#The names are pulled around from the various voice actors/real names based on character names which was Quite fun

[sysig]

The brainworms are winning, clearly (Patreon)

[seokiloquy]

Game Cartridges - Kenma Kozume

Au: Regular/Gaming

Requested

Tags/Warnings:  GN! Reader, short and fluffy, Time Skip spoilers

Word Count: 2.1k+

"Lev, are you almost done?"

A deep raspy voice echoed into the gym, loud and authoritative, startling the volleyball players. Once all eyes turned your way, you laughed, letting your natural voice still the silent atmosphere. Your hand smacked the metal door as you hunched over, gasping for air between each series of laughs. 

Lev, who had just landed from a spike, opened his mouth in a loud cheer at the sight of your slumped form in the door. “(Y/N)!”

You straightened your spine, sighing as you watched Lev’s nose get caught on the mesh net as he tried to limbo under it. He looked like a pig for a moment, before the bottom of the net snapped and Lev ungracefully fell on his face.

“Ow.”

As he laid flatly on the gym floor, Kuroo —who you managed to identify based on Lev’s description (though you did expect a comical beak to be attached to his muzzle)— walked over, thumbs playing with the waistband of his shorts. Before he started to talk, you leaned over, looking behind him to see a partially blond boy dig the toe of his shoe into your tall friend’s side. Kozume Kenma.

The rooster in front of you started to speak. “You sure gave us all a shock. Thought you were a janitor coming to kick us out,” he chuckled, lifting a hand off his hip to scratch the back of his head.

“Ya sorry, Lev just finds that voice creepy so I use it every now and then to scare him.”

Kuroo sidestepped as his hand moved to gesture you inside. “So, you’re a voice actor?”

“That’s the plan at least.” You bowed and walked to the bench that was pressed against the wall, a small bag swinging over your shoulder. The old man, Nekomata, gave you a wrinkly grin as you sat next to him, watching your hands as you pulled out a DS from your small bag.

Kuroo smiled, snapping his head to the clock before looking over his teammates.“Nekomata, should we start cleaning up?”

The couch hummed thoughtfully, turning his attention away from you and onto the team captain. “We still have a half-hour before our practice is officially over. How about we do 3 vs 3, to, ah, 7 points?” He then turned his attention to Lev, who was rubbing his nose as he got to his feet. “Pair up evenly for the beginning, the odd player out will be keeping track of scores and rotate into the next team. Got it?”

Lev raised his hand. “Can you explain the rotation again?”

You looked up from your handheld console to give your friend a deadpan look. Nekomata laughed before answering, “The odd player will take out a player of the next team and so on to keep teams fresh. Got it?”

The Silver hair boy hummed, standing to his full height. “Got it.”

As players dispersed randomly, not selecting any teammates, in particular, to play with, you were vaguely aware of the new bodies that came to sit alongside you on the bench. Instead of looking up to whichever boy had chosen to take the spot next to you, you kept your head down as you played on your DS.

“Ah.” Quiet

“Um.” Again.

Sighing you turned your head on a swivel to the blond boy who sat next to you. His head was downcast but through the dyed strands, you could see his eyes flicker from his fidgeting fingers to the device in your hands. His eyes shot up to meet yours before quickly turning away.

You wore a kind smirk. “Need something?”

Kozume turned his head slowly, pointing to your small bag that was laid open, exposing the variety of games you owned. In a calm voice, “You have lots of games, why are you playing Nintendogs?”

You laughed looking back down at your small virtual pet. “Well, a lot of those I haven’t started yet, Lev gave them to me yesterday as a gift. And well, I’m only going to be waiting for about 30 minutes for you guys to finish before we leave, so I don’t really want to start something new.”

You heard the clicking of the plastic game cartridges as Kozume riffled through them. He pulled out one, a Pokemon game you had yet to touch. “Play this.”

“But my dogs.” 

“They aren’t real. Play this, it’s fun.”

Nekoma called for the teams to switch. Kozume stood up but waited for you to take the game out of his hand before he left for the court.

You sighed, pulling Nintendogs out of the DS and putting the Pokemon game in, Pearl, apparently. 

“Your name is (Y/N), right?”

“(L/N) (Y/N), ya.”

Kozume hummed, before stepping onto the court, letting a sweaty Lev fall into the spot he had previously occupied.

Another day, another practice and you were back to sitting next to Nekomata, waiting. Occasionally, you looked up from your DS to see the two setters toss a ball up for the players to hit, watching as the players ducked under the net to collect their balls. 

