#Commercial Ads Editing company

[novelistparty]

"AI" hype is largely a fad. Much like "GPUs for general computing" in say 2010 when you couldn't go to a conference without hearing about how a GPU had changed the way people did their computer analyses. But here we are 13 years later and very very few people make use direct use of their GPU for general computational work. But for a while there, it was brought up in every meeting and every proposal process and every call for papers. I hated it then and I hate it now. I watched my colleague's postdocs waste months trying to speed up their work with a GPU instead of spending 5 minutes ordering one or two additional computers. We are in the most infuriating part of the fad cycle where the hype is the strongest as the fadders (sorry stealing this word from the godparents for the moment) are excited because they're just starting to release their creations into the world (steam allowing AI stuff, microsoft adding a copilot key to keyboards, news outlets using AI to paraphrase press releases). But there hasn't been enough time for meaningful feedback on any of it. Thus: all hype, no consequences. And let's not forget the tech world context for all this: interest rates went up, money became expensive again, and now tech has to produce real things in the short term and what better way to give yourself a longer investor-money-runway than to promise that your very expensive tech company will most definitely return that hard profit as soon as they spend a lot more money on New Fancy AI Tools that will Change The World

[jymwahuwu]

How about a powerful mini darling? I was inspired by your mini interactions that I made this. Because the darling suddenly got shrunken to literal palm-sized, instead of standing around, she began making their way to success by using it to their advantage. Advertisements are hard to make with all those budgets and actors, right? Voila! With minimal yet good quality props, stellar lighting, and editing, you'll get her to advertise your products. Dolls, jewelry, make-up, perfumes and fancy alcohols. The darling is owning her smallness. Another protective barrier from the yandere to snatch her.

cw: yandere, mini! reader, mentioned escape, possible abuse of power in the future

You mean you started a new career as an advertising star? Very cute!! You found an entertainment company that was facing financial difficulties and was willing to do commercials and promotions for you. The agent holds your hand with his finger to show cooperation. Based on your current size, they can prepare makeup, advertising scenes, and lighting without expensive costs.

Once you appeared on the screen, many viewers expressed their appreciation and amazement. It was so adorable!! There are few species in the universe that are so miniscule. You inspired some fashion trends.

But, only you know that part of the reason why you became a star is because you want to escape… You want to get other people's attention, so you won't be forcibly taken away.

Thinking like this… is a bit naive.

Aventurine used a new proposal to work with the company. The more respectable term is cooperation, but in fact IPC has taken over the company. That's just a small business move, insignificant. The other members of Ten Stonehearts didn't know why he would do such a useless thing. Well, okay, there is a potential value, you can definitely become the most popular mini star.

When you were using a powder puff to prepare for a new commercial shoot, Aventurine's face was reflected in the mirror, and you were so scared that your heart skipped a beat. What? Why is he here? He reached out and cupped you in his palm, his thumbs pulling down your straps.

The assistant exclaimed, "Wait a minute, Mr. Aventurine, you can't do this…"

"Haha, don't worry, I won't do anything excessive here. This is just cooperation." You knelt down on his palm, your face flustered. The straps on both sides of your dress fell down, exposing your bare shoulders and thighs.

"Right? Nice to meet you. I will arrange ads for you directly in the future."

[7grandmel]

Rip of the week: 25/07/2024

The End of HHGregg

Season 6 Featured on: Transmission Archive ~ The SiIvaGunner All-Star Nuclear Winter Festival Collection

Ripped by The Green Spy, CaptainComedy Visuals by Galacksy

(Note: MP3 embed is trimmed at the beginning as to allow it to be posted within Tumblr's file size limits)

I'm sure some of you were worried about where this week's post had gone. Worry not - I was simply biding my time for the day to arrive. Indeed, we have reached the 25th of July, a Thursday for some, and a national holiday for others. For today, we celebrate, grieve and toast to our dearly beloved, HHGregg. Today, it is Christmas in July, and time to at last cover The End of HHGregg.

For being one of my all-time favorite SiIvaGunner channel memes, I'm shocked at myself in how restrained I've been in covering rips using HHGregg's infamous red-tag-sale commercial. Sure, I spilled my soul out for the joke back with Nostalgic Blood of the Gregg ~ Old Source, and Everything Circus remains an all-time classic, yet there's still so much more to cover. In terms of jokes on the SiIvaGunner channel, I feel like HHGregg is one of the most developed ones, one with a legacy cherished by so many people on the team and off - and even a bit of a story to it that's been captured in full glory with today's rip.

Like sure, there's the obvious quirk that makes HHGregg stand out more than many other channel memes - the guy has an outright day-of-the-year holiday dedicated to him. As the infamous Christmas in July ad was what propelled HHGregg's moderately-annoying mascot into becoming a YTPMV star, July 25th on SiIvaGunner has become a sort of understated annual event for fans like myself, much in the same way that April 30th was with It's Gonna Be Me and guess what​?​?​?​?​?​?​?​?. Yet, of course, there's an underlying sort of sadness to HHGregg rips in particular due to the brand its attached to: the company that the ad's many YTPMVs are riffing on filed for bankrupcy in 2017, midway through Season 2 of SiIvaGunner. The store still exists now, bought by a parental company and turned all-digital, but the franchise as it was once known is all gone, with it's ill-fated mascot going down with it.

Of course, we don't really need to feel much remorse for the fall of an electronics boutique - but given the SiIvaGunner channel's way of personifying and giving life to in-jokes and gags the world over, it informs rips using HHGregg in a pretty different way. HHGregg rips on the channel had their biggest stride during the very same year that the chain went bankrupt, as if to suggest that the mascot was desperate to prove his own worth on the one place that still remembered him fondly. In the years since, we got sporadic shots of the guy here and there - and in my eyes, it at one point felt as if it all culminated with the rip エイチエイチグレッグ ホワイトハウスでチョー大変!, a fully-featured edit of Neon Genesis Evangelion's iconic A Cruel Angel's Thesis opening now starring HHGregg himself.

Yet, of course, as I've harped on about with rips like Shiny Smily TALE, Violet Snow Memories and Our Sweet Parsley, one of the most rewarding parts of following the SiIvaGunner channel lies in how the team never seems to forget about any of its zillions of uploads. No matter how much time passes, rippers love one another, the ideas they come up with, and the potential to build further on one another's ideas - it is a core part of YTP and YTPMV culture that's remained strong on SiIvaGunner since its very inception. The A Cruel Angel's Thesis rip above, by excellent rippers Ashley and GramBam36 of The Legend of Cage: Staff Roll fame, was a joyous celebration - a year later, as Season 6's sombre mood results in the Nuclear Winter Festival rolling around, a trio of rippers sees the perfect opportunity to finally put HHGregg to some form of rest. The meme's far from dead today, of course (check the channel right now) - yet, at last, with The End of HHGregg, it felt as if the funny paper roll man was finally ready to accept his fate.

The End of HHGregg, silly of a concept as it may be, executes that concept to a degree I don't think anyone was expecting. Second only to A Cruel Angel's Thesis, Komm, süsser Tod is an iconic piece that serves as the ending theme to the original NGE anime, one tied to feelings of bittersweet-ness, finality - at once able to reference one of the most classic HHGregg rips on SiIva, acknowledging HHGregg's bankruptcy, whilst tying itself directly to the ongoing Nuclear Winter Festival of Season 6. And that's not even getting into the rip itself!

The YTPMV work done here to sentence-mix and pitch-shift HH's various vocals to fit the melody of Komm, süsser Tod is, for lack of a better way to put it, downright remarkable. Despite a seemingly limited pool of voice lines to work with and a rigid framework of a melody, the guy only ever "sings" in complete sentences, with pitch shifting that manages to sound shockingly natural, still as gratingly chipper as HH tends to sound but still seeped in that vibe of bittersweet-ness that I discussed before. It goes through every beat and phase of Komm, süsser Tod without ever having the vocal samples sound forced, including the deeply inspired use of a layered, choir-like HH performance on several segments. Althewhile never forgetting the classic HH lines, the red-tag sales, the HD-TV and Whirlpool appliances, and of course, the Christmas in July. The cherry on top of it all is the intro to the song, before the main melody truly kicks in, as this little interlude sneakily includes a guitar now playing Deck the Halls just as featured in the most infamous Christmas in July ad - a sombre reminder of where it all began.

That aforementioned vibe is, of course, emphasized greatly by Galacksy's incredible illustration for the rip, the literal End of Evangelion depicted as being the fall of HHGregg as a whole, in absolutely spectacular fashion. Like with i love(d) you and so so many other rips, it's so often these seemingly small touches that end up elevating rips to all-time classics for me, and it's a trait that The End of HHGregg's audio also eventually contributes to, in a way I truly don't wish to spoil for you all. Nevertheless, the key takeaway here is one that's evident right upon first listen: This is a DAMN impressive YTPMV effort that at once celebrates and mourns one of the YTPMV world's most cherished sources, yet pulling it off as if it were effortless. In celebration of YTPMV, of SiIvaGunner, of one of the channel's most immaculate of somewhat-too-hidden gems from Season 5, and of the very state of memes coming to an end - The End of HHGregg is everything one could ask for.

Godspeed, you rolled-up brochure cretin. And happy Christmas in July to you.

[tarhonk]

AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS THEORY ALERT

WEEOO WEEOO THEORY ALERT

So this is gonna connect to that "everyone in the circus worked for C&A" theory

Alright so just yesterday Glitch posted this in the community tab on their youtube channel

Despite it being funny af I couldn't help but notice how much 80's memorabilia was in here. All these items (minus the digital circus stuff) were very popular or invented in the mid 80's.

So I decided to check back on that scene where Pomni is running through the exits. Specifically that moment where she stares at the desk and I noticed something.

That straight up looks like an old and dirty Commodore 64

All this equipment just screams 80's to me. Everything in that office seemed like stuff from the 80's.

And I haven't seen anyone else talk about these but I noticed a few other things

One

We see the headset that all the characters have put on to get in the circus right on the desk.

Two

We see several computers on as Pomni runs past them. I counted 4 but that light on the floor in the first picture could be a 5th. In that case, that's one for each human currently not abstracted in the circus, minus Pomni. And what do we see when Pomni is back in the circus at the end of the pilot?

The computer she had a mental breakdown over is now on.

She's back online

Finally, three

A poster can be seen in the back that seems like the same colors as the digital circus logo. This could definitely be a hidden reference to something I don't know but this looks very digital circus-y to me.

So with all that, here's what i'm adding on to the office theory.

C&A (Caine & Abel) was a video game company in the 80's that was experimenting with creating a virtual reality headset for gaming purposes. The world of gaming had slowly begun to rise in popularity, and they decided to stay on top of this trend with a very ambitious strategy. VR gaming was just beginning to make a statement in the world as well, so the C&A company began working on something new.

They create this idea for a wacky game called The Amazing Digital Circus. A VR game where you'd get an avatar and go on adventures lead by a ringmaster character. All was going well, but at some point during development, something (who knows what) went wrong, causing anyone who wears the headset to have their consciousness sucked into the game. They'd lose the memories of their lives, only knowing that they were human, and now they're stuck there forever.

This was less of a theory and more of pointing out stuff that I haven't seen people mention yet, but I think its useful.

Please feel free to add on with theories on how you think their bodies are affected in the real world and stuff about the digital circus. Expand upon this please. I feel like i'm onto something.

EDIT: https://www.glitchprod.com/thewackywatch

Just remembered that the wacky watch commercial proves like everything I said.

They reveal it on an 80's computer

"New experimental hardware that gets you awesome visuals and lifelike audio" experimenting with VR!!!!!!

I'm going crazy

[smolwritingchick]

The Bangtan Gal Chapter 1- The Foreign Trainee

Chapter Summary: After being scouted to be a part of a new girl group thanks to an audition, Jen worked alongside her four bandmates to form the group "Amity". Things went great at first but then after a while, Jen starts to get concerned about her position in the group while the company starts to focus on the other members and their success. She then learns the unfortunate truth about the situation she's in and makes a decision. Motivated, she continues to be persistent in achieving her dreams thanks to an audition in her area which happened to be for BigHit Entertainment. 

Jen meets Taehyung and starts to build a friendship with him. For those interested in being the Bangtan Girl, they learn the Bulletproof dance and No More Dream dance. They're also hit with a homework assignment, create a verse for Bulletproof and present it to the audition. Jen hopes to impress the company with her efforts and earn the spot.

