#take me to brazil palette

[scribblesofagoonerr]

Mascot Memories | Never Grow Up

this is the first part of the small 3 part series that i have lined up next

summary: remi is 3 years old and she is a mascot at leah's game for the first time during the world cup in 2027

pairings: leah williamson x reader

“Someone’s excited to be a mascot at Mummy’s game today, aren’t you?” You couldn’t help but beam with a smile as you bent down to your daughters’ level.

“Yes!” Remi’s eyes are dancing with excitement at the prospect of being able to be a mascot in England's opening game of the World Cup that is being hosted in Brazil, “I’ll be the best mascot ever, Mumma!”

You press a kiss to the top of your little girl's head and smile at her, “I’m sure that you will be, baby girl,” You pause as you pick up the small jersey hung up on the hanger, “Do you want to get changed into your football shirt?”

“Wear Mummy’s number?” Remi asks, curiously.

“You bet, Remi Roo!” You nod encouragingly, helping your little girl shed her previous t-shirt in favour of the football jersey with Leah’s number written on the back of it, “You look just like Mummy now.”

“There’s my baby Gooner!” Leah’s voice appears out of nowhere, walking into the changing rooms as she’s almost tackled to the floor by Remi.

“Mummy!” Your 3 year old crashes directly into your wife’s legs. 

“Ooft,” Your wife let out a grunt of pain when the whirlwind of a toddler ran into her, “When did you get so big?” She questions, crouching down to your daughter’s level.

“Mumma keeps feeding me all of them veggies that ‘ou don't like,” Remi retorts cheekily, poking fun at Leah’s childish food palette that limited her to only a several few things that she seemed to like to eat – The only veggie she will eat being peas, and even those she thinks are too exoctic to eat.

“Of course she does,” Leah chuckles in amusement as she takes a look Remi donned in her own Jersey with her name on, “Well don’t you look the part.”

“I look just like you do!” Remi grins, dressed in a tiny England jersey to match Leah’s with her hair pulled back into two playful pigtails, and a pair of white Nike trainers, “Even Mumma said that I did!”

“You do indeed,” Leah replies in agreement and holds her hand out for your little girl to take, “It’ll be time to line up soon, do you want to come and stand with me? I bet you we’ll hear the roar of the crowd from there!”

“Yeah!” Remi bounces up and down on the balls of her feet, her excitement palpable as you can indeed hear the noise coming from inside the stadium, a mixture of England travelling fans and the fans of the home team. It’s a feeling that leaves you with a buzz of your own excitement.

“Alright then,” Your wife smiles and turns in your direction, “Say bye to Mumma and Essie and we’ll make our way out there.” She tells her, gesturing to your 8 month old baby girl Esme Beau Williamson, born in September 2026.

“Bye, Bear. Bye, Mumma. Love ‘ous!” Remi rambles quickly with energy bursting through her, leaning over to give her little sister a kiss on the head and crash her little arms around you.

“I love you too, baby girl,” You tell her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, “Have fun out there with Mummy, okay? We’ll be watching you!” You add, gesturing to the fact that Amanda and Jacob, Leah’s mum and brother were joining you to watch in the stands.

“She’s going to be absolutely fine, love,” Leah reassures you, sensing your initial nerves due to the fact that Remi would be walking out onto the pitch with your wife for the first time and you are worried about how she might take that overall, “I’ve got her. I love you.”

“I love you too,” You respond, pressing a gentle kiss against your wife’s lips, “Good luck out there, superstar. Make us all proud!” You add, moving to fix the captain’s armband around your wife’s arm and kissing it for good luck, a ritual you’ve come to do every game that you attend.

“I aim to just do that,” Your wife grins, a flash of cockiness taking over her face for a second before she peppers small kisses on Esme’s forehead, “Bye, Essie Bear. I hope to make you proud too. I love you.”

The stadium erupts into loud cheers as you watch your wife hold Remi in her arms as they make their way onto the pitch, your daughter is waving enthusiastically out to the crowd of England fans as there’s not a single trace of shyness in her demeanour.

Leah, ever the professional, keeps her focus with her stern game face plastered but even she can’t help the smile that tugs at her lips every time she gazes at her daughter. For the first time you’ve ever witnessed, your wife actually breaks her stern expression as the spotlight is on your daughter.

“Remi looks so grown up,” Amanda speaks aloud from where she’s standing in the stands amongst you, Jacob and Esme, cradled against your chest, as she watches in adoration of Leah and Remi on the pitch.

“Don’t say that too loud or Leah will freak out,” Jacob jokes, regarding Leah’s fear of Remi growing up too quickly. It’s now become a somewhat ongoing joke in your family now.

“Speaking off, look how proud Le looks,” You say, watching your wife and daughter with tears welling up in your eyes.

“This is definitely a moment to treasure forever,” Amanda chimes in, wiping one of her own tears away.

“I swear she might even relent from her usual stern frown,” Jacob jokes watching as Leah stood tall and proud in her captain’s armband, her face glowing with both excitement and pride, “Rem looks adorable though!”

“I mean, there’s always a first,” You remark in amusement as you watch your wife and daughter on the pitch, feeling insanely proud of them both.

The sun shines brightly over the sprawling stadium in Brazil, where the energy of the World Cup is palpable. Fans gather in vibrant colours and flags fill the stands, creating a sea of excitement and anticipation just as the national anthem plays and you can’t help but smile looking out onto the pitch while you look at your daughter who is beaming with an infectious smile.

“I think I might cry,” You murmur, overwhelmed with pride watching them as the National Anthem begins to play.

“You and me both, darling,” Amanda replies in agreement, her eyes are misty.

“Can you see your Mummy and your big sister, Es?” Jacob holds Esme in his arms like the proud uncle he is and points his index finger in the direction of where Leah and Remi are standing on the pitch amongst the rest of the England team, “Look, there they are!”

