#I think these ones convey some fun things about genre and also luckily you can still go look at Laya's beautiful original covers

[remwigmore]

she's back

Foxhunt!!

In a lush solarpunk future, plants have stripped the poison from the air and trained warriors keep resource hoarders in check. Orfeus only wants to be a travelling singer - so why does an assassin from the Order of the Vengeful Wild come after her head? Foxhunt is the bisexual-disaster-bard, found-family, action-adventure solarpunk novel of my absolute heart, and I'm relieved beyond words that it's back available to read! Thanks extremely to everyone who's read or talked about it 🦊❤️

[threeletterslife]

Resonance

→ summary: your college art final prompt is so unbelievably broad that you might just flunk it because you have no idea what you’re gonna draw. luckily, there’s a cute guy who’s totally into you that might just help you out. even better: he’s a merman.

→ pairing/rating: taehyung x reader | PG-13

→ genre: 80% crack, 20% fluff | mermaid!au & bullet point fic

→ warnings: profanity

→ wordcount: 9.4k

cr.

well

this is just

great

you are a creative person

you are a creative person

you ARE a creative person

ok maybe if you keep saying that in your head, it’ll come true

but fat chance

because you're still drawing a blank

your university professor JUST released the art final prompt

and it is the most broadest and vaguest prompt you've seen in your whole entire nineteen years of life

it sucks!!

like what the fuck?

how are you supposed to draw something that "calls to you"

what's that supposed to mean???

your best friend yoongi tries to help you interpret the wack prompt

but you really shouldn’t be trusting a guy who uses art sketchbooks as scratch paper to solve batshit crazy math problems for fun

it’s a no brainer that yoongi’s a no-nonsense chemical engineering major

in conclusion, he wouldn’t know aRT

not like you do anyways

he can barely draw a stickman. and he even has shitty handwriting (that’s so barely legible that he always gets called back after finals to translate his writing for the prof)

enough roasting your best friend though

especially when he’s actually trying to lend you a hand

“what calls to you…” yoongi trails off thoughtfully

he lets out a snort

“ha!” he says triumphantly. “y/n, i got it!”

“really?!”

“just draw a phone with your mother coming out of it!”

you frown. “i don’t get it”

yoongi sighs, shaking his head disdainfully

“because your mother literally calls you on the phone, y/n”

“i hate you”

yoongi is no help

“prof would flunk me if i turned a drawing like that in”

yoongi snorts. “or she’ll give you extra points for thinking literally. artists these days are so into thinking outside of the box. maybe you’ll be unique for being literal”

god no

being literal won’t fly with your professor

she’s the fucking queen of abstract art

if you hand her a painting of your mother coming out of a fucking phone, she might just burn the piece in front of your face

besides, you can’t draw something that doesn’t stir some sort of inspiration in you

no offense to your mother (but she’s also a no-nonsense physician)

yoongi’s just back at it again with his nonsensical advice

you’d expect better from the dude who does math for fun

“you know what?” you huff. “i can’t trust a guy who uses a freaking sketchbook to solve advanced calculus problems”

yoongi grins. “just tryna help, y/n”

“my god”

“wanna help me since i helped you?” yoongi teases

he holds up a stack of paper riddled with numbers with one too many digits and foreign symbols from the greek alphabet

ew

you feel like you’re gonna puke

“aaaaand goodbye!” you say, standing up from your seat at the campus cafe. “i’m gonna go to the beach!”

“right now??”

“yeah why not?” you laugh, shrugging. “i need some inspiration!”

“but then i’m gonna look like a loner sitting here all by myself,” yoongi pouts

“then come with me, duh”

yoongi gives you a look of repulsion

“i hate the beach,” he grumbles

“fine,” you snort. “just call hoseok or something. i don’t know. but i’m leaving! bYe!!”

you can hear yoongi cursing at you under his breath and you laugh

he’s got such a mouth of a sailor that he honestly belongs on the beach—if not, the ocean

you pay his cursing no mind as you rush out the cafe and across the school campus

the literal reason you chose to attend this university was its close proximity to the beach

you’ve always been drawn to the waters

yoongi, on the other hand, only came here because of a scholarship

smart bastard

but he’s a good friend

it’s kinda sad you’re always hanging on the beach alone though

you don’t particularly fit in with the rowdy party crowds on the sand

and you don’t go there to flaunt your summer body in a bikini

you just go for

~inspiration~

by the time you reach the beach, it’s nearly empty

when it’s nearing finals, no one dares to step foot on the warm sand because once you go in, there’s no way in hell you’re going back

some students learn the hard way

and then end up flunking their finals

it’s you

you’re ‘some students’

(to be fair, that was freshman year and you’re a sophomore now, so you won’t make the same mistake again!!)

okay… maybe

you’re on the beach and it’s nearing finals so maybe you haven’t learned your lesson

but in your defense, you’re only here for

~inspiration~

the salty ocean breeze caressing your face

the smell of open waters

the brisk air

you would live on the beach if you could

there’s a small little rocky ledge at the far side of the beach that serves as your little private area you’ve been using since you got here

no one ever comes this far

so you just claimed the rocky ledge as yours

it’s where there are cute little crabs roaming about

where the bright orange starfish and sea anemones attach themselves to the rocks in the shallow tide pool and (maybe) watch you watch them

(you don’t exactly have extensive knowledge about ocean life lol)

omg there was even this one time when you saw a fish in the tide pool

granted, it was dEaD so you had to make yoongi carry it in a plastic bag and give it a proper burial ceremony

anywho

you love sea animals and plants!!

for a brief second as you crawl onto the rocky ledge you contemplate if you should draw a fucking fish for your art final

technically, it calls to you… right?

the late afternoon sun warms up your cheeks and you sigh, out, leaning back to admire the waves of the ocean lapping at the wet sand on the beach

if you just lie like this, basking in the sun… you’ll come up with an idea… right?

two hours later, you’re still stumped

“well, fuck,” you curse

the tide’s starting to come in and your feet are already underwater

it looks like you should just go back to your dorm at this point

you’ll find your ~inspiration~ tomorrow

you sigh

why can’t you think of a cool idea for fuck’s sake

what calls to me??

the only thing you can think of is a flobbering fish and your mom coming out of a phone (a tribute to yoongi)

you end up accidentally staying until the moon’s high in the sky

the waters have turned into a black oblivion and the tide’s so high, you have to shift up the rock to avoid making it look like you wet your pants

if you were a werewolf, you could draw the moon

because haha, get it? the moon calls to them!

but unfortunately, you are not a werewolf

“this sucks,” you huff

usually, you’re quick to come up with good ideas and it’s frustrating that for finals you can’t do the same

right when things actually matter

you look down from the sky to stare at your feet

maybe you’ll just stay here until you can come up with an idea

you aren’t gonna give up so soon

besides, the quiet sound of the undulating waves is so soothing

you stay a little longer, gazing at the twinkling stars and daydreaming of simpler times when your art teachers would tell you exactly what to draw without giving you vague-ass prompts to interpret

that’s when something catches your eye in the dark waters

illuminated by the starlight… you see… a…

HUMAN???

“hey!” you shriek

okay now you’re 1000% sure there’s someone in the ocean right now

they have a head of bright turquoise hair and pale but toned arms

yet the person has their back turned to you so you can’t quite see their face (though you assume they’re attractive just based on the back of their head)

“hey!” you shout again

come to think of it,,,

are they skinny dipping in the fucking ocean???

freshmen these days!! they’re nuts!

“you’re gonna die of hypothermia!” you yell. “or a shark’s gonna bite your limbs off!”

slowly

very slowly

the kid turns around

and you nearly choke on your breath

because he is beautiful

not in a conventional tiktok boy way but in a mysterious manner

his alabaster skin glows in the starlight

his turquoise-colored hair is styled perfectly on his head, just swept gracefully across his forehead

his deep sea-green eyes sparkle as he cocks his head and stares at you

oh god

he’s definitely shirtless

“h-hey!” you call again, hoping you don’t sound desperate. “what are you doing??”

the boy doesn’t answer though

he just stares at you curiously, eyes glancing back and forth at your bare legs and your shocked face

normally, you’d be creeped out if a random guy decided to check out your legs, but for some reason, the boy doesn’t stare at you like he’s a predator

he just looks… curious

you gasp when he suddenly disappears underwater

“hey!!” you shriek

damn. maybe he just wanted to be alone

no biggie

you’ll just sit on the rock or something until he decides to talk?

or you can be like any other sane person and just go back to your dorm

a sudden splash of water jumps you out of your thoughts

you nearly fall back when the strange boy stares up at you from the ledge of the rock

he’s still submerged under the water up to his shoulders, but he leans against the rock and smiles at you

it’s as if he’s saying ‘hey, loud person, who won’t shut up. how are you today? nice to meet you’

at least you think that’s what he’s trying to convey to you

“hi?” you say, raising your eyebrows. “isn’t the water cold?”

the boy shrugs his shoulders then shakes his head

he seems friendly enough that you decide to continue talking to him

he has a strange alluring aura that makes you want to get to know him

before you know it, you’re scooting closer to the stranger

he doesn’t flinch when you’re close enough to touch his strangely dry head of beautiful hair

“woah,” you deadpan. “how’s your hair dry?”

the boy shrugs again, smiling mischievously

can he even talk??

or maybe he’s just being polite and he wants you to leave

maybe he’s naked?? and he actually is a skinny dipper

and he wants you to get the hell away from him so he can get into his clothes??

“do you want me to leave…?” you ask cautiously

the boy shakes his head

ookkayyy…

“oh… it’s just that you’re not talking to me so i just thought…” you trail off, uncertain

the boy laughs and it’s the only kind of sound you’ve heard from him since you first saw him in the waters a few minutes ago

and his laugh is just like the rest of him—beautiful

the boy touches his throat with one hand and shakes his head

you frown

what?

the boy repeats the motion again and again until it finally clicks in your head

oh!!!!

“wait, you can’t speak?” you say. “i’m sorry… i didn’t know!”

the boy smiles as if saying ‘it’s all right. you’re fine’

“i haven’t seen you around campus…” you start. “do you live around here?”

the boy shakes his head

“you just like late-night swims, huh?” you giggle. “i’d swim too but something about swimming in the ocean at night is super scary for me”

the boy laughs good-heartily. he points at you curiously, then gestures at the surroundings

“oh, why am i here?” you say

the boy nods his head

“i’m just trying to get inspiration,” you say. “i’m an artist”

the boy smiles widely. he raises his eyebrows and points at you

“yes, really!” you laugh. “wanna sit on the rock with me?” you say, patting the spot next to you. “you don’t have to be stuck in the ocean to talk to me”

the boy hesitates

he looks at you through his beautiful eyes and parts his pink lips

it’s as if he’s asking, ‘can i really sit next to you?’

“i don’t bite!” you laugh. “at least, the last time i checked”

the boy giggles

he reaches out and lightly touches your hand

you’re shocked when you realize his hands aren’t wet from the water

come to think of it, you are covered in more water droplets than the boy

well

something is a bit fishy around here

you slowly look up at the boy’s face

he shrugs but a mischievous, all-knowing smile plays on his lips

“what are you, a mermaid?” you snort

the boy looks offended, placing a hand against his chest and letting out a silent scoff

“sorry. i meant merman,” you roll your eyes. “better?”

you were only half-joking

but when the boy waves what looks like a fucking tail towards you, you nearly fall back

“WAIT!” you shriek

that better be a fucking costume

the boy laughs and he swims a bit away from the rock, only to do a backflip

that’s when you see that this boy is not really a boy

he’s a mythical mermaid???

with a sparkling turquoise tail and everything?? (on a side note, you have to appreciate the way it matches his hair)

okay

well

deep breath in

deep breath out

you were never one to say that mermaids existed

but you weren’t one to say that they didn’t exist either

okay

so

either you’re still dreaming or you just kinda befriended a mermaid—er, merman

“please tell me this is real!” you squeal, scooting closer to the waters so that your knees are submerged

when you were a kid and adults asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up, you said a mermaid

as you grew older, society drilled in your head that mermaids only existed in disneyland

so that was that

until now, of course

the boy pops up from the ocean again and he hoists himself up on the rock right next to you

he’s shirtless as mermen go, but that’s the least of your interests now

his tail comes up with him and he gestures towards it, allowing you to touch the shiny scales

“it’s beautiful!” you breathe, running your hands over the surprisingly silky tail. “i better not be dreaming right now”

the boy laughs. he points at your legs curiously in response as if to say, ‘i better not be dreaming too’

“you’ve never met a human??”

the boy shakes his head. he looks at you like you’re the most special person on the planet. and it makes sense too because you’re the only human he’s probably communicated with in his life

“wow… i guess there’s a first time for everything…”

the boy nods enthusiastically

“are you even allowed to approach people?”

the boy grins as if to say, ‘mAyBe’

“poseidon or some dude with a trident’s not gonna zap me with lightning for talking to you right??”

just a safety precaution!!

the boy laughs boisterously, head thrown back and eyes squinted

“well… i guess not,” you smile

you’ve never really been friends with someone… not human…

if yoongi heard you talking about this merman, he might call the psych ward on you

or you’re just batshit crazy and you’ve been imagining this in your head

the boy points at you politely, cocking his head

“my name?”

he nods vigorously

“i’m y/n!” you tell him

‘y/n…’ he mouths with his lips but you can’t hear it

“what’s your name?”

the boy presses his lips together, then as if a light bulb went off in his head, he grins

he mouths his name to you, lips pursing and parting with exaggerated movements

you squint

“daeyoung??” you guess

the boy snorts, shaking his head

he mouths his name again but this time with more emphasis in the beginning

“ohhhh! i got it!” you say excitedly. “taeyoung!”

the merman holds up a number one and nods but shakes his head when he holds up two fingers

“the second part’s wrong??”

he nods

“uhhhhhh, tae… young… young… something that rhymes with young…”

“oh!!” you shriek, “TAEHYUNG!!”

the merman claps his hands together gleefully

“am i good or what??”

taehyung pats you on the back as if to congratulate you for figuring out his name

“thanks,” you grin. “hey do you come here often? you know, on this rocky ledge”

‘yup,’ taehyung mouths. ‘i’ve seen you before,’ he mouths slowly so you can understand him

“woah. you watched me?”

taehyung bashfully looks away

“it’s okay! it’s okay!” you say. “i just hope i wasn’t doing anything embarrassing… like picking my nose or something. i’m always alone here”

taehyung grins, wiggling his eyebrows. it’s as if he’s saying that yes, he did see you picking your nose that one time

“well it’s a human thing,” you argue. “you wouldn’t understand!”

taehyung giggles. ‘sure, sure,’ he seems like he’s saying

you huff. “in my defense, i didn’t know anyone was watching!”

taehyung gives you a look as if telling you that was the lamest excuse ever

“whatever, tae,” you scoff. “i’m just flattered that you thought i looked interesting in the first place”

the merman grins wildly, making it quite obvious he likes the new nickname you had given him. he shrugs his shoulders and pokes your arm playfully. ‘friend!’ he mouths enthusiastically

“you wanna be my friend?”

taehyung rapidly nods his head

“hmmMm…” you pretend to think. “i’m a bit swamped with friends at the moment…” you fib. in reality, you only have like two best friends (yoongi and yoongi’s bestie, hoseok). but it doesn’t hurt to lie a little to tease tae

the merman’s lips pull down in a slight frown

but you snort and slap his bare shoulder

“kidding!” you giggle. “why would i say no to being your friend?”

taehyung rolls his eyes but he grins happily. he looks at you expectantly, almost as if he’s asking when he can see you next time

damn

you’re starting to get the hang of reading taehyung’s expressions

“when can you see me next time?” you ask

taehyung nods

“well… finals are coming up… i reckon you don’t have mermaid school or whatever?”

taehyung shakes his head, grinning. ‘no school!’

“lucky,” you sigh. “but fuck finals!” you pump your fist in the air. “i’ll see you tomorrow!”

