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bnhaficsforthesoul · 4 years ago

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BNHA characters and their genshin experiences

I've been way into genshin for the past couple months, if anyone wants to play with me message me (I'm lvl 45 rn) but be warned I have shitty internet and am a partial razor main

but this is mainly characters I can see actually putting time into genshin

Bakugou

Mains: Yanfei

his main has probably been most every pyro character at some point

he wants diluc so bad, whenever someone else complains that diluc ruined their pity he wants to ruin their existence

before yanfei his main was probably hu Tao

hed definitely play klee if he had her lmao but he doesnt and is patiently waiting for her rerun

he has a lot of 5 star characters and is f2p, he can always get banner characters within at least the first pity, but for standard 5 stars hes gotten keqing and qiqi way too many times and hes livid

especially as a previous hu tao main, he was begging for Jean, still has yet to come home

hes probably a very high level, not fully maxed out considering he hasnt been playing all that long, he was probably forced to start when the rest of the bakusquad started playing it and he just took off

has really shitty artifact luck though, like his characters arent bad or anything but they could be so, so much better

and ugh hes livid

explores everything, has 100% exploration everywhere, but hes not bored hes still got artifact farming to do and he enjoys terrorizing enemies

in co op he will set you and everything around you on fire. cope.

Todoroki

Mains: Xiao or Ganyu

probably only started playing because Izuku asked him to

kaeya has also been on his team since day 1 and he is never leaving doesnt matter his friendship has been level 10 for weeks now who cares

was f2p until xiao, who didnt want to come home at all, and he finally got him on his 180th pull

now he doesnt care and will buy primogems whenever hes bored

he has a lot of constellations on kaeya and hes so proud of that, probably c4, is considering buying way too many primogems just so that he can hopefully get his c6

now his artifact luck is godly, you'll go into a domain with him and be like ugh I got nothing and hes like I got a 4 piece set with all attack or crit rate/damage main stats like haha I hate you

but yeah his characters are very strong cause of this, but he doesnt put effort into building a lot of them, he only levels up and gives good artifacts to his team and a couple other characters he likes but everyone else just sits there for a while

hes not super obsessed with the game, but he does think its funny seeing bakugou get so upset whenever they do domains together

doesnt even bother doing daily tasks really unless hes trying to save primogems

Midoriya

Mains: Venti

hes so good at building characters, like he looks up builds online and watches those "do INSANE damage with these tips" videos - and he sets out to get them done and he does

bakugou is once again livid whenever they play together, because Izuku barely has to try and can do so much more damage than him

he does have to put in a lot of work for his artifacts though because he doesnt settle for the okay ones he needs the absolute best

he builds his favorite characters the most ofc, but he evenly distributes things to other characters he knows can be useful- those characters might not have insane stats but they're still good

will not kill timmies pigeons, hell hunt birds in the wild for fun though

definitely a food hoarder

also does a lot of exploring and probably has at least 90% for each area

Kaminari

Mains: Lisa

he is 1000% in love with Lisa, he took her quest very seriously

and so many people say shes horrible, he hates it, hes made her crazy strong out of spite

his team consists of only his wifus- meaning lisa, beidou, rosaria, and mona

for a long time beidou was his second but then rosaria came along and hes like ugh big tiddy goth gf, but lisa still remains queen

these are the only characters hes built though, save for a couple like probably razor and xiangling that he used before he fully got this team

is an ayaka saver

he doesnt care too much about most 5 stars but will sometimes get them just to say he has them, but they end up just sitting there rotting away because he never puts work into them

he does have hu tao though and would get ganyu if she ever had a rerun

Kirishima

Mains: Diluc Razor or Beidou

they're all on his team, the last person switches out but it's most likely zhongli or childe

hes all about dps, support who, he just wants to hit hard and do insane damage , so yes he made dps zhongli

except his builds arent that great, with some help his builds are decent, but on his own hell be like ugh that's some sexy 300 damage

probably didnt know what 90% of the stats even meant and just put random attack ones on people and went yeah that looks good

doesnt really care though and is just having fun so hell play how he wants (as he should) but he does have to ask for help when farming bosses

loves exploring but misses so much, hell get distracted easily and end up just messing around

honestly probably hasnt bothered to ascend his world since he got to level 35, if he did the quest hed probably go straight to 45 and even then hed still have extra exp because hes been there for so long oml

but eventually he would have to and hed be trying to do it like :,) this is fine and it takes him a lot of tries but he gets there eventually,,, only to immediately have another one waiting for him poor baby

Mina

Mains: Klee or Xiangling

thinks baizhu is hot (and is correct) so shes desperately waiting for him

was a I must play 24/7 player until after the last story quest, then she got kinda bored but still plays frequently so she can save primogems and likes playing co op

goes into random peoples worlds a lot

shes got some pretty strong characters and is proud of her account

definitely makes tiktoks of her playing with the bakusquad cause it's always v chaotic (it's probably only denki and kirishima most of the time, but sometimes either bakugou or sero will join in)

does all the genshin tiktok trends

shes a pretty high level since shes probably been playing for a while and has most everything done

she loves helping lower level people though she thinks it's so cute and loves the power she feels when she one shots things

Sero

Mains: Xingqui

hes a pretty casual player, kinda only plays when hes bored or the others make him play with them

but his stats arent too bad, they're fairly average but he gets by

has so many primogems because he doesnt bother to wish on anyone, probably wants kazuha though

he does get super invested into the story though, hes so curious about the world and where the story is gonna lead

probably watches a lot of genshin theory videos and now he over thinks everything in the game

he explores a lot, not so much to find every single thing but more so just because he likes looking at everything, hes very excited for all the new places

Shinsou

Mains: Childe

hes a very thorough player, he explores a lot and puts a lot of work into building his characters

most of them arent all that great but he has plans to fix them

his main team is very well built, not the best, but still good

he struggles when he has to switch someone out for a domain or something because his other characters are so painfully mediocre right now and he feels so bad

shinsou, playing a character that can do like max 200 physical damage and biggest damage is like 2 thousand, repeatedly saying I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you deserve so much better, I'm so sorry

even if it's not the worst damage by far, he feels bad about anything under his main team's stats because they're just so much higher

broke. has no primogems. spent them all on childe and his constellations. does he regret it? well he sure does appreciate his c6 so- hell manage

yes he spent real money on his stupid mass murderer who he loves very much

fights childe every day even though he already collected the treasure, he is but a humble simp

probably decently lucky with wishing like he can beat the 50/50 almost every time

Tamaki

Mains: Chongyun and Sucrose

he only started playing recently, probably kirishima got him into it, but he immediately fell in love

kirishima was like tell me when you're level 16 so we can play together !!! and 2 days later tamaki was level 16 and kiri was shook because how the hell did he do it so fast

hates domains, the dread he feels when he realizes the lower level isnt going to give him anything anymore, and he has to move up to the next, and the next,,

asks kirishima to help him only to realize he isnt much help, is too nice to say that so he let's kiri keep trying- one day kiri gets deku to play with the two of them and tamaki almost cries because finally he can get through the level 90 domain and actually get things ugh

cannot get xingqui to save his life he refuses to come home and poor tamaki is so sad he wants him a lot hes even got all his materials saved up

Monoma

Mains: Ningguang

honestly doesnt play all that much but takes pride in making his account seem v good, is a whale

but hes very good at the game, didnt know what the artifacts were for at first and gave people ones based on how they looked but once he figured it out hes fixed them

is a very standard player, logs in every day to do his commissions and use his resin then logs out, he doesnt put too much time into the game and doesnt worry if he misses a day or two

worships ningguang, also really likes xinyan, his other team members are probably venti and albedo

has every single banner 5 star that has come out since he started playing, probably doesnt have klee though and is v upset about it, and is thanking the heavens for all the reruns lately

also doesnt have keqing and wants her a lot cause he likes her

accepts every single co op request he gets, and despite what a lot may think hes actually a very nice person to play with, not toxic at all - unless you're someone he knows then he might be mean to you shshshsh

Shigaraki

Mains: Razor

haha isnt it so odd that they sound so similar haha (if you dont know they have the same japanese va and I'm guessing hed play it in Japanese)

obviously he can be kinda busy ya know being a criminal and all that but when hes not he puts a lot of time into genshin

sadly doesnt have very good luck when it comes to characters or artifacts, but hes doing his best even with 0 primogems and his 50% crit rate

doesnt explore all that much, most of the exploring hes done came from him trying to get all the oculus

his razor is so good though, except that's the only character hes put tons of effort into

except for now zhongli, hes not replacing razor but ugh does he love zhongli

but his other characters are pretty mediocre at best, he could build them if he wanted to, hes good enough at gaming to figure it out, he just doesnt have the time to spend to do it so he focuses on his main team

also (spoiler alert kinda) when we had to go to the wolf spirit to fight the abyss herald and razor was there, afterwards how razor was saying how he was too weak and stuff and was super sad, at that very moment shiggy decided the entire abyss order had to be destroyed - sorry aether (he chose lumine) but razor is more important than you

#theres probably more charavters that would play but i can add to this later #did i describe myself througout these #yes of course #anyways diluc supremacy if youre not apart of the 70% of the fandom that hates him then youre superior i dont make the rules #bnha headcanons #bakugou #shigaraki #todoroki #kaminari #kirishima #midoriya #deku #shinsou #monoma #amajiki

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sherriswheel · 5 years ago

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Imagine Sebastian Stan revealing you’re his girlfriend in a panel

(gif source)

“Let’s welcome my personal favourite and biggest OTP in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Sebastian Stan and Y/N!”

The crowd roared as the host introduced the two of you onto the stage. Sebastian had let you go before him, his hand on the small of you back and making sure you didn’t trip on the stairs like last time. After knowing him for years and having been on several panels with him for promotional purposes, the pair of you were very familiar with how each other moved and talked, hence the silent understanding you had between the two of you.

The moment you stepped onto the wide stage, you began waving at the enthusiastic crowd, greeting as many of them as you could as you felt you could never do enough for the fans who supported you endlessly. It was the same for Sebastian as well, as he always felt so humbling and appreciative of the love and support of the fans.

It wasn’t long before the two of you were at the centre of the stage and under the spotlights. The cheering and clapping of the crowd continued for a while longer even as you took your seats on the couch behind you. The host had his own seat while you and Sebastian shared one, which no one had a problem with.

“It’s so great to have you two here!” the host exclaimed excitedly, almost as giddy as the crowd below the stage. “So, please say hello to your amazing fans!”

Sebastian was the one who spoke first as he grabbed the mic and shouted a greeting into it. “Hey guys! How are you all doing? Are you enjoying this?”

“You guys are so amazing, you know that?” you asked, grinned widely as you tried to look at as many individuals as you could, noticing how there were so many fans that were dressed up as yours and Sebastian’s characters in the movies.

The crowd roared in response and although neither of you could understand the different things that were said, you knew the fans were more than happy to see their beloved idols.

As if the crowd was unable to calm down, the host had to step in and ask for a little bit of peace and quiet as he went on to chat with you two. “How have you two been?” he asked. “Are you guys having fun?”

“We’ve been great!” Sebastian answered for the two of you, knowing full well how you also felt about conventions like this. “I mean, it’s always so humbling to see so many fans in one place, like, it’s just so amazing how the enthusiasm never dies!”

“It’s like you guys have unlimited energy,” you added with a laugh. “I wish I had that kind of energy when I was on set - god, I was like a zombie most of the time if it wasn’t for the endless supply of coffee that we begged for.”

“Wait, you guys begged for coffee on set?” the host questioned, seemingly very interested in the little piece of information you revealed.

“Well, yeah, I mean, filming a movie is a lot of work, especially one of this scale,” you began, “And coffee is a very important thing to have if you want to keep up with all the actions and keep your awake. So, yeah, I kind of begged the managers to get more coffee on set and it just got blown up a little and we ended up getting a coffee truck on set!”

“Seriously? Don’t you, like, get caffeine poisoning from drinking so much coffee?” the host asked as he tilted his head to the side and watched you with a questioning look.

A scoff came from the man beside you and you turned to see Sebastian with a crooked smile on his face. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she did,” he said, causing the audience to laugh. “I am telling you guys this - I have never ever seen anyone drink as much coffee as Y/N does. It’s insane. I swear, coffee is the only thing she ever drinks. Whether it’s in the morning, the afternoon, or the evening, it’s always coffee.”

“I’m addicted,” you claimed with a nonchalant shrug, not really bothered about your coffee intake levels. “It keeps me sane throughout the day. I mean, drinking coffee is like, I don’t know, listening to music for you guys. It calms me and soothes me.”

“Coffee is running through your veins,” Sebastian commented, giving you a nudge and a roll of his eyes as he remembered one of your many shared inside jokes, which you understood straight away.

“So you’re the type to shout ‘can someone get me a coffee’ on set and then someone will run and get your beloved coffee?” the host asked.

“Nope, not at all,” you replied, earning a frown from Sebastian because he knew that was exactly what you did on set, especially to him whenever he was hanging around. “I ask nicely,” you added with a grin. “I actually say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes again and shook his head, looking as though he was done with your antics having filmed with you for so many long months. The reaction of the man didn’t go unnoticed by the host and the crowd, but the close friendship the two of you had forged throughout the numerous movies was not a secret to anyone who knew you two, though there were a lot of people who did wish the two of you were more than just friends.

“You two are so adorable together - have anyone told you that already?” The host was definitely one of those who shipped the two of you together, which wasn’t a surprise with how he introduced you two at the very start. “Are you sure you two aren’t together?”

His straightforward question had both you and Sebastian laughing and shaking your heads. However, neither of you answered him verbally, which was the norm since you two had never really given an official reply to the same sorts of questions that were thrown at you about your friendship or relationship.

Seeing how he wasn’t going to dig anything more about your relationship from you two, the host then turned to the audience and held his mic to his lips again. “Okay then, since I can’t get them to spill, maybe your fans can!” The crowd cheered in response and the host continued. “So, we’re going to open this up as your fans are burning to ask some questions. As usual, we’re going to start from the left and go to the right and then back to the left, etcetera. Are we ready?”

╳ ╳ ╳

The pair of you had spent a good half an hour answering the questions of your fans. Some were the usual ones about your roles and what you had to do to prepare for it, others were the funnier ones that had the hall laughing, and of course there were the corny and cheesy ones that made you cringe a little inside (though you would never show it in front of your beloved fans). It wasn’t until the last ten or so minutes that Sebastian was asked a question that you thought was rather sweet.

