#also another convention! this weekend! 4/13!!!!!!! crazy.

[locksox]

more commission work!!!!! enderman!skizz for @zeebee823 :]]]!

[houkagokappa]

Favourite anime of the decade

Although I only began watching anime in 2013 and thus didn’t think I could make a post like this, I started to think about which shows I would pick if I would make it, and before I knew it I had it composed. I chose the anime that meant the most to me and I feel a strong connection to, not necessarily the ones I think were the best of each year (though in a way they are the same).

The anime for 2010-2012 are series I watched after they originally aired and the anime I picked for 2013-2019 are all series I watched as they aired.

Under the cut because this is super long and incredibly self-indulgent. You’ve been warned.

2010 - Katanagatari

What better way is there to start this list than with Katanagatari, an epic that took the entire year to air.

I watched Katanagatari with my university’s anime association in 2014-2015. I didn’t know anything about it beforehand, which is why I like attending our anime meetings. They’ve introduced me to a lot of great anime I otherwise never would’ve watched (or in this case wouldn’t have discovered until much later).

I love the colourful world and the interesting characters, the banter and all the twists. The ending to Katanagatari is one of the best endings to any anime ever. It’s a great story with a good structure and an amazing conclusion. Nanami is the best girl and we need to treasure her. That’s all.

2011 - Mawaru Penguindrum

What better way is there to continue this list, than with my favourite anime ever?

After watching and falling in love with Utena, I had Penguindrum on my radar, but I didn’t feel rushed to watch it anytime soon. Then one day, about half a year later I saw a gif of Ringo with the burning diary on my dash, which looked super cool and I took it as a sign to finally start the series.

I watched all of Penguindrum over a long weekend in November 2014 at my parents place. I remember being sick, just as I had been when I first watched Utena, which is a weird coincidence and possibly something needed for additional effect. I saw half of it on my laptop in my bed and half of it on our TV in the living room, which I regret, because turns out it’s not the kind of show you want your parents to get glimpses of. I still remember the fear I felt when episode 14 rolled around and my dad was sitting with his back to the TV and I PRAYED that he wouldn’t turn around to question me or why I was watching some animated lesbian bondage infused attempted rape scene... I also don’t know why I thought Penguindrum wouldn’t throw something like that at me, I had seen the previous 13 episodes...

Anyway, that’s my favourite anime of all time, ever. I love all of its themes to death, and it’s such a beautiful and emotional series. I think the first episode is one of the best first episodes of any anime ever and I love how the ending ties back to the very first scene. 

I could write an entire essay on why I love Penguindrum and why it’s the best series ever (well, competing with Utena for that title), but I think anyone reading this already knows why, so I’ll leave you with the funny anecdote above instead. And if you haven’t seen Penguindrum yet do yourself a favor and go watch it NOW. This is the Ringo gif for you!

2012 - Nisemonogatari

I love the Monogatari series. I love the unique animation and visual style, the amazing characters and the fun dialogues. I also really love Nisemonogatari in particular and I’m sad how it’s often dismissed for being the least interesting season or for being nothing but fanservice. I watch Monogatari specifically for the dialogue (and visuals). I don’t care about the plot as much as I care about the character interactions and Nisemonogatari delivers with those. More specifically I appreciate how well it divides the time spent with each girl. Later on in the series there are long breaks where some of the characters don’t appear at all and I end up missing them, but with Nisemonogatari we get a little bit of everyone (of those who have appeared so far). Of course it’s also great how Nisemonogatari introduces us to some new characters and upcoming plot points and contains a lot of cool foreshadowing, but that’s beside the point. All I want is the dialogue. I don’t even care what they’re talking about, Monogatari manages to make anything interesting.

I watched all of Monogatari during my spring break (lol) in 2015. I also watched it at my parents place, on the TV in our living room, which was great because Monogatari deserves a bigger screen. This time around I was older and wiser and didn’t have my parents around. It was just me and my sister and although Bakemonogatari impressed me so much I tried to make her interested in it, I wasn’t successful with that so I got to watch it in peace (peace). (In hindsight, with consideration for what was to come, that was probably for the best).

As another fun fact I should add that although I was super impressed with Monogatari, I didn’t consider myself a die-hard fan until a year or so later. I was happy to watch Owarimonogatari in the fall, and glad to see the announcement for the Kizumonogatari movies that came after it, but I wasn’t over the moon thrilled about it until I actually watched the first movie. It had to grow on me a little bit, which isn’t unusual when it comes to my favourites. I loved Utena the first time I saw it, but it took months for my obsession to build and grow and fully develop. Maybe because they’re both shows that leave the viewer with a lot to think about, so you only realise their full brilliance later on?

2013 - Kill la Kill

I began watching anime in the spring of 2013, when Shingeki no Kyojin, Free! and Dangan Ronpa began airing, because Homestuck went on a hiatus and that’s what the content on my dash changed into. I also began attending conventions and in January 2014 I went to Yukicon. At the con I ran into an acquaintance of mine and joined her gang, who decided to go and listen to a panel called “Kill la Kill - is this how Trigger saved anime?”. I would never had gone there on my own, since I wasn’t watching Kill la Kill or interested in starting it, but I’m glad I did because that was my first proper introduction to Kill la Kill and what ultimately sparked my interest for it.

When I tried the first episode I didn’t like it a whole lot. I hated the style, it was so sketchy and ugly and the fanservice made me uncomfortable. However, the first episode was really good at setting up the story and I was curious to see how it would continue so I kept watching. I didn’t love the following episodes either, but there was something that compelled me to keep watching and 4 or 5 episodes in I began liking it once the story and Ryuko’s personality had managed to fully suck me in. I binged the first half until I was caught up with the airing episodes and then I had fun waiting for the new episodes each week. I don’t remember much more about my initial reactions, but because it’s one of the first anime I ever saw and one of the first airing anime I ever followed it’ll always have a special place in my heart.

I’ve since rewatched Kill la Kill multiple times and it still holds up. I love the crazy energy, all the different personalities and characters and the amazing twists. I also grew to love the style, it’s very distinct and now that I’ve seen more anime I appreciate it all the more.

Having loved Kill la Kill and hearing so much about Trigger, I started to follow them and make sure to watch everything else they would put out. I like to think that we both started out at the same time, because this was their first anime as a new studio and one of the first anime I followed. Trigger has a special place in my heart as much as Kill la Kill does.

2014 - Selector Infected WIXOSS

Battoru battoru!

Selector Infected WIXOSS is probably the least known anime on this list. I was introduced to it by a friend who at the time watched everything that aired. She sold it to me as a Madoka-ripoff (knowing I was a huge fan), which it kinda is, but also not at all and people should stop using that phrase. It’s about girls who make wishes and suffer, but that’s where the similarities end. It’s also very much what I’m into, I love a good show with dark and somewhat taboo topics, lesbian undertones and all that jazz. It got a second season which concludes the story, but any continuation past that is not worth anyone’s time.

It was written by Mari Okada and made to sell cards. I own a set and I’m still waiting for the day when I get to play with them.

2015 - Hibike! Euphonium

Hibike! Euphonium is another anime that I watched and liked, then loved, then became absolutely obsessed over long after it had already ended. I picked it up only because it was a music anime and I had just finished Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso and was in the mood for another similar show. (I also picked up ShigaUso on a whim, because someone I followed on tumblr was hyping it up as a music lover). I’m not a musician, but I loved the series regardless and ended up relating to Kumiko and her struggles like I’ve never related to anyone before (even though the specifics of our struggles are somewhat different). Hibike! Euphonium is one of the first pieces of media that made me cry, not over a sad scene, but over a emotionally charged one when Kumiko realises she wants to succeed, she wants to win and get better and put her whole heart into her playing. (I vividly remember telling my friend about how an anime made me cry and being super embarrassed to reveal which one, because it was so new and personal to me).

Hibike! Euphonium is a beautifully made, incredibly touching anime. It’s done with so much care and so much love. I also have a lot of precious memories attached to it; I went to Kyoto for a student exchange and took the opportunity to spend an entire day in Uji, where Hibike! Euphonium takes place. I visited most of the locations seen in the anime, cried about how ridiculously realistic everything is, sat on Kumiko’s bench by the river, randomly met up with some Japanese fans and ended the day on top of Mt. Daikichi, as seen in episode 8. It was one of the best days in my life!

2016 - Doukyuusei

I was introduced to Doukyuusei through the Penguindrum tag on tumblr. Either tumblr was broken (very likely) or someone was spamming it (also very likely), but there were a couple of posts promoting Doukyuusei that showed up in the tag CONSTANTLY. They weren’t terribly out of place because the director of Doukyuusei (Nakamura Shouko) was previously known for her work on Penguindrum, but I should add that there were so many of those posts, actual Penguindrum posts (which there weren’t many of to begin with) disappeared among them, which made me quite annoyed with Doukyuusei.

Then the trailer came out and I watched it and it seemed pretty cool. I think I even glanced at the manga, but I didn’t think much of it. Then the anime came out and everyone was sharing gifs from it and they looked so good I watched the movie as soon as I could. Even though the quality of the first stream I found wasn’t great I loved it and watched it again as soon as I finished it the first time, and then again the next day when a better stream came out.

By reblogging Doukyuusei a mutual started talking about it with me and our conversation made me pick up the manga again, mainly since I found out that there’s a continuation to the story. Now that I properly read it I really fell in love with it and Nakamura Asumiko’s artstyle. I also find it funny how when I looked her up in order to find out about her other works, I realised I had looked her up before thanks to her joint project with Ikuhara. Back then I wasn’t in the mood to read Nokemono to Hanayome and I didn’t care for “some BL mangaka” to continue checking her out, but now that I’d found her again it all came back to me. I think it’s really neat and funny how I’ve been introduced to her through Ikuhara several times over!

Back to Doukyuusei, I love it a lot because it’s a very sweet and simple story. It feels realistic. I like the flow of time, or rather how it skips forward a lot and we only get small glimpses of the more important moments in their relationship, along with some of the small cute ones. It’s not an amazingly unique story, but it feels very refreshing, maybe because of how basic it is. I’m not sure how to best describe it, but at the end of the day it’s a very wholesome story about two boys who fall in love and there aren’t that many of those, especially not any that have gotten anime adaptations.

It’s quite short for a movie, which makes it very easy to watch. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve seen it. During my exchange, I spent 10 days in Tokyo at an Airbnb that asked me not to stream anything, so in order to have something to do in the evenings I downloaded Doukyuusei and watched it every other night. I also used to watch it at least every month for more than a year and as a general pick-me-up whenever I was feeling down. I know the entire movie by heart by now.

2017 - Owarimonogatari 2nd season

I already shared how I got into Monogatari and why I love it so much. Yet, or precisely therefore it shows up on this list again (though all things considered it should be a bonus instead of an entry). The second season to Owarimonogatari is an amazing conclusion to an amazing series (not that it’s the conclusion at all). Hachikuji is my favourite character so it was great to see her again after so long (see my comments about Nisemonogatari) and I’m still crying over the brilliance of her kamimashita gag. It was also very rewarding to get an end to the mystery that was Ougi.

The anime came out while I was on a field course in Tvärminne. I remember it well, because I had the luxury of having a room to myself and an entire afternoon to chill there. I began watching it and had a really good time doing so until a classmate of mine came knocking on my door, asking me to join him in some game and I had to choose between being social or watching the long awaited new season of Monogatari. It was a tough choice to leave Hachikuji behind (I’M SO SORRY), but I ditched her and joined them. After that I didn’t have enough time to finish the series, until it was time for us to leave. I couldn’t get a car ride all the way to Helsinki, but I managed to get one to the Inkoo library and my dad to pick me up from there maybe an hour or two later which was the perfect time and perfect place to continue watching Monogatari. I really haven’t learned anything when it comes to watching possibly questionable anime with other people around. Luckily no one lives in Inkoo, so I got to watch it entirely undisturbed. Good memories indeed.

2017 BONUS - Eromanga-sensei

Look. I couldn’t honestly write this list without including Eromanga-Sensei. I unironically like the series. It began when I read the LN just to pass the time and have something to laugh at. Then the anime got announced and I knew I’d watch it, but I wasn’t really into it yet (the LN’s aren’t that good). Then they made a figure of Sagiri and I got it because I really love her design and then I started to look forward to the anime more, because I began having certain expectations for it and suddenly I’m here blogging about my first impressions of it (which are now lost forever, yay!).

I actually find the story to be quite touching and I got emotional watching the anime. Sagiri and Masamune have lost and gained their families multiple times over and now with all their parents dead it’s just the two of them left, both desperate and scared and unsure, wanting to find and create a new family and sense of belonging for themselves. It’s also a really well-made series, all the production values are top notch, the animation is fluid, the music is nice and the voice acting is great. It’s pretty funny and although none of the characters are particularly likeable, it’s an enjoyable series to watch. You can’t take it too seriously though. I had a really fun time with it, mostly because I made myself have a good time with it. I didn’t care about any of the memes and I got made fun of by all my friends, but that’s what I mostly remember 2017 anime for. I can’t wait for the second season, which we will inevitable get!!

2018 - 3-gatsu no Lion 2nd Season

3-gatsu no Lion is another anime that grew on me over time. I had difficulties watching and finishing both seasons, because at times it’s a really slow series, but I still consider it one of my favourites and one of the best series ever made. The second season was even better than the first and I sincerely hope we’ll get a third, and a fourth and a fifth or however many are required to finish the entire story.

Shaft has again done an incredible job with the visuals. I love the entire production, the music and voice acting and the overall feeling. The bullying arc was amazing, super emotional and raw and I love how it dealt with the aftermath and how there wasn’t a simple solution and how everything didn’t get fixed overnight, because that’s not how it works in real life. I love how Rei got a lot of personal growth. I love seeing him starting to rely on others more and become more comfortable with himself and what he likes and wants. It’s incredible how all the characters are multifaceted and how 3-gatsu makes me care for them (I’m cheering on you, pidgeon-man!). The Kawamoto family emits so much warm and positive energy I can’t help but cry everytime I see them. In fact, I used to prepare for each episode by making myself a nice, often Japanese styled meal, since there’s such a huge focus on delicious looking food in the anime I would always get hungry watching it, and a packet of tissues because I would cry every. single. week. It was ridiculous.

It’s not an easy series to get into, but probably the only series I feel the need to recommend to everyone I meet, just because it really is an amazing series that explores the human psyche and an incredibly rewarding watch once you get into it.

2019 - Sarazanmai

Do I even need to write something here? Anime of the decade, no question about it. 

There’s something really special in being able to follow an anime project you’re passionate about right from the start and I’m glad I got to do it with an Ikuhara project, because his anime is on a whole other level and speaks to me in ways no other media does. This was also the first time I took on such an active role in the fandom, which has been incredibly fun, but a bit taxing as well. However, if there is an anime that gets better once you share your thoughts on it with others each week, it’s Ikuhara’s.

Sarazanmai ended up being what I expected and nothing like it. I don’t know how, but it managed to exceed my expectations, even though they were skyhigh and I was worried about getting let down, especially since Yurikuma Arashi didn’t live up to my expectations for it. Sarazanmai however, was everything I wanted and more.

I love the story and themes, I love the characters, I love how there was so much going on, but they managed to make it work and have a satisfying ending. The musical numbers were insanely good and I love all the crazy shirikodama shenanigans. Watching Sarazanmai is like being on an emotional rollercoaster, with just the right amount of everything. I can’t wait to see what Ikuhara comes up with in the next decade!!

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If you’ve read this far, thank you for your time. I hope you enjoyed this and I applaud you for getting through all of it. If you feel like it, please share your picks with me, I’m curious to see what they are!

[comicteaparty]

March 28th-April 3rd, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble   chat that occurred from March 28th, 2020 to April 3rd, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

How many hours do you work on your comic per week, and how do you manager to balance that with other responsibilities?

