#which is the definition. SUPPOSEDLY. of selling out: trying to be more popular all of a sudden. making more radio

[therevengeoffrankenstein]

i love defending pete wentz against the mania haters who call him the music industry's mr krabs bc he sucks in other ways.

[misspelledwordswizard]

Chapter 17 - We got a little too excited about the change of environment.

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We all looked around in an attempt to recognize the place we were sent to, there was also no sign of the Postman who supposedly passed through the portal shortly before us. Of course, me and especially Sky recognized the place quickly, the others may have taken a while, but the fact that we were on na island in the sky would drop at some point, and they would end up associating it with the first hero.

— We’re in my Hyrule! Well, not exactly Hyrule, but it’s my time. – Sky commented excitedly, heading towards the large pumpkin in front of us. – Come on, this is the perfect time for pumpkin soup!

Still a little lost and confused, we just followed the blond into the place. I must admit that I’ve always wanted to try this famous soup from the game, but I still haven’t been able to process all the information about the sudden change in environment. At least, in Wild’s time and mine, I had many years to adapt to the idea, so the weight of time travel and that kind of thing hadn’t hit me yet.

Entering the establishment, it was exactly like in the game, the atmosphere was comforting, it would easily be a place I would come to on a rainy day to eat and read a book. The chandelier that was most likely broken by Sky, at least all players break it, is in its rightful place, not seeming to have any damage. The whole pumpkin theme was actually very pretty, I felt like I was in a themed café that is popular on the Internet because people like to take pictures.

Our large group sat at the large round table – which had to be supplemented with a few benches – while Sky went to talk to the owner and cook, Pumm. Everyone there seemed happy to see the hero again, and confused by the group that accompanied him. I imagine that the great hero of his people disappearing out of nowhere is something to be commented on and caused great concern.

While we waited for the sleeping hero to return, everyone looked at each other a little lost. Of course we knew that this was Sky’s time, but he was acting so casually about it, and didn’t even listen to any prior conversation, just dragged us along as if it were a regular visit. But in the end, it was good to see him so calm and happy, he was at home and that was evident by the way he acted.

It was when the aforementioned guy approached the table carrying a tray with five bowls that I started to pay attention, soon understanding what he was doing. I instinctively got up and went to the counter to get the second tray with the rest, so he wouldn’t have to make another trip. We both passed a bowl to each other, until only our own were left. The smell of the pumpkin soup was definitely divine, and it made my mouth water. Since we hadn’t skipped lunch, everyone was hungry, so there was no hesitation in devouring the food, which was greeted with sounds indicating how good it was all around the table.

As I put the spoon in my mouth, I could feel the sweet taste of the pumpkin in perfect harmony with the spices and creaminess. God, this is divine. Nintendo should open a Zelda-themed restaurant and sell the most famous recipes, it would make a lot of money! Maybe it was because I’ve always wanted to try these foods, or because I grew up romanticizing them, but it brought me great comfort. I’d never been to that place before, not in person, and yet drinking this warm and refreshing soup brought me a section of peace, as if I were at home.— That’s good, I want more! – Wind said with his mouth still full, his bowl was still half empty, I scolded him with a slight tap on the back of his neck.— Finish eating first before asking for more, and don’t talk with your mouth full!— Okay, sorry. – He said after swallowing the soup while massaging the affected area.

The others’ giggles were heard and silenced by a look from me and the Sailor. We all finished eating in a comfortable silence, not that it lasted long, since hunger made everyone eat quickly. After promising to come back here later for Wind, we were finally ready to leave. It must have been mid-afternoon, and our concerns turned to how we would get everyone to Skyloft.

Sky could very well go with his Loftwing there, and even take one of us with him, but it would be unfeasible for him to make nine trips to drop us off one by one while he picked up the others. There was also no one around to hitchhike, if that was a thing here – I mean, would they let strangers ride in their loftwings? – so now we were working together to come up with a plausible solution. Or rather, Sky was coming up with a solution, since we didn’t know what possibilities were viable around here.

— I can go and look for help, I’ll find people who are available. It might still take a while, everyone is busy with the transition to the surface. – Sky commented thoughtfully.

— That seems to be the most viable option, if it doesn’t disturb them, it would be good to do it. – Time considered the idea. Really, even if it took a while to find people, it would be faster than Sky making nine trips.

— Okay, one of you can go with me now to stay there and speed things up. – The hero of the skies looked between us, as if choosing the best person to leave momentarily alone in Skyloft. – Maybe you’re the best option to come with me. – He finished speaking directly to me, with a gentle and shy smile on his lips while I looked at him confused and surprised.

— No way! – Before I could say anything, the Veteran intervened, with na irritated tone that left everyone confused. – Are you stupid? If she goes, she’ll be alone, even if for a short time, it’s dangerous for her to be away from all of us!

Everyone acknowledged Vet’s point, which was quite logical. It also made him an unviable option, since he’s also under some “protection” after what happened, but I think it’s best not to mention that so as not to irritate him further. Sky seemed embarrassed by his suggestion, apologizing softly and looking away with a puppy dog face. Bad Legend.

— Well, then I’ll go!

— No way! – I cut Wind off, who frowned in the same second. – If it’s not safe for me to be there alone, it’s not safe for whoever’s there for you to be left unsupervised. – Maybe I was being strict, but I couldn’t help but worry. About Wind, of course, not just the residents of Skyloft.

— She’s right. I’ll go, it would also be good if the Old Man were the last one, so there would be someone to take care of things there and here. – Twilight concluded, and finally we all agreed, ending the discussion.

With that settled, Sky headed towards the... flying thing? I don’t remember what it’s called. He jumped off the edge, making everyone let out a gasp of surprise – except me, who was already expecting it, so I had to fake one when I realized it. A whistle was heard and a large red bird was seen diving towards the falling hero. We had a few seconds of tension, some processed what had happened, others were too surprised and apprehensive to react, and then the bird resurfaced with Sky on its back.

— So cool! – Wild exclaimed and approached the edge of the island to take a closer look.

— Ah, now I want to be the first even more! – Wind completed, joining the Champion.

— Come on, Rancher. This is as close as I can get, you’ll have to jump up here.

Twilight agreed without worries, approaching the edge and with a push mounting the bird, still a little apprehensive. He makes it look easy.

— You can wait inside the restaurant if you want, this might take a while.

◇

It was almost half na hour before we had any sign of the hero of the skies. Sky returned to Pumpkin Landing with Pipit, he might not be much help, but he would still speed things up a lot. Unable to control the youngest of the group for long, we allowed Wind to be the next to go, along with Warriors who promised to control him. 

The rest of us waited outside the Lumpy Pumpkin, I sat on the edge of the island, swinging my legs as if I were on the edge of a river. The breeze here was much softer than I imagined it would be, I could feel the wind, but it didn’t bother me. Wild sat next to me, with a smile, so we sat side by side, just watching the horizon. It was late afternoon, the sun would set in about na hour, so the sky was very beautiful, without many clouds, only the islands and birds could be seen in the distance.

— What other types of islands do you think there are around here? – The Cook asked next to me, curious. – I mean, if there’s a pumpkin island, what else could there be? – He added, making me laugh.

— Hm, maybe there’s an bug island? – I said, pretending to think of the most absurd thing possible.

— What? I don’t think we’ve reached that level! I think a heart-shaped island, if there’s a lake like that, why not an island?

— Oh, do you want a bet?

— You don’t have money to bet.

— Oh, right. – I said frustrated, thinking of a solution. I really want to bet something, because I know I’m right. – What if we make a slap bet? – I said, remembering one of my favorite sitcoms.

— A what bet?

— Slap bet! We bet, if I’m right, I can slap you, and vice versa. – Even knowing how stupid this idea would be, I always wanted to do this.

— I wouldn’t hit you, not even as a joke! – The killjoy said, frustrating my stupid childhood dreams.

— What if I find a representative? – He looked at me confused, so I tried to explain myself. – I’m going to sell my idea to one of the boys, if they buy it then the bet goes between the two of you, and I’ll just be the judge.

— You’re really determined, aren’t you? I’ll be in if you can convince someone. – The Champion gave a mischievous smile, liking the new idea. Oh, come to think of it, I’m practically sacrificing him, since I know I’m right, but this is a too good joke to waste.

I got up and went towards the boys who were left on the island, I have four great options, even though at first I thought Wars would be the best option – at least he would agree with my stupid idea. Of those left, Four wouldn’t get involved in this, Hyrule wouldn’t hit one of his brothers, Time will reprimand my offensive joke, and Legend will call me an idiot, but I still want to try.

— Who here wants to give Wild a fair and pre-agreed slap?! – I asked them with some undue excitement at the moment, receiving confused looks and judging my soul. – I mean, we want to make a bet, but instead of money we’re going to bet slaps. But I need a representative since he wouldn’t hit me, who here wants to buy my idea?

Time sighed in frustration and walked away, Hyrule seemed even more incredulous and Four looked at me as if I were na idiot. Which I am. It was the Veteran who first showed interest, curious about all this.

— And what kind of bet is this?

— Oh, we’re betting that there might be another island around here. I kicked na island of bugs, Wild kicked na island shaped like a heart!

— And if they’re both wrong? – Four questioned.

— Nothing happens. If either of you accept, I’ll have to stay away from the bet and be the judge of the slap bet.

— And how sure are you about that? – Rulie was the next to ask, not seeming very sure about all this.— I’m absolutely sure I’m right!

— Then I’m in, I don’t mind slapping the Champion, and if they’re both wrong, which is likely, I won’t get in trouble either. – Legend said, with a confident smile on his lips, and I was excited to have a volunteer.

— But what if he’s right? – Four countered, bringing up other logical points.

— Oh, a heart island in the sky? Don’t you think that if that existed Sky wouldn’t be talking about it all the time? He’s a “hopeless romantic.” If that existed, there would probably be some silly legend about soulmates related to this island and he would be talking about how he would like to go there with his love one day. – The Veteran retorted, rolling his eyes in disgust at the Hero’s whole melodrama.

Tired of arguing, Four just let it go, as did the Traveler, who, even though he didn’t like the idea of his brothers fighting, decided not to get involved. Finally, I went back with Leg to where Wild was, and made them both sign the bet, along with na oath, demanded by the Cook, that from now on I would be completely biased about this bet until it was finalized, and that as a judge I should not get involved or favor anyone.

Poor Wild, I hope Legend goes easy on the slap. 

◇

Finally, Sky returned with Pipit to look for another partner. I would be one of those who would go, by Time’s decision, and he also demanded that it be with Sky himself – I think he doesn’t trust me much in leaving me away from a Link.

Getting on a Loftwing is something to be talked about, to say the least. I was a little scared at first, you never know, what if I end up annoying him and he throws me into the air. No, I know that Sky’s Loftwing wouldn’t do that, he’s really like his partner, the two share that detail. The hero himself helped me up, after all I’m not as physically skilled as the others, and soon we were flying through the skies towards Skyloft.

When I felt the big bird move, I instinctively clung to Sky, as if my life depended on it – and it did – and he laughed at me. How ugly, laughing at my misfortune, I thought he was different from his brothers. But soon after, he comforted me by caressing one of my hands that tightly gripped his waist, comforting me. I relaxed a little, but still stood firm, my body glued to his back, my face resting on his shoulder, his good smell flooding my senses. What a good smelling boy.

I could vaguely see what was in front of us, when I realized, we were heading towards a floating rock with a hole in the center. If I remember correctly, if we pass through the middle it will propel us forward at high speed. I was scared shitless, but I trust Link, I know nothing will happen to us. What didn’t stop me from hugging him even tighter and hiding my face in his tunic until we passed.

I felt a strange sensation, and soon our speed increased drastically, my heart raced with pure adrenaline, I felt dizzy, I think I fainted for a second. But then, we stopped. I gathered the courage to look around, still holding on to my poor friend, who didn’t even seem bothered. We were above Skyloft, close to the ground, as close as possible. I could see the others waiting down below. It was a beautiful sight. The landscape was lit by the sunset, which fell divinely on the trees and waters there, it was possible to see Loftwings flying around – I think I saw Groose’s in the middle – and the clouds helped to make it all even more beautiful. When I looked at Sky, he was already looking at me, his beautiful blue eyes full of charm and happiness for showing his home to his dear friends, I smiled thinking how happy he must be.

— Hold on to me. – He said as he adjusted himself on the Loftwing, putting both legs in the same direction and pulling me closer. – Put your legs around my waist, it will be safer that way.

— What? Why? – I asked, even though deep down I already knew the answer I didn’t want to hear.

— Let’s jump, don’t worry, my cape will serve as a parachute, just hold on tight to me.

— No way! I’m not crazy enough to do this! – He put my own arms around his neck and helped me put my legs around his waist. The proximity between us distracted me from what I was trying to avoid, and knowing this, the bastard just held me tight by the waist and jumped. – SKYYYY!!!!!

I screamed as I grabbed him with all my strength, closing my eyes. If before I was crushing him, now I must have broken one of his ribs with my thighs. My despair only increased when I felt his hand let go of my waist, now my life depended on me not letting go of him, and man, there was no chance of that happening. It was only when I felt our falling speed decrease drastically that I opened my eyes again. Thanks to his cape, we arrived safely on dry land.

— It’s okay, you can let go now.

He tried to calm me down, but all I could do was shake and hold myself steady, my body not obeying my will to let go of this suicidal maniac. I’ll never trust him again. It was only when Twilight approached and grabbed me by the waist that I managed to free myself. Or rather, Sky freed himself. I was placed on the ground, but at the same time my legs went wobbly and I almost hit the ground, but the two men next to me grabbed me, one in each arm, and pulled me to my feet.

— I think it’s better if we help you walk for now. – Sky commented, holding back a laugh.

— You’ll pay me, birdman!

— If you want, I can carry you like last time. – the Rancher teased, laughing at my irritation.

— Don’t you dare!

[jaybug-jabbers]

The reptile expo was very interesting to check out yesterday. It was my first expo experience. Definitely geared towards reptiles of course but a decent number of invert people were also vending.

Among the invert crowd, arachnids definitely dominated, mostly tarantulas, as well as jumping spiders and some scorpions. Also some centipedes and milipedes. Almost no insects (other than feeders of course), but saw a random katydid. Surprised at the lack of mantids.

Loads of animals overall being sold, but also a decent amount of pet supplies being sold too. I bought some more cork bark hides. Somebody was selling isopod chow but it was mostly ground corn and other grains and didn't really interest me.

Strangely, a large number of children were there. That took me by surprise, it wasn't really an event for children, it was an expo for selling 'exotic' pets. I had the feeling many parents were using it as a sort of 'zoo' for their kids, lol. But I suppose there's no harm in that, the animals were carefully monitored by the vendors after all and it's good to spark interest in these lovely creatures. So long as the parents are not buying these animals without due diligence in researching their proper care and handling, of course.

Some people from a local zoo were also there (I didn't notice which zoo), they brought a few animals to show off to the crowds and give a little educational talk, an alligator and a snapping turtle.

Unfortunately, there were not many vendors actually selling isopods. Perhaps four vendors in total? I saw a lot of Cubaris and Porcellio species being sold, but I am not currently interested in getting those. (Waiting to be more experienced before I try Cubaris. As for Porcellio, they reproduce too much, I'd rather not be overwhelmed by their numbers.) Also a lot of Vulgare Magic Potions, they seem to be very popular! I did see a few folks selling Zebras but alas, no color morphs for the Zebras.

I spoke with some of the vendors, too. Trying to see how many of them were local. After all it would be cool to have local people who are into the hobby. The ones I spoke to all reported driving out to this expo from a neighboring state, unfortunately. It seems isopod people are a bit spread out here. Still, I'm in California . . . there's bound to be some folks not too far who are into them. There's a lot of people here, after all!

I may not have found Chocolate Zebras, but I didn't walk away empty-handed. I ended up buying ten Armadillidium c.f. espanyoli "Marbelized." A species I had read about online and thought was very lovely. I moved them individually with a spoon to their new enclosure because I was paranoid about dwarfs (the vendor was selling them too and I've read such horror stories about them), thus the spoon in the photo.

Sadly when I got home, I found several were defintiely dead, though. There's also three that have been curled in a ball and have yet to uncurl and I worry they are dead too. I will leave them for several more days but don't hold out hope. If they are indeed dead, it means I only have 6 live individuals, which is unfortunate. Hopefully the remainders can establish a colony anyway. No way of knowing until we wait and see.

(Note: I left for home pretty much as soon as I purchased them and transported them in an air-conditioned car a very short distance to my house, so I know the poor lads didn't expire thanks to me.)

