#(certain hobbies overlap with another character’s interests) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ginkgomoon · 4 years ago

Text

Shaw's Birth Chart- An Astrological Study

Late second birthday gift to Shaw. I haven't done any heavy analyses/studies in a while but I felt happy that I also completed some good solid Shaw content! Please enjoy. *Cries because it's finally done and before June is over.*

What is Astrology?

Astrology is the study of stars- the placements and movements of different celestial bodies to correlate what’s happening on Earth. It comes from the early Latin word astrologia.

There’s a rule that we live by-

As above so below

This means whatever happens within our solar system will ultimately affect us here on Earth. For example, the moon governs our emotions, and since our body is approximately 70% water, why wouldn’t the moon affect us too? But it’s not just us, it's the moon’s gravitational pull on the oceans, in the same sense, it’s also the moodiness you may feel during full moons!

There’s many aspects to Astrology, and that would normally be too much for a single post so I’ll be elaborating on the major contributions to one’s birth chart. This will include the planets and the signs.

There’s the inner planets, consisting of the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars and Venus, moving quickly within the chart. Then there’s the outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus and Pluto, the slower moving planets. And of course, the different signs of the zodiac with different personalities. They follow the order beginning with Aries, then Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and finally Pisces.

Shaw's Placements

Sun ☉ The Sun represents our character, personal identity and ego. Your star sign is also known as your Sun sign. It is the “you”. The “Self”. It shows your creative force, confidence, focus and our will to live. It’s the driving force of our charts in many ways, like how it is centred in our solar system. It’s the part of us that is the “adult”, censoring the “inner child”, and overall provides information on our vitality, and what we came to do.

Shaw's Sun is in Gemini ♊︎ The air sign of Gemini is famous for their self-expression and communication. Geminis are witty, clever and flexible people. They can easily gain social contacts just as they can easily adapt in various situations and communicate through intellectual conversations. Geminis love to collect and share all sorts of information and are rather seen to be “geniuses”.

Although, they can be easily bored if they’re not getting enough mental stimulation. Geminis with their abilities to detach themselves make them excellent observers, but this can make them very difficult to be close to and be intimate with. People note them to be confusing and hard to understand, but this is because their mind is always active and switching from one topic to another (as they are represented by “the Twins”). Geminis enjoy seeing the “lighter” side of life, making them more fun and pleasing to be around. It’s guaranteed that there is never a dull moment when you’re with a Gemini!

Shaw holds a good representation as a Gemini. He always has a witty remark to say to MC, has a way with words, is shown by how he reacts to “fight or flight” situations, and stresses the usage of his favourite word, “bored”. Shaw, by having this placement of the Sun in Gemini also gives much strength to his Mercury (the planet of communication) which is also in Gemini (more on this later).

Shaw: “What do people usually do during dates?”

MC: “Uh, it’s usually eating, shopping and watching movies.”

Shaw: “That’s too boring, isn’t it? Since it’s a date with you, I’d like to get your feedback. What would you like to do?”

MC: “Nothing else.”

Shaw: “Then, what do you want to do?”

He thought for a couple of seconds and raised his eyebrows slowly, with a hint of glimmer of dark light in his eyes.

“You'll agree to anything that I do…?” -One Day Date

MC: “Why did you suddenly take an interest in reading?”

Shaw: “For the final exam.”

Despite his concentration, he flipped the pages with incredible speed- it seemed as if he didn't like what he read. -Summer Night Birthday Date

Shaw values all forms of communication and self-expression, whether it would be through music, writing, and teaching others about ancient relics. Additionally, it appears that he enjoys a range of hobbies, such as playing the bass, skateboarding and spray-painting, due to his interest in the wide variety of passions he developed. MC notices this on one of her earliest dates with him.

MC: “Hey, you seem to have a wide range of hobbies.” -One Day Date

Moon ☾ The Moon in our charts shows what your home is like, your upbringing, the relationship between your mother, the unconscious, your instincts and what you need. It tells us a lot about a person’s emotions, how they deal with it and how they express it to others.

Shaw's Moon is in Capricorn ♑︎ Productivity, work, and feeling useful and respected are the basic need for Lunar Caps. They like to keep their emotions in check, as they want to maintain being the cool-headed, practical and steady person of any group and in any project. Moon in Capricorn suggests that they have clear boundaries and realistic kinds of goals, looking for reassurance and security in what they do. They value and respect tradition and all things tangible and real. Moon Caps look forward to working towards their distant future goals, planning one step at a time. When feeling moody, their emotions will emphasise the pressure they had already put on themselves. Additionally, this is why letting their guard down to be comforted and to be reminded that they are not alone is very beneficial. Capricorns are unwilling to stand down, especially when it comes to emotionally “letting go”, hiding their sensitivity under a sarcastic manner. Wherever Capricorn is found in the chart, there is a desire for control, structure, and organisation. Emotions are well dealt with and handled in an efficient and practical manner.

There is a certain mysteriousness and sadness behind Shaw that can be subtly detected and yet to further explore deeply. This might have come from past trauma, possibly related to family relations. He has realistic expectations and justifications for his emotions, and when it comes to his goals, he will utilise these to help him slowly achieve them. Shaw is slowly letting his guard around MC, and gradually allowing him to love.

MC: “How can you draw so well?” I murmured quietly, envying his skills which require much talent.

Shaw: “Is it good? In a few months, it will fade into obscure and worthless trash."

He glanced at the wall with an undisguised contempt, as if it was not his own work that he was judging.

“It’s a failure.” He shook a spray can and started spraying it on the wall.

MC: “Wait! Why are you doing this?”

Shaw did not avert his eyes, and stood with his arms folded, refusing to give in.

Shaw: “But it's flawed now.” -One-Day Date

After a few seconds of silence, he frowned and put everything in his arms back on the table except for a can of coke. “Don’t act like you know me so well.” -Exciting Moments Date

Perhaps it was because I didn't believe that Shaw would appear so calm or so still, or because I wanted to explore why he looked so focused, I also looked at him in silence.

Shaw: “You really like to immerse yourself in your past.”

MC: “Find strength through the memories, then grow and become stronger.” I suddenly recalled a line from a TV series, and read it out.

A flicker of doubt flashed through his eyes, and eventually condensed into a dismissive look.

Shaw: “Who told you that we can only become stronger with memories?”

MC: “Why are you so dismissive?”

Speaking of which, what made Shaw so strong if it’s not finding strength from his “memory” or “past”?

Shaw: Why are you telling me this? Reminiscing every day means you’re getting old.”

Rain started to shower from the gloomy sky. I looked up, and found that the dark clouds were only above this small area of filming location. It was actually very sunny over at the antique market.

Fortunately, the rain was not heavy, and was even getting lighter as he predicted. He pulled at his hair, shaking off the scattering beads of rain. Such serenity did not match my impression of him, yet it was unexpectedly harmonious and natural.

MC: “Are you the rain god? Why does it always rain when I'm out with you?”

Shaw: “It’s because I can control the weather.”

At this point, the rain, which had stopped just a short while, suddenly fell again, but more densely. The smirk on his face was not gone yet. The rain seemed to be getting heavier. I felt more saddened as he spoke, yet Shaw just laughed. -Seeking Date

As a Capricorn Moon, his value and respect for tradition, and in all things tangible is very much obvious, and is highlighted with his display of knowledge about historic relics in Loveland’s museum shown in various dates, being the only student in the Department of Archeology of in Loveland University, as well in this scene from Season 2 that I couldn’t bear to leave out.

Mercury ☿ Mercury is the communication planet. When you write, speak, absorb information and how rational we are, you’re using your Mercury. It refines our Sun sign and helps define how we take in and give out information. It also talks about short distance travelling, governing your thirst for knowledge, your wit and negotiating skills. If someone is an excellent talker, it’s thanks to their Mercury placements.

Shaw's Mercury in Gemini ♊︎ Since Mercury is already ruled by Gemini, which makes it a favourable placement for quick-witted communication. Gemini Mercury placements may come across as being scattered and restless, but this is because of their different interests, seemingly knowing a little bit about everything. They easily gain knowledge where all sorts of facts and figures are up their alley, however generally have too many interests to deeply delve all into one. They can thrive in a stimulating environment as they are fast adapters who effortlessly learn and multitask at lightning speed.

This overlaps with Shaw’s Gemini Sun Placement. He may confuse MC sometimes with his personality and wit, but it’s nice to see MC adapt to it as well, because they have a lot to learn and grow from each other. He encourages MC to live life more boldly, while she teaches him to take things slower and be more aware of how his emotions and thoughts should work in harmony under special circumstances.

“He has no problem with the noise from rehearsals, and yet he can't stop criticising me for being noisy. He gets easily bored by things and yet he never gets tired on aimless strolls. Moreover, he always disagrees with me…” -Exciting Moment Date

MC: “Are you doing something illegal?”

Shaw: “What do you think?” Shaw looked at me playfully, and I could not help taking a step back vigilantly.

MC: “I'm a good law-abiding citizen and I won't be your accomplice!”

Shaw: “That's not up to you.”

MC: “Oh no! What should we do, what if we get caught!”

Shaw: “Nothing. Having a date at the police station should be a good experience.” -One-Day Date

Additionally, those reoccurring moments when he says that he had changed his mind also stems from the “twinning” aspect of Gemini in his thought process.

Shaw: “Give the cake and forks to me.”

MC: “Didn’t you say you didn’t want it?”

Shaw: “I changed my mind.” -Exciting Moments Date

Venus ♀︎ The planet Venus is ultimately the planet of love, beauty, wealth, our material things and what we do with all that sort of jazz. It’s the pleasures, our sentiments, what we do for leisure and what we value. Grace, charm, creativity, and entertainment are ruled by Venus. We can use this planet to see how we approach relationships of the heart, investigate our ability to attract and the attraction to others (or things).

Shaw's Venus is in Cancer ♋︎ These kinds of people are quite sensitive and insecure when it comes to love, with egos perhaps said to be a little bit undeveloped but have so much love, comfort, security, and care to offer. These aspects are emphasised for Cancers, who pay more attention to your feelings rather than said words. All they want is a safe, solid and secure relationship. They can be moody when it comes to love, though they are not afraid of emotional confrontations and to put their emotions on display when feeling it’s safe.

But once they are hurt, they will have a hard time forgiving. Pleasing them will involve a lot of sentimentality, as recognising their influences and attachments are from the family and home. When fearful of being rejected, they can resort to some frustrating tactics to find out how loved they are. Venus Cancers will want to be cared for, and in return their partner will be rewarded with a loving, dependable and patient lover.

Shaw puts up a front with his teasing and seemingly lack of interest to attend events with MC, though we can tell that he’s a very thoughtful and intuitive lover. Once he has allowed himself to internally address his feelings, he will use straightforward methods in how he communicates it to MC, again, strengthened by his Gemini placements. Additionally, Cancers will cling onto something or someone that is of value to them, because it evokes memories and emotions. In the same sense, if there is someone that Shaw has his eye on, he will inch closer to them, and will be unwilling to give them up once he has them.

I tried to reach out and pull him down while watching out for him, but he just took me by surprise and grabbed my hand instead. I quickly pressed down my skirt with the other hand. Probably realising something, his amber eyes widened slightly, then let go of me, with a low “tsk”. -Seeking Date

Shaw: “Why can’t you let that go?”

MC: Because I'm sick of you treating me like this. One time, you waited for me to get to the Live House to tell me that there was a change in venue, and there was also this one time when you- achoo!”

I pulled my jacket tighter around myself. Suddenly there was a rustle above my head and I found myself covered in a warm coat. Shaw stood up without a word as if he didn't hear me. Clad in a white shirt, he looked at once familiar and strange from behind.

Then I noticed his hand in the pocket. I was expecting him to conjure something for me like he did last time with the Dragonfly Eye. Before I could react, Shaw suddenly grabbed me by hand. With no gloves on, he tightly wrapped his slender fingers around my palm. I felt an unexpectedly soft and warm sensation.

MC: “Let go of me!”

Shaw: “No, I don’t want to.”

Shaw: “You've been asking questions about me all day. Do you really want to get to know me? Bring your ear closer. I can tell you all about myself.”

-Exciting Moments Date

His hand flew past my face and landed on the back of my head. With a slight jerk, he pulled me toward him. Our foreheads were then pressed together, and I felt the warmth of his forehead resting on mine, my breath on my skin, his unintentional touch, and his body pressed against mine. -Summer Night Birthday Date

“Do you like me? Yes or no?” -Unanswered Phone Call

Mars ♂︎ Mars is the go-getter planet. Full of fire and passion, nothing would be done without it. It can give insights on how we can chase our goals and what our desires and our plans of attack are. Aggressive behaviour, lust and anger fall under this planet.

Shaw's Mars is in Libra ♎︎ Mars Libras often reflect about the things they do before they act, needing to weigh out all the decisions first. They also can get easily caught up in defending themselves and others, as well as charming others to win others’ favour if needed. They wish to not be disturbed in their life or how they “operate”, going about with the desire to balance everything, with almost having a seemingly passive-aggressive approach to situations. Mars Libras know when to compromise and manage conflict, as well as predicting problems and discord well in advance. Libras will question themselves on how they can make the playing field more fair, intervening when necessary and when things aren’t. Shaw demonstrates this during his bus stop intervention when he first meets MC, on his dates with her, as well as his confrontation with Gavin.

“Don’t hesitate if you have already thought it through.”

MC: “What’s the matter?”

Shaw shrugged, lifted the corner of his lip, and looked at me, saying this firmly word by word.

Shaw: “Don’t forget that this is our punishment. Be a good loser.” -One-Day Date

“What are you laughing at? Stop it.” he reached out his hand, trying to mess up my hair. I quickly dodged backward and started laughing harder.

“Hey.”

A stunned look flashed Shaw’s eyes. Before he finished his sentence, I slipped and fell heavily backwards. He looked at me before a hint of schadenfreude appeared in his eyes. Then he said in a raised tone, “that's what you get for laughing too hard.”

He then sat down with me. I turned to him in confusion.

MC: “Why did you sit down when you’re supposed to help me up?”

Shaw: “Because I wanted to.” -Exciting Moments Date

Brutal gales whipped up gravel and rocked trees. A bolt of lightning split the sly, illuminating the two people locked in a standoff.

Gavin’s face was completely devoid of its former calm, and in its place was wrath. The man opposite Gavin squinted his eyes ever so slightly. He went wild with laughter, and an arrogant expression swept back over his face.

Shaw: “Well, we’re finally starting to get serious. It’s about time.”

Gavin: “I warned you! She’s off-limits.”

Shaw: “Are you threatening me?”

Gavin: “You aren’t worthy.”

The man lifted his eyebrow and slowed his speech purposefully.

Shaw: “Anyway, my objective has been reached. I don’t mind toying with you. But I don't know how long this girl you’re obsessed with has long to live...”

The two fought with increasing ferocity. The man was slowly losing ground. Then, the sky roared, and a white flame connected heaven and earth. The man was gone without a trace. -Chapter 11-24

Jupiter ♃ Jupiter is the largest planet, a gas giant, known to expand as the “benefactor” of our solar system. Everything it touches is basically blessed. It’s the good luck, confidence, joy, freedom and adventure that it gives to one’s being that it’s so well known for. Jupiter is where you seize your opportunities, take a leap of faith and count your blessings.

Shaw’s Jupiter is in Aquarius ♒︎ Shaw attracts the most good fortune when he’s tolerant and fair, cooperative and inventive, being different from society’s norms and standards. He values technology, people and personal freedom the most, desiring to display his unique skills and talents. He is open to new methods and eccentric ways to progress. We see this as he’s willing to share his knowledge with others, shown in the CN Creative Date and Summer Solstice Date, and when Shaw offers a hand to help MC by making her alias “Mary Sue” to help her successfully break into STF in later chapters. He also shows her the electricity firework he makes with his Evol, which fascinates MC enough for her to reach out and touch it.

I looked at Shaw's on the other side of the wall. The flaunting design was imposing, as if it was about to jump out at me the next second. Then I looked at my grinning rabbit, which seemed to be the clumsy work of a child.

In the gold and purple pattern, “SHAW” could be faintly recognised while a grinning rabbit stood at the top of the world. They actually seemed… quite in harmony? -One-Day Date

MC: “Is that the same MP4 player you had on the bus?”

Shaw: “Yes, someone gifted it to me a long time ago.” Emboldened by his straightforwardness, I couldn't help but move slower. -Exciting Moments Date

Floating on his palm was a sizzling firework giving off dazzling sparks. I was stunned by the sight. I couldn’t believe that Evol could do that. I reached out to touch it, but Shaw stopped me.

“Are you out of your mind? It’s charged with electricity.” -Summer Night Birthday Date

Saturn ♄ Saturn is the planet of karma, restrictions, life lessons, hard facts and the challenges in life. It governs structure, our fears, work and self-discipline. Saturn is cold and calculating, however once the challenges and lessons Saturn have been mastered, great wisdom with great rewards can be obtained.

Shaw's Saturn is in Aries ♈︎ Aries Saturns are highly resourceful coming up with fresh ideas for our goals. They don’t like showing weakness and need to be careful when limiting themselves due to fear of failure or making a poor decision. They’re very self- reliant because they rarely ask for help. They need to be shown that not “being first” is okay.

It’s proven that Shaw has a competitive side to him, seen in the CN Summer Solstice Date and his Rumours and Secrets, where Shaw refuses to give up and ends up doing dolphin flips on his skateboard in a match against a senior and wins after his first loss. In Accompanying Date, he acknowledges his embarrassing moments when he got caught skipping class, then reflects on them. We also see this as he flees his battle with Gavin when he almost loses.

