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retrodreamgirl · 2 years

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free love | steve harrington x fem!reader

social etiquette...

summary: you aren't sure when things got so horrible, but you can always count on steve's love being free of charge [1.3k]

warnings: fem!reader, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, slight panic, pet names, established relationship

i wrote this for the social etiquette couple but ig you don't have to read it to understand (pls read it 🤍)

⤜♡→

“Oh, Stevie, you scared me.” You don’t sound scared and Steve made absolutely sure to sufficiently jostle the keyring on his backpack before he tapped your shoulder. You lay in your usual spot by the lake, probably thinking about something indiscernible to anyone but you. You shuffle so your head is resting in his lap when he lowers beside you, humming in kind when he leans over you for a quick kiss.

“Sorry, I’ll be louder next time.” His knuckle coasts the edge of your jaw, skin cool and kissed by the wind. “Where’s your head?”

“Screwed on extra tight today I think. I was just wondering, shouldn’t someone have rebuked Dr. Mabuse at the end of that movie?” Another reference that goes right over Steve’s head. He was there when you watched the film, but the fact that he doesn't speak a lick of German was entirely lost on him until the end of the movie when he resurfaced from his affections on your neck and down and down and down… “I mean, won’t he just do the same thing to the next person who walks through the door?”

“That’s the guy with the cabinet, right?”

“No, I’m talking about The Testament of Dr. Mabuse you’re thinking of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari.”

“Baby, you should just write movies.” You scoff, something Steve doesn’t catch often unless you’re feeling especially put out.

He’s constantly trying to impress you, flatter you with his endless arsenal of sweet nothings. You’re not so easily moved, often already onto your next thought or conjuring a swift response to avoid the reality of his words altogether.

“I’m always writing movies. I don’t think anyone would like them.”

“I would.” He’d gladly worship you at any altar, the sole collector of all your significance, a shrine to be created from his deepest affections. He’s still sheepish about admitting it, not always entirely sure you feel the same.

“You’re a puddle today. I’m getting all soggy.” You mean to tell him he’s pretty, but you don’t think he’d believe you and it’s better to lift your finger to the apple of his cheek so it sinks into the skin.

“Well, I could take you inside and warm you up, but it’ll cost you.” It feels like a victory when you don’t think about it for more than a second. You stand, stretching your limbs in every direction until they pop. You hold out your hand, seriously curious that Steve is still sitting there staring up at you.

“Sometimes I think you’ve forgotten your words just after you’ve said them.” You don’t blame him, your mind is too cluttered with every thought you’ve ever had. You constantly find it embarrassing to sift through the ones you’ve already shared so you just don’t say anything at all.

“I haven’t told you the cost yet.” He falls onto his back, waiting for your inquisitiveness to get the better of you.

“Oh. Well you know I was just thinking earlier today, why should there be a cost for anything? It’s awfully gross to be spending so much time worrying about the cost of things, it’ll make someone never wanna do anything at all.”

“Baby, I just want a couple of kisses.” Steve says it in a way that doesn’t dismiss you. It’s never his intention to make you feel ignored or like he doesn’t value everything you say. If he were disciplined enough he’d carry a journal with every word you’ve ever uttered in his presence complete with his own personal touch of spelling mistakes and abbreviations for words he thinks he understands but still doesn’t quite catch and could never repeat. “But you’re right, we should just steal everything.”

“Stevie-” You toe at his hip, not at all impressed with his addition to your small spiel.

“How’s this, you can have my love for free. Yours forever.” He’s giving you a toothache, the heat of just a few words itching at your neck. He grabs at your ankle still pushing against his side, not too prudish to cuff your jeans enough to kiss your bare ankle. To Steve, nothing he gives you costs a thing and he’d do anything to get you to see it.

You never know what to do with him, wondering how much of all this you actually deserve, so used to having things taken away the moment you learn to enjoy them. Steve doesn’t seem like one of those things, the taken away kind.

It’s been months since you kissed in that theater and he’s made it his mission to show you just how much he wanted to stick around. It never made sense to you, but you’re too afraid to question it. Until now.

“Steve, you shouldn’t say things like that.”