Once their final water break came around, Kozume, who had been eyeing your DS since you sat down, shuffled to sit beside you. “Ah, use the water attack.”

“Are you sure?” you asked, head tilting as you showed him your progress.

“Hmm, gym battles are mostly element-based, you want to use mostly water attacks for this one.”

Nodding, you clicked the option Kozume had so helpfully pointed out. “I know nothing about how to play this.” The battle ended, giving you a pretty badge, to which you realized there were more empty slots to fill. “Damn it.” You turned to see partially bleached blond chugging back his water. “Kozume, could you help me with the other gyms?”

“Kenma is fine. And I could, but you’d probably have to be here for that, you have to find the other gyms after all.”

The wince you wore caught his attention. Hissing you dropped your hands into your lap, still holding the sides of your plastic game. “I’m not sure how possible that would be. My luck is just running out isn’t it.” He kept watching, half-listening to Nekomata as he explained the cooldown drill before practice ended. You pulled out your little red flip phone from the side pocket of your back. “Put in your email. I’ll message you and give you my contact.”

Taking the device from your hand he quickly typed out his address before dropping it unceremoniously into your bag and running onto the court with his teammates. You smiled at the sight of his hair bouncing before your smile dropped and your head lowered to look back down at the game in your lap. The colours on the screen seemed a bit dimmer.

Where did the Pokemon go?

Kenma had quickly become your go-to Pokemon consultant. Always there in your time of need.

Which one?

He responded quickly, which helped.

Uh, one of the three ones? I was trying to catch it but it’s not there anymore. I tried dropping revival items and stuff but it’s not there.

(Y/N) did you kill it?

….Maybe?

Reload the game.

I’ve done that.

Did you save after you defeated it?

Messages with Kenma typically surrounded classes and videogames, more so the latter. With that though, came a sense of consistency with messages outside of active school hours and giving your mind a constant timeline to follow throughout the chaos that surrounded you.

Ya, I had to save my progress.

It took a minute for him to respond, but you could feel the sorrow radiating off him through the screen.

You’re going to need to restart the game if you want to continue.

Shit. Well then, got any other recommended games? Ideally RPGs.

Plenty.

After many practices with your presence sitting silently against the wall, Kenma was surprised when the end of practice came around, and you were nowhere in sight. Kenma pushed the rolling basket of volleyballs up next to Lev as they gathered up all the equipment.

“Where’s (Y/N)?” he asked, crouching down to pick up a stray ball.

Lev lowered his chin to see the setter clearly. He hummed, “Ah, I think it was called, New York?”

Kenma paused, dropping the volleyball into the basket with cold hands. “What?”

“They moved to the USA. I don’t think that they’re going to be there forever though. But Mr. (L/N) got a job there from what I remember. They were staying with my family before they moved.”

Kenma’s nose scrunched. “Why did I have to make friends with someone who was moving away? You’re terrible, Lev.” He gripped the blue fabric of the basket a bit tighter and began pushing it into the storage closet, grumbling.

“What did I do?”

After practice, Kenma quickly got to his phone, typing away as he walked home alongside Kuroo.

Your response, despite being in a different time zone, was quick.

IM SO SORRY I TOTALLY FORGOT!!! I just liked talking to you and it slipped my mind whenever you were around

Kenma sighed, washing away the anxious feeling in his chest. 

Another email came through.

I’m only going to be here for a couple years, then I’m going to come back. Messages may be slow because of time and all, but I’ll always respond.

You didn’t lie that day. You were always quick to send a message back, but over time those messages stopped coming and you didn’t have the heart to send anything in return.

You’d ponder on it occasionally, hoping that all it was, was forgetfulness, or a changed contact. But after a couple years, it was easier not to think about it, and go on with life and pursuing your passion.

“Stop spamming the chat guys, please,” Kenma grumbled, wincing at the repetitive notifications that rang in his ear. Turning to look at the live responses, he paused the stream of messages to read over a few. “You’ll stop once I start playing? Fine, fine. Let me get it booted up.”

As he pulled up the Japan-made open-world RPG that had been released for Beta earlier that week, the chat went into a flurry of excitement, with various images and repetitive cheers rolling by.

Kenma turned to face his main screen as The main intro to the game played with a flurry of colour. The chat increased in speed as the two-player options appeared on screen, ready to be selected. When his mouth moved over one of the characters they moved, reciting a line.

“Oh they’re voices are nice.”

The chat exploded again.

