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arvidsgarden · 1 year

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FM-20⅔0

Sequence

February 8, 2030

Jurr Eh had been having the dreams with disturbing regularity, since the blue barricades went up—seemingly at random, but in what she ultimately recognized, pondering her thrifted, often open-to-a-random-page math book, as the Fibonacci sequence. From that moment, she began following furtive alleyways that still existed behind the wholesale earth movers and already built half-empty blocks. Avoiding the barriers and their manifold ways of sensing.

The routes did not always work—the first dozen tries, she found herself at a checkpoint, caught in the telltale clicks and whirrs of stationary cameras and drones zoning-in on target. That was fine—she was just a student on her way home.

Understand the maze, understand the sequence. Fibonacci, laid over…? She poured over patterns related to living in the city. It didn’t mean anything. She let her hair down, she danced on her bed for five minutes. Ten minutes, a half hour. Nothing gelled. She graduated when she understood that sometimes it was better to run through a deserted marketplace, an unfinished development, than to hit observed angles—routes were about ways and means, not obvious connections.

Sometimes that meant an awkward traverse over a patio, through a garden, across an empty basketball court—at the latter, she allowed herself a fake dribble and a fake shot, in salute of… what… normality? Sometimes the sequence was reduced to a narrow sliver—the direct way lost. But always it widened out again to a point where there was an accessible path, alleyway, or street. When on a route, “piped in,” as she started calling it, she never stopped moving and she was never stopped.

It struck Jurr Eh why the pattern—a three-dimensional concept laid out in her two-dimensional math book under the heading “Fibonacci”— seemed so familiar. The same evolving sequence was built into “Synth Light Stallion.” The 64-minute live scratch/ augmented deck by Arivdercci22 was one she’d listened to in pulsar mode for a year straight, during badminton games and at gold seal events. Like a conductor’s baton moves when articulated by sound, she moved to a beat she knew in her bones. In melodic turns her sinews responded with mood, intuition.

It was intuition that took her to the edge of a precipice that those around her seemed unaware of. The official closing-off of buildings, of neighborhoods, the device gone dark in the name of protocol. Maybe they were distracted by group-think, the steady drumbeat of feed-fed dread, stories of enemies threatening coral-hewn bases far out in the South Pacific.

That no one called the authorities from buildings she passed was a warning sign, as much as a comfort. How unpopulated the routes, the ones that took her close to the edge of officially closed-off city. Everything the same, everything changed—though she never attempted to enter one of the strangely silent buildings, she felt emanations.

#this is the kind of sci-fi fantasy I write.#maybe last edited a year ago.#started when the pandemic hit in 2020.#FM-20⅔0 = February to March 2020 - February to March 2030 #Its like two timelines #interspersed #I've got like 15 more sections of this #I think its publishable high lit #AI could not figure out the ending #cause it's still murky to me #but it probably could write a darn good novel from this beginning

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pixelart203 · 7 days

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I keep seeing this one youtube video on my feed that is essentially "the Dream SMP was a good idea but executed poorly" and I just get very upset every time I see it because it's not inherently against the DSMP, but I just dont think people understand that it was never supposed to be what it ended up being.

It was literally a server for Dteam + friends to hang out on and mess around together without the constraints that youtube videos create. It then started to grow and more people were added and from there the lore started.

It wasn't some master plan that Dream made to blow up his popularity, it was a way to pass the time during the pandemic, and it just so happened that people were interested in crafting a story.

When the lore started to drop off a bit was when we were leaving the worst of the pandemic, people were able to go out and work on things away from minecraft.

ALSO the fans of the main lore were very vocal in how they wanted it to go, which created a struggle for the creators, as they didn't want to go that way but they also didn't want to upset their fans.

Creators struggled to work together to write lore, creators were really sick and really depressed and didn't prioritise the lore, which upset fans and created a rift between fandoms.

I don't think people really understand that, as the DSMP didn't become super popular until the lore started so they believe it was a lore server from the beginning. It was just a server for people to hang out on and make the pandemic a little less lonely, which helped so many people no matter how all over the place it got.

#pixelrambles #dsmp

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firstfullmoon · 3 months

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SOLMAZ SHARIF: I was recently reminded of a story of a political prisoner—I don’t know if I want to share this. . . This political prisoner, who had been convicted and was facing the death penalty, was in a large cell with about twenty other political prisoners. Periodically, the guards would come and call one of their names and take that person out to be executed. When this political prisoner’s name was called, the prisoner stood up and started singing “The Internationale.” The whole cell sang along, and that was their farewell. But when the prisoner went into the hallway, the guards told them that they weren’t going to the gallows. They were being transferred to a different prison. The guards took them to the latrine, and while the prisoner was in there, they realized they wouldn’t have wanted “The Internationale” to be their last song, and started reciting a poem by, I believe, Hafez from memory.

For me, the why of poetry has become the reason revolution must happen to begin with. It’s no longer the conditions that make revolution inevitable, but what’s waiting for us on the other side of it. That required me to be more vulnerable—removing the conceptual frame was an act of that allowed vulnerability. . .

ALINA STEFANESCU: That reminds me of how my parents made me memorize poetry. They said: If you find yourself in prison, if you lose your home, family, livelihood, everything, the poems you remember will keep you whole. At the end of the day, alone in a cell, no one can steal the stanzas you remembered. The recitation itself is a radical act of refusal. Maybe poems sustain the hope and selfhood that carceral systems aim to extinguish.

SOLMAZ SHARIF: I love that. I was reminded of poetry’s capacities at the beginning of the pandemic. When lockdown started, some of my artist friends who work in other mediums suddenly couldn’t do any work. I remembered, for readers a poem is something you can carry with you anywhere, and for poets, writing a poem is an action that you can undertake anywhere. You don’t need physical materials. I hadn’t decided to turn my attention toward those qualities, however; I was forced to. My idea of poetry is tied inextricably to my early understanding of carcerality and war—both of which evaporate all that seems solid. And poetry seems especially able to survive these things. I bristle at the word hope, but the poem’s scrappy thereness is enough for me. In an interview late in his life, Mahmoud Darwish says, “poetry changes only the poet.” Some people understand that statement as pessimistic or cynical or jaded. Or maybe see it in line with Auden’s choppily quoted “poetry makes nothing happen”—a quote betrayed in the two words that follow: “it survives.” Auden is often quoted to fall neatly into that neoliberal ethical bypass of so much American literature. But I see the Darwish quote as honoring that even when a poem can’t be anything else, that it will be enough. I’m surprised by this turn in my own work, but the lived practice of poetry in my life made it inevitable.

— Solmaz Sharif and Alina Stefanescu, in conversation for BOMB Magazine

#maybe poems sustain the hope and selfhood that carceral systems aim to extinguish !#w #interview #solmaz sharif #all beautiful poetry is an act of resistance

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pearlfeline · 9 months

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sore loser

pairing: draco malfoy x reader

word count: 1,450

summary: reader gets jealous and draco falls harder during a practice duel. reader can be interpreted as any house but uses she pronouns.

a/n: i haven't written in years like before the pandemic. i deleted my old blog and had no inspiration until months ago lol i started this blog just to read but i started writing this a while back and i finished it last night. not proofread. if the beginning is horrid i apologize i didn't want to delete it and start over because i know i'll never start up again. enjoy the little fluff i threw together.

Dueling was an essential part of the Hogwarts curriculum. Every other week, there was a practice session down in the dungeons. Mats laid out on the floor and splayed on the walls. You hated it. Especially when it was in teams. Seriously, in what circumstances did students need to fight in pairs?

You weren’t known for your dueling skills and when your duels prolonged the average amount of time, you panicked and tapped out immediately.

Today was especially nerve wracking. Dueling in pairs, against Draco, and he’s partnered with the obnoxious girl who has it out for you.

She was clearly eating this up.

Draco was not. He did not like how obvious her intentions were. The shoving him every time she laughed, the raised pitch in her voice only when speaking to him, the way she says his name differently, all of it made him grimace internally. She was like a fly in his ear. Insufferable.

“An easy win.” She looks you up and down, smirking.

She looks over to Draco, attempting to exchange eye contact, but he was looking at you, with anguish. He didn’t hold his gaze for long as he adjusted his sleeves before getting in position.

Neville was your duel partner today. You could tell by his face he was utterly terrified. You kind of felt bad for befriending Draco, seeing what he did to the students around you and how he talked about them. But the side of him you’re not sure anyone else got to see, they don’t know about, the one you stumbled on accidentally while trying to use the washrooms and ended up staying on the cold floor for an hour after curfew just listening.

“Remember what we learned Neville.” You nod at him curtly. He sends you a look of appreciation under his worried gaze. Where would you two be without the extra training?

During the duel, you mostly try taking your anger out on the girl who targets you constantly for no reason. You didn’t even remember her stupid name. There are lots of girls like her. She was just the one who decided to be bold for the semester. Defending yourself makes you a target around the school for certain, but you didn't care enough to stop.

Dueling admittedly can be therapeutic when you have the right attitude. She was knocked down on the mat, clearly taken aback. You had shot spell after spell at her, almost to see how quickly you were able to possibly and properly get spells out of your wand.

Draco had to assist his dueling partner by default, but it made you unexpectedly feel sick seeing him trying to heal her.

“…Get up.” He holds her up by her arm. His gaze is anywhere else but around you.

You were searching for answers inside his eyes, growing more irritated the further he avoided you.

Neville gets his shot at revenge as well, continuously shooting at Draco while he tries to assist his dueling partner.

It was one of those matches that were long and painful. Both sides were equally as good, even if you hated to admit it.

It wasn't long until you’ve seen enough.

