#inspired by the shirts they used to sell in my hometown

[themetalhiro]

Shopping for gifts

[remnantspod]

part of the inspiration for Remnants was walking around a charity shop in my hometown. it was small, stuffy, there wasn't anything I wanted to buy, but there was a tea set which looked almost exactly like the ones my great grandmother used to have on a shelf. there was an old, ugly, heavy alarm clock which ticked so loudly you could hear it from the street outside. there were ugly porcelain cats with oddly human facial features set in dour expressions, with eyes which did the opposite of following you around the room, like they were purposefully avoiding meeting my gaze. there were loads of shirts and shoes of varying age and quality, and then, on a shelf, there was a box of spoons.

This is not that box of spoons. it's a much fancier one my great grandmother gave me for Christmas the year she turned 97. and i thought of it immediately when i opened the box on the shelf in the charity shop and saw five tarnished silver teaspoons peering up at me, because of these. the box is flocked with impossibly soft blue velvet flocking, and the top is padded silk, which has a proper old fashioned hat pin skewered into it.

by the time my great grandmother gave me these spoons, she was already suffering with dementia, and her only explanation for the gift, and the incompleteness of the set, was that it was well loved and she wanted me to have it.

I polished them up a little as they were very tarnished, and i put the spoons back into their little slots, as they were all askew when they came to me. i pulled out the very sharp hat pin and wondered where it had come from, how long it had lived with this silverware, and who had put it there in the first place.

I found a few pieces by the same silversmith selling online for a decent amount, though all much bigger and fancier than my incomplete little spoon set. I've asked my grandmother, my great aunts and uncle about the spoons and where they came from. they possibly belonged to my great grandmother's mother, making them well over a hundred years old, but the dominant memory everyone has of the spoons is playing with them as children, and as far as they could remember, the hat pin had been in there then, too; they remembered pricking their fingers on it.

to me, the spoons are almost like a little ghost. a tiny piece of a past I'll never fully get to appreciate. I don't even have a full story to pass along about them, just little remnants of several of them, of people who remembered them as part of childhoods in my great grandmother's home.

every single item in that little charity shop was like these spoons. every one holds little fragments of memories. and there they are, sitting on shelves, gathering dust, waiting to get picked up and become a part of someone else's life.

[angstybleuskies]

Of Pumpkin Painting and Faerie Fruit

 Halloween gift for @venetum

The first time Clarke met Bellamy, he painted a strange symbol on her right arm, and she couldn’t move her fingers for three hours. She had been eighteen years old, at a Halloween festival with her friends. While her friends rode the rides that always made her sick, she was losing time at the pumpkin painting station. She had been focused on creating an anatomically correct skeleton—having the head surgeon from her hometown’s hospital demanded nothing less—when he’d shown up at the station. She couldn’t say what it was about him that fascinated her, maybe it was the warm, bronze color of his skin or the mischievous light in his eyes, but when he’d grinned at her across the table she’d been struck by a sense of familiarity, though she knew she’d never laid eyes on him before.

“Your skeleton seems ready to jump off that pumpkin and start walking around,” he’d grinned, eyes riveted on hers, not even looking at what she’d painted.

“I suppose it could happen,” She’d let a tiny smirk slip out, playing along with him. “After all the veil between worlds is supposed to be at its thinnest today.”

“You believe in other worlds then?” He’d raised an eyebrow, his grin widening, but the sharpening of his gaze betrayed how intent he was on her answer.

“I think it’s possible,” Clarke let her smirk grow. “Though I don’t think I’ll be spending tonight hunting ghouls and goblins.”

“Shame,” He moved around the table, picking up a paint brush as he drew closer. Clarke’s whole body could sense him, utterly aware of his tiniest movement. He stretched out his hand, palm upward. She tentatively placed her right hand in his, her inner right arm facing upward. He grinned at her, not breaking her gaze as he touched the tip of the paintbrush to her forearm. She jumped from the cold and his grin grew as he began tracing it across her skin. She held his stare. Stars seemed to dance in his eyes the longer they kept their gazes locked.

He winked and pulled away. “It was nice to meet you,” he said before moving into the crowd, sending glances back at her as moved farther away.

Her right arm began to tingle, and she looked down as a burning sensation began to take form. The boy pulled away, and she looked up at him, betrayal in her gaze. A look of fear and regret overtook his face before he was swallowed up by the crowd.

Clarke searched out her friends, becoming more panicked as the burning sensation faded and she was unable to move the fingers on her right arm. Wells had rushed her to the hospital, the tests turning up no result, feeling returning after three hours precisely. The only thing left from the encounter were Clarke’s memories and the mark. The paint washed away, but the mark remained, paler than the rest of already pale skin, like a scar.

…

When Clarke was 21, she celebrated Halloween at a bar. Her friends were at their table while she was at the bar, grabbing another round. The bar they were at were selling trays of 3 Halloween-themed shots for $3 a shot, and they were on their fourth round. Clarke’s favorite was the Faerie Fruit shot; a sweet, golden colored shot of fruity liquor and whiskey that burned on the way down. Raven had claimed the Redcap’s Triumph an ungodly concoction of crème de menthe with a layer of cherry vodka dyed an alarming shade of blood red floating on top, that had been far too reminiscent of cold medicine for Clarke’s taste. Wells preferred the Goblin Blood shot, a mix of green apple liquor and Blue Curacao that made Clarke’s whole face pucker.

She leaned against the bar, content to wait as the bartenders flitted among the various witches, ghosts, and ghouls lining the bar. Clarke had opted for a more subtle costume, a High Fae, with pointed ear caps. She had worn dark jeans, a black tank top with a floral embroidery design in shimmering golden thread and tossed on a leather jacket. Her hair was half pulled back to reveal her ears, but she enjoyed the simple costume. Wells had protested, but Clarke had refused to budge—she had to wear this costume. She didn’t know why but this was the right one for tonight.

Wells had been easily distracted by compliments to his own costume. He’d dressed as a vampire, with red contacts, fangs that appeared and disappeared and fake blood on his face and shirt. Raven had opted for a simple costume, coming from work in her usual jeans and tank top, though she’d made it a ‘costume’ by swapping her. Usual red jacket for her official Nasa staff jacket. Wells had grumbled, but one look from Raven had made him stop.

Clarke could see them both laughing at the table and she let a small grin take over her face. Those two had been circling each other for years, and the last few weeks made it seem like they’d finally make that final plunge. Clarke turned back to the bar, glancing down toward where the bartender was taking an order. She froze as she saw the dark-haired boy who had drawn that symbol on her arm. Her hand drifted to where the mark was hidden by her jacket.

His eyes drank her in, his brow crinkling slightly as his gaze saw where her hand was. He began moving toward her through the crowd. She studied him, still unable to move. He moved fluidly, seeming to glide between the bodies massed around the bar. Her eyes moved to his face, taking in the warm brown eyes and catching on his ears. They were pointed. And she knew. These were not ear caps like she wore no—these were real.

He reached her grinning, down at her but making no move to invade her space or touch her. Clarke opened her mouth to speak but her voice caught. His eyes drank in her face.

“It’s nice to see you again,” His honey voice washed over her, and she felt that sense of familiarity flow through her. “Still think it’s possible that other worlds exist?”

She blinked. “So, you’re…”

“Fae.” He held her eyes, not wavering.

Clarke absorbed the information. After it washed through her, Clarke’s fury made a sudden roaring appearance and she scowled. “What the hell was that three years ago? I couldn’t move my arm for hours?”

He looked a bit sheepish. The boy moved even closer and lowered his voice, “That…was an unexpected reaction. That was meant to be some random symbol. My magic reacted to you without me intending it.”

“Does that happen often?”

He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “No. Only with you.”

“And disappearing after? You knew something was wrong.”

“We aren’t supposed to share our magic or let humans know we exist,” He glanced around and lowered his voice further. “If one of us was ever captured by humans…”

Clarke knew immediately what he meant. Humans finding out about Fae and magic wouldn’t end well.

“If it was just me that would be one thing,” He continued, “but I had to think of every Fae creature in Faerie.”

Clarke bit her lip. She closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened her eyes, he was watching her nervously. “You’ll try not to let it happen again?”

A look of surprise overtook his face and he nodded slowly.

“Then it’s nice to meet you,” She held out her hand. “I’m Clarke. I have a funny scar on my arm, and I love to paint.”

He grinned and gripped her hand. “It’s lovely to meet you Clarke. My name is Bellamy. I spend most of my time either working or reading in the library.”

“It’s nice to meet you Bellamy,” She didn’t let go of his hand, smiling back at him. “How about I buy you a drink? They have a great one called Faerie Fruit tonight.”

His laugh warmed her, and his grin widened. “I’d like that.”

Happy Halloween @venetum! I hope you have an amazing day!!!!

Prompt from Gail Carson Levine, Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly: The first time I saw Stephen, he painted a hex sign on my right arm, and I couldn’t move my fingers for three hours.

Inspiration for Clarke’s costume is from The Cruel Prince!

Shoutout to @slyth-princess for cough medicine line 😊!

[amphtaminedreams]

I Shopped at YesStyle So You Don’t Have To: Lookbook no.10

Hi to anyone reading,

And welcome to what I guess is my first “review” post of sorts! Which is basically an excuse for me to rave about Korean street style and ask why the fuck Seoul fashion week isn’t more of a big deal!? Though I’ve pretty much quit fast fashion over the last few months and have been getting my clothes from Depop, I did want to talk about the website YesStyle which I ordered from back in May (jfc, the fact that May was almost 4 months ago now is terrifying) and how impressed I was with their service and the clothes I received. It should go without saying from the fact that investing in someone with about 200 followers on here wouldn’t be a very good financial decision, but this isn’t a sponsored post-I just think that if you’re gonna order from anywhere, YesStyle is a good shout for those of you who, like myself, are inspired by East Asian street style. I have to give credit to the incredible Katie O, otherwise known as StealTheSpotlight on Youtube and Instagram; she’s the medium through which I’ve been introduced to the world of “k-fashion” and YesStyle in the first place. Yes, my current knowledge of k-pop doesn’t extend far past fan tendencies to flood every popular tweet with fancams of their favourite singers and girl groups (I admire the dedication), but through Katie’s content and Instagram accounts like TokyoFashion on Instagram,  I have come to the conclusion that the stylists behind these groups and Asian designers in general are owed a huge amount of credit by Western trend forecasters. If you have any Instagram account or blog recommendations with similar content please let me know! For now, I’m gonna give a run down of the pieces I ordered (most of which are still available), prices and sizing, and also a bit focussing on ethical concerns and what I could find out about their practices from my research.

DISCLAIMER: The photos used as backgrounds are mine. Yes, I’m in mourning over the fact that this time last year I was inter-railing, in case the ham-fisted insertion of touristy pics didn’t make that obvious. Remember when we could leave the country? When it didn’t feel like the world was ending? When everything didn’t seem to be going to absolute shit all at once? When there was a glimmer of hope that we wouldn’t spend the next 4 years being governed by the Conservatives here in Britain? Simpler times :-)

The Pieces

1. The Alizio V-Neck Camisole Top in White: £4.97, Size M

So, what you’re gonna get from the off here is that YesStyle’s prices seem ridiculously cheap, which is something I’ll address in the ethics section at the end of the post. For £4.97, you’d expect an ill-fitting SheIn/Zaful style number but I was so impressed by how flattering this top actually is. I was a size 8 and 32C for reference and my only complaint is that because the neckline has a slight plunge, it was a little awkward to wear with a t-shirt bra. You know, unless you’re into that cups poking out of the top kinda vibe that was a rite of passage for all British teenage girls going through puberty back in, like, 2009 when you wanted everyone to know you’d been on your first bra shopping trip to M&Co with your mum at the weekend. 

2. The Rhames High-Waist Plaid Mini Skirt in Purple: £9.12, Size M

Clueless being as iconic as it is, a plaid mini skirt is always going to be timeless and I know this is a piece I’m gonna be basing outfits around for a long time. It fit perfectly and is surprisingly good quality material; I was kind of expecting it to come in that super thin, semi-see through jersey that you get when you order from a lot of UK fast fashion sites, but a recurring feature of the clothes I picked out was that they were such good quality for the price and exactly as they appear online. I’ve found in the past that UK sites are deceptively canny with lighting and angles in that when the garment actually arrives (Boohoo in particular is a repeat offender in this regard) it’s a lot frumpier than it looks on the model. It seems to be common practice to pin back and temporarily alter the clothes during photoshoots to give the illusion that they’re a lot more fitted and structured than they actually are which ultimately just leads to disappointment when you try on the supposedly bodycon dress and resemble a sack of potatoes. Been there, done that. I worship the ground all carbs walk on but I don’t want to look like them. Should go without saying really. It’s nothing to do with size, but it’s just crappy tailoring and cutting corners on the brand’s part and that’s what irks me. I really appreciate that YesStyle has photos of “regular” people just wearing the clothes out rather than the outcomes of these overly edited, studio lit shoots that aren’t necessarily the most representative of how the garment is gonna look irl.

3. Nikiki Garter Belt: £5.59, One Size

As comfortable as garters come, I guess? I don’t have much experience with them tbh, lol. 2021 to do list, if we make it out of 2020 alive: try more garters.

4. Lucuna Floral Embroidered Cropped Cardigan in Almond: £15.61, One Size

Don’t get me wrong, this cardigan is adorable and there’s nothing misleading about the photo on the website. What I will say is that considering it only comes in one size, it’s pretty tight on the arms. I’m a size 6 right now and it’s really not like I’m ripped or anything (lol) so it’s safe to say that in terms of the Lucuna brand, their sizes come up very small. The cardigan wasn’t the only one size thing I purchased and whilst the others did fit, I think in general the fact that said “one size” is pretty much only suitable for UK sizes 4-8 is pretty shit. A few of the pieces had elasticated waistbands but in general in 2020, when we’ve come so far in the last few years with body positivity and being more inclusive of all sizes, to have a sample size that runs so small isn’t acceptable and this sizing issue is my biggest problem with the store. Though I recognise that YesStyle acts as an outlet for smaller East Asian brands (in this case Lucuna) and thus aren’t themselves responsible for the designs, more consideration should probably go into the harm that could potentially be done by stocking these supposedly “one size fits all” garments. Brandy Melville, I’m looking at you too. Your designs are cute but your lack of inclusivity is shitty.

5. Ohnana Ruffle Trim Strappy Cami Cropped Top in Purple: £5.01, Size M

I’m not as jazzed as I was about this top now it seems that everyone and their mother’s dog is selling it at an extortionate price on Depop but I will say that it’s also very flattering. Makes my strangely long torso look somewhat proportionate, which is nice. The material is pretty thin but it is for all intents and purposes a tank top and the price is reflective of that.

6. Sisyphi Plaid Shirt in Tangerine: £11.30, One Size

So the “one size” option strikes again, though this time with less vengeance-I would say this would be wearable up to size 12/14 so slightly better than with the cardigan.

7.  BBChic High-Waist Wide-Leg Jeans: £10.04, Size M

When it comes to these jeans, I only have good things to say. Like firstly, they make me feel like early 2000s Avril Lavigne AKA. my childhood icon/potential clone/queen of millennium grunge and an incarnation of Y2K fashion I can actually get behind. Secondly, they have an elasticated waistband, which is ALWAYS a good thing. Thirdly, they didn’t come up ridiculously long on me which I feared would be the case; I did wear the platform Filas with them but as you can see, it’s not like they’d be trailing over my feet even in flats. I’m somewhere between 5′3 and 5′4 for reference and usually go for petite in jeans  and trousers just to be on the safe side.

8.  HERMITAKH Ring Detail Halter Crop Top in Black: £5.15, Size M

I have only recently become a member of the itty bitty titty committee but even back when I shot this lookbook this halter actually fit! When it came to tops that necessitate going braless, I always had issues with finding pieces I didn’t feel were going to cause an unintentional free the nipple moment, but the fact that you can tie this top up at the neck and back yourself allows you to work out a fit that’s supportive for you. 

9. Puffie Lightning Print Straight-Cut Pants: £13.76, Size M

I’d wanted a pair of trousers like these for ages before I saw them on YesStyle but the ones I’d come across in the past were a bit extra for my hometown and typically cost more than they seemed to be worth. This pair lack the bulk that the original styles I came across had, which helps give them a more casual, laid back feel, though they are just as vibrant and substantial BUT there isn’t much give in them. They have the slightly baggy look I was going for however they aren’t elasticated on the waist so I recommend having a look at the guide that’s available next to the drop down box where you select the size you want.

 10. Alfie Mesh Long-Sleeve Top in Pink: £7.71, One Size

No, the Jennifer’s Body top isn’t from YesStyle, I’m sorry to disappoint. Go to RedBubble for that one! The considerably less exciting mesh top underneath however, is, and in spite of its relative mundanity (you can’t top Megan Fox as a man-eating demon) it does the job as a versatile staple piece. It’s one size but it does have a lot of stretch in it so would probably go up to about size 14 (not to say that’s great).

