#today's the 27th and it's my birthday but i figured i should just finally post this and announce that my commissions are open

[twstgarden]

—✦ ❝𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬❞

❝ 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝'𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 ❞

➻ pleasant greetings to you all, my lovely daisies! your florist has decided to open commissions for both writing and match-ups to celebrate the 700 follower count. i've included the rules, prices, and other necessary details listed under the cut. ➻ thank you so much to all those who read, liked, commented, and reblogged my writing! i enjoy reading your notes and i appreciate every like and reblog ♥

❝ 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 ❞

➻ writing commissions: open ↪ open slots: 4/5 ➻ match-up commissions: open ↪ open slots: 5/10

— commissions details — 

➻ commissions event duration: until all slots are filled

❝ 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐓𝐔𝐒 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 ; 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 ❞

— a lotus flower's narrative is like the usual story writing that i post in this blog. this is open to twisted wonderland only and covers all genres listed in the original rules list. the following characters are available for this commission listing:

‣ all heartslabyul characters (riddle, trey, cater, ace, deuce) ‣ all savanaclaw characters (leona, ruggie, jack) ‣ all octavinelle characters (azul, jade, floyd) ‣ all scarabia characters (kalim, jamil) ‣ all pomefiore characters (vil, rook, epel) ‣ all ignihyde characters (idia, ortho) ‣ all diasomnia characters (malleus, lilia, silver, sebek) ‣ all yuus (yuuken, yuuka, yuuta, yuuya) ‣ all nrc staff (dire, divus, ashton, mozus, sam) ‣ all side characters (rollo, fellow, gidel, knight of dawn, etc.)

❝ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋'𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 ; 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡-𝐮𝐩 𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞 ❞

— the carnation petal's foresight is the match-up bundle listing. this is open to three (3) fandoms: twisted wonderland, honkai: star rail, genshin impact. this is called a bundle because one match-up commission includes three (3) categories, namely:

‣ main match (platonic, romantic, or both) ‣ voice lines (from 5 random characters) ‣ fandom-centred inclusion (dormitory match for twst, paths match for hsr, vision match for genshin)

— pricing — 

❝ 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐓𝐔𝐒 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 ; 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 ❞

‣ $ 2 per 100 words regardless of the type and genre

↪ for example, a 1,500-word oneshot costs $ 30

❝ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋'𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 ; 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡-𝐮𝐩 𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞 ❞

‣ $ 3 per category in one fandom

↪ 1 fandom = 3 categories, so $ 3 x 3 categories for one fandom = $ 9 ; 2 fandoms = 6 categories, so $ 3 x 6 categories for two fandoms = $ 18 ; 3 fandoms = 9 categories, so $ 3 x 9 categories for three fandoms = $ 27 ↪ if you add another category (for example, you purchase both platonic and romantic matches instead of just one of the two), an additional charge of $ 3 will be added to your total.

— general rules — 

all the general rules listed in the original rules list still apply. those listed below are just additional rules used for commissions.

— commission details are sent by filling out this form.

‣ for systemised and organised purposes, you may fill out this form to indicate all the details of your commission. this is only for sending out the details, any other relevant topics shall be discussed through various channels. you can reach out to me through tumblr's dm system, instagram, and email.

— payments can be made through paypal, buy me a coffee or ko-fi.

‣ this is my first time opening commissions, so i confess that i do not know how the payment methods work as i do not use paypal as one of my daily payment methods. i have set everything to a default, so the payment currency is in USD $, only because SAR is not an option in the currency list. (update: 03/13/2024) i discovered that paypal's fees are quite huge here in my place, so i opted to try buy me a coffee instead. ko-fi is still available only if you can't send it through buy me a coffee. links to both sites are at the bottom of this post. (update: 04/19/2024) i am having issues with my payout on buy me a coffee so i am unlinking it first!

— payment options are flexible.

‣ my payment options are entirely flexible. you may pay upfront at the moment of sending the commission request, you may pay half during the requesting period and the other half once the commission is done, or you can pay the full amount once the commission is done. if you decide to pay the full amount once the commission is done, you will need to send the payment before i post or send the commission.

— once payment is made, you cannot cancel or withdraw from our agreement. alternatively, once i have already started working on your commission halfway through, you cannot back out at the last minute.

‣ since my payment options are flexible, the way you pay me is entirely your choice, and i have naturally given you enough time to ponder whether you are sure about this commission or not. once you have sent a payment, whether it is half or full, you cannot cancel or withdraw from our agreement or ask for a refund.

‣ additionally, even if you opted for a flexible payment, you cannot withdraw or cancel once i have started halfway through your commission or once i am finished. i don't want to experience completing a commission only for the requester to back out at the last minute again. it takes me 2 to 7 days to complete a commission, so please keep that in mind.

— suggestive content is fine, but no nsfw.

‣ i am 20, but i want to keep this blog open to all ages. i can write suggestive themes and whatnot, but i do not know how to write pure nsfw, so i will not include that in my content.

— reposting is okay as long as you link it back to me.

‣ you can repost the commissions since you did pay for it, after all. however, i would appreciate if you tag me in it.

— commissions are posted on tumblr publicly unless requested to be posted on another platform or privately.

‣ all commissions are automatically posted on tumblr. however, if you wish to post it on another platform, i can do so. you also have the option to have the commission publicly or privately. publicly would mean i will be posting it on tumblr or another platform, and privately would mean i will send it to you via our direct messaging platform as a pdf file, or google drive link, etc.

— writing rules — 

all the writing rules listed in the original rules list still apply. those listed below are just additional rules used for commissions.

— detailed.

‣ detailed commission requests allow me to finish it faster. however, you can still be a bit vague, but it might take a while for me to complete it as i still have to think of a perfect way to do the commission to your liking.

— reader-insert by default, ocs are fine.

‣ this blog has been known to be a twst reader-insert fic provider, so it is highly appreciated to request a reader-insert to allow everyone to indulge themselves in the story. however, you can still request for an oc, especially if you want the commission to be sent privately.

— child characters are naturally strictly not allowed for anything romance-related.

‣ though you may know this by now, i will reiterate again. child characters (ortho, gidel, etc.) are strictly not allowed to be included in romance genres (story or matchup-wise).

— no limits.

‣ though the original rules list states that there is a dormitory and character limit, there is no limit when it comes to commissions. you may request as many characters and as many dormitories as you want, but do keep in mind that the word count and the pricing will be affected.

— matchup bundle rules — 

all the matchup rules listed in the original rules list still apply. those listed below are just additional rules used for commissions.

— specify the nature of the relationship.

‣ although the form already establishes the question of whether you want a platonic, romantic, or both of the matches, this is a reminder to not forget to specify. if you don't, i will automatically do romantic as that is the default of my matchup requests.

— child characters are not an option.

‣ this is already a widely known fact, but child characters (ortho, bailu, qiqi, etc.) are not an option in the results and possible matches.

— state the fandom.

‣ the form has already established the question of which fandom you want to be matched in. you have the option to choose one, two, or all three, but do keep in mind that it affects the pricing.

