#school also did incredible damage to my energy and creativity

[milagrosen]

So happy to see your art again!! And I hope you’re doing well! I wanted to ask if you ever plan to open commissions or plan to sell your pieces? If not, totally understandable!

Hello!! Sorry i have been away from art. I had my solo traveling and then i was staying at my parents place so i had no way to draw. I've also been working on art for a Twitch streamer, been working on my oil painting project as well as trying to grow my instagram, fashion designs and my wanna be modeling. Been a lot lol

But yeah i'm starting to get back to just art i used to do again! So happy to see people still wanna see it quq

But to answer, yes! i am actually! its been years and i keep putting it off but since i do actually need some extra income now, i'm serious. I might have to rise my prices and i might just take few slots first to see how i feel. But yeah, i will make a some sorta post about it after i get few WIPs done! Thanks for being interested and still being around!♥️

[tanoraqui]

There actually are enough good fics about postcanon tentative reforging of assorted pairs and even the whole of the Gusu Summer School No Brain Cell Trio to satisfy my niche itch, so pls enjoy these stray snippets of a fic I don't have to write:

Nothing would've happened if the cultivation conference wasn't at Cloud Recesses. But it was, Cloud Recesses with its pale stone and gracefully winding walkways and too many memories, including Lan Xichen sitting the whole thing out in seclusion somewhere... If it'd been at the Unclean Realm, Nie Huaisang would've been busy and if it'd been at Carp Tower the memories only would've been manageably bad, and if it was Lotus Pier or one of many smaller sects, it would've been...fine. Just fine.

But it was Cloud Recesses this year, this first conference since Jin Guangyao's downfall, and specifically it was half past ten at night, and Nie Huaisang was wandering the elegant pathways with a mostly full jar of wine in one hand. The previous jar, now entirely empty, had been left back in his room. He was a Nie, so he was only half as drunk as he'd always used to pretend at these things - but at least twice as drunk as he'd ever actually been.

After da-ge's death, of course. Before that, he used to get plenty drunk. Playfully drunk. With friends.

It would be a terrible idea for him to go appear on Lan Xichen's doorstep. Neither of them was ready for that yet.

So he appeared on Jiang Cheng's.

[ . . . ]

"Fine." Nie Huaisang pouted and turned. "I'll go ask Wei-xiong - "

And Jiang Cheng was easy, he was so easy, he'd always been easy, the only new thing is the faintest edge of wariness to his fury -

He grabbed Nie Huaisang's elbow in a flash and snapped, "Ugh, fine, I'll go - but I'm holding the wine."

Nie Huaisang laughed and handed it over. Jiang Cheng immediately took a deep swig.

[ . . . ]

It must've been a quiet night at the Jingshi. Wei Wuxian's sleeping robes didn't look the least bit hastily pulled on, and his lips were only the slightest bit red and puffy.

[ . . . ]

[for the record, this takes place in a book-show postcanon fusion wherein immediately post-Guanyin Temple, WWX and LWJ ran off to fuck in the bushes at least once a day for as long as possible, but in their absence, various sect leaders voted that Lan Wangji should be Chief Cultivator now, and alas some messenger caught up with them about six months into their honeymoon. Definitely caught them in flagrante delicto. Tragic for all. I’d probably communicate all this hereish somehow. It was definitely NHS who finally tipped someone off on how to actually find them.]

[ . . . ]

"Yes, yes, I'm coming," Wei Wuxian said, with a lidded look at Nie Huaisang, and Nie Huaisang burst into a giggles because the two most unequivocally lethal people he knew were afraid to leave each other alone with him, and it was satisfying to be recognized but also what's he going to do, personally? Cry at them? It'd taken him years to destroy Jin Guangyao, and at this point it'd take him months, if not years again to re-destroy the Yiling Patriarch, much less Sandu Shengshou. Especially when they both kept doing things like watching each others backs while pretending they weren't.

[ . . . ]

"Of course we need more!" Wei Wuxian declared. "This isn't even Emperor's Smile!"

[ . . . ]

"It's just a rat or something," Jiang Cheng scoffed.

"So?!" Wei Wuxian cried grandly. "Are we not noble cultivators? Is it not our duty to investigate this woman's complaint, and to slay whatever monster plagues her good inn’s wonderful cellar, whether deathly or monstrous or rodential it be?" He turned to Nie Huaisang and begged, "Help me out, Nie-xiong. You agree with me, right?"

Nie Huaisang clutched his cup against his chest, eyes wide, and shook his head in sharp jerks. "I don't know! I don't know!"

Wei Wuxian laughed and elbowed him in the side.

[ . . . ]

[while waiting for Wei Wuxian to send some sort of signal]

"You know I don't bear any grudge against Jin Ling, right?"

Jiang Cheng's impatient glare snapped to him, darkening with threat; his hand shifted on Sandu's hilt toward a drawing position. "What?"

"I don't bear any sort of grudge against Jin Ling," Nie Huaisang repeated, holding only the last jar of Emperor's Smile. "That's why you've been side-eyeing me all night, right? All conference." He took another sip (it really was the best!) and added recklessly, "If I wanted Jin Ling dead and disgraced, or all Carp Tower burned to ash, they already would be."

Sandu slid an inch out of its scabbard and Nie Huaisang watch it with fascinated curiosity. From a greater distance, he wondered if that was entirely healthy.

"What about Lotus Pier?" Jiang Cheng asked abruptly.

It took Nie Huaisang a blinking moment to focus on him.

"What about Lotus Pier?"

Jiang Cheng sat beside him on the cold earth and yanked the jar out of his hands, cruelly before Nie Huaisang could take another sip.

"Where's your grand terrible vengeance against me and mine? I get it, but if you're being honest for once right now, you could at least tell me when it's going to hit, and how."

"What?" Nie Huaisang pushed himself against his tree trunk, genuinely confused. "Why would i have a terrible vengeance planned against you?"

"I benefitted from Nie Mingjue's death, didn't I?" Jiang Cheng took another swig of wine of his own, and swung the jar illustratively. "My disciples have hunted in your territory while you 'weren't paying attention.' I absolutely fleeced you in that trade deal four years ago. And I worked with that bastard as much as anyone but Lan Xichen, especially on those damn watchtowers, and you broke him. So when's it my turn?" He pointed at Nie Huaisang, finger only wavering slightly. “If you fuck with Jin Ling, Wei Wuxian, or my sect, I will fuck you back.”

"You- oh, gimme that. Gimme. Gimme!" Nie Huaisang leaned forward and tried to grab the wine jar, and more importantly whined until Jiang Cheng handed it to him.

He stared at it for a moment, thrust it back and ordered, “Drink,” without letting it go, and once Jiang Cheng had dutifully tilted it back, pulled it back and slugged down the last swallows. He needed more alcohol for this much honesty, and so did Jiang Cheng.

He set the jar down very carefully, because the ground seemed to be moving, and leaned forward with even more care. He enunciated clearly, “Everyone fleeced me, and hunted in my territory, and I acsh- ass- let them. Why would I expect you to go looking for trouble with Jin Guangyao, when he had your heart locked in a box in his treasure room?”

Jiang Cheng, who was a respected master of all five arts but probably hadn’t actually read poetry for fun since an instructor had officially declared him as such, and who was himself at least a full wine jar in, squinted in angry confusion.

Nie Huaisang rolled his eyes. “He had final say over where and how Jin Ling spent his time, and could’ve tried to poison him against you. What would you have even have done if I had come complaining?”

Jiang Cheng’s face only fell further, with the very sort of drunken moroseness Nie Huaisang was out here to avoid.

Nie Huaisang attempted to swap him sharply. He failed on both the swap and the sharpness. 

“Stoppit! Stop thinking you’re not useful! You weren’t! I needed to pry er-ge away from him and for that only Lan Wangji would work, and I needed someone to watch his back through thick and deadly thin, and to be so disruptive that even Meng Yao couldn’t...circle, sneaky, planning...”

They were waiting for the pulse of a light talisman from the other tunnel entrance, half a mile away. There was a small but very bright explosion. laced with resentful as well as spiritual energy.

“Motherfucker!” Jiang Cheng cursed, leaping to his feet and drawing Sandu in one hideously coordinated motion. 

“Just Lan Wangji, I think,” Nie Huaisang said, because Nie Mingjue himself couldn’t have stopped him. He groped for his own weapons - fan, check; wine jar - 

“Oh no!” 

“What?”  Jiang Cheng snapped, as he bent and dragged Nie Huaisang to his feet with one hand. (Hideously coordinated. Sword people, honestly...)

“He’s going to be so mad that we finished the wine without him!”

[ . . . ]

[three grown-ass men, two sect leaders and one Yiling Patriarch, flying at high speed through Caiyi Town on one sword, all screaming. Nie Huaisang is clinging to Wei Wuxian; Wei Wuxian is flinging to Jiang Cheng, a little bit to Nie Huaisang, and most importantly to a chicken, Jiang Cheng is flying the sword. There is a bedsheet draped over all of them from where they ran into a laundry line. It’s 2am. Again I say, all are screaming]

[ . . . ]

[it probably wasn’t a rat - not just one, at least. Wei Wuxian does something incredibly clever, possibly including a creative use of that bedsheet; Jiang Cheng singlehandedly defeats something in combat, probably after he and Wei Wuxian shove each other out of the way of blows without either of them acknowledging it. Nie Huaisang shoves them both under cover and then with perfect professionalism tells whoever came to check on the ruckus that they handled the problem exactly as planned with absolutely no involvement of alcohol, and the Chief Cultivator will foot the bill for the unfortunately absolutely necessary property damage. Overall, they did handle the problem, but the local cryptid they were chasing will only have its reputation swelled and its continued existence assumed by all locals. it is possible that they themselves made this cryptid up two decades ago, but idk how heavy-handed we want to be.]

[ . . . ]

Nie Huaisang was leaning heavily on Wei Wuxian by the time they got back to the guest quarters. He could hold his alcohol, he was a goddamn Nie, and frankly he’d had it adrenalined out of him at least twice this evening. But he’d also had rather a lot, and he didn’t have Jiang Cheng’s golden core or Wei Wuxian’s blithe lack of sleep schedule. 

“I missed this,” he admitted, head on Wei Wuxian’s (Mo Xuanyu’s) shoulder while Jiang Cheng opened the door.

Wei Wuxian leaned his head on Nie Huaisang’s. “Me too.”

“You’re both fucking annoying,” Jiang Cheng grouched, which meant, Me too.

Wei Wuxian stripped off Nie Huaisang’s muddy outer robe and tucked him into bed, and Jiang Cheng poured a glass of water from the pitcher by the door, drank it, poured another, scowled at Wei Wuxian for a moment, and set it on the bedside table. Wei Wuxian glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, finished with Nie Huaisang and started backing out of the room.

Nie Huaisang sat up more or less abruptly. “Both of you have got to stop that bullshit. I miss my brothers, okay? I’d I had a second chance...” He sagged back down with the plural, and flung an arm over his damp eyes. There was a glimmer in the sky; it’d be morning by Lan standards soon. “I fucking miss them.”

“...Ah,” said Wei Wuxian, who always spoke even when he didn’t know what to say.

“Yeah,” Jiang Cheng said abruptly, and, “Drink your fucking water.” And the door slammed behind him as he walked out.

[...a few lines of dialogue later...]

“Seriously, you can go.” Nie Huaisang flicked a few tired fingers in dismissal.

“Are you sure?” Wei Wuxian added with an audible smirk, “Because if I stay up for another half hour, I can wake Lan Zhan with a morning...big ol’...loving...”

Nie Huaisang finally adjusted his arm to crack one eye up at him.

“People usually cut me off before I get that far,” Wei Wuxian admitted.

[ . . . a bit more dialogue and the end.]

[maraud-moons]

first one shot ahhh

tw- minor mentions of death

us? never.

third year was the first time he asked her out officially. that infuriating hair and cocky grin he flashed her way before sauntering over to her with a confidence that no fourteen year old should have. ‘so what do you say me and you go on a date evans? you know, tell everyone that we’re an item.’ she grit her teeth because god if he was anything other than infuriating before spitting out ‘us? never.’

fourth year came and the marauders were still as exasperating as ever but she would be lying if she said they weren’t a welcome distraction for her. their constant loud energy let her think about something other than how these days behind severus’s words seemed to linger something so much darker. but all gratefulness for the distraction vanishes immediately when a filibuster bursts right above her at the gryffindor table and now there’s orange juice all over the front of her blouse and all she can see is red. she storms over to the four boys with the innocent looks one their faces and she doesn’t really remember what it was she said but she does know it would’ve been enough to make a grown man cry but not the marauders. especially not james potter. while the other three have the decency to look at least a little scared, potter just sits there with the most self satisfied expression on his face. and then he had the audacity to speak, ‘merlin evans you sure are creative with your swearing. godric’s burning ballsack? it’s inspired really. we could use that talent. your brilliance and my charm, we would make a pretty spectacular team don’t you think?’ lily just stares at him because god if he was anything other than infuriating but it was 8 in the morning and she was already drained so she just said ‘us? never.’

fifth year and she was on the train on her way home for christmas, her body filling with dread, already anticipating the colder than ice welcome she’ll receive from her sister especially now after the blow up in summer after she got the prefect badge. marlene, dorcas and mary were staying at hogwarts that christmas and alice was a bit lost in her newly found romance with frank longbottom and she didn’t want to interrupt their honeymoon phase so she sat alone in the compartment and tried her best not to wallow in self pity. then there was a knock at her door and in glided james potter in all his arrogant glory. she glared at him in an attempt to say ‘what in the living hell are you doing here?’ and he just stared back with a calm but equally challenging expression. she couldn’t tell how long they stayed like that for but after a while he accepted mock defeat and replied to her telepathic question ‘i just wanted to know why you were sitting here all alone and sad when such kindred and fun-‘

‘and glorious!’ called sirius black from god knows where.

‘-and glorious spirits are sitting in the compartment right across from you.’

she rolled her eyes and responded, ‘i’m not alone and sad.’

‘please you can smell the gloom the moment you walk in here’ he scoffed.

‘it’s a lot potter but we aren’t friends so it’s alright you don’t have to listen to my problems.’

he mock gasped ‘how dare you, it happens to be my life’s purpose to listen to your problems. and i must embrace my destiny.’

she could feel the corners of her mouth tug up and she mentally screamed at herself because no no no she is not smiling at something james potter said because this is james potter and god if he was anything other than infuriating. she looked at him and despite the humour in his words she saw genuine concern in his face. so she, as briefly as she could, explained the situation with her sister and they kept talking and somehow, by the time the last rays of the setting sun were filtering in through the window, they were still talking. ‘anything from the trolley dears?’ they both looked up to see the trolley witch smiling at them kindly and james nodded and bought some food. before she could reach for her purse, james was already paying. he fixed her with a stare as if to say ‘don’t even try’ so she just grabbed a licorice wand and bit into it. the trolley witch gave james his change and right before she left she smiled and said ‘so you both are finally together huh?’ and james grinned a smile wider than anything she’s seen before while lily choked on her licorice wand before spluttering out ‘us? never.’

sixth year came and lily couldn’t look at either snape or potter in the face because she was furious, but she was also so so hurt. she ignored the signs for so long and it finally came back to bite her in the ass. and now the damage has been done and whenever she sees snape watching her in the corridors or in the great hall, he was always with an expression of great sadness but she knows it was more for himself than anyone else. and potter. with snape she was sure what she was feeling, an unmistakable sense of hatred. but with potter it was a haze. she didn’t know whether to hate him or thank him for being the reason she saw snape’s true colours. so she ignored it. and she got away with it until one day, she heard him shouting her name from across the crowded hall. she put her head down and tried to blend into the crowd but apparently potter now has an eye like a hawk and immediately spotted her trying to slip onto one of the staircases. she hurriedly tried to climb up and a hand caught her wrist and pulled her back just as she noticed the step in front of her had moved to join another staircase ‘damn these moving staircases’ she internally cursed hogwarts and it’s incredibly horrendous timing. ‘merlin evans watch where you’re going’ came james potter’s slightly out of breath voice ‘you may be terrible at hiding but you sure are fast.’ ‘aren’t you supposed to be an athlete?’ she muttered, looking for the closest exit and then noticed james’s hand still gripping her wrist. ‘har dee har har,’ he replied sarcastically ‘i need to talk to you.’. lily sighed, she knew this was gonna happen eventually so she just nodded at him to lead the way. he gently pulled her down the school and a few minutes later, she was sitting in a well furnished secret tunnel, not surprised in the slightest because what else could you expect from the marauders. then james launched into a winded speech about how he’s really sorry evans and other than the few slightly inappropriate innuendos here and there it was a genuine apology and she found herself nodding when he softly asked ‘so can we put this all behind us and be friends?’. so a few days later the school was buzzing with news that james potter and lily evans actually walked to class together without any minor casualties. lily still found him and his puns exasperating because god if he was anything other than infuriating. but they were friends now and she didn’t mind it? not one bit. ‘should i be jealous now?’ marlene asked one day when they were walking to the lake together. lily looked at her confused and asked ‘what why?’

‘because you and potter are best friends now aren’t you?’

lily looked at marlene with a roll of her eyes and a very small smile

‘us? never.’

seventh year and they were so close to the end. in a few months it would all be over and they would leave the castle and all the magic it held behind. to become soldiers. like it or not they were all going to fight. and god was lily terrified. faces of the missing flashed through her mind at the worst times and she knew, everyone knew, this wasn’t going to end anytime soon. not unless they all fought and won the war or died trying. and she was so so scared for everyone she loved. marlene, dorcas, mary, alice, frank, peter, sirius, remus, james. james. lily thought of the quidditch captain and how absolutely stunned she had been when she saw him in the beginning of the year with the head boy badge. one glance and she could tell he had changed. he stood up taller, not with arrogance but with the stance of someone ready to lead. he talked with purpose and acted the same. james potter had grown up. and she could tell it was for his family, for sirius. and she noticed it all. yeah noticing is one thing but the slow fluttering in her stomach when she did? completely different. and she tried so damn hard to ignore them because she can’t focus on romance when she or anyone around her might die any day. and that was exactly what she was thinking about when she looked down at the daily prophet that day and read the front page article. death eaters strike muggle town. killed 4. she choked back a sob as she saw her town’s name on the smaller print and as she read the names she slowly processed the words. suzzane edward. she had known suzanne, been best friends with her as a child and even talked to her last summer. and now she was gone. her and her whole family. she was devastated for them. she put down the paper with a start and looked around the table to see almost everyone at the table clutching a paper in their hands, their expressions varying from horror to defeat as they took in the tragic familiarity of it all. the rest of the day went by in a blur and by the end of the day she sat in the common room trying as hard as she could to focus on the relevance of the goblin wars to today’s banking system. she could hear wisps of conversations floating from parts of the room and she heard marlene say ‘they were found lying next to each other. i’ve read so many people say that even if they died, they died having found their soulmate.’ and upon hearing that, something inside lily sparked. she had to do something and she had to do it now. she knew peter was attending a study group tonight and sirius and remus were merlin knows where and she did know james did not have practice today so she shoved her parchment aside and like a woman on a mission stalked up the stairs to the boys dormitory. and as she took the last few steps her mind caught up to what she was doing and she paused ‘oh god what am i gonna say when i go up there and what? james potter isn’t your soulmate.’ she sighed and turned around about to leave but then her thoughts interrupted her once again ‘isn’t he?’ and that was the last push she needed. she near sprinted up the stairs again, grabbed the handle and barged into the dormitory with the initials j.p. s.b. r.l. and p.p. carved into the door. she entered breathless, to find james sitting in bed in an old t-shirt and

‘bright red snitch pajamas??!!??’