“Confringo!” You counter with a spell that bounced off the two of them back and forth until they’re both on the ground.

When the smoke cleared, your eyes flickered to the other end of the platform. Draco didn’t even look upset that he lost. Just surprised you would even use such a spell.

“I was getting sort of tired of using expelliarmus so frequently…” Neville blinked a few times, finally drawing his wand down.

“Freak!” The girl lays for a little too long expecting Draco to pick her up from the floor. He doesn’t.

“Is that even allowed?” She haggardly gets up on her own, dusting off her robes.

“It is.” Draco mutters before sauntering back to the group of students.

It was honestly one of the first duels you had won in a while, there was a newfound confidence in your stride.

It was free period. You decided to take the scenic route. To just relax outside,

“Came out to frolic in the grass did you?” Draco’s hair was completely restyled back to normal, despite the duel having just ended. He replaced his tethered robes with fresh ones and had enough time to wipe his complexion clean.

There was a playful smile on his face, one he didn’t show to most.

“After you lost, shouldn’t I be saying all these snobbish remarks now?” You look up at the sky to avoid his glance. Because if you did, you knew your smile would grow bigger than you would’ve liked.

He scoffs, setting his bag down on the ground.

“Don’t get all excited about this now,”

You watched as he sat down to reach your eye level.

“next time I won’t let you win.” Draco confidently sighed.

“Your pride would never let you purposefully lose.” You remark.

“Maybe it would for certain people.” He argues.

If this is what you thought it was, what an awful attempt at flirting.

“Either way, I won fair Malfoy.” You brush off his last statement.

Draco liked how you said his name. It sounded so familiar and genuine. It wasn't used in a hostile way.

It was hard to hide his growing smile.

“Why are you smiling…” You turn away.

“Is it so fun being a loser?” You say, back completely turned around to face him.

“I only lost because you flung me and that girl across the room!”

“She’s stupid! Of course I’m going to fling her away! You’re stupid too! Stop picking on people.”

Draco looks down while grinning at his feet.

“I’ll try.”

“Don’t just say it. Really do it.” You kick a rock in his direction.

“I get enough criticism for talking to you. Even though it’s all from you not being able to just leave me be.”

“Obviously you don’t care for what others are saying about me.” Draco shuffles the rock in between his feet, passing it back to you.

“Because I’ve seen otherwise to disprove the rumors.” You remarked.

“Before I start telling people you’re actually nice, you should start giving people a reason to believe me!” You toss the rock, watching it bounce off Draco's shoulder.

"Ow! You're the violent one!"

“I’m not going around claiming something that nobody will believe me for. I will not make a fool of myself Malfoy, not in that way. I'm already being prejudiced around here, no thanks to you.”

Draco was not known for his emotional intelligence. In fact, he might be the least comforting person you had ever talked to, but he had a feeling in between the insults, you were telling him how he really was capable of being a good person.

Draco let out a little smile, trying his best not to laugh at you.

Which was difficult because he had a habit of laughing at whatever or whoever he wanted to laugh at.

"This school is tolerable with you around." He said while swallowing whatever dry chuckles were left in his system.

"I'm only around because you follow me everywhere."

Draco slumped over, pushing his weight on your bag. Were his advances, seen as bullying? Of course it was. He was rude to everyone. How were you supposed to figure out he didn't mean it as much when it came to you? He didn't even really know he liked you not that long ago. Though, ever since that epiphany, he can't get you out of his head. There's the urge for more. To see you more. Sneak in more of you throughout the day.

"Keep bothering her, it makes you happier than when you bother others."

"I can't wait to see how she reacts to what I say next."

"I need her to see my new quidditch uniform."

All were stupid thoughts, yes, but they all worked. You were never mean enough to be hostile towards him, and honestly seeing him slip up and forget to keep his tough exterior up every once in a while was rewarding. You would never say it out loud but it made you feel special.

Draco lazily picks off blades of grass peaking through the cords attached to your bag. He had finally run out of things to say to bother you.

"...You aren't going to defend yourself?"

He glances up at you for a moment before shaking his head.

He thought, one day he'll be able to just confess and maybe pull you into a swift kiss right after. Of course, you'll say yes and kiss back and all of that stuff. He'll worry about it later.

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princessbrunette · 2 months

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OUTERBANKS: THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE AU — THE LORE ♡

₊˚⊹ ᰔ

CW: depressing tones, violence, death, blood, gore.

AN: okay, so i don’t really know what this is — but i wanted to open this up as an au i could write drabbles for with reader x character and i decided to write some extensive lore behind the universe i’m creating. i’ve always loved zombie media so i wanted to combine my fav things n create this little au for you guys. this isn’t really a fic but more so an opener to inspire drabble requests n ideas in my inbox, kind of like an experimentation. okay, hope you enjoy !! ౨ৎ

“We got gate one locked down, I repeat Pope— we got gate one locked down. Proceed with opening gate two. Over.”

“Got it, thanks JJ. Over.”

The squealing of mechanics shakes the dusty ground as the old gates begin to slowly slide, squealing as they open up revealing the long forest road up ahead. John B readies himself for a simple supply stake out, headed out alone to check out an old warehouse one of the runners had scoped out a week prior. As he exits the gates, he looks right and then looks left — stepping on the squishy skull of a previously dealt with Infected, its body lulling out from the old rickety grafitti’d sign reading Kitty Hawk.

The world went to shit back in 2020. Some sort of pandemic that had people biting others, their brains overpowered by aggression and hunger for flesh. One day everyone was cleaning up the beaches after Storm Agatha, the next day people were tearing into flesh right infront of your very eyes. At first, the people of the Outerbanks had moved out onto their boats, living out on the water with the occasional supply run. It worked for a while, the infected couldn’t swim so as long as your boat was afloat — you were safe from their bloody unforgiving jaws. However, supplies started to run out pretty fast, and people began to turn on eachother. Hopping boats and pirating until no one was left standing and the water was tainted with blood— the infected gathered on the shore to feast on the bodies slowly being washed up by the tide.

The pogues had found you by week six, your body curled on the pier by the Chateau crying into your hands having lost everyone you’d ever known. You were sure to soon perish— no supplies, no weapons, no food. Life had become bleak, hopeless — until for the first time in your life you’d felt the cold barrel of a pistol pressed to the back of your head.

“Who are you and why are you out here?” Kiara barks, a khaki green bandana tied to cover her nose and mouth.

“I’m— i’m just looking for shelter. I don’t have any weapons on me I swear I’m safe, please just —”

“Are you bit?”

“No!”

“Turn around.”

When you slowly turn, you’re met with two female faces, one more familiar than the other. Besides Kiara stands Sarah Cameron— a girl you went to school with. She looks more unsure than Carerra, hand resting on the pocket knife wedging out of the waistband to her denim shorts.

“I don’t think she’s bit Kie… hey, I think I know this girl.”

It was Sarah who had convinced Kiara to bring you back to the Chateau and let you stay. It was also Sarah who got you accustomed, explaining the role everyone played. She was a negotiator, her social ranking in the old world aiding her in communicating with people outside of the barricades they’d made. Kie was in charge of supplies, stock take and recruiting. She decided who was in and who was out. Pope was the brains, did all the mathematical equations to help the group understand their circumstances and chances of survival better. JJ, a fighter — most skilled in dealing with firearms and building bombs, which came in pretty handy when clearing out what was left of Kitty Hawk. John B was their leader, he often came up with the main strategies and stuck his neck out on the line.

Everyone was their own cog in the well oiled machine they’d built to aid them in surviving an apocalypse. It was uncertain what you could bring to the group until you’d mentioned that you’d been studying to be a nurse.

“S’good thing you come in useful ‘cus I was totally gonna suggest we use you as bait. Y’know, cos of the whole doe eyed damsel in distress thing you got goin’ on.” JJ jests with a smirk, and you don’t miss the way his eyes linger on you to make sure you knew he was only kidding around.

You became a lot more useful for patching people up once you’d cleared out Kitty Hawk. The pogues and yourself had began to collect a larger group of survivors, creating a small town to live in what once was the behavioural-correctional camp. You’d collected gardeners, seamstresses, doctors — people of all ages looking for shelter and safety to live in the many dormitories the land had to offer. You had the evening shifts, patching up any runners that had return from their time outside of the gates with injuries.

You remember the day Sarah got bit so clearly.

The Twinkie had come barrelling through the gates so fast, the townspeople that protected the entrances barely getting them open in time before the vehicle was speeding in— Kiara and John B ushering the blonde out the doors yelling out for you urgently with devastation in their voices, begging you to amputate the arm she’d been bitten on.

The pogues had gone for what was promised to be a civil meeting with Ward and Rafe Cameron. The two had taken over what was left of Kildare, creating a strong colony in a gated community that Ward had just come into possession of right before the outbreak. They were feared, respected — and they wanted Sarah to return to them.

Of course, the meeting was a set up— and when Sarah had refused to go with them — they opened fire, attracting rogue infected to swarm in on the group. In the chaos, Sarah was bitten — and JJ in a fit of rage had shot Ward Cameron straight through the skull infront of his only son. This started an all out war.

You recall arriving to Sarah, and your heart sinking. It was definitely too late, her eyes blood shot and skin uncharacteristically pale. She was whispering “Its okay.” Over and over. You wasn’t sure if she was convincing you or herself.

Kiara took her out to the forest to put her out of her misery before she got the chance to turn into one of the brainless monsters that had existed outside the gates. She was stronger than you could ever be, holding back her tears as she aims the barrel to the blondes head. You weren’t there, but you heard the gunshot as you were patching up JJ who was skimmed by a bullet. You slept by his side that night without uttering a word about it.