“Mummy! There’s so many people!” Remi’s voice is quiet and in awe, her eyes gazing around the stadium at the several thousands of fans in the stadium, “Are all these people here for ‘ou?”

Leah chuckles fondly as she keeps a gentle grip on your toddler, “Only half of them, baby Gooner,” She pauses as she points with her index finger in the direction of where you all sat in the stands, “Over there is Mumma, Essie, Nana and Uncle Jacob over there? Give them a wave!”

“Will they be able to see me from this far away?” Remi asks, curiously as she waves brightly in the direction and you can’t help but smile in adoration of the pair together, “It's so far away!”

“I bet they will,” Leah nods in agreement, spinning slightly to look over in the direction of the giant screen and then towards a camera, “Do you see that big screen over there? There’s a camera on the pitch and Mumma will be able to see you, even from all the way over here.”

“Wow,” Remi’s eyes widen in amazement as she eagerly waves in the direct eyeline of the camera and her mouth forms the perfect O as she sees herself on the screen for the first time, “Mummy! I’m on the screen with ‘ou!”

“You are,” Your wife couldn’t help but laugh faintly as the end of the National Anthem played, which meant that it was time for the coin toss and captain duties, “Do you want to come do something extra special with me?” She asks.

“Uh huh!” Remi’s eye’s gleam with excitement at the prospect of doing something extra special according to your wife as she continues to carry Remi over to where Leah stands  together with her teammates, with Remi perched on her hip to take a photo.

“Remember to smile, Rem,” Beth, one of Leah’s fellow team mates for club and country, reminds your little girl as she ruffles her hair playfully, “Don’t be frowny like your Mummy now.” She jokes, poking fun at your wife’s impartial need to always scowl during a team photo.

“I don’t frown all the time,” Leah retorts, scowling at the blonde.

“Yes you do, Mummy!” Remi’s little voice replies in agreement as she giggles, “You don’t scowl at me or Bear though!” With those words in mind, Leah can’t help but crack a laugh and the official photographer manages to capture the moment, history is changed that your wife actually broke her stern expression during a team photo.

“Mumma!” Remi shouts running across to you as fast as her little legs will let her, “Did ‘ou see me out there? I waved at ‘ou!”

“I did see you, baby girl!” You scoop her up into your arms, twirling her around as she giggles with delight, “You were amazing! The best little mascot I have ever seen!”

Your eldest daughter continues to bounce up and down in excitement, “I was on the big screen with Mummy!” 

“We saw that, Tiny,” Jacob grins, ruffling your daughters’ hair, “You looked like a champ out there!”

“We’re so proud of you sweetheart,” Amanda chimes in, pressing a kiss to the top of Remi’s forehead.

“And I even got to take a photo with Mummy, Auntie Beth and everyone else!” Remi continues to ramble, a tone of excitement in her voice still as she slumps back to sit on Amanda’s lap to watch the match play out.

“Mummy’s gonna win!” Your little girl declares, confidently.

“That’s the hope, baby girl,” You agree with her, brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face, “We’re going to cheer her on though, no matter what. Mummy is a winner to us, no matter what. Right, Remi Roo?”

“Right, Mumma! I will be the best cheerleader ever!” Remi exclaims, nodding enthusiastically in agreement, “Mummy’s the best footballer I know!”

This game might have just been one of many in Leah’s career, but this day certainly was special and one to cherish, being able to watch your wife and daughter walk out onto the pitch together. 

A memory that you will always remember, shining bright in your heart.

© scribblesofagoonerr

[lulutaylorsimaginarium]

The Chain

Summary: When the guys get stuck in a situation and hunted down by a drug lord. Frankie makes a call he really doesn’t want to make to the only person that can help them

Words:1,834

Warnings: “creator chooses not to use warnings.” If you click Keep Reading, that means you agree that you’re the right age to handle mature themes. We handle our own triggers with kindness and grace

AN: Mind any grammar mistakes even though the story has been checked. The author is dyslexic and it is the wonders of her brain.

PART ONE

PART TWO 

She sat at the bar in an empty, hole in the wall watering hole listening to a song that she danced to in Havana years ago. It put her in a better mood thinking of the man she danced with. The man that had stolen her heart even though she hadn’t wanted to fall in love. The song and the memory of the man lessened the rage in the very same heart. She started to sway to the music with an impossibly sweet drink in her hand. Gabby couldn’t forget the predicament she was in and of course there was the man sitting beside her, sipping his beer

“Why don’t you drink?”

“Allergic reaction”

“Oh yeah?”

“I break out in hand cuffs”

Will didn’t believe her, but he let her get away with the lie. There was no doubt that Gabby was tough, but she wasn’t the normal type of tough. It wasn’t a rage filled tough. It was a stubbornness. It was a ‘watch me’ tough but as she sat beside him dancing to the music while still sitting her seat. She intrigued him.

“What’s with that smile?”

“Memories”

“Oh-uh”

“Knew a guy”

“Cuban?”

“Puerto Rican but we spent a lot of time in Cuba”

“Dancing in the streets?”

“Yeah. In Cuba, in Barcelona, Portugal”

“So he was smooth, huh?”

“You could say that” she laughed “Still is”

“What happened?”

“He’s an aid worker. It’s hard to keep a relationship going when you’re pulling people out of the pits a hell half the time and on the other side of the planet”

“I don’t know how you do it”

“I only did it for a moment in time. I’m too empathic. It took a lot out of me. Especially when we came across kids, you know? I want to adopt ‘em and take them all home. It doesn’t work that way”

“Now you organise?”

“Correct”

“I can see why Pope needs you. Even if he is an ass”

Gabby laughed pulling the tie out of her hair. The colour reminded him of a glass of red wine or maybe that was the green neon sign above her that was making it look that way.

“He is right about one thing”

“What’s that?”

“I do owe Frankie”

“From what I know. Which isn’t a lot. He was doing his job when he found you”

“No but he broke protocol. They deemed the mission too high risk. Especially where I was but he still did it. He could have been fired or lost everything. He didn’t even know me at the time”

“He wouldn’t have it any other way Gabby. He loves ya”

“Ugh” she sighed rubbing her forehead “Why did it have to be Costa Rojas?”

