#they inspired many a childhood game with alex | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

saint-vagrant · 1 year ago

Note

Oh I forgot to ask a question!

😂

Ok, here it is: Who’s your inspirations for your artistry?

Big question, I know.

^__^

hmmmm you're right, that is a big question! since you asked "who" i'm going to assume you mean other artists?

for painting i'm particularly inspired by Anthony Cudahy, Alex Beck, Sterling Hundley, Ashley Wood (all contemporary,) Euan Uglow, Joaquin Sorolla, Sargent, Arkady Plastov, Ivan Shishkin, Konstantin Yuon, Ferenc Pinter, and a number of names in the Brandywine school like Mead Schaeffer and NC Wyeth.

i reformatted my brain a little in 2021 by reading Fujimoto's Chainsaw Man. Other mangaka are Hirohiko Araki, Kosuke Fujishima, Otomo, Inoue, Urasawa, Miura. the 2S artist Brandon Hoax is a HUGE inspiration to me. same for Chase Conley, Peter Chung, Freddy Carrasco, Xia Gordon, Ron Wimberly, Chris Kindred, Mel Tow, Hiro Isono, mozame_mo, Yoshitake Yamane, @maxbanshees @potogawaryuiki @coshkunz @cparrisartand @fourcorneredgod @newjackcole @choodraws @doctop @hirosemaryhello @nocturnalwalkr @fanficciera @oak-n @purenonsens @juangeedraws @plaest2k @blackblobyellowcone @turndecassette2 many more friends and strangers whose work i'm delighted to spend time traveling thru (and whose names i'll add in once i publish this enormous reply lol. rn i'm afraid of tumblr eating it!!)

most importantly, my partner Anka @kingfisher-cove charmed and captivated me from day one. the personality and dynamism of their work, specificity of place, time, body, personal effects, there's always been so much life in their art. i have little to no interest in stories/characters without limits, where mobility is never a concern, especially featuring the wealthy. stories where people don't sweat or pee or have "bad" teeth or talk too loud. Anka's always portrayed peeling paint and rusted metal as a fact of life. you get a sense of dimension/volume in their art— the way material hangs off a body, and that body's form, how gravity and weight conform feet to the ground— and the same goes for the personalities and ideas populating it. the viewer too has a home here beyond "representation." it's not just window-dressing, nor ponderous hyperrealism. there's cartoon whimsy and cartoon stakes. i wish i could describe the extent it's meaningful to me. i feel lucky to see it! plus i really making them yell and art is a good way of accomplishing it.

so because this is veering into WHAT inspires me...

other than like, transness and communism and everything that entails, i'm inspired heavily by pornography and leather culture, and (mostly vintage) magazines like Honcho and Juggs, 70s italian erotica/nunsploitation. relatedly, the lush scenes of Pierre et Gilles and Tarsem and Christian Riese Lassen. i'm also deeply inspired by hyperlink/multimedia art, such as that by Olia Lialina of @oneterabyteofkilobyteage or projects like Ted's Cave. places and delights of my childhood like Myst/Riven, Fin Fin, rural river water, rocky beaches, soft glowing glades, sharks in coral outcrops. autonomy and dissociation, too.

with a lot of the artists i mentioned, there is a handiness, a presence in their work, a dedication to indulgence and/or experimentation, in subject, setting, medium, whatever. an interest not feigned. i also love maximalist colour and texture... in drawings, in textiles, anything! worldwide and through history. i'm inspired by golden age illustration and Iranian turquoise and carpets. miniatures. iconography. lotuses. magnolia.

you can fake sincerity of course. when it comes to making art that seems like a waste of precious effort. when i get a sense that the artist really loves People beyond serving up a telephone game of vibe-mood-aesthetic... that is cool to me. if the art isn't well-lived, then it's well-cared for. a lot of the nostalgia fodder is based on a memory of a memory that was sold for mass market consumers, so i'm a bit distrusting of it. which isn't to say that i don't love a tone poem (i do-- Legend is one of my favourite films) nor that it requires "realism" to accomplish either. i love being sold on the ridiculous. i respond well to like, an artist (in whatever respect) showing me something absurd with 100% unbridled earnestness and fearlessness about being silly. my top 3 favourite series are JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Metal Gear Solid, and Ace Attorney. these are objectively as exaggerated in their drama as they are serious about their intent, and populated by straight freaks. one of my favourite directors is Michael Mann (Miami Vice, Manhunter, Heat, Thief, Collateral) who is known for his obsessive, even illustrative details but also, Audioslave plays during an emotional night drive. they don't let Audioslave play during an emotional night drive anymore. all these things are related lmao. let me go on a further tangent

there's an internal logic, right? and when it's flipped? that's the best. i don't mean a "twist," either. it's something else-- the author/artist revealing that, emotionally, things were always more complex than you were lead to believe, and it recontextualises the entire piece. if surprise is the best part of comedy then i think the same goes for melancholy. i love when the rug is pulled out from under me through something as simple as the reimagined N'doul episodes of the JJBA OVA. (YES! YES! I'LL TALK ABOUT IT FOREVER! I'M CRAZY! BUT I'M RIGHT!) is it a twist? nothing's actually changed about where the story is headed. you know where it's headed. but the meaning of that story has-- by creating an emotional trapdoor like that, it establishes a particular sense of suspense.

i'm mentioning these because i rewatched them recently-- films like Solaris and Sunshine and... you know what? Terminator are bigger to me than their subject matter because the emotional space they create is unnerving, where hope is fragile if it's present at all. something hard to accomplish... the bittersweet potency of ironic regret.

i'll keep adding to this. i could go on and on lol

#q&a

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burkymakar · 2 years ago

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Alex Newhook Imagine: gratitude

Summary: Your dad works as an equipment manager for the Avalanche, and invites players to stay for Thanksgiving dinner. With the games bookending the holiday, a lot more Avalanche players are attending. At first annoyed, you can’t help but connect to one player, Alex Newhook. Maybe this holiday dinner will be fun after all.

Word Count: 4.5k

Note: Female OC. Inspired by Ted Lasso’s “Carol of the Bells”. In this, you are Donny White’s college-aged daughter so have fun with that lol. This was supposed to be released before Thanksgiving not before *checks watch* New Year’s. Oops.

Donate

Alex Newhook’s original plan was to spend American Thanksgiving with his girlfriend’s family in Boston, but when they broke up before the season, he didn’t really consider a replacement plan. He had fun Cup celebrations to experience, and then the season to prepare for.

Suddenly, it was mid-November and he was about to spend Thanksgiving alone.

That worried his mom, even though they were Canadian. Paula would wring her hands on FaceTime calls and be abuzz with maternal panic about him being all alone with nothing in the Colorado cold. She tried to get him to fly to Newfoundland but he didn’t see the point in adding a three and a half hour excursion to his jetlag, even if he did miss his folks. Especially since they had to play the Canucks the day before Thanksgiving and then fly to Nashville the day after only to fly back to Colorado.

The people in charge of NHL scheduling should be shot.

He and Bowen Byram were doing laps at their apartment complex pool since Denver was getting a random day of heat before the cold snap coming. After pushing out of the pool, Alex lamented to his buddy about this bullshit.

“Oh dude, just go to Whitey’s thing,” he said, shaking out his hair like a golden retriever. “Don’t you remember? He invited everybody. Just text him.”

“Are you going?” Alex toweled off before sitting with him on the lounge chairs.

“Yeah, probably. Kails has to study for finals back in Van, and I didn’t want to fly out so I told Donny I’d go. You should come. Val said it’s fun.”

“Val goes?”

“Yeah, I think he’s a regular, he takes his wife when she’s in town. EJ’s going for dessert,” Bo said. “Frankie takes his family, including Kauter, and Georgie said he wanted to stop by since his girlfriend is back in Finland.”

“Okay, yeah, I’ll text Donny,” Alex said, and hopefully his mom would be assuaged.

You hated making pie crust, it was such a pain in the ass. Every ingredient had to be at the exact right temperature mixed the exact right way.

But you heard from your dad that some Avalanche players could attend your family’s big Thanksgiving event, and that meant more effort. And gluten-free pie.

Back from college, you were kind of annoyed your family holiday was going to be overrun with sweaty hockey boys. Your dad even said more players than ever were going to be there this year.

It was a typical experience for most of your childhood. Your dad, Donny White, had been working with the Avalanche organization your entire life. You spent so many nights growing up going to games and hanging out in the locker rooms and playing street hockey with the players or their kids.

Now in your last year of college, it no longer had the same glamor it once did. They were just some guys.

You had bigger things to worry about, like your upcoming finals. And this damn pie.

“Gluten-free pie should be illegal,” You griped to your younger brother DJ, a senior in high school.

He snickered, “We should make the good shit anyway, I bet they’d be thrilled.” “I heard that.” Your mother called from the living room, vacuuming off dog hair from the sofa. “These guys are your father’s coworkers, be respectful. No swearing tonight.” “They swear on the ice,” DJ whined.

“And they don’t swear at the dinner table,” she said primly.

You shared a wary look with your brother but kept your mouth shut. After the pie was done and you had showered, dinner was still two hours out. Your dad and DJ were picking up your grandfather from his retirement home. Your other brothers Jimmy and Freddy were playing Mario Kart, and you were trying to fix your hair. It was dry but not styled, and then the doorbell started ring.

“Y/N, you gotta get it!” Jimmy called to you.

“You get it!”

“No, you get it I’m about to kill Freddy!”

“Shit, fine,” You huff and run downstairs. Your hair is still a mess and you’re in your towel and bath robe that’s covered in cartoon pickles (a gag gift from DJ several birthdays ago) and you swing open the door, not sure who you expect to see on the other side.

Whoever it was, you certainly didn’t expect Alex Newhook.

He stood there politely, his eyes only flitting down briefly to see your outfit before locking eyes with you. He wore a nice outfit, a good sweater, jacket, and a black hat that wasn’t a baseball cap. He looked very dapper and cute. “Hey, uh, is Whitey, I mean Donny, here? I’m Alex.”

Your face burned with a blush but you stayed composed enough to tighten your pickle bath robe.

“Uh, hi,” You greeted. “I’m Y/N, and no he went to pick up his dad. My grandfather, I guess.” Sentences seemed so much harder for some reason. It didn’t help that Alex Newhook was cute as hell, but it was probably just because you felt caught off guard.

“Oh, am I early?” He looked around.

“Yeah a bit, we weren’t expecting people until 5ish,” You said.