➻ i believe that is all of the details needed, but you may freely DM me as you wish! this is my first time opening commissions, so i apologise for any inconvenience if there are any ♥ relevant links: ➻ commissions form ➻ buy me a coffee ➻ ko-fi ➻ original rules list (this is not for commissions) ➻ catalogue (if you want to check my work)

[stop-weighting-for-change]

UPDATE 4

OK!!! So this update is a ~lil~ bit off my normal update schedule, but honestly better late than never :)

July 25th marked the official end of my first Chloe Ting challenge: her 4 week summer shred. I didn’t lose as many lbs as I figured I would throughout which kinda disappointed me at first bc i was eating clean enough and often times less calories than i probably shoulda been eating so it like didn’t make sense??? but then today i retook my measurements (which i initially took the day i started the challenge on june 27th) and OH MY GOD???? I LOST 11 INCHES TOTAL AROUND MY BODY????? I CANNOT BELIEVE IT??????? I was so so so so so so proud/happy and I’m amazed. It makes sense now why I didn’t lose ~as many~ lbs as i initially figured i would bc i musta gained a lil bit o’ muscle and im happy af bc muscle burns fat :)

I am planning to start a new 4 week summer shred a week this friday and im waiting a week to start the new shred for a few different reasons: 1) mentally, physically, emotionally, im tired and im EXTREMELY proud of myself so i recognize that my accomplishments deserve a lil time off! Ive earned it! 2) chloe literally recommends taking a week off inbetween challenges to get the various types of rest needed and shes the expert here not me so there ya go. and finally, (which is honestly my fav and most extra reason lmao), 3) both my siblings birthday is august 3 and my birthday is august 16. by starting the next 4 week (28 day) challenge on july 31 i am perfectly timing my active rest days on the 4th and 17th days of the challenge to fall on both their and my respective bdays. i realized that the other day when trying to decide when to start my next shred and if thats not just the happiest of accidents idk what is :’)

Im not gonna lie and say the last few months have been easy on my mental health. i graduated college this past december and since then i have felt this never ending spiral that im old and my best days are behind me and theres just an impending doom to get my life together/perfect. and this pandemic only made things abt a billion-ish times worse. i got furloughed so i didnt even have my bullshit part-time job to keep life somewhat “scheduled” for myself and that really sucked. i cut ties with a person who had been a constant and sense of comfort in april bc of my so-called-friends ignorance, selfishness and lack of communication and things had just not been the best. dont get me wrong, i am so privileged to have my family all together, have everyone be healthy and safe and comfortable enough (both financially and physically) to stay homes for months on end but i wont lie and say it hasnt taken somewhat of a mental toll. BUT ANYWAYS my point was that in spite of quarantine dragging me further down, i feel like this newfound lifestyle transformation journey has given me a reason to continue bettering myself and has made for a good reason to look in the mirror.

Enough sappiness i should probably end this overly dramatic and unnecessarily long update post bc honestly no one is reading this anyways lol. were all in this together (<3 troy bolton style <3) and if anyone should ever need my support, even if only virtually, i am here!

P.S. this may be an INSANE thought butttttttttt is it weird that i ~cannot wait~ for halloween. its still 3 months away but wow oh wow am i already siked for it to arrive :D

P.P.S. i found this killer marble cake recipe bc im gonna be making my own bday cake and i literally cant wait to try it i hope it turns out well... unlike some of my past cakes lmao........

[dmsilvisart]

Current Works In Progress

Okay I’m back and attempting to figure out where I left off...

The new year is off to a slow start with me, anxiety, the flu that lasted two weeks, my muse being more inspired by writing than art, and real life....I’m itching to get back to my charcoal, like really bad!  I started a portrait of Steve Perry today, because it’s his birthday, it’ll most likely go in the oubliette to finish later. 

I got a nice watercolor pencil set for Christmas that I want to try, I might hate them, I might love them, but....we’ll see.

My brain has more art ideas than I know what to do with...it’s exciting and sucks all at the same time.

As usual this list is mostly for me to keep track of things, also to keep those I’m collaborating with in the loop of my life  :)

Finished work is under the cut with links to those posts.

So The List:

January 23rd through January 26th, in no particular order are:

December birthday art

color tattoo design for @mybloodyrosered

finish coloring commission for a non-tumblr client

pencils for Pinefest, Sam Winchester Big Bang and TTGBN bang

January 27th through February 4th, in no particular order are:

January birthday art

Reverse bang artwork for @crowleybigbang and @spnholidayreverseminibang  both due January 30th

Finish the bang artwork colors:

Sam Winchester Big Bang with @cyanspica  (posting February 11th)

Things That Go Bump In The Night Bang with @tobythewise  (posting begins February 22nd)

Dean/Cas Pinefest with @kitmistry (posting on Feb. 25th)

Plan out other artwork (time to raid the oubliette and make a list)

Plan February birthday art

Take a look at those bingo cards that don’t have due dates

Kingdom Hearts 3 comes out on January...29th??? So I just might disappear for a couple days after my above list is finished....we’ll see where my muse drives me.

Set up my queue for next hiatus week?  I should REALLY queue up old artwork and tag to other masterpages....who knows....we’ll see.

February 5th through February 11th, OFFLINE, family time hiatus week

LOOKING AHEAD

I’m adding the bingos back in, cuz I like pain or something. Sam Winchester Bingo, has no due date, SPN genre bingo due in July 2019, SPN AU bingo due in May 2019, Dean and Cas Bingo no due date.

@ deancastropefest 3/4/19Tropefest Claims Previews available, 3/9/19Tropefest Claims day 1, 3/10/19Tropefest Claims day 2 3/23/19Tropefest Team Check-In,3/27/19Tropefest Posting Schedule Released 4/24/19Tropefest Final Check-in, 5/1/19Tropefest Posting Begins

@dcjbigbang April 6, 2019: Artist claims open, April 24th team check in, May 10th artist check in with screenshot, June 1st second check in with screenshot, June 15th posting begins.

May, artwork for local spring art show, a local garden show, and a one day art & music festival in my area.

ARTWORK FINISHED SINCE BEGINNING OF 2019 UNDER THE CUT

art/fic trade with @navajolovesdestiel (LINK TO POST HERE)

Freddie Mercury portrait

Dean, Dean Hey Dean!

Harleypool tattoo

Sam Winchester Big Bang: The Color Gold

[soljirk]

↪  HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY ROOKIES & HAPPY 4TH ANNIVERSARY TO ME !

since this so happens to be my 500th post, i decided to go ahead and post this today instead of on december 27th, which is my actual 4th rookies anniversary. please bear with me as i’m so bad at writing sentimental posts but since i don’t think i’ve ever done an anniversary post for my time here at rookies ( i think anyway ), i figured i should probably finally do one! i apologize this is many days after rookies’ actual birthday, but the timing of posting it now just seemed to make more sense! 

as a bit of background, rookies was an rp that i had eyed from day one but due to the fact that i was running my own rp at the time and was quite busy with real life, i kept putting it off. however, as it always happens with me, i caved ... and this is how the story begins.

