#also it’s a little bit funny that the last time i drew the science team And Others i drew gordom with pupils

[the-meme-monarch]

been rewatching hlvrai and drawing along :]

edit i fixed the last one (drew his gun on the wrong arm and it Ate At Me (yes i just flipped the drawing what are you a cop))

#the art gallery #hlvrai #blood #ask to tag #i really wanted the draw the first one just bc in the scene coomer is Standing on gordon’s chest/shoulders lookin down at him #and i thought that was a funny image #also it’s a little bit funny that the last time i drew the science team And Others i drew gordom with pupils #and then immediately dropped it when i started these #fun fact that was bc since i like to make their irises the color of their text #i decided gordon’s should just be the white shine #bc i already draw g-man with white irises and No Doubles #which technically i Should be drawing gman with black irises if I’m doing Text Color=Eye Color but i though the white eyes looked cool #maybe I’ll change that next time i draw him we’ll see

[im-sad-lets-kiss]

Stranger Things Teacher AU

Sorry, it got long

All of the party™ are teachers at Hawkins Highschool (either they never met and became a tight squad of teachers there or the actual plot of Stranger Things, you choose)

Mike (Mr. Wheeler) is the English (I and II) and Creative Writing teacher.

He kind of dislikes English II, but it’s not that bad. He hates the grammar section but he pushes them to do as much reading and writing as possible

HE LOVES CREATIVE WRITING! His students write a short story every week to go with a prompt he gives them.

Sometimes he’ll read his students short stories/ comics he made as a kid.

The students think it was funny how Mr. Byers drew the comics and Mr. Wheeler thought of the dialouge and plot (no matter which AU you choose, WILL AND MIKE WERE ALWAYS FRIENDS)

MIKE HATES FRESHMEN

He has a water bottle on his desk that says “FRESHMAN TEARS”

The whole school hate/loves him. During one assembly he had a dance off with two girls from the dance team (he won)

Will (Mr. Byers) is the art teacher (duh)!

He doesn’t have as many students as most teachers, because he’s a fine art not many people want to take. But that just means he gets to know all of them one on one.

His favorite students call him Mr. Will or Will

He has a secret romance going on with Mr Wheeler. ☺️

His favorite students are usually seniors, and on fridays they play fun kahoot (this is modern) or free draw!

His tables are a fake marble so they can finger paint on them and then wipe it off.

He has a wall in his classroom that’s a mural that the party did (most of it is average or bad, but he doesn’t care)

He decorates the room for Halloween with his first hour class (and mr wheeler because he doesn’t have anyone first hour) and they go APESHIT

Mr. Henderson is the science teacher for juniors and seniors (freshmen remind him of his young self, so he don’t do that shit)

Even though he isn’t the coach of any sports, he is the leader/coach of the robotics club, so most students call him “Coach Henderson” for fun

Sometimes he hears students make fun of him for his teeth/voice but usually he sends them to the principal’s office. When he doesn’t he tells Coach Sinclair about it, and he always duels our special punishments

Coach Sinclair once heard a group of boys imitating Mr. Henderson, so they had to do 10 laps around the school (full sprint) and two months of detention

Dustin is super into his lessons and plans all of them out during the summer, because he genuinely loves his job. He wants to be able to answer every question that’s thrown at him, just like his old science teacher.

They have labs every other day to give students a break from notes, and he’s had at least 12 fires in his room.

Coach Sinclair is a football coach at Hawkins High, but was offered a job as World History/Civics teacher.

He hates Civics, but likes World History.

Civics is for Freshmen, and World History is for Sophmores, which he loves.

One of his students made a countdown on the whiteboard until February 4th and won’t tell the class what it means. Lucas is determined to find out.

He does, on February 4th. Turns out it was National Coach Sinclair Day, And the student brought him a cake. He teared up a bit at this, worried his students didn’t like him that much

His students give him a hard time sometimes (cause they know he isn’t qualified to teach) but they all really like him.

Lucas has the funkiest outfits at school

He always promised that for every test, the classes that have a 90% or above class average, get to see him dance

Eleven (Ms. Hopper-Byers) is the Chorus teacher!

Her students call her Ms.EHB, but sometimes Ms. Elle (yes she decided to hyphenate the name, god)

She’s really bad at quieting down the class, but usually when it doesn’t work she just uses her powers to break a light, then they all get freaked out and quiet

(Sorry repair dudes who constantly have to fix her lights)

She enjoys her class, because she sings good (not outstanding but if she started to sing you wouldn’t tell her to shut up)

Sometimes she loses her voice from having to talk too much, even though she only has to be at school for two classes.

She gets to school at lunch time so she can see the party and plan her classes.

The students think she is dating Mr. Wheeler (though she isn’t, she’s very interested in Ms. Mayfeild) because she’s caught siting on Mr. Wheeler’s desk often

There aren’t any windows in her classroom, so she likes to go on walks outside when she has spare time

She painted her classroom walls baby blue, and it boosts her mood

She’s the nicest teacher in the whole school, and after concerts she takes the class to get ice cream (on the school’s credit card of course)

Max (Ms. Mayfeild/ Coach Mayfeild/ Coach Max) is the PE teacher. She also coaches softball and soccer.

Not a whole lot of the girls like her, because she’s so loud and intense. The boys like her tho, and give her fist bumps and call her bro.

She’s a harsh teacher, but for some reason it’s one of the most popular classes

She hasn’t said she’s gay, but everyone pretty much guessed and ran with it.

Everyone wants to know which teacher she would date if she could, and she hasn’t told anyone except for her favorite student, Charlie.

Charlie never told anyone Coach Mayfeild has a crush on the Chorus teacher.

She loves her Outdoor Ed class the best, they canoe and hike and fish.

(Sometimes it reminds her of the demogorgon)

The principal is Mrs. Buckley (aka Robin. THATS RIGHT. MRS.)

Everyone loves her, and is surprised she is in charge because of her young age.

She used to be the most popular teacher in the whole school (Band/Chorus) then she became administration, then principal

Her wife Heather, is the school nurse

She competes in all the homecoming/prom assembly competitions and tries to make the school more fun for everyone

She’s not too fond of punishing students, so she leaves most of it to the Vice Principal, except for when she hears about homophobic bullying

When she goes off at a homophobic bukky at her desk, she always makes sure the picture of her wife is facing the student

Speaking of Vice, Mr. Harrington is The Vice Principal

He’s kind to all the students, giving them high fives in the hallways, but cracks down in punishments

He’s very loved, but if you hear “do you want to be sent to Mr. Harrington’s office?” You shut the fuck Up

Every day on the announcements he has a “nugget of knowledge” which is just a reminder of the rules that he never enforces, but quickly becomes a meme around the school

One week students start to notice a new ring on Steve’s fourth finger when they highfive him, and rumors fly around. No one even knew he was dating.

He never officially tells the students (it’s not their business), but they notice when he changes his last name from Harrington to Hargrove

Coach Hargrove is a baseball and football coach. He also teaches PE, and gets in fights with his little step sister.

While Coach Mayfeild does Juniors and Seniors, Coach Hargrove teaches Freshmen and Sophmores. He hates them, and they know it.

He’s a pretty rough teacher, but all the girls drool over him. He knows they do, to his embarrassment.

Everyone flips their shit when they find out the meanest teacher ever and the coolest cat in town get hitched

They start acting like clowns, at make jokes (like Billy went soft? Tsktsktsk), But no he isn’t soft, and reminded everyone that when he went right back to screaming at them to do 12 laps.

There’s two more teachers I want to introduce: Mr. and Mrs. Byers (Jonathan And Nancy)

Jonathan is in charge of yearbook staff and is a counselor. Some kids think he’s creepy, but that’s just cause they’ve never spoken to him.

He’s really nice and has a bowl of candy on his desk for the kids

He likes being part of students’ future decision making but enjoys yearbook way more.

He’s quiet and usually keeps to himself

Mrs. Byers is the Freshmen and Sophmore Mary teacher.

The students like her well enough, but not very many people’s favorite.

She likes the class to be completely silent except for group activities and the last five minutes of class.

She’s nice though and brings the birthday kids candy.

She still dresses like it’s the 80s and kids tease her for it (she doesn’t mind tho)

Sorry this got so long and gay, oops

#stranger things #au #headcanons #teacher au #mike x will #mike wheeler #will byers #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #max mayfeild #max x eleven #eleven #jane hopper #el #billy hargrove #billy x steve #steve harrington #robin buckley #robin stranger things #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #jancy

[crayolacrayonhalloweenpacks]

I Think We Have Chemistry

Summary: In which Logan is an indirect matchmaker and Roman uses some truly awful puns to flirt with his lab partner.

Words: 2904

Notes: This was Logince before it was Prinxiety, but eventually I realized how much I love writing platonic bantering Logince, so here we are. This is purely self-indulgent. I know only the basics of chem, so please don't murder me, although if you want to make any corrections that's cool by me.If you want some cool music to jam to after reading this try Dissolve by Absofacto. Thanks for reading!

Read on: Archive of Our Own

Roman loved lab days. If he were someone else, he would probably continue by saying that it was the last class of his day before he was allowed to return home and relax, finally freed from academic burdens. But he was him. So even though he loved science in general, the special thing about lab was it allowed him to actually do something. He enjoyed reading and studying as much as the next guy, but after a while, that could only do so much. Even though it only happened once a week, being able to physically perform an experiment, to work out conclusions for himself and see first-hand how the world worked...well, nothing could compare.

He also looked forward to lab because of his partner. Virgil was a “measure-ten-times-cut-once” kind of guy, and usually that kind of excessive paranoia would irritate Roman, but in this case, he found it almost endearing. Without his researching and proofreading skills, their lab reports wouldn’t be anywhere near the level of accuracy and thoroughness that they were. Something that could be annoying, however, was his lack of reaction to Roman’s attempts at flirting. Case in point: their current conversation.

“...and after that, I learned to always bring a change of clothes for combustion labs,” he finished with a triumphant grin. In the eighth grade, he’d damaged one of his favorite shirts, which read “NEVER TRUST AN ATOM: THEY MAKE UP EVERYTHING”, due to his lack of expertise in using lab equipment. It had been embarrassing at the time, but now it was one of his favorite stories to tell: he, a foolhardy yet earnest student, the victim of an overzealous, malignant Bunsen burner. It usually drew out a hearty guffaw from any crowd, but earned only an alarmed grimace from his lab partner. Jeez. This guy was impossible to impress! He slouched back in his chair, trying to maintain a facade of casualness. “Anyway,” he continued, “what were you saying?”

He felt his brother give him a pointed look from across the room. Roman could hear him already. Don’t waste class time, Roman! Pursue non-academic interests outside of school, Roman! He ignored him. Logan had always been a killjoy. He’d make up lost points on the final.

Virgil peered at the clock and cursed under his breath. “Well, I guess Google exists for a reason,” he quipped, dumping the remains of their half-completed lab down the sink.

Roman laughed, perhaps a little more boisterously than was necessary, and started scrubbing the beaker Virgil handed him. “Yeah, totally.”

The bell rang over the intercom just as they finished cleaning up. “I guess I’ll text you later to work on the report.”

“Sure thing!”

Virgil gave him a quick salute and walked out of the classroom, bookbag draped carefree over one shoulder, gait elegantly loose. His hair was growing out. Chestnut roots emerged in stark contrast to the dye, and one aubergine lock curled like a question mark at the nape of his neck. He watched him disappear into the hallway, eventually becoming indistinguishable from the rest of the sea of students.

He hated thinking that--that Virgil was indistinguishable. Virgil was very distinct. Despite not fitting the classic cool guy mold, he was undeniably cool. Maybe not popular, or athletic, or social, or--okay, he was getting off-track now. Virgil was quiet, but never standoffish. He was true to his word and always held up his end of the work, never slacking off or making excuses. He was precise and grounded and paid attention to the little details. Paired with Roman’s knowledgeability, they were a laboratory dream team. Possibly a dream team outside of lab work as well.

“That’s my chair.” A sharp voice crashed into Roman’s daydreams.

He jerked up, face flaming. Right--the AP chemistry class. “Hello! So it is! Well, I will get out of your way, then!” He scrambled for his books and shoved them into his bookbag. He winced when, in his haste, his lab worksheet crumpled under his textbook, but slung it on his back anyway and pulled out the chair with a flourish. “Sorry about that. Have a pleasant day!” he called to his teacher. Some of the students laughed good-naturedly as he strode out, including the teacher, who turned back to his lesson with a grin on his face. As annoyed as they had been, they still liked him, or at least thought he was decent. Was he not charming, funny, all the things a potential romantic interest ought to be? What was he not getting?

~

“I know you like him, but this is not helping your chemistry grade,” Logan said as soon as Roman got home.

“Were you just standing at the door this whole time?”

“I arrived only a few minutes ago.”

“We take the same route!”

“I walk faster.”

“At least give me an opportunity to sit,” he grouched, but launched into a vent as soon as he dropped his bookbag on the floor, ending the soliloquy with “I’ve tried everything--everything!--and he’s still so…” He sighed, pushing hair away from his face.

“Unresponsive?”

"Yes, exactly! He just nods and goes right back to the class!”

“Perhaps that’s because it’s a class.”

“I know, I know, participation, pay attention, bla bla bla. Jeez, Mom.”

“I’m your brother.”

“Don’t be so literal. My point is, you’d think he’d at least laugh just a little bit. Is that not so much to ask? I told him about the Bunsen burner incident, and he just looked at me like--”

“I’m sorry, the what incident?”

Roman snapped and pointed at Logan. “Exactly like that! Just like I was an--an idiot!” He groaned, draping one arm over his forehead and fanning himself with the other. “What am I doing wrong?”

“Hm.” Logan furrowed his brow thoughtfully, trailing off into silence.

“Don’t just sit there, it’s making me nervous,” he said half-jokingly.

“Well, have you considered that he doesn’t understand?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m saying it’s very much possible that he hasn’t noticed your advances. You may need to stop beating around the bush and be more direct.”

“This is as direct as it gets!”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been making normal conversation. Like how you talk to me--”

“Ew--”

“--so are you certain?”

“Quite--” he started, affronted, then stopped. “Wait.” The inkling of an idea that had just occurred to him started to solidify. Of course! He prided himself on his charisma. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? A little miffed that his ironically aromantic brother had just suggested such an obvious solution, he proclaimed, “Logan, you’re a genius!” and grabbed his bookbag.

“What are you doing?”

“Just a little research, so to speak. Nothing too excessive, but!” He paused for dramatic effect. “Prepare to have your mind blown.”

Logan still looked surprised, but quickly settled into satisfaction. “Fantastic. I’m glad to see your spirits are raised.”

“Talk later, Pocket Bro-tector!” His mind already racing with daydreams, Roman sprinted back to his room, plopped in front of his desk, and flipped his laptop open. He could feel the electricity coursing through it when his fingers hovered over the keyboard, or maybe that was just the adrenaline. Either way, it was thrilling. He typed in a quick search and opened a new Word document to record. This was perfect. What could be more direct than a pickup line?

~

Roman waltzed into lab the next week and snapped up two worksheets from his teacher’s desk. He’d debated putting the plan into action through text over the weekend, but eventually decided it would be more effective in person. So here he was, in person, with a fountain of chemistry puns ready to fall from his mouth at the drop of a hat. There was no way Virgil wouldn’t notice now. Roman seated himself, fingers drumming in anticipation. He was golden.

Virgil walked in a few minutes later, placing last week’s lab report on their teacher’s desk. “What’s up?” he asked.

“Oh, you know. Same soup reheated.” On the other side of the lab, Logan was giving him a questioning look. He grinned back before passing Virgil a worksheet. Their fingers brushed, barely. He swooned.

Virgil’s eyes flew back and forth at lightning speed, scanning the paper. “I’ll grab the equipment if you can get the reactants.”

“Ooh, what are they this time?”

“Copper...some other stuff.”

"Ah! Speaking of copper, are you made of it and tellurium? Because you’re C-U-T-E.”

Across the room, Logan facepalmed.

“O...kay?” he said unsurely. “I’ll just. Get that stuff now.”

Roman turned his back, partially to get the samples, partially to recover. He chewed his lip. Okay. Focus, Roman! You got this! He patted his pocket to reassure himself. He’d printed the compilation of pick-up lines at the library earlier, and it was there if he needed it. Which he wouldn’t, obviously! His natural charm would prevail.

And also, he had the entire thing memorized. He supposed there was that as well.

Roman returned with five Ziploc bags of metal samples. The scale squealed on the tabletop when Virgil slid it over. “Is this everything?” Virgil picked up the manual again.

“Indeed! Let us begin.”

Virgil read over the first page again and frowned. “Hey, you know the periodic table pretty well, right? Which one is eleven?”

See? It’s all working out! “You, because you’re sodium--”

“U?” he frowned. “Isn’t uranium, like, ninety or something?”

“Yes--well, yes, but you see--I, uh--” he stuttered before going abruptly silent.

“What?”

Roman ducked his head, hoping his hair would hide his burning cheeks. “Nothing. Never mind.”

“Uh, sure.” He scratched the back of his neck before holding out a hand. “Hand me the copper?”

~

The bell sounded over the intercom, signifying the end of the period. They had managed to get through the procedure on time, mainly because Roman was too preoccupied with worrying to continue with the pick-up lines. If he wasn’t being as straightforward as possible before, he was now. How was it possible for someone to be so oblivious?

“Same time next week,” Virgil deadpanned, getting up to leave.

Come on, Roman, he scolded himself. The period was ending. This might be the only chance he could get. “Wait!”

“Yeah?” He looked at him expectantly.

Roman cursed the stars. His mind had gone completely blank--so much for memorization--and it wasn’t like he could just pull out the reference sheet right now. “Um.” Very eloquent. Come on, something! “If there was no gravity on Earth, I’d still fall for you,” he blurted.

Virgil stared at him blankly, and without another word, left.

What was that? How had things gotten so bad that he’d resorted to physics? He hadn't even researched that! He was paralyzed. He wanted to dissolve like salt in water, until he was part of the air. He wanted to evaporate and catapult himself out of the troposphere. He snatched up his bookbag and stalked outside to head home.

Logan appeared at his shoulder not long after. “What was that?” he hissed.

He scoffed. “I did what you said. Hypocrite much?”

“When did I say to do--” He performed a series of elaborate, meaningless gestures. “--that?”

“You said to be more direct!”

“I didn’t mean like that!”

“Then what did you mean?”

“I meant a heart-to-heart talk or something!”

“So for me to just--profess my love or something? Are you crazy?”

“Oh, so I’m the crazy one? Copper and tellurium aren’t even particularly reactive!”

“It was a creative liberty!”

“There are no creative liberties in science!”

“There are in the science of seduction!”

Logan huffed. “I’m not even going to validate that with a response.”

“Fine! I didn’t need you to rub it in anyway!”

They were so busy arguing they hadn’t even realized they were already home. Logan’s face softened. “I apologize, Roman. I shouldn’t have behaved so harshly. That was...inconsiderate of me.”

“Jeez, don’t say that. Now I have to apologize, too.”

"Did it really go so badly?”

"At least give me a chance to sit down,” he said, but didn’t even wait this time. “I think he hates me. He didn’t even say anything! Just--left.”

“I doubt that. The worse case is you made things very uncomfortable.”

“Thanks.”

“But even if that’s what happened, you should be able to patch things up and act in a professional manner. If things really aren’t working, you could always request to switch partners, but the school year will be ending soon anyway--” He cut himself off. “I’m not helping, are I.”

“Not in the slightest.”

Logan shuffled his feet. “As a gesture of goodwill and comfort,” he started. “Would you enjoy a hug?”

“Whoa, what? Human contact? From Logan Browne?”

“Well, scientifically speaking, it does release dopamine--”

“C’mere,” he said, throwing his arms around his brother’s shoulders before realizing he had no idea how to hug him. The material of his button-down shirt scratched his neck unpleasantly. He patted Logan on the back stiffly before peeling away.

Logan wrinkled his nose. “That was rather awkward.”

“Only if you make it.”

“Do you feel better?”

Roman paused. “You know what? I think I do.”

“Satisfactory.”

“I’m just glad I won’t have to see him for another week.”

"You can’t avoid him forever,” Logan warned.

“I know,” he muttered.

“Well, when you do have to confront him...I’m more than happy to act as moral support.”

Roman laughed. “That may be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Isaac Nerd-ton.”

He squinted. “How am I more of a nerd than you?”

“The glasses.”

“You have glasses, too--”

“Not anymore!” he declared, pointing to the corner of one eye. “Contacts now. And my eyes have always been better than yours.”

“We have the same prescription!”

“We do not!” he countered, before both of them collapsed in a fit of giggles.

~

“And that’s a wrap, folks! Great job!” Roman’s teacher clapped his hands. “You’re dismissed.”

Thank the stars. Roman had been filled with dread the entirety of lab and the preceding twenty or so hours. It had both relieved and heightened his anxiety when Virgil barely spoke or made eye contact, flushing red and looking away whenever Roman caught his eye. On one hand, he didn’t have to talk about the previous week’s antics, but on the other, the air felt too tense to so much as look at him. Glad that the period was over, he grabbed his bookbag and started towards the door.

He glanced over his shoulder to see where Logan was--he wanted intensely to beat him home for once--only to see Virgil talking to a taller boy who had a wide grin on his face. Roman recognized him as a Patton something-or-other who’d been in his class in eighth grade. They didn’t talk much, but he seemed nice enough. He hadn’t known he and Virgil were friends.

The two of them looked directly at him, Virgil swallowing nervously. Roman wheeled back around, more intent on leaving this time, as Patton laughed brightly. Apparently, he wasn’t so kind. Humiliation boiled in his gut. FIne. Let them laugh at him. He didn’t care. Or, at least, he could pretend he didn’t.

Logan sidled over to him. “He’s coming this way,” he muttered.

“What?”

“He’s walking over,” he repeated.

“I heard you the first time,” he said between gritted teeth, “but what?”

“I don’t know, I just-- Oh, hello. Virgil, is it?” he said coolly.

Roman’s head snapped up. He immediately wished he’d kept looking down.

Virgil stiffened. “Hey.” Behind him, Roman could see Patton giving a thumbs-up so enthusiastic he feared for his hand bones. What was going on?

“How may I help you?” Logan said.

“I, uh. Wanted to talk to Roman, actually.”

“Go ahead.”

“Uh.”

“Whatever you can say in front of Roman, you can say in front of me.”

Virgil scratched the back of his neck, sighed, and faced Roman. “Look, we have lab together, right?”

“Well, yes. We’re here right now.”

“So…” He groaned, burying his face in one hand and muttering something incomprehensible.

Roman frowned. “Pardon?”

“So,” he said, voice still slightly muffled, “I think we…” He sighed. “We have chemistry.”

Roman blinked. His stomach swooped. Was this a joke?

Virgil groaned again. “Sorry, that was just--absolutely terrible. I’m going to--” He pointed at the door.

“No, wait!” Roman grabbed his elbow before he could turn away. “That was.” He searched his brain for a word. “Uh. Thank you,” he finished lamely.

“Oh,” Virgil said. He stood up a little straighter. As if anything about that was remotely straight, Roman thought to himself with a snort. “Uh. I guess I’ll, uh.” He did a quick finger-guns motion.

“Yeah.”

“Cool.” He saluted him and started walking past them.

“Cool,” Roman echoed.

Virgil turned back and gave a hesitant smile. If it weren’t for Logan standing behind to catch him, he would have face-planted on the floor.

Logan waved a hand in front of his face. “Well?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you all set?”

Roman felt dizzy and a little lightheaded, like someone had filled him with helium and released him into an infinite expanse of blue, blue sky. A slow smile spread across his face. “Yeah. I think so.”