‘same time?’ taehyung inquires

“sure!”

the two of you shake hands to seal the deal

you would’ve spent hours on end talking to taehyung but he’s the one who points to the direction of the beach and mouths ‘you should sleep’

“i don’t need sleep!” you declare but unfortunately, that follows with an embarrassing yawn

taehyung gives you the look

“okay… maybe i do need sleep…”

taehyung giggles. he pushes your shoulder slightly, nudging you away from him

“and i can visit you tomorrow…” you reason

taehyung nods

“so maybe i should get sleep”

‘that’s it!” the merman laughs

so you say your lasting goodbyes and watch as taehyung dives away from the rock

when he’s gone, shining tail and all, you’re left dazed and confused

maybe you’ve been hallucinating???

welp

if you were hallucinating, you’ll figure it out tomorrow when a cute merman doesn’t come to meet you at night

for now, you just need sleep to digest everything that had just happened

okay

so

you just woke up

and now you’re more unsure than ever that this… taehyung exists

what if you were so stressed out yesterday

that you were literally… seeings things

yoongi keeps asking you if you’re okay because you spaced out TEN times in ONE conversation

you keep trying to convince him that you’re fine

but yoongi knows you so well that he knows you’re definitely NOT fine

“i’m just tired!!” you tell your best friend

yoongi sCOFFS “so am i but you don’t see me spacing out like i saw a unicorn last night”

eRrrr…

how do you tell yoongi that technically you did see something like a unicorn last night???

well

you won’t

because yoongi is a no-nonsense-old-fashioned-traditional-by-the-textbook-chemical-engineering-loving-student

he would never believe you

“wEll i’m sensitive!” you protest, crossing yours arms. “plus i’m still stressed about my art final”

“i thought you went to the beach to get inspiration!” yoongi points out

“errrrr…” you scratch your head. “i got distracted”

yoongi sighs. “aRt mAjOrs”

“excuse me, how dAre you???”

but yoongi just laughs it off, patting you on the back before announcing that he had to go study for his finals

you should be studying for your other finals too

but you end up doodling all over your notes

doodles of tAeHyuNg

every ten minutes, you force yourself to sTOP doodling to actually read your notes

but it never works

by night time, you’ve gotten nowhere

oh well

now you can go meet taehyung!!

if he exists…

what if your brain was actually playing games on you??

regardless, you swallow all sense of doubt and march out to the ocean

the beach is completely empty and you make use of the privacy, skipping along the sand and towards the rocky ledge

and sure enough, there’s no one there

hMph

okay

maybe taehyung’s late

no, wait you’re early

so you’re gonna wait for the merman

and if he doesn’t come in… ten minutes, you’ll just leave and deem yourself absolutely bonkers

waiting is really boring

you keep thinking at least five minutes passed every time you look at your phone for the time

but, in reality, it’s always been less than forty seconds

you go back and forth between looking at the time to looking at the dark waters

FOR FIVE WHOLE MINUTES

you’re starting to get ANTSY

and doubt starts to settle in

if yoongi knew what you were doing right now, he’d laugh at you

oh god…

should you just… leave?

THAT’S when you see a familiar bob of turquoise hair in the waters

you let out a little shriek, scooting closer to the edge of the rock

“taehyung??” you call out

the figure leaps in the air like a gracious dolphin and dives back down into the opaque waters

two seconds later, the familiar merman leans against the rocky ledge and grins up at you

‘hey,’ he seems to say with his sparkling eyes. ‘missed me?’

“UM, YES!” you say. “i was starting to think i was going crazy”

taehyung chuckles deeply, the sound reverberating against the calm ocean waves

“i was worried you wouldn’t be here”

taehyung raises his eyebrows as if to say, ‘why wouldn’t i be here??’

“i don’t know! self doubt? maybe you have some underground castle you wanna hang around with your friends and family rather than come up to the surface to hang with me!”

taehyung shakes his head, laughing. he points to himself and mouths the word, ‘solo’

“really?” you raise your eyebrows. “no family or friends?”

taehyung nods. ‘SOLO!’ he declares silently, grinning

“are all merfolk like that??”

the merman shrugs. ‘never seen another’

“oh gosh, you must be lonely,” you say. “here.” you pat the place next to you. “sit on the rock with me”

taehyung obliges but he protests he’s not lonely by shaking his head

“what do you do by yourself all the time, then?”

taehyung grins mischievously

out of the corner of your eye, you see bubbles of water rising up from the surface of the waves. you gasp as they begin to float in the air

“bubbles!” you reach out to pop one, laughing when the remnants of the water splash against your cheek

the merman nudges you as if to say, ‘but wait! there’s more!’

the next thing you know, a huge floating water bubble splashes above your head, drenching you from head to toe

“vEry funny!” you scoff, trying to shake the water off yourself

taehyung gives you another one of his cheeky grins. ‘sorry,’ he mouths, but he does not look apologetic at all

‘but look! i can dry it!’

he waves his fingers at you and instantly, your sopping wet hair and clothes are dried. there’s even a ocean breeze smell that lingers on you now

“do you go around splashing people with water bubbles and drying them right after?” you accuse taehyung teasingly

he laughs boisterously, shrugging his shoulders. ‘mAybE’ is his answer

“you spend a lot of time on the surface, huh?”

taehyung shrugs. ‘maybe’

“not much of a fish dude?”

‘they’re creepy,’ taehyung answers

you howl with laughter. “and scary! like sharks, viperfish, hatchetfish… oh god,” you shiver. “i hate them. i can’t swim in the ocean. and i know most of the scary-looking ones don’t even live in the same ocean zone”

taehyung pokes at you. ‘scaredy-cat,’ he mouths

“am not!! how are you creeped out by fish when you’re half fish??”

taehyung scoffs. ‘my tail…’ he gestures majestically at his sparkling tail, ‘is not a fish tail’

“sure… fishboy”

taehyung raises his eyebrows and raises his hand as if to threaten to splash you with a water bubble again

“i was only joking”

taehyung laughs, poking at you then pointing to the waters. ‘wanna swim, though?’

“are you serious? i just told you i’m terrified!”

taehyung pouts, his pink lips pulling down into a sad frown

“that’s not gonna make me change my mind, tae”

‘just for a little bit!’ he protests

“i don’t even have my goggles, i can’t swim without them! and i’m not going in water that’s pitch black”

taehyung sighs. ‘fine!’

“i’m really good at swimming in the pool though,” you say. “i mean, they used to call me a mermaid. because i was really good at dolphin kicking. but then i watched a few underwater documentaries… and nope. never again. i am not going in the same waters that goblin sharks live in”

to your surprise, taehyung teasingly pokes your cheek. ‘cute,’ he mouths. ‘scaredy-cat,’ he adds

“show anyone a goblin shark and they wouldn’t be able to get in the water for a year!” you huff in response

‘never seen one,’ tae sings—if you could hear him, you imagine his voice would sound as soft as lavender with just a drizzle of rich honey

“doesn’t mean they don’t exist!” you argue. “maybe one day i’ll swim with you. but definitely not today”

technically, you just met the man—er, merman

you’re not so sure if you can trust him to console you of your great fear of the ocean

maybe once you get to know him a little better

you see

you’re very quick to make friends

you probably have a lot of acquaintances

they all know your name and you know theirs

but you probably could not name three facts about any of them. and they probably couldn’t think of three facts about you either

so yes, you tend to have shallow relationships with many

but if you find people you like, you cling to them

like yoongi and hoseok

you just hope taehyung won’t be one of your acquaintances

he better be one of your best friends

how cool is it to say your best friend is a merman????

very cool

‘cool’ is just not a word to describe you as yoongi often likes to point out

but you’ll show him

you visit taehyung every day

for seven days

it’s been a full week

finals is closer than ever

you have like… five days to get your art final done

and you still haven’t gotten an idea

yikes

okay well you have an excuse

actually, you have excuses. plural.

because 1) you’ve forced yourself to fOrget about finals and 2) taehyung is wAy more interesting than any final you will ever take in your life

besides, all the time you spend on the beach is absolutely worth it

you and taehyung sometimes even meet before night falls, just before the sun’s setting so the two of you can prank the seagulls

(tae hates those little monsters-with-wings so he enjoys it a whole lot to dump water bubbles on their heads)

you help him prank the stupid birds by giving him moral support! that includes cheering him on when he successfully attacks an unsuspecting seagull and feeding him some cookies from your school cafeteria to keep him well-nourished

taehyung loves human food

he says he has to live off of clams and seaweed

which, isn’t all that bad (you love salted seaweed chips and clams), but imagine having a diet solely composed of seafood

yuck

so you bake kale chips for tae one day (nearly burning down the communal kitchen) and he enjoys it so much, for five days, you bring all sorts of good human food for him

by the end of the week, taehyung’s put on some pounds

you think he looks even more adorable with a bit of meat on his bones

taehyung just complains that his abs are starting to disappear

so one day, you bring a yoga mat and the two of you do some ab exercises off of youtube

of course, that led taehyung down the youtube rabbit hole

and once down that rabbit hole, it is very hard to resurface

after tae got ahold of gordon ramsay’s youtube channel, it’s all he watches when you come to the beach

in the end, you have to ban him from youtube because he almost took your phone underwater when you tried to get him to stop drooling over gordon ramsay and his incredible cooking skills

but taehyung prefers talking to you over watching youtube

at least you think

you hope

there is never a day you meet taehyung and it isn’t eventful

there’s always something to do with the fun-loving merman!

which makes it very, very easy to lose sight of iMporTAnt things… like, uh finals

so, today, five days before your art final is due, yoongi sits you down on your desk chair and sighs. “have you figured out your art final yet?”

it is a question that catches you off guard

“er… no”

“iSn’t it due in FIVE days???” yoongi shakes his head disapprovingly at you. “c’mon, y/n, don’t some artists take over a week to finish a painting??”

“well i can take uh, three days without sleeping if it really comes to that”

yoongi sighs. “you’ve been going to the beach every day. still no inspiration?”

“err… i got… distracted”

“do you want me to come with you today or something? so i can whip you back into shape and make sure you get properly inspired?” yoongi offers

“no!” you shout

yoongi raises his eyebrows

“i mean, um, no thank you, yoongs,” you stand up and pat yoongi’s head

he scowls at you

“i’ve got it all figured out!” you tell him very convincingly

but it is a lie

“rEally?” yoongi raises his eyebrows at you

“yes. don’t you worry, my friend.” you pat his head again

yoongi rolls his eyes. “okay, well, worse comes to worst, you can always use my terrific idea”

“never in a million years”

“oh well. wanna skip the beach today? i’m inviting hoseok over to watch a movie. you can come too, if you want”

“no can do,” you say, shaking your head. “i’m going swimming!” you hang your swim goggles in front of yoongi’s face

“in the dark?? in the ocean?? i thought you were afraid of gobbler sharks!”

“goblin sharks. not gobbler. and no. not anymore. i trust the waters now”

er, or, you trust taehyung

he’s been trying to convince you every day to swim with him

and every day you declined or made up some stupid excuse

but today is the day you will accept

you even prepared by wearing a bathing suit under your clothes

and you’re gonna bring your swim goggles

you’re so ready!!

you trust that taehyung won’t let the fish get to you

he promised and swore on his own beautiful tail

so he can’t possibly be lying

“oOokAyyyy…” yoongi says, giving you a strange look. “if you drown, can i have your comforter?”

“oh, shut up. i’m not gonna drown”

“sure”

you huff. “whatever, yoongs. have fun watching that movie with hoseok. i’m gonna get going”

“i will. just don’t drown or something”

“i won’t”

five minutes later, you’re terrified you’re going to drown

as you walk across the beach, you worry that you’re only walking to your death

what if you actually drown???

and taehyung can’t save you because the water’s so dark, he can’t even see you???

what if a jellyfish comes out of nOwHerE and stings you so hard you’re gonna be paralyzed forever????????

EVEN WORSE

WHAT IF THERE’S A GOBLIN SHARK OUT OF ITS HABITAT

WHAT IF IT BITES YOUR LEGS OFF????

ohmygod

you think you might die

taehyung’s waiting for you on the rocky ledge as he always does

but today, he has a shit-eating grin on his face

he looks at your goggles and nods. ‘today’s the day!!’

you grumble. “this is not helping my stress”

taehyung cocks his head

“i’m stressed because of college, tae. lucky you. you wouldn’t understand”

the handsome merman snorts. ‘i wouldn’t’

he pokes at you as if to say, ‘tell me what’s wrong’

you sigh, plopping yourself down on the rock and looking down at your feet

“i have a really important painting i have to finish in five days…” you groan. “and my professor gave me an art prompt, you know, something i need to interpret and draw. but i can’t, for the life of me, figure out what i wanna paint”

‘hMmm,’ taehyung hums. ‘what’s the prompt?’ he mouths

“what calls to me”

‘what calls to you?’

“ugh. yeah. horribly vague, isn’t it? my friend suggested i draw my mother coming out of a phone”

taehyung cocks his head, curiously

“yeah, it’s stupid. so i’m stuck. and the final’s due in five days. but i was totally forgetting about it until yoongi decided to bring it up. and now i’m stressed”

the merman giggles

“this isn’t funny!!” you protest

but the merman giggles again

when you give him a disdainful look, taehyung dives into the ocean and pops his head out, waving at you to come in

you sigh, staring at your goggles. reluctantly, you put them on

once you strip down to your swimsuit, you stare hesitantly at the opaque ocean. you crouch down just before the water, contemplating and contemplating

suddenly, something grabs your arm and you’re tugged into the ocean

you sCreAm bloody murder and voila, now salt and fish feces water is up your noise

how wonderful

but two strong hands hold your waist and you’re able to resurface

the water’s cold, but not freezing cold at least. and taehyung’s actually really warm against your skin

“you fucking dragged me in!!!” you shriek after coughing the water out of your lungs

you hit tae’s bare chest in agitation

the little shit just shrugs and grins at you

you huff, wrapping your legs tightly around taehyung’s hips. “if you let me go, my friends are going to find you and roast you. literally”

taehyung chuckles. ‘i won’t let you go,’ he seems to tell you with a meaningful look on his face

“you better not!” you tell him

he laughs at you, softly touching your forehead with the back of his hand. instantly, you feel much, much warmer. even cozier in the supposedly freezing waters

even the water weighing down the hair on your head feels lighter. when you reach out to touch it, you realize it’s completely dry

“woah,” you breathe. “that’s so cool…”

you forget that you’re even supposed to be mad at the merman

taehyung grins at you, petting your hair. ‘i know, right?’ he seems to say with his twinkling eyes

he motions at you to take your goggles off

“what?? are you crazy? i can’t survive without these! i am not opening my eyes in salt water, tae”

the merman shakes his head, laughing. ‘it won’t sting your eyes’

“why? did you put a magical charm on me or something?”

taehyung shrugs. ‘mAyBe’

you sigh, skeptical

‘i’m trying to help,’ tae mouths. ‘it’s for your art final’

you raise your eyebrows doubtfully

‘i’m serious’

“why, is there something cool underwater?”

taehyung nods. ‘you need your eyes open’

you wrap your legs tighter around the merman. “so… you’re gonna show me… something underwater… that will help me with my art final??”

the merman nods enthusiastically

he ruffles your hair and pinches your cheek. ‘trust me’

ohhHHhhh if you didn’t trust him, you wouldn’t be clinging onto him for life right now

“promise you won’t let me go??”

‘promise’

you hold out your pinky for taehyung

he cocks his head. ‘what is that for?’

“pinky promise??”

‘hmm?’

oh man

that might just be a human thing

silly you

“oH uh, nEver mInd th—”

you try to retract your pinky but taehyung stops you

he slowly pulls up his own hand, his pinky jutting out awkwardly

‘like this?’ he questions, poking at your pinky with his

you have to stifle a laUgh

“um, not quite,” you say. “you have to wrap your pinky around mine. yeahh, like that. and then it’s a pinky promise! it’s practically illegal to break a pinky promise”

taehyung nods. ‘i won’t break it’

“okay good! uh…” you look warily at the dark waters. “what is it that you wanted to show me?”

taehyung grins. suddenly, you’re submerged underwater again and you let out a scream

but you can’t hear yourself

not because you’re choking on the water, no

it seems like… you can breathe????? UNDER THE WATER????

you hug taehyung tighter and try to scream at him to stop plunging you in the ocean without a warning

but no sound comes out of your lips

‘taehyung!” you shriek soundlessly

“open your eyes, y/n…” a deep, resonate voice tells you

you nearly gasp in shock

was that… was that taehyung’s voice? his speaking voice????????

“it’s okay… you’re protected under a charm,” his mellifluous tone soothes you. “you’re able to breathe underwater, y/n. but you won’t be able to speak.” he laughs, which sounds very familiar to your ears. “how the tables have turned!”

‘taehyung!!!’