It breaks Steve’s heart when he hears how incredibly sad you are about it. He takes a second to decide how best to approach it because he’s not sure what you mean. Whether you don’t want his love or you think he doesn’t wanna give it to you.

It feels silly to him that the latter could ever be true, suddenly scolded when all he wanted was cuddles and maybe a few kisses to warm you both up. You’ve done it now, hugging your torso and staring out at the lake so tortured with everything. Nothing either of you say could possibly be mild enough to ignore it.

“What’s going on?” Sue him, but Steve wants nothing more than to tackle you in the grass, smush kisses to every inch of your face until it’s all better, but he doesn’t think it would work. You’re too stuck in your own head and he loves it until he realizes he can’t crawl inside and get stuck there with you.

“I’m just…well I don’t know. I think I must be being ridiculous, but I never know how to stop it and now I’ve taken it too far because you noticed!” You don’t know when it started to feel so dreadful that you started crying, but Steve is already there with his thumbs stealing the tears before they escape too far down your cheeks.

“Baby, you’re not ridiculous! I’m your boyfriend, I’m supposed to notice everything. Especially when my best girl isn’t feeling too good.” He hushes you, lips soft where they rest prolonged on your forehead. He takes a moment to allow both of you the patience of steadying your breathing.

“But I don’t even know what’s wrong.” You hiccup, sounding disappointed in yourself and it breaks Steve entirely. “I don’t think I’ve ever known what’s wrong and now I’m realizing how awful it is.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not-”

“It is.” Steve is adamant, leaning back enough to see your eyes focused on the zipper of his hoodie, finger lifting enough to slip through the circled hole on the tiny metal contraption. “You don’t always have to know, but that doesn’t make the way you feel any less important.”

“You probably think I’m horrible.”

“I’d never think that. You know if I could climb into your cute little ears and get rid of all those annoying things that make you feel like this I would.” Another kiss, this time a peck to the button of your nose. He can tell you’re coming down a little, but he’s not sure if the slight tremor in your shoulders is from the cold. He pulls you a little closer.

“You know, they aren’t so bad once you get to know them. Sometimes they’re a little nice to me.” He has the foresight to laugh, your humor something that constantly catches him off guard when you let him in on it so easily.

“Well until they’re always nice to you, don’t make you cry, I don’t wanna meet ‘em.”

“Okay…Stevie?”

“Yeah, beautiful?”

“I think I’d love it if you could take me inside now. I don’t mind paying.”

Steve is feeling lucky today, the second joke consoling the side of him that isn’t sure how to feel about how he handled things. He takes it as a small win when your hand softly settles on the curve of his jaw, angling it down enough so you can reach his lips for a sweet kiss.

“Anything you want, baby.”

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington #steve harrington scenario #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington angst #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x y/n #stranger things imagine #stranger things fanfic #stranger things x reader #stranger things fic #stranger things

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paodocinh · 6 months

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A small analysis on 3 'Can't You See Me?' Characters: Giselle, Six, Mono.

TW: Mentions of alcohol abuse, hospitals/pills y etc, blood?, religion, traumas.

Small context: This is me elaborating a bit on my thought process in a few characters of my Little Nightmares AU. It is on Ao3, with 10 chapters, and you can find it in my pinned post!

> Giselle.

I have yet to make her character sheet — But one thing about Giselle:

She doesn't have a set nationality. The thing about nationalities in CYSM is that they don't exactly interfere on the character's plots, but they help to bring in more depth to their designs through actual real-life cultures that they'd be a part of, or are inspired by, if the countries said cultures are a part of even existed in CYSM.

In a technical level, they do, but not explicitly —A Brazillian-inspired place isn't going to be called Brazil but readers would eventually find out it is basically the in-universe Brazil equivalent ig

So, with Giselle: She doensn't have a set nationality.

Giselle's nationality is a mystery because i personally thought it'd be cool if the girl who worships a alien god from somewhere from outer space, also decided to keep her roots hidden — It makes her more similar to her god and more mysterious in a way.

However, she's highly inspired by vampires and Rosaria from Genshin Impact.

Giselle is a character that's very in line with toxic religion — not a specific one in mind, but just the obsessive faith one might have that they think they're entitled to something just because they believe on a certain god, even if the decisions they make around their faith might harm the people surrounding them, even if they don't hold the same beliefs.

