#vivaldi is only in there because that specific part of the four seasons is in a funny video and in a musical about his life that i love

[ninallthatjazz]

Thank you for tagging me @ella-doe 💜

rules: you can usually tell a lot about a person by the type of music they listen to. put your playlist on shuffle and list the first 10 songs, and then tag 10 people. no skipping!  

Antonio Vivaldi - The Four Seasons "Winter": III. Allegro

Tanz der Vampire - Ein Guter Tag

Tanz der Vampire - Nie Geseh'n

Billy Lockett - Wide Eyed

Conchita Wurst - Have I Ever Been In Love

Panic! At The Disco - Far Too Young To Die

Dimash Qudaibergen - S.O.S d'un terrien en détresse

Ellie Goulding - Still Falling For You

JeanguMacrooy - Birth Of A New Age

Panic! At The Disco - Dying In LA

(I am a musical nerd and queer, shut up)

Tagging @rainbowbonnet @blakbonnet @ed-teach @leatherdaddyteach @sassygwaine @snake-snack-stede @louciferish @smooth-crimminal if you want 💕

[shark-myths]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you so much for the tag ((and drag)) @carbonbased000! this was very fun and thoughtful to do.

who is writing things right now? i never remember. i will tag a wide and perhaps not terribly relevant range of: @toorational @just-about-nothing @27-royal-teas @leyley09 @alienfuckeronmain @stereostatic @setting-in-a-honeymoon and anyone else so inclined!

++

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

65

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

968,103, but as i’ve said before, i have orphaned a lotta fic as well

3. What fandoms do you write for?

pretty much just Fall Out Boy, but i will occasionally dabble in something random! this includes tony stark femslash (not sorry, will not apologize), cobra kai, and anything about girls or characters who could compellingly be made into girls.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Difference Between Real Love and the Love on TV

Stranger Danger

Boys Next Door / Assholes

From Russia With Love (this is one of those random sidesteps, a MCU femslash epistolary)

Jet Black Crow

(As an aside, it is so wild to me that older fics have so many more kudos than newer ones—you can really tell that fob went 5 years between albums! imo this is NOT a list of my best fic.)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

for years, I responded to every single one! then at some point i fell behind because of my high standards for trying to put the same thought and effort into my responses as all you lovely people put into the comments, then i became overwhelmed, then i stopped. I AM SO SORRY IF I OWE YOU RETURN COMMENTS, i read them and i treasured them and you are a huge part of the reason i keep writing. love u all!!!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I only write happy endings, man! I stopped writing tragedies a long time ago. My angstiest fics are red and unafraid of living and In Every Universe. the end of Made One Way (Cobra Kai) is ambiguous and potentially brutal, depending on how you take it.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

um, every single other one! I’m a big fan of the gory fairy tale ending of The Boys Time Can’t Capture, and transmuting the hiatus into an act of mutual care and love in Sell Out Girl meant so much to me.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not since my first fandom and god, don’t

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

yes, a bit, could probably write a little less about feelings and a little more about feelings if u know what i mean. I’m super into sex as a person so i almost never write about intense romantic connections without bringing smut into it somehow; they feel really tightly linked for me, and i think i also crave media with HOT and INTIMATE connections between queer people. In terms of kind, i guess i’d have to say it’s largely rushed vanilla emotion-and-orgasm driven scenes. not a very flattering oeuvre i've created here.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

mash-ups are my favorite thing to do! I especially like ripping off movie and fairy tale plots and making them stranger, or else taking a really specific constrained timeline from someone’s life or a piece of media and transforming it somehow. best sandbox ever. my craziest one is probably the coyote ugly / beauty in the beast peterick fic, Wolves Dressed As Wolves. and i love this type of transformation in everything, whether it's the weirdo gender shit i just learned duchamp was doing or katherine addison's destructively beautiful 'sherlock holmes except there're ANGELS' novel or the buenos aires re-imagining version of vivaldi's four seasons by piazzolla, my life and taste keeps taking me into the various ways we fold and refract and remake the same experiences over and over again through different lenses or angles or selves. to quote some author whose identity i forgot years ago, though the quote remains: "there are no new stories." all art is iterative, and the most interesting thing we can do as creators is deviate in new, unexpected ways.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

yeah, a million years ago on deviantart

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes! I have had a few translations and a podfic. I love it when people want to interact with my stories in their own way, all interpretations are welcome.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