Shaw: "I just remember winning. Don’t people at ten years old want to get swept away, win against everyone, and leave them far behind?" -CN Summer Solstice Date

Shaw: "The fence of the school was disagreed with by the elementary students. Back then, my skills weren’t refined yet. I got discovered by a teacher when I fell from it." While reminiscing, Shaw pouts unhappily. -CN Accompanying Date

The two fought with increasing ferocity. The man was slowly losing ground. Then, the sky roared, and a white flame connected heaven and earth. The man was gone without a trace. -Chapter 11-24

Uranus ♅ Wherever Uranus is in the chart, it’s where we want to break free, where we want to do things our own way, when you don’t care what everyone else is doing or thinking about. It’s where we express our ideals on freedom, innovation and experience great epiphanies. We strive for independence with the influence of the Uranus character. As a result, we learn to rebel, break traditions and authority. It shakes things up from our past and into the modern future. It is often associated with unpredictability, chaos and anarchy.

Shaw's Uranus is in Aquarius ♒︎ These people are interested in innovating, changing and updating traditions related to technology, community and individuality. They see freedom through or in these areas, and are ready to rebel if needed. Aquarius Uranus people are open to new ideas and free thought.

Shaw is no stranger to the concept of rebellion. He sneaks into places he shouldn’t be in, spray-paints graffiti, and helps MC access top-secret information in STF. His comments on history further outlines the unique outlook that he challenges with traditional views.

I looked around nervously, remembering that last time, we were chased by city police for street graffiti.

Shaw: “Don’t you want to come? Hurry up.”

MC: “Do you just do anything you like? Do you abide by no rules?” -One-Day Date

Shaw: “What do you think history is?” Student: Those historical relics you told us about just then!”

- Student: “If everything is history, how does one learn it?” Shaw: “There’s no need for an intention. It’s everywhere.” -CN Summer Solstice Date

Neptune ♆ Neptune is the inspirational planet of dreams, inspirations, soulmates, enlightenment and sacrifice. It’s all about connection with the universe and the world around you, however can have the polar effect of deception and illusion, along with disappearances of sorts. It can also govern your music tastes and influence on how you can inspire others.

Shaw’s Neptune is in Capricorn ♑︎ With this placement, his idealistic world will be based around realism, morality, and responsibility. He has to believe in the ground foundations of realisability of his dreams- enough so that it usually has a realistic thread about them. General optimism and faith will be lacking if he’s not doing something that he is passionate about and finds inspiration in. However, he has the capacity to change his practical dreams into reality the most. His influences and contributions come from his connection with Dark/MC, again with Mars in Libra, and is seen as a guide and spectator, though less passive than a Time Observer. It’s also clear that Shaw cares a lot for his music and his band. He even recognises a plagiarised song in one of his Rumours and Secrets.

“Playing with the band is just a hobby, so Shaw rarely creates something from scratch. He must have hidden things he wanted to say in his music, but never mentioned it to anyone.” -Summer Night birthday Date

Shaw: "No wonder these people didn’t realise it, they copied an unpopular song from the 80s. You should also improve your musical literacy so you wouldn’t be confused by these things." -CN Glacier Navigation Rumours and Secrets

My phone started buzzing in my outer coat pocket. I took it out and saw an unfamiliar number. A few moments of hesitation, I answered it. An unfamiliar voice came from the other end.

“Long time, no see. I’m sure you’re trying to guess who I am right now.” There was something in his voice that gave me a sense of déjà vu.

MC: “May I ask, what this is about?”

“I can’t just call you for no reason? Everyone has already forgotten you. You are officially someone who shouldn’t exist in this world.

MC: “Impossible! Just who are you, anyway?”

“Go see for yourself. For instance, at the place where it all started.” -Chapter 19-1

Outside the floor to ceiling window, a tall man with light purple hair was looking at me in the eye, an unmistakable smile on his lips. Who is this person? He waved at me and strove in the diner.

“Oh, here you are.” He greeted me with such familiarity, a few loose strands of hair fell over his forehead, softening his sharp eyes. His actions were swift and sure, giving me no time to interrupt. His face seemed so familiar but I can’t remember where I’ve seen it before.

MC: “Who are you?”

Hearing this, the young man’s brow raised, and the look of amusement flashed over his eyes.

“You don’t remember? You bumped my skateboard.”

MC: “Oh! We met on the bus. But how is it that you remember me?”

He didn’t answer me straight away. He just observed my expression with great interest, seemingly enjoying watching my reaction.

“I’m the one who called you. It’s me. The dream world has no effect on me.”

Pluto ♇ Pluto is the Lord of the Underworld, and is not to be messed around with. It’s responsible for great destructible transformations and corresponds to the life, death and rebirth cycle. It’s the detoxing planet, for you to awaken and be reborn. It shows us where we can change the world, alongside right where we can go into the abyss of the cunning and controlling energies of Pluto. Its powers can be ever so subtle, however it can have the forces to trash you with the realisations of what you need to let go in order to transform. Think of it as the “healing crisis” moments that you can thank Pluto for.

Shaw's Pluto is in Sagittarius ♐︎ They take beliefs and philosophy of life very seriously, more than most. They believe deeply in personal freedom and expression, questioning ideologies in place. They often watch for a tendency to move from one project to another, perhaps due to inhuman expectations. They are motivated and driven by the vision of a better world, therefore their faith in humanity is strong.

Shaw helps MC multiple times when she is in need, additionally supporting her beliefs and vision to save the world and everyone in it, like when she first entered the Winter World and helped her rescue the kidnapped children against her battle with Leto in the Chapter 34. He even gives her his necklace- the Dragonfly Eye in the end of Season 1 and wishes her well once they meet again.

Shaw: “Oh yeah, the other you is really funny. Today, she saved someone on the street. Did you use to do stuff like that too?”

Dark MC: “I’m not like her. I don’t do meaningless things like that. Stick to the plan.”

Shaw: “Oh? I’d thought you’d like this scene. What are you planning to do, anyway?”

Dark MC: “Why of course, I’m going to accept my place as QUEEN.” -Behind the Curtain Chapter 5

MC: “Shaw, what are you doing here? Where’s Leto?”

Another thunder flashes, Shaw’s face was reflected clearly and I saw him lift his eyebrow slightly.

Shaw: “You are so slow. Did you bring the notebook? Keep it and give it to me later.”

MC: “You haven’t answered why you are here.”

Shaw: “And I thought you were starting to get smarter. None of us can stay out of it now. If I don’t intervene, this world is finished.”

I would love to see more about Shaw’s background character and his upbringing as to why he had appeared a bit defensive in some dates. Poor Shaw :( Hopefully this study allowed you all to gain a deeper understanding of Shaw and his character, and to why he’s important in the main storyline and other events alike.

#happy birthday Shaw #brain is fried but let's continue making more content #mlqc #love and producer #mr love queens choice #恋与制作人 #mlqc analysis #mlqc en #mlqc cn #mlqc shaw #mlqc ling xiao #birth chart #astrology

24 notes · View notes

my-writings-and-musings · 4 years ago

Note

Same anon thank you for answering my question! I was wondering if you could do headcanons for MTMTE Rung, Megatron, Rodimus, Minimus, and Swerve with an Artisic human reader that just sees the good and creative artist side of everything? From books to pictures to even their own bot? Like they can just look at their bot and go out on a whole rant on how beautiful their optics are from the color to their expression. if that’s too many characters you can take any one, I don’t mind! Thank you and have a good day ❤️

You're welcome! I'm always open for clarification, so feel free to ask questions about whatever you'd like if you're unsure on anything. I took a little liberty with this one, but I've got all the requested bots because darn it all these beautiful mechs deserve recognition!

Rung

·He discovers your artistic inclination thanks to years of experience reading personalities and emotions at a glance, but he wasn't prepared for the depth of your conviction in seeing the world through a creative lens, which he learned upon speaking to you about your process as an artist. This surprise grows as he sees you sketching around the ship, your exuberance for the inherent beauty in everything coming through in every conversation you share.

·When he praises some of your sketches on a quiet day in his office and is compelled to ask how you developed your style, he's fascinated by your explanation, and his spark is warmed by how beautifully you describe the world around you and credit it for inspiring you. He's visibly shocked when your list of current subjects and muses includes him specifically, and you can't help but chuckle at the usually calm bot looking so absolutely flustered. There's no way for him to hide any of that feeling when he requests a bit of clarification; there's hundreds of bots on board, what about him could possibly stand out?

·You're happy to elaborate on your process to a bot who so regularly underestimates his worth and lay out why he in particular piques your interest. The warmth and goodness of his being is such a rare and beautiful thing, you explain, but also so rarely appreciated that it drives you to try and capture that essence in a manner one can see. How could you not? Such compassion and empathy and forgiveness should be remembered! You've also seen that he's capable of accepting any genuine apology, and to have that level of mercy after so much war is beautiful, enough that you have to try and show it.

·To say he's touched is an understatement of unfathomable proportions. Removing his lenses to clear optics blurred with tears, he doesn't even know how to begin processing your praise of his character when you add that his physical self hardly fails to encourage you either. His glasses nearly slip from his hands when he hears you say that. You continue quite easily; the kindness in his optics and the sweetness of his smile, combined with his genuinely handsome profile, simply inspire you to start sketching.

·He's touched, but you have to understand, he is NOT accustomed to this level of praise. Between the near tears and the blushing he has to politely excuse himself to recover from this absolute tsunami of emotions, but being flustered and melted at once is enough to have him smiling through a little blush all day long. While he tries to take a little bit of your mindset into his everyday life going forward, he gets a bit dazed every time he sees a sketch of yours that includes his face, as that level of artistic devotion being dedicated to him is more than he'll ever be able to process. Not that he minds...

Megatron

·Being more familiar with the written word, he enjoys the arts but has little experience with those who create them, and time has not been on his side in regards to learning more. Thus, you're one of the first artistically inclined individuals he's been able to discuss the topic with, which he was motivated to do after catching a glimpse of your work. He could swear some of your sketches bear a resemblance to him, but he says nothing on the matter and is certain his optics are tricking him.

·Your talk of technique quickly surprises him by shifting to inspiration, which to you is the primary driving force of your work, as it influences how you go about conveying the subject matter. Eager to share what you mean, you explain that anything can have beauty worthy of capturing if you just take the time to look at it right. Even the most mundane or seemingly unappealing things can be remarkable if you know their story, and you want to convey that energy as wordlessly as possible.

·A little overwhelmed but quite impressed by your manner of reasoning, he rather jokingly asks if even beings like himself could ever inspire you, or perhaps another artist with your mindset. He's caught off gaurd like never before when you, quite enthusiastically, reply that he most certainly can and does! To keep his composure he recalls portraits of his likeness being commissioned to inspire his soldiers, but never believing these fell under the category of art so much as they did propaganda. They often depicted him quite... violently as well.

·Having never seen these pieces, you reply that your own experience is tied more to how you see him now, and you flip through your sketchbook to demonstrate. As close to your level as can be, he's speechless while you explain what you wanted to capture about him in each sketch, whether it's a quick study or a detailed project; and that's how safe he makes you feel. Hearing himself referred to as a protector cuts straight through his powerful armor.

·You depict him looking almost... gentle? Hearing you describe the his immense size as a source of comfort and his strength as a tool of keeping peace processes about as clearly to him as a foreign language, but he nods along and keeps the conversation going until his duties call him away. Though he says nothing of it, he volunteers himself for more of the physically demanding work around the ship. His body's purpose had always been decided for him, but you've reminded him he has the only true say in its use, and that everything really is a matter of perspective. Perhaps he'll take up sketching once this is all over.

Rodimus

·He's certainly always had an appreciation for visual appeal, even if his idea of beauty doesn't often overlap with what most would consider artistically valuable. This and his natural alertness makes him quick to notice you often sketch about the ship, frequently when he's present, but at first he leaves you alone to work in peace. Having a hobby on this crew is beyond valuable, and he doesn't want to distract you from a passion... That is, until he decides on one especially slow day to just ask you what you like to doodle about.

·You can tell he wants to be a little nosy, if only because he's naturally a curious bot about these things, but you're more than happy to share regardless. There's a lot due to the ample downtime on the quest, and he has to squint so he can properly scan the many sketches on the human sized paper. He happily recognizes friends, locales about the ship, even earth things he knows about... but he's not ready when he finds a picture of himself.

·While he remains outwardly playful, teasing you with how he'd pose if you only asked, he's internally flattered that you took the time to draw him. More specifically, he's touched by the way you drew him. The sketches and portraits portray him as a calm but amicable leader, standing tall and serving as a guide to those around him, a true "father to his men" kind of bot... it's everything he wants to be, but is quite certain he's not. He's barely able to keep up his smooth persona when he asks about your process.

·You explain that you find inspiration in everything, but he's been your chosen subject lately for a lot of reasons. It's no secret he's handsome, but you see something more when you look at him, and you did everything you could to show it here; there's a real leader in him. Maybe some bots don't see it under all the bluster and sarcasm, but you see how much he cares for every bot on his crew. He wants to be the best for all of them, and even if he struggles at times, that effort is beautiful to you.

·It takes everything in him to bite back some very embarrassing tears, and the crack in his voice doesn't help him hide the emotion, though he covers that up with unconvincing coughs and claims something got in his optic. From then on he seems to stand a little taller and find his assigned duties a little easier to bear, but you absolutely notice how he poses in what he believes to be heroic fashion whenever your sketchbook comes out. Inspired by his enthusiasm, you invite him to model more officially, and the crew is just happy to see him so enthusiastic.

Minimus

·Being as observant as he is, your consistent appraisal of your surroundings is not something he'd ever miss, but your frequent sketching in the most random places does leave him absolutely mystified. Every time he sees you there's artistic supplies on your person, but he can't find anything that appears to be worthy of putting to paper, so what could you be drawing? He respects your privacy too much, and feels too silly about his curiosity, to interpret and ask you for an explanation.

·Thus it's with some small eagerness that he finds one of your sketchbooks after it's been misplaced, and he sees the perfect opportunity to slip in a question. For the sake of handling something so tiny, he approaches without his armor, offering the lost item back with barely concealed pride at your delight to have it returned. In the moment of truth he nearly falters, but does indeed manage to ask what you draw around the ship. He leaves out the fact that he's observed you whenever you draw in his presence.

·The question has an answer only he seems to think isn't obvious; him! You spend time together frequently, and while everything is fair game for sketching, he's a very regular subject for you. Whether he's wearing the Magnus armor or not, you explain that the commanding aura he radiates is something you can't help but find beautiful. That word choice baffles him enough that he has to interrupt; beautiful? Commanding? Even without his armor?? You're delighted to assure him that you absolutely mean that.

·Hearing you describe the details of your reasoning, like the quiet dignity of his stance or the calm intelligence of his red optics, touches his spark in ways he wasn't expecting. He's calm and speaks softly as he keeps the conversation going, asking questions about your various works and listening attentively when you answer, processing your view of the universe as being packed with beauty in all the places people don't think to look.

·Any bot that sees him during the remainder of the day absolutely notices the change to his entire demeanor; namely that he's smiling a soft and barely perceptible smile. It's not long after he requests a few sketches from you to keep in his office, whether they're of him or not, and he has them framed in places of honor. He doesn't tell you, but you figure it out, that one particular drawing of him you gift for his sake is kept securely stored in a compartment by his spark.

Swerve

·Many bots may see him being a tad bit on the shallow side when it comes to the arts, but our beloved barkeep has his own unique appreciation for creativity and all the ways it can be visually expressed, and you recognize it not long after meeting him. As his bar is a frequent hangout for everyone, you find it to be a fantastic place to sit and sketch, as the variety of bots makes it quite easy to have your choice of subjects even if you have to sit on a table. Obviously Swerve notices and asks you what you're drawing when traffic slows one evening.

·You're happy to show him your work and he's always eager to hear what everyone is up to, so he starts asking questions about your art in general. How long have you been an artist? What's it like suddenly having a whole ship of aliens to sketch? Why draw here all the time? At that query you light up brilliantly, and he's delighted by your enthusiasm as you describe all the incredible sights the bar has to offer.

·You list some of your favorite things to draw, like the many friend groups on the ship that gather here, the brilliant colors of the glowing vats of enjex, and him smiling and rushing with orders through it all. That last one gets a flash of surprise from behind his visor, which is quickly overtaken by exuberant delight; you've been drawing him?! He babbles out a surge of confusing statements that you're eventually able to interpret as a request to see, just one he's too bashful to say directly.

·Happily obliging, you're touched by how he smiles at every little sketch, and feel compelled to explain that he's a big part of why you love drawing here. You try to see beauty in everything, even what often gets overlooked, and there's so very much of that here. The bar is one of those places that everyone knows is special, but you know he's the reason they love it like they do, and that his enthusiasm and hard work hold it all together. You find that inspiring, and actually quite beautiful. It doesn't hurt that his brilliant smile is always a treat to sketch.

·Trying to play it cool and totally failing, he doesn't quite hide that he's near to tears when he asks if you'd like to hang some of your work up in the bar, or maybe have a little corner for yourself to draw from. He just doesn't want you getting squished while you sketch, is all! And having a better vantage point is ideal for someone so small! When you accept, he gives you your own human sized accommodations not too far from the heart of the bar, and every so often when you sketch he'll glance up at you absolutely beaming.

#transformers #more than meets the eye #mtmte #idw #lost light #maccadam #tf #rung #megatron #minimus ambus #rodimus #swerve #self insert #human reader #requests #anon #my writing #transformers headcanon #my asks

144 notes · View notes

pochiperpe90 · 4 years ago

Text

Luca Marinelli: "Without growing you get lost"

When director Pietro Marcello asked him to play Martin Eden in his film in competition at Venice, Luca Marinelli was moved. "Many things have changed in recent years, maybe me as well"

From written words to moving images: «When you make a film based on a book, the book, at a certain point, tends to overlap. You no longer know what the novel is and what the screenplay is. Today I remember the end of Jack London's Martin Eden: that poignant conclusion, with him in the cabin reading that poem and deciding about his life».

Luca Marinelli, star of Pietro Marcello's Martin Eden, in competition at the next Venice International Film Festival and in theatre from September 4th with 01 Distribution, brings together memories and emotions, and gives them a precise order: everything starts from there, from the novel by the American writer.

