it's what he was manifested for. He loves Gidget very much and enjoys being there for them but is obviously not always keen on their choices.

OK now to OC:

Iggy and Genzou are basically the same re: jobs in OC.

Orlam: Loves his job dearly. It gives him so much energy and makes him feel so important. He gets to meet new people all the time and make grandiose presentations and have lots of luncheons and meetings. It's his dream tbh.

Gidget: Likes their job a lot, but I wouldn't say that it's like... they would definitely do it even if they didn't need the money. I think in an ideal world they would love to just be a full-time volunteer and go around volunteering for all kinds of events and organizations, but they can't, so they also do something where they can be creative in a variety of different ways and work with a lot of people.

(LOL I HAVEN'T THOUGHT ABOUT THE SPECIFIC JOBS BUCKS, HUNAR, AND CECIL HAVE IN OC SO YOU'LL HAVE TO FORGIVE ME LKDJALDKF)

[justanartisticduck]

You mentioned that the teachers were forcibly turned into puppets, what were they like before?

okokok so uh I had an old post in which I did talk abt who the teachers used to be buuut uh I looked at the old post and OH MY GOSH IS THE INFO THERE SO OUTDATED LMAO- So I’m just gonna uh- redo that post lol- anywho I also did some doodles of past teachers but I didn’t draw all of them not will I touch on each of them (some because they didn’t have much of a significant role to include here (like the remainder of the health band), others because I’m still figuring it out (like shrig), and some because- well- they didn’t even have a past!! (Like lamp)) but I did do a few tweaks on these guy’s backstories alongside their designs!! Now anywho I’ll show you who these guys were and give a slight backstory to each of them (keep in mind, I won’t go super in depth with all of these guys, I hope you don’t mind) but anywho, onto the rambling!!

first off we are starting with Sketch!! Now in the past they were known as Nate Brooks!

So this was them and, as you can see, they are a Red guy (or they actually aren’t red- in fact their fur/hair was white :3) however, unlike other Red guys, their creativity was through the roof!! Alongside that they were super optimistic and were never afraid of showing their true self even in front of their colleagues! Now Nate was still pretty young when they were put into the machine (they were 20) and hey had just started working for jobs however- the jobs that were available for them wasnt many nor were those jobs fitting for their career path (which was artistic stuff… which Red guys aren’t very huge about-) So as it was they were looking for an artistic job that they could truly enjoy which is when Roy came into the picture… Roy offered them a spot on his show, being both a puppeteer and puppet maker/artist for the show!! Now Nate joined not long before Red so when they had met they became friends fairly quickly! Nate even played the first puppet Red and introduced upon his arrival!! They were super enthusiastic and happy about this job… if only they knew what was to happen later on…

Now next here’s our favorite Clock!! Anthony (Tony for short) Clockswork-Locksmith!! (He has two last names due to marriage stuff :P)

Now Anthony Clockswork was- well- not huge in the artistic business like the others who worked on the puppet show were- Now a bit of background knowledge on him first!! Now Tony came from a family full of engineers and mechanics so he already had quite an interest in mechanics and such however he had a bigger interest in mind, clocks! Since he was younger he loved making clocks, when he grew older he opened up a mini shop for clocks and such and one day he ran out of metal supplies and he went to a metal working shop when he met his future husband, Steven Locksmith (cough cough- mean Steve- cough-) now these two soon joined businesses and fell in love blah blah blah- but now Tony and Steve Locksmith owned the top clock and metal store in the whole town!!! Or… at least for a while- eventually business began running slower as more people started using tech and Tony and Steve began struggling with their store. Tony was desperate to keep their shop open and “luckily” a certain business man heard of their struggles… Roy offered a temporary job. This job offered some extra support for Tony, extra money, it would be enough to help keep his business alive… now Tony was skeptical if this whole job deal but… he was desperate.. he took the deal and started working for Roy. Now his time working for the puppet show wasn’t too interesting, really he was more concerned and focused on his own business, but at first he worked as a tech guy alongside Colin and a timekeeper type person for the show aswell. However later on in production he was given the role of a clock character! He grew more dedicated and positive towards the show after this, plus now he had friends!! Things for his own business were now looking up too!! Everything was great… such a shame it all had to go downhill…

Now we have Colin Cyberbeck!!

So this was Colin!! Back before becoming a computery guy infested with computer viruses he was actually a pretty chill clevery guy! Now, similarly to Tony, Colin was born into a family really interested in technology however they leaned moreso to modern technology (like phones, computers, etc.) So Colin was always a tech guy!! However, he began to break off from his family’s business and began seeking out for a way to start his own business instead!! He still was in the process of this when he met Roy nor did he successfully leave his family’s workplace either. He was working a simpler less fun job upon meeting Roy, surveys, clipboards, NOT working on his passion- now that’s what he was doing and he actually met Roy through a survey in fact!! Now Roy, of course, found a way to convince Colin to join his puppet show and- you may be thinking- why would Colin join? This show is about puppets not technology!!! Well that’s what Colin had thought at first until Roy mentioned that they were in need of someone to handle filming, lighting, and things of that nature! After that Colin joined in an instant, besides this gave him a chance to work on something new and prepare him for starting his own business! Or.. at least that’s what the plan originally was- Anywho so Colin started working for Roy!! His main job was to work with most of the technology stuff in the show’s production like editing, sound effects, filming, and those are just a few examples of what he did!!! Colin eventually even got his own puppet dubbed “Colin the Computer”!! Things were going great!! Plus now he had nearly enough money to start his own business… however… we all know by now things didn't stay happy...

Next up is Daniel Cook aka steak (the rest of the food band I’m not really including here since they don’t have as big of a role but in case you were wondering there’s Fredrick (fridge), Sammy/Sam (spinach), and Ben (bread boy :3))

Ok so Daniel and the rest of his family’s case is interesting mainly because, unlike nearly all the other people who encountered Roy, he didn’t end up working for Roy- heck- in fact Daniel didn’t even like Roy in the first place!!! Now I’ll just summarize who the food band was as a whole before I get into the backstory behind how they became teachers. So the food family (which is what I’ll be calling the food band here) we’re a small family which made food for schools and those who were in need of it. We had Daniel who focused on meats, Sam who focused on veggies and fruits, and Fredrick and Ben who focused on breads and pastries. Now the food family did lots of bake sales for charity and would give out free food occasionally and this caught the eye of Roy. Roy offered to sponsor them, he would give them money to “give away” foods from his company or more so he wanted them to sell his products which isn’t what they stood for whatsoever. Roy then offered them a job at his food company which was an offer the family declined, they didn’t know this man and they weren’t gonna let him run how they did business. Days carried on, they got more and more offers from Roy but each time they declined. They continued what they loved regardless. Now eventually June 19th comes rolling up and Roy realizes he needs to get rid of Duck or at least find a way to separate them from the rest of the trio but he had no teachers he could use at that time.. then he remembered the food family… now Roy found teachers who not only could outnumber the trio (or duo since Red is gone) but also separate yellow and duck… and punish them both accordingly- however there was an issue- he didn’t have any connections with this family nor did he think they would be willing to “join his show” so.. he would have to do this through force- luckily Roy isn’t too unfamiliar with kidnapping! (Ughhh I hate this man-) so yes, he kidnaps the food family and forcefully makes them become the food gang which is where Dhmis 5 begins.

now there are two teachers (not including the pilot teachers) that I did not include here, Shrignold and Lamp. Now for Shrig I didn’t include him cuz I’m actually in the process of rewriting his backstory cuz I don’t necessarily like the backstory I wrote for him in the past and I didn’t want to make the wait for my answer longer nor did I want to give you a rushed backstory that I would later claim as false so I didn’t include his backstory here because of that, I hope you don’t mind!! And Lamp… actually didn’t have a past self!! He is one of the very few teachers who didn’t have a non teacher counterpart before becoming a teacher. Lamp was actually a real lamp that little Doi used to love! (And of course Roy decided to traumatize his kid by using this Lamp to nearly kill Doi because just of course Roy freaking would-). But yeah!! I hope you don’t mind I didn’t include these two here! ^^

Anywho I hope you enjoyed my rambling and I’m sorry this took so long to answer!! I uh went full rambling mode on this one lol- but still hope you enjoyed reading this though!!! ^^ (also if I made no sense I’m sorry my rambles can get confusing also i wrote this over the course of a lot of days so I’m sorry XD)

[hermitcraftheadcanons]

Apartment AU Masterpost:

-Everyone lives in an apartment complex.

-Xisuma as landlord? Or just a really well looked up to person in the complex. Whichever works for you!

-Pranks all the time. Everyone's constantly pranking each other.

-Everyone has 'normal people jobs.' Perhaps Joe is an English teacher? (Cleo's also a teacher. (Irl.) Omg, what if they teach at the same school?) Maybe Bdubs is a professional interior designer? Maybe Cub builds computers? Go nuts, get creative.

-Actually, screw it. Bdubs works at IKEA.

-Everyone meets up every Friday night to go to the pub or go bowling or just do something together.

-They have a discord server because of course they do.

-European Hermits are early-birds, American hermits are night-owls. (This is the only way I can think to portray timezones and waking hours when everyone's living in the same building.)

-They all still love minecraft, don't worry.

-Keralis has so many books his flat is basically a library. He lets people come in and borrow books for a small fee.

-Tinfoilchef is a bit of a shut in but everyone makes an effort to include him.

-Etho would also be a cryptid like Xisuma. Like, we've seen Xisuma's whole body other than his face but the best we know about Etho is that: 1. He exists and 2. From the, like, one single real life photo he's shared, he broke a headset. Also, 3. Allegedly, he's buff. Otherwise; Beef and Etho invite Pause (who lives elsewhere,) over at random intervals to [play ctm maps] and do god knows what. Bdoubs works at IKEA but is the person to make the room displays, y'know.

-Scar sells dice and other tabletop rpg supplies that he designs. His shop is magiccrystals. com

-Cub and Scar made business with the guy who runs the fight club. They get half of the profits and everyone’s always wondering how those two can always afford the most expensive Christmas gifts for everyone.

-Mumbo could be an engineer or work on a STEM field, and he works on some really important and impressive projects and that would explain his polish person, Exept, when it comes to helping another hermit to change a lightbulb or fix a microwave he is an absolute disaster.

-Grian owns a parrot that knows everyones' names and faces and greets them when they come in.

-Scar's apartment has a balcony filled with plants and he has to bring them inside for the winter. (I'm assuming that all 4 seasons happen) Even without the balcony plants, his place is still full of indoor plants including his favorite venus flytrap. There is always a plant knocked over from Jellie's shenanigans. Jellie is supposed to stay in his apartment, however she keeps on getting out somehow, even getting to Xisuma's apartment occasionally.

-There's a grassy patch out back that acts as a backyard, but Stress has effectively taken it over. Perfect for flowers of all colors in the spring and summer, and during the winter you KNOW she’s building an ice castle from which to throw snowball at all her friends.

-Beef and, when he’s visiting, Pause get a lot of questions about Etho (since unlike X who gets one tightlipped visitor in shape of his brother Etho gets two that are willing to be vague) however they charge a fee for people to guess. They’d never actually sell him out but the guesses are always something technical related so there’s not much of a risk, he actually works as a botanist/gardener.

-Iskall is extremely good at ice hockey and, as resident Canadians, Etho and Beef have played with him. However Iskall only knows that he’s played with Beef because both beef and etho refuse to tell him who in the rink was Etho when they played.

-The only person who’s seen Xisuma's face is Keralis.

-Nobody knows what Grian does for a job. Like, when they think they've figured it out what he does, they're thrown through a loop again because he does a lot of odd jobs. Need help with a pet? Grian can help! Rip on your clothes? Don't worry, Grian knows how to fix it! Ect.

-Grian's an assassin. Iskall will make assassin jokes and Grian, without looking up from his coffee will go: "that's not how that works!" And then go back to being quiet. Everyone's like ????

-I love the idea of Grian knowing all these cool facts and when anyone acts he says 'it's because of his job,' and they still can't figure out what he does. He keeps correcting Iskall on assassin facts but they're all just like 'oh Grian sure must love those types of movies, huh.'

-Cleo teaches Joe's kid. (That means she teaches either year 2 or year 3? // 1st grade or 2nd grade?)

-Grian's family is in the mafia but he mostly just vibes. Sure, he works with the mafia, but he keeps his regular life away from work and none of the hermits (besides False because she saved the Mafia boss) know. Imagine boss looking at False and going, 'oh hey, you're already protected.' False is confused and says 'what?' But the Mafia Boss has already left.

-Etho is always in full kakashi cosplay.

-Honorary hermits apartment au: zloy and pixl have a radio show but also act as private investigators. Falsie hires them to investigate how she got the protection of the mafia. On their investigation they start asking Elybeat (that lives on a building right next to the hermits) about weird behaviors that he might have seen. Ely just goes ‘all of what they do is weird. I’ve recorded weird stuff they say and remixed it. They though it was funny and put the remixes as their elevator music.'

-Everyone thinks Etho is an assassin, but really, he's a horticulturist/botanist. He doesn't bother to correct them cause it means he doesn't get pranked, (or, as often.) Maybe someone finds out eventually? I don't know who. Maybe Doc and they keep it hush hush cause they think it's funny or something. || Maybe Bdubs finds out, (because I think he's seen Naruto?? Swear I saw a Twitter post where he recognized a Naruto joke) and he's the only one that recognizes that Etho's dressed like Kakashi and NOT an assassin. (That's lowkey a joke though.)

