#thought this was 1995 but that's just when around when the art book its in was published

[aumarchive]

Interview with Nakayama Hisashi, former member of Hikari no Wa (Aum Shinrikyo branch)

cw: cults, domestic violence, sexual manipulation, conspiracy theories, verbal abuse

Do not harass anyone mentioned here. I'm only citing Mr. Nakayama's name and website because he let me do so.

Do not tag as true crime

Originally posted on Reddit by me

Matryoshka dolls are a well-known symbol of Russian arts and crafts; a majestic doll that, by the hands of others, is forced to reveal itself smaller and smaller until, finally, its tiny, hollow interior becomes visible.

Though they have dozens of tales attached to their creation and meaning, none of it is grounded on reality: these dolls were invented pretty recently with fully comercial purposes. Matryoshka aren't exactly meaningful for their land's mythology, nor original. But at least they're cute and saleable.

So is Fumihiro Joyu, ex-spokesman and executive of Aum Shinrikyo.

Joyu is the kind of person who will never run out of stories to tell about; graduated from Waseda University, one of Japan's most prestigious institutes to this day, he quickly lost interest on the labour market and used his knowledges in a new, weird yoga classroom, which would later become the infamous Aum Shinrikyo. And Aum surely got Joyu busy; he served as a spokesman, public relations representative, head of Aum's russian branch and almost as one of its men of action: in 1993, he attempted to spread anthrax in Kameido, Tokyo. It failed miserably.

But he only became infamous in 1995, when he defended the cult against allegations that they were responsible for the subway sarin attack at all costs. His devotion didn't earn him any prestige, just a lot of fans willing to steal and auction off his dirty socks and a saying attached to his name: ああいえば上祐 (Aa ie ba Joyu, which roughly translates to "If you say so, Joyu"). After being sentenced to three years of prison in late 1995 due to charges of perjury and forgery of private documents, he declared that "Master Asahara is a guide, a savior, and everything to me". It seemed unlikely that his adoration would be shaken.

But after being released from prison in 1999, it seemed that Joyu had a change of heart. He didn't leave Aum (in fact, Joyu became its De Facto representative under the name Aleph), but tried to reform it, reflect on its multiple incidents and eliminate Asahara Shoko's influence. In 2007, after a series of conflicts with Asahara's wife, children, and other executives, Joyu announced he was going to leave Aleph and launch a new organization: Hikari no Wa. According to its website:

Hikari no Wa is not a religion. This is a classroom where you can learn the wisdom and philosophy of happiness from the East and the West, including Buddhist thoughts, meditation methods, and modern psychology, without believing in a specific guru, god, or sect.

The classroom, of course, was met with protests and doubts. The U.S Department of State only lifted its designation as a terrorist foreign organization (TFO) as late as 2022, and Japanese police still surveils it.

Since then, despite still being considered a controversial figure, Joyu has made attempts to clear his image; according to Hikari no Wa's website, the classroom pays compensation to the victims of the subway sarin attack, deprogramms Aleph believers and apologises for its representative's former criminal activities. Joyu also seems to have invested in unusual methods of self-promotion, such as taking part in a hiphop EP where he sings while an edit of the 1995 subway attack plays in the background. He also published a book on how to identify dangerous cults despite his status as a potential cult leader.

There is very little information about Hikari no Wa in English. Its only known activities are events and speeches about spirituality held by Joyu himself, its alleged "Aum liquidation" and its "Pilgrimage to Sacred Places".

However, around February 2024, I stumbled upon a fairly obscure site: stop-hikarinowa.com. According to itself, its purpose is to:

Ask Hikari no Wa to disband.

Promote the exchange of information and people-to-people exchanges on the issue of Hikari no Wa.

Provide support for Hikari no Wa members to withdraw from membership.

Disseminate information to society about the problems of Hikari no Wa.

In addition, we will carry out all activities that we deem necessary for issues related to Hikari no Wa and Aum Shinrikyo.

It also claims Hikari no Wa is, in fact, a cult:

Just like Asahara in Aum Shinrikyo, I think it boils down to the fact that Joyu is in control of everything in Hikari no Wa. It's true that Hikari no Wa changed its doctrine because it wanted to get rid of probation, and it also said that it was a philosophy and thought class. All of the reforms that have been carried out over the past 10 years have been carried out at the discretion of Joyu. This fact proves that it is possible to return to the doctrines and operations of the past with the sole intention of Joyu. As long as he's under inspection, he can't do anything as crazy as Aum (and this is the same for Aleph), but if it were to be removed, no one would be able to stop him from running wild like he did with Aum. The guru becoming a dictator is common to other cults, but if a cult that has crossed the line in the past is allowed to go unchecked, it will be a different danger than other cults. The danger of Hikari no Wa varies greatly depending on what happens to the government's surveillance, but at least it seems that it is an organization that cannot guarantee even safety without national surveillance. * On "Frequently Asked Questions"

I contacted its representative, Nakayama Hisashi who's both a former Aum believer (from 1996 to 2007) and a Hikari no Wa one (from 2007 to 2016) and managed to interview him on March 30, 2024.

The interview go as follows:

Q: Tell us about yourself. You joined Aum to find out more about its practices, but what made you stay for such a long time? A: It was cosy. Aum believers are serious and selfless, so it was really healing to talk to such people.

Q: From what I have read, despite precarious living conditions, including poor diet and cockroach-infested flats, Aum believers formed a strong sense of community. What was daily life like when you joined the organisation? A: Food was considered a bother, and the idea was that it was good if you could get the minimum amount of energy. Even cockroaches were souls that were trying their best to live, and we looked after them with compassion. Such different values from the world were fresh and a strong sense of community existed. It was a similar life in Aum and in Aleph. In Hikari no Wa we secularised, so the ordained people remained Aum, but they disliked the filthy environment.

Q: When did you first come into contact with Joyu? What was your first impression of him? A: Around 2005. My first impression was that he was a hard-working practitioner.

Q: Were you aware that he was at odds with the Asahara family? Were there any tensions within Aum in the late 2000s? A: Initially I did not know that there was a conflict. Inside Aum, the explanation was that Joyu was in training, so I didn't think there was a conflict. Believers like me were not informed of anything. When Joyu came out of prison and the Group Regulation Law was passed, believers though Aum was going to be destroyed, so there was a sense of tension, and although there were people who opposed Joyu's methods, none of us thought that there would be a split later on.

Q: When Hikari no Wa was formed in 2007, why did you join it instead of staying with Aleph? What convinced you? A: Because they sympathised with the idea of social reconciliation by acknowledging the incident. And I was banned from Aleph for having contact with Joyu.

Q: What were the first days of Hikari no Wa like? I have seen a video from around 2009[1], and it seems that many people protested its existence. A: Hikari no Wa was not trusted at all, even if they said they were reflecting on Aum. I thought that if I reflected sincerely, society would one day understand me. Perhaps it was only the believers who were deceived by Joyu's words that he had reflected on his life.

Q: What was your daily life like? Did you go to work or interact with normal society? Did you talk to family and friends? A: I moved from one job to another and worked on construction sites for a long time. I told my family about it, but my wife was vehemently against it, so I didn't talk much about being a believer. Once I mentioned that I was a member at work, but I was discriminated against so quit my job. Since then, I stopped talking about Hikari no Wa to my friends. But I did have normal social interactions outside of the classroom.

Q: I assume you are familiar with the B.I.T.E model, which lists cult behaviour. Let's use it to ask some questions. To what extent was your personal life regulated by Hikari no Wa? Was your diet, social or sex life regulated by the cult, or did you need permission to make major decisions? A: I was a noisy believer [laughs], so I was never dominated by the cult. But they were giving detailed instructions to other people on how to spend their money. I would immediately announce it on social media, so I guess the cult was also cautious. It seems that I was treated differently from the others.

Q: I watched some videos from Hikari no Wa's Youtube channel[2] and they seem to travel frequently. At the same time, they pay compensation to Aum victims. I wonder if a tremendous amount of money is being taken from its believers, or if Joyu is making money in other ways. A: The pilgrimages are a means of collecting large sums of money from believers. Devotees are desperate to join in (laughs). "Why is it so expensive?" I asked him, and he excused himself by saying, "Because I'm compensating them". Compensation is the excuse for the high participation fees. But we couldn't operate on that alone, so some of our staff went out to work, and I think we took a lot of money from the rich and quiet believers.

Q: Hikari no Wa page claims to be a place to learn psychology and natural doctrine, without any religious elements. Is this true? Joyu is not licensed to talk about psychology, and he seems to be getting increasedly incoherent. A: I was confused too. In the classroom, I was reading sutras and doing zazen[3]. And then they said, "It's not a religion", so I thought they were deceiving the world. I think that Joyu himself probably doesn't know what he is doing anymore (laughs).

Q: I saw you accuse Joyu of still being an Aum believer and simply hiding Asahara. Can you elaborate on that? A: When I left Aleph, Joyu said to me: 'I will surely share my reincarnation with the Venerable Master (Asahara). So if you follow me, you will surely meet the Venerable Master again." In other words, following Joyu means that no matter how much you deny Asahara, you are recognised in the doctrine of Aum. Joyu still does not deny reincarnation; if there is reincarnation, then Joyu and Asahara will meet again, and people who are closely related to Joyu will meet Asahara again. The only way to deny this is to deny reincarnation or to dissolve the organisation and live modestly. Because of this idea, everything that Joyu says and does to get people to recognise him is to hide Asahara. There's no retraction or apology to his followers for what he said at that time. I don't think he is remorseful at all.

Q: Wait, that's big! Do you have evidence? A: It was just my experience because it was in a private conversation. I've told the public security authorities and I also think it's evidence for the renewal of my observation, but it's just my testimony, I don't think it's evidence.

Q: That is unfortunate, but I still think it stands out. From reading various discussions of yours, it seems that there is sexual manipulation going on within Hikari no Wa. Can you tell us a bit more about it?" I saw terms such as "sexy business". A: It's a technique known in Japan as 'shirokoi business'. In Aum, love was also an affliction, but having romantic feelings for the Venerable Master (Asahara) was considered a good thing. Intense romantic feelings of wanting to be recognised by the Master and to keep him to oneself were considered to be a form of faith. Joyu frequently appeared in the media during the Aum Affair, which gave rise to a group of fans called "Joyu Gals". Such Joyu fans started coming to Hikari no Wa. Not only 90s Joyu fans, but also new fans are still coming to Hikari no Wa through YouTube and events. They are taking money by cleverly utilising such fan psychology and romantic feelings. The method is to stimulate women's romantic feelings and dominate them by saying, for example, "I have a connection with you from the past". In Japan, there are 'host clubs' where men entertain women, and the sales method is similar to this. Although there was only one victim, I was consulted by a victim who said she actually had sexual relations with Joyu. But at the strong request of the victim, we don't really take it up.

Q: I have also read that Joyu is prone to domestic violence, please elaborate on this. A: Joyu has a strong desire for control, so he would yell at staff and others when he didn't like something, and sometimes beat them up. When I asked someone who was actually hit, he said that he had his karma taken away (laughs). I think this is a typical example of Aum thinking, which is pro-violence. I criticised him a lot, so I don't think he does violence now, but I think he still uses words to corner his opponents. Joyu has a male-dominated mindset, so his desire for domination over women is particularly strong, and I think it tends to lead to violence.

Q: Have you witnessed physical or verbal violence? or have you been subjected to violence? Again, there is no intention to invade your privacy. If you do not wish to answer, you do not have to. A: I have never been hit directly. However, when I quit, I was verbally abused. I saw him shouting at staff on many occasions. Old believers know this all too well. He didn't have any anger control at all (laughs).

Q: Why did you start to leave Hikari no Wa? Did other members also quit? A: I loved Hikari no Wa, not Joyu, so I wanted society to be a comfortable and secure place for the followers who gathered there. In reality, however, the believers were only paying money and being used. I wanted to reform that, but I couldn't do it and was forced to quit. I was also exhausted, so it was probably just as well. There were more than 100 staff members at the time of the Aleph Joyu Faction, but by the time Hikari no Wa was established, there were only about 60, and now there are less than 10. Those who had survived Aum and Aleph gave up on the Joyu and quit. Originally, Aum was a cult with two sides of the same coin, and only those close to them would have known the true nature of the guru, but as it became smaller and smaller, I think the number one reason is that the true nature of Joyu could not be hidden and came to the surface (laughs). The same is true of Aleph, as the closer to Asahara you were, the less you remain in Aleph. The only people left in Aleph now are people who don't know Asahara directly. The same is true of Hikari no Wa, who fled as they learnt about Joyu's character. People who found out that he was the king of the naked left. Conversely, the staff who remain now are people who don't want to admit that Joyu is naked, so they may no longer run away. It's pitiful.

It's important to note that, in July 11th 2018, it was revealed Joyu witnessed the murder of a female believer[4] back in 1991, though he didn't say anything until he could no longer be charged for it, and he still avoids this topic. Nakayama says:

After I left, it was revealed after Asahara's execution that Joyu had left female followers to die during his Aum days and had been covering it up for a long time. When I found out about the incident, all the slight remaining feelings I had for Joyu were gone. I thought that everything I had been working on with hope, saying that I would reflect on the incident, was a lie. I now seriously hope that the cult will be disbanded.

Moving on.

Q: Sorry to digress, but I was very interested in Hikari no Wa's instance on science. Joyu often talks about psychology, even if he's not licensed to talk about it. And he apparently gathered at events without masks during the pandemic. A: Right. What the Joyu says publicly, he says it with an awareness of what society will think of him. He pretends to be a sensible person. But in his true feelings, he thinks completely differently, and what he says and what he does are completely different. If you look at what he does, not what he says, you can see what he really thinks.

Q: Sorry to be too straightforward, but is Joyu a conspiracy theorist? I'm not talking about extreme and flash cases like Qanon. It's about things like "this disease can be cured with X, Y and W" A: He has not been vaccinated. This may be because he believes that vaccines are not desirable from a parrot doctrinal point of view and that if he practices, he will not get infected. I don't want to call it a conspiracy theory, but I think he thinks that practising is a better way to fight infection than vaccines or medicine.

Q: That's bad. Do believers have the freedom or critical skills to get themselves vaccinated? A: It might be different for different people. Maybe many people think the same way as Joyu. That is, that practice is more effective than medical treatment. If Joyu would be asked by his followers, he would not deny the vaccine, but he would not dare to recommend it either. Since many people are dependent, I think many of them would not take the vaccine themselves if Joyu had not taken it.

Q: Sorry to change the subject again, but there is one more thing I wanted to know. I browsed through some of the accounts and posts and found screenshots of Joyu himself talking about and endorsing Vajrayana[5]. One of them was yours[6]. Is it authentic? A: I always think about the risk of a court case when I send out screenshots, so I don't fake it. Hikari no Wa always say it'll go to court and then ask me to delete it.

And, then, the interview ended. I had more to ask, but it was 3 AM and I didn't want to waste more of Mr. Nakayama's time.

It's important to note that all of this is simply alleged and I'm solely giving voice to a former member. Joyu has still a large platform, with around 17k followers on Twitter, and appears on documentaries and interviews as an cult expert of some sorts. It's not uncommon for former cult members to study about it later on, but Joyu didn't go through any deprogramming initiative, not even during his time in prison. And, of course, it's certainly unusual for an ex-believer to establish a "non religious' (though with holy pilgrimages) and "non guru centered" (though he's the only member with an online presence) organization.

Do not track and harass former Aum/Hikari no Wa members. Mr. Nakayama gave me permission to say his actual name and site, but this experience has been traumatic to many people.

During my research, I found a quote associated with Joyu in some foruns and websites, but couldn't find any proof it was actually his nor the context in which it was supposedly said.

A snake that doesn't shed its skin will die

Matryoshka are self aware, I guess.

#aum shinrikyo #interview #spiritual abuse #cult mention #organized abuse #pipeline #cw antivax

[70sscifiart]

Hajime Sorayama, 1985

#Hajime Sorayama #not really 70s #1985 #thought this was 1995 but that's just when around when the art book its in was published

[yourlocalfictionalenthusiast]

IN LIFE, IN DEATH...

PART THREE

Part One, Part Two

Warnings: just some swearing

May 1995

“We’re totally gonna get a record deal!”

Luke said for the tenth time in the past hour as he bounced in his seat.

It was Friday night and normally, you would all be messing around at the park, the beach, or just watching a movie in the studio. But when your phone rang and it was the booking manager for the Orpheum telling you that Sunset Curve is officially the new opener next month, the boys insisted on being there the second your shift at the diner was over.

So instead of arguing about having another Star Wars marathon or playing at the pier, you were all packed in your regular booth at Cece’s for celebratory milkshakes. You sat on the very edge of the booth, practically falling asleep on Alex. Ever since you got the call that morning, every cell in your body felt supercharged with excitement.

But now that the day was coming to an end, you could hardly stay awake enough to pay attention to the conversation.

Bobby, who was in your usual spot, pinched Luke’s arm. “Don’t jinx it, dude.”

“It’s not jinxing if you know for sure.” Luke said. “I mean, we’re awesome! And we’ve worked so hard to get to this point. It’s all gonna pay off.”

As much as you wanted to believe him, you were still nervous. There was nothing you were prouder of than your music, and you knew that a crowd that big would be good for gaining a lot of new fans. But the idea of that many people seeing you perform and hearing your lyrics was nerve-wracking.

You could tell the others felt the same way. Bobby was biting his nails, Alex was bouncing his leg so hard it almost hit the table and Reggie was slumped against the wall. Luke just stared at all of you, his bright smile never fading.

He snapped his fingers so loud that you jumped at the noise, then he started digging in his pockets. “I know what’ll cheer you guys up.”

Luke pulled out a safety pin, then brought its point down into the table, his tongue poking out of the side of his mouth in concentration. After a few minutes, he brushed off the table and presented his design proudly. It was four words in huge slanted letters.

‘SUNSET CURVE WAS HERE’

“Seriously, Luke?” Alex said, his eyes wide. “Cece’s gonna kill you!”

Luke just smirked and handed him the pin, gesturing to the space under the words. “‘C’mon, man. You’re up first.”

It took a lot of convincing, but Alex eventually gave in, and one by one, you all signed your names.

‘Alex,

Bobby

Reggie

Luke

(Y/N)’

You heard the sound of Cece’s heels hitting the floor as she exited the kitchen. Panicking, you shoved the pin in your pocket just in time as she came up to the table. 

Before she could even see that anything was different, Reggie pointed at Luke.

“He did it!”

Cece frowned before inspecting the table, letting out a deep sigh and putting her hands on her hips.

“Are you vandalizing my diner, Patterson?”

Luke paled. “It was a group effort.”

“But it was your idea,” Alex said with a smirk, no doubt trying to pin the blame on Luke to keep his spot as Cece’s favorite. You had to bury your head into his shoulder to contain your laughter.

You could tell from the way that she was struggling to keep a straight face that Cece wasn’t actually mad but you weren’t gonna tell Luke that. He tried to kick Alex’s leg under the table but he hit yours instead. You hissed in pain and Luke paled even further.

“Shit, sorry, (Y/n).”

“And abusing my staff?” Cece joked, shaking her head.

Luke flashed her a charming smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, Cece. Just got a little excited.”

“I can see that.” She laughed then turned to you. “Hey. Get up. I got you something.”

You looked up at her in confusion but she didn’t offer you any answer as you dragged yourself up. Cece pulled a small blue box out from behind her back and handed it to you. “What’s the occasion?”

Cece rolled her eyes. “Just open it.” 

The first thing you saw was a folded piece of paper with your name on it, under it was a silver key. You picked it up and held it in between your fingers as you carefully unfolded the paper to see three words in Cece’s careful handwriting.

just in case

You looked up at her, eyebrows knitted together. “Cece?”

She just winked as she put her hand on your cheek. “Honey, you know that I couldn’t have more faith in you and your rockstar dreams. But just in case things don’t work out...well, I couldn’t imagine giving this place to anyone else.”

You flew into her arms and hugged her so tight it was a little painful. Of course, all you wanted was for Sunset Curve to get signed to a label and take over the world. But this place was like home to you and the idea of owning it some day made your heart swell. “Thank you!”

The booth erupted in cheers and Cece playfully glared at them as she tucked you under her arm. “But you have to promise you’ll keep these boys of yours from doing any more damage to the property.”

Bobby scoffed. “Hey, we’re not-”

You slapped your hand over his mouth before nodding at Cece. “I’ll try my best.”

The bell on the door jingled to announce the arrival of another customer, and Cece left to greet them. You twirled the key around in your hand and looked at the boys' smiling faces, unable to hide your own.

