#its just So funny and frustrating seeing people making being native a big part of their identity and they do native art and

[bucephaly]

Its sooooo funny how little you can trust Google with anything cherokee at all. Like, you'll Google something and 0 sources actually come from us and its all just Wrong.

Like, if you search 'cherokee word for themselves' everything will say 'Ani'-Yun'Wiya' which.. no one ever uses like that anymore lol. It's also misspelled, it's from one guys book from 1900 where he used 'uñ' to denote our nasaled 'v' sound [like the u in fun but more nasaly] and then everyone just started using a regular N? It's aniyvwiya, and the direct translation is 'principle people', but it just means native haha

I can't say I have much experience being around cherokee speakers or anything but like... most people I've seen will just say cherokee if they're speaking English. [And I've heard the same from friends who do interact more with speakers] Cherokee isn't like some English words for native people in that its meaning is derogatory, it's just muskogee for 'people who speak a different language' and I havent seen anyone have an issue with it. When speaking cherokee, people say tsalagi which.. means cherokee lol.

[jocia92]

… So much of an actor’s craft is figuring out the “I want” of their character, but that’s got to be a little different with Tom since he states that he literally cannot want anything. What challenge or opportunity did that pose for you?

I think he wants to improve. I think he wants to calibrate according to Alma’s needs, wants, and desires. I think he’s very ready to learn and to understand. That was the kind of primary objective: listen, learn, calibrate, improve. That’s almost the track of each scenario. He just gets a little better each time, and the process gets a little faster. But certainly, in the beginning, he’s just delivering this sort of 20 classic chat-up lines that he’s been uploaded with and getting it all wrong. It’s fun to watch the machine learn and chart that progress.

On a practical or philosophical level, how did you approach the process of humanizing a character that’s an algorithm, or did you at all?

It was very much about charting with Maria exactly when we want to see the machine, when we want to see the human. Even playing with that ratio was really interesting and fun. It’s not so much about watching him play the machine, but watching a character try to play the human. Certainly, in the beginning, in some of the not quite so successful human moments, shall we say, we deconstructed what we regarded as the conventional human behavior in that. We looked at a lot of screwball comedies, like Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Katharine Hepburn movies. [We were] taking a move or a gesture, breaking that down, and just doing two of the things. It just suddenly looks very odd and wrong, and you’re like, “Oh, this is what a human does in this moment!” But it’s just off. It was really as much about looking at the human.

You’ve mentioned things like The Philadelphia Story as shaping the film and its central relationship. Was that to ground it in reality or further ensconce it in the warped reality of cinema? Grant and Stewart are recognizable to us as people, but things like that mid-Atlantic lilt were entirely manufactured for the screen.

That was a very key point for Maria in referencing Cary Grant. The hair color that we chose for Tom was very much like Cary Grant’s hair color, being a shade darker than is possibly human. And the skin tone being slightly artificial for Tom. You’re right, Cary Grant is often very heightened and mannered sometimes, and it works in the situation in the style of the thing that he’s in. But we quite liked the idea that Tom has been uploaded with some outdated versions of what a romantic lead was supposed to behave like.

It’s striking just how thought-out things had to be down to how Tom responds to dead air space in a conversation. What was the process behind those small moments that can make or break the believability of a character?

It was very fun to play with, and probably quite frustrating for a lot of the human actors. Maren was giving a beautifully naturalistic performance, and the conventional responses that there should be from her scene partner weren’t there. We deliberately strip those away—sometimes without telling her, sometimes without needing to tell her. It’s just the way that Tom was, so it was about pushing those moments into a space that became a little uncomfortable: not jumping in on the lines where you might normally jump in, sometimes coming in hard, sometimes offering a delayed response, sometimes none at all. Playing with those, and watching how comfortable or uncomfortable that made them both, was really fun.

Did that frustration, built in by the process, bleed over for Maren into the character of Alma, do you think?

Maybe for Maren. Certainly, for me, it was frustrating in that I would have to remember not to respond in the way that I might normally and remove some of those things. [I had to] really break down exactly what Tom is thinking, what his programming is doing in that point, how he’s responding and calibrating, and whether we see that or not. Choosing moments to show the human, to show the machine. Along with Maria, that was one of the great joys of the role.

How did you settle on the physicality of the character? Was it at all helpful to have done something like Beauty and the Beast in a mo-cap suit to be hyper-aware of how your own movements translate to the screen?

Very much so. In fact, in pretty much every role I’ve done since Beauty and the Beast, I’ve incorporated not always a movement coach, but I’ve definitely looked at movement theory and physicality in a totally new way because of the challenges of that role. And, I have to say, dance plays a huge part in that. Whether it’s incorporated on the screen or if it’s something that just feels as if it helps the role, I often find that a dance studio is a very fruitful space to discover things about your character’s physicality. Learning the rumba for this role was incredibly helpful because it’s a very precise, technical, almost robotic dance in terms of the laser precision that’s needed to get it absolutely right. I had a fantastically exact teacher in Berlin who was teaching me the rumba the whole way through the shoot. We shot that [one scene] quite near the end of the shoot. Just to have those lessons, that kind of physicality, and that poise with me the whole way through the role was really useful.

How did the role being in a non-native tongue affect the characterization of Tom? Was it all easier to make him seem slightly unreal given that the words might not come quite as naturally as they would in English?

I think it was a deliberate choice on the part of Maria to look for a foreign actor who could speak German. She needed somebody who could both get their heads and their mouths around the very technical German that was required, which, even for a German is pretty complex, but also who had that sense of otherness. I’m sure they could have tailored the screenplay to any number of nationalities, but I was very happy they came to me and made him British. It definitely helped with, as I say, the fact that he’s listening, learning, focusing, trying to improve…that was literally all I was doing last summer, every day.

How do you lock onto the frequency of German comedy, which isn’t always something people associate with that country or people? How is it different than doing something like the more mannered British wit of Blithe Spirit or the broad studio comedy of Eurovision Song Contest?

It’s not a country known for it, but I think they should [be]. I find Germans very funny. They have a very interesting sense of humor. What’s particularly delightful is the way that they can tackle really kind of big, sometimes weighty, issues with a certain wit and lightness of touch, which is not common to all countries. Physical comedy, I think, is fairly universal. I think there’s something almost farcical about some of the physical stuff that we managed to get in this. It was really fun to make people laugh in a foreign language. It was surprisingly delightful. It felt very unifying, somehow, to be able to get a joke across in any language.

[autisticdindjarin]

The Guard of the Mand’alor

(AO3)

Summary: Omera was a foundling, taken in by Mandalorians when her family was slaughtered. She never met a certain Mandalorian on Sorgan, but when the Mandalorian throne is claimed by Din Djarin, he is in need of an honor guard. Omera steps up to the challenge. Rating: T Pairing: Din Djarin x Omera Warnings: One use of the f word. Notes:  For Mandomera Week! Prompt: Bodyguard AU, This is separate from my other fic for Mandomera week, so it’s another idea I just came up with today rip.

 (Masterlist)

(Chapter Two)

----------------

Din had been reluctant to agree to the traditional Honor Guard set aside for the Mand’alor. Bo-Katan talked him into it- bullied him into it- eventually, after she suggested he could pick out the warriors himself. To her exasperation, he took that to mean sparring with them himself.

But by that point Bo-Katan had been well done with negotiation, and let him have his way. Din couldn’t help but be a little smug.

Three had already been approved over the first week. That meant four more to go. Paz was already confirmed, as Din had fought beside him before and knew his skill. They might still butt heads from time to time, but he trusted his vod.

The sparring ring today wasn’t as crowded with spectators, which made Din feel more at ease. Mandalorians loved their fights. If they couldn’t participate, they’d happily settle for spectating and cheering on the challengers.. 

Din gripped his beskar spear in one hand. He slowly entered the ring, and his helmet scanned around for his opponent.

The Mandalorian to be tested came into the other side of the ring. They wore orange and blue armor, fully outfitted with a jetpack and whistling birds, though the latter would not be used. Din straightened his posture and nodded towards his fellow Mandalorian. There wasn’t much ceremony to these spars. He didn’t want it to be anything too fancy, just a judgement of skills on his part. He refused to make this into some big spectacle for political gain.

The other Mandalorian nodded back at him, accepting the challenge, and Din moved. His opponent moved fast, side stepping while balancing their weight on their own beskar spear. Din smiled beneath his helmet, a rush filling him as the fight intensified.

They traded blows. Nearly all were blocked by each other, and Din tilted his helmet in another nod of approval. This Mandalorian fought quick on their feet and sharp with their thinking, coming up with clever ways to unbalance Din that had his own mind scrambling to keep up and defend himself.

As the spar continued, his heart pounded hard in his chest, the satisfying thump of knowing he was alive. The ring of beskar hitting beskar sang pure and musical in the air, as if they were performing a symphony with their intricate dance.

They went toe to toe, and the fight kept dragging on. Din growled in frustration at their standoff. No one was getting the upper hand here; if one of them was hit, the other wasn’t too far behind. Every time one had an opening, it was quickly noticed and blocked. By now they both felt the strain of stretched muscles.

Din chuckled in surprise when he tripped over the beskar spear that had sneakily hit the inside of his ankle. He caught it on his own spear and slammed his weight to the side enough to make his opponent stumble in turn. They quickly balanced themselves once more, a picture of Mandalorian grace.

“Jate,” he muttered under his breath, but the other Mandalorian seemed to catch it, nodding. Good. Din deflected several more while the endurance was beginning to wane on both sides. 

“Luubid!” Din finally declared. Enough. Sweat dripped down his face from under his helmet, and his chest heaved. It satisfied him to see his opponent leaning with hands on their upper thighs and catching their breath as well. They stepped back after a moment and then stood straight with the spear to their side, held vertically.

“I declare a draw. You’re in,” he stated. The other Mandalorian bowed their head in respect and acceptance as scattered applause rang from their small audience. Din straightened his cloak, approaching the other warrior.

“Talk to Bo-Katan, she’ll tell you what you need to know. Paz Viszla will be your first-in-command. You have a name?” he asked- not in a demanding way. People’s names were their own business.

The other Mandalorian nodded and reached to take their helmet off. Din paused. Sometimes it still seemed strange, watching a Mandalorian helmet being removed. But different Mandalorians had different ways, and as Mand’alor, Din had come to accept that his way was as valid as theirs.

A dark braid spilled out down the other Mandalorian’s back, revealing the face of a woman. She appeared to be around Din’s age, and he paused once more, assessing.

“Omera of Clan Thorne,” she said, voice kind and musical. She actually smiled at him, not something Din had gotten from any of the sparring partners sent to him so far.

“Olarom, Omera.” Welcome. It was strange, speaking Mando’a so frequently now, but Bo-Katan had heavily encouraged the practice.

“Thank you, Mand’alor,” she nodded and her eyes sparkled.

-----------------------

Paz didn’t take long shaping up his new charges. By the time Din had chosen his eighth, it had been a week after Omera had joined the force. The earlier selected guards already stood on duty, at least two nearby Din at all times. He learned quickly to ignore the feeling of being watched.

He made conversation with them often. He’d like to know the people who were guarding him, it only seemed right that, if you were going to ask a fellow Mandalorian to shield you, you at least earned their trust. While he already had that trust with Paz - though at times it was hard to tell from the outside - he needed to gain more rapport with the others.

The youngest of the guard was 23, the eldest 56, and they all brought their own unique skills. Koska had made the cut as well, and Din suspected Bo-Katan was to blame for that sparring test. Bo-Katan liked Din being surrounded by people whom she trusted.

Right now, Koska and Omera guarded the door to his chambers. He’d woken not long ago with no pressing issues being hurled at him, and he’d actually been allowed to sleep in for an hour.

Once he dressed and put on his full armor and cape, darksaber at his side, Din exited his rooms. Koska and Omera straightened their already perfect posture into something more deliberate, each holding a beskar spear, which had become a trademark of his guard.

“Udesiir,” Din said, joining them. Relax. They were both helmeted, but he saw them peer at each other for a moment at Din’s request. 

“Is there a problem?” Koska asked, tugging off her helmet, addressing him in her straightforward, blunt manner. Fire always ran hot in her eyes, always ready for a fight. Din could appreciate that.

“No problem,” Din confirmed, glancing over as Omera slipped off her helmet. The armor of the guard was black and gold - again Bo-Katan’s input - and their beskar had been repainted as such. Black and gold. Justice for the future, and vengeance for the past.

Din’s own beskar still shined in its pure form. At first he’d just never gotten around to painting it, but now he liked the simpleness of it. Even if it made him stand out - as Mand’alor, he was never going to escape scrutiny.

“You two native to the planet?” Din asked. Both shook their heads, but Omera elaborated.

“I was a foundling,” she said. Din regarded her with curiosity.

“I was too. Clan Thorne adopted you?” he asked. She nodded solemnly, a hint of surprise on her face at his remembering her clan’s name.

“Yes. During the Trade Federation’s attack on my planet, decades ago. I was young enough that I don’t remember,” she shrugged. Din nodded at that, then turned towards Koska, waiting for her response. The younger guard shrugged.

“Zanbar, born and raised.” No elaboration there, which Din didn’t mind. He was already pretty familiar with Koska. Besides, Omera caught more of his attention. She was unknown and he was curious.

“Has Clan Thorne settled on Mandalore?” he asked, leaning against the wall, hands on belt. Koska rolled her eyes. Din frowned, but said nothing, keeping his focus on Omera.

“Some of us, though not many. There’s a strong presence on Balamak coming out of hiding. But my daughter is with me.”

“Your daughter?” Din’s curiosity came out.

“Yes,” Omera smiled proudly. “Winta. She’s ten and very focused on her training. She wanted to try out for the guard too.”

Din huffed out a laugh, shrugging his shoulders.

“Who knows? Wouldn’t hurt to add one more. She could replace Reeves here,” Din prodded, earning himself a raised eyebrow from Omera and a long suffering half smile from Koska.

“Funny,” she deadpanned.

A beat of silence fell and Din took it.

“Let’s go, I’m going to get some food,” he began strolling along without looking back. They’d catch up. He did hear their helmets slipping back on and the soft footsteps that dutifully trailed him.

-------------

The guards soon became comfortable in their routine, and so did Din. It wasn’t as bad as he’d thought it would be - they weren’t there to intrude, and he didn’t feel like they snatched away his privacy. They gave him his space, just close enough to jump in if there was any trouble. Paz grumbled about the job enough that Din asked if he’d like to resign. His vod seemed highly offended by the suggestion and had stalked off when Koska started laughing.

One evening, six months following the establishment of his guard, Din sat before the fireplace, reading one of the books Sabine - the leader of Clan Wren - had given him on old Mandorian art and history. It was more interesting than he thought it would be, and he made a note to ask Sabine if she’d like to revive some of the ancient artisan traditions that were described. He liked to think that it would give his people a morale boost.

His people. It was still hard to think that. Not when it came to being a part of them, but when it came to being their ruler. The ruler of a whole stars forsaken planet, of a whole kriffing creed.

A light knock sounded on the door, and he recognized Omera in the rhythm.

“Come in,” he called out. He turned around on his seat, twisting towards the doorway. Omera stepped in, fully armed and armored, and hesitated.

“Is something wrong?” Din asked, standing and putting the book down.

“There’s someone here. She said you asked for her?”

He’d never heard Omera sound so unsure.

“Hm. No, I don’t think I had anything set up. Might’ve missed something. Who is it?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t say her name, but I’ve never seen her before. She’s not Mandalorian, and she’s not armed, but she looks like a fighter. I don’t know if she’s even supposed to be in the palace.”

Din hummed, contemplating that.

“Well, escort her in. I’m sure it’s nothing you can’t handle?” He gave her a soft smile that she couldn’t see. Omera nodded, gripped her beskar spear in a well practiced hold, peeked out the cracked door, and gestured to someone on the other side.

The mysterious visitor walked in, followed closely by Paz and his staring.

“Fennec,” Din sighed, immediately recognizing the intruder. “How did you get in here?”

“I have my ways,” the small sniper shrugged, her eyes scanning over the spacious room. “Nice set up you have going on here, Mando.”

Omera’s spear was still half raised and ready to strike, as was Paz’s. Din put a hand up.

“Stand down. She’s an old friend.”

“Well I don’t know her,” Paz scoffed. Din rolled his eyes.

“Don’t get jealous about it, Viszla,” he said, leaving Paz’s glare on him, then looked back to Fennec. “What brings you sneaking in? Fett need something?”

“See, I told him you’d catch on quick. Can we talk in private?” Fennec asked, eyeing the two bodyguards. Din shrugged.

“Sure.”

“I don’t think-” Paz began.

“I’m fine, vod,” Din cut him off. A drawn out sigh left Paz, and Din knew he was pouting behind that helmet.

“We’ll be outside as always, Mand’alor,” Omera put in, taking Paz by the arm, and Din was impressed at how she dragged the much bigger man out of the room.

-------------------------

Fett was calling on a favor. Din was pretty sure they’d squared up, but he liked Fett, and he didn’t think he could ever really repay him for his help when Grogu had been taken. So he agreed, without any input from his council. Bo-Katan had been less than pleased, especially when she found out he was leaving Mandalore to do business with Fett on Tatooine.

“Are you out of your mind?” she hissed. Din sighed.

“It’ll be a two week trip, tops. You can hold the fort down til then, I’m sure. It doesn’t take a darksaber to run a planet.”

“You need to take your guard. All of them.”

“I’m not taking my whole guard with me. We’ll draw too much attention, and too much attention on Tatooine is not a good thing.” Din pointed out.

“You say that as if the Mand’alor being on Tatooine wouldn’t draw attention,” Bo-Katan scoffed.

“I can keep my head down. Look, I never asked for this job, okay? But I made a deal with you. I’ve held up my end of the deal - I still have the darksaber, Mandalore has been retaken, a new Mand’alor is seated on the throne.”

“You still have responsibilities, you can’t just run -”

“I’m not running,” Din growled. “I have a comlink to keep in contact for anything that comes up. Two weeks, Kryze. Consider this me putting in vacation time.”

She sighed and shook her head.

“Okay. Okay. Fine, I can spin this. Forging connections with the crimeking of Tatooine isn’t so bad an idea. We could use more alliances.”

“Please stop making this political,” Din all but begged.

“You have to take at least four guards with you, though.”

“One,” Din countered.

“Two,” She said, voice firm. Din hesitated, but nodded. Two was a hell of a lot better than eight.

“Alright. I’ll choose them though.”

“Of course, vod'ika.”

-----------------------------

That evening, Din asked around. Omera was off duty at the moment, and he realized he didn’t even know where she lived when she wasn’t in the palace.

Still on the palace grounds, apparently. Koska was pleased to inform him of this, and he immediately became suspicious at the gleam in her eye.

A small area, almost a village, stood within the walls for palace staff. It wasn’t crowded and it was peaceful. Serene, quiet from the bumbling rush that always seemed present in the main building. The cottages were very nice too, not exactly high luxury, but well near the low end of it.