I tend to be as light as possible on topics as these, to be honest — I don't think a Little Nightmares fanfiction is the place to discuss real-life serious issues, though with brevity and creativity, I think Giselle's concept/idea as a character works balances things out quite well — it doesn't go too deep on said topics but it also goes far enough for the storyline to progress while sending a message across.

> Six:

Okay so brace yourselves — Six is kind of a doozy.

Six is... well, she's a mix. I think she encapsulates well the aesthetic appeal of games like Silent Hill — when i think of Six, I think of something like that, believe it or not.

Blood splatters on the snow, cloudy skies on a windy day, open bottle pills — Six's personality and even her concept board(Sorry i can't show it :( Has spoilers) is very intertwined with hospital imagery. It could be because she herself feels ill, even if her own body is seemingly fine. There's a lot to Six, and obviously the themes of lost childhood are very present on her entire characterization in CYSM.

She looks like the kind of girl who'd stitch up creepy teddy bears and plush bunnies, the kind of girl who'd still play with and cherish her dolls even if she's past the age of playing with toys (perhaps once everything's normal again, she could become a collector?), and the kind of girl who enjoys cute and morbid things alike.

I think, if i had to choose a description for her — I'd probably call her a fallen angel or something along these lines. She has a unreal beauty and tragedy to her, and such a specific personality I often find myself having difficulty explaining how much thought went into her characterization with just words. She's much deeper than how I've written her so far.

Here's a small look into her pinterest board:

> Mono:

Mono, or also known as Mauricio — He's brazillian! — Is an artist. He's the definition of the word; a creative young man who isn't afraid to use his talents to change the world, the boy is afraid of life, but presses fowards even if he's terrified of what the future may hold for him. I mean, after nine years of doing nothing, it was about time he'd start exploring the world around him, yes?

And as he explores, he brings messages of hope and kindness for other survivors, through his art! Mono is the kind of relaxed, laid-back artist who enjoys scribbling in his notebook while drinking something, so he can eventually bring those drawings to life by replicating them on the walls everywhere he goes, may it be cities, broken houses, forgotten towns and village or even random rocks he finds in the wilderness — The world is his canvas, his home, and he's determined to try and fix it.

So it's not a surprise, as seen though his entire personality, that Mono is the kind of artist who enjoys making critics about the world they live in — He doesn't consider himself a hero, but he feels pride in sending the messages and criticism he believes the others need to hear.

hes also kind of a drunkard lmfao

(i couldn't find any credits for the art of the wolf on the print below, please tell me if you know so i can properly credit!)

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headlesscribbler · 1 year

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I finished For The Future and it's good! But ALL BETS ARE OFF I'M POSTING SPOILERS AND THOUGHTS. (Also its super long like has 20 different points)

Written plotpoint wise and then in general.

-The tone at first was insanely confusing with everyone dying and then then Hooty flying and Eda almost immediately getting over her missing limb (well ig the cliffhanger made it look more dramatic). Also haha hot Harpy Eda scene, fan artists are winners.

-The curse actually wasn't explored that much (or the Owl Beast being trapped which I'm really annoyed at) but it seems to act similarly.

-Luz totally saw King's slightly grown up form with the wings.

-It's depressing seeing literally everyone screwed up but that makes sense and I do like how everyone gets a spotlight on their issues.

-Ok Belos is SUPER cool this episode. Tbh I found him more weird/slightly funny looking last episode but I like how this 350 year old man's flesh is falling off the bones. Also that's definitely dead Caleb we saw this episode and probably last (very cool but the knife looked a little funky dangling there)

-The broken playground and swing, nice Episode 10 reference. Also the graffiti is always funny.

-Lol screw you Terra you got picked to be the Owl Beast bc you're old and cranky. I can't believe her not being in the trailer was for this.

-That Draining Spell is literally only a kill everyone spell, ok? I mean it would have been interesting seeing them try to adapt without any magic but sure (also ig there wouldn't be time)

-Boscha you still suck! Also I can't believe my brother guessed the Kikimora reveal, I was like red skin, short, that's too easy. But looking back, the voice, the glasses. Ok I see it.

