#The Poten Hits

[ladyloveandjustice]

Spring 2023 Anime Overview-Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Season 2

In my review for season one of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, I praised the show for being a compelling sci-fi full or intrigue, centering a well developed queer romance between the robot-piloting protagonist and all around precious girl, Suletta Mercury, and her fierce fiancé, Miorine Rembran.

But having been burned by anime before, I said I would hold off on recommending the entire show until it finished, and crossed my fingers tight that season 2 wouldn’t drop the ball.

The great news is that I can now wholeheartedly recommend the show. The final season did not drop the ball. It remained a great watch, the romance and relationship development continued to be worthwhile and excellent, and it was consistent with the strengths of the first season. It wasn’t perfect, which I’ll get into, but it was very good. Whether you’re here for girls in love, robots wrecking each other, tense battles between opposing political factions, or morally-horrifying moms on a revenge spree, you’re in for a treat.

The shocking last moments of the first season have some great relationship fallout, and the series delves into how Suletta was truly brainwashed by her mother. Miorine’s struggles to come to terms with the bloody legacy she’s inherited and her relationship with Suletta can withstand such a thing. Suletta grapples with her mother’s deception and her own individuality. Both are compelling arcs that built upon the groundwork the first season laid and lead to some nice relationship drama.

(Also, the credit sequence was awesome.)

The parallels between the two girls really pop this season as they both have to confront their mistakes, shoulder their sins, and see if they can move forward with the other. You really see how they mirror each other, and how they need each other. The romance ball isn’t dropped and becomes even more textually explicit, with Suletta explicitly stating she's into Miorine and no one else and eagerly anticipating the wedding, while Miorine also makes her intentions with Suletta very clear.

The second season is also a lot faster paced than the first, delivering tense and heartbreaking episodes one after another and leaving you on the edge of your seat. A lot of the conflicts that had been building from the first episode came to an explosive crescendo. Those bombs dropped and the carnage was wonderful. It was exciting, we saw more sides of the conflict, spent some time on earth, and got to see some unexpected depth in several characters. And yes, there were approximately a million more Utena references, some that made me laugh out loud.

However, this season wasn’t perfect. I was already having a little trouble following all the different factions and agendas in the first season, and this season exacerbated the problem. And while some characters got great roles, there were just so many. That meant a lot of them didn’t have any space to develop or even serve a clear purpose. There were a lot of characters I was excited to see do something, who the show built up as super ominous and meaningful and...then they did nothing. As funny as it is that several characters can be summed up as "s/he did fuck all the whole show and then bounced, king shit", it's also a letdown.

And this season really threw into focus how many of the more distinctive supporting characters were barely explored. Suletta’s bond with Earth House was a major plot point, but we barely know anything about most of them so it doesn't hit as hard as it should. Even Chuchu, who was one of the more developed ones, felt under-served as fan favorite. For instance, there were several bits where she entered the battle and it was treated like a big deal…and we didn’t even get to see her fight, presumably because the show didn’t have time. And it was worse for other characters- I couldn’t even tell you the names of most of the girl squad working with Shaddiq. They all had such potential as characters, I wish we'd gotten more of them. Things that should be impactful the narrative, like Miorine's dad and the consequences to his actions and what it means for their relationship, were barely explored (not that I'm all that interested in him, but it was weird after the emphasis the first season put on it).

No major balls were dropped in the conflict between the Spacians and Earthians, but it also felt like it got lost in the shuffle at times and I felt like the show could have had a clearer ideology. The “war is bad” and “exploitative corporations are bad” came through loud and clear, but it felt like some threads could have been followed up on more.

In hindsight, I was also disappointed how much of the season Suletta and Miorine spent separated- some of that was plot relevant, but some of it was just clearly so they could learn exposition separately, and considering how important the relationship was to the show, it felt like a waste.

A good chunk of screentime was also waited Guel’s brother, Lauda. While Guel’s arc was solid and he’s the character who changed the most throughout the show, his brother and his tendency to blame any woman Guel was standing near for all their problems was not compelling (Nanami did it better). So it felt like there was a conflict involving him just to give Guel something to do during the fighting and tie a bow on things. Even the characters involved admitted what happened was kind of dumb, and I would have liked to see one of the more interesting unexplored characters get development instead.

The finale was especially rushed, and while there were cool moments, I couldn’t really describe how the battle was fought, and even one of the characters in the show admits that certain plot developments don’t make sense. I also couldn’t tell you exactly how exactly the villain’s big plan worked, which is kind of important!

You just had to be like “oh okay, well, pretty lights, stuff happened, don’t know why that was a thing, that was the power of love I guess, I’ll just soak up the vibes.” Which isn’t the end of the world, a lot of anime does that, but it stuck out because all the battles before that had their fantastical mechanics (mostly) clearly explained, There were also several reconciliations I would have been more okay with if the show had spent more time on what the messy process of repairing that broken trust looked like, but because it didn’t, it felt unearned.

And finally, the show spent a lot of time talking about a huge romantic event and in the end we…didn’t see it. It’s made clear it happened off screen, but the fact we didn’t see the event the show itself made such a big deal about felt like a let-down and even a bit of a cop-out, if I’m being honest. I get that outside forces may have been responsible, but it doesn't change my disappointment.

Basically what most of the complaints amount to is that I really enjoy this show, but I feel it needed to be longer than it was. At the very least, the events of the final episode could have used two episodes to unfold, so everything could be fully developed, and we could fully see how the characters ended up where they were. But ideally…Gundam series are typically 50 episodes, and I feel like this show might have been better served as a show of that length (or even 37 episodes/3 seasons). This show had a huge cast, a huge world, and a lot going on. I think we needed to spend a lot more time with the characters to get to know their backstories, personalities and agendas. I would have loved some “filler” episodes focusing on a minor character, or Suletta and Miorine going on a disastrous date.

However, overall I was satisfied with the ending. I came out feeling like a winner. It was fun, a lot of the characters ended up where I wanted them to be, and I liked how things turned out. There was an acknowledgement that a corrupt system of war profiteering and exploitation could not be taken down in one stroke, but that our heroes were going to keep fighting. I dearly want a slice of life following all these people at the end of the day, and my investment in the characters is a sign of a job well done.

The show also continued to treat it’s array of fat characters with respect, and it had some good disability representation as well, highlighting some disabled people leading fulfilling and joyful lives.

