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zeravmeta · 2 years ago
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i really do like the angle they took with uta where she was specifically a antagonist that luffy couldnt just punch his way through because hes compassionate towards her but unfortunately the way her backstory is presented meant that this was one antagonist that luffy really should have just punched through because shes just like him!!! and not only luffy but also i think uta should have just utterly torn into luffy. maybe even taken a bite from him <3 she tried to stab luffy as a merciful murder suicide they should have done more of that
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milazka · 4 years ago
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𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 | 𝐑𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧
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𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡
𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 :  𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭, 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟 & 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐭
𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 : 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐭𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩, 𝐮𝐧𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐱, 𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐱 (𝐟𝐞𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠), 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐣𝐨𝐛.
𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬: 𝟒.𝟐𝐤+
𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 : 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐲? 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐉𝐉 𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐚𝐟𝐞?
𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 : 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐲
𝐚/𝐧 : 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐞.
𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 : 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬...
─── °• ❀ ───
Let's go back to the summer night
When we met eyes, it's like a movie line
Kissin' underneath the city lights
The Outer Banks movie night was and still is one of the oldest tradition of your town. It's one of the few occasions where kooks and pogues are peacefully reunited. Just like last year,  when your family had moved in the neighborhood between Figure Eight and the Cut, you are joyfully attending the movie night presentation which has the 60's for theme. It’s a decade that has always fascinated you, whether it is for the colourful fashion, the music of the King or the golden years of your idol and role model Audrey Hepburn. 
“The first movie is Grease!” Your best friend Tara joyfully says as she sits next to you on the blanket with the presentation leaflet in her hand.
“It doesn't even take place in the '60s!” You exclaim, a little bit offended.
"Doesn't matter, it's a good movie."
"Plus, John Travolta is hot as hell." Adds Ashley, wiggling her eyebrows.
"Who's hot as hell? Me?"
Kelce, as usual, makes you and the two girls burst out laughing with his casual comments. You met him a few weeks ago after Ashley finally decided to introduce you to her boyfriend. They had been seeing each other for a few months already, but she was afraid you wouldn't like her boyfriend, knowing your mistrust of the people of Figure Eight. At first, you had found him pretentious and boastful, like most kooks, but after a few hours of talking and getting to know him, your first impression was all gone.
"Are the boys coming?" Ashley asks in the ear of Kelce to keep you and Tara from hearing, but it's a total loss; the girl is the worst whisperer ever.
"What boys?" You ask, curious.
"Oh, um, I asked Kelce to invite Rafe and Topper so you wouldn't be the third wheel, you know.
"Ashley!" You and Tara both scream at the same time. "You need to stop this!"
“Stop what?”
"Stop pretending to be Cupid!" You shoutback, rolling your eyes.
"I promise you, girls, they're super nice and perfect for both of you!"
"Yeah, right. I'll believe it when I see it." You answer, still sceptical, before getting up. “I'm gonna go get some popcorn.”
The waiting line is not very long, it is mainly children in need of sugar who are impatient to buy their cotton candy with their little coupons given by a bored woman at the entrance. You giggle at the sight of a young boy whose face is covered by the pink sticky candy. It goes all the way up to his hair and you can't help but think of his poor parents who will have to clean everything up before putting him to bed tonight. 
"What are you laughing at?"
The voice belongs to a boy on your right who looks a few years older than you. He's got light brown hair that are mostly covered by a backward cap. His bluish gaze details your face, causing you to blush a little. You cannot deny that he is good looking.
“I was laughing at the little boy right there." You answer him by discreetly pointing the boy.
A smile that would make any girl fall slips into the corners of his lips.
"He looks funny."
You smile in response and walk up to the order booth, purchasing three bags of popcorn for you and your friends. 
"I guess I'll see you around." You say to the blue eyed guy when you turn back around.
“I hope so." He winks. 
You go back to where your friends are sitting on the grass, unable to repress the stupid smile on your lips. You soon realize your place is taken by a young man with brown hair, obviously one of Kelce's friends.
“Y/n, that’s Topper.” Tara introduces you and you can see the stars shining in her eyes when she looks at the boy.
Looks like someone's already found their prey, you think without saying a word to avoid ruining your friend's chances with him.
“Nice to meet you, Ashley's told us a lot about you.” He says with a nice smile.
"Oh, I have no doubt, she can't keep her mouth shut, can she?"
Ashley tries to hit you, but you duck and laugh at her until you bump into something hard. You look up to meet two familiar blue eyes. 
“We're already bumping into each other. Took less time than I thought.” He says before you take a step back, feeling his arm sliding on your hip. 
You didn't even realize he had wrapped his arm around your waist to keep you from losing your balance.
“Rafe, you know Y/n?" Kelce asks the boy.
“I met her in the waiting line.” He responds before bringing his gaze back to you. "I didn't know you were a friend of Ashley's."
“And I didn’t know you were a friend of Kelce.”
"Well, don't just stand there, the movie's about to start! Ashley exclaims. "Here, there's two more places on this blanket."
“What a coincidence.” He whispers to your ear with a smile as you sit cross-legged next to him. 
You laugh, subtlety has never been your friend's strength. Rafe lies down on his back, standing on his elbows to see the giant screen. The familiar music from the beginning of Grease echoes through the loudspeakers, silencing the spectators. You can't help but observe the boy on your right. The sleeves of his sweater that fit his biceps perfectly, the little strand of rebellious hair that keeps falling out in front of his eyes even though he puts it back in place every time, the cheeky smile at the corner of his lips as he thinks he's stealing a popcorn from you without you realizing it. 
As Dany and Sandy are rocking on the dance floor, you feel a hand on your thigh. With his eyes still fixed on the screen, Rafe pretends not to pay attention to you even though he knows very well that your eyes are on him.
You take a sight at your two friends who are in an intense make-out session with their boys.
"Looks like we're the only decent ones." Rafe whispers to you, making you giggle. 
"Or the only stuck-up ones." You add with a mocking smile. 
"Did you really just call me uptight?" He asks pretending to be offended by your comment. 
“Maybe.”
"Well, I'm gonna prove you wrong."
His hand slips into the back of your neck and he gently makes your head lean down towards him. Your lips press down on his; they are soft and taste like salted butter. His fingertips gently brushes your skin at the back of your neck as you rest on of your hand on his arm, sending shiver through your spine. He amplifies the kiss by sliding his tongue against yours, tasting every part of your mouth as if it was an exquisite desert. Your lips move at the same rhythm, attacking the other in order to taste them more and more. You separate, lips swelled and glossy.
“Still uptight in your opinion?"
“Hmm, I'm still not completely convinced. I think I need another demonstration." You tease Rafe and he pulls you back to him with a mocking smile on his lips.
But now you're laying in another guy's arms
'Cause I'm all gone
But when you look in his eyes
Do you think of mine?
And when you look at that smile
Do I cross your mind?
I know in your head
You see me instead
It would have made a year today. A year that you would have been happy together if he hadn't chosen to spend the night in your bed with another girl five months ago. A tear slides down your cheek as you look back on all your beautiful moments. The first time he told you he loved you, the time you took a road trip on a whim, the first time you went further than a kiss; it all went up in smoke when you opened the door to his room and saw him over a woman's body that wasn't yours. You remember very well how you felt your heart being ripped out when you saw his shocked face when he heard your angry screams mixed with the moaning of the blonde girl he was fucking in your bed.
"Babe, are you ready to go?" Will asks you from your room.
"Yeah yeah, just give me a sec." You wipe the tears off your cheeks and sigh at the reflection of yourself in the bathroom mirror before instinctively grabbing your coconut lip balm; Rafe's favorite one.
Electronic-style music can be heard all the way to the end of the boneyard, the place of choice for kegger parties. Like all parties organized by John B and his crew, this one is a complete success. You're sitting on a log, your head resting on Will's shoulder as he gently runs his hand over your back. He's literally an angel fallen from heaven. You met two weeks after your catastrophic breakup with Rafe. You were a mess, dressed in your oldest clothes. Your parents had forced you to go out, as they couldn't bear to see you moping in bed listening to Grease over and over again. You were a few blocks away from your house when you saw him kneeling on the sidewalk next to a little girl who had most likely just fallen off her pink bicycle. Your heart had melted when you saw him holding the little girl in his arms to comfort her, rubbing his hand on her back. Your gazes had crossed and he had smiled at you, making you blush up to your ears. Three months later, here you are together and happier than ever, at least, in his mind.
"Babe, I'm gonna go get another drink." You kiss him on the cheek before you get up.
You sneak among the bodies that sway on the sand to the rhythm of the music. As you are about to reach the keg where JJ is, a hand closes on your wrist and pulls you towards the wood without you having time to react. Your heart skips a beat when your eyes meet his, filled with rage. 
"What the fuck Rafe?!" You shout to the boy who just let you go of his grip.
"I see you found a good rebound." He tells you, completely ignoring your question.
"He's not a rebound; he's my boyfriend." 
Rafe lets out a fake laugh as you cross your arms and defy his gaze.
"Yeah, sure. I bet you still think about me when he fucks you."
You sigh heavily, not even surprised by his comment. Rafe was always straightforward and harsh during your arguments and that doesn't seem to have changed.
"Just to remind you, you're the one who cheated on me!” You snap back to him.
He says nothing, furiously running his hand through his tousled hair despite the gel. He had stopped wearing gel when you were together after you told him you loved his messy hair. His nostrils swell under his heavy breathing. 
"We don't know what to say, do we, Mr. Cameron?" You toss to him before you start to walk away, but you are stopped by his hands grasping your hips. He quickly turns you over, colliding your bodies together while his lips crash hard against yours. You try to step back, to be reasonable, but the alcohol in your blood and the familiar smell of his cologne keep you from doing so. Your thoughts are clouded by his soft lips brushing against yours, you missed it, you missed him. His hands pulls you closer to him, you could feel the air being knocked from your lungs. The feeling of his tongue tugging on your lips make you moan and you can feel the cocky smirk on his lips. He doesn’t even wait for you to grant him access and slides his tongue in your mouth to meet yours. Realizing what you're doing, you push him away. The guilt overwhelms you as you think about Will who’s inevitably wondering where you've been all this time. 
"It-it was a mistake." You breath out before walking away from him.
"We both know it wasn't, Y/n. Stop lying to yourself!" You hear him shouting at you, but you do not turn around, not wanting him to see the tears streaming down your cheeks.
And I'll admit that I sometimes, maybe, might
Think about you at night, well, almost every night
No matter how I try to hide
And erase you from my mind
I'm dying
To find a lookalike
The thin black fabric of your dress adjusts to your every curve up to your mid-thighs. The long sleeves are made of a partially transparent and you are wearing a pair of high heels in the same color as your dress. 
"It looks like you're on your way to a funeral." Your mother notices when she sees you walking down the stairs.
"Well, it kind of is a funeral; you know I hate formal thing." You sigh on your way to your dad's car. 
"I know, sweetie, but it's an important moment for you father." 
"Don't worry, I'll be a good girl." You smile to her as she close the car door. 
When you arrive at the house, you’re not surprised to see an array of cars, each one more expensive than the next; the people in Figure Eight have no notion of excess spending, especially when it comes to the price of a car. Your heart beats at full speed when you set foot in the garden of the Johnsons, one of the most influential families on the island and whose father is Ward Cameron's good friend. It's been a year and a half since you and Rafe broke up and four months since you left Will. You couldn't keep lying to him about your feelings, he was the sweetest guy you'd ever been with, but you didn't love him. The breakup was handled in a mature way and you're still on good terms. 
"Y/n! You're so pretty my girl!" Ashley's voice takes you out of your thoughts as she hugs you. 
"Look at you! You're stunning! I bet Kelce will be speechless when he sees you.” 
"This is the goal I'm aiming for." She winks at you and grabs your hand, a more serious look on her face." You feel okay seeing Rafe again? If not, Tara and I can sit at a different table with you, Kelce and Topper will understand."
"No no, I'm not going to ruin your Midsummers because of my love stories. I'm a big girl and I can tolerate Rafe for one night." You assure her with a smile.
"Great! Come on, let's go find Tara."
You missed Topper and Kelce, they've been making you laugh ever since you sat with them at the table. There's no sign of Rafe yet, and that's perfect. You still get a twinge in your heart when you see the way Topper looks at Tara with stars in his eyes or when Ashley tenderly kisses Kelce. You miss it. As you take a sip of water, you spit it out almost instantly when you see him on the porch; not alone. 
He is wearing a grey suit matching with a white shirt of which he has unbuttoned the first two buttons. His hair is straightened backwards, it's grown a little longer since the last time you saw him. It's not so much his presence that makes you freeze, but rather the girl who’s standing beside him, her arm hooked to his; she looks exactly like you. You don't seem to be the only one who's noticed it by the questioning looks on Tara and Ashley's faces. Hand in hand, they make their way to your table and you don't deign to look up when they sit at the other end of the table near Kelce. You can't help but feel your chest tightening when he introduces Megan, the girl, as his girlfriend. Ashley clearly saw the change of expression on your face since she stands up and pats you on the shoulder.
"I have to go to the toilet, will you come with me?" 
You nod and get up, thanking her with a glance as you walk away from the table where the so-called girlfriend of Rafe literally devours his face. 
"I'm sorry, Y/n, if I'd known he was bringing a girl, I wouldn't have told you to sit with us." Ashley apologizes while you sit on the bed in the guest room with your face in your hands.
"You couldn't have known he was going to bring my long-lost twin." You sarcastically say.
"She's literally your lookalike." 
"I don't know whether to take it right or wrong." 
"I don't know either." She exhales and hugs you tightly. "I'm gonna go back to the table, but stay here and take your time and join us after."
You let yourself fall on your back on the cozy bed when Ashley close the door behind her and you let out a long sigh. You never thought that seeing Rafe with another girl would upset you so much, considering you've been broken up for over a year. With your eyes still closed, you don't react when you hear the door open again, being certain that it's Tara who comes to see if you're alright. 
"I'm fine Tara, don't worry about me." You whisper as you feel the mattress collapses to your left. 
She doesn't say anything, which surprises you a little, but you still don't open your eyes, being sure that tears will flow if you do. You then feel a hand resting on your belly and a face close to your ear where a deep voice sends shiver through your body.
"I'm not Tara." 
"What the-." You start, but you're quickly cut off by his lips crashing down on yours to shut you up. 
These lips, you could recognize them out of a thousand. Pulpy, a bit harsh and so skillful. His hands are grabbing your hips, almost too firmly. 
"Did you really think you could wear that dress in front of me and I wouldn't do anything about it?" Rafe groans, pulling slightly away from you. 
"I'm not wearing this dress for you." You manage to say, out of breath. 
"You're lying, baby girl." He looks deep into your eyes in a way that keeps you from staying sane. “I can't control myself when I see you in such a tight piece of clothes.”
He moves his hand up to your thigh, stopping when his fingers reach the hem of your dress.  Goosebumps are covering your skin. You're paralyzed; you want to feel him touch you like he used to do. A smirk makes his way to the corner of his lips when he feels you squirm as his hand slowly lift up your dress. He lays his fingers over your core still covered by the thin fabric, applying a little pressure on your clit.
"I bet you've never been this wet for Will." He whisper to your ear with his deep voice.
His wet lips drop into the hollow of your neck, sucking and biting your burning skin. You can't contain your moans when he blows on a sensitive spot that he previously licked. 
"I'm gonna drive you wild, baby girl." He rubs his palm over your covered core, focusing particularly and painfully on your ball of nerves. As you squirm under him, the bottom of your dress comes up, revealing your wet womanhood to him.
"You're not wearing panties? Naughty girl." 
His fingers slip easily between your dripping velvet slits as he bite your lower lip, making you whine. He adds pressure to your clit and you close your eyes, enjoying the waves of pleasure running through your body. He lifts up your dress until it covers only your chest, your naked belly now at the mercy of his lips. His tongue sensually draws a line from the top of your belly to the upper part of your core, tickling you a little. You try to buck your hips up but he pins them firmly on the bed.
“I’m the one in control, baby girl.” He says and you nod.
“Please, Rafe.” You breath out. 
“Please what, princess?” 
“Make me feel good.” 
The color of his eyes changes, becoming a darker blue. He pushes your legs wide open, dipping  his head between them. The feeling of his tongue between your folds makes you see stars; he was the best at this and he was proudly aware of it. 
“Fuck Rafe.” You moan as his lips start to suck your bundle of nerves. You can feel him smirk while he slams his index and middle fingers into you without losing focus on your clit. The familiar knot in your lower stomach grows as he pumps faster and replace his mouth with his thumb and start to making eight figure shape on your swollen bundle of nerves.
“R-Rafe, I’m cumming!” You cry and he moves his lips back onto your core as your ride your orgasm. 
“Mmm, you taste like heaven.” Rafe hums on your sensible folds while your legs are still shaking from how hard he just made you cum. He licks his fingers without breaking your gaze. 
Kneeling on the bed between your legs as you sit yourself, he let his eager eyes running through your half-naked body. He grabs the hem of your dress, mumbling  a ‘we gotta take this off’ as he pass it over your head. Before he has time to do so, you unbutton his shirt and put your lips on his chest to mark it with a hickey like you used to do all the time. You unbuckle his black pants, pulling them down with his boxers. His hard cock springs out, pre-cum dripping from it and you grab his shaft with your hand, jerking it a couple times. He looks down at you, his lips partly open as you pump him. 
“You have angelic hands, baby.” He groans, letting his head fall backwards. You smile, loving to see how well you still pleasure him. 
"I wanna cum in you." He exhales, stopping your movement. He pushes you down back on the mattress, spreading your legs again. The tip of his cock rubs on your wet lips still sensitive from your last orgasm. Without warning, he push himself into you, wrenching a loud moan out of your mouth.
“You’re taking it so good.”He grunts, gripping your hips to slam deeper into your core. His hair, previously styled perfectly with gel, are now going over his eye as he looks down tp watch himself fuck you.
“You missed that huh,” he mutters. “Will never fucked you like that, didn’t he?.”
You don't say anything, moaning with pleasure as he hit your g-spot. 
“Answer me!" He orders you, his hand grabbing your chin and forcing you to look at him. You try to keep your eyes open in spite of the electric jolts that run through your body when he slams and the sound of your skin colliding with his reaches your ear.
“Y-yes, fuck, fuck, you fulfill me better than he ever did!” You manage to scream out.
“That’s what I thought.” He grunts and you clench around him, rubbing your fingers over your clit as he pounds faster into you.
“Fuck baby girl, do it again.” You clench harder around him, making him drop his head in the crook of your neck as he moans your name. He digs his fingers into your hips, surely creating bruises on your skin. You rock your hips at the same pace as his, feeling his cock hit spots that makes your legs shake in pleasure.
“Fuck Rafe, your cock feels so good.” You moan. He lifts his thumb, brushing past your lower lip and you suck it, making him quicken his pace.
“Cum for me baby girl.” He tells you as he thrusts into you, replacing your hand by his on your clit. You cry out his name, releasing yourself on him.
“Fuck baby, I’m cumming!” He grunts and you tightly clench your walls around him, helping him release his cum inside of you. Rafe drops down next to your shaking body on the bed, his chest moving rapidly to the rhythm of his breathing.
"What about Megan?" You mumble, biting your lower lip. 
"She’s just your lookalike.” 
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milamaybank’s masterlist
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starwarsepisodereylo · 5 years ago
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I have returned from my second viewing of The Rise of Skywalker. Here are my thoughts:
Right off the bat I’ll say that my opinion of the movie has done a 180. I won’t say that I’m not mad about certain choices, but seeing this movie a second time allowed me to enjoy moments that I really liked the first time and made me realize I actually liked most of it! So I HIGHLY RECOMMEND seeing it a 2nd time if you’re still sad and moody (like I was for DAYS) about how you didn’t like it because it’s brought me peace.
Adam Driver is the CEO of acting
C3PO is a mood throughout the whole film. I used to loathe him but giving him some funny lines and including him more was more of a help than a hurt.
Fun fact: I didn’t cry the 1st watch. I was heartbroken about Ben but I didn’t cry. However, the second viewing has allowed me to put all the hype and excitement behind me and I got to feel the emotion of the film. Which brings me to...
I realized this movie does have a heart. I felt bitter as a SW fan because I felt like the movie was all plot and no heart, but instead of one huge moment towards the end, this movie lets you see what Star Wars really is in little clues. Which now I love because it’s like they did that specifically for fans.
I cried this time during most of the 3rd act. Knowing Ben would sacrifice his life for Rey made me so emotional, but I picked up on more of their bond this time. Even if we didn’t get dialogue, Daisy and Adam did such an amazing job with acting alone that confirms to me that they love each other by the end.
I honestly thought I’d have an awful time watching Ben go along through the whole movie to eventually die at the end, but that was hardly it. For one, it made me appreciate when he was on screen even more (didn’t know that was possible!) and i paid more attention to his scenes. Somehow after watching him die again, I became more at peace with his fate. Will I ever stop wishing he wasn’t killed? Never ever. But now I felt like I was able to celebrate the time he was on screen and Adam’s masterful performance even more. This time I felt like there was more Ben in the movie even though it’s the same movie I watched on Thursday.