one day i hope to be domesticated enough that @carbonbased000 can write with me. I used to co-write by passing the laptop back and forth with my bestie in high school; we wrote self-insert x-men fanfiction based on the comic books in like 2004 and it was an absolute blast; but generally i am considered impossible to work with, by both myself and others.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

i feel completely unqualified to answer this question. i have been driven insane by any number of pairings in my life. when i was younger, i was more interested in internalized homophobia themes in ships, because that's where WE were culturally in the early 2000s and where i was in relationship to myself, and i think each change and growth and greater empowerment and self-possession in my own life is mirrored in what i am interested in. i feel the most drawn in by dynamics between people that are creative and give me a new way to access and explore interesting ideas and themes; i’m a real sucker for shared art products and touring bands as unique and agonizing ways to connect people. there are so many different ways to express that someone is your soulmate and you'll never convince me throwing away all trappings of a traditional life in order to rove the earth and make art with your friends isn't one of them.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

do you not just block out your WIPs from your mind so that you can live in moment-to-moment freedom?? I am a finisher in general, i have a few peterick drafts lurking around in my gdocs but if they remain untouched, it’s generally because there are only a couple thousand words to them and i’m not very excited about the possibilities of the fic. there is a sequel to a meticulously historically accurate pirate fic i wrote long ago called Providence, i got to about 30k and then lost all of my extremely painstaking notes and research in a software update. I’m still very interested in and excited by the idea, but i lost the notes and felt too traumatized to continue with the project genuinely a decade ago, so the idea that i will return and finish the fic seems fairly unlikely. Providence is one of my greatest pieces of writing ever, though, so hope springs eternal, i guess!

16. What are your writing strengths?

lyrical prose and conveying humor via unusual sentence construction. i was recently told i write arguments well and feel tough as a result, like, watch out! you don’t want to fight me!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i am lazy and easily distractible, i don’t plot in advance, i barely edit because i get really rigid and have trouble seeing any other way to say something than how i’ve already said it, i have an unwillingness to delete and rewrite even when that’s the only way forward (see: my eternally 90% finished age swap peterick au), i use up all my emotional energy elsewhere and then neglect my craft for weeks at a time. 

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

sometimes i’ll use pet names in another language if it makes sense for the character, but i avoid this in general as i’m not fluent in anything other than english. I would, have, and do sound like a duolingo lesson.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

afi bandom, when we used to call it slash, when i thought i had invented it with my friend at summer camp, when i was 13 and sent her kidfic stories i wrote out by hand in pink envelopes.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

genuinely i almost always write things i personally want to read, so i love them all! except the fucking fixed stars of heaven, everyone knows that fic tortured me to within an inch of my sanity. My most personal and personally meaningful fic is Girl Out Boy. i have a tattoo of it on my arm.

[thexfridax]

Translated interview

‘I am a film activist’ - Interview with Céline Sciamma

Olga Baruk, critic.de, 17th of October 2019

// Additions or clarifications for translating purposes are denoted as [T: …]. //

Following her coming-of-age trilogy, Céline Sciamma (writer-director) has now made a big period film with Portrait of a Lady on Fire. We spoke with her at the FILMFEST HAMBURG. About writing, painting and the heroines of our time.

Interviewer: Céline Sciamma, is it important for you to communicate? Do you enjoy explaining your work or is it a necessary evil?

Céline Sciamma: It’s an important part of what I do. I never know what I’ll do next until my finished film is shown. That’s a conviction. A dialogue that is emerging around each film, how a film is perceived, what I am asked about it - all of that is important for me. Making films means putting something out into the world and receiving something from this world in return. Moreover, my films are political. I am a film activist. That’s why it’s important for me to talk about my work. Even though it is exhausting sometimes, I become more aware of what I’m actually communicating during the process. That makes me more radical. Also in my communication.

I: To see your films as part of the current social discourse is therefore intentional?

CS: My films are not alibis to send a message to the world. All films are political. And those that pretend not to be [T: political], only reproduce the world as it is - these kinds of films are conservative.

I: Your films are contemporary and very reflective on one hand, but they are also simple and moving like pop songs on the other hand. I like their clear structure, their lucidity and their sincere aspiration. I’m referring for example to the many coups de foudre [T: love at first sight situations] that different films like Water Lilies and My Life as a Courgette have in common. I’m also thinking about the scene in Being 17, where desire is studied and spelled out during homework, or Vivaldi’s Summer from The Four Seasons in your new film. Is this something you do appreciate about art?

