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little-fandom · 6 years ago

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We only see as far as the headlights - Chapter 3: The Change

Wednesdays become Alec's favourite days and he finds himself thinking about Magnus quite often. Later, there's a Lightwood family meeting, that Alec's not so eager to attend…

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Alec never thought Wednesday would become his favourite day of the week.

He finds himself always waiting for this day to come. Their deal has been going on for about four weeks now, and Alec is delighted with it.

He has no idea why Magnus came up with it, but how could he refuse him? When he was looking back at him, with those beautiful eyes, and when he gripped his arm… Alec actually felt the electricity rushing through his skin from the touch.

And to be honest it’s a great deal. But he hasn’t really told anyone about it yet…

Only Lydia knows, since she sees him on the campus, and of course she noticed Alec leaving the same car every Wednesday. He’ll never hear the end of it, but he’d be lying if he said it doesn’t feel good to share a bit about Magnus with someone. And Lydia has always been a great listener. She doesn’t mind hearing about him, actually she’s very happy to see Alec happy.

But still, he doesn’t tell his siblings. Jace would get overprotective again, and no doubt he’d go and interrogate Magnus, since he’s a man, and he’s spending a bit of time with Alec. He’d tell Izzy, but his sister lacks the ability to keep her mouth shut sometimes, so if she knows, Jace knows too.

And it’s way too soon for that. He still doesn’t know Magnus very well.

But somehow, he still finds himself wanting to share something with him. Like he did on their second drive. When he told him about Max. He’s not sure how it came up, but it just feels easy to talk to Magnus. Easier than to anyone else. He wasn’t sure if Magnus would know his brother, but turns out he did, so he for sure knows about Max’s illness. And Alec is grateful that he didn’t push the subject more, didn’t ask how Alec feels about this whole thing. That’s what Mr Fell is for, what Alec needs is just a friend.

At least for now.

There’s no doubt that he’s developing some kind of crush on Magnus. He can’t help it. This man is handsome, well spoken, has an actual heart of the angel and for sure a lot things more, that Alec wants to find out about him.

They keep their conversations light, not diving into some existential shit, not trying to think deep. Just some words about work, college. Alec tells him about his siblings, Magnus shares some stories from his first year as a volunteer, and Alec is truly amazed by it. How Magnus is selfless and caring for others. For people that he doesn’t even know. Alec’s sure he wouldn’t be able to willingly watch some strangers suffering. To just hold their hand when every breath might be the last. He’s barely dealing with seeing Max being so miserable. But it’s different. Max is his family, he’ll always be the most important. It just hurts more to see your family in pain. Knowing, that there’s really nothing more you can do for them.

On their fourth drive, Alec admitted that he works as a writer for the local newspaper. That it’s his way of earning some money, so he and his siblings can pay for the apartment they share. He explains that Jace works in an advertising company, and Izzy has her own little business with jewellery making. And somehow they manage.

Magnus takes it all in, but doesn’t ask about his parents. And Alec’s glad he isn’t, since he’s in a such a good mood while being with Magnus, that he doesn’t want the conversation about his parents to ruin this.

Magnus tells him a bit about his friends from work. About his scowling boss, who is not so scary when you get to know him (but to Alec he seems terrifying, from the stories he heard from Magnus). He works with a lovely woman Dorothea, who sounds like an angel and Alec’s sure he would like her.

They continue to get to know each other better, and Alec’s not sure where this is going, but he’s glad with how things are escalating.

Tuesday drags on for like forever, and Alec is almost falling asleep during his family law class as he watches the cars slowly passing by the streets outside the window, it’s raining and the weather isn’t making Alec feel any less tired then he is.

He basically jumps as the bells sounds and everyone starts to quickly gather their stuff and leave the room. That’s when Lydia turns to him.

“Already excited for tomorrow?” She prompts, and Alec sighs. Sometimes he does wish he could keep this all from Lydia, she’s getting annoying with this teasing. “You practically zoned out during the entire class.”

“I’m just tired.” Alec admits and moves to put his things into his backpack.

“Are you okay?” Lydia asks, now in pure concern, gripping his arm lightly.

“Fine.” Alec exhales heavily. “I just stayed up late writing some articles.”

Lydia smiles understandingly and nods.

“You need rest too, remember that.” She advices, as she always does, when she notices that Alec is way too overworked.

He just nods, and then they get out of the class and stroll to the bus stop together.

When he gets home, he finds Isabelle sitting nervously on the couch, clearly awaiting his return.

“Hi Iz.” He greets and his sister and she flashes him an uneasy smile. “What’s up?”

“Our parents want to meet.” She replies bluntly. Like she always does. Izzy’s not the one who prepares you for any kind of confession, she just fires it at you. But also, she knows Alec will see right through her, if she even tries to lead him on, or refuse to say anything.

Alec just exhales heavily and closes his eyes briefly, as she sits in the armchair in from of the couch, where Isabelle is settled.

“What for?” He asks, still not opening his eyes.

“I don’t know.” Izzy resorts, and Alec’s gaze focuses at her to see her shrug. “They just said they want to meet. With all of us.”

“Why would they want to see me?” Alec questions, and Isabelle sighs. “What, you know they would never speak to me willingly again.”

“Alec, maybe they figured out their wrongs, and just want to talk-“

“Like hell they did.” Alec snorts. “I don’t want to see them, and the last time I checked, the feeling was mutual.”

Isabelle is actually the only one who keeps in touch with their parents. She’s always been their father’s favourite, just like Jace was their mother’s. He was the golden boy, he was perfect to them, until he decided on his career path, and they didn’t quite like his idea of making a living. The only jobs that seem to be approved form them are lawyers, doctors, engineers, or other that would bring you a lot of money. Izzy still fits in. She’s going to become an amazing forensic pathologist, Alec’s sure of that. And their parents accept that. More than, they’re even proud of her. She was the only one they said they will actually miss, when she left home. But Isabelle was aware of how her parents treated her brothers. It was never that bad with Jace. They were easy on him, mostly because he had a hard time adjusting, after they adopted him, when his parents died in a car accident. They did want him to feel good. At some point, they succeeded. The only problem was, he decided to stand up to their idea of perfection, of a successful job. He had it his way, because it’s just the way Jace is. And deep down, Robert and Maryse knew that, so they just let their son get away with it.

It’s completely different with Alec.

He is their first born and they always expected nothing less than perfection from him. He needed to be the best in class, the greatest role model for his siblings, a perfect brother, flawless son.

And Alec did deliver, through more than a half of his life.

And somehow it was never good enough.

His parents always found some mistake. Something he missed. And he picked up on it. Tried even harder, but deep down he knew, that he would never make it up to his parents standards. Not with being who he is. Not with the way he is.

Still, he decided to come out to his parents. And it might have been the worst decision of his life, because with that, he destroyed every little ounce of love his parents might have felt for him. He ruined the perfect image he created, became a completely different person in his parents eyes. They didn’t see their son, they saw someone who used to be him.

And the years that followed were just awful.

His father acted like Alec never existed. He threw insults on every step, like Alec wasn’t even in a room. His mother was just quiet, basically didn’t speak to him. He couldn’t decide if it was better or worse.

He came close to ending it all, more than a few times. But something was always holding him back. The thought of his siblings, or of the life he could have if he finally cut this parents off. Just start to live on his own.

But he couldn’t just leave. Not with Max still being there. He would never leave his baby brother, he needs to be close to him, always. The only good thing, is that with their parents being lawyers, they spend most of their days in the office. So it was mostly Alec who took care of him, as the oldest. And he wouldn’t have it any other way. He loves him, and to be able to watch him grow was a joy. Isabelle and Jace helped a lot too. And with their parents out, and his siblings close, Alec finally had some time to breathe.

But still, most of the time, he felt like he was suffocating. Breathing only felt a little bit easier when he finally moved out.

He’s glad Jace and Izzy came along. It’s great to have them around. Even if they get a bit annoying at times. They all hated the way their parents treated Alec, but back then it was nothing they could do, but to offer words of reassurance. And they were sick of the atmosphere in the house, and if there was a side to opt for, it was always their big brother’s.

Isabelle still stares at Alec, expression turning pleading and he exhales slowly.

“What do you want me to say?” He asks resigned.

“That you’ll come to the meeting.” Izzy pleads. “I know that you don’t want to see them. I know it’s hard for you, but think about Max, if this is something about him-“

“If this was something about Max I would know.” Alec resorts. “I’m signed into the hospital’s data base as the contact info too.”

“Okay.” Isabelle starts again. “So just do this for us, please. I swear if you’ll get uncomfortable, or they’ll dare to insult you again, we’re all leaving. I promise.”

He sees how important it is for his sister, so there’s only one thing he can do.

“When is the meeting?” He asks shortly, and a bit of smile is creeping onto Izzy’s face.

“Tomorrow, 5pm.” Izzy announces.

“Does Jace know about this?” Alec continues. Jace is probably still at work, but his brother needs to know what’s going on.

“He does, I called to tell him.” Isabelle says. “He said he’ll go if you go.” She adds with a smile, and Alec feels as his own is making its way up to his face, at how he and his brother are in tune with each other.

“So I guess he’s going then.”

Alec almost forgets it’s Wednesday when he wakes up. He’s still buzzed from the conversation he had with Izzy last light, that brought back some his worst memories of their home. And he’s quite nervous about today’s meeting. But somehow, the thought of seeing Magnus kinda sooths him.

Since he started driving with Magnus, even his sessions with Mr Fell don’t feel that bad now. He feels like they’re actually making some progress. His psychologist is not aware of the source of his sudden better moods, but he doesn’t ask. Not now, at least. But today, he must have noticed something is different.

“Is everything all right?” He asks, after they’ve been through a few questions, but Alec still must appear tensed and nervous.

“My parents want to meet with me.” He admits. “All of us, I mean. The rest of my siblings too, but also me.”

Mr Fell nods, and then they don’t speak for a moment.

He knows a bit of how his parents treated him. Not everything, but enough to give him a solid picture of how Alec’s childhood was like.

“So you’re nervous about it.” He states, and Alec just nods. “Do you know what they would like to talk about?”

“I have no idea.” Alec resorts. “I guess that’s what scares me.”

“Why would it scare you?”

“I don’t know…” Alec sighs as he tries to form his words. “I think I’m more afraid of meeting them. I’m scared that all those bad memories will come back when I see them.”

“When did you see them last?”

“A few months ago… we see each other briefly, when they visit Max or something, but we never actually talk.”

“It’s your choice.” Mr Fell reminds him. “You can choose just not to go.”

“I know, but…” Alec breathes in a few times to compose himself. “it’s just important for Jace and Izzy…”

“Yes, I’m aware it is.” Mr Fell agrees. “But I’m sure they wouldn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

Alec just nods in agreement and the doctor smiles gently at him.

“Just remember, that no one can force you into this, if you’re not ready.”

And with these words their time basically runs out.

He meets Magnus in his car, quickly sliding the passenger’s doors shut, not to let any more of the cold air get into the warm space.

“Hi.” Magnus greets enthusiastically, and when he smiles Alec feels a bit more relaxed. “How are you?”

“Good.” Alec replies and nods, more to reassure himself that he is. Which is not exactly true. “You?”

Magnus eyes him cautiously for a moment, but then starts the car as he answers.

“Everything’s fine.” He’s still smiling, but as Alec tries to reciprocate, he can’t quite let himself do that. He doesn’t want to fool Magnus, but at the same time, he doesn’t want to bother him with his stupid worries.

They drive in silence for a while, but then it seems like Magnus can’t stand it, so he asks.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He briefly glances at him with concern in his eyes. “You just seem… I don’t know, tense? Are you nervous about something? Is it another exam…” He trails of, as if giving Alec an option to say what’s on his mind, or to just brush him of.

“No, it’s not an exam.” Alec states, not actually meeting his eyes, when Magnus looks at him again. He takes another breath and then speaks, deciding to let it out. “It’s about my parents.”

Again, he realises how easy it is to just vocalize his thoughts in Magnus’ company. How he finds himself trusting this man, that he shares about twenty minutes with weekly. He spends more time with his psychologist, and he still hasn’t opened up to him as he does it with Magnus. It’s not like him. It’s scary. But somehow, not as scary as it should be.

Magnus doesn’t say anything, but Alec knows he’s listening, like he always does, so he continues.

“They want to meet with me, and let’s just say…” He pauses, searching for the right words. “that we don’t get on well. Never really have.”

Magnus hums, in a thoughtful tone, and then speaks.

“You never really talked about them.” He points out. “You talk about your siblings all the time, but not a word for your parents. But I didn’t want to ask, I didn’t know if you’d like to-“

“It’s fine.” Alec interrupts. “That’s true. I don’t speak a lot about them, ‘cause there’s nothing to talk about really. I became someone they never wanted me to be. I guess I always was, but for more than a half of my life I pretended otherwise.”

“I’m sorry.” Magnus begins. “We don’t need to talk about it, but if you’d ever want to… I’m here.”

Alec smiles lightly at that statement.

“Thanks.” He says. “I’m just quite nervous about tonight, since we don’t see each other often.”

Magnus nods understandingly, and then there’s another thought forming itself in Alec’s brain, and he feels quite guilty for it.

“I’m sorry.” He starts, and Magnus throws him a confused gaze. “I’m just putting all of my worries on you, and you probably have enough of your own-“

“Hey, stop this. I told you I’m here. It’s fine, we can talk about anything you want.” Magnus stops as if hesitating to say the next words. “That’s what friends do, right?”

So they’re friends. It’s some kind of a progress in their relationship. But does it mean Magnus wants to be only friends? Is he giving his some weird signals?

Alec, stop overthinking this, you’re friends. Just friends. Alec’s brain tells him, but he’s not sure if it’s the whole thing…

“Yeah,” Alec agrees after he shakes of his thoughts. “exactly. So you can talk about anything you want too.”

Magnus turns and smiles at him, as they stop at a red light. Alec can’t help but smile wider too.

“Can I give you an advice then?” Magnus asks, and Alec nods in answer. “I may not know, what exactly happened between you and your parents, but try to give them a chance. Maybe they want to make things better with you? Who knows. But, you might regret it, if you don’t do it now. One day it might be too late.”

He adds the last words in an incredibly sad tone, as his eyes wander back to the road, face twisted in some emotions Alec has never seen there yet. It’s weird to see him like this. He’s always so cheerful, enthusiastic, full of life, and now he looks just… hollow.

He did recovers from it quite quickly, as he shakes his head and adds with a smile.

“But you’ll do what you want to. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Thanks, I…” Alec nods lightly. “I’ll think about it.”

They drive in silence then, and Alec can’t help the strange feeling again. Can’t help the ease he feels while watching Magnus as he drives. He’s just steady. And Alec needs steady in his life. Something to hold on to. He catches himself staring at his lips way to often than it is appropriate, and if Magnus’ eyes weren’t focused on the road, it would get totally awkward.

He can’t help it, but he hopes, even after Magnus words, that they could be more than friends. Sometimes, at the corner of his eyes he sees Magnus looking at him, as if taking him in, but his gaze lingers a bit too long for it to be just that. Like this time back in the hallway when they first met.

And Alec not only lets himself hope, but also want, and he hasn’t wanted anything that much for a very long time. Maybe even ever.

And as he thinks of his words, then maybe Magnus as well as Izzy are right. Maybe his parents finally came to their senses and they want to make it all better? Alec is willing to try, to give them this chance.

When leaves Magnus’ car this time, he just feels a bit lighter.

Classes fly by pretty fast. He tells Lydia about the meeting with his parents tonight, and she offers basically the same advice as his sister and Magnus. In the end he decides to go, so after classes he quickly hops on the bus and gets to the restaurant Izzy send him an address of. It’s a fancy one, it always is. As if only to show the power and success by how stuffed their wallets are. But Alec tries to let go of the negativity. He enters the restaurant and almost immediately spots Isabelle, as she waves at him to join them at the table.

On her left, there’s Jace, offering Alec a reassuring smile when he see his brother letting out a shaky exhales. Opposite him, at the table, there’s his mother, and she stands from her chair, something maybe even resembling a smile on her face as Alec makes his way closer to them.

“Alec,” she starts and moves to hug him. Hug him. She hasn’t done that in years. He lets her, but can’t help the look on surprised on his face when they pull back.

Maryse doesn’t notice. Or pretends not to.

Another surprise is the lack of their father’s presence. And as if seeing the question written on Alec’s face, Maryse speaks to clear everything out.

“Your father get held up in work, he’ll be there soon.”

Alec manages a slight nod, and then he slides into a chair next to his brother. Jace claps his hand lightly on his shoulder.

“How have you been?” Maryse speaks again, and Alec’s not sure if the question is directed to him, but as no one else speaks he thinks that it might. Which is weird. His mother didn’t care about how he is, not for the last four years at least.

“I’m good.” Alec states and nods. Izzy smiles at him brightly, kind of like she is saying I told you so, but something is still weird, and Alec can’t let himself relax just yet.

“How’s school?” Maryse prompts again.

“Great.” Alec resorts. “Challenging and busy, but it’s fine. I know that’s what I want to do so… I’ll get through this.”

Maryse nods and Alec swears he can see a glimpse of smile on her face.

Maybe Jace and Izzy talked to her before. Told her that his mental health wasn’t in the best condition recently. That he’s been seeing a psychologist. Maybe that’s why his mother is trying to be gentle? But deep down he knows, that his siblings wouldn’t just spill those information. They know that Alec is not proud of how things turned out. That he feels weak, and ashamed of needing this help. About not dealing with something that is supposed to be simple. It’s not. Once it’s better, sometimes it’s worse, and Alec couldn’t be more thankful for his siblings, that they noticed the problem, when he just couldn’t bring himself up to speak about it, and that they got him help, when he couldn’t ask for it himself. Even if he was sceptical at the beginning, it was a good choice to accept the help.

And he lets himself hope. That Izzy, Magnus and Lydia were right. That his parents will try to fix it. Fix them. And Alec will try to forgive them all these years of insults and basically avoiding each other.

But he also let himself hope before. That maybe such an important matter as Max’s illness is would get them all closer again. But it was exactly the opposite, it only made them drift apart even more.

And now, as his father enters the restaurant, all the hope disappears again.

He doesn’t spare a glance at Alec. Moves to greet Isabelle with a hug, and Jace with a handshake. It’s like Alec isn’t even there, which is basically same as always. He doesn’t feel bothered. Not anymore. It became normal to him after a few meetings in this atmosphere. He just hangs his head down and stares at the table. If his father doesn’t care, he doesn’t either.

Robert sits down next to Maryse, asks a few questions about Isabelle’s studies and Jace’s work. His brother glances at Alec worriedly, but Alec just shrugs, as if trying to tell him to let go. There’s no point in making a scene. Nothing is going to change anyway.

But something still feels different. And when he looks up from the table, he catches him mother staring at him. Almost worry, showing in her eyes.

They both quickly look away, but it’s obvious he saw it.

Then, they order some dinner, conversation still floating mostly between Isabelle and Robert. After their food is served, Jace begins to speak, knowing that their parents didn’t want to meet for a friendly chat. He’s probably getting sick of the small talk.

Well, he’s not the only one.

“So, is there any particular reason you wanted to meet?” Jace asks, and both Maryse and Robert slowly nod.

“There is.” Their mother states and clears his throat as she begins to explain. “We got a big deal, from a client in work. We decided to take it, but it compels us to get away for a while. To Chicago.”

“What?” Alec stars and it’s probably the first word he said after Robert entered this place. “What about Max?”

“That’s why we need to ask you to take care of him.” Robert states calmly and Alec feels the anger boil up inside him.

“So what do you think we were doing this whole time?” He asks, to which Robert only glares at him in confusion. “We’ve always been taking care of him, you don’t need to ask us to do this. Each of us is in a hospital day after day. We go see him more than you do.”

Robert’s gaze turns sharp, as he looks back at Alec, but when he speaks, his voice is calm.

“That’s because we have our job. We’re busy-“

“And you think we’re not?” Alec fires back. He’s never spoken to his father with his attitude, with this kind of judgement. He’s been on a receiving end of that tone lots of times. But this whole thing is just stupid. He and his siblings take better care of Max than them. They always did. It was always Alec who sang or read him to sleep, carried him to bed after he felt so bad he could barely walk, Izzy who rumbled to him about every subject she could find only to take his mind of the obvious, and Jace who played with him in every stupid game he could find to make him stop worrying. At least for a bit of time.

Maybe their parents where there, but they never actually got to know their own son. Any of their children. In Izzy, they only see a future forensic pathologist, not a young independent woman, who loves fashion and is so passionate about the jewellery she makes that she spends a whole night creating it. In Jace, they saw a promising lawyer, not a sport loving man, that wants to choose his own path. And in Alec…

They've probably never seen anything in him. Maybe once, their son, but now…

“You think we’re not busy,” Alec continues. “with school, and our jobs, so we can pay for our apartment-“

“Nobody asked you to move out.” His father interrupts, but Alec only snorts to that.

“But not everyone was welcomed to stay.” He says and glares with his father with just as much heat as he does.

Silence falls around them. An uncomfortable one. Robert looks like he wants to say something, but he has got no words. Maryse stares down at the table, her head hang down, same as Izzy, but Alec catches a little smile on her face. Same with Jace.

“How long will you be gone?” Alec asks, when nobody decides to.

“Two months.” Maryse answers. “Maybe less.”

Alec nods and suppresses the urge to snort. It’s so their parents style to just go away. Put money and career first, before their own, sick child. But to be honest he’s not surprised. Not anymore.

“Does Max know?” Alec questions next, and his mother nods again.

“Yes. We told him today.”

“What does he think about it?”

And as Maryse struggles to find her words, Alec can already figure out the answer and before he knows it, a hollow laugh escapes him.

“Right,” He starts. “You haven’t even asked about his opinion. You just informed him that you’re leaving.”

“Alec, it’s not like we really had a choice-“ His mother tries to justify, but Alec cuts her off.

“You said you decided to take the offer. You could refuse.” He states firmly. “What if Max needs you?”

He doesn’t see the reason why he would, but he still asks, just hypothetically.

“Then we’d get on a plane instantly.” Maryse claims, her expression serious. “Look,” she starts and turns to look at all of her children. “we would never leave if, we knew Max didn’t have anyone that could take care of him. But he has you. And I should probably thank you for being there for him much earlier, but I’m doing it now.” Alec feels a bit taken aback at her words, since she looks right at him as she says it. “So thank you. I know you take the best care of him. We just wanted to inform you that we won’t be that available in the next two months, but still, if anything happens inform us instantly. If not you the hospital will.”

The siblings nod at her words, and she mirrors the gesture as she leans back in her chair.

“It was nice catching up with you.” She states then. “But we need get going. We have a flight tomorrow night.”

They all get up and exchanges goodbyes. Maryse hugs Alec again, and her sight lingers on him a bit longer than the rest of her children, but she doesn’t say anything more. Neither does Alec.

Soon they’re all out of the restaurant and they part way.

That’s it for seeing their parents for another two months. Or even longer.

Jace lets out a long exhale, as he starts to lead them all in the direction of the car.

“Well, that was kind of unexpected.” He states and the rest nods in agreement.

“Yeah, I can’t believe they chose to just leave.” Alec shakes his head again, as if trying to get these thoughts away.

“I didn’t exactly mean that.” Jace says, and he looks at Alec now. “I mean your talk with Robert. You never really raise your voice or anything, and you sounded furious.”

His brother’s tone isn’t accusing or judging. Maybe it’s even a bit proud. Alec decides it is, when he sees that smirk on Jace’s face.

“Well, our brother never ceases to amaze us.” Isabelle states as she hooks her hand around Alec’s arm. “But seriously, he deserved that. They’re stupid to leave now.”

“Yeah, but we wouldn’t convince them otherwise.” Alec replies, after hearing the sight guilt in his sister’s voice. Isabelle just nods and she snuggles closer to Alec. “It’s not like a lot will change. We’re at the hospital every day anyway. But we need to talk to Max, about how he feels with all this.”

They all agree with a nod and soon they reach the car.

As they get settled in, Jace in the driver seat with Alec next to him, and Isabelle in the back, Alec rests his head against the window and can’t help the thoughts of his mother returning to him. The way her expression changed, when she was looking at him. He hasn’t seen her looking at him like that, probably since he was a child. It was almost loving. He kind of wishes he could talk to her more, and finds himself hoping, that there will be another occasion for an honest conversation. And hopefully without his father around.

“Hey, you okay?” Jace nudges him with his elbow, and Alec realises that they’re already back home.

He quickly shakes of his shock and clears his throat before answering.

“Yeah, fine.” He smiles and his brother reciprocates.

Then they all get into their apartment, and Alec feels the exhaustion setting down on him. All he wants to is to go to bed, and get some sleep before tomorrow’s long day. So he kisses Izzy’s forehead goodnight, and clasps Jace on the shoulder on his way to the bedroom.

And when he finally slumps down on the bed, face-first, he can’t help his thoughts from wandering to Magnus again.

Because at some point, he was right. Judging by his mother’s expression something broke in her. And Alec will find out what, but it’s something good. He can feel it.

He also thinks about the courage and fearlessness he felt when he spoke to his father. He doesn’t know what brought that up, but he hopes the rush will stay with him for a bit longer.

But for now it’s enough emotions for one day.

#malec #shadowhunters #my writing #malec fic #malec au #Alec Lightwood #Magnus Bane #Isabelle Lightwood #Jace Herondale #ragnor fell #maryse lightwood #robert lightwood #angst #driving

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39haru-bom · 6 years ago

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50 Questions Tag

I was tagged by @janarine - thank you 😄heheh.

I’ve never done anything like this before, so I hope I’m doing it right! Sorry if I mess up somehow.

1. What takes too much of your time?

Animal Crossing (New Leaf). I think I’m spending too much time on my town right now...

2. What makes your day better?

Talking to my best friend, she always cheers me up heheh. Writing, listening to music, and doing something music related too.

3. What’s the best thing that happened to you today?

I haven’t done much today, but my sister just baked a cake and let me try some, so that was pretty sweet.

4. What fictional place would you like to go to?

Yumenosaki. It’s really the only fictional place I can think of that I’d like to go to tbh. There’s this kid I go to school with that’s basically Tori anyway.

5. Are you good at giving advice?

Eh, sometimes (I think). People say I am, but sometimes I don’t think anything I say makes any sense. I do like to help people out though!

6. Do you have any mental illness?

Anxiety.

7. Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis?

I don’t think so. But I do have a lot of very dark and vivid dreams.

8. What musician inspired you the most?

Definitely Stray Kids. Not only their music and lyrics inspire me and help me get through things, but also them themselves - idk I look up to them a lot.

Bolbbalgan4/BOL4 and SHISHAMO influence me a lot musically as well.

9. Have you ever fallen in love?

Nope. I mean, I’ve had a crush before, but I wouldn’t call it love.

10. What’s your dream date?

I’m not sure, but maybe either something at home where it feels cozy, or maybe at a cafe? Idk I just really like cafes.

11. What do others notice about you?

Maybe my height? I used to have teeth that stuck out, but now I’m just pretty average.

12. What is an annoying habit you have?

Biting my lips. I really hate that I do this.

13. Do you still talk to your first love?

Referring to the person I used to have a little crush on - yes, we’re pretty good friends.

I’m pretty sure anyway.

14. How many ex’s do you have?

None. I don’t think much about dating.

15. How many songs are in your playlist?

There are around 3500 on my main playlist. I’m always listening to music, and I’m always adding more.

16. What instruments can you play?

I’m learning to play ukulele. I really like playing it heheh, and I’m going to start writing my own stuff soon I think.

I was learning guitar, but I lost interest and had no patience for it.

17. Who do you have the most pictures of?

I have more memes and reaction images saved on my phone than anything else (whoops). But putting those aside, I have a lot of pictures of Mika Kagehira. But if we’re talking about real people, I’d say Stray Kids - Hyunjin, Felix and Chan to narrow it down.

18. Where would you like to go before you die?

I definitely want to visit Italy and see where my family comes from! I really want to learn more about my family and Italy.

19. What is your zodiac?

Libra! ♎️

20. Do you relate to it?

Yeah? Sometimes I guess.

21. What is happiness to you?

I’m not very good with words or my thoughts, but happiness to me is enjoying and embracing what you have, whether it be people, objects, or anything else, and accepting yourself? Enjoying the nice moments you have with people maybe. I guess that’s basically my take on true happiness.

22. Are you going through anything right now?

Hmm, maybe a little bit right now. But I’m trying to stay positive for those around me.

23. What’s the worst decision you’ve ever made?

I had this really good friend a couple of years ago. She always looked out for me, made sure I wasn’t alone in class, etc etc. it was a bit hard for me to sit with her sometime though, seeing as she was in that more “popular” group of people. I started sitting with other people after a bit because I thought that it’d be easier on her, but I still regret not talking to her about it first. I’m not very good with communication. We don’t talk anymore and that kind of makes me a bit sad, but that’s my fault, and I know that. I’m trying to become a bit better now, and it’s taught me to take other people’s feelings into consideration (I believe that people are in your lives sometimes to reach you something, so I guess this is one of the things that she has taught me).

24. What’s your favourite store?

In general, Big W 😂 because I always find myself wanting to go there for some strange reason. Either that or Temt or QBD Books.

25. What’s your opinion on abortion?

I guess it depends on the situation, but ultimately it’s a person’s own choice whether or not they want it, it’s not my position to tell them yes or no.

26. Do you keep a bucket list?

Yes! I’ve always had an idea of what I wanted to be on it, but recently I’ve started to write one :)

27. Do you have a favourite album?

I don’t really have a favourite album, but to name a few that I really like are any of Stray Kids’ albums, MCR’s The Black Parade, and Broken Iris’ “The Eyes of Tomorrow” (sorry it takes me back to my “emo” days).

28. What do you want for your birthday?

I don’t really want anything in the aspect of presents, but I’d really like to have dinner with my family. I really like to spend time with my family.

29. What are most people’s first impression of you?

A lot of people think I’m the shy nice girl, which I guess is true-

Until I get comfortable with you, then I’m really hyper and loud heheh.

30. What age do you seem according to most people?

Well, I’ll be turning 16 this year. I don’t know what age I seem like to people right now, but I know that when I was younger I looked a lot older than what I was.

I was always really tall for my age, but I think now I’m not that tall in comparison to some girls in my grade.

31. Where do you keep your phone while your sleeping?

I usually keep in one of my drawers next to my bed. I don’t like to keep it right next to my head while I’m sleeping, but I like to have it close to me incase I need to write something down, especially if I get an idea for something I’m writing.

32. What word do you say the most?

Definitely “like”. I always say “like, uh” a lot, and also “you know?”, although that’s two words.

33. What’s the oldest age you would date?

As of right now, maybe 17, maybe 18? I think I’m still a bit too young to date anyone older than that, but when I’m a bit older, a 3-4 year age gap would be fine I guess.

34. What’s the youngest age you would date?

I’m not sure. Maybe 15? I don’t think I’m really ready for dating anyway... lmao.

35. What job/career do most people say would suit you?

My family and friends when I was younger used to say that I should be a model? But I think they were just being nice. I also think it was because of how tall I am.

I also was told once or twice that I should be a nurse, since I care a lot for people I guess. I don’t think I have a real interest in the medical field though, I think all of my interests lie in the creative sort of field.

With that being said, my dream job is actually to be a florist :)

36. What’s your favourite music genre?

I don’t really have a favourite genre, or a specific genre I listen to. I listen to lots of different genres in lots of different languages, as I like to keep an open mind- I‘m really interested in other cultures and countries, especially their languages as I find many languages very pretty.

But if I had to narrow it down, then maybe indie and punk rock?

37. If you could live in any country in the world, where would it be?

I’m going to be 100% honest-

Hands down, I’d stay in Australia. I’m sorry, I just really love my country. It’s my home after all.

But if I had to choose another country, then maybe Italy or Japan?

38. What is your current favourite song?

There are too many songs that I absolutely love.

But my absolute favourite song is Awkward Silence by Stray Kids. It always makes me happy somehow whenever I listen to it.

39. How long have you had this blog for?

I started this blog almost a year ago to try and make friends that are into the same things as me, but unfortunately due to my anxiety and nonexistent social skills I could never bring myself up to speak to anyone.

I started posting and reblogging things on here not too long ago though, so I guess that’s when I finally started using this blog.

40. What are you excited for?

I’m going to America in a couple of months. Although it makes me extremely anxious, I’m kind of excited for it still.

41. Are you a better talker or listener?

I’m 50/50. Sometimes I chat people’s ears off, but then sometimes I like to listen to people and people always say that I’m a good listener. I guess it all depends.

42. What is the last productive thing you did?

I did some unfinished homework. I’m on school break right now so I’m trying not to be lazy for once.

43. What do you want for Christmas?

I literally just want to spend time with my family heheh, I don’t ever really have anything to ask for for Christmas or my birthday.

44. What classes do you get the best grades in?

Japanese. It’s the only class that calms me and gives me sanity (usually), so I’m actually able to focus for once.

45. On a scale of 1-10, how are you feeling right now?

8. I’m feeling pretty all right, since school holidays just started, but for some reason I constantly feel stressed and worried, and I’m always tired since I get hardly any sleep. But my plan is to

46. What can you see yourself doing in 10 years?

Hopefully I’m a florist heheh.

47. When did you first get your heartbreak?

I’ve never had a love related heartbreak, but the first time I ever felt my heart shatter was in year 4 when I was told my great grandmother passed away. I was really close with her and I still miss her a lot.

48. At what age do you want to get married?

I’ve never really thought about this. Should I be? Whoopsie.

Maybe late twenties? I’m not sure.

49. What career did you want to have as a child?

There were MANY things I wanted to be when I was little.

I wanted to be a figure skater, ballerina, model, preschool teacher, nurse, police officer, artist of some kind, writer, singer, actor, dancer, and the list goes on. But I really regret not working towards being a figure skater when I was younger, I really wish I was one heheh.

50. What do you crave right now?

Proper sleep.

I’m tagging @kyoko-yuuki :)

I only have one person to tag, don’t have many mutuals lol.

Sorry it took me a bit to finish it, I’m not really good with a lot of things :P

3 notes · View notes

taylorfiction · 6 years ago

Text

Wallflower

part 1

this is part 2!!! i know it’s been ages and i’m so unbelievably sorry i started college and there was an influx of work and then i got ill and suff but i hope this makes up for it enjoy!! give me feedback as always bbs xx

“ I want you all to myself Don't leave none for nobody else I am an animal with you No angels could beckon me back And it's hotter than hell where I'm at I am an animal with you ,, Animal - Troye Sivan

‘Are you sure about this Mum?’ I ask as I slip my earrings in my ear in front of the mirror in the entrance to the flat, I look over at her briefly as she sits on the sofa, raising my eyebrows at her in question.

‘I’ve already told you it’s fine just don’t come barging in at 3am because Lilly and I will not appreciate it,’ she laughs a little at the end but I know what she means, don’t become that reckless young girl again.

I nod my head and turn back to the mirror, checking my eyeshadow and lipstick and hair before I turn back to her, ‘How do I look?’

She stands up and takes slow steps towards me, the smile on her face broadens and she twirls her finger as if to imply I should turn around. And so I did. Not that there was much to see, ‘Gosh, I haven’t seen you this dressed up since you went out for your annual work dinner three months ago at Christmas,’ she raised her eyebrows at me while I shook my head.

‘Yeah okay, we get it, everyone’s is excited because Taylor’s going outside,’ I laugh a little before I walk over to my bag, my heels clicking on the hardwood floor, and check I have everything I need; purse, phone and lipstick.

Just as I close my purse, my phone vibrates and i pull it out to see Martha’s text, telling me that they are waiting in the foyer for me to come downstairs. I take a breath as I realise none of them are going to shut up about how I’m actually coming out with them and how I need to come out more and how i always miss out on things. Things being the guys that they always find.

‘Okay Martha says they’re all waiting so I’m gonna go now,’ I step forward and give my mum one final hug, cherishing the feeling of her arms as I normally do, ‘I promise I’ll try and be home before one,’ I smile at her again before walking to the door only stopping when my mother says,

‘Taylor, Don’t forget to have fun,’ Her smile was timid and I nod my head in response, she knew that I was a always worrying about Lilly.

I walk down to the foyer to see three anxious looking girls staring at the stairs that were empty a part from me, ‘She actually showed up! You owe me twenty Hadid,’ Karlie held her hand out waiting for Gi to comply, who sighed at her loss.

‘Can you just let me buy you drinks tonight?’ she begged with a small smile still on her face,

‘I’m hoping, if everything goes to plan,’ Karlie winks at me before continuing, ‘none of us will have to buy many of our drinks tonight, so yes, you can,’ she nods firmly before she walks towards the exit with us trailing slightly behind her.

‘Okay one. How come you guys have like zero faith in me? Two. Wait what plan? Am I meant to know something?’ I ask everyone, confident that it’s just me that’s the dumb one.

‘Um well how many times have you bailed and used Lilly as an excuse? Oh and the plan is we are four hot twenty-something ladies and men seem to like those’ Martha winks at me, like Karlie did, as she finishes and then waits for my response.

‘Um I am Lilly’s mother remember-‘ I try and start but am cut off by Gigi,

‘Where is your mother right now Swift?’ she leans forwards slightly as she walks so she can look at me past Martha and raise her eyebrows.

I lower my head, all of us knowing my mother would happily mind Lilly any day of the week, it was just me that was too scared to go out, before mumbling, ‘Looking after Lilly,’

‘Yeah that’s what I thought sis,’ Gi finishes, smirking at how she busted me.

‘Also, that is a terrible plan, you have me with you this time and I’m, not exactly, party material’ I comment

‘Taylor,’ Karlie sighs, ‘you don’t have to be ‘party material’ for guys to want to get in your pants,’ she slows down her walk so she’s next to me and can talk without having to yell.

‘I don’t want guys to get in my pants!’ I exclaim, snapping my head in her direction, alarm bells suddenly ringing.

‘The operative word was ‘want to get in your pants’ Taylor, they won’t actually,’ Karlie laughs at me before carrying on, ‘When was the last time you came drinking with us?’

‘It was Last year’ Martha says before I can make up any excuse.

‘Well T, rules are; tell one of us if you leave with a guy, get as drunk as possible and the first person who makes out with a guy gets a free drink on the rest of us, Martha is now excluded because although she refuses to admit it, she and James are more than just seeing each other,’ Karlie nods at me while raising her eyebrows as if she was expecting me to laugh at her. I did, while Martha sighed loudly which made us all smile even more.

‘Oh my god, you have rules? You guys are all nerds but can we add, ‘no mentioning the four-year-old to any guy, it normally scares people,’ I laugh a little at the end to make it lighter but it still hurts that people judge me for it.

We reach the entrance of the bar as they all murmur and nod in agreement to my extra rule. We sit at four of the bar stools and Gigi instantly calls for four vodka shots and places the cash on the counter for the guy serving. The three of them each pick up a glass, ready to down it, hesitating as they saw me just looking at it.

‘Do not make me hold your jaw open while Martha pours it into your mouth Swift,’

‘Ugh fine,’ I pick up the glass and we all clink them gently, careful not to spill too much of it, all four of us throw our heads back as we swallow it and all four of us wince at the taste.

My stomach feels slightly warmer, and I start to feel happier to be there we all order separate drinks, mine being vodka-diet coke, and start our normal banter-y conversation. Within that first ten minutes, a Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome approached Gi and asked her for a dance, of course she went for it.