Koska and another guard, Myrah, accompanied him, and they directed him towards where Omera lived. They were quite diligent about the surroundings as he made his way down the various little side roads.

“This is it?” Din asked, stopping in front of a blindingly blue door. Koska nodded, and Din stepped forwards, knocking.

The door swung open and Din found himself looking down at a bright eyed girl whose eyes looked familiar. She stood still when she saw him, her mouth dropping open.

“It’s you,” she said.

“Yes?” Din answered, not sure where to really go with this. He was, in fact, himself. 

Koska snorted from behind him and then he heard her grunt when Myrah gave her a well placed elbow to the ribcage.

The girl turned her head slightly. “Mom! Your boss is here!”

Boss? That was a new title.

Sounds of rushed scurrying came from inside before Omera appeared beside her daughter. She looked - comfortable; Din had never seen her without her armor, and it was nice. Just casual clothes, a long cotton shirt and some leggings, but she looked good.

“Mand’alor, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t expecting you,” Omera said. She put both of her hands on her daughter’s shoulders and stood behind her.

Din cleared his throat.

“That’s fine, I’m the one intruding. Just wanted to, uh, ask you something,” he fumbled.

“You’re not intruding!” Omera exclaimed, stepping to the side. “Come on, come in, please.”

Din hesitated and then nodded, brushing past Omera as he walked in.

“We’ll be out here,” Myrah said from the front, and Din nodded in acknowledgement. Omera shut the door behind him.

“You can sit anywhere, sorry the place isn’t the cleanest right now, I had double shifts yesterday and Winta’s been so busy with her schoolwork,” Omera said, only slightly rambling. Din smiled at that and he did sit on the far left end of her modest little couch. The space was homey, and much more welcoming than his own quarters felt in the palace. It wasn’t lonely.

“It’s fine. You should have seen my old ship,” he said, attempting to ease either his nerves or hers. It seemed to work for her at least, as she smiled brightly.

“You’ll have to tell me about it sometime,” she said and squeezed Winta’s arm. Winta remained quiet and simply stared Din down with wide eyes. He shuffled in his seat.

“I’m planning a last minute trip to Tatooine. Bo-Katan is insisting I take two guards along-”

“Only two?” Omera interjected, surprised. Din shrugged.

“We negotiated. I’d like you to be one of them. There’s plenty others to still ask if you can’t,” he added quickly, tongue doing everything not to trip over itself.

“I’ve never been to Tatooine,” Omera mused. “It’s not much to look at. I have a contact there I’m doing some business with,” Din shrugged. “It’ll be two weeks long, so I understand if you can’t.”

Omera appeared to think for a long moment. Din waited patiently.

“I’ll have to check with my neighbor Cheri-”

“I can stay with her! She said I’m welcome whenever,” Winta butted in while craning her neck up towards her mother.

“Two weeks is a long time for watching someone else’s kid,” Omera chuckled.

“It’ll be fine! It’ll be like a sleepover, she said she likes sleepovers with me! It’ll just be a long one,” Winta said with heavy encouragement.

“Hm. You won’t miss me then?”

“Well, maybe some, but - you’ll be back,” Winta shrugged then gave her a wide grin.

Din watched them with amusement. He felt something like contentment at the mother daughter interaction. It made him think of his foundling.

“Alright… well. No hard yes, I need to make a few holocalls, but very likely?” Omera turned towards Din. It took him a moment to realize she was addressing him.

“Oh. Yes, of course,” he coughed, standing up again. Omera smiled.

“I’ll let you know by this evening.”

“You have my com code?” Din asked. She nodded. Of course she does, she’s your bodyguard, di’kut. Idiot.

“I will … see you then. Again,” Din said. She reached out her hand, and Din immediately took it. It didn’t seem right to shake it though, so he just gave it a soft squeeze.

“Thank you, Omera.”

-------------------

It wasn’t the longest trip Din had been on, but it was a long one. His new ship, the Mudhorn - one of the perks of being the leader of Mandalore - slid like a dream through hyperspace, devoid of the rattling sounds Din had grown used to on the Razor Crest. 

He had chosen the bodyguard Myrah Cadera as his second after Omera had accepted. Paz would be watching over things on Mandalore while he was gone, with Bo-Katan’s help, and Din felt confident with the planet in their hands. Fennec had left before they had, returning to Boba’s side in her own ship.

It relaxed him to be out in space again. The familiar thrum of it made his hands tingle beneath his gloves. While Bo-Katan had tried to convince him to take a hired pilot, he’d refused. If he went anywhere in his ship, he’d be the one piloting it. He’d been itching to fly for too long.

He sat in the hull now. It was too luxurious for him, really, but it was also nice not having to worry about the ship falling into pieces mid route.

Omera and Myrah had made themselves comfortable in the crew’s sleeping quarters, while Din had his own captain’s cabin that felt like too much. 

He’d offered it to Omera, but she had given him a strange look before refusing the offer and scurrying off so fast that he wondered if he had offended her. Myrah had declined as well, laughing and chortling out something about the idea of stealing the Mand’alor’s bed from him, unless he’d like to share it, and that had made Din blush in flames and thank the stars once more for the helmet.

He idly cleaned his weapons as he sat at the fairly sized table to the side. Myrah worked on her art across the way, and Omera sat close to him, watching. Looking like she wanted to say something. Din could feel her gaze digging into him.

“What?” he finally asked when he couldn’t take it any longer. He swore she could see right through the helmet. He put his weapon to the side and faced her. Omera pressed her lips together, then spoke.

“Nothing, really. I was just thinking.”

“What about?”

“Silly things. How we don’t know much about you. At all, really. You always ask about us, find stuff out, but I don’t even know your real name ... “ her voice trailed off at the end.

“Would you like to know my name?” Din asked.

“Yes. Maybe. I don’t know. If you’re comfortable?” she questioned, eyes searching his visor.

“Sounds like you do want to know, then,” Din concluded. Omera huffed out a laugh.

“It’s nice to put a name to the helmet,” she teased. “You can’t blame me for being curious. I’ve never met a Mandalorian quite like you.”

“I could say the same,” he said. Omera frowned.

“I don’t know about that. I’d say I’m pretty average on the grand scale of-”

“Did you- did you just say you were average?” Din cut her off, incredulous. Her cheeks darkened in a blush. “Well, yes,” she shrugged. Din snorted.

“I don’t pick average Mandalorians to be part of my personal guard. You held your own and held it very well when we fought. You’re not anything close to fucking average,” Din said, offended by the idea. Omera blushed further under his words and his gaze, and she tucked some loose hair back behind her ear.

“I suppose. I think we’re getting a little off subject, though,” she smiled.

“It’s Din. Din Djarin,” he said quietly and looked away.

“Din,” Omera repeated in her pleasant voice. “I like it.”

“Well I’d obviously change it if I didn’t have your approval,” he added dryly, and Omera laughed sincerely at that. He couldn’t hold back the smile beneath his helmet.

“What else?” he asked. Omera furrowed her brow at him. “What else do you want to know?” he clarified.

“Ah. I don’t know. I guess the same questions you asked me? Where are you from? I know you’re a foundling, but you didn’t elaborate beyond that.”

“I was from a planet called Aq Vetina,” he shrugged. “Droids attacked the city during the Clone Wars. My parents hid me, and the Mandalorians saved me. I swore the creed when I came of age. And now, I’m here.”

It was a very watered down version, but Din wasn’t ready to give away everything just yet. Nevertheless, Omera nodded, hand finding its way to rest on top of his.

“We come from similar backgrounds, then,” she said quietly. “Even though I don’t remember any of it. I lived on Naboo during the occupation of the Trade Federation. Their battle droids killed my family. A Mandalorian named Khala Lodd was on the planet at the time, and she found me, got us off planet and past the blockade. She was a close friend with Clan Thorne, with my adoptive mother, and knew she had been thinking about taking in a foundling. So here I am,” Omera said with a smile at him. Her hand squeezed his.

Din nodded. It was hauntingly similar. At least Omera hadn’t been old enough to remember what it was like. They held each other’s gazes, deep in their thoughts.

“Hey, you got any ration bars that don’t taste like rokaria’an dirt fish droppings?” Myrah asked loudly from across the hull, effectively snapping Din and Omera out of the moment.

-------------------------

Fett had definitely made a name for himself on Tatooine. Din hadn’t realized how much, but they saw the effects as soon as they had landed at Mos Eisley spaceport. The town seemed brighter, and livelier, more hopeful. Still chalk full of criminals, of course, but that would probably never go out of style on Tatooine.

Din hadn’t even realized Tatooine had a palace until he’d heard it from Fennec. It stood out, gaudy against the desolate Tatooine sands. Fett’s flair for the dramatic only intensified the aura inside.

While Din expected a bit of a cantina scene to greet them, everyone seemed cordial. Nearly polite. Sure, there was drinking and loud laughter, but no atmosphere of everyone being on the edge of a bar fight ending with some body dumped in the sand to bleed out.

Fett sat on the throne like he owned the whole damn galaxy. Legs spread, body fully armored, and helmet intimidating. And while Din wasn’t personally intimidated by his ally, he could see where everyone else should be.

Omera and Myrah stuck close by him, with beskar spears ready for anything. His own spear was secured on his back along with his jetpack. He wouldn’t be needing it in here, but he liked having it with him.

“Mando,” Fett greeted, voice gravely and familiar.

“Fett,” Din answered back, and they took a moment to stare each other down. Fett eventually laughed and rose from his throne. Din felt Myrah tense from beside him, but Omera seemed unbothered, reading his own reactions.

“Mand’alor, huh? Stars be damned, I would’ve loved to see the princess’s face.”

“It wasn’t pleased,” Din agreed, and Fett laughed more. Din caught sight of Fennec across the room, near some stairs that he assumed led to other wings of the palace. She met his gaze and nodded, and he returned the gesture.

“Who are these? Friends or accessories?” Fett nodded towards Din’s guards.

“They’re not accessories,” Din clarified. Hardness laced his voice. Fett stared at him. Din sighed, and his shoulders sagged. “Bodyguards,” he admitted.

“Huh. Thought you could take care of yourself, Mando,” Fett stared at him.

“It was a negotiation. And I can take care of myself,” Din shook his head.

“Alright, alright. I won’t pry. Come on, we have some things to talk about,” Fett gestured to where Fennec stood at the stairs. Din sighed and nodded, and Fett led the way. Omera’s hand brushed against Din’s as they followed.

--------------------

Business talk was something Din had always found exhausting. By the end of the day, seeing the generous chambers Fett had given him just made him want to sink helmet first on the mattress and fall straight to sleep. He frowned upon seeing that Omera and Myrah were still in full guard duty mode.

“You can relax. It’s pretty safe here, Fett has his own guards, you know. I’m not expecting you to guard me here the whole time. You’re mostly here to keep Bo-Katan from going off the rails on me. Again,” he grouched out, mood sour. Myrah and Omera glanced at each other before the helmets slipped off. Omera looked as weary as Din felt. Myrah, on the other hand, had the energy of a solar flare. He began undoing the clasps on his boots.

“You trust him that much?” Myrah asked.

“I trust him with my life,” Din answered, then held back a yawn. “You can go. Relax, hit the cantina, get an early start on sleep in your quarters, whatever.”

Myrah raised a thoughtful brow before she nodded. She punched Omera’s arm in farewell before she disappeared out the door.

Din’s attention focused on tugging his boots off and setting aside his jetpack. He didn’t realize Omera still lingered at the door until she made a soft noise, and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

Din looked over at her and sighed.

“Go rest, Omera.” The words were not delivered rudely, but with a sense of affection in his tone.

“Not tired. Thought you might like company?”

Din chuckled.

“I’ve had too much company today. But you’re not company, you’re-” he broke off, flustered as he held back his words. Omera sat down beside him, taking off her own boots.

“I’m what?” she asked. Her voice teased him, and he was sure it was intentional. Din’s face burned beneath the helmet when she used that deep tone. Stars, they’d been playing this game well on four months now.

“You’re … a friend,” he said, lamely. Omera looked surprised yet pleased.

“Thought I was just your guard. I’m glad I wasn’t claimed as an accessory, though,” she joked out. Din stilled, reaching over and taking her wrist. His fingers encircled it, thumb rubbing over where her palm began.

“Sorry. Fett can be a lot.”

“I don’t mind. He was entertaining.”

“That’s … sure, if you want to put it that way,” he laughed, tightness leaving his chest. He released her wrist. Quiet settled and Din shucked his cloak off. He stretched his arms with a groan as he did so, and Omera placed her boots to the side, side eying him.

“Do you get lonely?”

Din’s helmet swiveled and he peered over at her. Her eyes were closed now, chin leaning against a fist propped up with her elbow. The question didn’t seem malicious, but Din felt like she was inspecting him. He wondered if she liked what she saw. He wondered when she would dig too far and run away when she truly saw the man beneath.

“Do you?” he turned it back on her. Her eyes shot open, a concern in them that unsettled him further.

“You’re deflecting,” she accused - gently.

“Does it matter? If I’m lonely?” he asked, averting his gaze.

“It matters,” she affirmed and leaned forwards, trying to get him to look at her again. 

He didn’t. 

Instead he studied his hands. His fingertips played across the rich wooden table.

“Sometimes I like being lonely,” he frowned. “It’s familiar.”

Omera reached forward and her hand trailed up to place her palm flat over his chestplate.

“It’s easier, you mean.”

He huffed out, squeezed his eyes, and shook his head.

“I … don’t know,” he admitted, voice breaking over the confession. He looked up at her again, and his eyes searched her face in the tension between them. “You’re beautiful,” he muttered out.

Something deep in her eyes flashed when she processed his words. A softness fell over her face that Din wanted to sink himself into, wanted to hold. He wanted her hand on him without the beskar covering everything, to feel her warmth against him. He reached his right hand up and tugged the glove off, and before he could overthink it, he rested the bare hand against the side of her face. He felt like his soul was bared as well.

Omera’s eyes fluttered closed and she made a small - nearly pained - sound. His breath hitched at it, and his thumb stroked over her cheekbone. Her skin was so warm and soft and she sounded divine and he couldn’t help but yearn.

Her hand moved up to cover the one on her face, leaning into it. Then, then he leaned towards her, his head tilting, the cool metal of his helmet touching against her forehead. A wide smile came from Omera, and her free hand grasped at the back of his neck, just below the helmet, her thumb brushing through some of the wavy hair that had escaped. Din sucked air in sharply.

“Ner cabur,” he breathed out. My guardian. Omera pressed back against his forehead at the words.

“Ner burc’ya,” Omera replied, and his left hand came up to the other side of her face, both hands now tracing across her skin, one gloved, one naked. My friend.

When he pulled away, a whined protest came from her, but he was taking off his chestplate now, and the remaining glove. He’d planned on leaving most of his armor on, as they were in an unfamiliar place, but he wanted something else more.

When he was left in his flight suit, Omera watching him curiously, he took her hand. His fingers laced with hers for a moment, then squeezed, before guiding her hand to his chest, over his heart.

“Ner kar’ta,” he said it with all the conviction he had in him. Omera’s eyes shot up from where they had been studying his chest. My heart.

“Din,” she whispered, raw emotion in her voice.

“You are. You’re so good for me, cyar’ika,” he breathed out. Sweetheart. “I wish I was as good for you.”

Omera pulled back, gave him a heated look that made his heart stutter, and then she was on him and wrapping her arms around him in a full embrace so quickly that Din took a while to catch up. He held her in a returned embrace, and his helmet rested against her shoulder while she buried her face against his neck. He shuddered at the nearly overwhelming contact, but held tight, not wanting to let go.

"You are," she affirmed.

And he didn’t let go.

(Chapter Two)

@mandomeraweek

[beetlemancy]

top five Liam RP moments?

1. Vax’s goodbye.    There’s a lot here. Vax’s entire storyline was quite a feat and was so meaningful to so many people, but especially to Liam himself. As many of us know but maybe some CR2 critters don’t, this was during a time in his life that was really tough and a lot of what Vax went through was Liam working out his POV on death, family, and the purpose of existence. It was especially moving for those of us who have dealt with this kind of death - the kind that you can see coming. It’s different from other kinds, and so rarely portrayed as beautifully and as truthfully, ugliness and all, as Vax’ildan. Because of all that, this scene is still monumentally heartwrenching and is my go-to cry catalyst when I need to parse through my own darkness.

2. The Wedding Gift     This came after several VM oneshots where we were aching for Vax. We knew it could never happen because both Liam and Matt never wanted to do a disservice to the story. Yet it was still like being unable to scratch an itch - watching everyone but Liam get to play in Vox Machina’s skins again was SO frustrating. And so when this happened, it was in equal parts amazing and horrific - perfectly Vax in every way. Liam’s choices made here were especially strong. The voice being familiar, but different. His movements being slower, more fluid, but still so clearly Vax. His distance, but then the way he sank into his sister, the way he wrapped Keyleth up in his arms. Liam also made an excellent choice in playlist for this one-shot. Seriously, its genuinely spooky how well they all fit. He also spoke about how he was inspired by the Stephen King short story ‘The Jaunt’ for when he thinks about what Vax is going through. I highly recommend you read it if you can handle existential spookiness - it makes everything about Vax hit different, especially the playlist song ‘Far From Home.’

3. Caleb and the Scourger | (both times)     I have earlier Caleb moments that I think are fantastic RP moments, but it wasn’t until this went down that it was all skyrocketed up to another level entirely. This was our longest taste of how he decided to play with the fact that his native language is Zemnian. He loses the German accent and he loses the filler words and the stumbling. We see Caleb as how he actually is - frighteningly brilliant, witty, and biting. Underneath all that Common and Anxiety is a weapon, after all - but with that anger, such a gentleness and a compassion for his brothers and sisters. The emotions never feel contrary. Yes, they are complicated, but they make perfect sense. Plus, it never fails to impress me how he can come up with things like “Some of us get tired of macabre fairy tales. So you enjoy your mouthful of lies when they choke it out of you” and “I don’t know how my brothers and sisters could stomach wearing that mantle of loyalty knowing it was woven so thoroughly from sin.’ Like, go off, boo.

4. The Experience     I’ve talked about this scene before, but you’ve given me an excuse to only focus on Liam here. This is… possibly in my top five clips that I rewatch the most often. It’s just. so. fucking. funny. And I live for watching all of the cast, but especially Liam, eat up the crowd’s energy and place it right back into the RP. Before he was dealt his particular fate, Vax was always a trickster first. He never lost this, not even later on when things got very dark. I appreciated this. Gallows humor is a common coping mechanism for those of us who can see the end a little more clearly. In this case, I just really appreciate the word play. There is a theory that Liam is actually The Bard himself, reincarnated, and this scene is definitely one that showcases that potential. The fey chaos in his ability to improv all of this doublespeak, purposefully weaving ‘accidental’ innuendo into every line, never ceases to amaze.

