#but at some point branzy did realize that he almost likes it

[jestersking]

day two: lifesteal you could technically feed hearts to other players. it's a pretty bad idea, since hearts are based on a wither star and therefore, eating them would give a receiver terrible withering effect that won't go away just by drinking milk. and they taste absolutely fucking terrible, to the point where people usually just puke them back out because the taste is so absolutely horrendous it makes your body physically hurt. not a single sane person would eat them themselves because it's just simply not worth it. but lifesteal isn't really made out of sane people.

[spacedykez]

ok ok ok so. branzy and clown are dating. good for them! no one else knows and everyone still thinks that branzy is being held hostage or being threatened by clown or whatever. branzy and clown think it’s so so funny but it’s getting kind of annoying. they bet on how long it will take for someone to realize that they are in evil gay love, and if it takes longer than either of them guessed they have to do one (1) PDA. i could not stop giggling while writing this

- joobies anon

this tale of reckless love

Branzy and Clown are dating. The rest of the server doesn't know this. Branzy takes this as an opportunity for some fun.

cws: none! | ao3 link | wc 1943 notes: actually beta read for once! and thank you joobies anon, i had a ton of fun writing this and i hope i did your idea justice :D

(Your friendly reminder that REBLOGS > LIKES, and now onto the fic!)

“Blink twice if you’re being held hostage.”

Branzy jumps slightly as Rek sneaks up beside him, whispering in his ear. He bites back a laugh- him, held hostage by Clown? It’s almost laughable. But he can see it- and oh, this could be fun. 

“Don’t worry, I believe the term you’re looking for is indentured servitude!” Branzy tells him cheerily. It’s not, really, but why tell Rek that? 

“Branzy, are you okay?” Rek demands. Of course Rek would be the first to ask about Clown; he’s Branzy’s closest friend after all- if you can call them friends. Their relationship is… well, complicated. It’s a whole thing, you know how it is.

“Oh, yeah, I’m great!” he assures Rek. He doesn’t imagine Rek believes him. It sounds like a lie coming from him, especially with his history of tricks and schemes. But funnily enough, it’s true for once.

Rek isn’t convinced- Branzy can see it in the worry on his face and the way he studies Branzy, scanning for indicators that he’s not telling the full truth. But Branzy’s had plenty of experience hiding his lies before, and this time there’s nothing to hide.

“Okay…” Rek says, eyes flicking away from Branzy towards where Clown is running after Rek’s teammates. “You know you can come to me if you need-”

“Oh, yeah, yeah!” Branzy nods. He’s not trapped by any means- if he really wanted to leave Clown he could slip away when needed. He didn’t stay alive this long by being helpless. 

Rek spares him one last look of concern before dashing away to help his dying allies, leaving Branzy to break down in laughter. Did they really all think he was being held hostage by Clown? He’d known they were trying to hide their- relationship, but he didn’t think they were that convincing!

This could be quite enjoyable, actually. Quite enjoyable.

Clown’s not quite as amused by the idea of tricking the others as Branzy is.

He’s covered in blood when he comes back to Branzy, having chased Rek and his teammates away. They didn’t stand a chance against him, not when Clown’s so good at striking fear into his enemies. Branzy supposes that’s why they haven’t figured the two of them out yet; they’re too afraid of Clown to even think for a moment that Branzy and Clown dating is a possibility.

“We can’t tell them,” Clown insists in that soft but firm tone he uses on no one but Branzy. It’s a side of the man reserved solely for Branzy, a gentle part masked by an  intimidating appearance. “It’s too much of a risk if they know.”

Well, that’s just no fun. 

“They’ll figure it out anyways!” Branzy points out, wiping half-dried blood from Clown’s face. Clown doesn’t push his hand away, which Branzy takes as a sign to continue.

“It’ll take them a while,” Clown’s clearly trying to hold onto the last remains of his image, the image Branzy’s quickly breaking down. Clown doesn’t look nearly as scary when he’s with Branzy.

“Three days, at most,” Branzy shrugs. It’s only a matter of time, really- Rek will start to figure it out soon, at least. He’s always been perceptive, and soon he’ll start to realize that things just don’t add up.

