#i have a legacy this is my small slice of fame

[clownboy-yeehonk]

One of the parents on the unit described me as "that nurse with the eyeshadow and monster earrings" and I've never been more flattered to have someone totally forget my name I love this for me

[aetherarf]

hi! i love the way you write so much ❤️ Could i request somethjng with Childe and reader (who’s also a fatui harbinger and has known him since childhood) taking care of him after he overexerts himself with his Foul legacy transformation? sorry if this is too vague its ok if you don’t feel like it but thank you in advance take care of yourself!

This is plenty descriptive! Ty for the compliment! Btw yes the request to post right after this one is super similar so,,, yeah. that's coincidental.

Also tbh sort of thinking of it as a very very slow friends-to-lovers so have a fun confession and childe's brain bluescreening

[[ WARNING: ANGST, GORE ]]

[[ Summary: A longing for battle, refusing to accept ones limitations, and a degree of general insanity, all lead to Childe nearly dying in your arms.

Word Count: 1'380 ]]

It happened all too fast.

It wasn't uncommon for those who disbelieved in the Tsaritsa to try and rebel against her and her Harbingers, and all the Fatui. Most of them ended up dying off, only well after they realized that not only did they need the Tsaritsa to not suffer a horrific, Archonless fate, but that there were far more prepared to protect her.

It didn't mean there weren't casualties.

More than a few had seen you and Childe on a mission, away from those who could assist you, and thought you to be easy prey, either simply to kill, or to use against the Tsaritsa.

But Childe lived for a fight, and you wouldn't give up, you wouldn't let him fight alone.

A living soul turned into a corpse before you, you could only stare at it fell to the ground... Sorrowful that you had to kill someone who fought for what they believed in, but you had no choice.

You spun around, and your eyes widened in horror as not only did you see Childe surrounded, but shortly after--a chaos of lightning and light, exploding the bodies surrounding him in countless directions, but they weren't dead, the monstrous form standing their, head flung back with an inhuman, horrific cackle as he held the weapon made of pure electro energy, looking at those who still lived, a massive maw opening and letting out a deafening shriek--

Those who could still flee ran in terror, and those who did not were slaughtered swiftly, not given the time to feel the fear of death or agony as their bodies were sliced open.

And he turned his gaze to you.

"Chi-Childe... Ajax, calm down," you said, knowing that you couldn't fight him like this, "You need to get out of that-that form, it's going to hurt you."

However, he didn't respond, and his one eye was completely unreadable as he walked closer, staring at you...

And you stepped back, until you tripped over a corpse, landing on your back.

He kept approaching, and fell to one knee before you, leaning closer, and nearly crawling atop you, staring at you with the eye that could only remind you of the dead gods.

"Ajax--Please!"

And with that, the eye flickered, and he collapsed atop you. You had the air forced out of your lungs with the weight, but the hard, cold, mask-like face soon turned to yielding flesh, and the straw-like hair was now just fluffy, pleasant...

As you looked down at Childe, lying atop you, it looked like he was covered in stardust, that cursed form gone...

But while his eyes were open, he was clearly not conscious-

"Childe, Tartaglia, Ajax, please-" You sat up, trying to shake him, but his head lolled like a corpse...

You couldn't cry. Crying was risking too much. You could hear him breathing, and with your fingers on his neck, you could feel his pulse, as disturbingly slow as it might be.

You couldn't cry, you hoisted him onto your back, dragging him towards anyone-anyone who could help him, heal him...

You knew that this form-it hurt him, it destroyed him, little by little. Usually, he would give himself time to recover...

But what would happen when he had used it so often, back to back? Would it end up turning his insides to mush, as he had warned you about long ago?

...

It was a long fight, against the cold winter of Snezhnaya. You were more than familiar with, but it didn't make it any less agonizing.

A long drag to get him to an, admittedly, small Fatui Soldier encampment. A few communications later, you were with him as you returned to the Zapolyarny Palace, where the best healers and doctors in Snezhnaya, dare you say all of Teyvat, would stay, to take care of the Tsaritsa's Harbingers, and herself, of course, should she ever suffer even a minor cut or bruise.

It took hours. Hours of examinations, you sitting silently, weeping as the guards, as everyone simply did not look at you, not wanting to call attention to your agony...

Ajax, you thought, You can't keep hurting me like this.

Were you selfish, for his pain hurting you this way, as well?

Finally, you were able to sit beside him as he rested, not having woken up from it.

"He's severely injured, but he'll live."

You wanted to rip him to shreds, to scold him for what he was doing, throwing himself into the fight and wrecking himself for-what, glory? Fame? Some sort of hero complex?

But as you watched him lie there, you couldn't say mad. You just hurt. You were tired, so tired.

You'd wait.

And eventually, as you were all but falling asleep in the chair...

"Mhph. I feel like shit."

You woke up from your daze, looking at him--He was lying in bed, looking at his arms that had bandages, needles pressed into his flesh and connected to tubes. He didn't pull at them, but he set his fingertips over it.

You smacked his hand away from it-"Ow," he looked over at you, smiling in a daze, "Oh. Hi, I didn't know you were here. I missed you."

"... You idiot."

"I'm your idiot~" Even as weak as he was, he gave you a hearthrobbingly charming smile.

"You can't do these things," you said, voice quivering but fighting to be stern, "And still smile like that."

"Well joke's on you, I don't remember what happened," he said--he was, painfully, genuine.

"You nearly killed yourself is what happened!" You snapped, and then recoiled as you saw his eyes widen in shock-he couldn't even flinch. "I shouldn't have yelled, but... You used your Foul Legacy. Again. You-You just blacked out on top of me."

He stared at you, then turned his head to stare at the ceiling.

"So I did," he said, as though unsure of the events, "How long have I been out?"

You hesitated.

"Fourty-seven hours."

"Fuh-" He stared at you, "Fourty-seven? Have you slept at all? You look worse than I feel, and..." He coughed weakly, "I feel horrible."

"No, because-I'm mad at you, and I was scared," you said, genuinely, tears gathering in your eyes, "I love you and you just-you just keep doing this, you keep hurting yourself, I... I can't keep watching it."

Childe stared, and weakly, he pushed himself up, staring at you.

"You love me?"

You groaned, of course that's all he cared about,

"Of course I do! I'm-I'm so tired, Childe, of hurting every night, thinking I said my last goodbye. You never think about how you might hurt other people when you-you use that stupid fucking curse," you sobbed, weakly, too exhausted to openly cry.

He flopped onto his back... and he was quiet.

Both of you were.

Eventually, he scooted over, and he held his arms open.

"Can... Can we talk about this later? I want to die-ahem, I feel like I'm... I feel like death and You haven't slept in over two days."

You sigh, "Yeah, I'll go-"

"I didn't say go," He shifted his arms, emphasizing how he was holding them open for you. "Come on. Cuddle me. You know I love cuddling, and I almost died, don't I deserve it?" He asked, smiling sweetly.

"You deserve to be left alone to think about your actions?"

"... Please?" He asked, again, giving you puppy-dog eyes... and you sighed.

Well, at least you probably wouldn't accidentally bump anything that was monitoring him. You, delicately, crawled into the small bed with him, and he wrapped his arms around you, limply, and relaxed into the bed.

"Can we do this again?" He asks, barely a whisper.

"I'll do it whenever you want," you said, nuzzling up to him.

"What if I asked for it everyday?"

"Then everyday."

"Every night? With a kiss?"

"... then every night, with a kiss."

"Can I get a kiss now?"

You huffed, "Are you sure you want our first kiss to be when you're half dead?"

"Absolutely. It's a good story."

Instead of argue any longer... you pressed a chaste but sweet kiss to his lips... and he smiled, eyes half-lidded as he looked like he was dazed, dizzy, but oh-so-pleased.

"Happy?"

"Very. I love you."

"... I love you too."

[theredconversegirl]

hey there! looking for more fanfictions to read, what would be your favorites right now?

Hey there Anon! 

Thank you for stopping by! You’re lucky that I was already preparing a few rec lists, so it was easy (and quick) to put this one together :D

I’m including below a list of a few of my all-time and current favorite fics. Since there are so many lists out there recommending known and famous stories, I’m leaving those out of this post, so we can give some space for underrated fics as well. ;)

In no particular order, here are 15 SasuSaku fics I love very much: 

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Give Me A Reason by: Rise of the Blossom / @riseoftheblossom-ff

Things aren’t always what they seem and when Sasuke realizes that, he also realizes he has two choices: fight for her, or give in. [Rated M, complete. High School AU.]

The story is very relatable (to me at least 🙄) and my favorite high school one. There’s a nice character development and a good backstory. I love the interactions and how they seem real. 🙃

P.S.: This hits too close to home lol. The way they start and develop their friendship/relationship is - almost - the same way I did with my hubby.

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Don’t You Wanna Stay by: letmeannoyyoutoday

Seeking help one cold winter night at his old teammate’s place, Sasuke remembers just what Christmas is about. [Rated T - One-Shot Christmas Fic.]

Perfect balance between angst and that feel-good aftertaste. This author’s writing is lovely too. ❤️

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Ever After by: ohwhatsherface / @sun-summoning

Sasuke and Sakura enjoy the married life. And kissing. Especially the kissing. [Rated T, complete. Short Story.]

This is the cutest story ever! You’ll be smiling from ear to ear until the end. Heartwarming and fluffy, full of slices of life (my go-to feel good fic). 🥰

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Celebrity Status by: Einna Fletcher / @backintheslipstream

Sasuke and Sakura’s lives revolve around music, and the craziness that comes with fame. Romance is the last thing they want to deal with. The problem: they can’t seem to stay away from each other. [Rated M, complete. Celebrity AU]

My teen years were surrounded by music and friends’ bands, so this story is special to me ❤️. Here, they are both singers and in different places in their career, and the hate to love development is great. It makes me giddy! 🤩

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Cracks by: thevelvetbunny

Sasuke struggles with life after returning to Konoha, and enters counselling with a certain no-nonsense Hokage. [Rated M, incomplete.🔥]

Although the fic doesn’t have an official end, the story seems wrapped when you finish it. I loved this one very much! The pacing and development is so good!!! It’s like a “what if Sasuke stayed in the village after his first return (no redemption journey)” AU. Here, he rediscovers the friendship with his teammates, he allows himself to feel - slowly but surely ;) - and he opens up, getting the help he truly needs. Itachi is somehow ingrained in his recovery and it’s beautiful. Also, without giving much away, SasuSaku here is 🔥🔥🔥!

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Good Vibrations by: Cinnamunk

With her 25th birthday approaching, her friends pairing off, and her forever crush firmly ensconced in ANBU, Sakura feels decidedly gloomy about her romantic prospects. One Ino-led shopping trip and a mysterious midnight visitor later, things are looking up for our favorite, pink-haired kunoichi. Or are they? SasuSaku. Non-mass AU. Fluff/lemon with some soapy angst/drama. [Rated M, complete.🔥 and there’s a sequel!]

Non-massacre fics are my favorite, and this one is amazing and hilarious! Hold tight, because this story starts in a really good pace. 👀🔥 

P.S.: Also, beware of the dreamy and hot 😅 Uchihas.. especially Shisui 😏. I do not take responsibility if you fall a little bit in love with him! 🙄

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Meet the Parents by: JinnySkeans

There are pictures on the walls of a small, loving family and he has the presence of mind to feel unsettled, as though he’s intruding on their happiness just by existing. Still, though, her mother fills his teacup with a smile and her father claps him on the back, and they’re kind and warm and welcoming. Sakura had to have learned it all somewhere. [Rated T, complete.]

This is an all-time favorite because, well, Sasuke meets the Harunos and I don’t see that a lot. It’s also heartwarming and so fun to read! There’s also a good portion of confused and jealous Sasuke, which is always a treat. 🥰

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Arranged by: zunaira ghazal / @zunairaghazal / @zgs1994

Arranged marriage in the twenty-first century might have been uncommon, but not unheard of. “You’re mommy’s special little snowflake, aren’t you?” [Rated M, complete. Modern AU.]

[🛑 UPDATE: Unfortunately this story is no longer available. More details here ]

The arranged marriage trope is a guilty pleasure of mine, and this one was the first one I read, so it holds a special place in my SasuSaku heart 💕. Mikoto is matchmaking as expected, Sasuke has none of that, and Sakura thinks everyone is nuts. This is another fun read! 😌

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Chains by: Boriqua-chan

Sasuke is in chains and Sakura can do as she wishes. [Rated M, complete. Smutfic. 🔥]

Well, the summary says everything… 😏🔥🔥

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

he said by: the blanket / @blanket-fictions

Sasuke, Sakura, and all that lies between. “I have never expected anything from you. That would have been the height of all foolishness, and say what you want about me, but I was never that. With you, Sasuke-kun, I only ever hoped.” [Rated T - One-shot.]

This is short, but it’s so, so good! The angst and how Sakura overcomes the hurt and rejection are perfect. I can’t say more without giving away the goods.. go read this, please! 🥺

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Tangible by: twilightdazzle

Sometimes, she feels like she’s invisible and they can’t see her. Like she wasn’t real. And they finally realize she’s there just when they’re about to lose her. [Rated M, complete.]

This story is a storm of emotions, and the writing is so lovely and touching that it’s basically impossible not to tear up a bit.. prepare the kleenex beforehand, my friends! 🥺

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Origins of the New Uchiha by: CertifyyedGoon

When a very pregnant Sakura is kidnapped, Sasuke must journey not only through the obstacles to find her but also his own memories. “How do you know you’re going to find her?” “She’s my wife.” [Rated M, complete. Shinobi AU.]

Another AU that has a different approach around Sasuke’s redemption and return to the village. The story switches between present and past (Sasuke’s memories showing how their relationship evolved). The story is refreshing and brings that whole ANBU Team 7 vibe we all had before canon. 🤩💕

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Miss Independent by: letmeannoyyoutoday

Tsunade once told me that striving to be the best, to be acknowledged, to be renowned, also had a series of disadvantages. But I would have never thought that one of them would send me to Otokagure, serving under the man that once left me on a bench, in the middle of the night, after breaking my heart and killing what was left of my spirit. [Rated M, incomplete. Shinobi AU. 🔥]

Ok, Sakura is a badass, independent, strong, cocky, brilliant woman and kunoichi here - she’s awesome! This story is refreshing, sexy, and funny. Sasuke gets Konoha’s help to structure Oto’s medical care and hospital in a moment where he’s dealing with this unexpected legacy. They have to work together and they annoy the hell of each other in the process. It’s a long but worth the read story, even though it’s - unfortunately - not complete.🥺 Some I-hate-you-but-maybe-I-love-you in the mix.😍🔥

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

The Story by: dances.with.sunflowers

Because when they married, he didn’t really know how to be a husband. But she had eternity to teach him. First year married. [Rated T - One-shot.]

A beautiful tale of love and patience, showing the development of their relationship and married life.❤️

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

your spellbound heart by: blue-plums (arabesque05) / @blue-plums

there is a new barista at the corner coffeeshop, who always smells faintly of smoke. [Rated M, complete. Coffee Shop/Dragons AU.]

Simple, adorable, and hilarious story. This AU is one of the kind and when you finish the reading, I’m sure you’ll crave more. 😍😁

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

If you enjoy these fics as much as I do, let the authors know! 😉

~ Happy reading!

xoxo

[a-marlene-s]

Unknown Reality: pt. 4

Au: Hades x Persephone Modern AU, PJO au.

Couple: Jason Todd x Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Jasonette

Summary: Jason, or as many know him as… Hades.He lost his luster for  the living and nonliving, just a constant repeat. That was until he met someone that tug on his heartstrings just the  right way. He takes her. Without a second thought.

Preface

Pt. 1

Pt. 2

Pt. 3

Buy me a coffee?

If you like a commission done by me, message me! We’ll talk!

Lila grinned wickedly at the sight of a very down trodden Marinette as she and Adrien entered the bakery. Her grin only grew when she saw Marinette glare at her openly. There was no point for the baker to hide her hatred for the liar. They were no longer in school together, and they both know, Lila had won. Lila had accomplished what she promised she would do.

Except for Juleka and Nino… but at least Lila got the majority of them and that included her prize. Adrien Agreste. Sure, the blonde is a mortal, but the blonde has power and fame. Even more so now that he has inherited his father’s fashion company. He has everything she could ever ask for, well… demand is more like it. All she has to do is say the right words and threaten to ruin the life of his friends, it’s not that hard considering who her grandmother is.

People listen to Lila’s words, it’s not her fault many are just so easily manipulated into believing her words. They should have known better… like how Marinette should have known better to go up against her. It’s not her fault, she had warned the baker girl what she would do if she didn’t back down.

“Hello, Marinette~” Lila smiled widely at the obviously annoyed Marinette.

Marinette didn’t bother to cover up her obvious eye roll. Doubling it when Adrien shot her a look. It seemed neither one grew up considering they are still up to their old tricks. Sad really. Marinette would have thought after defeating Hawkmoth, who ended up being Gabriel Agreste, finding out who was behind the masks, and so on, Adrien would have changed. Nope. Nothing changed. He still wanted her to take the high road and she wasn’t having it. This prompted her taking away the Cat Miraculous from Adrien. As Guardian, she did what she believes is the right thing to do. Hawkmoth is gone, there wasn’t a reason to have everyone running around anymore.

Fortunately for Marinette, the only people that know of her identity as Ladybug, are Adrien, Nino, Kagami, Juleka, Alix, Aurore, Mireille and Luka, due to them being there in the final battle. All of them were promised into secrecy to on each other identities. Luckily, Alya wasn’t there considering what she had posted when Rena Rouge wasn’t called in to the fight… but that’s a whole other issue for another day to deal with again.

“That’s very bad customer server, Marinette~” Lila pouted, her grip in Adrien tighten.

“My parents own the bakery…” Marinette deadpanned, reminding Lila of this widely known fact. “And my mother happens to personally know the local anchorwoman… Could we just call it even just for you to get out of here?”

“Marinette, please, let’s not fight.” Adrien said almost pleadingly. “We just came here for some food is all.”

“She had Alya to create an article that apparently we have mice running around the bakery…” Marinette narrowed her eyes at the model, not all amused by his behavior. “Who in the world would complain about mice at a place that sells food then come back to get some food? Apparently her.”

“Heh… what an idiot.”

Everyone paused, they turned around to see a tall figure standing in front of one of the display cases. Marinette revisited the urge to slap her face at the sight of one Jason Todd. Lately, Jason has been doing his best to avoid being detected by her, (better yet, her mother,) whenever he entered the bakery. Today just happened to be one of those days by the looks of it. “Hello, Monsieur Todd, what could I do for you today?”

“My usual.” Jason responded without taking his attention away from the display case. He pointed at something in the case. “And a slice of coffee cake.”