Even though I don’t like how Rey was a paltpatine because the idea that you can be no one and powerful was important to me, as a young woman I got emotional watching someone who I’ve spent the last 4 years idolizing beat the bad guy. The “and I am all the Jedi line” has the same energy (for me) as when the marvel women said “she’s not alone” in Endgame. Women like Rey inspire me so much as a young woman and this time around it really hit me how important she’s been to my life :)
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daesungfmd · 4 years ago
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playlist 1.
seven songs describing different stages of daesung’s life so far.
lights, up we go  /  2008  ―  2012.
here, in a familiar place. we got our heads down and we pretend it’s ‘cause the night is dark and running out of space for us to run around, but it’s a dead end and money’s tight. it’s been a long time of this  ―  something has got to give. everyone here is ready to go, it’s been a hard year with nothing to show. from down this road, it’s only on we go. everyone here is ready to go, it’s been a hard year and i only know from down this low, it’s only up we go.
2008 is the earliest year of daesung’s life that he vividly remembers. before 2008, his life definitely had downsides, but he didn’t have much that he could rightfully complain about; at the end of even the hardest day, things were still… good. but 2008 brought more hardships than daesung was equipped to handle  &  saw his relationship with his mother deteriorating. they were both struggling, but instead of coming together to support each other, they frequently lashed out and simply made things worse. in the three years that followed, daesung became better at supporting his mother, but he rarely felt supported in return  ―  internally bitter with the idea that he was having to act as a parent, but in reality, she was so caught up in keeping their family afloat that she often fell short on the emotional side. they were also beginning to struggle financially (which only got worse and worse over the months, with his mom falling far enough behind that it didn’t seem like she’d ever catch up), which added a feeling of helplessness to the loneliness that daesung was (poorly) dealing with. generally a bad time all around, but they both continued to pretend that they weren’t struggling so no one around them would pity them, even though they definitely could’ve used some assistance. this was around the time that daesung became extremely ambitious (surprisingly). set high goals in his personal life, his school life  &  for his future career because……. life can not suck like this forever!!! it’s gotta be up from here, right?
john the ghost, red house  /  2008  —  present.
if you’re not everything, you’re nothing ‘til you try to be. nobody needs saving, just a little bit of empathy. you can’t save the ones you love, but who would really want to? who would really want to?
i touched on daesung’s relationship with his mom in the explanation for the previous track, but it goes a lot deeper than a few sentences could ever explain. before 2008, she was outwardly happy and very, very loving — after 2008, she hardly seemed like the same woman. she and daesung endured the same pain, but neither of them coped healthily. neither got counseling, either, so they often took their sadness and pain out on each other in the form of harsh words and accusations. more often than not, they were fighting. the only time they got along was when they were in daesung’s mom’s salon, and even then, they still argued quite a lot, just with softer voices. after the first year, they started to build back the relationship they’d had prior to 2008, but it was a slow process and often involved daesung taking blame for things that (usually) weren’t his fault & having to calm his mom down when she got too angry or sad. things never did fully go back to how they once were and even now, twelve years later, daesung’s still bitter over how things turned out. how he so often had to take on responsibility that he was too young to deserve and how she failed to emotionally support him like he supported her. he realizes that having to provide financial support took almost all of her energy, but still — it doesn’t change the fact that he felt like he was lacking parental love at that time and even feels like he’s still lacking it now. if you get them alone, a fight is almost always sure to occur, even if it’s a passive one that only ends with secretly hurt feelings rather than outwardly hurt ones. they both acknowledge the other’s suffering, but they’re both too clumsy and ashamed to apologize for the past twelve years or even give reminders that they love each other. most of their meetings are confined to her salon; a semi-public place where they can be semi-vulnerable without necessarily viewing it as a bad thing. they spend a lot of time together there, but rarely have conversations of substance and, as a result, they’ve both begun to feel a lot like strangers rather than family.
jimmy eat world, 555  /  2012   —   2014.
i keep my focus on the simple things, trying to find some peace along the way. i wish i knew how long i’m supposed to wait. holding on, but just barely. got the feeling i’ve been talking to a dead, dead line. there’s always a reason to let it change. is there anyone there listening while you cry, cry, cry? there’s always a reason for the pain. i’m doing the things that i’m told every day, every day, every day. then why does it feel like i’m moving in place?
training, in daesung’s opinion, simply sucked. he went into training completely blind, considering he didn’t even fully realize what he was auditioning for — just that it may or may not lead to him being a musician. the competitiveness was what hit him the hardest. he’s not a particularly competitive person, so he was more interested in making friends and having a good time (😔), but he didn’t encounter a whole lot of people who were as nonchalant as he was. he struggled to adjust to the trainee life and harsh criticism from trainers/supervisors hit him hard, being some of the first real criticism he’d ever received. he spent his two years as a trainee feeling really lonely, but he didn’t have anyone outside of the company that he could reasonably turn to — his lack of time meant that most of his friendships had vanished and he cut off all contact with his mom during this time, as well, so he couldn’t turn to her. he tried very hard to stay focused and optimistic, but his strength was wavering. especially because he frequently got scolded for doing things that he didn’t even realize he wasn’t supposed to do. felt like he was getting pushed around by life & the people around him, even though half of that was undoubtedly just self-pity amplified by his loneliness.
blackbear, i feel bad  /  2014  —  2016.
you’re so good at making me feel bad, at making me feel terrible about myself, good. you’re so good at making others hurt with only just your words, with only just your words and i feel bad. i don’t feel good.
daesung has a heart made of glass  &  his tendency to take things personal was a whole lot stronger when he was seventeen. sure, he was supposed to be the ~funny guy~, but constantly being the subject of jokes took a huge toll on his mental health in the beginning. he felt like no one acknowledged the fact that he’s an actual human being with actual feelings and, consequentially, felt like he wasn’t good for much aside from evoking laughter, even at his own expense. it didn’t help that inpulses hadn’t gotten the chance to know him on a more substantial level yet, so they, too, chose to make him into a joke. most comments or interactions at fansigns were ~playful teasing~ but enough ~playful teasing~ loses its humor, as he learned firsthand. eventually, he mastered the art of either initiating the jokes about himself so that they didn’t catch him off guard or swiftly changing the subject to something equally funny but not confidence-crushing. by 2016, he’d matured enough that he realized that’s just variety, baby! sometimes you gotta suck it up and get made fun of a little. learned to laugh at himself  &  fire back — nowadays, it’s virtually impossible to hurt his feelings with a joke and fans know him well enough to know that he’s more than just a jester.
glass animals, dreamland  /  2015  —  present.
you’ve had too much of the digital love, you want everything live, you want things you can touch. make it feel like a movie you saw in your youth, make it feel like that song that just unopened you. 
less than a year after debuting, daesung had already become bored of idol life. of course, it’s not like the industry itself is boring — it’s an eventful life with seemingly never-ending work hours, but all in all, it lacks the enthusiasm, color and realism that daesung has always, always craved. as a child and teenager, he already knew how big the world was beyond his own day to day life. half the reason he wanted to be a rockstar wasn’t because of his passion for rock music itself, but because of how rock ‘n’ roll is portrayed in the media. you can think whatever you want, but to daesung, their lively and borderline reckless lives appealed to him like nothing else ever had. to live like that — throwing caution to the wind, living for yourself and having fun was something he couldn’t fathom, but he wanted to experience it so bad. skip a few years in the future and he is a musician, but not the kind he wants to be. and nowhere near as free as he’d dreamt of being. his first complaint was backtracks on music shows; thoughts of how rock musicians would be called posers if they dared to perform without… well, actually performing. his second complaint was how strict the rules were. he learned to accept that there are extreme differences between idols and “real musicians” (as daesung himself would put it), but he still isn’t happy about it. you could say that he feels like his life is lacking something and possibly always will be lacking that something, but he tries to live as freely as he can while still avoiding ~controversies~.
grayscale, diamond  /  2016  ―  2018.
i know it took some time, but i got my footing right. feeling, i’m feeling so good tonight. can’t stop me from dancing, can’t keep me from blooming. welcome to my, welcome to my — this world is my diamond. 
as a public figure, it took some time before daesung was able to earn widespread approval. it’s not like he’s ever done anything controversial, it’s just that the rumors of him bring arrogant from next: origin story stuck around for a hot minute  &  his loud, impossible to ignore persona after debuting rubbed some folks the wrong way. by 2016, he’d managed to escape the negative opinions almost entirely and was able to ignore any lingering hate comments with ease. although he’s always had a happy and energetic demeanor publicly, any long-term fans could confirm in a heartbeat that he was the happiest from 2016 to 2018. during these two years, daesung felt like he was conquering the world — in retrospect, maybe this is really just the time when fame had him feeling the most invincible. but by 2019, there were other things factoring into his overall outlook, including his strong desire to break into acting versus gold star’s refusal to let him do so. he’s still pretty happy and grateful for where he’s at in life, but the elevated sense of self was left in 2018.
waterparks, lowkey as hell  /  2016  ―  present.
if you need me now, i’ll be there somehow. i’ll pick you up, we can ride. i’ll fly away like i bought my own airline, i’ll take you with me, we can ride. i’m highkey and lowkey as hell your diva, just wanna see ya. i’m highkey and lowkey as hell your sweetheart, don’t wanna be apart.
as a result from reading far too many hate comments about himself from next: origin story and promoting with songs that really, really embarrassed daesung, it took him a hot minute to fully adjust to idol life. he wasn’t sure what people thought of him (and as much as he tries to come off like he doesn’t care what people think, he definitely does), so he tried to shrink his presence as much as he possibly could. if for no other reason, then to at least get rid of the general public’s idea that he was arrogant. but by 2016, impulse had started making music that only slightly embarrassed daesung  &  he became more comfortable with the amount of attention that was on him. moreover, he become more comfortable with the love that his fans so readily gave him. he wanted to give them just as much of himself, even though the expected distance between idols and their fans made it hard to do so. since 2016, he’s been walking along a thin line more often than not, trying to get as close to his fans as he possibly can without ~breaking the illusion~ as his managers have so elegantly put it, even though daesung will argue that he’s not a magic trick and there shouldn’t be an illusion to begin with. he loves inpulses very, very dearly and constantly dishes out reminders in any way he can. he wants to be his best self for them  ―  not because that’s part of his job, but because he genuinely cares about who they are beyond a view count and nameless comments. their love and support is what keeps his spirits up and he wants to give them the same strength, no matter what. (aka daesung will never understand why he has to play a character instead of jus bein able to ACTUALLY be there for his fans)
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yanjuniverse · 5 years ago
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RANKING MY TOP 5 FICS
hello everyone. let me just take a moment to introduce myself. my name is Megan and two years ago, I started this blog originally under the user name @/syzygy-yoongi to post one shots about the boys from IQIYI’s Idol Producer. since that time, i have gain a mass following (2,000+ today) that i am forever grateful for. i have also made many friends that i love dearly and am so blessed to have in my life.
when i began this blog, i didn’t expect so many people to pay attention or to read my stories. if you remember, i was pumping out chapters two or three times a day, finishing series within a week or two because i loved writing that much.
today, i’m going to rank my top five completed series that i have written. feel free to reblog with your own opinions/rankings as well or leave me an ask with your opinions about my stories! (i’m very bored).
Now let’s get this show on the road!
SPOILERS BELOW! vvv
1. Girls Like You (Cai Xukun)
Summary: IP High School is one of the most prestigious boarding schools in China for the fine arts. Owned by the Huang family, the school only accepts the best of the best. Many of China’s biggest stars came from this school and many of their students already have offers upon their graduation.
This year will be Cai Xukun’s fourth year at the school and fourth year witnessing the favoritism of his classmate, Zhu Zhengting (who’s parents are world class dancers) as well as the favoritism from students Fan Chengcheng (little brother of China’s most famous actress) and headmasters’ son, Huang Justin. The three of them are known to run the school. They get away with being late to classes, missing classes completely, missing assignments, talking back and Xukun swears he’s never seen them in full uniform. Safe to say that he kind of despises them and their “holier-than-thou” mindsets.
So when Justin’s sister joins them for her senior year, he could only roll his eyes at the news. While all of Xukun’s friends seem to fall for her, he can’t see the magic of it all.
“Girls like you? Girls like you are the kind that I can’t stand! You think just because you’re rich and pretty that we all have to fall for you? Well news flash, it’s not going to work on me. Now stay out of my way!”
MY OPINION: I really hold this fic near and dear to my heart because of the amount of work I put into the relationship between YN and Justin, YN and Zhengting and YN and Xukun. These were the three main relationships throughout the story that I feel really made readers pick sides. In all honesty, I was very nervous the first half the the story because everyone was on Zhengting’s side. This story was one of my most popular series and I was very pleased with the outcome, though I do have some regrets.
LOVED MOST: The relationship between YN and Justin. Justin’s character was the most difficult character I have ever portrayed. The early stages of developing his character actually spurred from Charlie from the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower. As for YN’s character, I grew up in a household where my parents were always at work and so I had to raise my younger siblings (obviously not to the extent of YN’s and my parents are kind people). Her motherly tendencies came a lot from the things I had personally done growing up (making meals, putting together backpacks, so on and so forth). I think of all the relationships I’ve ever written, YN’s and Justin’s “Huang or Die” relationship is always going to be my favorite.
BIGGEST REGRET: The ending. Looking back on it now, I honestly think the story should have gone another way. Of course YN runs from Zhengting but I personally think that the ending was way too rushed. It was something I put together in the matter of hours just because I wanted to get the story over with. I think now, I would have let YN have more time to be herself and to be a kid in Korea rather than carrying on being a mother. I also would have liked it if she had ended up with Chengcheng, the only boy in this entire story besides Zhengting, who had been there from start to finish . I would have also liked to have seen the more interaction with her and Yanjun and Ziyi, considering they, along with Bingbing were the main hands that took part in her escape.
2. SUBSCRIBE! (Xiao Gui)
Summary: Wang Linkai just posted videos of himself playing videos for fun. He never in a million years expected to build the type of following he did.
or
Zhu YN started off just posting little home videos for her and her friends. She never in a million years expected to build the type of following she did.
or
The one where you and Xiao Gui have no idea who the other is until one day, your brother sends you the link to a video called “REACTING TO TEXTS FROM AN ANGEL I MET TODAY!”
MY OPINION: Though Xiao Gui continues to be my bias up until today, the fic that I wrote for him is second place. I had a lot of fun writing it but with a more regrets than I did with Girls Like You. (Also let’s all remember when I wrote that he was a matcha frappe guy and then days later, he was papped with that exact drink).
LOVED MOST: Xiao Gui’s character development is something I’m always going to take pride in. I think out of all of my stories, his character was one of the most carefully planned. There were little details (such as when Gui goes from stealing Ziyi’s car keys to asking for them in the end) that really showed how much he grew. I’m also glad he didn’t just give up his dream for love and how he wanted YN to be free while he was away. I feel like had he been the same person from the beginning, he either would’ve given up his music career or made YN wait for him. I really loved to see how much he grew during this story.
BIGGEST REGRET: How YN knew Xiao Gui’s mother 🤦🏻‍♀️. That was such a plot twist ending that didn’t even make sense. I wish I had found a different way for YN to have gotten Gui to be with his mother other than “oh she sells me fruit”.
3. Smile for the Camera (Zhu Zhengting)
Summary: Nine Percent Photography is a small company with big names. Owned by Y/N, it features the faces of Cai Xukun, Chen Linong, Fan Chengcheng, Huang Justin, Lin Yanjun, Wang Ziyi and You Zhangjing.
Nine Percent Photography is best known for their creativity and ability to push their models into various aesthetics. They are one of the richest companies in Asia with every model raking in an estimated 2.3 million dollars every month. It is every model’s dream to be apart of this world class company.
Zhu Zhengting is an aspiring model. Up until this point, he has only scored small gigs. That is, until one phone call changed his entire life.
Zhengting finally has the chance to follow his dreams. He’s not going to let anything get in his way. Right?
MY OPINION: This story was the first story of mine that really blew up. It’s my pride and joy and where my following really started to build.
LOVED MOST: I loved the harmony between the company. It was like they were all destined to be together. I also liked how they were so honest with each other towards the end. I loved how they all had to fall apart to come back together. I also really appreciated Yanjun’s friendship with YN and how much YN loved her company.
BIGGEST REGRET: I should have made the the story longer so that YN and Zhengting could have had more time to fall in love with each other. I reread it a couple of weeks ago and honestly, the way the fell was so awkward and rushed. Had I gone back to write it, I would have focused more on their love story. I also wished I would have gone and written more about their modeling and/or their work since they were a modeling company. I also wished I had gone deeper into YN and Zeren’s backstory.
4. Oblivious (Wang Ziyi)
Wang Ziyi has never been the type to confront his feelings head on. He’s always swallowed the butterflies, tied his shoe laces and held on to the safety handle to make sure he never let him fall for anyone. He likes to say it’s because he doesn’t want to get his heart broken but his friends say that maybe he’s just saving those feelings for you.
or
the one where people aren’t sure whether you two really hate each other or really like each other.
MY OPINION: This was one of my more humorous stories. I’m usually an angst writer so getting to write Ziyi and YN in such a playful manner was like a breath of fresh air. This is also the story that came after I took my first hiatus (which was supposed to be like a week but ended up being like a day lol). I remember the stress of wanting to write something angsty for Ziyi and not having the storyline so instead, I decided to write a funnier story for him. Though, not as popular as Girls Like You, Subscribe! or Smile for the Camera, it still ranks high for me.
LOVED MOST: I LOVED HOW FUNNY ZIYI AND YN’S CHARACTERS WERE — actually all of them! One of my favorite parts of the story is always going to be the line where Linong says he has “bible study in an hour” and Yanjun replies “PLEASE STOP CALLING YOUR THEOLOGY (the study of the nature of God and religious beliefs) CLASS BIBLE STUDY!” All of the characters played a big part in the story unlike in the others where characters like Zhangjing and Linong are more of the background extras.
BIGGEST REGRET: THE WHOLE ENDING! I remember a lot of people were upset with YN and her plans and I agree because what she did was a bit uncalled for. But I remember just wanting it to end so I let it end the way it did. Had I gone back and rewritten it, I probably would have let Xingjie and YN play out for a bit before the two realized they were better off as friends. Sort of along the lines of Lara Jean and John Ambrose.
5. Trust Me - Lin Yanjun
Summary: Summary: Ever since you were a freshman in high school, Wang Ziyi has always felt the need to protect you. Now you’re a freshman in college and nothing has changed. When he hears that the labeled player, Lin Yanjun, is trying to make his way into your life, Ziyi finds it harder to keep his secret under wraps - especially when you make friends with You Zhangjing, Lin Yanjun’s best friend.
MY OPINION: Ah yes. I feel like this is a forgotten story of mine. It was one of my first ever series. I think I was still @/syzygy-yoongi at the time that I wrote this. I still get nostalgic when I see people finding it now. This is actually the story that got me into writing series (I had never written one before Trust Me) when a follower suggested the idea to me.
LOVED MOST: I really loved the plot twist at the end. I think of all of my stories, this was the only one that I really planned out and stuck to it. I didn’t overthink Trust Me because at the time, I did get have many followers and I didn’t have anyone to disappoint.
BIGGEST REGRET: I think the reason why I ranked Trust Me so lowly is because of the lack of quality it had. It was the earliest development of what yanjuniverse is today. This is the story that made me realize that I really had a knack for angst. I have the fondest memories of Trust Me and I’m so happy I wrote it.
Conclusion: This was my top five rankings for my completed series. Of course it doesn’t go into my incompleted series (I Bet would’ve knocked Trust Me right off of this list). This was a complete waste of time but just something I wanted to do because I had just spent the past couple of weeks rereading my fics. Hope you all enjoyed and if you made it this far, thank you so much. I’m so grateful for this blog. It really made me who I am today. I’m so grateful for the memories and how much I grew from these stories!
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P.J. Ransone on finding himself through Generation Kill
Twenty-seven is a strange age in the most Joseph Campbell sense of the number, especially for the male persuasion. It is the time when you realize you’re not 20 anymore, that whatever clever antics you may have done at a younger age now make you cringe. You’re also coming up hard on 30 and I think you start to evaluate the path that you’re on. Twenty-seven is the age when rock stars die and become legends, but to me it marked the death of my youth, when my past caught up with me and punched me in the head.
 I weighed 115 pounds, was about 30 grand in debt and had developed a pretty healthy heroin habit. I had a few accomplishments under my belt as far as my career was concerned: I had been in some successful movies and television shows, and a few almost-successful rock bands. I was “cool” (in my mind at least) to a handful of downtown Manhattan degenerates. Things got so out of control in my head, that at one point I remember being offended when my agency would send me scripts for roles as “the junkie.” Looking back, I was far from the person I wanted to be. I was quickly on my way to being a 30-year-old adolescent. Twenty-seven changed that.