5. Liam and his Badass Cleric Ladies     This might be cheating but its something I wanted to talk about in particular - Liam gives his other characters SUCH life and such fascinating differences and I want mostly to talk about the body language and vocal aspect of his RP. I made a big post about the whole casts’ body language forever ago and it was super fun. But to this day it still impresses the shit out of me. These two are my favorite one-shot characters of his but they’re also a fun way to show the subtleties of difference and how important those differences are to the characters. On surface level, they’re both Liam playing a cleric, a woman, and they have similar accents. But even context aside, they feel different, and its due to the quirks in body language and vocal quality he gave them.Liam as Lieve’tel Toluse : floaty, slower, she has all the time in the world and she’s seen more shit than you. She’s looked Death in the face and decided to have a chill life. She is calm in the face of rage and has practice doing so. It’s reflected in the ease in which she holds herself and how she talks. Tall, but relaxed. Flirty, but like she’s not worried about the result. He gives her grace. She speaks gently, but loud enough to be heard by all. Her body language is open too - she’s there for support and makes it known in how she presents herself.Liam as Jayne Merriweather: a bit like Lieve’tel in that she floats in a similar manner, both physically and vocally. But Jayne stops. Like, she will find a spot and stare daggers. She cackles when she can’t contain her madness. Her quiet isn’t relaxed - its itchy. Listening to and watching her is like watching a cat about to pounce but being always stuck in the tension just before it does. She’s got a devilish smile and you can almost see the metaphorical flames behind her eyes. Liam plays her most of the time with an expression somewhere in the middle of amusement and ‘come at me bro.’ Jayne is hungry - mostly for chaos. Although her accent is essentially the same as Lieve’tel, her voice is a bit higher, and more sinister. She’s also not as slow as Lieve’tel, just more deliberate. Her confidence doesn’t come from being steady. It comes from always being one step away from a murder spree.

[hatari-translations]

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga - Icelandic review

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is a Netflix-produced affectionate parody film about Eurovision starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams. This wouldn't qualify it for coverage on this blog by itself - but as it happens, the main characters are Icelandic, Icelandic is spoken in it, and a significant portion of the film takes place in Iceland. So I think it's close enough to being of interest to readers of this blog!

As a film, my feelings on it were mixed - the Eurovision parodies were incredibly spot-on, I liked Dan Stevens' character and the amount of Eurovision cameos, and it definitely had some pretty funny moments - but it was far longer than it needed to be and wildly inconsistent in tone, flitting between utter ridiculousness and emotional melodrama played completely straight. However, this won't be a review of the film - instead, I'll be going over the portrayal of Iceland and its culture and language and sprinkling in some related trivia.

The Icelandic Opening

The film opens with a montage and a song that the subtitles identify as an "Icelandic folk song". The song is Sá ég spóa, which is indeed a genuine Icelandic folk song. The lyrics of the song go:

Sá ég spóa suður í flóa, syngur lóa úti í móa, bí bí bí bí, vorið er komið víst á ný

which translates to:

I saw a whimbrel in the bay to the south, a plover sings in the dry grassland, cheep cheep cheep cheep, spring is surely here again

The song references the common folk belief that the migratory European golden plover brings spring with it; we still have newspaper headlines when the first plover is spotted (or heard) every spring. The song is largely notable for being suitable for canon singing, which unfortunately can't be heard well in the movie, since the most audible part is the beginning, and the song kind of fades out before the other voices come in. I think this YouTube video is the same recording the movie uses, only you can hear all of it properly!

From there, the first chunk of the movie takes place in Iceland, in both the capital Reykjavík and Húsavík, a town in northern Iceland (the Húsavík scenes were genuinely filmed there). These scenes feature Icelandic extras and some actual spoken Icelandic, with English subtitles. Their lines are grammatically accurate and natural, clearly translated by a native speaker; however, when you're actually Icelandic, it's incredibly obvious that Pierce Brosnan (playing the main character's father) does not actually know the language. He tries, but it's only kind of intelligible, and when he's surrounded by actually Icelandic extras and the film wholly acts like he's just another one of them, it's pretty glaring.

The Names

The first really major issue to tackle about this movie is the character names.

The main characters are named Lars Erickssong and Sigrit Ericksdóttir. First of all, I understand that "Erickssong" is meant to be a pun because he's a musician - but it simply makes no sense to make a pun like this, any more than it would make any sense as a joke in English to consistently refer to somebody as someone's song instead of their son. You can absolutely make up punny Icelandic patronyms - but the part you make the pun out of has to be the name part, not the son/dóttir part, or it just doesn't register as a name at all.

But let's put that aside. Lars is an accepted first name in Iceland - but Sigrit is not, nor is Erick, and Lars is not a common name - it's pretty distinctly foreign-sounding. In general, nearly all of the Icelandic characters' names are not actual Icelandic names, and don't sound like they might be Icelandic names, either.

You might say, well, this is a comedy film, it's not supposed to be accurate. And there is some truth to that, sure. But the thing is that most of the names used in the movie aren't really humourous or systematically inaccurate in a deliberate-seeming way. Instead, they largely just sound like they're playing to your average American's idea of what generic Scandinavian names sound like, but with patronymic suffixes slapped on, and I expect the primary American audience would assume these are realistic Icelandic names.

This is unfortunate, because Icelandic names broadly really don't sound like generic Scandinavian names! We have a different alphabet from our Nordic neighbors: in particular, we don't have the letter c. And the overall sound of Icelandic is pretty different, such that the names in this movie sound distinctly foreign to us. The actual Icelandic equivalent to Sigrit Ericksdóttir would be something like Sigríður Eiríksdóttir, and in fact some of the Icelandic extras just went ahead and pronounced her last name "Eiríksdóttir". Naming her Sigrit Ericksdóttir instead isn't a joke; it's just inaccurate, and I don't think the film being a comedy really excuses stubbornly insisting on not doing the research here, especially when you involve a bunch of Icelanders who would definitely have pointed this out.

Húsavík and On-Screen Text

While Húsavík is a real place, the way it's pronounced and spelled is all over the place. I think the subtitles sometimes included the accents and sometimes not; on-screen text usually didn't include accents. It's important to note that u and ú are two different letters in Icelandic, pronounced differently; not using the accent is wrong, so although not including accents is acceptable for regular people typing in a medium where it'd be difficult or tedious to use them, on-screen text does not really have any excuse, especially in a movie that significantly takes place in Iceland rather than simply being a throwaway scene; they have plenty of time to spell the words correctly.

It's also a little frustrating that Húsavík is actually pretty easy to pronounce for English-speakers! It's just HOO-sah-veek - no sounds that don't exist in English at all. Despite this, the last syllable gets pronounced 'vick' sometimes, and in the song during the climax, Rachel McAdams' Swedish singing double Molly Sandén makes it sound Swedish and like it actually has a u instead of an ú.

Elves and Folklore

Elves are a plot point in the movie, with Sigrit being a true believer in elves but Lars not. She leaves food at a little 'dollhouse' built into a hill while asking the elves for favors. Needless to say, this is a comedic element, and the way it's used is pretty fun - nonetheless, however, I feel obliged to say that no, Icelanders do not do this. Even the true believers (who are few and far between) don't leave them offerings or pray to them for favors - and in Icelandic folklore, elves are not tiny! They're thought to live in actual rocks - no little houses necessary - and they're pretty intimidating and vengeful as described in folklore; if you were to give them offerings or ask them anything, it'd be more along the lines of pleading with them to please tolerate something you're about to do without taking bloody vengeance on you, not asking them to do something nice for you.

(The movie's use of elves was actually ultimately more accurate than it seemed; I won't spoil the details, but it's pretty good.)

Another plot point involves Sigrit's inability to sing a "speorg note", which is stated to be from Icelandic folklore. There is no such folklore, "speorg" would actually be pronounced spee-org with a hard g if it were an Icelandic word, and the way they're pronouncing it is once again something that sounds more vaguely Swedish than like Icelandic of any kind. Obviously this is a pure joke concept not to be taken very seriously.

The Problem With Winning

A major plot point in the movie is a businessman, "Victor Karlosson", who points out early in the film that if Iceland won Eurovision, it'd practically bankrupt the country. This is a genuine concern that Icelanders talk about any time we seem to have a chance of doing well. However, that scene also features someone suggesting hosting the contest in Keflavík, a town about 45 minutes outside of Reykjavík, which causes him to respond that a town of 15,000 wouldn't be able to do that. The joke here is obviously meant to be that hosting it in such a small town (actually pretty big on an Icelandic scale) is especially obviously absurd. However, I'm pretty sure I remember it being actually seriously suggested that if we won Eurovision we might have to host it in one of the aircraft hangars at the US army base that used to be in (near) Keflavík! We don't actually have any Eurovision-sized stadiums in the country, so that was legitimately one of the more realistic possibilities.

Perceptions of the Contest in Iceland

In the movie, while Lars is absolutely obsessed with Eurovision, this is implied to be pretty weird. There's a recurring joke of nobody wanting to hear Eurovision songs, and a lengthy scene in a Húsavík bar where the TV is showing a football game and one of the inhabitants makes an impassioned speech about how they should switch to Eurovision to see Iceland's entry because the contestants are from Húsavík! This is pretty hilarious, because man, Icelanders who don't like Eurovision have a hard time getting away from it when it's on! Potentially you might have a bar making a point of showing something else on Eurovision night and advertising itself specifically to Eurovision-haters, but the idea of no one in a full bar of random Icelanders wanting to watch Eurovision, especially when Iceland is competing, is pretty absurd. We're obsessed with this contest!

The bit where the teenage boy who plays drums in their band doesn't accompany them abroad because "my friends think the song contest is for losers" is valid, though; I can absolutely believe in a friend group of musically-inclined teenagers who think it's trash and they're too cool for it.

A Song in Icelandic Would Never Win

Sigrit says before the Icelandic semifinal that she wishes she could sing in Icelandic, and Lars counters by saying a song in Icelandic would never win. It's true that after Eurovision dropped the rule about all contestants singing in one of their country's official languages, most of Iceland's Eurovision entries have been in English, largely because of the perception that nobody will understand Icelandic lyrics ("Hatrið mun sigra" was only the second entry to be in Icelandic since the change).

However, a lot of songs are still sung in Icelandic in the Icelandic contest - in fact, the last couple years have required it! So technically this should not have stopped the characters from singing in Icelandic there and just translating it to English for the main event. This is a minor nitpick, though, and can be considered merely one of the many pieces of artistic license taken with the contest rules in the movie.

"Semen and Garfunkel"

There is a scene where Lars tells Sigrit that romance ruins bands, and he lists off a few supposed examples, including "Semen and Garfunkel". This probably seems like a really weird, random joke to everyone else, but it's actually kind of enjoyable when you do know Icelandic, because the Icelandic equivalent of the name Simon, Símon, is actually pronounced very similarly to "semen". It's a joke about them being Icelandic and therefore pronouncing his name that way, only probably nobody outside of Iceland would actually get it. I enjoy this.

Some Transcripts/Translations

There are a couple of pieces of unsubtitled Icelandic in the film. At the end of Ólafur Darri Ólafsson presenting the points from the Icelandic jury in the semifinal (yes, they have public jury points in the semifinal; another one of those bits of artistic license), after he says thanks, he adds in Icelandic: "Takk fyrir. Fyrirgefið þið aftur." This just means "Thanks. Sorry again [about the technical mishaps during Iceland's entry]."

During the climax of the film, Sigrit sings a song about her hometown, which has a couple of lines of Icelandic in the chorus. Our initial reaction to the [sings in Icelandic] subtitle was actually "Thaaaaat's not Icelandic," but when the chorus came on again I just about managed to make out that yes, it was in fact supposed to be Icelandic, which Molly Sandén was just pronouncing in a pretty Swedish way. The main line goes "Eina sem ég þrái er að vera með þér í Húsavík," or "only thing I long for is to be with you in Húsavík." There is another line after that, but I can't make out what she's trying to sing there at all, even after going back and rewinding it a few times.

License Plate Trivia

This is only barely relevant, but the license plate on Fire Saga's Eurovision tour bus is R 373. This is one of the old-fashioned black license plates that were in use before 1987; the R stands for Reykjavík, as license plate numbers were allocated by county. In 1987, we switched to white license plates independent of county with two letters followed by three numbers; later, when they ran out of numbers, it was tweaked so that the first number slot could also be a letter. However, some cars that had the old license plates are still on the roads today. I can't imagine why they'd put an old license plate on the bus unless it's genuinely just an old Icelandic bus with pre-1987 license plates.

The Reaction

The most realistic portrayal of Iceland in this movie is when Lars and Sigrit return from Eurovision to a crowd of extremely enthusiastic people waving Icelandic flags. Icelanders who accomplish anything cool abroad tend to be treated as heroes on their return; when our handball team won a silver at the Olympics, there was a whole sea of people and a ceremony to welcome them back, and they were all awarded with the Order of the Falcon. This is absolutely what Icelanders would do, accurate Iceland, A+.

[thiswasinevitableid]

I would love for you to do the sharing favours professionally from the rivalry/ friends to enemies to lovers for the prompt fill for indruck? (I'm on mobile so can't copy the whole prompt) 😁

“ we’ve been begrudgingly sharing favours back and forth to help each other out professionally but this time i need you to do something more personal and you know you wouldn’t have gotten that account without my help last month or that promotion so you owe me.”

Content note: There’s a brief description of Indrid’s ex being verbally shitty to him.

“No, nuh uh, aboslutely no fuckin way.” Duck maneuvers the last butterfly bush into its display row, stands up to find Indrid glaring at him.

“Why not?”

“Indrid, we see plenty of each other at work. I’m not gettin roped into some evenin shindig with you just because you asked.”

He heads inside, the skinny, pale-haired man on his heels.

“Duck, please, I help you out all the time.”

“Yeah, with work. And it’s only now and then.” He settles behind the counter, checking off the deliveries that have already happened. Indrid stays on the other side of it.

“Oh, really?” he arches a dark eyebrow (of course the guy dyes his hair), “what about the time I made sure city hall chose us for the five year landscaping contract even when you were the one who was supposed to be working on winning them over?”

“That how we’re playin?” Duck leans on his elbows, staring Indrid down, “because I seem to recall it was me who helped convince Mama that havin a little florists space so you could do your arrangements was a swell idea.”

Indrid opens his mouth to retort when the phone rings.

Duck grabs it, “Mama’s Nursery and Landscapin, Duck speakin. Oh, howdy Winthrop. Yep, expectin the last orders this week, then we’ll get started on that zen garden. Uh huh. I see. We’ll see what we can do. You have a nice day now.”

He clicks the phone off, “I hate the rich bastard, but he wants us to do the landscapin on their summer home, which’ll be a nice chunk of change.”

“See! There’s another one you owe me. You have such a hard time being in the room with him, the only reason we got the hospital garden job is because I turned on the charm.”

“Is that what you call it when you get that weird smile on your face?”

Indrid groans in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose. When his hand drops away he looks...defeated. 

He and Duck may bicker, may compete from time to time, but Indrid’s a good guy. Hell, Duck will even admit (begrudgingly) that he often enjoys how much the two of them work together. 

Duck sighs, forces his brain to switch from arguing mode to problem solving mode, “Indrid, what’s all this about?”

“I told you, I have an art showing.”

“Right, but why do you need me to go. Why do you need anyone, ain’t your job at those to make small talk and hope people say nice things about your drawins?”

Indrid swallows, picks at the front of his work apron, “He’s going to be there.” He says meekly. 

“He-oh fuck, you mean The Shithead?”

Indrid nods.

“He tryin to pull some stunt to make you take him back?”

Indrid laughs bitterly, “no, he’s been all over his social media bragging about how he’s going to turn up with a hot date to my show,  “show me what I gave up” and all that. Dani saw it and warned me so he couldn’t take me by surprise. I have so few friends in town, and everyone but you has work or something else that night. I thought it would be nice to have someone I knew with me.”

Duck thinks about Indrid’s ex. The guy’d come into the shop plenty of times, often making a big show of putting a possessive arm around Indrid (who never seemed to enjoy the gesture). At least, that’s what he always did when Duck was around. Worse, whenever Indrid was describing a new landscaping design, or working on an arrangement, the ex would pick at it, say how it was bad or lacking, that it would never work and no one would like it. And Duck would watch the glimmer dim in Indrids’ eyes, watch him go quiet (find him more than once sniffling and wiping his eyes furiously in an outbuilding once the guy left).

He looks back at the other man, who is staring at his scuffed converse. 

“Where am I meetin you and what time should I get there?”

--------------------------------------

Duck gives a tight smile to the group of hip twentysomethings crowding the door of the building as he squeezes through. It’s some art space/ coffee house/ bar that isn’t quite his scene, although he likes that it’s warm and lively as opposed to the fluorescent lights and weird silence he was expecting. 

He doesn’t spot Indrid right away, and so takes a moment to look at the drawings on the wall. They’re Indrid’s alright, he can recognize the ways they overlap with the sketches he does for arrangements or the plans he draws up for gardens. And they’re incredible, black and white with pops of color, a few abstract or dreamlike but many seeming more like still lifes. 

One in particular catches his eye and he stares at for a good two minutes, trying to figure out why it looks so familiar. 

“Ahem.” 

He turns, and has to forcibly stop his jaw from dropping.

Indrid is in dark slacks and some sort flowy black shall-jacket thing over a bright red shirt. His hair is tousled on purpose, rather than from getting it caught on plants.  

Has he always looked this good?

“Thanks for coming.” He says awkwardly, extending one of the two glasses he’s holding to Duck. 

“This all looks amazin.” Duck says, taking the drink with a smile. Indrid relaxes at that.

“Oh, I’m, uh, glad you like it.”

“What’s this one of?” Duck points to the drawing he’d been staring at.

“It’s of a really lovely, big cork oak up on one of the eastwoods trails. I like to go there on weekends and sketch.”

“Hold up, that the trail that ends at the little lake?”

“Yes.”

“No fuckin way! I hike that nearly every weekend. Amazed I’ve never seen you.”

“I’m usually off the trail a little ways.” He grins sheepishly when Duck looks aghast at this confession, “I know that’s not allowed but I’m able to get such different perspectives on the things I draw.”

“If, uh, if you wanted to, maybe we could go up together some time. Could leave you to do your drawin while I hiked and then, dunno, maybe get lunch of somethin?” 

Indrid looks a little surprised at the suggestion, but recovers quickly, “That sounds quite nice, actually.”

Duck stays by Indrid as he makes the rounds, asking him about the different drawings and enjoying the way he animatedly describes the process and idea behind each. 

The Shithead arrives about forty-five minutes in. Duck spots him first, complete with a date on his arm. The date is tall, slender, with pale hair, looking like Indrid if he were a model rather than just a regular guy. Or, Duck thinks as he watches the ex preen, as if someone took Indrid and erased all the things that made him so interesting to look at.

“Ex just got here.” He murmurs, and Indrid stiffens beside him. Duck, seized with a sudden need to protect him from that jerk, places an arm reassuringly on his lower back. Indrid glances at him, face unreadable, but relaxes into the touch. For the next fifteen minutes, whenever The Shithead makes a loud, derisive comment, Duck will squeeze Indrids hand or brush his fingers down his back and Indrid will shake off the words. 