“Of course.” Marinette nodded, all too happy to get away from Lila. She went around to gather up Jason’s order, but still keeping an eye on Lila to make sure she doesn’t do anything underhanded with a customer in sight. Of course, that doesn’t stoop Lila from saying anything.

Lila started to say how the bakery’s quietly of bread is extremely subpar and that Marinette had tried to sell her day’s old bread once. Just a continuous list of lies that has Marinette wondering if she should chase Lila and Adrien out of the shop with a baguette. The longer Lila spoke, the more the idea sounded more appealing to Marinette.

Jason finally looked away from the display case to look over at Lila with a look of complete disinterest. When Lila caught Jason’s eyes, her words got caught at the back of her throat. Adrien tried to ask her what was wrong but all he got was Lila grabbing his arm tightly and running out of the bakery. The scene before her caused Marinette’s jaw to drop. That’s a first… and she loved every second of it. But that brings up the question, why did Lila run? She’s still running by the looks of it too with Adrien right on her heels.

“She sounds very annoying.” Jason shrugged, not even bothering to acknowledge the fact Lila had run out without a single word. “Does she do that often?”

Marinette gulped before she nodded. She then thrusted Jason’s order into his arms. “It’s on the house! That was amazing, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen her speechless.”

Jason grinned before he shot her a wink. “Well, I hope I don’t scare you away.”

Marinette blinked a couple of times before she started to shake her head. She had to give it to Jason, he’s improving his game and he really won a lot of brownie points for doing whatever he did to Lila. Still… there was just something about him that makes her wary of him.

“Would you like to go out for dinner?”

Marinette pursed her lips, this is a first coming from Jason. Sure, he would try to flirt with her and she would turn him down as nicely as she could. The last thing she needed is to get into a relationship when she isn’t ready for one. With Lila still trying to meddle with her life and had turned almost everyone against her. That pretty much ruined any possible chance of a love life. Adrien doesn’t count, that boat sailed with his insistence that Lila’s lies are not harming anyone.

Maybe… maybe this time it’s different.

“Marinette, don’t you have to get ready for your other job?” Sabine asked, interrupting Marinette’s train of thought.

Marinette took a step a back, she looked over at the clock that hung in the bakery to see the time. Nino wasn’t picking her up today as he needed to take his brother to the dentist today. “Oh! Right.”

Marinette turned to give Jason an apologetic smile. “Perhaps another time, Monsieur Todd-”

“Jason, call me Jason.”

“Jason…” Marinette tried out the name before giving Jason a small smile. “Until next time!”

With that, Marinette ran into the bakery to head up to her room to get ready for her job at the flower shop.

Jason pursed his lips when he saw Sabine walk up to the counter, maintaining eye contact with him. “So… how’s life?”

“I take it you know what the girl is?”

“The legacy? Yeah, I’ve dealt with several of her victims… not a pretty sight.”

TBC.

Tag List:

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[oftripps]

“ –– wow. ”  it’s not so much a critique as it is a g-rated expletive. tripp forces a smile mid-chew and blinks. “ my tastebuds are screaming. gah–– uh, singing. singing. ”  he avoids swallowing and as ring-decorated fingers snag a napkin, wide eyes drifting to the tabletop as a small jingle breezes past tensed lips. “ ~ allergic to mushrooms ~ ”

or, alternatively: this is somethin’ new! the caspar slide pt. 2 !! & this time, it’s ‘bout to get funky !!  so i’m linc and this is tripp and he’s........ a trip, honestly, so let’s just... yeet on into this ––

( joe keery + 22 + muse 12 ) isn’t that phillip joel “tripp” goodman over there? i heard he joined faction: one after they got back to west ham. it’s funny, ‘cause they were only on the service trip because HIS BANDMATES DUPED HIM INTO THINKING THE SIGN-UP WAS FOR A WOODS-THEMED OPEN MIC GIG. hopefully they fit in there – they’re JAUNTY but also OUTRÉ. oh, i’m sure they’ll be fine.

out the door !  ( tripp goodman: a roadmap )

look up townie family in the dictionary and you’ll find a portrait of the goodmans directly beside. these folks have a looooong flippin’ legacy here in lil’ ole west ham, kansas. it all started with montgomery goodman, a good man, who helped west ham’s founders break ground on this midwestern charmer several centuries ago. and now, the goodmans still live on the same property –– a refurbished farmhouse ( now closer to mcmansion ) surrounded by five acres of roooooollin’ hills. once upon a time, they were farming folk. now, theresa and joel goodman run the town’s one and only veterinary clinic. 

honestly, growing up? tripp was a problematic kid. he’d take in frogs from the woods and start his own frog hotels. he’d sneak pets from the clinic to school who “ needed help learning their numbers ”. in class, he’d flick sunflower seeds at the backs of his peers’ heads and, when threatened with discipline, claim he simply “ wanted to see if they’d grow  ” .  so no, to answer your question–– tripp never really saw the real wrath warranted by his rulebreaking.

in fourth grade, he chose the saxophone as his required instrument. he caused such a commotion in his house, that his parents asked his teachers to suggest something quieter. the viola. the flute. the clarinet. the piano. instruments came and went,;instruments were quickly mastered and abandoned. because dear lord, how many times could they listen to the spongebob theme song played on woodwind ?!  on strings ?!  once middle school rolled around, little phillip joel knew his way around a whopping total of six instruments, a tally that would only grow in the coming years. eventually, his parents caved and allowed him to keep playing, so long as he respected instrument curfews. they gave song requests to avoid hearing the same pieces on repeat: the goodman household was probably the only one blessed with an oboe-and-beatbox rendition of under the sea. young phillip joel’s take on the issue was simple: not all heroes wore capes.

( tw: domestic unrest, mentions of violence ) theresa and joel split when tripp was 9. just seven months later, tripp’s mother moved in with her girlfriend: tripp’s guitar teacher, ms. lillith. tripp didn’t mind ms. lillith. she was chill. he came to find out she could knock back a chocolate milk almost as fast as he could, and she liked her grilled cheeses with swiss only. his best friend became a thirty-six year old woman who happened to be his mother’s girlfriend. and that was fine. he could dig it. but joel goodman? oh no. his family name was tarnished. the scandal was too much to bear. joel sued for full custody and nearly made it, thanks to hometown politics and loyalties. but then he made one fatal mistake: he crossed his own son.

at 10 years old, fifth grade phillip joel returned home to his father’s after school with three fingernails painted effervescent blue. sidney frasier made me so cool, he gushed as he put his colored nails on proud display. dad, aren’t i so cool?  the next day, his dad enrolled him in the town’s peewee football program. he returned home from his first practice with a black eye and a split lip. from a ball, the coach insisted. hit the poor fella square in the face, real strong. phillip joel put up a fight against football; it wasn’t for him. it conflicted with music practice. couldn’t he just play music with ms. lillith instead?

the custody battle persisted. they settled on a parenting schedule. joel contested, consistently, months later. and so the cycle persisted up until phillip joel’s 12th year, when he was knocked out cold on the football field. the broken ribs came from hefty tackles. bruises from the fall. concussion from the impact. but theresa spun it to her advantage: joel had since started coaching the middle school team. this was an instance of parental neglect. and, when the courts didn’t comply, she instructed her son to jump down the stairs. one broken ankle later, and joel goodman was accused of child abuse. his word against his injured son’s. the maneuver won theresa full custody. phillip joel has yet to forgive himself.

after the custody battle’s conclusion, joel stayed in town: but phillip joel didn’t want a thing to do with sharing his name. his mother still scolds him as phillip joel, but to everyone else, he became tripp –– inspired by his knack for, you guessed it!, tumbling over his own two feet.

in high school, tripp was the class clown. always smirking, always grinning, always ready to catch someone off guard. he became a pivotal part of west ham high’s jazz band, and even formed a small group with a few buds: face. they played some school events: homecoming, pep rallies, prom. garage-baked young rock, their songs often preached meetings under bleachers and high school never ending. 

in senior year, the band saw a reboot: and after assuming a more indie, spacey sound and a nifty new name –– 1757. –– they saw a rise in local celebrity. coffee shops commissioned them for jam nights. they played on the local radio. so they collectively decided to stick around and see how far they could ride this west ham fame train. with tripp as their frontman, they always leave a memorable impression: he’s not exactly the most run-of-the-mill performer.

1757.’s sound is reminiscent of LANY: i’ve reblogged a few tunes onto tripp’s blog for reference. he’s v much a paul klein / matty healy vibe. big into music. big into losing himself in it.

so what was he up to before the service trip? playin’ tunes. working part-time as a waiter. and brainstorming ways to get out of going on this trip, as soon as he realized his stupid bandmates lied about the form he signed. an open mic in the woods ! pah !  he should have known. but the concept sounded pretty flippin’ cool.

wear our shades on our nose, 'cause we're cool like that ( tripp goodman: the man, the myth, the ledge )

oh god, he’s  w e i r d .  he believes in goblins and ghosts and aliens ( oh my )!

still VERY VERY close with his mother. v broken up about not being able to get through to her, because it was about to be his parents’ wedding anniversary and they were going to anti-celebrate it with big slices of oreo cheesecake and setting things on fire.

how he feels about coming home to west ham: post apocalyptic version.

uhhhh... can he please get a waffle? specifically a cinnamon raisin waffle with extra cinnamon and a shit ton of syrup? actually. syrup with a side of waffles?

why he was banned from his personal twitter.

“ do you even lift, bruv? ”  * proceeds to pick up a teacup & lift his pinkie like a true knock-off british monarch, shitty accent included *

listens to wham! and glam rock. unironically.bluetooth speaker mounted on his bike. no helmet! like an absolute boss. he knows!! wild!! shades on. it’s 2am. it’s dark. but true swag obeys no clock.

catch him biking everywhere stranger things style, actually. his bike’s name is milo because he can roll on for miles. mess with milo and he’ll fuck u up. aka find out if you’re lactose intolerant and slip heavy cream into your meal.

has a strong vendetta against blue doritos. which might take root in some horrific experiences involving cheez wiz, cool ranch, weed, and the new york subway system at 4am on a tuesday. spring break freshman year of college. oof.

he has a lil drawwwwl. tease him about it. he’ll probably blush.

stress-hums chili’s babyback ribs without realizing. catch him singin’ that about to be murdered.

weapon of choice: kindness.

actual weapon of choice: baseball bat.

he will write little jingles to keep morale up. “ so we’re trapped / cash us inside / how bou’ dat ? ”

has a passion for introspective literary quotes. but... has somehow managed to learn each and every one wrong.

friggin’ loves superheroes even though he can’t be bothered to watch the films? he just… always used to get made fun of for liking comic books even though he never read them? “ arachnid man is uh...  heh. he’s pretty dope, huh? ” he embraces the falsehood. someone call him on it.

9/10 times if he’s in the gym, it’s just to eat his donut and watch pay-per-view movies on the bike for free.

apple pie can absolutely be breakfast if you try hard enough. jeez. get with the times, man!

he had a legitimate pet rock before going on this service trip. but has no idea where that bugger’s gone. probably got fed up with tripp serenading him with “ we will rock you ” at all hours of the night.

lawful good. will wave other drivers on forever.

got into an accident on his bike once. bitch broke his arm and he just kept on smiling.  “ no you have a nice day! and uh.... hey. mind if we like... call an ambulance? ”

low key feels like he’s the reason his parents’ marriage crumbled. low key guilty about it. low key wonders if maybe he lived up to his father’s expectations, he might have saved them a lot of grief.

give benny goodman by saint motel a listen and tell me that’s not his soul in audio form.

known for slightly hyperbolic storytelling.

pansexual as heck. falls in love. hard. it’s a mess. he can’t hide it. hence the shades.

he has brilliant hair. and it’s immortalized in his high school yearbook.

is hellbent on being a source of positivity in this terrible situation. can he interest you in a meme in these trying times? how ‘bout a granola bar? maybe a good ole game of mash?

he’s convinced this is an elaborate prank. or a social experiment. maybe aliens. but let’s not question it too much, let’s just.... have a good time? hakuna matata? no worries? lol where the twizzlers at?!

leaves a voicemail for his mother every morning and every night. maybe he cries. maybe.

he has one ear pierced because like.......... senior year of high school, he wanted to feel more cool.

allergic to mushrooms, shellfish, eggs, and harbingers of doom.

he truly boggles minds. just.... v out there? v spacey. he closes his eyes and drifts about on stage, fingers dancing on the keys, body moving in eclectic ways. he says “groovy” and fuckin’ means it. he dresses in prints inspired by grandma’s carpet. lots of half-buttoned flowy shirts, boots, tailored statement pants, dangly necklaces. he’s got his hands full of rings –– they symbolize milestones. and some are just, like... pretty. and one’s his mother’s old wedding band.

where the hell are my friends !  ( wanted connectz. )

i was gonna do a whole section on this and got lazy but like.... anything. all the things. good, bad, ugly, beautiful. hurt him. make him suffer. but also support him a bit.

i imagine he’s got a solid squad goin’. he’s in faction one too, so... hmu for those.

i feel like he’d be pretty chill with the greeks? yeah bro, he parties. he’ll chill. he’ll crack open a cold one and pretend to understand what those letters on your jacket mean! pie-apple-fate-uh? cool stuff !

ride or dies. pls.

he needs someone to like....... melt his heart. maybe someone unexpected.

thisssss got long & disorganized but yes! let’s plot! let’s do this thang! #hype!!

[gibelwho]

Top 5: Best Films of 2018

2018 was quite a year for me personally. I got married to my best friend, we traveled to Japan for our honeymoon and we’ve spent the last few weeks of the year packing our house for an upcoming move. Attending the multiplex has not always been an option, but we endeavored to catch a few flicks in between major life changes. Despite these challenges, I wanted to post a special Top 5 detailing my best films of 2018. I have chosen my top films informally the last few years, but hadn’t gotten around to posting my thoughts. As I am surrounded by boxes and with all my film books packed away, I stole some time to reflect on this past year in cinema.

Gibelwho Productions Presents Best Films of 2018

5. Black Panther

4. Won’t You Be My Neighbor

3. A Star is Born

2. Crazy Rich Asians

BlacKkKlansman

Black Panther (February 2018): In the ongoing saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are the the blockbuster movies that include multiple heroes and converging storylines, but there are also the small films that focus on one hero. While the Avengers themed films are usually aimed at the lowest common denominator, Marvel allows the hero-focused films to be infused more with a genre flavor or the stylings of a distinctive director. Thus, Ryan Coogler was able to forge Black Panther into a film that envisions an Afro-techno-centric future, engages in discussions of black repression and power dynamics, as well as showing kick-ass and smart women of color as soldiers and scientists. I did have some quibbles with some of the film’s elements, but overall, it was a huge moment for black cinema and should thus be recognized. Wakanda Forever!

Won’t You Be My Neighbor (July 2018): In a year where divisions in this nation were heightened seemingly by the minute, this gentle film comes along to celebrate one of this nation’s best champions of kindness. A man who could relate to children genuinely, even when communicating to them via a sock puppet, and took on difficult subjects such as assassination, divorce, and death. I have fond memories of watching Mr. Rogers Neighborhood as a kid, but this deeper examination made me appreciate even more the lessons he taught me as a child. The archival footage of Fred Rogers himself, the show, and the interviews all cut together paint a picture of a man doing his best to fight for children’s television; he was a flawed man, but one whose focus on kindness left a legacy this nation should tune into once more.

A Star is Born (November 2018): The fourth re-make of this age old tale shows a grizzled legend discovering a budding new star. While their romance shines as bright as her new stardom, it cannot last in the blinding spotlight. Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut and Lady Gaga’s starring debut combine to create movie magic. An homage to the Technicolor classics of old Hollywood, yet aware of the modern day challenges that come with fame and celebrity, the film doesn’t compromise on the quality of the songs and performances on stage, nor on the acting in between. I was especially impressed with the way Cooper and his cinematographer utilized light throughout the film, with some particularly stunning sequences that manage to comment on the state of the character’s evolution. Overall, this movie is incredibly authentic, an ode to the actors bringing these characters to life, but also to the way the musical performances were filmed on real stages.

Crazy Rich Asians (August 2018): This film arrived in theaters with much fanfare and didn’t disappoint! With fantastic performances from various Asian actors, incredible production value done on a tight budget, and a snappy and entertaining script, this film not only captured the heart of moviegoers, but also was a powerful statement about the importance and profitability of representing diversity on screen. I had so many friends that lauded the film as the first time they had seen a version of themselves and their family in the cinema. The dumpling making scene in particular reminded me of my adopted Filipino family (sans the tension with the potential mother-in-law). The mahjong scene at the film’s climax was intentionally crafted to translate both to audiences who intimately understand the game, as well as those who have never heard of it. In fact, that describes Crazy Rich Asians as a whole - one that is open to anyone who is a fan of romantic comedies, but one that shows a particular slice of culture, families, and faces that needs to be given more stories and opportunities to be seen and heard.

BlacKKKlansman (September 2018): All I can say is, Spike Lee better win some accolades for this joint. A film that tells a real life story, that speaks through the look and feel of the 1970s, but that speaks directly to today - a message that is shockingly re-enforced through the images in the last few moments of the film. Cinema history is deeply ingrained in Lee’s filmmaking - from the cross-cutting sequences that reclaims the editing technique from its roots in the racist film Birth of a Nation to the references to blaxploitation films of the 1970s. Lee is doing his best work in years, a film that is at once political, funny, artistic, and a gut punch that should make viewers leave the theater entertained and ready to take action.

Honorable Mentions:

Bohemian Rhapsody (November 2018): This film will be remembered for me as the most expensive movie date of 2018, where we spent $50 to attend the cinema. Yes, it happened to be a Friday night; it happened to be opening weekend; the time that worked happened to be the IMAX screening. And we bought a soda. Was the film worth the steep price of admission? Probably not, but we still enjoyed the experience nonetheless. Many critics have savaged the film, rightly pointing out that it was a conventional biopic made about the most unconventional man that has graced this planet. However, as someone who grew up knowing Queen through sportsball chants and not their incredibly compelling rise nor epic stadium concerts, it was a film that got the job done - exposed me to their members, their songs, their story - and Freddie. Rami Malek should win all the awards for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury. He layered the character with many levels and intimately captured the talent, the suffering, the queen in all his glory. One day, a brave filmmaker will make that creative and oddball biopic that Freddie deserves and - even though this wasn’t it - this film will serve as a foundation for Queen’s story.