A few minutes later Karlie is convinced by an equally tall man, however his hair is a reddish-brown this time, to join the dance floor, she smirks as she looks back at us while being led away from the bar.

And yet again, five minutes after Karlie is stolen from us, James, the guy who Martha is ‘seeing’, steals her from me as well.

‘James I swear to god, you’re always taking her from me these days, stop it, I need her’

Both of them laugh at my reaction before they wander off together, probably to go make out somewhere because they seem to do that a lot.

I watch them all grinding and dancing wildly with random guys and I can’t help but laugh at how adorable they all are when they’re trying to impress someone, I look down at my drink, expecting there to still be liquid in it, but alas, there wasn’t.

I sigh and turn back around so I’m facing the shelves of liquor and the bar-man that is washing glasses and making drinks and chatting and everything that bar-men are meant to do. Before I could call him over to order another I hear a deep voice from beside me

‘Can I buy you another one of those?’ I turn to him and smile sweetly,

Oh god what do I say, what do I do, just accept it Taylor, be normal for god’s sake

‘Yes, a vodka-diet coke, thank you’ I nod at him and watch him as he calls the bar-man over and orders my drink and then pays for it. He was hot. Blonde hair. Tall. My type. Not that I really had a type because it had been that long. But it used to be my type. Before Lilly came along.

‘So, do you have a name I can call you? or...?’ he fades out with a smirk left resting on his face

‘Oh yes, aha sorry, I’m Taylor, it’s lovely to meet you’ I held my hand out for him to shake and he laughed at my formalities.

‘I’m Joe,’ he winks at me to go along with his smirk and I can feel my cheeks redden slightly. I pick up the new drink and take a sip in hopes that if I embarrass myself in front of this incredibly attractive guy I won’t remember it because I will be too drunk.

‘So Joe, what do you do?’ I ask, only realising now that my words had a hint of a slur due to the amount of alcohol I had consumed.

‘I’m a fitness instructor,’ he takes a sip of his own drink as I nod

‘So you got a great set of abs under that shirt then?’ He laughs loudly at my overly open comment, God I’m gonna regret this tomorrow.

‘I’m not sure great is the word,’ he’s humble as well, I like it, I think before I tune back into what he’s saying, ‘And what do you do Miss Taylor?’

I’m a mum.

‘I’m an assistant at an accounting firm, it’s very exciting I know’ I roll my eyes, my voice dripping with sarcasm which makes him laugh. My stomach does a little flip.

I don’t know what it is about his smirk or his wink or his adorable smile lines but there was something familiar about everything about him, maybe he was in a news paper one time or did some modelling at some point, he did have, I assume, great abs after all.

‘So would you like to dance?’ he held out his hand for me to take and it took me a second before I shook my head at him, ‘Nah I think I’m gonna stay at the bar where my alcohol is,’ I shrugged my shoulders at him.

Maybe I was holding back because of Lilly or maybe it was because I found him slightly too familiar but whatever it was I knew that I didn’t want to dance because it would lead to him wanting more than that.

‘Very well but if you change your mind you’ll know where I’ll be’ he winked once more at me before he walked away a smirk still clearly on his face. That god damn smirk would get anyone into trouble.

I watched him as he integrated himself into the mass of dancing bodies, talking to girls and clearly wooing them with his hair and his smile and his slightly too tight shirt. I didn’t realise that I was staring until I felt someone tap me on the shoulder.

Gigi.

‘You know in cartoons when the character is really hungry and objects suddenly turn into giant delicious looking meals?’ she asked me and my attention was snapped from Joe to her raised eyebrows.

‘Oh him? No’ I scoffed at her, jokingly shoving her shoulder slightly.

At that point Karlie sauntered over, both of them clearly done with the guys they’d found earlier on.

‘Why are Gigi’s eyebrows so raised?’ she asked me, that cheeky smile on her face and her cheeks slightly flushed.

‘Taylor saw some eye-candy which she was planning on staring at all night’ Gi responded.

’He’s not eye-candy, I was not staring and his name is Joe!’ I defended, which probably wasn’t the best idea as their eyebrows seemed to get even higher.

‘Oh so you’ve talked to him and then let me guess, rejected him?’ Karlie burst out.

I let my head fall as I sighed loudly before responding, ‘Yes, we chatted and I found out he’s a very flirty fitness instructor’ I paused as I met their eyes again ‘who I decided not to dance with’

They both sighed at me and Karlie’s arms managed to fold in front of her chest, ’Why do we even bother,’ she said to Gi who shook her head in response before saying,

‘I honestly don’t know,’

‘I’m sorry!! He just seemed creepily familiar and I just couldn’t because I’m not very good at the whole flirting thing and every time someone asks me what I do for work I want to say ‘mum’ but I can’t because then they’ll like freak out and so there’s no point even trying,’ I raise my hands in defence, hoping they’ll finally get the memo.

If I was sober I wouldn’t be saying this.

‘Oh T, if you don’t put yourself out there you’ll never know,’ Karlie said, unfolding her arms and rubbing my shoulder slightly

‘That’s it I’m buying you another drink lets get sad and drunk,’ Gigi responded, perching herself on the stool next to me rather than standing,

‘Imma go find Martha and see if she’s abandoned us for her ‘ ‘not-boyf’ boyf yet’ Karlie skipped off once more so it was just me and the friend I had had for around 6 years.

‘You okay?’ she asked as she handed me a re-fill of my vodka-diet coke and I nodded my head as I took a sip.

‘Babe,’ she said, a more serious note to her voice.

‘I think so’ I gave in finally, pausing before starting again, ‘Don’t get me wrong I love having Lilly, but sometimes I wish I wasn’t such a dumbass party animal at 19, and I don’t even know who the father is! Because I got that drunk!’ I sighed, letting my head rest on the bar in frustration, even if it was slightly sticky from spilt drinks.

When I lifted my head back up our eyes met and I could see the sorrow in her eyes, she felt bad for me, I sighed and looked at the drink in front of me.

Fuck it.

I picked up the glass and downed the golden liquor, my nineteen-year-old self would be proud, I felt the warmth in my stomach spread as I put the empty glass back on the bar and asked the bar-man for another

‘Okay but that’s your last one!’ Gi warned me as she had just witnessed the events of me being possessed by my younger self.

At that moment Karlie came back, Martha no where to be seen implying that she had already gone back to James’ house. Didn’t take long.

A look passed between my two best friends and Karlie proceeded to raise her eyebrows at me, ‘I downed my drink, get over it,’ I shrugged my shoulder in my drunken state and started to sip at the brand new one that was in front of me.

‘Do we need to get her back to Andrea at some point?’ Karlie poised her question to Gi, as if I wasn’t even there anymore.

‘Yes, we do and after she’s finished that we need to get her to leave, we’ll buy some water on the way home,’ they continued their ‘not-private’ private conversation.

They watched me take every sip of my drink occasionally commenting on how they never knew that I had the capacity to get drunker than them. Well I clearly did. Lilly existed.

I knew the minute I had finished it they would try and usher me out that’s why my drunken state thought it would be a good idea to leave a bit in the glass and then go and dance, ‘I’m gonna go dance with my new friend Joe,’ I slurred, stumbling slightly as I got up,

I heard both of them try and tell me to stop but I ignored them as I wandered, stumbled, towards him.

There was one step between us before I tripped over my own feet and landed on him, he laughed as he helped me up and I let go of his arm, ‘You come for that dance?’ that fucking smirk.

‘maybe’ I slurred and he laughed again before joining me in getting lost in the music. His hands held mine as we danced, only so I didn’t fall over, but still, a guy’s hands were in mine. I knew my friends were probably happy and annoyed at the same time but I didn’t care, I would most definitely regret it in the morning, but it was fun right now.

I lost track of time as we swayed and he laughed at my weird dance moves. All I knew is that his smile was lighting up the room and his eyes were leaving my heart pumping a little bit faste-

‘Okay sorry to break up the party, but we,’ Karlie gestured to her and Gigi as Martha had already gone home with James, ‘need to get her,’ she pointed at me before continuing, ‘home.’

I woke up and the headache behind my eyes was like a child let loose with paints. Chaos. I didn’t remember getting home last night but I must’ve because I was in my own bed and in my own night things. At least I didn’t have anyone beside me.

I cracked my eyes open and winced at the bright light before I looked to my bedside table to see the glass of water and Advil laying there. Yum.

I love my mum.

My phone lay next to them both and I picked it up just to check if any of the others had messaged me. They hadn’t. Probably because they were asleep.

But I did have a text.

It read:

‘Hi, it’s Joe, we traded numbers when I got you girls a taxi in your drunken states last night, hope that’s okay and I hope you got home okay,’

Oh boy.

#taylor and joe fanfiction #taylor and joe #fanfiction #taylor swift #enjoy!!!#i love you all xx

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kanasmusings · 7 years ago

Text

[Translation] SolidS Drama CD Vol. 4 - Kumo no Mukou ni - Track 2

Here’s the second track~

Under the cut as usual, enjoy!

SolidS – Kumo no Mukou ni Drama CD Track 2

(Tsubasa’s humming and drinking coffee)

(door opens and Rikka walks in)

RIKKA: Oh? I can smell the rich aroma of coffee~

TSUBASA: Yep, that’s right! I borrowed Shiki’s most prized possession.

TSUBASA: It’s to get me pumped up before work.

RIKKA: I guess Shiki won’t get mad if it’s for that.

RIKKA: (he puts a bag down) Alright then… I’m done preparing~

TSUBASA: Great work~

TSUBASA: Good luck with your work today, Rikka. You’re going to Kyoto all of a sudden with Dai-chan for work, right?

RIKKA: Yeah. Haiduki-san contacted us this morning and he said he’ll pick us up from here in a while. After that we’ll be riding a bullet train from Tokyo Station.

RIKKA: We’ll be there until the day after tomorrow. I know there were certain circumstances but it really was too sudden, huh?

TSUBASA: I see. Did someone suddenly fall ill or something? You’re gonna participate in an event, weren’t you?

RIKKA: That’s what I heard. There’ll be a kimono exhibition and then an interview. And then after that there’s a photo shoot around the city I think…

RIKKA: He said he’ll explain to us in detail on the bullet train.

TSUBASA: Spring in Kyoto, huh~ I feel like it’ll make for great pictures!

RIKKA: That’s right~ (sighs) I kinda wish I could just go sightseeing though.

TSUBASA: Totally! I wonder if the cherry blossoms are in bloom already~

RIKKA: I wonder. Maybe they’re still buds just like here in Tokyo.

TSUBASA: Ah, Rikka, there’s some coffee ready. Want some?

RIKKA: Yes, thank you.

RIKKA: Your mornings sure are elegant, huh, Tsubasa~

RIKKA: You start work at noon today?

TSUBASA: Yep~ There’s a meeting and a few formalities before the start of the CM filming.

TSUBASA: There’s gonna be a briefing on a lot of stuff so they said we needed to all be there.

TSUBASA: It’s gonna be until night but I think I’ll be back before dinner.

RIKKA: I see. It was a CM for a drug company, right?

TSUBASA: Yeah. It’s a CM for a nutritional drink.

TSUBASA: “A step forward during a crucial moment.” is the concept.

TSUBASA: It seems like it’s a series where people from different jobs will cooperate with each other.

TSUBASA: My partner’s an author.

RIKKA: Eh? An author…? Who?

(Tsubasa picks up a book and shows it to Rikka)

TSUBASA: Here. He’s this book’s author.

TSUBASA: “An up-and-coming novelist!” He’s Kuriki Yohei.

RIKKA: Ah, I know him. He’s gotten several awards recently, right? I remember seeing him on the news.

RIKKA: If I remember correctly… He’s being called the number one author preferred by young readers.

TSUBASA: Looks like it~ I’ve read all four of his works, too.

RIKKA: What were they like?

TSUBASA: Hmmm… My impressions are… They’re like charcoal fire?

RIKKA: (chuckles) What’s with that? That sounds like an impression fitting for his books, huh?

TSUBASA: All the subjects you can pick up from his books are really difficult!

TSUBASA: Like, there’s the harmful effect of an internet-centric society or… Something about a family who moved to live in a virtual forest and stuff.

TSUBASA: His composition’s really difficult and I felt like “Woah, what the heck?!” when I first started reading one.

TSUBASA: But, when I resolved myself to read it, I couldn’t put it down.

TSUBASA: Even after thinking it’s difficult at first, it leaves a unique kinda fire inside your heart after you’re done reading.

TSUBASA: That’s why it’s ‘charcoal fire’. Did ya get it~?

RIKKA: It’s a heat that slowly swallows you, was it?

TSUBASA: Yep, yep! That’s kinda how it is.

RIKKA: Hmm~ I feel like reading them now, too. Will you lend it to me next time?

TSUBASA: Of course~

RIKKA: So, going back to the CM topic, you’ll be co-starring with Kuriki-san, huh?

TSUBASA: Yep. It seems like they’ll show me at a crucial moment before a live and they’ll show him during a crucial moment with his deadline.

RIKKA: It’ll be about both of your challenges, right~

RIKKA: I hope that it’ll be a good commercial. I’m looking forward to it.

TSUBASA: Thank you~

RIKKA: It feels like it will be a passionate one, huh?

(door opens)

DAI: Sorry for the wait.

RIKKA: Ah, no, I just got finished [packing] a while ago. Wait, Dai—Is that all you’re gonna bring with you?

DAI: Hm? Yeah, that’s right.

RIKKA: Isn’t that rucksack the one you’re always using?

DAI: Yeah.

RIKKA: Is there… did you really bring stuff that’s for a 2-3 day trip…?

DAI: Of course. This is enough.

DAI: We’ll still be in Japan after all. If I need something I can just buy it somewhere there.

TSUBASA: Dai-chan’s always carried a few things during times like these, huh~

RIKKA: Back during my model days I was always running around here and there so I thought that it’d be better to have a compact case but…

RIKKA: I kinda feel like I just lost.

DAI: That’s a weird thing to be upset at losing about.

RIKKA: (laughs) But, don’t you think it’s kinda cool that you look like you’re used to travelling because you’ve only got a little stuff with you~?

TSUBASA: I feel ya~! You’re still fine. It’s not like Rikka’s carrying a lot of stuff either.

DAI: Shiki’s stuff is even fewer compared to mine, you know?

RIKKA: He’s an exception. His lack of stuff is totally on a mysterious level.

TSUBASA: He does go on overseas trips with only one bag. Like, the other day he managed to survive in Nagoya with only a small bag and his wallet.

DAI: Yeah, he did. I remember that.

DAI: He did buy souvenirs but the paper bag was bigger than his own stuff.

RIKKA: Unbelievable.

TSUBASA: His bag might be mysteriously connected to the paper bag, ya know~

RIKKA: (chuckles) I feel like that’s possible.

DAI: Is it really?

RIKKA: I kinda hold a grudge against Shiki for not needing to bring skin care and hair products.

DAI: Ah… Though he looks like the type to bring coffee-flavoured candy and sake bottles.

RIKKA: Maybe I’ll inspect his stuff next time.

RIKKA: It might be fine for now but in 5 years or so, if he doesn’t take care of his skin and hair, he’ll have trouble with it.

RIKKA: My goal is to be as cool with our personal appearance even when we become “Old Men SolidS”. I’ll have everyone do their best, too~

TSUBASA: Woah~ Rikka’s on fire~

DAI: Anyway… “Old Men SolidS” sounds weird.

TSUBASA: Right~ Specially if Rikka says it, I feel like there’s an underlying omen… Old men…? Or something. I totally can’t imagine it…

DAI: I agree. Everyone aside from Rikka will look different.

RIKKA: Really? Although I’d be happy if that were true~

RIKKA: But, we’re human so we’ll age. There’s nothing negative about getting older.

RIKKA: I at least want to be able to age coolly and be admired a little.

TSUBASA: Oh-ho~ Rikka’s sense is so grand.

TSUBASA: I can’t imagine you as an old man but I can imagine Shiki!

TSUBASA: He’d definitely suit being a part of Old Men SolidS!

TSUBASA: (trying to imitate Shiki’s voice) “I’m Takamura Shiki, 40 years old. I’m still fired up for work as usual!” he’d definitely say something like that!

SHIKI: Sorry for being such a predictable old man.

TSUBASA: …! (in a high-pitched voice) W-woah…!

SHIKI: Though you’re not wrong about the fact that I’ll still be gung-ho about work when I’m in my 40’s.

SHIKI: I’ll stay in this industry for my entire life.

TSUBASA: Y-you surprised me…! Can you please not just appear so suddenly?

RIKKA: I almost spat out my coffee…

DAI: I’d have been soaked if I continued walking forward.

SHIKI: It’s not sudden. I came in normally from the door.

SHIKI: You were probably too excited about Old Men SolidS that you didn’t notice. I think it’s still good but are you sure you’re not gonna be late?

RIKKA: Eh? Ah, it’s already this time.

TSUBASA: Ah, I’ll clean the cups later.

RIKKA: Thank you. Dai, let’s go.

DAI: Sure.

SHIKI: Do your best.

RIKKA: Yes, we’ll do our best at work~ Good luck to you two as well.

RIKKA: Especially you, Shiki. I heard that your deadline’s coming close. Get some proper rest once in a while even though you’re busy, okay?

SHIKI: I’ll try. I’m sure Haiduki will coordinate it just fine. There are lots of times when things don’t always go according to plan. Outside influences might cause a delay on the matter at hand.

RIKKA: I see.

SHIKI: Fortunately, the topics at hand are completely different from each other and I can think freely about what to write. I hope I get something done.

SHIKI: Well, it’s what makes it fun.

DAI: It’s great that it’s for a SolidS song too, isn’t it?

SHIKI: Totally. That’s why I might make you sing more dazzling idol songs again.

DAI: That’s… I hope you don’t…

RIKKA: Eh~? Isn’t that fun? I plan to sing it with all I’ve got though~

RIKKA: Bring it on~

TSUBASA: Me, too!

DAI: He might really make us do it so stop that.

SHIKI: Look forward to it.

RIKKA: (chuckles) Now then… We’ll be on our way for real this time.

DAI: We’ll be on our way.

TSUBASA: Take care~!

SHIKI: Be careful.

(door opens and Rikka and Dai leave)

TSUBASA: I wonder what they’ll bring us for souvenirs~ I’ll look forward to it~

SHIKI: If they had that much free time, it’d be fine. But it looks like their schedule’s packed.

TSUBASA: Eh? Is that so?

SHIKI: It was an irregular request. A few days ago, an old desk worker retired and the one that took over wanted to do a prefecture-specific job and snuck it in. It went by completely unnoticed.

SHIKI: It was found out when the other party called in to confirm.

TSUBASA: Aw man… So that’s why Rikka and Dai-chan were suddenly called to fill in.

SHIKI: Exactly. If those two are there they’ll be able to do most of what’s needed.

SHIKI: They’re very versatile and there’s two of them. Plus, they’re pretty well-known.

SHIKI: The agency’s happy that they can show off talents who are good at not only singing and dancing.

TSUBASA: That’s great, Producer~ Don’t you feel so proud?

SHIKI: I guess.

SHIKI: By the way…

TSUBASA: Huh?

SHIKI: I’m curious about this aroma that’s filling the room.

TSUBASA: Geh…!

SHIKI: Tsubasa, that coffee you’re drinking, could it be…

TSUBASA: (in a slightly panicking tone) Oh no! Looks like I’ll be going out, too~!

TSUBASA: It’s a little early but I guess I’ll go shopping and eat an early lunch along the way~

SHIKI: Hey.

TSUBASA: I won’t be back until dinner so do your best at work, too, Leader! (he blows a kiss)

(Tsubasa opens the door)

TSUBASA: I’ll be going now~

(door closes)

SHIKI: Hey, Tsubasa. Hey, wa—

SHIKI: (to himself) Good grief. They drank such expensive coffee.

SHIKI: (to himself) Do your work properly in exchange.

==END==

※ Please don’t re-post these translations without permission.

#solids #solids translations #my translations #drama cd #tsukipro #old men solids #i died at that part XD #imagine shiki at 40 years old dancing burny lolol

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dukeofishgard · 6 years ago

Photo

interesting oc questions that can be found here! first few will be outside a cut then rest under a cut!

On a scale of “is occasionally forced to bathe” to “Instagram model with sponsors to hoe for” how involved is your OC’s Skincare routine?

Duke is super big on his hygiene. For one, he’s obviously from nobility so... he just grew up practicing good hygiene. However, after being cursed and developing a penchant for dying in horrific ways, he became much more obsessed with cleanliness. He’s always worried that he may smell bloody or otherwise slightly like death. So he takes extreme measures to try and keep that at bay.

What are your OC’s food preferences (flavors/textures/spiciness/calories/ when and how they eat) and how did they get that way?

Duke has a pretty broad taste, and will try pretty much anything at least once. He does tend to be drawn to spicier foods, and heavily seasoned dishes as his tastebuds (through various ways) are not quite as robust as they used to be. So he tends to like strongly flavored dishes. He also tends to like meatier dishes as well- often with a good hunk of bread to mop up the juices. He grew up eating rich dishes thanks to his upbringing, and enjoyed sneaking into the kitchen to see how things were made. This made him popular as a Captain as he’d often find ways to spice up rations given during the War and often went out of his way to hunt for proper meat for his soldiers. Now as an immortal, he’s traveled all across Hydaelyn and enjoys trying new dishes from different cultures. Again as his tastebuds aren’t that great, he can tolerate most things. He’s definitely the type of guy who likes that one dish that the majority can’t stand.

What’s something pointless/petty/unimportant that IRRATIONALLY ANNOYS THE HELL out of your OC?

I’ve never really thought about this because he’s such an easy-going person and isn’t phased by most things really. However, probably how Dracyn will tidy up his desk for him. Duke is, by habit now, just a generally messy person. He tends to just leave things scattered about on his desk, papers and such. So when Dracyn tidies things up, even tho Duke knows it should look nice and not a trainwreck, it annoys him because he then can’t find anything. it may be a mess, but it’s his mess and he knows where everything is god dammit. What’s your OC’s response to being asked for money by a homeless person?

He will literally give said homeless person all the money he currently has on him, ask for the person’s name and then likely do his best to get them into housing and find a job. He does this often. On one hand he’s genuinely just that sort of person, but it also is another way for him to use the endless amounts of money he’s made being immortal. Better in the hands of those who need it more than him. Does your OC get lost easily? What do they do when they do get lost?

Nah. He’s got a good sense of direction. If he ever gets ‘lost’ it’s on purpose for adventure purposes.

What would STOP your OC from Doing The Right Thing in a tense situation?

Duke is at his core, completely and one hundred percent a goody-two shoes. The only situation I can think of, of him hesitating is a completely hypothetical and would, at this point, only happen in an AU. And that would be if Dracyn ever completely snapped. It’s been a big thing between the two of them that Duke insists he could never kill or ‘put down’ Dracyn if Dracyn were to ever fall back into his old ways, despite Dracyn asking him too. Duke insists that he could always bring Dracyn back. So, again, were Dracyn ever to fall back onto his old ways, and Duke had to choose between killing Dracyn and saving people from Dracyn, it’d be a really be a stopping point of Duke not being able to make a very rational choice. He’d likely end up trying to simply hide Dracyn from the world rather than forcing himself to kill Dracyn. :\ But again, this would likely only happen in an AU because their relationship currently is very even and there’s not anything that comes to mind that Dracyn and I have planned that would ever trigger Dracyn to just totally lose it.

Realistically, could your OC (in their normal circumstances- i.e. at thier own house/battlecamp/spaceship etc.) keep a small child alive for a week if they had to? A Dog? A Houseplant? A rock with a smiley face painted on? Yes. Duke was a father, and is currently once again taking it on again after marrying Dracyn, taking care of his step-children. Despite his heavy reservations on being a father again after the death of his children, Duke is quite good at taking care of others, and a good father. He also is fairly good with plants- he tends roses back home at Ishgard. If your OC had to take the S.A.T. tomorrow with one night to prep, how would they do? both emotionally and academically. He’d likely do just fine. He’s a smart cookie, and emotionally, he wouldn’t really care if he did well or poorly. At least now in his life lol. Growing up he may have been more worried, but again- he was always pretty intelligent and studious. So even with only one night to cram, I think he’d be fine. What would cause your OC to chose to do something petty/pointlessly cruel?

The only time Duke is ever pointlessly cruel is if someone’s pushed him to that point. I.E, when people threaten the people he loves. He’s normally pretty quick to kill an enemy, but you threaten someone he loves and he will get vicious and make sure it’s painful. He once shoved himself further onto a bandit’s blade and then jammed a hidden dagger into the man’s neck as painfully as he could. When Dracyn was kidnapped, Duke, despite getting injured, was one step away, had his stepdaughter not blasted the guy out of the ship, he would have grabbed the kidnapper and continued to stab the man repeatedly, over and over again. His cruelty is truly only shown when someone has wronged someone he either cares about or hurt innocents. As for being petty, Duke can be very Ishgardian and can be incredibly petty and huffy if someone insults him lol. On a scale of “Complete and Justified nervous breakdown” to “Conquer The Entire Galaxy and become an Immortal God-Emperor”, how well would your OC handle being abducted by Aliens? He’d probably just sigh and be like “okay well this is at least something new and exciting after a thousand years.” What song is 100% guaranteed to get your OC beyond turnt and will be sung loudly and embarrassingly, either in public or the shower? Uhhh, hard to say because of XIV’s setting? Ye old Ishgardian ballads? lmao idk! likely any song that gets performed at Lucky Sparrow, and likely a lot of the group numbers he helps out with likely get practiced loudly in the shower. What perfectly-normal-to-them-thing does your OC do that confuses/pisses off/terrifies thier neighbors? Showing up alive outside tending the gardens when the day before he showed up with various, mortal injuries that surely would have killed any other normal person. “But- you- you had a sword- sticking out your head! I saw it! In one side out the other!” “Yes well. I got better. Do you think these roses are looking a bit down? Maybe I should add some blood to the soil...” Under what circumstances would your OC appear naked in public? When he was younger, his second in command, and lover, Etienne convinced him to run naked through the Foundation while they were back in Ishgard on leave. The entire squad was drunk and only wore their dragoon helmets. So, basically he needs to be drunk and the person asking him to do it, needs to be the man he’s madly in love with lmao. What thing did your OC’s parents do that your OC wishes they had a better explanation for? Duke actually, genuinely holds no ill-will towards his parents. And it’s not even a matter of the fact that they’re dead and long dead at that, so his grievances have been to put to bed. He just genuinely loved his parents, and they genuinely loved him back as well. They did their best for their son, and their only real ‘fuck-up’ was the arranged marriage to Antoinette, but Duke realizes that they were tricked into believing she was sane. Other than that, he knows they loved him very much and when he asked for help, even when he asked for help to keep his children, Minette and Alitte safe- (a huge risk at the time) they always came through. How often does your OC “zone out” or do things on autopilot and how severe have the problems that have arisen from that been? Usually pretty often. Being immortal and living for so long, sometimes mundane things just sort of... start to all bleed together. He’s definitely accidentally cut himself in various ways while cooking because he’s not paying attention, and he doesn’t quite feel pain as easily as others. How strong or weak is your OC’s Impulse control? What’s the worst thing that happened becuase of thier Impulsivity or inability to be so? It’s pretty weak. It’s gotten better now that he’s remarried, and he knows Dracyn would be upset if something happened to him despite being immortal. But before he met Dracyn, he was incredibly impulsive and would often times throw himself into situations that would end up with him dead and or seriously maimed. These days he’s a touch more restrained if only because he doesn’t want to explain to his husband why he’s got a gaping, bloody hole in his chest. How does your OC sabotage themselves? Prior to getting married, Duke would often sabotage relationships and friendships if he started to feel cornered and ‘too happy’ His greatest fear is always seeing the ones he loves growing old and die. Sometimes he could handle it, other times he would clam up and simply... leave, with no explanation. Just in the middle of the night, leave without a word, and often go to the Fury’s Gaze in Coerthas where he’d forcefully and continually commit suicide as an extremely unhealthy way to cope with the feelings of loss and grief over once again, not letting himself get close to people in fear of their eventual death. What’s the trashiest item in your OC’s wardrobe, when was the last time they wore it and why do they still have it? Duke has many trashy items in his wardrobe as he is A. immortal and thus has to change his style in accordance with the times and B. He does not get rid of anything. As such, he has some incredibly questionable fashion choices in his closet, and insists on keeping them in case they one day come back in fashion. How Dehydrated is your OC right now? Are they going to fix this? Duke is always teetering usually on the edge of dehydration. He’s gotten better about accidentally starving himself, mainly because he has his family he eats with every day, and thus, he eats with them even though he can go a bit longer without eating. Staying hydrated however, he can be a bit forgetful. As he’s immortal, and can’t die from it really, he’s gotten used to going without for longer periods of time, and sometimes just doesn’t recognize the signs. Thankfully he has a husband that typically reminds him if he’s looking a bit peak. It’s not intentional, it’s just one of those weird things he just forgets after being immortal for so long. What’s your OC smell like? no, not that “Vanilla and Anxiety” evocative stuff, realistically. Body odor? what have they been touching all day? When was thier last shower? Did they put on any kind of artificial scent? I’ve always headcanoned Duke’s smells very specifically- and spoke about it under the hygiene question. Duke typically always has an underlying odd smell, often times like blood, occasionally a bit more... dead. This stems A. from his curse and B. the fact he tries(ed) to kill himself so often. He’s very self conscience about it, as he knows he may not be able to smell it himself as he’s kind of used too it. So he’s pretty obsessive about washing up. He typically smells of leather due to what he wears, and often like chocolate and cinnamon from his baking. He also probably has a fancy cologne he wears, probably a floral/rose scent. This is also the reason he’s typically a bit iffy around animals, as animals can typically detect the underlying smell on him and ofc are like “the fuck is this unnatural dead dude.” Miqo’te might be a bit more sensitive around him too, but again- he takes GREAT pains to mask it. ---------

feel free to steal and do yourself! tag me if you do cos i love reading shit like this!!!!

#ffxiv rp #balmung #balmung rp #ffxiv #the duke

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autisticlalna · 3 years ago

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You have a distinguished to-watch pallate; the power of Tales and anime on your side!!

And yeah, I think so, too! There were some little bits that were oddly timed - the last chase before he got to the Other Side, i guess - but on the whole, the pacing is very good! All the Inbetween segments are good to go back and rewatch, spaced out or all together, and your old insights are definitely cool to look through! Mizu was actually my first DSMP stream altogether, so yeah, following the Tales as they came out was suuuper fun!

I think I've seen that some of the main KH have been remastered for modern consoles? But never played any of them either, haha. But!! Yeah!! Darkness being a good thing is such a good theme!! Fun especially with Karl, since he's been a bright colorful blob since the beginning - and then with Honk added in!! Like the Other Side, they're both dark and intimidating at first, even dangerous, but with time and care and trust, they become Karl's closest allies?? If Honk's arc ends up foreshadowing the entire Other Side on a more personal and human and relatable level to Karl then I'm just gonna ghfhhhfhfhmmghfh!! Excited wiggles :)

But ooo, dang!! That's a clever way to test out new mechanics! And it does sound very blaseball, hahaha. But more microphone content is cool! And,,, yay for them all being "okay," for a genre-typical definition of okay!

good news: i finished watching anime! i marathoned dual! parallel trouble adventure after having first watched it like a decade ago and it was a fun time. ill probably start my tales rewatch tomorrow and like, post my thoughts on each episode indepth on here or something as i go Full Analysis Mode bc thats always fun

WAIT HOLY SHIT THE MAINLINE GAMES ARE ON PC NOW? oh my god. okay i guess i have a games to get when i have the money fhgxlkh;gkdf i will become ungovernable. also i can probably go ham about dream drop distance and comparing it to tales (although the memory stuff is definitely based off chain of memories considering the inbetween castle is modeled after castle oblivion) but also the time travel in kingdom hearts makes no ham sense. you can't send your body back in time, just your mind (???) so when an antag does it he's just this like, fuckin, nebulous ominous shape in a shitty burlap blanket like he's trying to look cool in a cloak but instead he just looks silly

AAA YEA THAT'D BE SO COOL god honk is. so fun. he's a shadow creature possessed by a light world, except the light world is manipulative and honk makes the decision to protect karl and help him escape to the other side which is darkness-themed and it's SO COOL that everything keeps lining up like that. honk my bejacobs

"genre-typical definition of okay" is maybe the best way to describe a good outcome in blaseball lmao (/pos)

#shadow people au #meta analysis stuff #leo.txt #leo.msg

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minijenn · 8 years ago

Text

Universe Falls Chapter 34

Fuuuuck its finally done. Seriously I haven’t spent this long working on a single chapter since... I can’t even remember when. And I’m so fucking tired but whatever. This chapter is a mess because of it but I guess it could always be worse. So anyway, hope you all enjoy!

Previous: http://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/159651353069/universe-falls-chapter-33

Chapter 34: Into the Bunker

QEB CLOJP TB TBXO XOB BSBOVTEBOB PIFM FKQL X KBT LKB FC VLR AXOB

If there was any idle pastime shared between Dipper and Wendy that they enjoyed most, it was watching the old, low-budget movies that were frequently aired on Gravity Falls public television and making fun of their hilariously poor quality all the while. And the pair was doing just that as they relaxed at the foot of the cashier’s bed, sharing a bowl of popcorn as they mockingly laughed along to the utter cheesiness of the zombie movie currently playing.

“What do we do, Chadley?!” the female lead of the movie cried, clinging onto her boyfriend as a horde of blood-thirsty zombies surrounded them. “I thought they were dead!”

“Far worse, Trixandra!” Chadley exclaimed overdramatically. “They’re… Nearly Dead But Not Quite!”

As the protagonist dropped the title, it appeared on the screen for a brief moment before returning to the melodramatic, clearly fake zombie attack. “Man, these movies are a lot less scary when you’ve actually fought regular zombies,” Dipper remarked, rolling his eyes at the movie’s lackluster effects that paled in comparison to how horrifying he knew genuine zombies to be.

“They’re slow!” Wendy shouted at the TV with faux frustration. “Just power-walk away from them!”

“How much you wanna bet that guy dies first?” Dipper asked with a smirk, only for that very thing to happen seconds later.

“Ah! My face is getting eaten a lot!” Chadley screamed as the zombies comically pounced on him, much to Dipper and Wendy’s equal amusement.

“Ha! Chadley ain’t pretty no more,” Wendy said as her and Dipper laughed over the main character’s ridiculous fate. Their levity was interrupted, however, as the cashier’s phone buzzed on the bed nearby. “One sec,” Wendy grabbed her phone, her grin quickly turning into an aggravated scowl upon seeing the latest notification. “Ugh, another text from Robbie!”

“Oh yeah,” Dipper said, though he made sure to phrase his next statement carefully since he didn’t really want to pry too much. “Robbie. So, uh… how… how’s all that going?”

“Ugh, I’m over him, I just wish he was over me!” Wendy huffed in exasperation. “Just look at these texts! Winky frown? What does that even mean?”

Dipper hesitated before saying anything, excitement and anxiety filling him all at once as he realized this could very well finally be his chance. That is, if he didn’t end up getting in his own way again. “A-and you’re not… not, like… seeing any other guys, or…”

“Of course I am,” Wendy replied, not noticing Dipper forcing himself to hide his shocked dismay at this news. “Meet my new boyfriend, dude.” With a joking smirk, the cashier pulled up one of her stuffed animals, much to Dipper’s apt relief.

“Right, right,” he laughed a bit too awkwardly, averting eye contact with his crush as he began to pose the question he had been thoroughly thinking and fretting over for weeks now. “S-so, I was wondering if… If maybe y-you wanted to… You know… Maybe w-we could… I-I wanted to know if you…” Dipper took in a sharp, deep breath, cringing at his own complete inability to just tell Wendy how he felt, something that was so simple as a concept, but nearly impossible in execution. And seeing as how he had already messed up whatever slim chance he might have had, he let out a defeated sigh as he went off on a different tangent entirely. “If you… wanted to join me, Mabel, Steven, and the Gems on a mystery hunt tomorrow? Conspiracy stuff and all that?”

“Yeah, dude,” Wendy immediately agreed with a grin. “I love doing all that junk with friends. Yo, Chadley! Look out!” she laughed as she turned her attention back to the movie playing on TV, even though Dipper couldn’t really do the same.

“Yeah, that’s what we are…” he sighed in disappointment as he discreetly pulled a piece of paper out of his vest while Wendy wasn’t looking. Dipper frowned dejectedly as he glanced over the note he had written (and rewritten at least several times over) that openly confessed his own hopeless crush on the cashier, a note that he refused to ever let her see, lest it cause him untold mortification. “That’s all we’ll ever be…” he muttered glumly, crumpling up the note before putting it away and flopping back onto the bed. “Friends…”

“Dude, you’re lying on my bra,” Wendy informed him with a hint of amusement in her tone. Dipper let out a panicked scream upon glancing over to see that he was indeed on top of one of the cashier’s bras, prompting him to dart upright before the situation could get any more awkward than it already was.

Steven smiled contentedly as he sat on a nearby tree stump as Pearl, Greg, and Stan collaborated on trying to fix the former rock star’s broken-down van outside the shack. The young Gem didn’t pay their muttered conversing much mind, however, as he instead entertained himself with the Crying Breakfast Friends personality quiz on his phone.

“Sniffling Croissant!” Steven exclaimed brightly as he finished the quiz and got his result. “You really know me, internet. Hey, guys!”

“Yeah, Steven?” Greg asked, turning his attention from the engine him and Stan were holding steady for Pearl as she worked on it.

“You guys should take this online quiz I found,” the young Gem quipped, holding his phone up so they could see. “It tells you what character you are from Crying Breakfast Friends!”

“Crying Breakfast-” Stan cut himself off, looking to Steven completely dumbfounded. “Kid, what the heck are you talking about?”

“Oh, it’s a really great cartoon with a huge cast of really interesting, relatable characters!” Steven explained with a smile. “And every single one of them is a result you can get in this quiz! Like I said, you all should totally take it!”

“Uh… why?” Pearl asked with a confused frown.

“It’s just fun to see yourself as a cartoon character,” Steven shrugged, looking back to his phone. “Like Weeping Egg Cup, who’s neurotic and uptight, or Pining Grapefruit, the sensitive older one who wishes he were a better role model, or Grumpy Pancake, who’s ill-tempered but has a hidden heart of gold.”

Pearl, Stan, and Greg all exchanged an aptly bewildered glance upon hearing this, none of them really sure of what to make of the odd characters Steven was detailing to them. “Uh, maybe we can do that thing after we fix the van,” Greg said with a patient smile.

“Yeah, or better yet, never,” Stan muttered, rolling his eyes as he got back to work.

Steven let out a disappointed sigh upon hearing this, but nonetheless, he accepted their answer. “Okay… I’ll just find someone else then!”

“Yo, Steven!” Amethyst called to the young Gem as her and Garnet stood on the fringes of the trail leading into the woods. “You ready to go?”

“Oh yeah! I almost forgot!” Steven jumped to his feet, putting his phone in his pocket as he prepared to head off.

“Oh, are you three going off on that ‘mystery hunt’ you mentioned earlier?” Pearl asked the young Gem before he could get too far.