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

heheh So we are.. cheating a bit Both me and my coworker are unemployed, and is working on hour comic, like was it a full time job. It is our passion project, and dream that we can work and live of makeing comics. In Denmark you can apply for grants from the government, but you need to have releashed a book before that is possible. We are useing the comic, to show potentional clients in the future what we can do. For now we are working on it from 09:00-17:00 ish (with a long lunch break) while applying for other kinds of grants, and also does all the things we are supposed to to get our unemplyment money, and searching for jobs, and freelance gigs, gathering the courage to start our own small company (not right now though) and yeaah time will tell

carcarchu

@Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS that doesn't sound like cheating to me? more like using the tools at your disposal to turn your passion into a viable career

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

hehe it feels a little like cheating! there are some debates about if it is okay or not, but we think that strengthening our skills is a good use of our time

eli [a winged tale]

Haha also not cheating! It’s great you’re using the time to chase the dream I’m curious what’s your breakdown for those time working on the comic? As for me, usually 1-2 hours a day with a bit more on the weekend if time permits. These days with the quarantine it’s about 2-3 h a day

DanitheCarutor

Since I'm unemployed until who knows when I've been working on my comic between 40-50 hours a week about 6 to 7 days a week... most weeks. Some days, like update day or chore day, I hardly work on the comic or don't work on it at all. Admittedly I'm not the best at balancing drawing with other responsibilities, sometimes I get so into it that I forget about daily house chores, other weeks I do the opposite and only do house chores which makes me totally behind of comic stuff. I can't seem to find a good middle ground, it always turns into completely focusing on one or the other.

eli [a winged tale]

Yeah when I get in the zone, time flies and life gets put to the wayside

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

So I have no school or work, so the webcomic has become almost a fulltime project for me

I average about 10 hours per day working on it, not counting on chores and exercise

Another thing I worry about is the possibility of carpal tunnel syndrome, which is why I've been relentless with exercise, too

I guess it's just a combination of relentless reminders and also sheer willpower that gets me to do other responsibilities haha

@eli [a winged tale] also I know that feeling

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

So since my school had to cancel, I have to be more responsible for my online course. Sometimes I give myself 2 days off each week to work more into my upcoming webcomic but I have to switch my mind for school work, online classes. Also extra time for food. I need to get back into exercise or I feel exhausted more easily. I keep a wall schedule so that I make it a routine to write what I'll do every 3 or 5 days, to keep my active brain reminded(edited)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I spent the majority of last year (fun)employed (partially by choice, partially not! my previous job let me go rather unceremoniously... and I needed a hiatus anyway... so it worked out) so I poured a lot more hours into that chapter of Phantomarine than I usually did. I worked on it almost every day - at least for a couple of hours, but sometimes up to a full eight-hour day. That number has dipped tremendously since I’ve gone back to work, but I’m spreading the same amount of time out in a broader way. I’m trying to get a good buffer during my hiatus, so I can work and draw in a healthy balance. I don’t have crazy overtime at my current job like I did at my last one, so that’s already a comfort. I’m confident I’ll be able to hit a good stride once the comic returns in June (edited)

eli [a winged tale]

Can’t wait Lady!!

Feather J. Fern

Two part time jobs, and school killed my comic, but I been working on getting one panel done a day, which is around 30minutes to an hour if possible.

eli [a winged tale]

My routine used to be rendering on the commute but now just once in am and once pm until this limbo time is clarified

That’s awesome Feather! It’s so rewarding when everything comes together after putting effort everyday

Feather J. Fern

Once school is done in two more weeks I will be more free to do things so I hope to get maybe two panels done in a day XD

Online school, stupid quarantine

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

Due to the pandemic im mostly off school and my part time job so i spend like 4-5 hours on my comic per day. Still would like try to get a page done per day but lmao digital painting is slowwww

eli [a winged tale]

What’s everyone’s tips for breaks/stretches/balance? I feel like I certainly need to revisit these to avoid burnout and continue feeling motivated!

Feather J. Fern

Actually there was a cool manga artist who's tip was literally he only worked working hours. His mornings are free and since manga was his job, he worked form 12-6, giving him 2 hours to do other work he needs to get done, and takes morning walks and stuff.

Another person I know had "No working weekends" as a thing becuase they are a freelancer.

I personally have try to make sure I ahve a routine, and actually, stretch before drawing.

Streetch before, during a break, and then after, to keep that body nice and warmed up

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Health-wise there's this hing for your : every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. I'm not good at following this, but when I do it, it helps a lot.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Despite the current pandemic, my work-life hasn't changed much (unless you count stress getting in the way). I am currently "unemployed," but I do consider comicking my full-time job. I am also not very good at balancing work and life. Something's always gotta give. Last year, I worked at a job that basically ruined my ability to work on my comic. I worked 30-40 hours typically, ruined my sleep schedule, took work home sometimes, and was constantly exhausted. This is what resulted in my year and a half long hiatus, and it's what drove me to work like hell on my comic when I quit. Now (when I'm in the groove and not suffering from art block), I typically spend 60-70 hours on my comic and get 2-3 pages done: - 30 hours sketching (I know, ridiculous) - 5 hours filling in base colors - 20-25 hours painting - 5 hours adding text, speech bubbles, sfx, and finishing touches - 1-2 hours formatting for Webtoon I also spend some time throughout the week typing up the script, doing concept art for things coming in the future of the comic, and preparing for conventions, but I can't tell you exactly how much time.

eli [a winged tale]

Thanks for the breakdown! I’m always keen to learn from everyone and seeing how the workflow is like for different people

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

oh don't forget to do wrist stretches!

eli [a winged tale]

Ahh formatting time is always so tedious for me!

Yes wrist exercises! Any recommendations?

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

hmmm well the easiest one is literally just shaking it out

like every hour

and I also like to hold my arm out parallel, point my fingers up and using my other hand to pull the fingers back so i'm stretching the wrist

then I point the fingers down and pull on the fingers until my wrist is stretching

eli [a winged tale]

Awesome. Will be adopting those!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I'm pretty fast. 2-6 hours per page, depending on how detailed it is. Average of 3-4. I could probably do 2 pages/ week easily enough, but don't want to do more than that. I'm the kind of person who always needs to be doing a million different things. I need to leave time for my other hobbies and my paintings and my academics and extracurriculars. Otherwise I'd get burnt out doing one thing only

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

@eli [a winged tale] So since it is both me and @Q (Wayfinders: Off Course) working, we start with working on a rough each, our goal is one step (so rough, ink, color) for two pages pr day, pr person. So in a weak the goal is four finished pages a week, and then we upload 3 pages per week. So it is divided that in the morning we start at 09:00 in the morning, maybe checking mail, being practical or whatever. Then we work until 12:00 were we eat lunch, go for a long nice walk and then we go back to work between 13:00 and 14:00 ish and then work until 17:00 when we begin to prepare dinner. Then of course breaks inbetween

Q (Wayfinders: Off Course)

It’s pretty wild to be able to dedicate your entire day to comics like that

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

damn you all work fast

do you guys have any tips on how to work on a webcomic faster?

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Lol, I wish!

Still looking for those magical secrets

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

@shadowhood (SunnyxRain) You know the 80-20 rule? You can get 80% of the result with 20% of the effort? My comic is very messy if you zoom in. I don't spend time making sure the linework or the coloring is perfectly clean. Also, I'm pretty fast at drawing figures. I used to practice figure drawing a lot by rushing to draw strangers irl before they moved, or by drawing a bunch of fast figures from the free figure drawing model websites online. I've also taken a figure drawing course (didn't even have to pay because it was part of my university! Even if you don't have that option you can probably find free life drawing sessions on Meetup or similar!) which really helped me streamline my process for drawing people

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Oh I see! Yes, I used to take life drawing classes too! And your response makes me feel a lot better

I tend to be a bit messy with inking, and since i'm a perfectionist a lot of my time is wasted on editing/clean up

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I've seen cronaj draw, and while I think the results look excellent, I think her method is a kind of inefficient. She draws like a printer, nearly finishing one detailed body part before moving on the the next. I think maybe if she drew in a more classical way, going from a gesture drawing to progressively more detailed, it might help her be faster and her poses more cohesive and dynamic. Maybe working on 1 or 5 min figures would help? Practicing things like this?

eli [a winged tale]

Yeah I try to do figure practices for efficiency

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I heard that there are some online life drawing vids you can follow too

but what are your experiences with online life drawing vids versus the real thing

like is there a real difference?

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

found some of my old 1 minutes

To me there's not too much difference

I've heard some people say that life drawing is either way easier or way harder though. Because of your depth perception when looking at a real person

But the bruises on my legs can attest to my horrid depth perception haha. That might be why I don't notice a difference

Actually those previous sketches might be 30 seconds? I don't remember

I would recommend you try both but right now we pretty much only have the online option haha

eli [a winged tale]

Yeah I’ve done both and I think irl creates complexity with depth and the interactions with others etc is helpful but online is my go to for flexibility

I think having a process streamlined will make things more efficient. The downside is that it might feel tedious and I do switch it up from time to time for variety

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Might feel uncomfortable but that's how you know you're improving

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

There is a TON of difference for me. I HAVE to look at a physical model in front of me.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Can't get better if you always do the same things

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

This is what my brain does.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I wonder- could drawing yourself in a mirror be a decent substitute?

If youre lucky you might also be able to ask an SO or roommate to model for you. Should probably pay them back by cooking for them or something though

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Brain: sees a real model in front of me Brain: translates 3D to 2D, result: drawing Brain: sees a photo/video of a model Brain: SHIT. That's supposed to be 3D, isn't it? Brain: Translates 2D to 3D (basically re-constructing it in my head, or attempting to re-construct) so that it can translate it back to 2D Brain: BSOD

There's some online resources out there that have "3D" photos... you know, two near-identical images side by side, so if you look at it cross-eyed, it becomes 3D?

But I can't do those because I get a headache X'D

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Just thinking about drawing from that makes me dizzy

eli [a winged tale]

Oh interesting!

Yeah maybe looking out the window to draw people would be the way to go...

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

But maybe figure drawing in VR exists?

eli [a winged tale]

Balcony figure drawings

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I live on the top floor so those are going to be some very small figures

eli [a winged tale]

For ants

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Once this coronavirus thing is over, there's lots of ways you can do gesture drawings from just random people -- bus stops, cafes, museums (I have not done this, but people who have done this report this is really good because others assume you're drawing the artworks. XD)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I've done this a lot

Sometimes I've even shown people drawing of themselves if they've turned out particularly nice

They've always taken it well

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I like drawing my professors because they use hand gestures a lot when they talk

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Airport was REALLY good for finding people stuck in one pose indefinitely

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

they alwayas laugh when I show them

eli [a winged tale]

Shadow omg I do that too

Draws classmates

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

yeah the only issue i have with drawing classmates

is that they're always doing the "i'm using my phone" pose

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Become the master of drawing people on their phones

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Maybe try drawing children on the playground?

This works better if you're a woman

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

oh thank jesus

I also like going to the zoo or the museum

or the aquarium if i'm feeling adventurous

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I am a University student so I also have some pretty interestng drawings of people asleep in weird poses

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I really need to start going to weekly figure drawing sessions once this is over (there's one here... 20 min drive... 8AM Saturdays )

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

ditto or just go to the park and draw

and @Eightfish (Puppeteer) I've had some.....weird poses from all my profs

one guy was incredibly hard to draw; he was VERY enthusiastic about showing us knife skills

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

The parks here are too spacious, to a degree where it's weird to get close enough to people

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Bring binoculars

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Don't worry ma'am I'm an artist

nothing sketchy

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

(except my sketch)

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

A+ pun right there

another place to go for figure drawing

theaters

like.....opera/plays

I once tried drawing the men dancing in the Newsies musical

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Tried that once, but it took me out of the performance

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

same i was dazzled by dancing men

aaaaand then i abandoned sketching at all when they started throwing newspaper strips into the audience

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

But they were giving you free paper!

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

THEY WERE

i'll take what i can get

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@Eightfish (Puppeteer) While I agree that my method of drawing is "inefficient," I do not draw like a printer. There are videos of people drawing like a printer and it's not what I'm doing. I have done gesture drawing before, but it always looked incredibly abstract, and not quite like people, which is fine, but not what I'm going for. I treat gesture drawing like a warm-up exercise. It doesn't really do anything for my end result, but gets my drawing muscles stretched out.(edited)

eli [a winged tale]

Gesture drawings are definitely a good warmup!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Perhaps it was an inappropriate analogy. What works for me I guess wouldn't work for everyone. I was trying to offer advice because whenever you talk about how much time you spend on art and you work life balance it's commendable but also dismaying. I hope you find something that works for you in the future

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

Oh god.. I sometimes work 6 hours a day. I guess thats like 30 hours a week? Crazy to think about, it's like a full job

Oooh you guys are sharing figure drawings... I swant to show some of mine

Behold

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

My figure drawing usually breaks down into like, medical anatomy study. I feel like I understand body shapes better by including the muscles & bones

carcarchu

ABS the most important figure study

Deo101 [Millennium]

ah figure drawing? I love figure drawing ^^

I do like a lot but this kinda thing is most of it

anyways as for the question at hand, I do a lot of different things for my comics weekly. My millennium pages take me 2-6 hours i would say, but I also have patreon things I need to do so I'd say i spend 10-15 hours on it a week. for my other comic, I spend about 6 hours an update, and it updates every other week. but honestly, all of my free time goes to assorted comics. If i'm not working on school work or chatting with people, I'm working on things for patreon, potential merch, or other comics I want to start sometime.

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

Oooh nice poses!!’

Deo101 [Millennium]

thanks!! I have a ton of gesture/figure drawings but these ones are my most recent that I have saved to my computer i think

10 minutes im pretty sure. very good for speeding up

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

Those look really nice, good values

Deo101 [Millennium]

thanks ^^ I really hate working in charcoal honestly, it kinda always winds up hurting my body somehow, but its very quick sooooooo

kayotics

My answer for the prompt question has changed a lot since I started quarantine lmao... I used to do about 10 hours of work throughout the week on my comic page (usually after work, I have an office job) but ironically it’s gotten harder while I work from home. I’ve been struggling to find time since I don’t have a separation between work and home now, and putting the boundaries up of “I’m not always available” to coworkers is difficult.

Also on figure studies: they’re a great way to practice speed. I use the concepts of figure drawings all the time.

RebelVampire

@kayotics As someone who always works from home doing remote contract work, I have to say I think this is something a lot of people underestimate about work at home life. In that it's sometimes really difficult to establish boundaries with ppl and make them understand you aren't always available and also aren't gonna work billions of hours of overtime. So I'm sorry to hear that's affecting your comic work.

Shadowmark Productions

I work anywhere from 6-8 hours a day on comic stuff. That’s an average though. Sometimes I slack and need to pull all nighters to make up for it. Yes, I am terrible at time management. They say entrepreneurs are the only people willing to work 80 hours a week for themselves so they do not have to work 40 hours a week for someone else. I guess webcomic creators are the only people willing to work 80+ hours a week so that they can... go to work for someone else afterwards

AntiBunny

4 days of procrastinating, 1 of procrastinating and hating myself, and 2 of actual comic drawing seems to make up my weekly comic making schedule. :p

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I can only imagine how stressed I would be if I forced myself to update weekly

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

This is a hard question to answer because it varies a lot depending on my energy levels. Ideally I’d spend several hours a day on comics, but realistically I draw as much as possible when I have the energy (5+ hours a day for as many days in a row as I can handle it) and then go weeks or months too tired to do comics. On average, barring any long periods of exhaustion or other interruptions from RL, I spend about 20+ hours a week making pages for my comics.

sagaholmgaard

I prefer to work on my comic for about an hour ever morning and maybe 2-3 hours in the evening, that's the ideal routine for me. Right now I sadly have a lot of schoolwork to do (writing my thesis) so i might get less than 30 minutes in the morning and then feel rlly tired in the evening so I dont get as much time then either. but oh well!

I can still work for 4-5 hours on the weekends so I manage ^^(edited)

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

The whole stay-indoors order's currently completely wrecked my pattern, but before that I did between 3-4 hours a day.

Shadowmark Productions

Can’t imagine the stress of a daily or even weekly posting schedule. Hats off.

[basicshadowhuntersstuff]

This super-sized news roundup covers the past two weeks in Shadowhunters news, updates, sneak peeks, and behind the scenes. All the stuff you need to stay up to date.

Official Promotion

Warlock Wednesday. Magnus behind the scenes of #Shadowhunters Season 3B.

Join @Kat_McNamara by choosing kindness and taking a stand against bullying. Wear purple for @GLAAD #SpiritDay.  #ChooseKindness http://www.glaad.org/spiritday 

The Church of Talto. Lilith behind the scenes of #ShadowhuntersSeason3. // @AnnaBananaHops 

When pranks don't go according to plan. Behind the scenes of #Shadowhunters Season 3B. 

You don't say.  #Shadowhunters // @arosende & @Kat_McNamara 

Mondays are better with these two.  Behind the scenes of #Shadowhunters Season 3B. 

Always there for her brother. Izzy and Jace behind the scenes of #Shadowhunters Season 3B. 

Siblings. Behind the scenes of #Shadowhunters 2x16. #TBT 

#Clace. Behind the scenes of #ShadowhuntersSeason3. // @Kat_McNamara & @DomSherwood1 

Badass beauties.  #Shadowhunters // @Kat_McNamara & @WainwrightAE

Meanwhile at the Hunter's Moon. Behind the scenes of #Shadowhunters Season 3B.

Shadowhunters In The News

E! News (article):  Katherine McNamara Says Being a PCAs Finalist Is "the Biggest Gift" 

Circa Pop tweeted:  We can’t contain our #FridayFeelings because we’re hanging with #Shadowhunters' @Kat_McNamara talking all things pop culture and more on #CircaPopLive.

Circa Pop (video): Kat (Clary) hosting Circa Pop can be found here.

Fr Conventions (video):  [1 Actor, 1 Word] : Katherine McNamara - Shadowhunters

Shadow Pocket announces Dom (Jace) as a guest at their Brazil convention.

Matt Carter (article):  Shadowhunters season 3: The latest odds & ends; what lies ahead

Circa Pop Culture (article):  Are Fake Celeb Stories To Get People To Vote Good?: Katherine McNamara and CPL Discuss

Gay Star News (article):  15 asexual characters you can find on your screen.