Words: 10,000+

Author's Note:  Hey! I wrote this story back in 2016 on some fanfic websites and am bringing it back as I edit the chapters. I wanted to put my perspective and imagination on what if BTS had a black girl in their group from America. This'll be a long story starting from their debut so enjoy the ride!

I have so many chapters already written. I had stopped in the story around late 2016 before the MAMA Awards. As I wrote this story over the years I wanted this character to be relatable and grow as a performer as well as go through hardships. It'll be a slow start but it will get better as the chapters go on, I hope you give it a chance.

This will mainly start with friendship. Not just the character and the love interest. I didn't want to rush things and I tried my best to add a lot of bonding and cute moments. 

This is a SLOW BURN with my OC and Jungkook. The two will not become a couple until 2016.

As I planned to create this story years ago it took me months to prepare and research so I could get a good timeline. I wanted to add a lot of things like K-Con, going to school, Variety Shows, interviews, American Hustle Life, V-Lives, sasaeng fans and so on. 

Please note this is fiction. Yeah it may be unrealistic for this to happen but I had a lot of fun ideas and just went for it. Also I am not a song writer so sometimes the custom lyrics may be a little silly

---

It was November 9th, 2012. Backstage at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, 14-year-old Jen sat in a chair, getting the finishing touches on her curly light brown hair, which was put into a high ponytail. She and the rest of her group named Amity were to perform at their last concert of their small tour.

Amity consisted of five members. 16 year old Hailey, who was the leader and main vocalist, 16 year old Trinity who was the lead dancer, 15 year old Layla who covered the high and dramatic notes and 17 year old Angelina who took care of the raps. 

And then there's Jen.

Who was she?

Who was she in the group?

She never got the chance to showcase her talent on stage.

So was this worth it?

Back in early 2011, a rising new company named SongStress Entertainment was looking for young female talents to form another girl group. They partnered up with Disney and started to put up commercials and ads everywhere to promote auditions. When Jen heard about it from a TV commercial, she quickly went to tell her parents. After some persuading, and chores around the house, they took her to the audition in New York that was set in March. No matter what the challenges were, she remained persistent and her family supported her because of her passion for singing and dancing.

She wanted to perform ever since she was ten years old. Listening to artists like Rihanna, 2NE1, Mariah Carey, Big Bang, Wonder Girls, Whitney Houston, and Eminem sparked her interest as she begged her parents to pay for singing and dancing lessons. The lessons seemed to have paid off because after she auditioned she was called back a week later.

When she passed the second callback, Jen and her parents wasted no time signing the contract as she went on to debut with four other unknown girls, to form the group Amity at 13 years old. They got popular fast, from their adorable charm to their catchy songs and music videos. Things were great. But things weren't always what they seemed to be. 

Egos began to get in the way.

As time went on, the company began to pay more attention to more girls than others. The leader, Hailey, even felt threatened by Jen's dance skills and the company forced her to dance slower, and with less effort to feel like she was a sluggish dancer. To Jen, it didn't make any sense since Trinity was the most talented dancer in the group and Hailey didn't say anything to her about her dancing. Favoritism came into play.

What caught Jen's attention was that she started to not get a lot of lines like she used to in the songs. She would only sing the chorus with the group. She is also the only one who doesn't have a solo song, while the rest have their songs recorded and performed at concerts whenever Amity goes on stage for a performance.

Jen was also set over the edge, finding out that Amity had recorded songs without her. Her voice was great at harmony but she wasn't credited for it. They recorded her and made it seem like Hailey sang the beautiful harmonious notes. As she took all the credit, Jen couldn't do anything about it because of the contract.

Whose fault was that? Jen's.

So maybe she did get a little too excited by the fact that she was going to be signed to a record company. Maybe she and her parents didn't read the contract despite the president's reassuring that everything would be fine and fair.

She was naïve and young.

Rushing into things without really thinking things through. Not thinking of a backup plan just in case things like this happen.

She wasn't like the rest of her bandmates. Her love for KPOP, thanks to listening to Wonder Girls, Big Bang and 2NE1, motivated her to learn the Korean language while the company thought it was pointless.

They asked her, "Who would you speak Korean to?"

"Why are you trying to learn that language if you're in America?"

"We're not touring in South Korea; you're wasting your time."

However, she continued to learn for her enjoyment and love for the Korean culture. It was difficult at first. She had a difficult time pronouncing the words. There were times she wanted to stop but her parents gave her encouragement because they knew how much she loved KPOP. For her studying, she tried to study Korean for at least an hour or two a day since she was 13.

Thankfully it's been beginning to pay off.

Sometimes she ponders what if she didn't do the audition and stayed in school just like her two older sisters. She could probably get somewhere with a college degree. But she loved being an artist. She wanted to do this.

And as much as she hated to admit it, this company wasn't the place for her to do it. She finally got her dream to be a performer, and now she was thinking about letting it go because of the mistreatment. She had to do what was best for her.

"This'll bring out those pretty eyes." The makeup artist explained with enthusiasm as she applied mascara to Jen's eyes.

"Oh make sure you put on more makeup on her. She needs it." An unfortunate familiar mocking voice belonging to Hailey was heard as she shot Jen an innocent smile. The harsh words made Jen clench her fists and glare at her. "What? Just telling the truth. They always say the truth hurts."

"Hailey, stop it. Don't be such a brat. That's so friggin' rude. Go somewhere." Angelina sternly called her out. Hailey responds with a shrug and walks away to get mic'd up. Angelina walks over to Jen with a smile and puts a hand on her shoulder. "You look fine, Jen Jen. Don't listen to her."

Jen didn't reply as she continued to be in deep thought about being in Amity. Everyone should be getting along, not trying to bring each other down.

The redheaded Angelina notices her frowning and snaps her out of it as the makeup artist finishes her make up. 

"You know you have to stop doing that. Letting people get to you and ruining your pretty smile with frowns. Is it Hailey again?" Angelina asked.

Jen looked up at her friend. Best friend. The only friend she had in this girl group. Angelina was the one who had her back in this company and wasn't self-centered or had the fame go to her head. She was the one who let Jen know about the company recording without her as well. She was very grateful she had someone looking out for her.

"I don't care anymore. I'm not paying her any mind." Jen firmly asserted with a sigh.

"Ten minutes until the show!" The manager called out as everyone ran frantically for finishing touches.

"We'll talk later." Jen promised as they both walked outside the dressing room to get mic'd up.

"Come on Jen, we ain't got all day!" The manager escorted her to the stage before giving her a jacket to put over her dark brown skin. "And remember, don't dance so hard."

"I don't understand what the big deal is." She mumbled, shaking her head in disapproval.

"Big deal? Hailey needs the spotlight. It would be great if you remember to stand back, this time. You aren't the visual, get that through your head. How many times do we have to tell you that? This is your last warning."

Jen frowns in response as she watches the manager walk away. Frustration was beginning to build up inside of her. Whatever happened to equality? Not one person is better than the other. She wanted to be in a company that had equal opportunities.

The show was like the others. Fake smiles, watching Hailey's back, it wasn't fun anymore. Jen believed she had so much potential to improve and become a great performer, but her talent was wasted and not used the way she wanted it to be. She didn't want to be wasted and neglected.

Amity was supposed to be a team. A five-member girl group who had each other's backs. Be great friends and treat each other as equals. Not a competition of who's better than each other. It was sad that the entertainment business was like that these days.

After the show, Jen checks out her Twitter account and tweets 'Thank you for an awesome show Philly! #AmityInPhilly'

She didn't have a whole bunch of fans like the others since they were on TV shows, interviews and other photoshoots to get more publicity. She always pondered why SongStress didn't do that for her. They never really gave her a chance to show off what she could do as a singer and dancer. Or even as an actress if she could try that out.

She didn't say anything because she was too humbled. She was grateful for all the things she had done so far in Amity. All she ever wanted was to perform and she got that. She would ask occasionally if her solo would come up, or if any photoshoot or show opportunity was available for her. But SongStress would always give her the same answer.

"Not at the moment. Soon."

How far away was "Soon?"

She felt discouraged. It was like she was just there. She might as well be called a backup dancer.

While backstage in the dressing room, lounging on the couch, she checked the #AmityInPhilly hashtag since it was trending on Twitter while the rest of her bandmates came in. Jennie began to think about her birthday which was tomorrow and it started to boost her mood.

"Hey guys, I wanted to talk to you about something." She spoke softly, gaining their attention. "Since my birthday is tomorrow, I planned this singing exhibit where people around the area can showcase their singing for fun. Do a little meet and greet, pictures...all sorts of stuff. It'll be a fun gathering. I also made a song and I'd like you all to be there to support me."

"You know we have to practice right?" Trinity recalled in a flat tone.

The indifference in Trinity's voice made Jennie's stomach drop as she timidly replied, "I-It's after practice."

"And where is this?"

"In my hometown. Here in Philly. It'll start around 7:00PM."

"Does SongStress know about this?" Hailey asked, looking skeptical at the event that's been planned.

"Why wouldn't they?" Jen questioned.

"We'll see about the event. Anyway, group meeting!" Hailey called out. "I'm so proud of us! We definitely have to celebrate tonight. We're going to dinner. But uh Jen, remember what the manager told you about your diet. And you were a bit sloppy out there. Don't make us look bad out there. Did you practice at all?"

All the happiness about the upcoming event for her birthday left Jennie's body as annoyance was clearly shown on her sweaty face. Okay, so she didn't have a flat stomach like the rest of them did. She had a curved stomach with a small pudge but that was nothing to go on a diet for. She was already satisfied with how she looked. She told herself she did want to work out to gain more muscle and possible abs on her stomach when she gets a little older, but she wasn't going to feel obligated to do so. She'll do it in her free time.

Her hair was naturally curly and her thighs were a bit thicker than theirs. She even had light stretch marks on her hips but so what? Why does that have to make her go on a diet? She was born this way, and she was fine with how she was. Why should she change her look because someone else wanted her to? She wanted to look natural, not a Barbie doll. She was still going through puberty as well. The baby fat was still there but it'll most likely disappear from her body and face soon enough when she's a little older.

"You know I really don't understand why I'm the only one who has to go on a diet. I'm perfectly fine. I'm the same size as you. I'm not starving myself." Jennie protested with irritation.

"Well you're not going out with us, so get food at the hotel and get yelled at by the manager. It's on you."

Jennie shakes her head in disbelief. "I really can't stand you."

"Whoa, what did I do?" Hailey faked a shocked look.

"I think you know what you've done. This is so unfair."

"It's not that serious." Layla sighed

"It is serious. Almost all of you have the biggest egos I've ever seen and it's like you're forgetting that we all made Amity and we work as a team. Can't you see how wrong this is? How I'm the only one who has to dance slower while you guys give it your all? I want to put as much effort as everyone else." Jen exclaimed

"Jen everything is going to be okay-" Angelina tried to reassure but she waved her hand and shook her head.

"I'm gonna go. Enjoy dinner." She grabs her bags and leaves the room.

Hailey sighs out of annoyance. "This is why you don't have young people in groups because they always want to act like brats. It should've just been the 4 of us, but no~ they wanted one more person and they had to pick her out of all people. She doesn't do anything but whine and complain-"

"Hailey shut up!" Angelina exclaimed sharply while standing up. "You're the brat here."

"Excuse me? Who do you think you're talking to?"

"You're not superior to any of us just because you're the leader. And if I were betting on the future of Amity...I'd say we'll disband and it'll all be because of you."

Hailey huffed in dissatisfaction. "I am so telling the manager on the both of you."

"Oh go ahead. The only reason you're here is because the vice president is your father. Did you even audition for SongStress or did you get everything handed to you on a silver platter?" The redhead questioned. Taking the silence as an answer, she retrieved her bag and grumbled, "That's what I thought." 

---

An hour had passed since Jen left backstage and went back into the hotel room she shared with Angelina. She was lying on her back in bed, looking at the ceiling as her stomach continued to growl mercilessly.

"I'm so hungry." She grumbled and clutched her stomach.

She managed to buy a couple of bags of chips in a vending machine with the paper money she had on her but she craved food to satisfy her hunger.

Suddenly she sees Angelina with a bright smile on her face and a large box of pizza in hand, walking inside the room.