I was involved in a five-year relationship with a wonderful woman who I loved very much. It had run its course. Or to put it more succinctly: she got fed up with my bullshit and finally decided to leave. Let’s face it — junkies don’t tend to make the best boyfriends.
This set off a chain of events that led me to sober up and step up to the table as far as being a man was concerned. There were a lot of things going on inside me that I hadn’t faced, or at the very least, refused to acknowledge for a long time. There were a lot of hard corners in me that needed to be softened. I had no idea what the results were going to be as far as taking some responsibility for my past, but the outcome has been pretty remarkable.
It’s funny what happens to you when you decide — or are forced to decide — to make positive changes for yourself, because in my experience it starts a nuclear chain reaction. Change is painful no matter what form it takes. I’ve learned that the only constant in this weird life is, in fact, change.  If I’m not going through it, something is wrong.
I feel like I evolved into the human being I had hoped to become while living in Africa working on a miniseries for HBO called Generation Kill, based on the book by the same name written by Evan Wright about his time embedded with a battalion of reconnaissance Marines during the initial six weeks of the invasion of Iraq. The book is basically an apolitical, true-life account of what it’s like to be on the ground as an enlisted serviceman in modern warfare. Ostensibly, it’s a road-trip story. Writers David Simon and Ed Burns adapted the screenplays with Wright, and I had worked with the pair previously on HBO’s The Wire. When I arrived in Namibia — where I was to live for seven months while filming the show — I had no idea what to expect. I had landed the part of Cpl. Ray Person, the sped-up Marine who drove the point Humvee in Iraq in March of 2003. The role itself was much bigger than I had anticipated. The amount of work cut out for me had yet to sink in.
The day I turned 28, I was participating in a simulated night mission that marked the end of a boot camp that all the actors were required to participate in before we began filming. It was kind of unreal how much had changed in a year.     Part of the catalyst for growth was the job itself, but much of the credit can go to the people with whom I got to share the experience. During this time, I became acquainted with two guys who changed my life.
Eric Kocher and Jeff Carizales are two Marines who fought together in OIF1 (Operation Iraqi Freedom). They had been brought to Africa to be military accuracy advisers during production, and their input was instrumental to the credibility of the show. Not only are they Marines, but they are two of the actual guys about whom Evan Wright wrote in his book. So here are these two dudes, reliving the drama of their lives, watching actors interpret their stories so that they are portrayed as accurately as possible. I think the word “trippy” comes to mind. I had no idea that I was going to end up loving these guys as much as I do.
Eric Kocher is imposing in the most terrifying sense. Imagine a shorter version of the Incredible Hulk with Tom Selleck’s face and a brain filled with an encyclopedic knowledge of military history and modern warfare tactics. By age 28, he had served in the Marine Corps for close to 10 years and done more than five combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. While on a combat mission in Iraq, his Humvee was hit by a rocket- propelled grenade that nearly blew his arm off. Another member of his team, who was in the back of the truck, lost both of his hands in this same attack. Later, he would tell me that he himself pulled out the pins that had been surgically implanted in his hands so that he could get back to combat sooner. When people ask about the insane scar on his right arm he usually tells them it’s from an old “skateboardin’ accident.” He is one of the funniest people I know. For as intense as his appearance is, he’s one of the most loyal and kind-hearted human beings I have ever met.
The other Marine I befriended was Jeff Carizales. He drove the same Humvee that Eric was in during the invasion in of Iraq. He is 100 percent Texan, through and through. He is the type of person who will insult you within seconds of making your acquaintance, only to test your resolve. It’s hard to sum up Jeff in anything short of an epic poem. When I first met him in a bar in Africa, I wanted to punch him in the face within about three minutes. He insulted my clothes, the city I lived in and my general way of life. We only started to bond after we opened up about the demise of both our long-term relationships and our mutual disdain for most actors. Certain anecdotes can paint a better picture. For example, while traveling in Europe recently, he would meet other international backpackers and tell these elaborate stories about what he does for a living. He liked to regale these people by telling them that he was a small-arms dealer training guerilla forces in northern Africa so they could overthrow their governments. The truth is, he is an engineering student at Texas A&M. When he flew home from Europe, he thought it would be funny to dress up in Chechnyan mujahedeen garb, thereby convincing airport security that he was a terrorist. Yes, this is the man I spent seven months with.
These guys introduced me to a side of life with which I had been unfamiliar. In some way, they reconnected me to myself. As a shit-bag junkie who lived in New York, I rarely came across servicemen unless they were sailors visiting the city during Fleet Week, in which case they were usually just in the way on my way to the bar. My father is a Vietnam vet, and my natural inclination towards people who would volunteer for that life could politely be described as “resistant.” I just never understood why someone would knowingly sign up for something that seemed so conformist, in my opinion. I was way off base in this assumption.
Let’s start first by saying that I don’t support this war or the reasons why we are over there. I am of the school of thought that we should clean up our own yard before we start to clean up someone else’s. Having said that, the people I have met who are in the armed forces are doing a uniquely un- American thing. It’s unique in the sense that we grew up in a country of excess, to the extent that in this post-industrial, post-sexual-revolution age in America, my generation gets to live off the fat of the land without developing a work ethic that generations before ours seemed to have had. In the age of short attention spans and reality television, Marines are a group of people that actually strive to go against that excess. As Wright points out in his book, “they have chosen asceticism and assimilation over the idea of being an individual” who can dream big and be the next American Idol winner. Out of this, it seems, comes maturity.
There is a school of thought that seems to imply that as Westerners, we have lost a certain amount of our identity because the rites of passage into adulthood are viewed as archaic. There is no tradition for sending boys out into the wild, not to return home until they came back men. To a large extent, the Marines seem to have experienced these rites, and for a short amount of time, I did as well. While living in Africa, Eric and Jeff forced me to grow up,to look at things differently.
We forged this bond by taking long road trips while filming the series. The production itself was grueling. We had six-day work weeks, but anytime that we would have more than 24 hours off, we would plan these insane adventures and take off on a whim with little more than half a tank of gas and a change of underwear. Most weekends we would drive 10 hours to Cape Town to blow off steam. On longer breaks we would look on a giant map of the continent, pick a spot and point our car towards it. We would have made Hemingway proud.
I can’t tell you how many times Eric and Jeff got me nearly killed, whether it was while we were breaking into Botswana, nearly drowning in the Zambezi river, or avoiding getting trampled by elephants. Our road trips got to be so infamous that the producers would send out memos specifically targeted at our little tribe, letting us know that we were an insurance risk. It’s generally considered a bad thing if one of your actors dies during production — from a business perspective, anyway. In fact, Eric and Jeff always wanted to know the location of the closest U.S. Embassy in case I did die so they could fly back to the states and not get sued by HBO.
During these trips, I really felt alive. My brother (who was with us on some of these adventures) pointed out that it was because these guys have truly lived. They have been around more death and destruction than I could possibly imagine or cope with, yet their vitality is undeniable. I don’t remember a time that my stomach didn’t hurt from laughing. I dealt with more insults and put-downs from them than anyone could imagine, but after a while I came to realize that they were forcing me to examine my shortcomings and actually do something about them. They have a fraternal bond that I envy. For a little while, I got to experience it. They treated me as a brother and tenderized me like a piece of steak, because, at the end of the day, they wanted me at my strongest.
Living in Africa with Eric and Jeff was the best experience of my life so far. The art that imitated life was imitated by life again on our road trips. The irony was that after a breakup forced me to re-examine myself, some of the most romantic moments I have had in my life were with these psycho jarheads — but not in a “gay” way.
It’s been a year since we started production on Generation Kill. I recently turned 29, and by the time this article comes out, the show will be airing. I talk to Jeff and Eric regularly. I miss them and that time in my life. Regardless of whether the show is popular or not, I am a stronger human being because of the experiences I had with them and what they taught me. I will have that for the rest of my life. This August, I plan on taking a motorcycle trip in Mexico with them. There is part of me that hopes not to return, knowing that it wouldn’t be any fun if those two weren’t trying to get me killed somehow every day we’re on the road. I think I can honestly say that while I do not support this war, I do support our troops.
- Source
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incorrectmlpquotes · 6 years ago
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My Thoughts on Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks
Or: Are we sure this didn’t come out in 2004 rather than 2014? Because the “battle of the bands”  story line feels super dated for some reason. I feel like almost every early 2000s cartoon had some sort of music contest episode, and I never liked them. I blame American Idol for making those popular.
Some History:
I’m under the impression that everything in this movie I dislike is a completely subjective thing that wouldn’t bother someone else. I know that, from a movie standpoint, this is much better than the first, but I just don’t like it as much. Everything that warrants complaint comes from a personal hangup that I have (such as: my lack of any musical ability causes me to not care at all whether their band is successful), so if you disagree, I completely understand. These are all my opinions, and I’m aware that this is probably the best of the four movies. (As stated on a previous post, I haven’t watched any of the shorts from 2017 or 2018 as of this entry)  
There were a series of promotional shorts released before the movie debuted that explains how the members of the Main 5 came to play their instruments in Rainbow Dash’s band, and some other random stuff. Here’s the link to the playlist on youtube. Here’s a quick rundown of what I think:
Music to My Ears : meh
Guitar Centered : funny, but kind of mean spirited
Hamstocalypse Now : Hilarious.
Pinkie on the One : exactly what you’d expect it to be
Player Piano: a masterpiece
A Case for the Bass: Applejack is one word, why would she have AJ embroidered on the strap? I know people call her that but those aren’t her initials
Life is a Runway: There’s a reason they didn’t let Rarity write the songs
Shake Your Tale: Bad.
This was a pretty clever way to establish some musical background within the group without taking up time in the movie. It also is some sneaky foreshadowing with Trixie, which I appreciate.
In the actual movie: My nitpicks are going to be less Why is no one in class? Why is doesn’t anyone have homework? Because I realize this is a movie and depicting high school as it actually is would be boring to watch. Besides, there are plenty of other things to complain about.
We open on a scene of this film’s villains. And yes I am going to refer to them as villains instead of antagonists because 1) they are actually a threat and we see them doing bad things, and 2) other people will serve as antagonists. A villain is different from an antagonist, even though the terms are often used interchangeably. 
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The Dazzlings are so cool, they make a cameo four years later. Either this is some really deep foreshadowing, or by season seven the writers were so desperate for an ongoing arc, they looked to other properties. But we now know that the guardians banished them over 1,000 years ago. So they really are ancient magic. And now they have to go to high school. Talk about eternal torment… 
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Way to take all the credit, Starswirl
We are shown how they are a sort of siren, who feed off of people’s negativity and discord and use their beautiful enchanted voices to cause mayhem. Kind of like a mix between Ursula the sea witch and Spectra from Danny Phantom. Oh my gosh, this is the second one of these reviews that I’ve brought up Danny Phantom. Maybe this is why Butch thinks he’s so popular.
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The Dazzlings, we can infer, have been exiled to the EQG-verse from Equestria. So apparently this universe is like the pony version of colonial Australia, where they send all their criminals and miscreants. A solid plan that couldn’t have any negative repercussions. The sirens see a beam of light that must be the one from the last movie. This is good news for them, but bad news for me because now I have no idea how much time has passed the two films. Has it been a couple days? Weeks? Moons? This will make a difference in regards to why people still don’t trust Sunset. But why waste time setting up the story when we can get right into the remix title card?
At this point, I can only assume that principal Celestia threatened to expel students if they told the news or the FBI about the magical winged demon that attacked the school, because no one seems too concerned about that incident.
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But they have plenty of time to hurt my baby’s feelings
I’m going to be honest, when I first watched EQG I thought that Sunset was faking her remorseful act after being defeated. As cool as that would have been, she makes a much better reformed bad guy than an antagonist, because she really wasn’t in the last movie that much.
List of “evil” things Sunset Shimmer has done: send fraudulent text messages and emails that honestly could have been pretty easily disproved, made fun of Fluttershy, made fun of the steamers in the gym, somehow divided the school into cliques, ran a mostly unsuccessful smear campaign against Twilight’s bid for dance princess, threatened to destroy the portal to Equestria, transformed into a demon to hypnotize the students, and she dissed the Apple cider. 
Ok, that last one is pretty evil. But what really makes this and all subsequent movies great is that we get to see her learn and grow and change from the experience into a real friend.
I am glad to see that the Main 5 have forgiven her, but no one is quite ready to absolve her of guilt. Like, I might not think she did all that much bad junk, but the students of Canterlot High seem to think she was one tier below Mussolini  in terms of maniacal dictators, so I don’t blame them for being cautious. It takes a lot to earn back trust.
Back in Equestria proper, the Mane six plus Spike are sitting around waiting for the plot to affect them. They kindly provide some exposition and once again setup the fact that only Twilight can go through the portal, because the others can’t interact with themselves. So we think. I will be bringing this up when we get to The Friendship Games.
Back through the portal, Twilight  gets looped into the fact that Sunset has changed her ways. It’s fair to be a little apprehensive to trust someone who, the last time you saw them, was an actual literal demon. (Don’t worry though, Twi, you’ve still got two more unicorns to reform. It’s kind of your thing.)
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Don’t reject her love Twilight, it’s all I have to live for
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And now it’s time to discuss the small blue elephant in the room. I feel like I really need to explain why I dislike the addition of Flash to any of the plots. He’s kind of a waste of a potential. You want to add a male character: fine. But make them an actual real fleshed-out character. The show has proven that they can do it and do it well. Sunburst and Thorax are great characters who feel like a good addition to the story. And we got a real sense of who they were in one or two twenty minute episodes. I have no clue what this guy’s purpose is except to be a love interest, and this is not the show to do that with. With very few exceptions, the main characters of MLP have not sought out romantic partners, Twilight included. Why would she choose to do so now? I mean, I get why he’s into Twilight: she’s taken the form of a cute teenage girl. But he’s a species that doesn’t even exist in Equestria. She just fell through a portal and instantly got the hots for some weird otherworldly creature…
Wait a minute. Wait just a minute. Perhaps this isn’t compulsory heterosexuality. Perhaps Twilight Sparkle is just a Monster Lover™. I can respect that.
Moving on.
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It was so very smart of the writers to have the Dazzlings brainwash the principals in order to get away with this scheme. That makes so much more sense and covers any plot holes that could arise (such as, someone claiming to be a new student despite having no transcript, no grades, and no knowledge of how to hold a pen).
Does time work differently between these two universes? Has it been months in Equestria but only a week in this world? (It really threw me off that the first four season of MLP took place over one year, and these movies don’t help that). And the sad thing is, this could be easily hand-waved away by a single throw away line, but it isn’t.
The Dazzlings are already better villains than Sunset, even from a character standpoint. We know their powers, we know their motivation, and we know they are capable of bringing about an actually believable rift between friends.
Then the best song, best montage, and possibly best scene in any of these films happen: the Dazzling come into the lunchroom and hypnotize everyone. This song is beautiful and eerie and exactly what you would expect a magic spell to sound like. I also enjoy the visual representation of the bands competing (and not just because I didn’t want to hear any of them perform) that we’ll see later. To give credit where credit is due, this movies has some great visual sequences.
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Give ‘em the o’l razzle dazzle
At first I thought it was unrealistic that this many kids had bands, but I realized it was probably an effect of the spell. But I might not be the best judge: I think I know maybe three people, plus myself, who don’t play an instrument. I’ll just assume that the Disney channel exists in this universe, and all these children just really want to be famous.
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It’s worth sitting through this movie just to see everyone’s pajamas. That’s not weird, right? No really, the scene of them all having a big slumber party is everything I ever wanted from this series. They managed to capture everyone’s personality from an article of clothing. Now THAT’s good character design.
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I get the distinct impression that the writers of this don’t like Rainbow Dash.
Oh good, references to technology that couldn’t possibly date this movie in the slightest. Wait… this is Pinkie’s house. Aren’t the Pies supposed to be like Amish or resembling Amish-type folk? What is the human equivalent of rock farmers? Not actual farmers because those exist in the pony-verse. This really confuses me, but Maude’s cameo is fantastic.
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The scene with Twilight and Sunset is one of those really well-done moments that reminds me why I love the show so much. It feels really genuine, and supports my argument that it was worth having Sunset as a crappy villain just to reform her.
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Ah yes, the sweet, lingering glances that totally platonic female friends share with each other late at night. I know them well.
Our girl Twily seems to be having trouble writing a spell that can double as a catchy pop song (She’s no Lana Del Rey), so they go with an old set list. How long has this band been operational? Weren’t they in a huge feud for several years?
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Mac is a close second for best cameo
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So we get to watch the band audition, and it goes about as well an actual high school talent show. The CMC are in the outfits from Showstoppers (which is hilarious) and Snips and Snails rap (which is disturbing). In order to keep my goblin brain from exploding while trying to figure out the ages of everyone, I’m just going to assume that this is a combination Middle School and High School. So, if Sunset won fall dance princess four years in a row, she would be in the tenth grade now, so they would be about 15-16. The Equestria Girls Holiday Comic shows Rarity driving a car, so that could be a possibility.
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A. Daft. Punk. Reference. Wow. Just wow. (Note: this was more shocking before season five, when there was a character that was basically Lady Gaga. And by basically, I mean very obviously Lady Gaga. Remember when the pop culture references in this show were subtle?)
Dash’s song is quite possibly the most cringeworthy thing I have ever heard. The only defense is it does sound like something a high schooler would write.
On that note, why is Rainbow Dash the lead singer of the group? I mean, I know why, but WHY? (and yes, I am aware that her voice actress is a singer. But Ashleigh Ball uses her normal voice when she performs. Think back to all the songs RD has sung in the previous four seasons before this aired. There are not a lot of solos or high notes. When she sings as Applejack, it is beautiful, but Dash’s voice is grating sometimes)
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Really? A battle of the bands is the greatest thing you’ve done at the school? That whole “stopping an actual demon with magic” was just a regular Friday for you? I’ll chalk that up to the brainwashing, otherwise I might go full on rage and throw my laptop out a window.
I guess our merry band of protagonists weren’t paying attention to big cafeteria scene, because they just now figured something suspicious is going on.
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Still haven’t fixed the lights in that dim corner of lockers. Fortunately, there are many dramatic confrontations to be had.
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I think we’re supposed to see Rarity’s obsession with the outfits as a ridiculous thing, but I think it’s important to distinguish this universe from the one with the professional seamstress who has unicorn magic at her disposal. This is a teenager who has school, extracurriculars, and parents to contend with. If I went through the trouble to hand-make seven costumes for my friends, then found out no one would wear them, I’d be pretty ticked off as well.
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Now this is how you montage. We get to play a fun game of “guess which characters are in which band,” and seeing their “humanized” designs. Lotta bootcut pants in this show.
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I’m just going to leave this here...
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This is some actually effective villainy. The whole school has turned against each other. Maybe they need to learn about the magic of friendship. Unfortunately, the gang is too busy squabbling over band stuff, and Twilight is too distracted to give an overly emotional speech.
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No one in the rule book does it say magically turning into a pony is grounds for disqualification...I would assume.
If we’re being honest here, the Dazzlings are better performers than the Rainbooms.
And we’ve come to the crux of things. The scene where they’re locked under the stage is the perfect example of my biggest issue with this movie. I do not like to see Mane 6 fight. I don’t like Trade Ya, I don’t like Putting Your Hoof Down, and I despise Look Before You Sleep. Seeing this otherwise close group of friends constantly have petty arguments, even if it’s for completely valid plot reasons, make me want to turn the movie off. This isn’t a criticism of the screenwriting, it is just a reason why I personally dislike Rainbow Rocks more than the other films.
Of course, they make up because this is about the magic of friendship and what not, but notice how no one actually apologizes for their behavior. No, “I’m sorry that I minimized your contribution to the group or made fun of something you were passionate about.” I realize they were under the influence of magic, but they also knew that! They knew the Dazzlings had the power to turn people against each other! An apology is just a preamble to fundamental behavior change, and if they don’t realize why they were being bad friends, how can they learn from anything?
And the real kicker is, they knew what the Dazzlings were capable of. Twilight read a book about them immediately before going through the portal. It’s not they they just learned that they spread chaos. Why are we fighting? Gee, I don’t know.
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DJ-ex-machina. I’m ok with this.
To the movie’s credit, the finale really has one of the best song of the movie. And by that, I of course mean Trixie’s song. Trixie is the most fun addition to the cast. She makes for a fun antagonist, on her own and as a Pawn to the Dazzlings.
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Fight scene! Fight scene! We’re gonna have a fight scene!
Now that they’ve put their petty squabbles behind them, it’s time for a big music battle. The Dazzlings pony up harness the energy of the audience to project their Equestrian selves to...I don’t know. Take over the world or something.
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This isn’t even their final form
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Oh. This design looked better in book form
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Sunset is Magic. That’s the show.
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So the stones auto-tuned them, and that made everyone mindlessly antagonistic. I’m sure there’s some clever commentary there.
T’was the magic of friendship that killed the beast.