11. Barrash Harness Bag: £17.10, One Size

The harness vest is one of my favourite trends to come out of k-fashion and I wanted SO badly to pull this piece off (especially because it was one of the most expensive pieces I purchased from the site) but it was far too big for me even when I adjusted it and TBH...I don’t even know if it’s just the sizing? I kinda felt like a paranoid tourist with their bag on back to front and yeah...I don’t think that’s the desired effect. Here’s an example of how cool they CAN look from Seoul fashion week, and with that another example of why NYFW should lose its place in the “big 4″ to make room for SFW:

And just Blackpink just setting the standard for the utility wear trend in general:

12. Mikiko Short-Sleeved Blouse in White: £8.79, One Size

I appreciate that the website notes that the “one size” here runs small, however it does also say that a “base layer” is needed for under the shirt which I didn’t find was necessary at all. The fabric is quite thick and it genuinely looks like the kind of shirt you’d find tucked away in a vintage shop, cute af and will go with anything.

13. Closette Sleeveless V-Neck Vest in Black: £11.87, One Size

Again, I was really impressed with the quality of this jumper; it definitely looks like something you’d pick up in a uniform shop (though this one is probably cheaper because those shops are daylight fucking ROBBERY) but I can never get enough of that grungy school girl look. Blame St.Trinians. 

14. Niji Smile Pleated Plaid Skirt with Insert Shorts in Green: £9.12, Size M

This skirt might be my absolute favourite of the items I ordered on the sole basis that it comes with shorts built in underneath, like, WHY DON’T ALL MINI SKIRTS HAVE THIS!? Plus the shape and the bounce it has to it makes me feel ultra-feminine and effortlessly cute which I love. It didn’t even turn up crumpled! Which you’ve really got to admire considering half the clothes in my local H&M look like they’ve never got within 10 metres of an iron in their short lifespan. 

15. LINSI Elbow-Sleeve Print T-Shirt: £10.92, One Size

If I had to pick one more favourite piece, it would be this graphic top that I wore underneath a pink chiffon Ebay dress. It looks and fits exactly like the photos on the website and I have to restrain myself wasting a wear of it just lounging around the house because it’s also ridiculously comfy.

16. LINSI Plaid Straight-Cut Pants in Orange: Size M

These trousers are currently out of stock, however I will say that of everything I’ve ordered they’re probably the least comfy and on that basis I’m not sure if I’d buy them again. They look great and I will push myself to wear them for that reason but they’re the kind of itchy fabric that I rush to take off and swap for some pyjamas the moment I get into the house. That being said, I don’t know if this is an issue everyone will have because I am someone that is overly sensitive to fabrics so you might not even notice it, plus-stretchy waistband! Which is a plus for sure.

I was also very impressed by the accessories I ordered, which once again completely surpassed my quality expectations. Pretty much everything pictured here was under £5 apart from the shoulder bag which was closer to 10, and when you consider that the price of these is inflated at the moment because of the resurgence of the Y2K trend, this is still ridiculously cheap.

The prices are definitely a concern of mine because unfortunately, when products are this cheap there’s usually somebody being exploited down the line. Since I made this order in May, I’ve had a small slip up with a Motel Rocks order, but other than that have cut out fast fashion completely. I want to be as ethical a consumer as I can, and that’s something I considered before making this post; that being said, YesStyle, actually a Hong-Kong based company in spite of it being touted as the destination for k-fashion, was recognised as a "Caring Company" between 2014 and 2019 (I don’t think this has been updated for 2020 yet given the circumstances) by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. From what I can find online, this award is given to Hong Kong companies that demonstrate good corporate citizenship and responsibility. Whilst this seems like reassuring information, like I said, I find it hard to believe that the production of clothes selling for these kinds of prices isn’t outsourced to low wage workers at some stage of the process. It’s a hard to know where to stand, because obviously the fast fashion industry DOES create jobs that people rely on to sustain themselves but at what point does the treatment of workers in developing countries negate the opportunities the industry provides here in the UK? “There is no ethical consumption under capitalism” and all that but shouldn’t we try to make a change where we can? I agree with the statement though at times it can come across like a deflection of individual responsibility. Plus there’s the environmental side of the debate-having to fly the garments over from the point of manufacture obviously takes a massive amount of fuel which it goes without saying is hugely detrimental to our planet. The sizing is also an issue; the average clothes size here in the UK is a 12, I believe, and yet a size medium seems to come up as about an 8. Asian sizes do tend to come up smaller in general but at the same time, if that’s the case, as an international retailer shouldn’t YesStyle at least address that somewhere on the site?

I don’t want to end on a negative note because compared to sites like Zaful, SheIn, and even UK based retailers such as Pretty Little Thing and Boohoo, YesStyle appears to be one of the better ones. The quality of their garments is incredible for the prices and I admire the transparency of having reviews for every product be so readily accessible. It’s also great to see that they have a section specifically addressing their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, AND  offer refunds to their customers for import fees. God, I don’t know why this isn’t something that more websites do? I will never forget being slapped with a £100+ invoice for a Dolls Kill (bleurgh) order I made once back in the more impulsive shopping days and all the Karen-y emails I sent back and forth. Import fees are understandable but international retailers should definitely make it clearer how these are calculated and give more of an indication of just how steep these fees might be if you’re making a large order. It almost seems disingenuous not to do so especially when said retailers most likely know that customers wouldn’t make these orders if they had an idea of what it would cost just to get access to the goods they’ve already paid for.

I won’t ramble on for much longer because there is so much important shit going on in the world right now and I don’t want to take up time that could be spent reading more valuable posts-with the shooting of Jacob Blake earlier this week, and the death of Chadwick Boseman earlier today (I can’t imagine the amount of mental and physical strength it takes to film all the movies he did back to back whilst dealing with colon cancer), the most important thing to do is listen to how black individuals are feeling and what they are thinking right now. I will keep an eye on my dashboard and retweet what I can. Thanks for reading. Even if you’re just here for the photos, I appreciate it! And I don’t know if I’ve said it before but please know that my messages are always open to anyone struggling, especially with everything that’s going on at the moment. I don’t claim to be a professional but I can always listen. Lots of love<3

Lauren x

[creativemorningsedinburgh]

We didn’t win, but we came away feeling humbled and truly inspired

Creative Edinburgh Awards 2020

After a year of comfy trousers and isolation, we had the absolute joy of getting our gladrags on to celebrate the fresh ideas and truly inspiring creative work done right here in our hometown of Edinburgh. 

The Creative Edinburgh Award ceremony is a big deal but, as you can imagine, this year was a little different. Instead of boogying down on the dancefloor together, we piled into a Zoom room. Zoom dress-up was the order of the day – snazzy shirts, lipstick and earrings up top, comfies down below – and we had the chance to sit on our own cosy sofas and make our own favourite drinks. There was wine, there was G&Ts, and even the odd Aperol Spritz.

We were obviously excited to find out whether we'd be getting a prize – having been nominated for The City Award – but, more importantly (we kept reminding ourselves), to get a rundown of some of the fabulous local creatives and collectives being celebrated.

We didn't win in our category. Not going to lie, it would've been a triumphant send off for the team members who have recently moved onto other creative pastures, having dedicated so much time and passion to CreativeMornings/Edinburgh, and of course a brilliant way for the team remaining to start with a bang! However, it was a fantastic opportunity to get together one last time, break out the bubbly and feel truly humbled and inspired by the creative brilliance going on around us.

We just want to take this opportunity to highlight the entries that got us revved up to reach further. That's what CreativeMornings is all about, after all...

Kat's pick – The Flock (The Start-up Award Winner)

The Flock does an amazing job of rolling style and ethics into one kick-ass package – an online space to find interviews and insightful articles on style, culture and entertainment, curated for 'smart, enquiring women who want to lead a good life'. They believe that good media shouldn't have to rely on advertising – i.e. spots sold to the highest bidder – and instead keep themselves free from the sway of advertising revenue in order to promote what's good, not who has the biggest budget:

"I launched The Flock because, after 18 years working in the media, I wanted to do things differently, to genuinely engage with modern, smart, ethically-minded women about the decisions which impact upon their lives... the stories and people that we feature always have one thing in common – their work aims to lead us towards a kinder climate for all." – Jennifer Crichten, Founder of Flock

Empowering women? Check. Saying Flock off to capitalist ideals? Check. Sexy typography, authentic journalism and lush photography? Check, check, check! Truly a winner.

Molly's pick – Fold (The Start-Up Award Nominee)

Now, we didn't want to just write about the winners.

We're obsessed with stationery, as I'm sure a lot of you CM/edites are too... Fold make stand-out, one-of-a-kind luxury paper goods for weddings, events and individuals. And my goodness, they have good taste. From the paper (did you say G.F.Smith?) to the colour palettes, cuts, folds and foiling, they have everything to make a paper craft-obsessed creative weak at the knees:

"...we marry contemporary design with thoughtfully crafted materials to deliver print collateral with provenance and originality. We believe that both process and outcome should be tangible, enlightening and always beautiful." – Hannah and Sarah, founders of Fold.

You can go the whole hog and get a consultation and custom-crafted invites for your event (bookmarked in the imaginary 'wedding' folder as we speak...) or pick yourself up a gorgeous notebook or set of cards. You can even get involved in the process through their workshops (perfect for the 'control freak' creative type!). Plus, what a cool name. Truly winners in our eyes.

Rebecca's pick – The Leith Collective (The Commercial Award Nominee)

We love the ethos of The Leith Collective. Their championing of creativity and community really rings true with what CreativeMornings is all about too.

Based in Ocean Terminal, The Leith Collective is a creative retail space showcasing the work of over 100 artists. They are huge advocates of re-use, recycle, re-claim and re-sell, seeking out artists and makers who create unique pieces from items that would otherwise end up in landfill.

People are truly at the heart of the Collective. Not only do their profits go towards supporting their community, their members also offer free workshops to local schools and charities, host clothes swaps and operate as a donation point for local food banks. They support the mental health and wellbeing of their members, giving them opportunities to gain workplace experience and develop their businesses, no matter what their situation in life is. Rebecca has loved watching them grow, and is especially inspired by how they're space at Ocean Terminal has developed over the past year.

Congratulations to The Leith Collective for their incredible work and their nomination at this year’s Creative Edinburgh Awards!

Clare's pick – SPLINTR (The Commercial Award Winner)

From super fluoro flowers shops, to your favourite reading nook or coffee spot, SPLINTR have made a name for themselves in Edinburgh for fitting out shops, cafes and offices across the city:

"Our ethos is grounded in a passion for uncomplicated, thoughtful and contemporary design. With a background in product design and architecture, our design team ensure a space is not only beautiful, but truly functional too.

"We pride ourselves on our involvement throughout every process of a project... This keeps things simple, efficient and economical for our clients." – SPLINTR

We feel they should win prizes galore for their innovation and craftsmanship alone, but the award they won at the CE Awards 2020 was actually for their Safe Server. Many businesses have had to pivot and reassess due to COVID and Splintr's solution was simple, beautifully built and adaptable. Utilising their classic, on-brand low-cost materials they produced a solution that was easy to implement and simple to brand up. They know their audience, they know their brand, and they did a fabulous job adapting to the current situation and helping their community of business owners.

Genius is often grounded in simplicity – well deserving of the win!

Isobel's pick – CinemaAttic (The 2020 Award Nominee)

Looking to add some Spanish flavour to your cinema-going? Then CinemaAttic is here to help.

Established in 2008, CinemaAttic have been showcasing the very best and brightest emerging filmmakers from Spain, Portugal and Latin America for over a decade. Their partnerships with venues like the Edinburgh Filmhouse and the National Galleries have helped raise the profile of Spanish cinema in Scotland.

With six film and arts festivals behind them and even more in the pipeline, CinemaAttic have established themselves as an incredible platform for entertainment, learning and innovative industry development.

"The crisis of Covid-19 and the following lockdown found CinemaAttic at a truly pivotal moment in the film collective’s history: we were about to celebrate our 10th anniversary as advocates of Ibero-American independent cinema in Scotland, with a number of events in the making to commemorate the occasion and our small team growing and evolving.

While many festivals and film exhibitors were paralysed by the unknown with the introduction of lockdown, we took ownership of the situation and re-oriented our entire programme of the 10th anniversary celebrations to a digital format." – CinemaAttic

Why not escape to the Mediterranean this week with CinemaAttics Catalan Film Festival? Opening on Thursday 19th November, the festival features the best new films from Spain and Catalonia, classic cinema, shorts, Q&As and panel conversations. And don't worry if your Spanish isn't up to scratch – everything will be subtitled in English!

Matt's pick – Lyra (The 2020 Award Winner)

Of course, the year being what it has been, Creative Edinburgh created a whole category in homage to the struggles we've all been feeling. The 2020 Award was created to recognise a project that went above and beyond to deliver despite the setbacks of the year.

The deserving winners were Lyra, an arts organisation based in Greater Craigmillar (Edinburgh) that makes art and creative projects for children and young people. They believe that watching plays and attending theatre workshops can help build confidence, develop social skills and create a sense of worth and belonging:

"We work in creative partnership with our children and young people, and our approach aims to raise aspirations through world-class provision, improve confidence by developing new skills and increase self-esteem by nurturing creative expression."

A truly noble cause and we have to say – their workshops look so fun! If only we weren't a little too old ourselves...

Finally, it would be totally remiss of us not give a great big warm round of applause to Creative Bridge and the team at CodeBase for picking up first prize in our category. A huge congratulations to all of the prize-winners and nominees – keep pushing the boundaries, exploring both possibilities and impossibilities and inspiring us. We could not be prouder of our small but mighty creative city. 

[oddsnendsfanfics]

122 Random Questions

Since we’re all stuck in, let’s take a chance at a get you know one another. Pick some Questions and feel free to ask. 

1. If You Had The World’s Attention For 30 Seconds, What Would You Say?

 2. If You Had To Work But Didn’t Need The Money, What Would You Choose To Do? 

3. What Is In Your Fridge Right Now? 

4. If You Were Home On A Rainy Sunday Afternoon, What Movie Would You Most Want To See On Television?

 5. Where Do You Not Mind Waiting?

6. If You Could Close One Fast Food Chain, Due To Disgusting Food, What Would You Pick? 

7. If You Could Dis-Invent One Thing, What Would It Be? 

8. If You Could Be A Member Of Any TV-Sitcom Family, Which Would It Be? 

9. What Would Be The Best Thing About Not Having A Sense Of Smell? 

10. Would You Leave Your Hometown Forever Or Stay In Your Hometown Forever? 

11. When Scrolling Through Social Media, Do You Prefer Posts From Celebrities Or From Your Best Friends? 

12. Is There An App That You Hate But Use Anyways? 

13. If You Could Only Speak One Word Today, What Would You Say? 

14 What Is The Stupidest Thing You’ve Done Because Someone Dared You To? 

15. What Is The Stupidest Thing You’ve Done On Your Own Free Will? 

16. Coffee Or Tea? 

 17. What Part Of Your Body Could Use A Little Lotion? 

18. What Part Of The Human Face Is Your Favorite? 

19. Do You Do Dance Crazy When No One Is Looking? 

20. Favourite Animal To Have As A Pet?

21. If You Could Wedgie Any Historical Figure, Who Would You Pick?

 22. How Come You Never Read About A Psychic Winning The Lottery? 

23. White Or Whole Meal Bread? 

24. You’ve Been Given An Elephant. You Can’t Get Rid Of It. What Would You Do With It? 

25. What’s The Wildest Thing You’ve Ever Done In A Hotel Room? 

26. Would You Rather Be Trapped In An Elevator Full Of Men With BO Or Three Soaked Dogs? 

27. Would You Rather Live (Permanently) In A Roller Coaster Park Or In A Zoo? 

28. Would You Rather Look Like A Potato, Or Feel Like A Potato? 

29. You’re In The Circus, Would You Rather Be The Person With Their Head Inside The Lion’s Mouths Or Get Shot Out Of The Cannon? 

30. Would You Rather Never Be Able To Express Yourself Accurately Or Always Have To Say The Exact Truth?

31. Would You Rather Be Able To Copy And Paste In Real Life, Or Undo In Real Life? 

32. Would You Rather Keep Your Current Sleep Schedule Or Hibernate For 3 Months And Have 9 Months Of 24/7 Alertness Without Being Tired? 