"Let's eat biatch~!" she cheerfully said and placed the pizza on the bed before parking herself on the bed as well.

"I thought you were at dinner!" Jen stammered, looking wide-eyed at the pizza on the bed.

"I can't stand those girls, I'm not hanging out with them." She responded with a shrug.

"But I'm supposed to go on that dumb diet..." Jen grumbled.

"Bitch eat. I don't give a crap what they say, you are eating to your heart's content. Don't starve yourself because they want you to look a certain way. You know what they're trying to do is wrong. I see it, you see it. You have to stand your ground and speak up."

"But if it gets me fired then what?"

"I would rather be fired. I'm eating all the pizza I want. They can't stop me. And they won't stop you. Sit. Eat. Chill. I gotta vent to you about Hailey."

Jen happily sits back on the bed and bites into the hot, cheesy pepperoni pizza that was fresh from Pizza Hut. "What happened with you and Hailey?"

"Oh my gosh...I don't think I can take much more of this. She keeps talking crap about you. She thinks the world revolves around her. And it's like the others are followers, I swear. They always wanna just back up what she says. Or just stand there and agree with everything she says. Like are you blind?" She retorted as she started to get angry thinking about the situation.

"Well, she does have power over us because of her father..." Jen grumbled.

"And that shouldn't be the case. She should work hard and not get an easy route just because of some connection with family. I always see that these days. I mean I know it is great to have connections but still endure the hard work that others dealt with who started from the bottom."

"Yeah, but that's not how the world seems to work." Jennie trailed off, thinking about the future.

"Enough about her. I have another serious question to ask."

"What is it?"

"You thinking of leaving?" Angelina assumed. From the shocked look on Jennie's face, she gets her answer, mumbling "I thought so."

"I have to, I just can't do this anymore." Jen pointed out with a sad smile. "I talked to my agent and let her know everything."

"I understand. But are you still going to sing?"

"Yes. I still want to perform."

The redheaded girl nodded in approval. "Good. Whenever you leave, it'll be worth it. So don't worry. Just stay in touch with me. I'm gonna miss you. Whatever the future holds for you, I'll be supporting you."

Jen smiled. "Thank you, Angie. I'll be supporting you too!"

"Now let's watch some Spongebob." She grabbed the remote off the nightstand.

Jennie giggled at her. "Aren't you too old for that?"

"Ha! You're NEVER too old for Spongebob."

-------

November 10th 2012. Jennie was finally 15 years old. She went to the studio in a bright mood, happily thanking everyone for the birthday wishes. She received birthday phone calls from her family and tweets from fans.

The day starts like always. Dance practice and then recording in the studio. But she couldn't help but wonder if she'd get a surprise party just like all the other girls have on their birthdays. But as the day went on, she didn't receive anything after she left the studio. She tried not to feel too disappointed as she got herself ready for the 1st annual Singing Exhibit she created. It was called, "Avid Vocals" that was in a small lounge with a stage.

When she arrived, she was grateful for the turnout. There were over 120 people in the place. A good start for a nice little event, to meet people who are passionate about singing and dancing like herself.

She makes her way up the stage and gives her welcoming speech.

"What's up, everybody!?" She grinned at the crowd and waved. "Thank you so much for coming tonight to the first annual Avid Vocals where we all come together to sing and dance to our heart's content and meet and greet with each other. I've been wanting to do this for a while now, bringing people together who enjoy performing for fun, and I'm very happy with the turnout so far. At this time, let's get started with the first performance! And if anyone else wants to perform, there's a sign-in sheet by the table. So just write your name and the song, and sing out! Enjoy the show!" 

Once she left the stage, she made her way to mingle and talk with fans, signing autographs and taking photos. The performances so far were all very unique and fun to watch. There were goofy performances, singing songs like YMCA, We Will Rock You and Party Rock Anthem. Then there were performances that slayed with Single Ladies, TiK ToK, and So What by Pink.

After watching some performances, it was time for her to get on stage. She sat on a stool with her guitar in her hands. 

"I've written a little song and wanted to share it with you guys." She looked around to find any members of Amity but didn't. "I hope you guys enjoy!"

They applaud her as she begins to strum along on her guitar. While she sang, she tried to search for any members of Amity in the crowd but couldn't find anyone. After she finished her song, she received a huge positive feedback from the crowd as she went backstage.

She looked at her phone while thinking that any members would find her backstage to see her but sees a text message sent 30 minutes before she went on stage from Angelina.

'You are SO not gonna believe this...the assholes kept me back and forced me to work on my raps...the rest went out somewhere to the movies. I'm so sorry I couldn't make it to support you...I'll see you back at the hotel and we'll hang :'('

Jennie lets out a sigh. She knew Angelina was telling the truth. She had a feeling Hailey would try to do something after asking her if the manager knew about it. She wasn't mad at anyone. It'd be a waste of energy.

As soon as Jennie goes back into her hotel room, she sees Angelina waiting for her anxiously. Once she heard the door close, her head shot up and she quickly got off the bed.

"They kept me on purpose, I tried everything, I'm so sorry I wasn't there." Angelina had tears in her eyes and hugged her tightly.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it." Jen responded with a sigh.

"No, it's not."

"Don't worry about it, I still had a nice birthday." She reassured. "I'm just glad I got to meet some nice fans and perform today."

"I'm sure it was a fun event. Hey, I got you something to make up for it. I hope you like it."

Hearing that, Jen's eyes light up. "Really!?"

"Yep! Close them eyes girl. And no peeking." She addressed, going back to the bed. After a few moments, she hands her a small bag. "You can open them."

Jen quickly opens her eyes and sees a pink bag in front of her. She grins widely and digs right inside to see all the CDs so far from Wonder Girls and 2NE1. "GAH! MY GIRLS~" She wrapped her arms around her for a big hug, earning a loud laugh from the redhead.

"I knew you'd react like that." Angelina chuckled and was released. "I'm not really into KPOP, never really heard of it, but I went on YouTube, listened to it and they sound pretty damn good. Both groups."

"Thank you, for this. Really. This is awesome."

"Of course. Oh, and this one group...Bang bang-wait no, it's called Big Bang." She corrected herself as Jen nodded at the correct name of the group. 

"Why are they all so hot?" Angelina questioned, making Jen laugh out loud. "No, I'm serious. That is too much sexiness. That's not nice!" She crossed her arms, shaking her head.

"You'll never get used to it, trust me." The birthday girl sits on the bed. "My favorite is T.O.P. I have a big crush on him. He's so cool. I would love to meet him one day. Along with Wonder Girls and 2NE1."

"Hey, you never know. Maybe you'll get some VIP Tickets to a concert if they're in America."

"Yeah...but I wouldn't mind performing like them."

"What do you mean?"

"I wouldn't mind performing KPOP. Easier said than done right? But I love how they perform and their awesome dances."

"KPOP? That'll be interesting to see. Whatever your heart desires, I say go for it. Work hard, do research, and go for it. Anything is possible as long as you work hard for it. I would talk to your agent about that."

Jen nodded. "That's not a bad idea."

"So we're renewing our contracts tomorrow. Are you going to renew it?"

Jennie shakes her head. "I was talking to my family and agent about it. I think it's time for me to close this chapter in my life and move on."

Angelina nodded. "Do what's best for you."

----

Today was the most difficult day for Jennie as she made her way to SongStress' office to meet in the boardroom. She walked with her agent, who has been a family friend of hers since she started in Amity. Her name was Diana Parker.

Jen's parents made sure to do their research when finding someone to really aid and be there for her while she was in the entertainment business. And Diana wasn't going to let SongStress make Jennie feel obligated to resign with them after all the crap she's dealt with.

Once they walked in, they sat in front of the manager, the President of SongStress, the Vice President, HR, the Supervisor, and the executive.

"All right Jen, here, you can sign right here." The Vice President handed her the pen. 

"I won't be needing that." She replied in a low voice.

"Oh? Did you bring your own? Came here prepared, I admire that." He chuckled.

"No, I mean I'm not signing that."

The room goes silent as everyone but Diana stares at her, trying to comprehend what she just said.

"...What do you mean you're not signing?" The President slowly asked.

"I don't want to renew my contract." She firmly said as they looked at her in shock.

"How about we put more money in for you? Then you'll sign?" The President suggested.

"You heard the girl. She's not signing." Her agent spoke up.

"I wasn't talking to you." He snapped at Diana and turned back to Jen in a panic. "How much do you want for the next few years?"

"No sir, I think my time is up here." Jen declared.

"What do you want to have your solo? Is that what this is about? Okay fine. We'll have your solo for the next album." The Vice President exclaimed.

Diana managed to keep her laughs to herself at how panicked SongStress was. "This is too funny." She murmured. "You feel obligated to do this, right?"

SongStress continued to ignore her as their full attention was on Jen. Jen felt like this was the most attention they had given her since she first started in the group. 

"You want to be in TV Shows? We got you covered." The manager pointed out.

"Why are you doing all this now and not when I was patiently waiting and asking when it would be my turn?" Jen questioned.

"Look we have been busy and-"

"Very busy with Hailey, that's for sure." She pointed out.

"Look we need you-" The President looked at her in despair.

"No, you don't. You need me to have Hailey be the spotlight. I said no, so please just let me leave this company." She pleaded, earning harsh glares from them as they gave up.

"Fine. Then leave." The President waved her away.

"Thank you for this experience." She stood up and headed to the door with Diana.

"Oh and Jen?" The President spoke up as she stopped and turned. "I hope you realize how much of a mistake you're making." He warned, narrowing his eyes.

She smiled and turned back around. "I hope you realize how much of a blessing this decision was for me."

After packing her things, and saying goodbye to Angelina, Jen decides to unfollow Amity on Instagram and Twitter but Angelina as fans started questioning it. After a couple of hours, she was fed up with the constant notifications of Amity and decided to just deactivate her Twitter and delete her Instagram to get away from it all.

------

After leaving and going back home, Jennie went back to high school, while continuing to learn Korean and training for singing and dancing. Things were how they used to be. Going to school, still singing and dancing for fun. But she felt like something was missing. She still wanted to perform. But she didn't want to be in another situation like she was with SongStress. As a result, she researched different companies. The K-Pop itch came back as she decided to check out what SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment were offering.

She managed to go to an SM Entertainment audition but they told her she was not what they were looking for and she didn't look like a K-Pop star. She was upset at the unsuccessful attempt but she was glad they didn't take her. She didn't want to get any plastic surgery if they wanted her to.

As much as she wanted to be a part of SM Entertainment, she felt like their style wasn't for her and she wanted to be a part of a company that wasn't one of the huge companies if possible. Start from the bottom and work her way up. Win awards and break records that aren't from the Big 3 companies.

As 2013 rolls around, she suddenly gets a phone call out of the blue from Diana in mid-January.

"This is rare!" Jen beamed, happy to hear her voice.

"Very, it's been a while! How you been?"

"I'm doing all right. But I'm getting that itch again."

"Well, you're in luck because it's about to be scratched."

"What do you mean?"

"I was just curious, you still want to sing and dance, right?"

"Right!"

"You still studying Korean?"

"You betcha!"

"There's an audition coming up, for a South Korean Company called BigHit Entertainment. They're looking for some trainees. Now, I know it's not like SM Entertainment or YG Entertainment, and BigHit seems like they're not big on foreigners at the moment but you never know what'll happen. Don't let that discourage you. You up for it?"

"It's worth a shot. I want to try."

"Okay, I'll set you up so you can go to the audition in New York. Start preparing. I'll email you what they're looking for so you can practice."

"Thank you so much!"

After a week of training, Jen and her parents arrive at the private audition. She heads inside to sit in the waiting room, while she sees others, older and even younger people preparing for their audition. One by one their names were called as they went inside.

"Jennifer Walker." A woman called her name, standing in the doorway with a clipboard in hand.

Hearing her name get called caused her stomach to drop. Jennie attempts to ignore the nervousness as she stands up and is led inside by the woman.

'Everything is going to be OK. You worked hard, things will be fine.' She tries to reassure herself as she goes into a dance practice room where she sees the panel of three males, staring at her as soon as she walks in.

The three males look up at her. Before they were checking out her headshots and information.