“So, er, I was just wondering, like, what kind of support network do you have?” the fan asked nervously.

“What kind of support network do I have?” Sebastian repeated to make sure he had heard what the fan said correctly. When he received the nod from the fan, he leaned back on the couch and ran his hand through his growing hair with a long hum. Both you and the host, as well as everyone else in the hall, had turned to look at him with an expectant look. “Well, uhm, I just try to surround myself with good people, I guess?” he began, letting out a short laugh as his blue eyes momentarily flicked over to you. “I mean, I’ve been really really lucky with the people I’ve worked with. You know, everyone has been amazing and like, I’ve never met anyone on set that I’ve thought ‘oh god, that person is a no-no’,” he paused for a second when he heard someone shout ‘Tom Holland’ from the crowd, which had everyone laughing. “Hey, that kid is a problem, but he’s a nice kid.”

“That’s probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said about him,” you interjected with a grin. “Tommy is gonna cry when he hears about this.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes and let out a dramatic groan at your response. “Oh god, I’m never going to hear the end about this… please just, whatever you do, don’t tell Anthony Mackie what I just said…”

You laughed at his words and rolled your eyes back at him. “But you love them both dearly,” you said, grinning again because you knew you were right with what you said.

“Again, don’t tell them that,” he said to the crowd. “But, but, yeah, I mean, try to surround yourself with good people and their positive sides will rub on you in a good way and then you’ll find yourself far happier than when you didn’t have those people before. I’m really lucky to have met great friends and inspirational mentors throughout the different jobs I’ve had, so I’m really lucky in that sense, but I think everyone will have their chance to meet someone someday who would really change your lives even without you knowing it.”

The crowd aww-ed at his sweet and encouraging words while you found yourself smiling at the man softly. He had always known what to say to people who were lost and you knew that from first hand experience. Sebastian was someone who had been through a lot but the fact that he was so willing to help others get through their problems was one of the many things that everyone, including you, loved about him.

However, the mischievous side of you couldn’t let him off so easily, so you took your mic again as your lips turned into another smirk. “So are you saying Tom Holland changed your life in a good way?”

The crowd laughed again and some comments were even thrown around even though you couldn’t catch them properly with all the noise that was going on.

“You’re never going to let me live, are you?” Sebastian questioned, looking at you with an amused expression as his arm casually hung on the back of your side of the couch. He soundlessly laughed at you and shook his head, while his hand unknowingly made its way to your loose hair and curled a tiny bunch around his fingers.

“Nope, but you should wait until I tell both Tommy and Mackie about this,” you replied as your eyes met his. He still had that smile on his face but it was his eyes that took your breath away at that moment. You paused for a second and even though you were aware of how everyone could see what the two of you were doing, you couldn’t help but just look into his eyes and see all those emotions swimming inside them as he looked right back at you. “You’re going to regret saying that now, Sebby boy,” you added a few silent seconds later.

There was no doubt that the audience was going crazy with that little moment you shared with Sebastian but neither of you really cared what your fans thought, not that your fans would ever get between the two of you anyway. The host, too, was getting lost in the moment you were having with your co-star, but he had his job to do. Just as he was about to signal the next fan for their question, Sebastian raised his mic again.

“Oh, and just to add to what I just said,” he spoke slowly, his eyes still remaining on you as his free hand continued to tug at your soft hair. “Friends and mentors are definitely important but you know, sometimes I think an awesome girlfriend tops all of that.”

Screams and shouts filled the hall in a split second as the crowd understood what he meant with those words. Of course, you knew what he was saying as well, and although it was earlier than what the two of you had planned, you weren’t exactly bothered that he decided to announce your relationship in this way.

With pink cheeks and the biggest grin on your face, you sent a wink in his way and spoke. “Well, I do have to agree with you there, Seb. You do have a pretty awesome girlfriend.”

#sebastian stan #sebastian stan fanfic #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan imagine

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lovecraftian-druid · 5 years ago

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Pactborn - Part III

Khaadeehava, Lahira Marina. It was a brisk harvest morning - not cold, mind you, but still…there was a certain extra salty sea breeze in the air that morning. I started my day like every other morning since I turned fifteen: wake up, get dressed, hit up my favorite food stand for two dosas with coconut chutney for breakfast, and head down to the docks for work. I should have known from the start that today was going to be different though when I had to hear those six awful words: “sorry, we’re all out of coconut.” Too lazy at that point in the morning to look elsewhere for breakfast but also too foolish to ask for my other options, I told them to surprise me – a mistake indeed, as I found out after my first bite.

Ginger chutney. Ugh.

Already disappointed with how my day was going, I discarded my breakfast to a large flock of gulls then quickly finger-combed my hair before jogging the rest of the way to the boardwalk in an effort to warm myself up more. Ghaan may not get snow like some of the places Papa had told me about, but it still gets bitter cold late in the year: it was only one of the first few days of the month of Muu, and already the fog that would roll in with the ships would bring a settling of frost on anything it touched.

As I reached the fog-riddled Lahira Marina, my primary senses – being trained to switch over from sight to sound – focused through the blindness, taking in the rhythmic lapping of waves, plaintive crying of seabirds, muffled creaking of wet wooden boards, and occasional thumping of mooring ropes as swaying ships bumped up against them in the shipyard. From memory, I find my way through the icy mist to the old docker, Telfar. “Is a’ you, Ka’lya?” the portly middle-aged human called out in my direction.

“As per usual, Telfar,” I replied, following the barely visible light of his hooded lantern. “By the way,” I add, slowing my jog to a walk, “you can just call me Ka’l, seriously.”

“Sure, sure,” was his mumbled response, as always. He stood there, stroking just the right side of his brown and grey mutton chops as he peered out into the harbor. “Got some big loads comin’ in today, mostly from Dawnwilde: salt, ore, that sort of thing. Couple merchants due to arrive today from Hjarta, too – lumber shipment, I think… Gonna be a busy day for us both, I dare say,” he ruminated aloud.

Just as he said that, the toll of a ship’s bell rang out into the chilly haze, announcing the arrival of our first customers of the day. Without a word required, we both sprang into action, making ready for the sea vessel to come into port. Telpar bellowed questions and instructions to the ship’s deck officer while I ran out extra mooring and made ready to receive the tossed ropes from the ship itself. I could see my breath as I heard the ship drop anchor, slowing itself as it calculated its berthing to enter the yard.

Once docked, Telfar would discuss import and export details with the ship’s captain while I would usually board the vessel and coordinate what needed loaded or unloaded with the crew, pitching in with the manual labor. It was amazing, the types of stories these sailors would share with me as we moved cargo – tales of gigantic sea creatures, dangerous sea storms, and merciless pirates. I would always listen with rapt attention and sincere awe, wondering what it would be like to sail the high seas.

The morning pressed on, and the fog eventually dissipated. More and more merchants began pulling in and out of the marina, pushing us to hustle with each new arrival. By that point, the docks were loud with the jumbled voices of seamen talking amongst themselves or conducting business with one another: many would operate right from their own gangplanks, haggling for surplus merchandise or making trades while others could be seen negotiating passenger rates for those looking to travel. Opportunistic food vendors would wander down from the Central Bazaar to roast meats on spits in an effort to lure hungry mouths craving the enjoyment of a hot, cooked meal. Exotic spices and other pleasant aromas filled the air as small puffs of dried herbs and other seasonings sifted naturally from the burlap bags we tossed from the holds of large boats. Young girls squealed as they hung off of the arms of sailors, both parties enjoying the brief reprieve ashore. The marina was its very own little slice of the Upper Planes, and getting to experience the daily wonders was – in and of itself – a reward of its own. Still though, a girl’s got to make a living, and to do so meant rarely getting to stop to enjoy the thrills of the bustling coast.

By noon, a lull had finally graced us with a break in action. The sun glistened and glinted off of the beautiful waves that splashed against the beach as I walked, barefoot, on the sand, staring out into the wide, cerulean expanse of the Turquoise Waves. My mind wandered for a moment or more before Telfar interrupted my contemplations – “Ka’lya! Ka’lya! I need your swift feet!" I slipped back into my shoes, the insides now scratchy with gritty sand, as I hurried back up to him along the dock. He was in his usual cheerful mood (he always enjoyed rubbing elbows with ship captains, always claiming that “it never hurt to have a seaman remember your name for a good reason). Standing next to him was a pair of well-dressed men, one of which looked to be of halfling or gnomish descent, the other a smarmy-looking human.

"The captain of the Humble Hermit has an ink shipment for the Painted Lady - I need you to run down to the parlor and fetch her signature: his boys will wheel her crates over straight away: they need to shove off within the hour, and we both know you'll be there and back to us before they finish pulling it off the ship, heh heh," he chortled with residual laughter from whatever had the two of them cracking up moments ago. “Also –” he commented more professionally as he handed me a sealed letter stamped with some reddish-brown wax, “– if you could drop this off to her as well, this gentleman would be most appreciative." The shorter man made brief eye contact with me before giving me a nod and then returning to his conversation with Telfar.

Seeing this as an opportunity to grab some lunch and perhaps make a little extra coin by way of a tip, I took the letter and headed off towards the Painted Lady, our boardwalk’s popular tattoo parlor. As I sprinted along the busy walkway, I couldn’t help but get the feeling that I was being watched, followed, something. When I reached the parlor, I made small talk with Nexus, the tiefling woman who ran the shop, before explaining that her shipment was on its way and delivering the special mail. She took the letter, opened it, shook her head, and smiled weakly. “Oh, Darja…thank you for, um, dropping off the note, Ka’l…here, tell him I am fine and give him my regards.” Nexus said as she absent-mindedly signed off on the invoice parchment, drawing a quick but masterful sketch of a sailing ship at the bottom of the document before returning it to me and flipping me a copper piece. “Enjoy what’s left of the nice weather!”

I took back off into the crowd, pressing my way to a food stand to grab a bite to eat (courtesy of Nexus), then hurriedly returned to Telfar and the man who apparently wrote the letter. "Ahoy!" Telfar hollered toward me as I jogged, "I told ya, didn't I? It’s like she’s got wings, she’s so fast." I felt myself blush at the compliment but appreciated it all the same. "Come, come, give the captain his papers," he said as he straightened up, beaming with pride.

The man’s eyes were dancing with hope more than expectation as he asked me, “"Did she give you anything? A letter or something maybe?” Knowing it likely wasn’t as much as he wanted, I handed him the signed document – he unrolled it with initial excitement then sniffed the spot where she had signed with bizarre reverence before giving the air a hard sniff, holding his head up high, and pocketing the parchment. I felt my face attempt to hide a contorted look of confusion as he turned to address us: Mr. Telfar, this longshoreman of yours, I simply must have her as part of my crew – not only is she fast, but she’s a welcome sight for sore eyes such as myself and my sailors…” His eyes settled on my own as he continued, “It wouldn’t be much for starters, just a midshipman position to replace one of my former members who was recently carried off by a harp—errrr, seems to have abandoned ship…so, what say you?”

I couldn’t believe my ears: this was all I’d ever wanted, all I had ever dreamed about doing with Papa – a chance to sail? How could I turn down such an opening? Perhaps gaining some experience at sea would afford me an opportunity to go with Papa on his next voyage the next time he returned home? But what would Mama, Jida, and Jido do without me in the meantime for the much-needed income? My mind raced with indecision and – as though he read it – the merchant sweetened the pot: “Do you think you’d be up for making some coin for a ten-day tour aboard the Golden Afternoon? I’d pay you five copper a day, not a coin less.”

Quickly doing the math in my head, I calculated the profit: working with Telfar, I was making a mere two copper a day, plus a tip if I was lucky – that worked out to a modest two silver pieces by the end of a ten-day. If I did the tour, I’d make over double that in the two weeks I’d be at sea; and I’d be living out my biggest dream as a bonus. Still, my conscience weighed heavy. “I’m…I’m very interested, but I’d…uh…like to think about it…I mean, if that’s alright,” I said as my voice trailed off in tongue-tied gratefulness and hesitancy. While Telfar looked relieved at this, the captain looked disappointed.

I opened my mouth to break the awkward silence when a hand gently but firmly settled on my shoulder – turning my head to see who was there, I saw Vormesius, the elderly green dragonborn who owned the jeweler’s shop on the boardwalk. “What do I overhear about you going on an adventure, Miss Ka’lya?” wheezed the old man, his jaw slack between words. I again attempted to speak but felt the grip tighten on my shoulder as he continued, “you know, I bet that would really make your folks proud, them having another seafarer in the family – maybe you can try out that nice compass your father gave you?”

It was at that moment that I knew something was awry: not only was it out of character for the sweet, aged jeweler to insert himself into other people’s conversations; but I definitely had not had enough interactions with him to have ever brought up my compass. Turning my head to meet his gaze, I realized that the golden, vertical-pupiled eyes into which I stared were not Vormesius’s…these were the eyes of an acquaintance long since forgotten, only to be resurrected from the depths of my childhood memories.

I knew not what else to do – I stared, unblinking, into his eyes as I addressed the merchant, but only in words: “uh, yes, okay…let me get my things together and tell my family, if that’s okay, Captain…?” I asked, waiting for his reply (as well as his name).

“Oh, sorry, yes, that’s more than acceptable,” he responded, pleased. “And the name is Darja – pleased to officially meet you and welcome you as one of the crew.” He extended his hand to shake mine and, after doing so, looked about for a moment before absently asking, “hmm, where did that dragonborn go in such a hurry? Oh well; meet me aboard the Golden Afternoon in one hour – adventure awaits!”

I found myself running again, in a complete daze. What was I doing? How was this happening? And why did that tabaxi man show back up? Why (and how) was he disguised? It had to be him, it just had to be. Those eyes, that voice…what was his name again? It’s been so long…

Making it back home, I sped through the house, chaotically gathering up anything I thought I might find useful while at sea. Surprised to find me home so early, Mama followed me into my room: “Ka’lya, you’re home early – what are you doing?”

Anxiety springs up from my stomach and clutches at my heart as I swallow hard, not wanting to say what I knew had to come next. “I’m leaving, Mama. I’m going to join a crew for two weeks at sea. I’m going to sail like Papa and bring home lots of coin to help the family. Don’t…don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine…I’ll be back before you know it.” The words spilled out of my mouth in a mess of stoic sadness. Mama’s eyes met mine and she silently watched me pack, eyes glistening with tears, as she stood in my bedroom doorway holding some laundry.