Everyone got a little more serious from that point on. You often stared at the heart with her initials she’d carved into her old bunkbed that now sits empty in her dorm, her things laid out like she was still coming back to collect them one day. John B got a little more stern as a leader, over protective of you as he made it clear he didn’t believe you’d be able to protect yourself out there — banning you from leaving the gates. JJ became a more ferocious fighter, busying himself with target practice out in the forest shooting bullseyes each day to ensure he could quickly take down whoever he needed to. Pope got more reserved, more moody — hanging out by himself infront of maps or in the radio room with Kie trying to find new survivors. Occasionally, just occasionally — the bunch of you would get together and drink round a camp fire. Things would feel normal again, just for one night — the group laughing and telling stories the same way they might have done before the outbreak.

You wondered how long this could last, if there was ever an end to any of this. You also wondered if there was a reason to it all happening, if you were being punished for the way you’d behaved as human beings. Mostly though, on a day to day basis— you wondered when Rafe Cameron would return for his revenge. It was only a matter of time.

#jj maybank prompt #john b prompt #rafe cameron prompt #pope heyward prompt #apocalypse!au

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wilbursoot-updates · 1 year

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Lovejoy is in this article!

Wake Up! Lovejoy are already a phenomenon

Squashed into a tour bus somewhere in Berlin are the biggest band that – unless you’re as chronically online as us, Dear Reader – you’ve maybe never heard of. With sold-out tours across the UK, Europe and North America, millions of monthly Spotify listeners and a spot in the UK Top 40 with their latest single ‘Call Me What You Like’, Lovejoy could be mistaken for veterans.

Far from it. Their first proper bit of press is, well, this very cover interview. They’re gearing up to release only their third (or maybe fourth, depending how you count their just dropped ‘From Studio 4’ collection, released under the name Anvil Cat) EP, ‘Wake Up & It’s Over’, and those sold-out tours? The first shows they’ve ever played. It’s rare this amount of hype surrounds a guitar band these days, so who the fuck are Lovejoy?

Formed during the early 2021 UK lockdown, Lovejoy consists of Will Gold as the frontman, Joe Goldsmith on lead guitar, Ash Kabosu on bass, and Mark Boardman on drums. Seemingly brought together by sheer luck, their epic ascent is the result of a lifetime of individual hard work and some serious fan devotion over the past couple of years.

It’s taken a while to pin the band down, and we catch them just after their first full UK tour as they embark on the European leg. It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind.

“I think it was our 32nd show yesterday, which is just nuts,” says Ash, who introduces himself as the one who doesn’t talk and proceeds to lead the interview. “Literally every show we’ve played, we’ve been like, ‘That was the best one!’ Then the next one, ‘Oh, that was the best one!’”

“I’ve especially been enjoying acclimating myself to not knowing where I’m going to be falling asleep every night,” says Will, “which is a very hard thing to get around. But it’s a lot of fun. I’m really enjoying it. And I love seeing everyone’s faces because we’ve been somewhat of a lockdown band. To now be able to put faces to the numbers is great; it’s lovely to see and speak to them.”

Describing their very first live shows at the end of 2022 as “teething”, Lovejoy admit they’re still getting to grips with it all. Although the size of their fanbase means they could’ve easily sold out bigger venues than the humble Electric Brixton they headed up on this tour, they didn’t want to skip steps for a good reason.

“Rock music has always been what me and Joe were the most interested in” -Will Gold

“We didn’t want to be bad,” says Ash, frankly. “It’s a completely different ballpark to just, you know, playing guitar in your bedroom, and there are so many moving parts and so many things you don’t think about that you need to learn and understand. We didn’t want to deliver a show to the fans that wasn’t good enough, so we’ve been deliberately ramping it up step by step and going through the process as naturally as possible.”

“It’s so much more personable and fun to make mistakes in front of a crowd of a couple hundred people who are along with you for the ride than when you start to get into the larger crowds,” adds Will. “Making a mistake, at least for me, really gets to me, but if I’m in a room with less people, and they’re there for the story, I feel more ready to make mistakes.”

Will and Joe cut their teeth playing with a folk punk band a few years prior to Lovejoy forming. After what Will describes as a “very dramatic first gig”, they went their separate ways, but his lust for live never went away. Finding one another at the beginning of the pandemic, Joe came to visit Will before the lockdowns kicked in and decided to sleep on the sofa rather than risking taking public transport back and forth to London.

“We wrote our entire first EP in my basement and very quickly decided we’re going to need a drummer and a bassist because all the stuff we were writing was band stuff,” Will explains. “It wasn’t our normal folk stuff that we were used to – and rock music has always been what me and Joe were the most interested in; even when we were in that folk band, we used to implore the lead singer if we could write some indie music please, and he would always be like, nah, not really into Arctic Monkeys actually.”

So they set out to find both a bassist and a drummer. Fate did its thing, and upon walking into a Smashburger in Brighton, Will met Ash, bass guitar in tow, and asked him if he’d like to be in a band.

“Ash is not one to say no to many exciting adventures,” says Will, “so he said yeah, and I gave him my address. Joe was very sceptical at first when I said I found a bassist in a burger shop.”

“I think for me personally,” adds Ash, “I’m living in Brighton – which is kind of a young, creative place – you often have conversations in pubs and places where people are like, we should do this, we should do that, and I genuinely thought that this was just another one of those conversations. Like, ‘Hey, I’m in a band, do you want to play?’ I never thought in my wildest dreams anything would even come of it. I didn’t even think we’d practice, let alone be playing shows in front of thousands of people.”

As for Mark, he was booked for the day via the freelancer hiring website Fiverr. When they couldn’t pay him the fee he was owed, they instead offered him a spot in the band.

“I said, look, you’re sick at this, do you want to just join the band?” Will explains. “Mark thought about it for a good five seconds and then said yes.”

“I was really determined, playing acoustic guitar and learning stuff from YouTube and Arctic Monkeys songbooks” -Joe Goldsmith

Echoing Ash’s sentiments, Mark recalls, “I thought it would be another band that I’d join that wouldn’t even release on Spotify. Now we’ve sold out tours in the UK, Europe, America….”

Life before Lovejoy was very different for most of the boys. Mark was at university studying editing, hoping to work in visual effects, letting drumming take the back seat. “It would have been a grind for like 40 years to get a good paying job, and Will came along and saved me. So I’m very grateful for that,” he says.

Ash was working in broadcasting as a producer for TV, a job he’d gotten into after studying film production at uni, and had taught himself animation as another means of income. “Unlike Mark, I actually enjoyed it,” he adds.

As for Joe, he was working as a tree surgeon, which is a flashier-sounding name than what the job actually entailed. “I was literally just cleaning up branches on the floor,” he says. “I wasn’t even allowed to go up the trees.”

Will isn’t such a stranger to the spotlight, as he edited for the YouTube channel SootHouse in the late 2010s, later creating his own channel as Wilbur Soot and amassing a sizeable following on the streaming platform Twitch (although the other boys say they had no idea about his following when they joined the band, Ash noting, “I just thought he was quite a tall, handsome man, we’re just here because we fancy Will”).

With the band assembled, they started recording together in Will’s bedroom. In early 2021, the UK was still firmly in lockdown, so with all studios closed, it was their only choice. When they finally made it to a studio, the group had two days to record five songs, the ones that would make up their first EP, 2021’s ‘Are You Alright?’.

“We didn’t get enough done,” says Will, “which is why the first EP actually has scratch vocals. We just used my draft vocals that are then doubled up and thickened out. And also because it would have been far too expensive to just keep going back.”

“Which is why, little easter egg,” adds Ash, “some of the lyrics are wrong. We don’t sing those anymore, so the fans get very confused when we perform some of the earlier songs.”

The whole journey has been a learning curve for all four members. With none of them coming from a proper musical background, there was no one to guide them in the process. “We kind of had to jump headfirst in and see what we can do off the back of it,” says Will.

That isn’t to say they haven’t put the work in, though. With each of the boys picking up their instruments in their childhood or teenage years, it feels like they’ve been setting up their own individual dominoes, hitting the ground running when they were knocked down in perfect formation.

“There’s a photo of me when I was a baby,” Mark begins, explaining where he got his start in music. “I couldn’t even walk, and I’m on my auntie’s lap, who originally taught me drums. I’ve been wanting to play since I could speak, basically, but we could never afford a kit. And then I got to about eight years old, my parents finally got me an electric drum kit, and my auntie started teaching me. I caught up with her quickly, which was crazy. I always wanted to be in a band, but I was thinking more realistically, it’s the same odds as becoming a famous football player or something like that. Then along came these boys, and it all changed.”

“I was really determined from when I was about 13, 14?” Joe recalls, “Playing acoustic guitar and just learning stuff from YouTube and Arctic Monkeys songbooks, working out tabs and things like that. I was pretty dead set on at least giving it a shot to try.”

Ash’s start was similar, learning to play guitar with his dad. “When I was very young, my dad found an old Spanish guitar in the attic of our family home that wasn’t ours,” he tells us. “I’ve kind of always played guitar, and I’ve always been interested in music; my dad is in a band as well, bless him, doing dad rock. It’s always been a part of me, but I never ever thought I’d do anything with it.”

“Not for me,” Will jumps in. “The minute I first started learning guitar, I was like, this is what I want. When I was a teenager, I used to follow around bands and go to all their shows, and I knew from that moment I want this as my creative outlet. This is where I want to put my creative energy. I literally remember I shut myself in my room and practised guitar for like ten hours a day in the beginning. I missed two summers doing that. To finally be in this position I’m in now, thanks to all the wonderful support we’ve gotten from people, a lot of them have come across from the YouTube space, is just absolutely humbling. I’m trying to give it back in any way I can.”

