#the danish stuff was the hardest to look up because there's not a lot of resources in english

[kura5]

What sources do you reference when writing characters based on Norse mythology? Do you use anything in particular, like Snorri Sturluson’s Poetic Edda, or do you just look it up online and pick what fits into Kura5’s narrative?

For Kura5 specifically, it's the latter: there's only one character that is named after a character from the Poetic Edda/Norse Mythology.

Since the fangame project is intended to be a "lunar knights parallel timeline au" I felt like I was allowed to pull from different mythologies/motifs (egyptian, vampire lore, germanic folklore, danish folkore, norse, kaijin stuff, etc)

Some of the creatures were pre-meditated (wadjet), others I just looked up online for "is there a creature that's like X" and running really, really far with it.

But for general boktai fanfiction stuff honestly you can be as surface level/as deep as you want. (For example, shinbok's guidebook says that ratatosk has a white crow motif, but in the mythology he's a squirrel)

[thegracelessfaceless]

If you are still doing matchups,, I'd be interested in a creepypasta one. I'm coming over from Elise blog.

So my name is Shay, I go by Whiskey because it's a preference in liquor on my end. I go by they/them pronouns, AFAB and I'm bi and omniromantic, I do have an mild preference for men or masc aligned people. I'm a Libra sun, Virgo moon and Aquarius rising. I'm also introvert (INFJ-A) and I'm constantly sleeply. I do have C-PSTD, Bipolar II and GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder).

I'm Caucasian/White and I stand at 5'9. I have celtic and Danish heritage, My family where vikings. I'm really tall and legs double the size of my torso, as in my thighs are as big as my torso in length, same with my calves. I call myself spider legs because of that. I have this natural like wolf cut going on that is this dark green with my roots be my natural dark chocolate brown hair. My eyes are hazel with gold flecks that shift in color which I found out is normal for people with hazel eyes. I paint my nails black a lot because I find the color pleasing. My build wise is like a rectangle like shape with broad shoulders. I'm pretty strong and I'm proud of my strength. I'm currently starting to get into shape and lose weight so I have fit shape but not like over for. Just the right amount of fat over my muscles. I have a lot of stretch marks,, mostly around my waist and my biceps. I call them my stripes or lighting marks. I have plans to get snake bite piercings and wear like the ring ones in them. I'm getting an tattoo soon that is like this and then I want a burning match tattoo on my color bone. My ears are piercing and I like wearing fake gauges, spirals and then the ratings that have the dangly stuff and cuffs with them. I also wear like those stereotypical hot topic chokers. I wear a lot of long sleeves and skinny jeans, I do like ripped skinny jeans. I also love flannels and black boots like doc martins or converse.

I think you can assume by the statement of me liking whiskey I am the rebellious sort which is true. I have drank a bit and tried weed, I don't do it anymore tho.I have been told if people don't know me and see me from afar I'm intimidating to approach. Even being spooky and intimidating, I promise I'm just a big softie. I usually assume the mom friend of the group with my friends. I always worry about them and make sure they take care of themselves. Sometimes I do it so much I forget to take care of myself. I'm really gentle and compassionate, along with being extremely empathetic. I can be stubborn and bit judgemental at times, mostly working off first impressions myself when getting to know each other. I have an hard time being insertive and putting my foot down with my boundaries, scared to lose people even if the hurt me. I'm an introvert through and through, liking to watch from the back and observe the way things go on around me. I do my best to be an optimist because I can't see the point in see everything wrong in this world, it helps me to see the good. I love going on adventures with my close friends and love being a chaotic bastard with them. My dnd alignment is chaotic neutral and I'm Hufflepuff. I do live by the saying do no harm but take no shit. But I won't hesitate to fight someone for the right causes.

I do always constantly look like I am going to funeral of some sort because I own nothing but black. The color makes me feel really comfortable but it's not my favorite color. My favorite color is green but I like sage green, forest green, mossy green, etc. The earthy greens are my favorites. I have a love for the forest and woodlands, finding a sense of home in the woods. I do love archery and something I'm definitely going to be picking up along with playing the drums. I also smoke herbal cigarettes as well as alternative to smoking.

I often get called a cryptid and at this point, I am just one. Cryptidcore, Midwest Gothic, and Pacific Northwest Gothic are my favorite aesthetics. I have a huge love for cryptozoology (the study of cryptids), parapsychology (the psychic phenomena and other paranormal claims), original creepypasta stories and to be honest anything like spooky and creepy. I want to be a mortician and I'm attending school for that. I also really love the dark, especially if I have some good music blasting through my earbuds. I am a sucker for long road trips and seeing things, filling the adventure heart I have. My favorite animals are coyotes and I also like horses. I like to write a lot as well.

Okay, first off, you sound so cool?! Like we should talk more 😃.

I match you with...

Hₑᄂₑ𝚗 ₒ𝚝ᵢ𝘴/ Bᄂₒₒ𝚍y Pₐᵢ𝚗𝚝ₑᵣ

(Not my art, unknown artist. Contact me with credit info!)

Helen gets the they/them pronouns. For the longest, the thought he was a weird girl. Then he had body dysphoria for a long time, and then he came to terms with his identity.

Helen is a Virgo to your Libra. Virgos admire Libra's clear mindedness and their drive for balance in all areas.

However, Virgos can have some trust issues. Just be there and patient with Helen. He'll get over those hurdles eventually.

Helen gets being an introvert, being one himself. He never had many friends growing up, his only close one being killed by bullies who then tried to blame it on him. Helen would be perfectly content if you two were the last people on Earth.

Helen loves how you look, like you're just 'classical' beautiful? He loves painting your eyes, trying to get that perfect mix of green and gold.

He recites Robert Frost to you because your eyes remind him of this poem:

"Nature's first green is gold/ Her hardest hue to hold/ Her early leaf's a-flower;/ but only so an hour./ Then leaf subsides to leaf/ So Eden sank to grief/ So dawn goes down to day/ Nothing gold can stay"- Robert Frost "Nothing Gold Can Stay"

Helen would enjoy painting your nails for you, maybe even painting little designs on them if you'd like

Helen would be so supportive in your fitness journey. He just doesn't want you to feel like you have to lose weight to please him or anyone else. He thinks you're perfect just how you are, just like he'd think you're perfect 50 pounds overweight or 50 pounds underweight.

Helen loves your stripes. Whenever you feel self conscious about them, he reminds you that the things that make a person attractive are groupings of flaws that work well with each other to make a beautiful face

OR

He tells you how the Chinese fill in cracked china and pottery with molten gold because the cracks make the piece more beautiful since it has more character.

Helen would love to design tattoos for you

He thinks it's sweet that you're Mom Friend™, but he's not going to let you drive yourself into the ground taking care of everyone else. So, now, you can't lift a finger around Helen. He waits on you hand and foot

He'll help you learn to be more assertive and stand up for yourself and what you believe in. He'll help you set boundaries and limits and he'll help you enforce them. One of his more important lessons is that you have no room in your life for people who hurt you, use you, or make you miserable.

Anyone that hurts you will be subjected to The Wrath of Helen Otis™

I feel like Helen wasn't a huge outside person before meeting you.

But between pictures on your camera roll of you and your friends' adventures and just listening to the way you speak about the Great Outdoors? He's intrigued as hell now and goes on a nature walk with you on an easy forest mountain trail, nothing too challenging or taxing.

And suddenly he just understood everything you'd been talking about.

A special activity he likes to do just the two of you is this: you think of and describe to him a cryptid and he paints it following your description. Then he listens to any stories or folklore for that cryptid.

Its normally exactly the way you pictured it in your head (it's actually pretty uncanny).