“Only three days? That’s all you can give me?” Clown teases with an affectionate sigh. Branzy nods and twines his fingers into Clown’s, who really isn’t resisting this too much for a man who’s about to have his carefully-crafted image shattered.

“Mhm.” Three more days of Clown looking terrifying before he gives in to Branzy’s charms.

“Give me a week,” Clown bargains. He doesn’t seem all too upset about this, really- Branzy would have thought he’d be far more opposed to his reputation being completely ruined. 

Branzy’s just that hot, huh?

“A week,” Branzy agrees. And then it’s all over. He knows Clown’s probably already regretting this, but Branzy’s definitely not. He’s gonna have so much fun once they don’t need to hide their affections anymore (not that Branzy’s doing a very good job of that anyways). “And then I get to kiss you?”

Clown sighs defeatedly, not very upset about this. “If they don’t figure us out sooner.”

Branzy considers this a massive win.

He lasts four more days before he slips up. In his defense, it was only a matter of time. And how was he meant to resist when Clown is so dang cute?

They’re in the middle of a chase across the ocean- Branzy isn’t even quite sure why they’re fighting, to be honest. There’s always some sort of conflict going on, he can’t be expected to know who’s allies with who. He’s too pretty to do that much thinking!

He and Clown are in a boat together, with Clown at the oars. Rek speeds along in another boat beside them. A ways in front of them, two other boats are racing along. “They’re getting away, I can barely make them out.”

“I know something you can make out,” Branzy snorts as soon as he says it- it’s an awful attempt at flirting, really.

“Branzy!” The boat slows for a moment as Clown bites back a groan. In the boat next to them, Rek lets out a startled gasp. 

“Well, ohhhh-kay-” Rek chuckles awkwardly. Branzy should probably feel embarrassed, but he’s really not. For Clown’s sake, he backtracks. They agreed on a week.

“Oh- I mean, uh-” Branzy throws in his trademark nervous chuckle. He’s trained himself out of the habit after one too many times it gave away a plan, but Rek doesn’t need to know that. It’s a great lie, totally!

It seems to fool Rek, anyways. Clown shoots Branzy a pointed glare as best he can. Branzy bites back a giggle- maybe he wouldn’t mess with Clown so much if Clown wasn’t so fun to mess with.

Clown gives him a warning once the chase is over. “Branzy, you can’t just-”

“Can’t what?” Branzy says innocently, putting on his best puppy face. He’s been told he looks like one, and he’ll definitely play into that if it helps him accomplish his goals.

Clown looks up and to the side exasperatedly, still not truly annoyed with Branzy. He’s pretty sure he could kill Clown and Clown wouldn’t mind. “I’m not giving in to your pleading face.”

Branzy gasps in mock-offense. Clown’s not supposed to resist his puppy face! That’s illegal! He, Branzy, declares it! 

“A week. We agreed on a week,” Clown tells him. Well, four days is basically a week, right? But he gives in, if only because Clown’s promised him a kiss.

Seven days after their agreement, Clown wakes Branzy with a scythe to the throat. 

Branzy should probably be terrified, but he just can’t bring himself to be. He glances sleepily down at the metal and up at Clown. “Morning, Clown.”

“How does running for your life sound today, Branzy?” Clown asks. Branzy’s still unworried. Should he be?

“What about running for your love?” Branzy offers. Clown’s free hand slaps his mask in exasperation. Branzy’s still unbothered. Clown has no reason to kill him, and besides he could easily have slit Branzy’s throat while he slept if he really wanted Branzy dead.

“Just work with me here?” 

Oh, he got it now. This sounded entertaining. Branzy lightly pushes the scythe away from him and rolls out of bed, grabbing Clown’s hand and pulling himself up until their faces are temptingly close.

Clown shoves Branzy away gently. “Kiss later, kay?”

“Aww,” Branzy whines. And finally, Clown gives in. He leans down and lifts Branzy’s hand to his face, pushing the mask up. One quick kiss on Branzy’s hand later, he lowers it again.

Branzy giggles and grins happily. Clown regards him adoringly, then lifts the scythe again. “Do me a favor and find as many of the others as you can.”

Branzy nods and takes off running. Spawn will probably have more players at it, so that’s where he goes. Clown gives him a head start, but after a few minutes Branzy hears the squish of boots on the ground running after him.

