#funnily enough it was actually country music that made me have this realization

[sun-marie]

this whole discussion around rap is a reminder for me how silly the concept of loving/hating and ENTIRE GENRE of music is to me.

Like. Do y'all have any idea how much music there is in the world. I can Guarantee you every genre has AT LEAST ONE song that clicks with you, you just gotta find it

#funnily enough it was actually country music that made me have this realization #i used to say i hated country but that was just bc i hadn't found the good side of country yet #and it's outstanding cousin bluegrass my beloved #anyway if anyone wants some recs for (specifically nonwhite) rap artists i personally enjoy that you might wanna check out #obvs kendrick lamar is having a moment rn but his song “Alright” is legit one of my favorite songs ever #meghan thee stallion's “Circles” is also great and I particulalry like its hook #if you can stomach her Problematic actions outside her music Doja Cat has really fun songs like “Boss Bitch” and “Say So” #(the latter of which also has a lot of really pretty singing) #Rico Nasty's “OHFR?” is really great when you're in a mood #Lil Nas X has “Industry Baby” which has these sick horns in the instrumental #and there are plenty of others that i can't think of rn

[malecftw]

Europe with Shawn (new version)

So this lil one got deleted for some reason so here is the new version. I actually thought it was gonna be horrible but I don’t really mind it that much. The key points of the original story are def still there, just written differently. Enjoy! (A/N is the original one)

A/N: Y’all can thank the ‘there’s nothing holding me back’ music video for this holy hot damn creativity struck me like lightning (ok that didn’t make sense ignore this and enjoy!)

Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Warnings: none, just fluffffff

Word count: 1.505

Masterlist.

Requests are open!

Shawn adjusted his position in the wooden chair as the interviewer asked him another question. Sitting under the bright professional lights, in front of the big camera, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander to you.

Ever since you’d joined him in the UK for the first show of the European tour, you’d become inseparable. Shawn came back to earth when the room fell silent, awaiting his answer to the blonde interviewer’s question.

‘I’m sorry what was that?’ He said apologetically. The interviewer looked at him, acting like she could see right through him but in reality, she had no clue. She posed the question again, carefully articulating to make her English seem perfect but Shawn could still easily pick up on the foreign accent.

This time, he actually answered her question in full detail, trying to be as specific and complete as he could and she seemed happy with what she got out of him. As she asked him another question, the phone in his back pocket buzzed and he smirked, knowing exactly what it meant without even having to look at it.

When you’d joined him on tour, you’d made it a thing to venture out into every new city, finding different, new, cool places to eat while he worked. It was perfect since Shawn got to do what he loved while you got to go on a new adventure basically every other day. Preferably, you’d eat somewhere that had specific cuisine of said country, which wasn’t always the safest option.

Shawn silently thanked his manager in his head for only booking one interview today, bubbling with excitement to spend more time with you, wondering what kind of place you’d chosen today.

After the interview, he made sure to thank and say goodbye to everyone in the room. His parents raised him to be respectful and polite and while he was aching to get out of there, he also couldn’t not stick to his morals.

As he walked out of the building, he immediately opened up the notification that had your name on it. You’d just shared your location with him. No message, no nothing and he knew how much you loved making him curious for these kinds of things, so he followed the blue arrow on the map on his phone. As he dodged several variously colored Vespa’s and groups of tourists with sun hats on, he thought back to the memories you’d made over the past couple of months.

Your silk dress was giving you a godly shine in the summer sun as you sipped on a glass of wine at a French restaurant. Within viewing distance of the Eiffel Tower, you’d chosen the perfect spot for a little lunch date. However, both of you had quickly realized that snails were not your forte and while you tried it, it didn’t take you long to abandon the snails and go hunting for some macaroons.

Or that time you did an Escape Room after having had a typical German Bratwurst. That’s wasn’t really planned out or you would’ve dressed appropriately for the occasion since it had so much physical stuff that was not suited for your high heels and short skirt. Shawn didn’t mind though, when your skirt riled up, showing off your skin but he always respectfully stood in front of you, hiding you from plain sight as you fixed yourself. Eventually, you really got into it and being the gentleman that he is, he decided to carry your red pumps as you had the time of your lives solving puzzles and running against time itself.

As you were walking out of the Escape Room, you entered the main lobby of the building and the guy at the entrance looked at Shawn funnily as he noticed the red pumps. Of course, Shawn turned a lighter shade of red and you couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Or that time at the cat café in Amsterdam. That was freaking adorable for all of 5 minutes until you found out you were very allergic to their fur. You powered through it and left with a new found love for any pets that didn’t have fur.

Of course, you were waiting for someone to recognize him but as of yet, you’d chosen lowkey places. You knew it was only a matter of time before someone was going to snap a picture of the both of you and post it to the internet. But it was okay. You both knew it was bound to happen and rather than being secretive and cooped up inside all day, you wanted to enjoy this. Enjoy Europe with each other, two kids in love having the time of their lives. You’d had the talk and come to the conclusion that your relationship was strong enough to take the blow.

Shawn took in his surroundings, stood in front of a small alleyway that seemingly went nowhere, your location told him differently. The chills were running up his arms as he was suddenly walking into the shadow of the old town of Rome. Leaving the fancy designer shops behind him, all of a sudden he was surrounded by old houses, each giving off their own vibe and charm. He lifted his sunglasses and set them on the top of his head, not needing them anymore since no sunlight could reach between these high houses on either side of the small alley.

All of a sudden, he spotted you in the window of the tiniest restaurant. The facade being covered in sunflowers which oddly enough matched the peach color of the outside walls. He stood still, observing you for a second. You long hair cascaded down your back and moved along with you as you laughed at something the waiter said. Two wine glasses were put in front of you and you couldn’t help but twirl yours around in your hand, debating on whether or not to have a little taste before you arrived. You looked pure, carefree, happy. Away from the constant stress of your job, away from the boring drag of a normal life. He realized he wouldn’t be able to take you everywhere, but you’d be easier to convince to come with him on the road, simply because you lived for traveling and exploring.

You looked up from the wineglass and noticed Shawn staring at you through the window. Your smile faded slightly before coming back times ten. He broke eye contact first and decided to enter the little restaurant you’d chosen out for the two of you. The waiter greeted him and Shawn slightly bowed his head as an awkward sign of acknowledgment and respect.

You giggled at his awkward stance but quickly looked down when his intense gaze bore deep into your soul. You stood up to greet him and he took you into his arms, taking you by surprise when he deepened the peck on your lips for a second. His chocolate brown eyes stared at your lips once more before realizing you should kinda limit the PDA. Not that you hated showing each other off in public, you just didn’t want to be sickening to others.

You both sat down and tasted the red wine you’d picked out, both of you approving before starting to talk about both of your days. Both of you happily making some small talk while you waited for your food, which arrived shortly after.

You groaned as you took in the smell of your lasagne, while Shawn’s mouth watered at the sight of his Pasta Carbonara. He knew he could trust you with food choices (apart from that snail thing yeah that was gross) so he usually just let you order since he was always famished after doing press or rehearsals. You’d really outdone yourself this time and you were proud of the choices you’d made.

You ate in silence, but when dessert rolled along, you started talking about the next few days. Shawn had made sure he had a couple days off here in Rome since he knew it was your favorite city and you really wanted to see the sights. Just another one of the countless thoughtful things he did for you day in day out. 

He played with your fingers while you excitedly talked about what you wanted to do with the time off and he couldn’t help but smile. Here you were, all excited, so excited, to spend time with him and only him. You didn’t care about the money or the fortune, you just cared about him, his love and making memories with him.

Your excitement was infectious and he smirked as he thought about it. Visiting the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain,...

He couldn’t wait to see you check each and every one off of your bucket list, your little face no doubt filled with constant excitement.

He couldn’t wait for making memories with his best friend and the love of his life, for the rest of his life.

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes x reader #shawn mendes imagine #fluff

[tanadrin]

You seem to really like EU4, which, as it happens, is the one Paradox Grand Strategy game which I have *not* played (not counting Imperator, but then, does it really count as a Paradox game before the 4th DLC is released?), and I'm a little apprehensive about the usual 40-hours-to-familiarize-oneself investment which Paradox games tend to require. Would you mind selling me on it?

EU4 was the first Paradox game I played, funnily enough; I got into it before the first big DLC was released, although it must have been just about the time PDS was breaking out if its niche market with the release of CK2.

I actually have a lot of complaints about EU4: the modern DLC model incentivizes a bunch of tacked-on systems that don’t integrate with one another well, parts of the game get a lot of attention in one DLC and then are abandoned permanently. E.g., natives in CoP were given the ability to colonize without westernizing, I think so you could mimic, for instance, Iroquois expansionism in the 17th century, but it never really worked and now natives just... sit around. Institutions only kindasorta replicate the function of the old Westernization system--which was terrible! don’t get me wrong--but if anything getting institutions is a bit too frictionless now. And of course there’s the infamous lack of attention or balance to anything other than the 1444 start date, which is an artifact of the Great Error in developing EU4 (i.e., that there is anything other than a 1444 start date). And, of course, EU4 is a war game above all else: it does not simulate internal politics well (or at all), and it does not simulate economics well, and I crave, crave different forms of government that more profoundly affect how you play the game. And even in war, I crave systems that even permit the existence of asymmetrically distributed power between opponents to have a complex outcome, to say nothing of model it well. Historical example: East Frisia maintained its independence from the HRE for ages because the fens of the North Sea coast were super hard to invade and control for outside powers; but in EU4 that province just gets the bland “marsh” modifier, and Oldenburg or West Frisia conquers it in 2 seconds flat. There are ways you could model this! There are even ways you could model this within the constraints EU4 presents (province-based gameplay, generic battlespace), but the longer I spend with the game the more I realize just how much it leans, not in the “game about history” direction but the “game with historical coat of paint” direction.

That said, there’s a reason I have like 3800 hours played on Steam, and in comparison only 850 on CK2 and 1200 on Stellaris (aside from Stellaris being hella broken right now): I think the map-painting elements it has are done really well; wars are super fun; and I feel like I can play strategically in a way I can’t in, say, CK2. In CK2, the almost total reliance on event-driven systems, rather than geographically, economically, or politically-based systems, means that I very often feel like I’m being punished or rewarded solely on the basis of random chance. Even where some interpersonal contest is involved--say, my dastardly vassal trying to have me assassinated--it’s still often driven by random draws (% chance to discover a plot, etc) in a way that EU4 isn‘t. I think EU4 has had some of that, with events like the Iberian Wedding or the Burgundian Succession, but these are one-off artificial constructs meant to provide a point of reference to real-world history. They don’t drive the entire game. Personal unions are a big exception, as a mechanic, and one of my least favorite ones as a result; but even there you have a lot more control than it feels like you do in CK2.

And, of course, CK2 (along with, I gather, HOI4) has turned a bit more toward the “memey alt history” side of things than EU4 has. I’m not opposed to that in principle. Reforming the Germanic faith to become a religion of Amazonian cannibals, or electing a horse Pope or w/e is good wholesome fun for the whole family. But it’s not what drew me into EU4, which was basically the appeal of “here, let’s take all these disconnected things you vaguely learned about in history in school, remind you forcefully that they were happening at the same time, and give you a clear visual representation of them.” It doesn’t matter that the game itself probably isn’t a very good history teacher; its representations of history have made me much more interested in learning about, at different times, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the whole history of India, the succession of Chinese dynasties, and the history of central Asia. In comparison, CK2 suffers for being set at a time when a lot of the map has to be filled in by guesswork, and where it does touch on more clearly recorded elements of history, it filters them very much through a “this is what D&D nerds imagine the Middle Ages were like” lens. And maybe this is my bias for my exposure to medieval history showing through: but there is so much art and music and just general medieval Weltanschauung you could draw on to make a game about politics in the Middle Ages feel, well, medieval, and CK2 just... doesn’t. There’s a reason you can drop a total conversion mod like Elder Kings or that GoT mod on top of it and not have to change any of the art style or like 90% of the default events. EU4 does this a little better, via flavor events and specific mechanics like colonization and the layout of trade routes, that make it actually feel like you’re playing a game that has at least some contact with early modern history, instead of being a febrile hallucination by someone who fell asleep on top of some Penguin Atlases of World History.

This is turning into a generic rant about what I like and don’t like about PDS games, and before I go off on an enormous tangent about how I would design a history-based GSG, let me return to the original topic: if you like RTSes, and “strategy” as a game genre more generally, EU4 will have strong inherent appeal. There are a lot of DLCs, but several of them are deeply meh and totally skippable (especially Golden Century & Cradle of Civilization; and the single-nation-focused ones like Rule Britannia and Third Rome). I think a lot of people who get into CK2 but don’t like EU4 as much probably have a preference for RPG-style gameplay over strategy gameplay, which makes sense to me since I usually break the other way. But also, if you like the CK2 thing where you start as a count and work your way up to Roman Emperor or something, EU4 has a ton of opportunities for that extremely satisfying feeling of taking a tiny country and building it out to a big empire. The very late part of the game when you have defeated all your rivals and can blob freely can be pretty boring, but I’ve played to 1821 like twice, tops: the early and midgame are some of the most fun I’ve ever had in a single-player game. EU4 also deeply appeals to the Johnny in me, because I love stupid minmaxing strategies like seeing if it’s possible to go Coptic as the Mughals and massively reduce coring costs so you can conquer all of Asia for a handful of admin points. (DDRJake did a version of this back in the day with the Minghals IIRC, using the old faction system, that was pretty damn funny.)

Not sure how useful all that is, but I hope it’s worth something.