There are several people wanting to buy drawings and so Indrid excuses himself to go thank them.

“Knew you’d be the one to pick up the scraps.” Says a familiar, unpleasant voice.

Duck turns, levels The Shithead with his most disinterested gaze. 

“Nice to see you too. And I ain’t got the slightest clue what you’re referrin to.”

“He was always talking about you. ‘Oh, Duck knows so much about native plants,’ ‘oh, Duck has such good ideas.’” He says it in a mocking, high pitched imitation of Indrids lilt and Duck wonders if he can get away with physically throwing him out of the building. 

“Anyway, it doesn’t surprise me that when I traded up, he went crawling to you. Honestly, you can do much better.”

“Beg pardon?” Duck growls.

“Let me see, how to put this in terms you understand? Why waste your time on a weed when you could have a prizewinning rose?”

“Because,” Duck says through gritted teeth, “sometimes people call things weeds just cause they don’t behave exactly how they want ‘em too, or because they don’t see the value in ‘em.” He steps closer to the ex, not noticing that he’s stopped whispering, “You fucked up. You were shitty and Indrid had the good sense to dump you and now you’re doin some petty shit to try and hurt him. He’s amazin at what he does, he works hard, he’s funny, and he’s so handsome I wanna look at him every damn day. You didn’t see the value in him. That’s your loss. Now fuck. Off.”

The Shithead is about to say something when a hand grabs his shoulder. His date is behind him, looking pissed.

“Hold on, you asked me out to try and hurt your ex?”

“Uhhh, babe, no, I can explain.”

Duck smirks, turns to check on Indrid just in time to see him slip out a side door.

“Goddammit.” He mutters, quickly following him. 

The door opens into an alley, and Indrid is standing with his back to him. When he turns, his hands are over his mouth and his eyes are wet. But he doesn’t look unhappy.

“You like me.” He whispers. 

“Uh” Duck scrambles, “well, yeah, we’re, uh, friendly types, fuck.”

“You think I’m handsome.”

“Shit, you heard all of that?”

Indrid nods, Duck sighs.

“Fuck it. Yeah, I think you’re handsome. And all the other stuff. And lots of, uh, other stuff that I didn’t say but could’ve.

Indrid steps closer, “Is the part where you admit all our arguing has been the only safe outlet for your, um, passion for me?”

Duck snorts, “Hell no, sometimes you need a fella who’ll tell when an idea ain’t feasible. But…” He meets Indrids hopeful gaze and smiles, “I’d be lyin if I said I ain’t thought about what it’d be like to be a different kind of partner to you.”

Indrid reaches for him, and Duck goes willingly into his arms as the taller man blushes and says, “Yes, I’ve thought about that quite a lot as well.”

------------------------------------------

 Dani’s glad Indrids’ show is open so late. It means she and Aubrey can go once Aubreys’ act is over. She even texted Jake and Hollis, asking if they wanted to check it out too (also, if Indrid’s ex was there, having someone who looked like, and basically was, the head of a motorcycle gang would come in really handy).

When the four of them reach the bar, she peeks in hoping to see Indrid, but can’t spot the taller man (or Duck) anywhere.

“Huh, maybe he left?”

“Or maybe he’s taking a little ‘break.’” Hollis makes airquotes before pointing up. They all look towards the balcony, which clearly isn’t in use for the party. 

It is, however, in use for the two figures currently occupying it for a long and intense looking kiss. One is wearing red glasses, the other lets out a laugh that unmistakably belongs to Duck Newton. 

“We should give them some privacy.” Aubrey says. The other three look at her, and then she grins.

“Just kidding! WOOOOOO GET IT DUCK!”

“ABOUT FUCKING TIME DUDES.”

“GET A ROOM!”

“I’M SORRY ABOUT THEM BUT GOOD FOR YOU!”

----------------------------------

The sound of his friends catcalling them breaks Ducks concentration for all of two seconds. Then he flips them the bird, and goes back to the very important business of making out with his boyfriend. 

[ralph-n-fiennes]

Hey! Is there any chance you could post the entire interview from The Times here? Thanks

Sure! Here it is

Ralph Fiennes: ‘There is a kind of political correctness that’s in danger of becoming totalitarianism’

The actor and director talks about his new Nureyev film, the perils of mob justice, and why he’s tired of playing evil

Ralph Fiennes’s The White Crow, the actor’s third film as a director, is as fine a portrait of an artist as a young man as you will find outside the pages of James Joyce. Set in Paris in 1961, it is the story of the defection of Rudolf Nureyev from Russia, the climax of the Kirov Ballet star’s belligerent growing-up, and a big publicity coup for the West.

Its writer, David Hare, who has done a job as brilliant as The White Crow’s director, has said that he loathes the idea that Nureyev’s defection was a balletic “leap to freedom”. At the time, he points out, there was optimism in Russia after the death of Stalin and the accession of the more liberal Khrushchev. In microcosm it is true, certainly, that the man Fiennes plays, Nureyev’s teacher Alexander Pushkin, was no tyrant. Indeed, it is vaguely upsetting to see the much lusted-after leading man who, two decades ago, was the seducer in The English Patient, now at 56 play a bald professorial type, cuckolded by his protégé — although the real seducer in this case was, it seems, Pushkin’s wife, who cajoled the mostly homosexual Nureyev into her bed.

“Alexander was very kind and very, very gentle,” Fiennes says. He is in a suite at the Dorchester in London, dressed in jeans and coatigan. His long, floppy hair, I notice to my relief, has, in reality, suffered no more than some widow’s peaking. “People talk about his technique, which was to let the students discover their own mistakes. Now, I’ve seen ballet classes where the teacher literally comes and forces the arm and turns the head and wrestles with a student’s body.”

Fiennes agrees with Hare that it was claustrophobia, rather than tyranny, that Nureyev was fleeing and that his defection was a spur-of-the-moment decision prompted by the heavy-handedness of KGB minders alarmed at his carousing in Paris. Still, the urge had surely been building. “Subconsciously, for him there was a world elsewhere,” Fiennes says, quoting from Coriolanus, which he has starred in and directed for cinema.

Nureyev’s “leap” is performed at Le Bourget airport in front of a scrum of reporters, whose colleagues would pursue the dancer right up to his death from Aids in 1993, aged 54. Perhaps, I say, the film suggests that the dancer trades one form of surveillance for another? Fiennes, however, barely concedes the point even though his own private life — in 1996 he left his wife, Alex Kingston, for Francesca Annis, his co-star in Hamlet almost 20 years his senior — has suffered its share of scrutiny.

A newer form of western tyranny seems to disturb him more. In recent weeks he has offered his support to Liam Neeson, his Schindler’s List co-star, after Neeson said in an interview that he had once wandered the streets with a cosh hoping to be attacked by a “black bastard” so he could avenge the rape of a woman close to him. Fiennes has also stood firm by Michael Colgan, a former director of the Gate Theatre in Dublin, who has been accused of bullying and sexual harassment during his tenure. In the first case, Fiennes says that Neeson was attempting an honest confession. In the second, to be accused is not invariably to be guilty.

“I think there’s a kind of political correctness which has its strength, but is in danger of becoming its own sort of totalitarianism,” Fiennes says.

It is harder, perhaps, to argue the case for Sergei Polunin, the Ukrainian dancer with a supporting role in The White Crow who in January was dropped from a ballet in Paris after posting rants on Instagram, but Fiennes says that he was a joy to work with. “Basically, I ignore all the stuff that he said because I believe there’s the noise the human being can make and then there’s who they truly are as a person, and I think Sergei is a good man, a kind man.”

Fiennes, I observe, occasionally makes a bit of noise in his private life (in 2007 an air stewardess claimed that she had inducted him into the mile high club). “I’ve been guilty of shit,” he agrees. He is less ready to concede that his description of “the unpleasantness and ruthlessness” of the young Nureyev as he looked to “create” himself may have once applied to him.

“I’m uncomfortable saying an overt yes to that. I connected with aspects of his hunger to learn, I suppose, his hunger to absorb.”

Fiennes’s self-creation remains a fascinating subject. His career looked set to be in art until, enrolled at Chelsea College of Arts, he noticed a young New Zealand painter and the “fury” he had about his vocation.

“I thought, ‘He is driven and I’m here painting that bowl of fruit, but I don’t know what I’m trying to say.’ I think I had acted at school and there was some moment at college when the penny dropped and I thought, ‘No, I want to be an actor.’ It suddenly became very clear to me, certain.”

Was there fury about his acting? “I think there was a bit. There was a real sort of determination, but I remember one audition at one drama school. I came out with this RP voice and I think they thought, ‘Who is he? Is he pretending to be a Shakespeare actor?’ I felt maybe I wasn’t the kind of actor that was cool at the time.”

Rada recognised the real thing. Leaving in 1985, he was quickly taken up by the RSC and the National Theatre. By the time I last interviewed him, in 1995, he had already been nominated for an Oscar from his remarkable portrayal of the concentration camp commandant Amon Goeth in Schindler’s List, and was about to play Hamlet at the Almeida in London — which was where he would fall in love with Annis, who was playing the prince’s mother. There was no doubting his greatness. Of his range, however, there was less inkling.From Goeth, we knew he could play a particularly nuanced kind of evil, but who could have predicted his terrifying box-office turn as Voldemort in the Harry Potter films?“I did actually say to my agent, after Voldemort, ‘Please don’t send me any bad guys. I’ve done that now.’ And I don’t think I’ve broken that promise, unless you count David Hare getting me to play his version of Tony Blair in Page Eight.”A consequence of that resolution was our discovery that Fiennes could be wickedly funny on film — as the suavely savage Gustave in Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel and then that grab-bag of ego, the music producer Harry, in A Bigger Splash. However, this is also a serious actor who learnt Russian for the movie Two Women and speaks it beautifully in The White Crow, indistinguishable from Russian cast members speaking in their native tongue. His Bafta-nominated directorial debut with Coriolanus in 2011, meanwhile, was followed up by an impressive Dickens movie, The Invisible Woman.

There is an off-the-peg explanation for Fiennes’s overachievements. As a child, he had to compete with his siblings for attention, for love and to impress.

“At the age of seven, I was the eldest of six, and I probably had a little bit of special treatment, being the eldest, and then felt the competition coming up behind,” he says. “When we get together as a family, we laughingly acknowledge our need to have our space. Because we’re all quite close together in age, I think you define your territory. ‘This is my territory. This is who I am.’”

He says that his mother, Jennifer Lash, a writer known as Jinni, who was married to Mark Fiennes, a farmer-turned-photographer, inspired her brood with her love of words and performance. Two of his sisters, Martha and Sophie, became film-makers; one brother is a composer; and another is Joseph Fiennes, the actor.

“But it was frantic. She often felt huge distress. She wanted to write, and sometimes the pressure and the strain and the frustration of not being able to write, not having the time to write, the peace and the space to write, would explode, but the love was always there, incredible love.”

Jinni, who published her first novel at 23, died of cancer aged 55, when Fiennes was 30. He says that he still feels her presence, although that could just be his “own need to feel that something”.

Does he dream about her? “Sometimes. My father too. What’s so weird is my mother died in 1993 and my father died in 2004 and yet somehow in the brain they’re restored. In the dreams, if they come, they’re completely clear, completely present and as they were. Somehow the brain has stored the memory of the voice, the person.”

Do friends ever say to him that his career has been incredibly Oedipal? I am thinking not just of Hamlet and his leaving a wife of his own age for his Gertrude, but the mother-son dynamic of Coriolanus.

“Yes, people have commented on that, and I shouldn’t be ashamed of it. I mean, Oedipal is probably how we’re wired as the sons of mothers. I don’t feel any awkwardness about there being an Oedipal element in one’s self. I think that’s quite healthy. It’s part of who you are.”

Has he been in therapy? “I had what they call psychotherapy for a little bit. It was interesting.”

Did he go because he was unhappy or because he wanted to explore himself? “I was going through a time of crisis and emotional disturbance and upset.”

Can he say about what? “No, I don’t want to.”

Having come from a noisy, competitive family, I can see why he might, in his fifties, choose the apparent solitary life that he has, living in a studio loft in east London. Since his relationship with Annis ended in 2006, there have been rumours of girlfriends, but nothing, apparently, very permanent.

“There’s living alone and being lonely. They are different things. I feel quite content, living on my own. It’s funny, isn’t it? Some people say, ‘Don’t you want children?’ And for me it’s not a negative. It’s not a dislike of children. I respect that some people do.”

I quote something that Hare has said about Fiennes, that he likes to surround himself professionally with people who love him. I wonder whether film sets and theatre companies are his substitute families.

“I think you’re in a kind of parental mode as a director, and that is your family. As an actor in a company, you’re less parental, although if you’re possibly in a leading role, there is a leadership element.”

I like the idea that he joins families of actors and, now that he is older, he becomes their father. “Yes, although I haven’t consciously thought I’m achieving parenthood that way,” he begins. And then thinks of Oleg Ivenko, the 22-year-old Ukrainian ballet dancer from whom he has conjured up a light yet intense performance in the lead role in The White Crow.

“Oleg, you see, he was a totally inexperienced actor. That was definitely a version of creative parenting, guiding him through the requirements of a feature film and a main role.”

In loco parentis, as a teacher, Fiennes, we can assume, is a Pushkin rather than a Stalin. Papa Ralph. It has a ring to it.The White Crow is out on general release

[johnlockficclub]

Discussion Recap - Author Q&A!

Well, JFC crew, we’ve reached the end of another fabulous fic! Thank you so much to everyone who read along and participated in the weekly discussions - you all are the best.

And of course, a huge thank you to @swissmissing for writing The Baker Street Nativity in the first place and for coming along to our Author Q&A to share some insight into her writing process and background to this fic. Questions and answers are below the cut as this got quite long!

And finally, thanks once again to @frodosweetstuff for allowing us to use her artwork for these update posts!

Happy holidays everyone - may you and your loved ones be safe and happy this festive season! xx

1: Why this AU? What got you started on it? @ewebie 

 I saw the movie and with MF in it, of course I immediately started thinking of how it could be a Johnlock AU.  I do that frequently anyway: imagine Johnlock versions of stuff. I just watched a few Netflix Xmas movies recently and I am still thinking of how to turn them into Johnlock AU's. I see the world through Johnlock-coloured glasses. Is that healthy or normal? IDK.

2. Would you ever consider publishing your fanfic? @norburylibrary 

No. First off, the story is obviously cadged from a copyrighted screenplay. To publish it for real, as an original work, I'd have to scrub the names and characters so that they don't interfere with BBC copyright. That part should be feasible, but the story itself is too close to the Nativity screenplay. As for any of my other fics, the non-fusion ones, I don't think I've written anything that could stand on its own without the Sherlock association. One of the huge assets of fan fiction is there is a built-in character background and setting. I'm not up to rewriting to the extent of creating something that could be published as an original work.

3.  What do you enjoy writing most, humor or angst and why? @elwinglyre

I can do both, but I guess I'm more drawn to angst. I think humor is harder to pull off, for me at least. I'm not a naturally funny person. I have to think hard to come up with funny situations and lines. Confession: In some of my fics, there are certain punch lines that were actually written by my beta readers. I think Sherlock and John - in fact all of the Sherlock BBc universe - lends itself more naturally to angst anyway. although there are humorour parts in the eps, I find them more geared towards angst.

4.  Was it confusing at all having seen the movie to then switch the roles?  When writing it. @sherlock-nanowrimo

Yes, totally confusing at first! I started out with the "natural" roles, with John as the teacher and Sherlock as the assistant, but it wasn't working for me so somehow I just got the idea to try it the other way round. Once I started down that path though, it wasn't confusing for me. I was worried throughout that it would be confusing for readers. But everyone who commented and said they had seen the movie, also said the switch wasn't hard for them to deal with.

5.  When you write is it because you get a fic idea or for some other reason? Like stress reliever or for doing something fun? @tildathings 

Good question. I always want to write. I get a great feeling of satisfaction when I write something. Especially when I finish a piece. It's a big shot of dopamine for me. It carries me for a long time, sometimes days. BUT I can't force myself to write. I tried that one year with nanowrimo and it was not a good thing. So I can really only write when "the muse" grabs me. When I get an idea that sticks with me for days and weeks. And with this fic, it really came alive and almost wrote itself, once I was on the right track.

6. How much do you base your writing on the show and how much on your headcanon? @travelingwithoutthedoctor 

This is a problem too, as I haven't gone back and watched the episodes in a really long time. Many of the eps I only saw once in the first place. I have the feeling that the fandom circles you travel in tend to create a fancanon that pretty much replaces the actual canon. So that's something I struggle with. I actually try when I write to imagine and hear the TV characters speaking and acting things out, in the hopes that it makes it closer to how they might actually be in those situations. I suppose that's unavoidable. I'm sure I do have an image of the characters in my mind, and I write from that. I just hope they are pretty aligned with the original characters from the show.

7.  I thought you did an incredible job making Sherlock a teacher for young children credible. That wasn't something we'd think of Sherlock doing, and you made it work. What did you take into consideration when doing this? @elwinglyre

Woo boy, that's a thing! He is so completely unsuited for this position. I had to justify him being in that position, however, so I kind of hand-waved something. Honestly, it wasn't my priority. I was just trying to create Johnlock moments. I mean, I think he's actually quite good with children. We've seen that on the show with Archie. I think it would depend on the kids.

8.  I’m curious about the speed of writing. How quickly do you get a chapter done? @vitruvianwatson

Once I get going, I can usually do about a chapter a week. My chapters tend to be 2-5K. 

9.  The UST, miscommunication and angst of this fic was deliciously frustrating, and a lot of us were yelling at them to just sort themselves out. If that was the hardest part about reading it, I'm wondering about what was difficult to write in this fic?  Were there certain sections or characters that you found challenging? @lediona25

I was honestly following the pacing of the movie, pretty much. I did need to add some scenes. I tried to pace it so that there was a romantic bit about at the halfway point, and another one for the big payoff at the end. One challenging bit was the dog. I wasn't sure whether to include him, but once I did, I kept forgetting about him. I kept having to go back and remember where the dog was and who was taking care of him. I don't have a dog so I was just doing what I've seen other people doing with their dogs. They leave them tied up outside of shops and restaurants all the time so I figured it was okay. Again, it wasn't really a priority. A lot of people commented that they liked the dog in there though, so I'm glad I left him in.

10. It was perfect casting!  We were talking about it during the movie - like with Greg as the headmistress. @sherlock-nanowrimo

That's one of the best parts of doing a fusion, for me anyway, is the casting.  I love discovering how characters map onto each other. Sometimes it's astonishing.  I HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH JIM!!  I didn't want to make him actually evil or a real threat. It always gives me massive anxiety when Moriarty shows up in a fic because often truly awful things happen then. But I wanted to keep this in line with it being a kids' movie. And to be fair, I didn't really need to change all that much from the movie bad guy anyway. That nativity play he put on was insane! And I actually was just teaching one of my classes last year about universal story plots such as the hero's journey.  (Yes, I'm an English teacher.) 11.  One of your ficlets suggests some pretty unpleasant stuff re: Jim's backstory. @bluebellofbakerstreet

Jim's backstory. I kind of imagined he and Sherlock had been rivals at the conservatory and Jim had tried to derail Sherlock with drugs. Perhaps somewhat successfully.

