#ill be getting back into developing End of a Rainbow again in the future

[doodlipop]

SODA POP ~ Style 1 and Style 2 Based on personal projects End of a Rainbow (yellow) and Wish's Brew (pink). EoaR was a school game pitch while WB is currently a ttrpg campaign!

[myheartismadeofstars]

Rainbow Six: DnD version

Technically all of them would have the same background (since a huge part of their story is that they all fell into a Fae Mound and grew up together not knowing that decades passed between each of their Fall)

Zel: Human Cleric of Cyrrollalee (Peace Domain). Zel is the youngest of the kids to Fall, but also the first. She is patient and kind and homey. She really was too young for her life before to really have impacted her. She first became aware of her goddess when she met a halfling woman who mentioned her. Everything she stood for seemed to perfectly suit Zel's dreams for her future. Still a girl at this time, Zel started worshipping her until eventually her desire for a peaceful life and a happy home genuinely caught her goddess's eye.

Archie: Human Monk - Sunsoul. Archie is Zel's older brother who Fell immediately after her, well...more accurately, he jumped. He is very excitable and active and very protective of his sister. He acts before he thinks more often than not. He began studying ki as an adult in hopes of tempering his personality, however, he finds himself unable to truly immerse himself in the teachings.

Verena: Genasi (Water 🌊) Mystic - Avatar.

Verena is the only Genasi in her family, a reawakened connection her older siblings do not have. Her family struggled with her being so different, and she was sent to live with her Uncle, a Peaceman, a priest of Eldath. Verena can get the Acolyte background, as religion was a big part of her upbringing and she still considers her Uncle's faith important to her identity. Verena is very honest, and while she does try to remain a pacifist she's not afraid to fight back. She was a dancer before her Fall. She realized she had psionic abilities as a teenager in the plane she grew up in, and sought to develop them, allowing her to feel other's emotions.

Audrey: Genasi (Fire 🔥) Artificer - Battle Smith

Audrey is chronically ill. She was moved out of the city to improve her health. She was always bitter about her poor health and often sought to escape from her own life. This resulted in her Fall. She became very interested in the work of an artificer. Her Steel Defender not only aids her in battle, but helps her when her illness flares up. She's a stoic and sometimes harsh woman, but she will fight tooth and nail for the people she cares for, often putting her health at risk.

Clemont: Human Artificer - Cook (HB)

Clemont was the oldest when he Fell. Almost twelve and already a caretaker by nature. Clemont already knew how to cook, but he wanted to make food that could heal bodies as well as hearts. He thinks that the point of life is to be kind to each other. He doesn't talk about his life before the Fall.

Nilo: Aasimar (Protector 🛡️)Fighter - Gunslinger

Nilo may have divine blood, but he didn't have a divine beginning. Nilo often describes himself as basically being an urchin for how little his mother was involved with his upbringing. It wasn't fair and it filled him with anger. Nilo ran away, intending to disappear, when he Fell. There was a time, between him learning how to wield the firearms he specializes in and now, where he was mislead and ended up killing innocents and almost Falling in a different sense. He has devoted himself to never making this mistake again and is now much more cautious when it comes to killing. He sees himself as a force of justice and equality, but he is prone to vigilantism.

Bonus "BAD" Trio:

Bee: Tiefling (Dis) Rogue - Phantom

Bee was adopted at a young age by her best friend's parents. She suffered a lot of prejudice for her birth (first Tiefling in her family. Her father made a deal with a devil in secret to support his six sons and then afterwards his daughter was marked by the pact). Truly she's polite and helpful, but you wouldn't know it if you're visibly human. She views all humans with suspicion, assuming they will treat her the same way. She likes sweets and warm sunshine. She's always smiling, even when angry.

Aideen: Human Bard - Eloquence.

After being adopted as a child by a politician, Aideen found her purpose in life was exactly that. She's very bright and loves people. She prefers to talk her way out of problems if at all possible.

Donovan: Human Paladin - Glory

Donovan is Aideen's biological brother, who wasn't adopted until a few years after her. He's bitter that everyone embraces his sister, they often expect him to be similar to her, but they are so different. He's not his sister. He took his oath for the sake of making himself stand out.

Donovan has, for years now, travelled in the company of a strange Lizardfolk Barbarian and a Firbolg Wizard

[emblemxeno]

Fire Emblem Fates: Personal Arcs and Thematic Parallels for the Royal Siblings

Introduction

As we all know by now, the royal siblings of Fates are all mirrors and contrasts with one another.

Xander and Ryoma are the wise and kind elder brothers who have the weight of their kingdoms’ futures on their shoulders, however Xander is an anxious stoic entrenched in state of denial who worked hard to get as strong as he is, whereas Ryoma is a charismatic natural talent, a huge hothead and has major prejudice issues.

Camilla and Hinoka are the caring elder sisters, with Camilla being overbearing and feminine and Hinoka being stubborn and tomboyish. 

Leo and Takumi are the intelligent younger brothers who face massive self esteem issues (in regards to their older brothers) and jealousy (in regards to Corrin), but while Leo’s problems are hidden under a layer of cold pragmatism and isolation, Takumi’s are front and center since he is very emotionally volatile. 

Elise and Sakura are the sweet and compassionate little sisters, with Elise being excitable and cheery and Sakura being shy and timid.

However, these aren’t the only parallels that exist between the siblings. More parallels are discovered when you look at the story closely. Especially when you lock down each of their personal arcs. Furthermore, close analysis reveals other interesting parallels, namely for Leo and Hinoka in regards to their brothers, Xander and Ryoma.

Themes, Arcs and Developments: Hoshido & Birthright

The development for the Hoshido siblings and the Birthright path is belief in others, collaboration and tolerance. The siblings start off separated from each other, with Takumi and Ryoma going missing and Hinoka having already left to go find them. 

Corrin’s belief in others gets tested through being double crossed by Zola, and the possibility of there being a traitor in the party. Nevertheless, his doubts don’t consume him, and his belief in himself and others gets him through tragedy. Many times in the story, trust and working together gets brought up, like during Chapter 14 where Corrin asks if anyone’s reluctant to move forward with the invasion, but his siblings reassure him. The same thing occurs when Corrin learns about the Rainbow Sage; at first he says if he needs to go alone, he will. But again, his siblings make sure to come with and support him. This dovetails into how the siblings personally develop as well.

Through Corrin accepting Sakura’s pleas to come with them, Sakura goes from meek and unsure princess to a strong willed young woman who’s able to punch Iago in the dick. Through being reassured and believed in by his family, Takumi goes from a prickly skeptic to a confident and heartfelt prince. Through learning of Nohr’s plight and accepting that he can’t do everything alone, Ryoma goes from a stubborn and prejudiced high prince to a tolerant King who seeks to break boundaries and misconceptions, walking hand in hand with his former enemy. The siblings enjoy their newfound perspective and the peace that comes with it; the peace their mother cherished.

Themes, Arcs and Developments: Nohr and Conquest

The development for the Nohrian siblings and the Conquest path is moving on to the future, where justice lies and change. Nohr and the siblings are set in their ways; doing what needs to be done to survive. Upon his return to Nohr, Corrin seeks to change that necessity and bring an era where Nohr can seek glory through mutual respect, not oppression. His willpower gets tested constantly; at times he succeeds in settling things peacefully, at other times he fails or his plan backfires. Still he moves on, working behind the scenes toward his own path of justice, along with his siblings who have done the same for much longer than he has.

Through Corrin’s leadership and conviction, Xander is shown the truth, and from that leaves behind his entrenched way of thinking. He grows from a scared crown prince set in his ways, into a benevolent King promising to bring prosperity to his kingdom through his own sense of justice. Camilla is able to cut away from the same mindset, no longer being afraid of the monster her father has become. Her love for her family outgrows her fear of Garon, the fear that was established during the aftermath of the Cheve rebellion. Elise starts out naive and innocent, but playing a part in the tragedies that unfold gives her perspective. When she first meets Sakura, she’s childish and selfish, but later comforts the Hoshidan princess during a time of great pain. At the end of the route, the two are fast friends as a result of Elise’s compassion. The siblings enjoy the light they are able to bring to their kingdom and the future they seek to walk towards.

The Outliers

But in all that, there remain two siblings whom I didn’t really name specifics for: Hinoka and Leo. This is because, other than the general development of the siblings as a collective and the themes of their routes, they don’t really change too much. Leo starts as the pragmatic executioner who imparts the course which Corrin begins to take, and remains as such later in Conquest. Hinoka is the stoic and determined princess whose concern is the protection of those she cares for, and she remains as such later in Birthright. Neither seems to have personal growth to accomplish other than the general themes of their routes. 

That is, until you look at the routes in which you oppose them.

In fact, a new form of development occurs for all of the siblings when you oppose them, and with that, come new parallels.

Opposing Paths and New Parallels

Xander and Ryoma remain each other’s mirror and contrast. On the respective paths that you oppose them on, they are the notable threat to overcome later in the game. You encounter both of them in earlier chapters as well, and both of their maps are escape objectives; this shows in gameplay how much stronger they are compared to Corrin and how it is the smarter decision to pull back and regroup. They both can’t forgive Corrin for betraying their kingdom and family, but while Xander accepts Corrin has turned traitor, Ryoma is intent on bringing him back by any means necessary. Upon Elise’s death at his hand, Xander falls into despair and forces Corrin to strike him down. Ryoma on the other hand, sacrifices himself to spare Corrin the hardship of striking him down when he realizes his brother is still the kind soul he thought he was. 

The elder brothers are the ultimate test of Corrin’s resolve, to see if he’s ready to finish the path he started. The loss of these two are a tragedy, and the impact is felt in many ways.

Takumi and Elise gain new mirrors and contrasts with each other. For starters, each of them get inflicted with illness and reveal a truth they wouldn’t otherwise have awareness of during their delirium. It’s the suffering of these two that gets highlighted the most on routes you oppose them. Elise is miserable from her family being broken apart, and has to escape her home just to find some semblance of joy. Takumi meanwhile, lashes out more and more against Corrin, becoming more volatile and suffering from constant headaches. Elise only fights you once (and even then she’s an optional fight), while Takumi fights you the most out of any other sibling. Both of them end up losing their lives through indirect means; Elise throws herself in front of Xander’s sword in a bid to get him to stop fighting. Takumi throws himself off the Great Wall of Susano-o, blinded by rage, frustration and sadness. 

Takumi and Elise are major victims of this war and the path Corrin chose, victims who expressed their misery in different ways.

Camilla and Sakura are each other’s mirror and contrast. These two probably have the most difficult parallels to pin down, but they are there nonetheless. When Corrin chose Hoshido, Camilla lost her security; her family is broken apart and she can’t do anything to stop it. She is forced to accept that Corrin has left her to join Hoshido, and finally comes to terms with it after her second encounter. When Corrin chose Nohr, Sakura lost her solace; her country is being invaded, she had just lost her mother and now her older sibling is choosing to go back to the kingdom responsible for her suffering. She is forced to suck it up and defend her home on the from the front lines. Instead of development coming naturally due to positive reveals and encouragements, both sisters are forced to change in order not to break entirely. 

Camilla and Sakura are loving sisters who now have to accept a harsh reality during and after a war they had no control of.

Bear the Crown, Bear the Development

That leaves Hinoka and Leo, and this is where they each get major development as opposed to their native routes. 

Hinoka and Leo were spared by Corrin after thinking they were gonna be killed, and eventually the thrones fall to them when the war concludes. After all, Hoshido favors kings over queens so if it wasn’t Ryoma, it would be Takumi. Nohr has an age based inheritance, so if it wasn’t Xander, it would be Camilla. Leo and Hinoka never dreamed it would be up to them to lead their kingdoms. When they bear the crown, they bear the weight of a responsibility they never expected.

However, when looking at it closely, it seems they also bear the character development their older brothers would’ve had.

Leo has battled feelings of inadequacy and jealousy in regards to his siblings already, but Corrin choosing Hoshido causes those feelings to surface. He’s angry and hurt over it all, but hides that under a layer of cold-bloodedness. Leo, promising to kill Corrin at every turn, thinks of his brother as dead to him.  However, Leo later finds himself. When talking with Corrin and seeing the truth about Garon, he realizes that Nohr doesn’t have to remain the way it is in order to survive. 

Leo at the end of Birthright begins to feel similar to Xander at the end of Conquest.

Hinoka has dealt with the guilt of Corrin’s kidnapping for over a decade. She became strong by choosing the path of the warrior as opposed of the princess. When Corrin chooses Nohr, she is in disbelief; after all, why would her brother return to to his kidnappers? She resolves to defeat him, and thinks of her dream of being a family again as a fantasy that will never come to fruition. However, Hinoka later believes otherwise. When talking with Corrin and seeing him and his Nohrian siblings work to end the war in a different way, she realizes that Hoshido’s beliefs about Nohr are wrong and that those misconceptions must be cleared. 

Hinoka at the end of Conquest begins to feel similar to Ryoma at the end of Birthright.

Conclusion

Leo and Hinoka each become the rulers that their kingdoms needed. They fill the space left by Xander and Ryoma. They don’t have personal arcs on their native routes nor on Revelation because there’s no absence to be filled; they can remain as they are, rather than be bound by the weight of the crown. Their rule as monarchs is bittersweet, for it’s a role neither of them expected, but they perform said role well nonetheless.

That’s, at least, how I feel about all of this. Of course, this whole thing isn’t a perfect interpretation, nor does the game handle this aspect as well as it could have. Hinoka still lacks in number of notable appearances compared to pretty much every other sibling; hell, there are even scenes in Birthright where every sibling except Hinoka appear. Leo, meanwhile, has many more scenes of importance, especially since he wields a divine weapon and his big hero moment triggers the Yato’s transformation during Conquest. The negative effects of Hinoka’s later addition are still very present, and it’s something that I hope would be done better in a possible Fates remaster. 

As it stands now though, I still think all of this is done well enough for everything I described. Fates’ story is smarter than one might think, and I believe all of this is an example of that.

[queenof-literature]

A Sick Wild Child - Chapter 10

Chapter 10 - Cold

Aaaand we're back! Sorry for the long wait, college is wack.

Uhh big angst warning for this chapter. I can't really tell if this is angstier than the rest of the chapters? But the warning is there.

As I said earlier, I am going to be rewriting this fic as I add to it. Nothing major will change, but I kinda cringe a little when I read back on it because I feel like my style has developed more as I've written.

Ao3 Link:

I hope y'all enjoy!

The rustling of the leaves above were the loudest sound Warriors heard outside camp. Between the soft snores of his companions, the distant flowing stream, and the cackling of the fire, perhaps he should have let himself relax, if only a little. Being as rigid as a board would do no one any good if monsters came, yet Warriors could not force himself to relax. Strained eyes jumped between the other Links, the world outside their overhang, and the only other two not resting.