on december 27, 2013, rkyoona - my very first rk muse - was born ( FUN FACT: i wasn’t actually the first yoona rper despite the rp having been open for only a few weeks ). she was a lot of fun to play at the start, but in a short time, there was stuff happening in her storyline that wasn’t exactly where i wanted to go, so i started to struggle with her muse. however, i didn’t want to just give up without her ever having the opportunity of becoming a trainee and thankfully, in may of 2014, she was signed by nova where she was actually extremely successful. she was able to take part in a special dance performance in a nell mv only two months after she was signed before the whole nova group was whisked off on tour. all of that really helped her muse but upon her return from tour, my muse with her started to feel stagnant. prior to this, i had never held a muse for longer than six months at a time, so to have made it over a year was already quite a feat. eventually, after nineteen months, i decided to let go of my baby girl. 

however, in that period of time, i also had my fair share of second muses as well. in february of 2014, i picked up kevin kim from ze:a ( rip ) who actually survived a lot longer ( six months !!! ) than i expected, especially since he was a second muse. i don’t actually remember too much of what happened with him but eventually, he moved back to australia to be with his family and pursue his dreams there. soon after i dropped him, i picked up vixx’s lee jaehwan, my little cute stuttering bean. he was absolutely adorable and had the amazing opportunity of taking part in the mga’s, making it all the way to the finals, which i did not expect him to do. however, after losing the mga’s, i wasn’t sure exactly what else to do with him and i was also swayed by the very pretty ahn solbin, so i dropped him for her in december of 2014. she was probably my least memorable and shortest-living muse. i literally have zero recollection of her muse, except that there was a complete laboum group at the time. oops. my final second muse at that time was crayon pop’s kim minyoung ( whose faceclaim was later changed to exid’s heo solji ). her backstory was quite intense, and i actually enjoyed playing her a lot. unfortunately, with my muse for yoona dwindling, it was killing my muse for solji as well. in general, i think i just needed a break from the group, so in august of 2015, i dropped out from rookies.

of course, the story obviously doesn’t end there. being on twitter and seeing all the tweets about the things going on at rookies brought yoona back to life again in september of 2016. a month later, i decided to bring my park bogum to rookies as well ( he’s another one of those muses i don’t remember all that much about ... yikes ... but i really wanted to play him because i had just watched reply 1988 and he’s such a cutie pie ). however, while i thought it would be easy to bring back a dead muse, i was left with a very different reality. yoona could only remember the��“good old days” and the reality of her present wasn’t at all what she imagined. it was also oddly difficult to find her plots and in the end, i gave up her up for good and decided never to try to bring her back again, so i left rookies for a second time.

finally, in march of this year, i picked up bae suji ( who was actually supposed to be another fc but she had been taken or reserved at the time ). suji was a faceclaim that i had for a different rp, and it had been so long since i’d played her, but strangely enough, she’s managed to survive so far. i had decided to pick up lee minhyuk a month later as well, but as is the case of all my cases, they have been cursed to fail ( however, he’s still around since he’s dating minah ). i honestly wasn’t sure if i was expecting much from suji. i supposed that a part of me had expected to just quit after a few months, but i don’t know why i stuck around. perhaps it was just seeing debuts and new events come to life that my muse was like, hey, i want that too, don’t you dare give up on me.  

so ... four years later, i am still here, amazingly enough. i’ve literally watched some of you grow up from being kids to adults and that is starting to tell me that i’m getting a little too old for this. nonetheless, i hope that i will be able to stick it out long enough to not let all my efforts go to waste and to see suji debut. she’s literally about a month away from being actually debut ready, which is pretty exciting considering she’s only been a trainee for about two months. 

of course, all that rambling is really nothing without the people i’ve met over the years here at rookies. there’s so many of you that, unfortunately, i’m unable to thank each and every single one of you individually for making my time here lovely, but i hope that we will get the opportunity to continue to make great memories here together and that i can always love on each of you (whether here or on twitter) as best as i can.  there are many important people who have been a part of my muses’ lives who are no longer here in the rp anymore as well; to all of you, thank you so much as well and i miss you! 

i did want to just give a small shoutout to these three who have really stuck by my side in the last few months:

@rkchaeyoung & @yutark - the three of us have certainly been through a lot together in our time here at rookies. thank you for always being the ones to listen when i want to complain about something. i can’t believe it was my craziness that convinced us all to come back once again, but i hope none of you regret returning. i love you both and can’t imagine being here without the both of you <3333

@rkdefsoul - honestly, who would’ve thought we would be where we are with our babies. i’m so excited to see them thrive and grow together. thank you for putting up with me and writing so much with me. you are so talented and i love you so much!!! <3333 thank you for being part of my life ^^~

and to the admod team who keep this rp alive, thank you for all that you do! i know that i probably don’t show a lot of emotions towards things happening, but i know how hard it is to keep a place alive and thriving, and clearly there’s something being done right now that we’ve hit four years. so keep doing what you’re doing and i look forward to seeing all the things that are planned for the future!

last but not least, everyone please enjoy the holidays and stay safe!!! merry christmas!!! ( or whatever else you celebrate )!!! love you~~

[nogitsunelichen]

Caffeinated Fornication

This if for @ask-haleinski whose birthday was July 27th, and my stupid ass didn’t post it on time! This is basically how they met again in their universe so I hope you all enjoy! :)

Warnings: mature language and sexually explicit content

Find this on AO3!

Stiles was tired.

So tired that if he's being honest the sweet release of death won't give him long enough to become well rested. More often than not these days tired is now his default setting.

It was the reason he was currently walking down the street to his favorite coffee shop in town. It just so happened to be open twenty four hours. God bless because it was one in the morning and he needed his coffee fix if he was going to finish his essay.

The overhead bell rang as he walked in, the fresh scent of ground coffee and pastries filled his nose. It was better than the musky dirty laundry and energy drink smells from his room.

At the front counter was his favorite worker here, because honestly the other guy who works here, Andrew, is a dick.

Stiles may have spit in his tip jar once.

“Kai, my main man,” Stiles greeted tiredly, yawning as he walked to the counter.

Kai looked up, eyebrows raised, “another all nighter?”

“History essay.”

“You should tell your history professor to lay off the assignments,” Kai sighed while he grabbed the largest to go cup size, “usual double shot, extra whip?”

Stiles went to nod but paused, “no whip. No cream and sugar too...I need to focus tonight.”

“You got it boss,” Kai said and went to work making the coffee. Meanwhile Stiles got out a twenty and put it on the counter, not wanting change back.

“You know,” Kai started, waiting for the coffee to heat up and the espresso to do it's thing, “earlier today I had a mountain man come in...well if mountain men wore leather. Anyways, he asked for a black coffee and I'm just thinking he's only ordering this so it reflects the dark and stormy thing he had going on. It was truly wild.”

Stiles paused, teeth no longer worrying at his lip, “when you say...leathery, dark and stormy, mountain man...do you mean a guy a shade taller than me with black hair, eyes that are every color but mostly green, sharp jawline with cheekbones like Adonis, built like a bus?”

The guy behind the counter looked at Stiles with amusement, reaching to grab a lid for the coffee cup before handing it over.

“I think so yeah. Very bad scowl too. Why, do you know him?” Kai asked.

Stiles felt wide awake now, like he could run a marathon or six. He nodded dumbly trying to keep calm despite the fact Derek Hale was back in town. He pointed to Kai, “you're the best, but--”

“But you have to go find him, right?” Kai finished, leaning on the counter with his elbows.