He does the logical thing, for once, and screams. It’s exaggerated, and he knows Clown can tell. But he’s trusting the others’ fear of Clown to help convince them. With any luck, they won’t think to question it, focusing on the very real threat of Clown chasing after him.

It’s not a real threat- Clown has no intentions of hurting any of them. But they don’t need to know that. 

Rek is unsurprisingly the first to come running, with a fearful cry of “Branzy!?”

Branzy simply lets Rek’s worry do the work for him, barely trying to be convincing. “HELP!!”

“Why is he after you!?” Rek demands. Rek’s really is making this easy- he doesn’t need to bother to come up with a reply- it’s already on the tip of his tongue. 

“Not the time!” See, usually he’d need a convincing explanation, but there wasn’t really a time for one when Clown was after you. Rek understandably doesn’t question him. 

“Hold on, I’ll call for help!”

Perfect.

“Oh, Branzy!” Clown calls, taunting. Branzy resists the automatic urge to flirt. What can he say? A man’s got his priorities.

When Branzy loops around to spawn again, there are more people there, all ready to help him. He’s impressed, really. So many of them have been victims of one of his traps, yet they’re all more worried about Clown.

He purposefully slows a tiny bit, just enough that nobody notices. Clown catches him right by the fountain. The scythe appears in front of him, arcing around in front of his neck ready to kill.

“Branzy!” Rek calls, terrified. He’s watching with wide eyes, mouth open in a gasp. He’s probably thinking he’s failed, but what Rek didn’t know is that was never going to save Branzy. “What do you want with him, Clown!?”

Clown doesn’t answer, grabbing Branzy’s arm and spinning him around so they’re facing one another. Branzy is fighting to keep a smile off his face- one advantage Clown has with his mask.

“Oh, nothing,” Clown says easily, voice calm. He’s got nothing to fear, after all. “I just want him.”

Branzy’s sure the others are watching in horror, but he doesn’t bother to look. He grabs the bottom of Clown’s mask and shoves it up off his face with a smirk, not bothering to put on an act anymore. He hears someone gasp- the first one to figure it out. Took them long enough.

Clown is grinning happily, cherry-colored eyes shining like stars. Branzy reaches up and brushes a stray wisp of soft jet-black hair out of Clown’s eyes.

His heart is already racing from the excitement of running away from Clown, but it seems to beat even faster as Clown leans in. More startled gasps and yells fill Branzy’s ears, but Clown’s the only thing on his mind.

The kiss is even better than Branzy imagined it would be. His body tingles with excitement, mind filled with wordless pleasure. Clown’s hand is gentle and warm on Branzy’s arm, the contact the only thing grounding him.

He’s fairly sure he’d be lost without the touch, gone to a world of only Clown.

Branzy wraps his arms around Clown’s neck as they pull apart. He never wants to let go- never wants to leave this state of euphoria.

“How long-!?” Rek manages, the only one of the assembled players with any words left. 

“Long enough,” Branzy is beaming, cheeks warming with satisfaction. He steals another kiss, and as their lips meet again Branzy doesn’t regret a thing.

[wevuxmag]

Giuseppe Arezzi (1993) is a young talented designer from Ragusa, Sicily, currently based in Milan. In 2016 he graduated with honors at Politecnico di Milano, Faculty of Design, MA in Interior Design, with the thesis “Beata Solitudo, The Contemporary Hermit’s Shelter”, in collaboration with the mentors Francesco Faccin and Francesca Balena Arista.  Currently besides developing independent projects, he is also assistant professor at the Politecnico di Milano under the professors Andrea Branzi, Michele De Lucchi and Francesca Balena Arista. He has collaborated several times with Studio Francesco Faccin.

In 2016, with the project “Protoplast” Giuseppe has been selected by the Triennale di Milano for the exhibition “New Craft”, for the “XXI Triennale” in the category “under-35 designers”. In 2017, He exhibited the project “Beata Solitudo”, inside “Una stanza tutta per sè” curated by Domitilla Dardi at “Cantiere Galli Design” in Rome. His own research is focused on anthropological topics and cultural traditions: the heart of his work.

