#where labels are the most important thing and we need to bow to the superior elite with superpowers

[frumfrumfroo]

Why do you think so few people will notice or care about a “SWCU”? Was the review you listened to positive about it all?

No, anyone who has one slightest quantum of a standard knows the film is terrible, but they don’t see that the most insulting thing about it isn’t how awful it is in execution but how it remakes Rey as a fucking blank slate perfect superhero for men to project onto, turns the Force into a video game magic system, and killing Ben makes all of Star Wars a nihilistic shaggy dog story about a family of Born Doomed assholes who have failed in everything they ever attempted. All of which would be just as bad if the film had been better written and better edited.

Too many people are okay with the predestination, with the moral logic that any character and the story itself can treat Ben any way and it’s fine because he doesn’t deserve better, people are okay with a totally different standard being applied to Rey because she’s the protagonist, with violence being the answer, with the total absence of character development or internal struggle. The lack of agency for literally anyone in this retcon. They’re fine with being told the LAST SHOT of a film doesn’t have significance and that this is totally a happy ending despite even THEIR OWN FILM going out of its way to illustrate that Rey is isolated and her belonging is dead. She’s primed to have ADVENTURES as my self insert and that’s what I, Tim who hates Ewoks and thinks ‘nothing happened’ in TLJ, want, so what the character wanted and what the story was about is totally irrelevant.

Huge swaths of people are super cool with love and forgiveness being empty words and the shining idealism of sw being utterly snuffed out. The American cultural nightmarescape of utilitarianism and retribution, of dehumanising all whose humanity is inconvenient, their delusion of being a meritocracy, and treating being a victim who is so gauche as to be traumatised as an unforgivable crime is all hunky dory with this bleak, depressing indictment of vulnerability and compassion. People hate Ben because he’s a male victim and he’s vulnerable, because he has all the human emotions American men aren’t supposed to have and he failed to pull himself up by his bootstraps until after he’d lashed out in pain, they’re relieved to never have to think about him again.

Do I think the GA is happy about this? No. But that’s not going to dominate the fucking discourse, is it? Even in this fandom very few people are going to take this proof that nothing matters and DLF feels zero obligation to their own canon as a reason to just stop investing and stop rewarding this absolutely crass product and its giant ‘fuck you’ to storytelling. We know now who gets to be heard and listened to and it isn’t people who care about themes and about what George Lucas was trying to accomplish in creating a new myth.

[hualianff]

Thinking about XL who used to be an heir to one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the world, “Xianle Tech.” When his family’s business was still thriving, XL attended a lot of charity events to meet with clients and cultivate important connections he would have to uphold as future CEO.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan, XL developing a respectable name for himself as he began business school. Once he graduated, XL shadowed his father at work, learning the ropes of how to run a successful company that competed with the best in the world.

However, the success was never meant to last.

Only three years down the road, XianLe Tech suffered a major setback when reports spread that their new product line caused harmful explosions after little use. After paying millions in indemnification for the damage customers experienced, another scandal revealed XianLe Tech had been profiting off of unpaid labor.

Within one month, the world XL had grown up to know crumbled all around him. And he could do nothing about it. All the “friends” XL had disappeared within a blink of an eye. No one wanted to be associated with the family who had resorted to dirty practices for their advantage, which is incredibly ironic considering the business industry is all about networking and using others as stepping stones to achieve selfish goals.

Nevertheless, XL understood that it had been wrong, that he and his parents were wrong to disregard the roots of their manufacturing process. XL wasn’t aware of his privilege up until now, but he sure as hell would learn how to combat this systematic inequity, somehow salvaging what he had left along the way.

XL becomes a social worker who is a Youtuber on the side, educating his viewers about class injustices, homelessness, poverty, and the same exploitation of lower-class resources that led to XianLe Tech’s downfall. He also incites them to engage in random acts of kindness whenever they can. He doesn’t have a huge subscriber following, doesn’t make money off of his videos. XL is just glad that some people watch his videos. He hopes he can make a positive impact on their lives, no matter how small.

After all, XL is a firm believer that despite the world being a scary and lonely place, having at least one person let you know you are cared for is enough to make a difference–is enough to save a life.

***

“I am sorry, but we cannot serve you at this moment.”

“But we talked on the phone a few hours ago. I have a reservation,” XL says calmly. He holds up his phone with the confirmation page pulled up. The waiter doesn’t even glance at the screen, sniffing as if XL is nothing but a nuisance.

“Still, we don’t serve people like you,” he says, eyeing XL’s outfit with distaste.

Ah, so it was an appearance issue. XL quickly looks around at the seated guests, catching sight of wrists adorned with miraculous jewels and pricey wristwatches, bodies clothed with expensive fabrics no doubt imported from overseas. The same aura of practiced prestige and sophistication lingers in the air.

XL doesn’t even have to glance down at his ripped jeans, cream-colored sweater, and flimsy white jacket to know he sticks out like a sore thumb. He internally sighs, slightly regretting taking SQX up on their recommendation to try out The Red Thread. If XL knew he would’ve been barred from in-dining eating, he would not have placed a reservation in the first place.

But XL doesn’t want to give up just yet. He still has a lot to learn about class discrimination and prejudices; if XL were to walk away now with his tail between his legs, it would be giving power to those who claimed superiority and unjust treatment in the first place. Instead of allowing this waiter to brush him to the side like a pest, XL stands his ground, adjusting his beige handbag on his shoulder.

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean. Could you please elaborate?” XL asks in a breezy tone. A sense of amusement bubbles in his gut when the waiter looks visibly annoyed.

“Sir, we don’t mean to be unaccommodating. However, there are standards in place that were set by the CEO himself. We are simply abiding by his standards,” the waiter says, presenting the matter like he had no choice but to turn XL away.

“Is it a money problem? Because I assure you I can pay for my meal, if that’s what you’re worried about,” XL tries again. The waiter narrows his eyes, making XL gulp nervously. He unconsciously twists the hair not pulled back in his half-bun.

A few more waiters gather around them, ready to jump in if things get too heated.

“Oh, I’m certain the former heir to XianLe Tech can afford our service,” the main waiter sneers unkindly. XL’s breath catches in his throat upon being recognized. The probing eyes suffocate him, probably taking into account how renowned he was years ago and thinking how far he has fallen to come to a Michelin-starred restaurant dressed like this.

XL feels himself losing steam.

“But we are asking you to leave. It’s up to you whether or not force will be necessary.”

“It’s not right to refuse service when there is no valid reason in doing so,” XL says, more desperate this time.

“You do not pass the dress code,” another waiter pipes up. “You are not fit to be here.”

The main waiter now walks towards XL, a grim expression on his face.

“Wait, I’d like to speak to your manager, if they’re here–”

“I am the manager. Don’t make things harder for yourself,” the manager replies brusquely. He stands tall in front of XL, an intimidation tactic used to make XL back down. XL’s face heats up as he realizes he’s caught the attention of other customers as well. He’s like a trapped animal being told to scram in the presence of merciless predators.

It’s not a nice feeling, not at all.

Humiliation seeps into XL’s bones. It’s been a while since he was last scrutinized by the general public, and while this is only a handful of elite gathered in a medium-sized building, the burden weighing down on XL feels like that of the weight of the world. He needs to escape. He needs to breathe. Because only then can XL continue saving himself.

Right as XL decides it might be time to let the reins go, he hears the whooshing sound of the doors opening. He doesn’t turn to see who has entered, but the surrounding staff who were observing the exchange go deathly silent. Their faces automatically mold into a mask of obedience, posture tightening up.

***

He is one of the oldest orphans in the orphanage. His age alone makes him fit for this task, and if he does it right, he can earn money as well as the good graces of his caretakers. He can do it.

He must. He must survive.

But there are so many people. So many plates and tables and silverware. Everyone is so tall, so big, so important. It’s been three hours, and his feet have developed blisters. The bruises from a couple days ago still throb. When he smells all the rich aromas coming from the kitchen, from the plates he carries upon both hands, his stomach growls.

He feels light-headed. Too many people, he thinks. Too much talking and boisterous laughter. He wants to leave but he can’t. He won’t be paid until the end of the night, after clean-up.

He continues to work.

And then it happens. It’s too fast. He wasn’t looking where he was going, just staring at the floor as he rushed to the kitchen. But he has bumped into another person, and judging by the clothes he wears and his pleasant scent, this person is very important.

He can only stare at the mess he’s made. There are gasps of shock and horror around him. He can’t breathe. He wants to disappear. To die, just freaking die already. He will never make it out if he can’t even complete mundane work like this.

As he’s ushered into the kitchens by the older male, he prepares for the yelling, and possibly the hits. They never come. Instead, he’s cleaned up by the older male, who asks a couple questions.

He answers them willingly.

“What is your name?”

“It’s nice to meet you, Xiao Hong-er. I’m Xie Lian, you can call me gege, okay?”

“Everyone makes mistakes, Xiao Hong-er. But they will never define you. As long as you remain true to yourself, you can achieve anything you set your heart to. Do you understand?”

“I believe in you.”

When gege left through the kitchen doors, back to the adult world, back to being important, another older male walks in. The other male frowns, then says one word.

“Fired.”

***

“What is going on here?” An authoritative voice demands, sending powerful vibrations through the air. The hairs on the back of XL’s neck stand up as the new person comes up from behind him. This must be an important figure.

The manager answers that a customer–who isn’t even dressed according to the standards–has been causing trouble. Already beyond mortified at the turn of events but refusing to let it show, XL slowly meets the newcomer’s eyes as he is acknowledged.

The man is tall, at least a head taller than XL. He’s broader too, dressed to the nines just like the other waiters and customers in the restaurant. His skin is hauntingly pale, slivers of ink peeking out from underneath the dress shirt he wears, top three buttons open. XL does not allow his gaze to waver as he instantly labels this guy one of the most handsome men he’s laid eyes upon, and it makes his heart stutter.

XL shoves down these uncalled for thoughts and refrains from giving any of his emotions away.

The most peculiar thing is the eyepatch settled upon the other man’s right eye. XL makes it a point not to stare too much. The eye left uncovered regards XL with interest. XL feels shivers run down his spine at that, steeling himself for the harsh words that will be directed towards him once more.

So XL finally bows his head and lowers his eyes.

“Never mind. I was just leaving. Sorry to be a disturbance.”

An awkward silence follows. The staff doesn’t say anything, but their faces are victorious at the prospect that XL has finally caved in. On the other hand, the taller man’s eye widens, and he only regards XL for ten more seconds before anger becomes noticeable in his gaze.

XL feels his stomach drop.