Stiles flushed a bit, nodding, “yeah. See you tomorrow night.”

“Yeah yeah--hey if you keep tipping like this you won't be able to pay off your student loans!” Kai called to him and Stiles managed to wave him off before sprinting to his car. The coffee in his hand was hot and by the time he set it down he was pretty sure he'd need a while to recover from the burn.

Stiles threw the Jeep into drive, knowing it wasn't the smartest thing to do, but thank fuck Roscoe started up and drove. She must know how important this was.

Above the street lights flickered past in a blur, the darkness providing empty streets for him to speed down in order to get to the loft in a timely fashion. Derek McFreaking Hale was back in town, and the fucker had the audacity not to tell Stiles. He had to hear it from his good buddy at the coffee shop; and while he adored Kai, it was kind of a low blow not to hear it directly from Derek himself.

With screeching tires he turned into the industrial district, the rubber meeting gravel as he approached the loft. If anything the damn Camaro was a sign Derek was in fact home at the moment, and it was at that moment he realized that it was one in the morning.

“Well,” he breathed to himself, hand gripping the door handle for a moment “he put this on himself, the asshole.”

That being said he jumped out of his car and walked up to the front doors of the complex. He definitely can’t do the stairs but the damn elevator is so slow and creaky it’s like a horror movie scene every time he’s in there. It’s late and he can spare the luxury. With a single finger he repeatedly presses on the elevator call button until the doors squeak open and he can get inside.

He presses the button for the top floor and punches in the code he memorized to disarm the alarm system. The last thing he wanted was for the annoying buzzer to go off in its clinical and loud fashion.  

Stiles literally counts the seconds, it takes three minutes and forty three seconds to get to the top of the building to the loft. It probably got slow after the black light party years ago, so many people on one elevator was a mess.

When the soft ding goes out Stiles gets the hell out and pulls out his keys. That’s right...he might have added Derek’s loft key to his collection of “keys I copied but never told anybody I did it” keys. It has come in handy several times. He shoved the key in and unlocked the loft door, swinging it open just in time to see a figure shoot up from the bed.

Who the hell puts a bed in the middle of a loft that has an upstairs bedroom anyways?

“You fucker! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were back in town! That is like level four betrayal, I mean it’s not like I’ve saved your life a few times, or helped Scott be on your side, or--”

“What the hell are you doing?” Derek snapped.

Stiles paused, jaw hanging open, “uh-- yelling at you because--”

“It’s one in the morning.”

“You can tell time, I’m proud,” Stiles huffed.

“Is there a reason you rushed here at this time? You couldn’t have waited until morning?” Derek asked.

“No asshole! You up and left us, out of nowhere, so yeah I’m here to verbally kick your ass because if I tried to physically kick your ass I’d probably lose a limb or something,” Stiles rambled, “although if that happened I’d look like a total badass.”

Derek sighed, hands rubbing at his temples.

Stiles crossed his arms, eyebrows raised.

“You’re not leaving are you?” Derek finally asked.

“What---no! Why would I leave when I just got you back?” Stiles asked, face going red the more upset he got.

The werewolf looked up then, both eyebrows meeting his hairline, “you got me back?”

Stiles rolled his eyes, stepping down the few front steps into the main floor of the loft, “come on Derek. Neither of us are idiots, you obviously mean a lot to me...and not the way that Scott or Lydia do either.”

There was a silence that echoed through the walls of the loft, the only sound was the soft swoosh of Derek’s sweatpants moving as he approached Stiles. For a moment Stiles tensed up, shoulders with their newfound broadness squaring up as Derek was suddenly close. Very close.

“Tell me,” Derek requested.

Stiles was not one for subtlety, so he just goes ahead and...shows Derek instead. He lurches forward and presses his lips against Derek’s, ignoring how their noses bump from the awkward angle they started with. Hands --extremely strong wide hands-- hold his shoulders and Stiles automatically steps forward closer into Derek. A soft moan rises in his throat as they back to the couch, Derek falling back first and Stiles clumsily straddling his lap.

He pulled back eventually, “I think I’ll just show you instead.”

“That was really cheesy.”

“Fuck you.”

Derek smirked and Stiles kissed it right off his face, mouth working down his scruffy jaw and neck, teeth nipping at his collar bone. Hands wound in his hair, pulling lightly at the strands, a more confused sound coming from Derek than a pleasurable one.

Stiles pulled back again.

“Where did you learn how to do this?” Derek asked.

“Did you think I stayed a virgin this whole time? I’ve picked up a few tricks,” Stiles explained, face screwing up into a pout.

“What kind of tricks?” Derek asked, eyes darkening with want.

“Once again...I’ll show you,” Stiles grinned, slipping off of Derek’s lap and onto the ground, kneeling between his spread legs. His fingers fluttered across the bulge in his sweats, lips between his teeth as he moved to pull Derek’s pants down.

First and foremost….Derek’s dick is beautiful. Stiles could probably write sweet sweet poetry about it; the way it curved up, the soft curls of pubic hair, the soft velvety skin. Jesus it made Stiles��� go weak. His hand reached out, wrapping around Derek as he leaned in, lips pressing feather light kisses along his length.

Derek’s head fell back against the cushions, a soft sigh leaving his lips.

Stiles couldn’t help but feel a little smug about all this. How he just stormed in and is now currently about to suck Derek off in a reunion sort of way. His tongue laved at the head, feeling as Derek’s cock grew heavier against his palm. Stiles let his eyes flutter shut as he sucked on Derek’s head, slowly inching down until most of the man was in his mouth.

“Ohh, Jesus--fuck,” Derek said.

It only encouraged Stiles, his tongue swirling against the head every time he bobbed up. His free hand trailed up Derek’s bare and hairy thigh, fingers cradling and playing with the weight of his balls. His eyes opened and he looked up through his lashes to look at Derek. There was a moment of complete bliss he caught on Derek’s face and then shock ran through Stiles...because he was the one who was causing this.

If that wasn’t an ego-boost he wasn’t sure what was.

Stiles doubled the speed of his ministrations, even letting Derek buck up into his mouth every so often.

“Stiles.”

It was a fucking prayer. He was a prayer on Derek’s lips.

He took all of Derek in his mouth, nose brushing against his pubic hair and skin, throat humming and flexing around the length. It was more or less a sense, he couldn’t see but he could feel Derek tense beneath him. The arch up, the strangled nose, followed by the hot splash of cum running down his throat and coating his cheeks.

Stiles did his best to swallow all of it.

When he finally cleaned Derek up, Stiles realized two things.

One: he blissed Derek out so much the man was basically a puddle of goo on the couch.

Two: he’s never been so hard in his fucking life.

“How’d I do?” Stiles asked, voice raw and gravely.

Derek managed to crack his eyes open, head barely held up as he nodded, “y-yeah...good tricks.”

“Holy shit dude, I’ve made you into goo.”

“Don’t call me dude after you sucked my dick,” Derek said, tone amused.

Stiles chuckled, sitting back on his feet, eyes glancing down to his jeans which were tented as all hell. God Derek could probably smell how turned on he is, and on the topic he could probably hear how hard Stiles’ heart was racing and where all his blood was flowing to.