I really wish G-Witch could have been the absolute best version of itself. But the version we got is still pretty great. I definitely had a fantastic time with the show, was often touched by it, and I’ll carry the excellent characters with me for a long while. The textual romance between two female leads in a mainstream franchise like Gundam is a monumental achievement, and the show handled the relationship well. I hope its success opens the door for more like it. We deserve more stories like this- stories of all genres where queer people are important and get to go on grand adventures, are protagonists, are a normal part of the setting, where we see the kind of people anime usually ignores (fat people, non-Japanese people of color, queer people and disabled people...) are treated with respect, where the story embraces all even as it explores injustice. G-witch is an important step, and I’m sure it will be remembered fondly for years to come. And I sure wouldn’t say no to an OVA to fill in some of the blanks.

[irlcats-bracket]

Bracket 4 Round 2 Poll 5

Orca vs Pumpkin

ORCA

Orca’s a silly black and white cat with silky fur and infinite love!! She’s extremely friendly, looks surprised all the time, and is also very dumb. Submitter loves her very much but they tried to give her some wet food for dinner one time and she got mad that it wasn’t dry food! She loves to cuddle and settle in, and just become a big, warm, weight on your lap. Please vote for her silly little face PROPAGANDA

^^called patpat.gif

Orcaaaaa!!!!!! Please vote for my autism creature ass cat!! My mom has labled her expression as "hit in the back of the head with a fish", and she is right! Just look at her!

Orca and her sister Snowy, they are very funny together, and cuddle frequently!

She is like jello, I love her. (Me and her vibing on the floor, she is very warm.)

Vote Orca!!

PUMPKIN

also called poten

submitter's mom’s cat during her teenage years, he’s a fluffy little orange tabby who had SO much personality. he used to always sleep curled up around submitter's mom’s neck. he always liked to hop up in the counter so much they put a kitty bed up there for him. he was very chatty and liked to chirp a lot, and would always attack people’s feet. he would also just. randomly decide he wanted to play and their family cat would get grumpy and attack him back. this did not stop him from trying to play with her

[denimbex1986]

'Breaking into Hollywood stardom in the early 2000s, Josh Hartnett fast became a teenage idol through his early work and was fast-tracked to become the next best thing. Initially disillusioned with the celebrity lifestyle, though, he turned down many starring roles in major movies and even resorted to taking a lengthy hiatus from the industry not to lose his passion for acting entirely.

While fans of Hartnett from his earliest roles may lament the lost possibility of what could have been, his carefully selected career trajectory has seen him feature in some bizarre but brilliant films. With Oppenheimer seeing the much-loved movie star back on the big screen in front of mainstream audiences, these 10 films present as the best of a stellar career that may be just hitting its peak.

10. 'O' (2001)

Taking Shakespeare’s classic play Othello and applying it to the basketball scene of a modern American high school, O was an experimental teen drama that was always intriguing despite having some flaws. It focuses on local basketball star Odin (Mekhi Phifer), who is convinced of his girlfriend’s cheating by a conniving friend motivated by jealousy.

While the premise seems difficult to take seriously, O actually produced some genuinely good dramatic moments, and its approach to teenage violence was strikingly mature. It also struck gold in casting Hartnett as the envious villain, allowing him to display his acting chops as a complicated character that was both despicable and entirely believable.

9. 'Wrath of Man' (2021)

A gritty action delight noteworthy for reuniting Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham, Wrath of Man offered intense thrills and a winding story to boot. It follows H (Statham), a mysterious new employee at Fortico Security whose exemplary combat skills prevent a heist and lead his colleagues to question the man and his sketchy past.

With elements of one-man-army action, heist thrills, and even revenge drama, the movie offered up something for all action lovers to enjoy. It also featured Josh Hartnett, who stood out among the star-studded cast with his enjoyably unheroic turn as a fellow Fortico Security guard who gradually finds his courage.

8. '30 Days of Night' (2007)

Based on the comic book miniseries of the same name, 30 Days of Night was a pulsating mixture of blood-and-guts horror and thrilling action. It follows the residents of a remote Alaskan town who struggle to survive a month of no sunlight when a mob of vampires descends upon them, killing most of the townsfolk immediately and leaving the rest in a desperate fight for their lives.

An amalgamation of horror subgenres doused in more than enough gore to keep the genre’s most eager fans satisfied; it kept finding new ways to be intriguing throughout its duration, even with its simple premise. While Danny Huston’s villainous performance received plenty of praise, the film also served as an adequate reminder of Josh Hartnett’s natural ability in leading roles.

7. 'Oh Lucy!' (2017)

An overlooked gem of modern Asian cinema, Oh Lucy! was a dazzling hit of empathetic, tragic fun which blended romance with adventure. The film follows Setsuko (Shinobu Terajima), a lonely office worker in Tokyo who develops a crush on her English teacher and ventures to America to follow him when he abruptly leaves.

The film grounded itself in universal themes, which it explored in quirky yet strikingly honest ways, with the entire cast putting in outstanding and nuanced performances to make it work. It also wasn’t afraid to get quite dark, making for a heartbreaking tragicomedy that thrived off the back of Terajima’s brilliance and used Hartnett’s comedic talent perfectly.

6. 'The Faculty' (1998)

After making his debut in one of the forgettable installments of the Halloween franchise, Josh Hartnett got more opportunities to showcase his potential in the sci-fi/horror The Faculty. From director Robert Rodriguez, it follows a misfit group of high school students who discover their classmates and teachers have been overtaken by parasitic aliens and cook up an unlikely plan to save everyone.

In addition to its overt sci-fi/horror premise, The Faculty also ran with an affectionate focus on teen drama and high school politics, themes brought to life by the film’s surprisingly fantastic cast. Hartnett portrayed Zeke Tyler, an intelligent though problematic youth who holds the answer to defeating the alien race in his drug-dealing antics.

5. 'Lucky Number Slevin' (2006)

A fascinating example of differing opinions, critics were harsh on Lucky Number Slevin, but casual moviegoers loved it. The action crime-thriller follows a wrongly apprehended man. He is dragged into a vicious feud between two rival crime lords, where he is given a violent ultimatum and is tailed by two men as he frantically decides what he’ll do next.

Using an outstanding cast boasting the likes of Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, and Ben Kingsley alongside Hartnett in the starring role, the movie presented as a fun-filled action spectacle. It also utilized a twisty story, heavily stylized characters, and eye-catching set design to make a lasting impression on audiences.

4. 'The Virgin Suicides' (1999)

For much of the early part of his career, Josh Hartnett was considered a heartthrob. It is easy to see how his role in The Virgin Suicides may be a big reason for that. As Sofia Coppola’s directorial debut, it focuses on five sheltered teenage sisters in 1970s America and the neighborhood boys who grow obsessed with them.

Based on Jeffrey Eugenides novel of the same name, the film uses the boys’ reminiscing of their younger days as the framework for the premise, allowing the film to take on a hypnotic, dreamlike meditation of adolescent angst. In what was just his third feature film credit, Hartnett was able to make the part of the young Trip Fontaine a memorable highlight of his career.

