#bc I have some nice production skills for animated projects

[somerandomdudelmao]

So...hypothetically speaking....

On a scale of one to ten, how cool would it be if I changed the plot and character designs of the 2012 apocalypse the way I like it...And then, to keep my mind on drawing the rottmnt comic, I would pay someone to turn it into animation?.....

I'm just asking out of curiosity.

[yiulee999]

Hey! What do you think of OPM season 2? I still love it & am looking forward to next weeks new episode but i just wish Saitama had more screen time ;-(

hey nonny~! 

apologies for the late reply, its a combo of not getting notifications (tumblr u useless trashbucket) and being on surgery rotation (i miss sleeping so much) 

firstly, i am truly glad you still love it and look forward to the new episodes!!! 💖💖💖please dont let anything i say from this point on dissuade you from that enjoyment 

THAT BEING SAID 

///cut for length 

ive only watched up to the second episode, and i am having Such Difficulties convincing myself to keep watching. i know my rxns to ep 1 were overall pretty positive and I stand by it but the more i watch the more the Cringe/Hypercritique starts take over. 

Turns out, the art style had a bigger impact than i thought on the length of which i enjoy shows. personally, i just really like when anime/shows have a happy marriage between writing and artwork. and when show directors know how to interpret writing, how to set up a scene (the angle, the music, the pacing), and then communicate with artists who have the skills to bring that idea to life using the medium they’re given -- that’s when writing becomes storytelling. OPM’s writing is still fantastic since they’re going off ONE (whereas GoT has the opposite problem where the production value is 4K and the writing is early 2000s livejournal/fanfiction lol god why is everyone dropping the ball in 2019??)

As for the art, since opm switched to jc staff and shingo natsume & co. left for other projects ( ;;_____;; im emo ), its inevitable we would see a drop in animation quality and i find myself constantly getting distracted by things i never used to get concerned about in the first season (bc of the high bar of expectations set by s1 artists/directors, like theres just no way jc staff would match up it to all of that and i feel bad for them, they’re trying their best but that doesn’t mean theyre immune to critique on the artistic liberties that they’ve taken that i feel as a viewer, may not have been the best choice?) 

the shading: no, just, unnecessary and distracting and why is it the center of saitamas face, im by far no expert in lighting but a bish can tell something doesnt look right??? 

the shading pt II: color choices. just gonna say i was not expecting sai’s ‘hair shirt’ in ep 1 to be bright-ass neon green, it was a little jarring at first and i miss him in red ;-; i get hes supposed to have poor fashion choices but i dont see him as the type to pick something that stands out so much in the crowd, like he likes to be left alone. NEON doesnt really relay ‘hi dont mind me im just barely existing here lol’ 

the shading pt III: genos arms/neck. okaY so the bby looks good in screenshots. like he’s shiny and nice to look at when nothings moving. bUT this is animation?? movement of objections is different from still life manga so making every single scene almost 99% like murata’s panels translates a little awkwardly to the screen (like staff is lucky bc murata’s a force of nature with his panels playing out like a movie for ref). but when genos moves, the arms are just distracting bc everything around him is drawn simply without shadows so they stand out by themselves and i (visually) forget about the rest of him haha. 

the pacing: it feels scripted, person A says this so we’ll show person A in the shot, then person B is saying something so we have to cut to person B, etc etc like keeping pretty steady to manga lines to the point where i was starting to get bored bc i knew what was coming. it was really intervaled? like someone had to be saying something at a certain effect and i think s1 had more dramatic pauses (lol) but thats how you can place emphasis on scenes to have an emotional impact if the character doesnt say anything and just let the soundtrack do some talking and the cadence of the script will change too (im 10000% talking about the sunset scene in s1 god bless. like it was slow, there was MOOD there wasn’t any rush and really gave the viewer time to think about the relationship between the two characters and what that moment meant to each of them) i feel like there were several scenes that could have been more like in the scene where sai protected fubuki, could have been a little more dramatically emphasized (aka just a pause) so the viewer could get a chance to understand that he purprosefully shielded her or when genos says that strong heroes are drawn to saitama--bUT nope its the same pace, like c l o c k w o r k just like my t eARS--

the fight scenes: how do i even start. the one scene that got me INTO opm (like watching the anime, reading the manga, drawing fanart, writing fanfic, reading fanfics etc) was kickstarted by the fight scene between genos and saitama in s1 that was circulating on tumblr a while back. i thought the characters were interesting and the fight was badass and it just looked SO COOL. (also the forehead flick at the end just kinda sealed my fate). going from that to s2 fight scenes where its mostly cut scenes and freeze scenes?? where theres a cut out behind the characters back?? during a fight scene????? this isn’t a calling card or an anime opening??? i dont understand. when they dont do cut scenes, its interesting but my initial impression is just underwhelmed. i can find good parts but it feels like i have to replay the scene to notice it? theres also an overwhelming amount of graphics/cgi manipulation that overpowers the actual art sometimes. its lacking some of the fluidity that comes from hand drawn fight scenes from first season. OTL

the sound directing: so i thought that the mood just felt off for certain scenes and the sound didn’t seem to support the scene as well (unless it was like the character’s theme or smtg) and i looked it up and the sound director was also replaced (Yoshikazu Iwanami replacing Shoji Hata). i have no idea if the sound director is also in charge of character lines but there were parts were fubuki was monologuing and i had no idea she was inner monologuing, i thought she was talking out loud and that just took extra effort on my part to re-orient myself (im nitpitcking i know but its just how i watch shows lol) 

there are still some parts i like about the animation:

fubuki looks bangin and i love her👌👗

all of this just made me realize how insanely lucky we were to have an amazing s1 and just have it exist and how i really could not care less if they had just waited forever to make s2 as long as we had the same crew come back. but anime is still a business and the quicker they dish out merch/seasons, the more money they can bring in. which they do in the short run but they would bring in more if they spent a little more on quality in the long run and it becomes one of those classics that ppl will rewatch and keep recommending to ppl who want to get into anime and oh my god we’re never gonna have that now, are we. if im gonna rec it to a friend its gonna be ‘read the manga!’ or ‘just watch s1!’ uGH. its just an unfortunate situation, its not one person’s fault either, so many factors go into what made opm s1 so spectacular and seeing s2 just made me appreciate s1 more. i guess im happy to have a s2 regardless? 

i’ll still watch to support (and bc i like suiryuu and wanna see sai in a karate gi and wig lol). maybe i just have to get used to the new style. 

so in summary,

[shoushatohaisha]

review: hajimari no kyojin (osaka 6/1)

so. hello. i usually write up my butai thoughts as, um, 100+ tweet threads in the immediate wake of whatever i just saw, but this time around i thought i'd work them out into a proper report, of a sort. if you, too, have seen this show already and want to talk about it... please. any time. always.

about reviewing: this is my very favorite 2.5D franchise, ever. but this is also a review, not a cheerleading exercise, so not every single thing i have to say is unrelentingly positive. having said that, i respect kinoshita, wada, suga-zachou, and the staff at large more than just about any creative team in this corner of japanese theater fandom so like. i'm not here to drag, lol.

about spoilers: i talk about the plot elements covered but try to avoid spoiling any of the fun production surprises. :) happy to do a more spoilery play-by-play later if folks are curious.

about length: i just checked and it's 2400 words im so sorry.

without further ado...

first of all, i admit that based on the preview clips i doubted, and i was swiftly taken to task for doubting. IM SORRY WORRY-SAN i trust u implicitly and i should have known better. after the major changes in shinka no natsu, i was concerned that bringing back the revolving stage and the original opening theme would feel stale/regressive. it did not. while they did bring back the revolving element they also extended the stage backward and added a second level behind a full stage height projection screen – the second level was used to do some neat staging for flashbacks/parallels and the screen was used to, how shall we say this, up their projection game in a major way, which i frankly did not think was possible. i will not spoil the details but it was pretty great, on a purely technical level.

i also realized that a lot of the repetition – opening with the bike scene, bringing back the original opening credits music, the staging, etc – is the "look back" over the last couple years that i'd expected to come this fall. they are very obviously already preparing for the end – you could think of this as part one of their last show, with the fall as part two. the show opens with a restaging of sixth grader hinata seeing the little giant on tv for the first time – then the current karasuno team take the place of the tv and hinata joins them for a team jog. "karasuno, fight!" "oh!" "fight!" "oh!" only then each character calls out their signature line from the show so far. "uchi no renchuu wa chanto tsuyoi" / "mou tobenai karasu nante yobasenai" / "murabito b mo tatakaemasu!"

and haha. let me tell you. BOY, DID I FEEL THINGS. a lot of things. i think yachi got me the worst but they were all real bad. (i have so many feelings about yachi's story and what a beautiful job saitou ami did with her character on stage. god. ;_;)

the theme of this play was the role of captain – what makes a good captain, what a captain does for the team, and how to step into those shoes when the captain is gone. the johzenji match is fun, but here, in a sense, it exists more or less to set up the wakutani match – (re)establishing daichi's importance so that his absence feels like the gut punch it is. and fully settling the weight of that responsibility on ennoshita's shoulders, as both daichi's substitute on the court and the captain-in-waiting.

