#that old art was made with my friend maria's art supplies

[laxu00]

Chapter 1

The sun peeked through the curtains of Alex Garcia's new bedroom, bathing the walls in a warm golden hue. Boxes lay scattered around the room, remnants of his hasty move-in. Today marked the first day of his college life, and excitement buzzed in the air, though the lingering scent of dust and old wood reminded him of the past—the memories of his late grandmother who had once filled this house with laughter.

"Alex! Are you up yet?" his mother, Maria, called from downstairs, her voice slicing through the morning stillness.

"Yeah, yeah! I'll be down in a minute!" He rubbed his eyes, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He glanced at the chaos around him, realizing he really needed to get organized. The thought of college was daunting, but so was living in a house filled with old memories while trying to carve out a new future.

He hurried to clean up a few stray boxes, tossing clothes into a wardrobe haphazardly when he heard a knock at the door.

"Alex, it's Lila!" came a cheerful voice.

Lila Johnson, his childhood friend, had promised to stop by and walk him to campus. She'd always had a knack for knowing exactly when he needed her energy. He opened the door, revealing her with her signature wide grin, a sports bag slung heavily over one shoulder.

"Ready to conquer the world?" she asked theatrically, striking a pose as if she were about to step onto a stage.

"More like ready to conquer breakfast," Alex replied, stepping aside to let her in. "Did you really have to wear gym clothes?"

"You know me. Always prepared for any adventure," Lila said, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Plus, I wanna show off my moves during the soccer tryouts later."

Alex chuckled, imagining the chaos that would ensue during practice. As they made their way downstairs, he could smell the delicious aroma of pancakes wafting from the kitchen, a scent that always felt like home.

"Morning, my darling boy!" Maria exclaimed as they entered the kitchen, dressed in her favorite floral apron. "You're in for a treat today!"

The table was adorned with a spread of pancakes, fresh fruit, and syrup—all artfully arranged. It was classic Maria, always going the extra mile to make breakfast special.

"Wow, Mom, this looks incredible!" Alex said, taking a seat. Lila plopped down beside him, her eyes gleaming at the sight of the feast.

"Just trying to give you a great start for your first day in college!" Maria replied with a wink. "And don't forget, after this, we have your room to organize!"

"Right… The mountain of boxes awaits," Alex muttered, but a smile crept onto his face. He wouldn't have it any other way.

As they devoured breakfast, laughter filled the air, punctuated by the occasional playful jab from Lila about Alex's clumsiness.

"Remember the time you tripped and fell in front of that whole class?" she teased, leaning back against her chair. "You were so embarrassed!"

"That was one time!" Alex shot back, cheeks warming at the memory. "Besides, you were the one who dared me to juggle those textbooks."

"Good times," Lila laughed. "But today is a new adventure! We're gonna make it epic."

After managing to invade his stomach with more pancakes than he thought possible, they began tackling the boxes. Maria shuffled into the living room with her phone in hand.

"By the way, girls from your soccer team might swing by this afternoon," she said, glancing up with a knowing look.

"Wait, what?" Alex's eyes widened. "You invited them?"

"Just thought you could use some company!" Maria chuckled, her smile suggesting she found immense pleasure in orchestrating social gatherings to enhance the youthful chaos.

"Thanks, Mom," he said, half-amused and half-embarrassed. "No pressure at all."

Just then, the doorbell rang. Maria rushed to answer it, revealing a bright-eyed girl with short dark hair and an oversized paint-splattered shirt.

"Hey, is Alex here? It's Chloe!" she chirped, her arms filled with vibrant canvases and art supplies.

"Talk about a surprise," Alex muttered, peeking over the boxes.

"Perfect timing!" Maria grinned. "Chloe, come in! We were just talking about how to make this place more colorful."

As the morning rolled into the afternoon, their house began to swell with laughter, stories, and friendly banter. Each girl brought something uniquely beautiful to the group, and Alex found himself caught in a whirlpool of emotions. With Lila's competitive spirit, Chloe's creative flair, and his mother's warm guidance, he felt a sense of belonging he had not anticipated.

As evening approached, the house buzzed with energy, and Alex couldn't help but feel a mix of apprehension and excitement about the unfolding chapters in his life. Maybe this harem of strong-willed women wasn't just a strange twist—maybe it was exactly what he needed to navigate the road ahead.

Little did he know, romance was just around the corner, waiting to unfold like the vibrant paintings yet to fill his walls.

Support me: patreon.com/Laxu873

[thetiniestcicada]

I was going through my art folder recently and saw this old thing and it made me really wanna try inks again!! 

[reflectionsofacreator]

Ezio’s a Painter

I somehow kinda glossed over this during my ac2 and Brotherhood play throughs, mostly because I kept meaning to make a larger post about it, then kept putting it off. I guess that’s now. This is probably old news to a lot of people, but I wanted to write a post on it anyways. 

This is a researched theory, not explicitly confirmed, either via verbal or textual evidence. That being said, there is a mountain of worldbuilding evidence, if you go digging and give some thought to it. 

So early on in ac2, when you’re introduced to Ezio’s family, Maria Auditore, you hear this gem of a conversation as they walk through the city: 

Maria: Self expression is vital to understanding and enjoying life. You should find an outlet. Ezio: I have plenty of outlets.  Maria (dryly): I meant besides vaginas.  Ezio: Mother! 

During the outing, she leads him to meet Leonardo da Vinci, a family friend and local artist. This is the first time Ezio’s met Leonardo, and when Leo asks what Ezio intends to do with his life, Ezio says something about being “A banker, I suppose”, like he doesn’t really know what to do with his life. 

It isn’t until after the trial and murder of his father and brothers that Ezio truly becomes friends with Leonardo, and receives upgrades. It’s implied to take a few days, and Ezio doesn’t exactly have anywhere to go, so it’s likely that he ended up staying over at Leonardo’s while all of this went down, or over at Paola’s. It’s likely that Ezio took an interest in painting because of Leonardo, though this is never outright said. 

Now, Ezio being a painter isn’t touched upon at all until you get access to the Auditore Villa in Monteriggioni, and even then it’s not exactly called attention to. At most, you get the ability to wander around, and see Ezio’s room. In one of the corners is a painting of Ezio’s first victims, Uberto Alberti, the man directly responsible for the Auditore’s murder. 

Notice how it says “my”. 

This is something that’s actually happened in Ezio’s life. The Animus can only take so many shortcuts with his life, but the important things tend to stick there, in some way, shape, or form. Rebuilding Monteriggioni was important to Ezio, so it was incorporated as an economic mechanic. Painting was important, so we have portraits of the people Ezio’s killed. 

As ac2 progresses, Ezio’s room slowly fills up with more and more with portraits of the people he’s slain, all listed with a date of death, their name, and who they are. A few of them have personal descriptions, always written in first person, versus how the Animus uses second person to denote things. 

The language choices aren’t precisely significant in an earth shattering way, but it’s important enough to note it. It’s part of why I feel like these portraits are actually made by Ezio himself, instead of simply being commissioned-- the simple fact of the use of “my, I” etc. 

If you go downstairs in the villa, you can see an artist easel, as well as painting supplies. I, initially, thought maybe it was supplies for Leonardo, but at that point in 1476-8, Leonardo wasn’t living with the Auditores in their Villa. But they’re clearly there for a reason, meaning that someone in the Villa used them. This is the kind of environmental storytelling that I really enjoy, where there’s depth that you can dig for, but it’s not exactly the forefront of things. 

Additionally, Ezio’s home is filled with an art gallery, with whole rooms and halls dedicated to the stuff. This is true for Brotherhood even, after the loss of Monteriggioni, but the art gallery in the Tiber Island Hideout is much smaller. 

What’s interesting in ac2 is that most of the paintings that Ezio owns relate back to the stories of the gods, or of Adam and Eve, which is ironic considering the nature of the Assassin’s Creed backstory. Or it could be simply really subtle forshadowing, though of what I’m not sure. 

All the paintings that Ezio owns in Brotherhood, that aren’t his, are works from Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael. I checked -- all of them are by Raphael, whereas the ones in ac2 were from an assortment of artists, Leonardo among them. It just strikes me as a little odd that every single painting in his Brotherhood era gallery is by Raphael, but who am I to judge. Ezio’s just missing a statue from Michelangelo, and he’d have scored a Renaissance Trifecta. 

Ezio’s habit of painting his victims continues on into Brotherhood, where his targets are the focus of much larger paintings. His works in ac2 are roughly 2 feet at most, while the works in Brotherhood take up at least a whole wall’s worth.  

Another thing to notice is that the portraits in Brotherhood instead have more of an artistic look about them. Compare how all the portraits in ac2 look like simply in game renders with filters, versus how this painting of Lucrezia looks. 

Stylistically, the portraits in Brotherhood clash horribly with Raphael’s paintings, but I suspect that’s due to the artists taking more freedom with how they want to portray Ezio’s art. It’s much more modern than the time period would suggest his painting would be, but we ignore that because they’re cool looking. 

Ezio had nine paintings in base ac2, with the dlc adding on an extra two paintings, and sixteen subjects between all of them. Brotherhood has six paintings, and six subjects. Of the two groups, only one person is painted twice: Rodrigo Borgia. 

They both fit into the same sets as they’re painted in, with the first matching the other severe paintings, but I kinda feel like that’s more an art direction choice than a choice of Ezio as a painter/character. Obviously more thought was put into the Brotherhood paintings, so they have more life to them, and more detail, but even then, Rodrigo’s portrait doesn’t exactly stand out among the set. It’s still interesting to see the differences between the two, and kinda wonder at what they say. 

I’ll admit that the timing for Rodrigo’s first portrait is kind of ... odd? The attack on Monteriggioni happens almost directly after Ezio’s confrontation with Rodrigo, so there isn’t that much time for him to paint the man. I do feel that’s more of an issue with the games being made several years apart-- the player should get Rodrigo’s portrait after Ezio beats him at the end of ac2, and Brotherhood wouldn’t come out for another year or two. 

I kinda posit that Ezio painted the first one over the course of years, slowly, probably in the timeskips between sequences 12/13/14, and it wasn’t until Ezio beat the man at the end of ac2 that he considered it “finished” and put it up.

Admittedly I’m thinking of doing a series of posts where it’s just the various portraits, just because I can, and I kinda want to show them off. Maybe. 

Anyways Ezio’s a painter and I’m not going back on this. Take it as you will. 

[dafukdidiwatch]

Cool Cat Saves The Kids

I watched this movie and I still can’t believe this is the actual cover art for it.

God I wrote so many notes about this that even my flipping Bullet Points were basically an essay. I don’t even know how to begin just thinking about it hurts my head.

Overview: Cool Cat is Cool. Things happen to him, and he has to deal with bullying.

That’s it. That’s the thing I watched. Because there is no Real Flipping Plot to this movie.

This is a kid’s show. Or at the very minimum, a movie that is intended for children. It was based on a kid’s book series I’ve never heard of whose author Derek Savage decided to turn it into a movie. Though movie isn’t exactly what I would call it. When you watch it, it honestly feels like there are six 15 minute shorts that they just mashed together to a feature film, but even then that is a Generous Description.

Basically, the film tries to be a children’s program (and I guess has beef with Barney?). And you can see intent behind it being informative child-friendly psa. But the execution was so bad.

First, there is no plot. Sure the cover says that this is “an anti-bullying kid gun safety movie,” but it really give you nothing. What would happen is that Cool Cat has a problem, like someone bullying him or his friends. It would either A) be addressed immediately and solved so that’s great, or B) it is dropped immediately and never really addressed throughout the rest of the film.

And example of A is that the bully kid Butch just starts stealing candy just to be “evil,” Cool Cat sees that and chases him, and the kid gets arrested twenty seconds later. The End.

For B, Cool Cat gets a mean email. And...that’s about it. He responds to the email, but doesn’t actually address the issue and the subplot drops entirely until that VERY Last wrap up scene.

I think the reason for this lack of plot is that there was just WAY too many messages in here. Like, take a shot every time you see a psa announcement. It ranges from don’t bully, how to deal with bullies, being creative, crossing the street safely, to fricking GUN?! Like, the gun thing that I Guess was promoted in the movie tagline, only shows up the last 10 minutes. It caught me so off guard. You cannot call this a Gun Safety movie when guns aren’t even prevalent!!

And the lack of plot is counterproductive when you want to make a Kid’s Movie like this. If you want to tackle each issue as a show or a short, the messages would come across better. There would be more time to develop each message for kids to really understand. But because there is So Much to cover, a lot of the things are gonna fall to the wayside. There is no way a kid would pay attention to this, and if they do I doubt they are gonna learn everything that Derek Savage is trying to teach. There just isn’t any real focus.

The acting, god like they Tried to go with the kid friendly vibe, but was not working. At All. It was like they thought that to add emotion is to just enunciate your words as loudly as you can. Cool Cat was way too yelly. Every line he was just screaming, has no change whatsoever. Even Elmo can sound sad when need be (fucking love Elmo, but he does has a similar voice vibe to Cool Cat, just better).

Then the kids....I don’t want to be mean but I’ll be blunt. They are just reading lines, this is a middle school stage play basically. I’m not blaming the kids, Butch look like he had a hell of a time doing his villain laugh. It’s just that some of the scenes felt like it was taken in one shot and they didn’t bother to retry. Example: One kid got too excited and jumped his line, but they couldn’t just retake that??