#eu4 #paradox

[3packsfrom21]

Looking back on Ireland

Where to begin? Two weeks ago Kiana, Janae and I left for Ireland. We covered a LOT of ground in two weeks! It wasn’t exactly the start we were hoping for; Kiana was barely finished her go with bronchitis and I had just finish my last day of antibiotics for a chest cold that Sunday. It was a seven hour direct flight to Ireland. Our plan was to arrive into Dublin around 11AM Monday. There, we would meet up with our cousin Jessica McCluskey who was flying in from Toronto. Dublin airport isn’t very big, so when we landed, we were able meet up pretty quickly. Unfortunately, Jessica’s flight wasn’t as smooth as ours. Turns out that a seventeen year old Canadian traveling by herself is the perfect profile of an Irish terrorist. Customs questioned her for over an hour. Even after that, they put a limit on how long she was allowed to stay in the Country.

Anyway, we catch a bus from the airport out of Dublin to Belfast. Its a half-hour trek across town to our hostel. I will just put it at this: we were very happy to see those doors! When we went to check in, the receptionist asked for our ID’s. What we didn’t know when we booked this hostel was that they don’t allow minors to stay in public rooms, which was a problem, as Jessica is seventeen. The hostel would usually just move people around to give us a private room, but we arrived on the exact same night that the Foo Fighters (a popular band) were playing. So, of course every room was full, and that goes for every hostel in Belfast. So, now we don’t have a place to stay, we haven’t eaten since we left Calgary and we are looking at our next two weeks wondering what the heck we got ourselves into. The other thing was the way the receptionist had explained the whole underage issue made it sound like this was a law. Meaning the other three hostel we had booked would most likely have an issue with Jessica’s age as well. The icing on the top was we had no wifi. So we literally couldn’t do anything! The receptionist said he’d call his boss and see what he could do and miraculously the boss was willing to let it slide. He would let us stay so long as we didn’t do any drinking (which, of course, isn’t our thing anyway). So one hurtle down. Next was the issue that we needed to get some way to call our next hostels. Heading out, we manage to find a grocery store that sold SIM cards. Grabbing some food, we went back to try and figure out our next couple days. Of course, we couldn’t get ahold of any of the hostels, and all it said on their websites was that there was an age restriction with no detail on what that meant. Finally, Kiana manages to find the Hostel World’s (the app we use to book hostels) rules. They said that minors could only stay if there was an adult with them. So we just had to hope that that was everyone’s rule as well. Last thing was we needed to organize our tomorrow. The Hostel had a tour discount on but we needed to get pounds out – because, of course, with our luck, we had thought to bring Euro with us, but Northern Ireland is its own country within the British isle and carries a different currency. In the end, as we laid in our beds, I can’t say we were all that settled. If this was how all of Ireland was and if our start was to be any outlook on the rest of the trip, we most likely would end up leaving Ireland early.

The next day was better. We went on a bus tour to the Giant’s Causeway. It was a long day as all of us were suffering from jet-leg. We only had one full day in Belfast, so this was our day to see it if we wanted to. The bus stopped at a few places and funnily enough we ended up enjoying the first stop at Larry Bane more then the actual Causeway. It was known for this fisherman’s rope bridge the extends between two cliffs. You had to pay to walk it. Instead, we just went and sat at the base of the cliffs and enjoyed the warm weather and beautiful view. Once we got to the Giants Causeway, we went on our tour through each cove and all in all found the 9 pound we spent to be a bit of a waste. The Causeway itself was very cool, we just don’t really care about giants (the tour gave us myths, we wanted science and facts).

Our next day was more relaxed. We saw this massive museum - and when I say massive, I mean we spent almost three hours and did not even reach the fourth floor! Honestly, I think it was never ending – they’re just making more and more rooms full of the most bizarre things. It wasn’t even just one particular museum, it was EVERY kind museum artifacts put together. I mean they had a room completely dedicated to chemistry elements, people, like come on! Of course, if we would’ve let her, Janae would have just stayed there for her two weeks. But I, for one, have this thing called hunger that reminds me that this painting of a flower vase may be very pretty but it will not satisfy my needs. So we left.

Belfast was so unique to anything I had seen before. There was just so much age resting within the cobblestone streets. I have never seen so much brick in my life! And it wasn’t the fake brick we have back home, where they paint it to make it look better. No, this was iconic rusty red with all its beauty resting in its natural state. Looking at Ireland as a whole, Belfast really isn’t very old. I guess it was cool because it was the first. I will forever have Belfast as the first place I saw of all Europe. To me, that’s cool!

Our second day was also our last day in Belfast. We needed to catch our bus for 3:00, so we started looking for a café to spend our last bit of time in, before going back to the hostel, grabbing our packs, and making the half hour walk back across town. It was raining and as we passed this church, a woman offered us free pastries and free coffee if we came in, so of course we did. We ended up meeting this really nice girl a bit older than Kiana. We were so comfortable there, we stayed for much longer than anticipated just chatting with her. And as we left we all felt so filled. Its funny really, because now I look back and we had been there for two days, that’s it! Yet, we already felt drained. It reminded me a lot of how God calls us to be in community with each other. Yes, we are to bring the gospel to those in darkness, but I think, for myself at least, I forget how quickly my energy runs out. I think its just so comforting to realize that he calls us to go, but he also has created such an easy way to become renewed.

Next was Dromore: a small town out in the middle of nowhere. We stayed in an Airbnb in the country for two nights. Dromore is one of our highlights of Ireland. Even though we forgot to buy groceries before heading out and therefore lived off of cereal and one single-size bag of instant rice, it was quite a nice place. Out of the city, Ireland is home to so many different shades of green, rolling hills, and, above all, very genuine people. They say Canadians are nice, but I beg to differ. The amount of times over our two weeks that we had strangers help us for no other reason than because they wanted to is remarkable. However, Dromore was our first taste. The only downside to it all was that my chest cold returned just to remind me that swallowing can hurt. I would go into our adventures in Dromore further, but I will never finish this post if I do. So just trust me, it was crazy and beautiful and sort of mind blowing.

Our next stop was only for one night. We had decided to go far up north to Derry, basically for my dad. Thankfully, we had no issue with the hostel age restriction and took this as a very good sign that it wasn’t a law in all of Ireland. Derry is where my dad’s family originated from, and so he wanted us to go and find out more about our ancestry. To him, all you have to do is go to the Parish church and ask to look up William McCluskey in their records and magically everything will be written down there for us to read. I mean, it takes years for other people to find out about their ancestry, but no, the McCluskey name is enough for us. Lets just put it this way; Derry was really, really cool to see. It was actually old, and it was quaint and safe and probably another highlight of our stay. It, however, was not very informative. Dad gave us five names, five very generic names. The McCluskey’s may have been many things, but they were not very creative with names. I mean, when you think of Irish names your first five will most likely be them. There was William McCluskey, Patrick McCluskey and Charlie McCluskey, John McCluskey and Ralph McCluskey. Once again, I challenge you to find any info from those names. The other thing was, like most cities, there isn’t just one church. Derry had at least 3 Parish churches and all of them had had at least two fires that had burned some of their records. Let that sink in.

From Derry we headed south to Galway. A tip to any traveler doing a similar trek. This will be ONE of the longest bus ride of your life, and it will be expensive. My take on our lovely adventure is this: you are on a roller-coaster except its not just you on the track, there are people coming at you. This roller-coaster doesn’t just go up and down, it also goes side to side in a rocking-want-to-die sort of way. Plus, there is the every three minute - slam your head against the seat in front of you – gentle break to allow the other travelers to pass you by.

I assure you, you wont forget it.

Galway is known for its night life and therefore everything is a bit dirtier and all the more expensive. It was still very cool to see. Live music is a big thing in Ireland and we all really enjoyed walking through the cute streets and listening as every couple of blocks there was a change in genre and mood. Although it was only a couple of nights we enjoyed our time there. We had very good seafood and began to recognize a trend in small-sized food portions, which saddened everyone immensely.

From there, we left behind the city lights and headed to a small surfers' town named Lahinch, or maybe it was Lehinch, or Le Hinch, we didn’t really figure it out as even the store owners weren’t sure. This WAS the longest bus ride of my life. In actuality, when we got off the three hour ride I am sure I had lost at least two years of my life. You say I’m exaggerating, we’ll never know now will we? The town was on the coast and, had it not rained for 95% of our time there, it would have been a lot more fun. The one reason we went was to see the Cliffs of Moher. These were a definite highlight of mine. I would go into detail but I’m sure my mother will be reading and I would like her to still be alive when I get back. Just kidding mom! We were safe and stayed a mile away from the edge the entire time… Anyway, very cool – amazing, actually. Again, Lahinch was expensive!

Our last stop was most likely one of our favorite cities in Ireland. Originally, we weren’t going to see it, but it was recommended to us and we are really happy it was. Killarney is like the Amazon of Ireland. It was still fairly pricy, but there were a couple of places we found with some really good food. Plus, there were a lot of cafés (aka: the reason Kiana and I are on this trip). We were able to go to church here and thoroughly enjoyed the service. Somehow, we managed to land our stay on the same Sunday that a very very crucial football (or at least what they call football) match between Dublin and Kerry. The atmosphere of that game was so cool to experience even if we hadn’t had a clue how the game was played. Also, we let Kiana talk us into doing a 19 km trek to see these waterfalls. In her defense, it was only supposed to be a mere 14km, but we stopped and looked around these abbey ruins. During the marathon, Janae seems to have strained a tendon or something in her leg, and even now we are still trying to figure out how to get her around painlessly. From there it was to Dublin, straight thru to the airport and onto France.

In entirety, Ireland was for sure a perfect start to our trip. It was safe, clean, and beautiful. And as I look across the fields in France, I can attest that Ireland is remarkable in a completely unique way, standing apart from the rest Europe.

Well that's was long...

Lynece

[daemonmaycry]

Since you need help with developing Quinn, I figured I’d send in a whole bunch of Q’s to help! Feel free to answer as many or as few as you want ^_^ I separated them by level of depth Light: 18, 20, 30, 33 Medium: 1, 20, 37, 40, 41 Deep: 2, 8, 21, 25, 29, 42

Ah! So many questions! Thank you so much! 💙💙 I’m gonna go ahead and answer...ALL of them!! 😆

Light Questions:

18. What kind of home would they want to live in? Where would they place this abode?

While content with the split duplex she currently shares with her best friend from college, her dream home with V would be a gothic style cottage. Something near the woods and overlooking a lake, with enough space that she can practice her magic and spells with being too destructive.

20. Does your character like animals? What are some of their favorite animals? Would they want pets? What about mythological creatures?

Quinn loves animals! Denny, her duplex mate, will often come down to her floor to find Quinn nursing injured pigeons and other city wildlife back to health. She has a black rat snake as a pet named Edgar. A hefty noodle.

Denny is not a fan. 😂

30. When it comes to the arts (music, film, theater, etc), what does your character like?

Loves music and loves to dance around to said music while cleaning up the shop. Is known to get a...little too into it if a beat is dope enough (Trish once witnessed Quinn twerking while dusting bookshelves. Will NOT let her live that down). Doesn’t enjoy country music, which typically prompts Nico to blast it full volume whenever Quinn’s in the van.

33. If your character wanted to be alone, where would they go?

The top of Devil May Cry. There’s no roof access so she Dimension Door’s herself up there. Granted she could be easily found by Dante, who can fly, or Trish, who can literally just leap up the building, but they respect her privacy enough if she needs time to think.

Medium Questions:

01. What does your character’s name mean? Did you pick it for the symbolism, or did you just like the way it sounded?

Funnily this is the easiest question. Since she started out as a self insert oc, Quinn Collins is the fake name I usually give myself. Mum made the mistake of telling me when I was younger that Quinn was one of the name options when I was born, and I’ve been obsessed with that name ever since. Collins was mum’s maiden name, and I think it just flows well. Quinn has since evolved into her own hot mess.

37. What are some of your character’s pet peeves? What are some things that annoy them or disgust them?

Pet peeves: Denny barging in during the morning hours after Quinn’s been up all night doing arcane studies, forgetting to drink her tea/coffee before it’s gone cold, people trying to talk to her while she’s reading(we share that one heh).

Things that disgust her: Dante’s cleaning habits, or rather lack thereof. Clutter is one thing, the rotten pizza boxes and stale booze bottles horrified her the first time she stepped foot in the shop.

40. Does your OC have any guilty pleasures they enjoy? Hobbies, past times, music, etc that they wouldn’t want known by others?

Doesn’t really believe in “guilty” pleasures. If it brings you joy, why feel bad about it? (Though she was a liiiittle embarrassed that time V caught her eating strawberry cream cheese straight out of the container with a spoon. He didn’t say anything, but she could feel the judgement. 😬)

41. Does your character’s family affect your character in any way?

Biological family, yes, very much so. That’ll be covered in a later question. The DMC crew is pretty much her current family. Lady pretty much adopted Quinn as a little sister and moved her in with her as a teen. Quinn can’t really fathom not having Lady, Dante, and Trish in her life, as both mentors and family.

Deep Questions:

02. What is one of your character’s biggest insecurities? Are they able to hide it easily or can others easily exploit this weakness?

Feeling like a burden or is something that’s plagued Quinn her whole life thanks to her mother. Living with/being raised by Lady during her teens has gone a long way in regards to chipping away at that block on Quinn’s shoulder. But sometimes she can’t help but feel that nagging thought that she’s not good enough or strong enough to be useful to the crew, and they’ll leave her behind once they realize it. Does her best to hide it but those close to her can usually tell.