Eventually finding words, she stifled a sob before saying, “I knew this day would come…I just didn’t think it would happen so soon…please look after yourself, and write to me often, and remember the stories your father has told you: do the wise thing - not the brave thing - if you want to tell the tale." I could hardly look at her without wanting to break down in tears myself. She reached out, tucking my hair behind my ear then pulling me into a tight, warm hug. “You are so loved, Ka’lya – I will miss you so much. Come back to me, okay?”

I nodded, fighting back the hot moisture pooling in the corners of my eyes. As I released from our embrace, something clattered from my pack to the floor. We both looked down to see what it was before I realized – “the compass…I’m bringing it with me,” I explained.

She smiled, halfheartedly. “I hope it brings you back to me soon then.”

I rushed in to steal one more hug and a swift kiss on the cheek before bolting back out the door, at which point I allowed the tears to come streaming down my cheeks as I rushed back to the port district. Breathless, I searched for Darja’s ship – my ship. It didn’t take long to locate what looked at first like the regular old merchant schooner; however, its name (the Golden Afternoon) was embossed in brilliant metallic-colored paint and seemed to shimmer as the sun reflected off the waters beneath it. The furled sails appeared to have a sandy circular emblem with a gold ship's wheel inside it, advertising it to other sailors as a merchant vessel. "Are you ready to board now?" Darja asked. "Just think, in two weeks' time, you'll have made fifty copper pieces by the time we loop back around! And I’ll tell ya what, if you feel up to the task after the first ten-day, we can make it a solid 100 so that you can bring your mum a shiny gold piece if you think you can do two more weeks. Oh, the stories you'll bring home, too!"

Darja chattered on for what felt like an eternity, trying to talk up the whole scenario. But as we raised the anchor and shoved off to sea, all I could do was lean over the stern and watch Khaadeehava – the only place I’d ever known – fade out into the distance as we sailed westward into the sunset.

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

Hope you enjoyed this week’s (belated) installation of Ka’l’s backstory! If you enjoyed reading this, feel free to ask to be added to the list!

Ye Olde Taglist: @serenewrites, @mayvinwrites

#writeblr #Fantasy Writing #dnd #character backstories #Beyond the Forsaken Mountains #Ka'l #Gilgapaka #pactborn #Khaadeehava #Somewhere beyond the Sea

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the-canary · 6 years ago

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Haunted - B.B (1)

Summary: Princes aren’t meant to be with scarred witches. Neither of you meant to take your side of this challenge or the war so seriously. (Witch!Reader/Prince!Bucky Barnes)

A/N: I have been thinking about a witch!mc for awhile, but I didn’t know what setting I wanted her to be in until I saw @polaroid-idiocity‘s prince!bucky moodboard and it sort of all fell into place. I’ll admit I am taking stuff from here and there in terms of folklore from The Ancient Magus’ Bride.

Feedback is always appreciated.

“Mama! Mama!” a little girl demands to her mother as it strikes time for her bedtime. Blue eyes meet green ones, as the child frowns due to the lack of attention. The woman stops and looks up from her desk and looks at the book her daughter is holding.

The red-haired queen doesn’t say anything as a small smile blooms on her face, she pushes away from the table and the forms she was going to pat a place on her lap. The little girl squeals in excitement and runs over to her mother, like placing the book in front of her.

“What is tonight’s tale, love?” she questions softly as she kisses her daughter’s forehead. Chubby hands pat the leather bound book. The queen glances down and can’t help but frown at the title for just a moment.

“Papa brought this one from his trip!” the little girl grins. Her face crinkles up at the thinking about her father, the king was always traveling to each corner of the kingdom sending gifts to his children and wife when he could, though the queen wished nothing more for him to be by her side.

They both knew that was impossible though.

“And what did Papa tell you about?”

“That it’s about the bravest person he knows!”

Queen Natasha frowns but at the sight of her daughter’s smile, she shakes her head just a little and opens the book as little Princess Jaime settles in for the tonight’s tale.

“So, the name of this story is the Prince and the Witch.”

--Here’s the thing, Prince James was the most beloved prince of all the land. A rainbow had dawned after the heavy rain that befell the kingdom the night before, and everyone knew that the baby -- the boy, the man, the one-day future king-- was going to be a very lucky man. Prince James excelled in everything he did from studies to fighting, to archery -- you could name and he was able to do it.

He was also very handsome with bright blue eyes and chiseled jaw. He was a literal dream, and even though he knew, he was still a humble man.

(Queen Natasha tries her hardest not to roll her eyes to be back of her head and keep reading.)

His father adored him. His people looked up to him and his sisters and cousin loved him. He even had a beautiful future fiance from a Northern kingdom, a Princess Natalia, that he knew he would come to love, but not everything was perfect for the young prince.

Prince James Buchanan had the sight, an odd thing from his mother side and he sadly knew how that ended for most people, his mother being a warning for what happened to people like him.

From the day he was born, he could see things that others couldn’t. Things from the shadows and brighter than the sun sort of creatures talked to him all the time, they had even tried to even take him more than once when he was a child. He spoke of it often as a child, his mother loved his tales of whatever he saw in the garden that day, as his sisters asked a million questions -- even his cautious younger cousin couldn’t help but be a little curious every now and then.

However, first, his mother died --an incident near the wading pool where the fairies tend to play too much-- and then the war comes...and people, including the good King George, always changed with war.

Prince James forgot about the pool and his friends that constantly called out to him. He was a man with one single mission regardless of anything else -- to protect his kingdom from the invading Hadria above all else.

It was a trap, an ambush. One of Prince James’ own men had sold him to the enemy and many lives paid the price as he fought back tooth and nail. The Winter Soldier, as he was known over time in his battles with the Kingdom of Hadria, wouldn’t go down without a fight -- he had done so until there was a swing to his back and he ended up falling into the river falling beneath the bridge close to the encampment.

They had always said that if you died a slow death, you might see your life flash before your very eyes -- but, James didn't have that experience. Instead, as his black Armour was slowly taken off of him by the current and other natural blockages that belonged to the river, he heard them chattering and whispering about.

Isn’t that the prince?

Betrayed? Dishonored? Overthrown?

Those mythical creatures of the forest and fae that tended to play with human hearts, that drowned people when they weren’t careful enough or even stole their identities if they knew their name well enough. James used to live off of all those stories once, but for now with his barely conscious thoughts -- he thought about Steve waiting back home, of getting another one of Natalia’s letters, of his baby sisters. Things that reminded him of the home he hadn’t seen for a good two years now, in a war that had been going on even longer than that.

James thought of sweet things, of home and revenge in what he thought would be his certain death.

He doesn’t expect to be opening his eyes to such a bright light goodness knows how many days afterwards. The golden light is shining bright through the window right in front of him and James isn’t exactly sure where he is, but he feels the exact same energy from the river run through the little room, which sends him on high alert.

He is quick to pick of the footsteps and meowing coming from another room. He gets up slowly, the best he can and pulls himself into a crouching position with the small bed frame behind him to he can get a clear view of the whole room -- a small bookcase with a table filled with cups and various jars.

James is also preparing to ram through anyone that is going to open the door.

Jacopo, he hears a voice before anything else happens, before he can even move or think as a hooded figure opens the door and an even brighter, golden light envelope the room and sends James crashing into the wall before he lays in a slump on the bed.

“Don’t you think that was too much?”

“You never know with these types of people, Jaco.”

His head is thumping in pain as he fight to stay awake, but instead he is moved around like a rag doll to lay down once more. There’s meowing and the those figure is standing above James. Their eyes meet, blue clashing with flashing gold that is melting into something darker.

James with his last fleeting thoughts thinks of what this person could be.

Witch.

It’s the last coherent thought he has before collapsing completely, as the hooded figure sets about their work once more.

#Bucky Barnes #james buchanan barnes #james bucky barnes x reader #james buchanan barnes x reader #bucky barnes au #james barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes royalty au #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes angst #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes fan fic #series: haunted #fabiola trying to write

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admiralbell · 5 years ago

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The following is a transcript of William Bell’s acceptance speech after being nominated as the Republican candidate for President of the United States, delivered July 2, 2020.

Co-chairs, delegates, friends, and fellow Americans - I gratefully and humbly accept your nomination for President of the United States.

[cheers and applause]

I stand before you tonight as a man who understands and appreciates the immensity of what lies ahead of us. I say us, because from the very start, this campaign was never about me. It took on this challenge, well over a year ago, because I believed that Americans needed a representative in our nation’s highest office who would lead, but would not dominate. Would not purport to think that his own decisions would stand above scrutiny. I believed that America needed a President who remembered a world, a way of living, that was not clouded by the haze of years in dirty politics - where self-centered wheeling and dealing stand above the needs of the people.

I believe that this country deserves someone who will put its people first.

I come from a long tradition of men and women who understand the nature of sacrifice. Of men and women who stand up where others will not, because to them, the defense of freedom and the American way of life are more important than anything else.

Our nation is able to be what it is today because of that bravery - that selflessness. I chose a life in the Navy because I believed in those ideals above everything else. I would gladly have died for them - in 2007, I nearly did. If given the chance, I would volunteer to do it again. And again. Because America - this great country, this community - is and will always be worth it.

In the same spirit, I will use the opportunity that has been given to me tonight, by all of you here and by the American people, to defend these ideals from the highest office, where they have too long been neglected by short-sighted politicians, who put self and party and their agendas first.

America is at a crossroads. Last year, we weathered a moment of immense tragedy. Theresa Wright was our commander-in-chief, and a woman who I always regarded with the utmost respect, despite our many differing views. Respect is a value which transcends all boundaries - parties and politics. Her death was a profound shock to me, and, indeed, to all of us.

What shocked me further was the seeming eagerness of the current administration to take this tragedy and use it as a tool to strike directly at the heart of the rights and values which make this country what it is. It seemed no time at all had passed before this administration jumped at the chance to politicize the event and use it to further a short-sighted agenda against the second amendment, despite the fact that Americans stood against such a choice.

This, more than anything, assured me that what America needs now is someone who will place the rights guaranteed to us by our Founders above everything else - something that the President of the United States swears to do from the first moment he or she takes office.

Tonight, I promise you that I will take that oath seriously - just as seriously as I took the oath when I joined our nation’s Navy more than 30 years ago.

America deserves better. That is the belief that brought me to this stage tonight. America deserves better than what it has received for so many years. It deserves better than a White House that turns its back on personal and national security by striking out at our most valued rights, while at the same time ignoring crime. Ignoring that right now, there are people coming into this country with the intention of causing harm to its citizens. Real harm is caused every day by these policies, and it is time that someone stands up to prevent it.

It is shameful. It makes America look weak. We cannot and should not tolerate a country that looks weak - not when there is so much good in it worth fighting for. Since our founding, America has served as a beacon of freedom, of strength. If we abandon that responsibility now, what will we be left with?

As someone who has always been proud to be a member of our military, to be a leader in our nation’s military, I can tell you this - the current administration does not understand what real leadership looks like. The sacrifices and triumphs. The work and thought that goes into every decision, because you know what is at stake if you make the wrong choice. The struggle that comes with being the one to make those calls.

Let me share with you all a story which I have not shared before - what made me decide to pursue this office. In my time spent at the Pentagon, I had the privilege to serve beside a number of extraordinary men and women. One was a young man named Andrew. When I met him in 2015, Andrew was just 34 years old. He had served for several tours in Iraq, and Afghanistan. He had a family - a wife and three children, like me. He was a good husband, father, and friend, and an even better soldier.

[A long pause here; this is difficult]

But Andrew struggled, and he didn’t get the help that he needed. And so in the fall of 2016, Andrew took his own life. I attended his funeral, as I have attended all too many similar funerals. I realized that day, and have never forgotten since, that we can do so much better. We, as a country, failed that young man - and we have been failing ourselves, in a broader sense. It’s time that we change that. I will do everything in my power to change that - for Andrew. For all the men and women who have similarly suffered. For all Americans.

To somewhat paraphrase the immortal words of the great Republican, Abraham Lincoln: ‘It is for us, the living, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought have thus far so nobly advanced. That government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.’ When Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg, he showed that he understood the core of what America is, and what lengths the men and women of this country would go to protect its values.

I am honored to accept this nomination, so that together, we can begin to work toward making America what it can and should be - a government for the people.

To the American people, let me say this - I stand with you. I stand for you. Unlike so many, I have not forgotten what it is like to be one of you.

I was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, one of the greatest cities in this nation’s heartland. My father worked in a factory, a laborer. I don’t claim to be anything more than what I am - a man who came from one of the most typical of American experiences. I swore never to forget my roots, and I have carried that attitude with me for all of my life.

I would not be where I am today without the strength and support of my family.

My parents, who gave me so much from the start. They taught me the value of respect, of hard work, of standing for others before yourself. They taught me to be humble. To stand up for what I believed in.

My sisters - my companions from childhood, who showed me love even when it was hardest.

My wife, who is standing with me tonight, just like she does every night. She has truly been my rock, the person who keeps my grounded, who shares every joy and every hurt with me. I am unbelievably lucky to have her supporting me, and the mission in front of me, with every step she takes, and to have her love as my guiding light.

My children. I can’t begin to explain how deeply proud of them I am, as I have always been. They are grown, now, leading their own lives, participating in their own communities, and I could not love them more.

I am grateful, too, for everyone who supported and believed in this campaign from the start. Every staffer and every donor and every person in this country who took their chance and supported this mission with their time and energy, with their voices and their votes. I will do my absolute best to make you proud, and to carry the torch for all of us.

My fellow Americans, my mission is far from over. Tonight is only the beginning. I vow to you all, right here and right now, that I will do everything within my power to see this through to the end - to fight for this campaign, to fight for this country, and to fight for all of you, every American.

I will use every last bit of my energy to fight for a stronger America. Now, and always.

From the bottom of my heart - thank you, and God bless you.

God bless this great country.

Let’s get to work! Good night.