“how good it feels to finally speak to you!!” taehyung laughs. “you don’t have to hold me in a vice grip anymore,” he snorts. “i won’t let you go. we pinky promised, remember?”

you groan in your head. ‘i-i can’t. i can’t do it, tae’

“aww, y/n…” you hear taehyung softly pet your hair. “take your time”

‘i can’t open my eyes. i-i’m sorry’

you can see the blackness through your eyelids. and there is no way in hell you’re going to open them

fine, you trust taehyung. and sure, the water may not sting your eyes

and on top of all that, you can fucking breathe underwater thanks to tae, but no

you’re still scared

you’re scared of what you’re gonna see

or what you won’t see because the ocean is probably pitch black

you just try to focus on taehyung’s beautiful, deep voice. it seems to reverberate through the ocean waves even after the sound hits your ears

“it’s okay,” he says. “don’t be sorry.” he holds you tighter against his bare chest. “you don’t have to see what i wanna show you anyway”

you make a confused grunt sound in the back of your throat

“you can hear it”

‘what???’

but of course taehyung can’t hear you. nor can he see you with your chin resting on his shoulder

“what calls to you, huh?” taehyung says in his syrupy voice. “i have a good idea”

then, to your utmost shock, he begins to sing

“where the sea breeze whispers

past your listening ears

and gently caresses your lips

there lies a great ocean

the waves undulate under the dark sky

under these waters

is a lonely merman

he longs, waits for a friend

a lover,

anyone who will save him

from his solitude

where the sea breeze whispers

where the great ocean lies

where the waves undulate under the dark sky

where the lonely merman waits

under these dark waters”

your insides melt

taehyung’s honey voice entrances you and you squeeze you eyes shut even tighter

a rush of inspiration washes over you

you shiver

oh god

you didn’t have to open your eyes after all

you don’t have to see it to feel the immense amount of emotion, love, sincerity interwoven to taehyung’s song

it’s the most beautiful music you’ve heard in your life

and it pains you that taehyung’s stopped singing

you’re speechless, pulling away from taehyung so he can read your lips. ‘that… that was so beautiful…’

“thanks,” taehyung chuckles deeply. “i sing that song a lot when i’m bored”

‘your voice…’

“i know. too bad i can only sing underwater, right? if i could do this on the surface, i’d serenade you all day every day”

‘i’ll come underwater with you,’ you mouth before you can stop yourself

then you pause

well

you suppose being underwater isn’t so bad

it’s just dark since your eyes are closed

but you’re warm in taehyung’s arms

and you can even breathe too

if you can hear taehyung’s voice and hear him sing, then surely, that is a tiny sacrifice you can make

“you’re gonna come underwater with me?? again??” taehyung seems in disbelief. “you already seem uncomfortable now!”

‘no i’m not!’

and to prove it, you force your eyes open

immediately, you’re so taken aback, your grip on taehyung loosens

the merman catches you before you slip away

‘o-oh…’ you breathe

the ocean is not as dark as you had imagined it

in fact, there is a halo-like light that surrounds taehyung

it illuminates his face, his hair, his whole body

he is like a walking—er, swimming—star

the light shines further out into the dark seas, making the water sparkle

‘oh…’ you breathe again

“nothing to be scared about right?” taehyung snorts. “scaredy-cat”

he bops you on the nose

you’re so in awe, you don’t even mind

“are you inspired now?”

oh!! right!! your art final!!

you were almost distracted again (even after taehyung just dangled the answer in front of your face!!)

RIGHT!

TAEHYUNG JUST HELPED YOU SOLVE YOUR ART FINAL FIASCO PROBLEM

YOU’RE SO INSPIRED YOU COULD PAINT FOURTEEN HUNDRED PAINTINGS RIGHT NOW

your fingers feel tingly

and your head whirls with ideas

taehyung’s voice, his song, his whole being…

it calls to you

omg

he just saved your ass

in one single song!!!

‘god, i’m so happy i could kiss you!’

and you’re not even joking

“kiss me??” taehyung seems taken aback, but he grins. “kiss?”

the way he seems curious about it, you’re not quite sure he even knows what that is

‘do you… do uh, merfolk kiss?’ you ask cautiously

taehyung smiles. “let’s find out”

his eyes sparkle as both of you begin to lean into each other

you take it slowly, admiring his alabaster skin, pink cheeks and rosy lips

he stares into your eyes and gently tucks your hair behind your ear

right before you move in to kiss his lips, he leans in to rest his forehead against yours

taehyung’s eyes flutter close and he sighs as you stay still in his arms, confused

but you decide to go with the flow, keeping your foreheads together as you close your eyes too

it’s an intimate moment

you, resting your forehead against his while under the same ocean you were once so scared of

you, feeling emotionally attached to a merman

you, dreaming of kissing taehyung. properly. you know, on the lips and whatnot

when taehyung finally pulls away, he grins

“wasn’t that a nice kiss?” he whispers, touching your cheeks and giggling just at the thought of it

yikes

how do you break it to him

that forehead touching is not really… the kissing you were thinking of

‘well…’ you giggle. ‘in the human world… um…’

“in the human world…?”

‘we kiss with our lips’

“oh!” taehyung exclaims. he scratches his head. “lips????”

‘like this!’

with that, you tug him into a kiss. a proper one this time

he melts in your arms, sighing as he leans forward and instinctively closes his eyes

you let yourself relax too

and god what the fuck

his lips feel so soft

is there a special ocean chapstick he uses???

does he use some special sand as a lip scrub??????

and even though he probably hasn’t kissed the human way before,,,

man he knows what he’s doing

it makes you think for a hot second

damn

you’re making out with a merman

… under the sea

?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

this is what your life has become

and honestly, you can’t complain

taehyung’s the first to pull away, panting slowly. “i didn’t think my breath could ever be taken away,” he grins cheesily

‘you’re welcome,’ you grin back, slightly breathless yourself

“so… now that i’ve given you amazing inspiration… don’t you need to write it down somewhere?”

‘oh!’ you gasp. ‘right!’

you need to get started on painting as soon as possible!!! you can’t ever forget the feeling of taehyung… singing for you. but something about painting it when the memory’s fresh promises the best results

what calls to you…

you smile

a goddamn merman!!

literally

you’re so gonna ace this art final

you paint nonstop for four days

although you want to, you can’t even visit the beach

because you absolutely HATE it when your workflow is stopped

so you have to keep on painting until you finish

you force yoongi to go out on the beach and lay some cookies on your special rocky ledge. he frowns at your strange directions

“i dOn’T thInK yOu sHouLd fEeD tHe sEaGuLlS, y/N. iT’s gOnNa iNtErRuPt tHe eCoLoGicAl bAlaNce,” yoongi says very knowledgeably

oh god

you tell him to shut up

he pats your head and walks out toward the beach with the cookies

at least he doesn’t ask questions

you just hope taehyung takes the cookies as an apology

you don’t want him to think after you kissed him, you ditched him!! you’re just busy with your art final!!!

so you also make yoongi sneak in a note and a slice of cake the next time

except yoongi comes back in ten minutes and aSks: “WHO’S TAEHYUNG???”

you gulp

but you pretend you can’t hear yoongi as you continue painting on your canvas

the perfect, bright turquoise color was very hard to recreate with paints, but you somehow managed. you just need to add some finishing touches and your beautiful painting of your merman friend will be finished

you know yoongi secretly admires your art skills, but he laUghs when he sees you painting a merman

“is that a siren???”

“no—”

“a mermaid, then?”

“a merman,” you say. “and he’s singing the most beautiful song in the history of songs”

yoongi laughs. “sure, sure. looks nice, though.” he steps closer to the canvas. “really like what you did with his facial structure or whatever. and his hair color. pretty tail too. i did not know you had the capacity to imagine that hard”

you huff. well, technically… you didn’t imagine that. but you’re not going to admit it with yoongi

“i’m more talented than you think,” you snort, stretching back and picking at the paint dried to your fingers. “if i close my eyes, i can almost hear him sing to me”

“um, i think you fell in love with your own painting,” yoongi snorts

“oh, leave me alone”

yoongi raises up two hands in defense. “okay, well, the final’s due tomorrow, right? are you done?”

“well…” technically, yes. but… “i’m gonna go to the beach”

“wait a minute, with your painting??? dude, what if a seagull snatches it away? what if the paint chips? leave your painting! that’s your final”

“i’ll be careful!”

“your idea of careful is reckless”

you sigh. “well, i’ll be extra careful!”

yoongi can’t argue with you after that. 1) because he knows you’re stubborn and won’t give up and 2) because when you say you’re gonna be extra with anything, you go all out

you take nearly twenty minutes getting to the beach because you walk very slowly with your painting in both hands. you hold the painting above your head so sand won’t fly onto it

and you check out for those nasty seagulls because sometimes they decide to shit on people’s heads

if they decide it’s a good day to shit on your final, it’s over

nevertheless, you need to show your masterpiece to taehyung

when you get to the rocky ledge, you call for the merman

in just a few seconds, taehyung pops up his head from under the water

“were you waiting for me?” you laugh. “did you get the cookies and cake i sent?”

taehyung nods, grinning as he begins to swim toward you. he points curiously at the canvas in your hands

“it’s my art final,” you explain to him. you turn it around so taehyung can see it

he gasps

‘that’s me???’

“yup”

‘you didn’t draw my abs!!’

“well, can’t draw what you don’t have,” you giggle, teasing the pouting merman. he huffs

‘i like it, though’

“reallY??” you gush. “that’s all i wanted to hear!!”

you set the painting down carefully to the side and scoot closer to the rocky ledge

taehyung rests his hand on your forehead before cupping your cheek. he grins before cocking his eyebrows and pulling your head underwater

‘taehyung!!!’ you shriek

“i just wanted to tell you how beautifully you drew me,” taehyung laughs, booping your nose. “i mean, i’m much, much better looking in real life, but the colors. you’re very talented, y/n”

you smile. ‘well, i did try really har—”

taehyung interrupts you by kissing you. he misses your lips the first time and gets the corner of your mouth, but the second time, his lips meet yours perfectly

the heavenly moment would’ve lasted wayyy longer if it weren’t for the:

“Y/N, WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU STICKING YOUR HEAD IN THE WATER???”

you let out a silent shriek and taehyung’s eyes widen. both of you break apart from the kiss and taehyung suddenly dives deep down into the ocean

and right when the merman is out of your range, you can’t breathe nor see clearly in the ocean anymore

when you get your head out of the waters, you’re a choking, coughing mess

you wipe away the droplets of water streaming down your face before you look up to see yoongi

“are you bobbing for fish in the ocean?” yoongi snorts. “for fuck’s sake, y/n, you can’t just leave your art final around like this!”

your best friend picks up your precious painting of taehyung and sighs. “what were you doing?”

“i, uh…” you touch your lips. “i was… uh… i dropped my ring in the water”

yoongi narrows his eyes. “you don’t even wear jewelry”

“okay fine. i was just trying to meet the merman of my dreams underwater”

at that, yoongi raises his eyebrows. “cool,” he says

“cool??” is that all he had to say?

“well, yeah. mermaids are cool”

“merman”

“whatever”

yoongi’s so chill with it that you’re unchill

“are you sure??” you say.

“am i sure that it’s whatever?” yoongi snorts. “yes? c’mon, let’s go watch a ocean life documentary with hoseok or something. finals is gonna be over soon, so we should celebrate starting now”

hm

okay well

cool

this is chill then

yoongi is chill

you suspect he doesn’t believe you, even though you told him the truth

you could probably tell him that you kissed taehyung, a merman, but he would probably laugh it off

your best friend is quite strange. no-nonsense. sensible. rational.

but you love those things about him

yoongi helps you carry your art final back to the dorms. but just before you step off the rocky ledge, you turn around

taehyung’s waving at you very discreetly, so you smile and wave back

yoongi never notices a single thing

welp

it’s over now

finals is over

which means,,, IT’S BEACH TIME

unfortunately, everyone in the whole fucking school think’s it’s beach time too

even late at night, there are still a few idiots on the beach drinking the last of the beer they stashed away

it’s hard to meet taehyung just because the lack of privacy

you wait and wait and wait on the rocky ledge, but you know, with so many people, taehyung probably wouldn’t want to come out of hiding

it’s one thing for a merman to trust one girl

it’s another for a merman to trust fifty rowdy college students

but you have a feeling taehyung is always close by

you visit the rocky ledge every day, singing some of your own little songs (though you’re not a very good singer, you try)

you even talk to taehyung like he’s there, listening to you

but it starts to get lonely

there are so many people on the beach, but the one being you want isn’t here

you sigh, wiggling your toes that have become pruned due to the salty water. “i never thought i’d be saying this,” you say. “but i miss finals week”

taehyung would have laughed if he was with you now

god, you miss him

“or maybe you’re in the water right now, waiting for me to jump in…”

you sigh again. “or maybe you’ve migrated or something. do you even have to migrate? i have no idea…” you trail off, looking at the blue waters lapping at the sides of the rock

cautiously, you dip one foot in

the water’s cool, but not completely freezing

you dip the other foot in

okay

you can do this

you’ll just…

jump in

and if taehyung’s not underwater, you’ll just… leave for the day

you’re supposed to hang out at a computer cafe with yoongi and hoseok anyway

okay deep breath in

deep breath out

goblin sharks don’t even live near the shallow part of the ocean… right?????

so you’re safe, right????

unless there’s a lemon shark or something

oh fucking god

you shouldn’t have watched that ocean documentary with your friends

but the need to see taehyung surpasses everything

you close your eyes

pinch your nose with your fingers

and you JUMP

and immediately you gasp because fuck the water’s cold

lowkey, your heart nearly stops because of the sudden rush of cool water surrounding your whole body

and right when you think you should swim back to the surface, a pair of strong arms hold you, and a soft hand taps at your forehead

“hello, you”

‘TAEHYUNG!’ you open your eyes and see your favorite merman staring at you

“the beach is crowded these days, isn’t it?” he grins

‘i know! pesky people!’

taehyung laughs. “i made another song while you were gone. nice singing, by the way. i heard you a couple days ago”

you flush. ‘i can’t sing! but um, can i hear your new song?’

taehyung nods, clearing his throat

he holds your hands to his chest and begins to sing

“where the sea breeze whispers

past your waiting ears

and gently kisses your lips

there lies a beautiful ocean

the waves ripple beneath the awakened sky

under these waters

is a happy merman

he’s found his friend,

his lover,

his treasure that has saved him

from his solitude

where the sea breeze whispers

where the beautiful ocean rests

where the waters ripple beneath the awakened sky

where the happy merman lives

under these sparkling waters”

‘you changed the lyrics!!’

taehyung nods. “i think it’s much more fitting, don’t you think?”

the two of your resurface from the waters, gripping each other tightly

your hair is completely dry and it blows in the light breeze

the sunlight warms your face and turns taehyung’s cheeks even rosier

oh god

your heart skips a beat

but you try to calm down before you wrap your arms around taehyung’s neck and pull him close

the moment your forehead touches his, you close your eyes and it feels like there’s nothing else in the ocean, on the beach, except you and taehyung

the two of you may never speak out loud in the same place as you’re kept silent in the ocean and taehyung’s kept silent on land

but...

sometimes, you don’t even need words

gazes, actions, little touches here and there

they speak in louder volume than words

you don’t even have to say you love taehyung. he doesn’t have to say it either

it’s as if both of your hearts, your actions proved it

masterlist

[aprils-arcadia]

A Weekend in Rome

Pairing: Kihyun x Reader Genre: Fluff Word Count: 2,2k Summary: Your business trip to Rome turned out completely different from what you’d imagined, as your attractive co-worker decided to accopany you. 

You never really like rules. It was easier to not restrict yourself, in the end you would just be disappointed with yourself for not being able to follow them. So you only had one thing that could be considered a rule. A simple one that you had just put out there for yourself to keep an eye out. You never really thought that you would find yourself in a situation that required you to listen to yourself. Your rule had been to never date or get romantically involved with a co-worker or to simply fall for one. The emphasis lies on the ‘had been’ because at this very moment you couldn't be further away from following it. 

You were sitting in a cafe and fidgeted with the sugar packets, neatly putting them in their container and then spilling it out again to arrange them differently. It wasn't out of boredom, rather out of pure nervousness with a slight hint of terror. 

When you had agreed to come to this conference you never would have dreamed that the head of marketing would tag along. You had envisioned this trip as a nice getaway, a possibility to work with it not feeling like work at all. 

Rome had been a dream destination for you since you were little and to have the opportunity to go there for a long weekend with it being completely paid by your company had made it even better. You only had to attend a few talks and give a 30-minute presentation yourself, easy peasy. The rest of the time you would have been free to roam the city and to do every touristy and non-touristy thing you could think of. This plan had been crossed effortlessly by Yoo Kihyun himself. 

The small cafe near the venue was nearly empty apart from you and Kihyun, who now made his way back to you, two coffees in hand. He sported you a bright smile and sat down opposite of you. You quickly grabbed the sugar packets that were still sprawled over the entire table and shoved them into the container, ruining your last 5 minutes of meticulous work. You tried to smile back at him but knew that this was not your usual charming professional smile but the awkward smile of your thirteen-year-old self trying to talk to a boy. You had been thoroughly convinced that you had dropped that bashful, clumsy version of yourself ages ago. But here you were surprising yourself in the most uncalled for and unwanted way possible. 