“Shit, sorry, Bo told me 4, not 5,” he said, grabbing for his phone. He cleared his throat. “Um, I can leave-”

“You’re already here,” You pointed out needlessly. He was already here, no need to make him drive again. “And it’s kinda cold, so come in.”

He stepped inside and looked around as he shucked off his jacket. “Nice house.”

“Thanks,” You said, even though you had nothing to do with it. “My mom’s getting ready, and Dad’s out.” You did not want him to follow you upstairs. Wait, you could pawn him off on your brothers. “Let me introduce you to everyone.”

You walked him to the living room where they were playing Mario Kart loudly.

“Hey, pause it,” You said. They ignored you, so you turned off the console.

They immediately burst into an uproar but you were used to that.

“This is Alex Newhook,” You introduced. “Alex, these are my brothers, Jimmy and Freddy.”

“Wait, you won the Stanley Cup!” Jimmy said, sitting up a bit. He was the one most interested in hockey in your family besides your dad. “Wow, that’s so cool.”

“Thanks, man,” Alex sat down next to him. “Your dad was really helpful with the run.”

Freddy didn’t care. “Do you like Mario Kart?” “Heck yeah.”

Since he seemed to be fine, you quickly snuck back to your room. You didn’t want to be babysitting a hockey player anyway.

Alex Newhook was abandoned by the cute girl wearing pickles with two pre-teens. Well, he liked kids so he wasn’t too put off.

“Who do you drive as?” One of the brothers, he didn’t really get a chance to differentiate them, asked.

“I usually do Yoshi. When I play with my sister, she’s always Peach.”

“Y/N is always Peach too,” the smaller brother said. “I’m always Toad, and Jimmy is Luigi. DJ is always Mario ‘cause he’s the oldest.”

“Makes sense,” Alex said, committing to memory that the small one was Freddy and the taller one was Jimmy. “Can I play?”

“Sure!” They gave him a controller and got him set up.

Some time later, he’d gotten his ass thoroughly beat in Mario Kart twice before Y/N came down again. Now, she was wearing a nice sweater with black jeans. Your legs were really long and he should not be staring at the daughter of an equipment manager’s legs like this.

“Y/N, come join us!”

“I told Mom I’d help with the mashed potatoes,” You said. “But it looks like you’re having fun with Alex.”

“He’s awful,” Freddy said.

Alex laughed as you turned to him, eyebrow raised.

“You don’t have to let them win, you know.”

“I’m not,” he admitted, and Y/N finally smiled. It was a really pretty smile.

“Well, then you guys should let Alex win.”

“He already won the Stanley Cup,” Freddy whined.

Alex choked on a laugh, “Fair, totally fair.”

You were about to head back to the kitchen when a new voice called.

“Are you two still playing Mario Kart-” Your mom came down the stairs while putting in an earring. She paused at the foot of the stairs and noticed the four of you. “Oh, hello Alex.”

He looked unnerved but still charming. “Hello, Mrs. White.”

“Alex got told the wrong time,” You interjected before your mom asked for answers. “So I had the boys keep him company.”

“Oh, good. Well I’m sorry Alex, but I’m glad you made it!” She continued. “I’m Carol, Donny’s wife. Do you need anything, water, food?”

“I’m all set, thank you, Mrs. White.”

“Carol is fine,” she waved a hand to dismiss his formality. “This won’t be some crazy strict dinner. I’m just a bit thrown, we’ve never had so many people from the team attend! Y/N, can you please help with the mashed potatoes?”

“Yeah, of course.” You walked over to the kitchen and went to get started.

“Can I help at all? I’m not much of a cook but I’m good at chopping.”

You went to deflect but your mom interjected, “Oh, that would be so helpful! Why don’t you help Y/N peel the potatoes.”

“Are the boys not going to help at all?” You asked.

“DJ is in charge of the green beans,” your mom said. “But J and F would just make a mess and we can’t have that.”

You rolled your eyes but you did agree. They were still pretty young to be given kitchen responsibilities, especially since your mom was clearly nervous about all the people attending. Apparently, the Captain Landeskog and the good defenseman Cale were coming after dinner, bringing their families. So was EJ, who always snuck you candy when you were growing up, and the two Czech players.

But for the dinner, there was the new goalie, Valeri Nichushkin, the other rookie, and the new guy. You only knew Val’s name because he’s attended the past two Thanksgivings. That’s a lot of important people your dad works with, so you wanted to help.

You didn’t really like having a sous chef, and was afraid Alex would be underfoot. But he was actually really helpful. You were able to chat. He was about your age and also went to college, but had dropped out of his sophomore year, but commiserated with you about the experience and finals, and asked about you instead of just talking about himself.

“Do you think you’ll go back to school at some point?” You asked as you started on the sweet potatoes. To accommodate the healthy, they were having both mashed regular potatoes and mashed sweet potatoes which meant so much peeling and two burners for boiling the taters.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m really happy doing hockey right now and it needs all my focus. But I liked college. My old teammate, Jack Johnson, went back to school and graduated this year. He’s, like, ancient so I might do that later on.”

“Always good to have the option,” You agreed and let the potatoes boil so they could soften. You started mixing half and half, butter, cream cheese and garlic in a large saucepan and put it on a low simmer.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s the mix I use thicken up the mashed potatoes and make them creamy,” You rolled your head side to side to relax your neck. “Better if it’s warm.” He nodded. “Thanks for the help.”

“Of course, thanks for having me,” he smiled and it was a really cute smile.

Thankfully, before you could dwell on it, he went back to your kid brothers, and your dad and other brother came by with your grandfather. The last half hour before the party was a fervent rush to find seating, set up the candles, make sure there was no evidence of living in this house.

Eventually, people started showing up. First was Evan Rodrigues, his wife Christina and his kids Grayson and Noah. They were younger than your youngest brother, but they got on immediately, giggling and laughing and running around in the backyard even with the slight chill in the air.

Christina brought some gluten free rolls and really nice bottles of wine, and Evan and your dad immediately went off to the TV to watch the game, talking about their fantasy football teams.

Alexandar Georgiev, the new goalie, arrived soon after. He also brought wine and a really nice bottle of vodka for “if we party.” You loved him already.

Then Bowen Byram came, bringing two store bought apple pies and flowers for your mom. Your dad had mentioned he was injured, but he looked fine walking around. But you weren’t an expert.

“You told me the wrong time, idiot,” Newy lightly elbowed him and you bit back a smile.

Bowen huffed. “My finger slipped, di-uhhhhhhh dude,” his friend avoided swearing even though all young ears were outside.

“Well, Alex was really helpful,” You offered as you potted the flowers for your mom since she was busy plating the food with Christine.

“Was he now?” Bowen raised his eyebrows at Alex, so Alex elbowed him with more heft this time.

“We wanna play Nerf!” Jimmy ran back in with the other kids trailing on his heels. “Y/N, can we play Nerf?”

“Ask mom, go away,” You said. “I have to finish the potatoes and make whipped cream.” Also this was a really cute outfit and you didn’t want it to get ruined.

“Please!” Freddy whined. “You’ve been in the kitchen for-evvvvvvveerrrrrrrr.” Impressive how many syllables he made that word. Alex and Bowen just snorted.

“I gotta keep cooking because you’d find a way to burn the whipped cream.”

Apparently not too heartbroken, they immediately turned to Alex and Bowen. “Please, Newy and Bo, please!”

The two young hockey players readily agreed. “But you guys better have weapons, I left mine back in Canada,” Alex said, and they ran upstairs, a stampede of boys.

“I guess what they say about hockey players just being tall boys is true,” You mused aloud as you head back to the kitchen.

Christine laughed as you “Oh trust me, if you’re lucky, that’s the case,” she said. “Also, Nerfs are fun, Grayson adores them.”

Before you could reply, the stampede came back down again, this time armed with plastic toy weapons and cackling with gleeful laughter.

“Take those downstairs, I don’t want any darts on the first floor!” Your mom called, and you were taken back to your childhood in a very sweet way as the four of you ran around playing and laughing.

Smiling to yourself, you finished your mashed potatoes and went to get started on the whipped cream, but the doorbell rang.

You went to grab it, because a football-obsessed cheer and groan reverberated from the living room.

“Sorry for late. I stop by Russian bakery and grab Kartoshka,” Valeri held up a box.

“All good,” You assured. “Come on in. Everyone’s watching football.”

He nodded and followed you into the kitchen where he greeted your mom.

“Hello,” he greeted and set the box down. “I go watch football.”

“Sounds good,” You said and got the whipped cream put together. You made it the best in your entire family.

That should be the last of the interruptions. You went to go put out some more snacks in the living room but heard raucous laughter before getting hit with a dart on your shoulder blade.

You whipped around and saw Alex and Jimmy behind you, frozen in guilt but weapons still raised. The rest of the herd of boys stormed up after, promptly

A Nerf dart laid at your feet.

“Sorry, Y/N,” Alex said. It looked like he meant it but he was also about to laugh, the giggles pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“Can I borrow that?” You asked Jimmy.

Since Jimmy adored you, he handed you the Nerf gun.

You stepped back a bit since you weren’t a total bitch, and shot Alex Newhook dead center.

Alex Newhook admired how Y/N just immediately gave it back instead of complaining, not moving as the dart hit him and bounced off his chest. Once it hit the floor, he dramatically grabbed at his heart and staggered backwards. “Ah, I’ve been hit! Write sonnets about my bravery!” Then he collapsed on a heap to the floor.

He heard Y/N’s voice amongst the laughter of all the boys before Mrs. White called out, “Dinner’s ready! Everyone to the dining room.”

“C’mon, drama queen,” Bowen helped him up. “We’ll write songs to you later.”

There were all these little name cards set up. There were five seats at the kid’s table, including DJ who joined the Nerf battle late.

But Alex was sitting next to you.

There were a lot of people, so everyone was all scrunched up. His thigh often found itself resting against yours, but you never pulled away so he didn’t either. The conversations were lively, jumping around the Denver housing market and football and TV shows. Mrs. White nixed all talk of hockey, saying it was a holiday and therefore a vacation. But the conversation never dwindled.

Val was on Y/N’s other side, and he watched as you made a concerted effort to include him and speak slowly enough he could understand. He joined those conversations when he could, but also talked to Erod about the culture shock of moving to Denver and going from college hockey to NHL hockey.

The food was delicious, but he made sure to not eat so much with the game the next day. But he did have some of the apple pie (it’s a FRUIT) with your whipped cream. Holy hell it was good.