08. What is, perhaps, their biggest flaw? Are they aware of this or oblivious to it?

Habitually acts/speaks before thinking. Often results in laughter at her expense, but she tends to be good natured about it. Has also put herself in the way of danger without analysing the situation, which has gotten her benched from field work more than once. Granted, she’s more of an arcane researcher than a devil hunter, but she can still hold her own on the battlefield. Knows she’s impulsive, but really has to concentrate on not acting on her first instinct.

21. What is one of your character’s biggest fears? How would they react when dealing with this fear?

The thought/threat of being restrained or bound freaks Quinn out. If it’s said in jest by a friend or acquaintance who doesn’t know her past, she’ll flinch and get quiet while a look of panic flashes across her face. If they ask if she’s alright, she’ll mumble something about needing to be somewhere and will walk away.

If someone is actually trying to restrain her she will go into a panic and her magic will surge and lash out wildly at her assailant as well as anyone/anything else in the room.

25. Is there something traumatic from your character’s past that greatly affects them even to this day?

So uh, Quinn’s mother tried to sacrifice her to a cult when she was 15 😬

She also to this day, refuses to wear shoes with laces because of what happens in question 42 ahead.

29. What is one of the most courageous things your character has ever done for a loved one?

(Could also be read as “dumbest” depending on who you ask 😏) Took a hit meant for Lady when she’d been knocked out during battle. When Quinn saw Lady fall, she Dimension Doored in front of a demon charging at the downed woman, getting impaled in the shoulder in the process. The adrenaline, fear, and pain resulted in a magic surge that killed the demon but rendered Quinn unconscious as well.

42. Is there anything in your character’s past that they regret, haunts them, or they wish they could change?

Quinn constantly blames herself for her brother’s death, an event that bolstered her fanatical grandmother’s belief that Quinn was a “cursed” child and needed to be dealt with. She’d been playing near the road when she tripped into the path of an oncoming truck. Her older brother pushed her out of harm’s way and was struck instead. Sometimes she can’t help but play the “what if” game in her head, imagining the scene with different factors and results.

Thank you again for sending me these questions!💙😙 I really need to write her story 😅

#oc ask game #these actually helped a lot! #i love my dumpster fire mage baby #dmc oc

[endlessgreysky]

August 10, 2.04 am

Fun thing about ptsd is that my brain protects itself from things, until it doesn’t. A lot has happened recently and I went numb for actual weeks, and I just had a tiny moment where I felt a tiny emotion and suddenly every emotion just rushed into the crack so quickly I had a panic attack.

Lost one of my friends. Out of everyone I’m friends with she’s the one I’d expect it from, she’s the one who’s problematic enough on her own that I honestly didn’t feel anything but rage at what happened. Then I felt nothing, and I felt a little weird and bad for it but it was more important how my friends were feeling anyway. The drama is between my best friend and her, so I’m just here being pissed because my best friend is my person and I’m wildly overprotective of her. But my other friend is like the ex-friend’s person, so it’s awkward bc she’s going to keep being friends with all of us and she just wants us to work it out. She talked to me about it yesterday and I’ve just been thinking about it ever since. The first thing I did when the drama happened was remove her from social media everywhere so she can’t contact me without it being a “request” so that I can choose whether or not I engage. Thinking back I’m just beating myself up because I’m so used to dealing with drama that I never stopped to think if that was the best idea in this situation. And it’s not like I’m super excited or ready or willing to let her even a tiny bit back into my life, but in all honesty everything I feel towards her regards what happens with my best friend, so if they work things out I’ll still have removed her everywhere. I guess I got so used to losing friends and everything being impermanent that it took me this long to realize the friends I’m losing now are the ones I’d started to consider family.

I’m pissed at her, a part of me hates her, a part of me never wants to even look at her face again, but it hurts. It’s just this nagging ache that I felt when I realized that she was my family for awhile and I just shattered a part of my family since she’ll always be around as long as my other friend is. And that ache is what let in all of my other feelings as something besides my numb depressed state.

My mom had someone she loved die today and threw herself into a dinner with my dads shitty fucking family right after. They condescended her because that’s what they do, they condescended me because they think she doesn’t know how to raise me, and honestly I just hate being around them and it was in the house I grew up in and it was just really uncomfortable. Not to mention that my dad exists to make me miserable. But my mom thought things were going really well and she was actually feeling great when we went home, only to find that my cousin posted the picture she took while my mom watched her take it, and tagged everyone in it except my mom. And it made my mom upset and excluded and all of those feelings which made me really upset bc no one gets to ever fucking make my mother feel that way. She deserves better. Quite honestly, I deserve better, but I don’t care enough about myself for that.

My two best friends in the entire world deserve better too. The one I talked about earlier has a lot of dumb family drama and it’s been a hell of a lot worse lately, and there’s nothing real I can do to help her besides talk about how nice it’ll be when we have an apartment together. It’s not very reassuring since I don’t even have a job yet. And her birthday is coming soon and her family is just remaining shitty as if she’s not about to turn eighteen which should be huge and exciting. And my other best friend goes through a lot and I just can only help her so much through text but she lives in another country so there’s literally nothing more I can do to help her. It’s the worst feeling in the world, to want to fix something or help someone and literally being unable to do it.

I’m really lonely. I still haven’t told my mom about my ptsd and I’ve kind of been closed off because I don’t want to tell her anymore. My best friend lives in another country, my other has a job, and my only other real friend now is moving into a dorm soon. Those are my people and they’re amazing people and I love them with everything in me but it’s just like, there’s something missing. I guess I was really in love with this guy that broke my heart and it’s not even him anymore, it’s just that I miss that feeling. I’m tired of being alone. And almost all of my trauma is from my ex, so being in a healthy relationship is literally the only thing that works best to heal and shit bc it replaces the bad memories with good ones. My therapist says if I do that enough it should blot them out a lot, and it’s worked so fucking well with my friends that I’m just dying for it to happen romantically. I’ve been having more flashbacks and nightmares again bc my ex is back in town and it’s just looming over my head. And just bc all of my mental health is getting worse. And I have a lot of methods to cope now that are helping, but there was something about my recent ex that just helped. Like, I had a flashback once and he wrapped his arm around me and that was all it took to calm me down. It was just the feeling of being with someone in that way that was safe and comfortable and it was something I’d never felt before and idk if I’m a junkie for it or if I miss it or what but I don’t know how to really get better without that happening. And it’s going to take so much time for that to actually be able to happen again and it’s just killing me ig. I’ve also jumped into this self destructive state where I’ve convinced myself that I want or even need to see my ex again for like closure or some bullshit, as if I don’t know the fucking panic I would go through even if we stayed forty feet away from each other the entire time.

My life has gotten so quiet and depressed recently that I’ve stopped listening to music most of the time, which is like ridiculously sad. And concerning. Music is literally the thing in this world that means the most to me that I care the most about and I just don’t fucking care about it right now. I don’t feel like I have the mental energy. I have no idea why or what’s wrong with me but you know what? It’s terrifying me.

I’ve been drowning all of my problems in fanfiction like nobody’s business. It’s wildly problematic bc I’m burying my feelings, I’m not doing anything bc on the days I don’t read all day I’m sleeping all day bc I read all night. I haven’t written anything for my novel in a month now and I’m very aware of it but I couldn’t be bothered to work on it, which is bad bc I’m about two weeks away from missing my second goal for it and I’ll beat myself up a lot once I start having feelings again. (Funnily enough I’m going numb again now that I’m getting all of my emotions out here.) I’ve deadass cancelled plans with myself and other people to read the fanfiction. And like it’s great fucking fanfiction but it’s getting far passed even the term unhealthy. In fact, I literally started crying during my panic attack earlier because I’d convinced myself Wade Wilson was so real that when reality hit I couldn’t handle it. It’s like I was using Wade comforting Peter (Parker, its Spideypool) as my own emotional comfort in that kind of relationship way I’ve been missing. And even knowing he’s not real I’ve been taking a lot of comfort knowing he would beat the shit out of my ex if he ever met him. But yeah I’ve been channeling myself through their relationship and living through it and it’s been one of my most incredible acts of escapism yet, and then I realized I don’t actually have someone to hold me when I break and reality crashed onto me so much fucking harder. And I think it’s also that I know Wade’s character enough to trust him and so I’ve become a fictional characters emotional leech and I let it get so intense unintentionally that I literally couldn’t handle the reality that didn’t have him in it. This kind of makes me sound crazy lmao. Funnily enough, I used to have breakdowns like this a lot whenever I got way too into my escapism. But usually it was just a lot of sadness - the only other time I had one at this level was when I started to realize that my entire fantasy universe wasn’t going to come to life when I grew up. Basically, I had a very intense childhood but like fuck i was lonely back then and I guess I must be that lonely now. At least this time I’m creating fake significant others instead of having only imaginary friends.

My therapist and I haven’t been able to meet much over the summer and it’s been enough for me to pull back and make my issues seem better than they are, which is probably a lot of the reason I’m suddenly a fucking mess. Luckily for me, she’s gone this week so I won’t get to see her 🙃. But anyway, I think I got everything out and I definitely feel like this helped. I needed to vent in a way I haven’t done in a while. I’ve also been being misgendered a LOT on my recent trips and it’s all by family which affects me worse bc they know my identity and don’t work to correct themselves. So that’s not helping. And it might be almost 3 am now but I’m definitely diving straight back into fanfiction for awhile longer before going to bed. I can admit I’ve taken it way over the top but escapism is my bitch for a reason and I’m not giving up on it now. I think I am gonna try to make some sort of note for my therapist so that I don’t keep talking about my issues like they’re better than they are. I always do it but with her it’s a problem lmao. Oh, I’m also avoiding sleep tonight bc I don’t want nightmares. So there’s that gem. I turn 18 in 15 days and I’ve stopped making plans bc I literally don’t care anymore. Taking stock on the things I’ve stopped caring about, I’m literally a huge fucking mess and I didn’t even realize. Oh! And I’ve also started having a lot of self esteem issues bc it’s hot outside and my stretch marks on my thighs show with my shorts on. That hasn’t been a problem for me in years.

Anyway, I think I’m finally done now. I seriously doubt anyone read all the way through this long ass vent, but on the off chance that you did, thank you for your time. I really appreciate it. I hope you’re having a better time than I am, you deserve all of the good things and I hope you’re getting all of them and more. Please have a good morning, day, or night. Stay hydrated and do something nice for yourself bc you deserve it! All my love 💕

Chris xx

#complex ptsd #cptsd #ptsd #abusive ex #actually ptsd #actually traumatized #mental disorder #depression #ptsd life #numb #literally no motivation anywhere #everyone deserves better #therapy #too many feelings #breakdown #friend drama #family drama #can my life shut up #im being pressured to get a job too #i grew up years ago #but im not ready to grow up yet #send help #im not good enough #chris and their bullshit

[heartlandians]

In Deep Water (Lou/Peter Fanfic) pt 100

A tragedy is bringing a couple in the verge of separation back together. A/N: Spoilers up to 8x18. This was inspired by something someone said while they were filming mid-season episodes for season 9. * * * *

Lou walked into the bar with Vanessa and looked around. Even though the place hadn't changed much in eight years, it just made Lou realize how much she had during that time. She could almost hear herself drunkenly singing "Bad Timing" while Scott watched her from their table, and it made her shake her head.

How simple had things been back then.

"Will this do?" Vanessa asked when she noticed the head-shake.

"Oh, yeah yeah," Lou said, not wanting to make Vanessa feel like she was somehow too good to be here, because that wasn't true. Sure, it was no bar with low jazz music from New York, but she still didn't think herself to above all this. Hudson had its country charm that made her feel at home. "I was just thinking about the time I came here eight years ago with my ex-boyfriend."

"Hopefully not bad memories," Vanessa replied as they tried to find a free table.

"No. Now that I think about it, funnily enough, I feel like I was mentally kind of in the same place as I am now." Lou realized that even though she'd just thought she'd changed, maybe she hadn't actually gotten that far after all; apparently she was stuck in some type of cycle or pattern. "Kind-of-in-a-relationship, but keeping distance with the man," she thought back on Carl, "not looking for anything new, but in the need of letting loose."

"Well then, this is perfect, isn't it?" Vanessa said as they took a seat and put their light summer jackets aside. "Worked great the last time, right?"

"Well..." Lou laughed. "Not perfectly, but I guess it pushed things along."

In here, she'd seen that awfully comical ad-that Marnie's husband had made-on TV, felt like a failure and went home crying. Thinking back to that and how she was more confident as a business woman now made her feel at least somewhat accomplished.

Maybe she'd gained something since then, after all.

"Oh god." Lou shook her head, almost feeling amused. "Thinking back to that now just makes me think how small streams make big rivers. Eight years ago, I came back home from New York, and my family had basically nothing going for them, except Heartland-but even with that, hope almost seemed lost. I was so concerned about keeping Heartland alive that I thought my life would somehow end if we couldn't make it work for us."

"And look at you now!" Vanessa said proudly. "Not only is Heartland doing well, you have your own businesses! Hell, I'll drink to that-or I would if we had anything to drink. Hey, how about I get us something while you keep our seats?"

Lou nodded. "Sure."

"I'll be right back," Vanessa said before she got up and disappeared into the scattered crowd.

Lou's glance glided over the stage where a middle-aged man was singing some sad country love song and putting his whole heart into it. While she listened, Lou thought back to home and wondered how Peter was doing with the kids. It wasn't like it was his first time alone with Katie; he'd stepped in and looked after the girls while she was on her book tour a few years ago, so she probably had nothing to worry about. All the fears she was having were probably stemming from the recent accident and nothing more.

Lou trusted Peter to be a good father, so she tried to put any doubts aside, especially because she knew Peter had such high morals about keeping Katie safe-as she'd seen in the hospital when they'd fought.