Thinks it's cool that you're going to mortician's school. He's always been interested in medicine, but can't tolerate all the patients. But a mortician... They do medical things and have the quietest patient that are just so agreeable! What a genius career path (seriously, I'm on a wait list for an interview with the coroners office (Low turnover rates 😑)

Helen also likes playing in paint worn you (but I'm thinking that deserves a whole post of its own)

Helen also likes to paint while you write (sometimes he paints you writing about him painting). Its beautiful, really. Just two people who love each other enjoying their hobbies together in companionable silence 😍

[thevagueambition]

Hi, I'm a Danish learner and pretty new follower! I actually followed because I'm from the US and I just got a job that will place me in Denmark for a year and a half, so I've been looking for any info I can get. I've been using Duolingo to learn Danish, but that's pretty much it. Do you have any general advice about the language or moving to Denmark in general?

Hi there!

I’m sure a lot of people will just speak English to you, to be honest, particularly if you’re going to Copenhagen. Which doesn’t negate the advantages of learning some Danish, particularly in terms of social inclusion, but it does mean that there are certain problems you’re unlikely to run into.

One issue I have heard many foreign students comment on, though, is 1) how bad Danes are at understanding accented Danish 2) how quick we are to just switch over to English, robbing them of the opportunity to practice.

In terms of Danish itself, the hardest part is likely going to be pronunciation. Danish has a lot of distinctions between vowel sounds that can be hard for non-natives to distinguish between (and this is, in my estimation, a large part of why we can be so bad at understanding accented Danish).

Also, the written language and the spoken language aren’t really congruent with each other, in the sense that the way a word is spelled doesn’t go that long to tell you how it’s pronounced. This was actually something I personally struggled with when I was learning to read and write as a child. An example is the word for “of course”:

Selvfølgelig (selv - følge - lig) which is generally pronounced something like “sel - fø - li” (sεlˈfølli) and in chat messages is often abbreviated to “self”

It is actually rather common for a Dane to look at how a word is spelled in Norwegian and be like “wait why aren’t we spelling it that way? that makes much more sense!” but the reason for this is differences in priority from the language authorities. In Denmark, the priority is retaining the ability to read older texts and thus the spellings of today have only few differences from those of a century ago, while Norwegian has chosen to modernise (partially also to distinguish itself from Danish upon their independence).

Anyway, that’s all a tangent!

What has worked for me in getting better at a language is listening to music from that language while reading the lyrics alongside a translation, as well as watching media in that language. Due to what I’ve laid out above, I think this makes particular sense for Danish, since relying on the written language probably isn’t going to help you that much in understanding the spoken language.

I have some stuff in my translation tag that you could take a look at.

If you have Netflix, the Danish political drama Borgen was just added. I’m sure there are some Danish crime dramas up there as well, I just don’t like Danish crime dramas, so I can’t make recs there, lol. If you want a Danish gay movie with Mads Mikkelsen that is, cw, very biphobic, I can give you the link in a pm.

Oh also, in terms of pronouns, the equivalent of English they/them is “de/dem” which is what the Danish non-binary people I know use. It’s not as common and people annoyed by the grammar have much more of a leg to stand on than in English, since there isn’t a history of using it in a singular sense outside of the sense of formal you (which is capitalised in the written language and considered distinct) but again, I do know several people who use it.

Anyway, if you have any specific questions, lmk~

[aloftmelevar]

we need to talk about prince ivandoe

geez when was the last time i posted a full-fledged blog post myself on here

but anyways if no one is gonna get the word out then i am.

have you heard of the real 57th cartoon network original?

so basically, there's a cartoon network studio in europe appropriately named "cartoon network studios europe"

or if you wanna go the fancy route you can say "𝓰𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽 𝓶𝓪𝓻𝓵𝓫𝓸𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓭𝓾𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼" but according to the brits that apparently have 9 billion iq we are dumb and we have to have direct terms for things and watered down tomodachi life lyrics and our own measurement system, so we call it by its direct name, therefore the rest of the world has to call it by its direct name (disclaimer: thehanbaniverse knows this isn't why we call it CNSE) (well i mean GM is the street turner EMEA is on but) (why they gotta name the studio that) (if it aint on great marlborough street) (🤔🤔🤔)

it used to be called "cartoon network development studio europe" because it was gonna only produce pilots that could be turned into UK (or other parts of europe) originals. and yeah they produced pilots

that's when some dude named,,,i dunno,,,,benjam in...? bo koo leigh....?? came and made a pilot for some underground alternative show called....y'all probably haven't heard of it.....the ama zing world of a gum ball,,, ooo....

so CNSE picked it up and WOOO HOOO CN UK HAS THEIR OWN BABY (THAT THEY AIR LIKE 200 TIMES A WEEK YAY EUROPEAN TV LAWS)

(AND IT DID NOT AIR IN MAY 2008 YOU NUMBSKULLS THAT'S LIKE SAYING ADVENTURE TIME PREMIERED IN 2007 OR MAO MAO PREMIERED IN 2014 GOOGLE GNOMED YOU ONCE AGAIN)

fun fact: pinky malinky was originally gonna be The Second British Cartoon Network Show but nickelodeon intervened and grabbed the show right out of their hands and put that junt on netflix. i would've loved to make a parody weezer cover with gumball, ivandoe, pinky, and eliott but like,,,,pinky malinky,,,is now,,,the first british nicktoon,,,,oo,,maybe he can "join" weezer,,,original meme idea,,,,dont steal,,,

so CN UK caressed their baby for 8 years til they dropped it on the head and ran away from it before they could give it a good conclusion

and 2 years before that, CNSE put out a teaser for a new,,,,DANISH show?????

yeah that's right, SCANDINAVIA GANG WAS ABOUT TO TAKE OVER HOO-UGH

and this new show was called The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe (probably the longest name for a CN original ever, correct me if i'm wrong)

and by "show", i mean 10 3 Minute Shorts That Are Unlockable By Playing An Online Game That They Took Off Their Site And Is Pretty Much Unaccessible From Anywhere Not In EMEA Therefore A Lot Of People Don't Know This Show Exists And It Pisses Me Off™.

yeah :(

this is what it looks like

now before you whip out your keyboards and get ready to furiously type "GUMBALL RIPOFF",,,,please listen to what i said earlier,,,,same studio,,,,and the animators from the show made this,,,,this isn't bocquelet's baby but it's got the same animators

and like...this show was slept on the HARDEST of any other CN show and was INSANELY underappreciated. this beats sheep in the big city levels of overlooked. this is a whole new league.

like...y'all flat out forgot it existed. big time. like yeah y'all might've watched that one video vailskibum made about it but then y'all walked right off. this show has a smaller fandom than lyon mississippi and that is a whole other level of small. in fact, there's pretty much no fandom, yeah, literally no fandom. at all.

the only way i could watch it was through uploads on dailymotion (and very recently this dude on youtube has every episode uploaded atm but i can't see that lasting before 2020). no legal way i could watch the show because it also didn't come to the USA and i am so pissed about that :(

the most further west the show went was brazil and latin america in july 2018 but no new countries since...did they think americans couldn't handle how authentically scandinavian it was??? did they think we were too stupid to differentiate it from gumball??? i swear we've been screwed over time and time and time and time again by companies becuase they thought we were too stupid for more mind challenging and different stuff.

i mean look at the ico box art for US vs. EU and japan. yikes.

i'm also crazy for these backgrounds.

the thing that both CNSE shows have most in common is the mixed media animation style. however, while TAWOG just took pictures and used those as references for 3d rendered backgrounds, ivandoe literally had WHOLE SETS built specifically for certain episodes, with real tree bark used for trees and just- AAGH ITS SO BEAUTIFUL. i could understand why it's not a full series because the backgrounds themselves had so much work put into them. if they picked it up for a full series then they might've had to take the TAWOG route and make the backgrounds 3D.

after the first 10 episodes came out and europe had a huge ivandoe party in the beginning of 2018, it's as if the show just fizzled out of existence. no news, no nothing. to my knowledge, the only thing CNSE is working on at the moment is eliott from earth. but i would love to see some new ivandoe related-content, that could possibly come to the US and expand the fandom a little. even though i love TAWOG much more, i really feel like i'm the only one still thinking about this show and wishing more people talked about it. i've heard that the show just now in 2019 came to the philippines, so it still has potential to come over here (lmao just watch us be like the last country in the world for ivandoe to get to). this show had so much potential...

i'm also gonna post this on other outlets so people can see it. i don't want this show to forever be overlooked like this.

thank you for coming to my ted talk

[uomo-accattivante]

I dug up this very interesting old Q&A session Rian Johnson did with Alex Garland about Ex Machina back on April 18, 2015, at The Arclight in Los Angeles. It was cool hearing Garland briefly talk about Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson right before Johnson started working with both of them on Star Wars: The Last Jedi. And after hearing this Q&A, I can totally see why Garland wanted to retain Scott Rudin as his producer when he decided to make Annihilation. 