-Yeah no redemption all the Grimwalkers/Caleb want to kill Belos. Also lol I joked that he would say shut up to them and I guessed it right.

-Also not really surprised his Grimwalker body didn't last, like you're running out of resources. Still not sure why it still ended up looking like you. Also I was spoiled on him climbing up the skull so I was jumpscared by that scene AND it being a spoiler!

-I liked the visuals of the giant book circling around the tiny planet. Also Collector I know you can rhyme better come on.

-I have no idea what's up with the Collector portraits (hey Hollow Mind parallels). I'll let others dissect it but I found the lore kind id underwhelming like last time but I'm a terrible theorist and time crunch so eh. Also repeat images?

-Literally the entire Hooty and Eda scene was recontextualized to be weirdly more chill and cheery. Like Hooty is alive, why and also why immediately joke about it being weird?I'm not sure how their hideout works but hey there's some peace? Also you're killing me Eda please be with Raine oh my god! Also Eda saying "What's the matter?" made me want to cry, she sounded like a mom comforting her kid! And she said it so kind and softly!

-Ok I was pissed at the Hunter possession bc I thought it was fake/looked dumb. This feels random and weird. Belos possessing a puppet, really? I swear it's like "Huh screw Eda I'm gonna use Raine". But they look better off than Hunter (also why the goop on the ears, like injuiry from a piercing?) Ok but they(?) have cool expressions and their normal voice and mostly look the same and I doubt they'll die (otherwise it's that Diversity Loss meme. I'll pretend they'll die so I don't feel as bad/disappointed if it happens). I don't know why we're doing this again, pattern breaking says they must go but don't they have too much potential?

-Ok this possession concept feels kinda written badly? It's only introduced last episode and you're gonna convince me Belos can actually possess the Collector? Please! Also in general I don't like possessions as they take away the person's choice and creates limited character development for them.

-I've got beef with the Collector (who I now realize is probably different from the Owl Beast trapper but still), I don't like how it's not acknowledged that he was fine with killing everyone. King is nothing like that and I don't like how this Collector feels different from the more scary and dangerous shadow Collector we've seen the most from. It doesn't make sense they're supposed to be the same! Also they'll probably depower him simce he's too powerful (I wonder if doing this will make Collectors extinct.)

-Someone else probably articulated it better but I like the spotlight on Willow, how holding in her emotions to be strong for everyone ends up making her spiral out of control and how Gus and Hunter tell her she can let it out. It's really sad seeing her miss her dads but I'm glad it's acknowledged.

-Yay Camilla and Luz time! Yeah, it's sad how they both have regrets but I'm glad they're reconciling and Camilla is righting her wrongs. Also Luz's wish makes so much sense and I love the anime like tears. (Also yeah her saying she doesn't know what she wants definitely fits Amity given a predetermined path)

-For the teleportation powers Hunter gets, ehh but I do like the action is brings. Also YEAH new plant attacks Willow!

-Also literally calling out every single guess and putting it all in one. I like the Chinese dragon looking one. The designs all kinda look like OCs but it fits and it'll probably grow on me. Also 80% snake for the win!

Bruh the animation looks so good! Honestly mostly the effects but also the scattered fight scenes as well! I like how it goes from whimsy to body horror (would've liked more but eh Belos takes an L)

Tbh the pacing was kinda off since there was the school, King and Eda, and Raine being posessed. It felt weird because it didn't even really feel right for a cliffhanger. Hey who's fault is it (Disney)

Ok compared to Thanks to Them (which I really didn't like and don't want to rewatch due to the Belos possession) this is leagues better. No doubt because questions are answered, things are different and we get to see them again! Effects/fights/body horror/character design is good, I really like the character development and them coping with this nightmare, and others than the Raine thing/unavoidable pacing issues (this feels like similar issues to the first episode) it's super good!

#toh #toh spoilers #the owl house

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wristwatchjournal · 4 years

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The Collector’s Series – @winewhiskywatches and his MB&F Legacy Machine No.1

I can remember clearly when MB&F’s Max Busser showed me the Legacy Machine 1 for the first time. It is simply one of those watches that immediately makes an everlasting impression. Mind you, this was a few years ago when such technicalities were simply absent from other brands, small or big. It was revolutionary and groundbreaking and paved the way for others. One of the collectors who already appeared in our Collector’s Series goes under the IG handle @winewhiskywatches and today we’re talking about his magnificent MB&F Legacy Machine 1 in white gold.