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No, you don’t get to just rejoin the plot
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Thank you, Trixie.
The real story here is how Principal Celestia will pay off the press.
Thus Twilight goes back to the land of horses, Starlight has been truly forgiven, and my Netflix suggestions will never been the same again.
I want to give a big shout out to the person who put all the captions on the image gallery for this movie’s wikia page. They are funnier than I could ever hope to be.
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Some general thoughts:
The scene of Twilight awkwardly yelling “Friendship is magic!” to a room of confused teenagers is the cringiest thing I’ve ever seen, but it got a good laugh out of me. Look at the Dazzlings faces in this scene. “Ok, we legitimately didn’t see that coming.”
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One of the reasons that I am so drawn to the show is that they are able to create conflict and drama without being mean-spirited. I have to deal with that kind of nonsense so much in my daily life, I just don’t want to subject myself to eighty minutes of it. But i get it: from a narrative standpoint, this is the most cohesive. There’s some good set up and pay off, and an actually intimidating villain who is actually present in the plot.
I love Trixie so much, I should be dead. She really is the star of the show. I forgot how little we saw of her before season six.
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The stinger, oh the stinger. Forget what I said about the pajama party; it was worth sitting through this for the promise of an interesting sequel.
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We’ll get to you soon, you marvelous lesbian disaster.
Starlight’s redemption is the best part of this franchise, and it’s worth all the nonsense to hear Rebecca Shoichet’s angelic voice.
From a purely film standpoint, this is probably the best one of the bunch. It has a clear structure, everyone’s motivations check out, there’s an actual climax that feels earned. I just don’t enjoy it. There are worse ways to spend eighty minutes 3.7/5
The worst thing to come from this, however, is the terrifying merchandise:
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What Fresh Hell is This?
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be-dazzled · 6 years ago
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She’s In Your Court Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser FFnet link: click here Tumblr: all chapter + misc Genre: Multi-chap, Romance, Comedy Rating: M for sensitive language
Summary: Gray Fullbuster is a player both in love and in life. He plays Professional Basketball and is being groomed to be in line with Basketball Legends Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and Stephen Curry. There’s just one problem, Gray Fullbuster is a play-ah. His life is a giant mess of crazy parties, waking up with random women and waking up in random women’s apartments. Just living the life.
 The opinion of the public on him is waning. To save the million-dollar endorsements in the verge of disappearing, Gray needs to change his image. Therefore, Gray Fullbuster, Fiore Knight’s Team Captain and Most Valuable Player, will be in the next season of “My Star Can Dance”.
 There’s another problem: it seems like his star isn’t that bright since his partner, one of Fiore’s prominent ballerinas, doesn’t know him? His billboard is hanging in front of her dancing school! And it was a good billboard since all he was wearing was his six-pack and an Aztec bandana. How come she didn’t notice?
And you play it coy, But it's kinda cute. Ah, When you smile at me you know exactly what you do. Baby don't pretend, that you don't know it's true. Cause you can see it when I look at you.
- Everything, Michael Buble
 Juvia Lockser wondered what she had ever done wrong to deserve getting stuck with a five-year-old goofball trapped in a hot basketball star's body. The times she tried to make a conversation, Gray would twist her words and insist that she liked him, which was obviously not the case. Okay, maybe. Maybe, she liked him a little bit. Also, she liked his body a little bit.
 “Levy? Am I cursed?”
 Juvia fixed her hair in front of the full body mirror. She pulled her blue locks into a bun, leaving a few baby strands astray.
 “What do you mean?”
 Levy emerged behind the counter, dropping a stack of magazine on top the marble counter. The young assistant huffed. A smoke of dust irritated her sensitive nose.
 “Why do I have to be paired up with that guy?”
 “You mean, Mr. Gray?”
 My Star Can Dance’s assistant writer stacked the magazines neatly on one side and took another set from below the counter.
 “Don’t call him that.”
 “Why not?”
 Juvia turned away from the mirror and walked toward the young writer.
 “It reminds me of that book.”
 “Which book? Oh!”
 Levy blushed at the realization. Both Juvia and she read that book, not together though.
 “Didn’t you like Christian Grey?”
 “Don’t remind me.”
 Juvia rolled her eyes. Her mind wandered over the Fifty Shades trilogy she kept in her book case. That one made her reach for ice. The room’s temperature shot up to a hundred. The steamy scenes from the book and the movie played in her mind in vivid images.
 “Eh, a-a-anyway. Why was I even paired up with him? Is there no one else?”
 “I honestly don’t know.”
 Juvia grabbed Levy’s shoulders and spun the surprised Shrimp to face her. She wanted to look into her friend’s eyes to see if she was lying. Levy McGarden was telling the truth.
 Juvia sighed in defeat and let go of the surprised, and honestly a little scared, Levy.
 “Is it too late to change partners?”
 “Probably…”
 Juvia faced her with hopeful eyes. She would jump at the opportunity of getting rid of that Hoopster.
 But Levy intentionally kept the answer hanging.
 “No.” she finished.
 Levy let out a hearty laugh. It wasn’t everyday she could tease the woman who kept calling her Shrimp in High School. Revenge of the Shorties.
 Juvia glared at the woman. She was enjoying Juvia’s misfortune too much.
 “Why are you so against it? When I found out you were going to be paired up with Mr. Gray, I was so excited for you I screamed at my head writer!”
 Juvia could see Levy’s frustration. Well, she ought to feel lucky, shouldn’t she? Considering that… Juvia wondered for a second. Should she tell Levy the truth?
 “Well…”
 “I even remember when we were in High School, we skipped class just to mmmnn…”
 Shrimp’s next words were shut by Juvia’a quick hand.
 “Don’t say it out loud!”
 “What shouldn’t she say out loud?”
 The two women jumped in surprise. None of them heard Hoopsters footsteps. Gray was never that discreet. He made sure his presence was felt, one way or another. So, how did he manage to enter the practice room without detection?
 “Mmmnnnmm.”
 Juvia was horrified. Did Hoopster hear anything? And if he did, to what extent? The surprised, and a little anxious, bluenette was so preoccupied with these questions that she did not feel her hand suffocating one show writer.
 “Geez, woman. Release the poor girl.”
 Juvia only realized she was taking Levy hostage when Gray pointed it out. She immediately retrieved her hand that covered the writer’s mouth and apologized.
 “Was that a girl-on-girl thing you guys liked to do privately?”
 Gray should be thankful, Juvia thought. He should be thankful that there wasn’t anything within her reach. Otherwise, the ballerina would have grabbed the nearest thing, anything, to throw at the cheeky pervert.
 The day of the preshow was drawing near and Juvia was still not confident about their routine. Bunhead was thankful that the self-proclaimed basketball superstar agreed to drive down her studio for practice, even on weekends. She politely asked Levy if she could keep that a secret from the show and the crew members for the time being. Their presence made it hard for her and Gray to concentrate.
 “You just wanted to be alone with Mr. Gray.” Levy teased which Juvia didn’t seem to hear.
 All her attention was focused on one thing – impressing her idol. Nothing else mattered.
 Gray was all excited and giddy when he arrived at Juvia’s dance studio. Finally, he could have Bunhead all to himself. No cameras, no audience, just the two of them. It was time to put on the charms and the moves.
 Your savior has finally arrived! Was what Gray wanted to announce, kicking the door open. But he heard two people talking inside the practice room. He recognized the voices belonging to Juvia and Levy. He felt a pang of disappointment. So, they were not alone.
 Gray recovered from the dismay when he heard the two talking about him. He pressed his ear against the door to hear more. He did not like how they talked about him anymore like he was some kind of plague Juvia would rather avoid.
 Something sparked his interest though, when he heard Levy say something about skipping class in High School. He was hogging the door already when silence came and Juvia yelled at the other woman thereafter.
 What shouldn’t she say out loud?
 “Hello, Mr. Gray.”
 Being alone with Bunhead? It was too good to be true.
 “Hello, Levy.”
 “Good, you’re here.”
 Juvia walked past Shrimp, sidestepping Levy. She acted so casually like she was not suffocating the other woman earlier.
 “What? Afraid you can’t trust yourself to be alone with me?”
 Juvia knew exactly what he meant. She glanced at the innocent buffer she asked the previous night. Levy was more than happy to come. Better than waiting for death a.ka. Levy’s Head-Writer to call. Bunhead was sure Gray would seize the opportunity to try something funny. She just did not trust the conceited Hoopster to be alone with her. If Juvia was being honest, she couldn’t trust herself around him too.
 “Afraid I can’t trust myself not to kick your balls if no one is here to stop me? Yes.”
 How did Juvia maintain a straight face when she said that? She needed to impress Fiore’s Prima Ballerina, Aquarius. That’s it.
 “Get ready, we’ll start in five minutes.”
 Wow, not even a good morning?
 Juvia disappeared behind a divider. Since Gray was already in his practice clothes, he decided that the best use of his five minutes was to interrogate the third wheel about earlier.
 “So, Levy...”
 As much as he did not appreciate Levy’s presence, Gray was not rude enough to send her away. But he stumbled upon fascinating information and it appeared that Levy held the key to open it. Thus, Gray walked over to the counter where the writer stood behind.
 “What were you guys talking about?”
 “Nothing, Mr. Gray.”
 Levy was a bad liar. It showed on her face when she tried. So, she trained her evasive eyes at the flower painting on the wall behind Gray, not wanting them to give her away.
 “Would you like some water?” She beamed at him, obviously trying to change the subject.
 But Gray would not go down without putting up a fight. He ignored her offer and leaned over the counter, standing face to face with the fidgety Levy, their faces just inches away.
 “Why did you guys skip class in High School?”
 Gray has realized that women tend to become more honest when he looked straight into their eyes; like he was some kind of truth serum.
 But something more interesting caught his attention. He easily recognized the GQ front cover photo sticking out the stack of Juvia's Dance Magazine collection. He pulled it out and beamed. How could he not recognize it when he had a large portrait of that sexy GQ photo hanging in his bedroom?
 The curious cat spread the stack on top of the counter. His smile grew wider with every discovery. Juvia kept a fair share of his sport and health-related magazine covers. Maybe, even all of them.
 “If you’re done interrogating Levy, shall we start?”
 The ballerina’s approaching light steps painted a sly smile on Gray’s face – one that reminded her of the cat in Alice in Wonderland.
 “So…”
 Gray raised a number of magazines in Juvia’s face, intimidating her into admitting to the truth. What a stroke of luck! Gray was just asking for some recognition. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine that that hostile little thing was actually a fan. Gray finally succeeded.
 “Th-that’s not mine!”
 Almost.
 But Gray wouldn’t buy it. Her guilty blue eyes, and the overwhelming evidence in his hand, said otherwise.
 “You know, there’s nothing wrong with being my fan.”
 He dangled the evidence in front of Bunhead – taunting her. The number of copies was overwhelming. Some even dated back from when he was just starting making a name for himself. The magazines and their variety were definitely in the level of a collector’s item.
 Juvia, however, did not take the bait.
 “They’re probably Mary’s. She’s a fan.”
 “Mary only started here a year ago, Juvs. These looked like they were here for quite some time.”
 Juvia shot daggers at the traitor.
 Really, Levy? Whose side are you on?
 “Then, maybe, my mother’s. So, can we start now, Sherlock?”
 The insult in the end only grazed Gray's inflated ego. How could it be Olivia when the poor woman could not even remember him even if his giant billboard stared her in the face? Before he can retort back, Juvia was already at the center of the room, eager to start the practice. And drop the subject.
 Gray replaced the evidence on the desk, retreating for now. He threw a glance at the writer behind the counter. She avoided his eyes almost immediately. Guilty as charged.
 Gray put two in two together. This discovery was a gold mine: he was not going to let this go. The athlete-celebrity lit his imaginary cigarette in his mind. Oh, Sherlock was going to get to the bottom of this.
 Gray moved behind Juvia's slender figure, falling on their opening position. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing his open palms flat on her torso. When Juvia leaned her head back against his athletic shoulder, following the choreography, the raven-haired could not help but take in the scent of her fresh perfume – a combination of sweet and sexy and evasive.
 Gray was supposed to dip his head against the ballerina’s neck but his warm, soft lips brushing lightly against it ruined Juvia's concentration. So, she decided against it, much to her partner’s dismay. They settled with Hoopster just looking straight ahead.
 “Why can’t you just admit it?”
 At the first drop of the beat, Juvia lowered her body, sliding against Gray’s, and stopped midway. Both her open palms rested on the athlete’s strong hips for support. She extended her right foot forward, with toes pointing sharply outwards, and drew an arc on the floor before pulling it back to its original position.
 “Admit what?”
 The bluenette’s skinny arms snaked around Gray’s neck and her slender fingers interlocked behind it. Her back was still at him. Both her feet lightly brushed against the carpet when Hoopster spun Juvia once. She finished the sequence with her left leg held in a powerful en pointe.
 “That you do know me.”
 “I never said I didn't.”
 “But that time…”
 “Will you drop it and concentrate on the dance?”
 Juvia missed a step in a turn and collided against the Hoopster. Something she has been getting really good at lately.
 “I won’t stop until you admit.”
 The bluenette fell on her opening position with her left foot – the working foot – pointed in front of the other with a space between them. She stepped and put all her weight on her working foot and ended her first turn with a passé by lifting her toe up and resting it on the side of her knee. She was too busy perfecting her pique turns to listen to Hoospter.
 But Gray was not a quitter.
 “Until you admit that you are a…”
 Second pique turn.
 Hoopster tailed the ballerina as she repeated the traveling turning step in a diagonal.
 “Big.”
 Third pique turn.
 “Fat.”
 Juvia got a little distracted and missed her landing in the final sequence. She was about to make contact with the floor when Gray’s agile reflexes kicked in and caught her.
 “Fan.”
 Juvia blinked at Hoopster. Blinked. Blinked again. She waited for him to put a stop in their awkward position but Gray had no intention in doing so. Not until he got the ballerina to admit to his suspicions.
 “Will you stop it and just pull me up?”
 “Not until you say it.”
 Juvia smiled at him but her eyes promised danger.
 “Pull me up or I’ll kick your balls.”
 Gray immediately complied. He wouldn’t dare find out if that woman was kidding or not.
The date of the preshow came fast. It was a close-door event held at the Magnolia Amphitheater. The signed judges for the show would watch and comment on the contestants’ performance before they go live. Some sort of a culminating activity in a dance camp.  
 Juvia’s heart was racing. Not because she was nervous about the dance nor to dancing before an audience. She was already used to auditions and live performances. No. The reason why Juvia has been waiting in bated breath was because in any moment she would be standing face to face with her childhood dance hero, Fiore’s Prima Ballerina – Aquarius.
 She was so excited she didn’t get any shuteye the night before.
 Juvia paced Gray’s dressing room, sitting and doing nothing would not help her calm down.
 “Juvia, you are going to bore holes on the floor if you keep doing that.”
 Blue eyes glared at the man in front of the vanity mirror having his make-up taken care of.
 “Wow, you have really good skin, Mr. Gray.”
 The make-up artist returned the sponge and foundation in her bag, deciding that with Gray’s flawless skin loose powder would do the trick. It was like a woman’s!
 “Thanks, Laki. The secret is actually staying hydrated. I also take good care of my skin.”
 “It really shows!”
 Juvia rolled her eyes. How could this weirdo think about beauty regimen when she was about to lose her mind just thinking about meeting Aquarius?
 A slight knock on the door interrupted the talk about moisturizers and facial creams.
 “Excuse me, Mr. Gray, Ms. Juvia. We’ll come out in ten minutes. The judges have arrived. We’d like to introduce you to them before we start.”
 Juvia’s heart somersaulted.
 “Alright. Thank you.”
 Juvia felt embarrassed forgetting her manners. It was Gray who thanked him on their behalf.
 Juvia spun to see Gray climbing down his sit. On the vanity mirror behind him, she could see that they both were wearing black. It wasn’t anything fancy since this was just the preshow. The material hugged his body so fine and perfectly. Anything looked good on Hoopster. Even just a plain shirt and tattered pants. He looked heavenly walking towards her with giant smile on his face.
 A heavy pair of hands landed on Juvia’s shoulders.
 “You ready?”
 For the dance? Yes. In meeting her childhood dance hero? Juvia’s mind went hazy for a moment.
 “Let’s go then.”
 She didn’t hear herself answer. The excitement and anxiety of meeting Aquarius rendered Juvia speechless and made her lose all functions. So, Juvia let Hoopster push her outside the door and into the lobby.
 Juvia would surely regret later how she let Hoopster take the lead and how she showed weakness today. For now, she let the Hoopster be.
 The crew members asked the contestants to form a single line. The executive producer would be introducing each of them to the three judges – an up and coming danseur, a musical directress and the woman whom made Juvia fall in love with dancing.
 Juvia’s ears throbbed at the sight of Aquarius. She looked so beautiful and surreal. The whole moment felt so surreal. Juvia’s heart hammered against her chest, hard. Was she dreaming?
 The moment of the meeting arrived. Aquarius was shaking the last hand before she extended hers to Juvia. Bunhead did not hear what the executive producer just said. Her eyes were trained at the elegant beauty standing in front of her.
 “I’ve heard a lot about you, Ms. Lockser.”
 Lockser? Was she talking to her?
 “Oh… I’m sorry. I’m a big fan, Ms. Aquarius.”
 Juvia finally managed to spit out coherent words. Thank goodness.
 “And I’m Gray Fullbuster. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
 Juvia saw Hoopster take Aquarius’ hand, flip it and kissed the back of her palm. Juvia heard the woman let out a soft laugh. So did the others. She felt a bit jealous. Fullbuster was so suave.
 “My, my. If it isn’t Fiore Knights’ miracle worker.” She was referring to Gray’s nickname in the basketball circle. “My husband’s a big fan of Fiore Knights and yours, Mr. Fullbuster.”
 “Gray will do, Ms. Aquarius.”
 See? Even Fiore’s Prima Ballerina knew him. Juvia Lockser was probably an alien for not knowing and not getting excited about his existence.
 The other two judges, a man and a woman whom Gray had no idea who they were, shook his hands too. They made small talk with him before the executive producer led them to the next couple and to the last. Mr. Producer would not want to others to think that they were playing favorites.
 The executive producer then led the group somewhere else and the contestants were told to go to the backstage.
 Juvia lingered behind, her eyes plastered at the woman with the long blue hair.
 “Wow, Ms. Aquarius looked really young for her age, doesn’t she?”
 Juvia ignored him.
 “If she wasn’t married I would definitely hit that. Oomph.”
 Juvia turned a heel and walked away so casually like she did not just elbowed Hoopster at the side.
 “Geez, are you jealous or something?”
Gray nursed the shot of pain at his side. That woman has really turned violent. Well, maybe, he deserved it. He just made a pass at her childhood heroine.
 His midnight eyes searched the waiting room for his attacker. They found the culprit standing at the opening that led to the main stage. Gray pushed himself up and walked over there.
 “I didn’t know you are such…” Gray heard she liked that BDSM book. “a sadist.” He whispered.
 “Aw!” He yelped. Now his other side throbbed in pain.
 “Geez, woman. If I won’t be able to perform tonight–” He started to make her feel guilty about her violence when Juvia grabbed his shirt and pulled him down to her eye level.
 “You make sure we make it to this preshow or else…”
 Remember, nothing pretty came after or else.
 “You know that thing you are so proud of?”
 Gray found himself unable to concentrate. Juvia was so close that he could smell her perfume. So intoxicating.
 “What thing?”
 Juvia did not answer his question. Instead, her sharp eyes drifted down south. Gray followed the trail, his eyes landing on...
 Did she mean his thing?
 “I’ll cut it.”
 Gray jerked back, instinctively crossing his arms over his favorite part of his body. The threat against his manhood sobered him quickly.
 “Y-you’re kidding, right?”
 “Do you want to find out?”
 Hell no. The woman just threatened to castrate his happiness. Of course, he wasn’t going to try to even find out if she was serious.
 Because Juvia Lockser trying to impress her idol was dead serious.
Juvia sighed. She sighed for the umpteenth time that morning.
 “Honey, if you keep doing that all day, you are going to suffocate my plants.”
 Olivia finally voiced out her concern for her plants, which she meticulously grew herself around their kitchen. And if there was something that irritated the classy woman more than the indirect threat to her beloved pots was her daughter losing her table manners.
 Juvia had both her feet up on the seat, crossed in an Indian sitting position. Her elbow was propped on the table to support her messy-bunned head. And she has not touched her breakfast.
 “What’s bothering you?” She slid in one of their expensive table chairs. “And will you put your feet down? Elbows off the table too.”
 The younger bluenette knew better not to argue so she politely complied, putting down her feet on the floor. She kept forking her sausage on the plate though.
 “Are you nervous about the live show?”
 Juvia nodded.
 Concern flashed on Olivia’s blue eyes, a shade lighter than her daughter’s.
 “Why?”
 “You’ve seen our practice, Mom. Fullbuster is an okay dancer, to say the least, but we seem to be–” Juvia searched for the right word. “– uncoordinated.” Just the perfect word.