TV Line (article):  GLAAD: TV's LGBTQ Representation Is at New High, While Delivering Greater Diversity and Gender Parity

TV Insider (article):  9 Key Takeaways From GLAAD’s Report on LGBTQ Representation on TV

TV Insider (article):  7 Underrated TV Characters Who Deserve Better (PHOTOS)

Twitter & Social Media Stuff

Todd Slavkin (showrunner) tweeted a photo:  A little Izzy content never hurt anyone #3b #thewaitingisthehardestpart #tompettysaiditbest #shadowhunters

Todd Slavkin (showrunner) tweeted a photo:  Great having ⁦@arosende⁩ at the 320 mix yesterday. Always great to see his smiling face and bask in his positive energy. This pic was from last day of shooting #justassweetassimon #starontherise #3b #shadowhunters. [1]

Todd Slavkin (showrunner) answered a question about “drunk Magnus”:  Yes you do #alcoholispoison #butitcanbesofun #magnusknowshislimits #ordoeshe #3b #shadowhunters

Nuno DeSalles (cast trainer) shared a throwback photo of Matt (Alec) in the gym.

Steve Byers (Underhill) tweeted:  It takes courage for people to speak their minds in places where they feel "less" than. When he does actually speak, I think he worries about what people will think but he has courage and faces that....or sandwiches..he likes those I think.

Jamie Gorenberg (producer) tweeted:  And I wonder what will happen if Clary and Jace drink those drops of Seelie hallucinogen in Kosti Lustr. #Clace #TeamJCJ.

Jamie Gorenberg (producer) tweeted: They say if you love someone, set them free. But some people are meant to be together forever. #Malec.

Sydney Meyer (Helen Blackthorn) tweeted:  Appreciation post for @toddzer1 and @mattdirector (who I never got a photo with) who believed in me and took a chance on me. So grateful for you guys and this experience  bonus: the beautiful @emeraudetoubia

Brian Hui (makeup artist) tweeted a photo:  Memories of Halloween from last year!

Todd Slavkin (showrunner) tweeted:  Appreciation post for @meyers48 who we met at the tablereads when she was filling in for actors and we recognized her talent and now she's Helen Blackthorn #dreamsdocometrue #especiallywhenyouhaveundeniabletalent #3b #shadowhunters

Todd Slavkin (showrunner) tweeted about being invited to conventions:  Oh the stories we could tell #yesinviteusplease #wewillfillyouin #bts #shadowhunterslegacy #shadowhunters

Harry Shum Jr. (Magnus) tweeted a new/old photo of Magnus with a balloon: Still rocking it. [2]

MCM Comic Con - London

Kat McNamara (Clary), Emeraude Toubia (Izzy), Alberto Rosende (Simon), Chai Hansen (Jordan Kyle), and Jade Hassoune (Meliorn) attended MCM Comic Con in London October 27-28. Here are some highlights from the weekend!

Emeraude (Izzy) shared a video:  Hey London!!!!! @MCMComicCon this weekend!! Who’s coming to say hi !??!! 

Kat (Clary) shared a gif:  Just popping in to #mcmlondoncomiccon!  @ch8i @JadeHassoune @arosende @mcmcomiccon

MCM Comic Con shared a video:  Live from #mcmcomiccon @Kat_McNamara talks cosplay and tells us why she's here this weekend with the @ShadowhuntersTV cast!

MCM Comic Con shared a video:  We chat to @arosende of @ShadowhuntersTV to hear why he's a fan!

Matt Carter (article):  Shadowhunters stars Katherine McNamara, Alberto Rosende speak at MCM Comic-Con. 

A fan shares a video of Paul Wesley (actor/director) at MCM saying he’s sorry that Shadowhunters got cancelled. 

MCM Comic Con’s video of Shadowhunters’ Saturday panel on YouTube (link jumps to 6:05:51). 

4 Your Entertainment shared videos of the cast at MCM discussing behind-the-scenes shenanigans and the #SaveShadowhunters campaign, among other things.

Hollywood News Source shared a video: #SaveShadowhunters see @Kat_McNamara @ch8i @JadeHassoune @arosende @EmeraudeToubia at a Press Event earlier today at MCM Comic Con London.

CJ (MCM Panel Host) shared a photo of the crowd:  If this doesnt show the fan love for #Shadowhunters and the #SaveShadowhunters movement at @MCMComicCon for my panel on Saturday I dont know what does! (panoramic so best to open) (Cc: @Kat_McNamara @arosende @EmeraudeToubia @ch8i & @JadeHassoune)

TVGuide.co.uk (article):  MCM 2018: Shadowhunters cast praise #SaveShadowhunters campaign and “powerful” fanbase.

BSS shares images of the cast on stage from both panels (more to come): here and here. 

Chai Hansen (Jordan Kyle) tweeted:  Thank you so much for the best weekend ever!!! I had a blast meeting everyone at @MCMComicCon Wish I could relive that wknd 3 times over. Also Thank you everyone for being so welcoming and making me feel absolutely at home.

Kat (Clary) shared a photo: Thank you so much @mcmcomiccon and all the lovely angels who came to support for such an amazing weekend! Until next time! [3]

#SaveShadowhunters (continued)

On June 4th, it was announced that Freeform wouldn’t be continuing on with a fourth season of Shadowhunters. Here are a few major highlights. (Our full roundup for #SaveShadowhunters can be found here.)

Talkwalker (article): How to boost your brand with virality

Huffington Post (article):  Fans Of Canceled Teen Show ‘Shadowhunters’ Are Shamelessly Spamming Jimmy Fallon

Serien Fuchs (article):  “Shadowhunters“: Gute Chancen bei den “People’s Choice Awards“

People’s Choice Awards

Shadowhunters is a finalist in three People’s Choice Awards categories, #TheSciFiFantasyShow, #TheBingeworthyShow, and #TheShow. Kat McNamara (Clary) is a finalist for #TheFemaleTVStar and Harry Shum Jr. is a finalist for #TheMaleTVStar.

Cast and Crew Reactions:

Kat (Clary) tweeted a video: Thank you, angels! Last day of #PCAs voting! @peopleschoice @enews @ShadowhuntersTV ALSO... CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TO VOTE IN ANOTHER CAPACITY... https://www.vote.org

Other News

WeventsProduction announced that Anna Hopkins (Lilith) will attend The Hunters of Shadow 3 in Paris and The Hunters of Shadow Brussels.

WeventsProduction announced that Harry Shum Jr. (Magnus) will attend The Hunters Of Shadow Brussels.

Grumpy Magazine tweeted: IT’S HAPPENING: @Kat_McNamara is back for our upcoming Fall 2018 issue.

TV Insider (article):  'Shadowhunters' Star Kat McNamara Gives Some Hints About Her 'Arrow' Role.

Deadline (article):  ‘October Faction’: Maxim Roy To Recur In Netflix Sci-Fi Series

Just Jared Jr. (article): Katherine McNamara Dishes on New 'Arrow' Character Maya

Nicola Correia-Damude (Maryse Lightwood) tweets about a new project:  That’s right. We be one BADASS foursome!

Bello Magazine shared sneak peeks of a photoshoot with Kat (Clary) on its Instagram.

Kat (Clary) attended the In Style Awards.

Harry (Magnus) attended and presented at the 8th Annual World Choreography Awards.

Harry (Magnus) found Harry Shum Jr. at Facebook HQ. [4]

Just Jared Jr. (article):  Katherine McNamara Wows In Head To Toe Red at 'A Private War' Premiere

Just Jared Jr. (article): Tommy Dorfman & Ross Butler Bring '13 Reasons Why' to the InStyle Awards!

Emeraude (Izzy) shared photos of her Latin American Music Awards outfit.

Just Jared Jr. (article):  Katherine McNamara Wears Butterflies in Her Hair for Unicef's Masquerade Ball 2018

Isaiah (Luke) wrapped the filming of IT2.

The Hollywood Reporter (article):  Harry Shum Jr. Signs With Paradigm (Exclusive)

IGN (article): Crazy Rich Asians Sequel Plans to Shoot in Shanghai

Vanidades Colombia tweeted:  ¿Qué esperas para tener nuestra reciente edición con Emeraude Toubia en portada? Además no te pierdas la entrevista exclusiva a Vanidades de Bradley Cooper y todas las tendencias para esta temporada.

[pemdasblog]

PEMDAS -- 11•19•20

Welcome to the new PEMDAS Blog! My work on PEMDAS keeps expanding each week so it needs a bigger home. She loves The Overwhelm.

My main goal is to have a one glance spot for all things news/entertainment. I want it to contain as much detail as possible without being too cluttered. Striking the balance is hard. If you have feedback, please share it with me.

Open below for PEMDAS!

POLITICS/NEWS 

U.S. Coronavirus Numbers

More than 11,695,500 people in the United States have been infected with the coronavirus and at least 251,100 have died.

The number of people who have died from Coronavirus in the U.S. is equivalent to 84 times the number of U.S. citizens who died in the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. It is 56 times the number of U.S. soldiers who died in the war against Iraq. It is 7 times the number of U.S. citizens who died from the flu last year.

On Nov. 18: 1,923 deaths (+52% 14-day change), 172,391 infections (+77% 14-day change)

The rates of infection and death remain disproportionately high in the Native American communities across the country. Just last weekend, 600 Native people died on the Navajo reservation.

Sen. Chuck Grassley from Iowa has contracted coronavirus. The nation mourns :-(

Global Coronavirus Numbers

The coronavirus pandemic has sickened more than 56,661,800 people, according to official counts. As of Thursday afternoon, at least 1,355,100 people have died.

On Nov. 18: 11,133 deaths (+13% 14-day change), 598,877 infections (+25% 14-day change)

Election 2020

President-Elect Biden claims that Trump’s refusal to concede the election is preventing him from accessing critical data about the U.S. outbreak and that this could slow the vaccine distribution process.

President-Elect Biden names Cecilia Muñoz as part of his transition team. Muñoz served as a top immigration advisor for Obama, justifying harsh immigration policies, including the deportation of thousands of Central American children and the killing of an executive order that would have halted deportations.

Nancy Pelosi is re-elected as Speaker of the House.

World News

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo toured an illegal Israeli settlement and said he has plans to tour another in the occupied Golan Heights. This violates multiple U.N. resolutions and the Geneva Conventions. He also labelled the B.D.S. movement “anti-Semitic.”

In Central America, at least 30 people have died from Hurricane Iota. About 160,000 Nicaraguans and 70,000 Hondurans were forced to flee from their homes.

The head of the Australian military has apologized to the people of Afghanistan after Australian special forces committed war crimes by killing 39 noncombatants in Afghanistan over the past 4 years.

A nearly three-decade-old ceasefire has ended in occupied Western Sahara — what many consider to be Africa’s last colony. Fighting has broken out in several areas between the Moroccan military and the Polisario Front, the Sahrawi liberation movement seeking independence, after the Moroccan military broke into a no-go buffer zone in southern Western Sahara.

Winners of the National Book Awards 2020

Fiction: Interior Chinatown •• Charles Yu

Nonfiction: The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X •• Les Payne and Tamara Payne

Translated Literature: Tokyo Ueno Station •• Yu Miri and Morgan Giles

Young People’s Literature: King and the Dragonflies •• Kacen Callender

EDUCATION — Topic: this Candace Owens tweet

“There is no society that can survive without strong men. The East knows this.“

Both of these sentences separately are not true; both of them together are not true.

Here is an article about a village in China (”the East”) with women running the show.

Here is a list of several others, mostly in “the East.”

“In the west, the steady feminization of our men at the same time that Marxism is being taught to our children is not a coincidence.“

First of all, Marx has not been an outright advocate for a gender-queer society.

Second of all, I think she’s right. Socialism and gender/queer theory are intertwined in so many ways.

“It is an outright attack.“

And I think she’s right about this, too. Socialism and gender/queer theory all are an attack on the cis-hetero white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.

“Bring back manly men.“

Okay, this is where I think she’s wrong again.

1) "Manly men” haven’t gone anywhere...

2) Is she basically arguing that a couple of men wearing dresses means every man is no longer “manly?” This makes no sense.

3) In a society, “manly men” can coexist with “feminized” men. There is enough room for everyone. And there will always be men who want to take up the “manly” MANtle. And there will be queer/trans masc people who will want to do the same, though I’m sure Candace would hate that.

MEDIA (OTHER) 

BOOKS - Tuesday, November 24

Ready Player Two •• Ernest Cline

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (Folk of the Air) •• Holly Black

Saving Freedom: Truman, the Cold War, and the Fight for Western Civilization •• Joe Scarborough

Bright Shining World •• Josh Swiller

Ruinsong •• Julia Ember

The Awakening (Dragon Heart Legacy #1) •• Nora Roberts

Dark Tides •• Philippa Gregory

Escape Pod: The Science Fiction Anthology •• edited by S.B. Divya & Mur Lafferty

The Thirty Names of Night •• Zeyn Joukhadar

MOVIES

Friday, November 20

Jiu Jitsu •• Dimitri Logothetis •• In Theaters

The Last Vermeer •• Dan Friedkin •• In Theaters

Run •• Aneesh Chaganty •• Hulu

Soros •• Jesse Dylan •• In Theaters

Sound of Metal •• Darius Marder •• In Theaters

The Twentieth Century •• Matthew Ranking •• In Theaters

Vanguard •• Stanley Tong •• In Theaters

Sunday, November 22

Belushi •• R. J. Cutler •• Showtime

Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square •• Debbie Allen •• Netflix

Monday, November 23

Shawn Mendes: In Wonder •• Grant Singer •• Netflix

Tuesday, November 24

Hillbilly Elegy •• Ron Howard •• Netflix

Wednesday, November 25

The Christmas Chronicles 2 •• Chris Columbus •• Netflix

The Croods: A New Age •• Joel Crawford •• In Theaters

Happiest Season •• Clea DuVall •• Hulu

Stardust •• Gabriel Range •• In Theaters

Thursday, November 26

Mosul •• Matthew Michael Carnahan •• Netflix

Superintelligence •• Ben Falcone •• HBO Max

TV SHOWS

Friday, November 20

Animaniacs •• Season 1 •• Hulu

The Mandalorian •• Season 2, Episode 4 •• Disney+

Marvel’s 616 •• Season 1 •• Disney+

The Pack •• Season 1 •• Prime Video

Small Axe •• Mangrove •• Prime Video

Voices of Fire •• Season 1 •• Netflix

Saturday, November 21

Between the World and Me •• Special •• HBO

Sunday, November 22

American Music Awards 2020 •• Special •• ABC

Host: Taraji P. Henson

Performances

Bad Bunny x Jhay Cortez

Bebe Rexha x Doja Cat

Bell Biv DeVoe

Billie Eilish

BTS

Dan + Shay

Dua Lipa

Jennifer Lopez x Maluma

Justin Bieber x Benny Blanco

Katy Perry

Lewis Capaldi

Lil Baby

Machine Gun Kelly

Megan Thee Stallion

Nelly

Shawn Mendes

The Weeknd x Kenny G

Monday, November 23

Black Narcissus •• Miniseries •• FX

His Dark Materials •• Season 2, Episode 2 •• HBO

Tuesday, November 24

Big Sky •• Season 1, Episode 2 •• ABC

Wednesday, November 25

Saved by the Bell •• Season 1 •• Peacock

The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration 2020 •• Special •• ABC

Hosts: Derek Hough, Julianne Hough, Trevor Jackson

Sneak peek of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure attraction and of Pixar’s Soul

VIDEO GAMES

Friday, November 20

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity •• NS

Katamari Damacy REROLL •• PS4, XBO

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin •• PS4, NS

The Skylia Prophecy •• NS

Monday, November 23

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands •• PC

Tuesday, November 24

Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues •• NS

Football Manager 2021 •• XBX, XBO, PC, Mac

Just Dance 2021 •• PS5, XBX

Wednesday, November 25

Out of Space: Couch Edition •• PS4, XBO, NS

Star Renegades •• PS4

Vigor •• PS4

Thursday, November 26

Maid of Sker •• NS

DIRECT ACTIONS/DONATIONS 

Give $5 to... Unicorn Riot: on-the-ground journalists covering and capturing footage of the revolution!

ALBUMS 

separated from her twin, a dying android arrives on a mysterious island [EP] •• Ada Rook

distanceless gentleness

time dilation

total memory failure

otherworld

Self Help •• Badge Époque Ensemble

Sing a Silent Gospel (ft. Meg Remy & Dorothea Paas)

Unity (It’s Up to You) [ft. James Baley]

Cloud

The Sound Where My Head Was

Just Space for Light (ft. Jennifer Castle)

Birds Fly Through Ancient Ruins

Extinct Commune

BE •• BTS

Life Goes On

내 방을 여행하는 법

Blue & Grey

Skit

잠시

병

Stay

Dynamite

Hypoluxo •• Hypoluxo

Seth Meyers

Ridden

Nimbus

Tenderloin

Appetizer

Night Life

Pointer Finger

Shape Ups

Shock

Sweat

Harmony •• Josh Groban

The World We Knew (Over and Over)

Angels

Celebrate Me Home

Shape of My Heart (Duet with Leslie Odom Jr.)

