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transformers-fan-continuities · 3 years

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Spotlight: Ties That Bind

This one’s a doozy folks! If you missed the last spotlight you can go read it here, but strap in for The Ties That Bind, an absolutely brilliant take on humanformers. It’s hosted here at @tiesthatbind-tf created by @artsy-hobbitses!

Q) Give us a run down of your cont! What's it about, what's it called, what's it like?

Ties That Bind is a humanformers-based original continuity which is part Science Fiction and part Alternate History where the invasion of Quintessons and introduction of their technology to Earth in 1920 sets the world and humankind on a completely different trajectory. The active narrative spans a period from 1920 to 2070, covering the First and Second Quintesson Wars, the interplanetary Antillan War (leading to the creation of Unicron on Mars) and the Great War which involves the Autobots, Decepticons and Functionist stalwarts, and how it affects the characters.

The cast is pretty sprawling and the narrative is mostly centred around human drama with bits of humor interspaced and a dash of horror (mostly centred around how the previous government often chose to utilize the technology left behind from the Quintesson Wars to create new systems of oppression, which affected many of the characters, in the name of worldwide rebuilding efforts).

Q) What characters take the lead here? Any personal favorites?

I will admit to this continuity being very much heavy on the relationship between Old Bastards Optimus Prime and Megatron, which is given considerable weight as they were best friends who had known each other since childhood and were deeply intrinsic to each other’s growths as individuals, which makes it all the worse when guilt and betrayal enter the party. Despite being captains in two corners of this battle, there’s a part of them that just cannot let go of their pasts together and they need to reconcile with how this will affect their agenda (Megatron) and how they lead their team (Optimus) who don’t necessarily share their history.

Other characters with significant development include:

Starscream, a Cold Construct in a toxic working relationship with Megatron with whom he is hiding a dark secret, who struggles to balance the underhanded viciousness he believes he needs to gain power and his innate desire from his Senate days to make the world a better place.

Windblade, a Camien native who fights her government’s apathy concerning the situation on Earth which they see as unsalvageable compared to their more Utopian society.

Prowl, a Cold Construct raised from childhood to be a cop in a police state, who finds out that he was brainwashed several times to ensure his obedience and efficacy as a government asset and is now working to reclaim some semblance of the humanity he was never allowed to feel and figure out how much of him is who he really is and how much is programming.

Hound, a sheltered Beastman who joined the fight to ensure that Beastmen the world over would have the same rights he did in his homeland of Shetland Isle, but is forcefully stripped of his humanity and faced with his animal side during the war and has to relearn what personhood means amid his trauma.

Q) Is there a bigger point to this, like a theme or some catharsis? Or is it just fluffy fun?

God with the amount of time I spent sleepless trying to figure out how the logistics of this or the semantics of that were supposed to work in universe, I cannot for the life of me say it’s fluffy fun, but I can’t exactly say it hasn’t been pretty engaging either!

There’s elements of war being messy for everyone involved where there doesn’t seem to be a clear line between friend and foe at times, but I think for most part it prescribes to Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s belief that people are inherently good, but are corrupted by the evils of society. Despite its dark themes (Including but not limited to child abuse, torture, illegal experimenation and brainwashing), love and friendships do prevail, kindness does beget kindness, found families are made, even the smallest actions matter, and things do get better because there are people on both sides who genuinely want to, and strive to make it better.

With Cold Constructs and Beastmen, it also delves heavily into what it means to be human; to have agency and personhood.

There’s also a strong undercurrent of taking responsibility for one’s actions, even if they were made with the best of intentions (Avoidance of this is what eats up Starscream and Megatron from the inside, and what Starscream eventually embraces).

Q) How long have you been working on it?

There’s two answers to this!

I’ve had a Humanformers-related universe going all the way back to 2007 around the time the first Bayformers came out---basically I had a choice between learning to draw cars or draw people (I was an anthro artist back then) and I immediately chose people.

The 2007 draft however had no worldbuilding or connective storylines and was mostly a fun little venture into character design and practice which were actually instrumental to me experimenting and learning how to draw humans properly.

I left the fandom for about a decade and when I came back to it in late 2020 around September via the War for Cybertron series on Netflix, I immediately got hooked on the 2005 IDW comics I missed out on and wanted to get around to updating my old designs as well find a way to translate several of the concepts I wanted to explore in a human sense, so the 2020 update became its own full-fledged original continuity with detailed worldbuilding and history.

You can see the artistic evolution of several characters from their original incarnation below!

Q) It’s incredible to see your artistic improvement too! Give us a behind-the-scenes look! Show us a secret ;))

Say hello to my workspace! I’ve been working exclusively on the Ipad Pro since late 2016, which is fantastic because I can basically whip up concepts and sketches on the go anywhere. Nowhere is too out of bounds to work on TTB!

Also, do enjoy this sneak peek at true!form Rung, whose synthezoid human body took years to perfect.

Q) YESSSSS alright I must admit this is one of my favorite Rungs, and certainly my fave within TTB. Amazing. Phew, anyway. Where did you draw inspiration from? What canons, what other fiction, what parts of real life?

TTB was initially conceived as a faithful retelling of the IDW 2005 narrative before it was transformed into its own continuity and as such, it borrows heavily from concepts and mirrored plot lines introduced in that run! I chose to have the series inspired off it specifically for the amount of history and worldbuilding it introduced to the franchise.

Anime like Gunslinger Girl and Beastars inspired the depictions of Cold Constructs, especially the more harrowing aspects of their upbringing as government assets instead of children, and Beastmen (Beastformers) in TTB.

I haven’t depicted the world itself in my art all too much, but the architecture from Tiger and Bunny, which has sort of a futuristic Art Deco feel to it, is what you’d usually see in major cities. There is an in-universe reason for that---with a Point Of Divergence set in 1920 followed by 25 years (an entire generation) of progress basically being kicked to the curb due to the Quintesson wars, mankind was basically in a time-locked bubble until the end of the wars, and by then their heroes were 1920s-style rebellion leaders, which lead to 1920s fashion (especially among the Manual Working Class---Megatron, Jazz and Optimus all rock 1920s fashion at some point of their lives) and architecture being celebrated and retained as sort of a reminder of how things were before The Invasion. This anime’s background design is also where I adopted the tiered system TTB’s major metropolises are often built on (with each tier being designated to a different working class) from.

The main artistic style itself is a love letter to 90s cartoons, in particular Gargoyles’ deep and drama-driven character narratives and designs as well as The Centurions’ take on body armor logistics.

I also take inspiration, especially armor-wise, from the characters’ given heritage and background. As an example, Hotrod who is depicted as Irish has the flames on his armor done up with Celtic knots. Welsh aristocrat Mirage’s armor bears olden knight-style filigree and has his Autobot logo designed as a coat of arms. Indonesian Soundwave’s armor and Decepticon logo takes cues from Batik and Wayang Kulit while their mask is based off the Barong.

Q) They are absolutely gorgeous! Show off something you're really proud of, a particular favorite part of your cont.

The worldbuilding in general! Most Humanformers I’ve seen tend to treat it like a fun exercise which it is and is definitely valid, but I found myself wanting a full-fledged world to lose myself in and I sought to try and make that world myself by drafting a detailed history and timeline of events which would affect ongoing narratives, having indepth worldbuilding to include almost all societal aspects of the universe and expanding on the concept of Beastmen and Cold Constructs existing in a human setting.

I’m not so secretly proud of the research and diversity included to make the cast look like the multicultural, globally-based team that they were meant to be instead of being locked to a single region! My original draft from 2007 was, to put it simply, quite culturally monolithic and I wanted to improve on that aspect with TTB.

I’m also proud that I’ve kept to it this far! I’m a notoriously flaky person jumping from one idea/fandom to another and to have kept at this continuity for the better part of ten months is honestly a personal feat.

Art-wise, this scene depicting a young Megatron working alongside Terminus and Impactor (cameo by @weapon-up-wallflower‘s OC Missit!) is definitely one of my favorites since it helps build up the world they live in and plays to familial bonds and comfort found in one another despite their less than ideal circumstances.

Q) Everything has come together so beautifully, you absolutely should be proud. What other fan canons do you love and why? Would you like to see them interviewed?

I am dying to hear more from @iscaredspider’s Sparkpulse continuity! Her designs are MIND-BLOWINGLY GORGEOUS and I want to hear more about what inspired her to work on it!

Also YOU. Yes YOU BLURRITO. LET ME HEAR MORE ABOUT SNAP.

Q) [wails and squirms away in the mortifying ordeal of being known but in a very flattered way] I WILL SOMEDAY I PROMISE aflghsdjg thank you QwQ

Well that was fantastic, Oni, thank you muchly! A magnificent continuity with so much to look forward to! Coming up next is another personal fave of mine, the first inspiration for SNAP, so stick around...

#long post #gore #ties that bind #spotlight #transformers #HUMANFORMERS #transformers au #tf original continuity #transformers fan continuity #transformers redesign #maccadam #i said id post this on sunday but i realize thats a holiday for lots of folks on this site :/

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beardofkamenev · 3 years

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1, 5, 7 :)

Thanks for the ask! This is kinda a long one without any pretty pictures, so I’ve tagged it for anyone who doesn’t want it clogging up their dash.

1. Historical figure you used to like before you learned more about.

I’ve never actually liked him, but Winston Churchill. I knew he was 'problematic’ to an extent, but I was pretty neutral on him since, you know, he “saved Europe” from the Nazis. I also didn’t learn about him in school, so I just took the established opinion of him at face value. But MY GOD he was a racist, white supremacist, imperialist, genocidal piece of shit. Here are some choice quotes from the man himself:

On the Boer War (1902): “[It was] great fun galloping about.” “[My only] irritation [is] “that Kaffirs should be allowed to fire on white men” (The ‘great fun’ being the war in which the British sent 100,000+ black Africans to concentration camps, and ‘Kaffir’ being a racist term for black Africans.)

On the use of chemical weapons against the Kurds (1920): “I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against the uncivilised tribes … it would spread a lively terror.”

On Mussolini (1927): “In the conflict between Fascism and Bolshevism, there was no doubt where my sympathies and convictions lay.” (Hint: it was fascism.)

On Palestinians (1930s): “Barbaric hordes who ate little but camel dung.” On self-determination: “I do not agree that the dog in a manger has the final right to the manger.”

On Jewish people (1937): “It may be that, unwittingly, they are inviting persecution — that they have been partly responsible for the antagonism from which they suffer.” (Hitler was already in power, so YIKES)

On the genocide of Native Americans and Indigenous Australians (1937): “I do not admit, for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race to put it that way, has come in and taken their place.”

On the partition of India (1947): “I’d rather see them have a good civil war.” “The Hindus were [a] race protected by their mere pullulation from the doom that is due” (’Pullulation’ meaning ‘to multiply rapidly’, and ‘the doom that is their due’ being the brutal, sectarian partition in which millions were killed and displaced. Churchill may have helped create Pakistan — or as he called it, Britain’s “bit of India” — but he despised Pakistanis, who he considered a “lower manifestation” of humanity.)

On the Bengal Famine which killed 3 million (1944): “I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion.” (Keep in mind that, like the Irish Famine, the Bengal Famine was a direct result of his own government exporting rice from India, despite the fact that crops had failed and that Churchill was repeatedly warned that continuing to export rice would lead to famine. Not only did Churchill deny relief to Bengal, but he also blamed the Bengalis for their own starvation for “breeding like rabbits.”)

His opposition to Nazism wasn’t nearly as principled as most people believe. Far from being an anti-fascist and anti-Nazi, Churchill was himself a fascist eugenicist, who only opposed the Nazis insofar as Hitler’s imperial ambitions threatened British dominance. This was the same Churchill who once boasted that the “Aryan stock is bound to triumph,” and whose main criticism of Hitler was that he had “not been mellowed by the great success that ha[d] attended him,” lamenting the loss of “the Hitler of peace and tolerance.” I was neutral on Churchill before, but now I’m pretty comfortable placing him in the same league as other racist mass murderers, if not in death toll, then certainly in his views. The British Viceroy of India said that “Churchill’s attitude towards India and the famine is negligent, hostile and contemptuous.” The Indian Secretary of State said that there wasn’t “much difference between his outlook and Hitler's.” His own secretary attested to him saying that Indians were “a foul race ... and he wished Bert Harris could send some of his surplus bombers to destroy them.” And those were just his view on Indians. While Churchill’s own colleagues saw him as an extremist, the cult of British exceptionalism demands that these inconvenient aspects of his legacy be ignored, lest they contradict the narrative of the Empire as an ultimately beneficial, civilising force.

Don’t get me wrong, I do think that Churchill is worthy of serious study, as all influential and complex figures are. But he is uncritically considered The Greatest Briton of All Time purely because of his whitewashed wartime legacy, which has been used time and time again to dismiss the very real harm he caused to millions of people and continues to cause harm today. Stalin also “saved Europe” from the Nazis, but it would be insulting to say his role in defeating Nazism somehow excuses his atrocities. Yet Churchill’s atrocities are constantly excused because his victims were mostly brown “savages” (his words), who needed to be ‘civilised’ anyway. You only have to look at this BBC article to see his apologists’ mental gymnastics in trying to defend him (here’s my favourite: ��Although Churchill did think that white people were superior, that didn't mean he necessarily thought it was OK to treat non-white people in an inhumane way”). As a POC from a former American colony, I find the systematic erasure of the atrocities committed by the Anglosphere and the knee-jerk defensiveness towards any acknowledgement of the intergenerational trauma caused beyond irritating. The Cult of Churchill is but one example of this.

5. Historical figure we should talk more about.

JASPER TUDOR UNCLE OF THE CENTURY. Now that was a man who was actually loyal to his brothers and protected his nephews, unlike... some other uncles I could name lol. He’s also the one Tudor man (aside from Arthur) that PGregs couldn’t demonise, although she did still portray him as a 26 year old man being in hopelessly love with his 13 year old sister-in-law, which uh, NEVER HAPPENED.

Anyway, I have a whole tag devoted to Jasper here if you want to learn more about him. There are also three historical biographies dedicated to him: Jasper Tudor: Dynasty Maker by Terry Breverton (2014), Jasper Tudor: Godfather of the Tudor Dynasty by Debra Bayani (2015), and Jasper: The Tudor Kingmaker by Dr Sarah Elin Roberts (2015). I haven’t actually read them myself so I can’t give you my opinion on them, but I have read Wales and the Wars of the Roses by Howell T. Evans (1915) which discusses Jasper in detail and I highly recommend.

7. Favourite primary source.

Oh man, it’s so hard to choose! Purely in terms of aesthetics, it has to be Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. I even have a whole tag devoted to salivating over the pretty colours lol. In terms of textual information, I’d probably say Henry VII’s letter to his mama, Maggie B. It reveals so much about Henry’s relationship with his mother, including how close they were, how much he respected her, and how often they collaborated in matters of state. It also includes this cute line:

I shall be as glad to plese you as youre herte can desire hit, and I knowe welle that I am as much bounden so to doe as any creture lyvyng, for the grete and singular moderly love and affection that hit hath plesed you at all tymes to ber towards me.

I was supposed to write a post about it, but I got lazy so it’s still sitting in my drafts. In terms of both textual information and literature, I think Gwaith Lewys Glyn Cothi is pretty underrated as a primary source. They’re poems, so naturally there’s a lot of embellishment, but they give a lot of insight into the under-explored Welsh aspect of the Wars of the Roses from someone who actually lived through the era. I’m also Jasper Tudor trash, so of course I’d like anything that talks about him.

(The history asks meme is still open!)

#i will tag my hate actually #winston churchill #now for the people i don't hate #jasper tudor #henry vii #margaret beaufort #lewys glyn cothi #history ask meme #juliawickers #questions for the beard

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hardcorehardigan · 3 years

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[Cover: GREG WILLIAMS/AUGUST IMAGES]

Tom Hardy interview and exclusive David Bailey shot

By DANIELLE DE WOLFE

02 September 2015

ShortList meets the British actor who took on the Kray twins and won. Plus an exclusive image of the actor taken by the inimitable David Bailey.

Interviewing Tom Hardy is not like interviewing other film stars. From the moment he arrives – alone, dressed down in hiking trousers and black T-shirt, puffing away on a complex-looking digital e-cigarette – it is immediately clear this is not someone who will be exhibiting any kind of on-promotional-duties polish. He is very, very nice (I get a hug at the end of the interview), but there is unmistakably a wired edginess about him. When we sit down, it starts like this:

Me: I’m going to start with an obvious question, which is… Hardy: Have you seen the film? Me: Yes. I… Hardy: Right, well that’s the first question, then. The second one is, “What did you think?” I tell him I loved it, and why, and he is pleased (“That’s a f*cking result!”). When we move on to me asking him questions, his answers – again, in contrast to other film stars, with whom the game is to get them to veer slightly away from prepared, succinct monologues – are smart and eloquent, but long, drawn-out and enjoyably all over the place, veering off into tangents prompted by thoughts that have clearly just formulated. At the end of our allotted time, we are told to wind it up not once but twice, and even then he is still going, launching into theories about American versus British gangster films and life and humanity and such things (“Sorry man, I can talk for f*cking ever!” he laughs). He will be talking with a seriousness and sincerity (“All the risk was taken by [writer and director] Brian [Helgeland], to be fair…”), then will switch without warning into a piercing, mock-hysterical falsetto (“…letting me PLAY BOTH F*CKING ROLES, MAN!”).

In fact, briefly, while we’re on the subject of the way he speaks…

Tom Hardy’s normal speaking voice is not something we have been privy to onscreen. Since he delivered – whatever your opinion of it – the most imitated cinematic voice of the decade in The Dark Knight Rises, we haven’t come close. That thick Welsh accent in Locke, The Drop’s quiet Brooklyn drawl, the Russian twang in Child 44: we just never hear it. And this might be because it doesn’t exist. It’s five years ago, but if you watch his Jonathan Ross appearance in 2010, where he is very well spoken, he confesses he “sometimes picks up accents, and sometimes I don’t know how I’m going to sound until I start speaking”. If you then watch another video of a feature on GMTV, dated just a month previous, while addressing some young people from troubled backgrounds as part of his charity work with the Prince’s Trust, he is speaking to them in a south London street kid drawl. Today, in the flesh, he is about halfway between these two.

A natural-born chameleon.

Tom Hardy shot by David Bailey for ShortList

BEING DOUBLE

The role we are here to discuss today does not, by Tom Hardy’s own standards at least, involve a huge stretch accent-wise. But it is “the hardest thing that I’ve ever done, technically”. This is because, as mentioned, he plays not one role, but two. In the same film. You will likely have seen the posters for Legend by now, depicting Hardy as both of the Kray twins. Which seems an ambitious, almost foolhardy undertaking.

Hardy agrees. “It is one of them situations,” he says. “You get an actor to play two characters, and immediately, it’s pony. It’s gonna be rubbish. Just: no. It’s a bad idea.”