CS: I think of my films as arrows that you slowly, very slowly bore into the hearts of the viewers. [T: Ouch!] That’s the sincerity. That also means for me to be radical. Radicality is not so much about cold, pure ideas but about having something specific in mind, and to ask yourself to whom you are actually talking. What kind of culture you are creating.

I: Please tell me a bit about how you are working as a screenwriter. How does your writing process look like?

CS: Before I start writing, I like to take a lot of time to think. It took three years for Portrait of a Lady on Fire. I make some notes from time to time, save ideas, let thoughts roll back and forth in my head until some of them connect with each other. When this part is done, I don’t write a treatment [T: see here] but do the scène à scène directly - all scenes of the film, summarised in a few sentences. That takes about a month of intensive work. If I’m happy with the result, then I start with the screenplay. This takes around two to three months. I write very quickly. As mentioned before, most of the time is spent on thinking prior to writing, to question my ideas and desires. I’m very strict with myself in this regard.

I: The research for Portrait of a Lady on Fire was surely comprehensive.

CS: That’s true. I also found out during the research for the film how active the female art scene in the second half of the 18th century was. There were hundreds of female painters! Rich material, into which I threw myself with a lot of enthusiasm.

I: Before you came across these facts, there was already an idea for the film?

CS: Yes, the original idea was to have a love story with a creative dialogue between a female painter and a model. I didn’t want to talk about contemporary painting but about portraiture. This seemed very relevant for today. I also wanted to avoid talking directly about cinema, didn’t want to show a film set. The 18th century was the time of enlightenment, a revolutionary period in the political and intellectual history of Europe. Portraiture was in vogue back then. There were philosophical debates about what is more worth striving for: a portrait that is very similar to the person or a better version [T: of them]. I wanted to play with these questions. It was very moving to learn that there were in fact so many female painters at the time, but it was also bitter, because they pretty much disappeared from art history. Their paintings have just been missing from my life! My film was meant to be set in the past, because it wasn’t told like this before.

I: It’s interesting that you found a potential for strength where the image of women was collectively considered as extremely fragile. The 18th century - as can also be seen in Portrait of a Lady on Fire - was the time of décolletés and corsets, being tied up in your own femininity. And it is the great time of reading novels, which aroused desires.

CS: You still have desires in an oppressed society. Because it wasn’t possible for women to create art, they couldn’t really convey their intimacy for a long time. We as women are lonely, alone with our bodies, our desires and political will, because we lack this knowledge about our history. Isolating women has always been part of the patriarchal master plan. Apologies, I’m beginning to lecture on the patriarchy! But seriously, there are no anachronisms in Portrait of a Lady on Fire. I’m convinced that everything I told also took place. Cinema is the place, where you share intimacy. And to share the intimacy between women is to show them among themselves. That’s why we left men in the off. Otherwise it would have to be a story about oppression.

I: Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a love story, in which solidarity and equality are quite important. Héloïse, Marianne and all the other characters in your film seem quite contemporary. How would you define a modern heroine? Who do you think are the heroines of our time?

CS: Heroines of our time, we know them. Greta Thunberg, Carola Rackete, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Only women are really making politics today. It’s about resistance. To be a strong figure, you sadly have to put up with a lot of contempt and hostility. Greta Thunberg is treated extremely hostile by the French press, although she is still a child! The level of the debate [T: around her] is absolutely disproportionate. In my opinion this is a challenge that only heroines have to endure. Big heroes, as we know from films and books, always need big adversaries. The paradigm for heroines on the contrary seems to be that they don’t have any adversaries who could keep up with them.

―

Picture source: [1, Photo by Thomas Laisné/Contour by Getty Images]

[citylightsbooks]

5 Questions with Chet'la Sebree, Author of Field Study

Chet'la Sebree is the director of the Stadler Center for Poetry and Literary Arts at Bucknell University and the author of Mistress, winner of the 2018 New Issues Poetry Prize and nominated for a 2020 NAACP Image Award. Her poetry has appeared in the Kenyon Review, Guernica, Pleiades, and elsewhere.

Chet'la will be in conversation with Dantiel W. Moniz, discussing her new book Field Study (published by FSG) in our City Lights LIVE! discussion series on June 5th!

******

Where are you writing to us from?

From my birth month of May.

From the left side of a rented duplex in central PA.

From the third floor in a patterned, blue-velvet armchair across from my teal-painted desk.