12.  What the hell is the story with Sherlock and whatever he did to Seb Wilkes?! @ewebie

I don't know either! LOL that is actually something I like doing in fics because, again, I like it when fics do that: hint at something but not elaborate and leave it up to you to decide what was actually going on.  I guess maybe that's frustrating to some people but for me, it gives fics depth and realism.  It's like in some fics where you just hear about a case in passing but the details are never fleshed out. I was using it to show that Sherlock had made poor decisions with kids in the past, so this thing he did with taking the kids to the studio wasn't out of character.

13. John... as a classroom assistant. How did you see him ending up there? Our conclusion was that... lost people just sometimes end up places @ewebie

I don't recall if it's explained in the fic or not, but I actually had something in mind for that. He was invalided out of the army and bumming around with nothing to do, feeling useless. His good friend Mike, who was also a teacher, recommended him to Greg as a classroom assistant. No idea if that would be allowed in the UK but here in Switzerland it's frequently done. Usually a retired person will be brought in as a classroom assistant. This keeps them active and engaged, and is a big help to the teachers.

14.  We loved the whole scene with Moriarty at the end when Mycroft pops out and saves the day.  You did a bang-up job with that.  When you're finishing a story, are you one those "I've planned it all out" writers or stream of consciousness writers. Let's go with the flow? @elwinglyre

In this case, the ending was written for me. I just followed the plot of the movie. Usually, though, I do have the ending in mind from the start. It's usually pretty much a sex scene, lol. The whole point of the fic is usually, how do I get these two together? 

15.  Oh! The sex! Is that easy for you to write. I have the hardest time with that. Is something your really get into? @elwinglyre 

True story (which I also told on one of my guest slots on the TPP): I didn't use to be able to write sex scenes. But I wanted to. So I literally would copy sex scenes from fics I liked. Just like, typing them out word for word. This got me used to writing those words and those acts on my screen. Then I tried writing my own. I think I sort of have a reputation for writing awkward-realistic sex scenes. I'm not aiming for that, it's just how they come out. It's a mix of, again, imagining how the characters would appear and act and speak in those situations, and also I guess how I would feel and want things to be.

16. We have a lot of people in this group who are just starting out writing fic or are thinking about writing something, do you have any advice to new writers? @lediona25

I'll just say what we started out talking about: Write for yourself. Write what you want to read. You will always have an appreciative audience. I see so many writers get discouraged because they don't have massive hits and kudos, and they just give up. I think most of the popular writers in fandom have been around for years. This may be their third or fourth fandom. They've been writing in real life. Experience takes a long time to build up.So write for yourself. The rest will come. And... at the moment, it feels a bit like there's less readers than 2 years ago, so really really don't be discouraged.

Thanks to all those who asked questions and to @swissmissing for her thoughtful answers! :)

[champagnediva]

If you want to drive in Santo Domingo  “Don’t” . Nerves of steel is an understatement, at least for me.

Red lights ! oblivious. Lanes !! only a suggestion. Imagine you open a room full of crazies and distribute driving licences, cars and motorcycles  and just say “go out there and drive, Don’t Worry about the rules , there are none” I know you think I’m exaggerating or being funny, NOT!!!.  Utter chaos. Although I must say I didn’t see any bodies on the road so I suppose there must be a method to their madness . Anyway that was my experience . Aside from the driving part  it was a good experience. They do have a good transit system ,so if you are not a daredevil maybe you could travel by train or Taxi , lots of people use Uber ( Orange cars). Renting a car is cheap but by the time you add insurance it becomes a bit expensive. Another thing which I think needs mentioning is safety, driving around in Santo Domingo, I was told not to keep my window down, I guess driving my convertible is out of the question 😦 .

Santo Domingo random street photos

train station

  Drove around Santo Domingo a bit. fascinating electrical work. How the heck to they figure this out?

  The casino next to The Sheraton.

The first night we spent at the Sheraton Santo Domingo on the Malecon. Star quality hotel ,very welcoming staff. I always prefer to eat local but we decided to have dinner at the hotel restaurant with friends ( not a big fan of hotel food). Can’t say I was disappointed, the ceviche was pretty delicious.

Shrimp Cocktail

Cevice

 A good night sleep on BTW was the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in, at a hotel.

Breakfast , then off we went to las Terrenas. The purpose of my trip was to go check out the possibilities of buying a property.

On the road keep the speed limit ,radar is everywhere ready to catch you. If you are stopped , they just want money. Of Course  we were stopped, they somehow know when you are a tourist. I was told that most people just pay and go, and I did notice that they didn’t really want to give us a ticket. We could have just paid and left but instead we pretended we did not understand  Spanish or what they were saying, frustrated the crap out of them, after 15 minutes of frustrations, no ticket, no payola. The words “La Prensa” (my Press pass ) got us on our way. Guess they didn’t want a write up. LOL .

We finally arrived in las Terrenas after more than 2 hours of driving from Santo Domingo.The tolls from Santo Domingo to Las Terrenas are about 25.00 Usd or about 1200 Pesos. Make sure you have Pesos , they don’t accept USD.

Las Terrenas

A resort town on the Samaná Peninsula, in the northeastern part of the Dominican Republic.  A beautiful safe town inhabited  by lots of  European retirees. I found it quite interesting that in most place I went in town, most people spoke French,of course English and Spanish . 

    The French bakery and of course the local Cigar shop.

  Graffiti in las terrenas

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  LODGING: Residencia El  Balata

A very unique property about 2 km from the beach, you can actually walk to the beach. very Original in design  , natural woodwork . The owner is very friendly and very accommodating. English, French and Italian are spoken.  Of course Spanish .

its the perfect spot , quiet and very relaxing . The property gives you the feeling of really being away from civilization.They have a large parking and  no problems with Wi-Fi. We did not opt for the breakfast but they serve a wonderful breakfast for an additional $5.00  and for an additional $10.00 you can request AC, we didn’t need it, as the temperature was quite comfortable with the windows open and the ceiling fan. Our room was very clean , modern , large and comfortable. The wood theme was carried throughout the rooms and the entire  property. The prices are quite affordable. There is also a 3 legged Rottweiler , who is very shy.

On my  next visit to las Terrenas I will definitely stay there again and highly recommend it..

What would a beach town be without beach bars and restaurants?.We took a liking to MOJITOS specially for their Mojito Happy Hour. This is a Cuban restaurant owned by Carlos  he is originally from Cuba and travels back and forth. you can also get dinner there.

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Most people seem to prefer Motorcycles and  ATVs as a mode of transportation. This makes the center of town a bit noisy.

But my favorite for prices and food,is the retaurant  Le Tre Caravelle a convivial little spot for Italian food. The decor might throw you off a bit , as it looks more like seafood than Italian,but dont let that sway you, the food is fabulous, and at 0.50 pesos for $1.00  you can have a lovely inexpensive little vacay.

Whale Watching in Samana

we booked a trip with whale Samana with Marine biologist  Kim Beddall In Samana Bay. One of the top 10 places in the world  to watch whales. The humpback whales comes every year  to give birth in Samana Bay making them, honorary citizens of the Dominican republic.

  The sea was really rough , I was being thrown around like a beach ball  , my friends were like “What the heck? ‘they laugh at me since I seemed to have been the only one  flying around. Thank god they gave out  sea bands  for sea sickness ,usually I travel with my own, but forgot them on this trip. Unfortunatly and before knowing that  they were going to distribute sea bands I was given a Dramamine pill ( hate to take those ) since I become sort of a useless zombi for the entire day. Oh Well.)

after ge got back to  santo Domingo we still had one more night so we checked into the Crown Plaza Hotel . I would have prefered an older hotel in the  colonial zone but the one we wanted was full. Anyway can’t go wrong with the crown plaza.

One more drive around the city to visit and take pictures before heading to the airport.

The Colonial zone is definitely worth a visit. The rum museum Museo Del Ron Y La Cana is fabulous, we got yo taste the various flavored and top of the line aged rums. They even had cilantro flavored rum. I bought a bottle of pineapple rum but had to leave it behind ( no checked baggage )  NO charge for the visit. Unfortunately my trip was very short ,I would have liked to spend a little more time to take pictures in the colonial zone and learn a bit more history.

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As you walk down Calle El conde ,The first commercial street in the New World and a popular pedestrian shopping area, 10 blocks long and cuts right through the Colonial city. The cobblestone road is lined with restaurants, cafes, souvenir shops and also street art vendors selling colorful paintings. There are plenty of historic sights along the way , starting at Calle El Conde’s entrance at Parque Independencia, onto the Parque Colón and first cathedral, to its edge at Calle Las Damas. 

The home ofDiego Colon

At the beginning of every block there is a  Munecas Limé .

You maybe wondering why the dolls have no face?. In the 1980’s s sculptor Liliana Mera Limé (hence the name) created these faceless dolls. The are called munecas Limé. They represent a people of diverse  ancestral blend from the native Quisqueyanos, the Africans, and the Spanish Conquistadores. The dolls, have no faces so as not to show preference to one branch of their ancestral lineage (i.e.. discriminating against the black or native american ancestry). Great souvenir to take back or to collect. they are found everywhere.

      Unfortunately my trip was very short ,I would have liked to spend a little more time to take pictures in the colonial zone and learn a bit more history. Next time.

One last little note about tipping;

Another interesting Tidbit . On all  bills , restaurant and other purchases , there is a fee added of 10%  P/Legal and a service charge of 18 % which they call a tip. You are actually paying an additional fee on your bill of 28% ( You are still expected to  tip). Its was very confusing when i first got my first bill in the restaurant. thinking the tip was included. I understand that the wages are very low so even if you give an extra 10%.

I hope that you found this to be interesting and It encourages you to take a little trip. I would really appreciate your comments and recommendations.

        Nerves of steel, Dominican driving.It’s more than that. If you want to drive in Santo Domingo  "Don't" . Nerves of steel is an understatement, at least for me.

[trashartandmovies]

Berlinale Film Festival 2021, Industry Event, Day 5

With Daniel Brühl’s NEXT DOOR and Dominik Graf’s FABIAN being geoblocked away from German laptops, that left only two Competition tiles to be screened on the final day of the Industry Event. The first was Alonso Ruizpalacios’s A COP MOVIE.

I haven’t seen Ruizpalacios’s previous features MUSEO and GÜEROS, so I had little expectation going into this one. About the only thing I knew was that A COP MOVIE had already been sold to Netflix — and, given the description in the press materials, that it was, in one form or another, a documentary film.

These two details make perfect sense together. Since Netflix first gained popularity around two decades ago, the documentary film has undergone a renaissance. Films that were once (maybe) seen at select arthouse cinemas in a few cities, but more likely on public television, were now available on demand. The phrase, “Did you see that documentary on…” is now a cliché. Documentaries are so popular nowadays that Netflix announced that every controversial murder since the dawn of the twentieth century is going to get its own five-part series. So yeah, it makes perfect sense that a documentary about police in Mexico City would find a welcome home at the streaming giant.

But as you already may have heard, A COP MOVIE isn’t your standard doc (some mid-point movie spoilers follow). The film starts out as the kind of reenactment-heavy crime film that has been used to effective ends since before Errol Morris’s A THIN BLUE LINE turned it into an investigative tool. At first we’re introduced to a Mexico City cop by the name of Teresa as she’s forced to deliver a baby because all of the city’s ambulances are busy elsewhere. Then we meet her parter in both work and life, Montoya, who’s struggling to keep it together amidst widespread corruption and not drown himself with alcohol. We think these cops are playing themselves in the reenactments (though there are a few clues that this may not be the case). Then a funny thing happens. The lights in the living room go out. The fourth wall collapses. The film crew enters. We’re then introduced to the actors who played the real cops in the reenactments — Mónica Del Carmen as Theresa and Raúl Briones as Montoya — as well as the real Theresa and Montoya. The movie then steps back to learn about the process the actors went through to prepare for their roles and understand their characters. This includes attending classes at the police academy, going on ride-alongs and filming video diaries during the whole experience.

It’s a pretty neat trick. By turning the mirror on itself, the filmmakers reveal the ideas behind the movie: the public perception of Mexico City police, how police offers are represented on film, and the fuzzy nature of reality. One of the points here is nuance, which is something that people today can’t get enough of. Which is to say, they don’t get enough of. The idea that there are both good cops and bad cops, isn’t exactly mind-blowing, but it’s worth making in the context of this film. Theresa and Montoya are good cops, and because of that fact, their story doesn’t end well. There’s a glimmer of hope that good people are still showing up at the academy, as well as a sense of just how much work needs to be done before these people can make a difference. Most of all, it’s a story being told in a way we haven’t really seen before.

Over the past few years, there’s been a small increase in the market for short films on the ever-growing number of streaming platforms. Mubi makes a point of highlighting them on the reg, Netflix is hosting more of them, and the reliable short film depots of Vimeo and YouTube are now easier to stream to your television. But seeing one on the big screen is still something that happens rarely outside of a film festival, which is a shame.

Still, catching the short films at a festival like Berlinale isn’t exactly a first choice for your average audience member, or your lowly press pass holder. Given the five-day arrangement of the Industry Event screenings, I didn’t get to many short films. But I did enjoy a couple. The first of which is DEINE STRASSE (YOUR STREET), by the Turkish-Swiss writer and director Güzin Kar. At under ten minutes, it’s a briefly heartbreaking story, narrated by the German playwright Sibylle Berg. Berg describes the street to some unnamed person. It’s a street on the outskirts of the German city, Bonn. There are businesses and houses. A roundabout. We start to understand that the street is named after the person Berg is addressing. Who is it? An immigrant child who fell victim to a neo-Nazi attack in the 1990s. It’s a quietly powerful piece of work.

The last Competition screening was Maria Speth’s long-awaited return to cinema, HERR BACHMANN UND SEINE CLASSE (MR. BACHMANN AND HIS CLASS). The three-and-a-half hour film is a deep dive into a fascinating subject: a sixth-grade Wilkommen class in a small industrial town in southern Germany. A Wilkommen class is where immigrant children will go, so that they can get the attention they need to learn the language and get what they need to enter the mainstream classes with native German students. To help them achieve this, they have the remarkable teacher Herr Bachmann.

We should all be so lucky as to have a teacher who doesn’t talk down to his students, who encourages openness, honesty, intelligence, individuality, staying true to your dreams, and the power of learning an instrument and playing music in a band. This film has been gaining comparisons, at least among American critics, to the work of veteran documentarian Frederick Wiseman, but this extends to more than just the length and quality of the film. Like Wiseman did in movies like HOSPITAL, WELFARE, CITY HALL and EX LIBRIS, Speth gets herself imbedded in a system to show the difficult work being done, the frustrating limitations the workers have to contend with, and the saintly individuals who try their best to persevere. The portrait of Herr Bachmann and his class is one that says, it is possible to take a difficult situation and do exactly the right thing — this is what it looks like. And given the time the film spends with the students, you also get invested in their improvement and whether or not they’ll get the stamp of approval to move on to the next level.

Herr Bachmann is invested in his students as well. Any teacher will tell you that dealing with kids, especially sixth graders, can be exhausting. And throughout the film, Herr Bachmann doesn��t shy away from learning the details about each kid’s family, or stepping in to help steer them toward a better future. He’s not one of these teachers who doesn’t get emotionally involved because he knows he only has a limited time to spend with these students. He’s going to try to do the best, and the most, that he can do to make them see their potential, open their minds, and instill tolerance and goodwill toward others. It’s more than a moving and inspiring portrait of a guy who’s really good at his job, it also shows just how good our education systems can be if we focus on helping kids become good human beings rather than just pushing them through some standardized machinery.

We’ll wrap things up with the next installment. After Day Five, the winners of the Competition and Encounters programs were made available over the weekend. So I was able to catch up with a couple Encounter pictures and one award-winning short. I’ll also try to provide some thoughts on what I think made this edition of the Berlinale stand-out from past years.

[askaceattorney]

Dear jnv11,

Only one word comes to mind in that scenario:

Poor Simon would hit a new record for the number of times he shouted that word in a single trial, and Ms. Oldbag might actually run out of breath before she’s done complaining.

Dear jnv11,

You kidding? The woman’s tough, but she’d have a heart attack in no more than five minutes. It’s been a decade since we’ve seen ’er, plus young samurai prosecutor who was suspected of killing his teacher?

Dear anon,

I think what we’ll actually do is stop answering letters that involve real-world politicians altogether, or at least ones that defame them.  Just to be clear, the answers I came up with don’t reflect my actual opinion on Donald Trump.

Apologies to anyone who was hit the wrong way by those letters.  Make no mistake, I was very uncertain about whether or not I should even bother answering them, but the “answer everything you can” part of my mind eventually won over the “avoid political topics” part.  It was all in the spirit of comedy, but, as I should’ve expected, it became more hateful than funny, so I’d say I’ve learned my lesson now.

(Previous Letter)

Dear Ethan Starbright,

..................................................Pff...

PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Okay, I’m not sure why, but the utter randomness of that fact cracked me up for some reason.  Thanks for that.

Dear Ethan Starbright,

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

.....I don’t get it.

(Previous Letter)

Dear 55,

Glad to hear it!  The Ace Attorney series is good at revealing the plot at just the right pace to keep you guessing about who the culprit is and/or what the motive for their crime was, but it’s just as entertaining to see Phoenix and company find the truth for themselves, even if you already happen to know some of it yourself.

Plot-wise, my favorite game was Trials and Tribulations, mostly because of how cleverly it jumped from one timeline (and main character) to another.  Throughout the game, we get to learn more about the events of the past and how they relate to the present day situation -- Mia’s first encounter with Phoenix, Godot’s true identity and history, how Winston Payne lost his hair, and so on, and every tiny bit of it makes the game more intriguing.  My favorite part was Iris’s confession about what she did for Phoenix near the end.  I’d love to see Hollywood try and come up with anything as beautifully touching as that.

It’s been a little while since I listened to the soundtracks from any of the trilogy games, but I think my favorite one comes from the first game, since it’s the most memorable for me.  I sure didn’t expect to hear those kind of fast and engaging tunes in a game about a lawyer, did you?  The other soundtracks are great too, of course, but the songs from the first game (especially the cross-examination theme) are the most fun for me to remember.

Dear Anonymous,

That’s actually happened a few times before.  I remember one letter were Maya claimed she’d never been out of the country even though PLvsAA is canon in this blog, and there was another where Apollo sounded skeptical about spirit channeling, even though he’d been born in the land of spirit mediums.  Chances are we’ll have to delete letters that point out contradictions like that, but we’ll try our best to answer them if possible.  There’s no way to tell what Capcom will come up with next, but that won’t stop us from making guesses about it in the meantime.