33. Would You Rather Have A Permanently Clogged Nose Or A Piece Of Green Food Always Stuck In Your Teeth? 

34. Would You Rather Be Able To Breathe Underwater Or Have The Agility Of A Cat? 

35. What Makes Someone A Hero? 

36. If You Inherited A Private Jet From A Stranger, What Would You Do With It? 

37. What Are You Freakishly Bad At? 

38. What’s Something You’ve Tried, That You’ll Never, Ever Try Again? 

39. What Are The Qualities You Really Enjoy In A Friend? 

40. In What Situation Or Place Would You Feel The Most Out Of Place In?

41. Would You Rather Have Unlimited Sushi For Life Or Unlimited Tacos For Life? 

42. What’s An Ideal Holiday/Vacation For You? 

43. What’s A Common Thing That You Think About When You’re Alone? 

44. What Is The Most Difficult Challenge Thus Far In Your Life? 

45. If You Could Change One Thing About Your Upbringing, What Would It Be? 

46. When You Are Old, What Do You Think Children Will Ask You To Tell Stories About? 

47. When Things Break, Do You Prefer To Fix Them Or Replace Them? 

48. What Product Would You Seriously Stockpile If You Found Out They Weren’t Going To Sell It Anymore? 

49. Do You Recycle? 

50. What’s The Best On-Screen Bromance/Sisterhood? 

51. What Is Your Favorite Type Of Workout? 

52. If Your Food Is Bad At A Restaurant, Would You Say Something? 

53. How Often Do You Look At Your Phone Every Day? 

54. Describe Your Life Using One Word. 

55. Have You Ever Cried At A Movie? 

56. Who From Your Past Do You Really Wish You’d Stayed In Contact With? 

57. When You Meet Someone You’re Attracted To, What Do You First Notice About Them? 

58. Do You Have Tattoos? 

59. What Do You Think About Clowns? 

60. If You Had All The Money In The World, What Would Be The First Thing You’d Buy? 

61. Who Gives You The Courage To Try New Things?

62. Are You Willing To Give The Shirt On Your Back To Someone Who Needs It The Most? 

63. If You Could Rewrite The Ending To A Novel/Movie/TV Show Which One Would It Be? 

64. What Are You Most Looking Forward To In The Next 10 Years? 

65. What Do You Wish You’d Accomplished By Now In Life? 

66. What’s The Craziest Or Most Out-Of-Character Thing You’ve Ever Done? 

67. What Are You Most Likely To Stay Up All Night Talking About? 

68. What Do You Get Every Time You Go Grocery Shopping? 

69. Spontaneity Or Stability? 

70. What Are You Most Likely To Become Famous For? 

71. What Makes People Perfect For Each Other? 

72. Do You Ever Want To Just Walk Away From Technology?

73. What’s The Most Interesting Thing You’ve Seen Online This Week? 

74. What Makes You Smile? 

75. What’s The Best Way To Spend A Rainy Afternoon? 

76. What’s One Difference Between Us That You Love? 

77. What Chore Do You Absolutely Hate Doing? 

78. What’s Your Least Favorite Mode Of Transportation? 

79. What Sound Do You Love? 

80. If You Could Paint A Picture Of Any Scenery You’ve Seen Before, What Would You Paint? 

81. What Is Something You Learned In The Last Week? 

82. What Was The Last Experience That Made You A Stronger Person?

83. What Is Your First Memory Of Being Really Excited? 

84. At What Age Did You Become An Adult? 

85. The Best Part Of Waking Up Is? 

86. If You Could Learn Any Language Fluently, What Would It Be? 

87. Do You Get Along With Your Parents? 

88. What Is The One Food That You Would Never Give Up? 

89. If You Had Unlimited Resources, How Would You Live Your Life? 

90. When Was The Last Time You Took Some Time To Be Alone? 

91. What Habits Are Holding You Back From Success? 

92. What Is The Source Of Your Procrastination? 

93. Who Are You Becoming? 

94. Do You Think Any Kind Of Afterlife Exists? 

95. What’s Your Personal Image Of God? 

96. What Would Be Harder For You, To Tell Someone You Love Them Or That You Do Not Love Them Back? 

97. When You’re 90 Years Old, What Will Matter Most To You? 

98. Do You Serve Money Or Does Money Serve You?

99. What Do People Do Too Much Of Today? 

100. If You Could Trade Lives With Someone, Who Would It Be? 

101. Do You Believe It’s Possible To Maintain Platonic Friendships With Members Of The Opposite Sex? 

102. What’s One Thing No One Knows About You?

103. Hero Or Villain For A Day? 

104. Is Never Returning Something You Borrowed Considered Stealing?

105. Have You Ever Dropped Food On The Floor And Then Picked It Up And Ate It? 

106. Never Have I Ever Hidden Cigarettes So My Parents Wouldn’t Know I Was Smoking. 

107. Never Have I Ever Been Fooling Around In A Car And Accidentally Honked The Horn. 

108. Never Have I Ever Been Electrocuted. 

109. If You Could Create Your Own Job Title, What Would It Be? 

110. How Many Pancakes Have You Eaten In A Single Sitting?

111. Do You Lick Your Plate? 

112. Do You Have A Special Place You Like To Visit Regularly? 

113. What Is The Reason You Are Most Grateful In Your Life?

114. If A Movie Was Made About Your Life Who Plays Your Mom?

115. Favorite Day Of The Week? 

116. What Life Lessons Would You Pass On To Your Children? 

117. Do You Feel Like The Good Time Outweigh The Bad? 

118. Who Or What Inspires You To Be A Better Person? 

119. What Time Do You Normally Go To Bed? 

120. What Is The Best And Worst Part Of Your Personality? 

121. What Spells Fun For You? 

122. Do You Believe In Bigfoot?

Questions from  www.mantelligence.com (some have been changed)

[hopesiick]

𝐉𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐃 // vice detective, thirty-three, red ridge native.

— unflinching, grudging, brainy, irreverent, plucky, mulish. loosely inspired by dominique dipierro (mr robot), laurie blake (watchmen hbo), eve polastri (killing eve), wendy byrde (ozark), and allie pressman (the society). this vine, too.

howdy, folks! i’m dev. 🤠 this is my dearest brain babie, jordan. normally, this is where i’d get all mushy-gushy on y’all, but the rest of this introduction is already too long as it is, and i’d rather not add insult to injury hehe. just know i’m happy to be here & even more excited to get to know you all + your brain babies, too! 🥳 @redridgeimp​​

— pinterest, stats + connections page.

𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐑: bullet points marked with three asterisks (***) feature mentions of domestic abuse and unfit parenting. reader discretion is advised.

the toussards are old money. her mother’s side of the family have made their fortune off of hay farms scattered across the state of nevada, and her father’s side of the family have mostly been cattle and dairy farmers. together, they decided to venture into real estate, too, by buying up farm land plots and selling them at a higher price, along with residential plots, too. 

they’re not showy people, but they definitely make good use of their money. jordan’s childhood home is a plantation-style house on a big ole plot of land situated on the outskirts of town. they had healthy green grass with sprinklers and a full garden. inside, everything was real wood, ivory, and silver. they had a maid and gardeners and the whole nine yards. still, if you hadn’t seen that or recognized their family name, you might have expected them to be any other family belonging to red ridge. 

to many, they gave off the image of a picture-perfect, all-american nuclear family. it’s easy to pretend, seeing as they live so far away from all the glitz and none of them -- no matter how they feel -- are willing to shatter that golden reputation, but it isn’t real. elise, her mother, wanted a doll more than she wanted an actual child, and it was society’s pressure on women to give birth that forced her hand, not any sense of innate desire for expanding the family. joseph, her father, was too caught up in his wife’s every wish and whim to really pay attention to jordan in a deep way. he never turned his back on her, but jordan never felt any deep belonging to him either -- if anything, he felt more like a 2d stand in for the father she wished she’d had. 

*** that meant there was only one adult left to really pick up her parent’s slack, and that was corinne, her aunt. corinne, who had an awful habit of bringing terrible men home. corinne, who was bipolar and unmedicated, and often in charge of taking care of jordan from the moment she was in diapers to the moment she graduated college. corinne, who was manipulated by her own sister. corinne, who was helpless to protect jordan against her mother’s attacks, and unable to shield her from the rage her boyfriends spat. corinne is like a mother to jordan. she was the hand that rubbed her back when she was sick. she was the open arms that held her when one of jordan’s teenage dates went sour. she was the one to cover for her when she snuck out and the one to teach her everything her mother considered too immoral and dirty. corinne is her mother in the way elise never could be, but still .. jordan can’t help but feel anger towards her. 

*** jordan’s known how to use, fire, and clean a gun from the age of eight. she learned how to hunt at the age of ten. she knew and helped her father field dress a handful of animals by the age of twelve. you may think this was just a bit of heavy-handed bonding between a father and daughter, but it wasn’t. elise and joseph used to go away a lot, both for pleasure and business, which left jordan in corinne’s sole care. that wouldn’t be a problem, if it weren’t for the fact that a grand majority of corinne’s relationships were abusive, specifically physically. jordan was a child, but she was a child with a duty -- a duty to protect her caretaker if necessary. at the time, jordan didn’t think much of it. she liked feeling like she had an in with her father, liked feeling important. it was only when she got older that she realized how fucked up everything had been, and how that’s the driving factor behind the feeling of fear she just can’t drop, and the mistrust she has in others. the anger she feels towards corinne is rooted in that. she can’t help but feel like it’s corinne’s fault and she hates that her aunt -- a fully grown adult -- was the center of her childhood, instead of her own self.

skipping forward a bit, jordan went to college right after high school to major in criminal science. her lifelong exposure to such abuse left her with a taste for vengeance. see, jordan wanted to be a police officer to protect her hometown, sure, but she also wanted the badge so that she could finally dish out the punishment that so many of the officers she’d seen were unwilling to. the only way to stop that culture of turning a blind eye was to do it from the inside, and that’s exactly what she did. 

jordan’s been a cop for twelve years now. she started her career doing patrol and eventually working with the gangs and narcotics team for five years. after a lot of pestering and brown-nosing, jordan became a g&n detective. she was mostly in charge of surveillance, carrying out raids, and the planning of both. ( she had an opportunity early in her career to go undercover, but jordan’s too obvious for that. ) eventually, jordan switched departments over to the special victims unit, but that stint really only served as a segue into where she is now: the vice and support department. she used to specialize in community outreach, helping bridge the gap between the community and the precinct. she worked with groups focused on helping those affected by drugs and sex workers who have been abused. when one of the detectives assigned to missing persons cases left, jordan was quick to apply for it. needless to say, she got the job and has been doing that since.

she’s got the nose for it -- all the digging and reviewing and passion for the relentless pursuit. she doesn’t particularly like dealing with the families of those affected, but it’s part of the job. on most days, she genuinely enjoys it, but with the rise in crime and the amount of deaths at their feet, jordan can’t help but rethink her choices. she’s competitive by nature; she can’t handle these losing games. 

jordan’s a very cutthroat cop -- especially in her g&n days, when it was all heat, all pressure, all the time. she’s got an eye for weakness and isn’t afraid to exploit that on the job. she’s not above making threats -- promises, really -- and has always been the type to gather as much evidence as humanly possible, because she wants prosecutors to see justice through. she’s just really efficient. she wouldn’t be where she was at only thirty-three if she wasn’t. most of the time, you can catch her putting in overtime hours. 

that being said... jordan has a big heart. she doesn’t believe in institutions as a whole, but she does believe in people. the law is the law and rules are vital for a functioning society, but .. she may be willing to look the other way sometimes, if you’re close enough. ( i mean, she was married to a valencia member at one point, so. ) she may not agree with what some people do, but she’ll really only go after you if what you’re doing is truly heinous. ( but don’t tell her supervisors! 🥺 and don’t mention the hypocrisy to her face. )

outside of work, though, jordan’s pretty chill. she used to be a loudmouthed firecracker in her youth, but she’s calmed down significantly since then. really, she’s not so bad! maybe it's because she can't handle being alone, but she thrives from being in groups + will strike up a conversation with anyone and everyone. if she likes your shoes, she'll tell you. if you need a ride home then she’ll walk with you because she’s most likely equally as inebriated. kind of the person that you’re hesitant to approach, but when you do she treats you like you’re old friends -- even if you're not. you know that drunk girl in the bathroom that gives you sagely advice or tells you she loves your hair? that’s jordan, except she’s not drunk. 

when jordan makes her mind up on something, it’s almost impossible to get her to budge. it doesn’t matter if she’s in the wrong, she’ll trudge on no matter what. her flippancy in the face of danger – a prized act at this point – has landed her in trouble before, and it most certainly will again. she’s unyielding and unapologetic; not willing to change herself for anyone. getting her to talk about her emotions is like pulling teeth, except even that would probably be easier. she’s incredibly honest about some things as a way to hide behind it; it’s a farce that distracts people into thinking she’s being honest with them, when really she’s not -- not entirely, anyway. 

loves love, but she’s rotten at it. her anxiety gets in the way, tells her that she’ll mess it up somehow until she finally does, like a self-fulfilling prophecy. ( something-something abt the fact that she can’t comprehend someone loving her if not even her own parents could ). she’s a much better friend, and jordan thinks that’s more important anyhow. genuinely, if you’re her friend then she loves you endlessly and earnestly.

𝒇𝒖𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓 !

jordan is that friend that gets a little bit too into car karaoke.

she’s also the type to order a screwdriver during an 11a brunch.

it’s a wonder that she doesn’t have tinnitus, considering she always blasts heavy metal music in her car.

makes jokes about getting married and divorced, because if you can’t laugh at your pain then you’re fucked.

if you ever visit her unannounced, you’ll spot her in t-shirts that say “milf in training”, “god looks like me”, and more.

if you’re mean to her she’ll give you a parking ticket.

she plays dirty in fights. used to bite a lot as a child and she still does. all is fair in love and war, babie! enjoy getting that tetanus shot and lovely hospital bill! 💋

pantsuits from monday to friday, and overalls without a bra on the weekend because fuck that shit. also extremely partial to shirts with low plunges. a lil bit of side titty for everyone. 

if you’re leaving a drink behind she’ll finish it for you because daddy didn’t raise no quitters.

has a lot of self-worth issues, but she’d sooner die than ever tell anyone about them or even confront them herself. 

don’t let the pantsuit fool you! there’s pure muscle underneath that two-piece, babie. 

𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒄. 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔:

“i am the shape you made me. filth teaches filth.”

"can i be blamed for my efforts? all men are drawn to the sea, perilous though it may be."

"there is a place, deep in the heart of fear, where you trap yourself and claim that is safety."

"still, a great deal of light falls on everything."

"i hold a stalk in my hand. i am the stalk. my roots go down to the depth of the world."

“i always figured when i got older, god would sorta come into my life somehow. and he didn’t. i don’t blame him. if i was him i would have the same opinion of me that he does.”

“nothing washes off.”

“you cannot be stolen, ransacked, looted like an emptied bank account or a burgled house. you are the tough old tissues, the exquisite scars. you are the thing that would not die.”

𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒔 ! ( open to any gender ) 

jordan can’t function without a best friend, so.. gimme, please! 🥺🤲

i once read a passage talking about how the friendships you make in your childhood can never be mimicked in your adulthood, and you know what.. #true. where’s jordan’s childhood friends at? do they still keep in touch? did they have a massive fallout as teenagers where jordan told them to get hit by a truck because she was a very dramatic 16 yr old? were they frenemies? do they still have one of jordan’s things because she was terrible at remembering everything after a sleepover? did jordan’s parents help your muse’s family out? idc, just gimme!

exes / almost exes. remember what i said about jordan being a shit when it comes to love? they could’ve been serious at some point whether as adults or in their youth, maybe it was short-lived, maybe jordan never even let it get off the ground. could be on good terms or bad terms or no terms at all. 

neighbors!! jordan pulls some odd hours n sometimes plays her music a little too loud and burns her food more often than she should at 33 yrs old. she may or may not be the best neighbor to have is all i’m saying, but she tries!! 

friends!! platonic love is the most purest form of love there is and she’s got a lot of it to give!! come and get ya some! 

enemies / hateships because sometimes .. it just be like that. whether this has to do with a falling out of some sort, just straight up hate at first sight, or something to do with an encounter on the job, or something else entirely i’m here for it! 

one night stands / [old] fwb. i’m gonna be honest with y’all: if jordan likes you, then she can’t sleep with you. now, i’m gonna be honest with y’all again: jordan’s very much a yes-girl. she says and does things just to get a reaction sometimes or see what’ll happen ( something-something "sometimes if you let people do things to you, you're really doing it to them" ). that being said, she’ll sleep with just about anyone. maybe they don’t talk about it ever, maybe they only ever talk when they want something, maybe they regret it, maybe it’s all gucci, and maybe it was good until it wasn’t. idk! 

jordan has been shot twice in her career thus far. the first time was during a noise disturbance call and the second time was during a narc raid. if your muse wants in on that we can discuss the deets! 

and also literally whatever else your heart desires because i’m both here for the fluffiest deepest connections ever and also the angstiest makes-me-wanna-die type shit. i literally don’t say no to anything so if you have any ideas you think jordan can be a good fit for, i’m all ears!! 

[kuriquinn]

love at first sight isn’t just a cheesy song [one-shot]

General Disclaimer

Rating: PG 13

Author’s Note: I wanted to do something different for “festival”. And since my hometown hosts a huge variety of festivals, I was inspired...also, some of this comes from my own memories at Warped Tour and Osheaga...

Not edited at the moment. I’m thinking I’ll probably edit all of these when I finish the prompts…

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ ⁂ ⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Sasuke does not do people. He doesn’t do loud, or hot either.

Which is why he’s trying to figure out just how his best friend not only convinced him to come with him to a music festival in the middle of the summer. He’s pretty sure there was a “you owe me a favour, remember” and a choice between filling in for Naruto babysitting Kakashi’s demon brood, or this.

In which case, a hellish pit of sweat, marijuana and burning sun is getting off easy.

Still. He’s not happy about it.

And he’s already informed Naruto that as soon as they’ve seen the group he’s here to see, they’re leaving.

“Whatever, I’m only here to see Hinata anyway,” his best friend dismisses, cheeks red and grin wide and Sasuke really just wants to punch him. He’s missing a Star Wars marathon for this…this travesty, where people walk around with way too much eyeliner and—

Does that guy have empty beer cans speared on the points of his mohawk?

But apparently, Naruto’s girlfriend is in a band—and he’s still not sure what he’s having more trouble comprehending, that Naruto of all people is dating or that Hinata is in a band. Because the Hyuga girl is the shiest person Sasuke has ever met in his life and coming from someone as quiet as him and his brother, that says something. The idea of her being up on a stage in front of people just…doesn’t compute.

He has known Naruto and Hinata since they were toddlers, as all their parents were friends from high school (private Catholic school tends to forge two kinds of bonds—either Band of Brothers or Slaughter High, and he’s not entirely sure what his and Naruto’s will be), and Hinata has never been the type for public performances.