The main points they covered in the Q&A are encapsulated below:

Writing For A Low Budget Sci-Fi Movie

Rian Johnson: What was the origin of this in terms of the writing?

Alex Garland: When I was trying to describe what this film would be I used to call it a sci-fi psychological thriller and “Sleuth” was a film I did think about because of the way the allegiances shift. In terms of the genesis, it was really just reading over years about AI and some of the problems of mind and consciousness… I’ve now been working in film for around about 15 years and inevitably some of the processes of film, you learn them in sort of a helpless way. And if there’s something that requires a lot of creative latitude as this did, probably unconsciously, I deliberately wrote something that I knew we could make cheaply. Limited locations, limited cost…

RJ: At the same time, it doesn’t have that thing [where] it feels like they compromised in order to make a cheap movie here, it looks gorgeous. I was actually gonna ask you some more mundane questions about where you shot it, in terms of the house, how much of that was built, whether there was found locations in terms of the exteriors…

AG: It was four weeks in Pinewood, and two weeks on location. [For] all the things you can do to save money, the best thing you can do is have a really short principal photography period. So, it was a six week shoot and then there was a backward element of it which is you need to find a location and be able to build to it. The location was in Norway, and you know it’s funny the way imagery in film works. Iceland was quickly out of the question because it’s been mined by cinema so much and you start to think, “I know that glacier.”

Shooting In Norway

AG: We ended up finding Norway and what was great about it, Norway’s quite an interesting country because they’re the only country in the world that did the right thing when they discovered oil which was to nationalize it and then keep all the money and spend it on the country itself. So it’s this amazingly affluent country, which makes it very expensive to shoot in. But you get weird modernist architecture in the middle of nowhere and the landscape is not too familiar to us. It’s semi-familiar because there’s skies and mountains and glaciers and rivers, but we’re not too steeped in it so Norway’s perfect. [We] found a beautiful house and a hotel.

RJ: What was the house itself? Was it an empty house? Was it somebody’s house?

AG: It was a house that this guy had been building and nearly finished so he didn’t mind a film crew turning up. So, for example, the living room where these two guys talk at times which has this strange rock wall kind of intruding into the room, that’s the living room of that guy’s house. These beautiful cinema-screen-shaped windows that have these panoramic views is an eco hotel which is about 15 minutes away. And what we would do is build sets like Nathan’s bedroom and study with the glass wall, where we brought that rock wall into Pinewood and tried to tie it together loosely.

RJ: Because it was such a quick shoot, obviously exactly the things that make it cheap also make it very intensive in terms of it’s the performances that carry this movie all the way through to a large extent. Did you have rehearsal time with the actors?

AG: Yeah that was crucial. We had, actually, a lot of discussions and then we had rehearsals because there wasn’t going to be time to talk about motivation, for example, on set. And the process of shooting it was very intense and complicated because the film has to have a kind of zen vibe about it and the second you’re moving the camera, it’s like, in come the guys chucking down boards to move the dolly and a real frenzy of activity and then back to this quiet mode. And you’re absolutely right, that leans hardest of all on the actors. Pretty hard for the camera crew, but particularly hard for the actors. And they had to keep a kind of good close track of what they were doing the whole time, but they totally nailed it.

Casting Alicia Vikander And Domhnall Gleeson

RJ: So, uh, Oscar [Isaac] and Domhnall I know… somebody should put them in a big movie. [laughs] But actually, the big revelation for me was Alicia [Vikander]. I’m sure she’s been in other stuff, but this is the first thing I’ve seen of her. Talk to me about where you saw and discovered her.

AG: She was in a Danish film called “A Royal Affair” and she was, I’m guessing, like 20 or 21 and acting opposite the incredibly charismatic, powerful actorMads Mikkelsen and that thing happens that we all recognize, it’s not a secret. It’s not like you work in the film industry to recognize good acting. I’ve literally never met anyone who thought Philip Seymour Hoffman wasn’t a great actor. So you know it when you see it and your eye would just track what she was doing and register how confident and complex her performance was. And that’s also true of Oscar, the slightly odd one out was Domnhall because this is the third film we worked on together and so that was different, I just sent him the script and said, “Will you do it?”

RJ: Was he the first one on board?

AG: Yeah.

RJ: Do you write actually seeing actors in your head?

AG: Yeah I do, and that could be complicated. It’s a bit like temp score when you’re cutting because you can get temp-itis, you know, fall in love with a bit of temp score and find that you keep trying to nudge the composer towards copying it. So, yes I do, but I also try to be self-aware and then to reject it later, but Domhnall was in my mind because it’s a funny part… It’s not something that all male actors want to do, in a way, to be the recipient, to be on the receiving end so much and I just knew that he could do it.

RJ: At the same time, it’s also a part that, to his credit, it’s deceptive… he’s doing so much in it with so little and he’s so good at communicating, largely reacting to the world around him, guiding the viewer through the story.

AG: And not telegraphing what’s actually going on. Because it can be hard for everybody to avoid the nudges and winks, like “I’m actually more powerful in this scene than you think I am.” But he was incredibly disciplined about that.

Designing Ava

AG: With Ava, it was a three step process, with a step back thing which is this is a post-iPhone world. We’re used to tech being beautifully designed essentially. Initially, it was to do with what she didn’t look like. C-3PO, for example, was a problem. Gold metal immediately put C-3PO in mind. White plastic put Chris Cunningham’s Bjork video [for “All Is Full Of Love” in mind] which was also riffed on by “I Robot.” [And] even if people haven’t seen “Metropolis,” [Maria] is an iconic image that it casts an incredibly long shadow. So, when she first appears you don’t want to initially be thinking of another film.

Second thing, she had to unambiguously be a machine so that it didn’t give wise in the narrative the possibility that it might be a young woman wearing a robot suit. So, missing areas of her body dealt with that. More important than that, the breakthrough aspect was this mesh that follows the contours of Alicia Vikander’s body, which meant that you immediately see her as a machine and then you immediately start to move away from that because as the light captures it a bit like a spiderweb, invisible in some circumstances, visible in others… you get this glancing, ephemeral sense of a young woman.

Misdirecting the Audience

RJ: As a filmmaker, I’m curious in terms of the editing, when you got into the cutting room was there anything that surprised you that you had to adjust in terms of where the audience was keeping up with it, or what they were thinking during different parts of it?

AG: I think, in the edit, of this and other projects, from my point of view, you have to run on instinct because you’re so steeped in it. At least in my experience, it’s very hard to be precise and rational about it. Wood for the trees, essentially. But there were some things I felt pretty sure of, and one thing was that we could nudge the audience or sections of the audience. Some people just want a story and will just accept whatever comes and others, their antennae are up and they are hunting and they want to get ahead of it in some way. And I felt pretty sure that there were two key misdirections we could do that would take attention away from the other stuff we wanted to keep more covert. But one of them was that audiences, you can assume literacy in film audiences. They will have seen “Blade Runner,” for example. And so they will be thinking “I know what’s going on”—

RJ: Domhnall is a robot.