Before he could give much more to thought he was hauled up onto the couch, the hands hooked under his armpits moving up to his hair to tilt his head up. Stiles let out a low groan as lips attached to his, a tongue deepening the kiss. He let his legs wrapped around Derek’s waist, pulling them both closer. Eventually both of their shirts ended up on the floor, the skin to skin hot and breathtaking all at once.

Stubble lined lips raked down his neck, leaving bruises in its wake as they eventually traveled down to Stiles’ chest, teeth scraping at his nipples. He let his head fall back on the armrest of the couch with a thunk, a content sigh leaving him.

“Sensitive,” Derek said, as if stating it for safekeeping.

Stiles nodded anyways, “y-yes. Sensitive.”

The wolf took it as an invitation to just keep teasing Stiles there, mouthing at his nipples until they felt swollen and achy from the repeated sensation.

“Could I make you cum just from this?” Derek asked teasingly.

“Probably...but maybe next time--yeah?”

There was a soft pause before a growled out, “next time.”

He angled his hips up to allow Derek to pull off his pants and boxers, both of them naked in the dark loft. The only light came from the half full moon from the skylight above and the massive window overlooking the balcony. For a moment Stiles let himself stop and admire how it lit up the color of Derek’s eyes, but that was short lived as he was suddenly turned over onto his hands and knees.

Suddenly Stiles was super glad he took a procrastination fueled shower break not too long ago back at home.

Large calloused hands kneaded his asscheeks, a finger skimming his hole lightly before trailing down towards his balls that hung heavy between his legs. Stiles felt his body go slightly taut at the promise of pleasure. His mind went wild knowing it was coming from Derek.

“Stop teasing,” Stiles bit out, forehead falling against his arms as he waited.

“You’re impatient.”

“I’m horny.”

Derek chuckled, low and deep in his chest and Stiles forced himself not to appreciate it so much. That was opening a whole new can of worms during a time where there should be no worms. Just mindblowing orgasms. Teeth nipped at his skin, another animalistic sound coming from Derek just as the scorching hot feeling of his tongue ran across his rim.

Stiles lets out this choking noise he can’t hold in because this is just too good. From the silkiness of Derek’s tongue to the coarse facial hair, the sensations are just overwhelming. Of course Derek takes the encouragement and gives it all he has. He never knows what’s next because the man obviously has a few tricks of his own; there’s no pattern but there was a mix of sucking and licking and biting.

All of which were very good if you asked Stiles.

“Ahh--fuck Derek,” Stiles whined as a hand simultaneously wrapped around his cock.

His hips twitched up with each jerk of his dick, trying to chase the dual pleasure he was being given. The hand on his dick tightened, thumb toying with the head, smearing the oozing precum around. Meanwhile the tongue currently devouring his ass is prodding just past the rim, pulling at it just so.

“I’m--fuck, I’m gonna...hnng.”

Stiles lets go, his whole body rigid as he cums. His toes try to curl against the couch cushions and his mouth and jaw go slack in a silent gasp. The muscles of his stomach twitch and his hips flex as jizz wets the couch beneath him. Eventually he finds his breath, panting wildly as if he’d just run a marathon.

Hands grab his hips, moving him back and away from the ruined cushion. His sweat slick back presses against Derek’s front as they fall back in a spooning position on the other side of the worn couch. Arms are wrapped around his waist and hot breath cascades across his neck and shoulder.

Stiles blinks a few times, relaxing into the intimate hold, suddenly fearful that he isn’t going to be able to keep this despite the declarations of caring and a possible next time.

“You’re quiet,” Derek notes.

“I’m just enjoying my afterglow,” Stiles snorts.

“Would you like a cigar and some whiskey too?”

“Fuck off,” he laughs, craning his neck back to look at Derek.

There’s this...soft look on the guy’s face Stiles hasn’t seen before. A tender smile and lines by his eyes, cheeks full of color and life. He’s so taken it’s not even funny anymore. Derek leans in and tries to kiss him but Stiles pulls back making a face.

“You just had your tongue on and in my asshole,” Stiles protests.

Derek’s eyes roll slightly but opts to pepper kisses on Stiles’ chin, nose, and forehead which make Stiles giggle of all things. Fucking giggle. His heart can’t take this, can’t take how cute and soft Derek apparently is post-sex.

They both pause, breathing evening out, eyes catching.

“So you’re back,” Stiles states again.

Derek’s head tilts, “I feel like we’ve established that--”

“Are you staying?”

There’s a pause and Stiles feels his heart drop...until Derek holds him tighter and buries his head in Stiles’ neck.

“Yeah. I am.”

“Good; it’s kinda like you break it you buy it. You fuck it you keep it,” Stiles says.

Derek laughs, “I didn’t know that policy.”

“Too late.”

“Trust me Der, you’ll love it,” Stiles beams, hand-in-hand with Derek as they walk towards the coffee shop.

People look. Mostly because this is Derek Hale, and while it happened forever ago people won’t ever forget the fire...but also...he’s holding hands with Stiles. So Stiles takes it less as “what are they doing?” and more like “oh damn Stilinski gets to nail that!”. Like every other time he goes to the coffee shop the overhead bell sounds, the sounds from outside muted and morphing into new cafe sounds.

Stiles is about to call out to Kai, maybe show off Derek a little, but he pauses when he sees the front counter.

Kai is sitting on the edge of it, uniform apron all messed up as another guy is kissing the living day lights out of him. The bell must’ve spooked them because they both jump apart, both slightly shy and red faced. Stiles feels his face morph from shock to a wide grin, pulling Derek along to get closer.

“Uh--I’m sorry about--!” Kai rushes out, scrambling to get back behind the counter.

“No! Dude no, it’s cool! I do demand to know who he is though,” Stiles smirks, leaning against the counter.

Derek rolls his eyes but is amused nonetheless.

The new guy holds out his hand, “I’m Benny.”

Kai leans over the counter, his expression suddenly a little more mischievous than before, “he’s Andrew’s ex.”

Stiles uses both hands to clasp Kai on the shoulder, feeling like a proud father as he shakes the barista a little bit. Benny looks a bit confused at the antics of what’s going on, but lets it happen anyways.

“That is awesome, I’m so happy for you two,” Stiles beamed.

Derek clears his throat, and Stiles remembers why they came. Mostly for coffee but also a thank you. He steps back and leans against the wolf, arm naturally curling around Derek’s shoulder to hold him close.

“Kai, this is the guy I was walking out, dark and stormy. Derek. Derek, this is Kai- the guy who let me know you were back in town. We’re here for coffee and to thank you,” Stiles rambled.

Kai eyes the two of them, looking just as if not as proud as Stiles did, “I’m glad to have helped, and whatever else happened that night I don’t wanna know about it.”

Stiles laughs at the way Derek’s face turns a deep red as he orders his drink feeling like he’s won a million bucks. Then again, a million dollars isn’t anything compared to Derek Hale; he’s much better.

In the end the four of them end up getting drinks and sitting at a booth because this place as no other business at the moment. They drink, they talk, they eat a gross amount of delicious croissants --well, Kai doesn’t, because the freak hates croissants for some reason-- and everything feels good. It feels stupidly right. Benny is also super cool and totally amazing to Kai, plus his knowledge of superheros definitely has Stiles hooked.