-Someone warns Grian against parking euro because they think Etho's an assassin and Grian just kinda goes: "alright then." Knowing that there's no way Etho is an assassin, but also realising how the hermits view that profession, he most likely starts feeling kinda bad.

-Beef used to be a car photographer and Mumbo takes photographs as a sideline when he was in college. They would occasionally chat about their past experience in the photography field and sometimes gush about cars.

-Hermit Challenges was actually a truth or dare game among the hermits. Mumbo was basically delirious from lack of sleep to explain his absolute gremlin energy. Mumbo dares Grian to steal front doors before passing out and everyone decided that was the end of that game. No one thought Grian would do the dare. A week later, everyone but Etho and Xisuma were missing their front doors (including Grian.) He stuck them in his bathroom so no one immediately saw the doors.

-As already established, Joe constantly hangs at Keralis's library. Let's say he also has a hobby for writing, and one time he was asking to himself how *insert really specific murder scene* would work in real life. Grian or Doc then overheard him and answers him in a also very specific way, he thanks them with 0 concerns and continues with his writing.

-Etho has been an assassin but it was many years ago, and retired to care for plants. (As you do.) He got hired by The Goatfather but intentionally botched the killings because, 'hey now those two are friends >:(' He and Bdubs still have the endrod game but it involves the whole apartment building and several discord messages going "located" or "flashlight on the move.'

-Stress paints all the hermit's door and puts their names on them. (-🌿)

-The organisization Grian works for is called "The Watchers!" They text him in riddles of what his missions are. This is so that if anyone peaks at his phone, they don't understand immediately!

-What if in YHS happen because of grian family and Sam is from an other family who does not support the grain family. So grian will not bring up high school and school and when joe and Cleo talk about there student grian sometimes cringes remember what happened in high school. (-🌿)

-Grian and Mumbo's hobbits holes were two cupboards they found on their respective apartments and decided to make a room out of them and named them their hobbit holes after they found out they both had them (-🐿️)

-What if it's a really old apartment and the 'hobbit holes' actually connect to each others apartment. (-🐺)

-Mumbo has these periods when he overworks like crazy and when they're over - he sleeps for like 24-36 hours straight. Everybody knows about this and help him if he falls asleep in random plaxes around the apartment. Mumbo once fell asleep right before his door and Grian tried to help him get inside while mumbling. Guess which remix were aded to the elevator music next week.

-Whenever anyone is annoyed or upset, grian sometimes pops his head up from his book and goes "who do I need to kill?" No one takes him seriously though he *would* kill for any of his friends.

-People who have left the server work nearby but have moved to new apartments. (For example, Welsknight works at a nearby food truck) (-☘️)

-With the Grian being a spy you get several oints where he thinks he's been found out but no one puts the and two together. They're all like: "Grian just likes action movies I guess."

-Scar's "wizard robe" is a bathrobe he owns. One day he forgets to change and just walks out in a bathrobe and no pants.

-Since Cleo teaches Joe's kid, maybe that extends to all the hermits' kids? Like the ones that have them, like not at the same time but at some point you know?

-I don't think I saw any regarding headgames, but I could've missed it. Anyways, what if Cleo wanted to make a big Scrapbook in her free time of all her friends, so she asks everybody to try and get pictures. So the PVP heads are candid photos, and the tradeable one are like selfies or group pictures. The other heads could just be a requirement for the picture like have a sheep in the picture. And maybe she gives the winners dinner payed by her or something.

-On the head cannon that hermits that aren’t on the server work nearby, Biffa is the actual mayor.

-Are mobs (and half mobs by extension) still a thing in apartment au? Cause if not I propose that Jevin just has cloob blue dyed hair and a bunch of blue tattoos.

-XB bakes a lot and always shares the food he makes with the others. They adore his cookies. Scar really wants to make some cookies in the shapes of disney characters with him, but he's too shy to ask. (-nameless anon)

-Perhaps Mumbo and Iskall are also protected by the mafia because of grian (perhaps scar is too) They and False have a 'we are protected and have no idea why' group (-Frost Anon)

-Imagine the hermits want to throw a nice party but X and Etho were kinda like “yeah no i’ll pass” so they make it a masquerade so that they can come- and then the whole night no one knows who anyone really is, but still has a really good time.

-Grian wanted a pet parrot, but felt like he would be terrible at taking care of one so he has toy parrots instead, those that have pre made phrases and such, and he is proud of his toy parrot pets. (-🐿️)

-Xisuma hosts a podcast! That's where all of his Xisuma speaks content ends up coming from. (-🇵🇭)

-Etho has a secret food blog called "Cooking With Etho" (based on the actual cooking with Etho segment in usually his modded stuff.) He also knows that there's hermits that either: have no idea how to cook properly or can't cook real meals due to their work. To help with this, sometimes he leaves finished meals or recipes with them (outside their doors or somehow in their fridge) and no one knows who does it prompting the theory of a self care ghost haunting the building.

(All of those in red were from Anons!)

-Joe works as a LAMP Developer.

-False has an assortment of swords, knives, etc. She even had a bow! She also has a dummy to practice fighting on.

(-@unpredictable-pancake.)

-Stress is a wedding designer. (-@the-angry-numel.)

-Iskall also works at IKEA with Bdubs. (-@mandatedempathy.)

-There's a local club that's basically fight club a few people are in. False, Iskall and a couple others are in.

-Hypno is kind of a bit of a loner. Everyone on the floor considers him a friend but he doesn't really have a best friend. He just does his own thing and people usually let him do that. He's fine with it.

-XB and Joe spend a lot of time at Keralis' library house just reading the books. Keralis usually charges every except those two because 1. They're there so often and 2. They're basically his room mates at this point. (-@tomcatacaphe.)

-Ren works at a bar as a bartender or musician. (-@friendlyneighbourhoodpieceoftrash.)

-Building on the last thing with Ren as a musician or working at a bar, he works at a bar as a server but does live music on weekends. It's the bar/pub/restaurant that the hermits sometimes hang out at together.

-I can see Grian working at a pet shop but also on the side of the mafia because of YHS. Or at least he used to be involved with the mafia.

-Beef once had to cart Etho off to the hospital for a chemical burn and explain to the other tenants that the explosion heard suspiciously close by wasn’t mafia activity. Etho is just an idiot with a hobby of making homemade fireworks.

-(-@limelocked.)

-False is the chief of police for the town they live in. Iskall is a hired assassin who normally gets employed by the mysterious figure GOATfather. Doc is the GOATfather, head of the mafia. Falsie is trying to hunt down these two as well as any others associated with them. The nHo is part of the mafia. Falsie has no idea any of them are in the mafia and they refuse to kill her because she has become such a close friend to them.

-Maybe Grian is a spy instead of an assassin? The group the Watchers is a government policing organization bent on trying to crack down on mob activity in the area.

(-@creator0fchaos.)

-The elevator music is hermitgang and remixes. -(@lookitsspacekween.)

-Zedaph is a game show host. Tango makes cartoons. (-@aphion-and-on.)

-Come on, let Iskall play ice hockey! Maybe not professionally if it doesn't work for the AU but he's v good at least. (-@automnalsaffron.)

-Grian maybe works at an animal shelter or an animal rehabilitation center. So everyone who has a pet usually comes to him for help if their pet is sick or injured. (-@vahco.)

-Grian has a safe full of guns, all the Hermits know about it but think they're fake. (-@xxpzmistxx)

-X never comes out of his room so no one’s seen his face. The only way he communicates is via text, Discord, and an intercom right by his door. He almost always gets groceries whenever the hermits are busy and therefore have no time to go out- but the hermits know he’s a real person because sometimes they hear guitar solos coming from his room.

-Hypno is a voice actor!

-Joe and Cleo often go home at the same time, and all the way it's almost always Cleo complaining about her students being bratty and the likes (Bonus points if Joe carpools with Cleo, who owns a car.)

-False unknowingly helps the boss of the mafia after seeing him wounded on a street one day, earning her their protection.

-As a callback to Season 6, Stress became a cat lady for a bit while False became a dog lady. As an added bonus: Cleo became nuts when Cub decided to gift her with spiders for her birthday or some other event.

-Mumbo still sidelines as a cameraman/film director for short documentaries and comedy sketches where he often invites Zed and his buddy Jack to act maybe?

-The first time X was proven to be an actual person was when the girls temporarily kicked the boys out to have the apartment all to themselves for a girls’ night which prompted the boys to have their own boys’ night. X was wearing his grey helmet that night so his face was still obscured tho, and from that day forward they always had a weekly girls’ night and boys’ night alternating on which group gets to have the apartment to themselves.

-False may seem like she can take a shot or two, but in reality she’s very lightweight and easily drunk, and is always the first one wasted. She becomes a flirty drunk who flirts with everyone and everything when she’s tipsy, an angry drunk the more she drinks and eventually a sad drunk before passing out. Cleo and Stress, her drinking buddies, always find amusement in this.

-As a callback to Xb living a thousand blocks away from society in s7, maybe he lives at the highest floor where not many (if not no one) occupies?

(-@heyitsroby.)

-Civil War started because they used to get groceries delivered to their doors and Grian started stealing them when they were left in the doorstep. Everyone stole each others groceries until one day they went into teamss of one side vs the other side of the corridor to the other until Grian stole so many groceries Dic was like 'Dammit!' He started going to the store to get groceries instead of getting them delivered to his door after that. (-@sayeshaa1108.)

-Regarding apartment au: Zedaph is similar to miu iruma from danganronpa: making the weirdest inventions and coaxing the other hermits into doing weird things for science. (-@oh-hecc-im-stupid.)

-Idk if Doc has a profession yet in the apartment au, but it just struck me- what if he owned a private casino?? Cause of s7? Just a thought! (-@853dragons.)

-Cleo really enjoys doing miniature diorama scenes. Like the tiny dudes from "Night at The Museum". She's like crazy good at it, and Joe will sometimes base his poems and stories off of her dioramas. Also maybe Joe has published a book of poems and short stories? (-@lynxes15.)

-Doc works as a social engineer and part time mafia boss. He rarely shows up for game nights. However, when he does, nobody else stands a chance.

-Tango, Impulse and Zedaph go over to each other's rooms so often they practically live together in an apartment room 3X bigger than everyone else.

(-@trashedeggnog.)

LINK TO NEXT POST: https://hermitcraftheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/617640752709861376/apartmentau-masterpost-2-link-to-previous-the

Posts with TW:

Guns, Gangs, Getting Shot. Don't read if you can't handle this topics.

-Everyone finds out Grian is an assassin/mafia boss because someone from a different gang (*cough cough* sam gladiator *cough cough*) found out where he lives and tried to murder him. Queue epic gun fight scene. If you want some angst, Grian gets shot a couple of times in the fight but didn’t realize it because of the adrenaline and passes out. (-Anon.)

-Imagine someone like, finding Grian's guns and weapons and just being :0 and Grian is a little nervous. But then the other hermit just think the guns are cool (it's probably either etho or doc) and they're just gushing over how cool the guns are. Grian is relieved. (-Anon.)

-iJevin owns at least one gun. He's not in the mafia or a cop or anything, it's just cool and legal so he as one. He's the constant counter for the other gun owning hermits who have them for more mafia related purposes (context: jevin owns at least one gun irl) (-Anon.)

[letterboxd]

Lonesome Cruiser.

Blockbuster composer Tom Holkenborg, aka Junkie XL, talks to Gemma Gracewood about composing for titans, his pride in Dutch cinema, friendship with George Miller and longing for Olivia Newton-John. Plus: his Letterboxd Life in Film and why he’s selling his prized collection of recording gear.

It has been a spectacular spring for Tom Holkenborg, the Dutch musician also known as Junkie XL, who has crafted the scores for multiplex fare such as Mad Max: Fury Road, Deadpool, Terminator: Dark Fate, Sonic the Hedgehog and the upcoming zombie banger Army of the Dead. Only weeks apart, two blockbusters landed on screens with his sonic stamp all over them: Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs. Kong and Zack Snyder’s re-realized Justice League.

Thankfully, the Godzilla vs. Kong score was complete by the time the Justice League telephone rang. Holkenborg—who had lost the Justice League gig along with Snyder the first time around—knew the Snyder cut was coming; he had closely watched the growing calls for it online. “Zack and I already started talking in 2019. He’s like, ‘What if we were to finish this? What would it take?’ Those conversations turned to ‘Well, how many recording days potentially do you need and how much of an orchestra do you potentially need?’ Finally, somewhere in April 2020, that’s when that phone call came: ‘Okay, light’s green, start tomorrow, and start running until it’s done because it’s four and a half hours’.”

Ray Fisher as Cyborg in ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’.

Holkenborg approaches the titanic task of blockbuster film scoring with an engineer’s mindset: “Building a fantastic, huge house with 20 bedrooms and the dance hall and the kitchen… You’re not going to start by building the third bathroom for the third guest room, right?” Once he has identified the scenes that are most important to his directors—for Snyder, they included the introduction of Cyborg, three fight set-pieces, and a scene of The Flash running that comes towards the end of the film—the composer identifies instrumental “colors” in order to build a theme around each character. Then he holds some of those colors back, theorizing that “if you want like an, ‘Oh!’ experience by looking at a painting that has a huge amount of bright yellow in it, it’s way more successful to see fifteen paintings in front of it, where yellow is absent.”

The Godzilla vs. Kong score satisfies Holkenborg’s life-long love of both characters. “I don’t have a preference for either one. I love them both for various different reasons.” Their respective histories fascinate him: Godzilla as a way to make sense of Japan’s nuclear fall-out, and Kong as a gigantic spectacle that ended up attracting the sympathies of the audiences he was supposed to scare. Even when the science makes no sense (“what the fuck are plasma boosters, anyway?!”), Holkenborg is still happy to wax lyrical about the emotional depth of Kong’s stories, the elaborate concepts of the Godzilla-verse, and his musical approach to the pair—dark, moving brass for Godzilla, with synthesized elements “because he is a half-synthesized animal”, and a more organic, complex orchestration for Kong, featuring “one of the world’s bigger bass drums”.