Incredibles 2 (June 2018): When I turned 30, I rented a small movie theater in Los Angeles and screened one of my very favorite films - The Incredibles (2004). That film, those characters, the music hold a very special place in my heart and it was with a mix of excitement and nervous anticipation (don’t screw it up, Pixar) that I went into the cinema for Incredibles 2. While not a mother quite yet, I absolutely appreciated the reversal for the traditional gendered parent roles, watching an empowered Elastigirl kick butt and Bob discover that parenting is hard and exhausting. I also loved that the Pixar crew didn’t show the Dad as clueless and useless; rather, he was well-intentioned, did his best, and supported his kids. While I didn’t love every element (the villains could have used some work), perhaps my favorite laugh out loud moment of the year was Jack Jack fighting the raccoon.

Deadpool 2 (June 2018): This film is a movie that is made for this particular cultural moment, riddled with jokes and references that will fade from memory in a few months or years, similar to how Shrek will always be connected to the early 2000s. Ryan Reynolds slays as wacky and meta-aware Merc with a Mouth, and Josh Brolin as Cable and Zazie Beetz as Domino are awesome additions (can we see an action flick with just them!?) and the film tries to balance comedy with action with heart in a mostly effective mix.

[watusichris]

Get a Move On

In the great tradition of seemingly every music site I work for, Music Aficionado appears to have dumped my story about the Move from its virtual library. So, in honor of Roy Wood’s birthday, I’m posting it my own damn self. **********

Everyone knows the Electric Light Orchestra. From 1974-80, they ruled the charts in America, ringing up three multi-platinum albums, two million-sellers, and a trio of gold discs; four of their singles reached the U.S. top 10. Sadly, the band from which Jeff Lynne’s rock-orchestral hit factory morphed remains a relatively unknown commodity in the colonies: the Move.

Stateside, the Birmingham, England-bred Move couldn’t get arrested for loitering with intent. It was a different tale in Blighty, where during their 1966-1972 heyday the group toted up seven top-10 45s. Tearing several pages from the Who’s playbook, they were one of the most notorious live acts of their era, and their taste for outrage led to a successful libel suit filed by British Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Almost insanely eclectic and creative, they made some of the most exciting and exploratory music of the period.

Alas, they are probably best known among American listeners for covers of several of their songs – “Brontosaurus,” “Down On the Bay,” “California Man” -- by their ardent fanboys Cheap Trick. Their obscure, rambunctious legacy is worth a second look and listen.

The Move was cobbled together in the English Midlands in late 1965 by a group of local musical vets; it’s said that impetus for the new unit was provided by aspiring pop singer David Jones, who would go on to greater fame as David Bowie. The front man was plummy-voiced lead singer Carl Wayne, formerly leader of his own outfit the Vikings. Vocal and instrumental support was supplied by guitarists Trevor Burton and Roy Wood, the latter of whom swiftly became the group’s principal songwriter; thumping drummer Bev Bevan; and glamourpuss bassist Chris “Ace” Kefford, a charismatic but highly unstable character in the Brian Jones mold who was nicknamed “the Singing Skull.”

Like almost every English band of any import during that epoch, the Move took initial inspiration from R&B and soul music; their early sets included covers of the Marvelettes’ “Too Many Fish in the Sea,” the Isley Brothers’ “Respectable,” the Orlons’ “Don’t Hang Up,” and Betty Everett’s “I Can’t Hear You No More.”

They swiftly found their footing in the studio with a pair of Wood-penned singles that bubbled up from its author’s evidently bottomless well of paranoia: The debut “Night of Fear” topped out at No. 2 in the U.K., while its follow-up “I Can Hear the Grass Grow” peaked at No. 5.

By the time the second 45 was released in the spring of 1967, the Move – under the aegis of manager Tony Secunda, who also handled another top local attraction, the Moody Blues -- had attained a reputation as one of England’s most (literally!) dangerous concert attractions.

Since 1964, the Who had been alarming the populace by trashing their equipment onstage; taking a page from Stephen Potter’s books about oneupsmanship, the Move lifted the ante with freewheeling and potentially perilous gigs at which the gangster-suited act attacked TV sets with fire axes, set effigies of public figures ablaze, and, during one notorious date at London’s Roundhouse, undertook the riot-inducing onstage demolition of a car.

The band’s fortunes seemed assured with the September 1967 release of “Flowers in the Rain,” a trippy little slice of psychedelia ornamented with classically-derived production flourishes courtesy of Bowie’s future producer Tony Visconti.

However, the No. 2 chart triumph of the single was tarnished after Secunda concocted a promotional postcard depicting Harold Wilson in flagrante delicto with his secretary Marcia Williams. Wilson’s solicitors speedily slapped a libel suit on the band, and, after a verdict in his favor, all royalties from the song were directed to the coffers of Wilson’s favorite charities. (“Vote For Me,” a mocking song about politicians whose target couldn’t have been more obvious, was subsequently recorded but wisely left unreleased.)

Secunda was subsequently deposed in favor of iron-fisted manager Don Arden by the time the Move’s self-titled debut LP was tardily released in April 1968. Even for its time, it was a wildly eclectic opus. Strong, heartily psychedelic Wood compositions – “Flowers in the Rain,” “Yellow Rainbow,” “Walk Upon the Water,” “Fire Brigade,” “Cherry Blossom Clinic” – sat side-by-side with covers of material by Eddie Cochran (“Weekend”), Moby Grape (“Hey Grandma”), and the Coasters (“Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart”). It became the group’s lone British long-player to reach the charts, hitting No. 15.

Incipient drug casualty Kefford had already been ejected from the band by the time they cut a live EP at London’s Marquee Club in February 1968. Hurriedly issued as Something Else From the Move on the heels of the debut album, the all-covers effort was a genre-encompassing set featuring tracks originally essayed by the Byrds, Love, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Spooky Tooth. It was a raucous affair, but it gave little hint of the more focused and highly personalized work that was to follow.

A pair of crunching singles released in late 1968 pointed towards the bottom-heavy sound that would characterize all the Move’s later work. The frenzied “Wild Tiger Woman” was the first of the band’s 45s that failed to chart in England: The BBC’s skittishness about its female protagonist’s sexual insatiability prompted a radio ban. It was succeeded by “Blackberry Way,” a string-inflected, Beatlesque tune – think “Penny Lane” – with a then-rare Wood lead vocal; it became the group’s only No. 1 entry.

Sometimes chaotic events during 1969 harbingered both the contorted latter-day history of the Move and the disinterested response that greeted their work on American shores. Trevor Burton, relegated to bass duties following Kefford’s expulsion, bridled at the pop orientation of “Blackberry Way.” Wood, previously a retiring figure within the band, was empowered by the song’s success and looked to take a higher profile in the group. And Carl Wayne, already studying an exit strategy, moved into music publishing and began pondering a solo career in cabaret-styled pop – and successfully dragged his band mates into incongruous dates whose repertoire reflected his aspirations.

After an on-stage punch-out between Burton and Bev Bevan at a Swedish concert, the unhappy bassist departed the band, and was replaced by Rick Price. The reconstituted quartet, some of whose earlier singles had been issued with a total lack of success by A&M in the U.S., undertook an American “tour” of four dates in October 1969; the trek was so chaotically managed that the band members had to book their own hotel rooms.

Out of this disorder came a remarkable album: Shazam, released in early 1970 in both the U.K. and the U.S. Loosely tied together by off-the-cuff “man on the street” interviews, it was a typically everywhere-at-once collection that managed to hang together thanks to its bottom-heavy sound.

Save for a string-flecked McCartneyesque ballad, “Beautiful Daughter,” which plays like a sop to Wayne’s pop ambitions, Shazam knocks a listener’s head against the wall. The LP was highlighted by the thunderous Wood original “Hello Suzie” and churning renderings of American art-rock act Ars Nova’s “Fields of People,” Frankie Laine’s antique pop hit “Don’t Make My Baby Blue,” and folkie Tom Paxton’s ballad “The Last Thing On My Mind.” “Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited” – an expanded remake of the debut album’s Wood original about life in a mental institution – pointed at things to come with its extended instrumental interpolations from Bach’s “Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring” and Tchaikovsky’s “Peter and the Wolf” and “The Nutcracker Suite.”

This stupendous slab of proto-metal heaviosity was greeted with roaring silence, and failed to chart on either side of the Atlantic. The couple thousand people who purchased Shazam in the U.S. were probably prompted to lay down their cash by a fey yet wildly enthusiastic review of the album in Rolling Stone by critic and aspiring rock star John Mendelsohn, who would become the band’s chief advocate on these shores. The Move’s small but vocal cult following in the States had its beginnings here.

Wayne put his other foot out the door before Shazam appeared in the stores, and the band was speedily reformulated with the addition of singer-guitarist-vocalist Jeff Lynne, late of Birmingham’s Idle Race. (Wood had himself played in an early edition of that group, Mike Sheridan and the Nightriders.)

The new alignment captured immediate traction in the U.K., where Wood’s “dance song” “Brontosaurus” tallied a No. 7 slot. A full-length album bearing that track, Looking On, followed in late 1970. Grindingly, profoundly bottom-heavy, it lacked any notable songs beyond its chart hit, but it showed Wood flexing his considerable instrumental muscles on cello, sitar, oboe, and saxophones, and the twinned lead vocals and production skills of Wood and Lynne hinted at a winning combination. However, issued by Capitol in both the U.K. and U.S., it died a quick and largely unmourned death.

At this juncture, Wood and Lynne began to envision a new Move offshoot, the Electric Light Orchestra, as a seamless melding of the mother band’s already extant pop and classical strains. Thus work began simultaneously on a new Move album and a debut ELO recording.

The Move’s final set was prefaced by the pummeling Lynne-penned 45 “Down On the Bay” and two fantastic pop-rock singles from Wood, “Tonight” (No. 11 in England) and “Chinatown,” which hinted at the sonic density that would feature in his later solo work.

Recorded after Price’s exit by the trio of Wood, Lynne, and Bevan, the LP Message From the Country landed in October 1971. Though flawed – thanks to Bevan’s silly Elvis homage “Don’t Mess Me Up,” the equally obvious Johnny Cash homage “Ben Crawley Steel Company,” and the “Honey Pie”-like ‘20s pop tidbit “My Marge” – it showed what Lynne and Wood were capable of together. Wood brought in the anvil-dropping “Until Your Mama’s Gone” and “It Wasn’t My Idea to Dance,” while Lynne contributed the titular rocker, the end-of-the-world ballad “No Time,” and a pair of expansive numbers, “The Minister” and “The Words of Aaron,” that pointed towards his later ELO hits in style and sound.

Message From the Country might as well have been released with a “No Sale” sticker attached to it, for the album left nary a trace on any international chart. The band had one last, magnificent single in it: in May 1972, the double-barreled blast of Lynne’s snarling, careening “Do Ya” and Wood’s metallic Jerry Lee Lewis tribute “California Man” landed like a bomb. This two-sided stick of dynamite was the Move’s only 45 to make an American dent, belatedly peaking at a meager No. 93, but became a valedictory No. 7 hit in Great Britain.

By that time, the Electric Light Orchestra’s first LP, No Answer, had seen release. An uncertain mixture of wide-screen rock and unfocused mock-classicism, it bemused listeners in England, where old Move fans took it to a modest No. 32 chart slot, and stultified audiences in America, where it clipped the chart at No. 196 during a two-week stay.

By the time work commenced on a follow-up ELO opus, Wood and Lynne were at loggerheads about the future direction of the band, and, after contributing to just two numbers for the sophomore album, Wood exited the group, with Lynne and Bevan carrying on under the ELO handle.

It was left to United Artists Records, ELO’s American label, to release a splendid parting gift that served as a kind of primer for late-blooming Move devotees. The late-1972 compilation Split Ends brought together the best tracks from Message From the Country, with its genre pastiches excised, and the stunning singles released before and after that album’s release. No doubt benefiting from loud tub-thumping in UA’s in-house music publication Phonograph Record Magazine, which was distributed free in American record stores, the posthumous collection became the Move’s only American chart LP, rising to No. 172 in early 1973.

With the dissolution of their partnership, the commercial fortunes of the Move’s prime movers diverged. Lynne of course perfected his rock/classical fusion and enjoyed a glittering run with ELO, taking a remake of “Do Ya” to No. 24 in 1977, and went on to become a big-name producer, rock star familiar, and Traveling Wilbury as his career burgeoned in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Roy Wood, always one Tommy short of a Pete Townshend-worthy career in the U.S., proceeded as a beloved eccentric and sometime hitmaker in his homeland. His 1973 all-solo opus Boulders contained the top-20 hit “Dear Elaine,” and was succeeded by the scrumptious Neal Sedaka-meets-the-Beach Boys hit “Forever” (No. 8). Regrouping with dissident Move bassist Rick Price, he founded the visually and sonically extravagant rock big band Wizzard, which issued such neo-Spectorian smashes as “Ball Park Incident” and “See My Baby Jive.”

Quite the saga. Now, if you haven’t heard the band, it’s time to get a Move on.

[ymd3signs]

Famous Graphic Designers Who Changed Everything

Changing an entire industry is by no means a small feat. The list of designers below still managed to profoundly changed the graphic design landscape as we know it. They helped shape the discourse of branding, the fundamental theories of design and did it all with an acute understanding of the cultural backdrop they tried to represent. Here’s how the greatest famous graphic designers made their mark on the world.

1)  Paul Rand

Paul Rand ought to arguably eclipse all of the beneath neath designers in reputation and legacy. The American Modernist's ground-breaking designs for IBM, ABC and the unique UPS emblems have stood corporation in the century. However, it's miles his theories on layout expressed in his mythical books to stand the check of time.  He flipped American marketing and marketing on its head whilst he becomes named Art Director of marketing and marketing organization William H. Weintraub & Co, a function formerly held through the copywriter. Donald Albrecht, curator of the 2015 exhibition on Rand's paintings Design Is Everything, claimed Rand flipped the method to marketing and marketing on its head. Instead of permitting the reproduction to dictate the layout, Rand u-grew to become an attitude and made photo layout the forefront. "He concept he become bringing artwork to marketing and marketing".

In essence, Rand is answerable for telling the arena that layout is, indeed, everything.

2)  Neville Brody

Neville Brody confronted grievance early in his profession after analyzing at The London College of Printing at some stage in the 1970s. His designs had been untried and strove for a brand new shape of mag artwork which sharply contrasted with the school's conventional printing and layout methods. The fashion dressmaker, emblem strategist, and typographer received his suggestion from the enormous push in his profession, the Punk motion. "London has a specific set of politics and cultural impacts that has been surely instrumental in growing the paintings that I do" he defined in an interview with Dezeen. He desired his paintings to mirror and constitute the converting panorama of London, politics and track; letting all designers understand that taking suggestion from the present-day weather can assist form you as a fashion dressmaker.

3)   Milton Glaser

Milton Glaser is entirely unstoppable in his marketing campaign to be topped the maximum celebrated photo fashion dressmaker of all time. His psychedelic method to the enduring Bob Dylan poster is contemplated in his more fantastic latest method to the Mad Men titles, and his stylistic path leaks into his way to typography. Although Glaser warned in his monograph Milton Glaser Graphic Design that he is "now no longer a kind fashion dressmaker", his Baby Teeth typeface which become designed for the Dylan poster advocated designers international to test with extraordinary forms.

His effect is deeply felt of path withinside the Big Apple, however, stretches past New York. Not handiest does the serviette on which he at the start drafted the I Heart NY brand completely are living withinside the Museum Modern Art, however, in 1976 he additionally designed the whole lot of the eating place which resided withinside the World Trade Centre,  Windows at the World. "I had no concept why it have become an icon now no longer handiest for New Yorkers", stated Glaser, "however for the complete bloody international."

4) David Airey

Now, as famed for his extraordinary running blog capabilities in addition to his outstanding layout portfolio, David Airey has made a call for himself as one of the contemporary-day masters of Graphic Design. His ebook Logo Design Love has emerged as a useful emblem all through itself, with a twitter following achieving 110,000 in its call. His speciality is living in constructing emblem identification via layout with businesses tripping over themselves to get a slice of his expertise. One of the various marks he has left up to now is the fee of self-promoting withinside the virtual age for photo designers, and the sheer energy of the net as a platform to excel your profession. "Without my blog, I doubt you'll understand approximately my paintings" he recently claimed in Design M.ag, "The Internet can open such a lot of doors, and it's as much as every one folks to tread our personal path".

5) David Carson

Texan born David Carson has honestly earnt his proper withinside the Graphic Design Hall of Fame and did it and not using regard for the rules. Experimental and formidable describe his ruthless willpower to interrupt the mould of typography and mag layout and stimulated a technology of younger designers to suppose differently approximately typography theory.

Clean reduce typefaces had been scrapped for distorted lettering that demanding situations the viewer, and his paintings in magazines Ray Gun and Nine Inch Nails are used as works to examine publications around the arena. However, his maximum critical lesson is geared closer to coaching photo designers to accept as true with themselves. "One of the early criticisms of my paintings become that it become 'self-indulgent'" he told Huck Magazine, "and I'd say, 'Hell yeah it's miles, I'm absolutely into it, I'm absolutely absorbed in it, and a part of me hopes it receives regarded and I wouldn't need any person operating for me who wasn't simply as into it."

6)   Stefan Sagmeister

Outspoken and unapologetic, Stefan Sagmeister is an imperative parent in contemporary-day pop & artwork culture. His genuine ardour is expressed via album covers, which he believes is the remaining problem for photo designers. "I do accept as true with that track is in the end the maximum emotional of all of the arts. To be capable of create the visible that comes out of that emotion and fasten it to some thing this is inherently non-visible is an exceptionally thrilling endeavor."

The perfect combo of images and typography form his mind-blowing portfolio and incorporating humans into his layout relentlessly captures emotion. His putting fashion certainly caught the hobby of Mick Jagger, Lou Reed and David Byrne, and with a platform of such superstar his paintings, in conjunction with his layout philosophy is deservingly celebrated. "Try to the touch the coronary heart of the viewer".

7)   Aleksandr Rodchenko

Although now no longer a not unusual place family call, Aleksandr Rodchenko helped outline attitudes to fashionable-day layout in significant ways. He becomes a Russian artist and photo fashion dressmaker who become pivotal withinside the Constructivism motion of the Russian Revolution. Born in 1891, Rodchenko demanded that conventional theories of the layout had been altered. The "Constructivists" noticed layout as something to be engineered, no matter gender and classical artwork principals. His designs are nearly scientifically calculated with a restricted colour palette, and it becomes the primary time the arena had visible typography and photographic factors offered in such political paintings.

8)   Saul Bass

Perhaps one of the top family names on our list, Saul Bass' paintings is immortalized inside universally recognizable conventional movie posters. He reimagined how movies had been represented through portraying iconic scenes via a more fantastic summary sample described through symbolism and shapes.  His brand designs on average, have a lifespan of a whopping 34 years earlier than they may be even taken into consideration a redesign, or even then the maximum, minimum versions are applied. His real effect on is living withinside the transformation of establishing sequences in movies. Before Bass got here into the picture, identify movie sequences had been stagnant and dreary. In an interview with Herbert Yager, Bass defined the delivery of film titles as we understand them. As a part of my paintings, I created movie symbols for advert campaigns. I occurred to be operating at the signs for Otto Preminger's Carmen Jones and The Man With The Golden Arm, and at a few point, Otto and I checked out every different and stated, "Why now no longer make it move?"