(Y/N)

(Y/N)’s voice is great!

They do both of the MCs voices

All the talent 

Selecting the male character, Kenma listened to the boyish tone, furrowing his boy as he caught sight of the name being repeated over and over again in the chat.

“(Y/N)? That sounds familiar, are they in an anime?”

The chat responded with a list. 

Tilting his head, Kenma pulled out his phone as the game began to load, talking out loud for the viewers of his stream.

“(Y/N). that sounds familiar.” He entered the search for the game’s voice cast. Immediately seeing a familiar portrait at the top of the list.

The chat quickly caught on to Kenma’s look of surprise and started spamming again.

“(Y/N)?! Ah! I know them! It’s been years!”

Ignoring the chat and fully loaded game for a moment, Kenma smiled at the image of an older you on his phone screen. Putting down his phone and sitting straighter, he looked at the camera that was focused on his face.

“Hmm, this makes me want to play Pokemon. Maybe later. Time to start this.”

I was going to write a full-length fic with this au but…. You know how it goes.

Short and fluffy cause I have to get back into the groove of writing after 2 months. Ahaha. I finished all of One Piece this week (when I wrote this), 966(now 971) episodes thus far and all the movies. Makes me want to write for it. Maybe If Kiwi watches it I will. 

….If I do, it’ll probably go on Ao3… but if you’re reading this and want me to…. Let me know… I’m tempted.

Kiwi. Watch One Piece so you can edit One Piece fanfiction that I’ll probably never write…. Unless. - Bacon

Maybeeee I can still edit without watching it thoughhhh. I’d edit whatever you’d me too - Kiwi

Unless!- Bacon

Posted: 25/04/2021

[magalidragon]

n°2 - “Have I already told you how cute you look?”

Thank you fluff Queen!💕

Eeeee! Let us return them to all the world’s a stage with these sweet beans and our favorite douchy Uncle Viserys! Bonus points because I included supportive brother Vis!

2. “Have I already told you how cute you look?”

Romantic One Liner Prompts

There were many things Jon Snow had been able to escape, but this was not one of them. He could get out of red carpet events, interviews, and galas. He could weasel himself out of parent-teacher conferences, playdates, and other various responsibilities that he just felt like at the time were contrary to his mood, his muse, and his creative drive.

This was not one of them.

Dany knew he didn't want to escape the event itself, but the way in which he had to attend the event, that was something he couldn't get out of. He made a fuss, wanting to know how come he couldn't just go as a side character, as the supportive husband, what have you, but nope.

"Have I told you how cute you look?"

He scowled, tugging down the very tight white vest, with its shimmery silver thread, the white pants tucked into tall boots, and accompanying plastic sword. "Not in the last five minutes."

"Well you look so cute. My perfect Prince Charming."

"Mummy!"

She glanced down at her daughter, who was wearing the dragon costume, a bright jade and lime green creation, toddling towards her. She chuckled, kneeling and lifted her baby dragon into her arms, kissing Lyella's sticky cheek. She frowned, taking the lollipop from her. "Where did you get this?"

"Vizzy!"

Ugh, my brother. The villain himself, Sorcerer Dread the Night King-- redundant name-- happened to be hiding away, because he didn't want to be seen in the campy black and red costume of the villain from Princess Periwinkle. She plucked the lollipop from her three-year-old, wagging it at her. "No candy."

Lyella pouted, sticking her tongue out. "Mummy, not Charming."

Jon burst out laughing. "You're not charming!"

"No, you are not Charming." Her words were thick and she pointed, scowling at her father. "Prince Kit."

Dany's brows arched, countering her husband, whose mouth fell slightly. "Ha! She knows your character. You aren't Prince Charming, you're Prince Kit of Catesby. Get it right."

"He's a complete buffoon!"

"He's the comic relief."

Jon huffed, tugging at the tight pants, which conformed very nice to his shapely thighs and his even better arse. He'd forgone the codpiece, although she suggested it for later. He plucked at the spandex fabric, wincing. "Dany! They're going up my arse!"

"It's such a lovely arse."

"It's a children's hospital!"

She laughed. "Don't worry, I'm the only one looking at that bum." She walked by, smacking it and he jumped, but his pupils dilated, a low growl caught in his throat. Her voice dropped, whispering. "And if anyone else does they have me to deal with."

"Yes my Queen."

"Princess!"