And the lines, man. OOF. Some of it was bad. Like, really really bad placement.They should have had someone proof-read this.

Cool Cat: “Why Are You Painting That Wall?”

Random Kid: “Because Nobody Loves Us”

lol what?

Maria: “I bet those kids have never been shown love before.”

Cool Cat: “Thanks, and it’s all true”

LOL What??

There are just a LOT of lines like that that should have been rephrased.

THEN there are the freaking technical issues.

The audio kept fluctuating in sound quality, which honestly started to hurt with Cool Cat’s constant yelling. Some scenes it sounds like they recorded in a studio, sometimes it sounded like the actors had to yell in order for the camera to capture it. There were echos, there were layers, you can’t hear the lines over the song, you can’t hear the song over the cheers. There was one point whispers overlaid on top of the lines where I thought that Cool Cat just got haunted now. And the fun side of having headphones on means I heard the phone button noises in only One Ear. LOUDLY.

Blocking could have been better. There were a lot of backs to the camera, shots of characters walking away from camera not just off screen. This didn’t bother me as much, because I know this isn’t professionally made. But it didn’t feel like they really tried as much as just half-assed it. Example:

Cool Cat was drawing a picture with different colors, but the actor only used one marker and just said different colors. Or Cool Cat is working on a poster but really just rubs the already completed poster  on a clean table as him “working.” Like, how hard is it to just film on a table with a bunch of craft supplies around you?

Then there are the questionable camera shots. LOTS of lingering shots to I assume fill up run time. These are shots of just showing Cool Cat walking round without having any real purpose. It shows Cool Catwalk all the way Up Stairs. Walked all the way Down Stairs. Walking into the House, walking into the Car. Even just shots of the parents doing things with no real motivation or impact to whatever Cool Cat is doing. It’s just there. If you want to say stuff like "oh well its to show the parents relationship" no it doesn’t. You can’t really add nuance to characters when the rest of the film is just one chaotic shot after the other. It just gets lost in translation.

The music number is probably what hurts me the most. You see Cool Cat WRITE the song. Then he SINGS the song. Then he DANCES to a DIFFERENT song. And that was it. He just needed the song for the parade, but there wasn’t any explanation or anything. I don’t even know WHY he needs the song for the parade! There was no explanation. It was just an excuse to have two back-to-back bad music video of poor choreography that again, NO POINT to whatever plot/message/psa thing he is trying to do.

I get that there should be some leeway since it looked like this was shot at Derek Savage’s house/neighborhood, so there really isn’t much they could do with their setting. But they could at least tried more with what they had. Cool Cat’s room doesn’t look exactly child friendly. There are only blank drab walls with two, maybe three posters of just Cool Cat himself. There is a reason the settings in other children shows have vibrant colors to engage them. Along with that, another half-assing moment was Butch graffiting Cool Cat’s poster, but it was one of those political posters you stuck on the lawn so it was like a foot tall outside. 1) You can’t really see that shit that small. 2) You couldn’t put the poster on a wall to film that scene at, to give a better view to the audience? It’s just a bunch of little things like that all over this film that really adds up.

Also, what’s with the posters only being about Cool Cat in his own room? A bit narcissistic if you ask me.

I'm also like 70%,sure they made this movie around the footage of them being in the Hollywood parade twice. They were at the parade, got the film, and wanted to use it so they made a movie for it. And I know it was twice because the announcers that were there to announce the arrival of Cool Cat had a costume change after switching scenes.

And after ALL of this, there is just so many random shit that really don’t do anything. Elements are randomly introduced and just as randomly dropped. We get a “next day” transition in the middle of the movie when days have already passed before them. Cool Cat breaks the 4th wall a couple of times with no real reason why. There is this joke where the camera was following Cool Cat into the bathroom for Cool Cat to ask for privacy, only to just ignore that bit every time he goes to the bathroom afterwards. Cool Cat just makes random ass noises when doing things, not important stuff. Just Doing Things. And he does this weird thing where I think he is trying to do Air Guitar, but it just looks like he is just shaking his leg a lot. I don’t really get it.

(Oh Shit, it is only after like the 3rd proof-read of this review I notice that in the gif you can clearly see the dude’s actual leg. I don’t know how mascot suits actually work, but I’m pretty sure that you’re not supposed to let kids actually see that there’s a person underneath in a kid’s show.)

There is also this....lowkey humblebrag going on? Which does not do the movie favors. After the first dumb song number, Derek shows off that he has a signed guitar by Van Halen. Like not just him playing it (which after the 15th zoom in on the guitar how could you NOT notice it thank you Derek), but pointing out to the audience that, Yes it was Indeed signed by Van Halen. Then there is the footage from the Hollywood Parade about the cars there. Sure, I get showing off like the Ghostbusters car, or Jurassic Park car, or the Batmobile. But Hurby the Love Bug? Night Rider?? Starsky and Hutch??? Magnum P.I.?????? The target audience is elementary kids, they aren’t going to know these old shows. So who is this for exactly?

Kudos to the cop for actually doing this, seriously. That cop probably had a hell of a lot of better things to do than arrest children for a bad after-school special.

And this is just SOME of the main problems of this film. There’s so much going on it would be impossible for me to go over everything without

The thing is, there is good material here. Maybe not great results, but there are a lot of ideas here that you can work with to make a decent kid’s movie. I actually loved the part where Cool Cat is dreaming and trying to figure out how he should handle bullies. I thought that was a good scene and a good way to show kids how to think through different options. There are good ideas here, but it was just way to much going on at once the movie basically shoots itself in the foot.

So here is My Version of what Cool Cat should have done. 

Cool Cat is running for School President. That’s the main story line. Early in the movie he learns of a writing contest where the winner gets their own float at the hollywood parade (stretch but roll with it). But Cool Cat has no idea what to write, and talks to it with his friends who offers ideas. So he is juggling that along with running for Student President.

However, the Butch the Bully doesn’t like that. He doesn’t want Cool Cat to win. So he vandalizes his posters. Cool cat still runs and makes better posters. Butch tries to frame Cool Cat for vandalizing the playground, but instead his cronies get caught and convinced that it was a bad idea. So Butch decides to cyberbully Cool Cat and his friends to scare them off. He works with the other kid running for President to make a hate ad against Cool Cat, telling everyone how terrible and bad Cool Cat is. Cool Cat tries to go against this my making his music video song over how cool he is to swing the votes, making Butch more angry and vindictive to his bullying scheme.

Cool Cat doesn’t know how to get Butch to stop, but after getting advice from his friends, parents, teachers, and some hard thinking, he decides to confront Butch about his bullying issue, tell someone, and thus solves the problem. Later on after talking to Butch, maybe manages to convince him to start being friends. 

Finally, Cool Cat uses this scenario to write his story about how to deal with bullying and make new friends. Which wins and we end with the Hollywood Parade.

Is this perfect? No. But it focuses the idea to one main plot (running for president) with the other issues naturally coming off of it, instead of making each issue it’s own separate thing. There is no random shifts in narrative, no GUN moments (or GUN in general we kick that shit out) and just focus on the main bullying theme.

Overall: This was a weird and bad children’s show. You have to put in a lot of effort into making a movie, but there was just too much going on for this to be a Good Children’s Movie, least of all a Good Movie in general. But it isn’t to say that it wasn’t morbidly enjoyable. It’s was like playing Spot The Difference to find all the Wrong Things in here. It was fun in a bad way.

So will I show this to children? No. But will I play a drinking game with my friends where we take a shot every time someone says the phrase “Cool Cat”? Yeah that sounds enjoyable. 

Take a shot for every time you read “Cool Cat” in my review.

Side Note:

You had this as a GUN PSA, wtf are you doing holding a gun!? Given how the only 3 videos this channel has is only Cool Cat Trailers, I’m assuming this is official Cool Cat. Soooo.....what the hell?

[epicstuckyficrecs]

July 15th-21st

Under a Read More this week because it’s pretty long! I also added a new “re-read” category! :)

You can find my other Weekly Recaps here!

Complete

The First Breaking Point by justanotherStonyfan/ @justanotherstonyfan  (Shrunkyclunks, future AU | 20K | Mature): There are cameras, because there always have been, but seeing it in person is far more arresting, watching Steve prepare to deliberately talk about it is different. “Eleven years ago,” Steve says, and James remembers it - James was eight years old, “in the winter of 2015, I had what the media now commonly refers to as a breakdown.” (💙 Part 26 of Honey Honey)

The Most Wonderful Time by justanotherStonyfan/ @justanotherstonyfan (Shrunkyclunks, future AU | 42K | Explicit): Everybody tears into their wrapping paper - actually, that’s not true. James’ whole family aside from Chip is, much like Steve, a family of pickers. Anthea, and Becca, and James all open their gifts by carefully peeling the tape back and removing the paper like sleeves. “Huh,” Steve says, and does the same because he always has with fancy paper. He and Buck used to wrap with newspaper if they could afford gifts at all. On the rare occasions they managed brown paper, Steve treated it like gold leaf. (💙 Part 27 of Honey Honey)

Truth in Fiction by dixons_mama (Evanstan RPF | 4K | Explicit): Chris has just received the new Avengers script, and Steve is going to kiss Bucky. Considering Chris has been in love with Sebastian for nearly a decade, he should be excited, but this isn't exactly how he'd (often) imagined it happening.

where women glow and men plunder by rohkeutta/ @rohkeutta (Modern AU, Australia | 3K | Mature): When the snake doesn't show any signs of leaving in a few more minutes, Steve grudgingly goes inside to retrieve his phone and the post-it with James’s number. Not ten minutes later, there’s the clatter of skateboard wheels against pavement, and then the most beautiful man Steve has ever seen rolls onto the driveway, like some absurdly stunning Australian reincarnation of Napoleon riding on a longboard to conquer Steve’s Bavarian body. 

💙 tiny cities made of ashes by mambo/ @whtaft (canon divergent | 4K | Mature): Their plan has three parts: disable Bucky's kill triggers, find a ship, and leave the planet. So they go to New York to find someone who can help them with step one. (💙 Part 3 of child of thanos)

good news for people who love bad news by mambo/ @whtaft (Canon divergent | 1,8K | Explicit | Warnings: Violence, MCD): Before they leave the planet, the Captain has an errand to run. (💙 Part 5 of child of thanos)

💙 Fraternizing With the Enemy by AidaRonan (University AU | 7K | Explicit): Steve and Bucky are both the presidents of their respective fraternities. Steve thinks Bucky's frat is filled with selfish party animals who care about little else. Bucky thinks Steve is a giant pretentious douchebag who owns too many Lacoste polos. They hate each other. Passionately. Until they don't.

Drive by AidaRonan (PWP | 3,2K | Explicit): Steve and Bucky are hanging out at Carol and Maria's when the thirst hits. Or sometimes you lay eyes on a super-muscular Carol Danvers and it ruins your life.

Fists and Honey by AidaRonan (Canon | 3,6K | Teen): "When did you know?" Sam asks Bucky, sending him back to 1938 and the feeling of Steve's lips on the back of his neck.

My anaconda don't want done unless you got scones hun by AidaRonan (Shrunkyclunks | 3,6K | Mature): The barista's latte art doesn't quite go as planned. Given the day Steve's been having, it kinda figures.

What Colors Would I Be? by AidaRonan (PWP | 2,8K | Explicit): On a too-hot summer day, Steve finally puts the moves on his gorgeous landscaper. The landscaper doesn't mind.

Two Strays in Bucharest by AidaRonan (Post/WS | 1,6K | General): He hears the cry from a mile away. Desperate and high and wailing. He’s drawn to it like a moth to a lit match, his boots turning to follow before he can even think to question why.

la vie en rose by mcwho (PWP | 1,4K | Explicit): Steve bends Bucky over the marble bathroom sink of Casa de L’Amour right before their starter salad.

💙 Covet Thy Neighbor's Towel by dixons_mama (PWP | 2,3K | Explicit): After stumbling upon his nearly naked neighbor, Bucky decides he's never needed to be fucked so badly in his life.

My Boyfriend Calls Me Daddy, Too by cydonic (Modern AU, Parent!Steve | 5K | Explicit): As a father, you get used to being called Daddy. Just not by your boyfriend. (sequel to Home Is Wherever I'm With You)

WIP

💙 This Side of the Blue by notlucy/ @notlucy (Mermaid AU | 19/44 | 69K | Explicit): Tucked against a set of crumbling, stone steps was a tank made of metal and glass, filled to the brim with greenish water, distorted sunlight filtering through and casting strange shadows. Playing tricks on the eye. A trick was the only explanation for what Steve saw floating there. This figment of his childhood. This myth. This legend. Within the tank, the siren bared its teeth.

💙 come as you are by silentwalrus/ @silentwalrus1 (Post-WS AU | 25K | 3/? | Explicit): Steve comes back to the States. He pursues truth, justice and the American way. Bucky comes back too. He pursues inebriation and intercourse. (Part 3 of Bucky Barnes Gets His Groove Back & Other International Incidents)

Solitary by exclamation (Canon divergent | 33/? | 82K | Mature): The Winter Soldier has been a prisoner of SHIELD for about a year and a half, placed in solitary confinement under strict security when it was clear he wasn’t going to respond to the best interrogators and deprogrammers SHIELD had available. When Fury asks a newly awakened Steve Rogers to assist, Steve is hesitant. He doesn’t understand why Fury thinks he would have a better chance of getting through to this guy than all the people who have tried and failed.