‘evans!!??’

she couldn’t help her laughter, ‘you wear snitch pajamas!’ she snorted.

james was too startled to even look embarrassed ‘evans what are you doing here? are you okay?’ this sobered lily up immediately and she looked around and remembered what she was there to do and managed to stammer ‘oh- uh- yeah.’

‘yeah?’ james asked, still visibly confused.

lily took in a deep breath, ‘okay you got one chance, DO NOT screw it up.’

‘okay well- shit. okay so you know how there’s a war going on right? of course you do. yeah so i heard marlene talk about soulmates and how dying together is better than living without one and hell when i heard that the first person i thought of was you. all these years i kept turning you down cause i found you immature, annoying and quite frankly infuriating and i didn’t expect that to change and then you show up this year and god you changed. you stopped being an arrogant asshole, you stopped walking around like you owned the place and you changed for the better and i couldn’t believe it. then i saw how you were with the firsties and how well you took care of them and when simon hubell needed help with his transfiguration homework, you stayed up all night helping him. and everyone kept telling me you changed for me but i knew, it was for your brother and it made me want to punch a wall because you’ve become a 100 times better person than you already were and how was i so oblivious. and of course i saw what changed in you but i also saw what didn’t. your hair is still as messy as ever and you still run your hands through it whenever you’re nervous or anxious and your laugh, it still fills up a room with joy like it always did, it’s infectious. and you’re still so determined, i mean, whether it was asking me out or anything about the war, you never gave up and you inspired almost everyone in the school. and your eyes. they’re still the chocolate brown they’ve always been and they still turn lighter, almost amber when you’re happy and turn near black when you’re angry and there’s that shine in them that only shows up when you’re up to no good and lately i’ve seen that shine when you’re talking about the war and god those eyes. i’ve slowly fallen in love with them and i can’t help it anymore. ironic isn’t it?i guess your pining methods do work potter. cause here i am in your dorm almost at midnight declaring my love for you.’

she let out a giant breath and stared at james waiting for something, anything. he stared at her, right at her and slowly got up from the bed and walked across the room, never once breaking eye contact and came to stand less than a hair breadth away from her, his eyes shining in a way she’s never seen before. ‘you aren’t pranking me now are you evans? because if this is revenge for all the pranks i would like to let you know that you would’ve broken my heart, like completely shatter-‘

‘no you toerag. i’m not pranking you.’

‘oh okay-‘

‘because if i was, would i do this?’

then she reached up to cup his jaw and met his lips and she could see it all. the stars, the moons and her entire future. with him.

after what felt like an eternity of bliss they broke apart and rested their foreheads against each other’s. ‘i love you james potter, more than you’ll ever know.’ she whispered.

‘oh i know, because i love you an infinity times more lily evans.’

so as she left the dorm that night, both of their eyes shining with something new and so so much brighter, he called out ‘so does this mean we’re together now evans?’ with a grin in his words.

she turned around, smiling and eyes sparkling.

‘us? never.’

[iwillhaveamoonbase]

Replay ch. 4

Callum gulped as he sent the text to Rayla.  She was fully in her rights to reject a drawing session in the woods.  Not only that, but he was asking her to bring her own clothes because he didn’t know her exact measurements.  Was he asking too much?  He read the text again.  ‘If it’s not too much trouble, I was really imagining drawing you among the trees, like a faerie or an elf.  If you have any flowy clothes that you are alright with getting dirty, please wear those. I’ll send you the location if you’re comfortable.  If not, we can do the beach or my backyard.  I just can’t imagine drawing you in a confined space like my studio. I don’t think it would fit your spirit.’

Callum internally screamed. Did he really send that?  She was going to rescind her acceptance of his request to draw her, wasn’t she?  ‘Her spirit’? He had met her once!  What was wrong with him?  It was true, though.  That was something about her that, despite the suit and the situation that they met in, made him feel like she would be more at home running barefoot through the forest or relaxing by the sea.

Either way, now all he had to do was wait for her to reply back.  If she rejected the offer, well, he didn’t want to think about that, because that meant he probably was never going to see her again.  Meeting her once was enough to make her haunt his every thought for the past three days.  While he and his friends had finally ironed out how they were going to go full-time with YouTube, she had been right in the back of his mind.  

He had looked up her name and ran across a few things.  She really was the daughter of two bodyguards of the British royal family and her adoptive fathers ran a famous Celtic jewelry shop in Aberdeen, the designs being a mix of traditional shapes and styles and new materials.  She did dance for years as a way to channel her energy. There was even a video online of her at sixteen doing a ballet routine to a Kylie Minogue and Madonna compilation. She had inserted traditional Irish step dance in a way Callum never would have thought worked but it did. Maybe that was because of the sheer joy on her face as she moved.  That made her departure from dance all the stranger and it’s also where information about her basically stopped.  The most recent thing he found was that she worked for Patel and Associates Anti-Fraud Law Office.  

A lawyer…his faerie was a lawyer.  It certainly explained the suit but it was almost absurd.  Here he was imagining her running through the trees and she was surrounded by paperwork in her daily life.  Did she enjoy it?  Did she like spicy food?  What was her type?

Callum hit his head against his desk.  He needed to stop letting his mind drift to her and whether or not she could ever be interested in him.  There was no way someone like him was her type.  She couldn’t hide just how toned her long legs her in her suit.  She probably worked out often while he was a lazy twig that indulged in sleeping in too much.  Also, she was a lawyer.  A lawyer falling for a YouTuber/artist?  Yeah, right.

A stray chip hit his forehead.  Callum looked up to glare at Soren.  “What?”

“You thinking about that hot girl at the cheese shop again?”

“What?  No!”  Callum could feel the blush creepy up on his cheeks and all the way to his ears.

“It’s fine if you were. She was smoking hot.  I never thought I would find white hair hot, but DAMN.”

Claudia hummed in acknowledgement.  “I’m calling it now; she’s Bi or Pan.”

“What makes you say that?” Soren mumbled around a bunch of chips.

Claudia winked.  “Gaydar.”

“Wishful thinking?”

“Maybe some of that, too,” Claudia shrugged.  

“She’s got two dads,” Callum mumbled.

Soren, Claudia, and Ezran all turned to him.  “Does she now?” Claudia asked.

“Yeah.  She told me at the shop.  It was the painting of Aunt Amaya and Aunt Janai that made her accept my offer.  She was raised by her parents’ friends, hence, two dads.  They run Gael Jewelers in Aberdeen.”  

Claudia immediately pulled out her phone, probably to look them up.  Shortly after, she whistled.  “Wow. She comes from a really good-looking family.  Her mom is a totally MILF.”

Soren rolled his eyes. “Claudia, you can’t just-” Claudia shoved the picture in his face. “MILF alert.”

“Mm-hmm.”  Claudia scrolled through.  “Ethari and Runaan and are also incredibly attractive.  Damn.  What is in the water in Scotland?”

Callum rolled his eyes. “Guys.  Let’s focus.  Do we need a production manager?”

Claudia shrugged.  “My vote is you’re in charge of creative for group projects, we run our own channels, and we hire an editing assistant.”

“We also need a social media manager.  Ez can’t do it all on his own while he’s in school.”

Ezran nodded.  “It’s nice that you guys do your own channel stuff, but, sometimes, it would be nice to have some help.”

“Do we need a strong social media presence?  We have YouTube and Twitter.  Isn’t that enough?”

Ezran scratched the back of his neck.  “Maybe? Claudia’s got a large following on Tumblr ever since she came out during one of her make-up tutorials.  Her super casual ‘my ex-girlfriend taught me how to do this and this is the first time I’ve done this eyeliner look since we broke-up’ just made her blow-up and our channel gained thousands of followers over-night.”

Callum nodded.  “We gained a lot of followers after I did that art tutorial with Janai, too.  A lot of people just went gaga over her and I see a lot of requests for her to come back on the channel.”

“Which is where a social media manager could come in handy.  Maybe they could track requests so we don’t have to?”

Soren sighed, taking another handful of his chips.  “We also need someone to help us with events.  Getting us into them, working booths…being famous is hard work.”

“We aren’t famous, Soren.”

“Beg to differ.  I get stopped all the time.”  Soren flexed his arm.  “And it’s not just because of these guns.”  The other three in the room rolled their eyes.  

“Himbo,” Claudia coughed, no-so-subtly.  

“WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?! Stop using words I don’t know!”

“Stop being a himbo.”

“CLAUDS!”  

Ezran and Callum shared a look, snorting at their childhood friends’ teasing.  Soren and Claudia couldn’t go five minutes without teasing each other or making a serious situation humorous.  “Can’t take them anywhere,” Callum whispered.

Ezran nodded.  “Bait is better behaved.”

Callum eyed the frog in the glass bowl Ezran took with him wherever he could.  “He’s glaring at me again.”

“Because you won’t stop thinking about that girl.”

“It’s not my fault she won’t leave my head.  You saw her, Ez.”

“Yeah, she’s beautiful, but she’s not running through my head like she is your’s.  Are you even ready for another relationship?  After Melissa-”

“Melissa was a nightmare. She constantly asked to be introduced in our videos.  I didn’t know at the time, but you were right, she approached me because she wanted to piggyback off our growing fame.”  Callum ran a hand through his hair.  “I was an idiot.”

Ezran put a hand on his shoulder.  “I wasn’t going to say that.  I was going to say that Melissa really hurt you and I want you to be careful.  You didn’t even like her that much, if I remember correctly.”

“She was nice, pretty, liked some of the same things I did.  But she didn’t really inspire me to be better or push my art.  She only encouraged the YouTube thing, not what I actually like.”

“She is why we got almost fifty thousand subscribers in one week, though.  That story broke and you had to give that little video and it really stuck with people.”

Callum remembered that video.  As a way to quiet down any questions, he had made a short video detailing how they had met (in a coffee shop), why they had never gone public (he had wanted to keep his private life and his YouTube life separate), that she had met his family but they kept it hush-hush (impossible not to meet Ezran after knowing Callum for a week), and that the break-up had not been mutual.  Callum had broken-up with her because he had felt that it wasn’t working because they wanted different things.  Melissa pushed the YouTube thing, and there was nothing wrong with that, but, if Callum was going to be known for social media and videos, he wanted to be proud of what he put out into the universe.  He loved his art more, and, if he could, that would be all he did.  Melissa had wanted to do sponsorships and Callum hadn’t.  They just had different values and desires and no one else was owed this knowledge, but Callum had been forced to do damage control because people would not stop asking.  “Yeah. I was really surprised that that happened.”

“People value honesty. I think it comes across in our videos and your art tutorials that you are not in this for the fame.  We’ve done meet and greets and you are just awkward as anything.  Melissa showed her true colors on her own with posts afterwards.”  Callum didn’t even want to think about how Melissa had tried to monetize their break-up.  It had been bizarre to see her sponsored by a make-up wipe company to tell her side of the story, which basically confirmed everything in Callum’s video, but with the caveat that she had wanted him to reach new heights and that YouTube and not his ‘lame art’, as she had put it, was the way to do that.  Their fans had not taken kindly to that and Melissa had lost thousands of followers she had gained overnight in even less time.

“Social media is weird, Ez. No matter what, we have got to stay away from the drama.  We do not want to be involved in any of that.”

“Yep.  That’s why I think a social media manager could help.  A good one.”

“I’m all for it if that’s what keeps our noses clean.”  Callum straightened when his phone alerted him to a text.  

He opened it to see it was from Rayla ‘The woods?  OK.  I’m still bringing my friend.  When’s good for you?  It would have to be on a weekend for me because of work.  Sorry about that.’

“Holy shit,” Callum whispered.

“What?” Ezran looked over his shoulder to read the text.  “That text sounds weird.  Callum-”

“I know, Ez, but she didn’t say ‘no’.  She didn’t reject me.”  Ezran raised a brow.  “You know what I mean.”

“You’ve got it bad.”

“I just need to draw her to get her out of my system.”

“Either that or she is your muse.  Poor Aunt Janai.  She was having so much fun being your muse.  So was Khessa.”  Callum chuckled.  Khessa, Janai’s older sister, did enjoy modeling for Callum.  His exhibit on women of color had been a smash hit in part because of her always accepting when he asked.  She had once modeled with a crown while sitting on a throne and that particular piece now hung in her house in her living room, showed off to everyone who came over.  Callum smiled as he remembered that exhibit.  His crowing achievement, to this day, was the portrait of his mother, eyes softened, and an easy, loving smile on her lips.  People thought of her as this rough former military general and tactician who once taught at military academies.  They didn’t know that she had a sweet tooth or that her relationship with Callum’s father had led her to leaving the military because she saw that the push for peace was more important.  

She was now known for her discussions on US-South Korean and US-Thai relations because both her parents were immigrants and her own history in South Korea.  Sarai and Amaya had both spent half their childhoods in South Korea in Korean schools, helping Sarai learn how the rest of the world saw the States. She and Amaya and joined the military because it helped pay for university, but both found they were really good at it. So good at it, they extended their contracts before finally leaving to focus on family and peaceful negotiations. Callum was proud of his mother’s work and was proud of the picture showing the softer side of her so many people didn’t see.  

He shook his head and sent a quick text to Rayla that next Saturday worked for him if it worked for her.  This Saturday was in a few days and, if things went how Ezran wanted, they were probably going to be doing interviews all weekend for a social media manager.  “Let’s get a social media manager, Ez.”

“YES!”

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

Rayla smiled at the text. The woods was a bit of a strange option, but she was excited.  She hadn’t had a chance to go running through the trees barefoot in years.  She was going to have to ask Corvus if he was willing to head out early so she could do so.  She mentally thought of her wardrobe and realized she didn’t have anything flowing that she was willing to get dirty.  She was going to have to go thrift store shopping.  

Was she really going to go buy a dress so a random artist that she had met one time could draw her surrounded by trees?  Yeah, she was and she was going to look so good she was going to haunt his mind like he haunted her’s.  His voice followed her and she had watched all of his videos in three days.  She barely slept because she wanted to hear him more or see him smile or laugh.  She felt like one of those stalkers who was convinced a famous person was in love with them, but she had met him in real life.  He had approached her, he had asked to draw her.  Either way, she wanted him to be tongue-tied when he saw her and, hopefully, she was going to quell some of the fire that refused to leave her belly since they had shaken hands.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael In the Mainstream - Avengers: Endgame

Endgame is a film that is really more than a film. This is a cultural milestone. This is the culmination of a decade’s worth of stories told by all sorts of different creative minds, a set of stories that all managed to have consistent character growth and development, a grand finale to ten years with all sorts of beloved and iconic characters. This film is the twilight of the age of Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, and the dawn of a new era of fresh heroes, heroes whose stories we’ve only begun to experience. This is something that has never been done before, a massive storyline told throughout twenty plus films coming together in a big shared universe to deliver an awesome, climactic final confrontation between characters we know and love and a villain we love to hate. There’s never really been a film of this magnitude before.

I have loved the MCU since it began when I was a teenager. I had just started high school when Iron Man first came out, and it just amazed me how good it was. Unlike the year’s other superhero film, which was based on one of the Big Three of Marvel’s Distinguished Competition, I didn’t really have any sort of huge expectations for Iron Man. Like sure, I was aware of who he was, I knew he was a classic Marvel comic character, but he wasn’t Spider-Man or the X-Men, the characters I grew up watching in cartoons and who I was intimately familiar with. Hell, I even knew the Hulk better than Iron Man. But boy, did that change fast; Robert Downey Jr.’s incredible performance, the fun writing, the gripping character study, and the solid action all got me interested in this washed up B-list hero who had spent the most recent arc of his comics becoming the superhero version of Hitler.

And that was a running theme for the MCU. I ever cared too much about characters like Captain America, Thor, Ant-Man, or Black Panther when I was younger, and I didn’t even know characters like the Guardians of the Galaxy were a thing. All of this was just beyond my knowledge. And yet, these films made me care about these characters, got me invested in them. It’s something that with a few rare exceptions the X-Men films completely failed to do. I honestly can say after all is said and done I love Iron Man, Captain America, and the Guardians way more than I do Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Storm, which is not something I would have ever guessed I’d say a decade ago. And growing up with all these characters and seeing them go through these films, going into this one I knew there had to be some big dramatic payoff, some sense of finality. You can pull of stuff like massive retcons and everyone coming back from the dead in comics, but in movies? That’s how you lose viewers. I knew they’d really have to blow our minds with this, especially after the brutal gut punch that was Infinity War.

And for the most part, they truly delivered.

Endgame is a satisfying conclusion to the epic first decade of the MCU, closing the doors on some stories but opening up a world of possibilities on others. And while there are some problems here and there, the overall product is just so good that it’s easy to forgive the flaws, though it is easy to see why some would be a bit less forgiving. Still, even more critical folk than me admit that regardless of problems this is still a good movie.

This movie has three acts, and I will be going over each individually. There are going to be SPOILERS here, because there is just so much to unpack with this film, so consider this your warning. Again, SPOILERS BELOW.

The first act picks up where the Avengers were left at the end of Infinity War: broken, defeated, and desperate. Despite Carol saving Tony and Nebula from deep space, things seem pretty hopeless, until an energy signature is picked up revealing the whereabouts of Thanos. The Avengers rush to confront him, eager to steal back the Stones and right what went wrong… but upon arriving, they find Thanos broken, scarred, and worst of all, utterly without the Stones. He destroyed them all so his work could not be undone. He has completely, irreversibly won. And so when Thor brings Stormbreaker down and cuts off his head only a short while into the film, it does not feel triumphant or thrilling. It feel sad, miserable, and bitter.

I think this is probably one of the better twists in the first act. The pace at the beginning is rather slow until they confront Thanos, and it ultimately works in the movie’s favor as it makes the horrific revelation hurt all the more, and then following it up with a time skip of five years later is just rubbing salt in the wound. It also helps cement the original Thanos as a truly unique villain. He not only won, but he died knowing he won. He was victorious in death for five years, and there was nothing any of the heroes could do about it. It seems a bit anti-climactic when you first think about it, but really this end to the original Thanos is a rather fitting conclusion of his character arc from Infinity War. He won, he watched the sun rise on the universe… what more could this Thanos really do?

The time skip shows what all the heroes have been up to in the interim: Steve is running support groups  for survivors, Tony has married Pepper and has a daughter, Natasha has been in contact with the remaining heroes, Clint has been out brutally murdering criminals as Ronin, Banner has managed to keep his intellect as Hulk and become a relatively famous figure, and Thor has basically become an obese drunkard wallowing in his failure. Our heroes are at their absolute lowest point… until one little rat walks over a control panel on a van in a storage unit and frees Scott “Ant-Man” Lang from the Quantum Realm.

I will say that a lot of the latter half of the first act, the part that sets up the “Time Heist” of the second act, drags on a bit, and this is really the portion of the film that will make or break it for you. You need to really be invested in these characters, you need to be ready to handle the ways they’ve dealt with the knowledge that they have lost. Thor’s fate especially has been contentious, with people crying foul that throughout the movie the Russos did nothing but “undo” all the development Taika Waititi gave him, which is quite frankly such a stupid argument it’s not worth addressing. What IS worth addressing is how Thor’s trauma, unlike most of the other Avengers, is played for laughs. For some, seeing Thor as a fat, slovenly drunkard is going to be a bit upsetting and tasteless; for others, the black comedy will cross the line twice and make it rather funny. That aspect is definitely going to help or hinder your enjoyment of this segment.

Even that aside, it does really feel like it takes a while to get to the real fun part of the movie, though it’s not as if anything in the first act is truly bad, per se; it’s just very character-driven as opposed to exciting and thrilling. If you’re into character-driven drama, then you’ll really dig this, since all of the performances here are excellent, with Paul Rudd in particular really showing off some impressive range and Scarlett Johansson actually managing to impress me with her emotional performance. Seeing Hawkeye become a complete and total badass who slaughters his way through thugs is also a refreshing change from the absolute joke he has been in previous films, and his winning streak in act one is happily carried throughout the film, completely redeeming Hawkeye. There’s also a lot of good comedy here as it builds up into the time heist, particularly Rhodey’s suggestion of what to do with baby Thanos or the ill-fated test run of the time machine.