Adam Wingard’s ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’.

All of this seat-shaking bombast is composed on an “insanely massive sound system” in Holkenborg’s small home studio (though he reassures pandemic-stricken film lovers that he has recently seen both Godzilla vs. Kong and Justice League on his laptop—and “really enjoyed watching it like that”). The process, he says, was “pretty intense”, but only in terms of the sheer amount of score needed. Composing in quarantine was not much different from his usual workflow. “I’m a pretty lonesome cruiser anyway. Composing, by nature, is like a solo exercise—obviously with assistance.”

Like many creatives (Bong Joon-ho recently told a film studies class that he is up at 5:00am most days to watch a movie), Holkenborg is an early riser, waking by 4:00am. “I’m super sharp between like 4 or 5:00am and 9:00am, so I like to do a lot of creative work in that slot.” He takes care of business until mid-afternoon, when another creative spurt happens. “And then I have another batch of calls usually to make, and then around 8:30pm, I’m going to retire for the rest of the day and just chill out a little bit and watch stuff that I want to see, read things that I want to read. Right now I’m studying Portuguese.” By 10:30pm, he’s asleep. “And then at three o’clock I get up.” (Needless to say, Holkenborg’s children are no longer small.)

The pandemic simplified a lot of things for a lot of people: for Holkenborg, it has been a moment to tidy up the physical side of his work. In November last year, he opened an online shop to divest the bulk of his gear—synths, pedals, guitars, drum machines and much more—that he has been collecting since the late 1970s. When friends told him he’d regret it, he disagreed. “At some point I’m going to die. I can’t take them to the afterlife. I also found out I don’t need them. I love to have them around, but I don’t need them.”

Tom Holkenborg with the bass drum used in the ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ score.

It certainly solves the question of what he’d take if his house was on fire. “The hard drives with sounds and music over the last 40 years, 45 years, that’s hard to replace. So, that would be it. I’m just thinking about things that are absolutely irreplaceable and there are not that many, really.” Alas, it’s bad news for that bass drum. “I can’t take that with me when the house is on fire. Unfortunately, it’s going to make the house burn longer.”

Anyone who has interviewed or spent time with Holkenborg will agree: he may be a lonesome cruiser, but he is also personable, funny, loves to settle in for a chat. As he lights his second or third cigarette in readiness for his Life in Film questionnaire, I’m curious about his relationships with the esteemed filmmakers he has worked with—who include his mentor, Hans Zimmer, directors Sir Peter Jackson, Tim Miller, Robert Rodriguez and, especially, Fury Road’s George Miller.

The story of how Holkenborg scored Mad Max: Fury Road bears retelling: that George Miller did not want a soundtrack (“he was convinced that the orchestration of sounds of the cars would be enough to carry the whole movie”), that Holkenborg was only brought in to create a little something for the Coma-Doof Warrior’s flame-throwing guitar, that they hit it off, the job grew, and grew, into a score that covers almost the entire film.

The Coma-Doof Warrior in ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015).

What is his best memory of Fury Road? “Well, obviously, when I saw the movie for the first time and I was like ‘what the hell am I looking at?’,” he laughs. “What I mostly look back on is the friendship that I developed with George and the film school one-on-one that I got admitted to, while being paid at the same time, to study with somebody like him. We would talk all night about all kinds of things and nothing, because that really defines our relationship so much—a joint interest in so many different things.”

Happily, Holkenborg and Miller are working together again, on Three Thousand Years of Longing. “It’s really great to be in that process with him again. It’s just like about pricking each other with a little needle. It’s like, ‘Oh, why are you saying that?’ We do that with each other to keep each other sharp. ‘Oh, but if you’re doing this, I’m going to be doing that.’ And then, ‘Oh, if you’re doing that, I’m going to be doing this.’ So it’s really interesting.”

What is your favorite Godzilla film?

Tom Holkenborg: 1989’s Godzilla vs. Biollante. It’s a very obscure one where he’s basically fighting a giant rose. Let’s not look for the logic there.

Why has that particular Godzilla captured your heart? It’s so corny. Yeah. Mothra vs. Godzilla is also great. Mothra looks like a very bad Arabian carpet that was imported through customs and it got delivered by FedEx completely ruined and then laid outside for like four weeks in the rain.

‘Godzilla vs. Biollante’ (ゴジラvsビオランテ, 1989).

What is the first film you remember seeing in a cinema? Bambi. I was six years old, yeah.

And is there a film you have fond memories of watching with your family—a movie that became a family favorite? Not, like, a family favorite because our opinions were too diverse for that, but the next movie that became very important to me when I was a little older was Saturday Night Fever. I thought the soundtrack was, like, groundbreaking, mind-blowingly insane. It’s not necessarily those three massive beats of the Bee Gees on there, but all these other really alternative, left-field tracks by bands like Kool & the Gang. And the way that that darker disco music played against that really dark movie about what it’s like to live in New York and become a competitive dancer, it’s incredible. And still, today, it’s one of the movies where film music and the film itself had so much impact on me, even though it’s not a traditional film score in that sense. It’s incredible.

What is the film that made you want to work in movies, given that you also have a whole musical career separate from movies? (Enjoy Junkie XL’s early 2000s remix of Elvis Presley’s ‘A Little Less Conversation’.) For me, the move from a traditional artist into film scoring was a very slow gradual process. There’s not one movie that pushed me over the cliff. It’s just, like, all the great movies that were made. And I still have a list of obscure movies, classic movies that I need to see.

Yesterday I saw the weirdest of all, but I do want to share this: the original, uncut R-rated version of Caligula, [from] 1979. He [director Tinto Brass] was notoriously brutal and he organized orgies and had terrible torturing techniques. But it’s really weird, there’s Shakespearean actors in there, and then it goes to full-on porn sections. It’s really weird. The music is incredible. You can find it online. You will not find it anywhere [else]. I can just imagine what this must have felt like in 1979 when the film came out. Suspiria, that’s another one. It’s just like, how weird was that thing?

What is your favorite blockbuster that you did not compose? Ben-Hur. I’ve seen that one at least 20 times.

What’s your all-time comfort re-watch? The movie I’ve seen the most is Blade Runner. It’s just, like, it’s a nice world you’re stepping into, that fantasy. It’s not necessarily because I have memories [of] that movie that brings me back to a certain time period, it’s not that. It’s just that I just love to dwell in it. It feels a little bit like coming home. You can use it as comfort food, you can use it as, “I’m not feeling anything today”, or the opposite. You feel very great and you feel very inspired and it’s like, “Oh, let’s go home and watch that movie again.”

Terrence Malick’s ‘The Thin Red Line’ (1998).

Hans Zimmer has been an important mentor to you. Do you have a favorite of his scores? Yes, The Thin Red Line. It’s also the filmmaking of Terrence Malick—he forces a composer to think a certain way. He would always say, “It’s too much, make it less, make it smaller, make it this, make it that.” So, A, it’s a very good movie and B, he got Hans into the right place and Hans just over-delivered by doing exactly the right things at the right time and then shining just because of that.

Who is a composer that you have your eye on and what is one of their films that we should watch next? It’s so sad to say, but I mean, let’s call it like a retrospective discovery if you will. I’m so sad that we lost Jóhann Jóhannsson. He was a composer I felt really close to. We started roughly in the same time period making our way in today’s world. Also, Jóhann came from an artist background, even though it was a modern classical background. He made really great records, great experimentation with electronic elements, with classical instruments, and the mix between the two of them—very original way of looking at music. With Denis Villeneuve as his partner in crime the movies that they did were just mind-boggling good, whether it was Sicario or Arrival or Prisoners, and his voice will truly be missed among film composers. So people that are not super familiar with his work, I would definitely check it out.

‘Turks Fruit’ (Turkish Delight, 1973).

What is a must-see Dutch film that we should add to our watchlists? Holland has small cinema, but it has a really rich cinema and a very serious cinema culture. Usually because there’s not enough work in film, people are serious stage performers but then they also act in movies so they understand both really well. And we’ve delivered. There’s a string of actors that make their way to Hollywood or star in well-known series, whether it’s like Game of Thrones, or what we just talked about, Blade Runner. Many directors like Paul Verhoeven, Jan de Bont, the cameraman.

And so a movie that I’d like to pick is an old movie, called Turks Fruit (Turkish Delight) from the 1970s. Rutger Hauer is a younger guy, like, this completely irresponsible guy that starts this relationship with a really beautiful young girl, and they do all these crazy things, they do a lot of drugs and they have a lot of sex. He’s just like a bad influence on her.

Then he finds out she [has] cancer and it’s terminal. And to see him deal with that, and to see him want a change, but also in that change he does a lot of bad stuff at the same time… It was a sensational movie when it came out. And it actually was directed by Paul Verhoeven, one of his earlier films. When you see it, you’re just like, ‘Why am I watching this?’ for the first 45 minutes and then it starts and it’s like, ‘whoa’. So it’s really good, even in retrospect.

Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in ‘Grease’ (1978).

What is the sexiest film you’ve ever seen? When I was super young, it was definitely Grease, with Olivia Newton-John, when she was in her catsuit at the very end of it. I had her picture on my bedroom, above my bed sideways because I was only like ten years old or something. I was so in love with Olivia Newton-John. It wasn’t the film per se, it was her. Yeah, I find, personally, movies from the ’70s to be more sexy, but it has something to do with the super-loose way that people were dressed and people were behaving.

And the other one was later in life: Basic Instinct. Sharon Stone. I’m not talking about like the famous shot, right, where she crosses her legs. I’m not talking about that, but the way that she acts throughout the whole movie. It’s insane. It’s really great.

Are there any films that have scared you? Like, truly terrified you? Yeah, I’m not a big fan because I get sucked up too much in it. The found [footage] horror movies like Paranormal Activity and things like the Japanese version of The Grudge, I cannot watch that stuff. That gets me too much. Because when I watch a film, I cannot watch it with one eye half open, the other one closed, like, ‘Okay, kind of cool, interesting’. I just get sucked into it.

Is there a film that has made you cry like no other? Oh yeah. Multiple. Once Upon a Time in America. The Godfather. Hable con Ella (Talk to Her). Betty Blue.

Thomas Holkenborg, AKA Junkie XL.

These are the films that make you weep? Not like on a regular basis, but I remember those were the ones that I really got hit. I’m talking particularly about the third Godfather. That whole end scene when they get out of the church and then… It’s really well-acted. So many Godfather fans that were dismissive of the film when it came out, in retrospect, ten, fifteen, 20 years later, are like, ‘it’s a really good film’. And I actually think so.

Final question. Is there a film from the past year that you would recommend, that you’ve loved? [Long pause.] The thing is that I watch pretty much a movie a day. So, that’s like three to four hundred movies. It [has] happened so often that I watch a film and then I’m just like an hour and 45 minutes in, it’s like, ‘wait, fuck, I’ve seen this thing before’.

So, we have an app for that… [Laughs.]

Related content

Junkie XL’s Letterboxd Life in Film list

Freddie Baker’s review of Justice League

Dutch Cinema: Danielle’s extensive list of more than 2,000 films

Letterboxd Showdown: The Perfect Score (best film scores)

The official Junkie XL Reverb Shop

Follow Gemma on Letterboxd

[rebeccathenaturalist]

And here we are, a year later! I'm so used to letting projects like this fall to the wayside, and when I started I honestly worried whether I'd be able to keep up the pace. And yet here I am, still posting comics at a rate of one one week, two the next, wash, rinse repeat (plus those extra Mt. St. Helens comics I did last spring!) I'll admit that people's enthusiasm for my work is a big part of what helped keep me going even when I was tired, or discouraged, or really stinkin' busy, because I wanted to keep sharing what I was creating with you all. But I also found that this continued to be fun instead of work, which is the whole point: something in my life that wasn't just a way to make income.

Which isn't to say there aren't ways to help me pay for art materials, of course. My Redbubble shop, for example, actually has a few more designs than what I said in the comic since there were a few drawings that I liked enough to add as stickers and other fun stuff (that last page design is available as a greeting card, with and without text!) But this is still by and large a sideline, a nice break from my day job and a creative outlet that doesn't need to be measured in sales.

If you want to do something nice for my anniversary, please share my work with others! (Or reblog, or retweet, whatever's appropriate.) You can find my social media links at the bottom of any page at http://wyntkan.com. I also always appreciate likes and comments, and I'm open to suggestions for topics for future comics, too.

Finally, again, THANK YOU! It's been nice to have people to share this piece of my creative life with, and I look forward to giving you more fun nature comics to enjoy.

Species portrayed: raccoon (Procyon lotor), western red cedar (Thuja plicata), spotted towhee (Pipilo maculatus), redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana), American crow (Corvus brachyrhyncos), beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax), Pacific golden chanterelle (Cantharellus formosus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Garry oak (Quercus garryana), Pacific rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum), cascara (Frangula purshiana), coastal manroot (Marah oregonus), sword fern (Polystichum munitum), old man's beard (Usnea longissima) king bolete (Boletus edulis), beach strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis), fly agaric (Amanita muscaria, Amanita Muscaria var. guessowi), vanilla leaf (Achlys triphylla), western bunchberry (Cornus × unalaschkensis), western lily of the valley (Maianthemum dilatatum), Western matsutake (Tricholoma murrillianum), early blue violet (Viola adunca)

Website | Redbubble | Ko-Fi

Transcript under cut.