"What was the soul of the book, which in my opinion is above any kind of discourse, political, social and idealistic; that soul, I said, was respected. Because it’s embodied in the character of Martin Eden. And then when you translate a book into a film it happens that some things take another form: it's normal in an adaptation." In the case of this film, says Marinelli, it all started from Marcello's point of view, from his vision: "Which perhaps is not like what someone else can have or like mine, because it’s a vision that belongs to the director: it’s the vision of the artist Pietro Marcello. The first scripts were certainly different, they were longer, denser, full of references to the book. The very first, if I'm not mistaken, was nearly 300 pages long. And this is because we were dealing with a masterpiece, and we didn't want to leave out anything».

Could this film be different?

“No, this film is how it was supposed to be. But with a book like this you can do anything: a 12-hours play, a film, a short film. Martin Eden is one of the best books ever written. Cinema imposes different times and measures from written narration; the balance that Pietro and Maurizio Braucci, co-screenwriter, found and the work they did were excellent, in my opinion".

Let's start with when they proposed you the role of Martin Eden.

“I remember my tears as I was watching “Bella e perduta”; I remember my emotion, and I also remember that immediately after I finished watching it I told myself that it would be nice to work with this director. It was 2015. Three years later they call me, and they tell me that Pietro Marcello wanted to meet me. Imagine my happiness. Knowing, then, that this film would be born from Jack London's book moved me even more».

What convinced you to accept?

«Martin Eden is a human being of great sensitivity, great curiosity and great empathy; he has an enormous desire to discover, to see, to touch with his hand. However, he suffers countless disappointments. He climbs a mountain only to learn, once he reaches the top, that a sad camp resides there, and that the best thing was never to get there, to the goal, but perhaps the very start. The journey".

And was it difficult to make this journey?

“It's a question that I have asked myself too, and the answer I have given myself is both yes and no. No, because being next to Pietro, Maurizio, colleagues and all the people who collaborated on the film, I found the right push and the right support to get into the character. But the difficulties, of course, are always there. What I really wanted to understand was Martin Eden. I abandoned myself to the first sensation I had while reading the book and the screenplay».

What was that feeling?

"A gigantic emotion. This character speaks directly to each of us because everyone shares something with him. Each of us wants to do, to exist. To reach a goal. Only then we come up against obstacles that make us lose hope - in part or in whole».

But when did the spark go off?

“I've always been passionate about writers like London or Stevenson. Adventurers, capable of creating worlds, of giving life to characters with their eyes open to the society around them. Entering a life like that, a life where the sea is so present, a life made of traveling, of seeing, made of pure passion, intrigued me a lot. And then there was Naples".

Compared to Jack London's book, Pietro Marcello's film is a rewrite set in the Neapolitan capital.

“I had never lived all this time in Naples; and I had never known it so much. I have not yet been able to fully understand it; not completely. Naples is a place apart. I have come to love it. Naples is a whole people. Something fantastic. It’s a place with a huge identity. A very strong identity. Think of the language: it’s not a dialect, it’s a language. And then you meet people who make you realize how beautiful it is to be Neapolitan: how welcoming it is, how fascinating it is, how deep it is. Naples, for me, was a great discovery».

Is sensitivity a condemnation?

"I don’t know. On one hand, yes, it can make you suffer more. But I wouldn't see it as a sentence. Sensitivity allows you to see the world; it leads you to respect what is around you».

But it also brings loneliness with it.

«Martin Eden distances himself from everything and from himself: he can no longer be in contact with anything or anyone, he is disappointed».

In this film, the clash between the class of intellectuals and the so-called people also finds space.

"I think that the true intellectual, like Pasolini was, manages to put himself on the same level as the society, to look at it in the eye, to speak to the common man without being opinionated, just showing what is there: what is happening".

At one point, you find yourself sharing the scene with Carlo Cecchi, who plays Russ Brissenden.

«I was very excited because I found my teacher. And it was great to be with him there, on the set, more than six years after we had last acted together."

You said you got excited

“Because in the film he plays Martin Eden's mentor, and Carlo was a mentor to me too. It was a real gift”.

How many things have changed over the years?

"Many."

And you? Have you changed as an actor?

“I don't know, I swear. But maybe I was better before (laughs)».

What do you mean?

"I started with the theater, where there is no safety net, there is no" stop, let's do it again!" and there is no possibility to stop, start over, rethink. I miss that courage».

Is theater a torment or an obsession?

"It’s never a torment or an obsession. Sometimes at night, however, I dream of going on stage and not remembering anything anymore».

Perhaps it’s today's cinema that tends to be not very brave.

«In my opinion it’s experiencing a new period. And it’s not a coincidence that Marcello's Martin Eden arrives right now, in this moment. Surely we could give a voice to many more people. Even that, if you like, is a question of courage».

Martin Eden also speaks of talent and perseverance. What is more important, in your opinion?

“They go hand in hand. Talent is the first thing you see. It’s the primordial spark. But you can't just rely on that. You have to be curious, eat life, live it to the fullest, intensely and consciously. But to live it, one must also commit oneself: and one must be prepared».

You need to read.

«For me a book is always a victory. Because you have been elsewhere and have lived a story that is different from yours."

What kind of reader are you?

“I wouldn't call myself an avid reader: but the more I grow, the older I get, the older I get and the more I read. Because I am more and more aware of how beautiful it is».

Reading isn’t just a hobby.

"Thoreau says: "As if you could kill time without injuring eternity". It’s important not to waste time; but it’s important to do it without causing anguish or fear. You have to be there, stay there, live in the moment. But without exaggerating».

When you were younger - when you were a child - what were you like?

“I've always been surrounded by curious people. Even my friends, the ones I had as a child and the ones I still have now, are curious. We liked to move, to go around, to be together; we lived the street. We also enjoyed listening to music, reading comics and books, and watching movies."

And curiosity soon turned into fascination.

“Acting has always fascinated me. And only at a certain point did I manage to find the right courage to try. And I don't know why: I really don't know. In the Academy this phrase was always repeated: “play seriously”. And maybe was this that interested me; or not".

We talked about teachers. Who were they to you?

«People like Carlo Cecchi or Anna Marchesini. They were moments, very important meetings».

How did you come in contact with Marchesini?

"We studied with her for three months at the Academy, and it was wonderful because for the first time I wrote something of my own. Each of us, each of the students, had to write something about himself, starting from his identity card - this was the initial task. And it was, believe me, very difficult».

What impressed you about her?

"The energy, the dedication, the beauty. I remember the moments with her, the wonderful phrases she said. What has always fascinated me to see was the passion she put into it».

Other teachers?

"My grandfather. I always liked the job he did: he was a carpenter. In the academy they told us many times: "you have to be a craftsmen". And I was always thinking of him».

What, in the end, do you have left of Martin Eden?

«The sense of collectivity. Passion. The importance of looking around. To always look at others and at themselves. The adventure of life, and the wonder it represents. What deeply tears Martin Eden apart is betraying himself and being disappointed in his own dreams. We can fight against this only if we are faithful to ourselves, to our beliefs, to our places of origin. And then, you know, all the rest remains: remains all that world».

VANITY FAIR

Just wanted to translate this old interview for the non-italian’s fans ^^ (sorry for my English)

#Luca Marinelli #Interview #old interview #Martin Eden #Vanity Fair #English #english translation

103 notes · View notes

develop-your-oc · 6 years ago

Note

I wanted to ask is there a thing as way too many oc my friends are crap and beat me down about having so many but that's the best part for me making ocs

First of all, I truly hope these friends of yours aren't actually giving you a hard time about this and that they're simply being playful! :( There are a lot of people in the OC creation community who I'm sure wouldn't mind chatting about having lots of OCs! ;)

As for your actual question, I'm not sure there's an actual answer! It really comes down to what you can handle as a creator. The more OCs you have, the more spread out your ideas become, and the harder they are to organize. There are some other things you may want to consider, such as the following:

Are your OCs unique to one another? Interests, skills, behaviors, personalities, appearances, and the like will overlap, because that's how things work. When it becomes difficult to tell which OC is which, however, it may be time to move on from those OCs that seem like copies of one another.

Do your OCs have more than one or two basic traits? Writing is a process and character development takes time, but if you've been working on the same OC for a year or more now, and the only things you know about them is that they like cheese and hate socks, then it may be time to move on from that OC in particular.

Do your OCs have a purpose? Do you plan on roleplaying them? Are you writing a novel, short story, or fanfic with them in it? Are they your player character from a tabletop or video game? Does your art revolve around their visage? You don't need a reason to create and develop an OC, but it may be time to move on from that OC and spend your creative energy on a different OC that will get use in your creations.

Are you having fun? Writing is a lot of fun and can be very rewarding, but it can also be exhausting. Coming up with well-developed characters, and then more or less "becoming" them in order to write them can take its toll. Speaking from personal experience, it can become a chore rather than a hobby very quickly. If you're not having fun, and a couple days break doesn't help, it may be time to move on from some OCs.

Let me be clear. When I say it's time to "move on" from certain OCs, you can scrap those OCs altogether, but why do that when you can put them to the side for a rainy day, combine them with another character, or something else altogether? Keep a notebook or word document with your OC ideas that are less like characters and more like concepts for when you need inspiration, or when you have the motivation to kick those underdeveloped OCs into gear.

If you're having a good time making OCs and managing the ones you have, then don't worry. There's no rule anywhere saying that there's a limit to how many OCs any one person can have. Consider the questions above, but don't let them or anyone stop you. Go forth and create!

#answer #ghostlyjudge #i hope this makes sense #there are... so many questions about having 228734^2 ocs and whether or not it's okay on this blog #be kind to one another stay healthy and hydrated and have fun #y'all... just have fun...

382 notes · View notes

alusbeauregard · 5 years ago

Text

Meet the Character: Alus Beauregard

► Name ➔ “Alus Beauregard; Free Paladin, Field Medic, Café Proprietor, and Handsome Prince Charming.” he winks with a smile. “Oh, wait, that is technically untruthful.. Well, gaze upon mine image - Am I not a Faerie tale prince?” he chuckles jokingly. “But I doth am just a commoner. Mayhaps that is better - one of the people, at least I wisheth to be.”

► Are you single ➔ “In mine heart, I am never alone! Everyone is my friend, and I will never forget them.”

► Are you happy ➔ “...” Alus gazes upon his tea in reflection for a moment. “Ah-- Yes, of course!”

► Are you angry? ➔ “What reason doth I have to beest angry? I doth tryst to see the best in all things, ‘tis rarely failed mine chaotic mind. If I must be angry, I shalt act on it to make it better immediately - I ‘twould not be having this peaceful interview with thee now, doth thy see?”

► Are your parents still married ➔ “’Twas father ever married?.... I regret to not remember...” his smile waivers. “The calamity, you see... But I remember no mother but those claimed the title whost came after his passing.. Mayhaps a close female companion, few.”

NINE FACTS

► Birth Place ➔ Unknown; found at the church of Saint Adama Landama in Thanalan, abandoned as a babe.

► Hair Color ➔ Golden blonde

► Eye Color ➔ Heterochromia; Gold and Raspberry.

► Birthday ➔ Unknown; celebrates day of adoption: All Saint’s Wake.

► Mood ➔ Cheerful, chatty, loving, and determined

► Gender ➔ Male; prefers masculine pronouns.

► Summer or winter ➔ Summer; hates cold weather.

► Morning or afternoon ➔ Morning! He’s one of those people who wakes up shortly before dawn just so he can watch the sun rise on his morning walk. disgusting

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

► Are you in love ➔ “I am always in love with humanity!”

► Do you believe in love at first sight ➔ “Of course! I have no reason to not love someone if I do not know them!”

► Who ended your last relationship ➔ “Hmm... I met a rather rude dragoon once, with the most pessimistic personality... I ended contact with him as soon mine job near him was finished; as soon as humanly possible. I would not hide the fact I found his unwaveringly ugly personality abhorrent. I apologize for the gossip - But he had unimaginably poor hygiene at the time as well - My brother pointed out his armor looked utterly caked in unwashed blood, I had never seen something so absurdly unprofessional. <sigh> I offered patience and advice to remedy his toxicity at first, but it seemed to just set him off further into annoyance.”

► Have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔ “Dear... I certainly wisheth not.. I know one day I mayst have to, though mayhaps I already have without knowing.. I hope they might forgive me, and tell me how I can improve. I will continue to do my best for everyone’s happiness!”

► Are you afraid of commitments ➔ “...” Alus gazes melancholily upon his teacup once more. “I admit, I have wavered in the past.. But no longer.”

► Have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ “Mmm.. No, unfortunately.. Where is Sir Urianger, anyway?”

► Have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ “Ooh.. I ‘twould hopeth they would be honest with me. I would be honest with them! I admire you all!”

► Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ “... Many a time.” his jovial personality to this point stops cold in it’s tracks for this question, he does not elaborate. His carefree joyousness resumes with the next.

SIX CHOICES

► Love or lust ➔ “Love!! Love is universal!!”

► Lemonade or iced tea ➔ “Hmm.. Would you dislike me if I answered ‘lemon iced tea’?” he smiles sheepishly, seemingly genuinely apologetic.

► Cats or Dogs ➔ “Dogs are so reliable and friendly, and so universally loved. I wish to imbue, how you say, ‘golden retriever energy’ to my every day.”

► A few best friends or many regular friends ➔ “Many best friends!” he laughs obnoxiously loudly.

► Wild night out or romantic night in ➔ “Come to my Café for both.” His smile stays, but his eyes sharpen - you almost get the feeling as if he is somehow making a veiled threat.

► Day or night ➔ “Everything is so beautiful in the light! I do not understand the appeal of the darkness of night much at all, honestly.. And ‘tis so quiet of life in the evening, I cannot feel but lonely. The stars are lovely of course! But besides that, I regret to not quite understand. Mayhaps I should find someone to attempt to explain it to me.. Besides Arc.”

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

► Been caught sneaking out ➔ “Ah... Yes.” he smiles sheepishly, clearly caught of guilt. “The foster homes I have lived in the past were... Not ideal, let us just say.”

► Fallen down/up the stairs ➔ He laughes that signature too loud laugh, full of voice cracks. “VERILY”

► Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ “.....” Alus averts his gaze, his smile slowly disappears. “‘Tis a bit of life, is it not?”

► Wanted to disappear ➔ “......” He sits in silence, looking at his cup, praying for another question. He does not seem willing to answer. The silence is awkward.

FOUR PREFERENCES

► Smile or eyes ➔ “Happiness is the most beautiful cosmetic. I would not choose anything over it in another person, ever. That is what I believe to be ‘love’.”

► Shorter or Taller ➔ “Ah.. I do not discriminate?” He seems to be thinking this over intensely when you look at his expression, though. “I do so wish I was taller, however... <sigh>.”

► Intelligence or Attraction ➔ “Attraction... Attractiveness, thy mean? Hm..” he takes a moment to think this over. “’Tis it not subjective - what ‘intelligence’ is defined as? Same as for attraction - I ‘twould assume thy meaneth the attraction of visual aesthetic, though I am ‘attracted’ to certain traits that lie neither within strict ideologies of traditional intelligence nor visual trait.. Mine apologizes, I am most likely overthinking this.” he waves his hand dismissively. “I believeth a person to take care of thy appearance to be diligent, or passionately loving of their hobby of fashion, which is a beautiful trait.. And I believeth a person with passion for their interests to the point to learn much is also beautiful, and such overlaps. I care not for either/or questions, mine apologies. I will find the best in anyone. I think someone with no passion can be quite beautiful as well, like a closed flower ready to one day bloom into the most beautiful rare specimen, never seen before - a special feeling of happiness I would gain like that of a scientist discovering a new species. Even if the species were common, I believe every flower truly unique.. ‘Tis a special viewing, no matter what.”

► Hook-up or Relationship ➔ “R-Relationship!! Please never speak such a vulgar phrase as this.... ‘hook-up’ .” he sighs exasperatedly.

FAMILY

► Do you and your family get along ➔ “As well as the famed ‘Beauregard Brothers’ can!!” he smiles triumphantly, as if you’d definitely know how good of a team they are.... Did you even know he had a brother before now?

► Would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ “...” he sits in silence yet again, you’ve come to realize there’s some questions he’s just utterly disappointed to encounter and does not want to answer, and this is looking like another one of them. Finally, he breaks the silence with a quiet voice. “Is... Is it really.. a good world -- a country to live in...where war and death and suffering is a normalcy...?” you can barely hear him, and when you ask him to repeat himself, he answers; “Nothing. Forget it.”

► Have you ever ran away from home ➔ “... A lot, after father died.. It just never felt like ‘home’ really, again.. Not until Arc and I got our own places next to eachother in adulthood, you see. My family is him, and him alone.”

► Have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ “I would leave before I could be.” his voice is cold and serious.

FRIENDS

► Do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ “Oh yes, I hate Arc.” he gives a shit-eating grin.

► Do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ “Mm~... Hm, I wonder.” he doesn’t seem disappointed by this question like some of the others, but he seems flippant about taking his answer to this question seriously.

► Who is your best friend ➔ “My brother, of course.”