This particular “bad idea” came to him when he first met writer and director Brian Helgeland (who had previously written screenplays for – no biggie – LA Confidential and Mystic River) for dinner. Brian wanted Hardy to play Reggie (the hetero, alpha male, more-straight-down-the-line Kray). Hardy, though, had read the script, and of course, being Tom Hardy, was drawn to the more complex character. “I was like, ‘Well, I feel Ronnie,’” he says. “So which actor am I gonna give up Ronnie to, if I play Reggie? Errrrrggh…. I can’t have that. ’Cos that’s all the fun there! And Reggie’s so straight! But there was a moment when I could have come away just playing Reggie. We could have gone and found a superlative character actor to play Ronnie, and that would have been the best of everything."

But Helgeland sensed the dissatisfaction in his potential leading man. “I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Oh, he wants to play Ron,’” he tells me. “And the paraphrased version is that by the end of the dinner, I said, ‘I’ll give you Ron if you give me Reg.’”

And so began their quest to turn a risky, potentially disastrous idea into something special (as Brian puts it to me, “the movie’s either gone right or gone wrong before anyone even starts working on it”). Hardy found some comfort in Sam Rockwell’s two-interacting-characters performance in Moon. “I’m a big fan of Sam,” he says.

“And Moon gave me reason to go, ‘I know it’s possible to hustle with self, to create a genuine dialogue with self.’ So then it’s the technical minefield: can you authentically create two characters within a piece at all? So that the audience can look past that and engage in the film? It is what it is: it’s two characters played by the same actor. But I think we got to a point where people forget that and are genuinely watching the story."

This was the ‘why I liked the film’ reasoning I gave to him at the beginning of the interview. And it is a remarkable performance, or pair of performances, or triumph of technical direction. The opening shot features both Tom Hardy Krays sitting in the back of a car, and feels strange, but very quickly, within about 10 or 15 minutes, you settle into it, and forget that it is actually the same guy. This was made possible, in part, by Hardy’s stunt double from Mad Max: a New Zealander named Jacob Tomuri.

“He inherited the hardest job of my career,” Hardy grins. “I put on a pair of glasses, played every scene with Ron, then took ’em off and played Reg. And we went through every scene in the film, recording it on the iPhone. So he’s got every scene of me doing both characters, on his iPhone. He actually played both brothers, had to learn all of the lines. He was paying attention twice as hard to keep up. But he superseded that, and was eventually ad-libbing. There’s a line that ended up in the film, where Ronnie goes, ‘I bent him up like a pretzel, I hurt him really f*cking badly.’” “Where did that come from?!” Hardy shrieks, in that falsetto again. “It came from New Zealand."

The wife’s tale

The other big potential pitfall, as Hardy sees it, was contributing to the ongoing glamorisation and eulogising of two brothers who were, to say the least, not very nice. Somehow they have become almost as iconic a piece of the Sixties puzzle as the Beatles or the Stones. But this was not something that Legend would be setting out to reinforce. “One has to approach these things thinking about the families of the victims who were involved in the other end of it,” he says. “Before you find the heart to like somebody, you’ve gotta look at their track record as best as possible: the people who’ve been hurt, the bodies, the suffering, people who were bullied, who lived in terror, who lost significant parts of their lives in the wake of these two men. There’s a lot of sh*t to wade through. And a lot of people who do not, quite rightly, want to see anything to do with these two men. And if I were them, I wouldn’t want to be involved myself, but there’s also part of me that wants to know. That wants to get under the skin.”

So how do you go about doing that? About humanising, to any extent, such people?

“I think the first port of call is, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to do and say whatever you wanted to do and say in the world, regardless of the ramifications and the consequences?’ Ultimately, when I – we – go to the cinema or read a book or we go to escape, we respond to certain types of characters that go, ‘F*ck it: I’m gonna do whatever I want.'

And that’s because we can’t. Because most people would feel a responsibility.”

The answer to how Legend would do this came in the shape of a person who did feel some responsibility, namely Frances Shea: the troubled wife of Reggie, who died in 1967. Played by Emily Browning, she became the centre of the film when Helgeland met Krays associate Chris Lambrianou, who told him that “Frances was the reason we all went to prison”.

“We could have put more of the carnage and the crimes in that film,” says Hardy. “Not to say that it is not there, but what you do see, really, is Reggie, Ronnie and Frances. That’s the dynamic we focused on, that space, which hasn’t been seen before. What was that dynamic like? I don’t know if we came anywhere near the truth, because we weren’t there. But that was the playing field, if you like: Frances Shea, future ahead of her, caught up in something, and no one with her, the suicide. That sits with me in a way as the lead. She’s who we forgot. Ronnie, Reggie, they’ve done their bit. Frances was forgotten. And that kind of all ties it together for me."

FUTURE LEGENDS

The initial praise for Legend has been plentiful, but the mindset of Tom Hardy right now is such that he does not have the time to bask in it. There are other quite ludicrously challenging projects to be pressing ahead with. Coming in autumn is The Revenant, starring his good friend Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu of Birdman fame. Its trailer, as well as doing the not-going-anywhere trend for big beards no harm whatsoever, suggests that it will also match Mad Max in terms of an unrelenting barrage of intensity. Further into the future there’s the Elton John biopic Rocketman (initial challenge? Hardy “can’t sing”) and another foray into comic-book adaptation with 100 Bullets (news of which broke just after our interview).

And right now, as in this week, he’s working on a BBC series called Taboo, which is set in 1813 and stars Hardy as an adventurer who comes back from Africa and builds a shipping empire. The story has been developed by his production company Hardy Son & Baker (formed with his father, Chips) and has been written and directed by Locke/Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, with Ridley Scott also exec producing.

“We’re sat on something really awesome,” says Hardy. “And it’s trying to piece it together. I’ve never produced anything before, so I basically don’t know what I’m doing. But I’ve got some options and solutions: if you say something is not working, you better come up with at least four other options. But it’s good. It’s just different.”

Another day, another big challenge. Another chance to do something different. It isn’t an easy life being Tom Hardy. But neither will it ever a boring one, and that’s good news for us.

Legend is at cinemas from 9 September

Words: Hamish MacBain. Images: David Bailey, Studio Canal

You can also read the Hardy interview in this week's ShortList Magazine. It'd be a crime to miss it.

Source: https://www.shortlist.com/news/tom-hardy-interview-and-exclusive-david-bailey-shot

#shortlist #bewareoftheman #tomhardydoesntbiteunlesstherolerequiresit #tomhardy #interview #exclusive #davidbailey #shot #danielledewolfe #september2015 #legend #gregwilliamsphotography

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asdfghjkl1x1 · 4 years

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Lead | Grace, Kozue, Régine, Lucas

That night, Marion, Régine, and William were most vigilant. Sadako, on the other hand, got to have her first contact with Lucas, whom she found amusing when he couldn't stop smiling about 'someone else who also had an alter'.

"We're done now" Luke announced and Sadako smiled.

"Good job, kid. Are you a doctor?"

He giggled "No, just a journalist student."

The alter caught a bit of interest on him "So you write, or you're just into TV reports and that stuff?"

The young man tilted his head to the sides "Neither.., but I do prefer the writing part" his tone serious.

"So serious, are you one of those who take their job too seriously?"

"No, I don't have a job right now. But I do take this one seriously"

Sadako observed the bandaged space on her forearm "That I can tell, this is very good, and I see Marion also has been taken care of" she then squinted her eyes at him "You're not crushing on her, right?"

"Me? N-No"

Sadako giggled "Kid, I wouldn't blame you if you are. One has to be blind to not like her or have really bad taste, or possibly be a boring vanilla to not."

Lucas blushed and said nothing, he just thought that except for the recurrent smiling, there was certainly a big difference between this alter and his host.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you're a vanilla guy, huh?"

"Uh... yeah... I suppose"

"You haven't been with a girl?"

"No. I'm gay"

Sadako smiled "How lucky, so am I. So, how's your vanilla guy?"

Lucas frowned "Problematic, I guess"

"Oh, I'm sorry" she genuinely said. "We have that in common. Except I'm at a frustrating point, because neither my innocent self nor Freya have talked about it, and it's really frustrating to have all these memories of the times they could have done it. They really love each other. But helping friends in need comes first, right?" she rolled her eyes playfully.

Lucas smiled "I know"

Marion approached to them and asked the young man "Everything okay?"

The English boy nodded.

Sadako smiled "Yes, I was telling him about the goods of bondage between gay men"

At this, Lucas' face went red, making the Asian laugh, and the Welsh slap the latter's head.

"Ow, you do know I prefer to be spanked, right?"

"Don't provoke me"

Sadako smirked and stood up in front of Marion before wrapping her arms around her neck "What if I do?"

"We have a big audience"

"I'm an exhibitionist, I'm good with audience"

Marion smirked "Good, then I'll let know Freya of this"

Sadako pulled her arms back immediately making her counterpart laugh "You're no fun"

"We should try to sleep a while, that bear might be far, but I'm not so sure about the shooter."

"The only thing I can tell you, is that it's one person. I heard the hurried steps running away after the bear went the other direction"

"Someone was trying to help us?" Lucas asked.

"Either that, or we're being followed" Marion turned to him.

"It was a shotgun" Régine joined them. "Too loud to be a simple rifle. Are we nearby a town?" she turned to William.

"We're not. We're miles away from the next town, even though the closest one is from the direction of the shooter."

"Then is there some sort of cabin close to us?"

"There is a cabin on the path we are, but it's nowhere near where we are right now" William explained while Régine stared at him wondering about said cabin.

"Then let's abandon the suspicious thought and carry on with what we're supposed to do. After all, there's less than two days of walk. Let's sleep." Régine approached to Sadako and whispered "Koz— Sadako, do you need anything for sleeping?"

"Only this one close" she pointed at Marion "I don't have nightmares with her around. I won't have them anyway while I'm me."

Régine felt relieved and went to check on the wolves before settling on a tree, with Louis lying next to her.

Sadako turned to Marion "Can we check where are we for a moment?"

The alter looked around there were no high hills, or any kind of high places enough to see the space, just the tall trees, she approached to the one in front and looked up, finding him sturdy enough to climb. She turned to the Asian "Let's go"

Sadako got on her back, and Marion started to climb, leaving an impressed Lucas behind them.

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"It's not, she once took me up a skyscraper"

Lucas's eyes widened.

"We almost died that time" Marion glared at her.

Sadako smiled "We're here and alive, right? That's in the past"

"Just don't do any movements out of your excitement"

"I won't"

They went up the tall tree, while Marion was going up carrying Sadako, it didn't make her pace any slower than what she would go up climbing by herself.

Once they were almost at the very top branch, Marion stopped and both her and Sadako started to look around the area.

"Wow, this forest is massive"

Marion smiled "I know, I love it. It's like a small green world made that turns wide down in the ground, and becomes magical in the mind"

Sadako blushed slightly and stared at Marion.

"What?"

"I do like when you get poetic"

"Hush, and look what you want to look"

"I am doing that" she smirked.

Marion arched an eyebrow "Within the forest"

Sadako rolled her eyes "Fine. Let's see..." she looked around before closing her eyes, removing the cotton balls from her ears, and trying to listen very well. After a few seconds she opened them again. "I can't listen to the sea, but the wind totally changes in the direction", she pointed southeast.

"Hmm..." Marion tried to sniff in the direction Sadako pointed, and then groaned. "Yeah, it's that direction. I can taste the sea salt the wind carries."

"Really?" Sadako asked before kissing her. "Yup, definitely sea salt" then giggled.

Marion squinted her eyes at her "I'm telling Freya"

"I'm telling Lucy"

Marion smirked "she wouldn't mind"

"I'll tell Régine and come up with a good tale?"

"You need to work on your threats. Let's go back."

They descended faster than they climbed, finding an even more surprised Lucas waiting for them. "You guys are amazing"

"See? He likes me" Sadako turned to Marion "can we keep him, Mommy?"

"He belongs to himself and is tied to Chase, so no keeping him, touching him, or anything, if you want to live. He's not very friendly as far as Grace's memories go. Him, Angela, and Grace are the exception. Let's get some sleep now."

Marion walked over the bag that William carried with all their things and with a smile on her face out of surprise, she pulled her big red tartan blanket out of it, then went over a close tree, and turned to Sadako "Come here."

Sadako approached and both ladies sat by the tree, covered by the blanket. "You sure about this?" she whispered as her body tensed at the skin contact

"I am. Also... good girl for lying to Régine" Marion whispered back.

"I didn't want her to worry"

"I know"

Sadako still insisted "Are you really sure about this?"

"At some point you're going to want to sleep with Freya, and if we don't find a way where none of you attack her while sleeping, both of you will suffer."

The Asian sighed "I know. What do you suggest?"

"We'll just sleep."

Sadako looked up at Marion, her eyes watering. "I'm scared. I don't want to hurt you again."

"I'll deal with it" the Welsh alter hugged the Asian gently "we're monsters, let's just... accept it. At the end, we're all we have."

"What about them?" Sadako looked at their companions.

"We'll protect them"

Sadako nodded, while caressing Yuki's back —the white wolf approached to sleep beside her— "Oyasuminasai, Yuki"

Marion smiled and felt something pressing against her head "You want to sleep here, huh? Oh well..." she patted the space next to her and the grey wolf lied besides her "Good night, Ulysses."

"Mind to sing to me?" Sadako asked.

"I only know one song in your mother language and it's a sad one."

"That'd be good"

Marion sung the song, making Sadako to draw a sad smile at her luck in love, before falling asleep, when the last lyrics came from the Welsh's lips.

Ohne dich zähl ich die Stunden ohne dich

Mit dir stehen die Sekunden

Lohnen nicht ohne dich

Without you, I count the hours without you

With you the seconds stand still

They aren't worth it without you.

The next day, the first hours went uneventful, the bear was out of sight, the wolves were relaxed, and no sign of the shooter.

Later, Marion and Sadako went to hunt with the wolves. Their speed matched, the Asian was better at making decisions when left alone with the hunting wolves. Unlike Kozue, she was determined, and saw her companions not as different from her, but as equals and even an extended family, which made her communicate instructions even better than Marion.

They returned with the results of their hunt, then cooked them, and ate.

"Try to not take too much time to eat, ladies and gentlemen. We got to cover the last terrain, and be aware, we don't know if we'll find it unoccupied" Régine announced, looking around her, trying to spot if they're were followed. Her wolf subordinate, Louis, seemed to be as mistrusting and vigilant as her. He kept an eye on the surroundings while they ate.

Once they were over, and checking provisions. Lucas approached Régine "Uhm... they told me you were in the Army, ma'am. I... I just got in and I want to know if you could give me some advice."

Régine arched an eyebrow at him, then occupied herself of her rifle "You don't strike me as an Army type, Jean-Luc"

Lucas sighed "I know... I'm sorry, I won't bother you."

"Hey, it's okay. I'm sorry." She left the rifle and turned to him "I guess my first advice would be you getting a good physical form and work out a lot. And learning to fight, some people can get abusive with new recruits. So show them to respect you, and respect them as well, obviously."

"The Navy got interested on me for my swimming record. As for fighting... I'm not good at it, I'm afraid"

Régine tilted her head in confusion "Then, why you want to go into the Army? If I may ask."

"I..." he lowered his head "I want to prove to my dad I'm not useless, and that being gay doesn't make me unmanly."

The Frenchwoman giggled "I'm sorry, but from my perspective, first, I don't see you unmanly at all, and you're nowhere near useless. Marion can be a handful even at fighting practice and not even Claudette can stitch her up as fast and effectively as you do, also you know how to approach her without trying to top her in an authority sense, Marion loves and admires that, is one of the thing she lives for, someone to treat her as a living being, and not as someone to be afraid of." She smiled at Luke "You care about her, and to be honest, having you here has been a blessing, and I no longer feel worried over injuries, whether hers or mine. So, your dad can screw up, and your boyfriend if he doubts you as well, Jean-Luc." She stood up and kissed his forehead.

"If anything..." she whispered "I'm worried about your relationship with William, and about the way he looks at you... as well as something else that rubs me wrong, I can't tell what is it yet."

When they were ready to go, shots were heard. "Hunters?" Marion asked. Régine was about to open her mouth when she heard the unmistakable sound of the bear.

"Fuck... it found us" Marion tied to uncover herself from the tree when some shots went to her direction. "What even...?"

"Stay there!" Régine ordered her, before taking a deep breath and going out to shoot back.

The light bothered her vision, the men were in a tall and distant place, and the bright light of the clouded day didn't allow her to see where exactly she was shooting at. So, she decided to climb the hill as fast as she could, to reach them.

However, once knowing exactly were they standing, the bear became a big problem for Marion, Sadako, Lucas and William.

The wolves charged against the bear followed by William, who tried to go towards the hill to keep both the bear at bay, and try to help Régine with the hunters. He would shoot at both sides non-stop and hide behind the trees for protection.

If any doubt invaded Marion and Sadako about attacking, it was gone, they ran straight towards the bear. Trying to stop it. Both their hearts were racing, they were so used to fighting humans, than when it came to other threats, especially ones that doubled their height, made them afraid of what they might lose when fighting it.

"Sadako, get the wolves out of here!"

"Are you crazy?! I'm not leaving you alone!"

"They'll keep attacking as long as I'm here, you're the only one who they follow besides me, so take them away."

Their eyes went wide when the bear stood up again on its feet and tried to attack both with its heavy paws. Each one tried to hold the bear, making it impossible for them to attack.

"Get down!" Lucas shouted, running towards the bear. I can do this, I can do this. With a swift move, he took a long wooden spear through the heart of the bear, leaving both ladies impressed.

They pulled back, watching the bear fall, and then turned to check on each other.

Shots were heard once more, this time to their direction. They ran for a few meters, watching how one of the men went down to pick the wooden spear and throw it at Lucas direction, while the a rifle pointed at Sadako.

Marion ran towards both of them holding both close, and shortly, a groan came out for her lips.

More shots were heard, this time from Régine and William, finally making the hunters to run away.

Sadako and Lucas eyes were wide open as Marion smiled at them. William stopped in shock, Régine's eyes were in terror at the sight.

"Are you okay?" Marion managed to say.

Lucas's eyes teared up, Sadako sobbed. Both held Marion as she dropped onto her knees breathing heavily.

"Oh my god..." Régine whispered, she approached and looked at Marion's eyes.

The alter smiled at her "I think you can help me by pulling from the back?"

"We need... a compress ready" Luke finally said, taking off his shirt. Think Lucas, think. It's a spear through the shoulder, and a shot on the torso, a wound bigger than the other, the risk of dying by haemorrhage is clear if not treated. Can't miss a step... can't miss a step... you have to be very methodical... His breathing hitched then took a deep breath, he looked at William "Make a fire, William! Fast!"

Lucas tried his best to control his breathing, Marion and Grace's lives were at risk, and he wouldn't forgive himself if he didn't do anything to help them. He picked some bandages from his bag, medical pincers, and patches, along a handkerchief then went back to the alter. "Breath deeply and exhale" he instructed Marion, the alter did so, and at the exhalation, Lucas dig inside her torso with the pincers, taking the bullet out, "Press with the handkerchief, I'll be back"

"Fire, ready! What else do you need, Luke?" William asked.