As you settled back in the booth and took a sip of your milkshake, you couldn’t help but feel like everything was coming together.

2020

L.A was somehow so different, yet exactly the way you remembered.

The way the bright lights flooded the streets, to the way that every surface you see was decorated with a piece of art, made you anxious to re-explore the city you loved so much. 

You couldn’t help but stare through your swinging legs at the crowds walking around below, listening to the soft buzzing of the Orpheum’s sign above your head.

An hour ago when Luke had suggested walking around the city, you figured you would end up here eventually. But now that you were actually here, you couldn’t help the hollow feeling that settled in your stomach.

It must’ve shown on your face because Luke launched into one of his motivational speeches. “C’mon, guys. I know being dead wasn’t our first choice. But you gotta admit, it is easier to get around.”

Reggie pouted. “Easy for you maybe. I lost my shirt on that one.”

You hadn’t even noticed that he was shirtless until it reappeared in a flash and he sighed in relief.

“So, why did you bring us here?” Alex asked Luke. “Just another painful reminder of where we never got to play?”

You smiled sarcastically. “Yeah, thanks, Luke.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Because, we’re not done yet!”

He slung his arm around Alex’s shoulder, and gripped yours as he poofed you all down to the sidewalk, pulling away from you as fast as possible once your feet were back on the ground.

“I’m telling you.” Luke said. “We’ve been given a second chance. Let’s go see how many clubs we can hit before sunrise!”

He started walking down the street and Reggie was quick to follow, leaving you and Alex behind. As you watched them skip down the sidewalk, Alex let out a sharp ‘hey!’ and you whipped around to see him rubbing his shoulder.

A man in a long black suit stared straight into your eyes before tipping his hat to Alex and disappearing down the street. Every hair on your body stood on end as you stared at the spot where he was just standing.

“That was weird.” You said, turning to Alex. “You okay?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I’m good.”

You could hear Luke and Reggie’s excited shouting as they ran down the street, but you and Alex kept your distance. He reached his arm out to you and you took it automatically.

Over the last six months, Alex had become your best friend. You had always been close but last summer when things got bad with his parents, he turned to you.

And when things started to get weird between you and Luke or you had a fight with your mom, Alex was the only one you wanted to talk to. 

“Alright.” Alex sighed. “Out with it.”

“Out with what?”

“I know you’re dying to talk about Luke.”

“I am not!”

Alex raised his eyebrows, clearly not convinced.

“Besides, there’s nothing to talk about.”

“Nothing-” He took in a sharp breath. “(Y/n), for someone so smart, you’re acting like a dumbass.”

You put a hand on your chest, dramatically gasping. “Alexander Mercer! I had no idea you were capable of using that kind of language.”

He flashed you his middle finger before unlocking his arm from yours and pulling you into his side. “Seriously though. What’s rolling around up there?”

You were quiet for a few minutes as you rested your head on his shoulder. “I just want to know what I did, you know?” 

Alex nodded, but didn’t say anything, as he knew that you were just getting started.

“I mean, he’s always been there. He's always been my person. The one who I could count on for anything. Then that night in the studio, I thought…” 

You trailed off and Alex held you a little tighter. Even though he wasn’t there, he could probably describe that night in exact detail from the amount of times you had told him about it. “I just miss him."

“Yeah, I know.” Alex said, his eyes glued to Luke’s back. “But, hey, you know that he loves you, and that didn’t change because of one night.”

He started to say something else but cut himself off as he saw Reggie and Luke approaching, both with big, goofy smiles. Reggie took your arm that wasn’t around Alex’s back and locked it in his.

“What are you guys talking about?” He asked.

“Nothing!” You said way too fast, cringing to yourself as you dragged Reggie down the sidewalk. “Come on, Reg. Let’s go see if that old comic book shop is still around.”

As the night wore on, you became more and more thankful that you weren’t able to get tired.

You spent the whole night sneaking into concert venues, clubs, and pretty much any place you wanted now that there was no chance of getting caught. It wasn’t until you passed a small street-side café that you let yourself think about the one place you hadn’t been yet.

Cece’s Diner.

When Julie told you it had been 25 years, you assumed that it had closed down. That Cece had moved away. Maybe even reconnected with her son and lived out her life. It seemed like such a perfect thought that you didn’t want to ruin it with reality. 

But now that you had seen the way things had changed in the time you had been gone, you were now filled with a sense of urgency. You launched up the sidewalk until you were in front of the boys.

“Hey, guys?” You asked. They all stared at you curiously as a smile slowly spread across your face. “Anyone up for milkshakes?”

-

When you walked up to the diner - for only an instant - it was as if no time had passed. You felt the urge to run inside, throw your hair up in a ponytail, and make a beeline for the kitchen before you got in trouble for being late for your shift. 

Only as you got closer, you realized how much had changed. The building, which had always been a little ordinary and worn like a well-loved home, now felt about twenty stories tall. You dragged yourself forward toward the door, unable to look away.

The boys lingered behind you, but no one said a word. 

Your hand reached for the doorknob before you remembered that you wouldn’t actually be able to touch it.

I really gotta get used to that, you mumbled to yourself as you walked through the door.

It looked so different that you almost didn’t recognize it.

The bright blue paint had been replaced with brown on every wall, bookshelves lined the corners of the room, and long leather couches had replaced the booths and tables. The old jukebox had disappeared, and some old jazz song was playing over speakers over your head.

“Can I help you?” 

A voice asked from behind the counter. It was a boy that looked a little older than you, messy black hair and an uninterested smile. He dragged a blue pen across the margins of a book as he waited for your answer.

“You can see us?” Alex asked, to which the boy rolled his eyes.

“I’m talking to you, aren’t I?” He said, raising his eyebrows when you all failed to answer either of his questions.

“My, my. Aren’t we chatty.”

“Who are you, exactly?” You said, trying to mask your annoyance with a smile.

“Teddy.” He said, pushing himself off the counter and making his way around until he stopped just a few feet ahead of you. “And you’re (Y/n).”

A shiver ran down your spine. “How do you know that?”

“You were a friend of my grandma’s.”

Before you could ask what the hell he meant by that, a man came walking out of the kitchen. He looked so much like Cece that it made your stomach flip. It was her son.

And as you looked back at Teddy, your mind slowly connected the dots. “You’re Cece’s grandson?”

He nodded.

“Okay, this is just too weird.” You said as you rubbed your temples. There was no way that this was actually happening, right? Maybe you somehow fell asleep and are having some weird ghost dream. 

“Okay, well I definitely feel old.” Alex sighed.

Your head was spinning. “What is even happening right now.”

Teddy smiled. “Well, it’s too bad we’re dead or else I would buy you coffee and explain it to you.”

You internally cringed at his pick-up line but you couldn’t help but laugh a little. Normally, random guys flirting with you made you uncomfortable but behind his cocky attitude, he seemed like a genuine guy.

Maybe it was the way that he twirled his pen between his fingers the way that Cece used to, but something told you that there was more to him than meets the eye.

Before you could answer, Luke spoke up. “Well, it was nice meeting you. But we really should be getting back home.”

You could see that he was right as the pale light came in through the windows as the sky started to lighten.

But you couldn’t help but notice that this was the first time he had interjected in the conversation since you got there, and a small part of you wondered if that had anything to do with the way that Teddy was staring at you.

You shook those thoughts from your head, giving Teddy a soft smile.

“Maybe next time.”

Though you weren’t capable of getting cold, you still shivered a little as you walked through the door and back out onto the street. You could feel Luke’s eyes on the side of your face, flickering down to the sidewalk when he saw you looking.

You gave him a light nudge on the shoulder, and he gave you a soft smile that you couldn’t quite decipher the meaning behind.

That was pretty much all you got from Luke these days.

“So,” Luke said, his enthusiasm returning in full force as he threw his arms over Alex and Reggie’s shoulders. “I think it’s safe to say we’re officially back in business.”

-

The second that you landed in the studio, your jaw dropped.

Julie was sitting at the piano, her voice shaky but full of passion as she belted out the most beautiful song you’ve ever heard. Her fingers hit the keys expertly and you smiled.

You closed your eyes, listening to her voice echo through the room and getting lost in the warm feeling the lyrics filled you with. It wasn’t until she stopped singing and sniffled quietly that your heart dropped.

Both you and Alex surged forward to comfort her but Luke shook his head and swirled his finger, signaling to meet up outside. You wanted to protest. To stay and comfort your new friend.

But Julie sniffled again and you thought that maybe it would be a good idea to give her space. You made a mental note to talk to her later and poofed out of the garage.

-

In Life, In Death Taglist:

@ifilwtmfc @instabull @wanniiieeee @tenaciousperfectionunknown

JATP Taglist:

@caitsymichelle13

Let me know if you want to be added!

#luke patterson #luke patterson x reader #luke patterson imagine #julie molina #Reggie Peters #Alex Mercer #jatp fanfic

[sapphirelass]

Two Peas in a Pod - Harry PotterxSister!Reader

Please note:

1: I don’t own any of the gifs used, nor any already established characters, so credit to the authors and original creators - You have done a phenomenal job :)

2: English is not my native language, as I was born and raised in Sweden. I have, however, studied English for almost a decade, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem, I just thought I’d let you know ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For this one-shot I have taken inspiration from both the book and the film, as well as left out parts of the original dialogue that, for the purpose of this story, felt irrelevant.

Word count: ≈ 2400

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You probably already knew this, but still XD

(Y/N) - Your name

(Y/N/N) - Your nickname

(Y/H/C) - Your hair colour

(Y/H/L) - Your hair length

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Two Peas in a Pod

Harry Potter and his twin sister (Y/N) were like two peas in a pod. Always had been. Supposedly, that was what happened when young magicians had to grow up with muggles, especially if those muggles were named “Dursley”. Harry was always more impulsive, whereas (Y/N) took on the role of the rational one, yet they had both been placed in Gryffindor house by the sorting hat four years prior.

It was now the first of September 1995, and last year had been a rough one. Lord Voldemort, the dark wizard who had killed Harry and (Y/N)’s parents, had just come back and despite their efforts, this holiday had been more miserable than any of the previous ones. Dudley and his friends, dementor attacks, and a general lack of communication with the wizarding world left the twins in a particularly bad mood. They arrived at Kings Cross, and after pulling Harry away from Draco Malfoy, (Y/N), her brother, Ron and Hermione boarded the Hogwarts express, and found a place to sit.

During the start-of-the-year feast, the small group of friends quickly realized that something was wrong. Their new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor - Dolores Umbridge - was a ministry employe, which was weird on its own, but the way she spoke, acted, and kept interrupting Dumbledore with shrill, irritating *hum hum*’s made them all feel queasy.

After a quiet discussion in the common room (and quite a bit of loud arguing between Harry and Seamus Finnigan), they went to bed, yawning, and not exactly looking forward to that year’s first period of DADA.

***

They entered the classroom, and to their surprise, Umbridge actually wasn’t there yet. Harry and (Y/N) shared a confused look, but went to sit down, Harry with Ron, and (Y/N) with Hermione. Eventually though, the professor did arrive, her unnaturally high-pitched voice bringing them all back to reality.

“Good morning, class!” she said cheerfully

There was a quiet murmur among the students, and Umbridge shook her head.

“Good Morning!” she said again, this time more sternly. “I expect you to answer me when spoken to.”

A slightly louder “Good morning professor” could be heard, and though Umbridge didn’t seem too pleased, she decided to move on with the lesson.

“Ordinary Wizarding Levels - OWLs” she started. “Your previous teachers in this subject have all been quite questionable choices, however this year things will be the way they were meant to. Open your books on page 4.”

A few minutes had passed before Hermione raised her hand and said “Professor, there is nothing in here about using defensive spells.”

“Using spells?” Umbridge asked, laughing nastily

“We’re not to use magic?” Ron asked

“You will be learning defensive magic in a safe, risk-free environment”

“But”, said Harry, rather angrily, “what good would that do? If we were attacked that wouldn’t be risk-free!”

“Ha!”, laughed Umbridge, “And who exactly do you think would want to attack a helpless child such as yourself? Besides, the education you will receive will be more than enough for you to pass your OWLs, and that is after all just what school is about.” She finished with a smirk, looking rather satisfied with her speech.

(Y/N), who had sat quietly this whole time shifted slightly in her chair, and exclaimed: “It’s not though!

“Sorry?” Umbridge asked, dumbfounded

“School isn’t solely about receiving good grades! It’s about preparing the students for life, and supplying them with the tools and knowledge necessary in order to succeed and improve. If we’re not going to do that, then why, may I ask, is this a mandatory course? It’s already starting to seem rather pointless to me.”

Harry was perplexed. How his sister always managed to, 1: use her words in such a remarkable way, and 2: remain calm through the most infuriating of situations was a mystery to him, however he turned his gaze back towards Umbridge, waiting for her reply.

“Nonsense” She said. “This course is compulsory, and rightfully so!”

“How though?” Inquired (Y/N), pushing it further than she probably should have. “Can you name any situation, apart from the exam, where your teachings will be of any help to us? Or didn’t the ministry consider that?”

That was the top of the iceberg.

“DETENTION!!” shouted Umbridge. “My office, 8:30 would you be so kind, Ms Potter.”

(Y/N) flinched. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, however detention was not something she had to endure very often. That was more Harry’s thing. She sank quietly back onto her chair, and Umbridge continued with her boring, unnecessary lesson, reciting facts and procedures they had all learnt about 4 years earlier. (Y/N) could feel her brother staring, practically burning a hole in her neck, but somehow, probably thanks to Ron, he kept quiet for the rest of the class.

An hour later, class ended and none of the Gryffindor students wasted any time getting out of Umbridge’s classroom. (Y/N) threw her stuff into her brown, leather bag and dashed out of the room without making eye contact with her brother or friends.

“(Y/N/N)!” Harry shouted. “Wait up!”

He caught up with his sister on the stairs leading down to McGonagall’s classroom.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Looking up at him with an annoyed stare she said “Yes Harry! Just brilliant!” with a sarcastic tone in her voice. She kept on walking, but Harry grabbed her shoulder. A few years ago, they had been roughly the same size, but Harry had grown A LOT, and was by now almost seven inches taller. All the quidditch training had apparently paid off too, and (Y/N) knew instantly that she would never be able to escape his firm, yet gentle grip. He glanced down on her with a worried look on his face.

“I’m serious!” he said. “Stop”

She turned around and faced him. “What?” She spat at him, suddenly noticing her icy voice.

“Sorry…” (Y/N) mumbled, “she just pissed me off. I’m fine.” Her facial expression softened and she met Harry’s eyes for the first time since class ended. He let go of her shoulders, and was just about to say something when a tall ginger came running at full speed and gave (Y/N) a supportive pat on the back.

“That was bloody brilliant!” Ron exclaimed. “(Y/N), did you see the look on her face? Bloody hell, she was angrier than Malfoy after Harry beat him in his first quidditch match!”

“Yes” stated (Y/N) simply, as Hermione made her way down the stairs, “I saw…”

“Oh cheer up!” stated Ron, “an hour or two of detention isn’t the end of the world. If you ask me, it was totally worth it!”

Hermione gave him a disapproving stare as (Y/N) sadly stated, “It might not have been the cleverest thing to do” Both Harry and Hermione blinked at her with a sort of “you-don’t-say?” kind of look as she kept on speaking. “But you must admit that it’s the truth? Defence against the dark arts has never been as important as it is right now. We are all going to die before the end of the year unless we learn and improve?!”

“You’re right.” Hermione muttered, and surprisingly, she smiled slightly. “But we’ll have to talk about that later, otherwise we’ll be late for transfiguration. Come on!”

***

The rest of the day went by rather quickly, and the quartet soon found themselves in front of the fireplace in the common room. It was about 8:20 when (Y/N) stood up, grabbed a jacket, and left for Umbridge’s office.

“Good luck!” Harry said, frowning deeply, “I’ll wait for you here.”

(Y/N) turned around quickly, “Haz, you don’t have to. I’ll be fine. You need your sleep and I have no idea how long this is going to take.”

Harry gave her a sort or irritated look, to which she sighed and left without a word.

“What do you think she’ll have her do?” Hermione questioned.

“I don’t know” Harry hissed, “but I’m sure she’ll tell me when she gets back...”

The remaining three looked at each other. Ron threw Harry a chocolate frog, and then - they waited…

***

*knock knock*

There was a slight clinking noise, like metal on china, followed by a repulsing “come in”. (Y/N) took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

“Ah!” chirped Umbridge, “Potter, sit down, will you?”

(Y/N) apprehensively made her way across the room to the chair her so-called “professor” had pointed at. She sat down and looked around nervously.

“You will be writing some sentences for me today, no” Umbridge said, as (Y/N) reached down to her bag to pick up something to write with. “no, not with your own quill. You’ll be using a rather special one of mine.” She smiled evilly, and pushed a black, pointy feather across the table.

(Y/N) grabbed it carefully and asked in a silent, trembling voice, “what should I write?”

“Oh, right! How about… ‘I must obey my superiors’?”

***

It was about three hours later, when (Y/N) slowly made her way back to the common room, red, hot blood dripping from her left hand leaving a small trail through the corridor. The pain had intensified, and was by this point almost unbearable. She took a quick detour to the girls’ bathroom, hoping to be able to clean herself up a bit before having to face her friends and brother. She had told him to go to sleep, after all, it was almost midnight by now, but she knew him all too well. The odds of him being in bed were absolutely zero.

She watched the thick, red liquid disappear down the sink and let a few tears fall, before grabbing some paper making sure no tears or blood could be seen. She had to make it through the common room up to the dormitories quickly though, since she was sure Harry would be able to tell she’d been crying, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Sure, she could just tell him, but something inside her argued against that. He had been rather angry and distressed all summer, and she knew he wasn’t feeling much better now. Harry had enough to deal with without handling her problems too.

Entering the common room, roughly four seconds had passed before her brother was by her side.

“Hey,” he said gently, “everything okay?”

She nodded and mumbled a quiet. “Yes. ‘m tired though, night Harry”

She walked the stairs up to her dorm, leaving Harry behind. He simply stood there dumbfounded. What had just happened? “Oh… okay, night (Y/N/N)”

She didn’t answer…

***

The following morning, he found her at the breakfast table, slowly digesting a tiny portion of porridge. She was wearing one of his old quidditch jumpers underneath her cloak. He knew, because it was far too big for her, and the sleeves reached down to her fingertips.

“Hey,” he said, ruffling her (Y/H/L), (Y/H/C) hair, “Feeling better?”

“Sure, “ she murmured, slowly pulling the sleeves even further down. He gave her a supportive hug.

“But come on now, “ he urged her. “You can’t be sad forever. What did she have you do?”

“Nothing…”

“(Y/N/N)!”

“Just write some sentences. It was fine, rather dull to be honest with you.” She threw the spoon into the bowl, and pushed it away. “How are you feeling? Any bad dreams?”

“Always…” he muttered, shaking his head at the milk that had splashed out on the table, “could have been worse though.”

Harry made himself some toast, as Ron and Hermione joined them in the great hall.

***

A week or so later Harry had had enough. It was in defence against the dark arts, on a rather cold Tuesday afternoon that he finally snapped, and shouted at professor Umbridge, who seemed almost too happy for a reason to give him detention.

The gang sat, yet again, around the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, when Harry suddenly left and climbed through the portrait hole. He came back a few hours later, a downright furious look on his face, and walked straight up to his sister without even noticing the ghost he had stumbled through. He looked down at her smaller frame, his quidditch jumper yet again pulled over her head.

“Let me see, ” he said through gritted teeth, causing (Y/N) to look up at him, trying her best to act confused.

“Wha…”

“(Y/N) - let. me. see.” he repeated firmly, his emerald eyes penetrating the mental wall behind which she had been trying so hard to hide her troubles.

She closed her eyes and pulled her sleeve up to her elbow. The blood had naturally dried, however five heart wrenching words were etched into her still red, irritated skin.

I must obey my superiors

No one said a thing. (Y/N) was staring at the floor, not daring to meet her brother’s eyes, all while Harry felt madder than he ever had before.

Madder than when Dudley had been pushing him around the school yard.

Madder than when Malfoy had taunted him because of the dementors.

Madder than when he had found out that his aunt and uncle had lied about their parents true fate for almost 10 years.

This was his sister, and it was far from okay.

Without thinking, Harry was just about to shout at her for keeping something like that from him, when he noticed that she was crying. Soft, quiet sobs that she were clearly trying to hide. It felt as if all his anger simply washed away, and he crouched down and took her hand in his.