AG: Right, exactly, so there are symmetrical scars on his back. And there’s a slightly implausible backstory.

RJ: Which you only reveal very slightly in the thing so even as an audience member you’re thinking, “How clever, I just caught that.”

AG: Exactly, yeah. So one is that train of thought that then leads to him investigating himself, in a way that an audience might have investigated him as well. And the other was the Japanese-appearing robot, Kyoko, that of course also people will know quite quickly that this is a machine. And in intention, I hoped, the antennae twitching audience will relax and think “oh I get this.” I think the ideal state is to just let the thing happen. You know, I sometimes think the best way to see a film — no, I know — no trailer, no information. Certainly, that for me, that’s my favorite way. So, in a way, the edit was partly about using those misdirections, I guess.

RJ: No, I think it all works to its benefit. And like I said, ultimately, it does that magic trick that my favorite movies all do, which is, it does exactly what it told you it was going to do and you’re surprised by it by the end.

Also, here is a video of the Q&A session above if you’re interested in watching it: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/83375013-132.html

[hotsterfield]

Christmas - Tom Holland

Word count: 2559

Masterlist | Promptlist

A/N: Someone requested this, and it was what i had in mind for my Christmas special, so i decided to do it!

It is so heavily based on my family traditions. So to the Danes, i’m really sorry if i messed up on some of it, but I’m only an expert on my own traditions! This is kind of how i imagine it would be like, to bring a not danish guy home for Christmas! So Merry Christmas and happy New year!

“Welcome home love” You mum said as she opened the door for you and Tom. She quickly pulled you into a hug, before looking at Tom. “And Tom. It’s great to have you here”

“It’s great to be here, Mrs l/n” Tom said politely, as he also got pulled into a hug.

“Come on in! We’re about to start decorating the Christmas tree. We’ve been waiting for you two to show up” You mum hurried you into the living room, where you found your siblings. You greeted them, and Tom kept in the background. He had met your parents, but never your siblings. He wanted to make a good impression.

“So, this is the lover boy, huh? Thomas, right?” You sister greeted him, with a smug smile. If you knew your siblings right, they were going to scare him, just like you had done so many times before with your siblings’ friends.

“Yeah. And Tom is fine. I usually just use Tom. It’s a pleasure to meet you” Tom said, smiling kindly.

“So… Tom. You are dating out baby sister. I’m just pointing out, that the sentence for murder in Denmark, isn’t that long, so if you don’t take care of her, I will take care of you Your brother said dead serious, causing you to glare at him. “But welcome to the family!” Your brother said happily, as he pulled a confused Tom into a hug.

“I am. And I will. She’s the most amazing girl I’ve ever met, so I’m not going to risk losing her. Even if it means spending Christmas in Denmark” Tom answered happily, as he gave your blushing cheek a kiss.

“Before the two of you get all lovey dovely, we need to decorate the tree. Mom is making… Risengrød” Your sister commented, as she looked at Tom. “Eh, rice porridge. Pudding? Does it even have a translation?”

“I don’t think so? I think it’s pretty Danish” You said, uncertain. “It’s like a porridge, made of rice. You boil the rice in milk, and then we eat it with butter and cinnamon with sugar. We also pour this fruity drink in the bowl, when we eat it” You tried to explain to Tom, but you realised how crazy it must’ve sounded to him.

“So, is that the dessert?” Tom asked with frowned eyebrows.

“Kinda. But in our family, we eat it for dinner, on the 23rd. It’s a tradition. Just like how the air balloon is the first thing to go on the tree!” You said, grabbing the pixy in an air balloon, and putting it on the tree. It was beautifully embedded with small glass pearls.

“Is that one more special than the others?” Tom asked, as he started taking some of the other items up from the box.

“Yeah. When our parents first got this house, and they spent their first Christmas here, they didn’t have any stuff for the tree. They made everything from paper, so it was just all white. The air balloon was the first thing they got, and the first coloured thing on the tree” You explained, as you all started decorating the tree. It didn’t take long before the tree was decorated, and you stepped back as your sister put the last ornament on it.

“And then we just need the star” She said, as she gave the star to your brother. He was the tallest in the family, so he always got to put the star on the top.

“Don’t we need to turn it on as well?” Tom asked, as your brother placed the star safely on the top.

“No. We turn it on tomorrow, after dinner” You sister said, as your dad started setting the table.

“So. Tom. What do you do? What do you study?” Your dad asked. Your parents had only met Tom a couple of times, and only very briefly. You had never really told them about the fact the he was an actor, but you had hinted it a lot of times. You had even been on a couple of gossip magazines.  

“I am an actor, so I don’t study anything” Tom answered, as he started helping your dad setting the table, like the gentleman he is.

“Yeah dad. Y/n’s boyfriend is famous. How did you think she met all of those big actors? You don’t just run into Robert Downey Junior or Chris Hemsworth in London” Your sister looked at your dad surprised.

“So, you’re a successful actor then? In movies? Any movies I know of?” Your dad kept asking, making you roll your eyes.

“He plays Spider-Man. I sent you a picture of him. In his spider suit. I’ve sent you a picture, of him. In a magazine. In his spider suit!” You said with a laugh.

“I thought he just had a really good costume! Spider-Man is your favourite hero, so I thought he just had a really good costume, because you like it. But of course. If anyone is going to date their childhood crush, it has to be you” Your dad smiled, as your mom came in with the risengrød.

“Y/n, why didn’t you tell us Tom is an actor? And a big one too!” Your mother said, as everyone took their seats.

“Because you would judge him based on that. And you would interrogate him with whatever stuff google tells you! Besides, we’ve watched two of his movies. You even pointed out how one of the actors looked like Tom” You said, shaking you head in a laugh.

“And Tom. Since you’re the guest, you get to start! There’s an almond in there, and whoever finds it, gets a present” You gave the big bowl of risengrød to Tom. After he had taken a portion, you guided him through the cinnamon and butter. As he took the first spoonful, he got a strange expression on his face.

“That was not the taste I was expecting, but I think I like it. It’s very creamy” Tom commented, as he took a second spoonful.

***

“Your family is really competitive. I had no idea that you could get so competitive, and strangely enough, I think it’s kinda hot” Tom confessed, as you got into your room. You had been playing board games most of the nights, and everyone in your family always wanted to win.

“Then just wait till you meet the rest of my family. They’re much worse than me!” You laughed, as you sat down on the bed. “Do you want the bed? I don’t mind taking the mattress”

“We can just share the bed. I don’t mind being close to you” He said lovingly, as he put his arms around you.

“Tom. We usually share a king size bed. This is a single bed. You’re either going to push me off of the bed, or squash me against the wall” You shook your head, smiling at Tom.

“I’m not! I’ll have my arms around you, so if you fall, so do I” He insisted, with his puppy eyes.

“You know I can’t say no to you and your gorgeous eyes” You said, leaning in towards his lips. “But if you push me down, you can sleep on the mattress”

“Deal” Tom said, before connecting your lips.

***

The following day had been long, but you had enjoyed every moment of it. You had started the day of with a family breakfast, before you had started preparing the food for the dinner. Just after noon, you had all gone to church. Tom had tried so hard to stay focused in the church, but he didn’t understand a word that was being said, so it didn’t take long before he started entertaining the little girl in the row in front of you instead.

When you got home, everyone took their seat on the couch, as you watched the last episode of the Christmas calendars. It was another thing you needed to explain to Tom. That you in Denmark had a tv show, specially made for December, with an episode every day till Christmas.