The English young man gave the materials to Sadako, then went directly to the fire, he grabbed a long burnt wood, bright red at the edge and went back. Without even letting the alter reaction, he pressed the burnt wood against the small wound, drawing a short scream of pain from the ginger. Then patched her wound and bandaged the torso. "The shoulder is next, we got to take the spear now. I'll pull, ma'am, be ready with the compress."

Régine took the shirt and waited "Ready?" she asked, her hands trembling.

Lucas nodded, and counted "1.. 2... " on 3, he pulled the spear out of Marion's shoulder. "Press, ma'am!" Then picked the wood and went to the fire to burn it for a while and went back fast, cauterizing the wound, as more screams of pain came out.

Marion could barely see, she felt weak and scared, but didn't regret anything at all. "Don't be afraid." Then stared directly at Sadako who was next to her, holding her desperately, as tears of pain rolled down her cheeks "You... you have to lead them..." she whimpered "I won't be able to, I... you..."

Sadako's eyes went open, as Marion's closed, then looked at Régine, terrified.

Lucas checked her pulse "Calm down, she just passed out of pain" then he patched the wound and bandaged the shoulder carefully. "She'll have to rest, and I guess we'll have to wait for when she wakes up to see how she progresses"

"We should head back to town" William said "I can call on Claudette to take care of her, besides I'm sure she'll need more than that"

"She'll be fine, William. Besides, the town is too far, she might bleed out if we rush moving her. We need to stay around here until tomorrow and see what we can do."

"Who were those who shot her, Régine?" Sadako asked.

"I have no clue, but they weren't exactly hunting, at least not bears or deers."

"See? We should leave the wolves here, point them the path they should go, and head back for help" William insisted.

"We won't do that, we'll keep the course and get these wolves to the place we agreed." Régine said firmly.

Sadako stared at Marion, until Yuki pressed her head against her shoulder. "Hey" then realized the other wolves were looking at her, waiting, then observed how the old and sick wolves approached Marion and lied beside her, as Ulysses sat next to her, but his eyes were directed to her own.

Lead.

#m:grace #m:régine #m:luke #m:kozue #self para #sp: lead

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maisietheyellowlab · 5 years

Text

My Dog Breed Selection Process

Yesterday I got this message from an anon:

“I saw your getting a Koolie!! Nice!! They're such pretty dogs. And actually if you don't mind I have a question for you? Feel free to not answer. But you have a lab and are getting a koolie, two different breeds obviously, so do you have any tips for someone trying to find a breed? It'll be my first purebred dog and going to the shelter is hard enough because all the dogs are so cute so how do you narrow down the list for the perfect dog? Idk if you had a list - but how'd you decide on a koolie?”

and I quickly realized this was gonna be a long post, so here it is. This whole thing:

This is the general procedure that brought me to my breed choices:

First come up with a list of “must haves” “nice to haves” and “must not haves” for the type of dog you want (size, coat type, shedding, energy level, trainability,..) (as @katieisstilltumbling / @winedogs already pointed out in the original ask).

Be very honest with yourself and consider that while the dog has to be a good fit for you, you have to be a good fit for the dog as well!

Then go through a list of dog breeds and/or take a few “what’s the right breed for you” type quizzes OR if you really like a dog sport check out the breeds that usually do well in that sport (e.g. mushing: Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes,..)

→ see which of those you like and check their breed descriptions

→ check blogs, forums, videos, fb groups of owners and breeders of that breed, see if you still like what you see

→ if there are any events where you might be able to meet the breed irl (dog shows, trials, breed meet ups…) go there and talk to owners! (this step is not always possible but it’s very helpful if you can do it!)

→ check if the dogs of that breed fit your “must haves” and “must not haves”

→ look up breeders

→ contact a breeder, ask about the breed, their dogs, what kind of owner they like for their dogs, ask if you can meet them and their dogs

→ when you meet irl, see if you like the breeder and their dogs

→ if you’re now sure you want a dog of that breed, tell the breeder you’re interested in getting a puppy from their upcoming litter

→ be patient and respectful

→ get puppy

→ done!

So, here’s an example of my personal breed-selection journey:

Dog breed selection process 1 - Labrador Retriever:

The first step at all was trying to think of the dog breeds I'm generally drawn to/think they're cute and looking them up, checking out youtube videos where owners talk in depth about the breed and being real honest with myself if the breed would fit into my lifestyle. For example, I always liked Cocker Spaniels, Golden Retrievers, Border Collies, Labs and Dalmatians.

Second step was going thru breed lists online and checking them out, trying to see if there's more breeds I like, but maybe haven't seen or heard of before.

Third thing I did, was take some Dog Breed Selector quizzes online, to see if I'd like any of the dogs that would come up as recommended to me. Ofc this is not to be take too seriously, bc you can be a perfect home for a border collie, but the quiz results won't match you to Border Collies, just because you didn't tick the box that said »I have an enormous yard.«

So at that point I had somewhat of an idea what I would want in a dog, and I had a list of traits in my mind that I applied to my top ~10 breeds.

It was something like this:

Must haves:

Medium size

Tolerates cold&hot weather

Easy coat maintenance

Easy to train --> biddable or will to please

Medium/high energy

Suitable for hikes&canine sports

Playful

Good around older children

Good for first time owners

Not very sensitive

Okay with being left alone for a few hours regularly/not prone to separation anxiety

Good with people and dogs

Average lifespan longer than 10 years/as long as possible

Breeder in my country

Cute!

Nice to haves:

Doesn’t shed a lot

More of a quiet type of dog

Litter in the next 6 months

Likes water

Longer than average lifespan

Must not haves:

Guards people/property

Very large or very small

Prone to health issues

Very independent

Very sensitive

High maintenance coat

Prone to DA or HA

Pure working line

Ideas: Australian Shepherd, Toller, Border Collie, Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, Brittany

I started looking for breeders of those breeds in my area and looked through all the websites I could find. I looked at their dogs, their breeding practices, the offspring and of course, litter plans.

At that point I felt like a balanced Aussie might be the way to go, so I contacted and met up with a breeder. Turns out we didn't really click and the way that she described the breed and her personal requirements for her puppies' owners left me feeling very overwhelmed, so I decided agains getting a dog of hers. I looked at some other breeders websites, but the more I researched the more I also started realizing that an Aussie might not the the best choice for me any the household I was living in at that time.

So here I learned a very important lesson. Not only do you have to find a suitable dog, you also have to find a suitable breeder. A responsible breeder will stay in contact with you for the res tof the dog's life, try to point you in the right direction, will be a source of help regarding the dog's development, health and training, so you need like them and they need to like you back. So I added another bullet point to my puppy search list:

a breeder that is helpful, friendly, nice to be around

Dog breed 1, try 1: Aussie → not a good fit.

I eventually narrowed my selection down to Goldens and Labs, because they were generally easier for first time owners than the rest of the breeds, less prone to sensitivity and there were announced litters in the next few months.

In the end I went for a Lab, because they seemed a little more sturdy and had slightly less health issues, as far as my research showed. Then I contacted two breeders, I think, and I went with the one that felt more right. Oh and also, I thought the parents of the litter looked better, bc that's honestly a big factor too. You're gonna live with this dog for 10+ years, why not choose the one that fits your criteria as much as possible.

So that was it, this is how I chose Maisie's breeder. She's great, helped me a LOT during the first few months when I needed it most, and we're still in touch, I visit her every year. It feels like she's my aunt or smth, she's really nice.

Dog breed 1, try 2: Lab → WIN :D

Dog breed selection process 2 - Australian Koolie:

The second time around I approached the breed selection a little differently, since I had already met more breeds of dogs irl by then and also had an idea of what I’d like in a second dog from experience with Maisie. A part of my decision to go for a herding dog came from what I want to do with them - I want to try more canine sports that include jumping, so a dog with a lighter build and more will to please. That kind of dog will enjoy those activities more and be able to do them more safely than Maisie.

Must haves:

Medium size, lighter build

Tolerates cold&hot weather

Easy coat maintenance

Will to please

Medium/high energy

Suitable for hikes&canine sports

Suitable for jumpy sports

Playful

Okay if sensitive, would prefer less sensitive tho

Okay with being alone for a few hours if needed

Good with people and dogs

Isn’t bothered by obnoxious Lab behavior very much

Average lifespan longer than 10 years/as long as possible

Working/ working x mixed line

Cute

Breeder in Europe

A helpful, friendly breeder

Nice to haves:

Doesn’t shed a lot

Not noise sensitive

Not very sensitive in general

More of a quiet type of dog

Litter in the next 6 months (hahahahhaha I’ve been waiting for a little over 2 years at this point)

Likes water

Likes snow

Likes toys and food as rewards

Longer than average lifespan

Must not haves:

Guards people/property

Very large or very small

Prone to health issues

Very independent

High maintenance coat

Prone to DA or HA

Pure show line

Ideas: Aussie, Border Collie, Rough Collie, English Springer Spaniel, Welsh Springer Spaniel, Toller, Koolie

I’d met enough Aussies by that point to realize they weren’t exactly what I wanted in a dog, but I still really liked Border Collies. This time around I wasn’t intimidated by higher energy level anymore, but I was still a bit worried about sensitivity and the fact that most BCs I’ve met low key hated Maisie. There were a few who liked her, but many didn’t so I kept looking for a better fit (I thought it wouldn’t be fair for the new dog to be stressed by Maisie just existing and being herself..it wouldn’t be fair to either). I was considering Tollers too, but there weren’t any litters announced at all, and I knew of literally one breeders, so I kept on looking. I had a hard time with finding Rough Collies without extreme show coat and had trouble finding non extremely showy Springers around here as well.

I think I found out about Koolies when I was going through herding dogs, and it was a new breed I’ve never heard of or seen before. They were rarely included bc I was mostly looking at very generic lists I think. I read the description, watched a few videos and really really liked them. They had all the traits of aussies and BCs I liked, but weren’t as sensitive as BCs generally are or as prone to guarding as Aussies tend to be. I found two breeders in driving distance, contacted both, one was kinda weird with replies and said she doesn’t want to sell pups outside her country, but the other breeder was very nice and helpful in her replies and that’s how I started talking to the breeder of my future puppy! I met her and two of her dogs about two years ago and loooved them. They also aced the “can tolerate a playful (obnoxious) Maisie” test, the main thing BCs struggled with.

So unfortunately I couldn’t get a puppy from the two litters that were born in 2017 and 2018 bc my life circumstances weren’t suitable for a puppy at the time, but now I am READY and basically just waiting for the puppy to be born sometime this year.

Dog breed 2, try 1: Koolie → win!

#dogblr #choosing a puppy #dog breeds #dog ownership #text #I apologize for all the typos I missed #asks

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cristinablackthornkingson · 5 years

Text

Shadowhunters Short Story #34 part 3.

It is a cool Autumn morning in 2031 and 18 year old Cordelia Carstairs has found herself sitting by her daughter’s crib, for the last hour, just gazing at her in awe and love. It had been 2 months since Sofia was born and she was the best thing ever to happen to Cordelia and Rafael, she is such a sweet, happy baby and is totally adored by everyone and spoiled rotten by all her grandparents.

Cordelia folds her arms over the top of Sofia’s crib and rests her head on her arms, smiling softly as she watches her daughter sleep peacefully. She had no idea love this strong was possible. She thought the love she felt for Rafe was intense and amazing, but it was nothing compared to the love she feels for her daughter, she would do anything for her. Though Cordelia is a bit disappointed she isn’t off on her travel year with her cousins Stephen and George like she planned to be before she got pregnant, she wouldn’t swap spending time with her daughter for anything.

As Cordelia watches Sofia sleeping, she hears the door to the nursery creek open and padded footsteps approach.

“Mi amor have you been here all night?” She hears Rafe softly ask.

“No just for the last hour or so, I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep so I came in to check on Sofia and then I just couldn’t stop looking at her, she’s so perfect Rafe, isn’t she?” Cordelia softly says.

“Sí, just like mami.” Rafe gently says, slipping an arm around Cordelia’s shoulders. Rafael is absolutely infatuated with his daughter, he loves her so much it hurts and he would do anything for her. Growing up, Rafe had often heard his papa and dad talking about how much they love him and Max and how it is unlike any other love, he had always thought they were just being over dramatic, his papa had a tendency to be dramatic and his dad was an extremely protective, loving person, Rafe had never met anyone like his parents before and until his daughter arrived he simply couldn’t understand how they could say they loved he and his brother more than anyone else.

“And her papí.” Cordelia quietly says, smiling up at Rafe who grins back and leans down to kiss her. Rafe then reaches into the crib and softly strokes Sofia’s cheek.

“Mí nina bonita, te quiero.” Rafe quietly says. He always speaks to Sofia in Spanish, in the hopes she will pick it up naturally from a young age, she is half Spanish after all and should know the language, that was something both he and Cordelia had agreed on very early on in her pregnancy.

“You’ll have to help me improve my Spanish before she becomes more fluent than me.” Cordelia says in a light tone. Growing up Cordelia had always had a flare for languages, she mainly spoke English and Mandarin, she has been bi-lingual her whole life, her dad always talked to her in Mandarin as a child and she picked it up very easily, as did Jade and Will. She also speaks French, German and Welsh fluently but isn’t too good at Spanish, Rafe had always tried to teach her when they were growing up, but she could never get the hang of it for some reason.

“I still don’t understand how you’re fluent in multiple languages including demon languages yet you can’t get a grasp on Spanish.” Rafe says in an amused tone.

“Me neither but I have to learn it for Sofia, once I finish my studies and my training I can focus on learning Spanish.” Cordelia replies. She has recently slowly started getting back into training, her brother Kit and her cousins Emma and Jace are helping her out mostly, but she also has help from her father and Alec, and not many can say they’re trained by an ex-Silent Brother, a Shadowhunter with Faerie lineage, two of the greatest Shadowhunters of all time and The Consul.

“How long until you finish?” Rafe asks.

“Two months, I have 2 written exams in a few weeks and then my final training exam, I’ll have to stay at the Academy for those four days, I’m going to miss you and Sofia so much.” Cordelia quietly says. She is extremely proud of herself and thrilled that she has almost finished all her training and studies just two months after having a baby, but those four days when she will be away from her baby will be awful, it will be the first time she’s left Sofia since she was born.

“We’ll miss you too but we’ll be just fine, we’ll stay the first two nights here and then I’ll take Sofia to New York to stay with my parents for the last two nights, she’ll be spoiled rotten by papa and Max and she already has dad wrapped around her little finger.” Rafe says in an amused tone. While Magnus loves to buy his granddaughter lots of gifts and dress her up in the most stylish outfits, Alec loves to hold her and cuddle her and play with her, often times Rafe has taken her to visit his parents and his dad has dropped everything to spend time with Sofia.

“I know, it’s just going to be hard for me, especially since I haven’t left her since she was born.” Cordelia says.

“I know mi amor but those 4 days will fly by and at the end of them you will be a fully trained Shadowhunter jut like you always wanted, and Soph and I will be waiting for you with open arms, and of course Kit and Emma are planning a party for you.” Rafe softly says, rubbing Cordelia’s arm comfortingly.

“I love you.” Cordelia softly says, turning to smile up at him.

“I love you too.” Rafe replies, leaning in to kiss her.

A few hours later, just as it’s coming to the end of Sofia’s afternoon nap, there’s a knock on the front door. Cordelia sets her textbook down and runs to answer it, her heart soaring when she sees who’s at the door.

“Emma!” Cordelia exclaims in a tone of excitement. She hasn’t seen her cousin since she was pregnant, they have both been so busy, Emma and Julian had been on a mission in another country when Sofia was born, and had only recently got back. Cordelia wasn’t expecting to see Emma before her final training session for her final exams, but she is beyond thrilled to see her.

“Hey Cordy.” Emma softly says, pulling her in for a hug.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” Cordelia exclaims. “Is Jules with you?”

“I’m glad I’m here too, no he’s not, I wanted to come spend some one on one time with you, he’ll be around tomorrow.” Emma explains, pulling back from their embrace. “So how are you?” She adds.

“I’m great, I feel great, Sofia is absolutely amazing and perfect, I couldn’t love her more.” Cordelia says in a tone of affection, her heart swelling with love just at the thought of her precious baby girl.

“Can I meet her? The baby?” Emma asks.

“Yeah of course, she should be just waking up from her nap now, I’ll go get her.” Cordelia says, ushering Emma in before she rushes upstairs and into Sofia’s nursery.

When she walks into the nursery she stops in her steps when she sees a tall man dressed in old fashioned clothes with curly black hair, leaning over Sofia’s crib, murmuring to her in Welsh and stroking her cheek. Instantly Cordelia knows who it is.

“Uncle Will?” Cordelia asks in a tone of excitement. She adores her Uncle Will and loves when he comes to visit.

Will turns from the crib and grins widely at Cordelia.

“Not in the flesh exactly, but I suppose you could say I’m here in spirit!” Will exclaims. Cordelia giggles and rushes to hug her Uncle, if he is able to touch Sofia then surely Cordelia will be able to touch him.

“I missed you Uncle Will.” Cordelia quietly says.

“I missed you too Cariad, I can’t believe your’re a mother now, and I’m a grandfather again!” Will exclaims. He loves Cordelia and her siblings as his own, just as Jem loved James and Lucie as his own and loved their children as his own grandchildren, etc. Will loves little Sofia as much as his other grandchildren and considers himself her grandpa.

“Are you mad I’m dating a Lightworm?” Cordelia asks in a teasing tone. Will chuckles and says

“Well he’s not all Lightworm now is he?”

“No not exactly, he’s wonderful, I’m so glad he’s Sophie’s dad.” Cordelia says in a loving tone.

“I’m happy for you sweetheart, you are such a wonderful mother, just like your mum, I am very proud of you.” Will softly says.

“You have to go soon don’t you?” Cordelia asks in a solemn tone.

“I’m afraid so Cariad, but you know I’m always here and watching out for you and your daughter.” Will brushes Cordelia’s hair back form her face, before turning back to to the crib and smiling softly at Sofia. “Goodbye beautiful girl, I’ll see you soon, you too my beautiful Cordelia, I love you.” And just like that, he is gone.

Cordelia softly sighs and lifts Sofia up, her mood instantly lifting when she holds her beautiful baby against her.

When Cordelia arrives back downstairs with Sofia, Emma instantly feels her heart melt for the sweet little girl.

“Oh Cordy, she’s so beautiful.” Emma says in a tone of awe, smiling widely at the baby.

“I know, I can’t believe I made her.” Cordelia softly says.

“I can, I always knew you would be amazing Cordy, look at you, 18, in a stable healthy relationship, you have a beautiful baby and you’ve almost completed your training, I am so proud of you.” Emma says, squeezing her cousin’s hand gently.

“Thanks Em, I couldn’t have done it without you, you and Julian were my inspiration for being a young parent, I knew that if you two could basically raise 4 kids from when you were 12, I could raise one baby at eighteen with help from all my family.” Cordelia softly says.

“Well I just hope Sofia has a better life than we all did.” Emma quietly says. She knows Cordelia will continue to be an amazing mother, she just hopes Sofia never has to live through a war or anything awful like that.