"I gotta say you were pretty impressive up there," Kihyun loosened the slim black tie around his neck and opened the top button. It was a hot day, the sun almost at its highest point grilling all that stood in its way. Part of you missed the wonderfully climated hall you had spent the last 3 hours in because now the only thing that cooled you slightly was the soft fresh breeze which gradually flowed through the stuffy mediterranean air. He rolled up the sleeves of his button down without breaking eye contact. And with that simple course of action he made the day a little hotter. You felt your ears slowly turn red as you tried to look as normal as you could even after the unexpected compliment and now the slow transition from business to casual was messing with your brain considerably.

You couldn't be serious. This wasn't your first date. In fact you didn't know if this could even be called a date. You had held your presentation an hour ago and afterwards he just asked you to grab coffee. 

That is all this was. 

That is all this was, you repeated to yourself. But you had no chance in avoiding how handsome the man before you was. You had seen him in a few board meetings before and even though your two departments usually worked closely together you seldomly had any face-to-face contact with him since his office was in a different building complex. Luckily for you, because even though you never really fell for him, which would definitely be against your rule, you still were very much attracted to him and had trouble staying focused in the very few times you actually occupied the same space just like now.

"Thanks," you were able to mumble. You took your coffee from the tray and gave him a small nod. 

"So tell me more about what you found out.” 

After hearing those words you immediately relaxed. This wasn't a date. Not at all. He just wanted to talk to you about your work. That you could do. There was no reason to be awkward, this was strictly professional. You sighed in relief and started to explain all the various components of your talk and went further into detail. He listened to you attentively while sipping his coffee.

"So as I said it is extremely vital to continue monitoring -"

"-You know I gotta say I like you better that way"

"Excuse me?" 

"Well you seemed really uncomfortable since I invited you. It's nice to see you relax a bit. Makes me feel less like I am forcing you out on a date"

"A....a date?"

"Yeah a date. Did I not make that clear?" He looked a little lost and you could clearly see the gears inside his head turning. "I'm sorry. I really thought that would have been obvious." He chuckled and you were completely unable to focus.

Your response probably took you longer than it was comfortable for both parties. But you couldn't believe that you got this all wrong. So this was supposed to be a date. Well that changed things. Or did it really? If you were comfortable talking to him a second ago why would you now be this damn flustered. Sure he was intimidatingly perfect and having taken an interest in him over the last year or so made you not wanting to screw up. So sure nervousness was perfectly appropriate. Still this was your chance. Your chance to get to know him. And what did you plan to do, run? Like hell that would be a good idea. You were here, he was here and you were in goddamn Rome having clearly left your one rule at the airport. So screw it. Might as well make the best of it. 

You brushed a stray strand of hair back over your ear and mustered your courage.

"I’m sorry. A date sounds great and it gives us some time to get to know each other and even though we've been working together for a year now I hardly know you." 

"Well it's not like you ever gave me a chance. You usually just rush out of the meetings I am part of and I rarely see you at the cafeteria." You knew exactly why you didn't try to get any close to him because you would have probably fallen for him instantly. As you were doing now. 

“I mean I could have asked you out via email but let's be honest that would have been really weird. Attached you can find the overview we discussed and also would you be interested in grabbing a coffee with me' I don't think so." You giggled. 

"Actually I got one of those once. From Minhyuk in sales. I really didn't know how to respond”

"Funny I got one or those as well." Both of you burst out into laughter.

“But seriously though. It's like whenever I see you, you are running all over the place your bright yellow binder in hand. And I never see you at the cafeteria. You're really not that easy to get close to."

"I'm sorry I feel like I was just dashing through life the last couple of months. I mean you know how stressful the whole project was. So I never really had time to myself or for others"

“Well sounds to me like it’s about damn time you had some fun.” He grabbed your hand and pulled you from your seat, quickly wrapping an arm around your waist to prevent you from stumbling. You were close to him. Too close. You could feel the heat rushing towards your head and forgot to breathe for what felt like forever. His face was now only a few inches away from you. Your eyes were drawn towards his lips and for a split second you couldn’t stop your mind from going places you had tried to avoid. You could just simply kiss him, it would be so easy. The only thing you’d had to do would be to place your hand on the back of his neck and slowly draw him in. You could do that. Probably.

“So where do you wanna go first? I know some really nice spots”

You steadied your footing and straightened your skirt steadily brushing away the wrinkles and the thoughts that were filling your head. “Sure surprise me”

And surprise you he did. You spend most of the day going from gallery to museum and marveled at the beautiful architecture. Your plan had only involved the mainstream tourist spots, the blatantly obvious go to spots. But it was paling in comparison to the places he showed you. 

He excitedly told you everything he knew about the places he showed you all the while never leaving your side. You tried your best to let your eyes remain on the things he was telling you about but ever so often you couldn’t stop yourself from admiring the man beside you. 

The bright midday sun was highlighting the sharp edges of his face making it look even more perfect than it already was. His laugh and smile were intoxicating, making you smile brightly everytime and making you want to spend every waking second of this weekend with him. Seeing him wildly gesticulate in the air because words were not enough to convey his excitement, seeing his eyes light up when he noticed how interested you were and most of all making you feel like you were the only thing that mattered. He was able to casually take your hand whenever it was necessary to not lose you or simply because just standing next to you didn’t cut it. 

“How do you even know of these places?” you had asked him once you entered a quiet alley looking for a specific restaurant he’d been talking about for the whole day. 

“Well I spent the last few years at this conference, just with a different employer. So once I got the main touristy things out of the way I got bored and started to wander around, talked to locals, that kind of thing. I mean touristy spots aside those small places have their own charm and they are not so damn crowded all the time” you turned a corner. 

The alley you had entered was gorgeous and it looked like an old painting or at least a picture perfect little world. The narrow cobblestone path wound around the houses. Not the straight lines of streets that dictated where you were going but rather like a little stream that was built gradually to connect the houses without wanting to disturb any of them. The buildings were overgrown with ivy and every house seemed to have their own little hanging garden perched upon the small balconies. Everything was framed in green and a few radiant specks of colour in the form of tiny flowers. You hadn’t moved but were just admiring the view. Trying to take it all in and commit it to memory. 

“Ah there we are” The place he pointed to was a small window front, not more than the little shops at home that had been neatly arranged next to each other. It only had a few chairs outside.

“Come on. Let’s eat” 

Kihyun was standing right beside you and took your hand, gently guiding you towards a free table. “

The meal had been delicious and after it was over none of you had the intention of leaving instead you spent the rest of the evening talking until the sun was slowly setting. The twilight illuminated the small world you were currently lost in. Sitting in this tiny restaurant and talking to the man you had tried so hard to avoid.

Giving in had been so easy. You didn’t want to fall in love, hell you even went to such length as to not give him any chance to really talk to you. And absolutely you were right. Because right now that mushy feeling in your stomach had grown to a size you could no longer ignore. No you didn’t want to fall in love but you sure as hell were. He’s shown you his favorite places, the hidden gems in his tour all putting one thought in your head that you couldn't shake: He seems to like you. Or was he just playing with you? Taking you along to not spend the weekend alone and ditching you once you were back home? Maybe just maybe he’d be capable of this. And let’s be honest just because you were getting attached wouldn’t mean he’d do the same, now would it. But right now you didn’t care. Even if he was just playing some wicked game with you, you had already fallen too deep. Too deep to realize it even if you wanted to and too deep to care that he might destroy that little world of yours in 2 days time.

[troutfishinginmusic]

An album guide to Fuck

Fuck started with a limitation. If you can get past the giggly name, there’s a lot to take in. Off-kilter and slightly unsettling, Fuck is a band that falls between transgressive and heartwarming. In its brief moment of prominence in the Matador stable, the band was seen by critics as a quirky cousin to Pavement. This is selling the band short. A trip through the band’s discography shows one of the American underground’s most unheralded acts. As I go through all of Fuck’s albums I feel like I’m missing out on some kind of big in-joke. But, since there’s so little about the band out there, I wanted to try sum up its discography anyway. All these albums are pretty hard to find, luckily they’re all on Spotify.

Pretty…Slow (1996)

It’s amazing how fully formed Fuck sounds on its debut. The production is a bit shabby, but most of the songs still hold the same vaguely creepy aurora. Opener “Wrongy Wrong” doesn’t say much explicitly, but creates an atmosphere of unease that’s unique to the band. While the louder songs are performed competently, the slower songs (like “I Am Your King,” “From Heaven” and closer “Shotgun (H) Ours”) are where Fuck really shines. As the band went on, the noisier moments would be reined in a bit. Depending on your preference, this might be a downside. Pretty…Slow  is a strong debut from a band that knew exactly what it wanted to be from the start.

Baby Loves a Funny Bunny (1996)

Listening to this makes you realize what Matador saw in the band. Things sound a bit more focused, while retaining the same strangeness of the previous album. “Love Me 2” and “Tired” are great examples noisy lo-fi guitar rock. The midsection of the album shows the band improving on affecting folk/country songs about misfits even further. “Part of Me” might be one of Fuck’s best songs, showcasing its talent for heart-breaking slow-burners. The back half of the album is more mixed. “Rococo” is a relatively straightforward rock song (in sound at least), while “Like You” sounds like a Nirvana outtake. “Loosened Mind” is a quirky song that employs a lot of atypical instruments (triangles?) to create something more detailed and psychedelic than usual. “Crush a Butterfly,” another great slow song, is followed by “Whimper and Cry.” What might set off red flags at first blush is actually, as far as I can tell, a song about S&M in a surprisingly sincere way. Other aspects of the album have aged worse (example: The usage of the word “retard” on one song). Baby Loves a Funny Bunny is strange album, but it ultimately made good on the promise of the band’s debut.

Pardon My French (1997)

Mass appeal? Filled with off-center bummer country, Pardon My French stands as a record that could’ve brought the band a larger audience. Strung together like overhearing a bunch of strange inside jokes that you want to understand. The songs are short and work best when taken as part of a whole. Some (like “Bestest Friend,” “Tether” and “For Lori”) could’ve found their way to alternative radio. Aspects of Pardon My French are just as affecting as more “ponderous” contemporaries like Smog and Cat Power. A great marijuana record (I hate to reducing any record to that), shifting from jokey to melancholy. French stands as a great “indie” album from the 90s. Yet it’s still a bit too scattered to be considered the band’s best work. There’s something preserved here, and throughout the Fuck’s discography, that was lost when the genre became more popular.

Conduct (1998)

There’s a certain darkness to this one. Some of the lighthearted nature of French is lost, which is surprising for a band called Fuck. Louder and a bit more unhinged, Conduct tries for something new and expands the band’s pallet a bit. It’s a fractured, drunken masterpiece that sounds more confident than French. There’s a loveliness to direct songs like “Drinking Artist,” “Laundry Shop,” “Never Comin’ Back,” “Get Over Him” and closer “Blind Beauty.” Even goofs like “Monkey Doll” and “Twist Off” are still pretty convincing. Melancholy folk/country is still where the band shines the best, though. Conduct is more like a collection of songs than a collection of interesting sketches. It’s possibly the band’s finest moment.

Cupid’s Cactus (2001)

This one loses some of the immediacy and memorability of Conduct. The opener “Glass Charms” dispels any potential sincerity with a faux-country accent part. Yet, after that point, the music of Cupid’s Cactus is even darker and slower moving than Conduct. A better point of comparison would be a more joke-y Low rather than Pavement. “Someday Aisle” is a gorgeous meditation that feels like a good companion to closing time at a bar. While Fuck was never bad at louder songs, the decision to focus on the slowcore side of its sound was a good idea. That said, the louder songs like “Awright” and “Never Alone” are still highlights and break things up a bit.

“Panties off” is a horribly depressing song about prostitution for drugs (I think), but gets across something the band has alluded to in more subtle ways on previous albums. The intention seems to be that sadness exists but there’s unintentional humor that’s impossible avoid even in the worst times. Some could read into this as mean-spirited or trivializing, but there’s something deeper and more complicated at work in these songs. This is something Fuck conveys better than say Ween.

Those Aren’t My Bongos (2003)

This might be the quintessential Fuck album. It gets its point across more clearly than the previous albums and sounds downright pretty. Those Aren’t My Bongos opens immediately questioning the audience’s uptight opinions on sex: “Does the penis offend you? Do the female charms alarm?” This might be the right disclaimer for every Fuck album. It seems like the band’s overarching goal is to create a sense of empathy and discuss the awkward parts of sex more openly. This is all done with a goofy lightheartedness to help balance the darker passages. The romantic acoustic strum of “Her Plastic Acupuncture Foot” was my introduction to the band. I’d argue it’s one of its best songs. How many bands can successfully weave a cartoon blowjob reference into something so romantic? Throughout the album some slight electronics are used as accents, working to vary the band’s sound a bit. Taking out individual moments on this one doesn’t really make sense; it definitely works better together. One that’s impossible not to mention, though, is the gorgeous “How to Say.” The song might be one of Fuck’s strangest considering how direct and sincere it is. TAMB is a patchwork of strange jokes and melancholy swirling together to make a truly unique statement. It rivals Conduct as the band’s best album.

The Band (2018)

It seemed like Fuck all but disappeared after Those Aren’t My Bongos. I was beyond shocked to see they were back together and had a new album out. This one sticks closer to albums like Pardon My French and Conduct, alternating between louder and softer songs. It’s also lighter and more jokey. “Cream Pie Patch” and “Thirsty Gnome” get closer to the balance struck on TAMB, reveling in sex jokes. It’s hard to call a Fuck album fun, but The Band definitely comes close. “Meet the Gibbons” for example is definitely sort of disturbing in its descriptions of mutilation, detracting from the fun vibe of the previous song (“Thirsty Gnome”). “Leave My Body” is a dreamy reverie of a song, leaning on the folk/country the band does so well. The back half of the album abandons the odder moments for the touching, slow-motion ballads Fuck excels at. The Band is a good example of a reunion record: A bit of a progression, a bit of a reminder. There’s something oddly comforting about that even for a band this deeply uncomfortable.

For a playlist of Fuck songs I put together click here.

[santatapes-blog]

More Than Fiction - Artist Interview

How Did You Get Into Music?

I’ve always loved listening to music and I am fascinated with the stories it can tell and the emotions it can convey, even without words. One of the first genres of music that I really got into was actually video game soundtracks. Many modern video game soundtracks are very cinematic and at least as good as movie soundtracks in my opinion. This style of music seems especially good at giving emotions a musical texture and telling stories without words. Eventually I branched out to other musical genres, and I learned how to discover new music besides the overplayed songs on the radio. Music became a true passion for me. Then at some point I started craving my own creative outlet. I realized that music was a way that I could express my own thoughts and emotions in a poetic and thoughtful way, and that’s when my musical journey really began. I sat in my room and practiced singing the same songs over and over—trying to extend my vocal range—and I began to fill notebooks with my lyrics. I had no talent for playing instruments, but luckily my cousin comes from a very musical family and can pretty much play anything, so we started writing songs together. We started our first band and the rest is history!

What Made You Decide To Write Christmas Songs?

It was somewhat of a spontaneous decision to be honest! Our lead instrumentalist listened to Sia’s Christmas album and it sparked his interest to do some Christmas songs as well. He told us his ideas for a song about mistletoe. The basic premise was a song about the humorous misadventures of someone trying (and repeatedly failing) to find themselves under the mistletoe with their love interest, and their resulting reservations about the entire tradition—but they would have a change of heart after it finally worked out as they had always hoped. I had never really considered writing a Christmas song, but it sounded like an entertaining concept for an original Christmas song, and I just decided “Why not? It could be fun.” So I started writing some lyrics and I was pleasantly surprised with how the song just came together. I’m a fan of classic Christmas music, but I especially love when artists try to create something fresh and original for Christmas, so it was an incredibly fun challenge for me to try as well. After I had a taste of writing my own original Christmas music, the ideas just started to flow. I immediately started writing our second original song Light It Up, which we also released last year. It really was a lot of fun and we are quite happy with how the songs turned out. We even have enough ideas for a couple more Christmas songs that we hope to finish and release in the future!

Does ‘Light It Up’ Have A Story Behind The Song?

I have a lot of special holiday memories of Christmas lights, and one of the most important moments of my life was when I proposed to my wife during the holidays. Christmas lights will always remind me of this moment. It has become a tradition for my wife and I to visit big Christmas light displays every year, and it always brings me genuine joy. I wanted to write a song that expressed the excitement, joy, and nostalgia I feel every year when I see the Christmas lights start to appear.

Did You Find That The Writing Process Was Different From A Non Holiday Themed Song?

For me personally, the writing process wasn’t too different. I often start with lyrics, and the rhythm of the words helps me come up with a melody. Once I have a foundational melody, the challenge is to write the rest of the lyrics to fit it. I usually send a recording of the melody to our lead instrumentalist and he magically transforms it into an actual song! It’s a creative process that seems to work well for us, and our work on these holiday themed songs pretty much followed the same pattern. Perhaps the main difference with the process for us was that there was more of a focus on cheerfulness, positivity, and fun. Our lead instrumentalist says that the process of making the music wasn’t too different for him either, he just needed to add in some bells to give it that holiday sound and that was the only change in the process he needed!