💙 four dreams in a row where you were burned by voxofthevoid/ @voxofthevoid (canon divergent, post-Endgame, 1945 alternate timeline | 4/? | 21K | Explicit): When Steve uses the last of his Pym Particles to travel to 1944 and save his best friend, he doesn’t have a plan beyond leaving behind the battlefield and living his life alongside the people he loves.But the life that finds him is not the one he expects.

💙 Cause you can’t, you won't, and you don't stop by redhook (Modern AU, roommates, FWB | 1,9K | 1/? | Explicit): It isn't like they're actually fucking or anything. It's fine.

Cakes & Balances by mambo/ @whtaft (POTUS Steve | 8K | 4/? | Teen): It’s kind of hard to date the cute baker from down the street when you’re the President of the United States of America. But Steve Rogers will make it work.

💙 Like Real People Do by 2bestfriends (Shrunkyclunks, canon divergent post-Avengers | 6K | 1/10 | Explicit): Seven years into an isolated retirement after the Battle of New York, Steve has carved out a place for himself in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. He has a best friend (his dog, Lady), a frenemy (a local black bear named Rufus), and a cabin in the middle of the woods, an hour's drive from the nearest town. As November comes to a close, he heads into town to pick up supplies and ends up with a stowaway.

Re-read

Too Long We Have Tarried by kototyph (Post-WS | 19K | Explicit): Bucky picks up the ring and holds it between them. “Steven Grant Rogers,” he says solemnly. “Will you marry me?”

💙 Say it louder for the people in the back by redhook (Modern AU, sex worker Steve | 14K | Explicit): Steve operates a glory hole. One of his regulars starts to get under his skin.

[freehawaii]

KUMU PAUL NEVES - PEACEFUL WARRIOR & AMBASSADOR OF ALOHA

Ke Ola -March/April 2020 - By Marcia Timboy

Kumu Hula Paul Neves is a familiar and esteemed presence to many on Hawai`i Island: a cultural practitioner, community organizer, vocal proponent of Native Hawaiian rights and sovereignty, and a high chief in the Royal Order of Kamehameha I. He has created hālau hula communities on a foundation of aloha with the intent of making a difference in the world, through the practice of Hawaiian cultural arts and values.

Paul was born in San Francisco, California on September 27, 1953, the 13th child of Manuel “Red” Neves and Agnes Kaina Kea. His father, Red, was from Kīlauea, Kaua`i. Paul’s grandparents, Joao Neves and Maria Rodrigues-De Pao, migrated from Madeira, Portugal to Kaua`i as plantation laborers in 1907. Red moved to O`ahu for better employment opportunities soon after high school. He eventually found work with the federal government.

“Papa was a civil service crane operator at Pearl Harbor, in charge of putting fresh water on the battleships. He narrowly escaped death during the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Sunday, December 7, 1941.”

Paul’s mother, Agnes Kea from Palama, O`ahu, was one of 14 children (as was Red). Her father, John Kea Mano was born in Kalaupapa, Molok`‘i. Agnes’ great-grandfather, Mano, originally from Wailua, Kaua‘i, was diagnosed with Hansen’s disease and sent to Kalaupapa leper colony in 1888.

Mano and a Lahaina woman, Nellie Nahiole`a, who also contracted the disease, started a family. Agnes Kea’s grandfather, born in 1892 in Kalaupapa, did not have leprosy. “My maternal great-grandparents’ signatures can be found on the ku‘e document, protesting the annexation of Hawai`i.”

After a quick courtship of two months, Red Neves and Agnes Kea were married in the Honolulu neighborhood of Kalihi in 1933. “My parents began their family in 1934. The war years were challenging for many kama`āina families. My dad did not like martial law in Hawai`i,” recalls Paul. Following WWII, his dad assisted in the cleanup after the Hilo tsunami of 1946. When his civil service job relocated to the West Coast, the family relocated as well.

Growing up Hawaiian on the Mainland

Kumu Paul was born in San Francisco, but he was brought up in the Hawaiian/kama`āina way. The Neves `ohana (family) bought a house and several lots in Bernal Heights in San Francisco, creating a Hawaiian-style homestead. “Dad raised pigs, cattle, goats, chickens, and we had an orchard and vegetable gardens. My folks tried to duplicate old Papakōlea [Hawaiian homestead lands in Honolulu] right above the City,” Paul remembers fondly.

During the 1950s through 1960s, the family was part of an intimate San Francisco community of Hawai`i transplants, hosting entertainers from “home” with backyard kanikapila (music jams) and island-style home cooking. Many of the Fairmont Hotel’s Tonga Room entertainers, and other touring Hawaiian musicians from ocean liners, would find their way up to the “Hawaiian homestead” of Bernal Heights. His mother, always so graciously generous in an innately Hawaiian way, shared whatever the family had.

“Poor is when you don’t know who you are,” Agnes Kea Neves told young Paul and his siblings, and she made sure they knew who they were, grounded in where they came from, Hawai`i.

His parents visited Hawai`i at least once a year on the Lurline or Mariposa ocean liners, to visit family and friends and transport Hawai‘i food and other supplies back to their adopted home.

The turbulent 1960s—with the Vietnam War, racial discord, and social upheaval—brought life-changing challenges to the Hawaiian family. Compelled to move back to Hawai`i after more than two decades away, the family settled in Kailua, O`ahu in 1968.

“They never forgot who they were or where they came from. My dad never considered himself haole,” says Paul, although his dad was Portuguese—of European descent.

Wandering, to Return

Young Paul graduated from Kailua High School in 1971, and left the islands in 1973 to seek adventure and opportunity. He and a friend headed down the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to Mexico.

“We hung out there [Mexico] for around six months, living like hippies!” After driving back to Northern California, he explored living in several cities while working for Air California from 1974–1984, moving from Oakland to San Diego in 1975, and from San Diego to Las Vegas in 1979.

Moving to Las Vegas was a pivotal point in strengthening his cultural identity. He began studying renowned Kumu Hula No`eau Winona “Nona” Desha-Beamer, and kumu `ūniki (given status of kumu hula) from Aunty Nona in 1968. Subsequently, `ūniki was from Kumu Kaho`onei in 1999, after 20 years of study.

Since moving to Hilo in 1984, Kumu Paul has been active and involved in spiritual, cultural, and political issues facing Native Hawaiians. In 1986, he was a founding member of Ka Lahui Hawai`i, a sovereignty initiative. He also served the Catholic community for 21 years as a pastoral associate until 2004. He has given workshops in the Cook Islands, across the US continent, Puerto Rico, Europe, at the United Nations, the World Council of Churches, the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland, and has participated as an official observer for the Royal Order of Kamehameha I in regards to the Hawaiian Kingdom at World Court in The Hague, Netherlands.

Kumu Paul established Hālau Ha‘a Kea o Akala in 1998; Hālau Ha‘a Kea o Kinohi in 2004, jointly based in Hilo, San Francisco, and Kyoto, Japan; and Hālau Ha‘a Kea o Mokihana in Washington, DC. He has judged and participated in hula competitions in Hawai‘i and Japan, including Hilo’s own Merrie Monarch Festival. “Hula people are ambassadors of aloha,” Paul proudly states.

When his parents moved to Hawai`i Island from O`ahu in 1989, Kumu Paul was already an integral member of the Hawaiian cultural community and aware of its concerns—one being the overdevelopment of “crown lands”  on Mauna Kea. He asked his mother, Agnes Kea, about lineal ties to Mauna Kea, because of the family name.

“She said there is protection from Mauna a Kea, that it brings about balance. ‘Weʻre Kea people—unblemished.

The mountain without blemish. Itʻs so holy, youʻre not supposed to go up there and if you do go there, itʻs for something really important. You walk very softly; you leave no footprints.ʻ Thatʻs how she explained it.”

Kumu Paul believes he returned home to Hawai‘i for a higher purpose. “We were given a special place to live with God. That’s why the whole world comes here. We cannot replace what it is.”

Kāhea—The Call

On April 10, 2009, Kumu Paul attended the momentous 50th wedding anniversary of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan. He had developed a rapport with the royal family when, as a member of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, he escorted Princess Sayako to the top of Mauna Kea in 1998 to visit Subaru Observatory. They met with the late well-known astronomer, Dr. Norio Kaifu, then the Subaru project’s director.

During a lunch meeting a few years later, Kumu Paul and his mentor, Genesis LeeLoy, candidly expressed their concern on further development atop Mauna Kea to Dr. Kaifu. “Please do not build more after Subaru,” they implored Dr. Kaifu. Kumu Paul believes that conversation was the reason no observatories have been built on Mauna Kea since 1998. Kumu Paul honored the astronomer’s integrity when he was invited to speak at Dr. Kaifu’s memorial in Tokyo in September 2019 by sharing the story of the lunch meeting to hundreds of dignitaries and scientists. “Dr. Kaifu [an architect of the TMT] didn’t say where to build the Thirty Meter Telescope [TMT]…Would you put it on Mount Fuji?”

The proposal of building the TMT has awakened an activist movement for many Hawaiians and their supporters worldwide.

Kumu Paul believes that Mauna Kea has called out “she that protects, now needs protecting.” He and the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, have heeded the kāhea (call), by establishing an ahu (altar) and a pu`uhonua (place of refuge) at the base of Mauna Kea. They have stood in vigilance since July 13, 2019 to protect Mauna Kea from further development and will do so “until the last aloha ‘āina,” Paul declares.

“The spirit of Mauna Kea is calling upon the Hawaiian people to realign their spiritual past, present, and future. Hawaiians have the kuleana, the privilege, and responsibility to share ‘kapu aloha’ with the world.” Paul believes that the true physical sign of this is: first light at Kumukahi, Puna, aligns with the Naha stone to Mauna Kea’s summit and consequently up the island chain to Mokumanamana in the northwest Hawaiian Islands.

Kumu Paul reflects, “We are all here for a reason. In my vision, Hawai`i is the new Geneva. This is where people come to learn peace. The Mauna Kea movement is firmly grounded in the concept of ‘kapu alohaʻ—to conduct oneself in pono [righteous] and sacred behavior, and many who visit the mauna are touched to practice peace. One must be silent when approaching Mauna Kea, listen to what she has to say, as she is bringing balance and alignment for all of us here.”

[vmohlere]

More Infinite Coffee Q&A

@musings-on-bucky-barnes​ had some more questions from last year’s Q&A, and after AGES of procrastination on my part, here’s the first set of answers. Also on Ao3.

·         When does Pepper teach Bucky to wink?

 I have no idea! That’s not one of the little details that my brain bothered to supply.

 Or perhaps he saw her do it (to himself or someone else) and decided to copy it.

 Very possible! Barnes definitely watches Pepper closely, because he considers her a reliable source for acceptable social cues.

 ·         Reactions of the Tower residents and other friends when Bucky recovers enough to start grinning and winking? (We know that Natasha said it makes him look epically hot!)

 Pretty much the universal reaction to being grinned at by Barnes for the first time is being stunned and maybe a little turned on. Barnes doesn’t bring out the flirting that often – most often with the Olds and the folks at the Lucky Carp, because of his comfort levels – but Barton and Sam flirt with him pretty shamelessly, trying to get him to smile. Hill has been known to save up a particularly juicy smart comment so she can make it in front of him. And Tony would deny it forever, but once Barnes laughs softly at something during arm maintenance, he ramps the Tony Show up to 13 to try to make Barnes laugh again.

 And also what about flirting at and with Steve? Lucky Steve would get the full force of it when they’re together.

 Prior to Upgrade: Advanced Happiness Skills, Barnes only flirts with Steve when it’ll cause maximum embarrassment and/or make Steve drop something heavy onto his own foot.

 ·         The reactions of the others to Steve and Bucky being together? We get to see the main Avengers and the Olds react, but not Pepper, Maria, Bruce, Katie, Peggy and the Carp clan.

 Hill yells at them for ruining No-Touch Valentine’s Day, but come on – you know she’s delighted. Especially since their timing meant that neither Barton nor Tony won the betting pool for how long it would take. (Pepper won, because she picked the date Nat told her to).

 The others might complain that the bet is then null and void because Nat had insider information ;)

 Who would dare complain (to her face)?

 Mr. Hayashi blinks at them for a minute, until Kazue fusses at him for being old-fashioned.

 How does he then react?

 Oh, he’s fine, just momentarily surprised.

 Katie cries with happiness, and Steve’s a sympathy crier, so that’s a very damp conversation.

 Bruce notices. Eventually. (Nah, I kid – all the Tower residents saw this coming miles and miles away.)

 So that means that they are good at keeping their poker faces, as Bucky says in Advanced Happiness Skills that none of them (apart from Nat) noticed and that they appeared to be morons. (Which could mean that HE was so happy and distracted that he was actually the unobservant moron!)

 Correct.

 Sadly, I’m not sure that the Peggy in this world would be mentally together enough to hold onto the news. But her objective was always that Steve be safe and happy.

  ·         Steve and Peggy’s relationship - how it was affected in the period after Bucky’s ‘death’?

 I don’t have anything for this. Just thinking about it makes me so sad, though.

It is ironic that Bucky remembers more about Steve’s sex life than his own, like Steve & Peggy in the room in Lyon. Poor Bucky…

 Oof, his own sex life has a lot of stuff he didn’t want to remember, so he walled off all of it.