@winewhiskeywatches already talked about his Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance and the IWC Big Pilot Tribute to 5002 and he talks about his watches with a lot of knowledge and passion. As a seasoned collector, he knows what he wants and, at least as important, why he wants it. This is the way that some of the most esteemed collectors operate and it doesn’t matter whether you can purchase an MB&F or an Armin Strom, or watches of an entirely different price segment. It’s the way you handle it. How you read, discuss, enrich your knowledge, which slowly but gradually leads to your next target. Now without further ado…

P.S. Besides the owner’s photos, we will also use some of the beautiful photos by A Collected Man in London.

Frank Geelen – What first drew you to MB&F as a brand?

@winewhiskeywatches – Once I started looking beyond the big brands and began exploring the world of independent watchmaking, it didn’t take very long before I understood that MB&F was a brand that should be on every watch collector’s radar. Whether the metric is creative design, horological innovation or movement finishing – they’re in the top tier. I started paying attention to the brand some time before they released this Legacy Machine No. 1 in 2011. Their prior “Horological Machine” watches were so different, so whimsical and so inventive, that even if I couldn’t imagine myself wearing one, I still found myself spending a lot of time learning about them. That collection was apparently inspired by things that fascinated Max Büsser [MB&F’s founder] in his childhood – things like spaceships, robots, planes and race cars. But as unconventional as most of those watches are, I do think that they’re all genuine ‘art’ pieces.

That said, for many people – perhaps most people – they can also be too impractical in size or just too “out there” in their designs. But the integrity of MB&F’s artistic vision, the bravery required for Max Büsser to have repeatedly bet his company on his truly unconventional ideas – and the magnitude of their horological ambitions – are all so interesting and admirable that you can’t help but root for MB&F’s continued success.

Hear, hear! So did you buy a Horological Machine?

No, I never did. Like many collectors, I admired what MB&F was trying to do but I didn’t feel like I could pull off one of those unconventional watches on my own wrist. I do feel differently today, so never say never…

What did you find so compelling about the Legacy Machine No.1?

I’ll start by quoting Büsser and say that “the main aspect of LM1 is, of course, the flying balance wheel…and the rest is symmetry.” But there’s obviously more to it than that. My first reaction when I first saw the LM1 was that it was an incredibly ambitious fusion of styles that somehow seamlessly came together to convey a retro-futurist vibe in an entirely original way. It was aesthetically appealing and yet so different from every other high-end watch that I’d ever seen – but it didn’t stray so far from the norm that I couldn’t see myself wearing it. When viewed from various angles, it really does look like some sort of “kinetic sculpture”; but it’s also an immaculately finished watch that embodies the very highest standards of traditional watchmaking.

Some of the more noteworthy elements that drew me to the LM1 were its skeletonized arch-like bridge that suspends a huge 14mm balance wheel above the dial, its domed sapphire crystal, its enamel-like dual time displays, that ruthenium dial and blued hands that constantly change colour with variations in lighting, its insanely creative vertical power reserve indicator, and of course, that incredibly well-finished “three-dimensional” movement. When I first saw it I immediately knew that I wanted one. I’d had a similar feeling about a few other watches in my collection and I’ve learned to trust it; because those are the watches that haven’t resulted in any buyer’s remorse – and none of them has ever left my collection. I’d been fascinated by MB&F for a long time, but I needed a little bit more of a “conventional” design to get onboard – and the LM1 offered me exactly that.

It’s interesting to hear you use the word “conventional” to describe the LM1 when there’s really nothing else quite like it.

It’s obviously true that a quasi dress watch that’s 44mm wide and 16mm tall with a domed sapphire crystal and a 14mm flying balance wheel hovering above its dial is more than a little unconventional – but for MB&F it was downright small in size, more conventional than anything they’d ever done, and even uncharacteristically practical. Its aesthetic design is clearly outside the norms of standard watchmaking – but when you compare it to the Horological Machines it’s an indisputably more accessible design.