9)   Adrian Shaughnessy

London-primarily based layout Adrian Shaughnessy spent 15 years as Creative Director of layout studio, Intro earlier than he has become an unbiased fashion dressmaker and writer. His layout instinctively is stimulated through the styles and sorts of the track, and he strategies every layout with bearing in thoughts its ubiquitous presence in a day by day life. His designs stability motive with beauty, experimenting with kind and colour at the same time as making sure practicality stays intact. "Most of what we see is vacuous, or worse, a form of industrial hysteria. But there also are many right and profitable makes use of of photo layout; usages that make our lives better."

10)   Ivan Chermayeff

Ivan Chermayeff's paintings are peppered throughout the US. Pan Am, NBC and Mobil are titans of clients, and who's call will convey Chermayeff into the VIP area of layout forever. Minimal, identifiable and distinguished designs. From company emblems to charity identification, Chermayeff serves as a reminder that every so often in photo layout, heading again to fundamentals with formidable shapes and recognizable colours will create success emblems that last.

11)  Paula Scher

Paula Scher spent nearly two decades in Pentagram as an associate of their New York office. Her passionate technique to intensify the emotion in the back of layout began out to shape after seeing Kathy McCoy speak approximately layout, and claiming the great praise a fashion dressmaker ought to get hold of is that your paintings are 'clean'. "C'mon, there's gotta be greater than that" she stresses "What approximately expression, what approximately emotion, what approximately feeling? ... If you can be neat, it appeared that you can obtain it…If every person can obtain it, why trouble to do it, why don't all of us do it ourselves?"

12)   Annie Atkins

Wes Anderson's movies are famed for his or her exceptional layout and specific, nearly surrealist fashion. Working as a photo fashion dressmaker on Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, Annie Atkins carved her take at the director's imaginative and prescient. When operating in movies usually, photo designers take a script and mark whatever which can also additionally fall below their creative freedom. For The Grand Budapest Hotel, Atkins quickly realized the whole movie ought to fall below her inventive responsibility. The film, with its reliance on snapshots and aesthetics, sincerely allowed Atkins to reinvent photo layout for cinema.

13)   Massimo Vignelli

Visionary Italian fashion dressmaker Massimo Vignelli fashioned his profession through making use of European Modernist view to the American layout panorama. A self-branded "facts architect", Vignelli has included his imaginative and prescient so inextricably from ordinary life, from the New York Subway device to American Airlines and Ford. He noticed layout as a technique to explicit facts; this is difficult to comprehend. His legacy is summarised through primary photo fashion dressmaker Tom Geismar; "What usually amazes me approximately Massimo is his cappotential to take plenty of facts and by some means make clear it".

14)   Alvin Lustig

Alvin Lustig is the King of ebook cowl layout. Pastel colours that offset stunning typography thread in the course of his paintings, and he become properly conscious that withinside the first 1/2 of the 20th century – pretty early days for photo Design - he becomes on the sunrise of an enterprise approximately to boom. "The simple distinction among the photo fashion dressmaker and the painter or sculptor," he writes in his essay titled Graphic Design, "is his look for the 'public' as opposed to the 'private' image."

Conveying literature via photo layout become a knack Lustig had right down to a T, and the use of the image in the course of his paintings is a tenancy that designers can be encouraged through for a long time to come.

15)   Max Miedinger

Born in Zurich in 1910, Max Miedinger created one of the maximum broadly used typefaces in photo layout history; Helvetica. The font is so ingrained inside our day by day lives that few even recognize its ubiquity. Miedinger has likely designed the arena's handiest typeface to have a function duration documentary made approximately it. The international first has Eduard Hoffman to thank, who commissioned Miedinger to layout the sans-serif typeface, which becomes named Helvetica now no longer till 1960.

16)   Armin Hoffman

Originally a lithographer, Hoffman quickly has become one of the maximum famed theorists in the back of photo layout that ever lived. A robust present-day of area and shape body cultural and social troubles that helped power the "Swiss Style" motion. Designers Journal claimed that without Hoffman, contemporary-day photo layout could be unrecognizable. "The clarity and cleanliness of the fashion in addition to its uneven layouts, use of a grids and sans-serif typefaces have helped outline how we layout today."

17)   Max Bill

Maybe one of the maximum uncommon designers we've visible, Max Bill added his specific fashion to paintings, architecture, sculpture in addition to photo layout. Colourful geometric styles are utilized in his poster paintings which contributed to the Swiss Style again. Attention to detail, progressive kind and production of format had been the constructing blocks of the 30's Swiss motion and redefined our attitudes to photo layout.

18)   Anton Stankowski

Famous German-born photo fashion dressmaker Anton Stankowski become at the start a church decorator, who later has become one of the first photo artists to create a Theory on Graphic Design. Not handiest did he create emblems for large organizations inclusive of the Deutsche Bank, however his cautiously calculated structural layout stimulated a brand new manner of thinking.

19)   Wally Olins and 20) Micael Wolff

During the 1960s, Wally Olins and Michael Wolff fashioned one of the maximum pioneering layout studios the United Kingdom had ever visible. Wolff Olins become the maximum regarded industrial branding organization in Britain. They used the globalization of businesses as a foundation to shape their branding, and his ardour for cultivating the accept as true with of manufacturers shines via his paintings. "Brands and branding are the maximum great contributions that trade has ever made to famous culture" Olins boasts in his ebook Wally Olins on Brand, and their efforts to craft success manufacturers from BT to London itself, that humans go back to time and time again.

[aconvenientenemy]

The Cities of Blood and Ashes

The line for fruit was twice as long as Nada normally saw it. She had been in town for near two weeks and this was the longest hold up she had seen. Someone had to be haggling. That had to be it. This wasn't a place you haggled in. The prices were set here. Even most travelers knew that because the signs were everywhere. It was in the tourist brochures for willow's sake.

The line moved finally. After Nada had started playing a game of counting the travelers like her through the crowds. You could always tell by the shoes. And from the newer ones, their backpacks and map cases. She had counted 28 by the time the line started moving.

"A 30 for the basket or 40 to fill your own." She was told when she reached the front.

"Are there apples in the basket?"

"Can be, for an extra 2."

No haggling, she chided herself before she could ask for a different deal. "Done." She gave her 32 and took her basket, breaking out of line and running into a masked figure on the street immediately. "I'm so sorry." She apologized,  steadying him by his arm.

"No it was my fault, sorry." He countered, grabbing her other arm to steady her as well.

It was a con job and she almost laughed as she saw him grab an apple and pocket it, patting her arm as she picked it back and put it on the side of her basket where he couldn't see it.

She patted his arm too and sent him on his way. "It was both our faults. Have a good day!"

He nodded and walked off quickly. Adjusting his face mask as he went.

--

"It's cute." She said, not looking up from her apple and coffee, watching the cream gradually mix into her bitter drink.

"How did you know?" The masked man asked her, standing on the outside of the little gate sequestering the cafe from the street. It wasn't a full hour after the run in. She had hoped he would try to find her.

"Your mask I mean." She told him, looking up and tapping her mouth. "I like the little smile on it."

He nodded, gray eyes sharp and trained on her face. "Thank you. How did you know? And how did you get it back so quick?"

"It was mine." She shrugged. "I wasn't going to let my apple get stolen."

"You're an adventurer?" He opened the gate and stood next to her table.

She looked him over. He was a local. If not from the town itself at least from nearby. He wasn't ragged but he also wasn't proper. His clothes were together but by no means formal wear. She could see him living in a tent somewhere.

He had a jacket and a small pack on him. Capable of carrying only trinkets or money, maybe a handful of snacks.

"No." She squinted looking up at him. "Sit. You're making my eyes hurt."

He pulled the chair out and sat down. Nada waved for a server and gestured to him. "Whatever he wants, with me."

He made unsure eye contact with her and ordered a blueberry tea with a straw.

"That it?"

He nodded.

The server left to get his order and once gone, Nada leaned forward a little. "I'm a tourist."

He rolled his eyes. "Tourists don't know how to pick my pockets."

She sat back in her seat. "Maybe you just don't know how to keep things in your pockets."

"Can you just tell me how? And I'll leave you alone. I promise. I just want to know how you did it."

"Would you believe it was a curse?"

"Yes." He answered immediately. "But I don't think it was."

She laughed. "Kinda the opposite of believing, wouldn't you say?"

He slouched in his chair, crossing his arms, angry eyes but smiling mask. "I'd believe it if it were a curse. But I don't think it is. I know curses and that didn't feel like one."

She raised her eyebrows, a little shocked, a little impressed. "What curses do you know?"

He sat back up. The smile on his mask feeling more apt now. "A trade? Information for information?"

She nodded. "Deal." It was the easiest deal she had made this whole year.

They shook hands and he introduced himself after the tea came. "Name's Kit."

"Nada."

"No name? That's cool. What's that then? Lost your name in a trade?"

She laughed. "My name is Nada."

"Oh. That's also cool." He slipped the straw under his face mask, holding his drink in such a way that one of his fingers hung inside the tea, and swallowed down about half his drink before he started speaking again. "So what brings a tourist like yourself down here to the edge of Aiko? It's the fruit right? Its gotta be. People come to Aiko proper for the good stuff but here on the edge we have the same quality just less of the fame."

Nada turned the apple in her hand over. It looked normal. Sure it tasted crisper than she was used to, but she figured it was just in season. "Aiko is known for its fruit?"

Kit nodded. "Its vegetation. Anything grown here. It's like, the highest tier. City of Ashes at its finest. You just can't ship it out. If it crosses the border further than a day it molds. Turns to pulp. It goes rot almost like that." He snaps. "It's one of our more well known legends. A blessing and a curse in one."

Nada had perked up at the title 'City of Ashes'. She knew that name from somewhere. A contact maybe. She took out her notebook from her side satchel and nodded for Kit to continue while she flipped through it.

"Also can't make a killer by shipping the food out, but it still makes more than enough on tourists who know the watered down legend. Or on people who know the real thing, the deeper lore, and like that sort of stuff. Either way. Most people are willing to spend a good deal of coin here."

She looked up from her notes. "Deeper lore?"

Kit nodded again. "Buy me a meal and slip me an apple, I'll tell you the legend."

Nada couldn't help but feel like the smile on his mask was mocking her now. But. It had been a while since someone gave her a story and she was damn near starving for it. She agreed to his terms and his eyes practically glimmered. Kit excused himself to the counter to place his order and to change his face mask.

"If I wear one for too long it starts to smell like sweat." He said by way of explanation. He returned with another black mask but this one had a slightly wider, sharp toothed, open grin on it. He sat back in his seat and leaned forward on the table. Nada sat back in her chair, pulling her knees up the her chest to settle in. "So."

It's actually two cities. Two cities with histories so deeply stained by ash and drowned in blood. Two cities who prosper financially and agriculturally. One flush with healthy vegetables and beautiful fruit forests. The other known vastly for its ways of trade and range of taught skills.

We start in the other one. Legend has it there was a fierce ruler named Valeria who rose to command during an amazing and long drawn out power struggle. She grew tired of the fighting throughout the land. Deciding to take it into her own hands, she killed all who opposed the change she tried to enact. She soon had no one in the land who challenged her, at least, to her face.

 Small sects and malicious groups rose up but were quickly struck down. The land itself prospered. The people no longer went hungry or wanted for shelter. But still, some considered her rule too fierce, too restrictive.

 She had no family besides one brother, Aiko, and those who knew of her legacy knew they wouldn't prosper against her face to face. So they turned to the brother. The people of the land warned them. They said Valeria cared for nothing and no one besides her power. That Aiko could fend for himself and Valeria wouldn't care either way. The opposition didn't listen.

 Multiple kidnap attempts were tried and multiple failed. Either Aiko would escape or he would be held for so long with no response from Queen Valeria that they would just release him.

 Or so the stories said.

 In the shadows of her rulership, Valeria had a secret task force with the sole mission of watching over her brother, Aiko. This task force kept him alive and killed many people doing so.

 There is a more widely known variation of Valeria’s story that tells of the only successful kidnap of her brother. The story that explains a neighboring kingdom drowned in blood and set ablaze. Cleansed from the earth in a righteous angry fire and reborn anew with the name of her fallen brother.

 Queen Valeria’s task force failed. They were struck down and the last to fall was brought down by Valeria's own hand as he explained the details of Aiko’s kidnapping.

 Valeria rode for days to reach the kingdom, taking a small army for backup. The small kingdom was ready. The little lord ruled only three years and thought himself worthy of an upgrade. He wanted Valeria's kingdom, the Kingdom of Blood as they called it, and he was holding her brother's throat to it. He had an army half the population of his land.

 The details get very murky or very explicit depending on who's telling this story but the short of it is, her small army slaughtered everyone in his militia. They took the ones who did not resist out of the city and she took the self righteous lord's life out of this plane of existence. In a panic, he had forgotten to hold Aiko's throat hostage and slashed it as soon as he saw Valeria's shadow down his hallways.

He laid in the blood of her brother as she sliced his skin open. He watched through glassy eyes as she mixed their blood and cursed his family line both ways into eternity, the light from his land being set ablaze behind her like she was an angel of death. She said few words but took great satisfaction in the terror on his face as she promised him days of this treatment.

 She asked him one day, his last day, amidst his screaming and his pleading and blood dripping, if he thought it had been worth it.

 He spoke through red stained teeth and a ripped ragged throat. “I thought you would fold. They said you didn't care.”

 She looked him in his bloodshot eyes before she answered, calmly and quietly. “He was my morality.”

 His life ended that day. The city, burned to ash days ago. She had the old residents as well as the strongest in her army to come and rebuild. They made a new land. Using the ashes of the old as fertilizer. She ruled over both kingdoms as a killer. Renamed the new land for Aiko. No one dared to challenge her again. And no one spoke a word against her in her kingdoms. Either out of fear or respect.

 Both lands prospered and the Kingdom of Ashes, Aiko, is known far and wide as the best place to get farm fresh produce while the first kingdom of Valeria is known for its strength and happiness of subjects. Everyone builds their own houses, plants their own food, shares with the travelers. It still prospers to this day.

"Such a grim history for a city known for it's nice fruit." Nada commented.

Kit shrugged. "Its not really history. It can't be verified. If it happened, it happened thousands of years ago. Neither city is a Kingdom, Valeria's been through so many rulers, Aiko has its own law now, and there's the flood that took out the library so all the historical documents are gone. It's legend because it's word of mouth. But the curse is real, the blessing is real, and the story had to start somewhere. It's cool, isn't it?" His grey eyes shimmered, sharp toothed mask seeming to match his expression.

"Yeah, pretty cool."

[berfometalpha]

Legacy of Eternity Chapter 2: Side Story I AM NO HERO

wFlash back 4 years ago - Pre Ren’veil discovery

Deep inside the ferry ship the Chariot of hope their nearly 2 million recruits both for knight candidates and marines are carried to the Academia. 

The Academia is a place where no mere mortal can walk upon as it is the training and proving grounds for a mere mortal to become a knight in ancient legend. 

This place was designed by the Custodians as a place to freely train a mortal to become a knight or a marine for the Xer-razh legions. This place is considered as a sacred proving grounds for all who wish to become a knight. 

As the Chariot of Hope exited the jump ring the ship entered into a dark space where lies a star split in half. deep inside the shattered star a Jump ring could be seen and the only way for anyone to reach it is through a pattern only known to the captains of the Chariot class ships. 

This place is one of the most heavily guarded secrets on creation and is heavily defended by a fleet of Automata’s called Forsworn a dedicated slave fleet made by the custodians with a single overriding purpose to protect the secrets of the Academy and how to locate it.

As the Chariot ships entered through a specific yet randomized route in between the shattered star. The gate led to an alternate dimension that can only be entered through Jump gate X-01. 

“So this is the route to the academy huh? I am impressed and shouldn’t we be torn to pieces by the shattered star’s gravity or something?” Clayton asked. 

“Indeed because the custodians made many things both good and bad for creation... I guess not even the physics of a star apply to them so to say... And If I were to say it... The shattered star’s unpredictable gravitational pull will rip apart any ship that isn’t a Charriot class ship and this ship alone is as big as austria of old earth.” Kent explained.

“I see so this thing is almost as big as 7.2 million square meters? or at least comparable to it huh Kent?” Marky asked.

“Indeed, or at least that is what the books in the New Dawn’s library say so...” Kent replied.

“Hmm, then this thing can probably survive a planet cracking this thing?” Genji asked.

“Probably but let’s not get to that point... Because here comes the Knight Judicator.” Kent pointed to the podium.

Many of the candidates and recruits watched the podium where a massive grey armored knight took to the stage with a disgusted look upon his face he proceeded to say this to all who could hear his voice.

I am Knight Juidcator Glarox the demon breaker, I see many aspirants to become knights and marines who possess talent to be here... I will get straight to the point... 

This place is a sacred place where knights are born and I do not appreciate anyone who muzzled their way through the trials of knighthood to come here... 

If you are looking for fame and fortune then you are only looking for a quick death...

You will all die that I shall guarantee if you entered the academy with the intent of seeking glory and riches... Then you shall die... If you had not honed your skills and simply used your family name to enter the academy then... you shall die... We shall cull the weak and seek only the strong to be molded in the fires that shaped creation...

You shall be tempered in the forges of the first born... 

For you shall be the shield that protects and the sword that cleaves through the endless night... 

Here in the Academy you shall be tested in every way possible for we shall break you before you are reborn... 

For a knight is born to protect his own and his soul belongs to creation and nothing more... Now children of creation I welcome you... to hell...

The Judicator said as the ground beneath their feet started to open as the air pressure was slowly sucking every student out of the ship. The initiates and knight candidates grabbed the nearest jump pack due to the panic some were not so lucky. More and more of the initiates were sucked out of the ship including Kent’s team though they were able to grab a jump pack Kent didn’t bother to get one. 

As they fell about 50,000 feet many knight candidates flew through the skies passing through debris and several large spires that nearly reached the stratosphere.

Rex reached out to Kent as he saw him not taking his own jump kit earlier while the others lined up along side him.

“Kent grab on!” Rex shouted.

“No need... I got this...” Kent shouted.

“You won’t survive if you crash... at the last possible second try and tumble on the ground so you will survive!” Marky shouted. 

“Yeah the idiot is right you wont make it!” Clayton shouted.

Kent looked on as he pulled out his Great sword and sliced through several boulder like debris with relative ease. 

“Follow me in... I’ll clear the path Clay.” Kent shouted.