Harry’s hand was still covered in blood. He hadn’t had time to clean it, but had instead taken the shortest way to the common room, after realizing what had happened. Raising his right hand, he pulled her closer and felt her lean her head on his chest. They sat like that, arms wrapped around each other, for hours and slowly started drifting off to sleep.

Were they okay? Not at all. Would they be? Absolutely! Because they had each other, and when it really came down to it, that was all they needed, as the Potter twins were just like two peas in a pod.

~ L

Masterlist

#harry potter #harryxsister #harry potter x twin #harry potter x sister #harry potter x sister!reader #harry x reader #harry x sister!reader #umbridge #detention #hp #hp imagine #stories #sister #siblings #twins #harry x sister

[acquariusgb]

The Clinton Tapes extracts of Bill as a father

Since tomorrow is Father’s Day in the US, here are some cute extracts from the book the Clinton Tapes by Taylor Branch about Bill being a wonderful father to Chelsea.  

-  Chelsea stopped by, neat as a pin, talking about an exam on Spanish verbs. She said good night and a preliminary goodbye for his long trip. When she was gone, Clinton said former president Bush had been encouraging him to spend more time at Camp David. Bush was hearing of low morale in its vast, attentive support staff, which remained isolated and idle because the Clintons almost never visited. The president said that while he appreciated such concerns, he saw few opportunities to change soon. Chelsea was fourteen years old. The last thing she wished for was a weekend at Camp David, which to her was the middle of nowhere. She stayed home, and her parents wanted to be apart from her as little as possible. So Camp David must wait. May 1994

- When Chelsea stopped by, the president tried to set a time to play cards, or just to talk. He said he had not seen her for a while, but she excused herself to get up early. Clinton looked a bit forlorn, telling me she had a summer job at the National Institutes of Health. July 1994

- Chelsea came in fretting about homework. In an exercise to hone succinct composition, she was writing an essay of no more than one page on the best and worst qualities in the legendary character Dr. Frankenstein, with illustrative passages from the Mary Shelley novel. Chelsea said her draft spilled stubbornly onto a second page, which was unacceptable, and she expressed doubt about her choice of quotations. The president paused to give counsel, and I left the recorders on as he read most of her essay out loud. He liked its cited images of Frankenstein’s passion for learning, enthralled in his lab, cheeks sallow with intense discovery, but he thought Chelsea was slightly ambiguous about whether his best quality was curiosity or ambition. On the negative side, where she wisely pinpointed an overbearing pride as the chief fault, he said she might find shorter, more precise quotes. We both complimented her language about the progressive blindness of Frankenstein’s zeal. Instead of creating life, Chelsea concluded, the mad doctor faced a “monster who had become his bane.” She went off to make revisions, and Clinton promised to consult her again before saying good night. May 1995

-   A festering wound could damage sensitive U.S.-Japanese relations for years, Gore warned. Clinton must visit Japan quickly to make amends. Just today, the president told me, he and Gore had tramped back and forth over a crowded calendar. December was out because of nightly Christmas parties, and so on, until Clinton circled dates next April. Horrified, Gore said that would be months too late, especially since the White House was announcing a peace trip to Europe for next week. Why not substitute Japan for Northern Ireland? Alternatively, Gore zeroed in on three lightly committed January days, but the president pronounced them vital to Chelsea’s schoolwork. Gore blinked. So what? He stared through Clinton’s halting explanation why this would be a bad time—because Hillary must join him in Japan, and junior-year midterms are the most pressure-packed events in all of high school. Mutual exasperation spiked. “Al,” Clinton told him, “I am not going to Japan and leave Chelsea by herself to take these exams.” Gore erupted. He thought Clinton had lost his bearings. They had a big fight, said the president, and were still wrangling about dates for Japan. November 1995

- During this preview of the campaign, Chelsea popped in the doorway to say she was sorry she may have disturbed us. She had been singing to herself in the hall, and did not realize we were here. Before he could reply, she vanished, and while I was rewinding the tapes shortly afterward, the president rummaged around the big Ulysses Grant desk. A decade ago, when she was about six, he said Chelsea had skipped into a ceremony at the governor’s office with a briefcase, which he was obliged to open in front of everyone. He showed me a photograph of little Chelsea doubled over in laughter as Clinton squeamishly displayed a boa constrictor inside. His daughter was cheerful and courteous, he said, but she was mischievous, too. May 1996

-  His voice surprised me again on Sunday, July 7. He had just finished testifying by videotape for one of the Whitewater criminal trials, in which Ken Starr’s deputy prosecutors were trying to tar him with far-fetched charges against Arkansas bankers. The president was tired, and really needed to spend time with Chelsea. So we must cancel our session tonight. He vowed to catch up soon. Of course, I replied. His staff always handled such logistics, but for some reason he delivered this notice himself. July 1996

-   Clinton told stories about Chelsea on our way down the hall. He and Hillary had just returned from her ballet recital. “She’s not an ideal body for a ballerina,” he reflected. “Far from it.” Chelsea was bigger than most of the other girls, who were flat-chested and tiny. She had big bones. Her feet had bled after practice ever since she was a little girl. Nevertheless, she pursued ballet above other arts or sports for which she was more naturally suited. “I’ve always admired that,” he said. “I’ve wondered whether I could ever stick with something for its own sake.” He was inclined to obsess about competitive standing and talent, he said, whereas Chelsea, though smartly aware of her limits, loved everything about ballet including the hard work. August 1996

-  Then he lingered on Chelsea’s seventeenth birthday. Because Hillary had been late to dinner at Washington’s Bombay Club, Clinton found himself the delighted sole host to a dozen high school girls in raucous discussions of love and the world. [...] The president glided into stories wholly off my list. Chelsea’s Sidwell Friends School had welcomed seniors to make two-minute spontaneous remarks at a gathering of fathers. On a theme of candid revelation, one girl told the assembly why she and her dad communicated by letter in the same house. Chelsea almost knocked Clinton over, he said, with raw eloquence cutting through the inhibitions of youth and the public eye. She confessed setting her heart all year on tryouts for a part in The Nutcracker, which she did not get. Life’s first major disappointment, as she called it, left her depressed and sleepless, consumed by failure. She could think of nothing but wasted sacrifice. Both parents talked with her late many nights, but she was inconsolable until she woke up fitfully to a letter only an hour old, headed “3am” on her father’s White House stationery. It said he could not sleep, either, being upset because she was upset. He loved her, was proud of her, and believed one day she would find new value in her years of ballet. Somehow these words dispelled a cloud of absorption, she told Sidwell. She still read the note every day. As for his work, she admired what he did in the face of so much invective, but it had not always been so. In preschool, she had cringed as the other children stood proudly to declare their parents’ jobs—doctor, fireman, teacher. Not even she had a clue about governor, and so Chelsea in turn said her mom was a lawyer and her dad cooked the French fries at McDonald’s. She became an instant hit, with by far the coolest dad, but of course the grownups made her promise not to tell lies. Apologizing later to the class, she thought her father just talked on the phone and made speeches, which got the kids briefly excited again because they thought she said he made peaches. February 1997

#the clintons #bill clinton #chelsea clinton #father and daughter

[hellyeahheroes]

Harvey Richards and Lateef Ade "L.A." Williams have a lot in common. They both grew up reading comics with aspirations to work in the industry one day. They both ultimately nabbed roles on the editorial staff of DC Comics in the 1990s.

And they are both Black men who say they never achieved their full potential at DC Comics because of their race.

There are differences in their stories — notably, the time periods. Williams exited his role as an assistant editor in 2000 after six years without a promotion, while Richards spent 22 years at the comics giant with just one promotion before he was fired in December 2019.

But the similarities that cut across those two decades are striking and speak to how little has changed for Black editorial staffers at DC Comics and in the comics industry at large.

Richards was the only Black staffer in the main DC editorial department at the time of his exit in 2019, which included about 15 people, he said. He added that DC had since hired a Black assistant editor. DC declined to comment on personnel matters.

DC, which is home to Batman, Superman, and other iconic characters, is much larger than its comics editorial department, with around 200 employees on the publishing side. But the small team of editors shape the comics and characters that inspire lucrative movies, video games, TV shows, and merchandise.

"You need [Black] editors to help nurture talent to foster diverse characters," Richards said.

Besides being the only Black editorial staffer at the time of his exit, Richards felt stymied in his own career, he said. In his 22 years at the company, he was only promoted once. He began as an assistant editor and 12 years later, in 2009, he was promoted to associate editor.

L.A. Williams can relate.

"My personality and work style is different than Harvey's, who is different from every other name I could rattle off," Williams said. "But no matter how different our work styles or personalities are, the reality is that every one of our stories ended up the same. When it keeps happening year after year, person after person, you have to ask yourself what all of these people have in common."

A Latinx former assistant editor, who exited in 1999 after five years without a promotion, shared similar concerns with Business Insider about a lack of a career path forward at DC and a sense that her work was undervalued.

The stories of these three former DC editors are also similar to that of Charles Beacham, a former Marvel editor who spoke with Business Insider in July. Beacham was one of two Black editorial staffers Marvel had employed in the last five years and quit in 2017 because he felt his voice wasn't heard.

For Richards, there were many instances during his time at DC when he felt he was treated unfairly. He recalled specific instances with Paul Levitz, the DC publisher at the time, like when Levitz told Richards he had "grammar problems," and when Levitz told him "some people think you deserve this" when Richards won an award. Richards was never promoted while Levitz was publisher and president.

Williams also described a confrontation with Levitz, in which Levitz told Williams that he would never be promoted as long as he was publisher.

In response to a request for comment, Levitz said: "I'm not going to comment on decades old incidents. I'm proud of the increasing diversity at DC in my time as an executive there, and while we didn't achieve an ideal balance, I think much changed for the better."

Since Richards' departure, DC has taken some steps to promote diversity and inclusion.

Two women — Marie Javins and Michele Wells — were named interim editors-in-chief after recent layoffs. DC recently hired former Activision Blizzard exec Daniel Cherry, who is Black, as its new senior vice president and general manager, overseeing marketing, sales, and more for the company.

DC is also reviving Milestone, a division of DC that focused on Black characters like Static Shock and was founded in 1993 by four Black men. It ceased operations in 1997 but will return in February.

But for Richards and Williams, it's essential to have Black voices on the editorial front to help inspire change and champion a diverse set of voices and characters.

For Williams, comics were his life. He had written his senior thesis in Afro-American studies at the University of Massachusetts on the history of Black characters in superhero comics.

So when he got a job at DC Comics in 1994, it was a dream come true. But he faced roadblocks that previewed Richards' own experiences in the coming years.

Williams, 51, recalled an instance in 2000 when some assistant editors were given a monthly comic to edit on their own by then-executive-editor Mike Carlin, who is now a DC Entertainment creative director. Williams said the assistant editors of color were set up to fail and given comics that were doomed from the start.

But Williams turned his assigned book, "Impulse," starring a Flash sidekick that had been hurting in sales, into a success.

Carlin wasn't happy. Williams said Carlin cursed him out for getting veteran comics creator Walt Simonson to draw two issues of the comic, and "wasting his time on Impulse when he should be drawing other characters like Superman."

Carlin did not return a request for comment. DC declined to provide a comment on his behalf.

That sense of not being valued even when he succeeded was a hallmark of Williams' time at DC, he said.

After a white associate editor was fired, Carlin offered Williams to take over that editor's books, which included one of DC's best-selling comics at the time, "Wonder Woman."

Williams remembered vividly what Carlin told him: "I've had my doubts about you, but you've delivered. Everything is always on time, it sells, and critics like it."

"I thanked him for my promotion," Williams said. "And he interrupted me and said it didn't come with a promotion. I feel so stupid now, but at the time I was so confused and asked why it wouldn't come with a promotion."

More than two decades later, Williams said the answer was obvious to him.

Williams' DC career ended just as Richards' was just getting started.

Richards, 48, moved from Akron, Ohio, to New York City in 1995 and began his comics career with an internship at the original Milestone, which then shut down in 1997. His Milestone connections eventually led him to DC, where he started in the mailroom and then became an assistant editor.

"I was living my dream at this point," Richards said.

In 2001, after four years as an assistant editor, Richards was offered the chance to work on the Superman titles. It wouldn't have been a promotion, but a chance to prove himself (the chain generally went like this: assistant editor, associate editor, editor, group editor, and executive editor).

But Richards was given what he said was the "unusual" task to write about what he "could bring to the Superman books." Paul Levitz, then the EVP and publisher of DC, told Richards he had "grammar problems" after he completed the assignment, Richards said.

"After that, Levitz made up his mind about me," Richards said. "I felt he already had because most people are promoted after four years. But after that, it was over, even if I got a good review or worked on good projects or got company awards for going above and beyond."

Richards won two such awards, called "Carrots," which were given by DC's parent company, Warner Bros. After he won the second time, Levitz handed it to him and said "some people think you deserve this," Richards said.

Richards was finally promoted to associate editor in 2009, 12 years after he was hired, when Diane Nelson took over as president of DC Entertainment.

Richards' time at DC came to an end in December.

He had been put on zero-tolerance probation in August of last year. The document Richards provided Business Insider outlined "poor time management skills and an inability to meet deadlines." Richards said he was being overworked.

The day after he returned to the office from Thanksgiving break last year, he was let go with a six-month severance and told he "no longer fit company standards."

He's still looking for work while honing his digital art skills. He said a potential employer asked him why he was only promoted once in all that time at DC.

"It wasn't because of my work performance," Richards said. "I feel like they blacklisted me."

19 years earlier, Williams had left DC with similar sentiments.

After a confrontation over Williams using the likeness of the Alabama governor in an issue of "Impulse," Williams said Levitz told him: "As long as I am publisher of DC Comics, you will never be promoted. You're welcome to stay here in the role of assistant editor for as long as you like."

Williams thought the timing of the dispute — shortly after he had filed a racial-discrimination complaint with human resources against Carlin — was suspect. He quit shortly after.

"I naively thought that as long as I do good work, the comics sell, and the critics like them, I'm going to do well," he said. "As a Black man in America, I knew I wouldn't be able to make as many mistakes as others. But I thought the solution was, work harder and do better."

Their experiences highlight why editors of color are so important, Richards said. They can help "realize a creator's vision" and promote more diversity in comics. He lamented that he never got that opportunity. And Black editors in senior positions could provide a source of support for ones in assistant or associate roles, he said.

"Ideas came down, they didn't go up," he said. "And I didn't have anyone above me advocating for me."

He hopes the recent shakeup at DC affords marginalized groups more opportunities and he sees more women in comics than ever before. Jessica Chen, who is Asian American, was promoted from associate editor to editor last year, for example. But Richards also noted there is still a lack of Black women in the industry.

"Change is going to come," he said. "It has to."

A harrowing look into DC’s history of racism which, among other things, made Lateef Williams, an editor who helped Impulse book avoid cancellation, to quit.

-Admin

#DC #Racism

[hbcsource]

Helena Bonham Carter’s Interview with ‘The Sunday Times’ | 20 December 2020

“I have always found that clowns seemed sad,” Helena Bonham Carter tells me over a patchy Zoom call. “That’s why they have to paint their smile on.” She pauses thoughtfully. “I often dress in clown-like things — baggy trousers, braces, white face . . . I love a white face. I don’t know where that comes from. I like any mask, to be honest. Anything that stops me from being me.” Bonham Carter has been feeling the tears of a clown a lot this year. She has seen her industry struggle and worries for younger performers. She has been mourning one of her beloved friends — Nell Gifford, the founder of Giffords Circus — and she has just finished narrating Channel 4’s animated version of Clown, Quentin Blake’s wordless book about a toy who is determined to escape the dustbin he has been thrown into and to build a new life for his fellow binned playthings. “The clown has been discarded on Christmas night, rejected and forgotten, and the story is about how he’s found again and how, through being loved, he comes to life,” she says. “It’s very poetic and touching. The pathos of the clown.” In recording it she found herself thinking a lot about Nell, who died a year ago. They met years ago when Gifford’s traditional circus — vintage tents, old-school performances and artful storylines, written and directed by the mighty Cal McCrystal — was just making its reputation. “We had similar backgrounds,” Bonham Carter says. “Both of us had a parent who had a traumatic brain injury, and our response was similar — an instinct to create our own worlds. She ran off to the circus. And when my amazing father’s brain tumour operation went wrong, I found an agent to help me live as other people. Our lives went through similar things — children, divorce — and we helped each other jump on to the next step. When she died it was very sudden. She had cancer, but I thought she would defy everything.” The film of Quentin Blake’s book, published in 1995 and told entirely in pictures, is the first offering from Eagle Eye Drama, the production company launched by the team behind the TV drama brand Walter Presents. Walter Iuzzolino, its founder, recalls his route into showbiz began when, as a six-year-old in Italy, he watched the Disney Silly Symphony Santa’s Workshop on television. “It was a symphony of movement as the elves worked to create the toys and paint the sleigh,” he says. “It was a hand-drawn piece of 1930s modernist art. I asked my grandparents who did this, and they explained what a producer was. At that point I knew what I wanted to be.” The animation itself was Covid-induced. Eagle Eye had a drama ready to go into production when lockdown closed things down. Iuzzolino realised a replacement project could be created by animators working at home. The team had always loved Quentin Blake and was delighted to find the option on Clown was available. “With Quentin’s drawings being so beautiful, we immediately discarded the CGI PlayStation animation that’s everywhere today — and I hate it,” he says. “We went back to the roots of the craft. I wanted to create my own Silly Symphony. We found artists and animators in the UK, Italy and around the world, and had to produce 30,000 frames, working around the clock while recording the score one instrument at a time. “And then we met Helena — her voice is like the finest Belgian chocolate melted on a Viennese cake. At our first meeting she talked about Giulietta Masina, Mrs Fellini, in La Strada, and I knew she understood the tinge of nostalgia, sadness and melancholy about the clown.” Bonham Carter is flattered, but slightly unsure. “I’m narrating, although I think the cartoon might have been better without me,” she says modestly. “For the genuine children watching, it may help to have my voice guiding them through the story. It has no words as a book, so I’m not doing any characters. I am just the voice-of-God narrator.” She pauses and thinks that through approvingly. “Voice of God. I like that. I’ll try that on my children — ‘I am the voice of God today!’” She remembers the conversation about Masina. It was her husband’s film La Strada — about a brutish circus strongman, played by Anthony Quinn, and his little clown assistant, played by Masina — that began Bonham Carter’s loving relationship with clowns and circus. “I always found the mainstream Zippo-style circus too loud and brash and in-your-face, although I suppose I was always drawn to clowns,” she says. “Why else would I dress like them?” Does that mask thing work? Does it protect her? “Of course it doesn’t,” she says, sighing. “It’s more likely to reveal the internal you. I get excited about acting because it holds the promise that you could become someone else. Then you see yourself and go, ‘Dang, again I didn’t do it. Again I’m revealing myself.’” She bursts out laughing, a full throaty chuckle. “When will I get the message?” she says. She’s 54. “I’m always doing too much. Early on in my career I was told by a director I have an expressive face, and I’ve been trying to keep it in check ever since. And words! I use far too many words. Even my name has too many words in it. The bane of my flipping life. Can I have your autograph? Ugh. It has 18 letters. Brad Pitt only has eight.” And she chuckles again. Having fallen for Masina, she found herself drawn to the circus in the most unexpected ways. “I love the circus family that goes back for years — handing the skills down to the next generation,” she explains. “So the only showbiz thing I forced Billy and Nell, my children, to do was tap dance. It’s not circus, but it felt connected. I tortured the hell out of them by dragging them along every Saturday morning — it’s the only vicarious ambition I’m ever going to force on them.” Has she never considered clowning herself? “I can’t run away and join the circus, I have responsibilities,” she chides. “Nell and I did have serious chats about an act, but we never got around to details. At one point I was going to descend on a moon singing a song, possibly going commando.” She sniggers. “I think one day I will get into the ring somehow.” For the photoshoot she seems to have gone halfway towards the big top. Her look is based on Masina’s little clown — a bowler hat and big boots. “Doing the photoshoot was very cathartic, and I’m afraid I did rather take it to the limit . . .” Her laugh bubbles up again. “I’m a Covid-starved actress, I haven’t had a part for a year, so give me a costume and I will go for it. My children are 17 and 13, so they are no longer prepared to dance with me — photoshoots are my chance to dance by myself. I had the music on and was throwing myself around.” I have the same problem, I confess. My daughters used to dance with me in the kitchen, but now find the idea of Dad dancing a crippling embarrassment. She is outraged. “We don’t have to say goodbye to their childhood just because they have,” she exclaims. “Have you read The Velveteen Rabbit?” I have, I say, but I can’t these days. It breaks my ageing parental heart. “But think about what the story says,” she urges. “It’s like Clown. These toys are the classic result of children growing up. They are discarded, and it’s an emblem of age. The rabbit is losing its ears, but that’s because it’s been so loved. You and me, our faces can sag and our bits can fall off, but that’s because we are being loved.” I give a small gasp. She gives a determined nod. “You remember that this Christmas, Stephen. You hold on to your children’s childhood. Don’t let them take it away. Carry on dancing. Spread the word! Parents and teen-agers: carry on dancing!”