“I like to make rumours amongst the fan base; we’ve made up a bunch of nonsense” -Ash Kabosu

It’s fair to say Lovejoy have been pulled substantially further up the ladder by a deeply devoted fan base, but that’s part of what makes their trajectory so exciting. There hasn’t been a new guitar band that’s had venues bursting at the seams like this for a long time. Just two self-released (on their own label Anvil Cat via AWAL) EPs, debut ‘Are You Alright?’ and follow-up ‘Pebble Brain’ garnered enough love to have fans queuing around the block for hours on end when the live shows finally came. It’s reminiscent of what 5SOS were seeing at the start of their career ten years ago, or that other numbers band.

And the devotion goes both ways, too; Lovejoy play games with the fans, leaving puzzles on social media for the fans to solve, firing confetti with QR codes printed on every other piece out at their London headline show. Their involvement hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“Oh, man, I love them,” Ash gushes. “One of the best feelings for me is when we create something, even if it’s something as simple as a little photo shoot, the response is incredible. And to inspire other people to create through our creativity is just so rewarding. My favourite part of it is seeing the writing, the poetry, the paintings, the drawings, like all the art that comes back to us is incredible.”

Joe adds, “Every single person that I’ve met after a show or before a show, they’re all so respectful and all so lovely. And they’re just so generous.”

Ash continues, “They make such an effort and go out of their way to listen to the support bands’ music and show up for them; they show up on time and fill the place out for everyone. And then they go crazy jumping around and singing to everyone’s music, and that’s just so fucking cool.”

With new EP ‘Wake Up & It’s Over’ on the horizon, it’ll be their first proper release since 2021. A break away from recording to do the touring part of being a new band has led to Lovejoy’s longest writing phase yet and has played a part in shaping the sound of their new material. This time around, being able to take more time to record and more studio options, they’ve fined tuned their sound and brought it closer to their personal ideal.

Aiming for something a little heavier this time, the boys wanted to pull in their individual influences more drastically. For Will, that’s shouty British lyrics and overdriven guitars (he calls Arctic Monkeys the most famous example), with Ash also growing up on the late 2000s indie of Foals and Bombay Bicycle Club. Mark, on the other hand, was introduced to bands like Bring Me The Horizon and Asking Alexandria by his sister at a young age, pushing him into heavier territory when it came to discovering his own tastes and allowing the band to take on the slogan of ‘the only indie band with a double kick drum’. (Joe simply adds, “In the words of Brandon Flowers, it’s indie rock and roll for me.”)

Opening track ‘Portrait of a Blank Slate’ pulls in those influences most brazenly, employing the mathy Foals-y lead guitar, ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ era Arctic Monkeys fiddly bass, and wordy vocals a la The Wombats. “I can’t wait to play that for thousands of people,” says Joe.

They’ve been road-testing some of the other tracks too, the poppier (see: jumpier) ‘Consequences’ and ‘Warsaw’, as well as the single ‘Call Me What You Like’, but the rest have been kept a secret, one track particularly well.

Initially beginning the recording of this EP late last year, the boys weren’t 100% satisfied with the tracks. Having already played some of the tracks live, fans developed a particular affinity for one called ‘It’s Golden Hour Somewhere’, and up until the EP drops, have been under the impression it isn’t going to be released.

“I like to make rumours amongst the fan base,” says Ash, “I sort of said yeah, it’s scrapped, we just don’t like it, it’s not up to scratch, it doesn’t fit the nature of the EP, blah, blah, blah. We’ve just made up a bunch of nonsense. And they’ve bought into it. And as I expected, they’re also campaigning to bring it back. We’ve seen signs at shows saying ‘PLAY GOLDEN HOUR’. It’s just a bit of fun, and I think the relief and the excitement they’ll feel on the day that it comes out to just see it in the tracklisting will be worth it. I think for the amount of time that the fans have been waiting, we want it to be as special as possible.”

Even with ‘Call Me What You Like’ landing at No.32 on the UK Top 40 – an enormous feat and a rarity for a new band these days – it’s still what the fans think that means the most to Lovejoy.

“It was very validating to see it go that far,” says Will. “I think that was our longest-ever lyric writing time; we had the tune down for about ten months before I even penned the lyrics that ended up going in the final release. To see that time pay off is amazing, but we had no idea it would get that reception. It’s more important that our fans really love what we’re putting out. We’re aiming to create music that will really connect with our fan base, and you know, we’ll give them back what they’ve given us.”

With formative years that any new band would dream of, a knockout first tour and an audience hungry for more, Lovejoy are keen to maintain the hype. Currently using soundcheck time to write new material, every spare hour is used wisely while they’re on the road, Ash hinting they’ve already got new songs saved up for when they return home. This summer, they’ll be hitting the festival circuit, playing Reading and Leeds for the first time and undoubtedly not the last. The path may not be fully paved yet, but it’s definitely leading somewhere exciting.

Will says, “We’ve felt that wave of energy from the audience singing our words back at us, and that’s really influenced my lyrical style and our music instrumentally, which took a lot longer. 2022 was a sort of foundational year; I feel like this is the launch in 2023 into this next era of Lovejoy.”

#thanks for spending actual money on this one mia lmao #lovejoy #wilbur soot #ash kabosu #mark boardman #joe goldsmith #articles #dork magazine

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shubblelive · 9 months

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— FRONT ROW

summary : for the first time, you see just how many fans wilbur has in person, and for the first time, you begin to feel like you might not be able to handle it.

genre : angst -> fluff, happy ending

warnings : one or two swearwords, reader gets overwhelmed, they almost break up (but not really i promise)

pairing : cc!wilbur soot x fem!reader

pronouns : she/her, reader is called wilbur's girlfriend

featuring : cc!wilbur soot, cc!ranboo (mentioned), cc!philza (mentioned), kristen

requested : @gracietaylorsversions Hiii! Ilysm could you maybe write a fic inspired by the song “dark red” by steve lacey, more specifically the part: “only you my girl, only you babe” where the reader gets insecure and jealous but wilbur makes sure to reassure her <333

word count : 1.5K

note : hello angel! now, i personallly hate writing jealousy fics i feel like i can NOT do it well, so i opted to delve more into insecurity than jealousy with this one. i'm so glad you're liking my stuff thank you so much it means the worlds

the room was massive. it was like a warehouse, but with seperate rooms off the main one, and way more people. you were in one of the separate rooms, carpeted and less crowded, a yellow card around your neck with your name written on it suspended by a lanyard.

you weren’t a creator. you didn’t stream or make youtube videos or anything, you hardly even posted on instagram. the only reason you were attending vidcon was because of the man whose arm was wrapped around your shoulder as he chatted avidly to ranboo.

they had a panel later, the first one since the pandemic had started. it had been somewhat of a surprise to you, when wilbur started getting so big as quickly, but you’d always know it was bound to happen. now, three years into your relationship, you were about to see your boyfriend in front of his first live audience.

one of the vidcon crew members arrived in the room as signalled everyone’s attention, everyone in your group falling silent. they’d all be leaving to go on stage soon. you wouldn’t be alone though, phil’s wife would be there in the audience with you.

while wilbur got instructions from the crew member, another producer lead you, kristen, and a few other guests of creators into your seats, and you waited anxiously for your boyfriend to come out.

the two of you had together since 2019. you had helped him move into his streaming office (and subsequently out of his streaming office after getting evicted), and had been there every single step of the way through his streaming career. his fans knew of you. they knew your name and what you looked like, and that you and wilbur had been dating for years, but not much more than that.

you were as supportive of a partner as you physically could be, helping him out as much as you were able to. for his first ever vidcon, you’d been lucky enough to be able to take time off work to go to LA with him, and he’d let you know over and over how grateful he was for it. you’d held his hand across the atlantic ocean and let him go just in time for him to meet his adoring public.

and adoring they were. it had been your first time ever truly seeing your partner’s fans in person aside from the odd chance meeting. this was extremely overwhelming. he stepped out of the wings and made eye contact with you immediately, waving at you subtly as he greeted the rest of the crowd. the featured creator hour went for, predictably, about an hour, and as your boyfriend and his friends left the stage, the audience was left to disperse on their own. you guys had saved seats for this one in advance, so you’d had a producer escort you into them, but this time it was just you and kristen in a sea of hundreds of teenagers.

“excuse me,” a small voice piped up, and you whirled around to see a young girl, no older than fourteen standing nervously behind you. she introduced herself nervously, and told you that she thought you had always seemed lovely, and asked for a photo. kristen took it for her, and she left with a beaming smile on her face as you felt your heart thrash against your ribcage.

there were so many people here, and you were already incredibly overwhelmed by the noise, but now the knowledge that people were perceiving you, even if it was only one fourteen year old girl was just too much to handle. “hey!” you called out to kristen as you both reached the door, having to nearly yell over the noise. “bathroom, i’ll be right back.”

“do you want me to come with you?” her husband would be back in the creator lounge by now, you knew, so you shook your head.