As for Georgie, Lou had been surprised with how little resistance they'd gotten from Georgie's end when they'd told her she was going to join Jack and Lisa on the trail ride and help with the Dude Ranch guests. Maybe Georgie was actually ready to take more responsibility and had just waited for someone to give it to her-after all, she always admired Amy's doings and wanted to be involved with clients and their horses. And riding Phoenix had probably sweetened the deal as well. Lou was probably holding her back too tightly, whereas Georgie was ready for more than Lou expected.

The more she got into thinking about things back home, the more Lou realized she needed this night out, if for nothing else than to lose some of that control Peter always said she needed to have.

It was true, she had to admit; she needed to have control. But she wasn't sure why. Part of her knew things were going to be okay and she didn't need to control everything-and her control wasn't needed for things to be okay.

But how could she fix it if she didn't understand it?

"Hey," Lou heard a man's voice say as a guy in his mid-thirties slid right next to her and put his beer bottle on the table. "I was beginning to think it was some kind of elderly night here, but then I saw you."

Lou looked at the guy. His eyes were twinkling even though it was rather dim in the bar, and when he smiled, his dimples came out. He was dressed somewhat sharply-which made him stand out-and he didn't look like just like any other cowboy here.

Lou didn't know why or how, but he gave this vibe that he wanted her to be at ease, but instead, Lou felt her guard getting up.

"Well, it's not like the young people here come to this place to party," Lou replied, somehow feeling threatened all of a sudden, like she was expected to flirt or show interest in this stranger. "Something tells me they wouldn't like it here."

She hated that when a man and a woman met in a bar, there were all these expectations in the air, like it was some kind of rule that something needed to happen if either one of them shown interest into the other. Something about the company of the elderly had actually made her feel rather comfortable, because at least then she could only worry about herself; most of them were just here to sing a few songs and talk with their friends over a few drinks.

"Yet here you are," the man said, smirking. Lou gave him a polite smile but kept her eyes elsewhere.

When the singer on the stage finished his song, it gave her a reason not to interact with the man beside her for a while as applause filled the room.

"I'm Mitch," he then introduced himself when the clapping died and someone else took on the stage.

Lou looked at the guy, not liking where this was going. She almost wanted him to know that this eye contact meant that she wasn't in the mood for whatever he was after. This night was supposed to be about having fun, not about some guy to whom she would have to explain that she wasn't really looking right now and that her life was complicated at the moment-who still didn't want to leave her side despite all that.

"I'm Here-With-A-Friend," Lou replied.

Mitch chuckled a bit. "That's, uh, an unusual name." He was starting to get the message but didn't just feel like dropping the conversation, if only to prove that he wasn't after the one thing this woman probably thought he was after.

"Yeah, I think my parents didn't really want to join the trend of Amandas and Jennifers when I was born," Lou joked dryly. She was hoping that Vanessa would come back with the drinks soon and the guy would then realize that he wasn't wanted company. As Lou tried to glance at the bar to see if Vanessa was there, she kept tapping the table with her fingers nervously.

"It's okay. I can leave," Mitch said, not wanting to be trouble. "I didn't want to harass you. I... uh, I don't know; I guess I just wanted someone to talk to. But hey, I hope you and your friend have a fun night. I mean, you coming to a place like this sure tells me that you're not afraid of the challenge," he added and took a firm grip on his bottle. "Have a good one!"

Lou looked at him for the last time and nodded. "You too."

The guy had been nice, but Lou was just freaking out internally and didn't want to suck in anyone with her. If he'd only known what kind of bullet he'd just dodged, he would have thanked her for pushing him away.

It didn't take long after Mitch had left the table for Vanessa to come back. She handed Lou her drink, but her eyes were looking after the guy. "Who was that?" Her tone was extremely curious.

"Just some guy. I didn't really feel like talking to him, so he left," Lou explained, looking at her drink to see what Vanessa had gotten them.

Vanessa looked at her, almost shocked. "What?! He was a total hottie!"

"Hey, I thought you had that guy from the gym?" Lou raised a brow, trying to dodge any appreciation toward the guy's looks. That kind of talk had gotten her into trouble before, and she wasn't about to repeat that kind of behavior anymore.

"So? I still have eyes, you know. I mean, come on-when are you ever going to get a catch like that from Hudson? Never, that's when," Vanessa said, taking a seat beside Lou.

"I just wanted tonight to be about us," Lou explained. "No guys."

"All right, okay," Vanessa said, smiling, taken by the compliment. "I'm down."

"Okay, good." Lou felt relieved. She knew that Vanessa was only trying to help her with getting her a rebound, but Lou didn't like being in a company of a pimp right now; all she needed was a friend. "I'll drink to that," she said, clinking her glass with Vanessa's.

#heartland #fanfiction #idw

[purplesurveys]

158

What is the thing that makes you take a survey? If they don’t have grammar or spelling that I have to correct all the time. Open-ended questions are a must, too.

Have you ever had an alcoholic beverage? Yes I had wine once. Hated it.

Do you ever feel like you just HAVE to sing out loud? I feel that way most when I’m alone in the car. Then I can be as loud as I wish. It’s a good way to destress after a long day and whil dealing with Metro Manila traffic.

Have you ever watched RuPaul's Drag Race? If yes, what makes it enjoyable? No, I’ve never seen it.

Do you own a TV? If so, what do you watch on it? We do, but I’ve since had the one in my room removed. I never watch anything on the TV these days, instead we use it for the PS4 and watching DVD’s.

Do you have Netflix/ViaPlay/other similar online channel? We finally have Netflix in the Philippines but I don’t understand why since the national internet connection is too slow to keep up anyway.

Have you ever watched Nostalgia Critic or Nostalgia Chick? I’ve never even heard of either.

What is the strangest type of food you have eaten? I dunno, no food is foreign to me. I guess the closest I can consider strange though was my experience eating sea urchin. Ohhhh and I ate spicy chocolate ice cream too, that was definitely something else.

What is the strangest type of candy you have eaten? I’m not into candy so I’ve only ever eaten the popular ones.

What would be your most ideal profession? If we’re really talking ideal, I’d be on my way to becoming an astronaut now.

What kind of rides do you enjoy the most at amusement parks? ...Food stalls.

Have you tried those colouring books for adults? No. I’ve wanted them for the past two years but was always too frugal to treat myself to one.

What is a topic you definitely don't want to talk about with anyone? I’m the most open book I know and there’s no topic I ever want to avoid, sensitive as it may get; but I guess, I don’t want to be too honest with anyone who is mutually suicidal, for my own sake and theirs.

Someone is about to take your picture. How do you react? I just smile and hope I look decent. I was never one to give poses.

Do you frequent any "funny pictures" site? If so, which one? Not anymore. I was in 9GAG a lot when it was popular but that was like six years ago.

Do you wash your dishes by hand or do you have a dishwasher? By hand. Dishwashers are foreign as heck to Asians.

Which scent of fabric softener do you like the best? No preference.

Do you ever get a chance to stay home alone? If not, why not? Yup, I’m normally home alone on Mondays since I don’t have school. I love being alone, so it’s relaxing to me.

Are you/have you ever been engaged? If not, would you like to be one day? No, and yes.

Are you/have you ever been married? If not, would you like to be one day? No, and yes.

What makes a person ugly? Being homophobic and/or racist.

What makes a person beautiful? Meh, I’m pretty cynical about people.

What is the craziest hairstyle and colour you've had? I’ve never been crazy with my hair so the only time I got daring with it was when I had it layered in fifth grade. It was a completely different look and everyone was sh00kt. Still pretty modest compared to what others have done to their hair though.

What was the last book you read? I read some snippets from Without Seeing the Dawn, which is one of the few required high school readings I actually enjoyed. It’s about life before and during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. Super raw and sensitive stuff, but I guess that’s why I’m drawn to it.

Is there a book that you are currently reading? ^ I plan to continue that book.

Do you prefer an actual book or ebooks? Why? Actual books. I cannot for the life of me concentrate when trying an e-book.

What was your first gaming console? One of my first memories actually was playing with those zapper guns in the 90s, so I’m guessing we could have had either an NES or SNES.

Have you ever played with an actual pinball machine? Doubt it. I used to play with the one that came with Windows XP though; I was on that shit all the time when Internet wasn’t a thing yet.

^If so, what was the first pinball machine you played?

Do you have any siblings? If so, how close are you? Yeah. We’re close on a buddy sort of level, but it doesn’t get any deeper than that. We don’t have heart-to-heart conversations or hug or write anything for each other.

Is there something you're eagerly waiting for? What is it? I’m waiting for the weekend to start so I can finally have some semblance of a break.

Do you/have you ever belonged to an organization? If so, which one? Applying for one, currently. It’s a journalism club in my university.

What is something you're very passionate about? 2016 me would say journalism. I dunno at this point.

Is there something you'd like to change about yourself? Uh yeah. I wish my anxiety were gone. I wish I was less sensitive. I wish I didn’t have my triggers.

Have you ever had a sunburn? Where on your body was it? I got sunburns quickly as a kid, and it was all over – nose, arms, back. I never get them now.

Do you have or would you like to have a tattoo? If so, where? I wanted a bunch before, but quickly realized I will never get over my fear of needles and anything penetrating my skin.

What are you studying or what was the last thing you studied? Hmmmmm last thing I studied was my prof’s slides in geography, which he uploaded onto Google Drive.

Which fictional villain is your favourite? Welp I can’t think of any right now but Sharpay Evans was neat. I was always rooting for her.

What was the last present you gave someone? I gave my girlfriend’s sisters their favorite chocolate snacks if that counts.

Do you enjoy plays? If so, what was the latest one you saw? Sure, when I get to watch them. I won’t voluntarily get tickets to see them though. The last one I saw was a friend’s theater club production last March 2016.

Can you hear your neighbours through the walls? I’m chilling in Gabie’s place right now, but no the neighbors aren’t making any noise.

Have you ever had something custom made? Yes, my prom dress.

Have you ever had a serious injury? Yeah some really badly infected wounds here and there.

What was the last thing you achieved? Not have one goddamn break all week.

What is something you would like to achieve at some point in your life? I can die happy once I get my own home.

Would you enjoy being famous? No. Famous in my field, sure. But life as a celebrity sounds egh.

Which country would you least like to visit? America.

Do you collect anything? Just receipts and flowers from my girlfriend. I’ve kept the very very first flower she gave me back in 2014.

What's under your bed? There are several big containers, and they have the old wrestling magazines I collected before, my dad’s car magazines, and some of my brother’s kiddie magazines as well. Apparently we love hoarding magazines?

What is something you've been meaning to get done but haven't yet? LOTS OF STUFF AND I AM GIVING MYSELF THIS TINY BREAK FOR SURVEYS OKAY I PROMISE TO WORK SOON UGH. I’ve been working constantly for three weeks now and I haven’t had a proper weekend since and I am so beat. 

Do you enjoy travelling? I love traveling, I’d drop everything to do it.

Where do you carry the things you need with you when leaving the house? In the bag that I use for school. If I’m out of school, I have this little pouch bag thing where I put my phone and wallet in.

Do you listen to entire discographies of bands or just a few songs? As much as possible I explore all their music, but if I happen to enjoy just a number of their songs that’s what I stick to.

What's the last thing you've made with your hands? A pot from clay.

On a daily basis, do you prefer to go by car or by bicycle? Why? Car. You really wanna try riding a bike through Metro Manila???

Do you know your ancestry? No but I’m sure it’s Malay like most Filipinos. Maybe a little Spanish on the side.

Which hair colour would you never want to have? Blonde.

Have you ever belonged to a club? If so, what was it? I mean we had what we called clubs back in my old school which is basically extracurricular stuff you do based on your interests, so we had Spanish club, math club, table tennis club, etc. I dunno if that counts, but those are the only ‘clubs’ I’ve ever been a part of.

What has been the most beautiful place you've visited? Sagada.

What is something that makes you sad? Bad grades.

Do you like hats? Sure, but that’s not exactly a necessity where I’m from.

What shape was the last funnily shaped cloud you saw? I don’t look at clouds all that often, and my imagination isn’t wild enough to think of shapes.

What is your most prized possession? My dog.

A famous chef is going to cook for you. Who is it and what do they cook? Gordon Ramsay plz fix up a burger for me.

#survey #surveys

[fuckyeahincubus]

How Incubus Got Their Groove Back

Incubus recently released their new single, “Nimble Bastard,” from their forthcoming album 8, due April 21. The album is the band’s first full-length in five years and you can feel how the break has rejuvenated the long-running Southern California quintet.

Propelled by producer Dave Sardy, an impromptu collaboration with Skrillex on “Familiar Faces” that came about from their friendship -- Skrillex was just in the studio and decided to work on the song --  and the love they are receiving from their new label, Island, Incubus have delivered a monster rock record, one they cannot wait to take on tour this year with Jimmy Eat World.

I have known the Incubus guys for years and over the past few years Monica Molinaro and I have been fortunate to have several in-depth conversations with frontman Brandon Boyd. So when we jump on the phone with him the day after the Grammys it is like reconvening with an old friend. In that spirit he opened up immensely on the state of the band, how Sardy pushed him, Beyonce and how he finds it best to write political songs in these crazy times.

Steve Baltin: How is it to go back into the Incubus machine after focusing on your artwork?

Brandon Boyd: It helps to have the might of a major label pushing a project and also, being super behind us too.  We haven’t experienced this kind of enthusiasm from a record label in a long time, which is so heartwarming just because we put everything we have into what we do.

Baltin: It definitely feels like this record had a thematic element. Did you notice that?

