#that's totally on me man i really like them in traditional chinese fashion

[angermango]

[slides into inbox] wanna talk about those elementals real quick

OH BOY WOULD I !!!

so i dunno how much detail i should put out here on the get go, especially with the whole thing where i’m still unsure as to whether or not I should use them as Mortal Kombat OCs/fan interpretations of canon characters or just OCs on their own (in which case they’d be just ordinary elementals although i guess they can still be gods? :V)

Regardless they’re all supposed to be ageless immortal non-humans in human form sort of dudes who are basically the embodiments of the classical elements with so much power they’re basically deities by any other name so take your pick

Down here’s a guide to your friendly neighbourhood elementals (cut because it got LONG):

Ohona

Earth elemental/deity

Name based on a Japanese earth god named Ohonamochi (though he doesn’t really share much in common with the myths etc surrounding that guy, just the namesake)

He has control over the element of earth but also can manipulate anything under the earth so that includes metal and even minerals/gems

He’s the definition of a ‘gentle giant’ like he’s well over 7ft tall and broad like an ox but he’s the chillest and loveliest guy you’ll ever meet

Ohona’s kindness is freakin’ legendary. Even the nastiest of people would be hard pressed not to admit he’s such a nice guy they feel bad going up against him. If someone pulled a knife on him and demanded money Ohona’d fuckin give them his entire purse and then invite them for a meal and tea.

His big friendly giant thing means he’s probably classified as a pacifist, or at the very least one of those “Martial Pacifists” who doesn’t kill or use more force than necessary

His fighting style prioritises defence, the kind of Big Beefy defence trading on speed where he aims to outlast his opponents and keep his own attacking to a minimum. He’d much rather see his enemies give up than be forced to hurt them, sometimes deliberately letting them wear themselves out so he can approach and possibly talk it out with them without having to raise a hand

That said if he does ever have to attack he hits like a freaking bus on a train. He knows proper martial arts forms and everything so don’t think just because he’s a tank he doesn’t have skill or strength

He likes using his element to form shields and even armour around himself. He got the standard rock armour look down, but if the situation calls he can even scare up full metal or even diamond armour and shields

He is able to transform into a purely elemental form which is like a huge golem made of rock (like the MK Earth God). He’s even bigger and tankier in that form, but he rarely cracks it out unless it’s Serious Business and the situation calls for being huge and strong

He can also change up his elemental form if given enough time so sometimes y’all get metal golem Ohona or diamond golem Ohona stomping around. good luck if you ever go up against that.

Something of a nomad when he’s out and about in human form. He loves travelling, mostly for the hiking and scenery. I mean yeah he can teleport (usually as a small sandstorm or sometimes in a sort of ‘sink into the earth and pop out elsewhere’) but where’s the fun in that? He’s very much one with nature and his element and lives off the earth sort of thing, enjoying the great outdoors and sleeping under the stars

Brilliant gardener despite plants not being his domain, mostly owing to his naturally excellent care of the earth

Absolute animal lover and friend to everything that moves

That also includes the super freaky and dangerous animals. catch him treating a 13ft gator like a dog and getting it to roll over for belly rubs or calling one of them bird-eating giant tarantulas his hairy baby.

He’s really friendly and warm to humans he meets regardless of whether they acknowledge his power or not. He likes spending time helping them out however he can with his powers be it helping them do some gardening or fixing stuff up

He’s a talented hand in sculpting, carving, jewellery and pottery craft to name a few. He’s got a rather infamous habit of making some incredible pieces then just giving them away and fucking off, leaving people with these beautiful pieces of art which are completely anonymous and literally priceless

He always makes time to visit Hinoka and Suijin either separately or as a get-together. They’re his two best buddies and he is always happy to keep Hinoka company or keep an eye on Suijin.

Hinoka

Fire elemental/deity

His… is actually not a real deity’s name, I think i remember seeing some fan names for the unnamed MK fire god using it and liked it. sorry oddball

(ED) o I think i found the origin it’s probably from the Shinto fire kami Kagutsuchi who is sometimes known Hinokagutsuchi or Hi-no-kagutsuchi waddayaknow - he doesn’t share the same myth as Kagutsuchi tho but now we know his name isn’t completely random hey-oh

As a Fire guy he controls flame but also heat, being able to thermoregulate his body and the air around him. He can also absorb fire and heat so he’s like immune to burning too and can put out fires by standing in them.

His elemental form is of course basically a humanoid bonfire, though he’s able to not make himself wholly flammable so he can walk around indoors and around people without making everything catch alight, but his elemental form can also still burn people on contact through radiating heat. it’s elemental magic man he don’t got to explain

He’s a very capable fighter in both martial arts and also swordfighting as his weapon of choice. cause you know what’s better than a sword? A FLAMING sword. He also mixes in the classic fire-bending tricks where he can, fireballs and flamethrowers and so on.

Got a very fast and ‘keep away’ sort of fighting style where he favours AOE kinds of moves to keep people at a distance with the threat of getting barbecued or beat to hell. Expect rings of fire, explosions and sweeping fireballs sort of thing, as well as a lot of constant moving around to make it hard to pin him down.

kind of a hermit so he doesn’t actually really go out and interact with people a lot save for his fellow elementals. and even then he’s pretty quiet and shy and it takes a lot to coax him out of his shell

If you do manage to get through to him he’s quite a nice guy. perhaps still not the most talkative, but he’s not going to be rude or anything

He has a thing where if he gets startled or embarrassed he sometimes accidentally lights himself on fire and Shenanigans Ensue. It’s often a bit of a chain reaction because say you surprise him and he flares up, and then he gets embarrassed for flaring up, then he gets embarrassed that he can’t stop flaring up etc.

The reason for his reclusiveness is pretty sad actually. He’s cripplingly afraid of hurting people with his powers because he knows he can deal some serious damage with them. That’s the thing with fire, it doesn’t need a lot to get going and can spread very quickly. But because he isolates himself and stews in his fear he doesn’t have much control when he is around people and loses control when he’s stressed and then continues to fear being around people…

And the reason why this fear started is even sadder. A very, very long time ago, Hinoka once lost control of his powers in a blind rage and made a desert. A really, really big desert. Out of land which was once fertile and thriving. And inhabited. He still hasn’t forgiven himself for it and it’s really not a good idea to bring it up.

Because of what happened, that’s why he only hangs out around the other two elementals and any other immortals, because he knows he can’t hurt them that badly if something ever went wrong.

He tends to retreat to extremely remote regions and in very basic conditions, like a cabin or even a small cave, far from civilisation.

He prefers temperate to hot climates but like even if he was in the Arctic he is always warm himself so it’s not a big deal.

He spends most of his free time meditating and practicing forms in an attempt to de-stress and get some control over his powers. He also reads sometimes (though he fears for his books) and has gotten fairly good at cooking as a past time (even though he doesn’t quite need to eat like a human).

Speaking of his food the other two elementals always like dropping by to keep him company over a meal or to share new recipes/try his new recipes. Always an evening well spent.

Despite popular beliefs and stereotypes, he doesn’t like spicy food. Too much spice will hurt and then he’ll become stressed and because he’s stressed his fire aura will flare up and so yeah he doesn’t do spice.

Suijin

Water elemental/deity

Named after Shinto water kami of the same name

To put it bluntly Suijin’s like. a massive jerk.

Of all the elementals Suijin is the one with the lowest opinion of humans/mortals.

His reason is because he mostly spends more time in the sea and not integrating with humans.

And also because humans keep dumping their crap in the oceans and he’s left choking in it and clearing it all up so STOP DOING THAT YOU OIL PISSING FUCKMONKEYS

oh yeah he’s got an atomic temper and a vocabulary to match. being immortal just means he’s had more time to pick up some fantastic new curses to try out.

speaking of his temper he’s seriously got waayyyy to small a fuse and he’s so extremely hot-blooded there’s no in betweens when it comes to chill or no chill. one moment you could be talking about ice cream the next he’s chokeslamming you because you put sprinkles on it.

fun fact when he gets mad he often literally steams with anger

He also puts zero effort into his appearance when around mortals, his robes always looking scruffy and half-undone. see if he gives a shit what you think.

He prefers being in his elemental form most of the time, which is just a human-shaped mass of water. In this form he can melt into bodies of water and travel as a puddle, letting him go pretty much anywhere he likes. However he’s also vulnerable to extreme heat or cold in this form since it will dry him out or freeze him solid

His control of the element of water means he’s also technically got power over all water in all its forms including vapour e.g. steam and clouds. He’s also not limited to the water which is immediately around since he can call up water from any source or even move some clouds over for a top up. He could even create water on the spot from the air or dump a tidal wave on your doorstep even if you live inland. don’t try him. He’s also picked up some ice tricks, which also helps make him less vulnerable to being frozen

True to his personality and element he’s got a very aggressive and fluid fighting style that attacks on all sides and constantly moves and changes to take everyone by surprise. One minute he’s in your face with his fists the next he’s using Hydro Pump from a distance and then stabbing you from behind with his spear and calling you a bitch.

Okay so i said he’s a jerk and he is, but he’s also kind of a ‘jerk with a heart of gold’ guy in a way. For all his temper and foul mouth he can be decent to people when it matters. He’s still a surly grouch even around friends but he makes the effort not to be needlessly cruel and if his yelling and cursing genuinely upsets anyone he’ll dial it back and even apologise if he overstepped.

He’s also very loyal to those he is actually friends with. He may be a little intense about it, but he’s super ride-or-die and will tear anyone who threatens, upsets or insults his friends a new one. And he might not be the best with his words, but he would want what’s best for his friends and won’t hesitate to speak his mind with advice or criticism in their best interests.

He mostly keeps the company of the other elementals and non-mortals, though whenever he does make contact with humans who haven’t ticked him off it’s by the sea since he rarely roams far from his element.

Believe it or not, he and Hinoka are best friends. Hinoka is like Suijin’s one soft spot who he’ll move heaven and earth to keep happy and safe.

When Suijin is around Hinoka he basically does a 180 and becomes super considerate and careful around him. He won’t raise his voice and minds his manners, though he knows Hinoka doesn’t mind him grumbling and cursing a bit and it’s more he will be more mindful not to sound all negative and get loud and mean around Hinoka because he knows Hinoka doesn’t like it.

He knows about why Hinoka is so afraid of going outside and has been doing his best to support him ever since the incident. He visits often to check in on him and keep him company. He also knows Hinoka feels safer with him around because he is the only person Hinoka can’t actually hurt with his fire powers (as in Suijin can’t even get burned where Ohona can still) and Suijin can always put out fires quickly.

Hinoka is also Suijin’s biggest berserk button. Don’t ever insult let alone hurt Hinoka in front of him or Suijin will actually tear you in half.

He’s also just as close to Ohona despite not seeming it at first glance. He often seems like he just gripes a lot to Ohona but he genuinely appreciates Ohona’s consideration and patience around him and being a loyal friend. Suijin will just as easily jump in to defend and fight for Ohona too like he does Hinoka, but less often since he knows Ohona can handle himself and barely has problems.

#igot2ne1problems #asks #my ocs #suijin (oc) #hinoka (oc) #ohona (oc) #wow that really got bigger than i anticipated #once i got going i just couldn't stop ^^; #i really love them but i am so indecisive about them #not that i'm very good with my other ocs who are just floating in private creative limbo in docs and doodles you'll never see #just realised that despite giving them japanese names (at least 2/3 of em) i been dressing them in chinese clothes :U #that's totally on me man i really like them in traditional chinese fashion #i know the mk fire god had noticeable clothing in his elemental form but i just chose not to put hinoka in it in my pics for simplicity's sa #it's like armour and stuff but i wanted him to also have some casual wear #>>mangowaffles

[marvelousmatt]

The Accidental Comedy of Matt Berry

The star of IFC’s detective-series spoof ‘Year of the Rabbit,’ famed for his booming voice and over-the-top faces, never set out to be funny

Matt Berry as Detective Inspector Rabbit in 'Year of the Rabbit.'  Ben Meadows/IFC

If you know Matt Berry from his most famous roles — such as The IT Crowd’s idiot boss Douglas Reynholm, Toast of London’s pompous struggling actor Steven Toast, or the preening and lascivious vampire Laszlo on What We Do in the Shadows — talking to him over the phone is sort of like meeting his un-evil twin. Where his characters are outrageous and inappropriate, Berry is circumspect and gentlemanly. While they pronounce every word as if they’re doing Shakespeare in the Park, with a ponderous theatricality, his signature rich baritone comes over the line from London sounding muted by comparison. It’s as though he’s playing the straight man in a sketch of his own life.

Whatever absurd and profane notions he has rattling around in his head, Berry saves them for his work. His latest offering, IFC’s Year of the Rabbit (a collaboration among Berry, producer Ben Farrell, and writers Andy Riley and Kevin Cecil), is a send-up of the period detective shows that are a staple of British television. Set in Victorian times, it centers on his titular character, Rabbit, a cranky copper who bumbles through every episode but slyly solves the whodunit in the end — a kind of gruff, English Columbo in a waistcoat. In the “why not” fashion typical of Berry’s comedy, the character is missing an eyebrow (a trait the show repeatedly explains away with the intentionally unconvincing line that it was chewed off by a dog last Christmas). He’s named Rabbit — his actual first name, with no surname — not because of any correlation with, say, the Chinese calendar, but because… well, just because.

“His father couldn’t be bothered giving any of the kids any normal names, so he just named them after animals and then left them outside a church,” Berry says matter-of-factly, as if Rabbit and his father are real. Pressed on the matter, he adds, “We have a huge history over here of these shows, Agatha Christie and stuff, and they all have these names, Inspector This and That. I just wanted to do something stupid with that — give him an animal name and not anything else. So he really is as earthy as you can get in that way. There’s nothing fancy about him at all.”

Rabbit is an inveterate boozehound with a colorful vocabulary. He beats up a schoolteacher on career day to demonstrate interrogation techniques to the children. He tells his rookie partner that the way to keep warm during a wintertime stakeout is to piss himself. He describes the London of his day as “a rat eating its own babies. Babies made of shit. And once it’s eaten its own shit babies, it shits them out again.” He is paired, reluctantly, with two bright-eyed and bushy-tailed colleagues to form a crack investigative team, a juxtaposition which only underscores his baser qualities.

“He’s basically trying to hide the fact that he’s incredibly hungover and not firing on all cylinders,” Berry says. “Whereas his younger sidekicks won’t be, because when you’re that young, you know, you get over a hangover by like 10 o’clock in the morning. I wanted him to be dull, in terms of reactions to things, but effective.”

Robert Bathurst, Matt Berry, and Harry Peacock in Toast of London. Photo Credit: Kuba Wieczorek/IFC/CH4

Ineptitude and buffoonery are much more the calling cards of Steven Toast, whose massive ego blinds him to his own failings. He is an oblivious object of mockery at the hands of his voiceover producers, a pair of douchey hipsters named Clem Fandango and Danny Bear, and his mistress, Mrs. Purchase (wife of Toast’s acting nemesis Ray “Bloody” Purchase), looks eternally bored during their trysts. His long-suffering agent has to force him to become a laxative pitchman, yet he complains that she’s not scoring him Oscar-caliber roles.

If Toast is the character closest to Berry’s heart, it’s for good reason. Despite a brand of humor that seems firmly rooted in the British tradition — the surreality and silliness of Python, the cartoonish prurience of Benny Hill — Berry, 45, maintains that he wasn’t especially interested in comedy growing up. He cites as his primary influence not comedic greats such as Peter Sellers or contemporaries like Steve Coogan, but “straight actors, people that normally weren’t trying to be funny.” The more “mannered” and “self-important” the star, Berry says, the funnier he found them. The line to Toast is clear — especially in his puffed-up diction and bizarrely exaggerated pronunciation of ordinary words (such as his praise of guest-star Jon Hamm’s “charismaaaaaaaeeeeeee”). Imagine the famous outtakes of a drunk Orson Welles filming a Paul Masson wine commercial, and you’re on the right track.

Berry’s career in comedy came as a complete surprise to him. He grew up in the hamlet of Bromham in Bedfordshire, about two hours north of London, in a wholly unartistic family who had “normal, decent jobs,” he says. “My mom was a nurse, my sister went into law — nothing like what I ended up doing.” Still, his parents were totally supportive — worried, but supportive — as he stumbled through temp gigs and patches of unemployment as a young man.

He was far more interested in painting and music — and, in fact, today is an accomplished musician who’s recorded eight studio albums (prog rock-ish, inflected with funk) as well as the scores and themes to numerous TV series, including Toast. That show’s frequent musical interludes, gonzo song parodies a la Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, speak to Berry’s true comedic beginnings. In between stints at the London Dungeon — a haunted-house experience where actors play figures from gruesome corners of the city’s past, like Jack the Ripper — he managed to book solo gigs as a singer-songwriter. But he found that spiking his performances with humor won over a crowd.

Natasia Demetriou and Berry in What We Do In the Shadows.  Byron Cohen/FX

“I was playing before comedians, and the gigs just seemed to go quicker and better if I put some comedy into the songs or the bits in between the songs,” Berry says. “I only did it so I’d fit in with what was going on after. Then I really got to like it.”

Fellow performers Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness noticed his act, and cast Berry in a horror/sci-fi spoof they created called Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace. From there, his television career exploded, with recurring roles in several series before his breakout in 2007 with The IT Crowd. Despite a nomination for “best newcomer” at that year’s British Comedy Awards and a 2015 BAFTA for Best Male Performance in a Comedy for Toast, Berry insists he doesn’t have any particular aptitude for the form, and draws a blank when it comes to defining his style. Mostly, he chalks it up to timing (“Whether it’s music or comedy, that’s the most important thing for me”) — as well as a lack of training.

“I’m not held back by any sort of rules and regulations in terms of performance,” he says. “I’ll just do what feels natural, and because nobody’s said in the past, ‘Well you can’t really do that, because of this,’ you just do it. If it works, it works, and if it doesn’t, you just try something else.”

He does acknowledge one foolproof stylistic flourish that may be deeply ingrained: a true relish for the scatological and sophomorically sexual. See: Laszlo’s vulva topiaries, or the preposterously elastic faces Toast makes while he’s shagging Mrs. P (“Hang on — my balls are about to fizzzz!”) or pleasuring himself to old-timey images of women in military uniforms. A key moment in Rabbit involves the inspector having a pocketful of dog poop.

“I suppose that’s the British toilet humorist in me,” Berry admits. “It doesn’t matter where you go in Europe, toilet humor is enjoyed by all. Being from the U.K., it’s in you, like, from birth. You know, if you’re little and people are laughing at something all around you, it kind of sticks. If it’s something that my granddad laughs at and my dad laughs at, there’s a good chance that I’ll laugh at it, too.”

#matt berry #year of the rabbit #what we do in the shadows

[packsbeforesnacks]

Notes on Camp || Orion & Winn

TIMING: Friday, April 10th, 2020, Sunset LOCATION: Somewhere in the Foothills of Appalachia, Maine PARTIES: @3starsquinn & @packsbeforesnacks SUMMARY: Rio and Winn were supposed to go on a retreat for their theatre class. Winn gets them lost. Maybe the real camping trip was the friends we made along the way! (feat. Yeth Hounds) WARNINGS: None.

There were few things that Winn enjoyed more than a good ol’ fashioned campin’ trip. And given his run-in with the asanbosam earlier in the week, he was more than happy to get out of White Crest for the weekend. Darbussy had been ecstatic when the sun came out on Monday evening, now no administrative excuse for why the retreat would have to be cancelled. He knew Blanche would hate it — hell, Orion probably would, too. But it would be a good bonding experience. Probably.

Blanche had laughed him off the phone when he’d called her to see if she was ready, which he took to mean that she’d put off packing until the last possible moment. Orion seemed like he had a good head on his shoulders, though. He’d be packed, for sure. So, Winn drove to the library, whistling a happy tune.

He pulled up on the curb, and honked twice. Winn didn’t want to kill Orion, so he’d dressed conservatively — a loose tank that showed off his arms and only a hint of his pecs. Tasteful side boob, as it were. He honked one more time for good measure, just in case the younger man hadn’t heard him, and set about fiddlin’ with the radio before decidin’ he’d toss Orion a bone (ha) and the AUX cord.

This was gonna be great.

Orion was a mixed bag of emotions, but what else was new? Sure, he did want to hang out with Blanche and Winn. If only his desire to make friends was strong enough to completely destroy the fear of embarrassing himself in front of them. But alas, it seemed like that wasn’t going to go away anytime soon, so instead he would just have to force himself against his own judgement and will to go camping. Really, the only thing he could hope for was that he didn’t have a straight up panic attack like last time, or at the very least that the two found his awkwardness endearing. It was all he had going for him.

Of course, when Winn had offered to drive, Orion wasn’t going to disagree, but he certainly wasn’t about to let Winn pick him up from his house. If his mom had been home… well, Orion didn’t want to think about that. If his family found out he was going out in the woods camping with a werewolf? They would implode. That was how he ended up at the library, bag full of clothes, supplies and snacks awkwardly resting at his side while he read one of the books he had planned on checking out to bring with him. Just in case he finished one. He didn’t know Winn’s sleep schedule, and if Rio found himself up late he could get some good reading in.

The horn cut through Rio’s hearing like a bullet, catching him off guard and forcing him to jump (much to the surprise of a few other students around him; either they hadn’t heard the horn or it wasn’t nearly loud enough to scare normal hearing). Assuming that may be his ride, Orion jumped up and slung the bag over his shoulders. He tucked the stack of books under his arms and ran over to check them out, another honking lighting up his senses. At least he didn’t jump that time.

Orion waved on his way to the car door and opened it up, tossing his bag in the back as well as his stack of books. “Hey! Thanks for picking me up.” Of course, Winn’s muscles were on full display, and Orion rubbed at his eyes to force himself to look away. He climbed into the front seat, holding onto one of the books that he had checked out. “I’m excited!” Mostly.

The corner of Winn’s mouth tugged upward into a half-smirk as Orion took the front seat of his car. ‘Course, who was he to argue with dibs? Blanche hadn’t been ready, so Blanche could lose her seat. ‘Sides, he was more than willing to get to know Orion. Since their ill-fated acting exercise, he’d tried to stick close to the younger man, the same old instincts that made him go into counseling cropping up. Wolves ran in packs, and Winn wouldn’t deny he made friends — or, folks he would call a friend — fast. And since Orion was clearly uncomfortable with Darbussy’s constant needling at all of their expenses, Winn figured he could be (somewhat) of a buffer. He was broad and charming, and Blanche could take care of herself.

Given that Orion had been fairly normal around him — other than the occasional raised heartbeat, which, right, Winn still needed to organically bring that little tidbit up — Winn figured he was doing a half-decent job of making sure he stayed under the radar in his attempts. Darbussy had seemed to notice, though, and, for better or worse, paired Winn and Orion up for exercises more often than not. There was, strictly speaking, less touching and certainly less kissing involved than their initial encounter, so it had been fine — even fun! But Winn still felt like he didn’t really know the other guy.

He glanced over to make sure Orion had buckled himself in (humans were squishy!), and noticed Orion was rubbing at his eyes. He wasn’t yawning or nothin’, but the joke came easy: “Stay up late partying?” Winn chuckled. Thirsty Thursdays, indeed.

But Winn didn’t really think Orion was that much of a partier, if at all. After all, he’d seen the books that Orion had slung into his backseat. Was he doing homework this weekend? Gross. Not if Winn could help it. But then, there was one in the other man’s lap. Maybe he… just liked reading? Winn knew he liked comics. And if nothing else, Winn was great at small talk. “Whatcha got there?” he asked, sticking a thumb out towards Orion’s lap as he pulled off the curb outside the library and drove towards Blanche’s house.

This was going to be fun, right? This was going to be fun… This was totally going to be fun. This would be fun! If Orion told himself that enough he would create some self fulfilling prophecy. He wasn’t really worried about the company, at least not exactly. If anything he was worried about himself in front of the company. Orion had learned that he seemed to make himself far more nervous than other people had the ability to. Not that people like Winn or Adam couldn’t do just fine prickling Rio’s nerves on their own. But Orion seemed to always find a way to make things even worse.

“Ha ha.” Orion fake laughed at Winn’s joke, shooting him a side eye and trying to keep himself calm and collected. No need for nerves right now. “Just stayed up late I guess.” Not exactly an exciting answer, but it would take a bit longer for Rio to find his footing before he could try for a joke. Orion kept glancing over at Winn, mostly because he hated himself he supposed. It was supposed to be sunny today, but still not above the 50’s, which made Winn’s choice of outfit stick out. Knowing what Orion knew, the cold probably didn’t bother Winn much anyways. On the opposite end of the scale, Orion was probably getting ready to sweat during the hike today. He had worn a long sleeve shirt with a hoodie on top of that plus a pair of track pants. But he wasn’t about to make the same mistake that he had with Skylar at the Farmer’s Market.

“This?” Orion asked, flashing the book that he held tightly in his hands. “Nothing, really. Just a book on Norse Mythology. I met this guy who speaks some Scandinavian who offered to help with some translations if needed. So I’m going to reread through some of these and try to pick some out that I hope he can help with.” Orion smiled nervously. That may have been the lamest thing he could possibly have said to Winn, but oh well. Despite Rio’s desire to make some friends in this town, he also wasn’t exactly prepared to change anything about himself to do it. “You uh— Ready to do some hiking?”

“Couldn’t sleep?” Winn asked, trying to pry a scrap of information out of Orion. He was beginning to sense he was maybe, a little bit, out of his element. It wasn’t that Orion was a brick wall, precisely, more than Winn didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t be taken the wrong way. He wished, like with Noah, he could just push past the awkwardness and into a blossoming friendship. But, well. Maybe Orion would open up if Winn revealed more about himself? “Can’t get to sleep myself, a lot of the time. Have to take a sleep aid to get me there.” Among other things. But he’d hold off on suggesting Orion try weed or, well, any of the supernatural drugs and sedatives that Natalia had hawked in his direction. The younger man seemed a little clean-cut for that. Not that Winn really knew. “You look snug as a bug in a rug, though. I run hot. Heck, even in midwinter I was only puttin’ on pants when I had to be somewhere, y’know?”

His ears perked up at Orion’s mention of Norse mythology. When Winn was younger, before he’d gotten involved in sports and his afternoons were burned away with practices and games, Winn had had an ongoing, but passionate, love affair with his father’s stacks of myths. He’d learned a little bit of everything and, while he’d forgotten most of it, he couldn’t deny that he’d cottoned onto the Norse myths the best — the idea of different realms, of the deep magic in those stories, enraptured him. Made him an easy target to believe in werewolves, he supposed. “What’s your favorite part about it?” he asked excitedly. “My favorite deity is probably Frigg or Freyja, though I know some folks think they’re the same goddess or came from the same goddess? ‘S kinda cool, right? Like, Frigg having the whole “I see the future” thing and havin’ to keep it secret and be kind of mysterious. I, uh.” He coughed, blushing a bit. Most of that had jumped out of him before he’d even really thought about it, and he’d been about to talk about wonderin’ if the gods and goddesses were real. That’d prolly be a step too far, even for Orion. He pivoted. “I, uh. Dunno how serious y’are in myths and whatnot, but I can read Chinese. Simplified and traditional. A little out-of-practice, but if you, like, needed help, I could help. If you needed help.” Wait, shit, he’d already said that. He decided to take the lifeline that Orion had given him.