“no, i’ll be alright, you get back to phil. will you tell wilbur where i am though, please?” she nodded at you, and you took off towards the nearest bathroom. it was absolutely packed, so you skipped it and went straight outside to the carpark. it was hot, and you took a swig of your water bottle as you sat down on the concrete, back against the wall of the building. there were still somehow dozens of fans out here, but you didn’t care.

you needed to get better with this stuff. this was wilbur’s job, and you were his partner. if you were going to spend the rest of your life with him, then you’d need to be able to go to things like this and support him.

he had so many people’s eyes on him, and you knew that all he wanted was yours. you couldn’t be there for him in the way you needed to. he deserved better.

the internet was a cruel place. of course you’d seen hate of yourself. you’d seen wilbur shipped with any female friend he came into contact with, and you had always been okay about it. but maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea if he dated someone from the industry. he was bound to find someone eventually, someone who loved him just as hard as you did and was able to be there to support him.

you weren’t cut out for this. you needed wilbur.

he was beside you. “are you alright? what’s going on?” he was scanning the small scattering of fans around the carpark areas, hoping to find somewhere to get you away from prying eyes. “darling?”

“i’m okay,” your voice shook, and he helped you to your feet. “you should go back inside.”

“i am not going anywhere without you,” he said resolutely, hand securely wrapped around yours.

“i’m such a shit girlfriend,” you tried to laugh, but their were anxious tears forming in your eyes. it was so bright that you had to squint to look at wilbur, who was shielding you from the LA sun. “i’m sorry.”

“what are you talking about?” he asked softly. “you’re not shit, darling. furthest from it, in fact. you’re the best girlfriend i’ve ever had.”

“i’d hope so considering we’re still dating,” you said quietly. “maybe we shouldn’t be, though.”

wilbur thought he couldn’t feel more anxious after the creator hour. existing in front of such a massive croud of people was something that had never felt real to him, but then he’d looked out into the audience and had seen you, and he knew that after he left he’d be able to pull you into his arms and kiss you, and that you would fix the pounding of his heart. and then he’d stepped back inside the lounge and been met with just kristen, he waited, ten, fifteen minutes, believing you when you’d said you’d gone to the bathroom, before he used the find my friends app on his phone to see where you were. but that sentence made earlier feel like the most calm he had ever felt. “you want to break up?”

his voice quivered, low and deep, and you shook your head frantically. “of course i don’t want to. i was just thinking that…”

“that we should.” he finished flatly. “why?”

his hands were still around yours, but this felt more for his sake than yours now. “i can’t do this, wilbur.” you breathed out. “i can’t do the crowds and the screaming and the hoards of people who know that i exist, i can’t do it.”

wilbur’s face crumpled with relief. “you don’t have to, darling. i promise. from now on, no more events or conventions or panels that you don’t want to go to. please, i love you so much, i’m not gonna lose you over this.”

“but you deserve to have someone there who can do these things!” you argued. “someone who gets it, who understands!”

“i don’t want someone who gets it.” wilbur shot back immediately, silencing you. “i want you. i love you so much, darling. i don’t care if you don’t like the crowds, or if you don’t feel comfortable with me talking about you on stream or posting photos on instagram. none of that means anything to me. the only important thing is you and only you.”

you were almost crying as you kissed him, having to close your eyes instinctively against the sun as his lips pushed against yours, his hands caressing your back comfortingly. “i’m sorry, wil.” you said softly, lips still on his. “i’m being silly.”

“just a little,” he admitted between kisses. “but so am i. i’m just glad you’re here. i love you, silly.”

“i’d say it back but i don’t feel like it anymore.”

he barked out a laugh. “fine! i’m sorry. i love you, darling. my serious girl.”

“that’s somehow worse.” he kissed you to make it up to you, though, so you allowed him to drag you back inside, this time he got a security guard to sneak you in through a back corridor where you were still met with a room full of people who knew your name. except this one had a reserved seat right next to wilbur as you got to watch him live out his dreams, right there in the front row.

#wilbuh #wilbur soot fluff #wilbur x y/n #wilbur soot imagine #wilbur soot x reader fluff #wilbur soot headcanons #wilbur soot x y/n #wilbur soot x reader #wilbur soot fic #wilbur soot x you #wilbur soot fanfiction #wilbur soot angst

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fans4wga · 9 months

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August 4 - Hollywood Food Insecurity Spikes Amid Strikes

The entertainment industry’s most vulnerable workers are increasingly unable to feed themselves amid a historic double strike with no clear end in sight, according to non-profits tasked with addressing the food insecurity crisis. They describe Hollywood’s ongoing work stoppage — prompted by the contractual impasse between the writing and acting guilds on one side and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on the other — as a humanitarian emergency broadly affecting the community, not just striking union members.

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, which runs pantries for those in need throughout the county, attributes a meaningful portion of its nine percent uptick in year-over-year distribution to the strikes’ impact. “When income stops immediately, the demand rises very rapidly,” explains chief development officer Roger Castle.

“This is happening right after the pandemic, which drained a lot of people’s savings,” observes Keith McNutt, executive director at the Entertainment Community Fund, which has distributed $3 million to more than 1,500 workers as of Aug. 1. “So, you have the financial burden on people who’ve already been depleted.” As a result, his organization — whose donors include Seth McFarlane, Steven Spielberg, and Greg Berlanti — has seen an unprecedented wave of immediate requests for basic living expenses, including groceries. “Before this started, we would do about 50 grants out of the L.A. office a week. Now we’re getting 50 applications a day.”

On July 28, below-the-line unions IATSE and the Teamsters Local 399 held a drive-through food drive for industry members affected by the strikes at IATSE’s West Coast headquarters in Burbank. It drew about a thousand vehicles throughout the day.

According to the relief nonprofit Labor Community Services, which helped to organize the event and is planning another in August, the organization distributed 1,740 food boxes, feeding an estimated 8,700 people, that day.

In California, striking workers are ineligible to receive unemployment assistance, while nationally, they cannot receive SNAP food benefits unless they qualified pre-strike — something Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is aiming to change with a new bill, introduced July 27. One place that striking actors in particular can turn to for help during the work stoppage is the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, which offers emergency financial assistance and other resources, including grocery store gift cards, to union members. SAG-AFTRA made a seven-figure donation to the Foundation early in its strike to assist these efforts. (The WGA West does provide its own members with emergency financial loans from its strike fund and Good and Welfare fund.)

Cyd Wilson, its executive director, has seen an explosion in demand for the organization’s help. “People are making these decisions: Should pay my rent, or should I put food on the table? Should I put food on the table, or should I pay my utilities?” she explains. “There’s a great deal of suffering that’s happening.” By Wilson’s estimate, the foundation is now handling 40 times its typical number of applications per week, and it has already distributed as much in grants since the beginning of the WGA’s strike three months ago as it typically would in the span of a given year.

Meanwhile, Groceries for Writers, a direct aid project administered by Humanitas, a non-profit focused on film and television writers, has distributed more than 1,100 gift cards to WGA members since the onset of its work stoppage in early May. Humanitas executive director Michelle Franke says that “many of these writers have left notes indicating they’re in very urgent financial situations. Writers describe struggling with student debt, falling into eligibility gaps with CalFresh and EDD [state unemployment assistance], eviction notices, writing teams splitting low pay, having only just moved to Los Angeles and not having a large local support network as a consequence, dwindling savings.”

Groceries for Writers is hardly alone in addressing the growing need. In July, L.A.’s World Harvest Food Bank founder and CEO Glen Curado estimated to The Hollywood Reporter that his organization, which is offering free food to striking writers and actors, was serving an average of 150-200 members of this group per day. That effort was inspired by The Price Is Right host Drew Carey’s gesture of paying for all striking writers dining at Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank and L.A.’s Swingers Diner for the duration of the work stoppage.

THR asked both the AMPTP and the talent unions whether they bear any responsibility for the worsening situation. In a statement, a spokesperson for the AMPTP said: “Like those negotiating on behalf of the guilds, representatives from the AMPTP and its member companies came to the table in good faith, wanting to reach an agreement that would keep the industry working and prevent the hardships caused by labor strikes.” SAG-AFTRA didn’t respond to a request for comment, while a WGA spokesperson said in a statement: “The public knows that working people are putting everything on the line in order to negotiate a fair deal with the studios who have caused this strike and the resultant suffering by refusing to address the reasonable proposals that writers brought to the table over 90 days ago.” Neither the AMPTP itself nor any of its major studio and streamer members responded when THR asked if the companies or their philanthropic arms had made any contributions specifically to address the industry’s food insecurity crisis since May.

Support staffers — early-career workers who fill roles such as assistants and coordinators and tend to be low-paid — are especially at risk at this time. “So much of the compensation that they receive is, no one’s going to say it, but it’s implied to be food-based,” notes Liz Hsiao Lan Alper, the co-founder of advocacy group Pay Up Hollywood and a WGA West board member. Alper says that support staffers are often paid the “bare minimum” but access complimentary food through writers’ rooms, craft services on sets or in agency kitchens and conference rooms. And so, when the strikes occurred, the need was “overwhelming,” she explains: “It’s invisible compensation that just went away when the work stoppages happened.”

For that reason, on June 7 Pay Up Hollywood relaunched its COVID-19-era Hollywood Support Staff Relief Fund. So far, the fund has distributed around $45,000 in one-time financial need grants up to $1,000 apiece, according to organizer and support staffer Alex Rubin, who says she’s encouraged support staffers to obtain free food distributed on picket lines. “I think that there is a little bit of embarrassment and insecurity about not being able to feed yourself,” she says. “It is the reason why we give our grants as just like, ‘Here’s a one-time grant. You don’t have to tell us how you want to use this.’”

Helping people in entertainment with food during work stoppages is a “tangible message,” says James Costello, a Teamsters Local 399 driver and an IATSE Local 44 prop master, who was volunteering at IATSE’s July 28 food drive. A second-generation Teamster, Costello still remembers a union strike in the 1980s that prompted his parents to warn their children that their Christmas holiday would be affected that year, and the Teamsters emergency relief that arrived in the fall, offering groceries and a Christmas tree.