~

Virgil did text him, a few hours later.

Virgil (Science) After next lab? Maybe the park or smth

Me See you then

Roman loved lab days.

#sanders sides #prinxiety #platonic logince #roman sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #aromantic logan #sanders sides au #ts creativity #ts logic #ts anxiety #tsfic #fanfiction #my post #my fic

[canalstreetbaker]

Sixth World Storytime

Sit back kids, and get comfortable.  I’m going to tell you about Dozer.

Shadowrun, as most of you are aware, is a cyberpunk hypercapitalist dystopia which we’re slouching to even today, with a bevy of guns, cars, sweet-ass cybernetic implants, corporations larger than any country today with yearly profits in the trillions, and absolutely everything being for sale.  Food is mostly soy and corn reconstituted into a myriad of things and treated with a flavor faucet.  Surveillance is omnipresent but the analysis systems are so bad that those without ID numbers just kind of slide through the spaces between.  Those without System Identification Numbers - without SIN - do not exist.  This is good, and bad.  

Shadowrun also has magic.  And fantasy races.  Specifically it has Orks.  This is important, because Dozer is an Ork in a Human’s world.

(Below the cut we get a little nasty.  Disclaimer for the admins when they eventually fall upon this depravity - this is a fictional event in a fictional world based upon a tabletop roleplaying game.  Back the fuck off.)

In the Underground of Seattle rests a community of Trolls, Orks, and Dwarves no that’s all.  Until recently in 6W canon, the Underground was not recognized as an official District of the Seattle Metroplex - and the Orks liked that just fine.  The Trolls didn’t care much, since they tended to hang with the Orks or their own kind, shared Hurlg (a hyper-IPA with plenty of nutmeg and a caustic that could burn an Elf’s stomach to pieces) and plenty of meatlike substances at bars and restaurants that catered to them.  In short, the Ork Underground was its own little city, with businesses, religion, medicine, and police.

Dozer, an Ork, was a member of the Underground’s police force - the Skraacha. An Or’zet term meaning ‘Scorcher’, the Skraacha handled neighborhood watch, ne’er-do-well training into ‘functional’ members of society.  They kept the peace, supported metahuman rights rallies, beat the fuck out of the local neo-Nazi human supremacists in town (Humanis) and in their off time ran protection rackets and smuggled wepaons.  They loved young, angry Orks with a bone to pick and a chip on their shoulder.  Dozer fit in perfectly.

An aside, this is 5th Edition Shadowrun.  Dozer was built as a cybered ‘street samurai’ specializing in close-encounters of the murderous kind.  His muscles were cybernetic, he had a blade the length of his forearm concealed in his forearm, and he’d somehow begged, borrowed, and stole enough nuyen to install a bespoke Synaptic Booster, which - coupled with an Adrenaline Surge to make sure he always went first - ensured anyone who crossed his fist had a very bad day.  

By the time he retired (a wonderful story in itself, but not the focus of today), Dozer had about 350 karma, 4 Street Cred (after faking his death, a story I’ll tell later), 4 Notoriety, and managed to stay out of the Public Eye until the very end when he stole a nuclear submarine.  Again, a story I’ll tell later.

Dozer had quit the Skraacha after a terrible fight between a lieutenant of the group (Eybyu) and another pipe-thumping patrolman which left both patrolman and lieutenant dead, and Dozer in critical condition with massive damage to his face.  Upon recovery, he promptly quit the force and went into business for himself - running a food truck he’d bought with the “insurance money” that he called C2T Solutions.

(Because you can solve any problem with a Cyberspur 2 the Throat.)

You see, Dozer had also installed a Suprathyroid Gland, which is pretty much what it says on the tin - it’s a carefully engineered runaway growth problem which confers increased strength, speed, and toughness.  It also makes one the terror of buffets everywhere, and after Dozer had been thrown out of the fourth one he decided he was going to start cooking.  And if he was going to cook, then by Dunkelzahn he was going to make enough for everyone.  

Plus nobody looked at the cook unless he had a ponytail and a storied Naval career, so he could use it for information gathering.  Only...things didn’t go that way.

Dozer’s first use of the food truck was when he and a team of pipehitters was hired to cross off a list of names - with bonuses for those made to look like accidents.  There were six names on the list:

* A Federated-Boeing executive

* A Stuffer Shack employee

* An IT goon in a corporate enclave

* A retiree on the state dole

* A city employee with the Parks Department

* A ten-year-old trustafarian in a ritzy enclave

Dozer drew the short straw (or stole them while the rest of the crew argued) and took the city employee, the Stuffer Shack employee, and in a move that disgusted the rest of the team, the ten-year old. How can an Ork just cruelly kill a ten-year old kid?

With cupcakes, Dozer reasoned.  Kids love cupcakes.

In a stunningly macabre display of chemistry and culinary science, Dozer whipped up a pair of dark chocolate cupcakes one would expect to find at a boutique patisserie, both frosted with chocolate buttercream icing. Special icing.

Because icing doesn’t burn off the alcohol content of spiced rum - and Chloral Hydrate (Shadowrun’s version of Rophynol) has double potency when mixed with said rum.

Add in a gaily-wrapped box from an actual boutique patisserie with an Augmented Reality tag noting they were offering gift boxes as a ‘thank you’ to the community they served, and Dozer had created the perfect lure to ensnare anyone with a sweet tooth.  

Ten-year old Trudy stepped out of the schoolyard gate, savoring the fine Bellevue weather as she walked along the road towards home.  She didn’t *need* to walk, but it had been a nice day at school and Trudy felt even better about the day as she could remember the highest points of it while getting that last bit of exercise before the afternoon homework session began.

The sun was shining, the roads were quiet save the occasional yellow bus or GridGuided car taking her classmates to *their* homes.  Allison had suggested Trudy come over to her house for a group study session, but the last time that had happened Allison’s homework looked suspiciously similar (okay, they were exactly the same) as hers.  

“Afternoon, Ms. Appleton!”

The voice caused Trudy to turn and wave with a bright smile, her DocWagon bracelet jangling against her pale wrist.  Two Knight Errant patrol officers leaned against their car, waving back before scanning the area for potential suspects to question and search.  

“Good afternoon Officer Cortez!” she yelled.  “Hi Sergeant Weber!”

The two officers were well known in the neighborhood, and Trudy’s parents had noted with pride the discount they had received on their insurance premiums by agreeing to the surcharge for having physical patrols in the area during and after school hours.  Really, they had said, it was leaving nuyen on the table if they hadn’t, and having security services available during their 12-hour workdays meant they could put in the extra hours at the office but still sleep easy at night.

As she walked past manicured lawns, a smelly groundskeeper trimming hedges, and Augmented Reality picket fence property indicators to her own modest home, Trudy’s day got even better as she spied a specialty cardboard container from her favorite bakery on the doorstep.  She’d never thought that Le Petite Sweet would send a delivery, but someone must have really been thinking of her today to send over such a treat!  Trudy picked up the box before sending the unlock code to the house’s front door via her bedazzled trode patch on her temple - right where her Datajack would be, she thought.

The cool air of the perfectly-adjusted central heating and cooling system brushed against her face as Trudy stepped inside, her commlink downloading personal messages from the corporate grid once her PAN interfaced with the wider house network.  There were two more messages from Allison, one of which was a repeated offer for Trudy to come visit today and do homework, and a second one that her Nixdorf Sekretar agent indicated was a phishing attempt via a picture of a cat playing a piano.  Trudy thought the picture was funny, but not funny enough to allow Allison access to copy her homework directly. Besides, there were much more important things to consider.

Trudy set the box on the dining room table and opened her prize, finding a pair of chocolate cupcakes with a dark chocolate icing.  They smelled freshly baked and sweet - not as sweet as she liked, and without the chocolate sprinkles she always wanted when she would get her weekly treat at Le Petite.  In fact, they didn’t even look quite like the bakery’s signature cupcake - but her stomach growled in anticipation anyway, so she took a bite while going through her homework questions for the day.  The rich flavor of the chocolate was slightly offset by the spiciness in the icing.  Trudy was confused for a moment, then took another bite.  

There was rum in the icing.  Trudy knew because she had stolen a drink from her father’s liquor cabinet, and the dark liquid in the bottle tasted just like this.  The icing, however, was much better than that terrible alcohol.

In no time at all, the first cupcake was gone, and Trudy yawned while sending a message to the fridge unit to pour her a glass of milk.  She felt oh-so tired all of a sudden.  Maybe the nice groundskeeper opening the back door could help her get her milk.

Shaking his head, Dozer gently took poor Trudy upstairs to the bathtub, ran the water, and laid her inside.  He took the box and the detritus from the cupcake, and let himself out the door he entered.

The payment hit his account fifteen minutes later, as medical services screamed towards the house where a drowning had occurred.

There are, of course, several other stories I have involving Dozer and his food truck, Dozer and his old patrolman buddy Stamp, Dozer being thrown off a ten-story building and hitting the pool with nothing more than a bruise, Dozer inventing the term ‘dumptrucking’ as it refers to lateral strategy, and finally Dozer stealing a nuclear submarine and becoming a pirate king with a mage and a decker he’d run with on that last score.

But for today, we’ll leave it with poor Trudy.  Maybe tomorrow I’ll talk about how Dozer changed the outcome of a re-enactment of the historic Battle of Helm’s Deep.

#shadowrun #culinary fuckery #orks is best #sixthworldstorytime

[sapphicscholar]

A/N: Today's chapter is a little shorter, but it made sense to keep it as one coherent scene instead of mixing it in with the next one, which is much longer and will be up on Sunday morning! As always, your comments never fail to make me smile even when it's been a shitty day at work, so thank you for that :)

Chapter Text:

After a long Wednesday spent in meetings with J’onn after his talks with the head of the NCPD Science Division, Alex was grateful to have the opportunity to lock herself away in her lab for most of the day on Thursday, taking a break only to spar with a few of the younger recruits who’d gotten a bit too cocky in the field and needed to be reminded of how little they still knew.

She’d gotten a few teasing remarks and questions when she brought down real soap and conditioner and a hair dryer into the locker rooms to shower afterward, but a stern glare was enough to send them scampering back to their stations. It certainly wasn’t that she was trying to impress Maggie, but she also didn’t want to show up drenched in sweat or smelling funny.

After setting up a few tests to run overnight in the lab, Alex pulled on her coat and headed down to the garage to make it to the bar on time.

She swept through the city streets, weaving in and out of the traffic congestion around the most popular bars and restaurants into a slightly smaller but equally loud neighborhood. Drink specials flashed at her from colorful signs and music wafted into the streets from rooftop bars and open windows.

Counting down the numbered blocks until she got to 32nd Street, Alex pulled into the closest parking spot she could find, walking the last few feet to the bar. Not seeing Maggie yet, Alex strolled inside, taking in the surroundings. It was a more eclectic crowd than she was used to these days, but it seemed like a fun enough place. There were a few pool tables on one side of the room and sign up sheets for the 8-ball doubles competition set up at one of the booths.

“Can I interest you in tonight’s tournament?” a small woman with short-cropped hair asked Alex. She held up one of the sheets and a pen.

“Oh, uh, yeah. That’s actually what I’m here for.”

“Wonderful!” She handed over the sheet to Alex, shifting her weight to one foot and smiling up at her. “Now did you already come with a partner, or are you looking?”

Alex’s brow furrowed at the question that seemed to carry more weight than it should have. “Um, I’ve got a friend coming.” She got a smile in return at that.

“Well then, I’ll let you get that information down. But I’ll have to come watch you play.”

With a noncommittal noise in response, Alex focused on getting her name down with Maggie’s. So far there were only six other teams signed up, and Alex looked around her, trying to scout out the competition.

“Danvers!”

Alex spun at the sound of Maggie’s voice, waving eagerly before shoving her hand into her pocket. “Hey. Just signed us up.”

“Oh awesome. So glad you could make it.”

“Yeah—yeah, of course.”

Maggie shrugged. “Wasn’t sure if this was your scene, or…”

For the second time that night, Alex found her mind reeling as she tried to figure out what it was she was being asked without really being asked. She managed a half-smile that seemed to defer Maggie’s attention at the very least. “Drinks? My turn—you bought last time.”

“Uh, beer would be great. Don’t want to lose my focus for the big game.”

Alex chuckled as Maggie mimed shooting a cue. “Hope your form’s better than that when we play.”

For a moment, Maggie froze, finally letting out a self-deprecating laugh. “Didn’t know my form was that bad. Maybe you’ll have to show me how it’s done…”

Alex’s thoughts drifted back to the motorcycle ride. She wondered if Maggie would feel the same pulse of heat with Alex’s arms wrapped around her as Alex had on the bike. Blinking the image away, Alex forced herself to breathe in deeply and look back at Maggie, who was smirking up at her. “Right, um, drinks first. Yeah.”

“Wouldn’t want you to get thirsty, Danvers,” Maggie murmured at Alex’s retreating form.

By the time she got back with two beers, Alex felt in control of her thoughts once more and ready to beat the competition. She hopped up onto the barstool at a high-top opposite Maggie, motioning with her beer to a pair of two guys in the corner. “I think they’re gonna be our real competition.”

“That so?”

Alex nodded, a serious look in her eyes. “I bet the two big ones don’t even play. They’re just wearing leather to seem like they do.”

With a snort of barely contained laughter, Maggie choked on her beer, wincing as it burned at the back of her throat. “I think the leather’s more about the whole bear aesthetic, Danvers.”

“What?”

“I…um, nevermind.” Maggie shook her head, grabbing a napkin to wipe up the drops of beer that had spilled onto the table. “Tell me more about the competition.”

Before Alex could answer, the woman who’d approached Alex earlier was tapping a cheap pool cue on the floor, drawing everyone’s attention over to her. “Thanks to everyone for coming out and signing up! As a reminder, tonight the bar is donating all proceeds to the Center, so drink up and be happy knowing it’s going to a good cause! And if you remembered your donations, we’ve got boxes out for the food and clothing drive the Coalition to End LGBTQ Youth Homelessness is running.”

Alex felt a flash of guilt when Maggie grabbed the bag she’d come in with and dropped it off in the bins. Not that Alex had known there was a drive, but still.

A moment later, the sound of the woman’s voice drew her attention back up to the pool tables.

“We’ve now got our mini tournament bracket pinned up on the board here, so if you’re on a team, make sure you come up and find out who you’re playing first and when!”

“Ready?” Maggie flashed a dimpled smile in Alex’s direction, and Alex couldn’t help but grin back at her.

“To win? Always.”

With a low chuckle, Maggie led the way over to the board. “Well, looks like we’ll be playing those guys you thought wouldn’t be any sort of problem.”

“We got this.”

Maggie’s gaze dropped to the cocky smirk curling up the corner of Alex’s mouth, and it took the voice of one of their competitors introducing himself to draw her attention up again.

“I’m Pat.” He reached a beefy hand out, and Maggie had to tilt her head back to smile at him.

“Andy.” The other man waved at them.

“I’m Maggie, and this is Alex.”

Alex nodded at them.

“Ah, silent partner? Or is this more of a good cop, bad cop kinda deal?” Andy teased.

Maggie chuckled. “First time playing as partners, so we’ll find out.”

“Always a good preview of what’s to come.” Pat winked at Maggie, who ducked her head and ignored the unspoken question in Alex’s eyes.

“Alright!” Maggie’s voice was a little louder than she’d intended it to be, and she cleared her throat before trying again. “Uh, who wants to break?”

“Ladies first.”

“Figures,” Alex muttered under her breath, stopping only when Maggie elbowed her in the ribs with a quiet, “Be nice.”

Alex broke and shot Maggie a confused look when Andy and Pat cheered her on as well.

“It’s a friendly competition, Danvers.”

Alex forced her lips up into a smile; she might not believe in a non-competitive competition, but she supposed she could make an effort at friendly.

Maggie stepped up to take her turn next, sinking the green solid, leaving them with three balls already pocketed.

Alex easily potted another, and Maggie had to pull her back before she fouled by shooting a second time in a row—not that she really thought Andy and Pat would give them a hard time about it. Alex’s spine stiffened and her whole body froze at the warm weight of Maggie’s hand on her lower back. Breathe, just breathe, was repeated like a silent mantra as she forced herself to stand up and not comment on how the temperature of the room seemed to have risen ten degrees.

Maggie missed her second shot, leaving Pat with an easy angle to sink a striped ball. Andy and Maggie both clapped for him.

“How have you been playing for years with form that bad?” Alex whispered.

Maggie folded her arms over her chest, let out an annoyed huff, and glared at Alex. “I didn’t say I got professional lessons.”

“I’ll show you, alright?”

Alex looked up in time to see Pat sinking his second shot, tying up the game. She forced herself not to smile when Andy missed, and as she grabbed her cue, she reminded Maggie to watch her form.

“Or maybe you just show me when it’s my turn…”

With a shuddering breath, Alex nodded, then sank her shot. “Are you, um, did you…”

“Here.” Maggie grabbed her cue and stepped in front of Alex, motioning to the yellow ball she thought would be her best shot.

“No, this one.” Alex’s hand hovered over Maggie’s hip as she tried to guide her line of vision down to a different shot—further away, but a much easier angle.

“I don’t want to scratch if the cue ball goes in too, though,” Maggie whispered.

“It won’t—not with good form.”

“You know,” Andy drawled, “I think technically the partners bit is supposed to be away from the table, and you play one at a time.”

Alex spun around to yell at him, freezing at the sight of his teasing smile and the weight of Maggie’s hand on her arm, guiding Alex back to her.

“Oh don’t worry.” Pat waved his hand and chuckled, low and gruff. “We’re not gonna interrupt your foreplay.”

Alex could only hope Maggie didn’t hear the undignified squeak she let out, though she thought it was probably a long shot to think Maggie couldn’t feel the way her hands trembled slightly.

“I just, um”—Alex swallowed heavily, her mouth suddenly dry—“we’ll, uh, we line it up. Then when you shoot, you’re gonna pull your arm back.” Alex’s heart hammered in her chest as Maggie’s finger curled around to hold her there for the actual shot. With a silent reminder that she regularly went toe-to-toe with aliens that could snap her like a twig, Alex focused her attention on the pool table, guiding Maggie as she sent the cue ball rolling down the table. She nearly jumped back the second they were done, moving several feet away to watch as it neatly knocked the purple ball into the back pocket without following it in.

Maggie spun around and beamed at Alex with one of those contagious smiles Alex couldn’t help but return in kind.

“Your turn.”

“Right.” Alex managed a tricky shot, only to realize she’d left Maggie with no good options. “Just, uh, just try not to scratch.”

The rest of the competition passed in a daze, and Alex found she didn’t remember the games they won so much as she remembered the random comments Maggie made, her voice barely a whisper and her breath hot against Alex’s ear. She remembered the way Maggie looked bending over the table and the warmth of Maggie’s smile each time she congratulated Alex on a good shot. Most of all, though, she remembered Lucy’s words—those few sentences that had stuck with her for so long, haunting her dreams and nagging at her whenever she let her thoughts stray too far.

It was in the midst of yet another mental replay of Lucy’s suggestion that she was looking for the wrong people that a tiny blonde woman commented on what a cute couple she and Maggie made. “What?” Alex’s voice cracked on the word, and she could feel her cheeks flushing. “I—no—I’m not—”

Maggie stepped in then, her mouth turned up into an easy smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes. “Alex is a”—she glanced over at Alex, who suspected she looked a mess—“friend.”

“Oh.” The woman’s eyes flicked up and down Maggie’s body. “And you? You just visiting too?”

“No.” Maggie shook her head and laughed at a joke Alex knew she must have missed. “Definitely not.”

“Jenna.”

“Maggie.”

“You’re in the final, right?”

Maggie nodded, her gaze darting over to the table where the other semi-final game was wrapping up to determine who she and Alex would play.

“Well, in case you need an incentive to win, what if I promise that I’ll have a drink waiting for you if you do.”

Alex turned away, not needing to hear Maggie’s reply; the flirty smile was answer enough.

During the final, Alex sank her shots as fast as she could, barely caring when she knocked the 8-ball into the pocket, winning them the game and the tournament. She smiled and nodded, not hearing Maggie’s congratulations. She ducked out the moment Jenna came to find Maggie and shrugged off the drink offers, opting to wait until she got home to drink enough whiskey to fall asleep without the night’s memories replaying on a loop.

#sanvers #slow burn #next door neighbor au #alex danvers #maggie sawyer #fanfic #supergirl #ao3feed #coming out arc

[samwellwaffles]

Looking for fics that talk about jack and his anxiety. Any recommendations? 😘

here are some of my favs that have some some good conversations about jack and his anxiety!

Coach Z

summary: Just before the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, top prospect Jack Zimmermann overdoses on his anxiety medication and is admitted to rehab. His future turns from a clear-cut road to the top into an uncertain path filled with therapy appointments, ignored text messages, a group of boys who aren’t there to teach him a lesson about himself, and, of course, hockey.

Something Like This

summary: Jack thought his first year in the NHL would be 100% about hockey, but the reality is so much more complicated. (AU where the Goodbye for the Summer comics didn’t happen, because I had already written 80K words of this. But just because it’s canon doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy long, angsty, get-together stories, amirite?)Alternate summary, courtesy of Dracavia: What if Bad Bob didn’t say anything at graduation?

Better With Time

summary: This fic follows two similar timelines from Eric Bittle’s childhood: the past where he meets his best friend Drew, grows apart from his father the football coach, and experiences the repercussions of being a young gay boy in the South; and the present where he finds new friends and falls in love with Jack Zimmermann, star quarterback of Coach’s new high school team.Over six years Eric is faced with several difficult life lessons, but there is also joy, laughter, love, and self-discovery. More than anything Eric learns that sometimes in life, you really can only get better with time.

A Little Bit Closer

summary: Eric Bittle’s To-Do List:1.) Frame Masters in Library and Information Science diploma and send to Mama, because she never understood the lack of sleep and abuse of caffeine, but she sent cookbooks and money for good chocolate, bless her.2.) Throw away every last highlighted article, graded paper, and syllabus, because they are no longer needed, thank the sweet Lord.3.) Promote the library’s new periodic reading series, because it wasn’t the capstone project for nothing.4.) Harass Boston Bruins star Jack Zimmermann into taking a picture for @BPLWestEnd to promote the reading of his new children’s book, Jacky’s Bad Days.5.) Do not ogle Boston Bruins star Jack Zimmermann’s ass.6.) Fail step five. Repeatedly.

Production Values 

summary: ESPN Films presents… as part of the widely anticipated revival of the acclaimed sports documentary series “30 for 2030”…Out On The Ice: The Jack Zimmermann Story.How Jack Zimmermann rocked the sports community and the world when he came out as the first openly gay professional hockey player in the NHL, all while living out his storybook romance with cooking star, Eric Bittle.Produced and directed by Cassidy Hernandez***It’s hard to imagine Cassidy Hernandez’s career as a producer without Jack Zimmermann, or Eric Bittle’s career as a TV food guru without Cassidy. Their professional lives have been intertwined since the beginning. And now, years later, they’re all together again, not by chance but by choice, to tell a story more than a decade in the making.

Broken Rules

summary: Sometimes life changes really quickly. Sometimes everything happens at once. Sometimes the worst things and the best things are intertwined. Sometimes there are things that can’t be fixed, can’t be solved, only survived.Or: This is what happens when I blithely decide, “Oh, well, at least they wouldn’t end up in THAT situation,” and then my brain explains to me exactly how they COULD.