I think it is important to note that unlike most films that deal with the subject, the movie actually gives clear, definitive rules on time travel: you can’t go back to the past and alter your present, any changes you make only succeed in creating a split timeline resulting in an alternate universe. This does not allow them to go back and kill Thanos before the Snap, but it DOES allow them to go back to times when they could reasonably steal the Infinity Stones and use them to undo the damage done. This is actually a pretty solid take on time travel and an easy take to grasp at that, though as I will mention later, this simple and clearly explained version of time travel has somehow left people confused. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Act two is where the movie really picks up steam, as the remaining heroes split into groups and head back to points in time where they get to experience moments from beloved Marvel films (and Thor: The Dark World) as they retrieve the Stones. Cap, Tony, and Ant-Man go after Loki’s scepter and the Tesserect following the battle of New York as seen in The Avengers, which leads to a lot of hilarity including Cap fighting his past self and an elevator scene that not only calls back to the one from The Winter Soldier but also features the redemption of one of the most awful moments in modern comics with one of the single funniest lines in the entire film; Hulk wanders over to the Sanctum Sanctorum and argues with the Ancient One for the Stone in the Eye of Agamotto; Rocket and Thor go back to the period of time where Jane Foster was at Asgard to steal the Reality Stone from inside her, which leads to Thor getting a touching reunion with his mother as well as an opportunity to snag Mjolnir; Nebula and Rhodey get to go to the opening of Guardians of the Galaxy and witness Peter Quill dancing and singing to himself like a moron before knocking him out and stealing the Stone; and Black Widow and Hawkeye go to Vormir to confront the Red Skull for the Soul Stone. I’m sure you can imagine how that one goes.

This part of the movie is a lot more fun with how varied it gets. There’s plenty of comedy, action, and character moments, and it just feels a lot more fun than the first act. Seeing how characters that rarely interacted or even never interacted in the past bounce off each other is really delightful, particularly Rhodey and Nebula. Of course, there is also great moments of development, such as when Steve and Tony botch their initial Stone theft and have to go back even further in time, which leads to Tony getting a heartwarming moment with his father while Steve is reminded of Peggy. And then, of course, there is Black Widow and her character arc coming to a close, as she heroically mirrors Gamora’s tragic fate.

There has, of course, been a lot of argument over Black Widow’s fate here. Here’s my take on it: Black Widow’s character arc throughtout the films has always been a desire to scrub the red from her ledger and find some meaning to her life. Age of Ultron, for all its flaws, shows she thinks of herself as a monster, and truly just wants to make a connection, find a group she has something in common with. With the Avengers, she found just that, she found the family she never had, she found something worth living for, fighting for, and ultimately dying for. Her sacrifice wasn’t some sad attempt at shock, it wasn’t her being stuffed in the fridge to further the character arcs of her male costars, it was her character arc becoming fully realized, it was her understanding that to save those she loved she had to make a choice, and it is the most utterly selfless and heroic act in the entire movie, and maybe even the entire franchise. Everyone would have lost if not for Natasha. She is probably the most heroic character in the movie… well, with one exception, but we’ll get to him shortly. The point is, her sacrifice carried more dramatic and thematic weight than if Clint had sacrificed himself; Clint is very much an underrealized and underutilized character, and while this movie improved him, it was still not enough to make his sacrifice as painful as Black Widow’s.

Act two comes to a close with heroes grieving Black Widow and preparing the Stones for a Snap to bring everyone back… unfortunately, they don’t realize there is a traitor in their midst: Nebula. Not out Nebula, but Nebula from 2014, prior to her character development. You see, Thanos could still access the future Nebula’s video recording eye since her software is still on the same server even in the future (it’s a bit weird but it still makes a bit of sense). 2014 Thanos finds out about his future self’s victory and becomes furious that any would try and undo his “mercy.” And so he enacts a plan to get him to this future and kill the Avengers once and for all. The evil Nebula bringing her father and his fleet to the future right after the second snap kicks off the third act, as Thanos obliterates the Avenger’s mansion with his ship.

The third act, the entire third act, is just peak MCU. The entire act from start to finish is the absolute best the franchise has to offer. It all begins with the heroes struggling to regroup and find each other in the wreckage, with Hawkeye having to run from aliens in a dark basement, Hulk having to hold up rubble to help save Rhodey and Rocket, Nebula helping sway 2014 Gamora to her side and then in the ultimate act of “God I really hate how I used to be” shooting her past self to death, Ant-Man rushing to save his friends after escaping the blast, and Cap, Thor, and Iron Man going to fight Thanos. This is the beginning of the end.

It is interesting to note that here, Thanos is a lot closer to the megalomaniac tyrant he was in the comics while still staying in line with his movie version from the previous film. It does go to show how fragile his ego is and how his talk of his work being merciful and good is just a delusion he has bought into; he freely admits here that he should not have been so kind, he blames everyone else for his failure, and he promises to remake the universe in his image, perfectly balanced and unaware of all they lost. Despite being almost an entire reversal of his previous characterization, it actually functions quite while as a weird way of continuing his arc while at the same time addressing the criticisms many leveled at the anti-villainous Thanos of Infinity War. It definitely looks like the Russos were well aware of how Thanos would be perceived, and did a really great job at having the best of both worlds in regards to his characterization. And even here, where he is fully embracing his villainy and saying how he will enjoy crushing his foes, one still gets the sense that he still sees himself as the hero in his mind and is absolutely furious that anyone would wish to undo what he considers a kindness.

Of course, the battle with these three fighting Thanos is quite enjoyable, and showcases even without his Gauntlet Thanos is a force to be reckoned with, as he trounces the three Avengers, though not without great effort… especially after Steve Rogers does something we’ve all been waiting a long time to see him do: pick up Mjolnir and wield it in battle. I think it’s safe to say that Thor’s jubilant shout of “I KNEW IT!” is one that was echoed in the minds of every single viewer of the scene. And just when you think the movie couldn’t get even more epic, just when it seems that Thanos will win as a bruised and bettered Steve stands alone against Thanos and his entire army… Steve gets a call.

“On your left.”

Hundreds of magic portals open, and the resurrected heroes all come through, along with any sort of crew they could bring. For the record, this is: Black Panther, Shuri, Okoye, M’Baku, the armies of Wakanda, Doctor Strange, Wong, all of the wizards, Spider-Man, Star-Lord, Drax, Mantis, Groot, Falcon, Bucky, Scarlet Witch, Valkyrie, Korg, Miek, the remaining Asgardians, Wasp, Pepper Potts in her Rescue armor, Kraglin, his Ravager crew, and even Howard the Duck. And if that’s not enough for you, the Avengers who were still alive before the attack all come in for the battle. And they said Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was the most ambitious crossover of all time. Was Howard the Duck in Smash? I think not.

And as the heroes gather for the inevitable charge, do you know what Steve says? He says two little words that fans have been waiting for such a long time to hear him say, something a less talented writer and director teased us with several films ago:

“AVENGERS… ASSEMBLE!”

Hurry quick and wipe those tears from your eyes so you don’t miss the awesome final battle, which is just filled to the brim with moments where every single hero gets to shine. Highlights include Spidey and Tony reuniting, Spidey activating the “Instant Kill” function of his suit, Gamora kicking Star-Lord in the balls, Tony and Pepper fighting back to back, Scarlet Witch confronting Thanos, and the awesomely cheesy “GIRL POWER” moment that is far more empowering than the entirety of Captain Marvel. Everything about this battle is fantastic, everything about it is peak MCU, everything is the epitome of why people love superhero movies… and it all culminates with the conclusion of Tony Stark’s decade-long character arc, as he steals the Stones from Thanos and snaps his fingers, erasing Thanos and his army at the cost of his life.

This moment is depressing on two fronts. On one, there is Tony. He is the hero we have spent the most time with, the one we know the best. And after all these films, he finally proved Steve Rogers wrong: he was able to lay his life on the line for the greater good, sacrificing himself fully for his wife, his daughter, his friends, and the entire universe. Tony went from a self-absorbed egomaniac arms dealer to a truly great, heroic figure who did what he had to do to protect everyone he cared about.

But on the other is Thanos. Most villains, upon seeing their plans come to ruin and their armies laid to waste, would break down, rant, offer some sort of last taunt… but not Thanos. Thanos accepts his death, however much it pains him to. The look of exhaustion, anguish, and utter hopelessness on his face as he sits down in a dark mirror of the ending of Infinity War truly cements him as a great and worthy foe. For all his faults, for all his insanity, Thanos was still a man utterly deluded by his pain and past tragedies into believing his cause was noble and just, and here he sits in his final moments perhaps wondering as his future self did if it was really all worth it. His crumbling to dust as he so cruelly did to so many others I well-deserved and a fitting end for one such as him, but there’s no denying that there is an element of tragedy to it too. It’s the exact sort of emotional ending I would have hoped for from Marvel’s greatest villain.

The finale wraps things up with Tony’s funeral, as well as Cap going back in time to return the Stones and Mjolnir to the moments they were stolen so that the alternate timelines can handle themselves. But Steve decides to create his own alternate timeline before coming home, and lives out an entire lifetime with an alternate Peggy Carter before returning to his own time and passing his shield and title on to Falcon. Many were confused as to if this meant Steve changed the canon of the MCU, but… they explain what happens in the movie. Quite a few times in fact. If you paid attention at all, you would know it is not possible for him to alter the canon. He created an alternate timeline where he presumably lived a full, happy life and ensured things would go well for everyone. No Hydra infiltration of SHIELD, no Winter Soldier, no Stark assassination, none of that. Just a long, happy life with the woman he loved, his best friend, and a well-deserved retirement from the fields of battle in the end. While the conclusion to Cap’s arc is not quite as good as Tony’s, it’s still heartfelt and touching, and it’s hard to say he didn’t deserve a happy life after everything he went through.

And so ends the Infinity Saga, and the first ten years of the MCU. This movie changed a hell of a lot, to the point where even though only two main heroes died over the course of the film, things still will never be the same going forward, and I like that a lot. Unlike every other cinematic universe that has sprung up in the wake of the MCU, I fully feel like any stories told after this one will continue to build off the foundations that this film and its predecessors laid out. There won’t be the need for soft rebooting like with the DCEU, or with actual rebooting like Dark Universe, or just constant messy and confusing timelines like with the X-Men Series. The MCU has managed to remain remarkably consistent throughout, and there’s no reason to doubt they’d continue that into the future. There’s no stinger here, but the moments after the final battle with the Guardians and Thor certainly set up interesting possibilities, as does the now teenaged Cassie Lang, who may well take up the superhero role she has in the comics. It’s hard to predict where the future of the MCU will be going right now, but all things considered it certainly looks bright.

Ultimately, this movie is a love letter. It’s a slow build that starts by examining the characters we know and love at their lowest, builds into a nostalgic and hilarious trip down memory lane, and culminates in the most beautiful sort of fanservice imaginable that then brings a touching conclusion to two of the greatest heroes in all of cinema. Of course, as I’ve mentioned, that first act is going to be what makes or breaks this for some people, and the part does drag a bit, but ultimately this movie is more what it ends up as than what it starts out as. That finale is the single greatest work of art the MCU has produced thus far, and I’m not sure that even with another ten years they’ll ever be able to top it.

The amazing thing is, this movie is pretty accessible even if you aren’t a hardcore fan, though it’s definitely only going to have full emotional impact if you’ve been watching these characters for years. This is a movie for the fans first and foremost, and that’s really not a bad thing; why wouldn’t you make an epic finale to so many arcs that appeals to the people who invested so much time in it? As someone who grew up with the MCU, who has watched it grow and blossom into everything I ever dreamed of seeing as a kid, I only have this to say to all of the directors, writers, actors, stunt people, just everyone who made this and all the other films possible, and to the dearly departed Stan Lee who created so many of these people I’ve spent the past decade watching come to life on screen:

I love you three thousand.

Here’s to another ten years of cinematic superhero excellence.

[so-shiny-so-chrome]

Witness: Battle_Cat

Creator name (AO3): battle_cat

Creator name (Tumblr): fuckyeahisawthat

Link to creator works: https://archiveofourown.org/users/battle_cat/works

Q: Why the Mad Max Fandom?

A: Fury Road blew my goddamn mind. I like action movies and female action protagonists, but nothing has ever quite hit me like Fury Road. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I had never written fanfic and didn't know what ao3 was, but the characters just wouldn't leave my head. I started seeking out meta on Tumblr, and many of the people who were writing and sharing great meta were also writing fic, and at some point I started thinking, hey, this is a thing I can do. And then I did it, A LOT.

Q: What do you think are some defining aspects of your work? Do you have a style? Recurrent themes?

A: Smut smut and more smut, lol! And sometimes action. I really like writing about intense physical experiences and the emotions they generate. I come from a screenwriting background, so I tend to be terse and am always thinking about how to say the most with the fewest words possible. I love writing characters who find it very hard to talk about their feelings, so Max and Furiosa are pretty much perfect for me.

Q: Which of your works was the most fun to create? The most difficult? Which is your most popular? Most successful? Your favourite overall?

A: Ahhh I can't pick between all of my children! AO3 statistics says Zero to Sixty, my Max-and-Furiosa-get-together fic, is my most popular by hits, kudos and bookmarks, which is not surprising given that it was written early in the fandom. I don't think I can pick a favorite but I have a lot of love for: Desperate Measures, Her Reputation Precedes Her, Hard Run, Tough to be Tender, and Scarf Thing. The only fic I'm still slightly unhappy with: Equinox. I feel like I set up some great tension and then wrapped it up too quickly.

Q: How do you like your wasteland? Gritty? Hopeful? Campy? Soft? Why?

A: Hard but with some humanity left still.

Q: Walk us through your creative process from idea to finished product. What's your prefered environment for creating? How do you get through rough patches?

A: Most of my short pieces are really just a single scene, sometimes with setup and aftermath. Sometimes I'll start with an image (like one of @youkaiyume's excellent smut drawings) or a concept or idea for the scene. Something short, like under 2,000 words, I will ideally sit down and write in one draft, maybe in a day or two. I don't do a lot of drafts, although I do somewhat edit as I go. Something longer like a multi-chapter fic, I usually have a separate Word document with notes and a very rough outline. I usually have the ending or the big climactic scene in my head before I've got everything in the middle figured out. If I'm struggling with something, I'll usually step away and just let my brain chew on it for a while, until I figure out what about it isn't working for me. I learned in grad school that your brain can be doing a lot of creative heavy lifting while you're off doing other things.

Q: What (if any) music do you listen to for help getting those creative juices flowing?

A: I'm not much of a music person, tbh. I have gotten inspiration from fanart, Tumblr submissions and kinkmeme prompts, though.

Q: What is your biggest challenge as a creator?

A: Finding enough time and energy to write. I'm someone who needs big chunks of time to let my brain get into the creative state and this whole having to have a job thing is a real drag.

Q: How have you grown as a creator through your participation in the Mad Max Fandom? How has your work changed? Have you learned anything about yourself?

A: When I saw Fury Road, I had been in a serious writing drought for the better part of a year. I was frustrated and feeling very hopeless about the filmmaking world. Even under the best of conditions, filmmaking is an incredibly slow process with a lot of gatekeepers. Being able to just write something, put it on ao3 and get instant feedback was an incredible breath of fresh air. I remembered my love of writing and found a whole new creative community. I started exploring a new genre, erotica, and learned that I love it. I started writing prose again after a long period of focusing on screenwriting, and gained a new appreciation for what can be done in the short story format.

Q: Which character do you relate to the most, and how does that affect your approach to that character? Is someone else your favourite to portray? How has your understanding of these characters grown through portraying them?

A: Furiosa is the character who lives in my head most vividly. She has a lot of characteristics I tend to put in my original female characters: a certain ruthlessness and hardness; hypercompetence combined with standoffishness punctuated by a few key moments of vulnerability.

Q: Do you ever self-insert, even accidentally?

A: I don't really like talking about characters as self-inserts. I think every character has some part of you in them whether you're aware of it or not.

Q: Do you have any favourite relationships to portray? What interests you about them?

A: Maxiosa for sure. I already had a pattern before Fury Road of writing hard women and caring men, so Furiosa and Max fit right into that. They are both incredibly damaged people who have been the victims and the perpetrators of violence, have a lot of self-loathing, have been isolated in various ways for a long time, and are used to having no one to trust. Bringing those two people together and watching them slowly allow themselves to trust each other is very powerful.

Q: How does your work for the fandom change how you look at the source material?

A: Fury Road is an incredibly rich text and there are so many things that are only hinted at, left unexplained or implied. I've lost count of how many times I've watched it at this point, but there are always more details to notice and spin headcanons about.

Q: Do you prefer to create in one defined chronology or do your works stand alone? Why or why not?

A: For MMFR, I started out writing mostly short smutty one-shots. At a certain point it made sense to start stringing them together, and the ones that take place in the same timeline are now roughly in order in the series Together. It happened organically, though - I tend to write my longer stories non-chronologically anyway, so at some point I realized I was constructing a giant smut novel.

Q: To break or not to break canon? Why?

A: Ehn, I am pretty agnostic on this. Sometimes sticking to canon can be a fun limitation you impose on your story. Other times, ignoring it can be a fun what-if.

Q: Share some headcanons.

A: Ace definitely lived. Nux definitely died historic. Valkyrie is alive in some of my stories and not in others. Dag's baby is a girl and she names her Angharad. Max comes and goes from the Citadel, staying for increasingly longer periods of time. Furiosa often wants to leave, but feels too much responsibility to the new Citadel to ever let herself.

Q: If you work with OCs walk us through your process for creating them. Who are some of your favourites?

A: I haven't created a lot of OCs in the Mad Max world because the canon characters are just so interesting to explore. But when I do they just kind of pop up. Biltong from the story Her Reputation Precedes Her is a personal favorite.

Q: If you create original works, how do those compare to your fan works?

A: My original works are mostly on the action/thriller/horror spectrum. I had never written smut before MMFR, but to me, it's very similar to writing action. You're telling a story through high-intensity physicality and the emotions surrounding it. In my original works, I mostly write female protagonists in high-intensity situations, so it made sense that MMFR would catch my attention.

Q: What are some works by other creators inside and outside of the fandom that have influenced your work?

A: @primarybufferpanel 's Orbit was my fandom gateway drug. @primarybufferpanel, @sacrificethemtothesquid, @lurkinghistoric, @v8roadworrier, @thebyrchentwigges, @thatonezombiecosplayer, @youkaiyume, @ecouter-bien , @bethagain, @fadagaski and @yohunny have all created things that I find inspiring, epic, thrilling, heartbreaking, hot, funny or all of the above. And I'm lucky that I've gotten to know many of them online and in meatspace!

Q: What advice can you give someone who is struggling to make their own works more interesting, compelling, cohesive, etc.? 

A: Stop and ask yourself: What does this character want? Why are they doing what they're doing right now? Concretely, what are they trying to achieve? What are the obstacles? What are the consequences if they don't get what they want? If a scene or story isn't working for me, usually it's because I don't know the answer to one of these questions.

Q: Have you visited or do you plan to visit Australia, Wasteland Weekend, or other Mad Max place?

A: I've been to Wasteland Weekend 3 times (2016, '17, '18) with Clan of the Boltcutters, and plan to go again in 2019. It's been so cool watching our camp and the festival grow and change each year. I had never been to anything remotely like Wasteland before I got involved in the Mad Max fandom, and now I can't imagine it not being part of my year. Australia...maybe someday.