“So the girl, Tinka, is a nisse. Like a pixy, or a leprechaun thing. She lives in the Nisse world, where they hate humans, because humans stole their Christmas star and their magic. Then she found out the she was a half human, and everyone got scared of her, so she went into the human world, where she found the boy, Lasse, who helped her find the Christmas star.

The nisse crowns prince killed his father, so he could become king. He’s a really bad person, but Tinka and Lasse found the kings other son in the human world, who also turned out to be Tinkas father. Now the evil prince is in the tower of loneliness, and they just have to do a ritual to get back the magic” You had explained to a very focused Tom. Just about every Dane knew the concept of a Christmas calendar, but Tom didn’t have a chance at understanding it without seeing it.

It was always a boy and a girl, who somehow need to save Christmas. There was always an evil person, and relatively often also a younger sister. The Christmas calendar was one of your favourite Christmas traditions, and Tom really wanted to love it with you, so he tried his hardest to understand it.

After watching Tinka, you watched the last episode of another Christmas calendar. “The Julekalender”, a show everyone knew, and the only show being aired every year. It was a lot harder to explain, and you eventually had time give up. You watched as Tom sat with a confused expression, as they started speaking a mix of Danish and English. The Julekalender was really a concept you couldn’t explain, it was just there. A part of the Danish Christmas for over 25 years.

After you finished watching the Christmas calendars, your grandmother arrived. When she was introduced to Tom, the language barrier came. She had a hard time understanding English, and Tom? Danish wasn’t exactly his strong suit.

“So your grandmother only speaks Danish?” Tom asked. He really wanted to impress your whole family.

“Well no. She’s fluent in Danish and German. She also speaks Spanish, just not English. She also speaks south Danish, but that technically doesn’t count as a language” You said, as your grandmother started talking to your siblings.

“That’s actually quite impressive. What about the rest of your family? Do they speak English?” Tom asked, suddenly nervous about meeting the rest of your family on the 25th.

“Yeah. I’m actually not sure about my grandparents on my mother’s side. My mom’s mother isn’t that great at it, but I don’t know about my grandfather. He used to be a UN peacekeeping solider, so I think he has some basic knowledge. But everyone does speak English. Even my 11-year-old cousin is pretty close to fluent” You said.

You grandmother came back to you and Tom, and you started talking to her about Tom. After a short time, the clock hit 18, and dinner was served. You all took your seats, and the food started going around.

“Y/n, I’m not sure what half of this food is” Tom said to you, in a low voice.

“Right. You know the duck, and the sauce. The boiled potatoes. Those are brown potatoes, it’s basically just caramelized potatoes. Then there’s red cabbage, and old fashioned white cabbage” You explained, as you pointed to the different items. “Oh. And that’s boiled apples with a bit of jelly on them”

“That’s a lot of cabbage. And why would you caramelize potatoes?” He looked sceptically at the brown potatoes.

“Just try it. It won’t kill you. Might ruin your diet, but I promise we’ll work out later in the week” You said, giving him a small peck on the cheek.

Tom carefully tried all of the different foods, but he was not a fan of the brown potatoes. The dinner went on nicely, with a lot of small talk, and stories. You and your siblings helped translate the conversations between Tom and your grandmother.

After having eaten most of the duck, you all just sat there, talking and laughing. After about half an hour, you cleaned up the table, before bringing in the dessert.

“are we having the. “risangroat”? Tom asked, trying hard to pronounce the word right, but not quite making it.

“No. It’s similar, but there’s chopped almonds in it, and vanilla. It’s sweeter, and it’s cold. We eat it with warm cherry sauce on” You smiled. “And if you find the whole almond, you get a present. Just like yesterday”

“I like how you turned food into a competition. It’s kind of a strange concept” Tom said, as he took a plate of risalmande. This time it was your grandmother who ended up finding the almond.

After having cleaned the table once more, everyone but your father left the living room.

“Why are we in the kitchen?” Tom asked, making you smile. This was one of your favourite parts of Christmas.

“He’s turning on the tree. When everything is lit, we go in and dance around the tree” You said in a calm tone.

“Dance? What do you mean dance?” Tom asked confused. Dancing around the tree wasn’t really something you did in most countries, so you could understand why it might seem a little strange.

“Well. We are going to make a circle around the tree, and then walk around it, while we sing Christmas carols” You explained with a smile.

“Okay. Is this something everyone does, or is it just one of your family traditions?” He asked, still a bit confused.

“Everyone does it. In Denmark, at least. I’m not sure about the rest of Scandinavia” You said, and in the same moment, your father opened the door, letting you back into the living room.

The tree was beautiful, and you looked at it in awe. There was just something about the lights from the candles and the tree, that made everything seem kind of magical. You took Toms hand, as you started singing the carols. Tom was humming along, since he knew the melodies, but not the Danish lyrics. You took a few songs in English, like jingle bells.

At the final song, a slightly faster carol, you held on tightly to Tom, as your entire family started running around the house, singing “nu er det jul igen”. Out of breath, you stopped back in the living room.

“So what happens now?” Tom asked, as everyone caught their breath.

“Now, we open the presents” Your mom smiled.

Your sister started reading the names on the presents, and handing them out. You all took turns handing out the presents, and when you were halfway, you got a present from Tom.

When you opened it, you found a beautiful jewellery set. It was silver, with blue gemstones embedded. It contained a neckless, earrings, a bracelet and a ring. The ring was absolutely gorgeous, and you carefully sat the box down, so you could give Tom a hug.

“Thank you. It’s so beautiful. You really didn’t have to” You said with your arms around him.

“Of course, I had to. Only the best is good enough for my princess” Tom said, as he gave you a quick kiss.

TAGLIST

@rock-n-roll-queens @m-sterre @exclusively-inclusive @@rock-n-roll-queens @m-sterre @exclusively-inclusive @behxndthemask @stephie-senpai @gaiasambuci 

[riathedreamer]

7, 8, 13, 50, 75, 82, 85, and 93!

7. What's your worst fear?Well,this is gonna sound pretty angsty but when I was 10 I found my fatherunconscious from a seizure. Truly traumatized me. And then I tried to convincemyself that stuff like that won’t happen again – and by now I’ve tried calling911 nine times in my life, those being a lot of different persons. And I get panicattacks every time ‘cause I feel like I’m being that 10-year-old girl again andmy mind just goes blank.It’s the reason why I don’t drink alcohol and why I don’t go to parties(alcohol is always a part of parties in Denmark, it’s normal to drink from whenyou’re 14, no kidding) – I have this constant feeling that something can gowrong at any second and I have to be in control in order to help.I guess that’s that I’m scared of the most – something happening and me failingby not being able to help.

8. Who's your biggest inspiration?Eh, I’m the person who doesn’t just stick with one person but jumps around.Like, I read about one person and go “What an inspiration” and the same thinghappens months later when I read about another person. But I’ve read the booksof Malala Yousafzai and Nick Vujicic so they are definitelysome of my favorites.

13. Name a list of shows that have changed your life.Shows huh… Well,  “Pretty Little Liars”,though I actually don’t really like the show now, was the first show I watchedwith a lesbian character which meant a lot to younger me. “Modern Family” aswell, this being one of my favorite shows, which I used to get my parents towatch in order for them to be introduced with a homosexual relationship and getused  to the thought. And of course “Redvs. Blue” for bringing me back to fanfiction which is such a big part of mylife as well as bringing me into a lovely fandom

50. How are you doing today?Well, it’s early morning so who knows :D but I admit the last couple of dayshave sucked: my sister, who lives in a different country had to put her sickdog down, my mother travelled there to give support, she just returned but themood is all very sad and sombre leading to some tension between my parents. Ithink I’m just gonna wait it out in my room for some days.