 Steve’s reactions to knowing that Bucky loved him and was jealous of Peggy

 Capt. Compartmentalization took that knowledge and tucked it very far back in his mind, bringing it back only when he wanted to torture himself by feeling guilty about it.

                 Will Steve and Bucky discuss Steve’s feelings/guilt about how he felt he let Bucky down during WW II?

 Oh, sure. They live for a very long time, and eventually, they talk all of it through.

  ·         Other Tower residents & Olds after Bucky has been shot

 Widespread frantic worry. There’s a phone tree for updates. Barton remembers to add the Hayashis to it.

 Steve’s reactions to wounded Bucky’s ramblings – including the ‘you’re my favorite person’ comment

 Well, you know, Buck was just as high as a kite there, couldn’t be held responsible for anything he was saying, and there definitely was no teeny tiny little part of Steve that had been in love with Bucky Barnes since he was 15 years old that was 100% thrilled.

 ·         Does Bucky ever run into Tyler and Dale again? Or they recognize him on TV when the media realize Bucky is alive/helping the Avengers?

 Oh man, I don’t know. I have thought about The Dale & Tyler Question a number of times, and I haven’t ever been able to decide what the funniest option is.

 ·         Bucky’s next birthday – will he be recovered enough for a big birthday party of his own?

 No, but I’ve just decided this minute that they rent out the Carp for the evening and have all the mission-assists for dinner. Barnes has to sit with his back to the wall near the front door, but he loves it.

 ·         What made you decide to do Steve’s POV? It was the first look at Bucky from the outside in this series.

 That section rose up and demanded to be written and fell out all in one lump. The only thing I changed while revising was to rearrange it a little. I really loved writing Steve’s voice.

 ·         Tony’s reaction to someone apart from himself doing something risqué/scandalous (the skinny dipping)

 He hates it, of course! While secretly loving it. Incapable of having a straightforward emotion, that one.

 ·         Solo trips to the Carp by other Avengers

 Oh, sure. They’re very good for that place’s bottom line. And Nat visits the Olds on her own.

 ·         It seems that Ollie’s honey Wayne died not long before Ollie encountered Bucky for the first time. How did the Olds all meet? Did they know Wayne?

 That must be so, given the way I mentioned things, but the timing wasn’t deliberate. Esther and Lidia had both lived in the building for several years, moving in when it was a much less dire place, and neither could afford to leave once it started getting bad. They were “nodding neighbors” until O’Reilly bought the place and started using it for nefarious purposes, and then they clung together for safety. Ollie moved in because it was what he could afford. They took one look at how sad he was and adopted him.

 Eventually, all three of them move to California, because the NYC winters get to be too much for their joints, and Ollie’s family is so happy to have him more active in their lives, and they don’t want to be separated. Barnes is NOT a fan of the plan, though it’s what ultimately makes him stubborn about learning to make air travel okay.

 That makes me sad and happy in equal measure. Tony would probably offer to do something whiz bang to the building’s heating, but a permanent move to warmer climes makes sense (and he and Pepper would make sure they got a great home). Hopefully Cat Eleanor likes her new home!

 Yeah, they are all really happy in California. Ollie’s family takes them all in with open arms.

 ·         Use of first names/surnames/nicknames and the importance of choice of which.

Like how you mentioned in a Tumblr post that you were very specific in Bucky’s use of Rogers, Steve and Stevie. And there is also how he only seems to prefer to let Steve say ‘Bucky’.

 Using a first name is a sign of intimacy for Barnes. Surnames keep people at arm’s length – or, in Hill’s case, are a sign of recognizing one as an equal.  His using “Steve” or “Stevie” means that it’s a moment of the programming losing power.

 And yes. Only Steve can call him “Bucky.” Only the Olds can call him “Jimmy.” He thinks of himself as “Barnes.”

 ·         How quickly did it take the Olds to realize that their mysterious new neighbor was Bucky Barnes?

 A couple of weeks.

 ·         Any more snippets of Cat Eleanor being her glorious cat self with the boys?

 Oh man, I wish I had one for you, but I don’t.

 They do eventually adopt their own cat, though, after the Olds move. His name is Jack, and he’s a hideous old grey thing with one eye. He and Barnes are devoted to one another. Jack tolerates Steve as a second-class roommate.

 ·         In ‘This You Protect’, you mention that Barnes is somewhat of a prude when Steve trolls him by singing rude and yucky songs. Is that a feature of old Bucky or new Barnes or both?

 Barnes

 Bucky thought all those songs were hilarious.

 ·         Recently you gave an intriguing one line summary about your original novel – please repeat that and tell us a bit about the genre, what stage it is up to, why you decided to write it.

 oh jeez.

 Did I say it was about a lady and her six werewolf boyfriends? I’m working on my query letter now, and I don’t know whether it’s urban fantasy—with—romance or paranormal romance, because marketing labels are a mystery unto me, but it’s full of jokes and people being dumb about their own emotions and baked goods. It’s definitely a coffeeshop AU, plus lots of boning.

 It’s not high art, but I had a ton of fun writing it.

 Honestly, I wrote it because I got mad at a bad fic (non-MCU) and decided I could do better. I will NOT link the fic.

 ·         Tell us the story behind your choice of that Battle of the Planets art for your icon.

 HA! I loved that cartoon when I was a kid. But mostly that picture just makes me laugh every time I look at it – it’s so cheesy. There’s something about the pose and the facial expression that I find hilarious, and I’ve used it for long enough now that it would be weird to change it.

 xXx

[yellowmagicalgirl]

Canon AU (cough Unbecoming cough) + Under Stress Confession? ;3

Like it says choose a universe and trope and I shall try to do it :3

So, I know that by canon au you probably meant Jim’s Unbecoming (and probably a different sort of under stress confession), but I think this is the perfect time to talk about my Determinant AU. It’s an AU where three major changes have been made to the universe:

Jim is a butch lesbian named Jennifer “Jen” Lake, and also half changeling because Barbara defected from the Janus Order. Originally she was also going to be the trollhunter bc this had a lot more sapphic starcrossed lovers, but I decided to change this. Well, it’s still sapphic, but less starcrossed.

Claire was kidnapped by Gladys Groe when she was eight years old; her memories were blocked by magic and she was raised as Morgana’s nameless apprentice, until she gained the name Fontaine de Morgan because she was sent back to Arcadia Oaks to spy on the first human trollhunter, otherwise known as...

The name called by the amulet after Kanjigaar’s death is Darci Scott, who eventually becomes known as Darci the Determined, or maybe Darci the Determinator.

In the Determinant AU, Darci’s Unbecoming results in the same thing as Jim’s did in the canon, with the added horror of nameless!Fontaine killing Mary, the latter of whom has Toby’s role in the story. However, there is a variant AU to my AU that I call the De Morgan’s Law AU. In this variant AU, Morgana senses that Merlin sent his human trollhunter back in time, and she names Fontaine and sends her to intercept and kill the human trollhunter. However, Merlin realizes what’s going on and has the amulet call out for Claire Maria Nuñez.

Darci is extremely suspicious of Fontaine, and tries to figure out just who the human (or half-human; she considers Jen) trollhunter is. She doesn’t suspect that Fontaine is

Fontaine tells Strickler she’ll look for Claire and try to kill her, but she used magic to convince the trolls that she was the trollhunter (even though she feels like she’s betraying Morgana by saying the incantation) since they already thought she was Claire. However, Fontaine doubts her own lie because she’s beginning to have flashbacks to having been in Arcadia as a child, having parents and having been friends with Mary (who is kept in the dark by both Darci and Fontaine). Eventually, her lack of loyalty begins to drive a wedge between herself and Trollmarket, but it does lead her to team up with Jen and Barbara.

Flash forward to the second Battle of Killahead Bridge. It occurs at the same time as before, and Darci has been practicing her swordplay and martial arts skills despite not wanting to be the trollhunter. Darci sneaks in, planning to hide until she was desperately needed or the battle is over, and go back to being a normal human with no connection to trolls if she could. She realizes that Mary is being used as bait. She sees Fontaine approach, smirking. Darci clenches her fists; Fontaine didn’t show up to the battle in the Determinant timeline. And then Darci has to keep herself from gasping, or else she’d give away her position. Mary does gasp.

“Well, you see, my real name is Claire Maria Nuñez, and Daylight is mine to command!”

Claire fights, relying on her training under Morgana and blasting Mary down with a bolt of magic. That goes about as well as you’d think, except when the amulet is forced into Killahead Bridge, Darci screams out the incantation, summoning the amulet to herself and causing the bridge to crumble.

Claire: Why do you have my armor?

Darci: Why didn’t you bring backup?

Claire: I brought a cavalry, waiting outside.

Mary: WTF is going on, I can’t even look this up on my phone because our monstrous history teacher broke it.

The cavalry is Jen on a bike. She hasn’t gotten a vespa because she doesn’t have anything close to a good relationship with Blinky between being half-changeling and Fontaine Claire not having a great relationship with him. Jen realizes that there’s more people than she was expecting, transforms into her half-changeling (immune to sunlight!) form, and runs alongside the others as they go to the cannals, because apparently Bular is headed there according to Darci. Darci is correct, and with the help of her friends she defeats Bular for the second time. She’s quickly reassessing how to do damage control, because she still doesn’t want to be the trollhunter. While Claire does need to work on her social skills (living in a cave with an abusive mentor and the once-a-year visits with supplies from changelings means she doesn’t know how to interact with people), Darci believes that Claire is a better choice.

Mary demands explanations. Why does Darci have armor and know how to command the others in battle? What the hell is Jen, and the other stone monsters for that matter? And most importantly, where has Claire been for the past eight years?

Claire starts to panic. She announced her real name to the changelings, and since they know that she knows, her family might be in danger. The same goes for Jen and Barbara. Her best option is to disappear, since the real trollhunter finally showed up.

Darci realizes just what’s going through Claire’s head, and realizes that she’s going to have to be the trollhunter no matter what. However, once she started working with them Fontaine was an important ally back in the Determinant timeline, and if she doesn’t give Claire a reason to stay, the fight is going to be much harder. And yes, here is your under stress confession.

“You don’t want me as your trollhunter, and you definitely don’t want me to do this alone, because I did that already in another timeline. There, I released Gunmar.”

Nevermind that Gunmar will still be released in the De Morgan’s Law AU

[minervacasterly]