The team lined up right behind Kent as they rapidly reached the ground as more and more debris were hurdling towards them. Kent showed off the results of his training inside New Dawn’s Gravity dome as one strike from his sword is equivalent to 50,000 tons of force. 

Upon reaching the 500 Feet mark Rex and the others activated their jump kits at the last possible minute. 

Though they were safe but nothing is said to be true when Clayton and Rex’s Jump packs particle fusion vent exploded as they slowly but surely crashing to the Academy ground.

“Hang on! our pack’s are failing!!!” Rex shouted. 

“Let me go!!! I’ll be okay.” Kent shouted.

“Not going to happen boss man! We stick together no matter what!” Clayton shouted.

Just before they hit the ground Genji and Marky caught up to the three and ignited their jump packs saving them at the last possible second.

The entire team managed to get to the Forest area of the Academy though they were safe their jump kits were rendered useless now.

“Well at least we fucking made it...” Clayton sighed. 

“True but you guys should have let me crash land I will be fine regardless...” Kent said.

“That’s utter bullshit Boss! no man can survive a fall from the upper atmosphere and come out okay.” Clayton mentioned.

“Right... Well moving aside thank you all for the assist but now where are we anyway?” Kent asked.

“According to the holo-book we are in section 719 of the training grounds... So after we arrive their should be a total of 10 teams in each sector... We need to reach our designated quarters before nightfall because their are only 3 dormitories in each sector...” Marky stated.

“Then where should we go?” Kent asked.

“We need to head north after we pass a massive plain we should be able to spot a bunker like house and that is our building... And that is about 17.9 kilometers from here and not to mention the monsters inside the forest.” Marky explained.

“Then let’s get a move on shall we? Who will take point for this?” Kent asked.

“I’ll do it... Clayton you got center... Genji and Kent take the sides and Marky you take the rear.” Rex said.

Kent agreed to the formation as they made their way through the forest they encountered several Feral fang wolves and grey mamoth bears with cybernetic augmentations. 

Though the resistance of the monsters are fierce they were no match for Kent’s strength alone. As they took a quick break inside the forest Clayton wondered about what the young knight mentioned earlier.

“Boss Man, tell us why the ever living fuck would you fucking jump out of a ship without a damn jump pack?” Clayton asked.

“Yeah I am curious about that as well?” Marky asked.

“““sigh”“Since we might be working together I might as well explain why but I guess it’s better to show you guys...” Kent stated as he took out a knife.

He then proceeded to cut open a massive wound on his left arm which caused the team to panic. when they saw the wound didn’t even spew out blood instead several ligaments started to repair the wound as if nothing happened.

“Holy fucking shit that is... Freaky...” Clayton replied.

“Wait... Kent is your bones... Cyber-grafted?” Marky asked.

“Indeed... Their were... complications when I was young and the nano-machines inside my body that compose my blood keep me alive... Technically speaking I don’t need to worry about getting a jump kit...” Kent explained. 

“So that’s why... But we will ignore that part and we will still have your back boss man!” Clayton said with a smile and thumbs up.

“Right... So How far are we from the dormitory anyway and what time is it?” Kent asked.

“We are about 13.2 kilometers out boss and we have a bigger issue about the time... we have about 3 hours left... I think we should run...” Marky suggested.

“How so?” Clayton asked.

“Well... We have a massive hoard of Grey wolves heading towards us and they look angry and hungry as well.” Marky stated.

“Oh shit fuck book it!” Clayton shouted.

Everyone of the team grabbed their gear and ran for their lives Kent could take on at least 21 of them but they were up against 500 Grey wolves and a Greater primal Grey wolf was leading them.

They were able to at least pick off a few of the Grey wolves from a distance with Marky’s sniper rifle and Rex’s crack shot pistol skills proved invaluable. When they reached the plain’s Clayton turned around when his Chain gun started to spin.

“Move aside you bitches!!!” Clayton shouted.

His chain gun started to fire both ballistic rounds that tore through rows upon rows of Grey wolves with relative ease though the forest itself was torn apart at the same time.

“Clay let’s go we will cover you!” Kent shouted.

“Got it!” Clayton replied as he started running.

As they moved through the plains and killed as many of the grey wolves they set up a defensive position in a small hill just a few meters from where they came out.

“Boss man another squad at our right!” Clayton shouted.

Kent looked to his right he saw a squad of 4 girls one critically injured while the rest were running for their lives.

“I see them... Wait a minute... Lily over here!!!” Kent shouted.

‘Kent help we got wounded!!!” Lily shouted.

“Guys cover me!” Kent said as he charged towards the grey wolves.

“Got it boss!” Clayton replied.

The heavy gunner began ripping up the ground with his Chain gun killing a row of Grey wolves in rapid succession.

The young knight charged towards a dozen Wolves and with a powerful side swing he cleaved a massive arch like trench killing the wolves and clearing a path for Lily’s team to reach their position.

As the squads regrouped at the hill the calm yet are free Kent changed to a completely different person with serious eyes and courage in his heart he then gave orders to everyone.

“Okay everyone we move as one... Lily get that guy patched up Rex, Clay, Genji we will hold here... Marky can you pick off any monsters that comes near here?” Kent ordered. 

“Got it!” Marky said as he shot another wolf in the head. 

“You two stay here and protect Lily... As soon as that guy is patched up we red line it to the bunker... am i clear!” Kent ordered.

With a nodd the two other soldiers understood his orders Kent turned to face his opponents as he pulled Trail Blazer from the ground. With a deep breath he closed his eyes mustering the courage to protect his friends and those who need him.

Trail blazer Heeded his call as it split into two the Trail Igniter and the Blaze ripper revved and roared out to answer their master’s call He slowly walked towards the enemy that is before him.

Oh Faith I offer my prayer to you... Should this day be my end... may you be my witness this day... May my actions save the lives behind me and give them the opportunity to live to fight another day... Should my end be this day... I ask you to judge me not for my sacrifice but for my actions this day...

May your light shine brighter than the stars... 

FOR FAITH... FOR THE FRONTIER!!!

He unleashed a terrifying roar as if he was no human the young knight slowly ran towards the remaining 297 Grey wolves head on and jumped right in the middle of the pact and started cutting them with relative easy. 

His friends watched from a distance as Kent systematically cleaved through the hoards of feral Grey wolves as if he was dancing to the beat of the glimmering stars upon the night’s sky.

As they watched in shock one of the monsters was approaching from behind Rex when Kent pulled out 3 knives from his coat and jumped into the air dodging a charging wolf and threw it towards the beast that nearly bite Rex’s head off.

“Rex don’t lose focus and watch each other’s backs our job is far from over!” Kent shouted as he sliced a wolf’s head off.

“Oh right... sorry!” Rex replied.

As the day went on more and more of the beasts went down before Kent’s blades the team managed to whittle down more monsters than any other team in the academy. 

Kent faced off against the Pact leader alone as he ordered his team to take the wounded to the bunker before time ran out. 

Though he was covered in wounds and several bite marks one of the wolves managed to even bite him right in the shoulder and is not letting go. It was as if he was a shield that will not break as he swung blaze ripper up igniting a line of plasma flame clearing him a path to escape later on.

He stabbed another wolf in the stomach forcing him to let go of Trail igniter the young knight also grabbed the wolf that was nibbling on his shoulder by the face and crushed it’s skull with more than 50,000 tons of force.

“Now that the annoyance is over it’s time for me to end this...” Kent thought to himself.

Time was running out as more and more wolves joined the battle Kent grabbed the Trail igniter and charged at the pact leader. He threw Blaze ripper towards the wolf stabbing his shoulder the young knight delivered a powerful upward swing grabbing the Blaze Ripper and tore off the pact leader in half killing him with only two strikes.

“Well that was quick... But now I need to run...” Kent thought.

He fused the two blades and ran towards the team who reached the bunker already. Meanwhile at the bunker Rex and his friends with a soldier from Lily’s team were waiting as they held gate open.

“We have to close the doors now... Those things are almost here!” Sarka said.

“No we won’t we have to wait for Kent to get back!” Marky replied.

“How sure are you that he is still alive.”Sarka asked.

“We put our trust in the team even though we just met each other a few days ago... and their he is!” Rex shouted.

“Damn that is a lot of ass fucks!” Clayton said as he mounted the turret of the bunker.

Clayton provided covering fire for Kent while Rex initiated the locking procedures of the bunker. As the gate was about to close Kent slide into the gate at the last possible second as it shut closed behind him by an inch of his hair. 

Exhausted and covered in wounds He breathed a sigh of relief as they were safe inside the bunker.

“Sweet merciful Faith... My god how long did I run here... Damn... Can I get a cup of water first... man I’m thirsty...” Kent said as he sighed.

“Here you go boss man and damn you ran that far to get here... You really are a beast boss man... Or should I say a Hero...” Clayton stated as he patted him on the back.

“Argh... Clay I am a bit injured please cut me some slack please.” Kent said as he drank the entire cup of water.

Kent exhaled steam as his body’s cellular regeneration kicked in healing the bite and scratch marks on his body. Lily walked in with a medical kit in hand as she inspected Kent’s bio-metrics and injected him with a bio-med-gel called Gen-tech. 

“Okay Kent I don’t think your cells will be able to regenerate your wounds for a little bit since your bio-plasma stocks are dangerously low... I think Miss Charlotte will scold you for being gung-ho again.” Lily said as she flicked him in the forehead.

“OUCH! Sorry Lily... I will try not to be a hero...” Kent said as he received another flick from Lily.

“OUCH what was that for?!” Kent asked when Lily gave him a hug.

“Just don’t be so reckless Kent...” Lily whispered.

Everyone in the room became curious as to what Lily’s relationship with Kent they helped him to the medical room.

Lily placed the young knight inside a special healing chamber to fully replenish his bio-plasma stocks. 

“Sleep tight Kent...” Lily said as she kissed the chamber door.

As she went out of the medical room Rex and Clayton asked Lily if the young knight will make it.

“Yes he will since he over clocked his cellular regeneration and modded his abilities to temporarily exceed his own capabilities.... Though some of his bio-cyber ligaments had was slightly damaged but he will be okay...” Lily reported.

“Then that is all well and good but what is your relationship with the boss man anyway are you his girlfriend or something?” Clayton asked.

“““blush”“ I wish, I am Lilian Starseeker I am Kent’s Adopted sister and personal attendant/doctor/advice giver and friend... But you can call me Lily.” Lily said with a smile.

“So how are you adopted by his Family anyway?” Rex asked.

“That is a story for another time... i believe the Judicator will give out an announcement in a bit let us go first to the meeting room.” Lily explained.

“Okay but we want them details?” Clayton asked.

“Fine, Fine... I will tell you the details Later on...” Lily replied.

When the three entered the room Judicator Voraiha the current trainer for batch number 781M looked and saw most if not all the initiates survived the initial testing.

“Well done team Zeta, Ah Rex the champion of Shard your tactical leadership and skills with your pistols did not go un-noticed by the other Vindicators of the Academy and you shall hereby receive the title of Captain... Make your family proud.” Voraiha reported.

“Thank you Master Voraiha I am humbled by the Vindicator’s decision...” Rex saluted.

“Yes quite right... Now where is Kent Redridge I wish to speak with him.” Voraiha asked.

“Master Voraiha, I am Lily Starseeker I am Master Redridge’s personal aide He is currently recovering in the medical bay. But he will be okay by tomorrow morning.” Lily reported.

“That is good to hear... After all I expect no less from an Archon Candidate... He is to be rewarded for his accomplishments I have sent each and everyone of you some Digi-credits to your holo-pads for each kill you had... You can use that for upgrades to your weapons and armor and purchase of supplies... You all survived the first day well done... But the next coming months will be more brutal than the first... Make your families proud and miss Lily... Tell Kent that he has received a special reward for gaining a total kill count of 412 which is quite impressive for his age... That is all... May Faith shine upon you all... Voraiha out.” The Judicator said as the transmission ended. 

“Well that is to be expected he did train with the Sentinel guards and the iron Wolves for most of his life and Lord Victor as well personally over saw his training...” Lily said outloud.

“Wait... Victor as in Victor Redridge the last son of Wodan Jeager Redridge?” Sarka asked.

“The one and only... And if you guys are planning anything...”““ pulled out weapons”“ I won’t hesistate to kill any of you if you have any thoughts of killing him!” Lily said without hesitation.

Lily was approached by a beautiful pale skinned 18 year old girl with long black hair, with blue eyes and wore a black and white trooper armor with a black belt cape carrying an assortment of throwing knives and held a pair of twin photon rifles with short barrels for close quarter combat.

“Eunice, I appreciate you being comforting but now is not the time!” Lily asked.

“Lily, we owe Kent our lives and we wont do anything to hurt him... I promise... For now lets get some sleep we have a long day tomorrow...” Eunice stated.

“Agreed, you guys go on ahead I need to check on our wounded before I get some sleep.”Lily replied.

“Rex, Can you help me with my Chain gun I think the rotation engine is slowing down.. I could use some extra hands to help out with that...” Clayton asked.

“Understood I also need to maintain my pistols as well...” Rex added as they went to the armory.

With a sigh of relief Lily want back to check on Kent while the rest checked their equipment and went to sleep.

The next morning Lily pulled Kent out of the Bio-tank as he fell to the ground coughing heavily and vomit the bio fluid inside the tank. Lily handed him a towel and patted him on the back to help release the fluids inside his body.

“““Heavy coughing”“ Thank you Lily...”“Vomit”“... Ugh being stuck inside that tank all night is rough...” Kent stated.

“Well Miss Charlotte did say you should Avoid being a hero... And you did it more times than i can count... Hopefully Judicator Voraiha did not report it to her...” Lily said as she helped Kent to the bed.

“Right... But what’s the status of the squad and what happened while I was out?” Kent asked.

We’ll Rex was promoted to Captain, Clayton was promoted to sergeant as well, Mister Markus was promoted to a specialist but he is assigned to you. I think that would be good while Benjamin received a pair of plasma blades earlier I believe he is going to be a brawler of sorts... My team got dissolved because we received casualties and got transferred to yours... Miss Eunicia will be your co-commander for all daily activities until graduation and I will be the medic of the team. 

“That is well and good I am glad we will work together again Lily.” Kent said with a smile.

“Indeed, I look forward to it... now here have some breakfast... I made some jam toast and an omelet sandwich.” Lily said. 

The young knight happily ate the breakfast made for him as she continued her final medical exam on his body.

“Well Everything seems to check out... The Viruses are active but not in an aggressive state which is new... For once... Everything should be all good... Your eyes seem okay... Response time is good...” Lily said as she walked towards the table.

“Kent HEAD’s UP!” Lily said as she threw a scalpel at him.

The scalpel nearly hit Kent right dead center in the eye when his Left hand moved on it’s own and caught the scalpel before it hit his eye.

“Lily, Mind if I ask why you had to do it?” Kent asked.

“Sorry, I needed to make sure your time in the Bio-chamber didn’t affect your reaction time... I’m glad it didn’t...” Lily said as she grabbed the scalpel and smiled at him.

“Right... By the way whats today's mission Lily?” Kent asked. 

Lily threw a holo-pad to Kent explaining the mission details as follows The realm of the Academy is a dimension that has never been explored like a living creature it continues to unravel secrets that many Judicators and Vindicators tried to unlock for many Millennia’s now. 

We pass this mission onto the next generation of initiates who wish to become a marine and or Knight. Team Zeta your mission is to scout the new region you shall be provided with a transport for this mission. 

“Okay then we shall accept it... Lily is the team ready?” Kent asked.

“Yes they are and by the way Kent I took the liberty of choosing the reward for you in terns of our transportation if that is okay?” Lily asked.

“Sure you are my best friend Lily so I trust your decision making no matter what.” Kent replied as he got off the bed.

“Before we leave I took also the liberty of repairing and modifying your clothes and your leg armor with mini-boosters and your boots with gravity wheels so it will be more easier for you to respond.” Lily stated.

“Thank you Lily, I am glad I have you on my side...” Kent said as he wore the leg armor.

Kent looked at his new Leg and boot armor when he noticed that the vernier boosters are similar to the Night Hawk’s booster designs. While the boots itself was made with a steel claw attachment for wall running and wall climbing purposes. 

He also noticed that the knee guards had a small pair of spikes since the young knight preferred close quarter combat.

“Sweet this fits just fine... Thank you Lily but what of our transport?” Kent asked.

“Our transport should be here already...” Lily said as she looked at her watch.

A brief moment passed as they heard a high frequency roar of 4 star crusader class engines could be heard over the distance.

“Wait I know the sound of those Star engines anywhere...” Kent said as he went out of the medical bay.

Everyone watched as a black 80 meter long Gunship class Starcruiser entered through the star gate of the Academia. 

“The Night Hawk, my family’s ancient gunship you have been through many adventures with my family... Now a new story begins and I would be honored to write my story with you...” Kent thought as the Night Hawk landed.

“Holy shit that is a bad-ass cruiser!” Clayton shouted.

“That is the infamous Night hawk... and that thing is not a cruiser it’s a gunship...Though it is a bit concerning to why it is classified as a Gunship when it is a cruiser because of it’s size, fire power and capacity fits a light cruiser class to be honest.”Marky stated.

“This ship does belong to my son and this gunship can transform into a cruiser but it is far superior than those flimsy gunships being built today...” A familiar voice said.

“Wait... mom?!” Kent said outloud.

The Night hawk’s rear bay doors opened as a dozen marines lined up as Charlotte Sentinel the current queen of the Dragon-wolf kingdom of the frontier.

As she approached the initiates with two Primera Fang wolves (One of the 7 royal guards of the Dragon-wolf kingdom) in tow. She looked upon Kent and his team and with a smile she embraced Kent and gave him a head patt.

“You have done well my son... But your battle is far from over... I have brought the needed supplies that Lily requested... But...” Charlotte said as she delivered a smack at the back of Kent’s head.

“OUCH! Mom what was that for?!” Kent asked.

“My son did I not tell you not to be a hero?!” Charlotte scolded Kent with her arms crossed.

“““awkward smile”“ Sorry Mom, I guess I was influenced by you and Dad’s war stories... And how Grand Father Wodan and Great Grand Mother Tallis saved a lot of people... Including Uncle Aliucard... I want to follow their footsteps... Including yours mom...” Kent confessed.

“I know you do but...””sigh”” My son please heed my words carefully and take it to heart... Not everything on creation happens like the stories we told you... I hope and pray that you never have to experience it... I don’t know if you are prepared for it... But please do not be a hero... Be someone who you can be proud of... your Father and I shall be very proud of you always and forever my dear...” Charlotte explained.

“Understood mom... I will try not to be a hero...”Kent nodded.

“Good... I wish i can spend more time with you my son but I am needed back home... I left a little gift for you inside the armory... I believe you shall like it.” Charlotte said as she looked to her guards.