3. 'Sin City' (2005)

With its striking stylistic choices, graphic yet cartoonish violence, and forbidden allure, Sin City was a barnstorming, flamboyant dose of comic book ultra-violence. It follows a range of shady characters as they go about their business in the cesspool that is Sin City, with everything from vigilante cops to ex-prostitutes and their lovers getting their time to shine.

Within the chaos, Hartnett appeared as The Salesman — aka The Man or The Colonel — a slick assassin who is hired by a woman who wants to kill herself. His small, condensed story of passion and violence proved to be a perfect introduction to the film, highlighting its neo-noir tone, arresting style, and penchant for jarring and abrupt violence.

2. 'Black Hawk Down' (2001)

Based on real events, Ridley Scott’s grueling yet gripping modern war drama presented a horrifying depiction of combat. Following the American Special Forces units who were sent into Mogadishu to capture two lieutenants of a violent warlord, it shows how the mission went wrong as the soldiers were overrun and two of their Black Hawk helicopters were shot down.

While it was somewhat limited in scope and perspective, Black Hawk Down was incredibly effective as a no-holds-barred nosedive into combat's graphic intensity and abruptness. Hartnett was more than comfortable in the starring role, leading a stellar ensemble cast with aplomb.

1. 'Oppenheimer' (2023)

Oppenheimer should go on to become one of the biggest films of 2023. A commercial smash hit and a critically acclaimed masterpiece from Christopher Nolan, the film follows J. Robert Oppenheimer’s (Cillian Murphy) work on developing the atomic bomb and the political fallout that came as a result of that and his leftist leanings.

Among the many great delights the film offered, one that made many fans happy was seeing Hartnett back on the big screen in a major blockbuster. His supporting role was also quite significant, portraying the Nobel Prize-winning nuclear physicist and Oppenheimer’s colleague Ernest Lawrence, which gave him ample opportunity to showcase his acting talents.'

[wankusbonkus-gt]

Slave For Me

Summary: ‘Due to an errant growth spell, Ron experiences both physical and mental changes, making him larger and meaner. His favourite target is Harry, his former friend turned slave.’

Content: Size Growth, Farting, Personality Change (for the worse), Dom/Sub, Slavery, Believable Size Difference

A/N: Commission for MakeYouBigger! Their prompt was: "Dean, Seamus, and Ron come up with a plan to make Harry taller, only their spell somehow hits Ron instead. Ron slowly and steadily grows and he becomes cocky and dominant especially after living in Harry's shadow for so long. Definitely include butts, farts, size difference, power." 

This was heaps of fun to write; I've never done anything with size growth like this. Hope you all enjoy! Also, at the moment, I will only be writing macro/micro fics for commissions. I still write (mostly smut), but it's all centred around other stuff. And unless I have something motivating me to write macro/micro, I generally won't go there on my own. (link to AO3 version)

~

Ron feels the spell they created–Corpus Potens–collide with him, and he stumbles down onto the bed behind him.

‘Merlin’s beard, Seamus! What was that?’ He whisper-yells, conscious of Harry’s slumbering body between them.

‘I didn’t mean to hit you! I thought I saw a mouse!’ is all his friend offers. Then, he asks, ‘Do you feel any different?’ He and Dean look at him.

Ron shrugs. ‘Not really. A bit odd.’

‘Oh.’ Seamus deflates, and Dean pats his back.

‘It didn’t work,’ he says. ‘I guess it was worth a try.’

They wanted to create a spell that might give Harry an edge over the other champions, who are all older and more experienced than him. But clearly the spell didn’t even work, as evident by Ron’s lack of change, which is supposed to be instantaneous.

Sighing in disappointment, they all say their “good nights” and climb into bed. Ron falls asleep with an odd aching in his bones.

~

The changes are gradual and hard, at first, to spot.

He eats a bit more, gains a few more inches of height, and he might be a bit more aggressive, but that can all be blamed on a boy’s hormonal changes.

It isn’t until he curses a Slytherin student into oblivion–they have to stay in the medical wing for three days–that Ron begins to understand the spell had worked.

By the end of the month, he is almost unrecognisable from his former self.

He eats almost double his usual amount everyday, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This has the unfortunate consequence of making his flatulence truly gruesome. He’s had an area evacuated by everyone around him more than once, whenever he decides to let it rip.

He’s also seemed to grow a bit. He was already quite a tall, gangly boy, but he’s easily gained over a foot in height, and filled out besides. His limbs are now lined with fine muscle, and his faint abs have been chiselled into an agreeable washboard. Ron finds himself preening in the mirror rather often, flexing his arms and posing.

But the biggest change is his attitude. While never exactly humble before, his ego now rivals Malfoy’s in size. He often throws around his weight in class, bullying others into agreeing with him. None are safe from his wrath, but one person in particular receives the worst of it: Harry.

Ron has always been jealous of the boy, but this was tempered by their friendship and Harry’s humble nature. But in the face of Ron’s change, as well as the fame Harry accrues due to his status as a Triwizard Champion, he has become rather mean.

Where he would once shield, he ignores. Where he would once talk to Harry and try to coerce him out of his moods, he encourages them, poking fun at all of Harry’s inadequacies. He’s too small, too weak, too helpless.

Ron has also enjoyed weaponising his farts, always letting the worst of them out when he’s near Harry. Once, he timed it when his arse was angled near Harry’s head and he farted for twenty seconds straight. He laughed himself hoarse at the boy’s retching. He’s woken Harry up that way too, planting his bare arse in Harry’s face and smothering him. It never fails to amuse him.

It all culminates one night when their other dormmates have left for dinner.

Ron is about to follow, feeling like there's a hole in his stomach, but Harry blocks his way.

‘What do you want?’

Harry has the audacity to look mad. ‘What do I want, Ron? I want you to tell me why you’ve been treating me so horribly this past month. Have I done something wrong to you? Do you not value our friendship anymore?’

‘Our friendship?’ Ron lets out a disbelieving guffaw, crossing his thick, freckled arms over his barrel chest. He has to tilt his head down to look at Harry. ‘What friendship? You mean where you got to hog all the spotlight when you did nothing but be born as the saviour of the wizarding world? Where I’d get ignored because Harry Potter was more important?’

‘It’s not my fault I was born the way I am, Ron! I didn’t ask for my parents to be killed or to be constantly judged by everyone! I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I want to know how I can be your friend again.’

Ron leers down at Harry, who is scruffy and altogether underwhelming. He’s like a child compared to Ron. All small and scrawny. ‘I don’t think we can be friends anymore, mate. But if you want to make it up to me, I know a way.’