Q: Tell us about a current WIP or planned project.

A: While I've been writing in the Venom fandom lately, I do plan to come back at some point and finish Closer, a story I really liked writing that I just haven't gotten time to get back to. I also have a few lingering MMFR projects that will hopefully be completed later this year.

Thank you @fuckyeahisawthat

[ask-shakespearehigh]

Q&A post with the Mods!!!!

This is going to be a long one oh boy

How strict is the delineation of creative control vis-a-vis characters/plays between the mods? (@pedanticlecturer)

We generally have the plays split up along lines of “what we know”— we have a list at the very beginning of the blog. Sometimes we’ll draw the others’ characters (mostly me drawing some of Star’s���) but even then the final say on characterization is up to the “main” mod for that play — mod aster

what aster said -- mod star

What is your favorite play? What is your favorite character in terms of how they were written in the source material? (@pedanticlecturer)

I think my favorite play overall is Macbeth, just because I like the vibes (and the fact that I too could kill Macbeth), the fact that you don’t say it’s name in theatres, and the fact that it’s a play I did a full read through and analysis of in class. Favorite character? Puck from Midsummer. — mod aster

uhhhh,, hmm. ive always had a soft spot for midsummer since i saw it with aster esp bc of how fun the costumes were. of the comedies it has the largest potential to be the most visually pleasing bc of the concept of fairies,,,and im gay and dramatic so i love that. id die if i got to costume design for midsummer,,,or be in it,,,yeah. fav character. hmm. probably mercutio?? i recently saw a version of romeo and juliet where mercutio was played by a woman and oh my god it was amazing!!! not to mention mercutio’s portrayal in baz luhrmann's INCREDIBLE version of r n j!!! (I based my mercutio design on him) he just spends the entire time making dick jokes. love that. -- mod star

How do you answer asks so fast? I mean it's great but I'm impressed 😂 (Anon)

Personally, it’s a mix of: notifications on, quick drawing speed, and using the blog to avoid my class work — mod aster

aster is fast and (as you can see from all of my answers) im lazey -- mod star

Are there any elements/characters of the plays you're covering that you would have liked to work into this blog's plot, but couldn't due to the constraints of the setting or the synthetic nature of the blog? (@pedanticlecturer)

I wanted to make everyone gay but unfortunately due to plot constraints we have to have some hets but that wont stop me from making it lgbt as possible. -- mod star

I did want to make The Tempest more of a central play, but it just didn’t translate well. Similarly, other supernatural elements like the witches in Macbeth. This isn’t so much a constraint mentioned, but my own time/energy means that I want to show the Macbeth backstory, in a specific format, but I can’t right now— mod aster

Is there a hierarchy of import when it comes to each play's individualized impact on shakespeare high's general arc? If so, what plays are crucial to the foundation of the story? Which ones did you do mostly for shits and giggles? (@pedanticlecturer)

This is phrased like an ACT question and i might not answer it right so sorry in advance but: mod aster and i only selected a few plays for each of us to do given we dont know all of shakespeare’s works, but we tend to put more emphasis on the the more well known. But it also comes down to 1. How much we have plotted out for each play and 2. What the followers ask about most. Our two most popular are hamlet and macbeth bc people are familiar w those but around march caesar always becomes relevant again. I didnt even have designs for some of the characters until someone asked about them. -- mod star

I would say the same as star— it generally comes down to what people ask about. I will say that the overall plot is sort of separated into “has happened” and “is happening”. Like, the human potion of Midsummer, Julius Caesar, and Macbeth are all in the “aftermath” portion, while Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet, among others, are happening. We’re trying to incorporate as much as we can, and I don’t think any of them were really put in without some thought.— mod aster

What personal significance does shakespeare hold in ur guys' lives? (@pedanticlecturer)

I go to a theater school rn and so ive dealt w shakespeare (although not all of them) it also helps that i was in loves labours lost last year as moth and that i read hamlet and r n j. Theres also a theater in my state that always does One Big Shakespeare per season and they always do them super well!!! My love for shakespeare probably started w seeing midsummer at that theater w mod aster!!! So. Theater kid rights!! -- mod star

To be honest, I got back into Shakespeare Because of the blog. I’ve been friends with some people that got really Pretentious about Shakespeare, and it kinda put me off of it. I did have a book of abridged plays (the plays’ plots written out in prose, basically) that I read as a kid, which is what got me into not only the plots of a lot of the plays, but also the idea of having them illustrated. And, same as star, the theater in state does the One Big Shakespeare— and they tend to do some really cool things with the costumes, setting them in diff time periods. I haven’t been able to see any lately since I’ve moved, but they still slap. — mod aster

🥰😘💙🥰🥰💜💟🥰I 😍💗💚😍😍LOVE🖤🖤 YALL ♥️♥️🧡💛💚💝❣️💕💘💖💗💓💞💝❤️💛💜 okay now i have a question i swear— how long have the two of you been doing art??? and what were your first shakespeare plays??? (@hellaghosts)

Uhh i started drawing when i was like idk 12 and i have the giant boxes of sketchbooks to prove it!!! I moved to digital art at abt 14-15 but mostly stayed traditional until this yr when i got a Neat New Tablet so some of my sketchbooks are sitting abandoned rip. My first shakespeare was either romeo and juliet or midsummer nights dream and i love both of them v much!!! I have a very old piece of art that i did for r n j for my freshman class assignment on it and it hasnt aged well alsdjfjafd circa 2016 i think??? -- mod star

Oh man. I started drawing when I was about 10, but it was Bad. I don’t think I got much into drawing again until I was about 14? Sometime around the end of middle school/beginning of high school. I would say I started getting into drawing as more than doodling/coloring edits sometime around 2015-16? I would draw on my iPad with my finger, then I got a tablet for my computer, and now I pretty much stick to my iPad with an Apple Pencil. My first Shakespeare play was….. uh…… probably Midsummer???? I have No idea. We would go to plays when I was little, so I honestly don’t remember if I saw others before. It may have been Romeo and Juliet— I had that book where it was the original and the “modernized” with the little dog that explained things— which, if you know it makes sense, but if you don’t is probably a bonkers answer. — mod aster

Do you think this blog has like? An overarching thesis (be it b/c intentionally or simply b/c ur own take on the world has bled thru to the point where u believe it’s central to the piece at this point)? (@pedanticlecturer)

Not gonna lie, I had to read that like three times AND dm you to figure out what you were asking from us and all I have is “be gay, respect women, write your own happy endings”. — mod aster

This blog started with an ides of march shitpost and you think we have enough brain energy to write a whole thesis? I projected feelings of found family onto my half of the blog but idk if that counts. Be gay do crime 420 69 -- mod star

What’s the nature/rough dynamic of ur relationship? How do y’all know each other? (@pedanticlecturer)

Met mod aster when i was like 4 and even tho we didnt live close we became like, best friends although the Best part didnt start until we were like 13-ish and eventually we talked like non stop (about anime and homestuck. Yknow. 13 year old kid things) and we didnt see each other a lot bc of Distance and now its even worse bc aster is in colleg.,e but we consider each other siblings regardless of family bc we’re adopted into our own respective families so that bled over into our friendship and it would feel weird calling him anything other than my brother now. We’ve seen each other at our best and worst and if you really want a good insight on what we’re like as siblings watch griffin and justin mcelroy’s overview video of catlateral damage wherein i am griffin and he is the long suffering justin. -- mod star

Star is basically my long distance sibling and functionally the only cousin I recognize bc like their parents are basically an aunt and uncle and like our dads look enough alike that we’ve both accidentally gotten the wrong dad for a hug or similar so like. Anyways yeah Star is the Griffin to my Justin, complete with our absent middle brother who we love dearly— mod aster

Dubiously relevant q but what kind of music do y’all listen to when u do art (if that is indeed a habit either of u partake in) (@pedanticlecturer)

It can depend on the piece? I was working on some (unrelated) oc prints that were song-focused, and for those I just listened to said song on loop. Sometimes I have playlists. Sometimes I’ll just be in a Mood and throw a song on loop. But a lot of time for the blog, I’ll listen to The Adventure Zone for the billionth time, because I have Too Much Attention. I’ve also, on request from Star, linked the most recent “loop song”.— mod aster

I tend to obsess over the same like 3 songs every few weeks so those get listened to on repeat but it also depends on the tone of what im drawing or who im drawing i might genre switch bc of that. If im drawing ophelia i stick to lana del rey and if im drawing hamlet its the neighborhood, horatio is sufjan stevens etc. i have categorized,. Most of the characters i draw into different songs/genres/energies of music but not like i ever follow that. Sometimes i just pull up a really long nonsense video and forget to draw. Essentially: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ -- mod star

How’d y’all come up with ur pseudonyms? (@pedanticlecturer)

I love space so much and my main blog is starryeydsailor space gay rights!! Im also tiny and full of energy and bright so basically i;m star -- mod star

Uhhhh i was like “hey i want to do uhhhhhh flower?” And then I google searched flower names until I found one I liked —- mod aster

How did you end up deciding the rough timeline of events in canon? (@pedanticlecturer)

It’s mostly determined by like. How we choose per story? If that makes sense. Like, we just take story by story, and decide “is it happening, has it happened, and when?” And then we fit them together in relation to each other just by dint of. All existing at once. Like, I knew I wanted Macbeth to be in aftermath, because like, even though there’s no murder, the way I’ve translated it to the AU is still kinda heavy, and it’s something that I don’t know that I could do properly if it were happening right now. Also, it’s more interesting IMO to have them at different times. Tl;dr we wing it per story and slot them together— mod aster (mod star agrees I just can word better, in theory)

If you could tell the story of shakespeare high in a different format than an ask blog, would you? Obviously y'all are making very good use of the format, but would you want to write this as a animated series or like? a comic book? or is the form inseparable from the story? (@pedanticlecturer)

I kinda wanted to do a webcomic or maybe to plot develop through like, animatics but the element of surprise comes from the asks we get and really makes us think so the blog is a good start. We didnt think we’d get this far -- mod star

Pretty much what Star said— there are certain elements where it’d be neat to do as a comic or as an animatic. Like, the fantasy dream is like, an anthology webcomic of each story, where you can like, see other characters in the background and stuff. But to be honest, we develop a lot by what we’re asked— there was a post about developing worldbuilding by being asked questions and then pretending you’ve thought about the answer, and it’s not far off. Personally, it’s hard to just lay out a story, because I have a whole WORLD and what’s relevant? What are people interested in? It’s by getting questions that I can then focus in on an area to develop. And yeah, we Super didn’t think we’d get this far lmao — mod aster

Any headcanons about your characters that you don't think will ever come up on the blog through asks or plot posts? (@pedanticlecturer)

I could make a whole separate post for this!!!!! Mostly its voice headcanons (and by mostly i mean like 1 or 2) or relationship hcs!!!! -- mod star

Honestly same. I don’t think I have voice headcanons for mine, though I bet I could find some. I’ve got a bunch of miscellaneous headcanons that just kinda float around, but like they’re scattered, too numerous for this post, and also not always things I’m sure are canon yet.— mod aster

[magicalgirlfumiko]

6

My personal favorite OC that probably won’t be seeing any action anytime soon but left a strong enough impact that even one of my creative writing professors liked the concept of the character.  (This character has been around for about ten years now and while I don’t really like her as much now here’s an ancient profile). 

GENERAL CHARACTER STATISTICSCharacter Name: Chavvah, EveName Meaning: "Breath of Life” in HebrewAlias: The Sword of EmberaGender: FemaleSpecies/Race: “Spirit” Age: 16 (?)B-Day: 7/23Zodiac Sign: LeoPlace of Birth: Rothnan Current Residence: Within a Void Barrier that bounds her non-physical form to an anchor called an “orb.”Occupation: Eve was a slave to the Stoico family. After she was separated from her body by Rane, Eve has become a celestial being that is more like a force of nature than anything else.School/Grade: UnknownFamily: NoneGemstone: TourmalinesPHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Height: 152.4 centimetersHair: Eve’s hair is long and white. No one is exactly sure why this is since originally she had red hair.Eyes: Her eyes are almost always covered by a visor. When the visor is not worn, they are bright yellow.Distinguishing Marks: Eve’s body is tattooed with an ancient text. They reveal a legend about a goddess and how she will one day set the world free from the tyranny of the Fallen Ones. It is not known if this was her original tribal peoples or place on her flesh by Rane in order to keep her anchored to this realm.General Appearance: Eve wears an odd outfit that is made up of a corset-like dress that has false laces in front. The main body is ice blue violet with a darker shade of blue as its highlights. She only wears a single legging on her right leg. On the left leg is a series of thin golden chains wrapped around her leg. There are several more that are wrapped around her hands. Neither serves any true purpose, other than because she feels she is not free. Around her waist is a purple sash and in the center lies a large piece of jewelry. This crystal is extremely rare and further suggests that this was place there by Rane.Strengths: Eve defies the laws of nature and is completely of the spiritual realm. To those that know of her, she is the closest thing to a goddess they’ll ever meet. However, her powers have to be contained or they’ll cause major damage to the land if she ever touches the ground there.Weaknesses: Eve’s biggest hindrance is that she can only appear outside of the void barrier, as a projection. If any of her powers are to be provoked, someone must carry the void barrier around with them. Deep down, she fears what she agreed to become. There is no one else alive that can do the things that she does. She has killed thousands, which makes her regret helping Rane in the first place.More: Weight: 45.4 kg, Breast: 75 cm, Waist: 50 cm, Hips: 80 cmMENTAL CHARACTERISTICSAllies: Chaotic Neutral in nature, Eve sides with whoever is the most useful for her at the time. She respects very few people and rightfully so. However, she has deep liking for Joshua Jungbluth. The only other person she views with the same amount of respect is Medus Tenpenny.Enemies: Varies, almost chiefly the pirate mage Rane.Current Goal/Purpose: Eve wants to be free and find someone that will understand her, just like Joshua did. She doesn’t want to be dominated. During youth, Eve was on a quest to escape her life as a slave. She, at first, sides with Rane against her the Stoico family. Eve willingly goes to war on the side of Rane, as the SoE but later regrets that decision. She then sides with Joshua in the hopes of attaining her freedom by that means. At the start of the Great Pirate Wars, she was comatose.Aspirations: Eve wants to live again. She hates being stuck in the barrier and wants to escape from enslavement.

Hobbies: Eve is one who loves the arts and creative things. She was the child that was always doing something inventive and unique. But more importantly, she truly wants center stage!Likes: Eve loves the new and extraordinary. This makes her prone to stir up a situation out of nowhere just for something to keep her vivacious temperament satisfied. Eve has an amazing ability to bounce back from any feelings of despair or unfortunate events.Dislikes: Eve despises dull, regular routines and if this is what she is faced with, she will simply create her own drama and excitement. Eve does not like to be unhappy, it hurts her pride so she will take matters into her own hands and make things right againTalents: Eve is far from limited. Eve loves to initiate change, in return becoming naturally attracted to activities that allow her to initiate reform in some fashion. Eve is attracted to things that will allow her to create, think outside the box, and transform.Inabilities: Eve is very pretentious and likes to go to extremes to show off her talents, at times she has even exhausted her powers and was forced to remain comatose for several days to fully recover. She is domineering and wants her way to be the only way. She does not compromise very well. Eve can also be highly melodramatic. Finally she is stubborn and vain.Fears: No one to worship her skills anymore.General Personality: People are attracted to Eve's zest for life and her warm spirit. She has the ability to lift up one's spirits and provide encouragement when times are rough. Her enthusiasm attracts people, Eve is a social butterfly, not because she wants to be but because people always naturally gravitate and surround her.Eve is a very difficult being to not like at first, she is usually fairly balanced and realistic. She never dwells on the past too much and she will think you are strange if you do.Eve might be too caught up in herself and can be very self-centered but she is never too self-absorbed to help anyone who needs it. Eve pampers her friends and treats them well. She is the ultimate friend. She does not hold a grudge, is very forgiving, respects and understands people's differences.Eve does come into conflict with other powerhouse type of people who will not take orders and not give an inch, Eve will not budge her opinion, she will understand and accept opinions of others but she does not take well to people to try to impose their beliefs on her. Eve has the temperament of a demanding, spoiled child but this is only shown if someone steps on the boundaries of her “kingdom.” She reacts this way because of her territoriality.

She is very independent but she needs something to control and someone to admire her and appreciate her. She is fully capable of being greatly successful on her own but she is much happier if she has an audience and a following of people who look up to her. She would prefer not be alone.Inner Personality: Eve is extremely sensitive but she hides that very well. She loves praise and flattery, her ego demands respect and adoration. Eve is all about pride. This can cause her to be self-centered but the warmth of her heart keeps it under control. If her audience, otherwise known as her friends, does not provide the needed appreciation, Eve is too proud to ask for it and she will suffer a hurt ego, but no one will ever know and she will suffer in silence.Fondest Memory: Meeting the Yellow Brothers. For the first time in her life, she had finally found a group of misfits that shared similar goals to her own.Biggest Regret: Destroying the Agnar capital.Secret: The secret of Eve is that she needs to be needed.SPECIALTY CHARACTERISTICS

Special Items: None.

While she does not carry any special items on her, the "orb" that was placed in the center of the bridge of the airship is an item that needs to be carried around in order for Eve to get around with draining a lot of her energy.Weapons: She is Sword of Embera, the will power behind the airship that leveled Agnar with "fire from the heavens."Magic: Eve is by far one of the most powerful figures in the history of Mirabella. She has been dwelling as a spirit inside of the void barrier learning how to control divine powers. Eve’s most devastating blow comes in the form of Aether Lightening, which is blasted out in the form of a dragon’s head. Her lesser powers include forming Aether Claws, which are as sharp as knives.HISTORIC BACKGROUNDGeneral History: Eve is the main driving force of all the plots of the Sword of Embera. Before the start of the Agnar Wars and then the Paladin Revolt, Eve lived as a forced servant for the Stoico family. Her master, whom she called Don was a member of an elite Paladin unit that worked for the royal family. Her parents were forced to put her into slavery for failing to pay funds to Don’s family. While this custom was very frowned upon, being a member of the elite there was little anyone could do to protest. Since she was held hostage, Eve was made to work as a seamstress for the family. While life was not brutal, she still resented being forced to be apart from her family. Eve had no ambitions in life, other than one day finding away to escape from servitude. However, when the Agnar pirates came to the scene, things would change for her. They captured the capital and force the Royals into exile.