with that in mind, the rival schools: imo it wasn't strictly necessary to cast full teams for each school – each match got its own dedicated act, and unlike, for example, nekoma/datekou in karasuno fukkatsu (which had a similar story structure), there aren't really any individual characters on these rival schools who have a role as such other than terushima and takeru. (you know, the captains. see above. XD) so in theory one could get this done with, like, one actor for each captain and then an ensemble cast playing the rest of the team across both matches. HOWEVER, having all those bodies allows them to do super cool stuff visually, and why force yourself to create the illusion of a full team if you don't have to? i.e., /i/ sure am not complaining, isn't it nice to have $$$ to achieve the max vision of your choreographer. XD

i also have no doubt that the kids playing these other characters are doing whatever they can to create a character within the ensemble, and i suspect there's plenty for repeat viewers to pick up on, esp during say the johzenji match (see below). however for the first time viewer following the main flow of the story it's more or less a very large ensemble cast.

the johzenji chaos was well expressed, haha, there was so damn much going on all the time that i hardly knew where to look. (i've also seen opinions on j-twitter that that diluted the impact and i can see that too – it worked for me as a "funny" match that didn't cross the line into comic relief, but ymmv.) i thought the final scene with misaki would pack more of a punch, but i fully expect them to cry at daisenshuuraku so that might fill in the last 10% that's missing rn.

wakutani are another Good Dance Team. one did get a sense, stylistically, of fukurodani- and nekoma-lite with johzenji and wakunan, respectively – i assume that was intentional. mirroring the cats vs owls match, as it were. yanagihara rin's takeru was like… scary?? i had to rewatch those episodes this weekend to see if i'd just forgotten something, but no, stage takeru is not so much reliable middle brother as scowly quiet tough guy. he looked like a kyoutani tbh, and looking at the kid actually cast for kyoutani, one wonders if someone in casting mixed up some paperwork or something. having said that, yanagihara was great at being the character he was, i enjoyed what he did on stage. i'm just not sure that character was takeru. XD (edit: ok having just rewatched, i have to revise this somewhat, i think a big part of my impression was due to being too far back to properly see his expressions the first time around -- up close he was much smilier, and bc i was thinking about it i noticed some nice details like him going over for a family hug afterward.) otoh big post-match scene – all of wakutani, actually – was really good. v effective, i heard sniffles around me.

during this match, johzenji reappeared dressed as takeru's family: FUCKING HILARIOUS omg, everyone involved has clearly learned how to do this right wrt blocking, the very fine line between comic relief and intrusion, etc, after the, er, shaky shousha to haisha experiment of kuroken doubling as oikawa's fangirls. seichou shita na, errone.

also, some great wire work for hinata and takeru – you could tell kenta is really comfortable up there these days. the first time the wires came into play one of the women behind me went "UWO!" which, when a japanese theatergoer makes a noise out loud, that's a true sign something's impressive. XD

nekoma vs fukurodani: Yeah, That Happened. it is a testament to how well done karasuno vs wakunan was that i didn't just spend the entire time screeching BRING BACK CATS VS OWLS because fjkdajfkdlsfjd KYAA. another good staging moment – they used mirrors to create the effect of two full teams playing at a crowded gymnasium, it was brill. i won't spoil some of the fun details but vvjakdlfjdf. and tbh i think the best performance of the four was probably shouri's?? not that this is news but istg idk how someone so soft offstage does THAT on stage. is it this "acting" thing you speak of.

new bokuaka: i mean it was clear some of this material was meant for yoshimoto kouki and i did kinda miss him – i appreciate higashi-san's pinch hitting and he did a solid job. but. ah well. HAVING SAID THAT. fucking "michi wo tsukurimasu yo" i mean we should all be grateful it wasn't kouki and yuuki or it would have just been a fucking fanfic on stage. it was still bad and i don't even go here. XD

and last but not least, arita ushiwaka kenji: not exactly the world's most natural line delivery but that's fine because, i mean, he's ushiwaka. and his physical presence was perfect. which was about all he was called on to do in this particular show, ahaha.

now, for karasuno. and specifically, for my son, kawahara kazuma. remember what i said approximately a thousand words ago, about captains and captains in waiting and stepping up to the plate? (or onto the court, as it were.) ennoshita's story was the heart of the wakutani match and kazuma carried the second act. he was. so. good. he had good material to work with, of course, but he made it even better. i was saying to a friend that in retrospect i think this is one of the very very few parts of the series that actually played better and more emotionally affecting on stage than in the source material (as opposed to differently good/differently affecting). in the manga/anime, you can only see what the paneling or the frame shows you, and those initial paneling/framing choices are focused on the drama of CAPTAIN DOWN. but on the stage, daichi goes down… and off to the side you see ennoshita freeze. and from that moment on, for kazuma, it's go time. he doesn't let up until the end of post-match scene in (here) the locker room – which, jesus, that scene. it packs ten times the punch it does in the anime. because of kazuma.

sorry if i sound like a crazy person here ahaha. but like. like, imagine you have been acting since childhood, you've studied dance with famous choreographers and innovators, you had a main role in The Franchise That Changed 2.5D as a teenager, you've done a solo album, you have a serious history in performing arts... and you get cast in what was initially the smallest role of the entire karasuno team. and you take it! and pull your weight! kazuma was a team player for three years and he deserved this chance to let his actual skills shine so much. ;_; because i don't necessarily think he would have been better in any of the other roles than his actual teammates – but i do think he is a much better actor than several of his actual teammates. and he finally got the opportunity to show that.

anyway, when it came time for curtain calls, the applause swelled noticeably for kazuma – a louder ovation than anyone except kagechan and kenta. and one of those people clapping her hands off, say in row 20, just a random row choice, was definitely tearing up at the same time.

IN OTHER KARASANEWS. kt-san. LIVE IN PERSON KT-SAN BACK IN THE ROLE HE WAS MEANT FOR cries into my hands i love him daichi-saaaaaaaaaan. very occasionally his delivery reminded me he's a model not an actor, if you know what i mean, but like, for the vast part it didn't matter because he is naturally such a perfect fit. have i mentioned i love him.

new suga: mmmmm. he looked and moved fine but his line delivery did not convince me. tbf it's not like suga has a huge role to play in these matches so 1) it's not a huge deal 2) he didn't get much chance to get into the character. either he'll get better or he won't, and if he doesn't it's not going to sink the next play or anything. he seems like a nice enough kid, i wish him well!

kageyama tatsuya: still can't yell and enunciate at the same time. loved that they brought back the archer analogy from shinka no natsu though!! it was one of my favorite things about his kageyama, and it's nice that it's something he "owns" instead of imitating/inheriting from tatsunari.

tsukishima & yamaguchi: miura kairi continues to get even better, i'm so pleased. <3 also, i love love love that they still use the musical motif from shousha to haisha for yamaguchi's jump float serve. it was the same in shinka no natsu, it's the same here. THE TSUKKIYAMA WAS REAL CUTE, great detail work before and after the serve as well as after tsukki's block(s). as for tsukishima, much as they brought back kageyama's archer imagery, they brought back tsukki's fancy katana kill block. (they didn't waste kondou shouri, either, i'll leave it at that.)

last but not least, MY ACTUAL SON AND FEELINGS TWIN, SUGA KENTA: ok like. to set the scene here. i have mad respect for this kid and also love him to death as a human. i think he puts more thought into this production than anyone else in the cast – he is practically worry-san's AD. and he clearly has a lot of real deep thoughts and feelings about the source material. so deep in fact that it took a while for me to come around to his hinata because while, for example, tatsunari's kageyama could have walked straight off my television screen, kenta went down to the manga and built hinata up from there. he didn't have a choice – he's nothing like murase ayumu's voice. all too often we, and i include myself here, think of the two dimensions in 2.5D as anime, rather than manga... but just as there's a big gap between the two dimensions of animation and the three dimensions of live theater, there's as big a gap again between static black-and-white drawing, and movement and color and sound. and when i looked at kenta's hinata as something created solely from furudate's art style, it all slotted into place for me. (naturally, ymmv.)

it also took kenta longer than some of the others, i think, to portray all of what he wanted to. shoen hinata was pretty yelly, and pretty single-register yelly. hinata is a yelly character, of course, but the balance between that hinata and Serious Match Hinata was out of whack at first. this got better and better with every show. and then—

his encounter with ushiwaka here. was IT. it was what i was looking for all this time. his delivery of hinata's big line there was like – i think maybe i clapped my hands over my mouth, unclear, bc it was like the final missing piece and i was so happy. kentaaaaa. ;____;

part of me wonders if this is what kenta's always had in his head but maybe couldn't get his face/voice to express the way he wanted it? OR, IT'S KENTA, SO MAYBE IT WAS ON PURPOSE and his previous Serious Hinata was meant to be like, just a feral hunger child whereas this is the kid who experienced the heartbreak of losing to seijou. i would love to ask him tbh. XD

anyway, my son, after five plays continues to grow in his portrayal of this character. kenta is the heart of gekidan haikyuu in so many ways, and i will be at their graduation show if it kills me.

(breathes out) i think that's. everything. a best setter award to anyone who read this far, and feel free to ask if there's anything specific you want to know about? i will be seeing it again this weekend for daisenshuuraku and will be sure to report back on who cried, etc. all hail volleyball stage the end. 🏐

[vide0-nasties]

hello you wonderful human being 👋 send you questions 9, 16, 24, 26. have a nice day~

hello to you, too, anon!! 👋👋👋 i had a pretty decent day, and i’ve got some asra-heavy answers for you bc i’m a SUCKER FOR ASRA.