#2020 campaign;#this is obscenely long #this is the craziest thing i have probably ever done #this took me like an hour and a half to write #i didnt proofread this lets go #self para;#i guess lmao #tw for mentions of suicide and death #brief vague ones but still

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carruechedaily · 6 years ago

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KARRUECHE TRAN: THE SUPER-HUMBLE, SUPER-TALENTED SUPERWOMAN

Karrueche Tran needs no introduction, considering she’s been a household name for those who are into celebrity gossip for nearly a decade. “Hi, it’s Karrueche” is the first thing she says when she calls me from her cell phone, quickly followed by an apology for being like, three minutes behind for our scheduled interview. Important note: In my phone-interview-with-celebrities experiences, 99% of the time their publicist is making the perpetually late call, lifelessly greeting me verbatim with “I have [insert celebrity here] on the line.” Annoyingly often the publicist will require that I submit questions in advance for approval, which I do. When I throw in non-approved questions during the actual chat, the celeb offers a nervous, meh-media-trained response—that is, if the publicist, who has been listening to our conversation in an intense manner on mute all along, doesn’t interrupt and shut that shit down. That is not at all the case with Los Angeles born-and-raised Karrueche Tran. Whew! She actually wanted to talk, and was enthusiastic, humble, and filter-fucking-free during our nearly 40-MINUTE conversation. The 30-year-old was just finishing up at a gym in New Orleans, where she’s currently filming season three of Claws. Tran acts opposite the perma-fantastic Niecy Nash in the psychotically amazing, women-led (both on and behind the camera) dramedy that’s been described as Steel Magnolias meets Breaking Bad. In short, Claws is about five fierce manicurists who work at a nail salon in Manatee County, Florida and find themselves laundering money from a strip mall pill clinic in hopes for a bigger, better life. Tran nails it (sorry, had to) as Virginia, an unapologetically-herself ex-stripper. Her scene-stealing one-liners are simply everything: Virginia’s response to “Does it always have to be about you?” is “Uh yes, girl. I’m a millennial.” Tran has been immaculately executing the okurrr as Virginia long before Cardi B trademarked the phrase, and her maximalist, millennial-pink-heavy, Cher Horowitz-rivaling numbers—which, in the forthcoming season, will include a bedazzled eye-patch as a, spoiler alert!, style choice due to Virginia taking a bullet in the season two finale—are unrivaled. Thrown involuntarily into the scrutinizing spotlight in her early twenties for reasons that we won’t entertain mentioning, the then-mysterious Tran could have used the frantic fascination around her for a career in reality television and Flat Tummy Tea-sponsored Instagram posts. But “As if!” to promoting the aforementioned laxative, which is clear to her 8+ million Instagram followers, where she’s very open about her body image struggles, self-acceptance, and self-love. Tran talked in detail with me about that and so much more, including her thoughts re: her wild journey, from those damn TMZ headlines to her breakout role on TNT. Forgive me, but the slogan from the early-2000s MTV program, Diary, came to my millennial mind after we said goodbye: “You think you know but you have no idea.” Below, Tran introduces the (very) real her—the girl who once worked at a boutique on Robertson Boulevard and who dreams of starring in a box office blockbuster. She’s definitely got what it takes, and I, like so many others, will forever root for (a.k.a. stan) this super-humble, super-talented superwoman. You’ve been very open about your body image struggles, self-acceptance, and self-love. When did you become comfortable with your body? “

It took me a long time to be comfortable with who I am. Especially with my previous relationships or just with men in general, I knew what they liked and I knew that I would never be that because I’m a small, petite person. I think curvy women are beautiful, and I would love to have that, but that’s not how I was created. It took awhile for me to realize This is how you were born. This is how God made you. If you want anything close to it, then you need to work for it in a natural way. That’s why I workout—I don’t workout to stay thin. I workout to stay fit and healthy, but to also build muscle.” So many women can relate, and I’m sure so many consider you a role model. “That’s why I try to be very vocal. There are a lot of girls out there who are having the same problems as me. They’re always told, ‘Oh, you’re so small. You’re so tiny. You’re so cute and little.’ It’s like, Shut the fuck up. I’m 30 years old and I can pass for a 15 year old, which is a blessing because I look young, but it’s like, I’m a grown woman and I want to be treated as such. For me, and for a lot of people, having a butt and boobs signifies being a woman. It is hard, but I’ve learned to work around it and accept who I am—and keep doing my squats!”

I just have to say, you’re perfect. I’m not being creepy—I’m gay! “

Heyyy!”

Heyyy! By the way, you and your boyfriend make such a cute couple.

“Thank you. He makes me feel very comfortable with who I am, which is great because it makes me feel more confident and reassured that he cares and loves me. It’s really great to have that support from him.”

You’ve been in the public eye for almost a decade, but 2017 was the year you had your breakout role as Virginia in TNT’s Claws. Was it difficult to make it in the acting world?

“My story is quite interesting. The way I was first introduced to the world was from my past relationship that was obviously very public—that’s how a lot of people knew of me and recognized me. I do remember one time very early on in my career when I first started going to auditions. The casting director was like, ‘What do I know you from? Your name sounds so familiar… Oh yeah! I’ve seen you on TMZ.’ At that time, there was still so much press I was dealing with. I was like, Oh lord, I can only imagine what this woman has seen or heard about or read about me, which may or may not be true. And I was like, Fuck, that’s not the best first impression—being the girl on TMZ that has this relationship drama or whatever the fuck it was at the time. “When I made the decision to be an actor, I wanted to be taken very seriously. I had a lot of opportunities to do reality television and make big money, but it just didn’t feel right. I really wanted to have some sort of longevity in a career. I didn’t wanna bullshit around just to make money—I believe in doing things that I actually stand for.”

Can you tell me more about your acting journey leading up to this breakout role in Claws?

“I had a very, very small role in a horror film. I had like one line and I was very nervous, but from there, I was intrigued. I worked hard and took a lot of group classes where I could break out of my shell and not be so embarrassed around other people. With acting, you have to be vulnerable. “Once I was in those classes, that’s when I booked Claws. In between that time, I had done a lot of different shows and low budget, independent films. But Claws was the biggest production. So I went right back into classes, because if I’m on a show with Niecy Nash, Carrie Preston, Jenn Lyon, Judy Reyes, Harold Perrineau…all of these amazing, experienced, well-known actors, I’m like, Look, I’m not gonna be looking like the new girl! [Laughs] Going into it, I made sure to study with my coach and just really focus. I’m 30; I don’t have time to fuck around and just figure things out. It’s pivotal for me to focus on something that I love and to just keep working at it and perfecting my craft.”

You’ve been famous since your early twenties, but I’ve never seen photos of you stumbling out of the club or anything wild. How have you dealt with “the fame?”

“It’s weird, because I just see myself as being Karrueche from LA. Before I was introduced to the world in a very public way, I had jobs, I was hustling, I was figuring my life out. This journey that I’ve gone on…sometimes I think about it and I’m still mind blown. I was once working at a boutique on Robertson and now I’m on a TV show. “But I try not to think about it too much and let it consume my mind. I never want to change who I am because I’m famous now. I don’t believe in that; I believe in being true to who I am and adjusting to this new life, but still being humble and genuine. I’m lucky to have a great family and I still have friends that I’ve known since middle school and high school. It’s a blessing. My friends and my family are my foundation.”

Let’s talk about fashion. You pumped down the catwalk for The Blonds’ New York Fashion Week show. How was that experience?

“It was a lot of fun. I was so nervous. I’ve always been intrigued by runway models because they’re just beautiful, tall, lean, confident, and strong, and I never thought I could ever model because they’re at least 5’9”. I’m 5’1”! I was like, Oh my God, I feel like a little shrimp right now! But it was a great experience; I had fun. I don’t know if I’d do it again because I was just so nervous and in my own head, but it was a great time and I love David and Phillipe [Blond]. I appreciate them having me be a part of their show.” Well, Lil’ Kim has to be shorter than you, and she strutted down the runway and shut it down! “Oh. My. God. Yeah, she was so dope and her energy! She came out and I was like, Oh shit!”

Now for some random questions. If you could spend a few months anywhere in the world, where would it be?

“If I could spend a few months in New York and work during the summertime, I would love that. For a year, I would love to live in Jamaica or Turks and Caicos or Belize. Somewhere very tropical. This is my retirement goal.”

That should have been the question! Where do you see yourself when you retire?

“Living somewhere very tropical, owning a jerk chicken shack where I’m cooking the food myself. And I’m super tan, smoking weed, and in a great mood. I’ve been to all these places and I was like, I see myself here. Everyone is so nice and the energy is so good. I could live there forever and be content.”

If you could wear only one designer for the rest of your life, who would you want it to be?

“Oh, shit…I would probably say anything that Virgil [Abloh] makes. He is so talented and he is dominating the world right now. Killing it. I would wear anything that man put on me.”

And if you could raid anyone’s closet and steal their shit, whose would it be?

“Do you know who Aleali May is? She can pull anything off and she’s just really dope. I would love to be able to wear all her clothes. And she’s also from LA!” How would you describe your personal style in a few words? “Crazy, sexy, cool petite panache.” And sorry, the question that everyone asks: Where do you wanna be in five years?

“In five years, I want to be on the beach. No, I’m just kidding! In five years…it’s kind of around the corner. Time flies.”

It sure as shit does.

“I would love to be continuing on this path of growth and success and self-love. Just taking care of myself. I’d also love to be in a couple of huge box office movies.”

I can totally see you playing a superhero.

“Oh my gosh! I don’t know what it freaking is, but you might be the 20th person that has said that recently. I would love to as well. That is the fucking dream role. I’m knocking on some wood right now that hopefully that comes true one day.” Karrueche wears dress by The Dolls House, headpiece from Century Girl Vintage, shoes by Manolo Blahnik

I can see it now. The new Storm and/or the new Catwoman…

“Oh, fuck yeah! Hopefully in a few years! [Laughs]”

Is there any actor you would die to work with?

“Halle Berry!”

Who has played both Catwoman and Storm…!

“Mm-hmm! That’s why I laughed when you said that. I see so much of my character Virginia with her character from the movie B*A*P*S.”

Speaking of Virginia, how did you prepare to play her? Where did you find your inspiration to bring her to life?

“Well, because Virginia came from the strip club, before we started shooting, I stayed in Atlanta for a week. They’re huge on their strip clubs! I went to the strip club daytime and nighttime and studied the girls, their movements, the way they looked at other strippers, the way they looked at customers, and the men that were there. I was trying to envision myself as one of them, which I think helped a lot for figuring out Virginia’s mindset.”

Virginia’s been through a lot, and the show doesn’t shy away from it, like when she chooses to have an abortion and must confront the pro-life protesters.

“A lot of shows would shy away from it or are too afraid to acknowledge that topic because it might be sensitive. But we’re bringing light to reality and to things a lot of women go through. It’s very empowering for us to relay a storyline that’s not always talked about that people can relate to and connect with. That’s why I love this show.”

#Karrueche #Karrueche Tran

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princepestilence · 7 years ago

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2017′s “worth it” things.

I don’t believe that everything happens for a reason, but I do believe that we can learn a lesson from anything. We can give a meaning and a purpose to anything that happens to us, which means even difficult or terrible things might become a catalyst for great and important growth. There’s a saying that god--or whoever we’re blaming for all this--never gives us more than we can handle, but what I believe is that, throughout our lives, we will be faced with moments that again and again will ask too much of us and we have no choice but to rise to the challenge, despite how impossible and insurmountable it might feel. We handle it because that is the only option, and perhaps that proves god right, after all.

Ruminating on this philosophy has been part of my process for making 2017 bearable in the moments where it felt like it was really a bit much, and for a year that was unexpectedly, and at times frighteningly, more difficult than I had anticipated, I think it was necessary for me to have a slightly fatalistic bend to getting through it. What is is what must be. Looking back, I can appreciate that the steep climb of this year was taking me to a better view of myself and life in general. Just as in any decent garden, I can see now how the green and growing things I’m here to cultivate benefit from all the old bodies in the dirt.

Here’s some things that made this year meaningful for me:

I’m very proud of my academic successes throughout 2017, partly because there have been so many of them and partly because I wouldn’t have been able to actually imagine any of them even two years ago. I went from awkward, anxious first-year PhD candidate to HDR rep., organiser of several events (HDR symposium, conference, book club), became a tutor for the first time (and got nice feedback from my students), gave my first guest lecture, got work as a research assistant (for someone who isn’t even my supervisor! I was selected because I am, humbly, very good), gave my first conference paper, went to a conference--two, actually--as an academic for the first time and had the most excellent time at both of them, met several important-in-the-field academics and got on with them pretty well, found my people! (started networking for serious--i.e., made a whole heap of new nerd friends), discovered possibilities for my future career as well as got a lot of positive support re: trying for an academic career, became reinvigorated about my research and my thesis and remembered the whole point of this process is to create something that I love and am proud of. I feel more capable than ever.

I bombed the 3MT this year. That was the worst thing that could happen at the time, but frankly, it’s only made me want to do better next year. I’m good at this and I want to be known for being good at it. I am fully capable of winning, if only I can get my nerves in check. Next year when I go for it, I’m going to be ready. I’m going to look back on this year’s failure as the last time it happened to me, before I became the (exceedingly good) version of me I will be by next year and all years after.

I played Bastion for the first time (finally!) and absolutely adored it. It’s lighted in me a fire that reminds me that I actually do like to have fun and I deserve to seek out things--games, books, movies, whatever--that bring me delight and experience pleasure for the sake of pleasure, without having to have some justification behind it or bigger picture purpose for enjoying life.

I made up with a friend I care about very much. I was devastated when I thought it was over, especially since nearly all of my favourite memories of the previous year were with this friend (and our other mutual friend). Figuring out it was all an enormous misunderstanding was the hugest relief. Acting like little kids and saying, “Do you still want to be my friend?” to each other and hearing yes was even better. This year had been lonely without her.

near the beginning of this year, I shared recordings for the first time ever on this blog, which was a really big deal for me at the time. I’ve always been self-conscious of how I sound, which really clashes with my life-long dream (started when I was about five) of doing audiobook recordings or poetry readings or any kind of audio medium work. I’ve gotten more confident since then--confident enough to seriously work on a new project idea that was suggested by a friend/producer a couple of months back. (I’m not saying it’s a podcast, but. It’s a podcast. I’m very excited about the prospect).