Focusing on the positive, though-- they really are a gorgeous species. Small but beautiful. The one in the photo is smaller than the others, a juvenile got tossed in the mix. Anyway, they apparently love a lot of humidity which is not a problem because I love to hydrate my pods. They are supposedly not especially shy but they will definitely be harder to see when there's so few of them and they are so small. If I can get a larger colony going though they should be very fun to watch. Perhaps when it cools down a bit (still triple-digit weather outside, this summer has been intense) I could buy some more via mail.

[mindibindi]

Beyond disappointed in Ted Lasso. What were they thinking?!

The writing is a complete betrayal and insult to Rebecca’s character and Hannah’s skills as they’re being seriously underused. It’s also insulting Sam’s character.

Hoping someone pulls Rebecca’s head out of her ass tbh. Sam shouldn’t be getting caught in the crossfire of her looking for romance. I know he showed up at her doorstep but she still should’ve turned him away, and not even messaged him in the first place.

Hey, I'm with you, Anon, though we do seem to be in the minority. Sam is definitely not blameless here, he is also in the wrong. But if one of them is more in the wrong, it is Rebecca. I can't speak to whether her head has left her arse as yet because I have quit watching (at least for now). I hear she called it off with Sam in the most recent ep, though not because of any major crisis of conscience or because anyone in her inner circle expressed any reasonable reservations in response to her bad behaviour. And to be honest, I'm not sure we should need to hope and pray that Rebecca's precocious god-daughter, her slimy ex-husband, or the brutal British press will act as a moral compass on this ill-advised relationship. Both Rupert and the press have been set up to some extent as the villains of the piece. And a 14 year old should never have to school her elders on what is and isn't acceptable. Nora's needs have already been neglected by Rebecca for far too long.

If a moral position is to be taken on this, it needs to be taken by the show (because stance matters) and/or by its characters. But the show has for the most part depicted this relationship as ill-advised but ultimately hot, sweet, funny and romantic. As for the characters themselves, Sam has shown at least once that he has some moral backbone but seems to be adorably clueless when it comes to fucking his boss who keeps trying to set boundaries with him. Meanwhile, Rebecca's whole arc in s1 was about learning not to misuse her power for her own selfish ends. In season one, she misused her power within the club in order to exact revenge. In season 2, we have seen her misuse her sexual power, though I still cannot see to what end. I'm a bit at a loss as to what exactly she gets out of this 'relationship' but then I'm a grown woman so I have absolutely no interest in sleeping with a Harry Potter enthusiast barely out of his teens. I couldn't think of anything less sexy and more ick. I was certainly hoping for better character development for her this season.

As to what the writers were thinking, obviously I was not in the writer's room, but I would guess that they were thinking that any drama is good drama, people are stupid and fan devotion will trump any meaningful critique. In other words, they were thinking exactly how every other television writer thinks, despite the fact that this show posited itself as 'not like other TV shows'. This, to me, is where the blame really lies. Not with the characters or with the actors who are doing their best to sell this ludicrous turn of events. It must be noted, however, that both actors were completely blindsided by this relationship that had supposedly been so cleverly foreshadowed. Newsflash: if the people actually living these stories did not see this coming then you haven't foreshadowed shit. Sure, there were a handful of people that paired Rebecca with Sam but this does not constitute proof either. Fans have free-range to imagine and re-imagine characters. In some cases this may extend to imagining relationships between characters who have barely, if ever, interacted. There may be little to no evidence that these characters have even clocked each other's existence and some fans will still ship it. The existence of a handful of shippers does not legitimise such a problematic and divisive plotline making it onscreen.

But wait!, you might argue, this may not be a case of a popular show seeing just how far they can stretch fan devotion. This may not be a case of fan service to a handful of shippers. After all, the creators mapped out the entire three-season arc of Ted Lasso before they even pitched it to Apple. This was their brilliant plan all along! To which I would say: then maybe they should've rethought their second act based on people's strong reactions to their first. Ted Lasso was touted as the show we all needed in 2020. The writers and creators have all marveled at the chord it struck considering it was conceived prior to the pandemic and all the chaos it wrought. And while there is something to be said for having/sticking to a creative vision, there is also something to be said for being flexible and responsive to your audience and the cultural zeitgeist with which you're engaged. Season 1 of Ted Lasso told its story so gently, without creating distrust, division or unnecessary anxiety. It did not treat its audience like a gaggle of stupid lemmings to be led over a succession of narrative cliffs. THIS is what I mean when I say the show has broken with its brand. And look, this whole dark forest thing would be okay if the narrative arc was as well-crafted as s1. Season 1 gave us meaning, cohesion, comfort, sense in a senseless time. It was an almost perfectly crafted season of television. And I kept the faith for 6 episodes, despite the first half of s2 being pretty damn wobbly. But the follow-up to this stellar debut has been less than extraordinary so yeah, perhaps they should've thought a little harder about what made s1 so special before throwing it all out the window.

But wait!, I hear the faithful say, you don't know how things will pan out yet! Wait until the season is over and everything will make sense! But -- wearily and once again, I say -- we should not need to wait until the end of the season to understand what the hell is happening. By this point (over halfway through the season and show) we should have a v clear idea of the show's themes and the characters' arcs. And tbf, from what I can tell there are some fab things happening in other aspects of the show that I wish I could watch and enjoy. But my biggest fear at this point is that they are going to use Sam to solve Rebecca's childlessness. That, like Rupert (because the parallel cannot be avoided), she will become pregnant with a young fling and the show's attitude to this relationship will ultimately be: oh well, it was a bad idea and didn't work out for them but it was all for the best in the end cos who can be mad about a cute lil baaaayyybbbeeee??!! If they do go down this path then I will definitely be abstaining from the rest of the show. I will simply recall my repeated viewings of s1 with fondness tinged with regret at just how badly they fucked up a good thing.

Ultimately, Anon, I think this may be a case of there simply not being a diverse enough perspective in the writer's room. I am not saying that every single woman or every single person of colour will necessarily object to this relationship. I am simply saying that women and people of colour will be more sensitive to the issues of gender and race that are relevant here but that have not been fully or sensitively acknowledged in the writing of this plotline. Neither am I saying that Rebecca is the first woman to sleep with a man much (much, much, MUCH) younger than herself or indulge in an ill-advised relationship. But the comparison with Rupert both works here and doesn't because Rebecca is not being written like a white woman, she is being written like a white man. Realistically, only a white man can engage in this kind of hugely imbalanced relationship seemingly without any major moral qualms or societal ramifications. Not to put too fine a point on it, but this kind of relationship is reserved for all the Bills and Joes and Brendans and Jasons out there -- not for the Rebeccas and definitely not for the Sams. We are way beyond the point in feminism where we believe that liberation is simply the right for a white woman to behave as badly as a white man. The truth is that whatever wealth, power and privilege Rebecca has, the rules are different for men and women. She will not be treated the same as Rupert if and when this affair is uncovered. She will be treated far more savagely than Rupert ever was and Sam will be treated far more savagely than Bex was. This is not an argument for the equal treatment of these two relationships. It is an argument against how the relationship between Rebecca and Sam has been envisaged, i.e. through the wrong perspective. In writing from a 'neutral' white male pov, the show has invisiblised all the many issues activated by this storyline and revealed a blindspot that was always there.

As much as I loved and still love season 1 of this show, it has definite blindspots when it comes to representations of race and gender. There are at least two moments in s1 that stand out for me as being so obviously written by a man. Not necessarily because of what they do but because of what they don't do: what is missed, absent, unacknowledged. I was willing to overlook such minor failings in a debut season for many reasons. But s2 seems to have exacerbated these minor flaws rather than correcting them. And here I can't help thinking of Tina Fey speaking of the diversification of the writer's room at SNL during her tenure as co-headwriter. This notoriously male-dominated environment only began to shift and produce better work when a greater diversity of minds, voices and persepectives was allowed in the room. In this richer environment, she notes, different jokes played differently. Different sketches made it to air. Different perspectives were represented and different performers were celebrated. I can't help wondering if this plotline would have made it to air if there had been a female writer, a writer of colour or both further up the chain of command to challenge the ideas of the straight white dudes in charge.

One of the reasons I didn't think Ted Lasso was for me was that it centred a straight, white, cis-het, able-bodied man who rose to a position he didn't earn. That is just not a pov I would normally choose for myself, especially now that there is such a rich array of alternative perspectives through which to view the world. But I think the show won a lot of females fans with its first season largely due to its portrayal of Rebecca. She is the first person we meet. She is arguably the protagonist of s1. And while she would have been figured as a villain in previous pieces, the show never took that stance with her (because again, stance matters). Other elements like the depiction of female friendships, all centred around Rebecca, made this show female-friendly viewing. But imo, the major reason this show won over female fans (this one, at least) is because, in this post-MeToo, post-TimesUp era, it stood up and said: domestic violence is not okay, we stand with women and all victims of abuse, we will defend you, we know words can hurt, we know it can happen to anyone, we know all about toxic masculinity, we do not take this lightly and we will support you in your healing. Needless to say, this is how women hope men will act when they speak of their most difficult experiences but it is not how they always do.

The shift away from Rebecca this season has however meant that the white male experience is more centred than it was in s1. Rebecca's journey to recovery, health and happiness has been trivialised and sidelined, reduced to a highly questionable sexcapade. Meanwhile, we get overwrought manpain at every turn. We get Beard wandering around London (no, I haven't seen it and no, I don't need to. We've all been raised on white dudes thinking they're genuises when they have a figurative wank all over our screens). We get NO queer represention at all. And the only other female characters on screen are in care/service roles to men. The father/son, mentoring and toxic masculinity themes are all still there but they're no longer balanced out by ANY other competing perspective. One of the reasons I was okay with Ted failing upwards in s1 was that he used his power and privilege to lift up others. He was the one in service. He used his enormous privilege for good, as anyone with such privilege must. (Admittedly, it could be argued that this is just another version of a white savior narrative).

My point here is that I'm not sure that peeking behind the mask at the sad clown is as revolutionary as some might believe. We love it because it's familiar. But this is a narrative with a long and problematic history. Do I believe in tearing down toxic masculinity in all its forms? You bet. Do I believe that patriarchy traumatises men as well as women and every other minority in existence? I mean...nowhere near as much, but absolutely. Do I believe in men expressing their feelings and going to therapy? Wholeheartedly. But I am also aware that 100 or so years ago, we were in a very similar place with our narratives. Everyone is looking for a recapitulation of modernism and frankly, this might be an indicator of just that. Whenever women and people of colour have demanded rights and recognition, there has always been a resurgence of tales about just how frickin' hard it is to be a white man. Minority genders and non-white people have never in western history been as visible or vocal as they are now. So forgive me (or don't, I don't care) if I critique a show not only for centering fathers, sons, boys and men but for blindly and boldly writing one of its only female characters and one of its only black characters as if their gender and race just do not exist. There are many other power differentials at play in this relationship, including age, experience, wealth and position, but race and gender are the two that patriarchy is most invested in invisiblising. So I don't care how brilliant they think they are, I will not trust the writing of a bunch of white dudes trying to tell me that race and gender are irrelevant.

[glitching-desert-snake]

Okay, so on emo as a culture vs. as a genre, from an obviously subjective point of view:

TL;DR: The rise to popularity of emo in the 2000s inadvertedly changed our understanding of the genre and created an environment where music is defined by community and not the other way around.

"Emo" is a shorthand for emocore or emotional hardcore, largely seen as having been pioneered by Rites of Spring in '85 (around the middle to tail-end of the hardcore movement, depending on who you ask) and then later on defined by bands like Sunny Day Real Estate, Mineral, Texas Is The Reason, The Promise Ring, Braid, Jawbreaker, etc in the 90s. This is a fairly contained genre both thematically (apolitical, lamenty of failed relationships thought to be doomed from the start, break-ups, impossible romance) and soundscape-wise taking a lot of inspiration from hardcore, post-punk, and no wave.

Starting with the year 2000, emo rapidly moved out of the basement and into full view of the public eye with bands like Thursday, Dashboard Confessional, Jimmy Eat World, Saves The Day, Wheezer, and so on. This spike in popularity, of course, brought along with it the birth of "pop punk" which quickly began dominating the emo scene, effectively overshadowing the contribution of hardcore, while preserving or bastardizing different cultural elements that were carried over through the years during emo's hayday in 2006-2010. The internet had a large part to play in the divide between genre and subculture, imo, because it solidified the emo community by making the genre more accessible. No longer did it take 3 years for a new sound to hit the east coast from the west and viceversa, but rather a measly few clicks— to paraphrase Andy Greenwald, "you could stumble upon Jimmy Eat World's nabster page on an evening and know everything there was to know about their music by the next day".

Another thing that I think also contributed to the divide between culture and genre, is that most bands considered "emo" never claimed the title. It was seen as a negative lable, and even in the later years where general opinion of emo moved from "losers crying that their girlfriend dumped them" to "covert teenage suicide cult??? parents beware of satanic music!!!" to "the spiritual successor to grunge in media", coming forward and admitting you were an emo band was like trying to sell an image— a good chunk of the community would've rejected you 10 seconds flat (because this was and is still supposedly a no tolerance zone for sell-outs, though the definition seems to be slipping). If you look at a lot of bands that got co-opted into emo you'll find stuff like Pierce The Veil, Falling In Reverse, MCR, Panic! At The Disco, All Time Low, and so on, which are not emocore, but instead generally fall into the nebulous area between metalcore, glam, rock, and pop.

Idk, I think looking at the (supposed) "emo revival" movement is the best example of this, because the bands you'll see crop up most are Fall Out Boy, MCR, Taking Back Sunday, etc— bands from "the third wave" of emo. Emo is defined by the culture surrounding it and not the genre, so arguing what is and isn't emo is literally pointless because it has become Schrödinger's genre (affectionate)

I'd apologise for writing an essay in your inbox, but you did ask...

This is legit so cool though honestly! And what you said about the internet also is personally super fascinating to me. I think you put it perfectly when you said its Shrodinger's genre because both the sound and the culture have to play a part but bands don't actually want to call themselves emo. Thanks for the essay (and the inadvertent band recs)! ♥️

[time-to-write-and-suffer]

truly truly that game suffers from the "author so popular they know they don't have to try" disease :/ which i don't get Especially since there are a lot of other way more well-written interactive stories out there. like i was only ever in it for the tropey romance but even that is getting bad when it's supposed to be bad on principle so it's like. why am i here. and as someone who is a writer myself it's seriously disheartening because you know you can never get people to be into your stuff the way people are into a "middle-aged woman bodice-ripper" level-writing romance game 😐

Anon, Imma let you finish, but most bodice rippers have better writing than this lmao.

Like ... they’re famous for being horny, right? But look at M, the supposedly horniest character. Are they well-written? No. They’re arguably the worst written character in the game. Their sexiness is nothing but generic physical reactions (informed), really awkward pick-up lines no self-respecting adult would ever use, and ... nope, that’s about it. They’re even supposed to be the most “animalistic” (🤢) of the lot, but is there any actual, whatchamacallit ... animal passion? Like, just raw sex appeal? No. We’re informed that’s supposed to be what’s going on, but it’s all “uwu I’m drawn to them because uuh heated gazes.” It could’ve been so good, so subtle and full of genuine sensuality, but instead it’s really fucking boring :’)

Plus, I don’t think it’s supposed to be bad at all. I think it’s supposed to be tropey and fun but still, like, dramatic and intense and romantic. Given the level of angst and how absolutely precious the author is about spoilers, I think it’s defo supposed to be deeper and more than just a reglier bodice ripper.

Anyway, I think the lesson here isn’t “my stuff will never sell because people only want garbage” but “if people love garbage, my actually good stuff will definitely sell.” And if you’re more realistic about things, like me, the lesson is “if there’s an audience for this garbage, there will be an audience for my garbage too.”

[thedenimdentist]

Role Club Engineers: Worth the Wait?