“We didn’t pick the target”

“Santiago did”

“Are you noticing a theme?”

“At least Costa’s base isn’t in Brazil. You’ve got some distance. How did you move the palettes anyway?”

“We had transit vans but the guys driving got shot up and so did the vans”

“So he dropped you off in the slums with that much money”

“No one living there would be dumb enough to steal it. Rojas knows that. They are also smart enough that if they see something they know thats not for them to know. They’re not going to talk”

“You’ve got me there”

“Did you really stab Andrews with a pocket knife?” he laughed asking

“He grabbed my ass repeatedly after I asked him not to do it. Damn straight I did”

“Why didn’t you tell Frankie?”

“I wanted Andrews to stop. I didn’t want him to die. Anyway. That was a long time ago”

“Even Pope would have stopped him” She gave him an epic eye roll which only made Will practically fall over laughing  “What is it with you two?”

“I don’t know. I swear I’ve tried to get along with him. I swear but he does shit like this. He thinks he’s smarter than everybody. God, even his breathing sometimes grates on me. He’s the most self-important jerk I’ve ever met”

“We’re not meaning to turn your life upside down, Gabs”

“But didn’t you guys do this a few years ago. How much money is enough money?”

“We didn’t keep it, babe”

“What are you talking about?”

“We gave the money we did get away with to Tom’s kids. They don’t have to worry about anything anymore”

She looked him wide eyed and silent for maybe the first time since she landed.  Gabby shook her head before a stream of swear words flew out of her mouth.

“I hate this and now I hate you”

“Is that a yes?”

“I just don’t know how I can help you”

Will nodded his head understood where she was coming from. He got why she didn’t want to use anything with the non-profits name on it. They helped people that really needed it.

“We’re up a creek”

“Walking away isn’t an option?” she asked

“Nope”

“God damn it”

They’ll have to hide it and then move it and hide it while moving it. If Rojas found out their end wouldn’t be swift. She didn’t want that on her head. She needed something that the locals and authorises wouldn’t bat an eye at. She needed transportation and she needed it fast. Will watched the clogs in her head move fast, impossibly fast

“Gabs?”

She covered his mouth with her hand

 “Shh, I’m thinking”

She moved her hand and grabbed her phone before walking outside.

He watched her walk back and forth in the sidewalk for a while. Making calls, looking up this on her phone she popped her head back in the door.

“Hey handsome, do you know how to hot wire a car?”

“Yes”

“Let’s go but it’s not going to be a quick trip”

Will didn’t ask any questions. He just did what he was told. With women like Gabby that was the safest way to survive. That was truth in Will’s experience, at least.

 

 

#

 

Gabby and Will had been gone for five hours, the sun was dangerously close to rising and there hadn’t been no word from either of them. They knew that Will wouldn’t leave them, well he wouldn’t leave Benny. Frankie was starting to worry and Santiago was starting to curse her name, in his head at least.

“What if Rojas caught up with them?” Benny voice all their fears

“We would have heard by now” Santiago lied

“I shouldn’t have called her, Pope”

“Well, you did Frank and here we are. Will wouldn’t jump ship”

“Either would she, man”

“We have to come up with another plan”

“They will be here” Benny told them.

Suddenly an old beat up people mover stopped outside the favela. Two squeaky doors shut loudly before the missing two were standing back in their doorway

“Honey, we’re home” she told them slightly seductively

“Where have you been?”

“Cleaning up your mess, Garcia. You bozos wanna come help us unload?” She tossed an empty hessian coffee bean sack at him “We are in Brazil after all”

“What if they cut them open, Gabriela?”

“That’s why we stole full bags of coffee bean Also. Place the real beans on top of the bags full of money. They’ll cut into the bags we want to them to cut into”

“Two more van are showing up at five thirty this afternoon. So we have to move” Will told them.

“Leave ten grand out of the bags for the vans”

“Ten?”

“Yeah Garcia. For five grand we were going to get endless questions. Ten grand brought silence. You okay with that?”

“Guess I have to be”

“That’s what I like. Gratitude”

She rolled her eyes as he walked outside. Frankie stepped in front of her before pulling her into a hug

“Thank you”

“You’re still in trouble but I love you”

They both walked outside holding on to each other for dear life. Everybody quietly unpacked the van of empty bags. The tension that they had all been choking on was leaving them but Santiago just couldn’t help himself

“Where are we going to take this coffee when we are finished here, oh wise one?”

“I haven’t figured that part out yet”

“If only someone knew some else in Puerto Rico” Will answered almost gleefully

“Nope”

“Sebastian” Frankie answered pointing at her

“No. We are not getting Seb involved”

“He would do it, Gab”

“Who’s Sebastian” Pope practically spat

“Her fella” Frankie teased

“He’s not my fella”

“Used to be”

“I don’t know where he is right now. He’s an aid worker for Christ’s sake. He could be anywhere”

“Could you find out though?” Will smiled.

“If any person is more connected than you. Its Seb” Frank pleaded

Gabby rolled her eyes before pulling her phone out of her pocket, playfully growling as she walked outside.

The group started packing the bags with cash as Santiago stood near the window, listening to the conversation. Her voice was softer, you could hear the affection as she spoke. That was until she walked around the corner.

He walked over to Frankie

“Can we trust this guy?”

“Absolutely”

“I don’t like it”

“We are going to need more people to get this home and he would do anything for her. He’s a good guy. You wanted her for her connections, right?”

There was an uncomfortable silence filled the room as they continued loading the cash. Before she was standing in the doorway again.

“Bad news is that he is in Honduras. Good news is that if we can get to Venezuela. He can store it for us until we make other plans”

“How much did you tell him?” Santiago asked, probably sharper than he intended

“I said that we are in trouble, and it was a no questions situations”

No one said anything.