 “He keeps stepping on my foot. Then we collide against each other every chance there is. He even keeps dropping me.”
 Juvia massaged her left arm which was still sore from slamming against the floor.
 “Plus, you heard what Aquarius had to say with our routine at the preshow.”
 Bunhead was still mortified. She came in that theater with one goal: impress Fiore’s Prima Ballerina. Aquarius did pay her compliments with her skills in dancing but she said she wanted to see more, feel more. The shame of failing her hero miserably has not eased up even three days after the preshow.
 Juvia whined at her mother when she mentioned about her weight and saying it was probably the problem. The ballet teacher maintained that she kept watching her diet and she weighed normal for her height.
 Olivia Lockser chuckled at the way her only daughter was defending her weight. She teased the young Lockser who looked all flustered. Olivia cleared her throat, trying to gain composure. When the giggles died down, the older Lockser spoke in a more serious tone.
 “Then, maybe you need to know your partner better.”
 Juvia was skeptical.
 “What’s that got to do with anything?”
 Hearing her stomach complain, Juvia finally took a bite of her sausage. All those denying and defending made her hungry.
 “I don’t think the problem is that you and Gray are uncoordinated. The problem is that you are quite hostile towards Gray.”
 Juvia was offended. Of course, she denied the accusations. But her mother insisted that she was definitely mean towards Gray.
 Was her mother taking Gray’s side?
 “Hypothetically, let’s say that I am quite... unwelcoming… towards him.” Juvia was careful in choosing her words, playing down her hostility. “How does it affect our dancing?”
 “Dancing is like making love.”
 Juvia knew spit-takes were definitely not funny in real-life. But she did one however, spitting out the chunked pieces of her sausage. She wiped her mouth quickly. Only if she could wipe the redness of her face with the napkin too.
 “I’m sorry. Wh-what?”
 Olivia chuckled at how childish her daughter reacted to the word ‘making-love’. She was already twenty five for goodness sake.
 “Dancing is an expression of one’s self. It reveals one’s soul. We expose a part of our self in every step, in every move. Through dancing we relay a message, we tell a story.”
 Olivia’s words were profound and enlightening. No trace of the bully of a mother she was earlier.
 “Like making love, dancing unites not only the mind and the body but the heart as well. That intimacy between partners then translates into a move that reaches its intended audience and touches anyone who watches.”
 Juvia pondered over her mother’s words. Same as what Aquarius said during the preshow. The Prima Ballerina did not exactly use the same words (especially the word ‘making-love’. What is up with that?) but Juvia knew what she was driving at, that the routine lacked heart.
 Dance to express, not impress.
 “Honey, you’re a great dancer. You don’t have to prove yourself in that respect. And you and Gray? Well, you do look good together but you can’t translate that chemistry through your dance because, like I said, you are hostile towards him.”
 Guilt hit Juvia like a pandemonium, over and over again. Was she really to blame? Juvia knew her mother wasn’t pointing fingers. It was probably Olivia’s way of reminding her to warm up to Gray a little.
 Looking back at the first few days she has spent with Hoopster, all she did was argue with him. They never even had a decent talk. He was the one to blame. All that Hoopster did was test her patience and annoy the hell out of her. However, if Juvia was being honest, Gray was the more cooperative one between them.
 Gray arrived before call time. He never complained about anything he was asked to do for the show. He wasn’t a diva at all. Unlike those celebrities she worked with during the first season. In fact, they had that one moment, albeit brief, before the start of the preshow when Gray gave her a pep talk. Probably out of habit since he was the Fiore Knight’s Team Captain. Still, Juvia felt a little relieved back then.
 He was supportive too. When Juvia was overwhelmed with the thought of meeting her childhood hero, Gray stepped up and proved to be someone she could rely on. Someone she could trust. Juvia should start trusting her partner. To do that, she needed to open up to him, even just a little bit.
 The faint screech of the chair's legs against the carpeted floor pulled Juvia out of her thoughts. Olivia was getting out of her seat to attend to her plants again. But before she did, she faced her daughter and left her one last advice.
 “Keep that in mind, honey.”
Writer’s Corner: You guys! We’re on the last revised chapter. It’s time to contiue to chapter 6. Anyone else noticed how charged the air is between these two? So much sexual tension. With that, should I go down that path? Should I write le sexy times between Gruvia? Let me know!
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mtorn21 · 4 years ago
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Blog Post 1
Before I write this blog post let me preface this by saying I do not have a HBO Max subscription. I’ll look into it for the next blog post; so there could be a carbon copy of me in the show Euphoria but I wouldn’t know. Also I’m bad with names which you will see from this post. With that being said the character I related to the most was Telle from kids (just kidding that guy was the worst). Really I related to a couple of characters in the movies. From The Breakfast Club I related to both the jock and the weird girl in a way; which is funny because they ended up together at the end. The jock, besides just playing sports, had a hard time thinking and making decisions for himself. Instead of doing what makes him happy he tries too hard to please other people. I feel like I can relate to that a lot. I’ve had 4 majors in college so far because of what other people wanted, and felt like I should do. I went from Engineering, to physics, to math, until I finally decided to do what I wanted to do. With the weird girl, I am a gigantic introvert so I was always seen as weird in that sense. I didn’t eat cereal and sugar sandwiches or anything but I was seen as weird for my quietness. So I was a combination of doing what other people wanted me to do and very quiet. That is not a great combination, I was a big pushover growing up but I’ve gotten much better. With mean girls I related with everyone just experiencing how extremely fake some people are like the plastics; but really everyone is not as great of a friend as they should be. For mid 90’s, I related to sunburn at the beginning when he was just introduced to the group. I was the youngest kid on my block growing up so I can relate to awkwardly just shifting your way into a group until you’re accepted. I don’t relate to all the other stuff he did with the older kids but I can relate to initiating yourself into the group. Finally for Kids I can thankfully say that I do not relate to anyone in that movie. I certainly didn’t relate to them when I was a middle/ high schooler. 
A couple of common themes I saw throughout the movies was growing up too fast/losing that childhood innocence. That is obviously littered throughout the movie kids. A bunch of kids doing adult activities.  “ When the film was released, many adults found its depiction of casual sex gratuitous and lewd, but from a modern perspective, it’s easy to see how the film’s honest approach actually served as a dire warning against unsafe sexual practices”(Indiewire). Girls quite literally losing their innocence to Telle. This is all fun and games for these kids until they experience adult consequences like they overdose, or get arrested, or like shown in kids they get the HIV virus. I think this is also shown in mid 90’s where sunburn is a 13 year old kid drinking, getting high, and having sexual experiences. These movies make the viewer uncomfortable at times with how young they are. It makes the viewer want to say hey go home you idiot you got the rest of your life to do adult stuff be a kid now. I think that was the point to make the viewer uncomfortable because of their age. Another theme I saw was be true to yourself and don’t care what others think. I think this was very prevalent in mean girls and the breakfast club. In mean girls Regina and the rest of the plastic’s whole characters were based on caring what other people thought about them. They even had rules to keep up the perception of them with the whole wear pink on Wednesday thing and other rules. This getting caught up with the glamour of caring what people think about you eventually led to kady driving away her actual friends. It is not until the end, where everyone is true to themselves, where everyone is actually happy. In the Breakfast Club the popular girl says straight up to the rest of the group that she’d ignore the rest of them if they said hi to her in school. She cared too much about what people thought about her to even acknowledge one of her friends. The jock cares so much what his dad thinks about him that he reluctantly bullied a kid for him. The nerd wanted to take his own life because he was afraid of what his parents would think about him after one bad grade. I think the weird girl is quiet and reserved because she’s afraid of how other people think about her. It's not until they overcome this that they become happy. Finally, another theme I saw was how looks can be deceiving.  “ Like many teenage movies and TV shows (Mean Girls, Glee), the use of stereotypes is used frequently because it enables people who watch them to form an opinion of the characters and their beliefs just from seeing them before they may have even spoken and sometimes just from the way they walk and are spoken to by other people”(themes).  I think this is best shown in breakfast club how everyone already has these preconceived perceptions about each other. They’re labeled from the beginning as the nerd, the princess, the criminal and so on. Once they got to know each other really though they realized they’re all pretty similar and their assumptions were wrong. For mean girls, Regina and the plastics are idolized by pretty much the entire school. Everyone wants to be them until they realized hey they’re not very nice; hence the title mean girls. Also in the math playoff thing both teams picked the girls because they assumed they were dumb. For mid90’s the mom assumes the skater group is nothing more than street rats; which is kind of justified because her 13 year old son came back wasted after hanging out with them; however, when she sees them passed out at the hospital she realizes oh wait they actually really care about my son. For Kids, its more in a literal sense of this looks like a good time just me having fun but oh wait the other person has the HIV virus.
I think a soundtrack is monumental to a film’s story. It can sway how you’re feeling. Just think how differently a movie like Jaws would be without the classic  “duuun dun duuun dun” (Jaws). I think soundtracks are great when they’re either very memorable like the Jurassic Park theme song or the Dark knight soundtrack for me or not memorable at all because you didn’t even notice the soundtrack. When the soundtrack goes so seamlessly with the story that you don’t notice it it's perfect. It’s when the soundtrack sticks out like a sore thumb where a film gets in trouble.
So I’m weird and not really big into music so finding music that’ll define my adolescence  will be difficult but I’ll do my best.
Cats in the cradle by Harry Chapin. I’m pretty close with my dad and I used to imitate him a lot. The only music I somewhat know is classic rock because of my dad. Always really liked this song.
Hourglass by squeeze. My dad played this once when driving me and my friends around when I was like 10. The song is just so weird that me and my friends loved it. We still listen to it when we hang out. 
Enter Sandman by Metallica. This just represents by sports fandom. This was mariano Rivera’s entry song for the Yankees.
Power Rangers theme song. I was quite a big power rangers fan. I was also obsessed with dinosaurs so when they made one with dinosaurs I peaked in life.
Spongebob theme song. Me and my friends quote spongebob way too often. Its actually a problem.
Happy birthday song. Birthdays were always fun growing up. So many things happen in life, its nice to have a day that is just about you once in a while.
Mr. blue sky by electric light orchestra. I just liked this because it is the happiest song ever.
Don't stop beleivin by journey. This represents the awkward middle school phase because this song played at the end of every middle school dance.
Never gonna give you up by Rick Astley. I was a big internet kid so that means memes.
The party’s over by Willie Nelson. This just represents my childhood ending.
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dong-hyucks · 7 years ago
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Dating Suho Would Include...
Masterlists
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so you’re an event coordinator
at least, an assistant event coordinator
your friend is the head coordinator and he was short one helper so he had you come down to help
basically, you and a few other people were coordinating this big party for a big company
known as none other than SM Ent.
you were hyped because it was 1) a halloween party and 2) you stanned a lot of SM idols
your friend, we’ll name him bob sungjin let you decorate the food table
only one other person was helping you with the table but you didn't know them that well
so it was really quiet
“try turning the bowl around. then people from across the room can see the better decorations in it.”
you thanked the person who you assumed was your partner before realizing
you partner is female
that voice came from a male
you looked up and practically jumped ten feet
“HoLy ShI--”
in front of you was someone you recognized quite well
you’re a fan of his and his members’ music after all
Kim Junmyeon stood in front of you, looking curiously at the decorations that covered the table
not to mention he was clad in a suit (Kingsman) with his hair slicked back, some stray strands hanging about his face
junmyeon in glasses tho
upon noticing your shock, Junmyeon smiled
“i couldn't recognize you. are you a new worker?”
you nodded, going back to decorating because you had no idea how to interact with an idol
your mind was straight up !!! but he looked tired enough so you stayed quiet
after a while of silence, you noticed he started walking away
wow you could breathe
you could hear your partner laughing to herself
probably bc she and the entire crew are pretty chill around SM idols since they work for them frequently
so you getting all flustered and awkward
is funny
mOviNg oN
okay so basically exo came early
smh their manager was misinformed abt the time
your friend was like
“oh okay, the more the merrier” and basically gave them jobs
they looked like they were used to his sudden demands bc they just complied
and wHoOp dE dO guess who was assigned to the food table
ya boy, junmyeon
and jongdae
anyway they were talking as they walked up to the table
you noticed from the corner of your eye
junmyeon sMiLeD at you
jongdae went over to help your partner and junmyeon went to help you
you noticed there was only like twenty min before everyone would start arriving so you worked faster
junmyeon was just following literally like :o because you were moving v fast yet everything still looked neat and presentable
aNyWaY after people started arriving you scoot scooted your way o u t
bUt your friend didn't let you leave since “it’s a party [Y/N], enjoy yourself”
“but--”
“we’re allowed to stay nOw gO hAvE fUn mY cHiLd”
so yeah
you glued yourself to the wall the entire night
because?? yeah no you weren't about to go party with idols
you were n o t ready for that
unbeknownst to you
a certain someone kept glancing over at you
heheh
after the party, the team was set to clean up too
so you did, walking around and picking up dropped balloons and streamers, etc.
while you were taking down a banner on some wobbly ladder, junmyeon walked over to your ladder and held it steady
you kind of just ignored him for the time being, too focused on taking down the banner without stabbing yourself with thumb tacks
but as you were climbing down, you smiled over at junmyeon
“thanks”
before walking away
junmyeon was just smiling to himself
he had been swarmed with fans, moreso lately, so it was refreshing to meet someone new who treated him like a regular person
yeah, your friend told him that you're a fan
after that, you were practically hired as a helper
you didn't mind, you didn't have much to do plus you got payed good money
that also meant that you saw idols quite often
eventually, they all became acquainted with you as they did with the other coordinators
especially junmyeon
you two talked casually at first
but then junmyeon asked for your number and boom instant daily talks
even if it was just ‘good night’
he found himself falling for you v fast
the way he asked you out was cute
he invited you over to the dorms while everyone was out for food or for schedules
you just agreed because it was your day off
plus hanging out with junmyeon made you happy
//v//
aNyWho
you two just watched movies for a while
you didn't even notice junmyeon getting closer and closer
until you literally felt his arm brushing against yours
your face went red but you didn't say anything
you even leaned into him subtly
while you kept your eyes on the movie, junmyeon kept glancing over at you
he was so n e r v o u s
eventually, the credits started rolling
and some cliche piano song accompanied with some good vocals started playing
junmyeon was a nervous wreck
but he was determined
he's been keeping in his feelings for several months now and you've even expressed some feelings for him
despite knowing that you may reciprocate his feelings, his heart still raced
so, he took in a deep breath and smiled at you once you looked at him
when you smiled back, he faltered a bit-- too amazed by your entire being
his complexion started to resemble that of a ripe apple
the red hues that painted themselves across his otherwise pale cheeks were painfully obvious
when he took hold of your hands, you noticed just how much he had been shaking
as he pulled you closer to him ever so gently, you could feel the thumping beat of his heart beat, it's song more addictive than any other you had heard before
he let out a nervous laugh, bowing his head slightly
you looked on expectantly, your own heart racing just as much as his was
junmyeon never failed to make you nervous, no matter what he was doing
“so, um…”
you were just smiling because of how adorably flustered he was
he couldn't even say what he had planned-- a lengthy bundle of sentences
he was distracted by your smile, which lead to him chuckling to himself as he buried his face in the crook of your neck
“you’re too cute, you know. it's impossible to focus.”
“what--”
he leaned back, tilting his head as he looked to you with an uneasy smile
“i really like you, [Y/N]. would you, perhaps, want to be my s/o?”
that took,,, 1.1k words to get to the actual point of this but okay
congrats, you're dating the parent of exo whoop whoop
you guys are that cute-weird type of couple
like, the best friend couple
he would be so gentlemanly and sweet with you
as in, his nicknames for you are the cheesiest things ever
if you like honey, he'll call you honey
if you like kiwis even, he'll call you kiwi
conversations sound p weird to other people hahah
but at the same time
you guys can be the strangest couple
you'll look at each other from across the room and start laughing
no explanation whatsoever
the boys get so confused
they will also come home to the two of you laying on the floor in the kitchen
flour and other ingredients everywhere
it's okay because you guys usually clean up after yourselves but
they never get any explanation for why you guys do are so extra
which is fine
you're literally his no. 1 supporter
and vice versa
you can literally be playing a videogame and he'll be cheering you on like mad
okay so
first ily
it happened like several months into the relationship
you both knew you loved each other but you didn't want to go too fast y’know
junmyeon’s an idol, and he has a super busy schedule, so he wants to make sure you're both in it for the long run before he says it
and you're willing to wait since he shows his love for you in other ways
like morning and good night texts
cuddles
cooking
etc.
when he first said it
he thought you were asleep
he had stayed over at your house on his day off because he missed you a lot
and you were on the verge of sleep when he suddenly turned over and brought you against his chest
“[Y/N]... you know, i’m falling in love with you. you're always there for me and--”
he pressed a fleeting kiss against your temple
“-- i appreciate you so much.”
you couldn't stop yourself from grinning, basically flipping him onto his back and koala hugging him
he was shocked because 1) you're awake and 2) you just fLiPpEd HiM
“i love and appreciate you too, jun, so much.”
after snapping out of his surprise
he just grinned ear to ear and cuddled with you for the rest of the night
*claps hands like hyuck at the end of his boy vid* now
your first kiss oo
i can imagine this happening relatively early on
like a couple of weeks into your relationship
it was nothing too heavy
just a simple and sweet kiss
bUt the mood was A+
basically, the boys invited you over to listen to a track they were unsure about
lucky you
and after you listened to it and gave them your opinion they literally just left
like
they didn't say anything
they just skrt skrted back to the practice room
only junmyeon stayed and you two ended up sitting on the couch they had in the recording room
junmyeon began fiddling with the equipment and eventually he had your favourite song playing
then, he leaned back and just hugged you
he had been really stressed that week and tbh all he wanted was to spend some time with you
you two kind of just sat in silence, listening to each other's heartbeats with your personal playlist playing in the background
he mumbled a little ‘i love you’ into your neck, completely content in the moment
ofc, you said it back
eventually, he leaned back and just looked at you
you raised a brow, not breaking the eye contact
without even realizing, he began to lean forward
you noticed before he did and came closer
you were the one who kissed him
the sight of your eyes fluttering closed was the last thing he saw before he let his close as well
like i said, it wasn't a long kiss
but it was really sweet and the both of you could feel your stress going away from just that
wow
i am getting v soft
okAy so
the two of you would end up adopting some sort of pet later on in your lives
something easy to take care of, since you both had quite demanding jobs
but it would be amazing for the two of you
o k a y
now the part that i've been dreading
fights
fights don't occur often and even when they do they're quite small
as in “i told you to clean your dishes but you didn't” etc.
but wow your first fight fight
basically, you hadn't heard much from junmyeon in a couple of weeks
he was on tour and when he wasn't on stage he was too tired to text or facetime
all you got were good morning and good night texts
which, at the time, you were okay with
that is
until a certain bundle of articles came out
‘EXO’s Junmyeon in a New Relationship?’
and within the article, the publisher talked about him and another idol; APink’s Chorong
your heart basically broke
he hadn't been talking to you much lately and with the photos provided by the article (allkpop smh)
you jumped to conclusions basically
you stopped replying to messages, didn't answer calls
you just felt empty, honestly
junmyeon, on the other hand
knew about the articles
they weren't at all true, but he guessed that you were acting the way you were because of them
he was a bit frustrated because you didn't trust him enough to know the articles were false
but truly, if he were in your shoes he'd probably feel the same
his frustration, however, was mostly because he couldn't go to you to explain
you weren't answering his messages so he had to wait until the tour was over to talk to you
which wasn't for another two weeks
by the time the two weeks were over, the two of you were miserable
you went through the day as you usually would, going to work, buying groceries, etc. but you felt dead tbh
junmyeon was the same
he wasn't used to the silence
even though he had his members and his fans to focus on
you were always in his thoughts
he was so worried that your relationship would end with the dumb article
so the moment exo landed he literally rushed to your house asap
you didn't bother checking who it was before opening the door
you were very quickly enveloped in a hug
“the articles, all of them, are fake. i would never cheat on you, [Y/N]. i'd be a fool to do so to someone i cherish with my entire being.”
him saying that, coupled with the feeling you had longed for-- being in his arms, was enough to bring you to tears
you had gotten quite insecure about the entire ordeal and him coming to your doorstep looking exhausted cleared your shrouded vision
slowly, you hugged him back.
wow
okay so not really a fight
just two weeks worth of silent treatment and tension
and tears--
but it was a serious moment in your relationship, and it made the two d you work on your overall trust
this totally didn't take me two days to do
jajsjsjsf anywhoodle
a relationship with junmyeon, overall, would be so nice
he cherishes you, and you would definitely feel that
so,
treat him well, and love him a lot
:)
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theultimatetamer · 7 years ago
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Interview with Ilaria Catalani
Monster Allergy Week, Day 7
Free-for-all
And since I had no clue what to do for this day I thought: “Why not an interview?”. So here we are!