He goes to make his exit, except a large hand on his shoulder prevents him from turning around. XL looks at the taller man with confusion. The eye-patched man says only one word, expression solemn.

“Stay.”

As XL processes this with raised eyebrows, the taller man now glares holes into the manager who had spoken in the first place. With a click of his tongue, loud and clear, all the staff rushes back to their places, getting back to work. This includes the manager, who ducks his head to avoid the hostile energy of who XL now assumes is his boss.

“Sir?” XL addresses quietly as all the eyes that were once staring at him go back to their own business. The taller man now fully turns to face XL, hand slipping off XL’s shoulder.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t realize such standards were put into place since my departure. I’ll ensure there are consequences for the staff that has disrespected you tonight,” he says firmly, never breaking eye contact. This makes XL’s skin crawl, makes him feel alive. The other man holds his hand out, seemingly shrinking himself to fit XL’s comfort. “I’m the owner of this establishment, by the way. You can call me San Lang.”

XL is utterly speechless for a second, automatically taking SL’s hand and shaking while simultaneously admiring his undeniable attractiveness.

“M-many thanks, San Lang. I didn’t mean to cause such a commotion...” XL feels himself blush as he takes note that their hands have been intertwined for an absurd amount of time considering they’re strangers.

“I tried telling them I had a reservation, but they wouldn’t seat me—“

“They rejected your reservation?” SL questions sharply, dropping XL’s hand and curling his own into a fist.

XL bites his lip, nodding. He can practically feel the waves of irritation rolling off of the owner. “But I suppose I didn’t realize how high-scale this restaurant is. I mean, I’ve heard many great things about the food...”

When SL doesn’t say anything, the corner of his lips turned downwards, XL quickly backtracks in panic, realizing what he said must’ve been offensive.

“I’m sure your restaurant still holds true to its reputation, haha! I suppose...maybe I should’ve thought to dress more formally so this wouldn’t have happened,” XL says.

However, SL is already shaking his head. When he speaks, his voice is hushed, words tumbling out in a smooth baritone voice that XL could listen to for hours.

“No. None of this is your fault. Please don’t take whatever my staff has said to heart. They are the ones mistaken and they will be held accountable. Forgive me for disappointing you...?” He trails off.

“Xie Lian,” XL offers helpfully, offering a small smile.

“Xie Lian...” SL says slowly, as if testing the name out and decidedly liking the way it sounds. He whispers something else under his breath that XL can’t quite make out. XL chuckles at that, now wondering how old SL is. He doesn’t look any older than XL himself, perhaps even younger. Just the mere fact that SL is this young and so successful, XL is the one in awe.

They stand at the entrance of the restaurant in a brief silence, just staring at each other. XL assumes it’s time for him to take his leave. His reservation doesn’t matter much anymore, not like he wanted to dine and be served by the same people who looked down on him because of his underdressed self.

But before he can, once again, announce his exit, SL steps a little closer, a curious look in his eye.

“Say, Xie Lian, seeing as this was such a disservice for your night, would you be interested in going somewhere else? I know a few places that have just as delicious food,” SL offers, tilting his head innocently. His long hair is tied into a low ponytail, but his side bangs fall gracefully across his face.

“Wouldn’t that be showing me your competition?” XL asks good-naturedly. SL smirks at that.

“Competition doesn’t matter when the food in question is high quality,” he answers, holding his hands up while shrugging. “You came here for a satisfactory meal, and I’m saying I know a place or two that will be just as pleasing. If you’re up to try it, just say the word,” SL continues casually, arms now crossed in a way that makes the fabric of his long-sleeved dress shirt bulge.

XL is flattered by such an offer. He looks one last time at the inside dining room, the fancy tablecloths and expensive-looking candles, and the lavishly dressed customers who sit with their backs rod-straight, fingers pointing here and there.

It’s honestly a no-brainer. XL allows himself to smile graciously, nodding. “I would greatly appreciate it. I’m merely looking for dinner. Anywhere is fine.”

SL returns the smile, one eye crinkling at the corner. He seems relieved at XL’s response, and promptly goes to grab his coat that he had thrown at a waiter upon entering.

XL’s eyes widen at the bold, maple-red long coat SL puts on, accentuating board shoulders and his slim figure. XL puts aside his self-conscious thoughts of his ratty, second-hand clothes. SL gestures for XL to walk out the doors first, typing away at his phone, most likely making a last-minute call for a reservation.

XL thinks that for once in his life, luck seems to be on his side. What could’ve been a night of total humiliation and shame turned into a nice meal with a new friend. XL pushes the doors open with a newfound sense of happiness, completely missing the way HC makes a neck-slicing motion at the staff on his way out.

(HC)

(How To Piss Off Your Boss)

[haikyall]

time signature

AO3

ayoo~ this is for sonderdaisies in instagram and discord! Here’s your prompt in my entry for @bnhagiftexchange WC: 4.7K

Pairings: Hawks & Miruko (Keigo Takami & Rumi Usagiyama) AU/Prompt: Musician AU, 

Summary: Music brings people together, even if you see each other at work... and live across the street from one another

Three hours. It has been three hours since Rumi has started looking for her portfolio. That portfolio had the pieces she wanted to present to her leader when they start rehearsal tomorrow. That portfolio could bring her career to new heights. That portfolio could get her a promotion. The portfolio is missing. 

Her house is already a mess because of trying to flip it upside down just to look for that flimsy clear book. She hates the fact that she is forgetful and things like this happen on the daily basis. 

Maybe it’s under the bed— you already checked the bed— how about one more ti— you checked it five times already. Inside the couch? You can’t rip open your couch, Rumi. I can watch me. Okay, where are you going to get a new one? Fuck where is it? I swear I won’t be able to practice tonight without those.

She knows it’s not at the rehearsal studio, she remembers putting it in her envelope… where is her envelope? Rumi suddenly has the motivation to look for something else. Did I leave it at the studio?!?!

Her frustration gets the better of her and she starts to aggressively look for the clear envelope. She gets more annoyed as more time passes and she hasn’t found the thing yet. Her annoyed self got more pissed to know the fact that it was ten in the night. She annoyingly grunts and then she hears it…

Soft piano playing. It was Clair de Lune, Haydn. It was calming, soothing. The volume was soft enough to be heard by neighbors whose houses are just across the street but not loud enough to be causing any disruption. It was like the house the sound was coming from was a huge music box. 

Whoever was playing the piano, was very good. The emotions were displayed perfectly and mixing some of their own. You would know if you’re emotional in playing by simply catching the attention of the unsuspecting audience. Rumi notices how the pianist speeds up by half a second and after a while of playing they would realize the speed and calm down. That’s not how you play the song.

The song calmed Rumi down. She listened to it for quite a while, settling on the couch while thinking if she did leave her life’s work at her office. Her brain goes haywire thinking if she even labeled her stuff. She scolds herself for being so damn irresponsible, this wouldn’t be happening because of it. 

Her eyelids start to droop the more she listens to the goddamn classical piano player. Times like these are when she wants to throw something to the other house to shut the people up there but this time she has absolutely no reason and energy for that.

Rumi blacks out.

Rumi Usagiyama is late and it was a difference of five minutes… five minutes led to thirty because of her extensive care for her silver hair that reaches the curves of her hips. That same thirty minutes led to an hour because of searching “how to cook pancakes” on Google and ultimately failing, leading her to just settle with cold pizza on her fridge. An hour flew to an hour and forty-five minutes as she was looking for her sheet music which led her to have a massive breakdown because she was missing pages and had to print everything again, and then she realizes that she’s running five minutes late which lead to a total of an hour and fifteen minutes late with ten minutes tardy time.

If it weren’t for that fucking pianist and their fucking Haydn I wouldn’t be so late and slept on the couch.

She frantically runs to her rehearsal room where everyone involved in the project we're talking, tuning their instruments, eating, resting, or a combination of a few. It was like this every morning, you enter a room of people you’ll work with for a few months to play for a musical, and then when the project ends you act like you didn’t know each other’s life story and how they came around with their instrument.

It was always so noisy.

The tan girl sighs as she expects another classic sermon from her superiors saying that “she should be more responsible” or that “if you loved music, maybe be more punctual”. 

Well, I happen to love pancakes too so shove your fucking violin bows up your asses. We don’t even play the same fucking instruments.

Rumi sighs as she smiles and bows apologetically to her superiors. Her superiors shake their head and leave her little space in the wide rehearsal room and rolling her eyes, she sits down, reviewing her sheet music as a way of prepping herself.

“Chill down, baby bird, you look like you were gonna pounce on them if they didn’t walk away,” Rumi sighs in relief at recognizing who’s voice now was towering over. The voice laced with concern but 90% consisted of cockiness. She looks up and sees a blond, and stout Keigo Takami with an amused eyebrow raised.

Rumi sends a scowl onto Keigo’s way, “Hahaha, very funny Kei,” Keigo chuckles as he squats to Rumi’s level as she attempts to focus on her work.

“I am quite the crowd-pleaser myself if you didn’t notice,” The blond dude says in reply and it takes for the tan girl to process what in tarnation her colleague just let out.

Rumi peels her eyes off her sheet music one more time, and shakes her head, “No, why would I— why are you even here?” She asks annoyingly to the smirking Keigo who was also looking at her sheet music.

The blond man stands up, “Just wanted to remind you we have rehearsal in five, baby bird— oh, you guys have a similar sheet music to the stringed instruments,” 

The silver-haired grumbles as she realizes that Keigo was doing her a favor, she completely forgot about the rehearsal, “Thanks, Kei, I’ll keep it in mind” Keigo turns around but seems to have forgotten to say something and turns back to Rumi who is now doing air-drumming movements, aligning her hands on the imaginary lyre, playing the piece with the correct notes in her head.

“Also, uhh you left some of your sheet music here” Keigo hands her a portfolio with her name at the front and where all of her missing sheet music pages were located. Rumi mentally slaps herself in the face to scold herself for forgetting such an important thing in her life let alone make Keigo return it.

Rumi grabs the portfolio “I was wondering where that went… thank you, sorry about that,” She apologizes and Keigo finally turns around gives her a thumbs up. She remembers a part of her conversation and yells back.

“AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, PIANOS ARE BOTH STRINGED AND PERCUSSION SO DON’T DISCRIMINATE SHIT, BABY CARROT,”

Keigo smiles to himself, finally, a decent reply. The thumbs-up he was showing just now flips and turns into a middle finger as he walks back to his little space of the rehearsal room. 

Rumi smiles at the non-verbal reply and shakes her head. He seems to know how to cheer things up huh? She examines the smooth texture of her clear portfolio, once again scolding herself, clutching the plastic material in anger.

So… I had a mental breakdown, and wasted my time for fUCKING NOTHING?!?!?!