Bo and Val didn’t have the worry of playing tomorrow, the injured bastards, and they had two servings of dessert. Once they were full-contact, he was going to hit them into the boards during their practices.

The kids table seemed like they were having fun. Once the food coma took over, all the kids piled into the living room as the others arrived.

Gabe Landeskog gave Y/N a big hug, and you got to hug Luke and pinch his cheeks as Linnea practically climbed up his own leg. He had no idea how you knew everybody.

EJ arrived a bit later, carrying three bottles of Screaming Eagle. Like the captain, he gave you a hug and joked about your height. Cale came by with his girlfriend shortly after. He loved talking to her, she was always kind. Cale was quiet and respectful, but he and Donny got into an in-depth discussion on which quarterback they should start for fantasy.

Frankie ended up texting they weren’t going to make it but he sends his best.

The conversations continued and split and converged. More dessert was eaten. Some of the kids curled up in the guest bedroom to nap. Georgiev and Val spoke in Russian, but joined the others as well. Carol, Gabe, and DJ spoke about the latest episode of White Lotus. Mel, EJ, Christine, and Bo talked about the price differences of wine.

You and Alex spoke mostly about crazy college courses you took, and weird essay topics you had to write. Cale jumped in at that point, discussing his own essays.

It was fun to be involved in the convos, even though the topics seemed kind of distant. They spoke of dating and moving and trades, and the housing market (again?!). He was single and in the same apartment complex the team had provided for him.

Just when Alex thought he should maybe get going and not overstay his welcome, you turned to him. “C’mon, we’ll go to the kids table and go to our next tradition.”

“What’s that?” He asked, the two of you breaking off from the conversation.

“We play hide and seek,” You said. “It’s cutthroat. You may not survive.”

He grinned, sated and full but always down to compete. “Sounds fun.” He turned to Bo. “Wanna play?”

“Hell yeah.”

Alex, Y/N, Bo, and DJ snuck off to see the kids watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. “C’mon, kiddos,” Y/N muted the show. “We’re gonna play Hide and Seek. Wanna play?”

The kids perked up. Linnea and Luke were already asleep, as was Noah, but Grayson was ready to play even though he was younger than 5.

Y/N knelt down to their seated level. “Okay, we got some rules though. You all willing to play by the rules?” The kids nodded ever so seriously. Alex couldn’t help but grin.

“You guys playing Hide and Seek again?” EJ came by. “I wanna play.”

“You don’t play by the rules,” Y/N said.

EJ wrapped you in a bear hug and a weird, sudden stab of jealousy sliced at Alex that he immediately pushed down. That came out of nowhere. Besides, you were, like, ten years younger than the big defenseman.

“I’ll behave I swear.”

“Doubt it,” Alex and Bo muttered at the same time before they all shared a laugh.

“Here are the rules,” Y/N began, your voice commanding but kind for all the kids. “You can hide anywhere in the house except a bedroom. If a room has a bed in it, you can’t hide there. No locking doors, you hide fair and square. No moving spots once the five minutes has passed. The seeker has to wait five minutes before taking off to find people. Once you’re found by the seeker, you join them in the search. If you’re found last or not found within an hour, you win and the winner gets ice cream.”

“Who’s the seeker?” Bo asked.

“EJ should do it, he’s the oldest,” DJ said.

“Works for me, I’m too tall to fit where you kiddos can,” EJ said.

“And you broke our cabinet last year,” Y/N added. Alex laughed in shock.

“Accidentally,” he clarified then paused. “Hey wait, as the seeker don’t I get ice cream?” “You can get ice cream,” You placated.

“We probably don’t need it,” Alex said. “Game tomorrow, bud.”

EJ groaned. “Ugh fair, I’m taking mine to go.” He pulled out his phone and set up a five minute timer. “And... go!”

And everyone took off.

You booked it down to the basement, the smartest place to hide. You couldn’t hide in the guest bedroom as per rules, but you could hide in the large steam shower in the bathroom. With the lights off, you’d be nothing more than a shadow. And maybe people would dismiss it as being close to the bedroom. Most people went for cabinets and closets. Jimmy usually hid in the DVD and board game closet on the first floor. But you tried to change it up. Last year, you hid under a stack of blankets in the laundry room and were only found because your Duolingo notification happened when your dad was the seeker.

To make sure you’d stay in the dark, you quickly undid the three light bulbs and hid them in the

You put your phone on it’s darkest brightness and sat with your back against the wall with the door on it so you wouldn’t be seen. You knew from course reading that people looked for eyes in the darkness so you used that to your advantage.

Just as you felt settled you found the perfect spot and that EJ would be too stupid to find you as the minutes counted down, the door burst open before shutting quickly. You closed your phone, and tried to quiet your breathing.

The lightswitch flicked on and off uselessly and the sauna door opened.

Alex Newhook peeked his head in and went to make a sound. Acting on pure instinct, you slapped your hand over his mouth and pulled him into the steam shower.

“Hi,” he said once you removed your hand. His smile was lazy and good-natured. “Wasn’t expecting that.”

“Hide and Seek is serious,” You said, slightly sheepish. “You’ll have to hide with me, we’re almost out of time.”

“Works with me.” He sat across from you. There was less than three feet between you so the whisper carried. “Smart move to take out the bulbs, you’re ruthless.”

You smiled at him then realized he probably couldn’t see you. “Thanks.”

His low chuckle was bright in the darkness.

“Do you think EJ is gonna cheat?” You found yourself asking.

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Alex acknowledged. “He’s a competitive bastard. We all are.”

“Probably best in your line of work,” You acknowledged back. In the distance, there was maniacal laughter and one of your brothers shouting “NO!” dejectedly. You went quiet, and so did Alex.

Once the noise quieted down, you pulled out your phone with the brightness still low and checked Instagram. Your college roommate sent you a ridiculous AITA post so you chuckled as you read it.

“What’s so funny?”

“An ‘Am I The Asshole’ about this 100,000 dollar wedding dress getting destroyed for a TikTok.”

His laugh was shocked and quick. “Holy shit, can I see?”

You nodded and he moved over to sit next to you on the bench. He read over your shoulder, and you watched his reaction in the faint glow of your phone screen.

He turned to you, “That was funny-” and then cut off as your faces bumped into each other.

“It was,” You whispered, not just because of the game.

Not exactly sure who made the first move, you both leaned forward and met in the middle. The kiss was sudden but deep and you quickly clutched onto his sweater as his hand cupped your jaw. His hand was big, sturdy and warm as it gently held you to him.

Your fingers tightened on his sweater and he pulled you closer. Without thinking, you climbed onto his lap and his other hand moved to your hip as a low groan rumbled from his throat.

The door to the steam shower slammed open, and you and Alex pulled apart.

Erik Johnson stared at the two of you as you froze in fear, and then he snorted. “Oh boy, you’re dead, Al.” His laugh followed him out of the room, shutting the door to the bathroom behind him.

“Well, we were found.” Alex pointed out slowly. “So I guess we lost. Which may not be the only thing I lose tonight if he’s right.”

You tried not to laugh. EJ maybe had a point. Your dad could kill him for making out with his daughter at their Thanksgiving party, but he wasn’t one of those shotgun dads. He knew you were an adult, a woman with bodily autonomy.

“I wasn’t that interested in playing the game anymore,” You said.

“Me neither,” he said and kissed you again.

Note: thank you for reading! masterlist here!

#mywriting #alex newhook imagine #nhl imagine #colorado avalanche imagine #hockey imagine #alex newhook

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merelyroleplayers · 7 months ago

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Now playing in the Studio

("playing" in so many senses of the word)

Before getting thrown face-first into school, cling to your final summer break with family and defend your childhood fort from dangers that are definitely not allegories for adulthood!

This season, we're playing a selection of individual micro-roleplaying games from The Ultimate Micro-RPG Book, edited by James D'Amato! Look out for next week's finale: Wonders by Alex Flanigan!

FACILITATOR: Natalie Winter

STARRING:

- Natalie Winter as Max, aged 10 ¾

- Strat as Billy, aged 10 ½

- Ellie Pitkin as Cara, aged 12

- Josh Yard as Sam, aged 14

- Matt Boothman as Ani, aged 8

ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: Summer Break by Joey Barranco, published in The Ultimate Micro-RPG Book, edited by James D’Amato

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst, inspired by Horse Elevator

SEASON PLANNED BY: Strat

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

#merely roleplayers #actual play #actual play podcast #ttrpg #ttrpg podcast #the ultimate micro-rpg book #joey barranco #james d'amato #summer break!#new episode #new release #new podcast #Spotify

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rabbitcruiser · 9 months ago

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Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day

“Life is short, eat dessert first” is a phrase that has been bandied about by a lot of people for reasons both flippant and serious. Although it probably sounds like all fun and games, Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day is one of the more serious embodiments of this phrase, serving to increase awareness about childhood cancer.

For children whose lives may be cut short and who see every day as a blessing, it only makes sense to indulge in life’s little pleasures. And Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day brings that opportunity to everyone in support of this important cause.

History of Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day

Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day was created to commemorate the nine wonderful years of the bright soul that was Malia Grace, born on February 18, 2001. Malia, who passed away after a long fight with cancer on Dec 7, 2010, was an inspiration to everyone around her.

Those who knew her saw that she glowed with the kind of enthusiasm for life that childhood is made of. She embraced knowledge and learning every day, getting outside whenever possible and drinking in her short life with a passion that made each day a new and exciting adventure of its own.

First celebrated on her birthday in 2013 by a group of close friends of Malia to commemorate her life and creativity, the event started out small and was shared with just a few folks on social media. In 2014, the event went public and opened up to include 55 other families of children with cancer.

Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day went on to become a day to honor all of the children who have battled or are battling childhood cancer. It didn’t take long for the day to explode onto the scene, with thousands of people from all over the world taking part and spreading the message to thousands more.

How To Celebrate Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day

Observing and celebrating this day is about more than just the actual act of eating ice cream for breakfast. It’s a day to get involved in the effort to encourage children who have cancer and make an effort to put an end to this terrible disease. Try out some of these ideas for getting involved in this worthy cause:

Make a Donation to Fight Childhood Cancer

For those who are not into ice cream or would like to promote this good cause in other ways, why not look for local hospitals and healthcare centers that are in need of donations, as they help parents and children fight this terrible disease? Certainly, many dollars are needed to research and develop cures for the various cancers that affect children in particular.

St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, Children’s Cancer Research Fund, Make a Wish Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, and the American Childhood Cancer Organization are just a few of the organizations that offer hope and support to children with cancer as well as their families.