Baking is Punk as Fuck 

summary: “Yeah, dude, I guess. But, like, this is a fuckin’ liberal arts college, brah. Isn’t everyone in a band?”“I don’t know. I’ve never met anyone in a band before. I’m not in a band. Well, I’m in some school bands, but that’s not really… um. What kind of music do you play?”“…Well.”—in which instead of actually playing hockey, the guys play shitty (pun intended) DIY punk in a band called Soft Hands. classically-trained pianist eric bittle doesn’t quite know what’s hit him.

Maybe I’m Waking Up

summary: It’s almost funny. All he ever wanted was to play hockey, to play in the NHL, to win the Cup. This—Samwell, the team, the Haus—was supposed to be just a detour, but now it feels more like a destination he failed to realize he’s already reached.(Or: Jack signs with the Falconers, graduates, and leaves. It’s the hardest thing he’s ever done. What comes after is even harder.)

Book of Jubilations

summary: Jack knows logically that ACL tears are common enough that his surgeon will have done this procedure dozens, if not hundreds of times, but——but something can always go wrong. Most people in Jack’s situation will recover completely and without incident, but most is not the same as all. Nothing is sure. No one can make promises. He’s had eighteen months in the NHL and no power in the world can guarantee him any more.The plane flies over Lake Ontario. Somewhere thousands of feet below him, the Maple Leafs are preparing to take on the Capitals. His own team is thousands of miles behind him, flying south to California to play the Kings.Jack tips his head back against the seat and cries.

Of the Nature of the Wound 

summary: His first year in the NHL isn’t easy, but Jack has spent his entire life playing through the hurt.

#i think other than coach z these are all zimbits #this is a long list so i hope you find something to enjoy! #honestly one of these days i need to make a fic rec #maybe ill do that sometime during the hiatus #omgcp #omgcheckpleaseo #Anonymous

[theredheadstory]

MY STORY (I): The Redhead behind The Redhead Story

Hi. Hallo. Ciao. Salut. Julia Bell here, founder and writer of The Redhead Story.

It’s wonderful to have you with me; thank you for tagging along as I am on my way to step it up a notch, pushing The Redhead Story to an actual brand level and launching my new, beautiful corner of the internet in just a few weeks’ time. (It’s anything but boring; no, not like this space here, I promise! It will be completely revamped! Eeek, I cannot wait to show you guys.)

Who’s so excited with me?

It’s such a big step with a lot of scary moments, but I am still here.

Now, I know that some of you have been tagging along for quite some time, having seen this blog space changed, tweaked, filled with my personal stories mostly. And I know that there are new faces following, too. That’s why I want to give you more; create more valuable insights and content for you, my readers. Ultimately, you are the engine of what I do.

This is the first entry of an 8-post website/brand pre-launch series called “MY STORY”.

I thought those few weeks before the actual website will be launched and The Redhead Story be presented in a new light would be the perfect time to reflect back on where I have started - just to see how far I have come. Also, since integrity is one of my main values and I always want to stay true to myself, with my personality shining through in everything I do (for the personal touch and approachability, which is super important to me), it might be just the perfect moment to share a little bit about myself. A good starting point for all of us.

Ready? Grab a cup of coffee (I have mine right next to me, with a splash of whole milk), light a candle if you want (I am smelling pumpkin spice right now, my leftover candle from fall, but never gets old), and sit back.

This is why I am who I am.  

A Lesson Learned

A German native, I grew up in a small town north of Hannover, where it’s flat, there are a lot of forests, and also wide open spaces with a lot of horses. Oh, and it’s super close to the North Sea. Going skiing in Austria and vacationing on Föhr (a dreamy North Frisian Island I love) have been my family's favorite annual things to do. And I didn’t complain.

When I was 16, I, for the very first time, felt this desire to go abroad.

It was this time when a handful of people from my high school went abroad for an exchange semester or year.

Combined with my love for languages - especially English -, and my parents’ support, I took the leap and jetted off to America for the very first time in my life, to stay with a host family I had never seen before; to go to a school I had never been to; and to experience a culture I had never immersed myself in. It.was.hard. 

But, spoiler alert: I had the time of my life.

My friends and host family (they are still part of my life and just recently flew out to attend my wedding here in San Diego, for which I am so absolutely thankful) were an integral part in my developing American love story.

Funny, how, now that I am married (expect more posts about how all that happened), the term “American love story” gets such a different meaning.

Then, upon my return home to Germany, I experienced an intense, reverse culture shock. I learned that people moved on without me, that I changed, and that some relationships are not meant to last forever. This living abroad experience should leave its mark on me forever. And I will forever be grateful for that opportunity that literally changed my outlook on life and brought me to where I am today.

As sad and intimidating as it was to see that some people were not who I thought they were, there was a greater lesson to be learned for me:

I’d learned how much more there was to this world. It sparked my fire for travel and new experiences, which has continued ever since.

From a Small Town Girl to a German Expat in London

Education furthered my travel bug. I finished high school. While working towards my Bachelor’s Degree in Germany for Political Science and American Studies, I continually hopped back to my previous host family in New York.

Then, London drew me in for my Masters.

I initially didn’t want to pursue my Masters degree but thinking of combining it with another study abroad experience just made so much sense. I saw this as an immense opportunity, both personally and professionally.

And so I started sending out applications. Goldsmiths College, University of London, is where I should be going; Political Communications it should be.

Fast forward, equipped with one suitcase and a carry on, I began a new adventure back in summer of 2013

While in the heart of the UK, I traversed Scotland, England and Ireland. I was over the moon with all these places I could explore so easily, as they were right at my fingertips.

With these red locks, I fit right in. (I always call specifically Scotland my spiritual home.)

It was my UK travels that launched this blog : The Redhead Story.

Fueled by a love of writing and need for a creative outlet, I began travel blogging to share my experiences. (I am a chatty little ginger, as my mom would say; this hasn’t changed throughout the years.)

As I poured in more energy, my skills and tools improved - like upgrading camera types and image styles (still a lot to learn in that realm, but already looking into a new camera now that a new website will be launching and high quality content is important to me). But that’s the beauty of life; both then and now, there’s always still so much room to grow.

This is also when I began writing for other blogs or even smaller travel brands.

By that time I already knew that this is something I want to do full-time at some point in life. But it seemed unreal. (And here I am now, just having wrapped up my full time job to focus on this little business, so near and dear to my heart.)

After graduation from my Masters, the next chapter was a mystery.  

How an Opportunity Landed Me as a Travel Blogger in California

I returned to Germany in late summer of 2014, deeply unhappy. I wasn’t sure where my life was going but one thing I knew for sure: I needed to be somewhere abroad. I started a job in a marketing firm but day-dreamed of packing my back and jetting off to the U.S. in hopes I would figure life out, or simply back to London. But we all know: both would have been quite costly in the long run.

A new year, and I joined the team at the German American Chamber of Commerce California. Working in their Cultural Exchange program was the melding of my life thus far : bilingual language skills, international collaborations and, specifically, working with the United States, a place so dear to my heart.

I still found myself in Germany but hey, at least I communicated with people from the U.S.

But life is a beautiful thing and even though I am a planner, not knowing what comes next can be quite thrilling.

Then, THE opportunity came : The chance to continue as a part of the organization in sunny San Diego.

It was an immediate YES.

How San Diego Travel Writing Has Empowered a Balanced, Healthy Lifestyle

It was a matter of about what - 3 weeks? And off I was, California bound. This was all so very unreal.

I arrived in San Diego. I had my a room lined up. I knew the office address. The rest was a blank piece of paper. I needed to write my story. More so: I had the opportunity to write it in a place I have never been but dreamed of going for so long.

Being here has fueled my desire to see more of this diverse country. It has given me so many other new opportunities I am so thankful for. It’s not all roses and butterflies, but since I set foot on California’s southernmost city’s soil, I found a base, a home. Certainly, meeting my adventure pal over here who I will be sharing life with from now on (a separate post about that is to follow) plays a huge role in that.

Ever since, I have relished my work, America’s Finest City and pursuing my travel writing.

Throughout my time in the UK, Germany and the States since, I’ve written for a variety of outlets, collaborating with various publications to create content that helps readers to truly experience a place.

Because traveling isn’t just about seeing a site. Traveling :

Expands your mind.

Is a process of personal growth.

Is my favorite way to achieve a balanced life.

With slow travel that is : Diving into one city or area for longer periods of time. Even if very active, it lets us slow down and gain appreciation for our surroundings.

Whether exploring the Arizona desert, hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, or walking small towns in England, I also believe travel is the best way to internal reflection. Especially the more we can get outdoors. The chance to walk. To hike. To ride through a city by bicycle.

I’m passionate about seeing the world up close. Not from a car window. I love going slow, soaking it all in - reflecting.

As I continue life as a German expat in the U.S., I will continue writing, sharing stories of exploring my backyard, going on day and weekend trips, shorter and longer getaways in the U.S. and across borders.

A Journey of Traveling & Personal Growth

I invite you to join me on my very personal journey and see the world through my eyes. It is about personal growth - because that’s what exploring does to you: It changes your perspective on things, in a good way. It allows you to see a broader picture, interact with people, understand more.

By no means am I a travel expert, but I have one thing: passion. A passion for sharing personal experiences, creating my story and ultimately inspiring yours.

I hope the new The Redhead Story corner will be an inspiration for you and I am excited to hopefully hear more about your stories, about how exploring and “going out there - doesn’t matter where - has impacted your life and perspective on life and furthered personal growth.

Thank you for being part of this (life) adventure.

Because adventure is what you define for yourself.

I hope you got to know me a little better and understand where I am coming from. If you have any questions, I’d love to hear from you.

___________________________________________

The next post of my 8-post website & brand pre-launch series will be highlighting my approach to travel and how this has changed. Stay tuned!

Instagram // Twitter

#branding #my story

[review-duck]

Life is Strange : Before the Storm Episode 1 : Awake

Repost from previous blog. Warning, Life is Strange and Life is Strange Before the Storm spoilers (not huuuuge spoilers but still, so you do you.)

Last night I was fixating on my ps4, watching the countdown, waiting for midnight croissant-time (Paris GMT) to be able to play Life is Strange : Before the Storm that I pre-ordered (Deluxe version that allows you to have bonus outfits, mixtape mode and a bonus episode at the end with Max). So the clock stroke midnight and I played until 3.30am.

You have to know that when I play, I go everywhere, I talk to everybody, so if you don’t, I guess you can finish it in 2h30.

I was really nervous as I hit « New Game » as I was really expecting it, to learn more about Chloe and Rachel, but knowing it was from a totally different studio and that the Chloe I fell in love with in Life is Strange wouldn’t be the same as her voice actress, Ashly Burch (a.k.a the best voice actress ever, sorry not sorry but a 71hrs platinum of Horizon Zero Dawn and a platinum in the first Life is Strange will do that to you. And Borderlands. And I mean I saved her grandpa and fought Baba Yaga for her in Rise of the Tomb Raider so…) wasn’t able to come back as Chloe. I didn't know that when I pre-ordered it, and knowing the reasons why I kind of regretted giving them money. Link if you want to know more.

So in a mix of fear and excitement I started to play and didn’t stop for almost 4hrs (except for some screenshots and pitiful tweets)

Story

No mosh pit for you shaka brah.

The story begins with Chloe wanting to go to a concert, kind of a playground intro as it shows you the ropes. You make your first graffiti (Chloe’s version of Max’s pictures), you talk to some people, you ponder in front of the fire to think about your shitty teenager life and when you try to enter, you have your first « Backtalk Challenge » which is a list of insults/arguments to help you talk your way into what you want.

So you enter the concert and then you meet your angel, Rachel Amber. And it goes really fast from there.

Basically it’s love at first sight for Chloe, and the next day you ditch school to spend it with Rachel, flirting with her like crazy (if that’s your choice -even if I feel that no matter your choice you end up making a fool of yourself) and that’s basically it. The core of the episode -minus some weird dreams about your dead father and some family drama- was Chloe trying to please Rachel Amber and Chloe falling in love with her and Rachel kind of returning those feelings but when you’re 16, nothing is simple.

Although I liked it, it felt really fast for me. I do believe in love at first sight but this story happening 3 years before the OG Life is Strange, I’m wondering how long the girls are going to spend together before Rachel goes missing. The short life expectancy of the game, being a 3 episodes game, is probably the reason why it’s all happening so fast. I’m kind of wondering if it’s not just a « let’s give the gays what they want right away » as we already know Chloe had a special bond with Rachel. Maybe I would have preferred a slower burn. Even William is on it.

The ending of this episode was kind of predictable, with a question that I read a few times « Did Rachel have powers? »

I stayed away as much as possible from trailers, theories and all but I think it was a legit question to have about DeckNine implementing a supernatural element into Before the Storm or not.

Dialogs

Ugh. Okay.

First of all, the writing.

I know we are playing a 16yo who lost her dad, but some of Chloe’s lines were so cringy it made my heart ache. In the first Life is Strange Max had some « loser-Max » lines that I thought were really funny but in Before the Storm, it looks like they are trying too hard for her to be emo. We know, Chloe is a rebel. But shit.

And in another hand, some lines made me burst into laughter. The scene with Rachel where they invent people’s life was really funny, Chloe’s « flirting » skills felt real and spoke to the 16yo me, and that tabletop game session was one of the best thing I’ve seen in a while (I suspect someone with A.B initials helped write that but I obviously don’t have any proof of that.) written by Christopher Means.

…

Some prime Chloe Price as « People can eat a dick », her love of booty and of course her first mention of « hella » were mandatory but the delivery of those lines. Man.

I’m not going to compare the actors with the previous ones (not only Chloe’s voice actor changed but basically all of them -although I have doubts about Chloe’s mom but she doesn’t have the same Southern accent so…) because it wouldn’t be fair. But in my opinion Chloe’s voice actress, even though I’m sure she did the best she could, was flat. Her delivery was pretty monotone and even if sometimes I was hearing the old Chloe in the musicality of her voice, it wasn’t it a lot of the time. Rachel’s voice was a lot better than I expected for the few images I saw before, but in the end it was really a shame that seeing the characters you once knew and loved/hated meant you wouldn’t be able to hear the characters you once knew and loved/hated.

There was also another problem in the rhythm of the dialogs that were in « cutscenes » (meaning you don’t have a say in them) as there was some latence at some points, like a silence before the second part of a sentence or when someone answers to someone else. I guess it could be fixed to make it a bit snappier and more real.

Characters

Chloe Price

As I said before we meet a younger natural haired colored Chloe, and the roles are kind of reversed with the OG Lis. In Before the Storm, Chloe is the one trying to follow Rachel’s idea, trying to please Rachel, to be cool with the most popular girl in Blackwell. She’s not the alpha to Max’s beta anymore. She lacks confidence, she doesn’t have friends and it pains her.

Rachel Amber

Aaaah Rachel. Rachel Rachel Rachel. We heard so much about you. Blackwell’s most popular girl. You didn’t disappoint. Witty and sassy and sexy. Just like Chloe. It’s kind of difficult to trust her, knowing what we know from the OG Life is Strange, so I’m not giving her my heart just yet (you know, the pics in Frank’s trailer and stuff). Even though the choices were pretty easy to do as we know Chloe loves her (asshole).

Old Faces

Funny to see Nathan being bullied, Victoria being Rachel’s kiss ass, the science teacher and the skater we knew Chloe was familiar with in Lis. And Frank I hope you’ll have some beans.

New Faces

I decided that Eliot is the new Warren. Except he may be Chloe’s bf ? Ex-bf ? He left a note about a two month anniversary and Chloe said her v-card had been punched (that was hilarious btw).

I really liked Stephanie, she was really something. Can I please date her instead? Even if she crushes on Rachel.

We got a new bully, a guy named Drew who bullied Nathan (whom we learned bought his way into the team) and we have a new security guy who makes really good music.

Choices

Before the Storm works on the same mechanics as Life is Strange, meaning you have choices to make. The ones you faced in episode one seemed pretty inconsequential, but I guess the game being a prequel doesn’t give you much options to change the story. Unlike Max, it’s really nice that they don’t torture us after every choice, knowing you can’t undo them. (I’m thinking about the paint on Victoria’s face, whether you chose to take a pic or be nice to her, once you did what you did Max automatically say she should have chosen the other option.) Although you have a very easy way to go back with the « Load last save » option which is an easy way to explore other dialog options or other choices.

But it’s kind of hard when you know what you know. I chose to help Nathan, but it won’t change what will happen in Life is Strange. And I was kind of nice to David even though you can’t betray LiS Chloe as it wouldn’t make sense to have her being super nice to him and then angry in the sequel.

But honestly, the best option of the game was probably being able to pet the dog.

Life is Strange legacy

There were a lots of elements reminding me of Life is Strange (as it should) with a lot of mentions of Max that freaking broke my heart. You are able to see Chloe’s texts and Max not answering (freaking bitch) and you had some nods to the LiS plot as Rachel saying she could just leave at any given moment without telling anybody.

The soundtrack is in the line of the first one but a little bit more rock to fit Chloe’s taste, and the bonus outfit with the design we knew as Max’s was a sweet idea. Some line as a guy wanting Rachel to pose for his portfolio. (I’m obviously not going to list everything)

Chloe is also keeping a journal that she dedicated to Max because she doesn’t want to risk her not answering and damn, my heaaaart. There are a lot of little things screaming « Chloe is gaaaaay » and I honestly wish it was a little more subtle (but nice Blade Runner dream Chloe.)

It’s also difficult as a Pricefield shipper to be totally into it, because in my heart Chloe belongs with Max, someone that truly appreciates her, never used her and because we were Max. So we wanted her to be happy. Even if we knew Chloe loved Rachel. But without Rachel there wouldn’t be a blue haired Chloe Price so I have to put her needs and her young love before my own agenda.

Next episodes From the pictures presenting the two next chapter, we can assume that the girls will go on a roadtrip, probably to try to leave Arcadia Bay. And in the last pic, Chloe is wearing a flannel we all know as the “ready for the mosh pit shaka-brah” shirt and her legendary tri-bullet necklace.

So yeah, it’s a prequel to Life is Strange, from another studio, with new actors, but overall it was pretty decent and I’m looking forward to the next chapter (even though they lose points for using Comic Sans a few times.) I really got the feels at some point, I laughed, I got really emotional during the junkyard scene with the car, and even though it wasn’t perfect, I still want to protect Chloe Price at all costs. So that’s a win. Not a huge win. But it’s one. Quack - Monotony of Chloe’s voice Lots of loading points Things moving too fast between Rachel and Chloe Dialogs lacking rhythm Lines that make you want to stab yourself The graffiti are really easy to find You can’t skip forward in collector mode Too much gay (not subtle enough) Most of the small choices you make just change one line of the other choice Use of Comic Sans The time I had to pause the game because my cat was playing with the biggest spider I’ve ever seen.

Quack + Legacy of the first LiS respected (ost, graphics, nods in the storyline) Better graphics than first game but still in that same line Some hilarious lines The tabletop game You can pet the dog All the gay

#life is strange #lis #life is strange before the storm #before the storm #lis: before the storm #lis review #life is strange review #deck nine #deck nine games #chloe price #rachel amber #max caulfield #pricefield #pricer #video game review #review

[imthepunchlord]

Me Rewatching ML: Evillustrator

I guess Nath really likes Climatika and Lady Wifi’s design to dream about them. That or the ML team really liked their designs and wanted to bring them back in some way XD they are really good designs and fun villains. 

Hm, rewatching now, don’t know if the ship of Marinette/Nath appeals to me anymore. This dream sequence seems to suggest that he connects to the trope that the hero that saves the damsel must get her naturally, for he deserves it for his efforts. 

Also thinking Marinette needs to be saved; that would be quite a wake up call. Far more likely she’ll save you. She is scary. There is a solid reason why she can go solo just fine. 

Nathanael is failing science. 

Mendeleiev wipes her hand on shirt after dropping Nath’s picture. She calls his really good drawings chicken scratch. 

Juleka sits next to Nath in physics, Rose sits on the other side. Juleka and Nath are possible friends. Also Mendeleiev might’ve separated Rose and Juleka possibly from talking too much in class. 

Rose and Ivan sit alone. That is sad. 

Mendeleiev picks Nath up like some cat she’s ready to throw out. 

Marinette sees Nath’s sketchbook falls open, is confused why he drew her. 

Chloe is amused to see Nath crushing on Marinette, confirms what Marinette certainly wondered.

I saw Nath akumatized through humiliation, with Mendeleiev being the biggest instigator, Chloe’s verbal reveal about his crush in front of the class being the final snap.

And with Nath upset that Chloe revealed his crush to the class, he is definitely a very private person. Don’t know about him being shy, but definitely reserved and private. 

“Artists are so emotional. I love it.” Speaking from experience of having an artist friend? Gabriel certainly can be rather reactive when agitated. And Mama, who I do like the idea did play piano, is described to be very emotional and sensitive. You referring to both or just one? Most likely Mama though is who he might be thinking of since she seems a lot more reactive than Gabriel. 

“You tired of having your creative spirit crushed?” With this, I would definitely count Mendeleiev as the big main cause of Evillustrator, because it is only her that picks on him for his drawing, which is what his transformation resolves around. 

Alya why do you look offended to work with Nino and Adrien? Do they spew puns together? Are you and Nino still working out things? Is it kind of awkward? Or did you want alone time with Nino? Probably alone time with Nino if they are dating at this point. 

Mendeleiev officially doesn’t give two shits about making Chloe happy. 

“I hate dealing with it.” This is like the perfect summary of Chloe. 

Alya loves Marinette, but not enough to deal with Chloe and Sabrina, who she both refers to as “twosome of terror”. 

Marinette is appeased with just being mentioned to Adrien. 

Marinette used tackle. 

NINO AND ROSE ARE FRIENDS. 

Alix’s locker is opposite of Chloe’s and it looks like it’s on the far left end. 

Marinette is unaware of how Chloe and Sabrina’s friendship works. 

Chloe and Sabrina have known each other since elementary (grade school in French), which is where this started. 

I find it funny that when Chloe states that Sabrina has to do what she says, Sabrina’s smile just drops right then and there and she has this “wait” expression.

I like the touch of detail that you can see Sabrina thinking this over while Chloe and Marinette argue, like you can tell she’s looking over facts and observations and considering what Marinette said to what Chloe insists. 

While Marinette is open enough to work and interact with Sabrina, Sabrina has left a bad enough impression that Marinette is a bit put off to receive a hug from Sabrina, very different from the sudden hug she received from Alya in Bubbler, which she quickly accepts despite her surprise. Here Marinette is just really put off and doesn’t seem to know how to respond. 

Despite this Marinette is open to test the waters and develop a friendship with Sabrina, though definitely still unsure.

Sabrina suggests to Marinette that they should reveal Chloe to the teacher. They do have a right to do so and should with Chloe hardly doing any work, but for Sabrina to propose this out of nowhere is very sudden and off putting; even Marinette is pretty put off and unsure about it. Kinda gives me an impression that Sabrina can be shifty with loyalties if she sees a better opportunity for a nicer friendship, at least what she grasps as friendship which is someone helping her do work. Really does make me think about the possibilities of Lila and Sabrina in s2, with Chloe’s redemption very likely resolving around her connection to Sabrina, which does need to change for both to get better. 

Day’s not over yet and Marinette is already tired. And doesn’t want to be in the middle of Chloe and Sabrina’s fight. 

Sabrina can be appeased/tempted with bribery, something Chloe has likely discovered works in getting past any fights. 

Chloe seems genuinely think that this is how friendship works, with friends that answer her whims and do what she wants. Being spoiled by the mayor and having Adrien and Sabrina as her only close friends, I can see how she thinks this is how it works. I’ll be looking forward to seeing her struggle as QB, cause LB, CN, and fox!Alya aren’t going to cave to her at all. And you have to do actual work. I am looking forward to a hard, painful redemption for Chloe. 