After spending time with Don’s family while away from the throne, Rane realized that Eve had incredible strengths. Rane asked if Eve would be willing to work for her. As the queen, she could grant her freedom. However, she would have to do something first. It took Eve only a matter of seconds to agree; without realizing that she would soon become a goddess. Rane placed Eve’s spirit inside of the void barrier, therefore making Eve’s body useless as anything other than a shell. Without a mortal body blocking all of her inner power, Eve became a source of seemingly infinite power.With the main core ready, Mistlyn could finish her airship, the Sword of Embera. She planned to use this weapon on Agnar. This was almost prevented when Eve's master, Eldoin halted Mistlyn inside the airship. The void barrier was on her very person. He was going to arrest the queen because he disagreed with her breaking the vows of making a “Living Goddess.” Enraged, Mistlyn attacked him since he had sided with the Paladins over her. Eldoin fought against her with much fury. He came close to overthrowing her. Broken hearted and distressed, she was about to surrender when Don was stabbed by someone they both thought of as a mentor, Dedrick. Eve witnessed the death of her master and thought that Rane was going to be murdered as well, meaning that she could be next. Her fear soon caused the barrier to glow. The light blinded Rane, causing her to drop the orb out a window and into the countryside.The anchor was briefly found by Erin. Eve then plotted a means to run away. However, before the spirit could plot a means of escape Rane defeated Erin. Therefore, Eve���s power was to be used to level Agnar. The Sword of Embera was the most powerful weapon of its day. All Eve could do was rest at this point. The amount of mana used to burn Agnar to ground exhausted the new spirit.She would later be rescued by the hero named Joshua. As time went on Joshua was able to get her respect. At first, Eve viewed Joshua as a twat but as he slowly became more aggressive in battling Dedrick and the Paladins, she began to trust him more. Dedrick was finally defeated when Eve over powered him with her powers. However, her mana levels were deflated to such a low status that she went comatose. The orb went blank and her original physical body returned. It was later hidden away from the general public. In her honor, Joshua went on to rebuild Rothnan . For 20 years Joshua remained the overall head of the Category, though he has since retired.With the birth of the Category, she and any knowledge of the SoE were repressed from the public’s eye by the new military. That is until a renewed threat revealed itself. Led by a mad scientist named Jason, his clockwork army started to attack the weak frontiers of Chenoa, causing the Moon tribe of Faye to flee to an area called the Central Point.In response, the Category sent into its most elite members called Unit Zero, a group of 6 highly skilled magi spies, to battle this new foe. Eve would remain in slumber. At first, Erin believed that trying to awaken her was a good idea. However, most of the elder members of the old Team Zero disagreed. Learning from the stories of her father, Skie took her time to learn more about Eve. Having studied some of Rane's magic, Skie was able to get Eve to awaken. However, Eve had no interest in fighting a war that had nothing to do with her. While roaming around with Skie and Mel, she would meet the pirates of the Yellow Brothers. They were very interesting to her…Maybe they would be the ones to finally give her a place to shine in the world.

[luvdsc]

Pardon me for the essay that is what follows (and also feel free to keep it private cuz i feel like you might be wanting it to start winding down at this point?) but PLS this has gotten me so annoyed bc it’s just 😡 it’s disgusting honestly.

One thing is, if these people didn’t have the option to be anon, they wouldn’t be saying any of this. Hate on anon is middle school level, you look childish and immature. Stop it, get some help.

Second, the crap you AND your friends are getting for being “rude” and “bitchy” when i haven’t seen one instance of you being anything other than 100% positive and absolutely delightful unless it’s deserved (and i’ve followed you since late 2020) just sends me honestly. Like did these anons only find your blog through the collab? Anyone that’s been here longer than a month should know that, when treated with basic human decency, you are nothing but kind. Even with these anons, you’ve been far kinder than plenty of others would have been (including yours truly). I’ve never understood how people initiate with attitude but expect kindness and respect in return. That’s not how life works. The amount of entitlement jumping out in these asks is 👀 concerning, to say the least. I’m getting Karen vibes. No one owes you anything, especially not a stranger on tumblr. Reel in your “me me me” mindsets a little bit and maybe you’ll be able to understand that.

Another thing that bothers me about all of this is that they don’t seem to be getting the reaction they want so they’re branching out to your friends now (still on anon, of course, bc otherwise ✨consequences✨). Not only that but they’ve taken it up a notch from “This is my opinion as an entitled anon,” to “I’ll just say nasty things while still being on anon.” Original anon had a chance to explain themselves (which they did…but no one could follow the logic except them. Does that show a flaw in the logic? Me thinks yes) and plenty of other responses to their comments they can read “to actually consider” what’s being said. But all these hate anons have chosen to go and be “rude fucks” about it now, haven’t they. I’m not sure if it’s attention they want or a dramatic reaction but the thing the hate anons need to understand is that you and your friends aren’t going to give it to them. They’re just another hater on anon who, like many others, has nothing to show for their own writing talent or any real critique to offer on your writing (or otherwise, it seems. Why would anyone take a comment seriously when it comes from people who act how these hate anons are acting).

It’s one thing to be a bit upset about exclusion of others (tho original anon did seem to be taking it personally rather than speaking out for others) or even another person’s possible lack of understanding of their view…but it’s another thing for people to now go out of their way to be vicious and nasty and rude just bc they’re too prideful and egotistical to admit they’re wrong. Psst, hate anon(s), did you forget you were on anon? You don’t have to be defensive, you can apologize for being wrong and no one will ever know it’s you anyway 🤗 No damage done to your pride 🥰

P.S. These hate anons must be creativity experts. I wonder if they’re highly respected critics with such well thought out and riveting reviews like “talentless writers stick together” or “your writing is mediocre at best.” Aww, bless your hearts 🙂 Let’s see yours then, don’t be shy.

i love you, honey bee 🤧💗💗💗💗 I’ve been keeping this in my inbox, but I showed this to lana @choerrypuffs and moon @wincore as well, and we’re all so incredibly grateful for you !!!! we appreciate you so much, and thank you so so much for taking the time and energy to write all of this 🥺🌸🌸 I hope you have the bestest year ahead of you and that only good things come your way 🌷🌷 I’m sending you all my love, support, virtual hugs, and well wishes 💌💌✨ have the happiest new year, lovebug, and may 2022 be as kind to you as you are to me 💛💛

[eco-nnect]

From Beirut with Love: Eco-nnect in conversation with Larissa von Planta

‘For me up-cycling feels like the best and most logical way to reduce waste and damage in the fashion industry. I have so much respect for all the exciting innovation going on but this feels like the clearest, simplest solution whilst also providing employment security and protecting the local crafts of skilled artisans.’ Larissa von Planta

In the wake of the catastrophic explosion in Beirut on the 4th of August 2020, the world watched stunned as they saw recording after recording of this inconceivably destructive event in the port of Beirut.

According to seismologists at the United States Geological Survey it was the equivalent to a 3.3-magnitude earthquake, killing 210 people, injuring over 5,000 and leaving an estimated 300,000 homeless. This disaster struck amidst an already unfolding economic crisis in the country. The damage to livelihoods and industries was devastating.

A collective movement to respond to this crisis ensued all around the world from small grassroots to large scale international efforts. Among these was, Larissa von Planta, a sustainable fashion couturier, who had just left Beirut two days before the explosion. Having processed the shock of the event, Larissa quickly got to thinking how she could help the artisans she had worked with in Beirut who collectively form the Alsama Studio. Alsama is filled with the sound of needlework and women chatting, while beautifully embroidered pillows, jackets and linen shirts line the shelves of the walls adorning the rooms with colour and texture. Fatima, Alsama’s brilliant coordinator and studio manager, runs a team of exceptionally skilled women embroiderers from Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. This work is not only a precious traditional craft but also pressingly provides long-term employment stability.  

Larissa saw an opportunity to help the studio by offering needlework and up-cycling for her friends’ pre-loved items of clothing and homeware. Each friend was asked to pay a fee of £100 and send the item to a collection point in London where it was sent to Beirut to be adorned in beautiful designs. This instantly allowed Larissa to provide income and essential work to the women of Alsama. As a model this worked well and Larissa is continuing to offer dates of collection in London, Austria and Switzerland whereby anyone can send in their item of clothing or homeware along with a fixed fee of £100 and await the return of a unique piece of craftsmanship. In doing this Larissa is also tackling another cause close to her heart, that of transforming the fashion industry into a less wasteful, kinder and more sustainable business. Both a refreshing antidote to fast fashion and way of empowering artisans by giving them a working structure of employment; this is an exciting blend of conscious consumerism and sustainable solutions with an authentic and powerful story behind it. 

Larissa sadly lost her mother in April 2020 and feels that this initiative is a tribute to her mother’s energy and spirit. 

We catch up with the wonderfully talented Larissa, inspired to hear more about her, the story behind LVP x Alsama and how she envisions it will continue to grow. 

Hello Larissa, so nice to be chatting with you. Will you start by telling us a little about how this past year has been for you? 

‘In March 2020 I decided to come home to be with my Mum and my family. After my Mum passed away, the situation was getting so much worse in Beirut. Constant demonstrations and protests, often escalating into violence. It became exhausting trying to keep up a business there, so myself and many of my friends were having to consider going elsewhere. It was a very sad goodbye. I went back in mid July and gave myself 10 days to pack up and leave. I said my goodbyes, found new jobs for the tailors and seamstresses who I worked with. I left on the 2nd August and the explosion was on the 4th… where my apartment and studio were was where the destruction was worst, so it really was a miracle to have left then. The area was full of bars and cafés and beautiful old buildings. It was all a massive shock. 

So at the end of this difficult year I am doing much, much better. This project has really given a sense of focus and purpose even though it is still quite small at this stage. The work we are doing is tangibly helping 36 women in the studio. The support is there and visible and that is very motivating. There’s great potential to grow much further and help even more people. 

A lot of projects and creativity came out of the shock of the explosion. At first there was a lot of shock and denial, people insisting they were fine and emphasising how lucky they were. This was then followed by anger and demonstrations. Then a couple of weeks later people were feeling really driven to fix the place and support each other, all on their own, there was no support from the government. 

Since the protests in 2019 the situation in Lebanon was just going from worse to worse, people kept asking what was next? Whether due to accident or corruption what was coming next? And the explosion was what came next…’

What have been your keys to keeping positive during this time?

‘The main thing has been moving in with my grandparents in the mountains in Switzerland since just before Christmas, it has been so soothing. Grandparents have been through it all, they have such a relaxed attitude to life and that perspective and energy really seeps in. It has been very restful. The time here has also been such a period of construction in terms of Alsama. Despite everyone in our team being in different places around the world, I think it has actually turned out to be a more productive, connected, communicative time. We feel focussed and are able to have the space to plan ahead.’

Where is home for you?

‘London 100% feels like home, it’s where our family home is, it’s where I studied, went to primary school… I went to Central Saint Martins and Falmouth, so I do a lot of creative projects in London with friends from there which feels great. I do also feel very Swiss and Austrian, being here in the mountains has reminded me of that. It is a small village, the opposite of London in a way, it is revitalising and remote which is nice.’ 

Mountains have an incredibly restorative power I think… 

‘Yes! Do you know the book The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann? That is based on this area… there are lots of run down Belle Epoque hotels which used to be for convalescence. So there is a feeling of nostalgia and the remnants of that energy. I read that book in Beirut and felt desperate for the setting and atmosphere of the mountains.’ 

You were very quick to think of solutions to help in the wake of the explosion in Beirut last year, what first actions did you take?

‘I managed to crowd fund £30,000 immediately for my tailors, my studio collective and Alsama. This was what spurred me on to think of the easiest, simplest way I could continue to help. So I asked my close friends to give me their shirts and jean jackets with £100 to just to see whether this would work. I went out with my father Claudio von Planta, a documentary film maker, who took amazing footage, to drop off the money we’d raised and to see the studio. I also wanted to see my friend Rym Beydoune who had been really badly injured in the explosion, with 12 fractured vertebrae, 5 broken ribs, a punctured lung and exploded spleen. She and her boyfriend had been in a shop trying on Yamamoto shirts, as it happened, and had to take three rickety old buses to try and get to the hospital. Her boyfriend, who had himself torn his Achilles tendon, nearly lost his eye from shattered glass to the head and had two broken bones in his leg was on pure adrenaline just knowing he had to get her there. Eventually they got to the hospital and she had to wait in the car park on a broken piece of wood. The moment he realised she’d be ok, Reda (her boyfriend) immediately proposed to her!’

…what a beautiful story! 

‘So that trip had been a time to really just touch base with Beirut, take footage on the camera and see how the situation was developing there. I also wanted to see how we could spend the money we had raised. I think stability is the main thing, I wanted to make sure they had work and that they were paid in dollars which is more reliable than the Lebanese Lira. There will be constant work coming, that is the assurance I wanted to provide. In terms of up-cycling it is an easy model as my work is purely operational, it’s about getting people’s clothes to Alsama. For a long time I wanted to do some sort of pret-à-porter up-cycling work but it is so difficult and time consuming to find a model that works. It is very labour intensive and expensive and a lot of factories are simply not set up in a way to do this. It had been in my mind for so long thinking how can we scale up, and Alsama is how we can, it felt very exciting to think that out of the explosion came this light bulb idea.’

It is a wonderful idea and a lot more collaborative as a process. You are putting some of the responsibility in the hands of the consumer which encourages consumers to be more proactive and consider their choices more carefully, as well as reducing labour intensity from your own supply chain. Plus this takes away the huge issue of the assumption on the consumer side that you can simply return something straight away if it’s not quite right. 

‘Yes exactly, there is a huge problem especially now after Brexit in that online shops and retailers have so much sent back because it didn’t fit and there’s this awful standard that so often items get burnt or chucked away because processing them and putting them back online is too much effort and not worth it. Here, you send your piece of clothing that you already know fits you and one woman works on it. She dedicates her time and highly refined craft into your beloved item of clothing and you don’t know what you’ll get back so there’s that lovely element of surprise. If you’re purely looking at it in a business way, it resolves a lot of the current problems in the fashion industry.’

Yes this offers solutions to so many issues from efficiency, to challenging consumer cultures, to tackling the landfill and waste problems… 

‘Sasha, one of my team members, is currently in Kenya where so many of our unwanted clothes are sent and it is flooding the markets there which also therefore drastically undermines their local textile industry. Mountains and mountains of stuff being sent off to other countries.’

And there’s the issue of all the toxins and micro-plastics of the clothes that will be polluting the systems of countries they end up in.

‘Yes exactly, for me up-cycling feels like the best and most logical way to reduce waste and damage in the fashion industry. I have so much respect for all the exciting innovation going on but this feels like the clearest, simplest solution whilst also providing employment security and protecting the local crafts of skilled artisans.’

How did you get into sustainable fashion, what has been your journey with fashion and creativity? 

‘I think we grew up with a very strong sense of sustainability, throughout my education and childhood there was an emphasis on that. Then when I went to Falmouth, everyone who studied there had a strong connection with nature because of our surroundings and being by the sea. When I got into Saint Martins, when you begin they tell you to go buy your fabric from Goldhawk Road and I just noticed the fabric quality was terrible and expensive! My family actually has a textile mill in Austria and so we have all these old, precious fabrics which are carefully stored. My grandparents eventually let me use them, saying that our generation doesn’t know how to look after things, when I was eventually allowed to use them I decided I wanted to make something special with them. So I made my whole final collection out of clothes from my grandparents and great-grandparents, things they’d owned or brought back from trips. I just noticed the quality, how precious they were, each one had a story attached to it. People who were in my family who I’d never met. For me, suddenly I noticed there was an added value to the piece, it comes from somewhere, there’s history in it. Then comes the point when you have to take that first cut into a precious textile which takes you out of the mindset of nostalgia and brings you back into the present- forcing you to think, how can I take this forward now?’

How amazing, and that touches on so many points. I agree that being handed down a piece of clothing that’s been really loved and cared for makes you respect the importance of valuing things to make them last. It also makes me think of the inherited traditional crafts used in the Alsama pieces, these customs have been handed down and cared for over generations and generations. 

‘It is lovely to be able to maintain but also keep developing that craft. In textiles, you study a craft that has existed for a long time. You get to know it very well. Especially with Palestinian embroidery, it is very powerful. I was initially drawn to it, in the old embroidery up to 100 years back, all the dyes were natural dyes made from location-specific agriculture and the motifs would be reflective of a landscape and stories that come from a specific place. So if you are abroad or in a diaspora you would recognise where people come from from their clothing, for example often in camps people’s region can be identified from the embroidery and dyes of their clothes. It is an incredibly powerful form of embroidery, and I believe still has a huge amount of potential to grow and be understood. I find the weight of history and storytelling with it fascinating and personal.’

Yes just like languages, traditional customs within cultures need to be protected and preserved in the face of pressures from globalised consumer markets. What are the particular areas within sustainable fashion that interest you most? 

‘Definitely textiles, versatility and diversity within this huge field. I always enjoyed problem solving. I was really inspired by the idea that you have this one beautiful hand-printed, hand-loomed tied silk dress. You have two and a half metres of material, and what do you do with it? I just love that challenge, thinking of ways to revive these pieces. How can we take this forward and make it useful again rather than leave it sitting in a cupboard? I like to think whoever owned it in the past would be happy with my bringing it to life again. I really enjoy having those restrictions, but using that to stir on creativity.’

What brought you to Beirut? 

‘In 2020, I had a placement year from University so I went to Vienna and São Paulo and then my friend Rym, who I studied with at Saint Martins, asked whether I wanted to come to Beirut at the end of my year for a month to help with a project she was doing and I jumped at the opportunity. It was August, it was incredibly hot, there were the ‘You Stink!’ protests happening which were anti-corruption protests at these huge piles of rubbish all around Beirut because of mis-management. Despite that I immediately fell in love with the city. It’s a very inviting city, day one you make friends, it’s a very warm place where you’re very quickly taken along. In Vienna it had taken me longer to settle and make friends so the contrast was amazing. It feels dynamic, I was fascinated by all the energy coming out of it. I was approached by INAASH who wanted to refresh what they were doing and another called Bokja. I returned after my studies in the UK to see whether these things would turn into anything which they did slowly but surely. I started doing my first commissions, and on the back of that, I felt like I could make it work, starting my own small atelier. Then I found The Mansion, which was this incredible studio space in an old villa in the heart of Beirut. Full of charm, crumbling but beautiful. Strong sense of community, creativity, such dynamism. It had a very pleasant, happy pace. I was really taken into that community. It was very touching how welcomed I was.’

That sounds quite wonderful, are lots of your friends still there? 

‘Well… they decided they would stay to ensure the collective was safe, it’s a very precious community which is very rare. It was a hub of culture, filled with amazing artists and designers, they hosted lectures and so on. So whilst it is certainly difficult, they are committed to protecting it.’

What are some of your favourite things about Beirut? 

‘Whilst I was there, I think it was the social life, the night life, the fact that everything is quite late. You could work until 9.30pm and then spontaneously make a plan and meet somebody in a bar or restaurant. I love how you can be late! It was so pleasant and relaxed. Being on the beach with grilled fish and arak, summers there were heaven. My studio space was such a treasure, all the people I met there. I think mostly though, it’s the friendships, life long friends who will be with me forever. I had such a lovely flatmate. Very special memories, very dynamic place, a night out can start in one place and end up in no idea where. Sadly the mood there right now is pretty down, it is such a social place so lockdown and restrictions really lowers morale.’ 

This all sounds really sublime, especially after a long Winter in the UK! I am sure that energy will return… 

‘I hope so, I think it will come back, I just wonder what passages the country will have to go through to get there.’ 

Well you are certainly playing a positive part of that process through this project. How did you come to meet the Alsama Studio in Beirut? 

‘I met them in 2019, the studio had just opened and they didn’t know how well it would work. Mike Ziervogel had just left an NGO where she was working to work on Alsama Studio, she took a risk to start up her own thing. We were the first commission the studio had, it was an up-cycling project with The Pink House Mustique, a beautiful swimwear company. They had lots of dead stock and so we embroidered them, a lovely collection of 13 shirts. They (Alsama) are so reliable, they price in advance and are ready to get on with it. They are such a good team. They have very high standards, so they are a pleasure to work with.’ 

What were your initial thoughts when beginning the LVP x Alsama project?

‘After the horror of the explosion, I like so many others questioned what I could do. I realised provision of work was one of the most obvious solutions. So that is when I began asking friends for their clothes, got them embroidered, agreed on pricing, and it went quickly from there. The first collection in August we had 36 items, since them we've collected 200 items, and through all this the studio has received $5,000. Out of shock comes a purely practical, pragmatic response.’

What do you see LVP x Alsama growing into?

‘I’d like to take this further, get more people to send their clothes to be embroidered. It’s simple really.’ 

Is there a favourite item or memorable piece that sticks out for you and why?

‘For me, there was one moment, when all the items came back around Christmas time. Each piece was a total surprise, there were some that just really stood out. You can tell that the person working on it was really inspired. This one amazing beach dress we made for Mel Giedroyc and that came out so beautifully. We did a bit of research and saw that she wore a lot of reds, pinks and warm colours so we focussed on that. I love it when people give us colours that they love so we explore that. That’s what I find so touching about craftsmanship, the amount of time and love that goes into each piece.’ 