Introduction (Part I): History of Engineer Boots

Engineer boots are definitely a polarizing style of footwear within the heritage/amekaji boot community. For one, they utilize an ankle strap for fastening in lieu of laces, and second, their tall stovepipe shafts don’t integrate quite well with the slim tapered esthetic of modern denim/trousers. While often associated with motorcycles and bikers, engineer boots were actually designed as protective gear for firemen working on railway engines back in the 1930s. (Hence the name “engineers.”) Their minimal design and use of buckles over laces made them ideal for this line of work. The tall shafts provided protection for the lower leg, while the slip-on design allowed for quick removal should anything dangerous (such as hot coals or embers) slip down the shaft into the boot. This style of footwear lost some popularity following the introduction of lace-up combat boots during World War II, but would later be picked up by motorcyclists who found use of their insulating and protective features. (And there is your history lesson for the day, courtesy of Wikipedia. Lol)

Introduction (Part II): How I Got into Engineer Boots

I first got into more well-made boots back in early 2019. Like most boot n3wbs, I was completely infatuated by that lace-up service boot esthetic, and insisted on wearing them with the slimmest, most tapered denim I could find. My first boot purchase was (of course) a pair of Red Wing Iron Rangers, followed by three pairs of Truman service boots in pretty quick succession. That first summer was when I discovered @brianthebootmaker on Instagram and YouTube, and instantly fell in love with his Underdog design, which I later purchased in August 2019 and received in May 2020.

At that point in time, Brian’s popular Underdog boots fit perfectly within my slim service boot style. However, Brian’s most iconic boot pattern was (and is) definitely his engineer boots. I admit I wasn’t sold on them at first, but I was intrigued. Did they fit my wardrobe at all? Nope. Would they even fit under the 6.75” leg openings of my PBJ denim? LOL nah. Nevertheless, I found myself constantly going back to Brian’s Instagram page and browsing all the photos of his engineer boots. Eventually, I grew to really love the look of engineer boots, ultimately placing a second deposit with Brian for a pair of engineers in October 2019. I had no idea how I was going to fit them into my wardrobe, but I figured I’d make it work somehow. (Luckily, since then my denim preferences have actually shifted toward more relaxed cuts, just in time for the arrival of these engineers.)

The Ordering Process

For most customers purchasing online, Brian requires you to take a set of measurements on your own feet, which he uses to build your boots remotely. However, those lucky enough to live nearby can actually visit Brian’s shop in LA to be personally measured by the boot maker himself, as well as discuss any details or questions you have regarding your specific makeup. I was one of these lucky people who could actually visit him in person, and used those measurements to order two pairs of boots from him: first a pair of Underdogs, and now some engineers. Both pairs were built on different lasts (which I will discuss more later), and both fit perfectly. (For a more detailed summary of being measured in person, check out my previous review of my Role Club Underdogs.)

My Specifications

While you can’t really go wrong with any of Brian’s engineer makeups, I personally loved the design Brian designed for himself: brown CXL horsehide hand-finished black, a full leather outsole, and full woodsman heels. They definitely have a more western, cowboy, workwear vibe compared to most other engineer boots out on the market, but in my opinion these are one of the best patterns, with some of the cleanest construction to boot.

A few screenshots I took of Brian's engineer boots, taken off his Instagram.

I did make a few tweaks/upgrades from Brian’s boots when designing my own, which I’ve listed below:

Model: engineer boots

Shaft height: 10”

Upper leather: brown Italian vegtan horsebutt, hand-finished black

Toe track: yes

Upper stitching: black

Hardware: brass roller buckles

Last: 2307 last

Unstructured toe

Edge finish: black

Welt stitching: white

Sole: full leather sole, black heel cap

Heel style: full woodsman heel

Metal toe plates

Custom built-in orthotics (same as my Underdogs)

One of the biggest reasons I keep going back to Brian is that he’s able to use the orthotics I typically slip into all my footwear and actually build them into the insoles of my boots. Not sure how difficult this actually is for a boot maker, but Brian has absolutely nailed the fit on my ugly feet both times, and it’s super convenient to not have to worry about a removable orthotics.

Price, Lead Time, & Shipping

The initial deposit to reserve a pair of Role Club boots is $200 regardless of which model you are ordering, with the remaining balance due upon completion. I visited Brian’s shop in Los Angeles on 8/21/2019 and placed my deposit on 10/15/2019, with an estimated completion date of November 2020. However, due to delays in construction (including waiting for my custom metal toe plates to come in), my boots weren’t actually completed until 3/25/2021 (nearly five months late). Inconvenient, but it’s not like I was wearing boots and going out much anyway due to COVID.

When I placed my first deposit for my Underdogs in August 2019, the estimated wait time was just 8 months (April 2020). However, when I placed my second deposit for these engineers just two months later, the wait time had jumped to 13 months (November 2020). To be honest, I’m not even sure how long Brian’s queue is now. Last I heard it was sometime in 2023 or 2024. (Freaking insane. So thankful I placed my second deposit when I did, before his waitlist exploded.)

At the time I placed my deposit, the base price for Brian’s engineer boots was $1350. After a few upgrade fees (hand-finished leather, toe plates, etc.), the final price of my specific makeup was $1500. Minus my initial $200 deposit, my final payment for these engineers was $1300 + $20 shipping. I made this payment via Venmo on 3/26/2021, my boots were shipped the following Monday 3/29/2021, and I received them via USPS on 4/2/2021.

At $1500, these are not a cheap pair of boots by any means. However, for engineer boots this price is actually not unreasonable, as there are some other brands selling engineer boots at a higher price point in stock sizes with limited to no customization (i.e., Clinch). #perspective #itsallrelative (To be completely honest, I roll my eyes when people scoff at a pair of boots in this price range, claiming they’re “too expensive” or that they can’t afford it, and turn around and buy 2-3 pairs of average Vibergs instead. Just stop. Clearly it’s not the cost, it’s your personal values and priorities. #endrant lol (Also, not knocking Clinch or Viberg or anything. Just a few examples to prove a point.))

ANYWAYS. For those hesitant to commit to such an ungodly wait time, I will point out that the cost to reserve a pair of Role Club boots is just $200, regardless of which model you are ordering. In fact, you don’t even need to finalize your order at the time of deposit. You can continue to brainstorm, change your mind, and discuss with Brian about your specifications long after the deposit is placed. (I mean, you have like 2-3 years before he even starts working on your boots anyway, so you have ample time to decide. Haha) Also, should you decide you can’t wait that long (or you suddenly become more financially responsible, lol), I hear you can also use that $200 deposit for something else more affordable, such as a resole of another pair of boots. Either way, hopefully this knowledge makes the $200 deposit a little less daunting and scary of a commitment.

Unboxing

The boots arrived in a single standard shoe box enclosed in a standard plastic shipping bag. There was zero padding included, so the box did arrive with some dents and dings. Inside the box, each boot was slipped inside an individual clear plastic sleeve. Unlike most other brands, no extra padding, tags, or shoe bags were included. Just the boots. (Though, they are some freaking amazing boots. Lol)

“HFB” for Hand Finished Black.

360 Degree View

The 2307 Last

When trying to pick a last for these engineers, I was debating between his 1940s last and the 2307 last. Ultimately I picked the 2307, mostly because it had a lower toe bump. I do think that his 1940s last is his most popular for engineers, and the toe bump really doesn’t make too big of a difference once the unstructured toe collapses. (For a more in-depth summary of all the lasts/toe shapes Role Club toe has available, I will link you to Brian’s YouTube video.)

Profile views of both the 1940 and 2307 lasts. Notice the more pronounced toe bump on the 1940 last in comparison to the 2307.

I had my Underdogs built on Brian’s 100 last, which typically has a significantly slimmer, almond toe shape in comparison to the 2307 last. However, due to my awkwardly wide feet and bunions, the MTM 100 last ended up not being too dissimilar from my MTM 2307 last. I definitely like the 2307 more, as the outer sweep of the toe box has a more angular, elegant curve in comparison to my 100 last, which kinda just looks like a thumb.

As you can see, my Underdogs were supposedly built on the 100 last, but ended up being way more rounded than expected (which I’m happy about).

The Leather

Brian most often sources his leather from the Horween Tannery, specifically CXL horsehide and shell cordovan. Brian used brown CXL horsehide hand-finished black for his own pair of engineer boots, which has aged incredibly. Personally, I tend to opt for vegtan leathers whenever possible, as it’s more environmentally friendly and in my opinion tends to build a nicer patina than chrome tanned or combination tanned leathers. Luckily, Brian happened to have some brown Italian horsebutt lying around his shop that he was willing to offer me. At the time, Brian didn’t remember the tannery from which he sourced the horsebutt (which, according to him, no longer exists), but he was able to send me a few photos. I immediately said yes.

A few photos of another pair of engineers Brian made in the same Italian brown horsebutt. Loved the depth of color...which I had painted over. lol

I was hesitant at first to have Brian hand-paint black dye over this beautiful brown leather. However, I was pretty set on getting some classic black engineers, and I trusted that the black dye would slowly fade away in high abrasion areas, resulting in a beautiful black-brown pseudo-tea core finish. For horsebutt leather, there actually isn’t too much visible grain/marbling within the leather). It has a fairly smooth, consistent finish, which I don’t mind at all. Also, I can already see some browns peeking through, which gives me hope as to how the black dye will chip away as these boots break in.

Some of the brown undertones can already be seen beneath the black dye, which is most apparent on the vamps.

The Pattern & Stitching

I absolutely love Brian’s take on engineer boots. His pattern works perfectly with his lasts, creating a very well balanced, properly proportioned boot that looks just as good sitting on a shelf as it does on foot.

To my understanding, all of the boots in the Role Club Collection are branded with the same two markings: an embossed logo on the left boot and a sewn-on tag on the right.

The back stay is simple and clean. No extravagant stitch patterns or anything, just very clean, vertical lines. Nice, conservative, elegant. I like it.

I think of all the engineer boots I’ve seen on Instagram, the buckles Brian uses are some of my favorite. Flat, rectangular, roller buckles. Again, nothing gaudy. Some other brands choose to use more elaborate, bulbous buckles on their engineer boots, which kinda just look out of place. Maybe they’re too eye-catching, making it seem like they’re trying too hard. In contrast, Brian’s simple flat buckles are clean and minimal, allowing the pattern and construction quality of the boots speak for themselves. Less is more.

In general, I tend to like the look of 3-4 rows of stitching as opposed to just two. It just looks more substantial and sturdy. (Does it actually increase the quality or longevity of the boot? Probably not. I just like how it looks.) Also, can we take a moment to appreciate just how absolutely pristine this upper stitching is?

Perhaps my preference for 3-4 rows of stitching stems from my appreciation for higher levels of craftsmanship when it comes to boot pattern and construction. Having additional rows of stitching all perfectly spaced and parallel requires a little more attention to detail, and it looks amazing when properly executed.

2, 3, and 4 rows of stitching, all equally dense, evenly spaced, and perfectly parallel. Perfect execution. I haven’t found a single stitch out of place on the uppers of either boot.

Another little feature I opted to include on my boots were hand-crimped toe tracks running up the vamps of each boot. To be honest, I didn’t know too much about why it’s done or it’s benefits. However, here is an explanation I found on superfuture from Brian himself, posted by @beautiful_FrEaK:

The indentation you see on the boots is called a toe track. The reason a boot has a toe track is because the vamp went through the crimping process. It is used to get all the stretch out of the vamp because when a bootmaker needs to turn something that's 2D into 3D it is more work if the vamp is not crimped. Another benefit when a vamp is crimped is it keeps the vamp smooth without any wrinkles. The crimped vamp sits well on the shoe last.

There are different way to crimp a vamp. For example Buco puts their vamps into a crimp machine. It is a hot blade that folds the vamp in half and indents the leather. I wouldn't mind having a crimp machine (really expensive!) but I use crimp boards at the moment. It is the same process but more hands on. I last the vamp on a piece of board to get all the stretch out and it naturally gets the toe track.

Personally, I mostly chose to have the toe track for esthetic purposes, but understanding the reasoning behind it is pretty cool too.

The Heel

Unlike my Underdog boots, which have a low woodsman heel, I decided to go all out with the full woodsman heel on these engineers. I will admit, walking with such elevated heels will take some getting used to. It also definitely adds to the whole western cowboy boot vibe, but I dig it. Plus, the added lift makes me over 6 feet tall now. Added bonus.

The Sole

This is my first pair of boots with a full leather sole. Felt a bit risky putting it on such an expensive pair of boots, but whatever. They look great on Brian’s pair, so I wasn’t too worried. Plus, I live a pretty sedentary lifestyle in the California Bay Area. I don’t go on many nature hikes, nor does it ever snow here (or rain really, for that matter). Thus, I don’t really have a need for much grip or traction with my footwear.

The sole channel stitching is all pretty clean, minus one little wonky spot on the inside portion of the right boot (pictured above in the top left corner). Not a big deal though, as no one is ever gonna see it.

My biggest concern with full leather soles was the reduced durability/longevity from walking on concrete, specifically at the toe. To combat this, I asked Brian to add metal toe plates to my boots to prevent premature wear at the toe. Crisis averted.

Here’s a close up of one of the toe plates, cut into the leather sole as to be nice and flush. Apparently these had to be custom ordered to accommodate for the width of my foot, adding 4-5 months to my wait time. Meh. Worth the wait in my opinion, if it meant getting it done right.

The Welt Stitching

Similar to my Underdogs, the welt stitching on these engineers is all very clean and consistent. If I were to point out anything, it’d be that a little bit of black edge dye got on the white stitching in some areas, and there’s a small tuft of loose thread ends popping out on the inside of the left boot. However, if these are the biggest errors I could find on the whole boot, I think that’s pretty amazing.

If you look closely, you can see the spots where some of the black edge coat got onto the white welt stitching. Not the cleanest, but doesn’t bother me too much.

Here’s the small tuft of loose threads at the end of one of the 270 degree welt stitches. Again, very minor, and won’t keep me up at night.

Try On & Initial Thoughts

Being completely honest, I’m actually still blown away at how amazing these boots feel on foot. I can really tell that these boots were made to measure. I shouldn’t be surprised though, as the Underdogs Brian made for me last year fit amazingly. Although, being lace-up boots that can by cinched down with laces, they naturally are less prone to fit errors such as heel slip. Engineers, by comparison, are much more difficult to fit properly, but Brian did so masterfully. 

First of all, right out of the box I actually had very little trouble getting the boots on and off. I feel like this is often the biggest struggle in breaking in a new pair of engineer boots, but not this time. Sliding my foot down the shaft felt appropriately snug, until my heel snapped past the “pass line” and sucked down into the heel cup. (I actually didn’t even need to unbuckle the strap to get them on, which was double surprising.)

Once fully seated, I could feel the built-in leather-lined orthotics beneath my feet, and the adjusted width of the 2307 last comfortably fit my bunions. What I’m most shocked by is how little heel slip I have in either boot. Until now, I had just assumed that heel slip was to be expected with all engineer boots, and only with break in and wear would that slip maybe go away. Apparently I was wrong, as these engineers already exhibit less heel slip than some of my other boots and derbies.

In designing these engineers, I chose to try out a couple things for the first time: first full leather soles, and first full woodsman heels. I know it’s still early, but I’m already loving the full leather soles. They seem to breathe much more than half and full rubber soles, and they flex and move much more naturally with the movements of my feet. I feel as though I can “feel the ground” better, if that makes sense. I will admit that I can definitely tell these leather soles have significantly less traction than rubber/cork half/full soles. However, I knew that from the get go, so me and my sedentary lifestyle are completely fine with it. I haven’t slipped yet, so it’s all good. Second, the full woodsman heels on these engineers are by far the tallest heels of any boot I own, yet once on foot, I can barely even tell the difference. Even with the steep drop off from the full woodsman heel to the leather sole, walking felt completely natural.

The last thing I’d like to note is how nicely the Italian horsebutt is breaking in. I know it’s still early, but so far all the leather on the vamps and shafts seem to be nice and tight with very little grain break or creasing. Loose grain and unsightly creasing are definitely some of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to boots, so props to Brian on absolutely killing it on the clicking. (At least so far.) I can’t wait to see how this leather continues to break in, and for the black hand-paint to chip away to reveal that beautiful brown horsebutt underneath.

If I had to pick out one spot that may require a little extra break-in, it would be the top rim around the shafts of the boot. They bounce around while I walk, knocking and banging into my shins. I expect this is probably true for most engineer boots, but hopefully this break-in period doesn’t take too long, cuz it doesn’t feel great. Until then, maybe I’ll just have to rock some longer tube socks as shin padding.

(Note: I do my best to remain impartial and objective in all of my reviews. That being said, it was difficult not to sound like some fanboy trying to sell you on a pair of Role Clubs, but this really my honest opinion. I really just love these boots. Lol)

Conclusion

If you couldn’t tell already, I’m absolutely through the roof with regards to these new engineers. The construction quality and level of finishing are pristine, and the comfort and fit out of the box is surprisingly on point. In my opinion, I think Brian and Clinch design two of the most beautiful engineer boots (on Instagram, at least), yet at the same time they exhibit two totally different vibes. Brian’s engineers draw from more rugged, western, cowboy influences, while Clinch engineers are a bit more refined, fitting very nicely within the whole Japanese workwear esthetic. Both styles are very cool, with some of the highest quality construction available.