___________________

Keigo packs up the last of the things he needs to take his leave from the rehearsal studio. He slings his backpack over his shoulder and starts to stride away out of the building.

The blond man stands in line waiting for the subway to arrive, as he does an old lady in a kimono outfit comes up behind him.

“You have grown, young bird”

Keigo is stunned, is this lady talking to the right guy? The pianist looks in both directions, checking to see if she is talking to the right person. The lady giggles as she sees that Keigo points to himself to be even more sure that it was him.

“Do I know you?” Keigo asks 

The old lady smiles, “No, but I’ve seen you grow on this exact hallway, I’m proud of what you’ve done” She then proceeds to point at the place where Keigo used to play songs as people walked by, grateful for any change they drop him with. Keigo remembers this in an instant and scratches the back of his head in embarrassment.

“O-oh, th-thank you, ma’am” He bows toward the elderly and she starts to enter the train,

“Enjoy your trip home,”

Keigo smiles, “You too ma’am” He then enters the train as well.

__________________

Keigo then arrives home to hear xylophones to be the sound that greets him. He’s aware that one of his neighbors plays the xylophone. Keigo is sure it's not anyone from work as the xylophone pieces were never the pieces they would play at work. He assumes that they would practice the workpieces given that the performance is just a week away from now. The xylophone pieces were just popular songs. He sometimes hums along to the songs his neighbor chose. It was like Keigo’s evening couldn’t be complete without at least hearing one note of the xylophone, it served as his lullaby into the night.

Keigo doesn’t complain about the noise. It’s not noise, it was one of the most beautiful harmonies one could ever hear. He would trade the world to hear it again.

“Not in the mood today, huh?” He says to himself as he hears that the xylophone notes were just being played at random, not a single beat or harmony was being made. It was like they were being played out of frustration like a person was venting their anger or whatever they were feeling onto the instrument. He decides to not join them for tonight and sighs at the fact that he won’t be practicing the piano.

Keigo wanders how his neighbor is even still playing, he swore that the amount of frustration they’re letting out onto the instrument seems enough to break the sticks used to make the sound of it. He’s impressed that the xylophone itself is still in one piece to be exact. 

Keigo never had the energy or time to know who exactly was his neighbor due to his work and his dedication to it. His neighbor may have thought otherwise and never introduced themselves when they first moved in. He didn’t mind, he respected their privacy plus, it would be extremely awkward if he introduces himself now and not five months ago.

He listens to how frustrated his neighbor seems to be. He chuckles at times when he hears the same key is being played like they were annoyed by the sound of it and tries to fix it by repeatedly playing the note. 

Even if the xylophone isn’t exactly playing any song right now, he still believes that it’s still harmony in some way, it invokes emotion… well... his emotions, it was like the instrument was talking to him, ranting on how crappy their day was, a broken music box. He found the thought both funny and intriguing. Sometimes, he wants to know what’s got the lyre player in such a sour mood like this.

As Keigo listens to the horrific music. He searches up piano music sheets as more xylophone playing was starting to give him a headache. “Your Name, huh? Is this what you wanted to learn, baby bird?” He asks himself, remembering one of the pieces that were in Rumi’s portfolio. Keigo simply couldn’t help it, the clear book was thick, and he’s a curious man.

The music then stops, Keigo looks at the time; 10:00 pm. Ah, they should stop now. He notices that whenever it was ten sharp, the music stops, even if it was in the middle of a song. It was their bedtime, Keigo then decides to also call it a night and starts to close all the lights and prepare for bed. 

___________________

Rumi barges into the rehearsal room, she sighs in relief to see that no one was there yet. She woke up early today, she didn’t get to practice any songs last night and it pissed her off. She was so busy scolding herself with forgetting the portfolio of her pieces that she had forgotten the more important matter, practicing the exact songs in her portfolio. 

She didn’t want to be a burden to the other lyre players since it was evident who knew how to play the lyre if they practiced their pieces before going to work and it would be hella embarrassing if Rumi didn’t have any songs to present her lyre group with. 

It was a tradition that the lyre group makes lyre versions of popular songs, everyone in the building loves it. The sounds resembled that of a music box, melodic, lullaby-like, gentle, and peaceful, just with six other xylophones playing. 

She then grabs a music sheet stand and shoves her portfolio on it, and she starts playing in an instant. She takes notes of the pauses and how the song escalates. Maybe the group will choose her songs, the songs she’s been choosing have been very difficult, those kinds of songs kind of gives an appealing view to their leader. 

Rumi chose quite a popular song, it was “Sparkle” from the movie Your Name. She chose it mainly because she cried at the ending more than she would like to admit. She skips the repetitive piano intro and starts straight at the D#. It was quite a simple piece, she was hoping that the leader would somehow make it more complicated. The leader would always encourage them to bring him something more simple to make it grander to play since he can turn it more difficult the more they play together.

The silver-haired girl has been tapping on the same notes over and over again but seems to slowly lose count on how many times she should be playing a specific note. “Five D#… wait no… wasn’t it four?”

She plays the notes again to confirms her suspicion and she starts to anger herself at how much she confused herself over the starting line of the notes she’s playing. “If it weren’t for me and my forgetful ass and forgot the fucking portfolio, I wouldn’t be here right now cram practicing,” she grumbles to herself as she lashes her anger on the flipping of pages on her portfolio.

She starts to get impatient with herself since she keeps on making the same mistake on the same note. For some reason, she isn’t keeping track of how many times her glockenspiel on the metal plates “GODDAMMIT ALREADY” She screams out in frustration, flinging her stick towards the other side of the room. 

The stick barely misses the incoming blond male that enters the room. His eyes follow the direction of the stick as it hits the wall, taking precautions to not get hit by another stick. He notices that the stick is not a usual drum stick but is more similar to a lyre stick… Rumi. “Woah there, take a chill pill, Rumi,” Keigo says as he enters the room.

“Keigo… hi,” Rumi breathes in and composes herself and Keigo finds this a perfect time to piss her off even more

“Hello baby‘I'm pissed and I throw my stick in anger but luckily I'm alone’bird” Keigo teases while making air quotes as he says the nickname with his index and middle fingers. Rumi rolls her eyes. She paces across the room to pick up her poor glockenspiel as the other person in the room settles his place on the piano

“Well not anymore,” She grumbles and Keigo simply chuckles.

“What you practicing?”

“Just for some presentation,” Rumi shrugs off the question and focuses to prepare to start playing.

“Can I listen?” Keigo says in pure curiosity and Rumi’s answer went out faster before she even thought of saying it.

“NO!”

“And why not?” Keigo asks, raising an eyebrow at the sudden response.

“BECAUSE I HAVENT….” Rumi answers a bit too fast again and shuts herself up and tries to concentrate again on the piece.

“You haven’t what Rumi? I’m not a fortune teller over here and even if you do say no, I’m still going to listen,” Keigo points out and Rumi huffs in frustration at the man’s persistence. She hated at the fact that Keigo is right. He’s assigned to the same orchestra as her so he can’t possibly leave the room, and it’s not like he can’t listen to it even if he wanted to.

“Ihaven’tpracticedityet” Rumi says in a quick and silent voice. Keigo was impressed she managed to speak in a volume that's still too quiet even if they were the only two people in the room

“Sorry what? You were too soft” Keigo says, genuinely and for spite. Rumi inhales deeply, calming herself down before reiterating what she just said, in a slower and louder manner. 

“I haven’t practiced yet,”

Keigo scoffs, that’s what she’s so worried about?  He looks at her dead in the eye. “I’ll help you then,” 

“What’s the piece?” Keigo asks, stretching his fingers as preparation to start playing.

“Sparkle, from—” Rumi calmly says

“—Your Name”

“Your Name,” They both say simultaneously. An awkward silence fills the room and they both freeze at the realization that they said something at the same time.

“Do you play the intro?” Keigo asks and Rumi shakes her head.

“No, it hurts the ears if I play it on the lyre” She explains and Keigo nods. 

He then shrugs his shoulders and faces the piano, “I’ll play it then,”

“Whenever you’re ready then,”

Keigo’s hands lay on the white and black pieces, awaiting the right signal to himself to start playing. He calms his senses and takes a sharp inhale of breath. His fingers then start to wander and dance on the piano and the first notes are finally played.

Rumi waits for the repetitive beginning to finally come to an end and joins Keigo in the next measure. The piano and the sound of the lyre start to compliment each other, Rumi is impressed that she can play better with the guidance of a piano… Or maybe it’s Kei— NOPE IT'STHE PIANO.

The flow of the music was so enchanting, the music was attracting the people who weren’t assigned to the studio. The piece itself was already hard to play on the piano alone, concentration only became harder for both as they hear people crowding the entrance of the room. The pressure was killing the pair in the most silent yet obvious manner.

Don’t fuck up, Rumi. Don’t you dare fuck it up now? It’s going to be so fucking embarrassing for Keigo if you dare mess it up. Oh my fucking god, too fast, too fast, too fAST—

It was obvious that the piece was escalating for some reason and Rumi was panicking at the pace they were going for many reasons. One, the tan girl hasn’t memorized the piece, meaning she has to look at both the piece and her xylophone. She’s starting to wonder why on earth she’s speeding up. 

Was she not following the time signature? Maybe she didn’t time the rests right. Shit, did she forget to play a note again? Rumi looks at Keigo and everything starts to fall into place. Keigo is panicking. 

Keigo’s eyes were so focused on playing the piece it was like he was solely playing the piano on his own. His fingers are going too fast, it wasn’t obvious to the audience but he was a least two beats advanced. He’s forgetting what piece even was in the first place. His eyes are too wide. Keigo is going too fast. 

“Keigo!” Rumi screams out. Keigo hears it and he turns around and he finally sees it. Rumi isn’t looking at him but he can see her struggle, the way her eyes are flipping from the notes to the actual instrument was her way of panicking and telling Keigo to slow it down, any faster and she’s going to have to make a mistake on the way of trying to keep up.

“Sorry,” Keigo mouths out and he tries to mellow down the speed but it ends up being too fast for Rumi’s speed again. Rumi hasn’t seen Keigo’s response Rumi feels like her arm is about to fall off. She’s just pulling through the fact that the song is about to end… Okay maybe choosing the six-minute version of the song was a bad idea. 

The song finally ends and they get applause from the people who were watching them. The pair never really processed how many people were watching. It looked like only a few caught on to the fact that they were a bit too fast and the fact they ended a bit early because of it. 

Keigo and Rumi share a hug and Rumi hit’s Keigo’s nape in the process. “That was pretty stupid of you, Keigo,”

“Sorry about that,”

Keigo and Rumi turn to the crowd and simply bows in gratitude.