One of the greatest female figures of the Mexican Independence (which celebrated its 205th anniversary yesterday) is Leona Vicario. Born Maria de la Soledad Leona Camila Vicario Fernandez de San Fernadez de San Salvador, was raised by her uncle after her parents’ death in 1807 (three years before the independence). She was an only child and as such, her parents took great interest in her education. Her father was Gasper Martin Vicario, a Spanish merchant and her mother was Camila Fernandez, born in Toluca. Leona had access to the best tutors and always kept up to date with the latest ideas. This was the age of the Enlightenment, so not only did she learn domestic and other arts reserved to women such as dance, music and poetry, but also philosophy, science and politics. Her uncle however, didn’t share her ideals and if he knew about her movements, he probably would have never let her live alone. But thankfully he didn’t find out until later when she was arrested and questioned about her involvement with the movement known as “Los Guadalupes”. This was a secret society that Leona was part of and belonging to one of the well-to-do families in her area, she made sure that the insurgents received the latest news about the royal forces. She also supplied them with clothes, food, money and took in fugitives. Her influence was such that in 1812 she convinced some soldiers to switch sides and fight for the revolutionary cause. It’s not clear when or how much the Spaniards knew about her involvement but it is safe to assume that by this point when she convinced those soldiers to switch sides and led them to the camp of rebel Ignacio Lopez Rayon that she became a prime suspect. When she was on her way to the state of Michoacan, she was arrested and locked in the convent of Belen de las Mochas. This was an era where a female penitentiary wasn’t yet as established as it is now, and since women were supposed to be submissive and dependent on their men; the closest thing for a jail to many was a nunnery. Now, don’t think that because this was a nunnery she lived great in comparison to the other guys who were in real jails. These women were watched day and night and given that the church favored Spain, their treatment wasn’t all that good. After she was interrogated, she managed to defend herself really well, in a way where she didn’t deny or confirm anything of what they were accusing her of (even though they did have proof of it). She was sentenced to remain Belen de las Mochas and all her goods were confiscated by the Crown. Two months later in May of 1813, her rebel friends helped her escape to her intended destination where she married her cousin Andress Quintana Roo. A year later she assisted the Congress of Chilpancingo where Morelos (who many saw as Hidalgo’s successor since he was killed off in 1811) drafted the first constitution. It would be a constitution that Mexico would never see, but many of the things there were revolutionary for their day. Leona was praised by many of the insurgents, including her husband who was a fellow insurgent. When the fighting was still on, she gave birth to her first daughter, Genoveva under extreme circumstances. Picture yourself as Leona, a girl who’s had an opportunity not many women had –even women of her social status- and you are on the run with your husband and pregnant and you have no doctors, no anesthetics, potions or anything to help you during the labor! Not a pretty picture is it? If you’ve ever heard the phrase ‘sunk low’, for Leona it was. She probably felt scared. Morelos had died two years before, meeting the same end as Miguel Hidalgo. Many of their friends were being captured, tortured and killed. They had to run away because they were being threatened and people were throwing insults at them for supporting the independence. They knew they could be killed at any moment. They had risked everything for the cause, and yet Leona didn’t give up. After she gave birth in a cave, her old friend Ignacio came and acted as godfather to her little girl. Sadly, less than a year later, she and her husband were captured. Leona and Andres decided to plea guilty this time so they could have a mercy on them and be given “indulto” which was a form of mercy free pass so all the charges could be dropped. The authorities accepted and released them under close surveillance. When she learned about the Cadiz Constitution –which was the new Spanish Constitution- she wrote a poem both praising it and also saying to be weary of it. Many of the principles there were influenced by the new ideas that were taking Europe by storm and from which Leona and the first rebels had been highly influenced by. She wished that when Mexico became independent that it would have a constitution similar to it, but some of the conservative forces were not happy with this and some decided to back some of the last rebels, making Mexico instead a country that would resemble the old world. Mexico did become a free and independent nation, but some of the ideals that the men and women fought for got lost as the century went on and some of us still wonder when are we going to see our birthplace be that land they dreamed of? Leona did get her happy ending for what is worth. When Mexico became an independent nation, Congress restored all of her goods and gave her more property. Leona didn’t fade in the background, she continued to be very vocal and involved in politics along with her husband whom she defended when President Bustamente intended to send him to jail for criticizing his campaign. Although she hasn’t figured a lot in ‘most famous women in history’ or ‘herstory’ she should be remembered because although some historians have pointed out that she wasn’t all for women’s rights as other women were, she was still very vocal in defending women, especially in stripping the stereotype of women going to war fighting for their men, or women being only good when they were damsels in distress, or the worst one which Lucas Alaman wrote about: Women being active in politics and involved in the movement for independence because of their sons, husbands, and fathers since they had no real thought of their own. To this she told Alaman in a letter: "Confiese Sr. Alamán que no sólo el amor es el móvil de las acciones de las mujeres; que ellas son capaces de todos los entusiasmos y que los sentimientos de la gloria y la libertad no les son unos sentimientos extraños; antes bien vale obrar en ellos con más vigor, como que siempre los sacrificios de las mujeres, sea el cual fuere el objeto o causa por quien las hacen, son desinteresados, y parece que no buscan mas recompensa de ellos, que la de que sean aceptadas. Por lo que a mí toca, sé decir que mis acciones y opiniones han sido siempre muy libres, nadie ha influido absolutamente en ellas, y en este punto he obrado con total independencia y sin atender que las opiniones que han tenido las personas que he estimado. Me persuado de que así serán todas las mujeres, exceptuando a las muy estúpidas, y a las que por efecto de su educación hayan contraído un hábito servil. De ambas clases hay también muchísimos hombres." (Confess Mr. Alaman that love isn’t the only course of action that motivates women to do what they do, that they are capable of all the enthusiasms and feelings/desires of glory and liberty. That these feelings/desires aren’t strange to them. They act on these with more vigor. Because as always it seems that women’s sacrifices, whatever their objectives are, always go under-appreciated and they can never find any good reward except what is allowed to given to them. For what it concerns me, I can tell you that my actions and my opinions have always been my own and nobody has influenced me, and I have always acted as I pleased without having to think twice or ask anybody what they think about me. It is my persuasion that all women are like this, except the stupid ones and those who by their rearing have been made to be submissive. And you may also find many men who are of this disposition.) Leona died in 1842, after which she was declared Benemérita y Dulcísima Madre de la Patria (The Most Good and Sweetest Mother of our Land). Images: Leona Vicario as a young woman and at the end of her life. She was played by Irene Azuela in the mini-series "Gritos de Muerte y Libertad".

[thesadboisguidetolife]

@goldenholdentx

So all but 3 of my tattoos were done by me. You see. A person i was in a relationship with struggled with self harm and, through work, they made friends with someone who would later on be a good friend with them.

Well one day this new friend asked my old partner (who was looking to get more tattoos) if they were cool with them doing it for them and so they said yes (as sort of an alternative to the harm). My partner asked me if i wanted one too (because this new friend was looking to practice and) because i always wanted one but hadnt come around to getting one.

So this new friend stops by our place and she gave me my first tattoo. I was amazed and incredibly grateful because it came out amazing.

Well some time passed by and she asked if i wanted another one, to which obviously, i said yes. So after my second one, I was hooked. I mean, that apparently tends to be the case with most people but still lol so at that point, i asked her if she can just......show me 🤷‍♂️

She took me to the place where she picked up her supplies, the place which i still go to to this day. And then i just went bananas.

I knew it would have to be small ones so i started with Symbols. I LOOOOVEEEE symbols. The idea that people decades, centuries, millenia ago drew these and gave them meaning is mind blowing to me. A circle isnt just a circle. A circle is the cosmos. A circle is the spirit. It has no beginning and has no end. It is the wheel. It is a symbol of equality because it has no divisions, no sides (i.e. King Arthurs round table). I love symbols 🥰.

After symbols, i moved on to random ones. A Calvin and Hobbes one. A tangram square. I also did a Potato tattoo in my thigh, a green eggs and ham one, and a cute little otter for someone who means the world to me and will always be my priority.

.......And then i started my music arm. Lol Or better yet, i continued with my music arm (considering my friend did my Smashing Pumpkins tattoo and my Zoé tattoo under it). So far, to date, i have tattoos for the musicans/bands Gorillaz, Explosions In The Sky, Greenday, Interpol, Phoenix, Portishead, Mastodon, Cafe Tacvba, and am looking to add on an Amy Winehouse, Kim Petras, Queen, The Marias, Phantogram, Girl In A Coma, The Druma, another Cafe Tacvba one and who knows 🤷‍♂️.

Tattoos have been this therapeutic thing. It helped my ex while they got better, which they did, and it gave me another medium with which i could practice my art and explore and learn and create 🥲.

Ive also started tattooing other people (so far its been 5 other people) and more and more want me to be their first. And to have that privilege, that trust!!! i mean.........😭 im just grateful to them.

Asking someone to tell you a bit about their tattoos is wild.

The stories can range from a simple sentence and a smile to a whole ass story that ends in tears.

[theurbanologist]

When Summer Gets Windy

Good morning. 

Out the window, grey abides. It’s pasty, punctuated by a green foliage that remind me of my childhood in Seattle. In November, the grey came to the Emerald City, opened up an ample steamer trunk and said “Thanks for having me. I'll be staying until May, maybe June, with a few side trips to Grays Harbor County”. 

My mother grew up in Grays Harbor County on the Washington coast and she remembers it as an active, bustling place with the timber and fishing industries providing an abundance of employment to people in Hoquiam, Aberdeen, and other hamlets. I knew it a different way. That's another story. I don’t mind the grey, though growing up I found it grating by April. Even they I knew we had two months to go, and sometimes there would be guest appearances in July or August, as if somehow Seattleites might have forgotten this so-called “neutral” color. Maybe it is neutral amidst the color wheel. In my heart and head it is not an emotional Switzerland. 

Summer in Chicago is a vastly different experience than a Seattle summer. A Venn diagram of the two would reveal shared contours, such as ice cream, the appeal of water (saltier out West), and more time outdoors, at least given the possibility of reasonable temperatures. 

I will let you decide how to define reasonable temperatures.

With all of that in mind, I’ve asked some Chicago friends, writers, and other characters for their thoughts on what makes a Chicago summer compelling. 

 1. Happy Village. I try to make at least one annual summer pilgrimage to Happy Village, where I drink High Lifes in the twinkle-lit beer garden and relive my early 2's when I first moved to Chicago and lived in the Ukrainian Village. Of course, I go far earlier these days because I'm old. My companions and I take breaks from the stickiness by ducking inside for a quick round of Ping-Pong.  

2. Water taxi to Chinatown. I haven't done this yet, which makes this second activity aspirationally fraudulent. But my goal this year is to grab an early Sunday AM water taxi from Michigan Ave. to Chinatown where I will promptly stuff my face with dim sum at Phoenix.   

3. Cubs game/two Chicago doggies. Despite Wrigleyville's disconcerting transition into Rosemont, absolutely nothing beats a summer day at Wrigley Field. This is baseball for the baseball lover—minimal gimmicks and visual distractions—just timeless organ jams, manual scorekeeping on the ole' green board, snappy Chicago doggies and ice-cold Old Styles (now only securable at a few kiosks—our preferred being on the 500 level behind home plate). Not to mention a lot more hits by the Lovable ... Winners. 

Maggie Hennessy writes about food and other matters for TimeOut Chicago and other outlets. 

Be a salmon in any Chicago summer: that is, swim upstream against the current.  Avoid the Lakefront and its crowds—bike the Boulevard system and check out the inland parks from Jackson Park all the way up to Logan Boulevard.  

Before or after a Sox game (you can ALWAYS get a ticket, just go on spur of the moment) go to Palmisano Park (the former Stearns Quarry)on a field trip to Bridgeport, where you can also get the best hot dog or mother-in law sandwich at Johnny O’s at 35th and Morgan, before quenching your thirst at either Maria’s Community Bar or Bernice’s. 

Go to Ping Tom Park and then get dim sum any Sunday morning in Chinatown—be sure to dig the Confucius statue on 22nd Place and the Chinese-American Veteran’s Memorial on the SW corner of the intersection of Archer, Cermak, and Princeton.  

Go to Humboldt Park and experience our one inland beach, as well as the endless selection of comida boricua in Chicago’s Puerto Rican heartland. Don’t ride the Lakefront Path, go hit the path along the North Branch/canal, all the way to Wilmette from K-town.  

Summer is made for biking, do it. 

Bill Savage teaches at Northwestern University, among other pursuits.

Sipping a Negroni while thumbing through a book in the Chicago Athletic Hotel's Drawing Room Eating Quartino's pizza and discussing the hot Chicago topics of the day at Tweed Thorton's Four Star Lunch Moseying over to Old Fashioned Donuts with my mom in our neighborhood (Roseland on 112th/Michigan) 

Any trip to my alma mater includes mandatory stops at Two Asian Brothers and Hot”G”Dog (vegetarian Chicago Style hot dogs)  Grabbing a Chicago Mix at the Garrett Popcorn Shop in O'Hare for my co-workers in the HBS Initiatives.

Rayshauna Gray is a writer currently working on a book about her family’s history.  She is an honorary Boscagoan. 

I spend much of the summer looking up. Walking east along Lake Street in the morning, I like to look up and watch El trains chug east with the morning sun behind them. In the evenings, I'm on my back in Millennium Park listening to the Grant Park Orchestra. But in the middle of the day, I make time to look down. I sit on the steps along the Chicago River, just north of Michigan Avenue, and look down at the water at the boats, kayakers, ducks and critters that might float by. I bring my lunch, often with friends and can't believe this bit of nature is in the middle of the city. 

Shia Kapos is a journalist based in Chicago who writes for a number of outlets. 

Ride one of the CTA train lines all the way to the end and then see how far from there you can walk back toward where you started from.

That kind of drifting walk is magical, revelatory, entertaining and free. 

Kathleen Rooney is a poet and writer.

Fellow flaneurs will enjoy her latest book immensely.

My favorite thing to do, hands down, is to be near or on the water. Whether it’s on one of my friend’s boats or in my kayak, being on the water is cathartic for me.   

Being near the water does the same. Being active along the lakefront (although not on those god forsaken bike paths, more like beach volleyball) is key. But then again, so is just sitting on my ass at a lakefront of riverside bar throwing back a Chicago made pint of beer or a non Chicago made glass of rosé. Every year I very much look forward to neighborhood street fairs.

I grew up in old town so the Old Town art fair is near and dear to my heart. Nothing beats grilling out with friends on a blissful, firefly ridden summer night.

And last but not least, Cubs games. Duh. Although if I have to be 100% honest, I prefer watching those in October ;) 

Liz Garibay is a Chicago historian, beer expert, and an honorary Boscagoan.

In early August, a few weeks before summer winds to a close, just when I’m starting to panic about Labor Day looming and school supplies lining the shelves at Target, my son’s flag football season begins.

The teams play on Friday nights at Sheridan Park in Little Italy, a stone’s throw from Mario’s Italian Lemonade. Siblings flood the playground to the south. Parents stake out spots with blankets and lawn chairs and coolers filled with beverages to share. (It’s where I first experienced wine in a can. You drink it with a straw.) 

Dusk starts to set in around half-time. The park lights go on. The Willis Tower looms to the east, catching and reflecting the last glimmers of the August sun. It’s a lovely little square of chaos and joy and diversity --- kids come from Bridgeport and Logan Square and Bronzeville and the South Loop and Lincoln Park to play in the league. 

After the games, we congratulate our kids on their successes (or dry the tears from their losses) and head to Taylor Street for Italian lemonade. Then we head home and start counting the hours until next Friday night. 

Heidi Stevens writes the “Balancing Act” column for the Chicago Tribune.

There’s a pretty on-the-nose trope that we put up with the indignities of Chicago winter just to experience the few, fleeting months of summer. Chicago’s summertimes feel earned in the way a warm day in Los Angeles never could (it’s also why some of us scoff at snowbirds who decamp to Florida to wait out the winter). 

Two of my favorite activities in the city that really only happen in the summer take place on or near the water. After early memories of enviously watching scullers on the river near Lincoln Park and downtown, I eventually picked up a practical and portable inflatable kayak. I sneak into undisclosed put-in points around the north branch of the river and slide into the water (usually with a buddy and a small cooler of drinks in tow). 