As the strikes drag on and both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA have yet to formally reprise negotiations with the AMPTP (although the Writers Guild is set to have a preliminary meeting with the studios’ organization on Aug. 4), the non-profits on the front lines of the industry’s food-insecurity crisis are girding themselves for a long period of need. SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Wilson says it’s pursuing a “very aggressive fundraising strategy” to meet the demand. (Already, it’s netted over $15 million in emergency assistance from stars like George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Matt Damon and Dwayne Johnson, who are donating $1 million or more apiece.)

The Entertainment Community Fund’s McNutt notes that pocketbook pain will outlast the current conflict. “Just because the strike ends, it doesn’t mean the need will end. Everyone doesn’t go back to work the next week. We’re going to be looking at this [elevated] level of need for months afterward.”

Give to the Entertainment Community Fund

Give to Humanitas' Groceries for Writers

Give to the Green Envelope Grocery Aid mutual aid fund

#sag-aftra strike #actors strike #sag strike #current events #wga strike #writers strike

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ghostflowerdreams · 6 months

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Audio Drama Recommendations, Pt. III

Click here for part one and here for part two. Recently, I've been drawing a lot, which gives me plenty of time to listen to audio dramas and podcasts. These are the ones I liked the most and found entertaining enough to recommend to others. This is not in any particular order, either.

The Green Horizon – is a sci-fi comedy drama created and written by Paul Walsh. It is sponsored by Faustian Nonsense, an indie entertainment network. It currently has three seasons, with each episode being about 20 - 30 minutes long, but later on it increases to 30 - 40 minutes. A fourth season is said to be coming out soon as well.

It is set in the year 2261, and it focuses on a ne'er-do-well Irish space captain and his rag-tag crew, as they traverse a war-torn Galaxy in search of fame and fortune. [ONGOING]

It was a little chaotic and rough at the beginning, but it does smooth out and become more polished. I can definitely tell that they up their game with the improved sound effects and production quality. The voice actors and the writing for the audio drama does an excellent job at bringing their characters to life, which made it very fun to follow along.

If you like Firefly, Red Dwarf, Orville, Cowboy Bepop, and so on then I think you may enjoy this too.

DERELICT – is a sci-fi narrative audio drama from award-winning science fiction author J. Barton Mitchell, and produced by Night Rocket Productions. It currently has one season titled FATHOM, which consist of 10 episodes with each one ranging from 40 mins to an hour, mostly the latter.

Something has been found at the bottom of Earth's ocean. An ancient artifact that can only be described as a giant door, inset into the sea floor. It becomes known as the Vault. A gigantic enigma, buried and forgotten...nineteen thousand feet down.

To study the artifact, the galaxy's most powerful corporation, Maas-Dorian, has built a massive, self-contained, secret laboratory base surrounding it, named FATHOM. It's objective: unlock the secrets of the artifact and discover what it holds. But some mysteries should remain buried. And some doors should never be opened... [ONGOING]

DERELICT started as the first project set up as a kickstarter. They produced one episode to entice backers, but then the pandemic happened, and they didn’t raise enough money for the rest of it. Instead, they worked on a prequel season called FATHOM. It's where the story really starts, and I highly suggest you listen to it before listening to "DERELICT E1 - Through the Gate."

I hope they redo the DERELICT's first episode because there's a bit of disconnection from it and FATHOM. For example, Sarah and Agent Blayne already know each other. She mentions it to the others, but the conversation they have with each other doesn’t make it seem that way.

Never mind. I apparently confused this Sarah with the Sarah in FATHOM. Can't blame me for thinking that when I heard the name Sarah and that she was already familiar with Agent Blayne.

Deviser – is a sci-fi horror audio drama created, directed, acted and produced by Harlan Guthrie. The same creator of Malevolent. It's a 7-part limited series, with each episode being about 20 mins long.

Son wakes up aboard a spaceship bound for earth in an effort to recolonize. What he discovers, however, will change everything he knows about his world and himself. [COMPLETED]

It's not for everyone, so please do not ignore the content warnings because there's graphic description of violence, self harm, body horror, gore, animal death/being hurt, and what not.

Victoriocity – is a detective comedy audio drama written by Chris and Jen Sugden, directed by Nathan Peter Grassi and produced by Dominic Hargreaves. It is an entirely independent production. It has two seasons, containing 13 episodes in total, and each one is about 30 to 45 minutes long. There's also a feature-length special and a up-coming third season with the help of a kickstarter.

It is 1887 in Even Greater London, an alternate steampunk Victorian London, where Queen Victoria reigns even after being assassinated eleven times, thanks to the wonders of modern science.

In this vast metropolis, Inspector Archibald Fleet and journalist Clara Entwhistle investigate a murder, only to find themselves at the centre of a conspiracy of impossible proportions. [ONGOING]

It's put together so well, and I see why people say it gives off strong Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett vibes to it. So if you like their works, then I wouldn't be surprised to hear that you like this too.

Impact Winter – is an apocalyptic vampire audio drama created and written by Travis Beacham (Carnival Row, Pacific Rim). It has two seasons containing 22 episodes in total and each one is about 17 to 30 minutes long.

“They came after the impact and the firestorms. When the sun went dark. Like they’d been there all along. Just waiting.”

In the British countryside, a band of survivors forms a resistance in the fallout shelter of a medieval castle. Darcy is a battle-tested vampire hunter who is at the front line, leading the charge to save humanity. Meanwhile, her younger sister Hope wants life to return to normal so she can go above ground and know what it’s like to live again. And she just might be willing to risk it all. [ONGOING]

It has a stacked cast led by Holliday Grainger (Cinderella, Great Expectations), Esme Creed-Miles (Hanna, The Legend of Vox Machina), Liam Cunningham (Games of Thrones, Hunger), Himesh Patel (Station Eleven, Tenet), David Gyasi (Interstellar, Carnival Row), Caroline Ford (Carnival Row, Nekrotronic), Chloe Pirrie (Emma, Carnival Row), and Bella Ramsey (Games of Thrones, The Last of Us).

This reminded me a lot of the film 30 Days of Nights (2007) with a little bit of Reign of Fire (2002), which were both fun films to watch. I think if you like those two, especially the former, you'll enjoy this or at least be entertained by it.

A Voice From Darkness – is a scripted paranormal horror audio drama. It is written and produced by Jac Rhys. It currently has two seasons, containing 20 episodes in total and each one is about 20 to 30 minutes long. It also has 7 bonus voicemail episodes and 15 Patreon exclusive episodes which are longer than the main episodes. A third season in the works as well.

Join parapsychologist and radio broadcaster Dr. Malcolm Ryder as he helps those who suffer the supernatural, paranormal or otherworldly problems on his call-in radio show. It is also interspersed with segments, one of which is called 'Today In Odd America' that delves into the origins of a holiday, local traditions, and history. [ONGOING]

If you like Welcome To Night Vale then I think you'll like this too. A Voice From Darkness is a bit more serious and not as long-drawn as Night Vale was, with a perfect mix of storytelling and lore. It also reminds me a bit of The Magnus Archive too.

How i Died – is a mystery audio drama that brings a "new twist on the true crime genre." It is an Audiohm Media original production, co-starring Vince Dajani as Jon Spacer and Shaina Waring as Sheriff Fran Crowley. It currently has three seasons with 39 episodes in total, not including bonus episodes. Each episode is usually about 20 mins, give or take a few minutes.

Bodies are piling up in the strange town of Springfield, and forensic pathologist Jonathan Spacer intends to find out why. But, Jon isn’t without his own secrets… He can talk to the dead, for starters. [ONGOING]

Ooo, a character that can speak to the dead? It's always so interesting to see what they'll do with their ability and where the creators take them. This has been entertaining, but at times I do think they can do better in developing their characters a bit more. For example, I can count on one hand the number of times Crowley doesn't get angry. Though to be fair, Jon isn't an immediately likable character, but that does change the further you go...sorta.

The Amelia Project – is a comedy fiction audio drama created, written, directed, produced and edited by Philip Thorne and Øystein Ulsberg Brager for Imploding Fictions and The Fable and Folly Network. It currently has four seasons, with a fifth one on the way. There's about 72 episodes, not including prologue, special, and BTS episodes which would up the total to 122. Each episode also varies in length from 20 to 45 minutes long.

The Amelia Project is a secret agency that fakes its clients' deaths, then lets them reappear with a brand-new identity. A black comedy full of secrets, twists... and cocoa. The series starts as a succession of interviews with clients who want to fake their deaths, then slowly a larger narrative begins to emerge... Each episode tells its own story, but we recommend starting with Season 1. [ONGOING]

It was fun to listen to while I was drawing or washing the dishes. I could also follow along without becoming too distracted by it, either. I was worried it would be one of those that take a while to get to the main overall story, but thankfully it did not. It will definitely keep you entertained and interested to know what will happen next.

Community Cat News – is a neighborhood news show done from the perspective of cats. There's currently 13 episodes so far and each one varies from 5 to 12 minutes long.

Local News: The human is opening the fridge! Will we get a taste?

Foreign Affairs: What are those squirrels up to now?

Traffic: WHY is the bathroom door shut again?

Every episode is sponsored by Meow Meow Puffytail, Feline Rights Attorney, who is ready to sue your human for even the slightest inconvenience. [ONGONG]

It's cute, light-hearted, and funny. I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. It even uplifted my mood.

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angelltheninth · 1 year

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Can u do a meeting up with an online friend with genshin men who might have a crush on you maybe kaeya childe and ayato or anyone else you want. Also i absolutely adore your writing style

This hits hard cause I've made some friends online over the pandemic and have actually had the chance to meet them, it was the best thing ever.