“What is going on in here?” The head of the lyre group comes in, the crowd quiets down their noise. It shows on their face that they have no idea why there is a crowd and why Rumi and Keigo are bowing as it turns out the head of the lyre group has just arrived in the building and hasn’t watched the entire scene play out.

“Ah, Keigo was helping me practice,” Rumi explains with a bright smile, satisfied she even finished the song. The leader raises an eyebrow as Keigo bows in front of them, a way of greeting.

“Is that so?” 

“She couldn’t get the timing right,” Keigo explains, why he is helping her in the first place.

The leader crosses their hands on their chest, “It sounds to me, you also couldn’t get the timing right, Keigo,” They say with a menacing voice.

“He got nervous, chill out,” Rumi defends.

“A musician that can’t play at the right time signature shouldn’t be playing in the first place,” The leader says, smirking. They’ve pissed off Keigo, it was obvious by the way he was looking down, fist clenched. He’s holding in every urge to bite back at the way the leader was taunting the pair.

“Is that your way of telling Rumi her song choice sucked?” Keigo quietly asks.

“Excuse me?”

“You weren’t here for the performance, more likely you came by the end of it, I can see it in your face,” Keigo points out the bewilderedness of the guy the moment they came in. He can tell that they haven’t calmed down from the shock of the people and the ending of the song.

“That’s not what I—“

“I wasn’t finished,” Keigo says, Rumi is freaking out. She’s trying to calm Keigo down by gripping his arm and silent whispers, scolding his name but Keigo persists and continues, “Now, if you’re going to tell me and Rumi that the piece she chose doesn’t suit your style, then maybe you shouldn’t be a leader because of that selfish thought, 3/4 of your lyre group are already here and they are looking at you with pretty nasty looks,” Keigo reminds the leader as he points to some people in the crowd and the leader sees their members looking at him menacingly or not even looking at them.

“Anyways, if you don’t like the help of other people from your same orchestra, maybe you should take a chill pill,” Keigo says, packing up his stuff and leaving. 

“Keigo— wait!” Rumi says, gathering her stuff as well and following shortly, completely ignoring her leader.

“Where are you going?” She says after chasing up to the blond man.

“Home,” 

“Let me come with you,”

“but—“ Keigo tries to retort, seeing that the silver-haired girl still has work and has to present the piece they were practicing in the first place yet that same girl cuts him off,

“It’s the least I could do after everything you said, dumbass,”

“Fine,” Keigo sighs continues on his journey with Rumi.

___________________

They both wait for the subway train to arrive, and as they do so, a new but familiar voice enters their conversation, “Hello there, young bird,”

Rumi is shocked to hear an old voice from behind her so she turns around. Keigo already knew the voice so his calm stature doesn’t change, “Hello,” Keigo says, bowing in respect.

“Where are you going?” The old lady asks.

“Home, people at work like to be asses today,”

“I get that, you have a pretty guest too,” The old lady points at Rumi who has a tint of blush on her cheeks after being called pretty. 

“Hi, I’m Rumi Usagiyama,” She says, bowing as well

“Hello there, little bunny, ah… well I have to be going, have a wonderful day you two,” The elderly woman says, looking at her watch and departing.

“Take care!” Keigo says as he watches her depart from them. He notices the soft gaze of Rumi as she watches the elder woman disappear, “… you like being called pretty~” He says, teasing the smaller human.

“N-NO I DO NOT,” Rumi says, eyes wide, color creeping up her cheeks, and hits Keigo’s shoulder on instinct.

“Hey, what was that for?” Keigo says a hand goes to the injured area. Not all that injured but still painful.

Rumi rolls her eyes, “You are annoying,”

“You like it when I’m annoyin— okAY OKAY I’LL STOP,” Keigo tries to bite back but Rumi is already a step ahead and pinches and twists Keigo’s ear. The train finally arrives and the two finally calm down and board the train.

___________________

They are finally walking to what Keigo calls his home. As they walk through, Rumi notices how this path seems familiar. Too familiar. It’s like she knows it because she’s been here every day. That’s exactly what it was. 

Is he going to make a left there? But I also live there. Then straight ahead for two intersections then another left. wAIT A SECOND—

“You live here?” Rumi asks and the question catches Keigo off guard. Of course, he lives here, where else was this girl expecting?

“Yeah… is there a problem?”Keigo slowly answers. Rumi’s brain is doing the most before short-circuiting again, everything seems to fall into place. 

“Did you just so happen to hear instruments playing from your other neighbors?” Rumi asks an oddly specific question “Cause ya know, you’re not the only one who can play an instrument.” She explains and Keigo nods.

“Yeah, just yesterday this neighbor of mine must’ve been pissed~ they were making the most random of notes I swear, poor xylophone just wanted some rest,” He chuckles and Rumi nods.  Did this asshat just say xylophone? yeSTERDAY?!

“ARE YOU THE ONE WHO PLAYED CLAIR DE LUNE THE OTHER DAY?!” Rumi again asks a specific question and Keigo answer it absent-mindedly.

“Yes, how did you—“

“WE’RE NEIGHBORS YOU FUCKHEAD,” Rumi freaks out and Keigo doesn’t seem to be on the same page as her.

“… what?”

“The xylophone playing yesterday wAS ME,” Rumi explains that she was the mastermind of the horrific music and Keigo slowly starts to understand.

“YOU?!?!” Keigo points at a laughing Rumi. “WHY WERE YOU PISSED?!”

“CAUSE I LEFT THIS GODDAMN PORTFOLIO AND THE LEADER GOT PISSED AT ME FOR IT,” Rumi explains while waving the envelope she was looking for one and a half days ago. 

“BUT I RETURNED IT TO YOU” Keigo tries to make sense of the situation

“EXACTLY WHY I WAS PISSED,” Rumi says as Keigo shakes his head, everything finally clicks into place and they both have calmed down, “Thank you, for a while ago,” Rumi silently says, remembering how they even found out the new information in the first place. She sees her house and yet they turn the opposite way.

“Hmm? Oh, no problem, was getting sick and tired of them treating you like shit anyway,” Keigo simply says as they finally arrive at his home, Rumi feels weirded out at the fact that she isn’t at her house but the house right in front of it.“Care for coffee, neighbor?”

[flyingcatstiel]

The destiel meta writers are becoming worse than bibros. First they went after destielette and now they are going after Jess (thinking an anon in their inbox is her, just like another one of them thought anon was destielette). They are hell bent on driving away all Cas fans and anyone who do not bow to them. I thought no one would be as caustic and acidic as bibros and here metas are behaving worse. Bibros - Bully every while chnating (AKF), destiel metas - Bully while chanting we are positive.

Oh, nonnie, there’s a lot to unpack here but first things first - Not all destiel meta writers. Writing destiel meta and discussing it with your friends on your blog is a lovely fandom activity and doesn’t make a fan into a bully. The actions are important. I think we all know that you mean a certain group of people who are destiel meta writers and fandom bullies. You can recognize them by their attacks on other fan accounts here and on twitter, you can recognize them by the vitriol and rude language they use in their posts when talking about other parts of destiel fandom. I guess destiel fandom has been dealing with bibros’ attacks for so long that some of their tactics have rubbed off and now this group, this fandom positivity police, is using the same tactics. I gotta say that this was not the usual state of destiel fandom tho. I think it was hiatus after 12x23 when some people in destiel fandom really decided to go after Cas fans. This is also time when pan fandom antis were getting more and more active and you can see the same tactics used by our own positivity police - aggressive language, the need to correct different opinions by going to ppl blogs, attacks on content creators they don’t like (the recent fanartist thing), labeling parts of fandom so it’s easier to vilify and attack them (remember when they were looking for dark Cas stan blogs? before deciding to call us “rabid”). The absolute inability to see different, critical opinions without jumping on them. All this combined with the classic anti behavior of elevating themselves above the rest of fans. The only difference is that in other fandoms antis claim to ship the most pure ship, while in destiel fandom they claim to be “proper” fans because they support the show and Team Free Will, unlike those yucky one character stans. Which, lol, is exactly what bibros used to say to Cas fans. So, this brand of aggressiveness is nothing new to Cas fans. And yes, it is driving folks away. I think we all have noticed that spn/destiel fandom on tumblr is shrinking. There are other reasons to leave fandom than just positivity police, but they certainly can give that final push to Cas fans to walk away. I’ve already lost several mutuals, Cas fans, who left tumblr after dealing with them. 

The attack they waged on @destielette1 was absolutely despicable. They were itching for a fight so much that they pretended not to know how anon messages work or that copy/paste exists. Like I said, if you don’t want to see someone’s opinion, scroll by, block, ignore. But if you decide to attack people, then that’s on you, then you are a bully and an anti. The new low these bullies have sunk to is their attacks on ESL fans for grammar mistakes. Like, this is so, so low, I’ve no words. And here’s a kicker. From what I see on my dash, a lot of Cas fans share at least one of these markers - not US american, not white, not native English speaker, and/or live outside of the first world countries. We are already outsiders in some sense in this very us-american fandom. So, when you have these US/UK native English white fans attacking Cas fans for liking Cas and expressing it in sometimes incorrect English, this is beyond pale. And it also shows that they are unable to win any discussion without reverting to personal attacks. And yes, they do it all in the name of positivity and defending the “virtue” of white male SPN writers, which is double ironic. I get such a “I’m not like other girls” please senpai notice me vibe from their posts. As if being “morally superior” and silencing different opinions in fandom spaces somehow will guarantee their desired outcome on SPN.

about that other thing under the cut

So, I had to poke around to see what is happening with Jess, and yeah, they are having a field day with shredding an anon they attribute to her. But that’s where the similarities end. Jess was never a Cas girl. Until that post where she tried to defend her pro destiel clickbitey article by calling destiel shippers delusional, she was one of them. Jess has been here for a really long time and she has done her part in ridiculing Cas fans or other folks with critical opinions about SPN. She was a positivity police herself. I don’t condone any attacks on fans for their opinions, by this is more like piranhas attacking one of their own. Which, again, is a classic anti behavior - you must attack those who disobey the party line in order to keep the others in check. 

Unfortunately this is the fandom state we are living in now. When big, popular blogs engage in aggressive, demeaning language and direct attacks on fans, they encourage their followers to do the same. Unless they curb their own behavior and learn to respect diversity of opinions, nothing will change. And to my fellow Cas fans, take care dears. Block them, ignore them, delete their messages. Get out if you need to. Don’t feed the trolls who are getting desperate to be fandom relevant before the show ends. 

