#best commission lineup i’ve ever had

[buttered-kpopcorn]

i’m hoyoverse’s favorite

[bigskydreaming]

Hi! I'm new to your blog but found a few posts that were about a JayTom ship, and I was wondering who Tom was? And also you've mentioned in a couple of posts the idea of Jason having a lineup of Titans in his age range and you talked about the Ray and Damage in one. Do you have a whole lineup in mind for them and if so, is there a post on that somewhere?

LOL man, I really need to start pulling all my posts about JayTom and Jay’s lineup of Titans together for some kind of a masterlist, so thanks for the reminder haha. Like, I saw this ask and thought of various posts to point you towards but ugh, I don’t know where any of them are.

Anyway, so. The Tom of JayTom. Aka my ideal ship for Robin!Jason in the series of one-shots about an AU where Jason doesn’t go to Ethiopia in ADITF and thus never dies, that’s kinda grown out of that of a one-shot I started as a writing commission a couple months ago, if anyone else remembers that….the one that was like ‘what if Jason called Dick after the Garzonas incident and Dick sided with Jason’…that one. 

Which then snowballed into ‘well, then I could give Jason his own lineup of Titans who are in the same age range as like a younger gen learning from Dick’s generations of Titans but still older than Tim’s generation of YJ and then eventual Titans.’

Sigh. Oh, me. Right! So! Anyway! Tom in JayTom is Thomas Bronson, the son of JSA member Ted Grant, aka Wildcat. 

Tom and Jason have never ever interacted in canon as far as I know, as I don’t think Tom’s ever appeared outside of JSA and Jason never appeared in that book either before or after his death. BUT by the magic of winging it and Canon Has Not Definitively Contradicted Me, I think the two of them are feasibly in the same age range, so I’m going with them both being fifteen when they meet here.

Tom’s a scrappy, street smart, attitude throwing teenager with daddy issues of his own, lol, thanks to Ted’s general non-existence in his life, for most of it….and he’s also tiny, like, 5′6″ and 135 lbs even at the end of his teenage years. LMAO, I honestly don’t remember, but I think that might be the whole basis of this ship for me, or where it originated. Like, I happened across Tom’s stats as listed on one of the DC wiki sites, and was like, lol oh, he and Robin!Jason could be pint-sized punks together! And then from there, I had the inevitable thought “okay but now make them gay” and then from there I fell into my usual trap of “oh no, it was supposed to be a joke but now I’m taking it seriously and seriously pondering how it could seriously work.”

And then from there it consumed my brain and devoured my life. I swear, it was Dick/Kyle all over again. Ugh, my brain is so problematic.

So anyway, this is Tom:

He’s a werepanther, he can shapeshift into a panther form to fight, which brings up an interesting facet of his character and something I think could be really fun to play off Jason and his own issues…because Tom hates fighting. HATES it. Will run from a fight at any given opportunity rather than engage….but its not because he’s a coward, or doesn’t have heroic instincts of his own, and its not even because he’s not GOOD at fighting.

Its that he’s scared of himself, and scared of hurting whoever he’s fighting…at least more than he means to. Because he has trouble controlling his shift when in fights. His panther form just comes out in response to his own amped up levels of aggression. The fight or flight response for him is actually more like “flight or turn into a raging whirlwind of clawed and fanged fury that can’t stop won’t stop until he’s definitively won his fight….which by extension, usually means his opponent is currently bleeding out on the ground from a few dozen deep claw marks because Panther!Tom’s claws and fangs are SHARP.”

Now pair this fear of his own power with Tom’s natural belligerence and problems with authority at certain points in his life, AND his desire to follow in his hero father’s footsteps as well as his resentment and giving himself grief every time he realizes he even has that desire, because he doesn’t owe his deadbeat dad shit and can’t stand that he nevertheless admires him in a lot of ways and still feels a desire to prove himself to him…

Then pair him up with Jason during his Robin years, going through similar issues and emotions as well as a comparable dynamic with Bruce as him not dying in Ethiopia nevertheless changes nothing about the two of them likely clashing more and more over their views on how to deal with criminals and the appropriate levels of aggression when dealing with them….

And that right there, IMO, is super strong potential for a dynamic couple with a lot in common and yet occasional clashes of their own due to different opinions on which direction to go in so as to address those shared issues…but who likely would never hesitate for a second before backing each other up and presenting a united front against anyone else who tried to give one or the other shit for any reason whatsoever.

Also, I have vastly amused myself with the thought (and the occasional post here and there) of Ted and Bruce continually glowering at each other and blaming each other’s son for being a bad influence on their son, who has never done anything wrong in their life ever, CLEARLY (even if Bruce had actually just grounded Jason the day before. Whatever. Ted doesn’t need to know that).

Anyway, so that’s the JayTom I reference now and then. I’ve always maintained that Jason could really benefit from having a stronger support system of friends distinct to him and not sharing similar dynamics with any of his siblings, so then I was like, well if Jay doesn’t die, and I have him and Dick closer in this AU than they’re usually written as being, plausibly Jason would spend a lot of time at the Tower to get away from Bruce and his own fights with him. 

With Dick being more than able to relate to trouble dealing with Bruce and thus happy to lend a sympathetic ear….and eventually maybe express to Bruce that it might do them both some good for Jason to make more friends his own age and have some normal routines that took him out of the house and Gotham enough that he and Bruce don’t constantly feel like they’re breathing down each other’s necks and keeping tension a constant thing between them. A little space now and then could benefit them both, give them chances to cool off after their fights and actually MISS each other before readdressing the issues.

So then I could see the Titans kinda sending out invitations/recruiting various teen heroes around Jason’s age that they’d all maybe had their eyes on for awhile as kids who could benefit from the same kind of team unity/group support that helped them so much when they were that age just a few years ago themselves.

Which leads me to where I am now which is….I still haven’t settled on a solid lineup, because I came up with too many choices, lol. Basically, my parameters were I wanted characters who could feasibly be said to be in the same age range as Jason and Tom, and didn’t have super strong associations with any other characters that would create any kind of conflict with them being on a Titans team at this point in the timeline instead. And because I’m all about my thematics, I wanted them all to have certain root issues in common that they could all bond over and actually, y’know, support each other with and through. 

(The same way I think Dick’s generation of Titans actually has certain distinct themes and issues that almost all of them share and can relate to in varying ways, which I think has a lot to do with how quickly and fully they all bonded and why they created such lasting friendships and teams between them. But that’s a whole other post, lol.)

So the central shared issues I decided to focus on for Jason’s age group of Titans were: teen/young heroes from abusive homes or runaways, ones with issues and fears stemming from and regarding their own powers or tempers, etc, and misfits who were regarded warily by other or older heroes and considered potentially able to end up on either side of the hero/villain line in the sand.

Which Dick’s generation of Titans, which of course includes Raven, Kory, etc, would not be in agreement with that last part, and thus be all the more likely to recruit these specific teen heroes and be like nyah, nyah, watch how with our help and oh yeah, SUPPORT, they all become the best damn heroes that ever did heroically hero. Suck it, JLA-holes!

(And then Donna would be like, not you Diana, you know we’re cool, its just I gotta do the team solidarity thing and Dick, Garth and Roy are still being Displeased with their mentors/dads at the moment, and also we’re all kinda ticked you guys stole Wally. Btw, we’re stealing the new Green Lantern kid, because Revenge and stuff. He’s ours now, you snooze, you lose).

 So, Jason’s lineup of Titans will consist of some of the following, I’m just not 100% sure which yet, because I have to whittle down the list.

1) Jason (nominally mentored by Dick, but the latter just calls it an excuse for brother bonding time and neither of them make much reference ever to having any kind of actual mentor/protégé relationship like I see the rest of Jay’s lineup having. Plus, Jason unique from the rest already has a mentor in Bruce anyway, so his situation and reasons for being part of this team aren’t quite the same from the others, especially as one of my reasons for this AU was always addressing the issues I have with Bruce’s parenting before the canon event point of Jason’s death, and like…..so like, Bruce does get better once Dick calls out some of his shit with Jason based on his own experiences with Bruce and then later Jason returns the favor by calling out Bruce for taking Dick for granted and no longer putting in the same effort connecting with his eldest and being an actual PARENT to him like he used to).

2) Tom Bronson/Tomcat (who else would act as his personal mentor other than Gar aka Beast Boy aka Changeling, the shapeshifter extraordinaire?)

3) Grant Emerson/Damage (recruited by Roy and his personal protégéand likely BFFs with Jason IMO, as I think their temperaments are complete opposites but Grant’s the kind of kid who would roll his eyes and dolefully follow his troublemaking best friend Jay into likely danger, because his power to blow things up really comes in handy with the kind of scrapes Jason gets himself into and this in turn is a really handy thing to point out in the aftermath of pulling Jason’s butt out of a scrape and then gloating but in the totally mature and “I’m much too nice to actually be gloating, you must be mistaken about what’s happening here” manner in which I see that going down. And in terms of the parameters I mentioned, Grant grew up bounced around abusive foster homes, is watched like a hawk by various groups and heroes because of the huge catastrophic potential of his powers, which he has his own fears about, and also he has no idea who his parents are either, and I imagine him and Jason going on a ‘find out who our real parents are roadtrip’ after graduation or something).

4) Ray Terrill/The Ray (potentially recruited by Kory and her personal protégé. He was briefly a member of Tim’s Young Justice team, but part of the reason he was never that close with the other members was he was a little bit older, just a couple years or so, but enough to put him squarely in Jason’s age range. Also comes from an abusive home, and spent the majority of his childhood living in complete darkness because his asshole uncle told him he had the same powers as his father which meant sunlight would be harmful to him and make him dangerous to be around. When in reality, like his dad, Ray’s powers are fueled by sunlight and he’s like a living solar battery, keeping him afraid to leave the dark was just meant to keep him passive and powerless. Even knowing his uncle lied now, Ray still has long had fears about his own powers, unable to totally shake the fears his uncle instilled in him).

5) Todd Rice/Obsidian (potentially recruited by Raven and her personal protégé. He and his twin sister Jenny-Lynn Hayden are probably a bit older than the rest of this team, but their ages aren’t definitively linked to any points in the DC timeline, so there’s no real conflict between handwaving them as aged down to be right around the same ages as the others. Todd and Jenny-Lynn are the twin children of original Green Lantern Alan Scott aka Sentinel, and the DC villainness Thorn. They grew up in separate foster homes though with Alan unaware of their existence for most of their childhoods. Todd’s childhood was notoriously rough, with him having several abusive foster parents. He’s canonically gay and mentally ill/neurodivergent, which several of his foster homes targeted him for. In addition, his shadow powers are tied to a dark dimension that’s said to prey on his mental state and led to occasional times where he’s been a villain briefly, and at all times his powers are regarded fearfully by most people and with him shunned and avoided because of them. All of which I think makes Raven an ideal mentor for him).

6) Jenny-Lynn Hayden/Jade (Todd’s twin sister, even though they didn’t grow up together for the most part. Honestly, she doesn’t share in a lot of the issues the rest of the team prospects do, and had a relatively good childhood before her powers developed and she found her brother and they started operating as heroes together. But upon learning who her brother and dad are, she’s always been committed to growing closer with them, so I think anywhere Todd goes in this AU, she’d definitely follow, and its not like the team can’t benefit from a heavy hitter like her, let alone more girls. Not totally sure who I picture as most mentoring her in specific, probably because I don’t see her as being recruited per se, so much as just going with Todd when recruited….but I’m thinking maybe Garth, actually. Garth has a lot of range and versatility with his powers and magic, which makes him ideal for mentoring someone who not only has the same powers as a Green Lantern, limited only by her imagination…..but who also might benefit from being mentored by someone who ISN’T a Green Lantern because she doesn’t share their traditional weaknesses and thus she’d be best off training with someone whose own techniques and instincts aren’t geared around weaknesses that are literally irrelevant to her powerset).

7) Courtney Mason/Anima (A metahuman runaway who was almost sacrificed by a cult before her powers kicked in….she’s also right in the same age range as Ray, Grant and Jason, and has briefly been a member of a couple Titans lineups but never for long and usually only for big event stories. But she fits the runaway/rough home environment parameter as well as fear of her own powers….she absorbs life energy from people and animals and can potentially kill them by draining too much. She also has a separate power that’s basically a connection to an other-dimensional spirit called the Animus that she can summon forth and unleash on her enemies. I’m thinking she’d make a good recruit/protégé for Jericho actually, for a number of reasons).

8) Cynthia Reynolds/Fantasia (? Maybe? Not sure yet. Not her actual codename, but her actual codename is a slur, so I’m def gonna make up a new one, I just haven’t 100% settled on what it is yet. Suck it, DC. She’s most known for being a member of Justice League Detroit along with Steel, Vibe and the Ray, but she’s the right age range to end up recruited to be a Titan here instead, like Ray. Also is a runaway from an abusive home, and often deals with mistrust and suspicion due to her illusion powers. Perfect recruit/protégé for Lilith, IMO).

9) Cisco Ramone/Vibe (Also created as a teenage hero to be part of the Justice League Detroit lineup, which makes him the right age range and he’s another runaway. The nature of his powers makes him a good fit to be a recruit/protégéof Mal Duncan/Herald).

10) Amy Allen/Bombshell (Totally self-indulgent on my part given that I basically would ignore the vast majority of her storylines and writing, which I think suck. She was in the Titans stories revolving around Tim’s generation of the team, but she was always stated to be a few years older than the rest, like in her late teens when the majority were probably sixteen, so I think she’s a good fit for this age range. Also had a crappy home life and parents, and her powers are hugely destructive in certain applications…she basically has the same powerset as Captain Atom, though she’s never had any kind of official mentor or sidekick relationship with him. Also, I think Captain Atom is an asshat and a dillhole and he sucks, but I do like his powers, so reinterpreting Amy as a character who doesn’t suck and playing around with her powers instead is solid decision making on my part and renders Captain Atom irrelevant now. I think I shall kill him. Because I can do that. Anyway, I think she doesn’t need him as a mentor but could make a good recruit/protégé for Leonid/Red Star).

11) Carla Moretti/Cinder (Odd choice, given that she’s only ever really been used as a villainous member of Deathstroke’s anti-Titans team and was easily in her twenties at the time. Pyrokinetic who happily makes bonfires out of her enemies but written with zero attempts at nuance, like a total one note villain framed as having long since abandoned her own humanity….which bugged the crap out of me, as she was given a super angsty backstory of childhood sexual abuse and that’s just ‘why she’s like this’ and I have a deep seeded loathing for asshole writers writing survivors as villains and just blaming their casual homicidal ways on their abuse while serving up said villains to just be punching bags or dominoes for the heroes to knock down on their way to the Boss Fight. So I do have inclinations towards making an actual Titan out of her, like with Amy, because surprise surprise, both these characters being written shittily and one note was the work of the same writer, shocking. So I’d just handwave her down to the right age range and have her recruited/mentored by Donna, probably…more due to me thinking Donna would be the best person to help her deal with stuff because she’s mastered the art of avoiding avoidance via having Dick Grayson as a BFF. So with them its not really because Carla needs mentoring with her powers specifically. Idk, Carla anyway you slice it I think has a lot of rage, and Donna knows what to do with that. Written right, Donna’s not a character who judges or shames a victim or survivor for being angry…she gets angry with them, and helps them find options for what to do with that now.) 

12) Hero Cruz (Lesser known Titan, has a device called the Dial H device that lets him turn into a different hero with different powers depending on the setting he puts it on. Basically Ben 10, but Hero came first. Doesn’t really fit most of the parameters, other than being around the right age range, and not even sure who would make a good mentor for him though I wanna say Vic, but not totally decided yet. Mostly I just like him and think he’s underused, so whatever).

There’s also a few other candidates that I have mostly ruled out but not totally. I thought about using the aged up version of Chris Kent, and just introduce him earlier than he showed up in canon. And then Kara/Supergirl could be his mentor because I kinda handwave her into Dick’s generation of Titans anyway, even though it was the alien Matrix version of Linda Danvers that was the only Supergirl ever on the team. Whatever. She should have been a Titan all along anyway. But also Chris would fit the team well as he had an abusive childhood as well, at his dad General Zod’s hands, and again, I just like the character. 

Thought of including Virgil Hawkins/Static too, even though I think he’s closer to Tim’s age range. And again, just another character I’m a fan of and think is underused, but he would definitely be an odd man out in this group because like….he comes from a happy, healthy, loving home and family, and he loves his powers. So he would constantly be just like nodding his head along while his teammates talk and like ugh that sucks, but 10/10 absolutely can not relate, my parents are awesome.  Same with Natasha Irons/Steel, who really would have to be handwaved to even be in the right age range, and again has a happy loving home environment and a superhero uncle of her own so its not like she needs a Titan mentor…..but I kinda wanna see Karen Beecher/Bumblebee take her under her wing anyway, and have them be science nerds together.

Also pretty much the only reason I ruled out Connor Hawke too, as he doesn’t really match the rest of the team in any of the parameters except for feasibly being right at the upper edge of the same age range. But again, I just love the character. 

So I’m probably gonna end up throwing at least one of these other characters in there anyway, lol. I do know myself).

Anyway. So that’s Jason’s lineup of Titans, or at least the candidates as they exist bouncing around in my head now. Also, they’re pretty much Team “Everyone is Gay Except For When They’re Bi.” Which, granted, is basically how I view Dick’s generation of Titans, but with them I have to be like Make It So, in my brain, whereas with this group like….canon’s actually done the work for me for the most part lol. Ray is gay, Todd Rice is gay, Courtney is bi, Hero is gay. And I can’t actually find anything confirmed Tom was stated to be gay somewhere in canon, but I SWEAR he was, like, ugh this is bugging me.

But anyway. That’s that about all of that.

[dragimalsdaydreams]

man, I think this is the first time I’ve ever had a legitimate ponysona... before this, I could never figure out what class of pony I wanted to be-- and even more frustratingly, if I even wanted to be a *pony* in the first place. I eventually just cut my losses and bound myself to specifically a ponysona or else I’d still be going around in circles still (changeling? deer? kirin??), and I finally figured out an interesting approach to my ‘sona’s class that I think rly fits me

anyways, her info under the cut

Name:

Willowsprout. most folks just call her Willow, though her parents call her Sprout/Sproutling

Class:

most folks assume Willow’s a full-blood unicorn due to her more obvious physical traits. legally she’s an earth pony, since newborn unicorns (in my lore) don’t grow a horn til a few weeks after birth, so her non-unicorn parents just assumed she was full-blood earth and registered her as such. in reality, she’s a bicorn (a concept I describe in more detail here), with most of her magical ability influenced by her earth pony side, and most of her physique influenced by her unicorn side.

Parents:

I usually don’t care to think up parentage for my personal ‘sonas b/c history/family doesn’t matter to me so much as their current/individual state, but this time I might?

see, I’ve always joked that my personality is basically the love-child of Fluttershy (talent with and compassion for all creatures, social anxiety) and Treehugger (hippie aesthetic, mellow vibes, talent with plants), so it makes sense that I’d make them my ‘sona’s parents. BUT a unicorn/earth pony bicorn is p unlikely to result from pegasus/earth pony parentage. not to mention Willow’s white/green palette compared to their respective yellow/pink and green/red...

even so, I still like the idea of them being Willow’s parents, so IF I were to go with them, I’d make Willow an unplanned pregnancy from a fling b/t the two. I like to imagine Discord/Fluttershy/Treehugger in a loose poly “angle”, where Discord/Fluttershy are a solid romantic pair, while Fluttershy/Treehugger sort of vacillate b/t close friends and partners. Discord, despite his tendency towards jealousy, has come to affectionately tolerate(?) Treehugger, and is happy that his wife is happy with the both of them. Willow, however, was born a bit before Discord/Fluttershy became an official couple, and it threw their relationship into a bit of a spiral until Fluttershy, Discord, and Treehugger all finally sat down and worked out their feelings and relationships. since then, Willow has been raised with all three acting as her parents

now if I were to instead just make up parents for Willow, then I’d make them both earth ponies. I like the idea of Willow being entrenched in earth pony culture w/ very little unicorn cultural influence. I especially like the idea of at least one parent (if not both of them) being a farmer of some sort

Special Talent:

while Willow can do magic-based dexterous tasks and pick up reasonably-sized objects with the grace and precision of any full-blood unicorn, she has 0% aptitude for any kind of active spell-casting. even the most simple of spells that a unicorn foal could produce are simply impossible for her. Willow’s true power lies in her earth pony side, with complex, intimate connections to the earth. despite the weakness of her spell-casting, Willow has found a unique way to combine the overt magical influence of unicorn magic with the more subtle influence of earth pony magic

with this combination, Willow can connect to and sense the physical/psychological states of individual organisms and broader ecosystems around her. this can be used identify and help heal ailments, soothe troubled minds, abstractly communicate with other organisms, and even navigate new environments. the Special Talent that Willow typically uses this broad-scope ability for is monitoring broad ecological systems and restoring these systems to balance

one interesting trick of Willow’s Talent allows her to meld seamlessly with the environment around her as a sort of “camouflage”. this doesn’t change anything about her physically, but rather slightly alters the perceptions of those around her so that she simply doesn’t register under any senses. this allows her to quietly observe the environment around her without actively disturbing it. of course if someone knows Willow should be somewhere near them, they can break this passive magic fairly easily, but most creatures aren’t expecting a quiet pony observer, so it’s still a great boon to an ecologist such as herself

despite the control she can exert with her talent, Willow never had much of a taste for the strict monitoring of pony-controlled ecosystems like those around Ponyville. she thinks it best to leave a system to its own devices unless absolutely necessary. thus, Willow’s taken to casually traveling the land, documenting flora and fauna, and stopping to help any systems that need to rebalance

these travels have brought her into contact with several other species, and given her a broader perspective on pony relations with the land and other creatures. she’d never been able to put a hoof on exactly what bothered her about pony-controlled systems, but she’s since learned what it means to live in and among systems, rather than ruling and subduing systems as ponies tend towards. she’s now an active supporter of non-pony sovereignty and land rights, and always works directly with locals whenever she finds an ecosystem in need

Cutie Mark:

Willow’s mark is a stylized aspen tree forest hanging down into the shape of an aspen leaf, representing the concurrently individual and collective nature of nature

(yes, I know her name is Willow, but willows are close relatives of aspens, and “willow’ flows better for her name..)