“Me too, do you want to hold her?” Cordelia offers.

“I’d love to! So are you all ready for your final exams?” Emma asks, taking little Sofia into her arms and smiling broadly at the baby.

“Yeah Kit and Ty are helping me study for my final written exams and dad and Alec have been helping me with my training, Rafe and Jace too.” Cordelia says.

“Are you going to go join the boys on your travel year when you finish?” Emma asks, lightly bouncing Sofia. Currently Clary and Jace’s eldest son Stephen (who is a year younger than Cordelia) and Isabelle and Simon’s eldest son George (who is 2 months younger than Cordelia) are currently off on their travel year. They left shortly before Sofia was born and Cordelia misses them terribly, she was meant to go with them before she got pregnant and sometimes does wish she were off in France with them, though really she wouldn’t swap a moment with Sofia for anything.

“No I couldn’t leave Sofia for that long and it would be so difficult to travel around with a little baby and my parents or Rafe’s wouldn’t get to see her again till she’s almost one, I’ll see the boys when they come home and I’ve got Max, Jade, Will, Jessie and Lucy to keep me company.” Cordelia replies. Jessie is Simon and Isabelle’s daughter, who’s a year younger than Jade who’s 16. Lucy is Clary and Jace’s daughter who’s just a year younger than her brother Stephen. Jessie is named after Jessamine Lovelace and Lucy is named after Cordelia’s older sister, and her grandfather, Lucian.

Emma and Cordelia sit talking and fussing over Sofia for another hour before Emma has to head back and Rafe arrives back from visiting his parents in NY.

Right now Cordelia and Rafe are upstairs in Cordelia’s room playing with Sofia who seems fascinated by her reflection.

As Rafe sits watching his girlfriend and baby daughter, his heart swells with love and he makes a sudden decision.

“Cordy, can I ask you something?” Rafe calmly asks, hiding the nervous tremor in his voice.

“Of course.” Cordelia says, laying Sofia down on her stomach on a blanket and spreading out a few toys in front of her.

Rafe takes a deep breath and reaches into his jacket pocket before getting down on one knee in front of Cordelia.

“Rafe, what are you doing?” Cordelia asks in a breathless tone of disbelief.

“Cordelia I know we have only been dating for a little over a year but we have known each other since we were children, we’ve always been closes and cared so much about each other, I always felt especially close to you and felt that we had a special bond, when you agreed to be my girlfriend, it was one of the best days of my life, and then you told me you were pregnant and I was so, so happy and then Sofia was born and I don’t think I have ever been so happy, you have given me everything Cordy, you made my dreams come true by having my baby, our beautiful baby girl, I could not love you both more and I never want to spend a single day without you, will you marry me?” Tears well in Cordelia’s eyes, she can hardly believe this is happening.

“Yes... yes of course!” Cordelia exclaims in a tight tone, flinging her arms around Rafael. “I love you so much.” She adds.

“I love you too, more than you could possibly know.” Rafe says, smoothing his hand over her thick dark hair. When Cordelia pulls back, Rafe slips the ring onto her finger before grinning broadly at Sofia and scooping her up.

“Did you hear that Sof? Mama said yes! She said yes!” He exclaims, kissing her cheek causing her to giggle loudly.

“Your papa is going to be so thrilled, you know he’s been planning our wedding since we were kids.” Cordelia says, remembering how her Uncle Magnus always talked about how wonderful it would be if Max or Rafe married Cordelia (Jade and Will were and are a lot younger than the boys) so that he and Tessa would officially be family. Even now, at every chance he gets, he tells everyone that he and Tessa share a grandchild, he loves that the Ligthwood-Banes and The Carstairs have now officially become family through Sofia.

“Oh I know, we aren’t going to have to do any planning at all, all we have to do is choose our suggenes, I think I’m going to ask Max, do you have any idea who you’d like to ask?” Rafe asks. Technically only another Shadowhunter could be a suggenes but Rafe knows his dad will happily let he and his brother break that rule.

“I think I’ll ask Kit, he’s been one of my biggest supporters since I got pregnant and he’s always been amazing to me, he’s my big brother, my best friend, he’s the ideal person to ask.” Cordelia softly.

“Were you his?” Rafe asks. He hadn’t been able to attend Kit and Ty’s wedding 10 years ago, because he was visiting his home country of Argentina with his Uncle Ragnor, and Kit and Ty’s wedding had been very spur of the moment.

“No,I was only 8 when he and Ty got married, dad was Kit’s suggenes and Dru was Ty’s.” Cordelia explains.

“I hope we’ll always be as happy as they are, and as your mom and dad and my dad and papa.” Rafe says.

“We will be, I know it.” Cordelia firmly says, squeezing his hand before leaning in to kiss him on the cheek.

Rafe and Cordelia decide to wait until after she has finished her training and studies to announce their engagement.

Before Cordelia knows it it’s time for her to take her final exams, and though she has had excellent tutoring and training all her life, she is still very nervous, mostly about leaving Sofia, even though she will be happy as can be with Rafe and will get to see all four of her grandparents and all her aunts and uncles over the next four days.

It comes as no shock to anyone when Cordelia passes all her exams with flying colors, scoring some of the highest marks in her year. Everyone is extremely proud of her and Cordelia is extremely proud of herself. So many of her classmates from The Academy said she would never be able to accomplish anything when she got pregnant, but now here she is just under a year later, engaged, mother to a gorgeous healthy baby girl and one of the top graduates Shadowhunter Academy has ever seen.

Right now Cordelia is sitting in the ballroom of the LA Institute where Kit and Emma have organised for her party to take place. Normally Cordelia would be making her way around the room, stopping to talk to everyone but instead she’s sitting at a small table with just Rafe beside her and Sofia in her lap. She is so glad to be back with her daughter and Rafe, she missed them so much while at The Academy and never wants to be apart from them again.

A few days ago Rafael and Cordelia agreed that they would announce their engagement at the party, Cordelia is nervous as to how everyone will react, but also very excited to finally be able to share the news with everyone.

“Do you want to tell them now?” Rafe quietly asks Cordelia, absentmindedly stroking her arm. Cordelia nods and says

“Yeah, no time like the present.” Rafe jumps up from his seat and in a loud voice he calls for everyone’s attention. It takes a few attempts but eventually silence falls over the room and everyone has turned to look at Rafe and Cordelia, Kit has come over from his spot by the window and is standing behind Cordelia, one hand placed protectively on her shoulder.

“You’re not pregnant again are you Cordy?” Kit teases in a quiet voice, sensing his sister’s nerves. Cordelia laughs lightly and says

“No way, if I got pregnant again now I’d die.”

“Yeah because mum and dad would kill you.” Kit says in a teasing tone. Tessa and Jem were extremely understanding about the fact Cordelia and Rafe messed up and didn’t use birth control, they understood that mistakes happen, but Cordelia knew that if it happened a second time they wouldn’t be so understanding, and she wouldn’t blame them.

“Everyone! Cordelia and I need to tell you something.” Rafe announces, reaching down to grasp Cordelia’s hand in his.

“Really? I thought you just wanted all our attention for no reason.” Ragnor says in a sarcastic tone, grinning at his nephew who has the same dry sense of humor as him.

“Very funny Uncle Ragnor, just for that we may uninvite you from the wedding.” Rafe jokingly says.

“Wedding?” Catarina asks in a tone of shock. Rafe blushes as he realizes what he just said.

“Yes Aunty Cat, I proposed to Cordelia just before she left for The Academy to take her final exams, and she said yes. Papa, in a few months you and Tessa will officially be family.” Rafe says in a proud tone. He and Cordelia agreed that they wanted to be married sooner rather than later and are hoping to be married before Sofia turns 1.

“Took you long enough young man!” Magnus teases, linking his hand with Alec’s, hardly able to believe their own engagement had been so long ago, when Max was just a tiny little baby, and now he and his brother were amazing, wonderful young men.

“Cordy I am so happy for you.” Kit softly says, coming around from behind Cordelia and embracing her tightly.

“Kit I want you to be my suggenes.” Cordelia quietly says, as chatter begins to fill the room once again. Kit pulls back from their embrace and looks at his sister, wide-eyed in disbelief.

“Really?” He softly asks. He never thought anyone would want him to be their suggenes, if Dru ever gets married he’s always thought she will ask Ty or Mark or Julian to be her suggenes, and he had never thought about any of his siblings getting married, they were still babies to him, especially Jade and Will who are only 16 and 14.

“Yeah, you’re my best friend Kitty, and the best big brother I could ever have asked for, you’ve always been there for me. When I was scared about getting my first rune, you calmed me down and held my hand when they gave me the mark, every time I fell or stumbled in training, you were right there to pick me up and help me try again. When I found out I was pregnant with Sofia I was so scared, I had no idea what to do, but then you came and sat with me, you held my hand and talked to me and listened to me and made me feel so much better, you have always been beyond amazing to me Kitty, there’s no one else I’d rather be my suggenes.” By the time Cordelia finishes her explanation, tears of joy have welled up in Kit’s eyes and are threatening to spill over.

“Oh Delia, I love you so much, of course I’ll be your suggenes, it would be my honor.” Kit softly says, kissing Cordelia on the forehead, softly.

Over the next few hours, Cordelia and Rafe are bombard with hugs, congratulations and stories of how their aunts and uncles always knew they’d end up together. Tessa and Jem hug their daughter tightly, smoother her in kisses and tell her how proud of her they are and how much they love her. Rafe’s parents do the same to him and tell Cordelia over and over about how they cannot wait to welcome her into the family. Rafe tells Alec about wanting Max to be his suggenes and asks if he’ll be allowed to seeing as he’s a warlock. Alec simply tells him not to worry about it and that he will sort it out. Magnus, Ragnor, Catarina and Lily immediately start planning the wedding, Lily insists they have a night time wedding so she can attended.

For the last half hour or so Rafe and Cordelia have been left pretty much alone, though that was clearly about to end as Cordelia has just spotted Emma walking toward them.

“Cordy, I have something for you, a graduation gift so to speak.” Emma softly tells her cousin, kneeling down beside her.

“What is it?” Cordelia curiously asks, passing a fussy Sofia to Rafe. Emma takes Cortana from the scabbard at her side and holds it flat across her hands.

“Hold your hands out.” Emma gently says. Cordelia’s eyes widen, she has always admired Cortana and hoped it would choose her some day, but she tried not to get her hopes up, knowing it could choose Jade or Will either. She shakily holds her hands out in front of her and Emma carefully lowers the sword into her out stretched hands. The moment Cordelia touches the sword, she feels as though it’s singing, she can almost swear she feel it humming and vibrating.

“I... Emma what’s going on?” Cordelia quietly asks, looking up from the sword to see Emma smiling proudly at her.

“It’s chosen you, it’s yours now for the next eighteen years, then perhaps it will choose Sofia, but for now it has chosen you. It was meant to be your dad’s when he turned 18, but he was a Silent Brother by then, so it got passed to his cousin Cordelia- Who you’re named after- and so on down the line until it came to my dad and then me.” Emma softly explains. She is so proud of her cousin, she truly deserves to be chosen by Cotrana and Emma knows she will do wonderful things with the sword.

“I-I don’t know what to say.” Cordelia quietly says. Emma brushes her cousin’s hair back and gently squeezes her hand.

“You don’t have to say anything, I’m proud of you Cordy and I love you so much.” Emma quietly says. Cordelia smiles weakly and hugs her tightly.

“I love you too.”

Over the next few weeks with the help of all their friends and family (mainly Magnus) Cordelia and Rafe begin to plan their wedding. They decide that they will get married early in the new year and since they cannot be married in The Hall Of Accords since Idris has been in exile since before Cordelia was born, they settle on getting married in the New York Institute which has a lot of meaning to both their families, Magnus and Alec spent a lot of their early days of their relationship their, and Cordelia’s mother was born in New York before she moved to England when she was 16.

The next few months fly by for Cordelia and Rafael, they are both so busy with wedding planning, being sent on missions and raising Sofia, that before they know it it’s the day of their wedding. Rafael had stayed with his parents the night before the wedding and Cordelia and her family stayed in The Institute. Sofia stayed with Cordelia over night because she’s still nursing, Rafe hated spending the night apart from his daughter but he understands why Cordelia wants to exclusively nurse her.

Currently there is only about half an hour until the wedding, and Cordelia has just finished getting ready with the help of her mother. She chose to wear a traditional golden gown which was ankle length with a long sleeves and a skirt that flowed out at the bottom. Isabelle had helped her with her hair and makeup, twisting her long, thick black hair into a bun and then braiding it along the side.

“Oh Cordy, you look so beautiful.” Tessa softly says, gazing at her daughter in disbelief. How is her baby almost 19? How is she a mother herself, and how is it her wedding day already? To Tessa it feels like Cordelia was born just yesterday.

“You look just like your mother.” Jem quietly says, lifting little Sofia and making his way over to his daughter and wife. “With your hair up like that and in that dress you remind me so much of your mother when I first met her.”

“Don’t be ridiculous Jem, she’s your twin, Jade looks me and Will looks more and more like you everyday.” Tessa lightly says.

“Well either way, you look amazing Delia.” Jem says in a loving tone.

“Thanks, though I think my Sofia is the most beautiful one here.” Cordelia says in a tone of joy, taking Sofia into her arms and smothering her with kisses. Sofia is dressed in a beautiful yellow dress with white leggings and socks underneath, though no doubt by the end of the day the dress will be covered in slobber because of Sofia’s obsession with chewing on her hands. She won’t take any actual teething rings or toys or anything like that, she just wants to chew on her hands and cause a mess.

Just then Jace appears in the doorway and smiles at his family.

“Delia, come here I have something for you.” He says, gesturing for her to follow him out into the hallway. Passing Sofia to her mother, Cordelia slips on her shoes and follows her cousin out into the hallway, stopping dead in her tracks when she sees who is standing before her. Side by side in the middle of the hall stand two tall young men, one lean with golden hair and green eyes, the other skinny and lanky with messy black hair and deep black eyes. Cordelia would recognize them anywhere in the world, her cousins.

“Stevie! Georgie!” She exclaims in delight, running to hug her cousins. They told her they wouldn’t be able to attend her wedding, they said they had been sent on a mission that was set to last at least a few weeks, she had been disappointed that two of her best friends would not be there to see her get married, but she understood. Now she suspects it was all a ruse.

“Cordy you look amazing.” Stephen softly says, hugging her tightly.

“What are you doing here? I thought you couldn’t come.” Cordelia asks in a breathy tone, pulling back from the hug and wiping tears of joy from her eyes.

“We wanted to surprise you so we made up a story about being on a long mission, we portaled in from Thailand last night and stayed with Uncle Magnus and Uncle Alec so you wouldn’t know we’re here until now.” George explains.

“How long are you staying?” Cordelia asks, hopeful that she will get to spend some more time with her cousins.

“2 weeks, we want to meet your baby and get to know her, can I be godfather?” Stephen asks.

“Come on Cordy don’t trust him with your baby, you know what he’s like.” George says in a teasing tone. Cordelia laughs lightly and says

“Sorry boys but she’s already got a godfather, Max.” Stephen and George nod approvingly.

“Okay but I call cool favorite uncle, like Uncle Alec.” Stephen says. He has always idolized and adored his Uncle Alec, he always thought he was the most amazing person in the whole world and wanted to be just like him, once he finishes his travel year he plans to spend a while studying The Law so he has a chance of becoming Consul too one day.

“In a few years when Sofia’s a teenager, we’re doing a repeat of our travel year and you’re coming with us this time.” George says, putting an arm around his cousin’s shoulder.

“Yeah so if you and Rafe plan on having another baby do it before or after that, though I still think you should’ve come with us even though you were pregnant, we would’ve taken good care of you!” Stephen exclaims.

“I did think about it but Brother Enoch said it would be dangerous for the baby to portal so much and I felt like crap when I was pregnant.” Cordelia explains. She had been 7 months pregnant with Sofia when Stephen and George left and couldn’t even bring herself to regret not going with them, because she was so sore and tired and sick.

“Come on, we better get you to your wedding, Kit’s waiting for you in the chapel.” George says, linking one arm through Cordelia’s while Stephen does the same.

The ceremony is a blur for Cordelia, she can hardly believe it is happening, she stumbles through her vows and cries through Rafael’s, barely even feeling the sting of the stele when Rafe applies the runes. Before she knows it it is all over and she and Rafael are standing alone in a spare bedroom of The Institute, grabbing a few minutes to themselves before the reception begins.

“I love you Cordelia Lightwood-Bane.” Rafe softly says, resting his forehead against Cordelia’s forehead. Her heart skips about a million beats and swells with love and joy at the sound of her new name.

“I love you too Rafael Lightwood-Bane.” She quietly says, before Rafael tips his head down and kisses her for the first time as her husband.

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littleshebear · 5 years

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Rules: answer 21 questions then tag 21 people you want to get to know better

Tagged by: @driftersmexicanbitch Thank you!

Nickname: Bear, because of my online moniker. If you encounter a littleshebear around on the interwebs, chances are it’s me. I like it.

Zodiac: Gemini.

Height: Just under 5′4

Last movie I saw: Ant Man and the Wasp

Last thing I googled: Random shit about Korean histroy. It’s a blank spot for me and I’ve been binge watching Kingdom. I realise Kingdom is far from a documentary but I like context.

Favorite musician: Oh. Can I only pick one? John Williams. I saw him conduct the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican back in the day and it was spiritual.

Song stuck in my head: Beneath Your Beautiful by Labyrinth ft. Emelie Sande.

Other blogs:

Fuckyeahdavos (from when I was active in Game of Thrones fandom. I feel bad about never posting there. Haven’t for years. I’ll probably do a catch up binge-watch in time for the last season and start posting again. I still love Davos even if I fell out of love with the show).

gimmiebackmysweetroll (Elder Scrolls sideblog)

Do I get asks: Now and again. I got an ask a while back that I never answered that I feel guilty about. It was about Amanda/Banshee-44 headcanons and I don’t know how to answer it. I’m still thinking about it. I should probably throw that one open to the peanut gallery.

Following: 204

Followers: 474 (I like to think most of them are real people and not just porn bots.

Amount of sleep: Six hours seems to be my optimum but I can function on four. Any less than that and I’m crabby as fuck.

Lucky number: Uh. Pass?

What I’m wearing: Jeans and a Braden Holtby/Washington Capitals Eastern Conference Champions t-shirt.

Dream job: When I was a kid I wanted to be a paleontologist. I’ve never been a big one for dreams since then. I’m paying the bills and I’m happy, so that’s as good a dream as any to fulfill to be honest.

Dream trip: Japan.

Favorite food: Sushi.

Play any instruments: Tuba, kit drums, piano, bass guitar, recorder. I can get by on guitar and Celtic Lever harp. Voice to a point.

Languages: English. I have a smattering of Welsh and I had been learning Polish but that fell by the wayside a bit last year. I should get back to that.

Favorite song: Couldn’t possibly choose one but hearing Winter by Tori Amos live reduced me to messy tears.