Chloe really cares about her hair. This is the most I hear about when she’s distressed. 

Fresh as an akuma, with a power to erase and create, and the worse Evillustrator can think of to torment Chloe is drop a bunch of hats on her and blow her with a hair dryer. 

Omg Adrien... so many puns... 

With Chloe, Chat is doing the questioning, a role LB usually does. LB though has this grossed out expression on her face. 

“Yay! Ladybug said I’m adorable!” There she goes with her crush. And is bothered that LB didn’t really smile right. She wants the perfect picture of them together. 

LB is so tired and done. 

Chat is calling out on LB for her attitude here. 

This is the first fight I’ve ever seen between LB and Chat. 

A frustrated Marinette will throw her bag when she gets home. 

Damn that’s a lot of missed phone calls. With all of this happening in the same day, it takes her a couple of minutes of travel from school, to Chloe’s, to home, and Marinette only lasted probably five minutes at most in Chloe’s company, I guess she’s about ten to fifteen minutes late to get in contact/meet up with Sabrina. And Sabrina called her constantly in that short time period, possibly suggesting that she’s a clingy friend, something that will certainly be an issue when Chloe gets her miraculous. 

Evillustrator don’t erase your crush’s window, that is not reassuring. I would’ve flipped out and thrown something at you. 

I say this crush on Marinette is pretty new since he doesn’t seem to know her very well; plus in a web episode, Marinette doesn’t list Nathanael as one of her friends (even Sabrina and Chloe got mentioned). 

Marinette a bit unsettled by infatuated akuma, and a likely reaction to someone she doesn’t know well approaching her romantically.

 Nathanael has a nervous habit of touch the back of his head. 

Pfffft, Evillustrator gives himself intense anime eyes. And of course Marinette has adorable, big eyes. It really does echo how he views them both. 

Look at my daughter go, making plans on the fly. 

And even when frustrated with Chloe, she makes sure and akuma won’t go after her. 

And she has the utmost trust in Chat to do his job well despite their little spat. I love this trust she has in him. Tikki approves of Marinette relying on Chat. 

Chat is an attentive guard cat. 

Evillustrator confirms that Adrien has physics down. 

Chat isn’t amused with Chloe’s cat pun. 

Adrien needs to learn to say no. This push over.

When LB tells him to leave Chloe, he kind sighs and looks disappointed, mostly likely thinking LB is brushing off Chloe’s danger again.

How long was Sabrina standing in that doorway waiting for Marinette? It looks like she’s been standing there for a while, no move to knock or anything. That hints that Sabrina will stand around and wait for Chloe.

Body language and expression suggest to me that Marinette is still unsure about how to handle/respond to Sabrina. 

I think most likely for both girls to develop, grow, and have healthy friendships, this current one has to broken up between each other and both willing to change and learn what a real friendship is and have a good, solid redemption. In the future if they’re up and willing, they can have a go at friendship again, but for sure, after they have developed.

MARICHAT YES.

With how quickly Chat arrived from Chloe to Marinette’s, through miraculouses, that’s just a couple of minutes of travel. 

Boy immediately moves to kiss her hand with his introduction. He wants to make make sure this “first” meeting goes right so much. 

Lmao, his face just screams “score!” 

There he goes, flexing and flirting and putting on a show. He wants to impress Marinette so much. 

I love this different opinion that Chat and Nath have of Marinette. In Nath’s dream, Marinette needs to be saved, to rely on him to get her out of that trouble. But here, Chat asks Marinette if she would help him, suggesting that he knows and trusts that she is capable, that she is his equal in this and can help him, not just a damsel in distress for him to impress with saving her. Even recognizes her to be a helpful Ladybug to him tonight (which understandable unnerves Marinette). 

And he’s so sad to say that LB is busy. He was probably looking forward to working with LB AND Marinette. And he rings his bell. 

Chat is pleased with Marinette’s overdramatic fangirling. 

I will say, this is a very nice date Evillustrator put together. 

Promises are important to Nathanael. Marinette it looks like appreciates this. 

Marinette does a little wave to Chat when he’s behind them, subtly telling him to wait. I love that touch of detail. 

“...you’re just like Chloe. Teasing me, mocking me, leading me on!” To make comparisons like these means that they’ve happened before, and that possibly not only has Chloe picked on Nath, but evidently lead him on too. Maybe Nath was the first one Chloe encountered to have a crush on her. Something she likely took advantage of, and sparked her finding amusement in boys confessing to her (like Kim in DC). 

Evillustrator can jump, damn. 

14, Tikki pops out of the purse where Chat could’ve seen her if he looked down by chance. 

Adrien’s first instinctive response to Marinette coming up with a smart plan is to pull her close and flirt. Marinette doesn’t respond positively to the sudden closeness. 

Chat is more than fine to back off, and Marinette is still physically comfortable with him. Bless these dorks. 

Lmao, he still wants to be impressive. 

15, Tikki floats into the open, and if Chat looked back, would’ve seen her. 

Chloe, all this effort wasted to try and appeal to Mendeleiev, who don’t give two shits; you could’ve been done a long time ago. 

Chat left first, with Marinette grumbling for a minute, yet LB is there first? Is LB hero faster than BC or did she purposely go faster? Or maybe she it’s her knowing the streets better? 

Look at these two. They’re flirting. 

“...this is known as the final showdown.” “...she’s a baddie!” This tells me that Nath bases his thinking off comics, or at least uses examples of comics with heroes. Also, declaring Chloe’s a “baddie” and deserves to be harassed, that’s a pretty black and white view to have. Also adds to why he didn’t go after Mendeleiev, he believes it was her right to call him out for drawing in her class. And yes, she is, but she doesn’t have the right to treat his work with such disrespect (reacting to his drawings in disgust, calling it chicken scratch). 

“Once I have them all in my grasp, I will have absolute power!” So HM wants all miraculouses. Or at least for sure, the ones he knows about. 

“...they only made matters worse.” Chloe you tsundere, that’s not what I saw earlier. This is a public front, you still adore LB. 

Alya is more than happy to put aside her personal feelings for Chloe for an interview. 

I stand that Adrien was totally waiting for Marinette in the locker next to hers. He was not there before.

Marinette���s locker is the 2nd from the last on the far right of the row next to the wall. And Chloe and Marinette share the same locker row. 

Sabrina is back to being happy to work for Chloe again, Marinette is baffled. 

Hi Adrien. Just out of nowhere, he totally had to come out of that locker. This nerd. Being a cat. Hiding in spaces and waiting to pop out. 

And Adrien, wanting to make sure Chat left a good impression on Marinette. He really cares that Chat left a good impression. 

Marinette states that Adrien is far more awesome than Chat, Adrien isn’t bothered at all. He is pleased enough that Marinette has deemed Chat awesome. 

16, it’s a school day, people coming in to gather their stuff for the morning, and Tikki’s just hanging out in the open on Marinette’s shoulder where she can be seen.

I RECOGINZE THAT. That is like one of the earliest concepts of ML that Thomas Astruc did, isn’t it? 

Also it seems Nath’s crush on Marinette is over, hinting that he possibly has some memory of what happened, though probably fleeting. If he does have a crush now, most likely for LB. 

#Punch Rewatches ML #miraculous ladybug #Evillustrator

[nalyra-dreaming]

HannibalCon RDC3 - day 1. Personal recap

So yesterday was the day that so many of us feverishly anticipated and dreaded :), the actual possibility of meeting Bryan Fuller, Hugh Dancy, Aaron Abrams, Scott Thompson, Demore Barnes and Ellen Muth! I mean. What -are- the chances? I flew over Friday morning (having dreaded flying in that storm but it did die down that night, fortunately) with Alex and we made our way over to arrive at 10 am, to photos of other Fannibals on Twitter already, though the hotel was still very much empty. Good to take photographs :) I got upgraded to the next room level (which is why I can now drink coffee while writing this at 5:30 am (thank goodness)). By afternoon the lobby was filling slowly, flowercrowns everywhere. A truly elevating atmosphere, because even though I'm not really a flowers and frilly stuff kind of gal, it just is incredible to watch. Btw the bloody flowercrown @idontfindyouthatinteresting made for me drew many compliments (thank you, again!) Registration openend a bit early and people went queuing until the main ceremony started. Incredible, there were soooo many people there, so many beautiful cosplays already. @lovecrimecat came by and we distributed the flyers for @radiance-anthology flyers to those standing in line, managed to meet so many of those who signed up (yay), got little gifts in exchange from so many people (and everybody just gave me a second one when I asked so I could give them to Katrina who couldn't come - so awesome of you guys, thank you again!). I met so many people 'from' Twitter and it' so nice to recognize some from last time, to put name and face to the @s. *hugs at all* Opening ceremony. I have a gold ticket this year so I went up front and sat next to SpiceyScorpion, only to realize that -that- was way to much in front for my nerves .... *rolls eyes at self*. I went a few rows back and to the side, which was a good decision for later^^. "They" came in a few minutes to late, we saw Aaron and Scott do shadow theatre behind the scenes and Sean called them out one after the other. Demore seemed honestly happy to be there, addressing us with such kind words, upping the applause and calling backstage that that could not possibly be topped*fg*. Aaron came out and asked us to clap for Hugh because he was supposedly afraid he wouldn't get any ^^^^^, Scott said something along these lines as well, I think. Both very funny. Ellen was there^^ and addressed us with a few kind ords and then Sean announced Bryan next and the room (not in any way quiet before) went -wild-. And Bryan.... Bryan went "crowdsurfing". Meaning he ran through the aisles and high-fived us. You know that sitting to the side decision? Yeah.... What a moment, there's lots of pictures in the Tag #HannibalCon, go and look, it was.... incredible. God bless. Anyway Hugh came out last, announced by Sean as one of the best british actors, and boy, that was applause^^. He seemed a bit overwhelmed with the energy there^^ and honestly, I can't quite remember what he actually said but it was something along the lines that he was looking forward to a wonderful weekend. They came out together after that and we held up the signs that @the-winnowing-wind distributed - "Fannibals Forever".... They took videos and photos of us. Bryan posted some of it later. Incredible moment to have been part of. I'm even in Bryans video (yay^^ (and if you know where to look^^)). The gold ticket holders went across the hall next, to a slightly smaller room with tables set up and we were seated by group/friends. And then we waited, because they got something to eat first.... (darn^^^). Colleen got out some booze and we talked a lot and proverbially bit our nails a lot *g*. When they finally got in they were sent to the various tables for 4-minute-meet-ups. Only the meet-ups didn't stay at 4 minutes :P. Demore was first and I was soooooo nervous. (The seat next to me was free btw, and so the -all- ended up sitting right next to me (*still screaming about that*. .... ) I shook my hands in the air in an effort to get rid of some of the energy and he put his hand on my shoulder asking me why I was nervous and I brabbled something unintelligible and shook my head. Very sweet. We talked a bit about his fight scene with Mads and that we would have liked to see more of him^^ and I told him I can't wait to see him in American Gods and he rubbed my back when he left. *float* Next was Scott, who brought his pizza and drank some mooneshine with us^^, played Tarot with us and was generally just this very kind and interesting person. I wasn't -quite- that nervous anymore by then (thanks Demore (and Colleen for the prosecco)), meaning I actually talked a bit, though I can't quite remember what^^. Ellen was next and she was also very nice, we talked about the fact that her scenes are imho some of the most scary in Hannibal. She also wore some of the coolest jeans I'd ever seen^^. Ok. Next? BRYAN. He saw the Will!Faun scarf of @flying-rotten we had put on the table cloth and chuckled that he knew who -we- are waiting for and that he couldn't blame us^^. He asked us, if push came to shove, if we would prefer Will & Hannibal S4 or SotL. Our table was Hannigram, though there was apparently one that was 'done' with it.... He told us about it a bit, much the same that Hugh has said before as well, that it would be an inversion of S1 etc. I.... hope that push does not come to shove, because he told us a bit about how much he loves the lyric of Thomas Harris books and I would really love for him to be able to fully lay out his vision. I hope he gets to do this (we have to continue to fight, guys!!!). He also told us, that Thomas Harris apparently writes a new book and he.... poked Martha to get the rights to it already, without quite knowing what it was about yet *g*. I.... took all my courage then and showed him one of the Radiance-Flyers and explained a bit and we asked if he wanted to do a little something like a foreword for it. And guys - HE DOES! He asked when it would need to be done and I said May 1st and he looked at the flyer and indicated the twitter @ there and asked if he should send it there and I was like (you know this situation, where, once you start, your mouth kind of runs away with you?! At least mine did^^^) "Oh well, yes, or you know you follow me on twitter, you can just send it there if you want" and he looked at me (directly) and said "yes, I know." Well, RIP me. I answered with a very intelligent "ah" if I recall correctly and ducked my head and then Romina and I emphasized that it would be awesome if he actually wants to do that and finds the time. He asked us after what drew us to Hannibal, as he got feedback from a lot of the other young women (I thanked him for 'young', you know, once you're in it doesn't matter anyhow *another eye roll at self*) and we said that its not only beauty and connection, but also intelligence. You have to think with Hannibal. He recommended 'Legion' to us and asked if we'd seen it before and I said that some stuff hasn't made it across the big pond yet. And then Bryan went and .... not ranted directly.... but expressed his lack of understanding of the fact that things take so long to be legal and why series were not streamed worldwide because people would just go and pirate it anyway -because- it was not available legally. He went and made a (imho) very fitting anology with the conservative stance on abortions in contrast to piracy, meaning just because it's forbidden it doesn't stop people from doing so, it just gets unsafer and illegal. Oh and he took photos of our table and @dr3piecesuit s and another girls tattoo, because he loves them. :) And he told us that he brought something for Hugh to wear for the Cosplay contest. Can't wait *g* He was called away then, way past the 4 minutes^^ and .... he is such a precious human being?! Exuding so much warmth and honesty and exuberance. I feel honored that I got to sit there. A propos honored... Hugh was next and there I was again - nervous. Awesome. *third eyeroll* He complimented Camilles Will!Faun, saying it was very beautiful and then laughing that that was maybe a bit weird^^, and then telling us about all the gifts he gets and that he keeps the little plush Wills, giving them to his son to play with, even the bloody ones..... *fg*. The girl next to me (@OnTheVerger) talked to him about how much Adam means to her because she has Aspergers and then broke into tears and Hugh comforted and hugged her and it was sooo sweet. We showed him the Radiance flyers as well and he said "blood fueled embraces, indeed" *g*. Bryan ran by then and left a bitten off Babybel for Hugh. IDK if Hugh bit off that piece or if Bryan did but it was hilarious^^. Hugh had to leave then and Aaron came to our table last, I told him I backed him and he told us about the film he and Scott are in (Scott came by and set down next to him^^) and we talked about how much we would all want to see more of Hannibal. Oh and Scott said (before) that he was supposed to teach Clarice Starling - how awesome would team Sassy Science be doing that in SotL? Seriously? Anyway, I remember I touched Aarons shoulder in the spur of the moment talking about -something- but I can't remember what exactly and the panicking about that. ;)) I went to my room at 1:15am, got into bed by 2am and was wide awake again at 5:15 am. What. a. rush. PS: This is no photos because my cameras not that good - check the Hashtag on Twitter, there's TONS of them ;). Already ;)

#hannibalcon #hannibal #rdc3 #bryan fuller #hugh dancy #aaron abrams #scott thompson #ellen muth #recap #first day #fannibals #what a rush

[electricdazemag]

Black Top Lines: Interview & Review

by Erin Christie

Black Top Lines, an alternative punk band hailing from Norwalk, Connecticut, is comprised of vocalist Julia Breen, guitarists Justin Graff and Angelica Martin, bassist Mateo Roldan, and drummer Asha Locke. This past Saturday, February 11th, the foursome put on their second live gig with another amazing local act, Anxious, at the infamous Darien Depot in Darien, CT.  Upon entering the venue, it was clear that this was bound to be a night no one there would ever forget.  As the night wore on, the air was filled with laughter, the sounds of joyous reunions and “long time, no see’s,” killer tunes, and light-hearted banter, each second leading up to the well- anticipated set.  

As Black Top Lines took the stage, surrounded by friends, family, and other familiar faces, they appeared to be at ease, at home, and ready to knock everyone’s socks off--collectively a fear that they were certainly able to achieve.  Despite this being only the second live performance within their career, it was a show unlike any other, one where the true heart, passion, and drive of each member was blatantly present within each chord progression, chorus, and tempo- change.  The audience drew out their cellphones and lighters, swayed to the rhythm, and sang along to each song throughout the set, much of which consisted of various covers from bands and artists such as Paramore, PVRIS, Halsey, and even a spontaneous rendition of Smash Mouth’s hit, “All Star,” which drew a great amount of laughter from the audience and band alike.  Of the two incredible original songs that BTL performed, the final song was surely powerful, an anthem lined with anger and aggression, one explaining that a woman’s body and what they wear in no sense justifies objectification and cat-calling as explained through lead- singer, Julia’s, inspiring and beyond powerful closing speech, encouraging women to stand and speak up for themselves in the face of oppression.  The entire set was one that radiated positive, light, and warmth, managing to leave the night singed with a perfect sense of euphoria which was truly a beautiful sight to behold.

Though Black Top Lines’ career has just begun, it is without a doubt that within the next coming months, their talent will be able to shine through, allowing them to elevate to heights that they’ve never reached before and gain the recognition and love that they truly deserve.

Following their gig, Electric Daze had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Julia, Mateo, Angelica, Asha, and Justin to discuss their aspirations, hopes for the future of Black Top Lines, and unapologetic love for their fans and each other.

Electric Daze: In regards to music, have you always been interested in playing?  When did you realize that you wanted to start a band and/or turn to music professionally?

Justin: Okay, well, I come last.

[Everyone laughs]

Julia: So, basically, I met Asha last year and we had talked about how we both wanted to be in a band and that just never happened.  This year, I still wanted to be in a band and I decided to text Asha since we both wanted to do it freshman year, and I asked her “Do you want to be in a band with me?” and she immediately responded “FUCK YES!” in all caps.”

Asha: I think it was like a Sunday night.

Julia: We practiced like once at her house after that. I later texted Angelica about it and she didn’t even know she was in the band until probably two weeks later but she was!

Angelica: I remember we were in science class and we had been coming up with band names and logos and it suddenly hit me… wait, I’m in this!

Mateo: And then here’s where I came in.  Angelica had asked me if I wanted to be in the band and she was basically hunting me down, telling me that I had to join because she wouldn’t do it alone.

Asha: and then, Justin came along.

Justin: Yeah, I came to the last show.  I had texted one of my friends that I wanted to be in a band and suddenly, like two weeks later, I was in.

Asha: You’re welcome [laughs]

 ED: Did you have any strong musical influence when you were growing up?  Who would you say has inspired you the most to either pursue music further or travel down the path that you have in terms of sound, genre, etc?

 Justin: About half of my family is drawn towards art and the other half is drawn more toward music, so at the same time that I was being pushed toward art, I was taking music lessons.  I had always wanted to be like my dad and my mom so I was really conflicted- I didn’t know whether to choose music or art for a while.

Angelica: It’s sort of the same thing with me- I think half of my dad’s side plays music (I’m not going to get into numbers because that’s a lot) [laughs].  I’ve been playing orchestra for about eight years but I wasn’t really interested in playing orchestra so when Julia asked me if I wanted to be in the band and said that they needed a guitarist, I was like “cool, I kinda know how to play the guitar!”

Asha: I think my biggest musical influence would probably be my dad because he’s a rapper so I’ve always gone to him and asked him for help with everything like “I don’t know how to do this band stuff I need your help.”  And my mom’s been a DJ so if I didn’t choose music, it probably would’ve been weird.

Mateo: And for me, my brother has been a huge influence because he started playing guitar out of nowhere—I thought “Nope! Six strings are too many for me so why don’t I play bass?” And that’s exactly why I chose that.

 ED: This is slightly stereotypical but where did your band name, Black Top Lines, come from and what does it mean?

 Angelica: Asha, take it away!

Asha: Yeah so it was probably seven in the morning and I was on the bus on my way to school, hating life as I usually do, and I thought that I might as well think of some band names.  I pretty much would always come up with some ideas here and there.  So I had been looking down at the street, which was a black top, and the lines on the street and it sort of just hit me!  I had the idea in my head already but it had been “Black Top Lives,” because I feel like there are so many people that use and cross the street daily so that inspired me in a way.  There’s so many people on this planet and they all have different stories.

 ED: What is your usual songwriting process?  Do all of you have certain roles that you take or does it shift from time to time?  When you write, where do you draw most of your inspiration from?  

 Julia: Yeah, so with the first original that we wrote, Mateo had written a really awesome bassline and Asha wrote all of the lyrics.

Angelica: I think she tried to record it on her phone beforehand to get it to work—I think we still have it!  We had just tried to play around with everything and see what sounded best and I guess, from there, it just kind of happened?

Justin: Yeah, I think I kind of procrastinated the whole time. I started learning the bassline and two practices later, I just came in an improvised.  I just self- taught myself by watching Angelica play.  I remember hearing Julia’s first song and suggesting that we played it a different way be she said “No.  I don’t like that.  It doesn’t sound like my song!”

Julia: I wrote the last song that we played [laughs].  I mean, I play the guitar a little bit but I don’t really know the music terminology or the scales so I really just wrote the song through imagining what it would sound like and composing it mentally.  Everyone is super talented so it really just fell into place through adding everyone’s different ideas.

 ED: Have you been working on anything recently?  

 Asha: Yeah, actually! We have a song in the works that I wrote a while ago so watch out for that!

 ED: I’m sure it’s a bit nerve-wracking to perform in front of crowds—have you found it to be that way or do you feel relatively calm in terms of live performances?  Are there any pre- show rituals that you have to hopefully ease your nerves?

 Angelica: Oh my god! I’ve been waiting for this!

Asha:  So we have a pre- show ritual that we do before every show.

Mateo: So many people know about it and they always put it on their Snapchat stories.

Asha: We huddle in a circle like we’re a football team and we just sing All Star [by Smash Mouth] and so everyone gets really hype.  It’s really funny.

Angelica: I think it gets rid of a lot of my nervous energy.

Asha: It adds onto mine, though, I don’t know why.  I’m usually really fine all day until like five minutes before the show starts but this show, I was just worrying all day [laughs]

Justin: I was really calm today until right before we went on.

Mateo: What basically happens for me is that I get super nervous right before we play but when we all walk onto the stage, or platform, or wherever we’re playing, I hear everyone screaming and chanting for us and that calms me down.

Angelica: I think it really helps that the crowd is usually made up of a ton of our friends so even if we screw up, we know that they’ll love us anyway [laughs].  It’s really reassuring in that sense.

 ED: What have been your most memorable show/ performance?  

 Angelica: I think our last show here [the Darien Depot] was the most memorable for me.  A lot of our friends had organized fan projects and it was really cool.  I think during Roman Holiday, they had held up colored lights and organized them to make a pride flag.  And during our last song, we had had confetti.  We also met Justin that night so I mean, it has to be!

Asha: The first thing we asked him was “Can you play All Star on the guitar?” and he said yes so we let him in immediately.

 ED: What are your plans for the future? Where do you see Black Top Lines in a few months?

 Asha: I honestly don’t know where I see myself in the next few days but I just hope that we’re all alive, steady, and doing okay.  It’s kind of hard to tell where this band will take us in the next few months.

Angelica: I just hope that we’re going to be able to play a lot more live shows and write more originals (and possible less covers).

Asha: We do have another show coming up really soon for the Homeless Men’s Youth Shelter—it’s a free show for charity to raise awareness for the struggle of the homeless youth in Connecticut. There’s going to be a ton of people there—it’ll be really cool.