9. Does your apprentice have any special abilities that youheadcanon and cannot accurately be expressed in the actual game? What are they?

How strange she felt explaining her ways to another. No onehad ever…remained interested long enough to investigate her workings. But hereis curious Asra, growing evermore ravenous with every answer she nervouslyfeeds him with her fingers.

What’s that face for?This place reeks of iron. Really? You cansmell it? I can always smell iron, and it stings from my nose to my gut. Why? My mother was a selkie, one of thegentle folk, and iron hurt her. Are you aselkie too? No, but I have her attributes. Large fingerwebs, dapples, enormousteeth. I nearly can’t drown, and I can outswim everyone I’ve ever met.

“What about the travelling witches? The Sisters?” he asks,half-sleeping with his head in her lap. The scar is still fresh to her, but hewouldn’t know.

“After my mother killed my father, I was adrift at sea ninegruesome days. A doctor helped me escape imprisonment, because I looked nearenough alike to her to be hanged. He sent me to the Sisters with his word, andthey began to train me,” she tells him, fingers in his hair, sweeping his temples.

“I thought,” Asra yawns, sinking into her touch, “I thoughtyou already knew magic.”

She shrugs. “Some. My mother refused to teach me, wanting meslavishly dependent, but I watched her and learned. When the Sisters took me,my skills were a danger, out of control. They gifted me reins. For that, I playedthe butcher and spilled blood on their behalf.”

Asra’s eyes fly open, mouth drawn into a hard frown, takingher wrist in his hand. “You’re not a tool, Eustacia. Don’t talk like that.”

“It’s all I’ve ever been, Asra.” She smiles and tucks a curlover his ear. “If it soothes you, technically I am a duchess. I inherited myfather’s duchy when he died.”

“You’re a what?!”

#’s 16, 24, and 26 under the cut!

16. Does your apprentice have any scars or tattoos? Whereare they? Describe them?

“You’re stunning,”Asra breathes, staring at her naked body for the hundredth time, “I have to look at you.”

Over the course of her life, she has turned her skin intoher very own holy text—green-black ink hammered and needled into the pallor ofher hide.

Eight-pointed stars representing the eight winds of chaosmagic sit on the backs of her hands. Patterns of sacred geometry wrap aroundand snake up her arms, her legs. Over her chest are potent sigils older thanher mother, runes more ancient than time. With these runes, and help from oneof the Sisters familiar with chaos magic, her back has made into a nearencyclopedia.

Little grotesques fight for space among the symbols:sharp-teethed bats, roaring lion’s heads, boars, roosters, snakes. One leopardseal, on the back of her calf. A feral looking pig on the top of her foot, alittle red hen on the other. “Sailor’s superstition. Pigs and chickens can’tswim. Sailor blown overboard? God will take mercy on the animals, take them toshore.”

Asra comes to a rooster hanging from the gallows on theinside of her calf. He smirks up at her through his lashes. “I know there’s astory behind this one. Tell me?” he purrs.

“My cock hangs below my knee. You wouldn’t believe how manybets I’ve won with him.”

The lines from her bottom lip to the dip of her throat—spiraling,intricate tangles. The phases of the moon, down the center of her forehead. “Haveyou ever been fourteen-years-old and wanting to piss off your mother?”

A bloated scar over her shoulder—a glance from a sword. Alumpy one around her knee—nearly lost her leg to a cannonball, and would haveif not for powerful healing magic. Cross-hatching over her palms—“Curse workand quick sigils, you know that, Asra.”

Vengeful gouges in her brow, an angry canyon pinching thefold of her nose and hugging the lean apple of her cheek. “You know I wasglassed,” she mutters, running her fingers down his thigh. “You were rightthere.”

“I know,” he tells her, taking her face in his hands andkissing the pallid markings. “I’ll never forget.”

They find each other’s hands and the scars they put there.Bite through your lover’s hand, unstopping until blood is drawn, and your loveis truly true. They had, filling their mouths with blood, and they wear theteeth marks like wedding rings.

24. Outside of magic-related workings, does your apprenticehave any hobbies? Do others know about this hobby or do they keep it a secret?

Eustacia has to keep herself entertained while alone at theshop, and that’s easier said than done for a person with the attention span ofa gnat or minnow. Always, she’s midway through a hundred projects andactivities.

Dozens of half-read books lie around her home, while thesame four get read and reread until the spines fall apart. Six crocheted blanketsin various stages of completion hide in a trunk under the bed, countless skeinsof yarn and spools of thread in a spectrum of colors dominate a wardrobe thatwas once meant only for clothes.

Handmade jewelry is forgotten unfinished among mountains ofhomebrewed and boutique makeup, only to be plucked to safety months later,finished, and forgotten in one of a half-dozen jewelry chests scattered onshelves.

The bathroom is a cacophony of homemade beauty spells andmundane cosmetics. Blessed lotions, charged bath salts, enchanted body scrubs,towels uncountable with runes stitched into the hems with black or red thread.Body butters, face masks, hand crèmes, lip balms, under-eye serums, hairtonics, pots of hair-stripping wax, what feels like thousands of oils, and a crateful of jars of hair wax and pomade.

It’s a miracle that it’s feasible to step foot insidewithout being killed by an avalanche of product.

Her many handmade nail lacquers sit in a chest next to amassively overstuffed, well-worn armchair, along with nail files, cuticlepushers, more oil and hand crème, andthe ingredients needed to curse and un-curse her nails to be unbreakable.

Sometimes, she wonders how Asra can manage to keep hissanity in the utter chaos and confusion, but when he returns from his travels,he’s so well-adjusted she’s left baffled. He’s also a terrible enabler. “Here,I saw this and thought you might like to give it a try,” he tells her,grinning.

26. How does your apprentice sleep? Do they sleep with a tonof pillows and blankets or none? Do they toss and turn? Weird things they do intheir sleep?

“Pick a hand,” Eustacia tells Asra, apropos of nothing, twofists held up.

He’s wary, and has every right to be. Usually, when shepulls this, bad things happen. That’s what happens when your first personalitytrait is usually given as ‘dangerouslyimpulsive.’ “…Left,” he says, pointing.

She groans and drops her hand. “Fucking hell—fuck me—god dammit. Get up. We’re making the bed before…ugh, we’re making the bed before bed tonight.”

Really, it’s not nearly as much of a chore as she makes itout to be in her head, despite the inexcusable amount of jewel-tone downpillows and blankets. Even the massive rabbit fur blanket on her side isn’t toounwieldy. Asra stands back and admires the freshly made bed, and looks to herwith a smile. “Now, if we take baths, we’ll sleep like the dead.”

“If I sewed you to the side of my head, I would never have abad idea again,” she tells him in agreement.

By nature, she’s nocturnal, and running the shop leaves herhateful and sleep deprived. Asra keeps strange hours himself, but she’s closedthe shop tomorrow in celebration of his return, and he has to push himself tostay awake with her. Freshly bathed, wearing clean clothes, they do make it tobed before the night has burned away.

At first, she faces away from him, battling her physicalnature and neediness, but she loses the fight. “Asra…?” she whispers into thedark, knowing he’s awake and thinking too hard.

He needs no further question, and they tangle together. Asrapresses close in her arms, head against her chest, and she curls around him,burying her face in his hair. “G’night, Eustacia,” he sighs, relaxing.

“Dream sweetly, master,” she bids him, holding the nape ofhis neck. He’s the only thing that’s ever felt like home, ever since she wokeup hearing his voice, feeling his hands, and smelling his scent.

Through the night, she shifts and turns about, but they’rehardly out of contact. He presses against her back, forehead against her neck.They sleep spine to spine. They wake only to grope for the other’s hand.

Asra manages to force his way half on top of her, and shedoesn’t even stir, letting him sleep against his shoulder. He doesn’t stir whenshe makes guttural, jerking noises deep in her throat, teeth snapping togetherwhen her jaw reacts. He calls it clonking and says it helps him to sleepbetter, because it lets him know she’s there.

In the morning, the bed is completely unmade, they smile ateach other under the blankets, and they won’t bother to make it again for twoweeks.