For the last day of the Monster Allergy Fandom Week you are going to have two very special and exclusive interviews. The first one could not be with any other than the one and only Ilaria Catalani, to whom I will never be thankful enough for this!
Huge thanks to @shikadora-momo as well for helping me out. This would have never been possible without her.
If you want to read the original interview in Italian, click here.
If you want to read the interview in English, keep reading.
1. You have recently become one of the idols of this fanbase, but some people might still not know who you are exactly. So, who is Ilaria Catalani?
First of all, hello everybody! It’s a pleasure for me to answer these questions. Thank you for allowing me to be here!
I am very surprised to know I have become an “idol” for you guys, ha ha ha! It was unexpected, really!
I’d say it’s time for me to introduce myself properly, then!
I’m a girl born on the seaside 28 years ago, in a city nearby the capital of Italy. I have a crazy passion for cartoon openings, Japanese curry and for mystery and paranormal stories!
I have been drawing basically since always and I had always wished to work as a comic artist… that’s why my studies have always aimed at the artistic field! In fact, now I’m working mostly as a comic designer, but I happen to work as an illustrator or freelancer for private commissions as well!
2. In what other projects can we find your name, be it as an author or as a designer?
As I’ve said before I’m a comic artist / illustrator / freelancer. I have also worked as an inker for the Italian publishing house Edizioni Dentiblù, for their series Zannablù, and always with them I published my first original comic book: Hadez (written by me and Silvia Tidei).
At the moment I’m working on the new issue of Monster Allergy, «The valley of bombos», and also as a designer for the Regal Academy comics (Rainbow).
So for now I’d say these are the main projects in which you can find my name and last name! I hope the list will become longer with time! Ha ha!
3. When did you realize that you wanted to turn your passion into a job and work as an illustrator? How did you get where you are today?
As a kid I absolutely loved anime, I grew up with Kaibutsu-kun, Arale, Dash Kappei, Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon… not to mention all the Disney movies and series that marked my childhood. At first I didn’t understand why I felt so sad at the end of every episode, but with time I realized that melancholy came from the fact that I wanted to know more, see more and turn those stories inside out… So I decided that I, too, wanted to tell a story that would make others feel the same way I felt. At the beginning I thought my future would have been that of a “mere” designer… but then manga arrived in my room and everything started. While my classmates were focused on completely different things, I couldn’t get away from that world I created so I decided to turn this passion of mine into my job, my main path. I studied at the Institute of Art and then I attented comic school in Rome. This way I began my way, which is still evolving!
4. Do you have any advice for those who want to pursue the same career as you?
Everytime I’m asked this question I can only come up with the most trivial answer ever: have fun.
After all, I’m aware there are not many other advices to give, really… it’s a very personal path, a difficult journey that’s not for everybody but if you’re strong and tough enough you can make it. You need to have tons of passion and willpower… these are two essential traits, in my opinion.
5. How did you end up getting involved in this project? Did you know Monster Allergy from before?
Actually, I have a very funny anecdote regarding my first encounter with Monster Allergy.
When I was little I made the same mistake as many others of my generation that grew up surrounded by manga and I only allowed comics signed by Japanese artists on my bookshelf. One day, watching an advert about the first release of Monster Allergy I felt very excited. I noticed the comic had many traits similar to my beloved Japenese comic books but it was made in Italy so, all happy, I rushed to buy the comic, only to find out it was labeled under Disney, so I pinned it in my mind as something that could never be my thing … hahahah I’m a dork!
Truth be told, at the time I couldn’t admit I liked the volume, to this day I believe that, on a graphic level, it’s one of the best comics for young audience I have ever seen… Unfortunately, I never got any deeper into the series aside from the first volume and some random issues that helped me to know more about almost all the characters. But I believe that, at this point, I’m obliged to recover the whole series! Right?
About my involment; I was offered to do it and I couldn’t have been any happier since I have wanted to work with the authors of the series for a long time. That’s it! :D
6. How has it been working with Walter Baiamonte? Did you decide it or was it the publishing house?
This is the very first project, aside from little works, that I do with Walter… Even if I know him very well in many other aspects since we share our daily life. However I knew Walter since before being workmates and I have always thought he is a great comic artist / designer / colorist… I was often “jealous” of his natural talent for crazy and rad things! It makes me realize that I still have a lot to learn and reminds me of how lazy I am! Ahhh!
The decision to have him as the colorist for this issue of Monster Allergy was made by the authors of the series but I can only thank them for it, they made it all even more fun for me than it was already!
7. How do you feel about working on Monster Allergy in general?  What do you think was the biggest challenge or setback that you had to face while designing the new issue?
I feel… euphoric and scared in equal measure, actually!
Euphoric because, in fact, I’m a huge fan of stories for the young audience (Hadez belongs to that genre, even if it’s not an adventurous type of story like Monster Allergy)… Scared because this is a HUGE series with lots of fans and affectionate people and I have the hard task to make them all happy with my drawings and narration!
There haven’t been any huge obstacles really. At first it was difficult to get in gear with this comic because, as I said before, I had the sudden weight and responsibility to do a great job… However you have to know that I’m doing my best!
8. Which character have you enjoyed drawing the most and why? And the least?
There’s no character I liked the least to draw, they’re all very different so none of them was boring, on the contrary! Every character gave me a spark to create different mimics and give them an appropriate behavior according to their personalities!
Actually, the characters I loved drawing the most were two: Timothy and the new character, the kid… whom I can’t reveal a thing about, not even the name :P He he he, I’m evil!
Anyway Timothy is a Sphynx and I think Sphynx are beautiful cats. Moreover, he always looks grumpy and serious… It’s so much fun drawing his tiny spiky forms…! About the other character, well, professional quirk… I have a soft spot for very young characters, they’re always extremely fun to draw and animate in the panels!
9. Risky question: is it true that we are going to find some characters of Hadez hidden in the panels?
This is when I need to put on a mask and sunglasses to avoid being recognized and play dumb *cough* *cough*.
Anyway yes, I love easter eggs and I like to include characters of mine or from my friends (sometimes even sneaking my friends in directly) in the pages of projects I’m working on, if I have the chance to… Sometimes I do it simply because it’s fun… other times because I have no idea what the background characters look like, so I ease my job drawing something I already know!
10. If you were given the offer to work on any of the upcoming chapters would you take it?
If I received an offer like that I would absolutely accept. I felt very comfortable working on this story and I think that in many ways it made me grew even more as designer… So, even though I doubt it’ll happen, I’d say yes!
11. To finish with, do you have any message for the fans that are going to read this?
I have never been a faithful follower of your favorite series but, in my own way, I loved it while drawing it and this gave me a boost to be curious and learn more about it… So, I truly hope that the new chapter will be of your liking as much as it has been for me. It’s been wonderfully fun and I hope I have been able to do justice to your beloved characters!
Thank you very much for this interview! <3
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otsenasportfolio · 5 years ago
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Right, let’s start with this as my first opinion post (which will more than likely be thrown into my ‘list of cringe posts’.... That may be the reason why it’s in my ROUGH PORTFOLIO blog).   One of my good friends shared this post with a comment 
“[He] had time, he was just lazy, lol”  As a writer, I’d like to say “give this man a break!”
And as a friend I’d like to tell my friend “and you’re not?” 
But this post isn’t to lecture or scold my friend. It’s meant to educate him a little on the reality of writing, it’s meant to pull up the curtain to show the truth about the world that exists behind the fictional one that so many people love. 
Back in 2016, a video of a Q&A conference with G Martin and Stephen King was uploaded.  
I remember watching someone else’s video who included brief clips from this particular video. One clip was of G Martin asking King how he manages to publish so many books and so often. Then another clip was of G Martin opening up and sharing his feelings about the writing process (or the creative process as people are more familiar with). 
I realized how familiar those questions sounded, and I was reminded of an amateur asking their idolized writer. 
If I remember correctly (might have to watch a few clips again to confirm), G Martin opened up about his struggles of being a writer. It was all quite light-hearted in the way he explained it but I found myself understanding everything he said. 
It was also a moment of realization to me how writers, no matter how successful they are, will always end up struggling through their projects. it is part of the process and part of the journey. 
 I believe, after hearing these success stories and about these authors who make it to New York Top Sellers, we fall under the impression that writers are machines. 
Remember when JKR literally locked herself in a hotel room till she finished the final book of her series? She imprisoned herself so that she could have the time to finish the final book of her series of Harry Potter. 
After hearing about that, I’m sure many immediately believe all writers are exactly like this. Once a story becomes a big deal and the title is on everyone’s lips we have a hard time believing that the writer isn’t having a smooth ride. Why should they struggle, right? They made it! They broke through the huge obstacle every writer wishes to surpass. They’re popular, and loved and are making big bank on their book(s)! 
Well, no. Just because they’ve succeeded in publishing their book(s) does not mean that they’re out of the woods. There are new obstacles to face, new mountains to conquer. 
And I don’t believe it’s any different with G Martin. He was experiencing this similar process and probably is still struggling through. Possibly this may be the reason (among other things) as to why it’s caused him to fall so far back. 
This is quite a unique situation. 
Look at it. 
We have this amazing writer who’s managed to publish about 90% of their series who is experiencing the very similar and relatable human experience of struggle. What’s more is it’s shown quite publicly. 
It’s sad to see, but it also stands as a valuable lesson for others to understand that we writers aren’t these god-like beings who are invincible to defeat and destruction. There is always a struggle, just like the beloved heroes and heroines of our favourite tales. 
And struggle does not always mean that the writer has given up, or is lazy. I highly doubt G  Martin is someone who’d just yawn and sit back with their feet up saying “well, I’ve published almost all my books, why should I publish the next one? I got what I wanted” 
I sincerely believe he isn’t a lazy person. He’s just a writer (a very succesful and gifted writer) who is in a rut and can’t get by the wall that’s decided to crash down on him. Imagine the pain he must feel, the utter humiliation...and image that pain extending for that long. 
He hasn’t published (let alone completed) his final book in seven years. Seven years! Can you imagine what that must do to him?! 
How could anyone possibly think that it’s laziness stopping him instead? It blows my mind. 
And, may I also add that he isn’t exactly procrastinating, either? Sure there were some funny articles/moments of him doing literally anything other than writing...but who are we to judge? Haven’t we all fallen victim to this unproductive and escaping behaviour? 
Besides...the creative process is a very whacky road to take when detouring through our bumpy road. I mean, look at the movie Mother for crying out loud. If that isn’t whacky to you, then I’m afraid you might never have experienced the creative process (that’s exaggeration, by the way). 
There are also other things that Martin has been working on, anyway. He hasn’t been completely unproductive (or at all!) Here are the things I’ve found he’s been up to since his last publishing...
Blogging: It gets both the attention of the press, allows a chance to update his fans without a 250 or 200 something character limit. He covers quite a few things about his writing, his projects and other things like opinion posts on game trade-offs. 
Publishing: Books that aren’t the official series, but definitely the arms and legs of the series. He’s publishing books that hold extra information about beloved characters and families writte in text-book like format. 
 Editing and Publishing: Wild Cards is a series written by 40 individual authors and edited by G Martin himself. This is a fictional book series set in post world war two. An alien virus takes human DNA and alters it giving humans more...abhorrent traits along with strong super powers. 
HBO Projects: G Martin is assisting by co-writing some of the scripts of the Game of Thrones spin-off series. While also being the executive producer of a show called Who Fears Death which is based on a fantasy novel written in 2010. This one is set in another post-apocalyptic future, this time in Sudan. 
Comic Series: So, on top of everything else, G Martin is also working on his own comic series, Starport.  This is also set in scif-fi series that’s a mixture of a crime series and Man in Black. 
So, can we really agree that this man is being “lazy”? Is he even procrastinating? I wouldn’t say so. 
Remind yourselves that this man managed to publish not one, but a nearly complete series. 
This homie’s got it hard, and he’s not only punishing himself for it, but he’s also being punished by others...worst of all, his fans. I can’t imagine that feeling, how scary it must feel under such an immense amount of pressure. I’m sure this guy can’t tweet a single thing without someone retweeting/commenting with a ‘when’s your final book finished’ ‘are you still working on the book?’ ‘did you give up?’ etc.  It’s a sad situation and it does not require people for ganging up on the poor guy and saying the things they do. He has shown his potential, and now he’s a little lost. Him saying he was (and still is) haunted every day (and night) by this, and how often he’d bang his head against his keyboard every time he’d write is completely relatable. In his words he said “...the show is going forward and I’m falling further backward.” 
It’s as though his motivation and his flow has been cut like a string and now he’s trying to catch the wild, waving ends of them to reconnect them. 
I hope that one day he does manage to catch the ends of that string, and I hope he manages to knot them tightly (with a light flame to burn a seal) so that he can finish the series.  Because I think we all can absolutely understand where this man’s coming from. 
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mfmagazine · 6 years ago
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Gina La Piana
Article by Lauren Weigle
Photo by Steve Kay Photography 
Gina La Piana is definitely a fierce force of nature.  Armed with a gorgeous singing voice, a sultry image, and an amazing acting ability, this woman knows how to work the entertainment circuit.  Making appearances on popular shows like Bones, Everybody Hates Chris, The Mentalist, and many others; her main passion is her craft as an actress.  Although she loves to sing and has success with it, acting is where her heart truly lies… This is why we’ve taken the time to sit down with her and delve a little deeper into what Gina is truly all about… who she is, where she wants to go with her career, and what she really wants in life.
So, acting and singing.  I want to hear about both.  How about we start with the singing?  Can you tell me a little bit about yourself as an artist?
I consider myself an edgy voice for women, as well as a storyteller.  My tendency is to write my music as a journal.  I’m most inspired when I’m in relationships, good or bad.  I’ve written most of my successful pieces from painful experiences.  There was one relationship that is most predominant, which I call the ‘Gray Period’.  That’s when I wrote my most popular material.  A lot of women can relate to and connect with my "agony' so to speak. (She laughs.) But, that's kind of a universal theme. I get thank you notes from people around the world saying they connected to the themes and messages in the music.  It makes me realize just how much “art imitates life” and how we truly want the same things. To be understood, loved, and cherished.  I’ve only done original work.  I’ve never been a cover song artist.  I don’t know how to be.  So, a show like American Idol could have never been a platform for me because it’s important to sing what’s in my heart and what sprung from my truth - the good, bad, and the ugly.
Okay, so you thrive on being original.  What would you say is your signature aesthetic when it comes to your own music?
I am a divine dichotomy of sorts, in that what I do in the US market tends to be more edgy, pop rock, geared towards films and television, while what I do overseas as "Gina Martina" is darker, sexy electronic dance music.  I’ve been called the Jenna Jameson of electronica! (She happily exclaims.) They are all roles for me really, getting to play different characters, and aspects of my personality set to beats.
Well, you’ve been a part of several movie soundtracks.  Would you like to talk about some of your contributions in that area?
I love the collaboration involved when working on a soundtrack.  I love working in a room full of people where we’re all working towards the same visual-auditory goals.  I am a very visual person, so it’s exciting to see a piece of film in front of me, visualizing the story and literally seeing and feeling the music that is poured into the film.  It’s moving art.  It always comes back to storytelling for me.  It’s by far some of my favorite work and I look forward to doing a lot more in the future! I am such a huge fan of guys like Danny Elfman, and Hans Zimmer. What a gift these guys have! To someday be able to work in the same room with them would be a life altering experience for me.
Oh, I’m sure!  With just singing or acting as well?  Do you prefer acting to singing or are the two pretty equal?
To be completely honest with myself, I’d love to do more acting.  Music pays the bills, but my dream is to do series television.  In an ideal world, I would meld both of these facets. And maybe run the whole shebang, Sandra Bullock style.
Aside from your life as a performer, what else do you enjoy?
Eating good food, reading a great book, making love, fun with friends, investing in stock, supporting in the Bella Sera Organization, and travel, travel, travel!!! I am also what you call a spa whore…I love to spa!
Do you have much spare time to let loose and indulge in these things… like your Spa fetish?
I have quite a bit of time to myself; it’s how I set my life up. I created and built my own music company so I can let other people do the heavy lifting and I can take the credit, which allows me the space and time to enjoy my life much more.
Let’s talk about your character on Days of Our Lives.  How did you first land your role on the soap series?
I went in like any other normal casting.  I was hired originally by the lovely Fran Bascom, working at separate times in two smaller characters, (a flight attendant named Daphne and a Nurse called Rosy), whom they found memorable. They eventually brought me in as a more substantial recurring character. Yes, I played three characters in total while on Days of Our Lives.
Wow.  So multiple personalities. (I joke.)  What else?
I have both good and bad things to say about working on a soap opera.  The good: it’s akin to boot camp for actors.  You have to learn so much dialogue so quickly. Every day you have pages and pages of text to memorize and you must be spot on!  They will not accept anything less.  It is like doing theatre on television if that makes sense.  You can make far bigger choices than you could normally in either regular TV or film outside of comedy.  The bad:  I have never worked a job where women were more downright catty and mean.
Wow, that’s horrible.  I guess even soap operas have those catty co-workers.
Yeah, I literally was written off my show because a few of the girls I was working with made me miserable.  I couldn’t continue to subject myself to that much negative energy. No amount of money on Earth is worth the stress to me, and I sincerely mean that.
Well, soap operas have been such classic constants throughout television history.  What are your thoughts on the recent cancellations of the long-running soaps All My Children and One Life to Live?
In my opinion, I think it’s time to move on, because we are living in a different time in history than the era they debuted in.  I mean no disrespect, but these shows have been around since way before I was a gleam in my Father's eye, and we have since progressed in our outlook of entertainment. Viewers are much more sophisticated and looking for more cohesive story lines.
I got ya.  Okay, I’m going to take my cue from you and move on as well. (I laugh.)  Since your days as Gabby Ortiz and even before then, you’ve made appearances on so many popular television shows.  Any memorable ones that stick out in your mind?
Hands down, my favorite experience was on Studio 60.  I got to combine my 3 strengths.  I scored the episode, sang 2 of my original songs on stage, and acted opposite Matthew Perry, and all the while working for the brilliant and gifted Aaron Sorkin. Not to mention, I was directed by the ingenious Tommy Schlamme.  That job just couldn’t have gotten any better!
Okay, tell me about your most recent project Audrey.  What’s the story?
Audrey is a very unique and very funny female-driven comedy.  Taking place in real-time, the story takes us through a little over an hour and a half of a young woman's day as she waits and waits and waits in a restaurant for Gene, her date, to arrive for their critical third date.  As the clock ticks away and Gene is nowhere to be found, 34-year-old Audrey is swept up into a journey through her life as her insecurities and inner demons comically wreak havoc on her. Forced to face her deepest fears by circumstance — both real and unreal —Audrey finds the strength and courage she never imagined she had.
I understand you produced the film?  What made you cross over from actress to producer?
I realized things were changing in the film industry.  More and more celebrities are taking on Television roles, which leaves less work for newer or up and coming actors. I felt I needed to create more vehicles for myself if I want to work in this business.  I like to be in control of my career and not just sit around waiting for the next audition to come.  I wanted to create more vehicles and opportunities to show my strengths.  Hence, I'm playing the quirky impassioned best friend to "Audrey".
What first drew you to the project?
A friend whom I deeply respect and admired brought the project to me.  He was very excited about it, so I came on board.
Well, that’s simple enough.  Any other projects coming up that we should know about?
I’m producing and starring in a film that I wrote called Brit and Brazil.  It’s an independent drama-comedy feature that will give me the opportunity to play a grittier character who turns things around in her life.  I’m most inspired by these types of stories, the underdog, who eventually triumphs and succeeds.  I’m also producing two artists signed to Warner Bros., ages 13 and 15.  The albums couldn’t be more different - One is a rock-electronic record and the other is in the urban-hip hop genre. I like to keep it crazy, the nuttier the better in my opinion. Colorful is key!