Were You Taking Influence From Any Bands Or Songs In Particular?

As a singer/songwriter, I’m sure that I am subconsciously influenced by many different bands and songs without even realizing it. I didn’t really have a specific song or artist in mind when I was writing the lyrics for these Christmas songs, but as I think about the finished songs I think I can identify a few influences.        Some of my musical ideas probably came from the songs Do You Love Me by Guster and Christmastime Again by MercyMe. Both songs feel upbeat, lighthearted, and nostalgic to me and I wanted our songs to carry the same feelings. Christmastime Again is currently one of my favorite original Christmas songs, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it had a strong influence on my holiday music. Our lead instrumentalist’s answer is that Sia’s Christmas album sparked his interest in writing Christmas songs in the first place. He was inspired by the creativity and fun of the album and wanted to do those same things with our own style. He says that the music for Light It Up was probably influenced by the song Life of the Party by Boys Like Girls, and he guesses that the style of Under The Mistletoe was possibly influenced by the music of the band Colors.

You Have Several Songs Up For Streaming, Do You Have A Favorite?

I think my personal favorite is Light It Up. I’m really happy with how it turned out, and it just makes me want to get up and dance. Both of our holiday songs have become extra special to me though because my kids really latched on to them for some reason, and even my two year old can sing a lot of the words now. She practically has Under The Mistletoe memorized and will randomly break out singing it. It’s adorable. My favorite non-holiday themed song is Something Real. It’s a song about how eventually everyone wants to have real and meaningful relationships, connections, and experiences; not just the superficial friendships and curated digital lives you often see on social media. This song is my reminder to put down my device every once in a while and make time for the people that matter most.

Are you currently working on any new music?

Yes! I’ve got more lyrics and recordings of musical ideas than I have the time or money to finish… haha. But we are definitely hoping to release a couple of new songs this year!

Our songs can be found on most music streaming services!

Apple Music -  

https://music.apple.com/us/artist/more-than-fiction/1331666034

Spotify -

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6hq9m8dh2OGgyl0XnN8d1N

YouTube -

https://https://https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMmLgCUk8A-i0R1_3e2THpw

Amazon Music -

https://music.amazon.com/artists/B078VS4GV5?ref=dm_sh_bf45-bea5-dmcp-2fb6-34075&https://music.amazon.com/artists/B078VS4GV5?ref=dm_sh_bf45-bea5-dmcp-2fb6-34075&https://music.amazon.com/artists/B078VS4GV5?ref=dm_sh_bf45-bea5-dmcp-2fb6-34075&musicTerritory=US&marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Google Play -

https://play.google.com/store/https://play.google.com/store/https://play.google.com/store/music/artist/More_Than_Fiction?id=Asv7hxczcb2orwbfatbf5itdvem&hl=en_US

CDBaby -

https://store.cdbaby.com/https://store.cdbaby.com/https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/MoreThanFiction

Where can fans connect with you on social media?

Facebook -

https://www.facebook.com/morethanfictionband/

Instagram -

https://https://https://www.instagram.com/more.than.fiction/

YouTube -

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMmLgCUk8A-i0R1_3e2THpw

[fae-fucker]

Review: Cinder

by Marissa Meyer

A forbidden romance.

A deadly plague.

Earth’s fate hinges on one girl . . .

CINDER, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She’s reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen – and a dangerous temptation.

Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth’s future.

This is not the fairytale you remember. But it’s one you won’t forget.

I DNF’d this book several years ago, probably soon after it came out. I thought the intro was super boring and ended up forgetting this book for literal years.

But, through peer pressure and hype, I decided to give it another shot.

And I’m glad I did! Once I got past the very dull first chapters, I was quickly pulled into the plot and found myself staying up late to finish the book.

A positive review? From ME? I know: wild:

The Writing

I’ve always been open about the fact that I don’t enjoy “pretty” prose. I find it very distracting and unimportant, personally. Which means that I, for the most part, enjoyed Meyer’s writing! It wasn’t usually in the way, and didn’t distract from the plot while still being well-crafted enough to convey the characters’ personalities.

I did find myself skimming a lot of the longer descriptions and action sequences, however. They often felt a bit confusing and sometimes unecessary as I knew the outcome of each, and in the case of descriptions, didn’t feel like I needed more than I picked up from the context clues within the scene.

Overall, I can’t remember a single gorgeous nor a single terrible quote, which is, like, pretty neat, I think.

The Characters

I honestly don’t have much to say in this department, I think the main cast were all well-written and developed for their respective roles.

Cinder was by far my favorite, with Dr. Erland a close second. Cinder was spunky and strong while still feeling like a person with insecurities and weaknesses, instead of being a 24/7 snark-machine. I found myself especially charmed by her massive crush on Kai, usually I think that shit is obnoxious in YA, but here it felt innocent and sweet, and the fact that Cinder herself acknowledged it and accepted it was refreshing.

Iko and Peony and the rest of the family all serve their purposes well. Even Adri, whom I found to be comically evil at times, still showed some depth every now and then. Pearl was probably the most boring of all the family members, I definitely think she could’ve used some more depth, but oh well, this is just the first book in a series and she’s a minor character, so I’m not too disappointed.

My biggest disappointment is probably Kai himself. I found him to be … very generic. I do like how kind and sweet and obvious he is with his feelings for Cinder, it’s so unheard of in YA where everyone’s brooding and obtuse at all times, so that was defo a plus, but other than that, I think he could’ve used more flaws. Or more good qualities. Or … any qualities, really. Even now I can’t really pinpoint any particular personality trait that guy has.

The Story

So, first things first: this isn’t really a Cinderella retelling. Which is fine! But I was expecting something more faithful, and that’s not what I got.

Cinder makes use of the iconic imagery of Cinderella, but it’s so awkward and inconsequential that it sticks out like a sore thumb. They’re introduced as subtly as shining a spotlight on a nuclear explosion (one character directly compares Cinder’s orange car to a pumpkin) and then discarded in one final scene, and after that the book has nothing to do with the fairytale at all. I get that it doesn’t have to be 100% faithful, but the marketing suggested more than what amounted to a bunch of shallow references.

But, despite that, I still think the story is probably this book’s strongest asset. It introduces new complications and escalates the conflict smoothly while skillfully juggling Cinder’s inner struggles as well as her blooming romance with Kai. Honestly, the best thing I can say about the romance is how restrained it was. There wasn’t any pretense about the depth of their LUURV, they were just two sweet teenagers with crushes, and I loved reading their interactions. One thing I would’ve liked to see is Kai’s POV when he interacted with Cinder, because I never really got why he’s into her. I mean, I can guess, because she’s pretty neat, but it would’ve been nice to see her from his eyes.

(I know usually seeing the protag from the love interest’s perspective means lots of worthless wank, but I’d trust Meyer to do it right.)

I don’t really want to spoil any more of the plot, so I’ll end it there, but I will say that if you’re older than 15, you’ll probably see the twist coming the moment the first hint is dropped, which I suppose it comes with the genre. There was a minor twist that did surprise me, mostly because it was also an organic part of the previous worldbuilding and had a natural explanation outside of the twist, so clearly Meyer is capable of writing decent twists, which makes me wonder why the main twist wasn’t hidden better.

The Worldbuilding

This book suffers from Selectionitis, aka All Countries On Earth Have Glooped Together In The Future For Some Reason. Except here it’s worse as now the continents ??? have Glooped Together??? Luckily it’s not as relevant here than it was in The Selection, so it’s not dwelled on long enough to get Uncomfortable beyond the initial implications. I’m not wholly comfy with this choice, but other people with more knowledge have talked about it already, so I’ll just leave it at that.

(Diversireads has a breakdown of all the racist and orientalist issues in the worldbuilding of Cinder.)

There’s also a new race of people introduced called Lunars, who have Space Magic, and the book sort of jokes that it’s space magic but also tries to explain it using mumbo jumbo science-y terms that does it no favors.

Tbh, I’m perplexed as to why Meyer decided to set this on earth in the first place. There are few references to the real world outside of place names, and it’s far enough into the future that there’s been more world wars (but Cinder’s car is still somehow functional, alright), and the aforementioned Glooping, I wonder why she didn’t just make up a planet. I suppose it’s easier for a younger YA audience to absorb familiar concepts instead of having to introduce a completely new world.

BUT, whatever. It serves its purpose and has an internal consistency, and I didn’t find myself questioning everything as I read, so tbh, it could’ve been much, much worse.

The Conclusion

Cinder is a breath of fresh air and a total surprise! I can see now why it’s as popular as it is. It definitely has flaws, as does any book, but I think I can recommend this to people with a good conscience. It’s a fun read that you don’t have to turn your brain off to enjoy but doesn’t require too much effort to get through. The writing is breezy, the characters are charming, the plot is intense (once you get past the first 5 chapters), and the worldbuilding is solid, if problematic.

I look forward to Scarlet, so do let me know if you want me to review that one as well once I’ve read it.

Also, do send in suggestions for what you want me to review next!

[staytheb]

Red Day Festival

Genre: college!au, slice of life, slight fluff Word Count: 2,879 Summary: It’s Valentine’s Day and two pair of sisters are roped in to help with one of the events for the special day thanks to their friend who happens to be the president of the student council.

Day Festival masterlist.

Warning: semi-proofread

hello, hello! this story is part of a series, but i’ve been stumped for awhile on how to continue it. so it left me with just writing it as one-shots and hopefully completing it that way with certain events and what not. not sure if y’all like that, but it’s what is going to work for me to write in general. anyways, this Red Day Festival itself has been in many drafts with different male leads, but i’m only sharing this one since it gives me room to write the other boys of NCT and what not. lol but yeah, i think that’s about it, so happy reading and kthxbai, Admin Lia~

"Hello everyone!" Jasmine greeted the audience as the de facto leader of the group of four.

She, her twin Katherine, and the other pair of sisters, Serena and Melanie, were dressed from head to toe in a red. Each wore headbands with two spinning hearts attached, glittering eye masks, long-sleeved mid-thigh dresses, and red knee-high socks. The only difference was that each one had an assigned color accented to the outfits to celebrate their school's Red Day Festival for the lovely day of Valentine's Day. Thanks to their friend, Gina, who happened to be the president of the the student council had roped the quartet into helping them out last minute for the Red Love Stage event at Seoul University.

"One, two..." Jasmine started off.

"We're Cupid's Angels!" The quartet sang in unison as they introduced themselves with their stage names thanks to Serena.

"Almond Kitty."

Katherine stated first with purple accents on her outfit. She was followed by Melanie with blue accents, Serena with green accents, and ending with Jasmine in yellow accents.

"Papaya Puppy."

"Rose Bunny."

"And I'm Melon Monkey." Jasmine concluded the introductions before starting the actual ment.

"So this was honestly and seriously unexpected as we didn't think we would be standing here to perform for all of you so early in the morning. Still we hope that you enjoy our covers to celebrate our school's Red Day Festival with our participation in the Red Love Stage event. Also we wish all of y'all the best of luck of your feelings reaching the person or persons that you want to convey them to! Anyways, please watch over us kindly."

The crowd of Seoul University cheered for the quartet as Jasmine introduced the first song.

"The first song are for those in love or want to be in love and just can't help, but think of that special someone. It's UU, please enjoy!"

The quartet got into formation as they stood in pairs with Jasmine cutely playing with Melanie before Melanie joined Jasmine while Katherine and Serena played some sort of clapping game with one another just before Katherine started off the song. After that Melanie introduced the next song once they took a mini breather.

"Okay, the next song is dedicated to those that are close, but still far away with their special one. It's WoW!."

Cupid's Angels got into formation again and danced to the rearranged choreography to fit their group of four compare to the original. They sang altogether before Serena started out the actual first verse. When the song came to an end Serena spoke next to announce the next song.

"Oh, this is fun, isn't it?" Serena said in a rhetorical way than as an actual question with a laugh. "Anyways, we're hoping you're having a lot of fun so far. Because honestly, I'm actually am having fun."

Serena laughed again before speaking again.

"Yeah, so, the third song is MY OH MY. This goes out to those who can actually claim or soon claim someone as theirs. Enjoy!"

Getting into the groove of things and feeling more awake the group performed the song with as much energy as the song itself sounded. They once again sang together before Katherine started out the song. When MY OH MY ended did they take another quick breather while drinking some water that the student council committee that was supervising the invent provided for them earlier. This time Katherine spoke.

"Whew, it's a good thing that I don't do this for a living." Katherine joked before continuing. "So, hopefully y'all are liking Cupid's Angels so far as we continued with this. The next song goes out to those that will muster up the courage and be brave to confess and say what they want to say to their special someone. Please enjoy our cover of Hi~."

The quartet once again got into formation and performed the song to fit them as compare to it's original. Melanie started out the song followed by Jasmine. After the song ended Jasmine spoke to give the final ment.

"Thank you all so much for your time and patience in watching us sing and dance for you."

Jasmine looked at the other three as they nodded to signal for her to do their final greeting.

"One, two..." Jasmine as the quartet sang the last part together, "This was Cupid's Angels!"

The quartet slightly bowed in thanks.

"Thank you all so much." Jasmine thanked the crowd before announcing that it would be their last stage.

"So unfortunately this will be our last song cover."

The crowd booed as the quartet chuckled. Jasmine continued talking while thanking the rest of the student council.

"Cupid's Angels would like to give a big thank you to Milo and Jiwon for supervising the overall Red Day Festival. Also major thanks to Haru for making sure we look presentable and Kyle cuing us in before each song. Thank you four as well as all the others that assisted in making this a big success. Thank you all so much."

The quartet clapped in appreciation. Now Jasmine got around to introducing the final song they would be covering.

"Okay, so yeah, without further ado, the song fitting to our group name and the holiday itself, CUPID. Thank you once again and enjoy the rest of the activities provided by the student council!"

Once again Cupid's Angels got into formation and danced to the new arrangement of the choreography that fitted them better. Serena sang first with Melanie ending the song. Once that was done did the quartet bowed once more before being dismissed by both Jiwon and Milo, but not before being intercepted by Gina. The quartet were confused until they saw their friend holding several red bags filled with chocolate goodies and groaned already knowing that their part wasn't over yet.

"So all we gotta do is give these to people and take a picture proof and we're good." Serena reminded the other three as they were still in their get-up, but were now walking around campus with goodie bags in hand.

"That's easier said than done." Katherine remarked with a sigh. "There's like twenty or something of these goodie bags."

"For real though." Melanie agreed as she stared at the bags. "Actually, I'll just eat them myself. It's not like she can do anything about that."

"Very true since this all voluntarily work in a sense as we don't have to attend classes for today, but we can still get credit for helping out the Student Council." Serena agreed, but Jasmine disagreed.

"Wait, no, guys. C'mon. It's not that hard. It's like mingling without actually being in the event itself."

"Of course you would say that." Katherine remarked with a pointed look. "You're just looking for a chance to give one of these to Johnny."

"Ooh la la." The other pair teased as Jasmine nodded without hesitation.

"Of course. Why not? He won't know it's me though dressed like this. Besides, Gina wants proof of us giving this out to people on campus."

"Gina would ream us for that, but anyways, why not just confessed? It'll make things a lot better for you in the long run." Melanie suggested.

"It's hard. He's constantly surrounded. Like all the time. Whether it's his friends or members of Nu Chi Theta or the rest of the school in general. Like, for reals, he's always surrounded." Jasmine emphasized on the 'always surrounded' part. "It's hella crazy."

"Oh, look." Serena said as the rest turned their attention to where she was looking.

Several feet away was Johnny and his entourage of friends from NCT and it was no joke. Jasmine wasn't kidding about him being surrounded by a crowd of people as there was just something about the guy that drew your attention to him besides his staggering height. The corners of Serena's lips moved up mischievously as she could finally get payback the last time Jasmine had meddled in her love life.

"Johnny! Over here!" She yelled to the male as Jasmine glared at her.

"What are you doing?"

Katherine answered instead with a chuckle.

"I'm pretty sure it's payback for what you did to her with WinWin."

"What? I thought they would make a good couple."

"I'm pretty sure it was just a way for you to get one step closer to Johnny by using WinWin as he's also a part of NCT." Melanie countered with a laugh as Jasmine sighed with a nod.

"Yeah, but I didn't know they already tried that and stayed as low-key friends afterwards."

Serena scoffed.

"Says you. You made it kinda awkward that day, but luckily WinWin and I worked it out."

Serena then dismissed the topic.

"Anyways, there must be like twenty or something of them and we can give these out easily and just be on our way."