She hadn’t slept, she was at the end of her tether and likely to blow. Instead of sleeping, she packed bags with cash.

#

There were three beat up, different colours vans rolled up at five thirty. Gabby paid an elderly man the money and waited until they were long gone before the guys packed the vans.  She lent up against the green building. She tried to help the guys carry the bags, but the guys weren’t having any of it.

Once everything was carefully packed. Dummy coffee beans placed on top and around, they all felt a tiny bit better. Maybe it was being on the move that made them feel safer. There was still just under five days of driving ahead of them.

Although the thought of seeing Sebastian at the end of all of it made her feel better.

She was pale, she was tired, and she was trying to cover it. 

Everybody piled into the vans before Frankie stood in front of her picking her up at the knees, tossing her over his shoulder

“I wanna drive”

“No way. You haven’t slept in a day. Forget it. You’re a passenger, Princess”

“Ugh” 

He placed her in the car and she was asleep by the time they left the city

[xenosagaepisodeone]

it's interesting to me how often people analyze chainsaw man without taking into account the setting. the type of society that characters inhabit is so deeply entrenched in grim bureaucracy that spills into how characters interact with one another as much as loss and interpersonal drama does. the way that people talk about denji and makima's relationship in particular is odd because of how often the physical aspect of their interactions are discussed alone, despite existing and developing in tandem with this dehumanizing backdrop. denji and power having no rights and kobeni being at the mercy of her family/employer is played for laughs as much as it's used to reinforce that this is an abnormal world that makes abnormal people. makima and reze are implied to have been raised by their respective governments. makima uses her status to control denji as much as she plays into his romantic/maternal wants. handing over some aspect of your body to demons are formalized as "contracts" by an employer that has a mass graveyard for employees KiA. around the episode 4 mark I started seeing more complaints about the brownish desaturated palette and morose, discordant direction the anime chose to go with and I thought "no...that's about right. an adaptation for a setting like this should feel like a cross between Brazil (1985) and invader zim."

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Jordan Martins

Jordan Martins is a musician, organizer, educator, and visual artist whose works have been shown in Chicago and Brazil. While he has played steel guitar and other instruments for years with the singer / songwriter Angela James, his first solo album, Fogery Nagles, was released by the Astral Spirits label in the fall of 2023. In his review for Dusted, Bill Meyer wrote, “Fogery Nagles arrives, seemingly out of nowhere, but just at the right time.”

Sarah Davachi — Cantus Figures Laurus

I’m a sucker for long-form droney music in general and as of late I’ve been bathing in organ music of this kind as much as possible. I had really enjoyed Davachi’s other works but fell fully under her spell with this box set of works from the last few years with over four hours of heavy tones unfolding in various ways. I like to listen to this as loud as possible to feel these sounds as vibrations. There are several shorter tracks that focus on a particular palette or tonality, with the later tracks being from live recordings of longer performances. Even though the set is a compilation joining these sets of works together after the fact, I love this body of work as a sequence of experiences.

Caetano Veloso — Araça Azul

It’s hard to pick a favorite Veloso record, but if I had to it would be the utterly unique Araça Azul, recorded in 1972 when he returned to Brazil after being exiled by the military dictatorship years prior. The record is markedly outside of the original zeitgeist of the Tropicalia movement — less ecstatic, hopeful, collaborative, and postmodern in the mixing of styles — but at the same it’s maybe the purest expression of the experimental range of sounds and poetry that the movement ushered in. There are other musicians playing on some tracks, but the whole thing feels like a single creative brain tinkering with ideas and sounds until they take enough shape to be a “song.” There’s a fundamental collage approach that I love — where he engages in field recordings, musique concrète, dissonant orchestrations overlapping on simple folk melodies, and transformative and ballsy covers of classics by singers like Monsueto and Milton Nascimento.

Angelika Niescier, Savannah Harris, Tomeka Reid — Beyond Dragons

I had the good fortune of seeing this trio play at Elastic in Chicago this past spring. When they finished their set, my wife leaned over to me and said “THAT WAS HOT SHIT” which is maybe the most accurate thing to say about these players and this music. Niescier’s compositions are somehow tight and specific while simultaneously giving each player ample room to flex and explore with abundant space around the components of each piece. I love their ability to charge into a piece full steam with an almost aggressive sense of urgency and then allow their interactions to gradually fragment and dissolve into textural interplays and quiet call-and-response improvisations.

Paul Franklin— solos on “Together Again”

A friend hipped me to a video of Paul Franklin soloing over the Buck Owens classic “Together Again” and I’ve since gone down YouTube rabbit holes watching as many clips as I can find (and I see other people in the comments on the same journey). Franklin is a Nashville legend who has played pedal steel on hundreds of recordings since the seventies. As a member of the Time Jumpers, he plays as a sideman to Vince Gill at local venues in Nashville covering classic country songs, often playing this tune which originally featured Tom Brumley playing a quick steel solo that used some very innovative voicings at the time. Franklin’s playing is so technically brilliant, but it also illustrates the ways in which the instrument can be psychedelic and disorienting, even in a conventional setting. His solos always follow a basic architecture but there’s subtle variations, improvisations and flourishes in every version where you can see him trying to find new ways of cracking it open. My favorite clips are the ones where he goes out on a limb and the audience is noticeably giggling as they experience the sonic floor drop out from under them like they’re on a carnival ride.

Nicholas Britell— “Unto Stone We are One”, funeral “March Song of Ferrix,” season 1 finale of Andor

I sometimes dabble in the questionable array of new Star Wars projects and absolutely loved Andor’s vision of a bureaucratic fascist space empire, not spending a second on jedis and lightsabers, instead examining the interrelationships of imperial occupations, military contractors, and resistance movements. The last episode is masterful in part because the tension of the entire season simmers to a boil during a funeral procession with working class miners playing junky space orchestral instruments. The score of this funeral march by Nicholas Britell is a haunting, yearning motif that steadily builds but the stroke of genius is how perfectly out of tune the instruments are! Such a simple and surprising choice does such heavy lifting in terms of adding a sense of materiality to the setting and imbuing the dramatic build up with a subtle unease beneath the gorgeous arrangements.