There’s a fascinating river culture that, if you walked by the very same houses from the sidewalk, you’d miss entirely. The ecosystem feels richer, but you never forget you’re in a city. Hawks and night herons and turtles co-mingle with groaning steel bridges, train tracks and graffiti. 

When I want less isolation, I ride the southern part of the Lakefront Trail and stop off at the 63rd St. Beach. There could be an impromptu gig, pre-planned live music on the lawn and a water playground that I can run through with my summer clothes on (I’ve never been a fan of the beach proper).

If I’m feeling especially motivated, I’ll keep going south until I hit Calumet Fisheries. My reward for a long ride with be a sack of smoked shrimp and salmon that I can eat in the grassy embankment outside that little shrimp and fish shack or on the rickety picnic table that overlooks the 95th St. bridge -- and the lazy barges that float by. 

Kim Bellware is a Chicago journalist whose work has appeared most recently in Rolling Stone, Chicago Magazine, and Teen Vogue.

Though I ride my bike year-round, there is something particularly magical about riding my bike during summertime in Chicago. All the cold days fall away and you are left with sunshine and the warm breeze along the lakefront trail and city streets. It is a beautiful feeling that always makes me fall in love with Chicago again. 

There are very few things comparable to the energy of summer street festivals in Chicago when all your friends come together to enjoy music, food, or a movie. 

For that period of time, the streets become ours. 

Lynda Lopez is a reporter for StreetsBlog Chicago and she recently appeared on TV to talk about dockless bicycle initiatives. 

What's my favorite Chicago summer activity? This.

[styleemag]

1000 years by your art

Viola aka @pitypagn aka @faheej is a 16 year old SHINee lover, currently living and studying in Budapest. Being a prolific and extremely talented young artist, she has something  yet to draw and say about her ultimate K-pop favourite - 5HINee.

Tell us, please, about SHINee Fanzine project. How did the idea emerge? Who are the participants? How is the process organized? ^▽^

The fanzine started with a tweet by my friend Gib (Twitter @cat__boy ). He wanted to participate in a SHINee themed zine but there wasn’t any around, so he thought of creating one. (By the way, it would be really nice if more zines and artist collabs were organised in the fandom! We haven’t seen many collaboration zines, mostly individual artists’ artbook and older theme collabs by korean shawols that hasnt happened in a while.) I messaged Gib that i would support the idea and so did his friend Flo (Twitter @omjkt_), and we became an admin team of three. For our theme, we went with something I had in my mind since April; a project that celebrates SHINee’s 10th anniversary by making a collection of fanarts themed around their songs. The name ‘10 years by your side’ is also referring to their song '1000年、ずっとそばにいて・・・’ (1000 Years Always By Your Side). 

Gib and Flo organised the technical aspects like choosing a printing shop, looking up printing requirements, shipping options, setting up a Tumblr page with all the necessary information, asking a friend to translate to korean and making the actual application form. It’s a big work and involves a lot of discussion, so I’m glad we could work it out; three is a good number for organising a zine, especially for first-timers like us as we can discuss and ask each other things effectively, split up work, point out things that the others forgot and such.

About the participants; we decided to invite some artists and open applications as well. We came up with a list of about 20 people — mostly SHINee fanartists known in the fandom — who we would like to work with and simply invited them through Twitter. It was a really rewarding part of the organisation process as it got me to talk to some of my mutuals i really look up to but we haven’t talked because of language barriers; someone whose art I really adore actually told me I made their day with the invitation and I found out we’re birthday twins with another artist! Also, good language exercise, hehe. While inviting artists, we also promoted our application page, where we received over 120 replies (which is incredible) and ended up choosing 15 artists from them, making our number 36 with admins.

To distribute the songs, we made a document of the list of songs we wanted to include in the zine (so they make a coherent timeline of SHINee’s music and visual concepts through the years) and sent it to artists so they can sign up to the song(s) they would like to draw, or add others that they had in mind. Currently, everyone is working on their pieces and us admins are in the making of the design of the printed zine. We also have a chat with all artists to get to know each other and share work in progress pictures.

For what’s still to be done; after all the designs and artworks are edited into one, we will start printing and selling towards the end of the year. Until then, we will update our social media (@shineefanzine on Twitter and Tumblr) on how things are going and possibly previews of the artworks!

It seems like you are doodling all the time, cause you often publish works done in notebooks, on working sheets of paper. It creates a unique atmosphere of understatement, so what does it say about you, in your opinion? 6v6

Haha that’s actually not correct! It’s true though that my sketchbook is a checked spiral notebook (that’s probably 10+ years old), so I understand why it seems so! I kind of wish I could draw more in school but it’s simply not the best place for me as I’m occupied with other things, and I like to make more focused drawings lately. Which is also why I haven’t really used that sketchbook (and updated my Instagram where I put traditional sketches) in the latest months. I might get back to it again, as I need to make some studies and I can’t continue my summer break drawing work ethic with finished digital pieces almost every day.

Understatement is a really nice way to put it though, I’m glad it seems so! There are multiple reasons for my sketchbook, one is that I feel too pressured having to draw something nice if it’s on some expensive special paper. Also, it’s easier for me to sense depth, proportions and sizes (aka how close i am to the paper) if it has patterns on it, although when the print ink is too strong, it’s not very good for drawing. The notebook I have has a good paper and lightly printed so it’s nice to draw on. This is the technical part, and what I think this says about me…simplicity? Since I started doing digital, traditional art became secondary for me and that’s great in the quality that it provides me more freedom in it, in some way. That it doesn’t matter if I draw something badly in traditional as it’s not as important to me. This is more of an image I would like if people saw when they looked at my Instagram, that it’s carefree, not looking for perfectionism but has its own beauty in sketchiness and stationary tools. Also that the first and most important thing you need for art is, well, doing art, not professional art supplies.

Be it a pencil sketch, or a digital masterpiece, your artworks are professionally done. Do you have plans to follow an artist’s career?  ㅍ_ㅍ

Thank you so much!! I do! Since a little less than a year ago, I decided I don’t want to study anything I’m being taught (mistake of going to a school known for its math) and it would be much nicer to occupy and surround myself with art and artsy people. I am planning to start taking art courses later this year or next year, learn to make a portfolio and look up some art colleges. At this point, I would be the happiest to be an illustrator but animating sounds good too, I will have to see yet where I will go!

What role does fashion play in your life? Do you use it as a tool, an artist’s medium? `ㅂ´

I’m probably not fashionable enough to say that, haha. Or rather I’m not satisfied with my own fashion because I don’t have the wardrobe I would like to have, my own personal issues getting in my way. It interests me though, and I do have the nagging feeling to do better, the room to improve, the inspiration. I like simplicity, gray and dull colors, oversized clothes, simple and clean designs that are great in their quietness. I would like to be like that.

Fashion in my drawings is a bit of a different topic I know, but I would like to mention since even though I’m usually preoccupied with people in my drawings, it can be really meditative and nice sometimes to sit down and compose an outfit and fiddle with details. Also high fashion, it can be quite an inspiration for me.

What thing, or maybe person, impressed you most of all recently? ㅎㅅㅎ

Eastern Europe. It has an exciting aesthetic that isn’t celebrated enough, at least from what I could see. I really love the folk wear, and it feels like home. I would like to make illustrations based around it as well as my own country’s historical fashion, it’s beautiful. The other side is the ~dark~ post socialist aesthetic, big blocks of panel houses made of concrete that don’t age well. It has a grim and heavy feeling but it’s also something uniquely here. I don’t know, maybe only the grim feeling might appear in my art style, maybe I will abandon it for lighter aesthetics but it’s interesting nevertheless.

We are thankful to Viola ( @faheej​ ) for her fabulous creations and the talk. Design by Anna Maria ( @sh5untik​ ).

[thisisjamaica]

In Puerto Rico, a Dedicated Arts Community Commits to Hurricane Relief Since hurricane Maria hit, the arts nonprofit Beta-Local has been working with a network of artists and organizations on the island to take matters into their own hands.  A report by Cristina Sanchez-Kozyreva for Hyperallergic. I was in radiant, tropical Puerto Rico in February this year, sharing writing workshops with the artists from La Práctica, a research initiative developed by Beta-Local. This artist-run nonprofit started in 2009, and is currently co-directed by Sofía Gallisá, Pablo Guardiola, and Michael Linares. In old San Juan, they run a welcoming ground floor space and library. For the local art scene, Beta-Local is a connecting hub and a support system. It’s hard to exactly pinpoint what they do, as it includes residencies, educational programs, financial and logistical support for art projects, and an overall commitment to connecting Old San Juan with the rest of the island and the world. Little did I know then, however, that Beta-Local would be reshaping its mission to help with hurricane relief just months later, and that instead of getting back in touch with Gallisá about a show we had discussed, it was to know how they were dealing with life in the aftermath of the strongest hurricane in Puerto Rican modern history. The island is in dire straits. The economical recession has hit hard since 2006 — Puerto Rican government debt now exceeds 70 million dollars — which has pressured its 3.7 million population to a sustained exodus to the US. The island still bears the marks of the colonial hold it came under in 1898, when the US acquired it from the Spaniards (along with Guam and the Philippine islands) following the Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American war. The Philippines became independent in 1946, but Puerto Rico and Guam have remained under the sovereignty of the US. In 1917, the Jones Act granted citizenship to Puerto Ricans (who then were drafted to World War I), restricted its ports to US ships only, and barred the territory from statehood, thus from participating in presidential elections or having congressional representatives. Puerto Rico’s dependency on imports makes its living costs higher than on the mainland, and just more vulnerable to world changes, including, as it happens, climatic perils. Since hurricane Maria’s brutal onslaught on September 20, the island has nowhere near recovered. The lack of gas, electricity, clean water, and supplies transform simple acts of daily life into an obstacle race. “It just keeps getting more and more complicated,” said Gallisá. She was in Los Angeles setting up two shows when the storm hit, and couldn’t get back to her family for a week and a half. But as the island’s communication was down in the wake of the hurricane, leaving many desperate for news from their loved ones, Gallisá threw herself into helping coordinating relief efforts with the Puerto Rican diaspora. “I spent a year in Rockaway, New York after Hurricane Sandy as a volunteer relief worker, so oddly enough I had previous experience,” she said. Once back, Gallisá saw the “devastated landscapes” as she made a trip through the mountains to visit artisans who previously collaborated with one artist from La Práctica. On the day we spoke online, she was preparing to go back with a group of people to help the ceramicist Alice Cheverez to fix the roof of her workshop, hoping to re-open it for pottery classes. On October 12, Beta-Local started giving free meals to their neighbors in old San Juan, feeding around 50 people the first day, and now also delivering meals for the elderly who are stranded in their homes. Supermarkets and pharmacies are either closed, or empty, due to lack of power.“Our cultural scene has persisted precisely because of solidarity, mutual aid, and resourcefulness for decades,” Gallisá said. Earlier this month, Beta-Local launched El Serrucho (the Handsaw), the Hurricane María Emergency Fund. On October 17, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda each donated$100,000 to El Serrucho. Beyond the recovery of damaged studios and exhibition spaces, the fund aims at helping artists help their families and communities. “We’re in the process of identifying needs for our emergency fund and I can already tell you that we know of several artists who lost their homes, studios and jobs,” said Gallisá. The website offers the possibility to donate money or directly buy supplies from a provided Amazon list. “Local and federal government relief operations have been completely inadequate thus far. I have a hard time believing the fact that we’re soliciting tarps and distributing them to people who, three weeks after the storm, still don’t have anything to cover the roofs of their homes while it continues to rain on the things that they’ve managed to salvage,” said Gallisá. And yet, President Donald Trump threatened in a tweet on October 13 to pull aid from Puerto Rico and blamed the island for its disastrous economics. Celebrity Chef José Andrés, who has prepared and delivered one million hot meals to residents — more than the American Red Cross — recently denounced in Time what he calls the failure of the American government. The Washington Post described Puerto Rico as a “victim of colonial neglect.” Beta-Local has been working with a network of artists and nonprofits on the island to take matters into their own hands. “Every day people wake up with a to-do list of things that they need in order to eat, work, repair their homes, and help others,” said Marina Reyes Franco, a curator and researcher who was making her way back to the island from Mumbai via the US, bringing supplies such as water filters and toiletries. While she was waiting in Brooklyn for a flight to clear towards Puerto Rico, she volunteered with the Ecokit Duffle initiative, and received donations to take back home. “I probably traveled with $800 to 1,000 worth of supplies, I also had to pay United a $100 fee for my extra bag. But friends in New York and as far as Utah sent money or things with me back to the island.” Other involved artists include Chemi Rosado-Seijo, who has worked since 2002 with El Cerro, a community in the center of the island, on a project aimed at painting all of the community’s houses in shades of green, echoing its lush environment as well as the color of Puerto Rico’s independence party. Now he is helping El Cerro in its reconstruction efforts. Urban participatory design nonprofit La Maraña has also been collecting donations in the form of construction material and practical kits, specifically to implement repairs. Project and music space El Local in Santurce has been organizing meals, as well as collecting and distributing donations towards those harder to reach beyond San Juan. “The bigger misconception about Puerto Rico is the lack of visibility given to the amazing efforts the community develops to move forward,” Fernández lamented, explaining that, considering its infrastructure and administration, it takes that much effort on the island to get things done, and credit isn’t given to a community that is both dynamic and dedicated.“Like always, emergency situations reveal the weakness of the system,” shared Noelia Medina Fernández, a Spanish artist who has lived in Puerto Rico since 2009, and owes her artistic cultivation to the academic and experiential education she received in the island. She was at home when Maria struck, and despite the collapse of part of the roof, she reassured me no one was hurt. But weeks after, she confirmed that damages kept amplifying, through contaminated waters and people dying in hospitals because of lack of power that rendered impossible even common procedures. At last, she managed to take a boat to the Dominican Republic and fly to Spain, back to her family for a while. Studies mentioned by the Independent in an article mid-October suggest one in seven people could leave the island in the next few months. Despite the counter-productive efforts of the country it belongs to, Puerto Rico is helping itself and getting organized on its own, and the question of its statehood — or even more radically, independence — is becoming more and more pressing.