Whatever allowed Wild to be semi-coherent hours ago had faded as night went on, stuttering chest still rising and falling roughly. 

Twilight hadn’t left Wild’s side, still holding tightly to the boy’s clammy hand. Warriors let out a sigh, trying to force some tension from his shoulders as he stood, slowly making his way over. 

“You need to get some sleep.” Warriors settled next to him, still keeping a sharp ear out for potential monsters. He had made the mistake of letting down his guard, and he wouldn’t do it again.

“I’ll sleep after your watch.” Twilight was lying, and they both knew it.

“You make fun of Time for taking on too much, but you’re the same damn way.” Warriors huffed.

“Pot, meet kettle.” Twilight snarked and Warriors rolled his eyes at yet another dumb country metaphor. “Besides, be careful what you say, Old Man is probably listening.”

“It’d be hard not to with how loud you two are.” A voice said from Time’s bedroll.

“Sorry, Time.” Warriors and Twilight spoke in unison, chuckling lightly when they heard a tired sigh and grumbling.

“Any signs of Wild waking up again?” Warriors nodded towards Wild’s restless form, keeping his voice far lower.

“Nah. I wouldn’t be so worried if he was getting some actual sleep.” As if sensing his name Wild shifted once again, letting out unidentifiable croaks and murmurs. Twilight stroked his thumb across the back of Wild’s pale hand in an attempt to soothe him once more.

“Yeah…” Warriors spoke awkwardly. “The worst will be over soon, then he’ll be able to start healing. Hylia knows Legend and Hyrule are going to shove a rainbow of potions down his gullet when he can handle it.” Warriors joked, feeling success at the small chuckle he received from the other young man.

“I know he’ll be okay, but…” Twilight trailed off, looking down once more at his protege

“Yeah, it’s hard to see him like this.” Warriors nodded.

“Well yeah but I’m worried for what comes after.” Twilight’s eyes still hadn’t met his.

“What do you mean?”

“When he comes to, how much of these nightmares is he going to remember? Some are fake, but his brain is already… addled.” Twilight said for lack of a better word.

“You’re worried about the memories.” Warriors understood now.

“Yeah. He doesn’t remember anything besides a few memories, I’m worried the real ones will mix with the fake ones and just confuse him more.” Warriors hadn’t even thought of that.

“He’ll be okay once he’s aware enough to talk them through, that’s always seemed to help him in the past.” Warriors reassured, clamping a head on his companion’s shoulder. “I know there’s a lot in the air right now, but we need to focus on the now. We’ll deal with the future when we get there.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks War.” Twilight smiled at his companion, finallying meeting his eyes. Both settled in against the wall, taking comfort in the other’s presence. 

~

Cold, scared, confused. Fear struck his heart when he felt the familiar emotions, among others he couldn’t name. His lungs spasmed, and he felt himself cough roughly. Drowning… was he drowning? He didn’t feel wet, water meant drowning… right? Something warm and gentle slid across his hand and he shivered. What was touching him? Was it bad?

No… cold was bad, warm was good, or so he thinks. Yes that seems right. And what was touching him was warm so he could trust it. Yeah, that logic made sense.

Something was wrong though, he shouldn’t be feeling this way. This wasn’t normal. He tried to open his eyes. Wait, when did those get there? He had a body, and bodies had names. Did he have a name? Whatever was blocking his eyes refused to budge, or perhaps it wasn’t even trying. He felt his ears flicker when a noise drew close to him, and the warmth caressing his hand paused. No, don’t stop! He cried out, or he thought he did.

The warmth moved from his hand, allowing the cold to flood back, and he tried to cry out, he wanted to be warm he didn’t want to be cold. He relaxed once more when the warmth moved under his eye, under his eye… his cheek. The hand pushed into the skin of his cheek softly, and he tried to focus on what he heard above him, but he couldn’t push down his panic. What was his name? Everyone had a name, what was his name?

The warmth, which he now recognized as a hand, pushed his cheek with more intent, the noises growing louder. But he couldn’t focus on that, he could only focus on the empty space where his name, his very identity should be. What was his name? Everything would be okay if he could just remember his damn name-

“Wild?” A voice echoed above him, snapping him back from his spiral. Wild… that didn’t sound quite right, but it certainly didn’t sound wrong, and he clinged to it. Wild, Wild, Wild. That was him! 

“Wild?” Another voice asked, and Wild was sure it was a different one. The hand patted his cheek, and Wild felt his nose scrunch. He didn’t like that.

 “Wild? Are you awake? Can you open your eyes?” Wild’s ears perked at the tone, an odd mix of hope and concern. Now out of his spiral, Wild tried once more to open his eyes. Shutting them tightly once more when light assaulted his vision. He felt his head being turned, vertigo crashing into him, only relaxing when his nose brushed against something slightly course but soft.

“Try again.” The voice coaxed. Wild was skeptical, but did as he was told. With great strength, Wild peeled open his eyes. Even after his eyelids revealed the world around him he couldn’t see right away, it took a while for his vision to clear, yet the voice never grew impatient. He felt heat to his back, and it felt like a fire. Maybe that’s what was so bright. After the fuzziness finally faded, Wild could see he was facing a chest, but it looked odd. There was something missing around the shoulders...

“There he is.” The other voice proclaimed quietly.

“How are you feeling, Cub?” Wild felt the chest he was facing vibrate as the person spoke. Cub… cub.

“Tw’ligh?” Wild slurred, wincing at the dryness of his throat.

“Yeah, Cub.” Wild looked up at the face above him, who looked positively elated for some reason. Wild finally realized why the man looked so off, the usual pelt wrapped around his shoulders was gone. Wild glanced around, eyes slow and fluttering. After looking down he finally realized it was covering him instead. 

Wild tried to blink away the fog. That wasn’t right, this was Twilight’s pelt. Oh no, did Wild steal it? That wasn’t very nice…   

“Wild?” The other voice washed over him once more, and Wild realized it had probably been a while since he had responded.

“War?” Wild recognized the bright blue scarf, and the eyes that matched. The fog was slowly receding from his mind, but annoyingly stuck around the edges.

“That’s me.” Warriors confirmed with a fond smirk. “How are ya feeling?”

Wild didn’t know how to answer that. Everything hurt, his muscles felt heavy and useless, his head pounded, his throat was on fire… worst of all…

“Cold.” Wild rasped, trying to bury his face into the chest beside him, enjoying the rumble he felt and the sound of a fond chuckle.

“Sorry, Wild. Your fever hasn’t broken yet, we can’t let you get too hot.” Twilight really did sound sorry, but that doesn’t sound right. Fever means hot.

“Cold.” Wild stressed again, his small movement sending a spike of pain around his ribs. “Hurts.” Wild whimpered at the aches and pain that surrounded his body, especially his ribs. 

“I know, Cub. It’ll get better soon.” Twilight promised.

“How?” How did he know that? Wild didn’t understand. Goddesses, it felt like he was dying-

Wild froze at that thought. No, no Twilight would tell him. Twilight wouldn’t be so happy, he wouldn’t. The conversation continued as Wild’s world was crashing down on him.

“Your fever hasn’t broken, but it is getting cooler.” An optimistic voice continued, not noticing his panic. Why were they so calm? Wild was dying, he was dying! He felt his breaths get more labored, only sending further panic shooting through him. No, he needed to breathe, breathing meant life and Wild was alive he wasn’t dead he was alive-

“-we’ll fix it, Wild, I promise.” Wild tuned in once more and his heart lurched. Fix it? No, no , no, nononono. 

“N-no!” Wild cried out, trying to sit up.

“Woah!” Warriors bolted forward to keep Wild from agitating his illness further. They just got water in his system, they didn't want him to throw it back up now.

“Tw-i. Don’t. P-please don’t.” Wild pleaded.

“Don’t what? Cub we’re not going to do anything.” Twilight’s voice tried to be calm, but the underlying panic only sent Wild further into his spiral. Twilight knew and he was hiding it! The shrine… not the shrine.

“Na- the shrine. P-please. Anythin’ but the shrine. Just let me go.” Wild begged, coughing roughly at the end. Twilight felt his chest grow cold and his stomach drop. ‘Let me go’, ‘No more shrine’, Twilight felt lightheaded. He knew what it meant. Let me die. 

“No, no Cub, you’re not hurt. Not badly, you’ll recover.” Twilight tried to reassure but Wild was too far gone.

“Hey, hey.” Wild felt a different pair of hands on his cheeks, calloused from constant swordsmanship, but impossibly gentle. “Calm down.” Warriors soothed, brushing aside Wild’s bangs. No! He didn’t understand. He couldn’t do it, not again. He couldn’t wake up with nothing but a name he didn’t recognize, cold, hungry, scared, alone. 

“No shrine, nothing like that. We’re staying right here.” Warriors comforted. Wild shook his head, ignoring the nausea it brought. They didn’t understand, he would forget again. He would forget again. Zelda, the Champions, Riju, Teba, Yunobo, Sidon, the Links. All of them.

“Wild.” Twilight’s voice was soft, but stern, demanding Wild’s attention. “Wild look at me.” A hand took his chin, and he was met with dark blue eyes swirling with intense emotions, half of which Wild couldn’t name. “We’re staying right here. We’re nowhere near the shrine. You’re just sick, you’ll get better, on your own.” Twilight specified, rambling in the hopes that Wild would finally understand. Twilight felt his chest loosen when Wild calmed down slightly. 

Twilight wouldn’t lie about that, Wild could trust him. 

“No shrine?” Wild confirmed.

“No shrine.” Twilight put on his most reassuring smile, covering his turmoil at Wild’s earlier words.

“Never. Promise.” Wild demanded in the most stern tone he could muster, and judging by Twilight’s shaky smirk he didn’t do a very good job. 

“I promise, Cub.”

“Yeah, Hylia knows we wouldn’t even know how to work it- ouch! What it’s true.” Wild tried to laugh at the indignant noise, but all that came out was a coughing fit. He still didn’t understand what was going on, but there was no rush or panic or shouting. It wasn’t like the first time. There were no lasers, or carnage, or desperate screaming.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Twilight deemed after Wild’s fit had passed. “You need more rest.” Wild shook his head. He wanted to stay here, away from the things he sees when he closes his eyes. It was nice here, the fog was finally parting and if he went to sleep it would surround him again.

“Yes, Wild.” Wild heard Warriors laugh at Twi’s exasperated tone.

“No.” Wild commanded, well aware of how much he sounded like a petulant child.

“Wild, we’ll be right here. You need sleep. Real sleep.” Wild shook his head again.

“I’d be careful. Mama bear is ready to knock you out.” Warriors teased, yelping when Twilight used his free arm to smack his shoulder.

“Wild, I swear to Hylia, you are going to sleep.” Twilight threatened. Wild huffed. Fine. Wild lifted a shaky and weak hand from under the pelt, pausing to rest the limb above the covers. Slowly he lifted his left hand, barely reaching his target. He swatted uselessly at Twilight’s chest, trying to find a grip. Finally he managed to snag onto the older’s tunic, just above his heart.

“What are you doing?” Twilight chuckled, all ire forgotten at the Cub’s clumsy actions. This would be the hard part. Wild prepped himself, before putting all his strength into his left arm and pulling himself up as far as possible. Even the simple motion of pulling himself up was like climbing a mountain, all his stamina depleted by the time he put his plan into action as his ribs jolted and burned. His world twisted and swirled as dizziness washed over him, his head feeling light and his eyes watering.

“Wild!” Twilight yelped in surprise, hopefully not waking the camp. Automatically his arms flew around Wild to catch the boy now cradled to his chest. “What the hell are you doing?” Twilight asked again, far more bafflement and scolding in his tone. Wild stubbornly shoved his head into the crook of Twilight’s neck, breathing hard. Nausea surrounded him and his aching muscles cramped and twitched. Twilight winced as Wild coughed directly into his throat. Good things this wasn’t contagious.

“You can’t do that! You can’t push your body like that!” Twilight scolded, his words contradicted his actions as he rubbed soothing circles into Wild’s back.

“I mean, you could have asked.” Warriors agreed, smirking at the scene before him now that Wild seemed to be recovering from his little stunt.

“Stay.” Wild demanded, gripping Twilight’s shirt as the other was cradled to his own chest uselessly. His body had no more energy left to spare and he relied completely on Twilight to keep him from falling.

“I’m right here.” Twilight’s exasperated tone morphed more into confusion. Twilight wasn’t getting it. He was warm. Wild was so cold, and he wanted to be warm. Even if that meant soaking up heat from Twilight like a lizard did on a sunny rock.

“Warm.” Wild’s lips twisted into a crooked smile, not aware enough to try and make both the scarred and unscarred sides of his face match. Warriors didn’t even hide his fond grin at the cheesy sight before him, and Twilight’s shocked face was certainly a bonus.

“Wild your fever.” Twilight chided nervously, attempting to gently get Wild away from his body heat. Even being in his lap was pushing it, Hyrule told him to be careful before he went to bed.

“Warm.” Wild huffed, annoyed at Twilight moving too much. Twilight glared at the muffled laugh he heard from Warriors. ‘Help me!’ Twilight mouthed, glaring at him as the other just shrugged and smirked. Jackass. Twilight supposed it would be okay for a little bit, but… just until Wild fell asleep. Besides, Twilight couldn’t bring himself to push Wild off with the dopey and lopsided the grin the younger had. Instead Twilight tucked the covers and pelt around him, knowing he made the right choice when Wild sighed happily and burrowed further. It was the most content he had seen Wild in days, and if Hyrule found out Twilight had disobeyed his instructions and kicked his ass, it’d be worth it.

“We can watch his fever. Let him have this.” Warriors confirmed the voice in his head, and Twilight relaxed at the fact someone else agreed, allowing himself to lean against the wall to better support Wild’s weight.

“Yeah, I don’t wanna move him.” Wild made a noise that Twilight could only interpret as agreement, and tried not to laugh and disturb the boy curled into him. 

“He can understand what we’re saying… that has to be progress, right?” Warriors questioned.

“Yeah, but at this point his fever breaking is the best we can hope for.” Twilight responded as he felt Wild succumb to sleep once more. Twilight didn’t want to admit how worried he was that his fever would never break. He knew that Wild would get better, really he did. But Hylia what Wild had said… what would Twilight do if he had the option. If Wild was dying in his arms and he had a choice. If he had a choice between Wild living with no memories, waking up with them all gone, probably long dead, alone and scared. Or letting Wild, his cub, die. Both options almost sent Twilight over the edge of despair just picturing it.