Boyd: I’ve really only, in the past couple of months, started to pick up on a couple of these things. It will be some time before a larger, more cohesive unifying theme reveals itself to me. But some of the themes that have come up, some of the thru-lines, are around aging, obsolescence, themes around paranoia that I’m picking up on, noticing patterns that have been repeated where you’re sort of waking up from repeated patterns, whether psychological or emotional patterns, attempting to want to break them perhaps and the sort of scariness and also the excitement of trying something brand new.

Monica Molinaro: What was exciting to me in listening to the album was sensing some frustration. It gave a great energy to your vocals and the guitar and bass parts really stuck out to me too.

Mikey and Ben came into full Mikey and Ben formation when we were writing this. Everything Mikey showed was like, “Check this out,” all these boner riffs. It was fun to hear what they kept coming up with over and over again. I think if anything the process of writing this album was probably the hardest on me because what I was going through in my personal space, but also Dave Sardy, who produced the record, did not take it easy on me as a singer and lyricist. He was like, “Yeah, you’re awesome, man, but try that again and how about again and again and one more time.” We just chipped away at it until it was as awesome as it could be. But I’m actually really happy with how it ended up, so hopefully our fans will feel the same way.

Baltin: Do you feel like you also have more of an appreciation for this period of creativity having gone through ups and downs?

Boyd: Mikey and I have been talking a lot about it in the past few weeks as we’ve been finishing the record and talking to people a little bit about it and playing it for some close, trusted friends and that’s really where we keep landing, like, “Holy s**t, we have been a band for 26 years and we’re still in love with the process of making album.” As difficult as it can be sometimes it still, at the end of the day, brings a level of joy and creative satisfaction. I’m certain that the challenge inherent in writing music and writing original music and hopefully writing innovative music is something that keeps us coming back to the table.

Baltin: What did you learn about yourself from this album?

Boyd: Working with Dave, he really, really challenged me. I love this dude to the end of the earth, but I would come to the studio and be like, “I did it, check it out, I got this badass chorus.” I’d sing it, lay it down and then go in the studio like, “Check it out, it’s cool, right?” He’d be like, “Hmm, no, I just…” He was just not there with me. And he kept reminding me, “I’m one of your biggest fans, Incubus has meant a lot to me over the years. So I’m coming at producing this album like I am a super fan who gets to finally produce an Incubus record. And I am not letting you get away with anything that’s not amazing.” So, on paper, it’s like, “Right on, man, that’s a great idea.” But the reality of it was holy s**t, he was hard on me. He did not let me sleep on any part. I did every part like a hundred times and he would kind of like brutalize my voice to the point where I would start to lose it towards the end of the day and he’d be like, “Just one more.” Then that was the one he would use. You can hear the strain in my voice on this album. As far as I can tell it’s never really been there. It sounds kind of cool cause he was able to unearth another layer of my voice as a singer. I think it’s a really good producing ethos for any band or artist coming up, work with a producer who knows what you’ve done thus far and has really enjoyed it, but also has really unrealistically high hopes for what you can still achieve.

Molinaro: When you talked about stretching your vocals it made me think of the Beyonce song “Sandcastles,” where she cracks in it. It’s like heart wrenching and it makes you more invested in the music because you can tell it’s really special and meaningful to them.

Boyd: Yeah, there’s something to that. I just heard the song today funnily enough and I heard the same thing. I was like, “Wow, I’ve never heard Beyonce kind of crack, I’ve never heard the grumble in her voice before and it makes me like her more.” It’s interesting because we live in this time of incredible technologies where any person can go into a recording studio and go, “Ah, ah” into a microphone and a producer can turn that into a hit song. So there’s something fascinating about that, but there’s also something that’s lost in that, where we have to remind ourselves sometimes we’re human beings with instruments and we’re making sounds out of nothing. I think that’s something that Dave helped us chip away at hopefully on this record and hopefully our listeners hear the album and pick up on that.

Molinaro: Were there other collaborations or partnerships that were influential to this work besides the Skrillex one?

Boyd: Off the top of my head, no. We’re mostly very insular and mostly everything is in house, kind like a music factory, but also the art and the videos, so it’s all kind of in our close creative family. Maybe it can be limiting sometimes, so we’re always open to inviting new people into our weird polyamorous cult that we have. But, for the most part, it was just us in the man cave creating music.

Molinaro: And was it important to incorporate your thoughts in this political climate?

Boyd: It is definitely one of the most interesting times politically and socially, interesting being the operative term or lack of a better term. I feel like the kind of creative sentiments that are going to be the most beneficial are the ones that are a little bit more lovingly subversive. Yes, there’s the need for open protests, like go into the streets protest. I did the women’s march downtown, it was one of the most beautiful afternoons I’ve ever spent in my city here. I was so proud of Los Angeles, I was so proud that many people could peacefully gather and walk in the streets in opposition to so much of what the coming administration stands for. But, from my point of view, I feel like the types of ideas that are going to be the most lovingly effective and lasting are the ones that people don’t even realize they’re being infected with. So people in Trump country are like, “I love this song.” And they’ll be infected with this kind of west coast ethos.

Baltin: Talk about this tour with Jimmy Eat World, how that pairing came about and what you look for in bands you tour with.

Boyd: You can usually get a sense of that by the kind of music that people are making. I don’t know the guys in Jimmy Eat World very well, I’ve met most of them like in passing. But they’ve always seemed like really rad, genuine dudes that I do very much like their music and I know that they also are doing very well with their new album. So it’s cool, we’ll piggyback with other bands like we did with the Deftones. They were planning on being on tour and we were going on tour so it was like, “Hey, let’s go tandem together forever.”

#brandon boyd #Incubus #interview #2017

[myincubusupdate]

How Incubus Got Their Groove Back Steve Baltin , CONTRIBUTOR I write about music and the business of music. Incubus recently released their new single, “Nimble Bastard,” from their forthcoming album 8, due April 21. The album is the band’s first full-length in five years and you can feel how the break has rejuvenated the long-running Southern California quintet. Propelled by producer Dave Sardy, an impromptu collaboration with Skrillex on “Familiar Faces” that came about from their friendship -- Skrillex was just in the studio and decided to work on the song -- and the love they are receiving from their new label, Island, Incubus have delivered a monster rock record, one they cannot wait to take on tour this year with Jimmy Eat World. I have known the Incubus guys for years and over the past few years Monica Molinaro and I have been fortunate to have several in-depth conversations with frontman Brandon Boyd. So when we jump on the phone with him the day after the Grammys it is like reconvening with an old friend. In that spirit he opened up immensely on the state of the band, how Sardy pushed him, Beyonce and how he finds it best to write political songs in these crazy times. Steve Baltin: How is it to go back into the Incubus machine after focusing on your artwork? Brandon Boyd: It helps to have the might of a major label pushing a project and also, being super behind us too. We haven’t experienced this kind of enthusiasm from a record label in a long time, which is so heartwarming just because we put everything we have into what we do. Baltin: It definitely feels like this record had a thematic element. Did you notice that? Boyd: I’ve really only, in the past couple of months, started to pick up on a couple of these things. It will be some time before a larger, more cohesive unifying theme reveals itself to me. But some of the themes that have come up, some of the thru-lines, are around aging, obsolescence, themes around paranoia that I’m picking up on, noticing patterns that have been repeated where you’re sort of waking up from repeated patterns, whether psychological or emotional patterns, attempting to want to break them perhaps and the sort of scariness and also the excitement of trying something brand new. Monica Molinaro: What was exciting to me in listening to the album was sensing some frustration. It gave a great energy to your vocals and the guitar and bass parts really stuck out to me too. Mikey and Ben came into full Mikey and Ben formation when we were writing this. Everything Mikey showed was like, “Check this out,” all these boner riffs. It was fun to hear what they kept coming up with over and over again. I think if anything the process of writing this album was probably the hardest on me because what I was going through in my personal space, but also Dave Sardy, who produced the record, did not take it easy on me as a singer and lyricist. He was like, “Yeah, you’re awesome, man, but try that again and how about again and again and one more time.” We just chipped away at it until it was as awesome as it could be. But I’m actually really happy with how it ended up, so hopefully our fans will feel the same way. Baltin: Do you feel like you also have more of an appreciation for this period of creativity having gone through ups and downs? Boyd: Mikey and I have been talking a lot about it in the past few weeks as we’ve been finishing the record and talking to people a little bit about it and playing it for some close, trusted friends and that’s really where we keep landing, like, “Holy s**t, we have been a band for 26 years and we’re still in love with the process of making album.” As difficult as it can be sometimes it still, at the end of the day, brings a level of joy and creative satisfaction. I’m certain that the challenge inherent in writing music and writing original music and hopefully writing innovative music is something that keeps us coming back to the table. Baltin: What did you learn about yourself from this album? Boyd: Working with Dave, he really, really challenged me. I love this dude to the end of the earth, but I would come to the studio and be like, “I did it, check it out, I got this badass chorus.” I’d sing it, lay it down and then go in the studio like, “Check it out, it’s cool, right?” He’d be like, “Hmm, no, I just…” He was just not there with me. And he kept reminding me, “I’m one of your biggest fans, Incubus has meant a lot to me over the years. So I’m coming at producing this album like I am a super fan who gets to finally produce an Incubus record. And I am not letting you get away with anything that’s not amazing.” So, on paper, it’s like, “Right on, man, that’s a great idea.” But the reality of it was holy s**t, he was hard on me. He did not let me sleep on any part. I did every part like a hundred times and he would kind of like brutalize my voice to the point where I would start to lose it towards the end of the day and he’d be like, “Just one more.” Then that was the one he would use. You can hear the strain in my voice on this album. As far as I can tell it’s never really been there. It sounds kind of cool cause he was able to unearth another layer of my voice as a singer. I think it’s a really good producing ethos for any band or artist coming up, work with a producer who knows what you’ve done thus far and has really enjoyed it, but also has really unrealistically high hopes for what you can still achieve. Molinaro: When you talked about stretching your vocals it made me think of the Beyonce song “Sandcastles,” where she cracks in it. It’s like heart wrenching and it makes you more invested in the music because you can tell it’s really special and meaningful to them. Boyd: Yeah, there’s something to that. I just heard the song today funnily enough and I heard the same thing. I was like, “Wow, I’ve never heard Beyonce kind of crack, I’ve never heard the grumble in her voice before and it makes me like her more.” It’s interesting because we live in this time of incredible technologies where any person can go into a recording studio and go, “Ah, ah” into a microphone and a producer can turn that into a hit song. So there’s something fascinating about that, but there’s also something that’s lost in that, where we have to remind ourselves sometimes we’re human beings with instruments and we’re making sounds out of nothing. I think that’s something that Dave helped us chip away at hopefully on this record and hopefully our listeners hear the album and pick up on that. Molinaro: Were there other collaborations or partnerships that were influential to this work besides the Skrillex one? Boyd: Off the top of my head, no. We’re mostly very insular and mostly everything is in house, kind like a music factory, but also the art and the videos, so it’s all kind of in our close creative family. Maybe it can be limiting sometimes, so we’re always open to inviting new people into our weird polyamorous cult that we have. But, for the most part, it was just us in the man cave creating music. Molinaro: And was it important to incorporate your thoughts in this political climate? Boyd: It is definitely one of the most interesting times politically and socially, interesting being the operative term or lack of a better term. I feel like the kind of creative sentiments that are going to be the most beneficial are the ones that are a little bit more lovingly subversive. Yes, there’s the need for open protests, like go into the streets protest. I did the women’s march downtown, it was one of the most beautiful afternoons I’ve ever spent in my city here. I was so proud of Los Angeles, I was so proud that many people could peacefully gather and walk in the streets in opposition to so much of what the coming administration stands for. But, from my point of view, I feel like the types of ideas that are going to be the most lovingly effective and lasting are the ones that people don’t even realize they’re being infected with. So people in Trump country are like, “I love this song.” And they’ll be infected with this kind of west coast ethos. Baltin: Talk about this tour with Jimmy Eat World, how that pairing came about and what you look for in bands you tour with. Boyd: You can usually get a sense of that by the kind of music that people are making. I don’t know the guys in Jimmy Eat World very well, I’ve met most of them like in passing. But they’ve always seemed like really rad, genuine dudes that I do very much like their music and I know that they also are doing very well with their new album. So it’s cool, we’ll piggyback with other bands like we did with the Deftones. They were planning on being on tour and we were going on tour so it was like, “Hey, let’s go tandem together forever.”

#incubus #brandon boyd

[weliveourdream]

Hola everyone.

And welcome to another week. And to December. It’s freaking December. When did that happen? I feel like I’m stuck in between two places right now, where I want both summer back and a load of snow at the same time. But one thing is definitely clear – time is flying by and 2020 is gonna be here in a snap and I still feel like I just moved to London, like, yesterday. Honestly, all of this is way too crazy. And as fast as it all has happened, I still have the slight feeling that London has already taken its toll on me. In a good way. But please let me explain.

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I’ve always had quite an interesting relationship with fashion – and yes, this means this post will be about fashion. A true miracle is happening right now. Anyway. I recently talked to my housemate about this. How in my youth I used to buy and wear any stuff that was popular at the time. Simply because I wanted to be popular, because which teen doesn’t want that? So I dressed like everyone else. And, to be brutally honest, we all looked pretty dumb, I’m not going to lie. I still get the shivers when I think about the shirts we all got from the same stores with their stupid cartoons on them or the black tube tops preferably worn with leggings. One fashion faux pas after another.

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But then the moment came when I truly realized, for the very first time, that we did, in fact, all look exactly the same and mostly very unfashionable on top. So I started to develop my own style, which was heavily inspired by all the holidays and vacations I went on with my family. I made it my hobby to only buy clothes in and from different countries. They became a type of souvenir. Something I would wear and always connect to a certain trip. And on top of that nearly everything I got was unique, as the chance of someone visiting the same store in the same foreign country and buying the exact same shirt or pair of trousers was incredibly low to non-existent. Suddenly I started looking like nobody else in my class, which was met by mixed reactions – some of my classmates liked it, some, I am sure, hated me for it. But that didn’t stop me from my travels to finding own style.