And to the trolls who snoop around my blog - I ship destiel, my ship is not less valid if it is not canon. I agree that there’s plenty of destiel (and other pairings’) subtext on the show; some of it intentional, some accidental. The subtext is there to string the fans along. I’ve no problem with destiel meta in general. I may disagree with most of it nowadays, but then I just scroll by and ignore it. I don’t got to other people blogs looking for a fight. But I do have problem with folks who attack other fans, be they bibros or positivity police. So, that is my position in all of this. 

[lemonybaby67]

NCT  in Hogwarts Houses

A/N: I’ve been really bored lately and I was thinking about Johnny’s personality when it dawned on me that he was a Gryffindor, so I thought ‘Hey, what are the rest of the members in?’. I have a bit of descriptions on why I think they should be in the house.

So, let’s get into it.

Gryffindor:

Johnny Seo:

Johnny is a very kind and likable guy.

So, when you first meet him it would seem like he’s a Hufflepuff.

But he’s really not.

Johnny has such a confident aura about him, he’s just the kind of guy who leads any group he’s in with his charms and likability.

He also confirmed at a fansign that he was a Gryffindor.

Jung Yoonoh:

Dude, Jaehyun is like, a mixture of all houses.

I mean, he’s just perfect in every way.

Only, if you look at him from a distance, he’s more of a Gryffindor than anything else.

He’s chivalrous and brave, and is like the type of guy to fight for what he wants and believes.

He’s a total fairytale prince.

Wong Yukhei:

Lucas is a total flirty and can be a slytherin at times.

But like, he’s a total Gryffindor.

Like, he’s probably in second place, right behind Jaehyun.

This kid is so spontaneous and crazy that he has to be a pure Gryffindor.

I mean, it’s Lucas for Christ’s sake.

Mark Lee:

Mark has so much on his shoulders.

I mean, he’s in all sub-units in NCT; that boy works hard.

Overall, he’s incredibly courageous and brave, much like Johnny.

But he’s not always confident 24/7 because he knows that there’s a lot more to life, which is where he differs from Johnny.

So yeah, he’s definitely more Gryffindor to me even though he’s also fiercely loyal.

Hwang Hendery:

Okay I know it’s kind of hard to see but hear me out.

He is willing to help literally anyone in need.

He’s probs a tutor outside of him being on the Quidditch team and dance club.

He’s got this twinkle in his eyes that makes you know that he’s just so kind and brave and angelic.

He might have a group of girls crowding around him from time to time because have you seen his boi?!

Lee Jeno:

This kid is pretty hard to figure out.

I mean, he’s so kind and cute and sweet, much like a Hufflepuff.

But he’s also the kind of person that would fiercely protect his family and friends no matter what the outcome might be.

Although, to me it’s more of a heroic, chivalrous thing.

So, that’s where he differs from a typical ‘brawn-over-feelings’ Gryffindor.

Slytherin:

Nakamoto Yuta:

Need I say more?

If you look up the definition for ‘Slytherin’ in the dictionary, you’ll find a picture of Yuta.

He is not afraid to point out that he diserves something that he’s worked extremely hard for.

He’s also so ambitious that it makes me tear up.

He also reminds me so much of David Bowie (visually and spiritually).

Kim Dongyoung:

Okay, so this kid may seem like a smart Ravenclaw, but he’s evil.

Doyoung is very ambitious and cunning.

He will act like your best friend, and then when you turn around, he’d (in all honesty) probably put a paper on your back that says, ‘Kick me’.

I mean, this kid thinks he’s superior, which is totally Slytherin.

He’d probably also put whipped cream in your pillow before you sleep so.

Xiao Dejun:

Do I really need to explain this?

His voice is something from Satan, we all know that. He’s just ready to slay us.

Confused 24/7 but ready to attack if threatened.

I can imagine him absolutely obsessed with hexing and potions classes.

Petition for him to join honestly.

Lee Donghyuck:

This kid has the very devil living inside of him.

Haechan is so sarcastic and savage that literally the whole school bows to him in fear that he’d vex them.

He’s probably the head prefect in his house.

Sure he’s lazy, but when he sets his mid to something, he’s very determined to make it perfect.

This kid is definitely similar to Draco Malfoy, but he’s not wimpy like him.

Zhong Chenle:

This kid is a fluff ball, don’t deny it; but he’s a snake like Haechan (only way sneakier).

He’s probably always pranking and bothering Gryffindors and Jisung (but if someone else makes fun of the maknae, they’re dead).

He’s still super loveable though.

This also means that he can get into your mind easier but he doesn’t really want to.

He’s a lot like Sirius Black, so he’s got some Gryffindor in him, but he’s a dead set Slytherin.

Ravenclaw:

Moon Taeil:

Taeil is very aware and accepting of others which may come off as ‘Hufflepuff’, but Ravenclaws are known for their acceptance.

He also claims that he’s very bad at expressing himself which is typical of an intelectual.

He has so much going on in his mind that it makes it hard to focus on one thing, which is probably why he spaced out at times.

He’s also seen things; like, seen things.

Taeil is a Ravenclaw, don’t deny it.

Lee Taeyong:

This kid is such a mom but he’s got wits and a huge brain.

I mean, where do you think he hids all his excessive child careing tips?

He was almost labeled as a Hufflepuff in my book, but after thinking about it a bit more, he seems more like a Ravenclaw.

He definitely uses his wisdom and life experiences as references for his seventeen kids.

He’s also very aloof at times which is typical of a Ravenclaw.

Dong Sicheng:

Okay, Sicheng is very wise and studious.

Personally, I think he’s quiet in talk shows because he’s observing people’s reactions and how they interact so that he can use Korean a bit better.

He also studied one of the hardest Chinese dances in the history of Chinese dances and he can do it like a total pro.

That takes a lot of attentiveness and patience, which he definitely has.

He may seem like a Hufflepuff, but he’s more of a Ravenclaw.

Na Jaemin:

Jaemin is a total nerd.

He also believes that he’s more of a superior being, but he’s more lowkey about it than Doyoung.

That’s where he differs from a Slytherin.

He’s also very attentive to his surroundings and loves to smart mouth people (let’s not forget he has a way with words).

I mean, Jaemin is just a total Ravenclaw.

Hufflepuff:

Qian Kun:

This kid is never seen not smiling.

Even in the ‘I love you’ game, the second Chenle said ‘I love you’ to him, he laughed (I don’t blame him, I mean who can resist him).

He’s also very soft, kind hearted and sweet.

He gives off a motherly vibe that kind of competes with Taeyong.

Kun is just a total Hufflepuff.

Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul:

Ten has such a long name what the heck.

He’s so hardworking and down-to-earth. 

He’s also extremely loyal, which is similar to a Gryffindor, which is probably why he gets along so well with them.

He tries to help out everyone, despite what he’s doing at the moment may be extremely important to him.

This fluffball needs love.

Kim Jungwoo:

Jungwoo is the most quite person I’ve ever seen, I swear to god.

He’s just so soft and loveable that it hurts my soul to look at him.

But like, Jungwoo is so honest and nice.

That boy doesn't have a bad bone in his body.

He probably founded the anti-bullying program, to be honest.

Huang Renjun:

If you get on Renjun’s bad side, he will hurt you.

Either than that though, this kid is the mother of the Dream team.

He’s very considerate of others and wants everyone to be happy.

He probably wouldn’t even hurt a fly.

He’s so precious, someone hold me.

Liu Yangyang

Meme king of 2019.

He’s so sweet and innocent it’s not okay #toopureforthisworld.

Hands down, probs became the prefect of Hufflepuff.

Jokes swoon everyone even Hyuck (that’s a fact don’t @ me on this).

Pure angel, we all need to protect.

Park Jisung:

JISUNG PARK is an angel sent from the holy gods of EXO-Planet.

He’s a soft little puppy that loves everyone, but hate’s it when he’s put down because of his age.

He’s very loyal and caring and loves his hyungs.

Jisung is very open to try new things and seems to be pretty humble.

Let’s all remember that he ‘doesn’t curse’.

@lemonybaby67

[blackgoddessofsassiness]

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Cobalt Chrome Rings Vs White Gold

Whatever sort of photoshoot you happen to be having (from wedding photography to boudoir photography), it is vital that you receive lets start work on your photographer. You will not only be spending one hour or maybe more of their company, you happen to be also trusting them to work hard to show your best side and also to capture the atmosphere that you are longing for. So does it change lives whether your photographer is male or female?

1. D.I.Y. You know the saying "if you desire something done correctly, do-it-yourself?" Well, this too applies to if you want to reduce your cost! For example, we made your own favors. Sure, it takes longer (much. longer.), however it gets to be a labor of love! We bought boxes large quantities from Amazon and assembled them ourselves, before the "Bridezillas" (okay, this is a joke, but that's doubtful much from your truth.) We also bought roughly 1 million bags of Hershey's Kisses (sufficient reason for some advance planning, we have the Kisses from CVS and paid for the vast majority of these with extra bucks!) We then tied each box with a bow (with ribbon purchased from Michaels using a 40% off coupon.) Another project we chose to accept ourselves was the invitations. You can spend lots of money on custom invites produced by another individual, or you can get a kit (Michael's has great ones from other "Brides" collection) and design and print your own! Get creative! Include as much unique details as you can, to make the wedding yours! When you do things yourself, you can create whatever changes you want, whenever you need. If you send your invitations off and away to be done, you wouldn't be able to understand the first one and decide you desire to change it. You'd have 100 invites that you wanted changed! Eek! After consultations where the stylist might help narrow down what is going to suit their client, select store visits are suggested. The bride is encouraged to sample styles that they has previously specified and possibly some she may possibly not have, the trained eye from the stylist suggests. Some companies and stylists offer relaxing services like chauffeurs, champagne arrivals as well as a light lunch to discuss possible finds. Since the premature days, the Indian wedding sarees were measured for the label of artistic splendor and cultural values. With the arrival of designer sarees amid wedding saree assortments, a completely new drift had become. These days the designer wedding wear has gotten the markets by surprise.

Once a basic floor plan has been established, you may first of all want to make sure that you have proper seating per guest. Figure out the amount of chairs you've, if we already have any in the space, after which calculate what number of more are expected. Measure the area and pay attention to the magnitude of the chairs being used to find out the number of will fit in each row and make certain the arrangement of one's rows is going to be symmetrical. It may be recommended that you incorporate some extra seating in the back of the area along with facing a wall with Whitsundays wedding packages.

[niennanir]

I was in the middle of my morning stationary bike workout (I do two a day because I am a hot mess of medical issues, this is not that story.) and I noticed a car pulling into my driveway.