“There’s a new girl in her class this year that really brought her out of her shell,” Naruto had explained it. “We can hang around later and meet her, too.”

“No,” Sasuke retorted instantly. “I’m here for one reason only. To pay back that favour, and that involves seeing Hinata’s stupid band play and that’s it. Then we’re going home.”

“Whatever, asshole.”

They head over to the stage where some indie band no one has ever heard of slated to be playing; Hinata’s band is apparently opening not for them, but for their opening act. Which suggests how unknown the group is.

Somehow, Naruto manages to drag them to the absolute front of the crowd, just as the band is coming onstage. There are catcalls and a few cheers—okay, so maybe they already have a bit of a following—as they get settled in with their instruments.

The first thing noticeable about them is they’re all dressed in their school uniforms, all pleated kilts and crisp oxford shirts that are already soaked with sweat from the hot day. There are a few changes that Sasuke knows they’d be getting demerits for if they were at school—ties loose over their shirts, combat boots, studded bracelets, shirts untucked, that sort of thing. There’s a dark haired girl with her hair in two buns arranging herself and her guitar in front of a microphone, while a sharp-faced blond performs final tuning check on her bass.  He distantly recognises Ino Yamanaka settling in behind the keyboard, but only because they were in primary school together years ago and her hair is as ridiculously long as it always was.

And there’s Hinata—shuffling quickly and determinedly to the back of the stage where she’s practically hidden by the drumkit.

“Well, that makes more sense,” he mutters, though it’s lost in Naruto’s fervent shout of, “Yeah! You got it, babe!”

Idiot…

Sasuke rolls his eyes, already mentally counting down to the blessed freedom of getting out of this place, which is the point when the final member of the band makes an appearance, and suddenly—

Suddenly he’s having a hard time breathing.

He doubts it’s his asthma since it’s not the familiar fiery burn through his windpipes. It’s more like…he forgets how.

The most noticeable thing about her right away is the vibrant pink hair, short and spikey; the next is her eyes. They’re so green that he can still see them somehow even from where he’s standing. She has a more athletic build than her bandmates, and the pale thighs beneath her short skirt are so muscular Sasuke has to swallow a few times.

She isn’t graceful, though, stumbling across the stage and nearly tripping over the cord for her guitar. Normally he’d scoff at that, but for some reason, something in him finds it…endearing?

There are guffaws from the audience, but when she reaches her microphone she simply flashes them a cheerful, sheepish smile.

“Sorry. Gravity isn’t my friend today,” she says lightly, earning warmer laughter now; with her, not at her. Her voice is soft and filled with humour in a way that doesn’t really fit with the screaming vocals Sasuke’s ears have been assaulted by since showing up here today. “Thanks for coming out today, guys. I know it’s really freaking hot out. If we had a hose, we’d totally use it on you guys today.” Cheers. “Anyway, some of you know us, hopefully, a few of you don’t so we can make a good impression. We’re Bacchikoi Baby and we’ve got you for the next fifteen minutes, so let’s get this thing going!”

Instantly, the music starts up, harsh chords and insistent drumline and an underlying rhythm that is familiar only in the way that most alternative music all sounds the same to him. But then she opens her mouth to sing and Sasuke feels as if someone just stuck a livewire into his spine.

Her voice is low and smooth and changeable, going from smooth molasses to raw, shouting with barely any break. Something in the curl of her words on her tongue, the way sound moves from a hum at the back of her throat into something articulated makes him shiver. He doesn’t know anything about the technicalities of music or singing or voice training, but even he can tell instantly that she’s the talent of this group.

The other instruments are almost token, although he spares a distant thought to Hinata not being bad at the drums (apparently she’s in some kind of zone there), and the setlist itself is nothing special. Pretty much the same as any other angry girl band he’s caught on the radio.

But he try as he might, he can’t block out the singer.

Their first number is a catchy number that has the audience jumping and swaying to the underlying rhythm, and a harsh, angry protest chant that most of them sing along to, and then a slower but no-less commanding power ballad.

The last song is even slower, some kind of medley of Zeppelin’s Gallow’s Pole and another song he’s never heard of but which Naruto tells him is called The Hanging Tree.

“Apparently it’s from a movie,” he says with a shrug (Sasuke can’t actually hear him, but he’s pretty good at reading lips).

The thing starts off almost a cappella, before the dark-haired girl chimes in with the rhythm guitar, and Ino adds a mournful keyboard melody that even Sasuke can’t help his body swaying to. The lead singer’s voice is a haunting monotone almost, which gradually builds and fills with emotion, and then three-quarters of the way through, the song reaches a break, and all the instruments kick in. It’s a near explosion of sound, tempered by the raw emotion in her voice and—

And that’s when their eyes meet.

Sasuke’s mouth goes dry, and her eyes go wide, but she keeps singing—“If we met at midnight, a smile upon your face”—and he has the simultaneously ridiculous and hopeful feeling that she’s singing to him and it’s the kind of thing he’d normally find irritating, but—

His chest feels buoyant like he could punch a comet out of the sky if the opportunity should present itself.

What the hell is happening to me?

Afterward, Sasuke vaguely recalls following Naruto from the crowd once the actual opening act comes out; neither really care to watch them. There are a few people who leave with them.

Sasuke’s brain is flummoxed, trying to understand how another human being could have had such a strange effect on him. She was in front of him for all of fifteen minutes, and he doesn’t even know her name. But he knows her voice somehow harmonizes with the rush of his blood through his veins and heartfelt keening makes a lump of emotion appear at the back of his throat.

If I were anyone else, I’d think this was…but that’s not possible…that sort of thing only happens in the movies…

“I texted Hinata to tell her how awesome they were,” his friend says once they get out of the most densely packed crowd, fingers still flying on his smartphone. “I know you want to get out of here, so I’ll just go see her later.”

Sasuke shifts, not looking at him, and mumbles. “Whatever. Let’s just go see the band.”

Naruto looks surprised, but he’s also not about to look a gift-horse in the mouth. “Alright…”

“And then your favour is paid off,” Sasuke adds if only to keep the other teen from digging deeper.

They head for the side of the stage, where a table has been set up to sell merchandise; a dozen or two audience members are shelling out wads of cash for t-shirts and CDs, but he and Naruto bypass that and head for the back where the girls are downing huge bottles of water. They’re all pink-skinned with sunburn and exertion, clothes sticking to their bodies, but that doesn’t stop Naruto from vaulting forward and kissing his girlfriend.

He bubbles about how amazing her drum solo was, and he knew she had talent, but whoa, and the other bandmates watch, bemused.

Except for her. She’s looking at Sasuke, colours spreading across the bridge of her nose and she has freckles on her nose why is that appealing.

He clears his throat, wanting to say something casual, a less effervescent praise than his idiot best friend, but what comes out is—

“You’re really short.”

On stage, she seemed like a six-foot-tall Amazon, but she doesn’t need to know that. He sort of wants to punch himself in the face, because really?

But she only blinks and then laughs, and it sounds like music. How can laughter sound like music?

“Maybe you’re just unfairly tall,” she suggests, eyes dancing. “I’m Sakura.”

“Sasuke.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Sasuke-kun.”

And girls have been calling him that with irritating familiarity his entire life, but somehow when she says it, his chest warms.

He thinks he goes temporarily deaf for a minute because all other sound in the world goes away or collects around her, and he imagines that for an instant they exist only in a world belonging to the two of them.

Even stranger, she seems to be just as aware of it as he is, because her gaze softens at him as if to say, me too.

Out loud, however, she says, “We were going to go get something to eat and go see some of the other bands.” She glances over at Naruto as he hangs an arm over Hinata’s shoulder. “Did you guys want to come with?”

“Nah, Sasuke doesn’t really like all this stuff,” Naruto answers. “I’m surprised his brain hasn’t spontaneously combusted because of all the people breathing his air.”

Sasuke’s cheeks warm as he glares at his friend.

“It’s fine,” he insists, trying to telepathically promise death and dismemberment if Naruto doesn’t shut the hell up. He flicks his eyes to Sakura, whose head is tilted to one side as if to study him. “I think I saw a food truck at the other end of the venue.”

He points vaguely in that direction.

A beat, and then her entire face lights up with a smile of utter joy.

“Sounds great!” she declares, and before he can really register, she has her hand clasped around his and is pulling him off in the direction he pointed. “Come on! And you can introduce yourself properly on the way!”

And he normally doesn’t like physical contact with people, and it’s really far too hot to be holding hands, especially with a girl he’s only just met. But her fingers fit too well in his, and her grip is strong and comforting, and he just lets her pull him along.

That’s when the utterly absurd thought strikes him that he would follow this girl anywhere.

栗

[goodproofingwater]

Wildfire Records: Breaking America - Chapter Twenty-Two

Word count: 1985 Playlist: Love on Top - Beyonce press play when you see the *

Notes: I just want to thank everyone who has stuck with wildfire through all 45 chapters, for everyone who has sent me messages of support and who has loved these characters as much as I have, especially @crucioprongs who even asked to see the places that inspired scenes when he was in London. Wildfire will always be my baby and although I’m not really ready to let it go, sometimes you have to set the things you love free! If you miss them, the characters will always be available to request from, and I will always oblidge because to be honest I miss them already! It will also always be available here to re-read! Thank you again.

The news of Josh and Victoria being back together became apparent to everyone that evening, the two taking the opportunity of an empty bus while everyone was still at the after-party to consummate their relationship, but the two had so much time to catch up for that it continued long into the night.

When Josh got up to get water he noticed that both Andy and Danny had moved to the spare bunk and Juliet’s bunk respectively, and although he wanted to apologise, the thought was pushed firmly from his mind as Victoria quite literally blew his mind.

It was 5am by the time they stopped pushing each other to the brink of pleasure, and she finally felt right falling asleep in his arms. The smell of his cologne mixed with the smell of sex relaxing her and lulling her into such good sleep that even though they had to get up earlier than usual for soundcheck she felt completely rested.

The same could not be said for anyone else but Josh.

“Did you have to keep going all night?” Juliet spoke over her second cup of coffee, staring into the brown liquid as if it would be able to tell her the secret to waking up after such poor quality sleep.

“I didn’t really notice that it was so late…” Victoria spoke, still on the high that she had from both multiple orgasms and post-orgasm sleep. She was about to apologise once more when Josh walked out of the shower room in nothing but his boxers and her eyes fell to him, the beautiful man who had given her so much pleasure, had told her that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and she bit down on her lip as he smirked at her.

“Oh for God’s sake…” Juliet shook her head and rolled her eyes as she caught sight of what her friend was staring at, and although she sounded angry there was a small smile on her face which told Victoria just how happy she was for them. And she was.

Juliet and Danny had felt the full brunt of everything that had happened around them and had spent most of the time trying to deal with a deservedly forlorn Josh, a version of Victoria which none of them had ever met before and Andy who was doing everything in his power not to relapse and take Victoria for his own. The two had always been the ones without any drama, but it seemed crazy to have to deal with so much of other peoples. Luckily everything seemed to have worked itself out, and as Juliet tucked herself into Danny’s body for an afternoon nap after soundcheck she felt more content than she had done in weeks.

Two weeks went past mostly the same, with everyone trying to stay out of the bus and laughing as Josh and Victoria made unceremonious escapes from any group situation in order to “make up for lost time”. It wasn’t until the night before the gig in San Francisco exactly fourteen days after Josh and Victoria got back together that the group sat backstage playing quarters as they heard the crowd forming outside.

“Do you think that you’re done with this crazy streak you two are on?” Andy spoke, sipping his beer with a smirk on his face which was only made worse when one of the girls that worked at the venue walked past in a short skirt, “You’re making it hard for the rest of us to bring girls back y’no..”

“Speak for yourself,” Danny grinned and Juliet couldn’t help but laugh at him, rolling her eyes as she sipped on her gin and tonic

“I’m not sure man,” Josh grinned, squeezing Victoria’s thigh and she licked her lips at the movement,

“I’m sure we could continue our streak somewhere else to you wanted to bring a girl back...although I thought you had a thing for fucking in green rooms?” She teased and he smirked at her, shaking his head as he chuckled,

“I save that exclusively for shitty cocaine-fuelled radio deals, but I appreciate you remembering my preference,” He winked before he stood up and walked in the direction of the girl who was talking to one of the stage managers, and Victoria couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head and how blatant he was being.

“Got his confidence back without the coke then?” She offered to the group and Danny nodded, “He got an email saying that they’ve sent his 60-day sober chip in the mail this morning, I’ve never seen him so excited about anything.”

“God we’re going to have to get earplugs aren’t we?” Juliet grinned as she looked between Andy and the girl and Josh and Victoria and Victoria chuckled and laughed, “We’ll keep it down…”

The run-up to the show was running smoothly even with Andy sneaking off with the girl to get a drink, and Danny and Josh stood at the side of the stage watching people chanting for them. It was unreal that they had come this far, that they had gone from playing shitty little venues in San Francisco to small venues in London, and now they were playing the same stage that they had watched some of the greats perform on. Victoria and Juliet had been a godsend, had helped them more than they had ever expected anyone to help and had brought them further than they had ever expected. None of the band really thought that the time in London would bring them anything but life experience, had expected to come home and have to get normal jobs with the promise of weekly band jams fading into history as they got increasingly more stressed. But here they were, performing for thousands of hometown fans, known internationally and represented by an independent record label which allowed them to do what they wanted with their music.

The merch that Victoria had put on their online store was selling out faster than they could order the shirts in, and she was liaising with new designers each day to find new products to put on the site. Juliet was incredible with the money side of the business, ensuring that royalties were being distributed and even charging the venues that they had booked in advance for The Dangers to perform as they almost all of the venues on the west coast had to release more tickets due to them selling out so quickly. They even had a European tour booked in for a few months time, and Victoria had been speaking to international contacts to see if there was a way for them to go even further afield.

They had never expected in their wildest dreams that they would be standing backstage at their favourite music venue with everything they had ever dreamed of. But for Danny, there was one more step to take.

“You sure you’re ready?” Josh spoke as he smiled at his friend, the drummer's hands shaking as he swallowed thickly. Josh had never seen Danny this nervous, and he knew that this had nothing to do with performing for a home crowd, or the fact that the girls would be meeting the parents after the show.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for months so it’s definitely right time… I just hope that she’s okay with the way I do it.”

Andy came up behind them sipping water and wrapped his arms around both of them, “Ready boys?” he grinned, and after a nod and Josh’s traditional hug with Victoria, they ran on stage to perform the final show in their first American tour.

Half way through their set, Victoria and Juliet were standing side stage and watching them, and they were so used to the setlist now that it surprised them when Josh and Andy called Danny to centre stage between two songs which were supposed to be played one after the other.

“So San Fran… I don’t know if you know this but this is our home town show, the last show on the most amazing tour of our lives, and we want to take this opportunity to thank every one of you for coming out tonight.” Josh spoke into the mic as they all grinned down at fans who were holding signs bearing their names, wearing their faces on their t-shirts - it was all so unreal.

“But most of all, we want to thank the girls who have made this happen. Without them, we would still be playing in Danny’s garage or in tiny little venues in London. Come out here…” Josh beckoned them both and Victoria swallowed, nervous at first until he came and took her hand, dragging her and Juliet to the middle of the stage in front of a massive crowd of people.

“These girls quite literally changed our lives,” Andy spoke, his arm around Victoria as she stood between him and Danny, “And it’s only right that they get the recognition they deserve so give it up for Wildfire Records!”

*The crowd erupted, and Victoria grinned between her friends and the crowd, thanking them and walking over to give Josh a kiss, knowing how much he loved public affection.

“And uh... I just have something else I wanna say...” Danny took the mic from Andy who stood back, a smile on his face which Victoria couldn’t place, and Josh began to play a sweet melody which made her smile, but not as much as what happened next.

“Juliet… since the day I met you, I’ve felt like you’re the only person in this world who truly understands me, who knows my thoughts before I say them out loud, the only woman strong enough to help me through everything that life has thrown our way. The only woman who could deal with my friend's dramas and the only woman who could stop me losing all my money in Vegas.” He grinned at her, chuckling as she did but her expression of joviality turned to total shock as he pulled a small box from his pocket and got down on one knee. The crowd screamed, and Victoria looked between the boys in total shock that they had kept this from her too,

“There is no one in this universe that I would rather spend my life with and I want everyone to know it.” He grinned at the crowd, his hands shaking as he opened the box to show of a sparkling diamond ring inlaid with emeralds to match her hair, “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me?”

Tears immediately fell from Juliet's eyes, and she nodded before she could even say anything, and he stood and picked her up, spinning her around as the crowd roared for them, Victoria leaning against Josh as tears began to well up in her eyes. 

Josh pressed a soft kiss to his girlfriends cheek before he ran over to Danny and hugged him and Andy wrapped his arms around Juliet, each member of the band hugging the girls until Andy took back the microphone, “Alright now that cuteness is out of the way, lets get back to showing you guys a good time yeah?” The crowd screamed and the girls made their way off stage, Victoria grinning wider than she felt she ever had done as her friend did the same, and the two didn’t even watch the rest of the show for looking at the ring and discussing plans for the wedding.

And so the tour was over, the band had successfully broken America and came back to England with a few months left on their original trip plan and a determination to tour more of the world, to see more countries, to play to more people and to share their ongoing happiness with others.