Dear Anonymous,

If something changes in the canon that isn’t reflected in a previous letter, it’s not important. Previous means not in the moment. Not in the moment means no one will notice unless they go far back enough. And if they comment on stuff that happened a while ago, they... no offence, kinda need a hobby.

Dear Professor Oak,

Yes.

Dear Professor Oak,

No.

(Referenced Letter)

Dear Lachtigall,

Sorry to hear that, but hey, at least they picked a different character for the idea, so your letter will still get an answer.  We both answer whatever letters we find regardless of which character they’re written to, but in answer to your question about who answered that letter...

Just kidding, it was me.

Dear guquis,

That should be fine if you’re willing to wait that long.  Just make sure to indicate that in your letter.

Dear guquis,

if you want your letter to be on a specific date, specify it somehow. And also specify if you want that info blurred so it’s not obvious. It’ll be easier for us that way.

(Previous Letter)

Dear Ender,

It wasn’t intended to look scary in any way, but whatever floats your boat.  I thought she looked kind of cute like that, actually.

Dear Ender,

Trust me, neither of them are contenders in the scary contest anymore. Have you ever met Robert? THAT, sir, is scary.

Dear SC,

ComEVENo, huh?  That almost sounds like a Native American name.

I’ve finally finished watching Hotel Dusk, but I’ll save my reaction to it for last so I can go into full detail under the cut.  That’s how much I enjoyed it.

My favorite cross-examination theme is from AJ, believe it or not.  I love how it starts out slow and mysterious, then picks up speed and volume when Apollo’s about to discover a big truth.  It’s also nice how the melody begins on the offbeat.  It almost makes me want to dance to it.

I hadn’t thought much about which cross-examination I like best, but I’d probably go with the final confrontation with Furio Tigre.  While bluffing is nothing new for Phoenix, it was fun watching him use the supposedly useless evidence that Gumshoe gave him to give his doppelganger a taste of his own medicine.  It was one of those moments where I had no idea what his strategy was until Furio opened his huge mouth.  After that, it became an “Ooooooh...” kind of moment.

I’d love to see that case ranking you’ve made.  Every case has its ups and downs, but it’s fun to explore just what it is about each one that makes it memorable and...odd.  Let’s be honest, they all have at least a tiny bit of oddness added in somewhere, am I right?

-Modthorne and Co-Mod

(Hotel Dusk spoilers below)

Oh, man..........oh, MAN!!

Seriously, I can’t remember the last time a game’s story left me this satisfied from beginning to end.  To be fair, I just watched a playthrough of it on YouTube, so I might have avoided some potential frustration by not playing it myself, but man...  I can tell the developers put some serious heart into that game.  The music was delightful, the characters were all very charming, the art and animation style were done in a clever way, and the plot...  Man, oh, man.

First of all, there’s the setup: Kyle’s goal in visiting Hotel Dusk (aside from getting a delivery) is established from the very beginning -- finding his former police partner and figuring out why he turned rogue and forced him to nearly kill him.  Oddly enough, he has no real proof that visiting the hotel will lead him any closer to finding him -- all he has is a hunch.

Then there’s the way he goes about gathering information.  Even as a retired cop, his detective instincts are still keen, and by snooping around the hotel (with some help from his “old buddy” Louis), solving a few puzzles, and asking the right people the right questions, he not only gains tidbits of information about Bradley, but also learns the secrets of the hotel’s residents, and how they and their stories are interconnected.  And boy, did some of those connections surprise me.

But here’s what I loved most about the gameplay (and the entire game) -- in order to get the information he needs out of people, he first has to break them down to the point where they not only can’t hide the truth, but they realize how useless it is to keep lying to themselves.  In fact, Kyle said it perfectly himself during one of these confrontations:

Whether it’s pressuring a pretend author to admit to his plagiarism, telling the spoiled son of a lawyer how dangerous his revenge scheme is, or convincing a drunk father to appreciate what he still has -- namely, his daughter -- Kyle just won’t put up with lies, even if he has to sound like the rudest person on Earth to dispel every last one of them...and he doesn’t even need the help of a Magatama!

Like every game, of course, this one isn’t without its faults -- the interactive parts are short, there’s very little challenge in picking the right dialogue options (usually just whichever is less annoying), and the language, while not terrible, could’ve been left out -- but the charm of the story and its characters more than makes up for it.  Speaking of the story, it seems I was a little off on most of the predictions I made, but at least I was right about Melissa.  She didn’t disappoint at being adorable one bit.

Oh, and one more thing -- if anyone reading this feels like playing or watching this game, which I highly recommend, be prepared for your jaw to drop at the very end.  It’s that incredible.

And with that, my gushing about this game is over.  Thank you for suggesting it, SC!

[mysterierants]

Dating Apps... We all know how they can suck.

Yes, I've tried them. No, I haven't gotten anywhere. Yes, I've tried just chatting with people face-to-face.

I've come to the realization that for people like me, those apps, sites, and other attempts at dating just aren't worth it. What kind of people, you ask? The kind that are shy, socially awkward, don't know how to flirt or start a conversation, etc. We aren't the kind of people that are strictly in it for the sex. Sexual acts or intercourse really isn't something we're into; it just doesn't get us "going". That said, going on a date or meeting at a social event is something that's more our speed. We're more of the "old fashioned" type. The type that are more interested in a long term, romantic relationship that has substance.

I can't tell you how many times I've been hit up, on dating apps mostly, for nudes, one night stands, or for being "fuck buddies". To me, that whole concept doesn't make sense nor does it seem useful. I mean, I understand the core ideology of the concept. It's the concept of only knowing each other and meeting up for sex; nothing else. The 'why' doesn't make sense to me. Are you a nymphomaniac or something?

Unfortunately, with modern dating, its customary to have sex after a period of time. To me, that period of time should be determined when both parties are ready to partake; not just one. One side pressuring the other to have sex isn't acceptable, in my mind; it shouldn't be for you either.

Now that, that explanation and ideology is out of the way, I can get on with this rant. YAY!

One app that I've been drawn to, for some ungodly reason, is called Chat & Date. It allows you to find people whether you're there for a hookup or just there for a decent conversation or anything in between. Turns out, there's a few features that you have to pay for, after a while. Nah, I'm not going to pay from them. I'm too cheap.

Are there some guys on there that pique my interest or that I find attractive? Yes. I've tried talking to them and after wasting a bit of time, they ask for sex, nudes, or both. It fucking sucks. If it weren't for the last casual conversation that's going on, I'd just delete my profile and the app; I'm that done with it. I've just had it with the "Oh you won't sleep with me? K byeee!" stuff. What happened to good old fashioned romance?

It's not much of a secret that in the summer of 2016, I had a major medical crisis. However, it is a bit of an unknown fact that I've suffered from Medication Resistant Epilepsy ever since. Life and cardiac arrests can bite you in the ass REALLY hard, too. So yes, Karma is real and she's an absolute bitch. I also suffer from the side effects of the medications that previous neurologists have put me on, but that's besides the point.

I've gone through several seizure studies and have to go through at least one more before they decide what part of my brain is the best to have surgery on. I'm so done with all the seizures, injuries from the seizures, meds, pity, and hospital stays that I'm completely game for surgery no matter how dangerous. At this point, death even sounds like an option.

Why? I've been having at least one Grand Mal seizure, a month, for 4 years now; they're getting worse and longer, too. These bitches need to go.

Now that you know this, you're probably asking where the dating comes into play.

It's not a "final wish" or anything. No. It's a support thing. The entire time I've been fighting Epilepsy, I've had to be the strong one. The shoulder to cry on. The one constant in people's lives. It's finally wearing me down to the point of no return. The last guy that let me lean on him, for support, left me when I was in the hospital, the third time, durning summer 2016. That was a low blow, asshat.

It would be nice, no, comforting to have someone to lean on and love (romantically). Someone that I can talk to without having to watch what I say, but hopefully not share the stress. I hope they could relieve some of the stress, too. Yeah, okay, I do have friends and family that I could talk to, but I have to watch what I say; I have to keep quite a few things from them. It gets frustrating, actually.

That's some of the reason I made this blog.

Trying to find a decent guy, that's around my age, has become frustrating as well. Yeah, on these apps, plenty of guys have "okayed" me or flirted. It mostly seems like they do this because of my looks. Not cool, dude. There's a couple of key qualifications that makes them get turned down, and this is going to sound racist but isn't meant to be. Ya ready? Well, we're going anyway:

1. Age. I'll admit that I do say age doesn't really matter; its personality that does. I mean that with predominantly friends. I mean, at the time that I'm writing this, I'm 25. I'm not going to be into dudes that are 40-60 years old. I mean seriously, what the fuck.

2. Color. This is the one that I said may sound racist, but really isn't meant to be. In any other context, like friends, I don't give a flyin' flippity fuck what you look like. All that matters is your personality. But when it comes to dating, I prefer white dudes that have even the slightest bit of tan. This can potentially come back and bite me in the ass, too, cause I am part Native American; just not as dark most of the time.

3. Looks. Yeah okay, I'm not much for the superficial junk, but I've noticed that this does have a slight bit to do with it. I think it's mainly 'cause it helps me figure out their personality and how they truly are. You may be curious about how this helps exactly, but that will be talked about later.

4. Speech. Wait, wha-? Yes, word usage, speed, and how they speak does matter to me. It not only tells me their amount and type of intelligence, but also helps with personality. Speech also helps me learn what some of their priorities are. This has helped me to decipher whether or not the guy is just talking to me for the sole purpose of getting me into bed or for legitimately getting to know me. It has saved me from inadvertently getting into trouble, too.

5. Swagger. Like the slang, right? No. I'm talking how a guy carries himself (walks), talks, dresses, and stands. When I say this, I'm not talking 007 or Tom Hiddleston swagger. Nor am I talking about how fat his wallet is. A dirt poor man can have that absolutely sexy swagger. It's more of a mindset and the amount of respect he gives others. Well, I guess Tom does count. You get my point, though.

I'm probably missing a thing or two, but these pretty well cover it. Out of 'em, I couldn't tell you which matters most, though.

These are some things that people can fake on dating apps. Chicks are notorious for this; they give the rest of us a horrid name. I hate it. The guys can also act all 'big 'n' bad' behind a screen and make you think they're totally badass and sexy. Then you meet them in person and... BOOM! Less funny Don Knotts with tiny metaphorical balls. I've met some guys that have smaller balls than I do and I'm a chick! The hell?! You remember the speech and swagger I was talking about? Yeah, that's where this comes into play.

Anyway, this pretty well concludes my rant about dating apps.

Welp, see ya next rant! Bye my lovelies. 💜

[soaker87]

A Detailed Guide to Battle Spirits Anime

With Double Drive approaching a conclusion and no indication that we’re getting a new series right away, I’ve been meaning to do this.