Me: There’s a strange car parked in my drive. Mum: In fairness, that is a lot of cars. Me: Oh... it’s N[Next door]. Mum: So still strange then. Me: .... Mum: :D Me: ...And she looks harried. Mum: She usually does when she wants you, and she drove here instead of walked. Me: Yeah, I better go defuse this before it blows up.

N has lived in the house next door a good 20 years longer than I’ve lived here and I’ve lived here going on 15 now. When I bought this place it was N and D enjoying their well earned retirement and spending their kids inheritance. Now it’s just N on her own and frankly for a woman with four adult children and three adult grandchildren there is a deplorable lack of people keeping her out of trouble. Case in point:

N: Nienna, I found two big dogs wandering the street in the next block over and they’re scared and dehydrated and probably lost. I put them in my car. Me: ...  N: and I don’t know what to do with them. Me: So you put them in your car? N: ...

People will often ask me why I never had children. I do like kids quite a lot. I always reply that I don’t have time. This is usually met with the less than thoughtful criticism that we make time for the important things. No, no, I think but don’t say, you don’t understand. I can either have children or I can shepherd adults who act like children. There are not enough hours in the day to do both.

I looked into the back of N’s upscale middle-class Grandma minivan to find two filthy mixed breed dogs, a Basset and a Pit Bull (who I will now call Bass and Bully) delighted as anything to be riding on her plush leather seats. I did not sigh. Because it is not my upholstery.

I turned back from the car to find N staring at me imploringly and my mother standing on the front porch chuckling silently to herself and saying absolutely nothing because, as she has mentioned on many occasions, it is not her house and she is not obliged to make decisions about anything she is not inclined to make decisions about. 

I’d like to take a moment to say that if you, unlike myself, were smart enough to raise responsible children, I highly recommend moving into their houses and spending your golden years spending their inheritance and letting them worry over the state of the pipes and the age of the AC system. My mother has an absolute racket going on here and I bow to her superior deviousness.

Mum: I’m going to go get them water and cookies! Me: Come back with leashes! M: I wasn’t sure what to do with them, all they have are rabies tags. Me: It’s fine, we’ll put them in my back garden and I’ll check their tag numbers and call the county. 

It’s amazing how often a practical, intelligent, well thought out plan completely fails in execution. I’ve had people complain that some of my stories are unrealistic because nothing ever goes to plan. There’s a good reason for this, in the abstract the advice “write what you know” is really fairly sound. And I know absolutely nothing about situations that actually go according to plan. 

Bass decided almost as soon as I opened the car door that he was tremendously grateful for the rescue and that I was now his new best friend. He gave me a properly disgusting slobbery kiss and I clicked the spare leash on him before handing him off to N and my mother whom I hoped could be relied upon to get a 900 year old dog through a gate. I turned to Bully, second leash in hand and I had about 3 seconds to process the fact that she was baring her teeth at me before she leaped over the seat, crawled down on the floorboards and wedged her sizable head under the drivers seat. 

Mum: What’s wrong? Me: I don’t think she likes me. Mum: She doesn’t look like a fan. Me: Well this is new, normally the people who hate me on sight walk on two legs.

Mum stared at me blankly for a long moment, her signal that decisions from her would not soon be forthcoming. So I sighed, sent her to go collect N and send her out to drive her mini van through my garden gate. You’ve never known exasperation until you’ve watched an 80 year old woman make a 22 point turn in your back garden. Eventually the minivan was turned back to face the gate and Bass and Bully were happily inspecting my hibiscus. I managed to grab Bass just long enough to pull off his collar and get his tag number, Bully was having none of my crap and was not even interested in drinking my water because I was a stranger and clearly a threat. 

Bit of useful advice here: In most places animal control can be prevailed upon to provide you with an owner’s name and number if you give them the tag number. So I got a number and I called. And the phone rang.

And rang...

And rang...

Me: I’m not getting an answer. N: Can’t you leave a message? Me: No. It just rings. It must be a land line. N: *aghast* a land line without an answering machine? Mum: It’s like the dark ages.

I bit my tongue to keep from telling both my mother and N that they would certainly remember the dark ages better than I would. I, of course, did what any good nerd would do. I traced the landline.

Me: Here, I got the address. N: You can do that? Mum: You can if you’re Nienna. Me: *eyeroll* N: That’s only a block away, I pass there on my walk. Me: Well, take a note down with my phone number and tape it to their door. They’re probably not home and I really need to get back to work. N: I can do that.

So I left Bully and Bass in my garden with a fresh bowl of water and went back to work. About half an hour later I get a call from N who launched into a vivid description of the charming house, the high fence, the neighboring houses on either side and the state of their fences, and the very nice gardenia bushes which told me what I already knew, that she is never happier than when she has a valid excuse to nose about in her neighbor’s business. Ten minutes later:

Me: But you left them a note? N: Well, no... I forgot to take a pen and paper with me. Me: *facepalm*

I assured her I’d take care of it and hung up while Mum laughed at me.

I sat down to write out a note and reviewed what I knew of the situation. I had a landline with no answering machine. A Pit Bull that had clearly once been in an abusive environment but obviously wasn’t now when you accounted for the extremely friendly and trusting Basset who bore a striking resemblance to Yoda in both age and appearance. Both dogs were obviously well nourished but not groomed. Conclusion:

Me: She got the wrong house. Mum: You’re joking. Me: Maybe 94% sure she got the wrong house. Mum: So? Me: So I’m going to the right house.

My neighborhood is one that real estate agents would most likely label as ‘Transitional’ (Or Gentrifying, or Revitalizing, depending on where that agent has their office) Basically what this means is that the houses here run the gambit from “OMG, the original fireplace has been fully restored!!” to “How bad was the fire?” I drove to the address and parked out front of a property that leaned heavily toward the fire end of that spectrum. Across the street from it was the house with the gardenias that N had described in meticulous detail. This is an important life lesson, kids, I’m just not sure at this point what it is. 

As I approached the front door I found it propped open and in the tiny living room a woman in a wheelchair, whom I’ll call P, fretting over the whereabouts of her missing dogs and waiting on pins and needles for her teenage son to come home from school to look for them. I gave her a smile, assured her they were perfectly safe and that if I could get them loaded into my car I would bring them back home and if I couldn’t, she could give her husband or son my address and phone number and they could come fetch them. She thanked me profusely and I went back home.

Fifteen minute’s later we had both Bass and Bully back in N’s mini van that was still parked in my garden and in another ten we’d returned them home, just ahead of P’s son. Good deed done.

An hour ago a strange car pulled into my drive.

I stared at the ceiling a couple of minutes hoping they’d go away, because I really do not have it in me to do this sort of thing two days in a row. They didn’t go away.

It was P’s mother, bearing cookies and a thank-you card and a surplus of gratitude for being so kind to her daughter. She told me how the family struggled financially under the weight of rising insurance costs and medical expenses and how important the dogs were to her daughter’s mental well being how thankful she was to P’s wonderful husband, and how thankful she was to me for stopping to help.

I lost about 2 hours of work yesterday. And half my morning workout (which for the state of my health is actually more alarming), and probably another twenty minutes or so bemoaning the fact that I am tired of being the only card carrying adult on this block while my mother chuckled at me. 

I refuse to regret even a second of those twenty minutes, by the way.

I will probably pay for this all later in some fashion. I usually do. But the next time there is a strange car in my drive I will probably get up and wrestle rabies tags and trace phone numbers all over again. Because sometimes it is dogs, and sometimes it’s cookies. But the world is certainly better off with more of both those things.

[carol38banks]

Firmly in Pivot Mode, Trib Wows Again With Another Massive Development Proposal

For the second time in two months, Tribune Media is making headlines in the real estate industry.

The company, which is in the process of being bought by suburban Baltimore’s Sinclair Broadcast Group, is best known for WGN-TV, KTLA in Los Angeles, and WPIX in New York.  It’s half of what’s left after the Tribune Company imploded like a supernova, leaving behind a pair of dwarf stars.  Consult the Adler Planetarium if you need help with the analogy.

River District rendering (Courtesy of SCB)

In September, Trib announced it was going to take some of its fallow ground along Chicago Avenue near Goose Island and turn it into a multi-tower office and residential complex called 700 On the River.  Now Big T is taking its property across the street at 777 West Chicago Avenue and turning that into a huge live-work complex including upwards of 15 high- and mid-rise office, residential, hotel, and other buildings designed by SCB.

The idea is to become the geographic hub of Chicago’s emerging tech hub, and to that end both the 700 project and the 777 project are now being tied up in a bow labeled The River District.

This 777 portion of the project involves building 5,900 new residences and nine million square feet of office space along the rail lines between Chicago Avenue and Grand Avenue.  That’s two Willis Towers’ worth of office space.

But don’t start moving your timber-loft dot-com startup out of Ravenswood just yet.  Like any development proposal of this scale, the splash is tempered by bean counters, so this project will go up in phases.  Phase one is surprisingly on the Grand Avenue end of things.  Trib calls it “shovel-ready,” which in Chicago means don’t expect to see any shovels until 2020.  The rest will arrive bit-by-bit, or as Tribune puts it, “based on market demand.”  That’s Illinois for, “If they come, we will build it.”

All of that caution, however, will likely go out the window if the city’s pleading for Seattle’s Amazon.com to build its second headquarters in Chicago works out thanks to this plan’s not-so-subtle, “Oh, hey! Look at all this empty awesome brand new office space in funky downtown Chicago we’ve suddenly got!  And there’s a Starbucks!”  If Amazon’s HQ2 does for downtown Chicago what HQ1 did for South Lake Union, the whole thing will go up faster than a Patrick Kane slap shot.

Various estimations rank Chicago anywhere from #2 to #18 on the list of what Amazon’s looking for in a new location.  The problem is that one of the things that ranks Chicago so high is its transit system.  Good for the city as a whole, but bad for this location.  The reason that HQ1 works so well in its downtown-adjacent location is that transit was good from the outset.  Bus service is excellent, and connects to a regional ferry network.  The very cheap SLUT trolley connects to the excellent and growing light rail network.  There’s even two commuter airlines that run seaplanes from South Lake Union to the neighboring tech hub of Vancouver.  And the only thing that dot-com kids like better than fair-trade coffee and rainbow kale chips is some good mass transit on which to show off their AirPods and strategically torn skinny jeans.

(Protip: The secret sauce that makes Seattle’s transit system work is that it understands that its primary objective is to move people around, not to be a source of revenue. To that end, if you’re poor, forgot your wallet, just got mugged, or whatever, Sound Transit will let you on without paying — just to keep people moving.  In fact, at the time that Amazon relocated to South Lake Union, the entirety of downtown Seattle was a fare-free zone, for buses and trains. Again, to move people around, not to act as a tax-hungry piggy bank.)