“Yep!” the young Gem said, walking backwards as he addressed her. “We’re going to meet Dipper, Mabel, and Soos in the woods right now! Aren’t you coming, Pearl?”

“Oh, well, I-” the white Gem was cut off as something inside the van’s chassis suddenly burst, resulting in a thick plume of smoke and a shared exasperated groan from Greg and Stan. “I… think I’m needed more here,” Pearl said with a slightly bemused grin. “But stay safe! And have fun!”

“Oh, we will!” Steven nodded as he joined Amethyst and Garnet. “Especially since I have this quiz to keep us all entertained along the way!”

The white Gem continued to wave her teammates off with a smile, one that faded into her earlier confusion as she turned back to the conman and the former rock star. “Do either of you understand that cartoon show?” she asked pensively.

“I don’t really understand anything anymore,” Greg admitted honestly.

“Ditto,” Stan dryly agreed as they got back to work sorting the van’s struggling engine out.

Meanwhile, Steven cheerfully strode alongside Garnet and Amethyst, the former silent and observant as ever and the latter casually snacking on the messy sandwich she had brought along for the hike. “So where’s this ‘super mysterious’ place Dipper wants us to check out again?” the purple Gem asked somewhat boredly.

“Apparently, its right on the temple hill,” Garnet replied, her attention focused on the path ahead. “The very same place where he supposedly found the journal. So this mission will hopefully give us some answers that are a long time coming. Which means I expect you both to take it seriously.”

“Don’t worry, G,” Amethyst smirked, her mouth full as she munched on her sandwich. “You know me. I’m as serious as they come.”

“Same here!” Steven nodded thoroughly. “Oh! Speaking of serious stuff, you guys gotta take this online quiz: ‘Which Crying Breakfast Friend Are You’?”

“I’ll pass,” Garnet said simply.

“Yeah, same,” Amethyst stuck her tongue out. “That show’s really weird. Who wants to watch a cartoon about people crying?”

“I do!” Steven protested, tears already starting to form in his eyes.

“Ok, ok!” the purple Gem quickly retracted for the sake of appeasing the young Gem. “Uh, what’s the first question?”

Steven quickly perked up as he looked back to his phone and read the question out loud. “Do you ever act without thinking?”

“Nope,” Amethyst shrugged, throwing the remainder of her sandwich into the air before catching most of it in her wide-open mouth.

“Are you afraid of taking risks and trying new things?”

“Terrified,” the purple Gem deadpanned, licking the remains of her sandwich off her face.

“Amethyst, are you taking this seriously?” Steven asked with a frown.

“Of course, I am,” Amethyst rolled her eyes, making it quite clear that she wasn’t. Still, Steven tapped ‘yes’ on his phone under the question he had just asked her before moving onto the next one.

“Are you insecure about your relationships and how you are perceived by other people?”

The purple Gem’s lax expression abruptly shifted into discomfort upon hearing such a prying question, especially as she glanced towards Garnet. The Gem leader herself wasn’t really listening to the conversation as she stoically pressed on ahead, but even so, Amethyst was aptly anxious as she gave Steven an uncertain reply. “…No? Yes? Uh… what’s the right answer?”

“There is no right answer,” Steven said. “You’re just supposed to answer honestly.”

“Eh, I’m bored,” Amethyst quickly returned to her usual casual manner as she quickened her pace to catch up with Garnet.

“Wait!” Steven called as he ran after her. “I still have loads more probing personal questions to ask you!”

“They’ll have to wait till later,” Garnet spoke up, putting her hands on her hips as she came to a stop. “We’re here.”

“Hi, guys!” Mabel greeted the trio brightly as they arrived. Her and Soos were eagerly waiting near a tall, conspicuous tree that Dipper was intently pacing in front of while meticulously leafing through the journal. He stopped short, however, upon noticing that Steven and the Gems had shown up.

“There you guys are!” Dipper said with relieved smile as he closed the journal. “I’m glad you could make it. Thank you all for coming.”

“Hey, when there’s a mystery, you can count on your sister… -ey!” Mabel quipped, somehow making the pun work.

“That’s an amazing rhyme,” Soos chuckled before trying his own. “When you want some… some good… When you need a Soos, you… Oh, gosh, I got nothing.”

“Oh, this is so exciting!” Steven exclaimed with a zealous smile. “What mystery are we gonna solve this time? Why fairies are so small and sparkly? Or how gnomes celebrate president’s day?”

“Neither,” Dipper shook his head. “We’re here to solve the number one mystery in Gravity Falls: who wrote this journal?” He held said journal up, flipping to the torn pastedown that would have otherwise revealed its writer’s identity. “Thirty years ago, the author vanished without a trace, but according to this new clue, we may have found his secret hiding place,” He paused once more to hold a portable backlight up to a page depicting the very same tree they were all standing under. The backlight, however, revealed a winding staircase wrapping underneath the tree, leading the way to a hidden underground dugout.

“Wait, so you’re saying this author guy has been squatting right underneath our temple for the past 30 years?” Amethyst asked incredulously. “All without us knowing about it? That seems kinda, I dunno, impossible?”

“We don’t know who the author is,” Garnet reminded solidly. “But he somehow knew a lot about us. It would have made sense for him to have gotten that information by observing us right behind our backs.”

“Literally!” Steven quipped jokingly.

“I don’t know…” Dipper interjected with a frown as he looked back to the journal. “Based on how the author wrote about you guys, it still doesn’t really seem like he got all this info just from spying on you… But that’s what we’re here to find out. We find that author, we learn the answers to everything. We just need to figure out a way to get down there…”

“Chop it down, dudes!” Wendy called as she pulled up to the group on her bike.

“Wendy!” Mabel and Steven greeted the cashier, pleasantly surprised that she was joining them.

“Oh, hey! You made it!” Dipper exclaimed, also quite excited to see her.

“Dude, I’m so stoked about this!” Wendy remarked, putting her usual hat on as she dismounted her bike. “I’ve been wanting to go adventuring with you guys. Sure beats picking up after my dad at home. So thanks for the invite, man!” She grinned as she passed by Dipper, giving a friendly punch on the arm.

“O-of course!” Dipper called after her with a smile that was far too wide and clearly flustered. “Anytime you wanna… I, uh… We’re always… uh-”

“Uh oh!” Mabel cut in as her and Steven both sent Dipper broad, knowing grins while the Gems and Soos moved on towards the tree themselves. “Inviting Wendy on our mission? Methinks there’s romance afoot!”

“No,” Dipper quickly rejected this notion, even if he was more intent on convincing himself more than either of them. “Look, I’ve thought this through and I’m over Wendy. I’ve looked at it from every angle, and that thing was going nowhere. I know what matters to me now, and that’s finding the author of this journal.”

“Ha! You’re over Wendy?” Mabel smirked with wry disbelief. “Allow me to put on my ‘skepticals’.” Said skeptical were merely just Mabel forming circles around her eyes with her fingers, but even so Dipper was far from amused.

“Dipper, why don’t you just tell Wendy how you feel about her?” Steven asked with a good-natured smile. “It’s gotta be easier than just trying to keep it a secret. I mean, just how great things turned out when Bawling Bacon told Mourning Muffin about his crush on her in Crying Breakfast Friends.”

“Oh, that episode is a classic!” Mabel interjected, still keeping her ‘skepticals’ on.

“…I don’t even know what to say to that,” Dipper said dryly. “But still, I’m not going to tell Wendy anything because there’s nothing to tell. I’ve moved on. You guys should too.”

The pair merely exchanged a tentative glance as Dipper stepped past them, though Mabel made sure to get the final say on the matter. “Skepticals…”

“Hey, guys,” Wendy said as everyone gathered close to the tree. “Is it just me, or does that branch look kinda like a lever?”

“Huh, yeah,” Dipper agreed, looking up at the branch the cashier was referring to before turning away from it to properly pan. “But how do we get up there…? It seems like we’d need a ladder, or like, ladder-shoes. I’ll get Soos to draw up a prototype, maybe go get Pearl and have her help build them…”

“Should we tell him?” Amethyst muttered to Garnet as they watched Wendy use her belt to skillfully scale the tree behind Dipper.

“Eh, he’ll figure it out,” Garnet shrugged.

At the same time, Wendy had reached the lever and pulled the ax out of her belt. With a smooth flick of the wrist, she spun the weapon around and hit the lever with its dull end, easily activating it. “Boosh!” she exclaimed, sending a satisfied smirk down to the amazed group on the ground.

“Whoa! Wendy, dude, that was awesome!” Soos exclaimed with a grin.

“Oh yeah, my dad used to make me compete in these lumberjack games when I was a kid,” Wendy remarked with a humble shrug. “Guess I kinda ruled at it.”

Still, no one had too much time to be impressed as the tree suddenly began to shake violently. Unable to hold on, Wendy fell off of it with a frightened cry, though fortunately, the shrub at the foot of the tree broke her fall. She didn’t really have a chance to breathe a sigh of relief, however, as the ground surrounding the tree began to retract, though thankfully Dipper and Soos were quick enough to pull her away from the emerging opening. The group crowded around the circular hole, watching in stunned awe as a set of stairs started jutting out from the lower half of the tree, stairs that led to a metallic door down below.

“Uh… G?” Amethyst tentatively spoke up, looking to the Gem leader with apt concern. “Am I the only one of us who’s thinking this looks sort of…”

“Familiar…” Garnet finished, her expression unreadable as she looked towards the hidden door and nothing else. “No, you’re not.”

“Wait, have you guys been here before?” Steven asked with immense curiosity.

“I don’t… think so…” the purple Gem frowned, bewildered.

“Still, it feels like we have…” the Gem leader adjusted her shades, her tone slightly unnerved. “It’s… hard to explain…”

“Well maybe going down there and checking it out will help jog your memory!” Mabel suggested encouragingly.

The pair of Gems exchanged a dubious glance, neither of them, not even Garnet, really sure of what they might find underground. Still, as always, Amethyst was the first to return to her usual verve. “Well, what are we waiting for?” she asked with a forced, confident grin. “Let’s crash this creepy joint!”

“Alright, guys, this is it,” Dipper said with bold resolve, making sure the journal was securely tucked into his vest. “Remember, what happens down there, we tell no one.”

The others all responded affirmative to this in different ways: Mabel with a thumbs up, Steven with a solid nod, Garnet with a clenched, determined fist, Soos by turning his hat backwards, Amethyst with a casual salute, and Wendy by zipping her lips. Without the need for any further deliberation on their plans, the group began descending the staircase down to whatever might await them in the depths below.

What did await them behind the door was a rather small, rather cramped room. Its walls were constructed out of firm, sturdy metal, and despite the dust and cobwebs clinging to nearly every surface, there was certainly much to see. A small, decrepit cot sat against one wall, a cabinet used to store weapons against the other, and shelves upon shelves of stock-piled food in boxes labeled by year against another. The group all gasped in muted awe as they wandered into the room, all of them somehow managing to squeeze into the claustrophobic corridor as they began to investigate every detail they could.

“Ok, this is stupidly cool,” Wendy remarked with an impressed grin.

“I know, right?” Steven glanced around the room, his eyes alight with wonder. “Who knew all this stuff was hiding right behind the temple?”

“Hm…” Garnet mused as the young Gem said this, remaining in one spot as she scoped the area out. While her future vision usually was able to give her clear glimpses into what was ahead, it was of no aid in providing her glimpses of what might have been before. And yet, every fiber of her being resonated with the feeling that this place, as cramped and as darkened as it was, was a place she had stepped foot in before, somehow and some when. She knew, even without asking, that Amethyst likely harbored the same feeling, and Pearl would have as well if she was with them. And perhaps, even Rose would have admitted to its familiarity if she was still around to see all of this. Or better yet, fill in the gaps that they seemed to be missing.

“It’s like a fallout shelter or something,” Dipper noted, glancing over at a calendar fixed to the wall that was stuck on the year 1982. “It must have belonged to the author.”

“Yeesh, I feel sorry for the dude if he lived in this dusty old box,” Amethyst said, trying her best to pass off her own uneasiness towards the familiarity of it all. “Still, at least there’s plenty of good cans lying around to snack on.” With a satisfied smirk, the purple Gem grabbed a nearby empty can and downed it whole as Steven and Mabel shared an amused laugh at her odd appetite.

At the same time, Wendy pried a metal sign off the wall that read “Fallout Shelter”, grinning as she blew the dust off of it. “This is going over my bed.”

“Ha!” Mabel chuckled brightly as she pulled her head out of the barrel she had been investigating, not even caring about the countless caterpillars inching across her face. “My face feels fuzzy!”

“Aw, they’re so cute!” Steven quipped, gleefully petting one of the fuzzy creatures.

“This is incredible!” Dipper remarked, fully in his element now as he tried to imagine the mysterious author himself standing in this very room. “It’s like he was preparing for a disaster. But… what kind of disaster would need supplies for over sixty years…?” His smile faded as he looked to the extensive collection of storage boxes sitting on the nearby shelves, all of which were labeled with years dating all the way up to 2070.

“Oh my gosh!” Soos gasped as he opened up the weapons locker and pulled anything but a weapon out. “A Smez dispenser! I remember these things. What’s that?” he paused, holding the dog-shaped dispenser up to his ear with a playful grin. “Why yes, I will have some of your old-timey face food!” The handyman pushed a piece of candy out of the dispenser and ate it, choking a bit over its staleness. “Ew, dusty!” he cringed, before popping another one into his mouth.

“Ha ha! Look, Steven!” Amethyst smirked to the nearby young Gem as she found a gas mask hanging on the wall, one that she jokingly put on. “I’m a pachyderm!” Of course, Steven let out a charmed laugh at this, though his amusement turned into shock as Amethyst pulled a skull, albeit a fake one, out of the mask. “Oh! And there’s a prize inside!”

“Amethyst,” Garnet spoke up, turning to her teammate. “I thought you said you were going to take this mission seriously.”

“Hey, I am being serious,” the purple Gem retorted defensively, quickly tossing the gas mask aside. “Just figured I’d liven this stale old place up a little is all.” Amethyst flashed a hopeful grin at her leader, who, based on her unflinching expression, was anything but impressed by her levity. Still, she made no comment on it, much to the purple Gem’s simultaneous worry and relief.

“Wait, guys!” Dipper interjected as he happened to pick up one of the countless discarded cans off the floor, one that just so happened to be still somewhat full. “I think this can was opened recently…”

“The author still might be alive down here, then!” Soos exclaimed.

“Wait a minute…” Wendy cut in as she glanced over to the far wall, where a large map of Gravity Falls hung. The map itself seemed to be blowing against a mysterious unseen breeze, the source of which was revealed as the cashier pulled it off the wall, uncovering a slightly ajar hatch. “I think I know where he might have gone…” Wendy smirked to the others as they gathered around.

“Then here’s the plan,” Garnet said authoritatively. “We’ll follow this tunnel to wherever it leads. But since this is unknown territory we’re in, Amethyst and I will take the lead and the rest of you follow behind us.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with this safe plan, knowing that the pair of Gems would be their best line of defense in case anything happened to go wrong. Garnet herself went first, crawling through the tight tunnel that led deeper into the darkness, with Amethyst heading after her, followed by the others.

“Oh Garnet,” Steven grinned with admiration as he climbed into the tunnel behind the Gems. “Stern but practical. Just like Spilled Milk.”

“Ugh, you’re not still on about that dumb cartoon, are you?” Amethyst asked, annoyed as she glanced back at the young Gem.

“Oh right, the quiz!” Steven pulled out his phone as he tried to hold it and shimmy through the tunnel the best he could. However, before he could read the next question, Mabel enthusiastically interrupted.

“Oh my gosh, you don’t mean the Crying Breakfast Friends personality quiz, do you?!” she asked excitedly. “I just took that this morning. I got Sad Pear, just like I knew I would!”

“Whoa, Sad Pear is totally you, Mabel!” Steven readily agreed. “I got Sniffling Croissant, and now I’m trying to see which character Amethyst is. So, next question: Do you get defensive when people ask you questions about the feelings you prefer to keep hidden?”

“Pfft, I know someone who does,” Mabel remarked offhand, sending a goading smirk to Dipper.

“Mabel, please,” Dipper huffed in exasperation, though he did briefly glance back at Wendy rather apprehensively, though thankfully she didn’t notice.

Amethyst, on the other hand, was far more alarmed and perturbed upon hearing the podding question the young Gem had just posed. “Don’t get all psyc-o-logical on me, Ste-ven,” she hissed somewhat harshly, glaring back at him.

The young Gem flinched a little at her bitter manner, though still, he wasn’t exactly sure what about his seemingly question had provoked her. “Uh… Sorry?”

“Everyone, watch your step,” Garnet cut through the conversation with a forewarning as the group reached the end of the tunnel. Once again, everyone was rapt with amazement as they emerged into a large, square chamber, its walls, floor, and ceiling all composed of metallic tiles, all of which bore strange, cryptic symbols on them. While purpose of this strange room was far from clear, everyone took the time to stop and scope it out nonetheless, more out of awe than anything else.

“Wow! And I thought that first room was cool!” Steven exclaimed, glancing around with wide eyes. “This one’s even more mysterious!”

“I know, right?” Wendy smirked in agreement. “Was this place built in the past or the future?”

“I dunno, dudes…” Soos muttered apprehensively. “This room is way creepy…”

“Not as creepy as Dipper’s internet history!” Mabel exclaimed with a broad, joking grin. “Heyo!” Despite the aggravated glare Dipper was sending her, Mabel gave him a playful shove nonetheless, which resulted in him stumbling forward onto one of the marked panels on the floor, a panel that just so happened to be a hidden switch. Without any warning, a blaring alarm began to sound as the other symbols on the walls lit up bright red. The hatch the group had just emerged from abruptly slammed shut and locked itself tightly, and while that wouldn’t have been drastically alarming, it suddenly became a very dire fact. The tiles on the walls themselves began to push in towards the group on all sides and from all angles with only one intention: crushing the intruders trapped therein.

“That’s why I told you all to watch your step!” Garnet called over the loud alarm as everyone crowded together fearfully.

Still, the only one among them who wasn’t completely distressed by the impending danger was Mabel, mostly since her face was still covered in caterpillars. “Ha, it’s hard to be scared with caterpillars on your face,” she grinned blithely.

“W-we gotta get out of here!” Steven cried fearfully, gasping in surprise as Garnet summoned her gauntlets and slammed her hands into a nearby block in the hopes of stopping it.

“Way head of you, Ste-man!” Amethyst exclaimed daringly, leaping into action. While the others tried in vain to push the tiles back, the purple Gem went high, using the rapidly moving blocks to give her a boost as she positioned herself between two of them near the ceiling. Amethyst grunted loudly as she shoved her foot against one of them, trying to use her entire body to keep them separated as she looked down at the struggling group below. “Yo, G!” she called to the Gem leader, who was barely paying her any mind as she pushed back against a tile. “Check this—huh?” The purple Gem stopped short as she happened to glance up at the glowing tile right above her head, marked with a symbol that was far too familiar for her, even if she didn’t really know how. The blaring alarm and sense of urgency seemed to dull a bit as Amethyst started up at it, fascinated and somewhat confused. And, with a slow, tentative touch, she gently placed her hand upon it, her eyes lighting up as she pressed down on the apparent switch, turning its symbol from red to blue. “Hey guys!” she shouted, barely even aware of the tiles aggressively pushing against her. “Look what-”

Just as everyone glanced up her way, Amethyst let out a sharp, loud gasp as the blocks finally pressed against her body too tightly. And yet, instead of sustaining any kind of injuries, the purple Gem’s form abruptly disappeared in a bright puff of smoke, leaving nothing but her gemstone behind. Everyone save for Garnet let out a collective gasp of shared horror at this, especially as Amethyst’s gem began to freely fall from her previously high perch. Fortunately, Steven reacted just in time by catching the stone before it could hit the hard ground and shatter entirely, but even so, no one had any time to show anything other than shock to what had just happened, especially since the walls were all still tightly closing in.

“Amethyst was onto something,” Garnet noted as she glanced up to where the purple Gem had been, catching sight of the switch she had activated mere seconds ago.

“Wait, she was!” Dipper exclaimed, holding the black light over a page in the journal that detailed the very room they were in. The hidden text revealed a set of glowing marks in particular, all of which served as the key out of the encroaching death trap. “There are five more of these symbols. Quick! Everybody find one!”

While Garnet worked to hold the tiles back the best she could, the others split up the best that they could, each of them searching for the other five conspicuous tiles that could very well save them. Soos found the first one, and seeing as how this was a life or death situation, he didn’t hesitate to run for it without delay. “One!” he called, pushing the switch in firmly.

“Two!” Wendy shouted as she found the next one, jumping up to give it a solid punch.

“Three!” Steven announced as he used another block to get a boost to reach another switch.

“Four!” Mabel called, high fiving the next symbol.

Dipper paused as he frantically looked around for the final untapped symbol, only to spot it right as another block began to move in front of it. Acting fast, he ran for the switch, hurriedly climbing the blocks leading up to it and fortunately hitting right before it was covered up entirely. “Five!”

With all five of the switches activated, a door revealed itself on the far side of the room as it swung open, finally giving the group a window of escape. Still, it was a rather narrow window, seeing as how the tiles were still pushing in towards them just as quickly as ever.

“Run for it!” Mabel shouted, leading the way through the tight fit towards the door. The others were quick to follow suit, Garnet abandoning her post as she leapt through the opening deftly. Steven made sure that Amethyst’s gem was tightly secured in his grasp before fleeing, and though he was the last to escape, Dipper made it out just in time, even if his vest did happen to get caught between the blocks just as they finally all slammed shut on each other.

“Yes!” Wendy cheered in apt relief as soon as they were all safely on the other side of the security room. “That was nuts! You ruled back there, man!” she exclaimed, sending a congratulatory grin to Dipper.

“Heh, thanks,” he remarked with something of a bashful blush. However, the triumph of the moment was quickly cut short as Steven let out a distressed cry.

“Amethyst!” the young Gem wailed, distraught tears in his eyes as he held the purple gem close.

“W-what happened to her?” Mabel asked, also quite concerned as the others crowded around.

“Is… is she like… gone?” Soos asked with an apprehensive frown.

“No,” Garnet quickly confirmed.

“But… Amethyst got crushed to-” Dipper cut himself off, not entirely sure how to properly phrase it. “Well, I guess being crushed to death wasn’t exactly what happened to her…”

“Whatever did happen to her wasn’t pretty…” Wendy remarked, glancing at Amethyst’s gem with a frown. “I mean, how could she have actually survived something like that?”

“A Gem’s body is a construct of light,” Garnet began to explain, her tone as calm as ever. “Our physical forms are illusions. And sometimes, when we’re badly damaged, we’re forced to release those physical forms and retreat into our gemstones to regenerate.”

“So… so she’ll be ok, then?” Mabel asked, hopeful.

“She’ll be just fine,” Garnet assured with a smile. “This sort of thing happens to Amethyst all the time, believe me.”

“I-it happened to Pearl once too, a few months ago,” Steven sniffled, still hardly consoled. “A-and it took her two whole weeks to come back, and I already miss Amethyst so much!”

“Don’t worry,” the Gem leader encouraged, placing a gentle hand on her sorrowful young ward’s shoulder. “She’ll be back before you know it.”

And, as if right on cue, the purple Gem began to make her rather rushed reappearance. Everyone gasped as Amethyst’s gemstone radiated a practically blinding light, floating freely upwards out of Steven’s grasp. “Literally…” Garnet muttered upon seeing this, her smile fading as she watched her teammate regenerate. A bright silhouette surrounded the stone, shifting subtly before landing on the most familiar form of the purple Gem. Or at least, so it initially seemed.

As the light faded from her, Amethyst landed squarely on the ground, a little out of it, but otherwise completely unharmed. Delighted to see her return so quickly, Steven rushed for her, wrapping her in a tight hug as the others all breathed a shared sigh of relief. “Amethyst’s back! Amethyst’s back!” the young Gem happily proclaimed as he threw his arms around her.

“Ugh…” Amethyst groaned rather tiredly as she gently pushed him away, only to notice something off about her hands. Or rather, lack thereof. “Huh?”

“Uh, Amethyst?” Dipper spoke up, quite bewildered by the purple Gem’s new appearance. “What happened to your… arms?”

“I think you mean legs, bro-bro,” Mabel quipped, correctly describing what Amethyst’s arms had been replaced with: another set of legs.

“Looks like you… grew a few feet since the last time I saw you!” Steven joked, much to the already confused purple Gem’s annoyance.

“Nice one, dude!” Soos chuckled. “Oh, I got one! Hey, Amethyst, can you lend me a foot? Get it?! C-cause you have-”

“Yeah, Soos, I get it,” Amethyst deadpanned dryly.

“That was fast,” Garnet interrupted, looking down at her teammate with a stoic frown. “Even for you.”

Amethyst was quick to push herself to her feet (her usual ones anyway) upon hearing this, pushing her alarm off as she casually brushed her bangs out of her face. “Eh, it’s no big deal,” she shrugged nonchalantly, smoothly transitioning to stand on her new arm-legs. “I didn’t wanna keep my biggest fan waiting!” She sent a playful smirk Steven’s way, eliciting a laugh from the young Gem that ended when she put one of her regular feet on top of his head. He rolled his eyes as he removed it, chuckling once more and not noticing that Garnet was nowhere near as amused with Amethyst’s antics.

“Let’s just keep moving,” the Gem leader resolved, pressing on ahead. Amethyst huffed an irritated sigh at Garnet’s terse manner, but all the same, she trudged on along with the others as they began exploring their new surroundings.

“Whoa, get a load of this crazy surveillance room,” Wendy remarked, impressed by the observation deck they now found themselves in. The atmosphere here seemed to be much calmer than that of the security room, its walls lined with a wide array of monitors and control panels. A few of the screens still seemed to be showing sparse video feed, though from where, no one really knew. Still, just like the first room, there was plenty of interesting clues and details here worth exploring, which was what the group split up to do.

“Check it out, dudes!” Soos exclaimed as he held a pair of beakers up to his eyes, making them appear comically large.

“Soos, Soos,” Wendy said, her tone serious before she broke out into a grin. “That is hilarious.”

“Hey, Steven,” Amethyst smirked to the young Gem as she remained standing on her arm-legs. “Watch me ‘roll with it’.” At this, the purple Gem proceeded to cartwheel easily using all four of her legs, something that Steven instantly wanted to try, only to fall flat on his face the moment he attempted a handstand. Mabel got a good laugh out of this failed attempt, though she was more than ready to try it herself, only to stop short upon noticing Dipper’s vest still hanging from the edge of the security room.

“Hey, bro, you forgot your vest,” she called over to him, heading over to go retrieve it. However, as she pulled the vest loose, a piece of paper happened to slip out of it, something that instantly garnished Mabel’s attention and interest. “What’s this…?” she muttered before quietly reading whatever her brother had written aloud to herself. “Dear Wendy, I’ve always had a crush on-” She cut herself off with an excited gasp, covering her mouth up with the note in an attempt to stifle it. “Oh my gosh! Steven!”

“What’s-” Before the young Gem could even finish, Mabel shoved the note into his face, an overwhelmingly elated grin on her face.

“Look! Look! Look!” she urged eagerly, handing the note off to Steven. He took a moment to look over it for himself before mirroring her excitement with a gasp of his own.

“Oh my gosh!”

“That’s what I said!” Mabel exclaimed enthusiastically before turning towards her brother with a coy grin. “Hey, Dipper! Look what we found!”

“My vest, I hope,” Dipper deadpanned, grabbing that from her first, only for his eyes to go wide with shock upon seeing his note for Wendy. “W-what?! Where did you—Give me that!”

“I knew it!” Mabel exclaimed triumphantly even as Dipper snatched the note away from Steven. “I knew it! I knew it!”

“We both knew it!” Steven added with a bright chuckle.

“Yeah we did!” Mabel readily agreed. “You’re not over Wendy at all!”

“Oh! Were you gonna tell her today?!” the young Gem asked, hopping to his feet with an invested grin.

“No,” Dipper quickly protested, quickly glancing over his shoulder to make sure the cashier couldn’t overhear them. “I changed my mind; it’s a bad idea. I’d just embarrass myself and then I’d be another guy she hates, just like Robbie.”

“Dipper, you should just tell her already,” Mabel insisted. “One way or another, you’ll feel better about it afterwards.”

“Mabel’s right,” Steven nodded in agreement. “It’s like Garnet always says: honesty is the key to any relationship. And she would know, since she’s like, the master of romance or something!”

“You bet I am,” Garnet cut in from right behind the trio.

“Garnet!?” Dipper exclaimed in apt surprise. “H-how long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough,” the Gem leader remarked, adjusting her shades.

“Wait a sec, this is perfect!” Mabel quipped. “Garnet, you can just tell Dipper how him confessing his feelings to Wendy is gonna turn out so he can just go and do it instead of being all lame about it!”

“Hey!” Dipper protested, more than ready to argue with Mabel on this point, though once more, Garnet interrupted.

“Actually… I think this is one future Dipper’s going to have to discover for himself…” the Gem leader mused definitively.

“Oh come on, seriously?” Dipper sighed in exasperation, a part of him hoping that Garnet would have been able to provide him with at least some foresight on the matter.

“However,” she continued pointedly. “I will say that Steven was right about my advice. Whether things turn out or not, being honest about your feelings is always better than keeping them buried under the surface. Trust me.”

A sudden crash from the other side of the room cut through the conversation, prompting everyone to turn and see that Amethyst had accidentally dropped a glass beaker thanks to her handless-arms. “Whoops,” she said stiffly, playing the incident off with an awkward laugh. “Foot-hands, ya know? Turns out they don’t make very good… hand-hands…”

“I knew this would happen…” Garnet sighed, already preparing to go take care of the purple Gem, but not before imparting a few more words of wisdom. “Just remember what I said, Dipper. The truth can set you free. Literally.”

“Huh, I wonder what that’s supposed to mean,” Mabel remarked in slight confusion as the Gem leader walked off.

“So was that enough to convince you to go talk to Wendy about how you feel, Dipper?” Steven asked with an encouraging smile.

“Yeah, no,” Dipper replied flatly, still deeply resolved against the very idea.

“Ugh, come on,” Mabel groaned, frustrated. “Why not?”

“You guys just don’t understand,” Dipper said dismissively. “I can’t tell her, no matter how much I want to, ok? So just drop it already.”

Mabel and Steven were both more than ready to argue with this, but before they could, Wendy herself interrupted the conversation. “Dude, Dipper! You gotta check out this weird metal closet!” she called from the open closet she was standing in at the back of the surveillance room. With a small laugh, she jokingly took on a robotic tone to up the effect. “I am a robot, I have a metal closet.”

“Coming!” Dipper called back to her with an anxious laugh before briefly turning back to Mabel and Steven. “This never happened.”

Still, neither of them were anywhere near satisfied as they watched him hurry off, especially upon watching his rather stilted interactions with Wendy. “Aw, man…” Steven said with a worried frown. “Poor Dipper, holding in his feelings like that… That’s gotta be so hard…”

“I know, right?” Mabel huffed in annoyance. “He totally wants to tell her, but he’s just scared! But maybe all he needs is a little push…”

“A push? Like what?”

“Oh, you’ll see, Steven,” Mabel said with something of an ominous smirk. “You’ll see.” Without explaining anything of her impromptu idea, she rushed for her brother, reaching him before he could even make it to Wendy and locking him into a sudden hug from behind. “Brother, whatever happens, I just need you to know something,” Mabel paused, her tone oddly serious as she looked him dead in the eyes. “This is for your own good.”

“What?” Dipper asked, only to get no answer as Mabel abruptly shoved him forward hard, right into the closet. Before he could even realize what had happened, she slammed the doors shut and locked them from the outside, grinning in satisfaction all the while.

“Oh, so that’s what you meant by a push,” Steven surmised thoughtfully as Amethyst let out an amused laugh at what she assumed was merely a prank.

“Nice one, Mabel!” the purple Gem chuckled. “Reminds me of that time I locked Pearl in the bathroom back at the temple. She beat on the door for hours! It was a riot.”

Meanwhile, inside the closet itself, it took Dipper a moment to gather his bearings, but when he did, the first thing he realized was that not only was he trapped inside of the nearly pitch-black closet thanks to Mabel. But he was also trapped in there with Wendy, of all people, a fact that instantly filled him with simultaneous exhilaration and panic, especially given their forced closed proximity to each other. “Mabel!” Dipper quickly shouted, pounding on the door adamantly. “Let us out!”

“Oh, I’ll let you out, Dipper,” Mabel smirked confidently. “As soon as you tell Wendy that thing you’ve been wanting to tell her! You’ll thank me for this later!”

“What’s she talking about?” Wendy asked Dipper, aptly confused.

“N-nothing!” Dipper exclaimed defensively. “Mabel’s just been eating raw sugar packets again!”

“That’s beside the point!” Mabel called from the outside even as she dumped two packets of sugar into her mouth without a care. Her levity dulled a bit, however, upon noticing the somewhat disapproving frown the Gem leader was sending her way. “Aw, come on, Garnet. You said so yourself: Dipper needs to be honest about his feelings!”

“Yes, and I also remember saying that he needs to see how this all turns out for himself,” Garnet countered. “Still, I figured something like this would happen. That’s why I told him the truth would set him free. Because in this case, it apparently will.”

“So are we just gonna like, wait it out then?” Soos asked.

“You better believe we are!” Mabel proclaimed boldly, much to Dipper’s immense displeasure as he overheard this.

“Mabel, let us out now!” he shouted, beyond irritated by this point.

Wendy, on the other hand, was as levelheaded as always, only slightly aggravated by the relative darkness of their cramped surroundings. “Ugh, where are the lights?” she asked, fumbling around a bit until she managed to feel out a chord hanging from above. However, instead of turning a light on, pulling the chord resulted in a sudden spray of water, one that completely soaked and startled both Dipper and Wendy. Still, they were only wet for a brief moment as a strong gust of warm, drying air burst from all four of the surrounding walls, roughly pushing the two of them into each other as a dull red light beamed from a nearby sign that read “Decontamination Complete”. And while Dipper and Wendy were still rather caught off guard by what just happened, they were both more than relieved to see a door finally slide open on the other side of the closet, granting them access to an entirely new part of the bunker altogether.

This area was by far the most spacious yet, built amidst high cavernous walls marred by deep trenches of varying shapes and sizes. The same sort of technology from the surveillance room was apparent here, with pipes, tubes, and monitors all linking towards a series of empty glass pods, many of which showed the same sort of intentional damage the rest of the equipment filling the room did. The sparse overhead lighting flickered warningly as Dipper and Wendy tentatively stepped out of the closet and into this mysterious new space.

“Whoa, a hidden lab!” Dipper exclaimed, amazed and impressed by this intricate setup. “Maybe the author did experiments down here.”

“Hm,” Wendy mused, looking over the hole-strewn wall. “What do you think dug all these tunnels?”

“Let’s hope we don’t find out…” Dipper frowned, his curiosity quickly shifting to outright fear as a low growl, ominous suddenly echoed through the entire lab. Things only got more frightening however, as a large, lumbering shadow draped across the far wall. And from its creeping movements, it was clear that whatever it was, it was getting closer.

“Run?” Wendy asked in a stiff whisper.

“Run!” Dipper exclaimed in clear panic. And the pair did just that, racing for the only other way out they knew of: the closet. “Mabel, open up, for real!” Dipper shouted, pounding hard on the still locked closet door as Wendy did the same. “There’s a monster in here!”

“A monster, huh?” Amethyst perked up, hoping up from her arm feet to her regular feet. “Finally, some action! My feet were starting to fall asleep!”

“Which ones?” Garnet asked dryly.

“Oh no!” Steven cried worriedly. “Mabel, we gotta let them out! They could get hurt!”

“Come on, Steven,” Mabel scoffed, not buying her brother’s claim. “He’s totally overexaggerating. Nice try, Dipper! But the only monsters are your own inner demons!”

“That is so wise,” Soos nodded thoughtfully.

“Dipper, just say whatever Mabel wants you to say so she’ll let us out of here!” Wendy exclaimed, her usual calm all but gone in the face of this unknown danger.

Dipper took in a sharp, apprehensive breath at this, his heart racing with fear that went even beyond that of whatever was lurking in the nearby shadows. It certainly seemed as though this was the literal moment of truth, especially as the cashier looked to him expectantly. “W-Wendy, I… I…” he began just as clumsily as he always did whenever he tried to tell her this. Still, it was either this or—well, Dipper wasn’t entirely sure, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that it was bound to be easier than telling Wendy the awkward truth. “I-I’m gonna find another way out!” he quickly exclaimed, grabbing the cashier’s wrist and pulling her back into the lab.

“Wait, what?” Wendy asked in alarmed confusion as she ran after him into one of the countless wide tunnels. “Dude, where are we going?” Dipper didn’t really give her much of answer, as fueled by fear and adrenaline as he was, but the dead end at the end of the tunnel was enough to stop them both in their tracks. Unfortunately though, it wasn’t enough to stop the unknown creature that eagerly ravenously them. “What do we do?!” Wendy exclaimed, pressing against the nearby all as the shadow of the monster loomed ever closer.

“I-I don’t know!” Dipper admitted, fully regretting his rashness now. However, before the monster could pounce out of the shadows and onto them, someone else miraculously enough pounced onto it. The pair watched in awed relief as the silhouette of a man fiercely tackled the beast, bravely scuffling against it, despite its large size and bloodthirsty demeanor. In the end and with a few heavy punches, the man managed to beat the monster into submission, pulling something away from it and sending it skittering off in the opposite direction.

“Back, you heinous beast!” the man shouted after it, completely unphased by the outraged screech it sent back in his direction. With the threat subdued, the stranger emerged from the shadows, allowing Dipper and Wendy to see him clearly. His goggles, lab coat and gloves certainly gave him the air of a scientist, and while he was clearly on in years, he still stood firm and strong in the aftermath of his skirmish with the creature. “Well, I just pulled out a monster’s tongue,” he announced heroically before throwing said tongue down onto the ground.

For a moment, all either Dipper or Wendy could really do was stare at this mysterious newcomer with shared amazement and confusion, especially since they had no idea where he might have come from. But with that bewilderment in mind, Dipper was quick to remember the very reason why they had come all the way down here in the first place: to find any leads on the author’s whereabouts. And sure enough, it seemed as though they had found something even better: the elusive author himself. “It—it’s you!” Dipper gasped in apt shock, scarcely able to believe that after all this time, they had finally found him.

The author didn’t seem to have heard him, however, as he had already turned away from the stunned pair and began leading the way out of the tunnel. “Hurry now,” he urged insistently, his manner serious yet articulate. “I scared it off, but it’ll regenerate. These Gem monsters always do.” The author paused for a moment, his expression darkening into a scowl that neither of his newfound young companions noticed as he continued. “I wasn’t expecting guests. I’ve been down here for a very long time. Years! Weeks, maybe. I miss orange juice.”

“Y-you don’t understand,” Dipper spoke up, still overwhelmed with excitement. “You’re the guy I’ve been looking for!”

“He’s the guy?” Wendy asked, surprised.

“Wendy, he’s the guy!”

“The guy?” the author interjected, raising a confused eyebrow.

“I’ve got like, a billion questions!” Dipper exclaimed, scarcely able to contain his elation and curiosity. And really, how could he, seeing as how all of the answers he had been looking for all summer were finally within reach? “Why did you write the journals? How do you know the Gems? Who was after you? Why did you build this bunker?”