Lyella was not wrong there; she was indeed Princess Periwinkle, in the lilac costume, with its yards of sparkling tulle, ribbons, and accessories, making her resemble a disco ball. She had gone all out this time, for the children's hospital's annual fundraising event, a worthy cause to return to Princess Periwinkle. And she managed to convince her husband, child-- that was not difficult at all-- and her brother.

She furrowed her brow. "Where is my brother?"

"Do we really care?" Jon wondered, taking Lyella from her. He sighed at his reflection in the floor-length mirror. "Best get on with it."

"The children thank you for your sacrifice, Prince Kit of Catesby," she laughed, pinching his bum on the way out the door and down the stairs.

At the base of the staircase, near the open door, Davos was waiting with Missandei. She posed for a few candid shots that her best friend took, laughing at the silliness of it all. She hopped off the bottom step, turning and hollered up, hands cupped over her mouth to magnify her voice. "Oi! Get your skinny arse down here Vis!"

"No! Not until I'm high enough!"

"I will come up there and drag you out myself and we both know who the real dragon is in this family!"

A door slammed somewhere in Vis's Wing of Darkness, where no one ventured unless they had all their shots and a death wish. He emerged from the shadows, glowering, his silver hair cut off and sweeping over his forehead in a new style that he'd only gotten because Leylla had found bubblegum and decided to play with it while he'd been passed out. Sadly, the silver tresses had had to go.

It suited him, the short hair, she thought, laughing as he descended in the red and black caped costume, resembling a magician rather than an actual villain. Lyella reached for him. "Vizzy!" she shouted. She simpered. "I love you."

"Ugh," he complained, but it was all for show. He shook his head, disgusted. "I cannot believe I am doing this!"

"Think of the happiness you will be providing to the children," Jon said. He closed his eyes, sighing. "Never mind, that would require you to have a heart."

Not that her brother heard him, as Viserys's eyes had glazed over, dollar signs obviously pulsing from them. He glanced between them both, salivating. "Oh, yes....I like this...I understand now...You both are going to do this on camera, right?"

"No!" they shouted.

Dany punched his shoulder. "It's for charity Vis, not attention. The hospital will put out a press release and some choice photos, but that is not the point of this. It's to provide these children a break from the fact they are locked in a hospital fighting for their lives." She grabbed his arm, pulling him to the door. "Even you can spare the single cell in your heart for that. Now come on, we'll be late."

They got to the hospital, which had already prepared a large room for the children, and she swept in, in full Princess Periwinkle, keeping her emotions at bay. Each time she saw the children, so many of them with visible signs of their illnesses and conditions, it broke her heart. It made her grateful every second for her healthy child and simultaneously guilty too, because her baby was healthy and these parents were going through her worst nightmare.

She pressed it down, taking in their gleeful faces, all of them forgetting where they were, because Princess Periwinkle had decided to visit. They were delighted to see her little dragon with her along with Prince Kit of Catesby, the two of them taking seats at the front, and she began to weave a tale, dramatically beginning: "Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a princess, who only ever wanted to live a normal life, but alas, she could not, because this princess, well she was different..."

It was a childish telling of her story with Jon, one she'd come up with for the event, and she caught his sight, when he realized it, and beamed. He began to weave in his own story-- he was the true storyteller of them both-- forgetting that he hated actors and became one himself. Even Lyella joined in, crawling across the floor and pretending to 'rawr' when necessary.

And then Viserys jumped in, the villain, and everyone shouted and with the plastic swords they'd been given, attacked him and beat him back-- she failed to tell him that part-- concluding the harrowing tale with Princess Periwinkle donning the crown and wielding the Sword of Truth, vowing to always be herself, no matter what anyone thought.

"Because being yourself is the best happiness you can have at all," she ended, sweeping into a curtsey.

One of the children waved their hands, shouting. "But what about prince Kit? And the Princess?"

Jon swept her into his arms, placing a kiss lightly to her lips, half the crowd (mostly girls) cooing and the other half (mostly boys) gagging at the display of affection. His smile radiated pure joy at her. "And they lived..."

"Happily ever after!" everyone exclaimed.

Dany chuckled, accepting the second kiss her husband-- and her true prince-- dropped to her mouth. She picked up Lyella, handing her off so Jon could sign autographs as "Prince Kit" and caught sight of Vis, who was fussing with a makeup mirror in the corner. She furrowed her brow, concerned, and went to him, voice soft. "VIs? You alright?"

"Allergies," he said airily.

Her eyes widened, recognizing the shine in his lilac irises. He ducked his head away, sniffing and dusted his nose with powder. "Vis are you..." This has never happened before, what do I do? "Are you crying?"