Your Face

Both Sides Now (Duet with Sara Bareilles)

She

The Impossible Dream

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

It’s Now or Never

I Can’t Make You Love Me

The Fullest (feat. Kirk Franklin)

Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) ∞ •• Kali Uchis

la luna enamorada

fue mejor (w/ PARTYNEXTDOOR)

//aguardiente y limón %ᵕ‿‿ᵕ%

¡aquí yo mando! (w/ Rico Nasty)

vaya con dios

que te pedí//

quiero sentirme bien

telepatía

de nadie

no eres tu (soy yo)

te pongo mal (prendelo) [w/ Jowell y Randy]

la luz (Fín) [w/ Jhay Cortez]

ángel sin cielo

III •• Lindstrøm x Prins Thomas

Grand Finale

Martin 5000

Small Stream

Oranges

Harmonia

Birdstrike

Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion

Shots Fired

Circles

Cry Baby (ft. DaBaby)

Do It on the Tip (ft. City Girls)

Sugar Baby

Movie (ft. Lil Durk)

Freaky Girls (ft. SZA)

Body

What’s New

Work That

Intercourse (ft. Popcaan)

Go Crazy (ft. Big Sean & 2 Chainz)

Don’t Rock Me To Sleep

Outside

Savage Remix (ft. Beyoncé)

Girls in the Hood

Don’t Stop (ft. Young Thug)

Copycat Killer [EP] •• Phoebe Bridgers x Rob Moose

Kyoto (Copycat Killer Version)

Savior Complex (Copycat Killer Version)

Chinese Satellite (Copycat Killer Version)

Punisher (Copycat Killer Version)

Euphoric Sad Songs [EP] •• RAYE

Love Me Again

Change Your Mind

Regardless (ft. Rudimental)

Secrets (ft. Regard)

Natalie Don’t

All Dressed Up

Please Don’t Touch

Walk on By

Love of Your Life

Dimensional Stardust •• Rob Mazurek - Exploding Star Orchestra

Sun Core Tet (Parable 99)

A Wrinkle in Time Sets Concentric Circles Reeling

Galaxy 1000

The Careening Prism Within (Parable 43)

Abstract Dark Energy (Parable 9)

Parable of Inclusion

Dimensional Stardust (Parable 33)

Minerals Bionic Stereo

Parable 3000 (We All Come From Somewhere Else)

Autumn Pleiades

While the World Was Burning •• SAINt JHN

Sucks to Be You

Switching Sides

Freedom Is Priceless

Gorgeous

High School Reunion, Prom (ft. Lil Uzi Vert)

Monica Lewinsky, Election Year (ft. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie & DaBaby)

Roses (Remix) [ft. Future]

Pray 4 Me (ft. Kanye West)

Quarantine Wifey (ft. JID)

Time for Demons

Ransom (ft. 6lack & Kehlani)

Back on the Ledge

Roses (Imanbek Remix)

ALIAS •• Shygirl

TWELVE

SLIME

FREAK

TASTY

LENG

BAWDY

SIREN

Coping Mechanisms •• Tayla Parx

Sad

Dance Alone

System

Stare

Fixerupper

Bricks

Residue

Justified

NonChalant

Nevermind

Last Words

You Don’t Know

LIVE DRUGS •• The War on Drugs

An Ocean Between the Waves (Live)

Pain (Live)

Strangest Thing (Live)

Red Eyes (Live)

Thinking of a Place (Live)

Buenos Aires Beach (Live)

Accidentally Like a Martyr (Live)

Eyes to the Wind (Live)

Under the Pressure (Live)

In Reverse (Live)

SINGLES

NEW

“Revolutionary Love” •• Ani DiFranco

“Dido’s Lament” •• Annie Lennox

“My Head & My Heart” •• Ava Max

“Endless Me, Endlessly” •• Baio

“What Do You Say When I’m Not There?” •• Baio

“45” •• Bleachers

“chinatown” •• Bleachers x Bruce Springsteen

“Thousand Pills” •• Boldy James x Stove God Cooks

“gf haircut” •• dad sports

“Scratchcard Lanyard” •• Dry Cleaning

“Angel Rock” •• Dua Saleh

“Best Rapper in the Fuckin World” •• GoldLink

“Anywhere” •• Hannah’s Little Sister

“Love Not War (The Tampa Beat)” •• Jason Derulo x Nuka

“Pick Up Your Feelings” •• Jazmine Sullivan

“Daddy Boyfriend” •• Jessica Lea Mayfield

“Emotional Abandonment” •• Jessica Lea Mayfield

“Hitman” •• Kelly Rowland & NFL

“Summertime The Gershwin Version” •• Lana Del Rey

“Undone” •• Lande Hekt

“Man’s World” •• MARINA

“Prisoner” •• Miley Cyrus x Dua Lipa

“The Lighthouse Keeper” •• Sam Smith

“Is It Just Me?” •• Sasha Sloan x Charlie Puth

“Shameika Said” •• Shameika x Fiona Apple

“Monster” •• Shawn Mendes x Justin Bieber

“Hey Boy” •• Sia

“nhs” •• slowthai

“Plead Insanity” •• Spring Silver x Sad13 x Bartees Strange

“feel good” •• Tierra Whack

“Peppers and Onions” •• Tierra Whack

“Flawed” •• Wale x Gunna

“Tried to Tell You” •• The Weather Station

REMIXES

“Valley of One Thousand Perfumes (Orchestral Version)” •• Mary Timony

“Lifetime (Planningtorock ‘Let It Happen’ Remix)” •• Romy x Planningtorock

“Boys Who Don’t Wanna Be Boys (U.S. Girls Live from The Peppermint Lounge Remix)” •• Seth Bogart x U.S. Girls

COVERS

“Waverly” (Samia cover) •• Anjimile

“Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays” •• Betty Who

“Deacon Blues” (Steely Dan cover) •• Bill Callahan x Bonnie Prince Billy x Bill McKay

“Christmas Will Really Be Christmas” •• Black Pumas

“Clementine” (Elliott smith cover) •• Bonny Light Horseman

“The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” (Roberta Flacke cover) •• James Blake

“The First Noel” •• Jazmine Sullivan x Cory Henry

“A Dreamer’s Holiday” (Perry Como cover) •• Julien Baker

MUSIC VIDEOS

“JUMPING SHIP” •• Amaarae x Kojey Radical x Cruel Santino (dir. Remi Laudat)

“34+35″ •• Ariana Grande (dir. Director X)

“Shameika” •• Fiona Apple (dir. Matthias Brown)

“Don’t Underestimate Midwest American Sun” •• Kevin Morby (dir. Johnny Eastlund x Dylan Isbell)

"Star” •• LOOΠΔ (dir. MOSWANTD)

“Waverly” •• Samia (dir. Samia Finnerty x Matt Hixon)

“Kerosene” •• Yves Tumor x Diana Gordon (dir. Cody Critcheloe)

[sounds10thapr1976-blog]

Onto the actual text this time, including a Contents page so you should be able to work out how long you have to wait for the articles you’re interested in.

Page 2     SOUNDS     April 10, 1976

CONTENTS

FEATURES David Bowie 12-14 Bill Bruford 16 War 17 PFM 18-19 Kate and Anna McGarrigle 19 Led Zeppelin 20 Bachman Turner Overdrive 27 Clive Davis 30 Guitar Special 32-39 Miracles 45

REGULARS News 2-4 Charts 6 Wax Fax 7 High Society 8-10 Jaws 11 Albums 20-24 Singles 40-41 Reggae 41 Fair Deal 42 Letters 44 Steppin’ Out 46-48 On The Road 49-51 New Sounds 54

SOUNDS

EDITOR Alan Lewis

DEPUTY EDITOR Alf Martin

FEATURES EDITOR Barbara Charone

SPECIAL PROJECTS Phil Sutcliffe

NEWS EDITOR Hugh Fielder

EDITORIAL Geoff Barton Dave Fudger Susanne Garrett Vivien Goldman Jonh Ingham Tony Mitchell

CONTRIBUTORS Mick Brown Giovanni Dadomo Flip Fraser Jerry Gilbert Dan Hedges Robin Katz Dave Laing John Peel

PHOTOGRAPHER Mike Putland

IN AMERICA Toby Goldstein 212 672 3166 Al Rudis Steve Rosen Ted Joseph Peter Crescenti

ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER Jonathan Ward

TELEPHONE SALES MANAGER Eddie Fitzgerald

ADVERTISEMENT PRODUCTION Len Driver

MANAGING DIRECTOR Jack Hutton

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Mike Sharman

ADVERTISEMENT DIRECTOR Peter Wilkinson

Spotlight Publications, Stoplight House, 1 Benwell Road, London N7 7AX. Telephone: 01-607 6411.

NEWSDESK

KISS MAYHEM Three attacks by the US destroyers

KISS, US kings of heavy rock in heavy make-up, are at last to play three gigs in Britain next month.

Despite the transatlantic publicity they have so far made little impact on record here but their fourth UK album ‘Destroyer’ will be released on Casablanca to coincide.

The label also plan to back up the full frontal assault on the British market with giveaways at the concerts including arm bands and Kiss masks and a TV advertising campaign.

The dates are: Manchester Free Trade Hall May 13, Birmingham Odeon 14, Hammersmith Odeon 15. The band may use their own jet-liner on the tour.

‘UNOFFICIAL’ FLOYD A PINK FLOYD single taken from ‘Wish You Were Here’ is being released in this country in a special limited edition of 10,000.

It will be ‘Have A Cigar’ b/w ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ and comes through an exclusive distribution deal arranged by Lightning Records with the Dutch company who originally released it.

The last of the official Floyd singles released in the UK was ‘Point Me At The Sky’ and they have recently again vetoed any further single releases here, though they put them out in every other record buying country, because of what they regard as the lightweight pop image of the charts here.

ALVIN, FAIRPORT IN FOOTBALL FEST BANK HOLIDAY Monday is now set to be the biggest day ever in live rock in the UK – another huge football ground festival probably starring Alvin Lee has been announced, coinciding with the Who and Co. putting the boot in at Charlton (see opposite page).

The Southend Charity Festival Committee say that contracts are expected to be signed this week for a line-up starring Alvin and Friends, Budgie, and the debut of the new Fairport Convention.

Support acts planned are The Dave Bromberg Band, Magna Carta, the Mickey Jupp Band and Crossbreed with our very own John Peel compering.

Confirmation came from the business end Alvin and the Fairports that they were likely to do the gig though it was still being negotiated – neither band’s line-up has yet been announced.

The Festival is run for the benefit of Christian Aid relief and development projects in the third world.

It starts at 11 am and runs through to 9pm at Southend United Football Ground. Tickets are now on sale from the ground in Victoria Avenue at £2 though they will be £2.50 on the day. Postal applicants should send an SAE with cheques and postal orders made out to ‘Southend Sounds ’76.’

SOME OF THESE KNIGHTS GLADYS KNIGHT And The Pips will tour Britain later this month doing two shows a night in five venues, her last visit for some time as she is pregnant.

The dates are: Bournemouth Winter Gardens April 23, Manchester Palace 24, Southport New Theatre 25, London New Victoria 27, Birmingham Odeon 30.

They will be bringing their own rhythm section and the tour coincides with the UK release of their States hit ‘Midnight Train To Georgia’.

Gladys is also starring in a movie titled ‘Pipedreams’ due for release in Britain in the autumn.

STILL NO TUBES Tubes’ record company A&M say that they cannot tour the UK in May as their new album ‘Young and Rich’ (produced by Ken Scott who worked on the Supertramp albums) will be released then and they will be touring the States to promote it.

But they have been trying to arrange a London venue to do a possible week of shows later in the year as well as provincial dates and A&M said they were “virtually certain” to come to Britain in ’76.

RECORD NEWS

JON DOES THE LOT Jon Anderson, who plays just occasional acoustic and percussion with Yes, has been a one-man band on his solo album ‘Olias Of Sunhillow’ released by Atlantic on May 7. He wrote the words and music and plays all instruments including keyboards and harp.

He will perform excerpts from it on OGWT on May 11 and get a spot in the Daily Telegraph colour supplement on the release date. Yes start a three-month tour of the States in late May.

REAL THING release a single in mid-May to tie in with their guest appearance with David Essex at Earl’s Court on May 15.

BARNEY JAMES, ex-drummer with Rick Wakeman’s English Rock Ensemble, has his first solo single out on April 9 on the Solddon label. Titled ‘All The Prizes Taken’ it’s from his album ‘Koneg – The Second Coming’ scheduled for May release.

JOHNNY TAYLOR’S US number one hit ‘ Disco Lady’ has been rush released in the UK by Columbia. Taylor is a soul black veteran who first recorded in the 50s and had a string of hits on Stax during the past decade, including the classic ‘Who’s Making Love’. He joined Epic after the recent Stax collapse.

FREDDIE MACK, who played ‘Mr ‘Superbad’ in the K-Tel TV ads for the album of the same name last year, has a single of the same name out on Contempo on April 23. It’s called ‘Mr Superbad’.

LINDA LEWIS, whose current single on Bell is a Van McCoy song ‘Baby I’m Yours’, is heading for New Orleans to record with Allen Toussaint. Later in the summer she will co-star with John Miles in a Mike Mansfield TV special.

GRAND FUNK have signed to EMI International for the world outside North America.

NANARETH’s single ‘Love Hurts’ and album ‘Hair Of The Dog’ have both gone gold in the States.

ANNE-KARINE THINGNAES, Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest entry ‘Mata Hari’ is being released by DJM in the UK.

MOON WILLAIMS new single on DJM ‘Every Time I Take The Time’ will be ‘endorsed’ in radio ads by admirers including Deep Purple, The Rubettes, Angie Bowie and Biddu.

SHIRLEY BASSEY has a single called ‘Natali’ released on April 9 by United Artists. It’s taken from an Album ‘Love Life And Feeling’ out on April 23.

BONNIE DOBSON is recording a new album for Polydor and tracks so far completed include ‘Morning Dew’ (which she originally wrote) ‘A Taste Of Honey’, ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’ and ‘Here Comes The Sun’. The album is scheduled for July release.

URIAH HEEP have finished work on their new album, ‘High And Mighty’, which is the first that the band have produced themselves. It will be released in May.

ARISTA RECORDS have taken over Haven Records in America which gives them such artists as the Righteous Brothers, Gene Redding, Willie Harry Nelson, Eve Sands, and Rob Grill and the Grassroots. The Righteous Brothers and Willie Harry Nelson have albums due for release shortly.

‘THE HAPLESS Child And Other Inscrutable Stories’ is the title of an album released by Virgin next weekend. The music is by Mike Mantler and lyrics by Edward Gorey and among those taking part are Robert Wyatt, Carla Bley, Terge Rypdal, Steve Swallow and Jack De Johnette.

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Next time: page three

[team-skull-admin]

My favorite 40 games of all-time

Made an arbitrary list of my favorite games of all-time cause I wanted to figure out where Breath of the Wild is on it. It’s, uh, pretty high. Assload of text below the break.

40: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow I'm not the world's biggest Symphony of the Night fan (outside of the incredible soundtrack) and I think this is where Iga's seamless platformers found their footing.

39: Call of Juarez: Gunslinger I love goofy, experimental games like this and Far Cry: Blood Dragon, but I think the schtick in this (an unreliable narrator bragging about their heroic exploits) works better than Blood Dragon's dorky 80s nostalgia.

38: Rayman Origins A beautiful platformer with incredible level design. The music for the diabolical secret level is seared into my memory.

37: Cibele A short, story-centric indie game that captures the essence of playing MMOs in the mid-2000s and long-distance relationships. The awkward conversations in this game made me think about my WoW years for an entire weekend.

36: Mario Kart Wii It's not technically the "best" Mario Kart, but I actually enjoyed the motorcycles and I have fond memories of crushing my brother while we downed beers and talked shit.

35: Guild of Dungeoneering I'm usually not super into "We made X game, but added CARDS!" even though I love card games, but they nailed the loop here. I vaguely remember one of the decks being super busted, though.

34: Tropico 4 Adding a political slant to Sim City by making you the leader of a banana republic was just the slant to that formula I was looking for, and I lost a weekend circa New Year's '13 just delving into this hard.

33: Gran Turismo 2 My brother bought a PS1 off a friend when they upgraded to a PS2, and I grabbed a copy of this cheaply at the local EB Games. Once I wrapped my mind around the simulation, upgrading cars and havin fun with them here might have more to do with me being somewhat of a car person than anything else.

32: Metal Gear Solid 4 I should really put the whole series on here, but MGS4 deserves special note for making the core stealth actually fun and somehow tying all the loose ends of the insane plot together while dialing up the insanity even further.

31: Sim City 2000 I figured out how to make a 50,000 person city when I was like, 8. I still have no fucking idea how I did this. It took me till my 20s to crack 100k.

30: Pokemon Black/White People are torn on this game, but the contentious design decision to hide the old Pokemon in the postgame made every new encounter incredibly exciting in a way the series hadn't been since the orignals. The writing also shows signs of the maturity that Sun/Moon would follow through with.