Terry Riley— Music for The Gift

A very early work by Riley experimenting with tape loops, with an approach that is uncannily prescient in the way it does a live remix of a jazz quartet as they improvise around tunes. The fact that this particular quartet was Chet Baker’s (with trombonist Luis Fuentes, drummer George Solano, and bassist Luigi Trussardi) is a surprising interlocutor in all of this: it would maybe seem more fitting to for this to involve an unorthodox voice rather than a more straight ahead, idiomatic jazz player for these out-of-the-box experiments. But I think the music works precisely because of the nimble-swinging of the group as Riley cuts up and repeats their melodies and phrasing back onto them in a slurry of loops that piles up and interacts with their improvising in unexpected ways. The clarity and charm of Baker’s playing is a perfect fit. Peter Margasak wrote a great piece about it for Sound American that you can find here.

Macie Stewart and Lia Kohl— Recipe for a Boiled Egg

Two of my favorite improvisers in Chicago. They are so emblematic of what I love about the creative scene here in the ways that they endlessly collaborate across a range of genres and scenes, whether improvising or composing, playing songs or deconstructing forms. This is a biased pick because they recorded this at Comfort Station, the small and idiosyncratic multidisciplinary art space I run in Chicago. The thing that first drew me to Comfort Station was the building’s unique vibrant acoustics and the porousness of sound that you get with an old building directly facing a busy street. Macie and Lia lean into that context in stunning ways on this recording, narrowing in on their voices and their bowed instruments reverberating and inviting in sounds from the outside world instead of recording in the controlled environment of a studio. You can hear ideas take shape as each listens, responds, builds, grows, dissolves into the other’s playing, with a recording quality that grounds them to a particular time and place.

Olivier Messiaen — “Louange à l’Éternité de Jésus,” from the Quartet for the End of Time

This is probably the single most impactful and cosmic piece of music I’ve ever encountered. Messiaen wrote all the movements for the Quartet for the End of Time while he was in a Nazi POW camp, and the entire work is on another level. But the sixth movement — just piano and cello — brings me to my knees every time I hear it. The first time I heard it was somewhat random and personal: during my freshman year of college, my mom was coincidentally the staff accompanist at the conservatory of the university I attended. And I would often borrow her car to run errands while she was rehearsing with music majors preparing their senior recitals. On one such occasion I was tip-toeing back into her studio to return her keys and heard a bass player (bass majors often adapt cello pieces for their senior recital) bowing the opening notes of the melody which seems to ask for a dissonant response from the piano. Instead, I heard my mom play the slow, pulsing major triad chord that entered in response, settling the piece into a hypnotic journey. I felt like the floor gave way in an instant and I had never experienced anything like it. Susan Alcorn has adapted it for solo pedal steel in a really unique way melding the harmony and melody together, and Atomic included it on their 2018 release of covers, Pet Variations, playing with deep restraint that the piece calls for while also letting the energy bubble up restlessly.

Jeanne Lee — Conspiracy

It’s hard to find a better expression of vocals and poetry integrated into a free jazz setting than this brilliant 1975 record, with Jeanne Lee leading a killer ensemble including Steve McCall and Sam Rivers among others. I had never heard Lee’s work before coming across this album when it was re-released by Moved-by-Sound in 2021 and I was struck by how much sparseness there is (somewhat similar to some of Caetano Veloso’s delicate moments on Araça Azul even), and how simple utterances give way to grooves and freakouts with the rest of the players wrapping around Lee’s command of the sonic space. If I’m being honest, I think these kinds of approaches to free form improvisations can often collapse into a kind of cheesiness or ham-fistedness, and this record NEVER once gets close to that, everything feels so purposeful even when the exploration is at its outer limits.

Olaibi — Mimihawasu

Although I had heard her playing on works by Japanese band OOIOO, this is a musician/project that I hadn’t heard of by name until someone I follow on Instagram posted that they had passed away this October (coincidentally on my birthday). Something in the way they eulogized her touched me deeply and I listened to all of her records in the days after (and often since). Maybe it is because my exposure to her music was immediately tied to her recent death, but there’s something so profound, tragic, beautiful, frail, intimate and loving about her music all at once. I wish I had heard her more before her passing, but I’m grateful that in the wake of her death this world of sounds has entered my life.

[far-side-skies]

Storm Hawks 'Bird' OC Challenge - April (Fools!) 2023

Hello everyone! Another month, another challenge! Just like last year, in the spirit of April Fools' Day we're going for something that flies but isn't a bird. The wonderful people on the Discord server helped me pick this one, and eventually we settled on the Amber Phantom Butterfly (Haetera piera)!

This butterfly is located in South America, and ranges across Brazil, Veneszuela and other similar countries. Its wings are almost entirely see-through, which made putting together a colour palette for it quite difficult, especially since the specimen photo is a bit lacking in the colour department.

Therefore this month I'm going to be posting numerous colour palettes over the course of the first week of this challenge! From both this specific species and similar, related 'phantom' butterflies. Because of how these butterflies' clear wings refract light, it's lead to all kinds of possibilities with colours, so I'm going to do my best to give you all multiple options this month!

Here's the first palette:

Deadline this month is Wednesday the 26th of April, 12pm. I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with!

As always, rules and extra photos are under the cut:

Minimum requirements for drawn entries to be put in the winner’s vote are a name, occupation, the character’s home/birth Terra and at least one paragraph (or about 100 words) of written backstory.

Minimum requirements for written (i.e. written dossiers without art, or mini-fics for the character) are 500 words including backstory and appearance. Feel free to make a mini-fic out of this challenge, I’ll make sure to link it with the final collage as well.