Age 15

5 foot 5

Her experience with singing and dancing since elementary school and being a part of SongStress Entertainment with Amity for over a year. She also has four years of experience playing the guitar. Her heart began to race as she remembered to bow and politely greet them.

"So you have experience with music videos and performing live?" She was asked.

"Yes. Amity has done several music videos and a tour around the US."

"Why did you leave?"

Jennie swallowed as she, unfortunately, remembered bad memories. "New opportunities. I felt like SongStress wasn't the place for me. I still want to perform. I love performing." 

"Sing an English song for us." 

She decides to sing Rihanna's California King Bed with an instrumental from her phone. She starts nervously, but after a few lines, she gains more confidence and sings out, before they stop her after the chorus. Afterward, she had to sing a Korean song, and she chose Wonder Girls' Me In as she found an instrumental on her phone.

"Hey beautiful boy, let me love you, right now~" The nervousness was gone from her singing and filled with more power and confidence as she sang until after the chorus. She began to feel her face heat up after they told her to stop while she was getting too into it.

After the singing, they told her to dance, so she put on 2NE1's I Am The Best, nailing the dance moves on beat, and almost forgetting that this was an audition because she felt like she was in her room again, dancing happily to the song like she always does.

Finally, they take photos of her for headshots and to see how she'll look on camera. 

After the photos, the audition was over and she went back to the panel and was told by the men at the table, "We're developing a boy group and were thinking of having one girl in it too. We'll get back to you. That's all for today."

"Thank you so much for taking the time to see me." She bowed again.

----

A week later, Jen was on her laptop with her headphones in, listening to 2NE1's I Am The Best while checking her email. She suddenly sees an email from BigHit a couple of hours ago. Her eyes widen and her stomach drops.

Was this the result of the audition?

She slowly clicks it open and her throat tightens, making hot tears fill up her eyes. She read the email a couple of times to comprehend what was happening. She passed and they wanted her to become a trainee at their company. She wipes the tears of joy from her eyes and screams in her pillow. Afterwards, she tries to collect herself. 

"Let's not get too ahead of myself. Let's take it one day at a time, Jennie. Things are going to be just fine. Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening!" She said excitedly and then ran downstairs to tell her parents. "Guys, I got great news!"

------

After telling her agent and her parents about the shocking news, they all made their way to Seoul, South Korea. Jen's nerves got to her as she wished the flight was quicker. She was so excited to be able to get an opportunity to work in the K-Pop industry. She hopes to break down the barriers of being a foreigner and an African American in the K-Pop industry. Although she still was not aware of how different their work ethic is from America, she believed that she would be ready for the challenge.

After the plane lands, safely, the party finds someone that had Jen's name on a sign and they are escorted to Big Hit's building. Jen was in awe, gazing out the window as the car went past various streets in Seoul. She never knew how beautiful the area looked until she saw it up close and personal. She was looking forward to doing everything here. Eating, shopping, school, taking walks around, everything. So many things went through her head that before she knew it, the car stopped and they were in front of Big Hit's building. 

Jen's stomach drops at the sight.

She was here.

The agency that wanted to take a chance on her.

The place who thought she had what it takes.

Big Hit Entertainment.

Her mom puts a hand on Jen's thick curly hair. "Sweetie, are you ready?" She smiled. 

Jen nods twice and they all get out of the car. As they head inside, they go to the receptionist to let them know about their reason for being there and they make their way to Bang Shi-Hyuk's office with a translator.

"Music and Artist for Healing, huh?" Jen's dad read the slogan and nodded in approval. "I like it."

"Sweetie, you haven't said a word. Are you okay?" Jen's mom looked concerned at her daughter's silence.

Jen looked up and smiled nervously. "I'm excited just nervous."

"Everything is going to be fine. Don't worry, honey."

"You can come in." A staff member said in English as he opened the door for them.

As soon as they all walk in, they see the man himself, Bang Shi-Hyuk. 

"You must be Jennifer Walker." He speaks in Korean. 

The sound of his voice made her timid as she bowed politely. She'll have to get in a habit of bowing in South Korea. As she looks at him, she starts to remember his face. He was the one sitting in the middle during her audition.

"Yes, I am." Her voice affirmed in a shaky tone in Korean.

He let out a chuckle. "I'm not that scary, am I?"

"No, sorry, just nervous."

He nodded and smiled. "Don't be. I want this to be a happy environment." 

"Thank you. These are my parents." She introduced herself as her parents continued to look at her in surprise at how well her Korean was. "And my agent." She pointed to Diana

"What is he saying? And what did you say?" Jen's mom eagerly asks.

"I just introduced you guys," Jen responded in English and the translator took over to help Diana and her parents understand.

"Your daughter did very well during the audition. I believe she'll do great things for my company. She's in good hands here." Bang PD noted 

"Thank you for allowing our daughter to chase her dreams here." Her father spoke.

"Sit down, please. I want to discuss the contract." Bang PD motioned them to sit and they complied. 

As he started going over the contract, Jen's butterflies came back in her stomach. Would her family let her be out of the country for so many years to become a K-Pop star? She'll miss birthdays, weddings, graduations, births, even funerals.

"What is he saying?" Diana asked as the translator explained that they need Jen and her parents to sign and it's for a lot of years. 

"A-a lot of years?" Her mom asked as she bit her lip. "We're not going to see you that often, are we?"

"If I am in a group and our schedules are fully packed, most likely not, Mom." The teen could see the tears developing in her mother's eyes. 

Her mom grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "My little girl...in South Korea...chasing her dream to perform." 

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Her father asked in a serious tone, keeping his emotions together. "Is this truly what you want, Jennifer?"

"I really want to do this. I'll call, I'll text, I'll Skype you, anything, I will keep in touch. If I can visit I will, I promise. I want this. I love K-Pop, and I truly believe this company is the best for me. I'm going to train hard to achieve my dream. Please. Let me do this."

"We're not going to be able to see you that often. We're not going to watch you grow up into a beautiful young lady." Her mom smiled sadly.

"If any boys give you trouble...I'm a phone call away, sweetheart," Her father placed a hand on her shoulder as he tried to hold back the tears. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you. I love you guys." Tears raced down Jen's cheeks as she tried to wipe them away.

Her father turned to Bang PD and nodded. "We'll sign it."

Bang PD nodded and handed them the contract. After they read over everything with Diana, Jen's father signs it first, and shortly afterward, her mom does the same and hands the pen to Jen. She lets out a breath and signs her name before handing it to Bang PD with two hands. 

"Thank you. I will work hard." Jen bowed with a bright smile.

"As of today, you'll be a trainee. I'll be watching you, kid." Bang PD smiled.

After receiving a new iPhone and keys to the dorm to stay with the other chosen female trainees, Jen spends a few more hours with her family before a heartfelt goodbye as they go back to America. Her agent, Diana, stays with her in Seoul as she works with Big Hit as well. Once she heads to the dorm, she is greeted by the rest of the female trainees and quickly opens up to all of them. They welcomed her with open arms and she was grateful that she could communicate with them, with the Korean that she knew without any language barriers.

One thing she did wish she learned before she got to Seoul was how to eat with chopsticks. It took her forever to learn how to use chopsticks when eating and how different Korean eating habits were from America's. She had a lot to learn about South Korea's culture and was looking forward to it.

The next day was Jen's first day of training. Learning various dances and getting singing lessons. She also met other dancers and trainees. The training was so much different than in America, it was insane. She admired how passionate and hard the dances were.

A few weeks went by and on a certain Thursday night, after dancing was over, she decided to stay a little longer to clean up the choreography that she learned for hours.

With her curly hair in a puffball after all the perspiration, she groans at how she is going to be doing her hair while in South Korea. Maybe she should get a weave. But she'll probably have to order weaves to have it shipped to her. And order American products for her. She should've thought things through. 

As she packed up after spending another hour practicing, she heard a happy English voice behind her. 

"Hello~" The cheerful voice filled her ears. 

She stands up and turns around to see a guy with curly blond hair and a boxy grin on his face.

"H-hi! Are you talking to me?" She responded in English with a smile.

"Y-yes. You...Am-erica? America?" He questioned in broken English.

She chuckled and nods. He sounded really cute while trying to speak English. It sounded like he was asking her if she was American. 

"Yes, I am. And I speak Korean. I'm still learning but I should be fluent soon." She answered in Korean as his eyes widened. 

His happy vibes were getting to her because she couldn't stop smiling at him. His positivity was off the charts. She needed that.

"Really? That's great!" He goes back to his native tongue. "My name is Taehyung."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Jennifer. You can call me Jennie, Jen, any nickname you can think of. How long have you been training?"

"I've been training a while, I'm working with BTS, right now. My stage name is V. But don't tell anyone, I'm a secret member for now. I haven't been revealed yet." He playfully grinned.

Jen couldn't help but drop her jaw. "You're a part of the upcoming new group? Gosh, I want to try to get that spot as the Bangtan Girl. I've been hearing everyone talking about how they want a girl in the group."

"Ah, the girls are training quite hard for that spot. I wish you luck! How do you like it here so far?"

"I love it here. Everyone is so welcoming. I still need to learn how to eat properly with chopsticks. I was a bit too excited to come here." She sheepishly grinned and rubbed the back of her neck.

"I don't mind teaching you!" He eagerly offered.

"Sounds like fun! You're really nice. Can I call you Tae?"

"Anything you like! Can I call you Ennie?"

"Haha, sure."

"I gotta go. I wanted to stop by and say hi. I hope to see you, again! Let's exchange numbers! Have you tried Korean beef yet?"

"No, I haven't. Is it good?" 

"You'll love it! Hopefully, when we're both free, I'll take you so you can try some."

"O-okay!" She exchanged numbers with him. 

She was still in awe of how friendly he was. She had a strong feeling they were going to be best friends very soon.

...And boy was she ever correct.

Whenever they were free, he would hang out with her and show her different sights in Seoul. She even fell in love with Korean beef. Taehyung was right when he said that she would love it. As the weeks went by, Jen continued to train while remaining best friends with Taehyung. She had gotten used to his goofiness and he made her less homesick whenever she thought about America.

It was March 1st. Jen just got off the phone with her parents and her two older sisters who were 18 and seniors in high school. Her sisters, Alani and Vienna were preparing to apply to colleges and improving their SAT and ACT scores.

Alani wanted to major in Journalism, to get into interviewing. Jen could see her being an anchor, interviewing celebs and hosting shows. While Vienna wants to major in Theater, getting into plays and other acting gigs. She was proud of them, and they were proud of her too. They told her how much they missed messing with her and it feels weird without her home. One thing that got to her was the fact that she would be missing their graduation. She informed her family about the upcoming practice for the Bangtan Girl audition. It was tomorrow.

The next day, Jennie made sure to get to the practice room early, wearing grey sweatpants, and a black tank top with a black sports bra. She made sure to put her curly thick hair in a messy bun and began to stretch. She saw there were 8 other girls in the room, that also wanted a spot to be the Bangtan Girl. She lets out a breath. This was going to be a tough competition. She prayed that things would go smoothly and that everyone would do well.

After everyone stretches, Son Seongdeuk, the choreographer for BTS arrives. He looks at every girl in the room as he stands before them. "All right, so the group I'm looking at now, is the group that wants to be that special young lady to be the Bangtan Girl of BTS."

"Currently BTS is working on two songs and we have the instrumental for them. I'm going to teach you the dances for both songs. No More Dream, and Bulletproof. I want to see how your flow is and your unique style of dance. After a few weeks, we'll have the audition." Mr. Son continued as he walked around.

"Now let me inform you of what we are looking for. The Bangtan Girl is fierce, tough, has attitude, beauty, and as the song says, bulletproof. What we are looking for is someone who can fit that persona." he informed. "And you nine ladies believe you have what it takes. And I want you to show me. I'm going to show you the dance for Bulletproof. Have a seat and watch."

The girls comply and sit down while he puts on 'We Are Bulletproof Pt 2. The first few beats made Jennie nod her head to the song. The beat was sick...but as soon as he started dancing, her eyes were about to pop out at the fierce dancing the choreographer was showing. Her jaw couldn't be shut as she watched how quick and strong the dance moves were.

'I...I have to LEARN THAT!? I can't do that! Is it too late to back out?! Wait no. No backing out. You gotta show them how much you want this. Things are going to be OK.'

'Yooooo. How am I supposed to whip my head back and forth that quick?'