29: Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 I think most would deride this series as a soulless Pokemon cash-grab on the surface, but they're actually roguelikes with a crazy monster breeding system and the most rote of stories to get you into the core loop of exploring new keys to breed ever crazier monsters.

28: Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Diablo 3 vanilla's reliance on the auction house created design issues that were hard to look past, but Blizzard abandoning it for the expansion made the game into an incredible dungeon crawler. I never laddered, but had fun for hundreds of hours chasing loot with friends.

27: Fallout 3 I'll never forget the feeling of walking out of the vault for the first time, and feeling like I could go anywhere. I also think this is the only Bethesda game that regularly pays off when exploring - weird shit like the Republic of Dave or the man stuck in the tree are fantastic rewards for poking at the less inhabited edges of the map.

26: Bassin's Black Bass featuring Hank Parker I'm honestly wondering if the rest of the world has picked up on this game's low-key genius since I saw it for 15 bucks at a retro game store recently, but this game's arcadey fishing is incredibly satisfying and snappy. It has some major, obvious, irritating mechanical issues, but the core gameplay loop is so good I don't care.

25: Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor I still remember my nemesis. This motherfucker was right at the beginning of the game, inside the first quest area, and was like level 5 or 6, but had a defensive ability that made it harder for me to gank him easily. So he killed me. Twice. And leveled up each time, becoming a level 12 badass who could literally sniff me out when I hid. But he was weak to fire, and I lured him to a campfire and set him ablaze, getting my revenge.

24: Super Metroid I feel like most people would have this game higher on the list, but I think the controls are floaty and Meridia is overly confusing. The rest of the game is incredible and I can't believe they pulled it off on a Super Nintendo.

23: Pokemon Sun/Moon After XY and ORAS were disapointments I was cool on Pokemon, but Sun/Moon challenged a ton of series conventions and got a lot right in the process. I can't believe how deftly this game handles dysfunctional families.

22: A Link Between Worlds This was Nintendo's hit at what was to come with Zelda - a smart, experimental take on the franchise that's easily its best 2d outing.

21: Muramasa: The Demon Blade Vanillaware's magnum opus, a gorgeous Metroidvania where everything is hand-painted. The combat's loop of mixing launchers with sword management is also incredibly fun, if not particularly deep. But fuck I loved looking at it so much and it felt good.

20: The Walking Dead Only time a video game made me cry.

19: Banjo-Kazooie The only 3d collect-a-thon platformer from that era that still holds up, it combines cheeky humor and an incredible soundtrack to craft a world that's always surprising.

18: Borderlands 2 is better crafted, but I enjoyed the dry wit and more grounded guns of the first. I've replayed this like 4 times and I'm not entirely sure why, but I have a blast each time.

17: Doom (2016) Apparently the secret to making this license work in a modern context is to give Halo combat arenas a healthy dose of cocaine and play Meshuggah riffs over it. It so fucking works.

16: Saints Row: The Third I think the writing in GTA is usually sophomoric at best and its attempts at commentary are eye-roll worthy, but having a game say "FUCK IT" and just Mel Brooks that experience is such a wonderful idea. It's also hard to pull off, and SR3 totally sticks the landing (unlike the sequel).

15: Super Mario World The best traditional Mario game. I replayed it recently, and it struck me how much secret exits add to the level design versus 3, and how freed Koji Kondo is by the new hardware. The castle music's classical overture sticks out.

14: Monster Hunter 4 I liked Monster Hunter 3's various iterations but I hated swimming. Taking out swimming and replacing it  with mounting was enough for me to sink hundreds of hours. I actively avoided getting Generations because I knew it would interfere with school.

13: Mario Golf (GBC) The perfect portable game. Golf works well on the platform, and adding basic RPG hooks was enough to make a rote story totally engaging.

12: Super Mario Maker I think the real triumph of Mario Maker isn't the levels (which are usually terrible), it's how Nintendo imparted the feeling of being creative in such an easily digestible and satisfying way. It's an achievement that ascends past Mario design (which still works here) into something greater and more profound.

11: Hearthstone I fucking hate this game and I keep playing it because the Arena is like literal fucking crack and every time I have an opponent at 1 life and they beat me they can eat fucking dicks.

10: Super Mario RPG Clever writing and a strange world grabbed me way harder than Intelligent System's later Paper Mario games. It's too easy and doesn't look as slick now, but the writing still holds up.

09: Mass Effect Trilogy You can't really separate these, as the experience that makes Mass Effect great was carrying your Shepard and their decisions from one game to the next. Everyone will remember Garrus, Wrex, and co. Shame about the ending.

08: Tetris I am weirdly good at Tetris. I know what a T-Spin is. I sank hundreds of hours into it on Facebook. I don't regret it.

07: Persona 4 Describe a game to me as a mix of a J-RPG and a slice-of-life anime and I'll run to the hills, so the fact this game's sharp, mature writing and "just one more day" calendar mechanic combined into one of my favorite games of all-time is a shock. They also put in Pokemon with fucking demons, how cool is that shit?

06: Ocarina of Time I can't believe this game came out in 1998. The world is still fun to traverse, and the dungeon design (especially as an adult) still holds up at the top of action-adventure puzzle design.

05: Magic: the Gathering I wish it was less expensive otherwise it'd be higher.

04: Breath of the Wild I can't believe Nintendo reinvented the wheel so well that I'm putting the game so high on the list. Every design decision in this game is carefully considered to make exploring this iteration of Hyrule that much more satisfying. And its incredibly clever chemistry engine, where every object in the game has chemical properties that can be manipulated as well as physics, creates a ton of emergent gameplay scenarios where you're constantly asking "Can I do that?" and the game almost never lets you down.

03: World of Warcraft Sometimes I regret the 4000 hours I spent in Azeroth, but I'd have a hard time giving up the friends I made there. I could probably shred and like, speak another language though.

02: Pokemon Red I was the perfect age for Pokemon mania, and the fact that the core game was literally designed to appeal to me didn't help. I still love collecting the things and min/maxing ways to beat the Elite 4 with minimal grinding.

01: Mega Man X I think this is literally the perfect platformer. Moving X feels incredible. There's nothing in any of the levels I think is out of place. The soundtrack is a masterpiece. And the game's hidden secret is so insane you'd probably call bullshit on any kid who told it to you at recess. I'm really glad the rest of the world picked up on it after Arin Hanson did a Sequelitis about it, because I've been beating this drum for decades.

[goswagcollectorfire]

12-25-19:  Alabama’s Ordinance of Secession: It didn’t take long for other Southern states to jump on the band wagon and secede from the Union. This certainly brought on nerve wracking events and situations. On January 9, 1861, Mississippi seceded. On the same day as Mississippi’s secession, South Carolina state troops at Charleston fired on the merchant ship Star of the West to prevent it from landing reinforcements and relief supplies for Union Troops at Fort Sumter. The ship was struck twice by South Carolina’s guns. After seeing that it was hopeless to land the reinforcements and supplies, the ship turned back toward New York. Everywhere I went around Autauga County, the plantation owners wanted to talk about a civil war. Almost everyone wanted to go to war to show the North they couldn’t tell the South what we could do and couldn’t do. Everyone I talked with was strong in his beliefs on state’s rights. They were ready to fight. I tried to stay focused on attending to the sick rather than getting into politics. As I made my rounds, I found the cold winter had already taken a toll on the slaves. Because of poor living conditions, unfit clothing, and lack of food, several of the older slaves had died. Every time I found a dead slave, I shook my head and said, “Lord, when will these owners learn?” During the month of January, I treated twenty-two cases of pneumonia among the slaves, and several cases of bad cold infections. I also delivered six babies. The slave population wasn’t the only race of people I treated. We had an unusual number of whites in Prattville who suffered from pneumonia and bad colds as well. I found myself again spending too much time as a doctor and too little time at Twin Oaks with my family. I kept telling myself that I would soon be able to catch up on my medical calls and again be able to spend more time with my family. By the end of January, six Southern states had seceded from the Union. South Carolina was the first to secede on December 20, 1860; Mississippi on January 9; Florida on January 10; Alabama on January 11; Georgia on January 19; and Louisiana on January 26. On January 13, 1861, two days after Alabama voted to secede from the Union, the Selma newspaper printed Alabama’s Ordinance of Secession in its entirety. I found it amusing in places. The Ordinance of Secession started by saying, “Whereas, the election of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin to the offices of President and Vice-President of the United States of America, by a sectional party, avowedly hostile to the domestic institutions and to the peace and security of the people of the State of Alabama, preceded by many and dangerous infractions of the Constitution of the United States by many of the States and people of the Northern section, is a political wrong of so insulting and menacing a character as to justify the people of the State of Alabama in the adoption of prompt and decided measures for their future peace and security: therefore, be it declared and ordained by the people of the State of Alabama in Convention assembled, that the State of Alabama now withdraws, and is herby withdrawn from the Union known as ‘the United States of America,’ and henceforth ceases to be one of said United States, and is, and of right ought to be, a Sovereign and Independent State.” The words hostile, dangerous infractions of the Constitution of the United States, peace and security of the people, insulting and menacing a character were phrases used to justify seceding from the Union. If the reader fully understood what the writer was saying, I could understand how the Ordinance would arouse the emotions of the people of Alabama. This secession mess is crazy. The Southern states have blinded themselves to the repercussions of a war. If war comes, there will be thousands of men killed and wounded from both sides. What a tragedy! It’s like a wildfire: once it gets going, it spreads. If my father was living today, he would say, “Son, the South will never be the same again.” On January 21, U.S. Senators Clement C. Clay Jr. and Benjamin Fitzpatrick from Alabama, David L. Yulee and Stephen R. Mallory from Florida, and Jefferson Davis from Mississippi withdrew from the U.S. Senate. This created another big stir. On January 29, Kansas was admitted to the Union as the thirty-fourth state of the Union, and Kansas was admitted as a Free State under the Wyandotte Constitution. On February 1, 1861, Texas seceded from the Union. On February 4, 1861, representatives from Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina met in Montgomery, Alabama, and voted to form the Confederate States of America. Plans were made to make Montgomery the State Capitol of the Confederacy. Because of my heavy work schedule and my being depressed from reading newspaper articles, I found myself exhausted and ready for a quiet and relaxing weekend at Twin Oaks. I looked forward to visiting with Audrey and playing with our kids. George met me as soon as I pulled up at the house. “Master Obadiah, I need to talk to you.”   Author’s Note: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!!!!

[ges-sa]

Thor: Ragnarok Review

New Post has been published on https://ges-sa.com/thor-ragnarok-review/

Thor: Ragnarok Review

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”27297,27301,27298,27299,27300,27318,27329,27304,27306,27308,27309,27310,27311,27313,27314,27319,27322,27323,27324,27325,27327,27328,27333,27330″][vc_column_text] ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ arrives in South African cinemas this weekend and with it, marks the 17th film as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and their third movie released in 2017. With this many movies already, and Thor appearing in 4 of them, one might wonder what, if anything, they can do with Thor that’s new and keeps the momentum of the whole franchise going as we move into a big 2018 for the MCU. ‘Thor: Regnarok’ proves that Marvel Studios has no intention of slowing down or playing to type, tone and genre as they pull out all the stops for Thor’s third stand-alone film.

Giving brief mentions to and quickly resolving the cliff-hanging elements from ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ and ‘Thor: The Dark World’ respectively, this movie doesn’t waste any time getting things started as Thor looks to halt the prophecy of Ragnarok, restore order to Asgard and set things right. In short order we encounter several different realms, worlds and characters, some familiar and putting in cameos to remind you that they still exist and some new, before the ”main” plot is established. There’s clearly a wealth of ideas in this movie as the intent is to adapt and meld the ‘Ragnarok’ and ‘Plant Hulk’ storylines from Thor and Hulk respectively from the Marvel comics. While there is never any doubt as to whom the main character is and who’s movie we’re watching, with Thor very clearly being the focal character, there’s more than enough story for both aspects of this film to cover their own movies. At times it feels as though some aspects of both plots on the planet Sakaar and the impending of threat of new villain Hela upon the citizens of Asgard are short changed until the later stages of the film as focus shifts between both locations for a while. The plight of planet Sakaar and Asgard would have likely been better served with sole focus in different films.

Those misgivings aside, there is no doubt that anyone viewing this movie will be thoroughly entertained from start to finish. Taking a cue from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2’ and expanding both the colour palette and the humour significantly, ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ is heavy on humour and doesn’t skimp on action across many varied and colourful inter-planetary settings. I would say this is a positive, as the tone is constantly upbeat and dialogue is breezy throughout as some aspects of this story could very easily get too heavy or morose. Instead, the tone keeps things light and allows for some unique character moments between the action, which is clearly the positive influence of director Taika Waititi who is known for this kind of tone in other movies he has worked on. His effect on this film can be looked at as a success and very few of the general movie going public will feel disappointed in this one by the time it’s all over. There are a lot of whacky and crazy things in this one, and that distinction is not lost on the characters in the movie. This movie also succeeds in ultimately personifying the inner strength and character of Thor in a way that the first two stand-alone Thor movies and two Avengers movies have not done so yet.

Chris Hemsworth delivers another enjoyable performance as Thor and captures the spirit of the character regardless of whether he is throwing down with giant monsters or charming with his words. Not only will guys be impressed by the action involving all number of mythological and alien threats, but female viewers will be impressed by Thor’s physique as new look adopted throughout the film. With this new twist on Thor and his more confident and lighter take on the character, I feel like Thor’s stock has risen for when he reappears next year in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’. Another character who benefits from some added exploration is the Hulk. We learn where he’s been since ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ and discover more to his personality than and any of his previous MCU appearances. Actor Mark Ruffalo gets to stretch his comedic legs a little more in this movie and definitely adds to the overall product. Tom Hiddelston turn in another great performance as Loki and his continued involvement and evolving role across multiple movies has bucked genre conventions and been one of the greatest things to happen to the MCU that has come out of the Thor franchise. Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, while a new comer to the series and not getting as much screen time compared to the other stars mentioned above, more than holds her own and adds some depth to what might otherwise be a one-note character. Cate Blanchett turns in a fun performance as Hela and clearly loves every moment she gets to play up her character. Honestly, you’d have to look really hard to find a bad performance in the movie as every character, both major and minor, are given love from everyone involved. It should go without saying that Jeff Goldblum brings it in the role of The Grandmaster, Karl Urban almost flies under the radar in this film but still gets enough time to make an impression as Skurge The Executioner, Anthony Hopkins gets a brief opportunity to show why he’s still one of the best in any role, and even a side character like Korg (played by Taika Waititi) is given a reason for audiences to take to him as they play this ‘Planet Hulk’ character against type to humorous effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7MGUNV8MxU

‘Thor: Ragnarok’ will leave you laughing, amazed and in awe by the time it’s all said in done and will give audiences plenty to chew on before banner 2018 year for the MCU. There’s plenty of Thor to go around, a generous portion of Hulk, a drizzle of backstabbing and manipulating courtesy of Loki, a pinch of Asgard and all it encompasses, a sprinkle of cameos  from characters we wish we could see much more of, all washed down with insane cosmic zaniness in the Marvel Studios manner. There are two extra scenes throughout and after the credits so as always, remember to stick around for that. This is a great film for the whole family, both young and old. Don’t miss ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ in cinemas while you have the chance.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

Additional Information

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Reviewed on: Cinema 2D Available on: Cinema 2D, Cinema 3D, 4DX, IMAX 3D, Cine Prestige Genre: Superhero, Action, Adventure, Comedy Age Rating: 13 V Estimated RRP: R50 – R175 Release Date: 27 October 2017[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

Likes

Tone and colour palette

Cast

Dislikes

Enough plot, ideas and characters to easily carry two movies and give some ideas room to breathe.

Barely get to spend enough time with some past characters.

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[tanmath3-blog]

Justin Park aka.. J.R. Park is one of the friendliest people I have ever met. He always has a smile and is willing to help anyone that he can. He also can spin a great horror story. Some of the most suspenseful and chilling stories I have read have been his. If you haven’t read one of his books please make sure that you do. He is extremely talented. He is also part of the Sinister Horror Company where he works with various authors publishing and editing and making beautiful books. If you haven’t met Justin you are missing out on a really amazing friend and writer. Please take the time to read one of his books you won’t regret it!

Please welcome J.R. Park back to Roadie Notes…………

1. It’s been awhile since we talked what new books do you have out now? Latest release? I’ve had a number of new releases. The Offering: An Introduction To The Sinister Horror Company is a short story collection by myself and Daniel Marc Chant, with a fantastic foreword by George Anderson. Death Dreams In A Whorehouse is a short collection of my own. I’ve been selling it at conventions but it hasn’t been ‘properly’ released online yet. I expect I’ll release it before the end of the year, but haven’t firmed up a date yet. Postal was a book co-written with Matt Shaw. This was a great book to write. Matt came up with an initial concept. I threw some ideas at him around it and he went off and wrote his part, whilst at the same time coming up with the structure of the book. He left me a lot of room to play and to add more ideas and concepts to the mythology. It turned out really fun (in a horror sense) and has had a great reaction since its release. Mad Dog is my latest novella, a book that can be summed up as: werewolf in a prison break. It’s told from a series of interviews by survivors of the incident and is full of the spills and thrills of a pulp book/b-movie.