Entrants who are part of the Storm Hawks discord server will have the chance of getting a custom role for the next month! If you’re not part of the discord server, please ask for an invite if you’re interested.

You’re not expected to create a character from scratch for this challenge. If you’ve got an older character concept that’s been collecting dust or that you’d like to take the opportunity to revamp, feel free! The goal of this challenge is to inspire people.

Collaborations are allowed! Same rules apply, the only addition is that you and your partner(s) just need to make note of who was responsible for what part of the character

Make sure to tag me in your entries and also DM me with a link to your entry. Tumblr is not always reliable about notifications for this sort of thing, and I don’t want to risk missing anyone’s entries, so better safe than sorry.

The group collage of entries, and the winner’s vote are opt-in. Participation of those parts of this challenge are not mandatory.

[unawarer]

Get to know me!

thanks for the tag @the-type-a I'm really bored lol

🖌 - Do you have/want any tattoos?

I don't have a tattoo and I will only make one if I am sure of what I want. So yea maybe in the future I would get one or two

💚 - What’s your favourite colour?

I can't choose one tbh, I love so many colors so I will say the beach color palette

🍕 - What’s the last thing you ate?

Ice 💀 I try to hold my wishes on chocolate by eating ice

🕰 - What time is it where you are rn?

7 PM!

🌟 - What is your zodiac sign?

I'm a virgo

sun on virgo

virgo rising

and moon on aries

no fucking joke

🌍 - What is your favourite accent?

Australian accent, I can't take out of my head after I rewatched H2O mermaids

⚡️ - Do you have any scars?

If I have any then it was my cats faults lol (I have a few)

🌺 - What’s your MBTI type?

INTJ

🥀 - Favourite animated movie?

Lilo & Stitch and Spirited Away

📺 - Favourite show?

Total Drama, Alice in Borderland, Killing Eve and South Park

😂 - Are you ticklish?

Yes but my reactions of it always scares people 💀

💍 - Do you ever want to get married?

no and I doubt I will change my mind

😳 - Do you like your name?

When I was a child I used to hate it but I like it just fine now

💙 - What colour is your bedroom?

One of my walls are grayish lilac and most of my stuff in my room is pink so I think is pretty much pink

🤓 - How did you get your name?

My grandmother and grandfather were going to call me as Valentina but my mom hated so she picked Julia instead lol

🎓 - When did/do you graduate?

High School I graduated in 2021, I'm going to study and apply to college this year

🍄 - Do you have/want any piercings?

don't have any piercings but I'm planning to get a bellybutton pierced but I want to be 100% sure of it

👀 - What colour are your eyes?

dark brown

👱🏻‍♀️ - What is your go to hairstyle?

my hair is on my shoulders and they are naturally wavy so I just leave them wavy and straight my bangs (wavy bangs are impossible to manage)

🥂 - Have you ever drank underage?

yes

🍾 - Have you ever gotten drunk?

yes

😱 - What’s your biggest fear?

not having a successful life and having a miserable and boring life

🥵 - Would you rather be too hot or too cold?

too cold, I love drinking hot chocolate and getting cozy on my blankets

🌦 - What’s your favourite weather?

rainy day with partial sun, fucking vibe

🍂 - What’s your favourite season?

spring cause my bday it's the first day of spring in Brazil

🐷 - What’s your favourite animal?

basic but I love cats

🐶 - Do you have any pets?

2 cats and 1 dog

😴 - What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

a whole day

🎨 - Any hobbies?

playing valorant I think? 😭 I also draw sometimes

🛩 - If travelling was free, where’s the first place you’d go?

Japan, I love their food so much and I would enjoy to see their culture

🎇 - What’s your most searched thing on Google?

Duncney fanfics and South Park episodes

📱 - Favourite app on your phone?

Tumblr lol

🤠 - Are you more of a city person or a country person?

I'm more of a beach person, my whole childhood was going there and only leaving to eat so I could go back on the sea lmao but I also do enjoy the city

tagging; @webui1tgwensface @whenalioness @courtneyinreallife @courtneydeservesbetter @he4thney

[downrightsugoi]

A time-honored tradition, please take me and @crestfraldarius’ Zexal/Sharkbait shitpost headcanons we made over our weekend together:

-In addition to Edgar Degas the papillon, Ryouga also has a corgi named Archibald

-Thomas and Ryouga frequently hot box together in one of the Kamishiro’s fancy bathrooms. Thomas also may have had a cocaine problem.

-Kaito and Rio are dating. But they can still fuck other people (specifically Kaito and Chris and maybe Mizael)

-Yuuma is still an idiot. A lovable idiot. Ryouga loves him so much

-One night Ryouga asks Yuuma to degrade him but Yuuma always KATTOBINGUs things and goes a bit too far

“C’mon I can handle it. Make me feel like shit c’mon.”

“UH…. BESIDES ME, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME SOMEONE SMILED WHEN YOU ENTERED A ROOM?”

“…………….🥺”

“SHARK BAE NO-I DIDNT MEAN IT-“

-Ryouga says Yuuma can go anywhere to eat for his birthday. He will rent out the entire place. Michelin level restaurant. Paris. NYC. LA. Wherever. Yuuma chooses Olive Garden. (The marinara sauce is a bit too spicy for Kaito’s palette tho)

-Kaito and Ryouga are always at each other’s throats. But they are best friends (don’t tell anyone tho).

-At weekly dinner with Kaito, Ryouga, Yuuma, and Rio - Y: HEY SHARK WHAT’S AN ANAL PROLAPSE?

-Yuuma can hike 20 miles up hill and not break a sweat. He cannot handle walking three miles in a major city.

-Every now and then, Yuuma actually pronounces a high end brand or ~fancy~ food correctly. Ryouga is weak.

-Ryouga and Rio are mixed. Their mother is French. Ryouga’s “English” name is, of course, Reginald.

-Yuuma breaks out “Reginald” only in severe cases. Otherwise he’s “Shark” 99% of the time.