[artlessictoan]

How I’d do Naruto Next Gen

okok I’ve been wanting to do something more in depth and organised than my usual ranting about how everything is terrible now, so here we go! (though lbr this is just my usual ranting but 10x longer)

for the sake of brevity ha and my own piece of mind I’m not gonna go into how unnecessarily hetro the ending was and how everyone should’ve been gay and hey not every couple absolutely had to get married and/or have kids and also nart should’ve gotten the opportunity to realise that becoming hokage wasn’t necessary to achieve his real goal of becoming someone loved and accepted by others and he deserved so much better tbh and why isn’t sak just running the whole show and why isn’t there more sand sibs, bc let’s face it none of that was ever gonna happen, so these ideas are mostly built with the premise that all the canon couples stay canon and all the kids are still around and the product of those ships and the big plot things that happened (like nart becoming hokage and the like) stay roughly the same

forewarning bc else someone’s bound to say something; if you enjoy the next gen stuff? not a problem! that’s great, people enjoying stuff is a good thing! I wish I could enjoy more stuff, bc enjoying things is far more fun than not enjoying things! everyone has a different taste though and for me – and a lot of other people – the way that the next gen has turned out has been a disappointment, this post is for those people, so we can talk about why we think it’s failed and what we would’ve like to see instead, if you don’t feel that way about it.. well just scroll on past this post and keep enjoying the things you enjoy! have an absolute blast, you’ve earned it!

under the cut bc I am apparently incapable of keeping my rambling concise, there’s 2000 words of only vaguely coherent thoughts and tangents, so maybe get yourself a cuppa and a snack before trudging through it (some of this I’ve said in other posts before but w/e)

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first off lets change some of the kids’ personalities, there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with any of them, but like….. 90% are carbon copies of one of their parents (and mostly their dads but I won’t get into that issue rn) which is ridiculous, bc personality traits aren’t genetic?? like my mum is super chill and sensible and my dad is short-tempered, but I’m an anxious mess and my bro is an anti-social control freak.. we didn’t get any of that from either of our parents

while it’s certainly true that you might be influenced by them (me and mum share a lot of interests and tastes), it’s not a hard and fast rule and I don’t find it realistic that EVERY kid takes after their parents, though I probably wouldn’t have such a problem with it if they were more a mix of both parents than just their dads, so here’s some potential alterations:

Boruto. good fucking lord, no, we did not need a clone of Naruto heading another series, if we wanted to see a rambunctious scamp who gets into trouble but loves his friends a whole lot and has a knack for giving inspirational speeches, then there’s already a whole 700 chap manga for that! one with a far more likable and interesting rambunctious scamp tbqh. so how about we make a few alterations, maybe instead of taking after Nart, Bolt takes a bit more after Hinata? a little quiet and a bit of a pushover, but someone who’ll quickly stick up for a friend and has an ease of communication that’s a bit more Nart? not shy so much as laidback and composed, maybe he isn’t all that interested in being a ninja too, like he’s quite skilled but is a pacifist and would much rather get a civilian job as idk a baker or gardener or something

Shikadai. only a few minor changes here bc I really do like the kid as he is, I’d just like to see him using Tema’s abilities too (and maybe also being just a bit more snarky and unyielding like his mum)

Inojin. I’m kinda torn on this one, bc I do like that he’s a lot like Sai (at least in the anime, he seems to have a pretty different personality from what little we’ve seen of him in the manga???), but I think it’d be pretty interesting if he was just not like either of his parents, maybe if he was very quiet and subdued, but also the mastermind behind all the kid’s pranks, has a mischievous streak that often shocks people, but his friends always love hanging out with him bc of it. also why doesn’t he have Ino’s powers? let’s give him Ino’s powers too

Sand Kids 2.0. ok so at this point we haven’t seen nearly enough of them to say much either way but I have negative faith in kishi and ike so I’ll just say that I want them all to be Gaara’s adopted kids (since it’s still unclear if it’s just Shinki or all of ‘em atm) and I want them to be exactly like this shameless plug for me and @spellfire01‘s versions of them which are the best fucking versions and I will protect my children with my life

now some changes to the original cast (this is where I’m gonna get proper bitter, prepare yourselves):

OH NARUTO MY POOR CHILD WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOU I’ve already talked about this but let me just reiterate in as eloquent a way as I can; Naruto would never become a neglectful father. N e v e r. not after the childhood he went through, no matter how much work he had to do as kage, don’t dare fucking try and tell me that Naruto – "It's almost unbearable, isn't it… the pain of being all alone. I know that feeling; I've been there, in that dark and lonely place, but now there are others, other people who mean a lot to me. I care more about them than I do myself, and I won't let anyone hurt them… They rescued me from my loneliness" – Uzumaki would EVER neglect his kids. just fucking don’t. in this version Nart is a doting and involved dad (perhaps a little too much, to the point that his kids find him kinda exhausting and have to ask him to leave them alone sometimes) who sends his clones to work at the office while he hangs out with his family.. I honestly don’t know why he doesn’t already do that

let all the girls out of their houses to do some ninja work for the love of god

poor put-upon Shino-sensei is alright.. but we’ve already had that with Iruka, I’d honestly much rather see the Cool Sensei who keeps all the kids in line without even doing much of anything and has a knack for inspiring them and always has a line of students trailing after him asking to hear more of his awesome ninja stories and everyone always trying to show off when he’s around, bc Shino is literally The Best

have Sauce and Saku be divorcees. seriously, are even the people who ship them happy with how their relationship has turned out? they barely see each other and apparently it’s been that way since chap 699, so why not just have them split up? it really wouldn’t change much, just say that, at some point after Sarada was born, they realised that they were both gay incompatible personality-wise and they were both so busy with their individual work that there wasn’t much of a relationship to lose. not only would this be good for both their characters (there’s no reason they couldn’t still be good friends) and just more sensible all-round, but it would also be a nice way to show that not every childhood romance/first love works out and that’s perfectly fine and normal and they can still live happy, full lives afterwards!

speaking of Sauce, let him spend at least a little bit of time interacting with his friends and family in Konoha, even if he’s still mostly travelling around on important missions he should at least be taking every opportunity to visit his daughter when he’s in the area, seriously, c’mon

Temari got done so dirty in that one episode.. here’re some much better words than I could ever muster but generally I’d want her to be less the ‘scary, overbearing, harsh’ mother and more the ‘strict but cool and sneaky’ mother, like she’d honestly be the type to use reverse psychology and gentle manipulation, she’d make her boy do some seemingly meaningless task that somehow makes him have an epiphany and come back to her when he’s done like “I know what I did wrong now and I’m sorry” than just shout at him and refuse to make dinner (also I just really like to hc that she’s a terrible cook so it’s Shikamaru who does all the cooking anyway)

it’d be really great to see Hina either being the new clan head or at least otherwise involved in Hyuuga clan politics, so we could actually see how she’s working to destroy that whole slavery thing they’ve got going, rather than that plotline just being dropped somewhere around the end of the chunin exam arc and never picked up again (I mean I assume that it’s all supposed to be fixed by now, but that’s not the kinda thing that should happen entirely off-screen) and so we can see her life revolving around something other than Nart and her kids, she’s remarkably capable and had so much potential but she’s been denied every opportunity to really exist as her own character by the writers

Kiba…… what the hell is going on with Kiba? where is he? what is he doing? how’s he feeling these days? is he supposed to be married to that nameless cat lady we saw for a single panel? these are things we shall never know I guess. tbh what I’d really LOVE to see would be Kiba-sensei, just imagine him and Shino both being teachers who work in completely opposite ways, Shino is the quiet, inspiring, lowkey scary one and Kiba is the gigantic fucking dork one who cheers his students on way too loud and makes the classes super fun and joins in the kids games, him and Shino have a class rivalry and Kiba is constantly roping students into joining his attempts to prank Shino (they’ve never once succeeded but oNE DAY)

Ino should be the next head of Konoha’s intelligence division, I will fight kishi on this one

why the actual fuck is oroch still happily living it up in his penthouse lab?? kill the fucker. or at the very least imprison the fucker. just say that Mitsuki was an old project of his that somehow kept developing in his absence, or was a product of research carried out by some lackeys’ years after he’s gone, anything that means I don’t have to accept that everyone has apparently forgiven him for everything and knows that he’s still experimenting on kids but just don’t care

and on that last note: Justice for Yamato 2k17

right now let’s get onto the actual plot/story for this very self-pandering au

make Sarada the main char. while I can see why they would choose to go with Boruto, honestly Salad’s more interesting a character and! A Girl!! Main Character!!!! I NEED IT!!!!!! focus on her goal to be hokage and her struggles with her parents and follow up on that ‘restoring the Uchiha’ plot thread that just.. dropped right off the map somewhere between 699 and 700, her reconciling what her clan was with what she wants to make it

get rid of that weird demon-sensing eye thing that’s going on. and the demon thing in general. and also that jarring post-apocalypse future thing they’re building up. I didn’t slog through over a decade of kishi’s bullshit just so my kids didn’t get to live long, happy lives. make the plot just slice-of-life fluff, nothing more dangerous than a bully, just some kids trying to be awesome ninja in a world that doesn’t really need ninja anymore bc peace and all that

waaay more of Chocho, Himawari and Inojin (at least enough so they all get equal billing)

show how the ninja world has grown and developed since the end of the original series (not just technologically), what do ninja do now that there aren’t any wars and international relationships are at an all-time high? have missions completely gone from being combat and intel based to more about construction and assistance? are ninja numbers actually dropping, favouring civilian jobs in these more peaceful times? how well are people – ninja or not – adjusting to these changes? is learning ninja techniques still encouraged but in a way that’s more about culture and traditions than actual use in combat (in the same way that swordplay today is mostly practiced for performance, fun and sport, rather than out of any real-life practicality)? there are so many interesting things to explore that you don’t even need to be adding in new threats to keep the series entertaining

I’ve said this before, but I think it’d be really cool and cute if after the end of the war and with some drastic changes to the ninja world’s politics, this next gen is less about becoming ninja, than realising that they’ll never be ninja (at least not in the way that their parents were) and how they react to that. maybe they’re frustrated because they hear so many cool stories about the grand battles of the previous generation and they want to be able to do those things too damnit! so the kids are just going around trying to be super-awesome ninja in a world that doesn’t really need ninja anymore, picking fights and trying to make their boring d-rank missions seem more important and dangerous than they really are, maybe at some point they learn a bit more about how hard and traumatising that life was for their parents and why the world had to change, until they eventually decide that if the role of a ninja has to change, then together they’re gonna discover what that new role will be, what will being a ninja really mean in this new, peaceful world?