I discovered a lot about myself this year. Most of it, unexpectedly. Much of it, difficult to work through and a struggle to accept. I thought I’d gotten through the worst of it all and was already on the other side, with only blue skies ahead; instead, I found out that, often, when you’ve been through a lot and years ago put all the pain aside to deal with later, the later comes when you finally reach a certain state of stability, safety, and happiness, regardless of whether you want it to happen then or not. You can’t delay it indefinitely, it turns out. It was confusing and upsetting to begin with, while I tried to understand why being happier than ever caused every hateful, hurtful demon to rise up, writhing, out of the past and into my everyday life. It seemed counter-intuitive and deeply unfair that the reason for crashing so spectacularly, repeatedly, was the absence of truly terrible things. There’s a lot more that could be said about this part of my year, which in many ways feels like the biggest and most central theme of it and the underlying purpose of 2017′s narrative arc, but the reason it’s here as a good thing is that I am so much better for having gone through it. I have never been healthier: I had some of the most meaningful, necessary conversations with my therapist ever (probably the most, actually); I finally gathered all the bits of the puzzle I’ve needed to put myself back together again, better; I am more willing than ever to actually look at, to acknowledge, to speak about how I feel, what I’ve lived through, what I’m dealing with; and I’ve learned how to reverse a curse rather than keep hexing myself on someone else’s behalf. This year has been like pouring cold water on a burn.

at the beginning of this year, I made a resolution to use the nice things I have, and get nice things for myself when I want them. My exact words were, “If using things will ruin them, they deserve to be ruined by you. That’s an honour. They’re lucky. Love yourself the most.” This has been my favourite resolution of the year, I think. Because of it, I’ve lit candles around my bath, and worn my favourite belt, and written in lovely journals, and drank from teacups I was once too precious to risk using for anything less than the most grand of occasions (which almost never happened). It’s becoming a way of life now.

got my heart broken for the first time. I know that’s probably an odd thing to put on the highlights reel of my year, but. In one way, it’s nice to be participating in my own life in such a normal, banal, real sense: it feels like a rite of passage that somehow I missed earlier. It feels mortal, something I can share with nearly every other person who has ever lived or will ever live. (Now I know I have a heart, says the tin woodsman, because it’s breaking). From a distance, watching myself, I even kind of like it? It’s a new experience, which comes with its own sort of thrill. I’ll write a better heartbreak story from here on for having known this. In another sense, it’s been freeing, because before was without doubt worse for me, and I know it’s for the best that things change. Something else can happen now. I’m hoping someone who can return my feelings will walk into my life eventually. Soon would be nice, of course, but I can wait. It might take a few more heartbreaks between now and then, but that’s okay. This first one was good practice for the future. (I can’t think of anyone I’d have rather been heartbroken over. Thank you).

a slam poet called Bill Moran changed my future. That is to say: I saw him perform and it was a revelation. He turned my life into before and after, where before I was hungry and lonely and after I had found the missing piece I’d been looking for but couldn’t name or describe. The slam has become something of a religion for me since then; being in the room while poets tell their stories is the closest thing I’ve ever experienced to something genuinely holy. I’ve never felt more okay than when someone is onstage, furious and miserable and spitting bits of hurt onto the audience in these beautiful, pithy verses and everyone is clicking, clicking, clicking. (I spoke to Bill Moran, right before he left. We hugged. I think meeting was meaningful for both of us).

started growing my hair out. I’ve sort of dreamed about doing it for years, but could never commit. I want to be able to wear it in a plait one day, although I’m not sure why that’s my goal. I’ve just always had this longing.

#2017 resolutions #not a sonnet

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chokobananya · 7 years ago

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(Translation) B-PASS - January 2016 OLDCODEX (Interview 1, Part One)

PLEASE READ Reposting Guidelines HERE. I do my translations for free and the payment I only expect is PROPER CREDITS.

Disclaimers for this interview:

-This interview is probably the longest interview that I’ve translated. This is the first interview of the band in this issue. There is a second interview and a Q&A remaining which will be translated soon.

-They used a lot of figurative speech in this interview. Expect to have a lot of Translator Notes (T/N) every time.

-They call their fans, “Audience” so I quote the word “Audience” if they refer to the fans and type the usual one as audience for the people who are not necessarily fans but went to their live performances.

-This is INTERVIEW 1, but I will be posting this in two parts because it is very long.

Interview 1: The Scenery which only the two of them sees, and a talk about the past experiences which have made them to be what they are now (Part One of Two)

Q: This is the first time that you have been featured in a music magazine. Your ZEPP tour was sold out in various places, your second 2-day Budoukan live has been announced, and your overseas performance has also been confirmed. Have you ever imagined coming this far?

Ta_2: We were only in a free [news] paper before but it’s the first time to be in a music magazine.

YORKE: Ever since Ta_2 has invited me to become a member of OLDCODEX back in November 2011, I had a vague feeling that this band will grow. We have come together and now we are able to naturally accept it even if our scale gets bigger.

Ta_2: The fact that we notice how our band activities increase makes me really happy. Being interviewed like this probably gives us the same feelings when we perform during live concerts. Whether there are a lot of “Audience” or not, I seriously do my best. No matter how this interview is handled, I want to send my message off. Speech and music are as infectious as viruses. Being in this situation [interview] is now amazing because I came along with my partner and we never thought that we’ll do this kind of thing. In some degree, it is mysterious that we are able to do it excitedly as time passes by. I have various troubles but I move forward without giving up.

Q: In a good way, the relaxed feeling is certainly missing. Have you ever had thoughts about your band growing within a short amount of time?

Ta_2: We were able to accept it. It’s a big change and it’s lucky to be in this position at this period. We make songs, YORKE writes the lyrics and I shout these lyrics (T/N: Tatsu used the actual word, “SHOUT” in English). Then, we release the CD. The one-man live isn’t only a home ground but it’s more of an event. We were given opportunities to perform in venues where people do not know us. We slowly received the stimulation from those audience and unintentionally, we were able to get their attention hence, the good vibes during the performance. Even though we knew how careful we were during the performance, somewhere, we were still trying to humble ourselves by being conscious of our performances, mistake-free or not. This has made us continue walking step by step to the path that we’ve been to without making mistakes. Until now, I’ve always let my right hand and my right leg out at the same time. Now, I was able to know which limbs I should put out (laughs). (T/N: This was the literal translation of what he said in the interview. Probably he was being figurative about this in relation to the previous sentence regarding walking to the path). I don’t know why, but I can see myself knowing how to properly walk in the path which I’m heading to in the future.

YORKE: Personally, I’ve changed especially the way I perceived things. Before, Ta_2 was afraid of becoming big. I thought it would be okay if we would become big but now that it is actually happening, I encounter various problems. If you get conceited, you’ll get humiliated. If you get full of yourself, you’ll become envious. The increase of problems has made me face them well and I really appreciate it. If the light gets stronger, the shadow gets darker, right? Being a band is the same. When you see a strong shadow, you tend to be negative, but on the contrary it makes me want to catch the stronger light more. Furthermore, what I would like to happen is for the staffs around us and the band members to see more of us (OLDCODEX). It different from a responsibility for me but I am looking forward for this to happen.

Q: Is this for you to become more suited of the band?

YORKE: There are a lot of topics that are given for you to become as such. It makes you feel excited in spite of this age. We shouldn’t go backwards.

Q: Without being conscious about it, is your shadow being pulled rather than the light?

YORKE: Yes, that’s how it is. That’s why I never had an attitude of “It’s okay since I’m still young.” Because of this, I was able to endure various things.

Ta_2: Ever since I met YORKE, he has always spent his time on his responsibilities on stage every day. Rather than wasting his time, he often let everything inside him. This is why I think that I have to know how to live in a film-like situation.

Q: When you talk about “film”, are you talking about photographic film?

Ta_2: It’s film as in the movie. No matter when they will cut the movie, it always looks amazing. At the end of the film, one will always feel how stronger this person gets thinking, “I’m standing here”—a kind of thinking that happens no matter how big or dark the shadow will be.

YORKE: As soon as we get on the stage, we’ll eventually know the meaning of yesterday as well as the day before it. That means, we still need to reevaluate our performance from the day before yesterday and yesterday. We have to prepare every day. Since the spotlight is starting to become brighter, there will be times that Ta_2 and I glow on stage. It is only the two of us who understand when shadows get darker. Hence, it is something that we face by ourselves.

Q: From which point did you start to feel your shadows getting darker?

YORKE: Ta_2 said that he’s been noticing it for a long time now. Although, I’ve only noticed it recently.

Ta_2: In the beginning, comments about our improvement have started to surface. Because of that, I became cautious.

YORKE: I clearly remember how Ta_2 got somehow irritated at that time. I thought that this is something that is inevitable yet the things we have been doing all this time remain constant. However, there will be some things that will surely change. For example, the style has changed from five years ago when I entered. In spite of this, the things that we are sending to the audience are becoming more powerful.

Q: Is Ta_2 aware of the success in the music scene whenever he holds the microphone?

Ta_2: I wasn’t aware at all. I thought we’ll be able to spread our music even though we are no different from other bands. Looking back, there were negative criticisms directed to us and it was in order to crush our music. Until now, I still think about it seriously (laughs). It was worse when I first started, but I was able to learn things in this scene. Somehow, I was able to realize that there are ways to succeed here (laughs). At first, I was alone. Then, I was able to encounter a good partner, band members, staff, and the “Audience”. There are good people who surround me and are connected through music.

Recently, I have moments of how I’ve always wanted to be in a band from the beginning. When everyone is recording, when everyone is performing, when everyone is checking the equipment and rehearsing—it’s the kind of scenery which I couldn’t describe in words. There’s a different feeling in spite of being satisfied. It’s as if I was able to have a grasp of something that is good and I like that kind of feeling.

Q: Was the decision to make YORKE as a member went smoothly? Having a member who is a painter at the same is a challenge, and the fact that working as a painter/artist will be different compared when you were focused on it alone. Were you able to prepare for it?

YORKE: Since I was thinking what kind of contribution I shall make to the band, it took me a while to decide. I wanted to protect my identity while being a member of OLDCODEX. That is something I never had in my life as I was always alone in doing something. However, I was prepared when I entered the band. Actually, I haven’t done any expressive activities recently outside OLDCODEX. In spite of this, I never imagined myself doing something alone within five years that’s why I wanted to go ahead with OLDCODEX. Because of my friends, I was able to change my mind and was able to believe in the things which I could do.

Part Two HERE.

#鈴木達央 #suzuki tatsuhisa #yorke #oldcodex #magazine #translations: chokobananya #seiyuu #声優

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thecooksjournal · 5 years ago

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Dining with the Dragon

“Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity”

Voltaire

Hong Kong takes the subject of its food extremely seriously. There is no other place in the world quite so passionate about good food and the experience of dining. Food is viewed as much more than a practical solution for a hungry stomach, it is regarded as a way to bring friends and family together for a social occasion. Dining out for Hong Kongers is a pretty common occurrence, mainly because eating at home can often be a pretty cramped affair and almost impossible for large families. Housing space is at a premium throughout Hong Kong with new construction constantly going upwards rather than outwards producing an abundance of smaller compact apartments. The Kwun Tong area of Kowloon as an example is reputed to be one of the most crowded places in the world with in excess of 54,000 people living and working in a square kilometre. Just take a walk around Kowloon along Canton Road or Nathan Road and you will soon become aware just how densely populated this area is.

The hilly terrain of the main island makes housing development very difficult, so the only way to build on suitable sites is upwards. The vast majority of accommodation is in small high-rise apartments with some of the smallest kitchen spaces ever created. Imagine trying to cook a meal for your family and friends in an area the size of a small bathroom and you will know why so many families relish the opportunity to eat out. This means a large family meal can often become a regular occurrence and with over 6,000 eating establishments to choose from it is unlikely that anyone will ever go hungry. It is this freedom of choice that keeps the quality of restaurant food in Hong Kong consistently high and the prices down, because if an establishment is not good and does not provide the service or the food that customers want it will not survive long. The restaurant business can be exceptionally ruthless for the unwary but in the end if you offer a good product at a price that pleases your diners then you will do well.

Meals are very noisy occasions as it is a chance to catch up with the latest news from family and friends. The atmosphere is generally informal with everyone welcome to share the table and the food. There are several traditions and superstitions surrounding dining, which I will tell you about later but generally dining is a relaxed affair. For the Cantonese good food and good conversation make a great meal and in Hong Kong there is always enough of both to go round. As a nation the Chinese are very wary of strangers at first but prove yourself friendly and honourable and you will find that without exception they are embarrassingly generous hosts at mealtimes. A friendly smile and an offer to yum cha means you are highly regarded and welcome to eat at their table. Yum cha literally means to ‘drink tea’ but it also implies to eat well while drinking tea. Traditionally yum cha is associated with the Cantonese speciality of Dim Sum (more on that later) but nowadays it is applied to any meal.

If you are lucky enough to get an invite to dine with the locals it is really the best way to appreciate the food and culture of a very friendly and family orientated society. Cantonese meals are often very noisy affairs with the most popular restaurants nearly full to bursting point. Food really brings the people together with being part of the meal regarded as an honour. Strangely to Westerners the biggest honour is to be the host and the one to pay the bill. It is often quite comical to see the lengths people will go to, and the friendly arguments that ensue over who has the honour of paying the bill. I am sure that is one tradition that we won’t see adopted in the UK!

The cuisine of Hong Kong is rich and varied with influences that come from all over the world. Eastern and Western ingredients combine in dishes that are perfectly balanced creations that excite all your senses at once. Asian people in general are not overly concerned with the nutritional aspects of food but despite this they enjoy a diet that is in most cases extremely healthy with instances of obesity and high blood pressure remarkably low when compared to Western society. Food for the average Asian is not just about taste; it must be enjoyed by your eyes and your nose as well as your palette. In Hong Kong there isn’t one individual dish that captures the essence of the local cuisine; it is just that everything is done so well. The secret of Hong Kong’s culinary success is that it takes only the best of everything and adapts it to meet the demands of the customer. Situated in the heart of Asia obviously the Asian influence is predominant but look closely and you can find almost any meal you can think of within the confines of the island. If your preference is Asian, Mediterranean, African or American fast food there are restaurants to suit you. In fact you could eat every day for a month in a different restaurant serving a different type of cuisine without a problem.