A comparison of Role Club (top) and Clinch (bottom) engineers, both new and worn. (Photo credit: top left: me, top right: @brianthebootmaker​, bottom left: @bsw_keisuke, bottom right: @partial2vintage.)

While I’ve barely owned these for a week, and already I can confidently say that these are one of my favorite pairs in my collection. With such a beautiful pattern and solid construction, I could pick them up and stare at them all day. Also, not gonna lie, the fact that Role Clubs are so difficult to come by these days does make me feel even cooler for owning a pair. Haha

Anyway, I’ll try to write a follow up review once these are more broken in. Until then, you can follow along my journey breaking in these engineers through my instagram (@thedenimdentist). Ttfn!

[currantlee]

Should we boycott Inktober 2020? (+ Inktober Alternatives)

In short: Yes, we should. If you use the #Inktober, you’re promoting Jake Parker’s brand, which has been involved in some questionable practices, most recently including alleged plagiarism.

So, if you haven’t heard of this already: Jake Parker, the inventor of Inktober, allegedly plagiarized his book - or at least, it has a lot of uncanny similarities with Alphonso Dunn’s book Pen & Ink Drawing: A Simple Guide. I’d go into further detail, but Mr Dunn already posted a video that covers pretty much everything about this issue himself, which I highly recomment watching.

Ever since this was made public, people have been debating on whether Inktober 2020 and Inktober in general should be boycotted / cancelled. This has gotten to a new dimension after Jake Parker’s response to the claims in which he denied everything despite the fact that he literally copied some of Dunn’s wording. Overall his entire response comes off as very manipulative to me, especially seeing as he doesn’t even mention Dunn’s name and instead laments the fact that Dunn made it a public issue rather than reaching out to him privately. As many people have pointed out before, Dunn would likely have been silenced by Parker or his lawyers if he had taken that route.

So, here is my two cents on that. However, before you click on “Keep reading”, I’d love to remind you that I’m a human and not some holy book of ethics and morale. You can disagree with everything I’m saying here, I won’t fault you for it if you do. This is just my opinion on the matter and I wanted to share it in order to spread some awareness to what is happening.

That being said, let’s get into this. It’s going to be a long ride everyone.

Why I think we should boycott Inktober

If you aren’t aware of the drama around the #Inktober that has been going on since late 2019: don’t worry about it. The world and the internet are both huge places. There is no way to be aware of what is going on all the time.

That being said - let me be clear with this once more: this is merely my opinion. I personally can’t support the challenge and / or the #Inktober with what has been going on recently. However, if you don’t think that way, this is totally fine for me. Just because I can’t stand behind it from an ethical point of view and decide to boycott for this reason, that doesn’t mean you have to. Ethics and morals are a very personal matter and they differ from person to person. Which is not always a bad thing by the way, but that’s another story for another day.

Why I am sharing my opinion in that case? Because while this is how I think - I know not everybody is aware of what has been going on and I want to inform more people, enable them to make their own decision based on their own opinions and morals. And yeah - maybe influence said decision a little to match my own. I’d be lying if I said that this didn’t play it’s part.

What is the recent drama?

In short: Jake Parker, who created the Inktober hashtag, has decided to trademark the term and the logo so he is the only person able to make money off of it without asking for permission.

This video offers a pretty good rundown on what happened, so I’m going to leave the link here. If you don’t want to watch - here is the summary: in late 2019, Amazon suddenly started to send out Cease and Desists to independent artists who were selling books with titles that included the word Inktober. It turned out that Jake Parker has trademarked the term since 2017 and there were now guidelines on making money off of Inktober, which nobody had been previously aware of, seeing as Parker hadn’t announced it or posted said guidelines anywhere. To make matters worse, he only posted them after public pressure. And there are some other inconsistencies with his behavior that the video is touching on.

Let me be clear: trademarking something you created and that got immensely popular, like Inktober did, is not inheritly wrong in my opinion. Because if you don’t trademark it, someone else will. That’s what happened with the Smiley in the 1970s.

However, if you trademark something like this, then you should make the guidelines on making money of something that was previously public property and is now yours alone clear from the beginning in order to avoid something like this from happening. In addition, I think that if you do this, you shouldn’t trademark your idea to be the only one able make money off of it, but to protect it from harm (like others claiming your idea or inappropriate merchandise being produced). That’s just my view on it though and I wouldn’t bring it up if it weren’t for the other things that happened.

Now, Parker was clearly intent on making money off of Inktober, seeing as he is working on a book titled Inktober All Year Long. However, if it was this alone, it wouldn’t be a problem. The problem is that said book was allegedly plagiarized - or at least heavily borrowed concepts, from Alphonso Dunn’s book Pen & Ink Drawing: A Simple Guide (link to amazon.com). If you want more details on this, I again heavily suggest watching Dunn’s video on the matter or, if you don’t want to watch a video that’s almost an hour in length, any other YouTube video on the subject. At this point, there are several out there, so you just have to type into the search bar.

What is my problem with the situation?

To make this clear, let me clarify what isn’t my problem first.

My problem is not that Jake Parker trademarked Inktober. My problem is not that he is publishing a book titled Inktober. My problem is not even that he wants to be the only person to publish a book with Inktober in the title.

My problem is how he is handling all of this.

First up, I said this before: if you trademark something that was previously a public domain, you either don’t change anything about the rules and merely take the rights to protect your property from harm (like being trademarked by others who want to profit off of it or use it in a way that you can’t support) or you make the new rules clear to begin with.

What Parker did, however, was trademarking Inktober in 2017 and not making the rules clear until late 2019 after public backlash. And instead of apologizing for what happened he tried to blame Amazon for the mess. To be fair: yes, Amazon was the party that send out the C&Ds to the affected artists, not Parker or one of his lawyers. However, it could have been avoided if Parker had made the new rules clear from the beginning. So yeah, it is partly his fault, even if he didn’t send out the C&Ds.

Secondly, Parker’s behavior seems very manipulative and greedy to me. There is nothing wrong with wanting to make money off of your intellectual property - because the reality is that the world we live in requires us to make money. However, I think money should never be the top priority for a person, no matter what they are doing.

It seems to me like this isn’t the case for Parker though. This goes back to an Inktober drama in the past, where he spoke out against digital artists who wanted to do Inktober because it was supposedly not real inking or something like that. However, nowadays he seems to be fine with digital artists. Why? Well, as someone pointed out on Twitter this change of mind corresponded with Parker getting a partnership with Adobe. And while this could definitely be coincidence, it just adds to the picture of someone who is greedy if you take other things he did in account. I might be very nitpicky - and wrong - here, but this is just how I feel about it.

Parker also has a tendency to claim that he “would never do something like that” or that he “did never want that” when something goes wrong and place the blame on others (such as Amazon and now, with the plagiarism scandal, on Alphonso Dunn - without even mentioning his name, allegedly so no one checks Mr Dunn’s book or video out and comes to the same conclusion as he did). As someone who has been raised by a parent with a supposedly narcisstic personality, I know this pattern of behavior very well. Let me be clear here: I don’t want to say that Parker is a narcisst - I’m not a psychologist and aside from that, I don’t know him personally. I only know what he has been doing on the internet. That’s way too little to determine something like that. All I want to say here is that this pattern of behavior heavily reminds me on what my parent did to me. To me, that’s a clear red flag.

And even if he never wanted those things, even if he isn’t trying to be manipulative: he is still guilty of being careless.

And lastly... Don’t plagiarize. Never. Ever. Do that! No matter if you’re an artist, a scientist, an author, you just don’t do that! If you have sources - or even major inspirations - credit them! Not only do you express respect and love for something that way, you also acknowledge their work and might help them to get some more exposure and / or recognization. You might inspire others to have a look at what inspired you, something you love.

How does this tie into the #Inktober?

Simple. By using the hashtag, you’re using the name of Parker’s brand and the title of his allegedly plagiarized book. Therefore, you are promoting said brand and book, even if you don’t want to. That is the reason why #Inktober should be boycotted in my opinion, at least until Jake Parker has (properly!) apologized for his actions.

Making mistakes is human, however, mistakes usually cause harm. That’s why we apologize! And because everyone of us makes mistakes, that’s why we forgive. However, there is no forgiveness without a proper apologize.

So yeah. Until the proper apologize happens - if it ever will (I doubt it to be completely honest, but if it happens, I’m open for it) - I am boycotting Inktober, and I think you should as well. If you still want to do it, that’s totally fine though. However, if you are like me and want to do something else now: here are some suggestions for you!

Alternatives to Inktober

Someone on Twitter has already compiled a pretty much complete list of every alternative October drawing challenge to Inktober. Because I am lazy - and they get to the point much faster than I am - I’m leaving the link here. However, there are some additional drawing challenges not in the list (at least the last time I checked), so here they are.

QUEERtober

If you’re part of or support the the LGBTQAI+ community, you might like this challenge created by KreuzUndQueer on Twitter. One prompt is for three days instead of one and the prompts generally deal with LGBTQAI+ themes.

DRAWlloween

This is another popular drawing challenge, although it has more to do with Halloween than with daily prompts as far as I am aware. The goal is to create something awesome related to the Halloween season. Depending on the host of the challenge, there might be additional rules as well.

Tumblr Inktober Alternatives

This is a short list I compiled last evening. I’m sure that there are plenty more awesome, but I can’t include every single one of them, so I just included my three favorites so far.

First up, we have of course the Boycottober Prompts by @h0tleafjuice, Chardesair and Sleepingdreams_ (both on Instagram), which I’m also thinking about tackling because I think they’re awesome and I have some ideas for.

If you want to go with a more witchy theme for this October, then @gnomehuts‘ Witchtober Prompts might be the right prompt list for you.

If you like Disney, or if you’re like me and you love Kingdom Hearts so much that you find a way to mention said game franchise in an anti-Inktober posting, then you might like the Disn-ober Prompts by @hermioneblack. There are no rules for the challenge and the prompts, just from what they are, can be used for non-Disney related stuff as well.

Change the rules, name or create your own challenge!

What you can of course also do is to just make up your own art challenge. You can just create your own prompt list, your own rules for Inktober, your own name for Inktober (popular suggestions as of now are Artober, Drawtober and Notinktober), even an entire challenge.

As an example, I took up the challenge of creating a Halloween Story with five chapters this year, which I am also going to illustrate (or at least... I’ll try to do that).

Use the #Inktober without actually participating in Inktober

The idea of this is to change the meaning of the #Inktober - by posting stuff that is either criticizing Jake Parker’s actions and Inktober in general or just... Stuff that really doesn’t belong there (such as memes), if you’re more of a trolly person.

Now, I personally don’t hold anything against trolls - in fact, I have trolled myself in the past - as long as they’re not overdoing it and are ready to face possible consequences of their trolling (such as people getting annoyed because the #Inktober is being spammed with memes). However, be aware that in case you decide to take the trolling route, you’re still promoting Jake Parker’s brand (depending on what kind of meme you post under the #Inktober). Therefore, I’d advocate against the trolling route in this instance.

And that’s it! If you’ve made it this far - or even if you only read part of this post - thank you so much for reading! I hope that no matter what you decide to do, you’re going to have a wonderful time and a wonderful October / Halloween season.

Happy creating!

[alaina-achilles]

i

((practice challenge - all prompts included here:))

Dreams.

Dreams are a funny thing, right? As a kid, you have so many dreams, I’m gonna be this when I grow up, I’m gonna wear this when this happens…

But how many do those actually happen?

I always feel like I dream differently than other people. Well, not all dreams, but some particular ones. And when I have a dream that I feel so strongly about (usually they are things that I actually dreamed about during my sleep), I write it down, in my dreams notebook. And well, there were so many of them.

Okay, I’m getting distracted again. So, right now, I’m standing in the middle of my bedroom, screaming.

Because I have just graduated from college and I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing with. My. life!!

“Alaina?” Mila, my younger sister asks as she runs into my room and jumps onto my bed. “What happened? Who broke up?”

“The prince and Evie.” Another voice says and we both turn around to face our older sister.

“That’s old news, Lexi.” Mila drawls. “The Selection’s here already. Remind me again why aren’t you guys applying?”

Lexi rolls her eyes and pushes Mila to make space for herself on my bed.

“Well, back to the drama queen here. What happened?” Lexi asks, looking at me in confusion. Mila follows her gaze before they drop to the sheets of paper on my desk.

“What are those?” Mila asks in curiosity. She makes a move to take one of them, but I beat her to it by shoving them all into a messy pile.

“That.” I say as I shove them into a folder and slip it in between two books. “Is private.”

Well, they are actually job applications. I got a bit impulsive just now and flipped through my notebook of dreams, randomly selecting a few dreams, printed out the job application forms and filled them in.

“It’s not important.” I add as I see my sisters looking at me with narrowed eyes. “They were just weird random stuff that I did which I should’ve never done and I will throw them away tomorrow afternoon.”

“You can always be a teacher.” Lexi comments, knowing what I’m stressing about. “Mom likes her job a lot.”

“But I’m not Mom.” I point out as I flop onto the bed next to them. “I mean I love kids, but I just… I just can’t see myself being a teacher. Nor a lawyer like you.”

“I’m gonna be a psychologist. A therapist. A something related to psychology.” Mila replies happily. Sometimes I wish I was 13 as well. She turns around to face me. “And as a future psychologist, I think you should give writer another try. I mean you have published a book!!”

“But it’s not a best-seller. It’s only popular because it’s about a cliche bad boy story that many teenage girls like reading about.”

“That’s not true. I think there’s a lot of potential in your writing. You just need to have inspiration, write a good book and be famous.” Mila finishes with a smile.

“I think Mila’s got a point there. Just give it a go. One year. And if you aren’t writing a best-selling novel at the end of the year, just become a psychologist like Mila will be. You have the bachelor degree.” Lexi points out. I think about what my sisters said and decide they are right.

I’m gonna give writing another try.

----

“ALAINA LEXI MOM DAD COME NOW!” I hear Mila screaming from the bottom of the stairs. I put down my book in annoyance and go downstairs.

“What is it, honey?” Mom asks.

“THEY’RE GONNA ANNOUNCE THE SELECTION RESULTS!!!” Mila all but screams.

“Oooooh!” I cry. “I do wanna watch this! Dramaaa” I sing.

“I don’t know why you two are so excited for this! It’s not like any of us entered our name.” Lexi drawls, but sits down next to us on the couch while our parents sit down as well with an amused smile.

“I know many girls who did. I would like to see who’s gonna be on the tv screen for the next few months.” I explain, without looking away from the tv screen. The TV zooms to a closed up of the Prince who has a relaxed smile on his face that does not really reach his eyes. I don’t blame the guy though, it must be rough for him to jump from a supposedly stable relationship to well, 35 girls. Definitely glad I’m not the prince.

“Maybe it’ll be Delilah. She’s pretty and nice.” I comment.

“Or Faye. She’ll be quite the drama queen.” Lexi says.

“SHUSH!” Mila hisses. Lexi and I roll our eyes at each other and turn back to the screen.

“Miss Alaina Achilles of Atlin, Three.” The reporter announces.

Alain-

WAIT WHAT??

I vaguely hear my family screaming and questioning me, but I can’t hear anything except my heartbeat as I run into my room to check the folder that I meant to throw away a few afternoons ago but forgot.

It’s gone.

And then I scream.

Because, one of my dreams I made when I was six was to be in the Selection, to be a princess. And I thought it’d be fun to fill in the application a few days ago. BUT I NEVER MEANT TO SEND IT.

Then my eyes widen as I realize what must have happened.

“CAMILA DAISY ADRIANNA ACHILLES. I’M GOING TO STRANGLE YOU TO DEATH!” I yell as I run downstairs to kill my younger sister.

----

Four hours later. I’ve finally stopped screaming and attempting to murder my sister.

“How did you even do that, Mil? I thought you had to have your photo taken and everything?” Dad asks.

“Um… I kinda wrote a letter saying that Alaina isn’t feeling well and can’t make it to the applications and sent in a photo instead.” Mila explains in a small voice. “I swear I didn’t know they would allow that…”

“Wait…” I say suddenly. “If you sent out my application. SHIT MILA DID YOU SEND OUT ALL OF THOSE APPLICATIONS I FILLED OUT?”

“Language!” Mom cries but we all ignore her. It’s not like I ever swear anyways.

“Yeah… All six of them.” Mila admits in a quiet voice.