Personality:

Willow is generally laid back and accommodating, taking situations as they arise with the patience of a rolling wave. she used to be rather timid in her youth, but has mellowed out a bit in her adult years. her social anxiety is definitely still there, but it’s far more manageable now. while Willow is polite when confronted, she’s still not an especially sociable pony, even without the immediate threat of anxiety

Willow tends to shut down in crowded, loud, high-stress environments/situations (this issue is compounded in areas without much plant life, like cities). a thousand-yard stare and one-word responses are clear signs she probably needs a breather with fresh air and a potted plant or two

while Willow’s “camouflage” magic is certainly an active choice at crowded social events, she’s prone to unconsciously pulling the shroud around herself as she simply goes about her life. she prefers to quietly observe the world around her even when she’s not working, and the shroud helps her pass through the day undisturbed. this often leads to spooks when she unintentionally creeps up on a friend to say hello

despite not being very talkative with other creatures, Willow’s prone to idle chatter with plants, and even sings to them on occasion. this likely doesn’t help them grow, but she at least enjoys it

while Willow certainly has strong opinions on social issues-- especially those intersecting with her work with nature and other creatures-- she’s more likely to quietly observe and catalog the opinions of others and act accordingly, rather than state her opinion outright. she’s just not one for outright conflict

Hobbies:

beyond her work with all things natural, Willow loves visual art-- especially drawing and various crafts like sewing, knitting, and found-object sculpture. she loves to collect any interesting rocks, dried plants, and various animal bones she finds out in the field, which she sends back home to later arrange into elaborate displays. her drawing skills are highly refined, and she’s a well-known name among zoological/botanical illustrators. she often takes commissions from fellow researchers who need visual aids for their own work, completing them while trekking around the world

Willow’s interests slant towards the macabre in some respects, which sometimes shocks strangers who judge her to be too meek to enjoy such subjects. usually this interest is academic, such as dissecting a corpse for study/reference, or exploring abandoned areas for curiosities. though she won’t deny that she enjoys the fear-driven thrill of a good spooky tale~ Willow’s humor also tends towards the dark and self-deprecating, especially in the company of close friends

Willow loves a good book-- when she’s not out in the field, she’s most content to curl up in bed with a biology journal, fantasy book, or supernatural/horror novel. she dabbles in writing, but mostly in the form of field journals and poetry

Physicality:

Willow takes strongly after her unicorn side in this respect, with very little built-in strength or stamina to speak of. her work serves to fortify these physical aspects of course, but any time she takes an extended break, she’s right back to square one

Willow’s one physical reminder of her earth side is her small hoof-nails, whose color often blends into the color of the surrounding hoof anyways

Willow is rather short and slight compared to most ponies. while unicorns aren’t the tallest of classes, they usually aren’t the shortest either, so her size is a bit odd to see in a so-called unicorn lineup. her height may be influenced by her earth side since earth pony sizes can vary a lot, but it could just be a simple genetic fluke in this case

[stomachflu]

prompt for T /// A /// Z: carey is an emetophile and gets a stomach bug, so she's miserable but sooo turned on. could be solo or carey/killian? OR with any other characters, really.

Could you write a fic where character A is puking while character B is holding her belly and masturbating her ? Thanks

tip jar!

🚫don’t rb/share to non-emeto/sickfic/kink blogs, thanks!🚫

first anon, are we the same person?? because i was literally thinking about this exact concept when you messaged me. hope that you don’t mind that i, uh, took your prompt and ran with it!! (sidenote: i know none of the physiology hcs i put in here are anywhere near canon!)

anyways this fic is very long (nearly 5k) and very nsfw, and has an excessive amount of buildup even for me.

Carey feels it when she first wakes up: this slow, sickly ache in her stomach, her insides churning sluggishly. It’s not bad enough to tell whether she’s truly sick or just suffering from a bit of indigestion, so she rolls over to the empty space on the bed where –

Her girlfriend isn’t there. Right. Killian’s on an important-save-the-world mission, or maybe also the kind where she just has to kill some dudes. It’s unclear, but she’s been gone for the past few days, and Carey misses her like hell, but she’s supposed to be back tonight.

So she just lays there on her back, pulling up her shirt to expose her soft underbelly, where her scales just sort of… trail off, and then stop, leaving an expanse of warm, velvety flesh. Killian loves this, has spent many times kissing her belly or slipping her hands under Carey’s shirt to feel it or sometimes just admiring it, and godsdoes it feel good to be admired by someone like Killian.

She can’t tell, but it feels like her stomach is slightly bloated. Then again, it’s early, artificial grey pre-dawn light trickling in through her window, so she just lazily rubs her belly, trailing two claws gently over the exposed flesh, enjoying the thought of what Killian would do if she was here.

It’s enough to make her wet by the time her alarm goes off, but Carey isn’t sick enough (or turned on enough) to skip training, so she reluctantly scrambles out of bed, pulling her uniform on one piece at a time. Her limbs ache, and getting dressed is actually a slow process for once, like her arms are encased in molasses. Could be that she’s sick, but then again, could be that she just trained too hard yesterday. Which she did, so.

She thinks about when Killian comes home tonight – telling her, my stomach hurt this morning, I almost thought that I was sick, and Killian’s strong arms coming around to encircle her middle and maybe saying, I wish I was there, and, maybe: them making something of it.

Then again, it’s not like her stomach hurts, more like she just feels… weird, and off. And then again,it’s fifteen minutes past her alarm and she’s sitting there thinking about the passionate kinky scenes she could be playing out with her girlfriend, and she is definitely gonna be late for training if she keeps this up.

The cafeteria is oddly empty for this time of morning, but then again, it seems to be built for far more members than are currently employed here, so it’s always a little empty. Carey is actually never in here this morning, but she figures that some food might be a good idea right now (her stomach gurgles obnoxiously, as if to agree), so she grabs something that’ll be easy to digest – a plate of fruit, as it turns out, and takes a seat next to… Taako, actually.

Dude’s sitting alone, which is both weird and par for the course for him. Par for the course, because she knows a loner when she sees one. Weird, because she’s never seen him without his group to back him up, no matter how hard he tries to lose them.

“Hey,” she says, thumping her tray down. “Where’s Magnus? And Merle? Aren’t your buddies coming to breakfast?”

Taako shrugs, cutting off a section of pancakes. “Dunno. Actually I do know, but, like.” He stabs a forkful and shoves it in his mouth before responding. “Magnus is really fucking sick, he’s been puking all night ‘n shit. And I’ve been dealing with that for long enough –” he stabs his fork in the air for emphasis “–so Merle’s looking after him while I get the fuck outta dodge.”

“Oh. Jeez, poor guy. I hope he’s okay.” Carey stabs a piece of fruit with her fork and swallows it down. She’s not as hungry today as she is usually.

“Yeah.” Taako looks tired, but sits up in his seat a little. “Apparently, there’s a flu going around the Bureau? So, like, be careful, I guess.”

“I will. I mean, I will, but Dragonborns can’t get sick, so…” Carey squirms in her seat a little bit. The idea of a flu going around is… enticing, to say the least.

“What, like in an elves-don’t-get-sick-but-actually-we-do kinda deal? Or some other fucked-up bit if physiology that you’ve got going on?”

“The latter. Physically? We don’t, our stomachs are like… We’re meant to keep food down? So Dragonborn can’t actually puke. Like, almost never. All that happens is we just feel kinda gross for a bit.”

Carey has, as a matter of fact, thrown up once in her life, when she took a blow from an enemy’s axe that was so bad she’d collapsed to her knees, retching up bile and blood. She still has that scar, and Killian loves it. Between the two of them, her girlfriend’s only been able to make her gag once, after half an hour of trying with her fingers and any object available. It would be a good skill to have, if she had certain… inclinations.

Other than that, she just gets super fucking nauseous, and she and Killian have plenty of fun with that.

“Jeez. That’s… really weird, actually. Fucked up.” Taako’s actually really quiet after that, playing with his food rather than eating it, and throws away his tray before breakfast ends.

For her part, once she’s alone, Carey realizes that the fruit hasn’t helped her stomach much, which feels like it’s bubbling under her fingers. What if I did get sick, she thinks to herself, and the resulting arousal is almost enough that she sneaks to the bathroom to take care of matters, but she’s saving her libido for when Killian comes home tonight. Sick or not, they can have fun then, so she just goes up for seconds.

Training starts off easy, with some stretches (Carey can’t help but notice how many absent spaces there are in today’s lineup) and then some light boxing, which she’s grateful for, because ever since breakfast, her stomach’s felt weirdly tight, her gym shorts creating an uncomfortable band of pressure around her middle.

Then everybody splits off to do their own style of training – Carey sees Taako pairing off an instructor for spellwork and guesses that Angus must be an unfortunate victim of today’s flu. She’s not sure who she feels more sorry for, Angus or the instructor.

Carey practices some half-hearted flips, but her mind isn’t really on it. She feels dizzy and distracted, and halfway through a particularly tricky maneuver, there’s a sudden sharp pain in her belly. She curls in on herself instinctually, missing her foothold and crashing to the ground.

She lands wrong, knows she’s landed wrong before she has the chance to catch her breath, one arm folded awkwardly under her, the other wrapped around her middle. Carey opens her eyes to a crowd gathered around her and swears quietly, quickly removing the hand that’s on her stomach. She tries to sit up, but the pain racing down her arm from her shoulder tells her that putting weight on it isn’t a good idea.

“Okay, everybody clear out, go back to your routines,” says the instructor, a middle-aged halfling woman. “Carey, are you alright?”

There’s another pain in her middle, more dull this time, and Carey nods. “I’m fine, just… kinda sore from yesterday, I guess? Think I hurt my shoulder, though.”

Stupid, stupid move. She’s usually the best at this, and she can’t afford to be outta commission the way a long-term injury would make her. The instructor just shakes her head and sends her to the infirmary to get ice and come back tomorrow.

She ducks into the bathrooms on the way, stopping at the sinks to splash water on her face and change. The dull cramps in her stomach are coming on and off again, with no discernible rhythm, just a sickly ache. She’d worn a sports bra to training, and her underbelly is showing signs of bloating. To anybody else, it wouldn’t be visible, but Carey knows what to look for.

She stands there for a moment, rubbing her hand up and down the bulge of her stomach before changing and leaning in close to the mirror. Nobody can tell she’s ill, thank goodness – Dragonborn run much, much cooler than humans, and although Carey realizes once she’s back in uniform that she’s been shivering slightly not from being underdressed but from fever, she’s probably still cold to the touch, enough that nobody will notice. A little-known fact is that Dragonborn can blush, and a faint flush is spreading across the scales on her face right now, nearly invisible except to those who specifically look for it.

Carey touches a slightly-shaking hand to her forehead as her stomach does a slow, oily flip. This is probably the sickest she’s ever been, exempting the time she and Killian’d both got food poisoning from a shitty inn in Phandolin (may its residents rest in peace) and had made a night out of it – Killian vomiting while Carey fucked her brains out, nearly ill enough to gag herself.

The infirmary is packed. There’s healers moving every which way, bustling between beds, and the sound of retching seems to come from all directions. A nurse leads her to an empty cot, placing a basin on the bedside table, and Carey shakes her head. “Oh, no, I’m not gonna throw up! I just hurt my shoulder.”

I think. Her stomach isn’t doing too hot, actually, and she’s starting to feel the beginnings of nausea in the pit of her belly. The experience is as hot as it is sickening, and she shifts uncomfortably in the cot, aware of the warmth between her legs. Later, she tells herself.

The nurse heads off to grab some ice, and the figure in the bed next to her draws aside the curtain. It’s Johann, of all people, looking even more pale and sickly than usual.

“Oh…” he says miserably. “I was just wondering… if you’re not sick…. if I could have your basin?”

“Sure thing!” Carey passes it over, briefly entertaining the thought of being sick in a basin with Killian watching. “You’re sick too?”

“Yeah… I’ve been throwing up all morning… and the healers took my basin to clean it… and I’m feeling – urk!” He claps a hand over his mouth, but it’s too late: liquid sprays through the cracks between his fingers, and Carey watches, fascinated, as he retches water and bile into the bowl.

“You okay, dude?” she asks, and he gives her a shaky thumbs-up as a harried-looking healer hands her an icepack and a sling and informs her that the slight sprain should heal in a few days’ time, thanks to her body’s healing properties.

“No clerics?” she asks, and the healer shakes her head.

“They’re all out making rounds. With this bug and all, we’re spread so thin…”

Carey nods in understanding. Her shoulder isn’t anything a hot water bottle and a good massage can’t fix, so she thanks the healer and steps out of the infirmary. Briefly, she considers retiring to her quarters for the day, but it’s nearly lunchtime, and does she –

She does.

Carey is definitely sick and definitely queasy and she is definitely going to pack away an entire plate of spaghetti and meatballs. She thinks about how nauseous she’s gonna feel, how her body isn’t digesting any food right now, how her lunch is just gonna sit in her stomach, churning away, and a pulse of excitement shoots through her.

She has to force herself to eat, though it’s with more gusto this time. Taako doesn’t comment on the sling, just picks at his own meal, so it’s just Carey, forcing herself to swallow down small bites of spaghetti even as her throats keeps trying to close up, until he abruptly pushes back his chair and stands up.

“What are you –” she manages to ask before he vomits all over himself, the table, and his lunch. There’s no warning except for a quiet hiccup the first time, but he retches and brings up a second, equally large wave. Carey can only stare, but Avi grabs him by the shoulders and escorts him away once he finished gagging.

Several employees stop by to clean up the mess on the floor, and Carey’s not prepared for the sudden wave of nausea that washes through her, nor for the arousal that follows. She has to excuse herself quickly, taking off to the bathroom at full speed. Once there, she slams the stall door shut, taking hitching breaths as she rubs her churning belly with one hand.

As a general rule, she’s not into guys, so it’s not Taako or Johann puking exactly that gets her, it’s just – thinking about it being Killian vomiting that much, or maybe what it must have felt like –

Unconsciously, she slips her other hand into her pants, playing with herself as she presses on her lower stomach, enjoying the low gurgles and dull bursts of pain from each push. Despite herself, she manages to get off twice, and as she climaxes a second time, her stomach honest-to-god lurches, and she tastes bile in the back of her throat, and this alone is able to tip her over the edge for round three.

She’d promised to save her libido for Killian, and she has; even after shakily emerging from the bathroom, she’s still well aware of the throbbing between her legs – her nausea is doing a good job of that, especially once she returns to the cafeteria, orders a second plate of meatballs, and tries not to think what the sauce would look like if she vomited it up.

Afternoons are reserved for paperwork, which is good, because Carey is quickly becoming too nauseous to handle more than anything else. It’s a bit exciting – she’s queasy, nauseated, and nobody else knows that she wants to throw up so fucking bad. Her stomach is churning, gurgling so loudly that at one point Avi asks her if she’s feeling okay.

It seems like everybody is ill – even though she’s trying to concentrate, both on her work and on her sick stomach, Carey keeps catching bits and pieces of conversation about who else is down with the flu. Supposedly even the Director is sick, unable to leave her quarters.

At some point after lunch, she starts hiccuping, a process that upsets both her stomach and her shoulder. Hiccups aren’t impossible for someone like her, just rare, but she’s never experienced them as a product of nausea.

The dull cramps are near-constant now and increasing in strength; Carey can’t wait to go home and massage her aching stomach. As is, she slips a hand under her shirt to press on a particularly painful spot and surprised herself when the pressure forces up a small, squeaky burp.

“Wow,” Avi says from two desks down. “I didn’t know that Dragonborn could burp.”

“Me neither!” Carey says. Then: “Actually, I’m not feeling so hot. Mind if I scoot early?” This is part selfish desire on her part, part honest truth: she’s quickly feeling too ill to even stand upright, chills and fever taking her over by turns.

Avi agrees to do the last of her paperwork, and Carey starts the slow trek back to her quarters, both arms wrapped around her sloshing stomach.

The first thing Carey does when she gets home is strip. She’s kind of a no-shirt gal in the first place – she doesn’t even have breasts, there’s nothing to hide – but rules are rules, and “no shirt, no shoes, no service” applies on the moon.

Underneath her uniform, her stomach is massively bloated, distended over her waistband. Carey can’t get pregnant, but if she could, this is what she imagines it would look like. She runs a gentle but firm claw over the curve and is rewarded with another burp, this one longer and louder. A firm press yields a wetter belch and the beginning of a heave, and Carey abruptly stops, clapping a hand over her mouth in surprise.

She waits like that for a moment, expecting more nausea, but her stomach just cramps harder. Face growing hot, she changes into a pair of lace panties that Killian’s partial to, fetches a hot water bottle, and waits.

Thirty minutes later, she’s drenched in sweat, swallowing down increasing waves of nausea, and pressing the hot water bottle to her stomach when the door opens. Arousal courses through her, a pulsating warmth, and she’s swallowing down burps that taste of her last meal, choosing to nurse a bottle of water in the vain hopes that it’ll relieve some of the churning pressure in her belly.

Despite all this, she finds the strength in her to limp to the door, leaving the hot water bottle behind. Her girlfriend is covered in blood and sweat, but her eyes light up when she sees Carey, and she scoops her up and tosses her in the air the way they always do when one of them arrives home.

It’s a bad idea with the state of things, though, and Carey cries out as her stomach heaves and pain shoots through her bad arm. Killian quickly sets her on the floor, holding her at arms’ length.

“Babe, what’s wrong?”

Carey keeps her mouth closed until she’s sure that her throat will stop spasming with half-suppressed heaves, one hand pressed to the front of her snout. “I’m… not feeling so hot,” she confesses. “There’s a flu going around.” She shifts so that the bulge of her belly is visible to Killian, placing one hand on it suggestively. “Actually, I’m feeling really sick.”

“Holy shit,” Killian breathes, reaching out a blood-covered hand and quickly yanking it back, like Carey is too precious to touch like this. “Do you wanna…”

“Yes,” Carey breathes, taking Killian’s offered hand and standing up. “I’ve been waiting all fucking day, are you kidding me?”

“Okay! Okay, uh, lemme…” Killian rubs the back of her neck with one hand, thinking. “Lemme shower first, if you can wait that long? I’ll, um. Leave the bathroom door open if you need it.”

That must be a testament to how bad she looks, and a bolt of desire runs through Carey. “Okay, sounds good!”

Carey sits on the edge of the couch, twitching with nervous energy, but five minutes after the shower turns on, nausea swells in her belly again, and the way her throat tightens in an almost-gag makes her feel like the bathroom is genuinely the better option. She stumbles into a spot by the toilet, kneeling like she’s seen Killian do, staring into the water below. Saliva is pooling beneath her tongue, and she spits.

The shower turns off, and Killian steps out. “What are y– oh,” she says, expression softening. “Oh, jeez.”

“’M'okay,” Carey slurs, spitting again. “Kinda felt like I was gonna hurl for a second there.”

“Okay, can you – Are you good?”

Carey nods, not trusting herself to open her mouth.

“So do you wanna do this here or go to bed?” Killian asks

“Bed,” Carey says, but when Killian makes a motion to scoop her up again, she pushes her away. “No, no, I – think I’m gonna hmk! puke, don’t… I can walk.” She can, sorta, leaning against Killian, both arms wrapped around her heaving belly.

Usually, when they do this sorta thing on the rare occasions that Carey is sick, they wind up fooling around a bit, Killian soothing away the aches and pains, then collapsing into a heap to sleep. She assumes the position that she usually does, cross-legged on the bed, propped up against the headboard.

“So,” Killian says slowly. “You’re still feeling sick.” It’s a statement of fact, not a question, but Carey nods anyways. “What do you want to do?”

In response, Carey shifts over so that Killian can comfortably sit next to her. “Whatever – whatever you want,” she says, hiccuping slightly at the end of the sentence.