The Primera knight nodded as Charlotte’s group was enveloped by a bright white light.

Before the teleportation was complete Charlotte looked at her son one more time as she said Remember the line between hero and monster always remember who you are and never let your desires take you.

Charlotte and her escorts were taken away by teleportation when Clayton approached Kent and gave him a tap on the shoulder as he told him.

“Now that is some family service for you... Got to hand it to a nobleman... So Boss man what should we do now?” Clayton asked.

“Easy... Let’s bring the supplies aboard the ship and proceed to the marked location... Lily can you handle piloting the Night Hawk?” Kent asked.

“Sure, I had some simulation training on flying this thing... But are you sure we should use the Flight mode for this thing?” Lily asked.

“Hopefully we wont have to use the Drifter mode so it should be easy for you to fly her.” Kent replied.

“Ah thank god I thought I was going to fly this thing using the Drifter... But sure let me get the systems ready just give me 2 minutes.” Lily added.

“Okay Everyone as soon as the supplies are transferred from the transport we move to the facility as stated by Judicator Voraiha...” Kent shouted.

“Understood Kent...” Eunice replied.

Eunice approached Kent as he was dumb founded as she saw her for the first time.

“Hello Mister Redridge, I am Eunicia Striker of the 7th Legion but you may call me Eunice... It is a pleasure to meet you.” Eunice said with a salute.

“The pleasure is all mine Lady Striker... Ugh... í mean ugh... This is a bit awkward but we need to get moving to the mission area... May I have another conversation with you after we are done?” Kent asked.

“Sure... I am a part of team Zeta now since im a failure of a leader after all...” Eunice mentioned.

“Mistakes happen My lady.... You can only call yourself a failure if you dont accept that failure and learn to make it better...” Kent replied as he boarded the Night Hawk.

The was well under way to the Facility mentioned by the judicator in the mission briefing as they passed through several key areas in the academy like the Graveyard of the Titans, the Quaronox desert, tempestor sea, and the Raging mountains each area is more dangerous than the Forests of the Feral. 

Since the Realm of the academy is divided into several ringed sections being the forest is fairly near the Administration block. And the Learning Block is considered as rank 2 in terms of threat level while the succeeding blocks are ranked from 3 to 92 depending on which area of the block ring that a knight team landed. 

As they reached the newly unlocked section only machinery and pipes could be seen as far as the eyes can see. 

“Kent, we are approaching the Facility’s main research facility their are multiple ruptured areas, Infested sections and a lot of toxic areas... Perfect for discovery...” Lily said as she flew through several spires.

“Lily be careful this place also has Tesla spires according to mom those things can fire lightning strong enough to stun the Night Hawk.” Kent stated.

“Alright it does look like those spires are in-active but i will be cautious around them... We are approaching one of the platforms now... It seems like we were beaten to the punch Kent... bringing up display now.” Lily pointed out. 

They saw a massive number of Intiates had already landed and had already entered the facility. There are even several dead initiates and unspeakable horrors that tore apart the initiates in droves. 

When the Night Hawk was slowly approaching the landing platform when all of a sudden the facility comes to life as the Tesla spires began to activate dark plasma electricity began to ignite and shoot out in every direction that had biological life. 

The defenses began to fry any initiate and marine recruit that tried to enter the facility and escape the area. 

“LILY!” Kent shouted.

“I know i’m on it Strap in everyone!” Lily said as she tried to fly away from the facility.

Before the Night Hawk could get away the Facility’s defense drones fired gravity disruptor disks on the night hawk’s four wing engines forcing it to lose power.

Lily tried her best to keep the bird on the air but was forced to land on one of the already occupied docking platforms.

“Everyone Brace for impact!” Lily shouted.

The entire team strapped down as the Night Hawk was losing power though Lily tried to keep the ship up in the air but what she could do was a controlled crash. 

The Night Hawk crashed as it slid through the platform and tore some of the gunships off the explosions slowed the gunship from falling off the edge. 

It finally stopped at the last possible second before hitting the edge into the abyss below the Facility.Lily somehow survived thanks to the Night Hawk’s Trinity layer Zerrohmite plating and its nearing indestructible Crystorium frame and the pressurized and shielded cockpit of the Night Hawk’s pilot chamber saved her life.

“Ugh... Some how I’m okay... I’m just glad the Night Hawk can withstand a dozen super nova explosions....”Lily sighed as she activated the emergency release on the cockpit.

She grabbed her rifle and made her way into the Night Hawk’s Trooper chamber where the entire team was in. 

Lily opened the doors to see the team at least those that she know were strapped in. 

“Okay time to get to work...” Lily said to herself.

She slowly but surely removed each member of the team starting from Clayton, Rex, Genji, Marky, Kent and Eunice were the only survivors. 

Sarka and Raleigh didnt as the force of the crash tore them off from their seats as Sarka’s neck was snapped from the force of the impact and Raleigh died from heart failure.

She offered a silent prayer for them and bagged their bodies and checked on those who are still okay.

“Ugh... My head... Wait... Is... ugh.. Everyone okay?” Kent said as he tried to stand up.

“Easy Kent... Your still recovering from the shock... I’ll check everyone you sit their for a bit.” Lily said as she rested Kent on the floor.

Several minutes later everyone was thoroughly checked and provided with medical care. 

“With both Sarka and Raleigh dead... We are at disadvantage... one we need to get the Night Hawk back in action...” Kent said.

“How boss those fucking Tesla spires shoot black plasma and will rip us a new ass wipe one molecule at a time!” Clayton shouted.

“I have an Idea about that... Clayron head to the hatch next to the Night Hawk and deploy the Scorgon tank it has a seperate power core and cna be piloted by a single person only... You will cover us while the rest of us will get into the facility.” Kent ordered.

“Sounds like a plan... Ugh... Lily can you help me out on how the fuck to get to the tank thing the boss mentioned?” Clayton asked.

“Okay, Luckily I know the way... Be right back!” Lily said as she helped Clayton to release the Scorgon tank.

“Okay, Rex, Marky and Genji all four of us will head to the command hub of the facility and shut down the defense grid and disable the Disruptors that latched on the Night Hawk.” Kent explained.

“What about me Kent I know a thing or two on how to hack computers specially ancient custodian class computers.” Eunice mentioned.

“Very well, our VIP is Eunice everyone box formation... Lily is Clayton ready?” Kent asked.

At the same time in the lower deck of the Night Hawk...

“Yeah, I’m activating the Emergency release now... Clay, the Scorgon tank is similar to a Mamoth cyber tank but more agile and has greater response time... the control systems has a 6 way camera control system with neruo-link motion control systems...” Lily explained further.

“In Fucking English please?” Clayton shouted as he put on the Neuro-link helmet.

“long story short... That helmet will let you see and feel what is in front and around the tank and those gloves will allow you to use it’s wide variety of weaponry also if you are in danger the Neuro-link will be disconnected by the Scorgon to protect you from sensory overload!” Lily explained.

“Okay got it... Boss Im ready to kick butt and take names!” Clayton said as he slammed and cracked his fists together.

“Good to hear it... Clay cover us first so we can enter the facility... Lily get as many of the surviving candidate knights and recruits into the Night Hawk and do your best to help them... After we are clear Clay protect Lily and the Night Hawk and if possible try to destroy the Tesla spires.” Kent ordered.

“Got it boss... Okay it’s time to nut up or shut up!” Clayton said as the emergency release. 

The Scorgon tank as the name suggest it is a 20 meter long Scorpion class tank equipped with a layer Titanium layered Zenomite steel making it impervious to light to moderate gunfire and almost any energy attack is absorbed through it’s  plasma reactor. 

Clayton deployed one of its many guns such as the claw mounted 35mm Auto cannons and open fired at the spires drawing the attention of the defense drones towards it. 

“Okay That sounds like Clay doing his thing.” Lily said.

“Lily open the door... Everyone as soon as the doors open Run like your life is depending on it!” Kent ordered.

“Opening in 3...2... 1...” Lily said as she opened the rear bay doors.

As Clayton kept firing at the spire’s  center column the Scorgon tanks 4 quad AA rotary laser guns at the drones covering Kent and his team ran for their lives to one of the facility’s entrances. 

As they dodged the debris and dead bodies Kent grabbed one of the fallen marine’s Energy rifles and blasted at the drones that went for them.

“Oh no you don’t!”Clayton shouted.

He moved the scorgon tank at the entry pathway to the facility acting as a shield for his friends while they tried to get in.

The team managed to enter the facility’s main corridor instead of a warm welcome they were greeted with only death. 

Many of the recruits were shredded by the defense drones and the knight initiates were barely holding on as the facility’s defenses managed to counter the standard methods of knight based combat.

“Rex cover me... Marky, Genji protect Eunice!” Kent ordered.

He charged in as he pulled the Trail Blazer sword from his back and started to slice and dice the defensive turrets.

Kent jumped over the barricade made by the survivors as he ripped a slab of metal off the floor and threw it towards one of the wall turrets destroying it and two others on impact.  

He then jumped on the back of one of the security droned and stabbed it multiple times before it went down. 

“Everyone Gather your wounded to the main door! those who can fight provide cover to those who are rescuing the wounded Hurry we do not have much time!” Kent shouted.

His voice, courage, and nerves of steel rallied the knight candidates and recruits together as they followed his leadership. 

The Marines gathered their wounded while the candidates pulled out as much of the reinforced steel and used it as shields. 

“Night Hawk this is Kent, Their are a lot of wounded here please be ready to receive them over?” Kent said over the inter-com. 

“Roger that... Clay please provide cover for the wounded I’ll try to dock the Night Hawk as close as possible to the doors.” Lily said over the radio.

“Got it but let me flip the Night Hawk first... Hang on Lily!” Clayton said.

They could hear a loud metal crash on the ground as the Night Hawk docked as close as possible to the front of the main doors. Rex and the others carried the critically injured back on the Night Hawk for Lily to treat them while the other Knight candidates coordinated with Kent on the next phase of the plan.

After many hours of fighting the main corridor was cleared of any possible threats the young knight gathered the surviving nobles to talk about their next plan.

We need to get Eunice our team’s computer literate in custodian tech once she is at the command center was can figure out why this place activated its defense grid and report back to the Judicator about what happened.

“Those bastards don’t even care about us high nobles since they just want us dead you know!” Knight candidate 1 shouted.

The other nobles shouted in their discontent to their treatment in the academy while those who had to earn their place knew the cost of being a knight.

Chaos began to run down the surviving initiates when he tried to clear his thoughts began to wonder off into the distance. the noise  and the hatred caused by the other knight candidates who used their connections to get into the academy caused more anger for him. He slammed his fist to the ground creating a 3.2 earthquake in just 12.1 seconds. 

“ENOUGH!!! IF YOU HAVE THE STRENGTH TO COMPLAIN THEN TAKE IT UP TO THE JUDICATORS THOSE WHO WANT TO SEE THROUGH BECOMING A KNIGHT FOLLOW ME! WE HAVE WORK TO DO.” Kent said angrily. 

“You ignorant fool i am Tarson Von railok, HIGH NOBLE of the 5th Legion’s 3rd royal family you should obey me!” Tarson said as he grabbed Kent by the shoulder.

Tarson tried to force Kent to kneel before him but he merely shrugged him off and didn’t listen to what he said. He grabbed Kent again by the shoulder and punched him in the face the young knight’s eyes changed from a calm brown to a raging black. 

He closed his eyes and remembered what his family told him before leaving the Academy and what his mother told him The line between man and monster is a blurry one our actions will dictate our future what will you decide my child will you be a man worthy of being a hero or become a monster?

“I am a Hero...” Kent whispered.

He looked at the Noble and grabbed his arm and nearly broke his arm and simply told him. 

“We are here to become a knight not become a wining pig... We are the greatest line of defense against the demons should they return that is why we must never lower our guard... If you just used your family’s connections to enter the academy then so be it let your way be done... But my team and I are here to get the Job done... So move aside or die... your choice...” Kent said.

The noble knew right away that his talk could be easily backed up by his strength as he looked away and walked away. With a smile on his face he asked his team to regroup on him and entered the Facility.

What awaited them was more than they could ever expect....

[bulbsanta06-blog]

Eating BIG in Montreal

Eating like a local: Regional food specialties

- Exploring French-Canada (MTL edition)

We decided to take a trip for our second anniversary. My wife had the time available from work and I'm currently part timing so why not we figured? If it's one rule I try to live by it's the live for now mentality. At least while it's just us anyway. Why Montreal? Well we paired it with Quebec City but in truth it was Montreal that I really wanted to get to. It's a spot I'd been to about a decade ago but that was before I did stuff like this. So we did the typical stuff that 20 somethings do when traveling there. I think I ate poutine at the casino. Ha. So this trip would be much different. As always I had my eyes on Montreal for the food first and foremost. That paired with the facts it's only a two hour flight and early November was off season made it an easy choice. We wanted something similar to Europe.

Sights from Montreal

What's so similar to Europe? Well to start French is still the main language in the Quebec region of Canada. This alone makes you feel like you're somewhere overseas. Maybe not as much so as Quebec City but Montreal has some wonderful historic neighborhoods with cobblestone streets and such. I cant quite pinpoint what it is but I really did love Montreal after this second trip I took. We got lucky in that it was warmer there then it was in Chicago so we had basically 50 degree weather that was mostly sunny. I really want to go back during the summer bc like Chicago I imagine it's electric.

More Sights from Montreal

I always have these large google maps that I make of all the spots I want to try. I was surprised by how many were on my Montreal list. It's a big city and it seemed like my type of spots just kept popping up. Of course it was impossible to get to tall of them which is partially why I think Montreal is the type of city that warrants multiple visits. If you like strolling around town and walking through different neighborhoods than this is a good place to take a vacation. The public transit system was very much reliable and really easy to use. Clean too. Shouts out to the Hotel William Gray which is a very nice place to stay if you like the new school hip and modern hotels that take good care of you.

More Sights from Montreal

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 Beauty's Luncheonette

Montreal is home to a ton of iconic eateries. Some of them have been on my hit list for quite some time. Beauty's Luncheonette was one of them. Opened in 1942 by a son of two Russian-Jewish immigrants it's been a staple of the community ever since. Locals come for both the food and chit chat based on what I saw on our visit. I chose this as our first stop bc we got in early and the most ordered menu item at Beauty's is the Beauty's Special. It's a toasted Montreal bagel with lox, cream cheese, red onion, and tomato. A classic that I can always enjoy. Even if the bagel is toasted. Other popular menu items are the blintzes, challah French toast, and the smoked salmon with eggs. It just started to get packed as the kids of the founder were hosting some sort of get together for what seemed like friends and relatives. Go early or on a weekday if you can bc I noticed a line on the wkd. 

The Beauty Special at Beauty's Luncheonette

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 Pâtisserie Au Kouign Amann

Any time a city's direct comparison is France you better stop and see what's up with the pastries. Pâtisserie Au Kouign Amann is said to be one of the best spots in town. We stopped in for both a croissant and also a bite of the namesake. Not bad at all. Maybe not Paris level or should I say San Francisco which is where I fell in love with the super buttery and flaky Kouign Amann pastry.

Kouign Amann at Pâtisserie Au Kouign Amann

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 Larry's

Larry is short for Lawrence which is a popular Montreal dinner spot. Helmed by a British ex pat who also runs a head to tail butcher it was one of  many spots on my radar. I didn't get into the Restaurant Lawrence on this trip but we did get to enjoy some natural wines at his all day bar Larry's. If it's too early for drinks you can get coffee here and the menu is reflective of all three popular meals in the day. It's the rare chef driven all day spot that every city deserves. We got the chicken liver over toast from the section of toasts on offer and it was wonderful. Some of the best chicken liver pate I've tried.

Chicken Liver Toast at Larry's

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 Wilensky's Light Lunch

Seeing as how we were a short walk from the #1 spot on my hit list I made it happen early. It too is an iconic stop on Montreal's sensational sandwich trail. Wilensky's was opened in 1932 by a Russian Jew who made Montreal his home. There is no grill, or fryers. No plates or silverware either. That’s bc they basically serve one thing which is the famous Wilensky sandwich made with five slices of beef salami, one slice of bologna, mustard, and your choice of cheese (Swiss or cheddar). It’s pressed until the cheese melts and then served on a napkin. Don’t even think about asking for it sliced or served without mustard bc they have never catered to those requests. Don't forget to try a homemade soda and either some sweet or sour pickles. My cherry cola was made right before my eyes.

Sandwich, Pickles, Drink at Wilensky's Light Lunch

Having been visited by the likes of Anthony Bourdain, David Chang, and just about every travel publication out there it's a popular spot for both locals and tourists. I loved sitting at the counter and I loved the sandwich even more. I ended up going back for one on the last day as it was right there. I don't have a Hall of Fame of spots I've visited over years. But if I did Wilensky's is a first ballot entry.

The Wilensky Special

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 Agrikol

Montreal has that French connection which means there's also a Haitian connection. There's plenty of French speaking Haitians around town from what I saw. Agrikol is a hip rum bar where Haitian flavors star in the food. It took us straight to South Beach with it's presentation and vibes. That said I've never quite liked a place in SoBe the way I did Agrikol. Both the food and drink were killer. Specifically the food. I've had my fair share of Haitian down in Palm Beach County and Griot is one of the most popular menu items. The fried pork is one of the cuisines signature dishes and Agrikol gives it a wonderful fresh fry resulting in a piece of pork as juicy as the freshest fried chicken. What takes it over the top is both the wonderful citrus flavors and also the pikliz. The latter of which is a diced up pickled cabbage loaded with sneaky heat. Haitians put this on everything so it's at each table like BBQ sauce is at a smokehouse. Whatever you order make sure you turn it up to 10 with pikliz.

Griot at Agrikol

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 Au Pied De Cochon

You know the drill. When most people look into where they should dine while in Montreal there's two spots that always pop up. Au Pied De Cochon is one of them. Run by the famous Martin Picard it's one of Montreal's OG new age fine dining restaurants. New age meaning all the rules from the fine dining of your youth are kicked to the curb in favor of rustic French-Canadian cooking with lot's of fireworks involved. As in an entire section of the menu dedicated to different preps of foie gras.

 Foie Gras Nigiri

I forget where I saw the Nigiri but it was on one of the shows as these guys are a popular visit from food and travel people. I believe they were on Bourdain's show a couple times. The foie gras nigiri was as good as advertised. I could eat that stuff all day. No surprise to find foie gras and rice going so well together as it's not the first time I've tried the two paired together. After what was an almost unbearable wait we received our entree. Honestly every single restaurant had anywhere from good to great service with this spot being the exception. Our waiter was hardly friendly which is fine as long as I don't have to wait close to an hour for my food. I think it might've been sitting at the station for a good 15 minutes while the waiter chatted wines with another table. Oh well I rarely care about service. I would still go back but after all the great hospitality before this it was a letdown here. The Tajine Pork was extra fragrant and quite delicious but also rather one dimensional with cumin being the dominant spice. I liked it but I didn't want to eat it all night. Good thing we got a single portion.