75. When you think of your home, what immediately comes to mind?Safety, I suppose. I’m a big home-person. The goal is to survive the taskcausing me to leave the home, whether this is school or a social event, then Ican finally head home to relax – all my hobbies are in my room, writing, drawing,playing ukulele etc.

82. If you could live forever, how would you spend eternity?First of all, living forever kinda sucks. Not really something I would wishfor. But I think that if it would happen, I would probably just keep being abig nerd. I hate change. Wouldn’t surprise me if I was still writingfanfiction. I would probably try to take some more educations, but my sucky governmentjust decided you can only complete one education – you have to pay for the nextone. (All education is free in Denmark, the only thing I’ve ever had to pay isfor my books in the university. We actually get paid by the state for going theschool from the moment you’re 18 – yeah, I got money while being in high schooland living at home). Had that rule not been changed, I would have loved to keepstudying. But this is all an imaginary future anyway, so…

85. What motivates you to succeed?I have a pretty unhealthy relationship with success, at least school-wise. Ipushed myself to the limit because I believe I could get an A+ if I just pulledmyself together. I used to punish myself if I didn’t. Turned into some nastyhabits. During high school, success as an A+ was just my way of “not failing”.It sucked. It’s much better now when I just study Danish ‘cause I write thepapers for the sake of the subject, not for my grade – I put work into itbecause I actually think it’s exciting.Not school-wise… Well, my life is pretty much just school or fanfiction. Whenit comes to fanfiction I learned long ago that it’s a process – the more Iwrite the better I get. Almost 7 years later I can look back at my firstfanfiction and laugh. I write because I love it – I guess that’s a success in itself.

93. What is the hardest lesson you had to learn in life?Ah, why do all my answers have to be so angsty?! But I guess the most importantthing I’ve learned in the hard way was neverto listen to bullies. Of course their words can affect you, but don’tbelieve them. Seek help. Just don’t end up believing their words.If I could go back in time, I would grab the 12-year-old me by the shouldersand just, I don’t know, make her stop. I believed what I was told back then,and it evolved into self-harm and self-hatred and I spent year just apologizingfor existing. I wish I could get those years back more than anything. I wouldhave made some different choices instead of just walking straight home withlowered shoulders and hide myself in my room. I feel so much wiser now, looking back and knowing that the bullies were wrong.I wish I could have had that wisdom a long time ago.

[my-house-of-fashion]

"I don't want my pictures to tell people what they should think" says Alastair Philip Wiper

https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/alastair-philip-wiper-photography-unintended-beauty_dezeen_2364_sq_c-852x852.jpg

British photographer Alastair Philip Wiper explores all kinds of factories, from pork slaughterhouses to sex doll workshops. He says he isn’t trying to shock or influence, just to show people where things come from.

Wiper photographs the facilities that make mass production possible. His images show the machines, the people and the processes used to manufacture the objects of our modern society.

But the Copenhagen-based photographer’s aim is not to make people change their behaviour. He simply wants to reveal a world that the vast majority of people never see.

Alastair Philip Wiper photographs industrial infrastructure, from factories to power stations

“I don’t want my pictures to tell people what they should think and how they should feel,” he told Dezeen.

“I just want them to look and have their own thoughts.”

Scale of consumption

In his new book, Unintended Beauty, Wiper shares images from the factories of Adidas, Playmobil, Bang & Olufsen and more. He also shows power stations and scientific research facilities, along with a dairy farm and a cannabis greenhouse.

The venues he selects tend to be provocative, for instance, the Danish Crown slaughterhouse in Horsens. Wiper prompted an outcry from Dezeen readers after visiting this pork factory, with many shocked by the graphic nature of his photos.

Wiper’s provocative images include the Danish Crown slaughterhouse in Horsens

What was more shocking, according to Wiper, was not the process itself but the scale on which it took place. By revealing it, he hoped to make people think about where their food comes from.

“The overwhelming feeling that I come away with, that is constantly going on in my head, is whether we need this much stuff. Do we need this many shoes or this much pork?” he said.

“The world has been ramped up to a point where everybody thought that this ‘more, more, more’ was good, and suddenly we’re realising we don’t need it.”

Products of our imagination

Wiper says that, even though he has explored factories all around the world, he often encounters things he has never seen before.

On a recent visit to a condom-making facility in Denmark, he was stunned to find it in the back of a cheese factory. He also discovered handmade machines built several decades ago, still in good working order.

The photographer has also visited a medicinal cannabis greenhouse

These places tell a story of human ingenuity that may be unfamiliar to people used to city life, claims Wiper, but which is fundamental to the world we live in.

“These places are all products of our imagination,” he said. They’re representing what we want and what we can do as human beings. Even when there aren’t people in the pictures, they’re all the products of our minds.”

“There is a lot of humanity in that for me,” he added.

“How do we get people to think differently?”

The photographer tries not to form good or bad opinions of of the places he visits.

While he wants to people to recognise the impact of consumption, he is also concerned about the infrastructures that depend on these factories. Not only are they making the objects we buy, they also provide jobs to entire towns.

Scientific facilities he has photographed include CERN, home of the Large Hadron Colider

“There are parts of the world that were once very poor, but now have a much better quality of life because of these factories,” he added.

“Yes, the overall impact is something that we have to reduce. How do we do that without impacting these communities? How do we get people to think differently about the way that they consume? These are such complicated questions.”

Unintended Beauty is published by Hatje Cantz. Wiper’s photographs are also on show at the RIBA in London, as part of the exhibition Forms of Industry, open until 16 May 2020.

Read on for the interview in full:

Amy Frearson: How did you end up in this niche area of photography?

Alastair Philip Wiper: I studied philosophy and politics at university, but when I finished I had no idea what to do with my life. I met a Danish girl, moved to Denmark, and got a job in a restaurant, but I didn’t want to be a cook. Then I started to make some T-shirts, just for fun, and taught myself to use Illustrator, which helped me I get a job as a graphic designer. I was working for an artist and fashion designer who also didn’t have a in-house photographer so then I started taking pictures too. I taught myself and fell into it.

I decided I wanted to become a photographer, but I didn’t want to be a fashion photographer or a portrait photographer. It felt very repetitive. Then I saw some work by some older photographers work in the 50s and 60s. In particular, Wolfgang Sievers and Maurice Broomfield, who were photographing big oil refineries. This was totally fascinating to me. I could see myself going to see the most amazing things, shapes and graphics.

You’ve got to be really fascinated by the thing you’re working with

I went into this niche of industry and science, and pretty quickly I learned that the things I was experiencing and seeing were more important than getting a pay cheque. I think that’s the key to photography or any job really; if you want to do it really well, you’ve got to be really fascinated by the thing you’re working with. I wasn’t interested in science or art particularly, but it can be nice to come at these things with a new energy. You look at everything with different eyes compared to somebody that has been in that world their whole life.

Amy Frearson: Can you tell me about some of your first experiences of photographing factories and infrastructure?

Alastair Philip Wiper: There are two that stand out. One of them is the Odeillo Solar Furnace. In the beginning I didn’t know how to get in anywhere, so I had to find places where I could just turn up. I saw a picture of this building online in an article called “the 10 strangest buildings in the world” or something like that. I camped outside for two days, just watching the light changing on the mirrors. It was a kind of pilgrimage.

Then there is CERN, which is a place I’ve been back to three or four times. The first time I booked myself on a public tour, where you don’t see anything. So I asked the PR office to show me more, and they put me on a trip with an engineer to see some real things. That was a lucky break. I don’t know if they would do that these days.

One of Wiper’s first photography series features the Odeillo Solar Furnace in France

Amy Frearson: I presume getting access to these places is the biggest challenge?