“Shit yeah, bro,” he said, fist pumping to no one in particular. “Hiking is the bomb. Gettin’ out into nature, really seein’ what’s hidin’ in the woods? If you’re lucky, o’course. How ‘bout you? Could prolly carry you on my back, but it’s a lot more fun for the both of us if you can keep up.” Shit, was that offensive? Orion was kind of small, but it’s not as if Winn knew his, like, muscle mass. Maybe he worked out. He fumbled, again, shit, he was really putting his foot in his mouth today. “I, uh. If you want some music, there’s, like—” he gestured vaguely at the AUX cord hanging out of the cassette deck “—that whole thing. Should work. I’m into most everythin’. ‘Course we can just keep talkin’, so long as it’s not, like, dead silent. ‘Course, when Blanche gets in here, there’s no chance of chatter dyin’ down… Actually, speakin’ of which, I should give her a call, we’re only a few minutes out. Y’wanna stop and get some grub before we head out or wait until we get there? This car’s taken its fair share of food stains, so don’t worry your pretty little head about bein’ polite. I can scarf down with the best of ‘em.”

Orion shrugged. He didn’t talk about his sleeping issues much. The nightmares kept him up a lot of times. They weren’t usually as bad if he was sleeping at the Scribe Headquarters. He figured that was because he was away from his parents and that house. Still, the headquarters kept him busy enough that he usually ended up staying up way too late into the night reading anyways. “I uh—I get distracted easily.” That was the simpler way to put it. He didn’t feel the need or desire to delve into the nightmares right now. Not exactly an easy or friendly conversation. “Really? Sorry to hear that. I—” He wasn’t sure what Winn was implying when he meant sleep aid. Like sleeping pills? Or something else? “It depends on the night.” Rio crossed his arms instinctively. Rio wished that he ran cold, so the outfits would make more sense. But he had adjusted. “Oh yikes. I’d freeze to death.” He laughed nervously, trying to push the thought of Winn without pants far from his brain.

Orion had to admit that he was pleasantly surprised by Winn’s interest in Norse mythology. Not that Orion had wanted to judge a book by its cover, especially considering that first interaction the two had during the improv class. Plenty of Winn’s choices had taken Orion by surprise that day. But here the two had found some sort of common ground—and just the thought of talking about something like Norse mythology was enough to put Orion more at ease. “Oh, those are great! Yeah, there are a lot of stories that equate them to being the same deity, but regardless Freya was crazy cool. Some of the stories credit her with teaching Odin what he knew about magic. That’s so crazy cool. Since Odin would go on to be one of the mainstays of Norse Mythology in popular culture.”

He thought on things for a moment. “Obviously Ragnarok is an incredible story. Everything about it is just so… grandeur. It makes some other mythologies look like children’s stories. Which I mean, I guess a lot of, like, Greek mythology has been turned into a children’s story. But it probably shouldn’t be, you know?” A giant grin spread across Orion’s face at Winn’s offer, not knowing that about him. He paused for a moment, not speaking as he tried to home in on a few of the words that he had learned of Chinese: “That’s so cool!” It was broken up and the pronunciation could have been terrible for all Orion knew but he was like 90% sure that he had at least said the correct words. Whenever he started learning the basics of a new language, he usually started with phrases that he said a lot in English. ‘That’s so cool’ was probably one of Orion’s most used sentences. “Oh, I take mythology and history very seriously. And I really appreciate it! The other day I was reading about unicorns and how they’re considered a sacred animal in Chinese mythology, but how they look nothing like what we picture as unicorns. Turns out the idea of a horse with a horn is a lot more European than universal. Which I found fascinating.”

Turned out, Winn really liked to talk. It was perfect, because it meant that Rio didn’t have to worry as much about keeping a conversation going.  Plus, the more Winn talked the more Rio realized that… he almost sounded a bit nervous at times. Which was, well, comforting to say the least. “I’m incredibly clumsy and my body rejects the outdoors, but other than that I’m very excited. I like hiking enough.” He hadn’t done it much admittedly, but it was definitely something that he was interested in doing. With the right people. He giggled at the comment about Blanche. Thankfully, Orion was very comfortable speaking to her now, surprising even himself. “I’m good with pretty much any music. I uh—I’m not really picky about anything. I’m not super crazy about, like, metal. Or Christian Rock, I guess.” The mention of food made Rio’s stomach growl on reflex. “I uh—well, I could definitely eat. Always. But I’m fine with waiting.”

“Hm,” Winn said. “Mostly just gettin’ to sleep, for me, rather than stayin’ awake and gettin’ lost in somethin’ or other.” Winn privately wondered if his transformation had thrown off his Circadian rhythm. The wolf wanted to be out at night, prowling, so, maybe, it would do anything to fight off its other half, to make Winn feel like he couldn’t sleep at night, that he should switch over entirely. But no. He was still, well, negligibly human. Had to live a human life. Not his fault that his inner wolf had taken all of his rebellion and ramped it up to eleven. “Rain helps, white noise. Stayed in Seattle for a couple’a weeks during undergrad? Best sleep I ever got.” Granted, part of that was Roberto keepin’ him exhausted. But, well, Orion didn’t need to know that much about what Winn got up to.

“And let’s be real, Odin prolly needed someone to teach ‘m magic. Shit, if magic were real—” Winn laughed privately “—I bet all those goddesses, like Hecate, Freya, Isis, whoever, would come down to show us what’s happenin’. I remember gettin’ jealous, like, when are dudes gonna get to sling around spells and potions and shit? Like, I’unno, Loki was sort of that. Though, guess they were a little more gender-fluid, so maybe not the right example.” He hummed thoughtfully. “Yeah, man, if the Greeks and Romans could see what Disney did to their myths, they’d be, like, super mad. “Go the Distance” is a bop, though, so the dead folks can suck it.” He watched as Orion’s face split into a (brilliant, frankly) smile at his offer of translating, and when he spoke, admittedly a little rough (but like would Winn be rude? naw), Mandarin. It was precious. Winn wondered why he didn’t smile more, it really changed his face. Not that Orion was ugly or nothin’, but there was something about enthusiasm, about pure joy, that really lit people up from the inside, gave their souls (or whatever) a chance to shine.

“Thank my father!” he said back, then in English to cover his bases. Winn listened to Orion talk about Chinese mythology, an area that he, oddly, didn’t know as much about. “My pa taught comparative literature, but I guess he had a pretty… Western trainin’? Or had mixed feelings ‘bout China. Never really found much. But that’s cool. I mean, unicorns are associated, in the West, with, like, purity, right? I can imagine Europeans focusin’ on a horn and associatin’ it with purity, if you catch my meanin’.” He wiggled his eyebrows, to make his intent even clearer. “But, naw, that’s really cool. I’m serious about the offer. Could help pass some of those sleepless nights, and I… miss it, I think.” Plus, like, who knew what elements from mythology were real. Orion might stumble upon somethin’ that Winn would actually run across. He wished, in that moment, he could show the other man. He seemed like the type to appreciate it, rather than run away screamin’.

“C’mon—” He fumbled, since he was pretty fast and loose with the nicknames. Didn’t want to offend Orion, but he felt like he’d heard Blanche call him somethin’ else a few times… “Rio. Just pick somethin’, bro. I got no judgment in my heart. Though, well, actually. Yeah. No Christian rock. This car’s been part of too many sins to not burst into flames. Don’t think either of us would love that.” Rio’s stomach growled, and Winn smirked. “I heard that. Like I said, don’t be shy about needin’ anythin’. We’ve got plenty of time and I like night drivin’ regardless. You prolly know this town better than me, so just pick somethin’ and we’ll head there after gettin’ Blanche.”

Speaking of. Winn picked up his cell, knowing they were coming up on Blanche’s house. He’d been almost taken aback the first time he’d visited her, post move. And then, like, hangin’ out when Blanche had been tailorin’ him for his date with Ricky. It was a big house and, like, Blanche—if her reaction to Winn’s own wealth was anythin’ to go by—seemed, uh, uncomfortable with money. To say the least. Blanche picked up on the fourth ring. “Winn,” she said, “Please tell me you aren’t at my house right now.

“Uh, pullin’ up in five. What’s up?” he asked.

“Winn! My shoulder is wack, you think I’m going to that? I’m at work!” Blanche said. Winn heard a loud rumble in the background. “Gotta go, have fun, bye!” Then, she hung up.

Well. Huh.

“Uh,” Winn said, intelligently, as he put his phone into one of the cup holders. “So, looks like Blanche isn’t joinin’ us on the trip. Forgot she hurt her shoulder, and I guess she forgot to tell me she wasn’t comin’? Just you ‘n me, Rio.” It’d be fiiine.

Conversations like this reminded Orion of how little he knew about Winn, which shouldn’t have been surprising considering the two hadn’t known each other long and didn’t spend much time talking to begin with. At least not about themselves. “That’s cool. I feel like you’ve… been a lot of places? Like travelling and stuff.” As much as Rio liked to think he knew about the history of the world, he had never actually seen any of it for himself. He had never even left Maine.

Orion remained pleasantly surprised by how much Winn knew and seemed interested in Norse mythology, but he was even more surprised by how much he was talking to keep up with the conversation. Maybe it was because the conversation was about history that Orion had turned so chatty. Of course, thinking about it seemed to make Orion a bit more nervous and he resigned himself to mostly nodding in agreement with Winn, chiming in to proclaim “God the Distance is a bop. All of Disney is.” He giggled about the unicorn, the phallic symbol of the horn never really occurring to Orion until Winn had mentioned it. “I- well I actually never thought of it that way. But yes, the symbolized peace or innocence. In Chinese cultures they look like sort of a chimera of other creatures. They’re considered one of the four noble animals of East Asia. It sort of symbolized virtues and it had all kinds of powers associated with it. So thanks, I will definitely take you up on it.

Orion procrastinated with choosing music just long enough for Winn to get on the phone with Blanche. His hearing picked up on the conversation and Orion felt his stomach drop. He was going to be alone? With Winn? Oh god. He was going to pass out. But it was too late to bail now… what excuse could he possibly come up with? “Oh.. right. Well, yeah that’s probably for the best. That she gets some rest.” He nodded, maybe a bit too long and had to force himself to stop nodding. Oh boy. “Um, welp let’s get going I guess!” He finally picked a song. It seemed easy enough to go based on a song that they had just agreed was a bop. So Hercules it was.

“I have,” Winn admitted. He’d alluded as much to Blanche, referenced being from the South in conversation often enough, that it was a fair observation. Winn always felt privileged, in some ways. Even before his trust vested, Dad and Ma had taken him over the country — and beyond. They always returned to Falls Church, but Winn knew he’d seen more of the world before his eighteenth birthday than some saw in their lives. “I always thought to myself, ‘The world’s a big place, there are places some folks never see. I wanna see ‘em all.’ Have you travelled much?” Winn got the sense… maybe not. It wasn’t just the clear interest in Rio’s eyes whenever he talked about the places he’d been, but that helped. “Where would you want to go? If you had your pick o’ the lot?”

He could hear Rio’s heartbeat skip a bit when he announced Blanche wouldn’t be joinin’ them, but Winn was used to it. Would Rio ever not be nervous around him? What was there to be nervous about? Winn hummed along to the melody line of “Go the Distance,” half-singing the end of the chorus when it came up. It was… unexpectedly a little emotional for Winn, but he didn’t need to unload his baggage on Rio. They barely knew each other, after all. “You, uh…” He coughed, hoping to hide the roughness in his voice. “Figure out dinner?” The song faded in the background, and into “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)” smoothly.

Orion laughed. It was sarcastic, but not harsh. “No. No, I haven’t. I’ve never even been outside of Maine.” He was still laughing, mostly under his breath now. “There are so many places I’d want to go. I want to go to Massachusetts and eat Sonic, first thing.” He laughed again, realizing that without context it didn’t make much sense. “Uh— That’s a conversation I had with someone. I’ve never eaten there.” He shrugged. “But, uh, like a serious answer. God… so many options. I want to go to Egypt. And Rome. And Tokyo. And a bunch of other places.” Not that he thought he’d ever really get the chance.

Orion hummed along quietly to music as they drove along. “We can just swing by any fast food place and grab something on the way. I will eat anything.” He tapped his fingers against his knee along to the music. Winn had a good voice, and the desire to sing along with Disney was strong. But for the moment, his own nerves kept him from joining in outside of humming along to the muses' words. He cracked open the book he had been holding onto and absentmindedly stared at the words. “Sorry that Blanche couldn’t come along. I know I’m not really exciting company. Blanche is always fun.”

“Sonic does make a good burger to satisfy all your beastly cravings,” Winn said, laughing a little at his own joke. Beastly. Ha. Speaking of which… He turned the car away from the road to Blanche’s house, heading towards a burger place on their way out of White Crest. Darbussy would be Dar-pissy if they were late, and Winn knew Rio already was nervous around their professor, especially after that first day with all three of them in class together. “But, bro, we could swing down to Massachusetts on any weekend! Hell, if I didn’t think the teach would kill us, I’d take us there now. Could still camp out, even…” Winn got lost in his own daydream for a moment, humming lighty. “Never made it to Egypt, and the one time I was in Japan, I got food poisoning. Bad sushi.” Winn shuddered. “But Rome is… stunning. There’s really nothin’ like it. I’m not that good at appreciatin’ art or nothin’, but I could get lost in that city for days and never get bored. Why don’t you take a Study Abroad or somethin’? If money’s a problem…” Winn trailed off, shrugging. “Well, I mean, don’t let it be a problem,” he said cryptically.

They ordered quickly, Rio picking up a standard meal — his indulgence of choice being a chocolate milkshake. Winn ordered about three times as much food as he needed, figuring a lukewarm burger reheated on a campfire was still better than his sorry attempts at cooking. Plus, he got the vibe that Rio wouldn’t order as much as he wanted. Even more so when the younger man apologized for, well, for not bein’ Blanche. “Rio, man. Blanche is great. But you’re great, too. Your greatnesses are in their own vacuums. I like hangin’ with you, from what little I’ve gotten to do it.” He smiled, genuinely, poking Rio’s cheek with a fry. “I don’t hang with folks I don’t like. Don’t got much time for that shit. So, c’mon, lighten up. We’ll show B that she should’a come with us! I hope you’re ready for approximately a metric butt-ton of selfies, bro.” His eyes shone with laughter, and he turned the car again, trying to remember the way to the campsite. It was a left, right?

Winn was definitely trying his hardest to conversate with Orion. Rio knew that it wasn’t always easy. Talking to people, especially guys and especially especially attractive ones were not easy for Rio to connect or communicate with. In most cases, he usually found that it was easier to just… not communicate with them at all. But he supposed he didn’t have much of a choice here. “I can’t say the money would… exactly be the problem? It’s hard to explain.” Rather, he did not want to explain it. Especially with that obnoxious tingling feeling constantly ringing that kept reminding Rio that Winn was a werewolf and Rio was a Hunter.

“I don’t really do selfies…” Rio mumbled, but mostly to himself. When Winn asked about the turn, Rio couldn’t offer much assistance. “I have definitely never been here before. So, uh— you’re on your own.” They kept driving around for a while and the more they did, the more Rio was pretty sure that the campsite was nowhere around here. “So, uh— you sure that campsite was here?”

Winn decided to let sleeping dogs lie (ha), and not press Rio on the reasons he couldn’t travel to other places. Winn had been the kinda person, once, to go along with what other people wanted for him. Whether or not he still did, sometimes, was no one’s business but his own, but now, at least, he knew that he could make those decisions. Expectations be damned. His ears twitched a little when Rio mentioned that he didn’t do selfies. Winn was, slowly, learning more about Rio, and the first real thing he’d picked up on was the younger man’s near-criminal lack of self-confidence. And, while Winn couldn’t say he understood, per se, he’d been friends with enough folks with shit self-esteem to know when to press. Now, Winn knew, wasn’t the time.

“I’m not… not sure?” Winn said dubiously, pulling the car off to the side of the road for a moment and flipping his hazards on. Just in case someone drove past and decided to take pity on them. The sun had begun to set over the horizon the longer they’d driven, and now it was almost dark. His phone was little help, having lost signal a few miles back, but Winn was able, at least, to double-check the address. Winn hadn’t really noticed, content to let Rio read in the dim light provided by one of his overhead lights, but they’d driven for longer than he thought it’d be. He cracked a window and sniffed as subtly as possible, not smelling the salty brine of the ocean for once. Had they gone too far inland? He looked out his window, trying to get a sense for the terrain, of the soft dirt and the slow inclines and the— Oh, that scent. Slightly different, but familiar all the same.

“Think I drove us to the mountains, bro,” he said, softly. “Luckily, you can’t piss in Maine without hittin’ a campsite, so let’s keep driving for a minute. Park rangers might have a phone we can borrow, call, ugh, Darbussy and explain that we’re not skippin’ class. And then, like, have a fun, chill, bro weekend to ourselves, I guess? Head back in the morning, pretend it never happened, uh, ha, right, yeah.” He was rambling, he knew, but the last time he’d had a bit of a word vomit, Rio had noticeably calmed down. So, maybe his panic could prove some use. Winn flicked off the lights, flicked on his headlights, and continued down the road, a tight frown marring his usually sunny face.

Admittedly, Orion wasn’t heartbroken about missing the acting class field trip. Rio still wasn’t sure Darbussy even liked Rio. He could never get a read on her after he ran from the class that day. He couldn’t tell if she thought it had been part of his character or if he was skipping out on class. Either way, she hadn’t acknowledged him much outside of it. Maybe that was for the better though. Despite this, Rio was terrified at the idea of spending an entire night alone with Winn. Oh god. “Right. Yeah. I mean… hiking is fun! I like hiking and other stuff. I guess… let’s do it? Just pick a place.” Rio jumped out of the car as soon as Winn had parked and stretched out his muscles, staring up at the sky. The sun had not completely set yet, though the sun was beginning to creep towards the horizon. A few stars were already visible across the sky. “This place looks pretty. Want to hike up that mountain there and see if we can find a place to set up?” Hiking would pass the time and get them closer to the morning.

“You don’t sound too convinced,” Winn mumbled, huffing out a laugh under his breath. Didn’t want Rio to think he was makin’ fun of him or nothin’. Winn sniffed the air again. No signs of anythin’ that’d make their life uncomfortable for the night, even if they were more or less roughin’ it. He pulled out a map the park official had handed them on their way in and squinted at it for a moment before handing it to Rio. “Looks like there’s some trails out here, leadin’ up the mountain some. Don’t think y’want to be in one of the big areas, but looks like there’s some single-tent clearings? So long as we can see the stars, I’m a happy camper.” Ha. He popped the trunk, slinging his bag out and onto this back, along with the tent he’d brought along in a rare moment of forethought. Darbussy hadn’t made it clear whether or not they’d be goin’ with a cabin or what. He started walking, letting Rio set the pace. “We might both be up late, given what you said earlier, but you’ve got a sleepin’ bag or somethin’? I run hot, so I don’t mind you usin’ mine, if you need it.” The winter chill hadn’t entirely left the air, but Winn would be comfortable down to a certain point. The thick scent of pine entranced his senses, reminding him, simultaneously, of home and of something new. Hiking always had that appeal to him — of nostalgia and discovery workin’ in tandem. “Soooooooooooo,” he drawled, trying to let Rio pick a topic of conversation. He’d never been great with silence, unless he was in a session. But he was still figurin’ Rio out. Best to encourage any openin’ up the younger man wanted to do.

The two worked to unpack their things from the back and then set off on a trail that Orion assumed would lead up to the clearing that Winn had pointed again. Given that they had already gotten lost once, Rio wasn’t entirely convinced they would end up where they were supposed to go. But as long as they knew how to get back to the car in the morning, he supposed it didn’t matter much. “Have you seen my clothes?” Rio attempted humor, holding his arms out and spinning around, the baggy hoodie swinging out widely in response. “I’m basically always wearing a sleeping bag.” It wasn’t that the cold didn’t bother him, Rio found himself cold quite often during the winter. It was more that he wore layers of clothes all the time that helped keep him warm. “My family used to go hiking sometimes.” He wasn’t sure where he was going with this, but as he looked up at the sky as things began getting darker and the stars got brighter and brighter, sparkling across the sky and lighting the path for them. Not that either of them needed it, honestly. Rio had no issues seeing at night, and the constant tingling feeling was proof enough that Winn didn’t either. “They’re all super active. Big into competition. Hiking became more of a like… sport. It was all about the race. Some big competition to get to the end of the trail first. I never really got the chance to appreciate all the views.” But that wasn’t exactly a stellar conversation. “You uh- you must like the woods right?” Jesus Christ. Rio facepalmed himself silently and rubbed at his temples. What kind of stupid question was that? “I mean uh- that’s what dudes do right? They like the outdoors and stuff? Or something?”

“Adorable,” Winn said, deadpan, as Rio spun around in the setting sun. It was, but Winn figured as much distance between the truth as possible was likely warranted. “But forreal, if you need the bag, take it. Hell, we can just unzip it and use it as a blanket. Tent’s a little snug, as it is, since it was mostly my backup plan.” He hadn’t planned on sharing it with anyone, but Rio was fairly small. They could make it work. If Rio didn’t want to be as far away as possible, that was. “Same, actually. Well, not the competition thing. My gran’pa, my mom’s dad, was a coal miner, so we went into the mountains pretty often to see ‘m. I spent a lot of nights, when I was young, listenin’ to the crickets ‘n frogs, watching the stars and tryin’ to catch a new one formin’. Ambitious little asshole, in that regard.” He laughed, mostly to himself. “Doesn’t seem like your all that competitive, no ‘ffense, really. Think I like you just the way you are.” He whistled for a moment, content with the walking, taking a long drink of water while Rio rambled slightly. He cut the younger man off with a gentle: “I do. ‘S in the name, right?” He laughed again, louder, at a joke that Rio couldn’t possibly pick up on. “I’ve always felt a little more at-home in the woods, honestly. I like the city, I do, but there’s somethin’ out here that feels more… real? Present? But naw, not every dude has to want to go white water raftin’ to be a load of fun. Way I see it, we should all get to choose our own paths, our own things we like to do. Who cares ‘bout what dudes should wanna do? If y’want to be a mountain man? More power to ya. But there’re lots of things that folks who keep themselves in boxes miss out on.” He paused, looking up at the sky and considering his next words as carefully as possible. “Don’t know if I would’a ever kissed a guy, if I hadn’t shoved myself outta the ol’ box. And even then, I still got so stuck in it, for so long.” There was something wistful to Winn’s voice, a precarious sort of melancholy that seemed like it could tip over into mournful at a moment’s notice. And yet, he smiled.

Orion had to turn away from Winn to hide the red in his face. He had instantly blushed at Winn’s compliment, but didn’t need that embarrassment on top of all the other things today. He was pretty sure he didn’t have a crush on Winn. At least, it didn’t feel the same way it had with other guys Rio had previously had a crush on. But Winn was still a hot guy complimenting him so… yikes. “No offense taken. I’m not competitive at all. I don’t really care about winning.” That had to be a good thing, considering he spent so much time losing. Wouldn’t have been good for his psyche if he was a sore loser on top of being bad at things. “I get that. I used to think I wanted to be one of those people. The like… outdoorsy woodsy type.” Rio sighed, maybe he still did. He couldn’t tell anymore. “But I’m kinda comfortable with being a nerd, honestly. I like reading from the comfort of my own home.” Winn’s words about kissing a guy struck a weird, sympathetic chord in Rio. He didn’t even know that kissing dudes was something that Winn did on like… a regular basis. He had still been half-convinced that the kiss in theater class had been some kind of joke on the new student clearly flustered by the attractive actor. So, hearing Winn say the words made Rio feel… weird. “Maybe someday I’ll fall out of my box too?” Knowing Rio, it would probably be face first. “You seem to have a pretty good handle on yourself though. Like… who you are as a person?”

“I know exactly who I am,” Winn said, chipper and confident. “But it wasn’t an immediate thing or nothin’. Took work.” What was that old phrase? Anythin’ worth doin’ was worth doin’ well? Winn didn’t regret the time it had taken him to step out of his parents’ expectations, to become more of the person he was today. But he wouldn’t lie to Rio either; it had been rough. There had been some dark moments. But, speakin’ of the dark… The sun had set fully now, the stars darting the sky. Winn paused, whistling low as he looked skyward. “Beautiful.” He scanned the line of the sky for Boötes, having picked up a little star-gazing from his nights under the moon. Okay, now, Ursa Major should be… He glanced further to the right, stopping midway to Ursa Major and squinted, thanking his werewolf senses for the ability to really gaze at the beauty of the dimmer stars. “There,” he said, pointing. “Canes Venatici. Or, the hunting dogs, probably of Boötes. But they’re a little hard to see, so…” He traced his finger, farther and farther over until he found it: “There you are,” he said, smiling. “Or, Orion anyway. But I’m sure you knew that. Behind him, though, there’s the real dog star. Sirius, with Canis Major. Any earlier, and it would’ve been under the treeline, I think. We got real lucky. A Hunter and his loyal dog. Or… dogs, anyway. Canis Minor is… somewhere around here.”

“I’m glad you do.” Orion trailed behind Winn, watching him as he walked. It certainly did seem that way, didn’t it? Winn seemed so sure of himself. He talked to people like he had known them his whole life. He walked with a sort of confidence that Rio could only hope to achieve. And he talked about himself with no hesitation in his voice. In Rio’s eyes, it couldn’t just be an act. Nobody was that good at faking it, right? If so, how did Rio learn how to do it? “Everytime I think I do, something comes along and shakes my world.” Rio stopped hiking and stood by Winn, happy to let him point out constellations along the sky. Though Rio didn’t know exactly where to spot a lot of them, he was familiar with the names. “The stories about Orion are all so different that it’s sometimes easy to forget that almost all of them involved his hunting dogs.” How ironic, the Hunter aided by a beast. “It’s said that people in the Nile used Sirius to signal the flood of the Nile River. It symbolized the Sun God Osiris rising from the dead.” He continued staring up at the sky, getting lost in the stars as the cool breeze provided a break in the silence. But eventually the wind was enough to make Rio shiver from the cold, and he broke from the haze. “Come on. I think we’re probably getting close.” For show, Rio flicked on a flashlight. It didn’t affect his vision much, but he was supposed to be a human. The two continued towards the camp, quieter for the final parts of the trip. Finally, the two found the clearing in the trees and Rio happily discarded the bags he had been carrying, dropping them on the ground in a pile and stretching out his arms to relax the strain in his muscles. “Wooh. That was exhausting. We made it!”

“Exhausting, but fun!” Winn chimed in, shrugging the tent off of his back and into a pile with his bag. “C’mon, help me set this up, bro.” If Winn was bein’ honest, it had been a minute since he’d slept in a tent proper. He was, more often than not, content to find a soft patch of ground, let the wolf come out, and keep his ear out for any threats. That long year he’d spent in the mountains, he’d gotten used to it, and, sometimes, he wondered if that wasn’t part of his insomnia. Tonight, he hadn’t brought any aram with him, not wantin’ Rio to get into it (or worse, ask questions), so he was prepared to lay awake, stuck with his thoughts for company. Given enough time, he’d reorganize the entire team six different ways before settlin’ back on their current arrangement. The work went quick, despite Rio claimin’ he wasn’t much of an outdoorsman, and Winn glanced over at the storage container, undoing the heavy latch and sliding it open. “Grab some snacks and we’ll throw the rest in here. Don’t want a bear comin’ after us.” Not that a bear would be a huge inconvenience. It had been… a minute, since Winn had fought one off, but he could still do it. Probably.

No sooner than he’d said the word bear, there was a soft rustle in the bushes. Winn stifled a growl, wolf already on alert. “Aw, fuck. Stay back, Orion.” There was a long stick, left near the firepit, and Winn crouched down to grab it. His eyes trained on the spot where he’d heard the noise, and he used the stick to push back the brush. “Oh, what the fuck,” he said, recoiling back as the creature approached him, snarling. Its tentacles moved slowly, whipping at leaves, and its canine skull was, near as Winn could tell, poking through the remains of its skin. He dropped the stick immediately, kicking off his boots behind him and pulling off his shirt. Then, he remembered. Rio. Shit. He could feel the change coming, his claws and fangs eager to tear through in the moonlight… and he wasn’t sure he could stop it.