Host an Ice Cream for Breakfast Day Fundraiser

Hundreds of children every year benefit from the efforts of various hospitals and organizations. Putting together an Ice Cream For Breakfast Social can help raise spirits and morale, as well as awareness for the need. Grab a few friends and make a plan for serving ice cream in the morning and asking for a donation. Make it a social event at the office, at a school or in the community. Lots of creative ideas can be implemented to make this day special while spreading the word and raising some finances that can be donated to one of the above charities.

Learn Facts About Childhood Cancer

Most people don’t think a great deal about childhood cancer until it happens to them or someone they know and love. But the reality is that it is more prevalent than most people realize. Here are some important things to know and stay informed about childhood cancer:

Globally, more than 300,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year. Worldwide, this equals a cancer diagnosis for a child every three minutes.

Childhood cancer causes approximately 90,000 deaths each year all over the planet.

70% of childhood cancers are curable, assuming they are caught early and have access to appropriate treatment protocols.

Many families whose child has cancer feel very alone and isolated, so connecting with them through events like Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day is a very encouraging act.

Volunteer at a Children’s Hospital

This might be the day to contact a local child oncology ward and find out what kinds of supplies they need, or arrange to be placed as a volunteer and spend a day with the children playing games and talking. These special children are always eager to drink in the life and experiences of others and to share their own lives with those who come in. They know they’re sick, but they’re also children, and they don’t let that illness get them down. So, one great way to commemorate the day is to commit to being part of their life’s experience by sharing various stories and listening to theirs.

Share Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day with Friends

Celebrating Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day is best done by joining people around the world for an ice-cream breakfast! Join the community by posting a picture of what you’re eating and who you’re eating ice cream for on the Eat Ice Cream For Breakfast Day social media pages. Share the idea with friends, family or coworkers who don’t know about it, to help raise awareness to put an end to childhood cancer.

But isn’t this the wrong date!?

There are actually two holidays that are very similar in name but founded for very different reasons. Today is not to be confused with Ice Cream for Breakfast Day which takes place on the first Saturday of February created in the 1960s by housewife Florence Rappaport from New York. It is possible to read more about how that day got started here.

Source

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lukeevangelista · 2 years ago

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"Y/N L/N, welcome." Alex propped her leg up on the couch, wrapping her arm around her knee.

You brought the microphone to your mouth, "Thank you so much for having me! It's an honor to be here."

"No way! It's an absolute honor to have you here," She laughed, "There are a handful of points on this podcast where I feel like I'm actually doing something good, and literally the minute we had decided on a day to sit down, it feels like I've made it. I'm so excited to have you here! For those of you that do not know the absolute stunning human being sitting across from me, this is Y/N L/N, who has been taking the country music world by storm over the last couple of months. Today, we'll be talking about their new album, life in the spotlight, living like a rockstar, I'm sure, and some famous members of their entourage."

"This is a dream, Alex, thank you so much for having me. I have watched every episode of this podcast the day they have come out, I'm such a huge fan of your work and what you do, it's an absolute honor and a pleasure to be here. I cannot wait to talk so much shit with you."

Alex lets out a hearty chuckle across from you, "I feel like we have so much to talk about, first off, the new album," you nodded, "tell us about it."

"This album is my actual child, it's the first real album of my career and I feel like I worked so hard on it and I had so much help along the way and have met so many incredible people in the mean time. The album is called '365' and kinda commemorates what a year in my life used to look like. Obviously, it looks a little different now, but I wanted to keep the general basis of this album very raw and real. It draws a lot of inspiration from my childhood and has a little bit of a country twang that was largely popular around the 90s and 2000s of country music. I was very lucky to have some big names and some of my favorite people working on this album. Michael Hardy and both members of Brooks and Dunn helped me with this album and I got a lot of really good advice from people like Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson, Jordan Davis, Morgan Wallen, and Cody Johnson. I spent half of the album just learning and observing from people that I really look up to and I really appreciate their work and what they're coming out with. So, I'm really proud with how this album turned out, I definately think y'all should listen to it if you can," you turned to make eye contact with the nearest camera for the last sentence of your spiel.

Alex smiled, "So you're two CMA awards and a Grammy down, what's new, where do you go from here?"

"Oh god, tour hopefully. There's some stuff in the plans to hopefully do something before I'm due back in Michigan this summer." There was a grin on your face, knowing Alex Cooper had been dying to bring it up. Alex gasped, moving in her seat to sit with her legs crossed underneath her.

"I'm actually so glad you brought this up. I know we were talking about it and you said how you were kinda sick of talking about the album."

You let out a loud laugh, "Oh 100%. As much as I love this album and as proud of it I am, I do nothing but talk about it all week, and I've been doing that for a few months now, even before the record came out. I love it to death, but I'm actually kind of excited to talk about anything but."

"Speaking of Michigan, I really wanna talk about that."

"Oh please do."

"So you're obviously a big hockey fan," you nodded along, "and you've become very known in the hockey world as a fan. You've somehow fit yourself into the social circle of some very popular people."

"Yeah, I frequent hockey games quite often, and I've become of a next-gen-Justin-Bieber of sorts. I'm known kind of in whispers around the league, from what I'm being told, as a person to always look out for at games because I'm always at one. I love the game and I love the atmosphere."

"So we're all very aware that you're quite familiar with the so-called Hockey Royalty. Can we get into the nitty-griddy this early?"

"Absolutely! Yeah, as you said, and if the people watching don't know, I'm really close friends with the Hughes family and it actually started because they're fans of me."

"Oh no way! I didn't know that!"

"Yeah, so Jack is a massive country music fan, and I was doing a gig in Detriot, Michigan last summer during a little tour thing I was doing for a pre-album promotional thing. I didn't realize it until the last 4 or 5 songs that they were sitting front row with a good mob of their friends and family. It was really nice having them there, even if I didn't realize it until the end. So they were posting about being at the concert on their stories after they left, and they were all tagging me and stuff, so I saw, like, 8 or 9 guys that were at the game and I knew all of their names because I watch them play all the time. So I slide up on Jack's story, I think, his or Quinn's, saying like 'hey I'm so sorry, If I had any idea you guys were coming I would have invited you backstage after the show and we could have hung out!' I felt so bad that I didn't know they were there. And he responded and told me that they were at the lake house for the whole summer and if I wanted to come up for a week or so I was more than welcome to. They had room for me, it wasn't like I was going to be sharing a room with one of the boys or anything, and luckily it was the last stop on tour, so I had no where else to be. Jack was like, 'just bring a week's worth of clothes and something to swim in' and I told Jack, like, 'I don't have a car to drive out, like, I'm living on a tour bus, I don't have a way to get there.' So, I guess that when they had come down, they brought more than one car, so Jack offered to pick me up at the hotel and drive me back up to the lake house with them to spend the week."

"No way! and you went?"

"Hell yeah, I did. It's not every day you get invited to an event as exclusive and famous as the Hughes' Lake House! And even after I brought up how I was getting back to the airport the week later, he just went 'we will drive you back, you don't have to worry about a thing.' So I packed a bag and worked something out with my manager and I was hugging Quinn and Jack Hughes 45 minutes later."

"Who was more excited for you to go?"

"Oh, me, 1000%. I was so excited to go. I guess everyone else in the group had shipped out almost immediately after the show, so they were already there and playing video games when we walked through the door. Like, I know I'm well known, but I felt fucking famous walking through that door," Alex laughed, "I didn't even get to drop my bag before Jim, their dad, was offering to take my bags and yelling at one of the boys to show me where I'm sleeping, and how they had washed the sheets and EVERYTHING. Ellen, their mom, yelled at him like, 'the poor girl just walked through the door, at least let her take a breath!' and I told her it was fine, that this sort of stuff happens all the time, and Jack showed me to the room that they had reserved for me and let me unpack my bags and get situated and told me that they were thinking about doing some sort of midnight barbeque or something and might take the boat out that night but I didn't need to go if I just wanted to chill. I thanked him perfusely and told him I just really wanted a breather and how I needed to answer a few emails and stuff. He told me I could work at the kitchen island, too, if I didn't wanna feel left out. So I set up all of my chargers and unpacked and whatever and answered a few emails and comments and liked a few instagram stories at the kitchen island and talked with their parents and met some of the other guys. I never felt like I was more or less than them at any point the whole week. The whole group is so nice and never left me out of absolutely anything."

"And you went back, didn't you?"

"I did! I went the last 2.5 weeks of the summer, before they all shipped off to their respective corners of the continent. It wasn't my idea either, Quinn came up to me and was like, 'hey, the last couple weeks before we all head back to our cities is just gonna be the the three of us and KJ and Blanks if you wanna come back and hang, it'll be a lot less hectic.' So, I did. It was just the 6 of us for about half a month."

"They sound like so much fun," she turns towards the camera, "if it feels like I'm doing significantly less talking than normal, it's because I think Y/N has a really pretty voice and I just like listening to her talk."

"Stop it, you're so sweet-"

"No, it's true!" she turned back to you, "I love listening to you talk."

"I really appreciate it, is there any other nitty-gritty tell-all detail of the Hughes Boys and Friends? I have not slept with any of them, before you ask."

Alex laughed, "That's such a shame, I feel like that would make a good headline, 'Country Singer Y/N L/N Rates The Dick Down of The Entire NHL out of 10: Here's What You Need to Know!' Since we can't talk about the sex, may I ask you which one would make the best boyfriend? I'm assuming there's at least one that you feel like would be an exceptional boyfriend."

"Oh god, I think each of them each of qualities and personalities that would make them more than qualified," Alex raised an eyebrow at you, "would you like me to go through all of them?"

"Uh, yes please!"

You smiled, "Oh god where do I start. Luke Hughes, the baby of the group. Luke is very spontaneous, if anyone is going to wake up at 3am, say 'I wanna go wakeboarding' and do it, it would be Luke Hughes. He does stuff because he wants to and does not think about it, he's doing it for the plot and absolutely nothing else.

"Jack Hughes is very enthusiastic about almost anything. He's very energetic and will try and make the most out of any situation. If it's his turn to do laundry or wash the dishes, he's going to make the most out of it. There's music playing, he's dancing around, he's going to make even the most boring of shit fun. He does everything with the excitement of a toddler, even if he doesn't wanna do it.