The Chinese influence is everywhere embracing a cuisine which has evolved over the course of several thousand years. Chinese food is traditionally about sharing and making a little go a long way with very little if any waste. Most food items are cut into small portions and cooked quickly to seal in the flavour and retain the natural freshness. Stir-frying, deep-frying and steaming are the most popular cooking methods with the philosophy being to bring the flavour out of the freshest ingredients without compromising the integrity of the food. There is an old saying that says ‘the only four-legged thing that the Cantonese people won’t eat is a table and the only thing that flies they won’t eat is an aeroplane!’ Hong Kong actually consumes more protein per person then any other region in the world, which is quite staggering really for what, is essentially a small island. Nothing is ever wasted and scraps for the dog’s bowl are in short supply because if it is edible they will find a way to cook it. Some of the best meals I have eaten have involved things like feet and entrails, items that would be thrown away in the vast majority of restaurants in the UK.

The best known cuisine of the region is unsurprisingly Cantonese which traditionally uses ingredients that are purchased and prepared for eating on the same day. Cantonese cuisine is one of the most widely known and loved of the regional cuisines, so much so that the Chinese proudly declare that ‘Eating is in Canton’. Cantonese dishes tend to be on the mild side using a simple combination of spices that do not overpower the delicate flavours of this style of cuisine. Garlic, ginger and spring onions are the staples in many dishes along with rice wine, sugar and soy sauce, lightly thickened by the addition of a little cornstarch. Light seasoning is the key with the Cantonese people believing that the freshest fish and meat needs no further embellishment other than the simplest ingredients to make a truly good meal. Highly spiced and over seasoned dishes are treated with distrust and suspicion, as it is believed that the chef is hiding something about the freshness of his produce beneath the spices.

The one exception to fresh ingredients comes with the Cantonese love of preserved foods, which are often preferred to their fresh counterparts because of their more intense flavours and interesting textures. Items such as salted dried meats, black mushroom, abalone, shrimp and scallop are all much sought after dried produce. One of the most popular dried ingredients is fish maw, which is used extensively as a flavouring agent. It is actually the dried stomach lining or air bladder (sometimes called swim bladder) of a large fish most commonly the conger pike. It is used predominantly for texture as it has no strong taste and will readily absorb the flavours of any dish it is used in. It is most often dried and then deep fried to make it puff and expand. The drying process really intensifies the little flavour it has and gives it a much longer shelf life. They are usually soaked in water prior to cooking to re-hydrate them and then cooked in a soup or stock over a long period.

The slow cooked soup is a speciality of Cantonese cuisine; it is usually a clear broth which uses any available meat or vegetables often combining fresh and preserved foods which are simmered for up to 8 hours to produce a liquor that retains all the essence and flavour of the ingredients. It was at one time regarded as a staple part of the Cantonese diet but because of today’s busy life style and the long cooking time it is more common in the restaurant than in the home. Quite often Chinese herbal medicines are added to the pot so families use it as a dish to help you recuperate from illness. Chicken soup is regaled across the world for its medicinal qualities and according to food historians even in Ancient Egypt it was frequently prescribed as a cure for the common cold. In today’s society the humble chicken soup is often given the nickname of Jewish penicillin because of its restorative merits. While in China a slow cooked soup is regarded as the basis of all good marriages with Cantonese women in particular believing that ‘cooking a good soup is the way to win a man’s heart’.

Rice is a staple food of the Cantonese and of all of the regional Chinese cuisines and as such is regarded as an extremely important part of the average Asian diet. Half of the world's population actually live on a staple diet of rice and it may be compared to the importance of the potato or pasta within a Western diet. White or polished rice is the type most frequently eaten, with the Vitamin B rich brown rice traditionally associated as a staple food of the lower classes. Southern China including Hong Kong consumes by far the largest amount of rice while the north consumes more noodles. Every grain of rice is regarded as important as a single grain is a symbol of the toil and labour in the struggle for survival in life. It is believed that one grain of rice on its own may appear insignificant but join it with others and it can feed a nation.

In Cantonese cuisine rice is regarded as the unifier of the table adding harmonious balance to any meal. Long grain rice is most commonly used throughout the homes and restaurants in Hong Kong although short grain, sweet and jasmine rice are also used. Cooking rice was once regarded as a delicate art with skilled chefs stirring bubbling pots for hours over open charcoal fires. Nowadays most restaurants and families possess an electric rice cooker which has simplified the process somewhat. The rice is religiously washed to remove any sediment left from the polishing until the water runs clean. It is then placed into the rice cooker and covered with fresh clean water up to a depth of the first knuckle on the index finger. Then the rice is covered and the rice cooker takes over and produces that clean fluffy rice that is so indicative of the region.

My favourite Cantonese rice dish has to be Congee or Juk as it is also known locally. It is a traditional rice porridge eaten in many Asian countries but particularly famous in Hong Kong where it is served throughout the day. Congee is traditionally a breakfast dish made by simmering a flavoured broth and rice in a 12:1 ratio for over an hour until the starch breaks down and produces a thick viscous porridge. Ginger, spring onions, shredded lettuce, peanuts and bamboo shoots are sometimes added along with minced beef or fish. Sometimes a sweet version is made by adding red beans and sugar making a delicious sweeter alternative. Congee can be eaten thick like Western porridge or as a thinner broth served in earthenware dishes which retain the heat very well. The Japanese produce their own version of Congee which they call Okayu. It differs from its Cantonese version in that it uses less water and is cooked for only thirty minutes. Miso stock, light seasoning and maybe salmon, fish roe and beaten eggs are commonly added.

To produce the best Congee the rice must be constantly stirred, while cooking slowly so that the rice is not allowed to stick and burn. Nowadays the modern rice cookers take a lot of the strain out of cooking Congee with some even having a separate Congee setting allowing the cooking to be done overnight. The resulting porridge is often eaten at breakfast the next day with a youtiao which is a long golden brown fried breadstick often called yau ja gwai, which literally translated means ‘oil-fried devil’. Youtiao are lightly salted and produced so that they can be torn apart lengthwise into two strips. The strips are said to represent a corrupt Song Dynasty official, Qin Hui and his wife who plotted against General Yue Fei who was a much respected symbol of patriotism in China. Tearing the bread became an act of contempt towards the couple and symbolic of pulling them apart. Congee nowadays is eaten throughout the day and is often the first food served to Asian infants as they progress from milk to solid foods.

Noodles are another significant staple food that has an elevated status in Cantonese cuisine. They are found in various shapes and sizes and are much loved because they are cheap, nutritious and can be stored for a long period of time. Marco Polo was credited with introducing the noodle to Italy in 1295 but it is thought to have originated in China as early as 25 CE during the days of the East Han dynasty. The Cantonese word for noodle is mein familiar to most Westerners from the most famous Cantonese stir fried noodle dish chow mein. Noodles can be served at any time of the day but are particularly sought after on special occasions such as birthdays and New Year. The length of the noodle signifies longevity and as such it is considered bad luck to break or cut the noodles. This is why it is quite common to see people noisily slurping long noodles out of bowls in restaurants.

The types of noodles used are numerous ranging from egg and wheat noodles to rice and mung bean noodles. Rice noodles or bijon are often referred to as glass noodles as they are translucent and glass like in appearance. They are most commonly eaten as flat noodles resembling Italian tagliatelle, whereas egg noodles are most often served in the shape of thin spaghetti. The wheat noodle is frequently used in a Cantonese speciality called lo mein or stirred noodles. Eaten outside Hong Kong this is often a dish with carrots, bok choy (Chinese cabbage), spring onions, and pork, beef or chicken stir fried in a soy sauce, sugar and corn starch broth. Eaten in Hong Kong lo mein will often be served with the noodles and broth separate giving the diner the option to drink the broth, dip the noodles or mix according to taste. There is no right or wrong way it is just personal preference and you will undoubtedly see many people eating the same dish in different ways.

In Cantonese the word yu means fish but also plenty and abundance so it is no real surprise that fish and seafood form the basis of numerous dishes. The preference is to steam the fish whole with freshness the key, so fresh in fact that many restaurants have tanks with live fish to ensure the freshest supply. Even filleted fish lying on ice at the wet markets are often so fresh and skilfully filleted that you can see the heart still attached and beating, now that is fresh! One of the most popular fish in Hong Kong is the Grouper which is a member of the sea bass family well loved for its lean firm flesh. It is most often brought in from Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia and the Philippines in huge quantities. Prawns, mussels, crayfish, lobster are also frequently used along with abalone which is a highly sought after mollusc very reminiscent of scallop.

One of the most famous ways to try Cantonese food is through the dai pai dong food stalls once hugely popular over the whole of Hong Kong. Dai pai dong means literally ‘big licence food stall’ a reference to the large operating licence that was required to operate legally. Nowadays the government no longer issues licences as the dai pai dong is viewed as unhygienic. Current licence holders can pass the licences down to their children but not to future generations so their outlook is not secure. In essence a dai pai dong is an open air or street food stall selling a wide variety of cheap everyday dishes at low prices. They may not be the cleanest of places but if you are sensible and eat where you can see the locals eating you can’t go wrong. I have been eating at them for many years and have never had any problems. If you want to appreciate the real taste of Hong Kong then these are your boys and all for a few dollars at the most.

Traditionally the original dai pai dongs were mobile handcarts, which moved location to find the crowds and then moved again to avoid the police. Nowadays a few handcarts can be found but the majority have semi-permanent stalls, which remain fixed in the same location. Try visiting Stanley Street, Gage Street, Mee Lun Street, Gutzlaff Street, or Elgin Street in Central or Ki Lung Street, Shek Kip Mei Street or Yiu Tung Street in Sham Shui Po for a nostalgic trip back to Hong Kong’s past. The Temple Street night market in Kowloon is famous for its food stalls as well as the usual shopping bargains and the dai pai dongs here are some of the best around. There is a permanent dai pai dong at 429 Lockhart Road, one on Tin Lok Lane in Wanchai near the crossroads and another in Times Square. These last two are my favourites selling the one thing that I crave whenever I visit Hong Kong. It is the legendary Egg Roll or dan zai, as it is known locally, a sweet pancake like waffle, which is absolutely delicious. A batter like mixture is poured into a hot waffle iron and cooked until golden brown and even the smell is enough to make you hungry. The finished dan zai looks like a sheet of the bubble wrap used to pack fragile goods but made out of pancake. Luckily that is where the similarity ends, as it is an almond flavoured crispy bite of heaven and one that has to be tried at least once. On numerous occasions I have brought one to take back to my apartment but the combination of the tempting warmth issuing from the brown paper bag it is served in and the delicious aroma has meant that I have never once got one back in one piece.

Typical fare at these stalls are rice, noodles, congee, fish ball curry, roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes, siu mei (roast meats), steamed fish and shellfish but generally it varies from stall to stall so it is advisable to look around. Some are full blown restaurants with patio chair style seating while others are just small stalls selling snacks like the ones in Tin Lok Lane and Times Square. Try the octopus tentacles on a stick, the bright orange pig intestines, a pot of steamed clams or even the local favourite a slice of toast smeared with condensed milk and you will have experienced a part of Hong Kong’s historic past and sadly one that is fast disappearing.

No so long ago dai pai dongs were hugely popular so much so that they were often the cause of huge congestion and traffic problems, nowadays they are becoming less common with only 29 retaining the original big licence. In the early part of the twentieth-century unlicensed food stalls were found all around Happy Valley near the famous racecourse with a large concentration residing along the old Wong Nai Chung Road. It is rumoured that the great fire at the racecourse in 1918 was caused by a dai pai dong set beside the podium. Sadly nowadays they are no more at the racecourse and at trackside you will find a MacDonald’s or a Kebab replacing these vestiges of Hong Kong’s past.

On your travels around Hong Kong you may see or hear people talk of restaurants called cha chaan teng or tea restaurants to give them their literal translation. These affordable inexpensive restaurants serve a vast variety of quick and easy foods from noodle and rice dishes through to egg tarts and sandwiches. The tea in these restaurants is usually weak low grade tea, which you will find, invariably presented to you as soon as you sit down. You may observe some of the older customers using the tea to wash their chopsticks which is an accepted practise although seen less and less due to the advent of disposable wooden chopsticks which are found in most premises nowadays. Set menus are common in these restaurants with often a soup or drink included in the price. A waiter will take your order and present you with a ticket, which you take to the cashier at the end of your meal to pay the bill. They are usually pretty crowded and it is accepted practice at these restaurants to table share with strangers, sometimes with up to three separate couples sharing a six-seater table.

Another common Chinese cuisine is Chiu Chow also known as Swatow cuisine, which is renowned for poultry and seafood dishes with often sharp and contrasting flavours. The cuisine originated from the Guangdong province of China and has become one of the most popular styles in Hong Kong. A typical Chiu Chow meal is rich in protein and would serve duck, goose or minced pigeon with water chestnuts wrapped in lettuce leaves spiked along with a piquant plum and vinegar sauce. The cuisine is known for its abundant use of vegetables, which are often carved into intricate designs of flowers, birds and even dragons. It is also the region famous for the much maligned shark fin and bird's nest soups, the latter using the dried saliva, from the edible cave swiftlet's nest as the basis for the soup. The meal is normally finished with desserts made from taro, water chestnuts, and sugar-syrup, followed by cups of pungent and bitter oolong or Iron Buddha tea to aid digestion. The tea is supposed to cleanse the system but drink too much and you will be climbing the walls and watching a lot of late night TV.

If you like rich and sweet flavours then Shanghainese cuisine may interest you. Strictly speaking Shanghai does not have its own indigenous cuisine but absorbs the influences of the surrounding regions. Compared to Cantonese food the dishes are richer and heavier using a lot of garlic, sugar, soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine giving a distinctive sweet, zesty taste. The region is famous for steamed hairy crab, braised eel and hot and sour soup, which is a vegetarian or meat-based soup with wood ear fungus and bamboo shoots. It also produces the wonderfully named drunken chicken; a cold steamed chicken dish that has been marinated in a rich Chinese wine. The chicken is served with a glorious gelatine jelly that results from the chilled mixture of the wine and the cooking juices. Shanghainese cuisine is probably best known for the legendary thousand-year egg (century egg), which are the rather scary preserved black duck or chicken eggs often seen at the market stalls. I will tell you more about these bad boys in a later chapter when I recall my first encounter with them in Hong Kong.