#helena bonham carter #quentin blake's clown #nell gifford #interviews #2020 #interviews: 2020 #the sunday times 2020

[introvertguide]

15 Badass Movies for a Fun Time at Home or with Friends

There is a buzz in the air as COVID-19 vaccines are rolling out and the hope of having a movie night with friends is again becoming a reality. Watching alone isn’t as fun because I want to talk to somebody about what I have just seen. A full theater does not agree with my introvert nature because somebody screaming or laughing or talking on their phone will ruin it for me. Watching with a fellow cinephile or two is perfect. But what to watch first? People have been stuck inside, so fantasy and alternative worlds have been overly popular. All I do is talk over zoom for a living. I think what I need most right now is a movie about realistic people with realistic skills that go into a situation and just wreck house. I need a badass movie. What is this “badass” movie you might say? Well, here are some basic criteria: 1) There must be a tough lead character who kicks butt while spouting one liners and doesn’t need superhuman powers (high levels of peak skill with speed, aim, or strength is OK if they are plausible in the real world), 2) most of the characters (good and bad) must be likable, admirable or at least memorable, 3) the lead must face and defeat overwhelming odds against them, and 4) extra points for memorable one liners. Also, I am only dealing with human protagonists (sorry Terminator), but slightly superhuman opposition is acceptable. This list is by no means exhaustive, it is just an example of some badass movies. So in no particular order:

1) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

To start off the list, I want to mention the most well known American badass. Indiana Jones is a smart guy with a gun and a whip. He is rugged and punches guys in the face. He has weaknesses but works through them to get the job done. Harrison Ford was in his early 40s for this role and had this tough-as-nails and seen the world kind of feel while still being young enough to fight hand to hand. Any of the first three films featuring Indiana Jones would work here, but this is the original and it started the fun. Easy to watch. Easy to cheer for. Great movie. You can’t really go wrong with any age or group with this one. 

2) 13 Assassins (2010)

This movie is extremely badass but not for everyone. This is one of the goriest films I have ever seen as 13 warriors kill off a couple of hundred soldiers and the evil leader that they guard. The movie was directed by Japanese extreme horror icon Takashi Miike if that means anything to you (hey made Audition and Ichi the Killer). The movie has gallons of blood, but also an amazing story of redemption and honor. There are tons of scenes of a single warrior taking on dozens of soldiers and managing to overcome. Not for everyone, but still very much a badass movie.

3) The Raid (2011)

This is an Indonesian action thriller with the word action in bold. The film is directed by Gareth Evans and stars Iko Uwais as part of a small police force that tries to take down an old building that houses a drug lord and his violent gang. It has a lot of what I like in badass movies: one-on-one fights between the lead and almost superhuman villains, long well-choreographed scenes, a banging soundtrack, ridiculous weapons, and ridiculous gore. The fight scenes in tight places and the use of the environment for weaponry is amazing and the sound design makes sure you can feel every punch. The lead character should have no chance, but he makes up for it with skill and being a pure badass. This movie is one of the few that I would describe as having non-stop action.

4) Jon Wick (2014)

When did Keanu Reeves become so cool? I grew up with him being part of the Bill and Ted duo. He decides to learn martial arts and play a god-like being in the Matrix movies and then becomes a one man wrecking crew? I guess he is a badass because he does it so well. Keanu plays a retired hitman who is wronged and decides to go back to work for vengeance. He just won’t stop coming and seems to constantly survive out of pure hatred alone. There are 3 films in the series and any one of them will impress. Pure fun too watch.

5) Casino Royale (2006)

When I was asking around, there were many people who thought that James Bond was the ultimate badass. I disagree in that many of the older films show Bond as overconfident with the assistance of many people. In fact, Q is more of a badass in many ways than James Bond. However, when the series was taken back to its roots with the last book that had not been made into a serious film and made darker, it reached badass levels. From the parkour chase to a poisoning to an extreme torture scene, this was not like any James Bond movie before it. Roger Craig plays a much colder lead who gives no quarter, much more like what the greatest secret agent would have to be. Heavy on violence but light on gore, this film is more for all audiences than other films on this list.

6) Desperado (1995)

What makes this movie is not all about Antonio Banderas and Selma Hayek. It is that every other character is memorable and badass as well. The street standoff with Bucho’s men versus El Mariachi, Quino, and Campo is iconic. El Mariachi murders everyone in a bar with precise skill. The rogue assassin Navajas with all the knives played by Danny Trejo. Nothing but extreme shoot outs and fight scenes with a ridiculous variety of guns and explosives. I think what makes this movie so amazing is that all these amazing assassins are incognito and, when they suddenly produce an arsenal out of nowhere, it is always a pleasant surprise. Quino and Campo are amazing when they bring their guitars. 

7) Pulp Fiction (1994)

Truly the role that made Samuel L. Jackson into the ultimate badass. He and his partner Vincent are hitman that keep running into the worst situations. The thing about the film is that everybody is so cool. The characters are cool, the music is cool, the dialogue is cool, hell even the diner featured in the movie is cool. The movie only spans a couple of days (in completely separate segments shown out of order) but packs in 7 distinct situations that are all berserk. From the mind of Quentin Tarantino, this movie is dripping with the best characters traveling through the best story. Highly recommend.

8) Leon: The Professional (1994)

Also known simply as The Professional in the U.S., this film features the debut of Natalie Portman. It is directed by Luc Besson at his best period, right between La Femme Nakita and The Fifth Element. The lead is actually a quiet hitman who reluctantly takes a little 12-year-old girl on as an apprentice to become a paid assassin. Her parents were killed by a corrupt cop and she wants Leon to help her exact revenge. He is an absolute badass and somewhat of a caring surrogate father to the girl. Unlike a lot of the films on this list, the premise is not simply kicking butt in a bad situation. There is serious character growth. Apparently you can be a caring parent and a cold-blooded murderer...and that is badass.

9) Kill Bill (2003)

Being a badass is not exclusive to men and The Bride is a prime example of this. She survives a shot to the head, kills deadly assassins, slaughters a gang, and takes on a crazy school girl bodyguard. She is tougher then any lead I can think of and she has the bad attitude and sense of vengeance that makes for a badass. Combine this with the soundtrack and beautiful cinematography associated with director Quentin Tarantino and you have a beautifully violent movie in which the hits keep coming. Even on this list, the fight scene between the bride and Gogo Yubari is insane. Also note the nod to Bruce Lee with the bright yellow motorcycle suit. Beautifully badass film.

10) Aliens (1986)

In nature, there are few things more dangerous than a mother protecting their young. A mother will fight you to the death and make sure that, at the very least, you won’t be able to go after her kids. Now imagine an alien planet covered with hostile beings created in the mind of James Cameron and Stan Winston and you have a setting made to create a real badass. In the beginning, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is just desperate to survive and barely knows how to use a weapon. She meets a little survivor named Newt and then has a real reason to become aggressive. She and a group of marines fight through a station filled with super destructive xenomorph aliens made straight from nightmares to save this kid. The transformation is truly amazing and culminates in a mech suit versus a giant queen alien and it is extremely badass.

11) Army of Darkness (1992)

Far and away the funniest movie on this list, this is the third film stemming from Evil Dead and again stars Bruce Campbell taking on the deadites that were raised by reading from the Necronomicon. The opposition is the undead evil that faces the world which makes the violence very unrealistic. This was early work from Sam Raimi and features a variety of different shots done to the extreme. What really makes this film stand out is how Bruce Campbell is amazing at delivering a one liner. His classic quips have been used as fun Easter eggs in video games like Duke Nukem and World of Warcraft for decades. The quintessential horror comedy and a perfect example of a badass.

12) Die Hard (1988)

Apparently, I am a big fan of single characters that need to work their way through a building of villains using mostly intelligence and the element of surprise. Throw in some one liners and I am all for it. That is exactly what this is with Bruce Willis crawling barefoot around a 40 story building and fighting off a gang of villains. The movie also has Alan Rickman as the main bad guy and he is chewing the scenery. This is a great example of being a badass, but it is too bad that the follow up sequels were so poor. Definitely stick to the original and let the rest pass by.

13) The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966)

An OG of the badass movie genre, this is some of the best of Sergio Leone and the spaghetti western. Instead of one badass, this movie has three different leads that are all amazing. You have the good, Clint Eastwood, who is an amazing shot and a heart of gold under a rough exterior. You have the bad, Lee Van Cleef, playing an conniving assassin that will kill anyone that he doesn’t have a use for. Finally, you have the ugly, Eli Wallach, as a desert rat that will do anything to survive. They all gain information about a gold stash and need to work together to get it, but this creates a vortex of cheating, undercutting, and straight up murder. Clint Eastwood is more of the classic badass with his cigar, hat, and poncho, It is an iconic look on an iconic character in an iconic movie. That is what I call badass.

14) Ong-Bak (2003)

This less of a badass movie and more houses some of the most amazingly badass fight scenes that can only be described as badass. This movie introduced the great Tony Jaa to the western world and showed the high flying nature of Thai boxing and Muay Thai in general. The main character is entered into a street fighting tournament and the moves include a flying double knee drop and a full splits kick. If the whole movie was the tournament, it would be the best movie that ever existed. The variety of opponents makes the fighting even better and the cinematography is top notch. Tony Jaa is truly badass in this film.

15) Dredd (2012)

Not the crappy version with Stallone, this movie is seriously badass. It features Karl Urban who is helmeted for the entire film (as Dredd would be) taking on a 200 story mega slum filled with residents that want to shoot him dead. There is a drug dealer high up in the building and she locks down the entire compound with instructions to kill Dredd, who only has his rookie partner to help. He takes on random resident mobs, groups of gang members, and even a trio of mini guns that have bullets that can rip through walls. He has a smart gun with a bunch of ammo that he uses judiciously to kill everybody. This movie was seriously underrated since it had not been that long since the garbage Judge Dredd came out in 1995. The 2012 is a far superior movie, being much more violent and dark instead of having Rob Schneider as the comedy relief (not badass).

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I know there will be a lot of opinions about what makes a badass film and what movies i didn’t add. Feel free to add your own movies or critique my choices. I will stand by my choices, however, and recommend any of these films for a night of cheers and badass action.

#top 15 #badass movies #badass characters #dredd #the raid #ong bak #die hard #aliens #raiders of the lost ark #leon the professional #best movies #introvert #army of darkness #staying in #watching a movie #movie list #awesome movies #great movies #action #adventure #female lead

[jenniferisacommonname]

Bonus Level Unlocked

This week marks the release of Jason Schreier’s Press Reset, an incredibly well-researched book on catastrophic business failure in the gaming industry. Jason’s a good dude, and there’s an excerpt here if you want to check it out. Sadly, game companies going belly-up is such a common occurrence that he couldn’t possibly include them all, and one of the stories left out due to space constraints is one that I happen to be personally familiar with. So, I figured I’d tell it here.

I began working at Acclaim Studios Austin as a sound designer in January of 2000. It was a tumultuous period for the company, including a recent rebranding from their former studio name, “Iguana Entertainment,” and a related, ongoing lawsuit from the ex-founder of Iguana. There were a fair number of ghosts hanging around—the creative director’s license plate read IGUANA, which he never changed, and one of the meeting rooms held a large, empty terrarium—but the studio had actually been owned on paper by Acclaim since 1995, and I didn’t notice any conflicting loyalties. Everyone acted as if we always had been, and always would be, Acclaim employees.

Over the next few years I worked on a respectable array of triple-A titles, including Quarterback Club 2002, Turok: Evolution, and All-Star Baseball 2002 through 2005. (Should it be “All-Stars Baseball,” like attorneys general? Or perhaps a term of venery, like “a zodiac of All-Star Baseball.”) At any rate, it was a fun place to work, and a platformer of hijinks ensued.

But let’s skip to the cutscene. The truth is that none of us in the trenches suspected the end was near until it was absolutely imminent. Yes, Turok: Evolution and Vexx had underperformed, especially when stacked against the cost of development, but games flop in the retail market all the time. And, yes, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling had been hustled out the door before it was ready for reasons no one would explain, and the New York studio’s release of a BMX game featuring unlockable live-action stripper footage had been an incredibly weird marketing ploy for what should have been a straightforward racing title. (Other desperate gimmicks around this time included a £6,000 prize for UK parents who would name their baby “Turok,” an offer to pay off speeding tickets to promote Burnout 2 that quickly proved illegal, and an attempt to buy advertising space on actual tombstones for a Shadow Man sequel.)

But the baseball franchise was an annual moneymaker, and our studio had teams well into development on two major new licenses, 100 Bullets and The Red Star. Enthusiasm was on the upswing. Perhaps I should have paid closer attention when voice actors started calling me to complain that they hadn’t been paid, but at the time it seemed more like a bureaucratic failure than an actual money shortage—and frankly, it was a little naïve of them to expect net-30 in the first place. Industry standard was, like, net-90 at best. So I was told.

Then one Friday afternoon, a few department managers got word that we’d kind of maybe been skipping out on the building lease for let’s-not-admit-how-many months. By Monday morning, everyone’s key cards had been deactivated.

It's a little odd to arrive at work and find a hundred-plus people milling around outside—even odder, I suppose, if your company is not the one being evicted. Acclaim folks mostly just rolled their eyes and debated whether to cut our losses and head to lunch now, while employees of other companies would look dumbfounded and fearful before being encouraged to push their way through the crowd and demonstrate their still-valid key card to the security guard. Finally, the General Manager (hired only a few months earlier, and with a hefty relocation bonus to accommodate his houseboat) announced that we should go home for the day and await news. Several of our coworkers were veterans of the layoff process—like I said, game companies go under a lot—and one of them had already created a Yahoo group to communicate with each other on the assumption that we’d lose access to our work email. A whisper of “get on the VPN and download while you can” rippled through the crowd.

But the real shift in tone came after someone asked about a quick trip inside for personal items, and the answer was a hard, universal “no.” We may have been too busy or ignorant to glance up at any wall-writing, but the building management had not been: they were anticipating a full bankruptcy of the entire company. In that situation, all creditors have equal standing to divide up a company's assets in lengthy court battles, and most get a fraction of what they’re owed. But if the landlords had seized our office contents in lieu of rent before the bankruptcy was declared, they reasoned, then a judge might rule that they had gotten to the treasure chest first, and could lay claim to everything inside as separate from the upcoming asset liquidation.

Ultimately, their gambit failed, but the ruling took a month to settle. In the meantime, knick knacks gathered dust, delivered packages piled up, food rotted on desks, and fish tanks became graveyards. Despite raucous protest from every angle—the office pets alone generated numerous threats of animal cruelty charges—only one employee managed to get in during this time, and only under police escort. He was a British citizen on a work visa, and his paperwork happened to be sitting on his desk, due to expire. Without it, he was facing literal deportation. Fortunately, a uniformed officer took his side (or perhaps just pre-responded to what was clearly a misdemeanor assault in ovo,) and after some tense discussion, the building manager relented, on the condition that the employee touch absolutely nothing beyond the paperwork in question. The forms could go, but the photos of his children would remain.

It’s also a little odd, by the way, to arrive at the unemployment office and find every plastic chair occupied by someone you know. Even odder, I suppose, if you’re actually a former employee of Acclaim Studios Salt Lake, which had shut down only a month or two earlier, and you just uprooted your wife and kids to a whole new city on the assurance that you were one of the lucky ones who got to stay employed. Some of them hadn’t even finished unpacking.

Eventually, we were allowed to enter the old office building one at a time and box up our things under the watchful eye of a court appointee, but by then our list of grievances made the landlords’ ploy seem almost quaint by comparison (except for the animals, which remains un-fucking-forgivable.) We had learned, for example, that in the weeks prior to the bankruptcy, our primary lender had made an offer of $15 million—enough to keep us solvent through our next batch of releases, two of which had already exited playtesting and were ready to be burned and shipped. The only catch was that the head of the board, company founder Greg Fischbach, would have to step down. This was apparently too much of an insult for him to stomach, and he decided that he'd rather see everything burn to the ground. The loan was refused.

Other “way worse than we thought” details included gratuitous self-dealing to vendors owned by board members, the disappearance of expensive art from the New York offices just before closure, and the theft of our last two paychecks. For UK employees, it was even more appalling: Acclaim had, for who knows how long, been withdrawing money from UK paychecks for their government-required pension funds, but never actually putting the money into the retirement accounts. They had stolen tens of thousands of dollars directly from each worker.

Though I generally reside somewhere between mellow and complete doormat on the emotional spectrum, I did get riled enough to send out one bitter email—not to anyone in corporate, but to the creators of a popular webcomic called Penny Arcade, who, in the wake of Acclaim’s bankruptcy announcement, published a milquetoast jibe about Midway’s upcoming Area 51. I told Jerry (a.k.a. “Tycho”) that I was frankly disappointed in their lack of cruelty, and aired as much dirty laundry as I was privy to at the time.

“Surely you can find a comedic gem hidden somewhere in all of this!” I wrote. “Our inevitable mocking on PA has been a small light at the end of a very dark, very long tunnel. Please at least allow us the dignity of having a smile on our faces while we wait in line for food stamps.”

Two days later, a suitably grim comic did appear, implying the existence of a new release from Acclaim whose objective was to run your game company into the ground. In the accompanying news post, Tycho wrote:

“We couldn’t let the Acclaim bankruptcy go without comment, though we initially let it slide thinking about the ordinary gamers who lost their jobs there. They don’t have anything to do with Acclaim’s malevolent Public Relations mongrels, and it wasn’t they who hatched the Titty Bike genre either. Then, we remembered that we have absolutely zero social conscience and love to say mean things.”

Another odd experience, by the way, is digging up a 16-year-old complaint to a webcomic creator for nostalgic reference when you offer that same creator a promotional copy of the gaming memoir you just co-wrote with Sid Meier. Even odder, I suppose, to realize that the original non-Acclaim comic had been about Area 51, which you actually were hired to work on yourself soon after the Acclaim debacle.*

As is often the case in complex bankruptcies, the asset liquidation took another six years to fully stagger its way through court—but in 2010, we did, surprisingly, get the ancient paychecks we were owed, plus an extra $1,700-ish for the company’s apparent violation of the WARN Act. By then, I had two kids and a very different life, for which the money was admittedly helpful. Sadly, Acclaim’s implosion probably isn’t even the most egregious one on record. Our sins were, to my knowledge, all money-related, and at least no one was ever sexually assaulted in our office building. Again, to my knowledge. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure we remain the only historical incident of corporate pet murder. The iguana got out just in time.

*Area 51’s main character was voiced by David Duchovny, and he actually got paid—which was lucky for him, because three years later, Midway also declared bankruptcy.

#gamedev #gaming #pressreset #acclaim #acclaim studios #bankruptcy #midway #midway games #layoff #layoffs #turok #vexx #bmx xxx #game company #corporate shenanigans #all star baseball #quarterback club #penny arcade #sid meier #sid meier's memoir #memoir #area 51 #david duchovny #iguana #jason schreier

[ratingtheframe]

Films you need to watch if you want to fit in at film school.

By now, you’re probably knee deep in your filmmaking course at film school or university and if you want to keep up with the film discussions in between classes, then here’s a list of exemplary films to watch (and flex on) whilst at school. 

It’s never a fun moment when you’re sat in a group of other film buffs and everyone but you have seen one particular film. Not only that, but they continue to bang on about it, and in those 12 minutes you’re left wishing gosh, I wish I had watched that now.

I know the feeling and to make sure you don’t get caught out again, this list of films not only covers your filmmaker wannabe basics, but also a few swarve anomalies that you can throw into the discussion like a true culture vulture. 