“Stop.” Warriors scolded, eyes peering into him. Twilight snapped out of his thoughts and glanced back in surprise. “I know what you’re dwelling on. Stop it. It won’t help anything.” Warriors’ tone was harsh, but his eyes were compassionate.

“I know but-”

“No buts. It won’t come to that.”

“You don’t know that.” Twilight’s voice cracked ever so slightly. Warriors sighed, of course he didn’t. Of course Twilight wasn’t the only one who thought at night about where this quest could lead.

“None of us do. But focusing on what-ifs, especially insanely specific ones, doesn’t help it just makes us all suffer. All of us, Twilight.” Warriors stressed, relieved at Twilight’s eyes widening, knowing he had gotten through. The words were harsh, but Twilight never listened when it was just his health on the line. He needed to know that watching him go through that hurt, just as it hurt them when one of the other Links were in a pit of anger and hurt.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Twilight squeezed Wild, needing to feel his heartbeat against his own. He focused on the breaths he felt against his neck. They were shallow and rough but they were there.

“Don’t be, I get it.” Warriors assured. “But let's face it if we think about everything that could happen on this crazy fucking quest we’ll be here for weeks.”

“Yeah…” Twilight shifted, ensuring Wild didn’t have too much pressure on his ribs.

“I’ll watch his fever, you need to rest.” Warriors commanded softly.

“You know that’s not happening.” Twilight glared.

“I didn’t ask you to sleep, I asked you to rest. You need it.” Warriors raised a challenging eyebrow, turning concerned when Twilight just nodded.

“Yeah… okay. Just make sure he doesn’t get too hot.” Twilight leaned his head against the rock, shushing Wild when he mumbled and huffed as his pillow moved. Warriors reached over and placed his hand on the cub’s forehead. 

“It’s fine for now.” Warriors smiled, happy the raging fever had dulled, even a little.