and, a final ending note: fuck ike’s sickening treatment of Sarada with regards to her sexualised presentation and the disgusting reveal that someone taught Boruto (a young child!) the sexy jutsu. Let The Kids Be Kids 2k17

[troglobite]

 THIS JUST IN

if pentatonix was never totally your thing, all of their solo projects are fucking incredible

posting this because superfruit’s new ep future friends pt. 1 just released and holy SHIT it’s fucking AWESOME

i’mma post lil reviews of the solo projects below a cut

but basically if you like pop/techno/Hella Bops and are also Gay As Hell, listen to superfruit’s ep

avi!!!

avriel and the sequoias

folksy slow very heartfelt. sounds like an indie movie soundtrack. like 85% of his ep makes you wanna cry, but like in a Good way. it’s cathartic. and also the most soothing thing in the world. if you’re driving to a part or just roadtripping, it’s a good Ambiance/Mood Setting Album/EP. also “sweet adeline” is just like the catchiest thing ever, it’s so sweet and uplifting, i love it. 

kirstin’s new stuff! not totally my thing, but she’s released a handful of songs so far that you could probably find music videos for. she reminds me of some of j-lo’s stuff for some reason but i’m probably totally off base. but the music videos are very. Aesthetic instead of story driven. very nice vocals, really nice production. dancey but like....soul...ful??? see, i’ve never been into this genre so i don’t have any words for it. it’s good, though. i particularly like ‘all night’ more than ‘break a little’ but they’re both good.

kevin! he’s done stuff by himself but also with a group called triptyq. again, not my thing (i kind of just don’t like one of the woman’s voice) but like. classical electric pop rock kind of thing. played on classical instrument with vocals n shit. definitely worth a listen. and his solo stuff is, of course, technically amazing. not ~technically amazing~, but like Technical Skill amazing. enjoyable. his covers are great.

superfruit FUUUUUUCK MEEEEEEE I LOVE THIS EP. now that i’ve done that, i feel the need to retroactively hype avi’s shit because oh my GODDDDD I LOVE AVI’S ALBUM/EP. okay back to these boys. 

track by track

imaginary parties - i got SO PISSED at the start bc i can’t understand a single fucking word that they’re fucking saying for a lot of it. but it’s interesting. catchy. different beats. feels Aesthetic. it’s like the audio manifestation of that Mood you get when you’re at someone’s house for a sleepover and you’re Kinda Into Them or maybe it’s just because it’s like 4:30 in the morning and you both really need to sleep. it’s like that Vibe. the lyrics kinda go with that, go a little further. mitch singing “bc it makes me feel aliiiive”/”wanna keep you satisfiiiied” also i’m fucking SCREAMINGGGG the breakdown of this song starting ~2:25 IS SO CLASSIC GAYASS HOUSE MUSIC DON’T EVEN TOUCH ME fuck offfff i’m so hyped

bad 4 us - if you haven’t already seen the music video for this do yourself a favor and watch it. it’s really cute. animated but with mitch and scott’s static heads acting out the whole thing. very cute, very gay. bc hello, they’re gay. 

worth it (perfect) - GODDDDD I LOVE THE VIBE OF THIS SONG. i just love it. it’s really sweet. this is the kind of shit i’d do hippie-wavy-arms to. and i did. um. hm. about a relationship that didn’t work out, but still caring about the person, understanding your new place in their life, and how everything can suck, but in the end it was still worth it, and the good times themselves were perfect for what they were. huh. maybe vaguely sounds like a semi abusive relationship, or maybe just a combative one or one that went sour. idk. ANYWAY.

vacation - i did NOT expect this to be such a good song based on the preview??? lemme relisten to it a lil real quick. this feels very like 90′s/00′s. oh my god so much. so poppy. slow guitar intro, poppy beat and nice vocals. “break on you like a wave” don’t even touch me i love this song. the bridge and the breakdown are SOOOO 90′s/00′s i fucking love this oh my godddd. 

sexy ladies - GODDDD I LOVE THIS SONG. i didn’t expect to love this song this much either. the entire premise is aimed at woman who go out dancing or clubbing, and their single or newly single, and scott and mitch are like ‘hey, you look incredible, fuck your ex he’s a dick, dance with me and let’s have fun and make some guys jealous, promise i won’t fuck with you bc i’m gay. but also your brother’s cute so like....’ but then the entire bridge is “hey if you’re single as hell you’re a 10/10 go love yourself and make friends and have fun and dance anyway you don’t owe anyone anything bc you’re fucking great”

heartthrob - YET AGAIN I AM HERE FOR THIS ENTIRE SONG AND CONCEPT. literally written by middle/high school versions of themselves about - you guessed it (or maybe not) - popular heartthrobs. they name drop so many guys. they talk about tiger beat. they talk about daydreaming about running away in the night with them and having angsty teen dramas. i’m SCREAMING this song is FUCKING GREAT. literally the chorus is “90′s heartthrobbbbb”

future friends - GOD this is the sweetest song of them all. i know obsessive fans like to search for Hidden Meaning in songs. but this one is pretty goddamn blatant. mitch & scott tried dating in high school, but it super didn’t work out, they spent months apart, and now they’re utterly inseparable as best friends. this song is literally just about that. “so if it all ends i promise that one day we could be future friends.” anyway it’s super sweet, but also catchy as FUCK. the chorus is GODDAMN WILD I WANNA HEAR REMIXES OF IT ALREADY. the vocals are great, i love it. i just love it.

go and listen. 

what was the point of me typing this shit out like it’s 7 songs why would you read about them i don’t care. i just wanted to type Feelings. lol

[whisper-of-a-screech]