  WeVux already introduced you Beata Solitudo (here), focusing on Cantiere Galli’s event and Giuseppe’s installations. Today we ask him few questions about his project and method:

  Looking at your project and research, the first question is, what is your relation with the 21st century and its contemporary society?

The 21st century is certainly the one I am experiencing and it is certainly the century that has to worry about solving the problems caused by the previous centuries. The 21st is also a young century and therefore an adolescent who, like all the twenty-years-old, paws and wants to redeem himself. My relationship with this time and its society is analytical and contemplative, I like to observe what is happening and to raise issues that highlight contemporary problems with a critical and sometimes provocative approach. As a designer, I often ask myself who is the contemporary man, but also who is the contemporary designer and how can the latter play a decisive role in our society? Finally, I believe that the design world is moving in this direction: curated by Paola Antonelli, the XXII Triennale will surely be able to give answers to the themes that concern us more. No more furniture and design objects styling, but the bees extinction, bio-technologies, pollution, global warming, waste…

In the case of “Beata Solitudo”, I analyzed a very small portion of humanity. The condition of the contemporary man is mainly dictated by the economic aspects of society: he is not a man that works to accumulate and possess for the future, he lives in the present, in a condition of transiency that leads some individuals to seek refuge in intimacy with themselves and nature.

  In your opinion, what is the link between nature design and future?

The relationship between nature and design has always existed: the necessity for men to find a shelter, to build useful tools for everyday life, these acts have always been at the base of civilization. I found these aspects in the definition of “Vernacular Architecture” by the historian and architect Bernard Rudofsky; he describes those architectural-building forms that belong to the most ancient traditions of man: the tents of the nomads, the Celtic tombs, the arcades as an urban device… They are not conceived by any particular designer or author. This architecture can also be defined as “anonymous”, “rural”, “native”, “indigenous”, “spontaneous”, “traditional”. Vernacular architecture does not follow fashion cycles, it’s almost immutable, not perfectible, because it’s designed to fully solve a function. These architectures are relatively simple, handmade constructions, often assembled in weeks and months of patient manual labor. Time and elementary technology generated a raw beauty, sometimes archaic and sometimes vaguely surreal, very far from nowadays technological and posh paradigm. This is what the past has left us, in the future I don’t know what will be the relationship between nature and design, maybe it would be nice to ask a fortune teller… I’ll continue to question myself!

In my project, I have brought back to life some vernacular architecture techniques, and, since the project is adaptable and usable anywhere in the world, I hypothesized that according to the place where the architecture is installed, it can be mixed in the context: if it’s placed in the desert it would become a house of carpets, referring to the Bedouin tents, in Thailand a house of palm leaves and so on…

  What is the starting point of “Beata Solitudo”, the moment that your research led you to start developing this project?

The insight came when I saw a photo of the famous writer Tiziano Terzani, while he was using his laptop during the last days of his life, in the house of Orsigna, a small town surrounded by nature in the province of Pistoia. Tiziano Terzani was a hermit, but at the same time he was using a laptop – I don’t know if he was connected with the world, but he had one – so I realized that the figure of the hermit was not only present in the past and in religions, but it’s a true and contemporary character. From here I continued to research and I came across a photographic project by Carlo Bevilacqua entitled “Into the Silence”. With this series I discovered that in Italy and in the world there are many people who decided to undertake a solitary life. These characters are men or women that come from different areas of work, with a strong component of knowledge and know-how: TV directors, teachers, former carpenters, former rockers, naturists, artists, former cruise captains, land artists, engineers, former police officers, former models and writers… All the aforementioned cases live in very different places and environments, from the American deserts to the Sicilian islands, from the Australian valleys to the French countryside… At this point I told myself: the contemporary hermit may be a hypothetical client for a hypothetical designer of the future, like every client has characteristics, needs, lifestyles. The contemporary hermit is a person (with no specific age) who has had a wide and complex education, he/she comes from a profession that requires patience and experience and wants to live immersed in the beauty. He/She is a figure looking for individualism to reflect, meditate and free himself/herself from the rest of the world.

  Your project is a wood and fabric architecture, why did you use these materials?