Both Warriors and Twilight quieted, and Twilight allowed himself to simply breathe as Warriors kept a sharp eye on the world around them.

 ~~~

Wild is on a mission and no one shall stop him.

Thank you all for reading! I'll update the summary when I rewrite a chapter so you all know.

And thank you all again so much for the support. I love every comment, and I’m so glad so many people enjoy this story!

[maddie-grove]

Bi-Monthly Reading Round-Up (November/December)

Playlist

“Fallin’ for You” by Sheila Nicholls (The Perilous Gard)

“Come on Over to My Place” by the Drifters (A Gentleman Never Keeps Score)

“Bobby Jean” by Bruce Springsteen (Eleanor and Park)

“Seasons in the Sun” by Terry Jacks (One Perfect Rose)

“A Sailor’s Prayer” by Ann Price and Marilyn Maltzer (Broken Wing)

“Winter Lady” by Leonard Cohen (When a Duchess Says I Do)

“Dance Music” by the Mountain Goats (What Hearts)*

“Sweet Talkin’ Guy” by the Chiffons (Jean and Johnny)

“Know Your Onion!” by the Shins (Lost at Sea)

“The Snake and the Bookworm” by Cliff Richard (Tempting the Bride)

“Everybody Loves Me but You” by Brenda Lee (Someone to Remember)

*I also seriously considered both “I’ll Meet You Halfway” by the Partridge Family and “Sports Analogies” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. It’s a complex book!

Best of the Bi-Month

The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope (1974): In the late 1550s, grave, awkward Kate Sutton is banished to a remote castle in the east of England. She’s greeted by superstitious locals, shady servants, an often-absent lord, and the lord’s guilt-ridden (and hot) younger brother. Bored and irritated by all the drama, Kate questions the circumstances of the tragedy that haunts the family. I didn’t have high expectations for this book, which I bought primarily for the gorgeous Richard Cuffari illustrations, but I was blown away. Pope creates a sublimely uncanny setting in a surprising way, and Kate is a wonderful protagonist: principled, rational, and compassionate beneath her no-nonsense exterior.

Worst of the Bi-Month

Someone to Remember by Mary Balogh (2019): In her youth, Lady Matilda Westcott rejected Charles Sawyer’s proposal at the urging of her parents, who thought him too wild. Now she’s fifty-six, loved by her extended family but stuck caring for an unappreciative elderly mother. The marriage of her niece and Charles’s estranged illegitimate son brings them together again, but she never expects anything to come of it...like a total fool. This is a cute novella with compelling family dynamics. I also appreciated the solidly middle-aged protagonists, although Balogh presents them a little too timidly, like a mom trying to get a picky eight-year-old to try asparagus.

Rest of the Bi-Month

A Gentleman Never Keeps Score by Cat Sebastian (2018): Once-popular Hartley Sedgwick is languishing in the huge townhouse his godfather left him, shunned by nearly everyone for his sexuality. Then Sam Fox, a black pugilist-turned-tavern-keeper, tries to sneak into the house to find a nude portrait of an embarrassed friend. Moved by Sam’s decency, Hartley offers his assistance in finding the portrait. As I explained in my post about my favorite Regency romance novels, I adore this book for the way Hartley and Sam’s love story is mirrored and enhanced by portrayals of many other kinds of love, between brothers and friends and parents and children and neighbors and also one very homely dog. 

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (2012): Park, a geeky half-Korean teenager in 1986, keeps his head down and barley avoids outright ostracism in his poor, mostly white Omaha neighborhood. Eleanor, the weird white girl who shares his bus seat, is tormented at school and at home. They have no interest in being friends, but they slowly bond and fall in love over music and comics. What I liked most about this bittersweet YA novel was the ways in which the protagonists improved each other’s lives. With Park and his loving family, Eleanor gets to let down her defenses, while Eleanor’s boldness inspires Park to embrace his differences. I do wish that Park’s side of things had been developed more, however.

One Perfect Rose by Mary Jo Putney (1997): Upon learning that he’s terminally ill, Stephen, the Duke of Ashburton, freaks out and goes on an incognito tour of the English countryside without telling his family. He ends up joining an acting troupe run by the boisterous Fitzgerald family and falling in love with their adopted daughter/stage manager, Rosalind, despite the many reasons they have no future together. (Or do they?) This is a good, old-fashioned weepy romance that’s elevated by Putney’s serious attention to the theme of reconciling with one’s mortality. There’s also some extremely late-1990s New-Age-ish stuff going on, which sometimes felt a little silly but was still charming.

Broken Wing by Judith James (2008): When unconventional countess Sarah finds her long-lost little brother at a Parisian brothel, she’s overjoyed, appalled, and relieved that he was protected by sex worker Gabriel St. Croix. Grateful, she offers Gabriel a reward and insists he come to live with her and her family. This is another tear-jerking, charmingly dated romance; I felt like a teenager again, reading top-shelf angsty fanfiction. It’s best in the slow-burn first half, during which Gabriel must adjust to a massive reversal of fortune after a lifetime of trauma. The more action-packed second half makes great use of the unusual late 1790s/early 1800s setting, but it does feel hurried.

When a Duchess Says I Do by Grace Burrowes (2019): Widowed Matilda Wakefield, the Duchess of Bosendorf, has been on the run since getting mixed up in her diplomat dad’s clandestine activities. An encounter with scholarly Duncan Wentworth lands her a live-in secretarial position at his rural estate. They connect with each other, but how can love grow when they’re the object of multiple sinister plots? While this entry in the Wentworth series is not as incandescently lovely as My One and Only Duke, I’m still a sucker for spooky country houses, responsible-household-management plots, and sad early-middle-aged heroes. Burrowes is also an excellent writer, and I’m glad that I discovered her.

What Hearts by Bruce Brooks (1992): Sensitive Asa excels at school but struggles at home, thanks to his mother’s severe mental illness and his stepfather Dave’s emotional abuse. Divided into four novella-like sections, the novel follows Asa from his parents’ divorce in first grade to his first love in seventh. I liked parts of this weird, sober book when I read it as a kid, and I felt the same this time. It’s got brilliant moments, most involving Asa and Dave’s relationship, but there’s a lot of telling-not-showing in between. Brooks also can’t seem to decide on the time period; it’s probably supposed to be set 1965-1971, but it always feels like 1963, and you can only blame so much of that on the North Carolina setting.

Jean and Johnny by Beverly Cleary (1959): Short, bespectacled, and working-class, fifteen-year-old Jean feels invisible at her high school until handsome upperclassman Johnny Chessler starts paying attention to her. She’s thrilled, but her parents and sister warn against chasing him. I didn’t like this book much in middle school, but I revisited it because it occurred to me that Jean was a lesbian. Having reread it, I know I was wrong on two counts: Jean is unfortunately not a lesbian (she clearly thinks Johnny’s hot), and the book’s not that depressing. Jean’s no sad sack who’s doomed to a life of grimly chaste square dancing; she’s a legit snack who becomes increasingly self-assured and assertive. 

Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O’Malley (2003): Raleigh, a Canadian eighteen-year-old, hitches a ride back home from California with some classmates she hardly knows after a meeting with her long-distance boyfriend ends in heartbreak. Lonely and a little disconnected from reality--she maintains the belief that her mom somehow sold her soul, which now resides in a stray cat--Raleigh slowly makes friends with her travelling companions and finds some piece of mind. Although nothing much happens in this short graphic novel, it’s one of the most authentically just-graduated-high-school stories I’ve ever read. I could relate to those feelings of fear and disappointment even in the face of exciting new possibilities.

Tempting the Bride by Sherry Thomas (2012): David Hillsborough, Lord Hastings, has desired Helena Fitzhugh, first-wave feminist and successful fiction editor, since they were kids together, but he’s always hidden behind insulting remarks. When Helena’s affair with a married man ends in scandal, though, she unhappily accepts David’s offer of marriage in order to cover it up. Then she gets hit by a carriage and loses every memory she formed after her mid-teens, which happens to be when she met David. Thomas always has an engaging style and deals with even outlandish plots in a sophisticated way, and her take on the 13 Going on 30 plot is enjoyable. However, it is rushed at the end.

[bronzeflower]

Who The Fuck Writes A Ten-Page Rant?????

Chapter 12: Two Future Visits???

Also on ao3

-- apocalypseArisen [AA] began trolling turntechGodhead [TG] --

AA: dave!!! AA: youll never guess what just happened!!!

TG: yo ara lay it on me TG: if you say ill never guess then i guess ill never guess but youve piqued my curiosity here and ive absolutely got to know what you want to tell me TG: although presumably youre going to tell me regardless of whether or not i actually guess

AA: you would be correct

TG: ara im dying TG: i need to know this sweet ass thing that just happened TG: i might die if i dont find out soon TG: there i go TG: on my deathbed TG: struggling for breath and doing my goddamn best to make words come out of my mouth TG: and you of all people know exactly how much i talk TG: holy shit that last moment at my death i can barely speak TG: but i manage it just enough to say my last words TG: put a whoopie cushion on dirks seat at my funeral TG: everyones in tears TG: the most perfect last words

AA: alright! ill tell you!!! AA: sollux proposed to me!!!

TG: holy shit!!! TG: thats fantastic!!!! TG: what do people do when someone proposes TG: do we celebrate TG: should we celebrate TG: that certainly seems like something worth celebrating TG: should we have a party TG: just TG: holy fuck TG: when did he propose how did he propose TG: lay all the deets on me

AA: so remember when i told you he had something he was working on that he couldnt show me because it was a surprise for me AA: it turns out that it was a video game AA: it was really cute and sweet and it was a game about finding fossils AA: it was at the very end when the fossils spelled out will you marry me AA: and thats how sollux proposed to me!

TG: thats absolutely adorable oh my god TG: i dont think i can handle this cuteness TG: satisfaction may have brought me back the the cuteness killed me again

AA: dave! AA: you cant die yet!

TG: well i wasnt planning on dying quite yet because i still have shit to do TG: and if i died i would start wandering the world as a ghost because i had unfinished business TG: youll have to burn my body TG: or put it in a museum TG: that would be kick ass TG: thats where i want my bones to be when i die TG: ill make a museum and then all the little kids will be able to see the creators bones scattered about in a glass case TG: it will even have my shades on my skull TG: and the kids will go TG: woah thats one sick ass skull what a cool dude

AA: the coolest AA: but i wanted to tell you that im coming into town for the wedding! AA: im going to take some time off of work so that i can have a proper wedding with all my friends and stuff

TG: !!!! TG: holy shit!!!!! TG: what are we going to die i have no idea TG: i just i havent seen you in person in so fucking long TG: oh my god TG: aradia im so excited holy shit!!!!

AA: im also very excited!!! AA: however the wedding is going to take a while to plan and i will still be working during that time so im not coming for a few months AA: i just wanted to tell you that i will be there eventually

TG: i honestly cant wait

AA: i cant wait either AA: i do have to go now AA: afterall my work is never done AA: i will troll you when i have some free time <>

TG: sounds great <>

-- apocalypseArisen [AA] ceased trolling turntechGodhead [TG] --

You wonder who you gush to first about the news.

-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] --

TG: rose rose rose rose rose rose rose TG: guess what

TT: Did you perhaps learn how to use punctuation?

TG: no and your girlfriend didnt either

TT: That’s cold, Dave. That’s really cold. TT: But, please, do tell this secret that you have been withholding from me for so long.

TG: aras gettin married to sollux!!!! TG: isnt that fucking some fucking fantastic shit TG: like holy shit my moirail is getting married

TT: Your moirail?

TG: its a recent development TG: anyway shes getting married and shes coming to town in a few months and rose TG: rose TG: im so fucking excited rose like holy shit TG: i havent seen ara in ages and now shes getting married TG: im just so fucking happy for her

TT: I’m happy for her as well. TT: Please, tell her congratulations for me. TT: Who’s she getting married to?

TG: shes getting married to her boyfriend of like five years i think TG: i know theyve been dating for a while but i dont really know exactly how long who knows TG: but his name is sollux and i dont really know much about him outside what aras told me but he seems like a pretty cool dude TG: and i trust her judgement anyways

TT: Be sure to give her my congratulations.

TG: ill be sure to do that TG: now if youll excuse me im gonna tell literally everyone about this

-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] --

-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG] --

TG: jade youll never guess

GG: im going to take a wild guess and say that someones getting married!

TG: holy shit i guess you did guess TG: never mind then

GG: no! GG: dont go! GG: i dont know the details yet!

TG: well if you insist TG: shes getting married to sollux who ive never actually met but he seems like a pretty cool dude from what ive heard from him TG: and shes coming to town in the next few months after planning the wedding and finishing up the job she has right now TG: and so well get to see her!!!! TG: jade ill get to see aradia!!! TG: holy shit you might actually become friends!!!

GG: !!!! GG: i cant wait!!!!!!

TG: anyway ive got to relay the news to john now TG: hes the last to know

GG: i wont spoil the surprise for him GG: but if you wait to too long rose might!

TG: oh shit youre absolutely right TG: i gots to go TG: be sure to tell me about those cars youre working on later k cause they seem cool as shit

GG: will do!

-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering gardenGnostic [GG] --

-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] --

TG: john TG: john TG: john TG: hey there johnny boy

EB: i’ll listen to whatever you have to say, dave, but you have to promise to never call me “johnny boy” ever again.

TG: alright alright i promise TG: but i also promise that what im going to tell you is going to blow your fucking mind

EB: try me.

TG: aras getting married!!!

EB: what! EB: holy shit, dude! EB: god, i haven’t even talked to her in such a long time. EB: and now i’m hearing that she’s getting married? EB: just, wow.

TG: yeah i know right TG: shits groovy

EB: did you really just use the word “groovy” in a completely unironic context, dave?

TG: yes TG: ive moved passed liking things ironically egbert TG: you got to enjoy things as they come and let no one shame you for liking them

EB: that’s some solid advice, my dude

TG: anytime

-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] --

Welp, you’ve messaged your main best friends about the wedding, and you’ve mostly got the excitement out of your system, at least until Aradia gives you more details about the planning of her wedding, and you're also going to assume that Aradia is going to message her other friends about the wedding.

Might as well do some work, and, by that, you mean it’s time to review some stuff that you may or may not have been procrastinating reviewing. But it’s time to take action! Make yourself a better person and stuff like that. One destruction of the thing you’re supposed to be doing at a time.

“Now, everyone wants to know how well these nail polishes work, and I am clearly the person to go to if you want to know about nail polishes because I paint my nails all the time, which you would see if you’ve watched my other videos.”

You make a mental note to put photos of your clearly not painted nails over the screen during the editing process.

You first start out doing what you always do in your videos, which is describe the object you’re reviewing in great detail.

“Okay, so this nail polish is kind of liquidy, like all nail polishes I’ve seen are, and this one that I’m holding is a blue one. Like, a blue that’s one of the prettiest blues you’ve ever seen, like the feeling when it’s slightly rainy outside, and you’ve got all your work done, so you’re just sitting there, listening to the soft rain, holding your favorite warm beverage and a feeling of calm washes over you, and everything is okay. You know. Like that.”

You turn the nail polish bottle around to see what else you could describe.

“There also seems to be bits of glitter hanging around in there. They look silvery like the sound of rain. Or the sound of a coin clanking against the ground. Mmmm, no, that would be a gold color, so let’s stick with the sound of rain.”

You then describe the bottle the nail polish is in, including what the font looks like and the color of the lid (white).

“I do have these other colors that came in the set, so I have a total of five. One for each finger. All of them have the same silver glitter as the blue one so that you know that they are from the same set or brand or whatever.

“The other colors are green, red, pink, and orange. Honestly, they could have gone for the complete rainbow, but they didn’t because they’re cowards. Where’s my yellow? My purple? With the colors they gave me, I can’t do the full gay rainbow. How are people supposed to know how bi I am without purple?

“Anyway, let’s get to describing each of these colors. This green- like a grassy meadow. It’s the smell of flowers, but then you sneeze because you’re allergic to pollen.” You pick up the green polish and hold it up so the viewers could see it. Then you put down the green polish to pick up the red one.

“The red is firey, and it’s probably my favorite out of these colors. It looks like someone shouting encouraging words at you but in an aggressive way, so you’re not really sure if they’re insulting you or not. Spoilers, they’re insulting you while telling you how much they love you because they can’t let anybody know they’re emotionally vulnerable.”

You then pick up the pink nail polish.

“And the pink- prettiest fucking pink you’ll ever see. Like a song that makes your heart thump and burn from thinking about the one you love, you know? Kind of also makes me think of cookies. Like, sugar cookies, especially the ones shaped like hearts. It’s a very lovey-dovey sort of color.”

And then, at long last, you pick up the orange polish and gazed at it.

“And, finally, we have this orange polish. Now, it looks exactly like an orange smells like. Or like salty orange juice. Why would you put salt in your orange juice? A prank? That’s the only conceivable reason I can think of, but I’m not here to judge people for their eating or drinking habits. But, now that we’ve looked carefully at all these polishes, it’s time to actually get to the painting part.”

You open the orange polish because you were already holding it, and you examine the consistency of the nail polish.

“Yep, that’s nail polish alright. Let’s put that shit on our nails and see what happens.”

You proceed to messily paint your nails. There’s nail polish everywhere. You somehow get nail polish on your face. You have no idea what happened. You look later- there’s nail polish on your foot. You don’t know how it got there.

You do, in fact, manage to paint all your nails, however messy the end result ended up being, so you are proud of yourself for managing to do that much.