How can the fashion industry continue to revolutionise the way it works to better protect its workers and the planet?

‘I look at it from the very specific angle of up-cycling, I have this view that if tomorrow we decided not to make any more clothes we’d be absolutely fine. However I realise how huge this industry is and the amount of jobs that would be at stake, compounded with the climate crisis and all these other pressures. I would love to see more ways of reducing production involving newly made materials, and more people thinking about how growth can come from that. You need to keep people in work and provide stability, so we need to be reworking and transforming systems that already exist. Up-cycling could provide a lot of work I think, there’s so much potential on different levels to offer work in new forms.’

…if you could wave a magic wand? 

‘I would like people to think more critically about what is being sold to them, to demand better products. To be less enchanted with fast fashion and more so with the transformation of existing systems into safer and better places to work, retraining people in traditional crafts from their local areas and therefore upscale our Alsama model to a replicable and sustainable model around the world. We all love new items, but if that could be reduced to one or two things a year and more treasured, better made and longer-lasting - that would be my vision.’ 

What are you most inspired by at the moment? 

‘With regards to the project: colours and colour theory I find really exciting. I’m also looking at different crafts and finding absolute treasures. Even here in the Engadine Valley I found a great-aunt of mine who crochets to a very precise and fine level- to discover people who really practice a refined craft is wonderful. There’s also a lot of monasteries who produce their own things, so discovering these unique crafts and considering how we could work with them that is something I find really inspirational now… I think of course another big thing is thinking about how we can make this a good business and continue to develop the concept of Alsama- that is my big passion at the moment.’

Any books, podcasts, films or music you’re loving at the moment? 

‘To switch off I listen to Seven Deadly Sins by Stephen Fry, he looks at the seven deadly sins but brings them into modern context, analysing why we sin and how we do it and it is so brilliantly written and put together I honestly enjoyed it so much. That’s been my biggest enjoyment lately. 

Then I love going through the Desert Island Discs Archives, more than the new ones in fact, and one of my favourites is Nile Rodgers of Chic. His life story is incredible, so inspiring and touching. He is such a dynamic and positive guy, a real joy to listen to. He had a really tough childhood and overcame adversity to have the most phenomenal career- he is so driven.’  

… and which have inspired you most throughout your life? 

‘The Chess Player by Stefan Zweig, the way he tells stories, especially in short form. My mum introduced me to him when I was young and he is such an amazing writer. That’s the most important one for me I think.’

—

Please visit Larissa’s website and Instagram @lvp_x_alsama to see how you can get involved with the Alsama Project and send off your items of clothing to be up-cycled. 

[onestowatch]

RITTYBO Understands the Camaraderie in Vulnerability [Q&A]

Any artist willing to divulge the most intimate details of their life should not only be championed but admired for their valor. Bay Area native RITTYBO appears to understand the camaraderie in vulnerability and is using that connection to form a personal relationship with listeners. Combining pop, R&B, hip-hop, and a multitude of other genres, she creates a sultry yet ghostly atmosphere with her unique vocal ability. RITTYBO is special and there is just no other way to put it.

RITTYBO’s musical footprint can be traced back to 2015 when she uploaded her heart-wrenching single, “Love,” to SoundCloud. The standalone song not only showcased RITTYBO’s transparency-weaved lyricism and unique vocal talent but also foreshadowed a reoccurring theme in her later-to-be-released EP. After more than 70 thousand plays on the streaming site, “Love” became a widely shared sentiment of our complicated relationship with love and all the things that come with it.

The Bay Area artist would go silent following the release of her stirring SoundCloud single. Although we cannot account for her time away, we can speak to what happened when she returned, which in my opinion is one hell of a comeback.

Resurfacing in early January of 2019, RITTYBO delivered her second single, “Push Me Away,” from her debut EP. The new single, to no surprise, continued to soak in the love-singed subject matter of the record’s successor. Questioning herself, RITTYBO openly dissects the reason behind her relationship’s failure and the reoccurring events that pushed her out of the arms of her former partner.  

A few days would pass before the release of her six-track EP, Mourning. Packed to the brim with emotionally stirring lyricism, thematically bright and dark production and RITTYBO’s unique vocal stylings, the project reflects on the collateral damage of ending relationships. The true spirit of the project is embodied by the prominent featuring of RITTYBO’s ukulele. The multidimensional sound brought to the project by the instrument acts as the ringleader of the entire exhibition, leading in grandiose production and equally powerful lyricism.

The bite-sized project opens with the powerful messaging of “Like I Do.” Backed by hard-hitting bass and the melodic strumming of RITTYBO’s ukulele, the opening track makes an undeniable impression. The energy of the project shifts slightly as we find ourselves in the midst of the acoustic stylings associated with the previously-released single, “Love.” This metaphorical lowering-of-the-lights acts as an interlude in the context of the project, a moment of realness, honesty, and vulnerability.

With almost no hesitation, the project leaves its moment of frailty, picking up the pace with the groovy steel drum orchestration of “Give.” RITTYBO taps into a sultrier sensibility on this record, assuring her lover and more importantly herself of just how much she has to give. A piercing guitar solo brings the island-like atmosphere to a steamy and resounding close as we transition into the melancholy spirit of “Push Me Away.”

The six-track EP comes to an end with its stripped-back closer “In the End.” Embracing a moment of astute self-awareness, RITTYBO delves into her own preconceived faults that she feels added to the weight of her relationship. This moment of sonic realization is beautifully orchestrated and lyrically stark–the perfect example of RITTYBO’s musical footprint.

RITTYBO would let the release of Mourning marinate for six months before returning with her latest single to date, “Real Luv.” The glitch-pop, dance-invoking single is a gleefully orchestrated affair that finds RITTYBO asking all the questions. 

This may be the beginning for RITTYBO but the sound and quality of her music glimmers with a longevity that is undeniable. Her ever-growing catalog is incredibly exciting from a listener’s standpoint, leaving us all eager for what else is in store for the rising musician. Whether you fall in love with her unique vocal stylings or creative musical production, RITTYBO is an act to keep a very close eye on.

We had the chance to catch up with RITTYBO about her latest EP, her ever-evolving sound, and her journey to this point.

Ones To Watch: When did you first get into music?

RITTYBO: I've always loved writing, and I started out by writing poetry when I was in middle school. I realized I wanted to make music when I was in high school, and I actually wanted to rap. That didn't last that long because I sucked, but I stuck to writing and eventually started singing when I got to college. I recorded my first song "Love" my freshman year in 2013, but didn't release it till I found some confidence.

Was becoming an artist always the goal?

Ever since I was a kid, I've always loved expressing myself through art whether it be through drawing, writing, singing, etc. I could never focus on anything else for long even if I tried. So yeah, I think I would've found a way to be an artist no matter what.

There’s a lot of pop, R&B, and hip-hop influences in your music. Were there any artists in particular that you think helped shape your sound?

I don’t even know what my sound really is but my influences are Amy Winehouse, Carlos Santana, Arctic Monkeys, Carole King, Norah Jones, Sade, Kelis, among others.

For those who are just now discovering you, what do you want them to know about you? About the music?

I want people to know I'm still learning as I go. I'm still trying to develop myself into the artist I want to be, but I don't quite have the range for it yet (but I'll get there!)  And all I'm doing in my music is being as honest as I can. Also, if my lyrics sound toxic, it comes from me reflecting and I’m not endorsing toxic traits (laughter).

Your first release was “Love” in 2015. What does the journey from then to now feel like?

It started off really slow. There were some great producers that were willing to help me but it just didn't work out. I wasn’t making the music I really wanted to make. I was also going through a lot in my personal life. People thought I quit music or I wasn’t serious about it. Three years later, Thomas Jordan (Tommy) enters the picture and we record Mourning. After we dropped my EP, it feels like everything's been moving pretty fast and at the right time. Basically, it feels good.

I was really drawn to your music for its lyricism and production. What was recording Mourning like for you?

Recording Mourning was actually really fun, despite my lyrics sounding really angsty. For each session, I'd bring a song I wrote, lay down some ukulele chords, and Tommy would build around it. My friends would all be there hyping me up, and we'd dance and go all crazy when each song was done.

I saw some pics on Instagram that hints at some ukulele skills. Is that you we hear playing on Mourning?

Yep that's me. I'm not a great ukulele player but I wrote all my songs to it.

Did you handle the production on Mourning yourself or was it more collaborative?

It was very collaborative. I did all the writing, told Tommy the type of feeling I wanted to go for, and he'd take it from there.

Could we take your recent activity as a sign some new music might be on the way?

Yes. I don't know when I'm dropping but I have a couple things up my sleeve.

Who are your Ones To Watch?

Recently I've been listening to a lot of Brent Faiyaz, Summer Walker, and Snoh Aalegra. My ones to watch would be: Jammy, Kezia, Ambré, and my band Juicy Black

[ryqoshay]

How to Handle a Nico: How Not to Celebrate a Nico

Primary Pairing: NicoMaki Words: ~3.9k Rating: T for creative gift giving Time Frame: Maki is in med school. Nico is working as an idol producer. They are living together as a couple, but not married yet. Story Arc: Stand Alone

List of all HtHaN scenes

Author’s Note: It’s past Midnight in Japan! Happy Birthday, Nico! ❤ ＼(≧▽≦)／ ❤

Having written How to Celebrate a Maki for Maki’s birthday, I decided to keep with the theme for Nico’s birthday. But as opposite poles of a magnet attract, I decided to reverse things.

For point of reference, this scene takes place during the first year after the two move in togther.

Something smelled… odd. Not bad, just… odd.

Nico’s eyes opened slowly, and just a little; just enough that she could reasonably assure herself that she was waking up. What time was it? She reached dully for her phone. Her eyes snapped the rest of the way open when she realized the time. How was it this late already?! Why hadn’t her alarm… wait, she hadn’t set it last night.

Maki had insisted she sleep in because it was her birthday. They had both taken the day off, Maki from her classes and Nico from her duties at Egao. They’d stayed up late together to watch the clock strike midnight, so Maki could be the first to wish Nico Happy Birthday. And give Nico her first gift.

Nico smiled to herself as she wondered who had enjoyed the gift more. Though on the topic of her girlfriend, where was Maki? Nico glanced around, but the younger girl was nowhere to be found. Usually the younger girl would sleep until Nico woke her up and drag her out of bed. On the rare occasion Maki awakened before Nico, she would typically wake Nico up for morning kisses and cuddles. And Nico could not recall the last time Maki had actually gotten out of bed before her.

Strange smell.

Wait…

Was Maki… cooking? And to produce such a scent, just what the hell was she cooking?

Nico’s smile turned to a smirk. So that’s why her girlfriend insisted that she not wake up early, specifically, to make breakfast, despite the fact that they both knew full well how much Maki loved Nico’s cooking. The redhead was about as subtle as a sledgehammer. Had Nico not been exhausted from several rounds of Maki’s gift giving, she probably would have caught the hint.

The smell changed.

Nico’s nose wrinkled. That no longer smelled like strange food… That smelled more like…

The alarm went off.

Nico scrambled off the bed and raced out of the room.

“Maki-chan!” Nico cried, rounding the corner and barreling into the kitchen.

“Everything’s fine, Nico-chan!” Maki hollered back from her position on a chair, fanning a towel past the smoke detector. “Go back to bed!”

“What the heck’s going on?” Nico stared at the scene before her. It looked like someone had ransacked the kitchen before trying to burn the evidence.

“I said everything’s fine.” Maki continued to wave the towel frantically.

“No. It’s not.” Nico stated flatly, making her way to the sink, where a smoldering pan had been discarded. “That thing’s not going to shut off until this thing stops smoking.” She double checked to ensure there were no flames to spread before turning on the faucet.

Maki sighed as the alarm finally quieted and stepped down from the chair. Despondently, she made her way over towards the stove, staring at her feet. This was not going as she had planned.

“Maki!” Nico shrieked. “Fire!”

Maki’s head snapped up. Sure enough, new flames were dancing across the pan on the stove. The new pan of food she had prepared to replace the first one she had burned. The pan of food she had forgotten when the alarm sounded. A second batch ruined as the small blaze mocked her every attempt to make something for Nico. More out of anger and frustration than panic, Maki grabbed the pot on the other burner.

“No, don’t!”

Warning unheeded, boiling water crashed across the pan where some of it vaporized. The splattered and aerosolized mix of heated oil and water exploded in an eruption of flame that reached the ceiling.

“Kyaaa!” Maki screamed, trying to shield herself. Still holding the pot, she inadvertently turned it so the remaining water spilled out, across her shoulder and onto the floor. Stepping back, her heel found a slick spot on the tile, slipped and twisted awkwardly. Maki cried out again as she landed hard on her rear. Tossing the pot aside, she pulled at her shirt, trying to get the hot liquid that had soaked into it away from her skin. From there, she made to try to get the grease off her arm.

“Close your eyes and cover your nose and mouth!” A stern voice demanded from behind her.

Maki did as instructed and immediately, the hissing roar of an extinguisher filled the kitchen. She had no idea if it had been seconds or minutes after the sound faded when a cool, wet cloth was dabbed against her arm. She hissed at the contact.

“You can open your eyes now, Maki-chan.” Nico’s gentle voice said. “I think your shoulder was just water, but we need to clean this grease off your arm. We need to get you to the sink, so let me help you up.”

Maki nodded silently, but gasped as soon as she moved her leg.

“Yup, I think you sprained it,” Nico remained calm but firm “so it’s going to hurt. Here.” She pulled Maki’s arm around her own shoulders, and secured herself. “On three. One. Two… Thee!”

Maki uttered a strangled curse before gritting her teeth to bite back the tears welling up in her eyes. Her ankle was already swelling, but Nico was steadfast in her support as she limped her way to the sink. Once there, Nico guided her arm under the stream.

“Keep your arm there.” Nico instructed. “I’m going to make a few calls.”

“…” Maki let out a frustrated puff of air and for the first time since this whole disaster started that she truly wanted to cry, though it wasn’t from the pain. She clenched her jaw as she watched the water flow over the results of her second failure onto the results of her first. She’d been awake for barely over hour and she had already ruined Nico’s birthday.

“I told you not to take me to our hospital.” Maki complained as yet another nurse, Kobayashi, left the room, and for a brief moment, she was alone with Nico. She focused on her enunciation lest the effects of the pain medication start slurring her words.

“What, and drive you past it to take you to a different facility?” Nico asked incredulously.

“But… it’s embarrassing…”

“And your father would have had my hide if I didn’t bring you here so his staff could look after you.” Nico pointed out. “And I think the staff would be right behind him. From the way everyone is treating you, it’s obvious how much they care and that they want to be the ones to tend to you.”

“But…”

“It’s embarrassing, yes, I know, but you’re in good hands here.”

Maki sighed, but didn’t continue to push the issue, instead, she leaned over and rested her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder. This was the first moment of relative peace they had since arriving at the facility.

As soon as they had walked through the door, there had been a flurry of activity. Kimura had rushed over with a wheelchair, though Nico had insisted she be allowed to push it. And, despite it causing some confusion and likely breaking some protocol or whatever, Maki had appreciated the gesture. They were quickly escorted to a room where Ikeda and Nico had helped Maki change into a gown before Ikeda wrapped her arm and shoulder in gauze.

Then came the wait for Dr. Miura to determine the severity of the sprain. After a quick and efficient examination, she determined that the sprain was indeed severe and while she did not believe any bones to be outright broken, she decided x-rays were necessary to discern the full extent of the tissue damage and ensure there were no hairline fractures in any bones.

Now, they were waiting for the results of the x-rays. During this time, a surprising number of staff came to check on the young heiress to the facility. Several had even returned with food, which Nico appreciated greatly after having skipped breakfast. The pain medication had dulled Maki’s appetite but she knew well enough to get something down in an effort to make sure the chemicals did not make her nauseous.

“I’m sorry…” Maki murmured after a moment.

“Hmm?” Nico responded.

“I’m sorry I ruined your birthday…”

Nico took a long, deep breath before releasing it slowly. “You didn’t ruin my birthday, Maki-chan.”

“But…”

“You were the first one to wish me a happy birthday.” The older girl interrupted. “And you stayed up late just to do it, too, even though you were obviously tired from a busy day at school.” She wrapped an arm around the younger girl and pulled her closer. “That made me really, really happy.”

“But…”

“I’m sure whatever you had planned would have been wonderful.” Nico assured. “But right now, the girl I love is in pain and there is nowhere else I would rather be than right here, by your side, making sure you receive the comfort and care you deserve.”

“…” Maki made a soft noise as she snuggled in to Nico’s embrace.

“But don’t think this doesn’t mean I’m not still incredibly pissed at you.”

“Wha…?” the redhead tried to pull away in surprise.

“I’ve been keeping calm until now because Mama taught me that panicking or getting angry only hinders your ability to help in a crisis.” The raven-haired girl explained, not loosening her hold. “And I had plenty of practice with my sibling. But now that the worst is over, and we’re on the road to recovery, I can let a little out.”

“…” Maki stopped struggling in part because the effort was draining what little energy she had, but also because despite her words, Nico’s tone was still calm and comforting.

“You violated some very basic, but very important safety rules in the kitchen today and believe me when I say it could have been a hell of a lot worse. And please don’t think I’m trying to treat you like a child or anything, but I don’t want you setting foot in the kitchen for a while without supervision.”

The prideful side of Maki wanted to protest, but her more rational side couldn’t blame Nico for taking such a stance.

“But I want you to know that I appreciate your intentions in wanting to make something for me.” Nico smiled gently. “So, on a more positive note, what do you say I start giving you some lessons?”

“I’d like that.” Maki admitted quietly.

“Good. Because the more I think about it, we’re behind there.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Eli and Nozomi took professional lessons when they decided to open their restaurant. Honoka was trained by her parents to take over their bakery, and they ended up teaching Tsubasa some stuff as well. Hanayo taught Rin years ago, and even Umi has managed to learn the basics from Kotori.” Nico shrugged. “So like I said, we’re behind.”

“We’ve… been busy…”

“That’s no excuse! I’m still the best cook out of all of us.” The raven-haired girl declared proudly. “And we’re the best couple out of all of us as well, so it stands to reason that you should be the second-best cook to match.”

“Second best?”

“Well, you’re not going to get better than me, that’s for sure.”

“You’ve never heard of a student surpassing her master?”

“You’re a quick learner, Maki-chan, I’ll give you that.” Nico admitted. “But there’s no way you can catch the No. 1 Chef in the Universe.”

Maki opened her mouth and was about to rebut when Nico’s phone sounded and she turned to glare at it instead.

“Oop, that’s Nozomi,” Nico grabbed the device, “one sec.”

“This is a hospital, Nico-chan,” the redhead whispered, a bit harsher than she intended, “you should really have that on silent.”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry…” the raven-haired girl dismissed before unlocking the screen. She greeted her friend on the other end of the line before slipping into a pattern of affirmations every few seconds. “Looks like things are mostly cleaned up now.” She said upon ending the call. “Everything is still functional, but we’ll need to repaint the ceiling at some point. Oh, and I forgot to mention earlier that I left them your credit card to order pizza.”

“That’s fair…” Maki admitted.

“But we’ll still probably want to take them out for something fancier later. Maybe once you’re feeling better or something.”

“Yeah…” Maki yawned.

“Meds kicking in?”

“Mmm…” The redhead nuzzled more into her girlfriend’s shoulder.

A knock came from the door.

“Come in.” Nico responded.