Killian leans in and swiftly kisses her. It’s always an awkward affair, considering the snout and the tusks, but they make it work, and by the end of it, Carey is giggling, which isn’t doing her stomach any favors.

“You should tell me about how you’re feeling,” she says, voice low.

“I’m – I’m really nauseous,” Carey says, voice wobbling a bit. “Like, I woke up, and my stomach felt off? Like kind of bubbly and gross, and I was already a little bit bloated?”

Killian slides a hand over Carey’s soft belly, fingers splayed out. The width of her hand is large enough that it covers her entire stomach, and Carey sighs as she feels the bubbles and churning under Killian’s hand. “Like that.”

Killian’s touch is enough to bring up one of the burps Carey’s been trying to hold down, and she lets out a muffled “Urp!”

A blush spreads across Killian’s face. “Jeez, babe.”

“Yeah, and then there’s – BRUUURP! that,” Carey says. “Been holding them in for you.”

“Let ‘em out,” Killian says, pressing in a little on Carey’s stomach and visibly enjoying the resulting gurgles.

“Yeah, so, get this – I hurt my arm in training 'cause my stomach was cramping super bad, and you’ll never believe what the infirmary was like…” Carey started telling her about her day, the story intermingled with belches and moans as the pressure in her stomach grows more, not less, painful. At one point, she has to stop completely and muffle a series of burps into the crook of Killian’s neck, each one bringing her closer and closer to gagging.

Killian kisses her again, and then she does gag against her girlfriend’s lips, her tongue arching against the roof of her mouth as the nausea washes over her.

When Killian pulls back with a self-satisfied smile, there are thick strands of saliva connecting their mouths. “Hot.”

“I – I know, right?” Carey’s throat keeps hitching with tiny half-gags, and when Killian shifts, helps her so that she’s lying on her back, facing the ceiling, she thinks, maybe now she’ll help me bring something up, but, much to her surprise, Killian starts with her injured shoulder, pressing featherlight kisses to the throbbing joint. Her strong hands press against the bruise, soothing away the ache that Carey hasn’t even noticed over the pain in her stomach.

Still, she squirms uncomfortably, mindful of the way her stomach sloshes. “Babe,” she moans. “I’m… feelin’ really sick. Please –”

Carey breaks off with a gasp as Killian kisses a path from her throat down to her underbelly, drawing a few light burps from her lips. She slips a hand between Carey’s legs, pausing to marvel at how wet she is already, and uses her other hand to rub her belly.

“I’m – hrmf!” Carey’s stomach lurches, and she dry-heaves. “I’m real close.”

To vomiting or coming, she doesn’t know, but Killian nods, shifting Carey so that she’s sitting in her lap, resting her chin between the horns on either side of her head. She keeps one hand on her belly still, and Carey’s slick enough that she easily can slip two fingers inside her with little testing.

Killian quickly establishes a rhythm – not fast and not slow – and Carey shivers as she ghosts the pad of her thumb over her clit, pressing light kisses to the back of Carey’s sweaty neck. “Is this okay?” she asks, massaging her stomach with her free hand.

“Y-yeah, I just –mmMURP! – Can you press harder, mayb–” Carey is cut off by another sickening retch, and she lets her mouth hang open, drooling over the soft swell of her distended belly.

Killian doesn’t need to be told twice, increasing the pressure on Carey’s stomach, causing her to gag several times, tasting bile in the back of her throat. She’s shaking with fever and quivering under Killian’s affections, her legs trembling as Killian picks up speed.

Killian pushes on her stomach, and Carey barely has any warning before she climaxes, head snapping back and keening as a wave of nausea washes over her. She doesn’t even have time to take a breath before Killian pushes again, harder this time, and she retches hard, a torrent of vomit splattering onto the bedspread.

“Holy shit,” Killian breathes, and Carey chokes on another retch. The second wave brings up even more than the first, but she’s too weak to even lift her head, so she just vomits onto herself, sending a wave of chunky puke down her front, forming a warm pile in her lap.

Killian’s pressing soft kisses to the back of her neck and she stays like that for a moment, head bowed, gurgling retches issuing from her throat, spitting threads of thick saliva into her lap. She’s shaking still, Killian teasing her through the fabric of her underwear, drawing tiny aftershocks out of her.

“Think you have any more in you?” Killian asks after a moment, removing her hand from Carey’s belly.

“I – yeah. Yeah,” she breathes, replacing Killian’s hand with her own. Her stomach is still churning and gurgling, whatever food she has left sitting too heavily to be comfortable. She grits her teeth as another cramp runs through her.

“Wanna – y'know. Puke on me?” Killian asks breathlessly. In response, Carey shifts so that she’s facing her, pressing a quick kiss to her lips but drawing back almost immediately as vomit rises in her throat.

It’s more difficult this time without any pressure on her bloated, aching belly, and she barely manages to bring up a small mouthful of vomit before a series of dry retches scrape her throat.

Killian reaches towards her, presumably to help out, but Carey shakes her head miserably. She wants to get it all up and she wants to do it herself, so she pushes Killian into a lying position, leveraging herself above her on shaky arms.

Her stomach really doesn’t like that, and Carey urps up a few more mouthfuls of vomit. She closes her eyes, lets nausea wash over her in sickening waves, and then gags once, twice, and barely has time to part her lips before her belly lurches and a massive gush of puke splatters onto Killian’s chest.

She retches a few more times, bringing up thinner, more watery streams as Killian gasps, and then collapses next to her girlfriend, panting.

“Done?” Killian asks, pressing her hand to Carey’s belly suggestively.

Carey burps, not even bothering to raise her head. “I… I don’t know. I think so?”

“Wanna shower and find out?”

To no one’s surprise, Carey finds that she’s very partial to that idea.

Under the warm water, Killian teases another orgasm out of Carey, and is well on her way to another when the nausea returns. Carey’s leaning against her girlfriend, face pressed into the crook of her neck – her legs are too shaky to hold her up, and when she’d tried to slip a hand between Killian’s legs to return the favor, Killian just shook her head, saying that tonight was about her.

She barely has time to warn, “Gonna puke,” when her throat contracts and she retches up a wave of watery vomit all down Killian’s back. Her stomach heaves against Killian’s, slippery and wet, and she finds herself emptily gagging and burping again and again until she tilts her head up and drinks deeply from the showerhead.

The water barely has time to slosh uncomfortably inside her stomach before Carey burps wetly and it comes gushing out in two massive waves.

“There,” she says once her stomach finally feels empty, pressing herself up against Killian. “Now I’m done.”

[wsmith215]

Live Boxing is Back: Shakur Stevenson and Jessie Magdaleno to Headline June Cards

Live Boxing is Back: Shakur Stevenson and Jessie Magdaleno to Headline June Cards

Posted on 06/01/2020

LAS VEGAS (June 1, 2020) — It can all be summarized in three long-awaited words:boxing is back.   Top Rank on ESPN returns Tuesday, June 9, as WBO featherweight world champion Shakur Stevenson will take on Puerto Rican contender Felix “La Sombra” Caraballo in a 10-round super featherweight bout. Stevenson-Caraballo will kick off a blockbuster June boxing lineup, which will include multiple cards each week on the ESPN family of networks. Specifics on ESPN platforms and tune-in times to be announced soon.   Stevenson-Caraballo will be the first of multiple June events to take place at the MGM Grand Conference Center Grand Ballroom. The action will continue Thursday, June 11 when former junior featherweight world champion and top featherweight contender Jessie Magdaleno faces Dominican puncher Yenifel Vicente in a 10-rounder.   These events will be closed to both the public and the media, as only essential fight camp members and event staff will be permitted on site.   “I would like to thank MGM Resorts and the Nevada State Athletic Commission for their assistance in helping to bring back world-class boxing,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “We are all looking forward to a spectacular summer of live boxing across ESPN platforms. Shakur is among the best young talents I’ve ever promoted, and he is going to put on a show on June 9.”   ESPN’s Top Rank play-by-play commentator, Joe Tessitore, will be calling the action from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., studios.  Andre Ward (analyst), former #1 pound-for-pound two-division world titleholder and 2004 Olympic gold medalist, Tim Bradley (analyst), former two-division world titleholder and boxing insider Mark Kriegel, will join from their home studios. Boxing reporter Bernardo Osuna will be on-location in Las Vegas.    June 9  MGM Grand Conference Center Grand Ballroom Main Event Shakur Stevenson (13-0, 7 KOs) vs. Felix Caraballo (13-1-2, 9 KOs) 10 rounds, Super Featherweight   2016 U.S. Olympic silver medalist Stevenson, the pride of Newark, New Jersey, is testing the waters at super featherweight following his featherweight title-winning effort over Joet Gonzalez last October. He went 4-0 in 2019, flashing the skills and athleticism that have many experts pegging him as a future pound-for-pound superstar. Caraballo has won five fights in a row and will be fighting for the first time away from Puerto Rico.   “I can’t wait to get back in the ring and return live boxing to ESPN,” Stevenson said. “I was really disappointed when my fight got canceled in March, and I said then that I wanted to be one of the first fights back. I stayed in shape so when that call came, I was ready. The atmosphere might be different on June 9, but I’ve fought in unique situations all over the world before so it won’t affect me. Regardless of who’s in the building, you’ll see another great performance, and I’ll remind everyone why I’m the best young fighter in boxing.”    Co-Feature Mikaela Mayer (12-0, 5 KOs) vs. Helen Joseph (17-4-2, 10 KOs) 10 rounds, Super Featherweight   Mayer, Stevenson’s 2016 Olympic teammate, has in short order become one of the faces of female boxing. The Los Angeles native is on track for a world title shot this year, but she must first defeat Joseph, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, who is coming off a competitive decision loss to former lightweight queen Delfine Persoon.   “I’m incredibly grateful and excited to be fighting on the first boxing card since the pandemic shutdown,” Mayer said. “I was set to travel to New York City for a fight March 17, but the quarantine went into effect the day before I was supposed to fly out. So, despite having a long, hard 10-week camp, I was unable to perform and showcase the work I had put in. I feel like I’ve leveled up my skill set, and I’m eager to show that on June 9 and capture my 13th win. It’s also great to see ESPN and Top Rank having a woman headline their first card back. I have been in camp with Shakur, and we’re ready to bring boxing back to television with exciting wins.”   Undercard   Undefeated heavyweight knockout artists Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson (3-0, 3 KOs), from Toledo, Ohio, will face Johnnie Langston (8-2, 3 KOs) in a six-rounder. Anderson recently served as Tyson Fury’s chief sparring partner for the Deontay Wilder rematch.   Guido “The Gladiator” Vianello (6-0, 6 KOs), a 2016 Italian Olympian, will fight Don Haynesworth (16-3-1, 14 KOs) in a six-rounder at heavyweight.   Robeisy Ramirez (2-1, 2 KOs), the two-time Olympic gold medalist from Cuba who bested Stevenson in the 2016 gold medal match, will seek his third straight win as a pro in a six-round featherweight bout against Yeuri Andujar (5-3, 3 KOs).   In a middleweight tilt set for six or four rounds, Calvin Metcalf (10-3-1, 3 KOs) will face Atlanta native Quatavious Cash (11-2, 7 KOs).   June 11 MGM Grand Conference Center Grand Ballroom Main Event Jessie Magdaleno (27-1, 18 KOs) vs. Yenifel Vicente (36-4-2, 28 KOs) 10 rounds, Featherweight   Top-ranked featherweight contender Magdaleno has defeated veterans Rafael Rivera and Rico Ramos since moving up from the junior featherweight ranks. The Las Vegas native will be fighting in his hometown for the first time since he dethroned four-weight kingpin Nonito Donaire in November 2016. Vicente, the author of numerous highlight-reel knockouts, is 11-1 with 11 knockouts in his last 12 fights.   “It feels great to be one of the first fighters back,” Magdaleno said. “I’m excited to get back in the ring, especially after my last fight was canceled. I didn’t get discouraged. I am even more ready now. I can’t wait to showcase my talent to the ESPN audience. What better way to show that the champ is back?”   Co-Feature Adam Lopez (13-2, 6 KOs) vs. Louie Coria (12-2, 7 KOs) 10 rounds, vacant NABF Featherweight title   Lopez, a native of Glendale, California, is back following his seesaw throwdown against Oscar Valdez last November, a bout he took on a day’s notice after Valdez’s original opponent missed weight. Despite a 3.5-pound weight disadvantage, he knocked down Valdez in the second round before being stopped in the seventh. The “Glendale Gatti” will have a tough task in Coria, a Robert Garcia-trained fighter who has won three straight since a split decision loss at super featherweight.   “I will put a show on for all the fight fans around the world and show them what I’m made of,” Lopez said. “The Valdez fight was an incredible experience. I’m ready to get what’s left of 2020 going and move toward a title shot.  The whole team is working hard and preparing well. Tune in. I’m going to put on a show.”   Undercard   Bryan Lua (5-0, 2 KOs), from California’s Central Valley, will return following a more than two-year layoff against Dan Murray (5-3, 0 KOs) in a six-rounder at lightweight.   Bantamweight prospect Gabriel Muratalla (2-0, 2 KOs) will make his 2020 debut in a four-rounder versus Fernando Robles (2-2, 0 KOs).   In a battle of unbeaten California-based lightweights scheduled for six or four rounds, Eric Mondragon (3-0, 2 KOs) will face Mike Sanchez (6-0, 2 KOs).  

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[bluebuzzmusic]

Bassnectar Sets The Record Straight After Artist Apologizes For Leaking His NYE Flyer Art

Everyone makes mistakes; and it’s important when viewing those mistakes as a superior or client to be able to take context into account and act accordingly, and not as a bully. Artist Chris Dyer was recently commissioned by Bassnectar’s team to create a flyer for an upcoming New Year’s Eve show, and the artist shared the concept sketch on his Instagram Stories. The information about the show wasn’t public yet, and, without doing so intentionally, Dyer still ended up leaking the show.

How Bassnectar responded shows a lot about his personality and how he responds to these situations. Rather than rolling with the punches (but still reprimanding or even firing Dyer as he may have deserved), he resorted to banal insults about Dyer’s work.

Dyer later apologized for his actions, though ultimately the apology given was rather empty and directionless. “So if I’ve hurt somebody I considered a friend,” Dyer wrote, “I sincerely apologize.”

Bassnectar, too, later set the record straight, admitting that he regretted his outburst, but challenging anyone in that situation to not act in a similar fashion. “Sorry to anyone who was disappointed to think that I’m not a human and I won’t react when someone screws us over,” Bassnectar wrote.

Looking over these tweets, apologies, and exchanges, it’s easy to see how both sides could be condemned for the actions. Ultimately, Bassnectar’s NYE show will still go on and Dyer will continue to make art, and neither will be worse for wear. But hopefully this situation has offered lessons to them both that they can take into other areas of their lives.

If you missed the comments he is referring too. You can reference them here as some have now been deleted: pic.twitter.com/8fA2HZFbBp

— Festive Owl (@TheFestiveOwl) September 3, 2018

I made a humble mistake last week, so I’d like to explain myself and give my public apologies to a friend I might of hurt. Very recently I was asked to do a NYE event poster for the popular American dj @bassnectar . I met him 10 years ago, at a 200 person show in Montreal. He said he liked my art then and I had fun dancing to his set. Though I can’t honestly say I follow his music (Im more into collecting old vinyls), I’ve enjoyed dancing at his shows over the years and like him as a person when we’ve interacted. So I was stoked to do this poster for him! I did my first concept sketch right away and shared it on my story posts, as everything else I do. Soon after his manager calls to yell at me, as I had ruined some kind of surprise announcement I was unaware of. He never informed me about this (or made me sign a non-disclosure contract) when we discussed the poster. Usually people who hire me to do a poster appreciate when I help them get the word out. I have never been asked to keep a lineup or location secret. Since the manager didn’t ask me that neither, I obliviously shared my sketch. It was done with no malice, or as a leak to harm them, I just didn’t know about their announcement plots, stuff I don’t pay attention to in my busy life. So I was bummed to get yelled at and dismissed from the gig. But was extra sad to hear Lorin say mean things about me and my art on Twittter. I honestly don’t understand why the location/lineup of a show has to be kept secret from their fans, but I understand that they wanted to be the ones doing the announcement themselves. So if I’ve hurt somebody I considered a friend, I sincerely apologize. Harming fellow artists is the last thing I want to do. I wish they’d let me make it up to them by doing the sickest nye poster ever, but I understand they are mad at me and feel they need to punish me for my mistake. With all the horrible things going on our planet right now, I wish a show announcement coming out early, wouldn’t be such a big deal or a source for people to get so mad at fellow creators, but I accept their process and wish them the best! In the end this is just music n art to uplift the people, no need for drama or beef

A post shared by Chris Dyer (@chris_dyer) on Sep 3, 2018 at 7:53am PDT

pic.twitter.com/eXOJG09sAS

— Bassnectar (@bassnectar) September 3, 2018

  Photo via Rukes.com

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Bassnectar Sets The Record Straight After Artist Apologizes For Leaking His NYE Flyer Art

source https://www.youredm.com/2018/09/04/bassnectar-sets-the-record-straight-after-artist-apologizes-for-leaking-his-nye-flyer-art/

[frontproofmedia]

Live Boxing is Back: Shakur Stevenson and Jessie Magdaleno to Headline June Cards

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Published: June 01, 2020

LAS VEGAS (June 1, 2020) — It can all be summarized in three long-awaited words: boxing is back.   Top Rank on ESPN returns Tuesday, June 9, as WBO featherweight world champion Shakur Stevenson will take on Puerto Rican contender Felix “La Sombra” Caraballo in a 10-round super featherweight bout. Stevenson-Caraballo will kick off a blockbuster June boxing lineup, which will include multiple cards each week on the ESPN family of networks. Specifics on ESPN platforms and tune-in times to be announced soon.   Stevenson-Caraballo will be the first of multiple June events to take place at the MGM Grand Conference Center Grand Ballroom. The action will continue Thursday, June 11 when former junior featherweight world champion and top featherweight contender Jessie Magdaleno faces Dominican puncher Yenifel Vicente in a 10-rounder.   These events will be closed to both the public and the media, as only essential fight camp members and event staff will be permitted on site.   “I would like to thank MGM Resorts and the Nevada State Athletic Commission for their assistance in helping to bring back world-class boxing,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “We are all looking forward to a spectacular summer of live boxing across ESPN platforms. Shakur is among the best young talents I’ve ever promoted, and he is going to put on a show on June 9.”   ESPN’s Top Rank play-by-play commentator, Joe Tessitore, will be calling the action from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., studios.  Andre Ward (analyst), former #1 pound-for-pound two-division world titleholder and 2004 Olympic gold medalist, Tim Bradley (analyst), former two-division world titleholder and boxing insider Mark Kriegel, will join from their home studios. Boxing reporter Bernardo Osuna will be on-location in Las Vegas.    June 9  MGM Grand Conference Center Grand Ballroom Main Event Shakur Stevenson (13-0, 7 KOs) vs. Felix Caraballo (13-1-2, 9 KOs) 10 rounds, Super Featherweight   2016 U.S. Olympic silver medalist Stevenson, the pride of Newark, New Jersey, is testing the waters at super featherweight following his featherweight title-winning effort over Joet Gonzalez last October. He went 4-0 in 2019, flashing the skills and athleticism that have many experts pegging him as a future pound-for-pound superstar. Caraballo has won five fights in a row and will be fighting for the first time away from Puerto Rico.   “I can’t wait to get back in the ring and return live boxing to ESPN,” Stevenson said. “I was really disappointed when my fight got canceled in March, and I said then that I wanted to be one of the first fights back. I stayed in shape so when that call came, I was ready. The atmosphere might be different on June 9, but I’ve fought in unique situations all over the world before so it won’t affect me. Regardless of who’s in the building, you’ll see another great performance, and I’ll remind everyone why I’m the best young fighter in boxing.”    Co-Feature Mikaela Mayer (12-0, 5 KOs) vs. Helen Joseph (17-4-2, 10 KOs) 10 rounds, Super Featherweight   Mayer, Stevenson’s 2016 Olympic teammate, has in short order become one of the faces of female boxing. The Los Angeles native is on track for a world title shot this year, but she must first defeat Joseph, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, who is coming off a competitive decision loss to former lightweight queen Delfine Persoon.   “I'm incredibly grateful and excited to be fighting on the first boxing card since the pandemic shutdown,” Mayer said. “I was set to travel to New York City for a fight March 17, but the quarantine went into effect the day before I was supposed to fly out. So, despite having a long, hard 10-week camp, I was unable to perform and showcase the work I had put in. I feel like I’ve leveled up my skill set, and I'm eager to show that on June 9 and capture my 13th win. It’s also great to see ESPN and Top Rank having a woman headline their first card back. I have been in camp with Shakur, and we’re ready to bring boxing back to television with exciting wins.”   Undercard   Undefeated heavyweight knockout artists Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson (3-0, 3 KOs), from Toledo, Ohio, will face Johnnie Langston (8-2, 3 KOs) in a six-rounder. Anderson recently served as Tyson Fury’s chief sparring partner for the Deontay Wilder rematch.   Guido “The Gladiator” Vianello (6-0, 6 KOs), a 2016 Italian Olympian, will fight Don Haynesworth (16-3-1, 14 KOs) in a six-rounder at heavyweight.   Robeisy Ramirez (2-1, 2 KOs), the two-time Olympic gold medalist from Cuba who bested Stevenson in the 2016 gold medal match, will seek his third straight win as a pro in a six-round featherweight bout against Yeuri Andujar (5-3, 3 KOs).   In a middleweight tilt set for six or four rounds, Calvin Metcalf (10-3-1, 3 KOs) will face Atlanta native Quatavious Cash (11-2, 7 KOs).   June 11 MGM Grand Conference Center Grand Ballroom Main Event Jessie Magdaleno (27-1, 18 KOs) vs. Yenifel Vicente (36-4-2, 28 KOs) 10 rounds, Featherweight   Top-ranked featherweight contender Magdaleno has defeated veterans Rafael Rivera and Rico Ramos since moving up from the junior featherweight ranks. The Las Vegas native will be fighting in his hometown for the first time since he dethroned four-weight kingpin Nonito Donaire in November 2016. Vicente, the author of numerous highlight-reel knockouts, is 11-1 with 11 knockouts in his last 12 fights.   “It feels great to be one of the first fighters back,” Magdaleno said. “I’m excited to get back in the ring, especially after my last fight was canceled. I didn’t get discouraged. I am even more ready now. I can’t wait to showcase my talent to the ESPN audience. What better way to show that the champ is back?”   Co-Feature Adam Lopez (13-2, 6 KOs) vs. Louie Coria (12-2, 7 KOs) 10 rounds, vacant NABF Featherweight title   Lopez, a native of Glendale, California, is back following his seesaw throwdown against Oscar Valdez last November, a bout he took on a day’s notice after Valdez’s original opponent missed weight. Despite a 3.5-pound weight disadvantage, he knocked down Valdez in the second round before being stopped in the seventh. The “Glendale Gatti” will have a tough task in Coria, a Robert Garcia-trained fighter who has won three straight since a split decision loss at super featherweight.   “I will put a show on for all the fight fans around the world and show them what I’m made of,” Lopez said. “The Valdez fight was an incredible experience. I’m ready to get what’s left of 2020 going and move toward a title shot.  The whole team is working hard and preparing well. Tune in. I’m going to put on a show.”   Undercard   Bryan Lua (5-0, 2 KOs), from California’s Central Valley, will return following a more than two-year layoff against Dan Murray (5-3, 0 KOs) in a six-rounder at lightweight.   Bantamweight prospect Gabriel Muratalla (2-0, 2 KOs) will make his 2020 debut in a four-rounder versus Fernando Robles (2-2, 0 KOs).   In a battle of unbeaten California-based lightweights scheduled for six or four rounds, Eric Mondragon (3-0, 2 KOs) will face Mike Sanchez (6-0, 2 KOs).