► Who knows everything about you ➔ “.... There is no-one.” he pauses, then clears his throat. “I think it would be impossible, no? Arc knows a lot, but not everything within my mind - But then again, I feel there is a lot I never need to say. He may already know, he often does. I feel it is pointless to keep many secrets.. ‘Twould oft be the same as lying, would it not?“

Tagged by: @mostdangerouspotato

Tagging: YOU, MOTHERFUCKER

#alus beauregard #meme #miqo'te #male miqo'te #ffxiv rp #ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #ff14

3 notes · View notes

calleo-bricriu · 5 years ago

Text

Haven’t done one of these in awhile so...

full name: Calleo Bricriu. @braxfordthebeater knows his middle name and their agreement is that Calleo will never use Braxford's first name and Braxford will never use Calleo's middle name.

pronunciation: There are technically around three correct ways to pronounce it, so he's not exactly picky. That’s not even a joke, there are several ways to say it.

nicknames: @kerrotko 's Severus is allowed to call him Leo. @absintheabsence has probably 15 or so various pet names for him. @pocketsfullofspiders often just calls him babe. Goblins are contractually allowed to call him Hunðeow, which means lapdog.

height. 5'8"

age. Verse dependent, but most often in his 30s (Golden Trio era) or mid to late 40s (Fantastic Beasts verse).

zodiac. Leo. If you want his full birth chart, my dumb ass put that together and it's here.

languages. Fluently spoken: English Spoken well enough that he could probably get by without completely embarrassing himself, though it'd still be obvious it's on shaky ground: German & Danish. Written/Reading: Latin, Middle English, Old English, German, as those are most commonly what he sees at work.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

hair colour. Kinda orange. If you wanted to be nice, red. If you wanted to be annoying, ginger.

eye colour. Brown. Depending on the colour and amount of eye makeup worn that can appear anything from almost yellow to black but, on their own, without heavy makeup, they're a pretty run of the mill brown.

skin tone. Pretty pale in that way gingers tend to be. It doesn't help that he works in a department below ground with no windows, it's often dark when he gets in and dark when he leaves. He doesn't avoid daylight on purpose, it just works out that way.

body type. If you asked him, he could stand to drop a few pounds. Nobody with eyes would use words like 'lithe' or 'slim' to describe him. He just looks kind of soft.

accent. Two options:

Option 1: At work and/or if he wants to make sure you can understand what he's saying, he puts on a WWN broadcaster accent. So, the sort of generic accent people not in the UK think of when they think of a "British accent". Kinda boring.

Option 2: A hellscape that mixes the accent from the area he grew up in, which is far Northern, rural Scotland and a mix of vowels sounding a bit off as his mother is from Northern Denmark and has a fairly thick accent with a tiny sprinkling of Northern Scottish.

To start.

Once he moved closer to London, more bits and pieces of surrounding (and varied) accents started creeping in, and when he moved back to a rural Scottish town again (though this time, near the English border and about 30 minutes West of Newcastle) it got muddled even further.

At this point, if he speaks at his normal speed and you haven't know him for years, it probably sounds like he's either not speaking English or is just babbling nonsense. If he speeds it up and mumbles, good fucking luck figuring out what he’s saying. While that occasionally happens if he's excited about something, he most often drops the "broadcaster" accent and speech patterns for it if he wants someone to go away and stop talking to him.

He thinks in that accent as well as he found it to be a reasonably decent built in Occlumancy defence.

dominant hand. Either or for most things, with a slight preference given to the right.

posture. He either looks intensely interested in/friendly toward something he's interested in with posture and body language that conveys that very clearly or completely detached to the point that others sometimes wonder if he's listening at all for day to day work interactions.

The feigned disinterest is often used in business transactions with certain types of people who are likely to get offended and try even harder to get his attention because how dare someone not be interested in their magnificence?

He does tend to slouch or sit however he finds most comfortable, which may or may not be correctly or on a piece of furniture designed for sitting.

scars. He's got a good collection, usually from experimental magic backfiring, sometimes from duels, occasionally from fights. A few are intentional and inflicted by other people.

tattoos. Nope.

most noticeable features. He thinks it's his mess of hair. Other people tend to say it's more the bright clothing.

CHILDHOOD.

place of birth. Braemar, Scotland.

hometown. Also Braemar.

birth weight / height. He's never thought to ask but assumes it was within normal ranges.

manner of birth. Oh, you know, the usual way.

first words. "What's that?" mashed into one word.

siblings. Exactly zero.

parents. Thrasius & Beathas (Kjeldgaard) Bricriu

parental involvement. He was and still is very close to both of his parents and they are involved in his adult life as well. They both work at the Ministry and have a tendency to visit him at least once per day if he’s there.

ADULT LIFE

occupation. Senior Archivist in the Department of Mysteries’ Research Wing.

close friends. Verse/RP dependent for canon characters. In my main verse, in the canon basket of close friends there’s: @absintheabsence @aconxtum @kerrotko ‘s Severus, @severus-snape-of-spinners-end, @theotherdumbledore (when they’re around!), @ambiidexter (Sorry Remus :) ).

In terms of canon characters he’s on friendly (or at least not hostile) terms with, in my main verse: @lamentedhope , @thegreatestminister , @slytherin-bled (Bellatrix), @tmvoldemort , @0lliivanders, @leeriverofwordsjordan

For OC characters he’s on friendly terms with: @lyraxlestrange

For friends' OCs, those close friends span any verse, so @misfit-herbologist @pracownik-ministerstwa @braxfordthebeater @pocketsfullofspiders @legilimens-corvus-frugilegus (who also plays Gan) and @directoryandle are always around in some form or another.

relationship status. In several open relationships at any given time. In most, the only overlapping feature is Calleo, all of his partners are aware of the others and have no issues with it because good communication and established rules about how everything works is a thing, and a thing that everyone is willing to abide by.

financial status. His public finances show him pretty standard middle class.

driver’s license. Nope.

criminal record. Roughly 9 alleged Statute of Secrecy violations (all dismissed), one Excessive Use of Force (also dismissed, it's difficult to charges to stick to someone who works in the Department of Mysteries), and one assault and battery of law enforcement during the First War that was ruled self defence.

SEX & ROMANCE.

sexual orientation. Whatever, as long as you're at least 50% human and look generally human. romantic orientation. Also whatever.

preferred emotional role. submissive | dominant | switch | Depends on the partner and what the general mood is each particular time. There are definitely more than three options here.

preferred sexual role. submissive | dominant | switch | Depends on the partner and what the general mood is each particular time. There are definitely more than three options here.

turn ons. Treating him as an equal and educated member of his professional field (as opposed to some kid playing with dangerous magic), generally not being a complete arse, focusing more on his intellectual and magical strengths and accomplishments over, "You're pretty". Being interested in the type of work he does.

turn offs. Treating him like a child, like he's beneath you, arrogance that can't be backed up with skill, explaining to him why you think his occupation and hobbies are "immoral", reading his own research back to him and doing it in a way that shows you didn't actually understand what you wrote, giving him orders of any sort if that wasn't an agreed upon game, being casually horrible about things like, "Aurors keep society safe", "Anyone using the Dark Arts belongs in Azkaban," "Werewolves aren't people," things of that nature. Telling him he "could do better" after meeting one or more of his long term partners.

love language. Talking to you without being under work orders to talk to you, letters at all hours of the night for no reason other than to say something that happened to pop into his head, gifts that cannot be mistaken for anything other it meaning he knows you very, very well, physical touch (platonic or otherwise), voluntarily spending time with you without having to schedule it. In general, if he's voluntarily giving you his time, you matter to him on some level.

relationship tendencies. Pretty things that will indulge his habits and research projects. The bonus here is that if you're willing to and skilled enough to do the latter, he's going to find you very pretty indeed. Ugly is more a state of mind anyway.

MISCELLANEOUS.

character’s theme song. Doom or Destiny - Blondie & Joan Jett

hobbies to pass the time. Work, only he calls it a hobby at that point. Spell modification/creation, discussing magical theory, laying around while doing those first three things, watching other people work if what they're doing requires fine manual dexterity, playing bait in traps he works with to set up, needling various departments at the Ministry about how they're doing their jobs poorly, performing 'magic tricks' (card tricks with marked decks, distraction based illusions, sleight of hand, etc...) around Muggles just to see if the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will get their hackles raised and try to arrest him again, a lot of completely unmentionable things because it's not Sunday.

left or right brained. The type of work he's involved in relies on fairly even communication between the two.

fears. Slipping and losing himself to addiction again. In that vein, losing the ability to keep a stranglelhold on that addiction and turning into something--unstable and violent.

self confidence level. He keeps it in line with his abilities and is exceptionally careful not to let his reach exceed his grasp; when it comes to working with the Dark Arts and the other sorts of people who also work with the Dark Arts, letting your ego get the better of you is often a very good way to end up dead.

It’s not arrogance if you can back it up, after all.

vulnerabilities. Those are on a need to know basis; those who need to know already do. The most obvious one anyone else would see comes out when he talks about addiction as it's clear, either by how specific it is, or because he verbatim says so, that he's primarily talking about his experience with it.

tagged by: stolen from @mia-castellan because I haven't done one of these in awhile. tagging: whoever wants to. I bunch of you all got tagged further up so that also works.

#ooc #about #character info

1 note · View note

mucky-puddler · 5 years ago

Text

So, I’m doing a module on Kubrick, and I’m bringing you along for the ride

Context; I’m required to upload weekly blogs about the lectures and screenings and readings from the week. This is that.

Okay, so first is the lecture; one of the first things Nathan said is that Kubrick is that he has a film in every genre other than a western - we were not given a reason why; I guess he just hates them.

After my first introduction to Kubrick, I didn’t really know what to think about him - he seems a little high maintenance because he was very nit-picky about something changing on his set, whether that was a slight difference in the lighting or a prop had shifted. It should come as a surprise to no-one that Kubrick was an avid photographer as a young man because the skills he learnt whilst as a photographer at Look Magazine have bled through into his film-making. I also enjoy photography, so I connected with him at least on a very surface level. His other hobbies, like chess and other physical sports, also can be seen manifesting themselves through his work - some good, brief examples are his three short docu-style films. Day of the Fight illustrates his passion for sport and shows how he experimented with his photography at the same time; a good example of this is what I am calling the ‘under-the-fight’ shot, where the boxers are shot from underneath - we can see both of their faces and where the blows are hitting, and it gives the audience a glimpse into what it might have been like to see the fight live. Perhaps his strength and talent in photography lead people to see him as a “New York Intellectual” - part of me thinks that the deep and entwining themes came along after his experience as a photographer.

As most filmmakers do, Kubrick responded to the debates and ideas of his time, and made films within the context of those issues (more on this later). He seemed a little stuck up, especially when considering that he did not compromise his stylistic or intellectual integrity; some might say that that is noble of him, that he remains true to himself and the standards he upholds, but try thinking about it from the other crew’s point of view - he might have turned down their ideas because they did not align with his. This is, of course, speculation and I have no evidence to prove either way. Also, I’ve been informed that he had to check everything himself and didn’t trust other people to make his imagination come to life, which seems controlling to me - for example, he would often insist on holding the camera himself in order to effectively portray a point of view or something. I think if he could direct, hold the camera, do all the edits, record the sound, and act all the characters, he would. It would appear that he wanted everything to be just how he wanted it - but maybe that’s my pessimistic mindset coming through.

Let’s talk about the first three shorts Kubrick was commissioned to do. The first was called “Day of the Fight” in 1951 and is a documentary about Walter Cartier, an Irish middleweight boxer preparing for a fight. The narration, paired with the footage shot by Kubrick himself, informs the audience of how a semi-professional boxer prepares for a fight. Through this short piece, we can see Kubricks interests creep in - his enjoyment of sport and passion for chess is represented by the boxing itself, but also his love for animals can be seen through his inclusion of Cartier's dog. It is in this piece that the first ‘under-the-fight’ shot is used, emphasising his love for interesting shot and photography. His next short is called “The Flying Padre” (also 1951) and is another docu-piece about the priest Father Fred Stadtmuller who used his plane to spread the word of God and reach as many people as possible. He is portrayed as a lawful good hero, a Superman type. This is the shortest of the three, and there isn’t much more to say about it. The final short Kubrick released was made in 1953 called “The Seafarers”, and contained information about the perks that these navy-esque men receive for their service. It sheds an innocently positive light on the domestic aspects of their work and the options available for them (although they do say the word ‘seafarers’ far too much). It looks like some of the short were staged, especially as Kubrick probably would have had only one camera, but that is a common method to use when creating docu-style pieces. One question I did have though, nothing to do with Kubrick though, is how are the families of the seafarers perceived? Are they judged or pitied for not having a man around (because it was the 50′s, ya know)?

I’ll briefly (or not) discuss the other two feature-length films that Kubrick released about the same time. In 1955 he released “The Killers Kiss” whose story revolved around an ex-boxer and a dancer who fell in love and wanted to run away together to escape her creepy boss. As is the case with all of Kubrick’s films so far, this one started with some internal monologuing. The first 15 minutes or so heavily mirror “Day of the Fight”, from the vanity inspection beforehand to the ‘under-the-fight’ shot, which makes sense - Kubrick was only in his 20s when both of these films were released and his experience (like most of ours) was limited at the time (also we all draw inspiration from previous work/real life or whatever). Other than the glaring social issues (gotta love the 50′s) and peculiar plot holes, I felt that the music offset the desired atmosphere during scenes that were meant to be particularly tense - we learned that Kubrick enjoyed his music, jazz, in particular, so I find it strange that he would not try to better match the music with the intensity of the scene; perhaps it was that he did not have much music to work with. Kubrick uses a lot of noir features in this film e.g. harsh shadows, casting light through slatted blinds, utilising the aesthetic of smoking and fedora hats standing at street corners and at the ends of dark alleys, which I always enjoy. The second film we were introduced to was “The Killing” from 1956 - according to Nathan, this film inspired Tarantino to use split narrative, and this is one of the worlds first heist films. I don’t have as much to say about this one, both sport and chess can be seen within it illustrating Kubrick’s love for them both, it has a lot of noir tropes, and I think there was a gay couple in it? But I might be reading into it a little too deeply. There was an interesting switch of gender roles between two couples - in one, the man was dominant and overbearing, but in the other couple it was the woman who essentially bullied her partner, which was potentially quite progressive when considering the time in which it was released.

Here’s a brief (actually, this time) intro to the film I want to focus on - “Fear and Desire” was the first Kubrick film I watched, I had no expectations or thoughts about it beforehand and didn’t really know what to make notes on. After doing some reading, certain things became clearer, so I’ll pair the reading with some of my notes on the film itself.

In the introduction of the reading, James Enyeart talks a lot about the implications and developments of photography in the mid 19th century - these are some of the attributes he gives it;

- highly graphic and structures

- photographers had a keener eye

- composition gave structure and harmony

- gave a more aesthetically pleasing view of the world

- the more graphic an image and the more dramatic it’s presentation, the stronger the emotion

I agree with these conclusions - obviously, technology has advances since then, but these comments still ring true today. Additionally, Enyeart discusses photos in relation to the context they provide, and I have a theory; if a collection of photos can give more context than a single image, therefore a film (which is a series of photos shown in quick succession) can give the maximum amount of context? Alternatively, it could have the opportunity to convey multiple contexts, which could be considered themes?

Word of the day; Apotheosis – a perfect form or example of something, the highest or best part of something, elevation to a divine status.

I also agree with Enyeart’s comment suggesting that the overlap of cinematic photography, fiction, reality, and documentary style is the apotheosis of film.

Cherchi Usai’s chapter on Kubrick and “Fear and Desire” is more tailored to discussing the film – also I didn’t read any of the other chapters because I didn’t have time and that shit is long.

One of the biggest things discussed is how Kubrick hated the film in question (and I have to partially agree – it’s not great), but what is interesting is that no one can seem to agree whether it is a masterpiece or not. After the film was made and ready to be distributed, Kubrick was in love with it, as any young creative is with their most recent work. It is said he called “it’s structure; allegorical. It’s conception; poetic.” However, soon after its public release, critics called it “amateur” and said nothing more. However, after the initial hype, Kubrick ignored the fact that it ever existed, and it was after that that critics and fanatics thought the work to be more than it’s original worth. To me, it feels like a stranger wandered into Kubrick’s childhood bedroom and riffled through his GCSE artwork to find something for a museum – I do not understand why “Fear and Desire” is obsessed over.

It was at this point that I debated whether I wanted or even cared about the origins of the film, but my degree told me yes.

Also, keeping a camera in a paper bag is terrible camera care and hurts my physically.

One of the main points that were discussed was the theme of obsession – Kubrick had obsessions in his life, and he made films surrounding obsessions of different themes; death, lust, war, money, fear (also narration and film noir for Kubrick himself). In the film “Fear and Desire”, those obsessions are made manifest through Mac’s conversation with Corby about the Governor – he is obsessed with killing the enemy and winning the war, so much so that he died for his cause.

The final point to discuss is the double use of the actors – the actor for Corby also plays the Governor, which adds an air of humanity. Additionally, the narration played over their images is existential and inward-looking, therefore humanising both sides of the war.

#film student #film review #kubrick #stanley kubrick #fear and desire

1 note · View note

untapdtreasure · 6 years ago

Note

TV Show Ask Game 1, 3, 5, 7, 9-29, and 31-49.

TV Show Ask Game

1. if you could reboot one TV show, which one would it be? Earth 2. But only if they could go back in time with the same cast at those ages. It was a brilliant concept that maybe just came ahead of its time.

3. have you ever quit a show before it finished? why? No. But I've wanted to. Once I start something I like to finish it.

5. what’s your comfort show? H20: Just Add Water. I seem to go back to it when I need something light and fun and that doesn't require a ton of thinking in order to enjoy it. I know it's an Australian teenage drama, but I absolutely adore it and the characters.

7. have you ever been inspired to start a new show based on gifs or memes it has produced? The Man From the High Castle and Westworld.

9. what’s one show you thought you’d hate but turned out to really enjoy? Family Guy. I usually don't care for shows with that kind of humor, but it has turned out to be a true gem and favorite of mine.

10. what’s one show you thought you’d love but turned out to really hate? Sons of Anarchy.

11. which TV show has the best musical soundtrack, in your opinion? Cold Case. And Supernatural.

12. have you ever watched a show just for a specific actor? did you enjoy it? I tried to watch Californication because of my love for David Duchovny. I didn't get past season one, and I haven't had the urge to continue it further.

13. what genre of TV show is your favourite? Science-Fiction.

14. do you tend to stick to one type of TV show (eg, short-form comedy), or are you into many different genres? I love a ton of different genres. I mean, sticking to one type is mega boring. And I'm not always in the mood for something funny or drama or sad or whatever. So I like to have options. Lots and lots of options.