Alastair Philip Wiper: After I got into CERN, I had a couple of other lucky breaks so that suddenly I had a portfolio that was starting to show that I could get inside places. But getting access is always the hardest, especially in the beginning. I have to talk my way in. These days I know the job position of the person I need to find, but in the beginning I had no idea. I thought a caretaker might sometimes let me in the back door, but that never happened.

Amy Frearson: One of your best-known photography series shows inside of the Danish Crown pork slaughterhouse in Horsens. It had a huge reaction from Dezeen readers. Why did you choose to photograph this type of factory?

Alastair Philip Wiper: I do a lot of self-initiated projects and I’m always looking around, thinking about the everyday objects that I consume. I want to know what factory they come from and how I can get in there.

Pork was an obvious one because I live in Denmark, and there’s a lot of pork consumed in Denmark and exported as well. I’m very interested in these kind of taboo subjects. I like things when things we interact with physically are a little bit controversial, when they have a macabre side or a dark humour. I maybe wasn’t thinking about that before I went but after I came out there was something dark about the whole thing that I just found attractive.

At the time I was quite into eating meat. I had been vegetarian when I was a teenager but I stopped because I really enjoyed food. My love of cooking and eating became more important to me than being vegetarian. But it made me feel like I needed to understand what I was eating and where it came from.

Amy Frearson: Did the experience shock you?

Alastair Philip Wiper: The process of seeing pigs going in and being slaughtered wasn’t particularly shocking, because of course I knew what needed to happen to get the bacon to my table and I felt quite strongly that people that ate meat should understand this. If you’re going to eat meat, you should be comfortable with that process and if you’re not comfortable then you probably shouldn’t eat meat.

If you’re going to eat meat, you should be comfortable with that process

The shocking thing for me about the slaughterhouse wasn’t that pigs go in there and get killed, that they have their guts taken out, chopped up and sold to be eaten. That wasn’t shocking to me. It was the volume, the scale, which was amazing.

I don’t want my pictures to tell people what they should think and how they should feel. I just want them to look and have their own thoughts.

Wiper visted South Korea to see a container ship under construction

Since then my attitude has changed a little, in that I’ve become more aware of the impact of meat on the environment. I didn’t think we needed to be eating as much meat. I still enjoy meat but I eat less meat. I only have it on special occasions.

For me the question is, do we need to consume as much? I think you can say that about pretty much everything we consume. As long as there’s a demand for it, there’s going to be places that are killing hundreds of thousands of pigs a week.

Amy Frearson: What other things shock or surprise you in the spaces you photograph?

Alastair Philip Wiper: When I first started going to these places, every place was incredible. I really liked seeing tangles of pipes and wires, that kind of thing. I need to see a really good tangle of pipes and wires to be impressed these days! But I still get really happy when I see things I haven’t seen before. I’ve seen a lot of places and I find similarities in all of them, but I also see things that I’ve never seen before pretty regularly.

Recently I was at a condom factory in the countryside in Denmark. I had been been looking for a condom factory to photograph and thought I would have to go to Germany, but a friend told me there was a condom factory in Denmark. I asked them if I could come and photograph it and they said yes, sure, but told me it wasn’t very big and it was very old.

It turned out to be a small room in a corner of a cheese factory. The cheese factory was owned by a company that has a few businesses, that buys businesses when they can see that there’s good value in it, no matter what it is. The condom factory had actually existed since the 1950s I think and the machines were homemade. At the time they had asked their engineer for a solution for condom packing, so he built one out of wood and put a motor on it. It still works and that’s probably the reason that this company is still profitable. If that machine broke, they would have to buy a new one and then suddenly, maybe it’s not worth it. This is pure conjecture, but this is how my imagination works.

They also had machines that blow up condoms, to test how much air can go in there, and a machine that is like a dildo, that takes it on and off hundreds of thousands to see if it breaks.

Most of the time I see people that are happy, just living a different life to the one that I do

I love the contrast between CERN, where the greatest minds in the world are trying to answer the biggest questions of the universe, the greatest machines human beings have ever seen, and then in my backyard I can find a condom factory that is equally as fascinating.

Amy Frearson: Do you think people are generally unaware that so much construction and industry goes on in the countryside? Is that something you hope to reveal in your pictures?

Alastair Philip Wiper: It’s not something I’ve thought about that much. I don’t differentiate between the countryside and the city. But of course I’m in factories a lot and the world I come from doesn’t see what happens in these places. While I feel like there is a big split between the communities that live in these towns and our cosmopolitan, big-city life, I don’t think I have ever seen anything terrible or been to a factory where people seem unhappy.

People that live in our world have this assumption that it’s horrible work and a horrible life in these places, but most of the time I see people that are happy, just living a different life to the one that I do. But it’s definitely a world that I wouldn’t get to see if I didn’t go to visit these places.

Factories he has photographed include Kvadrat Febrik‘s Innofa textile mill in the Netherlands

Amy Frearson: Have you ever photographed anywhere that made you think differently about a product you consume?

Alastair Philip Wiper: I’m not an investigative journalist or photographer. I’m not trying to show the good or bad side of these places, and I’m usually doing it with the approval of the company that owns the factory. I’m not trying to uncover things. It is also really hard to go into a place for a day and come away with a valid opinion of what is right and wrong. There can be things that are maybe a little bit shocking to us, when actually there’s nothing wrong with them, or there can be things that look totally fine, but actually are really bad. I try to be careful when I form opinions, but it’s not really what I’m trying to do.

The overwhelming feeling that I come away with, that is constantly going on in my head, is whether we need this much stuff. Do we need this many shoes or this much pork? The world has been ramped up to a point where everybody thought that this ‘more, more, more’ was good, and suddenly we’re realising we don’t need it. But communities are surviving on these factories. There are parts of the world that were once very poor, but now have a much better quality of life because of these factories. Yes, the overall impact is something that we have to reduce. How do we do that without impacting these communities? How do we get people to think differently about the way that they consume?

I hope that anybody would find it interesting to see the way that things are made

These are such complicated questions. I’m confused, I don’t know. Maybe that’s why I’m trying not to say anything with my pictures, to tell people how to think. It’s a discussion they can have with themselves. I’m thinking everyday about the way I consume, and how that impacts the world, in a way that I didn’t three years ago. It’s going to take a while to trickle down to everybody, but hopefully it will happen.

Amy Frearson: With your work now on show at the RIBA, do you think there are lessons for architects in your pictures?

Alastair Philip Wiper: I hope there is, but to be honest I know very little about architecture. I hope that anybody would find it interesting to see the way that things are made. Throughout history people have found creative inspiration through things that are made for practical purposes. I don’t think I’m doing anything new there.

Amy Frearson: Can you tell me more about the technical side of your process? What is your process of shooting and editing, and what equipment do you use?

Alastair Philip Wiper: I use a DSLR camera mostly. I shoot medium format sometimes, but I can’t always afford to shoot on medium format, because I need to work super fast and I beat my equipment up a lot. Normally I work very quickly, so I drop lenses and cameras! My most important tools, apart from the camera, are my tripod and wireless shutter release.

I don’t edit a lot. I try to give the pictures my look, by playing with the contrast and the colour, and I adjust the perspective, I don’t have any problem with removing something in the picture that I don’t like, like a bin, but I don’t do that very often, unless I need to. I try to keep everything as simple as possible. The less decisions I have to make, the better. If I do something, it’s only because I think it’s going to add to the picture. It’s not for the sake of doing it.

Amy Frearson: When you say you give the pictures ‘your look’, how would you describe that look?

Alastair Philip Wiper: I want to have a lot of clarity. It shouldn’t feel like it has a filter or a colour cast, it should be very neutral in tone and as sharp as I can get it. It should also be very colourful and bright. I don’t want to make unsaturated, subtle pictures, I want them to be bold, colourful and in your face.

The photographer has also shot the Absolut Vodka Distillery in Sweden

Amy Frearson: Does your approach change when you’re shooting for a commercial client, rather than just for yourself?