Pulp Fiction (1994)

I shouldn’t be saying this but if you haven’t seen Pulp Fiction and you made it to film school, just leave. Hand in your student ID at reception and walk out the door, watch Pulp Fiction and come back to the next day. If you haven’t seen the 90s cult classic directed by Quentin Tarantino, it’s likely you’ve had at least one person disgusted by your lack of engagement for the film. But why is it such a necessity amongst the filmmakers of today? Well after a highly successful debut of Reservoir Dogs at Cannes Films Festival in 1992, Tarantino created another world of filmmaking. What he brought to the industry was a perspective and whole landscape that had never been seen before and the release of Pulp Fiction in 1994, certainly proved that Tarantino wasn’t a one trick pony. With a stellar cast, most of which were in their early days, and an outstanding storyline, Pulp Fiction is any filmmaker's paradise. And seriously, you can’t keep avoiding it. 

Fight Club (1999)

Keeping it in the 90s, is David Fincher’s Fight Club, another revolutionary film from the king of psychological thrillers. If the name David Fincher doesn’t mean anything to you, it probably should, seeing as his films have grossed over $2.1 billion at the box office globally and earnt him 30 Academy Award nominations. Story, script and cast align perfectly in all of Fincher’s films, with Fight Club being no exception. Based on the 1996 novel by Chuck Palahnuik, Fight Club follows two men (Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, enough said) who initiate in an organised fight club. Sounds pretty straight forward until you get to the end and realise Fincher has been messing with all of us the entire time. In terms of early filmmaking and story structure, Fight Club is an excellent cult classic to sink your teeth into.  

Psycho (1960)

Another name to be aware of, Alfred Hitchcock laid down the foundation for thrillers for generations to come. For it’s time, Psycho was revolutionary as it broke the strict censorship and threat barriers created in the world of filmmaking in the 60s. There are some iconic scenes in Psycho, along with an unnerving score and a whopping $39.2 million profit in the box office. Hitchcock also took a gamble killing off the star of the film, Janet Leigh, 45 minutes into the film. However, Psycho just goes to show that risks can also pay off. 

La Haine (1995) “The Hate”

There’s a reason why some of the most revolutionary films can be found in the 90s. The 90s was the year of filmmaking that gave two fingers to the world and most of its stories belonged to the misfits and outcasts of society. Films were violent, punchy and led by young protagonists, raking in teenage audiences and voices. La Haine is a prime and clear cut example of the injustice between races and class in Paris, winning a Best Director award at Cannes in 1995. The film was so thought provoking and hard hitting, that the Prime Minister of France at the time forced his cabinet ministers to watch it. I’m sorry, if La Haine is good enough for the Prime Minister of France, it’s good enough for anyone. 

Any Bong Joon Ho Film 

With the success of Parasite still looming over Hollywood, Bong Joon Ho has to be the industry’s biggest underdog. Before the 2020 Oscars, most weren’t even aware of the director’s work or how gratifying he is as a storyteller. Each film is meticulously executed, with a hard hitting political message sewn beneath the surface of the overall film. Bong Joon Ho was quoted saying that this technique isn’t intentional and the breadth of the films he makes is found once they’re completed. From Okja that explores animal cruelty to Snowpiercer which explores class division, Bong Joon Ho has a way with imbedding societal issues into his films in a stylstic and structured way that should have any filmmaker filled with envy. He’s a strong voice for Asian cinema who’s had a sharp impact on western cinema without feeling the need to have all his films in the english language. 

The 400 Blows (1960) “Les Quatre Cents Coups”

Whether you’re at school, in a lecture or amongst friends GUARANTEED the 400 Blows is going to worm its way into conversation at some point. The film was part of The French New Wave movement of the last 50s that created the foundation for French Cinema for films to come. The French New Wave was a significant movement that sought out to reject traditional ways of filmmaking and introduced new, more experimental ways of telling stories on screen. Francois Truffat won Best Director at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival for his directorial debut about a young boy struggling through Paris between his teachers at school and parents at home. The film shone a light on the misunderstood youth of the late 50s and early 60s, setting off a whole co-ord of films within the same genre later on. 

Moonlight (2016) 

Barry Jenkins became the underdog of 2017, with his beautiful and captivating story Moonlight, following a young boy through early adolescence and adulthood. The film is impeccably shot with rich colours and seamless shots. Moonlight won big time at the 2017 Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay. The film certainly set the world of filmmaking on fire and carved out space for more black filmmakers to enter into the industry. 

Hereditary (2018)

It’s easy to forget that this film was released 2 years ago as it has had some groundbreaking reception since then. Hereditary, directed by Ari Aster, sets a bar and tone within horror films that has never been touched on before. Before him, your average horrors came from low budget gimmicky films where the lead actress would be running around in her underwear by the end of the film. Hereditary keeps everyone in their clothes (for the most part) and viewers on the edge of their seats for the entirety of the film. What stands at the forefront of this film is the slow pace and artistically beautiful frames that Ari Aster has meticulously curated to create a work of art. It’s everything you wanted in a horror film but could never really ask for, due to the over saturation of the horror films on the market and predictable jump scares that come with them. I found that the jump scares in Hereditary were put in the most unpredictable places, leaving me and most people visibly shaken and disturbed. 

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) 

Probably the first PG film on this list, Wes Anderson’s most iconic film The Grand Budapest Hotel, is a production designer’s paradise. Not only that, it features an insanely good cast with the likes of Jeff Goldblum, Ralph Fiennes, Bill Murray, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law and Edward Norton starring in the film. Wes Anderson’s mind is like a fairy tale book; he has the ability to create other worlds filled with bright colours and characters that EVERY ACTOR are dying to be. The Grand Budapest is probably Anderson’s most ambitious film to date and features some production design techniques that are beyond real.

Amélie (2001) 

Amélie is your basic starter pack in French Cinema. Seeing as every charity shop has at least one copy of Amélie for sale, you have zero excuse for not having seen it yet. Even if French Cinema isn’t your thing, it’s very likely the entirety of French Cinema will be a topic of interest within your filmmaking course and Amélie is a fine place to start. The film ties the story, soundtrack and visuals perfectly and for any indie filmmaker, it’s a good example of taking a simple story but executing it in a complex way. In terms of box office, Amélie scored pretty well, with a humble budget of $10 million and making over $173 million globally. It was also nominated for five Academy Awards in 2002 and remains as one of the best and most iconic films to come out of France.

Good Time (2017)

With a humble budget of $2 million, Good Time made double in the box office and had a Hollywood star at its forefront. In fact Good Time skyrocketed Robert Pattinson’s career and since it’s release, Pattinson has gone on to be part of some amazing projects. Seeing Pattinson in such a gritty role in Good Time, was highly refreshing and totally suited him in every way. New York based filmmakers, Josh and Benny Safdie co directed and wrote the crime thriller after having an impressive response from their previous film, Heaven Knows What. They recently completed Uncut Gems for Netflix starring Adam Sandler, which continued the crime thriller neon lights aesthetic that's come with their two previous films. Good Time is jaw droppingly good, and for those wanting to go into lighting, it is a must watch. The deeper the story goes, the more you feel the urge to gasp as Robert Pattinson feeds us with an unrecognisable performance. 

8 ½ (1963)

We are getting into sophisticated territory here with Fredrico Fellini’s 8 ½ . For those Scorsese and Tarantino fans out there, Fellini is your filmmaking bread and butter as both filmmakers have admitted to being heavily inspired by the Italian’s cinematic masterpieces. Fellini had the ability to tie reality with fantasy in a personal way, depicting a lot of his own life within his films. 8 ½ is no expectation, as it details the making of the actual film in the film and the rocky relationship he had with his wife, who starred in a few of his films. Fellini is named as one of the best filmmakers of all time, for his experimental style and off the wall filmmaking techniques. No one can or could do what Fellini did and there’s yet to be anyone who measures up to him. 

Get Out (2017)

You like Get Out, I like Get Out, we ALL like Get Out. The film was the first of its kind in many ways and resonated with an audience that hadn’t yet been found. Jordan Peele wrote and directed the film, which grossed 100 times more than the film’s budget at the box office. This film is the epitome of less is more, taking a somewhat simple idea and heightening the possibilities of it. Jordan Peele became world renowned for it, along with British actor Daniel Kaluuya for his performance that earned him a Best Actor nomination at the 2018 Academy Awards. Get Out stands as a film that did what no one else has done before and for that, it deserves all the praise it gets. 

All Celine Sciamma films

It’s likely the first time you heard of French filmmaker Celine Sciamma was from her groundbreaking, break through film Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Premiering at Cannes 2019, the film earned the Queer Palm d’Or and Best Screenplay Award. The film is simple, gorgeously shot and significantly deep in its telling. Not only will Portrait of a Lady on fire set you on fire, but all of Sciamma’s films sit on a level of filmmaking that is praise worthy. Her past films, Waterlilies and Girlhood explore coming of age stories amongst women and are executed in a highly personal and understanding way. She is the queen of female indie filmmakers and certainly one of the best french filmmakers in the industry to date. 

I, Daniel Blake (2016)

It can be hard to remove the gimmicks and big names from the stories being sold on screen and get straight to the heart of a film. Ken Loach has brought an incomparable style of filmmaking to the table that sets him apart from almost every filmmaker out there. It's easy to compare a Tarantino film to a David Fincher one, however, throw Ken Loach into the mix there's just about zero relation to either filmmaker or their styles. I, Daniel Blake won Outstanding British Film of the Year in 2017 BAFTAs and the Palm d’Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. It’s no wonder why the Cannes Film Festival ate this film up seeing as the realism and grittiness of I, Daniel Blake gave a voice to a large part of society that is heavily ignored. This film leaves you nodding in agreement at the reality of the way things are even if that reality is incredibly hard to bear. 

The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)

For those budding screenwriters out there, the work of Noah Baumbach is necessary in understanding three dimensional characters and the dialogue that comes with them. The Meyerowitz Stories stands from Baumbach’s other films, seeing as the screenplay and actual film are completely the same. On reading the screenplay of this film, I found not one single word of dialogue was forgotten about or changed, which is a pretty incredible achievement for any filmmaker. It certainly showed the actors (Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Emma Thompson, Adam Driver) had a lot of respect for the words on the page and each one of their performances sought to lift them off it. Baumbach’s writing style is beautifully accurate to real speech; there’s interruptions, over layered conversations and a great deal of tangents. The dialogue is like music and is only elevated by the well rounded cast.

The Master (2012)

Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson has this hypnotic way of arresting his audiences to invest in his films for two and a half hours, then drop them at the last second. You don’t know why you’re watching or feel so absorbed in the worlds he creates, however it’s as if something over takes your attention, forcing you to carry on watching till the end. The Master is no different with a prolific cast and slow burnt pace to it. It's hard to explain what it is about this film that makes it so great. The cast made up of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams and Jesse Plemons bring a top level performance and it feels like they’re always sitting on a secret. Every moment, every word, every shot is unmissable and the entirety of the film sets a bar of filmmaking that is flawless. Paul Thomas Anderson is a master (pardon the pun) of arresting his audiences and is someone to follow if you wish to do the same with your own films. For budding cinematographers, all of PTA’s films are worth a watch. 

12 years a slave (2013) 

Probably the best film out there that depicts slavery, 12 years a slave is a heart wrenching and moving film directed by Steve McQueen. The sensitivity and authenticity Steve McQueen brings to his films is A class, as he does an outstanding job of really transporting his audiences to a time before. There are many scenes in 12 years a slave that can be considered some of the best ever made. The cast is in-sane with the likes of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong’o, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Fassbender, Paul Dano, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt and even a young Storm Reid and Kelvin Harrison Junior, all joined within this story. Films with such casts are rare and it’s unquestionable why the film was nominated for Nine Academy Awards, winning three back in 2014.

The Social Network (2010)

Even though I wasn’t a fan of The Social Network, I can still appreciate the musicality behind the work of Aaron Sorkin and the screenplay he wrote for this. The collaboration between David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin on this film is something the world certainly needed, as two highly skilled masters of film came together and served us a huge slice of their talent. The Social Network is 100% the screenwriter’s film, and one to watch when trying to analyse successful dialogue within films.

 Babel (2006)

Those who are into the episodic film, you are advised to look into the work of Alejandro G. Iñárritu. A name you might not be too familiar with, but you only need to have seen Birdman or The Revenant to appreciate his talents as a director and unique voice. Babel struck me as a poignant and INCREDIBLY structured film, with a satisfying 360 to it, as all the stories connect to one another in a distinct way. It’s so clear that a lot of time was put into writing such a screenplay and the production itself is to be noted, for scenes are filmed in Morocco, Tokyo, California and Mexico. That takes a LOT of money, time, effort and people, however if was certainly worth it as Babel is hands down one of the best films you’ll ever see.

The films of Xavier Dolan. 

Xavier Dolan is Cannes Film Festival’s godson. The man has attended every festival for the past 10 years and each time, when in competition, he brings a personal and hard hitting perspective within his films. I have seen all but one of these films, and I suggest you do too. Xavier Dolan’s directorial debut I Hate My Mother scooped him numerous awards at the Cannes Film Festival and was made when Dolan was only 20. From then, he went on to direct several french/canadian films that won him the Jury Prize, Un Certain Regard and Queer Palm at Cannes. He’s a filmmaker who puts so much passion and devotion into his work, which is seen through the incredible acting, story and dialogue shown within his films. Two must see films of his would be Mommy and Laurence Anyways, especially for the acting. Xavier Dolan also directed the music video for Adele’s Hello music video which is one of the most watched music videos of all time, with 2.7 Billion views on YouTube.

You Were Never Really Here (2017)

Lynne Ramsay’s 2017 film starring Joaquin Phoenix is everything and more that you want from a thriller. It’s probably one of the best thrillers out there on the market and is highly underrated. Lynne Ramsay’s previous spellbinding feature We Need To Talk About Kevin sent pulses racing through the industry, giving Ramsay the recognition she deserves and even earning her a Palm d’Or nomination at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. As a female filmmaker, Lynne Ramsay is one to watch for she has a knack at creating her own original slow burning, deep stories and directing them in a seamless way. 

The films of Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan’s 11th film recently hit cinemas and no one knows what the hell is going on in it. However, there are plenty of other Christopher Nolan films that don’t melt your brain or send the guy next to you at the cinema cursing throughout the film in frustration at not understanding the film. The Dark Knight is said to have one the best performances in cinema history, with the late Heath Ledger taking on the role of the Joker. Not only that, but the likes of Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Anne Hathaway and Christian Bale are also featured alongside Ledger, creating an untouchable cast. Dunkirk also deserves an honourable mention as one of Nolan’s films, seeing as I couldn’t breathe throughout the entire film. The second Dunkirk begins, the tension builds and you’re kept in a constant state of panic for the characters on screen. As far as war films go, Dunkirk is up there and it’s cinematic qualities were recognised at the 2018 Academy Awards, picking up three awards. What we can take from Christopher Nolan and his ability to execute stories on screen is that he spends a great deal on his screenplays before production. Tenet took FIVE YEARS to write (and probably another five to understand) certainly showing his devotion and dedication to his ideas as a filmmaker.

Honorouble mentions (that u should definitely check out)

Taxi Driver (1976) A Clockwork Orange (1971) Call me by your name (2017) Her. (2017) Do the right thing (1989)

Obviously there are 100s of other films worth watching that aren’t on this list, however if you were to watch all films mentioned on this list, you’d certainly get a different perspective on the possibilities of filmmaking and the stories they tell. 

#movies #pulp fiction #fight club #psycho #david fincher #quentin tarantino #alfred hitchcock #la haine #bong joon ho #snowpiercer #okja #french new wave #the 400 blows #moonlight #barry jenkins #hereditary #the grand budapest hotel #wes anderson #amelie #french cinema #good time #robert pattinson #get out movie #jordan peele #celine sciamma #portrait of a lady on fire #waterlilies #i daniel blake #ken loach #the meyerowitz stories

[system76]

System76 Spotlight with Adam Balla

Welcome to the first of an ongoing series where we get to know some of the amazing people behind System76! This week, we kick things off with one of our newest members, Adam Balla (AKA chzbacon), who has just joined the Marketing Team as our Content Producer. Learn what makes his content creation heart go pitter-patter, and why his electric smoker is his must-have cooking appliance.

When did you first become interested in Linux computer systems?

When my roommate introduced me to Slackware in 1999, he was working as a Linux system admin and he really got me interested in Linux. I was going to the Art Institute of Houston at the time for a Multimedia Design degree, and the thought that you could create your own desktop operating system really appealed to me. I didn’t need to stare at the same old tacky operating system I’d used for years.

I found myself, like many nerds of the era, at a Micro Center in the early 2000s rummaging through the discount software bins, trying to snag up multi-CD Linux distributions. This journey exposed me to several of today’s most popular Linux distros. One of those was SUSE Linux 5.3, of which I still keep the tattered book on a bookshelf as a reminder. I did however finally find my place in the world of Debian, which is where I essentially live today. Honestly not much has really changed other than using Pop!_OS as my main distribution—though like any Linux diehard, I still love to download, test, and sometimes install all the Linux.

When did you start becoming a champion for open source hardware and software?

It was a few years after that. Once I got back from the Art Institute and I was working in the area, we needed a server for the screen printing shop that I worked at. Knowing about Linux at that point, I was able to set up a server using consumer-grade gear that we could store all of our artwork and assets on. Moving forward, I set up a server for the newspaper that I worked at for a decade, which I know is still running to this day. After using Linux in that sort of environment and knowing it was good enough for a business, I knew it was good enough for me and my needs.

How did you get involved in content creation as a career?

My father was an engineer. When I was young I was always, like most kids, into drawing cars and doodles and cartoons, but I was used to having a drafting table at the house. Computing came around, and my father bought an IBM 486 and one of the original digitizing tablets, and so I got to play around with that. Eventually, he got upset because I was on the computer more than he was, so he bought me an IBM 386 to use.

Around 1995, my dad learned from a coworker about Photoshop. I begged him to get me a copy, and he finally did for Christmas. That’s when I started playing around in Photoshop and really fell into wanting to create for a living. Similar to what my father does, but maybe not as stringent in the decision that I make—no building is going to fall down from my creative process.

And that’s how I got into the whole content creation piece. I created a cover for the album of my high school bands and then started doing work for more local bands. Back then, there were no digital art courses, so I learned a lot by doing and trial/error.

What is your favorite part of the creative process?

Working together as a team during the initial brainstorming process. Going through all of the ideas and details, sometimes writing them down, sometimes not, and even laughing at myself at how ridiculous an idea may sound. I love the process of the very first step. I love to set the vision for the project work from there to turn that vision into reality.

How did you first learn about System76?

I first learned about System76 through Chris Fisher and Jupiter Broadcasting. I believe they were reviewing the Leopard Extreme in 2012, on what at that time was the Linux Action Show. That’s when I started to look at System 76 and their offerings and wondered if it would be better for me to build my own Linux desktop, or adopt something and support the open source community. It’s been a little while since then, and I’ve always kept my eye on System76. Then with the release of Thelio, that really pushed me to the point of, “Wow, these guys are creating their own beautiful custom chassis and they’re incorporating different materials together. What a beautiful machine.”

I was speaking to my wife (financial advisor) about purchasing one in 2019, and I spoke to Emma and some other people at System76 about my desire for one, and I don’t know how, but Emma encouraged me not to buy one! And then I was given the opportunity to come to System76 for the Superfan event, where I was fortunate enough to be one of a dozen people who were gifted a Thelio desktop. It sits on my desk to this day; I even bought a larger desk just so I could put it up there and see it every day. I really appreciate the humble beginnings of System76, and I’m so glad to finally be a part of this amazing team.

Let's get into that creative brain. What is your favorite viral video and/or ad, and why do you love it so much?

I have a few ads that I like. I’ve always liked Honda’s messaging and their ads.

I like these ads because of the way in which they go through their history and lineage and the way that Honda itself has marketed its products as “People First” products—very similar to when they introduced their motorcycles to the US with their “You meet the nicest people on a Honda,” campaign. I think that was in 1962, so this was during the height of the motorcycle gang craze. Then comes this little Japanese motorcycle company and markets their products in a completely opposite image from the rest of the industry. They dared to be different and it paid off for them. Selling over 100 million Honda Cubs since 1958. Being given the title of most produced motor vehicle in the world.

This may come as a surprise to some, but I also really love the original Orwellian-inspired Macintosh commercial, which only aired once during the 1984 Super Bowl. Created by Steve Hayden, Brent Thomas and Lee Clow. In my opinion, these guys really created disruptive advertising, so much so that the ad still resonates today as much as it did then. While I don’t think you need to incite fear to sell a product, it showed that Apple dared to be different.

I’m not sure what constitutes a viral video these days. I’m not sure if it’s having a billion trillion views or just simply infecting one person who saw your video. One that always gives me a chuckle has to be “News Anchor Laughs At Worst Police Sketch Fail”. The honesty on the anchor's face makes me lose it every time.