[yuzusorbet]

My Sendai Holiday (April 2018) - Part 3: Weekend Sendai

Part 1 was about Yuzuru’s Olympic Victory Parade and Part 2 was about Ice Rink Sendai (links are at the end of this post).  This part is about the rest of my trip. 

--------------

I flew into Sendai by ANA;  the cute plane below was my connecting flight from Tokyo Haneda to Sendai.   

Entering the airport, I saw a poster of our dear 若様 (’waka-sama’ = young master).  What a beautiful start to my holiday. :)  

Sendai Airport is small and beautiful.  The roof is like the waves of the sea.   And it’s very convenient too.   A linkway connects it to the train station just across the road.  (Pic below taken from linkway.)

After a short train ride, I reached Sendai Station, the main station of the city.   This is also the shinkansen (bullet train) stop.   I love Sendai Station.  It’s so pedestrian-friendly due to a huge walkway that sprawls over the roads and traffic outside, connecting the station to the malls and buildings around it.  

Inside, there are many shops and eateries.  Pic below: shops selling ‘zunda mochi’ and ‘hagi no tsuki’.  (further down this post, you will see more zunda mochi.) (hagi no tsuki is a snack that Yuzu loves.)

In the station, there is an awesome tourist information centre.   Young master Yuzu is there saying “Welcome to Sendai”..... and sometimes there are samurais there as well!  When I took this photo, instead of saying “cheese”, these guys said “zunda mochi!!!”  XD

The tourist centre was giving out beautiful leaflets with suggestions on places that fans can visit, like Goshikinuma Pond, Ice Rink Sendai, Nanakita Park and Yuzu’s monument at International Centre Station.  The words on the right-hand leaflet say “Sendai City supports Hanyu Yuzuru-senshu”.

The centre also had big stacks of ‘Weekend Sendai’!  (the travel magazine with Yuzu;  it’s free)  I already have a copy at home but I took one for a friend. 

Yuzu is eating zunda mochi in the photo above.  It’s a Sendai specialty, mochi covered with mashed edamame, and it’s sweet like a dessert.  I love it!

“Itadakimasu.” (See the white mochi under the mashed edamame?)

The photo below is the take-away cup;  the mochi inside is smaller but it tastes just as good.  Ate it a few times during my holiday, and also tried zunda shake and zunda pudding.  They were all nice, but I like zunda mochi the most.  

Next to Sendai Station, on the 4th floor of Parco shopping mall, Yuzu’s signed skate boots were on display.  He donated them for an auction in March this year to raise funds for Tohoku earthquake recovery (3.11).  The successful bidder was Japanese fashion house, Samantha Thavasa Japan Limited, and the final amount was 8.5 million yen (about US$76,000).  According to Oricon news, the money was from the staff of the company inside and outside Japan who donated their money to support this good cause.  [thanks to fan Shuko for the info] [pic below from Yahoo Japan] 

After the auction, the company decided to bring the boots to different parts of Japan to be on display and they were in Sendai during this period.   Here are the boots that raised 8 million yen: (8,501,000 to be exact)      

Near the boots display area, Yuzu’s parade T-shirts were on sale.  I had already bought mine online and they were delivered to the Sendai hotel that I was staying in.  

My first dinner in Sendai.... gyu-tan of course!  Grilled beef tongue is a Sendai specialty and oh so delicious!   Had it at a restaurant in the station.

The gyutan in the middle is the usual one flavoured with salt, the gyutan on the right is flavoured with miso.  The white thing on the left is another Sendai food, sasa-kamaboko which is grilled fish cake (kamaboko) in the shape of a bamboo leaf (sasa), believed to be inspired by the design in the family crest of the Date clan who ruled Sendai Domain in the Edo period.  It can be eaten on its own as a snack.  The rice was also very special; it had some barley mixed into it, giving it a different texture and fragrance.  Everything was very, very oishiiiiiii~~~~~ 

I ate this with my friend Ella who was in Tokyo just the weekend before to watch ‘Continues with Wings’, so you can imagine what our chat was about.  The last time we saw each other was one year ago.  So much Yuzuru to talk about. :D

The next day was the first day of sale of parade wristbands.  There were several sale locations and I went to one near my hotel.  On the way there, I saw some Yuzu-banners.  This one below says: 

“Hanyu Yuzuru senshu, thank you for touching and inspiring us. PyeongChang Olympic Gold Medal, 2 consecutive victories, you are the pride of Sendai, Miyagi and Tohoku.”  

This banner below is about Yuzuru’s photo exhibition coming to Sendai at the end of June.

And this is the line I saw when I reached the sale location at 7.45am, not too bad!  The start of the line is on the left where people are sitting on the ground, near the closed shutters of the department store.  Sale would start at 10am.  

The wristbands were sold in sets of 2 at 1000yen per set.  Only 10,000 sets were made (compared to 80,000 tees).  So these early birds like myself just wanted to be sure of getting them. :D  My friend Ella was at another sale location and she said the line was snaking up and down stairs and around the building!  xD

While standing there in line, I ate my breakfast and also shared my food with the woman in front of me and the man behind me.  They were both of middle-age and were local people living in Sendai, and since we were waiting together for more than 2 hours, I chatted with them to pass the time (and to practise my Japanese, haha).  Some things struck me from the chat that morning.

I was telling them a bit about myself, that I have been a Yuzu-fan since 2014 Sochi Olympics, and I naturally asked them, so when did you become fans?  They didn’t reply..... I was a bit surprised as I waited for their answer.  They were both thinking very hard, with a slight puzzled look on their faces, like they were trying to recall.....  And then I realised, they live here in his hometown!  Which means they would have seen him in the local Sendai news since he was very young and they have been watching him grow as a skater and they have been naturally supporting him since who-knows-when!  There is no clear-cut point like us who happened to see his performance one day and got zapped.  With that sudden realisation, I quickly said, oh you live here, so you have known him from way back!  They both nodded and looked pleased that I understood.  I guess no one has ever asked them that question before!  The man added that when Junior Nationals were held in Sendai in 2007, he went to watch and he was so impressed by Yuzu’s performance.  (Yuzu was only 12 then;  his SP was ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’ and FP was ‘Firebird’.  I translated about this competition from his biography; will include the link at the end.)  I told them I was so envious that they live here and have known him for such a long time!  You lucky Sendai people!!!  

Besides asking that stupid question, I also made some stupid assumptions.  I told them, I plan to go to Nanakita Park to sit on ‘Yuzu’s bench’ and then go to Ice Rink Sendai to skate and then have dinner at the gyu-tan restaurant with his signature.... you two must have been to these places, right?  They both smiled and said no.  (What????)  The look on their faces seemed to say they never thought of doing that and there was no such need.  But they were very impressed that I knew these places.  The man took out his phone to try to help me with directions.  He wanted to make sure I knew the right route to take. Really nice people. :)  

At 9.30am, staff of the store came to set up the area and we got really excited! Soon we would have Yuzu-bands on our wrists!  The Sendai lady asked, how many sets of wristbands are you buying?  I said two of course!  But the man said ONE.  (What???)  I assumed everyone would get 2 sets each (maximum).  Especially after lining up for so long and it’s in limited stock.  I said, ONLY ONE? REALLY?  He said, yes I just need one set because there are 2 bands, one for me and one for my wife, just nice.  Oh......... somehow I was touched by that.  Their support for Yuzu is so sweet and simple.  They don’t need to go to his home rink nor all the places that he has been to, but they will line up for a few hours to buy just one set of his parade wrist bands..... These Sendai fans touched my heart..... :’)  

Since he was only buying one set, I asked if he could buy one more set for me.  I wanted to send them to overseas fan-friends who couldn’t come to Sendai and he was very happy to help. :))  

Besides wristbands, there were also parade tees on sale (only S size left). Some reporters came to interview the people waiting.  The line had grown really, really long by now, looped to and fro a few times, but still very neat and orderly.   

At 10am, sales started and the staff was so efficient.  Very soon, I got my wristbands!   Plus an extra set from the really nice Sendai man!  I was so lucky to be standing in front of him!   And much thanks to him and the lovely lady for a good chat!  

I took the above photo after I bought my bands.  There was a staff holding a big sign with the words “end of line”, so it was clear to all where to join in if they wanted wristbands.  He also held a tally counter to count the number of people in the line.  As it approached the number of bands that was available in that store, he would tell people who came to join the queue that they might not get the bands but they could try if they didn’t mind waiting in line.  I love Japan, these things are always so well-organised!  

After this, I met up with Ella and we went to Sunao Noto-san’s photo exhibition which was held nearby.  (Admission was free.)  It was a very small exhibition but the outside already took my breath away.  

Pic above: the Japanese words over “Stay Gold” say “Congrats and thank you”.   (We could take photos of the outside but photography is not allowed inside.) In the small room, there were some beautiful photos of Yuzu from PyeongChang Olympics.  There was also one photo that I had not seen before and it brought a lump to my throat..... Yuzu was standing with crutches and looking at his own photo exhibition.  It was the exhibition held in Sendai from November 3 to 21 last year.  On Nov 9, he injured his ankle and withdrew from NHK Trophy the next day.  Then it was reported that he went back to Sendai and visited this exhibition after it was closed for the day.  He also wrote a message thanking fans for their support, dated 12 Nov 2017, and it was displayed at the exhibition.  (I posted about this last year; will include link at the end.)  This photo must have been taken that evening, just 3 days after the injury.  Looking at him in crutches at that November exhibition, the emotions of those few months rushed back into me.  How high was the wall that he surmounted.... I felt so keenly the heartache..... and also deep, deep admiration and respect.  Tears started prickling my eyes.  Oh Yuzu.... you made me cry again!  Later, Ella said to me, Sunao Noto-san’s photos always tell a story. Indeed. 

That was my first Yuzuru Hanyu photo exhibition.  Thank you very much, Noto-san.  

When we left, a girl approached us and gave us this beautiful newspaper:

She is a Waseda University student and was carrying a backpack full of her school newspaper to give away to Yuzu-fans!   She said she gave us the paper because I was wearing a CiONTU tee!  Much thanks to dear Ella who gave me the tee last night and I wore it as soon as I could. xD   And thank you, dear Waseda schoolmate of Yuzu!   You made many Yuzu-fans very, very happy!

So much emotions.... and it was not even 12 noon yet! xD

From this lovely shopping area near Sendai Station, we went for a walk.  Along the way, we saw the most beautiful 7-11 store.

Many shops had signs like that, saying ‘Hanyu Yuzuru senshu, congrats!!’

勾当台公園 Kotodai-koen (park) was beautiful.  There was a farmers’ market, cherry blossoms were still in bloom, and someone was playing the guitar and singing!

More photos I took along our walk, from the park to the next subway station.

(Above: another “Omedetou!! Hanyu Yuzuru senshu”)

Then we took the subway to 泉中央 Izumi-chuo Station (N01).  From there, it’s a 20-minute walk to Ice Rink Sendai or you can wait for the bus.   For people who like to look at maps, 2 photos here:   (We were at Kita-Yobancho station, N07.) (The main Sendai Station is N10.)

I wrote about Ice Rink Sendai in an earlier post (link included at the end).  After our visit, the queue for the bus was very long (all Yuzu-fans, haha), so we made the 20-minute walk back to Izumi-Chuo Station and took the subway one stop down to 八乙女 Yaotome.  A short walk from the station was 利久 Rikyu (Izumi main branch), a restaurant with Yuzu’s signature. 

Grilled liver (square plate) and gyu-tan (round plates).  The meal was soooooo delicious, especially the liver.  I told myself that I must eat here one more time before I leave Sendai.   Yuzu, thank you for your recommendation! :)

When we were leaving the restaurant, there were some people coming in and I suddenly realised one of them was another good fan-friend K-chan!  She saw me at the same time and we screamed (or maybe only I screamed, haha) and we hugged each other!  It was so good to see her again!   And I wonder if the restaurant was just filled with Yuzu-fans that day. :D

On the subway back to Sendai Station, we saw Vegatta-kun.  (If you have not seen the video of Vegatta and 15 year-old Yuzu, please search for it. xD)

Coming out of the subway exit at Sendai Station, we saw handsome Sendai travel ambassador Hanyu-kun. :)

End of a marvellous day.  The highlight had yet to come!  Next day = Sunday 22nd April = Yuzu’s parade day!!  (link at the bottom of this post)  

A bit more on food: at the end of parade day, I met up with K-chan and, thanks to her suggestion, we had the softest, puffiest pancakes I’ve ever tasted.... they were light and puffy like clouds!  The fruity topping was sold out, so we had the plain version.  Very yummy!   

.... in this cute little bakery-cafe near Sendai Station. 

I will end this post with Sendai Station at night plus the walkway that crosses roads and connects it to the surrounding buildings:

Will do a Part 4 because it’s too long to put it all here. :D   Last part: 2 places with Yuzu’s signature (restaurant and sports shop), a shrine that he has visited before, his monument at International Centre Station, a historic pond and a castle hill..... coming next. :)  

(Please do not use or re-post my stuff without permission.) (Photos are taken by me.) 

Some links mentioned: Part 1: Yuzu’s parade day  Part 2: Ice Rink Sendai 2007 Junior Nationals and 12 year-old Yuzu Nov 2017 photo exhibition: news pix and fan account 

Update: Part 4 is now done.

[onestowatch]

Discussing Butt Plugs, Music Videos, and ‘Bambi’ with Hippo Campus [Q&A]

Photo Credit: Pooneh Ghana

Hippo Campus is living the American dream. Since their musical debut in 2014, they’ve been pioneering indie pop and gaining a cult fan base. The longtime four-man band has extended their group to welcome multi-instrumentalist DeCarlo Jackson, who excels on the trumpet and truly enhances Hippo Campus’ live experience.

Witnessing Hippo Campus live is a transcendental experience, in which one is swept into their perfectly curated world of exquisite music. Their emotionally- driven tunes bring the viewer onto a rollercoaster ride, from the upbeat tempo in their opening song “Bambi” to the slower, passionate “Why Even Try.” Their incomparable live show has been attracting fans around the world, as proven by their many sold out headline shows and festival participation.

Last year, the Minnesota natives released their sophomore album, Bambi, which has pleased fans and critics alike. They’ve been dropping accompanying music videos, and their latest visual has us in awe. The “Honestly” visual gives us a taste of the boys’ shenanigans on the road without us having to suffer through the odor a smelly tour bus. With milkshakes and electric scooters galore, the “Honestly” music video shows how free-spirited Hippo Campus is with not only their music, but with everyday life as well.

We sat down with Zach Sutton (bassist and keyboardist) to discuss Bambi, music videos, and more shortly before the band played a sold out show at the Novo in downtown Los Angeles.

OTW: Over a year ago, we sat down with Jake Luppen (lead singer and guitarist) to talk about your debut album and touring. Did you see yourself here then?  

Sutton: No, I don’t think I did. None of us did. I don’t want to sound egotistical, but it has been pretty meteoric. In terms of our definition of that. We were playing the Echoplex three years ago. If someone told me then that we’d be playing, and selling out, this venue, that is ten times as big, I’d just be like, “Wow, okay.” Really grateful for everything we’ve been afforded and happy to keep going.

Photo Credit: Skyler Barberio

OTW: In the year since you released your debut album, Landmark, you dropped your sophomore album, Bambi, and it is amazing. How does the feeling of creating and releasing Bambi compare to that of Landmark?

Sutton: Yeah, very different processes for each album. The first one, Landmark, kind of aligned with our old writing method where we all just got in a room, someone had an idea, and we’d just kind of explore the song from there. With Bambi, like in the Landmark process, we learned a lot about recording and producing, so when we got to Bambi we had started splintering off, chasing ideas more individually. You know, finishing them on the computer, recording them, then sharing with the group. Then it’d be like more of a collaborative process in the back end. It was creatively challenging to finish Bambi that way, but really fulfilling as well to explore more of the creating process.

Photo Credit: Skyler Barberio

OTW: Since you guys did work very individually on this album, what was the overarching inspiration? Was there one thing that inspired you all?

Sutton: Yeah, a lot of what we write about now is the way we feel. A lot of what we’re inspired by and what we want to talk about now is the way we feel--mentally, physically, and socially. Especially about how things have changed from when we were just a smaller band to now and how that’s affected us. Not in an egotistical way, but in a “we’re experiencing these mental blocks and hopefully someone can feel and experience that too.” So, a lot of the songs on Bambi, like “Anxious,” “Why Even Try,” and “Thinking of Others,” are just about the patience you have to have with yourself and we all felt that pretty unanimously.

OTW: What is your favorite song, lyrically, and what’s your favorite line from that song?

Sutton: I think my favorite is from “Bubbles,” like the really loud part. No one can understand what anyone is saying there, but the whole lyric is “wish I could say I was a better friend to you then.” I think, personally, I have a lot of regrets about the way that I’ve handled my friendships in the context of being away from home. I’m not a very good communicator, so it’s like I feel obligated to stay in contact with people, but it’s tough.

Photo Credit: Skyler Barberio

OTW: Since you are always on the road touring, away from home, what has been your favorite song to perform live?

Sutton: I really enjoy playing “Bambi” because it’s fun and challenging. “Why Even Try” is also really good. It’s pretty depressing. I don’t know. The lyrics are really self loathing. Whenever we play those [depressing] songs, or at least when I play those songs, I get into a headspace and I think about why we wrote that song. “Why Even Try” is pretty depressing, but I think it’s nice to have that catharsis.