Hakka cuisine is a relatively unknown cuisine from the New Territories but it originated in Northern China and made its way south as the Hakka people migrated. Hakka uses a predominance of pork along with a wide variety of dried and preserved ingredients. Fried pork with fermented bean curd is a favourite New Year dish in Hong Kong. Other favourites include sliced pork with preserved mustard greens, salt baked chicken and tofu soup. You will also find Hakka embrace offal and dishes such as braised chicken's blood or pig's brain stewed in Chinese wine are common.

A more familiar cuisine is from Peking originating from the imperial courts of northern China and said to be fit for an Emperor. Peking food is flamboyantly presented and often extremely rich and spiced using coriander, peppers, and garlic. Noodles, bread and dumplings are commonly served with some traditional restaurants still demonstrating the art of noodle pulling in front of the diners. The most famous dish however is the legendary Peking duck, which is an elaborate dish, prized for its crispy skin. The duck is coated with a mixture of soy sauce and sugar and then air dried to retain the crispiness. The meat and skin are served wrapped in thin pancakes along with spring onion, radish and plum sauce. Generally Peking food is heartier and richer than Cantonese food with peppers, coriander, garlic and ginger used in dishes that keep the body warm. Another dish that is found in Peking cuisine is beggar’s chicken. This consists of a whole chicken stuffed with mushrooms, pickled Chinese cabbage, herbs and spring onions, which is then wrapped in lotus leaves sealed in clay and then baked for 24 hours. The clay is broken by the guest of honour at the table to reveal what in reality is anything but a beggar’s meal.

The spiciest food comes from the Sichuan cuisine using the fiery Sichuan chilli. The influence of Burma and Tibet, which border the region, can be seen in the dishes creating some of the hottest dishes in China. Garlic, ginger, coriander, chilli paste, peppercorn and various spices all fire up these dishes, which are simmered and smoked rather than stir-fried. The most famous dishes are pan-fried Sichuan prawns, sour and peppery soup and smoked duck which is seasoned with peppercorns, ginger, cinnamon, orange peel and coriander, marinated in rice wine, then steamed and finally smoked over camphor wood and tea leaves. Noodles and steamed bread are often preferred to rice

Hunan cuisine is very similar to Sichuan cuisine but is often spicier and contains a larger variety of ingredients due to the high agricultural output of the region. Chilli, garlic and ginger are balanced by the use of honey with sweet and sour dishes characteristic of the region. Hunan is landlocked and as a result absorbs a lot of the cuisine of its neighbours and so is often regarded by many as the culinary centre of China. Notable dishes include hot and spicy chicken, sweet and sour chicken, orange beef and desserts such as cassia flower cakes and lotus seeds in sugar candy.

The cuisine of China is rich and varied due the geographical and climate differences between the regions. Northern China experiences extremes of cold so hot and spicy food proliferates in order to increase circulation and keep the body warm. In the South the climate is much warmer so milder cooler dishes are preferred to prevent overheating. This is where the yin and yang or balance of Chinese cuisine emerges with the aim of creating a happy and healthy state for the body. The Chinese believe in the power of both positive and negative energy with too much of either creating an imbalance in the system and leaving the body open to disease. Yin represents the positive energy and foods which belong to this group are known as ‘cold food’. These are foods such as melon, bean sprouts, soybean, mung bean, cucumber, coconut, cress, bananas, clams and oysters which if eaten excessively can cause stomach aches, dizziness or diarrhoea. Foods that belong to the Yang or negative side also known as ‘hot food’ add balance to the yin side. These include such foods as chilli, garlic, ginger, onions, beef, turkey, pineapple, mango, aubergine and peanuts. Over indulgence in this group is thought to result in gas, indigestion, skin complaints and constipation.

The Chinese do not place much faith in nutritional balance in their diet but concentrate more on the balance of yin and yang. High importance is put on freshness and flavour and if the yin and yang are in harmony then the belief is that your body will be in harmony too. Food is about choice and moderation in everything, an idea that perhaps the Chinese understand and something that we should at least look at in the West. In Hong Kong the discerning diner has a vast choice and although everything will not be to your liking by rolling that dice you can take a chance and occasionally those sixes will come rolling back to you.

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girlsfightback · 7 years ago

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Spirituality vs. Religion

In a generation of kids my age, many of us ended up being non-religious, or at least significantly less religious than our parents. Of course, there are still plenty of extremely religious people in America and the world, but as we learn and grow and technology/science is developed further, we understand the world on a real level rather than a religious one. Lucky for me, my parents were fleeing the Islamic Republic of Iran when they were in their early 20′s to get away from religious extremism and corruption, so growing up I lived a life pretty free of religion. Of course, there are aspects of Islam embedded in the Iranian culture that my parents grew up with, and I experienced that, but I’ve never related to having a strictly religious family. My parents taught me to be open and accepting, and to learn about Islam, but they never forced anything on me. My mom considers herself agnostic, and my dad is Muslim (but the “modern” kind, as he calls it, who drink alcohol and eat pork).

But when considering religion, and how it functions in society, it is pretty clear to me (and most other people who have learned about religion in the context of history), that it’s simply something humans use to explain things that cannot be explained otherwise. It’s a comfort blanket for humanity. It gives people a way to go about existing in the world and feeling like they have a larger purpose. It’s a way of dealing with the unknown and death. Personally, I feel like embracing those unknowns, and realizing you are in fact, tiny and meaningless in the larger scheme of the universe can be humbling and helps me not take life too seriously sometimes. But I don’t think any of those things are necessarily bad in and of themselves. In fact, religion can very much be beneficial and good to societies. If it encourages people to do good, and helps them feel oriented in life, then of course it is doing good. If it brings them a community and sense of belonging it, that is great. I have respect for people who are religious but are also open, accepting, and use it for personal meaning rather than trying to influence or exploit others for their own gain. We also know that religion can be dividing, greedy, and a killer force.

So whatever this shit is, it means something to people if it can be so powerful, right? But as a part of the non-religious/atheist sect of my generation, I’ve also learned that sometimes we push religion so far out of our lives that we don’t allow ourselves to have any type of spiritual life. If you don’t follow a certain religion and don’t believe in god, that’s it, right? There’s nothing for you?

For a while, I believed that. But I’ve also started recognizing how I’m drawn to certain types of spirituality and community. Even as a kid, having a sense of community and spirituality was important to me. I think if we consider the positive aspects of religion and the spirituality that comes with it, we can gain a lot. Personally, the first and main thing still today that made me realize the role spirituality can play in my life is music. Despite how my taste has changed over the years, one thing I’ve always counted on to find a sense of connection with the world was through music. Hearing someone express something artistically that portrayed exactly how I felt was mind-blowing. Music has always given me a sense of identity and been an important part of my life. When I started going to concerts and festivals, seeing everyone smile at each other, make friends, and sing and dance together was one of the most moving and pure things I have ever experienced. Regardless of age, gender, socioeconomic status, or race, a bunch of diverse people in one place, taking time away from the reality their daily life to come together for music. That has to be more powerful than going to church, right? The warmth and energy and kindness I have experienced when going to concerts and festivals always reminds me there is good in the world. And if there is anything that makes me feel hopeful about the world, it’s the soul and creative energy people put into music. Especially in the underground scene I’ve always been a part of, the artists I connect with the most were not ones doing it to sell records and sell out shows to make money and flaunt material things. Of course that’s still how they make a living, but you can feel authenticity with it’s there, and when you get to listen to an artist who’s just doing it because it’s their passion and they want to share it with others, you can feel that shit in your soul.

Experiencing that has sparked my curiosity about spirituality, because in my eyes, it does for me what going to church does for other people. I feel less alone, I feel free. I’m part of something. From that realization and curiosity, I started becoming more conscious of other aspects of my spiritual life. As with many other aspects of life, your own unique spirituality develops naturally, not by force or by looking for it. Part of spirituality, like religion, comes from developing values and a worldview. My spirituality is open and raw. It believes in honesty and justice. It believes the earth is not ours to own, but to simply coexisit with. It believes we are not better or greater than other beings or anyone else. It believes in equity and equality. It believes there is no right or wrong way of existing in the world. It believes in being humble, but also recognizing the work and effort you put into life. Being proud, but in a way that inspires others rather than bringing them down. Ultimately, it believes in love and balance.

Approaching all things and people in life with an open heart will draw the kind of people you need into your life. Finding the most authentic and real version of yourself is a process that goes hand in hand with developing your spirituality. Currently I’m at the point in that development where I am trying to connect my mental world to my physical world. Being someone who always felt like an outsider and kind of uncomfortable in my skin/physical existence, this is challenging. Getting so in your brain and busy with daily motions of life is extremely unhealthy, and learning to balance that with yoga, spending more time outside, being in nature, breathing in fresh air, dancing, moving, traveling, having sex, all of those things have helped me start tuning into my physical world more. Of course, this is no revolutionary or new idea, but I feel like it is under appreciated. Especially at an age where in college, and school and work consume so much of my life and brain, sometimes traveling somewhere, kissing someone you’re drawn to, or finding new ways to move your body is more important and will do more for you than working a shift or getting an A on a test. I am working on creating a physical world/existence that matches my mental world, the things that go on in my brain.

As if I haven’t been cliche enough, let me also bring in how drugs have affected my spirituality. When I first started smoking weed with my friends senior year was the first time in my entire childhood that I felt like I belonged with a group or had genuine fun. It helped me let loose, not be so uptight and anxious, just being able to laugh and eat without caring how I looked or if the people I was with thought I was cool. Smoking helped me let go of a lot of toxic things and people I was holding onto. It helped me loosen up and become a more real and carefree version of myself. It helped me find friends and a community who were not judgemental or on edge, but who craved the same feelings I did. Not to say it didn’t have any negative effects on my life, but I think the positive effects make it well worth it. When it comes to other, more mind-altering drugs, it’s important to approach it knowing exactly what you’re doing and why. I think approaching drugs consciously can bring so many mental/spiritual benefits, but doing them to just turn up and thinking they will make you have fun or seem cool is entirely useless and probably more harmful than anything. If you can’t have fun without drugs, are you really even doing things you enjoy? Do you really even enjoy the people you’re with? If you do drugs with a conscious purpose, to enhance something you already love, to be able to take in more from your senses, to be able to dig farther in your subconscious mind and soul, then it is serving a purpose to you and helping you discover and develop your identity and spirituality. But if you’re doing with no consciousness, or to actually get rid of your consciousness/reality, then you aren’t doing anything good for yourself. I haven’t had a whole lot of drug experiences beyond weed, but I do hope to experiment with them more to aid in my journey of spirituality and open my mental/physical senses to new things.

I wanted to get these thoughts and ideas out, just letting them flow into physical form. What it really comes down to for me is developing my own unique spirituality, to build the things I need to grow, to connect my physical and mental worlds, strike a healthy balance in life, and to take bits and pieces that I need from religion and reject what I don’t, to really create the best and most real version of myself. And that’s the beauty of following a spiritual life vs. a religious one - it is natural and unique to you - not a set of rules and values that should apply to everyone. Because everyone is different and has different spiritual needs that need to be fulfilled, and a cookie-cutter religion cannot do that.

#religion #spiritual #spirituality #thoughts #spilled thoughts

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lyndseysammonsphotography-blog · 7 years ago

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Hate to break it to you, but...

Maybe even more so than I am.

There I said it.

Do you use a camera?….a camera phone, DSLR, point-and-shoot, or even an old-school disposable film camera? Hey, underwater, even.

More importantly, do you feel a little (or BIG) gleeful twinge in your gut when you feel like you got the, ‘oh-my-gosh, check-this-out, such-a-cool-shot’ shot?

Do you obsess over the ‘perfect’ angle and never feel that it’s quite good enough?

Yeah, well, I hate to break it to you, but you are officially a ‘Photographer’.

Call yourself what you will.

You and I are no different, Professional or otherwise.

Back in the day, I taught children’s workshops completely on drug store’s disposable cameras.

And they learned way more than I ever did in that short amount of time - for many reasons.

But, I digress. Back to the point... You say: What? Me? An actual Photographer?

Ummmm, YEP! With a capital ‘P’.

What makes a ‘quote-un-quote- “Professional Photographer”?

It’s just one tiny, (fairly insignificant) thing...more on that toward the end.

For now, here’s the bigger question:

What makes a quote-un-quote “AMAZING Photographer”? “Professional” aside.

It’s simple.

1. An eye.

2. The love for the ‘click and wind’

3. Confidence.

That’s it. Seriously.

Let’s start with number 1:

‘An eye’ is just something us pro-photographers call a photograph that looks cool. But, here’s the deal - yes, there are technical aspects of what makes a photo better, but, in the end, it’s highly subjective. We each may have our own opinions of what makes an awesome shot. ‘Oh, girl, you have SUCH an ‘eye’.

But, in reality, it’s 'such’ a friggin amaze-balls photo and I can only wish I could take something even REMOTELY close to that level of coolness.

I can’t speak for all Pro Photographers, but, I, for one, LOVE to teach, so I’m not afraid to say it. I even get all giddy and outwardly excited when someone shows me a bad-a$$ photo. And I’ll jump up and down with them if they are just as excited about it.

It’s not a contest of who’s the better photographer, although, unfortunately, it may feel that way sometimes.

It’s about learning, growing, developing your style and lifting up others to do the same. We live in a very visual world. There is plenty of work to go around. And there sure as heck is enough appreciation and love for the arts to go around.

I’m here to tell you that Professional Photographers gawk at beautiful shots just as much as anyone else.

If not less-so because we get caught up in our work and sometimes don’t stop to smell the roses. I know because I’ve been there.

We have to continually challenge ourselves to get that raw perspective - to get back to the time where we had a child-like view of the world through our lens.

But, hey! I know, for a FACT, you’ve taken, at least, one beautiful photo in your lifetime, right?!

One that we can show a friend and say, “Whoa! Look at this!’

The one that may get a laugh or a cry because it shows such raw emotion one-way-or-the-other. One that made you feel giddy inside.

That’s having an ‘eye’. Chance realized. Or maybe that opportunity plus the technical know-how.

You may get an, ‘Oh, cool! You should print that!’ (Or now-adays, “You should post that!) Or even a ‘Dude. You need to think on that.’ Cuz that one was a little too real.

But, in the end, you saw it and you captured it. It brought about some sort of feeling, whether positive, negative, or indifferent. Just like ‘Professionals’ do.