[Title: One year Anniversary!]

[First image: a brown raccoon sits under a western red cedar tree next to some redwood sorrel; a spotted towhee perches in the branch overhead.]

On this day in 2019, I published my very first comic at WYNTKAN.com. I had never done anything like this, considering myself to be very much an amateur illustrator. But with encouragement from those closest to me, I got up the courage to put my drawings out there in the name of inviting other people to share in my love of nature.

[Second image: Instead of asterisks the artist used a pink flower, a canine pawprint, a blue feather, a brown mushroom, and a sand dollar.]

So where has it gotten me? Well, a year ago I started with all zeroes, and now I have:

* 81 comics, 25 multi-page and 56 single page

* 76 followers on Facebook, 337 on Twitter, 667 on Tumblr, and 109 on Instagram, along with 1702 hits on my website, 138 subscribers on Webtoon and 9 on Tapas

* Featured 354 unique species in my comics, including a wide array of animals, plants & fungi

* Set up a Redbubble shop with 18 designs, and a Ko-Fi tip jar

* Slightly more legible handwriting, and a lot more drawing experience

[Third image: a black crow looks at the viewer while standing on the ground]

Now what? Well, obviously I want to keep making comics, as well as taking the occasional commission. If I can dig up more time (that mythical beast!) I’d love to do more non-comic art, including more stickers!

[Fourth image: a field of beargrass is in full bloom with big white flower clusters]

It’s so gratifying when someone messages or emails me to let me know how much they like my comics, or when I get a positive comment. While I don’t have the huge audience of more established comics, I’m grateful for every person who has enjoyed my work and even learned something new from it!

[Fifth image: Golden chanterelle mushrooms pop out of a mossy forest floor]

And when the voice of doubt in my head says my art sucks and nobody cares, I will remember that I am further along and more experienced than if I had never started. I’ll tell that voice to go take a hike (it’s good for you!) And then start the next comic.

[Sixth image: A red fox sleeps in a bed of moss, surrounded by many species of Pacific Northwest native plants and fungi in a ring around it.]

Thank you!

[thekillerssluts]

Arcade Fire’s Will Butler speaks to the ‘Generations’ with new album

Will Butler has no plan B.

Fortunately his day job is working out: As a multi-instrumentalist in the band Arcade Fire he’s doing well by any musical measure. He has also released a pair of albums on his own, including the new “Generations,” a wide-open title that speaks to the mechanisms of American culture and also to the fact that he followed a familial trailhead into music.

“I’m glad it worked out because I had no other plan,” he says. “And I’ve now done this so long, I’m better at music than anything else I could do. So this is what I do.”

As a title and indicator of things to come, “Generations” is a broad and evocative one. On one hand, Butler is making commentary on cultural trends that pass along almost imperceptibly. And while the album isn’t a direct nod to family the way Arcade Fire’s “Funeral” was, it does touch on the fact that Butler’s family has been in the business of entertaining for, well, generations. Though largely recorded in the basement of his Brooklyn, N.Y., home, “Generations” buzzes with vaudevillian life, a connection to Butler’s mother, a classical harpist, and his grandparents, big band leader Alvino Rey and big band singer Luise King.

“Even before them, Luise’s dad was the last son of a polygamist homesteader in Utah in the 1870s who wanted to be a musician,” Butler says. “My grandma wrote a memoir about him, a total maniac who had eight kids and made them into a proto-vaudeville band touring the west. They’d play shows, default on money owed, and then get run out of town.

“So me and my brother (Win) are very much conscious that we’re the inheritors of 150 years of culture in a certain way. So you think about stuff happening in the middle of the 19th century and how it affects your present day life. That’s the personal side, then there’s the political level with all that is happening, which is also concretely dependent on the past few generations.”

The cover of “Generations” bears a red, perhaps bloody, fingerprint: A basic mark of existence that also carries some implication of accusation. It’s a perfect visual for a record that churns with conflict, both internal and external. Butler says the album’s songs also sprung from a detachment from generations as culturally defined. At 37, he’s a little late to be categorized as Gen X but he doesn’t feel fully like a Millennial.

“I feel like the world’s oldest Millennial,” he says. “Which offers its own perspective. It’s funny, you find yourself bargaining between generations.”

He also feels like he floats geographically. Butler and Win, frontman for Arcade Fire, were born in California, but their parents moved to Texas for work, and both grew up in The Woodlands before starting their band in Montreal.

Both left the suburbs to perch in other creative havens. For Butler that means Brooklyn, where he made his first solo album since “Policy” five years ago. Most of the work on the album was completed before March, when everything shut down. Despite its completion date, the album bristles with the anxiety and reflection that has become so familiar over the past six months. “Outta Here” opens the record and states an agitation and a sense of letting go. ���Bethelehem” develops its tension by juxtaposing lyrics about circling birds and graves with some la-la-las. He sets things at the cemetery’s edge rather than its gate, “so it’s not a literal rip off of a Smith’s move.”

So Butler wasn’t so much prescient, but rather writing a symphony for difficult times that happened to begin to crescendo just as he completed his album. He handles it with a little Randy Newman-esque humor on “Fine,” and with teeth-grinding anxiety elsewhere as he ponders shootings in public spaces on “Promised,” which was informed by the shooting at the Bataclan theater in Paris in 2015.

“I’d never played the venue, I didn’t have friends or crew there,” he says. “But it still felt so personal. So I was Christmas shopping in Manhattan later. I walked into a Sephora in Midtown and it was super-crowded, and I had this moment of fear. And also this sense that ‘I don’t want to (expletive) die picking up lipstick for my wife’s sister on Fifth Avenue.’ And these (expletive) made me think about that for one second. And it made me angry at everybody playing politics with this type of thing, even American politicians talking about it. So that’s my angry song. Inspired by a visit to a Sephora. On Fifth Avenue.”

https://preview.houstonchronicle.com/music/arcade-fire-s-will-butler-speaks-to-the-15583977

[embeanwrites]

Finding Home Gavin Reed x Reader

Ch 27

Masterlist

I was sitting at the front of the lecture hall with my laptop grading the end of the semester presentations. Part of me regretted not doing a one and done scantron to make my life easier, but the students brought a lot of interesting topics that made it all feel worth it. One student went into detail about the Jericho raid and talked about the legality of it, which I had been toying with mentioning in my book. It was interesting to see another side of the conversation. 

Most of the students had decided on doing a presentation rather than a paper and a few students even went with ideas that are way outside of the box. One student had made a short comic book depicting different events that had happened in Detroit with the sociological theory and explanation of the theory. It was easily one of the coolest projects in the bunch and luckily the student is letting me keep it. I plan to scan it and use it next semester, giving the student credit of course. It was clear some students half-assed their projects, but way less did than I expected which I consider a plus since this was my first real course and I knew from experience students tended to take advantage of first-year teachers’ inexperience.  

After the final presentation was done I noticed we still had ten minutes left, perfect to say goodbye to my class. It was hard to believe how fast time had gone by, but with one semester done I couldn’t wait to teach this class again with what I’ve learned this first time. Hopefully, with time the school would assign me some different courses. 

“Well, everyone, it's been amazing being your professor. This class was so fun to teach and I enjoy everyone’s questions and participation. I truly hope you’ve learned something about android and human relationships and the complexity that goes with it, even moving forward. This class has a lot of information I hope you can apply to your everyday life.

“I appreciate all the feedback I got and I’m sorry that we didn’t have a guest speaker this semester, things just got too crazy in the middle, but hopefully that will be different next semester and I will see what I can do about giving you all the opportunity to sit in on the class that day. 

“All of your projects were truly amazing. I was blown away by not only the creativity but the quality of them. I wish you all the best of luck on the remainder of your finals and I hope to see you all around campus. Please feel free to stop by my office anytime you need someone to talk to or have a question.” 

I smiled and waved to the students as they left. Some stopped to say goodbye, but many just went ahead and left. Which was fine, I remember finals week in undergrad. What a nightmare of a time. It felt good being done and now I had four weeks to prepare and relax for next semester. Four weeks to also settle into Gavin’s house. I was also almost fully done packing and Gavin, Connor, and Tina were helping me move my stuff over in three days. I was excited to say goodbye to that sad apartment. I just assumed I would live there until my contract expired and move on with my life. Now I was happy I had barely unpacked, less to pack now. 

As everyone filed out I gathered my stuff and put on my coat. I was meeting Gavin at the precinct, he was taking the afternoon off so we could go shopping for some new furniture and decor for the house. 

I decided to walk to the precinct since it wasn’t that long of a walk and for early December it wasn’t too bad out. I knew if I got sick I would never hear the end of it from Gavin and Nines about the importance of staying out of the cold. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, but it was sunny out, and not a lot of wind. It was relaxing to see the city so peaceful. It was almost the first anniversary of the android revolution, I needed to talk to dad and Gavin to see if we could do something special for Connor and Nines. To think one year ago many people were fleeing Detroit and the streets were on complete lockdown due to peaceful protesting. I looked over to see an abandoned Cyberlife store, I thought about asking Elijah about their plans for the remaining stores. With no clear laws, Cyberlife was in a major gray area, currently, they were only allowed to give spare parts directly to androids for free. 

Sighing, I walked into the precinct and gave a small wave to the receptionist. At this point, they all knew who I was and I didn’t have to check-in. Walking into the bullpen the first thing I noticed was that Gavin was in Fowler’s office, so I walked over to dad’s and Connor’s desks. I gave my dad a pat on the shoulder as I moved to jump up on Connor’s desk since my dad’s was too messy to sit on. 

“How was your last day of class?” Connor asked, leaning back in his chair. His LED was a calm blue. I smiled at him and noted the calm feeling around the two of them. Desk duty was clearly doing dad some good, even though both of them were eager to get back in the field. Connor had made that very apparent when he took Sumo out for a walk, that turned more into a run.

“It was really good. I’ll have to show you some of the projects I got. I think you’ll find them interesting. Maybe you could even pass them on to Markus, there’s one in particular that I think he’ll like. The student included a lot of artwork.” I hummed and looked up at Fowler’s office. From where I was sitting I could tell Gavin was frustrated, his fist were clenched and his body language was stiff. 

“Markus would definitely enjoy that. I’ll contact him to see when he’s free. I know he’s been busy with negotiations still.” 

“It’s been almost a year. I wish the government would work with them instead of stalling. Warren is just trying to stay neutral to keep her approval ratings decent.” Connor nodded in agreement. Androids were still not allowed to vote, so Warren didn’t have to worry about their votes. Hopefully, Markus would be able to change that soon. Androids should be able to vote in their own representatives. Snapping out of my thoughts that were meant more for a paper and less for small talk I shook my head and looked over to Fowler’s office. “What’s Gavin doing in Fowler’s office?” 

“End of the year evaluations.” My dad answered. I nodded and glanced over to where Nines was sitting. He was facing Fowler’s office and watching the two men talk, from his expression and Gavin’s it didn’t seem to be going well. I wondered for a moment if Nines was able to hear them and if he could, could Connor? “Are you two going furniture shopping?” 

“Furniture and just house stuff.” I pulled my legs up and moved to face my dad, sitting criss-cross applesauce. 

“You two are pretty serious, huh?” He asked, I couldn’t help but smile and nod. “It’s nice seeing you both happy.” 

“Thank you. I know it’s been hard to get used to us being together, but I appreciate it.” I looked back towards the office and saw Gavin shaking Fowler’s hand and heading out. We made eye contact and he grimaced. “Alright, I’ll see you two later!” I said my goodbyes to dad and Connor and walked over to Gavin’s desk. He was quickly packing up his stuff and avoiding eye contact with me and Nines. “Hey, you okay?” I whispered. He shook his head as he swung a backpack over his shoulder. 

“Let’s just get out of here.” I nodded and grabbed his hand. Gavin led me out of the precinct and towards his car in silence. Occasionally I squeezed his hand, hoping to offer some reassurance. 

We both got into the car, but Gavin made no move to start his car, instead he leaned forward and laid his head on the steering wheel. I watched him take a few deep breaths and I moved to rub his back. 

“Do you-”

“I didn’t get the promotion.” Gavin interrupted me, keeping his head down. I could feel him tense up under my hand. 

“Gav, it’s ok-”

“It’s not okay!” He shouted, his head shot up as he smacked the steering wheel with both hands, the loudness stunning me for a moment. I moved my hand from his back to his shoulder, attempting to keep him grounded in the moment. “I worked so fucking hard for this. I work my ass off. I’m constantly working on cases even outside of work and the thanks I get is ‘be better!’ What the fuck am I supposed to do with that?” Gavin was seething but keeping his eyes forward. He hit the steering wheel again, hitting the horn on accident. “Fuck.” He whispered hoarsely, looking over to me. He looked exhausted and his eyes were glassy. 

“Hey,” I whispered, cupping his face with both of my hands. I gently pulled him closer and kissed his forehead. “I don’t care what Fowler says. You are a kick-ass detective, you’re smart, you’re dedicated to your job, and I love you. Just because you didn't get the promotion today doesn’t mean you won’t ever get it. Go in tomorrow and prove him wrong every day until he understands that you are the right man for the job.” Gavin sighed and closed his eyes, leaning into my touch. 

“I-I know we’re supposed to go shopping-” He stuttered. 

“Let’s head home, we can shop another day. Nothing we had planned today is urgent.” I kissed him gently and I felt him release a sigh of relief. He gently pulled back to start the car. I buckled my seat belt as we headed back to the house. 