Jasmine rolled her eyes.

"Okay, true, but fine. I won't meddle in y'all's love life again."

"For real." The other three agreed as Jasmine cast them a look.

"But we're still gonna do group dates."

The others groaned before they heard Johnny's voice grab their attention.

"Um, hi. I heard my name being called from this direction."

"Yeah, Melon Monkey has something she wants to give you."

Serena pushed Jasmine towards Johnny with the other two giggling.

"Oh? Really?"

Johnny's sweet demeanor focused onto Jasmine as Jasmine mustered up the courage to deal with the situation that her friends had put her in.

"Uh, yeah. Here you go. Happy Valentine's Day."

She presented the male with one of the red goodie bags. Jasmine then slightly retracted having a second thought about it all.

"Uh, well, actually, you don't have to accept it."

"Oh, no. I'll definitely accept a gift from a pretty girl. Thank you."

Johnny took the offered treat with a bright smile.

"I really appreciate the thought, Melon Monkey."

"Ah, you're welcome, Johnny."

"Okay! Picture time!" Melanie announced with a grin as she brought out her phone with Katherine explaining.

"Yeah, we have to take proofs that we handed out these treats for the Student Council."

"Wait. What about us?" One of the them asked as the others started speaking up about not receiving a goodie bag.

"Ah, don't worry. Rose Bunny will be handing them out to you." Melanie informed them as she cast her sister a grin. "Right, Rose Bunny?"

Serena shot her an indignant look, but nevertheless passed out the treats to the others.

"And twenty-three."

Serena handed the last person a goodie bag with a polite smile.

"Thank you." The male thanked her with a bright smile.

"You're welcome."

"Hey, Jaehyun's birthday is actually on Valentine's Day."

Johnny pointed to the said person as Jaehyun's ears turned slightly red.

"Do you think he could get extra goodie bags?"

Serena's lips quirked in a mischievous smile while gazing over at her sister.

"Oh, well, that was my last one. I'm sure that Papaya Puppy has extras."

The other two snickered as Melanie tried not to glare at Serena knowing fully well what she was doing.

"Yeah, Papaya Puppy still has a lot left." Katherine added with a laugh before pushing Melanie towards Jaehyun.

"Hi. Here you go."

Melanie smiled at Jaehyun while handing him one more goodie bag.

"Thank you, Papaya Puppy."

Jaehyun cast her his signature smile and Melanie tried not to swoon over it and kept her cool.

"You're welcome, Jaehyun, and Happy Birthday."

"Thank you."

Melanie smiled at him once more before dumping the rest onto Serena.

"You can deal with the rest."

"What? Why?"

Serena made a face as Melanie smirked.

"So you can socialize more."

"Gee, thanks."

"Always.

"Alright. That's the last of it. Thanks."

Serena got an idea and thrust the container towards Jaehyun while taking out several bags.

"Here you go. Consider it a generous birthday gift from the Student Council."

"Are you sure?"

Jaehyun cast her a skeptical look as the others looked on interested. The female trio knew what Serena was doing, but they didn't stop her as they, too, wanted to get this whole event done and over with since Jasmine already did what she wanted to do.

"Positive."

"Ah, cool. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

Serena cast him a smile as Jaehyun shyly held the red box in his arms.

"Okay. That's all settled. We can take the group picture now." Katherine announced.

"But who's gonna take it?" Jasmine asked as Serena chimed in.

"I will."

"No." The pair declined. "You have to be in it."

"Boo."

Melanie was able to wave down another classmate as the group of twenty-seven posed for the picture. As a thanks she gave him a goodie bag, much to the dismay of Serena losing a free stash, and took a picture with him as well.

"Hey, Rena, let's take one just the two of us, too."

Serena heard a familiar voice ask while using her nickname as she felt an arm was placed around her shoulders.

"No." She automatically answered without thinking before glancing at the person.

"Ignore that, Ten."

Ten chuckled mischievously.

"I don't think I want to though now that I know you like to do this for fun, Rose Bunny."

"Ignore it or you'll be bedridden for a month."

"I think I have something else in mind."

Before Serena could ask him what he meant by that she heard him call out a familiar name.

"Hey, Taeyong, Rose Bunny wants to take a picture with just the two of you."

"Hmm?" Taeyong hummed not really catching the full extent of Ten's words.

"Nothing. He was joking. Don't mind him." Serena quickly responded while pushing Ten away from her.

"You're so annoying."

Another member came to bother Serena with a mischievous grin.

"Reika-chan. Let's take a photo!"

Serena sighed while eyeing the male as she allowed him to wrap an arm around her.

"I told you that name was for like online purposes, Yuta."

"You say that about all of your names." Ten remarked as Serena ignored him.

"You're fun to mess with. That's why. Now say cheese!"

The trio posed for the camera as she manuevered away. Before she could dismiss herself she felt herself being pulled towards somewhere by Yuta.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Just thought we can take more photos with the others."

"You're just as annoying as Ten."

"You know you like it."

"Ugh. You're just as bad as Lucas."

"But you still like it."

Eventually Serena broke her grasp from Yuta while Ten caught a hold of her.

"Where are you going?"

"Away from you."

"That's mean. I was just gonna help you escape, but I guess I'll help Yuta out instead."

"No."

Serena broke free and took off running as everyone looked after her.

"You really just had to tease her, don't you?" Melanie remarked with a laugh to a chuckling Ten.

Ten glanced at her like he didn't do anything.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Lani."

"Right. Sure you don't."

Ten walked closer to Melanie with a smirk and whispered for only her to hear.

"Hey, better leave me alone, Melanie, or I'll do the same to you that I did to Serena."

"Try me."

Ten didn't hesitate with a mischievous grin.

"Jaehyun! Papaya Puppy wants to take a picture with just the two of you, too!"

"You're such a brat." Melanie stated with a roll of her eyes.

"Why do you always gotta react different than Serena?"

"Because unlike her I don't run away from my feelings."

"Ah, that's true."

"I heard my name," Jaehyun interjected, "But I didn't catch the rest. What's up?"

"It's nothing. Ten's just being a jokester. Sorry." Melanie answered with a polite smile as Ten eyed her.

"Oh, okay."

Jaehyun nonchalantly returned to conversing with the other males.

"Don't run away, huh?" Ten remarked as Melanie shrugged.

"I didn't run away. I deterred away."

"Whatever. I need to get the others in on messing with y'all. Yuta's great with teasing Serena."

"Obviously since y'all get under her skin."

"True."

"Anyways," Katherine interjected to focus the attention onto her, "We should be going now. Thanks so much for helping us out."

She smiled at the twenty-three males before hooking her arms with Jasmine and Melanie.

"We'll be on our way now."

"Wait, what about the pictures?" Another one of them asked.

"It'll be posted on the school's website under the Student Council's event section by the end of the day or something like that." Jasmine replied.

"Okay, bye!" Melanie bid them farewell.

She and Katherine practically had to pulled Jasmine along with them as she was making progress with Johnny and didn't want to leave. Luckily the trio met up with Serena back at the Student Council's room since Serena didn't have any photo proofs to get her goodies from Gina. Gina ended up teasing the groups about the photos they took since it was a majority of the NCT members. Jasmine asked if Gina could make copies for safekeeping and informing the president that she's down for something like this in the future involving handing out presents and taking the pictures. Gina happily agreed while Katherine and Melanie already knew and Serena groaned at the prospect of it all.

[jasminelep]

Taeyeon Persona Photobook

“Hello this is Taeyeon. Quite some time has passed since the wrapping-up/end of Persona Concert. Even after the concert, I was able to meet with everyone due to the many schedules as well as SNSD activities which made me happy. On another hand, I’ve also been having many thoughts as Persona got more distant. To me Persona Concert feels like a dream. Wandering about mindlessly searching and browsing around wondering if this is me or that is me… In the end I didn’t manage to find the answer and am still in the midst of finding it. ^^ The kind of feeling of not being able to feel/experience that time and space well (enough)! (Are those) extremely vague and far-off/distant words? Its similar but the emotions I’m feeling are just like that. Hehe anyway to me, and to everyone who enjoyed Persona together (with me) too, it would be good to be able to keep/retain those precious and unforgettable memories. With good meaning ^^ Anything/Whatever… Lastly, I want to give/send all the happiness, thanks, and love to the brilliant staff and everyone from the audience whom I love, who gifted Persona to me. Thank you. - Taeyeon -”

“Someday I would like to convey songs filled with my thoughts to my fans. But I am not in a hurry (or "I will not rush it"). Because it is not my style to pour it out all at once. I still have many more days to live in the future, so I would like to send them out one by one naturally as time passes. You will be looking forward to the day that someday will be, right?”

(If the last sentence seems a bit awkwardly phrased in English, its because I tried my best to fit “someday” in it The “someday” she used in her first sentence is the same "someday" she used in her last sentence.)

“(...), to be like friends rather than face one another as singer and fan, to sing and also chat with one another, I would like to continue meeting you naturally like that. And though I don't get to meet with you often, there are also fans from overseas whom I would like to convey that I miss you all a lot. (or "would like to meet with you all a lot" - since 보고싶다 can mean both "miss you" and "want to meet you") Let's meet one another comfortably for a long time. No matter the size of the concert venue, or the song genre, regardless of what season it is or anything, I just want to meet you all for a long time. That's why, don't change/transfer*! You, remember all this (laugh)!!”

*갈아타 means change, transfer, get on board of (referring to changing/transferring to another fandom/idol)

“The staffs kept asking me if I’m really going to sleep. It’s just that I’m a homebody who’s very natural at/when lying on a bed.”

“Please tell us an interesting episode involving Taeyeon. The video filming took place over several days, so the staffs and Taeyeon-sshi too were in a state where they accumulated a lot of fatigue/tiredness. It just so happened that filming had started early dawn that day, luckily(?) it was a scene where a sleeping Taeyeon-sshi awoke. Whether Taeyeon-sshi had actually been sleeping, or was simply acting very naturally, is a truth that only Taeyeon-sshi would know. I remember how the staffs who were watching over (the scene) talked about how natural her sleep acting was.”

“I absolutely do not want to show an anxious or lacking appearance on stage. Till I gain the confidence that I've prepared enough to get on the stage on my own, I will continue to keep practising and practising.”

“Were there perhaps any ideas suggested by Taeyeon included in the process of planning the concert?

I had been the one who constructed the large framework of it, whereas Taeyeon's opinions were included in the detailed parts. As well as the setlist too. Taeyeon proposed wanting to sing "HeeJae", and arranging "11:11" and "Why" together was also Taeyeon's idea. I wanted it to be a unique and fun stage, so I boldly placed that performance at the end of the concert. If there was another one that left an impression on me, it would be the pictures of fans that together decorated the 'U R' stage. I had actually wanted to show the fans pictures during the 'Curtain Call' stage. But Taeyeon's opinion that it would be good to show it during the opening stage was included, and as a result Taeyeon standing in the center of fans at the opening was able to be presented. Aside from that, the crop top and striped wide pants styling, and the colour contacts of the Odd Eye concept in the VCR video were also ideas proposed by Taeyeon.”

“Tell us about an episode regarding Taeyeon that occured during the preparation of the concert.

While preparing for the concert there were several times the band had rehearsals, on one of those days Taeyeon had worn a shirt of a similar style as I had out of coincidence. Taeyeon said to me "We have a couple look!" (or "we're (wearing) a couple look!"), it was actually a fact that I had yet to notice myself. Along with being attentive, her approaching the staff first and her mischievous rascal-like image of her joking with them left a deep impression in me, and also her being extremely professional and serious while participating in rehearsals/practices. It made me realize once again, "Ah, I understand/know why fans would like Taeyeon."”

“Were there any interesting episodes while preparing for the concert?

I have an anecdote relating to the 'Stress Cube' I have right now. It's a toy that when a person who feels anxious (emotional unrest) holds it in their hands and play, they can feel more calm/stable. During <PERSONA> Taiwan Concert, Taeyeon who came to the waiting room to say hi (greet) handed over the cube she was holding on to, and said "Oppa, I think you need this.". But unknowingly I have started playing with the stress cube even when home alone too (laughs). After that day I have always been carrying it around with me.”

“Perhaps, were there any other candidates for the title (of the concert)?

There was Taeyeon's regular album (title) <My Voice>. That's why (I/we) proposed making it simple and naming it <Your Voice>, we dismissed the internal meeting thereafter as we had (already gathered) some safe/acceptable (easily passable) opinions [laughs]. The final result was that <PERSONA> was the one that suited Taeyeon most.”

“If you were to lose your memories every day?

Actually even now when I wake up in the morning I don't quite remember things from yesterday that well? Haha While preparing for the concert, there were parts that were difficult psychologically (heart/mental) for me. I did think that it wouldn't be too bad if my memory would disappear when I wake up in the morning when that happens. It is an imagination that isn't too foreign* to me. “ *likely meaning its a familiar imagination for her - one that she has imagined happening before

(yet to be completed - this post will be edited/added on to when I find more pictures of the text in the photobook)

[egle0702]

[TRANS] Scene PLAYBILL July ‘17 Chansung Interview

LET’S MEET

The Man Next Door

Hwang Chansung is an easy-going actor who totally doesn’t know how to put up an artificial front. He openly discloses his first theatre challenge experience.

Editor Kim Euna Photographer Shin Isu

Hwang Chansung first introduced himself to the audiences through the sitcom “Unstoppable High Kick.” He played a high school kid “Chansung,” who was immature and thoughtless, but you couldn’t help but love him. It is hard to say where the acting ends and his actual personality emerges, but it is clear that this sly and friendly nature, that sometimes looks like part of his character, added up to the overall charm of that role.

Therefore, although Chansung’s character could not stand the protagonist brothers, the viewers eventually could not hate him. And now as Hwang Chansung goes up on a theatre stage for the first time with “My Love My Bride,” it seems that he still emanates that special friendliness. Quite accidentally, in this role he also plays a character of a similar age, too. Youngmin loves his wife, but he’s a sloppy newlywed, who doesn’t know how to express his feelings. He is a childish husband who is very frustrated with himself, and unleashes his anger on innocent people. The character came to life on stage as an ordinary man next door thanks to how natural Hwang Chansung is.

When you meet Hwang Chansung behind the stage, he has the ability to confuse people. That is because he is not only natural; there is nothing artificial about him. As originally he is an idol, I would’ve thought he has always lived on standby, ready to “show something.” Always at the sight of a cue sign ready to give a perfect answer that is, consequently, somewhat devoid of human touch. But the idol Hwang Chansung, with 10 years in business behind his belt, didn’t give a single inertial answer to protect his image. If there was a point he didn’t know well, he just clearly said he didn’t know it or that he hasn’t thought about it. For example, like this:

“What are the strong points of Hwang Chansung as an actor?” “I don’t know. What could it be?”

“Is there a specific charm that only Hwang Chansung’s Youngmin has?” “Oh! I have never thought about it… what should I do?”

“Usually, when actors get asked this, they are busy boasting… you seem to be very humble.” “Excuse me?” (his eyes grow big and his ears turn red) “I have never heard such a compliment, so I don’t even know what to say…”

As we kept on having such conversation, eventually, I couldn’t help but believe when he said he liked or disliked something. You could see that his personality doesn’t let him say something he doesn’t believe in.

This honest man began thinking regularly about standing on a theatre stage some 2-3 years ago. He simply couldn’t make time for it with his schedule full of album releases, Japanese tours, and drama filming. “My Love My Bride” is a piece that Hwang Chansung took up when it corresponded with two aspects: timing and preference. He also had a drama filming at the same time, but it depended on child actors for its first story arc, and so he could dedicate his time for play practice. The play pulled him in because it is a sweet romantic comedy that cheerfully displays real conflicts between couples. Also, for his theatre stage debut, he wanted to do a play one could enjoy comfortably, rather than a piece that deals with extremely heavy subject.

“Eventually, I want to go through all genres, challenging various styles in acting. But I couldn’t ignore the pressure of the first piece. I thought that I would be more confident about showing better acting if it were a comfortable “real-life” piece. And “My Love My Bride” was exactly that kind of play. The moment I read the script, I was like “Oh? This is fun! I want to do this.”

He thinks that one of the play’s charms is that it tells a story anyone can relate to. For example, “Why are you so angry? --> You still don’t know? --> I’m sorry. --> What are you sorry about? --> I don’t mean… --> So you’re not sorry? --> It’s my fault. --> What exactly?” – these realistic lines that sound like something anyone would experience at least once while they’re dating.

“I still remember the script reading day. We were practicing that part, and even just by reading I got really frustrated! I don’t like this scene! I don’t wanna do this! I even said so (laughs). Isn’t that a conversation like from a dating textbook? On stage I can also feel that the audience emphasizes with it a lot.”