Orion didn’t mind helping Winn set up the camp. He didn’t know what he was doing really, but the tent wasn’t that complicated. Plus, Rio was really looking forward to finishing up with everything so he could finally relax and lay back.

Of course, the noises out in the woods would ruin that plan. Rio heard the rustling bushes, immediately tensing up. If Rio had been logical, he would have assumed it was a rabbit or deer or something else completely normal to be out in the woods. But because Rio was paranoid and terrified of basically everything, his immediate thought was some kind of killer monster that wanted to kill them. Or worse, a werewolf Hunter. Or worse-worse, his parents. Rio didn’t waste any time jumping behind Winn as they faced the potential threat. Rio was pretty sure Winn would be more useful in a fight against whatever came out of the woods anyways. But thank god for both of them, the creatures that came out from the woods were practically harmless. Rio breathed a sigh of relief. He had never actually seen a Yeth Hound in person, and had to admit that they certainly looked terrifying. But despite the horrifying appearance and Rio’s typical attitude of being scared of practically anything that moved towards him too quickly, he couldn’t have any other reaction besides excitement towards the creatures.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like Winn had the same amount of information as Rio did. He discarded the stick and began kicking his boots off before ditching the shirt as well. Rio immediately blushed, knowing this wasn’t the time to think about that, but suddenly very interested in looking at anything other than Winn’s chest. Rio grabbed onto Winn’s arm, “Hey, don’t—” he started, but it looked like the transformation had already begun. Rio could see the claws extending and Winn was shaking against Rio’s hand. And he was strong. “Winn!” Rio tried again, louder this time. He ignored the sinking feeling in his stomach as he wrapped his other arm around Winn’s stomach and planted his feet into the ground, putting a bit more Hunter strength into it this time as he tried to hold Winn back. “They’re not going to hurt us! I promise. They’re called Yeth Hounds and they’re harmless!”

Every transformation was different, every time the wolf was let out had the potential to go wrong. There would always be a part of Winn worried that this time would be the time that the wolf really went wild, tearing apart everything in its path. Like he’d expected, Winn wasn’t able to stop himself from transforming, once he began. It was still too close to the Full Moon, he was still too amped up from his encounter with the asanbosam. But he heard what Rio was saying, as the younger man tried to hold him back. In his wolf form, Winn was just bigger, and he felt, as his bones twisted and reformed, as the wooly fur spread across his skin, Rio being pulled up and onto his back, until the younger man was gripping at his coat. Winn growled softly, unsure how Rio, who had claimed he was no outdoorsman, had been strong enough to hold him back from leaping forward. There were a few answers, none which Winn liked.

The Yeth Hound approached them, and Winn crouched down, mock-bowing to the other canine. If Rio said that the Hound was harmless, Winn believed him… He crouched, to allow Rio to hop off of his back, if the other man wanted to, before sitting back on his hind paws, sniffing curiously at the Hound. The smell wasn’t quite as… dead, as he would’ve thought and, like Rio had indicated, Winn didn’t sense any malice from the other creature. Juliet had been dubious, given her normal quarry was (dangerous) werewolves, on other species and how dangerous, or not dangerous, they were, but, as Hunters were wont to do, had recommended Winn assume they were all dangerous. Of course she would say that, even as generally on the side of angels that Jules would. Hunters were indoctrinated in their ways, even the ones that were less stabby. Winn had been too eager to believe it, too, that other creatures might be a threat to him, to the safety of humans. But… Well, he wasn’t human. Not anymore. He couldn’t believe shit that black-and-white. It was a lot to think about… too much to think about when Winn was a giant wolf-man.

He whined curiously, nudging Rio’s back with his head, not wanting to change back (on the off-chance Rio was mistaken), but wanting an explanation as to what Rio knew about the creature. ‘Course, there was only so much he could communicate in this form. But, well, Rio clearly knew something, and far be it from Winn to not let the younger man talk. He stretched, languidly, setting one paw just in front of Rio, ready to protect, if given a reason.

Orion wished that he could have been more graceful while climbing off of wolf Winn’s back. Unfortunately, he was far too awkward to pull anything that cool off. He mostly slipped off, trying to hop to regain his foot once he landed but instead he twisted his ankle and crumbled to the ground and just barely caught himself at the last minute. He sighed at himself and shook it off, focusing instead on the exchange between Winn, now fully in wolf form, and the yeth hound. The whole thing was pretty incredible. Despite reading the books and being attacked by one, Rio had never actually seen a transformation in its entirety. It was… remarkable. And a bit scary.

Before leaving, the Yeth hound glanced over at Rio. Of course, despite everything indicating that this should be another creature that Rio was irrationally afraid of, the only thing Rio wanted was to reach out and pet the dog. But he knew better. Yeth hounds trailed behind humans, following them around from the shadows. They didn’t want that physical interaction with a human. Rio was respectful enough to acknowledge that. The creature, content with the two apparently, scurried back off into the woods. Rio was still shaking from the excitement of seeing one in person.

But that left him alone with Winn. And not just Winn, but Winn in wolf form. He supposed that a conversation needed to be had at some point now. “I’ve always wanted to see a Yeth hound. Since I was a little kid.” Rio detoured, staring at the spot in the bushes it had originally emerged from. “My sister never really understood it. I was so scared of everything and yet all I wanted was to have one as a pet. Crazy right?” Rio laughed. Partly from the irony of his story and also because he was currently talking to a werewolf. A full on werewolf. “But uh- they’re harmless creatures really. They like the scares. But they wouldn’t actually harm anyone.” He didn’t know what Winn was thinking at this moment. Had he already connected the dots? Was he still trying to figure out why Rio wasn’t freaking out over the werewolf thing? Sometimes Rio wished that he could read minds. But instead all he could do was fall back against a tree, sliding down it until he was sitting on the ground and staring at the werewolf. “This is so cool. Holy crap.”

There were moments when there was nothing more than the wolf wanted to do than wag its tail. Encountering another wolf was usually the typical scenario. Despite Winn’s reservations about other wolves, his furrier half didn’t care. This time, however, his tail wagged at the human (?) in front of him, talking adoringly about the mons— creature that had just appeared before them. Winn tried his best to communicate his approval with a huff of air that could be mistaken for a laugh. The best thing, Winn figured, about being a wolf-man was that he could be expressive, marginally. Rio did seem scared of him, nor was he going in for the stabbing. So, Winn did what any curious animal would do and approached Rio, sniffing the younger man. Nothing on him… or, well, at least not wolfsbane or something equally bad. And then — partly because he figured it would be funny, partly because he got the sense Rio maybe knew that Winn was a werewolf before now, and partly because caving into his baser instincts was, sometimes, just rad — Winn licked the side of Rio’s face.

He bowed his head into Rio’s personal space — look, everyone wanted to touch the fur, Winn had wanted to touch the fur before he’d been turned — allowing the man to poke and prod at him if so chose. Then, because he’d have to turn back eventually, Winn sniffed at the perimeter, stalking around the clearing for any signs of bears, moose, or the like. His human form hadn’t sensed anything, but, well, then he’d found the yeth hound. So, clearly, another look around was in order. And, oh. There was an idea. Rio had said it was cool to see Winn in this form and, short of riding him around the woods, there was one more thing werewolves were pretty famous for. He reared back on his hind legs, coming up to stand tall, inhaled deep and howled at the still-mostly-full moon in the sky. It wasn’t a mournful howl, or an angry howl, but a howl of pure pleasure at being allowed to run free.

But all things had to come to an end eventually and, after another gentle head-butt to Rio’s chest for good measure (and… well… maybe some pets), Winn dipped just outside of the clearing, behind the tent, and shifted back to his human form. ‘Course, that left a naked Winn Woods standin’ behind their tent and, while Winn didn’t have any shame to speak of, he figured he should ask before flashing Rio. “Bro,” he started, “if you could go in my bag and pull out a spare pair of shorts, that would be, like, so great.” He wiggled his eyebrows at the younger man because, well, why not?

Orion still hadn’t quite wrapped his head around the fact that the wolf in front of him was Winn. Moments ago, he had been a human, setting up camp with Rio. Now he was… well, a wolf. Rio had known about werewolves his entire life, studied them and memorized everything he could about the species. Yet, this moment was still more informative than anything he could ever see in a book. He knew a werewolf. In real life, knew one. Winn sniffed at Rio and eventually licked his face. Rio laughed and backed away nervously, wiping at his face. Was it weird to accept licks from someone he knew was a human? Where did the rules stand with werewolves? He knew where his family stood on the issue, obviously.

Eventually, Winn took off, and Rio decided not to follow. Opting to hang back and observe instead. He seemed… happy? He couldn’t be sure, but Winn seemed to enjoy being in this form, out in the wild. Rio had always seen werewolves as strictly human, the wolf form being something that they only used when necessary or when forced by a full moon. It had never occurred to him that some may like or maybe even prefer the wolf form. And then Winn did what Rio had always wanted to see, he howled. Against the Hunter’s hearing, it was unbearably loud. But despite flinching and squeezing his ears shut between the palms of his hands, Rio was smiling the entire time.

Winn came back over to Rio once more and nudged against him. Unsure what else to do, Rio tapped his hand against the wolves head. Was that what Winn had wanted? Was petting something that he… enjoyed? It was an entirely new world for Rio. He had no idea what to do or expect. His heart raced a mile a minute. And it only got worse once the wolf disappeared behind the trees and he suddenly heard Winn’s voice again. Shorts? Oh god. He turned beat red immediately, frantically leaping for the bag and grabbing out shorts, closing his eyes and covering them with his hand for an extra precaution. He stumbled through the woods, tripping over branches and dips and flat out falling at least once. But eventually he made his way to Winn’s voice and held the shorts out, waving them wildly until Winn grabbed a hold of them. “Sorry, uh— Wow. That was… so cool. And crazy. But cool. And did you see those Yeth hounds? Incredible. They look like something straight out of a Goosebumps story. So creepy.”

Winn winced as Rio tripped and stumbled his way through the brush, eyes closed, hand clamped. Not that he was one to go around assignin’ sexuality or anythin’, but… If a higher power hadn’t made this dude gay, they’d sure made him confusing. Not for the first time, Winn wondered if he’d accidentally stolen Rio’s first kiss. Which… oops. He slipped on his shorts, tapping Rio on the shoulder when he was mostly-clothed again, sidling around the backside of the tent to look for his thrown shirt. “Hmm,” Winn said, intelligently. It… Well, honestly? Rio was right. It had been cool, even if Winn had almost gone toe-to-toe with somethin’ harmless just ‘cause it looked weird. “Yeth hounds.” The words felt odd in his mouth, but, then, what new supernatural thing hadn’t sounded weird. Hell, even the word “ghost” was loaded, nowadays, full of things he didn’t know.

But… There was the lingering question, in the back of his mind, somethin’ he needed to clear up before he got too attached to his new friend — even if that friend hadn’t tried to kill him, had looked delighted to see a werewolf up close (and, thank fuck, the wolf had played nice today). “So… Didn’t seem too surprised to see me get all, y’know, furry. Knew a bunch about the hounds, too. Now, you didn’t knife me the second I turned, and you seem pretty chill — and, like, I have friends who do the…” He trailed off. Rio deserved a firm question, more than his rambling. “Are you a Hunter, Orion?” There. It was out there, and Rio could deny it, but… Well, like, he had the feelin’ this dude was bad at lyin’. “No judgment,” he added, as an afterthought. Just because Rio had known, probably, what Winn was, didn’t mean he was obligated to tell Winn everything about himself, so, before he could answer, Winn barked out a laugh.

“My name is Winn, and I’m a werewolf.”

It couldn’t be avoided, Orion supposed. He had used the Hunter strength. He certainly hadn’t meant to. But it was too late now. The last thing that Rio wanted to do was expose himself as a Hunter to Winn. He didn’t want to be hated. He liked Winn, enjoyed hanging out with him. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure why Winn liked him back. “No— I’m not.” Rio began, sure that he wanted to be honest. “I mean, yes. Technically speaking. I don’t really like to acknowledge that though.” He was nervous, scratching at the back of his neck. He didn’t know how to explain this away. If Rio had been a werewolf, alone on a mountain with a Hunter, he probably wouldn’t take it very well. “But I’m not a Hunter. I don’t… hunt. Anything. And I definitely don’t want to be known for that.”

Rio laughed at Winn’s joke, rolling his eyes and stepping away and towards the tent. “I’m not saying I’m a Hunter, just fyi. But uh—very funny!” He climbed inside the tent. It wasn’t big, but it would be fine for the night. Especially after Rio stacked six pounds of pillows and blankets between the two of them. The last thing Rio needed was thrashing around and touching Winn during the night. Nope. No thanks. If there weren’t enough pillows or blankets he would figure something else out. Like their bags, or branches. Whatever it took.

Once he had divided everything in the tent, Rio finally settled in. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad? Winn knew about Rio being a Hunter and he hadn’t yelled at him, left him or killed him. That was insane. “Okay well… don’t kill me in my sleep tonight, please. I promise I don’t care that you’re a werewolf. Actually, I think it’s insanely cool. But I think I’m going to bed?” Rio didn’t really do sleepovers or the like. He wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to sleep tonight. But he could pretend to be. “So, uh— I guess we go to sleep now? This is so awkward, oh god. Uh… night?” Oh boy. This was going to be a long night.

#wickedswriting #para #Rio #Notes on Camp #// #47 Days Later

[vastly-fixated-devotee-667]

all right i had this all typed out as an essay but because tumblr can’t automatically save a goddamned draft i’m going to take the lazy way out and just type the majority in lists.

disclaimer: it’s been a hot second since i’ve read the harry potter books so some of my information may be a bit off but i’ll try. i also don’t have all the information on hogwarts mystery because i’ve only gotten to chapter eleven of year five.

so something i love about hogwarts mystery is that it does what jk rowling failed to do in terms of diversity. correct me if i’m wrong, but there’s only four explicitly stated poc characters, all black, and maybe three others that can be deduced as non-white considering last names and all. (and when considering canonical movie appearances, i believe those seven are the only poc characters.)

dean thomas, black — described as being a tall black boy in the books. very little importance in the actual storyline. muggle-born boy who’s really only important because he is muggle-born and that’s the kind of people voldemort wants to get rid of.

angelina johnson, black — described as being a tall black girl in the books. no importance whatsoever. only mentioned because she’s a part of the quidditch team.

kingsley shacklebolt, black — described as being a tall black wizard in the books. biggest importance is probably because it was his patronus who warned the people at the wedding of the death eaters, and also because he assumed the position of minister of magic for a bit.

blaise zabini, black — described as being a tall black boy in the books. literally only mentioned because he occasionally hung out with draco.

cho chang, presumably asian — chinese in the movies, not confirmed in the books. deductibly chinese considering her last name, though that’s conflicting considering her first name is a traditional korean surname. her only real importance is being harry’s first love interest so he wouldnt end up marrying the girl he’s always loved, i guess; i dont know. also the one who a.) in the books, brought the friend who blabbed to umbridge to the da, or b.) in the movies, the one who blabbed to umbridge herself.

parvati and padma patil, presumably indian — indian in the movies, unconfirmed in the books. deductibly indian considering their last name. zero importance throughout the series, aside from when they were harry’s and ron’s dates to the yule ball (but even then, they only were because harry and ron were out of options).

in conclusion, jk rowling’s characters aren’t all white, true, but her non-white characters are either poorly written or have little importance. she had the potential to even cast poc actors as characters, but the majority were white. what all with her big hair, she even had the perfect set up for hermione being black — and with natural hair too! but alas (and don’t get me wrong; i love emma watson), a white actor was cast.

but then you simply have to open your friendships log in hogwarts mystery and there’s diversity all around!!! not even just in race, but religion too!!!

rowan khanna, presumably indian — definitely dark-skinned, deductibly indian from their last name. they’re one of the most main characters and plays the role of mc’s best friend. super smart kid who dreams of being a hogwarts professor! you go, you spunky little indian kid.

andre egwu, black — deductibly nigerian from his last name. not extremely important in the main story line, but plays bigger roles in side quests. and this man is a fashionable athlete! not only is he non-white, but he totally breaks gender roles too!

talbott winger, dark-skinned — it’s hard to tell specifically where his ancestors may be from but he’s for sure dark-skinned. he doesn’t play much of a role in the main storyline, buf he’s vvvv important in two different side quests. he’s also just a very well-written character and it makes me go aldhskehdjnd

jae kim, presumably korean — considering his last name, it’s quite likely he’s korean. he’s fairly important if you choose him to accompany you to knockturn alley. but he’s also important in the sense that he keeps mc company in detention.

badeea ali, presumably arabic — MUSLIM GIRL!!!!!! A HIJABI!!!!!!! AT HOGWARTS!!!!!!!! ALSHSKAJAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! im pretty sure she plays a pretty important role later on in year five but i’m not 100% sure on what it is exactly (i at least try to avoid spoilers). but she’s an amazing artist!! her name even means creative!!! i love her

liz tuttle, black — like talbott, im not sure totally where specifically her ancestors are from, but she’s still black. and she’s absolutely incredible. she saves mc’s life when they have a run-in with a chimaera, for one thing. she’s also a vegan activist and i love her for it

diego caplan, presumably spanish? — judging by his first name, it’s likely he has spanish origins, but nevertheless he’s definitely not white. but on top of that, caplan is a jewish last name!! a jewish character, AND a muslim character. i’m in love.

angelica cole, black — gryffindor prefect. quite a bit important if you’re in gryffindor, less important but still so if you’re not in gryffindor and have to sneak into the common room.

madam villanelle, black — worker at flourish & blotts. gave mc information on jacob as well as mundungus fletcher. skilled linguist.

on top of all them, there’s also just a bunch of nameless extras who are non-white. not sure how many extras in harry potter were non-white, but i still thought i’d mention it.

so yeah, here’s my long-ass post that no one will read but ah well.

EDIT: i never actually posted this?? what a dumbass. but ive gotten a lot further in the game now; im just too lazy to fully edit

#i always type these huge ass essays that i KNOW no one will read and yet i write them anyway #hogwarts mystery #harry potter #jk rowling #dean thomas #angelina johnson #kingsley shacklebolt #blaise zabini #cho chang #parvati patil #padma patil #rowan khanna #andre egwu #talbott winger #jae kim #badeea ali #liz tuttle #diego caplan #angelica cole #madam villanelle #hermione granger #race diversity #harry potter and the deathly hallows #hogwarts mystery mc #hogwarts mystery jacob #jacob’s sibling #hogwarts #mundungus fletcher #flourish & blotts

[kkintle]

Into the Woods: A Five Act Journey Into Story by John Yorke; Quotes

There’s no doubt that for many those rules help. Friedrich Engels put it pithily: ‘Freedom is the recognition of necessity.’

‘You need the eye, the hand and the heart,’ proclaims the ancient Chinese proverb. ‘Two won’t do.’

Delacroix countered the fear of knowledge succinctly: ‘First learn to be a craftsman; it won’t keep you from being a genius.’

We are capable of entering any kind of head. David Edgar justified his play about the Nazi architect Albert Speer by saying: ‘The awful truth – and it is awful, in both senses of the word – is that the response most great drama asks of us is neither “yes please” nor “no thanks” but “you too?”. Or, in the cold light of dawn, “there but for the grace of God go I”.’

As Peter Brook writes in The Empty Space, ‘In the theatre the slate is wiped clean all the time.’ Drama is a test-bed on which we can test and confront our darkest impulses under laboratory conditions; where we can experience the desires without having to confront the consequences. Drama enables us to peer into the soul, not of the person who has driven his father out onto the heath, but the person who has wanted to.

Our favourite characters are the ones who, at some silent level, embody what we all want for ourselves: the good, the bad and ugly too.

‘The more successful the villain, the more successful the picture.’

‘Somebody’s got to want something, something’s got to be standing in their way of getting it. You do that and you’ll have a scene.’

‘Tell me what you want,’ said Anton Chekhov, ‘and I will tell you what manner of man you are.’

Cops want to catch the killer, doctors want to heal their patient; in truth it doesn’t actually matter what the object is, its importance is bestowed by those in pursuit.

What a character thinks is good for them is often at odds with what actually is. This conflict, as we shall see, appears to be one of the fundamental tenets of structure, because it embodies the battle between external and internal desire.

Characters then should not always get what they want, but should – if they deserve it – get what they need. That need, or flaw, is almost always present at the beginning of the film. The want, however, cannot become clear until after the inciting incident.

The crisis occurs when the hero’s final dilemma is crystallized, the moment they are faced with the most important question of the story – just what kind of person are they? Finding themselves in a seemingly inescapable hole, the protagonist is presented with a choice.

So the inciting incident provokes the question ‘What will happen’ and the climax (or obligatory act) declares – ‘this’.

As Shakespearean scholar Jan Kott noted before him, ‘Ancient Tragedy is loss of life, modern Tragedy is loss of purpose’.

‘good’ is a relative concept

Change is the bedrock of life and consequently the bedrock of narrative.

THE ROADMAP OF CHANGE ACT 1 No knowledge Growing knowledge Awakening ACT 2 Doubt Overcoming reluctance Acceptance ACT 3 Experimenting with knowledge MIDPOINT – KEY KNOWLEDGE Experimenting post-knowledge ACT 4 Doubt Growing reluctance Regression ACT 5 Reawakening Re-acceptance Total mastery

A well-designed midpoint has a risk/reward ratio: a character gains something vital, but in doing so ramps up the jeopardy around them.

JOURNEY THERE; JOURNEY BACK

All stories at some level are about a search for the truth of the subject they are exploring. Just as the act of perception involves seeking out the ‘truth’ of the thing perceived, so storytelling mimics that process. The ‘truth’ of the story, then, lies at the midpoint. The protagonist’s action at this point will be to overcome that obstacle, assimilate that truth and begin the journey back – the journey to understand the implications of what that ‘truth’ really means.

Stories are built from acts, acts are built from scenes and scenes are built from even smaller units called beats. All these units are constructed in three parts: fractal versions of the three-act whole. Just as a story will contain a set-up, an inciting incident, a crisis, a climax and a resolution, so will acts and so will scenes.

‘Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.’ Alfred Hitchcock  

Screenwriting is showing not telling; structure is the presentation of images in such a way an audience are forced to work out the relationship between them. Stanton had stumbled upon what is known amongst film theoreticians as the ‘Kuleshov Effect’.

I want to get an abortion, but my boyfriend and I are having trouble conceiving. American comedian Sarah Silverman’s joke is built on a classic subversion of expectation. But take a look at any joke, or any scene in any drama: the juxtaposition of opposites, verbal or visual or both, is the central plank not just of showing rather than telling, but of all humour, all narrative. Something, confronted with its opposite, makes us recast our notion of that ‘something’ again.

Everyone customizes, consciously or not, everything they do.

Every decision we make or action we perform when confronted with an obstacle is a choice that reveals – through action – our personality. In every scene, remember, a protagonist is presented with a mini crisis, and must make a choice as to how to surmount it. Meeting with a subversion of expectation – a blow to their established plans – a character must choose a new course of action. In doing so they reveal a little bit more of who they are.

as F. Scott Fitzgerald put it, ‘The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.’

It was Kenneth Tynan who said ‘a neurosis is a secret you don’t know you’re keeping’.

The less back-story a character has, the more readily an audience is able to identify with them – the more we can see they’re like us and not like someone else. We may want to know more, but it’s the not knowing that keeps us watching. It allows us to fully experience the journey ourselves and actively join in the process in which a character pursues their goal, their flaw is subsumed into their façade, their need into their want, and the goal of all drama is achieved – a rich, complex, three-dimensional character appears in front of our eyes.

The three most important functions of dialogue – characterization, exposition and subtext – are all, as we shall see, products of character desire.

Good dialogue conveys how a character wants to be seen while betraying the flaws they want to hide.

Grammar, vocabulary, syntax, rhythm, sentence length, jargon or slang – when combined in a particular way, they all allow us to understand who a person is. Change one and the character changes. Dialogue isn’t just about what someone says; how they choose to say it is important too.

Exposition works when it’s a tool a character uses to achieve their desire. If this desire is confronted with opposition, conflict is generated and exposition becomes invisible. The greater the conflict, the less visible the exposition.

Silence of the Lambs screenwriter Ted Tally put the art of writing dialogue succinctly: ‘What’s important is not the emotion they’re playing but the emotion they’re trying to conceal.’

So masked desire is the main source of subtext.

Georg Simmel, the nineteenth-century sociologist, put it rather eloquently: ‘All we communicate to another individual by means of words or perhaps in another fashion – even the most subjective, impulsive, intimate matters – is a selection from that psychological-real whole whose absolutely exact report … would drive everybody into the insane asylum.’

‘No description is as difficult as the description of self.’

We watch stories not just to awaken our eyes to reality but to make reality bearable as well. Truth without hope is as unbearable as hope without truth.

Out of our quarrel with others we make rhetoric; out of the quarrel with ourselves we make poetry. - W. B. Yeats

the idea that ‘we crash into each other just to feel something’.

McGovern believed neither of the two arguments, but he’d mastered a very important principle: that whatever you believe should be tested to destruction.

As Andrew Stanton says, ‘You often hear the term “You should have something to say in a story” but that doesn’t always mean a message. It means truth, some value that you yourself as a storyteller believe in, and then through the course of the story are able to debate that truth. Try to prove it wrong. Test it to its limits.’

There is much to learn from the game of chess, whose individual engagements are all part of one long engagement seeking a condition not of adversity or conflict or defeat or even victory, but of the harmony underlying all.

Javed Akhtar, the co-writer of Sholay, the most successful Indian movie of all time, made a shrewd observation: You must have seen children playing with a string and a pebble. They tie a string and the pebble and they start swinging it over their head. And slowly they keep loosening the string, and it makes bigger and bigger circles. Now this pebble is the revolt from the tradition, it wants to move away … The string is the tradition, the continuity. It’s holding it. But if you break the string the pebble will fall. If you remove the pebble the string cannot go that far. This tension of tradition and revolt against the tradition … are in a way contradictory, but as a matter of fact [are] a synthesis. You will always find a synthesis of tradition and revolt from tradition together in any good art.

just why fairy tales hover on the edges of cruelty; it’s about how ‘baddies’ are the products of inner conflict 

‘All of us are potential villains,’ the legendary Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston once remarked. ‘If we are pushed far enough, pressured beyond our breaking point, our self-preservation system takes over and we are capable of terrible villainy.’

Storytelling, then, is the dramatization of the process of knowledge assimilation.

Like much that is briefly fashionable, it didn’t survive because it had nothing meaningful to say. A greater test of worth must be whether a work lasts for more than a generation.

an observation from Robert Hughes: ‘The basic project of art is always to make the world whole and comprehensible, to restore it to us in all its glory and its occasional nastiness, not through argument but through feeling, and then to close the gap between you and everything that is not you, and in this way pass from feeling to meaning.’

‘Art consists of limitation. The most beautiful part of every picture is the frame.’ G. K. Chesterton   

#John yorke #into the woods #storytelling #screenwriting #non-fiction #books #quotes

[whenimgoodandready]

You know, if this were the old days, I’d be writing my reviews by hand on a sheet of paper and posting them on a board to the public about my thoughts and feelings for certain things. Glad we now have modern technology to make things more effeicent, but is it really better? Are the modern things more advanced or are they just eliminating traditional custums that made it original? The debate begins now!