"No!"

She laughed, reaching up and hugged him, ignoring his stiff posture until he relaxed into her. She kissed his cheek, murmuring. "You like to be the villain, dear brother, but you're really not. Maybe in another story, but not this one." She broke away, just in time for a photographer to come by and take a snap, of Vis still holding his arms around her shoulders briefly, the two silver-haired Targaryens smiling at each other.

That evening, after they had returned home, with Lyella fast asleep in her Uncle Vizzy's arms-- and photos taken to prove to Viserys that he did love his niece contrary to his protests-- Dany left them on the couch where they'd fallen, and journeyed up to her wing of the townhouse, discovering her prince was still in his costume, playing with the plastic sword.

She watched him a moment, until he saw her reflection in the mirror by the bathroom, and froze. "HOw long have you been standing there?" he demanded.

"Long enough."

He spun on his heel, smirking. He fiddled with the sword. "Been awhile since I actually wielded Longclaw, I was practicing."

She laughed, closing the door, and on a whim, flicked the lock. He arched his brow, a smile curving up slyly. "What are you doing Princess Periwinkle?"

"I seem to have lost my sword, perhaps you can help me find it."

"Hmm....I don't know where it possibly could be."

She tugged him by the belt, towards the bed, and laughed, falling backwards into the voluminous tulle skirts. "I think I have an idea, for your pants are so tight, my prince."

"I knew there had to be a reason for it."

"Let me help you with them."

"Oh thank you princess, I am most grateful."

Dany nipped his lower lip, giggling. "So show me."

[stebeans]

She-ra inspired Actor AU - I

Maya Sanchez as Catra

Taylor Cruz as Adora

Jessica Cho as Glimmer 

Marcus Patterson as Bow

A She-ra Actor AU fic where She-ra and the Princesses of Power is a popular tv series and our lovable characters are played by actresses/actors. Inspired by the amazing fanart and concept by @sunzho and @hey_adora on instagram #cayaactorau, see link below and please follow them! 

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cayaactorau/

P.S. I also changed the “real-life” name for Adora’s actress that sunzho and hey_adora came up with from Claire Cruz to Taylor Cruz . Not that I hated the name but I have bad experiences with Claire’s in my life and it felt odd on my part to write about a character with the same name...please forgive me!

But also! ship name for these two...Maylor? Maytay? I am horrible at this, I’ll admit.

Anyways I have a few head-cannons for this AU and I have a few snippets I would like to write. But this is the first of many! Please enjoy!

First Meeting

Maya glanced around the waiting room, her fingers playing with the worn and crumpled script in her hands. This was the first time she was auditioning for a part larger than the “background Latino girl” of a typical low-budget high school movie and to say she was nervous would be an understatement. Her agent had mentioned that the showrunners were open minded and there wasn’t any clear restrictions on the lead character but despite that, the waiting room was filled with the stereotypical tall, thin, blonde and ridiculously hot actresses that seemed to be overrun in LA. Seriously, what was in the water? It was clear as day that Maya stood out like a sore thumb with her dark skin, darker hair, with freckles that sprinkled across her cheeks and who stood at five-foot two inches on a good day.

Her mom had use to accompany her through many of her auditions, kind and supportive and not at all like the overbearing mothers she had come across in her earlier days when she was just a teen trying to break into show business. When she had hit seventeen she had finally convinced her mom that she was old enough to venture to auditions on her own. Her brothers, all older than she was, needed more supervision than a tub of ice cream on a hot summer day. Now she wished for her mom’s calming presence.

“Do you mind?” The aspiring actress next to her snapped, eyes narrowing at the way Maya had been unconsciously bouncing her leg in a staccato rhythm.

Immediately freezing, Maya shot her a sheepish look. “Sorry.” She apologized, wringing the script in her hands into a roll. “Just a little nervous I guess.”

“Yeah, no shit.” The blonde rolled her eyes before turning into her seat that put her back to Maya, effectively closing Maya off to the conversation she was having with the person on the other side.