That also has something to do with the fact he insisted on doing a play rather than a musical on a small stage rather than a big theatre.

“You can get really close to your audience only at a small theatre. I also thought that I could learn quite a lot from the fact that there is a certain synergy between the audience and the actors. A bigger stage is good, but I think I’ll have a chance to stand on a big stage in the future, if I consistently work on it.”

The charm of a small theatre was a lot bigger than he expected. He says the “taste of small theatre” lies in the way the audience can burst into laughter from his one line or movement. He seems to be rapt by the fun of giving and receiving instant reaction. He also feels it refreshing when he stands in front people who are not his fans.

“We’ve shared our joys and sorrows with the fans for 10 years, so you could say they’re a family. We understand each other well, so even at a concert they will react the way I want. But there are a lot of ordinary people coming to see the play, so it makes me nervous. Luckily, up until now the reaction has been good, so I gained some confidence.”

Stage acting is different from acting in front of the camera, when it catches every movement, angle and your even breath to the tiniest detail. Since you have to convey every single word only with your voice to the audience sitting in the last row, your voice and your actions have to clear and big. Usually, this aspect is the most unfamiliar to TV actors who come to challenge stage plays. Hwang Chansung was obviously worried about that before rehearsals began. He was concerned that he might feel lost, but he enjoyed the practice time without much confusion or trouble. He realized that it was just a difference in method, while the essence of acting his body was familiar with was the same.

“There is no difference between the moment you need to immerse yourself in the character or how you do it. The quality of the piece also rests on the same point: Just how much you believe that the given situation and the stage is solely yours. No matter which medium it might be, eventually everything depends on the actor’s ability to focus.”

“Then does actor Hwang Chansung have a good focus?” I ask, you might think he has forgotten he was just giving me long confident answers, when he grows shy like a newlywed bride and says laughing:

“I don’t know.”

The time spent preparing for this play to Hwang Chansung was also a time used to meticulously examine himself as an actor. It was a time to make a detailed list of the things he needs to prepare if he continues to regularly walk down the acting path. He also found something he should cross out of that list. Stubborness.

“Up until now I used to be stubborn about certain things when I was acting. I’m the type who prepares as many cases as possible even if I have to play just one situation. Then I select the cases that might be the most persuasive to my mind, and then I re-select them again. And eventually the one method that remains is the one I choose, the one I believe the most. However, in this play, as I had conversations with the director, my opinion has changed. I found that even if things change a little bit as I leave my stubbornness behind, that can actually turn into a far better acting. You need to be certain about things at a particular level, but now I’m trying to stop insisting on the absolute belief only in my acting.”

You can clearly feel the evidence of his self-searching, and as I listened to his answers, I decided to skip a few remaining questions. Questions like, what is the objective of your solo activities in the few oncoming years before 2PM comes back in full composition, or what is actor Hwang Chansung’s biggest concern… It’s because I realized that rather than wrapping his mind around vague discussions that haven’t even reached him yet, Hwang Chansung is an actor who treasures the real fruit of his labor he plucked himself. He will probably continue bringing to life natural characters here and there, in the stories that pull him in, without any grandiose planning. Because that is Hwang Chansung’s style.

Scans: naljung0430

Kor-Eng: Egle0702

MAY BE TAKEN OUT WITH PROPER CREDITS!!!

[27timescinema]

INTERVIEW - LUX PRIZE - RODRIGO SOROGOYEN

By Pau Vall Capdet

Rodrigo Sorogoyen is a well-known Spanish director and scriptwriter who has gained both critical and popular regognition in his short, yet specially intense career. Born in Madrid in 1981, Sorogoyen debuted in 2011 with Stockolm a unique romantic drama which was critically acclaimed and already projected a very promising career. In his following two feature films (Que Dios Nos Perdone and El Reino) he has proven to master the political and police thriller genre by establishing his own cinematic style. Last year, he surprised everyone with his thrilling short film Madre, which was selected for the Academy Awards. 

I had the enormous privilege of meeting Rodrigo during the Venice Film Festival, as his fourth feature film Madre (which explores and amplifies the same plot introduced in his previous short) premieres during this year’s edition of the Mostra. Additionally, his seven-times Goya winner film El Reino has been selected for the 2019 edition of the LUX Film Prize by the European Parliament.

If you had to measure the current state of the Spanish audiovisual industry, would you consider that its health (in terms of quality and creativity, but also regarding the number of completed movies and the results at the box office) has improved during the last decade?

It depends on the movie. Although, I think there is a type of movie (which used to be the classical mid-budget Spanish film) that was quite easy to produce and distribute in Spain. Those kinds of movies were normally related to a type of cinema that wasn’t risky or bold at all (I consider this to be the bad part of these films, even though the good part is they actually could be made and were seen in cinemas). Nowadays, only big-budget films can go forward and have a place in the market (normally conventional, low-risk features). Thanks to the digital revolution though, some independent, creative and narratively courageous low-budget movies can be produced.

How does it feel to move from making a low-budget film through crowdfunding (Stockholm, 2013) to directing a film with a much larger budget, (and a more mainstream projection) as it is the case of The Realm?

I lived this evolution in a natural, spontaneous way. Personally, I haven’t thought about it that much. Even though I manage more money, my work (with the actors, camera and so on) has remained the same. My method of working is identical: I create a script that must be translated into moving images (I don’t mind if there’s a lot of money or not, what is important though is that the budget fits the movie’s needs and structure). It would be absurd to produce Que Dios Nos Perdone using crowdfunding, but it was definitely a perfect method for Stockholm.

In previous interviews, you frequently mention David Fincher or Paul Thomas Anderson as basic inspirational directors for your last two movies. But what are your mentors in Spanish cinema?

I try not to have role-models at all. I believe it’s better not to have conscious mentors because they may interfere with my vision and my way of working. Of course, I do appreciate and admire a lot of Spanish (and foreign) directors, but my movies are not based on other’s work. Every day I’m facing more questions involving the directors I admire but I try to stay away from their vision because I believe it could interfere with my own.

The degree of credibility that the characters of The Realm convey with their performance is thrilling (if we consider their rhythm, their speaking manners and gesturing). Where is the line, the border between reality and fiction, in The Realm? Can reality overcome fiction in terms of likelihood?

Well, I believe reality always overcomes fiction. In fact, there were some actual true events (that happened in Spain) which we decided not to include in the script because they would be unbelievable, not credible at all for our story. For instance, Granados (an Spanish corrupted politician) ended imprisoned in the same penitentiary he had previously built as a politician some years before. Therefore, we thought this could lead to bad scriptwriting (like those American commercial movies where the man who constructs a jail suddenly ends up there as well) as in a feature film I wouldn’t believe the story, at least not from the spectators’ point of view.

In some interviews, you mentioned that the film is not intended to judge or criticize, but to portray a specific reality by giving the viewer the tools to evaluate what he is seeing on screen. Humanizing a corrupt politician creates a problem of moral ambiguity. Did the preproduction process help humanize seemingly dark characters?

Yeah, I guess it did. This was already thought and planned during the script process. Actually, it was kind of the starting point of the film, the key idea: take a well-known enemy for the people and get to know his ordinary familiar and political life. I have to recognize it was partly due to Antonio de la Torre’s obsession with talking to real politicians to make the main character as realistic as possible, and it helped a lot actually talking and hanging out with them. Also, it was very helpful to listen to the scandalous leaked audio phone calls between them, which made obvious that their language is as rude and common as any citizen. We’re wrongly used to the fiction works in which the politicians and the powerful only talk politely and calmly, and I wanted to change that (as in Spain it’s obvious we don’t speak like this). This made it easier for the actors as well.

Your trajectory as a director has consolidated your cinematic style and method: hand-held camera, constant closeness to the characters, interior scenes shot using wide lenses, a soundtrack with thrilling electronic music…. Are you aware of having established, with your four movies, your personal style?

I am conscious of some of the things you mentioned but I guess not as mindful as an spectator can be. I prefer working without thinking that I am creating a style as a director. This way I don’t judge and get obsessed with my work and don’t fall into repetition or the constant thought that I may be paraphrasing myself. I just prefer not thinking about it. It is a fact though, that if I watch my movies, I can observe that there are some filmic patterns which are reiterated.

Naturally, I do think about all the cinematic elements to shoot and direct actors properly along with Isabel Peña (my co-scriptwriter) and while we’re writing the script I visualize and project each scene in my mind.

How will the distribution of the film evolve from now on after being selected for this edition of the Lux Prize?

Well, this is kind of hard to answer because I’m immersed in a whole new adventure right now with Madre, my new film. I feel it’s a joy and a pleasure that new audiences can experience the movie from all over Europe. It makes a difference to not only be present two weeks during the theatrical release and have the chance to be in international European film festivals. Therefore, this will give more visibility and life to the movie.

Do you think that a new European film network should be created and reinforced against the American industry for example?

Absolutely, I don’t know who wouldn’t want that. Anything ready to confront the American blockbusters who manage to succeed everywhere in the box office is a good idea. We should have a stronger Spanish distribution system that works similar to the French model, which succeeds in supporting its industry so as to survive and grow. It’s a pity that people only watch one or two European movies every year.

Two years ago, you presented the critically acclaimed short film Madre. In this edition of the Venice Film Festival you are releasing its follow-up, this time as a feature film. What is the story behind Madre? Did you think about making the film when you were shooting the short?

Well, the short movie was born as an attractive and interesting film exercise to me and also to the spectator. By all means, I already knew Madre could be the first scene of a movie and the short being so successful made it easier for the feature to be produced and financed in such a short period..

Besides, the idea behind the short film came from one friend of mine who lived the same experience portrayed in the film. It didn’t end badly, she just received a call from his son who didn’t find his father, but unlike the movie, he luckily found him, and everything came back to normal. She mentioned to me it was the worst minute of her life. This is the source of the movie’s plot and from here on Isabel and I started asking ourselves how the story could continue and be developed into a full script. I think there are a lot of topics in the film’s narrative that can’t be simplified into one single argument or thesis. It was also a fun exercise: we have this start, now how do we continue her story?

At the moment you have already demonstrated mastering the genre of the political and crime thriller. Would you like to approach other genres or ways of narrating?

Yes, all of them! (laughs). Actually, I’d love to shoot a science fiction film and I already have two comedies in mind! Obviously, the important part is the plot, the script (and as I spend one or two years working on it certainly has to be appealing). However, I am indeed really fond to keep changing the shape and genre of my films.

[todaybharatnews]

via Today Bharat Filmmaker-writer Vikram Bhatt speaks on handling the thriller genre, working with Bipasha Basu and whether he can remake Raaz today. Vikram Bhatt has been a prolific filmmaker in the thriller genre, giving us movies like Kasoor, Raaz and 1920. “Thrillers, like love stories, will never go out of fashion,” he says. Bhatt has also written films, including Dastak, Aetbaar and Hate Story. His recent film as a writer, Dangerous, starring Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover, is currently streaming on MX Player. Bhatt spoke about the thriller genre and working with Bipasha Basu. He also revealed whether he can remake Raaz today. Q. How do you get thrillers right? Luckily for me, the audience is clever. I think a thriller is about the improbable, which you have to make probable. Like you’d feel this character could never commit a murder, that’s improbable. But logic and motivation make it plausible. Ah! I just gave my secret away! Q. How much do you keep the actor in mind while writing a story? When I’m writing, after a point, I don’t do that. Because then you become too rigid in your imagination. Ultimately, films are a director’s medium. Once you’ve written the script, it is up to the director how he visualises it and what actors he feels will fit in. You have to stop interfering. I think that’s what a writer should do once he hands over the script to the director. Q. Do you ever worry about your message not being conveyed well enough to the audience? It can happen. At some point, you have to stop working for the end result and start enjoying the process, because if you are goal-oriented, the process becomes miserable. You don’t have much control over the end in any case. The films that have been miserable for me as a director have not done well. Some films I enjoyed making have also not done well, but at least I had fun in the process. Q. Dangerous reunites you with Bipasha. How has your equation with her changed over the years? I think she is living a semi-domesticated life, or I should say she has semi-domesticated Karan (Singh Grover). She has always been dedicated and passionate about her work. I think she still looks a million bucks. She’s kept herself in shape and relevant. The best thing about Bipasha is she’s not desperate about work. A lot of women actors decide to latch onto big stars and think that’s what a film career is all about. That might be stardom, but not acting. In a big star film, you are going to get just one or two songs. But there have been a lot of actresses who decided to take a film on their shoulders. When you do that, you take the responsibility for the success or failure of the film. And Bipasha has been one such actress, who’s made a career by not working with the big guys. She got success without walking the trodden path. That’s what’s special about her. Q. Bipasha said you understand the pulse of a woman in your stories. What do you say about that? I don’t know if I understand women’s stories, but I don’t see men and women differently. I see a character as genderless. Let’s just say I don’t have a misogynistic approach to writing, and that perhaps shows in my understanding of women — which probably means not misunderstanding them. Q. Do you think you can recreate a Raaz given today’s audience? I don’t know how I made it in the first place. I don’t think films are made, they just happen. I shot an arrow in the air. You try to make the film to the best of your ability. The only way to not make a flop film is not make a film at all. Q. In the more than two decades, how do you think the audience’s attitude towards the genre has changed? Today, the audience is smarter and you can’t take liberties with common sense. When you are writing thrillers, everything has to be researched now — poisons, guns, bullets. You can’t fire a bullet from one gun and find the cartridge of another. The audience is very clever. If they see one hole, the entire plot falls. Q. You’ve tried other genres like comedy. Why don’t you do that now? I’m very impatient when I want to make a film. I don’t want to wait for actors. Deewane Huye Paagal and Awara Paagal Deewana had a huge cast. There are directors who are ready to wait for three months or three years to make one film. I would go bananas if I had to do that. Q. A film of yours which you’d like to remake and improve if given a chance? What is done is done. It was an attempt, and if it didn’t work, there was something wrong in it. If you want to be in the business of entertainment, you should not delve so much into the past. You must learn your lesson and move on. If I want to recreate the past, it means I’m not thinking enough about new ideas and the future. Q. How do you see films releasing on OTT platforms? That is a reflection of the times we are in right now, but it’s not permanent. It’ll change. Film theaters will come back. People just need to have that confidence that they won’t die watching a movie.

[missagirl-blog1]

Unit 3 Reflection

Melissa Hayes

Unit 3 Reflection

WRT 205

Choosing a genre and medium for my unit 3 project was fairly difficult. Luckily, I was inspired by one of our assignments for class, where we had to ask a friend a few questions and film it. We turned it into a talk show format, to make it more comedic and comfortable. Once I saw that we could do the assignment well and have a little fun and keep the audience's attention, I decided this would be a good format to do the Unit 3 Project in. It also allowed me to be creative in presenting 4 different sources.

My projected audience is classmates and people my age. It is also for Professor Weiner. Although interesting, the project can get a little dry, especially while presenting evidence. Therefore,I wanted a format that would keep the audience's attention. I thought this format would be perfect. Also, because of one of my sources being a book, I thought a commercial would be a great addition and original.

To submit my Unit 3 project to my audience I emailed a draft to my friend Chris, who is also a student. I then provided a script for my two friends that helped me act in the project. I will then share it with the class and maybe post the video on facebook for a large audience. Additionally, it is being submitted to Professor Weiner and being posted on my blog. It is also on youtube, titled appropriately.

I created a pitch in Unit 2 on Prezi, but did not get the opportunity to show my friends it, as we did not have time and going online was a bit inconvenient. Also, a lot of my friends have never even seen or used Prezi. I thought it would be more confusing than helpful to try to have them navigate it. I also pitched my project to the two friends that helped me act in my project, Joey and Melinda. I did not explain the assignment, but explained that I had to present 4 sources creatively, and that I wanted to convey to my classmates the influence that “text” talk has on formal writing. My friend Chris helped me formulate a thesis statement, so he was aware of the general concept of my project from the start. To introduce the topic to anyone else that sees my project, I uploaded my video to youtube, and had my talk show “host” explain the general thesis and subject of the presentation/project.

For Unit 3, I called my friend Chis and asked him for feedback on a draft for a project. To introduce the topic I did not send my original pitch we used for class, but rather I sent him my thesis statement from Unit 2 and explained the instructions a little more in detail over the phone. I explained that I had four sources, and it was going to be in talk-show format.

I also decided to use as much visual work as I could, due to a recommendation on my blog being “Something I think you did that is really great and goes with the genre of a Prezi is that you had lots of pictures with your text. Maybe consider doing that for the slides that have a big block of text on it.”.