2. If you could pick any author alive or dead to have lunch with who would it be? Why?

So many to choose from…so many. I think I’d go with William Burroughs. I don’t know a lot about the man, but he seems to have been a fascinating, and his voice is strangely hypnotic. I could listen to him tell me strange stories of his life for hours.

3. What is the strangest thing a fan has ever done?

I’ve been sent an embroidered handkerchief once. I’m an advocate of handkerchief use, and I usually add one in every book I write. I won’t say what was on, but if you’ve read Upon Waking you might get an idea…

4. What is the one thing you dread to do when writing?

Unconscious theft. When you’re exposed to so much, it’s okay to be influenced, but sometimes you can rip something off wholesale and you the worst thing is you can be halfway through before you notice. Another pain is if you come up with a great and work on something only for someone else to come up with the same idea. It hasn’t happened to me yet, but I have seen it happen, and it’s an awful position to be in.

5. Did you have imaginary friends growing up? Tell me about them

I did. It was an imaginary dog called Stripe (named after the Gremlin). The dog was small but not a real breed. It had neon fur, big teeth and a silver mohawk. I used to take him on walks with me, and secretly held his lead so others couldn’t see. My imaginary friend was my secret.

6. Do you go to conventions? If not why?

I really enjoy going to conventions. Because I go as part of a publishing company I don’t get invited as a guest and therefore have to pay for a pitch etc. This means with all the associated costs I never make my money back, but that’s not the point. It’s real fun to meet old fans and make new ones. Meet up with other horror fans and have a laugh. I usually spend more money than I make, but I just can’t help myself. Artifacts from conventions adorn my writing desk – a unicorn, a mask of a nazi zombie of American Werewolf In London… The craziest journey to get to a convention was in Dublin during 2016. Myself and Matt Shaw took a bus and ferry. We travelled all day and night, arriving at the convention an hour before it was due to start. We were so tired and then had to endure the Game Of Thrones theme on loop as we were pitched next to their stand. I think we both left that weekend slightly more deranged.

7. How many times did you have to submit your first story before it was accepted?

I never did! I went into self-publishing with my first book. I decided to let the critics guide me through reviews. So far it’s turned out okay. I’ve only subbed to a few other publishers. I had a rejection this year for a short story, and I was okay with that. They had a vision for their book and my story didn’t fit in with it – no problem. Another publisher moved their submission date without telling me. They brought it forward. It was a real shame as I had set up a writing schedule in date order. I really wanted to sub for the book and was gutted when they suddenly had the book filled. It’s being treated this way that puts me off working with other publishers. But you can’t let one bad experience stop you from working with others; and on the whole they have been pretty good.

8. Ever consider not writing? If so what made you continue?

I enjoy writing, and in some capacity I always will. Sometimes my creative energy will be spent elsewhere; maybe making films or writing music. But I’ve always enjoyed writing and never go anywhere with at least a pen and pad on me.

9. Ever thought about writing in a different category?

Yeah, very much so. I was writing poetry before I started writing horror, and I may go back to that. I love how one line of poetry can disarm you, so much more than a whole passage of prose in a book. It’s like concentrated emotion. Boil everything down. Strip the words back further and further until you’re left with the essence. That’s powerful stuff. I’ve also considered writing a different way. I write horror under the name J. R. Park. Why? Because it’s me, but not all of me. It’s only a part of me. To write under my full name Justin Park, it would have to be a full expression of me; unconfined from any particular genre. I’m currently reading a number of non-horror books and so we’ll see what influence these may have.

10. Any new additions to the family?

Not for me. I live in a shared house, much the same way as I did when I left University. I know at my age most people have settled down with a partner and live with them. Maybe they have a dog or cat. Maybe a child or two. I used to think there was something wrong with me for not living like that. Like I was some kind of failure. Of course that’s nonsense. There’s more than one way to live your life, and this is the way I’m living mine.

11. What is coming up next for you?

All planned book releases are out for the year. I am considering releasing Death Dreams At Christmas – a collection of Christmas horror stories. I love Christmas so it would be nice to get involved in the festive season. The other thing that I have coming up is the production and release of the Sinister Horror Cards. Based on Top Trumps, it’s an idea I had ever since I started writing. We are halfway through the art production at the moment and they are looking beautiful.

12. Do you do release parties? Do you think they work?

I don’t, so I don’t know if they work. I attended one once, and my Facebook feed got so full I couldn’t keep up. So as a reader and horror fan I didn’t like them, so I won’t do them for my own books. I’ve donated some books as prizes for other’s launch parties, but it’s not something I’d interested in. I’m sure it works for other people, and good luck to them. I think I’d rather have a real party. If I could set up an annual horror party that would be fun. Currently there are meet ups like FCON which has a good gathering of authors and readers.

13. Do you have crazy stalker fans? Have you ever had one you wish would go away? You haven’t made it until you’ve got a stalker. Thankfully, I haven’t made it yet.

14. Do you still have a “day job” ? If so what do you do?

I do. I work for the Government. I can’t tell you anymore; if I did, I’d have to kill you…

15. What is your process for writing? Do you have a voice in your head?

I usually start with a scene of two. These make pivotal points in the story. Then a write a paragraph describing the story. I expand it to a page with a beginning and end. Then I brainstorm to work out more detail before writing a chapter by chapter plan. Each chapter have notes that last a page and a half. It’s stream of consciousness so it can veer from notes to lines of dialogue to actual prose that gets used in the book. I do this so when I start writing I don’t accidentally write myself in a corner. I have read many books with unnecessary chapters and events that hold no relevance to the plot and I’m left wondering what was the point other than padding. It’s like an author starting writing a bit because they thought it was cool and then got bored, wrapped it up and carried on in a different direction. I decent editor would take those pages out, and it annoys when plots meander with no purpose. I like my stories to be well thought out from the start. ‘Not a word wasted’ is a comment I’ve received on a couple of times; and that makes me proud. Anyway… once I’ve got the plan I’ll write out chapter by chapter. Things may change and alter in that process, but I make notes as I go. Flow is important to me, and although I don’t have a voice in my head, I actually read a lot of my own work back aloud. This helps to get the feel of the flow, and find out if there are any cumbersome sentences that need re-working.

16. Is there a book you want to make a sequel to you haven’t yet?

I’d be tempted to write sequel to many of my books. Punch would be great to have a follow-up as there is a dangling plot thread no one notices that I’d love to tie up – mainly just to point it out, and then everyone will go ‘oh yeah’. The Exchange has a mighty follow-up swirling around my head. It involves many creatures and weird things. Think occult-style Star Wars. There’s also an idea for a follow-up to Mad Dog. Most likely called Mad Man, it will take the themes and styles of Mad Dog and push them to their inevitable conclusion.

You can connect with Justin Park here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JRParkAuthor/?fref=ts

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/J.-R.-Park/e/B00OL04SD0/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3?qid=1504592405&sr=8-3

Website: http://sinisterhorrorcompany.com/

  Some of Justin Park’s books:

  Getting even more personal with Justin Park Justin Park aka.. J.R. Park is one of the friendliest people I have ever met. He always has a smile and is willing to help anyone that he can.

[natasha-cole]

Like the Heart Goes Chapter 14: You can’t have it all, but you take it anyway

Pairing: Past Rob Benedict x Reader, Adam Fergus x Reader

Summary: Breaking up is hard. Especially when you are going through it publicly. Rob and Reader are doing just that; trying to navigate the difficulties of an emotional breakup while still trying to remain civil enough to work together, and adding inquisitive fans and over involved friends to the equation certainly isn’t helping.

Reader is at her wits end. Both of the men in her life are behaving strangely. Fans are starting to ask the questions that she only hoped she could avoid. Just when she thinks convention weekends couldn’t get any more awkward, she is proven wrong.

Word Count: 3347

Warnings: angst mostly, moody men

Note: I am fully aware that “Dearly Departed” is Rob and Emily’s song at SNS, and I love it so much that I love the idea of Rob and Reader singing it. It just seems like such an “ex lover” kind of song.

Catch Up:  Chapter 1  Chapter 2  Chapter 3   Chapter 4   Chapter 5  Chapter 6  Chapter 7 Chapter 8  Chapter 9  Chapter 10  Chapter 11  Chapter 12  Chapter 13

At least Adam had kept his promise. Throughout the following weeks; he did call and he called often. You never ran out of things to talk about, and you looked forward to hearing his voice each day. You realized quickly that you were almost becoming dependent on him. When he didn’t call, you pouted; when he did call, you stopped what you were doing so that you could talk to him. You knew it was turning into the same thing that you had just gone through with Rob. You didn’t want to fall back into the same life, waiting around for a guy and giving up what you were doing just so you could talk to him.

You couldn’t help yourself though. Even though you were fully aware of how desperate and pathetic you seemed, you continued to behave this way. You had been so used to doing these things, you sort of felt that to keep Adam’s interest, you had to do the same for him.

When the next convention had rolled around, you were happy to hear that Adam had indeed been scheduled last minute to appear, filling in for Osric who had to back out at the last minute. It had been a couple of weeks since Adam had surprised you and showed up in L.A. and you were honestly happy to see him again.

This time, you didn’t try to hide the fact that you were into him. Not from your friends and not from Rob. You had finally felt secure enough in this developing relationship that you didn’t care if anyone saw you kiss him now.

Luckily, he had seemed just as happy to see you upon arriving at the convention. You met him in the green room as you waited for the events of the first day to begin. The moment he walked through that door, you approached him; wanting to throw your arms around him and feel his lips on yours again. You chose your actions carefully though, not wanting to push too far since he seemed so set on taking it slow.

So, you greeted him shyly as he walked in, hesitating for a moment to see what he expected you to do next. He pulled you in almost immediately, resting his face in the crook of your neck, giving you soft kisses as he whispered against your skin how much he missed you. You grinned, pleased that you were now allowed to be affectionate with him even more publicly than usual. When he pulled back, he kissed you on the mouth and you hummed against him in appreciation. You hadn’t smiled like this in a while. He always made you smile.

You decided against looking around the room to see who had seen your public display of affection; no longer caring what others thought of you and Adam. Instead, you took his hand and led him into the room where everyone else greeted him.

While you didn’t want to pay attention to the reactions of your friends to this new development, you couldn’t help but glance at Rob occasionally, who was sitting with some of the band as they quietly strummed guitars and talked among themselves. It was stupid really. You didn’t think you wanted him to notice, because you really didn’t think he’d care. However, a part of you wanted him to see. You wanted him to show a little jealousy for some reason. You quickly shook the thoughts from your head, reminding yourself that he had left you which only meant that he really didn’t care.

Since you and Adam had some time before your separate panels, you decided against having lunch in the greenroom. Well, mostly Adam had decided. He asked you to lunch, somewhere away from the con. You agreed, a little disappointed that he didn’t even want to spend time with your friends. You figured he just wanted time alone with you, and who could say no to that?

You agreed on a restaurant, sitting down together to get a quick bite since you were on limited time. It was rather uncommon to even leave the convention areas during the day since everything was always moving so quickly and you were constantly in one room and then whisked off to another.

“I’m glad they added you to this one, I was beginning to think I’d never see you again,” you said after your orders had been placed.

“Me too. I’m also glad that we had the afternoon open and we could spend some time together.”

“Yeah, but we’ll be eating fast just so we can get back in time. Why you decided to go out rather than just have lunch there, I don’t understand,” you chuckled.

“I’m sorry,” he replied, looking hurt, “I just, don’t enjoy spending time with you while your ex boyfriend is sitting there.”

“It’s not a big deal,” you said, a bit thrown off by his words. He had never expressed a problem with Rob being around. “He mostly ignores me nowadays.”

“Hardly,” he scoffed, “He was staring at us the second I walked in today.”

“No he wasn’t,” you argued. You had checked a few times actually, in no way had Rob even acknowledged you or Adam at any point.

“Right, I meant, I don’t like to sit around and watch you stare at him.”

You swallowed hard, face growing hot as you listened to him. You were a bit upset now, surprised that he was talking to you this way.

“What are you talking about?” you asked, annoyed now that Adam appeared to be in a really bad mood.

“I mean, I know I said I was willing to wait for you,” he began, “and I am. But, it’s not easy when I am crazy about you, but all you can do is worry about what he is doing or thinking.”

“I don’t do that,” you snapped, “I literally went to you the second you walked in. I kissed you in front of everyone.”

“I know,” he said shaking his head, “I’m sorry, I’m being an idiot. I’m tired and for some reason, being in the same room as him really gets to me.”

“It doesn’t have to,” you replied, “don’t let it get to you. I mean, I have to work with him too you know. It’s not easy for me.”

“See, that’s what I mean.”

“What?!”

“It’s not easy for you because you’re still in love with him.”

“Adam, can we not do this here?” you asked softly. You could feel yourself starting to cry. You had never had Adam talk to you this way, bring these things up, especially not like this. He seemed irritated and on edge.

“Don’t cry,” he said, reaching across the table now to take your hand, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“What is this all about?” you asked, now trying to hold back tears. “Where is this coming from?”

“It’s nothing, I told you I’m just tired. I shouldn’t have said that. It’s just very difficult to be with my girl when her ex is in the same room. I think I just get a little jealous.”

“You have nothing to be jealous about,” you promised him, “Rob and I are over. He doesn’t even look at me anymore.”

“And you?”

You sucked in a breath, knowing damn well that he was right in a way. You of course still missed Rob, still loved him, but you were trying very hard to get past that.

“I like you Adam,” you replied, “I promise you that I am crazy about you. I just have to work with Rob. Unfortunately, that makes it a little difficult to forget about him, to forget what he did.”

“I know, you’re right. I’m just overreacting.”

“Can we please just not fight about this?” You asked. “This is stupid. We should be enjoying each other’s company right now, not arguing over something that doesn’t even matter.”

“Of course, you’re completely right.”

“You have nothing to worry about. Please, just know that.”

After the strange events during lunch, you and Adam returned to the convention. Neither of you spoke the whole way back and you continued not speaking as you made your way back to the green room. The only reason you weren’t in a complete panic over his behavior was that he held your hand all the way back.

By the time you were back, you had made it just in time for your panel. You said goodbye to Adam and made your way to the stage as Rich, Rob and the band were playing your song to introduce you. You bounded on stage, forcing a smile as you were still slightly concerned over what had happened at lunch. You shared some banter with the guys before they left you to it and you delved right into questions.

For some reason, this particular convention was already not going in your favor. The near fight with Adam was your first sign, the next sign came at you full force as you stood on stage, suddenly thrown in your face by the questions that fans decided they had. At least these questions didn’t come until right near the end of your panel.

“Can you tell us about your relationship with Adam?”

It shouldn’t have caught you off guard, but it did. You had never thought of how you should answer this question if it ever came up.

“Um, well, Adam is a good friend of mine. I’ve known him since he was on the show. He’s nice and a very talented actor.” You knew that it was a stupid answer. People knew about the two of you, they just did. Why you were suddenly trying to be so quiet about it was beyond you. You figured since you and Adam had never officially established what you were, it wasn’t your place to give too much info.

You moved on to the next question quickly.

“Will you ever perform at SNS again? You’ve missed a lot of shows from the last conventions, and I was wondering why you stopped doing them and if you’ll ever do them again.”

“Oh, y-yeah,” you stuttered, “I had to cancel a few conventions for personal reasons, and not being at the concerts those other times was just beyond my control…” you could feel yourself growing nervous now. You couldn’t tell the fans that you decided to stop doing the concert because you couldn’t stand to be around Rob. It was important to at least make them think the two of you were friendly. In fact, you had no plans to take part in SNS ever again if it meant being on stage with Rob. But, right now, with a fan asking you about it, insisting that you explain yourself, you felt that you had no choice but to ease her mind. “I will be singing this weekend though, it’s been a long time and I’m excited to be able to do it again.”

That was a lie. You were never planning to sing this weekend. The band and Rob were aware that you were done with that. Hopefully, you could convince them to squeeze you into the lineup last minute so that you wouldn’t disappoint any more people.

You thanked her and turned to the other side of the stage for the next question.

“Hi Y/N, we know that there was talk about you being in Kings of Con for season 2, but now that you and Rob are split, does that affect you being on the show?”

Your heart sank at that one. You hadn’t thought of it really. There had always been a plan for you to be on the show, there was a script with you written into it, it just needed to find a home so that it could be filmed.

“You know? I don’t really know. I would still love to do the show, because I think it’s so great, but I suppose that’s up to the guys at this point. I’m not opposed to doing it though.”

More questions about your personal life followed. For some reason, you indulged them somewhat. You became increasingly uncomfortable at the questions and mostly wanted them to stop. Before you could say anything else to the audience, Rob and the other guys entered the stage, indicating that your panel was over now. You would only have to get through the last question. You hoped it was something relevant at this point. Rich pointed to a girl waiting in line, letting her know that she was the last question.