The drive was quiet, neither of us made a move to turn on the radio. I closed my eyes and laid my head against the window, listening to Gavin drum his fingers to a beat inside his head on the dashboard. Gavin really deserved that promotion. There were more times I could count where I would wake up around 3 am and find Gavin still working on a case. He was dedicated to his job and he dedicated himself to every case he had. 

Pulling into the driveway, we both made our way into the house and immediately plopped down on the couch. Gavin put his head in my lap and closed his eyes. I started running my hands gently through his hair, feeling the tension leave his body. He made no attempt to move or talk, so I started humming softly. 

“Thank you.” He murmured. 

“Of course, Gav.” I gently moved one of my hands to sit on top of one of his which was on his chest. He intertwined our fingers almost immediately. 

“You’re so good for me.” He said, his eyes were still closed so he didn’t see my smile. 

“You deserve good, Gav,” I whispered, quickly resuming my humming and attempting to comfort him. “Hey, have you thought about asking my dad for a letter of recommendation or for him to talk to Fowler?” Gavin let out a sigh. 

“I feel like that’s wrong.” He whispered.

“Why?” 

“Because we’re dating, he’d feel like he’d have to.” He opened his eyes and looked up at me. He looked so exhausted, the bags under his eyes were purple. I gently ran my thumb across his eyebrow. 

“My dad would say no if he didn’t think you were right for the job, Gavin. Maybe just ask him what more you could do? He’s not putting in a good word for you, he’s just giving you advice. You shouldn’t feel bad about that.” I said softly, he closed his eyes and sighed. 

“Maybe.” He mumbled. “I’m sorry we didn’t go to the store.” 

“Don’t be. We can go some other time. There’s nothing on our list that’s urgent and even if there was you are more important than anything on that list.” I leaned down and kissed his forehead. 

“Thank you.” 

“Of course.” 

After about half an hour of Gavin laying in my lap, he left to take a shower while I made something low effort for us to eat. We spent the rest of the day just lounging about and cuddling. Even the cats ended up snuggling into both of us. Nines would be very disappointed in our food choices and lack of doing anything productive, but it really seemed to help Gavin. Which at the end of the day, was all that mattered to me.

[this-lioness]

Quaranmemes for Quarantines

Tagged by @reallyginnyf​ <3  Putting this under a cut since it’s pretty much doubling as my weekend wrap-up as well.

when was the last time you left your home? On Thursday I had to run a few quick no-contact errands -- dropped a bulk mailing off on the rear platform at the post office, deposited a Fedex envelope into one of their pickup boxes, and then ran some miscellaneous groceries over to my Mom’s house.  Today I went for a run, but only around the neighborhood, so that doesn’t feel like it counts. 

what was the last thing you bought? I’ve actually been doing a bit of online shopping lately -- bought a sewing machine (still need to sit down and set it up), a gas-powered pressure washer (arrived today), a new bathroom scale and a vacuum sealer.  Last thing we bought in-store were some small necessities from Walmart.

is quarantine driving you insane or are you finally relaxed? This is tough to answer, because I’m never actually relaxed.

I worry about someone in my immediate family getting sick, but beyond that the quarantine doesn’t really trouble me.  I’m largely a homebody, and honestly this has kept us from a lot of unnecessary spending, so all the places I’d probably be going would just be buying shit that we really don’t need. I think my anxiety only ramps up when we have to go somewhere, like when my parents need groceries, and we have to go through the whole process of masks and gloves and fully decontaminating everything once we get home.  We have it down to a science, but it’s still a whole process.

But I’m frankly enjoying the time at home.  I’m a very “routine” person -- I’m comforted by having lists of things I need to do, and places to put things, and then doing it all by rote.  We worked very hard to make our house be a place where we enjoy being, creating, relaxing and working, and now we’re reaping the benefit of all those things.

who are you spending quarantine with? My husband Marc and all the cats.  I only see my parents long enough to drop things off at their house.

do you have pets to keep you company? We have three of our own -- Bones, Spencer and Rosie -- plus two fosters, Baby and Blue.  There is also a semi-feral cat, Fidget, that we feed and care for, and he occasionally spends a night inside if it’s particularly cold or wet out.

what are your current responsibilities? We’re both very fortunate in that we are fully capable of working from home, and both our employers are in full gear.  Mine is actually busy enough to need to hire new people for the sudden influx of work, apparently. So I work my “day job” during the day, and when I’m not working I’m cleaning and doing laundry, trying to keep our chest freezer topped up with ready-to-prepare meals, a lot of organizing and a bit of gardening.  I really need to sit down and do something creative, although my muse has been completely dead for... longer than I’d care to admit.  I’m going to give it a bit of a try tonight, though, so we’ll see.

Just lately I’ve been on a purging spree.  Thursday, Friday and yesterday I cleaned out every corner of the art room / office and made three piles of craft supplies to give away.  I also gathered together two enormous bags of various clothes and gave that away as well.  My next step is probably to switch out my winter wardrobe for the summer stuff, although we’re expecting a good week of cold, rainy weather so... maybe not quite yet.

do you have a room to yourself? Well, if I ever needed time to myself I could certainly find it.  The art room / office is unoccupied when we’re not working, and when we are I can always come down to the living room or go into the bedroom with my laptop, or I’ve got a little “writing chair” in the dining room, by the back patio, that’s nice to sit in.  I can be content anywhere in the house, basically.

are you exercising? I wasn’t, but a few days ago I decided to change that.  I need to get better control over my physical well-being (and self-image), so I made myself a little weight / diet log, included columns for water intake and exercise, and signed up for a “virtual 5k”.  Today it was just warm enough to get outside, so I went for a run.  Technically we went for a run, but Marc got winded not too far into it and had to head home again.  I grabbed my earbuds and went back out.

Got in 2.27 miles before deciding to head back home.  Because the weather is going to be shitty I plan to kick the fosters out of their room for at least 45 minutes every day so that I can get some treadmill time in.  With any luck we’ll shortly have space cleared in the attic so that we can do yoga and maybe barre as well.  

town, country, city? We’re in a semi-rural suburb in Bucks County, PA.  It’s... suburban, but very very blue collar, and there’s plenty of farms around, large and small.

how’s your toilet paper supply? We seem to be OK.  I am a prepper by nature, and I made sure to stock up before things started to get bad.  I’m also being very mindful of how much I use, which helps.  I’m more worried about my folks, who blow through resources like crazy, but I don’t think it’s terribly hard to come by as long as you can get to a store.

what’s the worst thing that you had to cancel? I was a bit bummed about the Colin Firth concert being cancelled in the early part of this month.  That was going to be a nice night out.

To be very honest, my biggest regret is that we took on the fosters when we did.  No one in this area is in a position to adopt two cats, and to be honest... they’re not very good fosters.  Blue is friendly and outgoing, she likes to play, but she’s not cuddly -- she’s not really interested in being petted or held and doesn’t seem to want to sit in your lap for very long.

Baby likes Marc well enough, but she continues to run from me whenever she sees me, and forget about coming up for a cuddle.  She’s just... fucking miserable.

We’re also giving up on trying to integrate them with our cats.  They don’t have very good “cat manners” (they have no sense of personal space and will get right up in the other cats’ business), and the two of them have twice now gone after Rosie in what was a semi-playful, semi-aggressive manner that she definitely did not appreciate, so that’s the end of that.

It would be different if they got along with our cats, or if they were cuddly, but Blue is the only one that I’d consider truly adoptable.  Baby is fucking miserable and I have no idea how the fuck we’re going to adopt them out.  I’m desperately trying to find someone that can take them, but I don’t have a good feeling, and I honestly don’t know what we’re going to do long term.  It was a mistake taking them in, and I regret it, but I’ve got to find a way to deal with it now.

what’s the best thing you’ve had to cancel? This is going to sound terrible but... we were planning on going to a “Return of the Living Dead” convention in June.  Had tickets, a hotel, everything.  Technically it’s still on -- they haven’t cancelled the event yet -- but we’ve agreed we won’t be going, even if it’s still on in June.  Too much of a risk.

In theory this was going to be super fun, and I actually was excited about it, but... honestly, going to so many comic cons has really burned me out on other people who attend conventions, and the idea of being around mobs of people acting like smelly, poorly socialized assholes about something that I genuinely love was kind of stressing me out.

I didn’t want to see something that I love gatekept, I didn’t want to be “fake geek girled” about it by somebody with B.O. and no social awareness.  It was starting to stress me out. So I’m sad that we won’t be going, but glad that I don’t have to stress out about it.

who do you miss the most? My boss, I guess?  He was fun to hang out with and bullshit with, and we can’t really do that the same way that we did when we were in the office together.  I’m pretty lukewarm on everybody else I used to see in person day to day.

do you have any new hobbies? Ugh, please, I already have so many fucking hobbies.   Uh. Well, I did buy the sewing machine, so... :/  Let me get it set up and actually sew something before I start calling it a hobby, though.

what are you watching the most? Marc and I have been binge-watching Ozark and a show called Futureman, which are both compelling and extremely difficult to watch in different ways.  I’m still waiting on new content from the lady that lives in Japan, haha... this is probably a good opportunity to go back and watch whatever videos I haven’t seen yet.

are you still going to work? Remotely, yes, every day.  I’m actually using the time to try and get myself better organized and establish good work habits and routines that I can carry through to when things start to normalize.

what are you out of? Mmm... nothing, I don’t think?  I’m getting low-ish on yeast, since I’ve been baking so much, but I’m not even really low on that yet.  I’ve tried to do a “dried cranberry yeast starter” but I’m not convinced it took... I need to drain off the yeast liquid and add some flour tonight, see if it grows or if it’s a dud.  

have you made any changes to your hair during quarantine? I trimmed my bangs about a week ago, I think, because they were getting frustratingly long.  Fortunately I didn’t butcher them too badly.  Today I helped Marc give himself a trim, and he’s looking quite dapper again, so I guess we’re not in too bad of a shape.  I chopped my hair to the shoulders back before the quarantine so it would have to get much, much longer before it became problematic for me, and even then.  I’m still debating if I even want to color my grays at all, so I’m not concerned about “touching up roots” or anything like that.  I am what I am. 

Not tagging anyone because A) I’m terrible at tagging, B) Most of the people I follow that are “real people” and not just content-posting accounts are mutuals of one another.  If you want to participate, please consider yourself tagged.

[jaydenhill69-blog]