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And then uni and moving to Vienna hit me in the face with the statement “you thought you were dressing in a special way? Ha. Cute.” like a truck. I felt like I had just got a glimpse of the box of Pandora. Of paradise. Suddenly everyone looked special and different and cool and I felt like the ultimate wallflower again. The girl from the countryside in the big, uber-fashionable city. Surrounded by all these new impressions and more importantly inspirations, I again went for a little hunt for my own, new, improved style. Of course, I still kept true to my roots – band t-shirts, black skinny jeans, destroyed Converse – but something had changed. I didn’t shop as much anymore but rather looked for pieces of clothing that had the potential of being in-style for all of eternity and therefore staying with me for my whole life. Obviously, I’m not one of the rich kids that can actually afford clothes that will never show any signs of wear or destruction, but I was still trying my best. I started buying stuff that complimented my style, that I could easily add to already existing outfits and clothes that we like to call basics, which is probably one of the most important rules I ever learned when it comes to fashion. Basics are your friends. Keep them close to you. They will serve you well, trust me.

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So I went on my journey, developed my style, stumbled over pieces that I still adore with all my heart and that are still a part of my daily wardrobe, but I knew there was still something out there waiting for me. The big leap. I had to think outside of the box. And that’s when Brighton and more importantly London came in. It is a known fact that London is one of the best looking cities with some of the best-dressed people living in it. And I am in the middle of this huge pile of awesomeness, attractiveness and immenseness of style. And even before moving to this fashion dream of a place, I knew I had to leave my comfort zone once and for all. Or at least widen it. Because London is very out there. And I am not. Or was not. I feel like that has changed in the past week, at least in my own little style bubble.

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Here are a few things London and the experience of living here have taught me about fashion so far:

fast-fashion is your enemy, avoid it as much as you can

sustainability for the win

comfort and style do really go together (miracles, I tell you)

you don’t have to follow every trend – they go away anyway

pride and confidence are the best two accessories

you can be and look like anyone/anything you want

be out there, it’s fun

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I know, sounds quite cute and all, but it’s actually more difficult to tick all these boxes than you would think. Being out there is a real chore and takes a lot of confidence. And for an introvert like me – who’s slowly becoming an extrovert, funnily enough – fitting in is always a bit more comfortable than sticking out. But when you go to a music university in London, which basically translates to Hipster HQs, the rule is stand out or die (not literally, obviously). So I’ve been soaking up the city and all the other inspirations like a sponge and the result is the style that I am calling mine today. And I am damn proud of it.

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You know, for someone like me, who’s from a different country and who recently moved to London, it sometimes is a bit tough to not feel like you’re just a long-term tourist. Suddenly you start asking yourself whether people look at you and think you’re from the city or just someone stopping by. And a few weeks ago I would’ve said the second option, but I’ve had a slight change of mind. Let me tell you why – I went for a little shopping hunt, inspired by all the people and things I’m surrounded by in this incredible city on a daily basis and by all the fantastic outfits I see online, and I found two outfits that have turned my whole world on its head. And this isn’t simply about a shirt and a fitting jacket in the same color. No no. I’m talking about actual two-piece sets, consisting of the most amazing pants and the coolest jackets ever to go with them.

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To be honest, I’ve been on the lookout for a nice monochrome set for quite some time. I see it in the city all the time and I felt like it was time for me to be part of the movement. And after a long and exhausting journey that included lots of late-night scrolling through clothing websites and weekend trips to Carnaby Street, I finally found the perfect set on Asos by the brand Daisy Street (click here to check it out). Corduroy. Orange. Oversize. And comfy as hell. It had to be mine. And after a few days of waiting, it finally was. And still is. The moment I put it on, I knew I had stumbled across something very special. Something that would change my style completely. And it did. Because it opened my eyes to a whole other world of fashion that had been hiding in my closet. But it didn’t just end there.

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I would definitely say I reached peak coolness when I bought what I would describe as the ultimate two-piece a few days ago. The ultimate suit. The one and only. It all happened during a Lazy Oaf sample sale that I went to with my friend Lauren last Saturday. Some of you might already know this incredible London-based brand that creates anything but boring fashion. In a nutshell, it’s my favourite brand, but usually way too expensive for me. Hence the trip to the sample sale. And there I saw it. The perfect set that I immediately had to get (click here to check it out). In total, we spent over two hours in that industrial building, digging through endless piles of clothes, completely focused on our mission of finding the perfect piece. I’m not gonna say how much I paid for the whole thing (pants + jacket), but I can promise you one thing – if you ever want to find a bargain and feel a deep love for Lazy Oaf, then the sample sale is the way to go. The prices are out of this world. I mean, they don’t throw the clothes after you just to get rid of them, their quality is still way too high and good for that, but compared to the original prices, the whole event is one big bargain.

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The set I got is basically awesomeness in the form of clothing. Oversize. The most beautiful colours with the most fantastic check pattern. Wide leg trousers. The perfect fit. Extremely comfy. And literally the best quality. The moment I tried it on in that big hall, I knew it had to be mine. But besides the nice fit and the awesome look, there was something I felt while I was walking around with it still on, contemplating of whether I should get the whole set or not – it made me feel like I was part of London. Something that the first set had already achieved as well a few days beforehand. And that certain feeling is essentially the reason for me writing this post. Because both things make me feel like I belong in and to London. Like I am part of this city, part of its style, part of its people. It makes me feel like I am a Londoner. Like someone who people look at and might think that they live in this city and are part of it. And that is something so incredibly important for me, something that fills me with so much pride and confidence that I can’t possibly put into words how happy it makes me. I’ve always wanted to live in London and be part of this dream. But being here and feeling like you actually belong here are two different things. At least they were for me, but not anymore. And it might sound a bit strange to say that simple pieces of clothing make me feel that way, but I think they did more than just that. They make me a better, cooler, more confident me. And for that, I am incredibly thankful. Also, the Lazy Oaf set definitely makes me feel like the ultimate boss and that’s just the coolest thing ever. But just look for yourself.

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  .

So, in short: I’ve been in this incredible city for nearly three months now and I am finally starting to feel like I really, fully, truly belong here, which is simply the most incredible feeling ever. And it might be weird to have clothes be the reason for that, but for me, they are just so much more than that. I’m carrying myself differently and that’s all thanks to this fantastic adventure I’m on right now and to this city. London has changed me. And I’m happy about that.

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For those of you who’re currently looking for a bit of a changeup in your wardrobe, I can highly recommend going for a two-piece suit. It doesn’t just look absolutely stunning, but also has the perk of making you feel like a boss. And if you go for a simple one, you can easily add the separate pieces to other outfits and wear them with different clothes. That’s what I call highly functional. And yeah, besides that I can only hope that you enjoyed this post and that it maybe serves as a bit of inspiration for you. As always, I’d totally love to hear your thoughts and opinions, so please don’t hesitate to leave them down below. And, of course, I hope you’re all doing good, wish you a great week and thanks for reading. x

The London Style Hola everyone. And welcome to another week. And to December. It's freaking December. When did that happen?

#art #asos #city #clothes #clothing #cool #design #Fashion #fashion style #fashion trends #fast fashion #fun #geek #haul #lazy oaf #life #lifestyle #london #london haul #love #me #myself #outfit #personal #Personal Space #photography #photos #Portfolio #sample sale #school

[ddrkirbyisq]

Quite a bit happened...it was quite the tornado of stuff, as I predicted two posts ago, what with Ludum Dare and everything else happening.  There was even more than I expected thrown into the mix... Ludum Dare Ludum Dare came and went, and despite several hardships along the way, was a huge success for our team! I'll be writing a more detailed post-mortem later, but here are the two (!) games that we ended up making in the 72 hour timeframe: Goodnight Sheep: http://ift.tt/2AfwKw9 Samurai Shaver: http://ift.tt/2Ai9opD The soundtracks for both of those are also available (linked on those pages). Even before it started, it already felt like things might be rough for Ludum Dare, as our writer fell ill that week and wasn't feeling well enough to work together with us.  We decided she should take it easy and help us out remotely instead (which also left me with an abundance of extra groceries in stock, haha).  I actually also wasn't feeling the best that Friday either, though thankfully I didn't end up coming down with anything.  Trying to communicate back and forth over chat and video calls was a real challenge and we really struggled to nail down the concept and gameplay behind Goodnight Sheep as a result of that. Halfway through finishing up Goodnight Sheep we actually decided to start work on Samurai Shaver and just start making that.  Although there were a lot of things that we still needed to figure out about Samurai Shaver still (initially it wasn't even a rhythm game at all!), I personally felt like I had a pretty good vision of what the game should look and feel like, so it felt more certain to me, and I was looking forward to escaping the uncertainty of the screaming lambs to work on something a little more well understood.  However I still wanted to finish up some work on Goodnight Sheep before that, including making the music for the levels, and it was during that process that I made some key realizations about what the game should be like.  So in the end it all ended up coming together just fine -- it just needed some more time to get there. We were about a third of the way through our 72 hours when we decided to start work on Samurai Shaver, which put us quite far behind, but interestingly enough I felt very confident that we could finish it in time.  I knew it was a fairly simple game and we didn't need to make a ton of different assets and such (as we did for games like The Music Box).  And of course, I had a pretty clear vision for the game, as well.  But perhaps the primary reason that I was so confident was because back in Ludum Dare 36 we had also started just as late when we made Watch for Falling Rocks (we totally scrapped our initial idea and started over).  Now that we've done the whole "start a game really late and still finish fine" thing twice, I feel like that will always be a sort of possible "plan B" for us moving forward if our initial concepts don't work out.  Obviously that's not the kind of thing I'd like to rely on, but I think it's a bit comforting to know that because thinking up an initial idea for a game is often one of the most stressful parts of the jam. Anyhow, I'm quite happy with how both games turned out.  Currently we're a good ways into the rating and voting process, with a little over a week left before results are announced.  I've been playing my fair share of games (around 40 so far), and we've gotten around 30 ratings for each of our games. Meowmie Early in the morning on Saturday December 9th, we were woken up to news that the one and only original Meowmie had suffered from heart problems over the night and wasn't going to make it.  We were able to say our final goodbyes before he was put to rest.  It was very hard on us and there was definitely a bit of a crying party that day.  Though I was not his owner, I felt very deeply for the loss, more deeply than I realized that I would, too.  It was a new experience for me as well, since I have never had a pet or anything leave me in that way.  Though it still makes me very sad to think that Meowmie is not around anymore, and the image I have in my mind of him from that day really affects me deeply, I am very thankful for the fact that I was able to see him one last time.  Rest in peace, Meowmie.  You will always be special.  (Thank you) Work Work went through a pretty busy period, as we were getting out another demo of our game for PlayStation Experience (PSX) -- more about that here.  Btw, as an aside, I don't know if I've ever mentioned here that Luna has been out now, both for VR (the true Luna experience) and as a 2D port version for those of us who don't have access to a VR headset.  Find that here. Anyhow, work went through a busy period for sure and I basically had infinity work to do, but I think I managed alright, though there was one day where I had not gotten enough sleep at all and was suuuuuper grumpy as a result.  Funnily enough, once the amount of tasks crosses a threshold, I feel like it doesn't really matter how many other work items there are because I know I won't get to them all, so I just sort of chug along at whatever pace I end up going at and whatever will be, will be. After that, work has been really strange as we are in the middle of transitioning to a new office (heating?? A/C??  More than one restroom maybe?? what is this madness?  Maybe the floor won't be slanted either?).  The new place is ever so slightly closer in terms of walking distance from the station, but also just in a much nicer area (right across from Dropbox).  I haven't seen it in person yet, but should be exciting to have a nicer office, and I'm sure it will make it easier for my cooking-lunch-at-the-office escapades as well.  Maybe I need to start bringing in a portable burner?? lololol Anyhow, I'm on vacation now for the next two weeks (much needed) and definitely enjoying some time off to myself.  Should be useful to catch up on a bunch of things after that super crazy busy period that I had (haven't done any work on Rhythm Quest; want to still do more for our Ludum Dare games; have some music I need to write, etc), but also just to chill out and relax. Games I went through the bonus content of VA-11 HALL-A, so that's all finished up with (don't think I'll bother replaying the main story again, though there is a bit more to experience there).  I've moved on for now -- I just started playing through Cave Story!  Actually playing the remastered Cave Story+ version since apparently I have it on Steam already, but after some careful thinking I decided I'll go with the original sprites/graphics and original soundtrack.  Well...ah, who are we kidding, it wasn't exactly a tough choice.  I appreciate the fact that they took the time to remaster it and everything, but sometimes the original has a certain appeal that is diluted with additional modifications and I personally feel that way about this.  Though, if I was already familiar with the entire soundtrack (I'm not) I think the new soundtrack would be a nice change of pace, so that is something. Other than that, Finding Paradise (the sequel to To The Moon) is out now!  Haven't gotten it yet, but I'm sure I will be going through it at some point.  I wasn't 100% sure what to expect, but apparently Kan Gao himself says the game is "utterly, disgustingly terrible", so now I know exactly what to expect!  (I'm sure it'll exceed expectations, hooray!)  It's all a bit tongue-in-cheek, but to be honest, perhaps it was really warranted after all, because I went into Rakuen expecting a lot out of it and came out disappointed.  So maybe I'll temper my expectations this time.  Though to be honest, how could you not get hyped after THIS trailer???  Hahaha. Besides that, we are making our way through Secret of Mana still (just finished up Ice Country), and have taken a bit of a break on Life Is Strange (but will pick it up again I'm sure).  My brother also came over and we raced through Mega Man 1 through Mega Man 4, which was a blast.  I had a bunch of problems and lost most of those races but was way ahead for Mega Man 3 (also the one that I played the most as a child), so woot.  Mega Man 5 and 6 will probably be real challenges for both of us as we're really unfamiliar with those -- I think I've only finished each of them once... Started playing a bit of Hollow Knight, but unsure exactly what I'll do with that one as I think I want to actually just go through Cave Story first.  It still looks like quite a fine game, but perhaps not as unique or special. Dance Not too much of note here as dance events are sort of on break for the end of the year.  A little birdie told me that Unjammix might actually be happening again sometime, so that is super duper exciting!  Also, it's getting to be a few months before Viennese Ball again, so probably sometime next month it'll be time to whip out my Journey dress and add on the final layers so I can be a fully-embroidered red cloak.  So cool that this costume has been evolving along with me over the past 4 years!!! The last Jammix of the year was not too notable and actually was pretty low-energy for me, but I did end up connecting with someone unexpectedly, which was quite nice. Anime Was skimping on Inuyasha for a while but finally watched another episode, hahaha.  But more notable than that, I watched "The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl" (by the same director and writer as Tatami Galaxy), which I enjoyed a lot!  I've watched a handful of other things in recent months too actually, including A Silent Voice (good) and most notably, The Case of Hana & Alice, which I really loved!  Quite an unusual movie I think, but it's really good, really fun, really well-done.  Currently also watching Evangelion (the series), which I watched most of before (but not all?) but largely forgot about.  Have not watched any movies recently -- haven't yet gone to go see Coco or Star Wars... Xmas Xmas stuff is coming along well!  Like I keep on saying, I still have some DIY gifts to handle, but other than that, everything is pretty much squared away.  It took a lot of work but all the letters and stuff are mailed out and all the gifts are wrapped (and some shipped).  I still have to go on my Santa delivery runs at some point this week but that should be fine :) Cooking Have been trying to make Shui Zhu Yi recently (the sichuan boiled fish dish) to varying degrees of success...I'm finding it quite a difficult dish to get right since there are so many factors, like type of fish, everything that goes into the liquid, the different spices, etc.  I think I am getting closer, and definitely am learning more about what to do and what to avoid, but I'm not nearly there yet.  We'll see. Melee Melee stuff has been good recently; I've been feeling a lot of confidence as Marth especially when I am doing crazy stuff like getting pivot grabs and stuff like that.  I haven't really paid much attention to my Fox but I am trying to grind out some stuff with Falco because my Falco definitely needs some work on tech and punishes, so trying to get better with that.  I'm feeling increasingly comfortable with Falcon but am still figuring out how to place my aerials to go for reads on techchases and how to place moves correctly to combo well.  Perhaps the most exciting development is that I am finally starting to "get" Sheik for the first time, as I'm dedicating some time to learning her as a character.  Like Falcon, she feels really weird in neutral to me, and I had to adjust to learning how to boost grab instead of jc grab (feels really weird....also really weird that you don't =always= boost grab, so you have to do it situationally), but I think my experience with all the others characters (esp Falcon) is helping me understand it more and I feel like I am starting to get a handle on her, which is great since I've always wanted to learn her as a character.  I'm going to try and work that up to par for a while before moving onto Peach, which will require a lot more grinding of techskill since she's a whole other animal. Overall life is in a pretty good spot right now; it's nice to be on vacation finally and to feel like I'm on top of things now instead of juggling around a million different things at once.