Random facts:

I have a lot of degrees (Masters in Philosophy, another masters in Philosophy, bachelor degree in Scots Law, masters in Visual Culture).

I like distance/through hiking. I’ve done the West Highland way twice and I’d like to do it again. The Cape Wrath trail is a big bucket list item.

I get weird, random hyperfixations. I have deep knowledge of certain topics but I’m totally ignorant of so many others. It’s all or nothing for me. If something interests me, I’m all in. If it doesn’t, I ignore it.

I wrote a master’s thesis on aesthetic theory and video games, using Journey as a case study. Out of all my writing, academic or otherwise, that’s the piece I’m most proud of.

I adore animals. All animals. Yes, even the “ugly” ones.

I used to be very good at Highland Dancing and gymnastics. Kinda pissed at myself that I got lazy and let that slide.

I told myself I hated cooking until I tried veganism, then I actually learned how food worked. I love cooking now.

I’ve been engaged for nearly ten years. We’ll get there eventually. You can’t rush these things.

Describe yourself as aesthetic things:

I have no idea how to approach this. So. Uhm. I dunno. Singing in the shower. Sunsets over loch lomond. Sheet music. A desk strewn with notebooks and fandom paraphernalia. The smell of woodsmoke. Broken in hiking boots. Paperback books with broken spines. Evening wear covered with cat hair (because my cats > being stylish). Celtic knotwork jewelry. A can of Irn Bru.

Tagging: THIS MAKES ME ANXIOUS BUT HERE GOES @distant--storm @fubukimori @necrojade @toxicsofas @hellbent-huntress @yourspunkpunk @spookgeist @christopherbarrick @queenqueso @lileyx @bornandbredinsane @crazy-bone-lady @seigephoenix @varyen That’s not 21 and I’ve probably forgotten people I should have tagged, this is why tagging makes me anxious. X)

#about me #meme #tagged

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sussex-nature-lover · 3 years

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Tuesday 4th May 2021 Goodnight?

Throughout my blogs I often speak about my struggles with sleep. It weighs heavy on my mind as I used to be such a good sleeper. I’d drop off without any trouble and sleep very soundly unless there were babies or children needing attention - and it’s rather a lot of years since this was the case. Over time the ability to make myself comfortable and sleep right through has packed up and left me. I’ve never really accepted it, it’s always something of a shock.

When your sleep pattern becomes disturbed and you struggle both to get to sleep in the first place, and to maintain it for a good session, you feel cheated. As it happens, you probably do get sufficient hours in, but it’s unfulfilling when it comes in fits and starts and when you lie awake at 3am worrying about getting off again, it’s a vicious circle, a self-fulfilling prophecy - the more you think about it, the worse it seems to get. I know from conversations with friends and family that it’s a very common problem, intensified perhaps by the worries of the last 12 months or so,

I’d done the usual sleep hygiene things and we have no TV in the bedroom. Even the clock wears a shroud, the curtains are thick and double lined and I have a lavender pillow spray. All that must help? but not enough. Then I heard about how woollen top bed clothes can also help and started to do a bit of research. So in the interests of information sharing, the following is all taken from the website I purchased from (there are no stockists near us) but this is not an advert or sponsored in any way: it’s just my personal experience.

Feather, down and polyester are all fabulous insulators, but they make the body hot and then they hold onto that heat, which is fine when you first get into bed, however, during the night our body temperature needs to drop slightly in order to achieve deep sleep.

Insulators bring our body temperature up until we're at the point where we wake up, throw the covers off and try to cool down, then we go to sleep again and repeat the process. But this time it maybe our partner is too hot in the bed and so the great duvet war starts with us pulling and pushing off the duvet. This is not natural sleep and it prevents essential deep sleep.

That’s exactly what happens to me, but of course, Crow thinks he can never get warm enough, how he stands it is beyond me. We have a lightweight duvet and then a silk quilted bedspread dressing the bed, which he pulls up over him. I throw off everything and still lie there feeling like I’m in the tropics. What they say about insulators sounds common sense, so this required further reading...

Wool isn't just an insulator like polyester and feather. Wool is actually a regulator, it regulates your body temperature the same way as it does on the sheep. When it's hot the wool passes the heat mainly in the form of moisture from the sheep's body out and when it’s cold it keeps the heat in. Easy really and it will do the same for humans.

All wool products can do this but the more you process the wool, i.e. spin and weave it, then the less the wool can regulate heat. So we keep the wool in the same state as it is on the sheep. But the amazing thing about wool is that it will actually regulate the temperatures of two different people in the same bed.

This actually sounds like magic to my ears.

So What’s So Good About Wool and a Wool Duvet? (apart from what’s up above)

Wool is 100% sustainable. Every year a sheep naturally grows a fleece to keep it warm in the winter. There are over 4 million sheep in Wales alone. (So think of wool as a by-product of the sheep hairdressing industry, or should that be baarbers….?)

See, there really are people with jokes worse than mine!

♦ note that the background here is not a quilt, it’s the reverse of our bedspread

The products come in three weights. This is a sample of the lightweight duvet and a little gift of a lavender bag, which smells wonderful.

So can you use any old wool in a duvet? To be honest, yes you can, even polymered wool or chlorinated wool but there are certain wools which are much better than others. There are 2 reasons why we have different wool and different sheep breeds.

First we have different breeds of sheep which have, over hundreds of years, been bred specifically for different parts of the world and for different climates. So the very small,hardy Hebridean Sheep with its thick long coat thrives on seaweed on the extreme northern outer reaches of the UK. Then we have the Downs sheep of lowland Britain with a short tight fleece, and our own Welsh Mountain and Herdwicks of the Lake District and Cumbrian fells with their heavy thick coats to withstand harsh cold winters, and many more. It's quite an interesting subject if you care to check it out

The second reason we have different sheep breeds is because each breed has a very different wool with completely different qualities for different uses. The wool has different micron sizes,and staple lengths.

So the Wensleydales and Blue Leicesters produce a lustre wool, soft and silky, with a long staple length and fine micron size, which is great for spinning and weaving into clothing, while the tough Welsh Mountain is great for hard wearing carpets. It's also possible to cross breeds of sheep to get differing qualities of wool.

Isn't Merino wool the best wool? Some companies claim to have all or some Merino wool in their duvets this is just a marketing ploy aimed at creating a selling image recognisable by the general public. Most Merino wool is beautiful wool and excellent for fine clothing but it isn't really the best wool for duvets, it's too long and lies flat so it won't have loft to trap air. You need a shorter springy staple to have the same thermal qualities as our lofty springy wool. The market is also being flooded now with cheaper Merino wool duvets from Eastern Europe, these Merino sheep haven't been bred for their fleece but for their meat so the wool tends to be much coarser and much, much cheaper, so don't be conned, not everything labelled Merino is high quality.

So what wool is used in a Baavet? Well not any Merino for sure, and not the pure Welsh Mountain unfortunately, as we are surrounded by thousands of Welsh mountain sheep here in Snowdonia. We spent months researching and testing wools in association with the Wool Authority Testing Station (where wool for the whole Northern Hemisphere is tested, hence our knowledge of competitors duvets) which is only 20 miles from where we live. We found there are excellent British breeds and specifically Welsh Breeds, especially pedigree sheep breeds and cross breeds, which have good micron wool size and staple lengths which we can then blend into just the right optimum British wool, with excellent thermal properties yet with the lightness and loft (bounce) that we want in our Baavets. We need good quality wool that has no or little kemp, (that's spiky sheep hair in poor quality wool) We also use wool from specific traceable farms, again we are the only company able to do this.

The quality of the construction and stitching is very good

Sheep here are posed by local models and not necessarily representative of the wool in the duvets mentioned above 😉

I’ve learned about micron size, about kemp and about loft and being impressed with the science, I felt ready to wade in and find out for myself. We started by ordering some pillows - when I wake in the night I’m always turning my pillow over and over, to find the cool side. The pillows are sold by the amount of wool filling which comes in a zipped cover. You can also order more loose wool if you need to add some, or of course, you can also remove some if you find the pillow filling too dense or too high. I got spare covers at the same time too (above)

They seemed to work for us, and so I took the plunge and ordered a duvet. There was hardly anything to lose with a 30 day’ try it and if you don’t like it, we’ll have it back’ guarantee. We’ve had it a week now and gradually I’ve found I’m having a better and better night’s sleep.

I would say, it’s a good idea to air the products for a couple of days before use as they come with a slight sheepy smell (it wears off) and the style takes a little getting used to after having a much fuller and springier ‘pouffey’ duvet filling, but it does feel ‘just right’ - warm enough to be snug, but not too warm...which is exactly what it promised. Even better, I think Crow’s converted too, which frankly, seems like a minor miracle.

I can remember writing last year about how our wool market has absolutely crashed and farmers have sometimes resorted to burning because the cost of marketing the product outweighs the gain in sale. Why on earth the construction industry hasn’t hoovered up every possible amount to use in insulation materials is beyond me, it seems a perfect solution. The Government is pursuing some green credentials to cut emissions by promoting electric or hybrid vehicles and promised the scrapping of gas and oil central heating boilers in new build homes from 2025, but natural insulation, which surely would be an easy change, seems to lag (NPI!!!) behind as a rather niche product.

If you wanted to read up, I found an FAQ Here.

WHAT DID I LEARN?

Technical:

♦ Graphic taken from this link, where you can read more about sheep wool.

♦ A Micron is the measurement used to describe the diameter of a wool fibre. The smaller the Micron measurement, the finer and softer the wool. The finest gauge wool comes from Merino sheep, all Merino wool is considered Very Fine, meaning the fibres are smaller than 24 Microns in diameter.

♦ Loft = depth/bounce, or as I termed it ‘pouffeyness’

*NPI up above = NO PUN INTENDED, well, not really intended, more a happy accident.

Sweet Dreams.

Also posed by models 😊

#sheep sleep duvet #wool

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trinkets-and-spirits · 6 years

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Gettin’ to Know Me. 😉

Rules: Tag 5 witches you wish to get to know better. Repost—do not reblog.

How old are you? — 16. Whoa, shocking, right?

What do you go by? — Free, or Eph. I’m cool with either one.

How long have you been practising witchcraft? — I started practising witchcraft in February 2017, so a little under one year. However, I’ve been a strong believer of the Pagan Paths for a little while longer; as I’ve been following Norse Paganism since March 2016, but I’ve only recently started witchcraft. c:

What type of witchcraft do you specialise in? — Hmm, I’d probably say Hedge Witchcraft & Divination; as my path was built up onto the Hedge after I kept experiencing over-exposure to the other side, and I wanted to learn how to keep myself from being scared upon waking up & seeing the dead in my room. And divination, I’ve always been the sort to experience very specific Deja vu whilst asleep or lost in thought; but I never remembered it until doing the act, as any sorta typical Deja vu moment would do, until I had a very specific thought about one of my best friends—and low & behold, she experienced the thought detail for detail only a week or two later. So! Instead of freaking out alone, I took it upon myself to learn the beautiful art of divination; specifically dream & tarot. c:

What aspect of witchcraft are you best at? — Well, as stated above; I have an uncanny amount of luck with Hedge Witchcraft & Divination. However, I’ve noticed that I’m specifically fortunate with blessings; sigils; and warding magick. Crystals and anything to do with accent herbs or plants, too. I dunno, honestly.

What is a big goal you are working towards/have already achieved? — Hmm, I guess my big goal is to learn as much about witchcraft and the different paths that I can; for personal benefit, and to help teach others about the craft. And I’m not being specific about new/baby witchlings out there; I want to be able to express knowledge to those who are a little bit sceptical, or towards those who downright hate on witchcraft & practitioners, due to the old stories of Salem. Not that I believe that my word alone will change their frightened minds, but still! I’d love to learn all about witchcraft, because I find it interesting; and want to. c:

Who do you worship? If you worship anyone at all? — Well, I follow Norse & Celtic Paganism; though I do happen to follow Norse Paganism, predominantly, and I do believe in each & every single God/Goddess/Other of both religions. However, I tend to sit beneath Loki’s Hearth; and focus & follow on his teaching.

What’s your aesthetic? — Nature; trees, forest wildlife, owls, mountains, lakes. Although I’m a big fan of cemeteries & graveyards, too! I love reblogging scenes from cemeteries, or of singular graves in a beautiful scenery, or something! :3

What are some of your favourite smells? — Hmm...I really love the smell of firewood being burnt; or coal fires; or log burners. It just has one of those smells to it that makes me feel all happy & cosy, and I love passing by fields where the farmers are burning wood, or houses where someone has a fire going. Like yas.

Do you collect anything? — Jars, books, crystals, jewellery, owl ornaments, and plants. Although! I’ve recently started working on building a bone collection, for different practises that I have yet to dabble with directly, because...bones! c:

What are your favourite tools of witchcraft? — Crystals, tarot cards, sigils, and herbs. Sea salt mixed with some water is also a favourite, and incense! c:

What’s a non-witchcraft pet peeve of yours? — Noisy eaters, or people moving my shit two inches to the side. Like, you’re ruining my aesthetic, stop it. Or, people who are just loud for no fucking reason; which makes it difficult to live in a bungalow with my mother...because she does all of these things. -_-

What’s a witchcraft pet peeve? — Well, I know I’m gonna get a lot of hate for this one: but I really hate the witches who try to make white witches feel like scum, in comparison to POC witches. I’m not talking about the witches who try to give everyone a fair chance to be recognised; and that book document going about where only POC witches are allowed to add their spells? I think that’s gr8. However, there’re certain witches on this site who behave as though white witches should be throwing down their hats, and proclaiming they’re bad people; specifically because of their skin tone—not because of anything they have very specific control over, like an argument that took a turn b/c they chose to let it. :/

Like, I’m sorry to all those tumblr witches who think that white people should be treated like scum, because our ancestors (and present assholes) treated POC like scum; but I don’t agree with you. And I’m not a straight white cis girl who is racist & privileged, so the fuck outta here with those anon hate comments; I’m fully for #BlackLivesMatter & the support for POC that has been rocketing recently, but I just don’t agree with the treatment that y’all are giving white folk. I mean, I’ve seen literal posts where witches are demanding that their followers don’t buy from small businesses (such as those on Etsy, etc.) if they’re run by white people, because “POC are more important.” Like sure, Barbara; but deliberately attempting to ruin people’s passions? That’s not a way to help the movement for equality go forwards; it’s discriminative in it’s own way, ya walnut.

Sorry, I went off on a rant. xD But might as well be detailed, so that I have something to reference, when all of the haters come & claim that I was shoving my opinion down their throats. I hope I was respectful as possible with my opinion, bc I honestly know that a lot of witches I follow are cool beans about white people & such; or at least don’t flat out try to run people outta business, and I really just wanted to state my opinion that my biggest pet peeves are the witches who try to ruin lives and slap “POC” onto it to make it seem justified. c:

Good advice not relating to witchcraft that you can give? — Okay, so there’s this Welsh folktale that I’ve been told since I was a little girl; called Gelert. It’s a very fascinating story, and I would recommend anyone to go read it, tbh. Anyway, it’s a story about this loyal dog to the Prince Llewellyn; who protects the Prince’s baby from a wolf that has been terrorising the countryside for the past couple of months, whilst his beloved owner is out hunting for the same creature. Llewellyn returns; and sees the room of his baby destroyed, blood on the blanket that had been in the crib, the baby missing—and Gelert laying on the floor, soaked with blood. Immediately, Llewellyn loses his shit & decapitates Gelert, without taking a moment to look around; and then...he hears his baby crying. He rounds the side of the tipped over crib, and finds his kid; and the body of a wolf mangled to pieces, and Llewellyn realises his mistake of decapitating Gelert, but now it’s too late, and his mistakes haunt him for the rest of his days. He buried his most trustworthy companion, and placed a stone on his grave, and blah blah.

Anyway, my advice is to keep a level head in situations that you might find emotionally distressful. Don’t act on your first emotion, because you might end up causing more hurt than relief. Look at the situation; look at every possible angle, and once you’ve done that, make a decision that will benefit everyone. c:

Do you have any good advice pertaining to witchcraft that you can give?— Not really. The only advice I can hand is to question everything; never give up on researching things, even if you stumble across a blog that seems to be legit AF with their fancy spells & recipes, always double check; always triple check; check until you’re 100% certain that the magic you’re thinking of performing isn’t harmful towards you or your surroundings. Also, don’t allow others to declare to you what makes a real witch, or any of that shit; we’re all individuals—so own it.

Do you have a familiar? — Yes, I do! n w n My deceased cat was my beloved familiar when he was alive, and it would seem that he’s not straying too far into the afterlife, as he is often with me in both energies & spirit; I’ve bumped into him on the other side, too. He’s such a brilliant cat, and I’m so blessed to have him as my familiar; he’s always there for me, and offers me guidance & protection. c:

Altar? — Not yet! Since I recently moved from my old house, I had to take down the starts of my altar back there, and I haven’t had time to start building it up. ; - ; However, I’m planning to start building it up over the Christmas break, because I feel unsettled without a visible representation of my worship in my bedroom. :c

I was tagged by @insert-a-catchy-name-here — thank you for tagging me, dear!

In turn, I’ll tag the following people — @lunaesteria, @eyeliner-of-cups, @orriculum, @onyxmagik, and @maddiviner...because y’all are honestly the only blog names I remember straight off the top of my head. xD Plus, I do wanna see this lil tag catch on, because I think it’s pretty sweet. c: x

#witchcraft #get to know me #get to know the witch #somewhat personal #there's an unpopular opinion thrown in there somewhere #you have been warned

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therhiannonway-blog · 7 years

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Introducing Me

A little note before we get started - if I were you, I wouldn’t expect updates as regular as they are right now in the future. I may manage to keep this blog updated weekly (fingers crossed), but I’m also starting uni this Saturday and so, unfortunately, sometimes my life may be too hectic to update. I hope you still stick around though.

First things first, the basics -

My name is Rhiannon and, as it suggests, I’m Welsh. I’ve lived in England for the majority of my life but, I don’t let that stop me from acknowledging my blood.

Rhiannon means nymph, goddess, good witch and great queen. This is probably where my obsession with the mystical woman comes from.

I’m 18 years old and I’ve been on tumblr since 2011, when I was 12.

As I’ve mentioned several times already, I start university this week. I’m going to be studying English Literature and cannot wait to get back into studying again. Freshers should also be good.

I’m bisexual. On the internet, I’m no longer afraid about admitting it or being open about it. In real life, it’s a different story. I’m one of those people with one foot out of the closet.

I live on the south coast but I am moving to the midlands, where hopefully my grandparents won’t take my closeness as an invitation to visit.

Now, onto the likes -

Cats and dogs. Why choose one when you could have both? Also, just all animals in general.

Films. To be more specific: I like pretty much all genres except for horror. Jump scares? Get me out of there. My favourite films include Gone Girl, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and History Boys.

TV Shows. Again, you might need more than that, so I’ll acquiesce. I’ve just started watching Grey’s Anatomy, and I’m enjoying it. I love The Office (US), The Bold Type, Gavin & Stacey, The 100, Hustle, Say Yes to The Dress, Gossip Girl, Gilmore Girls etc. etc.