Heat rose up Maya’s neck, across her cheeks and even up to her ears. Embarrassed, Maya’s eyes shot down to her lap where she smoothed out the script for the hundredth time. The cover page – white, crisp text and simple as was the industry standard— read:

                                             SHE-RA REBOOT

                                                    written by

                                               Noelle Stevenson

                                             based on the series

                                   She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985)

Honestly, Maya had never even heard of She-ra, didn’t have a clue what it was all about besides concluding that She-ra was indeed a person. A heroine actually. Plot, characters, villains were still a mystery as it was way before her time. Her three older brothers, the youngest was five years older than her, had teased her relentlessly as brothers do prior to the audition. They had puffed out their chest, calling out for He-man before striking obnoxious power poses and pitching their voices to imitate a ridiculous feline accent that more often than not, was interjected with an annoying “meow”.  Ugh, if the reboot was anything like how her brothers pitched it, maybe it wouldn’t be too awful if she was passed up. Not that the images that popped up when she had done a quick google search was very impressing either. Too much skin, not enough clothes, and that was for both sexes…species…whatever! What was this show even about?

Now she was even more nervous for different reasons. She couldn’t even imagine herself being so exposed with the lack of fabric the costumes required. Pulling the sleeves of her over-sized hoodie over her fingers, Maya resisted the urge to bounce her leg again lest the blonde turn back around and give her a black eye. Nope. Black eyes were definitely not a good look when trying to land a role.  

The door to the small waiting room the actresses had been herded into swung open with a bang, bouncing off the door stop and nearly pulling the door off its hinges. Another blonde walked through and unlike the other blondes in the room, Maya couldn’t tell if she was a staff member or an actress. Besides the blue-eyed, blonde haired look almost all the girls in the room were sporting this one was different from the rest. She looked…hard, rough around the edges. Her blue eyes cut through the room, lingering on Maya for a brief second before finding nothing of interest. She blew out a bubble with her pink gum as she weaved her way through the room, slightly hunched over with her hands buried deep in her black leather jacket. The girl had three too many piercing deemed respectable in Hollywood and Maya wouldn’t be surprised if she had other…non-visible piercings or tattoos for that matter.

The girl’s entrance had captured the majority of the room’s attention. Conversations and idle chatter had quieted as everyone watched her sign in at the check-in station. “Seriously?” The bitch next to Maya muttered in disbelief. “Her?”

No one had bothered to comment as the girl strolled up to where they were seated, her eyes cutting to Maya’s before raising a perfectly pierced eyebrow at her. Gulping, Maya tilted her head up in confusion. Jeez, the girl was taller than Maya had initially thought and super attractive too. When it was obvious Maya wasn’t going to make a move, the newcomer stared pointedly at Maya, than at the tattered backpack at her feet – now noticing how it effectively blocked the walking path –  and back up at Maya. Flushing, or had she ever stopped blushing? “Right!” Maya leaned forward and jerkily tugged her backpack onto her lap. “Sorry!”

Either Maya was stronger than she looked or her bag was in worst shape than it appeared – most likely, almost definitely the latter – because the zipper of her backpack decided that yes, this was the most opportune time to break and to spill its contents across the floor. “Shit!” Maya cursed, hurrying to grab her items before she caused a bigger scene.

A few snickers echoed the room and a sharp “what the fuck?” from beside her had Maya wishing the floor would just open up and swallow her whole. Mercifully the rough-looking blonde didn’t say anything but she wasn’t exactly helpful either, opting to stand and watch idly while Maya hastily shoved various things into her bag. Her physics and mathematics AP textbook, a graphic calculator, her phone, a windbreaker jacket, and embarrassingly enough her dusty and dirty softball jersey had fallen out too. “Fucking loser. Go back to whatever hick country you’re from.”  

“Hey!”

Maya looked up startled, her fingers wrapped around her backpack in a white-knuckled grip. The girl had pulled her hands from out of her leather jacket and now had them curled up in tight fists, eyes narrowed in a dangerous glare that made Maya nervous even though it wasn’t directed at her but at the blonde next to her who’ve been making comments all day. “Fuck off. She’s fine.”    

Thankfully smart-mouth decided to keep her mouth shut, though her lips pursed in distaste. She obviously wasn’t dumb enough to pick a fight with the girl who looked like she could bench two hundred pounds no problem. They glared at each other for what seemed like eternity, the room tense and quiet as they were all caught up in the impromptu showdown. Finally smart-mouth caved and looked away and the tension eased. No catfight here. No sir, not today. We’re all professionals here.

Though if it did come to blows, Maya was willing to bet her whole savings on who would win that particular fight. “Ignore her.” The girl said. “She’s a bitch.”

Maya noticed in her peripherals that smart-mouth had stiffened at the comment but didn’t react otherwise. Thank God. Maya definitely did not want to be pulled in whatever might transpire. She was already at a disadvantage. She didn’t want to be known as “That-Latino-Girl-That-Starts-Fights-In-Waiting-Rooms”. It was a more of a mouthful than “successful actress Maya Sanchez”.  