OTW: Out of all your songs that have videos, what has been your favorite music video to create?

Sutton: We hate doing music videos. We’ve tried so many times to come up with a good idea and bring it to the team. They’re like, “Okay, maybe,” and it turns out they change it a lot and we try really hard, but whatever. I think the one I’m most happy with is “Buttercup” because we almost had nothing to do with it. An animator, Noah Farrar, really talented animator went with it, did his thing, and it turned out great. “Bambi” was also pretty good. It was a little bit our idea, but it was mostly Kyle Saucer.

OTW: In the interview last year, you guys said your favorite show was Lollapalooza. Has this changed?

Sutton: Lollapalooza was really really fun. We played Red Rocks, just as an opener, but even then still great. Recently, we just had two hometown shows in St. Paul. Coming home is always relieving for us. Hometown show: everyone comes out, its all the friends, and it’s a real rewarding experience to come back to where we started it all.

OTW: Going off of that, what do you prefer? Your own headlining shows or the big festivals?

Sutton: Well, it depends on the festival. We played Bonnaroo two years ago and it was so great. I mean Bonnaroo has a great atmosphere, great vibe, so it’s hard to beat that. But, you can curate a space at a venue, like your own headlining show, a little better, so it’s more intentional. When you go see a band, they’ve kind of doctored everything to be the way they want it to be, but at a festival, it’s at the will of the weather and the vibe. They’re both good.

Photo Credit: Skyler Barberio

OTW: So, at all these shows, you’re probably seeing thousands of fans every week. What has been your favorite, or craziest, fan experience?

Sutton: I don’t know if this is appropriate, but we were playing in Phoenix, not this tour, but a couple years ago. Inappropriately, they dropped off this goodie bag of gifts and I was like, “Oh, that’s so sweet of you!” We open it and there are some good gifts, like a Rupert Holmes vinyl and a Catch shirt, but then there’s just a bunch of butt plugs. And I was like, “Uhhh... thanks, I guess?” We left them at the venue.

OTW: So... it wasn’t band bonding time?!

Sutton: No, it wasn’t actually. We left them ALL there.

OTW: What is your favorite bonding thing to do together?

Sutton: When we’re on tour, we love just chilling. We usually go to a bar and find something interesting in the city that we’re in. On tour, we usually try to watch a movie series. We watched all of Harry Potter last time and we’re trying to watch all of Star Wars now. At home, we’re always working on music.

Photo Credit: Skyler Barberio

OTW: Besides the butt plugs, what has been the craziest thing to happen to you guys as a whole?

Sutton: I think we all have different definitions of what crazy means, but this wasn’t even a thing. It was just a horrible fucking day. We played in Cannes, France, for this thing. I don’t know why. Either way, we stayed up really late, got really drunk, and got like three hours of sleep because we had to leave the next day. We woke up super hungover and tried to take a taxi to the airport, but there were taxi strikes because of the Je Suis Taxi thing, because they’re all mad about Uber, so the taxi drivers literally blocked off the airport entrance. So, we had to carry all our gear like a mile to the airport. We took a thirteen-hour flight back to JFK, I missed all the meals because I was sleeping, got to JFK, and there was a three-hour wait for customs. Then, we had to get our bags, recheck them in, and it was just the longest day ever and I was really mad at everyone.

OTW: That sounds absolutely awful. The things you do for your fans! Is there anything you want them to know?

Sutton: Thanks for listening. Thanks for sticking with us. We’re always writing more music, and we always have something coming out. We don’t have anything planned, but there’s definitely a lot of music in the works.

OTW: From all of that, who are three Ones To Watch we should keep our eye on?

Sutton: Sure Sure - they opened for us on our last big tour and they’re from LA, and they’re awesome. The band opening up for us right now; they’re amazing. They released their newest album probably half a year ago. Cavetown is really good. Oh, also Field Medic.  

If you want to experience the Hippo Campus magic live, be sure to catch them on the ‘Bambi Tour’ this fall:

[queencatherynerhys]

Almost Lover - TRR AU Part 5

A/N: Seriously, I had no clue about how to go about this chapter. I absolutely had no idea where it was gonna end up. I kept writing drafts after drafts, simply not satisfied. The only thing I knew for sure was it was gonna be about Catheryne’s time during the two months she was home. I am so overwhelmed about the overwhelming support I’ve gotten for this series. I am going to have 2 more chapters after this one and possibly an epilogue. I want to give a shout-out to all who has helped me with coming up with material for this series. Thanks @captainkingliam @alicars and @cocomaxley.

Song Inspiration: Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy (this is one of my favorite angst songs... it’s so heartbreaking and haunting)

Summary: Catheryne is finally home. She meets an old friend. Will she finally be able to be free from Liam’s grasp on her?

Tag List: @captainkingliam @decisso @devineinterventions2 @madaraism @theroyalweisme @drakewalkerwhipped @laniquelove @drakesfiance @hhiggs @hellospunkiebrewster @alicars @mrswalkerreynolds @mfackenthal @simplyaiden-blog @hopefulmoonobject @blackcatkita @cocomaxley @boneandfur @lizeboredom @crayziimaginations @zilch3

Previous Parts:

Ruin the Friendship – Part 1

Delicate – Part 2

Tell Me You Love Me – Part 3

Maybe This Time – Part 4

 After a long 13-hour train ride, she arrives at her homestead around 12:30am. The street is quiet and dim, only lit by a couple of lampposts. She sends a thankful note to her parents for leaving her their home. She never has to worry about not having a place to stay for she will always have this for herself. She couldn’t bear to sell it when her parents died. I didn’t want to lose their memories. And I didn’t want to move away from…him. She smiles somberly at the thought of her once best friend and glances at the house next door, her second home. I’ll make sure to say hello to his parents tomorrow.

She heads inside her family home. It smells musky, she feels as if she’s breathing in layers of dust. Tomorrow is gonna be a long day spent cleaning. I should get some rest. But she’s not quite tired yet. So, she heads down to the beach.

She missed this unobstructed view of the sky. She missed the sea salt smell of the air. She missed the sounds of the waves hitting sand. She missed the moonlight shining upon her. She missed the gently breeze that ruffles her hair. She loves the New York skyline, but she is in love with the view of her paradise. It’s only been a year and a half, but it feels like forever. She inhales a deep breath, recalling all the memories she shared with him in this very spot. All the long talks, laughter and cries they shared.

After a long moment, she exhales finally releasing all the emotions she’s bottled up over the 6 years she’s been in love with him. She closes her eyes, saying a silent goodbye in her mind. I love you, Liam. I’ll always love you. But it’s time to turn the page. It’s time for me to let go of you. I must focus on myself now, and what’s best for me. I am tired of hoping  and waiting for your love. Loving you has cost me more pain than I could imagine. Though, I’ll never regret it. You’ll always be my friend. Goodbye, Liam, my almost lover, my hopeless dream. She opens her eyes letting a tear stream down her face. She feels lighter as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders. She still feels pain in her chest, yet she feels sure and optimistic of the future, a future without him. She doesn’t know what that looks like because he has always been a constant presence in her life.

She heads back inside to get some much-needed rest before a long day tomorrow. The sun rises and fills her face with warmth. She wakes up to get ready for the day and head out to the city to get some cleaning supplies and food. She heads out in the garage, grinning widely at the sight of her trusty old car. She remembers Liam scolding her for getting this baby blue beat-up car. “Ryne, you realize you have enough money to actually buy a brand-new car, right?” It’s true her parents had left her a significant amount of money, being a doctor and dentist had its perks. But they also taught her how to value the simple things in life, not over indulging and being humble and grateful for what she had.

She opens the garage entrance and steps out into the warm, humid air of her hometown. Mm, fresh air. “Well, if it isn’t Ms. Catheryne Knightely,” an old man’s voice cried out. She opens her eyes to see Mr. Rhys standing across the way, tending to a plant. He hasn’t changed much. His hair once black hair has a little grey to it now and his wrinkles becoming more define, but over all he still looks great for his age. It must be where Liam gets it. “Hello, Mr. Rhys. How have you been?” she greets him politely. They exchange small talk before he inquires, “So, what’re you doing back home?” She thought for a moment on how to best answer his question. She didn’t want to recall the events that lead to her return, so she kept it simple. “I just needed some fresh air, you know, New York can get very busy, so I thought I’d go back home to rejuvenate.” He looks at her for a moment with narrow eyes, if he suspects the hidden truth he didn’t show it and just simply says, “well, it’s good to have you home.”

“Thank you, Mr. Rhys, I’ll see you around,” she starts to walk away before remembering something. “Um, Mr. Rhys, can I ask you a favor?” he looks over his shoulder and replies, “Anything, dear.” She hesitates before asking, “Is it alright if you don’t tell Liam that I’m here? It’s just… he’s really busy up there I don’t want him distracted.” He glances at her a bit of confusion in his eyes, but he agrees and tells her, “Sure thing, dear, I’ll make sure to let my wife know as well.”

She heads off for the local Wal-Mart for some cleaning supplies, then heads to the farmer’s market for some food to cook for the next few weeks. She is wandering stall by stall, when she hears a deep, somewhat rough voice say, “Look what the cat dragged in.” She whirls around coming face to face with an old friend.

Drake Walker, handsome as ever with his shaggy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. He dons his trademark look, a thin white shirt underneath an open button-down denim top paired with dirt-stained jeans and boots. He looks like he’s gain some muscle since the last time she saw him. He is tanner now, too. “Hello, Knightely, long time no see,” he smirks at her. She smiles back and retorts, “well, you look clean.”

He laughs at the statement. “So, how long are you in town for?” He genuinely asks. “I don’t know, a while, I guess.” She doesn’t specify because she really doesn’t know. I don’t know if I’ll even go back to New York in general. “Well then, what are you doing tonight?” he inquires, his voice tinged with curiosity. “I don’t know, Drake, I’m just spending all day cleaning and stuff.”

“Hmm, how about I come by and help you?” Her eyes widened slightly at the offer and says, “Oh, no, I…I can’t ask you to do that Drake.” “It wasn’t really a question, just phrased like one, Knightely,” he bluntly stated. She learned long ago not to argue with that man. He’s as stubborn as a brick wall. “Fine,” she grumbled. “Let me grab a couple more things then you can follow me back to the house.”

They arrive, and he helps her carry her groceries inside. She sees him look around, then she realized he’s never been inside her actual house. He’s been inside the Rhys’ home where she lived during high school. “It’s cozy,” he observes. “It will be once I get it cleaned and dusted. I never moved any of the stuff since my parents passed away,” she somberly explained.

They put away the food before getting to work on cleaning the old place. “Where do you want me, Knightely?” he looks at her. “I guess we can start with the living room. We need to move the furniture outside and sweep the floor and dust the everything and all,” they tackle the room slowly, helping each other carry the big furniture outside to air out and dust the cushions. After two long, hard hours of non-stop cleaning, the living room finally looks the way it used to be. It was like it was restored to its original glory with the dark hard wood floors shining making a beautiful contrast with the light beige painting of the wall and the furniture put back in place, the only thing missing was the warmth from the ghost of the family that used to fill the room.

She slumps down on the couch, catching her breath. Drake sits beside her, making sure to put a relative amount of space in between them. “So, you never told me if you were doing anything tonight?” he asked her. “Why do you want to know?” she quipped. “Look, Knightely, I was wondering if you’d like to join me for dinner at the ranch?” he says so quickly, pretty much combining the words together. “Drake, that’s not a good idea and you know it,” she shakes her head as she replies to his offer. “It’s not like that Knightely, what I’m offering is a friendly dinner, I swear, just a good old-fashioned steak dinner and an old bottle of whiskey. We don’t even have to talk if you don’t want to, so what’d ya say?” he explains. “You’re not gonna take a no for an answer, are you?” she smirks at him. “You know me so well, Knightely.”

He gets up to leave to get ready for their dinner in a couple of hours. She is too exhausted to mull over the offer, so she decides to take a shower and get some rest before she heads to Walker Farms. His family owned and ran a large farm. The way there is memory to her from the many times her and Liam biked there to hang out. She arrives to a picnic table set up outside their farmhouse. “Hey, the steak is almost done grilling, you’re welcome to start on the whiskey though,” he acknowledges her arrival.

She takes her place on one side of the picnic table. She wasn’t feeling up to drinking yet, so she sits there admiring the vast land of crops that is spread out There is a full moon tonight and it shines brightly around the stars that surrounds it. Her gazing is hindered when a plate of delicious steak is put in front of her. “Thanks,” she says graciously. “Hope you like it,” Drake says mindlessly. They eat in silence, enjoying the sound of the chirping of the crickets in the distant. This is why I like Drake, he doesn’t mind the silence like I do. Liam always had something to talk about, a problem, an opinion he wanted from me. I mean there were moments of silence, but they were rare.

She doesn’t know how long they sit there quietly and Drake only breaks the silence to offer her a glass of whiskey which she accepts. She nurses her first glass while he is already in his third cup. “Might wanna slow down there, champ?” He grumbles a response as he sets down his glass on the wooden table. He leans forward and crosses his arms on the table in front of him and asks, “So, what’re you really doing back home? And don’t give me the bullshit answer, Knightely, we’ve known each other a long time,” his serious tone surprises her. “I thought this was a friendly dinner and that we didn’t have to talk,” she reminds him of his offer. “Oh, well, I lied. I guess some things are still the same, stop ignoring my question,” he clearly says.

She pauses, gathering her thoughts, thankful that she only has one glass of whiskey in her system. Drake knows of her feelings for him, he has known a long time. One of the many things that made him a great person is that he just listens to her, he allowed her to voice out her frustrations without judgment. “He knows, Drake,” she says, willing her voice to maintain a neutral tone. “He knows and he…he didn’t…he doesn’t love me back, so I left, it was time,” she stares at the night sky, preventing her tears from escaping her eyes as she explains. Aren’t you done with the crying, Catheryne? You’ve been crying the last 2 weeks. Move on already.

Drake doesn’t say anything for a long time. “He’s a stupid man for letting you go, you know that right,” he looks at her. She is surprised to see nothing but earnestness in his eyes. “Well, it doesn’t really matter now, it’s in the past, nothing’s going to change,” saying it in a way to tell him to drop the subject. “So, what’s new with Drake Walker? Broken any hearts lately?” she changes the subject.

“Well, my dad gave me the ranch when I graduated so I’ve been busy learning the business and handling it on my own, leaving no time for my old habits. I’m a new man now, Knightely, more responsible, I think,” he says with a grin. She laughs loudly at his remark, “Alright, Drake, I’ll believe it when I see it. And that’s nice for your dad to finally trust you with something, especially something of this magnitude. How’s Savannah doing?”

They spend the next two hours catching up with how life has been for them, laughing and reminiscing. Weird. I feel so at ease when I’m around him. Like I could stay here for hours just talking to him. I wish Liam treated me this way. Why couldn’t he just love me back? Am I that repulsive? Am I not good enough? She shakes her head vigorously, stopping herself from delving back into the self-doubt, self-loathing phase that Liam causes her to go to. It’s time to let go, Catheryne. It’s time to let go of what could have been. I mean come on there’s a great guy sitting in front of you. Who knows, maybe he can mend your broken heart?

“Drake, thank you for this wonderful night, and forcing me to come out here, I had fun, really,” she honestly tells him. “You’re quite welcome, Knightely, you deserve it,” he replies. “Anyway, I should get going, it’s late and I still have a lot of work to do at the house in the next few weeks,” she begins to stand up and helps him clear the table. “Goodnight, Knightely, I’ll see you tomorrow,” waving to her as she walks back to her car. “Goodnight, Drake, see you tomorrow.”

The next few weeks pass by quickly with her and Drake cleaning up the rest of the house, providing her with some nice distraction. When he leaves in the afternoon, she ends up Face-Timing with Hana talking about their days, catching up with about what’s happening with her job at the event planning place she works at. She tries to inform her about Liam’s well-being, but she refuses to acknowledge him. She is making good progress with freeing herself and moving on, she doesn’t want to interrupt that. Hana pries her for details about Drake, as well, but she doesn’t say too much. They have been hanging out every day. He even offered her a job at the farm, which she accepted. Maxwell also entertains her sometimes, showing off new dance moves he’s learning from the videos he’s watching.

One Friday night, her and Drake were sitting on her couch watching a show when she hears a knock on the door. She looks utterly confused on who it could be on the other side of that wood panel, she doesn’t know anyone else in this neighborhood besides the Rhys’. She hesitantly gets up to answer it and was clearly surprised upon seeing who it was.

“Surrrrprrrissseee, little blossom,” Maxwell chirps before gathering her into the biggest bear hug, crushing her ribs. “Maxwell, can’t…breathe…” he puts her down and looks down at the floor before apologizing, “I’m sorry, little blossom, I just…I missed you so much!” She lets them into the foyer before giving Hana an endearing embrace, “This is such a lovely surprise, you guys, what made you decide to come down?” Hana and Maxwell look at each other before she answers her question, “We really wanted to see how you were doing and how you’ve been dealing with everything. And besides it’s also a nice vacation for us. We haven’t had one in a while, so we decided to fly down here getting the nearest hotel from you, so we can be close and hang out every day!”