After recording the video and making sure you actually recorded all that, you uploaded the footage and decided to edit it later.

After an hour or so of scrolling through mindless memes, you get a message on pesterchum.

-- tipsyGnostalgic [TG] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] --

TG: guess who the FUCK is comign to town next week TG: *coming TG: that’s right TG: me TG: ur fav sis

TG: oh shit this is fantastic TG: dont tell rose that youre my favorite sister though TG: i would never hear the end of it

TG: ur secret is safe with me TG: *wonk* TG: anyway TG: i was just here to tell you that. TG: dont be a stranger

-- tipsyGnostalgic [TG] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] --

Holy fucking shit. You can’t believe you got news of some of your favorite people coming to visit in the same day. Granted, they weren’t arriving in the same time period, but still.

You can’t believe Roxy is coming next week!! You are so ready to spend time with Roxy. It’s going to be a blast.

[stacks-reviews]

New Releases 11/7/17

Happy New Release Day!

In Books --Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju Volume 4 by Haruko Kumota “After Sukeroku’s expulsion, Kikuhiko’s path to stardom seems clear, but the idea of inheriting the Yakumo name is a cold comfort. Sukeroku, disgraced, makes the heartbreaking decision to put his art aside and take responsibility for his new relationship with Miyokichi. As years pass and distance grows, Kikuhiko decides it’s up to him to bring his friend back to the theater. His determination takes him to the country, where Sukeroku now lives with his spirited young daughter. Kikuhiko is ready to stay as long as he needs to convince Sukeroku, but old wounds may come back to haunt them both.”

I haven’t had a chance to pick up volume 3 yet because we did not get a copy in where I work. And I haven’t had a chance to order it yet either. 

--Fantastic Beasts Illustrated Edition When I first head about this illustrated edition I thought it was going to be of the movie Fantastic Beasts so I wasn’t very interested in this one. But it turns out it is for all of the creatures mentioned throughout the HP universe. Now I really want this one. Just not sure when I’ll be able to.

--My Hero Academia Volume 10 by Kohei Horikoshi “The League of Villains has kidnapped Bakugo, and the resulting negative publicity has thrown U.A. into a huge uproar. With the public’s trust in heroes threatened, the faculty convenes to figure out what to do. But Midoriya and the students of Class 1-A have plans of their own - an operation to rescue Bakugo that could get them thrown out of school.”

Picking up right where volume 9 ended. Midoriya and his crew try to take back Bakugo but fail. And a few pro heroes are lost in the conflict. After their recovery in the hospital some of Class 1-A devise a plan to legally (meaning without using their powers) to try and save Bakugo. Which sounds like a bad idea all around. 

It’s a really good volume that ends on an evil cliffhanger. I need volume 11 but that won’t be out till 2/6/18.

--Perfect Shadow by Brent Weeks “Gaelan Starfire is a careful, quiet, simple farmer. He’s also an immortal, peerless in the arts of war. Over the centuries, he’s worn many faces to hide his gift, but he is a man ill-fit for obscurity.

When Gaelan must take a job hunting down the world’s finest assassins for the beautiful courtesan and crime lord Gwinvere Kirena what he finds may destroy everything he’s ever believed in.”

I HAVE BEEN WAITING YEARS FOR THIS MOMENT. I love Brent Week’s Night Angel Trilogy so when I heard there was a prequel novella I was pretty excited. Until I noticed it was ebook only; after a brief limited printing run that I found out much later on. But after waiting and waiting, it is back in print. Right when I was about to break down and buy it digitally. I am ecstatic to finally have it to go with the others. Now I just wish I had the trilogy in hardcover. I just have them in the mass market paperback box set. 

It includes the novella Perfect Shadow and a Night Angel short called I, Night Angel. 

--Renegades by Marissa Meyer “The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies - humans with extraordinary abilities - who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone...except the villains they once overthrew.Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice - and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.“

From the author of the Lunar Chronicles series comes a new series. I really like the Lunar Chronicles. I recommend it a lot at work. Though I still need to finish it. Cress (book 3) has been sitting on my shelf for a little while but I’ve been trying to focus on the arcs I have. And have been failing. Anyway, I really like her other series and am excited to try out a new series by her.

--Twinkle Star Volume 4 by Natsuki Takaya “The second semester of school is starting, and Chihiro's kinder attitude toward Sakuya is making her heart race! When he recommends her a book to read, she's positively overjoyed. But on the way home from a night of stargazing with the Star Appreciation Club, Chihiro suddenly approaches her! What does he want to talk about...?”

After this just one more volume of this series should remain. I still haven’t had time to go past volume 1 of this series. I’ve had to put a lot of series on hold while I tried to cut back during the second half of this year. I will pick it back up again someday. Hopefully by next year.

In Movies/TV Shows --Cheer Boys “Catch an exciting new take on the high-flying team sport, inspired by a real all-male squad in Japan. When Haruki Bando and his friend Kazuma leave judo martial arts, no one would have guessed they would turn to cheerleading! Rocking the college campus with a killer routine, these amateurs manage to draw in a crowd and enough new members to compete in regionals.”

I started streaming this on Funimation during its season. I watched about half before I got into another gaming kick and haven’t picked it up again yet. I did like what I saw of it but it probably isn’t my favorite sports series. But I think it is still worth checking out. 

--Project Ito: Genocidal Organ “In Genocidal Organ, while developed countries rely on advanced surveillance to free them from the threat of terrorism, other nations are plagued by genocide within their own borders. Strangely, these massacres all link back to one American by the name of John Paul. Special agent Clavis Shepherd is sent to capture the target, but nothing can prepare this soldier—or the world—for the truth behind humanity’s darkness.”

The third and final Project Ito film. At least for now. I have been waiting on this one ever since the films were announced. I did watch Empire of Corpses and enjoyed it. Though I need to rewatch it soon because when I first watched it I was exhausted from work and kept having to rewind cause I kept nodding off for a few minutes at a time. I finally picked up Harmony a few months back but haven’t had time to start it yet.

--Revolutionary Girl Utena Set 2 “Utena and Anthy have become close during their time as roommates. So when Anthy casually mentions she has a brother, Utena can’t help but feel shocked. She thought she knew Anthy, but the longer she and Anthy are friends, the more she discovers she doesn’t know. What other secrets could Anthy be keeping? However, Utena won’t have time to dwell upon such matters. A new group of duelists has emerged from the shadows. These new challengers wear black rose signets and also seek revolution, but their methods are different than those of Ohtori’s Student Council. They don’t wish to possess Rose Bride. They are want kill her.”

Set 2 of the 20th Anniversary is now out. Contains episodes 13-24 of this great series. I have only seen it once all the way through. It is one of those series that you’ll have to watch over and over to get all the references and to catch all the imagery it contains. 

--Westworld S1 “Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, explore a world in which every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged without consequence.”

Season 1 of this series is out today. I don’t have the channel that it is on so I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet. I’ve heard nothing but great things about so I can’t wait to try it out sometime. Though I would like to watch the movie it is based on before I try out the show. I have heard the soundtrack before because we used to have it as an in-store-play where I work. It is an awesome soundtrack. It was a staff favorite and we played it a lot.

--Your Name “Mitsuha and Taki are complete strangers living separate lives until they suddenly switch places. Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body, and he in hers. This occurrence happens randomly, and they must adjust their lives around each other. Yet, somehow, it works. They build a connection by leaving notes for one another until they wish to finally meet. But something stronger than distance may keep them apart.”

Was very disappointed when this came out in theaters because it never came anywhere close to where I live. I don’t think it played anywhere in my state for that matter. I did pick up a copy because I want to know if it really is worth the hype. I haven’t watched it yet because I decided to wait till my friend and I could get together to watch it together. 

There is a standard version (DVD and a combo pack) as well as an LE. The LE, “contains two-piece double-sided collectible chipboard box with rainbow holographic finish.” Like what they did for Death Parade’s LE. Which both are nice but makes me nervous that it would fall out if I picked it up wrong. It also comes with a 60 page art booklet, an art digipack, and a two disc OST. The second OST is shorter. It has five songs; if I remember correctly, that are sung in English by RADWIMPS.

[silvermoon424]

The Sailor Moon paper I wrote for my gender studies class

Last week, I mentioned the presentation I did on Sailor Moon for my gender studies class, and how my professor was so impressed by Sailor Moon’s themes that she told me she wants to show it to her kids. Anyway, I promised that I would post the paper the presentation focused on once I finished writing it, so here it is!

I drew quite a bit from a previous paper I wrote on Sailor Moon, but I also included a lot of new things. Particularly, I added sections on how femininity is often negatively portrayed in the media, Haruka’s gender nonconformity in the manga, and the presence of the Outer family.

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon

It seems as though more and more frequently, the lack of female-centric media is being called into question. It appears as though the majority of movies, tv shows, and other media feature a male protagonist, with female characters being relegated to the sidelines. Even if there is a female protagonist, it often feels like she doesn’t get to develop strong relationships with other female characters. The lack of deep female relationships and overall female representation in media is indeed unacceptable; the same can be said for the lack of representation regarding LGBT people. However, I feel as though we should praise a particular series that not only delivers on those things, but proves that doing so can lead to massive success. It’s called Sailor Moon (known as Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon in its native country of Japan), an anime (cartoon) and manga (comic book) series aimed at girls. Sailor Moon is so impressive because it provides positive portrayals of femininity, female relationships (both platonic and romantic), gender nonconformity, and even non-traditional families.

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, which means “Beautiful Soldier Sailor Moon” in Japanese, was created by a female Japanese mangaka, or manga artist, named Naoko Takeuchi. The manga debuted in the girls’ magazine Nakayoshi on December 28, 1991 and ended on February 3, 1997; the animated adaptation premiered on March 7, 1992 and ended February 8, 1997. From the very beginning, Sailor Moon was a smash hit; originally intended to only consist of a single arc, its popularity caused Takeuchi to expand it to five arcs. In addition to the original anime and manga, Sailor Moon’s enormous popularity has resulted in, as of 2017: A series of stage musicals, 31 in all; three movies with theatrical releases; a live-action series that comprised of 52 episodes; numerous rereleases of the manga and anime; many video game spinoffs; many foreign-language dubs; and finally, a new, updated anime reboot entitled Sailor Moon Crystal that is ongoing.

Sailor Moon revolves around an ordinary 14-year-old girl named Usagi Tsukino who befriends Luna, a mysterious talking cat who gives her a magical brooch. After saying a transformation phrase, the brooch enables her to transform into Sailor Moon, a beautiful soldier who fights against evil and protects good. Usagi and Luna must work together to find both the Legendary Silver Crystal, an artifact of enormous power that the antagonists are also searching for so they can conquer the world, and the missing Moon Princess, who can use the Silver Crystal for the sake of good as her birthright.

Along the way, Usagi makes friends and allies who assist her in her mission. The first is the studious and shy Ami Mizuno, who becomes Sailor Mercury. The two later meet a fiery shrine maiden named Rei Hino, who awakens as Sailor Mars. After a period of the three fighting alone, they meet the strong yet sensitive transfer student named Makoto Kino, who becomes Sailor Jupiter. Finally, they encounter a bubbly aspiring idol singer named Minako Aino, who had already awoken as Sailor Venus and later joins the team with her own cat, Artemis. Together, they’re known as the Sailor Soldiers (or Sailor Scouts, popularized by the English dub of the series). Usagi also meets and falls in love with Mamoru Chiba, a high-school student who assists the Sailor Soldiers as the mysterious Tuxedo Mask. It’s eventually revealed that Usagi herself is the reborn Moon Princess, Serenity, and Mamoru is her lover from her past life, Endymion.

The series goes on for four more arcs, although the basic premise of the Sailor Soldiers fighting against evil always remains. Within the second and third story arcs, five more Sailor Soldiers are introduced. Chibiusa, Sailor Moon’s daughter from the distant future who travelled back to the past in order to train alongside her mother’s past self as Sailor Chibi (which means “small”) Moon; world-class violinist and artist Michiru Kaioh, who can transform into Sailor Neptune; famous racer and notorious flirt Haruka Tenoh, who becomes Sailor Uranus; Sailor Pluto, an immortal goddess who was originally the guardian of time but later became a human named Setsuna Meioh; and finally Hotaru Tomoe, a chronically ill and misunderstood girl who later becomes the dreaded Sailor Saturn.

These characters are what Sailor Moon can attribute its phenomenal success to, as well as  its overall themes of female empowerment and optimism. Before Sailor Moon and, indeed, to this day, superheroes are predominantly male and geared towards a male audience. Not only that, women and girls are underrepresented in entertainment media as a whole and femininity is often portrayed as weak (or at least weaker than masculinity). Traits and qualities that are usually associated with women and femininity are often devalued, scoffed at, or are, again, at least portrayed as being weaker than qualities associated with men and masculinity. These feminine, so-called “weak” qualities include cooperation, mutuality, equality, sharing, empathy, compassion, caring, vulnerability, a readiness to negotiate and compromise, emotional expressiveness, and intuitive and other nonlinear ways of thinking (Johnson 7).

Moreover, female characters are usually less multidimensional than male characters. The documentary Miss Representation examines this lack of representation and how girls and young women in particular are affected by it. The documentary argues that, because media propagates such limiting portrayals of women, teenage girls are left feeling powerless and unrepresented. And it’s not hard to understand why that is. As Miss Representation demonstrates, women are rarely the main protagonists in films and tv shows. When they are the protagonists, their stories are rarely about finding one’s destiny or saving the world the way it is for male protagonists. Adding insult to injury, even if women are action heroes, they are usually hyper-sexualized. Femininity is limited to its sexual aspects for the benefit of male viewers.

With all of this in mind, it becomes apparent just how much of a game-changer Sailor Moon herself was. In her article “Sailor Moon: Japanese Superheroes for Global Girls,” Anne Allison elaborates on this concept:

Sailor Moon is popular for both the female and superhero parts of her character. As such, she is something of a hybrid, embodying conventions both of boys’ culture- fighting, warriorship, superheroes- and shoujo (girls’) culture- romance, friendship, and appearance… The show’s creators have merged two features that have traditionally been kept fairly distinct; the masculinity of a fighter and the femininity of a romantic…. Sailor Moon is a warrior who retains, rather than revokes or transcends, her femaleness. (273) Not only is Sailor Moon a warrior who fights against evil alongside her teammates, she’s also a beautiful, sensitive girl who dreams of romance and shares close, loving relationships with her family and friends. Although Usagi becomes much more focused and determined after she transforms into Sailor Moon, her femininity is still readily apparent.

This weaponization of femininity is most apparent in Sailor Moon’s attacks. Her most powerful weapon is the Silver Crystal, which often emits sparkles and pink bursts of light when in use. Sailor Moon also uses pink, ornate magic wands to utilize her attacks, which present themselves as hearts made of pink energy, bursts of rainbow colors, and sparkly feathers. Sailor Moon may be a warrior, but she doesn’t fight like a conventional one. In fact, instead of beating enemies into submission, she prefers to love and heal them instead. One of the major themes of the show is that Usagi’s unparalleled ability to love and forgive is her true strength and the source of her power. In fact, in the very last episode (“Usagi's Love! Moonlight Illuminates the Galaxy”), Usagi redeems the final arc’s main antagonist by appealing to the goodness that remained in her heart instead of just killing her. All of these traits are associated with traditional femininity.

All of these traits associated with Sailor Moon immediately endeared her to a wide audience. She instantly connected with Japanese schoolgirls in particular, in large part because of her approachability. The “Sailor” part of Sailor Moon comes from the fact that the Sailor Soldiers fight in modified versions of sailor fuku (also known as seifuku), or school uniforms that are based on naval suits. The majority of Japanese middle and high schools implement sailor fuku as uniforms, so Japanese schoolgirls were able to easily relate to the Sailor Soldiers and were excited to see girls who looked just like them fighting as heroes (Choo 279). Sailor Moon’s approachability is not limited to appearances, which is what allowed the series to connect to millions of people worldwide. Each of the ten Sailor Soldiers are completely unique and have their own personalities, interests, strengths, and weaknesses. The cast is so varied it’s guaranteed that almost anyone who watches the series will find at least one role model or a character to look up to. Instead of struggling to find a female character to connect with, viewers were now presented with ten to choose from.

Additionally, Sailor Moon became so popular because it completely reinvented the magical girl (or mahou shoujo) genre. Before Sailor Moon, most magical girls only used their powers for mundane or personal purposes. Sailor Moon introduced the concept of a magical girl warrior, a mix of traditional magical girl elements and sentai (Japanese-style superheroes, such as the Power Rangers) action. What resulted was a type of magical girl who used her powers to actively fight against evil. Not only did the Sailor Soldiers have flashy, pretty transformation sequences and wear cute, feminine uniforms like the protagonists from previous magical girl series, they fought like the Power Rangers. This hybrid magical girl/sentai style became enormously popular and soon other series began trying to emulate Sailor Moon’s success (Allison 262-267, 272-274).