[wineanddinosaur]

Next Round: Exploring the Origins of Del Maguey Mezcal with Ron Cooper

On this episode of “Next Round,” host Zach Geballe chats with Ron Cooper, founder of Del Maguey mezcal. Cooper discusses his journey in creating one of the early players in the mezcal space, which began with a life-changing trip to Oaxaca in 1986, where he tried mezcal for the very first time.

Mezcal’s rising popularity, as well as Cooper’s adoration for the spirit, prompted him to found Del Maguey in 1995. The popular brand is now known for offering single-village expressions of mezcal, which Cooper says enables small producers and their families to thrive.

Curious to browse Del Maguey’s lineup? Learn more at delmaguey.com.

Listen Online

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

Or Check out the Conversation Here

Zach Geballe: From Seattle, Wash., I’m Zach Geballe, and this is a “VinePair Podcast,” “Next Round” conversation. We’re bringing you these episodes in between our regular podcasts so that we can explore a range of issues and stories in the drinks world. And today, I’ve got the pleasure of speaking with Ron Cooper, the founder of Del Maguey. Ron, thanks so much for your time.

Ron Cooper: Hey, Zach, it’s great to be on air with you, and thanks to VinePair.

Z: I can’t start anywhere but with this question: What were some of your first experiences with mezcal, if you remember them, I guess?

R: Oh, I do. I was fortunate to grow up in Southern California in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. I was there through ’82. However, during that time, life in Southern California, our nearest neighbor was Mexico. As an art student about to graduate, a group of us went down to Baja California in Ensenada, and we went to Hussong’s Cantina and we camped on the beach for five days. I had the opportunity to sip a not-very-good mezcal, but it was smoky and interesting. Each day for five days, I went back, and that was my preferred sipping. That was even before I tasted tequila. After that, I kept going back to Baja, camping out in these beautiful bays, and we would always bring back a bottle of some not-so-good mezcal to Southern California and share it with friends. Those were my earliest experiences.

Z: And when you were bringing it back to Southern California, were the people around you even at all aware of what mezcal was? Or was it basically, “Here, just drink this?”

R: Well, I’m not going to mention any brand names, but everyone’s reaction was slapping their forehead and going, “Oh, my God, I had that when I was in college. I can’t tell you how bad I was hung over.” That was the reaction, except for a few cool people that were into drinking good wine and began to explore different spirits. It was a unique spirit, and everyone wanted to try it.

Z: OK, so you have this experience earlier on in your life. You probably remain interested or are at least a consumer of mezcal. At what point does it go from being a thing that you enjoy drinking, to “Here’s a business I want to take on?” Was there anything, in particular, that prompted that?

R: Absolutely. In 1986, some art patron friends took myself and my wife on a trip down to Mexico City, Puebla, and Oaxaca. I led the trip because I had driven down in the early ‘70s from L.A. to Panama and found Mexico to be really interesting. We went to drink pulque in Mexico City and in Puebla, but when we got to Oaxaca, we were stopped by the Federales at a checkpoint. “What are you doing here? Where are you going? We’re protecting you. Is this taxi safe, or are you kidnapped?” “No, no, no, no. We’re here to drink a little mezcal and celebrate New Year’s.” They replied, “Mezcal?! My uncle makes mezcal in the mountains.” I said, “Really, can I get some?” He said, “Yeah, he’s coming down tomorrow with some liters. If you come back, I’ll have some for you.” Well, it was mind-blowing. It was so different from the earlier stuff that I had ever tasted. It was just incredible, so I bought a couple liters. I brought it home and I started tasting it with friends. Everyone went crazy for it. The chef, Mark Miller, who started Coyote Cafe and Southwest cuisine, said, “Man, when can you bring some more of this in? I want it on my back bar.” Steve Wallace, who is a great wine and spirits purveyor in L.A., did the same thing. He said, “Man, this is really something. You ought to bring this in.” In 1990, after I had a couple great successes with large bronze commissions, I had a lot of money that I could afford to go anywhere I wanted to go. The first thing in my head was Japan. Well, then this little voice said, “No, no, no, no, you’re going to Oaxaca. You’re going to make art with local artisans.” And when I was there, I went out every three days for three months out to the dirt roads, and I asked people, where’s the best? Donde esta mejor? They pointed their fingers and I couldn’t understand Zapotec, but I just drove patiently down a dirt road with no signs until I saw a big grinding wheel out in the field. And I’d asked the farmer, “How do you do this?” Invariably, they would come back with an empty Coke bottle, brandy bottle, or rum bottle, and they’d fill it with their mezcal. I brought it back, and my friends in Oaxaca, the weavers I was working with, would go, “Where did you get that?” It was jaw-dropping. When I crossed the border to come back to the U.S., I had a 5-gallon wedding mezcal and a big bamboo basket on the side of my truck. The Texas official says, “You can’t bring that in here.” And I went, “What? I’ll pay any duty.” They said, “No, no, no, a U.S. citizen is allowed 1 liter to cross the border.” I had to pour out the majority of this 5-gallon super wedding mezcal from Chichicapa, tearfully. I decided right then and there, no one would ever tell me I couldn’t bring mezcal into the United States. In order to make it available for me and my friends, I had to get a license to export from Mexico and a license to import into the U.S., and I did.

Z: With this early part of the story that I’ve read about, I think there’s a certain romanticism of this idea of exploring and finding the best mezcal. However, when it came time to bring that into the U.S. and start, frankly, trying to explain it to consumers — as you said before, there were some well-placed people who understood the appeal. How did you even explain the product? How did you set it apart from, as you described, people’s college hangover experiences? What was that early messaging like?

R: I’ll tell you in a second, but I think it’s time for us to have a little sip together. What do you think?

Z: Oh, I’ll be honest, Ron. I had already started, but I’m with it.

R: I’m pouring a little bit of Las Milpas. A mezcal from the San Dionisio Ocotepec region in a place which is just a rancho out in the country, and it’s called The Cornfields. So here’s to you and everyone listening.

Z: Cheers.

R: All right, so how did I explain it? Well, the first thing that happened was when I got back in 1990, Steve Wallace brought a writer who had just returned from Poland, writing and studying the vodkas of Poland. Steve Wallace came out from L.A. with his girlfriend and this writer, and we spent two days sipping through 28 different single-village mezcals that I had brought back and collected during this time. Fortunately for me, the 5-gallon wedding mezcal was a sacrifice, and it saved me from the customs officials going through the back of my pickup with three months’ of art, pottery, sculpture, weaving, furniture, just a load of stuff that I had accumulated. And these other 28 samples were all down, buried safely underneath a bunch of stuff, so we spent two days tasting. And of course these guys spread the word to their friends that they had this incredible experience of never before tasted single-village mezcals. When I actually started to travel to different states and hook up with different distributors, they would take me into a bar or restaurant, and I always found that chefs had the palate that immediately realized what this was, how unique this was. And then bartenders. I started with chefs and then migrated to bartenders and — oh, there are some funny stories, but I don’t want to take up all your time.

Z: Well, one story would be quite welcome, if you have just one.

R: All right. St. Louis, Missouri. A young salesperson takes me to a restaurant and bar. The owner comes up to the front of the bar. I have a bag with three or four different mezcals, wonderful woven palm fiber baskets, and little sippy cups. And he takes one look at this stuff and he says, “I’m not going to taste that.” And he goes, “Hey, Juan!” He shouts back to the kitchen and Juan, the dishwasher, comes out, and he goes, “Juan, taste this.” Juan sips it and goes, “Oh, mezcal. I don’t like mezcal. I like tequila.” And then people started hearing about it. Sommeliers, like yourself, started spreading the word. Jimmy Yeager in Aspen invited me in 1998 to my first Aspen Food and Wine Classic, which was international. We had a table and I was pouring mezcal. People were sipping it and going, “Oh my God, this is incredible.” I’ve done 20 years of Aspen Food and Wine Classic. Also, Jimmy Yeager immediately made mezcal front and center on his bar. My buddy Steve Olson, under the table, everywhere he went, carried a flask of Tobala with him, and he did wine education and spirits education. But the word got out and everyone knew that he would go outside, take a break, have a sip from this magic flask, and everyone started following it. So Steve Olson, a.k.a. wine geek, now a.k.a. Maguey geek, was huge in terms of turning people on. That was it.

Z: Gotcha. I definitely understand how that word of mouth and testimonials from professionals helped pave the way. Now, you talk about mezcal to people after a number of years of it being more and more understood, more and more widely available, with a lot more brands and producers available in the states. When you talk about mezcal to people in the trade or to consumers, is it a different conversation than it was 20 years ago?

R: Oh, there are so many people that are knowledgeable about mezcal now. It’s incredible. I think the worm is dead. I think I killed the worm. And then mezcal used to be misspelled as “mescal” because of the Webster dictionary. I think I’ve cured that, too, and spelled it properly with a z. There’s so much education, so much experience, so many other people actually bringing good mezcal to the U.S. or to the world, to Europe, Asia, and Australia. It’s amazing, so I really don’t have to convince anybody that mezcal is worth sipping anymore.

Z: The thing that you mentioned before is that Del Maguey has always been, I think, in large part focused on some of these single-village expressions. Was that always the idea as opposed to, perhaps, individual species of agave? Or both? I don’t know, I guess I think about the ways you can classify mezcal in a couple of different directions. Is it just that the villages were the places you were visiting, and that made the most sense as to how you organized the portfolio, I guess?

R: Well, there’s a famous Mexican dicho, or saying, that you don’t find mezcal, mezcal finds you. What I’m most proud of is enabling these small, single-village producers and their families. They are so proud of their tradition of their fathers and their grandfathers and their great-grandfathers, their ancestors. And when I started, mezcal really didn’t leave the villages. It was just made for rituals, births, funerals, weddings, and feast days. They don’t drink cocktails. They drink during fiestas. They sip during fiestas. If you happen to drink a lot and get pretty loaded, they consider it getting closer to the gods. For the first 17 years, I personally paid for the honor of being in this deep traditional culture, and then it started paying me back. Basically, just being able to be with these people and participate in their fiestas and in their cultures and to watch them when I just had a little money, utilize that money. I never told anyone what to do with it, but they knew exactly what they wanted to do, and I’ve watched these families benefit in a gigantic way. Bringing sons back from the U.S. from picking grapes or roofing, to actually become great mezcal producers, palenqueros themselves. In the most remote village of Santo Domingo Albarradas, Esperidon sent two daughters down to Oaxaca to the capital. One daughter shopped and kept house for the other daughter who went to college and became the first college graduate, the first woman attorney ever in this village. The first high school graduate in this village. So just enabling these people and watching them develop has been miraculous for me. It’s been just a beautiful, beautiful experience.

Z: Very cool. And I’m curious to you, one last question for you Ron, if you don’t mind. I’m wondering, as you look back and then look forward, do you see there is a continued interest and growth in mezcal? Do you see it as more — as I see it — these very special, very distinctive, and unique expressions of place and the agave plants themselves? What do you see going forward?

R: The majority of the positive is small people getting involved and sharing. Bringing out wonderful varietals, wonderful expressions, because there are so many different varieties. The hand of the maker is huge. Altitude and terroir are important as well. The vocabulary of mezcal is closest to good wine. I think that is the future. It’s never going to slow down. There are regions where the denomination of origin is not allowed just because of politics. There are so many small producers, I think that will eventually find its way to be justified so that everyone has the ability to export and share. Then there’s the other end, which is giant corporations and famous people jumping in, just getting a brand and not knowing really what this is all about. We made a partnership four years ago with Pernod Ricard, because they were powerful enough to help us preserve the tradition and culture of mezcal. That’s where we’re at. We’re just continuing. I’m going back down in June with our team, and there are a couple of places that I forgot to go up the river, go up to the dirt road. I had tasted this unbelievable mezcal in a little store on a Sunday morning down in a gully on the way to Miahuatlàn. And I got to go up that road because it’s been 26 years, but I have to go up that road and see who that is that was making that flavor. Taste memory is amazing, and you never forget a good taste.

Z: Well, I think that’s really inspiring. I’m glad that you still feel that there are things to explore and discover. It continues to feed the whole romance and the notion of mezcal and this category that those of us who maybe don’t get to travel to Oaxaca all that often, or ever, can still explore through these bottles. Well, Ron, thank you so much for your time. Really appreciate it. Pleasure hearing from you about this story. And I look forward to seeing what you find up those rivers and roads as you continue to travel.

R: I’ll tell you what, if I find anything new on this trip in June, Zach, you’ll get an empty Coke bottle full of it.

Z: Oh, perfect. I love that idea. That’s fantastic, thank you.

R: Thank you.

Thanks so much for listening to the “VinePair Podcast.” If you love this show as much as we love making it, then please give us a rating or review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever it is you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show.

Now for the credits. “VinePair” is produced and recorded in New York City and in Seattle, Wash., by myself and Zach Geballe, who does all the editing and loves to get the credit. Also, I would love to give a special shout-out to my VinePair co-founder, Josh Malin, for helping make all this possible and also to Keith Beavers, VinePair tasting director, who is additionally a producer on the show. I also want to, of course, thank every other member of the VinePair team who are instrumental in all of the ideas that go into making the show every week. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you again.

The article Next Round: Exploring the Origins of Del Maguey Mezcal with Ron Cooper appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/next-round-ron-cooper-del-maguey-mezcal/

[johnboothus]

Next Round: Exploring the Origins of Del Maguey Mezcal with Ron Cooper

On this episode of “Next Round,” host Zach Geballe chats with Ron Cooper, founder of Del Maguey mezcal. Cooper discusses his journey in creating one of the early players in the mezcal space, which began with a life-changing trip to Oaxaca in 1986, where he tried mezcal for the very first time.

Mezcal’s rising popularity, as well as Cooper’s adoration for the spirit, prompted him to found Del Maguey in 1995. The popular brand is now known for offering single-village expressions of mezcal, which Cooper says enables small producers and their families to thrive.

Curious to browse Del Maguey’s lineup? Learn more at delmaguey.com.

Listen Online

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

Or Check out the Conversation Here

Zach Geballe: From Seattle, Wash., I’m Zach Geballe, and this is a “VinePair Podcast,” “Next Round” conversation. We’re bringing you these episodes in between our regular podcasts so that we can explore a range of issues and stories in the drinks world. And today, I’ve got the pleasure of speaking with Ron Cooper, the founder of Del Maguey. Ron, thanks so much for your time.

Ron Cooper: Hey, Zach, it’s great to be on air with you, and thanks to VinePair.

Z: I can’t start anywhere but with this question: What were some of your first experiences with mezcal, if you remember them, I guess?

R: Oh, I do. I was fortunate to grow up in Southern California in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. I was there through ’82. However, during that time, life in Southern California, our nearest neighbor was Mexico. As an art student about to graduate, a group of us went down to Baja California in Ensenada, and we went to Hussong’s Cantina and we camped on the beach for five days. I had the opportunity to sip a not-very-good mezcal, but it was smoky and interesting. Each day for five days, I went back, and that was my preferred sipping. That was even before I tasted tequila. After that, I kept going back to Baja, camping out in these beautiful bays, and we would always bring back a bottle of some not-so-good mezcal to Southern California and share it with friends. Those were my earliest experiences.

Z: And when you were bringing it back to Southern California, were the people around you even at all aware of what mezcal was? Or was it basically, “Here, just drink this?”

R: Well, I’m not going to mention any brand names, but everyone’s reaction was slapping their forehead and going, “Oh, my God, I had that when I was in college. I can’t tell you how bad I was hung over.” That was the reaction, except for a few cool people that were into drinking good wine and began to explore different spirits. It was a unique spirit, and everyone wanted to try it.

Z: OK, so you have this experience earlier on in your life. You probably remain interested or are at least a consumer of mezcal. At what point does it go from being a thing that you enjoy drinking, to “Here’s a business I want to take on?” Was there anything, in particular, that prompted that?

R: Absolutely. In 1986, some art patron friends took myself and my wife on a trip down to Mexico City, Puebla, and Oaxaca. I led the trip because I had driven down in the early ‘70s from L.A. to Panama and found Mexico to be really interesting. We went to drink pulque in Mexico City and in Puebla, but when we got to Oaxaca, we were stopped by the Federales at a checkpoint. “What are you doing here? Where are you going? We’re protecting you. Is this taxi safe, or are you kidnapped?” “No, no, no, no. We’re here to drink a little mezcal and celebrate New Year’s.” They replied, “Mezcal?! My uncle makes mezcal in the mountains.” I said, “Really, can I get some?” He said, “Yeah, he’s coming down tomorrow with some liters. If you come back, I’ll have some for you.” Well, it was mind-blowing. It was so different from the earlier stuff that I had ever tasted. It was just incredible, so I bought a couple liters. I brought it home and I started tasting it with friends. Everyone went crazy for it. The chef, Mark Miller, who started Coyote Cafe and Southwest cuisine, said, “Man, when can you bring some more of this in? I want it on my back bar.” Steve Wallace, who is a great wine and spirits purveyor in L.A., did the same thing. He said, “Man, this is really something. You ought to bring this in.” In 1990, after I had a couple great successes with large bronze commissions, I had a lot of money that I could afford to go anywhere I wanted to go. The first thing in my head was Japan. Well, then this little voice said, “No, no, no, no, you’re going to Oaxaca. You’re going to make art with local artisans.” And when I was there, I went out every three days for three months out to the dirt roads, and I asked people, where’s the best? Donde esta mejor? They pointed their fingers and I couldn’t understand Zapotec, but I just drove patiently down a dirt road with no signs until I saw a big grinding wheel out in the field. And I’d asked the farmer, “How do you do this?” Invariably, they would come back with an empty Coke bottle, brandy bottle, or rum bottle, and they’d fill it with their mezcal. I brought it back, and my friends in Oaxaca, the weavers I was working with, would go, “Where did you get that?” It was jaw-dropping. When I crossed the border to come back to the U.S., I had a 5-gallon wedding mezcal and a big bamboo basket on the side of my truck. The Texas official says, “You can’t bring that in here.” And I went, “What? I’ll pay any duty.” They said, “No, no, no, a U.S. citizen is allowed 1 liter to cross the border.” I had to pour out the majority of this 5-gallon super wedding mezcal from Chichicapa, tearfully. I decided right then and there, no one would ever tell me I couldn’t bring mezcal into the United States. In order to make it available for me and my friends, I had to get a license to export from Mexico and a license to import into the U.S., and I did.