The author seemed charmed by this barrage of enthusiastic questions, letting out a small, bemused laugh. “My boy, I’d love to discuss all of this in time,” he began as they returned to the main part of the lab. “But for now, we have more pressing matters. It’s one of my experiments, a shape-shifter. Able to flawlessly take the form of anyone or anything it sees! It broke free from its cage of solid steel! I’ve gone half crazy trying to catch the creature alone, but now you’re here!” With a sincere smile, the author knelt down to Dipper’s level, placing a firm hand on his shoulder as he lifted up his goggles. “Will you help me catch it?”

The only way Dipper could even respond to such a question was with an excited gasp and an insistent nod. After all, meeting the author himself was one thing; but working together with him to solve a mystery was something he could have only ever dreamed of. And, against all odds, it certainly seemed as though that was a dream that was destined to come true.

“Very well then! Let’s get started! Come in! Come in!” the author beckoned as he led Dipper and Wendy through another one of the several tunnels into what seemed to be something of an unkempt living space. “I apologize for the state of things. I don’t get many non-mole people visitors. Now,” he turned to his two young companions, his manner as steadfast as ever. “The beast must have some kind of weakness we can exploit. I just wish I had my research on me! But alas, I lost my journals so many years ago…”

“Did you say journals?” Wendy asked, glancing at Dipper with a knowing grin.

“Dude, I found one of them!” Dipper enthusiastically exclaimed as he pulled the journal out. “That’s how we tracked you down here!”

“What? Could it be?” the author asked in apparent disbelief, eagerly taking the journal to get a better look at it. “My boy, I can’t express my gratitude!” he exclaimed brightly as he began to carefully leaf through the book. “Oh yes… after all these years!” The author grinned almost obsessively as he turned away from the pair once again, his eyes pouring over everything in the journal greedily, almost as if he hadn’t written every word himself. An assumption that perhaps might not have been all too outlandish after all.

Seeing as how they did little else to do, the group in the surveillance room continued exploring it to pass the time. Well, at least that’s what Soos and Mabel were doing as they freely rooted through the abundance of drawers near the control panel for anything interesting. “Sure are taking their time in there,” Soos remarked, casting a brief glance over at the closet before he resumed plundering. “Hey, do I look smarter with this coat and brief case?” he asked Mabel upon pulling on a tightly-fitting lab coat and grabbing an old metal briefcase. “I feel like I look smarter…”

“Oh yeah, you totally look 110% more genius-y, Soos!” Mabel quipped with an approving thumbs up.

“Yes!” the handyman cheered triumphantly.

At the same time, Steven followed close behind Amethyst as she sauntered about the room on all fours, something that was much easier now that all four of her limbs were legs. “Your new form is really interesting,” the young Gem commented with a smile.

“Thanks, Steven,” Amethyst replied rather dryly, blowing a lock of hair out of her face.

“I didn’t even know you could come back this different!”

“Thanks, Steven…”

“So… why’d you come back with four legs?” Steven asked curiously.

“Because I like walking!” the purple Gem huffed in clear aggravation with all of his comments.

“Wow…” the young Gem mused, amazed. “I want four legs too! Oh, or maybe four arms! Either of those would be so cool!”

“No it wouldn’t,” Garnet staunchly interrupted, glancing up from the files she had been pouring over. “Amethyst rushed her regeneration. She should have taken her time.”

“Like Pearl?” Steven asked, not noticing as Amethyst scowled sharply upon hearing this, her back still turned to him.

“Yes,” the Gem leader nodded. “Pearl put a little more… thought into how she came back…”

“Ugh! Pearl, Pearl, Pearl!” Amethyst growled in bitter annoyance. “You know I can hear you, right?!” she asked hotly, pulling her hair aside to reveal an oversized ear. “I’m sorry I’m not like Pearl with her fancy form or her polite, boring personality!”

The purple Gem was clearly completely outraged by this point, angry enough that she landed a brutal kick to the nearby cabinet out of sheer frustration, not even noticing the heavy metal box precariously perched on top of it. That is, until it came plummeting down towards her. “Huh?” Amethyst glanced up, her eyes growing wide with alarm, but she could do little as the box fell squarely on top of her. Once again, her physical form was unable to handle such sudden stress, which was why it was quick to retreat into her gemstone. Fortunately, the stone itself went flying at this, narrowly missing the box landing on the ground and crushing it entirely and instead landing on the ground right in front of Steven.

“Amethyst!” the young Gem cried in horror as Mabel and Soos both let out shocked gasps. Garnet was hardly surprised, however as she instead rested a consoling hand on Steven’s shoulder as he sniffled morosely, clinging onto the purple gemstone gently. “G-Garnet, she… she got poofed again!”

“Man, Amethyst is really having some sucky luck today,” Mabel remarked with a concern frown as her and Soos headed over.

“This is a good opportunity for her,” the Gem leader concluded, unwavering. “Now she can focus on making a better form.” No sooner had Garnet said this, however, then Amethyst’s gem started to radiantly glow once more, a sign that she was already making a hasty regeneration. “Or not…”

The others watched with curious anticipation as the bright silhouette of the purple Gem surrounded her stone, though as the light faded, this time it was clear to see that Amethyst had drastically changed. This time, she had reformed herself to bear quite a striking, if not mocking resemblance to Pearl, complete with a nearly identical outfit and ballet slippers that were far too long for her small feet. Her long hair was now swept up to a point much like the white Gem’s usually was, even though it was immediately apparent to see just how impractical this was the moment she regathered her bearings and turned her head, her new style taking half of the beakers on the nearby shelf with it. “Aw yeah!” Amethyst snickered deviously, looking over her new form. “This is much better! What do you guys think? Aren’t I just Pearl-fect?”

Steven, Mabel, and Soos all laughed at this, greatly and unanimously amused at the purple Gem’s pun and her comical impersonation. “Ha! She’s doing Pearl!” the young Gem chuckled blithely.

“Dudes, just imagine if the real Pearl was here,” Soos interjected with a grin. “It’d be like, impossible to tell the two of them apart!”

The kids shared another laugh over such a humorous, but Garnet was far less amused or impressed by Amethyst’s new appearance. Still, she said nothing of it for the moment, instead heading back to the control panel to continue investigating. She stopped short, however, upon noticing something that distinctively tipped her off, especially given her already uncomfortable vibes with the bunker as a whole. “Everyone,” she called the others out of their levity. “Get over here. There’s something you need to see.”

“What’s up, Garnet?” Steven asked as they all joined the Gem leader.

“Oh, is it those neat tube-y things?” Mabel pointed to the glass tubes visible through one of the working monitors. It wasn’t hard for her to find the button that got one of them working, even if it had a rather eloquent-label that read “Cryogenic Activation”. “Whoa!” she exclaimed in amazement upon pressing the button, which caused the tube to instantly fill with ice. Of course, Mabel didn’t hesitate to hit the button over and over again, smiling with delight as the cryogenic chamber reacted accordingly. “Frozen! Unfrozen! Frozen! Unfrozen!”

“That’s not what I meant,” Garnet spoke up, gently moving Mabel’s hand away from the button. “I was talking about that.” She nodded to a note taped to the far side of the control panel, one that Steven grabbed and read aloud.

“Experiment number 210: the shape shifter,” the young Gem frowned in confusion as he read. “Warning: extremely dangerous! Do not engage! A shapeshifter? Whoa, that’s sort of like you guys!” he exclaimed to Garnet and Amethyst.

The pair of Gems merely exchanged a wide eyed glance upon hearing this, both of them drawing up a complete blank at first. After all, certainly they would have remembered if they had ever encountered a non-Gem shapeshifter before, right? “This ringing any bells for you, G?” the purple Gem muttered, putting her Pearl impersonation off for the moment for the sake of her newfound nervousness.

“I… I’m not sure…” the Gem leader admitted truthfully. “It does sound familiar, but…”

“Uh, dudes?” Soos spoke up, his expression awash with sudden concern. “Didn’t Dipper say there was a monster in there with him and Wendy?”

Mabel gasped fearfully upon being reminded of this, realizing that, despite her good intentions, she may have just put her brother in considerable harm. “I thought he was just joking!”

“You know Dipper’s jokes are terrible!” Soos exclaimed in a panic.

“We gotta go in there and save them!” Steven cried, already leading the way to the lab’s main primary entrance as the others were quick to follow. “Come on!”

While the Gems in particular were more than ready to leap into action against any potential danger as they all burst into the lab, they found no sign of any sort of shape shifter, or even Dipper or Wendy for that matter. The lab itself seemed to be oddly calm, but still, no one really found that to be a very comforting sign.

“Oh man, its so dark!” Soos exclaimed fretfully, trying to see through the dull lighting ahead. “How will we ever find them?”

“Leave that to Mabel!” Mabel exclaimed with a wide grin, pressing the light bulb on her sweater, which caused it to emit a surprisingly strong glow.

“Whoa!” Steven gasped, thoroughly impressed. “Mabel, you think of everything!”

“Seriously, that’s so rad!” Soos enthusiastically agreed. “Although isn’t electric clothing kinda like a fire hazard?”

“No, it’s a fun hazard,” Mabel corrected. “Now let me light the way!”

“We’re coming for you, dudes!” Soos called in the hopes that Dipper and Wendy might somehow hear him.

“And for that shape shifter too…” Garnet added coldly, knowing that if the creature was a threat, then it certainly had to be neutralized.

“Pfft, even if there is a shape shifter down here, it’ll be no match for my shiftin’ skills!” Amethyst quipped, briefly transforming into an appearance that was even more closely identical to Pearl before. Upon seeing Garnet glower at her doing this, however, she reverted back to her relatively new form, muttering crossly to herself as she did so. “And once I take it out, then maybe I’ll finally be good enough for you…”

As the author continued to skim over the journal on his own, his two young guests eagerly awaited to hear whatever conclusion he would soon hopefully reach on defeating the supposed shape shifter. Of course, Dipper was still beside himself with excitement over having met the author at long last, and based on first impressions alone, he was everything he had been expecting: bold, courageous, pragmatic, intelligent, and everything in between. And what was almost just as thrilling to Dipper was the fact that the answers to all of his longtime questions, namely the questions that even the Gems didn’t have answers for, were finally about to be answered by the source of them all himself.

“Wendy, isn’t this amazing?” he whispered to the cashier with a zealous smile. “I still can’t believe we’re actually meeting the real author!”

Wendy was ready to agree with him, though she instead stifled a shocked gasp upon noticing the label on the discarded can lying at her feet. “Dipper!” she whispered sharply, grabbing the can as she eyed the author with sudden fear, though fortunately, he didn’t notice. “Look!”

Dipper did so, looking to the can she was holding out to him with confusion at first, though that confusion instantly turned to dismayed alarm as he made the same realization Wendy had. The aviator shown in the bean can’s logo was distinctively identical to the very author standing but a few feet away from them, something that was far too conspicuous to be a mere coincidence. It was clear that the only logical conclusion to be made about this concerning twist was that the “author” was not all that he appeared to be.

“Uh, y-you know what?” Dipper addressed the “author” tentatively. “We should probably get going. Can I have my journal back?”

The “author” froze at this, looking up from the journal as he made a small, rather eerie hissing sound. All at once, he confirmed he was not only a fake, but inhuman altogether as his head did a full 180, his neck lengthening to accommodate the move and his eyes blinking sideways as he glared at the frightened pair menacingly. “You’re not going anywhere!” he growled, his deeper and much more sinister. Still moving, erratically, the creature dropped to all fours, its form morphing seamlessly as it quickly climbed up the wall, taking the journal with it. By the time the apparent shape shifter had reached the overarching ceiling, it had taken on its true, much more monstrous form. Its body was large and disproportionate, composed of slimy skin that was clear enough to that its white exoskeleton was visible through it. Its right arm was long and very slender, a complete contrast to its shorter, more bulky left arm. Four thin legs kept the creature upright, and its pinkish eyes lacked pupils while its mouth was a wide opening surrounded by sharp fangs and closed off by large teeth. “How do you like my new form?” the shape shifter asked even though Dipper and Wendy were quick to share how they felt about it with a unified scream of terror. “Go on, admit it! You like it!”

“You!” Dipper exclaimed, trying his best to be bold in the face of such a grotesque, intimidating monster. “What did you do to the real author?!”

“You’ll likely never find out,” the shape shifter said with cold triumph. “That six-fingered nerd hasn’t been himself in thirty years! But I thank you for bringing me this journal. He used to write it while I was in my cage. So many wonderful forms to take!” The creature laughed twistedly as it began to flip through the journal, seamlessly taking on the forms of many of the entries within it, from the Gremloblin, to a gnome, to the Centipeedle, to the slinker, all in quick succession and all completely flawless in accuracy.

Needless to say, Dipper and Wendy were equally alarmed at the shape shifter’s admittedly impressive transformative prowess. And certainly, with something like the journal in its possession, it would essentially have a complete menu of deadly monsters and creatures at its disposal, to use in whatever no doubt treacherous way it saw fit. “We gotta get that journal back!” Dipper whispered to Wendy while the shape shifter was still distracted with the book. Fortunately though, the cashier had an impromptu plan in mind.

“Hey, body snatcher!” she shouted at the shape shifter, picking up a discarded can from earlier. “Snatch this!” She threw the can hard at the creature, who side stepped out of the projectile’s path as it turned into a lumbering, frog-like monster. The shifter lashed its new long tongue out at the pair, though Wendy managed to shield them both from it using a nearby piece of scrap metal, which the creature only succeeding in pulling back towards itself. As the metal pelted the shifter squarely in the face, it was startled enough to loosen its grip on the journal, and as the book fell to the floor, Dipper didn’t hesitate to hurry and reclaim it.

“Run! Run! Run!” he shouted frantically as they both did just that, retreating back out of the dead end they were in. Of course, the moment it regathered its bearings, the shape shifter gave chase after them, clearly willing to take on whatever form it had to in order to claim the coveted journal for itself.

“So Garnet,” Amethyst began as the group pressed on through one of the tunnels to being their search. “What do you think of my new look? I’m more like Pearl now! Isn’t it wonderful? Why, I feel,” she cut herself off, preforming an elegant spin, not noticing as her long, quaffed hair hit Steven and Mabel. “Absolutely amazing!”

“We need to focus on listening for that creature,” Garnet reminded staunchly, not even bothering to spare a glance at the purple Gem. “Or for Dipper or Wendy.”

“Oh, but I simply can’t focus!” Amethyst exclaimed dramatically, still clearly mimicking Pearl. “All these holes are different sizes! We’ll have to organize them by shape and color. Didn’t anyone tell nature how I want it to look?!”

Of course, this performance got a good laugh out of Steven, Mabel, and Soos, but Garnet was quick to show her muted disapproval of it. “Don’t encourage her,” she said somewhat crossly, moving on ahead.

“But I need encouragement, Garnet!” Amethyst begged in faux fretfulness. “I need everyone’s constant approval! I need to loquaciously converse so I can show off how smart I am…” the purple Gem’s mocking tone turned to annoyance as she finished, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms as she thought of the white Gem.

“Uh, you can converse with us,” Steven offered, pulling out his phone. “Let’s finish this quiz! Do you need to plan ahead before you act?”

“Oh, thoroughly!”

“Do you obsess over little details?”

“Completely entirely!”

“Ow wow!” the young Gem exclaimed, amazed at her imitation. “You’re so method! Next time, could you come back as me?”

“No, me!” Mabel insisted. “Oh! Or both of us at once! That would be super impressive!”

“Sure, why not?” Amethyst shrugged casually. “You guys know me. I’m a Gem of trades.”

Garnet finally stopped upon hearing this and slightly turned to face her teammate, unable to hold her pressing frustration towards the purple Gem’s callous behavior in any longer. “This is not a good choice for your form.”

“Lighten up, Garnet,” Amethyst scoffed. “Can’t you take a joke?”

“It’s not funny,” the Gem leader replied coldly. “You made yourself ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous?!” the purple Gem shouted, offended.

“Keep your voice down,” Garnet hissed in a sharp whisper. “The shape shifter-”

“You wanted me to be more like Pearl!” Amethyst interrupted hotly, her hands curled into tight fists. “And now I am!”

“Pearl would have taken her regeneration seriously!” Garnet chastised, still trying to be quiet, lest the shape shifter find them before they found it.

“What do you care?! My form is my business!”

“It’s my business when it affects the strength of the team!”

“So what?!” Amethyst spat, not even noticing as the others were all watching this ongoing argument with wide, worried eyes. “I’m not strong enough?!”

Garnet didn’t get a chance to answer this as a pair of very familiar frightened screams came from one of the connecting tunnels nearby. “Dipper! Wendy!” Soos exclaimed in alarm, recognizing the cries instantly.

“They’re this way!” Mabel pointed to the tunnel the screams had come from. “Come on!”

Everyone was quick to rush for the tunnel in the hopes of finally meeting up with the pair, though Amethyst lingered back a bit, still caught up in her own immense anger with the Gem leader. “Were you saying I was weak!?” she shouted after Garnet fiercely, trailing behind them all.

“Amethyst! Now is not the time for this!” the Gem leader retorted firmly, making it clear she would hear nothing more on the matter at the moment.

“Why not?!” the purple Gem yelled. “Why can’t you just accept me the way I am?!”

A large part of Garnet wanted to give Amethyst an immediate answer for this, but with the dangerous circumstances they were currently in, such things would simply have to wait. “Amethyst,” the Gem leader said, her tone uncharacteristically shaken as she glanced back at her teammate for just a brief moment. “Enough.”

The purple Gem took in a deep breath but said no more, at least for the moment. It was obvious she had no intentions of dropping the issue at all, but for now she could only do as Garnet had said and put this tension aside. Even if it still bothered her immensely all the while.

At the same time, Dipper and Wendy were still trying to put as much distance as they could between themselves and the persistent shape shifter. While the creature made good use of its transformative abilities in chasing after them, they eventually managed to shake it by cleverly tricking it into taking the wrong tunnel. Still, the shifter wouldn’t be distracted with this ruse for too long, which was why the pair continued to rush through the maze of tunnels in the hopes of finding a way out. Though instead of that, they found the rest of the group instead. Or rather, quite literally ran into them.

The moment everyone realized they were all relatively safe and sound, a round of rushed, yet happy greetings were exchanged, though the relief was very short lived. “Wait!” Dipper interjected, sending a suspicious glance to Mabel, Steven, Soos, and the Gems. “How do we know they’re not the shape shifter?”

“Whoa, maybe I am!” Soos gasped. “Mabel, inspect my shape!” he exclaimed, pulling up his shirt and allowing Mabel to give playful poke to his stomach, much to the handyman’s amusement. “Do that again!” he laughed, and this time Steven complied by giving him another poke. “Even better the second time!”

“It’s definitely them,” Dipper concluded dryly, though he let out a horrified gasp upon noticing the rather sizable cut torn across Wendy’s knee. “Oh my gosh, Wendy, you’re bleeding!”

“It’s cool, its cool,” Wendy reassured, her tone calm yet firm. “It’s just blood, man. Don’t freak out.”

“What happened?” Mabel asked worriedly.

“We got attacked by the shape shifter,” the cashier began to explain, taking her over shirt off. She tore a swath of cloth off of the sleeve and tied it around her injured knee as a temporary bandage before wrapping the rest of it around her waist. “He broke out of his cage, pretended to be the author, and he wants Dipper’s journal.”

“No way!” Steven exclaimed, his eyes wide. “You guys actually saw that thing?”

“We need to track it down and subdue it,” Garnet said, resolved. “If we don’t, then there could be severe consequences.”

“Imagine if it escapes into town!” Dipper exclaimed fretfully. “It can transform into anything! We could never trust anyone ever again!”

“So what do we do?” Mabel asked apprehensively, though before anyone else could try to provide an answer to this, Amethyst was quick to cut in.

“Please,” she scoffed with little concern. “I totally got this covered, you guys. Just sic me on that shifty creep and I’ll make it wish it had never crawled out of which ever one of these holes it came from.”

“Normally I’d agree with a plan like that, but you’ve been acting irrationally all day, Amethyst,” Garnet remarked stoically. “This is an unknown, dangerous creature we’ve up against and we can’t afford to send a loose cannon after it.”

“Oh, so now I’m a loose cannon?!” Amethyst asked bitterly. “If you don’t think I’m strong enough to do something like this, why don’t you just tell me to my face instead of sugar-coating it, huh?!”

“Amethyst, I’m not-”

“Yeah, you are! But I guess you wouldn’t have to deal with telling me the truth if Pearl was here instead of me!”

“Guys, cut it out!” Steven quickly interjected with a worried frown. “Fighting’s not gonna help us find that shape shifter!”

“Steven’s right,” Wendy spoke up staunchly, a look of solid determination on her face. “That thing took us into his home, tricked us, and tried to destroy us. I say we return the favor.”

Seeing as how it had lost Dipper and Wendy back in the tunnels, the shape shifter had taken to returning to the main part of the lab, its form constantly in flux until it settled back to its “author” appearance. “Dipper, my boy!” the disguised creature called with faux amicability, though in its unkempt fury, it did temporarily lose its form. “Come out! I must speak with you!” The already ill-mannered shape shifter had grown quite impatient over being denied what it wanted, to the point that it let out a fierce roar while taking on another nightmarishly monstrous appearance. “Reveal yourself, you single-formed human weakling!” The brutally creature pounded the ground out of rage and frustration, giving up all guises of calmness or friendliness without a second thought.

What the shape shifter was unaware of, however, was the pair of Gems waiting in the wings for the kids to carry out their part of the plan. In the meantime though, they let the creature continue lurking about, as much as Amethyst wanted to emerge and engage it in a head-on assault. Still, neither of them Gems could deny that, upon seeing the shape shifter for themselves in its original form, that it was remarkable familiar. So familiar in fact, that their attempt to defeat and restrain it almost seemed… redundant somehow.

Yet all the same, Garnet and Amethyst remained in their places, pushing such unsettling thoughts out of their minds as the twins entered the room to put their plan in motion. “Oh boy, Dipper,” Mabel began with a rather conspicuous smile. “That book sure is full of some great monsters!”

The shape shifter spun around upon noticing the twins’ presence, reverting back to its true form as it towered over them with eager satisfaction. “There you are!” the creature snarled twistedly. “Oh, and a new one! Should I be one…?” The shape shifter smirked deviously as it easily morphed into Mabel. “Or the other?” The creature kept its manic grin up as it turned into Dipper next. “How about both?!” The real twins watched with growing horror as the shifter twisted its form into a nightmarish amalgamation of them both. Its body was raised on six legs, its upper half vaguely resembling Dipper while its bottom half looked like Mabel. Both halves were equally as monstrous however, with empty white eyes and two mouths filled with sharp, deadly teeth.

Needless to say that the twins were aptly terrified by this grotesque imitation of themselves, and as the shape shifter towered over them with a savage roar, they didn’t hesitate to flee from it before it could strike. Of course, the shifter gave chase, intent on getting the journal back, but the Gems took this as their cue to emerge and strike.

As the twins escaped, Amethyst and Garnet took their place in opposing the shape shifter, dropping down from above with their weapons already poised to attack. The purple Gem had resorted to shapeshifting back into her usual form herself, knowing that, even despite her frustration, this would be a much easier fight for The creature stopped dead in its tracks upon seeing them, letting out an intrigued hiss as it shifted back into its original form to size them up. “Well, well, well…” the shifter began, clear distain in its tone. “After all these years… Finally, you Gems come crawling back down here… Oh, but it seems that we’re two short. Tell me, where’s that tall, skinny one? Or better yet, that meddling Rose Quartz? What I wouldn’t give to rip her to shreds for helping him trap be down here in this subterranean hell all those years ago!”

The pair of Gems paused upon hearing all this, exchanging a look of bewildered confusion. “Uh, what are you talking about, dude?” Amethyst asked, raising an eyebrow as she kept her hold on her whip.

“You mean you don’t remember?!” the shape shifter asked, both apparently offended and curious. “How could you not!? You were both there! All four of you Gems played a hand in what happened here over thirty years ago!”

“We don’t know what you’re talking about,” Garnet said evenly, her gauntlets clenched into tight fists. “But if we really did have a hand in subduing you all those years ago, then we’ll gladly do it again.”

“Ha! So you think…” the shape shifter goaded, arching up high. “But whether you fools remember me or not, I’ll take immense pleasure in shattering you two once and getting that journal once and for all!” With another roar, the creature bore down on both of them, morphing its upper half into a monster with a wide, toothy maw meant to devour them both. The Gems easily leapt out of the way, but before Garnet could go in for the first strike, Amethyst hastily intervened by coiling her whip around its mouth.

“You can just sit this one out, G!” the purple Gem called, pulling back in her whip and dragging the shape shifter towards her. “I got this one covered.”

“Amethyst, you’re not going to-” Garnet tried to refute, but Amethyst wasn’t hearing it. With a daring grin, she started using the shape shifter’s own element against it by turning herself into Purple Puma as she landed a solid blow to the creature’s face after pulling it towards her. The shifter screeched in pain, transforming into a bird and taking off in order to escape any further hits. As soon as it had put some distances between itself and her, the shifter returned to its true form, sending the purple Gem a hostile glare as she they started circling each other.

“Ah yes…” the shifter hissed coldly. “I remember you. You’re the little loudmouthed one who always thought your meager shapeshifting could outdo mine. It must really burn you up that even all these years later, I’m still far more superior at it than you’ll ever be.”

“That’s some pretty big talk for something that looks like a gross, oversized milk sack,” Amethyst retorted confidently. Of course, this comment easily set the shape shifter off as it lunged towards the purple Gem, turning into a large, long snake-like creature as it did so. Amethyst met this assault as squarely as she could, making her form as broad and bulky as she could in order to do so. But even as she tried her best to hold its snapping maw back, the shifter still managed to sink its teeth deep into her arm, eliciting a loud cry of pain from the purple Gem.

“Amethyst!” Garnet shouted, aptly concerned as she began to rush to her teammate’s rescue. Amethyst, however, would have none of that.

“I said stay out of this!” she yelled hotly, using her free arm to lash her whip out at one of the nearby broken cryogenic chambers. With a labored shout, the purple Gem lifted the tube up and hurled it hard at her teammate, temporarily blocking her from the fight and allowing Amethyst to duke it out with the shape shifter solo.

“You should have let her stay,” the shifter taunted, drawing the claws it had formed for itself close to Amethyst’s gemstone. “You’re going to need someone to pick up all the broken pieces of that gem of yours once I’m through with you!”

The creature pushed hard at her once again, forcing the purple Gem up against the wall as her energy and altered arms began to waver. Still, she wasn’t about to back down now. Especially not with Garnet still watching the fight from the other side of the cryogenic tube. “Shut up!” Amethyst growled, unable to think of any witty comeback as she finally pushed the shifter away from her. Embodying all of her raw fury, the purple game shapeshifted into a large bull and charged at the creature, which was quick to morph into an ever larger, several-armed monster retaliation. As Amethyst madly charged at it, the shifter easily caught her by the horns and tossed her aside hard. The purple Gem returned to her usual appearance as brutally she crashed into a storage cabinet before falling to the ground, quite battered and beaten. Yet even so, she shakily tried to pick herself up, clutching her injured arm and weakly summoning another whip as the shape shifter steadily approached her.

“Persistent little thing, aren’t you?” it asked mockingly, its true form standing tall and largely uninjured over her. “No matter. I know something that’ll get you to stay down. Or rather someone…”

Amethyst let out a shocked gasp, her eyes growing wide with alarm as the shape shifter took on another new form, however this one was far from monstrous or even really intimidating. Instead, this form was one that was far from mistakable for the purple Gem, one that brought back far too many bittersweet memories.

“R-Rose…” Amethyst choked, her whip dissipating into thin air as she looked up to the shape shifter’s imitation of the pink Gem. And indeed, it was spot on, from Rose’s curly pink locks, to her lovely white gown, to her soft, graceful features. The only thing off about the shifter’s performance was the cold, sinister smirk on its face, something that would have been so uncharacteristic on the real Rose Quartz.

“What’s wrong, Amethyst?” the shifter asked, perfectly replicating the pink Gem’s gentle voice as well. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”

The purple Gem took in a sharp breath, taking an anxious step back as she stared at this alarmingly accurate replication of her now-deceased leader. “I… You… you’re not-” she stammered, shaking her head all the while.

“Oh come now,” the shifter tried to rationalize with a more inviting smile. The false Rose Quartz held a calming hand out to the shaken purple Gem, its other hand held conspicuously behind its back. “I’m not going to hurt you… After all, I’m still your lovely, beloved leader, aren’t it?”

Amethyst was far too stunned by what was happened to even respond at this point, unable to take her eyes off of the imitation of Rose to see what the shifter was doing with its concealed arm. Garnet, however, did take notice of it, but even as she beat against the cryogenic tube’s glass in an attempt to catch the purple Gem’s attention, the shifter continued speaking. “Look at you, so small and innocent…” the creature remarked, still using Rose’s voice as it gently placed a hand under Amethyst’s chin. “You’re missing something, something more than just memories… But what is it?” It paused, mulling over its own question for a moment, before its lips curled into a sadistic smile. “Oh. I know.”

Before Amethyst could even realize what was happening, the shifter’s elongated arm suddenly coiled itself tightly around her, lifting her up and strangling her all the while, even despite her panicked struggling. “You’re missing her,” the creature whispered hauntingly, its voice shifting from Rose’s to its own. Tears has barely started to fill the purple Gem’s eyes, but they never had a chance to fall as the shifter suddenly tightened its grip around her body hard. Hard enough to send her already injured form right back into her gem for the third time today.

“Amethyst!” Garnet shouted with immense worry, her first finally flying through the seemingly impenetrable glass and granting her access back into the lab. Startled, the shifter spun around to face her, morphing back to its true form as it lunged for her with a feral hiss. The Gem leader paid the creature no mind however as she deftly vaulted over it, caring for nothing else than for claiming Amethyst’s fallen Gem, which she successfully managed to do. Tucking the purple gemstone under her arm, Garnet raced past the outraged shifter, knowing that their initial plan had failed. Which meant that the only option they had left was plan B.

The kids all heaved a shared sigh of relief as Garnet rushed into the tunnel they had been hiding in, even if they knew the shapeshifter wasn’t too far behind her. Still, Steven was quite concerned upon noticing that only one of his two present guardians had managed to return safely. “A-Amethyst?” he wondered apprehensively, glancing to the Gem leader. Garnet’s already intense expression darkened, but even so, she gently deposited the purple gemstone into her young ward’s hands. Steven let out a small whimper upon seeing Amethyst reduced to nothing but her gem once again, but this time, no tears came. “Is it weird I’m getting numb to this?” he asked with a disheartened frown.

Still, no one had any time to worry over the purple Gem again as the shape shifter’s fierce roar signaled its soon-coming arrival. “Guys, it’s coming!” Dipper warned anxiously as the shifter came into view. “Do it now!”

Soos and Wendy complied as they both began pulling on the nearby water valve in the hopes that it would release the water within the pipes running throughout the bunker. However, seeing as how the valve hadn’t been touched in decades, the rusted wheel wouldn’t so much as budge. “It’s not working, dude!” Soos cried fretfully, right as the shifter finally caught up to them.

Upon seeing the entire group all together in one place, the shifter didn’t hesitate to lash out, specifically at Dipper in a violent attempt to get the journal. The creature flung its long tongue out, somehow coiling around the journal, even though Dipper did his best to try and fight to keep possession of it. “Hey! Let go!” he shouted, still struggling to keep his quickly loosening grip on the book.

“You leave him alone!” Wendy shouted, rushing to Dipper’s rescue with her ax in hand. The cashier used the weapon to easily cleave through the shifter’s outstretched tongue, but even then, it was hardly finished. The creature quickly reformed its tongue at shot it out at Wendy this time, but instead of cutting it, she used it as a boost to jump on the shifter itself to launch a more direct offensive. She was more than ready to use her ax to land a finishing blow on the disgruntled shifter’s head, but mere seconds before she could, Soos and Garnet managed to finally turn the closed water valve. And as a result, the floodgates were quite literally opened.

With hardly any warning, a heavy stream of water suddenly burst from the nearby pipe. The initial flux of water hit the shape shifter and Wendy first, easily knocking them back into the tunnel as the shifter let out a high pitched cry all the while. It didn’t take long for everyone else to get caught up in the uncontrollable flow, sweeping them all off their feet and pushing them all down the tunnel like a rushing river would. In the abrupt chaos of it all, not only did Amethyst’s gem accidently fly out of Steven’s grip, but Dipper lost the journal and Wendy collided hard with a rock, effectively knocking her into semi-consciousness. Fortunately, the tunnel system had a surprisingly efficient drainage system, so the flood didn’t last too long before subsiding, leaving everyone soaked and scattered about throughout the tunnel.

With the water gone, it still took the group a good while to regather their bearings and regain lost air. Dipper was the first to fully do so, more out of surprise and worry than anything else as he noticed Wendy’s ax lying discarded on the ground in front of him, the cashier herself nowhere in sight. “Wendy!” he cried, cold fear filling him as he stumbled to his feet and grabbed the ax. The others didn’t notice as he ran off down the tunnel in an attempt to find her, but Steven did realize that another member of the group was missing upon pulling himself up to a sitting position.

“A-Amethyst?” the young Gem wondered nervously, looking around to see that the purple gemstone was gone. He looked to Garnet with apt concern as she put a comforting hand on his shoulder, and fortunately, the Gem leader remained as levelheaded as always, even despite her own worry.

“Her gem is this way,” Garnet stood, nodding in the opposite direction and prompting the others to follow her. “Let’s go.”

After their initial inspect of the nearby tunnels, the group decided on splitting up, with Mabel and Soos going one way and Steven and Garnet going another, in order to find the purple gem before the shape shifter could. The latter pair, despite the Gem leader’s guidance, were having an admittedly difficult time finding the purple Gem in the labyrinthine tunnels. Ironically though, it didn’t take too long for her to find them.

Of course, Amethyst did make her reappearance as dramatic as possible, with her shadow against the wall being the first thing that her teammates saw as she approached. However, seeing as how that looked nothing like her, Garnet made sure to place a protective hand on Steven’s shoulder in the event that the shape shifter was preparing to beset them instead. When the purple Gem did come into view however, both of them were quite surprised and bewildered by the newest form she had decided to take.

“Okay, you know I wasn’t feeling this at first…” Amethyst began with a grin as she awkwardly stumbled towards the pair. Her body was completely disproportionate, her left leg and right arm appearing normal while her other two appendages where unnaturally huge, muscular and bulky. Her hair was an unkempt mess, and it was clear that every lumbering, uneven step was a struggle for her, but even so, she came to stand before Garnet and Steven with clear pride in how she had made herself look. “But I think I might be coming around! Yo, Steven! My seems straight?”

The young Gem could only look at Amethyst with apt concern over her misshapen appearance as he clung onto Garnet’s leg rather fretfully. “Does that new form… hurt you?” he asked anxiously, hoping that this wasn’t the case.

The purple Gem jolted a bit upon hearing this, but she was quick to shrug it off. “No,” she scoffed before returning to her usual daring grin. “Hey Garnet, how’d you like to mix it up with this!?” she laughed, flexing her new muscles. “Just a little something I put together, ya know.”

“This form isn’t sustainable, Amethyst,” Garnet admonished, shaking her head in disapproval.

“B-but…” Amethyst blushed, her shame and anger finally reaching their boiling point as she let them both out. “You’re the one who said I needed to be stronger!” The purple Gem threw her massive fist down in fury while Garnet shielded Steven from the rubble that came flying up from the blow. “You know what?! Fine! I’ll take that dumb old shape shifter out myself! Then maybe you’ll finally see that I’m not weak!”

Before either Garnet or Steven could hope to talk her out of such a risky plan, Amethyst stormed off, punching any and all obstacles in her path away as she began her aggressive search for the creature. “Amethyst, wait!” the young Gem called after her worriedly, but as he began to run after her, Garnet quickly took the lead.

“Stay behind me,” the Gem leader cautioned firmly, charging after the purple Gem in the hopes of stopping her from doing something reckless. Steven staunchly did as she said, even if he was unable to shake the fear that Amethyst might not get off as easy as merely being poofed for a fourth time.

At the same time, Dipper continued his search, hurrying down the narrow tunnel with Wendy’s ax still tightly held in his grip as he looked for any sign of her. When he did manage to finally spot her though, he couldn’t hold back a gasp of shock and panic. The cashier lay, seemingly unconscious, at the foot of a short drop in the tunnel, her clothes still soaking wet, her hair disheveled and her entire form askew.

“Wendy!” Dipper shouted, not hesitating to hurry down to her, his heart pounding with adrenaline and worry and dead and hope all at once. “No, no, no!” he muttered fretfully upon reaching her, kneeling down beside her to check over her various cuts and bruises. Fortunately, none of them looked to be too bad, but even so, Dipper knew he could hardly use that as a gauge to tell if the cashier was really alright or not, especially given the fact that she was still completely listless. “Can you hear me!? Please be ok!” be practically begged, already starting to tear up with the very thought that Wendy might not wake up after all.

Desperate for any signs of consciousness, Dipper lightly shook her, only for her head to loll to the side, her breathing shallow to the point of it barely being present at all. He let out a shaky breath as he gently put her down, his warm, grief-fueled tears finally falling. “W-Wendy… I… you can’t be…” he trailed off, shaking his head in disbelief at the idea that his longtime crush could so easily be gone forever. “T-this is all my fault! If I had just told you when we were in the closet, we wouldn’t be in this mess! But I was too scared and now you could be hurt or worse, and I never even got to tell you that I’m like—in love with you Wendy!” The confession came out far easier this time than any other time Dipper had practiced it before, but given the terrible circumstances, he was hardly happy about that fact. Instead, all he could feel was guilt and despair as he let out a small, tight sob, grimly coming to terms with the fact that the unthinkable had happened.

Except it hadn’t.

“Uh… Dipper?” Wendy spoke up with an uncomfortable frown as she stood a few feet behind him, having just arrived with the journal in hand.

Dipper gasped in complete shock as he leapt to his feet and spun around to face her, simultaneously relieved, confused, and embarrassed upon seeing the cashier safe and sound. “W-wha—Wendy?! Wait, then who’s-”

Before he even finished asking the question, the other Wendy, clearly the shape shifter in disguise, quickly picked itself up off the ground and growled ferally. The creature roughly pushed Dipper aside as it instead launched itself at the real Wendy, outraged over how she had foiled its nearly perfect plan. The moment the two cashiers collided, it became effectively impossible to tell the two of them apart, especially as they began intensely grappling with each other for the coveted book.

“Give me back that journal!” one of the Wendys shouted, pulling the book hard but still not prying it away from the other one.

“Never!” the other cashier protested, even as she was pushed down to the ground, still clinging onto the book tightly. “Get off of me!” she yelled, kicking her double hard in the stomach. Neither of them relinquished their hold on the journal as they stood once more, effectively playing a match of tug of war with it, one that had no apparent winner. As this duel continued on, all Dipper could really do was stand on the sidelines and watch with apt fear and confusion as the two Wendys, completely indistinguishable from each other, fiercely scuffle with each other. Still, he did have enough wits about him to pick up the fallen ax from nearby, knowing that it would easily be his best bet and putting this brawl to an end and stopping the shape shifter dead in its tracks.