Eventually though a small rush of people come in and Kai has to get back behind the counter.

Derek nudges Stiles’ shoulder, hand snaking over to hold his, “let’s go home?”

Stiles loves how his heart flips at the usage of “home”.

“Yeah, let’s go home,” Stiles nods, squeezing Derek’s hand in return.

While this is my work the universe is all @ask-haleinski so can we take a moment because he is just the bestest person ever? Seriously he is amazing. Thanks for drawing that wonderful universe and happy birthday buddy!

[denmarkauds-blog]

En typisk Dansk fødselsdag

A typical Danish birthday.

As many of you know, yesterday (March 27th) was my sixteenth birthday. It was an incredible day, and thanks to all the well-wishers! 

This post is going to tell you what my traditional Danish birthday looks like, at least in this family...in this part of the country...As with nearly every tradition, birthday celebrations vary vastly within the spectrum of Danish culture.

--

On the morning of my birthday, I got up at around half past six as I normally do, and walked downstairs to see both my host parents in the kitchen, which was decked with a number of small, plastic, Danish flags. As I have witnessed during a number of other Danish birthdays, it is tradition to decorate with the Danish flag; in other words, red and white everywhere! My host parents were kind enough to bake fresh rolls for my breakfast, as well as some still-warm strawberry jam, homemade, of course. All four of us (my host sister came down to join us after a short time) ate breakfast together in the dining room, which is not something we normally do on weekdays. Usually, everyone is leaving the house at different times, and eating at the small counter in the kitchen which seats two. It was a nice way to start my day.

As I ate breakfast, my host parents and sister gave me their gifts to me, as gift-giving is most commonly done in the morning in Denmark. From my host parents, I received a sweater my host mother knitted me. Among other things, she is a fantastic knitter, and made me a sweater which I had once pointed out I liked in a catalog. It is soft, gray, open in the front, and - best of all, in my opinion - has a deep pocket on each side. From my host sister, I have received a simple, delicate bronze necklace with a heart on it.

After that, it was off to school. I brought with me the cookies I had prepared the previous day. I made chocolate chip cookies, as I wanted to bring something American for my classmates. It is normal, as well as expected, to bring some kind of cake or dessert on your birthday to share with your whole class. Finding the chocolate chips for the cookies wasn’t so easy. Chocolate chips are not really sold many places in Denmark, and definitely not the normal brands we see in the United States. Luckily, one of the English teachers at my school who comes from the same hometown as me saved the day by gifting me a bag of chocolate chips he had bought during his last visit to the States. As for the actual school day, it was mostly average, and my classmates seemed to enjoy my cookies.

When I came home from school, again both of my host parents were in the kitchen. I had planned to go for a jog that day, so I figured I should do it after school so it wouldn’t get in the way of dinner. So I asked my host parents if I could do that now, and they told me, actually not. This was because I was about to get my birthday cake, and some hot chocolate. Naturally, I was surprised. I believe most American families serve birthday cake after dinner, not before, so I had just assumed it would be the same. Nope, the Danish tradition is to serve birthday cake in the afternoon. My host mother is a spectacular baker, so I had high hopes. I was not even close to disappointed. 

Translation: Audrey - 16 years

It was one of the best cakes I’ve ever had in my life. 

This cake was one fantastic example of a traditional Danish birthday dessert. It was made up of layers of plain cake, raspberry filling, vanilla creme, and finally a chocolate glaze/icing on top. And, of course, where would we be without the whipped cream on the top and the sides?! I was lucky enough to eat this cake three times: Once in the afternoon, once in the evening, and then once again after school today. It was fantastic on each occasion. 

The birthday festivities concluded with dinner that night. A few weeks before, my host parents had asked me what I would like on my birthday. I diverted the question originally, simply because there are far too many options to choose just one. I guess I just hoped my host parents would choose for me, but nope, they were very firm on that it should be I who makes the decision. I finally decided on one of my favorites - a savory leek and potato pie with cheese on top. As always, it was excellent, and there was enough for me to have a piece with for my lunch today.

To top it all off, there were beautiful blue skies and bright sunshine the whole day. All in all, it was one of my best birthdays ever.

[hermanwatts]

Sensor Sweep: Michael Whelan, Sea Horror, Solar Pons, World of Tanks

Tolkien (Sacnoth’s Scriptorium): The Next Tolkien Book: THE NATURE OF MIDDLE-EARTH. So, news is now out that there’s a new book of J.R.R.T. material due out next year (May 27th 2021).  Edited by Tolkien linguist Carl Hostetter, it’s called THE NATURE OF MIDDLE-EARTH, and its four hundred pages gather together many of the short essays Tolkien wrote about his legendarium in the post-LotR period.

  Gaming (Jon Mollison): For those of you interested in the hobbyist portion of this blog, allow me to point you to the thing that has been keeping me too busy to throw write-ups on gaming thoughts onto this page:  The Joy Of Wargaming.  With new videos up every other day, it’s been gathering steam every since it first went live back and the end of May.  The example video is a quick unboxing showing a small piece of a larger table of Egyptian terrain, but I’ve got a lot of actual-plays, painting sessions, and game reviews up already with more scheduled through most of July, including some hex-and-counter style wargaming for the diehard grognards.

Art (DMR Books): Michael Whelan, a colossus in the realm of SFF art,  turns a venerable seventy years old today. In honor of the occasion, I considered covering Michael’s incredible run of Barsoomian covers or perhaps picking a “greatest hits” from his forty-five year relationship with DAW Books or maybe even going through the surprising number of Howardian artworks that Whelan has painted over the years. However, I finally settled on a retrospective looking at Michael’s unparalleled body of work devoted to Elric of Melnibone.

D&D (Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog): The previous session introduced developments that completely destabilized what passes for a status quo in this campaign. How to prepare for this? Well, Gygax has numerous examples of this sort of thing scattered about the AD&D rules. Imagine the situation. Determine the odds for each particular occurrence. Roll percentile dice and keep moving! As far as prep goes, that was about all that could be done, though I couldn’t help ponder what is just around the corner in the various dungeons I’ve introduced.

Classic Science Fiction (Adventures Fantastic): So the next few Retro Hugo posts are going to be focusing on the short stories that I haven’t already looked at.  I covered “Far Centaurus” for A. E. van Vogt’s birthday, and a scheduling slip-up resulting in my post on “The Wedge” by Isaac Asimov going live before I finished the novelettes.

  Art (Goodman Games): TSR artist Jim Holloway recently passed away. He will be missed.  Why do you play D&D? Because it’s a social experience that brings smiles, laughs, and camaraderie built around the spirit of adventure. While the wargames that preceded Chainmail and D&D were strategic and serious, D&D has drifted steadily into the realm of “social entertainment.” Now in the year 2020, we’ve fully accepted D&D as entertainment. Heck, you can even watch D&D be played by professional actors on Twitch who are just there to make you laugh. In 2020, we know this. Way back in 1981, there was an artist who figured it out before the rest of us. That artist was Jim Holloway.

Games (Table Top Gaming News): World of Tanks Tabletop Gaming Coming in September.  Many of you have hopped into your Panzer or Tiger or Patton and headed across virtual landscapes, looking to take out enemy tanks. Well, soon, you’ll be able to do the same on your tabletops. Gale Force 9 has announced that they’re coming out with a World of Tanks tabletop game this September.