“AND THIS GETS EVEN BETTER!” I yell, throwing my arms into the air. “Do you know what those applications are? As an elf writing letters back to children for Santa Claus, and… and.. And… I don’t even want to rename the applications i filled out for. They were all crazy.” I mumble to myself. “Maybe the Selection is already the least craziest one.”

“See?” Mila says gleefully.

“Oh shut up, you little- I can’t even find any words to describe you. I’m not talking to you.” I yell in anger. With that I storm up the stairs into my room.

Oh no.

What has my little sister got me into?

----

By the time I am to leave Atlin, I am feeling slightly better about this whole thing. Thanks to Lexi and Dad. They convinced me that this will be a nice and unique experience and a change of scenery will probably give me more inspiration for my writing. And I finally get to be on a plane! I’ve never been on the plane before, not because we can’t afford it, but Mom has an extreme fear of flights. We usually went travelling in other means of transport.

My heart is pounding in my ears as I climb the stairs up to the plane. This is it. I’m going to be on a plane!

"Sorry if I'm bothering you, but I'm Sara Nguyen. I hope we can be plane buddies? And who knows maybe a permanent bud for the rest of the selection?" A voice says, interrupting my thoughts. I look up to see a girl smiling at me. She motions at my luggage. "Would you like a hand?"

My eyes widen as I realize she must be another selected. Wow, this is really happening, I’m really in the Selection. I quickly collect my thoughts and straighten my clothes to make sure it’s tidy. My parents have always taught us to be clean and tidy, especially in front of strangers.

“hi Sara! I’m Alaina Achilles! Sure I would love to!” I say to Sara with a bright smile. “and thanks for offering, but I think I got this!” I place the luggage to its place and sit down next to the empty spot next to Sara. I look at the two girls opposite to us, one is falling asleep and the other barely acknowledges us. Well, I guess not every Selected is nice. So I turn to Sara instead, she seems nice. “Have you ever been on a plane before?”

She tells me about the times she’s travelled and when she learns that this is my first time, she surprises me again by offering her hand for me to squeeze.

“I-“ l begin as I look at Sara’s hand hesitantly. “I mean thats very nice of you bu-“ the plane starts to move and my eyes start to widen and immediately reach forward to squeeze Sara’s hand. She is nice enough to pretend not to see my hesitation and just let me hold her hand while she talks me through the take off. I like this girl. I decide.

“Thanks. But you’re right, I’m glad I got on this plane! At least now I have a new friend?” I ask. I have never been alone without at least one of my sisters with me before and I know I will miss them very much.

"Just holler my name and I'll be there for anything. I've got tips for most things. If not I'll create one on the spot." Sara answers with a nod. I do a happy dance internally. "I think we are indeed friends. After all it would be rather awkward if two strangers held hands. Either way I'm glad we both get to be on the same flight." She proceeds to tell me about her favorite things about being on a plane and I look out the window and agree with her. The view is amazing! We chat more about the flying experience and being the writer I was, I tell her how lovely it’ll be to be able to write about this experience. My new friend immediately offers me her notebook, but I once again decline politely. I know once I start writing, I’ll ignore everything around me and I don’t want to do this to Sara and miss the opportunity to get to know her. So I just tell her that I’ll do it later and enjoy the moment now.

Sara asks me if I’ve ever written anything that she might’ve read. I hesitate as I thought of my published book. A few years ago, at 16, I wrote a cliche bad boy story named “the Bad Boy Ruined my Project” and published it online. Because it’s cliche and about bad boys, teenage girls immediately took a liking to it and two years later, I got a publishing offer. I was ecstatic and accepted it. Ever since then, my agent has been pushing me to write a new book. And that’s when it became complicated. I was 16 when I wrote that cliche book and at 18, I’ve matured and changed and honestly, my book wasn’t that well-written, it just suited the taste of what teenage girls wanted to read. I’ve tried telling this to my agent and she kept telling me that was bullshit and if I wanted to be a famous writer, I had to please my readers. This is one of the reasons why I decided to start thinking of pursuing another character. I want to write things that I want to write, not just things people want me to write about.

But at the end of the day, I am grateful for my book and its success. At least it got me noticed.

So I tell her about my published book and she tells me about her career. Sara is to take over her dad’s company. Sensing this isn’t her favorite topic to talk about, I change the topic and ask her about siblings.

We quickly get into a fun conversation about siblings and I can already tell we’re going to be the best of friends in the Selection. Hopefully.

And for a while, I feel like I’m home again as we laugh and joke about the Selection. About how dramatic it will be with 35 girls under the same roof, going after the prince. About how weird it will be to have a brother joining the selection! (Sara said her brother almost joined HAHA). We are enjoying our conversation so much that I don’t even notice we have landed.

"We're here," Sara breathes out as we both look out the window. I smile as I take in the surroundings around me. I’ve been here before during a long road trip, but the airport is totally new to me.

“It’s beautiful!” I exclaim. Then, I turn to face Sara and put out a pinky. “Okay before we get off, let’s make a pact. Let’s promise to let this selection ruin our budding friendship.”

"It honestly is. Last time I came here I was 13 years old." Sara replies with a shake of her head. She  looks at me and smiles as she sticks her pinky out and links it with mine. "I promise that this selection will not ruin our friendship. You know you can call me by any nickname. I prefer them rather than Sara. My family call me bun."

And she manages to surprise me for the third time. Wow, a nickname. I can tell it’s not something she goes around letting people use.

I laugh and give her a hug. “Bun.” I say. “I love that. it’s so cute and so you!” We break away when one of the other girls clears her throat and tell us it’s time to go. I smile embarrassingly and roll my eyes at my new friend as we begin our journey to the palace. And because of Sara, I already feel a hundred times better about the selection. If all goes wrong, I know at least there will be one genuine friend who will go through all of this with me together.

"This is reserved for you. It's strange if someone else calls me that. So welcome to the Bun club." She says with a straight face but that didn't last long because she ends up giggling. She shakes her head as the other girls hurry us. "Well, let's see what is awaiting us." She smiles encouragingly at me.

I laugh at her words and nod. “Honored to be in the club.” I look at the other girls amusedly, as they check their makeup. “Let’s see!” I say as I pull my new friend along with me.

Sara nods as she links arms with me humming happily as we both get off the plane. "By any chance can I call you Al?" She pauses as she thinks about other nicknames. "Or Lai? Or Achi! Or do you already have a nickname you are comfortable with?”

I cock my head to the side and think about her question. I don’t really have a cute nickname or anything like hers.

“My sisters call me A.” I say with a giggle. “But Achi sounds so cool as well! Just call me either!” I add, like the sound of Achi.

"I'll call you, Achi then!" She replies with a grin. "It's my own personal nickname.”

“Achi.” I repeat quietly with a smile as I follow the guards escorting us.

Bun and Achi.

I like this combo.

----

Sara and I enter the palace together where we are immediately ushered into a huge room. People keep pushing me from stall to stall, asking me questions, but answering those questions themselves before I can even think of an answer. Luckily, they didn’t need to do too much to my hair and body as Mom always makes sure we are well um groomed. I only got my nails painted and fitted into a red dress. I’ve never seen myself as a red person, I’m usually more of baby pink, purple, white and dark colors. But I have to admit the red dress looks amazing.

I then proceeded to have an interview where I told them a bit about myself and then my makeover.

By the time, I finish the interview, I am so tired that all I want to do is go back to my room and read or talk to my sisters.

Oh wait, I’m still mad at Mila.

Oops.

====

((THANKS @itssara-oc​ ANA FOR THE WONDERFUL RP ♡ i love the connection between our two girls:))

[etlunainmorte]

🎸 Saved By The Siren 🎸

***

~ A Nero X Reader set in an Alternate Universe.

~ This is dedicated to one of my friends, @shadowrosess , who loves Nero, and to you, Nero fans! I hope you like this.

~ Enjoy!

***

"I QUIT!" The band's lead vocalist raged as she slammed the door closed on the way out, startling the other contestants.

"YEAH! FUCK YOU!" The band's lead guitar screamed back, making the other people shook their heads.

But, who could really blame him? Nero and Lady just couldn't get along well from the start.

"YA MESSED UP BIG TIME, PSYCHO!" Nico, the band's bassist shrieked hysterically at him as she pointed her cigar stick at him.

"WHO NEEDS A VOCALIST LIKE THAT, ANYWAY? SHE JUST STRUTS ON THE STAGE AND SHOW OFF!"

"Guys, we really need a vocalist now,or we're gonna get disqualified." Lucia, the timid drummer nervously spoke from the corner of the room, not wanting to be shout at by the ever grumpy Nero.

"The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water,... and breeds reptiles of the mind." V, the ever calm keyboardist, quoted, not once taking his eyes off his William Blake illustrated collection.

Nero face palmed.

Ever since that incident involving Lady erupted, of her planning to leave the band for a much more popular one to become famous, Nero has been on a rampage, picking unnecessary fights with her and, therefore, almost ruining the band.

And who could just put them together but him? Not Nico, who just messes around ( one time, she almost set the old and smelly studio they were practicing in on fire with the cigar butt she carelessly threw away ), not Lucia, who was just too timid and shy to ever lead any kind of group ( she almost depleted the band's funds by having no guts to refuse the cute little scouts that always come knocking in to sell them all sorts and flavors of cookies ), and definitely not V, who was either busy reading, or busy being a regular member of the National Orchestra as a Concertmaster ( who was so talented as heck, he rejected the last twenty or so who auditioned as vocalist, only accepting Lady because he wasn't there to see or hear her sing due to one of his asthma attacks ).

So, simply put, they're all doomed.

No.

More like fucked up.

All of a sudden, Nero's phone vibrated. He took it out from his pocket and saw that his dad was calling him.

"Ugh, him again?" Nero muttered, not really wanting to answer the call.

"Answer that call, ya don't want him to come in here and drag ya away from him like a brat." Nico suggested calmly.

And so, with a deep sigh, he answered the call -

"What are you doing right now,... scum?"

"Fuck off, Vergil!"

"Don't you disrespect me in front of your so - called peers. If I hear that you get beaten by Dante's band once more, I will have no choice but to take away that wailing and foul - smelling instrument of yours, drag you out of there, myself, and send you to boarding school in Berlin."

"D- DAD! PLEASE! NOT MY ELECTRIC GUITAR!"

"Don't you ever dare lose,... scum."

And with that last threat, Nero's father hung up. The place was almost filled with loud applause and cheers a few seconds later as the last band just finished performing. The door opened, and in came the dynamic guitar and singing duo of Dante and Trish.

The sight of Nero's ( and Vergil's ) rival Dante looking so proud and confident that he'll win this battle of the bands made his stomach churn. And before he could even turn away to not be noticed by the man, his father's younger brother saw him and immediately went towards him.

"Hey, nephew! How's it going?" Dante greeted as he put a heavy arm around Nero.

"Piss off, Dante!" Nero growled.

"Ooh! What's with the little puppy growl? Oh! Let me guess: Lady left you, didn't she?"

"FUCK. OFF!" Nero pushed Dante away in anger, his uncle's taunt proving that his statement was, indeed, real.

But, Dante just smiled and chuckled at him as he shook his head helplessly. "Oh, well, I wonder how Vergil would react to this news?!"

"Stop."

"Maybe he'll come down here and take away your second hand guitar! Or! Maybe," Dante taunted once more as he stalked closer to Nero like a predator. " ...he'll send you to that military boarding school in Berlin!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Nero finally exploded as he grabbed Dante's collar.

"No! You shut up, DEAD WEIGHT!"

"Okay, okay! Guys, stop!" Nico intervened, successfully drawing Nero out before he could make a nasty scene in front of the people.

"What do we have here?" One of the organizers who saw the argument came in and asked.

"Oh, nothin'! Nothin' to worry 'bout!" Nico lied as she laughed hysterically.

The organizer only shook his head and left. After that, the door opened and a head popped out from it.

"SWEET SURRENDER?!" The person called the name of their band.

"Yeah! We're here!" Nero answered unwillingly, flinching at his own words.

"YOU'RE UP! AND MAKE IT FAST!"

"Good luck, kid! Adios!" Dante mocked once more as he saluted on his way out.

"I'll send you my autograph." Trish said as she blew all of them a good bye kiss and gave V a very sultry look, to which the poet only ignored.

All of four of Sweet Surrender's members looked at each other.

"What do we do now?" Lucia, who was already in panic mode from the start, stuttered as she clutched her drum sticks.

"We perform as usual." Nero replied.

"What if we fail? Yer dad's gonna send ya to boardin' school fer real!" Nico added as she pushed the rim of her glasses up the bridge of her freckled nose.

"Stop saying that, will you? I will sing in place of that bitch."

"But, Nero! That song is meant to be sung as a duet! This will not work! This will be a disaster!"

"Whoa, Lucia! Calm down! Trust me. We'll get through this!"

After those words, Nero, Nico, and Lucia turned to V, expecting him to say some words of encouragement.

And to this, the poetic musician only answered, "A man can't soar too high,... when he flies with his own wings."

"Okay, V. You're an interesting guy but, you're right." Nero responded as all of them faced the door that led to the stage. "Let's get this show on the road!"

However, no matter how hard V tried to give them enough words of motivation, courtesy of William Blake, they just couldn't shake the foreboding feeling.

That something bad was going to happen.

Nico, Lucia, and V may have done their best to perform their parts, but Nero's song, which was supposedly a duet, just couldn't, would not, work out. It just felt wrong.

And not even a few minutes in and they were already being booed by their audience. This made Lucia even more nervous and stopped playing altogether. Nico tried to pitch in for her but failed miserably because she lacked proper practice. V, on the other hand, remained calm as he multi - tasked, playing both Lucia and Nico's part on his keyboard.

"LOSER!" A girl from the crowd shrieked as she threw her candy wrappers at Nero. Some people took this as an opportunity to throw things at them.

"Look at them! They look so pathetic!" Dante laughed from the back of the crowd, enjoying Sweet Surrender's downfall. "I guess it's boarding school for Nero now - "

"HEY, GUYS! So sorry I'm late!"

Everyone in the room went dead silent as one unknown girl wearing a floral dress came up the stage and joined Nero.

"I'm sorry. Who are you?" Nero questioned as he watched the girl take hold of one of the microphones.

The girl just winked at him and gave him a confident smile. "We're gonna do this, right?"

"ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!" Lucia bravely screamed at the top of her lungs as she tapped her sticks together for their cue. And with the wailing of Nero's guitar, they played their song once more.

"Oh, oh! Oh, oh, oh! So jet lagged!" Nero started singing. "What time is it where you are?"

"I miss you more than anything." The mysterious girl sang, her beautiful voice surprising Nero, and the rest of the band.

"And back at home you feel so far."

"Waitin' for the phone to ring."

"It's gettin' lonely livin' upside down. I don't even wanna be in this town. Tryin' to figure out the time zone's makin' me crazy!"

"You say good morning when it's midnight. Going out of my head, alone in this bed. I wake up to your sunset. And it's driving me mad, I miss you so bad. And my heart, heart, heart is so jet - lagged! Heart, heart, heart is so jet - lagged! Heart, heart, heart is so jet - lagged, is so jet - lagged!"

"Oh, oh!" Nico, Lucia, and V sang at the same time the people stopped booing them and started bobbing their heads along with the song, actually enjoying the performance. And by the time the unknown girl started singing, the crowd started to finally cheer for them.

"What time is it where you are?" She candidly sang as she winked once more at Nero, who really enjoying their performance.

"Five more days and I'll be home."

"I keep your picture in my car."

"I hate the thought of you alone."

The girl took the mic out from the stand and pointed at the crowd. "I've been keepin' busy all the time just to try to keep you off my mind. Tryin' to figure out the time zones makin' me crazy!"

She, then, went over to Nero's side and by the time they're singing on the same mic, the crowd just went wild cheers.

"You say good morning when it's midnight. Going out of my head, alone in this bed. I wake up to your sunset, And it's drivin' me mad, I miss you so bad. And my heart, heart, heart is so jet - lagged! Heart, heart, heart is so jet - lagged! Heart, heart, heart is so jet - lagged, is so jet lagged!"

"Oh, oh! Oh, oh, oh!"

"I miss you so bad."

"I miss you so bad."

"I miss you so bad."

"I miss you so bad."

"I wanna share your horizon."

"I miss you so bad."

"And see the same sun rising."

"I miss you so bad."

"And turn the hour hand back to when you were holding me."