Curry Pork Tajine at Au Pied De Cochon

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Cosmos Snack

If you couldn't tell by now Montreal has a ton of locals favorite type spots. Places that have been around as long as many of Montreal's people. Located in a pretty residential area is this iconic diner. So beloved that there was a documentary made on Cosmos and it's founder. Tony Koulakis opened his diminutive diner in 1967 after emigrating to Canada from Crete. It quickly became a local landmark known for it's greasy spoon breakfasts and the friendly owner who served them. The documentary titled 'Man of Grease' lives on but unfortunately Tony does not. He was tragically killed by his son back in 2013. His picture still sits overlooking the small counter that seats maybe six.

a peek inside

In spite of his tragic death Tony left behind a legacy in both his diner and it's food. One of the most popular menu items is the famous creation sandwich. It's made with bacon, salami, fried egg, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on toasted challah. I watched from the counter as the lady whipped up three of these as everyone in there was eating them. Upon my first bite it was easy to understand why it was such a popular way for Habs to start their day. It's a damn fine sandwich. Shit I should've got two.

The Creation Sandwich at Cosmos Snack

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 Momesso Restaurant

Continuing along on my little self guided sandwich crawl was another must stop spot on my hit list. I was feeling the Italian sausage subs served at this extremely popular sandwich shop in a pretty Italian heavy area. I visited right around Noon and it got hopping real quick. I think I read that they've been in the area since the 70's. A bunch of Canadiens memorabilia on the walls as well as TV's and drafts of cheap beer gave Momesso the feel of a sports bar. The menu has hot sandwich offerings with the Italian being the first one listed. For good reason. It's their most popular. They take a seasoned Italian sausage patty and fry it up on a flattop before putting it in a bun and topping it with tomatoes, onion, cabbage, oil. Cups of homemade pepper relish come served on side at each table. Delicioso!

Italian Sausage Sandwich at Momesso Restaurant

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 Gibeau Orange Julep

So I had a lot of must stops on my lists and this next one was another. I've wanted to check this place out for a long, long time. Partly do to the food but also bc of the building itself. As you can see in the pic above the Gibeau Orange Julep is housed in a big orange orbit. It's impossible to miss if you're driving past. It opened in 1932 and over time has become a roadside attraction for both the building and the famous orange julep drink. For those familiar with an Orange Julius drink this is pretty much the same thing. They also serve burgers and hot dogs. I was tempted to try a hot dog or maybe a burger but those were coming soon so I held off. But I really liked the creamy orange drink.

Gibeau Orange Julep

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 Snowdon Deli

For those that may have been wondering there was no trip to Schwartz's. What gives? Well first is the fact I went there on my trip a decade or so ago. The other is the long lines and locals talk of it being overrated. They're not the only smoked meat sandwich game in town. The smoked meat sandwich being the most crucial of Montreal's regional foods. The bagels may be the most celebrated but those in the know understand how special the smoked meat sandwich is. Like the bagels the smoked meat sandwich is a product of the city's Jewish community. It's made using a Kosher brisket that's been salted and cured with different spices before being smoked and sliced for sandwich meat. Snowdon Deli is said to serve one of the best in the city and I'll be damned if it isn't bc it was f'ing spectacular. The meats tenderness reminded me of the best brisket I've ate in Texas. Notice they don't slice it too thin? That's bc it's hand sliced. Pictured is a "medium" in terms of fattiness. IT. WAS. PERFECT.

Smoked Meat Sandwich at Snowdon Deli

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Bar Henrietta

As always my wife was on the cocktails and Bar Henrietta was near the top of her list. It was on mine too but more so for the food. As you can read in the neon pictured above this is a trendy Portuguese style tavern. Montreal has a really nice sized Portuguese community and Bar Henrietta is an ode to some of the older taverns found around town. Aside from the drinks they also do a small bar menu of Portuguese inspired bites. We loved all three of the plates we tried to the point where I really thought about coming back. The chicken liver pate was decadent. The roasted octopus with fried sliced potatoes was perfect. We also tried the Bifana sandwich which is one of a handful of popular Portuguese sandwiches. Made with thinly sliced marinated pork and cheese that's pressed in a Portuguese roll and served with sides of mustard and cornichons. So good. Pretty similar to a Cuban.

Portuguese Bar Snacks at Bar Henrietta

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Joe Beef

Many of you already know about Joe Beef. Perhaps the most famous restaurant in Canada. The Kings of restaurant gluttony have built themselves quite an empire. Aside from their original project they have another spot next door as well as a natural wine bar and an upscale luncheonette. Joe Beef being the spot that gave them the ability to do all the others. So as you can imagine people book reservations here well in advance. There were no spots left by the time we knew we were going to Montreal however there is a way to enhance your chances of getting to go. So long as you're willing to find out if so on the day of the meal. There's a Canadian dining app called DINR that you can download for free. Once on your phone you can open it and select your city where you'll be brought to a page with a bunch of popular restaurants around town that have last minute reservations available. From what I could tell Joe Beef has spots on the app every day. We got in easily. After taking a seat at the bar (I prefer sitting there) we were greeted by some enthusiastic locals. Five star hospitality. 

 Quail Stuffed with Sausage in a dill infused broth

The bartenders / waiters were full of life and obviously enjoyed their job. As was the case with just about every place we ate, they were all about the fact we were from Chicago. I swear every bartender and or waiter we had in both Montreal and Quebec City has either been to Chicago or was going and they were all visiting for the food and drink. So them knowing we were from Chicago I think made them bring their A game as they all had nothing but wonderful things to say about our city. All of which I could shoot back at the Quebec region and it's people as the service was stellar just about everywhere. Food wise we weren't let down either. Pictured above was a sausage stuffed quail in a sip it dry dill infused broth. The menu changes daily but you'll never have trouble finding something good.

 Lobster Spaghetti at Joe Beef

One thing you will most always find on the menu is the lobster spaghetti. It's pretty much their signature dish. Not much selling needed by our waiter for this one. The picture doesn't do justice the fact that there's an entire lobster on that plate. It's a dish that pretty much anyone who likes shellfish would love. I like shellfish and so does she. Thus we loved it. At first I couldn't decide between a steak and a beef cheek but in the end it was actually pretty easy. When you see slow braised meats on the menu at Joe Beef you'd be well off to make them your dinner. French-Canadian cooking is all about comforting yourself up on a cold winter night. But it doesn't need to be cold for it to be good.

Slow Braised Beef Cheek at Joe Beef

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Montreal's Bar Scene 

As always we popped around to a handful of the hot local drinking spots. I'd give Montreal's cocktail scene a B+ as it was better than many spots I've been to but not quite on the level of some of the worlds best. We enjoyed drinks at a Vietnamese inspired bar called Nhau. The food is also supposed to be good but we stopped there before reservations elsewhere. Perhaps the best cocktail I've had in some time came from a backdoor spot called Cold Room. It was called the Ube-Macapuno and it was made with rum, purple yam ananas, suze liquor, dry curacao, Bols yogurt, pineapple, and mint. It had an amazing taste that I've never quite experienced. I imagine this is what the cocktails are like in Tokyo. That said the service was SLOOOOOW so be prepared to wait and maybe even order two.

Cocktail at Cold Room

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The Greenspot

One of my favorite things about Montreal's food scene is all of the local fast food spots. They call them Casse Croutes but they can also be diners. The latter of which is what Greenspot is. The diner has been around for more than 70 years. Just like in the States these spots tend to be owned by Greek and or Albanian immigrants. Greenspot felt alot like many of the old school diners in Rust Belt cities such as Cleveland and Detroit. They became popular for their hot dogs which are huge in Montreal. Equally big if not bigger is poutine. Greenspot was said to have a good one so I made it breakfast one day. Though they have something like 27 different poutine options you can't beat the classic. Thick fresh cut fries are topped with a deeply beef flavored brown gravy and fresh squeaky cheese curds. I've always liked poutine even though it's something I don't eat often. Greenspot's was the best I've ever had. This place was a perfect ex. of a greasy spoon diner. I wish I could be a regular.

Poutine at Greenspot

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 Ma Poule Mouille

When it comes to regional treats Montreal has more than their fair share. Portuguese grilled chicken is another one of them. Peri Peri Chicken shops such as Ma Poule Mouille are beloved for their charcoal grilled chicken dripping in spicy peri peri sauce. It's just one of many dishes the Portuguese adapted into their own as peri-peri is originally an African snack. Mozambique to be exact.

Charcoal Grilled Chicken

Ma Poule Mouille isn't the oldest of the bunch but it gets mentioned often as the best in the city. Same goes for their poutine which they add slices of Spanish chorizo into. I wanted to try the poutine but had plans for another stop so we got a half grilled chicken which comes with salad and fresh cut fries. Everyone loves a good plate of charcoal kissed chicken so it's no surprise this place stays packed. In a city where you can easily spend $20+ on lunch this is a great option for the locals.

Peri Peri Chicken at Ma Poule Mouille

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 Pataterie Chez Philippe

Next stop up was on my list for a Michigan. What's that you ask? It's basically what they call a chili dog in Montreal. What's the reason? I cant promise you it's 100% accurate but I do know that they also call them "Michigan's" in upstate New York which isn't far from Montreal. So that's the most likely reason but why do they call them that in NY? My guess would be bc the people in New York named them after the Coney Dogs of Michigan. Detroit to be exact. Pataterie Chez Phillipe is a longtime Montreal casse croute that the locals love for both hot dogs and burgers. I hear the fries are great and the poutine is too by extension but I couldn't do all three. So I rolled with one Michigan and a cheeseburger with everything. The burger had some unexpected fantastic crispy laced edges and was really well made for something like $4. They grind the beef in house. The hot dog was a standard skinless frank from the popular local supplier but the sauce was pretty popping. Great little stop.

"Michigan" Hot Dog and Cheeseburger at Pataterie Chez Phillipe

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Cadet

After five straight days of hearty meat-centric French-Canadian fare we wanted some seafood. This newish small plate and natural wine spot popped up the night of this need. In a true testament to Montreal's dining depth it was one of the best meals of the trip, and it wasn't even on my radar. For starters we had a fantastic plate of octopus with fried chickpeas and eggplant. We got our seafood in the form of a whole fried sea bass with baby bok choy sitting over ginger noodles. I loved this dish and it's light Asian flavors. Also so as to not suffer meat withdrawal we got a plate of pork belly with chicharron, apricot, and barley. Normally I prefer the belly crisped up but this was insanely tender. The natural wine recs by our waiter were really good as well. Cadet is a spot I'd return to for more.

Dinner at Cadet

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 Montreal Pool Room

As I mentioned earlier Montreal'ers love their hot dogs. Or Steamés as they call them. Montreal Pool Room is one of 100's of hot dogs stands in the city but it's also one of the oldest. They've been in business since 1912 and thus have pretty much always been there for locals in need of a late night hot dog fix. Maybe they used to have pool tables, I don't know, but these days I know they don't. Now they may not compare to a perfectly made hot dog in Chicago but I still found a spot in my heart for steamés. Everything on these is diced cabbage, onions, and mustard. Most folks get at least two. 

Steamés at Montreal Pool Hall

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Fameux Gyros Elatos

One of the things I noticed in my research was Montreal's love for souvkali. The Greek grilled pork skewers are found all over town. Many spots specializing in them. Every Habs fan has a souvlaki spot. I scouted this old school looking spot in a Greek dominant neighborhood and made my way over on the last day. Elatos is a compact family run Greek counter. It had the feel of a diner. I think it was father, daughter, and son running the place. I originally came here for the souvlaki but when I arrived I was greeted by a huge cone of fresh layered gyro meat. Thus my decision to get a combo plate was an easy one. Both the souvlaki and the gyro rocked. Would've liked a bit less sauce on the gyro so I could really taste the meat straight up but it was still super satisfying. Another good one.

Gyro Sandwich at Souvlaki at Fameux Gyros Elatos

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Lester's Deli 

The other smoked meat sandwich that I wanted to check out comes from Lester's Deli. This old school spot has been a part of the heavy Jewish neighborhood since 1951. You can feel the nostalgia upon walking inside. I was tempted by the smoked meat breakfast plate but a sandwich is hard to beat. The typical way to eat a smoked meat is just mustard though some folks get cheese. This was yet another killer sandwich to be found in Montreal. Just fantastic. They have a spot at the airport too.

Smoked Meat Sandwich at Lester's Deli 

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St. Viateur Bagel Shop

You knew this one was coming. Reason I waited until the last day to stop here was I wanted to bring the bagels home. I arrived to a pretty tame shop but within three minutes the place was packed. St. Viateur has been making their wood fired Montreal bagels since 1957. There's an argument to be made that it's the number one attraction in the city. Just realize that they only sell bagels. I think they have a fridge with cream cheese and such but you'll have to make your bagel sandwiches on your own. Montreal bagels are a bit sweeter than their NY counterparts. I'm not a hardcore bagel guy so I cant comment on which style is better. I can just share my thought on these which is pretty good! Like so many other famous food stops St. Viateur has a dueling competitor in the nearby Fairmont Bagel. I stopped there after going into St. Viateur but there was a huge line and I had to go pack. 

Bagels at St. Viateur Bagel Shop

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Montreal's Chinatown 

After packing up we had an hour or so to chill. So I walked over to the Chinatown area which we had only Ubered through earlier. With it being the weekend there were quite a few people out and about eating noodles, dumplings, and such. I ended up stopping at a spot called Qinghua which specialized in dumplings. Actually I was surprised by how many specialty dumpling shops Montreal has. This one wasn't at the top of my list as reviews were mixed. But the spots I wanted to try weren't in Chinatown so this was my fallback. Not bad but I felt what others were saying in that there's better.

Dumplings at Qinghua Dumplings

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Note: To find the locations of all the spots featured in this post, as well as places I didn't make it to, please click HERE for my google maps guide to Montreal. Stay tuned for Quebec City.

Source: http://chibbqking.blogspot.com/2018/12/eating-big-in-montreal.html

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Youre The Worlds Most Successful Pickup Artist. Can You Have Sex With The President Of The United States?

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Peter Horny. It’s both your name and your catchphrase. You’re a pickup artist, and a damn good one at that. You’ve doinked thousands of gluffs, greebled more supermodels than there are stars in the sky, and, by pioneering a foolproof system for charming virtually any woman into forping groins, you’ve earned the reputation as the world’s preeminent practitioner of the art of seduction.

Yet after many years in the game, you’re feeling empty inside. A man can only plunge so many rangoes before he starts yearning for something more. Your penis, chapped and listless like a dolphin on a hot sidewalk, no longer windmills excitedly at the prospect of intimacy with a stranger’s crotch. It’s time to settle down. It’s time to atone for your life as a sex lunatic and find a woman to grow old and die with.

But before you quit the lifestyle, you want one last fuck. And not just any fuck, but a fuck that cements your legacy as the greatest whoopee scoundrel to ever fuck. An impossible fuck.

You want to fuck the president of the United States of America.

Go fuck the president.

Okay. You will fuck the president without any help.

Go to the White House and try to fuck the president there.

See if the president will meet you in the woods or at Sports Authority, and then try to fuck him there.

Here you are at the White House, the old motel where the president and his family are imprisoned. It is harder to sneak into than a movie theater, so you’ll need to be clever to get through the front doors and inside the president’s asshole.

What’s your game plan?

Seduce the security guard.

Hop the fence and book it through the front door.

Pretend you’re a delivery guy.

Set yourself on fire to create a diversion.

Okay. What do you want to deliver?

A premium gavel.

A sick possum.

Good idea. Presidents need gavels to vote on laws and hammer their papers, so it makes sense that one would be getting delivered to the White House. And even if they try to argue that the president already has a gavel, you can just say, “But does he have a premium gavel?” They pretty much have to let you in.

Deliver the premium gavel to the White House.

You approach the security booth where all White House deliveries must be screened. The guard eyes you warily.

Hello. I have a delivery of one gavel for the president of the United States.

WHERE IS THE PRESIDENT I HAVE A HAMMER?

“The president already has a gavel,” the guard snarls. “How else would he hammer his papers?”

This is different. This is a premium gavel.

“Wow, the president definitely needs one of those,” the guard says. “Go on inside.”

Hook, line, sinker.

Enter the White House.

“What did you say?” the security guard barks, his hand sliding towards his firearm.

Ah, shit. You came on too strong.

What I meant to say is that I have a delivery for the president. It’s a gavel.

WHERE’S THE PRESIDENT? I GOT A HAMMER I’M GONNA FUCK HIM.

After belligerently screaming in a manner that’s threatening to the president for the second time, a security detail rushes over and subdues you. You try to explain that you were just trying to make a delivery, but you end up just shrieking about how you want to slaughter Christ, making things worse. Looks like you’re going to jail.

Sadly, you did not succeed in having sex with the president of the United States.

Return to Checkpoint.

Start Over

A sick possum? Are you sure you’re not just saying that because you saw one on the ground next to you and didn’t want to put in the effort to think of anything else?

Yes.

No. But I’d still like to bring the possum.

Okay….

Just know that this is objectively a really dumb idea. No one’s letting you into the White House with a sick possum.

Bring the possum to the White House.

You walk up to the security booth where all White House deliveries are screened. The guard eyes the infected possum warily.

Hello. I am the delivery boy. I am here to give this animal to the president.

Here is the almost-dead animal. I am bringing it inside the White House.

“Huh?” the guard grunts. “The president wasn’t expecting any possum deliveries today.”

Oh, shit, he’s onto you. Abort! Abort!

Shoot yourself in the head.

Phew, that was close. The guard nearly caught you in your lie, but luckily, you were able to explode your head and die before you got in trouble.

Unfortunately, though, it doesn’t look like you’re going to be able to have intercourse with the president.

Return to Checkpoint.

Start Over

Brilliant. While all the guards are distracted by the guy who’s on fire, you’ll be free to casually stroll through the front door of the White House.

Douse yourself in gasoline and set yourself aflame.

In theory, this was a great idea, but in practice, you now find yourself on fire. How did this happen? It makes no sense.

Oh, well. Now you are burning to death. Looks like you won’t get to fuck the president.

Start Over

You hop over the fence and onto the White House lawn. The front door is still about 100 feet away.

Run!

Stop and try to get an erection so that you can be ready to have sex with the president once you’re inside.

You run towards the door as fast as you can, joining your hands over your head in a triangle shape to slice through the air and minimize wind resistance. But suddenly, a big doofus with a gun steps in front of you. You need to get past him somehow, otherwise your dream of penetrating our commander-in-chief is dead in the water.