Unfortunately for The River District, the only transit options are the Halsted, Chicago, Grand, and Milwaukee buses.  If you want rail, you’ll have to hop a freight toward Milwaukee like a hobo.  But water taxi service could be added pretty easily, which in Chicago terms is the “most extra” way for hipsters to get around.

We’ll have much more on this project in the next few weeks.  Until then, enjoy the renderings.

Tribune Media Announces Plans for Transformational Riverfront Development at 777 W. Chicago Avenue

The River District will convert 37 acres of underutilized industrial land into a dynamic new neighborhood that inspires innovation and community

Tribune Real Estate Holdings, a subsidiary of Tribune Media Company (NYSE: TRCO), today filed a planned development (PD) application with the city of Chicago for a transformational riverfront development at 777 W. Chicago Avenue (777).  The proposed plan for the 777 site was submitted a month after Tribune Media and Riverside Investment & Development jointly filed a plan to redevelop Tribune Media’s neighboring site at 700 W. Chicago Avenue (700).

Located along the North Branch of the Chicago River, the phased redevelopment of 777 and 700 W. Chicago Avenue will be reimagined as The River District, a landmark urban tech-centric neighborhood that will reflect how people want to live and work. The new neighborhood extends Chicago’s downtown district and establishes a natural connection between The Loop, River North, Fulton Market, and River West.

Drawing from the best thinking and practices in urban planning, sustainable development, and established innovative work and live spaces, The River District will reaffirm Chicago as among the most innovative cities in the world.

“Our proposed plan for The River District builds on Mayor Emanuel’s North Branch Framework vision – to unlock growth by creating and connecting vibrant sustainable neighborhoods, and attracting and retaining new jobs and talent.  Chicago’s growth and innovation as a result of the Framework will cement it as a top destination for companies and talent, and we view The River District as a major contributor to the future success of the city,” said Murray McQueen, president of ‎Tribune Real Estate Holdings.  “The River District plan leverages best practices from Chicago and other major cities and reflects how people want to live and work today.  Our goal is to create the same in-demand dynamic neighborhood seen in tech centers such as San Francisco and Seattle.”

As Chicago looks to further establish itself as a hub for innovation and technology, the site will become the heart of city’s “Tech Triangle”, which includes the Merchandise Mart and 600 W. Chicago (the Montgomery Ward building) on the east, the UI Labs on Goose Island on the north, and the Google headquarters in the West Loop.

“Expanding the Downtown District in the ‘Tech Triangle’ will create the city’s first innovation district and become a city within a city, where people will live, work, play, and innovate,” said McQueen.

Once completed, The River District will achieve an appropriate balance of mixed-uses where demand is great, the tax base will expand, thousands of jobs will be created and the city will realize not only the property’s initial development fees, but a multiplier of the potential property taxes, sales taxes and various user taxes generated from the new site.

Under the current plan for 777, more than 9 million square feet of mixed-use development rights will accommodate over 19,000 jobs and 5,900 residential units.  More than 18,000 construction jobs will be created in the build-out of the site.  Approximately $1.1 billion in municipal tax benefit to the city will be generated by the project over the next 20 years.

McQueen added, “The River District is based on our vision for the site, on which we have been working with the city for a number of years.”

Benefits from the redevelopment of 777 will include significant infrastructure upgrades including transportation improvements, expansive publicly accessible green space and river access, and utility enhancements.

Increases public access and green space: 25%, or more than 12 acres, of The River District will be dedicated to public use.  This includes 5.1 acres of riverfront improvements, a public park, associated pocket parks to activate the building/streetscape relationship and site-wide landscaping.

Celebrates the Riverwalk expansion: As part of the Riverwalk expansion, the space will feature 3,200 linear feet (more than half a mile) of continuous publicly accessible pedestrian paths on the river.

Supports City’s pedestrian and bike programs: The plan capitalizes on natural connections to surrounding neighborhoods by providing pedestrian and bike path connections and direct visibility from nearby streets.  The site will also include multiple Divvy bike-share stations.

Improves Infrastructure Enhancements: Under the plan, a major arterial boulevard linking Grand to Chicago and an extension of the city grid at Ancona and Superior will be built and associated signalized intersections installed.  Viaduct construction to connect to Halsted and Chicago and site-wide upgrade of utilities will be made, and the plan calls for a sustainably developed storm water management system and access to high-speed fiber throughout the site.

Pending City approval, the first phase of the redevelopment of 777 will occur on the site’s southern end, on 18 “shovel ready” acres that could support 5.5 million square feet beginning in 2020.  The second phase redeveloping the remaining 12 acres could later be built-out based on market demand and support an additional 3.7 million square feet.

“This master plan helps the city achieve its vision to transition from the North Branch Industrial Corridor and ensure the area remains an important economic engine and vital job center in the city of Chicago,” added McQueen.

          from Chicago Architecture https://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2017/10/09/firmly-in-pivot-mode-trib-wows-again-with-another-massive-development-proposal/

[max34ron]

Firmly in Pivot Mode, Trib Wows Again With Another Massive Development Proposal

For the second time in two months, Tribune Media is making headlines in the real estate industry.

The company, which is in the process of being bought by suburban Baltimore’s Sinclair Broadcast Group, is best known for WGN-TV, KTLA in Los Angeles, and WPIX in New York.  It’s half of what’s left after the Tribune Company imploded like a supernova, leaving behind a pair of dwarf stars.  Consult the Adler Planetarium if you need help with the analogy.

River District rendering (Courtesy of SCB)

In September, Trib announced it was going to take some of its fallow ground along Chicago Avenue near Goose Island and turn it into a multi-tower office and residential complex called 700 On the River.  Now Big T is taking its property across the street at 777 West Chicago Avenue and turning that into a huge live-work complex including upwards of 15 high- and mid-rise office, residential, hotel, and other buildings designed by SCB.

The idea is to become the geographic hub of Chicago’s emerging tech hub, and to that end both the 700 project and the 777 project are now being tied up in a bow labeled The River District.

This 777 portion of the project involves building 5,900 new residences and nine million square feet of office space along the rail lines between Chicago Avenue and Grand Avenue.  That’s two Willis Towers’ worth of office space.

But don’t start moving your timber-loft dot-com startup out of Ravenswood just yet.  Like any development proposal of this scale, the splash is tempered by bean counters, so this project will go up in phases.  Phase one is surprisingly on the Grand Avenue end of things.  Trib calls it “shovel-ready,” which in Chicago means don’t expect to see any shovels until 2020.  The rest will arrive bit-by-bit, or as Tribune puts it, “based on market demand.”  That’s Illinois for, “If they come, we will build it.”

All of that caution, however, will likely go out the window if the city’s pleading for Seattle’s Amazon.com to build its second headquarters in Chicago works out thanks to this plan’s not-so-subtle, “Oh, hey! Look at all this empty awesome brand new office space in funky downtown Chicago we’ve suddenly got!  And there’s a Starbucks!”  If Amazon’s HQ2 does for downtown Chicago what HQ1 did for South Lake Union, the whole thing will go up faster than a Patrick Kane slap shot.

Various estimations rank Chicago anywhere from #2 to #18 on the list of what Amazon’s looking for in a new location.  The problem is that one of the things that ranks Chicago so high is its transit system.  Good for the city as a whole, but bad for this location.  The reason that HQ1 works so well in its downtown-adjacent location is that transit was good from the outset.  Bus service is excellent, and connects to a regional ferry network.  The very cheap SLUT trolley connects to the excellent and growing light rail network.  There’s even two commuter airlines that run seaplanes from South Lake Union to the neighboring tech hub of Vancouver.  And the only thing that dot-com kids like better than fair-trade coffee and rainbow kale chips is some good mass transit on which to show off their AirPods and strategically torn skinny jeans.

(Protip: The secret sauce that makes Seattle’s transit system work is that it understands that its primary objective is to move people around, not to be a source of revenue. To that end, if you’re poor, forgot your wallet, just got mugged, or whatever, Sound Transit will let you on without paying — just to keep people moving.  In fact, at the time that Amazon relocated to South Lake Union, the entirety of downtown Seattle was a fare-free zone, for buses and trains. Again, to move people around, not to act as a tax-hungry piggy bank.)

Unfortunately for The River District, the only transit options are the Halsted, Chicago, Grand, and Milwaukee buses.  If you want rail, you’ll have to hop a freight toward Milwaukee like a hobo.  But water taxi service could be added pretty easily, which in Chicago terms is the “most extra” way for hipsters to get around.

We’ll have much more on this project in the next few weeks.  Until then, enjoy the renderings.

Tribune Media Announces Plans for Transformational Riverfront Development at 777 W. Chicago Avenue

The River District will convert 37 acres of underutilized industrial land into a dynamic new neighborhood that inspires innovation and community

Tribune Real Estate Holdings, a subsidiary of Tribune Media Company (NYSE: TRCO), today filed a planned development (PD) application with the city of Chicago for a transformational riverfront development at 777 W. Chicago Avenue (777).  The proposed plan for the 777 site was submitted a month after Tribune Media and Riverside Investment & Development jointly filed a plan to redevelop Tribune Media’s neighboring site at 700 W. Chicago Avenue (700).

Located along the North Branch of the Chicago River, the phased redevelopment of 777 and 700 W. Chicago Avenue will be reimagined as The River District, a landmark urban tech-centric neighborhood that will reflect how people want to live and work. The new neighborhood extends Chicago’s downtown district and establishes a natural connection between The Loop, River North, Fulton Market, and River West.

Drawing from the best thinking and practices in urban planning, sustainable development, and established innovative work and live spaces, The River District will reaffirm Chicago as among the most innovative cities in the world.

“Our proposed plan for The River District builds on Mayor Emanuel’s North Branch Framework vision – to unlock growth by creating and connecting vibrant sustainable neighborhoods, and attracting and retaining new jobs and talent.  Chicago’s growth and innovation as a result of the Framework will cement it as a top destination for companies and talent, and we view The River District as a major contributor to the future success of the city,” said Murray McQueen, president of ‎Tribune Real Estate Holdings.  “The River District plan leverages best practices from Chicago and other major cities and reflects how people want to live and work today.  Our goal is to create the same in-demand dynamic neighborhood seen in tech centers such as San Francisco and Seattle.”

As Chicago looks to further establish itself as a hub for innovation and technology, the site will become the heart of city’s “Tech Triangle”, which includes the Merchandise Mart and 600 W. Chicago (the Montgomery Ward building) on the east, the UI Labs on Goose Island on the north, and the Google headquarters in the West Loop.