Weird Westerns (Dark Worlds Quarterly): The creation of the new sub-genre of Weird Westerns is not a recent thing. The first Western is considered to be Owen Wister’s The Virginian (1902). The Horror story dates back to the caves and prehistoric man, so we will begin at the turn of the 20th Century. Novel publishers and the weekly magazines produced countless Western stories with authors like Zane Grey, Max Brand and Clarence Mulford being top-rate authors.

Advice (Amatopia): Ten Easy Life Hacks to Not Be a Total Creep! (Sci-fi Author edition).     Hi there, sci-fi and fantasy writers and fans! Are you tired of being accused of inappropriate conduct towards women? Are you sick of constant allegations of being a “creep”? Lucky for you, I’m here with ten life hacks to help keep you from being metooed like Myke Cole, Sam Sykes, Warren Ellis, and Paul Krueger, among others. There’s also Elizabeth Bear and her husband Scott Lynch who are accused of all sorts of horrible stuff.

Fiction (Adventure’s Fantastic): So, why on Bierce’s birthday am I going to talk as much about Robert E. Howard as the birthday boy? Simple: Ambrose Bierce had a big influence on some of Howard’s weird western stories. Bierce was one of Robert E. Howard’s most favorite writers. Howard even has Bierce appear in three of his humorous sketches, and a name check in a fourth that Howard wrote in his letters to Howard’s best friend, Clyde Smith

Life (Wasteland & Sky): Friends are not merely allies. They can be allies in causes, and they can even be support during the darkest times, but friends do not exist to be tools to achieve a common goal. They are not to be thrown away when they lose usefulness, or when they disagree with a certain belief you have that they do not. The only people who believe in such a thing as weaponizing friendship are those who have no idea what friendship is.

Appendix N (Swords and Stitchery): Colours Of a Darker Appendix N – Robert W. Chambers, H.P. Lovecraft, & Jack London. “The Mask” is introduced by an excerpt from Act 1, Scene 2d:

Camilla: “You, sir, should unmask.”

Stranger: “Indeed?”

Cassilda: “Indeed it’s time. We have all laid aside disguise but you.”

Stranger: “I wear no mask.”

Camilla: (Terrified, aside to Cassilda.) “No mask? No mask!”

It is also stated, in “The Repairer of Reputations”, that the final moment of the first act involves the character of Cassilda on the streets, screaming in a horrified fashion, “Not upon us, oh, king! Not upon us!”

SFWA (Cirsova): SFWA is a terrorist organization. For several years, we have remained agnostic on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. While we have had a few friends who have had “beef” with SFWA, we have also had a number of authors and friends who have been members of the SFWA.

H. P. Lovecraft (Tentaculii): Derie’s comment on Lovecraft “approving as he did of Nazi Germany’s ultranationalism” could be be misunderstood, though. Firstly one has to know that “ultranationalism” has a specific political-historical meaning: ‘the arrogant belief in the complete superiority of one’s nation over others, and the placing of its interests above all other nations at all times’. In the cases of Imperial Japan, Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia etc this was accompanied by variations on the ‘cult-of-the-Emperor’. Ultranationalism has also spawned an equally perverse leftist flipside, which despises any pride in the nation and seeks to constantly denigrate it at every opportunity.

Fiction (Rough Edges): I meant to get back to this series of historical action/adventure novels set in ancient Rome sooner, but other books got in the way. However, I’ve now read BLOOD ON THE SAND, the fourth novel in the Gladiator series (originally published in England under the series title The Eagles). The author behind the Andrew Quiller house-name this time is the prolific Laurence James, who also wrote the first book in the series, HILL OF THE DEAD.

Sherlock Holmes (Digital Bibliophilia): I’ve seen a lot of articles over the years regarding the character of Solar Pons. Most recently my involvement in Kickstarting some of the MX Sherlock Holmes books by Belanger Books meant I was included in the notification that they were also looking to republish the complete Solar Pons series as originally authored by August Derleth. At the time I didn’t join in on the project, I’d already committed to a number of other products, and thought that these were a little out of my interest range.

Horror (DMR Books): Since the beginning of time the sea has inspired fear. It covers most of the earth and what lies beneath it we may never truly know. Anything can reside beneath the waves. Men have gone forth on it and discovered new lands, but these journeys are often costly in human lives. Horrors and dangers of the sea have made the way into mythology and legend. Creatures like the Norse Kraken and the Japanese Umibozu were said to attack ships.

RPG (Goodman Games): Skull & Crossbones Classics is the new zine from the one-and-only Bob Brinkman. Bob is not only one of the main forces behind the Sanctum Secorum podcast, but he’s a frequent contributor to many of our lines. You’ll find Bob’s name on products for Mutant Crawl Classics, DCC Lankhmar, Fifth Edition Fantasy, and much more. Now Bob has turned his eyes to the high seas and the golden age of pirates. And Bob is no stranger to the pirate genre, as anyone who has met him knows well. So we know this ship is in good hands!

Sensor Sweep: Michael Whelan, Sea Horror, Solar Pons, World of Tanks published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[ryanellisphoto]

#67 — Saturday, May 27th, 2017 — Detroit Street Photography Session #67 — Ryan Ellis Photography — Walk and Talk to Tyros #003 — DEMF / Movement / Underground — Street Portraits

10:30 AM until 9:30 PM — 11 admirable hours in the city I am learning to appreciate — 913 photos — 66 videos — 166 “keepers” among photos (18.18% success rate [10% success is my minimum goal]) — I wanted to somewhat evenly capture people, places, and things, but since the city had an event with so many interesting folks in attendance, I found myself chasing the best photos (portraits) as opposed to the most photos of my preliminary targets. — Inspirational track this week: Andrew Luce - “Trouble”

——————————

First things first, I shot on Friday (yesterday), and that lasted until the wee hours of the morning. Needless to say, I was tired today, and I could only muster the strength to come into the city by 10:30 AM. I do not think I have mentioned this before. All of my nerves are longer than their encasing areas, which makes me double jointed everywhere. It also means that it is easier to injure myself, and some injuries will never heal (nerves may become painfully entangled) without surgery. It is called “Morton’s Neuroma.” Hahaha. It makes for odd physical experiences. Sometimes when I walk, my knee gives out. It is quick enough to make me look a bit crazy. Haha. The same goes with my jaw. It will lock often when I am eating, and I have to reset it. Well, long story long, I stubbed a toe on my left foot a few years ago, and it never healed. An X-Ray showed that the nerve was bunched up, which is when I learned about the condition. It is a common condition to be found alongside my Marfan’s Syndrome (which makes me so tall and boney). The pediatrist said it was as if my foot was broken. He said my options were either surgery or a molded shoe insert. I went with the insert, since surgery risked worsening the situation. I only have one pair of inserts, and to walk for very long without them makes me want to cut off my own toe, so I had to stop by the shoe store (Red Wing Shoes), which had both my pairs of boots in for reconditioning (one of which had the inserts in them), to get my shoes for today’s shoot.