Dr. Miura stepped into the room, holding x-ray transparencies. “Maki-chan, Yazawa-san.” She greeted. “Well, the good news is I was right that you didn’t break or fracture any bones, so you won’t need a cast.” She said, clipping the x-ray images up for viewing. “But the soft tissue damage is quite extensive, so you’ll want to limit mobility and keep it wrapped and raised as much as possible. Harada will be in with a set of crutches for you soon.” She turned back to the patient. “How are you feeling? Did we get the dosage right?”

Maki nodded.

“Good, I’ll write you a script for a few more days of Oxy.” She said, filling out said information on her pad. “And an additional two week’s worth of Hydro for when you’re done with that. If your pain levels are still too high after that, give me a call.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you have any questions for me before I turn you over to Yazawa-san?” She held out the prescription slips.

Maki shook her head.

Dr. Miura turned to Nico. “So you’re extending your care to Maki-chan now, eh?”

Nico smirked. “Yup. She’s a handful alright.” She laughed lightly at her girlfriend’s grimace.

“You know I haven’t seen the kids in a while. Is Cocoa taking better care of herself now?”

“She’s on the soccer team this year, so we’ll see how that goes.” Nico shrugged.

“I see. Well, send them my best when you see them next.”

“Will do.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, Maki-chan,” Dr. Miura turned her attention back to the redhead, “but again, don’t hesitate to call if there are complications.”

Maki nodded again. “Thank you.”

“Take care, you two.” That said, the doctor departed.

“Is that Tusbasa’s car?” Maki asked as Nico turned onto their street.

“And that’s Eli’s…” Nico commented. “I thought she and Nozomi left already.” She pulled her car into the garage. Hopping out, she made her way quickly to the passenger side.

“I’m fine.” Maki muttered, despite obviously having difficulties figuring out where to put her crutches.

“I know.” Nico replied, taking the crutches and leaning them against the side of the car. “But I’m here anyway.” She offered a hand and a gentle smile.

“Thank you…” Maki accepted the assistance after a moment.

“Alright, let’s go see what’s going on.” Nico lead the way into the house.

“Surprise.” Nozomi greeted as she opened the door.

“Surprise?” Nico asked.

“Well, sort of.” The spiritual girl admitted. “We didn’t want to startle the patient by parking on a different street or hiding and shouting as is custom, but we’re all here anyway.”

“All?” Maki blinked, craning her neck as though it would somehow help her see farther into the house.

“There’s the birthday girl!” A grinning orange-haired girl rounded the corner.

“Honoka?” The raven-haired girl uttered.

“Nico-chan’s here!” Another orange-haired girl bounded up from behind the first. “Kotori-chan! We can cut the cake, nyow!”

“We have to sing Happy Birthday first, Rin.” A blonde reminded as she joined the rest in the entryway.

“Oh, right…”

“So by all, you meant…” The redhead was still struggling to drag her med-addled mind through the concept.

“It’s like a reunion!” Honoka opened her arms. “C’m’ere, Nico-chan!” She pulled Nico in for a hug. “Happy Birthday!”

“We won’t stay long.” Nozomi spoke up, placing a hand on Nico’s shoulder. “We don’t want to exhaust the patient or her caregiver.”

“But we still want to celebrate!” Rin added, excitedly.

“You guys…” Nico found herself at a loss for words.

“Thank you.” Maki spoke up, sincerely happy that there was something to salvage the day after all.

True to Nozomi’s word, the impromptu party only lasted a few hours; far shorter than any reunion they had in the past. Nobody got drunk or embarrassed themselves and the higher energy girls remained fairly subdued, undoubtedly out of respect for the medicated Maki. As such, it was significantly calmer than the average reunion as well. Still, they had enough time to sing to Nico, enjoy some cake and allow the birthday girl to unwrap a few gifts.

“That was a fun party.” Nico said, pulling extra pillows out of the closet.

“Yeah…” Maki replied, sitting down slowly on the bed.

“Now don’t you go moping around on me.” Nico said, hearing her girlfriend’s despondent tone.

“I’m happy you were able to celebrate properly today,” Maki admitted, trying to perk up a bit, “even if it was only for a little while.”

“And you’ll be able to make it up to me next year with two full days of fun.”

“Two whole days?”

“Of course.” Nico started stacking the pillows about halfway down the bed. “I’m assuming you had a full day planed this year, so I’ll take a raincheck on everything and cash it in next year.”

“… Alright…”

Nico burst out laughing. “Maki-chan, I’m kidding. I’m kidding. Here, lay down, so I can get these under your leg.” She gestured to Maki’s favored side of the bed.

“Maybe a vacation somewhere?” Maki contemplated as she obeyed Nico’s prompt.  “Just the two of us? We haven’t done that in a while.”

Well, she had been kidding, but… “That sounds nice…” Nico admitted, adjusting the pillows in an effort to ensure the stack wouldn’t fall over.

“Oh!” Suddenly, Maki sat up, twisted and reached for her phone.

“Let me get that for you.” Nico said, retrieving the device. “What’s up?”

Maki snatched her phone, unlocked the screen and tapped frantically a few times. After a moment, she sighed and lay back down.

“Everything alright?” Nico furrowed her brow with concern.

“Yeah… with all that went on today, I forgot about your gift.”

“That’s fine. Tell me where it is and I’ll go get it.”

“It’s at your office.”

“Oh, maybe not then…”

“I’m sorry, Nico-chan,” Maki sighed, “it was supposed to be a surprise, and I was going to bring you by to see it after dinner, but then…”

“It’s alright, Maki-chan, you’ve apologized enough today.” Nico lay down beside her girlfriend. “So what did you get me?”

“A new desk.”

“Oh?”

“And a chair, and some other stuff.”

A wide smile formed on Nico’s lips.

“Tsubasa helped me measure things out and I already knew a company that would come in and do the whole setup.” Maki explained. “She and Hanayo spent the day moving files out of your old drawers and into the new ones. I’m surprised they didn’t say anything when they were here.”

“Tsubasa sent you a message on LINE, right? That’s what you were just checking, right?”

“Yeah…”

“So they probably felt they didn’t need to say anything in person.” Nico shrugged. “And they probably didn't want to ruin the surprise in case you still wanted it to be one.”

“I suppose…”

“So, a new desk, huh?”

“And a chair, and other stuff.” Maki repeated.

“So, like a whole office overhaul?”

“Something like that. The stuff you had was fine, but it was getting pretty beat up.”

“It was all pretty beat up when I got it. Remember the company that was in our suite before us was willing to leave a ton of stuff behind for us to use instead of throwing it out. Sure, it was free, but it was in rough shape.”

“True…”

“Do you have pictures?”

“Yeah, Hanayo sent some when they were done.”

“Can I see?”

“Sure…”

Permission granted, Nico sat up and grabbed Maki’s phone and unlocked it.

“I haven’t saved them yet, so they’re still in her conversation thread.”

“Maki-chan… these are…” Nico scrolled through the pictures. “These are amazing.”

“They’re from the company Papa contracts for most of our office furnishings.”

“They look like they’re high quality.”

“You’re seen what we have at the hospital, right?”

“Not really.” Nico admitted. “I can’t say I’ve really paid much attention.”

“We were just there…”

“Yeah, but there were far more pressing matters than looking at the furniture.”

“I suppose…”

“Anyway, I can’t wait to try them out. Thank you so much, Maki-chan!” Nico leaned over and kissed her girlfriend.

“I’m glad you like them.”

“Mmmm.” Nico hummed, laying back down.

Maki suddenly grimaced and shifted uncomfortably.

“You alright?” the raven-haired girl asked in a concerned tone.

“Hmmm…” the redhead responded, pursing her lips and staring at her leg.

“You want to take another dose?”

“No, it’s not hurting…” Maki said. “It’s…” She shifted again.

“Not used to sleeping on your back?”

“Uhm… that too…”

Something clicked in Nico’s mind, causing her to smirk. “Is my little Maki-chan upset because she can’t hold onto me before falling asleep?”

“N-no… I…” Maki’s face quickly began to match her hair. “Uhm…”

Nico rolled onto her side, slipped her arms around Maki and pulled herself close to her girlfriend. “It’s fine like this every once in a while, right?” Though an honest question, she couldn’t help her teasing tone.

“I suppose…” Maki continued to blush.

“You can go back to your favorite position once you heal up a bit.”

“…”

“Maybe this will help serve as a reminder to be more careful. I mean seriously, what is it with you and spraining ankles?”

“Huh?”

“The fireworks display, back in high school.”

“That…” Maki furrowed her brow “was the only other time.”

“Still, that’s two times more than me.” Nico pointed out. “I’ve been very careful because an idol needs to take care of her body.”

Maki’s hand slid down to find a spot on Nico’s thigh; a faint, well-healed and easily concealed scar that was still visible to those who knew it was there.

The raven-haired girl winced, though not from physical pain. “Except that one time…” She admitted reluctantly.

“And the training camp at my family’s villa?”

“Neither Rin nor I actually got hurt, though.” Nico protested. “Just wet and cold.”

“But you were still careless and could have been injured.”

“Well, I’m more careful now.” Nico insisted, trying to save face.

“Hmmm…” Maki hummed, moving her hand up Nico's leg a bit.

“Maki-chan, wha…?” Nico gasped as her girlfriend's hand reached her bellybutton. “What are you doing?” She asked as the hand moved back down. Not getting a response, she continued. “You’re injured and doped up, we can't…” She gasped again.

“Did you know that endorphins that block pain are released during climax?” Maki breathed across Nico's ear.

“Wha…?”

“Studies also suggest it boosts the immune system…”

“Maki…”

“It also eases stress and improves sleep…” Maki nibbled Nico's ear.

Nico couldn't help the sound that escaped her throat.

“Improves blood flow which also helps healing…”

“…”

“Don't you want me to heal faster?”

“You’re insatiable.” Nico accused.

“Because you're irresistible.” Maki replied.

“And incorrigible.”

“Only with you.”

“Maki-chan…”

“It’s still your birthday. You deserve more gifts.”

“… Fine, but don’t blame me if…” The rest of her sentence was cut off with a kiss.

Author’s Note Continued: In my time reading fanfics, I have come across various complaints and reviews that seem to stigmatize “hurt/comfort” fics and as such, I was initially worried how this scene would be viewed. However, after reading some more in-depth analysis of the trope, instead of blind hate comments, I learned that what seems to be the primary turn-off is when fic authors use the trope as an excuse to get an unlikely pair together. Anti-NicoMaki arguments aside, by the time this scene occurs in HtHaN, Nico and Maki have been together for several years; this is not the scene that gets them together. And I hope their behavior is viewed as consistent with what I have portrayed thus far. Maki is not weakly balling her eyes out, but she certainly ins't jumping for joy either. Nico may be providing strong support, but as she says, she's had practice over the years with her siblings. Hopefully, that will be enough to alleviate some of the stigma.

Also, before any medical experts take issue with anything, I will state that I am not a doctor and most of the hospital scene is based off my own morphine-muddled memories of when I broke my ankle. I toned things down a bit as the injury in question is merely a sever sprain, not a broken bone, and used Google to help with that.

Next, I kind of like the idea of some of the doctors at the Nishikino hospital already being familiar with Nico before she and Maki meet. Cocoa seems like the most rambunctious of the younger Yazawa siblings, so I can see her having needed to visit the facility a time or two. Perhaps I’ll delve deeper into this idea in a different scene. A few notes on the topic have been added to my list to that end.

Lastly, yes, I absolutely see Maki as being so addicted to Nico that even a sprained ankle and a dose of oxycodone isn’t enough to deter her lust when it is piqued. And Nico, despite her initial protests, isn’t one to stop her, because she absolutely adores the attention Maki lavishes upon her.

[thefoxlight]

Another year and a half gone by

Yes, I am not good at keeping up with writing this blog. My ability to write that I have always wanted to come back to only seems to fade more and more - and I ask myself why, when the answer should be clear: Simply because I never do it! I let other things dominate my life, some of them useful, some of them, however, like my overly frequent use of Social Media, has propelled me into a position of hopeless addiction that wastes away so many precious hours of my life. I have come to this conclusion many times already and yet it never seemed to bother me enough to actually do anything about it. And it is still so very hard. Here I am, again, procrastinating doing anything for university, and instead checking out blogs that inspire me, at least in theory, to finally start my own blog. A real one. Not one like this where I am just constantly nagging about things that I perceive as negative in my life. There is really no reason to be negative. I have so many opportunities in my life and I have so much safety. There is not much to worry about apart from the state of the entire world, which does of course affect me, but on the other hand I try not to let that be a cause for my depressive episodes as well. (Which it still is.)

Anyway, I feel like I am writing way less coherently than I used to. My brain has become more and more unfocused over the years and more obsessive-intrusive thoughts have become a daily nuisance. I feel like this is directly linked to my overuse of Social Media. The constant influx of information about other people’s lives drives me insane. It makes me jealous, sad, nervous, distracted. I have to stop it. But on the other hand, I feel like one needs to be a part of this world these days, at least slightly, in order to keep up with everybody’s lives, which I have really started to want being a part of. And also it drives my desire to visit so many amazing places in Iceland. And now I even signed up to be in the University Choir’s Photography Committee, which entails taking care of their Instagram (I wish I had known, I would have thought twice about signing up then). So in a way, I am in a position where I have to dive into this world even more than I used to. I never created an Instagram story in my life, but this is a part of our job so I have to learn how to do it. But I am afraid I will have to learn to live with it. Or better, hopefully, one day, without it.

Other than that, I have started becoming a more positive person, step by step. After a major drawback in the summer and a depressive phase I pulled myself together and started focusing on the things I believe I really want right now - being more social, especially in the choir; learning about the topics that really interest me in university; becoming a creative person again; becoming happy with myself and my life in Iceland. I know, I mentioned wanting to become happier with myself in a post years ago, and at first, it does not feel like much has changed since then. I went through almost the same love-sickness this summer as I did back then in the winter, and I did have similar messed up feelings and damaging thoughts. Still, I think I got out of it faster this time, and managed to focus my energies on positivity in a more efficient and hopefully permanent way.

It helps that I live on this wonderful island now that has captured my heart so long ago. I do not appear to be the only one to whom this has happened, and I feel honored to join a group of Iceland-loving immigrants. Yes, I do think the term immigrant is appropriate as opposed to “ex-pat” which so many Europeans love to use when they move to another European country, like it is somehow different to those coming to European countries from the East, for example. We are nothing special. And yet, everyone who dares to move so far away from their home deserves respect and the feeling of being special in their own way.

The image above is from one of the most magical nights I have had for a long time. I had already showered and resigned to bed, but then I saw people posting in Aurora groups on Facebook that the northern lights were out in Reykjavík. Sometimes the use of these platforms can lead to great moments, which is part of what makes it so hard to abandon them completely. But to continue the story, I decided to get dressed again, despite the next day being my first day at university as a masters student, and go out with my camera to try to take some pictures of the northern lights, and of course just watch them with my own eyes. I walked down to the beach near to my new home which is actually towards the South, but the aurora was all over the sky that night so it did not matter. Plus, I found myself to be completely alone by the beach, while the Northern coast of the peninsula is usually crowded in such nights. This allowed me to go crazy with taking photos without feeling any shame, running in front of my own camera to finally have photos of myself in front of the aurora. My skills in photography are still shaky, especially when it comes to photographing the northern lights. Plus, I do not own a tripod and I could not get the UV filter off my lens - still, I am somewhat satisfied with the pictures I took, most of all the one above in which I coincidentally positioned myself just underneath the aurora and spread my arms with my beloved poncho-scarf so that I look like a butterfly that radiates the northern lights. Other than that, the lights were not super strong that night but they were dancing a lot, and at one time they intensified and formed a crown right above me, which is always so magical. It was forming the most unreal shapes as well, which I did not even know were possible for northern lights to create.

Like this following shape for example... For some reason it reminds me of a uterus! Aurora is feminist approved!

But this was not all the magic that the night had to offer. At some point, the aurora got weaker (although it never went away completely) and I felt like I had seen the best I would get to see that night - plus, it was getting late and the first day of school was still happening the next day. I started going home. On the way, a cute little orange-striped cat came towards me. I love cats, so I obviously stopped and started petting it, which it happily let me. It purred immediately, and when I crouched down to better pet it, it even started climbing my lap. I was overjoyed, I find this behavior simply so cute. However, it was still late so I had to get going home. The cat did not agree and started following me, even running in front of my feet and throwing itself down at the ground right in front of me, showing its belly, demanding scrubs.

Sooooo cute! I apologize for repeating this word over and over, but I am afraid I am not done. I continued walking, but stopped sometimes in between to take photos and videos (until my phone died), and while I did that, the cat also started playing, chasing its tail and just being overall adorable. It followed me all the way home. Even when I stopped to talk to some people because something I had seen with a car worried me (it turned out to be nothing, though), the cat disappeared briefly but when I was alone, it returned to me. I was at my home now, at the grass patch in front of it. I looked up to the sky and saw that the northern lights were still dancing, so I decided to lay down in the grass and watch them some more. I also could not leave my cat friend yet. Indeed, it joined me in the grass, started climbing me, kneading me, purring intensely, and cleaning its tail with its tongue. When I rolled to the side, it curled down in my arms and apparently went to sleep. My heart was melting! I was watching the northern lights with the sweetest companion I could ever have hoped for. A girl came out on her balcony on the house nearby, but I just knew that she would not spot me, even if she looked in my direction - it was as if I was inside a different dimension. Maybe the cat led me to one of those dimensions that humans never perceive, but cats can be a part of if they wish to.

However, the story has a sad ending - I was getting cold, plus, it was still late and I really needed to get some sleep, and I knew I would not be able to sleep out on the grass in Iceland in September (actually, I could never do that anywhere at anytime, probably). So I had to get up, rouse the cat from its sleep and walk to my door. The cat followed me, slowly but surely. But I entered the door without it. I simply knew that I could not bring it to my room with me - it clearly belonged to someone, wearing a collar, and I am also slightly allergic to cats and having one inside my room would probably cause eye itching for days. Also, because of allergies in my family I am very inexperienced with animals and it feels unnatural to me to have an animal in my room. So, sadly, I had to leave the cat behind. It broke my heart as I watched from the glass staircase how the cat walked up and down the door, still seeing me and looking up to me expectantly. When I did not react, it started to meow, running to other possible entrances into the building, like a slightly open window on the first floor. Incredible - this cat really wanted to be with me! I was really, really sad but also felt flattered. Like I said, I do not have much experience with receiving love from animals because I could never really be around them, so this moment was really special to me. I had to leave the cat outside though and went to my room. Heartless, I know - just look at this sad little desperate bubu!

I am a horrible person. I never felt more evil in my life. However, I knew that it had to be this way and I hope the cat felt my love for it even from afar and know that I appreciated its company more than anything that night. Perhaps I will see it again, who knows. By the way, I have been using the pronoun “it” throughout this story because I am not sure about the cat’s gender and would dislike misgendering it - be sensitive even towards animals! :D

So this was my magical northern lights story - although seeing the northern lights is always magical, of course. I hope I will get to see them many more times throughout the winter. Since that night, the weather has not been so great so there were always too many clouds at night to attempt to go out and see them - plus, if you live here, you have an everyday schedule which does not really allow you to be northern lights hunting all night, and often I just cannot be bothered to go out to see them and would rather try to go to sleep. Although I am a night owl all the way, but once retreated to bed in the evening it takes a lot to convince me to get out of it again, even if I still stay awake for hours. Which is not a very healthy habit either, by the way, especially since I mostly just spend these hours on social media, which gives me a hard time to fall asleep and makes me too tired throughout the next days to follow my resolutions for productivity. But this is a whole other huge topic which I will maybe dive into in a later blog post - or not, since it is mainly such a negative story, and I do absolutely want to be more positive, especially when writing down memories.