"Quinn, oh Quinn. Quinn is by far one of the most patient people I've ever met in my life. He's also a phenomenal listener. He's amazing to talk to about anything because he can identify when you just want to rant about how much of a stupid bitch someone is versus when you want solutions about whatever problem you have. He will take his time to understand the situation and will listen to you and soak up all of the information you have to say. I was taking a class over the summer and he used to help me with homework and as much as I asked him to read over essays or to help me with assignments, he took the time and listened to me and was patient with me and helped me with anything I needed.

"Kent Johnson, oh god, I have to much to say about Kent Johnson. KJ is down for absolutey anything. If Luke comes out of his room at the ass-crack of dawn with the dumbest of decisions, KJ is the first to volunteer, he loves living life and he likes making memories, he'll dance in the kitchen with Jack, won't even help him, just there to dance around and sing along, he'll join in any pick up sport game someone wants to play, he'll grab a controller regardless of what's on the screen. He loves having fun and will jump at any opportunity to do so.

"Nick Blankenberg is the voice of reason in the group, team dad, if you will. He's incredibly wise and very intelligent- not like the others aren't, but Blanks has the type of intelligence that you would expect out of your older brother. He can be handed a situation from any of the other boys in the group and immedately outweigh all of the pros and cons and he has enough social awareness to outweigh all of the outcomes and say 'hey, maybe we shouldn't-' or 'what if we do this instead.' He has so much wisdom and he's so much fun to talk to.

"Um, Brendon Brisson, I think is who I'll go with next. Briss might not seem like it, but he's very philisophical. If I had to put money on who I think would be the most likely to find laying out in the grass at night staring at the stars wondering about the workings of the universe, it would be Briss. He loves learning about new people and what keeps the world spinning and society moving, he loves talking about what happens after you die and whether aliens exist or not or what it would be like to be sucked into a black hole. He's curious about everything and loves learning about people and loves listening to everything everyone has to say just because he finds it interesting.

"God, I don't know how I can follow that up, um, Bordy, maybe? Thomas Bordeleau is everyone's own personal hype man. If he thinks someone looks good, he WILL tell you. He's constantly dishing out compliments and constantly whistling at people and telling them how good they look. He always tells you when he likes your outfit or if a particular color looks good on you or if the fashion choice you made was good. He likes making other people feel confident and good about themselves. I know everytime I'm with Thomas I'm going to walk away feeling like a million dollars just because he loves making other people feel good about themselves.

"Owen Power is a gentle giant. He loves cuddling and he loves giving hugs. He's so peaceful to be around and has become such a safe presence in my life over the last few months. He always know what to say and he always knows when I'm in a bad mood.

"and last but not least, Matty Beniers. Matty is an absolute goof. If there's a room full of people belly-laughing it's because Matty is doing something stupid. He enjoys being the center of attention and he enjoys making everyone around him laugh. He likes making people happy. Matty can turn any situation into an enjoyable one, he's the life of the party and he thrives on laughter and making everyone around him laugh.

"That was a lot am I missing anyone?"

"Trevor and Cole?" Alex leaned forward a little, adjusting the pillow behind her back.

"Oh my god how could I forget them! Trevor Zegras has so much personality, he brightens every room he walks into. He's always smiling and always happy and he has the most infectious laughter. Cole Caufield is the best shit talker. Cole Caufield loves a good bit of gossip and will eat it up."

"That's beautiful. Well, Y/N I just wanna thank you again for being here, it was an absolute pleasure. Maybe we'll get to do this after every album drop."

"Oh we absolutely should! Thank you so much for having me here, Alex. I'm excited for the shit-talk session that happens after we shut the camera off."

"You are the absolute best, does this make us best friends?"

"I think it does. I'm pretty sure we're best friends."

Alex laughs, "Anyways, go follow Y/N on all of her social media, it's just Y/N.L/N, isn't it?" You nod, "Go show her all of the love, Y/N, thank you so much for being here."

"God, I love you so much."

"Girl, I love you, too!"

-💍

LOVE LOVE LOVE

SO GOOD

#soft thoughts w/ari #💍 Anon

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cfgravenpast · 2 years ago

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(—) ★ spotted!! NIKOLAI DELACRUZ on the cover of this week’s most recent tabloid! many say that the 25 year old looks like BENJAMIN WADSWORTH, but i don’t really see it. while the STREAMER/YOUTUBER/ACTOR is known for being RELIABLE my inside sources say that they have a tendency to be RECKLESS i swear, every time i think of them, i hear the song SHE KEEPS ME UP by NICKELBACK he/him / male} - penned by Sushi

BASICS

Name: Nikolai Mattias Delacruz Nicknames/Alias: Niko Face Claim: Benjamin Wadsworth Age: 25 Gender: Male Sexuality: Heterosexual Date/Place of Birth: May 9, 1997 in Tampa, Fl Currently: Los Angeles, CA Nationality: Latino, Iranian, Swedish, American Occupation: Youtuber/Streamer/Actor

PERSONALITY

Positives/Virtues/Skills: dauntless – not frightened or discouraged resilient – the ability to recover from failures or setbacks adventurous - willing to take risks or to try out new methods, ideas, or experiences. charismatic - exercising a compelling charm which inspires devotion in others. persuasive - good at persuading someone to do or believe something through reasoning or the use of temptation. sensitive - good at persuading someone to do or believe something through reasoning or the use of temptation.

Flaws/Weaknesses: arrogant - having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or abilities. compulsive - resulting from or relating to an irresistible urge, especially one that is against one’s conscious wishes. impulsive - acting or done without forethought. truculent - eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant. cantankerous - bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative. aggressive - ready or likely to attack or confront; characterized by or resulting from aggression.

Likes Favourite colour? Black Favourite foods? TBD Favourite music? Reggaeton, Hip-Hop, R&B Favorite books? TBD Fears: TBD

RELATIONSHIPS

Parents: Unknown Delacruz (Biological Father) Unknown Delacruz nee David pronounced Dah-Veed (Biological Mother)

Siblings: N/A

Children: N/A

Other family: TBD Pets: TBD Spouse: N/A Current Partner: N/A Ex-Partners: TBD Co-Workers: TBD Co-Stars: TBD Friends: TBD Enemies: TBD

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Build: 5'9", 158 lbs, muscualr build Hair Colour: Dark brown Eye Colour: Dark Brown Distinguishing Marks: Scar down left brow and eye

Accomplishments: TBD

Regrets: TBD

Secrets: TBD

HISTORY

Niko was born in Miami, Fl in 1997. His parents passed away when he was 6 years old in a car accident.

This left Niko to be placed into the system, bouncing all over from foster home to foster home. Some were okay but others were absolute terror.

At the age of 12, Niko was moved to Tampa, Fl, still bouncing from foster to foster but fortunately for him he met Theodore Beckett at this time and he became a permanent fixture in his life. One of the few people to really know the real Nikolai.

At 14, Niko ended up in the hospital after a severe beating from his alcoholic foster dad. A scar remains running down his left brow and eye from that day, a reminder of the hell he’s endured through his childhood.

His active celebrity career began with the making of youtube videos, mainly of him doing walk throughs of games and eventually joining twitch and streaming alongside Teddy.

At the age of 19, he landed his first role in one episode of Girl Meets World.

His acting career really shot off when he joined the cast of Teen Wolf as Alec and has been growing ever since.

Leaving this short so I can plot more out with everyone

RESUME

Youtube claim

https://www.youtube.com/@HollowPoiint

Twitch tag: @gamingwithniko

Television Career

Girl Meets World: role; Jordan, age; 19

Teen Wolf: role; Alex, age; 20

Deadly Class: role; Marcus Lopez Arguello, age; 21-22

Your Honor: role; Rocco Baxter, age; 23

Tell Me Lies: role; Drew, age; 24

Movie Career

Unhuman: role; Randall, age; 24

Teen Wolf: role; Alec, age; 25 (Current Project)

#hillzhqsintro #My brain died about halfway through #But leaving his history open for plots to be added in

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ewyband · 2 years ago

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MEDIA EWY CONSOOMED IN 2022

alright queers sit down or scroll past because i’m gonna word vomit out my thought on my favourite things i’ve listened to/watched/played this year that i very much liked.

MOOSIC

ants from up there by black country new road: beautiful BEAUTIFUL album, literally 10/10 best album i’ve listened to this year (as like nearly everyone on any music reviewing site has probably also said). if you haven’t listened to it, its about a straining relationship thats painted using the failed aeroplane project ‘concorde’ as a metaphor to represent the sunk loss fallacy. fav song: good will hunting

THE UNRAVELING OF PUP THE BAND by PUP: this was my first introduction to PUP and listening to this album cumulated in me seeing them in Leeds a few months ago! its an amazing, no-skip, punk album. every single song just PUMPS ME UP !!! makes me wanna smash shit, i love it. FAV LYRIC: ‘200 BUCKS A WEEK JUST TO TALK ABOUT MY LACK OF DIRECTION? I GOT A BIT OF A COMPLEX, IN CASE THAT WASN’T CLEAR FROM THE LAST FEW SESSIONS’

The Dream Is Over - PUP: because i loved the latest PUP album so much i literally just had to listen to this. i only listened to this for the first time a few weeks ago and i’d even go as far to say that its better than tuoptp for sure. again, every single song just fucking goes so hard its insane. i just put this shit on when im walking or gaming and i feel like a mad man, i feel like im dancing in a stadium full of people and we’re all feeling a strong sense of melancholy and violence. i love it. fav song: sleep in the heat (editors note: i didnt know what this song was about until i went to learn it on guitar and looked at the lyrics for the first time and it was so fucking sad it nearly made me cry. RIP norman. im sure you were a great friend)

trick - alex g: this album isn’t my introduction to alex g (lincoln’s sandy cover was) but it was my introduction to their wider discography. i first heard sarah on tiktok and just that intro midi flute and guitar strums flung me back into my childhood. i was playing tig in the playground again, i was making up games in the church car park again, i was scraping my knee trying to climb trees way too tall for me again. this album leaves me with a lot of nostalgia from my angsty-nirvana-listening teen years to my young-dumb childhood years. i love it. fav song: sarah (i also have a major love-hate relationship with the song ‘whale’)

God Save The Animals - alex g: the natural step from ‘trick’ was to look at their new album released this year!!! this is SUCH an interesting album. it goes from classic alex g to some crazy hyper pop type stuff and i LOVE it. i super super love the percussion and the way that the vocals are changed and mangled and distorted in so many different ways. it doesn’t necessarily have any earworms per-say but it does have some pretty incredible new sounds that have really inspired me to develop my own style and try some of the effects mr.g has used in this record. fav song: runner

Be The Cowboy - mitski: my first exposure to mitski was from my partner playing their songs on the car and i never really properly understood it until i saw her live. theres just a pure controlled rage about mitski thats hard to describe in words. its a snarl between words. its letting someone know that they fucked you up in an eloquent hand written letter. i love the pumping synths on this album. i love how mitski can push emotion through her voice to tell a story. sometimes she belts, sometimes she sings softly but you can tell when theres rage behind her voice and i love it. fav song: washing machine heart

Hold on Now, Youngster... - Los Campesinos!: theres something about 2000′s indie music that was particularly made in the UK thats so special because growing up there is such an individual experience that it can’t be translated to anywhere else in the world (much like growing up anywhere else!). lc! manages to capture this and put it into song. its about all the boring shitty themes like love and breakup but telling it through the way we interact with each other. through letters, through mixtapes, through inside jokes and superstitions you made yourself. i love love LOVE the horns in this album and how they work with the violin -- its almost poetic at times. every song on this album slaps, i love the outro. fav song: You! Me! Dancing!