"You say good morning, when it's midnight. Going out of my head, alone in this bed. I wake up to your sunset. And it's drivin' me mad, I miss when you say good morning, but it's midnight. Going out of my head. Alone in this bed. I wake up to your sunset. And it's drivin' me mad, I miss you so bad. And my heart, heart, heart is so jet - lagged! Heart, heart, heart is so jet - lagged! Heart, heart, heart is so jet-lagged, is so jet-lagged, is so jet - lagged!"

"Oh, oh!"

"So jet - lagged!"

Nero and his friends, so was Dante, who was still watching, couldn't believe the amount of love they received from the audience.

All thanks to this mysterious girl.

"That was crazy!" Nero told her the moment they went back to the room. "You're really awesome!"

"Thanks!" The girl answered with that charming smile of hers.

The smile that made Nero's heart skip a beat. She's just,... so beautiful, and charming, and,...

"What's your name?" Nero asked her.

"Oh, you can call me (Y/N)."

"Heya, (Y/N)! I'm Nico." Nico introduced herself even before Nero could shake her hand.

"Hello, Nico!"

"I'm Lucia, the,... drummer,... at the back. You know,..." Sweet Lucia shyly introduced herself.

"You were awesome back there, Lucia!"

"Really?!" The girl's face lit up in excitement.

"Yes!"

"And I'm Nero. Nice to meet you." He said as he was finally able to touch her smooth hands.

"Same here, Nero." And she gave him that charming smile with that cherry colored lips again.

"Hey, where's V?" Nico asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"At the back, hiding from Trish." Lucia answered.

"Poor tattooed Shakespeare,..." Nico shook her head in disbelief.

"They're gonna announce the winner!" Lucia excitedly said as she pulled her friends back to the stage,...

... only for them to get disappointed when the host announced Dante and Trish's name.

(Y/N) noticed Nero's sadness and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulders. The boy smiled at him and shook his head.

"Thank you, (Y/N)."

"No, Nero. Thank YOU."

They were about to make way for Dante and Trish to perform their encore when the people started yelling their name!

"SWEET SU - RREN - DER! SWEET SU - RREN - DER! SWEET SU - RREN - DER! SWEET SU - RREN - DER!"

"OH, MY GAWD! THEY WANT US BACK!" Nico shrieked as she happily jumped up and down.

"Then, we're gonna give 'em what they want. Isn't that right, Nero?!" (Y/N) confidently announced as she nudged the boy's arm, who still couldn't believe what just happened.

"Okay! We're gonna do this!" Nero took his guitar and positioned himself in front of the mic once more. "Where's V?!"

"Right here." The poet calmly said as he reappeared and faced his keyboard once more.

"ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!" Lucia gave the cue, finally confident for their sweet, sweet encore.

After that, it was safe to say that nobody's instrument, foul - odored, second - hand, or no, got taken away by an angry parent. There were no more old, combustible and smelly practice rooms because they were invited by a talent manager named Morrison to perform to much better and popular places. There were no more girl scouts selling one particularly shy drummer some cookies because they were now being offered M&Ms and more backstage and for free. One skinny poet has to run and hide more often from crazed fangirls because someone released his photos and videos on Instagram, which quickly became viral. And no one got sent to a boarding school in any part of Europe.

And (Y/N) and Nero?

Let's just say that their first duet was the start of a truly sweet and meaningful romance.

***

🎸🎸🎸

***

[eisforeidolon]

Episode: Atomic Monsters

I watched this at least a week ago, but just didn't get around to rewriting my notes into a post 'til now.  I did actually find this the best episode so far, but lets be real, that's such a low bar to clear at this point it says basically nothing.

The opening sequence is really fun!  I found the whole thing genuinely enjoyable, both the action itself and that it included exactly the kind of return cameo I can actually get behind.  No retcons or resurrections that make death somehow even cheaper or ruin the original finish to the character's story!  Not even to mention that, instead of existing just for the sheer fanservice of it?  A sequence like this is actively improved by giving us a familiar face we have investment in to keep it from being all just random unfamiliar cannon fodder getting offed.

Unfortunately, this isn't the rousing endorsement it could be when we know that both expanding to a big action sequence and bringing Benny back for it were actually Jensen's ideas.  Not even to mention that the thing which really works best in the episode?  It's the dream sequence that's not actually connected to anything else and doesn't have to worry about continuity to work. This is my surprised face.

I enjoyed the exchange between Sam and Dean in the kitchen.  The meat man conversation over the bacon was rather silly, but in a fun way. I've seen some people reading things into it (it's insulting Dean doesn't know the slang, Sam is randomly vegetarian now) that I didn't really see there.  I did appreciate how Sam was weirdly jumpy and had trouble meeting Dean's eyes after the creepy alternate world dream.  I thought it worked really well for both slice-of-life and Sam’s reaction.

In terms of the Winchester's case, well, for the most part it could have been worse.  I don't honestly believe even if I hadn't been spoiled that I wouldn't have immediately suspected the parents from their introductory exchange about how Billy playing in the big game was more important than a cheerleader's death.  I think it was supposed to be a retroactive subtle clue, but it was more of a clue-by-four.  So the “mystery” of tracking down the monster was pretty lost on me.  I did like that the one girl having braces was a clue!  But I also thought the scene with her rehearsing her speech on a live mic in an empty auditorium was weird and contrived.  I straight out cannot forgive that a girl was literally abducted from the school campus and NOBODY checked the security footage near her car fucking IMMEDIATELY well before Sam & Dean.  C'mon.  Then, of course, a couple random middle-aged suburbanite humans get the drop on Sam and Dean, because Dabbernatural really just loves to make them incompetent so plots happen.

Then the big reveal and blah blah blah, kid accidentally ate his girlfriend.  WHAT WERE WE SUPPOSED TO DO???  Um, maybe try not being scumbags?  Idiotic scumbags at that, abducting a second girl from their son's own school instead of somebody that wouldn't be missed or even, hey, maybe encouraging him to try harder not to eat people.  Don't try to sell me on this pseudo hallmark 'but they just love him so much' bullshit.  At least the kid has more self-awareness and conscience than his fuckwad parents.  

Then we get to the infuriating character assassination part of the programme.  Having Sam and Dean say that they'd do the same thing as the dad for Jack their “son”?  Fuck you very much, show.  I could maybe, maybe, see Sam or Dean kidnapping and draining the life out of an innocent to save the other at their most desperate worst.  Though I think the only time they even really get close to that kind of an actively, knowingly evil choice is with Doc Benton.  Not only do I not buy for a second that they would do that for the totally-really-their-actual-child-for-reasons albatross Dabbernatural has shoehorned into their lives?  Struggling to do the right thing even when it hurts used to actually mean something – it was always a very important qualifier that while Sam or Dean might make that choice, the other would not let them.  So having them both agree this kind of straight up villainy would be a-okay for oh-so-totally-loveable-no-really-woobie-blob Jack ...

Like carelessly assassinating every human in the BMoL headquarters, it fundamentally fails to understand what it is that keeps Sam and Dean from being the monsters.  Hint: it's not just that the show centers around them.  “We do the ugly thing so that people can live happy” - these moronic hacks seem to be actually trying to parallel Sam and Dean saving innocent victims and the world to human monsters that were going to selfishly help their son eat his way through the entire goddamn cheerleading squad.  Am I getting this wrong somehow?  Is there some other, less appalling, reading here that I'm missing? This whole scene honestly made me nauseous.

They talkity-talk on for a while longer, but it's really not much better.  Sam declaring that God was totally done with them was the writers putting those words in his mouth based on nothing.  At it’s very best, it was Sam’s bad habit of convincing himself conclusions he’s come to are true because he wants them to be.  So them both just deciding to believe it's true after Chuck has admitted to orchestrating their entire lives … I'm not sure if we should conclude the Winchesters have brain damage or if that's just the writers.  Especially when the underlying reason for it is nothing more compelling than , “Watch the Winchesters see-saw on the angst fulcrum completely at random!  Yay!”  If this was actually well written, there would be some precipitating reason for Sam to suddenly be the one being all fatalistic while Dean is accepting.  Instead, the writers  just slap some coin-flipped angst angst angst on the page and meander on in a supposedly forward direction.

So then there's the other half of the episode, the Becky storyline. Am I the only one a little disturbed that Becky's first reaction to seeing Chuck was to look scared and try to run away?  Like, they're exes and all, sure, but she doesn't know any of the god stuff yet – I think the only thing she even says about their breakup is that Chuck dumped her.  Is that reaction supposed to be yet another bit of “new canon” showing how Chuck was just that terrible all along? But then she does let him in, so maybe we're just supposed to take it as Becky still having a tendency towards dramatics?  I honestly don't know, but it was weird to me.  

I do genuinely love that they had Becky go to therapy and realize just how absolutely fucked up what she'd done was and ultimately sort herself out to become someone who seems to be a well-balanced adult. A well balanced adult that didn't have to give up being a fan for that!  Seriously, kudos to the writers for this, because 7.08 is such a loathsome episode that otherwise ruins Becky as a character.   Though I do have to nitpick a bit – while I get that they wanted to put SPN merch in Becky's home as a callout to her still being a superfan?   In the show's universe, Chuck's books were never that popular, so I'm having some suspension of disbelief issues that there would be Funkos for them.  We could pretend they were customs, but she's got at least one Impala, so even that doesn't quite work.  I'm not entirely sure who “people only want them sitting around doing laundry anyway” is a dig at, but I'm giving it the side eye.  

I also am not entirely sure what to make of Chuck's whole no one needs me I kinda hate me I'm all lost and don't know what to doooooo shtick.  Is this a game he's playing?  Is he really that wishy-washy? Did some of Dabb's sad internal monologue as showrunner somehow end up in a script by accident?  

He goes on like that and laments he's lost the Winchester's trust and had words with them or whatever, and then he zaps Becky and her family away at the end.  Like, if he cared enough about Becky to care about her opinion, why does he turn on her, too, just like that?  I guess we're supposed to see it as him having found his mojo in her space and vanishing her because taking over her space that's working for him currently is his latest whim.  I suppose they're intending to show Chuck as just being that capricious and flighty, but I don't know that it works for me.  The way they've been writing him he's acting so randomly and impulsively that it's kind of unbelievable he can even sit still at a keyboard long enough to write another Sam and Dean installment.  Again, I definitely find it unbelievable that the Chuck they're giving us now would be capable of playing the long game that he would have had to for him to be actively behind everything.  Until he suddenly got impatient and lazy and popped up in the cemetery at the end of the last finale ... for reasons … and is now just … like that … because.

Not to mention that his powers are, big shock, just as arbitrary as everyone else's in the current show.  He can't actually see what is happening to Sam and Dean because of the bullet sapping his power or whatever, but we're supposed to be worried about the ominous ending he's writing for them because … he's got those god powers to make it happen, I guess?  Uh...

I will grant that the ominous bobbing of Sam and Dean Funkos' heads to Chuck's furious typing was a wonderfully foreboding shot to end on.  

[theangrypokemaniac]

There's a sneering attitude that the dub is inherently inferior solely for being a dub, and when I say 'dub' I mean the American one. No one attacks the South American interpretation, funnily enough, or the variety that exist globally.

Why not if foreign languages are so abhorrent?  Do you think it's kewl to hate America?

That's so original you know.

If the moan centres on the dub changing certain things, well that's a pointless stance, because it's impossible to do otherwise.

What's accepted in one country is not always permitted elsewhere, so either you make those alterations or it's never shown. I'd prefer seeing a slightly toned down version rather than have it never reach the West at all.

This is without considering the technical obstacles that a direct translation brings. The words do have to fit the mouth movements, and if they don't, truncation must follow.

America and Japan are different; the population of the former are not going to comprehend the references to the latter's history and culture, which necessitates some divergence from the original to give it mass appeal.

Anime is a branch of entertainment. It has to attract the public's good will to stay in business. If impenetrable, it'll fail, with all the resulting unemployment and finacial losses that brings.

Those in charge of dubbing understandably think they're on safer ground promoting familiarity rather than the strange, but that's not to say Pokémon was stripped of its identity. On the contrary, it was like nothing I'd ever encountered before.

I may have watched Western cartoons then, but the idea of doing so now is silly. I won't give time to any modern animation unless it's Japanese. Growing up on the dub has not produced an ephemeral fan less serious or 'true'.

The 4Kids dub had wit, humour, deep emotion, suggestive comments and flights of fancy. The voices fitted the characters well.

Unlike the current one, where everyone sounds on the verge of vomiting, but then they're clearly working with substandard material on a miserly budget. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear after all.

Dubs can be bad, but the very state of being a dub doesn't confer worthlessness automatically. Considering the work gone into them, attempting to gain your favour, it seems rude not to appreciate the time and energy spent in production.

Knowing a little about history, sub-only fanatics remind me of the kind of folk who opposed an English Bible, because it was too good for the oiks to read the word of God.

Of course it was alright for them, rich enough to be taught Latin, but not so much the ordinary man.

It amuses me how dozens dismiss the dub, but see no hypocrisy in using its evidence to further their ship or anti-ship arguments, so it can't be that revolting.

It's also bizarre that so many hold sacred the sub of a series currently in a frenzy to shed every aspect of its anime and Japanese origins, leaving a vague, rootless ghost, supposedly making it easier to slip down the gullet of the masses.

Pokémon I've seen referred to as a 'gateway drug', as in the anime that introduced a generation to the entire concept. This means the dub. You would not have got enough kids in the late Nineties to read a screen rather than watch it, and even today most would lose interest rapidly.

Where would you be without that dub? Unless you're Japanese, your first experience of Pokémon will have been a dub, and if not the American, the one where you live, which was only made because there was the funds available.

You may have then progressed to watching the sub, but only because that dub stirred love in your soul.

Where would the franchise be without that dub? You think Pokémon would've grown to be a world-wide obsession raking in billions by itself? No, it'd still be a solely Japanese phenomena, and most likely never lasted this long.

Its decades of supremacy rests on the quality of that dub. It sold games and merchandise to kids by the ton, giving an incentive to keep the series going. If you're not a fan from the first wave, then your favourite era would have never existed had it not been financially attractive carrying on.

The team who wrote the first film actually preferred the dub, moved to tears by its emotive use of music, therefore they aren't so precious as the fans.

Where would anime be without that dub? Pokémon brought it to the West. A handful slipped through previously, but made minor impression.

To those who would dismiss Pokémon entirely in favour of more 'worthy' output such as Studio Ghibli, I would say that Pokémon, first the games, then the programme they inspired, must have an integral quality to have caught on in Japan, which isn't exactly short on similar concepts.

To have gained popularity in a crowded market, and so fervently a dub became an option, can only have come about because it held a certain magic.

It was the dub that smashed a hole in the cultural barrier, setting free the tidal wave to engulf the world. In Pokémon's trail followed Digimon, Cardcaptors, Monster Rancher, Yu-Gi-Oh! et cetera.

Without Pokémon, I doubt they'd have been translated, and definitely never broadcast on mainstream television. That came about as channels desperately hunted down anything Japanese to serve as the next craze.

I really appreciated the effort made by 4Kids in converting every aspect of the series to suit American tastes, including changing text on signs, letters and books into English. I assumed this was standard practice until I watched others.

I could never be as involved in them as I was Pokémon because of that block. It was like being denied access to the deeper waters, fenced into the shallows, and implied a rushed dub, with little care shown but to chase the same crowd and money.

If personified, the dub 'n' sub wouldn't be one human being, but rather identical twins: the same to a casual observer, but easy to tell apart by the more attentive.

It's like the games: Red and Blue are versions of a single adventure, but not totally one. Take the dub and the sub the same way. They are parallel dimensions running on separate rails, and beyond reconciliation, and that's before we consider that, sub and dub alike, each generation has only a faint relation to its predecessor, working on its own whims.

Everyone has a favourite, or can like both, and there's nothing wrong in that, but so many are proud of the fact they hate the dub, as if it conveys a revered status of supremacy.

When Disney films are shown abroad, they too are translated, and I'm sure references and jokes are redesigned to make sense to the locals. It's no use selling yourself as a comedy then being surprised when the audience refuses to laugh, having no idea what you mean.

If people prefer that one, for being what introduced them to Disney as a whole, or as a fond memory of childhood, then so what?

I don't mind if their view of a character is minutely at odds with mine, having seen the original, because what they think is canon to their version, so can't be wrong.

I don't go round declaring every Disney dub to be pathetic by its nature, that viewers of them are of a lesser breed of fan for preferring their own tongue, even though more of the world's population understand English than they do Japanese.

If you enjoy one tailored to your country there's no crime in it, just as I like one at least comprehensible to mine. It's not even my culture, but I pick it up mostly.