Z: With this early part of the story that I’ve read about, I think there’s a certain romanticism of this idea of exploring and finding the best mezcal. However, when it came time to bring that into the U.S. and start, frankly, trying to explain it to consumers — as you said before, there were some well-placed people who understood the appeal. How did you even explain the product? How did you set it apart from, as you described, people’s college hangover experiences? What was that early messaging like?

R: I’ll tell you in a second, but I think it’s time for us to have a little sip together. What do you think?

Z: Oh, I’ll be honest, Ron. I had already started, but I’m with it.

R: I’m pouring a little bit of Las Milpas. A mezcal from the San Dionisio Ocotepec region in a place which is just a rancho out in the country, and it’s called The Cornfields. So here’s to you and everyone listening.

Z: Cheers.

R: All right, so how did I explain it? Well, the first thing that happened was when I got back in 1990, Steve Wallace brought a writer who had just returned from Poland, writing and studying the vodkas of Poland. Steve Wallace came out from L.A. with his girlfriend and this writer, and we spent two days sipping through 28 different single-village mezcals that I had brought back and collected during this time. Fortunately for me, the 5-gallon wedding mezcal was a sacrifice, and it saved me from the customs officials going through the back of my pickup with three months’ of art, pottery, sculpture, weaving, furniture, just a load of stuff that I had accumulated. And these other 28 samples were all down, buried safely underneath a bunch of stuff, so we spent two days tasting. And of course these guys spread the word to their friends that they had this incredible experience of never before tasted single-village mezcals. When I actually started to travel to different states and hook up with different distributors, they would take me into a bar or restaurant, and I always found that chefs had the palate that immediately realized what this was, how unique this was. And then bartenders. I started with chefs and then migrated to bartenders and — oh, there are some funny stories, but I don’t want to take up all your time.

Z: Well, one story would be quite welcome, if you have just one.

R: All right. St. Louis, Missouri. A young salesperson takes me to a restaurant and bar. The owner comes up to the front of the bar. I have a bag with three or four different mezcals, wonderful woven palm fiber baskets, and little sippy cups. And he takes one look at this stuff and he says, “I’m not going to taste that.” And he goes, “Hey, Juan!” He shouts back to the kitchen and Juan, the dishwasher, comes out, and he goes, “Juan, taste this.” Juan sips it and goes, “Oh, mezcal. I don’t like mezcal. I like tequila.” And then people started hearing about it. Sommeliers, like yourself, started spreading the word. Jimmy Yeager in Aspen invited me in 1998 to my first Aspen Food and Wine Classic, which was international. We had a table and I was pouring mezcal. People were sipping it and going, “Oh my God, this is incredible.” I’ve done 20 years of Aspen Food and Wine Classic. Also, Jimmy Yeager immediately made mezcal front and center on his bar. My buddy Steve Olson, under the table, everywhere he went, carried a flask of Tobala with him, and he did wine education and spirits education. But the word got out and everyone knew that he would go outside, take a break, have a sip from this magic flask, and everyone started following it. So Steve Olson, a.k.a. wine geek, now a.k.a. Maguey geek, was huge in terms of turning people on. That was it.

Z: Gotcha. I definitely understand how that word of mouth and testimonials from professionals helped pave the way. Now, you talk about mezcal to people after a number of years of it being more and more understood, more and more widely available, with a lot more brands and producers available in the states. When you talk about mezcal to people in the trade or to consumers, is it a different conversation than it was 20 years ago?

R: Oh, there are so many people that are knowledgeable about mezcal now. It’s incredible. I think the worm is dead. I think I killed the worm. And then mezcal used to be misspelled as “mescal” because of the Webster dictionary. I think I’ve cured that, too, and spelled it properly with a z. There’s so much education, so much experience, so many other people actually bringing good mezcal to the U.S. or to the world, to Europe, Asia, and Australia. It’s amazing, so I really don’t have to convince anybody that mezcal is worth sipping anymore.

Z: The thing that you mentioned before is that Del Maguey has always been, I think, in large part focused on some of these single-village expressions. Was that always the idea as opposed to, perhaps, individual species of agave? Or both? I don’t know, I guess I think about the ways you can classify mezcal in a couple of different directions. Is it just that the villages were the places you were visiting, and that made the most sense as to how you organized the portfolio, I guess?

R: Well, there’s a famous Mexican dicho, or saying, that you don’t find mezcal, mezcal finds you. What I’m most proud of is enabling these small, single-village producers and their families. They are so proud of their tradition of their fathers and their grandfathers and their great-grandfathers, their ancestors. And when I started, mezcal really didn’t leave the villages. It was just made for rituals, births, funerals, weddings, and feast days. They don’t drink cocktails. They drink during fiestas. They sip during fiestas. If you happen to drink a lot and get pretty loaded, they consider it getting closer to the gods. For the first 17 years, I personally paid for the honor of being in this deep traditional culture, and then it started paying me back. Basically, just being able to be with these people and participate in their fiestas and in their cultures and to watch them when I just had a little money, utilize that money. I never told anyone what to do with it, but they knew exactly what they wanted to do, and I’ve watched these families benefit in a gigantic way. Bringing sons back from the U.S. from picking grapes or roofing, to actually become great mezcal producers, palenqueros themselves. In the most remote village of Santo Domingo Albarradas, Esperidon sent two daughters down to Oaxaca to the capital. One daughter shopped and kept house for the other daughter who went to college and became the first college graduate, the first woman attorney ever in this village. The first high school graduate in this village. So just enabling these people and watching them develop has been miraculous for me. It’s been just a beautiful, beautiful experience.

Z: Very cool. And I’m curious to you, one last question for you Ron, if you don’t mind. I’m wondering, as you look back and then look forward, do you see there is a continued interest and growth in mezcal? Do you see it as more — as I see it — these very special, very distinctive, and unique expressions of place and the agave plants themselves? What do you see going forward?

R: The majority of the positive is small people getting involved and sharing. Bringing out wonderful varietals, wonderful expressions, because there are so many different varieties. The hand of the maker is huge. Altitude and terroir are important as well. The vocabulary of mezcal is closest to good wine. I think that is the future. It’s never going to slow down. There are regions where the denomination of origin is not allowed just because of politics. There are so many small producers, I think that will eventually find its way to be justified so that everyone has the ability to export and share. Then there’s the other end, which is giant corporations and famous people jumping in, just getting a brand and not knowing really what this is all about. We made a partnership four years ago with Pernod Ricard, because they were powerful enough to help us preserve the tradition and culture of mezcal. That’s where we’re at. We’re just continuing. I’m going back down in June with our team, and there are a couple of places that I forgot to go up the river, go up to the dirt road. I had tasted this unbelievable mezcal in a little store on a Sunday morning down in a gully on the way to Miahuatlàn. And I got to go up that road because it’s been 26 years, but I have to go up that road and see who that is that was making that flavor. Taste memory is amazing, and you never forget a good taste.

Z: Well, I think that’s really inspiring. I’m glad that you still feel that there are things to explore and discover. It continues to feed the whole romance and the notion of mezcal and this category that those of us who maybe don’t get to travel to Oaxaca all that often, or ever, can still explore through these bottles. Well, Ron, thank you so much for your time. Really appreciate it. Pleasure hearing from you about this story. And I look forward to seeing what you find up those rivers and roads as you continue to travel.

R: I’ll tell you what, if I find anything new on this trip in June, Zach, you’ll get an empty Coke bottle full of it.

Z: Oh, perfect. I love that idea. That’s fantastic, thank you.

R: Thank you.

Thanks so much for listening to the “VinePair Podcast.” If you love this show as much as we love making it, then please give us a rating or review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever it is you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show.

Now for the credits. “VinePair” is produced and recorded in New York City and in Seattle, Wash., by myself and Zach Geballe, who does all the editing and loves to get the credit. Also, I would love to give a special shout-out to my VinePair co-founder, Josh Malin, for helping make all this possible and also to Keith Beavers, VinePair tasting director, who is additionally a producer on the show. I also want to, of course, thank every other member of the VinePair team who are instrumental in all of the ideas that go into making the show every week. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you again.

The article Next Round: Exploring the Origins of Del Maguey Mezcal with Ron Cooper appeared first on VinePair.

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[eyebeastposts]

Lycanthropy Lab

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WARNING THIS STORY CONTAINS: Female Wolf and Anthro Wolf TF With a mythological disease running rampant across the country, four college girls volunteer for a study that hopes to find a cure. However, nothing could have prepared them for the physical and mental changes they will go through under the light of the moon. This is a commissioned story for internmatt.

  Passing the sterile rooms and strange devices of the university’s research facility, Dr. Teld made his way towards the newly added wing of the experimentation lab. For years he had been trying to obtain funding for his pet project and the grey haired, bespectacled man was more than happy to finally have it. Sure, most of the funding had to go to paying off the test subjects, but he found it a small price for what he was about to achieve. Straightening his tie and pulling on his lab coat, he brushed his fingers through his beard and stepped into the next room.

   Waiting for Dr. Teld inside were four college women from the university. They were a unique bunch, doubtful that they had ever met one another before entering the lab that day. Regardless of their reason for being there, their cooperation was needed for the experiment to succeed. Clearing his voice, he stepped in front of the women and began.

   “Thank you all for joining this research program,” he said, gesturing towards his test subjects. “Just to be sure we are all on the same page, I’ll go over the purpose of this study. As you may have heard, the once thought mythological disease of Lycanthropy has been spreading across the country. The results have been as varied as the victims, but they all share some level of wolf traits that appear more frequent during a full moon. In hopes of finding a cure, you will be injected with the disease and monitored over the course of the lunar phase.” Digging into his lab coat, he pulled out a small notepad. “Before we begin, I would like to ask you all some questions.”

   Starting with the girl furthest to the left, Dr. Teld approached with pad in hand. She was a somewhat chubby woman, her grey sweatshirt and pants covering up a pudgy gut. Long strands of dull, black hair had to be constantly pushed out of the way of her wide-rimmed glasses. Despite her unimpressive appearance and pale skin, that didn’t take away from her enthusiastic smile as he approached her.

   “What is your name?”

   “My name is Joann Tabin. It is an honor to meet you Dr. Teld,” she proudly stated.

   “Oooh I love your energy Ms. Tabin. Tell me, why did you join this experiment?”

   “To join the famous Dr. Teld in helping cure a dangerous disease and be recorded in the history books,” she spouted, almost like she had spent hours rehearsing it in front of a mirror.

   “Excellent, I will appreciate your cooperation in the upcoming experiment,” he said, jotting down that her overenthusiasm may lead to skewed research results.

   Moving on to next woman in the lineup, Dr. Teld was blinded by the drastic comparison between her and Joann. Her skimpy, pink top and white short shorts left most of her dark skin exposed to emphasized her hourglass figure. Noticing his eyes start to wonder, the woman flung her curly brown hair behind her back to get his attention. Her face looked familiar to him, recalling seeing the woman in pictures from the party after the last big game.

   “I think I’ve heard of you before, but would you mind giving me your name?”

   “Kendra,” she said.

   “Your full name.”

   Kendra let out an annoyed sigh. “Kendra Sabre. There’s not many people that don’t know that name around campus.’

   “Indeed, this is just a formality. Tell me, why have you joined this study?”

   “Couple of my sorority sisters turned into werewolves and got a little too wild during the last party.”

   “I’m sorry to hear that.”

   Kendra shrugged her shoulders. “No one got hurt. Worst thing is the girls are still in police custody. Even if we don’t find a cure, the money should help with their legal fees.”

   “How noble,” he said, impressed by the party girl’s motivation. “I’ll make sure the funding goes towards your friends.”

   Dr. Teld turned away from Kendra and found himself staring into a pair of bright eyes and a gleaming smile. The woman in front of him had shoulder-length, black hair dyed with streaks of purple. Her baggy, beige shirt and a tan skirt were besmirched by a number of different paint stains. “I’m Yuki Hana,” she announced.

   “Right,” he replied, taking a few steps back to actually get a good look at her. “So why have you joined the study Ms. Hana?”

   “I’ve been in a bit of an art slump lately, so I’m hoping this will be my chance to get more in touch with my wild side. I’ll be using this as inspiration to flow into my paintings.”

   “Unorthodox, but I’m glad to have you regardless.”

   Approaching the last test subject, Dr. Teld was immediately impressed by her six-pack abs. They went along well with her toned arms and legs that befit the pair of red gym shorts and black tank top. Noticing how he was staring, she struck a pose to flex her muscles. Running a hand through her short, red hair, she couldn’t hide the smug smile on her freckled face.

   “Aren’t you the impressive specimen,” he said as she continued to pose. “What is your name?”

   “The name’s Donna Cloud,” she answered showing off her biceps. “Best athlete on campus.”

   “Hmm, I have heard of your name across campus as most wanted on the campus’s sports teams. What brings you to this study?”

   “The money of course.”

   Dr. Teld raised an eyebrow. “I also heard you were lucky enough to receive several athletic scholarships. Money shouldn’t be an issue for you. You must have some other reason.”

   Donna let her pose and smile drop. “Well…it’s kind of…”

   “Ms. Cloud, please tell me. It is imperative to the study that your intentions are-“

   “I want to get stronger,” she blurted out. “I heard about the party incident. Considering how wimpy those girls were before, I’m wondering if getting infected can strengthen my body even further.”

   Dr. Teld tapped his pen against the notepad. “That’s…one way to look at it, I suppose. Well, I hope the both of us get something out of this study then.”

   Walking back to the front of the room, Dr. Teld stored the notepad in his coat. “That should do for now. You’ll be asked more questions as the study continues. In just a moment, you will be injected with the Lycanthropy disease and escorted to your rooms where you will be staying for the duration of the experiment. I want to thank you all for joining the study and I can’t wait to see how you progress,” he said, unable to hide his sinister grin.

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   Joann was awoken by the sound of a blaring alarm. Studious as she was, she normally didn’t need the sudden wake up call. The reason she was having trouble getting out of bed was attributed to the starry night looking down on her from the skylight above. Rummaging for her glasses, she took a good look at the crescent moon. Alongside the other test subjects, she was expected to be awake during the peak hours of activity for Lycanthropy symptoms. Letting out a wide yawn, she tossed aside the covers to get up and start the day.

   Sliding her feet into a pair of slippers, Joann stepped outside of her room to see her fellow test subjects already awake. Using what little space had been allotted to them, Donna was doing laps along the hallway connecting their rooms together. Keeping herself to the side to avoid running into the tomboy, Joann slid down the hall towards their communal restroom. It worked up until she was nearly hit in the face by Kendra popping out of her room, still looking just as gorgeous as the day before even in a set of heart covered PJs.

   “Morning, I mean, evening Kendra,” Joann said.

   “Hey...Joann right?” she replied, scratching her head.

   “Yup, that’s me. Are you ready to start the first day of experimentation?”

   “Not really. Those sleeping pills they gave us did a number on my head.” Bending down, she grabbed the hem of her pants and pulled up to reveal numerous strands of leg hair. “All I really want to do is get to the bathroom and take care of these things. I swore I shaved right before we came here.”

   “I’m sorry, but we can’t do that,” Joann pointed out. “Dr. Teld said we weren’t allowed to do any kind of body modification or grooming here besides bathing. There can’t be any interference in the results.”

   “Right, I almost forgot,” she sighed, rolling her pant leg back down. “Thanks, they’d probably kick me out of the program if I shaved. Why don’t you have first run at the bathroom?”

   “Oh no, that’s not necessary,” Joann replied, shaking her head. “I don’t take much time to get ready in the morning anyway. You should go first.”

   “All the more reason you should go ahead of me.”

   Donna came to a screeching halt between the two girls. “Sorry to break it to you, but Yuki go first dibs. She’s been in there for a while too.”

   “I don’t mean to sound rude,” Joann began, “but…Yuki doesn’t strike me as the type of person who…you know…cares too much about their appearance.”

   “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that shirt she wore on the first day was about a week old,” Kendra bluntly added.

   “I’m just as confused as you two,” Donna shrugged. “But, she gets time to herself just like anyone should. Just hope she doesn’t take too long. I really need a shower after my morning workout.”

   Right on cue, the door to the bathroom swung open and the trio went silent. The woman that stepped out bared Yuki’s telltale hairdo of black and purple, but they couldn’t recall her having such thick fur running down her arms and legs. Her entire body was nude to better display her strange form in all its hairy glory, showing off the thicket of pubic hair covering her womanhood. Using her long nails, she combed through the tussles along her back, and underneath her arms, before scratching at the pair of pointed ears atop her scalp. Yuki’s drastic makeover was completed by the short, fluffy tail hanging between her legs. Her new appendage wagged furiously as she saw the surprised expressions of her fellow test subjects.

   “Yuki, why are you like that?” Kendra asked.

   “I tried to put on clothes this morning, but everything felt so itchy,” Yuki nonchalantly answered, as she scratched the fur on her butt. “I didn’t think it would matter much since we’re all women.”

   “No, she means why do you have...those?” Donna asked, gesturing towards Yuki’s ears and tail.

   “The disease of course,” Yuki replied, waving her tail back and forth. “Don’t tell me you already forgot those huge needles they stuck in us yesterday. My arm is still sore.”

   “You still shouldn’t be showing signs this early,” Joann pointed out.

   “I’ve always been a fast grower. Plus, I think I’m more in tune with my inner animal,” she said, thankfully out of range to hear Donna and Kendra groan in unison.

   “If that’s the case you should probably give a call to Dr. Teld on the intercom. He’ll want to hear about-“

   The doors to their private area opened to allow in several scientists in lab coats. Shuffling past the others girls, they surrounded Yuki on all sides. At the forefront was a blonde haired woman that grasped Yuki’s wrist.

   “Come with us Ms. Hana,” the woman said. “I’m Dr. Velsha, Dr. Teld’s research assistant. He needs to see you immediately to perform an in-depth examination.”

   “If you say so,” Yuki replied, taking Dr. Velsha’s hand and following her out the door. “Sorry for taking so long in the bathroom,” she called back to the other girls. “It’s open if anyone wants to use it.”

   Stepping aside to let the other scientists go through, Joann got a glimpse of Yuki’s backside. Unable to stop herself from staring, she watched her furry companion walk alongside the scientists, uncaring of who saw her bare breasts or butt. As far as Yuki seemed concerned, she was happy to be free from the restraints of normal life. This was most evident in her lack of clothing, that brought up a strange desire in Joann to follow in the eccentric’s girl’s footsteps.

   “So who want’s first?” Joann asked to shake the idea from her mind, as the doors closed behind Yuki’s entourage.

   “I’m still not done with my workout, so you two can have a go,” Donna said.

   “Guess it’s all yours then,” Kendra said, pushing Joann forward before she could protest.

   Shoved into the bathroom, Joann let out a sigh and accepted Kendra’s generosity. Approaching the mirror, she put aside her glasses, threw water on her face, and picked up her tooth brush. Opening her mouth, she paused as she noticed her canine teeth were sticking out further than usual. Moving closer to inspect her enlarged teeth she noticed tinges of gray sticking out of her hair. Wondering if the stress of school life was finally catching up to her, she couldn’t stop scratching at the errant strands to try and rid herself of them. Before she realized it, her hands moved to the rest of her body to deal with itching sensations sprouting up one after another.

   Curious and frustrated, Joann pulled back the sleeve of her shirt to see strands of grey hair sprouting from her arms. Stopping her constant scratching, she did the same for her pant leg. She indeed saw more of the grey body hair, but that wasn’t what got her attention. Further pulling up her pants, she got a good look at the grey hair clinging to her feet. Sitting on the ground, she pulled off her slippers and reached out to scratch the irritating strands.

   She stopped as her finger brushed up against an odd protrusion on the soles of her feet. Lifting up her leg, she noticed a series of pad-like protrusions lining the bottom of her feet. Prodding the pads, her toes twitched at the touch, proving their authenticity. Standing back up, she stepped up to the sink. Her next stop was going to be Dr. Teld’s examination room and she needed to figure out some way to make her frazzled look acceptable.

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   Itch, scratch, itch, scratch, itch, scratch. Repeating the same routine that she had been doing for the past three days, Joann finally gave up on sleep. Rolling out of bed, she instinctively reached for her glasses to look through her moon-lit room. As she placed them on her face, she was met with a blurry mess of colors and shapes. Finally recalling that she didn’t need her glasses anymore, she left them by her nightstand and turned on the lights.

   Still a little groggy, it took her a moment to realize she was naked. Taking a quick look around, she noticed her pajamas strewn about the room. Thinking hard, she recalled tossing them off throughout the night, finding the once comforting garments like rusty, iron restraints. The lack of clothing let her get a good look at her flat stomach. In place of the fat she had gained through stress and lack of exercise, she could feel muscles similar to the ones spread across her entire body. In addition, her nails had grown out several inches to provide the perfect tools to aid with her itchy skin. They were some of the perks of her transformation, but she couldn’t say they were worth dealing with the other side effects.