'How can I move my chest like that?'

'BRUH...Those fluid movements and smooth footwork! I never did that!'

'I'm screwed.'

'H-how do you do that!?'

'Is that even HUMAN!?'

'The human body can do that?!'

There were all the thoughts in her head as she continued to watch his dancing. After he was done, the girls applauded and he told them to stand up so they could begin learning the choreography. The dance was hard and intense. Extremely intense. Nothing that she had ever danced before. It was more fluent and harder than any dance she danced in America but she was determined. 

After practice, she was exhausted and stayed one more hour to try to work on the dance before her body just couldn't take any more for the day.

A week went by after learning the Bulletproof dance and they went to the No More Dream dance. Jennie still was mind-boggled at how she managed to do a hip thrust after some difficulty. Guys make it look so easy. She wasn't used to moving that part of her body yet. It must've been a hilarious sight to see her practicing hip thrusting back at the dorm while the other trainees were there. A week went by after that and it was now Friday. Mr. Son just finished the final practice day for the No More Dream dance with Bang PD watching the progress closely.

Jen lays her back on the floor, panting heavily. "So. Much. Dancing. I need a hot bath." She murmured in English before forcing herself to sit up. She looked around at the other girls who were just as exhausted if not even more than her.

Bang PD stands up from his seat after watching the whole dance practice. "You ladies have homework. The audition for the Bangtan Girl is on Monday. You have the weekend to practice. The homework is to create a verse for Bulletproof. Mr. Son gave you the instrumental when you first started learning the dance, so you can practice during your free time. The Bangtan Girl always sings with the Bangtan Boys. I want to see what you can come up with for the song and bring in your attitude and style to it."

"Just one verse?" Jen asked earning a nod from him as they got dismissed.

How was she going to create a verse? It's been a while since she wrote a song. The last song was during her Singing Exhibit for her birthday last year.

During the weekend, Jennie could not think of anything. When she tried to, it went well but she ended up scrapping it and throwing it in the recycle bin because it wasn't what she thought it would be. It was tough to admit that she started to get a writer's block. Saturday night she tried again, listening to the instrumental a couple of times.

"I have no fear so don't try to stop me..." she wrote and looked at it. "Eh...something needs to go in the middle of that..." 

'Tellin' me your doubts won't change my mind'

'Staying up all night dancing'

"Ugh, I don't like it." She threw it away and sighed, running her hands through her messy curls. "I hope to learn more about lyric writing while I'm in this company. Right now this is terrible." 

She groaned and tried again.

'Unlike you partying all night while I focused on my dreams'

'Everywhere I go, everything I do, I will show you and all the people who looked down on me'

'I'm in my own lane'

"Ah...this is so corny!" She exclaimed and frowned. "They're not gonna accept this. I'll just put down what I can. I can't stress over it."

----

Monday came by quickly as the girls, Bang PD, Namjoon, Mr. Son, and Taehyung were in the practice room. Jennie wore white sweatpants, a white jacket, white Nikes, and a white tank top for the occasion. She even put a black bandana as a crown over her curly hair that was put down.

First, all the girls were to perform the Bulletproof dance. Jen's efforts were successful, thankfully remembering the dance. She tried to put more flavor into it with thuggish facial expressions that didn't seem too forced, and it went well, showing more attitude to fit the instrumental.

After that, one by one the girls presented their custom verses while doing random dance moves to go with the verse and beat of the song. Namjoon had his black shades on and his head down, deep in thought as he listened to each girl's verse. Jen had a hard time trying to figure out what he was thinking when each girl auditioned. Meanwhile, V kept dancing and nodding his head to their verses. Each girl did so well, but she hoped that she could stand out from them.

"Next." Mr. Son turned to Jennie. 

She swallows hard as she lets out a shaky breath. Standing up, she received a mic.

'I got this...remember what you practiced, girl. Time to slay them all.' Jen gave herself some last words of encouragement as she stood in the middle of the practice room. 

The girls watched behind her while she stood in front of the men watching her. She turns to Mr. Son and nods as he puts on the instrumental of Bulletproof. The instrumental comes on for the second verse of the song as she begins.

Badda bing badda boom

Jennie's here

I have no fear...so don't try to stop me

Hah!

Tellin' me your doubts...won't change my mind

With his ears perking up, Namjoon slowly looked up to watch her perform, fully engaged in how she sounded. 

You want me to party? I don't have time

I've been busy workin' (she slowly shimmies to the right with the beat)

I've been busy dancin' (she slowly shimmies to the left with the beat)

I'm never prancin'

Just enhancin' (She flips her hair)

I will persevere and you can't stop my flow (She stands tall, looking strong)

I'm in my own lane

I'm here to attain (She makes a fist up in the air)

I got people asking, Who's the girl?' (She looks both ways)

The one with the curls, representing the girls (She ruffles her curly hair while strutting forward)

"I'm the one with the swag and I don't mean to brag but I broke oppositions to get where I am at today!" she ended her verse just before the chorus came with a fierce expression on her face. 

The song stops and she lets out a breath as everyone applauds for her. A proud smile came across her features as she bowed to everyone, thanking them. The butterflies were no longer in her stomach and she was glad to get it over with. She hoped it was enough to please them to earn that spot.

The next day was the most nerve-racking because Jennie was called to Bang PD's office. She didn't know if she had done something wrong or if it was good news. She knocked on his door and he told her to come in. She walks him to see him turn around in his chair looking at her sternly.

"Y-you wanted to see me?" She asked softly, trying to ignore his stern look. 

Was he mad at her? If so what the heck did she do? She didn't do anything out of the ordinary.

"Do you know why you're here?" He questioned in a sharp tone as he crossed his arms.

"I-is it because of my audition?" She looked uncertain.

"How do you think you did? Do you think what you've done was what we were looking for?" His voice was serious as he narrowed his eyes.

'I'm about to get dropped aren't I?' She thought nervously.

"Y-yes I do." She quickly let out. "I think I've done well and tried my best."

After a few seconds of silence and staring, he speaks up again. "Well, you thought right, Bangtan Girl." He dropped his mean demeanor and smiled. "Welcome to BTS."

"Wh-what?" Her ears perked up as she widened her eyes. "What did you just say?"

"I had to keep myself from laughing." He chuckled. "I was trying to act as serious as possible. I hope I didn't scare you, too much. Congratulations, you are the Bangtan Girl. Your audition was great. You've done well."

"No way. No friggin way, are you serious right now!?" She started to form hot tears in her eyes as she started to get emotional.

"Your stage name is Jennie just like in your verse. I'm looking forward to watching you grow here. I'll be watching you closely. I have faith in you, kid." He said as she bowed

"Thank you so much." She wiped her tears. She had to urge to hug him but she wanted to try to stay professional.

"Your stuff is being moved to BTS' dorm. You'll be staying there from now on," He dismissed her.

She leaves the office and jumps up and down, running down the hallway with excitement. She quickly calls her parents. "Mom!"

"What?! What happened!? Is everything okay!?" She exclaimed in panic at Jen's sudden yelling.

"I'm the Bangtan Girl! I passed the audition! They picked me!" She yelled as her mom screamed and yelled to her husband to tell him the good news.

"I knew you could do it kiddo!" Jennie hears her father's voice.

After she finishes her conversation with her parents, she calls V and meets him in front of the Big Hit building. V runs and wraps his arms around her in a giant bear hug, spinning her around. 

"I knew you could do it Ennie!" He laughed.

"This is so surreal, Tae. I'm in BTS!" She shakes him as he continues to laugh at her excitement.

"Come on, let's head to the dorm."

"R-right now?"

"Yeah!" He grabbed her hand to walk with her. "Don't be nervous! They're all very eager to meet you!"

"Seriously?"

"We found out right after the audition and when you girls left."

"I still can't believe this is happening."

"Believe it Ennie!"

As they make their way to the dorm, Tae opens the door. "MEET THE NEWEST MEMBER OF BTS! THE BANGTAN GIRL! JENNIE IS HERE!" He happily yelled in the dorm.

Almost instantly she hears yells and happy screams of excitement as the guys rush up to her while V gently pushes her inside and shuts the door. She almost laughed at how eager everyone was to meet her. They were bursting with energy. She could get used to this warm welcome.

"There she is!" Hobi screeched out of excitement

"We've been waiting for you!" Jin grinned

"She's pretty!" Jimin yelled

"H-hi!" She nervously greeted them as they all started talking at once.

"Yah! Guys, don't smother her! Let her breathe! One at a time! One-at-a-time!" Tae protectively grabbed her hand and took her further into the dorm as the rest of the boys followed them, continuing to ask questions.

"You two are just in time for dinner! Let's eat!" Jin announced.

"Aren't you gonna introduce us to her, Tae?" Jimin pointed out as they got settled to eat

"Ladies first." Namjoon gestured as Jen smiled nervously.

"My name is Jennifer, you can call me Jennie, Jen, or whatever nickname you come up with for me. I'm from America. I'm 15. Bang PD told me my stage name in BTS will be Jennie. I have two sisters who are 18, and I'm looking forward to working with you guys."

"You have a pretty smile!" Hobi pointed out. "So adorable!"

Jennie starts to feel her face heat up at the constant compliments. She wasn't used to this at all. She buries her face in her hands.

"Ahhh she's shy!" Hobi yelled as the guys started getting wild but Namjoon.

"Yah! Pipe down!" Namjoon calmed them down and turned to her. "Hello, I'm Namjoon. Better known as Rap Monster. I'm the leader of the group. Looking forward to working with you. I was impressed by your performance."

"Nice to meet you. I noticed you watching me closely. I was a bit intimidated." She admitted.

"Haha, really?" He raised a brow. 

"Yeah like you and the glasses and everything. You scared me a bit." She chuckled.

"Sorry if I scared you. I was so focused on your performance. You just caught my attention." he smiled, revealing his dimples. "They made a good choice. Looking forward to seeing what else you can do."

"He's not scary at all, trust me," Hobi reassured. "Hello~ I'm Hoseok. You can call me by my stage name is J-Hope or Hobi."

"I'm the oldest, Jin. Anything you need, just let me know." Jin smiled politely.

"I'm Jimin. The coolest member of the group." He boasted as the guys disagreed and started hitting him with pillows, making Jennie laugh out loud. She could get used to their shenanigans.

Jungkook was usually shy around girls but Jen's demeanor made him relax and less nervous. He smiled awkwardly and looked away, avoiding eye contact until he heard her warm voice which made him look into her eyes.

"Hi, I'm Jennie. Nice to meet you. Your name?" She greeted.

"I'm Jungkook." 

"I'm Min Yoongi. You can call me Suga." He greeted her as she nodded and smiled

"Eat up!" Jin gestured as they all began to eat. 

Jennie finally managed to use chopsticks the proper way and chowed away.

"Guess you'll be a part of the Maknae line," Namjoon confirmed, remembering she said she was 15. "Your birthday?"

"November 10th."

"Ahh she's younger than Jungkook! She'll be our baby girl!" Jimin announced. "So what is America like?"

"It's what you make of it. I hope one day we'll all be able to go together and you can experience it yourselves." She smiled. "I still need to get used to eating properly and bowing here. I'm still not adjusted to your culture yet but I will soon. Please be patient with me guys."

"You're fine, don't worry about it." Yoongi waved her doubts away.

"What are your passions," Hobi asked

"I really love performing and meeting fans. I just love to sing and dance for fun. Music is my life." She happily revealed.

"What do you like to eat? I can put it in future references." Jin chimed in.

"Some foods I like are pizza, white chocolate, fish and chicken."

"Once we get some Korean food in you, I'm sure that'll also be your favorite food, too."

"I bet they will."

"Hey, what's your favorite color?" Jungkook eagerly asked.

"I like purple." She responded

"Any hobbies?" Namjoon questioned

"I like to play the guitar. Play occasional video games and golf." Jen addressed.

"Golf?" Jin asked in amazement.

"I'm not that good but I like the sport. It's fascinating to check out." She pointed out.

The rest of the dinner went great as she started to feel less nervous and excited to be working with BTS. The boys were so nice and welcoming towards her.

"Oh yeah, let's show Jen her room!" Yoongi announced as he stood up. The boys escorted her to a small room in the dorm. "Since you're a girl, we're sure you wanted your privacy. It's smaller than the rest of ours. I hope it's all right."