Angelica: Yeah! But it’s all really up in the air besides that.

Justin: It’s kinda bad for me [laughs].  Well, I’ll be in college by the end of this year so maybe I’ll come back to play a few shows but I’m just kinda here for now.

Angelica: Just don’t go to college.  You just can’t leave.

 ED: In terms of Black Top Lines, if there was anything that you wanted future fans to know about you, what would you tell them?

 Asha:  I think that I would want them to know that, if anything, if they come to see our show, definitely either before the show, after the show, or during, you can be whoever you want to be and to be yourself.

Justin: Everyone’s welcome, for sure.

Mateo: We don’t care what you look like, where you come from, what you have on your shoulders… we just love everyone.  We want to just throw out so much love to everyone.

Angelica: You’re welcome to come into our arms- I will definitely hug everyone.

Julia: We just want to spread a ton of positivity always.

 ED: Is there anything else that you want to say really quickly?

 Mateo: I love you, mom.

Asha: We should definitely make a shirt that says “I love you, mom” on it now- we have to.

 Make sure to check out Black Top Lines and follow their whereabouts on social media to keep up with what they’re up to within the next coming months: you certainly won’t regret it!

Instagram and Twitter: @blacktoplines

Business Inquiries: [email protected]

#erinchristie #black top lines #interviews #BTLinterview #connecticut music scene #CT music #connecticut music #underground music #connecticut band #local band #local music #support local musicians #young musicians #youth band #young band

[haught0pocket]

Misfits. Partners. Family.

Wynonna Earp / Wayhaught Fanfic.

There’s a serial killer on the prowl in Purgatory... And a tall, attractive red-head is joining to team to help find him...

If a person was asked to point to Purgatory on a map, chances are, they'd have no idea the place even existed. It does. It was the final town that Wyatt Earp called his home. It's small, a little crazy, but it's definitely real. And so are the people in it. A few are just beginning to trickle into their day jobs.

Wynonna Earp. Criminal profiler, damn good one, but a genuine "don't give a fuck" attitude if there ever was one. Woman let glares and pointed glances roll off her dusty leather jacket like oil, always piercing back with a blue-eyed glare of her own and a middle finger. Whiskey in donuts were usually in tow. And a funny, dirty, (or both) quip right behind. Not much got to this woman. When it did, she was quick to find some kind of alcohol to make herself forget it.

Xavier Dolls. Never was there a man more dedicated to finding the truth of a matter, Purgatory’s finest homicide detective. And never was there a man who felt it was his sole purpose in life to remain completely emotionless. At least, that's what Wynonna said about him. But, in truth, the man was a fiercely dedicated detective, and friend. He rarely let his emotions show, even in a small smile. But if anyone laid a hand on his "family", he'd kill them without a second thought.

Waverly Earp. A ray of sunshine wrapped in small human form. The smartest person in the entire town, and everyone knew it. While she was the town sweetheart, she was a bit of a conundrum to quite a few. Her knowledge in trending shoes and nail polish was only rivaled by her knowledge of science, language and history. She knew more languages than most knew single words. And she was damn proud of it. She always felt she had something to prove, and her more than impressive IQ made her feel like she'd done just that. Her official title was forensic anthropologist, though she'd studied many other areas in forensic science.

And so these three misfits, yet partners and family, trudged through the hallways of Purgatory's Police Department, again, to gather for important news from Dolls. As soon as they'd plopped in chairs around a table, they awaited his speech.

“Another woman's gone missing. Jennifer Burk. This is the fourth woman in the last month, I think it's correct to assume we have a serial killer on our hands, especially considering how we've found the others. Let's find her before she ends up like them.” Dolls tossed folders onto the table for each of the Earp sisters, all of the information on the woman inside.

“Lemme guess, no connections with the other victims other than the fact that she's a woman? I think it's also safe to assume some lady offended this guy, and now he hates them all… Yeah, well, we hate you too, buddy.” Wynonna Earp had a way of getting into their perp’s mind.

“Alright, so I told you I was thinking about bringing in someone else. We need more hands. And a friend just moved into town, I trained her when I was still teaching. She's one of the best. She'll be here any minute.”

“Wait, friend? You have friends?” Waverly looked up from her folder questioningly at Dolls, quite genuinely confused at the prospect of the man having real friends.

“No, we're his only friends. Hey did you ever find the meaning of that symbol carved into the 3rd vic?” Wynonna countered.

“Um, yes! I'll be right back.” As Waverly walked to the back of the room, scouring a bookshelf, there was a knock on the door. Dolls opened it and let in a tall, red headed woman. “Wynonna Earp, this is Detective Nicole Haught. She just moved here and she'll be working with us.”

“Put ‘er there.” Wynonna slapped her hand in the other woman's. “Haught, huh? That's gunna be fun…” “Nice to meet you, too.” Nicole replied, an unsure look on her face. Just then Waverly returned to the table with a stack of books, staring intently into one of them. “Okay, so the reason it took me so long to figure out the symbol was because it's actually not one, it's two different symbols-“ “Babygirl.” Wynonna interrupted Waverly, motioned her head at the newest person in the office when her sister looked up from her books.

“Oh! Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I just, when I start talking about symbols, there's no stopping me!” Nicole Haught watched as Waverly Earp babbled about symbols, a giant grin on her face, eyes scrunched into a crescent moon shape from the size of her smile, and she was certain she was looking at the most beautiful, fascinating person she'd ever know.

“That's alright! Nicole, Nicole Haught. Nice to meet you, Waverly, right?” She stuck her hand out to shake the smaller woman's. “Oh, God! Yes! Agh, sorry, I'm all over the place. Yes, Waverly Earp.” “Pleasure to meet you, Waverly.”

She took the tall detective’s hand in her own, and a strange feeling rippled trough her hand, up her arm, into her heart. This stranger’s hand felt good in her own, in fact, amazing. Not just physically, but something else Waverly couldn't quite put her finger on. The loss of knowledge was troublesome to her, so she brushed the feeling aside.

“Um, I'm sorry detective-“ “Please, Nicole.” The red head smiled back at Waverly. “Right, Nicole. So I was just about to tell them the meaning of a symbol that was carved on one of the women. Weird invitation, but, you might want to hear this.” "No, you're right. I do. Please, continue!" Nicole took an empty seat. Waverly opened a couple of books she had brought to the table.

"So, this the first woman that's he's marked like this. I don't know why, Wynonna, you'll have to figure that one out. It took me a little longer than usual to figure this out, because it's actually two symbols. And, they're from entirely separate cultures. This one," Waverly drew a stick figure like drawing, "is the wiccan symbol for mother. And this one," she drew another picture, this time two arrows, one on top of the other, pointing in different directions, "is a Native American symbol. It means war. He carved one on top of the other."

"Sounds like he's declaring war to me," Nicole offered. A twisted look on her face, Wynonna was leaning back in her chair, right leg crossed in a manly fashion over the left. She suddenly stood up, went to the magnetic whiteboard with photos and evidence all over, and pulled a rather grotesque picture down. She plopped down on her seat, compared the photo with the drawings. All sat in silence, waiting for her input. She was the one who let the demons into her brain, who got into theirs'. She was the one who somehow found motive in nonsensical madness.

"It doesn't make sense..." She muttered, after a few moments of silence. No response. "This-" She pointed to the photo she'd taken down, mangled limbs and body parts, contorted, posed, to look like a modern day art sculpture, "This is like a demonic tapestry from a fucking art show. It's... specific, intentional. It's there because he wants everyone to see what he can do. But this-" she pointed to the symbols, "it's messy, it has nothing to do with art, or abilities. He is declaring war." She looked over at Nicole. "But those two motives... they don't go together. Not here, not like this.”

Leaning back in his chair, releasing a deep sigh, Dolls spoke, "so what does this mean for us?"

"One of two things. Either we have two perps with crazy different agendas, or one with... crazy voices in his head..." Wynonna responded, eyes still darting back and forth between the pictures.

"If you had to guess make an educated guess, which one do you think it is?" Nicole posed, leaning forward on her elbows.

Wynonna gave her tight-lipped face, "That is my educated guess, newbie."

"Earp!" Dolls reprimanded the elder of the Earp sisters.

Wynonna raised her hands in self-defense mode, "Fine! If I had to choose one... I mean I don't think an "artistic" serial killer would let anyone help them, let alone make their own mark on the body. But the two agendas... I can't reconcile them unless he's hearing voices. Oh, and the mother symbol, definitely confirms my theory that this is a momma issue. Another thing- why wait until now to start carving symbols that basically declare war? It's like the agendas in his head are at war with each other…"

Curious, Nicole spoke, "What else is there to the mother theory?" Waverly chimed in, "Well, none of the women have been raped, or shown any signs of sexual assault, but all of them have had their reproductive organs completely removed." "Dude. Did you not read any of this before you came in here?" Wynonna asked Nicole witheringly. "EARP." Dolls interrupted before Nicole had a chance to answer. "I called her in here before she had the chance, so no, she didn't. As soon as I found out about vic number 4, I called you all in. Now lay off Detective Haught, got it?" Wynonna glared at Dolls before giving an answer. "Fine. But she's on the donut rotation." With that, she picked up the photos and went to her office, soon followed by Dolls heading to his own.

Waverly and Nicole sat in silence, both aware of the tense feeling in the air. Waverly's heart was pounding, and she had no idea why. Nicole's heart was pounding as well, but she knew exactly why, and had a better idea of how to keep calm in front of a beautiful woman. She tried to start casual conversation. "Um, what's the donut rotation?" Nicole looked confusedly at Waverly, who rolled her eyes at her sister's words. "The station always has donuts, but they never have powdered ones. Wynonna made a schedule for us to bring powdered donuts. So, congratulations, I guess? You're on the powdered donut schedule."

"Ooo-kay. So when do I need to bring these donuts?" "Oh, she'll let know. Actually, she'll probably be back in a couple minutes with a little printed schedule for you." Waverly answered casually, turning to place books back on the bookshelf. "Can I ask you question?" Nicole ventured. "Yeah, sure!" "So, is she always that..." The older woman was searching for the right word. "Bitchy? Eh. She's frustrated right now, this perp is in her brain. She gets that way, with the really bad ones. I don't blame her..." "No, you're right. It's a hard job. Getting inside a killer’s brain. Takes a lot of empathy. Dolls said she's good at it.”

Just then, Wynonna strode back into the room, powdered donut in one hard, freshly printed paper in the other. She slapped it down in front of Nicole. “Haught-sauce.” Nicole was slightly impressed, usually people waited to get to know her before throwing out the puns. “Donut schedule. You miss a day, you buy ‘em for a week. Wave,” she pointed to her sister, “your turn to get Wills. Gus has that appointment, remember?” Waverly glanced at her watch. “Yeah, I'll leave in like, 10 minutes.” It wasn't any of her business, and she knew it, but she still wanted to ask. As soon as Wynonna left the room, Nicole turned back to Waverly. “Who's Wills?”

“Oh, our nephew. William.” She pulled out her phone and showed Nicole a photo of a young boy. Handsome, hazel crescent-moon eyes, brunette hair, looked a lot like Waverly. Nicole could tell by the fact that she hadn't offered any more information than the simple fact that he was her nephew that she shouldn't ask too personal questions about him. “He's adorable. How old?” Waverly groaned. “Ugh, right? He's 4. I can never say no. I swear he'll be the death of me. And Wynonna. Pretty sure he is her only soft side. Well, I'm going to clean up my things, and I gotta head out. I'll see you tomorrow!”

Nicole was certain that Waverly was handling this much better than she was at this point. Her stomach was in a million knots. “Right, lookin forward to workin with you, Waverly Earp.” And she threw the smaller woman an enormous dimpled grin that threw her completely off guard, and she still couldn't figure out why. No, Waverly was not handling this any better.

Continued HERE, on ao3

#wayhaught #wayhaught fanfic #wynonna earp #fanfic #wayhaught fic #nicole haught #waverly earp #xavier dolls #doc holliday

[phillymakerfaire]

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    Break Through is a podcast series about making. Making discoveries, making a difference in the community and making the world a better place. It’s the stories of startups and inventors who are developing products that have social value by solving real world problems. It’s about artisans and entrepreneurs who have broken through the mold to live their best lives.



Welcome to episode number seven of Break Through, a NextFab made podcast series. I’m your host, Ron Bauman, founder of Milk Street Marketing and a member of NextFab. Our guest on this episode is Jessie Garcia, a technical entrepreneur whose bowling accident as a child led to the idea for Tozuda, a collision detection sensor that helps identify potential concussions. After experiencing high impact collisions throughout her life playing softball and rugby, Jessie has devoted her life to preventing the long-lasting effects of concussions.

Ron Bauman: Good morning Jessie, how are you today?

Jessie Garcia: I’m doing good, thank you.

Ron Bauman: Thanks for taking the time to speak with us this morning.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, for sure, anytime.

Ron Bauman: So we’re here at NextFab South Philadelphia in your project space for Tozuda. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, a little bit about myself? Name’s Jessie Garcia. I’m the CEO and founder of Tozuda and we manufacture head impact sensors for concussion awareness. But I guess before I got into all of this, I was an athlete my whole life, I love playing sports and realized there was a big need for people to know when they get hit to hard, especially know they have a concussion.

Ron Bauman: So you played sports? What did you play?

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, so growing up I played softball. I traveled competitively starting at the age of six and just traveled nationally for that. And then when I went to college, I was at a club there and someone’s like, “You look like a rugby player.” And I was like, “Yeah, let me try rugby,” and fell in love with that sport.

Ron Bauman: Now, did you have a concussion at some point that prompted all of this?

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, so I’ve always been hard headed.

Ron Bauman: Okay.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, always been hard headed and I have a history of concussions actually. So my first concussion actually happened in bowling, believe it or not.

Ron Bauman: Really?

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, people are always like, “This is the safest sport ever.” And I’m like-

Ron Bauman: Tell us about that, all about that.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, so it was my eight birthday party and I was tying my shoe and my friend went back with the bowling ball and knocked me unconscious. So that was my first concussion, but I was knocked out cold so that was always that. And then playing softball, I got hit in the head with a softball, also knocked out cold. So it was very clear instances of being hurt. But the one that was my worst one was in rugby and what was crazy about it was that I wasn’t knocked unconscious. I was going in for a try, which is a touchdown, touchdown equivalent, and got blindsided by this girl and just kept playing. And three days later, my coach emailed me and was like, “Jessie, I was looking at the footage. I’m so sorry, you were definitely concussed.” But even though I wasn’t knocked out, it was my worst one because I did everything wrong to recover.

Ron Bauman: Did you know at the time that you had taken a shot at that point?

Jessie Garcia: I knew I took a shot but I just-

Ron Bauman: You didn’t have any effects or anything like that?

Jessie Garcia: I didn’t know what the effects even were. That was back in 2009 so I remember, if I think about it, I was like, “Oh, why am I making myself go cross eyed? Why do I have such a bad headache after this game?”

Ron Bauman: You had symptoms but you didn’t really know it.

Jessie Garcia: Correct, there just wasn’t a lot of education about it. It was a club team so we didn’t a trainer on site. At least my coach notice three days later, “Hey, don’t play for the next couple of weeks.” But I really struggled in school, I had a hard time reading and writing for about six months. I had constant headaches. There was a lack of focus so I really struggled. And I think, or I know it was because those 24 hours after the injury happens are really critical with how your recovery will be later on. And like I said, I just didn’t even know to take care of myself and that’s kind of where this whole product was inspired.

Ron Bauman: So the coach of your rugby team notices that you were obviously had taken a shot, you were suffering some effects, tells you not to play for a couple weeks. At what point did you realize that these other symptoms were a result of that hit? I mean, was it a couple of months later after you started-

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, it took a couple months. It really took a couple months to realize that this was the lasting effects of an undiagnosed concussion. I did not have guidance from a doctor, my coach at least sat me out. And it was funny, I actually wanted to play.

Ron Bauman: Right, I’m sure.

Jessie Garcia: Because that’s a common symptom, like, “Oh, I’m fine.” I didn’t think anything of it. But realizing, “Wow, why am I struggling so much in school this semester, why is it taking me 20 minutes to read one page of book?” That really made me realize what was going on. And then I just started educating myself and realizing it was that.

Ron Bauman: Was there anything that could be done at that point, I mean medically?

Jessie Garcia: No.

Ron Bauman: You sort of had to wait it out?

Jessie Garcia: At that time, there was some rehab things going on. But as a college student, that wasn’t necessarily in the top of my mind that I have to go to rehab or even go to a doctor to get checked out. Hindsight’s 20/20 that I’m like, “I could’ve done a lot differently.” I’ve always was student athlete, I wasn’t trying to go pro for rugby or for softball, I always put my academics first and I wish I would’ve just known and that’s kind of where-

Ron Bauman: Do you still feel any of the effects today?

Jessie Garcia: I do feel a little different, if that makes… I don’t know how to describe it. Not that I’m cognitively different, but I used to read through… just go through crazy, reading really fast, speed reading. Lately, I just do a lot of audio books for my content. And it’s just the lack of able to focus and move as quickly. It is frustrating.

Jessie continued to tell us about her time as a student athlete at Lehigh University, how she got the idea Tozuda and where she found her entrepreneurial spirit.

Jessie Garcia: So I majored in global studies. I did minors in entrepreneurship and gender studies while I was an undergrad. So my academic career took a lot of crazy turns. I went into school thinking I was going to do bio-premed. I loved science, loved biology. Did great in labs, I loved being hands-on. In the classroom, it didn’t translate so well in the bio sense. But then, was thinking about doing global studies minor because I loved learning about problems in the world around me and fell in love with that major. And as I was graduating, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do and I heard about this masters program called technical entrepreneurship and it was basically half product design, half business. And went into that full-

Ron Bauman: At Lehigh?

Jessie Garcia: It was at Lehigh as well. And that’s basically where I started developing Tozuda because the whole idea of the program was think of an issue you’ve dealt with personally.

Ron Bauman: That was going to be my next question, where did you get the idea for Tozuda?

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, it was just start… We took creativity classes, and prototyping classes.

Ron Bauman: At some point during this masters program for technical entrepreneurship, being prompted to come up with an idea, something, a product that solves a problem or an issue, you drew from your own past experiences and came up with the idea for Tozuda.

Jessie Garcia: Correct, yeah, I was able to come up with Tozuda during the technical entrepreneurship program at Lehigh. Essentially, what it came down to was I was a broke college student and I was playing-

Ron Bauman: As most are.

Jessie Garcia: As most are. Well, I was a broke college student, I had this injury, I looked into product on the market that would’ve told me, “Jessie, stop what you’re doing,” and there this $200 mouthguard. And I’m like, “Wow, this is awesome.” I go through four mouthgards a season because I chew through them or I lose them.

Ron Bauman: Now is that preventive, or was that sort of what you have there, in a sense?

Jessie Garcia: Similar to what we have today, just that it was an alert to let you know that you have a head injury. And I was like, “Cool, I would totally buy this if I could.”

Ron Bauman: But $200 a pop, going four times or five times a year.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, it would’ve been way too much, definitely way to cost prohibitive. I started exploring that and I realized I was not alone in that story. 60% of high schools and teams use refurbished equipment. And as I talked to coaches and players, I realized cost is factor for them as well. So I was just like, “How could I make this affordable? How can I make this accessible for people like me?” Because I wish I could still be playing sports, I loved hitting people. You know what I mean? That’s a great feeling to play contact sports and be a part of team and unfortunately I can’t do that just because of my history with head injuries.

Ron Bauman: Well you in luck. We set up a little rugby match across the street in the park for the B roll footage so we’re going to go at it.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, no, I don’t know to describe it but it’s something that I want people to keep doing safely and at least to know when to stop. Because we know to ice our ankles, we know to tape up before a game, but since head injuries are in invisible injury, it’s a lot harder to know when to stop because your brain can play funny games with you. You’re just like, “Oh, why am doing that? Why am I making myself go cross eyed?” And it’s like, “No, you can’t control what’s happening right now.”

Ron Bauman: So you’re in the technical entrepreneurship program, you come up with the idea for Tozuda. You graduate from the program, then what? What happens next?

Jessie Garcia: I go to work for my family’s business.

Ron Bauman: Okay, which is?

Jessie Garcia: So they do Hispanic food marketing and food brokerage so their company is called HAP Hispanic Advertising Promotions and they help large CPG companies enter into the latino food market. So yeah, so I grew up around entrepreneurship, seeing with them. They stared off doing supermarket demos, street festivals, things like that. With Tozuda, Tozuda is an idea at that point. When I graduated, it was just provisional patent, I was still trying to figure out how to make the technology work. I knew I wanted to make it non-electronic but I didn’t know how. So there was a lot of testing and nights and the weekends, but I was just living at home in New Jersey, saving-

Ron Bauman: So you’re working full-time during the day for your family business.

Jessie Garcia: Working full time for them, yeah,

Ron Bauman: And putting in nights and weekend on your passion, on Tozuda.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, putting as much time and effort, saving all of my money, living of… Thanks mom and dad. Just living as frugally as possible because I knew I wanted to do something with it eventually. But I think part of that too, I didn’t really believe in myself at that point yet. I’m like, “Who am I to be doing this type of stuff?” I was a global studies major and had this crazy career path. But I started gaining more confidence by learning more skills. So when I was home, I took a class on… I’m sorry, I’m forgetting everything, forgetting, 3D modeling and design, yeah. So I did that at community college, taught myself how to do it. Then I took an art welding class for fun to just start playing around, being more hand-on because I realized that’s what I liked from labs.

Jessie and I then talked about how she found NextFab. How’s she learned by working with it’s members and the challenges of product development.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, my cousin Nikki, she had gone to grad school at Penn, she’s gotten a job as an architect. They had taken a tour here and she was just like, “Oh, you should work here because you’re working in food brokerage and food marketing.” She knew I was trying to break out of that but I didn’t know how yet. I get an interview here at NextFab and during the interview-

Ron Bauman: What position did you interview for?

Jessie Garcia: I interviewed for a marketing manager position. But during my interview, they asked, “What are you doing with Tozuda?” And I said, “I don’t know really. I’m working on it but I haven’t really put all of my eggs into one basked yet.” They’re like, “Oh, you should.” Whoever I was speaking to in HR was like, “You should.” They made me think about it, like, “Why aren’t I doing it-”

Ron Bauman: They gave you a little nudge, they gave you a little shove.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, they totally gave me that little shove. I didn’t get the job but I came to visit and take a tour of NextFab and realized, “Okay, if I want to actually make this product, this is the place to do it.” So took a big leap of faith and quit my job and moved with my fiance, Chris, and moved to Bensalem or the Philly area.

Ron Bauman: Where were you at originally?

Jessie Garcia: I was in Clifton New Jersey.

Ron Bauman: Okay, so farther up north.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, further up north. And that was the other crazy thing too-

Ron Bauman: Is that were you grew up?

Jessie Garcia: I grew up in Bloomfield New Jersey which is right outside New York. And then my parents moved to Clifton after. And they were like, “Why don’t you find something in New York, closer to home so you can still live at home.” They were really trying to push me to stay.

Ron Bauman: Sure, of course.

Jessie Garcia: And that was the crazy thing, there was nothing in those areas. You would think New York City, I think they have-

Ron Bauman: Nothing like this?

Jessie Garcia: No. And then other maker spaces are very much connected to schools. So you could find them at local universities, but if you’re not a student, you don’t have access. So it was either Philly, Pittsburgh or San Francisco. And then Philly-

Ron Bauman: Philly was closest.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, Philly was closest. Chris got a job up in Warminster so it made sense to…

Ron Bauman: So you settle into idyllic Bensalem.