Books. I’m not sure why this isn’t first really. I live for books. My favourites? Harry Potter (obviously), The Book Thief, The Shadow of The Wind, Dragonskin Slippers, The Secret History, Jellicoe Road, Afterworlds etc. It’s difficult to narrow it down to so few. It’s even more difficult deciding which ones I don’t mind leaving behind when I move.

When it comes to hobbies, I’m a pretty boring person. There’s the obvious - writing and reading. I also love taking pictures, but I only have my iPhone for that and I feel like you need a real camera for that to count. There’s swimming, but I haven’t done it in a while. And, nothing else I fill my time with really consists of a ‘hobby’. I’m hoping one day I’ll have enough time and commitment that scrapbooking could be a hobby.

(I might reblog a few of those ‘x or y’ tumblr posts to give you a more indepth sense of who I am.)

Let’s see if I can explain why I’ve started a blog -

The short answer is I’ve wanted to for a while and I want to be a journalist. The long answer is that I want to have a portfolio for applying to jobs, I want a place to create, I want a space to document my life, I want a space that is both professional and personal. I want want want want.

Everyone always says, ‘I want never gets’. It got me this blog though, so what do they know. Of course, it’s just an idiom and when you think of it beyond teaching children the value of please and thank you, it kind of falls apart. This is because we’re also told to try, to be ambitious, to go after what you (can you guess?) want. You have to be passionate about something to achieve it, and what does passion boil down to? Want.

There’s so many things I want (not in the materialistic sense), and this is my way of going about it. I think it’s a step along the path towards achieving my goals.

So, what do I want? -

Big picture stuff includes a Labour government, getting rid of the orange testicle currently ruining the country England ruined in the first place, introducing renewable energy, increasing human rights and equality, and just making Mother Nature a bit happier with us.

This stuff though isn’t exactly uncommon. Most people (good people) want these things.

So, talking little picture now. I want to travel. I want to visit all seven continents (although I would be happy to skip Antarctica) and all the wonders of the world. I want to walk down cobbled streets, visit the Vestal Virgins, take pictures of the Amazon, roam the Great Wall of China, see (and not touch, because I have basic decency) Uluru, swim in the Caribbean, scuba, walk, hike, visit and see.

I want to write. Novels, poetry, newspaper articles, columns, journals... I am happiest when words are flowing out of me, whatever their form.

I want to learn. About pretty much everything. Culture, art, music, history, literature, teaching, how to be a better person, the environment, how to budget, proper succulent care, science, space, etc etc. I want to learn so much it even feels wrong to reduce all of it just to ‘etc etc.’

I want to help. Myself, my friends, my family, strangers, the earth. I want to volunteer and teach and love. Some of it is simple, some of it is difficult, and I just want to do my best at it.

And that, brings us to the end of ‘introducing me’. Or, in other words, I’ve run out of ideas about what people may want to know about me. Of course, if you have any questions about me or the blog, please feel free to ask!

Hope you stick around,

- R x

#trw blog #2 #blog 1 #therhiannonway #introduction #personal #new blog #blog #hiddenpolkadots #prongsno #bantasticbeasts #fredweasleying #villainsvale #introducing me

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switchoffthestars · 7 years

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And while I’m making text posts!! I want to get one modern language to a reasonably good level! But I’m torn on which one... My three choices right now are French, Welsh and Arabic. And maybe Russian? But with Russian I’d have to start basically from scratch. The pros and cons for each under the cut

French pros: lots of resources, I have a pretty good passive control of the language, I just need to learn loads of vocab and review verbs & syntax. Met some people last weekend who’d be willing to speak French with me, so I’d be able to practice. would probably be useful for uni too, ‘cause reading French is always helpful cons: eeeh it’s not that interesting? nothing against French, but it’s boring. It’s just Romance, and like.... the grammar doesn’t excite me. Welsh pros: WELSH!!!! CYMRAEG!!! my love. interesting grammar (ok not really, not modern welsh). super useful for uni. I have a few kids’ books in Welsh that I can use for practice, plus I already have teach yourself Welsh and dictionaries etc. people look at you in awe when you tell them you know Welsh. Peter wanted me to be able to read Welsh fluently, so eh.... I should probs? cons: don’t really know any native speakers to talk to. (I know a few people who speak Welsh but they’re my teachers and tbh I’m not about to talk to them in Welsh) I’d feel bad for neglecting the other Celtic languages. Arabic pros: aaaaah so interesting. the verbal system is a work of art. is becoming more and more useful, could be great for at work when we get people who don’t speak dutch/english. Once I feel confident with arabic I can do other semitic languages fairly easily. non-indo-european! cons: this will take lots of hard work, ‘cause I haven’t done anything with it for about a year and a half. Will need to basically start from the beginning. will take longer to learn because it’s not Indo-European. Doesn’t really help me for Celtic. Russian pros: have wanted to learn it since I was 12. I know loads of native speakers, so I’d be able to get people to practice with easily. good for Celtic, since there is more stuff in Russian for Celtic linguistics than you’d think. Would be good to know a bit of a Slavic language before doing Old Chuch Slavonic, so that isn’t my first Slavic language. probably fairly easy to find resources for. Nice phonological system, nice grammar. cons: this is the one I know the least about right now, so would take fairly long to get it to an okay level. Learning it would probably be faster than Arabic, because it’s indo-european, but I’d have to start from the very beginning. As you can see, quite a predicament. Any opinions are appreciated, even if you’re reason for picking one is ‘that’s a cool language’.

#languages #personal tag #I'd probably do either welsh or french...#or get welsh grammar and french vocab going

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ecoamerica · 25 days

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youtube

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

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avaantares · 7 years

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My thoughts on Torchwood: Aliens Among Us

Minimal spoilers. I’ll discuss themes and events, but try to avoid any major reveals.

Putting the rest after the jump for length and spoiler protection.

I debated whether to even post this, because I still haven’t quite made up my mind whether or not I actually like S5. I mean, the production values of the episodes are excellent, as usual (Big Finish knows what they’re about in that department), and the performances are great, and even the ongoing series hook is interesting -- but I think the problem is that I’m not actually enjoying the direction the series is headed. It’s done well, but it doesn’t quite feel like Torchwood to me. And that’s not just because more than half the original cast is missing; it’s a shift in something vital and central to the series. Its purpose, perhaps. I’m still digesting the episodes I’ve listened to. (More on that in a bit.)

Anyway, I’ll start with my take on the characters and their new roles:

Jack - Apparently having exhausted all his potential development in previous stories, Jack is relegated almost to the background of this series. He makes the usual lewd jokes and sleeps around and dies when the plot demands it, but he’s practically a cardboard cutout, doing Action Things when necessary and coasting on listeners’ affection for him from previous stories. After four episodes, there’s still no evidence that he’ll have anything resembling a character arc, which is massively disappointing.

Jack also shows some disturbing behavior here -- namely, he pseudo-stalks and seduces a man he’s considering hiring on at Torchwood just to get more information about him, which is not only dishonest and manipulative, but is a REALLY FREAKING CREEPY thing for a potential boss to do, especially if the hiring had gone through.

But no worries on that account, since Jack then bars said potential employee from Torchwood because he made a mistake in the field and got civilians killed. Jack cites the Doctor’s “no second chances” line and pontificates about how he won’t tolerate people dying on his watch. This seems out of character coming from the man who forgave Gwen for unleashing an alien gas that killed dozens of civilians, forgave Ianto for betraying them all and getting two innocent people killed in the Hub, forgave Owen Harper for rebelling and putting a bullet through Jack’s brain, etc.... not to mention Jack’s own tendency to shoot first and apologize later, for which he was often criticized by both Gwen and the Doctor. Even if he’s changed his views on violence in the meantime, I can’t imagine him drawing such a hard line in the sand without at least turning it into a teaching experience. Jack is the king of second chances; it seems hypocritical for him to deny one to a panicked newcomer.

Gwen - I’ve seen several other people say that they didn’t recognize Gwen until the character identified herself at the end of the episode, and I had the same experience. Her Welsh accent seems much stronger than it was in the TV series. There may be plot reasons for that, or it may just be an inconsistency. (EDIT: I’ve since read that, due to plot reasons, Alexandria Riley is actually performing most of Gwen’s speaking parts, so the difference is definitely intentional.)

Gwen doesn’t seem to serve a significant purpose in the stories until the extreme end of episode 2, when she conducts the major reveal of what will be (I suspect) her ongoing story arc for the whole series. That subplot is by far the most compelling thing about this new series, and honestly is probably the only thing with enough hook to keep me listening.

Mr. Colchester - The spiritual successor to the conspicuously absent Ianto Jones, Mr. Colchester is the dry, longsuffering general support. In many ways he’s the most complex and developed of the new characters, and while it took me a bit to warm up to him, I quite like him now. (Of course, since he’s basically replacement-Ianto, that may explain why I enjoy his commentary so much.)

We’ve learned a bit about Mr. Colchester’s personal life, as well as just a sliver of backstory, and I hope that is setting up for some kind of series-long arc for him. I think he has a lot of undeveloped potential. I’m very curious to know exactly how he came to Torchwood.

Orr - Orr manages to be interesting despite the fact that their introduction scene feels a bit too much like Discourse(TM). (I described the scene to a friend as “Tumblr: The Audio Drama.”) As a gender- and biologically-fluid being, Orr can psychically tune in to entities to acquire information in a way I’ve never seen done before, and that leaves open a potential gold mine of story opportunities and mystery resolutions. However, since the two episodes in which Orr features are largely spent establishing their abilities, there’s still not much sign of a dynamic arc. It’s strongly suggested that they will become a full-time Torchwood operative, which should be... interesting, given that crew and their proclivities.

Tyler Steele - Let me put this on record right now: I do not like Tyler. At all. I wouldn’t mind if he got flattened by a spaceship.

Now, that doesn’t mean he’s a bad character -- sometimes the most compelling characters are ones you despise, and Tyler’s role in the story seems to be going in that direction -- but it does bother me that Jack seems intent on carrying on an ongoing sexual relationship with a character who is so morally questionable, disrespectful, self-serving, and generally kind of a jerk. I can’t imagine Jack putting up with that, no matter how good Tyler is in bed, unless we’re just going to undo the past ten years’ worth of Jack’s character development and kick him all the way back to the way he was with Captain John Hart.

Tyler himself is the only one of the new characters who does seem to have the setup for a dynamic story, which could be more interesting if they turn him into a villain or boost his moral grayness to have him play both sides. (Personally, I’d really like to see him waffle for a while, then cross a line and become unredeemable, forcing Jack to have to stop him. That would provide a nice characterization moment for Jack, too.)

Other Characters: Rhys and Mary Cooper (Gwen’s mother) get cameos, but that’s about it. At least two other named characters (Andy and Billis Manger) are coming back for the next set, so we’ll hope for an expanded cast next time.

Before I get critical, I do want to mention a few specifics that this series does well:

It’s implied that either there is no coffee allowed in the Hub, or no one is allowed to use Ianto’s coffee machine. Which is heartbreaking, but also gratifying, as it implies that Jack can’t bear to let that one piece of Ianto be replaced. Many of us were worried that Ianto would be forgotten or just garner a token mention, as he has in most series/publications set post-MD, but it’s nice to see actual evidence that they remember and mourn him.

It’s also suggested that Jack is still thinking constantly about Ianto, even years after he died. Which is small comfort after we’ve had to witness Jack getting it on with that creep Tyler multiple times, but at least Ianto hasn’t been erased completely.

The reveal of the subplot surrounding Gwen came as a complete shock to me. I often work sneaky plot things out beforehand, but I’ll confess, I did not see that one coming. (Others have pointed out that this plot element may have been foreshadowed in a previous episode...? But we’ll need more information about what’s actually going on before confirming that.)

I like that they’re operating out of the literally collapsing ruins of the Hub and are completely broke, even though it does raise some questions about EU continuity (we saw the Hub cleaned up after the explosion in Long Time Dead, and Gwen was trying to rebuild it in Forgotten Lives). It’s nice -- and thematically appropriate -- to have them huddling in a broken ruin of the past while trying to come to terms with the future.

Now, some thoughts on the story itself:

I’m really not sure how to approach this new world, where aliens populate Cardiff and are so far from secret that there are human protest groups lobbying in the streets to remove them. It acknowledges the events of Exodus Code and the Titan Comics series (I have major issues with that, too, but that’s another conversation entirely). At this point the series has split so far from the known Whoniverse that it has more in common with awkward American stepchild Miracle Day than with its own BBC parent series. I feel like we’re now trapped in a bubble universe that is never going to resolve with the original series of Torchwood.

Anyway... Cardiff is overrun by aliens, and apparently instead of Torchwood trying to protect humanity from alien threats, in this brave new Cardiff, Torchwood is trying to protect... the aliens? For motivations that remain unclear to me, in episode 2, Gwen and Mr. Colchester spend a whole night repeatedly putting their lives on the line to protect an alien from capture after they witness her eating innocent humans. Reluctantly, she claims, but the extremes they go to to protect her (including endangering human civilians and hospital staff) just don’t seem justified when she and her family are actual threats to humanity.

The ongoing story of S5 centers around the economic and political takeover of Cardiff from a particular race of aliens. It’s sinister enough, and provides a backdrop for multiple villain-of-the-week episodes, but there’s really no soul to it. Maybe that will change with future episodes, but I think this points to the main reasons I’m not really getting into this series as much as previous Big Finish Torchwood dramas:

Classic Torchwood was a character-driven series set against a dramatic (and often camp) space fantasy backdrop. At the end of the day, we didn’t care what kind of aliens were attacking Earth that week; we worried how Ianto processed his grief, wondered whether or not Owen actually had a heart under his flinty exterior, cheered the little moments when Jack opened up to his friends, and mourned when characters we had grown to care for sacrificed their lives in defense of the people of Cardiff and the world. The character development was the hook, and the episode plots, for the most part, were secondary.

This is one reason so many fans were disappointed in Miracle Day, which was more an American political thriller than space fantasy, and introduced new characters who were wooden and lacked compelling character arcs. The premise of Miracle Day was fascinating, but we couldn’t engage with the story the way we did with the gripping bureaucratic drama of Children of Earth because we were put off by MD’s flat, unlikable protagonists.

AAU, as well, is missing some of those critical elements that let the audience engage deeply with the story. While there are complex things happening in the political sphere, we come into S5 knowing nothing about the new characters, and the characters we do know seem too static. Gwen does get an interesting story hook, but not until the halfway mark of this boxed set.

In short, I just don’t care enough. I miss the depth and complexity of the original characters, and I miss the ongoing growth that made Jack and Gwen interesting. I don’t know the new characters well enough to feel strongly about what happens to them, and there is little indication that they will become dynamic over the course of the next few stories.

It’s a shame, because I love Torchwood and want more of it, but I just don’t feel like I’m getting proper Torchwood with these stories. I’ll probably give the next part of Aliens Among Us a try, but I’ll wait to see how it goes before deciding on the third set. it’s hard to justify the high price of the box set for a series I’m basically ambivalent about.

#torchwood #aliens among us #big finish #my review

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gillywulf · 7 years

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you’re a problem but you’re mine (you’re a winner even though you think you’re not)

The pet Hotel AU.

AO3

Summary: Jason needs a job and PetStay needed him.

Pt. 2 (warning: this does include a dog bite)

It turned out that prepping for mealtimes wasn’t as hard as Jason initially thought. Like Billy, he’d needed to develop a system before it made sense, but eventually, once he’d started separating the labels stating the dog’s name and food into dry and wet, the process went far quicker. He was midway through preparing dinners when the door to the kitchen slammed open and a middle aged man with neat, short hair. He stopped short at the sight of Jason.

“Who are you?” Blunt. Jason held out his hand.

“Hi, I’m Jason. I’m new. Ish” The man takes his hand and it’s surprisingly gentle.

“Tommy Oliver. I’m the trainer here and my kid works the night shift” Jason remembered the walkie chart with Tommy Junior written next to green and nodded.

“Oh yeah, I haven’t met him yet” An odd look crossed Tommy’s face.

“Uh, Tommy Junior is-”

“Tommy! What up, dude?” Zack’s boisterous voice filled the small kitchen, shoving whatever the trainer was going to say out of their minds. “I haven’t seen you in like, two weeks” He set down the stack of used dog bowls and spread his arms, offering a warm hug. Tommy was clearly uncomfortable.

“Good to see you, Zack. Oh, whoops, I have class in two minutes. Nice to meet you, Jason” He slipped from the room with a quick wave.

“I can not figure out why he doesn’t like me” Zack mumbled, perching his hands on his hips. The whole image - the confused face, the posture, the situation he’d just witnessed - as truly a masterpiece. Jason laughed.

“Never change, man”

“Have a nice day” Kim beamed at the pet parent until they rounded the corner out of eye sight. She dropped her falsely peppy face instantly and rolled her eyes to Jason. “‘I ordered a nail trim and a suite!’ They did neither so he got neither. I literally hate people. They over feed and under care and get upset at me when they’re the one who messed up” she huffed, turning back to the computer and tapping in last minute pay information. He laughed.

“I mean you’re not wrong, but that’s like all retail”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t still hate them”

“That’s fair,” he shrugged, “you get off in five minutes too, right? Do you want to go to Krispy Kreme with me and my little sister? My mom’s dropping her off in a bit” Kim twisted the watch on her wrist and shrugged.

“Sure. I bet she’s funnier than you”

“Says the girl who literally can’t make a joke that gets anyone laughing” She scowled and crossed her arms.

“I will have you know, I am very funny”

“No, I think Pearl will definitely be funnier than both of us”

The dog squirmed and wriggled with all its might, crying all the while. The high pitched squeals were definitely starting to hurt Jason’s ears. None of it was helping the nail grind get done any faster. He stepped back with a resigned sigh and punched the talk button on his walkie.

“Red could use some help with a nail grind” The dog leveled him with her best pleading stare. Maybe if she looked sad enough, he would stop.

“Blue to the rescue!” Billy’s voice announced over the radio. Less than a minute later, the boy strolled in and took a firm hold of the dog’s body. Thankfully, it was enough for Jason to finally get a full paw done with the promise of stillness for the rest. He quickly moved on to the next paw. If she wasn’t going to stay this calm long, he needed to be fast.

“Billy, you are an absolute lifesaver” Why did dogs need to much hair over their feet? It just made everything harder and slightly more dangerous. He could get it stuck in the grinder and pull out a chunk if he wasn’t careful.

“My pleasure, Jason. Hey, do you think I’m weird?” Jason stilled, stopped the grinder, and straightened to look Billy dead in the eye.

“I’ve seen Zack eat a burger off the ground even though the bun fell off”

“No, I know- I mean, yeah, that’s kinda weird, but I mean like, you know-”

“Did something happen?” he asked. Concern clawed its way up his throat and the dog sat happily on the table between them, clearly believing she was out of the woods. Billy looked hesitant for a moment.