“Expanding the Downtown District in the ‘Tech Triangle’ will create the city’s first innovation district and become a city within a city, where people will live, work, play, and innovate,” said McQueen.

Once completed, The River District will achieve an appropriate balance of mixed-uses where demand is great, the tax base will expand, thousands of jobs will be created and the city will realize not only the property’s initial development fees, but a multiplier of the potential property taxes, sales taxes and various user taxes generated from the new site.

Under the current plan for 777, more than 9 million square feet of mixed-use development rights will accommodate over 19,000 jobs and 5,900 residential units.  More than 18,000 construction jobs will be created in the build-out of the site.  Approximately $1.1 billion in municipal tax benefit to the city will be generated by the project over the next 20 years.

McQueen added, “The River District is based on our vision for the site, on which we have been working with the city for a number of years.”

Benefits from the redevelopment of 777 will include significant infrastructure upgrades including transportation improvements, expansive publicly accessible green space and river access, and utility enhancements.

Increases public access and green space: 25%, or more than 12 acres, of The River District will be dedicated to public use.  This includes 5.1 acres of riverfront improvements, a public park, associated pocket parks to activate the building/streetscape relationship and site-wide landscaping.

Celebrates the Riverwalk expansion: As part of the Riverwalk expansion, the space will feature 3,200 linear feet (more than half a mile) of continuous publicly accessible pedestrian paths on the river.

Supports City’s pedestrian and bike programs: The plan capitalizes on natural connections to surrounding neighborhoods by providing pedestrian and bike path connections and direct visibility from nearby streets.  The site will also include multiple Divvy bike-share stations.

Improves Infrastructure Enhancements: Under the plan, a major arterial boulevard linking Grand to Chicago and an extension of the city grid at Ancona and Superior will be built and associated signalized intersections installed.  Viaduct construction to connect to Halsted and Chicago and site-wide upgrade of utilities will be made, and the plan calls for a sustainably developed storm water management system and access to high-speed fiber throughout the site.

Pending City approval, the first phase of the redevelopment of 777 will occur on the site’s southern end, on 18 “shovel ready” acres that could support 5.5 million square feet beginning in 2020.  The second phase redeveloping the remaining 12 acres could later be built-out based on market demand and support an additional 3.7 million square feet.

“This master plan helps the city achieve its vision to transition from the North Branch Industrial Corridor and ensure the area remains an important economic engine and vital job center in the city of Chicago,” added McQueen.

          from Chicago Architecture https://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2017/10/09/firmly-in-pivot-mode-trib-wows-again-with-another-massive-development-proposal/

[al32richards]

Firmly in Pivot Mode, Trib Wows Again With Another Massive Development Proposal

For the second time in two months, Tribune Media is making headlines in the real estate industry.

The company, which is in the process of being bought by suburban Baltimore’s Sinclair Broadcast Group, is best known for WGN-TV, KTLA in Los Angeles, and WPIX in New York.  It’s half of what’s left after the Tribune Company imploded like a supernova, leaving behind a pair of dwarf stars.  Consult the Adler Planetarium if you need help with the analogy.

River District rendering (Courtesy of SCB)

In September, Trib announced it was going to take some of its fallow ground along Chicago Avenue near Goose Island and turn it into a multi-tower office and residential complex called 700 On the River.  Now Big T is taking its property across the street at 777 West Chicago Avenue and turning that into a huge live-work complex including upwards of 15 high- and mid-rise office, residential, hotel, and other buildings designed by SCB.

The idea is to become the geographic hub of Chicago’s emerging tech hub, and to that end both the 700 project and the 777 project are now being tied up in a bow labeled The River District.

This 777 portion of the project involves building 5,900 new residences and nine million square feet of office space along the rail lines between Chicago Avenue and Grand Avenue.  That’s two Willis Towers’ worth of office space.

But don’t start moving your timber-loft dot-com startup out of Ravenswood just yet.  Like any development proposal of this scale, the splash is tempered by bean counters, so this project will go up in phases.  Phase one is surprisingly on the Grand Avenue end of things.  Trib calls it “shovel-ready,” which in Chicago means don’t expect to see any shovels until 2020.  The rest will arrive bit-by-bit, or as Tribune puts it, “based on market demand.”  That’s Illinois for, “If they come, we will build it.”

All of that caution, however, will likely go out the window if the city’s pleading for Seattle’s Amazon.com to build its second headquarters in Chicago works out thanks to this plan’s not-so-subtle, “Oh, hey! Look at all this empty awesome brand new office space in funky downtown Chicago we’ve suddenly got!  And there’s a Starbucks!”  If Amazon’s HQ2 does for downtown Chicago what HQ1 did for South Lake Union, the whole thing will go up faster than a Patrick Kane slap shot.

Various estimations rank Chicago anywhere from #2 to #18 on the list of what Amazon’s looking for in a new location.  The problem is that one of the things that ranks Chicago so high is its transit system.  Good for the city as a whole, but bad for this location.  The reason that HQ1 works so well in its downtown-adjacent location is that transit was good from the outset.  Bus service is excellent, and connects to a regional ferry network.  The very cheap SLUT trolley connects to the excellent and growing light rail network.  There’s even two commuter airlines that run seaplanes from South Lake Union to the neighboring tech hub of Vancouver.  And the only thing that dot-com kids like better than fair-trade coffee and rainbow kale chips is some good mass transit on which to show off their AirPods and strategically torn skinny jeans.

(Protip: The secret sauce that makes Seattle’s transit system work is that it understands that its primary objective is to move people around, not to be a source of revenue. To that end, if you’re poor, forgot your wallet, just got mugged, or whatever, Sound Transit will let you on without paying — just to keep people moving.  In fact, at the time that Amazon relocated to South Lake Union, the entirety of downtown Seattle was a fare-free zone, for buses and trains. Again, to move people around, not to act as a tax-hungry piggy bank.)

Unfortunately for The River District, the only transit options are the Halsted, Chicago, Grand, and Milwaukee buses.  If you want rail, you’ll have to hop a freight toward Milwaukee like a hobo.  But water taxi service could be added pretty easily, which in Chicago terms is the “most extra” way for hipsters to get around.

We’ll have much more on this project in the next few weeks.  Until then, enjoy the renderings.

Tribune Media Announces Plans for Transformational Riverfront Development at 777 W. Chicago Avenue

The River District will convert 37 acres of underutilized industrial land into a dynamic new neighborhood that inspires innovation and community

Tribune Real Estate Holdings, a subsidiary of Tribune Media Company (NYSE: TRCO), today filed a planned development (PD) application with the city of Chicago for a transformational riverfront development at 777 W. Chicago Avenue (777).  The proposed plan for the 777 site was submitted a month after Tribune Media and Riverside Investment & Development jointly filed a plan to redevelop Tribune Media’s neighboring site at 700 W. Chicago Avenue (700).

Located along the North Branch of the Chicago River, the phased redevelopment of 777 and 700 W. Chicago Avenue will be reimagined as The River District, a landmark urban tech-centric neighborhood that will reflect how people want to live and work. The new neighborhood extends Chicago’s downtown district and establishes a natural connection between The Loop, River North, Fulton Market, and River West.

Drawing from the best thinking and practices in urban planning, sustainable development, and established innovative work and live spaces, The River District will reaffirm Chicago as among the most innovative cities in the world.

“Our proposed plan for The River District builds on Mayor Emanuel’s North Branch Framework vision – to unlock growth by creating and connecting vibrant sustainable neighborhoods, and attracting and retaining new jobs and talent.  Chicago’s growth and innovation as a result of the Framework will cement it as a top destination for companies and talent, and we view The River District as a major contributor to the future success of the city,” said Murray McQueen, president of ‎Tribune Real Estate Holdings.  “The River District plan leverages best practices from Chicago and other major cities and reflects how people want to live and work today.  Our goal is to create the same in-demand dynamic neighborhood seen in tech centers such as San Francisco and Seattle.”

As Chicago looks to further establish itself as a hub for innovation and technology, the site will become the heart of city’s “Tech Triangle”, which includes the Merchandise Mart and 600 W. Chicago (the Montgomery Ward building) on the east, the UI Labs on Goose Island on the north, and the Google headquarters in the West Loop.

“Expanding the Downtown District in the ‘Tech Triangle’ will create the city’s first innovation district and become a city within a city, where people will live, work, play, and innovate,” said McQueen.

Once completed, The River District will achieve an appropriate balance of mixed-uses where demand is great, the tax base will expand, thousands of jobs will be created and the city will realize not only the property’s initial development fees, but a multiplier of the potential property taxes, sales taxes and various user taxes generated from the new site.

Under the current plan for 777, more than 9 million square feet of mixed-use development rights will accommodate over 19,000 jobs and 5,900 residential units.  More than 18,000 construction jobs will be created in the build-out of the site.  Approximately $1.1 billion in municipal tax benefit to the city will be generated by the project over the next 20 years.

McQueen added, “The River District is based on our vision for the site, on which we have been working with the city for a number of years.”

Benefits from the redevelopment of 777 will include significant infrastructure upgrades including transportation improvements, expansive publicly accessible green space and river access, and utility enhancements.

Increases public access and green space: 25%, or more than 12 acres, of The River District will be dedicated to public use.  This includes 5.1 acres of riverfront improvements, a public park, associated pocket parks to activate the building/streetscape relationship and site-wide landscaping.

Celebrates the Riverwalk expansion: As part of the Riverwalk expansion, the space will feature 3,200 linear feet (more than half a mile) of continuous publicly accessible pedestrian paths on the river.

Supports City’s pedestrian and bike programs: The plan capitalizes on natural connections to surrounding neighborhoods by providing pedestrian and bike path connections and direct visibility from nearby streets.  The site will also include multiple Divvy bike-share stations.

Improves Infrastructure Enhancements: Under the plan, a major arterial boulevard linking Grand to Chicago and an extension of the city grid at Ancona and Superior will be built and associated signalized intersections installed.  Viaduct construction to connect to Halsted and Chicago and site-wide upgrade of utilities will be made, and the plan calls for a sustainably developed storm water management system and access to high-speed fiber throughout the site.

Pending City approval, the first phase of the redevelopment of 777 will occur on the site’s southern end, on 18 “shovel ready” acres that could support 5.5 million square feet beginning in 2020.  The second phase redeveloping the remaining 12 acres could later be built-out based on market demand and support an additional 3.7 million square feet.

“This master plan helps the city achieve its vision to transition from the North Branch Industrial Corridor and ensure the area remains an important economic engine and vital job center in the city of Chicago,” added McQueen.

          from Chicago Architecture https://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2017/10/09/firmly-in-pivot-mode-trib-wows-again-with-another-massive-development-proposal/