15. do you feel like there are any overrated TV show formats? I'm not really sure what this means so I'm not going to comment.

16. do you feel like there are any underrated TV show formats? I'm not really sure what this means so I'm not going to comment.

17. have you ever written fanfiction for a TV show? I started with CSI and The X-Files a long time ago (2004) and still write it today. So yeah. I've written fanfiction for a television show that I love. Several of them in fact. Fifteen years and still going strong.

18. have you ever drawn fanart for a show? I cannot draw to save my life. So the closest thing I've ever drawn for a show was stick figures for The Walking Dead for another ask meme. LOL.

19. are there any shows on your “to watch” list right now? Oh my heck! There are a ton of shows and movies that are on my list to watch at a later date. I even go through it sometimes and delete things that I've added in the past that I know I will never get around to watching. It drives my husband mad to see all the crap in there that never gets watched.

20. Netflix, Hulu, or Prime originals? I happen to like some of all of them, but my favorites just so happen to be Hulu ones. The Handmaid's Tale and Hollie Hobby!

21. if you could be a guest star on any show, which one would it be? The X-Files but that won't ever happen because I'm pretty sure that the show is likely done this time around. I hope anyway. LOL.

22. if you could write your own TV show, what would it be like? A complete disaster. It would be a feel-good show with characters that care more about others around them than anything else. So yeah! A complete disaster. I'll leave the writing to the professionals and stick to writing fanfiction because it's so much easier.

23. are you a fan of will-they-won’t-they plots? Yes, I am. Some of the best ships have come from just that scenario.

24. how do you feel about bottle episodes? I have a love/hate relationship with them. When I haven't seen a character or a couple of characters for a bit, they are fun to play catch up with them, but then I would rather every episode have a little of everyone than focus on one group or character solely.

25. do you prefer proper opening credits, or a simple title card? A simple title card is all that I need because I'm ready to watch the show. I know who stars in it. I don't need to see it every time.

26. favourite TV show theme song? Pretty Little Liars.

27. which actor do you think deserves an Emmy for their work on TV? Melissa McBride and Andrew Lincoln from The Walking Dead.

28. who would be your dream cameo on your favourite show? Kathryn Erbe in the Zombie Apocolypse would be an absolute dream come true! I'd love to see her play in a scene opposite Melissa McBride's Carol.

29. do you tend to quote TV shows a lot? have you ever started using a word/phrase because of a TV show? No, I don't usually quote anything from a TV show unless I'm talking to a fellow fan and we're discussing the show. And I can't think of a time that I've ever taken a phrase from a show/movie and used it in real life. OHHH! Yes, I have! There is a contestant on Survivor that says, "Oh my heck!" and I love that phrase now. LOL.

31. do you use subtitles while watching TV if you can? I will rewind a scene and turn them on if I'm confused about something that is being said, or I'm making a comic strip/photo or gif set where I need the exact quote.

32. what’s one show you could watch over and over? Earth 2, H20: Just Add Water, Mako Mermaids, etc. I could go on and on with some of my favorite feel-good shows.

33. would you be interested in trying a show in another language? I've tried to watch a new series on Netflix, but it just really takes me out of it when I have to read the words. I can't focus on the actions and scenery if I'm constantly having to read the dialogue.

34. what are your top 5 shows right now? The Walking Dead, Law & Order: SVU, Heartland, The Rookie, and 9-1-1.

35. who are your top 5 TV characters right now? Carol Peletier, Lt. Olivia Benson, Athena Grant, Howard 'Chimney' Han, Rookie Officer John Nolan

36. what TV character would you die for? Carol Peletier. But not really.

37. which TV show setting would you most like to visit? The Walking Dead.

38. do you prefer hour long episodes, or 30 minute? It really depends on the material. Sometimes thirty minutes is long enough to tell a complete story, but sometimes, you really need that full hour.

39. do you prefer 22 episode seasons, or 13? It really depends on the show and the story being told.

40. is there a show coming out soon that you’re really excited about? The sixth season of The 100. There is nothing new coming out that I'm that interested in.

41. if you could change 1 detail about any show, what would you change and why? I would change the way in which season four of The Walking Dead was executed so that it made better sense. I wouldn’t necessarily change the main plot points, but I would change how the story was told and would elaborate on whatever needed to be elaborated on so that it made more sense narratively speaking. I believe that certain things had to happen to get the payoff down the road, but the way in which it was written and executed was entirely bogus. Scott Gimple did not trust his audience at all.

42. what’s the longest amount of time you’ve ever watched a show in one sitting? Five plus hours when binge watching ER with my Mom on the weekends.

43. what do you think is a good amount of seasons for a TV show? Six or Seven. But that depends on the show and material for the show. Some shows really can't be wrapped up in that time frame, but some that really should end on a good note. Justified is a wonderful show, but those in charge knew that it was time to let it go. But Supernatural doesn't seem to know that it should end already. The first five or six seasons were brilliant, but it got a little (or a lot) stupid after that.

44. if you could replace any actor on TV in playing their role, who would you like to play and why? I wouldn't want to replace anyone because I absolutely love and adore the people chosen to play their specific roles. I wouldn't want to mess with the chemistry of the cast for even one minute.

45. do you own any TV shows on DVD? I own several shows on DVD. Too many to list.

46. do you prefer to watch TV alone or with friends? Alone because if you watch with friends there is too much talking going on.

47. are there any shows you love but your friends aren’t interested in? Like almost everything. LOL. My tastes and theirs do not usually mesh. It's rare that we have overlapping interest in a show.

48. are there any shows your friends love but you aren’t interested in? Yes. Just about as many of my shows as their shows, honestly.

49. who are your favourite couples on TV? Well, most of them are really canon ships, but there is Carol & Daryl from The Walking Dead, Olivia Benson and Rafael Barba from SVU, Regina Mills and Robin of Locksley from Once Upon a Time, Mulder and Scully from The X-Files. There are several more, but I think those are plenty to list right now. I have an otps page if you'd like to see the ones that I love the most. Oh! Han & Leia from Star Wars.

#& asks answered #fandom musings #anonymous #Anonymous

3 notes · View notes

hiatusfluff-blog · 8 years ago

Text

third and final compilation of shimayu moments from the novel

part 1 part 2

Here’s the shimayu interactions in chronological order so that you can get a feel of the progression (details mentioned in the first post are largely omitted, though there are also parts with overlaps). It was a long and arduous process and admittedly, I had zero motivation to translate anything, but then I decided to grit my teeth and glue myself to my chair. And lo behold! :D Pardon the grammatical errors, jarring jumps between certain paragraphs and the changes in pronouns. Usually, when I switch to ‘Mayura’ after using ‘I’, I’m summarising rather than translating. Other times, it’s just... a grammatical inconsistency. Sorry ‘bout that. ≡(*′▽`)っ

Mayura asks Shimon to guide her in becoming stronger because she cannot think of any other person to depend on. Shimon responds by telling her that her request is unreasonable (and Mayura sighs in dejection), but he agrees to help her nevertheless, citing that it’s not in his character to be afraid of hassle.

Shimon’s popular with girls at school. Mayura acknowledges that it’s only natural since he’s not only good-looking but also strong. -bumping scene from post 2- Shimon points out that Mayura has always been looking at Roku since before. Mayura denies his claim but Shimon tells her that he has noticed that her eyes were always following him. Mayura frantically continues to deny his assertion and says that “Roku already has Benio” and “it’s not like that”. Shimon’s cluelessness manifests in his conclusion that Roku is someone Mayura respects greatly and she looks at him to observe and learn from him. Mayura forcefully changes the topic and asks why Shimon is eating in such a place. -bread scene from post 2-

Jinya insults Mayura very harshly and tells her to give up on her futile effort, saying that he sensed absolutely no potential in her. He tells her that to the Amakawa family, she was but a burden who will drag the family down and she has no value as a family head. He tells her to get lost and return to her comfortable home. (Note: this guy also defeats Mayura in chapter one and if I remember correctly, he punched her in the guts during the process. I was raging at him until I found out that he was deliberately behaving in such an obnoxious fashion so that Mayura will give up on being the family head and live happily as a normal girl. After the battle in the last chapter, he acknowledges Mayura’s strength and role as family head, bows his head and seeks forgiveness for his rudeness). Unconsciously, Mayura has kneeled and budding tears blurred her vision. Her throat burnt and she could not help but to sob. Right at this moment, Shimon’s voice rang through the room.

“You guys are the worst.”

Jinya tells Shimon to stay out of it since he’s an outsider but he replies by saying that he’s not an outsider because he’s the one training with Mayura every day. Shimon declares, “I don’t care what you guys think, but Otomi will definitely become stronger. One month later, I guarantee that you will not dare to talk to her in such a rude fashion.”

After Jinya exits, Mayura thanks Shimon for coming forward to help her. Internally, she admits that even though it really feels horrible to be told such harsh words, Shimon coming to her help really made her happy, and her declaration that “Otomi will definitely become stronger” gave her much courage. In her heart, she thinks that no matter what happens, she will definitely respond to Shimon’s expectations. For Shimon who is giving her his utmost support, she will certainly surpass Jinya in a month!

Mayura asks if she could accompany Shimon on a mission to gain more experience and so they go off together. Shimon defeat the impurities. As he turns to walk to his comrades, Mayura notices a shadow behind him and she calls out to Shimon.

“Shimon, behind you!”

The impurity was three metres tall and it was going to bite off Shimon’s head. Even for Shimon, such a sudden attack was hard to deal with.

“I have to protect him!” Mayura thought.

Despite the seals on her body (she’s wearing some sort of limiter seals for training purposes, I believe. That’s what made her body so heavy in the bumping scene) she does some kickass magical exorcist stuff and charge towards the impurity, shouting, “Get away from Shimon!” She defeats the impurity like a boss, stunning Shimon, because the seals should have limited her power.

There’s more exorcist explanation. The gist is that Shimon tells Mayura that her seal power and her seal control (at least I think he’s talking about something related to seal; take my exorcist summary with a pinch of salt) are superior to Roku.

“Anyhow, you need to be more confident. Your aptitude for exorcism is without a doubt on par with Master Seigen.”

They arrive at the island for training. After training, Mayura asks if there’s a place to shower and Shimon gives her the directions.

“That place should also have clothes for you to change into; feel free to use them as you please.”

After thirty minutes, Shimon greets Mayura with a stunned face. Here’s yet another adorably awkward conversation (first person from Mayura’s POV):

“O-otomi… what’s with your appearance…?”

Shimon stared at me with wide eyes. Such a shocked expression makes me a little embarrassed.

“U-um, is this very weird…?”

“Damn… there are people who come to this island for vacation huh. Just what sort of place do they think this island is?” (i.e. the bikini is probably prepared for or by those on vacation)

Shimon’s gaze erratically moves away and back to me again (and then he looks away and looks back again). How do I say it… Shimon’s indeed a boy. I wavered a little and felt really shy.

“But you see, won’t I sweat a lot from the training? In this outfit, I don’t have to worry about getting dirty.”

“Even though that’s true, how do I put it, this is poison to the eyes…”

As he desperately tries to shift his gaze away from my body, I was thinking that Shimon is really a serious person. Afterwards, they talk and Mayura asks him if he has any hobby. Shimon nods and talks about what he does outside of training (he plants, waters, trims and finds fertiliser for his plants and Mayura is like, “They’re all related to plants. O_o”). Mayura then asks if he has never played with friends. Shimon replies that there’s no exorcist of his age so he has only played with his sister. Mayura asks if he has played with any girl other than his sister.

“Other girls?”

“You see, aren’t you popular with girls at school? It wouldn’t be strange if you had a girlfriend.”

“What are you saying? I probably wouldn’t have one. Missions and jobs make me busy enough. How will I have the time to play with girls?”

“I see… Well, let’s not talk about girlfriends. You should at least have a girl you’re interested in, right?”

“A girl I’m interested in…?”

Shimon thought about it for a while and his reply was clear. “No.” During a training, Mayura exhausts her energy and Shimon catches her body as she almost falls.

The boat they came by was washed away by the waves so they’re now effectively shipwrecked.

Shimon berates himself for causing the situation due to his negligence.Then comes this line from Mayura’s internal monologue, “In these days with this serious, perfect exorcist genius, I saw his various sides. Honestly, I sometimes think that he’s very cute. But of course, I won’t be able to say something like this.”

Here’s the conversation from the bed scene mentioned in the first post:

“Well then, I’ll be sleeping here.”

“Eh, why?”

“The cabin is small. It’s hard for two to sleep inside.”

“Ah.” The space, while limited, should suffice for two. But then, a young man and a young woman living under the same roof… noticing this point is still embarrassing.

“[some (Chinese?) proverb about girls and guys older than seven needing to stay in different places]. There’s such a saying right? Therefore, I will sleep outside.”

“Ehhh? Outside… outside’s very cold though? Hey… it’s better to stay inside. I’ll… try my best not to be bothered.”

Even though there’s nothing more embarrassing than this, I’d feel very sorry for Shimon if he hurts his body here.

“B-but…” Shimon’s face was bright red. “If this thing is discovered by others, such as Roku, you’d be troubled too right?”

“Well, that’s the case but… but as I’ve said, it isn’t as though I want to do anything weird… Eh!? Could it be that Shimon wants to do something weird….?”

“Huh!? I definitely won’t do something like that! Definitely not!”

“Well then, sleeping in the same room shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Urgh. Fine.”

Don’t even talk about weird things, after he crawled into his blanket, he turned to the other side and was completely silent. I have no idea if he should be called a gentleman or what…Speaking of it, from the start, I’ve never thought that he would do anything rude to me.

They talk more the next few days (sorry I’m not translating every conversation ^^’). Basically, because they open their hearts to each other during their conversations, Mayura feels that their distance is now closer. “Because he has been supporting me, I feel that I should work harder!”

One night, Mayura asks what will happen if they’re trapped forever on the island.

“That’s impossible. Hmm. I can’t imagine being on this island forever. That’s not a good thing.”

“Ahaha. As I thought. It’s boring if you keep training with me, isn’t it?”

“No, I don’t dislike accompanying you for training. It’s just that I have something that I want to do regardless of what happenes, and that is, to use my hands to save my sister’s future. If I can’t do that, I’d be pained.”

He talks more about Tenma and Roku (both of whom he admits he does not get along with; with Tenma, it’s because he lost to him and he wants to beat him and make him remember his name).

And Mayura thought, “The usually calm Shimon harbours such fervent feelings towards his peers. This side of Shimon really fits my impression of guys that age. It’s a bit cute…”

“That’s why I cannot stay on this island forever.”

“That’s true.”

“Of course, the reason I cannot return is not just that.” Shimon gazed at my eyes. “Otomi has not yet received acknowledgment as the family head, and it is for this reason that I’m helping you to train. If we cannot return, I cannot fulfill our agreement.”

“…Yes. You’re right.”

Anyway, Shimon’s concerned about me too. To say something like that makes me really happy.

“Shimon is such a good man!”

Shimon shakes his head.

“From discussing various things with me to accompanying me for training. I can’t thank you enough.”

“Don’t mind it. Besides, I’m not helping you for your thanks.”

“Hey, Shimon, why are you helping me to such an extent?”

“Why… something like that… indeed. To be honest, I’m not sure.”

“You yourself don’t understand it”

“At the start, I want to repay Master Seigen. But now, it’s different. How do I put it… I feel as though I can’t leave you alone.”

“Can’t leave me alone? Why?”

“Hmm… I can’t express it well with words. It’s just that when I see Otomi, I feel as though I’m seeing my younger self.”

“Even though you’re very weak, you seek to become stronger and never give up. These parts are very similar to me. Also, your gaze is always seeking someone. This part is similar too.”

They talk more about Shimon’s admiration of Seigen.

“One day, I’ll definitely catch up to Master Seigen and surprass him!”

“Shimon’s really amazing. You’re an exorcist and you have no fears or doubts. I really respect you!”

“Is that so?” Out of shyness, Shimon scratched his cheek.

“If that’s the case, Otomi’s the same. You’re working hard daily.”

“… But I… I still feel fear from some corners of my heart.”

Mayura confides in Shimon her fears and Shimon reassures her that he’s the same.

“For my sister, I definitely cannot die, and don’t want to die. I’ve always been facing battles with such a feeling. This is not an embarrassing thing.”

I suddenly feel as though my doubts are dissipating.

“That’s why, Otomi, you’re not wrong.”

Hearing Shimon’s strong declaration, I feel warmth from the depth of my heart. To be acknowledged by someone I respect is really such a happy thing.

Shimon further reassures Mayura.

“You have to know, that you are not alone.”

As he speaks, he places his hand over my right hand. Our hands overlapped.

Shimon explains that his sister will do the same for him when anything happens. He hopes that Mayura will receive the similar courage and assurance that she’s not alone.

“That’s why, I hope that you can have courage. At the very least, I hope that you know that there’s a person here who is your comrade.”

Mayura thanks Shimon for dispelling her doubts and proclaims that she will become stronger for everyone. She wants to become an exorcist who can protect her loved ones.

“Ahh… If it’s Otomi, you can definitely do it.”

“Ehehehe, thank you. Ah that’s right. I’ve been thinking this since some time ago. It’s very stiff to call me by my first name; ‘Mayura is fine!”

“Hm? Is that so…?”

“Yup! I’ve been calling you Shimon from the start.”

“Ahh, I know. If that’s better then I’ll do that.”

Our hands were tightly linked and we nodded at each other.

Some time later, they’re rescued. Trouble has cropped up for Jinya and Mayura insists on going to help but is turned down because it’s too risky for her to go alone.

“I know it’s dangerous, and it goes against the rule, but it’s precisely because it’s dangerous that I cannot give up on helping Jinya and the others!”

“No one talked about giving up.”

“Eh?”

“If you cannot apply for a rescue mission, I’ll be the one to do it.”

“Shimon!”