Get yourself a pleased shopping at Australia's cross stitch pattern

When we say art we need certainly to mention art within an identical verse. Creativity, designs, patterns, embroidery and poetry and truths are a few. Celts had been born tribes that were warriors and amazing way also. Celts left their footmarks around Europe mostly because they certainly were nomadic at soul and nature.If we read or know that our history well we will find that there has never become a tribe that is more famous warring futility. That their art remains living is evidence of their longevity. Yet another fantastic instance with this is we still have myths, steel cravings, and knot works; human anatomy operates are artwork layouts to remind us.They were purely nomads could be understood from the simple fact that they inhabited are as from Britain, Ireland, Spain, into regions like Italy, Turkey and Bohemia. That is the ordinary ground the reason people find that French, Spanish, English, Irish and Italians mostly have Celtic layout into their needleworktattoos tattoos, drapery together with jewellery.Cross design pattern is just actually a quite basic yet classy fashion of creating embroidery. Now we understand that cross stitch is an obsolete pattern yet it is so famous because it had been in prehistoric times. The cross design pattern is more widely common while becoming one of the most cherished form as well.What we would enjoy is the heavy colors and bright ones mixed thus giving splendor of color coded with layouts which make the last result an visual cure next to none. The principal the heart of celtic cross stitch patterns is classically over cut layouts with design patterns, spiral, inter-weaving designs, knot mechanics, animal strains, alphabets together side zoomorphic patterns.Celtic cross stitch sewing is mostly an art that we have inculcated due to the Scott's, Minx along with Irish. These complex layouts are widely put in usage by people in every day life, be it at pillow protect, tablemats the enjoys warm cozies to drape pallets decoration.And these patterns are available easily all over the world, only search the net or see the nearest bookstore in which design layouts are there in novels , design yourself kits along with art guides. Unlike other causal embroideries, Cross stitch weaving will be much better to learn. You will find several types that jelqing Celtic cross stitch patterns but exactly what you would most relish is currently trying to craft a Cross design drawings. You may start having a blueprint leading way up into the ones. Once started you will probably have the ability to produce some magnificent décor craft things for-you home.So if at any time you feel that Polynesian cross stitch design has transferred you enough to carry it up as a pastime or fire then I would advise you to usually do not spend your time at opening a style blueprint of you choice. You can start with modest layouts onto a bit cloth and then slowly if only a tad bit more confident you'll be able to cause some thing specific for yourself or for present purpose.Celtic cross stitch patterns aren't restricted by few matters you can explore with making armbands using Alphabets, and headgear sporting animal patterns. Kits are available with complete accessories like ribbons and needles along with other stuff to create the pattern.Choices are made of aplenty, some kits possess frames while some others come sans a framework, when you would want to buy. Need not go to a shop, as home deliveries really are a real benefit. Now that you would like to begin off I really would like you best of luck in this venture.If you are an avid cross stitcher then your odds are that at any point you will probably need a blueprint you could not find. Within cases like this a proven manner you may overcome this dilemma is by simply using cross legged pattern by drawing on the blueprint yourself. Regrettably there will also be disadvantages to cross stitch pattern making applications and we'll consider both the advantages and disadvantages in this article.In the past cross stitch patterns were regularly made using pencils and chart paper. This was time intensive and tedious job plus yet one that I'm sure few people nowadays would enjoy. Fortunately cross stitch design manufacturing software has speeded up the process which makes it feasible to produce your own personal cross stitch patterns a ton quicker and more easily.What I've noticed when utilizing cross legged design making software is the fact that should you're scanning an image in your pc afterward you will frequently need to be sure alterations to the colours to get it done only perfect. In addition, I like to use colors that are less as I think it is becomes complicated when using as many colors as the picture could commonly come out at. Even though these alterations could become time consuming that they are nothing in comparison to needing to draw it all out on graph paper. The most greatest advantage of cross border design making software could be that your flexibility that it offers to develop any pattern that you prefer to make. You may use any graphic or possibly draw out anything that comes into your mind and transform into a cross stitch design and you also don't need to be restricted to the patterns that can be found the market.Cross sew design making software is just a good device for any avid cross stitcher and enables one to make an extensive range of cross stitch layouts yourself. You might need to earn some alterations or require a small additional time however in the long run this will probably be worth it.Who uses graphs and counted cross stitch designs? Anyone who desires them, however you will find a number of applications for these patterns. Free cross stitch patterns are often . Some people utilize the patterns merge and to incorporate them together with different patterns and motifs to build a brand-new pattern strategy. These customized patterns can subsequently either used for private use or are advertised and marketed with a fresh title or title.A developer that focuses on free crossstitch designs is Connie G. Barwick who gifts patterns to the general community for individual use only. Also, a website named Better cross-stitch Patterns.com offers great nice, unique totally free layouts. The air is very favorable , plus so they go out of the way to create a stitcher feel in home.Large companies like DMC and several more provide patterns free of charge in their web sites to both newbies and professional stitchers. Their patterns include floral patterns lettering graphs and animal graphs. The free patterns function as an effective approach to get you in their site, download the free pattern(s), and then they are trusting you might observe different goodies you simply cannot live without which leads for the expected purchase.While several businesses have become special about your usage of the routines saying they are for private use only, the others allow one to download the totally free pattern, stitch it, and then sell the completed stitched project for your profit as long as you make the proper attribution to owner by giving a link back to owner's web site. Yet, these of you who down load those completely free patterns are discouraged from re selling the authentic totally absolutely free routine itself.People who mix legged and use completely absolutely totally free patterns also prefer to trade and switch back and forth with different stitchers on cross stitch website sites, thus developing a system of layouts that can end up with exciting variations (in hues ) according to how imaginative you are.As much as creating belongs, you can find sites on the market like Cyberstitchers.com who have free chart document that you publish off for use in developing your own layouts. Software such as PatternMaker offers a library of motifs for used in developing and creating a custom made pattern. Embroideryall across the world is thought of being a parcel of tradition. This heritage has been with us. As a talent is indeed obsolete that none people can pinpoint the accuracy of its ancientness. Since time of our mothers, grand mothers and their ancestors have followed that particular art, despite the planet be-ing poles apart.Where we live will not produce a gap most of us were introduced to embroidery as cross legged embroidery. That is since it's very simple to master. It requires the most common of supplies. So how much I go ga ga more than celtic cross legged it's going to be modest because I love its own patterns.Cross sew just isn't with no opinions of various cultures and tribes and areas. Styles of cross stitch really are a excellent mix of some primitive, cultural, contemporary and contemporary versions. While a few patterns are clear other too have their own impressions. Like Victorian cross lace is admired for its classic designs, African American stitch is famous for his or her ethnicity and Celtic due to his or her intricacy.Celtic Crochet lace is a early form of embroidery. Its patterns are properly known the diversity of its patterns are something that we can take pride in. That the impressions of their art understood no more boundaries, Due to the fact Celts have been nomads so. These routines can be seen on possibly every possession of theirs.On their possessions the motifs and design work had minute details that a job could well be a masterpiece inside our life. Cross stitch designs utilized by Celts had impressions of the day-to-day life styles. Designs like blossoms animals, styles, alphabets and a lot more. They didn't only stop with making patterns together with embroideries, even they were found of those patterns which their swords, utensils walls and walls could float with this kind of patterns.All of you would now be asking about the ways to find them gorgeous and distinctive routines. 25 odd years back I wouldn't have been at a position. But today I am blessed enough to have enough knowledge about this art to have the ability to share it with you.Simply see your nearest store or art and craft vendor to get yourself that nice Celtic cross stitch design apparel. Then you could find one in a bookshop if you are not successful on your effort to locate an crafts shop nearby. And only in case that you do not want to dispose with the relaxation of your house with this purpose I could help you here too.You can easily place an on-line order requesting your apparel. Consider locating patterns that are absolutely totally free on the Internet while in the event that you wouldn't like to spend a dime onto the blueprint. There are a lot of sites which offer these layouts. Make your decisions depending up on your own ability. I sincerely hope I have left no rock unturned you do not take up cross legged embroidery. I am hoping that I don't need to drive one. To receive supplementary information on this please see additional info. Cross-stitching is extremely comforting and concentrating pastime. Once you see your job transform in one stitch for the whole 22, the procedure for stitching could increase your spirits. And select your future work and it is leaving to check through patterns. You may find different patterns and fashions. You can produce a really big images of fine smaller pictures which you are able to hang over your own place or give them as a gift to your family and pals or all tiles. But is Cross Stitch Patterns consistently were exactly the exact same as now?Cross Stitching leaves to get a time also it shifted through out many years. Years ago girls commenced cross stitching as young as 5 years of age and did all their lifetime to it. Nevertheless, it was not just a spare time activity at that time for them. They stitched maybe not merely for their home however also they cross sew their garments to show everyone else how they mastered this particular craft. There have been days when girls throughout the village revealed in garments people may decide on which one were the optimal/optimally venture and that they stitched. Sometimes boys chose that a girls to check throughout her job. Thus stitching plaid a big role in ladies life.There ended up a lot of cross stitch designs and layouts from old occasions . however, it wasn't only a typical patterns, all of patterns had any significance and for different intention people built different designs. As an example, weddings always were more rich in cross legged designs which express fantasies of happy and very long existence for newly-married. Patterns at different places had various meanings but usually old layouts included a great deal of critters (represents independence and beauty at certain states ), bushes and sunlight (normally reflect fertility), houses and ships (at certain cultures reflect riches ). Some times that routines had been pretty easy to produce although not pointless. It means when our ancestors dressed man a fabrics they can state this man washow old and how rich he/she was, what position in culture he/she has, just how prudent he/she was and so on. Would you think about exactly how every big or small party persons dressed up in a excellent fabrics with stitching from top to bottom and using this stitching you're able to readily emptied out exactly what afternoon they observe, exactly what they stand for and that they are.Cross Stitching comes with a good heritage and a number of individuals still discover that it's exciting to make older style designs. Of this layouts look classic. But if you understand the route of each and every crossstitch Pattern work won't be only a craft, it will be an email for everyone.

[peckhampeculiar]

Master of the arts

LOU SMITH WAS INTERVIEWED ABOUT THE PECKHAM PECULIAR BY BBC BREAKFAST ON THE DAY OUR FIRST ISSUE CAME OUT.

The local artist and screenprinter, who is the man behind the famous “Made in Peckham” design, tells us more about his creative career

WORDS: COLIN RICHARDSON; PHOTO: PAUL STAFFORD

Lou Smith is one of those enviable people who seem to be able to turn their hand to anything and do very well indeed.

Lou is an artist, jeweller, sculptor and screen-printer. He’s a photographer and videographer. He’s been a maker of bespoke, high-end furniture. And he’s a children’s party organiser, candyfloss-maker and indoor pyrotechnist.

What he’s not, though – and he is the first to admit it – is a self-promoter. “I’m a bit lackadaisical on the self-promotion front,” he admits, “so these things just seem to happen, not because I’ve promoted them. If I had promoted them, I don’t know what position I’d have been in.” Or to put it another way: “The thing is, I do too much stuff.”

Lou was born in Leeds. “My father was a geologist,” he says. “He used to take us on regular outings into the wilds of Yorkshire, which instilled in me a deep love of nature. My mother was very artistic, but, as was so often the case in those days, she stayed home and looked after us. There were three of us, so it was pretty much full-time.

“She’d always be doing something – painting for instance – and she taught me how to cook and sew, the things I would need later. My dad taught me all the hammering and sawing kind of skills.”

When Lou was 14, his father’s job was relocated to London and the family upped sticks and moved to Uxbridge. “It was tough,” he recalls. “In London regional accents weren’t popular in those days.”

He got on, though, achieving three science A-levels and going on to Imperial College to study biochemistry. Then, halfway through his studies, he fell ill and was hospitalised. When he recovered, he went travelling before returning to college, but later dropped out.

After abandoning his formal studies, Lou moved away from science and towards art and design. He rekindled his passion for nature, which is reflected in his photography and jewellery. He took up video-making. And then he got together with his friend Roy Middleton, who had trained at Camberwell Art College as a fine-art metalsmith.

“For years, we worked together as a team doing really nice bespoke interiors for commercial premises and houses,” he says. They worked on three houses for Channel 4 series Grand Designs.

But eventually, Lou reached the point where “I saw I didn’t want to be doing this in 10 years’ time.” In any case, the work was drying up as people tightened their belts in the face of economic austerity. So Lou cut loose. And having done so, he came up with a design classic that moved his career in yet another direction.

“Made in Peckham” is one of those ideas that is so fiendishly clever that you wish you’d thought of it first. Indeed, many people seem to think they have. Lou has recently discovered that his iconic image has been appropriated by a wide range of businesses who use it to promote their enterprises without so much as a “by your leave”, never mind an “and here’s a little something for your trouble”.

You’re sure to have seen the image yourself. It’s so much part of the culture of Peckham now that it’s almost as though it has always been here. The image is of an SE15 street sign with the street name replaced with the words, “Made in Peckham”. And perching atop the sign, bending down as if to peck at Peckham, is a large black crow.

To start with, Lou screen-printed the image onto T-shirts. A friend of his had opened a clothes shop on Bellenden Road and she offered to sell his T-shirts. “She sold hundreds of them,” Lou says. “I couldn’t print them fast enough.”

Since then, the range has expanded to include mugs and, among other things, hotpants. Lou has produced lampshades screen-printed with images of creatures from his nature photography, which are also available as framed prints.

He makes everything in his studio in one of the railway arches on Blenheim Grove. How long he’ll be able to continue doing that is a matter for conjecture. Last year, his rent was increased by 80 per cent, backdated for two years, and he anticipates further rises later this year. He laments the fact that once-affordable spaces are being priced out of the reach of many artists and craftspeople. “It’s killing experimental art,” he says.

For several years, as well as selling through local shops, Lou sold his merchandise at street markets and events like Pexmas. At the moment, though, he doesn’t have any retail outlets and is keen to hear from anyone interested in stocking his wares.

In the meantime, he welcomes enquiries via his website or through Captured on the Rye, the shop on Pellatt Road in East Dulwich that he co-owns with his wife. It used to be Jack’s Cafe. The coffee machine is still in situ and “occasionally, the ghost of Jack’s can be seen from the original vinyl that they had on the window,” says Lou. “When it gets breathed on, it illuminates a crown with ‘Jack’s’ written on it. I started retailing my Made in Peckham stuff from the shop, but people didn’t really understand: why is it in East Dulwich?”

Lou’s wife, Lorraine Liyanage, is founder of the Dulwich Music Festival and runs her SE22 Piano School from the shop. Between lessons, Lou turns it into a party venue for children.

“I did some summer screen-printing workshops for the London Wildlife Trust,” he says. “It was then that I thought, ‘This could be a good business’, because children love to make their own T-shirts.”

Lou runs two types of parties: artistic ones, focusing on screen-printing, and science ones, which involve explosions and white lab coats. “The kids come and dress up in them and wear specs and make slime and bath bombs and fire little cannons at one another. And we do spin-painting and pyrotechnics and candyfloss-making.”

As if all that weren’t exciting enough, Lou says, casually, “I’m also a champion of the underground music scene in London. That’s one of my biggest things, actually. It doesn’t pay very much, though.”

He has made videos for a number of bands and has an extensive collection of photos taken at gigs. One day, he hopes to stage an exhibition of them...

So yes, Lou Smith probably does do too much stuff. But he does it damned well.

[gloomycherub-mysterious]

Cuphead {Don’t Deals With The Devil & The Delicious Last Course} Canons x OCs:

Thaila A. Rousseaux Le Fukuyama Full-Names: “Lady Thaila A. {Adorabella} Rousseaux Le Fukuyama” Nicknames/or Also-Known-As: “Thai”, “Tee”, “Small Lady”, “Tee-Tee”, “Ginger”, “Red-Head”, “Kid”, “Kiddie”, “Kiddo”, “Kitten”, “Kitty”, “Ms. Fukuyama”, “Doll”, “Baby-Doll”, “Sia” and “Doll-Face” Physical-Ages/or True-Ages: *6 ½-12 y/o

D.O.B./Zodiac/Gemstones/or Animals: *October 25th, 1935, *Scorpio, *Tourmaline/ *Opal and *White Rabbit Blood-Types: O Signature/or Code-Colors/or Fav. Colors: *Cherry-Blossom Pink, *Hot-Pink, *Magenta, *Heart-Red, *Kings Gold, *Sunshine-Yellow, White, *Baby-Pink, *Bright Red, *Raspberry-Pink, *Tangerine Orange and *Rose White Talents/or Hobbies: *She’s can do cooking and baking when she’s in the kitchen but she good at designing clothes and jewelries especially sewing and knitting in her day. *Likes to read comics and manga books, playing video games or going to arcade stations, eating and gambling for money and goods but in her free time she’s really very good at drawing and painting as well eventually drawing manga and comic sketches. *She’s can sing and dancing but she’s great in playing different kind of musical instruments.