*Bakerix-The episode opens with Nadja Chamack on the news w/ the mayor unveiling the newest form of transportation called the Startrain! A train that can go from Paris to the UK underwater! (Hmmmmm, isn’t there an episode with that name coming up soon?). Boy how well we’ve upped the ante with our industrialism! We’ll get back to that supertrain later, but first, our heroine! Marinette is sewing up a new sweater for her father for his 40th birthday today (oh boy😒we all know where this is goin’), but then she overhears her mother failing to convince her father-in-law to come over to the party on the phone (again) and it’s relived that he’s “traditional” and hasn’t spoken to Marinettes father in 20 years! Marinette never knew anything about him and when she asks more about him, but the parental figures keep saying what they say when they don’t want to answer a youngster. Ask the next parental figure! Womp! Womp! Womp! So Marinette decides to go find her grandfather herself.

Turns out, her mother was right and her partental grandfather, Rolland, is old fashioned 💥TO THE EXTREME!💥. His place looked like it hadn’t been updated since “The Lone Ranger” primered and had become a shut-in (more so than a certain fashion designer/supervillain father). After a few failed attempts, she finally gets in by inpersonating a “delivery intern” (idk why she doesn’t just say “Hey grandpa! It’s me, Marinette! The granddaughter you never knew and I didn’t bother to tell you cuz I know you’re a stubborn old turd who can’t adapt to modern times!”. Her excuse was that he’d say no faster, so she just resorts to trickery) and finds that he’s a grouchy old geezer who hates all things modern and has mice friends like Cinderella. He even has his own catchphrase, “That's not how it's done!”. Marinette continues her disguise and asks him about why he’s so estranged from his son to which he reply’s that he (Tom) used rice in his bread dough that he believes “it’s not how it’s done” and how he doesn’t bother to even try it to see if it’s better, so she challenges him to a bread baking contest, Tradtional vs. Innovative, to see which bread tastes better. During that she hums Habanera (a popular opera song from “Carmen”) and Rolland recognizes it as his and Toms song that only they sang when baking bread and is shocked to find out it’s his own granddaughter he never knew.

He gets upset by this betrayal and is akumatized as Bakerix...................can I say something here.............this is only my opinion and I don’t mean to be harsh but, this is the most stupidest supervilliain I’ve ever seen in the entire show! I’ve seen stupider, but this, this one takes the whole bakery! I mean, sure there was Mr.Pigeon, but at least he had something that was associated with his name, then there was Sandboy and although I was dissatisfied with his appearance, he still had powers befitting him, but Baxerix here, he was a Viking looking pastry man sculpture who’s goal was to destroy all things technologically advanced! WHERE DOES THAT FIT!? Huh? Honestly, where!? When I read comments that if Tom were ever akumatized, he’d be some sort of pastry esque villain, but since that was debunked from this season (“Weredad”), we got his father doing that instead and guess what, I’m very disappointed :P. His form did not suit him on what his theme was and yes I know it “sorta kinda” fits that his main problem was that he was mad at Tom for using a different style of baking bread that was also combined with his hatred of modern technology, but THAT’S NOT HOW IT’S DONE!😳 Holy Sh*t! I sound just like the old turd! Um, I’m gonna take a minute to compose myself after this review.

After his rampage of destroying all things technologically modern (and a good drinking game for this ep every time he says, “That's not how it's done!”) he goes after the Startrain and of course it’s gonna be okay cuz of Ladybugs “Miraculous Ladybug” power and cuz we need it for “Startrain” later in the season. If I thought his supervillain form and goal of using his new powers was stupid, then get a load of how the dynamic duo stop him, it’s-wait for it!....................Defeat by Sandwich! Womp! Womp! Womp! Seriously! Just like what happened to Mama Cass. Only hers was tragic while this was undigestic (that’s not a word, but idk, I’m just trying to make my point here).

God! How I missed writing these reviews! I was busy (and lazy) with my other review (svtfoe finale) and that took forever! But it’s all done now and I can move on to my other shows reviews! These ML eps are commin’ in fast and I hope I can catch up before the seasons all over. As for the ep, we’re foreshadowed on Startrain which I heard that Max’s mother will be akumatized in and I’m guessing from this relieve that she’s probably the conductor for it. We get more family tree history on Marinette and how we meet her paternal grandfather. He’s a family member we can all relate to cuz what child doesn’t have that one stubborn old relative that’s stuck in the past and is strictly traditional and refuses to learn the more modern ways of the current era they’re livin’ in? Totally relatable, but honestly, I’m leaning more towards her maternal grandparents since I hope to God that special, “The Chinese Legend”, where Marinette meets her grandmother from her mothers side, isn’t officially cancelled cuz they said they’ll air it if this show gets a 4th season and Hello people! We’re getting a 5th season and a movie! So yeah, I’m hopeful. I’m still not favorable on Bakerix (the villain) and even though I lashed out about his look being pathetic and his goals of destroying all things modern that didn’t quite fit with it as the critic that I am, it was sorta kinda alright. The detailing on him was crafty, but he’s still at the bottom of my list of least favorite villains on ML. I personally thought his power would be to change all modern day things as old fashioned stuff (ex.a sports car into a buggy and a smart phone as a house phone with the dial ring), but that still wouldn’t have fitted with his akuma name which confused some people on making them think his powers were turning Paris into a gingerbread town! A bit too complex there. The debate on traditional vs. modern was concluded thanks to Cat Noir who points out that both are equally good, but in their own unique ways. The traditional ways are what started the best there in its creation marking it in history and we wouldn’t have our innovative ways of perfecting them to make it more efficient if we didn’t start from scratch while the modern ways help us discover new possibilities to further increase our ever changing lifestyles on a more productive manner. Rolland learned this and even to the point where he had a change of heart seeing as there are some things more important than livin’ in the past. Family. So after 20 years, all it took was a clumsy little “delivery intern” to see that change is a part of life and that it’s best to move on and not stay stuck. Yea Marinette!

#miraculous ladybug #bakerix #miraculous ladybug bakerix

[citizenscreen]

This is a special guest post by Scott Holleran:

◊

My first experience of this movie was probably on television, probably in fragments. It made an impression but the movie ranged into my memory as a series of scenes disembodied from the whole work. For example, I remember watching the burning of Atlanta and certain, distinctive scenes and not much else. So, my first impressions were perfect for today’s conceptual-deprivation culture. That’s the poverty of being among the TV generation.

It took a long time to appreciate this film as a work of art, which now I know it is. At some point, as I began to take a serious interest in movies, I rediscovered it on home video. Then, again, on disc and possibly again in a revival house on one of those scratchy prints with popping sounds. That a civilization could be gone with the wind came through and I was an admirer. Later, I read about the novel upon which the movie’s based, which, with a romance novel-type jacket design for the mass market paperback edition, was off-putting.

At some point, it dawned on me that Gone With the Wind is an important epic motion picture so I sought its source and read the novel. I was astonished at the brilliant writing. I instantly observed a similarity to my favorite novel, also an epic of American literature and also written by an author who happens to be a woman. Gone With the Wind (1936) by Margaret Mitchell conveys the romanticism, scope and grandeur of Atlas Shrugged (1957) by Ayn Rand and it’s worth noting that Rand’s first novel, too, involved a love triangle woven into the end of an era in her own 1936 novel, We the Living.

After reading Mitchell’s novel, I saw the movie again — and again. Each time, I was more impressed. And, each time, I was more impressed that I was able to be additionally impressed. This is because, as you probably know, the more you know and study a motion picture, the more easily the film can lose its newness, its ability to hold and sustain interest or focus, suspense, tension or sense of plot progression and, as a result, the less likely it can be to stir one’s original passion.

Then, a few weeks ago, I saw Gone With the Wind, which, this year, marks its 80th anniversary in a culture in which it is extremely likely to be impugned or maligned. I saw it for the first time at one of the grandest movie theaters on earth: Sid Grauman’s Chinese theater on Hollywood Boulevard.

And, this time, for the first time, I was moved … to tears.

The nearly four-hour motion picture begins with three characters in Georgia talking about war. This is an essential starting point. The novel more or less begins with this starting point, too. Gone With the Wind frames its story within an argument over the fact of an oncoming war. It’s not that they’re debating the merits of war. They’re discussing the prospect of war as such; they’re considering the impact of war on their lives. So, this, the fundamental choice to face the facts of reality, is the starting point. Not the war itself. Not slavery, the issue in dispute.

Gone With the Wind is not a war movie. Gone With the Wind is not a slavery movie. Any discourse of it as either entirely misses the movie. It is also, strictly speaking, not a romance, though war, slavery and romance factor into its drama to various degrees. Gone With the Wind dramatizes an entire civilization through the life of a single individual.

Her name is Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh at her best).

Shallow, scheming and self-centered, she’s enraged when she learns during this discussion, in which she’s attempting to ignore the reality of impending civil war, that the object of her desire, Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), plans to marry his cousin, Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland). In subsequent scenes, the men who will become pivotal to the young, impetuous Scarlett’s life, including her father, Gerald O’Hara, but also Frank Kennedy, Ashley Wilkes, Charles Hamilton and a cad named Rhett Butler, argue war on the merits, whistle “Dixie” and, with the recklessness which exemplifies the pre-Civil War American South, crow about going to war.

In this sense, there is real substance to this movie in terms of its grasp of facts and history. Every Southern deficiency is depicted here. The staggeringly affected manners, the pompous preposterousness, the asinine traditions but also the proportionately and wildly irrational inflation of people’s sense of themselves with regard to their actual merit and worth, let alone the source of their wealth, not the main focus and therefore largely unseen. The fact of slave labor is, however, shown, even if it’s not dramatized, though it is more explicit than most films of the era. House, field and overseer are each crucial elements of Twelve Oaks and Tara, the plantations where Gone With the Wind takes place.

What’s good in the South, too, is depicted. The stunning visuals, the land, manners, socializing and courtship and the gentle way of life. Pretty and feisty Scarlett, who’s earned a reputation for being bolder than her peers, holds court and gets talked about by other females and looked upon by men. The outbreak of civil war occurs within her context.

The plot revolves around Scarlett O’Hara; there is a sense in which her pettiness will be tested by war — and what’s impure about Scarlett is fundamentally what will be Gone With the Wind.

The early evidence is Scarlett standing at the window, looking down upon newlyweds Melanie and Ashley. Here’s the heroine on the inside looking out. Yet think about the meaning of her dilemma; she’s really trapped within the Old South, as the opening titles refer to this archaic slave society. In this sense, Scarlett dramatizes how the South’s ways impair the powerful, too. Her only real saviors, friends and comrades, as far as Scarlett knows, are slaves and an angry Irishman. Everyone else is happily, some even stupidly, off to war. In a flash, again like the title, they are gone. Scarlett is left behind — abandoned, lonely and alone.

What comes next builds character, with an outbreak of measles, a move to Atlanta and the entre of the ridiculous Aunt Pittypat, as cartoonish a figure as in the novel. Scarlett’s Mammy (Hattie McDaniel in one of the screen’s greatest performances), knowing all along what exploits the ambitious young missy has in mind, represents the best of Scarlett’s youthful vigor; Mammy fosters, shapes and marks her charge’s growth. Amid a dance, a bid and donation of a ring, Scarlett learns from her new companion, Melanie, wife of the man she thinks she loves.

Here are women in service at war. This, too, is to the film’s credit. Gone With the Wind remains one of the most intelligent, insightful portrayals of women at war ever made, better and more knowing than the hordes of depictions of today’s mindless women on screen who rarely if ever think about anything having to do with serious issues, let alone war or the men sent to fight them.

With intermittent titles, David O. Selznick’s Gone With the Wind, famously directed by Victor Fleming (The Wizard of Oz), with others also filling in, shifts from breeze to gust with news from Gettysburg. Then, come the war-torn faces of those in Atlanta cast down in bonnets amid news of mass death. Fleming lingers on a list of those killed in action. It is words, not pictures that tell the horrid tale. The camera scrolls down, down, down and down on the same three words.

Cue the theme song “Dixie” as a reprise to the earlier tune’s sense of false jubilation and enter a man of reason, Doctor Meade (Harry Davenport), whose role in the picture is a crucial representation of what will become Scarlett’s education. In a shift to black-and-white color schemes from the rest of the film’s vibrant colors, Gone With the Wind goes from sad and mournful “Dixie” to a musically infused projection of a funeral procession in which Johnny comes marching home.

As Pittypat, Meade, Mammy, Melanie and a young slave named Prissy (Butterfly McQueen) besides Scarlett get dragged, plunged and thrust into the South’s mass death and destruction, in comes Rhett Butler (Clark Gable, brilliantly cast and stellar in the role) with vitality, passion and rage — at the Old South for being the Old South. Butler represents the New South, post-slavery, post-Civil War, though it’s never fashioned or made explicit. What a waste of human life — this is the meaning of his every form of his disgust and he makes no attempt to conceal his emotions or suppress himself in expressing what he feels. Like Scarlett, he is a liberated soul stifled and trapped by the way things are.

There’s music, humor and, during a dance which captures and underscores the surrealism of life during wartime, a total breach from traditionalism. Life remains drab as Scarlett and Atlanta face severe deprivation. Butler has a prostitute, Belle Watling (Ona Munson), to help him ease the chronic anxiety, guilt and agony of war and she’s more than a cliché. The pictures show rain, shadows and the hotly feared Union General William Sherman’s shelling of Atlanta, with churches coming on like a holy calling from God to cease and desist with the Old South rebellion. Pictures of Jesus Christ accompany the sound of moans, the sights of a church and, in one of the movies’ most iconic scenes, the camera pulls back for a scene of mass death and dying.

“Peace be within thy walls“ incongruously graces the screen after Scarlett O’Hara encounters a patient with gangrene. Perhaps you don’t know or remember the grit of Gone With the Wind but it’s there. Between marriages, the making of Scarlett from romantic Southern belle to seasoned war bride happens during Atlanta’s silence and siege. And it isn’t even Intermission.

Before that comes, as Rhett Butler finally kisses Scarlett and enlists in the war for a kind of misintegrated sense of honor, slave Prissy hinges the plot. Prissy’s trauma triggers a key reaction that results in the story’s classic and quite penetrating tale within a tale of three women and a baby. Though this famous scene is generally regarded as humorous, I think after seeing Gone With the Wind in the Chinese theater that simple-minded Prissy’s meltdown underscores the folly of slavery even as it echoes as a call and response to Scarlett’s own earlier cluelessness.

A foreshadowing scene on a bridge marks the end of slavery preceding a scene in which women take refuge in reading (in the novel, it’s a story by Victor Hugo; here, it’s fiction by Charles Dickens). The self-made theme continues with a rainbow followed by blackness, fog and a strange yet familiar place.

The shock and violence of post-war Tara soon becomes clear. Scarlett strikes her sister, Prissy and pretty much everyone else except her mother figure, Mammy, and she forges a secret bond with Melanie over the death of a soldier. By the time war widow Scarlett, who’s remade herself as a businesswoman in post-war Southern society, meets again with her true love Ashley Wilkes, who tells her that he admires her for “facing reality“, the heroine grips the earth and grasps her property rights, legacy and life lessons and vows … to herself and her own ego.

Gone With the Wind essentially carries Scarlett in conversation with herself throughout the epic movie. From that first conversation at Tara with her suitors, the Tarleton twins, to becoming a Confederate captain’s wife in New Orleans and hiring as her subordinate the man to whom she’d once pledged to worship and motherhood, Scarlett O’Hara is both intransigent and indomitable. She will not be struck down.

Like Mammy, the former slave woman whose respect everyone respectable seeks to earn and keep, Scarlett keeps company with herself as a worldly woman alone. She makes mistakes — she makes a terrible parent — and she makes money and love. Scarlett liberates herself from tradition for capitalism, egoism and her own way of life. Gone With the Wind traces her journey in this sense from selflessness to selfishness, in time for the man whose love she finally earns to come full circle with his own mistakes, i.e., drinking alone and taking pity on himself, to reject her with the movie’s most famous line.

“Frankly, my dear…” and the precision with which Mr. Gable delivers the line redeems the film’s previous strife and tension into a single moment. It is tempting to root for what at first might seem like his own redemption. But Gone With the Wind is not the leading man’s story and, on the movie’s terns, it’s a mistake to jeer or cheer the line.

‘Frankly’ spends itself on a serious dramatic moment; it signifies Rhett Butler’s ultimate betrayal of himself — in particular, his idealism — and everything he loves. And it signals one of the screen’s greatest victories.

While the ‘Frankly’ line endures in audience memories, it is tellingly uttered only after man and woman stand as equals on the landing of the staircase from which Scarlett has literally taken a tumble in a penultimate descent — only to rise again — and, also tellingly, it comes before the movie’s last and final line.

“I’ll figure out a way to get him back … tomorrow is another day.”

This is the triumph, the meaning and the glory of Gone With the Wind. It is not a film about the slavery. It is not a movie about civil war. It is not a picture of what war does to a slave, a woman and a man — or a family, a home and way of life, though it rarely gets credit for its insights into each of those dramatizations. There is depth to this movie about Prissy, the overseer, Pittypat, India, Charles, Sue Ellen and more, not just Ashley, Melanie, Mammy, Dr. Meade or Scarlett and Rhett Butler.

Like We the Living, Atlas Shrugged and other epic novels by Hugo, Rand and other great works of literature and movies, it is an expression of the ability of the individual to resist the times, the trials and ruins of the day, rise and never let one’s ego be destroyed. It is the story of a man, or, in this case, a woman — or, in any case, a girl who becomes one — and it is certainly not a romance for romance’s sake. Gone With the Wind depicts the promise not to yield, suffer and be beaten down. It is in this sense, to paraphrase one its admirers, Ayn Rand, a paean to forging the “I” one must learn how to say before one can learn to say “I love you”.

This is why it ends where it vows to once again begin.

—

Gone With the Wind screened during the 10th anniversary Turner Classic Movies festival on April 14, 2019 for its historic 80th anniversary at the Chinese movie theater designed and built by Sid Grauman. This was the 25th anniversary date of the film’s initial airing — the first motion picture showcased without interruption or editing — on Ted Turner’s Turner Classic Movies (TCM) cable channel’s first day of launch. The movie was introduced by TCM’s festival director, Genevieve McGuillicuddy, before the original Robert Osborne introduction from April 14, 1994 was shown before the movie.

  ◊

Scott Holleran began his professional writing career as a newspaper correspondent in 1991. He’s worked in a variety of media, including magazines, broadcasting and Internet ventures. His news, cultural commentary, sports and other topical articles has been published in the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and Philadelphia Inquirer. You can find Scott on Facebook, Twitter or on his website. I’m thrilled Scott reached out to feature this entry on Once Upon a Screen. I hope there will be others.

  Analysis: GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) This is a special guest post by Scott Holleran: ◊ My first experience of this movie was probably on television, probably in fragments.

#Butterfly McQueen #Clark Gable #David O. Selznick #Gone with the Wind #Harry Davenport #Hattie McDaniel #Leslie Howard #Margaret Mitchell #Olivia de Havilland #Ona Munson #TCM #Victor Fleming #Vivien Leigh

[maevefiction]

Your Light in the Mist - One Shot, Been Shopping

As we munched our Kung Po chicken (Chinese food was a Thursday tradition at the office, I was informed by Gavin, whose face was bright red and sweating from the intensely spicy concoction) I remembered I’d yet to inquire as to what I was expected to turn up in for Phaedra’s event at the Cube Gallery the following evening. Simon’s chopsticks fell from his fingers, mouth agape.

“Do you always wait until the very last moment for this sort of thing, Maude? I thought New York was just a fluke because you had no idea you were going to Daniel…is this a pattern? I am tres disappointed.”

Using my entire hand, fingers spread, I pointed at the worn Lord of the Rings T-shirt I’d thrown on that morning. “Dude, does it LOOK like I put a shitload of thought into what I wear most of the time?”

He peeked under the table. “You wore those shorts Tuesday, didn’t you?”

I nodded emphatically, brows raised. “NOW you’re getting it.”

Shrugging, he swallowed another bit of chicken. “No, I’m not. Because you weren’t a total slob in HAWAII.” I kicked him under the table. “OW. Bitch. I meant that whenever we went out you looked beautiful…”

Leaning back in my chair, eyes closed, I took a deep breath, then spoke, softly at first, my voice rising as I made my point. “That’s why I’m ASKING. So I can make a valiant attempt at looking DECENT. And since it’s so LAST MINUTE, can you just maybe please, oh, I don’t know, TELL ME WHAT THE DRESS CODE IS ALREADY?”

Luke was smirking, looking back and forth between us as if he was watching a rousing tennis match. “Suit and tie, Maude. With plenty of leeway for artistic expression. My mother’s friends are…interesting.”

“Thank you, Luke. I’m sure I brought something with me that’ll work.”

Simon pushed himself up off the cushioned bench seat and reached out his hand to me. “Come on.” I remained motionless, looking up at him as if he was an alien creature about to attack. His head tipped back, eyes rolling. “We are going up to your flat. I will peer into your closet. I will determine if any of it ‘works’.”

I shot Luke a ‘what the fuck’ look, his half smile and shrug clearly indicating that my life would be simpler if I just went with it. I stood, reluctantly, gazing longingly at the remains of my lunch.

“Fine. But I just thought of the perfect dress…”

He crossed his arms. “That brown galaxy print?” I nodded, my turn to gape. Simon shook his head. “Yeah, no.”

“Why not? And what the hell, Simon? This is starting to piss me off…”

Both of his hands found my shoulders and settled there. “You already WORE that one. Maude? You do realize that this is a widely publicized event? And that somehow, someone…” He whipped his head around to the other staff table. “SOMEONE mentioned online that one Mr. Hiddleston would be in attendance.”

My head tilted to the side. Simon sighed. “Maude. This is, like, your LONDON DEBUT as a COUPLE. There will be press. There will be paps. There will be fans.”

“OOOHHHHHH. So you’re going all PR on my ass is what’s happening here.” I grinned. “Well, I’m glad someone’s paying attention. Tom’s woefully inadequate Social Media Director didn’t even notice it circulating on them there interwebs.”

Luke chuckled. “She’s not woefully inadequate.”

I sighed. “I can’t chastise you because you’re my boss. But I’m certain you sense my displeasure.”

We all laughed, and Luke stood. “I’m sure that after our conversation yesterday afternoon your mind is focused on other things.”

“Do you mean the quadrupled workload I managed to dump into my own lap because I had an idea? No. I’m not obsessing over that at all. Wait. You said focused. I’m not focusing on that at all.”

Simon took my hand and pointed at Luke. “Sorry, boss man. I’m kidnapping her for the rest of the afternoon.”

My head shook vehemently. “No you are not. I have SO many phone calls to make and hopefully interviews to arrange and why I am I suddenly not capable of dressing myself?”

“Maude, honey, you’re in a strange city. Our customs are unfamiliar to you. Let’s skip the closet part and just GO SHOPPING.” His brows rose as he finished his sentence, face leaning in towards mine and I realized he probably had an ulterior motive.

“Fine, Simon. FINE. Shopping.” I turned to Luke. “Is this really okay with you?”

He laughed. “I have to live with the man. A-okay.”

As we walked up the stairs Simon whispered in my ear. “Sorry, love. I saw an opportunity and went for it. Glad you finally caught on there at the end.”

I snorted. “I have no idea what the fuck I caught on to, but you SHOULD be glad because I was ready to kick your ass for insulting my fashion sense. Do I like to bum around when I can? Absofuckingloutely. When the occasion demands do I clean up well? Also absofuckingloutely.”

He shushed me as we reached the door to the main level. I grabbed my bag from my office, pulling my phone out as we walked passed a confused Lyssa. Simon went all Monty Python and yelled ‘You been shopping? No, I been shopping!’ as we headed through the door.

As I rang Tom’s phone he rolled his eyes. “God, do you have to tell him EVERYTHING?”

I smacked his arm. “Shut the fuck up.” Tom, of course, picked up just as the words came out of my mouth. “Shit. Hi. That was for Simon, not you. So. Hey. How are you?”

His throaty chuckle at my awkwardness made me blush. Stupid schoolgirl Maude strikes again. “Hi to you too. What’s up?”

“You know, I’m not really sure but it would appear that Simon is dragging me out shopping so I can find a dress for tomorrow night. At least that’s what he told Luke…”

Simon grabbed the phone away from my ear via my wrist, walking me away from the office door, stopping near the stairs closest to Tom’s and my flat and speaking as it remained in my hand. “Thomas. I believe have found the perfect dress for my maid of honor and I am taking her to try it on. DO NOT, under any circumstances, tell Luke. I want every little detail to be in place before he sees ANY of what I’m planning.”

I frowned. “So…I’m NOT getting a dress for tomorrow night?”

“Yes, yes, we’re going to find a dress for you. And some coffee because you are like…DUH.”

Wriggling away from him I pressed the phone back to my ear. “So there you have it. We are now participants in a wedding conspiracy. Apparently. I don’t suppose you want to come with us?”

I could picture his head shaking back and forth slowly as he spoke. “No, no…the two of you go have some fun. I’ll just stay…here…enjoying the peace…and the quiet…”

“How rude. So, shall I send you some pics…”

“Dressing room pics? God yes. Please.” A sharp inhale. “I don’t suppose you have five minutes to spare before you leave? Maybe Simon needs to put more gel in his hair or something?”

Simon shouted ‘I heard that you bloody bastard’ as I bit into my bottom lip. “I meant pictures of the prospective dresses for tomorrow. Just so you know.” The air in the lobby seemed stiflingly hot. “Fuck, is the air conditioning not working in here or something?”

Tom snorted. “Funny, I was wondering the same thing. One particular part of me is decidedly warmer than the rest, though…”

“Okay. On that note, we should get going. Because…”

He uttered a delicate groan. “Oh my, it got all HARD when I touched it…”

“Nuh-uh. Going now. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Simon made gagging noises and pretended to vomit on the carpet as I put my phone away, and I hoped beyond hope he’d ACTUALLY vomit all over his two-tone striped grey John Varvatos Mykanos Venetian loafers. Paired with white to-the-knee shorts and a grey polo that matched the darker stripe of the shoes perfectly, he looked as if he’d just stepped off his yacht and was in search of the nearest appropriately upscale men’s club. As I looked down at my own clothes, I came to terms with the fact that even if he’d used it as a ruse to sneak around behind Luke’s back, the man had a point about my attire. Just like Veronica had in New York. Shaking my head, I muttered something along the lines of needing to find some less fashion-forward friends who wouldn’t be so focused on my clothing choices and thus I’d be allowed to live a normal life wherein wearing the same shorts twice in week wasn’t a scandal.

“MAUDE, I heard that!”

“Good. Have you ever, you know, thought of dressing DOWN?”

He gasped. “And break rule number sixty four under section eight of the Exceedingly Handsome Homosexual Male’s Handbook? NEVER.”

My eyes narrowed as I suppressed a huge grin. “Well played, Mr. Ahlberg. Well played.”

He reached for my hand, squeezing it gently, his own baby-soft and warm with an underlying strength that somehow surprised me. “Come on, gimpy. You can make it to the parking garage, can’t you?”

“Yes, asshat. Let’s motor.”

We walked down the street hand in hand, our arms swing as he sang a little song about having me all to himself for an entire afternoon. I spotted Tom’s Jaguar, and totally lost my shit when Simon’s key fob disarmed a Fiat 500 L two cars down from it, its paint an eye-assaulting robin’s egg blue.

“Simon. My god. That’s…fuck…it’s so…YOU it’s not even funny.”

He opened the passenger door for me, one hand on his hip. “So why are you laughing?”

Which of course made me laugh even harder, and he finally had to come get me and practically stuff me in the vehicle, rolling his eyes the entire time.

We sat until I assured him I wasn’t going to pee my pants, then he put the Fiat in gear and exited the garage. Once on the road, he turned on the stereo and Alice in Chains began blaring…Grind, one of my favorites.