And, because I didn’t finish this all at once, from the first floor enjoying the afternoon sun.

What’s kept you sane during the pandemic?

I want to be the kind of person who says exercise. I certainly spent some time on my mat and pounding the pavement, but it has really been food, wine, and fellowship that have held me together. These have always been the things that kept me sane. In grad school, I loved having people over for potluck dinners. But this sort of fellowship surrounding food took on new meaning in the pandemic. It wasn’t just that I learned how to make gluten-free pasta from scratch or placed orders for specialty wine shipments, but it was the sturdy calendar of happy hours and dinner dates kept me going. I did everything from virtual wine tastings to learning how to make injera with poet Diana Khoi Nguyen with home-ground teff to have boozy brunches and movie nights with friends from high school and college.

Right before the pandemic, I transitioned into a new job as a tenure-track professor and director of a university literary arts center and was traveling for my first book, Mistress, which meant sometimes I was in two different cities in one week, while also teaching classes and hosting events. This meant that I spent little time with my friends. Moving around less meant that I could not only reconnect but deepen relationships. Nearly every week since the beginning of the pandemic, I’ve been meeting with prose writers Dantiel W. Moniz and María Isabel Álvarez—both of whom I’d met at a writing residency in 2017. Our first Zoom was an attempt to heal the wound of not seeing each other at a March 2020 conference. What started as a conversation, led to salons, led to work sessions, led to us planning for our own future residencies. We’ve cried; we’ve rooted each other on; we’ve held each other accountable. They kept me going through the last rounds of writing and editing Field Study, and I can’t wait to talk to Dantiel about it on June 5th!

What books are you reading right now? Which books do you return to?

Right now, I’m primarily reading emails and my students’ final portfolios, but I’m so excited for the pleasure reading this summer will bring. When I can sneak a moment, though, I am toggling between three books: Felicia Zamora’s newest collection I Always Carry My Bones; Nana Nkweti’s brand neew Walking on Cowrie Shells; and Philip Pullman’s The Subtle Knife. That last one is a reread; I first read the His Dark Materials series in high school. I often return to books I read in those pre-college years—fantasy and sci-fi novels like Ender’s Game but also Toni Morison’s The Bluest Eye, Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. I like thinking about who I’ve become since first reading them.

The book I would say I return to the most, however, is probably Audre Lorde’s Sister Outsider, or maybe even just specific essays in it: “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power,” “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism,” and “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House.”

Which writers, artists, and others influence your work in general, and this book, specifically?

I’m such a sponge, which is part of what made writing Field Study so fun. The patchwork style of quotes interwoven with my own language gave me a space to name names of those that influenced me. It gave me the chance to be in conversation with literary legends and thinkers like Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Tressie McMillan Cottom, and Maya Angelou, while also calling on my brother, best friend, and cousin for insight.

I’m inspired by visual artists like Georgia O’Keefe, Nekisha Durrett, Alison Saar, Carrie Mae Weems, Stephanie J. Williams, and Deborah Willis, but I’m also inspired by theatre, films, dance, television. Who knows what Field Study would be if it weren’t for the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People that came out in April 2020. I am an early-to-bed person, but I finished watching the series at around 11:45pm, got out of bed, and worked on Field Study until 7am. Then, I slept for four hours, got up, and worked for the rest of the day. In watching that well-orchestrated chaos and intimacy, I was taken back to my early twenties, on which Field Study is loosely based. That’s how I work—something gets me in my guts, as poet E.G. Asher would say, and I find my way into the work. It could be a good show, Max Richter’s recomposed Vivaldi, or a nice food and wine paring that gets me going.

I also wrote to an erratic playlist that’s also representative of the diversity of conversations in Field Study. The music included everything from Foo Fighters and Paramore to Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill to Henryk Górecki and Sol Rising.

If you opened a bookstore, where would it be located, what would it be called, and what would your bestseller be?

My bookstore, URGE, would double as an integrative wellness center with a mind / body / spirit focus. We’re talking incenses and essential oils along with your book of the month picks. There’d be two locations: one on Whidbey Island, where I finished my first book Mistress, and laid the groundwork for Field Study; and the other in DC, which still calls to me even though I moved from the city seven years ago.

My bestsellers would be a tie between anything Audre Lorde (probably not surprising) and anything Bob’s Burgers-related, since my inner circle would know I got the name of the bookstore from the show’s Season 11’s Valentine’s episode: “Romancing the Beef.”