‘Alright, then, what is it?’

‘Go sit down on the bed.’ He points to Harry’s.

When Harry takes too long to comply, confused, Ron grapples him by the shoulder and manhandles him into position. Sat at the end of the bed, at a perfect height for what he has planned.

‘Don’t move, or you won’t like what I’ll do to you, bitch boy.’

He yanks down his trousers, bearing his pale, muscular arse to his former friend, and positions it in Harry’s face. The boy’s pointed nose digs between his sweaty crack. Ron keeps a large hand at the back of his hand so he doesn’t pull away. It practically engulfs his skull.

‘You wanna know what I want? I want you to feel the humiliation I did everytime you got something you didn’t deserve.’

He pushes Harry’s head closer, till his nose touches Ron’s arsehole, and he lets rip something he’s been holding in all day. It bubbles in his gut for a moment before exploding into Harry’s nose. Ron doesn’t even know how long it goes for, but he can smell it, even muffled as it is by Harry’s face.

‘There you go. That’s for getting to be Triwaizard Champion. You probably did ask for someone to put your name in the Goblet of Fire, you little shit.’

Harry moans loudly into his arse.

‘Yeah, you like that? Bloody pathetic.’ He bullies Harry impossibly closer, his sweaty, hairy arsecrack covering Harry's face. Ron can feel Harry’s hot panicked breaths tickling his hole. He grins cruelly. ‘I’ve got another one for you.’

Before Harry can close his mouth, Ron pushes the next fart out, right into Harry’s mouth. The boy cries, but Ron doesn’t give him relief, gripping him harshly by the hair and blowing rancid air into his face.

When he finally lets Harry go, he weakly flops back on the bed, probably from sucking up too many of Ron’s farts.

He laughs as he pulls up his trousers.

‘All you’’ ever be now is my little bitch, Potter. You’re not worth my friendship. Merlin, you’re not worth the shit in my arse. Next time you try anything, I’ll hotbox you until you pass out. Now I’m going to dinner. I’ll be sure to eat a load of eggs, just for you.’

He doesn’t look back as he swaggers out the room.

[otoseyir]

Mahindra moves Roxor, tractor production to Pontiac

Mahindra has moved production of its tractor and Roxor side-by-side vehicle to Pontiac, 30 miles North of Detroit ,in a consolidation move as the India-based vehicle manufacturer tries for stronger traction in North America. The company has invested nearly $10 million to repurpose its 400,000-square-foot warehouse, formerly a General Motors Co. truck and bus plant, to house its two North America product lines. The move comes with a jobs gain in Michigan and cuts in Pennsylvania, where it will close a contract manufacturing line at the end of the month. As one of India’s largest automakers, Mahindra is working to simplify its business model in North America and focus on two product categories. The Pontiac factory is now the “mother plant” of Roxor and the company’s new production hub for tractors, Mahindra NA President and CEO Viren Popli told Crain’s Detroit Business. Tractor production will also continue in the Houston area, where the company’s North America subsidiary is based. The manufacturing consolidation comes as Mahindra looks to grow market share in the tractor segment, which accounts for most of its U.S. revenue, and increase sales of Roxor after it emerged from litigation over its likeness to Jeep. The company, which had more than $16 billion in global revenue last year, declined to break out North America sales. It also marks a new commitment to its footprint in Michigan, where Mahindra hopes to continue adding headcount after its big growth plans failed to come to fruition when the company entered the state in 2017. “When we first proposed that we wanted to move to Detroit, a lot of people were like, ‘Are you serious? Are you sure you want to do that?’” Popli said. “If you look at the technical capability, the skill sets that you have in Detroit are second to none, so we said we are very happy with our presence in Detroit and that area, and we wanted to double down on that.” Roxor production was moved from a company-owned building in Auburn Hills, 10 miles Northeast of Pontiac at the end of last year, while tractor production began in the leased Pontiac plant at the beginning of the year. The company will keep its technical center in the 25,000-square-foot second floor in Auburn Hills, but it is marketing the building for lease or sale. It is unclear how many employees remain there. Mahindra has about 100 employees in Pontiac, where it recently hired 35 people and is looking to add more as the lines ramp up. Mahindra had 250 employees in Michigan in 2017 with plans to add 400 and invest an additional $600 million, according to a news release at the time. Current total state employment figures were not immediately available. The company had been considering a massive redevelopment of the former General Motors Buick City site in Flint, but that plan unraveled when the U.S. Postal Service contract on which it hinged was awarded to Oshkosh Defense in 2021. That resulted in the company reducing its presence in Michigan as it restructured, said Satyam Talati, managing legal counsel for Mahindra NA. Mahindra closed an Ann Arbor location when it folded its Gen Z electric bike and scooter business in 2020 and it exited a lease in Troy by subleasing to failed EV startup Electric Last Mile Solutions. That space is now occupied by Mullen Automotive, which bought Electric Last Mile’s assets out of bankruptcy. “Pre-COVID, there were a lot of long-term expansion ideas the company had,” Talati told Crain’s. “Once COVID hit, we had to re-evaluate all that.” Now, the focus is just on the two product segments coming down the line in Pontiac. Mahindra is the world’s largest tractor producer by volume, but not in North America, where it trails giants John Deere and Kubota. Popli said the goal is for Roxor to become a meaningful player in the side-by-side market, which totals about 650,000 units annually. “We’re slowly ramping up both the demand and supply, and I see significant potential,” the CEO said. “We have not set for ourselves a target saying we need to be 5 percent or 10 percent of…

[levisgeekstuff]

Semic Press

Wie al eens door bakken tweedehands comics graait, is ze vast al wel eens tegengekomen: de comics van Semic Press. En ook in het colofon van sommige Juniorpress uitgaven duikt de naam Semic al eens op. Maar wat is die uitgeverij precies? Welke uitgaven heeft Semic op haar naam staan? En wat is de link met Juniorpress?

Semic is van oorsprong een Zweedse uitgeverij. De focus van de uitgeverij lag van bij de start, begin jaren ‘60, op vertaalde strips. Een groot deel daarvan, zoals bijvoorbeeld Phantom en Tarzan, was oorspronkelijk afkomstig uit Engeland en de Verenigde Staten. De naam van de uitgeverij is dan ook een samentrekking van ‘Series and Comics. 

Snelle groei

Al na enkele jaren bleek Semic een schot in de roos. Mede dankzij de overname van een aantal andere Zweedse uitgeverijen groeide Semic enorm. Eén van die overnames was Williams (bij ons bekend van de Classics uitgaven) waardoor Semic ook de rechten op Superman en Batman te pakken kreeg. Die overname had trouwens nog gevolgen, want het voormalige personeel van Williams richtte snel de nieuwe eigen uitgeverij op: Atlantic. Daarvan zouden we ook in de Lage Landen nog een aantal uitgaven terugzien, zoals Tarzan. 