Y: wait what’s Rio’s English name?

R: ……Rio. It’s easy since it’s a western name.

Y: oh like the city in Brazil?

R: Ugh Yuuma no Rio’s isn’t located in-…..wait, you said Brazil? That’s……correct. Wow.

Y: I saw the movie! Did you know there are only two blue macaws left in the wild?

R: *taking off pants* god I love you

-Picture the “so no head?” Vine but with Ryouga and ripping a multi-million dollar donation to a zoo/aquarium when one of his favorite sharks is off display

-Ryouga has a 12 step Korean skin care routine. Yuuma washes his face with Dawn dish soap

@crestfraldarius please reblog ones I forgot I know we have more

I REMEMBER MORE EDIT:

-Ryouga rolls his joints with gold leaf. Just because. He also has a Mexican drug kingpin on speed dial. Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to

-Kaito has to be a chaperone when middle school Yuuma and Ryouga go to the mall for a date because they need an adult after 6pm. Kaito gets sick of Ryouga being nervous to make a move and calls him out on it frequently (“HOLD HIS FUCKIN HAND, RYOUGA” “Listen here you teeny bopper twink I am going to go to the bathroom and if you don’t KISS HIM by the time I get back I will show the world your self insert fanfic collection.”)

[mo79zz]

Case Study

Transcript:

Slide 2

While researching D&AD award winners, I selected a series of categories that particularly sparked my interest as I felt like my work related to them. These categories included branding and packaging design - which is relevant to this units work, typography, type, design & lettering, book design, and writing for design. From each category, I then selected one pencil winner that had designs drawing me in the most.

Slide 3

To begin with, the branding design award was Time, a Malaysian Internet provider known for delivering fast speeds. New government regulations meant it could no longer distinguishe itself from speed alone. The design agency ‘For The People’ stripped back to the essentials and redesigned the company with new illustrations and a more distinguishable logo, to accentuate the companies cheeky personality, and engage new customers. ‘For The People’ won a wood pencil for this redesign. 

Slide 4

I then looked at packaging design for the Hornicultural Society. ‘Ogilvy UK’ released a series of limited edition condom packets in the style of seed packets to help tackle the rise in STD’s among the over 65s. The packets feature typography and cheeky strap lines that are all creative ways to loosely describe sexual body parts. Both graphite pencils and wood pencils were won for this under numerous categories. 

Slide 5

Under the category of typography, I selected Gigi‘s Gelato. The design agency ‘Bridge and Partners’ explored how primary colour palettes evoke the ingredients, flavours and hues of endless summers enjoyed with Gigi’s. ‘Bridge and Partners’ won a graphic pencil award for this type design

Slide 6

The fourth award I looked at was type design, where ‘Studio Drama’ created a dualistic headline type face family for Vogue Brazil. They were presented with the challenge to effectively combine sans serif and serif styles encapsulated by two polarising ideas - vernacular and elegance, creating an authentic outcome that embodied Vogues iconic brand with the rich and cultural typographic heritage of Brazil. ‘Studio Drama’ were awarded a graphite pencil for this typeface 

Slide 7

Looking into the category of book design, the one that stood out the most to me was “five minutes more” - which is part of the “sport is never done” campaign with Nike. Physical education has only been encouraged in Middle Eastern schools recently, as it was always seen as a distraction. Nike worked with Wieden and Kennedy to bridge the divide by creating an innocent storybook with a deeper meaning. The book is interactive and allows the parent and child to take turns role-playing as Aisha and her mother, and encourages families to take their lessons from the book to the streets. 

Slide 8

Finally, I looked at writing for design, where the design agency, ‘Ragged Edge’ crafted a tone of voice that positioned Gaia as the life makers here for all the future families. Gaia was founded by a man called Nader to give people the chance to start and continue IVF with protection if unsuccessful, after him and his wife went through five rounds before conceiving their son, and discovering how much of financial gamble IVF is. 

Slide 9

This design agency is the one that struck me the most, so I began to research them further. 

Slide 10

I discovered that they have won a few D&AD pencil awards and have been featured on their website a few times, for Gaia, Eager which is a juice company they did a simplistic yet impactful packaging redesign for, and Papier - a stationary company they did a logo redesign for. But who are Ragged Edge??

Slide 11

Ragged Edge are a one studio branding agency based in London, who create designs and redesigns for companies with the conviction to challenge the status quo. They state that “People believe branding has the power to change organisations. Change industries change perceptions and change behaviours” this is what they call a changemaker. Clients and that believe they have the ability to become a changemaker reach out to Ragged Edge directly to give themselves the opportunity to become one. The company started up in 2007, and had ambitions to create a space of work with an abundance of opportunities, rewarding work and a place where talent was nurtured. Ragged Edge are a B-Corp company, which means they meet the highest social, environmental and transparency standards. 

Slide 12

The company states they are an open minded, collaborative, ideas driven studio where world class creative comes without primadonnas and where theres as much commitment to personal wellbeing as to career development”. After reading a lot of the reviews on Glassdoor for what the company are like to work with, I could see that the only negative things mentioned were the workloads, that is its a very fast paced studio where new ideas are generated everyday. I don’t personally see this as a downside but i guess the workload may pile up and become overwhelming. Many people who have worked for them exaggerate how they are a super kind team of people and the work environment is very friendly. People are pushed to be their authentic selves and brave thinking and creative ambition is highly encouraged. This is what drew me to them even more as i aspire to work for/ have my own company with the same mindset. 

Slide 13

Looking at a majority of the work done by Ragged Edge, a common theme amongst the brand is bold text and solid colours with either photography, illustrations or both. I really like their simplistic quirky style, how they use their colour pallets and how each redesign fits the brand perfectly. I would love to implement these features and style into my own future work as i think they give character to the brand without overwhelming customers. 

These are some of the companies that caught my eye on the website. A lot of them have recognisable logos or phrases that really work together in the bold and text heavy adverts alongside pops of animations or photography - Marshmallow, a driving insurance company, First choice, package holidays, monzo banking and go compare. 