Hi hello yes did someone say ~modern naruto au shit~ No. No one did. Here you are anyway go wild my friends Sakura: • freshman (high school) • straight A’s • honors student • booksmarts • distant and demanding parents • ‘perfect daughter’ facade • boiling issues of inadequacy • and anxiety • and anger • oh yeah and self esteem • fierce like you wouldn’t BELIEVE • Bisaster but hides it Sasuke: • freshman (high school) • second son of the region’s police chief • mom is a lawyer • looks up to his older genius (slightly mentally unstable) brother • but there’s always the niggling sense of ‘I’ll never measure up’ • good grades • but his parents are always busy • and his brother already hit all those top marks • so it’s nothing special, huh • also a Bisaster and gets flustered sometimes Naruto: • freshman (high school) • half feral • no one knows how he got into high school • frequently claims he was raised by a pack of dogs and/or his foster brother (Kakashi) • bad grades • Art Kid™ • loves paint • spray paint especially • Bisaster and doesn’t bother to hide it • ace • crushing on Kiba Kiba: • freshman (high school) • wild child • mom owns a vet clinic • everyone in his family owns a dog • bad grades • rough and tumble • wrestles for fun • probably in a gang • leather jackets • no one knows if he dyes his cheeks or if he actually got tattoos or what • plot twist his mom also runs a tattoo parlor • but his sister does hardcore YouTube makeup tutorials • it’s anyone’s guess Hinata: • freshman (high school) • shy kid • trying hard but average grades • first daughter of the next region over’s police chief • under crazy pressure • stutters • oversized sweaters • genetic eye thing? • feels inferior to her younger sister • wanted to be rebellious so she tried to dye her hair • but couldn’t make herself do anything more obvious than dark blue Shino: • freshman (high school) • quiet • rumors that he’s mute • sunglasses • oversized coat • plot twist he’s covered in bug bites because he lets mosquitos suck his blood • his family is beekeepers / bug-breeders / ? • likes catching fireflies but always lets them go quickly • average grades • makes a game of how many bugs he can sneak into his pockets before the teachers notice Ino: • freshman (high school) • popular girl • good grades • gossipy but good with secrets • croptops • dad is a reporter / interviewer after retiring from ~secret agency~ • friends with everyone • knows how to cook • good at board games • crazy good at painting nails Shikamaru: • freshman (high school) • probably narcoleptic • sleeps in class • bad grades • good at board games • conspiracy theorist™ • his room is covered in bulletin boards • with pinned newspaper clippings and red string • plot twist his dad has even bigger bulletin boards • and even more newspaper clippings / red string Chouji: • freshman (high school) • loves to cook • parents run a bakery and a restaurant respectively • average grades • good at board games • him and Kiba are in the same boat with the tattoo / dye / makeup mystery • but surely sweet Chouji would never get tattoos • no • never • (plot twist Kiba’s are makeup and Chouji’s are tattoos) Tenten: • sophomore (high school) • confident • has a knife collection • father is a blacksmith / bladesmith • friendly • good grades • no mom • oddly good at styling hair • plot twist it’s bc she does Neji’s Neji: • sophomore (high school) • straight A’s • honors student • Hinata’s cousin • dad died on duty with Hiashi • he blames Hiashi for it • genetic eye thing? • cool • distant • has plans to move in with Tenten after he hits eighteen Lee: • sophomore (high school) • straight A’s • Gai’s adopted son • hardworking • tired of ‘you don’t look alike’ comments • so now he and Gai look exactly alike • super emotional • will absolutely cry when he graduates • always gives 100% of his everything, for everything Itachi: • junior (college) • straight A’s • 4.0 gpa • Halloween Fanatic™ • blank expressions all the time • doesn’t talk often • ppl are always surprised when he does bc he sounds like he gargled a gravel driveway • plot twist it’s bc he’s a hardcore smoker • everyone knows the Uchiha all have this genetic cough/scratchy throat thing that usually comes in between the ages of 18 and 25 • except plot twist the Uchiha are all just chain-smokers • the ‘woke up like this’ kid • drinks matcha tea with his dango Kisame: • senior (college) • lots of tattoos (gills / blue-gray swirls / etc.) • dyes his hair blue • gets cold easy • wears ear warmers • hair doesn’t behave • had to file his teeth for a dare and now he scares all the freshies • polite • can down the blackest of coffee like water but doesn’t often • it’s an exam special • has seven (7) pet fish, two (2) pet snails and one (1) pet marimo algae ball • works at an aquarium • regularly ‘communes’ with the sharks • (he hums at them while they swim around) • but they seem to like him? • the staff is endlessly confused but like whatever floats your boat my guy Pein (Nagato): • senior (college) • philosophy major • blank and monotone • at least nine piercings • quiet but weirdly intense • is in some sort of Relationship™ with Konan • the only person allowed to call him Nagato is Konan • unless they want to wake up drugged in a ditch an inexplicable sixty miles from town covered in paper cuts Konan: • senior (college) • majors in Accounting and / or Management (business student) • somewhat less blank than Pein • has a few piercings of her own • is in some sort of Relationship™ with Pein • origami • never anything less than composed or pristine • badass • 100% of the time, just • badass Tobi: • senior (college) • speaks in third person • embraces his inner child • clumsy af • wears a phantom of the opera mask everywhere • no one knows / can remember his eye color • falls over a lot • trips up the stairs • extreme sweet tooth • likes juice boxes / goldfish / fruit snacks / etc. • roommates with Zetsu • they play go fish when neither can sleep • somehow good grades even though no one ever sees him in class • plot twist it’s bc he goes as Obito Zetsu: • junior (college) • completely lathers themself in water-resistant black and white paint every ~3 days • dyes their hair green • wears their botany project around • what ppl don’t know is that it’s a vampiric plant hybrid they bred specially to feed off blood • ‘i can’t go to her every time she needs to be fed, so i just bring her with me’ • wears contacts • spends most of their time in the greenhouse • doesn’t sleep • local cryptid • nb • ‘any pronouns but she’ • no one ever sees them eat Deidara: • freshman (college) • spends 2.2 hours on his hair and almost a fifth of his budget on hair products • band kid • eyeliner • makeup expert • he collabs with Hana for some YouTube makeup tutorials • drums • unexpectedly good singer • loves fireworks • makes his own fireworks • 4th of July is his favorite holiday • accidentally made a kiln bomb as a kid and now he explodes things as often as possible • enjoys sculpting clay figures for raku pottery with air bubbles so they explode when heated • hates coffee with PASSION • but still visits Sasori’s favorite cafe with him • not that he ASKS but it’s always nice to have company right? • right Sasori: • senior (college) • 21 but ppl think he’s 18 • he’s got a hella baby face • Art Kid™ • enjoys woodworking • and occasionally leather-crafting • dorm room is covered in puppets • human puppets / doll puppets / animal puppets • super good puppeteer • could do his entire show with his eyes closed • tutors Kankurou • once took an archery class and can hit dead center 95% of the time • can sleep with his eyes open • can also sleep standing up • he utilizes both these skills often • everyone thinks he’s a stoic bastard • and he is but also it’s mostly because he keeps falling asleep during conversations • dyes his hair red Kakuzu: • senior (college) • no one knows how long he’s been a senior • he’s not in debt • no student loans • no one knows how he’s doing it • plot twist it’s bc he’s filthy rich from scamming half the students in his freshman year oh so long ago • but he’s stingy and miserly and still lives off instant ramen and cereal • has like three PhDs • he’s working on his fourth • his blood is coffee at this point • he wears a face mask to hide the tattoos he got on a dare as a dumb teenager • has reading glasses but never uses them • green eyes but they’re so bloodshot he looks permanently high when instead he’s averaging 1.5 hours of sleep per night • rents his place out to other college students • he gouges them and they complain but it’s still cheaper than the dorms Hidan: • senior (college) • held back three years in high school • disappears every Sunday • says he was at ‘church’ but no one’s heard of a Jashinist church before much less one in the area • wears contacts • bleached his hair on a dare and liked it so he keeps doing it • regularly / ritually paints his face / chest / arms every Sunday for ‘church’ • prays four times a day on every sixth hour (5 am, 11 am, 5 pm, 11 pm) • has a religious exemption from class for 15 minutes at 11 am to pray • plot twist the only reason he got it is because he prays whether he has it or not and the professor got sick of him loudly and passive-aggressively reciting his prayers over the lecture • always carries his rosary • smokes occasionally • but has a Thing abt hygiene • his teeth are infuriatingly white

[giacintodenmark]

Core Course Week

MONDAY

9.00-9.05 

Welcome to Core Course Week

The day is dedicated to the urban environment and the sustainability challenges and solutions in Copenhagen.

9.05-10.30 

Accelerating Urban Sustainability with Cycling Morten Kabell, COO Copenhagenize and a former Mayor of Copenhagen 

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A presentation on the history of Copenhagen’s transportation infrastructure and its influences on the city’s people and productivity. We are shown the power of public transportation, bicycle, and pedestrian-focused infrastructure in improving the health and sustainability of a city. Cities need to focus on how well people are transported, not merely how well cars are. Through a well-planned human-centered approach to infrastructure planning, the city better caters to the people that live in it. Spaces are opened up as parks, traffic is reduced, people can relax more... 

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10.30 - 12.00

Copenhagen Sustainability Treasure Hunt

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We were sent to Ørstedparken and Kogens Have to compare and contrast the two parks green spaces. Similar to my Urban Ecology course, we considered both spaces from a habitat perspective, a human-centered perspective, and a biogeochemical cycle perspective.

Ørsedparken, a view of the garden, a crane, the lake, and the bridge. I’ve posted about this place before when I wrote about the Urban Ecology trip. 

Kongens Have, view of the mote, a lawn, the trees, and the castle.

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12.00- 13.00

Break and Lunch on your own in DIS + preparation of the stories (Blog)

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We were to make a blog post of our park observations on a site shared by all three Sustainable Devopment Core Course sections. 

Here is the link to the blog site.

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13.00- 13.30

Short discussion of the highlights of the Copenhagen Sustainability Treasure Hunt

13.30- 14.00

Presentation by Anders Jensen Turning the busiest street upside-down

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A presentation on turning one of the most car-traveled streets into an urban river, as it is a site that commonly floods during heavy rain (the area was once a natural river, they reformed it into a road).  The route can be maintained by placing the road in an underground network This maintains the important vehicle-route while better providing green-space on ground level. 

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14.00- 14.15

Short Break

14.15- 15.00

Rewriting your Copenhagen stories

In your group from the treasure hunt this morning. Rewrite the story but try to imagine how the place you visited could be radically transformed to be as sustainable as possible.

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Here is a link to our revisited blog post. 

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15.00- 15.15

Day 1 Wrap-Up

TUESDAY

9.00-9.05

Introduction to the day

9.05-10.00

Finding Opportunities with Food Sustainability

Kasper Kastoft Nielsen, Founder of YourLocal

Kasper has created a successful business aiming at reducing food waste by selling food, that otherwise would be disposed of, at a discounted price.

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(Photo from YourLocal’s website)

The app, YourLocal, serves as a marketplace where restaurants, bakeries, markets, and grocery stores can sell their leftovers to customers at a reduced price. With many thousands of regular users within the local area... and many more joining every month, the app may be one solution of many that we can develop to reduce food waste ...

A link to their website.

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10.00-11.00

Sustainability in the food supply chain

Find your group and design your questions for the interview with the food sustainability innovators across Copenhagen.

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Each group was assigned different food sustainability innovators... The individuals ranged from a local zero-waste food markets owner to the chef of a cutting-edge restaurant to an individual farming high-quality oyster mushrooms with used coffee grounds. We interviewed Søren, who is involved in Bugging Denmark, a cricket-farm/food company working to push the integration of crickets and other insects into the common western diet. 

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11.00-11.30

Traveling time to Visit

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We met Søren at Dare2 Mansion, a former car workshop turned quirky co-working space for local business startups. 

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11.30-12.30

Interviews with local leaders of food sustainability. 

13.00-13.30

Sandwiches + coffee provided by DIS

13.30-14.00

Write a short blog story about the visit

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Here is the link to our blog post.

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14.00-14.15

Break from the old groups and join a new group

14.15-15.30

Food & Sustainability Matrix Activity

You should be with a new group where you will share your visit with other students who have not been to your visit.

15.30-16.00

Day Two Wrap Up

16:00-17:30

Time on own before dinner

17.30 – 19.30

Social Dinner: The Neighborhood

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This was a lot of fun. Our class filled the entire upstairs room. I enjoyed talking with my table (some students and our professor) about all sorts of fun things... like politics and what not. The pizza was unusual but quite good. 

After dinner, a large group of us bombarded a cheesecake shop moments before they were going to close. I saw the initial fear the only employee’s face as she prepared to serve us two full cheesecakes worth of slices. It went well though. The place is called Bertel’s Salon, they can handle inconsistent arrivals of 15 people 15 minutes before closing. 