[sakurasangcl]

BTS Reactions~ How they find out you have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)- Hyung Line

Okay, so I personally do have ASD, and have been professionally diagnosed. I know the disorder is diverse so I did my best at writing this... It may be utter crap but hey I tried. If you want to learn more about ASD, here are a few links and don’t hesitate to send me an ask!

also the gifs aren’t mine and i mainly used them because they’re cute so...

makenae line

Jin:

“Jin?” you mumble, lightly nibbling on your lip while playing with them hem of your shirt.

“What is it, sweetheart?” He asks you, looking away from the television and intently at you,

causing your cheeks to redden.

“I have something important to tell you… that I probably should have already told you…” You admit, tentatively sitting yourself next to him on the couch.

“It’s alright. You can tell me anything you want to whenever you feel that the time is right.”

“I’m autistic,” you couldn’t help but blirt. It’s not something that you disliked; you were quite proud of being on the spectrum, in fact. You just normally kept that fact to yourself, especially where mental health was more of a taboo then where you were from. “I-I have Autism Spectrum Disorder, which means I don’t think like you all and most people…” you explain, the words running of your tongue now. “I don’t always understand things that I should-generally a lot of jokes… I also have some weird habits or ticks, which get worse when I am super stressed or nervous…. and I know this kind of thing is taboo, so I understand if you don’t want to keep seeing me anymore…”

“Y/n, don’t be silly. Something as simple as that isn’t going to change how I feel about you!”

“R-r-really? That’s all?” you stutter, a few tears escaping your eyes.

“Well, not quite…” Jin admits, causing you to freeze in fear. He chuckles and wipes away your tears with his thumb. “If you don’t get my jokes, I will explain them to you without any judgement. How does that sound?”

You let out a sigh and nod, as Jin pulls you into a hug.

“Thank you for telling me, Jagi,” He adds, kissing your forehead.

Suga: 

“Dog! Dog! Doggy! Ugh, they are so cute!” you giggle, your face inches from the window. Today Suga decided to sneak you into the studio while he worked, because he wanted the company.

“Are you going to point out every dog you see?” Yoongi chuckles, glancing at you.

“Yes. Dogs are cute.”

“Like you.”

His comment had you blushing scarlet, and also completely quiet. As he turned a corner, there was a beautiful golden retriever, one of your favorites.

“Did you give up pointing them out? I know that kind is your favorite.” Yoongi teases.

You stick your tongue out at him, and mumble, “Jerk.”

He scoffs lightly, and replies, “Me? Never.”

“But I want that dog. Can we go back and steal it. We can write a song about it.”

“That’s probably not a good idea. Both the theft and the song.”

“I tried,” you sigh to yourself.

“Ohhh, now that’s a pretty German Shepherd. It’s so pretty. I want that one too. Did you know that there was a German shepherd in World War II that got shot nine times and lived through it all?”

“How do you know all of these random facts? That’s the tenth one about dogs today!” Yoongi laughs.

“Well, when I was younger dogs were one of my special interests.”

“Special interest?” Yoongi repeats, not quite understanding.

“So,” you begin your classic spiel, “when people have Autism Spectrum Disorder, which is where you think differently than most people since your brains wired differently, you oftentimes have what is called a special interest. A special interest is basically just a topic you know a lot about. For me, it used to be dogs.”

“I see,” Yoongi says, “Then what is your special interest now?”

“Are you sure you want to know?”

“I don’t see why not…”

“Okay. Well…” you began.

RM: 

As soon as you knew for certain that Namjoon had feelings for you, you began to pull away. It wasn’t anything to do with him-it was all you. A part of you, specifically. You were at home, a cup of tea warming you up while you laid underneath a weighted blanket, trying not to cry. You really did have a huge crush on Namjoon and wanted your relationship to go further, but you didn’t want to cause him any more problems than he already had.

A soft knock on your door woke you from your calming ritual. Since you were expecting a package to arrive, you opened the door with no hesitation, only to find the man you were avoiding leaning against the doorframe.

“Y/n, babygirl, why are you avoiding me?” Namjoon asks, his voice low but soft.

You nearly drop your mug in surprise, but he quickly grabs your hands, holding it with you. “Be careful there, you wouldn’t want to cut yourself now would you?”

You shake your head and step back, and he releases his hands.

“May I come in?”