“Nonsense, Hana, you guys are staying here. I have 2 other extra bedrooms not being used and you can stay in one of them. I’m not asking either,” she firmly demanded. “Awesome! We’re gonna party every night!” Maxwell says, jumping with excitement. His bubble of joy is popped with the sound of clearing throat. She totally forgot that Drake was still there. “Oh, I am so sorry,” she leads them into the living room where he stands in the middle of the space, “Hana, Maxwell, this is Drake. Drake, this is Hana and her boyfriend, Maxwell, they’re my friends from college.” He shakes Hana’s hands politely and extends one toward Maxwell’s, “No, dude, bring it here,” the utter shock on Drake’s face when Maxwell hugs him is priceless! He steps away quickly, shifting his foot awkwardly before saying, “Knightely, I’m gonna head out, looks like you have some catching up to do.” He sends them a lazy wave over his shoulder as he walks out the front door.

Hana and Maxwell stayed with her for two weeks. Their arrival sparked the beginning of her new chapter. They spend every night staying up late watching ridiculous movies or playing games like Truth or Dare. She finds Drake actually enjoying their company, even him and Maxwell are getting along quite nicely although he’ll never admit it. The warmness that was missing from her first day was finally there. This is her family. Her new family. She dreaded the day for them to finally go back to New York. Her and Drake gave them a ride to the airport. “I’m gonna miss you Hana. You’ve been more than a friend. You’ve been my sister. Thank you for offering to take care of my stuff up there. I find myself owing you more than I care to admit,” she tears up as she hugs her tightly. “Oh, honey, you don’t owe me anything,” Hana assures her, rubbing her back for comfort. She lets go and turns to her long-lost brother, “Oh, Maxwell, what am I gonna do without your random dance moments and rap battles? Whenever I feel sad, I’ll make sure to remember all the times you made me laugh,” she hugs her adopted sibling. “I’ll miss you little blossom, but don’t worry I’ll Face Time you every day!” he promises. She waves them off as they go through security. “You have nice friends, Knightely.” I know, I know. I’m gonna miss them so much.

The next month and a half flies by. She finds most of her days with Drake. He picks her up to go to work in the farm, then drops her off and hangs out at her house all night. They make dinners together and usually get wasted out on the porch or on the couch. 

One night after he left for home, she stays out on her porch thinking about her and Drake and their friendship. She knows that Drake has feelings for her. She is somewhat worried about what their relationship could lead into or be leading into. I don’t want to lead him on. I don’t think I’m ready for anything more than friends. Or what we are right now. He doesn’t deserve that. He doesn’t deserve the pain I’ve had for 6 years. She is so tired and confused that she gives up trying to sort out her knotted feelings

After a month of casual dinners and hang-outs, she offers him to accompany her down by the beach after they coming back from dinner at the farm, surprising herself at the request, “Drake, would you like to go with me to the beach?” He agrees, bewilderment in his face, “Sure.” Bringing him down there had more meaning than what lies in the surface. This place is private, meant for just her and…him. She’s never had anyone else, never shared her paradise with anyone but him. This was their place. Is it really ok to bring him here? I think you’re thinking too much into this. It’s just a place. It’s not like he’s going to know. He’s far away, living his own life and forgetting about me. What the hell, right? It’s time.

She takes his arm and leads him down by the shore. Once again, she’s grateful for his silent presence. They stand there, letting the water hit their feet, completely surrounded in comfortable silence, even the waves are calm tonight. He turns to her and blurts out, “I like you, Catheryne, I don’t mean just as friends. I have had feelings for you since high school, but Liam was always there, but now he isn’t, and I think that we have something really great going here.”

She is completely taken aback by his confession and before she could come up with a reply, he crosses the gap between them and crashes his lips against hers. He kisses her with fiery passion and what takes her by surprise is that she kisses him back, wrapping her hands around his neck and through his hair. They break apart after a long moment, both catching their breath from the passionate encounter.

What just happened? What did I just do? Drake…just kissed me and I kissed him back? Why did I do that? I don’t even know what I want yet. Am I ready for a relationship? A real relationship? It’d be nice not pining for someone I can’t have for once, but am I really over him? I like Drake, I do, he’s been by my side and treats me like a man should treat a woman. I definitely feel something when he’s around? Is that love? Or am I just using him to forget about him? Oh, Liam, even from far away you still somehow manage to cause me pain. Why can’t I stop thinking about you? “So, what do you say about giving us a try, Catheryne?” Drake asks with a hopeful voice, pulling her away momentarily from her piercing thoughts. She gives it some pondering. She looks at his eyes, meeting his coffee brown ones with her own.

“Drake, I…I… I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

[nerdmars]

Bruno Mars comes home this week, but the pop music megastar’s welcome came five months ago, when his first two announced shows each sold out in a couple of hours. A third was added and sold out just as quickly, and now the moment his fans waited months for is finally here.

For the fourth time, the Roosevelt grad born here as Peter Hernandez is back, bringing his mega-successful 24K Magic World Tour to Honolulu for a little homestand.

This visit is his biggest yet, befitting of his ever-growing profile, as he revives Aloha Stadium as a viable concert facility with a venue-record three sold-out shows, capping a 213-concert tour that spanned six continents, 38 countries and nearly two years.

About 110,000 fans will attend the three shows, reinforcing the pop-music superstar’s description of his home state in a 2011 web documentary.

“They got love, man,” Mars said then. “Hawaii … this place is the best.”

Hawaii earns the nickname “The Aloha State” in many ways. From the lei we give out on special occasions to the way we always make sure our potlucks have too much food rather than too little. From the aloha shirts many businessmen favor over three-piece suits to the way we welcome guests — both into our state and into our homes.

But some of our greatest aloha is expressed in the way we support our own.

24K MAGIC WORLD TOUR >> Where: Aloha Stadium >> When: 7 p.m., Nov. 8, 10 and 11 (doors open at 5:30 p.m.) >> Tickets: $49.50 and up, available at Ticketmaster.com >> Guest acts: Charlie Wilson (Nov. 8); The Green and Common Kings (Nov. 10 and 11) Every Little League team that makes it to the World Series — which only seems to happen every other year — gets the full weight of the state behind it. When Mililani’s Jasmine Trias and Maui’s Camile Velasco were “American Idol” finalists, the show became appointment television from Kalapana to Kekaha, and our telephone votes carried Trias to a third-place finish.

So when one of our own becomes perhaps the biggest pop star in the world? Well, it’s like we ourselves are along for the ride — singing along to every No. 1 song, gushing over every Super Bowl halftime show, celebrating every Grammy Award win.

And when that pop star comes home for a visit? We throw the biggest party we can.

The hoolaulea for Hawaii’s own Bruno Mars begins Thursday at Aloha Stadium. It lasts for three concerts across four nights, with more than 100,000 of his closest friends having already RSVP’d, “Hell yes.”

BRUNO BY THE NUMBERS >> 19: Top 40 singles >> 11 million: Albums sold >> 79 million: Singles sold >> 7: No. 1 singles as a performer >> 8: No. 1 singles as a songwriter >> 32: Weeks spent at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 >> 32: Countries where Mars has had a No. 1 single >> 11: Grammy Awards won >> 27: Grammy nominations >> 14.049 billion: Total YouTube views for Bruno Mars’ official music videos 24K MAGIC WORLD TOUR >> Miles traveled: 113,201 >> Days: 594 >> Shows: 213 >> Continents: 6 >> Countries: 38 >> States: 29 >> Cities: 123 >> Stops: 141

Take away something as simple as birthplace and Mars is still very much the kind of pop megastar Hawaii fans would love. Start with the fact that he’s half Filipino. So rare has it been for us to see Asians and Polynesians in the national limelight that we grab on for dear life when one — be it in music, movies or sports — rises to national or worldwide prominence, even if he’s not from Hawaii. A Steve Perry-less Journey would not sell out one concert here if it weren’t led by Arnel Pineda, a singer from the Philippines. In the world of sports, Ichiro Suzuki, Troy Polamalu and Jeremy Lin were local faves.

But the “half” in Mars’ ethnic makeup is as important as the “Filipino” to a state that has three times as many multiracial residents per capita as any other state, for we also pride ourselves on our multiculturalism. Sure, racial prejudice exists in Hawaii, but we’re still the state with the most ethnic variety, and Mars embodies that diversity — his father is most prominently Puerto Rican and Jewish and his late mother was Filipino, but he has flecks of other ethnicities laced in with those. For a state of “poi dogs,” one moving the most assuredly toward a true post-racial society, who better to identify with than a pop star who defies racial categorization?

And Mars is a big enough star that even if he wasn’t from Hawaii, the coming shows would be significant. That said, the fact that Mars is “one of us” certainly adds to the fervor surrounding his arrival on these shores this week. And let’s face it — he probably wouldn’t be coming here if he weren’t from here. Honolulu is on one of its greatest runs of concerts in many years, but while more and more stars are finding their way to our islands, the biggest are not visiting at their peak the way Mars is. We’re getting some great acts, but we’re not getting the Taylor Swifts, the Ed Sheerans, the Beyonces of contemporary pop music. Will that change? Mars’ three sellouts seem to have opened the door to more shows at the stadium, with the Eagles and Guns N’ Roses due in December, and there are rumblings that other stars could be on their way.

Whatever happens down the road, with Mars coming to town, Honolulu for once is included in a worldwide tour by an artist in the upper stratosphere. Mars’ 24K Magic Tour has sold well past 2 million tickets worldwide, with revenue surpassing $250 million. The album it was named after was the second-best seller of 2017. Overall, Mars has certified sales of more than 90 million records/downloads in the U.S. alone less than a decade after he put himself on the map with a smooth guest spot on rapper B.o.B.’s chart-topping “Nothin’ on You.”

All of which serves as a reminder of another reason Hawaii loves Bruno: He always remembers where he came from.

BACK TO WHERE IT ALL STARTED

ALBUMS

“Doo-Wops & Hooligans” (2010) >> Peak: No. 3 >> Sales: 5 million copies >> Singles: “Just the Way You Are” (No. 1 for 4 weeks, 9 million); “Grenade (No. 1 for 4 weeks; 7 million); “It Will Rain” (No. 3, 3 million); “The Lazy Song” (No. 4, 3 million)

“Unorthodox Jukebox” (2012) >> Peak: No. 1 >> Sales: 4 million copies >> Singles: “Locked Out of Heaven” (No. 1 for 6 weeks, 6 million); “When I Was Your Man” (No. 1 for 1 week, 6 million); “Treasure” (No. 5, 3 million)

“24K Magic” (2016) >> Peak: No. 2 >> Sales: 2 million copies >> Singles: “That’s What I Like” (No. 1 for 1 week, 7 million); “Finesse feat. Cardi B” (No. 3, 3 million); “24K Magic” (No. 4, 5 million)

Other singles >> “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars (2015, No. 1 for 14 weeks, 11 million) >> “Nothin’ on You” by B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars (2010, No. 1 for 2 weeks, 3 million) >> “Billionaire” by Travie McCoy featuring Bruno Mars (2010, No. 4, 2 million) >> “Lighters” by Bad Meets Evil featuring Bruno Mars (2011, No. 4, 2 million) >> “Young, Wild & Free” by Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa featuring Bruno Mars (2012, No. 7, 4 million)

Sources: Billboard Magazine, Recording Industry Association of America

The pop superstar born in Honolulu as Peter Hernandez has brought his show to town for the tours following all three of his albums, with each visit growing on pace with his skyrocketing career — from one sold-out show at Blaisdell Arena to three there and now three at Aloha Stadium, a venue with about four times the capacity of the arena. For his hometown fans, it was a long wait through a tour that has gone on for almost two years, but in the end he did not forget about us.

Mars’ backstory is well-known, and it both adds to the Bruno Mars mythology and makes him that much more likable.

He started his career as a 4-year-old Elvis impersonator in Waikiki and entertained at hotel shows throughout his youth. During a “60 Minutes” profile in November 2016, he also recollected, with no negativity or sense of self-pity, how he spent part of his childhood homeless, living with his father and brother in an abandoned shack in Manoa Valley.

Mars has credited his humble beginnings for his work ethic and his start in Waikiki for his broad appeal.

“Because of my upbringing performing for tourists, I had to entertain everyone. Not just black people, not just white people, not just Asian people, not just Latin people. I had to perform for anybody that came to Hawaii,” Mars told Rolling Stone for a November 2016 cover story. (Mars had not granted the Star-Advertiser an interview at press time.)

That requirement to entertain all comers has also resulted in a command of various musical styles. His latest album, 2016’s “24K Magic,” is pretty much a straight-up tribute to old-school R&B and funk, but his prior two albums showed off his versatility as a singer and his dexterity at crossing genres, with forays into belted balladry (the soaring yet somber “When I Was Your Man”); post-punk reggae-rock (the Police-­inspired “Locked Out of Heaven”); folksy, island-inflected pop whimsy (“The Lazy Song”); and even an amalgam of styles including Motown and surf rock (“Runaway Baby”).

Those songs and those sounds all come from Bruno. In an era in which so many pop stars lean on hitmakers such as producers Max Martin and Benny Blanco, Mars has had a hand in writing and producing every song he’s appeared on. He works with outside producers at times — most notably Mark Ronson, with whom he recorded the megahit “Uptown Funk” — but compared with his peers, such collaborations are minimal. More commonly, Mars and his production teams — previously The Smeezingtons and now Shampoo Press & Curl — work in the opposite direction, shepherding hits for such artists as Adele (“All I Ask”) and CeeLo Green (“Forget You”), the former earning him one of his 11 Grammys.

SHOWMAN BRINGS THE MAGIC

Mars takes that same hands-on approach with his dancing, that extra something-something that takes him from star musician and singer to maybe the best showman currently working, a worthy successor to great entertainers such as James Brown and Michael Jackson.

Phil Tayag, one of the founding members of the renowned hip-hop dance crew the Jabbawockeez, works with Mars on many of his routines — peep him in the video for “Finesse,” among others — but won’t go so far as to call himself Mars’ choreographer.

“He’s not one of those artists that just wants somebody to prepare something for him,” Tayag told MTV.com in January. “We build everything together. He is very involved in all aspects of what he does when it comes to music production and everything. So it’s the same with dancing and creating and choreographing — super involved. … I was thinking in the beginning that he was just one of these artists that wants to be fed this choreography and all that, but he’s not. He’s super involved in everything, so we create together. He is a choreographer as well.”

The choreography is one part of translating powerfully sung songs to a live platform. Mars sees the brotherhood — in one case literal — he shares with his eight-piece band, the Hooligans, as an even more essential part.

“I think the best part of our show is that you can tell that we’re all friends up there,” Mars said in a documentary short posted to his YouTube page, “and you go in thinking, like, ‘Oh, OK, I’m gonna go see this guy sing these love songs,’ but then you kinda get a treat, you get … one of my best friends, (sideman and writing partner) Philip Lawrence, and me and him are just having the time of our life. You got my brother (Eric Hernandez) on drums, and I think that’s where the magic happens.”

BRUNO TIMELINE

>> Oct. 8, 1985 — Born Peter Hernandez in Honolulu.

>> Feb. 14, 1990 — Graces the cover of Midweek at a mere 4 years old, drawing attention for his gig as an Elvis impersonator at the Esprit Nightclub at the Sheraton Waikiki. Mars goes on to appear in costume in the Aloha Bowl halftime show in December and in the Nicolas Cage film “Honeymoon in Vegas” two years later.

>> June 7, 2003 — Graduates from Roosevelt High School. Soon after, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music.

>> Feb. 8, 2009 — “Right Round” by Flo Rida (featuring an uncredited Kesha) becomes Mars’ first No. 1 hit as a songwriter (six other writers and the band Dead or Alive share credit).

>> May 1, 2010 — “Nothin’ on You,” a collaboration with rapper B.o.B., becomes Mars’ first No. 1 single as a performer. Five months later, “Just the Way You Are” becomes Mars’ first fully solo chart-topper.

June 15, 2010 — Network TV debut on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

>> Oct. 4, 2010 — Debut album “Doo-Wops & Hooligans” is released.

>> Dec. 19, 2010 — Plays a sold-out show at the Blaisdell Arena.

>> Feb. 13, 2011 — Wins first Grammy Award, for best male pop vocal performance for “Just the Way You Are”

>> October 20, 2012 — Hosts “Saturday Night Live” and serves as musical guest, one of only 25 performers ever to do double-duty. (He also appears as a musical guest only on Oct. 9, 2010, Nov. 22, 2014 and Oct. 15, 2016.)

>> March 16, 2013 — “Unorthodox Jukebox” becomes Mars’ first (and so far only) U.S. No. 1 album.

>> June 1, 2013 — Mother, Bernadette Bayot, dies of a brain aneurysm at age 55. Mars told Latina magazine in 2017, “She’s more than my music. If I could trade music to have her back, I would.”

>> Feb. 2, 2014 — Wows the world as the lead Super Bowl XLVIII halftime performer, with a guest appearance by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. (He returned two years later at Super Bowl L as a guest with Beyonce at the request of main act Coldplay.

>> April 18-21, 2014 — Plays three sold-out shows at Blaisdell Arena.

>> Jan. 17, 2015 — “Uptown Funk,” a collaboration with British producer Mark Ronson, spends the first of 14 weeks at No. 1, tied for third-most in Billboard history.

>> July 4, 2015 — Performs at the White House as part of President Barack Obama’s Independence Day celebration.

>> Nov. 20, 2016 — CBS news program “60 Minutes” airs a segment on Mars, his roots in Hawaii and his rise to fame.

>> Dec. 13, 2016 — Appears on the “Carpool Karaoke” segment of “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” About 50 segments have aired and Mars’ is among the most viewed on the internet.