Ideally, I would like my project to get my audience thinking about my topic. I want to inspire them to think about their own life and experiences. Do they think that their writing has decreased in quality since social media and texting has increased in popularity? Do they worry about future generations? Do they think this form of writing has a negative impact? When Chris read my draft, he posed an interesting question. He stated “Is it really a bad thing if tetese starts bleeding into formal writing? Maybe it is a positive development. It is quicker and more efficient, thats why people use it in many situations”. This comment made me think about formal writing, particularly in the workplace. Although many jobs suggest you write formal and appropriate emails, they are very time consuming. A lot more work could be accomplished if it was acceptable to email “gtg” instead of “I have got to go”; etc. It was a little late to integrate that into my project, but it made me think about how it is more acceptable to state phrases like “lol!” into a semi-formal work email. Adding phrases like that lighten up the mood, and better convey the senders emotions. I am curious to see if any sort of research has gone into that subject.

Chris also suggested adding more “why” questions to my project. I was not sure what he meant at first, but then he suggested intertwining certain questions together to help the interview flow better. Everybody I showed my Unit 3 draft to had a lot of nice things to say. Everyone thought the talk show format was a good format to present in, and there was room to be fairly comedic, when appropriate.

Blog Update:

To put the finishing touches on my blog, I started making improvements visually first. I added a background and accent colors. Additionally, I added a description that reads “Melissa’s adventures in WRT 205”. I also wanted to fix my citations, as the blog format would not let me format the citations appropriately (like proper indentations, etc). It had really been bothering me so I typed them separately, screenshot and cropped, and hoped to add it to a post as a picture. For some reason, I could not add the pictures to a post that was originally text-only. I also checked for spelling and grammar mistakes. I then made sure all of the comments were approved to show up on the blog, and made sure there was none in que or in my inbox. I also made sure my links still work. I changed the layout to grid form, as I think it is easier for the person viewing to navigate.

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 9/11/17

Absolute Duo, Vol. 1 | By Shinichirou Nariie, Takumi Hiragiboshi, and You Asaba| Seven Seas – In general, fans tend to dislike a couple of things in the manga they read, especially Western fans. The first is the tsundere female lead, and the second is the super-powered male lead. Not sure yet whether we’ll get the second, but Absolute Duo seems to be free of the first. Unfortunately, that does sort of make it clear why manga and light novel authors enjoy writing tsundere female leads—the conflict here is rather mild and undramatic, with our hero fighting against a nice girl, and when she loses, she just… says bye and leaves. As for the actual heroine, she’s nice and shy and sort of self-sacrificing. Absolute Duo is decent, and I like everyone, but if you didn’t see another volume you’d barely care. – Sean Gaffney

A Certain Scientific Accelerator, Vol. 6 | By Kazuma Kamachi and Arata Yamachi| Seven Seas – I said last time we were down to the final fight, and we’re still on it by the end of this volume. Index is filled with long, drawn-out battles, but in Railgun and the main series they tend to be separated by more mundane matters. Accelerator, true to its antihero, never really lets us relax, and humorous escapades are at a minimum. It also makes it rather difficult to review. I mean… the fights were cool? I actually understood the action, which is not always the case with heavy action manga. The villain is bad and you want to see them go down? And I’m pretty sure one of our team of heroes is going to die, though I’m also pretty sure it’s the girl who’s already dead. A good spinoff that’s not as good as Railgun at its best. – Sean Gaffney

Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 2 | By Ryoko Kui| Yen Press – I’m enjoying this second volume more than I did the first, I think. We get a bit more backstory on the characters which makes them a bit more likeable, and Marcille is no longer whining at absolutely everything. On the opposite tact, Laios gets to do some truly ridiculous things showing that he’s a lot more impulsive than we expected (and we get flashbacks showing that his sister really was a major part of their party—I wonder if she’s actually died by now?). And Senshi, while he’s still the wise sage of the group, is also shown to sometimes be wrong. But of course the main draw here is the ridiculous food, detailed in loving “this is actually a cooking manga” detail. A lot of fun. – Sean Gaffney

Girls’ Last Tour, Vol. 2 | By Tsukumizu| Ywn Press – This volume sets itself up much like the last one did, with about 2/3 devoted to Chito and Yuuri’s slice-of-life adventures among the ruins of the world, and the last third has them meeting with another living person and helping them try to achieve a dream. Both times they do this the dreamer fails, though it’s not really the girls’ fault. It does make me wonder what sort of mood the author wants to convey here. There are occasional scenes of Yuuri being an airhead or Chito a grump in that Chika and Miu sort of way, but the air of melancholy you’s expect to hover over this world is more prevalent here. Is there an endpoint the author wants to get to, or when they run out of cute situations will we just have the girls quietly die? Good but odd. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 15 | By Haruichi Furudate | VIZ Media – Karasuno has advanced to the semifinals of the Miyagi Prefecture qualifier tournament. Will their next opponent be Aoba Johsai or Date Tech? Readers are treated to some of that match-up before Aoba Johsai emerges victorious. There are some nice moments here, particularly one in which Kageyama actually admits to Hinata that he’s scared to face Oikawa again and a brief interlude where Sugawara is brought in to shut down a high-scoring newcomer, but not quite as many as in the last volume, which fleshed out background team member Ennoshita. There’s no such thing as a bad volume of Haikyu!!, and this has plenty of excitement and a cliffhanger ending, but the final page suggests I will like next volume’s payoff even more than this volume’s setup. Looking forward to it, as ever! – Michelle Smith

Kase-san and Shortcake | By Hiromi Takashima | Seven Seas – Well, the girls have gotten together in book one, and gotten to know each other more closely in book two. Book three has a double shot of plot, with Yamada realizing that Kase-san is going to a Tokyo university on a sports sholarship, while she’s going to a local college. This… really doesn’t sit well with her, and she frets about it as best you can do when your manga is meant to be cute and fluffy. We also deal with Kase-san wanting to take things further physically, but not wanting to pressure Yamada, and being somewhat stymied by Yamada’s complete ignorance of what to actually do—at one point, she even googles how to have sex with a girl, with hilarious results. Still adorable and fluffy even when everyone is crying. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Vol. 3 | By Canno | Yen Press – We’re back to the first volume’s couple at the start of this new book, and it’s become pretty clear that their story will tie into all the others we see in this series, which is also why it’s not official as such. Ayake is still overdramatic and difficult to like, though you sympathize with her having to deal with the blase Yurine. As for Yurine, she’s dragooned into the gardening club, which is short on members and about to lose its garden to the sports clubs. And, as it turns out, is also being sabotaged. Luckily, Yukina is the utterly straightforward sort of ojou-sama type, and so it doesn’t end quite as badly as it possibly should. The series continues to detail how absolutely EVERY girl at school is falling for another girl, but that’s not uncommon in this genre. – Sean Gaffney

Log Horizon: The West Wind Brigade, Vol. 6 | By Koyuki and Mamare Touno | Yen Press – It is not a good sign when the best, most interesting part of the spinoff is the one that’s basically telling the events of the main series. I have no doubt that we see Raynesia because she’ll be interacting with our heroes in future volumes, but seeing her and Krusty here made me wish that we had a side series focusing on them instead. Instead, we get a predatory lesbian who seems to be in the West Wind Brigade for only that reason, though Soujiro can still calm her down. The other minor plot is the newbies training at the beach, and how Kawara may not be a dependable sempai but that her type of personality is probably just as good in the long run. I wish this was more consistent. – Sean Gaffney

Murcielago, Vol. 3 | By Yoshimurakana | Yen Press – This series continues to be super violent and super uncaring about the status of its victims—TWO loving fathers are graphically butchered, one right next to his daughter, and we don’t even stay behind to see the horror and grief. It’s all about the killing and the killers. Now, that does not mean that we can’t have fun—seeing Kuroko go to town is the purpose of this series, and it’s nice to watch her be cool and take down actual monsters. And you get the feeling that the next volume, involving Kuroko infiltrating a girls’ academy, will be funnier. But you really need to not really care what happens to anyone at all in order to get into Murcielago. It’s pure rush, but the rush is filled with sociopaths. – Sean Gaffney

One-Punch Man, Vol. 12 | By ONE and Yusuke Murata | VIZ Media – Even though hero-hunting Garo is on the cover, he barely appears. Instead, this volume mostly consists of glimpses of Saitama’s progress through the martial arts tournament intercut with various heroes fighting against a slew of monsters. Genos handles quite a few himself, including a skittering bad guy called Roach Awakening who is wonderfully icky, and it’s also fun to see a few other Class-S heroes in action, especially Watchdog Man, who I bet would get along well with Saitama when and if they actually meet. The tournament stuff is okay, and the action scenes are great, but it all seemed to zoom by so quickly without leaving much of an impact. I’m not sure what exactly I’d change about it, though. Could the answer be as simple as Saitama doing more punching? Maybe so… – Michelle Smith

Tokyo Tarareba Girls, Vol. 6 | By Akiko Higashimura | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – The last time I reviewed Tokyo Tarareba Girls, I found it to be majorly depressing. As a result, I let a few volumes accumulate and, honestly, kind of dreaded reading them. To my surprise, I didn’t find them depressing at all, despite Rinko and friends still being in the same awful relationships as before. I think the difference is that they’re beginning to see the truth, and there’s a strong suggestion that they’re going to do something about it. In this volume, for example, it’s Key to the rescue again as he helps Kaori finally (hopefully) break free of Ryo. Interestingly, though, when Rinko seems about to reunite with Mr. Hayasaka—and they’re genuinely cute together—and Key is poised to intervene again, I suddenly found his interference very unwelcome. Very eager for volume seven! – Michelle Smith

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 6 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – As I’ve mentioned before, this is one of those sports series that runs in a shonen magazine whose Western audience is predominately female, and the BL fandom is huge. (Pity poor Kanzaki…) I was not really expecting to see quite as much of why the BL fandom was huge till I got to this volume, the last half of which is Makishima and Toudou’s race, which may in fact be the gayest thing I’ve ever seen in a non-explicit manga. It��s incredible. The first half is also very good, involving Onoda getting into a crash which leaves him in last place, and having to pass 100 bikes in order to catch up. Which he does, because of course he does. The series is a pure exhilarating thrill ride, and I desperately want to read more. – Sean Gaffney

By: Michelle Smith

[terriluvsbooks-blog]

Before we begin, I have to thank Terri (my fellow “Carolina girl”) for the opportunity to be featured on #CarolinaReads!

First and foremost I have to ask why audiobooks? What draws you to this format?

Primarily, the convenience. I grew up with a voracious appetite for reading, but as I got older, it dwindled. Life got in the way. I became busier and began to accept that reading was a luxury I didn’t have time for anymore. I’m sure this is something a lot of folks can relate to.

My seemingly incidental introduction to audiobooks re-opened a door I thought had been shut forever. I’m not being dramatic, I genuinely thought that part of becoming an adult meant that I wouldn’t have time for a luxury such as reading. Audiobooks not only allow me to fit reading into my schedule but now I’m able to consume more books than ever!

Do you think every book lends itself to the audio format? Why or why not?

No, I don’t. Most do, but some still translate better than others. That’s not to say, however, that I don’t think all books should be translated into audiobooks. Every book deserves an audiobook!

But a lot of times, audiobooks are afterthoughts for authors. Something they don’t even think about until the book is well underway, if not already finished. That’s completely understandable because writing a book and getting published are hard.

Sometimes, a book is written in a manner that’s just meant to work best on paper.

Two popular examples come to mind: Rainbow Rowell’s Attachments and Taherah Mafi’s Shatter Me. Both are excellent novels but seem (to me) to work better when visualized rather than heard. Attachments is written as a series of emails between coworkers. The novel was formatted in a very unique way to resemble email attachments. In audio, the novelty of this formatting doesn’t come across as well as it should. In Shatter Me,  the protagonist constantly strikes through her words as she writes journal entries. Again, I love this idea, but the only way to convey it in audio was to use a scratching sound effect to mimic the protagonist’s writing utensil striking through a word. It took me a good portion of the novel to understand what was happening there.

How do you fit listening to audiobooks into your schedule?

Listening has become a habit to me now.  I always have an audiobook playing.  Luckily, I work from home, so I’m able to listen continuously and at whatever volume I want!

There are so many daily opportunities to listen. Think about all the times you have music playing.  That’s when I play an audiobook.  

In the car

Exercising

Working in the yard

Falling asleep at night

Doing housework

At the beach or swimming pool

Anytime I’m performing a mindless task (something that doesn’t require a lot of concentration), I listen to an audiobook.

When I listen to a book, I find it even easier to picture the whole story in my head. How does listening to the story enhance the experience for you?

Oh, absolutely. I love relaxing in bed at night when listening to an audiobook.  I can close my eyes and see the story play out in my mind. It’s effortless.

It’s also fun to create mental images of the characters.  I love casting the characters of the audiobooks I hear. I ask myself  “If this story were being made into a movie or television series, who would I want to play the parts?”. That takes the visualization to another level.

Tell us a little about your company. How did it start? What services do you offer?

It all happened in a very kismet sort of way.  I began looking for blog tour companies to work with as an audiobook blogger.  After applying to several of them, I was politely told that there likely wouldn’t be many opportunities for me to participate because audiobook blog tours weren’t very popular.

I thought that was odd because I was getting several review requests a week from authors, narrators, and publishers. Why weren’t these people approaching tour companies about promoting audiobooks? This felt like a gap in the book marketing world that needed to be filled.

Shortly after that,  I was approached by an author about coordinating an audiobook blog tour for his audiobook that I had previously reviewed. My first instinct was to say “No, I can’t do that.”,  but then I thought “Hey, maybe I could do that…” , which eventually turned into “ I can do that!”.

A little over a month later, Audiobookworm Promotions was born. I explicitly cater to the audiobook community, of which I am proud to be a part. I believe that, with a little creativity, audiobooks can be marketed just as effectively as traditional books.

Audiobookworm  Promotions seemed like a natural progression from The Audiobookworm.  I’m excited to be unveiling a new website for Audiobookworm  Promotions in a couple of weeks. I’ll also be gradually expanding my services. Right now,  I offer blog tours, review tours, graphic design and web design services, as well as a number of other brand management and marketing services.

I  organize virtual tours for all genres and I’m always looking for tour hosts. Anyone interested can sign up here! There are also a number of audiobooks available for “adoption” on my Adopt-An-Audiobook page.

What is the first book you remember reading?

That’s tough because I’ve been reading from a very young age. Like most of my generation, Harry Potter was my childhood.

It’s much easier to recall my first audiobook.  The first audiobook I heard was Stephen King’s 9/22/63 and it remains my favorite to this day.

What are you listening to right now?

I’ve gotten to the point now where I can’t just listen to one audiobook at a time. Maybe it’s a commitment thing. I like having several options available to me because of my listening mood changes with the wind.

I currently have about 30 minutes left in Night Broken, the 8th installment in Patricia Briggs’  Mercy Thompson series. That series is a must-listen for paranormal fans.  Lorelei King (the narrator) is doing an amazing job.  

I’m also listening to  Mary Roach’s  Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and it’s every bit of what it sounds. Although, I’m having to hear it in stages and never while eating.

Why did you choose that story?

I started the Mercy Thompson series after it was recommended by too many people to ignore. I love the paranormal genre and this series (as well as its spinoff) has become one of my all-time favorites.

Whenever I’m in a listening slump,  I temporarily switch over to podcasts for a day or so. That’s how I came across Mary Roach’s TED Talk, which sparked my interest in her writing. I highly recommend her work (and her TED Talk), but not to those with weak stomachs!

Who is an author or book character you would like to meet one day and why?

I feel like Stephen King and George R.R. Martin are the obvious answers here, but they’re also pretty far-fetched (probably). Now that I’m thinking about it, I’d love to have a conversation with Mary Roach. After hearing her TED Talk, I immediately searched for more of her interviews because I found her work so fascinating. She seems very down-to-earth and to have a great sense of humor,  which is evident in her writing. Dinner with her would be fun and informative, although we’d probably have to set some parameters about what could be discussed at the table (for my sake!).

You can only have five books on your bookshelf. What would they be and why?

I believe you can tell a lot about a person by what’s on their bookshelf. Physical book are pretty scarce around my house,  but I have hung on to a few:

What Is My Cat Thinking? This is probably my most referenced book (unfortunately). I have three cats and anyone who follows me on Instagram knows which one of them makes me pour over these pages.

The Lady of the Rivers– It’s about Jacquetta of Luxembourg (my 18th-great grandmother). I love doing genealogy and having such a popular book written about one of my ancestors excites me. This will be neat to pass down a future generation one day!

The Everything Dreams Book: What Your Dreams Mean And How They Affect Your Everyday Life– I’ve had this since I was 12. It may be the oldest book I own.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Ed.– From my grad school days. I still reference it occasionally and it’s handy to have around.

Gone with the Wind– I read this every summer between 8th and 12th grade. Even though time has significantly changed my view of the story, I can’t bear to give up my tattered copy.