You nod and move aside from the doorway, and Namjoon steps inside and closes the door behind him. As he takes off his shoes you go back over to the couch and throw the weighted blanket over your legs, taking slow deep breaths to avoid having a panic attack.

Namjoon sat next to you, looking concerned. “You haven’t been answering my texts or calls. I haven’t seen you in a while and I was worried. Are you okay? Did I do something to push you away?” He seriously inquires of you.

You shake your head, worrying your lip between your teeth. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just me. You… you deserve better. I doubt you want to date someone who has autism.”

“Autism? Autism Spectrum Disorder, right?”

You tilt your head, surprised he has heard of it. “Yes,” you admit softly.

“I don’t mind dating someone on the Spectrum as long as you don’t mind dating me,” Namjoon joked, smiling.

“Are you sure? I can be kind of a pain sometimes… A lot of the time. I have a lot of problems…”

“Everyone has problems, y/n. You are no exception, nor am I, okay?”

“Okay, Oppa,” you agree, blushing red as you realized the words that came out of your mouth.

Namjoon laughs at your embarrassment and pulls you into a hug.

“I like when you call me Oppa,” he whispers in your ear, giving you a peck on your cheek.

JHope: 

You and Hobi had been having a wonderful day out. You were currently taking a walk in your favorite park, your hands occasionally brushing up against each other. Suddenly, the bright blue sky became dark with rain clouds, and you immediately started to freak out. You didn’t have an umbrella or raincoat, nor were you near the car. And you did not want to get wet.

“Hobi,” you say nervously, grabbing his hand so he turns to face you. “We need to go. Right now.”

“Y/n, we’ll be okay. I’m sure it’s just passing by. But of course, we can head back.” He soothes you, smiling brightly as always.

You pick up the pace in a vain attempt to beat the bipolar weather, but lose horridly. As soon as the car was in sight, the rain began to pour out of the sky with droplets feeling like the size of grapes. You let out a screech of horror as you run to the car, now completely drenched in water. You fumble getting inside the car, and sit down having the appearance of a cat being forcibly bathed.

“Ah, I was wrong,” Hobi admits, grinning apologetically.

“I don’t like being in wet clothes,” you say, louder than necessary. “I don’t like wet clothes… I don’t like wet clothes…” you repeat yourself under your breath, rocking a little in your seat.

“My place is closer, so I can take you there and you can borrow some of my clothes. How does that sound, Jagi?” Hobi offers with a smile.

You continue your mantra, so Hobi turns on your favorite violin concerto that he knows calms you down, Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.

You hardly notice how Hobi gently pries you out of the car and walks you inside to his room. There, he pulls out clothes and wraps you in a towel.

“Here you are, Jagi.”

You nod in thanks and take the clothes to the bathroom, where you promptly return feeling a bit ashamed of your behavior. Hobi had also changed, and found a blanket to let you cuddle up in.

“Better now?” he asks you, wrapping the blanket around your shoulders.

You nod and lean in to hug him. “I’m really sorry I freaked out. I should have told you beforehand, I have autism spectrum disorder. Because of that, I have a lot of struggles in my daily life, one of which is an abrupt change of plans. I didn’t know it was going to rain, and I really hate getting wet…”

“Oh, I see. Thank you for telling me.” Hobi replies, kissing your forehead.

“You’re not… afraid?”

“Why would I be afraid of something that’s a part of you?”

“I dunno…” you shrug. “Well, thank you for not freaking out, as well and taking care of me,” you add, gently nuzzling him.

“Of course not. I have to take care of you as your Oppa.” He chuckles.

Pretty pretty please let me know what you think!

let me know if you want to be tagged in my reactions as well! 

[schmidtchristmasmarket]

Ten Things to do in Rome for Christmas

Were you planning to be in Rome around the time of Christmas? Tis the season to be jolly, so be sure to check out these ten recommendations. This was a thought list to write because there are many amazing things to see and do in Rome around this time of year. However, here at the Schmidt Christmas Market, we decided to boil everything down to just ten of the best things to do in Rome. Without further ado, let's begin!