Furthermore, Sailor Moon provides a wide array of strong female relationships, both platonic and romantic. What we typically think of women’s experiences in friendships and women's virtues- emotional expressiveness, dependency, the ability to nurture, intimacy, and so on- are prominently featured and celebrated in the series (Kimmel 375). In fact, the friendships that the Sailor Soldiers share with one another- specifically, the friendships between the five original girls who are collectively known as the Inner Soldiers- is one of the main themes of the series. They aren’t just teammates who support each other in battle; in fact, much of the series’ screen time is devoted to the girls’ everyday lives as they go to school, go shopping, study, and hang out together, just like ordinary friends.

The deep and intimate bonds of their friendship are shown in full in Sailor Moon R: The Movie, the series’ first theatrical release. Towards the end of the film, the main antagonist, Fiore, speaks of his loneliness; the Inner Soldiers (sans Usagi) all think of how they have also been lonely, shunned by their classmates for being different or strange. At the movie’s climax, in order thwart Fiore’s plot of sending an asteroid to hit Earth, Usagi is forced to use the full potential of the Silver Crystal; doing so is incredibly dangerous for her, as using too much of the Silver Crystal’s power exhausts one’s life force. The other Sailor Soldiers immediately rush to help her, resolving to combine their powers so they can all return to Earth together. As the girls join hands, they think of how much Usagi means to them, and how she saved them from their loneliness with her love and friendship. With her friends’ support, Usagi is able to destroy the asteroid before it hits Earth. The film makes it clear that the Sailor Soldiers’ bond with and devotion for one another is what makes them powerful. This is in stark contrast to the many movies and tv shows that depict women as natural enemies who compete with each other to be the most beautiful or to win the man (Miss Representation).

Platonic relationships aren’t the only kind featured in the series. In fact, Sailor Moon is significant for its prominent representation of LGBT people. Most notably, two of the Sailor Soldiers, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, are actually lovers who share a close, loving relationship. Within the series, their relationship is treated as something as something completely ordinary; their closeness is never questioned or objected to, and the other Sailor Soldiers sometimes comment on how perfect they look together. In one episode (“Episode 95: Let Moon Help With Your Love Problems”), they even enter a couple’s competition and blow everyone away. But what’s more important is that Haruka/Sailor Uranus and Michiru/Sailor Neptune are given ample characterization outside of simply being lesbians. Their sexualities, while part of who they are, don’t dominate their characterizations; in other words, they’re gay characters who are treated like normal people instead of stereotypes.

Aside from being a lesbian, Haruka/Sailor Uranus is also presented as gender-nonconforming in the manga. Haruka identifies as a woman, but her gender presentation often changes; she easily switches between pants and button-down shirts to short skirts and flowing blouses. At one point in the manga’s third arc (“Act 32: Three Soldiers”), Michiru/Sailor Neptune says “Uranus is like a man and a woman in one. She has the strengths of both genders; it is her special advantage as a soldier.” Michiru isn’t saying that Haruka is physically both male and female; she’s saying that Haruka does not choose to present as either totally masculine or totally feminine, but rather a combination of both. Haruka’s gender nonconformity isn’t portrayed as strange or off-putting; rather, it’s explicitly stated that it’s her strength as a Sailor Soldier. What’s more, nobody ever questions Haruka about her androgyny; rather, the other characters just accept it as a part of who she is. This portrayal is very admirable, especially considering how gender nonconformity is usually handled in media. As Leslie Feinberg explains, “Those of us who cross the ‘man-made’ boundaries of sex and gender run afoul of the law… We have grown up mostly unable to find ourselves represented in the dominant culture” (Feinberg 147). Although character like Haruka is unfortunately hard to find, at least she’s able to be a good representative for gender-nonconforming people.

Aside from all that, Sailor Moon even features a very positive portrayal of a non-traditional, lesbian family. This is significant, because as Stephanie Coontz explains, “For 150 years, the married-couple nuclear family based on male breadwinning and female domesticity has been the main set of instructions on how we should organize adult sexual relationships, raise children, and meet interpersonal obligations” (118). When people- especially LGBT people- attempt to deviate from this familial norm, many immediately protest it; they do so because they argue that children raised by gay or lesbian parents will be not be as healthy as children raised by heterosexual parents (Kimmel 183-184). In reality, however, gay and lesbian couples provide a model of family life in many cases. For example, homosexual couples are more likely than heterosexual couples to share housework and child-rearing responsibilities (Kimmel 185). Moreover, research shows that the children of same-sex parents are just as emotionally healthy, and as educationally and socially successful, as the children raised by heterosexual parents (Kimmel 186). It’s the quality of person’s parenting, rather than their sexuality, which determines how well a child will develop.

In the final chapter (“Act 38: Beginning a Journey”) of Sailor Moon’s third manga arc, Sailor Saturn exhausts her powers and is reborn as a baby. Because she has no family, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, and Sailor Pluto decide to adopt and raise her. Several chapters later (“Act 44: New Soldiers’ Dream”), we see that Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru (the reborn Saturn) have formed a loving, stable, and healthy family. Hotaru (who by now is a young child, as her powers have caused her to age at an accelerated rate) refers to Michiru and Setsuna as her “Mamas,” while she calls Haruka “Papa” due to her more masculine appearance. The manga also states Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna all share the housework and child-rearing responsibilities; in fact, all three of them wear promise rings to symbolize their dedication to raising Hotaru and being good parents to her. Thanks to their love and support, Hotaru grows up to be a much happier, more outgoing, and stabler girl than she was in her previous life. Just like real-life research indicates, Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna’s gender and sexuality did not negatively impact their ability to raise Hotaru. All that mattered was the quality of their parenting.

For all these reasons and more, it’s easy to see why Sailor Moon is such a beloved series. It brought audiences what they sorely needed: Strong and brave, yet relatable, female superheroes who encouraged them to be themselves and provided something to aspire towards. Moreover, it provided positive representation for LGBT people (including gender-nonconforming people) and even debunked stereotypes about them, such as the idea that same-sex couples cannot properly raise a child. The series also provides a healthy view of female friendships. Rather than portraying the Sailor Soldiers as rivals or making their relationships with each other shallow and insignificant, the series consistently characterizes their relationships as strong, meaningful, and loving. When keeping all of that in mind, it becomes clear that the series is just as relevant and needed in 2017 as it was back in 1992. Its themes of love, friendship, hope, and female empowerment will always be needed by not only girls, but by boys and adults as well.

Works Cited

Allison, Anne. "Sailor Moon: Japanese Superheroes for Global Girls." Japan Pop! Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture. New York City: M.E. Sharpe, 2000. 259-78. Print.

Choo, Kukhee. "Girls Return Home: Portrayal of Femininity in Popular Japanese Girls’ Manga and Anime Texts during the 1990s in Hana Yori Dango and Fruits Basket." Women: A Cultural Review 19.3 (2008): 275-96. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.

Coontz, Stephanie. "How Holding on to Tradition Sets Families Back." The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms with America's Changing Families. New York City: Basic Books, 1997. 109-22. Print.

Feinberg, Leslie. "To Be or Not to Be." Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings. 2nd ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2004. 147-50. Print.

Johnson, Allan G. "Where Are We?" The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2014. 3-25. Print.

Kimmel, Michael. The Gendered Society. 6th ed. New York City: Oxford U Press, 2017. Print.

Miss Representation. Dir. Jennifer Siebel Newsom. OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, 2011. Netflix. Web. 28 Apr. 2017

[ajkal2]

homestuck fic recs

So I’ve been meaning to do a homestuck fanfic recommendation post for literal years, and as hiveswap is coming out (finally) I figured now is the time. Here are my personal favorite fics from the homestuck fandom, those I would select and place in an anthology to hand down to future generations. Read all of them, they are all beautiful and wonderful and perfect.

Like One Sundered Star by @sunderedstar - 1.5M words (so far) (yes thats a million) - lots of ships, starts with a focus on pale johnkat - superhero au - This fic, is amazing. The characterization is on point for every single character, and it features p much the entire homestuck cast. The plot is so so well developed, the humour is beautiful, its just a monster of beautiful words.

(note: this fic has recently been completed (but not fully posted yet) and im just. This is the end of an era, holy fuck, and sunderedstar has done so so well to finish this BEAST and i will probs cry when i read the end and just. Congratulations to sunderedstar, youve done so well and this fic is so beautiful and how did you keep track of everything and ill stop here but just wow.)

Spellbound by @toastyhat - 64k words - beta gen - magic au (?) - toasty always does such good worldbuilding, and this is no exception. The fleshing out of the cultures, the integration of aspects from canon, all wonderful. Also, again, great characterisation.

The Serendipity Gospels by urbanAnchorite - 130k words - terezi and gamzee focus, most beta trolls make an appearance - No Sburb, exploration of alternatian society - I couldn’t have a rec list without putting this one on. This is a candidate for best fic in the fandom, even though its abandoned. Such good worldbuilding, all the little details that make it into here are so wonderful. Emotional, and you really get to see these characters stretched to breaking point, pushed and pushed and held until they reform. Its abandoned, as it was simply too great for this world.

The Great Escape by elanor_pam - 67k words - karkat-centric - pre-Sburb karkles gets kidnapped by pirates - A grand exploration of child characters under pressure, and how trauma affects trust. This one makes my heart ache, as, like any good story, it’s a rollercoaster. Now I have to go reread it, excuse me.

Sea Salt by @khemi - 25k words - dirkjake, x2 multiplier - Merstuck - I loved the perspectives in this, the voice was so interesting. Also very well presented characters and romances, amazing descriptions, and generally a good fic. (also check out all the rest of khemi’s work, its awesome)

a thousand years by venusianeye - 22k words - dirkjake - close to canonverse - Amazing. I love love love all the symbolism in this, the use of god tier powers and abilities, as well as all the references to other stories and interweaving of worlds and repetition of motifs, this is just amazing. Venusianeye works have this dreamy, etheral quality to them, and its frankly beautiful. Strange, and poetic, and beautiful.

Sing A Rainbow by @khemi (again) - 48k words - Dave-centric - soulmate au - This one is a special bunny. Yes, the writing is beautiful. Yes, the characters are great. But this one is on this list because of the world. This fic takes that soulmate au idea (when you see your soulmate, you can see in colour!) to a whole new level. Ever wondered about ace people in a soulmated world, or about how the soulmate system would affect society? Wonder no more! Khemi deals with the problems of a simplistic ‘true love!’ world amazingly. This one will make you cry.

Sinking Fear In Quiet Steps by roachpatrol - 2.9k words - focuses on dirk and dave as siblings - post-canon (back on beta earth) - I love this fic. Its short, but the character focus and the relationship development that it shows are just awe-inspiring. The small character details are amazing, and this fic really delves deep into what makes these silly boys tick, and how they’ll fit together, and the similarities and differences between the versions of them in different universes.

Dave Strider’s Stupid Fucking Jawline by @cumulativechaos - 11k words - davekat - high school au - This is, in my opinion, the best davekat fic out there, if not the best fic full stop. It is so so fudging funny, and ive reread it so many times i could probably quote sections verbatim. The characterization of every single party in this fic is beautiful, and the way it sets up punchlines and fluffy moments and- it’s just amazing. Check this one out.

Who’s Asking by sunflowerwonder - 2k words - dirk-centric - canon-verse pesterfic - sunflowerwonder does the BEST pesterlog fics, and this is one of the best of the best. The dialogue feels like it’s been ripped straight from canon, and when reading it you can just picture the expressions they are making.

Honourable mentions (wouldn’t quite make it into the anthology but still amazing and worth a read):

Family Never Ends by a heartless saDIST (This fic has been orphaned, and so I sadly cannot trace the author) - 227k words - BroDave - moviedirector!Dave AU plus a bunch of other changes - I cannot with good conscience recommend this fic. This will rip your heart out, stomp on it a few times, and then nuke it. Do not read this fic. But at the same time, I can’t make a rec list without mentioning this fic. It’s characterizations are great, the plot is breathtaking, but this fic stays with you. And the ending is downright cruel. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Hopeless and Heartless by @lateniteslacker - 234k words - dirkjake - modern fantasy/demon hunters au - Good world, very very good plot, a solid au. Twists and turns and twists and turns.

Independence Week by @toastyhat - 9.5k words - dave-centric - no-sburb yes-powers au - This one requires a bit of thought, which makes it even more enjoyable. It’s a bunch of time travel shenanigans told in chronological order. It’s also a fun time to read, with some great moments and plot twists that keep you interested.

Crash Standing by askerian - 128k words - davespritekat - post-sburb au - This fic is awesome. The pesterlogs are great, the characterisation is just awesome, and I love the way Byrd develops into his own person, not just another Dave. A wonderful read.

[johnsoedercc]

I wrote this profile of record producer extraordinaire and philanthropist Tommy LiPuma for The Plain Dealer, on the occasion of a Tri-C JazzFest salute to him that coincided with the “Modern American Masters: Highlights From the Gill and Tommy LiPuma Collection” exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The Art of Tommy LiPuma

By John Soeder published April 11, 2004, in The Plain Dealer

NEW YORK – Yes, he produced a chart-topping album for Barbra Streisand.

And yes, he also had a hand in Grammy-winning recordings by George Benson, Natalie Cole and Diana Krall.

Running down the mile-long list of his accomplishments as a record producer and music industry executive, however, it’s easy to overlook one of Tommy LiPuma’s most truly remarkable achievements:

He made a Wham! fan out of Miles Davis.

The late, great jazz trumpeter visited LiPuma at home in the 1980s to discuss working together. LiPuma popped a cassette by the George Michael-fronted pop group of “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” fame into the stereo.

Davis “freaked out,” LiPuma says. “He loved it.”

Who knew?

LiPuma recounts the story over lunch at Sistina, his favorite Italian restaurant. It’s not open for lunch, mind you – unless you’re Tommy LiPuma, in which case you and a guest have the dining room all to yourselves on a snowy March afternoon.

Such are the perks when you’re chairman of the world’s largest jazz record company, Verve Music Group. LiPuma, a former Clevelander, has held the title since 1998.

He’ll be back in his hometown this week for the 25th annual Tri-C JazzFest. Benson, Krall, Dr. John, Joe Lovano, Jimmy Scott and others perform Saturday at Playhouse Square’s Allen Theatre in a salute to LiPuma, 67.

“I’m honored,” he says. “On the other hand, it makes you wonder: Are you coming toward the twilight of your career? Frankly, I feel I’m at the top of my game.”

LiPuma co-produced three albums for Davis, starting with 1986’s “Tutu.” It included a cover of “Perfect Way,” originally done by Scritti Politti, another 1980s pop act that LiPuma brought to the attention of Davis.

“He wasn’t what I call a jazz cop,” LiPuma says. “He loved all kinds of music.”

Ditto LiPuma. He wholeheartedly buys into the old Duke Ellington maxim: There are only two kinds of music – the good kind and the other kind.

LiPuma’s latest productions are albums by Al Jarreau and Krall.

Veteran vocalist Jarreau’s “Accentuate the Positive” is due in stores Tuesday, Aug. 3. LiPuma was behind the mixing board for two previous Jarreau releases, “Glow” (1976) and the live double album “Look to the Rainbow” (1977).

“He’s a brilliant producer,” says Jarreau, who performs Friday at the Allen Theatre as part of the JazzFest’s “Silver on Silver” salute to another LiPuma client, hard-bop pianist Horace Silver.

LiPuma has a knack for “knowing artists, knowing what they do, allowing them to do it and then pushing them where he thinks their strengths are — and beyond those strengths,” Jarreau says.

While working on his new album, Jarreau found himself scatting the melody of “Groovin’ High,” a Charlie Parker-Dizzy Gillespie chestnut: “Duh-dut, duh-dut-dut, bah-doo-bee-ooh-bee-ooh-duh-dut’ll-doo-day.…”

LiPuma’s ears pricked up. “Is there a lyric, Al?” he asked.

“Well, I’ve thought about doing a lyric for it,” Jarreau replied.

LiPuma encouraged him to go for it.

Jarreau did. The finished track turned out to be “one of my best efforts,” he says.

Krall’s new album, “The Girl in the Other Room,” comes out Tuesday, April 27. It features six songs co-written by the singer-pianist and her husband, rocker Elvis Costello.

LiPuma co-produced “The Girl in the Other Room” with Krall, whom he refers to as “my baby.” He has overseen seven of her eight albums.

“Tommy is my ears — he can hear things I can’t hear,” Krall said in a 2001 interview with The Plain Dealer. “He loves music, art, beauty and all the meaningful things in life, including really good wine.”

At Sistina, LiPuma orders a bowl of pasta. It arrives perfectly al dente and prepared, per his specifications, with cherry tomatoes. A seafood dish follows in short order.

“This is the branzino,” LiPuma says, digging into the Italian-style sea bass. “Delicious!”

Between sips of espresso in the afterglow of the meal, he’ll gladly tell you about working with ultradiva Streisand on “The Way We Were,” her 1974 No. 1 album: “She knows exactly what she wants.”

Or the truth behind “Weekend in L.A.,” singer-guitarist Benson’s 1977 live album: “It wasn’t really as live as it sounded…. We had to redo the vocals.”

Or the emotional experience of recording the title track of Cole’s 1991 “Unforgettable” album, a virtual duet between the singer and her late father, Nat “King” Cole: “When we did it, it stopped all of us in our tracks.”