Spray your ejaculate forcefully at the ground to propel you up into the air and over the guard.

Tell the guard that you are Hall of Fame third baseman Wade Boggs and that you have a top-secret baseball fact that you urgently need to tell the president.

You harness the power of your semen to jetpack dozens of feet in the air, well beyond the reach of the guard. Your testicular emissions thrust you skyward towards the heavens, your hands outstretched as if to touch the face of God. It is one of the most beautiful moments you’ve ever experienced.

But, alas, you’ve got a job to do, so you let off the throttle and slowly descend back to Earth, landing perfectly on the White House doorstep.

Enter the White House.

“Oh yeah?” the guard says, his voice skeptical. “Prove it then. Play the guitar solo to that song ‘Smooth’ you made with Rob Thomas.”

Hmm. The guard seems to have Wade Boggs confused with Carlos Santana.

“Well, I’d be happy to,” you say, “but unfortunately, I forgot to bring my guitar.”

“That’s okay; I got one,” the guard says before reaching into a bush and producing an electric guitar.

Try to play the song “Smooth” on electric guitar.

You don’t know how to play the guitar, but you try anyway. You start thrashing futilely at the strings, making noises that in no way resemble Santana’s dynamic 1999 chart-topper.

“Hey, what the hell? That’s not ‘Smooth,’” the guard shouts. “That’s ‘Kill The President’ by The Offspring. Sorry, but I can’t have you advocating for the president’s assassination on the White House lawn.”

The guard asks you to sign his guitar, then escorts you off the premises. Looks like you won’t be having sex with the president after all.

Start Over

You pull open your waistband and start flapping your penis left and right against your thighs in hopes that it will get strong for sex. But moments later, a team of the president’s athletic policemen tackle you to the ground, spoiling all the boner progress you’d made.

“It is illegal to get a boner at the White House without a valid voter registration card,” one of the policemen barks.

Unfortunately, you left your voter registration card at home, and as a result, you’re kicked off the White House lawn and forced to pay a $5 fine. Adding insult to injury, the president gives a televised State of the Union speech later that night and spends most of the time talking about how desperate he is for sexual release.

Sigh. You could’ve had him, but you didn’t.

Start Over

You approach the security guard with classic Peter Horny pickup posture: nips up; knees bent 90 degrees outwards; mummy hands; eyebrows slowly ascending higher and higher; tongue periodically peeking through lips like a flirty eel. You can already tell he’s turned on.

“The White House is c-c-currently off-limits to visitors,” he stammers, clearly distracted by the sight of your erect penis extending upwards out of your pants and slapping coquettishly against your belly. “Please vacate the premises.”

Say “Why don’t you vacate those sexy brown slacks instead?”

Put your finger to his lips to hush him and then perform a slow, erotically charged cartwheel.

The guard is powerless to your charms. He tears off his clothes and pulls you into his small, cramped security booth. You also take off your clothes—first your pants, then your underwear. It is time for sex.

You put your penis into the guard and start fucking. You fuck pretty fast, and the guard enjoys it.

“Guh guh guh guh guh guh guh,” he moans as he feels you in him.

Clap with joy.

Roar like an ambulance.

The fucking continues with unabated vigor.

“What a wonderful treat this is,” the guard squeals, wearing a smile like that of a man who is having a birthday.

It is indeed a marvelous time, but you’re starting to worry about the logistics of your plan. How exactly is fucking the guard supposed to get you inside the White House? He’s not just going to, like, give you a key to the front door, right? You’re straining to recall how these types of scenarios generally play out in movies, but you’re drawing a blank.

Keep having sex with the guard.

You’ve been pounding the guard for over 45 minutes now, and with every passing thrust, you’re increasingly unsure why. If you’re already giving him what he wants, why would he still give you access to the White House? It’s clear now that you should’ve withheld the sex as a bargaining chip, leveraging his uncontrollable lust for you to get what you wanted. Instead, you’re stuck here fucking him, and will continue to be stuck here fucking him for the foreseeable future.

Damn it. You’ve got to try something to salvage the situation.

Propose a bet: If you can make him orgasm so hard that he coughs up a golden egg, he has to let you into the White House.

Just try to steal his keys when he’s not looking.

You reach for the keys, but the guard immediately catches you.

“Hey, don’t touch those,” he says.

“Sorry.”

Damn. Looks like you’ll need to try something else.

Propose a bet: If you can make him orgasm so hard that he coughs up a golden egg, he has to let you into the White House.

In your many years of fucking, you’ve only made someone cough up a golden egg one time (it was Geri Halliwell, and the egg later sold at Sotheby’s for $8.3 million USD), but deep down, you believe you can pull it off again.

You wait for a lull in the security guard’s euphoric, goat-like moans, and then you present your wager.

“So, if I orgasm so hard that I cough up a golden egg, you get clearance into the White House?” he wheezes, his voice barely audible over the percussive thwacking of your oily testicles against his red, welted flesh. “Sure, baby, whatever you say.”

Great. Now that he’s on board, it’s up to you to deliver. It’s time to break out the most spectacular moves in your fuck repertoire.

Spin him ’round and ’round on your penis like a bicycle tire, whirling him so fast that he becomes a blur, producing a gravity vortex that causes small objects within the fuck radius to hover.

Start fucking him through his navel to revive the lost feelings of sacred intimacy typically experienced only through the prenatal umbilical bond.

A beautiful thing is happening! You are spinning him so fast on your dong that gravity is shifting, light is fracturing, time is distorting, his moans are warping, doppler-like, and the ecstasy of the fucking is approaching supernatural levels. If you can cap this off with one truly extraordinary, life-changing fuck move, that golden egg is yours.

Flex your penis so that it becomes a series of tricep-like ridges, and then undulate them in concert to simultaneously stimulate every single muscle fiber in his anus.

Do a backflip (penis still in butt).

Oh, hell yeah. It worked. The security guard came so hard that he coughed up not just one golden egg, but three golden eggs. There’s an ethereal humming coming from inside the eggs, and while you’d love to wait around to see what hatches, you’ve got a job to do. You’ve got to fuck the leader of the free world.

The security guard, still speechless and perhaps a bit palsied from the nigh-mythical orgasm, absently reaches into his pants pocket and hands you a White House key fob. Then his nose starts bleeding and he passes out.

Take the key fob and enter the White House.

Welp, this is the White House. The president must be around here somewhere. Go find him and have intercourse.

See if he’s in the Oval Office.

See if he’s in his bedroom.

See if he’s in the White House catacombs.

You descend a dusty staircase at the back of the press briefing room and emerge in the White House catacombs. When a president dies, he and his cabinet members are simultaneously interred here. When children visit the White House, it’s long been tradition to bring them down here and allow them to choose one bone to take home.

At first, it doesn’t appear as if the president is down here, but suddenly, you hear an eerie groaning coming down through the twisting corridors of crumbling human remains.

Walk towards the groaning sound.

Retreat because you are a coward.

Make FDR and Teddy Roosevelt’s skeletons kiss each other.

You follow the groaning through a maze of thousands and thousands of skulls, pretending that it is the sound of a hot babe expressing sexual pleasure so you don’t get scared. Just past a pile of bones labeled “KENNEDYS, MISC.,” you see a small room glowing with candlelight.

Go inside the spooky room.

Retreat because you are a coward.

You walk into the room and find the groaning man. It looks like he is trying to catch a moth.

Old man, why are you groaning?

“I am trying to attract moths so I can eat them,” he says, partially chewed antennae visible between his teeth. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

I am Peter Horny. I am trying to have sex with the president.

I will not tell you my name. I will not tell you my mission. All I will tell you is that I am Peter Horny, and I am looking for the president so I can insert my penis into him.

“Then I’m afraid I have terrible news for you, son,” the man says, briefly lashing his tongue out to seize a still-living moth escaping through his lips. “The president is married. It is impossible for him to have sex with anyone but his wife. And even if he wasn’t married, he is still very busy—there’d be no time in his schedule for fucking.”

This is the most terrible news I have ever heard. I wanted to fuck him with my shabby old dick.

“You could fuck me if you’d like,” the man says as six or seven moths emerge from the neck of his robe and begin crawling on his face. “I might not be the president, but I’m eighth in the presidential line of succession. I’m the secretary of agriculture.”

Hmm. You really, really wanted to have sex with the president of the United States. But fucking the secretary of agriculture is still sort of cool.

Fuck the secretary of agriculture.

Somberly masturbate among the skulls.

You and the secretary of agriculture have sex. It’s fine. Afterwards, you go home.

Sucks you couldn’t have sex with the president.

Start Over

You go masturbate among the dead people. It’s fucked up. This day didn’t turn out like you’d hoped.

Maybe it’s time to reevaluate who you are as a person.

Start Over

Share Your Results

Skeletons are too scary. You should look for the president elsewhere.

See if the president is in the Oval Office.

See if the president is in his bedroom.

“My gorgeous, broken son, let me taste of thine supple lips!” you say as you mush Teddy’s chalky mandible against his child’s.

“It is okay for father and son to make out as long as they are presidents,” you declare, mimicking the sonorous, authoritative tone FDR used when declaring war against the Japanese.

You continue doing this for three more hours.

Go investigate the eerie groaning at the other end of the catacombs now.

Retreat like a coward.

Unfortunately, you can’t just stroll into the Oval Office. His secretary is stationed outside the doors, and you’ve got to get past her first.

“Hello,” she says. “Do you have an appointment with my boss, the president?”

Yes.

No.

“I’m afraid you won’t be able to see him then. The president is very busy thinking about laws and his private helicopter.”

Welp. If the lady says you can’t go in, there’s really no use in arguing. Guess you won’t be having sex with the president.

Return to Checkpoint.

Start Over

“Okay. You can go in and see him.”

Go into the Oval Office and try to have sex with the president.

You walk in and are immediately greeted by the leader of the free world.

“Hello, welcome to the Oval Office. I am your leader, the president.”

Wow. You’re nervous as hell all of a sudden. It sinks in that you’re literally standing in front of the leader of the free world. The most powerful man alive! But you are the world’s greatest pickup artist, and it is your patriotic duty to make this man wacky with your cock. You’ve got to introduce yourself in a way that distinguishes you from the endless parade of suck-ups he has to deal with—you’ve got to say something that catches him off-guard, something that makes him want to get to know you better.

I have $40.

There is buses.

Oval Office.

“Boy, are there ever! Excellent observation, young man.”

Okay. That was a dumb thing you just said to the president. It’s fair to say that you have made no forward progress towards having sex with him. But don’t sweat it—you’re still the best pickup artist alive. Maybe try the classic Peter Horny pickup trick of elevating, in which you say something that suggests you’re above a person’s approval. You make it clear that you don’t really need the person, and they, in turn, begin to feel as if it’s they who needs to win your approval.

Remark about how you have loads of soda, m

Read more: http://www.clickhole.com/clickventure/youre-worlds-most-successful-pickup-artist-can-you-3880

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[onewhodresses-blog]

The Eternal Imprint of Azzedine Alaïa

I didn't know Azzedine Alaïa.

I never sat in his atelier in the Marais watching him cut a pattern with an architect's precision. I never saw him run his hands across a piece of fabric, or watched those hands fastidiously pinning and draping and sculpting that fabric, manifesting Alaïa’s creative genius into a physical garment with a mind and spirit all its own.

And yet, when I heard the news of his passing on Saturday, I felt as if I had been there in his atelier all along. His hands felt familiar to me, real. And his loss was palpable and intimate. I felt grief. Fashion without Alaïa felt instantaneously incomplete and permanently changed, and I dreaded the thought.

Perhaps the most intimate experience anyone might have with Alaïa is to observe his hands at work. The hands have been shaped by his métier—by pinching fabric, by pushing in pins, by endless small, sure fluttering and flowing movements, similar to the gestures of a sculptor modeling clay. 

- Amy Fine Collins via Vanity Fair

I’ve been reflecting on the life and loss of Alaïa and wondering what it is about his life that makes his loss so visceral. And I think it comes down to this: Azzedine Alaïa was one of a remarkably small, and ever shrinking, group of people who truly understand fashion. Not fashion the industry, not the business of fashion. Not the glitz of it, but the soul of it. For Alaïa it was never about the things that fashion is so often confused with and mistaken for. It wasn't about fame or money or celebrity or relevance. As Vanessa Friedman noted, in the 1990s, when the fashion moved from a body conscious silhouette to a looser-fitting minimalist aesthetic, Alaïa wasn't tempted to budge. Of course, fast forward a decade later, and fashion found him again, not that this time it mattered to him either. No, for Alaïa it always about the two things that comprise the beating heart of fashion: the clothes, and the woman wearing them.

I just concentrate on the clothes I make. I think, “Why do I make clothes? What should the clothes I make be about?” There is just one good reason to do fashion: to make the woman look more beautiful. If that is not the case, it has no meaning for me to create. And it has no meaning for her to buy something that massacres her style. I truly never calculate — I only think about women when I create. And I owe it all to the women, all my success.

- via The Business of Fashion

Because Alaïa was so unequivocally sure about what he believed mattered, nothing else ever got in the way. Here he is speaking to the things that animated him, and ultimately, that made him extraordinary.

 He revered his craft

I first need to work on the fabric: I need to cut it, think about the shape, drape it on the bust — reflect on it. I make every piece with my own hands. 

- via The Business of Fashion

While I enjoyed and still do enjoy doing ready-to-wear, my roots are in couture – all my clothes are first made by myself, all patterns are traced by me and then developed by my couture ateliers.

- via Vogue

I take care of the fabric, the pattern, I do all the patterns myself, all the fittings...from the idea to the reality. I'm not very often satisfied by what I do.

- via The Independent

...And equally revered women

I suppose my clothes are an homage to all women and to all the women in my life.

- via i-D

I work for women. I only think for them. If I didn't like women, I wouldn't do this job.

- via The New York Times

I prefer the woman to be seen rather than the outfit. Her head, her body, her hands -- the garment is there to cover her, to underline something, and make her beautiful.

- via imdb

He regularly eschewed the traditional fashion calendar

Maybe in July I will show other clothes, if I have the time to develop them. I refuse to work in a static rhythm. Why should I sacrifice my creativity to that? That’s not fashion, that’s industrial work. We can hire people to design all day long and then fabricate what they design and sell and sell and sell — but that has nothing to do with fashion, with la mode. And it’s a shame talents are being abused for this. I really don’t understand that. I have to live as well. That’s what life is about: living. Tell me how these designers who work for the major houses can have lives? How can they raise children if they are never home? They are gone for one, sometimes two months, while their children have to go to school. They have husbands, wives, but they can’t live their lives. People need time for that, and talents need time to create something. It’s stupid to ask someone to create eight collections per season. Look what has happened to John Galliano or this poor young guy from Balmain, who is now in a psychiatric hospital. After five or six seasons, he was already broken. Or last year, McQueen — dead. And there are many more that are just so tired. There is a pressure that is mad.

- via The Business of Fashion

 And always eschewed the idea that a designer was responsible for delivering change

It is extremely important to me that the pieces I make should work now and in all periods...I am not trying to create a revolution; it's always an evolution. Once I have the shape or the idea I just develop it. It should always work 20 years from now. That's what Chanel did and that's why Chanel is still successful and has lasted such a long time. She had one good idea and didn't try to change it.

- via i-D

If you do one beautiful skirt per season, that already is a miracle. If you do one manteau that women desire, you have won. You don’t need to do long coats, short coats, one with a zipper this way and another one with buttons that way.

- via The Business of Fashion

And I don’t think really new ideas can come out every two months. It’s not possible. That’s why now there is a lot of vintage. There’s too much vintage — in all the houses, it’s too much. We don’t have good ideas every day, it’s not possible. Nobody has new ideas every day. When you have one in the year, that’s already good.

- via WWD

He wasn't afraid to challenge fashion, the system, and it's power brokers

Fashion is arrogant, a reflection of our time – politically, economically. We have to try to understand why it is like that. We have to respect it even if it seems distorted. Today time is so accelerated and that’s not good for creation. We keep producing more and more. 

- via AnOther

I said it before. She [Anna Wintour] runs the business (Vogue) very well, but not the fashion part. When I see how she is dressed, I don’t believe in her tastes one second. I can say it loudly! She hasn’t photographed my work in years even if I am a best seller in the U.S. and I have 140 square meters at Barneys. American women love me; I don’t need her support at all. Anna Wintour doesn’t deal with pictures; she is just doing PR and business, and she scares everybody. But when she sees me, she is the scared one. [Laughs.] Other people think like me, but don’t say it because they are afraid that Vogue won’t photograph them. Anyway, who will remember Anna Wintour in the history of fashion? No one. Take Diana Vreeland, she is remembered because she was so chic. What she did with the magazine was great, with Avedon and all the great photographers. Vogue remains while its fashion editors come and go.

- via The Ground Magazine

___

To see fashion through Alaïa's eyes, to indulge in his viewpoint, connects me again to this tangible feeling of personal loss. But what exactly am I mourning? Alaïa, who died at 82, lived as complete a life as anyone might dream of- enthralled by his work, in the company of the beautiful, strong women he created for, surrounded by loyal friends, idolized and revered as a giant in his industry, an industry whose rules he didn't follow. 

Perhaps then part of my sadness is this feeling that with the passing of Alaïa, fashion will really never be the same again. If a fashion designer's job is to reflect the times, and our times are marked by more speed and higher quantity and lower cost and more profit and churn, where is there room for the patient philosophy of Azzedine Alaïa? Where is there space in fashion, the fashion of today or that of tomorrow, for a pair of hands, calloused and rough and consumed with ideas of their own, carefully constructing in silence? Maybe, the truth is, there isn't room for that kind of creation in fashion today. And this is a sad truth if so. 

With Alaïa's death, the praise for his life been extraordinary. And it's made me wonder- if so many powerful people in fashion deeply admire Alaïa, why can't we collectively work to create a fashion system in which more talents like his are nurtured? Why can't we celebrate his life by propagating his vision: slow, careful craftsmanship promoted by fostering the kind of conditions that enable artistic people to create, and to thrive. There is a market; Alaïa proved it. 

In a world without Azzedine Alaïa, the future of fashion feels murkier than it did with him in it. But having shaped the views of so many, myself included, having inspired us to be believe that anything in fashion is possible, Alaïa changed his little slice of the world. And when you change the world, are you ever really gone?

 For more on the life and legacy of Monsieur Alaïa, see:

The Genius of Azzedine Alaïa: Fashion's Contradictory Colosses is the Last of The Craftsman Couturiers by Alexander Fury

Watch Joe McKenna's short film about the designer here

Azzedine Alaïa Invites Us Into His Private World by Anna Laub 

Azzedine Alaïa, Fashion's Most Independent Designer, Is Dead at 82 by Vanessa Friedman