Alastair Philip Wiper: I never really change the way I shoot. I approach every subject in exactly the same way and I am very rarely asked to do anything else. I feel really lucky to have that.

Amy Frearson: How important is it to you to show the people that work in these factories, as well as the machinery and objects?

Alastair Philip Wiper: I think this subject can become a bit too clean, too cold, too paralysed. I want there to be to be humour and passion in there, because these places are all products of our imagination. They’re representing what we want and what we can do as human beings. Even when there aren’t people in the pictures, they’re all the products of our minds. There is a lot of humanity in that for me. That’s why I want the pictures to be bold and colourful and a little bit dirty. They don’t have to be too permanent and clean. There are interesting stories in all of these places.

Stories, humanity, humour and eccentricity are all my inspirations for doing this. I’m just blown away that people make all this stuff, that they build machines to build machines. It’s crazy.

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DODGER AND MINNIE

Who is the most affectionate?

Ughhhh, I feel like they can both be v affectionate!!!! Minnie would probably be the one who does more cutely because she’s such a loser when it comes to the cute/sweet stuff. Dodger would do it to be a little shit. 

Big spoon/Little spoon?

Dodger is definitely the big spoon and Minnie is the little spoon. Minnie loves to curl herself inside of Dodger’s arms and cuddle as much as possible. 

Most common argument?

Minnie always yelling at Dodger for doing something that could get himself hurt!!! She probably hits him all the time for it too haha and then gets mad some more when he doesn’t follow through doctor’s orders like AHEEMM keeping a brace on. 

Favorite non-sexual activity?

Listening and watching Dodger play his guitar. He could even just be writing a new song and Minnie will just sneak up behind him and rest her head on his shoulder to watch him writing. 

Who is most likely to carry the other?

Dodger!!!! Especially, when Minnie gets home from an exhausting shift in the morning and just passes out on the couch. Dodger would carry her to the bed so that she could sleep more comfortably. If Minnie were to try and carry Dodger she’d most likely fail miserably and just fall on her ass.

What is their favorite feature of their partner’s?

Minnie loves Dodger’s eyes!!!!! He has like the typical brown colored eyes, nothing special really (no offense Dodger!!!), but Minnie loves looking at them.

What’s the first thing that changes when they realize they have feelings for the other?

A shit ton of over thinking, worrying, a lot of wtf?!?!, nervousness mhmm they are currently going through that haha. 

Nicknames? & if so, how did they originate?

Dodger already calls Minnie, Mins and that’s just a shorten version of her nickname. I’m not sure if Minnie would make up nicknames for Dodger because she loves saying his name as is. 

Who worries the most?

Minnie!!!! Especially since Dodger is a little shit head that tends to end up getting himself in fights that land him in the ER pretty frequently. Dodger often teases her about her worrying and she hits him for it.  

Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant?

Dodger does when it comes to dessert because Minnie would always go through the menu sitting there wondering what on earth she’ll want, but she always ends up with a danish, so Dodger constantly just teases her about why she’s even bothering to look through the menu. He’s right all the time because Minnie will go ahead and reluctantly choose that danish.

Who tops?

Dodger. Unless Minnie is feeling promiscuous and impulsive then she would top, or if she’s like drunk baha. Minnie is a v flirty, and touchy drunk.

Who initiates kisses?

They both do for sure. Dodger probably does so more than Minnie, but Minnie was the one to initiate the v first one!!!! Minnie does love when Dodger initiates them it gets her all melty and looking like a stupid little girl with a big school crush.

Who reaches for the other’s hand first?

They both do!!! Although, Minnie was the first one to reach Dodger’s hand. My brave little baby. Minnie probably does so more than Dodger. She thinks touching is soothing and honestly, she just loves to lace her fingers inside of Dodger’s hand. 

Who kisses the hardest?

Dodger does. He’s the one that majorly starts all the sexy times and hard kissing, not that Minnie ever minds at all, she easily and v happily follows along. Minnie though will have her share when she’s being tease-y and impulsive. 

Who wakes up first?

Minnie does. She is horrible with sleeping and probably suffers from a bit of insomnia from how often she needs to change her time clock due to working nights. She, however, doesn’t get out of bed and prefers curling herself beside Dodger and watching him sleep. (Yeah I know that sounds stalkerish haha)

Who wants to stay in bed just a little longer?

They both do!! Dodger more so than Minnie, Minnie wants to stay because she likes to cuddle and will happily snuggle up against Dodger, Dodger though he wants to stay in bed to actually sleep some more. 

Who says I love you first?

At the rate things have been going, Minnie would be the one to say “I love you” first. She’ll do it very embarrassingly too. Probably be talking about something very normal and then suddenly blurts out that she loves him. She’ll properly run away after with a beat red face. 

Who leaves little notes in the other’s one lunch? (Bonus: what does it usually say?)

Hahaha Minnie!!!!! And every note says something completely embarrassing that she does very much on purpose because she knows his friends will tease and bother the shit out of him for it.  

Who tells their family/friends about their relationship first?

Welps, they both don’t have parents so there is that one, Minnie’s closest people to family are her co-workers and they will probably be the ones to know first since Dodger ends up in the ER pretty frequently. 

What do their family/friends think of their relationship?

Oh, her co-workers love it!!! They tease Minnie non-stop about it and recount every time her face goes beat red because of something Dodger did. Dodger’s friends, well Rita is jealous as we have seen haha and Oliver and Tito will v likely tease Dodger non-stop about it. 

Who is more likely to start dancing with the other?

Dodger. He’s the one that starts almost all the random dancing, but Minnie goes along with it all the time. Also, when Minnie watches Dodger play at Pixie she won’t dance with anyone other than Dodger. 

Who cooks more/who is better at cooking?

Minnie for both. Minnie is an awesome cook!! She actually loves cooking and makes practically all of their meals. She also is in love with baking, so she constantly has a baked pastry ready for Dodger.

Who comes up with cheesy pick up lines?

Dodger all the time because the little shit head knows that Minnie will blush every single time even if it’s the corniest pick-up line to date!!!! Minnie is completely hopeless and Dodger is very aware of that.

Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear during inappropriate times?

Of course, this one is Dodger. All the time!!!!!! He get’s a kick out of Minnie’s reaction because of course, she blushes and then gets all ramble-y stuttering her words and everything. He’ll laugh and that’ll make Minnie glare at him and want to fire back, so she’ll start saying v inappropriate things as well. 

Who needs more assurance?

Minnie probably does. She has had a very shitty history with like every relationship she has been in, so she often loves to hear reassurance from Dodger that he will be the different one who won’t hurt her. 

Who would sing to their child back to sleep?

Dodger would seeing as he is the musician and Minnie adores listening to him sing. Minnie might sing their kids to sleep sometimes too, but she really does love when Dodger is the one singing. 

What do they do when they’re away from each other?

They constantly text each other all the time. Minnie often times tells Dodger where she is if she like changes destinations because she knows it’ll make him feel better knowing where she was at. Dodger is protective mhmm. Whenever they can they call each other too, Minnie especially she loves to hear Dodger’s voice, especially since he isn’t there with her.

one headcanon about this OTP that breaks your heart

Minnie finding out about the past Dodger and Rita share because of course Minnie being Minnie will like back away. She’ll think Rita is the better choice since they have known each other for SO LONG and are basically like family. Minnie would never want to cause a wrench in his family, so she’ll pretty much break things off and end up hurt and broken like all of her other past relationships. (Wow this really BURNEDD!!!)

one headcanon about this OTP that mends it

Remember how Minnie needs that reassurance? Mhmm, Minnie getting that reassurance from Dodger because he wouldn’t back down and accept Minnie breaking things off. He’ll reassure her that he wants her and wow that is all really mushy and super grossssss.