So, here you have it - super long new blog post that nobody will ever read apart from future me. I think this is the main purpose of this blog anyway. Keep a diary for myself and try to develop my blogging skills for a possibly more wide-spread audience in the future. We shall see how that goes.

[debrahlabanganasblog]

Hey Kings and Queens!

Eat good, look good, feel GREAT! – Debra Hlabangana 

So #MyMissionToASexyEverything started in-between 2015 and 2016(not so sure anymore), all for FUN and hey, it has turned out to be something massive in my healthy lifestyle goals of late and has made a huge difference in my life physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally. I’m super excited to take you through my journey to achieving a healthy lifestyle. Its has been goals for years.

The passion of leading a life that improved my health and well-being began in end of 2009 and beginning of 2010 while i was still at secondary school. I always found myself in bed after school going through health and fitness magazines and googling a lot about working out at home. I remember i had a close friend in my hood, Patience, who would get a lot of magazines and i would borrow them so i read and jot down every little information i found significant.

During that time i learnt a lot about eating healthy and exercise and how to achieve it within your means. Things like planning 6 healthy light meals a day which includes a lot of snack, healthy snack, that is and i totally needed that for the more i worked out the more i got hungry. I barely had cheat days like i do now, lol.

I continued in that lane, working out and eating strictly healthy food, i had a variety of rural traditional food which my mother produced from her rural home. Those were the best meals ever, mixed with a bit of modern food. Both mom and i were as fit as a fiddle. As the years went by and my brain got developed more. I realised that i could not be a completely beautiful woman if its just my body and skin that is in a great condition. I wanted more of everything about me. Yes a beautiful body, skin, hair, nails, soul and THE MIND too!

In 2016, i the came up with a hashtag to sum up everything into so much FUN for me. I created the #MyMissionToASexyEverything. This hashtag is about self transformation in every aspect of my life, the mind, body, soul, and the heart. This then fueled the hashtag #ReadTwoBooksAndBlogMoreThanTwiceAWeek with the aim to increase my vocabulary, writing and thinking skills as an individual and it has been working for me. In as much as i do all these things for fun it is marvelous how it has brought me peace and happiness within, hence living a healthy lifestyle. I can not lie, it is a sweet life and it is real, happiness comes from within. I have invested in doing what i genuinely love, need it look or sound funny to the next person, that is not going to deter me from achieving whatever i want in life.

The #MyMissionToASexyEverything is about living a healthy lifestyle in all aspects. There are so many things that my Healthy Lifestyle Goals Journey has developed in me but i will share just a few, need you question, please you have the liberty to ask on the comment section below.

Basically what has my Healthy Lifestyle Goals Journey developed in me? #MyMissionToASexyEverything

1 I have managed to stick to a healthy diet which mainly high in protein and fibre, fruits and veggies. I love organic food!

Confession: I do cheat on some days though… I love Pizza with lots of cheese, lol I’m not proud but i have a way of getting rid of all the unwanted fat i would have gobbled.

2 I workout like E.V.E.R.Y.D.A.Y and i do not find it hard.

It has become a lifestyle and i absolutely enjoy it. It started with doing lunges back in 2010, in two weeks time i saw my legs and thighs muscles transform. I was so toned up and had the perfect shape, i desired and hence invested in some fun sports wear. Since that day, i could not live without that kind of activity that brought immense joy in my life.

3 I have the body that i love.

I do have Cheat Days and i have not been happy with them. I have been bigger than i am now in my life and i have never liked it. Why? Because i literally felt heavy, i could not fit in some of my favourite clothes. From size 10 American size, dropped to 8, now i wear size 6. You could be rolling your eyes right now, size 10 is not a bad size, but i felt uncomfortable, i could not do much of moving around with getting really tired so i had to do what worked for me. Eating healthy and exercising regularly, something that boosted my confidence and self esteem. One thing not to do is, NEVER STARVE YOURSELF. Eat! Eat shem! and well so you just naturally improve your health and well-being. I’m in love with my body, have always loved it, i just had to get rid of the unnecessary fat. I take great care of my body because, you look good, you feel GREAT! Its a good feeling.

4 Gosh! My crown has been growing like crazy.

I did cut my hair in 2016 and wore protective hairstyles for a while. I had problems with my natural 4 C type of hair because i did not have good information on how to take care of it. But now i have and its growing, its healthy and strong. The secret is in what you eat! Soon as i constantly changed my diet, things got better, less breakage and so forth. I have learnt that what you eat is good for your hair, there is no need to invest in some expensive hair products especially those that damage your hair. You have got to be careful when you by your products. I prefer natural DIY for instance, i use organic oils for my hair and baking soda mixed with my Shampoo for my wash days. That is what works for me, what works for you? Please share

5 My skin guys, its better looking than before.

I hardly have breakouts or acne(i have never had acne) , so i have always had spotless skin. Along my journey, i’m not sure what transpired, i made a mistake of touching my face and tried wearing a weave for the first time and Lawd! My face and back reacted. Because i could not stand the rash that had developed, i would scratch it, little did i know that i was making it worse. Those were the most unhappy days with my skin but i kept the vow, #MyMissionToASexyEverything. I have learnt to wash my hands with soap regularly, and not touch my face at all. I also made it a point that i will not wear a weave or wig in my life, i’m allergic to them and have develop great routines of how to wash my face and the whole body so as to keep it clean. Of major concern, is the face and body products i use which are DIY and so natural which makes them harmless to my skin. I’m loving my skin, its not at its BEST but its better and i continue to invest in it.

Debra Hlabangana, JustDebbieH @debbie_magalela with twist out natural hair.

6 Reading is one of my favs, especially in my lone moments and with a hot cup of coffee( which i have been warned not to take too much).

I LOVE COFFEE. But i have also begun drinking healthy tea, green tea, cinnamon and ginger tea, just to name  few, this is tea that my mother refuses to drink, lol. Well, back to reading, this has developed my mind and shaped in a better way. One of my favourite books that i have read for the 4th time this year is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Benjamin Carson’s Think Big. Just in July this year, i created the #ReadTwoBooksAndBlogMoreThanTwiceAWeek, its been two months now and i have read more than 20 books and my speech, mindset and writing skills have become better. I did this to keep myself motivated, and due to the fact that i love reading, i just had to do it. I wonder how many books or magazines i would have read come year end. I’m striving to be better #MyMissionToASexyEverything.

7 If you have noticed, i’m a passionate being and i like people with emotional and intellectual depth, people that speak with passion from their inner twisted mind.

I can not help but i’m drawn to conversing with mature people, i like it. It comes with a lot of lesson. I engage and ask questions, of all my coolest friends, it has to be the old and little ones, lol. I know it sounds crazy but i’m for real. There is a lot of elderly powerful people i converse with from family members to those in my field of interest. Below is a picture with one amazing woman i like, we call her Dr Mai Chisamba , she is a very good disciplinarian and when i was at college, she taught me a lot about embracing myself naturally.

Mai Chisamba and Debra Hlabangana, @debbie_magalela #JustDebbieH #EmbraceYOU

Mai Chisamba and Debra Hlabangana, @debbie_magalela #JustDebbieH #EmbraceYOU

8 So in My Healthy Lifestyle Goals Journey, above all else, i have developed an unshakeable affection with myself. Being me with no limitations. Being unique. Celebrating all that i am regardless of my flaws which most of the time i do not pay attention to because it has settled in, I’M FLAWED and AWESOME all at once. I have fully embraced who i am, and working on getting even better each day. This is just the beginning of My Healthy Lifestyle Goals Journey, its constant and every day, each second, minute, week, month, year or season i’m evolving. Its been incredible so far. Whats keeps me going is that i’m a multitalented creative, i have the energy and i make time for everything that concerns my health and well-being. Living a healthy lifestyle is wealth. It brings about a certain satisfication and that is WHY most of the times I AM H.A.P.P.Y! Its a choice i made and took the first step into making it happen. Take action today and go for what you want. Do what you love, for you and not for anyone else. It is very important to take care of yourself at all times, spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentally.

Stay inspired!

Love

Just DebbieH

#MyHealthyLifestyleGoalsJourney #MyMissionToASexyEverything #PhenomenalInspiration #JustDebbieH #EmbraceYOU

  My Healthy Lifestyle Goals Journey #MyMissionToASexyEverything Hey Kings and Queens! Eat good, look good, feel GREAT! - Debra Hlabangana  So #MyMissionToASexyEverything started in-between 2015 and 2016(not so sure anymore), all for FUN and hey, it has turned out to be something massive in my healthy lifestyle goals of late and has made a huge difference in my life physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally.

[frustratedcastingdirector]

Sunrise Ruffalo Channels Love of Things Into a Retail Project

Ruffalo, a former model and shop owner who is married to actor Mark Ruffalo, explains her love for the Callicoon community and craft artisans. By Leigh Nordstrom on May 19, 2017 “I had a woman once tell me, ‘You know, Sunrise, you’ll always get a second chance at your career, but you’ll never get a second chance with your children,’” Sunrise Ruffalo says over the phone on a recent morning, having driven back into Manhattan late the previous night. “And now is the right time for me to dive back into that world. Putting my creative energy into more places besides being a mother.” The 45-year-old former model and shop owner, who is married to actor Mark Ruffalo, is embracing that next step with a summer boutique in Callicoon, N.Y., called Sunny’s Callicoon Pop. The store, which opens June 1 and will operate through August, will be stocked with a selection of artisan items all hand-selected by Ruffalo over many years. “I always knew I’d sort of find my way to retail — it’s where I find my joy: being surrounded by beautiful things,” says Ruffalo, who owned a store called Kaviar and Kind in Los Angeles 10 years ago. “There are things that people can find scary or sad that I find quite beautiful. I can appreciate a cobweb.” The mother of three is a natural explorer, and has culminated a collection of curiosities for the boutique. “I meet people and wander into studios and little nooks and crannies in different little towns that I visit, and I’ve just discovered so many different people,” she says. “I really am drawn to an artist. There’s something vulnerable about them at times, and at times innocent, and maybe a little damaged even. But it’s that vulnerability I think that I’m drawn to, and that I find beautiful. Being around that creativity feeds me. [The pop-up is] a collection of things from people in my life that have just titillated me along the way.” The key to her selection is a personal love, she stresses. “I wouldn’t put one thing in my store that I wouldn’t want for myself. I have to love things — and I do have enough love in my heart for a lot of things. My taste is pretty wide-ranging and eclectic, but I also know how to bring everything together so it’s cohesive.” Goods stocked include hostess gifts, things like pumice stones, art, antique furniture and ceramics; games like dominoes and dart boards, and clothing pieces by Gary Graham, part of a custom collection he did for Ruffalo called the Ophelia collection. “I have to be honest, my ceramists right now are blowing my mind,” Ruffalo says of a favorite artisan she carries. “I’m working with a young girl named Bridget Ann Clark, who is based in Kentucky. I met her when she was a young shop girl in Manhattan. [Another one is] Kelly Cain — a timid little thing, she lives in the middle of the Catskills in the most incredible home I’ve ever seen, and makes beautiful day-to-day stoneware.” The Ruffalos have been homeowners in upstate New York since 1999. “Mark and I met in ’97, so we pretty much bought a home there right away,” she says. “We were young, Mark was doing theater, we had no money. Mark’s from Wisconsin, I’m from New Orleans, we both grew up around a lot of trees — mine were big oak trees, his were more like forests.” When their kids were young, they abandoned L.A. to live in Callicoon full-time. “When we lived up there, Michelle Williams came to visit us and ended up buying a house up there. Matilda [Williams’ daughter] and our kids all went to the Montessori school.” The initial appeal of Callicoon was the affordability, but they’ve stayed for the community. “I’ve traveled all around the world — by the time I was 18 I’d been around the world three times — and when I got to Callicoon it ticked off all the boxes for me,” Ruffalo says. “The community of people — people mean a lot to me. If you want to get there, you have to really want to get there — there’s no train, it definitely keeps it very pristine. It’s a more primal way to live, which is to enjoy, I guess. To be enjoyed. To be looking for joy, to be attune with nature.” Link to online article with photos: http://wwd.com/eye/lifestyle/sunrise-ruffalo-retail-project-calliccoon-new-york-10890393/

[operationrainfall]

Title Creature in the Well Developer Flight School Studio Publisher Flight School Studio Release Date September 6th, 2019 Genre Action, Pinball, Puzzle Platform PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One Age Rating E for Everyone – Mild Language, Mild Fantasy Violence Official Website

It’s no exaggeration that Creature in the Well was on my radar from the first time I saw it in a Nintendo Direct. I’m easily drawn to unique art, and Creature in the Well had a quasi cel-shaded style that really got my attention. Since then, I’ve demoed it at two separate events, and my interest only grew. So of course I decided to review the game on the site. The question was, could my initial hype live up to the actual experience? Or was I dragged kicking and screaming into a pit of despair?

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Creature in the Well starts in the desert, with blinding sands blanketing a barren land. Suddenly a Bot-C engineer awakens from the sands, the last of his robotic kin. Driven by a hardwired need to fulfill an objective, but lacking recent memories, he heads through the tempest of sand and finds his way to mysterious ruins. You’re pretty much left to discover where to go, and eventually come upon some structures all centered about a gaping hole into a mountain. Years of gaming taught me to keep progressing the narrative, so I went into the hole.

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Though the Bot-C you control never really vocalizes anything, it becomes clear what your goal is. Your goal is to re-power the machine that was supposed to keep the weather in check, which mysteriously stopped working properly. As you navigate your first of several dungeons, you find the cause: the titular Creature. For some reason, the Creature is dead set against the machine working again, and will do whatever it can to stop you. This usually means laying traps to stop you, as well as trying to fight you at certain points. What’s interesting is that your Bot-C is essentially unkillable, so long as you have enough energy. But if that energy is drained by sufficient damage, the Creature will literally drag your lifeless body out of the pit and toss you aside like unwanted garbage. Sure you will survive with a fraction of a spark, but you’ll have to make your way back and try again.

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This is the essential loop to Creature in the Well. Open up a dungeon, investigate it while puzzling your way through rooms, charging your energy meter as you go, then getting defeated and returning. All of the dungeons in the game are accessed from a main HUB room, and once you’ve powered the right node, you can travel wherever you’d like. Just keep in mind that every essential system is protected by the Creature, and each time you face him you will have to survive multiple rounds of combat to progress. Which is both easier and harder than it sounds.

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In a weird way, there’s no actual combat in the game. Instead, you control the Bot-C and use his striking and charging tools to collect and launch energy balls. Striking tools can range from metal pipes to frying pans, while charging tools are a bit more esoteric, such as a magnet or dual blades. This is where the pinball mechanic comes into play, and you’d better get accustomed to it fast, cause it’s everywhere. Each room in every dungeon is a puzzle of sorts, where your goal is to charge all the bumpers sufficiently to unlock a node that will reward you with a huge amount of energy. I should clarify; the energy you gain here is separate from your health meter. You use accumulated energy to unlock gates that bar your way forward. The good thing is, not every room’s puzzle has to be solved to progress. The bad news is, not doing so properly means you get less energy and wind up a bit frustrated. At least if you’re a completionist like I usually am.

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So if you only solve puzzles by hitting balls against bumpers in the game, how do you get hurt? Easy. There are more than just bumpers, and tons of traps. Some examples are laser beams that you have to hit right before they unleash a full blast, or guns that pop up and fire at you if you hit the wrong device. My least favorite are tall pylons that, when hit, explode in a large radius, forcing you to run quick or you’ll lose a huge chunk of your health. While I’m glad these many devices are all in the game, since it would be too simple without them, they can also be frustrating. The primary reason for this is something I hate talking about: math.

Since Creature in the Well is all about pinball, it stands to reason geometry is a big factor. Depending on how you aim before you strike the balls, they may fly at wild angles. In my experience, sometimes they bounced in a way that made sense, and other times they didn’t. A good example is one of the boss fights against the Creature. When I hit one vertical bumper, my energy balls would ricochet at 45 degree angles, yet when I hit another, they would bounce back and forth horizontally. I don’t know if this was my own fault, but it made things very frustrating, especially when it happened while fighting against the Creature.

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Speaking of frustration, here’s another. You can only heal at set areas in the game, usually spaced pretty far apart. You heal by walking into a pool and letting your health meter fill up slowly. That’s fine, but why can’t I heal anywhere else? I wish there was some incremental healing that could occur, especially during boss fights, which started to wear me down about halfway through the game. It wouldn’t be an issue if the fights against the Creature weren’t multi phase, but they all are. And suffice to say, the arenas you face him in are all pretty cramped. Also, like any monster, he’s a jerk, and will do his darndest to use his many traps to wipe you out ruthlessly and quickly.

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Now to be fair, you do have a few things at your disposal to even the odds. First, you’ll come across the discarded corpses of your Bot-C brethren as you wander, and you can pillage their Cores. You can trade these in (a fact that took me several hours to discover) to get improved capability to gather more balls at once. That helps, though I personally would have preferred if my energy balls just charged things faster when upgraded. You’ll also come across a wide variety of tools to aid you, many with different characteristics. Take the dual blades I mentioned earlier. While using them to charge, you can actually see a line which indicates approximately where your balls will travel when you strike them. That’s helpful, but you still need to figure out the right time to use each tool. I loved my magnet, for example, until I realized its ability to gather balls towards me sometimes would trigger traps nearby, as well as warping the path of their movement. It’s also annoying that most of the striking tools don’t indicate what they do differently, so I had to figure it out as I went.

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Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot I liked about Creature in the Well. The atmosphere is unique, as is the combat. Not many games grab me this quickly. The puzzles are also very clever, when I could figure them out. But for every smart decision made in the game, there seemed to be another to counter it. While I’m all for smart puzzles, I’m not a fan of time limits. Many puzzles need to be solved in a certain amount of time, and if you don’t, they reset. And I’m talking about a few seconds here. Also, while I love the whole charging balls to draw them in then striking them aspect, it was hurt by the random angles. This mechanic was also affected by something very simple: the color of the energy balls. In tense situations, I would completely lose track of some of my white energy balls, and usually that would result in them hitting the wrong thing and punishing me. Or take your dash move. It’s technically there to help you avoid damage, but I found it rarely did its job. That’s in part probably cause it has no invincibility frame, and also because your boost of speed is minor. More than once I would try to dash out of harm’s way only to get hit. But perhaps my biggest complaint is how grindy the game gets. The pattern of the game is fine, but it needs more variety. Things got very samey the longer I played, just finding ways to be harder without necessarily being more creative.

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On the visual and sound side of things, I really have no complaints. The aesthetic style of Creature in the Well is stunning and attention grabbing. It made me want to learn all the secrets of this world, often found in terminals throughout the dungeons. The Creature was equal parts mysterious and menacing, never completely showing its face, appearing like some sort of mechanical, skeletal cat with fierce intelligence. Even though many of the dungeons looked very similar, clever use of shade and color kept things different. Though the music isn’t some compelling ballad, it does a good job of grounding the unique flavor of the game, and the sound effects were punchy and dynamic. This is a world where each secret is just waiting to be unearthed, and tragedy and heartbreak are constant companions.

Sadly, I wasn’t able to completely beat Creature in the Well. I gave it an old college try, clocking in 5+ hours, but when I got stuck in two separate dungeons due to incredibly difficult Creature fights, I eventually gave up. Which is unfortunate, because there’s a lot of things I really admire about Creature in the Well, especially considering it only costs $14.99. I’d say as a first effort from Flight School, this is a great success. If they can just improve on the flow of their next game while tweaking the difficulty to better accommodate players, then I’ll be very happy. As it is, I hope I can eventually beat the Creature and discover the secrets of this fascinating world.

[easyreview cat1title=”Overall” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”3″]

Review Copy Provided by Publisher

REVIEW: Creature in the Well Title Creature in the Well