Lawyers, accountants running the show

LiPuma lights up when he talks about music. But his mood turns somber when the conversation turns to the music business.

“The sooner corporate America gets out of it, the happier I’m going to be,” he says.

Verve Music Group is the parent company of four record labels: Verve, Impulse!, GRP (which LiPuma ran in the 1990s) and Blue Thumb (where LiPuma worked in the late ’60s and early ’70s with such acts as Dan Hicks and Dave Mason).

In addition to a catalog rich with jazz greats (Ellington, Count Basie, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, among others), the company’s current artist roster includes the likes of Krall, Jarreau, Benson, violinist Regina Carter and keyboardist Herbie Hancock.

Verve Music Group is a subsidiary of the world’s leading music company, Universal Music Group, which had revenues of $6 billion in 2003. Universal (itself a division of multinational media conglomerate Vivendi Universal) does not release specific financial data for its subsidiaries.

“The record business used to be basically a group of entrepreneurs … who made gut decisions and ran their own ships,” LiPuma says. “They didn’t have to worry about making their quarter or if Wall Street was going to give them its blessing. They were music people.

"Today, with a few exceptions, you have lawyers and accountants running the show. It’s very unfortunate.”

LiPuma has delegated the day-to-day responsibilities (read: headaches) of running Verve Music Group to his second-in-command, President and CEO Ron Goldstein.

“I handle the creative aspects,” LiPuma says. “When you make records, all you want is the right performance…. As a producer, everything is about waiting for the moment when the artist drops a magic take. One of the most important parts of my job is knowing when the moment happens.”

Magic has struck in the studio time and again for LiPuma, who has made more than 20 gold, platinum or multiplatinum records. He also has won three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year in 1976 for Benson’s smash “This Masquerade,” Album of the Year in 1991 for Cole’s “Unforgettable” and Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2002 for Krall’s “Live in Paris.”

The way he was: Cleveland roots

Born in Cleveland to Italian immigrants, LiPuma was the youngest of five children. His brothers, Joe and Henry, and sister Therese still live in the area; another sister, Josephine, died in 1984.

LiPuma’s family moved often when he was young, from Cleveland’s Kinsman neighborhood to University Heights to Warrensville Heights to Beachwood.

“The radio was always on in our house,” LiPuma says. “In those days, it was Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters, Jo Stafford.

"Some way or another, I ended up where I ended up. But I’m a pop junkie. I love great pop music.

"By the time I was 18, I loved bebop — Charlie Parker, Horace Silver, all those guys. But it didn’t take away from my love for pop music.”

When he was 9, LiPuma developed osteomyelitis, a debilitating bone infection. He spent nearly three years laid up in bed.

“The radio became my friend,” he says. “I discovered the R&B station in those days, WJMO, and I started hearing Charles Brown, Louis Jordan, Nat Cole and Ruth Brown. I was a complete R&B nut by the time I was 12.

"Then I started playing saxophone…. I’ll never forget: The music teacher at Shaker Heights Junior High School gave me an F in music because I didn’t show up for a concert.”

LiPuma dropped out of school when he was 18, although he only made it through 10th grade. His illness had left him two grades behind his friends. “I felt out of place,” he says.

By then, he was earning $25 a night playing sax in local clubs.

His father, a barber, sent LiPuma to barber college and gave him a loan to buy a barbershop in the Keith Building on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland. Among his customers were various radio disc jockeys, including future “American Top 40” host Casey Kasem, who used to work at the old WJW AM/850.

But LiPuma’s heart wasn’t into cutting hair. He leased the shop, packed his sax and hit the road for a year with a jazz combo.

Upon his return to Cleveland in 1960, LiPuma got a job as a record promoter with M.S. Distributors.

The following year, he was hired to do promotion for Liberty Records. He later transferred to the company’s music publishing division. LiPuma primarily was based in Los Angeles, although he briefly lived in New York in 1962 and relocated there permanently in 1984.

The first album he produced was “Comin’ Through,” the 1965 debut by an R&B group from Canton — the O’Jays.

Making hits, taking hits

He scored his first gold record one year later with the Sandpipers. The easy-listening trio’s Top 10 single “Guantanamera” was produced by LiPuma, who also recited the spoken-word bit in the middle of the tune: “I am a truthful man from the land of the palm trees… .”

He went on to work as a producer and A&R (artists and repertoire) executive for several other record companies, including A&M, Warner Bros. and Elektra. Along the way, LiPuma collaborated with a range of artists, from Dr. John to Michael Franks to Joe Sample.

Somebody once asked LiPuma how it felt to be the father of smooth jazz. He was mortified.

“I detest — de-test! — smooth jazz,” he says. “Shall I call it the height of mediocrity? Everything has become so predictable.

"The jazz community can blame itself for what ultimately ended up happening with jazz. Basically, it has gone nowhere.”

Some jazz purists blame LiPuma for his pop-savvy meddling — at least to hear him tell it.

“Critics like Gary Giddins hate my [expletive] guts,” LiPuma says. “They think I’m the Antichrist. [Giddins] referred to me as a hack.”

Giddins, former jazz critic for The Village Voice and the author of biographies of Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and Charlie Parker, is widely regarded as a top jazz authority. (Even LiPuma says Giddins is “erudite.”)

Giddins gave his side of the story via e-mail last week.

“I don’t hate Tommy LiPuma’s ‘[expletive] guts,’ ” he wrote. “It is possible that I once referred to him as a hack, but I can’t recall the occasion and a global search of everything on my hard drive, dating back 20 years, turns up only one mention of his name.”

In a review of the 1997 JVC Jazz Festival, Giddins made a passing reference to LiPuma as “the record industry menace who specializes in convincing good musicians to play bad music.”

‘A rare breed’ and ‘a beautiful cat’

Tommy LiPuma — a “menace”? Jarreau scoffs at the notion.

LiPuma is “a rare breed,” Jarreau says. “Maybe a guy like Tommy is too nice for this industry.”

Sax player David Sanborn, on the bill for the JazzFest’s Silver tribute, has cut a couple of albums with LiPuma.

“You can always tell a Tommy LiPuma production,” Sanborn says. “He makes high-class, high-quality records…. He has the ability to make records with broad appeal, too.

"I don’t think there’s anything intrinsically wrong with a lot of people liking your music. If you’re doing something you don’t believe in, that’s another story. But I don’t think Tommy has ever done that. . . . He has a real passion for the music.”

LiPuma is “a beautiful cat,” says another music legend from Cleveland, jazz singer Jimmy Scott. His 1992 comeback album, “All the Way,” was produced by LiPuma.

“He knows his stuff,” Scott says. “If you have an idea and you talk it over with him, he’ll make it happen. He doesn’t limit his thoughts about the music.”

LiPuma doesn’t limit his interests to music, either.

Paintings by American Modernists usually fill his Park Avenue apartment, although for the time being, the walls are dotted with empty hooks. “Modern American Masters: Highlights From the Gill and Tommy LiPuma Collection” is on view through Sunday, July 18, at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The exhibition features works by some of LiPuma’s favorite artists (not of the recording variety), including Alfred Maurer, Marsden Hartley and Arnold Friedman.

Gill is LiPuma’s wife of 35 years. They have two grown daughters.

“I love art…. You’ve got structure, form, textures — the same things you have in music,” says LiPuma, recently elected a trustee of the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art.

“I’d like to be a private [art] dealer,” he says. “I also still enjoy making records. I don’t want to stop…. At this point, the last thing I’m thinking about is retirement.”

[johnsoedercma-blog]

For me, it doesn’t get any better than telling stories about people with a passion for the arts. I wrote this profile of record producer extraordinaire and philanthropist Tommy LiPuma for The Plain Dealer, on the occasion of a Tri-C JazzFest salute to him that coincided with the "Modern American Masters: Highlights From the Gill and Tommy LiPuma Collection" exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The Art of Tommy LiPuma

By John Soeder published April 11, 2004, in The Plain Dealer

NEW YORK – Yes, he produced a chart-topping album for Barbra Streisand.

And yes, he also had a hand in Grammy-winning recordings by George Benson, Natalie Cole and Diana Krall.

Running down the mile-long list of his accomplishments as a record producer and music industry executive, however, it’s easy to overlook one of Tommy LiPuma’s most truly remarkable achievements:

He made a Wham! fan out of Miles Davis. 

The late, great jazz trumpeter visited LiPuma at home in the 1980s to discuss working together. LiPuma popped a cassette by the George Michael-fronted pop group of "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" fame into the stereo.

Davis "freaked out," LiPuma says. "He loved it."

Who knew?

LiPuma recounts the story over lunch at Sistina, his favorite Italian restaurant. It’s not open for lunch, mind you – unless you’re Tommy LiPuma, in which case you and a guest have the dining room all to yourselves on a snowy March afternoon.

Such are the perks when you’re chairman of the world’s largest jazz record company, Verve Music Group. LiPuma, a former Clevelander, has held the title since 1998.

He’ll be back in his hometown this week for the 25th annual Tri-C JazzFest. Benson, Krall, Dr. John, Joe Lovano, Jimmy Scott and others perform Saturday at Playhouse Square’s Allen Theatre in a salute to LiPuma, 67.

"I’m honored," he says. "On the other hand, it makes you wonder: Are you coming toward the twilight of your career? Frankly, I feel I’m at the top of my game."

LiPuma co-produced three albums for Davis, starting with 1986’s "Tutu." It included a cover of "Perfect Way," originally done by Scritti Politti, another 1980s pop act that LiPuma brought to the attention of Davis.

"He wasn’t what I call a jazz cop," LiPuma says. "He loved all kinds of music."

Ditto LiPuma. He wholeheartedly buys into the old Duke Ellington maxim: There are only two kinds of music – the good kind and the other kind.

LiPuma’s latest productions are albums by Al Jarreau and Krall.

Veteran vocalist Jarreau’s "Accentuate the Positive" is due in stores Tuesday, Aug. 3. LiPuma was behind the mixing board for two previous Jarreau releases, "Glow" (1976) and the live double album "Look to the Rainbow" (1977).

"He’s a brilliant producer," says Jarreau, who performs Friday at the Allen Theatre as part of the JazzFest’s "Silver on Silver" salute to another LiPuma client, hard-bop pianist Horace Silver.

LiPuma has a knack for "knowing artists, knowing what they do, allowing them to do it and then pushing them where he thinks their strengths are — and beyond those strengths," Jarreau says.

While working on his new album, Jarreau found himself scatting the melody of "Groovin’ High," a Charlie Parker-Dizzy Gillespie chestnut: "Duh-dut, duh-dut-dut, bah-doo-bee-ooh-bee-ooh-duh-dut’ll-doo-day. . . ."

LiPuma’s ears pricked up. "Is there a lyric, Al?" he asked.

"Well, I’ve thought about doing a lyric for it," Jarreau replied.

LiPuma encouraged him to go for it.

Jarreau did. The finished track turned out to be "one of my best efforts," he says.

Krall’s new album, "The Girl in the Other Room," comes out Tuesday, April 27. It features six songs co-written by the singer-pianist and her husband, rocker Elvis Costello.

LiPuma co-produced "The Girl in the Other Room" with Krall, whom he refers to as "my baby." He has overseen seven of her eight albums.

"Tommy is my ears — he can hear things I can’t hear," Krall said in a 2001 interview with The Plain Dealer. "He loves music, art, beauty and all the meaningful things in life, including really good wine."

At Sistina, LiPuma orders a bowl of pasta. It arrives perfectly al dente and prepared, per his specifications, with cherry tomatoes. A seafood dish follows in short order.

"This is the branzino," LiPuma says, digging into the Italian-style sea bass. "Delicious!"

Between sips of espresso in the afterglow of the meal, he’ll gladly tell you about working with ultradiva Streisand on "The Way We Were," her 1974 No. 1 album: "She knows exactly what she wants."

Or the truth behind "Weekend in L.A.," singer-guitarist Benson’s 1977 live album: "It wasn’t really as live as it sounded. . . . We had to redo the vocals."

Or the emotional experience of recording the title track of Cole’s 1991 "Unforgettable" album, a virtual duet between the singer and her late father, Nat "King" Cole: "When we did it, it stopped all of us in our tracks."

Lawyers, accountants running the show

LiPuma lights up when he talks about music. But his mood turns somber when the conversation turns to the music business.

"The sooner corporate America gets out of it, the happier I’m going to be," he says.

Verve Music Group is the parent company of four record labels: Verve, Impulse!, GRP (which LiPuma ran in the 1990s) and Blue Thumb (where LiPuma worked in the late ’60s and early ’70s with such acts as Dan Hicks and Dave Mason).

In addition to a catalog rich with jazz greats (Ellington, Count Basie, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, among others), the company’s current artist roster includes the likes of Krall, Jarreau, Benson, violinist Regina Carter and keyboardist Herbie Hancock.

Verve Music Group is a subsidiary of the world’s leading music company, Universal Music Group, which had revenues of $6 billion in 2003. Universal (itself a division of multinational media conglomerate Vivendi Universal) does not release specific financial data for its subsidiaries.

"The record business used to be basically a group of entrepreneurs . . . who made gut decisions and ran their own ships," LiPuma says. "They didn’t have to worry about making their quarter or if Wall Street was going to give them its blessing. They were music people.

"Today, with a few exceptions, you have lawyers and accountants running the show. It’s very unfortunate."

LiPuma has delegated the day-to-day responsibilities (read: headaches) of running Verve Music Group to his second-in-command, President and CEO Ron Goldstein.

"I handle the creative aspects," LiPuma says. "When you make records, all you want is the right performance. . . . As a producer, everything is about waiting for the moment when the artist drops a magic take. One of the most important parts of my job is knowing when the moment happens."

Magic has struck in the studio time and again for LiPuma, who has made more than 20 gold, platinum or multiplatinum records. He also has won three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year in 1976 for Benson’s smash "This Masquerade," Album of the Year in 1991 for Cole’s "Unforgettable" and Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2002 for Krall’s "Live in Paris."

The way he was: Cleveland roots

Born in Cleveland to Italian immigrants, LiPuma was the youngest of five children. His brothers, Joe and Henry, and sister Therese still live in the area; another sister, Josephine, died in 1984.

LiPuma’s family moved often when he was young, from Cleveland’s Kinsman neighborhood to University Heights to Warrensville Heights to Beachwood.

"The radio was always on in our house," LiPuma says. "In those days, it was Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters, Jo Stafford.

"Some way or another, I ended up where I ended up. But I’m a pop junkie. I love great pop music.

"By the time I was 18, I loved bebop — Charlie Parker, Horace Silver, all those guys. But it didn’t take away from my love for pop music."

When he was 9, LiPuma developed osteomyelitis, a debilitating bone infection. He spent nearly three years laid up in bed.

"The radio became my friend," he says. "I discovered the R&B station in those days, WJMO, and I started hearing Charles Brown, Louis Jordan, Nat Cole and Ruth Brown. I was a complete R&B nut by the time I was 12.

"Then I started playing saxophone. . . . I’ll never forget: The music teacher at Shaker Heights Junior High School gave me an F in music because I didn’t show up for a concert."

LiPuma dropped out of school when he was 18, although he only made it through 10th grade. His illness had left him two grades behind his friends. "I felt out of place," he says.

By then, he was earning $25 a night playing sax in local clubs.

His father, a barber, sent LiPuma to barber college and gave him a loan to buy a barbershop in the Keith Building on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland. Among his customers were various radio disc jockeys, including future "American Top 40" host Casey Kasem, who used to work at the old WJW AM/850.

But LiPuma’s heart wasn’t into cutting hair. He leased the shop, packed his sax and hit the road for a year with a jazz combo.

Upon his return to Cleveland in 1960, LiPuma got a job as a record promoter with M.S. Distributors.

The following year, he was hired to do promotion for Liberty Records. He later transferred to the company’s music publishing division. LiPuma primarily was based in Los Angeles, although he briefly lived in New York in 1962 and relocated there permanently in 1984.

The first album he produced was "Comin’ Through," the 1965 debut by an R&B group from Canton — the O’Jays.

Making hits, taking hits

He scored his first gold record one year later with the Sandpipers. The easy-listening trio’s Top 10 single "Guantanamera" was produced by LiPuma, who also recited the spoken-word bit in the middle of the tune: "I am a truthful man from the land of the palm trees. . . ."

He went on to work as a producer and A&R (artists and repertoire) executive for several other record companies, including A&M, Warner Bros. and Elektra. Along the way, LiPuma collaborated with a range of artists, from Dr. John to Michael Franks to Joe Sample.

Somebody once asked LiPuma how it felt to be the father of smooth jazz. He was mortified.

"I detest — de-test! — smooth jazz," he says. "Shall I call it the height of mediocrity? Everything has become so predictable.

"The jazz community can blame itself for what ultimately ended up happening with jazz. Basically, it has gone nowhere."

Some jazz purists blame LiPuma for his pop-savvy meddling — at least to hear him tell it.

"Critics like Gary Giddins hate my [expletive] guts," LiPuma says. "They think I’m the Antichrist. [Giddins] referred to me as a hack."

Giddins, former jazz critic for The Village Voice and the author of biographies of Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and Charlie Parker, is widely regarded as a top jazz authority. (Even LiPuma says Giddins is "erudite.")

Giddins gave his side of the story via e-mail last week.

"I don’t hate Tommy LiPuma’s ‘[expletive] guts,’ " he wrote. "It is possible that I once referred to him as a hack, but I can’t recall the occasion and a global search of everything on my hard drive, dating back 20 years, turns up only one mention of his name."

In a review of the 1997 JVC Jazz Festival, Giddins made a passing reference to LiPuma as "the record industry menace who specializes in convincing good musicians to play bad music."

‘A rare breed’ and ‘a beautiful cat’

Tommy LiPuma — a "menace"? Jarreau scoffs at the notion.

LiPuma is "a rare breed," Jarreau says. "Maybe a guy like Tommy is too nice for this industry."

Sax player David Sanborn, on the bill for the JazzFest’s Silver tribute, has cut a couple of albums with LiPuma.

"You can always tell a Tommy LiPuma production," Sanborn says. "He makes high-class, high-quality records. . . . He has the ability to make records with broad appeal, too.