“To help you gain acknowledgement as the family head, I’ll help you. That’s our agreement, isn’t it? If Jinya dies and you win by default, you’d not be able to gain anyone’s approval. Besides, I don’t dislike that determination to save someone even at the expense of breaking rules. Master Seigen also had such moments. You’re indeed his daughter. You can definitely become an amazing exorcist like Master Seigen. To fight together with such an exorcist is a thing to be proud of. That’s why, I ask of you, do fight with me, Mayura.”

“Shimon…!” My heart overflows with gratitude. This boy known as Shimon, just how much help has he given me. If I think carefully, it’s great to have him here. So long as I have Shimon’s help, I feel as though I can overcome any obstacle.

Yuzuru’s face was that of relief. She bowed her head low to Shimon and said, “If I can receive the Ikaruga family’s aid, nothing can be more assuring. Take care of Miss Mayura!”

Shimon nodded and replied, “Okay.” His face looked really reliable.

Yuzuru turned to me and said, “Miss Mayura, you have a really great friend.”

Just as she said, Shimon is already to me, an irreplaceable friend.

And then they head off to battle and there’s Mayura’s narration:

I suppose this is also the result of our long training on the island. Whatever attack Shimon wants to make, I am unintentionally able to understand the rhythm of his movement. For him, this is probably also the same. The earth and the sky, even though the distance is great, our heart and body have completely merged as one.

“Next is [insert direction and distance]!”

“Understood…!” As Shimon controls his blades, a bitter smile surfaced. “Speaking of which, Mayura, isn’t it a bit too much to order me around like this?”

“This is payback for putting me through the brutal Spartan training!”

“Good grief.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“Really, you don’t have to be so polite!”

As Shimon and I bickered like a married couple ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), we dealt a critical blow with our full strength and the miasma (the black fog. I can’t remember the term for it) in front dispersed.

Even though this is a battle with lives at stake, I felt very happy for some reason. This feeling is really amazing. It is not as though I’m not afraid of battles and injuries, but if it’s with Shimon, it doesn’t feel as scary. This must be because he gave courage to me!

“Somehow, my body feels very light…!”

It must be the result of the training. But the reason is not this alone; it’s also because I have dependable comrades to lend their strength to me, and I have people to protect at my back. Because of these, I can continue to fight with my hands.

After hearing Jinya’s words, I wonder if I can become the head the family is proud of. That is probably something to work towards my whole life. Regardless, I will surely be fine. The me now has the courage to press on. Even when in doubt, there is nothing to stop my steps… the important friend who taught me all these now places his hand on my shoulder.

“That’s great. You’ve now accomplished your goal.”

I smiled and held his hand in response.

That’s right. I’m not alone. From now on, I’ll continue to work hard.

A week later, Mayura sees Shimon in school. He tells her that the heavenly commanders are very busy and have special permission to skip lessons. It’s the first time Mayura heard of such a thing and she suddenly realises that Shimon has been coming to help her even though he’s busy, and not once has he brought this up. Mayura could not help but think that this part of Shimon’s really gentle.

Mayura heaves a sigh of relief upon seeing that Shimon’s sight has completely recovered.

“Ahh. There’s no problem at all now. I came today to borrow some books on plants from the library.”

“Is that so?”

“Also, I’m a bit concerned about your situation.”

“Mine?”

“Amakawa family’s situation. After that, did you settle everything properly?”

So he was worried about me. I explained everything to him and he went along with me like a family member as I spoke (basically he nodded and responded with phrases like “is that so?” and “that’s really great”).

“My goal was to help you earn respect as a family head, but I didn’t think that you would master the [control over the white tiger seal, I think] in the process.”

“Me too. Really, it’s all thanks to Shimon. Truly, I thank you. I can never repay your kindness in my whole life.”

“How many times do you want me to say it? You don’t have to be so concerned. I did this willingly.”

“Hey, Shimon. If I can do it, you can talk to me about anything. As repayment, I’d help you no matter what it is.”

“Ahh, I’m grateful for that.”

“Yup. You can talk to me without reservation about anything. Even though I can’t win you when it comes to anything related to exorcism, I can help you with things other than that, such as cooking, desserts, fashion, and whatnot. Even topics related to love would be fine!”

“Love discussion…?” Shimon frowned.

“You see, didn’t you say that you don’t have girlfriend a while back? But what if you have such a person some time later? Even if it’s not to the degree of ‘like’, you can talk to me when you have someone you’re ‘interested in’.”

With a perplexed expression, Shimon replied in a low voice, “I see… if it’s a person of the opposite gender that I’m interested in… there is someone.”

“What!? Is that so?”

“I became… interested recently… I wonder.”

“When exactly did that happen?!”

“Well, whatever discussion it is, you don’t have to mind.”

“Ehh, since you’ve said something like that, I’ll be more concerned…”

That day, regardless of how I probed, Shimon stubbornly refused to disclose the meaning of what he just said. Feeling that Shimon’s attitude was a bit weird, I was in a state of confusion the whole day.

After a very long time, when I discover what Shimon really meant… that is yet another story.

#shimayu #shimayu novel #shimon ikaruga #ikaruga shimon #shimon x mayura #mayura otomi #otomi mayura #otp #novel translations #i'm ded #no energy remains for me to check for grammatical errors #but they're so cute aren't they?#hohohoho #sousei no onmyouji #sousei novel

252 notes · View notes

deusnatura · 6 years ago

Text

Mamoru Nagano On 'L-Gaim', 'Gundam' And The Fractal Nature Of 'The Five Star Stories'