If he could only tell which one of them actually was the shapeshifter, that is.

“Give it back!” one Wendy shouted aggressively.

“You give it back!” the other Wendy retorted, equally as incensed.

“It belongs to Dipper!”

“Yeah it does! Hit her with the ax!” one of the cashiers yelled to Dipper himself quite intensely.

“Don’t listen to her, Dipper!”

“She’s the shape shifter!”

“No, she is!”

“Uh… I… um…” Dipper stammered nervously, clutching the ax tightly as he looked between the two Wendys with complete uncertainty. “I-I don’t know who’s who! Give me a sign or something!”

Both of them proceeded to comply, all while still grappling for the journal. One sent him an almost flirtatious smile and wink, but the other one merely gave him a cold, serious expression as she zipped her lips and threw away the key. And for Dipper, that was more than enough to cue him in on which Wendy was the real one, and which one was the fake.

With bold confidence in his decision, Dipper flung the ax at the imposter, watching with relieved satisfaction as the shape shifter roared in pain and reverted back to its true form. Fortunately enough, they were all quite close to one of the few still working cryogenic chambers, and even more serendipitous was the fact that Steven and Garnet just so happened to run into the room at that exact moment.

“You guys!” the young Gem gasped in alarm, especially upon seeing the outraged shape shifter rip the ax out of its injured stomach. Garnet didn’t hesitate to summon her gauntlets, their search for Amethyst momentarily forgotten in the heat of this intense moment.

“Quick! Push him in!” Dipper exclaimed, pointing to the ready cryogenic chamber. They all hurried to do so, yet before any of them could even strike the shape shifter, someone else did instead.

“Not so fast, you shifty creep!” Amethyst yelled as she dropped down from above onto the creature. Everyone gasped in surprise as she used her thicker arm to put it into a tight headlock, holding it steady even as it started struggling against her. “Ha! Not so much fun being all tied up, is it?”

“Amethyst, what are you doing!?” Dipper asked in apt alarm.

“Oh, you know,” the purple Gem grunted as casually as she could, even as the shifter angrily roared over her. “Just handling your monster problem for ya! After all, the only shape shifter we need around here is me!”

“Amethyst, let it go!” Garnet ordered hotly, especially as the shifter formed a large hand to grab Amethyst by the head with. “Now!”

“No!” the purple Gem shouted back, clearly struggling to maintain her slipping advantage as the shifter began to pull her down. “You wanted me to be stronger and I’m doing it! I’m being what you want!”

“I don’t want this!” the Gem leader tried to appeal, concern leaking into her usually authoritative tone.

Amethyst let out a strained shout as she tried to shove the shifter towards the cryogenic chamber, only to be shoved that way herself. “Then what do you want?!” she asked Garnet almost desperately. “Just tell me and I’ll do that!”

“I can’t tell you, Amethyst!” Garnet exclaimed amidst the purple Gem’s scream of pain as the shifter finally thrust her to the ground hard. “You have to figure this out for yourself!”

“She can’t!” Steven suddenly gasped in stark realization as the others all turned to him in confusion. “She doesn’t want to think about herself!”

A look of complete shock washed over Amethyst’s face upon hearing this, her struggling against the creature coming to a halt as she looked to her teammates with wide eyes. “What?” was all she had time to say before the shape shifter pushed down on her hard, resulting in her poofing once again.

The shape shifter merely laughed coldly over this victory as it picked the purple gemstone up, holding it up for the rest of the startled group to see. “What a weak, pathetic fool!” it mocked triumphantly. “You all are for thinking you ever defeat a master of forms like me! Now, prepare to meet the same-” The creature was abruptly cut off as Garnet landed a brutal punch to its face, causing it to not only stumble back with a cry of pain, but also forcing it to release Amethyst’s gem. Fortunately, Steven was quick to safely claim it before it could hit the ground and shatter.

“Good catch,” Garnet quickly congratulated her young ward before turning to Dipper and Wendy. “Now’s the time!”

The pair quickly complied, charging for the shifter along with Steven and Garnet as they all worked together to shove the stunned, yet still struggling shape shifter fully into the cryogenic tube. The creature had no chance to overpower them and escape, however, as it found itself abruptly locked inside of the tube. While the others had no idea how such a fortuitous event was unfolding, Mabel and Soos simply high fived as they watched everything unfold from the surveillance room. Mabel was the one to fully seal the deal, as well as the shape shifter’s fate, by pressing the tube’s activation button with a wide, victorious smile.

“Frozen!” she proclaimed brightly.

“Boosh!” Soos exclaimed as the two of them fist-bumbed over their success before hurrying to join the others in the lab.

As the cryogenic chamber began to freeze over, the shape shifter did everything in its power to escape its incoming icy fate. “No! Let me out” it cried desperately, beating against the heavy glass as it morphed into several forms, from a rock monster, to a flame beast, to its ‘author’ guise, to even Rose Quartz, before finally going back to its true form just as the glass misted over with ice, covering it entirely.

A beat of unsteady silence filled the lab in the midst of the shape shifter’s apparent defeat. For a long moment, everyone continued staring at the cryogenic chamber, fearing that the shifter might somehow break out of it, but thankfully it never did. “Is… is it over?” Steven asked tentatively, breaking the silence.

“It would seem so,” Garnet responded, adjusting her shades as her gauntlets dissipated.

“Let’s get out of here, dudes,” Soos concluded, already turning to head back the way they came as the others followed.

Yet, before any of them could even leave the room, the shape shifter’s low, ominous laughter reached them from the cryogenic chamber. Surprised to see that it was even still cognizant, the group turned around with a collective gasp to see the creature press up against the glass one more time. “And so once again, you Crystal Gems think you’ve bested me…” it began speaking to Garnet in particular, its tone as cold as the ice encompassing it. “That ‘future vision’ of yours may grant you glimpses of what’s to come, but it can’t fill in the gaps of your past, can it? He must have done something to you three, something that made you forget about all of this… Still, I can’t help but wonder if Rose herself ever had those gaps at all…”

Garnet offered no response to this mysterious, brazen taunt, but even so, her hands were clenched into tight fists at her sides as she sent the shifter a fierce scowl. But even so, the creature wasn’t finished quite yet.

“And as for you, Dipper…” the shifter said, sending the boy a piercing glare. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you? But you have no idea what you’re up against. You’ll never find the author. If you keep digging, you’ll meet a fate worse than you can imagine. And this will be the last form you’ll ever take!” Just as the cryogenic tube finally froze over entirely, the shifter turned into Dipper, letting out a panicked scream that would be forever preserved as it at last frozen completely. This scare tactic, as underhanded as it was, was more than enough to aptly frighten the real Dipper, who could only stare at his now-frozen double with a look of stunned horror.

“Heh,” Soos suddenly chuckled, trying to make the rather dark mood lighter. “Good luck sleeping tonight!”

Needless to say that after such a traumatic experience, no one was too keen on staying in the bunker any longer. And so the group emerged from it in relative solemn silence, letting the tree that led to it return to its normal, inconspicuous appearance. Apparently, they had been in the bunker all day, as the sun had set and dusk had fallen, painting the forest a warm shade of violet as fireflies gently flittered about. It was a comforting sight for everyone, especially when compared to the dark, dank, twisted corridors of the bunker.

“Dude, I think I’m kind of adventured out for a little while,” Soos spoke up once everyone was back on level ground. “My face hurts from doing this all day,” he pulled a shocked, screaming face, one that Mabel couldn’t help but chuckle at upon seeing.

“Yeah, but you gotta admit we’re all total heroes!” she remarked with a satisfied smirk.

“Hey, who wants to get some heroes breakfast, huh?” Soos asked with a grin as he tousled Mabel’s hair.

“Syrup on cereal!” she cheered, hoping up onto the handyman’s shoulders.

“Mabel, you’re a visionary!” he exclaimed, impressed as he began to tote her away. “Steven, aren’t you coming?”

“In a minute!” Steven called halfheartedly, sighing remorsefully as he looked down at Amethyst’s gemstone in his hands.

“Don’t worry,” Garnet encouraged, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Like I said before, she’ll be fine.”

“B-but she’s usually back by now!” the young Gem protested fretfully. “Do you think something’s wrong?”

Garnet paused, looking to the gemstone herself as her smile faded. “I…” she began, her tone almost uncertain, though she quickly recovered from it. “No. Nothing’s wrong. She’ll be back soon, I promise.”

Steven finally smiled upon hearing this, fully believing this promise as Garnet began to lead him back towards the temple. As they left, Dipper was quick to realize that him and Wendy were the only ones left around, which meant that now was likely as good a time as any to address his awkward confession. “Look, Wendy,” he began, averting eye contact with the cashier. “About earlier… In the heat of the moment, I might have said some… dumb things. So can we just pretend that none of that ever happened? Please?”

“Dude, dude, its ok,” Wendy reassured, putting a hand on his shoulder as she knelt down to his level. “I always kinda knew…”

“Wait, you did?!” Dipper asked, his eyes wide with complete surprise.

The cashier let out a small, good-natured chuckle at this as she rose to stand. “Yeah, man. You think I can’t hear that stuff you’re constantly whispering under your breath?”

“Oh, man…” Dipper groaned in absolute embarrassment, face palming as he plopped down onto a nearby log.

“Listen, Dipper,” Wendy said as she sat down beside him. “I’m like, super flattered, but… I’m too old for you. I mean, you know that, right?”

“Ugh…” Dipper sighed, still not meeting the cashier’s gaze. “Mabel, Steven, and even Garnet said that confessing would make me feel better.”

“Well, how do you feel?”

“Anxious… and scared… and kinda itchy.”

“Don’t be itchy, man,” Wendy laughed warmly. “Let me tell you something. This summer was super boring before you showed up. I have more fun with you than practically anyone else. And if you ever stopped being my friend, I would, like, throw myself into the Bottomless Pit!”

This finally elicited a small laugh from Dipper, even if it was still only a halfhearted one. “So… things won’t be too awkward now?”

“I just wrestled myself, dude,” the cashier remarked with a smirk. “That was awkward. If you can handle that monster, you can handle a little awkwardness.”

“So, friends?” Dipper asked, hopeful.

“Yeah, dude!” Wendy instantly agreed, playfully shoving him off the log. “Friends.”

Both of them shared another laugh as Wendy stood and pulled Dipper back onto the log before she began to take her leave. “Oh, and hey, Dipper?” she turned back to him once more as she reached her bike. “See you for movie night later. Your place this time, ok?”

Dipper only nodded as he watched the cashier ride off, a bittersweet smile on his face that quickly faded once she was out of view. A small part of him had always figured that things would turn out like this if he ever did end up revealing his feelings to Wendy, and yet he had still dared to hope that things could have been different. Still, now that everything was out in the open, he found himself somehow strangely accepting it. After all, Wendy had promised that nothing would really change between them, something that was certainly a relief. But no matter how things would be in the future, Dipper knew that another part of him would always still always have feelings for Wendy, as unrequited as they were. And while it would take some time to heal from her gentle rejection, at least he could take solace in the fact that their close, playful friendship would remain. And that would certainly be good enough for him.

Still, Dipper didn’t get too much time to mull over everything that had happened, especially as Mabel popped out of the bushes right behind him. “Sooo… how’d it go?” she asked, overwhelmed with curiosity.

“How—what did you hear?!” Dipper asked, surprised at his sister’s eavesdropping.

“Everything, all the time,” Mabel quipped coyly.

“Yeah, we totally heard everything,” Steven admitted with a grin as he emerged from the bushes himself.

“I’m not here!” Soos called, still hiding in the shrubbery.

“But I am,” Garnet said casually as she revealed herself, stepping out from behind a tree.

While Dipper normally would have questioned the fact that all of them had been spying on him, he wasn’t exactly up for it as he instead looked down with a heavy sigh. “You guys, how can everything be so amazing and so terrible at the same time?”

“Mm, I’m sorry for being so pushy, Dipper,” Mabel said with sincere sympathy and guilt.

“Same here,” Steven concurred, still holding onto Amethyst’s gem with his free hand. “But hey, look at the bright side! At least you don’t have to feel awkward around Wendy anymore!”

“Somehow I kind of doubt that…” Dipper remarked with a frown.

“Dipper, there’s no reason for you to feel ashamed over what happened,” Garnet spoke up with a small, reassuring smile. “It’s true that sometimes these things simply just… don’t work out. But that doesn’t mean that this was your only chance at finding love. That special someone is out there for you, trust me.”

“You wouldn’t happen to know who that special someone is, would you?” Dipper asked glumly, hoping that the Gem leader could give him some kind of absolute reassurance over the matter.

But instead, Garnet softly chuckled, adjusting her shades and shaking her head. “Even if I did tell you, you’d never believe me.”

“Aw, cheer up, bro-bro!” Mabel encouraged, wrapping an arm around her brother’s shoulder. “Maybe that special someone is on the list of potential rebound crushes I’m making for you!”

“Thanks, Mabel,” Dipper chuckled a bit at this, though the moment of levity was cut off as Soos sat on the other end of the log, his sudden weight tossing the kids up a bit.

“I’m still bummed that we’re no closer to finding the author guy,” the handyman sighed in disappointment. “Oh well. At least I got his sciencey coat and briefcase.” Soos held said metal ‘briefcase’ up, only for it to flop open and reveal a dusty screen and computer keys inside, as well as a label that read “Property of F”. “Whoa! What the-?”

“Soos, that’s not a briefcase!” Dipper exclaimed in apt surprise. “That’s a laptop!”

“And a really busted up one too,” Mabel added, noting how ragged and rundown the tech was.

“Wow! It’s so old and cool!” Steven quipped with a wide smile. “I wish Amethyst were here to see this! Well, technically she is here…” he paused, casting a brief glance down at her gemstone. “But still.”

“I bet I could get this thing fixed up in a few days,” Soos mused, looking over the laptop. “It’s gonna take a lot of duct tape…”

“This could be our next clue!” Dipper grinned with newfound excitement over this find. “But… will it actually tell us anything?” he asked, turning to Garnet for answers once again.

“Hm… it’s definitely worth looking into…” the Gem leader mused. “I do recommend being careful in how you go about it, but still. I feel like there’s a good chance that it’ll be able to get at least a few answers out of it… But as always, its all about looking in the right places…”

Since everyone was rather tired from the eventful day they had, they all decided to spend the evening relaxing at the Mystery Shack, Steven and the Gems included. Pearl was already there, having just finished fixing the van with Greg and Stan, and needless to say she had a multitude of questions, especially upon seeing Amethyst’s solitary gemstone. But all the same, the kids took the much needed opportunity to relax, as Dipper and Wendy got their movie night started, having put pretty much everything they had discussed earlier behind them. Soos and Mabel had made their syrup on cereal concoction and were enjoying it as they played cards with Stan. Steven was the only one who didn’t really feel like joining in on any of the fun as he instead remained stationary near Amethyst’s gem, keeping a close eye on for any sign that the purple Gem was coming back. And as he kept up this vigil, Garnet and Pearl discussed everything that had happened in the bunker quietly enough that no one managed to overhear their anxious whispers.

“So that shape shifting creature claimed to know us?” the white Gem asked worriedly. “And Rose?”

“Yes,” the Gem leader nodded tersely. “It said we knew the author too.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Pearl shook her head. “Until a few weeks ago, we had never even seen that journal before! How in the world would we have-”

“Something isn’t adding up,” Garnet interrupted, her arms crossed as she glanced down. “Everything down in that bunker felt so… familiar… I don’t know how to explain it. But it was the same feeling I got when I saw that journal for the first time.”

“S-so… what should we do?” the white Gem asked, wringing her hands apprehensively.

The Gem leader didn’t answer right away, but when she did, all traces of uncertainty in her tone were replaced with resolve instead. “We keep looking for the truth. And we don’t stop until we find it.”

Pearl’s expression was still awash with worry upon hearing this, but even so she nodded, knowing not to question her leader’s decision. And so, instead of addressing the matter any further, she decided to move onto another pressing issue. “So…” she said, walking over to Steven and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “How long has it been?”

“Four hours…” the young Gem replied, his voice a concerned mutter as he lay sprawled on the floor.

“Four hours?!” the white Gem exclaimed in genuine surprise. “She’s never taken so long! What do you think she’s doing in there?”

“I’m not sure,” Garnet answered truthfully. “I was too hard on her…”

“So what happened to her this time anyway?” Stan spoke up with dry curiosity. “She didn’t throw herself off another cliff or anything again, did she?”

Everyone who had been to the bunker exchanged a stark glance at this, all of them remembering their vow to keep what happened down there a secret. And while Garnet had discreetly detailed some of the earlier events to Pearl, she calmly made sure not to do the same for Stan. “She got hit playing chicken with a train.”

“Again?” the conman cracked up a bit upon hearing this succinct lie. “That’s like, the third time she bit it to a train, isn’t it? Sheesh, Amethyst will never learn, will she?”

“Actually…” the Gem leader smiled as she turned towards Amethyst’s gem as it finally started to glow. “I think she will this time…”

“Oh! Oh! She’s back!” Steven cried excitedly, backing up to give the purple gemstone some space as it lifted up into the air. “Alright, everyone, be supportive.”

The others all nodded in agreement as they watched the silhouette of light form around the stone, shifting and remolding at various intervals before finally remaining fixed. As the light faded, Amethyst appeared, not with bulging muscles or an imitation of Pearl or even legs for arms, but as her natural self once more. But even then, not without a few modest changes. The colors of the purple Gem’s top and leggings had reversed, her tank top now nearly black and lacking her usual fallen shoulder strap, while her leggings were lavender with neat black stars cut into the knees. But aside from those alterations, Amethyst was largely the same, a fact that she seemed quite comfortable with as she landed and casually stretched out.

“What?” she asked, noticing the surprised looks everyone was giving her.

“Aw, you barely changed!” Steven pouted in disappointment.

“Steven!” Pearl quickly chastised for his insensitivity.

“Well I think you look great, Amethyst!” Mabel complimented with an excited smile. “Seriously, black is so your color!”

“Yeah, lookin’ good,” Stan remarked with a wry smirk. “But you better still be able to pull off Revenge Trips in that new getup of yours.”

“Heh, you know it,” Amethyst chuckled, though her smile quickly faded as Garnet stepped up to her. A moment of awkward silence passed between the two Gems, the purple one glancing away from her leader bashfully, especially in light of what had transpired between them in the bunker. But in the end, Garnet was the first one to break it with a sincere, gentle smile.

“It’s perfect,” she said with full approval in her tone.

“Eh, whatevs,” Amethyst shrugged, suppressing a light blush as she rubbed her arm. “It’s just what feels right.”

“That’s why it’s perfect,” Garnet nodded, finally getting the purple Gem to blush fully. Regardless of what had happened underground or anything that the sinister shape shifter might have said, the Gem leader was glad to see that Amethyst finally realized that perhaps she didn’t have to be the biggest or the best. She only had to be herself. And with this subtle new form, that was a lesson she had fully embraced.

“It’s a marked improvement!” Pearl remarked, clasping her hands together with a delighted smile. “You finally fixed that shoulder strap that’s always bugged me!”

“Welcome back!” Steven exclaimed happily, wrapping the purple Gem in a sudden, tight hug.

“Well done, Amethyst!” Pearl did the same, gently joining the embrace right before Garnet did.

“Oh boy! Group hug!” Mabel exclaimed excitedly, hopping out of her chair and pulling Stan out of his. “Come on, Grunkle Stan!”

“Hold it, kid. I don’t do group hu-” the conman tried to protest, but he was no match for his niece’s unbridled enthusiasm.

Likewise, Soos, Dipper, and Wendy gladly joined the large collective embrace, all of which was centered around the very flustered purple Gem. “Guys, cut it out!” Amethyst exclaimed, annoyed. “Do we really have to do this?!”

“Yes,” Steven solidly affirmed, hugging the purple Gem just a bit tighter. “It’s hug time!

“Ugh, this is so dumb!” Amethyst groaned, rolling her eyes. Still, even she couldn’t hold back an infectious, satisfied smile as she soaked all of the affection going around in. Hugs weren’t exactly a rare thing for either the Gems or the Pines, but still, both groups joining together for such a thing was an amazing feat that even Amethyst, despite all of her pretend protests against it, could say no to.

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justholdinghandsok · 8 years ago

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Four more years

Gillovny RPF

This is for @thegatw, who has requested a fic where Gillian and David are moved by Carrie Fisher disappearing and realize how short life can be, so they decide to finally move forward in their relationship and admit their feelings for each other.

Note: It’s pure fluff. Thanks for the request my fellow Frenchy! :)

When he heard the news, his first thought was for Gillian. He knew she would be devastated. Not in the same way she used to be when she’d lost a member of her family, or like he was when one of his closest friend passed a few months ago, but in the way you have to live in a world where one of the major role model you ever had isn’t here anymore. Someone who gave her the strength to be more self-confident, stronger, more invested in many causes to make this world a better place was gone. With her, he knew a small piece of Gillian’s heart was gone too.

They’ve both had been grieving in the past few years. And even if they’d never managed to clearly define their relationship, there was one thing they knew about each other. They would always be there for each other when they need it. So he called her. She said she was okay, “sad but okay”. He asked if she wanted to go to the funeral. She said yes. He asked if she wanted him to go with her. He heard her smile. Of course, she would love that. And of course he would do it for her. He had done it before. He asked because it was what he had to do, but he knew she couldn’t accept his offer. He even asked if she wanted him to come over. He could buy a last minute flight ticket and be with her in the evening, if she needed his shoulder. She refused, politely.

They haven’t seen each other for a few months. It wasn’t anything personal, just work, a few days in Chicago in the summer. Of course, they managed to make it personal at some point. They always do. How could he not sneak into her bedroom in the middle of the night anyway? It’s like a tacit agreement between them. They are friends, but nothing else. They have sex, but nothing else. Actually, it’s more like a misleading tacit agreement. They have feelings for each other and it’s more than just sex, but they silently agreed not to talk about it. Why? He isn’t really sure anymore. They’re not cheating on their respective spouse or partner. They’re not hurting anyone. Themselves, maybe, but they can’t talk about it so they’re just going full circle and it lasts for years. Forever, actually.

How old was she when she passed? he wondered. 60, Wikipedia told him. 60… If people die at 60, despite all the kale and avocados he eats and the Pilates and Yoga he does, he could be gone in 4 years. What would he leave behind? A career? Great. Two beautiful and smart children. That’s a lot already. An ex-wife he’d made suffer and a lover who never knew she was loved. That’s perfect, he thought, cynically. There are things that can never be fixed and a few he still can change, even if he only has 4 years before him.

He left without telling anyone, not even Gillian. If he had a second thought on the plane, he still could change his mind and go back to New-York. For the first time of his life, he is scared during the flight. Usually, he just reads or writes peacefully, smiles to the stewardess when she brings him food and sleeps after a shot of good Bourbon. But this time, every tremor makes his jaw clench and his stomach tighten. He never thought about death before, at least, not about his, but now, it obsesses him. Actually, the thought of her life without him obsesses him. What would she feel? Would she really be sad? Yes, of course she would, he reassures himself. Maybe she would find someone else, though. Someone who isn’t afraid to tell her his feelings. Or *Her* feelings… Who knows? And what if she goes before him? His fist clench at this thought and he asks for a second mini-bottle of Bourbon.

After a scary ride in the freezing streets of London with a crazy cab driver who probably won his license in a lottery, he’s finally on her threshold, at 8pm, sweating and short breathing. He feels like he’s twelve and knocking at the door of his first date.

“Hi… Piper.” He says, surprised and slightly ashamed. This young girl has not only the same blond hair as her mother, but also the same judgmental and uncompromising eyebrow raising.

“Muuuuuum! David’s here!” she screams, ignoring David, but letting him in.

“David who?” He hears Gillian’s voice scream from the other side of the house. Sounds bad. He isn’t dead already, but she has already forgotten about him. “Pips?” she keeps screaming, but her voice gets closer “Pi… Oh.” she says, stopping still at the sight of him.

“Hi. Sorry, I should have called.” He says, scanning her from head to toe. She’s wearing an apron over an oversize shirt that may or may not belong to him, and yoga pants. There are traces of flour on her cheeks, fatty fingerprints on her glasses and her hair is in a messy ponytail. “You seem busy.”

“No, no, no! It’s okay. Mark baked a wonderful cake for Christmas, and I’m trying to redo it for the boys, but obviously I have two left hands and I’ll go to the bakery tomorrow morning. Anyway… What… How… I mean… Has something happened? You okay?”

“Yeah, yes! Sure. Don’t worry, nothing happened. But really, I can come back another time. If you don’t have time, it’s okay. I just…”

“David?” she interrupts. “Did you come all the way from New-York because nothing happened? What’s going on?” she asks, obviously worried.

He can see fear mixed with misunderstanding and wonder in her eyes and he starts to second-guess himself. After all, it wasn’t a good idea. He shouldn’t have done that. Not this way, at least. How can he explain it to her? And where to start? He should have invited her to a good restaurant, wait to have her full attention before opening his heart to her. He should have known interrupting her everyday life during Christmas holidays was the worst idea. But he was here, standing still in front of her. She’d been kind enough to purposefully ignore his suitcase on the threshold, but he has to say something now.

“Can I help you with the cake?” He knows she’d understood. After all those years, they don’t really need to talk anymore. She knows he has something to tell her. She knows it’s important, but she knows whatever it is, it can wait for an appropriate moment, when her kids are in bed and it doesn’t smell like something is burning in the kitchen.

The kitchen is the kind of mess you think you’d better destroy it all and rebuild a brand new one rather than cleaning it. He hasn’t seen what Mark’s cake looked like, but he knows they’ve failed already, and he hasn’t tasted it yet. Piper offered her help many times, mostly when she heard plates break on the floor or when she smelt scents that had nothing to do with any kind of edible food, but Gillian always refused. She wanted to do it herself, to show her sons she was capable of doing it on her own. David was a devoted but clumsy clerk. He got pissed off when the chocolate didn’t melt, until he realized he hasn’t lit up the cooker and there might be one or two pieces of eggshell in the cake, but it never killed anyone, right? It’s too late anyway, the cake is slowly baking in the oven and if they don’t let it burn, they’ll taste it in the morning for breakfast. If he’s still here.

Excited at the thought of a basketball game tomorrow afternoon with David, Oscar and Felix went to bed quietly, for once. Old enough to understand their need of intimacy, Piper went upstairs too, leaving them alone and covered in flour and sugar.

“Do you want a glass of wine?” she proposes, setting two glasses on the dirty kitchen island.

“Do you drink?” he asks, a bit surprised.

“It’s non-alcoholic wine.” She smiles.

“Grape juice, then?” he jokes to lighten the atmosphere. Something important is about to happen and it feels like humor is his only safe place now, before he completely exposes himself.

“Basically,” she chuckles, pouring their glasses with a red beverage. “So? Are you gonna tell me what you’re doing at my home in the middle of the evening during Christmas holiday?”

“I don’t even know where to start!” he says, taking a long sip of his beverage in the hope it would give him some courage, but he quickly remembers it won’t have any effect on him. He should have taken a third shot on the plane.

“How about you go straight to the point?” she encourages, resting her hand on his for reassurance.

“I’m gonna die soon.” He says with a sigh of relief. For a writer, he thinks he could have chosen his words better. At least weigh them before speaking them. Gillian’s face fades and her eyes widen.

“What?” she screams a little, her voice cracking? “Are you ill?”

“No! No! Oh god, I’m sorry! It’s not what I meant.” he apologizes, taking her hand in his. “I’m not *gonna die* but I *can* die. One day. I’m old, you now. And I’m not immortal.”

“Okay. Hold on,” she interrupts him. “Did you just come here because you’re having an existential crisis, David?”

“No! Not really. Well… Maybe.” He admits, thoughtful. “But it’s not about that. I just… I just realized something. You know, she was 60 when she died. People die at 60! And I’m 56. And there’s a few things I really want to do before I die.”

“David, if it’s a new way to convince me to do another season, that is completely crazy and inappropriate.” She frowns her eyebrows in discontent.

“Okay. Stop.” He sighs and takes a deep breath. “I’m not ill, and I don’t want you to do another season. Well, I do, but it’s another problem. I’m here to talk about *us*, Gillian.”

She was about to take another sip and stopped halfway, her mouth slightly open, her eyes intensely staring at him. Two decades ago, she was the one opening her heart to him and immediately regretting it. It took him twenty long years to return the favor and he hopes she won’t be as stupid as he was and blow their last chance to finally be happy together.

“Her death kinda woke me up.” he continues. “We’re not getting any younger, Gillian, and we both know there will always be this thing between us. So whatever it is… I think… I think we should… I mean, I think we should give it a try and see how it works, you know…” He isn’t used to search for his words, he’s always been a good orator and stuttering isn’t in his habit. This little speech sounded so much better when he rehearsed it in front of his mirror, on the plane and in the cab a few hours ago. There were so many other things he wanted to tell her. That she was beautiful and sexy, smart and funny, that he admires her for a thousand reasons, that she was unique and that she was hers and always have been. Hopefully, he still has many years before him to tell her how much he loves her. Four years, at least.

“You mean us? Together? Like for real?” she asks sincerely breathlessly. He nods. He hasn’t felt so stressed since… Actually, he’d never felt so stressed. He feels like his whole life depends on her answer. It’s not literally the case, although he knows he’d taken a big risk. If she says no, if she refuses, something will be broken forever between them. He would have lost her for good. And that’s not something he can handle. “I thought we were okay the way we are now.” she says with a high pitch voice, obviously invaded by many different emotions.

“Are you?” he asks through his tighten throat.

“Yeah, I mean… I think so. I don’t know!”

“Tell me you’ve never thought about me this way and I’ll go. Then we can go back to whatever we were, if it makes you happy.” If she doesn’t show him more enthusiasm to his proposal, he might burst into tears right here, in the middle of her kitchen, and he would rather avoid that. “Tell me, Gillian.” he pressures her.

“But you live on the other side of the world!” she protests.

“You didn’t answer my question.” he says, firmly. “Have you ever thought about us as a couple?” She stays silent, staring at him, her cheeks blushing with emotion, her small fist clenching in his hand. “Gillian?”

“Of course I have!” she says, a tear slowly falling under her glasses. “That’s what I wanted in the first place, remember?” He isn’t sure if she’s sad or angry or happy. All three, probably. He tightens his hand around hers and takes her wrist with his other hand, soothing her heart with slow circles of his thumb over her throbbing pulse.

“I’m not here to talk about the past. I want to talk about the future, Gillian. Our future. I’ve hurt you. I know that and I’m sorry. I know it won’t fix anything, it won’t change anything, but I truly am sorry. I’m not the same anymore. I just want to be with you, I want to make you happy, I want to wake up next to you every morning, I want to make you laugh, I even want to cook for you!” he says, gesturing towards the messy kitchen. “I’m not perfect, I can’t promise it’ll be easy, we have so many logistics to set up and organization to do, but I’m willing to make it work. If I only have four years to live, I want to live them by your side.”

“Would you like to stop saying you’re gonna die!” she chuckles though the tears. “What if it doesn’t work?”

“Then, we would have tried, and we can die without regrets.”

“David!” she frees her hand from his grip and slaps his arm playfully.

“Sorry.” he smiles. “But you gotta give me an answer ‘cause I’m dying, here!”

“Stop!” She slaps his arm again. “Stop!” Slap. “And stop!” Slap. He takes her two wrists with strength, preventing another slap and closing the distance between them.

The playful atmosphere becomes heavy again and he’s not smiling anymore. Neither is she. They stay silent, staring at each other, observing, waiting for the other one to speak first. Something has to be said, now that he has finally managed to tell her what he wanted. What he needed. He asks again, not with his words, but with his eyes, penetrating hers, whispering directly to her soul. She gets it. He knows she does. Her wrists relax in his hand and her arms wrap around his shoulders. She nods, slightly, almost imperceptibly. But it’s enough for him. She’d never been good at expressing her feelings, but it doesn’t matter, she never needed to, not with him, he has direct access to her thoughts, sometimes, it’s even scary. He smiles a few seconds before her mouth brushes his, waiting for him to capture her lips, as if she needs him to seal the deal. They’re not going to get married. They’re not going to have a baby, but they commit, right here, in a messy kitchen with a cake burning in the oven. For the first time in twenty years, they commit to each other and this kiss is the signature at the bottom of the contract. After that, nothing will ever be the same and if they’re lucky enough, it’ll last four more years, at least.

#Hope you like it #Gillovny #Gillian Anderson #david duchovny #xfilesrpf #gillovny rpf #dd/ga rpf #xf rpf #xf fanfic

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consulting-celiac-in-the-tardis · 5 years ago

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24 Things Everyone Should Do Before Turning 24

New blog post! This month, I turn 24 years old...and while I don’t have a ton of free time to reflect on what that means (hello grad school, two jobs and one thesis to be completed!), I wanted to spend some time thinking about how year 23 treated me. And considering how popular my post on 22 things to do before you’re 22 turned out to be, I thought it was about time for a repeat.

So whether you’re about to turn 24 as well or you just want some inspiration for things you can do to positively impact your own life, here are 24 things to do before you turn 24.

1. Go thrifting and buy at least one piece of clothing that’s in a style, color, etc. you’ve never dared or thought to try before.

Read more of my thoughts on body image and thrifting here...

2. Learn something new about your family history, or your own childhood.

And it doesn’t have to be earth-shattering either. You might just spend one night chatting to your mom or dad about their childhood and learn a funny story about how they really got that scar under their chin.

3. Master at least one recipe you feel comfortable cooking for others.

Might I recommend some of mine to start with?

4. Try out strength training.

Weight lifting may not be for everyone, but research shows that it offers plenty of benefits...and while I was self-conscious when I first started hitting the weight room, I love how strong I feel now that I’m a few years into lifting.

5. Write a letter to your family, friends (or role models of choice), telling them what you’d want them to know if the world ended tomorrow.

Sounds sappy...and it may be. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea!

6. Say “yes” to something that (safely!) scares the crud out of you.

Like, for me this year, working three jobs...staying in Minnesota for the summer...saying “yes” to a long-distance relationship.

7. Reach out to a friend you haven’t talked to in a while, and catch up...even if it’s only a short phone call or a few texts.

8. Try a yoga class - one as hard or easy as you want!

Read more about my experience with hot yoga and what I've learned from yoga here.

9. Go to therapy, if you have the opportunity.

If you’re still in college or grad school like me, you may receive a certain amount of free therapy appointments per semester with your school’s Counseling Center. And if you do have free resources available...use them. You may be surprised at what you learn - even if it’s just that it’s normal for you to be overwhelmed with everything on your plate, or that it feels realllly good to have someone objective yet caring listen to you talk.

10. Spend at least one day completely alone...and experiment with learning what being happy while alone looks like for you.

11. Enjoy a staycation.

Don’t worry about traveling somewhere exciting or new! Stay at home and treat yourself however you want - whether it’s by eating out or trying new recipes, watching Netflix or spending the whole day unplugged.

12. Get real about your budget and learn what you actually value spending money on...and what you’re OK saying “no” to.

In my case, I know that food is something I really enjoy and would be willing to splurge on more than other things (like going to the movies). Learn how I save money grocery shopping and eat gluten free for only $35 a week here.

13. Read a “classic” book you’ve always heard about but never tried.

Some of my favorites from this exercise are 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale.

14. Go dancing in a club or fun spot downtown.

You don’t have to stay until the club closes or even drink. (I didn’t do either!). But staying up way past my bedtime to dance to super loud music with friends in Minneapolis is one of my fave memories from grad school.

15. Go through your social media profiles and stop following accounts that don’t add something good to your life, whatever that might be.

16. Get involved with your community in some way.

It could be volunteering at the local library or making friends with people at the gym you go to. But I know from personal experience that giving back to others’ comes with plenty of personal benefits.

17. Forget that you’re an adult for at least an hour each week.

How? By dancing in your pj’s to your favorite songs, eating ice cream for dinner, sleeping as late as you want or doing whatever else makes your childish heart happy.

18. Forgive someone who you think truly deserves a second chance.

19. Go on a hike with a good friend (of an acquaintance you want to get to know better) and really talk as you walk.

20. Find at least one self-care practice you can rely on when things get tough.

And if you need ideas...find plenty here and here.

21. Stay sober at a party where most people are drinking.

Trust me - it’ll be a very interesting experience, and you may learn more about how much alcohol you really prefer to enjoy while socializing.

22. Work a job not directly related to your future career goals.

If you haven’t worked as a grocery cashier or a salesclerk by this age...consider yourself lucky. However, working as a produce stocker for a local grocery store while I'm going to grad school has taught me a lot about staying motivated and grateful and shown me the benefits of being able to leave work at the office (errr...grocery store). Plus, it's helped me build a better mental picture of what I do and don't want from a long-term job.

23. Go roller skating - outdoors or in an old-fashioned roller skating rink.

24. Make a list of five things you’re grateful for and five ways you’ve grown during the last year.

'Cause...why not end your birthday on a positive note?!?

My Biggest Takeaways From Year 23

And while I’ve done a good job of checking every box off on this list at age 23...it seems only fitting to end this post (and start my 24th year) by answering point 24. Age 23 and my second (and very start of my third) year of grad school has honestly been a roller coaster. I’ve felt overwhelmed and broken-hearted and angry and uncertain...but I’ve also felt extremely proud and, at moments, more comfortable in my own skin than I have been in ages.

So when I think back to this last year, I’m grateful that I survived the Polar Vortex of 2018 (and am reallllly hoping 2019's winter won’t be as bad) and traveled safely through at least two blizzards. I’m thankful for the college friends that I can still reach out to when I’m feeling low, and to have parents I can always call for advice or comfort. And I’m grateful for good health, even though I have ups and downs with my body and we certainly don’t always get along. As for how I’ve grown...the list could seriously add some major words to my thesis! But to narrow it down to five, I’d say I’ve grown:

In no longer being afraid to show my funny side when I'm teaching English 101...even if it can sometimes be a real challenge to get my students to laugh at 10 AM.

As a graduate student. So. Much. I ended my first year with maybe one drafted essay and the worry that I’d never crack my code for creative writing. I’m starting my third year with 60,000 words (around 240 double-spaced pages) of material already written for my thesis.

In knowing that I can juggle going to school full time, three jobs, a blog, and a minimal social life...though that workload isn't ideal, so I've also grown to realize that less is more in many ways.

In the gym! I'm very proud to say that I can now bench press and do a lat pulldown with 50 pounds...which isn't huge to some people but is huge for me.

In my fears of uncertainty (more on that below).

I know I still have so much to learn. After all, I’m hopefully still less than a fourth of a way through this crazy life of mine. But I’m slowly learning more about who I am, and how my chronic illnesses fit into my identity. And while I still have soooo many questions about this world and who I am and what is going to happen next for me...I’m getting a little better at accepting the uncertainty and leaning into the unknown.