#Blogger

[luckygoami]

The Maine @ 9:30 Club [May 3, 2017]

Please ignore any and all typos in this. It’s coming from my phone since no real wifi to do it in the computer. But that’s okay because I don’t mind one bit.

So yesterday, May 3, I along with my older sister went to Washington, D.C. We were meant to be there all day but people do things and plans get ruined. I digress though! The reason we were in D.C. was because The Maine was on tour!! I mean obviously anyone who enjoys the band knows they were on tour but still. The last time I saw The Maine was in May 2011 in North Carolina, so a good 6 years have passed. Back then, I was only 14 I believe. I had either not started high school yet or was just starting. So for me to be able to see them again live at all was amazing.

My sister (who I’m visiting) lives all the way in Baltimore. The two of us caught a train to Union Station but because of a track issue, the train (well every train) was delayed for at least 2 ½ hours. We boarded around 3:30 were meant to arrived by 4:30 at the latest but because of the delays, we didn’t actually get to D.C. until much later. It was already 7 when we were at the stop before ours. Then we still had time to go and didn’t reach D.C. until about 8. That big of a delay even after we started moving. So imagine my sadness when I found that I had missed Beach Weather. When my sister and I got into the club, they were setting up for The Mowgli’s. I’ve made a promise to myself to see Beach Weather one day.

Before the announcement of the tour, I had actually never heard of The Mowgli’s. But I’m glad I found them. Their overall energy and vibe are amazing and Katie’s speech during the break between songs was nothing short of amazing or love filled. Her words about love and being accepting and just being good and okay is something I could really get into hearing all the time. Not only that, but the raw feeling of the band itself and the connections I didn’t even think could happen actually happened. If this sounds like a lot of running around words and not saying anything, that’s literally how I felt listening to them. They have a great sound and their energy is hype but it’s not something I can put into words correctly. The saying “you have to see it to believe it” really rings true. If any of The Mowgli’s read this, come to Charlotte NC please. I wanna see you guys again and get a picture with you next time!

So… onto The Maine event. Like my pun? No? Okay. Anyway! Let me tell you why I feel like I set up the best day of my life so far. Originally I was on the right end of the stage but something told me to just move over to the other side. Of course I could’ve ignored it but you know. Why would you ignore your instinct at a freakin concert? So I moved and got some pics as they changed from The Mowgli’s to the LLL stage. The roses were great but the turf was a nice touch. The lights dimmed and then it happened. The guys came out on the same side I was standing on. They didn’t see me coming in and only Kennedy waved going out but that close proximity. Anyway there was literally no way. When I first saw them, Black & White was “new.” Not new but it was the most recent album. Who would’ve thought that a year old was “recent.” In Darkness & In Light was out by the 2011 concert too but that’s not the point. The point is, if you needed a mental picture of time there it is. So it’s been a loooong time.

They started playing and being right next to a speaker was probably bad but it was pretty good cause you’re literally right in front of the music. Anyway, I’m not here to rate the concert. I wanna tell how great it is for me and GOD it was AMAZING. During the concert, John was John. Talking about gettin those pits sweaty. My favorite part though was when he was lookin over the crowd and pointed me out. It wasn’t random though. I have an unhealthy obsession with headbands and at the current moment, I have about 10. I won’t go into all of them but I have a lot of cat ears. One of them I recently got and it was perfect. Red cat ears and with roses on them. When getting ready that day, I was trying to decide if I could wear my rose cat ears or a crown. With respect to the current album’s aesthetic, I chose to go with roses and my sister had some rose earrings that I wore too. During the show John looked over and noticed them and as a result, noticed me. You have no idea how happy that made me. Then there was Jason! Hands down the best part of the set. This concert was the stuff that I absolutely LIVE for. As they were going off later on, myself and some others called out to get some of their attention but only Kenneth noticed. He waved and we were happy.

Later, a lot of people got outside because it was over what else do you do? I wanted to get a picture like everyone else with them so we waited outside. That is until Pat came out and told us they’d actually be inside. I didn’t even notice Pat came by until I turned and he was basically next to me. The people at the club kept trying to tell us that nobody can come back in after they went out because they were trying to clean of course, all of us were like that’s not gonna fly because Pat just told us they’d be inside. Luckily they eventually let us in and we all had to line up. There were so many people that it basically reached back down stairs and into the main floor. It was about 10, maybe 15, minutes before the boys came up to meet and take pictures. It had to be real quick so at first it was pic or autograph and no videos or anything. After it was pic OR autograph, not both. Picked picture because that’s amazing compared to an autograph to me.

Let me tell you. These guys are amazing close up and I almost died. Like I was exploding with happiness because last time I saw them I didn’t even get to say hi up closed, I had to go. Anyway, John recognized my ears and high fived me along with giving me a hug. For the picture, I was between Kennedy and Pat. I really think they’re the only “normal” ones of the band. But the craziest one is probably Garrett who seems to have done something crazy in every photo he took. But that’s why I love him ya know? I always say “Oh x is my favorite” or “Y is the best” but honestly it’s hard when they’re all so genuine. My sister kept telling people it was my birthday (which was last week) and so they all wished me happy birthday and ghddjndwjjej it makes me happy just thinking of it. So we said our goodbyes and such and they wished me happy birthday again before we left. I saw some of my new friends down at the bottom of the line too so we pretty much shared happiness especially after they got their pictures.

My sister and I hung out for a bit outside Satellite Room. Well I was in the half in-half out area since I couldn’t go alllll the way in but it was okay. When my sister came out, we say one of the girls I met and we were both basically just waiting around for selfies and to say good bye one last time. It took a while but I and another girl in our group we were with got one last picture with John. He wore my cat ears and ahhh so happy! He also gave me another hug so there’s that. Ever underestimate how tall or short someone is? I don’t realize how tall John was. Pat is around my height & Garrett may be too, but Kennedy, Jared, and John are actually tall. In the selfie, John had to bend over in order to be the same height as me.

After that, we got to go home. It was a fun experience and I immediately went to sleep when I got in. I was so tired and drained that I didn’t even take my shoes off or change clothes. I’ve been sleep most of the day too so until I’m fully up or forced to go out, I’m not changing yet. That’s all there was though.

During the concert, both myself and my sister meet some really cool people. Some traveled a few states, some within the state, some all the way from another country. I even got the red flag they were selling. I wanted more but the flag was my #1 want. I really just had a lot of fun and couldn’t ask for more. My sister who had never head of them even really enjoyed herself which was my main goal.

Did you go last night at 9:30 club? If not, have you gone to any of the LLL tour dates or do you plan on it? Sorry for this super long post. Funnily enough, it doesn’t even go into all that I enjoyed. Some things can’t be put to words.

With this, I hope to get back to reviewing music and concerts that I go to. So many bands and musicians follow me on Twitter every week that I feel like I need to do SOMETHING. So, if you have a band that’s had/having a recent release please let me know. I also plan on going to see All Time Low in August which my sister does know and maybe even Vans Warped Tour this year. I’ve actually never been to Vans or an ATL concert (that’s a totally different story too) so I hope this is the year I do more than I have ever done. Thanks for reading!

You can check out basically all of my pictures from yesterday on my Instagram (@happyflowercami). Go check it out!

- Ami

#the maine #the mowgli's #beach weather #9:30 club

[rusticrevivals]

Take Dorothy out of Kansas, stick her in a fantasy world where she meets fairy god-mothers with crowns and magic wands and high-heeled slippers… and whaddaya got?  You’ve still got ginghamized Dorothy, bless her, headin’ back to Kansas- just a little older and wiser.  “There’s NO PLACE LIKE HOME”…

  Here in the Appalachians, you send a tomboy, “Chip”, (me, see below, age 10 and 14)  to a new place, and she’s confronted with crowns and high heels and told she’s expected to help organize a bunch of princesses, and she’s in a tail spin… but guess what? The mail lady (Glinda the Good Witch?) knows everybody, waves her magic wand, steps in with her ruby shoes and all is well… turns out those princesses are just good ole country girls like Chip herself!  The tricky bit’s gonna be getting them OUT of Kansas!

Apparently Queens’ Pageants (formerly ‘beauty pageants’ but no longer quite so exploitative of women) are popular in every single town in New Brunswick.  The crowned gals are even EXPECTED to wear their tiaras and sashes to school the following day, and actually aren’t laughed out of the building, either! (Having taught in 4 rather rough schools in 3 different countries, I find this VERY difficult to come to terms with, but apparently it’s common practice and just as accepted as one of my 12-year-old students carrying an ankle knife to school in inner city Leeds, U.K. or my 15-year-old pupil breast-feeding her baby in my English class ‘on the rez’ in Browning, Montana!)

I’ve often been surrounded by lovely young women while teaching in Canada and abroad.  Some of the girls I’ve had the pleasure of working with onstage have even gone on to become actresses/models/singers and strong professionals who use some of the public-speaking and debate skills I helped them work on in their high-school days. However, this pageant thing is a very new concept to me.

(above, some of the lovely young ladies to whom I taught Drama and coached in a variety of musicals, ‘on the rez’ in Browning, Montana – please note, the above were NOT the same students who breast-fed their babes in class!)

For those girls, and some of the others I’m so proud of, I made a banner last year on International Girls’ Day, (although they are no longer ‘girls’, but very strong and talented  women now, and can all be seen or heard in public forums in one way or another).

above, some of my beautiful former students – from the USA, the U.K., and yes, Canada, too!

However, none of those girls are really the tiara-wearing types, either.  Up until a month or so ago I was feeling very much ‘out of my element’!