Blues and Roots - Charles Mingus: i got really into jazz due to my uni course having a section on it and i found myself particularly fond of a sub-genre of jazz called ‘hardbop’ and this charles mingus fella is INSANE at it. listening to this whilst walking feels amazing, its like i can see different shapes and colours flashing in my brain, with every bop and sax solo it just hits so hard. fav song: moanin’

GAMES

Hollow Knight: the art in this game is stunning first a foremost, you start in an unknown world and you are given NOTHING in terms of lore. even the community to this day does not fully understand the lore and honestly?? i love it. it gives me a sense of child-like wonder wandering caverns looking for secrets and tiny tinges of lore and it actually gets surprisingly emotional?? it deals with themes of loss, grief and parenthood. its very goth, very melancholic and very fucking difficult. i highly recommend this! i sunk around 60 hours into it

Omori: this game will be super difficult to really talk about because I don’t wanna spoil anything at all but: its a really beautiful portrayal of dissociation and trauma. like a lot of people, i really resonated with sunny and his struggles with fears, basic ones like drowning or heights of course, but also more innate fears like the fear of growing up and losing friends or the grief that comes with losing your childhood. If you’re in your late teens or early 20′s it’ll probably of remind you of a time you forgot and a time that you’ll never have back. very emotional game.

Fortnite: okay mikey deafpony introduced me and the friendgroup to this and it fucks so hard. i never really thought i was into battle royale’s but this game just makes it fun and interesting all the time. yeah, okay, the updates are annoying but it keeps the game constantly fresh and new. i highly recommend playing with friends! was pleasantly surprised with it.

WATCHING THINGS

I didn’t really watch that many tv shows/movies this year so i just put them into one thing okay??

Isle of Dogs: its wes anderson. i love the humour. its not laugh out loud funny but its quick and fast paced and i loved how dark this movie gets sometimes ?? its just a lotta fun and sometimes emotional. i love the stop motion and all the artwork is super pretty. im also a weeb so like, japan yay but it does also suffer from orientalism which sucks.

Moomin (2019): Previously, I could never really get behind this version of Moomin because I didn’t like the voice actors and I didn’t like the animation. However, its really grown on me. It does take a few episodes to find its feet and some episodes do fall flat but it really does stay true to the original source material. After watching the first 2 and a bit seasons, I’d probably say that it stays closer to ‘true’ moomin than any other tv adaptation to date. I also now prefer the voice actors in this version. chris morris is hilarious as moominpappa and i liked the featuring of richard ayoade, making us one step closer to an IT crowd x moomin cross over episode. some of the episodes are actually really emotional ?? i couldn’t get over that this adaptation nearly made me cry a couple times.

Heartstopper: i love how UK schools are shown in this show because it FEELS very accurate. some of the script feels kinda GCSE drama but like, its the representation that really stood out for me. i really appreciated how they didn't just focus on the cis experiences but also trans ones too. its very cute, i liked it.

The Batman: i liked robert pattinson’s makeup (and i STOLE it) and this movie made me hold onto whatever masculinity i had left cuz lets be honest everyone wanted to be batman if u watched this movie.

OKAY THATS IT !!! THANKS IF U READ ALL OF THIS LOL

#black country new road #pup the band #alex g #mitski #los campesinos!#hollow knight #omori #isle of dogs #moomin

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minecraftrelatedrandomness · 1 year ago

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The Morning Falls Nonetheless: Writer's Cut

Alternatively, I compile my DMs with @scarletfeisty over my fic into one cohesive commentary post.

[link to fic for context]

Post may be edited in the future for further thoughts.

Before we begin, I'd like to note that the main reason I didn't swear in this fic is because I was linking it on the POWCreations Discord server (which is supposed to be PG). This also applies to the current post.

General commentary

I wrote the entire first draft in about 3 hours 15 minutes while sleep-deprived. It took me a week to edit because lore, classes, and other matters got in the way… *cough* executive dysfunction *cough*. I also compiled this writer's cut while very sleep-deprived, so there's that.

Several of the things I emphasized throughout the fic was the warmth/cold juxtaposition and the descriptors of loneliness, just to drive in how bleak the situation was. Classic symbolism, can't go wrong with that, at least not in this situation.

Timeline-wise, Section 2 (Cleo POV) took place less than 24 hours after Section 1 (Seagulls POV). Also, since I wrote the fic before the "Final Wishes" lore event, the timeline may not completely add up to the canon one, even if I kept it vague for when exactly the fic would take place, hence the "Not Canon Compliant" tag.

Section 1: Seagulls POV

I've written ages ago on the POWCreations Discord that once the parents (derog) come back to the Isles, it's on sight for the entire magpie and seagull population. This section of the fic was written as a nod to that; as I wrote in the tags, "We hate their parents, can't you tell?"

OURS! OURS! OURS!

The Finding Nemo reference in the Alex's Mobs advancement was low-hanging fruit. Still had to take it.

Chat knows whenever lore is about to go down, y'know? They know ominous signs when they see one. Yes, the chat detector would sometimes generate false positives, but I have faith that we have a keen eye and ear out for any inkling of lore. (This is why we would also not make good therapists; we thrive on suffering just as much as we do recovery.)

"Really, what has our son been wasting his time on while we were away? Cookery? Menagerie management? I thought we taught him better than that, to focus on discovery and make our name known, not silly hobbyist pursuits like this. I know I taught him how to cook, but I can't believe he's also been sharing my secret recipe beyond the family at that…"

I would like to point out that I had Aurelia say "menagerie management" instead of "zookeeping" because the English word 'zoo' didn't exist until c. 1847 in the real world, and adhering to my timeline headcanon for approximating scientific and technological advancement, it would be close to anachronistic for me to use the word 'zookeeping'.

Also, in my original drafts, Aurelia was supposed to say "to make his name known" and not "our", but I changed it last-minute for symbolic reasons.

"Not to worry, my dear. In the morning, he will know to sail in the right direction from now on."

I originally wrote something else instead of "to sail in the right direction", but decided to throw it in while at a later draft because maritime culture, maritime metaphors.

Hands that dragged sobbing children home when they got lost on the big, big island with so many new places to discover, and lips that scolded them for crying at all.

This line was directly inspired by a flashback scene from Project SEKAI, for the record, and a little from my own childhood (minus the extremely poor parenting displayed both in the game and the fic). So, in the scene, little Mafuyu (the character Scarlet and I were comparing p!Scott to) got lost at a theme park and her witch of a mother decided it would be a good time to scold her young daughter for being a "bad" child for making her worried, and then literally dragging her home.

This plot point of the parents (derog) shooting the seagull chat was inspired by a DSMP fic I once read, in which there is a scene where the main antagonist kills a chatter. (Edit: It's Between Heroes and Villains, btw.) I just decided to go the whole hog and have them commit mass murder instead.

Oh, and the Martyn quote from the deleted line is from the episode about the "In Too Deep" event, just after a failed bounty attempt.

Part 2: Cleo POV

I personally love the idea that the chats are scattered about whenever their creator-characters aren't "live". You know how we'd be in a different creator-character's chat for the time being to watch everything go down? Yeah, that's what's happening here.

In my draft annotations, I wrote that the parents (derog) see p!El as the "bad influence" behind p!Scott's very canonical Animals Georg arc; the only reason they didn't yell at her was because she was out questing at the time, and the only reason they didn't kill the dogs is because they realized just in time they weren't p!Scott's. And yes, this perception is also inspired by a tidbit from Project SEKAI. (I swear I didn't become a Project SEKAI fan before Scarlet introduced me to it, but the parallels fit too well to not make a nod.)

A voice at the back of her head whispers to her what could have happened and how it might all connect, but she has to make sure it isn't just lying to her for the goofs and giggles, as the voices tend to do.

Another last-minute addition, but I really liked writing in the implication that Cleo's chat was snitching and/or trolling.

The third thing they notice is that all the animal enclosures have gone missing.

And now for one of the saddest parts in the entire fic: the zoo is no more. While reading back the day after I posted it, I realized that I never clarified the fates of Dandi and Mabel and the Kangacrew, so I'll do that now:

When I wrote this fic, I didn't realize p!Scott brought the dogs back to the Heron base while decorating for the holidays, so in my continuity, Dandi and Mabel are still at the Nightingale base, and p!Acho is looking out for them, and if not star, then someone else in the Nightingale faction. Don't worry, they're safe, and I'm not that mean.

I think I genuinely forgot about the Kangacrew while writing this, but considering their enclosure is hidden and their existence is mostly a secret (even the rest of the Isles only know there were at least four, not two dozen of them), I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they're okay.

Another implication that hit me after posting the fic is since I kept the parent-child confrontation off-screen and vague (i.e. we only see the aftermath in the fic), we don't know what actually happened.

While I didn't intend to write it that way, the possibility of the parents (derog) forcing p!Scott to take everything down in the Heron base and to kill off the entire zoo… It's extremely messed up, but also entirely probable based the little information I gave.

In short, I didn't intend for it to possibly be this messed up, but it turned out this way, so I'm leaving it open-ended; you can decide what happened.

Whatever happened, someone or something put up a fight. Probably the cassowaries, come to think of it. How Scott managed to wrangle so many dangerous animals into his zoological collection, Cleo will never know, and at this point, probably no one ever will, other than Scott himself.

For context, cassowaries are very dangerous birds, especially males when it comes to protecting their chicks. Anteaters, kangaroos, all incredibly deadly animals too. The fact that players can tame these animals would be a monumental feat in real life (though admittedly Bank is untameable and was water-skied back to the Isles), and this paragraph is a nod to that. Shout-out to Casual Geographic for the animal commentary.