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jungnoir · 8 years ago
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babysitter!monsta x;
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a/n: hello!! so if you’re new to this little babysitter!kpop group series, you can read the first “installment”, babysitter!got7, here and the second, babysitter!bts, here! for this request~ also, it’s been a while since it happened but i hit 1200 followers, so thank you so much and i hope i can keep writing for you lovelies :D
hoseok
so!! the general gist of this whole series is several kpop groups all kinda find themselves broke af in high school and split up into different groups as a part of this huge babysitting conglomerate
initially, hoseok is the first one to find out about this cool group of fourteen other teenage guys who literally just go around town babysitting for dough
and hoseok knows no sane person would give them a serious job at this age so he’s like!!! hey guys let’s do babysitting for money!
which sounds like a pretty good idea to the guy cause i mean he likes kids and... hey.... it’s money. what could go wrong?
everything, hoseok. so many things 
at first, hoseok is kinda shy with the kiddos he first meets, but once he gets a nice idea of their personalities, he’s “all in” (pls laugh)
50% meme 50% jungle gym 100% all man
hoseok is so strong and flexible like??? the kids love hanging off him and using him to climb around on
he once asked kihyun if it was appropriate to benchpress the kids
kihyun hit him
kids love hoseok bc he’s very energetic
hoseok usually gets the energetic kids anyway when they work, because he’s got so much energy and excitement and he’s so fun that the kids with even the worst amounts of stamina pretty much wear themselves out at some point with him
kids also love him because he always lets them win
like most of the kids he babysits have older siblings who think their siblings are annoying bc of all the energy they have and usually won’t play with them at all
so hoseok is like??? why give them more grief when they barely get to work those chubby legs elsewhere
it’s almost kinda ridiculous the lengths he goes to to put a smile on a kid’s face
like they’ll be playing hide and seek or something and he’ll hide behind a water bottle or something
if it makes the kid proud they found him, then he doesn’t care :)
hoseok has to beware sitting down on the ground bc like,,, flocks of children will just come at him at once and pummel him to the ground
the last time that happened he got kicked in the head like four times
kids love getting picked up by babysitter hoseok ok
since he’s so strong and can basically juggle tons of kids at once
like a lil kiddo will hold their hands out to him bc they want to get picked up and he’ll just scoop em up in one arm without much thought and the other kids are like :O 
kid: you’re really strong!
hoseok: yeah? i’m strong like superman?
kid: *nodding enthusiastically*
hoseok: *leans in like he’s telling them a secret* that’s because... i am
kid: !!!!
he has this little inside “secret” among some of the kids that he’s superman so sometimes the kid will be talking to their friends at the park while hoseok is there and the kid will almost let slip that they know superman
and hoseok will make eye contact with them and put his finger up to his lips with a grin and the kid will wink at hoseok and turn back to their friend and be like anyway!! let’s go play on the slides 
it gets so bad that he gets a call from a parent one day like “hey uh... my son keeps saying he wants superman to fly up to his window and read him dr. seuss???”
and hoseok is like “tell him superman has to enter by the front door today, i’m on my way”
he’s always on call and always dependable like that bc these kids steadily become his pride and joy and he really just wants them to have that big brother figure that they can look back on as a happy memory
and in most people’s opinion, he’s doing a pretty great job
changkyun
this child is... help him
changkyun is very apprehensive when hoseok brings up the idea of them babysitting
it’s not that he doesn’t like children per se, it’s just that they tend to scare him... kind of
he finds their opinion of him reflects what kind of person he really is so if a kid is cold to him he’ll think “oh my god... i’m a terrible person... did i kill someone in my past life? i must have killed someone, the child knows”
but he’s also the youngest out of them all so most people think he might be better with kids?? lmao like that makes a difference
but when changkyun first babysits, the kids are kind of in their own world so he thinks he’ll just do the minimum and then stay out of their way
until he’s like watching the avengers on tv (bc that’s the highest movie rating he can watch around the children) and one of the kids just. climbs. into his lap.?.
and changkyun is like um
and the kid curls up against his chest and lays their head on him and wraps their little hands around his arm and is all comfortable
and changkyun awkwardly lays his arm across their lap and the kid snuggles into him and actually falls asleep on him!!!
and changkyun is literally ded like this is the cutest thing that has ever happened to him ever
he’s thinking the child trusts me!! they’re snuggling into me!! they’re drooling on- hey wait a minute
then the other shows up and curls against his other arm and falls asleep and he’s just :DDD
the three of them end up falling asleep like that and when the parents come home, changkyun is passed out on the couch with the kiddos laying every which way all over him and snoring into the atmosphere but it’s the cutest thing
from that day on, changkyun just gets so cute around kids
he practices their names before he babysits, he sets out special games in case they wanna play, and he even brings snacks for them too like he’s so serious about being prepared
bc his voice is naturally deep, he always has to make it sound softer so the kiddos don’t get disturbed by it
he can really only talk the way he usually does around the kids he’s known longer
but one time a kid he had babysat for a while had surprised him and when he yelled his voice was so much lower than the kid remembered and they were like UHHHH
but after that, the kids make him speak in a really low voice like darth vader bc they think it’s pretty cool
somehow always ends up with hair accessories in the weirdest places when he gets home
there’s like a pile on his desk and whenever people come over they’re like changkyun do you have something to say
and since changkyun is the youngest he can’t blame it on a sibling so he’s like,,, i can explain
tbh if any of the boys sit in on one of changkyun’s babysitting dates they’d have so much blackmail fodder it’s not even funny
but changkyun would pretty much do anything for his kids
if it means dressing up like harley quinn and getting his hair died with kool-aid, he’ll live
bc at the end of the day, he’s happy and the kids are happy and it’s probably the most fulfilling job to him so he can never really complain
minhyuk
hello here is lee “i want to have my own kids soon” minhyuk
this boy has been ready for fatherhood since he was born
but no really he was probably the happiest to start babysitting
he doesn’t even really care about the money like he’s just happy to be here
he just has this nice warm aura that makes kids so comfortable instantly 
minhyuk: hello!! i’m minhyuk, but you can call me minnie :)
kid: like minnie mouse?
minhyuk: i don’t know... *pulls out a pink polka dot clip on bow out of nowhere* you tell me
kid: :O
he has this v special voice for talking to kiddos and it literally just shocks ppl over the age of twenty when they hear him use it???
like he’s just hanging with hoseok and then he gets a call from the parents of one of the kids and they’re like “can you babysit this friday?? we’re having date night” and the kid jumps on the phone like “minnie!!”
and minhyuk immediately changes to Cute Voice Mode and hoseok is so like.... whoa... who is this man
minhyuk is the best with kids that are super young bc they literally just flock to this sweet childish man??? like older kids kind of roll their eyes at him but the babies see him as like an idol
when minhyuk can’t avoid babysitting the older kids, he tries his damn hardest to relate to them
“how do you do, fellow kids”
no but jokes aside, it’s not necessarily that it’s hard to relate, it’s just that the older kids kinda hate that they have a babysitter
especially this goofy dude who’s supposed not that much older than their older sibling??
but oh... they haven’t realized the power they have at their fingertips
if they ask if their friends can come over, he plays the cool older brother card
every one of their friends is always like!!! who’s this hot dude chilling in your living room???
minhyuk just laughs and is like “a friend of (insert sibling/relative that lives in the house that would seem the least suspicious), don’t mind me. do you guys wanna order a pizza or something?”
and no matter who, almost always those friends never find out minhyuk’s the babysitter
so the older kids end up opening up to minhyuk bc they realize that he’s actually pretty cool and he’s not just great with lil kids
and that minhyuk has a lot of cool, random talents
so he grows the title of cool older brother from most of the kids he regularly babysits and it warms his heart soooooo much he loves being a big brother figure to them
and he’s always there to give advice or even go the extra mile as to take them places if he’s free
like “you wanna go to the arcade and your mom said it was cool?? i’m on the way prepare to get your butt kicked in table hockey”
or “you need someone cool to drop you off at prom cause you didn’t get a date this year?? should i wear the blue tie or the red one”
i believe minhyuk doesn’t have siblings so being something of one to all these kiddos is really refreshing for him and it really just makes him feel like he’s needed which is what he loves
and a lot of people are pretty much certain he’ll be the best dad when the time comes because he’s literally great with kids of all shapes, sizes, and personalities and he can never not brighten up even the saddest child
also this!!!
hyunwoo
someone help him
was about as apprehensive as changkyun, but unlike changkyun, didn’t warm as fast to the idea of babysitting as changkyun
i mean he wanted to do it and he’s pretty much a dad to the boys already but like...... what if they don’t like him
that’s literally all he cares about
he frets about it every time he gets assigned a kid no matter how long he’s been babysitting because he just!!! wants to be liked by the children and he doesn’t want it to be awkward but he still makes it awkward 
but he can get away with it sometimes because he’s cute so
and minhyuk and hoseok are always like hyunwoo!! stop being tense! it makes the children tense
and hyunwoo is like “I WOULD IF I COULD I SWEAR TO GOD”
he literally has to start off suuuuuper small like he has to assist kihyun while he babysits bc he’s that bad
kihyun gives him one (1) task and it’s to put a diaper on the baby and like not even a minute after kihyun leaves him to it hyunwoo walks into the living room with the naked baby with this helpless look on his face
and kihyun is so done
while the other kids are laughing their asses off at this grown man who looks like he’s putting together a rubix cube when it’s just a baby’s diaper. hyunwoo. please
but he ends up finally learning all the basics at some point, so he’s allowed to start work with the first kid
but the kid is like?? crying??? not two seconds into meeting hyunwoo for the first time
so he just stands there all awkward and kinda heartbroken bc he really wanted to make a good impression and yet he already made the baby cry
even tho the mother assures him that the baby is just nervous bc it’s his first time being away from his parents hyunwoo is just like beating himself up over it and blaming himself and regretting everything
but eventually, the parents leave, and the kid quiets down
hyunwoo sets him down and the kid just kinda walks away and hyunwoo thinks he’s trying to run away from him but everywhere hyunwoo goes, the child is just quietly following behind
when hyunwoo goes to make lunch, the kid is just peeking around the corner at him with wide eyes, like he’s trying to figure out if hyunwoo is a threat
and at first hyunwoo is really confused abt it bc whenever he would walk up to the kid he’d sprint off in another direction, but if he just kept his distance and “ignored” him, the kid would follow him around, even chancing to stand or sit right next to hyunwoo if he did a particularly good job of ignoring him
so hyunwoo feels bad but he also knows that trying to initiate things on his own would probably result in a mess and maybe more crying so he just keeps to himself, watching tv on the couch and pretending he doesn’t even notice the child
and he tries his best not to grin in triumph when the kid clumsily climbs onto the couch and cuddles into hyunwoo’s side, laying up against him as they watch cartoons together
hyunwoo isn’t even really sure if he’s done a good job by the time his job is over??? like he’s utterly lost on what to say to the kid’s parents when they come back and ask how it was bc tbh he felt more like he was taking care of a cat instead of a child
but once they pay him and hyunwoo is about to take his leave, he feels something thud against his calf and he freezes, looking down to see what had just smacked into him
and it’s the kid, arms linked tight around hyunwoo’s leg with tears in his eyes and a pout on his lips “don’t go, please :(” 
hyunwoo can’t even hear the mother coo over her son because hyunwoo is on cloud nine now
and he’s so endeared when he crouches down to be face to face with the kid bc the kid doesn’t run off or cower under hyunwoo’s steady gaze like usual
“i can babysit again, if you want! but next time, you’re going to have to talk to me, you can’t just run away every time i look at you, okay?”
and the kid shyly nods and shocks hyunwoo even more when he throws his tiny arms around hyunwoo’s neck and yanks him into a tight hug. so tight that the mom actually has to pry him off so hyunwoo can get home before it gets too dark out, and the whole way home hyunwoo is just so proud of himself like “who said son hyunwoo couldn’t babysit? well, everyone, but i proved myself wrong so it doesn’t matter”
after that he just becomes a whiz with the quieter kids bc they find him to be just like him and they feel much more comfortable around him than the more intrusive babysitters and hyunwoo ends up finding his calling :”)
kihyun
made for this
initially awkward like hyunwoo but not as bad as hyunwoo
the nervousness is just bc he’s never really taken care of other people’s kids before so he just needs to find his way
but it surprisingly comes very easy to him??
like he already kind of takes on the motherly role in his group of friends bc he’s literally the only one with any common sense (don’t get him started on last year’s impromptu boy’s trip to the skiing mountains. hyungwon got left behind at the bus stop, minhyuk lost his phone in the taxi to kihyun’s house, hoseok only brought earphones and a bottle of water, hyunwoo forgot to pack underwear, jooheon ended up getting there safely but left to go back home and sleep as soon as he saw the state of the other boys, and changkyun didn’t even bother bringing more than two sets of clothes because “it weighed too much”)
kihyun swore he’d never let that disaster repeat itself
so from then on he’s been kind of the one that takes care of everyone else, even if he does it with a snarky attitude and a scowl on his face (jooheon said his scowl is cute but kihyun almost drop kicked him for it)
when kihyun first gets assigned kids, he tends to fold up in on himself at first, liking to observe and see exactly what he was working with before he made any hasty moves
which usually works for kihyun bc he can really just look at a kid for three minutes and he instantly knows what he needs to tame and what he can work with
he also tends to adopt a very distinct stern tone that minhyuk affectionately calls the “mom voice”
which is startlingly nostalgic when you hear it bc it’s like shit. when did my mom get here?? oh wait nevermind it’s just kihyun yelling at hoseok again
it usually works on kihyun’s regular set of kids quite well so even though he’s more of a warden than a babysitter to them, he’s fine with that
until he meets his match, of course
he doesn’t even get a chance to check out this new kid bc she’s already checking him out
like instantly when she sees him she goes to her mom and is like “he looks like a killjoy”
and right off the bat kihyun is like “i’d take offense to that but i don’t accept insults from people 1/4 my size”
and the kid’s mom is almost appalled at kihyun but then the little girl is smirking to herself, telling her mom to head to work and that she and kihyun would get along just fine
which is a Lie
kihyun has never in his life met someone so stubborn in such a small body like does this kid eat anger for breakfast
no matter what he says to her, she insists on doing the exact opposite and his mom voice does not work on her at all
the kid probably threatens to call the police every time he tells her to finish her veggies
like it literally feels like god created this child just to test kihyun?? he’s almost convinced that maybe she’s being promised a later bedtime or a trip to disneyland with the way she sticks to her role of the ultimate brat
like kihyun is absolutely exhausted after the first time he babysits her, but he’s completely lost when the little girl’s mother tells kihyun that she wants him to babysit again, bc the kid “liked him a lot”
so the second time kihyun babysits, he’s a little more wary of the child and thinks to himself that maybe the kid actually had something up her sleeve bc why would she request him again when last time all they did was bicker?
she still remains a practically untamable brat but she does tend to chill at times, which kihyun is eteranlly grateful for bc he swears if he didn’t have that pastel pink hair, he’d be able to see a whole patch of grey strands on his head by now
yet she still keeps asking him to babysit
so one day he’s managed to get her to sit still for a movie, kihyun on his phone texting hyungwon about how much trouble the lil girl is when he gets an urge to pee so he leaves his phone on the couch and rushes off to the bathroom
and the lil girl is obv curious as heck so she reaches over and reads his texts
by the time kihyun comes back, he’s wide-eyed, looking at this kid whose only emotions seemed to be rage and slightly calmer rage, crying on the couch with his phone clutched in her tiny hands
immediately kihyun clicks into protective mode and rushes over to kneel before her, looking around her to see if maybe she had hurt herself or if she was feeling sick, but then she speaks through sniffles “do you... really hate me?”
and kihyun freezes, looking at the open conversation on his phone before looking back to the little girl who looks so heartbroken by what he said
and he isn’t really sure why she would care with the way she treats him, so he’s just like “well, don’t you hate me? I thought this was a mutual thing” and he tries to awkwardly laugh it off, but she shakes her head stubbornly as always, pouting down at him
“you’re the only babysitter that’s ever come back”
kihyun swore he might’ve burst into tears right then and there but instead he just pulled her into his arms and held her as she cried into him, patting her back and whispering “it’s alright, kiddo. i don’t actually hate you. i could never. who else could be as witty as you are with me?”
and she’s just like “really?” in a really vulnerable voice
and it becomes apparent to kihyun that her acting out was a call for attention, as she was an only child and her mom was always working so she rarely ever got to see anyone except the front door pouring in babysitter after babysitter that didn’t care about her, just the money they got for the job
so when her mom comes home late that night, she’s worried that maybe kihyun might’ve been mad for staying longer than he intended and would probably demand more money
but instead she sees kihyun passed out on the couch with the little girl curled up on his chest, snoring and drooling on kihyun’s hoodie
and the mom just sighs, her heart swelling and smile turning peaceful for the first time in a while
jooheon
oh my god, he never knew this was his calling
usually when ppl would see him, they would never assume that he did babysitting on the side
i mean, maybe for money but not for fun?? or bc he actually likes it???
but like, contrary to how he appears, he actually loves being in the presence of kids bc they make everything so fun and exciting!! like you have no idea how refreshing it is to hang with a kid excited about stars after you’ve spent the better half of your week around angry and hormonal teenagers
like jooheon literally looks forward to just letting out his dorky and fun side with a bunch of kids who aren’t complaining about finals or upcoming college apps
because even tho he relates and all, sometimes it just puts a huge damper on his spirit and he needs to recharge around some tiny humans who just wanna play video games and get a stomach ache off pizza rolls
and sure it’s cute when the kids call him hyung or oppa but you know what he really loves? being called honey
that’s the name he gives the kids to call him so they’re literally just running around yelling “honey!!” all the time and it’s the sweetest thing
and sometimes the parents get confused cause the kids are like “i wanna see honey!” and the parents are like ??? whom
he always takes the kids to the park too bc he tends to have the more energetic kids, so they’re usually hanging off monkey bars or sliding down slides on their bellies and sometimes he’s running with them, having the time of his life on the playground like he’s a child as well
sometimes parents and nannies and older siblings at the park will see him in all black and with his resting bitch face while he sits on the bench or something and they’ll be kind of put off by it
but then one of his kids runs up to him yelling “honey!! i got a cut!” and his expression will morph into this cute sad look and he’ll pull the kid into his lap and pull his handy first aid kid out of his backpack while he’s like “ahh, it’s not that bad, kid. honey’ll fix it up in no time, you just gotta promise to be careful running around, alright?” and the kid nods really fast after he bandages up their cut and they run off and literally everyone around them is swooning
he’s also the cool babysitter bc he always gets the kids to do chores or whatever, but he promises to get them something cool in return
“if you sweep and mop the kitchen like your mom’s been telling you for the last three days, i’ll take you out for ice cream cones” “extra sprinkles too???” “you’re gonna have to make that kitchen sparkle if you want extra sprinkles, kid”
and parents love him bc he always somehow gets the kids to do things the parents can never get him to do?? bc jooheon knows how to make it fun
suddenly eating veggies is now the only way to keep monsters out of the closet or from under the bed at night bc “monsters love kids who eat lots of candy, but they hate a kid who eats veggies at dinner time. they think it’s yucky”
some people wonder if maybe jooheon encouraging wild imaginations is a good idea in the long run but he swears by it, bc he knows orking the imagination is a good sign of mental development and will really encourage them to do what they love in the future
and, okay, one of his kids found out he likes to rap in his spare time
so she was like “!! teach me how to rap for my talent show” 
and at first jooheon was rlly reluctant bc he didn’t know how that would go down, but the little girl looked so passionate about it so he helped her write a (v clean and appropriate) rap about why homework sucks
and she invited him to come to the talent show to watch
so he ditches his last class of the day to make it to her school, and when he arrives the girl’s parents are shuffling him to a seat and he’s nervously chatting with them, his nerves getting the best of him bc he knows this lil girl in particular is pretty shy
but then she comes out on stage dressed almost exactly like jooheon and he just 💘 he’s ded
and she starts doing her rap and even tho she stumbles over the pronunciation a bit, she sounds so cool and jooheon is so proud and as soon as she’s done and does a little bow and mic drop he shoots out of his seat clapping like crazy before her parents can even fathom what they’ve just witnessed
and even tho she only wins second place, you bet your ass jooheon is treating her like a superstar the whole time, so much so that she might as well have won first place after all
(she won first place in jooheon’s heart and that’s all that matters)
hyungwon
if kihyun wasn’t already completely worried about hyunwoo, he is about hyungwon
hyungwon kind of?? is sort of responsible??? but just barely?
he usually keeps to himself around new people and around kids it’s really the same
like he doesn’t know if he should approach them or if they should approach him
he’d much rather be at home catching z’s tbh
“hyungwon you have to talk to the children” “i’m fine” “hyungwon you’re babysitting you have to talk to them” “no thanks” “hyungwo-” “i’m good”
kihyun is completely convinced that they should just leave hyungwon out of the babysitting idea altogether but hoseok is like no!!! we do this as friends or we don’t do it at all!!!
hyungwon: if that’s the case, i don’t mind breaking off this friendship here and now
but then hoseok threatens that hyungwon was gonna make him cry and hyungwon gave in (not until after some pouting on his part tho)
hyungwon has to be eased into babysitting so he ends up going with jooheon to do it, but he stays in his own little world and only moves to get new diapers or something
never to make snacks bc jooheon does not want to get sued for hyungwon accidentally poisoning the children with his terrible cooking
in fact, it takes hyungwon a long time to warm up to the idea of babysitting, so much so that the others are starting to wonder if hyungwon is even really paying attention when he helps babysit with the others
but then jooheon unexpectedly gets sick and has to cancel on a babysitting job and the parents are pulling out their hair over the phone with kihyun bc it’s so last minute and they really have no other options
and the other boys are completely booked so hyungwon is just like *raises hand* “i’ll do it...?”
and all the boys are completely stunned into silence (that is until the parents on the other line are like “hey anybody home!!”)
so, they send hyungwon to do the job
and at first, hyungwon is really nervous bc, sure, he’s watched jooheon work with all kinds of kids plenty of times (save for the times he’d disappear into some remote part of the house and nap) but he’s never been left alone as the sole Adult over all the children so he’s just kind of
freaking out
so when he gets there, he’s expecting like a bunch of crazy high-energy kids bc kihyun was shoving hyungwon out of the door with the parents’ address before he even explained exactly who hyungwon was babysitting
but then the dad is handing over this sleepy kid on his shoulder and he’s like “he mainly sleeps and eats so hopefully you can handle that” and then they’re gone
and hyungwon is super surprised bc the kid instantly curls into him with zero complaints
he’s just quietly snoring in hyungwon’s ear and hyungwon is like.... wow... same
so for a few hours he’s just letting this kid cuddle him while hyungwon watches tv on low volume and he nearly clocks out himself but he also knows that if he actually falls asleep he might not wake up for hours so it’s best he just stays awake
and when the kid has finally finished drooling on hyungwon he rubs his eyes all cutely and the first words out of his mouth are “what’s for lunch”
hyungwon, internally: SAMEEEEEEEE
bc hyungwon cannot cook to save his life he takes the kid out to get pizza and hyungwon manages to get the kid to play some arcade games with him but overall the kid is just super quiet and laid back and hyungwon could almost kiss jooheon for picking this job, over all other jobs, to miss out on
hyungwon is actually shocked at himself for how easily he falls into the big brother role, but of course he’s used to having a younger brother so it just clicks with him after a while
and nearing the end of the babysitting job when the parents come back home, the kid is just chilling on hyungwon while they watch tv and the parents are like “we’re really sorry honey oppa couldn’t babysit you this time, buddy”
and the kid is super nonchalant and just goes “i like this babysitter better, anyway”
and hyungwon is !!!! ecstatic, happy, elated, wow who knew babysitting was this rewarding and nice
hyungwon is practically on cloud nine, all smug when he goes back home and calls kihyun telling him the babysitting job was over and he’s just bragging about how easy it was and how much of a piece of cake it ended up being and kihyun is just like “yeah that’s great and all, now i’ve got you booked for four kids next week. one of the kids likes to claw on things and the other is a loud newborn baby”
hyungwon:... uh bad connection gotta go
hyungwon is a work in progress but he’ll get there
...hopefully
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justanothercinemaniac · 8 years ago
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Epic Movie (Re)Watch #128 - The Wizard of Oz (1939)
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Spoilers below.