   Very few stands of black were left in her veil of rugged grey hair that partially covered her black nose and yellow eyes. Scratching at the frayed strands, she managed to free her triangle shaped, furry ears. Her fingers moved to the thick hairs covering her arms and legs, with a few well-placed scratches going towards the bushel of grey surrounding her nether region. While she felt dirty for giving into her instincts to scratch, her wagging tail made it hard to hide how good it was to relieve herself.

   The thing that got her to ignore her constant itching was the newest addition to her body. While she was aware of the way her feet were morphing with each passing night, it didn’t dawn on her how far they had progressed until that evening. Her feet were almost completely void of human characteristics, covered in fur and mimicking a dog’s paws in shape. Sitting on her bed, she lifted up her leg to prod the pads underneath, to remind herself they were hers. She made note of the ferocious claws sticking out of her toes, a sign of what was to come for her hands. For the moment, she was thankful her fingernails were still dull enough to deal with her constant itching.

   After several minutes of scratching, her body calmed down enough to let her get on with her day. Collecting her discarded clothing, she attempted to slip them back on. As soon as the fabric rubbed up against her fur, the itching sensation came right back. Pulling the clothing off in an aggravated huff, she sat back down on the bed.

   Staring down at her bare flesh and fur, an idea that had been stirring in the back of her head for days came back in full force. For the duration of their stay, Yuki had seen fit to prance around the labs in only her birthday suit. Once the initial shock had worn off, the rest of the girls got accustomed to their unclothed companion. Not long after, Donna joined in too, considering it easier to wash herself off rather than change clothes after each work out. Joann and Kendra were the only two that still seemed concerned about showing some civility. That was going to end today.

   Leaving her clothes by the wayside, Joann stepped up to the door. Always self-conscious of her unassuming figure, she had always lived a quiet life devoid of any unnecessary attention. Even with the added athleticism of her new form, she considered what she was about to do akin to social life suicide. Taking a moment to look over the hair and muscles of her form, she repeated in her head that it was okay. Sucking in a deep breath, she stepped out into the hallway just in-time to run into Kendra.

   “I’m so sorry,” Joann said, about ready to run back into her room. “I’ll go back in, throw on some clothes, and-“

   Joann stopped herself as she realized that Kendra was naked. The popular girl’s lack of clothing made it all the more obvious how similar the two were in their transformation progress. Like Joann, she had thick fur covering her arms, legs, and groin, all matching the shade of dark brown as her mangy hair, pointy ears, and tail. While Kendra still towered over her in terms of height and curves, their toned arms and stomach were nearly identical in physique. Tearing her gaze away from Kendra’s bare breasts, Joann looked down to see a set of wolf paws where Kendra’s feet used to be.

   “You feeling okay?” Kendra asked, shaking Joann out of her daze.

   “Um, yeah, yeah. Why are you…you know?” she asked, waving her hand over Kendra.

   “Probably the same reason as you.” Seemingly without a care in the world, she reached below her waist and scratched at the fur around her womanhood. “I’ve been itching like crazy ever since the wolf stuff kicked in. Plus, it feels so unnatural wearing clothes. Like my entire body is screaming to be free. You know what I mean?”

   “Um…yeah, I think I do,” Joann hesitantly replied.

   To Joann’s relief, the door to their living quarters opened up to break the tension. In walked Yuki, her body completely covered in black fur from head to toe, save for her bright streaks of purple. The lower half of her legs were bent backwards to better match the shape of her long, paw-like feet. Her digitigrade legs had her entire form hunched over, but the bad posture did little to take away from her tail wagging back and forth. Waving goodbye to the scientists with her long claws, she turned to her companions. Upon seeing their states, she crouched down on all fours and started barreling towards them at full speed. Leaping over their heads, she landed a few feet behind them, her fangs bared in a wide smile.

   “Morning sleepy heads,” Yuki said, dashing up and ruffling up the hair on their heads. “I see you’ve finally decided to get in touch with your inner nature. Free from the confines of clothing.”

   “No, we’re just itchy,” Kendra protested, digging her nails into the hair underneath her arms.

   “You know in your heart and mind that’s not true.” Running up to a trembling Joann, she wrapped her huge paws around the shy girl’s tiny hands. “Don’t tell me you haven’t felt something inside of you. Something that’s aching to get back to the way you used to be. To fully give in to your animal instincts.”

   Kendra pulled Yuki back and stepped between them. “That’s enough. Can’t you see you’re scaring her?”

   “Sorry, I got a little carried away,” she said, scratching at her button nose. “Guess I’m a little wound up after my examination. I’ve been so energetic lately, makes me want join Donna in her workouts. Speaking of, have you seen her? She’s up next for the exam room.”

   “She’s still in her room,” Kendra answered, pointing towards the fit girl’s door.

   Bounding down the hall, Yuki came to a stop by digging her claws into the floor. Crawling up to the door, Yuki leaned back her head and let out a low howl. The sound was unsettling to Joann and Kendra, but it did the trick of getting Donna to come out.

   Stepping out of her room, Donna stood out among the group as the most normal looking one. Despite every inch of her skin being on display, only the thin wisps of hair could be seen along her arms, down her legs, and making up a bristly patch around her womanhood. There were no signs of pointed ears, a tail, or even padding on her feet. The only thing that looked remotely wolf-like were a pair of sharp fangs she bared as she came out of the room. Upon seeing Yuki sitting patiently at her door, she let out a sigh and calmed down.

   “Morning Donna,” Yuki said, standing back up to ruffle Donna’s hair like the others. “The lab people want to see you for your examination.”

   “Why? Not like I’ve changed much,” she sighed, comparing her once impressive muscles to Kendra and Joann’s Amazon-like bodies.

   “You just might be a late bloomer,” Yuki said, wrapping her arms around Donna. “Sure, you don’t have a tail or paws, but you’ve got the same cute bush as the rest of us,” she said, pointing towards Donna’s groin. “I’m sure you’ll be springing up at a moment’s notice.”

   “Yeah, you’re probably right,” she replied, showing a small smile. “Mind coming with me to the lab?”

   “Gladly,” Yuki replied with a toothy grin and rapidly wagging her tail. Locking arms together, the two made their way to the lab. While it was great to see Yuki lift up Donna’s mood, Joann was once again left alone with Kendra.

   “You, um…notice how Yuki walked,” Joann blurted out to try and make conversation.

   “What?”

   “How she was walking on all fours I mean.”

   “Yeah, that was pretty strange,” Kendra commented, scratching the hair under her chin. “Can’t say it’s not fitting considering what she looks like.”

   “Do you think…we should do the same?” Joann threw out, preparing to be shunned.

   “Sure, worth a shot,” Kendra shrugged, much to Joann’s surprise.

   “R-really?”

   “Only if you do it too though,” she said, already getting down on the floor.

   “I-I don’t-“

   “Come on, let’s have a race. Should be fun.”

   Taking another deep breath, Joann crouched low to the floor and got on her hands and feet. As awkward as the position was, something in the back of her head assured her this was how she was supposed to be. The real problem was that her four-legged position put her head at level with Kendra’s tail lazily swinging across her perfect rear.

   “We should probably give it a test run,” Joann quickly said, turning her head away from Kendra’s posterior for fear of her blushing face be seen. “For science and all that.”

   “Race you to the bathroom for first dibs!” Kendra shouted out before bolting down the hall.

   Fear and anxiety washed away by the thought of Kendra hogging the bathroom, Joann went running after her. Halfway down the hall, she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. The feeling of air running through her fur was enough to make her forget her anxiety. Putting her entire body into it, she ran faster and faster, her tail wagging rapidly behind her. She came to a screeching halt right in front of the bathroom door, panting heavily.

   Joann turned to her side, expecting to see Kendra already reaching for the door. However, she was left by herself, with the sound of heavy breathing approaching her.Turning, she saw Kendra trying her best to stop herself, but to no avail. Sliding across the floor, Kendra went flying into her. The impact left them both pushed against the door, their bodies intertwined with one another.

   “Guess you beat me,” Kendra said, seemingly unaffected by the fact her head was resting between Joann’s legs.

   “Even after you got a head start too,” Joann replied, her adrenaline overcoming her own awkwardness.

   “Bathroom is all yours then,” she admitted, standing up and lending Joann a hand. “In the meantime, I’ll do a few laps around the room. See if all that exercise stuff Donna was talking about might help me get used to this.”

   With a quick wave, Kendra went running down the hall again. Joann lingered by the door to watch her fellow test subject prance around the room. She yearned to join in the fun, to fully give into the voice in the back of her head. More importantly, she wanted to spend more time with Kendra. Telling herself she could play more once she was done, she slipped inside the bathroom.

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  Standing outside of the test subjects’ door, the group of scientists did a quick head count. Checking their various stun guns and pepper spray bottles, they made sure they were ready for whatever they would find inside. Between going over their mission, they all kept glancing out the window to see the waxing moon outside. After checking with the rest of her group, Dr. Velsha gave the signal and knocked on the door.

  A deep howl reverberated from inside the chamber, sending a chill down the scientists’ spines. The tension was broken as they heard the sound of a woman clearing her throat on the other side. “Who is it?”

   “The science team,” Dr. Velsha answered. “We’re here for- “

   “Oh right! Come on in.”

   Signaling the others to stay close, Dr. Velsha typed in the code on the door’s keypad. The entrance to the test chamber opened to reveal something resembling a bipedal, black wolf. It had the telltale ears, tail, and pawed feet, but they found it odd that its claws were attached to human-like hands. Even stranger was the pair of fur covered feminine breasts on its chest along with the bright streaks of purple hair covering part of its face. Pushing aside the abnormally colored locks, the wolf woman used her snout to sniff at the new arrivals. Identifying them as the nice people that had made her what she was, she bared a friendly smile with her fangs and swished her long tail along the ground.

   “Ms. Hana?” Dr. Velsha asked.

   “In the flesh, I mean, fur,” Yuki answered.

   “Where are the others?”

   “In their rooms. Come on, I’ll bring you to them.”

   Before Dr. Velsha could speak, Yuki got on all fours and started running down the hall. While half of the team stared in awe, the others recorded every bit of information they could get from her bestial gait. Getting the group’s attention with a snap of her fingers, Dr. Velsha ordered them to follow Yuki inside.

   The once sterile hallway was now littered with piles of different colored hair and torn up furniture. Along the smooth walls, deep gashes could be seen where the test subjects had practiced using their vicious claws. Discarded feeding plates were piled up on one side of the room, not a single drop left behind from the girls’ meals of raw steak. Most concerning of all, was the fact that all of the doors had been ripped off their hinges. Having gone over the video feed several times over, the group still found it hard to believe that someone like Yuki would do something so violent.

   “Excuse me, Ms. Hana,” Dr. Velsha spoke.

   “Yeah?” Yuki answered, sitting by one of the open rooms and freely scratching her groin.

   “Why did you remove the doors?”

   “Oh, so Joann and Kendra could get around. Can’t exactly turn doorknobs the way they are now.”

   “That makes sense for their living quarters and the bathroom, but why did you do the same to Ms. Cloud’s and your own?”

   Yuki scratched behind her ear. “Because we’re a pack.”

   “A pack?” Dr. Velsha asked over the sound of pens rapidly writing on notepads.

   “Yeah. After all we’ve been through, we’ve grown a spiritual bond between one another. Especially Kendra and Joann.”

   “How so?”

   Yuki got up on her hind legs and put her hand on the doorway. “It’ll be easier to show you. Come take a look.”

  Following the wolf girl’s sign, the group peeked into the room. Only the light of the moon above illuminated the area, but it was enough to survey the chaotic mess. The furniture was strewn about the room, covered in claw marks and hair. The torn remnants of various clothing items covered the floor, left as nothing more than chew toys. In the center of the room lay a pair of bare mattresses that matched the rest of the room’s look and wild smell. The reason for the drastic makeover became evident as the group saw the pair of grey and brown, furry lumps lying on top of one another.

   The sound of Yuki clicking her claws against the wall got the creatures to stir. Rising up on four legs, they opened up their muzzles to show off their fangs with wide yawns. Stretching out to rid themselves of their grogginess, gave the science team a perfect view of their various features. Between the ragged hair and snouts, they could see the faint cheek structure of what remained of their human faces. What were once arms had bent and twisted to match the pair of digitigrade legs on their lower half, complete with four-toed paws where their hands and feet used to be. As the wolves climbed off the mattress, what remained of their feminine breasts hung tightly to their underbellies. Patches of bare skin could still be could be seen scattered around their forms, helping the scientists identify who they were.

   Taking a deep breath, Dr. Velsha once again stepped forward. “Ms. Tabin? Ms. Sabre?”

   Kendra the brown wolf let out a series of growls before slowly opening its maw. “That…us.”

   “Are you having trouble speaking?”

  “No,” Joann added. “Just…hard…talk…human. Can…wolf…easy.” Turning her head towards Kendra, she let out a stream of bestial growls and grunts. Getting a quick bark from Kendra, she turned back to the scientists. “Why…here?”

   “We’ve come to escort you to the examination room. Dr. Teld has some important information regarding how we’re going to handle the full moon tomorrow. However, we need all of you together before we can begin. Where is Ms. Cloud?”

   “Behind…you,” Kendra growled out.

   The group turned on their heels and prepared for a vicious creature that spit in the face of nature itself. Instead, they were met with a woman that looked like she had put on a cheap Halloween costume. The pointed ears on her head and the small tail between her legs were the only signs of anything wolf-like. Everything else from the enlarged canines, body hair covering her arms and legs, long nails on her fingers and toes, and the thick bush of pubic hair could have just been attributed to poor hygiene. Despite her lack of intrusive changes to her body, out of the four she seemed the most depressed.

   “Ms. Cloud, is everything alright?”

  “Yeaaaaaaah,” she sighed, pinching the biceps that hadn’t grown an inch since entering the lab. “Just…I don’t think you need me for the experiment. I must have a hell of an immune system.”

   “Possible, but it still warrants further research. You could be the key to perfecting the antidote. Regardless, we need you to stay for the duration of the study.”

   Letting out a huff, Donna stepped to the side to let the others pass. “Fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

  “Awwww, don’t be so down on yourself,” Yuki said, eager to embrace her saddened friend in a hug. “You were a big help with getting this place ready for our new selves.”

   “You’re just saying that to make me feel better,” Donna dismissed, gently pulling out of Yuki’s arms. “I just watched while you ripped off the doors like it was nothing.”

   “Stop being so self-defeating,” Yuki replied, dragging Donna down the hallway without breaking a sweat. “Besides, we’re in this together, right girls?”

   Joann and Kendra replied with a pair of howls, before running after the others. Keeping a safe distance away, the scientists tried their best to keep up while recording any and all details about the test subjects. The menagerie of science and twisted nature traversed the halls of the lab until they came to the examination room. Once there, the girls were greeted by Dr. Teld, his smile brimming with intense interest in their transformations.

  “Good to see you all again,” Dr. Teld said as they lined up in front of him. “I must say, the results so far are looking good. We have a possible serum to reverse the changes, but we would prefer to administer it during the peak of your transformation. After your daily examination, you will be escorted to temporary living quarters that are devoid of any windows to the outside. This should prevent any unnecessary exposure to the full moon until we are prepared to deal with your final changes.”

   “We…stay…to…gether?” Joann growled out.

  “In separate rooms yes, but you’ll be in close proximity. I am aware of your developing pack mentality. Far be it from me to try and break your growing natural instincts.”

   “No,” Kendra barked, stepping next to Joann and nuzzling her neck. “We…close.”

  “I see,” Dr. Teld said, looking on with fascination as Joann playfully nipped at Kendra’s ear. “I’ll see what I can do to accommodate this…development. For now, let us move onto the usual tests. We need to prepare for tomorrow.”

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  The night had finally come and Dr. Teld couldn’t have been more excited. From the safety of the second floor observation room, he looked down on the four doors containing his precious test subjects. The skylight above showed a perfect full moon, beautiful and foreboding with its visage. Straightening his coat and adjusting his glasses, he approached the intercom.

   “I want to thank you all again for participating in this experiment,” he announced to the girls and lab assistants waiting below. “This final moon exposure has the highest probability for metamorphosis. We have taken the necessary precautions should anything unfortunate happens, but please listen to me carefully to avoid any unneeded danger. Does everyone understand?”

   The scientists below gave a thumbs up, followed by a series of eerie howls from the containment rooms.

  “Excellent, then we shall begin as planned. Ms. Hana, please come out of your room and stand directly underneath the skylight.”

  Letting the assistants unlock her door, Yuki strode out with her tail waving behind her. Following the doctor’s instructions, she stepped into the middle of the room and basked in the moon’s rays. As she closed her eyes and held out her arms, the staff got in position to record results and handle any violent outbursts.

   Considering Yuki’s appearance, it took a moment for anyone to notice her changes. The muscles beneath her thick fur bulked up even further, her form gaining several extra feet to tower over the lab assistants. The claws on her hands extended to match the increased size of her feet. Craning her neck to the sky, she let out a deep howl, her tail wagging rapidly as she embraced her werewolf self.

   “Ms. Hana, how do you feel?” Dr. Teld asked.

  “Amazing,” Yuki shouted back, wriggling her fingers and admiring her added muscles. Getting on all fours, she sped off across the room, bounding against walls with supernatural speed. While the scientists were shaken, none of them were hurt. The act showed the level of control Yuki had over her new form, even with the added size. Making a dead stop in the middle of the room, she flung back her purple bangs to shoot a toothy grin up at Dr. Teld.

   “Impressive to say the least,” Dr. Teld called down, rapidly writing down on his notepad. “I can’t help wondering if you would like to stay like that once the test is over.”

   “I’d love to, but it was already hard enough to get an exhibit with my purple hair,” Yuki called back. “But, I wouldn’t mind doing this again sometime. Maybe when I get a break from touring my art show.”

  “I’ll definitely keep you in mind in-case we need any further testing. For now, please go back to your starting point so we can continue the exposures.”

   Giving a quick thumbs up, Yuki jumped back to her room’s doorway and waited.

   “For the next part, I would like Ms. Tabin and Ms. Sabre to come out together,” he announced, sending a shiver through the other scientists. “You two are very similar in your progression. To save time, I would like to see both of you undergo your transformation simultaneously.”

   “Rrrreally?” Joann growled out.

   “Yes, trust me,” he answered, thankful no one could see his wicked grin.

  Hesitating in hopes that the doctor would change his mind, the lab assistants slowly undid the locks on Joann and Kendra’s doors. As the doors swung open, the two wolfs girls walked out and stopped a few inches from the skylight. They whispered something between one another, comforting words to help them move forward. Giving each other a loving nuzzle, they stepped into the moonlight.

   Any patches of bare skin left were covered up as their fur grew thick and mangy. Their bodies lost any curves of their human forms, what was left of their breasts getting swallowed up by their hair. As the fur covered up their cheeks, their snouts elongated several extra inches to make way for their fangs growing sharper and jutting out of their mouths. Soaking up the moon’s energy, their bodies began to bulk up like Yuki’s had done beforehand. In a matter of seconds, the pair of wolves were twice their size, looking capable of tossing aside a bear without a second thought. While Kendra stopped at this point, Joann continued to grow until she was a few feet taller than her companion. The fact was not lost on the two of them, both of them sharing a playful nibble to celebrate their full transformation into wolves.

   “How do you feel?” Dr. Teld asked.

  Kendra opened her maw and let out a confused growl. Joann stepped forward and cleared her throat. She too opened her mouth, only to let out a series of barks and growls. Turning back to one another and then up to Dr. Teld, they did their best to shrug their shoulders.

   “What are you…oh, I suppose you’ve lost the ability to speak entirely. Is that correct?”

   The wolf girls nodded.

  “Unfortunate, but we can work around it. I’ll set you up with some simple yes or no questions later. For now, let’s move onto our final test subject.”

   Kendra and Joann took their leave to stand next to one another in the same doorway. With the wilder test subjects secured, the assistants let out a collective sigh of relief. The only thing left to do was to let out the less gifted of the quartet of test subjects. Unlocking the last door, the assistants stepped aside to let Donna out.

   Donna took her sweet time coming out, her enthusiasm from the start of the experiment completely gone. Slumping her way to the edge of the moonlight, she waited for the doctor to give the signal. Hearing the call, she stepped beneath the window and held out her arms like Yuki had done before. As she and the rest of the lab expected, nothing seemed to happen. After waiting five minutes underneath the skylight, she looked exactly the same. With her depression spread to the rest of the lab, Donna turned to trudge back to her room.

   Donna stopped in her tracks as she noticed a violent trembling take over her body. As she held her shaking hands up to her face, she watched the bristly hair across her body turn into thick, red fur that covered every inch of her skin. The sight of her muscles growing beneath the added hair, was enough to bring a smile to her face before it was turned into a muzzle. Falling onto her hands and feet, she dug her developing claws into the lab floor, leaving behind deep gashes. As her back arched and her tail straightened out, the smile turned into a snarl that showed off her dagger-like teeth. Growing with muscles and fur, she easily eclipsed Joann’s size and mass. When she finally stabilized, she was a towering beast of a wolf, only the red coloring of her hair evidence of who she was before.