De roots van Juniorpress

Naast overnames zette Semic haar groei verder door de oprichting van buitenlandse takken. Zo zetten ze in oa. Spanje, Frankrijk, Polen en de rest van Scandinavië de verspreiding van vertaalde Amerikaanse comics op poten. En uiteraard kwam er in 1967 ook een afdeling in Nederland. Die afdeling zou na enkele jaren trouwens volledig onafhankelijk worden van het Zweedse hoofdkantoor.

Meer nog, in 1973 werd uitgevrij Centripress opgericht door Rob Spijkstra. Zij zouden zich specialiseren in schoolagenda's en boeken. Maar wanneer ze in 1979 ook comics gaan doen, wordt daar een aparte dochteruitgeverij voor opgericht. En raad eens wie dat was? Het begint met een J en eindigt op Uniorpress 🥳. In 1985 zou Centripress mét dochter Juniorpress dan weer verkocht worden aan Semic. Daarom is het zo dat een aantal titels die eerder onder de Semic vlag werden uitgegeven vanaf dat punt 'overstappen' naar Juniorpress. Denk maar aan de Prins Valiant albums of de Woody Woodpecker TV-Strips. 

Van ‘funnies’ tot horror

Allemaal leuk en aardig natuurlijk die technische achtergrond, maar wij verzamelaars willen natuurlijk weten wat Semic allemaal op de Nederlandstalige comic-markt heeft gebracht. Wel, best veel:

Het begon in 1967 nog braafjes met een ‘euro-comic’ van ‘De Man Van U.N.C.L.E.’. Maar rond 1970 ging Semic écht goed van start met de uitgave van ‘Dennis’. De blonde bengel bleek een schot in de roos en zou 3 lopende reeksen vullen, samen met nog een extra reeks, pockets en een albumreeks. 

Begin jaren ‘70 werden ook kinderseries als Woody Woodpecker, Popeye en de Rose Panter opgestart. Deze zouden het jaaaren volhouden en grote namen als bijvoorbeeld Fantastic Four en Vergelders ver achter zich laten qua lengte van hun eigen serie.

Aan het einde van de jaren ‘70 werden ook de populaire Looney Tunes figures toegevoegd aan het gamma in ‘Tv-Hits’. Bugs Bunny kreeg zelfs een eigen serie. Nog later, intussen al een eind in de jaren '80, kwamen ook Beetle Bailey (als Flippie Flink) en Garfield er ook nog bij.

Maar het waren niet enkel kinderen waar Semic zich op richtte. Felix de Kat was al langer één van de vaste figuren in hun uitgaven. Rond 1975 kwamen daar ook enkele experimenten bij met een kung-fu magazine. Geïnspireerd op de rage van de destijds populaire films van Bruce Lee.

Ook een Nederlandstalige versie van het horror-magazine Macabre was een experiment. Dat zou in 1980 nog navolging krijgen met een vertaling van het legendarische Creepy. In 1983 verscheen trouwens nog een mooie special van Creepy met daarin verhalen gebaseerd op Edgar Allen Poe. Ook horror-tekenaar Richard Corben mocht zich verheugen op enkele eigen uitgaven. Zelfs het knappe ‘Deadman’ van Neal Adams kreeg een Nederlandse vertaling. Maar het meest bekend (en gegeerd) uit die ‘donkere’ periode bij Semic was waarschijnlijk Vampirella, die haar eigen magazine 8 nummers zou volmaken.

(Super)helden

Wie ook een magazine kreeg is de Spirit. Deze geweldig innovatieve superheldenstrip van Will Eisner hield het helaas wel slechts 3 magazines vol. Ook de albumreeks haalde slechts 2 deeltjes.

Het mooiste dat Semic ooit heeft uitgegeven is wat mij betreft ‘Superman tegen Mohammad Ali’. Deze strijd der titanen, die in de Verenigde Staten oorspronkelijk verscheen als ‘All-New Collectors' Edition 56’ bij DC, werd in 1978 in Nederland en België uitgegeven in een prachtig album. Alleen al het ontdekken van welke celebrities er allemaal verstopt zaten op de cover was geweldig. Maar het binnenwerk, met een Neal Adams op zijn best, is ook ronduit fantastisch.

Rond dezelfde tijd verscheen er trouwens nog iets bijzonders bij Semic: ‘In de ban van de Ring’. Deze 3-delige albumreeks was de stripversie van de gelijknamige tekenfilmversie van de bekende Tolkien-saga. Door een rechtenkwestie is dat verhaal echter nooit in het Engels (en dus Amerika) verschenen, enkel in Europa.

In 1975 begon nog een nieuwe albumserie die bij velen een belletje zal doen rinkelen: Prins Valiant. De populaire Amerikaanse krantenstrip van Hal Foster had eerder al een kans gekregen in enkele Nederlandstalige uitgaven. Maar het was deze reeks albums van Semic op Europees formaat die de ridder-saga echt beroemd maakte. De reeks zou nog doorlopen tot 1992, al werd ze vanaf nummer 26 in 1985 wel uitgegeven onder de Juniorpress vlag. 

Semic Juniorpress

De naam Juniorpress dook trouwens wel vaker samen op met die van Semic. Zoals eerder al gezegd is Juniorpress eigenlijk begonnen als een soort ‘ver familielid’ van Semic. Hoewel de uitgeverijen onafhankelijk werkten, was er toch af en toe ruimte voor samenwerking. Dat ging dan meestal over grotere co-producties voor een groot deel van Europa. Een voorbeeld hiervan is de Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles reeks met daarin de vertaalde ‘Turtles Adventures’ reeks van Archie Comics. 

[ear-worthy]

Please Stop With The Celebrity Interview Podcasts

Remember the good old days on TV and radio when celebrities were interviewed by people trained to ask questions in a public forum? Ah, the old days. A troubling and annoying trend in podcasting is the fire hose of celebrity interview shows.

I love Julia Louis Dreyfuss. I loved her in Seinfeld and especially in Veep. She has a new podcast called 50 Women Over 50. It’s pitched as a “podcast for women whose personal confidence is borne of experience. Interviews with 50 women to learn how they see the world; what lessons they’ve learned; what advice they have for us all.”

It’s just that every celebrity with a little time on their hands has plunged into the interview podcast pool, and all that splashing has listeners wondering how they ended in the deep end of this ego-stroking pool.