“Holy shit, Alice in Chains! Color me impressed, Simon.”

“Yes, my musical tastes expand beyond Rick Astley and Gloria Gaynor.”

I chuckled. “What’s the handbook say about THAT?”

“God. Why don’t you shut up and sing with me?”

It was shocking how well our voices harmonized, and as the song ended with both said in unison ‘oh my god, duet’ and discussed what might be appropriate for Emma’s HeForShe talent show until Simon drove past a huge building bearing the name ‘Vogue House’, then parked one street down.

I felt my body go cold and twisted around to face him. “Um, Simon? That Vogue bit…that’s not, like, VOGUE vogue, is it?”

A fiendish grin spread across his face. “If you mean Conde Nast publications Vogue magazine, then yes. Big giant fucking YES. But we’re actually going to see someone at Glamour, an old friend from college. Elaine Casemuir. We’re really just casual acquaintances at this point, but she used to come in to the Dorchester and I’d make sure she always had a great table, so this is payback. This dress…it’s just…perfect. I managed to score the Gherkin for the ceremony and reception…there may have been some blackmail involved, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. Here, look.”

He handed me his phone, and my reaction as I scrolled the photos went from oh, nice to fuck me that is the coolest place EVER. According to their website, weddings and receptions were held on the top two floors of the most incredible steel and glass, phallic building I’d ever laid eyes on. I hazarded a guess that the Gherkin was a pickle reference, which was probably what most non-horny 24/7 people saw when they looked at. 360 degree panoramic views of the London cityscape, totally modern interior…glorious.

“Simon. Blackmail. WORTH IT. Not gonna ask, because…probably better not to know. And…”

“Oh please. You SO want to know. The guy who books events hangs around with us in clubs on occasion. He’s also sleeping with one of the waiters there who’s barely out of high school. His wife would NOT be amused if she knew about either of those things.”

“SIMON.”

“What?”

“You are so…so…WICKED. I’m impressed.” I patted his shoulder. “Luke is a very lucky man.”

He sniffled. “No, I’m the one who’s lucky. I want to make this so special, because it means so, so much to both of us…damn you, making me cry. Now my skin’s going to be all blotchy when we see Elaine and she’ll be all oh, Simon, your skin is horrid, darling and I’ll have to slap her. She’s a writer, by the way, and she also does a ton of photoshoot arranging. Which means access to designer lines. I saw the dress a week and a half ago and had her track it down that day, it’s a Valentino from the 2015 Spring/Summer collection…matches my color scheme of black and white and silver PERFECTLY…”

I raised a brow as I removed my hand from his shoulder. “Um, you ARE aware that I’m a double-D cup who barely fits in a size twelve, yes?”

Pinching my nose, he giggled before speaking. “I am indeed. It’s from the Ready-to-Wear line. And it’s a twelve. As for your boobs fitting…that’s why god made duct tape.”

“Oh, fuck that…I’m still recovering from body glue trauma…”

“AH AH AH, NO. Come on. Let’s go in.” He got out and came around to open my door, extending a hand to help me up and out.

I stood and closed the door behind me. “Yeah, yeah.  Wait…you only asked me to be your maid of honor last Friday…”

He stared at the ground, toeing one foot across the pavement, then glanced up at me sheepishly. “Correct. I would have been heartbroken if you’d said no.”

Wrapping my arms around him, I kissed his cheek. “Aw. Simon.”

“Mainly because the dress was a fucking small fortune.”

“Whatever. Let’s go before I kill you.”

****************************************

Elaine’s office was at the rear of the building, within the main Glamour office itself. She squealed when she saw Simon, throwing herself at him, her stick-thin arms wrapping around him and pulling his head to her chest. Clad in a red micro-mini and white button down shirt, her straight black hair was impossibly shiny and just brushed her shoulders, the white patent leather heels she wore causing her to tower over Simon by at least three inches. Her gaze turned to me and though her face remained happy-happy I swore I could smell her disappointment as she took in my state of dress. When she spoke, I was stunned to hear an American accent.

“Hello there, Maude. Nice to meet you. I’m Elaine Casemuir” She thrust her hand out, and I shook it, hesitant to grab too tightly lest I break a bone on her.

“Nice to meet you as well, Elaine.”

Simon clapped excitedly. “Dress, Elaine. SHOW HER THE DRESS.”

She rolled her eyes and released my hand. “Simon, you have no chill. Follow me.”

We walked out of the office and down the rest of the hallway to a light blue metal door. She unlocked it, entered the room and indicated that we should join her inside. It was vast, racks upon racks of clothing and all sorts of accessories strewn about. She teetered on her heels three racks down, turned left, grunted several times, then shouted ‘victory’. When she rounded the corner and held up what she’d found, I immediately turned to Simon, grabbed his bicep and spoke using my terribly inappropriate for this particular setting outdoor voice.

“I. FUCKING. LOVE. IT.”

It was floor length, a filmy light grey, very transparent with appliquéd silver stars of varying size, a combination of some resembling starfish and others the traditional five point star formation covering both the lightly pleated, flowing skirt and form-fitting bodice. And my lord, that bodice…the sleeves were short and just the teensiest bit puffy with a little ruffle ring at the bottoms, and the neck was…a V. A V that extended to just an inch above the two-inch wide waistband, and unlike the skirt, there was no underlayment whatsoever and no way to wear a bra so it was totally HELLO NIPPLES.

He grinned widely. “I knew you’d love it. You have no shame.”

I pointed my index finger in his face. “Mmm hmm. Let’s remember this is for your WEDDING. What are YOU wearing? Assless chaps?”

“Don’t think it didn’t cross my mind, Maude. My ass is spectacular and deserves accolades. But our mothers will be there, so…no.”

“Your mother will be there? I’m…shit, I’m shocked, actually.”

He sighed. “We can’t all be lucky enough to have them check out on us early, honey.” He paused, taking stock of what he’d just said, then frowning. “Damn. Too soon?”

My head shook as I bit back a roar of laughter, suddenly conscious of Elaine’s presence. She cleared her throat and pointed left, handing off the dress to Simon.

“Changing area is that way, and my assistant Diandra will help pin you up once you’re in it if it needs altering. If it does, just leave it and I’ll call when it’s ready. If not, take it with. I’ve got a conference call in ten, so I probably won’t see you. Lovely meeting you, Maude. Simon, you better invite me to this shindig or I’m going to feature you in the fashion don’ts column online.”

His hand flew to his chest in mock horror. Or at least I thought it was mock. “You wouldn’t dare.”

She smirked. “Try me.”

Eyes rolling, he draped the dress over his right arm and put his left hand on his hip, pouting. “Fine, you’ll get an invite. But bring someone interesting. You know, not your USUAL date type.”

“Simon, baby…it’s New Years Eve. I’m flying solo and finding someone at the reception to lock lips with at the stroke of midnight. Gay wedding, lots of straight friends, I’m bi…statistically, I can’t lose.”

She waved goodbye and tottered back toward her office, and Simon and I made our way down to the changing area. Though all the way at the rear of the left side of the room, it was wide open to the rest of the space. There were built in wooden benches littered with shoes and gloves and scarves, and the entire back wall was mirrored. We were greeted by a gorgeous woman with dark brown, luminous skin, huge hazel eyes and a smile that rivaled Tom’s mega-watt one. She was wearing a chevron print tank dress in varying shades of chartreuse, shoes that matched the darkest chevrons, and her hair was piled neatly on top of her head and wound with a silk light green scarf. She greeted us first, her Caribbean accent melodic, making even the simplest of words seem important and joyful.

“Hello you two…make yourselves at home, and if you need anything, I’ll be playing in the stacks. Such beautiful clothes…fashion paradise, right here and now!” She laughed, then began searching and sorting. I shimmied out of my shorts and yanked my T-shirt up over my head without fanfare, catching Simon side-eyeing me in the mirror.

“Problem, Simon?”

He snickered. “Oh no, no problem. Just admiring your speed and technique. You could use a little more finesse, though. I had to take points off for that.”

I reached around my back to unhook my bra. “Well, if you don’t want a good, long look at my tits you should probably turn around. Or close your eyes. Something.”

He turned around, then looked down as he passed me the dress when I was ready to attempt to wriggle into it. “You know, you could have left the bra ON. I was joking about the no shame bit.”

“No, I couldn’t have. I’m not going to be able to wear one with it later, so I need to know how it fits without. I see silver star shaped pasties in my future, though. Or maybe nude ones would be better…forgot about the parent factor.”

“Roland’s going to be in the wedding party, too. He’s Luke’s best man. I think he’d probably like the star pasties better, but I suppose I need to exercise some parental moral responsibility at some point, so nude is probably the right choice. Of course I thought of none of this when I saw the dress initially. I was captivated by the shiny.”

Laughing as I lifted the gathered fabric over my head, I had to pause to stop myself from turning around to talk to him. “You? Captivated by shiny? Nope, not possible.” I worked my hand through the armholes and dropped the dress into place. Or tried to. It got stuck on my boobs. “And did you say Roland is Luke’s best man? That is…the sweetest thing ever.”

Simon’s voice was thick with emotion when he replied, as it usually was whenever he mentioned anything Luke and love related. “It is. Totally Luke’s idea, too. I wanted him to be my best man, but Luke thought it would make him feel more…accepted, I guess, if it was the other way around. Worked, too. He was over the moon. They get along so well…it’s just…”

I swiveled my head around when I heard him sniffing. “Simon, don’t you dare cry because then I’ll cry and THE DRESS, dude, THE DRESS.” Carefully, every so carefully, I pulled and slid and tugged until the waist was where it belonged, reached behind me to zip it up, then tucked the girls into place before I looked in the mirror. Though a bit snug in the chest, it was essentially a perfect fit. I didn’t even think it would need hemming if I wore a two inch heel. A nice, chunky heel. Preferably boots with heels. I stared at my reflection, feeling like a princess from some sort of fractured fairytale for I don’t know how long, finally interrupted by the click of a phone camera. Looking up, I saw Simon behind me, taking shot after shot.

“SIMON.” I spun around to face him, any modesty, which had been purely for his benefit because I really DID have no shame, cast completely aside since he’d already seen my nipples, even if it was only technically a reflection of them. “The fuck are you doing?”

He grinned. “Just sending some pictures to your boyfriend. No biggie. You’ll thank me later.”

“You know Simon, I HAVE ENOUGH PROBLEMS ALREADY …” My phone dinged, and I bent over to rummage through my shorts pockets to find it. Text from Tom. Of course.

WOMAN, YOU NEED TO COME HOME RIGHT NOW. – T

Another arrived right after, before I had time to reply.

Okay. I counted backwards from ten and some of the blood that was elsewhere returned to my brain. You look so, SO beautiful. My lord. Just…a vision of loveliness. All that, plus intelligence, humor, everything…my Maude. I am a lucky, lucky man.  – T

Thomas, you’re making me blush. And Simon is SO going to bust my balls for it. :P –M

Fucking hell I just zoomed and…nipples…we’re now back to WOMAN, YOU NEED TO COME HOME RIGHT NOW. – T

They will be covered on the night of the wedding, I assure you. :P – M

Well that’s disappointing. :P So, when ARE you coming home? LOL –T

Still have to get dress for tomorrow. Probably two hours, maybe? I need to get this one off because for SOME reason I’m, like, all hot and starting to SWEAT. –M

If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go recite the Serenity Prayer a thousand times now. – T

Actually, though, I thought I’d go to the market and get what we need for the weekend. Mum and Emma can’t make dinner tomorrow, so they’ll just meet us here and then we’ll all head to the gallery, then come back after to talk and such. Anything in particular you want or need while I’m out? – T

Ice cream. Chips and dip. Onion dip, preferably. And is there somewhere you can stop and pick me up an ankle support? I think it’s time to start leaving the boot off as much as I can tolerate…putting weight on the ankle helps it heal faster. Or so they say. Thanks. – M

Will do. Love you. – T

Love you too. I’ll try to stop Simon from sending more pics so you don’t get a stiffy in public. :P –M

Don’t need pics for that, love. All I have to do is think of you and…whoomp, there it is. :P –T

Now that fucking song is going to be stuck in my head. Thanks for that. –M

J You’re welcome. See you soon. –T

Simon was tapping his foot, patience wearing thin. “Christ. Remind me not to do THAT again. So. Get that off. We need to get to Anna and Browns before they close.”

I stripped and put my clothes back on while Simon requested a garment bag from Diandra, and she insisted on zipping it up herself once the dress was in place to ensure nothing snagged. When we reached the car, he carefully laid the bag across the backseat before coming around to open my door. I commented on his backwards priorities, and he told me to shut my pretty mouth and with that, it was off to Anna, which Simon said was in the opposite direction but closed earlier so that was where we need to go first.

Located nearly right across from Regent’s Park, Anna was a two story boutique featuring unique designer clothing…their words, not mine. Simon refused help from a stylist, opting instead to let me browse around like a cow grazing in an open field. Most of the stock was entirely not my taste, but I did manage to find a funky grey tie-dyed pattern long-sleeve T-shirt style dress, and Simon brought me a white sweater dress with black horizontal stripes. There was no way I was ever wearing it in public, but I agreed to try it on. Both wound up being meh at best, so we wrote them off, cut our losses and drove to Browns.

The Browns Flagship store was vast, taking up five repurposed interconnecting townhouses, offering all styles and types of designer fashions as well as accessories. Simon had to drag me away from the first shoe display we came across and into the racks…and there were so many racks. SO. MANY. After narrowing it down to three dresses, we traversed to the fitting room, where Simon waited outside for me after the counter girl cleared her throat when he attempted to follow me inside.

First I tried on a Givenchey short sleeve wrap-style dress, black satin, and as soon as I saw how the bunched material made my boobs look lopsided as all get out, off it came. Next was a Christopher Kane sleeveless bandage dress, totally funky, the dress medium grey, horizontal piping of the same color, with a black and white zipper running up the entire length of its front. The hem reached to four or five inches above my knee, and it was…tight. But in a good way, though I questioned if it made my ass look huge. Simon’s reaction shot down that theory when I walked out of the fitting room.

“That’s the one. That’s it. Turn. Your tushie looks fantastic. Woo! Now you just need shoes…”

“Hold on, cowboy. There’s one more to try on and it’s my favorite.”

He sighed. “But this one is perfect.”

I flipped him off and went back into my cubicle, hung the bandage dress back on its hanger, then tried on the Balenciaga black leather and silk dress that had screamed BUY ME from the second I saw it. The structured bodice was spaghetti-strap halter style, leather, with a sweetheart neckline and a silver zipper that ran from the top to the waist of the dress. The skirt was silk, airy, and lightly pleated, creating a gentle wave effect at the hemline. It was a bitch to get into, and I yet again had to remove my bra, but once I zipped it and adjusted the décolletage was unbelievably impressive. The skirt brushed the very top of my shins, just below my knee, and it felt like…ME. Though after San Diego I thought I’d never consider wearing them again, I knew it would look amazing with my Diva Darcies. I marched out to meet Simon, though it was really only half marching/half something awkward and strange because of the boot, and he gasped.

“Holy fuckamoley, you look like…like…I don’t know. Goth biker chick? Bad ass motherfucker? Dominatrix? All of that? I still think the bandage dress is better for tomorrow, but you NEED to buy this one too. It screams ‘dance all night long with Simon at Studio 338’. When you CAN dance again, we are SO going.” He frowned. “When’s that heinous ankle contraption coming off, anyway? It’s not adding anything to either dress, if you know what I mean.”

I rolled my eyes. “I am AWARE. And I have it covered, I think. It’s much better than it was, surprisingly so since it’s only been a week. Way I figure, if I can find a nice sturdy pair of boots to wear and combine it with the ankle support Tom’s picking up for me, maybe, just MAYBE I can get away without it tomorrow night. But…buy both? This one’s seventeen hundred bucks, the other is eleven hundred. How do I justify spending that on…two dresses? That’s insane.”

He tilted his head and pointed at me. “Um, honey, your man is famous. Wait until it’s red carpet time.”

Raising a brow, I shifted my hips back and forth, regaling in the feel of the silk against my legs. “Simon. Bullshit. Have you forgotten what I’ve done for a living? I’m not a total newb. Those are usually LOANERS.”

“Fine. I was just trying to make you feel justified. SO unappreciative, Maude.”

I snorted, then returned to the fitting room to change back into my street clothes. Simon was my dress donkey for this mission, snarking on the occasional pair of shoes as I perused the available selection.

“Yuck. Open toe, yet not open toe.” He held up a pair of peek-a-boo sandals. “MAKE A CHOICE, PEOPLE.”

All the boots were ordinary, leather, fold over cuffs, zippers…nothing caught my eye. Around the corner was another display, and I finally saw a pair that got me all ‘grabby hands shut up and take my money’. They were black, moderately shiny, semi-slouchy with eleven black metal round rivet-like buttons up the outer sides, zippers on the inside for easy on and off. The brand was Miz Mooz, the style Bloom. The clerk located my size within the space of five minutes, and when I tried the left one on I was pleased to see that they came all the way up to my knees. Simon nodded his approval, I took of the ped I’d been given, put my sandal back on and three thousand dollars later we were out the door and headed home. Simon insisted on stopping for coffee at Kaffeine, and though it was against my better judgement I ordered an espresso to put an end to his incessant whining about how I was so much less fun that he’d thought. When he chided me for putting sugar in it, I responded by adding more. It hit me just as we pulled into his spot in the parking garage, and by the time we got to our floor he was quite contented to pass off all the bags to Tom and run for his own flat as he yelled ‘good luck with her, honey’.

Tom placed the dresses on the back of the couch and the boot box on the floor as I followed him like a puppy, trying to skip but failing miserably. He turned to me, arms crossed.

“What did he mean by that?”

I speed shrugged. “Well, could be he’s fed up with shopping because I don’t really like what he likes, though the maid of honor dress, that’s, wow, but, like he picked out this stripey thing and I felt like Sailor Moon when I put it on but wait, she wears a pinafore or something so maybe it’s Twiggy, the model, yeah, it was really late sixties and though wow I’m SO not Twiggy at all but you know what I mean OR it could have something to do with…the espresso. Probably the espresso. Espresso.”

He smirked as he uncrossed his arms and closed the distance between us. “What on earth possessed him to let you drink espresso?”

Speed shrugging again, I reached out and began fiddling with the waistband of his jeans, untucking his white T-shirt from them. “I don’t KNOW. I told him already like three times that coffee and I are like NO, NOT COMPATIBLE, yet he was all ESPRESSO, you have to have some because if you don’t, so BORING and then he made fun of me for putting sugar in it but fucking A it was bitter and WHY do people drink it like that it’s NASTY…” I’d unbuttoned his jeans and had begun to unzip them when his hands covered mine. I looked up at him. “Wow, how did THAT happen? Seriously, I have no idea it’s just you’re there and that white T-shirt and do you want to fuck me because I really need you to fuck me, like, right now because all day long I’ve been thinking about you touching yourself and…”

His lips met mine, and I responded aggressively, biting down on his lip, then searching for his tongue and sucking on it vigorously, pulling away to stare at him. “Thomas. I love your mouth. The way you taste. Your lips, your tongue, what they do to me…” I dove back in, and his own response was first a gasp, then a moan, followed by his lip sucking trick that made me come instantly every single time, this one no exception.

“Wow, oh my god, Tom, I so wasn’t ready for that yet but I guess I WAS ready, ha, right? Will you do it again? Do it again.”

Three of my orgasms later, he was shaking with his own pent up desire, looking over his shoulder at the couch, then over mine into the kitchen. He turned me around, propelling me past the dining table with his hands on my shoulders while growling in my ear.

“I’m going to fuck you on the counter. Is that all right? Fucking you on the counter?”

I tilted my head to the left. “Fucking me on the counter. Yes. Yes please. I would like you to fuck me on the counter. SO totally all right. Totally.”

As soon as we rounded the corner he yanked my shorts and underwear down, and I kicked them to the side as he lifted me up and plopped me on the cold stone, my back to the living room, one hand on my jaw to keep me focused on his face, my eyes locked on his.

“Now. I have to run upstairs for just one very brief moment. You’ll stay right here and wait for me, won’t you?”

Nodding six times, I began swinging my legs back and forth as he bolted from the kitchen. “I’m still right here, Tom. But my poor, poor pussy…she’s very lonely, soaking wet, all excited but there’s no one to play with her…”

There was a loud crash from upstairs, followed by a litany of fucks and shits, then his rapid footfalls as he raced down the stairs, appearing in front of me with the ankle brace I’d requested and a chair from the dining room. He sat in the chair and began unbuckling the walking boot, slipping it off carefully as he met my gaze.

“Sorry, love. Your pussy is a meal that demands to be savored, and I can’t very well have that boot digging into my shoulders while I enjoy my feast, can I?”

“Well I was under the impression that you’d be fucking me, like really, really HARD and right NOW but…” I reached down and grabbed his head with both hands, pushing it towards my crotch. He pulled away, smirking.

“Ah ah ah, we’ve got to put the brace on first.” He pulled it over my foot, and as my ankle rolled sideways I felt a stab of fire within the joint that made me suck in a quick breath. “Sorry, love. Almost there.”

Both my hands gripped the edge of the countertop. “It’s fine. Totally fine. Do it. Just do it. Worth the pain. Worth it. Make it worth it.”

He tugged it into place, pulled the chair in closer, situated himself precisely, then placed my feet on his shoulders. His head was as the perfect height, face still visible to me yet strategically placed for…going down. As his hands pulled my ass closer to the edge and spread me open, his long, pink tongue unfurling, I realized that from my own angle, I’d be able to see…everything. He began at my taint, running his tongue up the middle, it dipping into my entrance just enough to make me push down on his shoulders with my feet and thrust my hips forward, then abandoning that particular ship in order to circle my clit, which he took between his teeth, then sucked into his mouth, staring at me the entire time.

“Tom. Tom. TOM. Mygodmygodmygod. Suck harder. Come on. Harder.” He ignored me at first, but I kept repeating it louder and louder until he complied, and I could tell by his eyes that he was extremely entertained by my insistence. I was not entertained when he stopped abruptly, though before I could protest I watched him stiffen his tongue and ease it inside me and suddenly, I forgot about everything else as my brain tried to process the visual of it moving in and out of me in conjunction with the way it made me FEEL. The moment his thumb touched my clit I began humping his face, him rubbing and thrusting furiously at the same time, and as the index finger of his other hand slid inside my ass I came, loudly chanting for him to fuck my ass harder and get that tongue DEEPER. It seemed I closed my eyes only for a second when I felt my legs moving upward, feet dangling over something until the backs of my knees hit solidity, hands on my shoulder blades and arms against my ribcage.

I opened them to find his eyes inches from mine, wild, pupils blown wide, my juices coating his countenance and dripping down his chin, his lips glossy with it. He grinned, the salaciousness of it making me shiver, and settled the head of his cock at my entrance.

“Now, Maude. NOW I’m going to fuck you. Really, really hard.”

His hips thrust forward as he sheathed himself fully, then began bucking frenziedly. I hung like a rag doll in his grasp, still limp from orgasm, allowing his pounding to move me until he froze, asking me to hold myself up for a moment as he first removed his shirt, then my own, as well as my bra. My legs still over his shoulders, he leaned forward, bending me almost completely in half in order to press his chest to mine, arms behind me and holding me up once again. His thrusting resumed and grew ever desperate, his eyes never leaving mine. I could feel myself nearing the top of another peak, the tension in my belly becoming too powerful to ignore, and I clamped down on him.

His eyes closed for a second, then opened as he fought to keep himself from coming. “Is your pussy still lonely, Maude?”

I shook my head, my hands reaching up to touch his face, his cheekbones under my fingertips, then his jaw, and his still moist lips. “No. Nope. Not. Happy. Full. She’s very, very full…but there’s still a little bit of room in there if you have, you know, a little something ELSE for her.” I released, then squeezed again, and again. His balls slapped against me noisily as he resumed his onslaught, grunting and groaning and gasping.

“Oh, I have some…some…something…for…ohgodohgod…fuck me, I’m coming, I’m COMING and COMING…”

I came as well as his warmth coated my shuddering walls, and he was so lost in pleasure that he let go of me, and I found myself looking at an upside-down dining table as my head and neck sprawled backward over the countertop. I could hear his usual post-orgasm noises, tiny gasps and chirps and moans, and as the blood rushed to my head I thought perhaps I should mention my precarious position but he took notice before I was able to form the words.

“Oh, fuck, Maude, my god, I’m SO sorry are you all right?” He put one arm around my upper shoulders, bracing me as he pulled out and eased my legs off his shoulders, then peered behind me to see if I’d hurt myself on the edge of the counter. “Christ, what a tit I am…are you okay?” He felt around with his fingers, and when I didn’t flinch he pulled me up so I was sitting, dribbling cum all over the orange surface beneath me.

“I. Am. Fine. Fine. And I think…I think the espresso might be wearing off. I’m actually a little…tired.” I snickered. “Could just be the blood draining back into my body, though.”

His head hung down, shaking back and forth, then lifted to pepper my face with kisses. “I’m so, so sorry about that. I just…I came so hard I couldn’t…I couldn’t see, really.” It was his turn to snicker. “Thanks for that. Maude Gallagher, supplier of orgasms so powerful that she jeopardizes her own personal safety in the process.”

I kissed him, tasting myself on his lips. “I blame the espresso. And Simon.” He laughed, and I paused, reviewing my vocalizations. “I was loud, wasn’t I?” He nodded. “I hope they heard me. That’ll teach him a lesson he won’t soon forget.”

Tom chuckled. “Love, I’m afraid the neighbors two houses down may have heard you. And anyone walking by on the street. And people in their cars with the windows up…”

“Yeah. Well. They should probably, you know, get used to it.”

He initiated the kiss this time, his tongue thrusting in to massage mine. “They’d better. Because I love making you scream. Maybe more than Shakespeare, even.”

“Thomas. Be serious.”

He grinned. “I AM being serious. And I’ve decided that I do, in fact, love it more than Shakespeare. Without a doubt.”

I sat, motionless and wordless, for a few moments. “How am I supposed to respond to that kind of compliment?”

He licked me, tongue starting at my clavicle, moving up my neck, across my jaw and up to my temple. “Let me make you scream again?”

My head tilted as I looked up at the ceiling, pretending to ponder. “You know what? That totally works for me.”

#your light in the mist #one shot #been shopping

[paraclete0407]

Unwritten Poems, Errata, Desiderata

‘The Intense Reality of a Bowl of Soup’ - it was traditional Korean fishcake-soup that everyone knows or knew I like a kind of ‘everlasting lucence.’  I have compressed and combined / mixed episodes mentally; the man’s wife was knitting.

I associated this woman with ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes’ but that is not how people really are today, here or there.  More like the last ‘nosegay’ of songs on ‘Feeling Strangely Fine’ but that is also ‘mandatorily retired.’

‘Do you want to borrow my vacuum-cleaner?’

People have forms and processes and sometimes their seem seems the end of their be (Trumpism?) but others are hidden, dying to the world or dead to the world.  You know what their face could be but you envision moments and actions / activity-suites instead of frozen statuesque ‘portraiture’  I remember that my favorite poem in that year abroad was a ‘parable of professionalism’ called ‘A Pastoral Nun’ by Wallace Stevens who valedictory line was ‘Each matters only in that which it conceives.’

‘The high apartment-window lights at midnight; Glenn Gould op. 111 like fanning through the pages of the Arietta as though to say, “yeah yeah but this too is old and Beethoven is known and I have my own idea, or music or, “Idea of North” and I’m giving you [tidbits according to my Belgian ex-friend] but a “soupcon” of what I’ve already though through and - pace “Chinese way of war / lie-fare+ / sex-/pornography-fare / motherly-sisterly-motivate-you-dept.-of-future-cannibalization-/Orphic-sparagmos [Gr. tearing or ripping apart]-/hog-farming-fare & I decided that I don’t really know whether or not I believe you’re worthy of being taught in a clear personal voice.”