Jessie Garcia: Idyllic Bensalem.

Ron Bauman: In lower Bucks County.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah.

Ron Bauman: I know it very went very well.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, idyllic Bensalem, it’s been great so far. And then just got a dedicated desk here.

Ron Bauman: That was my question, what was your first membership level? How did you first become a member? What was that like when you first started here?

Jessie Garcia: Oh, when I first started here-

Ron Bauman: You started as a full-time member right from the get-go?

Jessie Garcia: Yeah.

Ron Bauman: Wow.

Jessie Garcia: I started full-time member-

Ron Bauman: You were like, “I’m diving right in.”

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, and I bought crazy class package because I was like, “I’m going to learn everything. So I was like, “Metal shop, vertical mill, lathe, MIG, TIG, pulse welding, laser cutting, illustrator, 3D model.” I was like, “I want to know how to use everything here.”

Ron Bauman: Software, tools, everything.

Jessie Garcia: Software tools, everything. Because I was like, “This is what I’m going to need to build this product, so why not?” Well, especially in the beginning too, it was just myself working on it. Actually, we had met an intern, Matt, he was our first intern for Tozuda. He was from Jersey and he came and moved in with us for the first summer.

Ron Bauman: Nice.

Jessie Garcia: Crazy. Julie, was an HR here, she always laughed. She was like, “That’s crazy that you did that.” But he was awesome and we got him hooked up and basically helped me start making the product, going from 3D printing to actually fabrication in the metal shop.

Ron Bauman: So that was sort of the prototyping phase was you were making 3D models or using a 3D printer to create basic prototypes. Talk about that product development process here at NextFab and how they helped with that and helped guide you through that.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, definitely started 3D printing, like you said, for the majority of our prototypes and then we realized that we need a little bit more repeatability and tolerancing when it came to how the device activated and worked. That’s when we started moving into the metal shop and we started using the lathe a lot to make small tubes by hand. And we would get much better quality control using the lathes. We got to the point though, where the sensor function was a little differently at the point, was a magnetic base sensor, it’s spring based now. But we got to the point where we were like, “Okay, how do we make 100 of these?” And since we had a mechanical device, we knew we had to go into injection molding. So that was when I started talking to people at NextFab, I was like, “Hey, can you connect me to some manufactures in the area?” And they did. But all the manufactures contract, quotes came back for $30, $50K a pop for a mold that we don’t even know if it would translate into how the device would work, if that makes sense?

Ron Bauman: Sure.

Jessie Garcia: So I was like, “I don’t blow through all my savings that I worked really hard for to do.” And then we bought our first tabletop injection molding machine, it used to make golf tees. So you just load the plastic. It was really hard to even get it to… It was a piece of crap. But it worked, we shot plastic, we taught ourselves how to the use the Hoss. Matt and Chris on our team taught themselves how to use the Hoss and make molds. And then we realized, we were like, “Okay, we can get better at this.” And then I bought the machine behind us off of Ebay. Once we realized the tabletop wasn’t sufficient enough, we bought that machine off Ebay, also didn’t work when we first bought it. And it took about nine moths of refurbishing it with Chris to get it up and running to make parts and learn the mold making behind.

Ron Bauman: It’s been a journey, it’s been a process.

Jessie Garcia: It’s been a crazy journey.

Ron Bauman: But look at all the cool things you know how to do now.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, I learned by being hands-on, for sure. And this is definitely the place to play and fail and keep learning. And I’ve also have learned a lot by just bringing on really great team members who know a lot more than I do.

Ron Bauman: That’s always important.

Jessie Garcia: It’s always super important and I do look at the staff of NextFab kind of an extension of our team. So when we’re doing things in the metal shop, we always know that there’s someone who knows a little bit more than we do to refine it to that next level that we need it to be.

We went on to discuss the NextFab community, how Jessie employs various methodologies and her dedicated project space for Tozuda.

Jessie Garcia: Being up in the incubator space, it’s really motivating to be around such an energetic environment because you see other companies starting up, struggling, succeeding and it just kind of gives you that motivation every day to keep going even when you have a bad day. Because lots of highs and lows when comes to building startup and a product because some days it works great, sometimes it doesn’t and you have to figure out why not. Everyone up there is really encouraging and it’s nice that during different stages of development, you could talk to Charlie next door. Charlie’s company just raised a ton of money so I’m like, “Hey, how do I start fundraising?” And you can chat with him about it or people come to us and they’re like, “Hey, you injection mold stuff, how do we design for injection molding?” So it’s really collaborative.

Ron Bauman: A lot of shared knowledge?

Jessie Garcia: Oh yeah. And that’s the crazy thing, our team knows a lot, but when we don’t, which happens, we can go 10 feet out-

Ron Bauman: Somebody here’s going to know the answer.

Jessie Garcia: Yes, someone’s going to know the answer and if not, find the right person.

Ron Bauman: Make the right connection.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah.

Ron Bauman: That’s a great resource to have.

Jessie Garcia: Oh, it’s a huge resource. We don’t leave here a lot but you could do so much.

Ron Bauman: That’s a recurring theme that we’re hearing from people that are here when we ask them. I just conversationally asked them, “Where do you live?” The most common answer is, here.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, no, it’s totally here. It’s so convenient to have every type of tool you would need to make something in one place. Because like I said, you could go to a library and they might have a 3D printer and a laser cutter, but they don’t have any electronic section. This is just everything under one roof. I love the metal shop, I think it’s a huge aspect with scaling, manufacturing and production.

Ron Bauman: And you’re one of the few members that actually hit almost every department in NextFab.

Jessie Garcia: Oh, yeah. For sure, yeah, we are utilizing the metal shop for all of our modeling tool making, we are using the wood shop for some of our assembly fixtures. Laser cutter for assembly fixtures, 2D printing for marketing materials, electronics.

Ron Bauman: So even beyond product development, actually helping to grow the business.

Jessie Garcia: Oh yeah, we could basically fix anything on our machine here if we need to run maintenance on it or stickers for trade shows. Just little nice touches that you would always have to outsource that somewhere else and you could just do it yourself which save a lot of money, at least in the get-go until you could outsource it eventually. But for right now, it’s perfect.

Ron Bauman: So you started out as a full-time member, you had dedicated desk, you have an office up in the incubator space and your footprint has been expanding. And now we’re here, you have your own project space. Tell us about some of the little trinkets that we… and all these things that we have around here in your project space.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, so we mostly moved into the project space for testing capability. So we had to build a test rig to do drop testing with our sensor so that’s what back there. And we could attach helmets, drop in any orientation that we want to do the different specs and testing.

Ron Bauman: So you don’t just put the helmet on and run into a wall?

Jessie Garcia: I’ve done it. No, just kidding. Yeah, no, we have that, we have our injection molding back here. So I have a dry hopper, so we treat our plastic, could run the machine, an ultrasonic welder so we could fuse plastic together with hermetic seals. We do have a little CNC machine that we’re actually hacking. We would use it as a CNC machine to cut metal, but we use it a spring line tester. We’re using the touch probe for quality assurance because any variance of the tolerance in the spring will change how the device works. So we test all of our spring there. Assembly table, we have a helmet to helmet test rig too. Little bit of everything. Sorry.

Ron Bauman: It’s all right.

Jessie Garcia: So yeah, so it’s been a great space. I like that it’s a raw space because I built out for exactly what we needed and it’s nice that not only do we have their equipment right next door, but we have the tools that we need.

Ron Bauman: Next, we learned about how Jessie launched Tozuda, how it works and where she derives her passion for keeping people safe from the effects of concussions.

Jessie Garcia: This is an exciting year for us because we’re finally in production for selling.

Ron Bauman: Okay, great, congratulations.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, it’s been a long process of R&D and the crazy thing that I like to think of is that we actually developed a new technology which sounds… I don’t know. I’m really proud of it. I’m really proud of it.

Ron Bauman: Yeah, you should be. Yeah, that’s amazing.

Jessie Garcia: Super, super proud of it. But it took a lot of R&D to figure out how it works, how to calibrate it. So yeah, so we’re going into the market this year, most with direct to consumer, direct to team product. And we’re scaling our production capabilities, we finally found an assembly group that’s putting together all of our products. The goal is to get these out on to as many different mediums as possible, or different application, mostly team sports, recreational sports.

Ron Bauman: So tell us a little bit about how it actually works. So it goes into any type of football helmet or any hockey helmet? I mean, is it retrofitted into any sport of sporting headgear?

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, so it’s a tiny device, it’s about the size of a AA battery. And how the tech works is that it’s a spring based mechanism that hold two balls in place horizontally. And we calibrate the spring to dislodge at certain g-force levels, either lineally where the spring will compress out of place, or rotational where the balls will rotate the spring out of place.

Ron Bauman: Interesting.

Jessie Garcia: So how we looked at it, the two masses or the two balls that are in the spring, I’m sorry, in the sensor itself, move independently like your brain does. So with a concussion, you’re brain will slosh back and forth and will hit your skull causing that TBI. And we just thought of how, basically how these balls act in the sensor is how your brain kind of mimics or the force that it feels. So you get hit in the head in any direction, you don’t even have to hit your head for the device to work or to trigger because it just works independently, feeling the force of whatever your body feels.

Ron Bauman: Interesting. Have you had any attention from NFL teams or NHL or professional sports? You would think that this is something they would jump on, or I guess the manufactures who make the helmets, right?

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, I was just going to say, no interest from the NFL just yet.

Ron Bauman: I’m sure you will.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, you know what? One day. But my focus is more the youth and kids under the college age. Mostly because I think they are the most-

Ron Bauman: It’s a great place to start.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, I was just going to say, that’s where the most athletes are. Guys who get into the NFL, the size of players get a lot smaller. But they’re, to me, the most important demographic of knowing that, hey, if you recover safely, I’m sorry, recover properly after an injury like this, you could keep playing until you’re in the NFL or aspirations of being there.

Ron Bauman: And you won’t have these lingering effects as you grow older like we’re seeing some of these unfortunate cases that are happening with people that suffered concussions and didn’t know it and they get latter in life and they’re having major issues, obviously.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, absolutely. So I would say we’re more focused on youth and high school, college level players. We do have adults that use it just for their personal interest. We have some motorcycle riders, adult hockey players, and even construction workers using that too. So we do have different activation levels based on age and level of play. But I’m focused on the majority of people rather than the pros. But yeah, if they want it, I’m ready.

Ron Bauman: I think that’s a great place to apply your focus. Where are you finding passion and inspiration today and moving forward? We know your background, we know your connection to the product and how you got there, what’s really driving that passion at the end of the day?

Jessie Garcia: I was pissed off. Yeah, I don’t know if that’s a good answer but-

Ron Bauman: It’s great.

Jessie Garcia: … I was pissed off that, one, I had to struggle with this type of injury. And I didn’t like how could I not know I was hurt? That just boggled my mind. I was angry that I couldn’t’ afford the one thing that was out there. So I was like, “I have to do that.” And then I found out I wasn’t alone in that. Tons of people felt the same way, they wanted a device to let them know that they were safe or might have a head injury and they knew that they couldn’t afford a lot of the tech out there. So I was like, “That’s what motivates me.” Is that there are a lot of people that are in my exact situation that I was and loves sports want to keep playing and that’s what I could do. I’m just trying to stay really disciplined and focused and bring this product to life with the awesome team that we’ve developed.

We concluded by discussing women in the field of hardware technology, her other projects at NextFab, and, as always on Break Through, advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Jessie Garcia: Being in manufacturing, it always catches people… not catches people off guard that we actually manufacture our own product. But I wish I would’ve gotten into it sooner, at least in my academic career. I didn’t realize what I like to do is make things. And at the end of the day, that’s what I like to do, I like to make things and making this product. I think there are some people that had a lot of disbelief with this tech and how our approach is so different and, “Oh, why wouldn’t you go IoT or electronic?” Which we could have, but I’m just like, “No, I listened to our users.” So there’s some skepticism I think from our company, because I am female entrepreneur but I love it, it just kind of drives me and I want to prove them wrong. I want to prove them wrong. Yeah. No, for sure, I definitely want to prove them wrong and show them that we could create an amazing solution differently.

Ron Bauman: And if you like to make things, you’re obviously in the right place here at NextFab.

Jessie Garcia: Oh yeah, yeah. I was like, “When I have free time, I’m building other things.”

Ron Bauman: What other kind of things?

Jessie Garcia: I like welding. Weldings my favorite. Well, it’s a been a process of building my bookshelf.

Ron Bauman: Oh, nice.

Jessie Garcia: But yeah, when I have some free time, it’s really relaxing just to follow the little V and do that. I make all my presents, I don’t buy anything anymore.

Ron Bauman: That’s great. Last question for you, what advice would you give to young budding entrepreneurs out there?

Jessie Garcia: Start with whatever skill level you have. So I started with model magic clay. I would literally show up and had this little mouthguard and it was made out of model magic. And I’m like, “Hey, this could tell you you might have a concussion. Would you buy it?” Everyone was like, “Yeah, this is awesome except I hate mouth guards and I just need to be able to afford it.” And so whatever skill level you have, you just have to start. It doesn’t matter if it’s a sketch, a really crappy sketch or it’s not refined. You just have to put yourself out there and keep getting feedback and it will lead you down this crazy path. You just have to start so start with whatever level and constantly learn, develop your skillset and you’ll find the people to help you out, fill the gaps that you don’t have yourself.

Ron Bauman: How did you come up with the name Tozuda?

Jessie Garcia: Tozuda? So Tozuda actually in Spanish means hardheaded. Yeah, so my [family member], always called be Tozuda growing up and, I don’t know, I guess I’m the type of person where I’m told not to touch something for the millionth time, I always have to touch it or try. I don’t know, I always say I have big dreams for Tozuda but I thought when you hear the Superbowl, brought to you buy Toyota, I was like, “Brought to you by Tozuda.” I thought it had the same type of-

Ron Bauman: Oh, it’s got a great ring to it.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I’ve embarrassed the hardheaded mentality and definitely dedicated to seeing this through and bringing it to life.

Ron Bauman: I think if you want to be a business leader and an entrepreneur, you have to be hardheaded.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, just a little bit. You got to listen, but-

Ron Bauman: You got to kick in those doors whether you use your foot or your head.

Jessie Garcia: Yeah, but when those challenges come up and you’re like, “Is this worth continuing?” You got to keep moving forward.

Ron Bauman: Well Jessie, thank you so much for speaking with us today. We really appreciate your time. We have big hopes for Tozuda.

Jessie Garcia: Thank you .

Ron Bauman: Sounds like you’re going places and we can’t wait to watch and see where it goes.

Jessie Garcia: I appreciate you guys for interviewing me and taking the time today.

Ron Bauman: Awesome. All right, we’ll see you around the shop.

Jessie Garcia: Awesome, yes, definitely, for sure.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Break Through. I’m your host Ron Bauman, serial entrepreneur, founder of Milk Street Marketing and NextFab member. If you are enjoying our show, be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast app and leave us a review. To learn more about how NextFab could make your ideas come to life, visit NextFab.com and follow hashtag NextFab made on social to see what our members are making.

Come back for our next episode feature Eleanor Brennan, a Philadelphia based fashion entrepreneur who left the world of adverting to follow her dreams and launch her own brand, Bus Stop X.

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[ecotone99]

[SF] Dragonsphere

A wee story I penned today in my spare time. Thought some folks here still might enjoy it. (A little over 5,000 words, so...take it on if you have some spare time!)

It's in the form of personal and mission logs. It's very rough. It might not be fully consistent or make total sense all the way through.

---xxx

Personal Log: Lt. Percival Smith, 1106776 1st May 2145

Commander...well, if you're watching this one tomorrow, then I guess I know what happened. Let me say this: I'm sorry. It wasn't the right thing to do, not between you and I. I stole the action, I stole your job, and it might not be the most important thing, but I took the glory. And now I'm dead, where it should have been you, right?

It's funny, I can't help but think about how my dumb name might go down in history. Assuming anyone is around more than a few days to appreciate it, of course. I was birthed in Vat 112, I think I told you. Most of the vats named people automatically, left it to the computer, but not 112. Someone chose to call me Percival. Being military gives me a few perks in the system, a few years ago I got the records for others birthed on the same day as me. The guy before me was called Colossus. Right after me was Mars. And I got Percival...maybe it's special to someone.

I wondered if those other guys from the vat were my family, but I've been told over and over I don't have family, and I never will. I don't have the equipment to make my own family either. But Mike, I have to tell you, I have always thought of you as family. You trusted me, never questioned me, gave me every bit of respect you gave the others. I never knew anyone else like that. And I think if you're my family, that makes Abigail...and Steven...they're my family too. Sister-in-law, nephew. And you're my brother.

So, I didn't betray your command, or sacrifice myself for my flight commander. I saved my brother, for his family. Abi and Steve need you a lot more than anyone needs me. I hope you can forgive me, and be with them. Whether it's the end or I actually managed to accomplish something, just be with them.

---xxx

Personal Log: Cmdr. Michael Conlon, 1082125 1st May 2145

We make for the anomaly today. Command had some argument over whether it was worthwhile at all, with so little time left. Less than a week, it'll be here. Not one of my flight backed down, they more or less demanded to fly. Science team says they haven't found a single thing in years of observations. The word "intractable" gets thrown around a lot. We don't know whether it's alive, a vessel, a storm, or any damn thing really. So we have to try this.

Orders are to approach and observe, and we're carrying more scanning gear than I've ever seen on a mission. The antennae have antennae. We've been warned - if we notice so much as an unusual warmth in the cockpit, turn around and go. We just don't know what this thing is or what it can do. I've made up my mind, anyway. If the scanners aren't getting anything from outside, we launch in a probe. If it gets nothing, even at close range, then I'm ordering the flight back to base, and I'm taking my ship inside.

I fully expect that will be what I need to do. If we've been watching this thing for this long, and not gotten a hint of a clue, I don't see why the same scanners should work just because we're at the front door. I don't know if it will accomplish anything. I might vaporise on contact, or before I even make contact. I might die passing through from some horrible radiation or other. Maybe there are some badass alien guys waiting inside to cut me up. Or, maybe a signal will get out, or my ship will circle back with some telemetry aboard, or maybe I might survive. Maybe I'll make contact with someone and negotiate. Who knows?

Abi, Steve. I hope you can understand. It's my job - taking risks to keep others safe. And there's only a short while before this thing gets here...I can't bear the thought of letting it just...I don't even know what, but I have to at least try to do something about it. If it works, and I found something, then it was worthwhile. If it doesn't, please don't think it was a waste...without knowing what would happen, I just had to try. I really hope you guys are ok. Better go, don't want to be late to meet our visitor.

---xxx

Personal Log: Councillor Ghest 1st May 2145

I've come back to CnC, though May and the children were not happy with me. Over a decade I've been an absentee parent, married to the program. I vowed to be with them at the end. I will be, but something needs to be done here, something I did not expect. May found a clue. When I came home last week, I couldn't bear to tell the children what was coming. I just said I was home, and we were going to have a holiday...relax, eat terrible food, watch movies. But that night, when I told May that we were no closer now than when I started the project a decade ago, she begged to see it, the thing that was coming for us. With only days left, I broke confidentiality and finally showed her the...thing. The Dragonsphere. She nearly fainted.

May's uncle left his lab in a total mess. He had been demented near the end, rambling. Somewhere among all his junk was an image of the Dragonsphere. May remembered it, plain as day - it had haunted her, that he had been living in such fear of this image. It took half the night, but we found the book. The notes were a crazy jumble, paragraphs scattered about the yellowed pages seemingly randomly. I grabbed the book and anything else within arm's reach, and bundled it in to the car. After breakfast, I came back here, to Command. That was yesterday. Today, my techs are poring over everything old Uncle Dean put to paper, searching for anything meaningful.

Mike Conlon is flying out today, too. I tried to stop them from sending him. It's pointless. Every scan, every probe we ever sent, simply returned nothing at all. The probes disappeared, the scans gave us nothing. Aside from the constant hum - the omnipresent signal of every conceivable type of matter emerging from the sphere - there is nothing to read. And that signal cannot be right - how could it just be generating all that matter? One of the techs said he thought it was a false signal, a mask for a vessel inside. Another thinks it's a new universe spilling out in to our own - or maybe a vessel somehow using a universe as a power source. Frankly, it could be a space unicorn for all that we can tell about it. Conlon and his pack are flying in to a black void of ignorance.

Maybe that's not strictly true...we do know one thing. I told May about the alien, too. He came to us in 2133. He's the reason I have a program to run, a seat on the council. In the few minutes he lived after crash landing, he managed to use his computer to decode our language, and told us the following: his people were dead, mere ashes left by some dread assault on their home; he escaped, and brought doom in his wake, for it had followed his route perfectly; he was profoundly sorry for dooming us, and said something about singing us a song of hope for our future. I'm no xenobiologist, but I swear, doesn't matter what the species is - I could read the terror in his eyes as he died. Amongst strangers, in a strange land, holding in his mind the last memory of an entire people, he died.

We gleaned nothing from his ship computer before the ship destroyed itself, utterly. Studying the advanced alloys and strange radiation from his ship was the best we could do, and even that yielded new materials and energy science that justified the program. When no doom appeared after 12 months, we stood down our alert. Another year went by, and then finally we saw it. We came to call it Dragonsphere for its greenish hue when viewed through the space telescopes. And now I’m faced with the fact that, somehow, twenty years ago or more, at least 8 years before the alien crash landed, May's uncle drew this thing in a notebook, and wrote cryptic nonsense all around it. What did he know?

All of this is probably for nothing anyway. With a week left, what can we achieve? If Uncle Dean's notes show us a machine with which to save ourselves, how can we build it in time? I need to go back to May and the kids. I have to keep my promise to them. I don't know what I will do for the kids. It might be best if they went to sleep and didn't wake up. But then, we might also be fine. There's just no data to make a decision, any decision. All we can say with certainty is that the Dragonsphere will be here in a week, and we don't know how to begin to prepare.

---xxx

Mission Log: Cmdr. Michael Conlon, 1082125 2nd May 2145

Percival's ship is in tow. It came back out, he didn't. Can't slave his hi-speed drive to my ship, so we're crawling back. A couple hours more until docking.

Son of a bitch disabled my ship with an inhibitor. Must have placed it before we launched. Insubordinate, dumbass, infuriating, disrespectful. Everything I would expect from a snot-nosed little brother. And he's gone.

<pause>

Aside from the disappearance of Lieutenant Smith, we noted nothing of interest. Scans returned nothing, probes went silent. Smith pulled his little move and flew in. Twenty minutes later, his ship comes out silent.

What did it see?

---xxx

Personal Log: Councillor Ghest 3rd May 2145

I can hardly believe it. First Conlon hauls a ship back that has been inside - actually IN the Dragonsphere - and then Uncle Dean's notebook knocks us all for six.

Conlon's man didn't make it back. Interestingly, his seat buckle was open. What would happen, I wonder, to make that the case? I suppose he might have opened it before being atomised. Or maybe not. In any case, the ship has told us much, in a way. Everything, every byte of information, from the recording logs down to the basic instructions in the microcontrollers for this ship's systems, has been wiped. Not a single piece of information made it out. The sphere keeps its secrets close to its heart, it would seem. I can't conceive of any natural process that should have this effect. It must have been the work of an intelligence, to be so total. Any natural process should have been random, imperfect. Not this. Everything is a zero...not a single one among them.