One of the foremost creative people in manga and anime that I have always wanted to talk with has been Mamoru Nagano. A wonderfully polite and thoughtful polymath, I was finally able to sit down with him and discuss his extensive creative output. 私がいつも話したがっているのは、マンガとアニメの最もクリエイティブな人々の1人です。素晴らしく丁寧で思いやりのあるポリマスで、私はついに彼と一緒に座って彼の広範なクリエイティブな成果について議論することができました。 For fans of Nagano’s work, you’ll know that he has an incredibly involved and detailed approach to things. However, it’s interesting in how that manifested when he was growing up. 永野氏の作品のファンにとって、彼は物事に対して信じられないほど複雑で詳細なアプローチを取っていることをご存知でしょう。しかし、彼が成長したときにそれがどのように表れたのかは興味深いです。 “I am from Kyoto but not the city itself, outside the city, is an area called Maizuru. This is a town that has a Navy base, it's a port town. It was also really in the countryside, so information was pretty limited and as I was growing up. I was very much a country boy. That meant if everyone was watching TV and hooked on baseball, then I would also be obsessed with baseball. When the Olympics came along and volleyball became popular, then I would follow volleyball. Then came tennis, it was just like that. So I was quite an ordinary child. 「私は京都出身ですが、街の外ではなく、舞鶴という地域です。これは海軍基地がある町です、それは港町です。それはまた本当に田舎にあった、それで私が成長していたので情報はかなり限られていた。私はとても田舎の男の子でした。つまり、みんながテレビを見ていて野球に夢中になっていたら、野球にも夢中になるでしょう。オリンピックがやってきてバレーボールが人気になったとき、それから私はバレーボールに従うでしょう。それからテニスが来た、それはちょうどそのようでした。だから私はかなり普通の子供でした。 “When it came to hobbies, I was very interested in things like plamodels. However, as someone that was born during the 60s, as a person from my generation that was something everyone experienced simply because there was a craze surrounding making plamodels. In addition, when I was younger I used to listen to the Beatles and American pop music. So I was into music but again, at the same time, everyone else was listening to things like that. 「趣味になると、私はプラモデルのようなものに非常に興味がありました。しかし、60年代に生まれた誰かとして、私の世代から来た人としては、プラモデルを作ることに夢中になっていたという理由だけで誰もが経��したことでした。また、私は若い頃、ビートルズやアメリカのポップミュージックを聴いていました。だから私は音楽に興味がありましたが、同時に、他のみんながそのようなことを聞いていました “However, when I was at high school I seemed to listen to this kind of music in a way that no one else did. In that, I wasn't listening in a passive way but I really dug down and got really into it. Maybe that was a little bit different. 「しかし、私が高校に通っていたとき、私は他の誰もしなかった方法でこの種の音楽を聴いているようでした。その点で、私は受動的な方法で聞いていませんでしたが、私は本当に掘り下げて、そしてそれに本当に入りました。多分それは少し違っていた。 “So when everyone was listening to the Beatles, everyone knew them and their songs but in my case, I knew which member of the band did exactly what at what time. I had very deep knowledge, almost encyclopedic, compared to my friends. The same went for things like fighting vehicles, as in which model did what. I had all this deep knowledge, whereas my friends were more passive. I suppose this is just my character. 「それで、みんながビートルズを聴いていたとき、みんなが彼らと彼らの歌を知っていました、しかし私の場合、私はバンドのどのメンバーがまさに何時に何をしたか知っていました。私は私の友人と比較して、ほとんど百科事典の、非常に深い知識を持っていました。どのモデルが何をしたかのように、同じことが車の戦いのようなものにも行きました。私はこの深い知識をすべて持っていましたが、私の友人はもっと受動的でした。これは私の性格だと思います。 “With tanks, I did have a specific interest and the amount I knew was not normal. It was hardcore. Looking back, if someone could count he knew what the best in this area I reckon I would be quite near the top. 「戦車では、私は特別な興味を持っていました、そして、私が知っていた量は普通ではありませんでした。ハードコアでした。振り返ってみると、もし誰かが彼がこの領域で何が一番良いのか知っていたならば、私は一番上にいるだろうと考えています。 “For instance, in terms of plamodel, there is a company called Tamiya. When I was in high school, Tamiya hosted a contest and I won a prize. I also loved music and I actually wanted to become a musician, to the extent that I could make a living out of it. I would devise ways to become a musician and get out of Maizuru. During those days, in Kyoto and Kansai if you chose to leave the area, perhaps the biggest city would be Osaka or Nagoya for University. In my case, I wanted to go to Tokyo instead because I thought it was the center. Admittedly, during that period both Osaka and Nagoya were cultural centers as well, but for me, Tokyo was the real center. Specifically, for music Tokyo was the place to go. That meant when I went to University, I studied music and when I left University I played music for the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy at the Atsugi and Yamato Bases. 「たとえば、プラモデルに関しては、Tamiyaという会社があります。高校生の頃、タミヤがコンテストを主催し、賞を受賞しました。私も音楽が大好きで、実際に音楽家になりたかったのです。私はミュージシャンになって舞鶴から抜け出す方法を考案するでしょう。その間、京都と関西でこの地域を離れることを選んだ場合、おそらく最大の都市は大阪か大学の名古屋でしょう。私の場合は、東京が中心だと思ったので代わりに東京に行きたかったのです。確かに、その間は大阪も名古屋も文化の中心でしたが、私にとって東京は本当の中心でした。具体的には、音楽のために東京は行くべき場所でした。それは私が大学に行ったとき、私は音楽を学び、大学を出るとき、私は厚木と大和基地でアメリカ陸軍、アメリカ海軍のために音楽を演奏したことを意味しました。 “With manga though, it's quite difficult to describe exactly how I got into it but like how everyone was interested in building plamodel or listening to the Beatles as a kid, everyone was also interested in manga. That meant while I was growing up Osamu Tezuka was a big figure. Anyway, with music, the records had these large 30cm slipcases and on the cover, there was normally an illustration of one kind or another. I was very interested in that.” 「漫画では、私がどのようにして学んだかを正確に説明するのは非常に困難ですが、みんながプラモデルを作ることやビートルズを子供の頃から聞くことに興味を持っていたようです。手塚治虫が成長していたころは、それは大きな人物でした。とにかく、音楽では、レコードはこれらの30cmの大きなスリップケースを持っていました、そして、カバーの上には、通常何らかの種類のイラストがありました。とても興味がありました。」 Starting Out With Cosplay And Building Friendships With Future Anime Legends I am always curious how people get into things like manga and anime and Nagano’s route is especially interesting. With a unique approach to cosplay at a time when it wasn’t at all commonplace. “While I went out to Tokyo, not all of my friends did and I used to gather information for my friends back in Kyoto, in terms of music and things like doujinshi, these weren't like fanzines by the way. “For anime, I always thought it was something beautiful and during that time, Space Battleship Yamato by Leiji Matsumoto was on, there was a film as well. When I was in Tokyo, through the doujinshi friends of friends I was involved in drawing and I was quite skilled at it. In that, I would draw something almost photorealistic. Throughout my 20s, music and anime existed in parallel for me. So I was doing both. “In Kyoto during this period, there were a group of friends who were supporting Mobile Suit Gundam, that was in 1979. So to support that they would do activities as part of the fan club. There were also a lot of women in the fan club and I was amazed at the power of women when they got determined to do something. “So there were members of the fan club that wanted to do a film showing of Mobile Suit Gundam in Kyoto and they would get in touch with the film company and do all sorts to get things organized. They contained this enormous amount of power and energy I felt. So I got involved and I wanted to help them. When they discussed what to do, they decided to include cosplay and through that doing some kind of play with acting. That meant I would get involved with the comic market as well. In those days, there was really no one that did performances on things they admired in front of an audience. So it really stood out. To the extent that various anime and manga magazines would cover the events we did and show photos. Due to the fact that we were known in that way and stood out that much, somehow the record company and production company began to get in touch with us. So we would appear in events as some kind of attraction. “At the same time as I was doing all this in Kyoto, there were other guys doing Gundam related things in different places. These being Shoji Kawamori and Haruhiko Mikimoto. Separate from the comic market there were also a bunch of guys who were doing films. As in science fiction anime films in Osaka. There was a group of them, five of them altogether, and there were trying to make these anime films on their own. That included Toshio Okada and Hideaki Anno. This was Daicon. “Even we were all working in parallel in somewhat different genres, we met with each other at that time. Little did we know then that we would end up reshaping the entire anime industry. We honestly never thought that we would all be part of the same industry later on in life, we were all just University students. “At one point though, these connections that I established while at University sort of discontinued somehow. This was because the comic market was run five or six times, all of them together probably individually participated perhaps twice or so. However, as we all realigned ourselves to move onto what would come after University, we kind of lost contact with one another. I didn't think too much about this and that I would go back to music again but somehow around that time an event took place again. “My group of people in Kyoto that I was part of, were contacted for a Space Runaway Ideon event. That was run by one of the Sunrise representatives and they approached us to represent the fandom and do another performance for the event. This Sunrise guy was also making a TV program featuring the fandom. “In this cosplay group, there was a lady that went into working in animation as a professional. She joined Artland, alongside Kawamori and Mikimoto working under Noboru Ishiguro. There it suddenly became a bunch of young people learning how to make anime properly. So this group went on to make things like Super Dimensional Fortress Macross. Looking back, and while this may be a bit unfair to say, Macross did have a certain immaturity to it but it was definitely powerful and full of energy and, above all, it was new. What's more, young staff had made it and it became such a big hit. “In order to help create Macross, there was Anno who would later go on to create Gainax but before then he was there. So there was a period between 1982 and 1983 where young people were really making things happen. “Artland at that time was actually located in a building that was renovated from being a love hotel. That meant it had really small rooms but a lot of them. Anime studios used to rent out places like that because they didn't have that much money. I think this was in Okubo. So in those days, you would have people sleeping in the corridors, it was just like that and then they made Macross. “To explain, I was not involved with the production of Macross, I just watched my friends make it. However, when I joined the anime industry later one, all of these friends turned around and said: “could you actually draw?!?”. They had no idea.” Moving Onto Sunrise And Creating Heavy Metal L-Gaim What was helpful here was how Nagano broke down his early and formative months at Sunrise, which seemed crammed with all manner of different and overlapping productions. “So now I need to go back to that Ideon event I mentioned earlier. I had a friend who was organizing this event but at that point, I wasn’t sure whether to continue my studies at University or just leave. It was that critical point. At that time, coincidentally, because Macross had been such a success and produced by a group of young people, Sunrise was asking whether there was another young guy who could do something like Macross. So this friend, who knew I could draw, recommended me to someone at Sunrise and that's how I got into the anime industry. “When I got into Sunrise, I showed my drawings to Masuo Ueda, who was a producer. What I showed was really different and the way I spoke was different, so they thought I was rather unusual. So they never knew whether I could do this as a professional but they told me to try various things. From that point on, I was assigned to the third studio under Eiji Yamaura, who was the section chief. “I pretty much did anything that came my way at that point, so I did drawings for toys and all sorts of other things. This maybe was in January 1984. “From January to March of that year I was on a trial period if you like. During that time, my boss came up with a new idea for a series called Round Vernian Vifam. As there were a lot of mecha needed for this series, the third studio asked me to start drawing mecha for this new series as a form of practice. The Puppet Fighter from 'Round Vernian Vifam' was one of Nagano's first designs for anime. Credit: Sunrise “I showed the drawing of the Puppet Fighter to my boss and the design was accepted, this meant I was now useful to the studio and I was asked to join the company officially from the start of April that year. That meant my trial period was successfully completed. “Actually, when I joined it was quite an unusual setup because usually, nobody became an employee in this way. So even though I was based in the third studio, I was meant to directly with the producer and director and the requirement was that I do any work that these people ask of me. That meant it could be absolutely anything and was also in part outside of the third studio. In short, my job was doing anything and everything for Sunrise as a studio. “While I joined Sunrise as a designer, in fact, I was just told to do everything. Everything meant I was to work with the producer to do the planning, presentation and the financial side as well. I would also oversee who was doing what and effectively become a production manager as well. “While I was told to work on Vifam smoothly, I was also needed to work for all the other studios. However, not long after this Giant Gorg started under the direction of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. That meant a famous animator was making Giant Gorg but in order to do that, Yasuhiko needed someone who was knowledgeable about weaponry and mecha. So he asked about this to pretty much everyone in the company and they answered that there was someone who just joined and I was brought in front of Yasuhiko in the fourth studio. We spoke and Yasuhiko would show me the picture of Gorg and ask me if I understood this and I said "yes". I also wanted to be looked upon kindly and I told him that there is no one more knowledgeable than I am about these matters. Then Yasuhiko asked me a few questions on how would a vehicle like this move and what does it do, I seem to have answered these correctly and he then offered me work on the project, specifically to work on things like a tank. “At this point, I had to explain that I was expected to work on Vifam but the company explained that because Yasuhiko was so important, so they couldn't neglect his request. That meant I had to do both, as in work on Vifam and Giant Gorg. “What Yasuhiko needed for Giant Gorg was that he wasn't looking for someone who could just draw weapons, helicopters and other hardware. What he wanted to know was what was happening inside of this machine, specifically in the case of the large tank type vehicle called the Beagle. So things like how does it work, how does the engine function, how would it be driven. These kinds of details were what Yasuhiko wanted. In short, he wanted to know how would something work and how could it be used. With all the knowledge I had on these matters, I came up with how all this would work and function. So I drew all the inside detail of the Beagle. “That meant while the external design of the Beagle was done by Yasuhiko and the inside was me. However, because I had to change parts of the inside, that meant Yasuhiko had to change it externally to fit. “To clarify on who designed what, Yasuhiko designed Gorg and the outside of the Beagle, I did all the other weapons and vehicles. Things like the blowback you get on a real tank firing its cannon, nobody else really knew about these kinds of things but I did. So I drew that into the technical designs of things like the Beagle. “Back in those days, normally you would always have the people in charge of the art ask me "why do you need to do that?" but Yasuhiko was the kind of person was if it was that way, in reality, then do it that way in the anime. The Beagle (top) from 'Giant Gorg' had its internal mechanics redesigned by Nagano (bottom). Credit: Sunrise “On top of doing Giant Gorg and Vifam, I was called in by the second studio to submit a design for the Billbine from Aura Battler Dunbine. At that time, the second studio was also doing Dunbine and the main mecha was going to transition over to the Billbine and that meant they needed a new design for that. So I went "to hell with it" and fitted it in with all my other work. I then submitted my design to this competition and Yoshiyuki Tomino already knew of me and was looking forward to seeing what kind of thing the new guy would design. However, after submitting my design I learned later on that Billbine's design was already set at that point and that Tomonori Kogawa had done it. I didn't understand why I had to do it and the whole thing was quite heartbreaking. “Anyway, my main work around this time was for Vifam but at that point, Yamaura started to ask me to create a new series that would come after Dunbine, as Tomino would be finishing up work on that soon. All of this was around June in 1984 I think and when I asked if they just wanted me to design the mecha, they replied: "no, the whole thing". That meant I had to do all the planning, story and everything else, which was crazy. They asked me to come up with a proposal for this new series and new types of mecha that had never been seen before. At that time, I really liked Star Wars and based on that I thought about what if I did a road movie on a planet that no one knows. There would be big mecha with boys and girls traveling and by the end of June, I submitted the first designs for Heavy Metal L-Gaim, these were the early designs for the Vatshu and Auge in case you are curious. “I initially did all this work for the second studio but I obviously belonged to the third studio. However, Ueda was looking for a new project to follow-up with after Vifam but what happened was that in July, I delivered my presentation but Dunbine's sponsor, that of Clover, actually went bankrupt and then Bandai came in as a new sponsor. So I showed my L-Gaim work to Bandai around this time and they accepted it straight away. However, there was a bit of internal reorganization to do at Sunrise because L-Gaim was done for the second studio but I belonged to the third studio and Ueda wanted a new project. In any case, it moved to the third studio and Sunrise wanted me to focus on this and that I could withdraw myself from Giant Gorg and they would let Yasuhiko know and for Vifam I could ramp down a bit, but I still would have to work on it a bit. So all these arrangements were made and L-Gaim was going to start. “If you see the dates, you realize all of this was done over the course of three months. It was fun. “At the end of July, Bandai gave Sunrise the go-ahead for L-Gaim but the only staff on the project at that point was just me. This meant both Yamaura and Ueda had to figure out a way to make this happen in terms of the staffing. They initially found someone that would do the direction and the working title for L-Gaim was going to be "Explorer", so they told me to get to work. “From that point on, say around August, it was all go and I was to build on the planning as well as do rewrites. Not to mention also having to do drawings for the toys. Then suddenly in September, I was called into the Sunrise headquarters and told that Tomino was now going to direct this series. “The thing was that I had actually known Tomino for a long time by this point because back when I was doing all that Gundam cosplay and helped with all those events, I met Tomino around that time as well. However, the moment Tomino came on to direct it meant that this would now be a project for the second studio and that caused all sorts of mayhem. The upside was that this was now going to be a follow-on mecha work from Tomino, so everything went ahead with that. “I think how Tomino and I previously knew each other was unusual and unique really. When I met him for the first time at work, yeah it was unusual. So the director and the designer, or the boss and his staff, but it was also a different relationship compared to other people. I'd say now, after all this time, that we really respected one another. It was a very good relationship. “Tomino had this capacity that he could really pull up people who had done nothing before and then value them. In that, consider them as someone who could draw in a way nobody else could. That was quite special I thought. “In a way, Tomino, Yasuhiko and Kanda are very respected but somewhat feared because they were such a force within the industry. In my case, they really treated me like just another human being, always respectful. In that regard, they showed their true face I felt. “Yamaura later explained why everyone was kind to me and he explained that there was no one in the anime industry during that time who could hold a conversation and greet properly. It was always mayhem, with people doing all sorts of things simultaneously. It was very friendly obviously. However, in this busy environment, I would greet someone and say "excuse me" and be polite. Apparently, that made a very good impression.” Working On Gundam And Moving Away From Sunrise One of the more unfortunate aspects of Nagano’s work at Sunrise was how his mecha designs weren’t really incorporated properly. Famously, his work on both Gundam ZZ and Char’s Counterattack was replaced, so I really wanted to find out more about this. I already spoke with Yutaka Izubuchi about his work on Char’s Counterattack, but I obviously wanted Nagano’s viewpoint on what happened. Unfortunately, the issues started earlier on Zeta Gundam it seems, as Nagano went onto explain in detail. “L-Gaim was obviously my debut animation, I really wanted to cherish it and treat it as something special. Luckily, L-Gaim was also awarded number one in a popularity contest in Animage and it was definitely a hit animation in 1985. While I was working on L-Gaim, towards the end, it was announced to me that the next project would be Zeta Gundam directed by Tomino. Obviously, I heard about all this before the public knew and Tomino asked me to work on it. At the time, I was happy but quite frightened. This was a big project. “Before it was officially announced that I would work on Zeta Gundam, Tomino said that at the end of that year he was going to the U.S. for a convention. For that convention, he wanted to bring some new Gundam related ideas, so he asked me to draw them. This later was commonly known as one of the early Hyakushiki designs. “Towards the end of L-Gaim, the staff were beginning to think more about Zeta Gundam and in general other staff were fading away from L-Gaim's production. As L-Gaim had been my first big project I wanted to see it through with a full force of people but I saw that the energy of the team was slowly shifting towards preparation for Zeta Gundam. I also had to make new mobile suit designs, so I didn't have too much time to think about all this but I felt a tinge of sadness at the time. “Again, it's getting a bit complicated, so I need to separate L-Gaim and Zeta Gundam here. As for Zeta Gundam, I had to design mobile suits and I wanted to do something new. Kunio Okawara was going to stop work for a while and instead of his designs, it needed to move onto something else. That was the idea. From that standpoint, I did the Hyakushiki, Rick Dias and Galbaldy Beta. However, when I submitted the designs they were heavily criticized because they didn't look like typical mobile suits. I was really broken-hearted at this but at the same time really angry. Now, looking back, I can understand why they said no because, for those people, who had been surrounded by the world of Gundam, they already had an idea of what Gundam should be like. However, Tomino and I shared a view that it needed to be a new Gundam. After L-Gaim, Tomino was of the opinion that mobile suits must also change because L-Gaim, after all, proposed a different type of mecha. I was the main mecha designer for Zeta Gundam and that was supported by Tomino. That says it all. “The fact is that with anime that there are so many different opinions, there would be sponsors, the plamodel makers and for Sunrise and Bandai a series like Zeta Gundam would be financially important for them. After the project started and I submitted those three designs, following this an enormous number of mecha designs arrived on my desk. I think something like thirty-six mecha designers were hired in order to provide extra designs and I was to look at all these mobile suits designs and fish out ones that could be used in the series. “After evaluating all of these designs, I concluded that very few of these were really usable. However, amongst them were the designs of Kazumi Fujita and he could really draw. He was meant to assist me. Then it became obvious that the previous re-incarnation of Gundam was somewhat necessary, so Okawara came back and he did three designs, namely the Gundam Mk. II, Hi-Zack and Asshimar. As I was quite young, I declared that I would leave the project if it was going to be like this but I did complete the work to help out Yasuhiko because he had so many projects but at the same time was meant to be involved in Zeta Gundam. That meant he was doing the character designs but the number of character designs he submitted was not nearly enough, so I also supported him in terms of those. Once that stage was over, I left the project entirely. “This is obviously the story from my point of view, others may not see it this way but that's how I saw the situation. It was very frustrating but I think both Okawara and Yasuhiko found it similarly if not more frustrating. It wasn't a happy experience for me. “With Char's Counterattack, we need to go back before that and follow-on with Gundam ZZ. Kenji Uchida the producer came up to Tomino and I to ask to work on it. We said yes and asked on what, he said "everything". So we did all the work but again just before it was going to be shown, it was all canceled and changed. It was really strange and I don't know what happened but in Bandai, there was a guy called Shimizu and he said that my work was fine, so let's start it. In fact, merchandizing had already started and the manga version was available publicly. So my version of things like Gundam ZZ was in the public domain. Then it got canceled. I was furious. So I don't know why this happened. “After Gundam ZZ, the next one was going to Char's Counterattack. Tomino approached me again and said let's do it together. I said okay if you say so. So I started to do the designs and ended up doing all the mobile suits this time around. Tomino then came over and told me that for whatever reason I was sacked. I had to give it all up. “In short, Tomino wanted to work with me but some other force somewhere interfered and it was canceled again. “For the bulk of the Char's Counterattack designs, most of these were done by my protege, I cannot remember the name right now which is a horrible thing to happen because I should remember. “I think it was very difficult for Yutaka Izubuchi on Char’s Counterattack because Tomino had in mind a certain design that I had already done, so Izubuchi was assigned to work on something I would have done. So that would not have been easy for him at all. “I think there was some force within the industry that really disliked my version of Gundam. Like your Gundam and our Gundam kind of thing. Even with the power of someone like Tomino, it was difficult to make it all happen. Although we were really in it together. “I would imagine that within Tomino there was a certain reservation because if he used me full-on it was going to be my work. So he probably wanted to use elements of my work but not to the full extent maybe. It's not clear though. In some sense, Gundam is a work that is very complex and sensitive. Delicate. “Now it has been forty years since Gundam and we can choose which type of Gundam is your favorite in a much more open environment. However, up until Char's Counterattack, it was a very narrow approach and what Gundam was very strictly defined. “It was like Star Wars and George Lucas, so with or without him is it really true Star Wars or not? The same went for Tomino's version of Gundam.” Creating The Five Star Stories And Its Fractal Structured Story For many, the work that people recognize Nagano for is his ongoing and expansive manga The Five Star Stories. Starting back in 1986, the manga is still unfinished and Nagano has no intention to conclude it any time soon. However, his aversion to animated adaptations of his manga work is something that was both interesting and made a great deal of sense. “When I was still working on L-Gaim, especially towards the end it was changing as I said. Around this time, a publisher called Kadokawa approached me and asked me if I would like to put a storybook together because it sounded really interesting. In doing this, I decided to pour out all of the original story I planned at the beginning for L-Gaim. This formed the foundation for The Five Star Stories. “Working on anime meant I was approached by many publishers and many media as well as record companies, all sorts really. Naturally, you also had many publications about anime as well. This may not be something one would usually do but I specifically and exclusively work with Kadokawa because I found the company really interesting. When I made that decision all by myself, The Five Star Stories was born. “To clarify, there is no narrative connection between L-Gaim and The Five Star Stories. Obviously, they are both made by the same person but I consider them as clear and distinctly separate projects. “I think here I should go back to my experience with making plamodels. Mecha in anime are essentially there for toys but the mortar headds in The Five Star Stories are not. I always wanted to make something real. If it existed in the real world, how would it look? What kind of scale would be it be? How does it feel? The texture. I wanted to communicate all of that. For that, normally in manga or animation why do you pursue detail to such an extent and no one really bothers with that. However, I really wanted to. I wanted to make it exist as it were a real thing. “A good example of these is how Thunderbirds and Ultraman differ. There is a distinctly separate approach between the two on how they tackle realism. For instance, the way that airplanes are depicted in both series is starkly different. I think the difference is in things like Star Trek, they legitimately make the costumes, weapons and all of it to a high level of detail. Whereas in Japan, the approach is always simplified. In a way, it can be positive to take this approach but it can also be seen as dumbing it down. “Up to a degree I was inspired by European knights for the mortar headd designs. Of course, The Five Star Stories is aimed more at adults but at the same time, I consider it very important to take into account how these mecha would look like if children saw them. So the LED Mirage is something like a Roman Knight, with the symbol on the shield coming from things like the Crusaders or Saint George. Whereas the Vatshu is closer to a Japanese samurai but other mortar headds do have a European influence. I really studied this. The first book for 'The First Star Stories' was used as the basis for the anime movie adaptation. “When children saw the LED Mirage they saw it simply as white and red with a pointy helmet. In a way though, children are complex because, at the time of the release of numerous Gundam shapes and forms, things like the Hambrabi and Qubeley were not considered all that cool then. Now, after all this time, people think they are really great. So you really have to plant the seeds to get them to think something is really cool at a young age and that's quite important. “I want to find out why this change has occurred and think that perhaps there might be a shape that people might like or a shape that would be almost safe. Maybe my designs included quite a lot of those shapes perhaps. Also the time I spend on creating things. “There is also this too, in that it is to do with the extent that my work influenced the younger generation. Those who were influenced by my designs and my ideas, they are now in the industry making work of their own. In some ways, they are partly under my spell I suppose. So when they create something that is considered cool and then the origin of that can sometimes be traced back to my work. “I reckon it's like The Beatles, with the following generations with bands like Oasis, Coldplay and all sorts of other groups all wanted to be in some way like The Beatles. So when these new bands are successful, that feeds back to the effect of The Beatles. Not that I aimed to be anything equivalent to The Beatles or anything like that. “The Beatles were an enormous success, not only did the latter generation of musicians admired them and it remained in the cultural context. Even politically, time and time again coming back to that era, that success, that cultural context, is something that the British government would reinforce if you like. To remain as a key cultural influence. “With video games, the current gaming generation wants to create cool mecha and they are already partly under my influence so it would come back to my type of mecha. I think that is how it works. “When it comes to doing video games related to The Five Star Stories, that's a no I am afraid. The story from the manga is already complex enough and I don't want to make it even more complicated than it needs to be. This is something I have been saying in Japanese interviews, with anime and manga there is scenario but with a game, if you fix that, in the same way, it's not going to be interesting. “As for building the complexity into the stories in The Five Star Stories, the setup is actually quite simple. To start with I make the core story, I then divide that into two parts. Then again into another two parts. I keep on dividing and this process can be done infinitely. It's like a fractal. However, it always comes back to the core stories. That's why it feels complicated in terms of all the detail but is in fact quite simple. “People often say that they can never predict when The Five Star Stories will end and how it will end, and in a way it is infinite but it will always come back to the key stories. I am not thinking of ending it anytime soon though. The story is now almost self-perpetuating. “One thing I take great care with in terms of the story in the manga is not to include any religious thoughts or my own agenda. “There is no specific inspirational external source for the story as such. For instance, the first episode the aim was to make it really easy to understand. So I thought about the ending of the film called Graduation, the climax was to be like that. Really simple. There was also another idea, which was starting from the grandfather's generation and then filtering through to the grandchildren, over a fifty-year span. So the idea that it would be the following generation to generation, that was something I thought about. Other than that, it really started by making a historical timeline and then looking at it and thinking "this part could be interesting". That's it really. “There are some stories that I build really meticulously and then there are some where I don't think too much at all. While there is a part I have for self-exploration, I always leave parts for the fans, for them to play with. There are things I might plan but the rest is at it comes. I just follow what I find interesting. “When it comes to the anime adaptation of The Five Star Stories made in 1989, I actually opposed the idea. When the anime was proposed, there is almost a jinx that whenever a manga is adapted into an anime, the manga finishes. It was really to do with the fact that all the successful manga really peaked when the animated version's popularity reached its highest point and then the manga finishes, almost fades away. I didn't want that to happen with my manga. So when the anime was proposed, I felt "is this it then?". I will say that I really trusted the creative team behind the anime version, it was many of the staff who worked on Macross and they are almost like part of my family group. I actually think the anime is a compact and solid little movie. What's more, among the anime that Sunrise made it was one of the best. “It's also worth clarifying, that while the anime versions can be simplified, what would take the manga hundreds of pages to explain, an anime can embody that all at once in maybe a single scene. “This is why I gave the go-ahead for the animated version in the end because I know what each medium can do. However, the anime version meant that I had to abandon the stories of Lachesis and Sopp. So these didn't really appear again after the animation was released. I was forced to change the scenery of the manga version entirely. “For the model kits and other merchandising, in a way and particular during that time it was moving more towards smaller productions. At the same time, I always had in mind how could I keep it not to be utterly consumed.” Hana no Utame Gothicmade And The Future Towards the end of the interview, we got onto Nagano’s latest animated work, Hana no Utame Gothicmade. This is part of The Five Star Stories but set a few thousand years before the events in the current manga. It’s also a movie that has no domestic release and is only available in theaters. While Nagano has separately explained this is down to technical limitations of domestic Blu-ray and other such players, he also gave another entirely separate reason. Not to mention, he explained that the previous issue of anime adaptations ending the run of a manga was something he again wanted to avoid. “Moving on to Hana no Utame Gothicmade, it's the same thing as The Five Star Stories. It has only been interchanged from one to another. Basically, I thought that some of the original mecha in the manga had become too old-fashioned and not really usable. So I refreshed it, that was my decision. “I've not really talked about this before but my decision was based around the original mortar headd designs looking too old. Maybe I am completely incomprehensible, as no one would ever think of doing such a thing but I did. “Up until the 90s, I made twelve volumes of The Five Star Stories but my feeling was that its visuals were reaching the point where they were starting to look absurd. However, people would say that the mecha designs looked very cool and the story in the manga was amazing. “But for me, there was no more to be done with this setup and yet I didn't feel like stopping the manga, so how do I extend its life? “When I started the manga for The Five Star Stories I was working with the technology I grew up with. If it was to be a telephone, I would use something with a rotary dial. However, if I was to look out the window today, I would see kids playing with things like smartphones in a completely different way. “Within myself, I felt that why should the technology in this fantasy world I created behave in this old-fashioned way. That certain mecha joints had to work in a particular way or typing stuff into older computers or just the general movements of the mecha themselves. Everything just stopped making sense to me, so I had to change it as it became so unrealistic in this imaginary future world. “Think about it, all the things where you would have messengers arrive with letters in a carriage. That is now a text message or e-mail. Or if you read a newspaper with a large headline, that is now a blog post online. It changed and I didn't want children to read this and think it was some kind of really retrospective form of fiction. After all, modern kids would not see the older editions of The Five Star Stories and think this was the future. The updated design approach used in 'The Five Star Stories' and 'Gothicmade'. “The Five Star Stories is in the future, so I would obviously have to make further progress into the current technology available and then restart it. So all of this was the major motivation for me to restart everything and that was the foundation of this new beginning to The Five Star Stories. “When it comes to Gothicmade, there is no plan to release this on home media. A movie is a movie. However, I wouldn't want to see this released internationally in theaters either. All I want is to have the longevity of this. “It took seven years to make Gothicmade and then released in a very limited way. People may have to take a day off to come out to see it, so it's quite hard to get a viewing and yet I want it this way. At the same time, after people would see they may think that it is complete rubbish or some may even think it is great but I essentially need this pressure to continue to create something that is worthy for my fans effort, attention, love and care. “It's a road movie really, not so much a mecha anime but I want to keep it like something that is released now but in a few years later it is still touring. This I can guarantee, it is different from any anime you may have seen so far. The way it moves and the way it works. “The movie was made at Kadokawa and the two top people at the publisher were really understanding and supportive of my Gothicmade project. Obviously, I come from the background where I know how many people are needed for an anime production. So we gathered around the necessary personnel and made it work. “In animation, you might think that thousands of people are needed but it can actually be made with three to four people. So the total core team for Gothicmade was about twelve people. Producer, fund manager, three artists, two people for scheduling, two artists for coloring and another two assistants for coloring. All the other elements would be outsourced to other companies. “Doing other projects apart from Gothicmade, just let me know and I would be there straight away. “The reason Gothicmade took seven years was that we started from cold but now that we have a team, but we were to do another movie then it would take around three to four years. Having said that, Hayao Miyazaki et al makes anime movies in such a way these days. So the smaller team is nothing new but I have to admit that there are so many people in the anime industry that help me to make Gothicmade. It was almost as though there was no one left in the anime industry that hadn't helped in some way. For that, I am extremely grateful. After all, there were people that weren't really credited but they all helped. “I think it would be impossible for a regular manga writer or artist to make something like Gothicmade but because I am in the anime industry and all the people recognize me as a part of them, there was a support structure available for me. “I would like to make another movie though and that will be The Five Star Stories. “In terms of the future of my own work, after Gothicmade and The Five Star Stories, there's nothing really. 'The Five Star Stories' manga has been running within the pages of Newtype magazine since the mid-80s. “When it comes to international releases of my work, there are really few people that are truly bilingual so I can't tell how many things the translators changed in order to make something like the English release of The Five Star Stories manga happen. So many translators had to leave the project and new ones came along. There is no exact vocabulary to match and that's frustrating. “So in the case of The Five Star Stories manga translation into English, it's as though you need to fully understand the 16th century British English. The classical form of English. It's different but the understanding and feel of the terminology, the way that people connect with each other, that needed to be understood and expressed through this. Unlike some of the American interpretations that it should be easier to understand for kids, I didn't necessarily want to take that approach with this project. There really are very few people who can really command two different things from a separate time period. “I also have a problem with the way Japanese content is marketed abroad. Currently, there are schemes like Cool Japan and all of that, so manga type contents are pushed to other countries. Almost in a way to forcefully accept the point of view and the way things are from the very Japanese viewpoint. That's not the way I want to go about dealing with releasing my work internationally. I also question that methodology, so I don't really want to be complicit in this big push. At the same, there are contents that are accepted abroad. From an early age, children may like the world of something like Final Fantasy or Pokémon. So the polygonal nature or elegant nature is understood for what it is and there are fans who would support it. Taking the whole thing quite naturally. However, from something like the Final Fantasy side, there is no push to get people to understand it in a certain way. There is no dogmatic cultural agenda. “If I were to introduce the manga of The Five Star Stories to different countries and cultures, at least at the beginning you would have to understand where they are standing culturally rather than where the work stands in Japan. I would like to have this approach at least considered. “To clarify, I am fine with creating non-Japanese versions of things like The Five Star Stories manga. I would actually encourage it. However, when I do it I would like to different versions for different countries. So British English for people in Britain and American English for Americans. The Spanish version, Italian versions, etc. That's how I think it should be. “For Japan, to date, as long as they make an English version of something it's not okay, you have to consider which audience this is going to. You have to think. “Let's say if I went to America, there would be fans of The Five Star Stories. You would have all sorts of people from differing cultural backgrounds. They will all come at the manga from different cultural viewpoints. However, if I wanted to be culturally sensitive it is not as though I could title it for these different groups of people. “I have certain questions, as I understand that in America there is a movie and it is aimed at everybody. It's all-encompassing. For something like a simple entertainment type movie, that would be acceptable. However, something like The Five Star Stories I am not sure if that is the way to go. “It is an endless issue. If someone gets interested in my peculiar drawings and mecha, then obviously that's a good thing and I don't think too hard about that.” Finishing up with Nagano, I realized how long the interview had gone on and that we could easily have continued our discussion further. It’s clear that he’s still very busy and creatively occupied, so that makes me happy. Not least because we can all look forward to more work of his in the future. https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2019/04/04/mamoru-nagano-on-l-gaim-gundam-and-the-fractal-nature-of-the-five-star-stories/#5504c0d66733