The choice must be made on which to follow, and this blog runs on dub canon, as that has a claim on my heart. Just because I don't acknowledge what takes place in the sub doesn't mean I'm unaware of it, but it has no bearing on what I write.

The idea that the dub alters things willy-nilly without rhyme nor reason is also mistaken. Often it does it because the original does not make sense.

In the sub, I know Nanny and Pop-Pop are just a couple of old duffers taken at random and dropped in to a castle, supposedly as James's far away nannies.

Oh yeah, that's a cushy position. You doing a lot of child care from miles off?

Mind you, it used to describe 'em as 'caretakers' on Bulbapædia, as if Nan serves as housekeeper whilst Pop tends to the garden.

That's right. Ma and Pa finally got some work out of this pair of freeloaders.

They're not related, remember? No, no, absolutely not, no way. Of course their style reflects that. They just gave Pop a 'tache, thick eyebrows and a bigger nose, and Nan got a bun and lines in her hair, but there's certainly no connection. Oh no. Such a thing is ridiculous.

They're NOT family. No. Yet Hoenn James still panics they might learn he's joined Team Rocket, spending the whole episode trying to hide the truth.

Why? Who are servants to criticise the son of their employers? Why should their opinion be of any consequence to Hoenn James, especially when his parents, fiancée and butler are cognizant of reality?

Children of aristocrats are usually brought up by governesses, thus develop a stronger attachment to these figures rather than their parents, but that isn't the case here.

James lived with Ma and Pa, not the codgers minding the castle. He would have very little contact with distant employees compared to those who waited on him daily, so why seek out their approval?

Hoenn James apparently was permitted visits to Nan 'n' Pop, which is strange considering they're not relatives. Why them and not any other house-stters?

That's right, Ma and Pa sent their son to one of their properties without them, entrusting him to the care of two shrivelled pensioners of his size that he barely knew, and who could keel over at any minute. There are no other servants present. Apparently Nan and Pop clean an entire castle by themselves.

Oh, and they run a makeshift Pokémon sanctuary, but since it's not their home it has to be done with Ma and Pa's blessing, who also have to pay for it, but they're eevul aren't they?

The idea that somehow Nanny and Pop-Pop have not cottoned on to James's occupation by now is risible.

Servants gossip about their masters. I bet the entire household of his home know, and so in turn does the county. That Nan and Pop remain oblivious proves how isolated they are, for no one's thought to inform them.

When it came to dubbing it, they were made his grandparents, removing all the above nonsense. Of course he visits his nan and granddad, it's their gaff and their money funding the place, and it is likely his mother or father would keep James's job a secret, for fear the shock would finish 'em off.

It should do really. If they're not bothered by it that's a sign of where his rapscallion ways were inherited.

They aren't facially akin to Ma and Pa, but display the same additions, so if staff it's bloody lazy, as if nannies have to resemble your parents, but inventing a blood link excuses the slothful characterisation.

Every reference I've seen on Tumblr relating to the coffin-dodgers calls them Nanny and Pop-Pop. Apparently the dub decision is met with universal approval. It does have redeeming aspects then.

Now the sub writers, rather than ignore this development, took to it too. They aren't exactly bursting with ideas these days and are probably grateful for the lifelines offered.

Remembering James had parents, they forced a likeness between them and Nanny and Pop-Pop. How else do you explain the inexplicable ageing, even when Sinnoh Ma and Sinnoh Pa are younger than Ma and Pa?

I've also known for years that the sub has this woman as Jessie's foster mother, not Ma Jess, but that's stupid.

I can grasp the idea that Jessie and Ma might have endured extreme deprivation, considering that's what Team Rocket has brought to Jessie anyway, and that they may have lived at the bottom of Mew's mountain prior to Ma's death.

What I find difficult to take in is that social services (or as they're known where I live, the S.S.), however notoriously awful they are, would give a child to a mad bitch in a shack with no running water.

Come on, they have to at least pretend to be concerned for Jessie's welfare.

As Jessie is very young, bereavement can't have befallen her in the distant past, so how can she be happy this soon after becoming an orphan? How could the grieving period be a cherished memory?

If that woman's creaming off the money, why hasn't she fixed the place up by now? Where do the payments go, sniffing glue?

Then there's the depiction. If this is just some daft bint never to be mentioned again, why do they conceal her face? Who cares what she looks like when she's unimportant?

Here's another figure from Jessie's past. She isn't disguised, and why not when she too briefly appears and is then forgotten?

Who was she?

The only sort of characters they tended to hide were other members of Team Rocket:

During the early scenes featuring Giovanni, he was enveloped in shadow, adding both intrigue and a sense of menace.

Madame Boss also got this treatment, even though there was probably no intention to ever feature her in the anime. What's the use in keeping an appearance a mystery if it'll remain masked?

With that pattern, it implies this woman is in the same category, like Ma Jess.

When it came to animation, it definitely was intended to be a foster mother. Not her real one. No.

What did they do?

They gave her Jessie's skin tone and purple hair hanging down her back!

You know, like Ma Jess?

Any colour would've done. Any at all, and being anime I do mean any colour, but no. The choice was made to give her the looks of the exact person she's not meant to be!

Is it that surprising the dub simplified things?

I don't mind if you like the dub, sub, both, or any from around the world, but I'm tired of the smug condescension, as if we all agree the sub is the only one that counts, and that dub fans are grunting troglodytes, or not 'proper' aficionados.

None of us would be here were it not for the dub. Pokémon would not be here. I think it deserves some respect for how much of a difference it made, to my life and to yours.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

HERE'S WHAT I JUST REALIZED ABOUT REST

Screens were a lot smaller in 1998. He was the original young founder. Any society of that type is awful to live in. It's ok to bring all the founders to meet an investor because you're not in fundraising mode, because that's fundraising. I don't want to print vague stuff like fairly big. Fundraising is not what will make you successful. Facebook all began this way. We funded one startup that's replacing keys. There is no external opponent, so the kids become one another's opponents. As this new kind of writing draws readers away from traditional media, we should be prepared for whatever PR mutates into to compensate. For describing pages, we had a template language called RTML, which supposedly stood for something, but which in fact I named after Rtm.

On the Company page you'll notice a mysterious individual called John McArtyem. The cat had died at the vet's office. Introducing an investor to your cofounder s should be like introducing a girl/boyfriend to your parents—something you do only when things reach a certain stage of seriousness. He didn't say anything, but I didn't realize that the reason we nerds didn't fit in was that in some ways we were a step ahead. But partly it was because our lives were at times genuinely miserable. Most programmers wish they could start a startup by just writing some brilliant code, pushing it to a server, and having users pay them lots of money. For the rest of the class, I just skimmed the Cliff's Notes, it turned out to be in the 90s, to get users you had to render display text as images. They didn't sell either; that's why they're good at it. And I have no problem with this: in a specialized industrial society, it would not have been a good startup idea, it's not because you're supposed to have a plan.

Even YC's haters buy it. We put cgi-bin in our dynamic urls to fool competitors about how our software worked. This wouldn't refute the author's argument, but it was a crushing impression. Kids, almost by definition, lack self-control. We could see the problem was one that needed to be solved though. You're also surrounded by other people trying to take advantage of one another, you have to be more popular. The fact that you can change font sizes easily means the iPad effectively replaces reading glasses.

The three main causes of the Civil War were. His motive is partly that it would worry them, partly that this would introduce the topic of sex, and many children are just intrinsically cruel. Now I know I don't. This is fine; if fundraising went well, you'll be able to do it as a group. A few months ago an article about Y Combinator said that early on it had been a one-man show. There are two things that take attention: convincing investors, and negotiating with them. We put cgi-bin in our dynamic urls to fool competitors about how our software worked. So better a good idea because it started with a few tens of thousands from something like Y Combinator or individual angels, then 2 raise a few hundred thousand we can hire one or two smart friends, and if we raise a couple million, we can hire a whole engineering team, etc. At the schools I went to, being smart just didn't matter much. Whereas a PhD dissertation is extremely unlikely to. It's not surprising we'd have an inborn desire to love and protect helpless creatures, considering human offspring are so helpless for so long. Which is why it's good to have the upper hand over investors, if you want to apply to multiple incubators, you should on the whole err on the side of solving problems by spending money, and partly a larger part than he would admit that he doesn't want to tarnish himself in their eyes.

Thanks to Jessica Livingston, Sam Altman, and Robert Morris for their feedback on these thoughts.

[corwynnasmith]

In honor of posting the first chapter of Put That Kid Down’s sequel, What You Wanted, I’m gonna give everyone what they never wanted.

Volatile, untested writing tips on making your murdery character sympathetic from an amateur! (These can also be used for making sympathetic villains, with or without murder, but I’m just going to focus here because my most morally screwed characters are usually the protagonists).

1. You can introduce the character in a non-murder, positive context. First impressions matter! Don’t start off a supposedly sympathetic character waist deep in entrails and gore. (Though you could pull that off with a joke, if you’re cool enough.) This could be through:

    1a. A #gooddeed. Help a child get a kite from a tree. Save a worm from drowning. Etc. This gives a positive impression of the character that can cause readers to forgive flaws more easily down the road. Like murder.

    1b. A relatable situation. Get stuck holding the door open for a whole line of people. Worry about what to get their never satisfied mother for mother’s day. Etc. This makes the character more human, less murder machine. People look for reasons in humans, and don’t immediately write them off just because they do terrible, terrible things.

    1c. A positive relationship & interaction. Pet the cat they take very good care of and call “Baby.” Hug a friend goodbye with a thanks for the advice. Etc. This is a Redeeming Connection that can make people look a bit harder at the character for explanation when they show their true colors, instead of shoving them in the murder box right off the bat. HOWEVER this one can backfire into making them seem more terrible if manipulation/deceit is the basis or SEEMS TO BE the basis of the relationship. (The Murder Beard Syndrome - ‘I’m not your ordinary serial killer because I have a real FRIEND’ becomes ‘they are definitely just a serial killer using that person for cover’ - so be careful).

    1d. Miscellaneous because I bet you can come up with more, am I right, folks?

2. You can give your character a plausible reason. Sure, we all want to occasionally write a rebel without a cause, but characters that murder for seemingly no reason can be a hard sell outside certain groups (know your audience lol). This can be:

    2a. An actual Good Reason. The people killed by your character are in a kill or be killed situation with no real alternative. Or they are infected with something that cannot be cured (coughzombiescough). Or they are being forced to by an outside power. Or it’s a mercy kill, even. Etc.

    2b. A seemingly good reason. This reason can be explained. It may not be the best option or the most moral option (or even a moral option at all), but it has weight. For example, killing prisoners of war. This is not good morally, but from a utilitarian standpoint, can be explained. Revenge schemes also follow this viewpoint - taking vengeance can be explained, even if it’s morally iffy to bad.

    2c. A bad reason. I know I just said MAKE IT PLAUSIBLE. I know I just said that. But hear me out. This works best when combined with (3) below, and is seen in the popular show Dexter. Your character wants to murder people for a reason, but it’s a bad reason and they should feel bad.* For example, they crave something about the murder, like it relieves a stress or gives them a sense of control. This could even be the character that just finds killing fun, though that is a thin line to tread. Maybe your character can’t stand rudeness or hears certain people’s life force like a thin, high pitched noise and is just trying to make it quiet (though that is almost 2b). So many bad reasons out there. Run free.

*Feeling bad is not actually a requirement. See Dexter again, in the beginning.

3. Give your character a code. This doesn’t have to be a moral code, but the closer it fits to the popular sense of morality, the more sympathetic your character will be. This lends itself well to vigilante killers, which tend to hover between 2b and 2c regarding motivation.

4. Remember your character needs a life outside killing / doing terrible things. In order for anyone to have a fully fleshed character, there needs to be depth. Hobbies, jobs, dreams, fears, goals that aren’t necessarily geared towards (in this case) murder. A past and a future. Relationships, good and bad. Of course, throwing in random tangents to your plot could through your readers for a loop, so it’s best to work these things in as actual plot elements. For example...

    4a. Introductions. Does your character need to meet someone plot relevant? Have them attend the same sewing circle - you know, the one they joined because they didn’t want the skills passed on by their beloved elder to go to waste! The same business meeting where you reveal your character’s work ethic / passion for their job! Speed dating to show your character’s desire for love! Etc.

    4b. Complications.** It isn’t a story if your character never struggles! Introduce a relationship as a barrier to getting terrible things done due to obligations, hilarious and inconvenient timing on the part of the loved or hated one, or simply scheduling problems where your character’s calendar is #toofullforcrime. Maybe tear your character between two conflicting goals, the first being your murder-adjacent plot and the second being a passion for a hobby/job/relationship/etc. Have fun with it! Torment them!

    4c. Facilitations!** Sometimes, things go right! Maybe your character needs to infiltrate an organization, so they use their skills gained from a certain hobby or past employment to ingratiate themselves with the target organization! Every hobby has a potential application in murder and villainy if you just try hard enough.

**If you use a hobby, job, relationship, etc. as a facilitation or complication, it is best to have it be mentioned briefly as part of a daily/weekly routine, or during the plot’s “downtime” before having it spring out of the box in its True Form as a plot element. This makes the story seem planned ahead gasp. However, having it spring out of the ether can be a good reveal for it if you’re aiming for comedy or shock value.

5. Judge your audience’s Taboo Level / know your audience. Or choose your own Taboo Level. Draw a line somewhere. This is not a line your character has chosen, or will mention, or even knows about. These are just actions your character will not be doing in the story. Some Evil Deeds are instant death for a character’s sympathy standings, based on your audience’s values. Some almost universal ones*** are:

    5a. Betraying the Connection to Humanity. Unless your story is about descent into madness / darkness specifically, your character taking the very thing that made everyone sympathetic to them and murdering/destroying/giving up on it can be Very Bad without a strong redemption arc planned. (If it is about the descent, then this is the turning point that makes your story lol) This can be played off as Very Dramatic instead if it’s for a good reason / seemingly good reason. Popular ones would be: 

For Your Own Good

Because I Don’t Deserve You

The Connection is Actually Evil

The Connection is Accidentally Killing the Character

Etc.

    5b. You- you should be able to come up with this list on your own lol Please just know your audience and also your own limits. And whether or not you’re willing to take the chance the behavior might be normalized by your depiction, too.

6. Emotions are important. What your character is thinking and feeling and telling themselves about what they’re doing are key to sympathy. If the POV permits, you can have some thoughts and feelings floating around, but it’s best to show it. Let your audience sleuth out the truth through your character’s body language, actions, word choice, tone, etc. You can, of course, explain the cues as you give them, like a nervous fidget or an impatient glance. If your readers can’t understand your character, ever, they will not empathize. They will not care. Don’t just have a string of actions one after the other - let your character react.

7. Have fun with it. If you don’t like what you’re writing, chances are your readers won’t, either. I know writing itself is hard and arduous, so maybe you won’t have fun with the actual writing, but the end story should be something you want to read. You can keep these tips in mind or throw them out the window as long as you’re writing for yourself. (But Cor, you JUST SAID- yes, keep your audience in mind for readability/understanding/values, but when it come to the actual story and its characters - those are yours).

Keep writing!

[alcalavicci]

Discussing Mr. Paracelsus, Who Are You?

daisymum: “Okay, now that I'm sitting down with the time to write something substantial, my mind draws a complete blank. (Doesn't it always work like that?)

“Anyway, I'm a big Michael Rennie fan & came across this VHS tape of mystery. The guy that found it originally picked it up at a used book sale because it was labelled as a Sherlock Holmes spoof. It's a pristine example of classic late 60s camp and a complete tour de force for Dean Stockwell. He plays a milquetoast undergrad in turn of the century Boston who gets possessed by an immortal 16th century alchemist. Horrors! Stockwell goes from being completely virginal to an out of control seducer (and sorcerer nonetheless) while vamping his way all around the town, in a blink of an eyelash. ‘He's either drunk or been smoking hashish’ is how one character describes him. (How's that for a subtle drug reference?) He kidnaps orphans & sells them into slavery! He marries his fiancee & makes a less than honest woman out of his secretary! He snows his parents & then trys to take over the board of directors at his father's life insurance company! He casts spells using various potions & other nefarious means to further him along his path of complete & total local domination! ‘It's a bit beyond the long arm of coincidence, wouldn't you say?’, is how Michael Rennie's character describes it.