So on that note...I’m going to enjoy the only known part of turning 24 so far: eating some yummy gluten free dessert! And I’m excited to see where I - and this blog - go in this next year. What's one thing you think everyone should do this year? Tell me in the comments! via Blogger https://ift.tt/34vVb7U

#Blogger #college #celiac #gluten free #coeliac #celiacs #paleo #primal #foodporn #foodart

0 notes

we-co-lab · 6 years ago

Conversation

#GENERAL

Channel history

[2018-09-13T17:26:02Z] batzl015: has joined the channel

[2018-09-13T17:32:13Z] bialo011: has joined the channel

[2018-09-13T17:32:55Z] mahla008: has joined the channel

[2018-09-13T17:39:25Z] feria006: has joined the channel

[2018-09-13T17:42:18Z] danks010: has joined the channel

[2018-09-13T18:26:56Z] douga018: has joined the channel

[2018-09-13T19:07:28Z] watso595: has joined the channel

[2018-09-13T19:10:43Z] olson175: has joined the channel

[2018-09-13T19:31:25Z] santo204: has joined the channel

[2018-09-13T20:09:09Z] krieg087: has joined the channel

[2018-09-13T21:48:45Z] renst011: has joined the channel

[2018-09-13T23:42:46Z] olso6229: has joined the channel

[2018-09-14T14:44:49Z] kesse046: has joined the channel

[2018-09-14T14:49:02Z] schra470: has joined the channel

[2018-09-15T00:44:49Z] karle029: has joined the channel

[2018-09-15T13:44:06Z] olso6229: Who is doing the workshop with Pablo?

[2018-09-16T15:13:47Z] olso6229: Also just saw the workshop with Pablo is actually on Friday, not during our meeting time on Thursday.

[2018-09-16T15:14:26Z] olso6229: Does that affect anyone else? I can’t go if it’s on Friday during that time, if someone else wants to take my spot. :white_check_mark:

[2018-09-16T22:57:36Z] rumbe003: has joined the channel

[2018-09-17T06:43:21Z] mahla008:

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Visit The Japanese House - Barbican Blog

http://blog.barbican.org.uk/2017/06/visit-the-japanese-house-google-street-view/

[2018-09-17T06:44:33Z] mahla008: Just a link to a virtual tour of the Moriyama House, it's alot more complex and interesting than the movie showed. I have more articles and photos for anyone who's interested in seeing more

[2018-09-17T17:11:30Z] olso6229:

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Apply for a Campus Climate Micro-grant!

https://campus-climate.umn.edu/content/apply-campus-climate-micro-grant-1

[2018-09-18T19:51:33Z] mahla008:

[2018-09-18T19:51:50Z] mahla008: MINNCOR revenue in 2009

[2018-09-18T19:54:17Z] mahla008:

[2018-09-18T19:56:40Z] mahla008: 22 million

[2018-09-19T00:23:51Z] watso595: Is everyone (or a majority) able to meet Thursday before class? I feel it could be a good idea to talk about our edits to the guide in person and thought that might be the best option for time based on last week.

[2018-09-19T00:25:08Z] watso595: Also, should we have a way of marking those that have/have not been edited since class today? Maybe your initials/time that you edited in parentheses at the end of each point?

[2018-09-19T00:25:21Z] watso595: I’m open to other ideas too, just thought that could be helpful

[2018-09-19T01:53:46Z] karle029: when/where?

[2018-09-19T02:08:53Z] watso595: We could meet in studio maybe like an hour before class?

[2018-09-19T02:25:54Z] olso6229: I like that and im open to meeting anywhere

[2018-09-19T04:38:38Z] bialo011: Sounds good to me!

[2018-09-19T05:45:07Z] batzl015: I probably can’t make it before class, but I will try my best to condense and edit the guide tomorrow. I will note what I edited and when I did it.

[2018-09-19T15:04:27Z] schra470: I can be there before class as well!

[2018-09-19T15:05:44Z] mahla008: So studio an hour before?

[2018-09-19T16:09:54Z] watso595: Yeah let’s plan on that for those that can make it

[2018-09-19T17:14:34Z] rumbe003: Yoooo so Matt wanted me and Colton to spearhead a movement of changing the manifesto to be more "question based" if that makes sense

Instead of giving statements that work as solutions, let's use questions in the same way that we use design, to push boundaries, create problems, and push ourselves to think further and be more provocative

[2018-09-19T17:15:34Z] mahla008: So like, what is love?

[2018-09-19T17:16:09Z] rumbe003: Yeah something like that, or "How will we feel love?"

[2018-09-19T17:16:17Z] mahla008: Oooo

[2018-09-19T17:16:21Z] rumbe003: Questions with a slightly more specific scope

[2018-09-19T17:16:22Z] mahla008: I like that

[2018-09-19T17:16:23Z] rumbe003: if that makes sense

[2018-09-19T17:16:26Z] mahla008: Ye

[2018-09-19T17:17:08Z] rumbe003: Matt was really about it, he liked the idea of posing questions now, and potentially answering them later in the semester with our work

[2018-09-19T17:19:11Z] bialo011: Honestly not crazy about that

[2018-09-19T17:19:31Z] mahla008: That sounds better than trying to have a set of definitives without actually experiencing wecolab as a whole

[2018-09-19T17:20:39Z] batzl015: Yeah, I mean it’s a different structure so that could be interesting, but it seems like with questions as the structure, it gets really simple and bony provocative

[2018-09-19T17:20:47Z] batzl015: Like it doesn’t seem like anything new

[2018-09-19T17:21:08Z] rumbe003: Yeah idk man haha I'm just communicating what Matt was excited about and wanted me to do

[2018-09-19T17:21:34Z] batzl015: Cause we can ask questions all day, but making statements that cause you to ask questions seems a lot more powerful

[2018-09-19T17:22:17Z] rumbe003: That's true, but also i feel like statements are already defining the answer to any question we may come across

[2018-09-19T17:22:34Z] rumbe003: I'm down with whatever

[2018-09-19T17:23:10Z] mahla008: We just need to destil and condense our manifesto, maybe doing what we did and just make a statement for each word we want to convey

[2018-09-19T17:23:43Z] rumbe003: What if we do both?? Come up with a statement about love, and follow it up with, "How will we feel love?" Essentially saying "How will we enact the statement we just defined?"

[2018-09-19T17:23:53Z] bialo011: I think we should talk about it tomorrow. Because this is our manifesto too, not just what matt thinks is best.

[2018-09-19T17:24:11Z] rumbe003: ^truuuuuu

[2018-09-19T17:24:18Z] mahla008: But do we want it done tomorrow, cause I think Matt does

[2018-09-19T17:24:39Z] mahla008: Like finish it before class when most of us meet

[2018-09-19T17:25:53Z] rumbe003: We have to find a way to meet Matt straight on with productive resistance ya know?

[2018-09-19T17:26:28Z] bialo011: For sure

[2018-09-19T17:26:40Z] watso595: I think should still edit them as statements like we were planning

[2018-09-19T17:27:01Z] watso595: I agree we can talk about the question stuff tomorrow

[2018-09-19T17:28:16Z] batzl015: I’m prob gonna edit quite a bit today, I’ll keep changes noted in the comments

[2018-09-19T19:01:30Z] batzl015: I just moved every statement of the same category next to each other. I’m going to see if I can condense to eliminate redundancy/condense

[2018-09-19T19:23:15Z] danks010: I'm really up for whatever. On one hand, I think using questions would allow individuals to put there own meaning behind their answers, especially as it pertains to answer the why question behind the point of the manifesto. Although I realize it is our manifesto so I think it needs to revolve around our goals and thus statements might help hold us accountable and solidify our ability to collaborate as one based on a uniform standard. For tomorrow, I don't think we should change what we have in terms of rewriting them in the form of questions. As long as we can condense and form our statements in the right terms, it should work and if we discuss the question idea tomorrow and want to push that concept forward we can.

[2018-09-19T19:23:54Z] danks010: Also, I can try to meet an hour before class. No promises though because I'm not sure how traffic will be. But I can always try!

[2018-09-19T19:24:17Z] batzl015: I’m editing rn if anyone wants to hop in the google doc with me :+1::skin-tone-2:

[2018-09-19T19:24:28Z] batzl015: Feel free to scrub anything I’ve done haha

[2018-09-19T19:24:35Z] batzl015: Just leave comments so we can talk about it

[2018-09-19T19:25:25Z] batzl015: Also it looks like there’s room for 16 statements on one page... We’re currently at 28

[2018-09-19T19:30:44Z] bialo011: I can hop on in a sec

[2018-09-19T20:14:44Z] danks010: I be on in a half hour Oliver! Just finishing up the model for Brad's class.

[2018-09-19T20:15:26Z] batzl015: Cool, Andrew and I have done a lot of editing, but please look through and share opinions. That goes for everyone!!!

[2018-09-19T20:16:25Z] danks010: I'm going to completely change it.....Nah ill proofread it and add anything that needs adding. I'm sure its coming along!

[2018-09-19T20:51:37Z] batzl015: We should probably arrange, delete, and get close to finalizing by the end of today. Tomorrow morning can be for last touches

[2018-09-19T20:53:11Z] danks010: For sure! I'm reading over everything right now to get familiar with some of the changes.

[2018-09-19T21:30:28Z] karle029: was the Destil on purpose

[2018-09-19T21:31:42Z] karle029: have we thought about inviting matt to this slack?

[2018-09-19T21:32:42Z] bialo011: I think he is already

[2018-09-19T21:32:51Z] karle029: also if anyone is interested in researching prison labor and prison censorship historically and today I got some really great leads from Linnea at the archives

[2018-09-19T21:33:06Z] karle029:

[2018-09-19T21:33:13Z] karle029:

[2018-09-19T21:33:42Z] mahla008: Is anyone in rapson?

[2018-09-19T21:34:01Z] mahla008: Me and parker are in studio talking about this if others wanted to join

[2018-09-20T00:45:24Z] olso6229: yes, everyone including Matt is in the Slack channel. His handle is

[2018-09-20T00:47:35Z] olso6229: Has anyone else looked at Boris' work/website/views on art+collaboration/bio on WAM site?

[2018-09-20T00:51:48Z] olso6229:

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Portræt af Boris Oicherman

https://vimeo.com/141645079

[2018-09-20T00:55:45Z] mahla008: He looks so different lol

[2018-09-20T00:58:32Z] olso6229:

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Art

http://oicherman.net/boris/art

[2018-09-20T01:29:24Z] olso6229:

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From the Archives: Allan Kaprow on the Legacy of Jackson Pollock, in 1958 -

http://www.artnews.com/2018/02/09/archives-allan-kaprow-legacy-jackson-pollock-1958/

[2018-09-20T01:32:29Z] olso6229:

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Allan Kaprow - How to Make a Happening

https://youtu.be/8iCM-YIjyHE

[2018-09-20T01:54:29Z] olso6229: Here's a PDF transcription of the whole LP:

[2018-09-20T04:04:53Z] mahla008: Hey guys, don't like be mad at me or anything but i've been doing research on MINNCOR and idk if they are really that bad

[2018-09-20T04:49:35Z] mahla008: Like they still bad but like not as bad as I think we were lead to believe

[2018-09-20T12:15:13Z] olso6229: Oh yeah?

[2018-09-20T14:02:08Z] bialo011: how so?

[2018-09-20T14:12:46Z] mahla008: Are we meeting in studio?

[2018-09-20T17:38:27Z] batzl015: theres a mincorfurniture folder

[2018-09-20T17:38:33Z] batzl015: channel*

[2018-09-20T17:45:44Z] feria006: Tales of the traveling bag. To be continued

[2018-09-20T18:27:01Z] krieg087: So I was thinking a lot in class today about research, I re-watched 13th, and then watched a Portuguese film called "How Tasty is my Little Frenchman" that is inadvertently about imprisonment in 1500s colonial Brazil. Would anyone be interested in me creating a channel for research on the history of imprisonment and prison labor?

[2018-09-20T18:27:23Z] bialo011: do it

[2018-09-20T18:42:10Z] olso6229: Yes

[2018-09-20T18:44:06Z] olso6229: i wish my girlfriend was in the room for the first part of our conversation today, we would’ve learned so much about language

[2018-09-20T18:46:40Z] olson175: How so Lee?

[2018-09-20T18:58:12Z] olso6229: she did her undergrad in linguistics with several courses at graduate level during that time, her last 2 or 3 semesters of school were basically thesis

[2018-09-20T18:59:35Z] olson175: cool... would love to know who some of her favorite language thinkers are

[2018-09-20T19:00:00Z] olso6229: not chomsky, i can tell you that much

[2018-09-20T19:02:49Z] olson175: i love chomsky but, not because of his linguistic work

[2018-09-20T19:03:02Z] olson175: I wonder if she has thoughts on Barthes

[2018-09-20T19:07:07Z] olso6229: i will ask tonight. if anyone else has any questions about language, let me know anytime

[2018-09-20T19:08:05Z] krieg087: ^Same here Lee, my sister is currently getting her PHD in Linguistics and I can always ask her any questions as well!

[2018-09-20T19:08:35Z] olso6229: COOOOOOOOL

[2018-09-20T19:11:03Z] olson175: ask her about Barthes and Lakoff. I've watched a couple interesting lectures by Lakoff.

[2018-09-20T19:11:18Z] feria006: Bag makes it through lecture!

[2018-09-20T19:14:02Z] olso6229:

[2018-09-20T19:14:31Z] olso6229:

[2018-09-20T19:14:58Z] olso6229: Bag timelapse video + body art engulfed by bag body

[2018-09-20T19:34:34Z] krieg087: I absolutely will

[2018-09-20T19:43:43Z] olso6229: has anyone looked at the zines in the rapson library

[2018-09-20T19:45:35Z] olso6229: or read ursula le guin's the ones who walk away from omelas

[2018-09-20T19:45:57Z] olso6229: looking at the range of minncor products reminds me of her short story

[2018-09-21T00:47:08Z] santo204: Yee the zines in the library are really cool. Did we figure out if we were using a google drive or a Lightroom to upload media?

[2018-09-21T00:49:24Z] santo204: Or did we want to create a channel on this strictly for videos/photos/ other media

[2018-09-21T01:01:56Z] watso595: I thought we were planning on using Lightroom. I feel like starting a new channel for this might be good so we can share links to Lightroom and keep them in one place?

[2018-09-21T01:02:08Z] watso595: I can start a channel for media

[2018-09-21T01:17:29Z] santo204:

Apparently, Black Mountain College’s flame has been reignited on the same Claud location and has rebranded as School of the Alternative.

[2018-09-21T01:24:05Z] santo204: *campus not Claud

[2018-09-21T18:23:46Z] schra470: Hey guys! So Evan and I spent some time at Wilson library, and upon asking for information on university spending (and what kind of money is going from UMN to Minncor) we were directed to the "Purchasing Services" webpage. Although there were no readily available materials with this information, we contacted the general services via email and asked very politely who we may be able to get in contact with to understand the university's opinion on this matter. Hopefully they get back to me soon with some more information, and maybe a contact to sit down with and ask questions! Ill Keep you all posted :grin:

[2018-09-21T18:25:03Z] olso6229: Cool !!

[2018-09-21T18:26:03Z] kesse046: Here are some interesting resources:

[2018-09-21T18:26:08Z] kesse046: This video was helpful:

It mentioned these topics:

Minncor history:

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Prison Labor: Modern SLAVERY?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ7yN52tE5k

Burl Cain

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burl_Cain

[2018-09-21T18:27:22Z] mahla008: What a picture

[2018-09-21T18:27:42Z] batzl015: Just got out of the collaboration workshop :sunglasses: this is gonna be cool to do with you all

[2018-09-21T18:32:08Z] mahla008:

[2018-09-21T18:38:43Z] olso6229:

[2018-09-21T18:54:14Z] olso6229: ... none of the librarians at the downtown minneapolis library are cool with us taking a photo

[2018-09-21T18:54:44Z] olso6229: All of them have politely declined

[2018-09-21T18:56:25Z] olso6229: Only library entity we could get a photo with so far

[2018-09-21T18:56:35Z] olso6229:

[2018-09-21T18:57:40Z] olso6229: FINALLY

[2018-09-21T18:57:53Z] olso6229:

[2018-09-22T18:24:03Z] mahla008: Hey has anyone been to the university resuse center this year yet? They might have MINNCOR furinture that we can purchase and own to do stuff with

[2018-09-22T18:26:08Z] watso595: Haley mentioned that too... I haven’t been but I remember talking to some people who found the “dorm chairs” there before I knew they were minncor

[2018-09-22T18:26:45Z] mahla008: Cool well maybe that's a next weekend trip since they only open on saturdays

[2018-09-22T18:27:00Z] watso595: We can also get it for free since we would be using it for university purposes

[2018-09-22T18:27:34Z] mahla008: Ooo ye or unless anyone has time to go to the center with a car today?

[2018-09-22T18:47:14Z] watso595: I've started putting together some of the clips I took on Thursday into a short video. A lot of my videos need some editing in premiere so I think it could be easier if I use the file I've already started but if others are interested in putting that video together we can find a time to meet and work on it!

[2018-09-22T18:48:54Z] watso595: otherwise, if you have videos, could you throw them in the drive?

[2018-09-22T22:20:06Z] danks010: uploading them now Parker! Sorry its taking so long. It's a decent size file

[2018-09-23T00:06:41Z] danks010:

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Bag of Air Performance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z048OrJ57so&feature=youtu.be

[2018-09-23T00:07:02Z] danks010: This video has not been edited, so it is essentially the raw content

[2018-09-23T23:57:42Z] karle029: yes!

[2018-09-24T06:12:16Z] santo204: Parker, I’d be interrelated in meeting up this week & working on the film

[2018-09-24T15:37:03Z] schra470: A reply to my email to Purchasing Services about Minncor! Some good information in here!

[2018-09-24T15:38:51Z] batzl015: Good info find! could you post the spreadsheet as an attachment?

[2018-09-24T15:38:54Z] schra470: And here is the spreadsheet that details the amounts spent!

[2018-09-24T15:41:34Z] batzl015: cool! thanks!

[2018-09-24T17:17:19Z] rumbe003:

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13TH | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V66F3WU2CKk

[2018-09-24T17:17:29Z] rumbe003: If anyone hasn't watched this yet, I would highly recommend doing so

[2018-09-24T17:17:57Z] rumbe003: Could help us gain some perspective and relate more closely to some of the stuff we'll be working on

[2018-09-24T20:01:42Z] danks010: I remembered that we touched on bell hooks a little bit last week and I found a really interesting book of her that related to Love and how people define, and acknowledge love and how love impacts relationships, both romantically and socially. I'm only a chapter in, but it is a really unique approach that I thought I would share with you. Here's the link for the online version of the book. It can be downloaded as a pdf from the site which is really nice.

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124493278-bell-hooks-All-About-Love.pdf

https://www.docdroid.net/goTB7E8/124493278-bell-hooks-all-about-love.pdf

[2018-09-24T20:04:32Z] danks010: She also talks about belonging in her work with regards to connection through love and compassion. She has a book about belonging, which I have attached, as well as a talk on youtube. Both are below and are very helpful in determining were each person belongs in this world. Really inspirational stuff and relates quite a bit to our manifesto. .

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Belonging: A Culture of Place by bell hooks

https://issuu.com/schoolofthedamned/docs/bell-hooks-belonging-a-culture-of-p

bell hooks & john a. powell: Belonging Through Connection (Othering & Belonging Conference 2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sX7fqIU4gQ

[2018-09-24T21:41:08Z] olson175: THX Colton!

[2018-09-24T22:03:21Z] olson175: Do any of you guys speak French?

[2018-09-24T22:14:18Z] karle029: I took three years of french in high school - so i would say very minimally haha

[2018-09-24T22:15:35Z] olson175: Andrew has been looking into Emanuele Coccia. He's mostly a European phenomenon so far but... there are some videos in French...

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Conversation: Emanuele Coccia - Vinciane Despret

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDGNEJfxAPg

[2018-09-24T22:17:25Z] olson175: Emanuele Coccia makes a couple appearances in the required texts... I hope you guys are digging in to those!

[2018-09-25T18:12:21Z] broad095: has joined the channel

[2018-09-25T18:46:13Z] boris: has joined the channel

[2018-09-25T22:35:18Z] olso6229: swapping my Chuck Close quote out of the zine FYI

[2018-09-25T22:39:44Z] olso6229: edited the wecolab guide doc, good to go

[2018-09-25T22:46:10Z] broad095: Is anyone else in favor of more images for the next edition? I feel like it might be too much text. Thoughts?

[2018-09-25T22:50:58Z] olso6229: Yes

[2018-09-25T22:51:03Z] olso6229: And sketches

[2018-09-25T22:51:17Z] olso6229: Im drawing the interview i did with my mom for the next zine

[2018-09-25T22:51:28Z] olso6229: Comic book / graphic novel style

[2018-09-26T01:01:03Z] renst011: There will definitely be more already from the documentation of last Tuesday and today

[2018-09-26T01:01:07Z] renst011: Plus yes for sure any imagery to support the individual assignments and referential images

[2018-09-26T01:13:37Z] olso6229: do you need any more photos from today’s session? I took a few, but i saw you had taken some too. Let me know

[2018-09-26T02:30:37Z] renst011: Feel free to throw them in the media channel! I won't know for sure until I start in on the next newsletter but the more pics the better

[2018-09-26T13:29:25Z] olso6229: asked my partner, Calli, what she thought about Barthes and Lakoff. She said "they're outside my specialization so i don't know enough about their theories to really make a statement about them. but i do prefer lakoffs theory of generative semantics to chomskys generative syntax. basically, we have to take semantics and meaning into account in sentence construction. chomsky syntax treats the mind and language as highly logical and mathematical. however, humans don't operate on that alone. communication relies on meaning, memory, and intention, which must be accounted for when discussing linguistics."

[2018-09-26T15:44:13Z] olso6229: and then i asked her about something she says about language often, that language is referential. "well when i say its referential, i'm talking about the fact that we can talk about the world around us. things and experiences. i believe its universal. remember the isolated mind conversation? a mind outside of any kind of environment would still have the capacity to refer to itself, its experience, and its functioning."

[2018-09-26T15:45:32Z] fasbe023: has joined the channel

[2018-09-26T15:45:32Z] olso6229: i'm curious to hear how this overlaps/aligns/conflicts? with color science/perception?

[2018-09-26T16:54:37Z] boris: Color is an extremely interesting case study of language. I believe I mentioned the book "Through the Language Glass"- it's about that. It's very related to Lakoff and Johnson's metaphor theory, and how metaphors are not just language constructs but creators of realities. Remind me next time in class, I'll tell more

[2018-09-26T21:18:37Z] mahla008:

[2018-09-26T21:20:06Z] olso6229: becomes one with paper

[2018-09-26T21:21:17Z] olso6229: becomes one with minerals

[2018-09-26T22:13:28Z] olso6229: Everyone needs to go to the library in the walker art center

[2018-09-26T22:34:57Z] danks010: Here are a few photos from and I from our trip at the Walker Art Center Library. Found tons of resources on many of the people we talked about, as well as some useful prison and manifesto resources as well.

[2018-09-26T22:35:14Z] danks010:

[2018-09-26T22:35:18Z] danks010:

[2018-09-26T22:35:22Z] danks010:

[2018-09-26T22:35:25Z] danks010:

[2018-09-26T22:35:28Z] danks010:

[2018-09-26T22:35:33Z] danks010:

[2018-09-26T22:35:38Z] danks010:

[2018-09-26T22:35:42Z] danks010:

[2018-09-26T22:35:45Z] danks010:

[2018-09-26T22:35:49Z] danks010:

[2018-09-26T22:36:14Z] danks010: Tons of stuff on john cage that could be useful for your interview with him!

[2018-09-26T22:38:33Z] feria006: HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEE!

[2018-09-26T22:39:47Z] olson175: NOW I'M HAPPY

[2018-09-26T22:42:11Z] olso6229: Thanks for the birthday love

[2018-09-26T22:43:44Z] olso6229: deep in this black mt college tome. Theres a photo in there of john cage, merce cunnigham, josef albers together

[2018-09-26T22:44:39Z] olso6229: explores a collection of UMN installation artwork over the years

[2018-09-26T22:45:51Z] olso6229: Finding a potential path through Kaleidoscope magazine as a way for the zine

[2018-09-26T22:46:16Z] olso6229:

[2018-09-26T22:46:44Z] olso6229:

[2018-09-26T22:48:08Z] olso6229:

[2018-09-26T22:48:20Z] olso6229:

[2018-09-26T22:48:49Z] olso6229:

[2018-09-26T23:09:59Z] olson175: Fun fact you guys! I designed Kaleidoscope Magazine's booth at the NADA Art Fair in NYC a few years ago!

[2018-09-26T23:24:10Z] karle029: Do you have a copy?

[2018-09-26T23:26:19Z] karle029: Some of the topics we've been talking about in class are also being discussed in my sustainability class--for the first time that I've been aware of.

[2018-09-26T23:27:04Z] karle029: If anyone is interested in reading the entire article (3 pages)

[2018-09-27T00:00:52Z] olso6229: then it isnt coincidence that we gravitate to kaleidoscope

[2018-09-27T01:14:14Z] rumbe003: Lots of relevant theories and ideas brought forward by artist Joseph Kosuth here that could definitely be applied to our work and it's "meaning" and how we will construct that meaning

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ARTISTS TALK #4: JOSEPH KOSUTH

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hpfkIPTRBo

[2018-09-27T01:16:04Z] olso6229: anything helpful that we should bring when you teach us the pablo workshop?

[2018-09-27T01:17:19Z] olson175: Hey! Didn't I tell one of you guys to look into Joseph Kosuth and his chair piece? Who was that?

[2018-09-27T01:22:50Z] rumbe003: Haha it was me Matt

[2018-09-27T01:23:20Z] rumbe003: Well at least you told me to look into Joseph Kosuth, you never said anything specific about a chair piece, so maybe someone else as well

[2018-09-27T01:23:47Z] rumbe003: just a level of high energy and eagerness haha as cheesy as that sounds

[2018-09-27T17:47:17Z] olso6229: Anyone else want how can i help by ram dass? i just got another copy

[2018-09-27T17:53:51Z] danks010: Perhaps...Can you bring it to climate change and I'll take a peek at it!

[2018-09-27T17:54:02Z] olso6229: Yes

[2018-09-27T17:54:23Z] danks010: Alright! Coming in clutch....

[2018-09-27T17:54:29Z] olso6229: I think Public Functionary in NE minneapolis could be a guide for us, or something to draw from

[2018-09-27T17:54:32Z] olso6229:

[2018-09-27T17:55:24Z] olso6229: upcoming exhibits:

[2018-09-27T17:55:25Z] olso6229:

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— Public Functionary

https://publicfunctionary.org/calendar/racingmagpie

[2018-09-27T17:56:05Z] olso6229:

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— Public Functionary

https://publicfunctionary.org/calendar/conversation-matrix

[2018-09-27T18:13:17Z] olso6229: the new Moon Palace Books on Minnehaha is also very spicy right now

[2018-09-27T18:14:13Z] olso6229:

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Moon Palace Books

https://moonpalacebooks.com/?q=h.calevents

[2018-09-27T18:15:17Z] olso6229: They do a lot of readings/events with trans/gay/bi/etc authors. I don't know how to describe the sensation of being there but it's unlike any other bookstore I've been to

[2018-09-27T18:20:03Z] olso6229: also rad metal/noise concerts hahaha

[2018-09-27T19:26:46Z] olso6229:

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carsten höller: soma

https://www.designboom.com/art/carsten-holler-soma/

[2018-09-27T20:08:28Z] olso6229: revisiting my notes from allan kaprow's 1958 essay "the legacy of jackson pollock", this bit seemed relevant to our discussion about objects today

[2018-09-27T20:08:47Z] olso6229: maybe this can help guide us?

[2018-09-27T20:08:57Z] olso6229: At any rate, for now, we may consider that, except for rare instances, Western art tends to need many more indirections in achieving itself, placing more or less equal emphasis upon “things” and the relations between them. The crudeness of Jackson Pollock is not, therefore, uncouth or designed as such; it is manifestly frank and uncultivated, unsullied by training, trade secrets, finesse—a directness which the European artists he liked hoped for and partially succeeded in, but which he never had to strive after because he had it by nature. This by itself would be enough to teach us something.

It does. Pollock, as I see him, left us at the point where we must become preoccupied with and even dazzled by the space and objects of our everyday life, either our bodies, clothes, rooms, or, if need be, the vastness of Forty-Second Street. Not satisfied with the suggestion through paint of our other senses, we shall utilize the specific substances of sigh, sound, movements, people, odors, touch. Objects of every sort are materials for the new art: paint, chairs, food, electric and neon lights, smoke, water, old socks, a dog, movies, a thousand other things which will be discovered by the present generation of artists. Not only will these bold creators show us, as if for the first time, the world we have always had about us, but ignored, but they will disclose entirely unheard of happenings and events, found in garbage cans, police files, hotel lobbies, seen in store windows and on the streets, and sensed in dreams and horrible accidents. An odor of crushed strawberries, a letter from a friend or a billboard selling Draino; three taps on the front door, a scratch, a sigh or a voice lecturing endlessly, a blinding staccato flash, a bowler hat—all will become materials for this new concrete art.

[2018-09-27T20:18:26Z] olso6229: another forthcoming book from Emanuele Coccia in a couple months

[2018-09-27T20:18:30Z] olso6229:

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The Transitory Museum

https://www.wiley.com/en-ai/The+Transitory+Museum-p-9781509533077

[2018-09-27T20:18:44Z] olso6229: "Stemming from a case study of this genre-defining entity, this first philosophical inquiry into a store aims to shed a new light on how categories that have governed our modern social, economic, political and individual lives, such as commerce, art, fashion, museum, are being redefined today. It calls on us to re-engage with what we long considered to be separate: transcendence and immanence, human beings and their objects."

[2018-09-27T20:27:39Z] olso6229: Lil B was at my friend's house recently

[2018-09-27T20:29:15Z] olso6229: Emanuele Coccia interviewed about one of his new books this year (The Life of Plants: A Metaphysics of Melange), perspectives on biology/botany/chemistry here

[2018-09-27T20:29:17Z] olso6229: "Plants embody life’s continuity, not its separation into distinct realms."

[2018-09-27T20:29:31Z] olso6229: "The interesting thing is, the transformation of the atmosphere into an oxygenated atmosphere was a byproduct of plant metabolism. In fact, the primary function of photosynthesis is not the production of oxygen but the storage of solar energy in mass. The byproduct of that process is the production of oxygen."

[2018-09-27T20:29:57Z] olso6229: :seedling::seedling::seedling:

[2018-09-27T20:35:34Z] olso6229: I wanted to copy & paste every sentence from this interview

[2018-09-27T20:35:37Z] olso6229:

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Emanuele Coccia - purple MAGAZINE

http://purple.fr/magazine/purple-25yrs-anniv-issue-28/emanuele-coccia/

[2018-09-27T20:35:56Z] olso6229: This is powerful and I'm pre-ordering the book now

[2018-09-27T21:02:05Z] batzl015: Thanks for putting this interview up! I should get a little reading in before I interview my mom on the subject.

[2018-09-28T03:34:06Z] olso6229: EVERYONE WE NEED TO GO TO THIS

[2018-09-28T03:34:08Z] olso6229:

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Beyond Bars: A Public Reading - October 22, 2016, 7:00pm

https://www.mnprisonwriting.org/mpww-public-reading.html

[2018-09-28T03:34:29Z] olso6229: THIS IS CRITICAL

[2018-09-28T03:34:43Z] mahla008: #critical

[2018-09-28T03:43:12Z] olso6229: please someone else go to this tomorrow, im in a studio during this time so i cant

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We Are All Criminals | Share Your Story

https://wam.umn.edu/calendar/we-are-all-criminals-share-your-story/

[2018-09-28T04:04:47Z] batzl015: Just interviewed my mom (Janet Batzli) who teaches biology and ecology at the University of Wisconsin about Emanuele Coccia and the idea of oxygen as a byproduct. In short, we ended up talking about the larger systems involving plants and how nearly every part of the human body is directly related to plant processes. My mom’s dissertation research and expertise is in the process of nitrogen fixation which, similarly to Coccia’s book, involves plant byproducts and a symbiosis of microbes and plants existing while creating an environment for life to continue and flourish. Very cool in reference to connectedness.

[2018-09-28T04:05:22Z] batzl015: I have a link to explain nitrogen fixation a little better.

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nitrogen-fixing bacteria | Definition & Types

https://www.britannica.com/science/nitrogen-fixing-bacteria

[2018-09-28T04:07:09Z] olso6229: !!!

[2018-09-28T04:07:21Z] olso6229: I CANT WAIT TO SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW

[2018-09-28T04:08:22Z] olso6229: now interview emanuele coccia about your mom's ideas

[2018-09-28T04:09:04Z] watso595: Just read an interesting article for another class but I think there's a connection there. Something about trusting that the thing will take you somewhere and the importance of letting go to (in this case formal) prescriptions

[2018-09-28T04:09:06Z] watso595:

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Iceland students turn willow branches into materials range

https://www.dezeen.com/2016/03/18/iceland-academy-arts-product-design-students-willow-project-materials-range-designmarch-2016/

[2018-09-28T20:57:23Z] kesse046: Here's the thing I gave you guys yesterday. I hope this helps!

[2018-09-28T21:41:06Z] watso595: Hey guys, after you all send in your library selfies, come to studio for the BDA student association movie night at 7, we’ll have veggie chili!

[2018-09-28T22:32:58Z] olson175: Thanks for sharing these Evan. They aren't the only MINNCOR products tho. There are others as well. I discussed one with Brendan today that is a library cubicle/study carrel table that two people sit at. Sorta reminds me of when prisoners have visitors...? Something interesting about those forms...?

[2018-09-28T22:33:18Z] olson175:

[2018-09-29T04:22:32Z] rumbe003:

[2018-09-29T04:22:55Z] rumbe003: “I think collaboration is a prescription

or device that keeps one from getting hung up on a strong

single intention that blinds,” Rauschenberg reflected in

1987. “Every individual that you add to a project will result

in ten times as many new possibilities.”

[2018-09-29T04:23:32Z] rumbe003: This will tie into the workshop on Tuesday, more people = more possibilities

[2018-09-29T04:45:51Z] rumbe003: According to this article, prison labor has been exploited in the US for a lonnngggg time. In 1885(!!!!), prison industries produced 24.2 million dollars worth of products. That number had already skyrocketed up to 73.8 million dollars worth of products by 1923, and now it's valued at over 2 BILLION dollars worth of products a year. In 2001 it was valued at 1.8 billion, and it's already gone up.

[2018-09-29T11:44:22Z] olso6229: We should do a group outing before winter, maybe can can wonderland? Other ideas?

[2018-09-29T12:28:46Z] olso6229:

[2018-09-29T12:29:27Z] olso6229:

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PREVIEW Foam Magazine #51, Seer/Believer

https://issuu.com/foam-magazine/docs/41-004_fm51_01_reduced_pages_issuu_

[2018-09-29T12:44:47Z] olso6229: maybe we can use issuu as a platform to distribute our zine?

[2018-09-29T13:43:08Z] olso6229:

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Rick Owens: Furniture

https://www.moca.org/exhibition/rickowensfurniture

[2018-09-30T14:27:22Z] olso6229: Book arrived today!!

[2018-09-30T15:29:38Z] olson175: I'm a huge fan of Rick Owens! We remade one of his beds for an exhibit at Haus der Kunst in Munich

[2018-09-30T19:28:09Z] olso6229: WOW Ram Dass’ dolphin story at the start of How Can I Help? Also the chapter titled “helping prison”

[2018-09-30T19:28:38Z] olso6229: I have a reverse experience with a baby bird

[2018-09-30T20:17:32Z] karle029: Notes from class last tuesday, add to them if you have anything else to add/we can continue adding to this doc for future classes if that seems valuable

[2018-09-30T20:20:18Z] olso6229: YES thank you

[2018-09-30T21:47:48Z] karle029: I really enjoy a lot of these

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Art - Judd Foundation

https://juddfoundation.org/artist/art/

[2018-10-01T00:36:48Z] douga018: Hey guys, so I just saw a tweet about Washington State releasing prisoners that were convicted of marijuana possession, so I started to look into it more just by googling. I found a couple of different articles and a lot of them mention the war on drugs, a clear racial bias, and mass incarceration. I thought it related a lot to what we have talked about in class, here is a link to one of the articles. Its a nice short read, but relevant to our class discussions.

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Seattle To Become Latest City To Erase Past Marijuana Convictions

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/seattle-past-marijuana-convictions_us_5a7c661be4b044b3821a2a9f

[2018-10-01T01:45:52Z] olso6229: hey sasha, check these out, i dont know why your judd foundation link reminded me of this

[2018-10-01T01:45:54Z] olso6229:

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The Uncomfortable

https://www.theuncomfortable.com/

[2018-10-01T01:48:21Z] karle029: ooo fun thank you

[2018-10-01T02:33:18Z] olso6229:

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Library Record Detail

https://midwayart.org/library/record/9958/

[2018-10-01T02:38:56Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-01T02:48:33Z] watso595: Abe and I have started talking about noise music and I found a list of some of the music that was in Moriyama San if anyone is interested in listening

[2018-10-01T02:48:34Z] watso595:

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The Records of Yasuo Moriyama - Barbican Blog

http://blog.barbican.org.uk/2017/03/the-records-of-yasuo-moriyama/

[2018-10-01T02:52:30Z] olso6229: Merzbow's Pulse Demon is the obligatory album I have to mention

[2018-10-01T02:52:31Z] olso6229:

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Merzbow - Pulse Demon (Full Album)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AguPH0XBxdw

[2018-10-01T02:59:24Z] olso6229: soooooo we're all going to that moriyama gallery in london right???

[2018-10-01T02:59:27Z] olso6229: its open until june 23

[2018-10-01T02:59:35Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-01T02:59:48Z] mahla008: Hell ya

[2018-10-01T14:16:51Z] olso6229: about to pick up this book

[2018-10-01T14:16:52Z] olso6229:

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Stories of Almost Everyone - Hammer Museum

https://hammer.ucla.edu/exhibitions/2018/stories-of-almost-everyone/

[2018-10-01T16:43:40Z] olso6229: ram dass is still alive

[2018-10-01T16:43:45Z] olso6229: we should connect with him

[2018-10-01T16:44:19Z] olso6229: im calling it right now, when he dies someone is going to make a biopic and cast jaoquin phoenix as him

[2018-10-01T17:09:05Z] olso6229: this comes out tomorrow:

[2018-10-01T20:15:04Z] batzl015: IMPORTANT STUFF RIGHT HERE!!!! Sam and I are leading a workshop tomorrow for the class, it’s going to be super fun, but we’d like to communicate the following message in preparation for tomorrow morning.

[2018-10-01T20:16:05Z] batzl015: Internalize this message and do what you will with it: Think of something you’re an expert on, or passionate about, and come prepared to give an individual performance on it first thing tomorrow morning. Bring any materials/objects that you think may enhance your performances. Be creative, that is all.

[2018-10-01T21:12:04Z] mahla008: Me and Parker getting helped out by a lovely wood librarian

[2018-10-01T23:16:24Z] mahla008: I found 9 landscape manifesto books in the rapson trash just now

[2018-10-01T23:18:11Z] watso595: Whaaaat no

[2018-10-01T23:18:25Z] mahla008: come over here

[2018-10-01T23:20:18Z] mahla008: its about prison labor and using people for gain i.e. blood diamonds

[2018-10-01T23:20:26Z] mahla008: its so cool

[2018-10-01T23:21:59Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-01T23:22:28Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-01T23:23:55Z] mahla008: i'll bring them tomorrow so people who want to read them can get them after class

[2018-10-01T23:44:40Z] olso6229: Why were these in the trash???? :fearful::scream:

[2018-10-01T23:45:06Z] batzl015: those are COOL

[2018-10-01T23:50:10Z] mahla008: Idk I love them, I think Jacob Manz threw them out they were in a box with his name on it

[2018-10-02T02:58:52Z] rumbe003: IMPORTANT STUFF RIGHT HERE!!!! Oliver and I are leading a workshop tomorrow for the class, it’s going to be super fun, but we’d like to communicate the following message in preparation for tomorrow morning.