[besttoysforkidsksun247-blog]

Cool Toys Things To Know Before You Buy

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Get This Report on Wooden Toys

Our game room was packed with blinking and also humming playthings, neatly stored challenges and games, racks filled with photo books, well-used infant dolls, dress-up outfits and art work dangling on the wall surfaces. It appeared like paradise for our 3 young kids. Until Simone Davies transformed it upside down. Ms. Davies, a Montessori instructor in the Netherlands and also author of "The Montessori Toddler," invests her days instructing parents as well as children exactly how to use Montessori concepts in your home.

Wooden Toys for Beginners

Davies aids parents transform homes into locations that are more practical for the family, infuse freedom in the tiniest participants of the household and also create a higher feeling of peace-- all in the Montessori spirit. She came to my New Jacket house a few weeks ago with the intent of revealing me how to develop an area that engaged my children rather than one that accommodated my ideas of what makes an excellent play space.

Maria Montessori, an Italian physician, the Montessori method utilized educational strategies to assist youngsters with emotional and mental handicaps. Today, it has ended up being a widely approved educational system that aims to provide any child much more ownership of their discovering. "In traditional education, the teacher stands in the front and also leads the course," said Ms.

" In a child-led approach, we let them find out via play and their rate of interests." The goal in applying these principles in https://www.toys4me.co.il the house? Extra self-governing and also engaged youngsters; much less time invested aiding kids identify what to do to fill their time. In the house, "we sustain our children to make explorations on their own, we provide liberty and also limits, and also we make it possible for success by establishing our houses so they can participate in our lives," Ms.

It was this latter component https://www.washingtonpost.com/newssearch/?query=toys store of the promise that a lot of interested me: My youngsters would play without needing my intervention? It seemed wonderful theoretically. My other half as well as I have three kids, ages 7, 4 and 1, as well as we both commute to benefit demanding jobs, with an au pair as well as grandparents in the mix.

Yet as Ms. Davies started pulling every plaything out of my obsessively organized toy storage room, a low-level panic set in." What are your youngsters's favored toys?" Ms. Davies asked." Their i Pad as well as Kindle," I stated, only pretending to be joking. She reached function. There was sorting to be done. (We found all the missing out on problem pieces!) The primaries of our easel were repainted over in a neutral grey to allow the youngsters's art work stand apart.

All about Cheap Toys

We made use of furnishings and toys we had, keeping the makeover budget moderate. As well as the great disclose: a playroom that was unquestionably tidier, calmer and much more inviting. Here are several of the modifications that had the largest impact. My older kids used to draw books from a congested shelf, and often left them all over your house.

Davies marked off an edge with an old, soft patchwork on the flooring, cozied up with extra throw pillows and a few favored soft toys. Much to my shock, she then got rid of all guides from the bookshelf, grouped them in the closet for every kid and produced simply a few in baskets.

[buckywintersoldierbarnes2017]

I should have been there.

Request from anon: I'd like to request Bucky x reader where she's like 13/14 and he found her inside a hydra base while on a mission. She's terrified at first of everything but warms up. Tony traces her DNA to figure out who her family is and they find out she's Buckys. Hydra had him breed with a mutant to create a new asset and she's the final result.

Note: I’m so sorry! I got COMPLETELY carried away with this. Unfortunately there isn’t loads where the reader is actually awake but I really hope I did your request justice with what I wrote <3

Bucky x Daughter!Reader

Words: 2,602

Warnings: Swearing, flashbacks, mentions of what could be deemed as rape. I think that’s all. If I have missed anything let me know!

Disclaimer: None of the GIFs used are mine so all credit goes to their creators <3

There  were rumours that Hydra had a secret compound over in England, one of the few countries that hadn’t been overrun by them yet, and although there wasn’t a mountain of evidence to support the rumours there was enough for Shield to ask for the help of The Avengers. 

The journey over in the jet was long and one of members of the team in particular was beginning to grow rather restless. 

“They have shield agents in London right….so why are we having our arses dragged over here?” 

Bucky was never the most enthusiastic when it came to dealing with Hydra, knowing that the smallest of slip ups could cause him to become their prisoner once more, and if that happened all the memories he had managed to gain back would be gone and he would know of nothing but his murderous ways The Winter Soldier. So his mood was already pretty low…add a ten hour flight on top of that and he wasn’t even going to try and hide his distaste for the situation. 

“Yes they do Agent Barnes, and they have all been trained to an expert level in martial arts and firearms, each and every one of them…” Stated Agent Maria Hill through the comms as she remained at headquarters. “…but they do not possess the skill set each of you have and that’s what is needed when facing Hydra’s threat.” 

“The bastards aren’t going to stop. For all we know the Queen herself could be-“ 

“You can’t think like that Buck. I know this can’t be easy for you but we need your head in the game.” 

He kept quiet, knowing that his friend was right (as always!), before unstrapping himself from his seat and heading towards the front of the jet. Metal fingers gripped around the fabric of the seat Natasha was occupying as Bucky rested his bionic hand on top of it. 

Although he couldn’t remember ever visiting a compound here during his time as The Winter Soldier that didn’t necessarily mean he hadn’t and he wanted to get a good view of it before the jet landed. 

“It’s not going to look like much from up here.” The redheaded Avenger kept her focus on the controls of the jet but aimed her words at the super soldier stood behind her. “From the information Agent Hill has sent through it is an abandoned airfield. It hasn’t been active since February 1947. No activity has been spotted outside but thermal scans of the place have picked something up beneath it.” 

“It will be a storage facility.” 

His jaw clenched, fingers digging deeply into the fabric of the seat, if it wasn’t for the jet being hit by a bit of turbulence and the brunette losing his grip his hand may have gone all the way through, 

“But what are they storing?” Sam asked with a quirked brow. 

He had been drugged for the second time that day by his handlers. Although he only had the rare moment now where his old life would flicker back to him they didn’t want to risk allowing him to travel with a coherent mind in case he made a break for it. Even after all these years he was still one of their most important weapon and from the little snippets of conversation he had managed to pick out in his drugged he was going to prove even more important…. 

“Put the asset into a holding cell until he has fully recovered from the drugs. When he is coherent enough I want you to bring the female in.” 

“Yes sir.” 

He was thrown into the cell, landing on the floor with a heavy thud, his eyes creeping open just in time to see the door slamming shut. 

“Hey….Buck?” He was snapped out of whatever memory had come back to him by the gloved hand of his friend landing onto his shoulder and giving it a gentle but reassuring squeeze. “You okay? Looked like you went somewhere for a moment there?” 

His eyebrows were knitted with worry but Bucky soon dismissed his concern as the jet came in to land. Perhaps it was just a one off because he hadn’t slept all that well last night…. 

                                                 * * * * * * * * * *  

The compound was easy enough for them all to make their way inside; to anyone else such ease in completing a mission probably would have been seen as a relief but each one of The Avengers knew all too well that it wasn’t always such a good thing. If there was no form of security outside then there could easily be a whole load of it inside. 

“I think it’s going to be better if we split up guys, cover more ground inside should there prove to be agents inside.” 

Steve took charge the second they stepped foot inside the main hangar of the airfield; splitting everyone off into pairs to cover different areas. Clint and Natasha teamed up as they usually did, Tony and Sam reluctantly decided to join forces, while Thor and Bruce headed off on their own – neither one of them particularly liking to be ‘teamed up’ with another. 

Once they had all left Steve turned to Bucky. 

“That was a flashback you had back on the jet……you’ve been here before haven’t you?” 

“I don’t know. I think so….whatever memory started to come back to me probably wasn’t supposed to but as soon as I saw this place it just seemed to hit me.” 

The sad look that always enveloped his eyes when he spoke of Hydra made an appearance, dulling any life that had once been inside of them, but instead of talking any further about it he moved past Steve and further into the facility. He couldn’t really remember ever being here and yet as though this place was his very home he navigated his way with ease down into the tunnels that lay beneath the hangar. There was no hesitation in his moves and Steve found himself having to quicken his own pace to keep up with his friend. 

The tunnel they were in came out into a deserted corridor but by the looks of the small cells that were on either side of the wall it had once been inhabited by several people. 

Once the drugs had left his system completely he was able to drag himself up into a seated position; an action of which was soon noticed by the guard that had been stationed outside his cell as he pulled something up from off the floor beside him. 

“Get up freak! We have a little surprise for you behind this door.” 

The Winter Soldier furrowed his brows, curious as to who the guard was speaking to, but he didn’t need to wonder for long because the door was pushed open and the mystery person was thrown into the room with such force that they landed on top of the soldier who had only just managed to get back onto his feet himself. 

“Welcome to your next mission soldier…..” The guard’s face was up against the bars of the cell, a smug grin working its way onto his lips as the tip of his tongue ran itself along them. “….can’t say she’s the most attractive broad but damn she’s got some curves on her.” 

“I don’t understand.” His voice was hoarse from the fact that he had been asleep for a number of hours but the confusion was still very much evident in the way he spoke his words. “What exactly is my mission?” 

“You are to impregnate the freak stood before you. Now….get to work.” 

As he came out of the flashback his vision came back to him to reveal Steve now stood in front of him waving a hand in front of his face to gain his attention. 

“I’ve been here before. I was here for a mission.” His words were said in a rather matter-of-fact tone as he once again pushed ahead of his friend….now determined to find out what it was they were storing in….still there had been no sight of a single Hydra agent. 

                                                 * * * * * * * * * *  

The main control room was where he made a beeline for – if there was anything here that would tell them anything it would be in here. He was sure of it. 

Upon first glance the room looked just like any other control room they had come across in a Hydra facility numerous times before but Bucky wasn’t interested in the control panels that seemed to fill the place, no, he was more interested in what lay among the shadows at the far end of the room. 

“Steve? Have you guys come across anyone yet?” 

He took his blue eyes off his friend as he turned away slightly to talk to Natasha through the comms. His hand raised up to the piece of technology inside his ear. 

“Absolutely nothing. I’m guessing you guys haven’t either?” 

“No. We’re going to keep checking the perimeter though to make sure we haven’t missed anything.” 

“Okay. Me and Buck will join you shortly.” 

He ceased the communication only to then hear Bucky’s voice straight away from within the shadows that he had wandered into. 

“They just abandoned her. The bastards got scared and ran…” 

Steve furrowed his brows, not having a clue as to what his friend was going on about but when he stood himself next to him he noticed exactly what he was stood in front of. It was a cryogenic tank and inside it was you. A young girl, no older than 14 years of age by the looks of it, and going by the flickering of the light inside the tank its power supply was fading. His eyes cast over to an angry Bucky whose jaw was clenching…..but there was something else too, something he hadn’t seen in a while, there seemed to be a small tear gathering in the corner of his eye. 

“Nat we need you down here. We’ve discovered something but we need your skills at the controls to sort it.” 

“I’m on my way.” 

                                             * * * * * * * * * *  

You remained unconscious throughout the whole journey from the facility to the London Headquarters for Shield. Bucky couldn’t tear his eyes away from you – there was a foreign feeling tugging away at his heart as he looked over your fragile form – one he wasn’t really sure how to handle. 

Upon arrival to the building Bruce and Tony rushed you to the infirmary where they started a barrage of tests to ensure that not only would you wake up from the frozen state you had been in for god knows how long but to also try and find out who you were. 

The other Avengers came and went, going about their other tasks, but Bucky remained right outside the infirmary occupying one of the horribly uncomfortable chairs outside. Even if he couldn’t remember if you knew you or not he still felt like he should wait for you to wake up, be there when you do, because he knew all too well how horrifying it was to wake up in a whole other time and to have a mind that was like a jigsaw that had just been poured onto the floor from its box. 

It felt like whole days had passed before Tony wandered out of the doors and in his direction. 

“Barnes.” Bucky made to stand himself up from his chair but the man before him raised a hand to stop him from doing so. “You’re gonna want to be sat down for this. We ran all the usual tests on our unidentified female and she will soon wake up and go on to make a full recovery, something both me and Banner were expecting in all honesty, what we weren’t expecting to see was a sample of her blood matching with some that’s already on our database.” 

“That can’ be possible though.” Confusion etched itself onto the super soldier’s face. “Now I’m not an expert on this stuff, obviously, but if her blood matched with someone else’s doesn’t that mean….” 

“…that she is related to a member of this team. Yes. In fact she is their daughter.” Tony’s eyes fixed themselves directly onto Bucky’s, his stare becoming rather intense, he was waiting for the penny to drop. It didn’t seem to be happening quick enough for him and before long he revealed the bombshell himself. “That girl in there is your daughter Barnes. She has been frozen for a number of decades.”