Battle Spirits Shounen Toppa Bashin (2008) The plot- The series follows the daily adventures of 6th year elementary school student, Toppa Bashin, who has a mysterious red stone pendant from his father. One day he meets J Sawaragi, the consecutive tournament champion, who possesses a similar white stone. J challenges Bashin to a battle in the alternate universe, Isekai World, where spirits are real. Main Writer- Dai Sato, Director- Mitsuru Hongo, Character Designer- Miho Shimogasa Why to watch- The biggest strength of this series is the characters. They’re what drive this show. Character development is highly satisfying, and the relationships explored are various (friendships, rivalries, romance, family) and quite interesting. The series also has quite a bit of comedy, and some of the episodes are laugh-out-loud hilarious. While this season does have a plot, it puts a heavy influence on the slice-of-life aspect, making it a nice, relaxing show. Getting to know the daily lives of the characters also helps make them feel like real people. The art style to this season is adorable, being the only series to date with Miho Shimogasa as the main character designer. Additionally, it breaks some tired stereotypes of kids anime that even some of the later series fail at. The female characters are competent, and can win in important matches, against characters other than fodder enemy-of-the-week and other girls. And the handling of Meganeko, the obligatory non-battler childhood friend with a crush on the MC is quite possibly the highlight of the show. Additionally, adults are treated as actual characters, including some of the parent/guardian figures. And the most developed romance is between two adult characters. Why not to watch- Depending on your investment in the card game itself, you might not like this series. Because despite being a toy commercial, this aspect is surprisingly downplayed. The battles almost always skip over turns just to get to the “good” parts. And on top of that, they’re very unrealistic by normal game standards. Battle Spirits is meant to be a quick game, and sometimes the anime battles will reach 30+ turns. Also, since this is the first anime, the card game is still rather undeveloped and simple. If you’re used to seeing Braves, Bursts, Ultimates, and other later mechanics, you may be underwhelmed. Even two of the colors don’t exist at the start of the anime. Game aspects aside, the animation and CG in this series really aren’t that great. Especially the CG, which can be outright distracting. Also, because of focusing a lot on the characters and slice-of-life, it’s not the most plot-heavy entry in the franchise, although it still fares better than some in that aspect. Battle Spirits Shounen Gekiha Dan (2009) The plot- A 12-year-old boy named Dan Bashin is taken to the alternate world of Grand Rolo by two mysterious siblings, Yuuki and Kajitsu Momose. There, he learns that he's one of the chosen core soldiers, bearing the light of the red core. Along with the other soldiers, he must save Grand Rolo from Otherworld King, who has been exploiting the world’s natives. Main Writer- Atsuhiro Tomioka, Director- Akira Nishimori, Character Designer- Yoshinori Yumoto Why to watch- Gekiha Dan has a nice, serious story to it. Although of course it’s meant to promote the game (the plot itself plays very much into the TCG’s own lore) it doesn’t sacrifice storytelling for a cheap excuse to show off new cards. Also, despite being a kids show, it’s not afraid to go into more mature and even taboo directions. We’ve got a kid who was bullied so much he has crippling social issues, a web idol being stalked, and a brother/sister romance for starters. Not to say that the series is totally dark and edgy either. It still manages to have a lot of lighthearted comedy. The characters in this series manage to be pretty fun and likeable. As of this series, Sunrise D.I.D. takes over the CG aspect, and it starts to look less distracting. Why not to watch- While trying to balance some heavier stuff as well as comedy could be seen as a strength, on the flip side, it could be seen as a heavy case of mood whiplash. And if you liked some of the silly stuff, the serious aspects could come as a turn-off, or vice-versa. There’s also the fact that Brave, which comes after chronologically and involves the same characters, is considered a lot better. So this series could be looked at as a 50-episode obstacle one has to get through just to get to Brave. Yes, one probably could watch Brave first. It just would have much more impact if you watch Gekiha Dan first. If you watched Toppa Bashin before this series, and aren’t as invested in the card game aspect, you also might be disappointed. Starting with Gekiha Dan, the battles become longer and more prominent. Battle Spirits Brave (2010) The plot- Dan wishes to have exciting battles like in Grand Rolo again. He gets his chance when Mai invites him to the future, where the humans are being conquered by demons. There, he joins the crew of The Beautiful Sophia, and creates a deck based upon the newest type of cards, Brave Main Writer- Atsuhiro Tomioka, Director- Akira Nishimori, Character Designer- Yoshinori Yumoto, Tetsuya Ishikawa Why to watch- Brave is the fan-favorite series for good reason. It pushes its boundaries even further than Gekiha Dan did. The writers probably thought ‘yeah, we have to sell cards, but how do we do it as epically as possible?’ The answer: make the stakes higher and the characters more mature. After everything Dan and the others went through in their time in Grand Rolo, their lives were naturally changed. The characters aren’t exactly the same as they were back then. And now, they have the save the world all over again. The new characters are extremely interesting, as are the dynamics. Dan and Barone have one of the best hero/rival dynamics in the franchise, especially after Gekiha Dan, where Dan and his primary “rival” Yuuki hardly interacted.  Of course, with the series centering on a conflict between two different races (human and mazoku) it has to play up on how they’re different and alike. There are biases to overcome. Characters like Youth (human) and Rugain (mazoku) develop an awkward friendship with each other, for instance. It should also be noted that this is the first (and so far, only) Battle Spirits anime to have a serious romantic subplot involving the protagonist. And it’s very well-received by the fans, even when many canon romances can come off as forced. Why not to watch- If you want something lighthearted, this series is not for you. While there is a little comedy, compared to the past two series, it’s basically non-existent. It’s not to say Brave is super grimdark, but it’s still the heaviest entry in the franchise. One disappointment about this series, if you watched Gekiha, is that some of the characters from that season are shafted in favor of the new ones. Clackey, Suzuri and Kenzo suffer the most from this. They’re around, but they don’t get to do nearly as much as they did in the previous season. Even Mai, while still an important character, doesn’t get any battles until late into the show. It can be frustrating, as she was the primary action girl in Gekiha Dan. And Zungurii and Magisa don’t appear in this series at all (though Stella is basically Magisa 2.0). There is one arc in the middle of the show, the Prison General arc, which is extremely repetitive and tedious. But fortunately, It’s not that long, and even has some good moments. Battle Spirits Heroes (2011) The plot- The series centers around Hajime Hinobori, whose parents built a battle system to fulfill his dream of seeing the spirits alive and battle for him. He went on a journey with his friends and joined many tournaments. He entered the Battle Spirits World Competition to test his skills on different card battlers. Main Writer- Atsuhiro Tomioka, Director- Akira Nishimori(eps 1-15), Masaki Watanabe(eps 16-50), Character Designer- Ryou Hirata Why to watch- Heroes is a departure from the serious tone of the last two seasons. If you like silliness, this season is full of it. There’s absolutely no fourth wall, and the series makes various references to previous seasons of Battle Spirits, which are apparently fictional in the world of Heroes. The characters are absolutely quirky, and a lot of fun. Hajime, the protagonist, is romantically in love with Battle Spirits and crazy over seasoned rice. Kimari, the heroine, is a borderline villain obsessed with world domination. Kouta, Kimari’s younger brother, is a hardcore Pentan collector able to make gags and references no kid his age should get. The series has some legitimately touching moments. Especially later into the series. The final ten-or-so episodes are top-tier writing. Actually, the second half in general is a huge improvement over the first. Why not to watch- Unfortunately, plot is thrown almost completely out the window. The series is based around three rounds of a tournament, and padded with filler in between them. There are a lot of episodes which are ultimately skip-able, even some within the first two tournaments. Also, unlike in Shounen Toppa Bashin, this series isn’t big on slice-of-life and developing the characters. Although there is some development, most stay pretty static, and the emphasis is on the jokes. One’s tolerance on this series really depends on how funny they find it. Also, because this series introduced Bursts, it goes all out promoting them. Basically, it implies Bursts are the best kind of card ever, and anyone who doesn’t have a deck focused on them is probably an idiot who can never win. A couple very early episodes show some of the main Brave cards featured in the previous series being trashed, just to send this message home.   If you liked the fantasy and supernatural elements in the previous series, you’ll also be disappointed with this one. There is actually one episode involving vampires, and it’s actually a plot-important one, but it seems totally out-of-place with how normal the rest of the show is. Battle Spirits Sword Eyes/Battle Spirits Sword Eyes Gekitouden (2012) *The title of this series was changed inexplicably after the 29th episode. The plot- Atlantia, the largest country of Legendia is torn apart by riots. 14 years later, a boy named Tsurugi Tatewaki, who was taken away from the chaos, meets Bringer, a card battler droid destined to protect Tsurugi. Tsurugi is trained in Battle Spirits to face the army of darkness, who is trying to gather the 12 Sword Braves to summon the Sword of Judgment. Main Writer- Atsuhiro Tomioka, Director- Masaki Watanabe, Character Designer- Tomoshige Inayoshi Why to watch- Once again, this series puts an emphasis on the plot. Similar to Gekiha Dan, the series is set in a fantasy world, allowing for all sorts of flexibility. The plot itself is one of the most complex and interesting ones in the franchise. Though this could be taken as a plus or minus, it’s surprisingly political. The show puts a lot of emphasis on the proper role of a king, and how involved they should be in the lives of the people they rule. The main character and rival being royal siblings, this makes sense. The conflict between light and dark is at the center of the series, but it’s handled in a mature way, definitely emphasizing that light and dark =/= good and evil. The characters are all shown to have reasons for what they do, and are multi-dimensional. Some are quirky, but aren’t defined by their quirks or treated as living running-gags. The plot has some pretty good twists as it goes along. It doesn’t quite reach the level of Gekiha Dan and Brave, but still worth noting. Why not to watch- Despite how good the characters in this show are, there are just too many in the main cast. There are two main battlers for each color (excluding red) plus Garudos, Grenada, Bringer and Long in the “main” cast. And that’s not even counting all the various support cast. So naturally, some characters get screwed over more than others. The characters who get their Sword Braves in the beginning don’t get a lot to do in the later episodes. The ones who get it late don’t do much early on. Or in some cases, like Haqua, just don’t appear until a bit into the series, despite being featured on the OP from the very beginning. Related to the last point, but this series is the first to be heavily affected by the release of the actual card sets. Having only two sword Braves released per set only helped to screw over some of the characters. Characters who didn’t have their Sword Brave either simply didn’t battle until they got it, or would just lose, because obviously, not having the type of signature card featured in the show makes one an inferior battler. You hear that, kids watching? Okay, so Heroes did that too with Bursts, but less frustratingly, because at least then the characters weren’t confined to using particular bursts, so many characters had key cards already by the first set. Also, while this is one of the better series in terms of having a serious, mature and consistent plot, if you’re expecting things to get as dark and screwed up as in Gekiha Dan and Brave, you’re going to be disappointed. It’s still lighter in tone than those two. Saikyo Ginga Ultimate Zero Battle Spirits (2013) The plot- Rei is an adventurer called a "Card Quester." He wishes to collect strong cards scattered throughout space, and battle with his rivals unfold. Soon enough, he will discover what happened to his own past. Main Writer- Atsuhiro Tomioka, Director- Masaki Watanabe, Character Designer- Tetsuya Ishikawa Why to watch- Of all the series, this one puts the most emphasis on style. Artistically, this is the best looking series hands down. Tetsuya Ishikawa’s work is fabulous. Rei, the protagonist, takes on multiple different forms for each color in the game, each with intricate designs and each with a shirtless magical-boy transformation scene. Each form also gives him a unique personality. Some of the other characters also get multiple forms, with transformation scenes of their own, though they retain one personality throughout. If you like fanservice, this season is full of it, both for the male and female characters. The transformation scenes aside, the second ED theme shows the characters at a beach. And the manga takes it a step further, having a full hot springs chapter. UZ is definitely fun. It’s another series that focuses a lot on the comedy aspect. Most of the characters have ridiculous quirks, including the villains. The main recurring enemies, The Galaxy Triumvirate, are basically Team Rocket. Why not to watch- Quite bluntly, it’s style over substance. The series does have a plot, but it wastes a lot of time with goofy filler that contributes nothing to it. A lot of the characters are pretty one-note as well, especially Laila and Rikuto, the two tag-along kids with Rei. They aren’t entirely useless, and both can battle, but for the most part, they’re just a cheer squad who could disappear and have no impact on anything. Proof that the “plot” is really not of much importance to the writers is that the actual main villain of the series doesn’t appear until almost the very end of the show. In a sense, it feels like a waste of a character. The biggest issue with this show, however, is how overpowered Rei himself is. By the rules of this series, Ultimates are a type of card that only battlers chosen by the Ultimates themselves can use. And they’re cards which are so powerful (even by real-life standards at the time this show came out) that normal cards simply can’t compete with them. Rei gets lots of them, and repetitively curb stomps everyone, even other Ultimate-users. He’s the first protagonist ever to defeat the rival in one try. It’s simply kind of irritating when no one else can compare. Battle Spirits Burning Soul (2015) The plot- The Battle Spirits Warring States Era is on rise. The IBSA has at least created a virtual system for spirits to battle in 3D. Thanks to this, the popularity of Battle Spirits has erupted all over the nation. All over, rivalries like that of local warlords have broken out between champion battlers. The battlers have but one objective, reach the top in Battle Spirits... Therefore unifying the nation. Main Writer- Katsumi Hasegawa, Director- Kunihisa Sugishima, Character Designer- Kenta Shinohara (adapted by Yoshinori Yumoto) Why to watch- On paper, the premise is an interesting one. Base the characters on people from the Warring States Era and have them battle to try and rule the world. The beginning episodes of the show are actually pretty good. Especially when the villains finally start making their move. Toshiie is also a fantastic character. He should have been in a better show. He has sympathetic motives, is a rival who is a genuinely good person and not a jerkass, and gets a really good subplot with an emotional conclusion. Heck, a lot of the characters come off as pretty cool. Again, on paper. One thing that was nice about this series is that it wasn’t entirely focused only on showing off the newest cards. You get to see a lot of cards from the older sets. There’s even a whole episode (though it doesn’t actually fit in the continuity) crossing this season over with Shounen Toppa Bashin. Why not to watch- As one can probably see in my struggle to find good points, this series has a lot of problems. The biggest one is the “plot”. Despite the interesting premise, despite the strong beginning, it fizzles out and badly. The series ultimately turns into one giant tournament arc. While this was done previously in Heroes, at the very least, that series made no attempts to hide its nature from the beginning. With Burning Soul, it was really disappointing, because it seemed to be more, and then every bit of plot-thread from before was utterly forgotten to focus on the tournament. And of course, being a tournament arc, every battle from then on became predictable. We knew Yukimura and Dairokuten Maou would be the final two. We knew everyone else would lose. There were a few decent battles in there, like Toshi vs. Kanetsugu. But for the most part, it was bland, and the battles took up the bulk of the episode, leaving almost no room for anything else. Secondly, if you thought Rei was an overpowered protagonist, Yukimura manages to be even worse. This is the character who can win 100 matches in a row.  Even if they’re all against fodder, there’s got to be at least one loss in there by virtue of bad luck. He’s the character who, after having his key card sent to the bottom of the deck, manages to bring it back to the top and bring it out again. Almost every character is a total joke compared to him. They just can’t win no matter what. Finally, this series is absolutely terrible at handling its female characters, which is notable when the franchise is usually pretty great with it. Souun is the only main female battler, and she regularly loses to everyone except unskilled children and fodder. Her main goal (to surpass Kanetsugu) is dropped and never mentioned again. And that’s not getting into what happens to her later into the series. The other female characters are non-battlers, excluding one who isn’t introduced until much later on. (Sadly, this show still does a better job in this field than Double Drive.) Battle Spirits Double Drive (2016) The plot- Shunta Mogami loves the Battle Spirits game. One day he is transported by a light from a Battle Spirits card to Spirits World, the origin of all Battle Spirits. He meets a girl named Eto, who claims to have summoned him to Spirits World in order to prevent its destruction at the hands of the revived Evil God-King, who once plotted the destruction of Spirits World before being defeated and sealed away. Together with the confident, green-deck-wielding Yoku Albatrosa, who also came from another world, Shunta sets out to find the twelve God-Kings whose power originally sealed the Evil God-King. Main Writer- Katsumi Hasegawa, Director- Kunihisa Sugishima, Character Designer- Naoki Iwamoto (adapted by Yoshinori Yumoto) Why to watch- Is it sad to just say ‘because it’s more entertaining than Burning Soul’? Actually, this series does try to have a plot. There are some interesting ideas behind it. All Battle Spirits worlds are linked. And now, all of them are in danger of destruction because the Evil God-King might be resurrected and destroy the central Spirits World. So right from the get-go, the stakes are pretty high. The series also is the first to have two protagonists instead of one. This actually manages to ease the problem of an overpowered hero the last two series had. Because there’s not just one hero. The concept is used well. Shunta and Yoku have their glaring differences, but also things in common. It makes for a pretty good dynamic between the two of them. On top of that, both Shunta and Yoku are allowed to lose, even in important battles. That’s refreshing. There are also some legitimately interesting characters on the villains side, who are more than what they seem on the surface. Especially Kazuya, once his backstory is revealed. Why not to watch- Largely because the execution is terrible. The show basically just repeats the same formula over and over again. Characters look for 12 God-King cards. Characters battle over them. Characters lose their cards. Characters have to battle again to get their cards back. With all the potential this series has, it’s kind of a shame that’s all they really do with it. The Soul Spot idea was interesting for a bit of variety, but ultimately it’s just a plot device to allow the characters to get more cards. And they pop up way too conveniently. Most of the characterization is also pretty awful. Again, there are interesting ideas, but it all tends to fall flat. Sandrat is the most brutal case, who gets a whole episode that seems to “develop” his character, but it’s utterly reset afterwards. And as for the girls, only one (who doesn’t get introduced until later) is a battler, and not an especially competent one. The main two, the writers didn’t even bother to give much personality or even a proper role to. They basically just stand around and are the definition of pointless.

[theseventhhex]

Space Above Interview

Maddie North, Aaron Short & Sam McCarthy

New Zealand natives Aaron Short (producer and member of The Naked And Famous) and Sam McCarthy (BOYBOY) founded the band collective after meeting in L.A., where they began exploring a deeper, more journey-based electronic sound based on their mutual passion for music that extends the mind and exceeds the 5 minute mark. Fellow Kiwi Maddie North (So Below) shared a taste for the dark and atmospheric, which saw her step in as co-writer and female vocalist, and Space Above was born. With a full-length album now circulating the world with infectious arrangements and melodies, Space Above are settling nicely in to the new home they’ve created and dubbed ‘spacetech’... We talk to Aaron Short about having no restrictions, extensive touring and baked beans…

TSH: How pleasing it to have this project arrive at a time when you needed a new creative outlet?

Aaron: It came about at a really nice time. It was right in between a chaotic time for The Naked And Famous, where there was this uncertain stuff going on and we were worn out from being on the road. I had some time off for about a year and found myself having an opportunity to explore a musical world with more of an electronic feel, whilst kind of letting go of the pop side of things. I guess I’ve just been waiting a long time to have this moment - to feel like it’s time to dive into this self-indulgent bowl of music and make some big cinematic pieces.

TSH: What sort of songwriters do you gravitate towards with this project in mind?

Aaron: I think specifically with this one, over the past few years, I’ve really been getting into electronic producers that have this incredible way of bringing a very human and organic nature into their music. Artists like Jon Hopkins and Moderat are definite influences. I guess most of the stimulus comes from the UK and European area of the world.

TSH: Did you require a creative spark for the music to come together? Or was it more free flowing?

Aaron: It was definitely organic. I teamed up with a couple of other musician buddies that are also from New Zealand and living in the same area. Sam shared the same mutual love for the underground electronic music of the world as me, plus he’s an incredible musician and songwriter. Naturally, the two of us started writing music together. It all felt so right. When a project is fresh, there are no rules and nothing to restrict you, which was really the beautiful thing about the tracks on this record. Everything felt natural and we were free to experiment without limitations.

TSH: What comes to mind when you overlook a track like ‘Hold In’?

Aaron: Not only is ‘Hold In’ the first track on the album, it was also the first tack that was written for this project. I remember that one came out of chaos going on around me. It was at a point when I had just rented this new studio space and set all this gear up. I sat and played with the intention of eliminating thoughts revolving around my brain. I wanted to switch of all the noise and clutter in my head and make something that almost immobilises you - makes you stop. I like how this track has really heavy lifts and drops that come throughout the track, whilst also having this soothing and sinking type of feel.

TSH: ‘Laniakea’ consists of darker tones and some vocal manipulation, what was the crucial foundation for this track?

Aaron: That was one that Sam started as a little loop. It’s weird because the original version of it ended up being almost ten minutes long. When you hear it now, you can hear the very subtle layers that keep coming in and out, almost as if they are parts of different songs. It was a very fun process to layer up this track with all these different parts. The main challenge with this track was to make it flow from A to B, and try to do it in five minutes, instead of ten.

TSH: Was ‘Beneath the Light’ the natural choice as album closer?

Aaron: It felt like the right way to wrap up the record. It’s an instrumental track with no vocals and it works around one continuous loop that builds and emerges, then floats up and drifts back down again. It was one of those tracks written with all the lights off. I was trying to not have my hands on the computer too much, or look at the screen too much; I wanted this track to take on its own length of time, so I waited for the right moment to call time on the length.

TSH: Were you aiming for a type of energy that evokes a very present feel with this record?

Aaron: Definitely. I mean that was what it was doing for me. The album was very therapeutic when I was writing it. I’m hoping on the receiving end it affects the listener in the same way it did for me.

TSH: There’s also a cool idea of individual artwork for each track on the record...

Aaron: Yeah, I feel Space Above is more about the sounds and where the music takes you, so we don’t want to put too much of a face on the music. I really want to push the imagery of what the sounds and music are creating rather than showing a few faces of the people that made it. So, I teamed up with an amazing photographer who takes these great shots of water and ocean based imagery. From a big pool of these pictures I decided working out which ones fit really well with the certain tracks. It was a really nice collaborative process.

TSH: What satisfied you most about your way of working on this record?

Aaron: Nowadays, everything is all about streaming music and not many people listen to albums as a whole. There’s this Spotify culture that are simply all about singles. However, there was something about this project that was so incredibly satisfying: I got to finish it, close the chapter on it and look at it in its entirety as a completed piece that fits so nicely. This album, to me, is proof that you can still make a collection of songs fit together well. I just hope people have the patience to listen to it in its entirety.

TSH: Do you have plans to present Space Above in a live format?

Aaron: That’s something that we’re still trying to figure out. It’s tricky right now because I’m right in the middle of an extensive tour with The Naked And Famous, so I’m booked up for some time. However, I really would love to tour Space Above on some level, even if it’s a one-piece thing like how Jon Hopkins does it. Obviously it would be great to do it as a three-piece too.

TSH: Is it a challenge to have a positive frame of mind in the midst of substantial touring?

Aaron: It does at times get stagnant and stressful, and that’s why the Space Above project is so important to me. It’s like a therapeutic way for me to turn off all of the other rules that are set in place when you’re working with quite an established act like The Naked And Famous. So, yeah, rather than fighting personal frustrations, it’s nice to just force that stuff into a project. You can have the freedom to express and let your mind sort of just relax.

TSH: You like to also keep up with the cardio, especially skipping…

Aaron: Ha! Absolutely. This is our third big tour cycle now and its funny seeing us go from the young 20 something party animals to wanting healthy food ordered. Nowadays, I’m looking for the nearest gym! It’s a total lifestyle change.

TSH: What’s the deal with your love for baked beans?

Aaron: Haha! I totally love baked beans. The full English breakfast everyday for me!

TSH: How’s spare time spent for you in Los Angeles?

Aaron: I personally have a strong love for dogs, so I do a lot of volunteering at dog shelters in my free time. It’s nice to give something back if you’re in that rare position when you have time free, and so I look to always do something worthwhile and good with my time.

TSH: What do you hope to achieve with Space Above in the near future?

Aaron: Space Above is fundamentally a DIY and self-released project. I’m dead set on spreading it as far and wide as I can: I want it to reach as many ears that will listen to it as possible. This project is not a money making project or anything like that, it’s purely a passion thing that I only hope gets received well on the other end.

Space Above - “Fall Through”

Still

[katherine-collins-blog]

Making Nice | Lark, Forest & Katherine

There was nothing that frustrated ​Katherine​ more than losing a hot trail. Somehow that young man had bested her, dashing off with the unknown fae into the woods, tucked under his arm like a newborn. She'd retraced her steps, followed the tracks he'd left in his departure but it had eventually gone cold. She needed to release the tension in her limbs, a quick fight to satisfy her annoyance. Customers exiting Faetal Attraction was always good for easy pickings. She'd head across the street, pretending to shop until she saw one. Eye of newt was a hokey little place, and the owner was eccentric in her own right, but there was enough to keep her occupied until a target made themselves available. Her skin crawled as the bell on the door marked her entrance, much to her surprise. Maybe this would be even easier than she thought.

Sitting in the back with the Korrigan and Forest, ​Lark​ felt a little more relaxed knowing that he was there to help him watch out for him. While he usually kept him in the greenhouse during business hours, since he didn’t want anyone to see, but after hours, when it was just him doing the translations and Forest here as a companion, he felt bad for keeping in the back, even though it was much warmer than it looked so that the herbs would grow nicely. The Korrigan was still recovering from its wounds, not talking much, but still becoming livelier, which made Lark happy. He was in the middle of one of the translations when he heard the bell over the door ring. “Shit,” Lark said, getting to his feet. “I must have forgot to switch it to closed again. I’ll be right back.” After he excused himself, he left the backroom and began to make his way to the front. “Sorry, we’re-” he began, but cut himself off as soon as he saw her. “Fucked,” he completed instead. He ran back towards the backroom, hoping that she hadn’t seen him. “She’s here!” he told Forest. “She’s fucking here!”

Sitting there with his laptop, doing his first bout of homework ​Forest​ poked another pea from the bowl behind him toward the little Korrigan, smiling as the little creature reach out for it straight away. He hadn’t known what he was doing at all when he first got here, and to be honesty he didn’t even know why he was there, the Korrigan definitely not something a warden like Forest should be protecting. But with each passing day the little creature was growing on him. Hearing the bell on the door however Forest looked up from his laptop eyes a little weary from all of his readings. He thought it was a bit odd that someone was coming in now, but he guessed it didn’t matter. Except that it did. It did totally matter as Lark came back though clearly distraught. Their Warden had found them.“Calm down Lark” Forest replied swiftly hopping up from his chair and placing a hand on Lark’s shoulder. “It’ll be alright. Let me take the lead ok. She doesn’t know what I look like, so it will be fine” He nodded trying to make the other boy feel better. Coming out into the shop Forest patted his hidden knife once more, steeling himself for what he was going to have to do. “Hi, Sorry about my colleague there.” Forest started voice sickly sweet channeling every ounce of his mother he could muster up, eyes roaming over the woman. As far as Wardens go she didn’t look too scary, but then again, he probably didn’t either “But as he was starting to say unfortunately the store is closed for now.”