When you’re not helping to lead the Open Source revolution, what do you like to do with your free time?

I really like going on walks and taking photos. Photography to me is one of the last honest art forms. What you see really is what you get. I love to tinker and make things, I have a 3D printer that my wife and I purchased as a joint valentine’s gift to each other last year. We started using it right when COVID broke out, so we made around 900 face shields which we distributed to schools, day cares, dentist's offices, anyone who needed one. That’s what we did for about the first 6 months when we first got it. Now, my wife loves to print earrings, for example, and I like to build different fun electronics projects.

I also love to cook, especially for large groups. I just got done with an Easter Weekend + Birthday celebration where we cooked 100 lbs of crawfish, 10 lbs of pork shoulder, sausage, and boudin (which is basically rice and pieces of pork that have been mixed together with seasonings and then put into a casing like sausage). One of my main requirements actually for a place in Denver is somewhere I can bring my electric smoker. It’s a must-have for any Texan.

What are you most excited about with your new role here at System76? To help change the computing landscape as we know it today. Into a future where technology is free and open. A world where you're encouraged to break things, fix things, and learn how they work. Aside from changing the world and stuff, I'm really excited to have a chance to work with such an insanely talented group of people.

#system76 #open source #content #content creation #linux #hardware #software #firmware #laptops #desktops #servers #Thelio #Pop!_OS #Launch #Adam Balla #chzbacon #Jupiter Broadcasting #meat #nerd #covid 19 #Ubuntu #Debian #SUSE #engineering #design #STEM #3d printing #creative #Denver #Texas

[duhragonball]

Krillin for the character ask :)

Give me a character and I will answer:

Why I like them: It’d be easy for me to say “he’s just a good dude” and leave it at that.   I think people would agree with that statement, but I think it runs deeper than that.   The thing that stuck with me about Krillin was when I was checking out the bonus features on the Movie 6 DVD I bought in 2002 or whenever, and they had an interview with Sonny Strait where he explained that Krillin only got into martial arts to impress girls, and that was the same reason Sonny got into voice acting.    Maybe I’m misremembering that, but it always stuck with me.   

Krillin wants things out of life, and unlike a lot of the other characters, he’s not looking to get them by wishing on a magic dragon.   He wants to become worthy of the things he wants, and he may not always be sure of how to get there, he knows that he has to become more than he is.  

Recently, I’ve been seeing excerpts from Barack Obama’s book, where he talks about reading up on subjects to try, unsuccessfully, to get girls to like him in college.    I think the idea was that he was trying to be self-effacing, but it hasn’t gone over very well.  I’m not sure if the problem was that he wasn’t being self-effacing enough, or if there’s something more sinister about reading Karl Marx just in case it helps your odds of getting noticed.    I’m not going to wade into that controversy, except to say that it reminded me of Krillin.  

Is it shallow to have self-serving reasons to improve yourself?   Did I just answer my own question?   The point I’m making here is that it’s a useful motivator.    Krillin has self-esteem issues, and he joined the Orin Temple and then Kame House to try to overcome them.   He thought “If I just get really good at this one thing, then people will like me.”   And we can say “Oh, no, it doesn’t work that way, Krillin, people like you because you’re a such a good person, and besides, it doesn’t matter how good you are at martial arts.”  

Okay, fine, let’s assume that’s true, and Krillin deceived himself by training in martial arts.    Oh no!   He put in all that work, and all he got out of it was... being the strongest human on Earth.   Shoot.    He made himself a better person for nothing.

The reality is that I don’t think he would be as well-liked if he hadn’t gone down this road, simply because people wouldn’t have gotten to know him.   That’s really what it’s about.   It’s easy to say that you’re liked for “who you are on the inside”, but what people really want is to be noticed long enough to be liked for who they are.    And sometimes you gotta take a long look at yourself and say “I need to do something to grab people’s attention.”

And sometimes, in order to motivate yourself into that kind of work, you have to play that trick on yourself.    “Just think, if I put in those extra reps in the gym, the ladies’ll be all over me!”   And it never actually happens, but it gets you through that workout, and the next, and the next, and the next.  

I think we can all relate to that.   I’m writing this because three people asked me to, and I’m sort of hoping a few more will see it and like what I wrote.   I try to get better, because I like the rush of validation that comes with it.   And if I don’t get it, well, boo-hoo, I wrote a few hundred words about Krillin, a subject I enjoy writing about.   It’s a no-lose situation, and there’s some non-zero chance that attractive single women might see this and decide to slide into my DMs.    It’s a tiny chance, hardly worth mentioning, but it’s a lot higher than if I just sit in my apartment and stare at the wall.   

Why I don’t: Ocean Dub Krillin really rubbed me the wrong way, because they wrote and voice directed the character to be really nebbishy.   That wouldn’t necessarily make him a bad character, but it definitely conflicted with what you see on the screen, where he’s stepping to Nappa, Vegeta, Dodoria, and everything else he has to deal with.    Once Sonny got the role, everything turned out cool.  Mondo cool, if you will.

I suppose I should point out the flip side of what I wrote above.  Krillin’s so focused on being worthy that he fails to recognize his achievements.   That’s admirable in its way, but it also makes you worry about the guy.    Like, he knows 18 is crazy about him, right?   Wait, does Obama know people like him?   Do I?  Oh I might have made myself sad there for a minute, excuse me.

Favorite episode (scene if movie):

Probably the moment he tries to take on Super Buu all by himself.   One of the cool things about Krillin is that he’s taken on every major villain from Piccolo Junior to Buu, despite being outclassed.    I think the Super Buu thing is the best one, though, because in that situation there’s literally no chance of anyone jumping in to save him.    His entire plan is to hold off Buu for a few seconds and maybe buy a few minutes for the others. He’s doomed and he knows it won’t even work as a diversion, but he still jumps in anyway.    It proves that this is who he is.    When there’s literally no one left to impress, and nothing left to gain, he’ll still play things out the same way.  

Favorite season/movie: The Androids/Cell Saga is probably his best material overall, just because of his conflicted feelings regarding 18, and the difficult choices he makes because of that.   You can make a strong case for the Namek Saga, where it’s literally just Krillin and Bulma and Gohan, so he has to take the lead by default, but I’m just not that into the Namek Saga.

Favorite line:

This is really more from one of the video games.   I think Budokai 3, but I’m not sure.   Piccolo demands custody of Gohan and Krillin’s like “No way, you’re probably gonna eat him or something!” and I’m pretty sure this wasn’t in the Ocean Dub, so it completely caught me off-guard, like it was the last thing I expected Krillin to say.   And then Piccolo comes back with “I’m not going to eat him!”  like he’s offended at the very suggestion.   As a runner-up, I dig that part in DBZA 54, where Trunks and Vegeta are both reeling from their losses to Perfect Cell, and Krillin reminds them that they don’t have to posture around him, because it’s just him... “Krillin.    Everyone’s friend.”

Favorite outfit: That’s easy.

Yeah, the Frieza Soldier armor looked mighty good on this dude, and the cop uniform does too, and the classic Turtle Hermit outfit is a signature look, but this, right here, is the Krillin for me.    My man’s got the blue shirt under his orange shirt.    No more of the Yamcha slipppers.   Those look great on Yamcha, don’t get me wrong, but Krillin needs those big chunky Goku boots, because they’re perfect for stomping those pesky girlfriend-exploding remotes.   Fellas, this is the ideal male body.    You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.   

OTP: Maron HAHAHAHAHAHA oh wow.   No. It’s 18, obviously.

Brotp: Clearly Goku is his bro, but it’s not surprising at all how effortlessly he gets along with just about everyone else.   He’s bros with the entire world.

Head Canon: I’m pretty sure the Maron/Marron thing was just a coincidence in real life.   Maron the girlfriend was a filler character, and Marron the daughter was introduced in the manga some time later, and both used the same naming convention to end up in the same place.   However, I choose to believe that Krillin actually named his kid after his ex, and he somehow convinced 18 to go along with that idea.   

By that, I don’t mean he had to sweet talk her into it or promise a bunch of stuff in exchange.    I mean he must have discussed what to name their kid, and 18 was like “Your ex-girlfriend?   Seriously?” and he was like “Yeah, I know she’s a ditz, but you gotta understand I was in a really low place and she helped me through it.”   Or something like that, where once he lays out the whole reason 18′s like “Yeah, you know what?   Okay.” 

Or maybe Maron helped deliver the baby or something.   Or she was the surrogate mother?   Holy shit I might be onto something.

Unpopular opinion: Krillin clanks when he walks, due to the solid brass balls he’s got.

A wish: They should do a movie where Krillin just fights Frieza and wins.   Decisively, undisputably, irrevocably.   Krillin is stronger than Frieza from that point forward.    I don’t care if that means nerfing Frieza or godmodding Krillin, but I just want it made plain that if they use Frieza from here on, it has to be with the understanding that Krillin can whip his ass at any time.  

That might sound silly, and I guess it is, but you see what this accomplishes, right?   It forces Frieza into a new character dynamic, so it’s not just the same old shit with him.    Or Toei collectively admits that they can’t use him anymore, which was what they should have decided in 1995.   I’m fine either way.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Don’t grow his hair back, okay? 

5 words to best describe them: Qualified to sell real estate.

My nickname for them: The Kriller.

#ask duhragonball #dragon ball #krillin #heavydbz

[zhong-taro]

shotaro as a friendly ghost

 this is 2.8k words of shotaro and taeyong interacting and yes it’s all self-indulgent

tw: small mention of suicide, but it’s marked very clearly!

Ok so this is definitely part of a longer, more detailed AU that I’ll probably go into more later (like way later)

bUT let’s start here - Shotaro is a friendly ghost

Oh my g o d he’s such a sweetie you have no idea

When he dies, it’s something really dumb

He and his parents had moved to Korea after his father had sold his company and suddenly come into a significant amount of money 

It’s enough that they buy a large plot of land in Korea

Shotaro is about five years old when they buy the land and start construction on the house

It’s positioned at the top of a large hill that looked down over a small Korean town, and in the hot summers the house provided shade for a park, and when it rained the house blocked from too much flooding

Well, once it was finally built it did

It took five years for this absolute MANSION of a house to be built. Shotaro and his family had lived in a small rental home in the town, acquainting themselves with everyone and becoming established members of the community

When the place was finally finished, Shotaro was ten and the Osaki’s would have large gatherings of people at their home most weekends, with large parties every holidays

Originally, the family had built such a large home because they planned on taking in many foster children and helping to raise orphaned children

They never get to

The 1950’s were an absolute golden era for the Osakis, they’re loved by everyone around them and their perfect little boy Shotaro shines in Korea like he never had in Japan

Until in 1959, when they suffer great tragedy and the family is never the same again

Personally, Shotaro thinks he couldn’t have had a dumber death

He was nineteen and it was the night before the town dance contest. He was more than nervous - his parents had already been taking him out of town for dance lessons because he was too scared that the entire town would think he was bad at dancing, but now he was actually facing them

All of these people had known him since he was a toddler, he couldn’t handle the idea of all of them thinking he was bad at something he had found he loved

So he couldn’t sleep

And he had wandered downstairs, grabbing a cup of water and taking it back to his bedroom

However, he had tripped on the top step while going back to his bedroom and spilled water all over the hardwood floor

When he took the last step to try and clean up the spilled water, he slipped and fell down the stairs

Unfortunately, the Osaki parents woke up to a gruesome scene of their son dead at the entryway to their home

Shotaro thought he woke up, but when he stood up and his body didn’t stand with him, he knew something was wrong

And when his mother walked down the stairs (through him, mind you) and screamed, sobbing into his body, he realized that things might’ve been worse than he realized

It didn’t take long to figure out that he had died

(( tw // suicide for the next two bullet points ))

His parents couldn’t handle the pain

After his funeral, it took less than a month for both of his parents to commit suicide

Shotaro had been hoping that they would also become ghosts, but no such luck

So he was left alone, in a huge house that hadn’t seemed nearly as lonely only a month before

Of course he tried to leave, but he could never get past the gates that marked his parent’s property at the bottom of the hill

And so he sat in his house

For decades

Throughout the years, the house decayed and became decrepit. The chandelier fell one year, leaving glass scattered across the front entryway

Books became dusty, all but the ones in the library because Shotaro spent most of his time in that room and watched the days go by through the stories he would read

And when he opened up the windows on a nice spring day and leaned out, looking over the small town that he had loved so much, he heard the rumors

Tales of the haunted house at the top of the hill, told by a new generation of children who had never seen the Osaki home in its original glory

And Shotaro felt the repeating disappointment when a child would look into the windows, seem to spot him, and yelp before running away

So Shotaro becomes a recluse - not because he wanted to, but because he has to

After about 15 years, people start trying to sell the house

He doesn’t let that happen. Shotaro had become quite the… depressed person since his parents death. He had never really been given the opportunity to react to things as they happen. He’s always to put down the book and take a few deep breaths before continuing, or just walk away from the window when the rumors become too upsetting

But when that first person - a potbellied, middle aged man - comes to see the house in the interest of buying it, Shotaro sees red

And so he does what he thinks ghosts are supposed to do

He scares the man off

Years later he looks back and sees how bad of a ghost he was, but that just means that the guy must’ve been real cowardly

Because all he has to do is open a few windows, move around a few glasses, make some scary noises, and the guy is turning on his tail and sprinting out the door

More people come back - a family of three very wealthy foreigners who don’t speak the language, one rich old woman who decides the house would be too much upkeep six sons with two tired parents who decided there was too much room for trouble, and probably dozens more

The ones that don’t decide to move out on their own, Shotaro scares off

He gradually gets better at it - it’s hard to learn how to keep himself transparent at first

He thinks that he can become completely invisible, slightly translucent, or almost-solid but he’s never spoken to someone to figure it out

But as he watches the house crumble more and more around him, it gets more and more difficult to scare away the shoppers

He just wishes somebody other than pretentious jerks would come looking. He likes the original gothic architecture his parents designed, and he knows the house would be beautifully unique if somebody came along to restore it. But he’s not sure if he likes the idea of someone else coming into his house

Although he doesn’t have much of a choice after a while

The man comes along with the same real estate agent who’s been trying to sell Shotaro’s house for at least five years now

He’s pretty sure the woman knows he’s haunting the house, because she shoots glares into the empty air where he makes strange noises or moves furniture, but that sure doesn’t stop him from scaring all her clients away

When she steps in, she holds the open for a red haired man with a sharp jaw

He whistles as he looks around the large entryway, the noise echoing. He looks down at the large chandelier, still shattered on the marble floor, and raises one eyebrow at the agent

“What happened there?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. It’s been there ever since I started trying to sell this place.”

“Have you tried to have it cleaned?”

“Of course,” she looks a little insulted. “But the… ghost,” she glares into the empty air, across the room from where Shotaro is currently floating, “Seems to scare everyone off before they can get much done.”

The man smirks, turning away from her and looking around the entire room. He stands in silence for a few moments, scanning everything (Shotaro tries to ignore how nervous he feels when the man’s eyes briefly pause at his place at the old dining room table, but he tries a lot harder to not think about the point of his teeth)

“I’ll take it.”

The man shows up again the next day, and Shotaro is not happy about it

When he arrives, Shotaro is standing on the stairs and glaring at the front door

After unlocking the doors and stepping in, the red-haired man placed his hands firmly on his hips and smiled while looking around the room

“My name is Lee Taeyong.” the man announced loudly. The smile didn’t slip off of his face as the silence of the house continued. “I was born in 1995,” (how has that much time passed since he died?) “I’m a vampire, and I promise I will treat your home with respect.” 

Well. That’s interesting

But Shotaro chooses to gloss over the vampire thing and scoffs, storming up the stairs

The man - supposed vampire - doesn’t go into any rooms or even go upstairs on the first night. He just sleeps (pretends to sleep? Do vampires sleep? Are vampires even real? Shotaro stows all these thoughts away to deal with later) on the couch after ordering food in.

When he wakes up in the morning, Taeyong still has that obnoxious smile on as he looks around at nothing. Shotaro is there, watching and making sure the man doesn’t mess anything up

So when Taeyong fiddles at the dining room table, which only has three working legs and is almost broken in half, and asks the room “Would you be ok with me getting rid of this table?” Shotaro throws a glass at his head

He misses, intentionally obviously, and the old glass cup shatters against the peeling wallpaper of his dining room. Taeyong snorts and holds his hands up in surrender “Alright, no table. Hey, can you throw another glass if you’re a male ghost, please?”

Shotaro throws another glass, and once again ignores the point of the new man’s teeth

Later in the morning, early afternoon, Taeyong starts looking around the house.

“Are you  gonna try and kill me again if I go upstairs?” He asks, and Shotaro does nothing but cross his arms from where he’s sitting on the dusty banister

“I’ll take that as a no.”

And so they head upstairs. Taeyong stops in front of every doorway, and if Shotaro doesn’t want him going in the room he makes the door shake and bangs on the wall a few times

Taeyong doesn’t understand this message at first, and when he almost opens the door to Shotaro’s parent’s room he loses it

The ghost bangs on the door so hard the whole thing shakes, making what little art that was still hanging shudder. He yells for effect, coming out more of an angry groan (because he still can’t quite talk to humans when he’s invisible), and shoves Taeyong away from the door

The older (well, physically older) man looks shocked and stands still for a moment staring at the door, before shaking his hand and smiling a little. “Alright, I get the message Mr. Ghost.”

Shotaro only stops him again at his own bedroom door and his library, everywhere else he lets Taeyong explore. The vampire goes back to one of the guest rooms with an en suite and asks if he can keep this room as his own

Shotaro reluctantly lets him take the room, and tries to tell himself that this man is not going to be the one who ends up staying in his house

Again, the night Taeyong orders food in and eats on his own

Although before ordering the food, he grabs a box that had showed up on the front doorstep when Shotaro wasn’t looking

He floats around Taeyong as the other man carried the box to the only table not broken (a coffee table) and opens it with his unnaturally sharp nails. Shotaro’s nose crinkles at the bags of warm blood, and he reaches in to shift them around

“Animal blood,” Taeyong says quickly. “I promise I’m not a murderer, ghost friend.”

Shotaro has to look away as Taeyong drinks it, and gags for the first time since he’s died when he uses the animal blood as a topping for his burger and fries

The next morning, Shotaro comes out of his library after a night of reading and smells breakfast. When he goes downstairs, he’s greeted with Taeyong, dancing a little to a song playing out of a small metal box that Shotaro doesn’t understand and making breakfast

Shotaro peeks over Taeyong’s shoulder to see the bacon, eggs, and pancakes he’s making

He lets himself float up a little and pushes open the window open right above the counter

“Oh!” Taeyong looks up with wide eyes, looking around. “Hello, Mr. Ghost!” He smiles and his eyes pause where Shotaro floats before continuing to look around. “I’m not sure if you can eat, but if you can you’re welcome to some of the food.”

Shotaro can’t eat, but he appreciates the gesture

Through the next few days, they fall into a rhythm

Taeyong doesn’t seem to sleep, but meditates. He never goes fully unconscious but he does seem to float a little bit. Every other day the box of blood arrives and Taeyong drinks some with every meal, plus three full glasses throughout the rest of the day, and Shotaro learns to live with it

Shotaro won’t let Taeyong into only two rooms, but lets the vampire look around the rest of his home

They fight over a few things, like fixing different things up, but not much. Eventually Shotaro lets him buy new furniture and doesn’t object when the man adds a few new paintings to the walls

Shotaro finds himself thinking that maybe this one person (undead vampire?)  might not be so bad to live with - for now, at least

Shotaro walks into his library one day, about a month into living together, and finds Taeyong already there. He tries not to get angry, and feels a wave of emotions when he sees that Taeyong is staring up at the portrait of the Osaki family hanging between two large windows. He distantly notices that the man is sitting on the only section of couch without direct sunlight landing on it

He lets the door creak and close noisily as he steps inside, tries to will the wind from the open windows to grow a little colder as he floats next to where Taeyong is sitting

“Which one are you?”

Shotaro wishes he could respond, and looks around desperately for a way to show him

He grabs a dead flower from a large vase sitting on the end table and uses it to point to his face, the painted-him smiling slightly between his two parents and looking as awkward as he always felt in life

Taeyong sighs a little. “You must be so young…” He stares at where he must estimate Shotaro’s head is, judging by the floating flower, and smiles sadly. “I can’t believe the ghost haunting my house is a teenager.”

The painting rumbles a little as the wall shakes.

“Fine, sorry,” Taeyong chuckles a little. “Your house.”