Celebrity podcasts have overwhelmed the sea wall built to protect listeners from celebrity self-love, self-absorption, and self-actualization.

We have the heavy hitters like Meghan Markle in Archetypes and Michelle Obama and then the lesser-known celebs like Justin Long, Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop (Heaven help us), and Seth Rogen.

It’s not that all of these celebrity podcasts are bad — except for Snooki & Joey — but like true-crime podcasts, there are just too many of them.

There are so many of these podcasts that there is a podcast called the Celebrity Podcast Podcast that covers celebrity podcasts. Talk about meta.

So I know what you’re saying? What’s your problem?

After all, broadcast TV has lovable trash like The Bachelor and Bachelorette and The Masked Singer. Discovery has an entire channel dedicated to skewering humanity with shows like 1000-lb Sisters and MILF Manor (jeez).

No problem. To each its own. But TV also has Abbott Elementary, Ghosts, Yellowstone, and 60 Minutes.

My problem is that I’m frightened that podcasting will be the recycling plant for celebrities with nothing to do or those with fading careers inundating the medium. Podcasting already has a problem with the true-crime genre overwhelming the medium.

Podcasting, like TV and radio, is a zero-sum game. We are definitely seeing that now in streaming TV, where execs just woke up and realized streaming isn’t a moneymaker. On TV, for example, all those Chicago shows, NCIS spinoffs, or Law And Order franchises crowd out other potential shows that offer viewers quality programming at a similar cost.

In podcasting, there are some terrific interview shows. Fresh Air, WTF with Marc Maron, How I Built This, Vox Conversations, Jemele Hill Is Unbothered, and The Jordan Harbinger Show, and so many more.

With Spotify and other networks pulling back on money and resources for podcasting, every new celebrity podcast means one less potential quality podcast from a person listeners have not yet heard of.

There’s an old maxim in entertainment — and in life — that media execs will always destroy a good show, by giving the audience too much of a good thing.

In 2001, ABC put on its hit game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire with Regis Philbin four nights a week. At the time, the show was riding the crest of incredible ratings, societal ubiquity, and the public’s obsession with the latest shiny new object. So what happened? The show got canceled because viewers eventually got tired of all that overexposure.

Back to celebrity podcasts. How many is too many? Sometimes, it seems like every celebrity has a podcast. Does a celebrity on a reality show who became famous for “Karen” behavior really deserve a podcast? And isn’t that podcast going to crowd out the aspirational podcasters who start their own interview shows without the spotlight of having received a rose ten years ago on a reality TV show?

Marc Maron was not a celebrity when he started his podcast out of his garage. Believe it or not, Joe Rogan was simply a former reality show TV host when he started his podcast.

Are all those celebrity podcasts flooding the podcasting space, crowding out the potential for unknowns to surface and become household names? Is podcasting becoming Kardashian-ized like reality TV?

It’s bad enough that Dr. Phil has a podcast. So no more TV castoffs and celebrity laughingstocks on podcasts. If celebrities are sliding into podcasting, please make it people like Dreyfuss, Lupita Nyong’o, and Emma Watson.

For me, the best celebrity podcast is Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda. Smart, intellectually curious, and far-ranging, the show is, as one reviewer commented, “The perfect mix of insightful and humanistic conservation.”

[littleblueberryartist]

All tags from @lanternlightss :)))

THEY'RE BOTH JUST LIKE FR!!! Also this is what led to them playing in the woods so much as kids. They're exploring and observing animals!!! Brock just got a little unlucky oops

Congrats you hit the nail on the head! He does actually do this.

It got a lot better after they moved but man. In a happier time he and Brock work through it together and even end up exploring their magic together! But whoops Brock's not here-

Fun fact this is also why he studies healing. Part of it is from a genuine interest and desire to help people! But the other part is that he feels like he has to compensate for his poten. Having the ability to take magic is doing harm after all, it doesn't matter if he doesn't use it.

They will!!! While Grover went more into writing Brock actually gets more into small crafts like carving and moulding clay. I think drawing together is a good middle ground for them to bond over like they did as kids 🥹

JSJDJDJ YOU DID I JUST HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO IT

I wanted to give it some thought before answering and forgot 😭😭😭

slides into inbox. hands you a blue cupcake

may i ask about any silly grover cor silvam lore or shenanigans :3

Hi yes hello thank you for the blue cupcake :)))

Silly Grover facts!!!

- He and Brock both have a shared special interest in animals (Brock had it first and then dragged Grover down with him) but where Brock loves bugs he loves birds

- ironically he is afraid of heights

- He studies healing magic! It's a tough magic type to master but he is smart and also very determined

- You wouldn't expect it, but he knows a few defensive magic spells because mom got understandably protective over him after his twin vanished

- He's just like me fr and needs reminders to go eat food. In the timeline where Brock never got eebied he uses reminding Brick to eat as his own cue to eat too. In the main timeline he sets alarms and uses school lunchtime as a routine. Cecilia (Mom) also calls him for meals

- Grover is a writer and an artist, though he focuses more on writing. He's kind of anxious and insecure because of his magic, especially without Brock there to support him, and uses writing as a creative outlet. That eventually became a hobby!

Yes this does mean that he partakes in fandom culture (Something something fanfiction about people with no powers bc in CS almost everyone has magic so what if the fiction switched things around lol)

He used to draw a lot with Brock :)

[anamon-book]

スチャダラパー　ポテン・ヒッツ～シングル・コレクション～ Ki/oon

[dairy-farmer]

Ynow those au’s where omegas are super rare and thus spoiled but also treated like object and overprotected???? Au where Tim presents whilst doing his little photography trot behind Batman and Jason!robin.

Jason is automatically like MINE and all ‘if you don’t let me keep this cute omega I’ll hate you forever DAD’ and Bruce is (not-so) begrudgingly like well clearly he’s not somewhere safe, if he’s following us around gorham— we can take care of poor bby.

Jason is kind of hugging him in the way that makes so he can’t move and they’re just talking *about* him and Batman and robin are talking about HIM, holy shit, but he feels weird and Jason smells so good and oh, now Batman is petting his head—

and he doesn’t realize he’s been essentially kidnapped until they’re carrying him out of the batmobile and putting anesthetic on his neck to put in a tracker

ah yesss the not quite strictly dark but definitely in the gray area omegaverse AUs!!!!!! this objectification/idolization definitely hits sweet spots for poten a/b/o lore!!!!

jason staking an immediate claim on him!!!<333 it's a mix of instinct and natural rationale because he grew up in the alley, he knew how ugly things got for sex workers, and people who were reduced to just their physical parts. could you imagine what will happen to this sweet little omega out in gotham all alone, who emobides a dynamic that was made to be bred? ( a sexist take, jason knows that but it's still one of the most widely believed myths and it wasn't going away anytime soon)

and bruce, giving in an indulging jason and helping him kidnap an omega pup!!!

before tim joined the family he was implied to have spent his childhood away in boarding schools and if he ran away each night to go birdwatching then it would stand to reason that his school would be shitting their pants because they lost a student. then his parents come back and the police are looking into it because now there's evidence that he went missing while he was presenting and from some testing of his sheets and discarded clothing they think that maybe it was him presenting as an omega. now the news picks it up and it becomes this whole big whirlwind and storm which creates more tension because bruce had not only kidnapped a newly presented omega he's put a tracker in him and is keeping him in his home!!! oohhh just all the tension and plot running around in the background of this!!!!!!!!!!