Many went home after cheesecake, while a few of us went to Bastard Cafe to play some sort of game similar to Pictionary. This spot is awesome, filled with locals drinking beer, eating food, and playing one of the many board games available. Most are free to play, just grab whichever you want right off the shelf. I definitely hope to find myself in this place sometime in the future. 

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WEDNESDAY

All Day Off – Explore Copenhagen and Prepare for Short Tour

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Started the very rainy Wednesday by meeting up with two of my friends at the wonderful Slurp Ramen Joint. I grabbed the Vegetarian Ramen.

We then walked over to St. Peters Bakery for Wednesday Cinnamon Rolls, supposedly best in Copenhagen. I will be going to many more bakeries in the future (when the days shorten, become grey, wet, and cold). I’d like to do a rundown on all of them at the end of the semester.

After ramen and cinnamon rolls (an unusual combo)... we walked over to the National Museum of Denmark. For my second visit, I made sure to go through every part of the museum this time... it was quite a lot. 

Here are two exhibits I thought to be pretty cool.

A “LEADER OF THE CHORUS IN KARNAK”

The priestess Di-Mut-shep-n-ankh died at the age of 35. She was wrapped in 15 garments, which had been re-used as mummy bandages 

The mummy was found in the so-called cartonnage of painted linen, glued together. Sun gods wrap their wings around the woman. C 700 BC.

The wooden coffin belonged to the pried of Amun Ankh-f-n-Khonsu.

The mummy in the cartonnage - and the wooden coffin - both come from the mass bural of the priests of Month under Deir el-Bahn-temple in Luxor. 

THE SAMURAI’S OUTFIT

In the Edo Period, the Samurai warriors were the ruling class in Japan. During this long period of peace, many of them functioned as official, but they still regarded the sword as their most valuable possession. Like the other parts of the Samurai’s military outfit, the sword was produced by skilled craftsmen with an appreciation of quality and artistic design. All the objects on show are from the Edo Period (1603-1867).

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THURSDAY

7.45

Meet at DGI Byen

Remember to bring your passports!

Depart for group visit in Lund

9.30- 12.30

Group visit: St. Hansgården

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An organization founded upon and operated under the practice and principles of Permaculture. They hold education courses, an after-school program, and community events aimed to better the community’s children, visitors, and the employees. There is a greater mindfulness in the approach to everything that goes into an activity or project... everything should have three different uses or it’s absolutely necessary despite its single purpose. Sustaining the organization’s land, completing building projects... responsibilities that are necessary and practical to keep St. Hansgården running are very often given to the children. The faculty they didn’t know they had is revealed to them... they tend to the farm animals, manage the gardens, harvest honey, cook, help with building projects, and more.

In this room, they are extracting honey from their beehives. The bins to the left are used to scrape the caps off of the comb, the bucket in the distance to the left is full of honey, the chrome barrel is a centrifuge that spins out the honey... it was still dripping a bit, which is collected in the small white bucket beneath. 

With each building project, the planning is completely driven by what they basic goal was, what they need from the project. They planned a space to teach children to cook traditional Swedish / Nordic dishes on an open flame. The gardens are nearby, there is ample seating around the campfire, a nicely sized work table/bin is to the left. 

The compost bins. Food is eaten, the waste is composted and turned to soil, the soil is used to make food, the food is eaten... children are able to see the full cycle of their food.

The Animal House

“This unique house was mainly built of timber, clay, and straw. One part of the house has a stable for sheep, goats, cats, and rabits. The other part is a greenhouse. Here you can sit by the fire with your friends. Or be with your rabbits or with the cats of the house.”

We were told one of the children who helped build this house came back (in her 30s) to say that she had placed her necklace within the clay wall when it was near completion.

The Barn Greenhouse

Nitrogen from the stables is cycled through to the greenhouse soil in place of using man-made nitrogen sources. In creating the building, all chords, pipes and structural aspects most often hidden were to be exposed to show the children what goes into operating the house.

The Field Classroom

Each classroom is to have a rain shelter nearby and a fireplace. 

The shelter has slabs of wood filled with holes to provide environments for solitary bees and the sort.

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12.30- 13.00

Depart group visit for Lund cathedral

13.00- 13.45

Lunch on own in Lund

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Lox with creme cheese, butter lettuce, radish, green onion, dill, lemon.. on buttered rye bread. The two in the distance is the shrimp salad with similar fixings... had tomatoes and a boiled egg. The place is called Malmstens Fisk and Kōk if you ever find yourself in Lund.

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13.45- 14.00

Group Visit: Lund Cathedral

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The Apse and Altar of Lund Cathedral

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14.00

Meet at Lund Cathedral, depart for Hostel in central Malmö.

14.30

Arrive/check-in:

STF Malmö City Vandrarhem

Time on own

18.30

Meet in the lobby to walk to group dinner

19.00

Group Dinner: Bord13

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Dear lord this was quite an experience,

The food was really good, the natural wine was wonderful. The fun part was the hour we would have in between the each of the small “gastronomic” dishes... If I can remember, we had: (1) seared arctic char with roasted buckwheat and wood sorrel in a smoky fish broth (2) a sort of mushroom dish with varied greens and a rich broth turned into a foam (I don’t understand the whole foam thing, I couldn’t remember much of this dish). (3) Pork belly in a sauce with a garlic creme, sauerkraut that did not taste of vinegar but of salt, some sort of leafy green... (4) Cucumber ice creme with caramel and a slightly sweet meringue with dill.

Most of what we did in between the four dishes was hilarious to us for some reason... nothing would be funny in writing. I had a good time though

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Rest of evening on own

FRIDAY

8.00

Breakfast at hostel

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The breakfast spread was so good... A wonderful spread of fresh fruit, cheese, baked goods, vegetables, yogurt, milk, cereal, coffee, tea, and more. A wonderful start to the day.

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9.00

Depart hostel for group visit by bus

9.30- 11.30

Group visit and bus tour: Sysav

South Scania Waste Company

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We began with a presentation on waste production and management within Sweden and the surrounding Nordic countries. Our guide acknowledged that these countries are leaders of recycling or reclaiming their waste but stressed that the problem is now overconsumption. Affluent nations around the world may have a great landfill to recycling ratio... but the ever-increasing magnitude at which consumer waste is coming in negates the progress. The future needs to move toward circular economies among other things to help minimize unnecessary waste.

Compost from garden waste, packages of imported combustible waste off in the distance.

Processing of combustable waste.

Imported combustible waste from other European Countries... SYSAV makes money off of the import, and can then sell the energy produced. 

Combustible waste up in the combustion tower. Quite interesting, quite smelly... overwhelming actually, I won’t forget it.

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11:30- 14.00

Lunch on own in the area around Lille Torg.

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Grabbed a salad at Holy Greens with friends. It was super fresh and super quick. 

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14:00

Meet bus and depart for Green Roof

14.00 – 15.45

Group visit:

Augustenborg Green Roof Institute

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We toured the green roofs, discussed the benefits and challenges of retrofitting such things into existing infrastructure... The specific goals of this site. We then traveled along the nearby neighborhood to see the irrigation system for rain runoff.

Lightweight green roof, a very small amount of soil is placed upon the roof... only plants that can survive on the dry surface (low water retention).

The water to the left is drained from the nearby apartment’s laundry machines. The water is purified through the vegetation and eventually flows into the artificial pond to the right. The pond also serves as an overflow pool to help manage floods.

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15:45

Depart for Western Harbour

15:45 – 17:30

Group visit:

Western Harbor Tour

“The Western Harbor has transformed from being an industrial park into becoming an area for knowledge and sustainable living. Since the closing of Kockums machine halls and cranes have been making way for parks, swimming areas, schools, and living accommodations. The aim is for the district to be an internationally leading example of the environmental adaptation of a densely built urban environment. It will also be a driving force in Malmö's development towards environmental sustainability. “

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This area was quite beautiful and well made. The issue is that it is one of the highest income neighborhoods in Malmö, the model is not feasible without significant funds from residents. 

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17:30

Depart group visit for hostel near Söderån National Park.

18.45

Arrive at hostel, unpack, get situated.

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Our cabin/hostel off in the distance.

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19:15

Meet to walk to group dinner

19.30

Group Dinner: Skäralids Restaurang

Rest of evening on own

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After a wonderful dinner, we all went back to the hostel/cabin we were staying in for the night. As my friend and I prepared the snøbrod dough I made with our professor a few others got a fire started. We spent the rest of the night with snøbrod (with butter, honey, and jam), smores, and scary stories. 

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SATURDAY

8.40

Breakfast at hostel

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This breakfast was just as amazing as the other, had a great time.

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9.45

Depart by bus for the nature hike.

10.00- 13.30

Group visit and hike: Söderåsen National Park

A hike through and discussion of the terrain and landscape’s history, sustainability initiatives, and park management.

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It was a wonderful little hike. The forest was full of green, of moving things, it was full of life. Everything sparkled from the unusual intermittent blasts of rain and sunshine. As we walked, some of us went on a mini foraging adventure, learning about different types of mushrooms and edible plants.

View of the lake at the park-base, where we began our hike.

The class looking over the lake as our guide speaks.

A spring with clean drinking water, to the left is a tin bowl to scoop yourself up some. 

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13.30

Depart for group activity Your crossing back to Denmark will include a ferry ride.

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A short, very windy voyage back to Denmark.

Coming to shore, a view of Kronborg Castle... which inspired Shakespear’s Elsinore in Hamlet.