Legacy Machine 1 became the gateway drug.

Is it your view that MB&F was playing it safe when they launched the LM1?

Quite the contrary. Whether they knew it then or not, I think that MB&F took an enormous risk on the LM1. Think about it: by that point in time, MB&F had already taken on huge financial and artistic risks with their Horological Machines – and those risks had already paid off. Then, after successfully establishing themselves as a visionary leader in the “watches that I designed for myself, not for you” movement, they made a watch that could easily have led to accusations that they were “selling out” and going mainstream – simply by virtue of having made a round watch of reasonable proportions.

It seemed to me that the LM1 represented a huge potential risk to their established brand positioning – and that it could have jeopardized all of the credibility that they had earned up to that point. Fortunately, those risks didn’t materialize and the LM1 turned out to be exactly what I think MB&F needed.

Can you elaborate a bit on that?

I personally believe that the LM1 was a very important watch for MB&F because it drew collectors like me to consider the brand who perhaps wouldn’t have done so otherwise. It became the gateway drug. It’s my guess that even today, it would still be a minority of collectors that would start with the idea of acquiring an “Art For The Wrist” Horological Machine as their first MB&F acquisition.

The LM1 and the other Legacy Machines, by virtue of their exceptional horological creativity but more accessible design DNA, effectively provided an important intermediate access point into the brand. Providing an accessible on-ramp into the insanely imaginative world of MB&F with an immaculately finished and somewhat traditional watch movement – in a round case – probably made them a much more credible brand from the perspective of a huge swathe of collectors.

Do you think that was MB&F’s intention?

Based on interviews at the time, I think that they would probably say “no”. They’re on the record as saying that the decision to “go round” wasn’t marketing-driven at all. Apparently there was even substantial internal resistance at MB&F against the idea of producing a round watch. The story goes that they were struggling with designing a case that would pair well with MB&F’s vision for the LM1 movement without it looking derivative of other watchmakers’ designs – and they kept coming back to a round case.

I think that it turned out to be a great design decision in the context of the Legacy Machine Collection’s “raison-d’être” – which was to pay tribute to the great master watchmakers of the past…who typically used round cases for their pocket watch movements. Of course, the LM1 is far from being a typical tribute watch. The conceptual connective tissue, which was necessary to credibly apply a retro-futurist design ethos to such a project, was cleverly justified on the basis of one simple question: what did Max Büsser imagine that he might have designed had he been born in the late 19th century? That design concept freed him from the shackles of 19th-century design and enabled him to instead base his design on the influences that he believes would have likely inspired him had he lived in that century. That would include things like the Eiffel Tower, pocket watch movements and the imaginative inventions described in the Jules Verne novels.

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Some have suggested a Steampunk influence…

There’s an arguable similarity of inspiration between MB&F’s vision and that of the steampunk design movement, but the watches are very clearly differentiated from what you’d expect from that movement – particularly in their execution. When I first experienced my LM1, I was surprised by how it much it exuded luxury, quality and craft – and how it displayed an obvious completeness of vision. There aren’t any unnecessary elements to project some sort of steampunk aesthetic. It really does feel authentically inspired by what I can imagine the technological fantasies of a 19th-century boy might have been.

There were a total of five iterations of the MB&F LM1, besides several special collaborations, produced from 2011-2017. What drove your decision to acquire this particular one?

Well, besides the fact that the ruthenium dial is my favourite, this was the first one. This iteration in white gold – and the red gold iteration – were the originals. I’m partial to white metals so this iteration was my default choice. This version wasn’t limited per se, but the total production of the now-retired LM1 across all iterations, including the collaborations with Alain Silberstein and Chinese artist Xia Hang, numbered just 429 watches. So even the non-limited iterations are actually quite rare because MB&F has always been limited by their production capacity. For myself, I wanted the very first release of the very first Legacy Machine; though I admit that I was somewhat torn between this one and the 2017 “Final Edition” in steel.

MB&F Legacy Machine 1 Final Edition in steel

In a prior interview we focused on your Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance. I couldn’t help noting what that watch has in common with this MB&F “Legacy Machine No. 1”…

[LAUGH] You mean besides independent thinking, ruthenium coatings and dial-side balance wheels? I’m guessing that you’re referring to the participation of Kari Voutilainen, who contributed meaningfully to both watches, albeit in entirely different ways.