You may just not press a shutter button as many times as we have to to get that lucky shot. And, yes, sometimes, it is luck - Being at the right place at the right time. And sometimes it IS a talent - For knowing what angle will look best or realizing, if you wait juuuuust 10 more minutes, the sun will be just-so and will make that shot even better. Not to downplay years of experience or education, but you captured it, just the same.

Maybe even with less clicks.

Because you have an ‘eye’.

I call ‘click and wind’ the feeling that I got the first time I held a 35mm fully-manual-film-camera in my hands. The one my dad gave me from his Vietnam days. The one I wish I could ask to tell it’s completely unadulterated story.

Back then, I had no idea what I was holding, let alone what all the dials meant. Nothing came out on that first B&W roll of film - but I was hooked.

And, you now what? You don't have to shoot film and advance the frame with that little arm thingy to get the same feeling. These days, digital can offer a similar experience.

If you feel it, you feel it. If you see it, you see it.

If you find yourself in a situation that speaks to you, it’s all yours.

Not mine. Not Ansel Adams’.

Yours.

Own it. Feel it. Have confidence.

Which leads me to #3

Whether you feel you are just having fun with photography or you want to take it to a completely new level.

Whether you are on Instragram, on an app - getting creative with ALL your might…or using your DSLR to figure out the dials, buttons and all those (uber) confusing settings.

I’m here to tell you:

YOU.

ARE.

PHOTOGRAPHER.

No ‘amateur’.

No ‘I just play around’.

You are.

So, have confidence.

Show those photos off.

Post to your heart’s content.

It’s your passion. It’s your love. It’s your art.

Say to yourself, and to the world: “Im a Photographer.”

Notice the Capital ‘P’.

Tonight, I made a fellow Photographer say out-loud (in a room full of people, mind you):

“I am a good photographer.”

“I am a good Photographer.”

‘NO, SAY IT!’

“I.

AM.

GOOD.

PHOTOGRAPHER.”

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I hope she felt it.

Because the only difference between a Professional Photographer and not is if you’ve sold a photo. That’s it.

The only difference is if you’ve made a buck. And, guess what?

She’s sold one, if not way more, in one way or another.

She’s just as much a ‘Professional’ as I.

SO, if you get that little twinge of a feeling when you click that shutter, whether its on your camera phone, DLSR, for Instagram, an app or any other form of Interwebs,

You are a Photographer.

I’ve always felt, the sign of a good photographer is one who can view other’s works and learn.

I vow to always learn and help others to learn. I vow to teach, humble myself and, lastly, lose myself in a good photo when I am blessed enough to see it.

With all my Heart. Soul. And passion for the click and wind.

For the Love of Photography.

“I’m a Photographer” and I challenge you to yell it in all CAPS!

NO, I DARE YOU!

Whether its on FB, Instagram, my blog or anywhere else this shows up:

Say it - Scream at the top of your lungs!...

“I AM A PHOTOGRAPHER.”

NO…better yet, “I AM A GOOD PHOTOGRAPHER!”

Then get out there, click that shutter and own it.

“There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.” ~ Ansel Adams

#ClickThatPictureTakingButton #ownit #photographer

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onecutedoc · 8 years ago

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Attention Everything & Nothin’ Family! Mother’s Day is just around the corner! I wanted to say Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there. I hope you all have a wonderful Mother’s day and know how much you are appreciated. And for all those that have lost their mother, my heart goes out to you as this is a very hard time of year!

Skinstore allowed me to take part in their Mother’s Day celebration. I was able to select a special gift to give my mother. Skinstore is such an amazing site with almost every beauty product you can imagine. I am so honored to be able to do something special for my mom this Mother’s Day. Be sure to check out Skinstore for tons of perfect Mother’s Day gift ideas.

Keep reading to see what I picked for my mom and to see her reaction. I also wanted to share with you a letter from my heart to my mom!

A Letter To My Mom This Mother’s Day

Dear Mom,

Honestly, I don’t even know how to begin to thank you for all that you have done for me. So, I will start by simply saying THANK YOU for everything!! Seriously, you are such an amazing woman and I don’t know what I would do without you.

Thanks for giving me life. I thank God that He blessed me with you as my mom. So many people are not as lucky as me to have such a loving mother. I never want to take you for granted. Watching you proves to me that there really is a God that loves me. You live out His word every single day and have brought me up to love and understand Him. Thanks a million for that.

I know that I have not always been easy and that I have made many mistakes throughout my life. I have broken your heart, made you cry, infuriated you, and caused you pain. For all these things, I am so sorry. Thanks for always being by my side and forgiving me when I have hurt you. You have never turned your back on me and I truly appreciate it.

You are humble, kind, caring, selfless, funny, understanding, and an amazing listener. You are my best friend and the one I turn to for advice. I love talking to you and trying to figure out life with you. You always make me laugh when I am sad and you listen to all my problems.

I hope one day to be half as amazing as a mom as you are. I have some HUGE shoes to fill, but you have taught me so much. You are the best mom I could ever ask for and I am so happy I didn’t have to ask for you. I was blessed and I will always remember that.

You know no stranger and do so much for people. I love watching you care so much for others. You do all that many times without thanks and without recognition. You do it simply because you love people so much. I know God says our reward is not on earth, it is in heaven. Well, you are going to have one HUGE award one day (hopefully, not for a long time because I don’t want to lose you). I am looking forward to being there as you accept your heavenly award and I will be all smiles!

Mom, you are an amazing and beautiful woman. I truly inspire to be like you one day and to show my children as much love as you have shown me. I speak on behalf of all your children when I say, WE LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH.

Happy Mother’s Day to the best mom in the entire world. I hope you have a wonderful day and know that I love you to the moon and back!

Love always,

Your daughter…Elisabeth

My Mom’s Reaction To Her Gift

Disclaimer: I was sent this product. These are my honest thoughts & opinions. I did not receive any compensation, just the product. This page may contain affiliate links for your convenience. CLICK HERE to read my full disclosure.

I decided to gift my mom the NuFace Mini Tone, Glow & Go Collection from Skinstore. There are so many awesome reviews on this product and I thought it would be perfect for my mom.

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She was so excited to receive the gift and totally can’t wait to use it! It was hard capturing all the pictures because she wanted to use it right away! I can’t wait to see what her results are using this device!

Have you tried it yet? What are you gifting your mom this Mother’s Day? Let me know in the comments below!

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A Letter To My Mom This Mother’s Day Attention Everything & Nothin' Family! Mother's Day is just around the corner! I wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.

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nofomoartworld · 8 years ago

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Bad at Sports Sunday Comics with Tara Booth

By Krystal DiFronzo

Tara Booth’s work is an assertive clash of color that depicts the most humbling and sticky situations. Some relatable moments include trying to pee while wearing a romper, cutting bangs into near oblivion, and stoned Amazon shopping (with the resulting surprise package hangover). My first introduction to Booth’s comics were through her Tumblr back in the golden age of cartoonists using that platform. Since then she’s had her work published by kuš! and Colorama. She regularly posts comics and in progress work on her Instagram @tarabooth.

Krystal DiFronzo: The first thing I noticed about your comics is the density of information, there’s so much color and pattern all piled on top of each other! Also you use gouache like a painter, not like a cartoonist coloring between lines. The ghost layers of paint create this constant atmospheric movement. The reader is made aware of the hand and medium, unlike traditional pen and ink comics. Do you have a background in painting prior to your comics? If so, why the transition to comics or are they all part of a single practice?

Tara Booth: I studied painting and graduated with a BFA at Tyler School of Art. I used to work on big 4×5 foot canvases that I built, stretched, gessoed, and sanded over and over. This time-consuming preparation, combined with the preciousness of the material gradually grated on me. I appreciate the importance of these processes and I’m happy to have access to this skill set, but it wasn’t something that I ever wanted to include in my everyday art practice (due to my extreme and often debilitating impulsivity). Producing work in art school wasn’t a problem for me, but I wasn’t a great student. It became increasingly difficult to connect to ideas being taught in my painting and art theory classes, which were focused more on abstraction and conceptualism than direct representation or narrative, which is where my interest had always been. The language and concepts we studied felt really inaccessible and detached from my experiences as a highly-dramatic, drunk 21-year-old. I started to focus more on folk art, Lowbrow, and self-taught artists. I began reading more comics, and decided I wanted to make paintings that were direct, accessible, and inexpensive to produce—so I transitioned to working on paper with gouache, with the ambition of eventually making my own comics.

KD: Your comics also have a lot of unusual formatting choices that affect how you read it. They don’t have any formal paneling or gutters, they flow across the page almost like an animation or a Muybridge study. You can read the comic either left to right or as a single-paged composition. They are also predominantly dialogue-less other than their titles. What made you come to these decisions? What’s your planning process like?

TB: The unusual formatting in my comics isn’t something that I had planned. For the longest time I felt really stunted by my background in traditional painting. I bought a bunch of comics, and attempted to mirror the techniques I saw, but working in panels always felt totally awkward. I had little experience with Photoshop, storytelling, principles of design… teaching myself how to make a comic felt like an uphill battle. Five years after graduation, I still hadn’t produced anything solid. I had kind of given up, and finally decided that making a shitty comic was better than not making anything at all—that I should worry less about what I think a comic is supposed to look like, and more on painting within the realm of my own abilities. Once I threw all of my preconceived notions out the window and forced myself to get to work, I actually started to get recognition for what I was doing rather quickly. Embracing some of my naivety and focusing on the painterly qualities in my work has compensated for whatever technical obstacles stood in my way. I still struggle with using text in my work. Until I’m more comfortable with my writing, I’m relying symbols, visual cues, facial expressions, and body language to tell my stories.

I like that you mention Muybridge studies, I look at them all the time. They’re one of my main influences. I love them!

KD: It’s a common trope of comics or animation that characters wear the same outfit. Like opening up a closet to rows of one identical dress. Your stand-in wears such incredible outfits in every comic, they almost become characters themselves. Do you have an interest in design? (Please make Fantomah leggings a reality.)

TB: Ha! I would love to work in textile design. In a failed attempt to simplify my life, I’ve ended up with a pretty boring wardrobe. I like to use my little avatar as a paper doll, dressing her up in outfits that I wish I owned myself. (Does anyone want to offer me a job?) I also use the clothing as a way to explore difference ways of drawing. To find different ways to use line, play around with abstraction and incorporate more surreal subject matter. I spend so much time working on this one body of work, I haven’t been prioritizing stylistic experimentation. It’s nice to have tiny t-shirt shaped opportunities to paint in ways that might feel separate from my comics practice.

KD: I’m emailing you while you’re at Printed Matter’s LA Book Fair, what was the show like for you? Could you talk about your new book with Colorama?

TB: The Art Book Fair was great! Like plenty of other artists I have a lot of anxiety in social situations, so it was stressful for me, but wow—so much of that melted away as the fair went on. It felt amazing to be surrounded by so many talented people, beautiful books, and all of the supporters who make this stuff possible. I was able to spy on a lot of my instragam art crushes. I loved watching how excited people were to buy my work. I got to see them laugh as they flipped through my prints, and I had some fun conversations. A few people even brought me gifts! But the most important and exciting part of the Art Book Fair was finally meeting my publisher, Johanna! She runs Colorama, a publishing house in Berlin. We’ve been communicating through email for months now, and it felt like the best blind date ever. The book she published for me, “D.U.I.I”. is the riso printed story of one of the most awful experiences I’ve had. It was also one of the most beneficial things that has ever happened to me. I got a DUII in February 2016. I’m an alcoholic, and this was the culmination of years of increasingly toxic behavior. Court ordered sobriety seems to be the motivation that I needed to change. I’m incredibly thankful that I didn’t hurt anyone. It’s a humiliating story to tell, but I felt a compulsion to draw it all out. I feel so lucky that Colorama decided to work on this project with me. It’s very different from my more popular, colorful work. I’m still dealing with the stressful and expensive results of that experience. Making the book was a huge part of the process of working through it. I tried to lighten it up a bit and make it silly—but yeah, its all true.

KD: Your work is true to life but veers into the surreal. It feels like it’s in the same vein as work by Julie Doucet, Gabrielle Bell, or Dori Seda. Artists who told confessional stories of humiliation and embarrassment but added fantastical elements for comedic or therapeutic effect. What about writing semi-autobiographical work interests you? Do you see yourself leaning more towards fiction or towards memoir?

TB: I’ve always been drawn to autobiographies, in comics and in literature. I really admire a lot of the artists you mention, and confessional work like theirs is part of what inspired me to make comics to begin with. For years I’ve kept a diary filled with drawings, but its tricky. Really putting yourself out there is scary. The paintings that I post publicly, while totally based on my daily life, are drastically different in tone and content than what you might find in my journals. My comics are embarrassing, funny, absurd, relatable… they can be sad, but I think it’s easy to see how I use humor and fantasy as a way of dodging some of the more raw and dangerous territory that can make autobiography so potent. I’m glad that my drawings make people laugh, I don’t want to take myself too seriously and I’ll always make silly drawings… I guess I just hope that as I continue to make comics, I’ll find a way to add more depth to my practice, whether it’s by working on developing more complex fictional stories, or by being brave enough to express some of the heavier, and maybe less palatable aspects of my life.

KD: Outside of comics, what artists or media makers are inspiring you right now?

TB: Well, first I’d like to say how incredibly inspired I am by artists like Marie Jacotey and Aidan Koch, whose work transcends the world of comics. I want the space between the comics world and the art world to keep getting smaller and smaller. These two stand out in my mind as artists that are helping to bridge that gap. I’d love to be a part of that transition. I’m always discovering new painters. Some of my favorites are Misaki Kawai, Austin Lee, Mogu Takahashi, Katherine Bernhardt (I’m inspired both by her paintings, and by the gorgeous Morrocan rugs that she sells) and Danny Fox. These people remind me of how powerful one large stand alone image can be. I follow the work of so many illustrators, but my favorites are probably Aart-jan Venema and Monika Forsberg, I’m always trying to figure how they do what they do. Who else… there’s a lot of really interesting stuff happening with ceramics that makes me want to get my hands on some clay. Benjamin Phillips is making great pots, it looks like it could be really fun to work in that style. Clay reminds me of Janie Korn, who makes really fun claymation shorts. Having access to all of these creative minds through social media sheds light on the infinite avenues that I want to explore in the future.

To order D.U.I.I, head to the COLORAMA webstore.

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