[notsoterriblymisanthropic]

As winter approaches, then, an electricity crisis is accompanied by a gas crisis that is its major cause. For cash-strapped countries in Asia, it’s a crisis of supply – intermittent gas and blackouts. For Japan and Europe, it’s more likely to be a crisis of money, threatening poverty, layoffs and cold homes for people who can’t afford to heat them. In Italy, the government stepped in earlier this year with a €1.2 billion subsidy to protect households after energy bills jumped. A new spike of 40 per cent on electricity bills is now threatened and Italy is proposing a further €3 billion in subsidies. Spain and France have also promised to help bill-payers. But Britain is in a particularly dire place, afflicted by four decades of free market fanaticism that left it up to commercial companies to pay for the storage of natural gas reserves against a supply crunch or a price explosion. Result: there isn’t any storage. In a cold winter, Britain warms itself from tanker to tanker. It’s still an open question whether the UK will see a crisis of energy supply as well as a crisis of energy price. According to Mike Bradshaw of the UK Energy Research Centre, LNG imports account for a fifth of Britain’s gas use, and few UK-bound consignments are on long-term contracts. The ships will turn round and head for Japan instead of Britain if Japan bids more. ‘The UK is not considered an attractive market for LNG traders and is often seen as a market of last resort,’ he writes. Graeme Wildgoose, an LNG analyst at Poten and Partners, told me that ‘the logic has always been that the market will find a solution, and the price will rise to a point at which the necessary supply will come in. However what we’re seeing at the moment suggests this is not quite as robust an argument as was thought.’ It still seems more likely that Japan and Britain will secure enough gas, in the same way they secured enough coronavirus vaccines, by the expedient of poorer countries not getting enough. But for Britain the price crisis will be harsh. Free market fanaticism combines with the brutal practice of making the poorest citizens pay a disproportionate share of the cost of funding the transition to zero-carbon energy. What are essentially taxes to subsidise offshore wind and new nuclear power stations are collected via the electricity bill, without much concern for people’s ability to pay. Inflation is on the up, low-income workers will be hit by the national insurance rise more than high earners, and a cut to universal credit is looming. The increase in energy bills causes the same size wound in the finances of comfortable households and precarious ones, but it barely marks the flesh of the well-off, and cuts the poorer to the bone.

James Meek, On the Boil

[sunkistjello]

Happy birthday @ectoplasmicdragon !! I doodled you some stuff (; <> ;)/

[shadowtarot]

Wild Card Theory: The True Potential And Power They Hold

As I was browsing through Arena’s various stories, a particular one caught my interest. That of Elizabeth’s. But not for the details of her own Journey, but rather what she faced...and how it connects to several things. 

Have the Wild Cards been holding back with their powers, even when faced with their ultimate threats?

Another absurd claim is probably what this seems like at first. But there’s a lot of evidence to support this from just about every game that’s been released since the concept of the Wild Card has been introduced into the series. But I’m going to go a bit out of order here. So let’s talk first about Akechi.

An outlier in the grand sceme of Wild Cards, he doesn’t seem to have much going for him. Two Persona to his name? A power all his own that no one else has? Not that big of a deal, right? Well I’d like to refer you to this post of mine from a while back. 

Sounds like my Yu post from before right? Forced awakening combined with a restrain of power and ability to forge bonds. Akechi is or perhaps rather, was living proof that you can try to strip a Wild Card of most everything they have, and they can still manage to undermine you in some fashion. He still formed one bond in the end after all. And he still had his ability to cause Psychotic Breakdowns.

So how much stronger would Akechi be if he wasn’t held back? Well maybe I should remind you of a line stated by Makoto after the boss fight: “We were only able to win because we all worked together” 

Akechi is restrained, mind you, so even then he’s still such a threat that it takes a whole team just to outmatch him. And given his antagonistic nature and the fact he was legit trying to kill the thieves, he probally would have been able to should there be no restraints whatsoever on him.

Which brings us to Minato, Yu and Ren. 

These three have stayed on the right path their whole Jouneys, and reaped the rewards of Bonds as a result. But they never seem to go overkill.

Except, there is a few times where they do. 

For Minato in the Movies, or rather Makoto in this case, he acts with reckless abandon as he uses Orpheus, never even letting his teammates get many hits in once he arrives on the scene back in the first Movie. As the Movies go on, of course he starts to work better with his friends. But...he always had the potenal to get worse. And it all comes down to one thing:

Think back to Akechi and how unhinged he was. He had NO BONDS. Left unchecked, this could be the fate of Minato, Yu and Ren. The power of the Wild Card, while a blessing given it’s over all rarity, is also a bit of a curse.

The power it holds far exceeds that of any average Persona user, as the power of limitless possibility. Zero.

It’s tempting.

Powerful.

And it’s a gift that comes only to those who have shouldered something tragic, but have the willpower to shift that experience into something positive. 

 It may be loss.

Miss-treatment

Displacement

Or Injustice

The power granted by fate, if left to run free, can cause trouble. 

This is why the contract exists. Not to allow access to Velvet Room, but to make sure this power is monitored. 

Akechi and Sho both are examples of what can happen if the Power of the Wild Card is left without someone to watch over it and with no bonds to their name. Even restrained, it can kill thousands. 

Even if premature, it has the power to go up against a god.

Even if the World is never obtained, it can still be deadly. 

But even with all of that...is that truly the limit? 

When Yu is defeated by Elizabeth in her story, his friends rush to his aide and despite his injuries quite possibly making him slowly bleed out, he stands up and power radiates from him that scares her.

Nothing in any Persona game has ever been able to shake an Attendant. And it was revealed to be connected to Yu’s bonds. We never get to see just what this sudden and dramatic spike in Yu’s Spitrual power is, but this is proof of one thing.

When a Wild Card is down to their last bits of life....a new form of power shall shine through. 

As their own personal chains break.