"No, it's perfect." She turned to them, looking appreciative. "Thanks, guys."

Later that night, everyone got ready for bed. Jennie said goodnight to everyone and laid under the covers in her new home. On her back, she looked up at the ceiling with a huge smile on her face.

"I'm going to like it here...I'm so happy. Thank you, Lord, for this opportunity." She sighed in contentment and fell asleep.

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (September 3-9, 2023)

I was a bit nervous about GAMERA -Rebirth-; the animation looked dodgy and Netflix has a shaky track record with kaiju shows. I'm pleased to report this is the best entry in the genre that they've put their name on. Good characters, great action (brutal as always), and actual episodic storytelling that effortlessly weaves in elements from the Showa films beyond all the returning kaiju. Watch it immediately.

Tie-ins abound for GAMERA -Rebirth-: a two-part novelization, a manga adaptation, and a prequel manga that sheds some light on [UNBELIEVABLY MASSIVE SPOILERS]. That prequel manga (GAMERA -Rebirth- code thyrsos) is being published online for free in both Japanese and English. You can read the first chapter here.

In unofficial translation news, English subtitles for GAMERA.1999 (1999) and yokaipedia (2022) are now available. The former is Hideaki Anno's making-of documentary for Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris; the latter is a fun, child-friendly fantasy from Godzilla Minus One director Takashi Yamazaki with a big ol' centipede-dragon at the end. (It's also maybe the first Japanese kaiju film I've ever seen with a major Black character.) I haven't gotten to GAMERA.1999 yet, though from scrubbing through it, it seems like a lot of dialogue was just ignored by the translator. Shame, as that's one I've wanted for a long time.

We have a teaser for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, as well as a premiere date for the first two (out of ten) episodes: November 17. (I am being showered with Media for my 30th birthday.) The big news from this trailer is that John Goodman is reprising his role as Bill Randa from Kong: Skull Island. I assume that's going to be through flashbacks and old recordings only, since he was eaten by a Skullcrawler in that one. We also catch glimpses of two new creatures, a dragon and a crab from what I can tell. The latter looks to be fighting a Mother Longlegs.

Fandango and AMC have added mostly-empty listings for Godzilla 2000 on November 1. Fathom Events screened Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla on November 3 last year; despite randomly showing Tokyo SOS back in March, I gather they're making a tradition out of Godzilla Day. Note that the listed runtime is longer than the film itself. Predictions for the program: another message from Keiji Ota, the 2022 Godzilla vs. Gigan short, and the Japanese version of G2K. Interesting that they're running the last Toho Godzilla film to receive a wide release in the U.S. exactly a month before Godzilla Minus One has a wide release of its own here.

Gamera isn't a meta-defining Godzilla Battle Line unit... but he's Gamera in a Godzilla game, so I've been using him in every match since I unlocked him. He's gearing towards demolishing flying units, with fireballs that deal more damage against them and knock them back. A pity that he's arriving well after those units were at their most dominant.

Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #3 still isn't giving me much to write home about, but the kaiju cult creeping to the forefront intrigues. Also cool to see Ebirah in a starring role.

Marubeni, one of Japan's biggest general trading companies, put out a bizarre commercial featuring samurai, zombies, a meteor, and a refurbished GMK King Ghidorah. The ad now has English subtitles, and you can watch a Ghidorah-centric behind-the-scenes video here.

I cannot believe I have more Cleopatra Entertainment fuckery to report on with regards to their Shin Ultraman releases, but they're truly trying to take the "Worst Film Company of 2023" title from the members of the AMPTP. Their third attempt at a barebones disc is starting to reach customers... but the ones who already received the initial replacement disc are being told no more will be sent. @starestream is trying to figure out if they'll be selling the third edition on their site, since it seems buying it anywhere else is a gamble. (Physically, the third edition looks almost the same as the first two, set apart only by the "SUBTITLED" text on the disc.) Either way, it's another blow to a movie that truly doesn't deserve this.

[accio-victuuri]

cheng er talks about his new project with yibo ( mermaid ) @ bona films conference

Yu Dong said: Director Cheng Er is an auteur-type director. His works range from"Romantic Disappearance History" to "Wuming". All written by himself. Screenwriting, directing, and editing, he created once, twice and three times. He is a typical academic author-director.

"Wuming" is already a "super commercial film" for Director Cheng Er, I hope this time we can speed up the creation with our joint efforts, don't wait another seven years, we will immediately shoot "Mermaid" and shoot this year. Cheng Er also added that the filming of "Mermaid" will begin this summer.

When asked if I could see this movie this summer, Cheng Er said anxiously: Do I have to say this? Mr. Yu said that he hasn't seen the script yet, I haven't seen it, and I haven't written it yet, and I'm still in the midst of all kinds of complicated imaginations and sorting it out.

Recently, I went to Yunnan, Guangxi, Hanoi, Hue, Da Nang, Inner Mongolia, Tokyo... I was very nervous. Every time I brought photographers, artists, and company employees with me, I have been traveling for the past two months. Running outside, but I don't even have a script, and sometimes I get very nervous.

Less than 10 days ago, I was in Tokyo, and I took the actor we just mentioned (Wang Yibo), although there is no script, but we can see where we will shoot, and we can sort out what we want to shoot together. On June 2, the typhoon in Tokyo brought heavy rain. I thought it would be canceled, but in the end, by an incredible coincidence, we completed what we wanted to do and completed the trip by bicycle in the pouring rain. At one point, the rain was unbelievably heavy, and my whole body was soaked in the water, like a mermaid, which gave me some kind of enlightenment, and I believe it also gave Yibo enlightenment. No matter what, the mermaid will go to his destination.

source.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Now that the full Chanel commercial is out, I thought it would be interesting to go back to some memorable ads made by famous directors.

But first, I'll start with Scorsese in a case in which an ad transforms into a short film and not only elevates the product, but goes beyond just advertisement. Some will like it for Chalamet, I'm here for camera movement and editing.

I'm not leaving Chanel behind yet. This time it's Baz Luhrmann and Nicole Kidman. This a really famous one, released around the time Moulin Rouge came out, which becomes evident from the first few shots.

Wes Anderson made quite a number of commercials for various companies. I still remember the series he did for Prada Candy with Lea Seydoux which is anchored into 2010s aethetics going for French vintage pastels (you'll get the idea if you look it up). But what I chose for this list is his and Roman Copolla's ad for Stela Artois, inspired by 1960s spy movies.

Lastly, although I'm hardly a fan anymore of Taika Waititi's work, he did direct this commercial for Belvedere Vodka. I'd have to say it's among my favorites simply because of how deliciously fun is this old queen Daniel Craig in it. He only proved once again why he's casted in Guadagnino's next film...

[leareadsheresy]

What is the Horus Heresy as a fictional construct (to me) and why is it interesting (to me)?

It's a series of ads for toy soldiers that the toy soldier manufacturer figured out how to monetize, so people will pay to be advertised to. Whew, that was easy. That sounds like a blithe dismissal but actually it's a foundational assumption we need to establish so we can move past it. Assume for the rest of this essay that no matter what else I'm typing, I never forget that the Horus Heresy is first and foremost monetized advertising for a commercial product, and that I hate myself at least a little bit for finding it stimulating.

Disclaimer over. Anyway, I'm writing this at least in part because I know there's at least one person reading this Tumblr who doesn't know anything about the Horus Heresy. I thought maybe I could expand that into something worth writing (and maybe even worth reading!). This is really long so I'm putting it behind a cut.

"The Horus Heresy" is a fictional period of history in the setting of the Games Workshop tabletop-war-game-slash-multimedia-empire Warhammer 40,000, taking place about ten thousand years prior to the "present" of the setting, during the founding of the Imperium, the human faction and arguable protagonists (or at least best-seller) of the property. The Heresy is therefore sometimes referred to as Warhammer 30k. (It's also occasionally called HH, but I won't be using that abbreviation; you can probably guess why.) It is the story of a nine year civil war that occurred when Horus, then the favored "son" of the Emperor of Mankind, recently appointed Warmaster of the (at the time) eighteen Space Marine Legions, turned traitor and lead half of the Imperium's armies against the other half, trashing the nascent Imperium and dooming it to a ten thousand year slide into stagnation and decay that resulted in the current 40k setting. Before the Heresy there was a two century period in the setting called the Great Crusade, in which the Emperor of Mankind (who'd recently conquered and unified Earth just in time for hyperspace storms to clear up, enabling large-scale FTL travel in the Milky Way for the first time in five thousand years) struck out into space with a unified Earth's armies to conquer the galaxy for humanity (before anybody else could take advantage of the suddenly-available-again FTL and do it first), and after the Heresy is an undefined period called the Scouring in which the "victorious" loyalist clean up the remains of the traitors and chase them into exile. So it's a bounded period, nine years between the Great Crusade and the Scouring, with a known narrative and timeline of events and battles, beginning just before the Istvaan III Atrocity and ending with the duel between the Emperor and Horus at the end of the Siege of Terra that left Horus dead and the Emperor an invalid.

As "the founding myth of Warhammer 40,000," Games Workshop has been talking about the Horus Heresy since pretty much 40k has been around, and it has its shape because that shape is useful to a company whose business model is spending huge amounts of money on very durable stainless steel injection moulds it can then operate pretty much indefinitely to sell small amounts of cheap plastic at tremendous markup. Specifically, Warhammer 40,000 is a game about science fiction versions of knights, soldiers, orks, elves, skeletons, demons, and monsters all fighting each other, and each of those armies has different model kits and needs a different set of expensive moulds, but in a civil war game, both sides can use the same models manufactured with the same moulds. In 1988, just a year after publishing the first edition of 40k, GW launched the first edition of Adeptus Titanicus, a game set during the Heresy in which both sides fought with the same giant robots, because GW wanted to do a giant robot game but it would have been expensive to do a 40k-era game where they'd have needed to sculpt and manufacture a different set of giant robots for each faction. In Adeptus Titanicus, both sides played with the same robots and players would differentiate faction with color schemes.

More recently than that, the Heresy as a fictional construct acquired an aesthetic distinct from normal 40k. Games Workshop has, in the past, been structured oddly, with the main studio being treated separately from a secondary studio called ForgeWorld who manufactured more niche models, mainly from resin, a modeling material that can (in theory and when everything is working) hold more and crisper detail than plastic. ForgeWorld has now been folded into Games Workshop proper, but in the past it was, though still profit-driven, headed by artists and sculptors more so than the main studio, and was strongly influenced by military modelers. I've seen it jokingly described as "That group of Games Workshop sculptors who split off because they wanted to do a bunch of historically inspired sci-fi tanks." When ForgeWorld spun the Horus Heresy off into its own variant of (at the time) 40k 6th edition in 2012, with its own dedicated sets of expensive resin models, those models were sculpted (and painted, in promotional materials) in styles inspired by World War I and World War II historical wargaming, in contrast to the more gonzo heavy-metal-airbrushed-on-the-side-of-a-van style of 40k.

In short, the Horus Heresy is a pseudo-history, a nine-year conflict in which the broad course of events was largely known from the start, presented with the aesthetics of historical recreation. Tonally, it's "more serious" than 40k, less gonzo and more elegiac. It is a fictional construct that attempts to evoke the momentousness of "real" war, presented by fictional historians. The Horus Heresy 1st edition game books are written as pastiches of Osprey Publishing military history books, complete with color plates of the uniforms and heraldry of the various forces who participated in it, written in the style of historical documentaries walking the reader through various specific military campaigns during the nine years of the larger war.

The Horus Heresy is also an attempt at Milton's Paradise Lost; I don't really engage with it on that level but I want to mention it. Space Marines are sometimes called the Emperor's Angels in 40k and it's the story of how Lucifer fell and took a third of the host of angels with him. In fact, it's been Paradise Lost for a lot longer than it's been Osprey military history; it arguably started as Milton in 1987 and only became Osprey pastiche in 2012. But I engage with it as Osprey pastiche first.

So why is a po-faced pseudo-historical spinoff of gonzo space fantasy, presented in muted colors with everyone playing variations on the same two or three armies, interesting?

For that, first I'm going to have to talk about superheroes and pirates.