>> Nov. 29, 2017 — His special, “Bruno Mars: 24K Magic Live at the Apollo,” airs on CBS.

>> Jan. 28, 2018 — Wins six Grammys, including the big three of album, record and song of the year, bringing his career total to 11 Grammys.

>> June 9 and 16 and Aug. 3, 2018 — Three shows at Aloha Stadium this month sell out within hours.

[hemmeinandcallmehome]

Man you guys need to hear about my psychiatrist, she's so incredibly weird uh

I walked into my appointment yesterday to Judy, lovely 50-some year old Judy with her bleach blond head of permed curls with two inches of roots showing. Today she was wearing a stunning combination of rhinestone cat eye glasses, blue mascara, a gold sequin shirt-dress and mask, print leggings with a pattern of pink kiss marks on black, holographic gold chunky combat boots, and long, tastefully done acrylic nails. I mentioned having frequent restless leg and she immediately, without asking me questions, suggested and then prescribed me klonopin for it. This was similar to the instance in which she asked me if I was ADHD, administered a five minute questionnaire, and immediately prescribed me adderall. Judy was wrong about neither of those things being exactly what I needed, but has listened to me intently and unerringly given me exactly what I needed, first try, and has never turned down a request for more pills or a higher dosage. I know very well I could ask her to raise my dosage and then prescribe me for more than one pill a day. I know I could sell them for a great deal of money. I will never do this.

See, Judy is the psychiatrist recommended by one of the two therapists in my relatively small hometown. I, being mentally ill, was friends with all of the other mentally ill kids in my town, in which a great deal of them went to Judy because Dr. Nelson recommended her. We all speak of her with reverence and a confused admiration. She's not just a middle aged white lady with a Justice-inspired fashion taste and an office entirely furnished in pink, but one of the only doctors who ever cared about us, didn't call us doctor shoppers or addicts, who said yes easily and somehow always heard exactly what you were trying to say and gave you exactly what you needed. To betray her trust, to be the thing you're always accused of but she had never made you out to be... I couldn't.

Shoutout to Judy, you're a real one

[mymoonlitwitchcraft]

A little late posting (a month or so?) this since I’ve been wrapped up in my move but wow did this spell work! This was one of my first times working with Hekate and man she is intense. Also I totally learned my lesson about using magic in desperation. Without further ado– how I sold my car!

My boyfriend and i needed to sell our second car to afford the deposit on our new house that we are renting together with some friends. I had posted listings at optimal times, updated pictures, everything I could and all the offers were coming back too low. We needed the money the NEXT WEEK so in desperation I turned to what I know.

☀🍃I was inspired to make a sun tea because its hot as fuck in the Texas summer and I happened to have a flowering tea and some cornflowers laying around. The actual contents of the tea still remain a mystery as I was gifted an unmarked tea bundle. Despite not knowing the herbal makeup, I had never felt inclined to use it until now so I figured the herbs would probably work fine for my intentions. Once the tea was prepped we wrapped it in my boyfriend’s work shirt since he has been working so hard to get us the money to move and he couldn’t be there for this part of the ritual. It also ensured the safety of the glass while we charged the tea in our other car.

🚗 We charged the tea in the car for several reasons. I really loved driving around my hometown because the scenery is amazing and as I was preparing to move. I wanted to go to this amazing one lane bridge river crossing one last time. I also love using the friction of the wheels on the ground as you drive to raise energy. The spot in my windshield allowed for sun to perfectly charge and brew the tea while we could watch its progress and finally since we were doing a spell for a car it seemed fitting. The stones we placed around the shirt corresponded to different intentions we had but they were eventually removed because they were getting too hot. Once we reached the river on our drive, I invoked Hekate and asked for her aid in selling the vehicle. We continued to charge the tea for a while longer until we picked up my boyfriend from work and the tea was brewed. Then we each drank a bit of the tea while focusing on our intentions.

🌙 After nightfall we went to our usual ritual spot which is an undeveloped road in the middle of nowhere with a clear view of the stars and a large power grid that intersects with the road. This crossroads is where I first connected with Hekate and where we preformed most ritual work so we set up our altar there and once again invoke Hekate while offering to her the rest of the tea. This is where I bit off more than I could chew. In my desperation I told Hekate that I would sacrifice anything to have my will be done…..

🌼 TRIGGER WARNING: animal death.

The first sacrifice was a fawn. Living where I did, hitting deer in the road isn’t uncommon. You slow down, you try to avoid them, but sometimes it can’t be avoided. This was one of those times but it also wasn’t. I can’t quite explain the feeling but both my boyfriend and I agreed when we got home that it didn’t feel like a normal event. The feeling in our souls when the neck snapped beneath us was intense and powerful and shook us both into a long silence. The association between fawns, innocence, purity and sacrifice were our first clue.

🌿🌬 The second sacrifice was the longest one because it took us a few days the heed the message. It began shortly after we talked about the fawn. We had gotten home and gone outside to smoke some weed. The weight of death was still hanging on us and my boyfriend was assuring me there was no way I could have avoided the little guy. I mentioned Hekate. I told him of how I said I would sacrifice anything and he agreed that this event felt purposeful. We came to peace with it, we smoked more. Eventually, my cat who was outside with us freaked out and in the middle of the chaos the bong fell, rolled off the deck and hit a rock. It was fine. Nothing was wrong with it. We breathed a sigh of relief at our good fortune. Another bowl later I pushed on it too hard and broke it myself. We now had no piece to smoke out of and were out of weed. All of our money was going toward the move and We had no way to get more. We should have stopped there but for the next few days people kept offering us weed and my car kept not selling. Eventually out luck ran out and almost exactly 48 hours without weed later we had someone interested in the car. We were going to drive it up and meet him and sell it. We were fueling up before the trip on the day of when the third sacrifice hit.

📚 The final sacrifice was a double whammy as the first two effected my boyfriend and I together. This sacrifice was in two parts and both events happened while we were sitting in the two cars side by side at a gas station before leaving to sell the car. On my boyfriend’s end of things, he honestly deserved it. He had been selling in game product from a phone game for real money. Ultimately he was caught and his accounts disbanded. This was, however, one of our main sources of income so we desperately needed the car now. At the same time, i recoeved a call. This move that we needed the car to sell to have the money for was ultimately so i could go back to school at the university i always wished i could have attended from the start. The call was the universoty letting me know that my credits wouldn’t transfer because my dumb old university has very specific course codes which don’t match any other school in the country!! Im half waythrough my junior year!! So i cant go to my dream school and officially have to graduate from my original school if i want any chance at grad school (its more complicated than that but the point remains). My final sacrifice was my dream of getting away from the cursed university that drove me to quit school in the forst place.

🌌🌙 All in all, i sold the car, i moved away, im back at my old college trying to make it work, and im living my best life. I’m much more careful about how i phrase my magical workings and i have a new and scary relationship with Hekate. ⭐🌈

[your-dietician]

Entertainment heat wave is coming this summer: What to watch for | Entertainment

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/entertainment/entertainment-heat-wave-is-coming-this-summer-what-to-watch-for-entertainment/

Entertainment heat wave is coming this summer: What to watch for | Entertainment

Remember 2019, when hot girl summer became a motto for living with confidence?

Well, with life getting closer to normal and vaccines nudging the pandemic into — fingers crossed — the rear-view mirror, 2021’s entertainment calendar for the next few months has a similar mood.

Call it a hot everything summer.

Blockbuster movies are returning to theaters. Live concerts are set to resume. Television and streaming shows are back to being a nice part of the mix, not a sole entertainment lifeline. And with travel heating up again, beach books can actually be read on a faraway beach.

To navigate this soaring heat index for fun, here is a list of recommendations that are sunny, breezy, steaming and sizzling. You get the idea.

Hot Jeff Daniels summer

Michigan’s resident acting great always keeps it real — remember his plaid dad shirt at February’s virtual Golden Globes? His latest project evokes his home state’s ethos of blue-collar endurance. “American Rust,” a nine-episode series premiering Sept. 12 on Showtime, stars Daniels as the police chief of a Rust-Belt Pennsylvania town who is feeling “ticked off and kind of jumpy” when a murder investigation tests his loyalties. If the preview looks a bit like HBO’s gritty “Mare of Easttown,” that’s a very good thing.

Hot goofy summer

In real life, metro Detroit native Tim Robinson could be a calm, collected guy. But as a sketch comedian, he’s made an art form out of wildly overreacting to life’s little embarrassments. “I Think You Should Leave,” his mini-masterpiece Netflix show, is back July 6 with a second season. Besides brilliantly making himself the butt of the jokes, Robinson always remembers his hometown friends. Let’s hope for repeat appearances by his pals like “Detroiters” co-star Sam Richardson and Troy’s own Oscar nominee, Steven Yeun.

Hot retro Motor City summer

The Detroit of the mid-1950s comes alive in director Steven Soderbergh’s “No Sudden Move,” available July 1 on HBO Max. The crime drama starring Don Cheadle, David Harbour, Benicio del Toro, Jon Hamm and more is about some low-level criminals given a simple assignment that draws them into a mystery that stretches to the heights of the automotive industry’s power structure. The film was shot last year in Detroit under strict COVID-19 safety measures, because Soderbergh, who filmed 1998’s “Out of Sight” here, would accept no other city as a substitute.

Hot road trip summer

Six years ago, a young waitress from Detroit created a viral Twitter thread about a bizarre journey she took to Florida with a new friend to do some freelance stripping. It was as compelling as a novel and as vivid as a movie. Cut to June 30 when “Zola” hits theaters starring Taylour Page and Riley Keough. It’s a comedy and a thriller that defies expectations and makes J-Lo’s “Hustlers” seem mild. Director Janicza Bravo and screenplay co-writer Jeremy O. Harris have created a raunchy adventure that still respects A’Ziah (Zola) King as a strong woman and original writing voice.

Hot action dad summer

Yes, Matt Damon is now old enough to play a Liam Neeson-esque outraged father out for justice. In “Stillwater,” Damon is a worker for an Oklahoma oil rig who must travel to France to try and clear his daughter (Abigail Breslin) of murder charges. Think “Taken,” if it were a serious drama directed and co-written by Tom McCarthy of “Spotlight” fame. It comes out July 30, just in time to make Damon’s fans from his “Good Will Hunting” days feel ancient.

Hot reboot summer

It has been almost a decade since “Gossip Girl” ended its run, which is way too long to be without fashion tips from impossibly beautiful rich kids. The newly reimagined “Gossip Girl” on HBO Max arrives July 8 with some notable improvements, like the inclusiveness of its cast of newcomers. But it’s bringing back the original narrator, Kristen Bell (who grew up in Huntington Woods), as the voice of the title character with the hidden identity.

Hot sweating summer

Sweating is a bodily function, but what exactly is it all about? “The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration,” out July 13, will explore the biology, history and marketing behind the moisture that makes us glow (to use a polite term). It covers everything from the role of stress in sweat to deodorant research that involves people who can sniff out, literally, the effectiveness of a product. Since the New York Times recommended the book as one of its 24 summer reads, you know that author Sarah Everts did sweat the details.

Hot Olympic star summer

The 2021 Tokyo Games, which run July 23-Aug. 8, will feature the world’s best gymnast, Simone Biles. She still enjoys competing, but quarantining gave her some time to improve her work-life balance, as she told Glamour for its June cover story (which comes with a dazzling photo spread of Biles). “Before I would only focus on the gym. But me being happy outside the gym is just as important as me being happy and doing well in the gym. Now it’s like everything’s coming together.” For the 24-year-old GOAT, the sky — or, maybe, gravity — is the limit.

Hot variety show summer

“What percentage of white women do you hate? And there is a right answer.” That was among the questions posed by internet sensation Ziwe to her first guest, Fran Lebowitz, on the current Showtime series that carries her name. Combining interviews, sketches and music, “Ziwe” deploys comedy to illuminate America’s awkwardness on issues of race and politics. The results are hilarious, so find out about Ziwe now before her next project arrives, a scam-themed comedy for Amazon called “The Nigerian Princess.”

Hot ice road summer

Take the driving skills of the reality series “Ice Road Truckers” and add one stoic dose of Liam Neeson and you’ve got “The Ice Road,” which premiered Friday on Hulu. The adventure flick involves a collapse in a diamond mine, the miners trapped inside and the man (Neeson) who’s willing to steer his ginormous rig over frozen water to attempt a rescue mission. Crank up the AC temporarily!

Hot kindness summer

There is a better way to be a human being, and he shares a name with an Apple TV+ series. “Ted Lasso,” the fish-out-of-water sitcom about an American football coach (Jason Sudeikis) who’s drafted to lead a British soccer team returns for a second season on July 23 —the date that Lasso fans will resume their efforts to be more empathetic and encouraging, just like Ted. Only there’s a new sports psychologist for AFC Richmond who seems impervious to Ted’s charms and home-baked biscuits. She doesn’t like Ted? We’re gobsmacked!

Hot podcast summer

When Michael Che guested on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” recently, his segment was interrupted repeatedly by Dave Chappelle, who kept plugging his “The Midnight Miracle” podcast available on Luminary. What Chappelle was selling is worth the listening. “The Midnight Miracle” brings him together with his co-hosts, Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey, and his famous friends from the comedy world and beyond for funny and though-provoking conversations interspersed with music. If you were a fly on the wall of Chappelle’s home, this is what you might hear.

Hot series finale summer

The last 10 episodes of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” start airing Aug. 12 on NBC, a too-short goodbye to one of the most underrated comedies in TV history. You can give all the glory to “The Office,” but the detectives of the Nine-Nine could go toe to toe with Dunder-Mifflin’s Scranton branch in terms of quirkiness, humanity and office romances and bromances. It’s hard to pick a favorite dynamic among the characters, but the irritated father-incorrigible son vibes between Captain Holt (Andre Braugher) and Det. Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) are sublime.

Hot musical comedy summer

Keegan-Michael Key and “Saturday Night Live’s” Cecily Strong lead a star-studded cast in “Schmigadoon!,” an AppleTV+ series premiering July 16 that magically transports a backpacking couple to a land of 1940s musicals. Until Broadway reopens in September, this parody love letter to the power of musical theater should do nicely. And the premiere episode’s song “Corn Pudding”? Catchy!

Hot nostalgia tour

Hall & Oates are criss-crossing the nation with enough 1980s hits —”Maneater,” “Kiss on My List,” “I Can’t Go for That,” “You Make My Dreams Come True,” etc. — to make you want to trade your mom jeans for spandex leggings. As if they weren’t enough top-40 goodness, their opening acts are Squeeze, still pouring a cup of “Black Coffee in Bed” all these years later, and K.T. Tunstall, whose “Suddenly I See” is immortalized as the anthem of “The Devil Wears Prada.”

Hot all-female, all-Muslim punk band summer

A British import now airing on the NBC streaming spinoff Peacock, “We Are Lady Parts” would be notable alone for defying stereotypes about Muslim women. But this sitcom about an all-female, all-Muslim aspiring rock band is a gem of both representation and laughs, thanks to characters like Amina, a shy doctoral candidate in microbiology whose complaints about a guy she calls “Bashir with the good beard” inspires a song.

Hot documentary summer

While Woodstock has become synonymous with epic music gatherings, the Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969 is finally about to get the pop-culture recognition it deserves. “Summer of Soul: (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” directed by the Roots drummer Questlove, will hit theaters and Hulu on July 2. It chronicles a mostly forgotten event that drew superstars like Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, the Fifth Dimension, Sly & the Family Stone and B.B. King. Using his vast knowledge of music, archival footage and interviews with performers and those who attended, Questlove has created a history lesson that’s also the best concert you’ve never seen before.

Hot Marvel summer

Once you’re all caught up with the summer streaming sensation “Loki” on Disney+, please turn your attention to two new films. “Black Widow,” the long-awaited star turn for Scarlett Johansson’s former KGB assassin Natasha Romanoff, makes its debut July 9. It’s followed by “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” set for Sept. 3 and starring Simu Liu (“Kim’s Convenience”) as the martial arts master of the title. All brought to you by the corporate global entertainment domination machine that is Marvel.

Hot biopic summer

“Respect,” starring Jennifer Hudson, arrives Aug. 13 at theaters, nearly three years to the day the world lost the Queen of Soul. Although Cynthia Erivo gave a fine performance earlier this year as Franklin in “Genius: Aretha” on the National Geographic network, the odds are good that Hudson, chosen by Franklin herself for the part, will be the definitive screen Aretha.

Hot fiction summer

Terry McMillan calls “The Other Black Girl” essential reading. Entertainment Weekly describes it as “‘The Devil Wears Prada’ meets ‘Get Out,’ with a little bit of ‘Black Mirror’ thrown in.” This debut novel by Zakiya Dalila Harris mixes office politics with suspense in its story of Nella Rogers, an editorial assistant who’s the only Black staffer at a noted publishing company. When Hazel, a new Black employee, is hired, things seem to be improving. But then Nella starts receiving ominous unsigned notes. Sounds like yet another reason to keep working from home.

Hot slow dance summer

After nearly four months on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, “Leave the Door Open” remains the song most likely to provoke a quiet storm on the dance floor. The hit single from Silk Sonic (aka Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak) may sound like a cover of a long-lost ‘70s classic R&B tune, but it’s a contemporary song that can make you forget the humidity long enough for “kissing, cuddling, rose petals in the bathtub, girl, lets jump in.”

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