Exactamundo!

The Armin Strom features a Kari Voutilainen guilloché dial, whereas in the MB&F his participation was focused on the aesthetic design and finishing specifications of the movement.

What are your up-close impressions of that movement?

MB&F describes it as a “three-dimensional movement” that was designed from a 19th-century perspective – which is in keeping with the overall concept for the LM1. It was developed by master movement architect Jean-François Mojon of Chronode in order to realize Max Busser’s “kinetic sculpture” ambitions for the watch, most specifically the floating balance wheel above the dial.

Horological superstar Kari Voutilainen contributed the 19th-century movement styling and finishing specifications – and I’m told that he personally inspected each one before it was cased. All three of their signatures are hand-engraved on the movement itself. As I’m sure an accompanying photo will demonstrate, the movement is exceptionally beautiful. You can see how the shape and style of the bridges were inspired by historic pocket watch calibres.

The anglage and the gold chatons with polished countersinks are obvious highlights. Combined with its internal bevel angles, its polished bevels and its Geneva waves, the LM1 offers a master class in 19th-century hand-finishing techniques. The movement itself is manually wound and it has just one mainspring barrel to power both time displays. Unlike the FP Journe Resonance and the Armin Strom Dual Time Resonance, which both also have two independent time displays to enable autonomous settings for both minutes and hours without reference to fixed time zones – this movement uses just one mainspring barrel and a single escapement to run them. Each one has its own crown to set the time, but only one of them can be used to wind the movement. The key visual element, of course, is the 14mm flying balance wheel that sits at the highest point on the movement. It beats at a hypnotic 18,000bph to enable the naked eye to enjoy the show.

The vertical power reserve indicator is another unique attribute of the LM1. You have to wonder how they came up with that…

It is really cool and it’s an utterly original approach. The blued steel indicator ascends up between the arches as you wind the movement, and it descends over time as the mainspring releases its energy. I read somewhere that the LM1’s vertical power reserve indicator was inspired by a sextant, which I’d assumed at the time was a reference to the type of navigation instrument that measures angular distances between two visible objects, like the horizon and either the sun or the moon, to determine latitude and longitude. But then I recognized a strong visual resemblance to another type of sextant, a “Fakhri Sextant“ [aka a “mural sextant”] – an enormous construct that was used over a thousand years ago to measure the Sun’s angle above the horizon. A 15th-century, 40.4-metre “Fakhri Sextant“ still exists in Uzbekistan today and the photos of it bear a striking resemblance to that vertical power indicator. Now I can’t help wondering whether it wasn��t at least partly inspired by “Ulugh Beg’s Fakhri Sextant“ in Uzbekistan. Hopefully, we can include a photo of that in this interview so people can judge for themselves.

Ulugh Beg’s Observatory in Uzbekistan

When you look at the photo, you can see that it consists of an arc with a staircase on either side to provide access for the people who performed the measurements. Now, look at the linear power reserve indicator’s arches that support the blued steel power indicator. The similarity is striking, right?

The next time that you interview Max Busser, a question about exactly which sextant inspired his vertical power reserve indicator might be an interesting one to ask!

I’ll try and remember that one. What are your favourite independent watch brands right now?

I’ve got three independent brands in my collection right now, not including Patek and AP: MB&F, Armin Strom and FP Journe. I’m enthusiastic about all three and I hope to add more watches from each of them. I’ve already ordered a second Armin Strom – a custom tourbillon – and I would love to someday add their dual-time Resonance to my collection. I also hope to add a Voutilainen watch at some point; as my collection feels somewhat incomplete without one. I’m a fan of the Grönefeld brothers for the beauty of their movements and I also like Romain Gauthier and Rexhep Rexhepi.

A great list. They’re all doing fantastic work, each with a somewhat different focus, but they all share a passionate commitment to watchmaking that seems to transcend commercial concerns…

Exactly right in my opinion. It was precisely that philosophical orientation that attracted me to independent watchmakers in the first place.

Like you, I’m a collector and also a big fan of independent watchmaking – but I’m often asked to respond to concerns about their value retention and even their profit potential. How do you respond to such questions?