Another thing that I am not sure whether I have shared on here before is part of my core way of thinking. My favorite book in the Bible is Proverbs. I also love its lesser (in my opinion) “sequel” Ecclesiastes. I love the terseness of the verses as well as the self-contained nature of their hermeneutical structure. The Proverbs live in my brain like the words of Christ lived in sanitarium-ridden Friedrich Nietzsche’s mind as he wasted away. I cannot shake them, and they hang over my head despite my best efforts at times to do other than what they command.

Ecclesiastes 9:8 (ESV) — 8 Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head.

I was always intrigued by this verse from Solomon. I remember my time with the smartest person I have ever met. She had an IQ of 170 at age 14. We tested together. Mine was good but not that good (at age 16). Statistically, at the time, there were 300 others as smart as her in the whole of America. We had wonderful conversations over countless days and nights. We shared a similar story from our lives. When I was young, I shared a room with my brother. Our parents stupidly put up lithographs of early 1900’s circus posters in our room. I am talking about candlelight-uplit smiling clowns. I am not afraid of clowns and have never been afraid of them, but I never looked directly at the posters. They just did not sit right with me as a little kid. Months later, my birthday was coming up, and my mother asked what I wanted for my birthday. I told her, without hesitation, that I wanted the color orange. She said she could not give me a color for my birthday and walked away. The day finally came. She threw me a clown-themed birthday party. Needless to say, I felt I had been betrayed by the color orange, though I did not want to do away with it entirely, so I had to pick a new favorite color to unseat it. I heard that blue was for boys, and since I was a boy, I chose blue. A decade later, I was talking to this smart, smart girl, and she told me the same story, except she had asked for the color white. Knowing her vastly-superior intellect, I secretly committed that white would be my third favorite, respective, color, behind blue and orange. I put forth from then on to make myself appreciate the color white more.

Uniting the almost boundless wisdom of Solomon with the exquisite intelligence of this girl, I chose to wear a white shirt today in the city. Many times, I have bought bright and colorful clothes in keeping with that verse from Ecclesiastes. I want to look happy and be happy and spread happiness. Like the color white, often that goal is something to adjust myself to. I am not, per se, a naturally happy individual, but it is an apex that is not sanely despised when pursued in purity, which is a yet higher zenith to conquer.

Hahahaha. Oh, how long my posts are when they are written quickly!

So, to recap, I wore a white shirt and went to the store for my shoes—I have not even arrived in Detroit yet! Hahahahaha!

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John Owen (a man in my top ten folks of the last 2000 years), eat your heart out. I can ramble with the best of them.

I arrived in Detroit at about 10:30 AM. The perfectionist that I am, I decided to continue the Walk and Talk series instead of returning to a structured lesson. This is because I want to keep doing it while it is fresh on my mind, and I want to find a voice in its approach that I know how to replicate time and again before I am comfortable returning to the other approach.

Between last week and this week, I have spent at least nine hours hand sewing my new (old) camera strap I was given for my new (old) camera (Nikon D600). I am trying to work on a video for this. It is wonderful. It is really good. I should sell straps like it online, except it takes nine hours (for me) to sew one! I am going to be camping this coming week with my best friend since Kindergarten (we embody the Proverb of a friend that sticks closer than a brother; we are David and Jonathan [he can be David for all I care]), which means I will possibly not produce a video next week, since next Saturday is when I leave to come back home.

Oh boy…

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So, I arrived in Detroit at 10:30 AM (“we’re doing it live!” [I hope this unedited lengthiness gives an insight into what hair-brained rabbit trails are otherwise routinely cut when I write]).

My second and I stopped at a local bar with an outlet and ate fried food as my batteries recharged. We used that time to refine the plan for the day. I wanted another go at shooting nouns. I knew there was a music festival in town for the day, and with the good chance of there being many more interesting folks to photograph than anything else, I still kept the other two subjects (places and things) in the intro, because I figured I would be forgiven for straying from my starting plans if the “story” of the day with the people overshadowed all else. Maybe I was too unknowing or too safe to not have forced my stated (on video) plans to overtly coincide with the event for the day from the beginning. Presumption is not wise, so I started from a more achievable place with the nouns target.

Since the D600, which my assistant uses for video, is a worthy stills camera, my assistant was photographing my day out. She has a very good eye for composition. It certainly translates through her winding camera pans in the most recent videos. I have had a bunch of different people come with me through the past several months, and my evergreen joke is that people inevitably get better at photography and videography when they come out with me, but it is a long process. Certainly, she has improved over the past months when she has been with me. I always laugh when I have a new assistant with me that complains of the difficulty of our long, winding days out. Things always get better over time. If you stay with me, you will adjust for the better. Then, the real fun begins. Being able to express yourself through the camera is fulfilling.

I played chess with a man that went by “CDK.” He never elaborated on what it meant, and we had a few nice discussions on art and history and civilization among other things. He beat me at chess and bought my assistant and I each a Pepsi afterwards. What a good man! I will return to face him again in a couple weeks. That chess board is the Philippines, and I am General Douglas MacArthur.

Wanting to parody the flopped Pepsi ad, where a celebrity gave away a Pepsi, I gave away my Pepsi to one of the concert-goers just outside Hart Plaza, where the event was happening. There, I took many portraits while being filmed. I shot bracketed and with my exposure compensation up a stop to make up for the bright backlighting present at that time of the day. Later, I realized my camera was set to meter for a different focal length, and I was shooting at 1000 ISO instead of the proper 100 ISO. This made my photos look like they were on fire, hence some of the heavy use of monochrome in the pictures above. I always joke that when all else fails, make a blown photo black and white to “save” it. I had the ISO so high for photographing the chess game from before.

Last summer, I made this same mistake a few times; I forgot to dial down my ISO after leaving a shaded place. I told myself that I wanted to include some sort of physical indicator on my camera or lens to remind myself to change my ISO again. I still have to come up with what that might be. Maybe a bright hair tie that I will put on the focusing ring? Maybe a bright piece of tape on the lens or body? Basically, I want to get in the habit of putting a reminder on my camera when I raise my ISO that will tip me off that I should lower it when I leave a dark scene.

My assistant was pretty sunburned already after our first round with the attendees of the festival, and I was starting to get dizzy from lack of water, so we retreated to the shade for a spell to have water and a small meal. There, I spilled my coney dog on my white shirt! I went to a nearby bathroom and tried to scrub the stain with soap, but the damage was done. Haha.

When we returned for the second (and last) round of portraits with the concert goers, the police had arrived en masse to control rowdy folks. With the men were also drug-sniffing dogs. The cops had drugs on them that they kept hiding to continually test the dogs’ accuracy. When I finished the portraits and had crossed the street to leave the area, I saw an ambulance race to the festival grounds. A minute later, it was leaving, this time, with a police escort. Someone must have overdosed on drugs.

It had been a joke between my assistant and I all day to guess which folks we saw around us were on some sort of substance just by their clothes and posture. The ambulance brought a sad reality and end to the joking for the night. Not wanting to stay late in a city full of loaded youngsters (some of which, likely, drove there themselves), we drove home early to be safe.

I know that I could have gotten some amazing photos of the kids as the night went on, but we got worthy shots as it was. My desire for completeness will probably always bug me about leaving early. And that is where today’s story ends.