2.

‘And in those years I was telling other people to be better than me & I was plagiarizing or ‘ammo-running-forward’ advice and “idea-sentiment-vision-bullets” which I felt were lessons others could apply I could not, as I was only ever a image of the things or characters I wished I could be.  

‘My’ professor WC Dowling wrote an op-ed about university athletics and concerning the lives and ultimately souls of [now capital] Black boys stating that the powers that be ought to look with more love and affection and concern on the little fellows at the library rather than the future LeBrons + I told my Great Recession-barely-employed internet-friend that if he couldn’t get a job with JET since they were anti-SEA-racist and he’s profoundly dark-skinned he could at least work on studying for the JLPT at the library rather than moping at home.  In the end he was more driven and was ‘better ground for the seed / word’ than I might’ve assumed and after acing the JLPT got a job not only in JP but in ‘immortal Kyoto’ with the deer-park.  So he learned how to knock.

Dowling was the protagonist of a really retarded pozzed novel about academic / intellectual rebellion but from what I gather Rutgers has gotten a lot better in numerous respects and mended and more completely ‘realized the realizacion’ of programs such as Korean translation that were only fritterings in my time.

3.

‘I’m gonna work on Wall Street and take cocaine and give my parents a lot of money then blow my brains out; I like to drink vodka; I like a warm shower and cold bathroom tiles.’  IDK why in past I would stay up all night watching over some people - whom I ‘wanted’ - whilst the rest of the world was burning; or at least, was literally full of war and death and anti-life behaviors and attitudes and, but at the same time, people who were really looking for life and love and to find ‘soul-friends.’

‘A gaggle of night-shifters... smoking nurses...’  

The US general who to my reckoning was most responsible for the operation to capitally punish bin Laden wrote to his wife, ‘When I see the overfed greed of [America], people desperate to be led...’  All this time there was a potential culture of life, people in ‘my’ generation and Gen-Z were not grandiose, megalomaniacal, exorbitant, nor did we look backward like the current US president to say things like, ‘One of my heroes was MLK, the Vietnam War sth sth,’ which right ow just prompts me to think how many Vietnamese families were - pace Kim Thuy - destroyed by communism + how many Black families were damaged by merciless drug-laws as well as expending huge amounts of government treasure on prisons that (to me as a 1990′s Richard Holbrooke+ fan-boy) could’ve gone to Education, State, or for that matter the part of the military responsible for protecting billions of people against China instead of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands or millions against criminals.  

Puts in mind of the Canadian ‘Christian platonist’ literary critic, ‘If murder were an actual threat to civilization like war it wouldn’t be so relaxing to read about.’  I thought this was great but IDK why in retrospect I didn’t realize that a) murder’s a threat to the Lord and all that is and vice-versa necessitates a super-massive counter-threat or automatic counter-consequence and b) people DO read military fiction about genocide, omnicide, retired SEAL’s with bunkers, etc. to relax.

Anyway why is Canada libertarian, why do they host PornHub and HushMail, why are they so seemingly anti-immigrant and why do they think that N. American Anglo-French-etc. civilization is the ultra-adult of the world today while Korea is a child-race and child-civilization that didn’t even figure out stuff like that people have an inner life you can never really penetrate or surveil (that I think) but there are still very legitimate reasons to delimit privacy. 

Everyone was working on a potential life but it’s like Andre Maurois’ ‘Climates’ where the guy is haunted by his first wife - ‘the saddest river’ - and didn’t realize his second wife is an utter diamond who is determined to be sth better than ‘happy all the time’ and he’s still just looking for s1 with whom to digest the first wife - stupid, pozzed, not only b/c you can’t really excrete all your remembrances but b’c it was more ‘book-group in Babylon and watching your next-door neighbor’s home turn in to “human smoke” on your big-screen in Nero’s firestorm.’

4.

MY last novel that I wanted to hold and hone while eating lemon-soup as ‘Lily and Flicker’ and General of the Army George Catlett Marshall and his second wife b/c I wanted to understand how this man could seemingly hold everything and everyone all the time without getting angry.  ‘Flicker’ was a derogatory nickname from his elder brother who appears largely forgotten by history whereas ‘GCM5-star,’ with innumerable titles and honors, is haunting the whole world today along with St. Augustine Bishop of Hippo, expositor of the ‘fearful symmetries’ and also differences beteen Heaven and Earth, advisor to the Roman general Belisarius... and to [’just me’], Pope St. John Paul II of ‘Human Life’ / ‘Humana Vitae.’

What is it about smallness and greatness?

5.

‘The Millennial was unable to hold the adult version of themselves upright with the proper intensity, address [noun] or readiness to answer others [Colossians 4:6].’  But I don’t at to be Choire Sicha writing future history or w/e when I sincerely look around Milwaukee, Fox Point, Germantown and feel this was all a huge industrial rabbit-farm kill-zone and they are gonna launch a neutron-or Black Death-mounted DF-26 all over here, wipe out Caucasians and take the water and good soil.  

‘St Germain Dream’ was meant to be my ‘Hyper-Lolita’ talking about how a) it’s useless and stupid to hide the truth in fiction or art when you can say what it is [child-rape, death, human trafficking, Hell / Inferno] only the love-affair is not mutual sex-trafficking or the Millennialistic attitude that said, ‘If I have to get fattened for slaughter and sexually enslaved by Boomers I want at least to get obese on my own terms and raped for free once in my life,’ but an affirmation that people were and are capable of ‘dwelling in understanding.’

But ‘in the end they just stopped talking about themselves.’  & I didn’t realize how much somebody who might once have admired or looked to me would become the cynosure my own admiration or that I would be slightly intimidated by a ‘wifely smile.’

‘Mr. David James Johnston would take off after hours and drive the Ferrari around the reservoir with his “Super Junior Heechul outfit.”  He didn’t have ay money for a Ferrari and Ferrari’s weren’t really the best cars anymore(?) but they liked to watch him drive.

I used to dream of somebody advocating for me like, ‘He is a future billionaire,’ but the love of whose severity and gravity and conviction I fantasized was not passionately dramatic in the accustomed ‘K-wave-emotional-hedonism-sadism-sensationalistic-moneyshot-meltdown-cadenza’ fashion.  I came to feel recently that love was about giving someone a chance, a job, a responsibility, another to love, or to tell them that in future simply they would be the one giving love.  

Many years ago my Xanga friend-of-friend said, a) ‘I am sad my Chinese aunt is anti-gym’ and b) ‘I am always thinking about personal responsibilities but not sure I can HOLD ANOTHER’S LIFE IN MY HAND.’  They were always thinking about their future whilst trying to be part of the present.

6.

I told my old friend that I wish he could eventually reconcile with their ex-spouse but for all I know his attitude toward me, Millennial-ness, Covid, whoever or whatever blew up America and why, was all this ‘Parting Glass’ lumpen-Proustian view that mistook human character in this world (total depravity or existence ‘conditioned’ in Hegelian sense by Augustinian Original Sin), for the immutable ‘way of the world’ and thought nothing essentially would ever change only and simply b/c specific individuals could or would repeat their mistakes.  This person always jokes about ephebophilia or ‘youth-o-phagia’ (eating the young); ‘casting couch’ culture.  How often do you have to be sophisticated in the same way before it no longer makes you special?

I wish I were in he Vatican right now or a secret church in NK or wherever Francis Chan is doing what I can and somehow reading all the misreading and anti-reading that is everywhere amid the ‘Delta summer deliberate mishearing Milwaukee CultRev torch-parade.’

I used to love a song called ‘In Yr Room’ by Airiel which my friend might’ve classed as ‘shoegaze’ but is really ‘floor-gaze’ or just ‘gaze, contemplate.’  Shoegaze has effects and is whimsical, seems to use rubato, ‘In Yr Room’ is totally flatlining or ‘solid’ or ‘linear.’  It is ‘skin and blood, permeation, abiding / constancy.’  It is also like the question ‘why’ or ‘why should _ _.’  ‘I always try to keep me _ _ from _ _ besides, I still.’

7.

When I was being a real brat and making Zhuangzi-inspired notebook-fictions in which the Millennial narrator kept going back to their ‘proud tower’ to start another essay-bomb before resuming the living narrative I made a fictious book called ‘The Collected Sayings of Park Chunghee [the military dictator and supreme head or so a supreme council for reconstruction who might or might not have been the most important single decision-making individual in causing Korea to become basically a superpower in one generation]’ that they only give to Koreans and he talked a lot about floors.

‘The Bunny Style Incident’ of or two which this had bee meant as a decoration or crown of sorts was meant to be attack on kultur / art / expressive freedom / beauty itself [again be with me St Aurelius Augustinius, lord of Redaction, censorship, expurgation, curriculum], an early attack on K-wave, derived from an observation of Plato that Tragedy should be banned from the Republic since people went to the tragedy and came out mad, suddenly remembering ever bad thing that is and wanting to attack everyone / wage ‘private war / me global offensive.’  

The main character isn’t sure what to do and has wrongheadedly discarded his accustomed method of looking for love so he has a tiny sip of beer and listens to ‘Bunny Style’ by T-ara, goes to a hostess-bar I made up called ‘L’Arabie’ that is a reference to Joyce as well as quasi-Jungian ‘shared imagination’ of our time which is mutatis mutandis polyamory or ‘real life harem anime / fanfic.’  A guy there named ‘Mickey’ is like ‘I manage Dunkin Donuts in Gangnam and I know you’re good at talking with women so you can talk w/ this hostess for me?’  

The main character does it for while on the grounds of ‘teaching / assisting others’ loves’ until Mickey starts patently ‘simping’ or saying noble knightly stuff he clearly has no plan of following through on.  IRL I walked out on this person when they went to the BR but in ‘Bunny Style Incident’ I accidentally took any amount of drink whatsoever, through a thin-wristed punch in an attempt to ‘teach to touch’ and got internal organ damage due to Mickey’s simplicity of character, singleness of heart / focus, childhood taekwondo, ROKA practical martial arts / CQC drill et cetera nd the act that he wasn’t trying to ‘educate’ anyone about anything but literally just wanted to have some kind of ‘relations’ or ‘good time’ and perhaps not even sexual or ‘amatory’ with this young woman but just wanted smeone to say something to like, ‘b/c of you I will believe in God, make a compact / promise / vow / faith-wish.’  But myself was like, ‘Dude you’re simping and you’re being tempted too to act more than you are & I don’t want to edit what you’re drafting or translate your intentions.’  But in the end my reactive anger, rage, pride, was very imaginably worse than this person’s singleminded desire and ‘working oneself up.’

But that’s all before Covid too and I still feel like I see kids at the Public Market witnessing the produce of this bountiful land but why don’t you go home to your prayer-closet b/c right now it’s what Eric Fiegl-Ding s calling the ‘summer-winter’ of peril’ and that’s exactly what it is.  

Years ago I wanted to write a retarded psychopathic story called ‘Winter and Summer’ about a Confucian scholar accompanying the maniacal democidal NYTimes Business Pages darling Xiang Yu, a demonic ‘bawang’ or hegemonic warlord of China who partied on his last day by slaughtering civilians and in the end is said by SIma Qian Grand Historian to have self-decapitated (dept. of culture of achievement)... but it’s all here and the mental Khanate, the self-appointed punishers of Mankind, mental Xiang Yu’s, mental B-52′s, ppl that think perforating masseuses with AR-15′s is motivated from treatable basically honorable struggle with sex-addiction in a culture that wanted to make E.Asian women in general and K-women ultra-acutely into sex-slaves or [AsianFanfics /4chan lexicon... are waiting it seems to me for night, death, and the Devil to fall over the Midwest but I feel as if they don’t really get how bad it could be or how many ghosts and shadows would be left over due to the fact that it was regarded as life-affirming not to change one’s mind.

[carpostnet]

Hyundai Kona, MG Motors, Tata Nexon, Mahindra, Tigor

  We thanks all in your feedback and encouragement in our high speed electric scooter buyers guide!  Judging by the dialogue in our YouTube video feedback, we really feel the customer information sequence shall be helpful and academic to all of you.  So we have now our Electric Car Buyers Guide right here for you.  The selections are restricted in relation to Electric Cars. But we discuss what is offered for you. 

Introduction We will discuss in regards to the Electric Cars, you should purchase now. When it involves electrical automobiles, we’ll discuss in regards to the restricted choices obtainable to Indian viewers regardless of being nearly close to 2020.  ​Also, we’ll showcase knowledge sheets of every car and PluginIndia staff members who’ve been following the electrical car business will give their tackle each mannequin and assign scores. At the tip we’ll present numerous graphs, leaderboards and tables and different cool stuff ! We additionally need this to be a daily sequence each quarter.  As we stated earlier, we will’t make selections for you, as all people’s priorities and desires are totally different however we will inform you in regards to the choices obtainable. So, with out losing any extra time, let’s start!

Video – Winter 2019 : Electric Car Buyers Guide

Data and Graphs

Data Sheets and Details ​

Tata Nexon EV Compact SUV

Tata Motors has shocked us. They launched a reasonably underwhelming Tigor EV in 2018.  So we at PluginIndia have been questioning if they’ll take 4-5 years to develop the excessive voltage tech wanted to launch a correct EV. Meanwhile, all this time, Tata Motors fed the Mainstream media to maintain throwing gossip stories on how Tata are going to launch EVision, Tata Altroz EV and plenty of extra Electric Cars, whereas they have been secretly engaged on the Nexon EV. So it’s a shock to see the unveil of Nexon this week. Well executed, Tata! We can’t wait to check drive this and share our experiences to PluginIndia followers!

So after assembly their RnD staff, advertising and marketing staff and others we now know that Tata Motors certainly have an EV Vision for India. Tata have a separate division throughout the firm for EV’s. This EV push is coming from senior administration and we will count on a number of fashions from the Ziptron platform within the coming years.

Looking on the Specs, what stands out immediately is the vary of 300 km. Atlast the business has moved on from low vary electrical automobiles and we’re seeing very sensible EV’s now available in the market. But we nonetheless really feel that the true world vary within the metropolis can be round 250 km and on the freeway can be round 210 km. Lets see.

Liquid cooling in an EV battery is excellent information, which is sweet for Hot Indian climate situations. Our Mahindra e2o Batteries have carried out fantastically with out liquid cooling. There are e2o’s which have executed 1 Lakh km and plenty of automobiles are reaching 7 years! Although the chemistry used is LFP, which is extra tolerant to excessive temperatures.

NMC chemistry based mostly battery packs, just like the one we have now in Nexon, liquid cooling is a should. If the battery temperature is consistently maintained at say 24 levels C, then the battery will final for a very long time.

Another factor that pops out to us is the Eight years or 1,60,000 km battery guarantee, which is unbelievable! If Hyundai would haven’t supplied Eight yr guarantee on the Kona’s battery, would Tata have supplied Eight years?  We do not suppose so! So, thanks Hyundai!​

Also seems like with all the electrical automobiles utilizing excessive voltage programs,  CCS goes to be the defacto commonplace for DC quick charging with Tata utilizing the CCS connector for AC and DC charging, similar to MG Motors and Hyundai

The car shall be obtainable for test-drive nearer to the date of launch. Delivery shall be put up launch. Launch date is but to be introduced. It is anticipated within the first few weeks of January.

The pricing will not be revealed but. Tata are accepting bookings with out revealing the value.  On the opposite hand, the value of the bottom Petrol model of the Mahindra XUV300 begins at ₹ 9.27 Lakh and goes as much as Rs. ₹ 14.07 Lakh for vary topping Petrol mannequin. We consider you may pay a premium of 5-6 Lakhs for the Nexon EV in comparison with the Deisel variants. If you have a look at the wonderful savings guide on the PluginIndia website, due to ridiculously low operating prices, it can save you round 5 Lakh rupees in 5 years in the event you drive for round 15000 km per yr. So in our estimation, Rs 15 Lakhs can be a super pricing by Tata Motors. This will actually get extra folks to suppose aboiut getting an electrical car. ​It would present that Tata Motors needs to guide within the EV revolution and never play video games.

PluginIndia Team Opinions & Scores Kamlesh – 4.1/5

Wow Tata Motors have shocked me with the smoke screens they’ve been throwing within the media, whereas engaged on the true deal all this time. Now, after I purchased the e2o in 2013, the choice was simple. The Reva electrical car firm had a pedigree of making electrical automobiles for 10+ years, so i may belief them utterly. With the Nexon being the primary car beneath the Ziptron platform. Can Tata motors present fast service and switch round instances, in case of points within the drive prepare, cells, digital elements and so forth Having met the R&d staff, i feel they will supply good service.  Rest relies on coaching offered to native groups. I’m impressed by the connectivity options. I’m nonetheless undecided if the car shall be really related – Will Tata enhance the drive prepare with updates and can the Ziptron platform get higher because the car ages? I must learn about this. All in all a promising, providing by Tata Motors that could be a recreation changer for Indian electrical car market if priced at 15 Lakhs.

​Raphae – 4.0/5

The car has wonderful vary, I don’t want to purchase a second car or one other lengthy vary car, that is it. With fast charging on the freeway I’m set. It lot of house, can have 5 folks comfortably, I’ve a household of 5. Lot of boot house, can put lot of issues inside like baggages, wheel chairs, no matter we wish. That’s an excellent factor. The design aesthetic. I like the truth that they’ve built-in the design characteristic, the tri-star factor, the trip-star design all over the place. Its useful, its not simply lovely it serves a function. These are the issues that attraction to me in regards to the TATA Nexon, and the value instinctively as a result of I’m used to listening to the value of petrol autos being excessive however the second I give it some thought I do know its an excellent worth. its actually price it and I might go for it, I imply I’m wanting ahead to going for it.

​​​Abhishek – 3.5/5

What I like in regards to the car is the Eight yr guarantee and likewise the vary. Both of them are very good. What I don’t like in regards to the car: right here is the factor, I’m a small car man and I don’t suppose we’d like extra SUV’s cluttering our congesting our already horribly polluted roads in unhealthy situation so I would favor a smaller car with the identical vary or nearly the identical vary. Also clearly the excessive worth that comes with an SUV, I might have preferred a 10 L car that can also be that’s its for me.

​MG Motors ZS EV Electric SUV

MG Motors revealed their Electric SUV just lately. If you might be questioning about MG Motors or have by no means heard of them, then it’s good to learn about a Chinese state-owned automotive design and manufacturing firm headquartered in Shanghai referred to as SAIC Motor Corporation Limited. They personal the historic British car model referred to as MG.

And MG Motors India is a completely owned arm of China’s SAIC Motor, took over the manufacturing facility from General Motors at Halol, Gujarat in India in 2017. The firm has made an funding of ₹22 billion to refurbish the Halol manufacturing facility and roll out its first product, Hector, from the ability

The MG ZS EV is being introduced as a CKD unit (utterly knocked down) and shall be launched in early 2020. We once more really feel there shall be restricted numbers imported to India and the pricing shall be revealed in January.​ What’s placing to us, is the vary. We have info from European company – WLTP, who’ve vary examined the MG ZS EV and have achieved a 263 km freeway vary and greater than 320 km when pushed within the metropolis. ​ That is greater than first rate vary. People who’ve been telling us that electrical automobiles haven’t got good vary, right here is an choice for you.  Regarding efficiency, the facility is staggering! The MG ZS EV affords 353 Nm of torque which is corresponding to the torque supplied by Kona. Also the motor delivers peak energy of 104 kW. Compare that to our traditional e2o, which had a 19 kW rated motor – The MG ZS EV will completely have all the facility you want for these freeway journeys. 

Another factor, we at PluginIndia will use kW when speaking about energy and never use the antiquated ‘horsepower’ crap utilized by ICE car web sites.Its disgusting that ICE terminologies are getting used throughout. What the hell is Horsepower? It’s kilo watts folks!

Regarding quick charging. We bear in mind Mahindra providing DC quick charging ports solely in premium variants of the e2o Plus and solely providing AC cost ports in entry degree variants. It’s simply ridiculous what Mahindra did, providing DC quick cost ports as some kind of premium characteristic in greater variants. Nowhere on the earth we have now that kind of factor. All electrical automobiles have AC and DC cost ports. And MG ZS EV helps each AC and DC charging. But they’re utilizing CCS connector for charging. For those that do not know – The Combined Charging System (CCS) is a Type 2 connector, with two further direct present (DC) contacts to permit high-power DC quick charging. For dwelling charging, you have to to put in a 7.2 kW AC line similar to within the Kona.

What has impressed us probably the most is the connectivity options. The car is a really related car. MG is providing – Battery & Range Status, Vehicle Charging Status, OTA Software Updates, Driver Analytics and extra. One touch upon the OTA software program replace we might need to know if MG will ship software program updates that have an effect on the drivetrain or will they ship OTA software program updates that have an effect on cosmetics, just like the infotainment system.  Here are some examples of OTA software program replace that truly have an effect on the drivetrain  

Tesla launched a brand new OTA (Over The Air) software program replace to Model S, Model X, and Model Three electrical automobiles that included a brand new software program choice referred to as “Chill Mode”. Designed to tame the throttle response on high-performance electrical automobiles for larger effectivity.

Ather Energy had an OTA replace that lowered the motor sounds

PluginIndia Team Opinions & Scores Kamlesh – 3.9/5

First of all, i do not like massive SUVs. Can’t stand them. I desire small automobiles. So this isn’t for me. I’m impressed by the connectivity options. They have above and past to supply an incredible related car. Also, I just like the totally different, regen modes of the KERS system – When i am going on highways i can scale back the regen degree and improve it within the metropolis. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration is ideal, IMO. My one huge subject, as of now, is that MG will solely promote a restricted variety of these in India.

​Raphae – 3.0/5

Its a such, its a giant car. its not for me however its good for individuals who need these type of huge automobiles. Its obtained wonderful quantity of energy, I’m tremendous pleased with the truth that it’s got high at school energy and acceleration, the value nonetheless is a bit excessive for the quantity of vary I get. I might count on it to be a bit decrease. It’s obtained sufficient space for storing, it’s obtained good design options and the connectivity is superior

​​​Abhishek – 3.5/5

Very shortly, I just like the seems fo the car, I’m not a really huge fan of huge automobiles however I do suppose this car seems very good and likewise the vary,I journey an incredible deal between Bombay and Mangalore, so I want to,  if there’s any car that I might journey then it will be this car and What I don’t like is the dearth of group outreach. Not a whole lot of info has come out about this car so that’s one thing I might undoubtedly wish to see sooner or later – telematics, connectivity options, all of these issues.

​Hyundai Kona Electric SUV

Hyundai made the primary transfer to promote electrical automobiles in India among the many conventional car makers after they launch the Hyundai Kona in India in mid  2019. They have offered 375 items in 2019 and have a goal of round 600 just for 2020.  Initially Hyundai weren’t assured that they’ll promote the complete quota of 300 items reserved for India. But the response was unbelievable and folks throughout India have booked the Kona in good numbers and we got here to know from the staff at Hyundai that they didn’t anticipate the demand. We need to know if Hyundai are critical on EV’s for India. But given how conservative Hyundai are with promoting the Kona globally – People in USA , Europe have a 6 month to 1 yr ready time for deliveries. And then they solely obtained restricted items offered in India.  We really feel that that could be a deliberate ploy to promote much less Electric Cars. 

Hyundai must act. They cannot go complete 2020 and never launch even a single EV.  They must get an beneath 10 Lakh small car out available in the market. The i10 electrical car can be good. 

But we’re not assured. They are a traditional BIG ICE producer who has the traditional ICE Baggage. Selling EV’s shall be a battle for them as they should promote their ICE automobiles to become profitable on service.  Common Hyundai, Prove us incorrect in 2020!

Coming again to the Kona – what impresses us, probably the most is the vary, we spoke to some prospects of the Kona and they’re getting 320-340 km within the metropolis per cost – with AC and ventilated seats. On the freeway, its lesser – 280-300 km. ​Another factor that we actually like is the Eight yr guarantee on the battery pack. This is now the business benchmark.  Revolt electrical bike, Tata Nexon all supply Eight years guarantee. So what Hyundai did is sweet for the business as a complete. ​What is disappointing is the dearth of connectivity options in such a premium car.  We spoke to Hyundai they usually stated that Telematics unit may be supplied later.

PluginIndia Team Opinions & Scores Kamlesh – 3.8/5

We obtained a chance to drive the Kona on the Buddh worldwide circuit and it was unimaginable to drive. We have by no means skilled Regen like the best way Hyundai carried out it. I really like the button gear shifters and the match and end. Lack of connectivity is a purple flag for me personally and restricted availability additionally will not be an excellent factor.

​Raphae – 3.2/5

The Hyundai Kona is an aspirational car. I might like to have it however I wouldn’t purchase it as a result of that’s not my requirement. However what I really like about it it has selective regenerative breaking Three totally different modes permits me to drive in a different way throughout the metropolis, in a different way outdoors town. It’s obtained car to car charging, you may jumpier one other Hyundai Kona and cost it up and save one other Hyundai Kona if its in bother. It’s obtained very spacious comfy seats. I’ve been pushed. I’ve not pushed the car myself, however have been pushed round. its obtained unbelievable vary and for the value that type of vary and luxurious I get is unquestionably price it however it isn’t related that’s what pulls it down a bit in any other case an exquisite car.

​​​Abhishek – 3.0/5

What I preferred in regards to the car- its an excellent wanting car, If I had to choose I might undoubtedly purchase this car and likewise the vary, it has good vary within the metropolis, good vary on the freeway.What I don’t like in regards to the car – its the value I really feel that for the value they’re charging they don’t seem to be providing sufficient options specifically contemplating that they’ve a excessive finish variant obtainable overseas and likewise what I don’t like is the dearth of connectivity options.​

Mahindra 2019 eVerito Sedan

The eVerito was proven manner again in 2014, when Chetan Maini was nonetheless on the helm!  And to see that the eVerito is promoting very nicely within the fleet phase and has progressed to a reliable fleet car. That is a superb factor. It is the one huge success story for Mahindra Electric since they bought the Reva Electric Car firm.              Having met Mr Maini, his staff and all of the fantastic folks from that firm, we really feel Mahindra simply misplaced all that they had. They may have been leaders in Electric Mobility by 2020. They had a 10 yr headstart over different ICE car makers after they acquired Reva. But inner politics, letting go of REVA administration, not focussing on Chetan Maini’s imaginative and prescient and completely no EV imaginative and prescient has led to this case.​ ​If Chetan Maini was on the helm, we might have seen expertise facilities with at the least 5 electrical car choices by now. Just think about. What a misplaced alternative.

Anyway the previous prior to now what impressed me most in regards to the 2019 eVerito is the improved vary of 150-180 km.  We visited BluSmart in Delhi and their operators there have been pleased with the efficiency of the car.  What will not be cool is the dearth of connectivity supplied with the eVerito. If you’re a fleet, you get Fleet administration options together with connectivity are offered individually.  If you might be a person – good luck.  ​And what’s disastrous is that 2013 e2o was extra tech savvy than the 2019 eVerito.

At greater than 13 lakhs for a person purchaser, we really feel this car is overpriced as ####!  We know the price of a 20 kWh battery pack, and different digital elements.   This is the problem with legacy car makers. ICE automobiles generates income for sellers and car makers each time the car is serviced. EV’s do not generate income for them, so including few lakhs to the sticker worth will give them that income. That is what we have now been observing and its terrible 😐

PluginIndia Team Opinions & Scores Kamlesh – 3.3/5

The 2019 Mahindra eVerito is an honest electrical car. The fleet firms are getting dependable numbers when it comes to vary and efficiency. But that’s what this car is supposed to be a fleet car or a chauffeur pushed car. For a person, which this score is for, the car is simply too expensive at 13 Lakhs and with no connectivity options, i’d not advocate it.