Pairing: Kaeya, Childe, Ayato x Fem!Reader

Tags: fluff, developing relationship, friends to lovers, online friends, meet cute, flirting, texting, long distance

A/N: Not gonna lie, meeting some of my online friends really made me cry of joy.

KAEYA

He was the one who wanted to meet up bad but was nervous about it all the same. Kaeya is pretty cocky while talking to you online, through his texts and the photos he sends. When he's making plans to meet up he wants it to be more spontaneous then a full plan. After all he sends you things randomly so why not see where things go. Kaeya is the perfect gentleman in person, at first, but once he relaxes a little his flirty side comes through. Will most likely ask you out on a walk, something low pressure and casual for your first meet up. Only towards the end does he hold your hand and is the first one to text you a heart when the meeting ends, asking when the next one is.

"Hah, sorry if I seem a little nervous right now, some of my friends were telling me I'm overreacting but can you blame a guy when he's meeting such a pretty girl in person for the first time? My eye patch is real. Did you think I was just trying to look cool over camera all this time?"

CHILDE

Childe spends a few hours before the meeting going though his clothes. He's normally quite casual for when he talks to you but now you're meeting for dinner. Going on a first date with someone he's bein flirting on and off with for the past few months is scarier then he thought it'd be. Must be because he's so invested in you. He has something of a reputation as a ladies man so Childe wants to make sure you don't get a bad first impression. He would take a lot of photos of himself shirtless and even video chat while shirtless, after he just got back from the gym but having you actually touch him, wrap your arm around his while you walk, smile at him from across the table and leave your hand there for him to reach out and hold is something that has his head spinning and his stomach twisting.

"You keep looking up at me, didn't you get enough pics before? I can send more. Or maybe you want my abs? W-What's wrong? Oh. Am I coming on too strong? Ahg! Look I just... I don't wanna mess this up you know? I know I've got a reputation and I don't want you to think I was cozying up to you just to get in your pants or something. Can I start this over? I swear I'll be cool this time."

AYATO

He makes an iron clad schedule for the two of you. Too bad it falls apart quickly when it starts to rain. He'd been so excited to meet you that he forgot to look at the weather forecast for that day! Now you're stuck in this little café for who knows how long. Ayato tries to make the best of it, complimenting you at every turn, sitting close to you and inching his hand closer and closer until it covers yours. Will wait for you to kiss his cheek first but will be the one to ask for a second date afterwards, if you don't beat him to it. Ayato will always text you a good morning message first thing when he wakes up without fail, and after you begin dating its followed by an affectionate nickname.

"How could I forget this? I am so sorry, I told you all about these plans and you dressed up beautifully today and now... you know what we can still make the most of it can't we? Thank you, that you're not upset I mean."

#genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #kaeya x reader #childe x reader #ayato kamisato x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact headcanons #genshin impact fluff #genshin imagines #genshin headcanons #genshin fluff #genshin impact x female reader #genshin impact x you #genshin x female reader #genshin x you #kaeya fluff #childe fluff #ayato fluff

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tothosewhoyearnforit · 1 year

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surf's up pt.1 ?? - kazuha + minju

-this was originally meant to be a birthday fic for Minju but I couldn’t sit down and complete it so I incorporated one of my dirty thoughts into this fic. I’m not sure if people would like this as much as my mind did. threesome, creampie, nothing way too crazy, maybe a bit of overstimulation. please do tell me if this is straight trash, i’ll consider not writing a second pt to this.

-length: 2145 words

-minju, kazuha x male reader

The beach. The perfect place for just about anything. Surfing, picnics, volleyball, swimming, going on dates. That’s what made it your favorite haunt.

Just kidding.

You absolutely hated the beach. Especially sand. It’s coarse and it gets everywhere. The sun was a bane to your existence. The constant chaos of seagulls cawing, children screaming and the waves crashing just did not sit well in your mind at all. This was probably the first time since the pandemic that you’d come to any beach. You moved from your hometown to the city just a week ago and since your apartment was close to the beach, you figured why not got for a jog now that you were done unpacking everything into the new residence and get to know your environment a bit more.

Midway through your run, at a slightly more deserted area of the beach, you caught sight of two fine bodied female surfers. Both of them were dressed in one piece singlet swimsuits that accentuated their lovely figure. The one on the left was a tall slender bodied woman that had a body to die for. Her abs were well toned and her arm muscles were extremely defined. But what caught your eye the most was her legs, they were long, sleek and slender with thighs that you wanted to wear as a scarf. They led your eyes up to her cute perky ass that was asking to be spanked. The woman on the right was a bit bustier. The swimsuit accentuated this fact by hugging her chest tight and exposing her buttcheeks to the world. As you were admiring the sight before your eyes, the whole world suddenly started to fall as the two vixen faded away from you into the darkness.

“Is he awake?”

The warmest, gentlest voice brings you back to earth. Opening your eyes, you’re greeted by the same two damsels that you were admiring before ending up in what seemed like a small foresty area by the shoreline, laying on a sky blue beach mat with an ice packet to your head.

“Are you okay? You look like you took quite a fall back there.” It was the taller girl. Her doe eyes fluttered as she spoke to you, melting your heart as well as the stinging pain in your head.

What happened to me? Why am I here ? Why are you both so awfully perfect ? You had a million questions you wanted to ask.

“He looks okay.” said the shorter, bustier girl. “Or at least that’s what his little friend is trying to tell us.” Pointing down at your crotch, turning all attention to the bulge starting to form.

“Fufufu…guess it's time to get acquainted huh Minju.” says the taller girl, moving her hand down to your crotch and rubbing your cock through your pants.

“Take it easy Kazuha, you don’t want this poor guy fainting again.”

“Wha-” You’re cut off by Minju diving head first into a kiss. She smells absolutely divine, a mixture of ocean air and rose petals. Meanwhile, Kazuha is wiggling your troublesome clothes out of the way, and in a matter of seconds, you’re stark naked on the beach mat, visible to any fishing boat that may go by. The two girls gather at your cock and begin to shower it with their affection, arching their backs to show off their juicy hindparts.

“Gosh, who knew we’d be getting railed by such a monstrous thing today huh Minju”, Kazuha says while kissing the base of your cock, the warm air from her nostrils gently breezing against your skin, sending tingles up your spine. Minju is unable to answer, working her magic on your balls, taking one in her mouth at a time and covering it in her saliva. She gets to work first while Kazuha backs off to begin a deep makeout session with you, while your hands survey her specimen of a figure, admiring how toned yet delicate her muscles had developed. Meanwhile Minju is absolutely going to town on your cock, not even needing time to acclimate to how big your length was. She would bob her head down in a rhythmic manner, going down twice while looking at you lustfully before staying there, allowing your dick to take 2 seconds of rest before slowly detaching her mouth. Minju was also extremely skilled with her tongue. It snaked around your cock as she worked her magic, moving over your sensitive points as it disappeared and reappeared from her mouth. Soon, she got off and let Kazuha have her way with your throbbing erection.

Kazuha leaves a deep kiss at the tip of your cock, before taking your length in her mouth. She, unlike Minju, starts off safe, taking in no more than a fifth of your cock, then a quarter, then a half, until your whole length disappears into her mouth hitting the back of her throat, her lips touching the base of your cock. Her mouth is warm and snug, you could leave your dick in there for eternity. Then, Kazuha moves her head up and down furiously, never letting more than a quarter of your dick out of her mouth. You throw your head back in pleasure, Kazuha’s mouth was perfect, it was like it was molded just for taking your dick in. Meanwhile, you begin tearing off the swimsuit that Minju was wearing, kneading her sizable tits and squeezing her juicy ass and smacking it while making out intensely with her, earning a few moans that escaped from Minju’s mouth. Sensing that you were about to cum, you stand up and grab onto the sides of Kazuha’s head and begin facefucking her. She maintains eye contact with you as you continuously thrust your length deep within her sinful abyss with eyes that begged you to abandon life and surrender to her. Soon, your cock could not take it anymore.

“Fuck! Kazuha!”

You cum right into Kazuha’s mouth and she tries to take it all, but there’s just too much and it starts to overflow as you withdraw your length from her mouth. Minju instinctively knows what to do, licking the cum around her mouth, cleaning it up. Kazuha opens her mouth to show how much you’ve let loose within her, before swallowing it in one gulp and sticking her tongue out again to show you that she ingested it all.

Consumed by lust, Kazuha pounces onto you, pinning you down onto the beach mat. Your lips crash against hers as you start to lose yourself in the hot and passionate kiss as your hands work to peel her annoying swimsuit away. Soon, her bare body was right on top of your own, both her legs on your sides, her textured abdominal muscles on top of your own, her breasts pressed against yours, her arms wrapped around your neck as beads of sweat start to collect on both your bodies and her dripping shaved pussy touching your ever hard cock, just waiting to be destroyed by the latter. Your hands work to squeeze and slap those juicy butt cheeks that you were admiring before. You position your cock with Kazuha’s pussy and press her down on it, slowly moving your entire length inside of her. Kazuha then lets out a loud moan once the whole thing is inside.

“Fuck! You’re so big, you’re gonna break my pussy…”

Minju, not wanting to be left out, climbs on top of you, sitting on your face, demanding to be eaten out. At this moment, you’d die to see what kind of sexual artwork the three of you were making. But that wasn’t to say your view beneath Minju’s lewd body wasn’t visually appetizing. From beneath you could admire Minju’s perfectly sized tits, swaying from left to right as she rided on your face as well as a close up of her picture perfect pussy whose scent you could not get enough of.