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It's no wonder that we'd recommend a Christmas market, but hear us out. Although Italy doesn't quite have the same concept as Christmas as the U.S., Rome nonetheless puts on a fantastic display. Perhaps the most visited and widely regarded market resides in the famous Piazza Navona. There are also other options like the ones in the Campo de' Fiori, which are also worth visiting. The Christmas market is held in Piazza Navona square was built in the 1st century under orders of Emperor Domitian. The original purpose was a hippodrome, which would also serve as a place to reenact naval battles. The area would be flooded, and miniature versions of warships would be used. This market hosts a wide range of vendors, from street performers to artists, musicians, and stalls. So make sure to stop by and compare it to the Schmidt Christmas Market. Christmas Trees Galore

Although Rome's concept of Christmas is not quite the same as the American version, Rome does know how to put on a great Christmas tree show. All around Rome you will find enormous and well light Christmas trees. Although there is plenty of competition, some of the best trees can be found around the Coliseum in Piazza Venezia. Go to the top of the Spanish steps and bask in the Christmas décor. The backdrop of the ancient Roman coliseum also makes for interesting photos and stories! A short ten-minute walk will also take you to the main boulevard to arrive back to Piazza Venezia. This Christmas tree comes with a splendid nativity scene along with a massively tall tree. What makes this even better is if you continue walking down Via del Corso, you will shortly reach the area around the Spanish Steps. This area has yet another nativity scene (perhaps a better one) and a large well-light Christmas tree. This area also generally has lots of people leisurely walking around shopping for Christmas decor and presents. Experience Christmas Culture in Rome Rome also has a very impressive list of experiences you can partake in. From live musicals to opera's, plays and more, there's no shortage of Christmas themed events. Here are just a few of those impressive spectacles we love. The Nutcracker at the Teatro dell’Opera Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and other artists at the Chiesa di Ponte Sant’Angeloa around 7 PM. Handel, Beethoven, and Bruckner at Parco della Muscia or sometimes the Sala Santa Cecilia. Disney on Ice: Frozen also at the Parco della Musicia. Christmas concert as the Sala Baldini around 5:15 PM Again, these are just a few of the options you have to enjoy Rome's Christmas culture. You could probably even attend several of the events since some smart early in the evening while others start later. Go Ice Skating

This wouldn't be a Christmas blog without ice skating! Rome offers some great ice skating options. Consider walking over to the ice skating rank at Castel Sant'Angelo; if you're not around there, then no worries because Rome has plenty of other options as well! You could also try the popular ranks around Re di Roma, Tor di Quinto, or Villa Giordani.

Christmas Sweets and Treats

Rome also has some great food options, which are Christmas themed. Italian food is also famously delicious, so you'll have plenty to enjoy! We recommend venturing over to a store called Eataly near Piramide in the Testaccio area of Rome. The Eataly store features a large indoor market stocked full of traditional foods and treats centered around Italian cuisine. You'll probably also come across stacked boxes of cake called Panettone. This is a special "Christmas only" sweet bread that melts in your mouth when you eat it. It's more like someone figured out how to cross bread with candy floss. Manger of Bethlehem As an ode to the past, Rome still practices a special event giving homage to Christmas's true meaning. In Rome, you can find the re-creation of the Manger of Bethlehem scene, a Christian feast is put on, which features the concept of Jesus coming to humanity in the form of a helpless baby boy. Since Bethlehem meant "bread," a feast is put on to remember Jesus and eat the "body of Christ" as thanks. Midnight Mass Speaking of Christian traditions, Rome has plenty of them! You could also attend a midnight mass. In fact, many Romans suggest that Christmas only starts with midnight mass. To participate, walk over to the Basilica of St. Peter, where the Pope and others celebrate. Despite the "midnight" part of the name, the church has found it more practical to hold the celebration earlier in the evening. This is mostly for families and the elderly. Either way, it's quite the spectacle. Urbi et Orbe Thie address the Pope gives to the numerous followers of Catholicism both in the Vatican City and to the world. Urbi et Orbe means "to the city and to the world," the city referring to Vatican City. During this address, the Pope also does Christmas greetings and talks about the meaning of Christmas. Expat Christmas Parties Rome also hosts a series of Christmas themed parties specifically for ex-pats. These parties are generally done through ex-pat communities and are cheap or sometimes free to attend. In some cases, you just need to bring food, and you're in! The nice thing about these parties is you can enjoy Rome during Christmas with people from your country yet still learn about and enjoy Christmas in Rome. Christmas in Rome Tour Finally, Rome offers many different tour options for Christmas parties. These tours generally take you to some of the places we've mentioned earlier. They also stop off at markets, eateries, and more to show you what Rome has to offer during the Christmas season.

Sign up to get our blog in a weekly email That concludes our list of things to do in Rome for Christmas. If you liked this post, then consider following our Christmas blog for more. Or check out the Schmidt Christmas market for more Christmas decor.