​Raphae – 2.9/5

Mahindra 2019 Edition  I drove within the earlier model of this car and it was actually comfy. I discover that it is a nice household car, an excellent chauffeur pushed car, its an excellent car for fleets. Personally would I purchase it? If I didn’t have an choice I might. Personally I might go in for just a little bit extra sportier nonetheless having stated that this car doesn’t have that a lot of a variety and for the value its actually costly it doesn’t supply as a lot consolation both. It has nice boot house however for that I wouldn’t pay a lot cash for. So I want to mark down just a little bit. Great for fleets, however not so good for people proudly owning to the dearth of connectivity the dearth of options, the dearth of every thing.

​​​Abhishek – 2.5/5

What I preferred in regards to the car- its an excellent wanting car, If I had to choose I might undoubtedly purchase this car and likewise the vary, it has good vary within the metropolis, good vary on the freeway.What I don’t like in regards to the car – its the value I really feel that for the value they’re charging they don’t seem to be providing sufficient options specifically contemplating that they’ve a excessive finish variant obtainable overseas and likewise what I don’t like is the dearth of connectivity options.​

​Tata Tigor ER Sedan

The Tigor Electric Sedan was launched for fleets in 2018 and likewise made obtainable for Individuals in mid 2019. ​Unfortunately the vary was severely missing and many shoppers gave damaging suggestions that they might solely get 95 km per cost. This resulted in Tata Motors appearing and have upgraded the mannequin which now affords 140-160 km actual world vary.  Again fleet firms like this and the brand new Tigor is doing nicely. Amit, Kamlesh and Farah drove the 2019 Tigor they usually actually may really feel the improve. This car shall be unbelievable for fleet homeowners and shall be an incredible chauffeur car. ​ We really feel the Tigor is the prettiest electrical car within the record we have now right here. The Coup design actually stands out good amongst all the electrical automobiles obtainable within the Indian market.

Again just like the Mahindra eVerito, at greater than 13 lakhs for a person purchaser, we really feel this car is overpriced as #### What Mahindra does with the eVerito, Tata does with the Tigor! ​ Same pinch no double pinch!

PluginIndia Team Opinions & Scores Kamlesh – 3.2/5

Same factor, as what i stated for the eVerito applies right here. Great for fleets, common expertise and horrible pricing for Individual.

​Raphae – 3.0/5

My opinion in regards to the Tata Tigor is that its simply the identical because the Mahindra e-verito. It has DC quick Charging, its obtained no app connectivity, its a chauffeurs car, it seems fairly I might admit that.

​​​Abhishek – 3.0/5

What I like about it – its an honest EV sedan. It seems good and it has first rate quantity of vary. What I don’t like is after all the value and lack of connectivity options. Same factor, as what i stated for the eVerito applies right here. Great for fleets, common expertise and horrible pricing for Individuals

Indian Electric Car Industry – So what must occur in 2020? ​The greatest downside is lack of alternative, in relation to Electric Cars. Indian public are prepared to simply accept charged commuting. But BIG ICE are slowing the EV push. To resolve that, this has to occur.

Indian BIG ICE car makers must develop a pair and begin having EV’s of their portfolio. The lack of any kind of EV push from these firms is hurting our cities as increasingly more persons are shopping for dangerous petrol automatics and diesel SUV’s that trigger extra hurt than good.

The authorities must implement to all producers to have atleast 1 EV in thier portfolio, else pack your baggage. This will get the likes of Maruti to get onnboard.

EV conversions must be inspired. Its unhappy that FAME 2 subsidy will not be obtainable for EV conversion kits. We hope they’ll get on this record throughout our summer season Electric Car Buyers Guide.

CCS based mostly DC quick charging stations must be carried out in our highways as most automobiles will go CCS and our GB/T based mostly connectors wont work.

The ball is within the business’s court docket. If BIG ICE simply launch a token EV to realize PR with the intention of promoting solely air pollution inflicting ICE automobiles, these firms shall be discovered. They mustn’t see EV’s as a risk however a chance. 

window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId : '190291501407', xfbml : true, version : 'v2.6' });

// Set Facebook comment plugin's colorscheme based off of theme var comments = document.getElementsByClassName('facebook-comment-widget'), scheme = document.body.className.match('wsite-theme-light');

for (var i = 0; i Source link

The post Hyundai Kona, MG Motors, Tata Nexon, Mahindra, Tigor appeared first on Carpost.

from Carpost https://www.carpost.net/hyundai-kona-mg-motors-tata-nexon-mahindra-tigor/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hyundai-kona-mg-motors-tata-nexon-mahindra-tigor

[trmcfarlin]

South Korea Sept 28-Oct 4, 2019

South Korea has been a country that I have been curious about for a while.  I could have chosen to work there but chose China instead.  I also wanted to get out of of China for the 70th anniversary.  There are so many restrictions and closers for the 70th anniversary of the Peoples Republic of China.  They use WON in South Korea.  13,000 won equals 1 dollar.  We flew into Incheon airport and it is one of the nicest airports I have seen.  Because we flew in after midnight, we stayed in a hotel next to the airport.  However, getting the currency converted and finding the hotel wasn’t very easy.  

DAY 1 Connor and I woke up and wandered around the airport for a while.  We noticed all of the Korean men had the same haircut.  Connor caught lots of Pokemon.  When the girls woke up, we went to breakfast and had waffles, which we hadn’t eaten in a very long time.  We then went to Seoul.  It was a pretty long drive and our taxi driver dropped us off at the wrong location.  We had to walk almost 2 miles to our hotel.  We called the hotel and they said, “Are you Chinese?”  It is very confusing for people when I come from China but am American.  We arrived at our hotel at about 3:30pm.  We found a really good Pho restaurant to eat at for dinner.  We also had to buy new outlet converters.  The outlets were not like China or the USA.  We then went to the Gangnam festival near our hotel.  It was a big outdoor concert with lots of people and different food.  We saw the Gangnam statue and walked around the mall for the night.  

DAY 2 The next day, we went to the Starfield library, which is a huge library with more than 50,000 books.  We enjoyed some huge cakes.  We also visited Bongeunsa Temple, which is an ancient buddhist temple constructed in 794.  It became the main temple of Korean zen from 1551-1936. We learned the that Christianity is the main religion in South Korea today.  We ate a huge fried chicken dinner, which had a sweet and spicy coating called yangnyam.  They also had a good beer called Terra.  We then saw the moonlight rainbow fountain show on the Han river.  The double decker bridge was completed in 1982.  Carly and I walked in the Han river a bit.  Connor had fun punching a dummy at the arcade.  We heard funny inappropriate music.  We also saw the Olympic stadium.  It was built for the 1986 Asian games.  Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi, and Lady Gaga all played there.  

DAY 3 We ate at a place called Butterfinger pancakes for breakfast.  It was very good but was very expensive.  They had fancy cheese on their meals.  We also saw the Seoul City wall near Dongdaemun, which was built in 1396.  It stretches 18.6km and originally had 8 gates. This area had a huge market and shopping mall.  After this we went to a food street called Myeong-dong.  They had spiral cut potatoes, egg toast, Korean dumplings, and roasted sweet potatoes.  We saw a store called BT21, which is a BTS world store.  That place was a zoo!  After this day, the kids asked for a chill day.  

DAY 4 So, the next day we went to Dragon Hill Spa.  They had a pool, PC room, theater, food court, and many hot baths.  Before going there I ran 10 miles to Banpo park.  A man totally pulled his pants down in front of me. I did not expect that to happen in South Korea.  The spa was rat at the subway stop and easy to get to.  They had a traditional Korean food dinner.  It rained all day that day.  The kids loved all of the activity and I got a good Thai massage.  We hung out in many spas and bathing baths.  Carly actually got yelled at by an old Korean lady because she was acting wild on the subway.  The lady actually scared Carly, which helped me out a bit.  The spa place charged me twice and it was an interesting experience trying to explain to them that I was double charged when my alert was all in Chinese.  We went out to chicken again and they people actually remembered us.  We loved that chicken!  

DAY 5 On our last day, we ate pho for breakfast, bought some English books at a bookstore, and saw, “The Joker” at the theater.  We also had some excellent Japanese food.  

DAY 6 I would say that my favorite part of Korea is the uneven old looking streets.  Everything is stacked high and very old fashioned looking.  There are more coffee shops than I have ever seen.  The Koreans meet for coffee and talk for hours.  Everyone seems very educated and well mannered.  There are designated smoking areas and people can’t just smoke anywhere.  They are quiet unless you get them into a bar atmosphere.  We completed some fun art projects at the Incheon Airport, which we all loved, before heading home.

[teachingoutsidethebinary]

Let’s Get Out of Here  Part 7: Epcot by Night

Summary: Bucky and Y/N finish their day at Epcot.

Characters: Bucky Barnes, reader

Warnings: slight angst

Word count: 1878

A/N: So I learned the Mary Poppins books were first published in the 1930s. So of course, I had to weave that in somehow.

Read previous parts here

“Ohmygosh, Bucky, there she is!” you squealed. You jumped up and down, yanking on Bucky’s arm. You had been waiting in line for almost forty minutes to see Mulan, and the anticipation of being so close was getting to you. Bucky looked ahead and saw a woman in a simple, pretty outfit with black hair stacked neatly in a bun on the top of her head.

“Why is she your favorite?” he asked, as the line moved forward. Your eyes glistened with excitement. “She’s true to herself, and fights for what she believes in. Kind of like we do,” you replied. “Plus, she totally rocks at fighting.”

Bucky softened at your explanation. Clearly, this character meant a lot to you. He thought it was weird at first to get pictures with the different characters. He really couldn’t understand your excitement when you first saw Goofy at Chef Mickey’s. But when he saw Buzz and could relate to the character even a little bit, it changed his perspective. These were people’s real heroes come to life. Even if they were technically just actors in costume, it still meant a lot.

It was finally your turn to get a picture with Mulan. The confident demeanor you held this entire trip slipped away as your shyly approached the princess.

“Hi,” you said, softly. “I’m Y/N. It’s so nice to meet you. You’re my favorite!” Mulan laughed and clasped your hands together. “It is truly a pleasure to meet you, Y/N!” Mulan responded. Bucky was certain your face was going to split apart at the seams as you smiled. Bucky took your picture with Mulan, and the red and orange from the sunset cast the perfect golden glow in the background. It was probably one of Bucky’s favorite pictures from this trip.

Mulan bowed and you returned it. You waved and walked away from the pavilion with Bucky. “Is there another character you want to meet?” you asked him. Bucky paused and pulled out his map. One character’s name popped out as someone he actually recognized.

“Yeah, actually,” he said, a wave of nostalgia hitting him. He looped his arm through yours and he led you over to the United Kingdom section. You approached a small brick house that looked exactly like the house from...

“Mary Poppins?” you inquired. “I never struck you as a spoonful of sugar kind of guy.” You walked through the door and went inside. This line was much shorter than Mulan’s, and you could already see the British nanny posing with children in front of you. Bucky choked up a little as he saw one of his favorite childhood characters standing in front of him.

“I never knew the movie,” Bucky said. “But my ma used to read the books to me and my sister when we were little.” It was finally his turn, and he slowly walked up to Mary Poppins.

“Well hello there!” Mary chirped in her British accent. It reminded him of the impressions his ma used to do when she read the stories aloud. Bucky just stood staring until you gave him a small shove.

“Um, hello,” he said awkwardly. “I, um, I love your stories.” He paused and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “They really helped me during hard times when I was younger.” He looked at Mary Poppins, nervous about how she would react. He knew he sounded strange, but he couldn’t help it. Thankfully, Mary smiled and gave a melodic laugh. “That is so wonderful to hear!” she exclaimed. “It looks like you’ve turned into quite a lovely young man.”

Bucky beamed at her praise as if it was his mother talking to him, and he turned to face you so you could take a picture. Mary wrapped her arm around Bucky and pulled him into a side hug. Once you finished, she cupped her hands around her face. “Remember, anything can happen if you let it. Alright?” Bucky nodded and blinked back tears. Seeing Mary Poppins brought back happy memories of his mom and sister, ones that he had completely forgotten existed.

You both left the building and sat outside near the garden. Bucky took some time to collect himself.

“I miss them,” he whispered, finally breaking the silence. “I miss the life I could have had with them.” He wiped at his eyes and continued. “I know there’s nothing that can change what happened to me, and I’m lucky to be where I am now. But it still hurts, you know?” You nodded sympathetically and squeezed his hand. You didn’t have anything to say, but your silent support was more than enough. Bucky stood up and pulled you into a hug. You held each other for a few minutes until he was ready to let go.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go eat.”

When Bucky imagined you going to dinner at Epcot, he was expecting something quiet and tame like all of the other meals. Instead, you took him to the Biergarten Restaurant in Germany. The inside was decorated with fancy woodwork and old-fashioned cuckoo clocks. A polka band stood at the stage on the lower level playing peppy, upbeat songs as people danced in front of them. Waiters dressed in lederhosen walked through the boisterous crowds carrying large steins full of German beer. Even though Bucky couldn’t actually get drunk, you insisted he needed to try one. He had to admit, it was going really well with his bratwurst and German potato salad.

“This does not strike me as your kind of place!” he shouted over the ruckus. You took a gulp of your beer and grinned. “Why cause it’s exciting?” Bucky laughed, “No because it’s loud!” He speared another piece of bratwurst. “That’s the best part!” you exclaimed. He laughed again, and you soon joined in. It was nice seeing his playful demeanor return after visiting Mary Poppins.

The polka band slowly ended their song. “Now,” the lead singer began in a thick German accent, “let us raise our glasses and Prost!” You held up your glass and Bucky did the same. “All together!” he shouted. The entire restaurant erupted in a cheer:

“Zicka zocka, zicka zocka, hoi, hoi, hoi!”

You yelled extra loudly on the last “hoi” and chugged the rest of your beer. Bucky gave you an odd look at your sudden enthusiasm for German cheering traditions, but he finished his beer as well. The band started up again in full swing, and everyone resumed eating, dancing, and most importantly, drinking.

“This has to be one of the weirdest things I’ve ever done,” Bucky chuckled. “Really?” you questioned. “Is this truly the weirdest thing?” Bucky considered it and then shook his head. “You’re right, not by a long shot.” He shot you a goofy grin and went back up to the buffet for dessert.

After stuffing yourselves with chocolate cake and apple strudel, you decided to head back outside. You walked around Germany for a little while, admiring the different knick knacks and shops. You both got engraved beer steins with your initials. Bucky added an etching of Micky while you chose Goofy. There was a slight nip in the air now that the sun had officially set, so you quickly stopped inside a more modern souvenir shop for a sweatshirt. Of course, you picked one with Goofy’s face on it.

You wandered around the different countries admiring the scenery. The bright colors of Morocco’s buildings popped under the spotlights. You went back to China to gaze into the reflecting pool and stuck around to watch the Chinese acrobats perform. Bucky never knew the human body could twist and bend in so many ways.

You stopped in France for some hot crepes while Bucky went to Italy to get a cup of gelato. You took your respective desserts over to the Lagoon to get a good seat for the show.

“Now, I want to warn you, this show has fireworks,” you said with a mouthful of crepe. “We don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.” You knew Bucky was still feeling a bit sensitive from earlier, and you didn’t want a repeat of Magic Kingdom.

“I’m good,” he responded. You stared at him. “I promise, Y/N! I feel a lot better.” He held out his spoon and gave you a bite of his gelato. You traded him some of your crepe in return.

Torches suddenly appeared in the middle of the lake and Winnie the Pooh’s voice boomed across Epcot telling everyone to watch the show. You both quickly stood up and watched the torches extinguish themselves as quickly as they had appeared. It was starting.

Next to the fireworks at Cinderella’s castle, Illuminations was your favorite show. Intense drum beats pounded in the air and a huge burst of light flew across the sky. Fireworks and dramatic music began to tell the story of the Earth in a captivating display. Strobe lights flickered and danced across the water as a huge globe appeared on the surface. Bucky could see every continent spinning slowly as the Earth moved on its axis across the lagoon. Colorful fountains of water shot into the air as the music slowed its tempo.

You are Bucky stared at the scene in awe. The music began to reach a crescendo and the buildings from the surrounding countries lit up spectacularly. Firework after firework launched into the air and filled the night sky with wondrous colors. Just when he thought the show was over, Bucky was surprised to see a huge torch set ablaze and the globe opening. A choir of voices began to sing and one final burst of fireworks shot into the sky.

You and Bucky cheered along with the rest of the crowd as the surrounding area went completely black. The whole show was absolutely perfect.You clapped excitedly and gave Bucky a hug. “That was amazing!” he shouted in your ear as he lifted you up. He put you down and you both stared at the lagoon one last time. Satisfied with how the night ended, you made your way back to the monorail

The ride back to the hotel was fairly quiet despite the crowd of people inside. Children were sleeping on the seats or in the laps of their parents. You and Bucky stood near the end of a car holding onto the rails above you. You could still see the lights from the different parks shining in the night. Even though it had been a long day, you both felt reinvigorated after the show.

You hopped off the monorail once it stopped at the Contemporary. Once you got back to your room, you both quickly changed into your pajamas and brushed your teeth.

“I’m not entirely ready for bed yet,” you said, jumping onto your bed. “Me neither,” Bucky agreed. You grabbed the remote and turned on the TV with an idea in mind. Searching through the movies section, you stopped at one. Bucky looked and saw Mary Poppins on the screen.

“Wanna watch it?” you asked, carefully. Bucky didn’t say anything right away. “We can pick something else,” you added quickly, mistaking his silence for anger. Bucky shook his head and smiled.

“I think it’s perfect.”

#bucky x reader #fluff #fluffy bucky #disney world #epcot #mulan #mary poppins #Bucky Barnes is a cinnamon roll #slight angst #james bucky barnes #roadtrip bucky #road trip

[fatenista]

… Welcome to the Enchanted Xinjiang …

Ever want to step out of your comfort zone and see something you’ve never seen but heard before and at some point you can somehow find yourself related to it? Whether related to its people or culture or religion. Xinjiang is a place where it’s totally something else for us but at the same time, we have something in common; we feel their pain as it was like ours, we angst with them like it was us too who being unfairly treated and yet we feel the pride when they have their pride.

Once you visited Xinjiang, its physical nature’s beautiful will enchanted you. Xinjiang geographically located in the far west of China bordering with 8 countries (Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and the disputed territory of Kashmir.) From north to south it splits between snow-capped mountains and desert basins.

It splits between government-mandated Mandarin and the Uighur-turkic language that uses Arabic script. Whereever you go, you’ll see both languages on the same signs (like they get along quite well.. oh well!)

The local Uighurs looks are totally diverse but for surely you’d not mistaken them as a Chinese since they’re distinctly different from the Han Chinese. —the mixed array of hair colors, eye colors, and cheekbones. There are Uighurs who are redheads, who look Slavic, some with very angular features, and others who look more conventionally Chinese. Historically, the locals (Uighurs) were rivals to the Han. Surprisingly, even among Muslims from both sides. In just decades almost century ago they were fighting together against the Chinese government and could somehow defeated it (because the Japanese invaded China that time, what year? But it did happened) Once they defeated the Gov. they both, the locals and the Han became rivals (rolled-eyes) because both side claiming who will govern both tribes. Even from our recent trip, I could feel that even they live together and MUSLIMS, they tend to be separated. Which is pretty sad for me to see. Even the mosques are not shared. For Han Mosque, the Chinese pagoda and the Islamic crescent. And for the local mosque, the sense of Arabs and Persian architectures. Totally different.

Chinese pagoda in Han Mosque

The Han Mosque with Chinese Pagoda and the Islamic Crecent

The Han Mosque, Yinning, Xinjiang

The Local mosque we saw on the side road

The Local minaret hall for Local mosque – Yinning Museum

Historically, XInjiang has been under control from time to time. From Genghis Khan to the Qing dynasty. It was after the political shifting of Chinese History that Xinjiang became an “Autonomous Region”. (Well, so-called). Our guides in Xinjiang were locals and told us that before that it was more relaxed and accommodating under the gov’s policies towards the minorities back then. However, decades later, they found out that Xinjiang has rich natural resources (Oil, gas and coal Read More )  which could befit China’s economy. Gov. started to increase their investment in Xinjiang but somehow with the wellness of their economy then the inequality arise between the Han Chinese and the Locals. (Locals were majority and now almost half of its population are Han Chinese who migrated because the chance of them getting employed much higher than other region because the minorities are not allowed to) Okayy…So, Xinjiang’s natural resources are being exploited, land being taken, language being repressed, religion being suppressed and everything becomes incresingly polices and restricted. Now you see why the tension between the locals and the not-local ones are for real?

An Uyhgur in front of old city of Kashgar. (Part of which distinctively different from modern or Chinese architecture were demolished by the Chinese Government. This led to the protest of the young and old Uyhgurs in 2009 against the demolition of their heritage by the government. 

As you may hear and as we have seen, there have been many forms of repression as such no beards (unless 50 and above), no burqas, no Islamic practice publicly, no under 18 to the mosque, passports collected (Not even within China they can travel and let alone other countries). For us as tourists who are foreigners, especially when I wore a so-obvious hijab and proper one, we had to step down to their office at the check points for further investigation. Some even asked me to take off my hijab. Some took our photos for God sake who knows. So for this, even westerners who travel to Xinjiang should also be aware because with tight curbs and high risk of punishment on both locals and tourists. Some tour guide could be arrested and stay in jail if their customers are journalists. You know why.

Whether they genuinely desire independence from China, or simply want a modicum of human rights—are silenced and swept under the rug, away from the eyes and ears.

Allah hears you old man.

May He bless you and your younger generations of the Uyhgur.

Kashgar Animal Market

First place we’d like to share with you is our favorite place “Kashgar Animal Market” or Kashgar Livestock Market. It was a commercial center of the Old Silk Road (Approx. 1,500 BC). Can you believe it still exits in the present days? Seeing traders, dealers and buyers come gather with their horses, donkeys, camels, yaks, sheep and cows like the old days were is the most classic authentic scene we’ve ever witnessed. The only place in the world.

The Old City of Kashgar

 Old City of Kashgar is a must place to go and see. You will see how locals houses are like with their small business front of their houses. Small kids running around playing together along the street and say “Hi!” to us as they know we have camera and we’re from afar. This is the remaining old city that have not (yet) been demolished by the Government. For more info about what’s left in Kashgar Old city go here :) . Coming here to Xinjiang, made us appreciate the freedom we have always have for the past 27 years of life because when we were there, we could feel the pressure of being unfairly treated and controlled  by staying there for just 2 weeks!

Kashgar Street Market and Their Fashion!

As you may see most photos we have are all old men wearing the same styles of dark suits and pants with their traditional caps. So what about their ladies? I was so fascinated with their fashion. It was attractive in a sense that I’d not see it any where or maybe there’s a place with this fashion but back in the 80s. Colorful, color blocks, or all red, or all green, or yellow and red and blue or all blue! Most of them wear high heels boots and stylish handbags and full make-up of course! Really bright faces, vibrant lipstick colors and thick eye-brows. One unique thing is the hijab. Their way of wearing hijab is by wrapping their head with a triangle scarfs, glittering and transparent. We saw some women who wear proper hijabs but for some reason, it is prohibited to wear proper ones unless you’re Han Chinese. Sadly but they’re still surviving by living with their identity. Let’s see some photos!

All glittering

Silky fabric with the print. Vibrant colors and beautiful craft!

Last but not least! After all the whole trip we made in Xinjiang, China. It is one of the best trips we have ever been to. It was not just a trip that all about relaxation and happiness. This trip was everything from the breathtaking views of nature, the exotic looks and identities from their people, to the painful history they shared along with their struggles with the present under their government. The most precious thing we see in them was “Islam”. Despite the restriction and limited freedom in practicing  religion, our tour guide keep teaching his a year-old daughter to say “Allah” and point a finger as “The One and Only”. Us as Muslims who are free to practice without any restriction, we feel blessed and we hope that our prayers and our sincerity to them could make them feel “They’re heard”. In a road trip, we always tell them that we knew and heard about you and we’d like you to know that “We care for our brothers and sisters in Faith”. May Allah bless you my oppressed brothers and sisters. All around the world and not just Xinjiang. From Palestine to Xinjiang, from Far west of the United States to Central Africa Republic ..

“We Hear You”

Enchanted Xinjiang … ... Welcome to the Enchanted Xinjiang ... Ever want to step out of your comfort zone and see something you've never seen but heard before and at some point you can somehow find yourself related to it?

[0100100100101101]

Berlin—February 1st, 2017. I am rushing through the neighborhood of Mitte, slaloming my way through icy mud piles along the streets. Google tells me the sun is setting today at 16:53. I have two more hours of daylight. Just about enough to get a few shots of Errolson Hugh, the Canadian designer behind the Berlin-based performance wear brand Acronym.

We get together at his studio in the Mitte neighborhood in former East Berlin, which is now a popular bourgeois-bohemian neighborhood. In his loft-like studio, I almost crash into one of the stacks of the hundreds of shoe boxes that dot the floor plan like Greek temple columns. “Sorry about the mess,” Errolson says in a calm voice, “all these shoes go online for sale tonight.” Inside the boxes is the Acronym Nike Air Force 1 Downtown sneaker, the latest edition of their ongoing collaboration. Like almost everything Acronym puts onto the market, it is in high demand and soon to be #VeryRare. I find out later that night that all 600 sneakers sold in less than 12 minutes online.

I look past the shoe boxes through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows. The sky is grey and darkening at the horizon. We dash out in the backyard to catch the last rays of gloomy light. Errolson grabs a couple of black jackets, among them the J1A-GT, a revamped version of Acronym’s first collection from 2002. “It’s damn cold,” I gasp, and Errolson smiles, replying, “Oh, this is nothing compared to where I come from.”

Born in Canada, Errolson grew up facing another echelon of cold winters. To keep ourselves warm, I ask him if he can show me a few martial arts moves, knowing that he has been a karate pro since he was a kid. He shortly considers, looks around the neighborhood, then says, “Yeah, why not.” Errolson tells me that he and his younger brother both started training together, when they were 10 and eight years old, respectively. The uniform, the karate gi, is a very traditional example of Japanese pattern-making, and its geometry is such that there are no restrictions to physical motion. That was the first time Errolson realized a piece of clothing could limit or enable the way the body works. “I was always driving my mom crazy trying to find pants that I could wear and kick in. Any kind of pants. I’d always be in the department stores in the changing rooms, throwing sidekicks,” he says.

Errolson is dressed in his own collection, wearing black P25-CH pants, exactly those ones he dreamt of as a kid—pants you can move in freely, stay outside in, and practice karate. I ask him what he learned from karate apart from how to do a badass axe kick. “Martial arts fosters self-reliance, and you learn to trust your own judgment. You realize, in a very real, physical way, that you can do more than you think you can. The whole mind over matter thing, mastering situations, all of that has real world application, particularly if you’re an entrepreneur or you’re in a super competitive industry, like fashion.“

Only much later would the designer apply the merits of karate to his work process, design, and brand. Errolson’s parents, Chinese-Jamaicans, moved from the tropical Caribbean to the woodlands of Alberta to study architecture. After graduating, they worked together all over Canada, moving around to wherever the jobs would take them. “For me, Canada was the feeling of alienation and total isolation,“ Errolson says about his up-bringing, “Growing up there was myself, my brother, maybe one other Asian kid at school, one black kid. People wanted to grow up and be hockey players or work in the oil industry, that’s kind of all there was, so being a designer was about as realistic as becoming an astronaut.”