   “Incredible,” Dr. Teld announced, his pen threatening to burn through his notepad as he scribbled notes. “I’ve never seen a reaction like this before. The lunar energy that’s been building up inside your body must have finally hit its breaking point. Please, tell me how you feel.”

  Donna turned her head towards Dr. Teld’s observation window. Locking her eyes with the man, she crouched low to the floor. With a savage roar, she leapt into the air and bounced against the glass. Unhurt, but shaken from the sudden attack, Dr. Teld held on to his desk to try and remain calm. Watching Donna recover from the impact, he rushed back to the intercom.

   “Everyone, it’s a code RL4!” he shouted over the speaker. “Her survival instincts have gone wild with her mind. She’s completely out of control. Evacuate the room immediately. We’ll sedate her later.”

   The other scientists wasted no time heeding Dr. Teld’s words. Abandoning their posts, they all dashed for the exit only to watch a flash of red leap over their heads. Donna landed right in front of the entrance and turned to face the terrified scientists. Baring her fangs, she dug her claws into the ground and snarled at them. She had them completely trapped and it was only a matter of time before she went on the attack.

  Slowly inching away from the door, the scientists nearly missed the other wolf girls run past them. Taking up a defensive stance between Donna and the assistants, Kendra, Joann, and Yuki, started to howl. As the haunting noise filled the lab, Donna’s growling slowly dissipated. Her tail lowered itself between her legs as she walked over to the others. Craning her neck up, she joined the three of them in their song, all signs of aggression completely gone.

   “What in the world is going on down there?” Dr. Teld asked.

  Yuki broke away from the group and walked up to the observation room. “Donna was just a little overwhelmed by her new self. The rest of us had time to adapt to the wild thoughts, plus we had one another in case it became too much.” Looking back over her shoulder, she grinned at the sound of her friends singing together. “She just needed a reminder that she isn’t alone.”

   “Do you think you can convince her to participate in a closer examination?” he asked, any fear replaced with fascination. “She may be one of the rarest cases of Lycanthropy to date.”

   Donna’s ears perked up at Dr. Telds words. With Joann and Kendra close behind, she padded over to the observation window to sit next to Yuki. Panting heavily, she swung her tail back and forth as she looked on with enthusiasm at the doctor.

   "I think that’s a yes,” Yuki said, reaching out to scratch the fur along Donna’s neck.

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   One month after they had first entered Dr. Teld’s lab, the girls were happy to be in direct sunlight again. Stepping out of the lab, they were all clad in spare sets of scrubs, having destroyed the rest of their clothing during their stay. In lieu of proper shoes, they all wore open toed flip flops, unwilling to confine their feet after going around barefoot for so long. Aside from the added length to their hair and a few strands along their arms and legs that escaped their razors, they looked as if nothing had happened. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

   “Great to finally be outside again,” Donna said, stretching out her arms and legs in preparation for an afternoon jog. “You guys want to join me?”

  “Maybe some other time,” Yuki answered. “I have so many things I want to paint. So many feelings I need to put to canvas. Plus, I need to see if my publicist wouldn’t mind having a werewolf for a client. The doctor was already offering another injection of the virus if I wanted to do a more prolonged study.”

   “I think I’m done with the wolf stuff for the rest of my life,” Joann commented.

  “I’m just glad to be rid of all that fur,” Kendra added. Kendra turned back and stood at the front of the group. “Hey, you all left the you know what intact right?”

   “Just like we promised,” Yuki answered, she and the other girls gesturing to their groins and the bushes of pubic hair hidden underneath.

   “It’s an odd memento, but I can’t say it’s one I won’t forget,” Joann said.

  Kendra stepped over and put her arm around Joann’s shoulder. “We just might need to do a little trimming here and there. Especially for when I invite you over to my place,” she said, a deep red taking over Joann’s face.

    “If you two are done flirting with each other,” Donna said, getting into a running position, “I have some exercise to catch up on.”

   “Still meeting us later for dinner?” Yuki asked.

   “Of course, wouldn’t skip out on my pack like that.”

   “See you later then,” Joann called out, as the girls dispersed to catch up on their old lives.

  Running to catch up to Kendra, Joann stumbled a bit. Stopping to fix her flip flops, she noticed her toenails sticking out several inches further than earlier. Pulling her foot out, her eyes went wide as she beheld padding on the soles of her feet. Assured that she and the others would have to make another trip to see Dr. Teld, she put her shoe back on and chased after Kendra. She had no idea what the future held in store for them, but they were going to get through it together. They were a pack and nothing was going to change that.

[leisurefarmers]

Every Single Detail Of What I Wore On My Wedding Day

from He Spoke Style - Men's Style, Fashion, Grooming, Tips and Advice

Because all the details matter…

Big day. Big post. Extremely excited to share all the details with you. Here we go!

Tuxedo. My tuxedo came from my good friends at Michael Andrews Bespoke, which may come as no surprise to regular readers as I’ve been working with them almost exclusively for the better part of the past two years. Over the past nearly six years, I’ve had the chance to experience many bespoke and made to measure suit programs and MAB is just head and shoulders above the vast majority of options out there.

I wanted my wedding tuxedo to be super classic but also something on the special side–the former so I could continue to wear it for black tie events in the future and the latter because, hey, it’s my wedding! The classic started with the fabric–Dormeuil tonik, the gold, or should I say diamond, standard for tuxedos–and the grosgrain lapels. The special touches included making it double-breasted, going with bold 4.5-inch lapels, a cocktail cuff and a single pleat on the trousers. I’ve already written in-depth about all the finer details of this tuxedo and you can read the complete story of my final fitting here.

Dinner Jacket. I’ve had a special relationship with Dominic Montefiore, the Creative Director of Edward Sexton, for a number of years now and when I told him I’d like to commission a dinner jacket for the reception–what’s wrong with having two looks at your wedding?–he was both flattered and surprised. He said, “Are you sure you want to do such a strong shoulder for your wedding?” The answer was, of course, yes. Not only have my tastes evolved in this area over the years, but I thought the occasion merited it.

If you couldn’t already tell, the inspiration for this dinner jacket came from one place. Of all the gin joints, in all the towns in all the world… Yes, Rick’s jacket in Casablanca. I know I’m not the first to be inspired by this iconic piece of movie menswear and I will surely not be the last, but I’m proud to have an extremely special version of that jacket cut specifically for me by two friends across the pond.

Shirts. In addition to my dinner jacket, I also had Dominic do two shirts for me as well. The shirt I wore with my tuxedo was a classic Marcella bib front with French cuffs in a pure white cotton. The dinner jacket shirt was a bit more “modern” and featured a fly front, French cuffs in an off-white cotton. I chose off-white because the dinner jacket was cream-colored and pure white was much too electric against the cream. But as you can see, the off-white against the cream, looks spectacular.

Bow Tie. Those in the know, know that the best bow ties in the world come from Le Noeud Papillon in Sydney. Nicholas sells pre-cut bows, but he also does bespoke work as well, which was good news for me because the pre-cut bows are just slightly to large for my face. After some WhatsApp back and forth, Nicholas cut me a bow in premium grosgrain in his very unique modified butterfly pattern.

Braces. Here’s where you will really see that I decided to go all out… Just as I had two shirts, I also wore two different sets of braces. With the tuxedo, I donned some classic Brooks Brothers black formal braces and with the dinner jacket, these beautiful white moire braces from Albert Thurston.

Cummerbund. I flirted with the idea of going all-out with a Charvet cummerbund, but a cooler head prevailed and I chose a more economical option from Turnbull & Asser. I will say that if you are looking to really do it “right”, you should not skimp on the cummerbund. During my search, I help many, many limp grosgrain cummerbunds in my hand and there is something to one that is made with a quality fabric. It has a structure and heft that just feels like you’ve done it proper.

Pocket Square. Although I couldn’t find it in me to pull the trigger on a Charvet cummerbund, I did furnish myself with two Charvet silk squares–white for the tuxedo and off-white for the dinner jacket. Simply the best in the world.

Watch. Whether or not to wear a watch with black tie is a subject of intense debate among some folks. You can read my take on the topic right here. (Even though you know my conclusion by looking at this post, it’s still a good read and interesting to come at it from both angles.) Nevertheless, there are only a handful of watches that, in my opinion, look proper with a tuxedo. It’s got to be time-only–bonus points for no second hand–and, for me, in yellow or rose gold.

As I personally do not have such a watch in my current lineup, I was honored that my friends at Vacheron Constantin were kind enough to provide me one of the most elegant and special pieces in their entire collection–the Historiques Ultra-Fine 1955. There’s not much else to say other than it is simply exquisite and elegant. And not to mention possibly the perfect watch to wear with a tuxedo.

Cufflinks & Stud Set. The key with cufflinks and studs, especially when you’re talking formalwear, is to match your metals. My cufflinks were gold “love” knots from Brooks Brothers while the stud set came from Codis Maya. I will mention that the studs were rose gold, but I found that it was a better match to the watch and cufflinks than the yellow gold. I also liked how the onyx picked up the black from the watch strap.

Shoes. Two shirts, two pairs of braces and, yes, two pairs of shoes–though they were both from the same maker, Belgian Shoes NYC. The first, more formal pair, are patent Henris and the second pair are black suede Mr. Casuals–i.e. the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn. Watch now, all your favorite “bloggers” will start wearing them. You’re welcome, guys.

Socks. If you’re going to do black tie the right way, you’ve got to wear the right socks. Which means they have got to be silk. I prefer Bresciani.

Signet Ring. A special bespoke monogrammed piece made for me by the exceptional folks at Rebus Signet Rings.

Fragrance. Often what I refer to as the final detail of any outfit, my fragrance choice was more or less up in the air until the day before. Choosing the correct fragrance is dependent on a variety of things, including the season, time of day and the weather. The latter consideration played the biggest role in my choice.

The forecast was for a moderately muggy day with a chance of thunderstorms and highs in the mid-80s. Prior to the wedding, Robin requested that I wear Black Afgano, as it holds a special significance for both of us and, well, just smells damn sexy. However, I determined that it would be much too overwhelming with the threat of oppressive humidity.

I eventually decided the right choice was Creed’s Spice and Wood. It’s a pretty “dry” scent, which I felt would cut through and stand out if it was muggy, without being overpowering. It’s also elegant, which fit the occasion and dress code. And it’s masculine in the most sophisticated way possible.

Thanks for reading.

Stylishly Yours,

Brian Sacawa He Spoke Style

Photography by Rachel May Photography

The post Every Single Detail Of What I Wore On My Wedding Day first appeared on the men's style blog He Spoke Style - Men's Style, Fashion, Grooming, Tips and Advice

Every Single Detail Of What I Wore On My Wedding Day published first on https://costumecornersite.tumblr.com/

[ultralifehackerguru-blog]

New Post has been published on http://www.lifehacker.guru/jennifer-lawrence-new-light/

Jennifer Lawrence, A New Light

Photograph by Inez and Vinoodh; Styled by Jessica Diehl.

She may be the highest-paid actress in the world, but Jennifer Lawrence has had a tough year: an emergency landing, a romantic breakup, and her (reluctant) first nude scene, for this month’s Red Sparrow. It all has her looking to the next phase in her career—and life.

It is nearing dinnertime as I wind through the streets of Beverly Hills, passing the storied haunts Craig’s and Tower Bar on my way to the home of Jennifer Lawrence. She has offered to host, and who would turn down an invitation to hang out with this supernova? At 27, she is the highest-paid actress in the world and the youngest person to have earned four Oscar nominations (she won best actress for her work in Silver Linings Playbook) and three Golden Globe awards. Her potent combination of talent, beauty, charm, and chutzpah makes her seem like a throwback to an earlier era. And her authenticity is a refreshing, much-needed antidote for a world drowning in a digital sea of meticulously curated social-media accounts, photo filters, and sponsored tweets.

Yet, for all her successes—in addition to her critical accolades and awards she has starred in a pair of multi-billion-dollar franchises, The Hunger Games and X-Men—she is at a defining juncture, when youth fades and adulthood begins, a transition that has stymied many promising acting careers. Lawrence, however, is the rare prodigy whose next chapter could be more interesting than the first. Lawrence is imbued with insatiable curiosity, professionalism, a work ethic, and extraordinary natural talent. She may be the last true movie star to emerge from Hollywood before the industry stopped making them.

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Photograph by Inez and Vinoodh; Styled by Jessica Diehl.

So, what does maturity look like for the world’s most famous ingénue? Let’s start by having her cook me dinner—roast chicken, to be exact. (I supplied the alcohol—wine and vodka, as I wasn’t sure what the menu or mood would be.) “I’ve done this a few times, but I’m not superconfident,” says Lawrence, casually attired, without a trace of makeup, in her kitchen. “I have ramen, so either way we’re fine,” she says, only half joking.

While the chicken is in the oven, Lawrence makes us martinis (my drink of choice) in the style that Michael Fassbender, one of her X-Men co-stars, taught her—a drop of vermouth swished in the glass, then tossed out before the vodka goes in. The French-style house is her first major purchase, made back in 2014, a perfectly appointed, comfortable environment and exactly what you would expect from this gal from Kentucky: vintage mixed with modern. A gorgeous custom curved long sofa in the den, we both agree, is what she should try to salvage first if a California fire were headed her way.

Lawrence admits that her style is ever evolving and that she is in the process of redecorating. “My bedroom looks like Vegas meets . . .” Her voice trails off. “Well, you never want to decorate anything before you’re 25.” A portrait of her dog and constant companion, Pippi, commissioned by her mother, hangs in the gym, which is well equipped but doesn’t run the risk of overuse from this openly disgruntled exerciser. As she takes me on a tour of the lush grounds outside, she admits having been in the pool only once, on her birthday—the downside of a career lived on the road.

This month Lawrence stars as Russian prima ballerina turned Soviet operative Dominika Egorova in Red Sparrow, a spy thriller based on the best-selling novel by former C.I.A. agent Jason Matthews. After an injury ends her dance career, Lawrence’s character is recruited by the government to join an elite squad of officers who use psychological—and sexual—warfare to extract secrets from state enemies.

About seven years ago, when Lawrence co-starred in Jodie Foster’s filmThe Beaver, the director told her that one day she would look back on her film roles and see a pattern. It was Lawrence’s good friend Laura (more on her later) who identified the archetype even before Lawrence did, noting that the actress tended to play “white trash with too much responsibility.” Sure enough, in her early films, including Winter’s Bone and the Hunger Games quartet, Lawrence embodied what she calls “the young-adult maternal figure.”

During a shoot at this 24-acre biodynamic farm, Lawrence modeled the latest in ranch dressing.

Photograph by Inez and Vinoodh; Styled by Jessica Diehl.

The character of Dominika presented Lawrence with an opportunity to break from her past in more ways than one. “Red Sparrow really scared the hell out of me because I get nude,” says Lawrence, who first balked at the idea. “I tried to do the movie without nudity but realized it just wouldn’t be right to put the character through something that I, myself, am not willing to go through.”

Lawrence, who had personal photos stolen and uploaded to the Internet in a hack, in 2014, said that she was wary of potential criticism over her artistic choice. “My biggest fear was that people would say, ‘Oh, how can you complain about the hack if you’re going to get nude anyway?,’ ” Lawrence says, referencing the stolen photos, which were meant for her then boyfriend, Nicholas Hoult. (The man responsible for the hack was prosecuted and sentenced to 18 months in prison; Lawrence’s stolen pictures will live forever on the Internet.)

But the actress draws a big distinction between the involuntary release of her photos and her decision to shed her clothes on-screen. “One is my choice.” That choice ultimately proved to be empowering. “I got something back that was taken from me, and it also felt normal,” she says.

It helps that the director of these potentially uncomfortable scenes was Francis Lawrence (no relation), who has worked with Lawrence since she was 22 and started making the second film in the Hunger Games quartet. Though she was particularly nervous about filming a violent shower-room fight scene, she says Francis immediately put her at ease. “He looked me right in the eyes like I had clothes on and then all of a sudden I was like, ‘Oh, O.K., it’s just like I have clothes on.’ Everybody here is professional. You’re still at work. One look just made me comfortable. It didn’t make me feel naked.”

Francis wasn’t the only person on the Red Sparrow set to watch Jennifer grow up—many on the production team were also Hunger Games alumni. “They all knew me since I was a baby,” says Lawrence. After wrapping the nude scenes she teased the camera team: “I hope you guys feel creepy.” (For all her dramatic accolades, comedic timing may be Lawrence’s true gift.) The director says he always had Jennifer in mind for the part. “First and foremost, she’s a terrific actress,” he says. “What excited me the most was just how different it would be for her—the way she looks and the way she behaves and the way she sounds . . . that was really, really exciting to me.”

“I get my happiness from my friends and my house,” Lawrence says.

“She is one of the most intuitive people that I know,” adds Francis. (Lawrence’s Red Sparrow co-stars include Joel Edgerton and acting icons Charlotte Rampling and Jeremy Irons.) “She’s kind of a savant when it comes to human behavior. When she’s acting in a scene, it’s not something that’s been rehearsed or practiced—it’s really fun to watch, and it’s pretty magical.”

The director also sees an authenticity in the offscreen Jennifer Lawrence. “I think a lot of people think the behavior portrayed in articles and interviews—when she falls and all that kind of stuff—has been fabricated by her. It’s really not. She really is who she is and who she presents herself to be. There’s sort of a blunt quality. She doesn’t really hold back in terms of beliefs and being goofy and she just says what she’s thinking.”

Another thing that isn’t fabricated: Lawrence’s oft reported resistance to dieting and working out. To accommodate his star, Francis arranged to shoot the ballet scenes in Red Sparrow first, so that she would be in her best shape. (The movie was shot in parts of Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and the U.K.) He adds, “She really trained a tremendous amount. She worked with a ballet coach for three months and did a lot of exercise.”

For Lawrence, the issue of body image and weight is a particularly sensitive one. Last fall, as the Hollywood sexual-assault reckoning gained momentum, Lawrence revealed in painstaking detail an incident in which she was asked, early in her career, to stand nude in a lineup of other actresses in front of a producer who judged her body and pressured her to lose weight. “I’ve always wondered what it would take to get me to really diet, to really be hungry, because I’ve never done it for a movie. For Hunger Games, they told me to lose weight, and then I discovered Jack in the Box. Red Sparrow was the first time that I was really hungry, and disciplined. I can’t be in character as an ex-ballerina and not feel like an ex-ballerina.”

Jen’s next act? The 27-year-old can see herself as a television executive.

Photograph by Inez and Vinoodh; Styled by Jessica Diehl.

Though she tried to maintain that dancer’s level of control, once she was done with the ballet sequences, all bets were off. “I can’t work on a diet. I’m hungry. I’m standing on my feet. I need more energy. I remember having a meltdown, freaking out that I had eaten five banana chips.”

Nourishment came in a European form of street food. “I discovered this Viennese kielbasa sausage in an uncircumcised French-bread roll, with pickle relish,” she says. “I had that almost every day in Budapest—which you can see, because I continue to grow in the movie,” she says, laughing. “Dieting is just not in the cards for me.”

 Back in Lawrence’s kitchen, she plates a delicious meal: perfectly tender chicken with onions, potatoes, and green beans. And then we sit in the kitchen and talk about what almost everyone else is talking about around the table. “I’ve always thought that it was a good idea to stay out of politics,” says Lawrence. “Twenty-five percent of America identifies as liberal and I need more than 25 percent of America to go see my movies. It’s not wise, career-speaking, to talk about politics. When Donald Trump got sworn into office, that fucking changed.”

She’s joined the board of Represent.Us, a bipartisan grassroots organization that aims to root corruption out of politics. Fellow board members include directors Adam McKay and David O. Russell, who directed Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook, Joy, and American Hustle,and the advisory board boasts a number of activists from all political stripes, including Democratic, Republican, and Tea Party leaders.

Now that she’s politically woke, Lawrence isn’t holding back her opinions. “It did steamroll, thanks to my personality,” she admits. “If I’m thinking something, I’ve made it very clear I’m going to talk about it. My family obviously hates every time I talk about politics because it’s hard to see your kid get criticized and they live in Kentucky, where nobody is really liking what I’m saying.” (Kentucky, where polls closed at six P.M., was one of the first states Trump won in 2016.)

Although Lawrence divides her time between New York City and Los Angeles, her southern upbringing gives her a different perspective. She maintains close ties to her hometown of Louisville (her parents still own a house there, and each Christmas she visits children at the city’s Norton Children’s Hospital), and she understands viscerally the reasons why Donald Trump’s candidacy resonated with many Americans. Here’s “a big powerful man in a nice suit, pointing at you and going, ‘I’m going to make you rich.’ It’s so appealing,” she says. “The Democrats made a huge mistake by chastising the Trump supporters, and that was disgusting to me. Of course they’re not going to vote for Hillary Clinton; they’re going to vote for Donald Trump. You laughed at them when their plight is very real.”