For a good few seconds his heart seemed to stop beating entirely as Tony’s words soon started to sound like they were being spoken underwater. Everything around him became so much less important when he realised why he’d felt something towards the girl. 

“Nice work soldier.” The top dog of the organisation wandered into the room that the Winter Soldier was currently residing in with a large grin lighting up his old and haggard face. “The mutant freak is pregnant which means your mission was a success. Now we have the beginnings of something that will change the world as we know it.“

He didn’t care, not in the slightest, the only thing that had mattered to him that day back in the cell was completing what had been asked of him. The fact that there was now a child involved didn’t suddenly flick on a switch inside of him and make him feel…..all he wanted was to be given his next job.

Your eyes fluttered open slowly at first but once they had adjusted to the light of the room better they opened fully. The heart rate monitor that was attached to you made your anxiety audible as the rhythm increased to a level that made it sound like the machine was going to break completely and that was when you felt something warm cradle your cheek and out of instinct you flinched; your hand shot out towards whoever had touched you, wrapping around what felt like a throat, and when you heard someone desperately gasping for air you turned your head slowly to put your gaze upon them.

Immediately your eyes widened and your grip immediately loosened its grip on the person’s throat before removing itself completely.

“I…I know you.” Your voice was barely even audible after all the decades of being unable to use it but he was close enough to be able to pick up what you said. “I have only ever seen….pictures bu-but it’s definitely you. You’re my father.”

A smile made its way onto your cracked lips before you forced yourself to sit upright so that you could hold your arms out to him for a long-awaited embrace. One which he wasted no time in wrapping you into as Tony stepped into the room.

“From the mutations we saw in your daughter’s DNA she has abilities that we can’t even begin to imagine. It will take a lot of time but eventually we will come to know exactly what it is she can do. During that time might I suggest that you make up for some lost time.” He placed a hand onto Bucky’s shoulder as an affectionate smile touched his lips. “Family is important.”

“That’s about the only thing I have ever agreed with you on Stark. Don’t you worry. This little one will never be going out of my sight again. I failed her once….I won’t be failing her again.”

Permanent tag list:@fallenfairy16​ @brieflybigwonderland​@frolicsomefawkes @psychicwitchphilosopher @elwenia​@imsecretlyromanburki @elaacreditava @marvel-fanfiction​@wantingtobekorra @fandom-rpblog @just-call-me-your-darling @deanwinnchesterisbae​ @gayvvarden​ @marshmellowgems11​@justreadingfics​ @cinema212​ @cassandras-musings @adellyhatter-blog​ @engineeringgirlcve​

(still room on this list so if you would like to be added just let me know.)

[juniorformulamotorsport]

Friday, 12th July 2019 – Porto, Day 2

Friday morning saw Lynne creak into action rather late, but in good time for our first activity of the day. I’d already been out to try and purchase some yogurt for her because she insists it’s needed to kick start her digestion. I’d found a lot of lovely buildings, but despite Google Maps insisting there was a supermarket at the destination it had sent me to, there really wasn’t. I’d given up and returned to the Intercontinental where the staff in the restaurant let me have a yogurt for free (we were on a room only booking so breakfast was meant to be €25 per person which was part of the reason I’d gone out to hunt for fermented dairy products – we didn’t actually want breakfast proper because of our plans for the day).

We had always intended to skip breakfast because we were booked on a food tour of Porto, starting at 10:00 and lasting around 3.5 hours. Our experience of food tours so far (in Helsinki and Krakow) had taught us that it’s best to arrive hungry for this sort of endeavour. This one, the Vintage Food Tour, with the lovely and very knowledgeable Maria from Taste Porto would prove to be no exception. First, however, we’d ordered a pair of Porto cards, including the Andante card that gives you access to Porto’s public transport network. The cost was €33 each for four days so it wasn’t exactly expensive even if we didn’t use it in all the places it was valid (which wouldn’t be possible in 4 days unless you rushed in and out of everywhere and I’d rather not do that, unlike some people).

First we walked up to the cathedral where, after a couple of false starts, we finally located the Tourist Information office, and were soon in possession of the cards as well as a very useful city map.

From there we walked back down the hill to get to our rendezvous point. We met over by the Mercado do Bolhão (which apparently means big bubble because it’s on the site of a small creek that’s now underground, and that used to produce lots of bubbles). The neoclassic building that’s on the site now was built in 1914 and provides the main market in town. It’s currently undergoing a full refurbishment, and most of the traders have been moved to a massive all nearby for the duration while the art deco building is restored to its former glory. It had apparently fallen into a bit of a state of disrepair, but a massive grant from the EU coupled with local money means it will stage a come back. When it does I’d like to see it because I’m sure it will be glorious once again. It’s been classified as a Property of Patrimonial Interest since 2006, and a Monument of Public Interest since 2013. They started the work in 2018 and it’s supposed to be complete in 2020. The traders are apparently looking forward to returning because they’ll be back in the open in the courtyard area after 2 years inside. Work does seem to be progressing nicely, at least from the outside…

After the 8 of us on the tour had introduced ourselves to each other Maria walked us to the first destination on the tour, the Mercearia do Bolhão, an utterly wonderful old-style grocery shop selling food and drink, but also with a small household cleaning section. There’s a bakery section as well but that’s been moved to a second building a handful of doors down.

Inside we were presented with a selection of local goodies, including a lovely selection of cheese, crackers, quince paste and a local sausage. We nibbled our way through these (Maria told us she’d be disappointed if we didn’t eat everything and explained that the locals have very big appetites). The cheese was especially good, made with milk from cows, goats and sheep. It was soft, creamy and had a slightly pungent finish where you could clearly detect the goat’s milk flavour. The crackers were slightly sweet with a good crunch, and the quince paste was grainier than the sort I’m used to, but went perfectly with the cheese. Apparently having both together is known as Romeo and Juliet!

From here we walked towards the famous Porto café, the Majestic Café, which is a terrific looking place complete with smartly-uniformed waiters. It’s also a complete tourist trap, and charges around €5 a coffee. The locals don’t go there, and as this was a tour to show us where the locals do go, Maria walked us along to the second café owned by the same people, the Guarany Café, close to our hotel on the Avenida dos Aliados. Here coffee costs around €1, and breakfast is €15 instead of €30. We sat down and had a coffee each, a very strong but smooth blend, preferred by the locals. The café itself is also lovely, but has the advantage of not being rammed with tourists. Apparently there are a number of regulars including a local poet in his 90s know who comes in every morning for a coffee and to read the newspapers. Apparently the original owners made their money in Brazil and then returned in the 1930s to open this café. Its website also provides a good example of something we would continue to experience all the time we were in Porto, with translations into English having quite obviously never been anywhere near a native English speaker before being committed to print/the internet. It was enough to make my inner editor weep!

Fortified by coffee, our next stop was at the magnificent São Bento station, where we had a brief run through the history of Porto and of Portugal and an opportunity to admire the 20,000 tiles that make up the decoration of the main hall. The station is the main starting point for train journeys through the Douro valley, and it is also the terminus of a number of local lines. Like our hotel, it too was once a convent, with the last nun only dying a number of years after the first train service ran! The tiles date from 1905–1916, and depict scenes from Portugal’s history, including the entry into Porto of King John I and Philippa of Lancaster to celebrate their wedding. There are also scenes of local life, including a cattle fair and a pilgrim camp (Porto is on one of the many routes to Santiago de Compostela and thus sees a lot of pilgrims walking the path even now – we saw quite a few walkers with the pilgrim sign of a scallop shell hanging from their rucksacks), along with scenes showing vineyards, the grape harvest, wine shipment down the Douro and work in a watermill. As Maria pointed out, all the work seems to be being done by the women.

From the station we headed up the hill back towards the cathedral where we stopped off at a shop selling canned fish. This was not the madly touristic version either, but rather somewhere very civilised that is run by the associated of tinned fish producers with intent to promote their products. There was a table waiting for us in Loja das Conservas (other branches are available, including in Macau, which I wish I’d known sooner), with a bottle of wine, crackers and two different types of tinned fish to try, one the obvious sardines, the other needlefish. Both were very tasty indeed, once I’d recovered from trying a drop or two of the chilli sauce known as “the bastard” and my tongue stopped throbbing! In addition to hundreds of different types of fish in tins, with all sorts of sauces, they also sell some purely fun things including these dangly sardines, and I’d really recommend a visit. We were all given a 5% discount voucher to use in the shop, and Lynne and I decided we’d come back later and collect some supplies. The vinho verde served alongside the fish was also very good.

From here we went to Ö Tascö, a very modern looking restaurant in what we were now beginning to realise was the standard Porto building with a very narrow facade at the front but that go back for forever, very much like Belgian buildings. I asked if it was for the same reason (the wider the building the more tax you paid) and was told that yes, that was indeed the case. Here we were offered more wine along with some petischos, salt cod fritters and some Alheira sausages, apparently also known as Jewish sausages. These are sausages made of meat (veal, duck, chicken quail or rabbit) and bread, usually along with alho (garlic) which is where the name comes from. Apparently they were invented by the Jews of Portugal in 1497 when they were given a choice between being expelled from the country or converting to Christianity. The conversos who secretly retained their beliefs avoided eating pork but where at risk because they didn’t have sausages (containing pork) hanging up in their smokehouses and so, to avoid the Inquisition noticing, they started making sausages from other meats. They are tasty, with a texture that’s very mushy, and are very filling. The cod fritters were a model of lightness in comparison!

After a second glass of wine the conversation was very animated, and we all seemed to be getting on very well. We were in even better form by the time we reached Taxca, a pub rather than a restaurant, where we drank an espadal wine, a sparkling, light rose, kept in a cask and served from a pump and produced in the vinho verde region. With it we had a typical snack, a hefty serving of presunto ham in a bread roll. Maria reckoned this was the sort of place she and her friends would come to at the start of a night out to get things off to a good start. The hams are hanging up above the bar, and the menu is a pair of metal plaques with the words cut out of them, fastened to the wall. Presumably it doesn’t change very often!

  Now we were full of food we were ready for the final stage of the tour. Stopping off at a bakery for some sweet treats, we headed on to a port and wine shop, Touriga (named after one of the many grapes used to make port), where we would have a short session on port, and a tasting of three different ports along with the treats. We had the good fortune to try a 10-year old white, a 2013 late bottled vintage, and a 10-year old tawny.

The went perfectly with the sweets, a tiny almond tart, and a sticky brigadeiro (a Brazilian ball of chocolate and condensed milk and butter formed into a ball and coated in chocolate sprinkles). And half an hour later we realised that a) we were going to have to buy some port and b) we weren’t going to make it to our scheduled tasting at Graham’s port house by 14:15 because it was 14:15 and we’d gone way over the scheduled time. We didn’t care; we’d been having fun. We cared even less when Maria called Graham’s and rescheduled it for us for the following day. She apologised for the overrun, but we’d really enjoyed it and really, really wouldn’t have wanted to rush off.

Before we left the shop we ordered a case of the wines we’d tried (6 of the white, 6 of the tawny) and arranged to have them shipped home for a very reasonable extra €37. The American on the tour were disappointed to find they’d have to pay €173 to ship 12 bottles and instead planned to bury them in their suitcases. I do hope it all survives the trip back to Michigan. Ours arrived 6 days later, safely packed, and with a lovely note thanking us for supporting small wine producers. I suggest the pleasure will be all ours! We’d had a fabulous food tour, and I could see why the Guardian ranked Taste Porto’s tours as among the best anywhere.

It was now around 3pm. We dropped some things off at the hotel, and then decided it was too stick to do anything productive so we’d join a bus tour to take a look at the Atlantic coast. It was a hop on hop off tour but we couldn’t raise the energy to hop off so we stayed put on the top level, letting the breeze cool us off, and watching the world go by. I do have to say that I’ve been on better tours with the same company. The commentary was almost inaudible even with the volume turned up full blast, and had clearly been read by someone with only a passing familiarity with English. It was, however, also considerably cheaper than in most European countries at €15 for 2 days. And we got to sit down for an hour or so, which was by now very welcome!

At the end of the tour we hopped off and went and peered into the MacDonalds, to see if we’d been told the truth. We most certainly had!

I’m pretty sure there are no MacDonalds anywhere else that are quite so spectacular on the inside…

Or the outside! We didn’t need any prompting not to stay though. Maria had recommended a gelateria close by, and as it was a sticky day we figured what the hell, we’d have one and then go back to the hotel to get cleaned up before dinner. The 1927 Gelateria Portuense is brilliant. It’s a tiny place, tucked away down a sidestreet, and it serves the most fabulous gelato. By the time we got there, they’d started to run out of several flavours, but they still had the pistachio left, enough for a single portion, so Lynne had that and I had the mango, and we swapped spoonfuls. It was definitely among the best ice cream or gelato I’ve ever eaten. They also do a tasting selecton where you can have 6 small tubs of different flavours for €7 which seemed like a bargain for that quality level.

Now decidedly sticky as well as sweaty we retreated back to the hotel for a pre-dinner shower and a drink before going out for dinner (we had a bottle of the white port from the tour to hand and intended to enjoy it).

Travel 2019 – Porto, Day 2 Friday, 12th July 2019 - Porto, Day 2 Friday morning saw Lynne creak into action rather late, but in good time for our first activity of the day.