The girl bent down, picking up the old softball that had rolled against her Converses. She tossed it gently in the air, catching it with one hand before handing it over to Maya. “Thanks.” Maya said softly, almost a whisper.

The girl nodded once, understanding that the thanks was more for than just returning her softball before settling down in the only free seat a few chairs over from where Maya sat. The wait resumed without more fanfare, thank God again. More names were called and soon enough the waiting room dwindled until there were only a handful of actresses left. “Maya…Sanchez?” A staff called out and Maya stood almost too quickly, nearly tripping over her own feet.

Fuck. She looked like a total loser. Though the only one in the room looking at her was the rough-looking blonde. “Oh!” The staff who previously had his nose glued to his clipboard as if he couldn’t understand the name that was written down, finally looking up with surprise clearly written on his face as he did a once-over at Maya. “Right this way Miss Sanchez.” He directed with a forced smile, re-arranging his expressions to look somewhat professional as Maya followed after him.

There was a quiet laugh behind her and Maya turned slightly to see the first smile on the rough blonde’s face. It was really cute and the smile had stunned Maya enough for her steps to falter. Their eyes caught and the blonde offered a wry grin and a nod of encouragement. Or what Maya perceived as encouragement. She didn’t know the girl at all and she had been quiet ever since the tense exchange. For the few words she did say, half of them had been swear words.

Maya made her way down the corridor into a smaller room where the staff member had left her with a insincere “good luck” and facing a table where three older women sat. Sucking in a deep breath, Maya deposited her bag at the door before making her way to stand in front of them where they politely introduced themselves as the casting director, executive producer and director.  No big deal. They’re just people too. People who may or may not jump start your acting career.

Squaring her shoulders, Maya smiled brightly.

“My name is Maya Sanchez am I am auditioning for the lead role of Adora.”

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

So 5x18...

...Well hot d*mn.

Man when Supergirl fires on all cylinders...HOO BOY.

Case in point: *gestures to all of 5x18*

To be clear: I liked this one.

A WHOLE LOT.

Not that I disliked 5x17, necessarily. It’s just that 5x18 was more... Entertaining? ...I dunno. I dunno how to explain it.

...Okay yes I do and that explanation is: Someone remarked on Kara’s use of language and Kara overcompensated on the ‘NOooOOooOO I’m totally 100% normal!’ AND there was a musical quote AND it was WHILE TEAMING UP WITH ALEX TO FOLLOW A LEAD.

But I’m getting ahead of myself let’s backtrack...

TO THE TOWER! WITH ALEX! NIA! KARA! AND M’GAAAAAANNNNN!!!!!!

June Foray voice: WOULD YOU LIKE TO STAY FOREVER?!?!?!

I know I’m not the first person to make that reference but it’s always fitting and, for real, recurring character status WHEN. (I mean. Obviously I would prefer series regular but that feels like a big ask considering that all future TV production is...uh. Ah. Erm....

...Up in the air. At the moment.)

And then we check in with the Luthors and Non Nocere isn’t working???

I am shocked! Shocked, I say!

And then we’ve got Obsidian doing something ill-advised which is basically the company’s MO at this point but KELLY AND WILLIAM ARE ON THE CASE REGARDLESS.

(So that’s kinda the one thing I’m sad about re: the Crisis reset; Andrea’s character development. But she’s sticking around for next season so I’m not too upset that she remains...kinda...one note for now.)

And THEN the library scene. 

It was so gooooood.

Then Leviathan and okay. Alright. Okay. Huge points in this episode’s favor: Rama Khan feels like a far more significant threat. And I feel like 80% of that is the fact that they just let him wear normal clothes. Thank you, show. Thank. You.

Also the rock effects were way better in this episode because they weren’t footing the bill for a giant crossover episode this time around

I am a little confused, though, by what has and has not happened with regards to Rama Khan on Earth Prime. Did the pre-Crisis stuff...happen? The dialogue...kinda made it hard to decide one way or the other. ‘He hasn’t been seen on this Earth for 100s of years’ but then also, ‘a chilly place you know quite well.’ So...he...did go to the Fortress. And fight Kara? But...all that stuff before Crisis...???

...Not gonna bother with that right now.

POINT IS...Leviathan is finally like...invested in killing Supergirl* and menacing in a very real way which both raises the stakes and makes it personal and that’s way more interesting than ‘nebulous evil organization that must be stopped.’