The ship looked perfect, but on close inspection, there was all kinds of corrosion and every sort of alloy, amalgam, or compound you can think of, all in tiny amounts. The result of being exposed to all of the wild random matter coming from the sphere. So, it would seem it is not a false signal - all sorts of everything, from normal matter to anti-matter and dark matter, on all orders of complexity, is spewing forth from the sphere. One thing stood out. A signal from a nuclear decay, which as yet we cannot identify. What nucleus, which sub-atomic particles, in what arrangement, could produce this? It must be a new substance. It is so prevalent over all the other signals. Maybe it's important.

Uncle Dean's scrawls are maybe an even bigger mystery. He speaks of demons eating his body and feeding his dreams. Worms consume him in every waking moment, and in his nightmares they bring him to horrible places, dungeons that stink of death, the floors and walls slick with rotting organic matter, black from the decay of the flesh that coats them. The stories go back decades, but there is a sudden change, right around 12 years ago. The nightmares are different. They are still terrible, fearful, but there is a feeling in the background...a desire to help. An occasional image seeps through, a strange dreamscape of fantastically coloured meadow, a night sky brilliantly lit by stars and a streak of purple nebula. The air is clean and fresh, and the night is warm and welcoming. And there is a song.

Everywhere in the notebook, there are sketches and diagrams of sheet music. The timing is scattered, the notes and key vary wildly from page to page. Eventually, all sketches and narratives stop, all the random little paragraphs cease to appear. It's just page after page of sheet music, refinements and adjustments on each page. A few days before his death, Dean's music becomes almost static, tiny changes here and there, but the melody is complete, and the harmony merely shifts places. Then, suddenly, it is the last page.

What does the song mean? Do we broadcast it? Will it help us? Is it nothing more than the creation of a fragmented mind?

Note: Record a message for the kids later, they're already asleep.

---xxx

Personal Log: Cmdr. Michael Conlon, 1082125 4th May 2145

I've never seen anything like it. Councillor Ghest rigs up the computer to the tannoy, starts playing this...music. It's haunting, lovely, but that's not what I notice. No, I notice the damn storage crates walking themselves off the shelves all around the warehouse. The alien ship was stored here in pieces, some of it in puddles, it just broke down to nothing. I yelled for everyone to get clear, and in a matter of minutes there were splinters and bits of plastic showering the workspaces. Counters were thrown aside, metal racks - very, very heavy metal racks - just cast about like chaff. From the observation room, we watched it take form. The alien's ship, unmistakeable. Missing a few parts for sure - some of the ship was taken to other places for study, I guess.

Ghest looked like he was going to drop, or scream, I don't know which. In the end he just sort of straightened up and walked out to his office. Turned off the music. Right away the ship settled on the ground, and in a few minutes it started to decompose again.

Percy would have loved this. He always had interesting taste in music.

Update: Running to infirmary, just heard, Percy's back.

---xxx

Personal Log: Councillor Ghest 4th May 2145

May has been calling, but I can't - not after this afternoon. We still don't know anything, damn it! We know a lot more than we did, but what do we DO? Old Dean hears music in his dreams, music from someone that wants to help. The song activates the alien's vessel...the vessel of a race that was defeated by the Dragonsphere - of that much I am sure now. How can it help us if they were beaten? Do we run, use its engines? Is the song a new song, one that will make their ship better? In the absence of understanding, I have requested all samples and materials from the alien ship to be returned to us immediately. The other labs are asking if this has to do with the object in the sky. It's no secret any more, people know something is coming, and they're demanding answers.

Smith's ship is a dead end. We haven't been able to work out what this new substance might be. Time is running out, and we haven't got the apparatus to learn what we need to.

---xxx

Medical Log: Dr. Lisa Brogan 5th May 2145

I've been working on Lieutenant Smith all night, and at this point, all I can say is that he's stable. Everything seems to be working, in the organs at least, but that's more than I can say for his brain. I'm reading nothing there, no patterns that indicate thought, even at the most basic level. He is salted earth, mentally speaking. Even his autonomic function is absent - the moment he appeared in the hallway, we had to drag him here and hook him up to total life support. He doesn't sleep, he's just...there. His eyes seem to lock for a moment, and the scanners jump, almost like he has a few moments of consciousness, but then he's gone again. Honestly, I hope he doesn't know anything. His skin has been burned away at the outer layer, not lethal but very painful if you could feel it. There isn't a hair left on his body. He looks like an old man, wrinkled and pink, his lips and eyes sunken and bones showing through his skin. I'm infusing him with glucose solution, as I think a feeding tube would probably cause a bleed. His skin is like paper. It's like his body doesn't know what to do with the sugar, there's metabolism here and there, but it's not consistent.

Without a doubt, this man is dying. The other thing, very strange - as if any of this isn't strange - his vocal chords have been removed. Sometimes when he has a little "jolt", it seems like he motions to scream...but only a hoarse croak comes out.

Personal: Is this what will happen to all of us? I have a syringe ready to go. I'm not going out like that. This damned ringing in my ears is making it hard to think, I need to sleep, but the syringe will be under the pillow.

---xxx

Personal Log: Cmdr. Michael Conlon, 1082125 5th May 2145

I don't know why they sent it back, and I don't know what is lying in that bed, but it's not Percy. I'm angry now, more than before, and it's just getting worse with this noise. They're hearing it everywhere now, even in the Lunar base. It started as a ringing, now it's like a hundred thousand voices pulsating, and it's getting worse. I want to blow this damned thing up, I want to fire every weapon we have at it, blast it out of the sky. I know it won't work, but making some very large explosions might calm me down a little. How DARE they? They took his vocal chords, they took his mind - why the hell did they send him back? Or this husk that used to be him, anyway.

I need to calm down. Ghest wants me to join his little choir. He thinks if we sing the song from this old maniac's notebook, we might be able to fly the alien ship. I've never sung a bar in my life. Not while sober, anyway. I'm going down to the lab, maybe if I sing loud enough I can block out this din from the sphere.

---xxx

Personal Log: Councillor Ghest 5th May 2145

Something, something to do with sound. Has to be. They took Smith's vocal chords, what was that about? So he couldn't sing the song? The techs have been singing the notes and getting better at it, the ship was really starting to come together last time. We're going to need to enhance our abilities though, we don't have anyone that could learn and reproduce the song this quickly. And if we just get a singer, they won't know how to fight. I feel like we almost know what we need to do, but I can't just figure it out...and this noise! I can't think straight. It's worse outside, but only slightly...there's just no hiding from it. Horrible. Like screams in the distance, too many of them all at once.

Addendum:

Played a basic version of the song on a portable speaker, and with the techs and Conlon singing along, the ship flew together in moments. We're inside now. It's quiet in here. I didn't realise how loud the sound had gotten...my ears are really ringing, Conlon's voice is muffled when he speaks to me. The ship's computer is responding to us, but I can't make much sense of it. The symbols keep changing. One thing is constantly on display, a waveform. It looks very familiar, but I can't quite place it - I think their method of graphing is a little different from ours. I haven't slept for 48 hours, not really, but we need to keep going.

Oh...May. Kids. I have to contact them. I'm sure my techs have kept them informed.

---xxx

Medical Log: Dr. Lisa Brogan 6th May 2145

That's it, I can't treat anyone else this morning. Nothing works. Earplugs, deadening the aural nerves, nothing short of actually rendering someone deaf, which this sound doesn’t quite seem to do. It is very effective, however, at driving us CRAZY! There was a fight in the waiting area over who was next. I hear from the MPs that there is "public disorder". Code for mass panic, riots, chaos outside the gates. It'll be chaos inside the gates soon enough. I have my syringe. I won't let them drive me mad, let alone flay my skin from my body. Smith...he's alive for now, but I forgot to check on him several times already. I don't know what's going to happen, but it has to happen soon.

---xxx

Mission Log: Cmdr. Michael Conlon, 1082125 6th May 2145

I'm 10,000 meters above the Pacific right now. The ship is responding to my commands...to my songs. Ghest has taken to calling them hymns. I don't know how it works exactly, I just think of what I need to do, imagine how that would sound in the main hymn, and improvise something. It seems to work, though it's not very precise. Ghest and I, and a couple of the techs, are working on this, but I'm thinking of Abi and Steve. Ghest seems to have completely pushed his family out of his mind. I wish I had that discipline, if only so I could focus on the job at hand. I nearly crashed us earlier when I went off key, my voice broke thinking of Steven wondering where his dad is while he's...suffering. He is suffering, right now. But so are billions of others...we have to stop this.

---xxx

Medical Log: Dr. Lisa Brogan 6th May 2145

Families of the staff are showing up at the gate. They expect me to care for them - me! I'm in as bad a condition as they are. MPs let them through. Apparently some did not make it. Humanity is at a boil. There is murder in the streets. I've opened the wards, but they're already over full. There's no food, nothing has been delivered.

Smith died earlier. He locked his eyes on me, motioned with his arms a little, then suffered enormous haemorrhages, basically everywhere. A few more hours, that's all I can do. Maybe I should get more syringes for the others. Maybe I could help them, help all of them. It's not right for them to suffer...do no harm. Do no harm.

---xxx

Station Log: Guard Captain Gerard Holt, 99827 6th May 2145

I've been through a lot, but pretty much always in a combat zone. Outside of that, outside of desperate people seeking escape, or sustenance, I've never seen people behave like this. I don't know why they think there are answers inside, or some kind of safety. The wards are full of starving people, at each other's throats. Outside the fence at least they could move around, get away from the fighting. Instead they stand their ground, and are trampled in to dust for it. Inevitably someone turns on someone else, and they all start fighting like...like dogs. It is feral. As they finish tearing each other apart, they make for the gates. And I put them down, like dogs.

I hate them for what they are doing. I'm angry too. I don't know how long it will be before I turn my gun on those inside, or on myself. How much longer can we stand this? The noise, the voices, there is no respite. I'd give anything to be back in the hell of an ordinary war...anything but this.

---xxx

Personal Log: Councillor Ghest 6th May 2145

So close now. The alien ship swallowed up my tablet when I set it down for a moment, and then the panels started coming through in English. Damn it, why didn't I do that before? Seconds could mean the difference here. I don't know what's going on planetside. We're in orbit now. The traffic controller warned us off landing, said people were going mad. None of the space stations are responding to signals. Millions could be dead...billions, maybe. Here we are, fumbling about in an unknown craft.

Well, fumbling is a little unkind. The alien's scanners are amazing. I have identified the substance found on Smith's ship. The alien archive indicates it is metallic. Maybe some sort of hull inside the sphere is composed of this? The ship seems to be able to replicate it now that it knows the details. I think it can integrate it in to its structure. If there are life forms aboard the sphere, they must be protected against its effects...maybe this substance would help.

There's more. The alien archive contains designs for a...harness. A mind harness, I suppose you could call it. It allowed them to create what has been translated as a battle choir. Choristers singing the battle hymns to have their ships fly to the needs of the current engagement. Their greatest choristers seem to have been heroes, those who knew many hymns and could create more on the spot. I believe the ship has altered the design to work on a human, but as far as I can tell, anyone harnessed would lose much of their higher brain function to the task of singing the battle hymns. Can I truly ask Conlon to make this sacrifice? He would be the most suitable given his experience to date.

I now believe that Smith's fate was a warning. I can't explain why they skinned him or took his mind, but the vocal chords...they warned us not to sing. The waveform on the alien computer, I can make it out now. It's clearly the sound coming from the sphere that is scouring the Earth, and what is more, it is the complete opposing waveform to the song we discovered. It is suppressing the song. If anyone was to sing it outside this craft, it would collapse in to nothingness. If we had not already assembled the ship, we would have been done for.

There is the bones of a plan here. But there is much to do, and a lot to ask. And I have no idea whether it would work anyway.

---xxx

Personal Log: Cmdr. Michael Conlon, 1082125 7th May 2145

Here I am again, saying goodbye. Abi, you know. Steven, I love you, more than anything else in the universe. You're my boy, you're my hero, and I have to do anything and everything that I can to try to keep you safe. I hope you're safe right now. I remember bouncing you up and down on my foot, holding your hands while you laughed your tiny butt off. And always you wanted me to sing "Down by the Station"...I was shy, even in front of you, about singing, but you loved it so much. Now I have to sing something else, something entirely different. And I need some help singing it...but that help is going to cost a lot.

<pause>

There's no time to think about this. I have to go. I love you both. Goodbye.

---xxx

Personal Log: Councillor Ghest 7th May 2145

It is done. The surgery looked painless, but the sight of it. His head is a different shape now, from the harness. And his eyes...they look white, blank, just a tiny pupil staring ahead. He barely acknowledges us. The techs have said very little all day, I think they've gone beyond their ability to process what is happening. Maybe I have too, but I never could shut up. Well, except when trying to think of what to say to May. That always quietened me down. I wish I could speak to her now, before the end. Earth below is a pastiche of dark patches, gigantic, raging fires and smoke, and occasional patches of electric lighting still burning bright. Every few orbits there are less patches of lighting. What is left for us to save?

Conlon, if that's still Conlon, has been sitting at the ship's console, humming in to it. There are noises coming from the hull. I think he knows what he needs to do...the scanners indicate that the substance from the sphere is integrating everywhere. I think I'll call it Conlonite. Once it is complete, we fly in to the sphere. It should only take a few minutes to reach it with the speeds this craft is capable of, not to mention how close Dragonsphere is now.

I've been thinking. I believe the sphere somehow...absorbed the species of the alien who crashed on Earth. Somehow, they were able to persist inside the sphere. Some piece of them remained, and they altered Uncle Dean's dreams to teach him the song. The sphere must have been in contact with him before that, and 12 years ago, the aliens were taken, and they changed the dream.

The song is the key, but why could they not use it themselves? Maybe they could not survive inside the sphere without the Conlonite? Or maybe it was no use before their world was absorbed. From what I've seen, the hymns work on this ship, but they had no effect whatsoever on Earth matter. What if, for the song to do anything, the sphere needed to have matter from the alien world inside? Just like their mental essence, their physical essence changed the sphere.

Anyway...no further analysis is required. There is no changing the plan now. We have this, and we have nothing else. We wait for Conlon's move.

---xxx

Personal Log: Councillor Ghest 8th May 2145

Never forget Conlon, the chorister.

Never forget Smith, the burned man.

Never forget the alien, or his people.

They were our salvation. I cannot begin to explain what I saw, what I experienced inside the Dragonsphere. It was like walking through a graveyard filled with restless souls. Many of them bestial, as I suppose most species absorbed were not intelligent. Many were cowed, afraid of a more dominant consciousness that could cause them to suffer. Overall, there was anger, hatred, an unquenchable thirst for destruction and consumption. There was an ego, too, a sort of twisted pride in the sheer power the sphere commanded. There were machines within, the limbs of this disjointed, gestalt mind. They did the sphere’s bidding, and were surely the means, if not the architects, of Smith’s demise.

I am no closer to understanding what the sphere was, or how it worked, but it was more ancient than I think we can understand. Its current state was the product of everything it had absorbed. It had become something dark, evil...and yet, it had its benevolent parts. I could sense them yearning for release, cheering us to victory even as we destroyed them. Conlon's battle hymn was devastating, the ship answering his every beat, breath and note.

I do not know how many we lost on Earth. Shortly I will set out for home, now a journey of many days where once I might have been home on the same day I left CnC. We have lost a lot, and we must rebuild. I hope to find May and the children waiting for me, but nothing I have seen since landing encourages me to believe that they are out there, safe and sound. Still, I hope. We beat long odds before.

I know Abi and Steve survived. They are here, with the chorister. He is singing an odd song to the little boy, something about trains, though he hasn't said anything else. He doesn’t look at them, he just sits nearby and keeps singing, over and over. ‘‘Down by the station, early in the morning, see the little engines all in a row…’’

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[sportsandideas]

A Mental Game: On Happiness, or Does it Matter Who Wins? [A rescue job from 2010]

[Here’s something I wrote over eight years ago in anticipation of the 2010 World Cup; many of the names have changed, but the story is (basically) the same...]

(photo from: The Daily Echo)

Originally posted MAY 3, 2010

Re-posted July of 2018

Why do we care?  Why will hundreds of millions of fans watch the World Cup this summer and hinge their lives around game results?  Why does it matter whether the millionaire players, coaches, and owners of Inter Milan beat the millionaire players, coaches, and owners of Bayern Munich in the Champions League final?  Why does anybody, no matter how few, bother going to watch FC Dallas play?

Presumably at some level most soccer fans invest ourselves in what, after all, is twenty-two men or women in short pants chasing a ball because we enjoy it.  Somehow the game makes us happy.  But why?

As it happens, studying happiness is hot right now in the social sciences.  Psychologists have realized they spent way too long focused primarily on pathology and dysfunction, failing to learn about the other side of human experience.  Economists have realized that people are as motivated by irrational emotions as they are by rational cost-benefit analyses.  And soccer, it seems to me, can be a pretty interesting place to apply some of their ideas.

The explosion of scholarly interest in happiness does not, unfortunately, make for easy answers.  Happiness is tough to define and measure.  Most research tends to operate with the assumption that it’s best to just trust people and simply ask: On a scale of __ to __, how happy are you?  The problem is that when the question is that blunt and superficial, most people say they are happy.  It misses the proverbial ‘masses who lead lives of quiet desperation.’  It misses those FC Dallas fans.

The alternative is to try and measure the things scholars think associate with happiness.  Though those things include a wide range of characteristics from autonomy to environmental mastery, in my read of the literature they boil down to that old Freudian formulation: what matters is a combination of ‘love and work’, people and purpose.  We tend to be happiest when we balance engaging social relationships with a sense that what we do matters, be that a job, raising a family, contributing to a community, or maybe even supporting a team.

But focusing just on people and purpose also fails to tell the whole story because it doesn’t address the classic social science problem of causality—do good social networks and success in one’s endeavors cause happiness, or are happy people more likely to have good social networks and succeed?  In fact, it turns out that statistically, when dealing with large data sets, the single best predictor of happiness is something we don’t have much control over: personality.  Optimists with a sunny disposition are happier than pessimists ridden by anxiety almost regardless of the circumstances of their lives.  A sanguine Aussie will consistently out-happy a dour Englishman no matter their relative fortunes in South Africa this summer.

While this may not be revolutionary stuff, the science of happiness does highlight some ways that our fandom can lead us astray.  One recent PR company survey, for example, found that 93 percent of England fans would “give up food for a week to see England win.”  This makes news because it seems to say something about how much the game matters to people—because it seems to say how happy it would make them to see their team win.  But they are wrong.

Predicting Happiness

Say hypothetically I want to predict how happy English football fans will be one year from today.  And say I have to make that predication for two potential scenarios: 1) England wins the 2010 World Cup; 2) England is knocked out of the World Cup by Argentina in a game where Carlos Tevez scores with a balled fist, Wayne Rooney gets dismissed on a second yellow for diving in the box, and Diego Maradona celebrates by belly sliding across Frank Lampard’s bow wearing a t-shirt saying ‘the Queen can stuff it.’  Here’s my prediction: in either case, English fans will be exactly as happy as they are today.

(photo from Reuters UK)

My prediction is based on a famous study in the science of happiness that evaluated the ‘real life’ equivalents of that English soccer dream/nightmare: in 1978 a group of psychologists compared two groups at the extremes of what we imagine to define our well-being—people had won the lottery, and people who had been paralyzed for life.  Immediately after their respective fateful events, there reported dramatic differences in their emotions—the lottery winners were ecstatic, the paraplegics were devastated.  Of course.

But over time a funny thing happened: they adapted.  The lottery winners started to realize that they still couldn’t afford everything they wanted, that they couldn’t trust people who had been good friends, that money changes but does not eliminate the stresses of everyday life.  Those who had been paralyzed came to realize that they could still engage in fulfilling relationships, that it could be rewarding to make little bits of progress in dealing with new challenges, that their physical limitations changed but did not eliminate the meaning of their lives.  After six months or a year, each group (along with a control group who had experienced no dramatic life events) expected to be back to the exact same level of happiness they’d reported before fate intervened. Extending the results of that study to virtually any life events, Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert (of Stumbling on Happiness fame) goes so far as to say “If it happened over three months ago, with a few exceptions, it has no impact on our happiness.”*[see end note]

Granted, objective events and circumstances do make a difference in the short-term; the night of England’s World Cup win/loss will undoubtedly be an alcohol-lubricated orgy of joy/woe.  And great games do offer aesthetic pleasures, along with the types of emotional highs (and lows) that constitute the immeasurable part of human experience.  But even in the short term an interesting range of variables mediate between events, between the win or the loss, and our emotional response.

The Social Relativity of Happiness

One key mediator between events and happiness is our relative perspective on what could have been—what academics call “counterfactuals.”  While competitive sports are alluring precisely because they delineate clear winners and losers, feelings of ‘success’ are relative to our expectations and our imaginations.

A famous research example here drew on the Barcelona Olympics to compare the emotional responses of silver and bronze medal winners.  As Victoria Husted Medvec and colleagues reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, objective raters consistently found bronze medal winners to be happier than silver medal winners.  In a follow-up study with amateur athletes they confirmed that this inversion of objective results was because people were thinking about what could have been: the bronze medal winners were comparing themselves to those who came in fourth, while the silver medal winners were comparing themselves to those who won it all.

In soccer terms, this suggests that fans’ happiness at the World Cup depends less on where they finish and more on where people think their team could have finished.  Subjective perceptions of what could have been matter more than objective results.  In fact, I’d hypothesize that on average English fans would be happier with a second round exit than a loss in the final—because they wouldn’t have to torment themselves with how close they came to winning it all.

(photo from Sky News)

This subjectivity of fans’ emotional reactions is further compounded by that other key variable in our happiness equation: people.  Both in the short term and in the long term we tend to be happier when we are engaged in healthy relating with others.  One relevant study here was done by María-Angeles Ruiz-Belda and colleagues in Spain, who video-taped soccer fans watching televised games from the World Cup and from La Liga.  The best predictor of whether or not the fans seemed happy during the game had nothing to do with goals being scored or favorable results; what mattered was the presence of other people.  Although Ruiz-Belda and colleagues use these findings to question the relationship between smiling and emotional experience, from a soccer perspective the results suggest that the full glory of the game only happens when shared.

The social essence of happy fandom also shows up in theoretical efforts to explain our irrational attachments to our teams.  Why do we identify with players we don’t know and franchises that use us for our money?  Probably the most common theoretical explanation is called the BIRG effect: Basking In Reflected Glory.  The idea is that we unconsciously use teams to orient our social identities in a way that tells us something about whether we are good or bad: when the US was up 2-0 at the half against Brazil in last summer’s Confederations Cup I was irrationally happy because of a vague sense that the score line reflected well on me.  When the US proceeded to lose 3-2 I was irrationally miserable because of a vague sense that I myself, sitting dazed in front of a pub TV 10,000 miles from the actual game, had failed.  But while BIRGing makes some sense I’ve never accepted it to be the full story—there are too many people willing to stick with their teams through too many lean years  (think again about the English and the World Cup) to make BIRGing the only thing that matters.

So I was pleased recently to stumble across some scholarship from a psychologist named Daniel Wann who has offered Team Identification-Social Psychological Health Model as a complement to the BIRG effect.  Ok, the name is not as catchy, but the idea fits with everything else I know about happiness: Wann has good evidence that fandom facilitates happiness because it offers us the types of real, imagined, temporary, and enduring connections to others that our human nature craves.

Ultimately, as many others have noted, where else other than the sports arena can grown men cry, hug, sing, and dance in a way that enhances both their masculinity and their social networks?  Where else can people of all stripes engage in loud, desperate, eccentric yet culturally endorsed expressions of our full emotional range?  We often think soccer makes us happy when our team wins, but the evidence suggests it actually makes us happy by offering rare opportunities—real or perceived—to connect amidst the penetrating anomie of modern life.  So, if the science of happiness is right, the England fan screaming ‘God Save the Queen’ with arms around mates after a second round loss may actually end up happier than the fan sitting alone on a tropical island watching Rio Ferdinand raise the Jules Rimet trophy. Or at least, if that isn’t any consolation, know that a year later winning or losing probably won’t make one bit of difference.  Right?