New Denmark is a wonderfully-close-knit community, as you’ll know from reading some of my previous blog postings.  It’s not just a mountain area where everyone pitches in and helps each other and attends church, dances, games’ nights, luncheons, etc. on a weekly basis – it’s got the additional distinction of being the largest AND oldest Danish community in Canada, and is thus rooted in tradition.  Founder’s Day in New Denmark has always been an important celebration, and until recent years was an annual event.  The little rural museum just up the road from us is a Provincial Historical Site, as “Immigrant House”, where the majority of settlers stayed in 1872 before being granted their land, was on that corner. There’s a great video posted online about the Centennial Parade from 1972, which I just love watching! It’s so dear and even, now, familiar!  www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAvS-3M78rQ

This year, by accident (I was meant to be going to a meeting of the historical committee and ended up at the 145th planning committee meeting instead!) I am helping organize the Founder’s Day activities, and thus you’ll see lots more photos from this fun event later in June. It’s held around the 19th of that month every 5 years now, because that’s when the first ship with the majority of Danes landed here.  One of the events is a big parade from near our farm, at the rural museum corner, up the hill past the church and on to the little rural ‘rec centre’.  And what’s a parade without a bevy of beautiful young ladies waving their delicate hands and straightening their tiaras on a floral-decorated float?    Here’s a screen shot  with their centennial year’s Queen and Princess, 1972:

About the only thing I’m familiar with in that picture is the TRUCK.  But I digress… Having heard rumours (I guess) that I was a former Drama teacher – and NOT having heard rumours that I was a tomboy who despised cutesy, demure women, frivolous ball-gowns, high heels, and anything superficial or commercialized, a former director of the Founder’s Day planning committee pointed his over-large finger at me at the very first meeting and delegated me in charge of the pageant.  Luckily for me, Mary Beth the Mail-lady (secretary of no less than FOUR committees in this small “happenin’ ” place!) immediately stepped in and organized a bunch of people who knew a lot more about pageants than I EVER will, to help!  Mary Beth has ordered the tiaras, too, so thank God that’s out of my hands, as they’d have ended up with Stetsons or dressage top hats!  (We suspect M.B. ordered the extra one so she can be seen driving about the hills and dales delivering her letters and feeling “special” ).

Another lucky thing: ’twas Mary Beth herself who said “why don’t we just make the theme ‘COUNTRY’ this year?  Well, ole Chip of Rustic Revivals can do THAT!  And it ties right in with our enormously talented photographer, a former New Denmark pageant gal herself, Miss Tiffany Christensen.  As I’ve organized and decorated so many rustic weddings and events in my rural-based businesses, so has Tiffany taken plenty of rustic and rural-based photography, because it’s not only what we see and live out here, it’s ALSO become a world-wide fad even for those who’ve never set foot in a barn or old klunker of a pick-up truck before!  (On Saturday, my Rustic Revivals was at our first N.B. craft sale, right at the little rec centre where the pageant will take place, and had some of the best attention ever, because folks in the mountains ‘get’ primitives, and several custom orders are coming in also for yet more ‘Burlap Bags’, ((as Richard calls me)) creations.  I’ll be doing a special Easter blog with my latest line next week.)

Thus, Tiffany and I have both been involved in promoting the beauty and history of the rural landscapes around us.  Here’s a lovely photo she took recently, and she’ll be doing a number like this for the pageant girls, as they are to have a ‘spa and photography day’ together in May.

You can see the rural and rustic trend that is so popular now for both weddings AND grads/proms, etc, so why not in our own rural pageant?   (Excuse the blurriness of the following – this is obviously not in Tiffany’s originals, but my ad program isn’t always in love with the wordpress one!  Isn’t her logo neat?  Look how the camera is subtly wrapped into her initials!  And the natural leaves/sheaves represent the countryside we love!)

As Rustic Revivals  has also now debuted locally (after 7 years of ‘touring’ the back roads of Montana, Yorkshire, Aberdeenshire and Ontario!), we realize the mountains here in Appalachia are just the right spot for us!  Although online selling isn’t to be ruled out :  www.etsy.com/shop/rusticrevivals

And RURAL Revivals, (its sister company), as special rural events organizer and country-themed decorator/interior designer (www.facebook.com/rural.revivals   and  http://rusticrevivals.wixsite.com/ruralrevivals ) will also be comfortably-based and definitely using Miss Christensen for all events photography and official before-and-after shots of our specialty rooms with shabby chic/’country’/French Provincial/ ‘cabin’  make-overs (if you haven’t yet viewed my own crappy before and after photos, see previous posts on renos).  Former campaigns which have included us in newspapers and on television have resulted in less attention than in just having the good readers of this blog spread the word…

…so I’m hoping that those of you who are in New Brunswick or who have the money to fly her out to you, will consider using Tiffany Christensen as YOUR official photographer as well!

Of course she doesn’t just take portraits in rural settings; have a look at all her lovely work on her FB page:

http://www.facebook.com/TiffanyChristensenPhotography

I tried 3 times to catch the magic of the hoar frost on the mountainsides, for instance, this winter, and failed spectacularly, but Tiffany has a real talent:

She was also able to capture the stunning autumnal colours here better than I!

Having said that, I’m not a COMPLETE amateur when it comes to pretty country girls posting for the camera.  Last spring, nearly a year ago, in fact, a gorgeous former riding student from Scotland came for a visit to Ontario and wanted the ‘typical’ Dukes of Hazzard/’Western’-and hill-billy-style pics. So, I introduced her to my native friend and her teepee,another former riding student and her horse, Richard’s ’73 Nova for that Dukes of Hazzard effect and also, of course -his moonshine jug. Then I got my camera out. Here’s a slideshow for fun:

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I also loaded up all my rustic decor and we spent an all-afternoon photo-shoot with some work that I’m pretty proud of, and she SHOULD be as well:

The ‘other type of riding’…

While I wouldn’t suppose to be as good as Tiffany, and while it DID take us about 50 photos just to get one good one, I am rather proud of the above.  Now, someday, especially with the gorgeous gals we have in this year’s pageant as models, Tiffany might even have a front cover for some real fashion mags.  I do like to think that ours could have just as easily been on a Vogue special issue:

And, funnily enough, here she is even posing as a MaryBeth !

That’s right, I’ve worn many hats in my time, in many different places around the world… Off-stage, On-stage, Mounted, UnMounted, in various positions for the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Education etc.  Mom/Joy even thinks that should be the title of my autobiography.  Either that, or she’s suggested “The Many Beds in Which I’ve Slept”?  I keep telling her that just makes me sound like a slut…

HOWEVER, AS MANY HATS AS I’VE WORN, I’VE NEVER WORN A TIARA!

  The pageant girls, and I won’t name them here, are all eager, however, to be dubbed “Queen”, or at least “Princess”, despite them being very much Appalachian Country girls in their own right.  One of them is line-dancing for her talent, and another even asked if she could ride her DIRT BIKE for her talent portion!  So I’m no longer worried about dealing with the demure, prissy type – these young ladies are up for anything!  Ironically, not only has the group dance which I’m choreographing morphed into a hill-billy dance in barefeet (and I was a chorus dancer in L’il Abner onstage in barefeet forty years ago!) but the other talents a few of the girls wish to show-case are Poetry Reading and doing a Monologue.  With NO suggestions even, by me, an English/Drama teacher, with published poetry and an award on her wall for doing Dramatic Monologues!  Well, really, since MaryBeth rounded up all this extra help for me to have the promenades, turns, waves and poise stuff looked after, I can do this! Who’d have thought this pageant gig would end up being so close to my own propensities  (ie: rustic decorating, slopping out verse, projecting loudly, and strutting about in patched clothes with a heavy emphasis on the balls of my feet!!!!   Yeeee- hawwwww!)

By the way, speaking of all-things-hill-billy:  In regard to this week’s title, did you know a ‘hootenanny’ is actually a SCOTTISH word, which should please Mom/Joy?  According to Wikipedia, it is simply “a Scottish word meaning ‘party’ or ‘celebration’. With the Scots being one of the biggest groups of settlers in the Appalachian region (bringing with them their whisky-making tradition and methods, leading to the area’s moon-shining tradition) it is not surprising that hootenanny became an Appalachian colloquialism. ”     Besides I like it better than ‘hoedown’, although that is an equally pleasant-sounding alliteration to match with ‘hill-billy’. It’s just that ‘hoe-down’ will likely be needed in future titles to represent our extensive gardening, which is a must when living self-sufficiently!

Every Monday night we are in rehearsal now with the girls.  Chantal, one of the moms, a MaryBeth recruit to our committee, and herself a participant in numerous provincial pageants (“but that was HOW many years ago?” her daughter piped up last night) is an invaluable wealth of info. for both me and the young ladies, as she is instructing them in poised walking with books on heads, and my old Tickle Trunk petticoats on their lower half to aid in twirls and turns.  Even with ‘cammo’ and baseball hats, Chantal can get these ladies to SPIN!

  (above, note the Danish ‘welcome’ in our church basement:  “Velkommen” – it’s seen in every public building here in the community, and the Danish flag, on Mary Beth’s cartoon mailbox and picket fence, is seen flying on at least every other farm!  Also, please note that while I have permission to publicly post these photos of the pageant gals, I am not going to name them, as a respect to their underage privacy!)

I also asked Chantal to please choreograph the girls’ initial ‘promenade’ in their casual clothes (which they are piecing together with only $10.00 from second-hand and rummage sales, don’t you think that’s a wonderful tradition?) and also their ball-gown finale, when they will be escorted on to the stage by two little 7 year old boys dressed in flannel shirts and wearing cow-boy hats and boots to keep in line with our ‘Down-Home Country’ theme.  I can’t wait to see that!

Here are some photos I took last night of Chantal rehearsing the girls in high heels to prepare for their intro-dance, which will be to Shania Twain’s “Man, I Feel Like a Woman” (’cause I wanted to have only women singers, we needed country songs for the theme, and we DEFINITELY needed a Canadian!)  As always, please click on each photo to blow up and read the captions:

Balancing Precariously ‘in format’

Chantal instructs, with Tiffany, to left, taking her ‘official photos’ for a wonderful behind-the-scenes slide show she has planned for pageant night!

another format that should be a fun ‘intro’

Chantal ‘gets down’ with some finger-snapping, hip-swinging, trying to impress on the girls the importance of having that ‘attitude’

Tiffany asked the girls and Chantal to hold the final pose of their first dance while she snapped an official shot. This is my much-less clear one!

To give their poor tootsies a break from the high-heels they aren’t all used to wearing (and certainly not dancing in!) we next went to my ‘group dance’, a bit of a production into which I’ve of course introduced a touch of ‘drama’ (bit of business at the beginning).  Here’s another big irony:  those poor girls, who are country/mountain gals at heart, have to learn to walk gracefully and to show off their feminine wiles one minute, switch to being what many of them (like me) would rather walk like – a relaxed mountain-girl hill-billy in bare feet, and then throw on a ball-gown and go back to that poised, tall, no-slouching grace again.  It’s really going to be an amazing challenge for them!

Here are some of last night’s rehearsal for the group dance, which will be to Lisa McHugh’s ‘Hill-billy Girl’ – but I dislike her line-dance to the same, and as one of our girls is doing a line-dance for her ‘talent portion (she goes for lessons every week with her grandfather, but he declined doing it in the pageant with her!) I’m putting in my own choreography.  (Though my back has been much better since the 3rd surgery in 2008, the knees, since the last crashing somersault fall off Junior in 2004 are progressively worse with osteo-arthritis.  Since they won’t do knee surgeries now until we hit age 60, and because I refuse to let the pain take away ALL my activity levels, I ‘strap up’! ) Click on any of the below to enlarge and read the captions:

plain old ‘grapevine’

now, that lean back, inside leg out thing…

Within the Hillbilly Girl dance there are two instrumental bits and I’ve planned a ‘showcase’ of each girl’s gymnastic talent aka “hillbilly jumps and kicks” to add some excitement… Here’s one from last week’s rehearsal, with faithful Tiffany taking photo:

Lastly, the girls put their high-heels back on to practice their more formal ball-gown finale. Chantal is playing the part of the little 7 year-old boys, as she escorts each to the stage and instructs them on their ‘turns’. They will then be asked a question on their thoughts or beliefs on a certain subject, by the M.C., prior to the judges making their final decisions.  Here’s each of the lovely girls as they come down the aisle to Jessica Andrews’ ‘Who I Am’ (Rosemary’s Grand-daughter).  And one of them actually IS a Rosemary’s grand-daughter, too!  I suggested that her grandmother would LOVE this song, then. However, we were informed that Rosemary was quote/unquote ‘unable to attend’.  We said ‘oh, that’s too bad, why not?’.    ‘Wal, ’cause she’s dead’ was the drawled response.

  By the way, when you see very ripped jeans (above) please note that these are not being worn in preparation for the Hill-billy Girl dance with me.  For those of you not as ‘hip’ as I am to the modern fashion (the very use of the term ‘hip’ proves this is entirely tongue-in-cheek) these are the designer pants that cost so much nowadays, and another bit of irony is that the girls are going to be buying their ‘casual wear’ for the pageant at rummage sales for under $10.00, and likely (because their grandparents won’t approve) leaving these jeans at home!

Thus, the ironies of my life in the Appalachians continues.  Just when you think something is being introduced into your life which you just can’t come to grips with, you take off your shoes, your bare feet help you get sticky purchase, and there you are.  You’ve come to grips!

Kick off them ruby slippers, Dorothy.  You’re back on the farm, baby.

Funnily enough, the above “Find Your Style” meme is at the top of our Rural Revivals’ website, http://rusticrevivals.wixsite.com/ruralrevivals  and is not only what the girls are considering wearing for their group dance, but the ‘find your style’ motto is how they are being told to go find their rummage sale casual outfits for both their Princess tea and their Introductory walk onstage the night of the pageant!  So maybe I DO know more about this then I at first thought!

        Hill-billy Hootenanny: Purty Pals & Gingham Gals Take Dorothy out of Kansas, stick her in a fantasy world where she meets fairy god-mothers with crowns and magic wands and high-heeled slippers...

#beauty pageant #country and western #country dancing #crowns #down-home #drama #hill-billies #l&039;il abner #line dancing #princesses #queen pageant #shania twain #tiaras #walking with poise