#永野護

1 note · View note

klmwjpns-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Missing Japan | Lisa’s Blog Post #3

Good morning everyone!

I am currently writing this blog post from Seoul, South Korea! While our blog is primarily about gaming culture, this post will be a little different as it will include some overall impressions about Japan. Though I am excited to experience a new culture here in Korea, I cannot help but compare my initial experiences with those I had in Japan. The train/subway stations here are indeed, quite large, just like Japan’s. Rather than naming the trains based on certain names/brands though, e.g. Odakyu, the train lines are named by numbers, making it a little easier to navigate and read. A lot of shops and signs also have English on them. Currently, I do not know if this is because we are staying around a large, rather centrally located location, or if this is common throughout the rest of the city. Moreover, from our brief interactions with some locals, many seem to be able to speak some English as well (which surprised me since one of the individuals we spoke to was a very elderly lady!). I feel like this is similar to Japan; I did not expect so many people to be able to speak some English, especially in the major cities. Another interesting difference that I noticed was that people in Korea are not necessarily quiet on the train; many people talk to their friends or even on the phone. I actually enjoyed that particular mannerism on trains in Japan; it gave me the opportunity to have a quick nap in between stops. That being said, I observed few people sleeping on the train here in Korea. In general, I observed fewer people on the trains; this may be reflective of the greater number of individuals who drive their own cars in Korea. One of the things I did not appreciate enough in Japan was the long opening hours of shops and stores. I rarely had to search up the times that restaurants were open because they usually were. In Korea, the opening hours seem shorter and for smaller restaurants, if they are not busy, they will even close up early. In terms of the gaming culture, there is a stark difference between Japan and Korea. I have read and heard about many great ‘gamers’ who originate from Korea, and many gaming competitions that take place in Korea, but these hobbies or lifestyles do not seem to overlap with Korea’s cultural image. While Japan has billboards and posters which utilize popular game characters to advertise their products, this seems to be absent in Korea. Not to mention, there are no large gaming centres in Korea. Additionally, I have yet to observe anyone playing games on their phones on the train. Most people here in Korea seem to be on social media, whereas I could always identify someone playing on their phone in Japan on the train. I miss the prevalent gaming culture and industry of Japan’s; for me, it was not only interesting, but also gave me some sense of belonging as I previously played a lot of MMORPGs and Nintendo games. I am positive that I will have a great time exploring Korea, but I am also excited to return to Japan so that I can re-visit the gaming centres!!

Stay cool, Lisa

#lisa

1 note · View note

simonsoys · 8 years ago

Note

Aah, you've got such a good grasp of the characters' personalities, especially Sans, who I find very few really get right. Do you have any tips or guidelines on how to portray post-Pacifist Sans, both in the short and the long run, and possibly if Frisk or whoever else already Reset a True Pacifist Ending? That would be really helpful for those of us wanting to get him right. ^^ Thank you for your great Undertale talks!

Ahhhh I do my best! Sans is complicated, so it’s hard to know exactly what’s motivating him at any moment. And my Post-Pacifist Sans changes a lot from how he is during the game. And how he is in the game is a lot different from how I imagine he was when he was younger, too.

I think no matter how you write your Sans, you should have an idea of what his priorities are at each stage. People only change when some event occurs in which their current way of thinking is no longer appropriate, and needs reassessing. It’s a gradual change of traits, with a lot of overlap.

This gets pretty long.

Sans during the game:

Just wants to mind his own business, or at least, not get involved with other people’s.

Doesn’t want to be an active participant of any kind of outcome.

He’s naturally easy-going and gentle– he likes people and will help them out if it’s something that requires minimal effort and he can do in a half hour.

Motivated (generally) by immediate rewards. Wants to get a laugh out of someone right now. Wants to get a drink and play poker with dogs right now. Wants to sleep right now. He’ll make elaborate pranks and punchlines, but the payoff has to be immediate to be worth doing. No long-term investments. (This is a big reason he gets along so well with Toriel– they can just jump into joking around without any of the typical acquaintance building.)

The only exception is keeping Papyrus housed and fed. That is his ongoing bare minimum requirement that keeps him tethered to reality. (In the absence of Papyrus, we see he latches onto other people for structure, like Alphys and Toriel.) He can’t motivate himself, he has to be anchored to another person’s hopes and dreams.

There is a home and people he misses, but he doesn’t like to talk or think about them. He’s currently caught in between giving up on them completely and regretting and wishing he could’ve done something more. He has hidden bad feelings about the person he’s become, he knows he’s not living up to the potential others saw in him.

He doesn’t remember specific events between resets. He has the same deja vu as everyone else, and can read your face really well.

Nowadays he’s pessimistic (he wasn’t always), but is trying to convince himself to view things the optimistic way his brother does. You can’t get burned if you saw it coming– but he’s trying not to let that jaded part of him show on the surface. He’s not going to bring his brother down with cynicism. Instead, Papyrus lifts Sans up and inspires him to hold onto some hope.This is the core reason why Sans admires him so much.

I have a partner headcanon that Sans has vague knowledge of the Genocide run from the start, whereas Papyrus has vague knowledge of the Pacifist run. (Not the same as remembering things that have already happened!) With this in mind, Sans has always been expecting the worst, but still makes an effort to encourage the ending his brother talks about. He is more and more (pleasantly) surprised each time you do something good. A lot of the bros’ dialogue and motivations make sense when looked at this way.

Knowledge and secrets are the only power he has left. He likes people not knowing much about him for sure, so it’s incredibly difficult to get him to open up in any capacity.

My biggest sources of inspiration character-wise for Sans are The Dude from Big Lebowski, Ernie from Sesame Street, Kikujiro/Vincent from Kikujiro and St. Vincent respectively, and then a hint of my own dad who shares a lot of traits with Sans, particularly being personable and friendly, but defeatist about his own goals. He isn’t completely any of those people, but I borrow pieces of them.

The Dude: Pacifist, just trying to get through his own day and have a nice time, somehow gets dragged into other people’s violent problems. He gets angry and frustrated, but never retaliates. He and Sans seem to have roughly the same emotional range, so I ask myself: WWtDD? If a situation isn’t enough to break the Dude, it shouldn’t break Sans. The Dude keeps the angst levels in check.

Ernie: Deceptively witty. An asshole on purpose. Elaborate schemes to get out of doing work. His entire day revolves around getting Bert annoyed at him. Wants attention but doesn’t directly ask for it. But all the while keeping a cheerful and innocent demeanor. Ernie is the basis for his outward, casual attitude.

Kikujiro/Vincent: Aloof, never wanted to look out for their neighbor’s kid. Their kids are both sweet and believe that their babysitters have secret hearts of gold. They’re constantly distracted by their vices, but often turn those vices into bonding opportunities. Not fit to be parents, but in the absence of good parenting, they end up being meaningful figures by virtue of encouraging their kids and treating them with love. These two are the basis for Sans’ relationship with Frisk. Somewhere between parental figure and companion.

I also have a human!Sans design I use sometimes to snap him back in-character. He’s a greasy, unkempt, tired, vaguely 30-year old, and it’s easier to think of how that kind of person would react to situations and how other people might react to him.

The biggest thing is making sure he’s not TOO hung up on timeline shenanigans. While it’s something on his mind, I think people have it dominate his personality too much, when in the game it’s something he tries very hard to downplay.

For Post-Pacifist Sans, it’s a progressive replacement of each of the game-Sans bullets as his surrounding situation gets further away from what he’s used to.

First arriving on the surface:

His optimism borrowed from Papyrus paid off. He saw the worst outcome coming, but he was wrong. He begins to reevaluate himself, wondering what else he was wrong about. Eventually, he doesn’t need to borrow optimism from anyone– he can manage it on his own.

His new friendship with Toriel keeps him motivated. He cleans up more often and works harder. He fixes himself to be more neat and presentable. He tries to come up with new jokes and exercise his wit more.

Doesn’t ever return to *doing* science. Science is a big part of a past he left behind, and is largely contrary to “immediate rewards” and “not wanting to contribute to an outcome.” He absorbs it like crazy though– it still fascinates him and he wants to learn. Maybe he would find interest in Astronomy clubs, taking pictures and setting up his computer to scan data for alien signals. He remains paranoid about any meaningful work being erased, so it’s just a hobby.

Three years on the surface, everything has settled, monsters are almost completely living above ground, Toriel has her school:

Still has problems with being spontaneous because he’s still highly motivated by immediate rewards. He’s forgetful and can get caught up in his own activities when he was supposed to go do something else. Papyrus is still what brings him home each night.

—> At this point, if we’re talking about a Sans who has experienced a Reset (i.e. he has the photo of you in his workshop), the progress stops here. None of the following bullets take place.

After many years, and a final, conscious decision that there will be no more resets, he attempts to make lifestyle changes. He still dislikes being responsible for other people, be he dislikes seeing his friends unhappy even more. He’s missed important events for some of his friends (namely Frisk) and he feels bad about it. He shares his timeline secrets first with Frisk (who never heard the geno route dialogue), then Papyrus and Toriel (and maybe Alphys?). His trust circle is still very limited, and he sometimes leaves out details about his daily activities to maintain the feeling of “having secrets.”

He waffles a lot on just how committed and involved he wants to be. The disastrous dating attempts with Toriel happen at this point.

He’s trying hard to get himself to “normal” again. During this period, he’s really hot and cold as he oscillates between the old, apathetic Sans and the new, energized Sans. He’s more stressed and emotional than he has been at any point before this.

Five years on the surface, Papyrus moves out:

With a lot of reluctance, Papyrus splits from Sans to pursue his own adventures and goals elsewhere. Sans latches onto Toriel and Frisk to keep from being alone and maintain structure.

From that point, he changes the most. He’s breaking away from Pap, who has been the center of his universe for a long time. Papyrus doesn’t need him anymore, but Sans is needed elsewhere now, too.

Additionally, he finally surrenders and moves on from the people he misses. He will no longer make any attempt to go back to that or find a solution. He’ll always feel guilty about it, but is transitioning into feeling like his new place on the surface is just as much a home as the old place was. (I still haven’t figured out how or when I want to bring Gaster into the story.)

When he’s settled, his endpoint is someone who’s warm and easy-going. Allows himself to feel emotions, but still has to have a joke accompanying it. He’s not smiling ALL the time now (most of the time, but not always). A little more honest and open. Still a little regretful about the person he’s become, but trying to make the best of it. He’s not unrecognizable from how he was before, but he’s stabilized into something much healthier and less isolated.

Pre-Game!Sans: I haven’t sorted out what I think Sans’ origin story is, before the game and before Flowey. He could be anything, really. But working backwards, I think certain traits wouldn’t have been there yet.

I think more than anything he was a lot more open to caring. He must have cared about people a lot, given how he misses them, was happy with them, and how he clings to Papyrus, the only thing he’s got left, so tightly.

He probably recognized his own potential, and expected big things of himself. It wasn’t until later that he experienced failures and hit road blocks that he stopped believing in himself.

Not secretive in the slightest. It would be shocking for people to know how trusting and open he once was. No one was ever uncertain about how Sans felt about them. The secrets are a direct result of both Flowey and hiding his problems from Papyrus.

Not as tied to Papyrus early on. I feel a lot of his connection to Pap is because he’s the only one still around.

I don’t know if any of that helps with writing him?? Haha! Those are just the things I usually have in mind. I think having multiple characters to reference and pull from helps a lot.

#itsrainingsomewhereelse #ask #undertale spoilers #sans analysis #simon undertalks

143 notes · View notes