*Note: Oddly, one of the exceptions to Gilbert’s claim may be soccer related: in their recent book Soccernomics Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski present some provocative data suggesting that hosting a World Cup does increase happiness in a country even several years after the event—though they also find that hosting other major games does not influence national happiness.  They present further data suggesting that the idea of losing in major competitions as a cause of fan suicide is a myth—in fact, they argue, sports events tend to bring people together in a way that prevents suicide.  So while the whole picture is certainly a bit more complicated than I’m making out, the basic argument holds—major events by themselves don’t matter as much as we expect them to over the long term.

[As a more meta note: Back in 2009 and 2010, mostly in anticipation of the World Cup in South Africa, I did a lot of blogging for a great soccer web-site: pitchinvasion.net. For most of a year I wrote a weekly 2000-3000 word something using a broad soccer and social science lens, and while that level of extracurricular activity wasn’t sustainable it was probably the most fun I’ve had writing. Turns out, like many great blogs without a corporate media sponsor, the whole thing wasn’t sustainable – the site has now been dormant for a few years, and largely hijacked by gambling bots. When I first started this Tumblr I did a few posts linking back to pitchinvasion.net, but the site is now in such bad shape that I don’t think that’s a good idea anymore. So I occasionally insert a few posts here in hopes they are worth saving and with nothing really to lose…]

#pitchinvasion #sport psychology #world cup #socialscience #fandom

[phillymakerfaire]

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Break Through:

A NextFab Made Series

Break Through is a series about making. Making discoveries, making a difference in the community and making the world a better place. It’s the stories of startups and inventors who are developing products that have social value by solving real world problems. It’s about artisans and entrepreneurs who have broken through the mold to live their best lives.

Episode 1: Mark Brandon, Destined Goods

In our inaugural episode we speak with Mark Brandon, founder of Destined Goods, a custom drink-ware company based in Philadelphia, PA. Mark is a NextFab member that runs his business completely from a private project space on site.

Mark Brandon: I’ve been a member at NextFab since November 2013. However, I just started this venture, just about the beginning of 2018. I had been working on some prior projects. One of them was a party game, called Slushin’ Roulette. I did a Kickstarter and then ended up putting that on the bookshelf, and reorienting my time. So with Destined Goods, what I make and design and produce – home goods, specifically drink-ware; everything I design and make is here out of NextFab. The two components I primarily work in, right now are ceramics. So I do all this slip casting next door in my studio, which is also part of NextFab. It’s a warehouse space that they run out. I also do leather work, as well, so I have some equipment for that that I do out in my space as well as utilizing the laser engravers.

Ron Bauman: What did you do before you started here at NextFab and making things?

Mark Brandon: So I’m a mechanical engineer. I went to Drexel University. Graduated in 2013 with my mechanical engineering degree. All three co-ops as well as four, five years after graduation I worked in the petroleum industry. So I was a retail engineer for Sunoco, and then actually at the beginning of 2017 they did some restructuring of the organization and so,

Ron Bauman: As corporations want to do….

Mark Brandon: Yeah, correct. Exactly. So there were some re-locations. So some of the regional departments end up getting dispatched, including the engineering department that I was part of. So I was ready to get another job. I was networking and working with different vendors and clients that would get me back in the industry basically, just so we can keep that steady income and whatnot. In the meantime, I was already moonlighting, I guess you could say working on this at night, between here on the engineering design part of the products, as well as at the Clay Studio on 2nd and Race and Old City so I could get that straight weeks experience.

Mark Brandon: So as it was getting to the point where they were letting people know, “Hey, you’re laid off, thank you for your time basically.” My wife said, “Hey, instead of getting another job, you’ve wanted to have your own company since the end of college basically. But why don’t you take this as a sign to go head first into it and do it full time. We’re at a good position in our relationship where we’re already married. You just have rent. We don’t have kids. We have the financial flexibility to take this risk.” So it’s not the sort of thing I would have volunteered us as a couple to do, but having her support really, just knowing that she was confident enough in my ability to do it, made me confident in myself to try it out. So that’s how I started doing it full time.

Mark Brandon: So my last full day at Sunoco was my first full day at Destined Goods.

Ron Bauman: So you’re just done with Sunoco and on to Destined Goods? How did you come up with a name for Destined Goods? Was it destiny?

Mark Brandon: Yeah, that’s exactly it. So I really wanted to come up with something that conveyed the message that I wanted behind the whole thing, which is interacting with your favorite people, your friends and your family. So I was thinking things along the lines of heirloom and legacy. And then it was a shower moment. We were talking about how the whole layoff process and the way I got into this full time. I was kind of destined, to get something to push me into entrepreneurship full time. So Destined Goods just ended up making sense.

Ron Bauman: Do you feel like you always had an entrepreneurial sort of bone, like bug, or?

Mark Brandon: So I think the maker bug was always an innate partner with me for sure. I was always making stuff. I guess to use the cliché, I was that lego kid. I was always doing designs and whatnot as well with different product ideas and character ideas. But as I got into college, I started getting that entrepreneurship bug as shark tank was getting popular. I’m a huge fan of the profit now as well.

Mark Brandon: So as I saw the opportunity and commercialization, and as I was realizing with my corporate job that I’m not the biggest fan of reporting to bosses. I like to be able to make the shots. Not that I can’t work in a team situation. But when I can’t agree with, the decisions coming from the top, it’s difficult to go nose to the grindstone on something. So being able to get that opportunity really drew me into the entrepreneurship field.

Ron Bauman: To sort of be your own boss, sort of that characteristic is very and probably the most common trait of entrepreneurs.

Mark Brandon: Absolutely. At the same time I feel like my head’s always spinning with different marketing ideas and different creative partnerships that are not only for my own business, but for other companies just from hearing a few minutes of what they do. And so having the design and the marketing aspects, it just made sense to jump into entrepreneurship.

Ron Bauman: Are you from the area?

Mark Brandon: Greater Philadelphia area. I say South Jersey and then people try to correct me, even though there’s really only North and South Jersey ’cause it’s not the beach South Jersey, it’s Autobahn. So, I was born in Baltimore, Maryland, but we moved to South Jersey, my parents and I when I was less than one year old. And then I grew up the rest of my life and Autobahn, New Jersey, which is right over the Walt Whitman Bridge. So, 15 minutes away. Both, I have two younger brothers, they grew up in Autobahn as well. My parents still live there. Both my parents went to Drexel for chemical engineering.

Mark Brandon: So we’ve got that engineering bug in our genes. So that’s where they met. So they say that we had a choice to go somewhere else, but we all ended up going to Drexel. ‘Cause it just makes sense. It’s a good level-headed university. If you go, you get a really good batch of people that are well rounded, which fit well with my friend group from high school. So, I felt comfortable there. And then the co-op opportunities are just fantastic as well.

Ron Bauman: Yeah, the Co-op is great there. So did you do the two-year four-year internship?

Mark Brandon: I did the five year program with three, six month internships. So all three of those I did at Sunoco in their Engineering Department.

Ron Bauman: So I was going to ask what drew you to mechanical engineering, but I think you already answered it at least with __.

Mark Brandon: Well it’s funny I say that.

Ron Bauman: Sounds like it’s in your blood, in your genes a little bit.

Mark Brandon: Sort of is that, I say that my parents had the reason I didn’t do chemical engineering, but that’s just me being a brat. So really the mechanical engineering is because it’s really diverse. You get a taste of all of the different fields, which works well with me because I sort of have, like topic ADD. So if I tried to focus on just chemical engineering and just refining or processing of that, I would get bored. But with mechanical engineering, like Destined Goods, is also an example of the fact that I could take a five year degree from a university, and apply it to an art form. Because I use the CAD and the CNC experience and thinking through the material science that I used. So, that’s really what drew me to it is the diversity of it.

Ron Bauman: So, you go through Drexel, you end up at Sunoco for a few years, not really digging the corporate thing. You start to have these ideas, and you ended up … What was the root of that inspiration that said, “I’m gonna start, making these other things, and I’m going to start making these products that are potentially bringing friends and family together,” talk about that inspiration.

Mark Brandon: So I think it all kind of exploded in my senior year. And maybe that’s because it was the culmination of where I was actually at the point that I was comfortable enough to make the products. I had had an idea to do an automated drink dispenser, like an automated bartender or robotic bartender.

Ron Bauman: So I’m sensing a theme with your products.

Mark Brandon: I guess as my wife puts it, if I had two products senior year that I was working on. My senior design project, which was in an automated bartender, and then the party game, which was called Slushin’ Roulette. I think it was the second term of working with senior design I started jumping into Slushin’ Roulette and working on that as well. And that incorporating electronics also. So I basically shoved in Arduino into a shell that looked like a revolver chamber, like Russian Roulette.

Mark Brandon: So I started developing that product. That’s actually the first product that I worked on when I joined NextFab. I try to Kickstarter and then a bookshelf that, like I mentioned earlier. So that’s really where it all just started to kick off because, I felt really confident in my ability of fabricating, and I proved to myself, “Hey, I actually can make these things that I think up. What’s the next thing I can do?”

Ron Bauman: What is the next thing?

Mark Brandon: Well, not to jump the gun. I actually worked on Slushin’ Roulette for several years, did the kickstart in 2016 here, and then took a little bit of time off. I also had my wedding coming up in 2007, 2016.

Ron Bauman: Gotta get that right.

Mark Brandon: Yeah.

Ron Bauman: It’s also documented.

Mark Brandon: Yeah, she’ll kill me. So that led me into joining NextFab. I joined here and basically my routine was wake up in the morning, go to work as early as possible, get here at like six or seven, stayed till they were closing. They usually kicked me out the door. 10 o’clock at night they were like, “Come on, we want to go home too.” And then sometimes I’d stop at the gym if it was open late enough and then I would go home and just continue that rotation as much as possible. And it was good because I didn’t have any external pressures to do anything else. I could really dive into the project. But it also gave me the opportunity to learn a lot of different skills, that helped later on with this venture. Just soft skills as well as software skills with illustrator, web development, things like that. 3D printing laser cutting, CNC, all of it kind of came together to help out big time with this one.

Ron Bauman: So you have this side, that dedication to being here and you’re here from open to close at NextFab, you had a site there. Talk to me about really what’s driving that passion? Is it just that urge to make it and work with your hands? What’s really driving that dedication and that passion that you have?

Mark Brandon: Yeah, that’s exactly what it is. So I think just as much as I love to design products and iterate my products. At the same time, I want to see the fulfillment part of it. I want people to own them, enjoy them, and love it to a point that they become an ambassador. So until I get to that point, and I won’t stop at that point, that’s really that driving factor. And I continue to want to make my product better and better. So that on the tail end of it, on the consumer usage part of it, it just becomes even more of a wanted product essentially.

Ron Bauman: So tell us a little bit more about how NextFab has sort of helped you get to where you’re at right now with Destined Goods. And we know that you’re one of the members and companies here that use more than one department. So talk to us about the integration of the different departments and how NextFab helps you sort of navigate through and kind of charter help, charter success.

Mark Brandon: There are two big things that NextFab provides that really make this a much faster, experience for me. The first one being, the person, part of it. So all of the different experts in all of the different expertise that would take me four or five lifetimes at a minimum to attain. If there’s a particular skill set that I want to use, there’s at least one or two people that are near expert level if not expert level. And so not having to take several months, but several hours to get to something that I want to do. It makes the design and iteration process so much faster.

Mark Brandon: So it helps with time and money. Obviously. The other thing too, the cost prohibitive part of all of the tools. If I wanted to start my own shop, and I’m sure I would come up with something, but I don’t know. Like off the top of my head I really don’t know because it’s such a unique space. Having all of these tools that cost tens of thousands of dollars to obtain. It would really be prohibitive to do it on my own. So having access to them on day one, just affords me the opportunity to design and produce at a level that would take much longer. So it really is a competitive advantage from that standpoint.

Ron Bauman: So we know about all of the making that happens here, we know about the product-ization of somebody that can come in and with a project, make a coffee table or you could build an automated robot. Tell us about the entrepreneurial aspects of what happens here at NextFab.

Mark Brandon: So I know, for me the biggest benefit of the entrepreneurial aspect and having other companies that are incubating here are working their day jobs here is, the motivating factor. So if it was just me and the rest of the place was, or if I was in my own place, let’s say, and it wasn’t a community space. Admittedly it would be a bit harder to motivate myself to be just pounding out work all day long and then possibly all the way until midnight. But knowing between 2019 and having other businesses that are producing and manufacturing.

Mark Brandon: As well as upstairs in the community space and even in the metal shop, in the wood shop. Seeing people that are working just as hard, makes you not necessarily muster up that competitive spirit, but at once you to be your best entrepreneur. Because you see other people doing it as well. So that really helps. Also from a networking standpoint, there are so many people that know people, that it grows your networks so quickly.

Ron Bauman: Yeah. And I think you have that, you still have the common, at least for the time being, you have that commonality of the small batch manufacturing that you hear about so much. And you know with making making a comeback and bringing manufacturing back to the United States, and to this region in Philadelphia specifically. Which, we were the wood shop of the world, Philadelphia was referred to at one point. And it’s great to see all of this, reemergence, of people making things again. And I think, with the small batch manufacturing allows for a lot more customization.

Mark Brandon: It does.

Ron Bauman: So talk to us about sort of how that plays into to Destined Goods and the things that you make.

Mark Brandon: Yeah. So it’s funny that you say that. At first when I started Destined Goods, the idea of it came from, we did a destination wedding slash honeymoon in Cancun, Riviera Maya Mexico. So when we were at the first resort, we sell these random bottles. I didn’t know what they were, I thought they were vases or something. Come to find out it tequila tasting at the Cantina. It was Tequila decanters. I’m like, “Those are cool.” Come the honeymoon. They were pitching them to every couple. They are like, “Hey, do you want to try some? Don’t you want to buy one?” And then finally by the end of it I said, “That would be a really cool memento to commemorate the wedding.” And it being in Mexico and the honeymoon and everything else. And the thing was super ornate. It was beautiful. And, the whole week of the honeymoon my wife and I were talking about how do we get a passive income lifestyle so that we can do what we see other couples doing here.

Mark Brandon: We were talking to one couple, they were a cold cut distributor from New York. And they were like, “We come down here three times a year.” And we said, “Man, if we come down here once every five years I would be fantastic. So good for you.” And so when we came back and we’re looking through the thank you notes and everything else and opening up cards, I look at jokingly put it at the top of our entertainment center like a trophy. The bottle, and I said, “I’m going to keep that forever because I’m going to remember the wedding.” Although the Tequila is going to be long gone, within a year. But at least I’ll have the bottle to remember it forever. I’ll keep filling it with the other tequilas.

Mark Brandon: And then I thought, I’m sure there are millions of other couples out there want something that could commemorate their wedding, commemorate their first child, commemorate a promotion, anything like that. Even if it’s not necessarily a Tequila, it could be some sort of a spirit. So it got me thinking on the decanter style. And I didn’t want to do what everybody else does, which is crystal and glass decanters. I wanted it to be more ornate, like a vase. So I was thinking, maybe wood turning. And then I looked at that company I got the decanter from, and they said it on their website they do slip casting ceramics. So that’s how I got into the idea of slip casting.

Mark Brandon: Pivoting back to the Slushin’ Roulette idea, I did a Kickstarter. I didn’t raise enough money. The difficulty was not that the product costs a lot. It wasn’t, it was 80% margin if I sold it. The difficulty was the minimum order quantity that, resulting we needed me to raise $70 thousand to make zero dollar. $30 thousand for tooling and molds for the injection molded parts. And then $40 thousand for the cost of goods, to get that minimum order quantity. And then you come up with $70 thousand. So that’s obviously what the Kickstarter is for. And that’s make zero dollars, basically. Obviously to have some extra inventory to make money off of, cause it’d be 100% profit, at that point. But still that’s a big nut to crack. So when it came to Destined Goods, I wasn’t integrating that lesson learned. But what I was trying to do was, because the inspiration was make it passive income. My priority was make it outsourced as much as possible.

Mark Brandon: So I was using crowdsourcing for logo generation. I found a guy on Kickstarter that makes ceramic plates. I asked him how he gets them made. He said, “Here’s a guy I talked to, he’s a broker for a Chinese manufacturer.” So I just said, “Hey, I have this idea for bottles. What would the cost be?” He said, “It’d be a few dollars each. How many do I have to buy? 2000.” So not that it’s a ton of capital, but it was an idea. I had no idea if anybody wanted to buy it. So for a little less, but still $10 thousand dollars I could end up just sitting on ceramic bottles forever to garage. I didn’t like the idea that, I said, “You know what? I’m getting that bad taste in my mouth just like I did with the Slushin’ Roulette Kickstarter and overseas manufacturing.”

Mark Brandon: And then the maker in me started coming back out and I said, “You know what? For less than what that inventory costs could be, I could buy all of the equipment to start my own ceramic shop.”

Ron Bauman: Let’s talk about some of the people in your life that have inspired you, that have helped you get to where you’re at today.

Mark Brandon: Yeah, absolutely. My dad was always a hands on guy. Maybe not necessarily a master carpenter or plumber or anything else, but he was able to get the job done. So, I was lucky enough that he would always allow me to help him out with it. So I could at least get that experience of seeing what you can do with your hands.

Ron Bauman: Did you work on projects together when you were a kid?

Mark Brandon: Yeah. We worked on a lot of different projects. They got me the 30 and one radio kit from radio shack. So they quickly and kind of like,

Ron Bauman: Nudge you that way?

Mark Brandon: They sort of tried to nudge me into the engineering realm and an electronics realm, which I’m really appreciative of. They were random things. They would start getting me soldering kits. So, there was like a little robotic spider you put together, you solder the board together, to get everything to work. Just so, I didn’t know what I was doing. They read the instructions, but at least they kind of introduced me to the concepts of it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know what it was. But I think one of the larger projects that I took on was when I got into wood shop in high school, that’s when I really had a love for making things. So, at first it was basically, “All right. Everybody makes a shelf.” It’s wood shop one intro to wood shop, you’re making a shelf or you’re making a paper towel dispenser. And then you get into wood shop two and three where you make your own things.

Mark Brandon: So, I was able to start pulling from the project books. I could make a really cool revealed dovetail table with an ash top and walnut legs. That came out awesome. I was starting to incorporate different finishes, so using India ink to do a cherry finish. So, I think that’s when I started getting an appreciation for sort of a modern blend of matching. Not stark contrasting materials, but different type of materials without making them look super embellished, letting them be their own material. But by combining them, getting the cool sense, and I think that came back with Destined Goods with the ceramics and the leather and the wood and the metals. But my wood shop teacher, Mr Loughlin, was really cool sounding board.

Ron Bauman: I was just going to ask, did you have any teachers that specifically influenced you?

Mark Brandon: Yeah. Absolutely. He did big time. But my first project that I ideated from scratch and created with the help of my wood shop teacher and then actually help with my dad as well, was in sophomore year I wanted to make my own basic guitar. Worked out really well. It didn’t sound the best, because I’m not a luthier. But it worked.

Ron Bauman: Do you play? Are you a musician as well?

Mark Brandon: I haven’t touched it in a couple of years. I’m just a hobbyist. I don’t know how to read music or anything. I more so liked making it. I like playing it as well, but just as a hobby when I can.

Ron Bauman: Who else do you draw inspiration from?

Mark Brandon: So from a working standpoint, my wife is a huge inspiration, and she didn’t pay me to say that.

Ron Bauman: That’s a good answer. I was going to say cause this will be made public at some point. Exactly.

Mark Brandon: That’s the opening line of it. But she’s probably the hardest working person I’ve ever met. But, for me, even though if I get home and I’m exhausted and I don’t want to do some of the administrative stuff. When she’s on the couch next to me, and she’s got her laptop open til 10 o’clock at night, and it’s hard for me to say, “Hey, I’m going to turn the TV on even though I have stuff to do.” So it just keeps motivating me.

Ron Bauman: Sometimes it’s like another competitive theme that’s emerging here.

Mark Brandon: Yes. I mean it’s a little bit of that, live to work. And we both want to have more of that work life balance lifestyle. But, at the same time, it’s kind of integrated into our bones because we do enjoy what we do. And even though sometimes we do need a break here and there, it’s hard for us to not do that around the clock.

Ron Bauman: Yeah. I think one of the most important things for entrepreneurs is to really be able to connect their passion, to what they’re doing and to their purpose. And really infusing that, not only into your business model, but into your brand and everything that is involved with what you’re doing and what you’re making. So, we find that passion really becomes, what are you good at? And how do you want to spend your time? Where do you like to do? And what are you good at? And then that at that intersection is where you find passion. And then that’s what, if you can connect that to, your life’s calling and make that your life’s calling, then you know what better way to spend your days and your time. So that’s awesome. What’s the future look like for Destined Goods?

Mark Brandon: I want to grow from a talent acquisition standpoint. As well as I guess you could say, a fabrication warehouse standpoint organically, as the business finds the need for it. So, as I start getting larger orders, and it makes more sense to me for me to have laser independence, and buy my own laser cutter because if I have an order that is tens of thousands of dollars for our corporation as I’m working towards. It makes sense to get a laser cutter that’s a couple thousand dollars because the ROI makes sense. And then it helps me grow. I have different product ideas that the cost is a little bit high because I have to use a community laser cutter where I’m paying for the machine time. But if it’s a machine that’s already buried into my overhead costs, I can get the product costs down as well. So then I can start expanding my product offering as well.

Mark Brandon: I could start doing some cutting boards, and coasters, and some other home goods. I want to do wall furnishings as well. And then things that are outside of home goods. But I could go on and on about it. I have to stay focused a little bit on what I’m offering for the time being.

Ron Bauman: That’s great. So where can we find Destined Goods?

Mark Brandon: So Destined Goods I sell on my website @ destinedgoods.com, and all social media. I guess the popular ones, Facebook and Instagram, I have Destined Goods as well. So that’s the easiest way for people to find it and that’s where the store is as well.

Ron Bauman: Awesome. Any other favorite Instagram accounts?

Mark Brandon: I like following NextFab because I get to see what people are doing.

Ron Bauman: Good answer. Good answer.

Mark Brandon: I think it’s #NextFabMade.

Ron Bauman: Yes, that is the primary hashtag. Well it’s great to see how NextFab has played a role in your success. Last question, what’s the best advice you can give to budding entrepreneurs?

Mark Brandon: So if there are things that you don’t feel competent in, don’t feel like you have to be turning your wheels and figuring it out yourself. Feel comfortable reaching out to other entrepreneurs. Rather makers or there kind of one in the same most of the time. Because a lot of the time, they know where you’re coming from, they’ve learned those lessons. It doesn’t have to necessarily be an investor or a coach. It could be somebody who has their own business. That’s kind of the best source. And that’s what really helped me out. Is just reaching out to other artisans and other people who started their own company.

Ron Bauman: That’s awesome.

Mark Brandon: Yeah.

Ron Bauman: Well, Mark, thank you for your time. We wish you the best of luck with Destined Goods. We look forward to seeing you around the shop here at NextFab and until next time.

Mark Brandon: Thank you very much.

Ron Bauman: Alright. You got it.

Ron Bauman: Thank you for listening to this episode of Break Through. I’m your host, Ron Bauman, serial entrepreneur, founder of Milk Street Marketing, and NextFab member. To learn more about how NextFab can help you make your ideas come to life, visit nextfab.com and be sure to follow #NextFabMade on social to see what our members are making!

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