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[preganziolitaly2017]

6/30/17 - 7/01/17

6/30/17

This weekend was my first weekend off! For my first free, full, two days I decided to finally check out Venice!! What an incredible experience. Venice is absolutely beautiful and I want to go back now, every day (somewhat possible, as I usually am off around two and it only takes about 30 minutes to get there). I don’t want to have this be too long, so I will only recount the main activities. I got a pretty late start— by the time I was done getting ready, it was 10:30 and the next train out to Venice wasn’t until 11:45. So I did what I normally do and had a bite to eat and coffee at Giornale & Caffe until it was time to walk to the station. The ride was only 30 minutes to Venice so I got there in no time! During the train ride I decided to book a walking/gondola ride tour so I could learn a bit about the city. I ended up getting to that just in time, because it took a while to find where I was staying! 

So first impressions of Venice: Absolutely beautiful, VERY narrow alleyways, more tourists than I expected, lots of hidden areas, people are generally very nice. 

So I got to the square where we were supposed to meet early, so I decided to go to a bar called “Black Jack” that seemed pretty inviting. I ordered a glass of red wine and sat next to this woman from Texas. I told her that I was staying by myself as an au pair and she applauded me for being so brave. Again, it doesn’t feel as if I’m being brave, but I took the compliment! Soon it was time to go on the tour so I said bye and went to the area I saw filled with Americans. I ended up meeting and talking to a guy from Tarzana! Small world. The tour was nice, and I took some notes so here are the most interesting facts: 

-Venice is made up of 118 little islands and rests on mineralized wood 

-Venice was it’s own republic until 1861, when it became a part of Italy 

-Venice has it’s own specific dialect, because of this 

- The end of the Venice flag is cut into 6 pieces, to represent the 6 districts 

After the walking portion, we got in line to ride on the Gondala! I was with 5 other people for that— a mom, dad, and daughter trio from Australia and a couple from Puerto Rico. I loved the sensation of being on the gondola and just relaxing while taking time to appreciate the city. It was over far too soon. Unfortunately I was not able to do something directly after, since I used up 95 percent of my phone battery. :( I rushed back to the hotel room before I lost my map capability, but before I went to my room I decided to check out the spiraling staircase next to the hotel. A rich family wanted to show off their wealth by creating this marvelous staircase called, “Scala Contarini del Bovolo” and at the top was a beautiful view of Venice rooftops and the bell tower. 

Then I went back to my room to relax for a little while I charged my phone. I set out to go to a nice place for dinner, but instead ended up going to a nearby opera house to see a performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. I guess Vivaldi was Venetian (?) so they liked to perform his compositions often. I wasn’t complaining, and the performance was wonderful. I have never seen musicians play it live before, so it really blew me away with how furiously fast they could pay the notes. While I was in line, I met some people studying at Cambridge University, along with the guy Davids’ two cousins from Luisiana, so we hung out after the concert. We had fun bar-hopping and exploring the many paths and ancient buildings of Venice. At about 1:00, I walked home! It was slightly sketch to me, but I ended up being fine, obviously. 

7/01/17

I woke up and wasn’t feeling 100 percent, so I didn't fully get up until I had to check out at 10:00. I left my backpack at the hotel, however, because I still wanted to check out Venice before coming home. I first walked to a nearby cafe to have breakfast. I picked an open area to have breakfast at so I could soak in the sight of the city. It was short, but sweet. Then I walked to finally see St. Mark’s Basilica! It was honestly one of the best, most impressive works I have every seen. When I got inside I just stood in awe at the intricacies of the design, biblical artwork, size, and gold and marble material everywhere. I enjoyed just walking, but I really wished I could have known the history more before I came inside the cathedral. At the end of the tour there was a gift shop and I actually bought a book about the history and went back inside to gain the contextual understanding I craved. 

Then after I finally felt finished (which is not really true, since I could probably spend hours in there) I decided to head to the Peggy Guggenheim museum. She was an English (I think) artist who did a lot of sculptures and later on discovered a passion for collecting other artists’ works. Her museum incorporated her favorite pieces from other artists. I love art museums so I really enjoyed taking my time walking around before I had to leave to go to the train station to go home. 

Right now it’s 11:15 pm and I can barely type anymore so I am going to leave it at that! 

-Tess 

P.S. The kids made all of the hashtags when they saw I was writing something :)