Personality/Characteristics/ BIO: “Isn’t she’s the cuteness thing you ever seen? This’s Thaila Adorabella Rousseaux Le Fukuyama but her friends and the others calls her “Thai” for her short name or nickname of course. She’s had a childish heart for a little girl in the age of 6 ½, she’s enjoying reading fictions with Polly and anything fun that included the bond. Thai’s gentle, kind-and-warmhearted, sociable, loving and smart and very creativity and artistic girl yet secretive, greedy, sassy-mouthed, stubborn, cryptic and excitement and playfulness for little one like herself. She’s can be little anti-sociable and come across cold as ice and mean but she’s very sweet, helpful and so cute like little button when she comes around. In the Teletimer City, she’s always goes to her favorite shops and stores like candy store, sweet shop, the shopping mall and toy store and arcade stations too when gets her allowances and her big bonuses from her boss who’s the owner of newspaper businesses and even her bosses as well. Thai loves anything cute which includes stuffed toy animals and fluffy kittens and puppies, she also loves anything sweet which includes all sorts of desserts and cakes, especially chocolate and marshmallows. She’s also cheeriness, very sensitive and emotional and optimism from her but when it comes to bitterness and brutal way, she’s heck scary if something bad happens to what is good to her. Lives a biggest and largest apartment with more room spaces by herself but her buddies to come and stayed with as her roomies. A well-known and clever when she’s needs for speed of her strength but bit ditzy and clumsy for herself, sometimes she’s can do athletic and gymnastic skill with her fellow-classmates and her friends especially cooking class, sewing and knitting skill class, music class and fashion class in her elementary school even sometime getting bullied and teased by older kids but her buds got her back. In way she’s can be greedy, spoiled, mocking and mostly selfish and mean but she’s funny, friendliness, independence and most adorable sweetheart can be.”

11 Fun-Facts About Thaila’s:

*She’s a little 3 ½-year-old street mouse and little orphanage child without a guardians to take care of her.

She’s living a biggest and old abandoned apartment calls “Orphanage’s Apartment” in the 3rd floor.

Got job of newspaper girl who’s selling newspapers and comic strips, a small cooker and baker helper and doing sewing and designing clothing and stuffs.

Always gambling in the big casinos in her hometown to get money even she’s got small and big bonuses from her works.

Thai’s family and her relatives were very-very extremely and outrageous richest and wealthiest family and the luckiest peoples on earth. She’s got her great-great-great grandmother’s lost golden heart-shaped locket with string pearl necklace with diamonds and emeralds when she’s found in the big casino.

Thai’s got crush on a boy name Drew.

She’s inspired by Darla Dimple, Angelica Pickles, Brittany and Elenaor Miller, Hanazuki, Annie, Marie Anne, Usagi Tuskino, Chibiusa Tuskino, Bubble and Suzie Carmichael.

She’s eating her little lollipop when going on her duties in the town to sells the comic strips and newspapers. Even sometimes small bags of cookies or fudges too.

Collecting lost and old pencils and broken pens to fixed and new by her scincetist friend Dr. Robert, especially toys, radios and gameboys too.

She’s three pets, one is light cream furred Persain kitten named Tiddle, three turtles named Snappy, Tappy and Dappy and one white fureed bunny name Whisker.

Hates being yelling at or hitting or getting beating by her adoptive step family.

And here the below is my another Cuphead Canons x Ocs characters. Their names are Lucida M. {Madelene} & Lucania M. {Marlena} De Mie Meriwether aka The Meriwether Twins. And their going to be in today or tomorrow. I hope you like my art and sketches. Please fav my art and texting about my art in the comment. See ya 👋🏿 😁

[forlornegames]

CGX Ottawa 2018 Recap!

My perspective and expectations

I'm a self-taught Game Developer / Programmer with the intention of attending this conference to learn as much as possible about the industry from people who are actually in it, and to use this information to build on my portfolio and help align my career trajectory. In short, to learn lots and get a job! So, my experience at CGX Ottawa is going to be a little different than that of a presenter or your run of the mill gamer. It might also be important to mention this was my very first conference/convention of any kind.

 Hitting the expo floor early…

When I arrived at the conference first thing Saturday morning I was ready to go. I had a Masterclass with Nathan Pringle on "A Beginner's guide to video game neural networks" which is a subject I've been very interested in diving into, but never really had the time or opportunity. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances and in no fault of CGX the class was canceled. I caught the tail end of Celia Hodent's talk entitled "Developing a UX mindset on Fortnite" which was really interesting and by the end I was ready to hit the expo floor. As a self-taught developer in a city that has an almost non-existent scene it wasn't hard to realize I was missing out on some of the benefits of being in a social environment with like-minded individuals. The entire 2 hours I spent in the expo I felt like I was in my element. I made some real connections with other game devs and it really primed me for the rest of the conference.

 Connect Café

I was the most excited for this event, and the most nervous. Although I did make some meaningful connections I felt more like it was a means to learn what is required for entry into the industry of AAA games. It was great to get some of my work in front of industry professionals, receive some helpful and encouraging feedback on my portfolio, and I took away a list of things I need to work on as well as a couple things I need to change entirely.

 Portfolios

You don't need to limit your entries to 3 games.

As a programmer it's best to submit games where you had you're hands on just about every aspect of the engine (audio implementation, animation, AI, etc).

Provide small (1-2 classes) high quality examples of your code.

Provide easily accessible video footage of your games.

 Most AAA companies are looking for people with Unreal Engine experience and strong C++ skills. I had the chance to speak to someone working with EA/Frostbite and was surprised to hear they have a similar visual scripting component in Frostbite for quick basic implementations and prototyping. So, it seems a pivot from Unity/C# to Unreal/C++ is in order for me.

 Concerns

As much as I loved all the information I was able to gather from this event I have to say it was not at all what I imagined. The reps had no sign at their table to indicate studio name/positions available which led people to believe anyone sitting at a table was a rep (not the case). This led to artists waiting for a chance to speak to a rep only hiring programmers and vice versa. The chaos of people scrambling to try to speak to an industry professional meant time wasted. It felt like we were sharks circling prey. I understand the difficulties of organizing events like this but it could have only been beneficial for both the reps and the attendees if something was put in place to identify the reps and positions, as well as something as simple as a ticket system to add order to the chaos.

 Scrum Masterclass

Sherri Flemings hosted this Masterclass. As someone who has not been working in the industry in an official capacity this was invaluable to me. Look forward to a separate post on this in the future. :)

 Party at Atari

End of Day 1 at CGX and now it's time to head to the party. This is an excellent opportunity to chat with people I met throughout the day in a more casual setting. I really enjoyed learning more about what people are working on and meeting some new developers and streamers. There was a lot of business card trading.

 UI and Cognitive Science Masterclass

Celia Hodent hosted this Masterclass. It was crammed with really useful information on UX and how it relates to the human brain. Again, another post is coming to talk more about this one.

 Funding Lounge

This was an interesting event to attend. I wanted to get an idea of what kind of programs were available for developers to assist with funding and what the requirements were. Kitfox games was also there giving advice on how to pitch your game to publishers which was really useful. If you live in Canada then the Canadian Media Fund has some experimental programs for assisting game companies that are currently developing a game with production costs and marketing costs. Very exciting stuff!

 Mentor Lounge

For me, the mentor lounge was very similar to the Connect Café. I used it to learn as much as possible about the AAA industry and what I needed to do to get into the industry. Again, this is from the perspective of a self-taught developer so I can't say what kind of courses you should take or what university you should attend but the portfolio information I mentioned earlier is really the key to getting into any studio.

 Concerns

This was a little more organized than the Connect Café but the setup was a little misleading. Before the conference started I was provided with a registration form for the mentor lounge. It was designed to provide them with the information needed to pair me up with mentors who would best suit me as a programmer/developer. However, when I arrived it was the same format as Connect Café. Just walk in and sit somewhere and talk to someone. Thankfully they had signs this time so that helped. There was supposed to be a time limit enforced to ensure everyone had a chance to speak to as many people as possible but that was pretty hit or miss. Again, I feel like I gathered so much information at this event, but I know it would have been more beneficial if it was more organized.

 Wrapping Up

After leaving the Mentor Lounge I grabbed a bite and retired to my room. I poured the business cards out of my bag and made sure I connected with people on at least one social media network. I met a lot of great people with great ideas and games and I plan on staying in touch with all of them! :D

 What I wish I had time for…

First, the expo. Talking to developers who are excited about their game is… exciting!! Talking shop isn't something that I get to do much so getting to talk to people in person like that was just an amazing experience. I left CGX feeling physically exhausted but mentally refreshed and re-energized. It was fantastic, so I wish I could have played more games and spoke with more developers.

 Second… so many awesome talks (In no particular order).

Cuphead - The Creative Process and 2D animation - Tina Nawrocki

Creative Direction for Small Teams - Tanya X. Short

Concept Design, World Building for triple A - Abe Taraky

Level Design: Getting Started - Travis The Evolution of Warframe: 5 years of Continuous Iteration - Jim Leedham

How to leverage government funding programs - Mark Allice

Who do you know? - Mike Mood & Jon Keon

Etc.. Etc….

 Conclusion

I'll be posting full writeups on the master classes I attended as soon as possible. I'd like to thank everybody at the Mood Foundation who put this conference together and I'm VERY much looking forward to the next one. I hope any nobody takes offense to the criticisms I included in this post and know I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to attend. Anyone who's interested in game development, go to these. They are awesome!!

[putthison]

Digging in the Crates: Talking with Brian Davis of Wooden Sleepers

Wooden Sleepers is the kind of store I wish was near me. Brian Davis, the shop’s founder, has been around the menswear scene forever, but first opened his shop seven years ago on Etsy. Back then, he just had simple listings for his vintage finds, which ranged from classic Americana to workwear to Ivy Style items. A few years later, he opened a brick-and-mortar shop in Brooklyn, which has been since become a destination spot for men’s style enthusiasts. Japanese menswear magazines such as Free & Easy have featured the store; GQ called it the best new vintage menswear shop in NYC. 

When Brian opened his brick-and-mortar, he took down his online web shop in order to focus on his physical location. Carefully setting up the interior decor and presentation was a lot of work, too much to also include shooting photos and selling online. Now that Wooden Sleepers is more established, however, they’ve jumped back on the internet. This past month, they launched a fully dedicated online site (although inventory is still being added), and they’re been developing an in-house line of Wooden Sleepers totes, caps, and sweatshirts (we love all of it). They even shot a fall/ winter lookbook. 

I recently sat down with Brian to talk about his store, his history with vintage clothing, and his style suggestions for guys who are are looking to incorporate a bit of vintage into their wardrobe. 

Tell us about how you got into vintage clothing and how you started Wooden Sleepers.

I grew up on the east end of Long Island, skateboarding and listening to punk and hip-hop music. I lived with my grandparents at the time, a long way from any of the shopping malls. Buying second-hand clothes from local church shops was a way for me to rebel against the Abercrombie & Fitch crowd -- this was around the early- to mid-90s, when A&F was big. Looking back, a lot of the stuff I used to rummage through would later influence my taste in clothes as an adult – seersucker suits, oil-stained mechanic jackets, vintage Levi’s, etc. 

Fast forward to 2010, I was working a corporate job and wanted a creative outlet. My girlfriend at the time, now my wife, encouraged me to set up my own clothing shop. This was when heritage and Americana were huge online. There were sites such as A Continuous Lean, Valet, and Put This On; New York City had the Pop-Up Flea; Etsy was just getting started, but was still a fairly unknown thing. So I started listing stuff online for my thrifted finds. We launched on Etsy in 2010 and then opened a brick-and-mortar in 2014.  

That’s surprising because, right around that time, many brick-and-mortars started struggling. Do you find it difficult to do a brick-and-mortar business in NYC nowadays?

The New York Times had a story not too long ago about Bleecker Street, a big commercial area here with global brands such as Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren. At some point, the landlords got greedy and raised rents, and now all those businesses have had to move out. Maybe they could have afforded the rents, but it probably didn’t make sense given the amount of business they were getting from the area. And now, when you walk down Bleecker Street, there are a ton of empty storefronts.

My goal as a business was never about being part of that world. When I was looking for a shop space, I was looking for a place with a thriving community of small businesses. We found that in Red Hook in Brooklyn. Our street is very much orientated around mom-and-pop businesses, with great restaurants and small shops. We’ve actually seen our business grow year after year.

But many small NYC clothing stores have closed – Gentry, French Garment Cleaners, Carson Street Clothiers. It’s not just big brands that are struggling, it seems like it’s everyone. People are so used to comparison-shopping online, they’ll find the cheapest price possible for any given item. Do you feel you’ve been able to escape this as a vintage clothing store?

I think so. Although you can still comparison shop with vintage clothes, nothing is ever going to be the same exact piece. If you find something and it’s “the one,” you may never see it again. Sometimes there are idiosyncratic details or nuances that make it just right.

I also think we’re lucky to have a community that supports us. As a consumer myself, I try to support local and small businesses because I know those companies can easily disappear. And that’s not great for the neighborhood. We have many customers outside of NYC, but we’re also lucky to have lots of guys in the neighborhood that enjoy shopping with us. And they’re guys who aren’t going to get on the computer to see if they can find something for ten bucks cheaper.

How do you get your stuff?

No two days are the same. There are wholesale places that sell bales of vintage clothing. So, you go and buy these dirt-cheap lots, sorted by types of clothes – sweatshirts, t-shirts, jeans, etc. But you have to buy so much junk order to get a few gems. That’s how you get these huge vintage stores with a ton of inventory, with racks and racks of stuff.