“Michael Rennie himself is terrific & gets to do things you normally wouldn't associate with him, but he's very very good at it nonetheless. He plays a Sherlock Holmes-type professor with tongue firmly planted in cheek, and then later he gets to don several different disguises while spying on Our Villian. The comedic timing is dead on perfect & they obviously had a lot of fun filming it. I strongly believe it was filmed sometime between 1966-68. It's very high camp, in a good way, and Screen Gems spent some money on filming it; there are relatively elaborate sets and costumes, exploding glue factories, dangerous battles to the death, etc. A lot of work went into the production & I wonder why it was shelved. The pacing of the plot is a trifle uneven (when they try to cram in a little too much of the plot into one scene instead of spreading it out over several scenes. That's not a very good description, but if you've ever watched Lost In Space you know exactly what I'm talking about), but it's nothing out of line for what was being broadcast at the time, and could have easily been remedied. In fact, it holds up remarkably well...it's an incredible lot of fun, lo, these almost 40 years later. And like I said, the comedic timing & the overall acting both are perfect as perfect can be. I really do wonder why nothing ever came of it.

“Anyway, most of the credits are missing so not a lot is known about the production. The names on what remains of the credits are all from Screen Gems, which was in high cotton back in 1966/7, with Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Flying Nun, and especially The Monkees all currently in production & making them a ton of money (and a good deal of money was spent on this as well). Like I said earlier, the dialogue is straight out of Batman, and liberally peppered with drug references galore. I've been searching Variety beginning at the end of 1966 for any kind of information, but no luck yet. Harry Ackerman, the producer, was mentioned several times as one whose fortunes were on the rise, and the pilot viewing season for the network executives had ended in March of 1967, and there's no mention of it there either. So maybe it's from the Summer of '67, perhaps? Does anyone know what Dean S. was up to in the Summer of Love? His hair on the tape is a little long (think Victorian mod), so maybe it does date from somewhere around then? What do you guys think?”

daisymum: “Anyway, if you like Dean Stockwell, you're going to LOVE this. He's prominently featured in the entire thing & spends his time possessed for the most part. He sashays his way around the sets, kind of like a vampish Ellis Dee from The Producers, I kid you not. He pulls it off, though, & the whole thing is really fun to watch.”

Jill: “Well, I have just had the privilege of watching Dean in the tape of 'Professor Queed' and what a treat it was! (thanks, daisymum!). Dean hams it up outrageously in Top Hat and a Cape -- I swear, I haven't seen him act up like this in anything else other than Quantum Leap – and I've seen a lot of Dean in a lot of stuff. In fact, it's a bit disconcerting -- there is all of the comedy schtick from his turn on QL, but in a very young and agile man's body, as he leaps and twirls all over the place. This is not the cool demeanor of Wilbur Whately of Dunwich Horror (which is another over-the-top performance, but not purposefully comedic), nor even the weirdness of the Werewolf of Washington. This is more like "Dave" in Psych-Out. If that director had told Dean Stockwell and Jack Nicholson to REALLY play their parts in Psych-Out for maximum goofiness -- well, then, 'Professor Queed' might have been the result -- provided, of course, that we change Haight-Ashbury into Edwardian times.

“And the dating of this film, which looks very much like an unaired TV pilot, as daisymum said previously, is truly a mystery. Because – Dean supposedly wasn't acting for 3 years (in some interviews, he even says 5.....). And yet, 1966-67 really seems to be the date of this show. Daisymum is thinking late 1966, and I think she's more right than she is wrong.

“1965 is too early, because this isn't the Dean Stockwell of Rapture. Besides, his hair is a bit too long in the back in 'Professor Queed.' Not a lot, but the waves are there at the nape of the neck. His face is very much like 'Dave' in Psych-Out (1968), though not much like the 1968 photo we have of Dean from a UK television show of '68 (where he has a mustache and sideburns). I COULD say it's 1968, like I originally thought........but the film quality itself says earlier than that. It just doesn't look like a 1968 TV pilot to me.........it looks a tad bit older than that.

“Okay, here are my clues, Daisymum (and the rest of you can play along, too). One BIG thing I noticed..........the sound effect when Dean performed 'magic' was the same as when Samantha twitched her nose on 'Bewitched.' And this was produced by the same person, I believe? (Harry Ackerman). So we're at Screen Gems, on ABC. Bewitched first broadcast in color during the 1966-67 season.

“A young Juliet Mills is in the cast. I didn't know if she made TV appearances before 'Nanny & The Professor' of 1970, but upon looking her up at IMDb.com, I noticed she started doing American TV appearances in 1965.

“When I was watching this film, I felt that it was influenced by 'The Great Race' (1965) and 'Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines' (also 1965). I definitely see the villain of The Great Race (Jack Lemmon) in Dean Stockwell's performance. Since it always takes TV a year or two to get on the bandwagon of a popular trend, that would put this Edwardian pilot in 1966 or 1967 (with a nod to other popular Edwardian films of that decade - 'My Fair Lady' -1964, and 'Mary Poppins').

“What this means to my 'timeline' of Dean's life...........well, it could mean that Dean had not completely 'dropped out' of acting for 3 years, as is often claimed. And this performance was much more than just 'making money to put groceries on the table.' This pilot required a lot of effort on Dean's part.

“By the way, as much as I like it, I can also see why this pilot didn't sell. The campiness isn't crazy enough to be laugh-out-loud funny, but if you take it seriously it will make you shake your head and go "huh?" In fact, I need to watch this film several times before I truly understand the story -- and even then, I'm not sure I'll completely get it. Also, Dean was the 'guest star,' so I assume the series was meant to showcase Michael Rennie, not Dean. But Dean is in the film so much, that it ends up being about his over-the-top insanely portrayed character, and you can't sell a series on that much weirdness from a guest star. I don't think.” 

[Me: For what it’s worth, I’ve narrowed down the timing for the filming of this to the first half of 1966.]

[coordinatesofher]

EVERYTHING FOR A WEEKEND IN NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

NOLA (New Orleans Louisiana) is such a quirky, fun, beautiful place filled with friendly people and AHHHHmazing food. Walking around the French Quarter and popping in and out of places you will find tons of food and drinks and loads of fun! If you are in need of some local references for food, drinks, or entertainment, then you have come to the right place! Here is everything you need to know to visit NOLA and have the time of your life!

FOODS YOU SHOULD TOTALY TRY IN NOLA:

Boiled Crawfish - Technically, you can find crawfish year round. But, many local will tell you, only eat boiled crawfish during crawfish season! The rest of the year it is either frozen local crawfish or it is sourced from elsewhere.

Beignets - Cafe Du Monde - This is a must! They have been serving Beignets since the Civil War! The line is often long so if you need a back up spot, Cafe Beignet is a great option as well.

Pecan Pralines -  Try pralines or fudge at any of the little shops. Super sweet, but yummy. Loretta’s in the French Market is really good.

King Cake - If you find it, eat it! King Cake is seasonal and typically found during Mardi Gras and it is SO yummy! It is basically a mix between a donut and cake stuffed with cream. You will love it!

Hot Sauce - Spice is a HUGE thing in Louisiana! Every place in the Quarter has dozens of them to try. Some are so hot you have to sign a waiver eating!

Chicory - OK. This is not my thing, but it is very much a NOLA thing. Chicory in Coffee is huge. Personally it isn’t for me, but by all means try it.

Po-Boys - It is a sandwich stuffed with various meats usually fried shrimp or seafood. In the Quarter you can go to Cafe Masperos or Johnny’s Po-Boys or Erin Rose, but the best one in the city and where you will find me every day is Parkview Bakery! It is worth the uber ride, and it is such a great, local, backyard vibe. 

Muffalettas - Central Grocery Co. is a super famous spot for this. I don’t eat meat so I have never had it, but everyone raves about it!

Oysters - Full disclosure, I have never eaten or even tried an oyster, but I have heard that Antoine’s Restaurant or Felix’s is the way to go for that.

Hurricane Alcoholic Drink - Pat Obrien’s is famous for this, but they have them everywhere. 

Hand Grenades - These are a huge thing on Bourbon. Be warned, the sugar masks the liquor and you will be beyond drunk afterward.

Absinthe - Pirate’s Alley is the place for it. 55% alcohol makes it a doozy. Their version is the legal limit.

SnowBalls - I lived for these as a kid, and Hansens is the place in the city to get it.

World Famous Fried Chicken - Willie Maes has been on every food network show and is SUPER famous. It is supposed to be life changing chicken. Now they have created a bit of a chain, but make sure to visit the original location.

Gumbo, Jambalaya, and Étouffée - These will be served lots of places and worth trying. Best spots: Jambayala - Coop’s Place / Gumbo - Stanley's

BEST COFFEE AND BREAKFAST NEW ORLEANS:

My favorite breakfast spot in the whole city is in the Lower Garden District at Hivolt Coffee. It is the best coffee in the city including pour overs and the pastries and breakfast are all great!

If you are in the Warehouse District there is a Stumptown Coffee in the Ace Hotel which is a great option as well!

Brennans is super famous for breakfast. I have never been. But, worth pointing out. Make sure to get a reservation.

When in town, I usually eat at Sasuma Cafe. Cheap, simple, and healthy, something hard to find in Louisiana some times ;)

Another favorite of mine is Surrey’s. To be fair, I have never tried anything other than their pancakes, but I don’t need to! Their pancakes are the best!

Elizabeth’s in Bywater is a super traditional southern breakfast with smothered everything and great biscuits. It is really good and a great way to try southern food!

Ruby Slipper is also a fun spot with cajun/creole breakfast influences. It is probably the best breakfast spot to please everyone and still get to try some unique things.

BEST BARS IN THE FRENCH QUARTER:

Pat O’Briens dueling pianos is a must! It usually has a line, but once you get in it is such a blast. They basically pack people into a room with two dueling pianos that play any song request and everyone in the room sings as loud as possible to classics and shares drinks. It can really be a blast!

Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop is the oldest structure in the city to have a bar so it is a great spot to grab a drink.

Carousel Bar - This bar is inside of a hotel. There is a carousel inside it that moves and is it’s claim to fame. It doesn’t sprinkle my donuts, but people seem to love it!

Pirate’s Alley - if you dare try the absinthe. This is a famous spot and the only place in the city to sell legal absinthe. Fair warning the alcohol content level is HIGH.

Saints and Sinners - Nothing crazy about this other than Channing Tatum owns it so the girls tend to love it. And, for that reason, it is worth pointing out.

Ace Hotel’s rooftop is a really beautiful space! One of my favorite spots. My girlfriend from Los Angels and I always laugh going there cause its definitely like the other Ace Hotels in terms of lack of friendliness and run by New Yorkers. But, still the rooftop bar is super nice!

Frenchmen Street - SUPER famous for Jazz music. Places like the Spotted Cat are where all the greats played back in the day. It is the locals version of Bourbon Street, or at least it used to be. Typically, you can find lots of live music and fun spots.

Tchoup Yard is a super fun spot and great for a day hang out. There are loads of backyard games and outdoor vibes and usually lots of locals just playing corn hole and drinking beers. It is also located right where lots of brewers have popped up which is new to the city, so it is a great day drinking spot.

Musical Legends Park is such a cute romantic spot (maybe the only one) on Bourbon. I think it is only Friday nights, but a live jazz band plays outside and for a moment you feel like you are in a European city. Swoon.

Bourbon Street is filled with dozens and dozens of bars and intoxicated people. It is not where locals tend to hang out, but if you are looking to experience this side of NOLA and have a blast doing it, just pop in and out of all the bars along the street. No destination is needed here.

GOOD EATS NEW ORLEANS:

Cochon Butcher and Cochon Restaurant are both really good spots in the warehouse district with great vibes and food with a local twist. (Cochon means “pig” so that says a lot about what is on the menu).

Peche is a nice restaurant as well. Peche means “fish” so there is a lot of seafood dishes here. Nice vibes. Good food.

Pizza Domenica - Great pizzas and pastas and garlic bread knots, and a nice break from fried food.

Josephine Estelle in the Ace Hotel is a great little spot. More Los Angeles type foods like anything with a vegetable (lol) than the other places listed. Plus, you can pop up to the rooftop bar afterward.

NOLA in the French Quarter is really good. Typical cajun and creole dishes that are really well done. More pricey.

Emeril’s is super famous and fancy pants. I have never been. Heard great things! More pricey.

Commander’s Palace is SUPER famous and supposedly really amazing. Never been. Hard to get a resi. Heard amazing things! Most pricey.

St. Roch is a great stop and my personal favorite place to get biscuits. There are several vendors in this space like a small market and it is a great way to try different foods in the city!

BEST TOURIST STOPS NEW OREANS:

Napoleon’s House (yep, he had a house there that is now a restaurant) The food is not life changing, but it is cool to see. And, full disclosure, Napoleon died before getting to visit this house, so he never lived here, but it was built for him.

There are lots of huge plantation style homes in the Garden District one of which is where Mark Twain used to throw parties. These old southern homes are to die for.

Near there is St. Charles Ave. where 300-400 year old oak trees line the street. You gotta take a trolley ride down this street and see it. It is beautiful.

Jackson Square in front of the St. Louis Cathedral which is the most popular photo spot and dates back hundreds of years.

Cemeteries - Due to being below sea level, graves are all above ground in NOLA. And, many of them date back centuries and are well worth a visit. You can even visit Marie Laveaus (the famous Voodoo Queen’s) tomb. Across from Commander’s Palace is Lafayette Cemetery which is free to visit. My recommendation for a more historical tour would be to visit St. Louis Cemetery where notables have been buried. You have to do a tour, but it’s great. OH, and you can see the period tomb Nicholas Cage had built for when he dies. Kinda wild.

Swamp Tours - This isn’t necessarily “historic” perse other than people having been boating here for centuries and the cypress trees are hundreds of years old. The tours are a whole lot of fun and you get to see alligators out in the wild! I highly recommend doing one to see a completely different type of landscape and life on the bayou.

Museums - There are lots of great museums all within walking distance of each other. So, if you are looking for a break from Bourbon street this is your spot. The WW II museum is one of the best tin the country and a great way to spend the afternoon. There are also wonderful art museums like the Ogden and the Contemporary.

WHERE TO SHOP NEW ORLEANS:

The French Market in the French Quarter is the best place to shop for souvenirs and fun little things. Most of the goods are on the cheaper side so it is fun to walk about. As a kid, this was always my favorite spot!

If vintage clothing is your thing, then Royale Street is a great place for all things vintage. There are several vintage boutiques specializing in unique period clothing.

There are loads of Local shops selling New Orleans designers like Krewe Sunglasses which are great and well worth the stop in.

Magazine Street is my favorite street in the city and it is filled with loads of shops, antiques, and great eateries. It is a great way to spend an afternoon outside of bourbon. Just take the trolley car from the French Quarter.

WHAT TO PACK FOR A WEEKEND IN NEW ORLEANS:

Casual is a way of life there. While a few trendy spots have come to town and people dress more trendy/urban in those spots, for the most part, it is casual. The city is so laid-back and truly no one will care what you are wearing.

Comfy Shoes - The streets and sidewalks are uneven and often cobblestone. Tourism causes a lot of trash. And, rain doesn’t help. So, I recommend comfy shoes like tennis shoes that you are ok to get scuffed up and wet and maybe even just toss after the trip.

Sunscreen - The heat is no joke here!

Hat for sun - A hat or even an umbrella to protect against the sun is a must in the summer and maybe even year round!

Sunglasses - As mentioned above, sun protection is a must!

Backpack - I am a backpacker type of tourist because with all the heat and alcohol you will want water and a place to store your raincoat and sunscreen, etc. Plus, like in any tourist spot, keeping your things safe and protected is the way to go!

Toilet Paper/Kleenex packets - The French Quarter is old and packed with people. The bathrooms aren’t guaranteed to have TP in them so make sure to bring some! Oh and a few baby wipes wouldn’t hurt either!

Rain Coat/Jacket - If it rains, umbrellas are quite difficult on the narrow sidewalks, so a rain coat is the way to go. 

Bug Spray - When it is too cold there aren’t mosquitoes, but GURL mosquitoes are a very real thang there, especially if you are going on a swap tour in the summer!

Cash - A lot of the city will accept credit card, but there are still quite a few places that are cash only. Quite literally some spots have been cash only for centuries. So, I recommend keeping some handy. 

STAY SAFE AND LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!

While the city is without a doubt one of my favorite places, it does have a darker side not all that different than parts of Los Angeles. So, I recommend being vigilant. As a tourist, you can be a target, so while I have never had anything happen, it is a high possibility. Put simply, I would just do your best to keep your wits about you and not flash money. Stay safe!

IN IT TO PIN IT:

Make sure to save this pin graphic to your Pinterest board when planning your trip to New Orleans, Louisiana!

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