“This is for Y/N and Rob, Is it hard to work together at conventions now? And, since there’s talk about your characters coming back to the show next season, is that something you’ll be able to even do?”

That had done it for you. It wasn’t necessarily a bad question. You knew that the fans had been supportive of you and Rob from the beginning. When Rob had left, social media had sort of been filled with mention of the split. No one was really rude about any of it, mostly sad and disappointed. Regardless, you were pretty tired of the questions, but mostly with the insistence on being involved in your personal life.

“You know, it would be great if we could move the focus away from my failed relationship and whether or not I’m seen with someone else,” you began. You were irritated now. You weren’t one to ever be rude to fans, no matter how absurd the questions or comments. Maybe it had been the combination of how Adam had spoken to you at lunch and the fact that no matter what you did, you couldn’t escape being around Rob. Whatever it was, you had snapped. “I mean, I didn’t realize that’s what we were here for. I didn’t realize that my life is here for your entertainment.”

The audience had grown silent, probably just as shocked by your words as you were yourself. Rich immediately moved in, grabbing your arm and walking you off stage. You let him, knowing that you had just fucked up. It would have been easy to politely decline to answer the question, or make up some lame answer. Instead, you had spoken very rudely about the fact that people couldn’t mind their own damn business. You heard Rob make up some excuse as you were led from the stage, encouraging the audience to applaud you and reminding them to choose their questions wisely.

Once offstage and microphone free, Rich silently checked on you. You shooed him away, knowing that he had to be back on stage. You left, heading back to the green room in defeat. Maybe it hadn’t been as bad as you thought. You barely got a couple of sentences out when you started your rant. You knew you’d hear all about it. It would be all over the internet, you were sure the guys would have something to say when they were done on stage.

Now, you were really considering backing out of the con circuit altogether. If this was going to be your life… people just wanting to know about your breakup and maybe about whatever new guy you were seen with, then what was even the point anymore?

Interestingly enough, no one said anything about your near meltdown on stage. Mostly, you assumed that your friends were just sympathetic. Briana had asked if you were okay when she heard about the fiasco, and you assured her that you were.

“It’s not fair to have to deal with questions like that,” she said, “I understand why you couldn’t play nice anymore.”

“I can’t let this be my life Briana,” you replied, “there’s more to me than just being Rob’s other half. I get that people are upset about it, but it wasn’t my choice.”

“I know honey,” she said as she rubbed your back softly, trying to comfort you.

“And don’t think I haven’t seen some of the horrible things people are saying about Adam. It’s not fair, none of this is my fault or his.”

“They’re just used to seeing you and Rob together,” Briana said, “give it time, they’ll stop asking about Adam and eventually accept that you and Rob are no longer together.”

“I hope so, because I can’t keep doing this.”

“I guess we’d better pick a song for you to do.”

You heard the voice before you even knew someone had snuck up behind you. You turned quickly, now face to face with a very displeased Rob.

“I’m sorry,” you said, “I know the set list is ready to go and it’s a pain to add me in, but I’ve let them all down so much already.”

“I know. We just assumed we wouldn’t be saving a place for you anymore.”

“I really appreciate you doing this,” you said honestly. You were nervous. This was the first time you were talking to Rob in what had been weeks. You had done well ignoring him, and it seemed as if he were trying just as hard.

“We don’t have a lot of time to rehearse, so let’s do one we’re familiar with,” he said as he sat in the chair across from you. He avoided your stare, thinking. “I mean, we could do ‘Long Train Runnin’ again. It’s always a good go to.”

“I don’t want to do that one,” you replied, “Jason isn’t here and I like to do that one with him.”

Rob eyed you, looking annoyed now. “What about ‘Go Your Own Way’? You always kill it with a Fleetwood Mac song.” he offered.

You shook your head, “I can’t do that one with you...:”

“You’re pretty damn picky for someone who has no time to rehearse and just kinda pushed her way into the lineup,” he said coldly.

“You didn’t have to let me,” you replied.

“What do you want to do?”

“‘Dearly Departed’.” you said softly.

“Really?” He asked, raising a brow at you.

“It’s been awhile since we’ve done it. Everyone loves that one.”

“Fine,” he said. He stood up, ready to leave now that you had finally decided. “Can we at least rehearse once before tomorrow night? Or are you too busy with what’s his face?”

“Stop it,” you warned, “why do you have to treat him like that?” You were unsure why he was acting this way. It was one thing to treat you shitty, apparently you had done something to deserve that; but he was out of line to treat Adam this way. He was talking about Adam as if he were mad at him. You just couldn’t understand why. Rob had left you. Did he not realize that eventually you would find someone else? You couldn’t help but think that he was acting like a jealous ex-boyfriend; only why would he be jealous? Rob ignored your question, rolling his eyes as he informed you that you were expected to actually rehearse this time.

“Be here at 8:00 am tomorrow. We’ll try to get the song rehearsed at least once. Hopefully you don’t mess up the whole concert with this.”

Rob stormed off and you were left wondering what the hell you had done. You knew you had treated him like crap the last time you had seen him, but did he really not expect it? All you were trying to do was move on from him, the way that he wanted you to. For some reason, you couldn’t escape him treating you poorly. The combination of the strange lunch with Adam, the mess on stage earlier, and Rob’s biting words just now were too much for you. You started to cry. Luckily, you were in the green room alone and even Adam was on stage right now, so you picked yourself up and headed back to your room. The last thing you wanted was for anyone to see how defeated and confused you were at this moment.

Tag List: @gabriels-trix  @waywardswain   @winchestergirl-13  @soythedemonqueen  @laffytaffyhumor  @hunterpuff  @smoothdogsgirl  @reparo-live-soul  @riversong-sam  @angelsandhuntersgalore  @capital-eyyyy-ohhh  @girl-next-door-rps  @a-banana-for-your-thoughts  @lefthologramdeer @lamthetwickster

[natasha-cole]

Ready Steady Part 16

This chapter is shitty and I apologize, I was stuck on where to go with the story, but the next chapters will be better.

Summary:

Rob and Reader return home. They finally have time to catch up on what happened in each other’s lives while they were apart. They begin to come to terms with the idea of being parents.

Word Count: 4047

Warnings: just a lot of domestic fluff, maybe some swears, slightly angsty singing

Note: For the sake of the remainder of the fic, I’m using some old Louden Swain songs and making them new ones. Also, as you can tell, my reader is a singer/songwriter and a country girl at heart… so for her, instead of trying to write my own lyrics, I’m using songs by Miranda Lambert and claiming them as the reader’s own. Hey, this way, you can listen to the actual songs after you read!

In this chapter, Rob sings “Fair” as a song that he wrote when the reader broke his heart. Nice job reader, I hope you’re happy.

Another Note: I wrote this while I was hungover. It might be terrible, but I tried. It’s just a little something fluffy before the real angst kicks back in.

Catch up: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14  Part 15

You drifted in and out of sleep that night. Feeling much better than you had before visiting the ER, but still weak and unable to rest completely. The nausea hadn’t returned yet and honestly, your biggest fear was that it would return eventually. You were told that this condition could go on for some time, and future visits to the hospital were a possibility. Perhaps this underlying fear of having to feel that way again is what was bringing you out of your sleep throughout the night. The only thing that made your restlessness bearable was realizing that every time you stirred, Rob was right there with you. He too would wake each time you did; placing gentle kisses to your forehead and mumbling soothing words to you until you relaxed again. Even as the sun began to peek through the blinds in the early morning hours; he was still there, tracing circles along your back, until you were eventually able to rest again.

The next time you woke up, it was because a slight twinge of nausea had returned. You whimpered, realizing that it wasn’t over yet. This time, when you looked to Rob for support, he wasn’t there to console you. You felt your heart race when you realized he was not next to you, wondering what you had done this time to make him want to leave you. You reached for your phone to check the time and when you realized it was late in the afternoon, you felt the panic begin to fade. You knew he was here somewhere, he just didn’t sleep in as late as you had.

You forced yourself from bed; your legs shaky and body still weak. When you stood, you felt your stomach turn even more and you couldn’t help but whine a little at how sick you still felt. You trudged your way to the other room in search of him and found him sitting on the couch, phone to his ear, talking quietly to someone. You waited for a moment, not wanting to interrupt, but he glanced up at you almost immediately.

“Hey, I’m gonna call you back… I’m sorry to bail on everyone last minute, but I hope you understand.” He explained to the person on the other end of the call. He paused for a second, listening as his eyes still watched you.

“Ok, take care. I’ll see you all real soon.” He ended the call and quickly stood up to make his way to you. He wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you in, kissing you lightly on the lips.

“Hey, sweetie… are you okay?” he asked. His blue eyes looked you over as if he were searching for a sign that you weren’t well.

“I’m okay. I’m feeling a little sick again though.”

“Oh shit, yeah. You slept for a long time, I didn’t want to wake you,” he took your hand and pulled you toward the couch, encouraging you to sit. “The doctor said you need to eat multiple small meals throughout the day, it could help with the nausea. You haven’t eaten anything since we got back last night, I’ll make you something.”

“Oh,” was all you said as he disappeared into the kitchen.

He was gone for some time. You could hear him moving things around in the kitchen, and eventually you could smell the aroma of chicken soup which caused you to freeze for a moment. You hoped that the smell wouldn’t send you running for the bathroom like it did the last time. But, the scent didn’t leave you feeling worse this time; instead, you felt your stomach grumble at how hungry you were.

Rob finally returned to the living room, carefully carrying a tray with a bowl, crackers, and a mug. He placed the tray in front of you on the coffee table proudly, “Lunch is served.”

“Thank you,” you said with a smile, mouth watering as you looked at your meal. Your disappointment in the lunch Rob had made for you must have been obvious, because he explained to you quickly why it was not what you were expecting.

“The doctor said bland food… so I just went by the list. Broth and crackers are probably the best way to go considering you just left the hospital. Also, the tea is ginger, I guess it’s supposed to help with nausea.” You stared at him for a moment as he took a seat next to you. You really appreciated how attentive and caring he was being right now. It felt really nice to have him help you through this.

“You actually read the list?” you asked as you carefully took a sip of the broth. So far, so good. It wasn’t making you feel worse.

“Y-yeah. I’ve been reading a lot about pregnancy in general actually,” he explained, motioning to a stack of books on the coffee table. You shoved a cracker into your mouth and began to move the books around to see what he was reading.

“When did you get these?” you asked as you picked up one of the books, mindlessly flipping through the pages.

“The day after you walked out.” He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I figured… no matter what happened between us, I was still going to be a dad. I wanted to be prepared. I’ve never been a dad before.”

“Oh… yeah. Well, I’ve never been a mom before…” you suddenly realized how unprepared you were. Even Rob had been doing what he could to not only help you get through this morning sickness, but he was also taking the time to learn about what happens during pregnancy. You couldn’t help but admire the man. Even though the two of you had fought and his reaction to you waiting so long to tell him the news was not what you had expected, he had come to terms with the prospect of being a father very quickly.

“How far along are you anyway?” he asked, “everything kinda happened so quickly, we didn’t even have a chance to actually discuss this.” He moved his hand to your belly with those last few words. He let his hand rub circles along your stomach as his eyes met yours. You had to admit; each time he did this, it made your stomach flip a little. Just knowing that he was accepting the fact that the two of you were having a baby was sort of surprising, but this sweet little gesture that he kept partaking in really had you sort of excited about having a baby.

You worked at doing the math in your head, “I guess about 11 weeks now…”

“Wow, so you’re already near the end of the first trimester?”

“Uh, I guess so,” you smiled at him, “you’ve really been reading up about this, huh?”

“Yeah, like I said, I want to be prepared.”

“Well, I’m the one carrying this baby, and I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Hey, we’ll figure it out together, okay?” He said reassuringly, running his hand along your leg.

“I know we will.” You felt relief by his statement. You had been so scared about this before, that you really hadn’t even tried to figure things out. During the weeks after learning that you were pregnant, you did all you could to take your mind off of it; losing yourself in songwriting and recording. For once, you sort of felt like the two of you would figure it out.

You continued to eat your meal, grateful for the tea which actually helped to ease your queasiness. Rob watched you, almost as if he were making sure that you would be okay after having your first meal in days. He looked relieved when you were able to finish your food without having to run to the bathroom afterwards.

“Hey, looks like the medication is helping,” he mused, leaning back against the couch and pulling you into him. You relaxed into his body, feeling content for the first time in months.  

“Who were you talking to on the phone?” you asked, genuinely curious as to who he had been talking to earlier since he mentioned bailing on them.

“Oh, it was Billy. I had to back out of the convention this weekend, so I was just making sure that things were squared away with the band and everyone else.”

“What happens when the lead singer bails on the band during convention weekend?” You asked, concerned that he was cancelling his appearance in the first place.

“They just kinda fill in for me throughout the con. The band still plays, but the guys can sing as well… they can handle it.”

“And the concert?”

“It’s a good thing the show has a cast made up of super talented people who can sing.”

“Why did you cancel?”

He cocked his head, looking at you as if you were crazy, “because of what’s going on with you.”

“Me? Why would you let me keep you away from work?”

“Y/N, you were just in the ER… you’re obviously still feeling pretty miserable. I’m not going to leave you knowing what you’re going through.”

“I’m fine. I feel pretty much okay.”

“Still… I’m not going anywhere right now. Besides, we’ve got a lot of catching up to do. That was a long two months.”

You nodded, “Yeah it was. A lot happened when I left.”

The two of you sat there, talking about what life had been like while you were away from each other. You told him about the restraining order and how you had to face Chris in the court room, and how in the end, it worked. You hadn’t had any type of run-in with him since the day you saw him at your house. You told him about how you had been breathing a lot easier since then, not having to worry about him for the time being.

You told him about working in the studio, writing and recording songs, and the show that you had done.

“But, you already knew about the show,” you stated, referring to the night when he showed up.

“Yeah, regardless of the situation and how hard it was to see you, it was a really great show. I’ve been amazed with your talent since I first heard you sing. I’m just glad you finally did it.”

“Well, I had someone who actually encouraged me. And, all of those songs were so personal, I understand now why you said you could never give your lyrics away to anyone else.”

“I wrote a lot as well…” Rob said, trailing off.

“Oh yeah?” you sat up to look at him, “I’d like to hear some new Swain stuff.”

Rob chuckled uncomfortably, “You probably don’t.”

“Ouch, I was that bad huh?” You weren’t really hurt by his statement. After all, you had broken the man’s heart. You knew that if someone was willing to break the heart of a musician, you’d better expect at least a few hurtful songs to come out of it.

“Well, it was tough, and I tend to vent my anger into my music. There’s one song in particular that you might not like.”

“I get it. I really do. Still, I’d like to hear it sometime.”

You continued to catch up, this time explaining what you had went through and what you had been feeling when you realized you were pregnant. Rob just listened. You had expected some interjections over the sensitive topic, thinking he might still be feeling a little hurt over how everything had happened. But he only listened, arm draped over your shoulders, holding you as you told him how scared you were to not only being pregnant, but also how scared you were to tell him.

“I was so afraid… I knew I hurt you, and I couldn’t imagine springing that on you to top it off. I just felt like I kept fucking things up… and I didn’t want to do that to you.”

He watched you as you explained everything to him, not interrupting, not getting angry again. It was nice to have an actual conversation with the man, finally being able to discuss everything that should have been brought up a long time ago.

“I have to ask,” he said finally, “you said you left because of your ex, you were afraid of having me in the middle of all that… but after you got the restraining order, why didn’t you call me?”

“Because it’s a piece of paper. It’s a piece of paper that supposedly protects me. There’s no guarantee that he would stay away from you, there’s not even a guarantee that he will continue to stay away from me.”

“Y/N, you’ve got to stop thinking about protecting me. Especially now. Just let me take care of you.”

He was right. The entire mess that was the last few months should not have happened. He had been willing to stay with you even when he learned about Chris and what he was doing. Rob had always been there for you. The problem was that you had never let anyone be there for you. You had learned early on in life how to take care of yourself. You had learned how to not depend on anyone. You knew now that you were in no position to get through this pregnancy alone, much less be a single parent. You realized how lucky you were right now. You had an amazing man who was still by your side and he was going to go through this with you.

“I just realized something,” he stated, running a hand through your hair.

“What?” You nuzzled into him, not wanting this moment to end. There was something so calming about just sitting here with him, finally talking instead of yelling at each other.

“You said you’re about 11 weeks along…”

“Yeah?”

“You got pregnant while we were in Nashville.”

You laughed at him, “well, we certainly had a good time in Nashville, and we weren’t exactly careful.”

“It’s just… sort of crazy isn’t it?” he asked, staring off at the ceiling. You glanced up at him again, a little worried that he might be feeling as overwhelmed by all of this as you were.

“It is. But, this is just where we are. Things happen.” You wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him in as close as you could.

“I’m just glad it happened with you,” he said, placing a kiss to your forehead. You smiled at his sentiment.

“Me too, it makes me feel less afraid.” In hindsight, a situation like this would send any other person into a panic. Having just met someone, break up with them a couple of weeks later, and then finding out you were carrying their child; it would be a lot for anyone to get through. It had of course been stressful. But you knew that you loved Rob and you knew that you could be happy with him. The idea of having a child with him so soon didn’t scare you anymore.