The moon and star redstone light in the corner.

I decided all the electric appliances in the mod-pack were redstone-powered so I don't have to have a headache about timeline management to prevent anachronisms. Yes, it's a hand-wave, but by that point, I was too tired and decided to let a minor detail slide.

Yeah, that's Scott's handwriting, alright, but it looks almost… too formal. Too composed, as though it were written without being driven by any emotion. Lacking in the characteristic loops and colour like what he wrote for the Heron message board…

This was another later addition because I eventually decided p!Scott isn't appearing in this fic to evoke the "I don't know what's happening to him, but whatever that is, it's not good" feeling.

In one of the older drafts, I was considering having one of the parents (derog) write the note, but that would have screamed "HE GOT KIDNAPPED" and I don't think the parents (derog) would be stupid enough to do that.

And again, I love writing style as characterization shorthand. In this case, it's more based on personal experience because my handwriting may vary depending on the situation: my "best" penmanship won me a prize when I was in upper primary school, but currently, it takes a lot of time and effort to write so neatly, i.e. the spectrum of "free" (messier, colourful) vs. "restrained" (neat and tidy, "professional" black ink, etc.).

Also, the fact that I never made specifics when pointing out the handwriting style is because of my conlanging headcanon; I haven't quite settled on a writing system yet, so I was trying to keep it vague in description.

The part about p!Cleo telling p!Water that the parents (derog) were "alright" and that she never knew her own parents were all taken from the SMP Launch Day VOD. In Cleo's VOD, it's 1:10:40–1:12:33.

I mentioned a few times throughout this section of the fic that the cobbled deepslate path is still intact, as a reminder that p!Scott made those while revamping the Heron base. A silent "I was here". That perhaps there is still hope.

#the morning falls nonetheless (fanfic)#aqua writes #my post #long post #pirates smp fanfiction

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handelplayssims · 1 year ago

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It seems that the fun thing about Winterfest for the Wallace family is that everyone is looking forward to something different. Santiago wants to deck the halls with bowls of holly. Ashlynn wants to eat that figgy pudding. Kiara wishes to wish you all a merry Winterfest, and enjoy the presents and well, Zayne wants presents and to see Father Winter. Right then! We’ll worry about each thing when each person wakes up! Annnnnd Ashlynn is in an awful mood. Welp. Jog around the block Ashlynn.

Hmm. Normally I would get a Winterfest tree if someone’s in the Festive Spirit mood but the person who has that as a beloved tradition is Kiara. And Santiago is especially not looking forward to the festive cheer. I think I’ll just get a pile of presents and wait. ...annnnd it’s Power Conservation Day. Man all of that food stocked up in the fridge is going to go bad. Also, how are we supposed to do Winterfest dinner if we don’t have power!? Ho boy. Tense Zayne and angry Ashlynn. Also Santiago can’t continue his whim of writing for his job if the power is out. Man! Bad times all around. And now I’m just waiting for Santiago to get his inspired moodlet before...would gyms even be open on Winterfest? I don’t think so. Anyway, I suddenly remembered a way to gain writing skill. Simply journal! He’s doing that while Ashlynn...was going to calm down at the mirror but is instead now just fine so since her first whim is to have a kid with Santiago, (nope!) we’re going to have her get in a flirty moodlet.

...Kiara, why are you in a picky eater phase? Whhhhy? That’s the worst trait of the childhood phases to get rid of. Anyway, time to do what I thought of awhile back! Invite over Alex Feng, her best teen friend, and give a present! One of her paintings will do! And thus does the giving gifts tradition is fullfilled. Oh and I remembered to have Zayne ask about a trait of Alex’s, since they’re friends as well. Outgoing. Hmm. My last mark on traits upon ageing up is also something social. I more think he’s an insider-sort of person than an outgoing one. More wants to form groups! In particular, a club for genius sims! That’s an idea to keep in mind for him. So many of those running around anyway.

Santiago wanted to make a 100 simoleans and then his holiday day off of pay kicked in. Ah well! Zayne’s back to tense, again, thanks to Santiago being around when he wants to play chess. ...you know what might be a better idea? Picking up logic books for him to read. It might be not as good as playing chess for skilling but at least it works and it’ll keep him away from his father. Kiara painted a rather large painting of Alex. I’m thinking of using it for décor for his club. And Santiago...wishes to complete his work task. Four interviews, coming up. First up, Jesminder Bheeda. Found out she’s a hothead so I’m talking up Ashlynn to her. Next up a child...which evidently you can’t interview. Fair enough!

It’s 8PM now and that’s around when Father Winter shows up! It’ll be time for presents! Ah, and Kiara got the emotionally mindful moodlet from all of the painting she did. It’s a Snowy Escape feature and the one that runs into my gameplay the most often. While you get a choice, I usually use a random thing picker to decide the emotion because that feels more fun to me. ...it’s ingenuity, the inspired moodlet. Dang. It actually meshes well with her other emotions. Anyway, we got a huge pile of presents that needs opening! The results of our haul are- a knife block set for Santiago. A duffel o’ cash for Ashlynn. A fancier child’s violin for Zayne. Finally, a motion gaming mat for Kiara. Everything except for the violin will be sold! And now we can finally have our grand dinner for the family. What Ashlynn had been waiting for so long! Oooh, and I can do it as a family unit! ...of course Kiara is going to the bathroom countertops. And Santigao. Welp. We got surrounded by trash somehow, a bit because the oven needed repairs and such but dinner was had. And now I remember to have Kiara and Zayne take a holiday for tomorrow. Winter break, after all! Winterfest is finished and all had a fantastic holiday! ...expecting that Zayne is still grudging against his father. And with one more masterpiece for Kiara painted, we end the night.

Neighborhood Watch!

Malcom Landgraab in the Landgraab household has died. Malcmom tried fixing the toilet and it randomly burst into flames.

JESUS! Neighborhood Watch is going out for blood! Nancy is dead too so uh...is Rosa Lend still alive? She was a crafted Sim I made that married Nancy and was in their household. ...yep! It’s just Rosa now! Might as well re-write the biography of the household while I’m here. By the by, she does have a million simoleans as a lotto winner. So we’ll see if we actually get to continue with her...

#sims 4 #liveblogging #Wallace Family #ashlynn wallace #kiara wallace #santiago wallace #zayne wallace #alex feng

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celebratingchenrich · 2 years ago

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Chenrich Week Prompts!

Hello again all! I wanted to make a specific post for the Chenrich Week prompts to hopefully help inspire any and all creators! Again, you can refer to the list more easily at any time by clicking through the link I have on the blog’s sidebar if you wish! But for some more in-depth details, please read on!

And again, all of the below ideas are just suggestions to get the ideas flowing! As long as you come up with something you think fits the prompt for the day, you are more than welcome to share whatever you come up with!

CHENRICH WEEK (September 10-17)

DAY 1 (Saturday): GABE LIVES AU Obviously, without Gabe’s death, there wouldn’t have been a plot at all, but that doesn’t matter with fan works! Whatever you wish could have been given more focus while Gabe was alive, now is your chance to explore! Whether it’s seeing more of “Protective Big Brother” Gabe giving Steph the third degree, whether Gabe would’ve been a little shit and teasing the hell out of both Alex and Steph for their crush, or whether it’s a flash-forward to the future where he’s Alex’s best man at their wedding, or cat-sitting at Steph and Alex’s apartment that definitely shouldn’t have that many cats, the possibilities for an alternate universe where Gabe lives are endless!

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DAY 2 (Sunday): SECOND KISS

Steph and Alex’s first kiss was absolutely wonderful and earth-shattering of course, but what about their second kiss? After Alex suffered several awful bodily injuries, after Steph went through a period of anxiety and self-doubt and worry, after Jed confessed to be a liar in front of everyone, when and how do Alex and Steph approach the idea of “who they are to each other”? Is their second kiss soft, full of relief? Is it a passionate promise of tomorrow?

Or, perhaps, if you want to deviate away from canon, is there an AU where a second kiss occurs? Perhaps they drunkenly met at a bar one night and ended up making out and the next morning one of them finds themselves over at the other’s house. Or there’s elements of mysticism and the supernatural involved where one of them remembers every life, but for the other, each rebirth or reincarnation is like kissing for the first time.

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DAY 3 (Monday): AUTUMN/FALL

Autumn means Halloween, Thanksgiving... maybe even preparing for Christmas already! Maybe Steph learns that Alex never really had any good “traditional holiday” experiences in her childhood and decides to pull out all the stops. Is it a comedy of errors where Steph tries a little too hard and it all falls apart? Or maybe they have a nice quiet evening to themselves and enjoy each other’s company!

Fall could also mean Steph’s trauma around the fall of Arcadia Bay rearing its ugly head once again. How would they process that together as a couple?

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DAY 4 (Tuesday): FOUND FAMILY

There’s a lot of warm and friendly people within the town of Haven. If Alex stuck around with Steph, what does it look like for her to settle into life with the people around her? How quickly does everything start to feel like home?

And if Alex and Steph decided to leave, to tour around the world, what would that look like? Who would they meet on the road, how would Alex feel around Steph’s old band contacts? Would Alex feel out of depth in “Steph’s world”, or would they grow together as they travel?

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Day 5 (Wednesday): CONCERT/JAM SESSION

There’s a few texts in the game between Steph and Alex that imply that they totally had one-on-one jam sessions together at the record shop. And obviously there’s no way their performance at the Spring Festival was a fluke, so they’ve obviously rehearsed together! What would their jam sessions look like in a familiar space where they’re alone together?

Or, perhaps, how does their first performance on the road go? Are they in a small dive bar where no one pays them any attention? Do Steph’s old contacts hook them up with a bigger venue right off the bat? Do they brainstorm band names beforehand or completely forget about that tiny little detail until Alex is standing at the mic for the first time?

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Day 6 (Thursday): CAMPING

Camping can be super romantic and serene. If you’re prepared, that is! Maybe Steph wants to take Alex out for a lovely experience in nature, just the two of them, and she forgets to bring something crucially important. Maybe Alex is just as confused as she is, or maybe she’s a secret wilderness buff because one of her foster families put her in the girl scouts.

Do they get horribly lost while hiking because somebody can’t read a map? Or maybe their idea to rent a canoe wasn’t exactly the smartest one because neither of them really know how to paddle, exactly. They don’t know why they keep spinning in circles, they really don’t.