"I don’t think there’s anything intrinsically wrong with a lot of people liking your music. If you’re doing something you don’t believe in, that’s another story. But I don’t think Tommy has ever done that. . . . He has a real passion for the music."

LiPuma is "a beautiful cat," says another music legend from Cleveland, jazz singer Jimmy Scott. His 1992 comeback album, "All the Way," was produced by LiPuma.

"He knows his stuff," Scott says. "If you have an idea and you talk it over with him, he’ll make it happen. He doesn’t limit his thoughts about the music."

LiPuma doesn’t limit his interests to music, either.

Paintings by American Modernists usually fill his Park Avenue apartment, although for the time being, the walls are dotted with empty hooks. "Modern American Masters: Highlights From the Gill and Tommy LiPuma Collection" is on view through Sunday, July 18, at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The exhibition features works by some of LiPuma’s favorite artists (not of the recording variety), including Alfred Maurer, Marsden Hartley and Arnold Friedman.

Gill is LiPuma’s wife of 35 years. They have two grown daughters.

"I love art. . . . You’ve got structure, form, textures — the same things you have in music," says LiPuma, recently elected a trustee of the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art.

"I’d like to be a private [art] dealer," he says. "I also still enjoy making records. I don’t want to stop. . . . At this point, the last thing I’m thinking about is retirement."

[theherblifeblog]

Spotlight Series: Katie Stem, Peak Extracts

Katie and her business partner Kate started Peak in 2014. Katie had been a medical cannabis user for ten years at that point, using cannabis to make infused chocolate to help her manager her Crohn’s symptoms. She knew that specific cultivars provided the results she was looking for while others didn’t so much, she wanted to create single strain specific products for other patients in the Oregon medical market. They transitioned to the adult use market in 2016 and were one of the first edibles processors licensed in the state.

Katie is also a Chinese herbalist and has developed a formula for a product called Rescue Rub which is said to help with everything from neuropathy to muscle strains to healing tattoos. The Peak Extracts chocolate bars are made with local, pesticide-free cannabis and gourmet 70% dark chocolate couverture. They are vegan, gluten-free and rich in antioxidants. Designed to deliver a unique, full-spectrum cannabis experience, Pure Peak CO2 Oil features Terp-lockTM, a proprietary process, and top-quality ceramic, glass and stainless-steel cartridges.

You can connect with Katie and Kate at Peak Extracts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

How did you get involved in the cannabis industry?

The Oregon medical marijuana community was still pretty small when I got my card in 2005 to manage my Crohn’s disease. It was a tight knit group here in Portland and we did a lot of experimenting and sharing recipes. I began making strain-specific infused chocolates in 2006, and I realized immediately that some strains were fantastic for my pain and nausea but others were not. In 2014, my girlfriend Kate and I decided to start our business in the medical market, and invested in our first CO2 extractor. Our company did well selling chocolates and topicals to the medical dispensaries, and then when it went legal here we decided to expand further. We were the first licensed edibles manufacturer in the recreational market in 2016, and have been very busy ever since.

Tell us a little bit about your product or service

We take in material from local farms selected based on their values, quality product and growing practices, and turn it into a variety of strain-specific products. Our chocolate bars are made from gourmet 70% dark couverture and are divided into a rainbow of effects, color-coded based on whether they are indica or sativa dominant, and “bright” or “heavy.” We also have a line of terpene-rich tinctures and vape cartridges, also strain specific, so people can have the utmost control over their experience. Rescue Rub is our topical, developed during my years as a practicing Chinese herbalist. It contains 12 herbs plus cannabis, and is designed to treat trauma, pain, and inflammation.

What time does your day typically start and what does a normal day look like to you?

We usually start working at 8am, since the factory gets going at 8:30, it’s nice to get a head start. We have 10 employees and make thousands of units of product every week, and service around 150 accounts. That means that my partner and I do a lot of different jobs, so it seems like no two days are the same. My days are usually filled with managing product flow/inventory, sourcing material for extraction, doing design work for our ever-changing packaging and labels, and managing our sales and extraction staff. Kate and I communicate several times a day, as she oversees production on the factory floor, and packing orders for delivery. It’s literally never dull. Although the factory shuts down between 5-6pm, we usually have a few more hours of work to prepare for the next day. We often take a long walk and go over our day, and then do clerical, social media or design work until 9pm or later. Anyone who’s ever run a small business knows that the work is never finished, but having control over such an exciting and dynamic process is a fine reward.

What is your vision for your company going forward?

We are going to continue expanding our product line and reach into other states. We’re about to roll out some exciting hemp-based products, and we’re hoping to expand into Kate’s home state of Michigan later this summer. Our vision is to continue to offer the best quality product with the most customizable effects. As we move beyond Oregon, consumer education is going to be paramount. Not many other states have cannabis as entrenched into their culture, and we are excited to engage with a new wave of consumers that can benefit from all cannabis has to offer.

What would an ideal post prohibition society look like to you?

Cannabis was used for millennia as a medicinal tool, and I would like to see it available in a variety of forms to suit everyone’s unique needs. Much like all mainstream categories of packaged goods, I hope that there will be room for both craft, high end products and cheap, readily available ones. Oregon and Northern California have the perfect natural conditions to supply the world with the finest possible cannabis, and I would love to have that be our niche market, much like Bordeaux with wine. I’m hoping that in the next few years, cannabis will be legal nationwide, allowing our company to expand without having to have a new facility in each state.

What was your first experience with cannabis like?

I was one of the last of my peers in high school to try cannabis. I would hang out with them while they were stoned and act like Lassie— herding them away from danger and towards the snacks. I was 17 when I smoked for the first time, with my drama teacher. We were on this magical stretch of the Snake River Canyon, and we hiked for hours and talked about philosophy, spirituality and nature. It was a high bar to set for all future experiences and I’m grateful I got such a spectacular introduction.

Tell us about some of the challenges you face working in the cannabis industry

The biggest challenges have been around changing for unreasonable regulations. It was very difficult to get a permit to use our extraction system within the Portland city limits, exacerbated by the fact that at the time we had an all-female staff. They assumed that as women, we couldn’t possibly know how to run such a large (and loud!) piece of equipment. Banking has been another giant hurdle. Luckily, we do have a bank account now, but it requires a hefty monthly maintenance fee, quarterly audit and a three hour drive to make a deposit. I’m hoping that soon both banking and the draconian 280E taxation will be resolved.

What are some solutions you've found?

I’ve found it’s best just to channel my inner labrador retriever, and not get flustered by the thrice daily “cannamergencies” — abruptly changing packaging rules, sexist inspectors, etc. We’ve learned to pivot with ease, and to not become discouraged when we hear the word “no,” unless it’s something unethical or illegal, of course. And as for the sexist inspectors, we have male friends that are willing to come in and pretend to work for our company to assuage them. It’s upsetting how often we’ve had to resort to that play.

What is one thing you wish everyone knew about cannabis?

Your response to cannabis will be affected by your own individual endocannabinoid system, which in turn is shaped by genetics, time of day, past illness, and even past antibiotic use. Not only that, but each strain of cannabis has its own unique effects. It’s literally infinitely customizable to the experience you want to create, and we have more control than we think!

What is one thing you wish everyone knew about your product or service?

Our dedication to strain specificity and terpene retention sets us apart in the market as a company that can provide consumers with unparalleled control over their cannabis experience.

If you could go back in time and do it all over again, what (if anything) would you do differently?

There are a couple of our products I wish I had released years before we did, such as our tinctures. I had no idea the demand, or the utility for me personally.

What is your favorite way to consume cannabis?

Ironically, our newest product is the one I use the most, our strain-specific tincture. I love to combine them to achieve different effects. For instance, we have an amazing Bright Sativa 23:1 CBD tincture that I use during the day, and add a couple drops of the heavy indica 2:1 tincture for pain as needed. It’s long lasting, delicious, and as we expand our line there will be even more varieties to experiment with in combination.

Concentrate or flower? Why?

I mostly use our vape pens these days, although I could never give up flower vaporized in my vintage volcano. Our CO2 oil is delicious and as I curate the strain collection, I always have access to my favorites. I also find I have less issue with allergies because any molds or mildew are eliminated by the extraction process. The only disadvantage is that it’s vaporized at a higher temperature, which will damage some of the more delicate compounds that make each strain unique.

Do you think cannabis legalization will change the world for the better? Why?

Carl Sagan characterized cannabis as an introspective drug, and I agree that it has an enormous potential to counteract some of the unsavory aspects in our current social climate. People in pain, emotional and physical, tend to be more selfish and reactive. Cannabis eases so many conditions and brings calm and relief, as well as a shift in perspective. I’m hoping that we will use this powerful tool to fight against suffering and lack of compassion, and cannabis will usher in a kinder, more thoughtful society.

What advice would you offer to another woman who is looking to get into the industry?

Don’t give up when someone says you can’t do something! Find some trusted allies in the industry and have regular meetings with them about what you’re learning. Try not to be too protective or proprietary— I’ve found that the more I share, the more I learn about possible flaws in my thinking or process. It’s a brand new industry, and we’re all going to grow together very fast.

[litassteam-blog]

Polish rider carries wide-ranging ambitions into 2018

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    What a difference 12 months can make. This time last year Michal Kwiatkowski’s head was full of doubts, the former world champion starting to wonder whether he was worthy of those rainbow bands on the sleeves of his jersey.

  “We were trying to put in my head that I didn’t lose talent, that I just needed more time,” Kwiatkowski tells Cyclingnews.

Whatever was said, it worked. Kwiatkowski, who had one victory and six DNFs across 56 race days last year, was transformed this year in his second campaign with Team Sky, with success in one-day classics and stage races alike. He won his first Monument at Milan-San Remo and triumphed in convincing fashion at Strade Bianche and the Clásica San Sebastián, while also finishing on the podium at Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Basogne-Liège. He then went to the Tour de France and was arguably the stand-out domestique for Chris Froome as the Briton secured his fourth yellow jersey.

“My problem sometimes is that I have too much motivation. Maybe when I came to Sky I had too much motivation. I wanted to impress. I wanted to start too early but it’s not the way,” says the Pole, who struggled with illness and injury last year.

“This season gives me a lot of confidence – well, not confidence, but the realisation that sometimes there are things you cannot control.”

  There wasn’t much that Kwiatkowski and Sky couldn’t control this July. Froome’s victory was owed in no small part to the strength of his team, and it wasn’t long before debates over team sizes and salary caps resurfaced. If last year it was Wout Poels who amazed rival directeurs sportifs and fans alike with his turns in the mountains, this year it was Kwiatkowski.

Prominent across a variety of scenarios – an ‘all-terrain’ super-domestique was how AG2R boss Vincent Lavenu described him – the 27-year-old was singled out for public recognition by Froome himself, while his team cast him as the ‘MVP’ – most valuable player – of the Tour.

“I think that was the best I’ve ever climbed,” says Kwiatkowski, “but what impressed me the most was that I could perform for 21 days; in the first, second, and third weeks, I was pretty much the same level. You could see me actually performing well on each stage in the Tour without any crazy training or anything crazy.

“It’s very different to what I had to do at Quick-Step, for example, where there’s the pressure to win certain stages and catching opportunities but here it’s about the process of how they think about the entire race, staying fresh, and performing on all 21 days.”

Such was his performance – and it mustn’t be forgotten that he was one second away from winning the penultimate-day time trial in Marseille, going quicker than Froome – Kwiatkowski has been talked about as a future Grand Tour contender.

The potential was evident as early as his 2013 season when he finished 11th overall on his Tour de France debut, with Sky keen to develop that side of his game when he joined in 2016. After the false start last year, that process will now gather pace.

“For sure, I would love to try once in my career to go for GC on a Grand Tour,” he says.

“I’m working mostly on improving my time trialling and climbing and that brings you the opportunity to one day maybe try and do something in the Grand Tours. But for sure if you look at the riders like G [Geraint Thomas], first of all you have to prove yourself in one-week stage races, and if I see any sign in Paris-Nice, Dauphiné, whatever, that I can be there in the GC then I would love to try it. But there’s no pressure.

“Team Sky is the best team to be in for the Grand Tours – there’s no doubt about that. Just being here, without doing anything specific, you are actually getting that experience. I could be really close to Chris during the Tour so I could see how much pressure he’s got on his shoulders and how he handled that.”

    All-Rounder

Kwiatkowski is an archetypal all-rounder. Arguably the most complete rider in the pro peloton at the moment, he can climb, time trial, and sprint, and it’s not absurd to cast him as a potential winner of all five Monuments, nor as a future Grand Tour champion.

The age-old conundrum associated with all-rounders is the idea that their strength might also be their weakness, the breadth of the talent causing it to be spread too thinly – jacks of all trades, masters of none. Kwiatkowski, however, is resisting all temptation to specialise, and his Grand Tour ambitions will not see his one-day qualities neglected.

“I definitely will not focus on just the one way, because that’s what has brought me success in the past. I’m an all-rounder and I want to stay that way,” he insists.

“I only won San Remo because I could descend well and I could sprint well, and I didn’t give up on those things. Honestly, the way I’m trying to improve my time trialling and climbing also helps me win San Remo and lots of different races. I didn’t focus mainly on the Classics this year and I was in the game for most of the races.

“Even to win the Tour de France, you have to climb well, time trial well, descend well, sprint well, so I don’t want to give up on anything. I still didn’t win Liège, Lombardia, those races, so I’d love to win those in the future – the near future, I would say.”

As for which style of racing he prefers, once again, it’s the variety.

“OK, maybe from some people’s point of view the Tour de France was more predictable but for me it was something completely new, defending the yellow jersey and trying to get it back,” he says. “For me that was completely unpredictable – people were trying to go in the breaks and every time they were trying to just beat us. Sometimes in the Classics you have a group of favourites like in Flanders or Liège, and you know that’s where the winner will come from. They can both be a bit predictable and a bit unpredictable.

“I just want to gain as much experience as I can in different races, and that’s what motivates me in cycling. Every scenario is different, every race is different – that’s my motivation.”

    Looking ahead

Kwiatkowski will draw up his 2018 race programme early next month as Team Sky gather for its first off-season training camp. It’s likely to look similar to this year, which started out with week-long stage races in Valencia and the Algarve, and then Tirreno-Adriatico, sandwiched by Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo, before the Vuelta al País Vaso led into the Ardennes Classics. After a break in May, it was all eyes on the Tour de France, via the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Polish Nationals.

Kwiatkowski may be determined to focus on classics as well as stage races, but there can’t be room for everything. This year he didn’t ride a single cobbled classic – despite his obvious ability on the cobbles as evidenced by his win at E3 Harelbeke in 2016 – and it’s once again the Ardennes that will take priority in 2018.

“Every single year I’m trying to be up there in Liège. I was third this year, and, honestly, I would love to win it,” he says.

“I need to see how it goes, and see what’s the best way of being there in good shape. I love racing on the cobbles, and if there’s a chance to fit the Tour of Flanders in my race calendar, that would be nice. But we still need to analyse what went good and what went wrong this season.”

Kwiatkowski is speaking to Cyclingnews in Japan, at the second of ASO’s two end-of-season Criteriums in Asia – a holiday of sorts for many riders despite the 120-odd kilometres they were required to ‘race’.

“I really need a good rest because the season was so long,” he says, explaining that he’s taking a total of five weeks off before his preparations for 2018 begin in earnest. The important thing will be to remember what went right last winter and what went wrong the one before that.

“Not much changes – the same,” he says. “What I was really happy with this season was that I could perform well the entire season – I was always in the game. OK, I won nice races, but the most important thing for me was that I could perform the entire season and I was in the game to achieve more.

“If you start the season already at end of January, and you want to perform in Ardennes Classics, it’s a really long way. No one remembers which races you won in February. You have to remember that when you start your training. That’s what I want to achieve this winter, to get myself fresh, then work hard.”

#Kwiatkowski: #I #would #love #to #go for #GC #on #a #Grand #Tour Polish rider carries wide-ranging ambitions into 2018 What a difference 12 months can make. This time last year Michal Kwiatkowski's head was full of doubts, the former world champion starting to wonder whether he was worthy of those rainbow bands on the sleeves of his jersey.