The only thing you worried about was how other people would react to knowing what had went on between the two of you. You thought of his friends who you had started to grow so comfortable around. You knew Rich was supportive of you, at least he didn’t freak out too badly when he heard the news. He had apparently worked hard at trying to help Rob find you to fix things. Not to mention, the ride to the hospital. You couldn’t help but wonder what everyone else would think. You honestly didn’t know how much they even knew. Had Rob told them about how horrible you had been to him? Did they know about you keeping your pregnancy secret for so long? Did they know about the pregnancy at all? It was a lot to think about. You knew that they would find out eventually, you just didn’t want the judgement about how fast you and Rob had moved into this and how stupid you had been to not be careful.

The two of you remained in silence for some time; still holding each other, until you broke the silence.

“Play me that song you were talking about.” You knew it was going to be painful, but you were genuinely curious.

“No, you’ll hear it some other time.”

“Come on, I really want to hear it. I get that it’s probably not going to be nice, but maybe I need to know what I put you through. I mean, you heard all my songs about me leaving you at my show…”

“That’s different,” he argued, “you weren’t writing from the perspective of having just been dumped for no apparent reason.”

“I know, but I still want to hear it.” You stood up and headed towards his collection of guitars where you chose an acoustic. You brought it back to him with a smile.

“Please don’t, I don’t want to hurt your feelings,” he said.

“You won’t. Maybe it’s better that I hear it now, while we’re still trying to fix things between us.” You sat across from him in the chair on the other side of the coffee table, being certain to see him as he played.

“Okay, fine,” he said, beginning to tune the guitar, “just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” When he was finally in tune, he took a deep breath and began to play the music. You could sense that he was uncomfortable with playing the song, but he went along with it. Perhaps he agreed that it was best for you to hear it now. When he began to sing, he averted his eyes from you, focusing on his hands on the guitar.

Goddamn this affair, It's taking me there It's taking away a life of you The vows gone astray, Just for the day Heart so betrayed once tried and true And you, I can't stand what you put me through And you, I can't stand what you put me through This house is a home, But I'm always alone I always atone, But my sins aren't real If I'm wrong then you're gone, If I carry it on If I write it in song, Will my heart still heal Already, the lyrics caused your heart to wrench. You had asked for it… to hear the song. You knew it was going to be difficult right away, but something told you that you needed to hear it. You and Rob shared one very important thing in common, and that was music. You knew that the only way most people would ever really know you, was by listening to your music. That’s where you put your heart and soul. Rob was the same way. He had talked about how he felt when you had left and what that was like for him, but you knew he would say so much more through his lyrics. At this point, you needed to understand fully what he had gone through.

And you, I can't stand what you put me through And you, I can't stand what you put me through My heart's in despair I'm already there I can't stand what you put me through

Mountains are broken to year,s Nippin' at my heels Rippin' at my seams, How do I feel Can we just wait and see, You be you and I'm me You be true and I'll see If it gets me through

He still didn’t look at you as he moved into his last refrain of the song. You could feel yourself tearing up, only now fully understanding what the breakup had been like for him… the breakup that he never wanted in the first place.

Love isn't fair But I'm already there I can't stand what you put me through My heart's in despair But I'm already there I can't stand what you put me through Love isn't fair But I'm already there I can't stand what you put me through My heart's in despair But I'm already there I can't stand what you put me through

You watched him intently, as he finished his song. It wasn’t until he was done that he even looked up at you, blue eyes finding your own.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, “it’s just how I was feeling at the time.”

“Don’t be sorry,” you choked back tears that you felt coming on, “That’s a great song… I’m sorry, I didn’t know…” Instead of finishing your sentence, you got up from the chair and moved toward him. He placed the guitar aside as you reached him, and you leaned down as you took his face in your hands. “I love you so much, and I’m so sorry I did that to you.”

“I know,” he replied, moving his hands to your waist, “I really don’t blame you for anything anymore. At the time, I just didn’t understand.” You leaned in further, taking his lips with yours, making sure to show him that you were sorry. You kissed him steadily, as your fingers traced along his jawline. He kissed you back, sighing into your lips when he realized that you weren’t angry by the song, just understanding. You pulled away from the kiss, straightening yourself as Rob wrapped his arms around your waist again; this time, resting his head against your stomach. You ran your fingers through his hair as the two of you just stayed that way in silence for a moment.

“I don’t think either of us understood much,” you replied.

“Maybe we’ve still got a lot to learn.” Rob let go of your waist and looked up at you, a hopeful grin crossing his face.

You thought about his statement, and he was right. Despite each of you thinking that you were doing things in the best interest of the other, it had been a rough road for the two of you. Looking back, you knew that most of this mess could have been easily avoided had you just talked to each other. It was all, in large part, your own mistakes. You had never had a healthy relationship before. You honestly didn’t know how to behave. You had spent so much time learning to just survive, you never learned how to actually be partners with someone. Throughout everything that you and Rob had went through, you knew that you wanted to try with him. You wanted to learn how to be with someone who loved you as much as you loved them. You wanted to give this a shot. You were ready to learn how to be happy with him. And most importantly, you were ready to face parenthood with this man, despite how afraid you were.

“Well,” you began, “we’ve got just over six months to learn all we can about each other.  After that, we’ll have a baby who’s going to take up all our time.”

Rob chuckled at your words, “That’s so wild, I still can’t believe this is happening.”

“Are you scared?” The words fell from your lips. You had to ask, feeling like you needed to hear him say that he was as scared as you were.

“Sure, of course I am,” you felt a little better knowing that you weren’t alone. “But, I’m also really excited. Like, all of my friends have kids… and they’re so great. I’ve always wanted a family, it just didn’t happen in the past.”

“Speaking of your friends,” you cut in, still curious as to who knew about your situation, “do they know what’s going on.”

“I think most of them know that we are back together. Aside from Rich, no one knows about this yet,” he said, referring to the pregnancy.

“When do we tell them?” You wondered out loud.

“I don’t know, I figured… the next con, that way I could just tell them all at once.”

You took a deep breath as you realized how quickly this was all becoming so real. Soon, everyone would know, and you could only hope that they would be as accepting of this as they had been of the idea of you and Rob in the first place.

Tag List: @tas898, @wolfyangel-is-a-pluviophile, @narisjournal-blog, @dont-hate-relate-pls, @waywardswain, @nerdyforyourbooks, @perksofbeingafangirl26, @crowley-you-sinnamon-roll, @pepperwoodatnight, @idk-fandom, @please-stop-killing-dean, @b-northington, @sclerafantrash, @itsilvermorny, @jannalionheart, @feelmyroarrrr, @capital-eyyyy-ohhh, @prlncess-nuala, @nekodresden85, @thebookisbtr, @internationalfandomgirl, @smoothdogsgirl, @chantelle-c333. @emilywells19 @laffytaffyhumor @lucifersxvessel @thefelinemedia78 @onlyanothersocialcasualty @typicalweirdbookworm @littleshone @a-queen-and-her-throne @fandooomqueenforyou @spnackleholicswainer  @omgitss0y @girl-next-door-writes @destielschild @fangirl1855  @your-not-invisible-to-me

[tanmath3-blog]

For those of you that don’t know Paul Flewitt you are missing out on a great friend and an awesome writer.  He has a wonderful sense of humor and is always ready to help out his fellow writer friends. He is very passionate about his writing and is always glad to spend some time with a fan talking about his books. If you are looking for a good story I highly recommend anything he writes. Please help me welcome Paul Flewitt back to Roadie Notes…….

1. It’s been awhile since we talked what new books do you have out now? Latest release?

I have nothing new in print at the moment. I’ve spent the last couple of years concentrating on shorter work for anthologies, honing my craft and really trying to tighten up on my style and structure. I’m finding my own voice and my own way of doing things now, though little has changed on the page it HAS made a difference to the process I work to. It’s different for different authors, so I’ve experimented with notes, pantsing and writing at different time of the day. Now, I think I have a routine which should mean I get far more productive. Also, having completed work on the new house it means I’m not trying to get things done amid the chaos of builders and trades-folk around the house. I said I had nothing new in print, but I DO have something that was released that I couldn’t speak much about last time we spoke. It’s quite exciting that some of my work found it’s way to TV at the beginning of the year, thanks to a TV project called Fragments of Fear. It aired and went live on YouTube, so now I can tell you more about it and actually show it to you. The Silent Invader is a 15 minute story in which I explore the dark relationships that some people have with their TV sets. I often hear that people like Marilyn Manson, Eminem and Judas Priest are blamed for events like Columbine and other tragic atrocities, because of the themes of their art. I also often see that movies and TV shows have also been blamed for inciting people to violent acts, so this is something which inspired me to write a monologue involving a television. It’s a lovely piece of darkness, with a neat little twist at the end. If you’re not faint of heart or easily offended by dark themes and descriptions of violence, then please check it out here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10xJ9z1ip8k

2. If you could pick any author alive or dead to have lunch with who would it be? Why?

It would be Clive Barker. Looking at reviews and talking to people who read my work, his name is one that often pops up. I’ve read him since my teenage years, and his stuff has always spoken my language. His method of opening doors to possibilities beyond human knowledge has enthralled and enraptured me and I can truly get lost in his art; whether that be his books, artwork or films. In interviews, he never fails to engage with his audiences and leaks little snippets of information regarding his own methods. I could listen to him speak all day long, because you learn something about horror and dark fantasy every time he speaks. Who wouldn’t want to have a one on one conversation with someone who has a mind like his and has the ability to convey his ideas so eloquently.

3. What is the strangest thing a fan has ever done?

You know, my fans are all pretty normal. It’s quite disappointing really. I do get the occasional anorak type reader, who pulls up inconsistencies or facts that might be slightly wrong, but I haven’t had anyone send me dirty underwear or the innards of sacrificed animals. I really don’t know whether I should be upset or relieved about that.

4. What is the one thing you dread to do when writing?

Editing and writing synopses, without a shadow of a doubt. There’s something inherently difficult about trying to write a synopsis and simmering down your story into a couple of paragraphs. Am I giving too much or too little? Is it engaging or is it yawn-til-your-jaw-breaks boring. I think it’s something that most writers struggle with. Editing is the same; picking apart something that you’ve spent months writing and omitting lines and paragraphs that you might’ve loved at one time. Thankfully, my editor, Patti is awesome. She’s worked with me since Poor Jeffrey and our relationship is more friendly than professional now. She understands my style and instinctively knows exactly what I’m trying to achieve with every story. Editors are invaluable and often very giving of their time and selves. I couldn’t publish a word without her assistance nowadays.

5. Did you have imaginary friends growing up? Tell me about them

I didn’t have imaginary friends, but I did always have an active imagination. This would be displayed in many ways; in playing with real friends and messing with toys, creating worlds that I could inhabit for weeks on end. That developed into writing poetry and short stories for friends or just for myself. I dunno about imaginary friends… I never seemed to need one.

6. Do you go to conventions? If not why?

I’ve been to a couple. My publisher is Matt Shaw, so you can imagine the fun and frolics that happen during a weekend with him. Last one I went to was with a few guys that Matt has either published or been friends with for a while and it was a real hoot. For myself, I don’t really have the following to justify the financial outlay of attending as a writer. I’ll get there, I’m sure, but now isn’t really the time. That said, if my friends are getting a table and want me to attend then I’m always happy to join them. Conventions are fun and at the right ones you can meet potential readers and existing ones, at the same time as getting together with good friends. Yeah, cons are cool.

7. How many times did you have to submit your first story before it was accepted?

Once, and I was truly amazed. It was for a Clive Barker tribute anthology based on the Cabal book and Nightbreed movie, coinciding with the screenings of the Cabal Cut. It was only a 500 word flash piece, but it was snapped up. Right after that, my first short story and Poor Jeffrey were also picked up by two different pressed, so I had a really lucky start to my writing career. I still don’t quite know how that happened, but I’m thankful that it did.

8. Ever consider not writing? If so what made you continue?

Yep. Sometimes I find writing a real struggle. The words don’t come and when they do, they’re just not as great as I hoped it would be. I do get over these periods pretty quickly, I just need a quick kick in the pants, but it’s never great when it happens. It usually comes at times when the writing has been flowing really well, and then I hit a wall. In fairness, the past year or so haven’t been the best for me. Between some family issues and the renovations, it’s seemed like I’d never get anything published again. I know I’ve let a couple of people down with not being able to hit a couple of deadlines, but that’s life and they’ve been very understanding about my situation for which I’m grateful. Hopefully, there’s light at the end of the tunnel though, and I can get back to the productivity that I had a couple of years ago. Fingers crossed!

9. Ever thought about writing in a different category?

You know, I never felt the need… yet. Horror and dark fiction has such a wide remit that there’s a lot of ground to cover, so I can satisfy my appetites without stepping out of the genre. Whether it’s full on horror or dark fantasy, I can spread my wings as much as I need to and tell the truths I want to explore within that framework, so why muddy the waters by stepping into another area? The great thing about the genre is that I can do horror, dark fantasy, crime fiction and a plethora of other styles and it will still fit the remit of horror, in the broad sense. No, I’m pretty much at home here… I paid the rent in advance.

10. Any new additions to the family?

Hell no. I have two children that occupy my time and my wife has allergies which have stopped us from having pets since our son was born. Weirdly, she never had allergies before, but since being pregnant with our son she’s allergic to every damn thing. It’s heartbreaking, because we’re all animal people and have had pets in the past which we’ve loved unconditionally. My siblings are all younger than me and are showing no interest in starting their own families, so it’s not even like I have nephews and nieces that I can corrupt. That time will come though, they have been warned.

11. What is coming up next for you?

Well, I have three manuscripts in various stages if completion so it depends which one I finish first. One is a thing that Matt Shaw challenged me to write a couple of years ago, but I’ve never been able to get it right. It’s for the black cover strand, so there’s a responsibility to deliver something truly horrible for him, especially given the subject matter that he challenged me with. One is something that I’ve been working on since school and it really embraces my love for fantasy, while retaining the darkness. The third is a continuation of a story that I wrote for Dean M Drinkel’s Demonology anthology. The character deserved to have more of his story told, so I began writing it but never got it finished. Hopefully, one or two of these projects will see daylight before the end of the year, but I make no promises. I won’t release anything until it’s absolutely right.

12. Do you do release parties? Do you think they work?

Not so much. I prefer to take over blogs and other people’s pages and corrupt their fans. Of course, these things work as a way to reach out to new readers and to allow seasoned fans to chat to you personally. I always feel that talking to readers is the best way to promote your work. Ask me anything, I’m an open book… and they usually do.

13. Do you have crazy stalker fans? Have you ever had one you wish would go away?

Again, my readers tend to be fairly normal people, so no. I do get people who want to have an in-depth conversation about character motivation and why I made certain choices, but no one that I’ve felt has been a pain in the ass. They are the guys and girls who pay my wages and put spending money in the pockets of my kids, so I at least owe them a bit of my time to chat.

14. Do you still have a “day job” ? If so what do you do?

The whole reason that I got into publishing was because the job market where I live slowed right down and I was finding it difficult to find work. My wife was working and earning more than me anyway, so she suggested that I take a year out with the kids and concentrate on doing something with my writing. She gave me a year to get something published, and I’m here talking to you so something must’ve worked.

15. What is your process for writing? Do you have a voice in your head?

No voices, that’d be worrying. Seriously though, I just sit and write. I don’t write notes and I don’t really plan anything before I sit down. All my stories begin with a great first line or a title and I run with it from there. Wherever it ends up is where it ends up, and I’m as surprised by the twists and turns as the reader. I guess this is why it takes me so damned long to write anything. I write all first drafts longhand, and each draft can run into hundreds of handwritten pages. It takes time, but it means that typing it up becomes the first edit run and I can weed out errors and polish it up as I type. This saves time. After that, it’s a case of working with Patti (editor, Patti Geesey) to eradicate typos and other errors, weeding out the unnecessary stuff and honing it. I might go back over it three or four times to make sure that it’s as perfect as it can be. It’s time consuming, and I’m a bit of a perfectionist, but the outcomes are usually worth the hassle.

16. Is there a book you want to make a sequel to you haven’t yet?

Yes! People have often asked about a sequel to Poor Jeffrey. Often, they want to know what happened to Jade and the circle of ghosts… which is cool, I wanna know too! I’ve started work on things that could exist in that world, but never finished them because they just weren’t good enough. One day I’m sure that I will revisit that story, but it was a very spontaneous one that came out of left field and I think it’s difficult to catch lightning in a bottle. Jade will call one day, and I’m sure she’ll have lots of stories to tell regarding herself and her friends. I can’t wait for that moment. You can connect with Paul Flewitt here:

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Flewitt/e/B00FG34L7O/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1493531654&sr=8-1

@PaulFlewittJEA

https://www.facebook.com/Paul-Flewitt-Author-of-Dark-Fiction-352745188170046/

  Some of Paul Flewitt’s books: 

  Getting even more personal with Paul Flewitt For those of you that don't know Paul Flewitt you are missing out on a great friend and an awesome writer.