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Day 7 (Friday): PROPOSAL

Who ends up getting down on one knee? Do they plan a surprise proposal, or is it something that is just so natural that there’s no fanfare, almost as if it is an inevitable conclusion? Do they get friends involved with the occasion? Are they one of those “we both somehow decided to propose to each other on the exact same day” sort of couples? What makes them decide to propose in the first place?

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BONUS Day 8 (Saturday): ACTOR APPRECIATION DAY

The final bonus/optional day is a day to appreciate the full performance artists (mocap for face&body as well as voice acting!) for Alex Chen and Steph Gingrich - Erika Mori and Katy Bentz!

Maybe it’s just making a post talking about your favourite moment in True Colours (or in Wavelengths as well as LIS: Before The Storm for Steph!) that you felt was performed really well. Something that just really grabbed at your heartstrings and pulled you into the world and made you experience it fully.

Since Erika and Katy are both on Twitter, this would be a wonderful chance for everyone around the same time to flood their mentions with appreciation, positive comments and so so much love. They worked really hard, and what better way to show them that their performances still impact so many of us, even one year after the release of the game.

Katy Bentz is also a streamer on Twitch! If she’s streaming on Saturday, why not stop by and spread some love there! I personally frequent her streams fairly often, and she really does appreciate every message she gets from people who say how much her performance of Steph means to them. She doesn’t stream too often on Saturdays, so maybe get a headstart on this one and pop in on a Friday instead ;P

#listc #life is strange true colors #life is strange true colours #chenrich #chengrich #alex chen #steph gingrich #chenrich week #chenrich week prompts

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thealexchen · 3 years ago

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Who are your favorite fictional characters? ☺️ What makes them your favorites? I love your writing btw!!!

Of all time?? This is such a fun and interesting question, and I really had to think about it for awhile. This list isn’t restricted to video games either. In no particular order:

Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender

Alex Chen from Life is Strange: True Colors

Chloe Price from Life is Strange and Life is Strange: Before the Storm

Diya, Min-seo, Noelle, and Akarsha from Butterfly Soup

Ellie Williams from The Last of Us

Daniel Cheng from Picture Us in the Light

More under the cut! Also, thank you so much :)

Katara: Katara was probably my first fictional role model growing up. She really showed me that good is not soft. She was feminine and sweet without being helpless; kind without being naive; and powerful without being cruel. She acted from her heart, which made her the most compassionate, but also the last person to let go of resentment. This duality is really what I love most about her character: she’s an extremely emotional and passionate character, so she can act with either great love or hate. Even though I still see Katara as a role model through her empathy and kindness, I love that she was also allowed to be flawed. She was the “motherly” one, but she also had her moments of pettiness and immaturity, and it really underscores her unprocessed grief and the tragedy of having to grow up too quickly. Mae Whitman did an amazing job voicing her and I can’t wait to see Kiawentiio bring her to life in a whole new way in the live action.

Alex Chen: Pretty self explanatory! But as I said in a previous post (and in a similar vein to Katara), I love how her empathy power informs both the good and bad of her character. I appreciate how Alex’s story captures the utter terror and disorientation of young adulthood, where you’re suddenly thrust out into the “real world” with no road map. It's really cleverly amplified by Alex leaving the foster care system and starting over from scratch in a new place where she knows nobody. Yet through it all, despite all the shit life has thrown at her since childhood, Alex is a deeply hopeful character. She’s not without scars and trauma, but her empathy makes her want to truly see the good in people. But besides her inner strength and wisdom, Alex is also just plain fun. She has a charming character design, an expressive and open face, specific quirks and habits, can be both a sweetheart and a smartass, and knows how to flirt. She might not know exactly what she wants and where she belongs, but she knows who she is, like being comfortable in her bisexuality and Asian heritage. Alex is truly both an inspirational and aspirational character.

Chloe Price: I also said this in a previous post, but I love Chloe because she’s allowed to simply be an angry teenage girl. Sure, she’s cool-looking with a magnetic personality, but the LiS1 establishes early on that Chloe is a deeply sad person. Chloe was someone who was unapologetically loud, who owned her anger, and who was allowed to stew in her grief, even when it was unhealthy or seemed incomparable to future LiS’s characters tragedies. I really appreciate Chloe because her story in both BtS and LiS1 shows how much it truly sucks to be a teenager. So many things are out of your control: your parents don’t understand you, school is soul-destroying, your friends are shitty, you don’t have enough money to do anything, even your emotions can go haywire at any moment. Everything just feels so life-or-death at that age. Even with all the supernatural drama, LiS felt very real and honest for how it captured that so well. I also thought Chloe was well-written with a clear character arc and was so well-acted, and I love that she’s a total queer icon (the only LiS protagonist with multiple canon love interests 👀)!

Diya, Min-seo, Noelle, and Akarsha: I couldn’t leave this chaotic pack of kids out of the list! Butterfly Soup is such a favorite of mine because it completely nails the Asian American experience, especially for those who grew up in a majority Asian area and a competitive school district. Asian food, languages, holidays, culture are just the norm, and there are plenty of inside jokes and details. The visual novel is hilarious, comforting, and joyful, but also tackles racism, homophobia, parent-child conflicts, and coming out in a way that makes queer Asian American kids feel so seen. Each of these four is so memorable and at least one thing about each of them is relatable to everyone. From Noelle’s “so done with this shit” attitude and hopelessness at sports, to Akarsha’s meme humor and secret insecurities, to Diya’s painful social anxiety, to Min’s passion and aggression, these four are unforgettable. Ellie Williams: Ellie is so interesting to me because she represents a very odd symbol of hope and innocence in a post-apocalyptic world. Firstly, she’s far from innocent: she swears, steals, kills without hesitation and has seen some shit. Yet, she remains plucky and jovial throughout it all, not due to any well of inner strength, but simply because she doesn’t know any better. When the normal world has already fallen, what innocence is there still left to lose? Also, when I first watched TLOU, I was so struck by Ellie's bravery, strength, resourcefulness, and determination at her young age and found that really inspiring. Most notably, before LiS hit the video game scene, Ellie was one of the first queer video game pioneers to make waves in such a male-dominated industry, and I know she means a lot to a lot of queer gamers.

Daniel Cheng: This might sound out of the blue because I don’t talk about books on my blog, but I couldn’t leave Danny out. Picture Us in the Light is my favorite book ever. Daniel is a deeply flawed character, but he also loves fiercely, thinks so deeply, and wrestles with so many huge feelings, problems, and questions at such a vulnerable age. He’s creative, funny, and witty and sounds like a real teenager, but also capable of astounding depth and wisdom in his narration. I’d never seen another piece of media (besides maybe The Farewell) that captured the oddities, frustration, pain, and joy of the relationship between Asian immigrant parents and their children. Daniel is also queer, but the focus is not on queer romance but Daniel’s inner turmoil and eventual acceptance of his sexuality. It felt like a very sympathetic portrayal of a young, scared, closeted Asian American teen. Picture Us handles a number of heavy subjects— racism, immigration, mental health, teen suicide, queer romance— in an intelligent and sympathetic way. It is a brilliant book, and Daniel is at the center of it all. I can't recommend it enough.

Thank you so much for asking! This is one of the best asks I've ever gotten! I love talking about my faves 😊

#alex chen #picture us in the light #butterfly soup #chloe price #life is strange #life is strange true colors #ellie williams #the last of us #kelly loy gilbert #avatar the last airbender #katara #anon #answered asks #listc #lis #lisbts #fav ask

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gaming · 5 years ago

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Indie Game Spotlight: The Wild at Heart

Get lost in an adventure in this week’s Indie Game Spotlight. The Wild at Heart is the story of Wake, a boy fleeing hardship only to become lost in the woods behind his house. Stumbling into a magical realm known as the Deep Woods, Wake will use his ingenuity, the magical Spritelings inhabiting this land, and the aid of the wayward Greenshields to help him find his way home.

We spoke with head writer and narrative designer Alex Atkins about what inspired the game and its creatures. Read on!

What was the main inspiration for the game?

The initial concept came from myself and Justin Baldwin (artist, animator, designer). Justin and I have been friends and business partners for many years and had pretty similar childhoods. Justin came up with the idea of a boy lost in the woods with helpful little creatures. I drew upon our real lives as kids, both good and bad, to create a sort of amalgam of us when we were twelve, combined with some mutual childhood inspirations such as Where the Wild Things Are, Peter Pan, and Hayao Miyazaki & Studio Ghibli. From there, we came up with a storybook shape of a secret land, open only to those that are allowed in, and filled with mischievous and delightful creatures, a host of oddball “caretakers,” and an ancient imprisoned evil.

How are Spritelings used in the game?

You’ll find early on that the Spritelings are basically your hands. They build, break, carry, and fight. As the player, you command them and are responsible for what you task them with, even if it brings them harm. There are different breeds with different strengths that must be considered. For example, while all Spritelings can perform basic tasks like carrying a small item or helping to reconstruct a bridge, only an Emberling would be immune to fire or its proximity. Any other Spriteling type would be hurt.

What are some other features we can expect in the game?

Well, the biggest may be one we haven’t shown off yet— a second playable character! Kirby is Wake’s neighbor, who joins him early in his adventure in the Deep Woods. Kirby can also command and interact with the Spritelings, and being slightly smaller than Wake, she has the ability to squeeze through small spaces. We hope to be able to show off more of Kirby’s gameplay and her role in the very near future.

Which creature in the game do you most identify with?

Hmm, I’d say either the Sheltergrub that really just wants to be left alone or the Gumblop that is super hungry all the time!

Want to stay in the loop on all things The Wild at Heart? They're shooting for an early 2021 release on Xbox and PC. You can wishlist it on Steam and the Humble Store, or visit here for more updates!

#Indie Game Spotlight #The Wild at Heart #Alex Atkins

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rabbitcruiser · 2 years ago

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Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day

History of Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day

How To Celebrate Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day

Make a Donation to Fight Childhood Cancer

Host an Ice Cream for Breakfast Day Fundraiser

Learn Facts About Childhood Cancer

Globally, more than 300,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year. Worldwide, this equals a cancer diagnosis for a child every three minutes.

Childhood cancer causes approximately 90,000 deaths each year all over the planet.

70% of childhood cancers are curable, assuming they are caught early and have access to appropriate treatment protocols.

Many families whose child has cancer feel very alone and isolated, so connecting with them through events like Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day is a very encouraging act.

Volunteer at a Children’s Hospital

Share Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day with Friends

But isn’t this the wrong date!?

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