As the “stable” man becomes “precarious”, even the idea behind the construction materials can change from “eternal” (e.g. brick) to “ephemeral” (e.g. fabric). I referred to the “Theory of Clothing”, 1860, by the German architect Gottfried Semper. In Semper’s vision, architecture has origins in textiles and weaving, like nomads tents. There are two needs that have given start to the use of textiles in architecture: on one hand to have flexibility and a strong material, on the other hand to cover, protect and close. He thinks that constructions and walls work only as a support for the fixing of carpets and fabrics. I also referred to the Japanese building culture where the houses are built entirely of wood and have a relatively short life cycle: they born together with the family to last until the death of that family. I found this concept extremely contemporary, a house must be temporary, we can no longer pretend to build in an intrusive way, our cities are already full of abandoned concrete buildings, dilapidated and unused.

  Why the 21st century hermit is a technological, mutant and primitive man?

The search for a hermitic life can even be limited to a short period of time. In many cases the hermit is a mutant person because he can adapt to different contexts and different lifestyles. He/She is a human being respectful of nature that seeks contact with it, almost a return to primitive behaviors: he supports himself in self-sufficient ways, breeding animals, cultivating fruits and vegetables and doing manual labor. He has a sustainable sensitivity and uses technology in perfect symbiosis with natural resources. He is the hermit of the 21st century because he uses the laptop. He doesn’t have well-defined goals, but he’s looking for natural and desolate environments where to live with himself and maybe some animals: glaciers, tropical forests, arid deserts, forests and countrysides.

  What kind of space does this figure need?

I don’t know exactly what kind of space can be perfect for the contemporary hermit, but I tried to find it with my design vision, that certainly should not be considered correct because it is just a vision. I designed a small house with everything necessary to live alone: ​​a space for cooking, a space for eating, a space for washing, a space for sleeping and an attic to stow food and watch the stars. There are also spaces to breed animals and appliances to use renewable energy. This shelter was designed as a product rather than a definitive architecture; the solid and self-supporting structure allows to place the dwelling anywhere in the world. From time to time, the wooden walls, conceived as frames, allow to weave an different kind of textile, depending on the place where the passenger compartment is mounted: in Mongolia or in the desert it would become a house of carpets, in Thailand or in equatorial countries a palm house, in Antarctic of sealskin… Beata Solitudo is not only a physical space, but a representation of the lifestyle of the mutant and primitive technological hermit.

  In your opinion, can Beata Solitudo be considered as a way to get out of society? A critique to the condition in which we live?

It may seem trivial, but Beata Solitudo is a reflection and a reading of the present, of a society increasingly in the grip of frenzy and ambition. Frenzy and ambition are also part of my life, it’s impossible to deny it, but then at a certain point, everyone thinks to give up everything and go to live in permanent isolation. I believe that the project is a criticism of this sentence that we are constantly repeating: I give up everything to get away and live somewhere else. Would we really manage to live in solitude? Would we really be able to live alone in a desert or a desolate valley? Would we really manage not to have contact with the rest of the world for more than a day? Some people in the world do it without any problem, would you do it? I do not know yet…

  You will be able to meet Giuseppe during Fuorisalone 2018 at: 5vie Art+Design District, where he will present a project made in collaboration with a Sicilian company from Grammichele, specialized in wood working and at Subalterno1 Gallery, Lambrate District, for the collective exhibition “Send me the future”. Giuseppe is also one of the designer invited to participate to 100×100 Achille with a special gift for Achille Castiglioni’s 100th anniversary, the exhibition will be on until the 30th of April at Fondazione Achille Castiglioni, Milan.

You can follow Giuseppe on his website and Instagram.

    Photo by Francesco Conti. Courtesy Cantiere Galli Design

All Rights Reserved to Giuseppe Arezzi

Portrait by Francesco Conti. Courtesy Cantiere Galli Design

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#INTERVIEW: GIUSEPPE AREZZI AND HIS "BEATA SOLITUDO" #anthropology #beatasolitudo #collage #contemporary #creativity Giuseppe Arezzi (1993) is a young talented designer from Ragusa, Sicily, currently based in Milan. In 2016 he graduated with honors at Politecnico di Milano, Faculty of Design, MA in Interior Design, with the thesis “Beata Solitudo, The Contemporary Hermit’s Shelter”, in collaboration with the mentors Francesco Faccin and Francesca Balena Arista.