Our business model is the exact opposite of that. We have a very small store, which forces us to edit. I only want the gems. Which means I have to go out and source things myself, often piece-by-piece. That can mean anything from crawling around an attic to get vintage chore coats to digging around an estate sale. Sometimes I’ll follow a lead I read about; sometimes I network with other pickers around the country. The key is to always be sourcing because out of ten leads, only a few will be good.

You network with other vintage sellers?

Yea, it helps to have people out there who can tell you when they’ve found something, but aren’t in your specific market. I once met an antiques dealer at a flea market who had a stack of old work clothes. I bought the jackets and told him I had a vintage clothing store in Brooklyn. So, we traded info.

A few weeks later, he called me out of the blue and told me he found an old, boarded up mom-and-pop shoe store in Ohio that has been closed since the 1970s. Inside were hundreds of deadstock boots. He wanted to know if I was interested in buying them. 

I was skeptical at first since sometimes things are deadstock for a reason – maybe they’re in odd sizes, for example – but he promised they had a good size range and everything was in great condition. So, I told him I was interested. He ended up driving all the way to NYC from Ohio and we met up at my store at midnight. I bought 150 pairs of boots from his inventory. Had shoeboxes going up to the ceiling that night.

I’m surprised those things still happen. I can imagine finding up an old boarded-up place with deadstock items in the ‘80s, but with the internet, it feels like anyone can offload stuff online. 

I’m as surprised as you are, but those pickers still exist. From a business perspective, you’re getting the best margin. You’re getting stuff that people think is garbage, so you’re getting it for the lowest price, and then you’re able to find specialty collectors or buyers. It takes a ton of work. These people are often waking up at 3am just to find things, driving around searching for old stores, looking for hidden gems. It takes a certain kind of person.

Do you ever get people coming in off the street with an unusual find for sale? 

Not yet, but I once got a call from Richard Press, the former President of J. Press. It was great because I’ve always been a huge fan of the company. He helped broker a sale where I was able to get a bunch of stuff that was in the personal collection of a former J. Press tailor. One that had worked for the company from about the 1960s to the ‘80s. In the collection, there were hundreds of ties, sport coats, trousers, and deadstock shirts. It was so great to see Richard’s face light up, to see how excited he got about clothes. I feel like it’s so easy to get jaded about things, especially in the fashion industry, but Richard had this youthful excitement about him when he saw old things from his family’s store. It was really special.

Are there things you’ve picked up along the way that you’ve decided to keep it yourself?

Well, I always want to give my customers the first crack. I’ve always hated those vintage stores that dangle the best stuff from the ceiling, but only for decoration. That said, I’m an outerwear nut and NYC winters can be brutal, so I was pretty excited to get a Brown’s Beach jacket to go along with the vest. The jackets are rarer than the vest, and I was lucky to find one that fits. My 1940s USN deck jacket is also a favorite. Mine is olive; the navy one is a bit of a unicorn.

A lot of the stuff I wear, however, isn’t that rare. I like madras shirts, old Brooks Brothers button-downs. I like cut-off military khakis, vintage military jungle jackets. Anything from that ‘60s and ‘70s Vietnam War era, in the OG-107 cloth. Some of those vintage military fabrics were made from a cotton-poly blend, especially in the later years, but the earlier stuff was often pure cotton. That’s the stuff you want because it ages in a really nice way. 

As a guy who cleans and repairs things for his store, do you have any tips on how to clean vintage clothing?

A lot of it is common sense. Cotton things can be thrown into the wash; wool items will often need to be hand-washed or dry cleaned. A lot of what I buy is vintage workwear, so they’re things that have been through a lot – a washing machine isn’t going to hurt them. There are some things I leave behind because they’re too raggedy, but there’s a lot you can save with a bit of mending and cleaning.

If you find a vintage item with a musty smell, you can also spray it with a 50/ 50 mix of white vinegar and water. It helps freshen it up a bit. The vinegar smell goes away, and with it, it takes out some of the smell you occasionally find in vintage clothes. 

For readers who are interested in trying out vintage clothing, do you think there are some pieces that are easier to wear than others?

Definitely, go with the classics. A French chore coat or a Levi’s trucker jacket. Unless you’re shopping at the very high-end of the market, buying brands such as The Real McCoys or RRL, you can often get a vintage piece that’s cheaper and cooler than more mainstream items. Even a Levi’s trucker jacket from the 1980s is going to look better than a mainline Levi’s jacket in the same style, but new.

I also really like getting guys into bigger pants. The pendulum has swung so far into the slim-fit trend that guys can feel like it’s a revelation when they wear something fuller. Maybe a pair of fatigues isn’t right for the office, but they’re great for the weekend. For spring and summer, you can wear them with simple, canvas sneakers, such as Jack Purcells or Chuck Taylors. For fall, they look great with brown, plain-toe service boots. For me, the key to wearing fuller pants is that you don’t want a break. Otherwise, they can look really messy. If you roll them up a little, you get a fuller cut without any of the bagginess.

M-65 military jackets are also really easy to wear. 1950s and ‘60s military issue khakis. Denim chore coats. Especially with chore coats, if you’re not a connoisseur, you’re not going to care if a piece is from the ‘40s or ‘50s or ‘60s. The look is the same, which means you can come up on something that looks great, but is reasonably affordable. Again, they go great with jeans, sweatshirts, and heavy boots. They can fit a bit roomy, but I think that’s the charm.

I know what you mean. Sometimes when the fit is too precise, especially with workwear, an outfit can seem too precious. Ethan Newton once told me how he likes vintage leather jackets because they fit in idiosyncratic ways – which is just another way of saying they don’t fit perfectly. I think that can be good with certain looks.

I agree. We’ve spent so much time talking about effortless style, but sometimes guys get too worked up over details. Just put on the jacket and wear it. A lot of this is much simpler than sometimes it’s presented online. It goes back to the first day of school and wearing a jacket that makes you excited, a jacket that makes you feel cool. It can be about a feeling.

Thanks for your time, Brian. 

Readers interested in Wooden Sleepers can visit them in Red Hook, Brooklyn or shop from their new online store. They’re also on Instagram and Twitter, where you can keep up with their daily happenings. 

[anythingstephenking]

Tony! Toni! Toné! has done it again

Did you know that Tony! Toni! Toné! has over a million monthly listeners on Spotify? Not bad for a band that hasn’t put out an album since 1996. Can you name a Tony! Toni! Toné! song that isn’t “Feels Good”? I can’t. Can you think of another band with three exclamation points in their name? I can’t. Do you remember when Panic(!) at the Disco removed the exclamation point from their name? I do. Do you remember when Ke$ha removed the dollar sign from her name? I definitely do.

The tangent to end all tangents, but we’re back with Danny (or more matured “Dan”) Torrance and his pal Tony with Doctor Sleep! I was so excited when this novel was coming out I pre-ordered my copy when it was announced. Then never read it. Whoops.

Since I started my King journey, I haven’t let myself watch any new King adaptations of source material I haven’t read, so I got to watch the movie for the first time too! Someday I will finally get to watch The Outsider. I’m actually on a bit of a roll - 5 books in the last month or so.

I ONLY HAVE 12 BOOKS LEFT! PRAISE BE.

King said that a lot of folks would ask him at book signings “What happened to Danny Torrence”? If I was King I’d probably says “I dunno man, he’s not a real person” so I guess that’s why I have no imagination. Instead of sparking annoyance with the insatiable requests of his Constant Readers, it sparked creativity, and that’s why King is king.

Alright, lets actually talk about the book. We’re back with the Torrance family, and for an extremely traumatized family unit, they’re doing ok after Jack’s demise. I mean, the ghost lady from room 217 shows up in the bathtub every now and again, but that’s to be expected right?? The Torrances are living in Florida, stating that there’s no snow in Florida. But they know there’s like, a lot of resorts in Florida right? Presumably haunted by a lot of old biddies sending their food back to the kitchen and tipping their ghost waiters 2%.

There’s a little bit with Wendy, a young Danny and Dick, who’s still around and helping Danny manage his shine. Dick helps Danny lock away the lingering remnants of The Overlook by quite literally locking them in boxes in his mind. Ok sure, I guess?

But we’re not here to find out how Danny’s awkward middle school years were, and so we skip past the braces and straight into the alcoholism. Because of course. Like many flawed-but-heroic King characters, a grown up Dan Torrance has an alcohol problem. Given who his dad was, I can’t say I’m surprised. Dan says it’s a crutch to dim his shine. Genetics and quieting your clairvoyance - the top two causes of alcoholism in the United States.

Dan’s character isn’t any more interesting than the other alcoholics in King’s novels unfortunately. He’s fine; standard “I wanna get better” bullshit. To his credit, he does turn his life around, joining AA, getting a sponsor and settling down in one place for more than 10 minutes. He does shitty things but feels IMENSE guilt afterwards. I suppose remorse is a character strength.

Turns out Dan isn’t really the star of the show here, it’s Abra, a young gal with a very powerful shine who has never even had a sip of whiskey. We’re introduced to Abra as a baby in a terrifying passage about her abilities. As a baby, she starts crying and wakes both her parents from powerful nightmares that include the numbers 11 and 175. Her parents can’t soothe her and it gets so bad they take her to the hospital, where she wails until just shortly after 9:30am. It was September 11, 2001, and the numbers the family had nightmares about were the flight numbers of the terrorist planes. An infant, warning her parents through dreams. I mean, girl’s got it.

Abra grows up and does a bunch of other stuff that can mostly be considered fancy party tricks. She makes small connections with Dan’s mind here and there, but things heat up when we meet The True Knot.

So The True Knot are vampires that aren’t vampires. Because they don’t drink blood, they drink “steam” which is emitted from those that shine while they are tortured. Cool. It’s a new and refreshing take on typical vampire tropes, and they’re decent, other-worldly baddies.

Here’s where things go a little sideways for me. Abra manages to catch the interest of the True Knot’s leader Rose, and you can tell the remainder of the book will be a cat and mouse between the good guys and the bad. We learn that the True Knot has gathered much wealth and resources (as the undead tend to do with all the time in the universe) and they have footholds all throughout the US, including Jerusalem’s Lot and Sidewinder. Yes, the Sidewinder where the Overlook once stood. So how, in gods green earth, did these folks not latch onto a young Danny? His shine was powerful enough for a friggin’ building to attack him, but he somehow slipped past The True.  Someone asks this question in the book and I was not satisfied with the answer.

Plot holes aside, the relationship that Dan and Abra develop is quite charming, and because Dan’s a recovering alcoholic and Abra is 13, this is a romance free story. They team up, and the cat and mouse is amped up because we’re not just chasing The True through the streets but through their minds, with Abra and Rose popping in and out of each others brains like it’s nothing. It’s accelerated even further by the True catching measles from one of their victims. Now, I am looking at you, American Horror Story Season 5, for using this exact same plotline in Hotel two years later.

In the end, Dan gets his redemption arc, a new home, a career, 15 years of sobriety, a family. Abra gets… to live a normal life as a teen? I suppose this is the most important thing when you’re 13.

While a fun, page turning story (I think it took me 3 nights to plow through) there’s really not much to chew on here outside of the fast paced plot. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. It feels to me highly personal retelling of the recovering alcoholic, with Dan fully duking it out with his demons and coming through on the other side. I’d imagine that the parallels with King’s own demons is not all that dissimilar. At times it does feel like reading an advertisement for AA.

At the end of the day, The Shining was a story of alcohol and isolation; Doctor Sleep is a story of sobriety and companionship. One ends well; one does not.

6/10

First Line: On the second day of December in a year when a Georgia peanut farmer was doing business in the White House, one of Colorado’s great resort hotels burned to the ground.

Last Line: “Until you sleep”, he said.

Adaptations:

I feel more and more letdown with every modern King adaptation I’ve consumed recently.

The new Stand miniseries? Hated it.

1922? Hated it.

The new Pet Semetary? HATED IT.

Lisey’s Story? Currently watching and hating it.

Dark Tower? COME FREAKING ON.

I’m trying to remember the last King adaptation that didn’t make me go “meh”. I suppose IT: Chapter One? Gerald’s Game was good too I guess. I absolutely adore Castle Rock, but Hulu cancelled it because they’re stupid heads.

I actually miss the “so bad it’s good” movies of the early years - I’d rather watch Cat’s Eye 20 times than have to sit through 1922 again.

I was anxious for Doctor Sleep because I love love love Mike Flanagan movies and he did a decent job with Gerald’s Game. Oculus and Hush are two of my favorite modern horror movies, and if you ever want me to jabber on for hours on end, ask me about The Haunting Netflix series.

Unfortunately, I filed Doctor Sleep into the “meh” column. It’s a hard adaptation; remember that the Overlook exploded in the book, but was still standing at the end of the movie. Dick dies in the movie, but he’s still kicking it in the book. The list of inconsistencies go on and on.

It’s like how David Yates had to clean up the whole patronuses-are-actually-animals thing after Alfonso Cuaron’s creative decisions in Prisoner of Azkaban. If you get that reference, you win today’s nerd award (TM).

So Flanagan had his work cut out for him and he does well at marrying the two parallel universe storylines. The most infuriating plot-hole in the movie was the fact that they let The Overlook rot after the Torrance family left? I mean, Grady killed his wife, two girls and himself, and the owners decided to keep on keepin’ on, but sure, they decided to pack their money-filled suitcases and close up shop when Jack Torrance bites it by freezing to death in the hedge maze? Sure thing.

But it wasn’t bad. It was just fine. It’s ok.

Would I recommend this movie to someone? Sure?