“I brought Summer up to her mom and I was really excited because we don’t really get all that many Corgis, so I was telling her neat history about their breed, like ‘corgi’ means ‘dwarf-dog’ in Welsh where they originated from and because they are herders, they are the same type of dog that huskies are, which no one really expects because they are so different. And she looked at me like a lot of people do when I start to talk a lot, like there must be something definitely wrong with me” His hold on the dog slackened, his hands instead stroking along her side.

“Billy,” Jason wanted so badly to lay his hand on Billy’s shoulder, to really draw his attention, but he knew his friend didn’t like to be touched, so he reigned himself in, “you are the kindest, smartest, most caring person I know. Hands down. Having a diagnosis doesn’t make you weird, it’s another part of who you are, just like your love of country music” Billy smiled at that and Jason accepted the small victory. “One rude lady isn’t going to change any of the awesome things about you. Don’t ever forget that” Billy’s eyes shone and it looked like he might even cry. Jason wouldn’t be able to stop himself from following if that was going to happen.

“Thank you, Jason”

“Honestly any time. Thank you for coming to me. Now let’s get her finished up, okay?”

It was almost funny watching Trini try and hold back such a fat chocolate lab. Tucker was definitely not built to easy walking.

“Fuck you, dick! Stop pulling!” She grit her teeth and dug in her heels, but it was no use. Tucker was headed to camp at his own pace. “You wanna help at all?” she shot back to Jason behind her.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I have to keep holding Gus to make sure he doesn’t kill anyone. You know, because he’s so lethal” Gus was in fact a toy fox terrier, shaking constantly and peeing himself in fear as Jason spoke.

“Dick, Tucker, stop!” Kim chose that moment to step into the hallway from the relief room. She calmly took in the scene; Trini being pulled by an overexcited fat dog and Jason, with his tiny shaking mess. With a roll over her eyes, she reached out and jerked Tucker’s lead in a direction he wasn’t expecting, surprising him enough to get him to stop.

“Tuck, walk nice” she demanded. “If he keeps doing it, just stop and wait for him to settle. He needs to learn not to pull” Her eyes bore into Trini’s and even from his not great angle, Jason could see how struck Trini was. The girl’s eyes didn’t move away once Kim headed to the grooming room.

“You good?” he asked, almost concerned.

“Fuck, she’s so hot”

When things were busy, things were busy. Jason barely had a moment to breathe between shuffling dogs into their rooms, cleaning, juggling dogs in camp, and a whole host of other duties.

“Red, I need Maximus when you have a moment; he’s going home” Kim’s steady voice broke through his dinner prep concentration. He sighed. He was never going to get anything done.

“Sure, pink” He left the kitchen and speed walked to where he knew Maximus the giant yellow lab would be waiting by the kennel door, his tongue lolling out and his tail wagging non-stop. Sure enough, that was the sight that greeted him. The dog was clearly excited to go home, if the way he pulled at his leash was any indicator. His owners beamed and hugged him while obliviously clogging up the reception area. But of course, there was no time to stand there and wonder whether or not it was just a little too much, another family stood waiting to say goodbye to their German Shepard.

“Jason, could you please take Grant to 211? Thank you” Kim was already staring back to paperwork, highlighting on a chart the days certain services were being received.

“Sure,” he smiled politely to the family and slipped a lead over Grant’s head, his other hand extended for the leash, “I can take him, have a great day” Grant followed him easily to the door and through it, all the way to the door of kennel 211 where he promptly planted his feet and refused to move. “Bud, c’mon, I need to finish the lunches”

The pleading must have worked, because the dog gave in just enough to allow himself to be guided inside the kennel. Jason knelt to pull his lead and unclip the collar. Grant seized the moment. He shot out from under Jason’s knee in a desperate bid to escape. Jason did nothing but act on instinct. His hand shot out just as fast and just managed to grab a hold of Grant’s paper ID band.

The ID band around his neck.

While all Jason could think was to beg higher powers to keep the ID band in tact long enough for his to slip the lead back over his head, Grant wanted nothing more than to be away from him. So he rolled onto his back and turned his head to take Jason’s hand into his mouth and bit. Hard.

For a long second Jason didn’t even register what had happened. He was so focused on holding on that his brain excused the bite like that from a puppy, painful, but only for a second and completely harmless. That is, until his brain caught up with the sheer pain and the sight of blood. Needless to say, he let go.

Grant took off out of Jason’s view. His hand was mangled, that was the only word he could associate with the way it looked. He must not have registered Grant’s frenzied shaking like a chew toy he was on the other end of. He tried to make a fist and failed.

“Hey Jason, what’s taking- holy shit” Trini wasted no time. She marched over to him and took the hand in hers. She whipped the grey beanie from her head and wrapped it as tightly around it as possible. “Keep this tight, you need pressure,” she tugged on her walkie, “birdhouse” she said simply before pushing him off towards the kitchen. “Go wait there. I’ll get him in the kennel and we’ll take you to the hospital”

Jason blinked in awe at her take-charge attitude, but managed a weak nod. She was gone in the blink of an eye, her tiny voice gruff and furious as she called out Grant’s name. He definitely heard an aggressive ‘ass-fucker’ as he headed towards the kitchen.

Billy was already there, gauze and light antiseptics at the ready. He was so careful and gentle and Jason was eternally grateful, he just wished his head was clearer to express that appreciation. He’d do that later when he wasn’t bleeding profusely. Kim burst into the room just as the cleaning stage finished. She did a quick examination before motioning to Billy to continue.

“We’ve already called Grant’s parents. They were only in the parking lot and he’ll be refused for the rest of the month. Okay, wow that’s a lot of blood. Trini’s going to drive you to the hospital because Billy can’t drive, Zack’s stuck in camp, and I have to man the front desk. She’s usually a good driver, I promise” Before Jason had long enough to process the statement and ask what exactly she meant by that, Trini swept into the room and grabbed his bicep.

“C’mon, homeboy, let’s get you to the hospital before you bleed out” The next few minutes are a whirlwind of racing out the store in an attempt not to alarm customers and to reach the hospital as quickly as possible. Kim’s ‘usually’ begins to make sense on the highway. Trini darts her car into small spaces and slams on the brakes and accelerator so often that Jason began to worry a heart attack might kill him before his hand.

There was something incredibly calming about her hard demeanor cracking only enough for her worry to trickle out in barely-there ways, like the way her eyes constantly darted over to him, or the way her hands tightened over and over on the steering wheel. Maybe she did like him. He’d like to be friends.

Jason wordlessly held out the tray of steaming coffee cups while trying very hard not to chug from his own. With a small sigh of relief, Kim took the tray and then the cup marked with her name.

“Zack’s running late” she mumbled after a long sip. Jason laughed.

“Some day, someone who’s not us will realize and he’ll get fired”

“Let’s hope not. We’re still super understaffed”

“Good thing I’m here, right?” The two whirled around to find a girl with closely cropped hair and a grin too bright for the early hour standing on the other side of the front desk, already in the customary PetStay navy polo. Jason and Kim shot one another confused glances.

“Uh, I’m sorry to ask, but who are you? I only have one person for training on my list today” Kim thumbed through her schedule post-it notes, looking for any name she didn’t recognize.

“That’s probably me. I’m Tj” she beamed. Jason couldn’t help but notice the startlingly bright green eyes she had. Kim didn’t stop frowning.

“I’m sorry, I don’t see a ‘Tj’ anywhere” Tj seemed to sag at that.

“Is there a ‘Tommy Jr’?” Her entire body deflated with the question with a resignation so bone deep that Jason thought she might just collapse under the weight of it. Kim blinked dumbly.

“Yes”

“That’s me”

“No it isn’t” Tj rolled her eyes and dug around in her back pocket for a moment until she produced a drivers’ license, complete with her picture and ‘Tommy Oliver Jr.’ printed beside it.

“My dad’s the trainer here. I’m the overnighter. I’m transferring to day shift. I’m Green” Even though the evidence was nothing short of indisputable, Kim’s face couldn’t free itself of the bafflement she felt. Thankfully, Zack chose that moment to sprint up to the counter and diffuse the tension.

“Guys, I’m sorry I’m late-”

“Zack, this is Tj, bring her into Bigs with you” He swiveled on his heel and froze. Jason watched as his face got progressively redder with each passing second.

“Hi- er, hello. Welcome to PetStay. I will be your trainer, or uh, senior, today,” he stopped his rambling, “let’s load up” He shuffled awkwardly to the back with Tj on his heels. Jason took a slow sip from his coffee and leaned against the counter.

“He likes her”

“Two damn seconds in”

“He also forgot his coffee”

On days where there were only enough dogs for one camp, everyone seemed to mill around aimlessly, trying to find something, anything to do. Jason knew that Zack was having plenty of fun in camp, but Trini, Kim, and Billy would all be restless, not to mention himself.

Jason decided to do a little tidying in the grooming room, picking up and throwing out old ID bands, sweeping up shed fur, and bringing dirty, wet towels to the laundry room. Maybe he’d even throw a load or two in. Between beds, blankets, and towels, there was almost definitely enough.

He hefted the pile of wet towels into his arms (while attempting to keep them from soiling his shirt) and march near-blind to the laundry room. Of course, it could never be that simple. He couldn’t just walk in an do his job.

Instead, he was greeted by Kim pressing the full length of her body into Trini, hands wandering and lips moving as one, together.

Of course he had to walk in on them making out. He was happy for them, naturally, but he didn’t need to keep seeing the PDA. Especially when Trini’s hand was definitely undoing the unbutton on the front of Kim’s pants.

Jason turned on his heel and dumped the towels into a nearby cart. He had to stop himself from sprinting to the kitchen. When he walked in, Billy looked up from the dishes and smiled, perpetually happy to see him. The long purple rubber gloves were pulled up to his elbows to keep his hands from feeling all of the left-over food residue.

“So,” Jason began, leaning against the sink, “don’t go into the laundry room, okay?” Billy’s face scrunched up in confusion.

“Why?”

“Kim and Trini are...you know” He gestured vaguely in the hopes that he wouldn’t have to say it.

“I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking” Jason sighed and scrubbed his face, maybe it would dislodge the discomfort.

“Just trust me, you don’t want to go in there for a while. Maybe an hour, just to be safe” Billy’s confusion and suspicion didn’t disappear.

“I trust you”

“Thank you, Billy” The two of them spent the next fifty minutes filling the time, talking about the dogs, the cats, the store, and their co-workers. It was pleasant when Jason’s mind didn’t wander to why they were doing that and not something else.

Kim and Trini stumbled into the room, looking far too disheveled and satisfied. Their grins were too wide and their limbs too loose. Jason crossed the room and laid a hand on each of their shoulders.

“Well,” he really meant the excited smile he gave them, “congratulations guys, but not here, please. I beg you”

District management almost never made in store appearances. Those were reserved for big changes, good news, or bad news. As the entire store was crowded together after hours, Jason couldn’t help but fear the latter. Alvie clapped his hands together for the crowd’s attention.

“Excuse me, thank you everyone for showing up tonight” Zack nudged Jason in the ribs.

“Wasn’t this mandatory?” They sniggered together as Alvie plowed on.

“I want to take the time to thank each and every one of you for your time and dedication into this store” He took a long pause to try and make eye contact with as many people as possible. “However, I regret to tell you all that our store will be closing at the end of the month”

A chorus of gasps, sighs, and groans filled the air and Jason, between fish tanks and dog harnesses, felt his heart break. Alvie continued to talk about what the chain will do for them as if it could measure up to what it would provide if it stayed open. The rest of the meeting went by in a daze. He barely took in more than three consecutive words.

The hotel staff lingered in the parking lot, no one quite sure what do do or say. And Jason had come to a conclusion that these people were his friends, no matter what happened next. He loved the big way Zack felt everything. He loved Billy’s never ending affection. He loved the quiet way Trini expressed her protectiveness. He loved the simplicity of Kim’s humor.

He loved them. Even when he was scooping poop.

“So this sucks” Trini mumbled once they were alone on the pavement. Kim, her arm around the smaller girl’s shoulders, hummed in agreement.

“What the hell are we going to do? I want to keep hanging out with you guys. Forget trying to get someone else to hire me” Zack ruffled his hair and Billy laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“What if we all applied at the same place? There’s another PetStay a few miles away. If we don’t all get it, we apply somewhere else. I know it feels like it right now, but it isn’t the end, not by a lot, okay? We’re blue,” he gestured to Billy, “black,” then to Zack, “pink, yellow,” Kim and Trini stood a little straighter, “and red. Take us or leave us” His breathing was labored by the end, but his heart felt big and hopeful. Kim snorted and ducked her head.

“You’re such a nerd. Come on Mr. Leader. Let’s go to Krispy Kreme you guys. I could use some sugar” She threw her other arm over his shoulders, even though it was a bit of a stretch with his height. He shook his head but extended his own arm to Billy, who after a quick deliberation nodded and pulled Zack close.

“I’m the nerd. You play Pokemon Go every day”

“Holy fuck, really? What team are you?”

“Zack, you know it literally does not matter, right?”

“Actually, there have been studies about what the choice says about people, Trini”

“I didn’t know that, B. Tell us about it”

#power rangers #fanfiction #mine

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airlinepolyglot-blog · 7 years

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another infrequent update

NOTE: a few links and whatnot are missing from this post, several YouTubes, etc. I will add them very shortly, and if I do not, then please remind me!

Hello everyone, I know it’s been awhile once again. It’s not that I haven’t been doing language things (quite the contrary), but rather that I don’t have time to tell you about them. A quick rundown of what I’ll be talking about here:

Travels and how language related:

-my trip to Toronto

-my trip to Hong Kong

-a brief mention of my trip to Cancun

What I have learned, language wise, since my last update:

-Norwegian

-German

-Welsh

-Hungarian

-Russian

-Turkish

I went to Toronto with my girlfriend Marisa since my last update. Toronto is of course an English majority city so there isn’t a ton to write about that, but it’s worth noting just how bilingual Canada is in many ways. Most people in Toronto can’t speak French, or rarely speak it, but it’s as prevalent as Spanish is in the US. Everything is cosigned in both languages, and of course the government enforces Canada’s bilingualism, which was extremely interesting. I’ll be interested to visit a really bilingual city in Canada, like Ottawa or Montreal, where everyone can speak both languages.

Hong Kong had been one of my top cities to visit after I got the airline job (and before that, too). There was obviously absolutely no way it was going to disappoint, and luckily it didn’t in the slightest. Definitely the best place I have been to to date (lovely English right there!), on so many levels. It’s extremely welcoming and inviting to an outsider, insanely easy to get around, very safe, etc. But to the world tourist, the level of English spoken in Hong Kong is extremely impressive. Literally everyone in Hong Kong spoke English that I spoke with, to a very good degree. Curiously, the Filipino domestic helpers spoke some of the poorest english (they stuck to Tagalog), and more obviously, the mainland tourists spoke very little (if any) English. I used Mandarin a few times, but interestingly I used German quite a bit (there’s apparently quite a bit of German expatriation in Hong Kong). I was caught off guard with the German, considering I was fairly out of practice (but usually made out just fine!), but I came armed with the Mandarin. Using HelloChinese and a few audio resources (Living Language) I had a conversational amount down, though I never used it to that degree (it would just be pointing someone in the right direction or making small talk), after really seeing Mainland Chinese in action in Hong Kong, I felt very motivated to really work on my Mandarin. Sadly, I haven’t much since my trip ended, but I’m sure I’ll pick it back up at some point - I love Mandarin and always preach how simple it is to everyone and tell people it’s far easier than people think. Because it is...once you accept that the characters are an “over time” thing. And as expected, the little Cantonese I spoke (“ni ho”, “mh’goi”, “ching”, etc) was received very well, but considering how widely English was spoken, it was just my sign of gratitude to the natives.

I did visit Cancun, Mexico with Marisa as well, because it was affordable, accessible, and warm. While it wasn’t great (we had a good time together though), I’ll of course cover the language situation there. Largely of course English to cater to tourists, a few people did indeed lead with Spanish, which was surprising. I had an Uber driver who only spoke Spanish and so he and I pieced through a conversation together, and he was helping me learn. But still, the Spanish language and I don’t really click sadly. A shame, as I want to visit Madrid, Colombia (any city), Santiago de Chile, and of course return to Buenos Aires. But luckily Marisa knows and likes Spanish, so she can come with me and help out with that until I’m back on track.

Okay, now an update on my language study stuff. I could post Duolingo stats but eh I don’t think those give as accurate an estimation as me describing my progress. So, I’ve been focusing on Norwegian a lot recently, which is without question my favorite language. I’ve been really focused on finishing the tree, and am at Level 17 on Duolingo. Admittedly, Duolingo is the only resource I’m using for Norwegian right now. No books, no YouTube, no audio, just Duolingo. So the terrible robot voice that Duo uses is my only way of hearing the language at the moment, but I’m doing that on purpose. Going to finish the tree and really have this language down, and then see how quickly I really pick up on it when I hear it spoken by actual people. It’s such a simple and logical language on almost every level that it’s amazing. The grammar is just so much more simple than any other language. The verb conjugations (or relative lack thereof), definite articles (which are suffixes), word order, negation (just “ikke”) just all make so much sense. The amazing Paul (Langfocus) did an awesome video about Norwegian and its relation to Swedish and Danish, with a lesser extent Faroese and Icelandic (both of which are far more complicated grammatically than the other three). In an ideal world, the Vikings and their successors would’ve pushed for Norwegian (or Swedish, but I like Norwegian and the culture of Norway just a bit more) to be the universal language of the world instead of English. Norwegian is an easier and better language than English, and it’s far more logical in ways (grammatically and pronounced) than English ever could be. It (as well as Swedish and Danish) also lacks the case system that comes along with German, which makes it much easier to learn than the main language of its family. Through Norwegian, you can almost fully understand Swedish. I haven’t done Swedish on Duolingo at all, but I can read Swedish text incredibly well, point out and translate words in IKEA, and breeze through Memrise and Tinycards decks, thanks to my understanding of Norwegian. I can understand written Danish to the same degree, but it’s a wildly different language when spoken. I haven’t studied Danish much, but I’m sure once you’re used to how they pronounce things (like Spanish/Portuguese differences), you’ll be in great shape. I can’t wait to hopefully visit Oslo this summer, as I still have not gotten to speak Norwegian in real life at all yet, but am confident I can do so….well, confidently. We will find out soon.

I am returning to Germany in a few weeks, and in preparation I’m of course going through my German resources again. Reguilding Duolingo, going through some advanced levels on Memrise, playing around on Babadum, and things like that. German is annoyingly difficult/tricky in so many ways (and after learning one of the North Germanic languages, it will frustrate you more once you’ve learned just how simple it all can be!!!), but I’m convinced the language runs through my blood and is almost second nature to me at this point, which I’m extremely grateful for. I can jump into conversations often, understand it when I hear it (even Swiss German!), and generally carry myself along. I just wish it wasn’t so difficult for new learners who aren’t picking it up in a classroom setting - it really is a difficult language to teach yourself, especially if you’ve never dealt with a three gender language AND one that has a case system, no less. Plus, “sie” can mean she/formal you/they, which I’m sure can certainly trip anyone up. That’s just a bit impractical, but luckily I have that advantage I guess.