Truthfully, I generally try not to engage on those issues at all – but I do believe that the financial arguments, particularly the ones against the best independents, are actually quite misguided. In my view, the naysayers assess the investment potential of these watches across the wrong time horizon. Over a longer time frame, I believe that it’s only the actual scarcity of desirable artistic works that can drive any sustainable investment value.

New “big brand” watches, particularly Rolex steel sports, are increasingly and foolishly regarded as long-term “alternative investments” that merit paying grey-market premiums for their investment potential. But it should be clear by now that many of those watches are, to a large extent, currently being traded by dealers to other dealers – and that there’s a lot of “new old stock” that’s been stockpiled by speculators. When Rolex releases the next “big thing”, and those dealers in the secondary market ultimately move on to the next “hot” watch to pump and dump, those who paid well over retail prices for their Rolexes as “investments” should expect serious regret as prices fall and their investment returns turn negative. That’s because those watches have never actually been rare – they’re just mass-produced commodities that are currently being hoarded.

Now, when you assess the long game for the best independent watches, the opposite seems more likely to be true because they are actually rare. MB&F only made 218 watches last year – across all of their models. Only 429 LM1s were ever made in its entire production life, in no less than ten different iterations.

Armin Strom’s annual production of Mirrored Force Resonance watches is just 35 watches – with twelve official dial options plus a few unofficial ones. These sorts of watches are always going to be rare. That’s one of the reasons why I think, in the long run, that the best independent watches actually represent a lower financial risk and a better speculative opportunity than the mass-produced big brand watches that are currently in vogue. Take my second-generation FP Journe Resonance for instance. Only 52 were ever made in the same specific iteration as mine – and it has more than quadrupled in value since I acquired it. That’s after its value initially fell and then stagnated for well over a decade. Ultimately, the watch market caught on that there was something special about it and the reality is that it’s actually quite rare – particularly when compared to serially produced big brand watches.

There’s always the risk that limited-production independent watches will fade into obscurity – but I do think that it’s far more likely that market awareness about the better independents will increase over time and drive investment value than it is that the vast majority of trendy mass-produced big brand watches will enjoy any sustainable long term investment potential. In the case of MB&F, I think it’s noteworthy that MB&F’s sales focus is divided equally between Asia, America and the combined markets of the Middle East and Europe. And they have virtually no presence in Europe. And they aren’t in other important markets for high-end watchmaking at all – such as China, Japan, Korea or India.

As those markets gain more appreciation for what MB&F does, I imagine that auction values will inevitably have to climb along with demand. But since I don’t actually buy watches to sell them, there really isn’t much downside for me if I turn out to be wrong. One thing that I’m sure about: when I look back on those choices many years or even a few decades from now, that I’ll have enjoyed the intrinsic artistic and horological value of my independent watches much more than any mass-produced watches that I might have bought instead – and I’m sure that I’ll still appreciate the fundamentally differentiated craft and ingenuity that went into making them.

Any other insights about the LM1?

Many MB&F watches seem to have “eyes” that appear to be staring at you, which makes the robot watch stand that MB&F sells in their MAD Galleries look perfectly matched to many of their watches. This LM1 is no exception. The first thing that I did after buying an LM1 was to order that Robot stand.

I’ve noticed that every watch that we talked about has actually been monochromatic in colour. Coincidence?

[Laugh] Probably – but I’m not going to rule out the possibility that you’ve subliminally redirected the evolution of my collection!

Are there any other MB&F watches that you’re considering adding to your collection?

I’m convinced that I’ll be seeking out a titanium HM3 “Moon Machine” at some point. That one has some blue in it!

That’s also one of my favourites! Good hunting and thanks for the great talk again!

You can follow @winewhiskywatches on Instagram

A massive thanks to A Collected Man for allowing us to use their photos (again.) If you’re interested in finding a pre-owned Legacy Machine, then I’d suggest keeping an eye on the A Collected Man website and also MB&F themselves offer pre-owned Horological Machines and Legacy Machines for sale in their pre-owned section!

The post The Collector’s Series – @winewhiskywatches and his MB&F Legacy Machine No.1 appeared first on Wristwatch Journal.

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