Superhero comics go on forever. There are stories where Spider-Man gets old, but in mainline Spider-Man comics, he does not (unless the issue is about a mad scientist hitting him with an aging ray or something). He's aged a bit between his introduction in 1962 from a highschooler to his current vaguely twentysomething-to-thirtysomething incarnation, but from here on out he's doomed to vascillate between twentysomething to thirtysomething and back again according to the needs of the current arc, like Green Lantern Hal Jordan gaining grey hair at his temples to indicate that he's getting old, only for it to later be revealed that he was going grey early because of an alien parasite, which, once it was expelled, caused all his hair to turn brown again. Until the death of Marvel and DC as comic book publishers, these characters will proceed through an eternal adulthood that never approaches old age. Because Spider-Man stories shy away from openly acknowledging that Peter Parker has aged only ten to twenty years during the 62 year period between 1962 to 2024, stories about him tend to be set in an indefinite now designed to last forever, and even if a particular story did something to set itself in a specific time and place, we understand when it gets referenced thirty years later in real time as something that only happened five years ago in comics time, we the reader are supposed to interpret it through a filter of "Okay something like that happened, but not literally tied to the historical events of thirty years ago, because Peter's not that old." He did not meet John Belushi on the set of Saturday Night Live, because now, John Belushi died before Peter Parker was born, never mind the cover of the comic literally having Spider-Man and John Belushi on it. In the flashbacks to the events of that issue decades later, it'll be some other, more recent SNL performer that he met instead. (They used Chris Farley, although that would have to be changed again if they ever did more flashbacks now.)

The Golden Age of Piracy was a seventy year period, shaped by material circumstances that incentivized plunder of naval trade, circumstances that arose, changed, and ultimately ended. Stories about pirates are implicitly or explicitly dependent on those historical circumstances, and have trouble existing without them. Unlike the indefinite adulthood of a superhero, the Golden Age of Piracy is not an indefinite now that can last forever. I first noticed this while working in tabletop roleplaying setting design, while learning from some of the many, many failures of the first edition of a tabletop roleplaying game called 7th Sea. 7th Sea was supposed to be a game about playing pirates having adventures on the high seas, but the setting and history had not been written to highlight any of the factors that incentivized real piracy during the real Golden Age of Piracy. There was only one continent, and there was nothing like the triangle trade or mass quantities of colonial plunder being shipped back to imperial seats of power, or a recent major naval war that left huge quantities of trained sailors unemployed, or a geopolitical system that left nations plausibly and currently ill-equipped to effectively police their sea-lanes. Looking at the setting it was difficult to understand what all these pirates were plundering, or who they were plundering it from, or why. And you can certainly say "The pirates are plundering treasure and they're doing it because that's the premise of the game," but a well-written setting in an interactive medium like tabletop roleplaying games or fictional war games is deliberately constructed to support and make compelling the conflicts it pitches.

So for starters, mostly because of my own examination of the failures of 7th Sea, I find a limited-duration, bounded-context setting like the Horus Heresy, with a beginning, middle, and end interesting. And it's not that I dislike "eternal now" contexts (I'm enough of a nerd to know about both the Hal Jordan grey hair thing and Spider-Man and the Not Ready for Prime Time Players), but eternal nows have so much become the standard in pop fiction that I find a bounded context refreshing, especially if it makes use of the advantages it affords. To keep audiences interested in an eternal now, every new twist and turn of the plot has to be presented on some level as the most important thing that has happened yet, with the previous twists and turns -- regardless of having been presented in their time as the most important things that had happened yet when they were new -- fading into an eternal plot churn, and this becomes difficult to maintain as a property continues over the decades. In a bounded context like a pseudo-historical war or the biography of a character whose birth and death are known from the start, the eternal plot churn is less inevitable.

Second, I like to watch artists play with compatible variations on a theme, and I like to navigate fictional semantic systems where a story imbues novel symbols with meaning, and for that reason I fuckin' love Heresy-era Space Marine armor. (You may want to skip the next paragraph.)

Okay so check this out. During the early years of the Great Crusade, Space Marines mostly used what's called Mark II "Crusade" armor, an early armor characterized by banded segments around the legs, visible power cabling, and a grilled helmet with a single visor instead of separate eye slits. Over the course of the Great Crusade, a specific field modification of Crusade armor that incorporated heavier armor along the front plates of the chest and legs and a heavier grill on the helmet became so popular that it became standardized as Mark III "Iron" armor -- Iron armor was a side-grade rather than an upgrade, less maneuverable but more effective in heavy fighting in confined spaces like boarding assaults. Later, the Imperial suppliers developed and began distributing the more high-tech-looking Mark IV "Maximus" armor and continued development and field testing of what was, at the time, meant to be designated Mark V armor (as yet nameless). Horus as the Warmaster during the buildup to the Heresy diverted most shipments of new, better Maximus armor to the Legions he expected to side with him, giving them a slight technological and logistical advantage. After the fighting of the Heresy broke out, supply lines were fractured and the Space Marine legions were all forced to cobble together makeshift armor from spare parts and whatever they could reliably manufacture with limited resources, resulting in the creation of what would later be designated Mark V "Heresy" armor in non-production (ad hoc designs using any spare parts that were available) and production (a standardized design using plentiful spare parts and locally manufactured replacements that had been found easy to produce under most circumstances) models, while the armor originally intended to be released as Mark V was re-numbered to Mark VI and named "Corvus" armor after the accomplishments of a specific loyalist general, and also because its helmet looks like a beak. (But even before its distribution to the loyalists, the traitors had stolen the designs and were manufacturing them to distribute among their own side.) Finally, during the Siege of Terra, loyalists on Terra were issued a brand new Mark VII "Aquilla" armor design. That's six armor designs -- Crusade, Iron, Maximus, Heresy, Corvus, and Aquilla (that's a different set of links, BTW) -- all visually distinct but compatible with each other, and all imbued with meaning by the circumstances of their manufacture and distribution (to say nothing of variations like Mantilla-pattern facial grills or Anvilus backpacks). So, for example, Crusade-era Raven Guard would mostly have stuck to Crusade armor instead of switching to Iron because they're all about stealth and maneuvers instead of close-quarters brutality, meaning once the Heresy broke out they'd mostly have old Crusade armor in reserve, and they were the first Legion to be given Corvus armor when that was available… so if I model a Raven Guard character in Iron armor with Heresy gauntlets, that's imbued with meaning, because it's a soldier from the stealthy chapter wearing the most brutal and least stealthy armor mark with armored gauntlets that are makeshift and easy to repair, i.e. he is probably big and angry and likes to punch things above and beyond other space marines, and in contrast to the culture of his Legion.

I typed that awful paragraph nearly off the top of my head; I didn't need to look up any of it except for what Anvilus backpacks are called. I find it semantically satisfying to engage with Horus Heresy model design. Also physically satisfying, because all of these armor marks are little toys I can stick together like Legos and then paint up to look cool. (Or will be, once GW puts out more upgraded kits; currently Crusade is unavailable, Maximus and Aquilla are older kits and too short, and Heresy is older and a bit too short and also only available in expensive resin; they seem to be doing one updated armor mark per year.) Current 40k models are much more varied across all the different 40k armies, but nothing there is as artistically or semantically as interesting to me within a single army as 30k space marines are.

Third… I don't want to say I love trash. I'm honestly not the sort of person to watch and laugh at bad movies because they're bad. But I am interested in observing the success or failure of execution on a promising concept. 7th Sea is, at least, instructive, and its failings informed my work on Exalted. I feel like I have made a good case here for why the Horus Heresy has the potential to be very cool. A lot of visual artists have put a lot of work into appealing art for it, illustrations and modeling and painting; and its bounded pseudo-historical context is unusual and has specific strengths that can make it an interesting change of pace from the forever-now context of most pop storytelling. And yet, in discussion of the Horus Heresy novel series, what often comes up is how nobody, under any circumstances, should read all of the books, because there are 64+ of them and a lot of them are awful. And to some extent this is because some of them are extruded ad copy barely disguised as prose but in other cases they're bad because specific authors with more enthusiasm than skill staked out specific bits of the Heresy as their territory and really enjoyed writing the hell out those corners without being, you know, good at it. I find looking at that sort of thing interesting like a pirate game with a setting where there's no reason for pirates to pirate. The gap between potential and execution is a learning tool.

I don't really have a conclusion paragraph here. These are my current thoughts on what the Horus Heresy is to me and why it interests me. (Currently reading Flight of the Eisenstein, and by "reading Flight of the Eisenstein" I mean "I've gotten back into Elden Ring.")

[fans4wga]

'After Comic-Con, Cosplayers Get Greater Clarity on SAG-AFTRA’s Strike Guidelines'

By Abbey White

..."That lack of clarity initially resulted in the spread of misinformation in a community where influencer has become a term with a range of meanings, cosplayers tell THR. “This was done in a time where basically anybody who has social media is a quote-unquote ‘influencer,'” says Feehery, who — after cosplaying for a decade — earns 100 percent of her living off of it like many do, primarily as a costume maker versus performer. “There’s a lot of pressure to ‘perform’ and monetize everything that you do.”

“I’m not saying the union leadership of SAG wasn’t aware of the potential complications for people who are influencers, but I think they were rightly focused on their contract negotiations, called for the strike, voted for the strike, and it was a scramble to put into place all these guidelines,” she adds. “The last time they were on strike, none of this ecosystem existed. The internet was three people’s computers that worked on an intranet. As an ecosystem, people influencing on the internet has only been viable for 15-ish years. It’s such a new avenue of employment.”

Sharma acknowledges that the rollout wasn’t completely smooth. “There was some confusion because all of this has happened so quickly,” he says. “We have 450-ish staff, but that’s down from the 600 we had before the pandemic. We’re still rebuilding, so we’ve all been working really hard to try to staff up, but a lot of responsibility is on very few people’s hands. So I think that we didn’t have every single answer to every single question right away.”

But while the cosplay community might think about “influencer” more broadly, for SAG-AFTRA, the term has a very specific definition under the union’s Influencer-Produced Sponsored Content Agreement, which Sharma describes as “basically commercials agreements.”

It only covers advertiser-sponsored content that directly features that influencer; is self-produced by that influencer through the contracted producer (so the company controlled and operated by or on behalf of the named Influencer); and released, exhibited and/or digitally distributed through the influencer’s or advertiser’s own websites, social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Tumblr, Twitter and LinkedIn), and/or YouTube channels.

Content that is written, filmed or produced for the advertiser by any party other than the influencer — such as a production company, ad agency or PR agency — is not covered by the agreement. There are also a number of things that fall out of the agreement’s scope and are considered “excluded services.” That includes “streamed or recorded on-camera or voiceover content that is not self-produced and/or that falls under the jurisdiction of any other SAG-AFTRA contract,” “creative, editing, distribution and print work” as well as work, like tweets, that is with an advertiser and unrelated to the “influencing” tied to the SAG-AFTRA agreement."

[read more]

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I don’t mean this in a bad way but t race families? I mean I live in a big city and have a large network through work and family and friends , and it is not that common yet tv, films and ads etc. are making it seem so?

Cost. The more representation (age, race, gender, ability, language, nationality, etc.) in your product (commercial, ad, movie, TV show, etc.), the bigger your audience, so the more bang for your buck. It’s cheaper than making 5 different commercials/ads/TV shows that are tailored to each single demographic in your core audience.

Nope. I work in the entertainment industry which includes advertising. This is deliberate social engineering. It started about 30yrs ago, but it started as subtle persuasion to match census stats especially in terms of racial/ sexuality inclusivity and representation, but in the past decade it's a requirement for the purposes of credit lines and funding. 

I'm sure at some point the savings made from making an ad/ entertainment product that with broad appeal instead of tailored to different audiences was also a consideration, but really it was about social engineering. And where the govt was involved in this engineering, companies received benefits to show these new elements. 

However, as of 2019,  every company in the world that has a credit line at the top 5 banks/ finance companies are told to cast their ads/ programming this way or else. As of 2021, the same companies are also now insisting on trans inclusion. However, as the finance world is interconnected, everyone is receiving credit from those 5 banks/ financing companies even if they are not dealing with them directly. 

These things are measured and count towards financing / credit scores of a company so it's not an accident or cost to save on different markets. This is why it's suddenly and exponentially visible. 