Shotaro can see a shift in Taeyong’s behavior after that

The man seems to actively seek him out and starts talking to him more and more

He starts asking more questions - mostly things Shotaro can’t figure out how to answer - and becomes more joke-y with him

“Can I see you?”

Shotaro freezes from his perched position on a chair across from Taeyong.

“I don’t know if you even know how to show me what you look like, but I’ve been living here for 3 months, don’t you think it’d be more comfortable if I actually knew where you were?” Taeyong is looking at where Shotaro has his book propped up as he marks his page and puts it down

With very little effort, he wills himself into view. Not fully - he still isn’t sure he can even do that - but enough that his features are visible

Taeyong stares for a few moments before speaking

“You’re a baby.”

Shotaro gapes for a moment before laughing, a soft sound that sounds muted in his non corporeal form.

“You can’t be anything but a teenager, how old are you?” Taeyong’s surprised look has slipped off his face and now he looks more curious and excited.

“Well, physically 19,” Shotaro speaks slowly, trying to get used to the way his voice sounds - he hasn’t spoken much since his death. “But I died in 1959”

Aaaand Taeyong gapes again

“Holy crap, that was 50 years ago!”

Shotaro tilts his head to the side a little, thinking. “Really? Hmm, I didn’t realize it was so long ago.”

Taeyong smiles again, leaning forward as he pushes away his breakfast plate. “What’s your name, ghost-teenager?”

“Shotaro, Osaki Shotaro.”

“Nice to meet you Shotaro,” Taeyong grins at him, hair falling into his face. “I’m Taeyong.”

#WHY does everything look so much LONGER on google docs #this is 6.5 pages on google docs yet?? looks so short here???? #anYWAYS #nct #shotaro #osaki shotaro #taeyong #lee taeyong #my writing #headcanons #nct monster au #nct au #please be nice i'm sensitive!!!!!!

[sapphirelass]

Two Peas in a Pod - Harry PotterxSister

Please note:

1: I don’t own any of the gifs used, nor any already established characters, so credit to the authors and original creators - You have done a phenomenal job :)

2: English is not my native language, as I was born and raised in Sweden. I have, however, studied English for almost a decade, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem, I just thought I’d let you know ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For this one-shot I have taken inspiration from both the book and the film, as well as left out parts of the original dialogue that, for the purpose of this story, felt irrelevant. 

Word count: ≈ 2400

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two Peas in a Pod

Harry Potter and his twin sister Lucy were like two peas in a pod. Always had been. Supposedly, that was what happened when young magicians had to grow up with muggles, especially if those muggles were named “Dursley”. Harry was always more impulsive, whereas Lucy took on the role of the rational one, yet they had both been placed in Gryffindor house by the sorting hat four years prior.

It was now the first of September 1995, and last year had been a rough one. Lord Voldemort, the dark wizard who had killed Harry and Lucy’s parents, had just come back and despite their efforts, this holiday had been more miserable than any of the previous ones. Dudley and his friends, dementor attacks, and a general lack of communication with the wizarding world left the twins in a particularly bad mood. They arrived at Kings Cross, and after pulling Harry away from Draco Malfoy, Lucy, her brother, Ron and Hermione boarded the Hogwarts express, and found a place to sit.

During the start-of-the-year feast, the small group of friends quickly realized that something was wrong. Their new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor - Dolores Umbridge - was a ministry employe, which was weird on its own, but the way she spoke, acted, and kept interrupting Dumbledore with shrill, irritating *hum hum*’s made them all feel queasy. 

After a quiet discussion in the common room (and quite a bit of loud arguing between Harry and Seamus Finnigan), they went to bed, yawning, and not exactly looking forward to that year’s first period of DADA.

***

They entered the classroom, and to their surprise, Umbridge actually wasn’t there yet. Harry and Lucy shared a confused look, but went to sit down, Harry with Ron, and Lucy with Hermione. Eventually though, the professor did arrive, her unnaturally high-pitched voice bringing them all back to reality.

“Good morning, class!” she said cheerfully

There was a quiet murmur among the students, and Umbridge shook her head.

“Good Morning!” she said again, this time more sternly. “I expect you to answer me when spoken to.”

A slightly louder “Good morning professor” could be heard, and though Umbridge didn’t seem too pleased, she decided to move on with the lesson.

“Ordinary Wizarding Levels - OWLs” she started. “Your previous teachers in this subject have all been quite questionable choices, however this year things will be the way they were meant to. Open your books on page 4.”

A few minutes had passed before Hermione raised her hand and said “Professor, there is nothing in here about using defensive spells.”

“Using spells?” Umbridge asked, laughing nastily

“We’re not to use magic?” Ron asked

“You will be learning defensive magic in a safe, risk-free environment”

“But”, said Harry, rather angrily, “what good would that do? If we were attacked that wouldn’t be risk-free!”

“Ha!”, laughed Umbridge, “And who exactly do you think would want to attack a helpless child such as yourself? Besides, the education you will receive will be more than enough for you to pass your OWLs, and that is after all just what school is about.” She finished with a smirk, looking rather satisfied with her speech.

Lucy, who had sat quietly this whole time shifted slightly in her chair, and exclaimed: “It’s not though! 

“Sorry?” Umbridge asked, dumbfounded

“School isn’t solely about receiving good grades! It’s about preparing the students for life, and supplying them with the tools and knowledge necessary in order to succeed and improve. If we’re not going to do that, then why, may I ask, is this a mandatory course? It’s already starting to seem rather pointless to me.”

Harry was perplexed. How his sister always managed to, 1: use her words in such a remarkable way, and 2: remain calm through the most infuriating of situations was a mystery to him, however he turned his gaze back towards Umbridge, waiting for her reply.

“Nonsense” She said. “This course is compulsory, and rightfully so!”

“How though?” Inquired Lucy, pushing it further than she probably should have. “Can you name any situation, apart from the exam, where your teachings will be of any help to us? Or didn’t the ministry consider that?”

That was the top of the iceberg.

“DETENTION!!” shouted Umbridge. “My office, 8:30 would you be so kind, Ms Potter.”

Lucy flinched. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, however detention was not something she had to endure very often. That was more Harry’s thing. She sank quietly back onto her chair, and Umbridge continued with her boring, unnecessary lesson, reciting facts and procedures they had all learnt about 4 years earlier. Lucy could feel her brother staring, practically burning a hole in her neck, but somehow, probably thanks to Ron, he kept quiet for the rest of the class.

An hour later, class ended and none of the Gryffindor students wasted any time getting out of Umbridge’s classroom. Lucy threw her stuff into her brown, leather bag and dashed out of the room without making eye contact with her brother or friends.

“Luce!” Harry shouted. “Wait up!”

He caught up with his sister on the stairs leading down to McGonagall’s classroom.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Looking up at him with an annoyed stare she said “Yes Harry! Just brilliant!” with a sarcastic tone in her voice. She kept on walking, but Harry grabbed her shoulder. A few years ago, they had been roughly the same size, but Harry had grown A LOT, and was by now almost seven inches taller. All the quidditch training had apparently paid off too, and Lucy knew instantly that she would never be able to escape his firm, yet gentle grip. He glanced down on her with a worried look on his face.

“I’m serious!” he said. “Stop”

She turned around and faced him. “What?” She spat at him, suddenly noticing her icy voice. 

“Sorry…” Lucy mumbled, “she just pissed me off. I’m fine.” Her facial expression softened and she met Harry’s eyes for the first time since class ended. He let go of her shoulders, and was just about to say something when a tall ginger came running at full speed and gave Lucy a supportive pat on the back.

“That was bloody brilliant!” Ron exclaimed. “Lucy, did you see the look on her face? Bloody hell, she was angrier than Malfoy after Harry beat him in his first quidditch match!”

“Yes” stated Lucy simply, as Hermione made her way down the stairs, “I saw…”

“Oh cheer up!” stated Ron, “an hour or two of detention isn’t the end of the world. If you ask me, it was totally worth it!”

Hermione gave him a disapproving stare as Lucy sadly stated, “It might not have been the cleverest thing to do” Both Harry and Hermione blinked at her with a sort of “you-don’t-say?” kind of look as she kept on speaking. “But you must admit that it’s the truth? Defence against the dark arts has never been as important as it is right now. We are all going to die before the end of the year unless we learn and improve?!”

“You’re right.” Hermione muttered, and surprisingly, she smiled slightly. “But we’ll have to talk about that later, otherwise we’ll be late for transfiguration. Come on!”

***

The rest of the day went by rather quickly, and the quartet soon found themselves in front of the fireplace in the common room. It was about 8:20 when Lucy stood up, grabbed a jacket, and left for Umbridge’s office.

“Good luck!” Harry said, frowning deeply, “I’ll wait for you here.”

Lucy turned around quickly, “Haz, you don’t have to. I’ll be fine. You need your sleep and I have no idea how long this is going to take.”

Harry gave her a sort or irritated look, to which she sighed and left without a word.

“What do you think she’ll have her do?” Hermione questioned.

“I don’t know” Harry hissed, “but I’m sure she’ll tell me when she gets back...”

The remaining three looked at each other. Ron threw Harry a chocolate frog, and then - they waited…

***

*knock knock*

There was a slight clinking noise, like metal on china, followed by a repulsing “come in”. Lucy took a deep breath and pushed the door open. 

“Ah!” chirped Umbridge, “Potter, sit down, will you?”

Lucy apprehensively made her way across the room to the chair her so-called “professor” had pointed at. She sat down and looked around nervously.

“You will be writing some sentences for me today, no” Umbridge said, as Lucy reached down to her bag to pick up something to write with. “no, not with your own quill. You’ll be using a rather special one of mine.” She smiled evilly, and pushed a black, pointy feather across the table.

Lucy grabbed it carefully and asked in a silent, trembling voice, “what should I write?”

“Oh, right! How about… ‘I must obey my superiors’?”

***

It was about three hours later, when Lucy slowly made her way back to the common room, red, hot blood dripping from her left hand leaving a small trail through the corridor. The pain had intensified, and was by this point almost unbearable. She took a quick detour to the girls’ bathroom, hoping to be able to clean herself up a bit before having to face her friends and brother. She had told him to go to sleep, after all, it was almost midnight by now, but she knew him all too well. The odds of him being in bed were absolutely zero. 

She watched the thick, red liquid disappear down the sink and let a few tears fall, before grabbing some paper making sure no tears or blood could be seen. She had to make it through the common room up to the dormitories quickly though, since she was sure Harry would be able to tell she’d been crying, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Sure, she could just tell him, but something inside her argued against that. He had been rather angry and distressed all summer, and she knew he wasn’t feeling much better now. Harry had enough to deal with without handling her problems too.

Entering the common room, roughly four seconds had passed before her brother was by her side. 

“Hey,” he said gently, “everything okay?”

She nodded and mumbled a quiet. “Yes. ‘m tired though, night Harry”

She walked the stairs up to her dorm, leaving Harry behind. He simply stood there dumbfounded. What had just happened? “Oh… okay, night Luce”

She didn’t answer…

***

The following morning, he found her at the breakfast table, slowly digesting a tiny portion of porridge. She was wearing one of his old quidditch jumpers underneath her cloak. He knew, because it was far too big for her, and the sleeves reached down to her fingertips.

“Hey,” he said, ruffling her long, strawberry blonde hair, “Feeling better?”

“Sure, “ she murmured, slowly pulling the sleeves even further down. He gave her a supportive hug.

“But come on now, “ he urged her. “You can’t be sad forever. What did she have you do?”

“Nothing…”

“Luce!”

“Just write some sentences. It was fine, rather dull to be honest with you.” She threw the spoon into the bowl, and pushed it away. “How are you feeling? Any bad dreams?”

“Always…” he muttered, shaking his head at the milk that had splashed out on the table, “could have been worse though.”

Harry made himself some toast, as Ron and Hermione joined them in the great hall. 

***

A week or so later Harry had had enough. It was in defence against the dark arts, on a rather cold Tuesday afternoon that he finally snapped, and shouted at professor Umbridge, who seemed almost too happy for a reason to give him detention.

The gang sat, yet again, around the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, when Harry suddenly left and climbed through the portrait hole. He came back a few hours later, a downright furious look on his face, and walked straight up to his sister without even noticing the ghost he had stumbled through. He looked down at her smaller frame, his quidditch jumper yet again pulled over her head. 

“Let me see, ” he said through gritted teeth, causing Lucy to look up at him, trying her best to act confused.

“Wha��”

“Lucy - let. me. see.” he repeated firmly, his emerald eyes penetrating the mental wall behind which she had been trying so hard to hide her troubles.

She closed her eyes and pulled her sleeve up to her elbow. The blood had naturally dried, however five heart wrenching words were etched into her still red, irritated skin. 

I must obey my superiors

No one said a thing. Lucy was staring at the floor, not daring to meet her brother’s eyes, all while Harry felt madder than he ever had before.

Madder than when Dudley had been pushing him around the school yard.

Madder than when Malfoy had taunted him because of the dementors.

Madder than when he had found out that his aunt and uncle had lied about their parents true fate for almost 10 years. 

This was his sister, and it was far from okay.

Without thinking, Harry was just about to shout at her for keeping something like that from him, when he noticed that she was crying. Soft, quiet sobs that she were clearly trying to hide. It felt as if all his anger simply washed away, and he crouched down and took her hand in his. 

Harry’s hand was still covered in blood. He hadn’t had time to clean it, but had instead taken the shortest way to the common room, after realizing what had happened. Raising his right hand, he pulled her closer and felt her lean her head on his chest. They sat like that, arms wrapped around each other, for hours and slowly started drifting off to sleep.

Were they okay? Not at all. Would they be? Absolutely! Because they had each other, and when it really came down to it, that was all they needed, as the Potter twins were just like two peas in a pod.

~ L

Masterlist

#harry potter #harryxsister #harry potter x sister #harry potter x twin #imagine #umbridge #detention #torture #siblings #angst #hp #reader #oc

[slytherindisaster]

Lizzie Parker Profile 2.0

I. IDENTITY

Name: Elisabeth Marigold Parker

Nicknames: Lizzie, Liz, Lisa (only by Jacob and she hates this one), Parker (by Merula)

Gender: Female

Age: 11 - 17 (in-game, 1984-1991); 47 (present day 2020)

Birth Date: 13 July 1973

Species: Human

Blood Status: Half-Blood

Sexuality: Bisexual

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Ethnicity: Caucasian/White

Nationality: British

Residence: London, England

Myer Briggs Personality Type: INFJ

II. THE MAGE

1st Wand: Aspen, Unicorn Hair, 12 inches, reasonably supple

Wand-quality aspen wood is white and fine-grained, and highly prized by all wand-makers for its stylish resemblance to ivory and its usually outstanding charmwork. The proper owner of the aspen wand is often an accomplished duellist, or destined to be so, for the aspen wand is one of those particularly suited to martial magic. Aspen wand owners are generally strong-minded and determined, more likely than most to be attracted by quests and new orders; this is a wand for revolutionaries.

Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. Wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts. They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard.

A wand with reasonably supple flexibility will take even more time than a supple wand before warming up to its owner, but it also will become very loyal once it does. Unlike supple wands, however, it will have difficulty performing for any new owner unless they prove their worthiness. Reasonably supple wands are usually well-rounded and perform average or well in just about every area of magic except for curses and jinxes. Owners of wands with this flexibility are patient and kind, but they have limits to this patience and kindness. They are not as likely to burn themselves out in an attempt to please everyone, but it is still possible.

2nd Wand: Red Oak, Unicorn hair, 11 inches, solid

You will often hear the ignorant say that red oak is an infallible sign of its owner’s hot temper. In fact, the true match for a red oak wand is possessed of unusually fast reactions, making it a perfect duelling wand.

Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. Wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts. They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard.

A wand of solid flexibility will become extremely loyal to one owner and one owner only, usually people of great moral integrity. It is a wand that usually heavily specializes in only one area of magic of its owner’s choosing. Owners of this wand are generally known for their reliability, their friendliness, and their character. They may find it difficult to understand views that differ from their own but are usually able to politely disagree.

Animagus: European shorthair

Miscellaneous Magical Abilities:

Animagus

Lizzie became an animagus in her third year with Penny Haywood’s and Talbott Winger’s help. She registered herself with the Ministry and is able to transform into a cat.

Wandless Magic

In her fifth year she and Talbott Winger challenged eachother to learn wandless magic. In the end he was the first to learn the skill but he studied with her until she was able to perform it flawlessly by her seventh year.

Nonverbal magic

She began to learn nonverbal magic along with wandless magic. For some reason this skill was easier for her to learn and she successfully mastered it by the end of her seventh year.

Apparition

In her sixth year Lizzie signed up for Ministry of Magic Apparition lessons. Unfortunately she wasn’t old enough to take the Apparition Test on the first date with others. She took the test in the summer before her seventh year and passed it flawlessly getting her licence on first attemtpt.

Legilimen & Oclumeni

Just as her brother Jacob, Lizzie have a natural predisposition to quickly master both Legilimency and Oclumency. She discovers her abbilities sometime in her 2nd year when she starts to hear her friends talking to her even though they didn’t say anything. She then beging to train herself and by the end of her 5th year she’s skilled enough to both control it and use it to her advantage.

Boggart Form: Tall person in a Death Eater costume. They take off their mask and it turns out to be her mother, saying that she’ll be just like her.

Riddikulus Form: The Death Eater costume turns into some other ridiculous, funny costume. It’s different almost every time.

Amortentia: (What do they smell like?)

Amortentia: (What do they smell?)

hay, campfire smoke, apple pie, peaches

Patronus:

Kneazle

Eagle (for a short period of time, after Talbott disapparance; 1995/6)

Patronus Memory:

Sunny afternoon. She, her dad and Jacob in the backyard of their childhood home. Her dad is teaching her how to ride a broom, Jacob is goofing around. Their mother is nowhere in sight.

Later it changed to her 7th year Christmas at Hogwarts. Cosy night, she’s with all her friends, sitting by the fireplace and it’s just pure happiness.

Mirror of Erised: Lizzie’s mother telling her how proud she is of her, like nothing bad ever happened to their relationship

Specialized/Favourite Spells:

Bombarda

Colovaria

Confundus

Defensive spells (Expecto Patronum, Expelliarmus, Protego etc.)

Healing spells (Episkey, Anapneo, Ferula etc.)

Obliviate

Reducto

Silencio (she casted it a lot in school, most likely on Andre when he was starting another rant on her fashion choices)

Stupefy

III. APPEARANCE

Height: 5’6

Weight: 145 lbs.

Physique: Thin

Eye Colour: Green

Hair Colour: Red

Skin Tone: Pale

Faceclaim/Voiceclaim:

Game Appearance:

Body Modifications: She have pierced ears since she was a kid. She also pierced her nose somewhere around 1996

Scarring:

Some minor scars on her hands from duelling and spells that went wrong

She have a chipped left ear after she got attacked by dogs in her animagi form

Inventory: wand, tissues, probbably some snacks, chapstick, necklace from Talbott, some spare change, polaroid photo of her and her friends

Fashion:

Lizzie’s sense of fashion is most likely non-existent, which drives one of her closest friends, Andre Egwu, basically mad. She prefers comfort over looking good and it shows. Most of her clothes are in earthy tones. She loves flannel shirts, she owns like a hundred of them. As she grows older she really starts to hate bras, so she almost never wear one (but it’s the 90s at this point so who does?).

IV. ALLEGIANCES

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

Affiliations/Organizations: The Parker Family, The Rowle Family, House of Slytherin, Circle of Khanna, British Ministry of Magic, Order of the Phoenix

Professions:

Slytherin Prefect (1988-1991)

Editor at The Daily Prophet; Spells/Sports segments (1991-1994)

Archivist at British Ministry of Magic Archives (1994-1998; 2000-2005)

Informer and Spotter for the Order of the Phoenix (1995-1998)

Head of the British Ministry of Magic Archives office (2005-2015)

Hogwarts Professor for History of Magic (2015-present)

Guardian of Hogwarts Duelling Club (2017-present)

V. HOGWARTS INFORMATION

Class Proficiencies:

Astronomy: Acceptable

Charms: Outstanding

DADA: Exceeds Expectations

Flying: Outstanding

Herbology: Outstanding

History of Magic: Outstanding

Potions: Acceptable

Transfiguration: Exceeds Expectations

Electives:

Care of Magical Creatures: Outstanding

Divination: Acceptable

Muggle Studies: Exceeds Expectations

Quidditch:

Keeper on Slytherin Team

Keeper/Beater at friendly matches

Extra Curricular:

Duelling Club

Favourite Professors:

Pamona Sprout

Minerva McGonagall

Silwanus Kettleburn

Least Favourite Professors:

Patricia Rackepick

Sybilla Trelawney

VI. RELATIONSHIPS

Brother: Jacob Mallow Parker

Before his disappearance they had good relations. Or at least as good as siblings can have. They were both very close to their father. Lizzie looked up to Jacob and he always kept her out of trouble when it came to dealing with their mother.