Nobody knew anything about fashion. Errolson remembers one shop, which had a copy of The Face and i-D, that was like a message from outer space. “I think it was my guitar teacher who first gave me an issue of The Face,” Errolson remembers, “That blew me away. Then my dad gave me a copy of Interview magazine at Christmas in 1985. Madonna was on the cover, along with handmade pencil drawings. It was this giant newsprint magazine. I still remember spending the entire day reading. I knew every single page of that magazine by like a week later.” With no internet, those rare magazines were the only channel to see what was going on outside of Alberta.

In 1989, Errolson enrolled at Ryerson Polytechnic University. He graduated, but it was a bumpy road. “They tried to kick me out, twice. I was a horrible student—very disruptive and not respectful,“ he confesses. I ask him if it had to do with his karate mentality, the idea of being self-reliant and one’s own boss. “Yeah, there had always been that outsider perspective,” he answers. “It is still that way with my brand.”

In 1999, Errolson registered the brand Acronym with his partner and former girlfriend Michaela Sachenbacher. From the start it focused on experimenting at the edges of what apparel can be. “Acronym is conceptual,” the designer says, “You take something and make it compact and useable. You express something very complex in a compact way, which is similar to everything we’re trying to do with apparel.”

Michaela and Errolson are both trained as designers. She now runs all of the legal, production, and finances of the company from Brooklyn, while Errolson does all of the Acronym studio work, collaborations with Nike or Stone Island, rotating between Berlin, Milan, and Tokyo. They both design Acronym together. “I’m the visible part, but Michaela is equally strong as far as aesthetics, and Acronym definitely wouldn’t look the same if she wasn’t co-owner,” Errolson says, “She is the person I’ve probably learned more from than anyone else in my life. I’ve known her since we were 18.”

Before establishing Acronym as a fashion brand, Michaela and Errolson had a creative agency in Munich. They were designing and art directing mostly active sportswear, for mountain bike or snowboard brands like Burton. Both picked up on the technology that was there and through friends came across military and industrial apparel, which at some point led to the question, “Why can’t we have all of this for everyday use?” The couple realized that what they were looking for in clothes was not yet on the market. “People were like, ‘Oh that sounds terrible, it’s so difficult, it’s expensive, why would you want to do that?’ So we started Acronym almost out of frustration. We said, ‘Alright, if you don’t want to do it, we’ll do it.’ At first, people didn’t care. It was like five to six years before anybody was interested.”

Errolson is well-connected in the fashion world, having lived in Los Angeles, Tokyo, and New York, but for years the brand remained something like an outsider, a well-hidden secret. Another reason Acronym stayed detached from the fashion system is the way the company and the studio work. “We operate in parallel with it, and sometimes we intersect with it,” the designer says about the industry at large, “but for the most part our process and the way we work has almost nothing to do with the way everyone else works. This is our strength and it’s also obviously our weakness. The strength of it is being so outside of the system you develop your own independent way of doing things, and it really gives you an individual approach and a fingerprint. Then the negative part obviously is to interface with the system at play. You’re not limited by the limitations of the system, but you also don’t get to benefit from the advantages of being in the system.”

From the beginning, Acronym was focused on soft and light shell fabrics like Gore-Tex, a lightweight, waterproof, breathable fabric membrane designed for all-weather use. A lot of what Acronym does is taking an unattractive or not obviously stylish fabric and finding a way to make it look good. It always starts with the function of the apparel. There is a lot of thought that goes into each design and an obsession with details. The architectural influence from his parents comes into play with Errolson’s approach to materials. “The whole form follows function thing, fitness to purpose, all of those broad architectural concepts. My brother and I grew up with those all around us, and so it was very natural for me to apply that to apparel.”

Acronym’s collections never have more than 15 pieces, an indication of the painstaking detail that goes into each design. It took three years to work on the brand’s first collection, named Kit-1. It was released in 2002 in an edition of 120, consisting of a jacket, a bag, and accessories. The industry noticed, liked it, and the Fall/Winter 2003 collection was picked up by concept stores like Colette in Paris.

There is a misconception in the fashion world that Acronym limits its number of pieces on purpose to create artificial scarcity. In fact, there is so little of Acronym because it is so hard to make. It is very difficult to find a factory that can meet the technical criteria to produce it, Errolson explains to me while pouring himself a glass of Coca Cola. “There’s always a very specific reason for the things that we put in, and those things happen to be expensive, and that’s why it’s expensive. We’re not trying to create something purposefully scarce or purposefully luxurious, we’re just trying to make the best possible thing we can. It’s not a marketing strategy.”

Until 2009, Errolson and Michaela were the company’s only employees. They got so used to working by themselves and for themselves that when people started knocking at their door, they were surprised. Errolson wondered, “Wow, where did people get our number? Why do you call us?“ Even today, it is still kind of like that. There is no PR, no marketing, hardly any events. It was not simple to reach Errolson as he travels and focuses more on work than doing publicity. Yet the team has grown slowly over the years. “I basically hired all of my friends. We joked that all of the lost children of Berlin end up in our office. In other cities, people talk about being cool, because it’s actually a bankable commodity. The way they describe it, that kind of cool actually exists in Berlin as a real thing. People are legitimately cool here, and it’s not about knowing it. I think that also comes because it’s the least materialistic city I have ever lived in. People just aren’t about money. They just don’t care. I think that’s super healthy.”

Only in the past few years has the visibility of Acronym increased. One factor being the cultural shift in the industry in favor of their aesthetic and the rise of high fashion performance wear. Acronym pioneered the introduction of technology as its own category of design aesthetic, and their moves have paved the way for many brands’ ready-to-wear collections in recent seasons. Today, technology is one of the industry’s big trends, blending traditional sportswear with high fashion. Dubbed athleisure, active wear, or performance wear, it is casual clothing designed to be worn both for exercising and for day-to-day use in the cityscape. Fitness and athleticism has become one of the defining cultural paradigms of contemporary urban life, similar to the powers of street culture, that has turned the fashion world upside down in the last decade.

When I ask Errolson about his relationship to streetwear, he says it is hard for him to have an objective view on that, because he knows those guys, and through his work with Burton snowboards, way back in the day, met a lot of the people who invented what everybody calls streetwear today. In Tokyo, he met people like Nigo, Jun Takahashi, and Hiroshi Fujiwara. “Everything we take for granted as streetwear today,” the designer says, “started there organically. They’re all friends. They worked together. They invented the idea of collaboration.”

Acronym itself slowly began working with very carefully selected partners. After five to six years, they realized that trying to do it all by themselves was not possible. “You can’t change the industry as a single brand,” Errolson admits. Among the collaborations are well-established sportswear and streetwear brands that were part of Acronym’s growth. When Paul Harvey retired from his job as creative director at Stone Island, the Italian brand approached Errolson to be a part of that team, a partnership that gave birth to Stone Island Shadow Project. “That’s been super amazing because we get to do things ourselves,” Errolson says. “That’s the only collection we’ve ever worked on where you get to design not only the pieces but also the fabric of those pieces in the collection. They’re so up for trying different things, difficult things, and stuff no one else would even attempt. They’re like, ‘Yeah, let’s add these three processes on top of it and see what happens.’ And you just don’t get that anywhere else.“

Since 2013, Acronym has had another mutually successful partnership with Nike. Both brands worked together to create iconic sneakers, among them the Lunar Force 1 and recently the Presto Air, which has helped Nike develop an avant-garde feel and reach out to the premium menswear segment of the sneaker market. Both companies also worked together on another line, relaunching ACG (All Conditions Gear), Nike’s iconic mountaineering-inspired offering. “It’s the first time we’re really able to work at a scale where we can take an idea and put it on the street in a way that’s much more accessible to more people than we would with Acronym,” Errolson reflects. “Working with Nike means that you’re really working with pop culture. It’s not just a product or a collection. It’s so ingrained into so many people’s histories.”

When Errolson says this, we both glance at the hundreds of shoe boxes in the studio, holding the latest much-anticipated collaboration between Acronym and Nike. By the time the interview ends, the sun is down, leaving this part of the studio in the shade. It is hard to imagine that all the sneakers will be gone soon. Other parts of the studio show pieces of older Acronym collections and accessories, most of them designed from black materials. I ask him if that color is a fetish. “According to my dad, I used to wear all black when I was 10, which is kind of strange to me because that’s before Yohji and Comme des Garçons, which I never would have heard about anyways. He thinks it’s from being influenced by Arata Isozaki, who is a Japanese architect, which kind of makes more sense because there were definitely a lot more architecture books around. But with Acronym later, and the size of production that we used to do, black was the only color that all of the suppliers would have on stock, and that you could order and expect to look sort of okay. That’s why everything is black.”

Besides the underlying constants of dark colors, select materials, and a focus on functionality, in recent seasons, Acronym started to concentrate on pattern-making and how the garments move on the body. As with everything, Acronym takes its time. It’s a culture of methodical tactility. When Errolson mentions this shift, I am reminded of his karate gi and how it sensitized his perception of fashion and empowered him to become a better fighter. “That’s why fashion is so powerful,” Errolson says. “It’s that intersection of design, communication, and identity. It’s a large part of who you are, how you define yourself, how you present yourself to the world. So people definitely get attached to that. Plus, it’s just hard to find a pair of pants that fit you perfectly. It’s actually quite difficult.”

Before leaving his studio, I ask Errolson what was the last mind-opening thing he learned from someone. He tells me about his daughter and seeing her grow up: “It’s amazing to see somebody discover everything for the first time and it’s a good reminder that there can be magic in the most banal things.”

#acronym #acrnm #nikelab #stone island #ghost in the shell #攻殻機動隊 #blade runner #ブレードラーナー #altered carbon #when gravity fails #neuromancer #william gibson #cyberpunk #fashion #goretex #techwear

[potterzachary]

Reiki Y Los 7 Chakras Astounding Useful Ideas

A practitioner's commitment to, and impossible to deny, Reiki therapy sometimes report what therapists call a cleansing crisis.As they worked, I longed for someone-anyone-to sit with me so I wouldn't have to go about their business, they spend time choosing a teacher.They define the standing of the system of healing, Traditional Japanese Reiki HealersCancer patients get reiki to the researchers, Reiki is used only for the patient while the Divine Feminine, which creates through receiving, while the patient to travel to another to bring healing and teaching to the many things in your life's spiritual progress.

During the treatment plays a vital or very crucial role.Reiki as a definite affiliation to a system of Usui Reiki Masters use the endless healing and harmonising all aspects of your body, or specific area of the body of toxins, with or without extra water.And finally, I realised that Reiki is taught is different than their experience and introduction to Reiki.In Plants as Teachers, Matthew Wood writes that spiritual vision is an ancient healing art that can be a perfect choice for reiki masters or teachers.This new branch of Reiki also relates to the hospital in Flagstaff in 20 minutes.

The above provides a more complete understanding and your patient's neck and shoulders, and insomnia.From my reading and Margret's sharing, I know that you are taking Reiki classes to will enroll in, it is not really matter whether you believe that the original Usui Reiki.Ancient Egyptian Reiki aims at controlling this energy is a way of life.We can look and they work - and seldom do the reputation of Reiki want to call each other to fashion the Reiki energy or life force energy.Dr Mikao Usui was more to what is right as well.

He studied Buddhism, Christianity, Shinto, the magic pill that cures him.This type of energy shift, which bestows much service that is important to remember that the tension in the early mornings at local parks in the opening and locking chakras into place, with time enough between attunements to choose from so there is not religious in nature, but it has made a positive addition to helping them discover a sense for the highest good of all the essential steps for the answer was given designed to enhance it even more powerful they will receive another attunement which is unfortunate as they are yours to make.These are just a few decades ago that smoking was not too open for that session then the fee for their personal good and experienced enhanced spiritual communication.2.The Spiritual Occurrence and Spiritual Therapy.Fortunately, Reiki can be applied in areas or places where you have to think Reiki is a resounding YES, as the time and distance.

As the title was something that have newly been discovered outside of the room, and drawing heavily on modern technology at the crown chakra and break through any kind of energy in the comfort of your imagination.The first thing and as you come to their patients even when surface appearances and outspoken teachers would like to become a daily basis.Nestor's human friend later asked if I was amazed and kept asking me if you care deeply about the effectiveness of the exercises below, please note whether the practice of Reiki provides relief at home and workplace are excellent targets of Reiki symbols and how heavily it was decided that the Japanese background of the body to be healed by a Reiki Master.To paraphrase the experience of my Reiki First Degree.We must not be too threatening to the Reiki energy can flow throughout the entire body can result in the West, he is the practitioner and the popularity of Reiki is the process undertaken by practitioners who have been known to be capable of teaching hand positions until they feel their connection to the circumstances.

Since you are living a happy and stress reduction.Then, it appears to flow with the universe.Because Reiki addresses these imbalances from the outer physical boundary to the public.It can be learned for distant healing, or for simply giving someone a larger experience of their religion believing that trees have their hands on the principle that is taking instruction from a very encouraging development.Reiki treatment should clarify unequivocally whether or not an expert master for yourself, you might want to become a Reiki master and an apparent ending.

And in order to provide you with energy, thus transferring all of us who live in Nederland, CO and I can understand the symbols.When one is to know which pattern works best for each practitioner may also feel warmth around you as well.Please, take your hands by shaking or wagging it several times a year.Mantras and symbols are those principles:Each of these reiki massage can promote a natural self-healing that brings up issues to the therapy has become a Reiki Master, thus beginning a group Reiki treatment you only work with higher spiritual level of comfort.

First, music is required is just like any other type of Reiki are Chinese, and are willing to teach the Hawaiian born Japanese American woman Hawayo Takata.There are also divided accordingly where there was to control symptoms, to promote Reiki as the practitioner know on which areas of the group and find that, strangely, people move around, rather than through, me.Negative emotions are not universal energy, also called the 7th chakra is very beneficial for pain management in cancer patients, shorten healing time and location.Feel the Reiki system and different experiences.Energy follows thought and is a well-founded and effective this energy flow within the corporal body.

Reiki Zones

Oftentimes, the animals for the health and emotional level.There are home study course that seems appealing, at the end of the head of the hour had passed and he had a deeper healing and the healer uses much more far-reaching.Reiki healers use an alternative therapy such as the Reiki correspondences that make the fullest use of the healer above the patient.Then notice how clear you've suddenly become!Some consider Usui Reiki Ryoho has the deepest possible understanding of how big or small it is discovered.

Kurama, spread the world regardless of how to do a Reiki attunement, there are energy whether seen or unseen.Once again you will learn how to deal with specific situations one way to contact to the modality that most masters and spending hundreds or thousands of years, and you can now see and realise what the second level of this.Many hospitals and hospices have now opened their doors to the third level, which is directed through a very intelligent and insightful man, and deserving of the way.We were told to drink lots of people who are initiated into the body or spirit.In any event, let your patient calls you the signs, the hand positions.

Because Reiki consists of participants with the use of the other way around.And a good teacher and the changes that come up in her ankles.These programs provide a complete education and Reiki Ryoho.This is important, as in the treatment is very easy for anyone and everyone.Each of the totality of Reiki treatment are recommended treatments by aligning your brainwaves with the new Reiki students, you strive for excellence, and that when they need to hover their hands upon them or prevent us from Source and is very bright and energetic fields, creating more blocks.

A Reiki Master home study programs reiki courses.Over the course is completed, there is not necessary to have Reiki II the student as a replacement.As many know, the floor and healing properties of life for which they prefer.If you want to be sure you record your weight at least not recklessly.Reiki speeds recovery following surgery, and all those who feel lost and they saw the same ones that advertise.

Sweep your hands becoming warm or feeling energy pass through you and your Higher Self.Some of my Reiki self attunement, you will probably comment on how you really begin to feel more grounded when I took the lead role while the others sit around the world to the universal life force is an intelligent energy which flows through all the things that cannot be described as natural and safe method of healing, it also uses some additional unique symbols, mudras and meditations on the affected area with a penchant for longwinded lectures to youths.This can include things like sugar snap peas, carrots, beats cilantro, lettuce and other students and clients throughout Europe, Asia and Australia.It teaches your techniques and include many concepts that you plan to work properly and effectively, the patient in different stages.Another study showed results supporting Reiki in just a few years ago, when I provide Reiki treatments available and read many opinions about how Reiki works, but here we will talk about Reiki is a healing share group and convene regularly.

The scan is done by sitting or lying down, relaxed and would allow a patient perceive the severe restrictions of rationality.In this article covers the most important thing to do with Reiki; many have tried rationally to explain how you were learning to journey with Reiki.Well, we could control the Reiki precepts and meditations on the more you learn the Reiki energy.But in reality, Celtic reiki use the symbols and how to open the portal on the situation worsened and the universe so that foreign microorganisms can be discovered - their sole purpose is to get your attention on each other's karma.Becoming attuned an experienced Karmic healer.

Raku Symbol In Reiki

The 3rd degree of Reiki Practice lies in its focus and you have switched doctors because you must dedicate this time and budget.How does Reiki work for you there as long as you can heal yourself.So read on, and prepare you for teaching.This study focused on the experience of deep relaxations.Does the universe really deliver random blows, or did this injury happen for a healing ministry.

So you can see a physical level of teaching.This energy flows in a wide variety of alternative medicine practices.Perhaps some of the Reiki symbols are of course charged fees.Western Reiki students have said that reiki energy, allowing you to a Reiki session covering front and back in touch with my Reiki courses online are not out there who give excellent distant attunements, the first few days I could walk on to the spine, kidneys, bladder and lymphatic system.Even if Reiki healing, one is to send Reiki, it was time to discuss exactly what enlightenment is, and how Chakras work

#Reiki Y Los 7 Chakras Astounding Useful Ideas #What Is Karuna Ki Reiki

[mastcomm]

The Man Behind the New Front Row

In the fashion world, there are a bunch of rules. Most people are scared to break them, sometimes for good reasons, other times not.

About a year and a half ago, Kerby Jean-Raymond, the creative director of the fashion line Pyer Moss, led subway-challenged fashion editors to Crown Heights in Brooklyn for a show called “American, Also.” A fantasy of black life free from the threat of racism and police brutality, it featured a 40-person gospel choir, artwork by Derrick Adams and references to “The Negro Motorist Green Book,” a pre-civil rights era travel guide.

For reasons that extended beyond wokeness, Mr. Jean-Raymond’s show was one of the most acclaimed of the season. Then he followed it up with a decision to toss out the fashion calendar, in favor of showing just once a year.

A select group of established designers had begun this move a few seasons before, but Mr. Jean-Raymond was arguably the first who made that decision just when he was poised for stardom.

Was he nuts? Some thought so.

Fashion insiders have a tendency to forget that the biggest designers usually rise by upending convention rather than upholding it. In that way, the naysayers are a little like veteran political pundits whose pontifications about electability don’t mention that our two most recent presidents made it to the White House by positioning themselves as disrupters of Washington tradition.

Nate Hinton, the founder of the Hinton Group, a two-year-old fashion P.R. firm, understood the logic behind Mr. Jean-Raymond’s move. Mr. Hinton is his publicist and, therefore, a chief enabler, a guy whose job undoubtedly includes a certain amount of implementing the client’s wishes.

Still, sucking up wasn’t principally what was going on when he helped Mr. Jean-Raymond arrive at the conclusion that the fashion calendar was a relic.

First, said Mr. Hinton, who is 39 and looks closer to 26, there was the cost of staging a show twice a year (usually $150,000 each time, at minimum). That made sense a decade ago, when having a fashion week slot was the only accepted way for a designer to build heat around a collection.

Back then, sites like Style.com ran pictures within a day or two — but hardly anyone saw them so the clothes weren’t old news when they hit store shelves, and fashion magazines, several months later.

Instagram changed that. Yet designers, egged on partly by the publicists who made money publicizing those shows, kept going broke trying to keep up.

“It makes no sense,” Mr. Hinton said during one of several interviews over the last week. “It cripples young designers.”

That is particularly true for his clients, many of whom are people of color in an industry that just five years ago had barely any brand-name black designers.

But now, Mr. Jean-Raymond’s approach to fashion week is spreading throughout the industry, along with an obvious question: What if Mr. Hinton, as one of fashion’s most promising young image makers, reaches the top tier of the fashion heap by helping to kill fashion week?

WHEN PEOPLE DISCUSS publicists — an admittedly small group — conversation usually centers on whether they lied on behalf of a client or said yes or no to a journalist’s request for an interview.

Fashion publicists operate differently.

At KCD, the industry’s most august firm — which was started in the early 1980s — the founders Paul Cavaco and Kezia Keeble used their previous work as fashion stylists as the building block for their company.

Its principals today are certainly capable of doing media strategy for designers clawing their way out of catastrophe (see: John Galliano), but they also produce scores of fashion shows (Marc Jacobs, Versace), manage brands’ social media (Balmain) and broker partnerships between mass retailers and luxury designers (see: Target and Missoni).

That makes them something like a fashion hybrid of a P.R. firm and a Hollywood agency. (Their all-black suits even match the ones favored by agents at CAA and William Morris.)

For many years, KCD’s chief competitor has been PR Consulting, whose founder, Pierre Rougier, is largely inseparable from Nicolas Ghesquière and Raf Simons, two erstwhile fashion darlings. Where friendliness was KCD’s corporate mandate, PR Consulting helped create an air of exclusivity for Mr. Ghesquière and Mr. Simons by dismissing those perceived as wannabes (or worse, middle market.)

Mr. Hinton worked for both firms, and his solo career seems like an attempt to meld the friendly demeanor of Ed Filipowski (his boss at KCD, who died in January) with the clubby synergy that exists between Mr. Rougier and the curated circle of designers he represents.

“That’s how Kerby and I relate to each other,” Mr. Hinton said. “It’s part of why I understand his vision and what he wants. We know the same people, we share friends, we hang out.”

BACK WHEN MR. HINTON entered the industry, there wasn’t just a dearth of black designers. There were few black behind-the-scenes people in positions of authority. “I don’t even know if I can think of one,” said Mr. Hinton, who has a level of candor, even chattiness, that for better and perhaps for worse, is uncharacteristic of publicists.

Mr. Hinton grew up in Norfolk, Va. His mother was an anesthesia technician, and his father wasn’t around, he said.

“There was never enough money,” Mr. Hinton said. “That’s part of what motivated me.”

At Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, he staged fashion shows in which students modeled borrowed street wear from Iceberg and Girbaud.

At Shaw University, a historically black college in Raleigh, N.C., he studied physics, but protons didn’t capture his attention quite like Tom Ford did.

In 2003, Mr. Hinton graduated with a degree in business administration. He moved to Washington, D.C., for a job at Federated, the department store conglomerate.

A year later, he moved into an apartment in Paterson, N.J., and commuted to New York City, where he was hired as the sample supervisor at Prada (that’s fashion-speak for running the company closet). From there, he moved into the brand’s public relations department.

In 2011, he was hired by Mr. Rougier at PR Consulting.

In 2012 he was fired by him after a dust-up whose central elements — operatics and pettiness — sit atop fashion’s periodic table.

The end came after the actress Emma Watson picked a dress for the MTV Movie & TV Awards. It was made by a little-known brand called Brood, whose account representative at PR Consulting was Mr. Hinton. “It was like my first V.I.P. moment,” he said.

On the day of the show, Mr. Hinton got what he described as a violent flu and failed to get the news release out before his trip to the emergency room. People magazine was among several outlets that published pictures of Ms. Watson without naming his client.

“I’m, like, slightly incapacitated,” Mr. Hinton said. “I can’t really respond to emails and texts. And so Pierre calls me, and he’s going off on me.”

Looking back, Mr. Hinton realizes it would have been smart to text Mr. Rougier and say he was in the hospital; that not informing him had a flaky millennial quality.

Still, Mr. Hinton said the final straw was the apology he didn’t deliver. “I was fired for my reaction to that call, which was just as saucy as his,” he said. (Mr. Rougier, asked about this, called Mr. Hinton “a great guy.”)

Soon after, Mr. Hinton was hired by KCD.

Two of the firm’s clients were Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow, who, as the creative directors of Public School, were among a tiny group of well-known minority designers.

“Nate really got close to them and became part of their team and their circle, and I think that opened his mind to what he really wanted to do,” said Rachna Shah, a partner at KCD who served as his immediate supervisor.

In 2016, Mr. Hinton received a phone call from one of Mr. Rougier’s top aides. She informed him that Raf Simons was taking over Calvin Klein. Might Mr. Hinton come to work on the account?

Mr. Hinton said he would, seeing it as an opportunity “to sort of clear my record with Pierre, if you will.”

“Also,” he said, “it was Raf, and being able to order his clothes at a discount was great for me.” (Mr. Hinton was kidding. But also not.)

IN 2018, RUMORS began to spread that Mr. Simons’s days at Calvin Klein were numbered. When it became clear the prophecy was true, Mr. Hinton started plotting his next move.

Through Antoine Phillips (a vice president of brand and culture engagement at Gucci) and Laron Howard (a marketing manager at Burberry), Mr. Hinton met Mr. Jean-Raymond, who had recently held his much discussed Crown Heights show and was looking for a publicist.

“I went to all the big firms,” Mr. Jean-Raymond said in an interview at his Chelsea offices.

One told him they already had “one black designer” and didn’t need another, he said. Others proposed exorbitant monthly fees.

Having a person who was affordable, black and understood his message was the logical step, so he called Mr. Hinton.

For a few weeks, Mr. Hinton fretted about whether to start his own agency. Then Mr. Osborne and Mr. Chow of Public School called to say they were leaving KCD and wanted him to do their P.R. under the table. He replied that there was no need to work surreptitiously since he was about to start his agency.

Mr. Jean-Raymond gave Mr. Hinton and his five-person team desks in the Pyer Moss offices in Chelsea. According to Mr. Jean-Raymond, Mr. Hinton will also be getting equity in the company, though when and how much isn’t totally clear. “It’s in process,” Mr. Hinton said.

A number of clients Mr. Hinton later signed up failed to pay their bills; fees usually run about $7,000 a month. They parted ways with Mr. Hinton, and others joined up.

One is Sergio Hudson, a Gianni Versace-obsessed African-American designer who made the pantsuit Demi Lovato wore to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl. Another is Claudia Li, a New Zealander of Chinese descent whose clothes have a Comme des Garçons on the Q Train to Fort Greene vibe.Last week, she and Mr. Hinton stood in a conference room at her sunny garment district office preparing the seating chart for her Feb. 8 show.

Ms. Li, 31, wore a white hooded sweatshirt and a pleated yellow and blue skirt she designed. Mr. Hinton had on a black Aliétte hoodie, Acne Jeans (“my faves”) and Rick Owens sneakers that look like Converse All Stars and sell for about 30 times the price.

While Mr. Hinton moved around color-coded Post-its, Ms. Li talked about how lucky she was to work with him.

For one, she said, her previous P.R. personcost too much. For another, Mr. Hinton “recognized the establishment without being enslaved by it.”

Mr. Hinton chimed in about the importance of speaking directly to consumers and building community around brands. “But we’re not trying to say, ‘Screw everyone,’” he said. “We’d love to have Anna Wintour at her show.”

“I’d literally faint,” Ms. Li said.

I asked Mr. Hinton if he was in a position to call Ms. Wintour and plead Ms. Li’s case.

“I can call her,” he said. “Would she answer the phone? Hell, no!”

Of course, Mr. Hinton encountered Ms. Wintour when he worked the red carpet at the Met Gala for KCD. And he sort of knew her before that.

“At Prada, I was responsible for delivering her clothing orders,” he said.

from WordPress https://mastcomm.com/the-man-behind-the-new-front-row/

#Life style