I dabbled briefly in Welsh on Duolingo. A very fun and surprisingly simple language, I put it on hold temporarily due to my desire to focus on other languages. Nonetheless, I found it super interesting, though of course often difficult to pronounce. The “dd” sound in Welsh is maybe the most difficult thing I’ve ever attempted to pronounce, and I’m convinced only natives will ever master it. I want to see this language kept alive, so certainly give it a shot - the Duolingo course is wonderful and very well designed, and this YouTube video (linked within the course) will teach you how to pronounce the language very well.

My last three languages I’ll sort of talk about together. They are Russian, Hungarian, and Turkish. Three languages from different families (but I guess a similar part of the world), but damn are they a lot of fun to me. I’m actually glad I waited a week to write this post, as I attempted to look at Turkish again last night for the first time in ages and it suddenly made tons of sense to me - being an agglutinative language and all, just like Hungarian and to a lesser extent Russian. All three of these languages are pretty “out there” for an English speaker, and I’ll agree, some of the trickiest for an English speaker to learn, as they have a lot of rules. But honestly that’s a lot of the fun, once you get the rules down and can form sentences and work with the case system (all three languages feature a case system), you feel really accomplished speaking these beautiful languages. Russian always tends to amaze me, the amount of loanwords and similar vocabulary in Russian will really surprise you. Once you master the Cyrillic alphabet, I bet you could look at a Russian text and point out so many words that are similar to the Romance or Germanic languages. This makes for fun learning once you figure out the Slavic twist to put on each word. The lack of articles in Russian and verb “to be” is of course a massive advantage - once you dig into the language you realize just how much of a blessing this is. I’m really enjoying Russian, and while I still make plenty of grammar mistakes and still struggle to pronounce some things, I can’t wait to really get this language down and be able to speak it with confidence. While I won’t be able to speak Hungarian with sure confidence probably for a long time, it’s an extremely fun language to me. It has something like 15 cases - definitely an extreme amount, and not a language for the faint of heart, but if you’re really into this kind of thing you may want to look into it. The alphabet and pronunciation are quite simple once you get them down, and word order is very free thanks to the case system (similar to Russian!). Plus, the Hungarian people are great and amazed anyone attempts to learn their very hard language. I’m going to see for myself when I go to Budapest next month and attempt to drag some Hungarian out (they’re also attempting to learn English widespread, as tourism in Hungary amongst Europeans is climbing), and we’ll see if the rumors are true about how happy Hungarians are that we even let out a “szia” (hello/goodbye) or a “köszönöm” (thank you) in conversation. If you’re scared off by Russian’s foreign alphabet and Hungarian’s crazy amount of cases, then maybe Turkish is a good place to start if you’re interested in an agglutinative language that differs wildly from English and the languages similar (romance/germanic). Turkish follows a Subject+Object+Verb order which is kind of fun because you know the action is always at the end, and the vocabulary is very cool (and apparently features tons of Persian and Arabic loanwords). While I haven’t dove too deep into Turkish, by the time my next update rolls around, I believe I will have more to tell you, as I plan to get right back to Turkish on Duolingo once I’ve posted this. While neither Turkey (political situation) nor Russia (complicated visa issues) would be suitable to visit now, Azerbaijan would be a good place I think, as a large part of the population still speaks Russian, a lot speak English (thanks to all the expats), and their native language, Azerbaijani (or Azeri Turkish) is apparently very close to Turkish, so someone who knows Turkish well can quickly pick up on Azerbaijani. I wonder if the differences are as close as Norwegian to Swedish or more like Spanish to Italian. Maybe I’ll know by the time I write here next.

I also am attempting to learn the Greek alphabet because why not (the lowercase letters are throwing me off big time - why must they be different from the uppercase?!) and of course still looking at Italian, French, etc from time to time. I don’t have any decent observations on these developments.

Hopefully I’ll write to you all again soon. Follow me on Instagram or something if you’d like more frequent updates about my life.

#langblr #langblog #norwegian #russian #german #hungarian #magyar

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entergamingxp · 4 years

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World of Warcraft and Apex Legends • Eurogamer.net

Hello and welcome to the second of our Clash of Fans write-ups. This week we’ll be getting together in pairs (virtually) and forcing each other to play a beloved game. Then we’ll chat about what we made of it all. Next up is World of Warcraft and Apex Legends!

World of Warcraft

Emma: The idea with Clash of Fans is for everyone to play a game they haven’t tried before, but I must admit I have somewhat bent the rules on this one. I was actually introduced to World of Warcraft in a university games history seminar, of all things, as an example of an MMO with a declining player population – something which I’m sure horrified Oli when I told him.

Anyway, it’s been good to revisit the game on my own terms, and with more time. I used to be a big Star Wars: The Old Republic player a few years ago, so I’ve enjoyed having a look at where all those MMO mechanics came from.

I suppose we’d better start with character creation so you can judge my choices: I’m really sorry Oli, but I couldn’t bring myself to pick Horde. They seem like they’re trying very hard to be edgy. I also wanted to try out the Worgen race, who seem like they’re troubled but come out fighting for the “good” side, and therefore achieve a more balanced level of moodiness. I’m sure there’ll be something in the lore to disprove that point.

Even though the character creation is pretty limited compared to current-day titles, I do love how you end up getting so invested in your player-character, and almost put a part of yourself into them. I got inspired by the Worgen race to imagine my character as a sword-wielding, brooding she-wolf warrior – which is unusual for me, as I usually go for sneaky types. Now all I need is a proper cloak.

Fun fact: when I was about 14 and the Cataclysm expansion released, I used to draw fan art of those moody Worgen… even though I wasn’t allowed anywhere near World of Warcraft at the time. Maybe it was meant to be.

And here’s what inspired that fan art.

Oli: So, yes, I do feel very old right now, thanks. Even “games history” being a thing makes me feel old. But while WOW’s player population may have been declining then, and certainly still is, the game is still massive and has seen off every challenger in the interim, including The Old Republic. In your face, student Emma and her stupid stuffy games history professor.

Sorry. Nothing, maybe not even Nintendo, makes me come over more fanboy than this game. Is that a self-justification mechanism to defend the literal years of playtime I have sunk into this MMO? Probably, but that’s not just it. It’s telling, I think, that you felt so invested in your character and the Worgen race so early on – it must be something about the game’s art and simple but effective storytelling style that really hooks you in and encourages role-playing. In my head, my first character, a troll warrior, was a sort of clumsy eccentric who didn’t really want to be a warrior (because I didn’t – I was asked to roll one by my friends). You’re probably right about the Horde being the embarrassingly emo choice, but it is the choice I made 15 years ago and I live by it now. These people – orcs? zombies? cow-folk? – are my people. They’re my brothers and sisters. The sense of belonging is just so strong. Humans disgust me. Don’t even get me started on gnomes.

Every time Wes and I have a fun, nostalgic chat about WOW, there comes a point where I remember he played Alliance and I just feel very disappointed in him. It’s sad.

Anyway, how did you get on once you started playing? I remember the Worgen starting area being pretty action-packed and fun – a far cry from the pre-Cataclysm dustbowls where you had to kill boar for a million hours to get to level 10. (I should have made you play WOW Classic, shouldn’t I…)

Emma: I’m with you on the humans – the other choices are so much more imaginative, why on Earth would you pick something so bland?

My feelings on Gilneas are decidedly more mixed. The rainy setting and Victorian London vibes are fantastic, even if the whole lockdown situation is a little close to home right now. I love how deliciously chunky the art style is, the scale means you feel quite small next to everything, and I spent some time just wandering through houses to admire the interior design. There’s also something rather magical about how the areas transform once you’ve handed in a quest. That square you were once strolling through? Poof! It’s now a battlefield, and everything’s on fire.

On the flip side: good lord that’s a lot of fetch quests. I know this is like complaining a beach has too much sand, as MMOs are built on grind, but it’s made me realise SWTOR did a better job of disguising the fetch quests behind story beats – or at least providing big narrative pay-offs at the end. There weren’t really any characters I cared about in the starting area for WOW, so when the area flooded and it was supposed to be this big narrative moment, my reaction was “meh”. Although I did burst out laughing at the wild camera movement to convey the drama of the invading armada, it was just so charmingly clunky.

Images that precede unfortunate events.

Oli: Yeah, I can imagine that stuff is quite a lot more gauche than I remember it. At the time it was a big leap forward for storytelling in the game. A strange part of this game being such a big part of my life – and just so big – is that I really struggle to see it in the context of other games. I just see it in the context of itself. Recent expansions will make Gilneas look as old-fashioned as Gilneas made the game at launch look, but that doesn’t mean they actually feel modern.

And if you’re looking for characters to care about, you might be looking in the wrong place. The game has some lovely quest lines and the grand sweep of the story is quite exciting in places, but it doesn’t have a lot of room for characters.

As for fetch quests… I’ve played so much WOW I find the repetition soothing. I love the grind, I don’t need it to be disguised. It annoys me when I’m just walking backwards and forwards, but give me 10 monsters to kill in a metronomic fashion on the way and I’m happy. I am Pavlov’s gamer.

One thing I will say is that the starter area isn’t all that representative of what’s beyond it. Not that there’s less grind – there’s more, so much more. But the slightly awkward way the storytelling and quest mechanics sit next to each other gets smoothed away, and the delivery feels much more natural. The game becomes much more about exploring its vast maps, too, which is one of the things it’s best at.

Emma: I think the fetch quests would also be much more bearable if I was playing with someone else – soloing WOW isn’t exactly a natural way to play it, so I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt for that! It’s a shame I couldn’t get to the stage where I could try a raid party, as I always wanted to have my own Leeroy Jenkins moment.

We haven’t talked about the actual combat mechanics yet, although I think I only really tried the most basic moves of all, which were varieties of bonking people on the head with a mace. It does get to the point where you figure out an order for your moves, and it feels great when that clicks: charge in, lay down a few smacks, and then bring out the more powerful moves and a finisher. I can understand how this makes the grind feel far more satisfying, particularly as one of my moves worked from jumping quickly from one battle to the next, and I had to figure out that time window. It turns out MMOs are part rhythm game: this is my take for the day.

Oli: That is a good and correct take. And yes, although it’s very basic at the start of the game, you’ve started to get a sense of what makes the game so hypnotic, and so good. Above all WOW has brilliant RPG classes, with expertly designed skills that are really satisfying to use. So once you get into the groove with your rotation, and start to learn how to optimise it – and learn to use situational skills as well when things get a bit more complex – it’s super rewarding.

WOW’s dirty secret is that most people, most of the time, are playing it solo. The dungeons and raids are definitely the game at its best; large-scale raiding is seen as the pinnacle of the game, but I think it’s the five-player dungeons that are better dynamically. If you can hang on to level 15, you’ll get to try one. I think they’re some of the best co-op gaming ever, even if players tend to rush through them a bit these days. But yes, questing is mostly done solo and is tuned as such.

That said, the best times I’ve ever had in the game have been questing with one friend. There’s just so much to discover, such a varied and exciting world, and it’s great doing it in company. If I could persuade you to keep playing, I’d say this: try a dungeon, and get to a point where you can really start to explore the landmasses. The environment art is incredible in its simple, colourful way, there’s no loading, and the world just goes on for ever.

I’d love to know how dated it feels to you. I think Blizzard has done a great job keeping a 15-year-old game feeling slick and playable, but that’s got to have its limitations.

Bleiddast means she-wolf in Welsh, according to the Welsh-English Online Dictionary. (‘Character names are serious business’ – Emma.)

Emma: Alas, I must have stopped just before reaching the first dungeon – I think the quest which involved killing a bunch of spiders finally finished me off. I’d always thought of myself as being a bit of a weird loner when playing MMOs by myself, so it’s reassuring to hear most people aren’t playing as part of huge organised clans.

As for WOW feeling dated, it’s probably the cutscenes where the game suffers most, as the older graphics and animation are more noticeable there. At one point you get bitten mid-quest and your character just flies across the room, which was both confusing and hilarious. The voice acting also gave me a chuckle, as it sounds so theatrical: particularly when the human version of a Worgen politely tells you you’re out of range, and the werewolf version sounds like a chain smoker. I also heard that particular line way too much.

Despite all this, the art style is strong enough to stand the test of time, and the core gameplay loop still feels solid – so that’s the most important thing for me. One of my university friends has offered to take me under her wing and teach me the ways of WOW, so I may be returning to it sooner than I thought. Time to try out one of those dungeons.

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Apex Legends

Oli: I’m scared. What’s happening? It says ‘Season 5’ everywhere. It boots up with a trailer of a lady fighting some robots while having apparently Significant Flashbacks, but the game itself shows no evidence of having any kind of story. The UI is a confusing mess and keeps shouting at me about Twitch Prime. My character’s lobby idle animation is all jerky. My PS4 Pro sounds like it’s going to die in the next five minutes.

I don’t do battle royale – I played Fortnite, like, once. In fact, I don’t really do multiplayer shooters in any form. I have bad aim and I get performance anxiety. I don’t find them relaxing or fun, I find them stressful. Apex Legends isn’t really helping me get over this.

I get why the game has been set up like this – it’s all about reducing the number of button presses between the player and a match. But it makes for a bewildering first impression. The tutorial covers the controls but otherwise isn’t very helpful, and I have to root around to get basic information such as what each character’s abilities are. It doesn’t feel welcoming at all. Also, while the characters look cool, I find the game’s art style in general very hard to read. I’m squinting at pickups to figure out what they are, and one part of the map looks much like all the others to me.

I’m sure it’ll click soon, but as someone who usually plays very different kinds of games, it’s remarkable to me how unwelcoming this is to a first-time player.

Following your advice, Emma, I picked Gibraltar, the tanky one, for my first match. I was matchmade with a Bloodhound but for some reason the third member of our trio never joined. I just followed Bloodhound around like a total liability, getting shot, staring blankly at pickups for ages and not knowing what my abilities were for. I felt bad for my partner. We managed 6th, though!

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Emma: I can’t imagine how confusing it must be to drop into Apex Legends’ lore right now. Because it’s a battle royale and nothing is permanent, Respawn mainly develops the story through trailers and tidbits on the website, all of which means it’s harder for new players to catch up. I’d recommend a trip to a wiki if you want to read up on the latest Loba/Revenant drama (it’s pretty good), but you can absolutely survive without. Although you should absolutely watch the video where Forge gets… introduced.

Apex has definitely caught a lot of flak for not being particularly beginner-friendly, in part because it’s just so fast and the encounters are super intense – although I believe Respawn introduced skill-based matchmaking to try to help new players. I’m hoping the in-match UI will click soon, too, as I think it takes a few games for your brain to figure out, and then things suddenly seem rather simple. Although it may take you far longer to figure out how to use the abilities tactically. I think I’m still figuring it out for some characters.

Saying that, please do keep trying new legends, as there’s a playstyle for everyone. My personal favourite is Pathfinder, as flinging yourself through the air and bursting into battles via zip-line is just so much fun. I love that chaotic energy.

Although you’ve been having issues with the UI, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the ping system: it’s adaptive and means you can communicate without the need for voice chat, which is such a life saver (particularly for women – no more toxic conversations, hurray). How have you found it?

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Oli: Ping is absolutely brilliant. It’s a masterstroke. I’m not using it with confidence myself yet, but having teammates use it to point out pickups and enemies, or just set waypoints, is awesome. I don’t love voice chat at the best of times, but I often can’t use it at home, so I love that Respawn has found a way to make that level of teamplay available without voice. That’s a big plus for accessibility.

I’m feeling much better after my second match, mostly because WE WON. This is now the best game ever.

I still wasn’t any good, especially at the shooting – we were totally carried, by a Bloodhound again – but I used my abilities at sensible times, got a couple of kills and a revive, and it felt good, man. Partly we were just lucky and didn’t really encounter anyone for a long midsection of the match. I haven’t got used to the pacing of battle royales, yet – often, you’re not really doing much, and yet this is helping you win as the other teams wipe each other out. It feels weird.

The game handles beautifully – no surprise from Respawn. I love the mantling and the slides and the guns feel great to fire. And yes, encounters are fast, but you’ve got the bleeding out mechanic to give you a bit of a chance to rally as a team, which is a nice touch.

I have mixed feelings about it being teams only. To begin with this stressed me out, as I prefer to learn a game without the pressure of strangers depending on me. But actually, it makes it much easier and more accessible if you can spread the load a bit, doesn’t it? And it adds a nice sense of camaraderie to what would be a pretty alienating experience otherwise.

Emma: The sliding is so good! I love it so much, in fact, that I’ve inadvertently started sliding around in other shooters – my squad mates noticed me doing this around corners in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare a couple of times. Apex seems to be one of the few battle royales where there’s no fall damage, which may seem like a small thing, but it means you don’t have pointless (and annoying) deaths from accidentally falling off things. It’s much more exciting to be shot by someone, right?

Funnily enough, Respawn actually tried a solo mode for Apex as a limited-time event a while back, and for me (and Respawn) it really didn’t work. Without teammates you lose the communication of the ping system, which as you mention, somehow wordlessly forms bonds between you and your squad before the fighting has even begun. You also end up dying quickly in situations where you can’t even react, which is particularly annoying in a battle royale where you have to re-queue rather than just respawn. No second chances.

Having a team means you have the added drama of revives, and also respawns – a system which Apex was first to introduce among the big battle royale games, with Fortnite and Warzone later doing their own versions. I don’t know if this has happened to you yet, but on occasion you can find yourself collecting the respawn banners of your two dead squadmates and sprinting to the nearest respawn beacon. It becomes a tense game of parkour and stealth at that point, and adds another layer to the storytelling in each match. It just makes it so much more memorable.

And congratulations on your win – now you’ll always be chasing the next one. Particularly as Apex puts your name in flashing lights around the arena.

Do you come here often? Yes, unfortunately.

Oli: I noticed about fall damage and breathed a sigh of relief, yeah! I haven’t clicked with the map for this game – it doesn’t feel like a place I’m excited to be – but they have made getting around it feel liberating and fun with the ziplines and stuff, and I appreciate that.

I have been respawned but I haven’t done it for anyone else yet. I don’t think I could take the responsibility.

After feeling like I had got somewhere with Gibraltar, I tried Wraith. Having an alarm when you’re targeted is a really clever idea for a passive skill – I am digging the skill design in this game. If anything is going to get me to come back, it will be experimenting with all the different legends. I didn’t get on so well with Wraith though, and had a couple of strange matches where nothing happened for ages and then our squad got wiped out in a flash. It feels really frustrating. It also feels like it’s going to take me an age to get any good at combat, because it actually forms only a tiny proportion of the time you spend playing a match.

This probably appeals to me the most of the battle royale games – it’s got that slick Respawn feel and the kind of refined design I like, with strong characters with interesting abilities. I also feel like I understand the appeal of battle royale much better after my win! But I don’t know if I could dedicate serious time to these games. They’re too much of an emotional rollercoaster for me. Too much stress. Now I need to go and soothe my cares away with a spot of repetitive grind in World of Warcraft…

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/05/world-of-warcraft-and-apex-legends-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=world-of-warcraft-and-apex-legends-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

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