After he vanished she felt betrayed and lonely. For years she was angry at him for leaving her but with time she calmed down and started her search for him because he missed him and wanted to have a family again.

[fc: Joe Mazzello]

Father: Anthony “Tony” Parker

Half-blood wizard, worked as a Magizoologist, specialised in winged horses and wrote three books on the subject (one about each: Abraxan, Aethonan and Granian). His lifetime dream was to wrote one last book - about Thestrals.

A Hufflepuff, he was a kind and thoughtful man. Loved his children and wife more than anything in the world. Known for his patience and open mind. He may or may not have adopt a wild Kneazle and keep him in his backyard when his kids were little.

Jacob’s disappearance completely broke his spirit, to the point that he became a shell of his past self. He barely spoke and almost never left his office. He died under unknown circumstances when Lizzie was in her fifth year at Hogwarts. At least that was what her mother told her.

[fc: Phillip Seymour-Hoffman]

Mother: Eileen Parker (née Rowle)

Very proud and distinguished woman raised in a pureblood family. Although she never had very good relations with her children she had high hopes for Jacob. After his disappearance she basically ignored Lizzie every time she was coming back for summer.

Even thought her family wasn’t obsessed with pureblood supermacy as much as other members of the Sacred Twent-Eight (they allowed marrying half-bloods) she still lost majority of her relatives due to first wizardimg war as they were followers of Voldemort. She truly believed his vision and wanted to join them as well but her brothers forbid it.

After Lizzie’s graduates from Hogwarts she never really contacts her mother to the point she doesn’t even know that Eileen vanishes after Voldemort’s return and joins the Death Eaters.

[fc: Marcia Cross]

Love Interests:

Talbott Winger (boyfriend)

Chaira Lobosca (one sided crush on Lizzie’s side)

Best Friends:

Barnaby Lee

Bill Weasley

Rowan Khanna

Andre Egwu

Charlie Weasley

More on Lizzie’s Relationships here.

Rival:

Merula Snyde

Charlie Weasley (friendly rivalry bc of quidditch)

Enemy:

Patricia Rakepick

“R” people

Dormmates:

Rowan Khanna

Skye Parkin

Merula Snyde

Ismelda Murk

Pets:

Niffler named Roger (after Roger Taylor)

Toad named Wesley (after she jokingly said the toad reminded her of Bill)

Closest Canon Friends:

Jae Kim

Murphy McNully

Nymphadora Tonks

Diego Caplan

Closest MC Friends:

Jules Farrier (@cursebreakerfarrier)

Cato Reese (@catohphm)

[if you want to be friends with Lizzie just hit me up! i would be honored ❤️]

VII. BACKGROUND/HISTORY

Lizzie’s history will be posted in a separate post. I’ll link it here when I make it.

VIII. PERSONALITY

Intelligent, Ambitious, Friendly (for most people), Argumentative (if necessary), Stubborn, Extremely honest, Competitive

IX. MISCELLANEUS

— She loves muggle music. After Ben introduced her to some of the bands that were popular at the time she just couldn’t escape. She quickly became obsessed with Queen and it stayed with her for the rest of her life.

— She cried for two weeks after Freddie Mercury died.

— She also had a phase for ABBA, when she was singing their songs at every possible occasion. Luckily for her friends she outgrew it quite quickly.

— For the first four years at Hogwarts she was wearing glasses even though she don’t have any defect of vision. They were just giving her more confidence.

— If you can’t find her she’s probably in the greenhouses. This doesn’t change even after she became a professor at Hogwarts.

— Even thought her favourite subject is History of Magic she loves Herbology, and she always had some dirt under her fingernails after gardening during her time at Hogwarts.

— She’s also probably the only person in her year that doesn’t sleep at Binns’ lessons and have decent notes. They came in handy every year before the exams and that’s why in this time her pockets are always full of candy - she would share her notes for free but if they want to give her candy she won’t stop them.

— While she can be serious if she have an important job to do, usually she’s a complete crackhead in her animagi form. She constantly gets stuck in wierd places and have to be rescued by her friends.

———————-

A/N: *inhales* CAN YOU ACTUALLY BELIEVE THIS? Because I barely can. Tbh this profile isn’t that much different from her first one but it was posted on my main blog and I think that bugged me the most. I made some art-updates and I totally scrapped her relationship with both Barnaby and Talbott (although I will keep the playlists bc I like them very much). I’ll probably include the Barbaby’s one in an AU or something.

Template (as always) by @hogwartsmystory <3

#lmao finally #i feel like a better mother now #now i need to get to the ot3 asks i still haven’t done #but yeah #here it is #finally on the blog it’s supposed to be #hphm #lizzie parker #character profile #hogwarts mystery #hphm mc

[curioushistorian]

Contemporary art reflective blog

My name is Helen, I am a mature first year undergraduate History of Art and Museum Studies student. For the contemporary art module, we have been asked to create a blog on how we understand and connect to contemporary art. This is where I have to confess that out of all the modules that we have studied this is the one that I feel I connected to the least.

I am hoping by the end of this blog and through my own research to have deepened my understanding and gained a better insight into contemporary art.

I have grown up in and around Renaissance art having spent a quite a bit of time in Florence with the family I have there, the time spent in art galleries like The Uffizi, The Accademia and the Pitti Palace deepened my love of all things ‘old’ so the modern contemporary art I just do not feel like I understand quite so well.

 Medusa with the Head of Perseus

'Medusa with the Head of Perseus', by artist Luciano Garbati. COURTESY OF MWTH PROJECT AND THE ARTIST

 Luciano Garbati is an Argentine-Italian artist who grew up in a little village just outside Florence. In the Piazza della Signoria sits the famous Cellini sculpture for all to see. In this sculpture Perseus stands naked atop of Medusa’s corpse, holding her head aloft in victory over the crowds that gather in the square, every child in Florence knows the story.

As Garbati told Quartz’s Annaliese Griffin in 2018, seeing the work as a child led him to imagine a reversal of its dynamic.

“There are lots of depictions of Medusa, and they are always describing the myth at its worst,” the artist said. “… What would it look like, her victory, not his? How should that sculpture look?”

Medusa was a handmaiden of Athena’s sacred temple and one day Poseidon tried to seduce her, she rebuffed his advances as it would jeopardise her position in the temple, not taking no for an answer Poseidon raped Medusa. When Athena found out she, in a fit of rage for defiling her temple, turned Medusa into a Gorgon with deadly snakes for hair and a gaze that would turn anyone she looked at into stone, she banished Medusa from the temple.

A number of years later Perseus was sent on a seemingly imposible task to kill Medusa and cut off her head as a gift. Not being able to look directly at Medusa Perseus used the reflection in his shield to complete the job and take her head.

In Garbati’s sculpture things are a little different, Medusa’s lithe body is naked, she still has the snakes for hair and she is still a beautiful maiden, but in one hand she clutches a sword and in the other the severed head of Perseus (modelled on the artist) but its her gaze that catches the attention of the viewer, head tilted slightly downward, there isn’t a glee to her victory just a quiet resolution that she got the job done and woe betide anyone else who tries to take her life from her, inviting the narrative that she as a rape survivor, she will rise and that victim shaming is both wrong and immoral. This has been highly publicised recently in the media with the #metoo movement.

Photograph Jeenah Moon for the New York Times

Although Garbati created Medusa with the Head of Perseus in 2008 the sculpture was chosen to be erected in 2019 directly opposite the New York County Criminal Court, where Harvey Weinstein stood trial prompting a mixed reaction from the #metoo movement. Medusa has been reinterpreted as being symbolic of the victim-blaming suffered by rape survivors. “How can a triumph be possible if you are defeating a victim,” Garbati said in a statement.

On his Instagram page, Garbati wrote, “The place chosen is not accidental, since there they judge cases for crimes related to violence against women. We are already in the final stage working on the last details of this sculpture that became a symbol of justice for many women.”

Photograph Jeenah Moon for the New York Times

Some women were outraged that a male artist was chosen to represent their voice saying that Medusa’s body was too perfect and Poseidon’s or Athena’s head ought to be at Medusa’s side, not Perseus’s as they were the initial perpetrators.

Regarding Medusa’s model-esque figure, Mr. Garbati suggests that critics consider the literature from a recent exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that chronicles how artistic depictions of Medusa morphed from beastly to beautiful starting in the fifth century B.C. You can find that information here https://issuu.com/metmuseum/docs/dangerous_beauty_winter_2018_bullet

The feminist activist Wagatwe Wanjuki, who has written extensively on violence against women, wrote on Twitter, “#Metoo was started by a Black woman, but a sculpture of a European character by a dude is the commentary that gets centered? Sigh.”

But what if we have the story wrong, what if it’s been interpreted incorrectly all this time? What if Athena was in a fit of rage because her maiden had been raped? What if she was so angry that she turned the beautiful Medusa into a Gorgon to protect her from being a powerless victim? What if she sent her away to safe place where no one would find her? What if, what if, what if….

You can find Luciano Garbati’s web page here https://www.lucianogarbati.com/

  Faith Ringgold

 I first came across Faith Ringgolds work in a lecture we had about the Harlem Renaissance and the impact of the Windrush generation on art at that time, how black artists were using art, music, dance and other mediums to comment on the political status of the era and the black community’s social standing.

What first caught my eye was the riot of beautiful colour Ringgold uses, also that she uses the traditionally ‘gentle’ medium of quilting to depict such abject horrors such as racism, segregation, riots and street violence.

This led me to find out more about her life as an artist and civil rights activist, she is a mesmerising character and I watched many interviews with her, this one was particularly interesting as she was accompanied by her black feminist author and cultural critic daughter Michelle Faith Wallace. Watch it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK6G-S33V6w

 Faith Ringgold was born in Harlem New York in 1930 at the tail end of the Harlem Renaissance.

Harlem welcomed thousands of African Americans from the southern states of America, they moved to escape the prejudice and persecution that was going on at this time. Many famous people settled in Harlem such as Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald also authors, artists, musicians and athletes flocked to this area. It was an exciting time in Harlem and the Harlem Renaissance was born.

Faith Ringgold attended City Collage New York where she studied art from the European Masters such as Da Vici, Van Goch and Titian. Although she learned from them, she thought “I am black, I am a woman and I am of African descent” so she started to look at African art that was brought to Harlem by her relatives, she started to make quilts with her own twist on the designs, this led her to making her quilt stories, a series of quilts depicting the plight of African Americans in Harlem at this time, dedicating her career to activism, fighting gender and racial equality and highlighting the horrors of the race riots.

Echoes of Harlem 1980 is the first quilt of the series. This was a collaboration with her mother (who she called Willy) and was made the year before Willy died, this was the only one they collaborated on together. It features all the faces of her neighbours and friends in Harlem and takes the traditional tanka for inspiration. The fabric was quilted on to wadding and then the images were painted directly on to the fabric. This meant she could roll them up and easily transport them to various galleries as she found her paintings too heavy to lift and did not want to wait for her husband to arrive home from work to help her lift her canvases.

Echoes of Harlem 1980 photo Artsynet

Street Story 1985 This a quilt that features her house in Harlem, 222 West 146th Street. It also shows the burned-out houses of her neighbours after the civil rights rioting took place.

Street Story 1985, photo metmuseum.org

 Sonny’s Quilt 1986 This quilt depicts her legendary neighbour saxophonist Sonny Rollins who would practice playing his tenor saxophone on the Brooklyn bridge to get away from complaining residents.

Sonny’s Quilt 1986, photo Artsynet

 Tar Beach 1988 This quilt depicts the hot summers of Faith Ringgold’s childhood, no one had air conditioning and the families of Harlem could not afford holidays so instead they would use the roofs of the apartment blocks to get away from the stifling heat of the city. This was as a place to spend recreational time. They called it Tar Beach. Families would gather with friends and neighbour’s, children would fall asleep under the stars as the adults played card games, listened to music and told stories passed down for generations. This quilt captures the magic she felt on the roof top, the George Washington bridge in the background, the stars above their heads.

 Tar beach1988, photo Artsynet

 When Faith was a child, she was sick much of the time with asthma so consequently spent a great deal of her time absent from school, the roof top was where her fashion designer mother Willy taught her to sew. On the days that she was well enough her mother would take her to the theatre to watch Jazz performances, these are portrayed in later story quilts.

Harlem reflects heavily in Ringgold’s work, from the connection and love she felt with friends and family to the outpouring of rage, despair and inequality felt by the Black community at the time. She used her work to depict the political tensions on the streets of New York.

To find out more about Faith Ringgold’s extraordinary life and works of art including paintings, books, and many more quilts please start by taking a look here www.faithringgold.com  

   Tracey Emin, Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995

Photograph Wordpress

 Tracey Emin is a British artist most associated with the art movement of the late 1980’s early 1990’s in London called the Young British Artists or YBA’s, with most of the artists graduating from Goldsmiths or the Royal Collage of Art.

Emin hand stitched and appliqued over 100 names of everyone she had ever slept with up until this point on a tent. The tent filled her small living room floor for six months whilst she worked on it, having to put her television inside it to fit it in the room.

I find this piece fascinating for a number of reasons, firstly the way the media reacted to it. The Tent as it is sometimes known, got such bad press as I think it was just too much information about Emin’s sexuality and private life for most of the general public, jumping to the hasty conclusion that all the names in and on the tent were sexual partners when in fact the literal meaning of the word ‘slept’ in the title was including all the people she had ever fallen asleep in the same place as, names included her Grandmother who she used to fall asleep besides listening to the radio, her teddy bear, two unnamed aborted foetuses and school friends. Of course, Emin had the names of past and present lovers and one-night stands in there also, but the deliberately provocative title of the piece meant that people jumped to their own conclusions without considering that there may be names of people in there with innocent connotations.

Photograph Wordpress

 The second reason I like this installation is because it reminds me of Duchamp’s ‘Readymades’. Emin has taken a mass-produced boring plain two-man tent and added something to make it extraordinary, and thought provoking. So, I find myself thinking would it be as striking and controversial if it wasn’t for Tracey Emins brash, eccentric, feisty and at times unpredictable personality? After all it is just a tent with some names sewn on.

The Tent was first shown at Minky Manky at the South London Gallery and the brainchild of Carl Freedman (who Emin was in a relationship with at the time) He was a friend and collaborator of Damien Hirst who also exhibited in the gallery along with YBA’s such as Sarah Lucas and Gilbert and George. This gave Emins work a much-needed boost as she was not as well-known at this point.

Emin tells Widewalls ‘At that time Sarah (Lucas) was quite famous, but I wasn't at all. Carl said to me that I should make some big work as he thought the small-scale stuff I was doing at the time wouldn't stand up well. I was furious. Making that work was my way at getting back at him. One review was really funny, the journalist had written something like 'She's slept with everyone – even the curator'!

Charles Saatchi the well-known art collector, Gallery owner and wealthy patron of Hirst and many of the YBA’s wanted to buy The Tent but Emin wouldn’t sell it to him due to his advertising work for Thatcher administration. Saatchi eventually bought it on the secondary market from another dealer and put it into his storage facility at the East London Momart warehouse where it was destroyed by fire along with many other valuable pieces of art.

In 2008 during her Edinburgh retrospective show, Emin claimed that she was offered £1 million by the Saatchi Gallery to rebuilt The Tent, but that she cannot do it since it was very personally despite the fact she recreated few smaller pieces for that show. (Widewalls 2020)

To find more about Tracey Emin’s tent watch this short clip https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/tracey-emin-everyone-i-have-ever-slept-with

 Eve Provost Chartrand

In mid-February we had a guest lecture by the Canadian artist Eve Chartrand, I found her work quite disturbing to look at at first, her organic matter looking creations that incorporate teeth, wax, fabric and living fungi can look like something out of a horror film. But then listening to what motivated her to produce her works really resonated with me.

Chartrand has been observing in her art how ‘she experienced first-hand how disabled and “disgraceful” bodies trigger unease, contempt, and/or indifference, even violence. Living in a culture that equates old age with disease and decline (Calasanti 2005) compelled me to find ways to resist and transgress such discriminative gazes’.

As a woman of 44 I can tell you that I am treated differently now to how I was treated in my 20’s. It is like you become invisible or perhaps treated as a slight inconvenience, like your opinion does not count as you are not young. How the adverts on television are reminding you that you must not age, to stay thin and retain the appearance of a perpetual twenty something with long thick lustrous pigmented hair, wrinkle free and with the perfect figure. And the cruel reality is as you start to feel the most comfortable with yourself that’s when your body starts to age and diminish the youthful lustre it once held. When did it become the norm for the media to tell us that the aging process is not acceptable, beautiful or inevitable? Is the media the new male gaze?

Chartrand’s work challenges the viewer to see beauty in ageing, unconventional bodies, frailty and diversity.

 Chartrand’s work entitled ‘Is there anybody home?’ was inspired by losing elderly relatives, witnessing the aging process and using childhood memories to create sculptures that conveyed the smells, tastes, vibrations of previous experiences. This body of work particularly stuck a chord with me as I have elderly parents and recently lost a most beloved Aunt, Chartrands work made me think about what I hold dear and after my loved ones have gone what would I have to remember them by.

Is There Any Body Home? Specimen #5: A Hair Brush. 2018 Eve Provost Chartrand

 Chartrand explained in her lecture that she made this after rummaging through a box of mementos and keepsakes of her Grandmother who she was afraid of when she was a child. The poetry is typed on velum to mimic the fragility of aging skin mirroring it with a slightly translucent quality.

The bacteria grown in the petri dish was taken from a swab of Chartrand’s Grandmothers 80 year old hair brush. The idea that you can resurrect a living organism (all be it bacteria) from a relative or loved one’s belongings I find fascinating and macabre at the same time. The thought is comforting to me that even when someone is long gone a part of that person still remain and can bloom into life once more.

Is There Any Body Home? Specimen #2: Dentures. 2018 Eve Provost Chartrand

 Find more of Chartrands work here https://www.eveprovostchartrand.com/

  Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy is a site-specific artist who works outdoors with natural found materials such as leaves, twigs, rocks, ice and water. He uses these materials to compliment the landscape and documents the breakdown or decay of the installations by photographing them at different stages. His work is none permanent and open to elements which give them a fleeting beauty.

“It's not about art,” It's just about life and the need to understand that a lot of things in life do not last.” He told the Guardian

Photograph by Artsynet  

 Instead of using canvas, paints, clay, tools and other traditional artist materials Goldsworthy instead opts for what nature provides him. Choosing not to paint landscapes but rather paint on them, in them or around them, incorporating the seasons, the weather and the tides. Nothing he creates is permanent and every component as natural, even down to the thorns he uses to fix leaves in place.

Photograph Artsynet

 I think Goldsworthy’s art is particularly poignant at this current time. The global pandemic rendering travel out of the question so people have been able to explore the countryside around them, many of them for the first time. Busy lives, jobs, and schooling have us all on the giant treadmill of life, it has taken a catastrophic advent for all to slow down and enjoy walking in the countryside, local parks, gardens and shorelines of Britain, watching seasons come and go, watching nature in her great cycle realising that to take care of our earth provides a wonder for us all and our future generations.

Goldsworthy states in his book Passage ‘An artist makes things that become a focus for feelings and emotions - some personal, some public, some intended, some not. At best a work of art releases energy that is a shock to both the artist and the viewer – I do not mean shock in the conventional sense but an emotional tremor that articulates a feeling that has been in search of form’ (page 69)

The transience of Goldsworthy’s art can also be likened to the way that contemporary art is fleeting, what is considered to be contemporary at this present moment in time will undoubtedly be not what we would consider it to be in 10, 20 or 50-years’ time. Art that is created today is considered contemporary but all art was created ‘today’ that day and then we will have to find another name to call it, another category to fit it in to.

I have learned in the duration of completing this blog that I very much enjoy some contemporary art, I may need to do some research into the piece that I am looking at to understand the artists meaning behind their work, or that I may have to understand the actual artist and their background before I can fully appreciate what they are communicating, I know now that I will be slowing down in the contemporary art room in the Walker Art Gallery the next time I visit instead of rushing through, I will take time to read the information the galleries provide and continue to learn, who knows, maybe I will find a new passion I did not think possible.