Katherine couldn’t believe her luck. It was ​him​ as well as some other young man who seemed to be asserting himself into the situation. “I think you can make an exception. I came all this way, after all,” she said, chuckling lowly. She didn’t mean to incite such fear into a person’s eyes, but she couldn’t help but be strangle proud of that fact right now. She could take them both easily if she absolutely had to take force. Her eyes narrowed as she took slow steps to the register, shaking her head. “Where’s it at?” She asked simply, glancing back towards the back room. That feeling only grew stronger as she grew closer. “You’ve nowhere to run and you have nowhere to hide,” she nodded her head towards the both of them. “I want nothing more than to take what I need and leave. This can be very easy. For the both of you.”

As Forest left, ​Lark​ lagged behind, instructing the Korrigan to stay hidden and to grow big so it could flee if needed, though that might injure him more. Lark tried only to speak in its native language when Forest wasn’t around, not wanting to reveal his complete connection to the Fae just yet. After that, he followed, slinking up behind Forest. Though Lark was taller, he felt smaller next to Forest, who seemed a lot calmer in the situation that him. He could still remember her chasing after him, trying to take out his legs so that he would stop running. “No,” Lark said, trying to raise himself to his full height. “Like he said, the store is closed. You shouldn’t be in here. We’ll- I’ll call the police. You’re trespassing. And if you think you can get to us before they do, I should warn you, Forest is a secret agent. He’ll hurt you like he did that gang if you try anything funny.”

Letting Lark speak his mind Forest just studied the woman, tactical mind wondering just how he would fair if it came to a match up. He had the element of surprise now, but he had a feeling. Well something else would be more effective in their quest to help the poor defenseless Fae.Putting a hand up to stop lark from speaking any more Forest knew what he needed to say, and he hope lark would trust him enough to keep quiet about it till she was gone “What he means to say, is” Forest paused hoping he wasn’t just about to shoot his friendship with Lark in the foot. “-Is that like you I am also Warden, and since it is in my possession the Korrigan is my Fae. End of story.” He continued crossing his arms in front of him standing tall in front of the woman. Yes he knew that kills were usually first come first serve, but while this might be her kill, it was in his possession. And even in the Warden arena possession was 9/10 of the proverbial law.

These two were putting on the bravado act, were they? Even if they called the police, she'd be out of there before they could even put down their coffees. Seemed like a hollow threat anyway. Katherine had to admire their stubbornness at the very least, and she was mildly shocked at the news that this other man was supposedly a warden. Her posture straightened a bit as she eyed him carefully, "A warden, are you?" She posed, rolling the thought around in her mind. "And you're ​protecting​ that creature in there?" Her tone was judgmental, taking the smallest steps towards them again, until the counter wouldn't allow her to go any further. "Do you even know what it is? What it's capable of? Or are you just holding onto it like it's some pet to be coddled?" She rested her palms on the counter, leaning forward a bit, her patience growing warily thin of all of this. "Fetch me the fae and we won't have any trouble. I won't even hurt it. Not much, anyway," she quipped with a smile.

While ​Lark​ tried to keep his emotions in check, he couldn’t help put look surprised and strangely disturbed by the fact that Forest was a warden. He looked down at him, not certain how he should feel On the one hand, he was a warden, the thing that Lark had been taught to fear. There was no good warden out there. That’s what his parents had taught him. On the other hand, Forest had defended his family from the Nix and was standing here, willing to fight another warden for a Fae creature, as well. It made Lark’s head hurt, and he placed a hand to his head, praying that one of his headaches did come now, of all times, since they were getting progressively worse as time went on. He needed more time to think, wishing he could go someplace quiet, ride out the headache, and think about if he could accept a warden as a friend. However, he didn’t have that luxury. The Korrigan’s safety came first, and he knew he trusted Forest more than he did this woman. “I know exactly what it is,” Lark ground out at her. “And you’re not going to have it. You heard him. It’s under his protection, so leave now before ​you​ run into any trouble.”

Not moving even one inch Forest just stared back at the woman, eyes set. Lark had said his piece and now it was Forest turn. “Yes I am protecting the Korrigan.” He replied bluntly to the woman, not caring what she might think. Because it didn’t matter in the long run, she wasn’t a warden that he’d want to be friends with later on anyway. “Why might you ask?” He continued “Well because unlike other type of fae this one is harmless. It hasn’t been a part of any changeling rituals and apart from being a threat to a bag of peas, he’s completely innocuous. So I suggest you do find some place else to go, because you aren’t getting it. End of Story. “ Standing his ground forest waited for her reaction praying to all the plant gods above he wouldn’t have to use the knife hidden under his sleeve.

Katherine paused, eyes narrowed in direction of the other man. "Korrigan?" She repeated, the name new to her tongue. There was absolutely nothing coming to mind. She'd poured through every book in existence about fae, every shape, size, origin. There was absolutely nothing about this 'Korrigan' or some fae that nibbled on peas. "How do you know what this is?" She asked, her tone softening with curiosity. "This thing shouldn't exist but you two apparently seem to know all about it." She ran a hand over mouth, lifting the knife and setting it slowly back into its holsters. Her hands raised up to show her trying to show her compliance. "I just want some answers."

Lark winced at the question, not certain what to say or explain how he knew what it was without revealing that he was from Ashford River. It was true that the reason that he didn’t reveal it most was that he didn’t wish for people to think that he was crazy, but this time it was more than that. He didn’t know what she might do if she found out that he was from another universe. “It shouldn’t exist but it does,” Lark said, trying to collect a bit more courage. “Why do you want answers? So that you can kill it better?” Your kind-” His gaze flickered over to Forest, unable to hide the hurt this time. “Your kind kill Fae. Some even take pleasure in it. What should I? Why should we trust that all you want is answers?”

“Because apparently I’m a better Warden than you” Forest replied with a small smirk arms still crossed in front of him. Because yea he knew what a Korrigan was, suck on that Lady. Letting Lark say his piece, Forest kept his face stoney, even when he saw the hurt flash in his eyes. And Forest did feel bad for lying, he really did, but now was not a time to beg for Lark’s forgiveness, no now he had to protect the korrigan. “And the answer to that is, we shouldn’t because you don’t ​just​ want answers and we all know that” Forest replied solemnly still looking at the other warden.

Katherine clenched her teeth at the comment the other man, the apparent ​"better" warden​. She didn't believe it for a second. Didn't believe that there was some fae out there she didn't know about. She'd dazzled even the most senior scribes in her travels on what she could recall about fae--he was too young, and by his body language, maybe not as confident as he projected. "I would guess iron or maybe a sharp or blunt object, by the looks of him. You found him when he was injured and it wouldn't take much to finish the job, I can probably correctly assume." She raised an eyebrow at them, daring them to challenge him. "I won't pretend that it's not my job, and yours, supposedly, to take care of these things. But this is unprecedented. I want to learn what this Korrigan is. I want to know its habits, how it feeds, its abilities." She gave a long pause, every instinct in her fighting her next words. "But I will leave it alone. If it's as harmless as you say, I won't ever bother you again." She glanced between the both of them, holding out a hand. "I'm only as good as my word, but my word is everything. If you need greater insurances, name it. Anything."

Looking from the woman to Forest, ​Lark​ shook his head. “It’s not my decision to make. If you want to discuss matters then it will be with the Korrigan. They’re very intelligent, and it’s their body that you will be examining, after all, so they should be the one to discuss terms and if they would be fine with you studying them or if anything bad will come of you studying it.” Lark twisted his hands together, not certain what to do since he was worried that she might try something if he turned his back on her. Part of him didn’t want to trust Forest, but he couldn’t stop reminding himself that Forest had saved his family from the Nix, had been there for him, and didn’t even know that his siblings were pixies, so he couldn’t have been just using him to get close to them. “I’m going to go get him, but when I get back, I want all weapons on the table, and if you try anything, Forest took on Nix all by himself, a whole gang of them, so, you’ll be in trouble if you don’t follow through.” He then turned on his heel and walked into the back to begin retrieving the Korrigan, knowing he’d have to trust Forest for now, no matter how conflicted he might be in regards to him being a warden.

“Depends, were you counting on fighting me in there too? Or did you forget that fun fact?” ​Forest asked glancing up at her coldly. He hated when people underestimated him, even more so when they were other wardens. Letting it go however Forest let Lark take the lead just nodding his head and offering support when needed. Lark was right after all. The Korrigan was smart enough to make his own decisions, and he would make sure to uphold any all all decisions it did make. Standing there Forest just looked at her as Lark went to the back, standing slightly taller at the mention of the nix incident. Because yea, he took on a gang of nix and managed to kill 15 of them. “And I’ll know if you’re withholding, so don’t be that person” He stated cooly, patting the desk waiting for the woman to empty her pockets.

For a brief moment, ​Katherine​ had to remind herself this was for a greater cause. She wanted to roll her eyes at their boasting and managed to bite her tongue to keep from making additional comments that would only end up angering them further, most likely. “A whole gang, you don’t say? Impressive.” She raised an eyebrow, noting how proud he seemed to be at that. “I’ll be sure to be on my best behavior.” It took a few moments for her to peel the few knives she had hidden on her, dumping them onto the counter. It wasn’t often she met another warden--they were more rare than slayers or hunters--and any other circumstance, she’d hope for a conversation. Most of those desires had been squashed the moment she’d been told he was protecting the ​fae​. But she was intrigued more and more by the creature. The Korrigan, they kept calling it. Intellectual enough to speak with her, not that she cared much for that either, but the show had to go on if she was going to get anywhere near it. “I’m Katherine, by the way. Since we’re all friends now,” she smiled in his direction.

Lark went into the backroom to retrieve the Korrigan. He spoke with it there since he knew that it wouldn’t be able to hold an actual conversation with the new warden, and Lark didn’t truly want anyone to know that he spoke Aos Si, especially now that he knew that Forest was a warden. Part of him felt bad keeping that from him, but then Forest had kept a lot from him. It seemed only fair that Lark could keep this secret until he determined whether he could trust him with his secrets, especially considering his family. With a sigh and the Korrigan’s decision made, Lark scooped it up to bring it out of the back room where everyone was waiting. At least Forest had stripped her of her weapons, which made Lark relax slightly as he presented the Korrigan to her. “He said that he doesn’t see any problems with the terms of the agreement. However, he has asked to stay under Forest’s care for the time being since he has seen that he could better protect him.” In addition to the fact, that if he stayed with Lark, it would expose his siblings to a potential deadly warden. “Once you’ve completed your study and they’re healed, the Korrigan needs to be free to leave and vanish into the forest or there will be trouble like you cannot imagine in your future.” The Korrigan nodded its head and repeated, “Big trouble.” Lark bit his lip, still thinking this was a mistake, but the Korrigan seemed certain, so he continued, “Is that acceptable?”

Questions buzzed back to the forefront of Katherine’s mind. How did it know what it wanted? Did it speak? Would it only speak to the man holding him? The warden brat was the farthest thing from her mind anymore as she gazed upon the creature, finally up close and personal. It was almost cute, as seemingly harmless as the man holding him had mentioned. “Very acceptable indeed,” she nodded, leaning down on the counter to get a better look. But this thing--it was unprecedented. There was nothing like it in recorded history and Katherine had every intention of making it known. She reached out tentatively, as if she was going to pet a small dog, her fingers bristling against the course hair under it’s mouth. “You and I are going to be good friends, aren’t we?”

[ferriskilldeer]

from this ask meme

What does your character typically keep in their pockets? nothing. pockets must be free in case he wants to put things in them later :)

Do they consider themselves an optimist? Pessimist? Realist? What are they like in actuality? considers himself a realist. he’s mostly a pessimist, with some optimistic ideas about the people of barovia.

How do they carry themselves around strangers? Friends/Lovers? Family? always polite. a bit less sincere, more ingratiating around strangers. shy and mild around friends. tired around family.

If your character was a work of art, how would you describe them? oil painting -  tenebrism - isolated - articulate - cavernous despair

How does your character express they're comfortable? willing to close his eyes or at least lower his lids, relaxing his posture, asking personal questions of someone else

How does your character express that they're uncomfortable? wide, unblinking eyes and a rictus grin, quiet voice with less inflection. whats quickly becoming a catchphrase: “dont say things like that”/”oh x you shouldnt say things like that”

How impulsive is your character? not too much, but in the heat of the moment he makes some dumb decisions

What is something they cannot resist? cleaning and wine

What is their favorite scent? fresh laundry or fresh water, fruits

If they were in a rock band, what role would they play? bass guitar or keys

How does your character blow off steam? he decompresses a little by fussing over his companions’ appearances

Physically, does your character feel warm or do they always feel cold? cold-natured, but heats up quickly with drink or embarrassment

If they were a body of water, what would they be? pond

Does your character value promises? Are they good at keeping them? yes and yes

Describe their ideal date. something quiet and respectable--a public place where they can enjoy a private conversation. a quick but interesting meal before or after. escorting them to their home and bidding them goodnight. laying awake and giddy for hours afterward

What keeps them going? he’s not built for anything else

Does your character swear? What's their favorite phrase/word? he tends to swear because i do, and “fuck” slips in as a sentence enhancer a lot. if i played it completely straight he wouldn’t swear as much, especially in front of people he thinks are his social “betters”

How does your character act when they want to seem inviting? pleasant, servile, and charitable

How does your character act when they want to seem threatening? he hasn’t tried this yet. probably gets cold, toneless, and petty

Can your character flirt? Are they aware they're flirting? How do they do it? he flirts through compliments or friendly gestures, but gets embarrassed and immediately backs down from it 

If they were a potion, what would it look like? (Color, glass shape, smell, etc.) something light and translucent, maybe green or pink, in a fine-cut clear glass decanter sealed with red wax. smells of soap and blood.

What kind of person would they never side with? the ruthless, the hungry, the unrepentant, the narcissistic

Would your character want to be famous? Why or why not? hell no--he must never be in the spotlight

What's a controversial food opinion they would have? he loves weird combinations. totally a “x on pizza” or “dip your nugs in y” type

How does your character feel about spending money? he’s frugal for himself, but generous when it comes to spending on others

What would they want for their funeral? he wants everyone he knows to come, he wants no one to come, he wants to be cremated, he wants no speeches, he wants a thousand tears, he wants no one to notice he died at all.

If they were a ghost, how would they haunt in the afterlife? funny: would clean up after the living and help out around the house. less funny: plaintive scratching at closed doors, cold spots, sounds of pacing, banging cabinet doors in a bid for attention

Why do they keep secrets? he’s ashamed of being alive

What does your character have too much of? shame and anxiety

What never gets old for your character? Something your character can't get enough of? new food and external validation 

Can your character visualize actual concepts in their head? Or are they just vague thoughts? yes, strong third eye

Does your character daydream? What do they usually keep their mind occupied with? he doesnt daydream often. often goes over lists of supplies, chores, sensations to occupy his mind if he starts to get too anxious

How do they feel about the unknown? frustrating and scary, but cant be helped

How do they respond to condescension? part tight, teeth-grinding fury, part resignation/agreement, self-loathing

Do they consider themselves childish/mature for their age? he’s always thought himself mature. but actually, his self-denial and black-and-white judgment of himself is a bit childish

What makes them blush? impropriety of any kind, and being complimented in any way

What are some ways your character acts silly? makes weird offhand remarks about birds, responding seriously to the overly creepy things others say

What fairytale/myth suits your character the best? the nightingale and the rose prob

What does your character believe their party lacks? power and, if hes honest, a fighting chance

Describe a corruption/redemption arc version of your character. the letter opener demands more and he gives more because hes always been a servant, and himself for the chance at beating strahd and saving ireena+barovia is hardly a price at all. i guess the letter opener eats his soul or something and he becomes cold, driven, and megalomaniacal. probably scares the others and eventually they part ways--perhaps violently, since ismark and marceline dont suffer any sort of disrespect or threat lightly. could only be redeemed if someone can convince him that he doesnt have to bear all the responsibility, and that theyd rather have their normal squishy ferris over an insane powerhouse. hed have to sacrifice himself/his power in some important way to make up for it though, if he did something really bad

What's a texture/sound your character cannot stand? dislikes ripping+scraping sounds, and chunky gloopy textures

Is there something your character isn't very good at, but enjoys doing nonetheless? talking about wine

Is your character good at apologizing? Why or why not? yes because hes very tactful

How do they hold onto people? physically? clasp a shoulder, grab an arm with one hand, or hold on to the fabric at the small of their back. 

What would they never forgive themselves for? killing an innocent person or doing something purely selfish

How does your character feel about growing old? fine, he just wishes hed wasted less time

Do they consider themselves funny? How do they use humor? he doesnt think hes especially funny, but gets a big confidence boost when someone laughs at his jokes, which he uses to defuse tension or establish a rapport

What do they want to leave behind? he just wants to forget his time at cobblepot manor. and he doesnt

Do they talk to themselves? sometimes mutters when hes annoyed

What is their native language? If they know multiple languages, how do they speak/act differently? he knows a lot, but the further they get from elvish or common, the more formal and archaic they get

What makes them a hypocrite? though he holds high standards for himself and others, he relaxes his standards for others quickly (“oh what did i expect anyway, im the responsible one here”). also will decry needless violence or murder, even though he murdered his boss brutally in the guy’s sleep

If your character was under quarantine, what type of quarantine person would they be? (Productive? Hobbyist? Lazy?) very productive. flits to new hobbies quickly

What does freedom mean to them? confusion, terror, excitement. its the only thing that would make him really happy, and he doesnt want it

What is something they currently look forward to? What is something they dread? look forward to getting a reward from the burgomaster. dread seeing strahd again

How has your character's mental health been recently? not great! but hes been holding it together because marceline is already upset and ismark is volatile. theres not room for his feelings.

If your character had wings what would they look like? sleek, pointy, fast-flying, well-preened, earth tones. falcon for efficiency, owl for discretion, or towhee for smallness

How does the way they act seemingly contradict their ability scores? very high cha abilities that he rarely uses, since marceline and ismark are more assertive. notably an intimidation score higher than marceline’s and equal to ismark’s that he would probably never use

What's a habit that needs to be broken? he needs to learn how to aim eldritch blast (i need to roll better)

What's something your character has realized? hes fucked

Who do they go to when they need to bounce ideas off of someone? suggests things to marceline and ismark (the other PCs), but makes a point to ask ireena (DMPC) what she thinks

Who do they go to when they've had a nightmare? nobody

Who does your character think is the most put together in the party? marceline or himself

Which party member would they pull a prank on? Who would they plan a prank with? ismark; marceline or ireena

What is one thing they want each party member to know? marceline: no matter where you come from or what youve done, youre a precious ally and friend to me. we are all unhappy here, so please just try to play along. ismark: you need a goal beyond protecting ireena and killing strahd because if you achieve those goals then youll be left adrift. and you deserve better. please stop yelling at, lying to, or trying to fight everyone we meet. ireena: you deserve more than life dealt you. as long as you live, there is hope for you. youre loved and protected by a lot of people, and its a happy burden.

Which do they value more?

65. Adoration or Intimidation? adoration

66. Outward Passion or Quiet Rebellion? quiet rebellion

67. Selflessness or Self-Preservation? selflessness

68. Objective or Subjective? objective

69. Journey or Destination? wishes he could say journey, but its destination