Slide 14

I delved a bit deeper into some of their projects that interested me the most. Firstly, Marshmallow insurance

Slide 15

Marshmallow was created when it was discovered how unfair insurance prices were for people who move to the UK - even with flawless driving experience. Marshmallow helped to combat this and help hundreds of thousands of UK newcompers get fairer insurance. Ragged edge partnered on a full rebrand with this insurance company and changed things from brand strategy and a new mission, to identity and beyond. 

Slide 16

They generated a library of what they called “marshforms” made up of different shapes, that can be stacked and built together to represent the infinite variation and uniqueness of their customers. A bespoke typeface was also created, with a brand new M logo of a little marshmallow who is always looking forward. With the implementation of photography as well, they were able to bring their customer’s personality to life with bright and vibrant lighting. 

I really admire the simplicity and clean feel to the brand with it still having its own character and personality. This is the style of work i hope to be able to produce in coming units and projects. 

Slide 17

Additionally, I looked into their rebrand of Monzo where they aimed to make Monzo more Monzo with new colours, type and illustration. 

Slide 18

With the introduction of these things, the brand feels much more welcoming and friendly in comparison to other banking companies. I think the colour palette used fits really well together. The illustration suits the vibe of the bank and the type with moving image is bold enough that catches your attention yet simple enough to get the message across.

Slide 19

Looking at the interface and how the colours match each other well is very interesting to me. The hot coral represents the warmth from the company, followed by a complementary, navy blue and soft white alongside vibrant secondary colours used when necessary for added eyecatching features. The design is quite simple, but adding these vibrant colours and accents across the UI makes it more unique than what generic banking app/website includes. For example, Lloyds Bank has white black and green as their only featured colours and this can be quite boring. The pops of colour Monzo use along side animated illustrations has makes the banking seem like less of a chore. 

Slide 20

A lot of banks, use plain basic and boring photography as features for their brand with corporate colours and low lighting. Monzo wants to stray from the crowd and give more character to the brand and art direction by incorporating warmer hues and sunny bright colours to the photography, keeping to the friendly feel of the company. 

Ola Dobrzyńska was hired to do the illustrations for this company. Her work fits the more vibrant world of Monzo. But I feel like the addition of these illustrations gives a whole new dynamic to the brand. If you take them away, Monzo is still a vibrant friendly and welcoming bank however, if you add these quirky little illustrations in, it gives an additional visual to the website/app and gives it more cohesive feel. 

Slide 21

I looked further into the work of Ola Dobrzyńska, a full time freelance illustrator based in Warsaw, Poland. 

Slide 22

Ola’s work is bold and colourful with a passion for character design. 

Two pieces of work she has created with recognisable industries outside Monzo include illustrations to showcase the new Puma Cali - a collection that gives a nod towards sisterhood, the celebration of femininity and girl power. And illustrations to promote the launch of the Facebook dating app across channels in Poland. 

Her work can be seen mostly on instagram where she showcases her illustrations frequently, and etsy where she sells her prints. 

Ola’s work as an illustrator really inspires me as this is a strong interest of mine and the opportunity to work with big name clients like she has done would be incredible. 

However, I would need to expand my illustration skills a lot more if i would like to work to this level - I can’t be a procreate girl forever, I need to step into the adobe illustrator world and learn to draw in vector. 

Her illustration style is very different to mine but is all cohesive. While it is nice to have versatility in drawings, it is also nice to have a consistent theme amongst them, and this is something that i would like to improve on, so no matter what piece of artwork you see, you know it was by the same person. 

Slide 23

As a whole, looking at both Ragged Edge’s and Ola’s work. I know that this is the path of work that is for me, either working in a design agency for branding, or being a freelance illustrator FOR the design agency. 

To be able to achieve this I would need to expand my skills in all softwares and be able to use them easily and glide through without problems to ensure i work quickly and efficiently. I would also need to generate a portfolio of work that relates to the industry I want to work in, showcasing all skills i have in a multitude of ways and over a range of projects. Ragged Edge seem like a really great company to work for with opportunities to work on some amazing things that would be really fulfilling and exciting. The only way to work for them would be to check out the open roles on their website or email them, so this is something i can consider in the future when i have a large enough portfolio

In the next 3 years I aim to refine my design work a bit more and create more professional seeming work, with a variety of brand assets that can be incorporated and a solid recognisable logo through the use of thorough experimentation. I will try to increase my knowledge and use of adobe illustrator for typography and the designing of graphics to make things more seamless and clean.

Bibliography:

[comphebeauty]

Instagram: AndreaRosvry 😍🌹

[nomediocre]

I shall buy no more palettes 🙈 From top left : ABH “Subculture” palette ➡️BH Cosmetics “Take Me to Brazil” palette ➡️Juvia’s “The magic” palette ↪Morphe “35O” palette ➡️ABH “Prism” palette

[disaster-fruit]

lusobabies sketches from that last expression meme

[chappell-roans]

not sure if i have many followers who are makeup lovers, but one of my favorite brands bh cosmetics has a sale that ends sunday night where a ton of their site is up to 70% off (all the deals are linked here). their brand is affordable as it is and their quality overall is very good. 

my favorite products from them so far are any of their brushes, eyeshadow palettes, highlighters, their makeup removing solution, quick-change brush cleaner, lip liners, and diamond dazzlers, but i’ve heard good things about many of their other products! also, free us shipping on orders $40+. 

[anj-az]

💛

[spookybixtch]

Yellow eyeshadow 💛🍋

[donttemptmeiknowyourmother]

“But this much was certain: I didn’t want him if he didn’t want me. I deserved to be wanted, didn’t I? I wasn’t going to convince someone to be in love with me.”

-Aimee Agresti, Infatuate

[myearaches]

u know what. im gonna say it. the nyx ultimate bright palette wishes she could be what the bh take me back to brazil palette is.