Have I seen it before: Yes
Did I like it then: Yes.
Do I remember it: Yes.
Did I see it in theaters: No.
Format: Blu-ray
1) This film is a classic of American cinema. If you ever want to learn how to tell a slick story, watch this film. Because outside of one or two musical numbers, there is nothing in here that doesn’t need to be. It is all entertaining and slick.
2) Judy Garland’s iconic performance as Dorothy Gale.
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In the original tale Dorothy was a pre-adolescent eight year old, where as Garland was 16 upon playing Dorothy. They had to have her in a tight corset to keep her boobs under wraps. Now that I’ve said that fun anecdote...
Garland is pretty great as Dorothy. She is able to perfectly capture her childlike wonder, heart, and innocence in a way which makes the audience feel like a kid. It brings us into this world of youth and fairytales through a compelling and fun character. Dorothy comes off as compassionate and loyal, and while a bit of a damsel towards the end we understand that she is just a child who is thrust into this world and desperately is trying to get back home. Garland is perfect in the role and the film needs her to be as iconic as it is.
3) The decision to have various characters and lines (“Well your head ain’t made of straw you know!”) be echoed in Oz gives the film a sense of magical realism (a literary genre or style associated especially with Latin America that incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction). I would not go far enough to call the film an example of that genre, but it definitely has some of those elements.
4) “Over the Rainbow”
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Without a doubt THE most iconic song in the film. In my opinion there are two songs from cinema which perfectly capture a child’s imagination: “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory and “Over the Rainbow” from this film. The song was almost cut from the film, with studio heads fearing it would bore kids! Can you even imagine? The film’s light melody and childlike innocence is what truly carries it. It connects with anyone who has ever longed for someplace better, for a far off land filled with adventure and intrigue. Garland’s vocals do the beautiful composition amazing justice, making the two inseparable. Honestly, it’s THE moment from the film and the movie hasn’t even gone to color yet!
5) The relationship with Dorothy and Toto is wonderfully strong. I wonder if there’s a backstory to that. Like maybe Toto was a gift to her from her late parents or something like that. Either way, any dog lover will appreciate it.
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6) The fact that Professor Marvel (played by Frank Morgan, who later plays the titular Wizard) is a total phony doesn’t have so much weight the first time you watch this film. It does however become wildly important after the film’s end. Also the fact that Dorothy is so quick to believe speaks wildly to her youthful innocence.
7) It took me a while to realize why Dorothy is so desperate to return home when she has a whole song about wanting to be elsewhere, and only recently did I realize why. She thinks her Auntie Em is sick! Professor Marvel told her that her running away made her sick and heartbroken, and it is this belief and love for her family which drives her through the rest of the film.
8) Dorothy looking out the window in the middle of the twister has some wonderful sight gags.
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9) The transition from a sepia tone world to a color one is remarkably seamless. Credit to the director, cinematographer, and editor(s?) who worked on this film for that. Bravo.
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10) One of the reasons the film is such a classic is largely because of its wonderful imagery. All of Oz is wonderful fantasy, using the brightness of technicolor to its full advantage and creating a storybook world that appeals to the eyes of children and adults everywhere. The entire color palette is like that of a rainbow, something very fitting considering the main song of this film.
11)
Glinda [upon meeting Dorothy]: “Are you a good which, or a bad witch?”
Oh, if only it were that simple.
12)
Glinda [after she hears Dorothy’s opinion that all witches are ugly]: “Only bad witches are ugly.”
Beauty’s in the eye of the beholder, dude.
13) While watching this film I kinda thought Glinda was being a little TOO chipper, and that the ready celebration of death was a bit odd. Then I remembered a fan theory which painted the supposed Good Witch of the North as the villain. Read at your own risk of childhood ruining.
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14) I don’t love this film as much as others, although I do admit its pretty damn great. So it’s at risk of offending the purists out there that I say I think the whole Munchkinland song goes on a little too long. Also some of the Munchkins - probably because of their costumes - freak me out. Mainly the Lollipop Guild.
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15) THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST!!!!
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She’s so freaking evil, I love it! The Wicked Witch of the West is one of the most iconic film villains of all time, possibly even more iconic than some legends as Darth Vader. Margaret Hamilton plays the Witch with DELIGHTFUL villainy! You can tell she’s having a lot of fun in the part and we as the audience are having fun because of it. The Witch is simultaneously both in line with the stories we hear as children while at times being truly threatening. Even as an adult there are times I go, “holy cow, this woman is EVIL!!!!!!” That is amazing to me. Hamilton was a fan of the books and was delighted to hear she was being considered for a part, and that enthusiasm just infects ever green skin cell of this baddie. Some stories are only as good as their villain, and The Wizard of Oz has an INCREDIBLE villain.
16) The Ruby Slippers.
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In the original story the slippers were silver, but the filmmakers changed it to ruby in order to take full advantage of the technicolor process. These days the ruby slippers are such an iconic piece of film that there’s a pair in the Smithsonian institute. Just like everything else in Oz, it captures our imaginations totally and completely.
17) Follow the Yellow Brick Road.
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Okay, but what happens if you follow the Red Brick Road? Am I the only one curious about that? Where does the Red Brick Road lead? Wonderland? Neverland? Cleveland? CAN WE GET A SPINOFF ANSWERING THIS QUESTION PLEASE!?!?!?
18) The Scarecrow.
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(Let’s all take a moment to realize how relevant and awesome that line is in 2017.)
Out of the trio, the Scarecrow may well be my favorite. He is just so sweet and kind, despite of (or because of?) his naivety. Some fun slapstick comes about from his character, and...I don’t know what else. For some undefinable reason he’s just my favorite of the bunch!
19) This film does have some nice humor.
Dorothy [after interpreting the rusted Tin Man’s words]: “He said oil can.”
Scarecrow: “Oil can what?”
20) According to IMDb:
Ray Bolger was originally cast as the Tin Man. However, he insisted that he would rather play the Scarecrow--his childhood idol Fred Stone had originated that role on stage in 1902. Buddy Ebsen had been cast as the Scarecrow, and now switched roles with Bolger. Unbeknownst to him, however, the make-up for the Tin Man contained aluminum dust, which ended up coating Ebsen's lungs. He also had an allergic reaction to it. One day he was physically unable to breathe and had to be rushed to hospital. The part was immediately recast and MGM gave no public reason why Ebsen was being replaced. The actor considered this the biggest humiliation he ever endured and a personal affront. When Jack Haley took over the part of the Tin Man, he wasn't told why Ebsen had dropped out (and in the meantime, the Tin Man make-up was changed from aluminum dust to aluminum paste as one of its key components). However, his vocals remain whenever the song "We're off to see the Wizard" is played. Jack Haley's vocals were never used during the song, but were used for "If I Only Had a Heart" and "If I Only Had the Nerve." Ebsen's vocals are also heard in the extended version of "If I were King of the Forest," though the spoken segment has Jack Haley. Although no Ebsen footage from the film has ever been released, surviving still photos show him taking part in the Wicked Witch's castle sequence.
21) The various reprises of “If I Only Had _____” (A Brain/A Heart/The Nerve) are some of my favorite songs in the film. Not only is the tune itself sweet and memorable, but they each serve as slick simple introductions to each character’s core conflict.
22) Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! I don’t have anything to say about that line I just wanted to include it in my recap post.
23) Although the Scarecrow is probably my favorite of the trio, the Cowardly Lion is the funniest I think.
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The idea of his cowardice allows for a great amount of physical humor and humor in his dialogue. He’s the comic relief in an already very funny and sweet cast.
24) Apparently the actors playing the trio of characters would often show boat and try to steal the scenes from one another, to the point where the director (or whichever director was working that day, as this film had a lot) had to shout at them to let Judy Garland be the star because it was her story.
25) Man, these guys get to the poppy field WAY sooner than I remember!
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I also didn’t remember that it got resolved by “Deus Ex Glinda” just casting a magical spell to kill all the poppies with snow. Which is weird considering it should be one of the most memorable scenes in the film.
26) Frank Morgan - the actor who played The Wizard and Professor Marvel - also plays the sentry in Emerald City, the coach driver in the city, and a third guard in the city. Now that we know of The Wizard’s tricky ways, I wonder if all three of these are not meant to be the same character.
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27) There are parts in the Emerald City sequence I find a little on the lengthy side, a little superfluous. The songs where all of Dorothy’s squad is getting treated well is fine, it’s short enough. But I totally forget about the entire “King of the Forrest” number any time I watch the film and honestly don’t think the film needs it. But that’s just me.
28) I think part of the Witch’s truly threatening nature is through the strong visuals this film uses. “Surrender Dorothy” is a particularly memorable sight, as black ash fills the sky of an otherwise happy place.
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29) I will say though, even though I find the whole “King of the Forrest” song a bit pointless, it does have this nice bit:
Lion: What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage!
30) Probably the time the Lion is at his funniest is when the group is approaching The Wizard.
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Also The Wizard is kind of a jerk.
31) Dude, there’s a door just a few feet away. You DON’T need to go through the window!
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32) Where the heck did the Scarecrow get a gun? Where’d the Tin Man get a giant wrench?
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This movie is weird. I love that.
33) The Flying Monkeys!
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Another example of incredible imaginative imagery.
34) Okay so...why does the Witch want the slippers? I mean we have theories in all OTHER forms of Wizard of Oz media. They belonged to her sister, they have the power to jump worlds, she wants a little color in her wardrobe, but the film itself never gives a reason. She just WANTS them.
35) I always really appreciated the devotion the three friends had when going to rescue Dorothy. I don’t know, it just sort of moves me the friendship they were able to craft in such a short time.
36) So this scene with the guards singing:
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I did a production of Our Town YEARS ago and there was this girl in the cast who said she grew up thinking these guys were chanting, “Oreo! O-RE-o!” Which, you know, makes sense. That was funny enough on it’s own. Then Wreck-It Ralph came out...
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37) For some reason “Night on Bald Mountain” plays as Scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Man go to rescue Dorothy from the which. Because why not, I guess.
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38) The fact that water melts the witch - while iconic - sort of comes from nowhere. Was there something earlier in the film that was supposed to foreshadow this? It’s very Deus Ex Machina.
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39) The Wizard revealed!
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A for effort dude.
40) The scene where The Wizard is handing out the gifts for everyone (a diploma for Scarecrow which works as a brain, the “heart” for Tin Man, a medal for lion) is very funny. Frank Morgan benefits from his fast talking yet sincere nature.
Scarecrow [after receiving his gift]: “How can I ever thank you enough?”
The Wizard: “Well, you can’t.”
And then I love this too.
Dorothy [after The Wizard talks about getting here in a runaway hot air balloon]: “Weren’t you frightened?”
The Wizard: “Frightened? Child, you're talking to a man who's laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe... I was petrified.”
41) I either don’t understand the lesson here or I do and I dislike it. Dorothy has this line of how if she ever wants something again, she’ll just look in her backyard because “there’s no place like home.” While I appreciate the sentiment of, “There’s no place like home,” the idea of home is not defined by the place you grow up in. It’s the place where you feel the most safe, the most comfortable, the place you miss when you’re not there. It’s usually defined by people, not location. Good people who treat you well. So while Dorothy does have that back in Kansas, the line about her backyard throws me.
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The Wizard of Oz is a classic and for good reason. It’s colorful and vibrant imagery will stick with children of all ages, and through all its parts combined it just captures the imagination of childhood perfectly. It’s mostly pure, innocent, but not in a naive or babyish way. It’s an entertaining treat everyone should see at least once.
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gretagerwigarchive · 7 years ago
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Q&A: Greta Gerwig, "Damsel" in Shining Armor
BY Graham Fuller, April 11, 2012.
source: http://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/798721/qa-greta-gerwig-damsel-in-shining-armor
In “Damsels in Distress,” which opened Friday, Greta Gerwig plays the most eccentric yet of writer-director Whit Stillman’s opinionated gilded youths. A proselytizing do-gooder with obsessive compulsive order at a Northeastern university, Gerwig’s Violet leads a quartet of ultra-feminine women determined to save suicide cases and counter the ubiquitous musk of masculinity by disseminating bars of hotel soap.
Perfection being unachievable, Violet plunges into depression when her yahoo boyfriend has an extracurricular fling with one of her protégées, while conflict with her dissenting new friend Lily (Analeigh Tipton) brings on a crisis of values. Like many a girl before her, she realizes the only option is to dance away the heartache. Faced with Stillman’s rhetorical approach to melodrama and his precise dialogue, Gerwig acquitted herself admirably, her pleasing performance being another rung on her ladder to indie superstardom.
The 28-year-old actress-writer-director, who did achieve untrammeled perfection in the mumblecore movies that made her name (“Hannah Takes the Stairs,” “Baghead,” “Nights and Weekends”) and in Noah Baumbach’s “Greenberg,” could be at a crossroads. The trailers for the Tribeca Film Festival entry “Lola Versus” (opening June 8) and Woody Allen’s “To Rome With Love” (June 22) indicate she could become the dominant mainstream romcom actress of the next decade if she so chose, though one suspects her heart lies more in lo-fi, low-budget movies over which she has some control.
Then again, sitting opposite her for 20 minutes at the “Damsels” press junket, I was persuaded she could become the American Catherine Deneuve.  
Violet’s much more constrained than most of the characters you’ve played. Was it a leap for you to relate to someone as straight as she is?
No. There were certain physical things that felt creative. The way she sat, the way she ran, the way she held her body, and the way she put herself together felt very not like Greta, not like me at all. But I connected strongly to the core of Violet, which is her fire. She’s a zealot, the Joan of Arc of her cause, and I have a lot of that in me, a lot of “I will fall on my sword for this thing!” In Violet, though, it’s contained within a very OCD young woman. I just had to build all the constraints.
There’s a misconception she’s one of Whit Stillman’s preppies.
She’s not a preppy exactly. She’s an idealist, a utopian, and her influences are not contemporary in the least. With preppies, I think there’s a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses element, and I don’t think Violet has that sense of comparison. She marches to the beat of her own drummer and does what she does regardless of what anyone else is doing.
How did you get on with all those pastels and girly clothes she wears?
I know. I love costumes. I’ve heard it said a million times but it’s true: a costume makes you feel like the character. I had 38 costume changes in the movie and had to go to fittings for hours at a time. We’d try some looks and Whit would say, “I think it’s too caricatured. She’s not that far gone and we’re not making a period piece.” It’s not how I dress, but…
She’s quite neurotic. She has a possibly Freudian aversion to the male scent and she’s very controlling. Was that fun to get into?
So much fun [laughs]. Her opinions are so strange.
Why the fixation on…
Scent? I think it’s just visceral. I think she believes in the fallen state of man and that you have to mask it otherwise we’re wallowing in sin. She sees the natural world as deficient and [dispensing soaps] is one way of controlling it. Whatever her sense of Christianity is – and I think she is Christian – she believes it your duty to improve everything. She thinks we shouldn’t be merely content with all the gifts God gave to the world, but that you have to polish them. That’s the way she actually looks at it.
Violet becomes especially interesting when she tells her friends she’s attracted to a guy [played by Adam Brody] who’s a liar.
Whit said to me, “Don’t you think truth-tellers are terrible bores?” And I guess they are, kind of. I think he’s attracted to people who are self-inventors. Even though he’s lived in Europe, he makes movies about Americans, and I think that idea of self-reinvention is deep in the American psyche – it’s a big part of what we come from. I’m always interested in how the history of a place influences its citizens even far removed from the inception of it, and I like that idea that you can be anything you want, that you can transform, that you can come here from another country and decide that you’re this person now.
Tell me about speaking the very ornate, hyper-articulate dialogue that Whit Stillman wrote for Violet and if it affected your acting.
It did. I think the biggest thing for me was that I had to get the voices of other actors [who worked with Stillman earlier] out of my head, specifically the voices of Chris Eigeman and Kate Beckinsale. They were great favorites of mine in his films, which I love. I have such a good idea of what the parts he writes are like when they are executed well, and I didn’t want to merely imitate them. A lot of it was trying to find my own way of doing it in my own rhythm. I don’t know if it was successful, but that’s what I did.
Playing Violet, I had the largest number of words I’ve ever had to work with on a movie script, and it was a wonderful challenge because the words are so good. It’s much harder when the writing’s bad. You’ve a lot more work to do. With good writing, you have to figure out how to let it come through you instead of imposing yourself on it.
Was “Damsels” a more formal experience than the early films you made?
It was definitely more formal than on the almost entirely improvised films I helped to devise and make – very different from those. But when I made “Greenberg,” that was very precise. That’s the closet analogy. I’ve since worked with Woody Allen. People compare Whit to Woody, but I found Woody much less precious about his lines. Woody says, “Oh, do whatever you want. Don’t say my lines, say your own lines.”
Did Whit Stillman talk to you in “isms” – you know, “naturalism,” “realism?”
He didn’t specifically use those words, but when I gave more broad or comic takes, he would say, “Make it smaller,” or “Can you say it normally?” He didn’t like anything that made the result seem self-conscious. He wouldn’t like it if you played a funny line as if it were supposed to be funny. We had to be in the moment and play it as if it were supposed to be sincere, which it is for him. So he didn’t speak in “isms,” but he did have “isms” in him, if that makes sense [laughs]. I think he was guided by “isms.”
Did you have to work hard at making your dancing seem gawky?
No. [laughs] I’m just gawky. I didn’t have to work at that. I’ve always been too tall and embarrassed about the size of my body and the length of my arms. I danced a lot as a child, but if as a child you grow up feeling you’re too big, I don’t think you ever lose it. And I haven’t.
Are you writing at the moment?
I wrote a movie that was shot over the fall and winter and which should be at film festivals later this year. It’s a very small film and very under the radar, and I’m trying not to talk about it too much. I love writing. Somewhere between writing and directing and acting is where I’m happiest.
Who directed it?
It’s a secret [laughs]. I’m in it.
What was it like working with Woody Allen?
He’s a person I’ve idolized my whole life, and a lot of my life decisions have been based on things he’s done. I moved to New York because Woody Allen lives in New York. So it was amazing – it’s a really funny film – but it was hard to process because it went by so quickly. It’s always hard when you do those things that mean so much – to have the experience while you’re having it. I’m hoping he’ll cast me again so that I can actually feel like I’m living it.
Are you ambitious or more driven by creative fulfillment?
I think they’re one and the same. I am driven by creative fulfillment, but in the world of movies that inevitably means ambition. I’m not Emily Dickinson – I’m not writing poems in my attic – but if all I cared about was fulfillment I’d be doing something else. I certainly care about public engagement because I’m making things for people to go see and participate in. I’m hugely ambitious but, without sounding too pretentious, I’m ambitious to make great things that deepen people’s experience of life. And I hope I get to do that.
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