Internalize this message and do what you will with it: Think of something you’re an expert on, or passionate about, and come prepared to give an individual performance on it first thing tomorrow morning. Bring any materials/objects that you think may enhance your performances. Be creative, that is all.

[2018-10-02T02:58:57Z] rumbe003: Reposting so everyone sees it

[2018-10-02T05:09:07Z] danks010: I realize everyone has been researching different topics and different types of media with regards to finding information pertaining to prisons, prison labor, etc. With that being said, I decided to take a step out of the text aspect to see how forms can influence multiply people. Rather than continuing to flood the slack with readings and articles I have researched, I decided to look at a form of media that influences almost everyone. Thus, I looked into researching music about prison and how artists can evoke meaning and spread ideas about prison and prison labor. I created a document that starts to pile a list of songs and lyrics about prison songs, including links to the songs for those who have not heard some of them. For me, I think it was really beneficial to step back out of the book and see how prisons and prison labor is portrayed in other fields. Here is the link to the document, however if it does not work, I can share the google docs with everyone.

[2018-10-03T03:40:32Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-03T03:40:33Z] mahla008: Have you guys seen this?

[2018-10-03T03:40:41Z] mahla008: Rapson hall second floor

[2018-10-03T03:41:00Z] mahla008: Someone else is making zines

[2018-10-03T03:41:02Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-03T03:44:16Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-03T03:44:28Z] mahla008: Nothing too exciting but I got a couple if sweet buttons

[2018-10-03T03:44:50Z] mahla008: Maybe these people are someone to talk to

[2018-10-03T12:02:30Z] olso6229: thanks again for the landscape manifesto books, just read the manifesto on the inside covers

[2018-10-03T12:02:41Z] olso6229: I love the way its formatted

[2018-10-03T12:03:06Z] olso6229: Maybe something we can draw from if/when we reshape our wecolab manifesto later on?

[2018-10-03T12:25:43Z] olso6229: What do you all think of the undermining empire manifesto? I dont know how many people got a copy of it but we can share next time

[2018-10-03T12:27:13Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-03T12:27:37Z] olso6229: I feel like this one transcends the Canadian focus of the publication and bleeds over into what we’re doing

[2018-10-03T12:30:12Z] olso6229: Is there some way we can utilize voice with Danny’s project? Something that augments the experience? Like the idea we had to have a video loop projected on a wall/walls?

[2018-10-03T12:30:56Z] olso6229: How do you feel about that? Does the medium of voice excite you?

[2018-10-03T18:51:07Z] olso6229: Anyone else interested in going to this event? It's in Folwell Hall on Monday, November 5th at 4pm

[2018-10-03T18:54:26Z] olso6229: The title of the event itself seems compelling enough in relation to what we're doing. There's no event abstract up yet but I'll keep my eye on this one

[2018-10-03T19:50:39Z] olso6229: what did midway contemporary look like when you went? The gallery space only has paintings on one wall right now

[2018-10-03T19:50:54Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-03T19:51:09Z] batzl015: Yep!

[2018-10-03T19:51:43Z] batzl015: Also, I just put video of parts of the workshop on the drive

[2018-10-03T19:55:00Z] batzl015: Voice sounds really cool. I think t could be really cool for what we’re doing :+1::skin-tone-2:

[2018-10-03T20:00:50Z] mahla008: Insane book at Midway

[2018-10-03T20:01:09Z] mahla008: About prisoner abuse

[2018-10-03T21:44:17Z] olso6229: Whats going on with the prison playlist google doc? Can we make that a collaborative spotify playlist?

[2018-10-03T22:40:03Z] danks010: Ya that was mine Lee?

[2018-10-03T22:40:44Z] danks010: its suppose to be a collaborative playlist whereas anyone can add music that is prison related, maybe evokes ideas about prisons, etc.

[2018-10-03T22:41:51Z] olso6229: Is there a spotify set up? Or is it only a google doc right now?

[2018-10-03T22:43:21Z] danks010: Right now its just a google doc to document the songs, artists, and then I threw in some lyrics because I think it's important to understand the words and messages they are trying to evoke and or persuade others

[2018-10-03T22:48:28Z] danks010:

[2018-10-03T22:49:12Z] danks010:

[2018-10-03T22:49:30Z] danks010:

[2018-10-03T22:49:52Z] danks010:

[2018-10-03T22:50:17Z] olso6229: I have a different perspective on Yves Klein and Judo after reading through that book

[2018-10-03T22:50:48Z] olso6229: Tools of Disobedience was so simple but powerful

[2018-10-03T22:50:53Z] danks010: Some Lygia Clark Books at the Midway Contemporary Library! Good stuff there as well.

[2018-10-04T01:13:43Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-04T01:13:57Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-04T14:03:01Z] olson175:

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Pennsylvania Prisons Hired A Private Company To Intercept And Store Prisoners’ Mail

https://theappeal.org/pennsylvania-prisons-hired-a-private-company-to-intercept-and-store-prisoners-mail/

[2018-10-04T14:14:53Z] olso6229: What the f******k

[2018-10-04T14:14:56Z] olso6229: Hold on

[2018-10-04T14:22:49Z] olso6229: All mail to prisons in Pennsylvania gets routed through a private company in Florida

[2018-10-04T14:23:23Z] olso6229: The mail is scanned into a database, a photocopy is made and sent to the prison, and the original mail is destroyed

[2018-10-04T14:23:40Z] olso6229: "The DOC has also banned prisoners from receiving books from vendors—including book donation organizations like Books Through Bars. Instead, prisoners will have the option of paying for ebooks via tablets that cost over $147 each."

[2018-10-04T14:23:46Z] olso6229: >tablets that cost over $147 each

[2018-10-04T14:23:48Z] olso6229: HA

[2018-10-04T14:26:33Z] olso6229: The reason for this happening sounds like it was orchestrated by the Pennsylvania DOC

[2018-10-04T14:28:58Z] olso6229: “An incarcerated person may not want a private company to know about them and their family’s medical problems. They may not want a private company to know about grievances that they have."

[2018-10-04T14:29:16Z] olso6229: From Zeke Caliguiri we already know healthcare + medical access in prisons is a nightmare

[2018-10-04T14:40:55Z] olso6229: Oh man,

“This new policy is already having a chilling effect on how lawyers are communicating with their clients. Because legal mail is being opened and copied, attorney-client privilege is basically being ignored”

[2018-10-04T16:32:56Z] olso6229: Phillip Zimbardo

[2018-10-04T17:26:49Z] bialo011: ^his prison experiment was actually deeply flawed and widely regarded as being heavily biased. He basically set it up in a way where the guards where influenced to be more aggressive

[2018-10-04T17:42:46Z] olso6229: totally

[2018-10-04T17:43:47Z] olso6229: they definitely highlight that bias in him in the stanford prison experiment movie

[2018-10-04T17:45:27Z] olso6229: i think that incident could be valuable for us to look at, because we (maybe) are going to impact the space in a way where we want to encourage or suggest certain reactions (emotions, watcher/watched psychology shift, etc)

[2018-10-04T18:00:21Z] olso6229: WAIT, WOW

[2018-10-04T18:01:00Z] olso6229: A sign to push our video ideas ahead

[2018-10-04T18:01:34Z] olso6229: I had left off just before this paragraph in the Pennsylvania DOC article

[2018-10-04T18:01:36Z] olso6229: “Staff no longer are required to inspect each page for the presence of contraband, significantly reducing the time that staff handle or view privileged documents and allowing the inmate to receive the mail sooner. Finally, under the revised procedure, the entire transaction is recorded by video.”

[2018-10-04T18:02:08Z] olso6229: meta-recording

[2018-10-04T18:02:16Z] olso6229: i wonder if they have guards watching at the same time

[2018-10-04T18:02:17Z] danks010: My other idea came to me! I was thinking about the idea of freedom. We talked a lot about how prisoners are affected, what they lose, and I was thinking a lot about the idea of privacy or lack of privacy in prison. I think we often forget that privacy is a freedom and so I was curious of relating losing this privacy to the idea about observation. I'm not sure where I am headed with this idea, but just something I was thinking about......

[2018-10-04T18:13:34Z] danks010: Hey Matt, what was that video called with the prisoners chopping wood? It's been a while since I have seen it...I wanted to refresh my memory!

[2018-10-04T18:18:54Z] olso6229: take a look in today, are we set on the quotes? i think we need a better balance between men and women

[2018-10-04T18:19:50Z] olso6229: there are three quotes from that seems odd to me

[2018-10-04T18:19:58Z] renst011: The newsletter is already sent in for print but I added all of the quotes that were up before class today!

[2018-10-04T18:22:05Z] olso6229: ahhhh got it

[2018-10-04T18:22:57Z] olso6229: but thank you for crafting a wild zine with us!! :heart_eyes::rolled_up_newspaper:

[2018-10-04T18:28:44Z] batzl015: Yeah, I understand that they pertain to the class, but I think we already have Matt quotes in the writing he did for the first newsletter

[2018-10-04T18:29:03Z] batzl015: I think for the sake of diversity, we can leave those ones out

[2018-10-04T18:40:52Z] olso6229: Last section of the Pennsylvania DOC article:

[2018-10-04T18:43:15Z] olso6229: "The policy also bans educational programs and books donation programs. / Books Through Bars, a donation service that has operated in Pennsylvania for over 30 years, is protesting this change as censorship. Through the program, prisoners can request two or three free books every three months. / A “million books are published a year. The DOC is saying they’ll offer [about] 8,000 titles on e-readers,” [Keir Neuringer, a longtime volunteer with Books Through Bars, said.] “When you consider that those of us on the outside have access to millions and millions of titles. This policy cuts you out of such an enormous access to books.” Neuringer also stated that e-book tablets make it possible for the DOC to start monitoring what people were reading."

[2018-10-04T18:44:27Z] olso6229: I'm not going to read a million, much less 8,000, books in my lifetime

[2018-10-04T18:45:04Z] olso6229: My frame of mind on book access was changed already by us talking, and even more after reading this

[2018-10-04T18:45:51Z] olso6229: Yeah, all of us "on the outside" all have access to every coffee shop in the twin cities, but who cares?? It's a totally empty statement to me

[2018-10-04T19:00:09Z] boris: - might be this:

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no more, my lord

https://youtu.be/4Is6N4Q26Tc

[2018-10-04T19:01:58Z] danks010: Thanks Boris! This is exactly what I was looking for! :+1:

[2018-10-04T19:03:21Z] boris: note the sound of a chip striking the microphone towards the end

[2018-10-04T19:04:16Z] boris:

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Various - Negro Prison Songs

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Negro-Prison-Songs/release/1587237

[2018-10-04T19:04:41Z] boris: I have the record, maybe we should organize a listening session:)

[2018-10-04T19:04:45Z] olso6229: YES

[2018-10-04T19:05:52Z] danks010: I will definitely keep my ears peeled for it! Thanks again.

[2018-10-04T19:08:07Z] olso6229: Is there a turntable in the weisman? can we bring it down to the target gallery during our class? to see how our moods and ideas change with the addition of sound

[2018-10-04T19:08:54Z] danks010: YES! Great Idea...definitely would think it would change the space with some noise, especially with the vaulted ceilings bouncing the noise.

[2018-10-04T22:58:54Z] olson175: this is the largest user of prison labor in the state according to Danny...

[2018-10-04T23:49:49Z] batzl015: Whaaaaaaaaaat

[2018-10-04T23:50:02Z] karle029: lol the irony is 2 good

[2018-10-04T23:51:25Z] batzl015: Also everyone, meet up this weekend/Monday to discuss questions and principles of the book arrangement? I think best with others I think

[2018-10-04T23:51:52Z] olso6229: Aye aye

[2018-10-04T23:52:49Z] karle029: yeah i'm down

[2018-10-05T00:20:28Z] danks010: ill do my best to try to get there

[2018-10-05T01:19:40Z] fasbe023: I'm in

[2018-10-05T14:47:52Z] schra470: I only have one class Monday (11:15-12:30) so that sounds great to me

[2018-10-05T14:50:18Z] batzl015: Cool :+1::skin-tone-2:

[2018-10-05T15:11:04Z] schra470: Just remembered something I forgot to recommend yesterday during our short discussion on music! For all those who are curious about music, check out the “music” episode on a show called “explained” on Netflix. Super fascinating info on how humans understand and experience music unlike any other creature on earth. I think there is something to be said about how there’s no true way to explain how the human brain puts all the elements of music together and makes sense of it, and for that to cause an emotional reaction....just something to be curious about :thinking_face: Also, I’d recommend everyone just watch that show in general, every episode is super interesting and just makes you a little more knowledgeable about topics you may have never even thought about! And it comes out on a weekly basis, so you don’t run out of episodes to watch:slightly_smiling_face::v::skin-tone-2:

[2018-10-05T18:53:56Z] olso6229: cool ill check it out, whats the nutshell of how humans experience music differently??

[2018-10-05T18:55:09Z] olso6229: Is monday or sunday a better day to meet? Open invitation to everyone

[2018-10-05T18:57:03Z] schra470: Basically from what I remember, there are all these different aspects of music (pitch, rhythm, harmony, etc) that are exclusively detected by different species, but we actually use all of these together to hear music

[2018-10-05T18:57:31Z] schra470: Also, a fun fact was that we are one of the only creatures that can easily move to a beat, almost unconsciously

[2018-10-05T19:10:30Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-05T19:10:32Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-05T19:10:37Z] olso6229: Markus Miessen will be at Rapson this fall

[2018-10-05T19:11:28Z] olso6229: Monday, November 26th at 5pm in Rapson 100

[2018-10-05T19:23:15Z] mahla008: Omg it's that guy

[2018-10-05T19:33:11Z] olso6229: Lets invite him to the weisman

[2018-10-05T20:18:36Z] watso595: Zines in studio for the studio crawl!!

[2018-10-05T20:28:47Z] olso6229: SENSATIONAL

[2018-10-05T20:29:07Z] olso6229: Anyone going to the WAM many visions preview party tonight after studio crawl?

[2018-10-05T23:54:57Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-06T00:27:28Z] krieg087: Hey everyone!! I think I finally have my slack up and running again?? I'm realizing my comments from last weekend never posted when I thought they were (Sam I'm pretty positive the same thing was happening to me, as what happened to your slack a couple weeks ago). So for my assignment I'm going to need some volunteers, the more there are, the more powerful the project.

Looking at the idea of imprisonment, I want to do portraits of our studio group and give people the chance to just bear raw emotion and discuss heavy topics in a public way. The theme of each portrait will be the question asked personally "What am I imprisoned by?" My portrait will be about my disability and feeling imprisoned by my own body.

If you want to be a part of this feel free to like this message, contact me via Facebook message, email me at , shoot me a text, send a telegraph, or a tiny rolled up scroll delivered by a fox, or a note on a carrier pigeon.

[2018-10-06T00:43:04Z] batzl015: Just wrote a little thing on the interview I did with my mom about her teaching practice and her thoughts on Coccia’s writing. Here it is!

[2018-10-06T00:46:44Z] olso6229: Wow good timing, heres my mom interview for the zine too haha

[2018-10-06T00:51:59Z] olso6229: i'll also post this in newsletter media [edited file, latest version is in ]

[2018-10-06T00:52:10Z] olso6229: here's a PDF too

[2018-10-06T00:52:29Z] olso6229: im heading to WAM preview party now, but i'll read it this weekend

[2018-10-06T01:27:28Z] rumbe003:

[2018-10-06T01:27:31Z] rumbe003:

[2018-10-06T01:27:35Z] rumbe003:

[2018-10-06T01:28:10Z] rumbe003: Matt had me handwrite an interview with John Cage about collaboration, and to try and incorporate sketches relevant to Cage's life/work

[2018-10-06T01:28:15Z] rumbe003: So, here it is I guess!

[2018-10-06T01:30:29Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-06T01:30:33Z] mahla008: It's Poppin at the weisman

[2018-10-06T01:30:57Z] olso6229: Im on #slack mom

[2018-10-06T01:56:27Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-06T02:12:00Z] mahla008: Are we meeting Monday or was there a plan for a time this weekend?

[2018-10-06T18:15:26Z] watso595: I could meet monday

[2018-10-06T18:25:45Z] karle029: If this helps to figure out a time when people are all available :

[2018-10-06T18:26:29Z] karle029: updated notes

[2018-10-06T18:28:26Z] mahla008: Wow that's a cool tool

[2018-10-06T18:29:08Z] olso6229: Oooo ty

[2018-10-06T18:43:52Z] olso6229: I like this way more than doodle

[2018-10-06T18:43:58Z] olso6229: Filled my availability out

[2018-10-07T19:51:20Z] schra470:

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The end of American prison visits: jails end face-to-face contact – and families suffer

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/09/skype-for-jailed-video-calls-prisons-replace-in-person-visits

[2018-10-07T19:58:08Z] schra470: This is what Matt was talking about on Thursday when he briefly brought up switching from in-person visits to video chats in prison. Not only is stripping away an inmates ability to have face to face contact unethical in my opinion, the fact that a person has to pay $13 for a 20 minute, glitching conversation is absurd. I personally believe nobody should ever profit off of crime and incarceration, but here is YET ANOTHER way in which someone is filling their pockets at the expense of others. It is sad. Also, I know this is nothing like being separated by incarceration, but being somebody who uses video chat almost daily to connect with my partner who lives in a different city, I can easily say there is so much lacking in a conversation that happens over a screen, vs in person contact. This is just sad.

[2018-10-07T22:54:36Z] rumbe003: Crazy... the prison phone industry is valued at 1.2 billion dollars a year! That's insane!

[2018-10-07T22:54:54Z] rumbe003: Monopolizing human rights

[2018-10-07T22:58:34Z] rumbe003: Are there any question that people might have about prisons and the architecture of prisons and how design might be used as a strategy in prisons? Or anything along those lines? I'm going into BWBR tomorrow for an informational interview and I know that one of the architects that I'm meeting with has a large body of work in prison design, so I plan on picking his brain a little bit

[2018-10-08T12:31:19Z] batzl015: Meet later today? Also does anyone know how to play piano/have access to a piano?

[2018-10-08T12:53:37Z] olso6229: you could open up a DAW like garageband or logic on your laptop and use a keyboard piano :musical_keyboard:

[2018-10-08T13:40:25Z] olso6229: aside from the 1st floor piano in coffman, there are pianos by the whole and upstairs around the president’s room

[2018-10-08T13:41:01Z] olso6229: There might be one in the lind hall library still

[2018-10-08T13:42:58Z] watso595: It looks like around 4 today might be a good time to meet?

[2018-10-08T13:44:54Z] olso6229: I could jam with a four

[2018-10-08T13:45:35Z] batzl015: 4 works for me!

[2018-10-08T14:56:55Z] olso6229: Just had a chat at work with our digital comms director, she pitched the idea of having me do a U of M alumni association instagram takeover for like a week. Im thinking it could be a good way to promote wecolab/weisman/danny’s project/BDA

Thoughts?

[2018-10-08T15:10:38Z] schra470: Yes!!

[2018-10-08T15:11:10Z] schra470: Also I can meet at 4 too :grin: BDA studio?

[2018-10-08T15:13:30Z] watso595: Yeah let’s meet in studio, there’ll be some classes going on but I think it could be good to discuss wecolab stuff around other BDA students since they aren’t able to see what we do as much

[2018-10-08T19:36:23Z] schra470: turned the google docs prison playlist into a spotify playlist for easier listening! Added a few of my own songs and made it collaborative, so if you have spotify, add away!

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Prison

https://open.spotify.com/user/1247497233/playlist/1v3SH9dyKt3X5ZAsuBBy4T?si=9LeF9BMGSx-bOm21bdswOQ

[2018-10-08T20:10:57Z] schra470: Artist Trent Bell created this very moving project in 2014 called "REFLECT Project" which basically consists of portraits of prisoners with letters to their past selves surrounding them....Powerful stuff that may give insight into the personal more human side of this project. Here's a link to the images:

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Reflect Portrait of Wes

https://www.trentbell.com/REFLECT-Project/prisoners/1

[2018-10-08T21:59:02Z] schra470: Lee and Oliver’s Collaborative transportation

[2018-10-08T22:01:51Z] karle029: bad news ppl

[2018-10-08T22:02:13Z] karle029: weismann is closed on mondays apparently

[2018-10-08T22:02:26Z] schra470: OMG NO

[2018-10-08T22:02:34Z] watso595: Oh no

[2018-10-08T22:03:03Z] schra470: Sasha are you still there

[2018-10-08T22:03:09Z] karle029: yes

[2018-10-08T22:15:30Z] schra470: If anyone who’s free wants to come to the wood workshop we are here!

[2018-10-09T14:23:45Z] schra470: Our prototype is being carted

[2018-10-09T18:26:24Z] olso6229: about NY book art fair

[2018-10-09T18:26:28Z] olso6229: i've mentioned moon palace books before

[2018-10-09T18:26:56Z] olso6229: moon palce is drawing from NY book art fair

[2018-10-09T18:27:46Z] olso6229: i can also see threads to the NY book art fair from this years Autoptic in downtown

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Autoptic 2018 / Aug. 19, 2018 / MPLS, MN

https://autoptic.org/

[2018-10-09T18:28:21Z] olso6229: beautiful place too, Aria

[2018-10-10T00:23:10Z] olso6229: Jakob colten and i are communicating with Jennifer at the MN Prison Writing Workshop. I can copy or summarize her email for you all, she’s been a great help to us so far. Does anyone have any questions or thoughts they want to have us translate over to her?

[2018-10-10T00:24:21Z] olso6229: The prison workshop also hosts a public reading event called Beyond Bars, which i think we all need to go to

[2018-10-10T00:24:41Z] olso6229: Jennifer was gracious and invited us all there

[2018-10-10T00:25:43Z] olso6229: It’ll be at Hamline this month

[2018-10-10T00:25:47Z] olso6229:

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Beyond Bars: A Public Reading - October 22, 2016, 7:00pm

https://www.mnprisonwriting.org/mpww-public-reading.html

[2018-10-10T00:28:09Z] olso6229: As far as book donations, we’re getting copies of the gift and how can i help? I mean, really, imagine the WARDEN holding copies of those books in their hands and deciding if they get in. That’s wild to me :face_with_cowboy_hat:

[2018-10-10T00:32:16Z] olso6229: and I also have some info to unpack and communicate to y’all

[2018-10-10T00:33:03Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-10T00:33:52Z] olso6229: We just found this earlier tonight

[2018-10-10T00:36:01Z] olso6229: In tune with ’s conversation with BWBR. Also, Sam, did the people you talk to at BWBR have a weird attitude about being a firm that has designed prisons? Were they embarrassed, was there a stigma attached to it, were they neutral or happy about it? Curious what their feeling towards it are

[2018-10-10T00:40:52Z] danks010: Super interested in exploring some of the ideas regarding a study by Laura Kurgan that mentioned above. and I are applying some of the things we learned in WeCoLab to a research project in another class.

[2018-10-10T00:41:44Z] danks010: You might need to give me a recap of the Beyond Bars Lecture if you go. I have class on Monday nights so I can't make it. Really wish I could go though.

[2018-10-10T02:56:57Z] olso6229: Anyone have time for a library visit tomorrow 2pm?

[2018-10-10T03:42:02Z] olso6229: We have room for 1 more to come with

[2018-10-10T03:42:16Z] olso6229: In coltens car anyway

[2018-10-10T03:42:42Z] olso6229: We’re going to MCAD / MIA at 2pm

[2018-10-10T03:43:57Z] olso6229: If you have time, you should meet up and check it out with us all! :bat:

[2018-10-10T17:25:40Z] olson175: could you guys bring some wecolabs and try to place them? especially using your new awareness of etiquette :slightly_smiling_face:

[2018-10-10T17:25:55Z] olson175: newsletters that is

[2018-10-10T17:27:02Z] mahla008: where can we get the newsletters? Is there more in studio?

[2018-10-10T17:27:48Z] watso595: In the arch office, in a box

[2018-10-10T17:27:59Z] watso595: Mahva can tell you if you can’t find the box

[2018-10-10T17:30:34Z] schra470: can I come to the library today!?

[2018-10-10T17:32:13Z] mahla008: Cool cool pwatts

[2018-10-10T17:51:43Z] schra470: Shelves have been moved from our original cluster...interesting observation, wonder how this will affect the view from the window

[2018-10-10T17:55:43Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-10T17:55:46Z] mahla008: I bet it was this guy who moved them

[2018-10-10T18:25:23Z] olso6229: Let’s come up with some locations to group up outside of the Weisman for tomorrow:

[2018-10-10T18:25:44Z] olso6229: The graduate hotel lobby

[2018-10-10T18:26:24Z] olso6229: Nanotech building 2nd or 3rd floor

[2018-10-10T18:26:29Z] mahla008: ?

[2018-10-10T18:27:11Z] olso6229: Didn’t we say that we would think of places to meet with Danny outside of WAM tomorrow?

[2018-10-10T18:27:17Z] olso6229: Or did that get scrapped?

[2018-10-10T18:27:57Z] schra470: Graduate hotel lobby :heart_eyes: most comfortable seating

[2018-10-10T18:28:31Z] batzl015: I think it would be cool to meet outside of WAM or Rapson

[2018-10-10T18:28:49Z] batzl015: Maybe a room in Bruninks? I’m not sure

[2018-10-10T18:29:26Z] olso6229: Bruininks feels sterile IMO, the lobby areas facing the river is nice

[2018-10-10T18:29:31Z] mahla008: I thought we were just meeting in a different room of the weismann

[2018-10-10T18:29:39Z] mahla008: Cause we couldn't decide

[2018-10-10T18:30:00Z] olso6229: I thought that was for the first half before we meet Danny

[2018-10-10T18:31:53Z] mahla008: :thinking_face:

[2018-10-10T18:33:08Z] olso6229: the merge records bit in your email is really throwin me off

[2018-10-10T18:33:25Z] olso6229: Your friends know how to pick em

[2018-10-10T18:35:00Z] olso6229: about the book rearrangement, see ’s photo/message above. Seems like someone outside of our class did it? As far as i know, we left then placed neatly on the carts, which were clustered by the window

[2018-10-10T18:37:51Z] olso6229: We will distribute some magazines to MCAD + MIA today. Light Grey Art Lab is across the street from MCAD, maybe we can drop some off there.

[2018-10-10T19:09:21Z] olso6229: you still wanna come with?

[2018-10-10T19:10:22Z] schra470: Yes! I’ve been in contact with Colten, we good

[2018-10-10T19:10:29Z] olso6229: Sweet

[2018-10-10T19:10:36Z] olso6229: Jakob and i will come down to HGA

[2018-10-10T23:04:44Z] olso6229: we’ve got some cool news to pass on from our library visit today !!

[2018-10-10T23:05:41Z] olso6229: We’ll explain tomorrow :scorpion::basketball:

[2018-10-11T01:17:45Z] feria006: Matt asked me to share this manifesto by Jason Rens an individual not so characterized by his designs as much as the individual aspects of craft and emotion that they evoke. I looked into Rens further and discovered a couple interview in which he got into many of the topics/issues we are facing now. First, he talks about materials as letters in the alphabet, how when in the right combination and order they can make words, sentences and eventually language. I think this could be something to consider as we move forward in to making something.

[2018-10-11T01:21:26Z] feria006: Second, his thoughts on collaboration. Most of his projects involving collaborating across many different professions, mediums and ideologies. I think going forward we should use his manifesto in order to keep our ideas evolving and thus making the product much more evoking.

[2018-10-11T02:03:29Z] olson175: He's a friend so, if we wanna Skype with him or something, it'd be easy. (He might even say he learned some of this stuff from me?!) :slightly_smiling_face:

[2018-10-11T07:54:53Z] olso6229: Highlights from 's interview with architects @ BWBR about prison design. Posting for Sam because his Slack has toys in the attic

[2018-10-11T07:54:56Z] olso6229: -In their eyes, prison design has become much LESS oppressive over the last 10-15 years.. more space is being provided for inmates in cells and in common areas, more focus is being put towards ventilation of the prison, circulation within the prison to best suite the prisoners, etc. I found that to be interesting because I see it as a sign of positive change and motion(hopefully).

-These designers/architects talked me through some design strategies that they use. In each prison, they strive for two things: Calmness and Security. How do these things mix and match? Security is such a tension-inducing word, calmness is the opposite. They aim to provide abundant amounst of daylight into qualifying areas of the prisons, as well as the use of acoustic materials on the walls and in corners of larger areas. Since there are so many hard surfaces in prisons, sounds bounces everywhere, especially when tensions are high and there is lots of yelling. I found this to be especially interesting, especially in light of our recent discussions regarding sound, and sound as a free and endless resource.

-Perhaps most importantly, they encouraged me to think of prison as a city. This I found to be incredibly thought provoking. Society always constructs this image of "real life" and the city life as one thing, and then prisons as an entirely different world/concept. In reality, prisons have stores, economies, transportations systems, postal services, recreational opportunities, educational facilities, etc. Many components to the cities that free citizens live in and understand! I think we could be more productive moving forward if we also thought of prisons as miniature cities, instead of thinking of them as other-worldly. We may be able to empathize more efficiently with prisoners and find more humanity in our humility.

[2018-10-11T07:57:29Z] olso6229: ++ in the morning let's all talk about meeting outside of WAM for the back half of class

[2018-10-11T18:13:28Z] feria006: Just a spark from the meeting with Danny today, he talked a lot of statistics of the people in jail (all family member, half parents, third with mental illness) an idea for redacting our readings could be using those percentages for the percent of the reading, skipping pages or words to raise awareness to the types of people that are in this system

[2018-10-11T18:19:10Z] olso6229: Damn, good observation , i totally missed that. I did pick up on Danny being into incorporating the number of balloons that a prisoner would pack for single shipping into something we make. Ideas?

[2018-10-11T18:23:06Z] olso6229: Overview from today with Danny:

- balloons :balloon: + handing out to people, incorporated with the target gallery space, something that gets handed out at the event? during the sleep conversation event, people were given pillows, pillow cases, and sewing kits to make at home, as an activity to help them fall asleep. Create a giant pikachu balloon glob at the WAM entry

[2018-10-11T18:24:00Z] olso6229: - evoke prison visitation environment. Rows/benches of seats where people face each other

[2018-10-11T18:24:40Z] olso6229: ^^ tie boris’ interview with robert irwin + habitability symposium into the way we think about this

[2018-10-11T18:25:46Z] olso6229: (Cool note, boris is generating a habitability symposium in 2020 here. Also, jennifer newsom + dream the combine will be the artists in residence at WAM next academic year)

[2018-10-11T18:27:20Z] olso6229: you should talk to jennifer about Spooky Architecture. She did a guest lecture in one of my classes on Halloween last year dressed as a witch.

[2018-10-11T18:28:47Z] olso6229: - directional lines on the floor. Tape may ruin the floor, try paint instead. Will people have a weird psychological obstacle of crossing a painted line on the floor?

[2018-10-11T18:30:59Z] olso6229: How that evokes control, restriction, authority, order, rules, manufacturing inaccessibility, obscuring. We don’t know what we don’t know

[2018-10-11T18:37:14Z] olso6229: - play handball as a performance? Activity outside of WAM to stop people on the street. Something we do during the workshop artist talk? Something filmed or photographed and gets projected into the space?

[2018-10-11T18:38:07Z] olso6229: - will WAM allow concrete or cinderblocks?

[2018-10-11T18:40:43Z] olso6229: - how can we use sound? Start recording books on tape. Redact audio - distort audio, censor with SFX, dont record certain words/topics/passages/etc. Is the redaction explicit or hidden? A false transparency? People wouldn’t know what they don’t know.

[2018-10-11T18:45:59Z] olso6229: - about materials, danny mentioned blue-gray enamel paint

[2018-10-11T18:47:12Z] olso6229: - can we see if the U of M has a banned books list?

[2018-10-11T18:47:38Z] olso6229: How does that list overlap, align, conflict, surprise us when compared to DOC lists?

[2018-10-11T18:49:16Z] olso6229: A reminder: MN Prison Writing Workshop’s Beyond Bars event is at Hamline next Saturday, October 20 at 7 PM – 9 PM

[2018-10-11T18:50:18Z] olso6229: The event is free and Jennifer from the program has warmly and graciously invited us all to attend

[2018-10-11T18:51:47Z] danks010: That Spooky Architecture lecture your talking about is really interesting, besides the point that it doesn't relate to this project

[2018-10-11T18:52:13Z] olso6229: In what ways does it not?

[2018-10-11T18:53:18Z] danks010: I suppose I would have to reflect more on it. That's a good question for me to explore.

[2018-10-11T19:01:32Z] danks010:

[2018-10-11T19:01:51Z] danks010:

[2018-10-11T19:04:00Z] danks010: Here was a few collages I had been working on to build ways to express ideas by storytelling. I realize after todays meeting that these may be irrelevant but the goal behind them was try to evoke ideas of viewing the space. However, I am keeping this on the back burner to allow other ideas to be generated.

[2018-10-11T19:11:40Z] olso6229: Thank you for sharing !!

[2018-10-11T19:12:22Z] olso6229: Markus Miessen will be in Rapson on November 26th.

He's the Principle Architect of Studio Miessen in Germany, which is self-described as a "decentrally-organized group of architects, designers, and researchers interested in the deployment of Critical Spatial Practice as a methodology. They collaboratively work and consult on projects that include spatial design, strategic frameworks, research, curatorial and discursive activities."

They also say they "work closely with artists, who we assist to realize small-to-large-scale spatial ideas and support them in realizing exhibitions and large-scale institutional shows. Our work also includes self-initiated activities and projects that span from physical construction to writing and criticism. Our practice is based on dialogue."

Sounds familiar. :slightly_smiling_face:

If Markus is here on the day before or after that Monday, we should invite him to WAM, talk with him, other ideas?

[2018-10-11T19:13:54Z] danks010: Most definitely agree.

[2018-10-11T19:13:57Z] olso6229: - here are some photos of Danny's work that I was referencing today:

[2018-10-11T19:16:52Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-11T19:48:11Z] olso6229: I've scheduled my office Instagram takeover for the week of Danny's workshop/conversation in November

[2018-10-11T19:49:46Z] olso6229: Following from our discussion on how to escape architectural material traps, here's a recent solo exhibition from MCAD faculty member Kate Casanova. This was at Public Functionary this August

[2018-10-11T19:49:47Z] olso6229:

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Body Works: Kate Casanova at Public Functionary

https://www.mplsart.com/written/2018/08/body-works-kate-casanova-at-public-functionary/

[2018-10-11T20:33:44Z] olson175: here's the guys I work with for context, you might even recognize some universal patterns and forms?

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Sober path out of prison in jeopardy

http://www.startribune.com/sober-path-out-of-prison-in-jeopardy/122632424/

[2018-10-11T23:42:09Z] karle029: could you add your notes to the google doc pls:)

[2018-10-12T01:16:31Z] karle029: ‼️ please fill out your availability !! ‼️

[2018-10-12T01:18:12Z] mahla008: ^^^^^^^^

[2018-10-12T03:16:42Z] olso6229: i would love to :heart:

[2018-10-12T03:32:44Z] olso6229: I've restructured the google notes document

[2018-10-12T03:32:47Z] olso6229: and added notes from today

[2018-10-12T03:34:34Z] olso6229: I've changed the chronology to descending dates, that way most recent meetings have higher visibility

[2018-10-12T03:36:59Z] olso6229: So a few of us visited MCAD/MIA this week. After talking to the librarians there, we found out MIA hosted an event during BANNED BOOKS WEEK at the end of September titled "Don't Read This! Don't See This! : Censorship and the Creative Truth of Words and Art"

[2018-10-12T03:41:30Z] olso6229: We passed over a few copies of the WeCoLab zine to the librarians to give to program/department heads and directors. We also exchanged contact info, and will stay in touch. I asked Danny if he's interested in connecting with MIA and will follow up on that with him

[2018-10-12T03:42:34Z] olso6229: Sam's BWBR interview summary is also on the doc

[2018-10-12T03:44:09Z] olso6229: Does anyone want to take a trip to Moon Palace Books together? If you want to experience the NY book art fair approach firsthand, that place is a great resource

[2018-10-12T05:21:54Z] olso6229: Anyone have time for a library visit next Monday or Wednesday afternoon?

[2018-10-12T07:32:00Z] olso6229:

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The Voice Behind Many Bestselling Books On Tape Is Actually That of An Infamous Serial Killer

https://www.shared.com/serial-killer-audio-books/

[2018-10-12T07:32:29Z] olso6229: Kemper murdered several people, including his paternal grandparents and mother

[2018-10-12T07:32:43Z] olso6229: He was also a necrophiliac

[2018-10-12T07:33:05Z] olso6229: Bits from the article:

[2018-10-12T07:33:07Z] olso6229: "From 1977 to 1987, Kemper had spent over 5,000 hours in the recording booth and had more than four million feet of tape and several hundred books to his credit"

[2018-10-12T07:33:11Z] olso6229: “I can’t begin to tell you what this has meant to me, to be able to do something constructive for someone else, to be appreciated by so many people, the good feeling it gives me after what I have done,” Kemper said.

[2018-10-12T07:35:07Z] olso6229: He is currently serving 8 concurrent life sentences in California

[2018-10-12T07:37:45Z] olso6229:

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Imgur

https://imgur.com/xzWBeyL

[2018-10-12T07:37:56Z] olso6229: Is there something we can do with the essence of inmate IDs?

[2018-10-12T07:38:30Z] olso6229:

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Ed Kemper Interview - 1991 (extended)

https://youtu.be/j8IfslxOmF0

[2018-10-12T07:44:27Z] olso6229: This is wild, imagine this: this video is an interview of Ed Kemper by French writer Stéphane Bourgoin.

In 1976, Bourgoin discovered his girlfriend Eileen, "killed, raped and cut into pieces" in their apartment in Los Angeles, California.

Since 1979, Bourgoin has interviewed 77 different serial killers.

[2018-10-12T14:08:55Z] mahla008: reposting cause we only got half the studio rn

[2018-10-12T14:11:13Z] olso6229: it takes like 10 seconds to fill out on your phone :)

[2018-10-12T16:25:31Z] mahla008: Are the only people still needing to do the when to meet, but so far only half of us could meet tonight. Alot of us could do saturday morning, half on sunday, and most of us monday evening

[2018-10-12T17:39:43Z] rumbe003: I am out of town at a family wedding all weekend so my only day I can meet is Monday evening

[2018-10-12T17:39:52Z] rumbe003: as I just put into the thing

[2018-10-12T18:05:10Z] olso6229: Sweet thanks for the heads up sam!

[2018-10-12T18:07:25Z] batzl015: just updated it!

[2018-10-12T19:26:41Z] olso6229: Thank you Pangolin

[2018-10-12T19:36:38Z] santo204: Sorry for the delay, I filled out the when 2 meet now

[2018-10-12T20:00:44Z] mahla008: Would we want to meet Saturday morning and then maybe Sunday night? And if we have to Monday night?