But she scoffs at the criticism of Hillary Clinton as a “career politician.” “I’m like, ‘I want a career politician!’ I wouldn’t hire an assistant if they didn’t have experience; we’re talking about the president of the fucking United States!”

A Kentucky native, the actress looks right at home among horses.

Photograph by Inez and Vinoodh; Styled by Jessica Diehl.

Two thousand seventeen was a fitful year for Lawrence. It started with negative reviews for Passengers, her outer-space movie co-starring Chris Pratt. The film wasn’t a financial flop—it made $300 million worldwide—but Lawrence, who garnered a career-high $20 million payday, couldn’t distract from the movie’s troubled plotline.

In June a private plane she was flying on, from Kentucky to New York, at 31,000 feet suffered double engine failure and was forced to make an emergency landing. (No one was injured.) Over dinner Lawrence told me the terrifying experience sent her into therapy for the first time to combat the post-traumatic stress she was dealing with. And every time she got on a plane in the aftermath, to soothe her nerves she watched Disney movies on rotation. “Thank you, Emma Watson, for Beauty and the Beast,” she says. “I’ve seen it six or seven times. If anybody has any questions about it, come to me.”

She also ended her relationship with director Darren Aronofsky. The two met making the allegorical Mother!, a controversial film that critics loved—Lawrence won praise for her performance as a young tortured wife and mother—but one that audiences rejected as too complicated. “I thought it was genius, a masterpiece, and . . . a cry for Mother Earth seemed right and cool. He was the perfect filmmaker to do it with.”

Although they are no longer romantically linked, they are still friends. Lawrence prides herself on healthy relationships—and healthy breakups. “We have an amazing friendship that started before the movie, then we had a partnership with the movie, and then we had a romance that came from the movie, so when you strip the romance away, we still have immense respect for each other,” she says. “As cliché as it sounds, we were good to each other. I read stuff all the time that I think would be perfect for Darren. And I think we’ll work together again.”

Lawrence has strong friendships—fellow actresses Emma Stone, Brie Larson, and Amy Schumer, to name a few, as well as a very tight group outside the industry she has known for more than 10 years. “When I was doing X-Men—that was right when Hunger Games was starting to come out—everyone just starts looking at you like you have something on your face, and the whole world starts reacting to you differently,” she remembers. “If I was not living with a best friend at the time, I don’t know what would have happened, because every day I came home, and it was the exact same: we’d talk about boy drama, and we’d talk about her [life].”

“She is one of the most intuitive people that I know,” says director Francis Lawrence.

One member of that group, Laura, whom she had met when she was 17, was with her when Vanity Fair photographed Lawrence in December. I saw something on that shoot I have never seen in 20 years of living in Hollywood. Upon arriving, Lawrence’s dog, Pippi, defecated on the property almost immediately after getting out of the S.U.V. Laura, who was helping Lawrence that day, reached in her purse, pulled out a plastic bag, and then did the unthinkable. She handed the bag to Lawrence, who proceeded to pick up her dog’s poop.

Hollywood is home to an egomaniacal industry where movie stars tend to be enabled and coddled, and at a certain point actors begin to surround themselves with sycophants and paid pals. I have watched Lawrence grow up in this community, and it gave me such a sense of pride that the world’s biggest movie star is still humble enough to pick up her own dog shit.

Lawrence provided some of her own insight: “Being an actor, you become a professional at talking about yourself,” she says. “And it’s not even our fault—we do it for months and months and months at a time. But I have my girlfriends and I’m genuinely interested in their lives.”

When Mother! was doing poorly, Lawrence initially was disappointed by the public’s indifference to the film. She remembers thinking, “ ‘Did you guys not get it? I gave my body, Darren gave his fucking heart, he bled for that script, and you don’t get it.’ It’s a little sad. And I remember letting it be sad for a couple of days, and then I was like, ‘You know what? This is not where I get my happiness from. I get my happiness from my friends and my house—they’ve brought me so much sanity.’ ”

In The Hunger Games and Winter’s Bone, Lawrence played the “young-adult maternal figure.”

Photograph by Inez and Vinoodh; Styled by Jessica Diehl.

Working steadily since the age of 16, Lawrence uncharacteristically has some time on her hands. She is signed on to star in a film with Italian director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name), but with the script still being written, there is plenty of time for Lawrence to explore other opportunities.

 After our dinner we leave the dishes in the sink and head to her living room, where there are two stockings hanging from the mantel—one for her, and a miniature one for Pippi—and a Christmas tree. I ask about future projects. Lawrence has made no secret of her love for television—especially reality programming. She’s become unlikely friends with Kardashian matriarch and “momager” Kris Jenner, who posted on Instagram a picture of a mini toy Porsche she received from Lawrence. In November, Lawrence gave interviewers everywhere a run for their money when she grilled Kim Kardashian West as part of a guest-host stint on Jimmy Kimmel Live.(Sample questions: “Have you ever been cheated on?” And “Do you think it’s a coincidence that [ex-boyfriend] Reggie Bush’s wife looks just like you?”)

Over glasses of red wine I ask Lawrence, “If you could make your own reality show, what would it be?”

“I’m happy you asked,” she says, a Cheshire-cat grin crossing her face, “because I have actually been toying with the idea of becoming a billionaire and I’d like to start my own TV network.” Because of her viewing habits—heavy on Real Housewives, all things Kardashian—she declares, “I am pretty much a television professional at this point. And I have a brilliant idea for a reality show called Breakup Island.”

She goes on: “I can’t tell you the details, but there are very distinct cast members like The Bachelor, between the ages of 20 and 50, who you stay with and care about.”

Lawrence has obviously given this a lot of thought, but she plays coy. “That’s all I’m willing to disclose about Breakup Island because I really think it’s going to happen,” she says. “My agent was laughing at me when I told him. But I am clearly obsessed.”

Lawrence leans back on the fainting couch, her face lit perfectly by the natural firelight. She takes another sip of her wine, and after a beat, with the confidence of a mogul, she says, “Seems like a natural next step.”

(C)

[oselatra]

You're doing your 401(k) wrong

Hundreds of thousands of retirement dollars could be at stake.

If you're among the 79 percent of American workers whose employers offer a 401(k)-style retirement plan, you may have a foggy memory of someone, maybe in HR, explaining the plan to you. It's possible that soon after you heard "401(k)" your eyes crossed and you started daydreaming about lunch. Even now, you may be close to abandoning this article because you can tell there are going to be numbers involved. But first read this: If you are not putting money away in a 401(k) or some other retirement vehicle, you will regret it one day. Retiring with no source of income besides Social Security means you will grow old in relative poverty or be forced to work well past 65, and that's assuming Social Security survives in its current form for the foreseeable future. If you are taking advantage of a 401(k), especially if your employer matches some portion of what you are contributing, you're getting free money (!) to invest alongside your own pretax income that will put you on the path to getting to do what you want after retirement. Unfortunately, among eligible employees of companies that offer plans, only 41 percent participate.

But if you do indeed put money aside in a 401(k), don't relax just yet. Many people with 401(k)s are unwittingly paying fees that add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars lost from their retirement savings. If, say, you're contributing 10 percent of your salary to your 401(k) for most of your working life, it may well be the biggest purchase you ever make. How much will it cost? Most people don't know the answer.

Forty or 50 years ago, many American workers knew they could retire one day because they had a pension waiting for them along with their Social Security benefits. Employers were responsible for saving and investing money, so that when their workers reached retirement age, they received a specified amount, usually based on length of employment and salary history. This pension model is known as a defined benefit plan.

But pensions were expensive for employers to maintain, and in the 1980s and 1990s, many companies eagerly ditched them in favor of 401(k) plans. Named for an obscure addition to section 401 of the federal tax code in 1978, the 401(k) allowed workers a tax-free way to put money aside, but the idea didn't catch on until the early '80s, when a retirement consultant came up with an idea to incentivize participation through a match from employers.

Today, only 10 percent of workers over 22 have a pension, and the 401(k) has become the dominant retirement savings vehicle. With a traditional defined benefit pension, employees got stability and predictability without having to take any action. In contrast, a 401(k) plan is what's known as a defined contribution plan. Employees who take advantage of the plan determine a percentage of their salary to defer from their paycheck, pretax, into mutual funds or other investments (the IRS-defined contribution limit is $18,000 for 2017). Often, employers match some portion of the contribution. Compared to a pension, a 401(k) is more like do-it-yourself retirement, even if it's facilitated and often incentivized by employers. Workers have to make a number of decisions: Should they participate at all? If they do take advantage of the plan, how much can they afford to contribute? How should their investment be spread between stocks and bonds? What specific funds should they select?

Few people answer all these questions correctly, Tim Quillin, of Aptus Financial, says. Not that he blames them.

"Everyone seems to feel like they're supposed to know more than they do," he said of investing in 401(k) plans. "We don't have any problem going to other professionals, to doctors or lawyers, but when it comes to this area, a lot of people feel like, 'I can figure out those fund choices, no problem.' They say, 'Bonds, oh yeah, I've heard of those, I need bonds, or 'Growth, yeah, gimme some growth.' " Or they get lost early in the process and make random selections. Complexity, apathy and embarrassment are three of the main forces of evil working in the 401(k) ecosystem, Quillin says.

Aptus sees the typical 401(k) plan as almost obsolete. It's working to reinvent the model. Sarah Catherine Gutierrez founded the Little Rock firm in 2011 as "a response to how the rest of the industry gives advice." Most financial services companies take money from clients, invest it for them and charge a percentage fee on that investment — or assets under management. Another, increasingly popular model is to invest clients' money for them on an hourly, fee-only basis. Rather than holding and investing clients' money, Aptus recommends a financial plan and directs its clients to execute the plan themselves. For its advice, Aptus charges a flat fee or hourly rate.

Financial advisers who make money based on the assets they manage are often faced with conflicts of interest, and their services cost more than they should, says Gutierrez, who has a master's degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and spent years working at Stephens Inc. as an analyst. "If you look at the average fees someone would pay up front or over time, we're just a small fraction. When you charge a fixed fee, you're kind of agnostic. We don't financially benefit if you pay off student loans or invest."

Aptus' model requires more volume than other financial advisers because many of its clients are one-time only. So, in six years, Gutierrez and her colleagues have seen hundreds of people. One common theme: Many clients' 401(k) plans include fees that, over the course of an investment, could cost hundreds of thousands of retirement dollars — and they have no idea.

Take Jennifer, a young attorney at a large Little Rock law firm, who makes about $95,000 and whose work involves reviewing financial transactions (her name has been changed). A risk assessment test — with questions such as, "If you had a vacation planned and you suddenly lose your job, would you cancel the trip even though you might never be able to take the trip again?" — told her that she's conservative for her age when it comes to money matters. She's read books by celebrity financial advisers like Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey, and followed their advice to pay off her highest-interest loans first. When she became eligible for her firm's generous 401(k) plan — it matches two-thirds of contributions up to 6 percent of its employees' salary — she elected to defer 12 percent of her salary. "I remember hearing that 10 percent was standard, so I thought I'd do 12 to get a little bit ahead," she said.

But when Jennifer asked Gutierrez to review her 401(k), Gutierrez noticed that Jennifer was solely invested in one fund that cost 1.44 percent in fees. That might sound like nothing, but compound interest adds up over the years. Gutierrez recommended another fund offered by Jennifer's firm, with fees totaling 0.25 percent. Considering a rate of return of just under 6 percent, the fees in Jennifer's original fund could cost her almost $300,000 by the time she retires at 65. It could mean the difference between her annual income in retirement being $37,000 per year vs. almost $49,000.

"I was kind of embarrassed," Jennifer said when Gutierrez explained the cost of her plan. "I felt like I should have known better. I knew I needed to look at it sometime, but I figured if I was putting a certain percentage in every month, I'd be fine."

Jennifer isn't alone in not considering fees. "Most Americans don't know [fund fees] exist," said Sheryl Garrett of Eureka Springs and the CEO of the Garrett Planning Network Inc., a network of 240 hourly, fee-only financial advisers. Garrett's experience is supported by a 2011 study by AARP, which found that 71 percent of Americans don't think they pay any fees at all. Or if they do know about fees, Garrett says, "They say, 'Oh, my employer must pay those." But the industry is fees, Quillin says.

"Because we've had a stock bull market over the last 35-40 years, some of the problems have been masked. This whole industry is set up to generate fees for the companies that service 401(k)s. But [people] will never know. There's no counterfactual. It's not like buying a house and someday selling it and realizing you paid too much."

Another problem with Jennifer's plan? Too many options. "To do what's in a client's best interest is to eliminate the crappy choices," Garrett says. "You want to have fewer, better choices," Quillin echoes.

Quillin joined Aptus earlier this year after almost two decades as an analyst, mostly with Stephens Inc. He was Gutierrez' boss at Stephens and they became friends and stayed in touch when she left. He came to Aptus after the firm successfully bid on managing a small company's 401(k) plan, and Gutierrez and Quillin realized a different take on the 401(k) model could be a growth opportunity. Much like its other individual financial counseling work, for a 401(k), Aptus charges fixed fees, offers a lineup of low-cost funds and focuses on individual financial wellness.

To understand how that model might be different from a more typical plan, consider the three main players with their hands in the 401(k) cookie jar:

There's the adviser, who is chosen by the employer and who selects a lineup of mutual funds and meets with employees to explain the mechanics of the plan. Advisers typically make money based on a percentage of the plan's assets under management, but they could get paid through sales commissions or 12b-1 fees, which are annual marketing or distribution fees paid out of an individual fund's net assets to advisers. Critics call these kickbacks that amount to a conflict of interest.

There's the recordkeeper or custodian, which keeps up with the nuts and bolts of the plan. The recordkeeper is often selected by the adviser. It deposits and withdraws money in accounts and generates all the paperwork associated with a plan. Recordkeepers typically charge per participant, but in some instances charge as a percentage of assets. "That doesn't make sense," Quillin says. The cost of the administration they have to do is only a function of the number of people they keep track of; the work doesn't get harder as a plan's assets grow.

There's the cost of the individual mutual funds or other investment vehicles themselves, for the research or tools the fund managers use to beat or match the market. That cost is often reflected as an expense ratio on a plan's lineup of funds, but there could also be sales commission charges, called front- or back-end loads, which could be charged when participants first buy or sell funds.

Those three parties often work together in ways that obscure what they're charging in a 401(k). Another Aptus client we'll call Amber was a teacher at a private school when she received an email from the school's finance department about her 401(k). It said that one of the funds in the school's 401(k) lineup would no longer be offered and assets in it would be transferred into a new fund if participants didn't act before a certain date. That move would affect Amber — and she chafed at the idea of being forced into a new investment — so she forwarded the letter to Gutierrez, who noticed right away that the fees mentioned on the letter looked off. The plan said it was moving from a Vanguard fund with a 1.04 expense ratio to a Blackrock fund with an expense ratio of 1 percent. "They were saying, 'Hey, tada, we're giving you lower fees,' " Gutierrez said.

The mutual fund company Vanguard popularized low-cost investing and pioneered the idea of so-called passive investing through index funds, where rather than buying a mutual fund made up of a collection of assets assembled to beat the market, an investor buys a specific sampling of the market, such as the S&P 500 index. Because there's no research or staff to speak of necessary to buy the market, Vanguard and other passive funds have much lower fees than actively managed funds. Gutierrez knew that Vanguard charged significantly less for that particular fund, somewhere between .10 and .16 percent. Meanwhile, the BlackRock fund that Amber was being forced into was greatly underperforming the Vanguard fund. With Amber's permission, Gutierrez contacted the administrator in the school's finance department whose name was on the email Amber received. The administrator said she had never seen the email and couldn't explain the rationale for the change and referred Gutierrez to the plan adviser. He also said he didn't know about the change and couldn't explain it. That, at best, was "odd," Gutierrez said.

It's unclear exactly what the motivation for the fund switch in Amber's plan was and who stood to profit by it, but the lack of transparency bothered Amber. "It didn't seem right," she said.

Aptus isn't alone in Arkansas in seeing the inflated costs of an average 401(k) plan as a business opportunity. Allen Engstrom is managing director of CFO Network, a North Little Rock company that provides financial consulting for businesses. Several years ago, he noticed on his own 401(k) statement that his funds were underperforming the market. The more he looked, he found that his embedded fees — "small percentages, each one seemed innocuous," he said — were eating up his return. He took an average salary at his firm and modeled out the cost of fees over the course of the hypothetical employee's career. It amounted to over $420,000, or 38 percent of 401(k) return at retirement. In searching for a better way to have a plan, he researched a range of advisers, administrators and investment platforms. "We ended up with a solution that my employees are happy with that brought our fees down, on average to 5 percent" over the course of their career, he said.

That experience led Engstrom to add 401(k) evaluation as one of CFO Network's services. "Nobody out there that has a vested interest in telling the [401(k)] story. They're all conflicted to some extent. We're totally independent. We don't have a dog in the hunt. Companies hire us as independent consultants. We facilitate the process of understanding what kind of plan they have, model out the fee-impacts on employees, and do a discovery process, where we go through and interview the employees and employer to understand what they want out of their plans. Every one we've done, we've found similar results. Fees were all well north of 30 percent, and we've gotten them down into the mid-single digit range."

The other thing Engstrom learned in his research into his own plan: As the trustee, he was potentially liable for excessive fees. In the last decade, 401(k) investors have filed a number of lawsuits, many of them successful, against large corporations that offered plans with excessive fees under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974.  

On June 9, a new U.S. Department of Labor rule covering retirement plans, originally conceived in the Obama administration, went into effect. It requires the adviser on all retirement plans to be a fiduciary, which means she is required to put her clients' interests before her own. "One of the duties of the Department of Labor rule is not to waste clients' assets," Garrett says. "It's interpreted into the wording. I like using those words: We have a duty."

Garrett believes the new rule and more ERISA class-action lawsuits will have an impact on the industry. "I really think we're going to see a very dramatic change in qualified plans offered by employer groups, where the plans will either be changed or switched up. There will be better costs, better transparency and better recordkeeping."

But Quillin thinks real reform will only come from below.

"Nobody in this ecosystem really has a strong incentive to change it. Current providers have no incentive. The [employers], as long as they have a 401(k) and the villagers aren't storming the castle, they're pretty happy with letting things continue as well. Until people care, until employees care, the world isn't going to change. We can have regulatory reform — like this new fiduciary rule, which may or may not help, and may or may not be repealed or watered down by the new administration — but until people really take an active interest in their retirement plan, the world is not going to change." So what do you do know?

The easiest way to figure out how much your 401(k) plan costs is to ask the plan's adviser or whoever is the point person for the plan in your company for a breakdown of all the fees levied. That might be the only way to truly know how much you pay.

Other routes: Look at your statement and note the expenses deducted from your balance. Virtually all plans offer participants a way to access information about their lineup of mutual funds (and possibly other investments) online. There, you can see an expense ratio — a collection of costs charged annually, expressed as a percentage of assets — for each mutual fund. To see a breakdown of those expenses, which could include 12b-1 fees, administrative fees, management fees and operating costs, you'll have to find the mutual fund's prospectus, which is often available on a 401(k) portal. The prospectus may describe certain fees, including front-end load commissions, which are charged at the initial purchase of an investment, in terms of maximum charges. So again, you're back asking for info from your adviser or administrator.

Another thing to look for on your company's 401(k) mutual fund lineup is how the funds have performed against a benchmark — usually an index of the broader market or a segment of the market — over the course of one, five and 10 years. Aptus Financial recommends that 401(k) plans offer passive target-date, low-fee index funds that reallocate among stocks and bonds as an investor moves closer to her target retirement date. Allen Engstrom, managing director at CFO Network, points to target-date passive investments and robo-advisers, which provide automated investment advice at a low cost, as among the ways companies can reduce the cost of their plan.

But true financial guidance can be worth the cost, James Alger, senior vice president and chief compliance officer at Simmons First Investment Group, says.

"When you look at retirement accounts, people's retirement dollars, one of the biggest mistakes that investors make, if they're long-term investors, is getting out of the market. They can be overcome by short-term fears, and fears make them react and they make the wrong move."

Behavioral management can be an important role of an adviser, too, Alger said. "What did you do in 2008, 2009? Did you stay put or did you get out? If you look back, you would have been better off staying put. ... If they got out, they really messed up."

Sheryl Garrett, CEO of Garrett Planning Network Inc., said that though she used passive investments to dramatically lower her own 401(k) plan's fees, costs aren't the only factor to consider. "Everything doesn't have to be less than X percent. Maybe having a little bit of exposure [to a certain market] is important for diversification."

But, Tim Quillin of Aptus said, "The passive vs. active debate is a little bit of a red herring. The issue is really fees." Research shows that actively managed funds have long underperformed their passive peers, Quillin said. It's hard enough for stock pickers to beat the market, but especially so when they have to beat the market and an assortment of fees.

You're doing your 401(k) wrong