However, if you go to markets where these banks don't operate or if they are mono-cultures and therefore don't place great importance on social engineering of the racial kind, the advertising and entertainment doesn't show this type of change and any companies that wish to penetrate those markets either edit their regular, diverse ads/ programming to remove these things or they recast to remove those elements or they create ads/ entertainment that reflects those markets. 

********

but in the past decade it's a requirement for the purposes of credit lines and funding. 

That still makes it related to cost. What is cost but money and financials, whether it’s how much you save or how much you’re credited.

This is a good time to remind everyone that I’m not in advertising, marketing, or PR so you’re going to get my layman’s analysis.

(I do have friends in advertising and they’re the ones who told me that it’s related to cost and audience reach.)

I also remind everyone that multiple things can be true at once, even within an industry.

That said, this is off-topic from the blog and I won’t be posting further on this. You’re more than welcome to continue discussing in the comments, though!

[donnerpartyofone]

Instagram just had the nerve to inform me that my new top post achieved 17% more interaction than my last top post, and like, if they want to make Instagram so that it's only for businesses now they should just announce that and, I don't know, demote all the personal accounts to guests or viewers with no editing permissions or something. Let's just admit that it's this thing that only shows commercials and basically you're a type of NPC if you're not selling anything. It's the same fucking thing with Twitter showing all these analytics at the bottom of tweets, like sir I do not care, this is not what I joined any of these platforms for, and if you've decided that your thing is now exclusively a B2B orgy that private citizens can passively observe if they really feel like it, just fucking say that. It's weird how quickly things have escalated from companies just serving tons of ads for products a regular person could buy, to ALSO treating every user like they might be a small business owner who needs business-to-business ads too. A while ago I had this problem where just because I sent or tracked a package or something, FedEx was relentlessly spamming me with products that would only be relevant to a corporation. Recently I applied for a really low rent, borderline volunteer job that required me to create an Airtable account so they could assign me tasks, and now Airtable sends me endless advertisements for they can increase the productivity of my employees. And like this is not unique, it seems like a lot of companies are playing the numbers game of treating you like BOTH an individual consumer AND a potential corporate account JUST IN CASE you can give them money out of both holes. And then I have like Instagram and Twitter, places where I can actually register that I'm doing business IF that's my deal, addressing me like I'm a marketing professional who really needs their "insights" on how I can boost engagement for my like, picture of a funny piece of garbage I just saw on the sidewalk. It seems so wasteful and pointless to me, but what do I know, I'M NOT A FUCKING BUSINESS OWNER.

[captainmartinisblog]

Roman Heritage – in the Rain!

Sunday 27th October 2024 – Tarragona, Spain (Day 2)

(NB This entry has been subsequently edited with additional notes and photos.)

We were joined in port this morning by Wind Star, built in 1986 and a bit bigger than us, with up to 148 passengers.

However, she has electric winches and her sails are all computer-controlled rather than manual like ours, but she’s much better company than that MSC monster we had yesterday! Don’t let the brief showing of the sun get your hopes up……

Today’s excursion was to see the Roman bits of the city that have either survived or been uncovered. The city of Tarraco was Hannibal’s capital but after the Romans captured it from the Carthaginians, it became one of Rome’s most important cities in Iberia.

There were only about 26 on our excursion this morning but I was the only English-speaking person in the group, so a handful (and the Germans can sometimes be a handful!) joined the English guide, although it didn’t stop them speaking German!

After a short panoramic drive through the city, we arrived at the Roman walls and the gate known as the Portal del Roser - they say because there was a Benedictine Monastery ('Rosary'?) but also that there was rose garden, neither of which are today in evidence!

Not much of the walls survive today but from this map and a model of the Circus and Forum, it was possible to see how ‘great’ Tarraco was in Roman times, supporting a population of some 40,000.

Much later, in the 12th century, the Cathedral was built on top of what was the Roman Temple of Augustus.

It boasts an octagonal crossing tower/dome and an incomplete 14th century façade, the work on which was halted by the plague. It was claimed at the time that the church was too high and had offended God, who sent the plague!

And as if to prove the point, this was when the heavens opened and it began tipping down with rain, so our half-hour of ‘free time’ was spent sheltering in the Cathedral, much to the annoyance of the locals, who don’t like tourists visiting on Sundays. Understandable, I guess.

Not far from the Cathedral in Carrer de la Merceria is Casa Corderet, the oldest known continuously-trading shop since 1751; a candle-maker's shop of all things!

We then visited a museum in part of the vaults beneath the great Circus, which adjoined the Forum, before seeing the few bits of the Circus that survive today.

Built in the 1st century AD, the Circus was vast at 325m long or 1,066ft and 115m or 377ft wide and held as many as 30,000 spectators. This was where the likes of Charleton Heston rode horse-drawn chariots called 'Quadrigas' in hair-raising races!

Sadly, apart from from this small section at one end of it, hardly anything remains above ground today. They want to uncover more but sadly, the city of Tarragona is bankrupt and can’t afford to.

However, the Roman city of Tarraco (as it was called back then) also had an Amphitheatre for gladiatorial fights and the burning of Christians etc (wholesome Saturday afternoon entertainment for the masses!). Rather more of its remains can be seen today....

Built in the early 2nd century, it was about 427m long (427ft) and about 102m (335ft) wide and housed around 15,000 spectators.

Our walking tour finished at the Mediterranean Balcony, a viewpoint at the end of the Rambla Nova, the modern city’s main avenue, overlooking the sea and the commercial port.

Returning to Sea Cloud II for lunch, we finally put to sea in the afternoon. However, the rain swept in again with such intensity that they cancelled the raising of the sails!

And just to put a further dampener on things, we’ve been told that there’s a bus drivers’ strike tomorrow, so my excursion to Girona is cancelled and I have to do another walking tour of Palamos instead! Captain’s Gala Dinner tonight though……!

[hartshorn-and-isinglass]

If you've ever wondered how biotech companies advertise, there are of course the usual routes like trade magazines and such, but for a brief blessed moment just over a decade ago, several companies were persuaded to try and go viral with music videos:

This Eppendorf commercial is still living rent-free in my head:

Bio-Rad really got into hyping their PCR products:

Literally no one has ever been this excited about Western blots, I promise.

Honorable mention to ABI (now part of Thermo Fisher) for the Dancing Scientist commercial:

(ETA: oh wow, TMO actually edited the Dancing Scientist out of this ad so I had to go hunt for the original. Should be fixed now.)

Do with this information what you will.

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (February 4-10, 2024)

Zoe Tunnell's Godzilla: Valentine's Day Special for IDW was everything I wanted it to be and more. While the kaiju are essential to the story, the focus is on the rivalry-turned-romance between an EDF captain and an independent kaiju researcher, which unfolds wonderfully across multiple attacks. Kaiju researchers have decried a military-first approach since 1954, of course, but Piper Simmons goes a step further by questioning whether an explosion in defense spending on shiny super-weapons is just making the problem worse. Essential reading.

Shout Factory! TV added seven vintage Toei tokusatsu titles out of nowhere, all in Japanese with English subtitles. Magic Serpent (retitled Dragon Showdown) is probably the most familiar and of-interest title to kaiju fans, but there's also Planet Prince (the first of two films edited together and dubbed under the title Prince of Space), Invasion of the Neptune Men, Watari: The Ninja Boy, Ninja Scope, and The Golden Bat. Earlier today, we learned that they're all being released in a Blu-ray set as well—but more on that in the next column.

Here's a new CG short called Daikaiju vs. the Giant Girl (we are ignoring the typo in the thumbnail/video title). Great action, and I had to check the credits to confirm it was completely computer-animated.

When Titanic Creations first announced its articulated Gorgo figure, I was less than confident they'd be able to deliver on their promise of a graphic novel sequel to the film. Well, work on it seems to be progressing well, although at some point along the way it became a prequel instead. Artist Patrick McEvoy posted on his Facebook that the comic is fully inked. The company is also rather boldly setting it in the same universe as their original kaiju graphic novel Soul War, also illustrated by McEvoy.

Warning from Space has a surprisingly large role in this Martin Scorsese-directed Squarespace ad. Leave it to the world's foremost Marvel hater to have me watching and enjoying a Super Bowl commercial.

I don't often post X-Plus news, but this Bagan figure based on his appearance in Godziban seemed noteworthy. They're also releasing a figure based specifically on the giant Cybot Godzilla animatronic from The Return of Godzilla, with the Shonen Rick limited edition including a small Shockirus.

[mediamonarchy]

https://mediamonarchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240716_MorningMonarchy.mp3 Download MP3 Crooked profiles, hostile operators and hospital robots + this day in history w/hanging Ross out to dry and our song of the day by Tunnelmental on your #MorningMonarchy for July 16, 2024. Notes/Links: This month’s #CyberSpaceWar OTR/Audiobook: ‘Stark’ novel by Ben Elton https://www.discogs.com/release/9726727-Ben-Elton-Stark // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stark_(novel) Video: Alex Jones on The Scene At Bohemian Grove 2024 (Audio) https://x.com/RealAlexJones/status/1812573546146885771 Trump Selects JD Vance as Running Mate; The 39-year-old senator from Ohio is a veteran and best selling author with connections to Silicon Valley billionaires. https://archive.is/XpK7s Video: Who is JD Vance? Trump’s VP pick for 2024 election (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOAhBT6HAXg Donald Trump’s VP Pick is J.D. Vance, a dude who received 15M from Peter Thiel, known for PayPal, surveillance giant Palantir, and being a steering committee member of the Bilderberg Group. I’m sure it’s totally fine though. https://x.com/DBrozeLiveFree/status/1812930788054188292 Incredible to walk around Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel, and trace the footsteps of Christ today. (Jul. 20, 2022) https://x.com/JDVance1/status/1549810512384458754 // https://archive.is/YHXOa Holy Hell! Sounds like a hell of a guy https://x.com/BloodedTheBrav1/status/1812943733383700613 “American hospitals are overwhelmed. It’s time to take this seriously. As a start, let’s fire thousands of nurses who refuse to get the vaccine. That will help.” (Jan. 14, 2022) https://x.com/JDVance1/status/1482011325085667331 // https://archive.is/po1BB Image: “It’s the guns,” Drake face no. “Don’t miss next time,” Drake face yes. https://x.com/FiveTimesAugust/status/1812909717565677824 MSNBC Yanks ‘Morning Joe’ Reportedly On Fears Of Inappropriate Trump Shooting Commentary https://www.zerohedge.com/political/msnbc-yanks-morning-joe-reportedly-fears-inappropriate-trump-shooting-commentary Video: Morning Joe YANKED OFF Airwaves, MSNBC Worried Anti-Trump Anchors Would EMBARRASS Network (Audio) https://youtu.be/9_ud_x7Z8SU Trump Rally Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks’ Discord Account Deleted, Company Issues Statement https://archive.is/G11DZ REDLINE CROOKS https://store.steampowered.com/app/2454350/REDLINE_CROOKS/ Come on, people. There’s no mystery whatsoever here, whatever your personal politics are. I’m no fan of Trump (and never have been) but the Regime’s sulfurous hoofprints are all over every single, solitary facet of this botch-job. https://x.com/SecretSunBlog/status/1812866187098829158 NEW – World’s largest money manager BlackRock pulls ad featuring Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks — NYP https://x.com/disclosetv/status/1812840216056455594 Video: 🚨Trumps Shooter “Thomas Mathew Crooks” was featured in a BLACKROCK COMMERCIAL in 2023!!! (Audio) https://x.com/BeOutTheMatrix/status/1812654532352180615 Stereolab – “Emperor Tomato Ketchup” (Vinyl // Audio) https://www.discogs.com/release/14122108-Stereolab-Emperor-Tomato-Ketchup-Expanded-Edition // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Tomato_Ketchup_(album) // https://genius.com/Stereolab-emperor-tomato-ketchup-lyrics // https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/stereolab/2019/meow-wolf-santa-fe-nm-5b9c2b6c.html // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQP1ZbnIFYo Don’t know if you’ve caught this, Saturday was the 88th anniversary of an assassination that helped kick off the Spanish Civil War https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/José_Calvo_Sotelo President Joe Biden has ordered the U.S. Secret Service to protect independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. https://x.com/KOB4/status/1812933359095402508 Hackers stole almost everyone’s AT&T phone records; This is not a typical data breach https://archive.is/WOWcX AT&T Reveals Data Breach Affecting Nearly All Customers; The company said it was their unde...