[2018-10-12T20:02:23Z] batzl015: I dig that

[2018-10-12T20:02:54Z] mahla008: And then maybe after the proposal we could maybe break into teams for certain projects for the 14th so it's easier for people to meet in those groups?

[2018-10-12T20:07:13Z] watso595: I could meet tomorrow morning! I like that plan

[2018-10-12T20:07:26Z] olso6229: Agree im into it

[2018-10-12T20:36:18Z] schra470: Spotted in the bathroom at St. Croix state park :eyes:

[2018-10-13T00:05:31Z] danks010: Nice find.

[2018-10-13T00:06:49Z] olso6229: See yall tomorrow around 9 am in rapson!

[2018-10-13T15:44:27Z] watso595: Hey , we're working on drafting a project proposal and want to know if we're thinking about two separate projects (one for nov. 14th and the other for dec 11th), or if we want to have all of our ideas done by the artist talk on nov. 14th?

[2018-10-13T15:45:29Z] mahla008: I vote Nov 14th all ideas

[2018-10-13T15:46:00Z] watso595: I wonder about what we do after nov. 14th if we have all the projects done by then

[2018-10-13T15:46:04Z] olso6229: I vote duo/concurrent projects

[2018-10-13T15:48:40Z] fasbe023: Duo/concurrent

[2018-10-13T16:10:25Z] : has a poll for you!

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Hey @everyone, we're working on drafting a project proposal and want to know if we're thinking about two separate projects (one for nov. 14th and the other for dec 11th), or if we want to have all of our ideas done by the artist talk on nov. 14th?

[2018-10-13T16:22:10Z] batzl015: I’ll be in around noon to work with y’all

[2018-10-13T16:48:32Z] schra470: Unfortunately I’m out of town today so I won’t be able to come help, but I will be available on Sunday night and Monday to help continue the project

[2018-10-13T16:52:11Z] mahla008: We will have a second meeting Sunday night, time to be decided later, we got a good start today and Parker and a few others will be forming a draft of the proposal to be edited and finalized tomorrow for matt

[2018-10-13T17:10:29Z] batzl015: Where are y’all?

[2018-10-13T17:10:37Z] batzl015: Did you finish up already?

[2018-10-13T17:11:21Z] olso6229: I left, but we set up a google doc draft for the project proposal :ok_hand::ok_hand:

[2018-10-13T17:11:36Z] batzl015: Ok, sounds good

[2018-10-13T17:11:40Z] batzl015: Sorry I couldn’t make it

[2018-10-13T17:12:21Z] olso6229: No problem, see you tomorrow?

[2018-10-13T17:16:09Z] batzl015: Yep!

[2018-10-13T18:43:54Z] olson175: great to see motion/enthusiasm! Nice job you guys. Just a reminder - maybe you're already doing this but - I encourage you to move all things forward at the same time... so discussions about dates are important but until we know more about what we're going to do, it's hard to make those decisions meaningful? I always try to keep as many variables in the air and moving with me as long as I can. The variables I can see now are: built objects (design, iterations, and prototyping may be necessary), policies the Weisman and Boris have that might affect those objects/designs, budgets and the necessity to get Gayla and Boris's approval, shop time and project planning, material considerations, de-installation and disposal/recycling at the end of the project, new ideas that will emerge as we move... so make sure you visit these things if you haven't! What am I forgetting? And let me know "how can I help" :slightly_smiling_face:

[2018-10-13T18:44:16Z] rumbe003: Sorry I couldn't make it either, thank for doing that you guys! Exciting stuff!

[2018-10-13T22:50:26Z] watso595: Hey Matt, do you have any examples of project proposals or things like that your firm has made? might be useful as reference while we start to think about all these variables and work on the first draft of ours

[2018-10-14T00:40:37Z] olson175: as part of our attitude about 'open practice' we don't participate in competitions or RFPs so formal, written proposals have been rare in my work. We pretty much only work with people who approach us and never really seek work. But I'd be happy to talk you guys through a few projects on Tuesday to explain how they've come to life. Let me know.

[2018-10-14T14:41:23Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-14T14:42:25Z] olso6229: We should donate these books at Beyond Bars!

[2018-10-14T14:54:11Z] olso6229: Also, a few of us are going to the center for book arts + library in downtown minneapolis on monday afternoon. Open invitation to join us! :books::slightly_smiling_face:

[2018-10-14T16:37:37Z] mahla008: just a reminder that we are meeting from 3-5 in the the BDA studio today

[2018-10-14T16:45:41Z] olso6229: I’ll be there!

[2018-10-14T19:52:20Z] santo204: I’ll be working in the Rapson laser lab from 3-10, so if someone wants to come fill me or work on scale models of any concepts let me know

[2018-10-14T19:53:12Z] mahla008: Np abe I'll fill you in when you come in and we will come by the lab and get ur help

[2018-10-14T20:47:00Z] fasbe023:

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Joe Rogan Experience #1171 - Nick Yarris

https://youtu.be/AIc5XYpRc1M

[2018-10-15T16:46:05Z] schra470: Where are we meeting up for today’s field trip?

[2018-10-15T16:46:35Z] olso6229: BDA studio, then we’ll walk to the greenline station together

[2018-10-15T16:46:53Z] watso595: Meeting at 1?

[2018-10-15T16:46:57Z] olso6229: Yes

[2018-10-15T21:33:59Z] batzl015: Move.

Some good advise from a zine I found at the Center for the Book Arts. Everyone should check this place out!

[2018-10-15T21:34:05Z] batzl015:

[2018-10-15T22:06:38Z] danks010: Wish I could have made it...Unfortunately I had class! Lol We have permission to skip class in favor of doing work for WeCoLab?

[2018-10-15T22:18:17Z] olson175: does move mean physical or conceptual?

[2018-10-15T23:29:53Z] batzl015: I think both

[2018-10-16T14:23:33Z] feria006:

Vice Article about prison handball. Many inmates talk about how the game play resembles life in prison.

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Handball Saved My Life: A Sport Behind Bars

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/yp7yyv/handball-saved-my-life-a-sport-behind-bars

[2018-10-16T14:46:40Z] fasbe023: A video to help understand what andy goldsworthy does

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Rivers and Tides- Andy Goldsworthy

https://youtu.be/f7sZv4_0Fxg

[2018-10-16T18:01:22Z] danks010: I have your sketchbook...you left it at the Weisman so I'll bring it to our meeting tomorrow.

[2018-10-16T19:26:10Z] mahla008: I bought batteries for the laser if you want to use it for measuring, if ur in rapson rn I can give it to ya or find a time to give it to you

[2018-10-16T19:28:37Z] fasbe023: Abe and I found this at the minneapolis central library

[2018-10-16T19:55:49Z] watso595: do you have the measurements of the space yet? does someone need to get an email to Boris?

[2018-10-16T20:32:00Z] santo204: Library visit

[2018-10-16T20:32:37Z] santo204: Happy Librarian

[2018-10-16T22:43:54Z] olso6229: The notes from today’s meeting are on the Google document. I organized everything we talked about into categories. There are plenty of ideas for each group to develop

[2018-10-16T22:47:45Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-16T22:50:23Z] batzl015: I will share a budget and material spreadsheet that I made earlier today with everyone tonight. It’s a list of possible materials, equipment, and costs that we can pull from when choosing our materials. Please take some time to take a look. I think we should have it filled out by tomorrow night at the latest. Keep the stoke high! :+1::skin-tone-2:

[2018-10-17T12:12:07Z] olso6229: the spreadsheet looks great, thanks for getting that started

[2018-10-17T20:31:42Z] santo204: & are we still meeting in the BDA studio?

[2018-10-17T20:32:38Z] karle029: weisman

[2018-10-17T20:54:51Z] schra470: Hey guys, just shared with you all an “observation log” that the guard gang is going to work on as the space changes. We will primarily add to it, but if you find yourself observing in your free time, feel free to log your findings on this doc!

[2018-10-18T03:54:06Z] batzl015: Great work filling out the materials spreadsheet y’all!

[2018-10-18T03:54:51Z] batzl015: We still need to fill the video and audio section, so if anyone has done research on that, please put it in the spreadsheet so we can discuss feasibility tomorrow!

[2018-10-18T15:07:22Z] kesse046: This is a simplistic shell of the space, feel free to request the addition of details we will need

[2018-10-18T16:27:07Z] batzl015: A used prison bench…

[2018-10-18T16:28:54Z] batzl015:

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Barker Built® Replacement Seat, Stainless | Jail and Correctional Supplies

https://www.bobbarker.com/replacement-seat-stainless.html

[2018-10-18T18:06:52Z] schra470: Here’s my really REALLY rough sketch from today if we wanna run with the idea of a slant

[2018-10-18T18:09:39Z] batzl015: I think I need more time to work over slants :thinking_face: I don’t know how that functions with the redaction of books that we were passionate about earlier

[2018-10-18T18:52:59Z] mahla008: I think there can be room for both, books on display and book redaction

[2018-10-18T19:36:41Z] batzl015: I totally agree

[2018-10-18T19:37:01Z] batzl015: We should be intentional about how those things relate though

[2018-10-18T19:37:31Z] batzl015: Maybe they’re the same, like redacted and displayed

[2018-10-18T21:55:34Z] feria006: I think the slant is super dope. #slantgang

[2018-10-19T00:25:34Z] olson175: could there be lighting under the benchs?

[2018-10-19T03:35:12Z] kesse046: Here's a quick model of a bench in Sketchup. 12 benches will cost ~$315 (including tax.) I looked on the Home Depot website and found the 2x4s (8' long) are $2.59 per piece and the 4'x8'x3/4" plywood is $20.07 per piece. It will take a total of 20 8' long 2x4's, and 12 sheets of plywood to construct all 12. The bench's dimensions are 1 1/2' x 1 1/2' x 8'

[2018-10-19T03:36:00Z] kesse046: This design is modeled off of Haley's design

[2018-10-19T03:36:08Z] kesse046:

[2018-10-19T19:08:39Z] mahla008: The gift and How Can I Help is on its way to the wardens office in stillwater

[2018-10-19T20:53:05Z] olso6229: Thank you !!

[2018-10-19T21:31:13Z] mahla008: Very cool!

[2018-10-19T23:03:33Z] olso6229: On display at All Square

[2018-10-19T23:44:16Z] olso6229: Bob Marley — I Shot the Sheriff was playing while we ate

[2018-10-19T23:50:44Z] olso6229: Quick info about All Square:

[2018-10-19T23:50:53Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-20T14:26:39Z] olso6229: Who all is coming to Beyond Bars tonight with , , and me?

[2018-10-20T14:45:27Z] batzl015: I don’t think I can come through :( My parents are in the cities tonight and I should spend time with them. I will work on getting some stuff seriously ideated for our big meeting tomorrow :+1::skin-tone-2:

[2018-10-20T14:45:55Z] batzl015: Let us know how beyond bars goes though! Report back!

[2018-10-20T18:11:41Z] krieg087: I'm coming! Is there someone driving?

[2018-10-20T23:32:04Z] olso6229: What’s the situation with the WeCoLab tumblr? Is it good to go? I feel like we haven’t heard about it for a while now

[2018-10-20T23:32:18Z] olso6229: Also do we have everything for zine #2?

[2018-10-21T01:23:17Z] olso6229: We need to do something with MPWW, moon palace, and/or free black dirt for the artist talk or beyond in WAM

[2018-10-21T02:42:09Z] olso6229: Holy shit wow, the MPWW event broke my heart and made me laugh hysterically and everything inbetween

[2018-10-21T02:42:51Z] olso6229: We connected with Jen of MPWW and Erin + Janauda of Free Black Dirt

[2018-10-21T02:43:17Z] olso6229: Would love to get them involved somehow

[2018-10-21T13:25:56Z] olso6229: Just got off the phone with Janauda

[2018-10-21T13:27:31Z] olso6229: such an awesome woman

[2018-10-21T13:32:20Z] batzl015: :+1::skin-tone-2::+1::skin-tone-2: amazing lee

[2018-10-21T13:32:58Z] batzl015: Hope to hear more and see where this relationship takes us!

[2018-10-21T13:51:13Z] olso6229: Who all is meeting today?

[2018-10-21T16:15:02Z] watso595: I will be

[2018-10-21T16:15:30Z] batzl015: Me!

[2018-10-21T16:15:40Z] batzl015: What time are we doing?

[2018-10-21T16:21:27Z] mahla008: 5:00 is when most people can meet but we can start a little bit earlier

[2018-10-21T16:28:48Z] olso6229: I will meet earlier

[2018-10-21T16:29:04Z] olso6229: Notes from thursday are up on the google doc !

[2018-10-21T16:29:30Z] batzl015: I’ll be in there at 2ish

[2018-10-21T16:47:15Z] danks010: Please keep me posted how it's going. I'll try to put in some work on my end with some sketches/iterations/elaborating on ideas. Apologize I can't make it down.

[2018-10-21T19:00:46Z] mahla008: If you in rapson there's a mini meeting in the laser lab

[2018-10-21T19:01:10Z] batzl015: Maybe 3ish, I got bad sleep last night

[2018-10-21T19:01:34Z] batzl015: Bottom line, I’ll be there before 5

[2018-10-21T19:01:49Z] watso595: All good

[2018-10-21T22:38:17Z] mahla008: We all in the woodshop if your late to the meeting

[2018-10-22T03:44:42Z] watso595: Notes from today’s meeting are in the doc!

[2018-10-22T03:52:50Z] olso6229: Thank you

[2018-10-23T01:37:31Z] olso6229: We should reach out to Emily Hunt Turner

[2018-10-23T01:37:41Z] olso6229: She's the founder of the All Square institute + restaurant

[2018-10-23T01:37:50Z] olso6229: Weird energy in relation to all of us, she's trained as an architect

[2018-10-23T01:39:22Z] olso6229: But mainly practices in public policy as a civil rights attorney

[2018-10-23T02:01:51Z] olso6229:

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Prison Life in Scandinavia - Discover Scandinavia

https://www.dailyscandinavian.com/prison-life-in-scandinavia/

[2018-10-23T02:02:17Z] olso6229: >_Based on figures, it’s safe to assume Norway’s criminal justice system is doing something right. Few citizens there go to prison, and those who do usually go only once. So how does Scandinavia accomplish this feat? The countries rely on a concept called “restorative justice,” which aims to repair the harm caused by crime rather than punish people._

[2018-10-23T02:11:53Z] olso6229:

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Why Scandinavian Prisons Are Superior

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/09/why-scandinavian-prisons-are-superior/279949/

[2018-10-23T02:12:24Z] olso6229: >_Cellblocks look like dorms at a state university. Though worse for wear, rooms feature flat-screen TVs, sound systems, and mini-refrigerators for the prisoners who can afford to rent them for prison-labor wages of 4.10 to 7.3 Euros per hour ($5.30 to $9.50). With electronic monitoring, prisoners are allowed to spend time with their families in Helsinki. Men here enjoy a screened barbecue pit, a gym, and a dining hall where prisoners and staff eat together. Prisoners throughout Scandinavia wear their own clothes._

[2018-10-23T02:20:57Z] olso6229: >_Each prisoner has a “contact officer” who monitors and helps advance progress toward return to the world outside—a practice introduced to help officers avoid the damage experienced by performing purely punitive functions: stress, hypertension, alcoholism, suicide, and other job-related hazards that today plague American corrections officers, who have an average life expectancy of 59._

[2018-10-23T02:23:28Z] olso6229: >_Throughout Scandinavia, criminal justice policy rarely enters political debate. Decisions about best practices are left to professionals in the field, who are often published criminologists and consult closely with academics._

[2018-10-23T02:36:02Z] renst011: Heyo everyone, newsletter #2 is in progress so if you haven't sent your individual assignments or documentations to me yet from the last 3-4(ish) weeks of class that you'd want to include, please do soon! Especially from gallery arrangements, responses to thoughts brought up in class, etc. Not everything will be able to make it into print but I want to make sure I have everyone's stuff. This won't include the physical conceptualization/buliding yet (besides Jocie's chair and maybe Evan's cart) but mostly the progress of thought and movement in prep for the spacial outcomes that are happening now. Feel free to shoot me any questions as well! Thank you!!

[2018-10-23T02:38:48Z] renst011: Also terrible at email response but if you have already, thank you thank you :—)

[2018-10-23T03:49:16Z] feria006: I agree

[2018-10-23T03:49:37Z] feria006: She has done a ton of work in our immediate community and would be interesting to talk to

[2018-10-23T17:34:11Z] mahla008: Is there a tape team ?

[2018-10-23T17:47:22Z] olso6229: Anyone who wants to join tomorrow afternoon, we’re going to Moon Palace Books around 2:30

[2018-10-23T17:53:56Z] olso6229: And maybe grab some food down the street at All Square? :sandwich::fries:

[2018-10-23T17:54:04Z] mahla008: Ooooooo

[2018-10-23T17:54:21Z] olso6229: Theyre both on Minnehaha ave

[2018-10-23T18:07:57Z] douga018: yes, its me Cole and Abe.

[2018-10-23T18:08:26Z] mahla008: Would it be cool if I join you guys?

[2018-10-23T18:56:59Z] douga018: yeah of course! We were planning on working on some research and doing sketches of possible tape layouts and then meeting to discuss later.

[2018-10-23T19:10:27Z] mahla008: sounds good I'll work on that as well!

[2018-10-23T19:35:15Z] danks010: Added the notes to the WeCoLab document. Let me know if I forgot anything, otherwise go ahead and add it directly. I covered everything from matt and boris suggestions/conversations to what Danne spoke about and our interest and concepts.

[2018-10-23T20:39:50Z] olso6229: Full circle, just realized Danny redacted his own book

[2018-10-23T20:40:24Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-23T20:41:17Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-23T20:49:19Z] mahla008: speaking of that i'm watching an interesting video on an art installation right now called the redaction project

[2018-10-23T20:49:21Z] mahla008:

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Anne de Marcken, The Redaction Project

https://vimeo.com/159719562

[2018-10-23T20:50:25Z] mahla008: It's really interesting how she talks about the many ways shes redacted this one book, but not only that but in way she thinks about the words and how they relate and what they mean next to each other

[2018-10-23T20:50:42Z] mahla008: its an interesting watch for those interested in redaction

[2018-10-23T20:57:45Z] mahla008: "Everything was still there, I just couldn't see it all. At some point the redaction itself became a compositional tool, I began to treat it almost like an element of grammar or an element of language, so the blacked out words themselves had as much significance as the words you could see. It was no longer just about concealing the things, its about revealing other things that had been obscured by syntax and narrative, by the conventions of language"

[2018-10-23T21:08:16Z] batzl015: Cooool

[2018-10-23T21:08:23Z] batzl015: I like that v much

[2018-10-23T21:34:08Z] danks010: Here's a brief description of libraries in prisons in Europe that me, Lee, and Cole found while doing research for a project regarding prison infrastructure.

[2018-10-23T21:41:52Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-23T23:11:54Z] kesse046:

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Why Beautiful Things Make us Happy – Beauty Explained

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O5kNPlUV7w

[2018-10-23T23:12:27Z] kesse046: something to keep in mind when designing, these ideas can be applied to prisons, as well as our instillation

[2018-10-23T23:13:59Z] olson175: Now I am Happy. Is that beauty?

[2018-10-23T23:39:54Z] karle029: @home depot

[2018-10-23T23:44:15Z] schra470: Not bad on price!!

[2018-10-24T01:00:48Z] mahla008: And they got lil stands

[2018-10-24T01:13:47Z] schra470: AND they are LED so no problems with heat!

[2018-10-24T02:44:12Z] olso6229: Excited for people to see Moon Palace Books tomorrow :)

Experience the NY book art fair / neo-Scholastic books aesthetic first hand

[2018-10-24T02:44:38Z] danks010: :ok_hand:

[2018-10-24T02:44:59Z] danks010: More excited to stop at All Square...

[2018-10-24T02:45:42Z] schra470: I am taking a second car to Moon palace tomorrow, so more people can come! I have room for 4 people if you haven’t secured a ride yet!

[2018-10-24T03:01:53Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-24T03:02:00Z] olso6229: For tape group: photos from conversations on sleep. they had the lamp cords taped to the floor

[2018-10-24T03:14:31Z] mahla008: Ooo neat

[2018-10-24T03:23:51Z] mahla008:

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__a_ i_ I _old you a __ory in a language I _an _ear?

http://www.lizasylvestre.com/__a_-i_-i-_old-you-a-__ory-in-a-language-i-_an-_ear/

[2018-10-24T03:25:45Z] mahla008: I think this is the Artist Boris was talking about today, Liza Sylvestre. In context of audio and redacting. Currently listening to some of her redacted audio work

[2018-10-24T03:27:02Z] mahla008: Definitely give the video a watch, very interesting

[2018-10-24T03:28:56Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-24T03:29:19Z] mahla008: On her website there is even a photo of her at the Weisman

[2018-10-24T03:29:24Z] olso6229: WOW

[2018-10-24T03:29:39Z] kesse046: Target Gallery Episode II: Attack of the Outlets

[2018-10-24T03:29:54Z] olso6229: GOOD CATCH JAKOB !!

[2018-10-24T03:30:12Z] mahla008: Oh she was part of the sensory loss workshop that happened like 3 weeks ago

[2018-10-24T03:30:27Z] mahla008: theres dannys books in the background

[2018-10-24T03:31:02Z] olso6229: Still no one else here saw the photo as far as we know right now

[2018-10-24T03:35:07Z] mahla008: It's really interesting to hear the original story she tells in this video and next to the redacted version, there the same story just in different languages. One as we hear it and one redacted. Kinda similar to the redaction project i posted eariler how what isnt there is just important as what isn't.

[2018-10-24T03:36:50Z] olso6229: funny you sent the stuff about sensory loss / hearing because i was trying to find this just a few minutes before your messages

[2018-10-24T03:36:56Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-24T03:37:52Z] mahla008: wow

[2018-10-24T03:37:58Z] mahla008: thats cool

[2018-10-24T03:38:16Z] mahla008: I wonder if that applies in other ways of sensory loss

[2018-10-24T03:39:22Z] mahla008: Does someone who is deaf view the face in the same way as this paragraph says the way blindness makes you view a face through sound

[2018-10-24T03:40:59Z] olso6229: I wonder

[2018-10-24T03:41:59Z] olso6229: In my tutor/TA days I used to regularly help a guy who was legally blind, we had a machine he used to read assignments which basically just made things 10000x contrast and some zooming

[2018-10-24T03:42:26Z] mahla008: woah what does that look like

[2018-10-24T03:42:35Z] olso6229: If I remember right he had a portable kind of version of that, or it was setup in the classroom, so he could see high contrast silhouettes of the professor and stuff written on the board

[2018-10-24T03:44:08Z] olso6229: Around the same time I knew someone else who was legally deaf and I've seen on social media over the years he's made a lot of posts about his appreciation of film, he probably notices more microexpressions and good acting because of the loss of one sense

[2018-10-24T03:45:07Z] mahla008: wow

[2018-10-24T03:46:08Z] danks010: Thats super cool! Thanks for sharing! It's amazing to realize the ability our senses have, especially when one is lost...glad you followed up on Boris's suggestion Jakob. And thanks for sharing your insight Lee.

[2018-10-24T03:46:44Z] mahla008: Ive never really thought about books in terms of someone who is visually impaired or audio books to someone who is hearing imparied

[2018-10-24T03:47:17Z] olso6229: tactile

[2018-10-24T03:47:29Z] olso6229: what happens when we pay attention to the feel of the books in our hands

[2018-10-24T03:47:41Z] olso6229: does that change how think about presenting them

[2018-10-24T03:47:47Z] mahla008: thats interesting

[2018-10-24T03:48:02Z] mahla008: I don't know but its an interesting question

[2018-10-24T03:49:36Z] mahla008: Does anyone know if they make braille books?

[2018-10-24T03:50:03Z] mahla008: Well I know they do but from what I can see from like a quick amazon search not really that many

[2018-10-24T03:50:15Z] mahla008: Are braille books banned in prison?

[2018-10-24T03:53:55Z] olso6229: what if we made a braille zine

[2018-10-24T03:54:03Z] olso6229: braille manifesto

[2018-10-24T03:54:07Z] mahla008: that sounds hard but cool

[2018-10-24T03:55:49Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-24T03:56:14Z] mahla008: Confirmation the gift and how can I help are at stillwater

[2018-10-24T03:58:39Z] mahla008: I wonder what will happen to them next?

[2018-10-24T04:09:06Z] schra470: That’s so awesome! Gosh I’d love to see who’s hands those books could end up in if they were allowed into the prison library

[2018-10-24T04:14:02Z] mahla008: I hope we get to find out, they are supposed to send me a letter so maybe I will find out soonish

[2018-10-24T04:18:48Z] schra470: Great! Keep us posted :grin: thanks again you guys for doing this, what a cool way to get involved

[2018-10-24T12:25:24Z] batzl015: Super cool stuff Jakob, pretty wild to know Ram Dass is in the hands of the warden.

[2018-10-24T12:50:54Z] olson175: re your question about the deaf and sight, it's def the case that they "hear" some through "seeing" and lip reading requires a sorta expanded sense of reading the different layers of visual information!

[2018-10-24T16:24:11Z] santo204: Is anyone driving to Moon Palace books that I could possibly get a ride with?

[2018-10-24T16:31:12Z] olso6229: Talk to Haley, Sasha, and Kailee

[2018-10-24T16:33:06Z] schra470: what time works for you guys to head out? I can pick you up from wherever!

[2018-10-24T16:33:25Z] olso6229: For all the people going, Moon Palace has a generously sized parking lot FYI

[2018-10-24T16:33:39Z] olso6229: that group is the 4pm squad

[2018-10-24T16:34:08Z] olso6229: Including

[2018-10-24T16:34:21Z] olso6229: And

[2018-10-24T16:37:52Z] schra470: Sweet okay :+1::skin-tone-3: thank you!

[2018-10-24T17:21:40Z] santo204: I’m off work at 3 & can go be ready on campus

[2018-10-24T17:25:39Z] schra470: :+1::skin-tone-3: sounds like I’m picking up a crew from rapson at 4? If anyone wants in for sure, let me know by then!

[2018-10-24T18:10:05Z] santo204: Thank you! I’ll for sure be at Rapson by 4

[2018-10-24T20:10:43Z] watso595: could I get in on that?

[2018-10-24T20:12:06Z] schra470: Yes for sure!

[2018-10-24T20:15:29Z] watso595: Where are we meeting?

[2018-10-24T20:16:11Z] santo204: Let’s just meet in the studio

[2018-10-24T20:16:57Z] schra470: I’m actually at home right now so I’ll just pick you guys up in that new little turn-around thing between the Northrop parking garage and Rapson at 4! I drive a blue Hyundai Elantra

[2018-10-24T20:57:40Z] schra470: Waiting outside rapson!

[2018-10-24T21:11:21Z] mahla008: Got some good books at moon palace u guys might get here before we leave

[2018-10-24T21:16:38Z] olso6229: :crescent_moon::ocean:

[2018-10-24T22:09:57Z] karle029:

[2018-10-24T22:10:26Z] mahla008: Woah

[2018-10-24T22:12:48Z] mahla008: Go check out the Guantanamo diary second floor bargin shelf

[2018-10-24T22:14:45Z] schra470: Love it forward...with balloons

[2018-10-25T04:12:57Z] danks010:

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Handball Saved My Life: A Sport Behind Bars

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/yp7yyv/handball-saved-my-life-a-sport-behind-bars

[2018-10-25T04:13:20Z] danks010: Insane article about the power of handball in prison.

[2018-10-25T04:41:26Z] danks010: Possibly an overlap area for the tape group and the handball group? Thoughts?

[2018-10-25T16:39:13Z] fasbe023: ok everyone. disregard that first link, here is the link to the AndyG exercise

[2018-10-25T16:39:16Z] fasbe023:

[2018-10-25T17:34:12Z] feria006: Here’s an idea for a plan for a Handball Exposition. Covering each wall and the respective floor space with overlapping handball courts. I think maybe a video or using audio or noise music of different handball sounds coming out of the space.

[2018-10-25T19:48:43Z] olso6229: Oooooo i love the overlapping courts

[2018-10-25T19:49:57Z] olso6229: We’re chasing down light rentals. Sunbelt Rentals is a prime choice for us right now

[2018-10-25T20:34:50Z] olso6229: Filled it :slightly_smiling_face: thanks

[2018-10-25T20:35:19Z] olso6229: Quick update on lights for everyone:

[2018-10-25T20:36:41Z] olso6229: Sunbelt Rentals has 6 balloon lights ready to go, no minimum quantity for rental, fine to use indoor at the museum, no foreseeable problems with the outlets and power draw/breakers. Sunbelt’s warehouse/supply is off of 35E and Hennepin, about 5-10 min north of the U campus.

Colten is going to Menards and Home Depot this weekend to check out the light rental situation.

Parker is still waiting for campus facilities to get back to him.

We're also looking into Powermoon LED balloon lights.

Other ideas? Anything we missed? :slightly_smiling_face:

[2018-10-25T20:37:24Z] olso6229: Powermoon lights can be set up / torn down in less than 5 minutes

[2018-10-25T20:39:06Z] olso6229: They also match Danny's comment about blue-grey enamel paint in prisons.

[2018-10-25T21:34:33Z] douga018: Here's the Handball Tape Layout that we ended on in class today.

[2018-10-26T02:52:31Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-26T02:52:40Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-26T02:52:46Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-26T02:52:52Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-26T02:53:09Z] mahla008: Redaction Groups - Black out poetry

[2018-10-26T02:53:33Z] mahla008: If you are interested and want to do some black out poetry attached is the word document

[2018-10-26T02:53:46Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-26T05:20:59Z] danks010: Really Powerful Poetry! Fascinated with each iteration from each person. Nice Work Redaction Group!

[2018-10-26T05:21:05Z] danks010: :+1::+1:

[2018-10-26T16:03:26Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-27T00:03:12Z] olso6229: Open invitation for a library visit next week to American Craft Council

[2018-10-27T00:04:04Z] mahla008: Memememe

[2018-10-27T00:10:36Z] olso6229: I have a photo of myself with some friends with this ROLU project from 2012. Also the executive director at american craft council used to be the Curator of Public Practice and Director of Education at the Walker Art Center. do you have any memories / stories about Sarah, either from this project, Fritz Haeg’s residency, or otherwise?

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Visiting Lecture: Sarah Schultz, Walker Art Center, Wide Open Public - The Contemporary Austin

https://www.thecontemporaryaustin.org/event/visiting-lecture-sarah-schultz-wide-open-public/

[2018-10-27T00:51:29Z] olso6229:

[2018-10-27T02:39:03Z] mahla008:

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The Vault

https://vault.fbi.gov/

[2018-10-27T02:39:14Z] mahla008:

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National Security Archive

https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/

[2018-10-27T02:40:07Z] mahla008: For anyone interested in redacted documents, two websites with a database of governmental redacted documents ranging from alot of things. Mostly due to the freedom of information act

[2018-10-27T02:49:43Z] mahla008: Heres one example, they are just really neat to look at

[2018-10-27T02:55:39Z] mahla008: Last one -

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Projections — Jenny Holzer

http://projects.jennyholzer.com/projections

[2018-10-27T02:56:03Z] mahla008: Jenny Holzer does cool stuff with sign painting and redaction, with projects and scrolling text

[2018-10-27T02:57:46Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-27T02:58:19Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-27T03:00:04Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-27T03:00:38Z] olso6229: the quotes on the stone benches at the walker garden are her work, also check out her “truisms”

[2018-10-27T03:00:50Z] mahla008:

[2018-10-27T03:01:20Z] mahla008: I love her projection work, i never knew she did redaction stuff

[2018-10-27T03:02:21Z] mahla008: Oh yeah, i was litteraly just looking at the "truisms"

[2018-10-27T03:17:48Z] mahla008: At the UMN reuse center 30$

[2018-10-27T03:19:42Z] olso6229: We want something wayyyyy taller, like 9’

[2018-10-27T03:20:03Z] mahla008: phhf

[2018-10-27T03:20:15Z] mahla008: get an extender

[2018-10-27T03:21:02Z] mahla008: Like that babys gotta be at least 8'

[2018-10-27T03:34:15Z] mahla008: I'm still gonna go tomorrow at like noon and see what they got, anyone is welcome to join

[2018-10-27T09:39:06Z] olson175: I remember everything!

[2018-10-27T11:25:38Z] olson175: just sent an email. make sure you read as soon as you can. THX!

[2018-10-27T13:46:23Z] olso6229: WHEW, it’s GO time :stopwatch::woman_climbing:

[2018-10-27T13:48:01Z] olson175: "Plant Seeds with Care"

If we act constructively, happiness will ensue; if we act destructively, problems will result…We create the causes by our actions, and we experience their results.

—Ven. Thubten Chodron, from “What Is Karma?”

[2018-10-27T15:01:32Z] olso6229: Alright, what’s the weekend scoop? Where’s everyone at? :nerd_face:

What all is on our plate? Benches, shelves, lights, tape, balloons, performance, redaction, outreach, proposal document? Did I miss anything?

do we have ideas for tape color/material? what type of tape won't leave an adhesive residue? What effect will a matte or glossy tape have when it interacts with the lights? Can we borrow or rent from anyone, or is it easier to buy? Maybe the theatre dept. at Rarig will be kind to us? Either way, they probably have some interesting and unexpected advice for us. :slightly_smiling_face:

+ + Is there a way to incorporate redaction into the larger conversation of what we're doing? Does it become part of the Target Gallery space? A performance outside of or within in WAM? If you're interested in opening it up as a larger conversation, I can connect you with Jen of MPWW and/or Junauda of Free Black Dirt?

Can our redaction poetry become part of a zine issue or Tumblr?

+ + Anything new on the balloon front? Is there the potential to combine the redaction group's work and balloons? LOVE balloons? A balloon performance?

Can handball and balloons tie together? Any ideas with the tape group for a handball event in WAM? How do we get the word out on this? :slightly_smiling_face:

is going to Re-use today to possibly pick up test lights

is checking out Menards + Home Depot for light rentals

and I are checking with light rental companies.

is it better to hold off on the Goldsworthy performance until after the 14th?

and , can you coordinate with Kevin / Justin / whomever about time in the shops? I see on the calendar there are BDA (box problem+dimensional color), PDES, GDES, and furniture classes that will flood the shop soon. It looks like afternoons are a bad time for us?

+ + can we get some mockup bench/shelf masses made to test in WAM alongside lights? Something simple made from scrap material? I think it’ll be great to use those to inform lighting and tape placement. :slightly_smiling_face:

And for everyone, can we follow the mantra Danny learned from his sculpture professor and passed on to us, “How much can I take away from this before it becomes something else? Peel it away to the most powerful elements.” Danny asks if we can keep it open, graceful, and thoughtful? Place-making and experiential qualities are our tools.

How can we peel the layers of everything we're doing to their most authentic, powerful, and essential parts? Simplicity comes after complexity.

[2018-10-27T15:03:53Z] olson175: Holy shite! (Irish accent) Lee. Psyched. This is a team. Thanks!

[2018-10-27T15:07:22Z] olson175: I'm sorta obsessing about this image/idea? It feels punk... and maybe a little post-Habitability? So I love the aesthetics. It would be really easy to make a version of something based on this. It would be incredibly cheap. And thanks Lee for invoking what Danny said about reduction... because this is simple. Thoughts?

[2018-10-27T15:10:28Z] olson175: Benches made from 14" tall sliced Sonotubes... ready-mix bags... Simpson strong ties for piers to elevate off the footing... or maybe we could custom make some more formal ones like in this pic? Then some sort of matching bookshelves or book presentation objects on casters? (Didn't someone mention A-frames at some point? maybe?

[2018-10-27T15:10:59Z] batzl015: Moving with the complex->simple mantra seems to be the way

[2018-10-27T15:11:14Z] olson175: Maybe some redacted text prints on tubes?

[2018-10-27T15:11:24Z] batzl015: I think we’re getting there with what we were doing on Thursday but I think it still needs something else

[2018-10-27T15:12:26Z] olso6229: I totally get and love sonotube seating from a time/material/construction POV. Stay fluid, right? I feel it’s honest to Danny and the essence of his work/subject matter, and will evoke the feelings we’re going after. As a bonus: the clarity/strength of this + smaller budget + less shop time is a WIN+WIN+WIN between Boris, WAM, Gayla, the Rapson shops, and (of course) us

[2018-10-27T15:12:37Z] olson175: This wouldn't require the shop as much either

[2018-10-27T15:13:35Z] olso6229: What're you feeling, chief?

[2018-10-27T15:15:23Z] batzl015: I need to work it a little more. Would you be down to get together today to throw down? Maybe get a large group formed to go hard on design?

[2018-10-27T15:16:11Z] batzl015: I like a triple win option

[2018-10-27T15:16:45Z] batzl015: When can we all get together today or tomorrow? Does a when to meet work?

[2018-10-27T15:17:53Z] olso6229: Let's go chief

[2018-10-27T15:18:09Z] olso6229: Can you set up the W2M link?

[2018-10-27T15:20:12Z] olso6229: I can meet both today and tomorrow

[2018-10-27T15:23:33Z] schra470: I am very free!

[2018-10-27T15:25:40Z] boris: Hello people. Just noting it here that I do not monitor what happens on slack. If you need a response from me please send an email (or text if it's urgent)

[2018-10-27T15:26:09Z] olso6229: Thank you for the heads up, Boris :slightly_smiling_face:

[2018-10-27T15:28:05Z] batzl015: Do y’all want to meet at some point around noon?

[2018-10-27T15:28:34Z] olso6229: Yes

[2018-10-27T15:28:37Z] batzl015: Idk what we would do but there’s a lot to do, so we’ll figure it out

[2018-10-27T15:28:47Z] olso6229: Totally :+1:

[2018-10-27T15:29:06Z] batzl015: I’ll prob bring lunch/a snack if people wanna bring food for a throwdown

[2018-10-27T15:29:12Z] batzl015: Meet in studio?

[2018-10-27T15:30:04Z] olso6229: BDA it is chief

[2018-10-27T15:30:43Z] schra470: Yeah I’m in!

[2018-10-27T15:31:18Z] watso595: I’ll be in the laser lab so if you guys could fill me in or wanna meet down there that’d be cool

[2018-10-27T15:31:27Z] olso6229: can you make a meeting post with location+time back into the general chat? :slightly_smiling_face:

[2018-10-27T15:32:03Z] batzl015: Sure! Would an email be helpful too?

[2018-10-27T15:32:15Z] olso6229: What number can we contact you at?

[2018-10-27T15:32:23Z] schra470: Definitely

[2018-10-27T15:35:07Z] batzl015: Hey, who can should come to the BDA studio at noon today to throw down on all parts of our project.

Urgency is high, but so is energy!

We will likely have to meet tomorrow as well, so keep posted if today is full for you.

[2018-10-27T15:35:50Z] olson175: &&&&ipos&&&&utm_medium&utm_campaign&mc_cid&mc_eid&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&gclsrc&&gclid&&ipos&&&&ipos&&&&&&&&&ipos&&&&>&&&&&&>&>>>>&>&&&&ipos&&&&utm_medium&utm_campaign&mc_cid&mc_eid&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&gclsrc&&gclid&&ipos&&&&ipos&&&&&&&&&ipos&&&&>

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