In the meantime, Kazuha was having the time of her life, bouncing up and down on your cock. Her pussy was really tight. Every hip movement she made brought so much pleasure to your mind that it was numbing. The only sounds you could hear at the beach were the moans of the two girls on top of you, the slapping of Kazuha’s bubble butt onto your pelvis and the crashing of the waves against the shore.

“Shit! I’m about to cum!” Minju arches her back and squeals as a hot wave of her girl juice gushes out of her pussy, coating your face in her slick. She wasn’t the only one about to cum though. Moving Minju to the side, you sit up and reverse the positions you and Kazuha were in, pinning her arms above her head to restrict her movement. She squirms beneath you as you push her legs up to her chest, moving into the missionary position for even deeper thrusts. You nuzzle your neck into hers, devouring her sweat-filled scent as you fucked her senseless, her moans getting louder and more frequent as you upped the pace of your thrusts.

“Fuck you’re gonna make me lose my mind…Fuck…FUCCCKKK!!!” Kazuha screams, her eyes rolling back to her head as she reaches her own high. Her pussy clenches even tighter around your cock and her back arches to acclimate to the pleasure, causing you to reach your own breaking point, releasing spurt after spurt of sticky white stuff into her swollen pussy. You pull your cock out, to see a small river of yours and Kazuha’s byproducts flow out of her filled pussy. Kazuha is absolutely spent, panting relentlessly as she mutters “so good…so warm…” over and over, showing how you absolutely broke the girl.

“Hope you didn’t forget about me.” says Minju, as she places Kazuha to the side and pins you down.

“I want you to fucking pour whatever’s left inside me. Fill me up to the brim. Fuck me like the slut I am” she whispers into your ear.

Her words are lewd and arousing, consuming you in yet another wave of lust. You hug onto Minju’s busty body tightly and without wasting another second, furiously fuck her like you were both animals in heat. If somebody were to walk by, you definitely wouldn’t pull out of her and would continue fucking her relentlessly. Minju’s eyes roll to the back of her head, her mind absolutely overwhelmed by pleasure. Her fingers dug deep into your shoulders, grabbing onto them for stability and to try and reassemble her lost sanity. Too consumed by passion to stop and get her to loosen up, you fuck her even harder and faster, her words resonating within your mind. Pour whatever’s left inside me. Fill me… like the slut I am. You lean into Minju and get a good whiff of her scent. She no longer smells like the ocean and roses. She now smells like sweat and sex. Freeing a hand from your deep embrace, you reach down and squeeze a buttcheek, slapping it. Then, you had an absolutely dirty idea. Using your middle finger, you feel around for her asshole and insert your finger inside. Minju, completely unexpecting of your lewd action, screams in overstimulation. Her hips buckle as she squirts a geyser of her cum for the second time. Her head drops onto your shoulder as you continue railing her limp body, wanting to fulfill her wishes. With one final push and a low growl, you release all you had into her slutty pussy. Wave after wave of your cum flows into her. Even after you pulled out you were still shooting some cum onto her midriff.

“Shit that was amazing…Maybe I should take the “scenic” route more…” you say as you slump in between Minju and Kazuha’s sleeping bodies, of which you had done an absolute number to.

HONKKKKKKKK

You are awakened from your slumber by the loud blow of a ship's horn, seemingly scolding you for doing such a sinful deed under the sky where anybody could see. Kazuha and Minju are up as well, getting changed and preparing to leave.

“That was the best fuck we’ve both had ever in our lives. Here’s our numbers. We live not too far from here. When you want to have a bit of fun, call us and we’ll be right over.” Minju says with a tinge of lust in her voice, handing you a small sheet of paper with both their numbers and names. She leans in and whispers in your ear, “Maybe you can call only me and use me as your personal cumdump.”

“Ya! Don’t leave me alone!” Kazuha exclaims in rebuttal, shoving the shorter girl gently. She tiptoes and pecks you on the lips before winking at you and leaving.

You glance down at the paper. You were definitely enjoying moving into your new home.

#izone smut #minju smut #kazuha smut #le sserafim smut #kpop smut #female idol smut #male reader

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books · 8 months

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Writer Spotlight: Elise Hu

We recently met with Elise Hu (@elisegoeseast) to discuss her illuminating title, Flawless—Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital. Elise is a journalist, podcaster, and media start-up founder. She’s the host of TED Talks Daily and host-at-large at NPR, where she spent nearly a decade as a reporter. As an international correspondent, she has reported stories from more than a dozen countries and opened NPR’s first-ever Seoul bureau in 2015. Previously, Elise helped found The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit digital start-up, after stops at many stations as a television news reporter. Her journalism work has won the national Edward R. Murrow and duPont Columbia awards, among others. An honors graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, she lives in Los Angeles.

Can you begin by telling us a little bit about how Flawless came to be and what made you want to write about K-beauty?

It’s my unfinished business from my time in Seoul. Especially in the last year I spent living in Korea, I was constantly chasing the latest geopolitical headlines (namely, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s big moves that year). It meant I didn’t get to delve into my nagging frustrations of feeling second-class as an Asian woman in Korea and the under-reported experiences of South Korean women at the time. They were staging record-setting women’s rights rallies during my time abroad in response to a stark gender divide in Korea. It is one of the world’s most influential countries (and the 10th largest economy) and ranks shockingly low on gender equality metrics. That imbalance really shows up in what’s expected of how women should look and behave. Flawless explores the intersection of gender politics and beauty standards.

Flawless punctuates reportage with life writing, anchoring the research within your subjective context as someone who lived in the middle of it but also had an outside eye on it. Was this a conscious decision before you began writing?

I planned to have fewer of my personal stories in the book, actually. Originally, I wanted to be embedded with South Korean women and girls who would illustrate the social issues I was investigating, but I wound up being the narrative thread because of the pandemic. The lockdowns and two years of long, mandatory quarantines in South Korea meant that traveling there and staying for a while to report and build on-the-ground relationships was nearly impossible. I also have three small children in LA, so the embedding plan was scuttled real fast.

One of the central questions the book asks of globalized society at large, corporations, and various communities is, “What is beauty for?” How has your response to this question changed while producing Flawless?

I think I’ve gotten simultaneously more optimistic and cynical about it. More cynical in that the more I researched beauty, the more I understood physical beauty as a class performance—humans have long used it to get into rooms—more power in relationships, social communities, economically, or all of the above at once. And, as a class performance, those with the most resources usually have the most access to doing the work it takes (spending the money) to look the part, which is marginalizing for everyone else and keeps lower classes in a cycle of wanting and reaching. On the flip side, I’m more optimistic about what beauty is for, in that I have learned to separate beauty from appearance: I think of beauty in the way I think about love or truth, these universal—and largely spiritual—ideas that we all seek, that feed our souls. And that’s a way to frame beauty that isn’t tied in with overt consumerism or having to modify ourselves at all.

This is your first book—has anything surprised you in the publishing or publicity process for Flawless?

I was most surprised by how much I enjoyed recording my own audiobook! I felt most in flow and joyful doing that more than anything else. Each sentence I read aloud was exactly the way I heard it in my head when I wrote it, which is such a privilege to have been able to do as an author.

Do you have a favorite reaction from a reader?

I don’t know if it’s the favorite, but recency bias is a factor—I just got a DM this week from a woman writing about how the book helped put into words so much of what she felt and experienced, despite the fact she is not ethnically Korean, or in Korea, which is the setting of most of the book. It means a lot to me that reporting or art can connect us and illuminate shared experiences…in this case, learning to be more embodied and okay with however we look.

As a writer, journalist, and mother—how did you practice self-care when juggling work commitments, social life, and the creative processes of writing and editing?

I juggled by relying on my loved ones. I don’t think self-care can exist without caring for one another, and that means asking people in our circles for help. A lot of boba dates, long walks, laughter-filled phone calls, and random weekend trips really got me through the arduous project of book writing (more painful than childbirth, emotionally speaking).

What is your writing routine like, and how did the process differ from your other reporting work? Did you pick up any habits that you’ve held on to?

My book writing routine was very meandering, whereas my broadcast reporting and writing are quite linear. I have tight deadlines for news, so it’s wham, bam, and the piece is out. With the book, I had two years to turn in a manuscript. I spent the year of lockdowns in “incubation mode,” where I consumed a lot of books, white papers, articles, and some films and podcasts, just taking in a lot of ideas to see where they might collide with each other and raise questions worth reporting on, letting them swim around in the swamp of my brain. When I was ready to write, I had a freelance editor, the indefatigable Carrie Frye, break my book outline into chunks so I could focus on smaller objectives and specific deadlines. Chunking the book so it didn’t seem like such a massive undertaking helped a lot. As for the writing, I never got to do a writer’s retreat or some idyllic cabin getaway to write. I wrote in the in-between moments—a one or two hour window when I had a break from the TED conference (which I attend every year as a TED host) or in those moments after the kids’ bedtime and before my own. One good habit I got into was getting away from my computer at midday. I’m really good about making lunch dates or going for a run to break up the monotony of staring at my screen all day long.

What’s good advice you’ve received about journalism that you would pass on to anyone just starting out?

All good reporting comes from great questions. Start with a clear question you seek to answer in your story, project, or book, and stay true to it and your quest to answer it. Once you are clear on what the thing is about, you won’t risk wandering too far from your focal point.

Thanks to Elise for answering our questions! You can follow her over at @elisegoeseast and check out her book Flawless here!

#writer spotlight #elise hu #flawless #k-beauty #beauty #beauty industry #feminism #gender politics #seoul #south korea #journalism #writing advice #reportage #flawlessthebook

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