[rkxroyal]

evening blues,

@rkzyx

as fun as filming love poten was and the promotions that subsequently followed-- woohyun is tired. and he's happy for  bit more freetime to focus on practicing and preparation when he's finally released from it. the episodes still release, and that's enough for him. he gets home a bit earlier now it feels like-- every moment counting to extra rest now that he isn't spending it catching up on keeping up with the constant movement that convex is on.

he rubs the side of his neck, lightly hitting at the base of his neck to work out the strain in it. he needs to spend a bit more time in the gym, a bit more time doing warmups. he's got to keep himself in tiptop shape as he ages, and the more they promote the harder it is. woohyun's determined to keep pushing forward, taking whatever cautions as necessary to ensure he's what sphere expects of him for convex. he shuffles his feet on the floor of the dorm, peering into the kitchen after dropping off his things.

"yixing-ah," he greets happily. his tone is still tinged with fatigue, but his smile is as bright as even. "ooh, late night snack? let hyung have some~" he says cutely, shuffling over.

[rkwendy]

Though My Heart Tells Me

AND*ROMA Gyeoul February 2020 Schedule Practicing and Recording “Though My Heart Tells Me” (Love Poten OST) 

When their manager calls in Wendy for a meeting, she isn’t quite sure what to expect. There’s so many things that could happen. It could be about her re-entry to Yonsei, something she did... God forbid she got in trouble. However all those fears are laid to rest as soon as the bomb drops on her. 

It’s the soundtrack for a web drama that will be airing soon, and someone in the team wants her to sing it.

Holy shit. 

This has to be some joke right? She almost says as much to the manager, but she keeps quiet. For a rookie like herself, she hadn’t expected to catch the eye, or in this case, ears of any producers. She It doesn’t feel real until the lyrics and the audio demo are handed to her. She can’t help the giddy smile she lets slip once she confirms that this isn’t a dream. 

This is the first time she gets to do something on her own, without the other girls. She has to represent the team well. 

Holy shit intensifies. 

Recalling her list of goals for this year, one of the items on her list was to record an OST. After all, that was one way to get her name (and her group’s) out to people who don’t pay attention to idols. She wasn’t exactly skilled at variety and wouldn’t be the first choice for acting roles. Besides, singing is what she does best anyway. Wendy has always wanted to sing for dramas. Although this is a web drama, she’s assured that she’s heading in the right direction. 

She listens to the demo as she studies the lyrics. It’s a sad, emotional ballad about a love that’s trying to be saved. The more Wendy listens to it, the more she wonders how the drama will go. Apparently, it stars Royal subaenim of CONVEX and her friend Sejeong. She makes a mental note to send Sejeong a congratulatory email, in case the other girl still doesn’t have a phone.  

She gets to work on mastering her lyrics, both for the soundtrack and their comeback single. It can be a bit confusing mixing up both at first. There had been instances wherein she accidentally sang the lyrics of “Cushion” to the tune of the soundtrack... leading to comedic results. Sometimes, it had been the other way around, to even more bizarre results. 

On recording day, Wendy brings over energy drinks and food to give to the song’s producers and the drama staff present at the recording. After all, she has to make a good impression on them. She asks both the producer and the drama staff as many questions as she can just to get a better feel of the song’s story and message. However, when she asked for any potential spoilers, all Wendy got was a shrug from the song producer and a secretive smile from the drama crew. 

If Wendy thought memorizing and getting the song right was the challenge, she ended up being proven wrong. She had been focused on singing the song correctly that she hadn’t had time to internalize the feelings required for her to sing it. “I know you can do it,” the director says. “Imagine yourself going through a difficult relationship that you think is still worth saving. You’re desperate, but you’re still strong.” 

It’s particularly difficult trying to capture the emotions of the song, as it’s not exactly something she has experienced. However, Wendy likes to think she has enough imagination. Wendy blinks as she tries figuring out what the producer is saying. All relationships are difficult, aren’t they? 

However, it suddenly hits her. It’s difficult to have a relationship with her line of work, isn’t it? She realizes that one day, Hugo oppa can wake up and decide that he’s tired of her. After all, she isn’t the easiest to love. She’s not affectionate. She can’t express her emotions well. Wendy is cold, rational, and realistic. She lacks the warmth and softness required to be a good girlfriend despite her best efforts. 

“We can’t break up, we can’t get farther apart” she sings to the producer, trying to imagine she was saying it to Hugo oppa. 

“That’s the feeling we’ve been looking for!” the producer says, relief evident in his voice. “Keep going. You’re on the right track.” 

Wendy lets out a sigh of relief. At least they can finally record the song without her having to overthink the emotions. Now that she knows how she’s supposed to sound, she confidently steps back in the live room. 

Wendy completes recording the song after a few changes, restarts, and technical difficulties. One take had her laughing when the producer accidentally shouted into the microphone after a drama staff member stepped on his foot. 

It’s difficult imagining herself in the shoes of the song’s persona, but the thought of losing Hugo oppa scares her more than she’d like to admit. Wendy’s always tried being more affectionate and loving. It’s something she has to consciously practice. 

No more, you can’t know about this Even if you’re a bit far away, that’s enough for me Because my precious love, my hidden love Resembles you so much Even though my heart tells me

“And that was perfect! No more. We’re done here!” the producer says as soon as the last notes of the song fade away. Wendy smiles in relief as she finally lets go of the sad and heavy emotions she had been keeping with her while recording the song. 

Wendy finally steps out of the live room, bowing in thanks at everyone who helped with the recording. She makes sure to thank everyone for their hard work, expressing her best wishes for the upcoming web drama. 

“Royal sunbae, fighting! Sejeong sunbae, fighting! Love Poten, fighting!” 

[morgan-n-cheese-91]

I got the littles of almost everyone of those girls above when I was kid. They were some of my first introductions into history through a woman's eye and history in general. Kaya started my interest into Native American's (I'm a pale white girl) which got me into learning so much about the culture and the wrongs my country did to her people. The American girl doll books are all amazing history books that teach so much to young girls. I waiting for someone to mention Caroline. I love her. Like I said before I'm a pale white girl but I also have the unruly locks of Caroline and blue green eyes, and for one of the first times I saw a girl who looked like me be a strong brave courageous woman, and I know that the other dolls did the exact same thing to other girls, too. Someone also brought up the Care and Keepings of you. I read the younger girls guide like 30 times right before I hit puberty and the older girls guide like 40 after puberty started. Hell I still reference it sometimes. They were and are amazing because they are a resource that doesn't force girls into the potenal awkwardness of talking to either their mom or an aunt and an even better one for girls who don't have a woman they can talk to at home. So don't give American Girl Doll crap. They are doing good in this world.

American Girl stories were the best tbh