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15.30- 17.00

Group Activity: Frydenlund Frugtplantage

Introduction to apple varieties and history, then apple picking.

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Everyone exhausted, having a stroll through an apple orchard was a nice conclusion to the trip.  I got a whole bunch of apples and baked an apple cake with my host family the next day. 

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17.00

Depart group activity and return to Copenhagen

FIN.

[treeyo]

When its been six months since your last blog, where do you even begin?  Many changes happened in my life and am still processing them all but very much in the forward motion with the learning lessons acquired.  With that, well I finally moved to Treasure lake, like finally really landed this March once I got my vehicle situation sorted and its been practically non stop work since.  I will try to keep it short by using headers and pics then be more regular with it all so its not so much to cover and more valuable detail can come out. In essence, this places sheer beauty continues to amaze me and the people who observe and interact with it are a true blessing.

Community

You know the hokey part of permaculture about community and all of that social permaculture.  Well it’s so true in the end.  My Cincinnati, city based friends, have largely disappeared from my life, all but a select few now that i have properly moved here (only 35 minutes away).  My Northern Kentucky network grows constantly.  And to state it plainly, much of my successes or this places growth hinges upon selfless acts from others, service, community.  Gifts beyond value but that also save on finances allowing me to stay with this project fully during the growing season. (Yes foreshadowing). It’s quite a mix here and i honor diversity and am enjoying this blend of Appalachian and river town culture scores to the city.

Past student and dear friend Kaila from BC, Canada stopping on her way across country. What a reunion, giving her a glimpse of the KY culture

Gil, such a generous person, getting ready to transport a beehive from his land to the lake to support both the garden and ecology here

Annie and her rolling around ways in the garden

Mike Lobb, a fishing enthusiast and proud supporter of the lake. and and his restaurant wastes help to feed the worms

Tom and his crafty skills and silly look helping me build artificial fish habitat

permablitz implementation of mushroom beds in hedgerow. it was almost all people from my town of Petersburg, Ky

Mary and Luke, two beautiful souled people who volunteered here often

Bryan and Daniel, two of my besties, jamming together. love them both

Stream Rehabilitation

Over the winter myself and part of the Berea, KY crew, who actually are connections from Portugal, implemented heaps of what I categorize in the PDC as restoring natural hydrology.  The one rock dams, large and small woody debris jams have simply worked.  The sediment has been trapped, the lake hasn’t muddied other than in the crazy amounts of rain that break or meet records.  It’s helped as well with the nutrient overload which to deal with this problem we met it with these elements but also microbial blocks and pellets and also ducks.

one rock dams working to hold sediment back

Pools forming

one rock dams and small woddy debris

stair stepped approach

Animals

How much duckweed could a duck weed if a duck could weed duckweed?

Well it’s a lot and they do weed duckweed.  As the nutrients pour in from the large watershed of the lake it causes each year relentless growth of duckweed.  And I have been eating duckweed through the eggs that the ducks have steadily been producing.  These ducks, mostly pekings, were gifts from the community and their rich golden eggs have delighted many.  The golden color comes from the high amounts of lysine in the duckweed, just as I teach it in the PDC.

Also goats were lent to me and are fun, productive in their clearing, good at leaving fertility behind, but also a lot of work.  Part of that comes from their sheer numbers, 17 in all. They require a lot of fencing moves to keep them on fresh pasture and their health in good shape. I have been really enjoying it but it in the end is consuming lots of hours.  I did, of course along with the help from my NKY community, move their cages which had been in the same place for a few weeks.  Instead of cleaning the cages and moving the manure to the compost area I decided to leave it right there and mulch on top so it didn’t all wash away in the rains just after the move.  Next year i can carry seeds down there instead of manure to the compost area.  an idea….

Alex welcoming the goats on their first day

Goats from the boat, having cleared back lots of weeds, mainly invasive

Compost

As always, as my students know, I am making, along with the help of many, lots of hot compost, completely square on the edge and at least one cubic meter in size.  I did invest in a compost thermometer which has been helping with the quality control.  The best compost piles have been coming from the lactobacillus rich beet kvass wastes from my friends at fab ferments.  It quickly finishes and i am stockpiling lots of it right now for future use.  Annie, the lead gardener of her brand Dark Wood Farm that leases land from us, has even used a bit.  Also vermicompost has been expanding.  I have the unique opportunity to sell worms to the fishing customers or simply give them away.  We have scaled up to 275 gallons.  Next door to fab ferments is La Terza coffee and their wastes have also been helping to feed the worms.

Beet Kvass waste

loading up the worm bin with Romain

Business

All these farming ventures of perennial systems are running concurrently to the running of the business here already.  Pay fishing lake, bar, camping and events to be exact.  It’s a lot of work and requires me to answer the phone, market, mow, weed eat, provide customer service and provide a better experience for those who come.  It’s been a good year, the camping helping a lot in terms of revenue.  And of course through community, Daniel, one of my closest neighbors has helped bring a lot of bar business in the last month or so through starting a tuesday night ping pong and a friday night open jam.  Eternally grateful to him and his extended family as well as his front yard that has no grass in it which i drive by when i do leave the property.  And the event production, we have many successful concerts, parties, weddings, and educational events.  Plant based, not permaculture as i just cant seem to get people to sign up for my permaculture courses around here.  And that is ok, i needed a break and its fun to have such a diversity.  but yes its a lot of work.  I work every weekend from friday morning to sunday evening here at the bar/ fishing lake/camping registration.  I sneak away for farming ventures on the weekends by leaving my number on the door which is part of why i haven’t written a blog in so long.

Bryan in serious prep mode for our July 4th event

Park here!

Positive reaction laying down on our fourth of july event

the lists that make it happen, my goodness this project management is intense

Maria and Ron post marriage ceremony at the campsites

entrance to the bar

Campsite 2

biodiversity

As always my pursuit of biodiversity rages.  I am still hacking away at the invasive and overcrowded natives.  It helps my paw paws.  Paw paw paradise is coming to fruition.  We also planted in our some of our wonderful forest native medicinal herbs.  Ginseng, goldenseal, bloodroot, blue and black cohosh, and wild ginger.  They have done ok but are so far away its hard to get to them.  It’s definitely a zone 4 and future plantings will be on the edge of zone 1 in sandy soil.  I have also planted a hedgerow with different tree crops, berry bushes, and perennial vegetables.  Taking care of the one we planted in the fall of last year also has been a continual maintenance. We also did quite a bit with mushrooms through both logs of oyster and wine cap on wood chips.  It’s definitely developing a nice zone 1 for me around the edge of Annie’s 1 acre market garden. And in general this place is alive, teaming with biodiversity to create stability, resilience, and abundance!

More wooded wood chip beds and remay cloth covering logs to keep woodpeckers away

mushroom spawn in chunks of wine cap being placed in between layers of cardboard and wood chips

caterpillar on milkweed, i guess monarchs?

Phoebe babies in the same nest spot as last year on the back patio of the bar

the beaver is back!

freshwater mussel shell, food for other wildlife

oyster mushroom logs

Foraging

You cant have a paw paw paradise and not then go out and harvest.  Hauling well over 50 lbs from the lake property and already another 20 or so lbs from 1 tree at my parents house, its been great.  I have been saving the seeds and these will turn into hundreds, maybe 1000’s of more paw paw plant for the land and for sale.  I am saving seeds of the big ones and random ones with great flavor.  We also have stumbled upon some great mushroom patches and will we get to the spicebush harvest with all that is going on?

25 lbs plus haul in one morning, mainly thanks to the beavers chopping trees down years ago to give this patch space

native black capped raspberry that went in Annie’s CSA fruit add on

just a bit of the paw paw on the bar, giving lots away

huge wild fruits at the lake. giving thanks to the natives who once lived here and probably worked on the genetics

Abby and me looking for paw paw just before our successful event. thanks abby for referring a spark for foraging

Holiday

I end with the vacation i got to go on to the Asheville, North Carolina area for the SE Permaculture gathering.  It also included a professional gathering and i loved meeting others from the area and finally meeting Courtney Brooke who Robina McCurdy, our common mentor, connected but we never got to meet in person until then.  They have a great culture built down there and was inspiring to say the least.  I know it will grow here, we have done an amazing work in this area over the years but i look forward to treasure lake being a growing point of culture.

Zev talking mutual aid, this guy is on it

So thank you to all who have contributed with volunteering, attending events, paying to go fish, to camp, to drink, to rent the place out. There is more for sure that has happened but i had to get this one out to press refresh on releasing these update blogs more often .  I also pressed refresh on my life by moving back here, staying in one place for over a year, which basically hasn’t happened in almost 20 years and seeking help with my mental health. Never be afraid to do that.  gardening is sometimes not enough, nor traveling the world and living your passion.  I am glad i did it, i am blessed to have this place to experiment on.  The development goes on here and please contact me on how to get involved.  thank you to the community and the treasure lake experience.  Never forget the final message of my patterns slideshow, LOVE.  and that includes love for yourself.  sounds simple but it takes effort that is well worth it!

ps the tip jar at the bar is going well with it being tips for tree planting.  so this fall,

#letsplantsometreesyo

Project Update: A long Overdue one for Treasure Lake When its been six months since your last blog, where do you even begin?  Many changes happened in my life and am still processing them all but very much in the forward motion with the learning lessons acquired.