*I know they kinda sorta already did the whole, ‘let’s kill the Kryptonian!’ and invaded the Fortress but I don’t know what to tell ya, it was just lackluster.

J’ONN AND M’GAAAAAANNNNN

I am firmly in camp: I don’t care if they’re never green again I love seeing them in the super suits with their human faces IT’S GREAT.

Love that Nia’s snoring interrupts the moment.

Also love the deck of Rama Khan playing cards, that must’ve been a fun project for the graphic designers.

Then we’ve got William and Kara at CatCo and it’s baked goods! A hilarious line delivery by Staz! A ridiculous fabrication involving a shy, violent cat!

...Now I want Alex to actually own a shy, violent cat!

“Cats love me, for some reason.” “Of course they do.”

Side note: Love Kara’s blazer.

And then it’s ALIEEEEEENS TO THE RESCUE!

WHAT A TEAM UP, FOLKS.

We love to see it.

The interrogation scene is good n’ tense and ramps up to a very impressive showdown in the DEO (but BEFORE the sparks really start flying we get that rad shot of Kara leaping through the window and doing the superhero landing and it’s just

Perfection.)

Also perfect? Lex playing a game of transmatter pickle with the prisoners.

Then we jump back to the DEO where things are not going well!

Like, really really bad! 

But J’onn and M’gann save the day! If not the building!

RIP DEO. 2016-2020

Obituary: The DEO headquarters is survived by its elder sibling, the DEO desert base.

Look none of the favs work there anymore save for Kara and Brainy and they’re both gonna be better off working freelance for J’onn but I do expect Brainy to at least pick up some additional cash by working as a Lyft driver next season.

Me, watching the characters struggle to make it in the gig economy: I feel so seen.

The final portion of the episode is just ALL ACTING and I must say...good stuff.

Like. This cast, man. They take the plot points I’ve been ‘meh’ about all season and they turn in some stellar performances and suddenly I’m like STANDING OVATION, CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHERE THIS GOES.

Also, reason #342 I love Jon Cryer’s Lex: that scene with Lena.

Terrifying.

Full disclosure: I went in to this episode fully prepared to be really annoyed with whatever was going to happen with Lena and I still don’t...love the trajectory of this season, being so tied up in her personal drama but. 

But.

Katie McGrath’s performance...went an awful long way here. In making this...not as bad as it could have been.

Like tearfully admitting she was hurt? And that hurt was the basis of all the nonsense she pulled? Finally owning up to the fact that this was never truly about the greater good but that it was all rooted in some personal issues and OUTRIGHT STATING SHE WAS BEHAVING LIKE A VILLAIN????

I am. Extremely impressed.

EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE THOUGH: Kara remaining distant both physically and emotionally throughout that scene! Not in like, a cold uncaring way, but in a, ‘I have emotions and I have a right to feel them and set boundaries in regards to my trusting you right now given all that has transpired’ kind of way.

GOOD. YES. GOOD.

(Lex’s outburst has that kind of same Nice Guy undertone--albeit more pronounced and rage-y--as Lena’s in the Fortress. Like, ‘I supported you and you still rejected my plot to take over the world’ and ‘I was kind to you and you still messed up my mind control’ which...I dunno I might just be digging in too deep here in order to further justify the character turn but I think Cryer’s performance regardless is a really sobering wake up call for Lena, different than Lex stuff we’ve seen before. It’s close and intense and uncomfortable in a way that really sells the motivation.)

“You’re a monster...but that doesn’t mean I have to be one too.”

Wow. Might be...the first time I’ve liked Lena all season.

...whispers: might be the first time I’ve liked her ever at all

For real: credit where it’s due, that was an excellent line read.

*insert applause here*

CUT TO ADORABLE J’ONN AND M’GANN MOMENT 

D’aaaawwwwwwwwww

But, look, it’s a little undermined by the fact that they both gotta try and embrace in those bulky super suits, I’m sorry, it’s true

...Maybe it’s more endearing that way?

HEY remember how I foolishly assumed that the now-unemployed Alex would simply continue to work with J’onn in an investigative capacity and, ya know, NOT jump straight back into costumed badassery? 

HA. HAHA HAHAAAA.

Those leaked set photos make sense now.

OH NO, WILLIAM!

Real glad Staz confirmed he’s returning. Otherwise I would not be able to DEAL WITH THE STRESS.

I already talked a little bit about the loft scene but some additional points! Beautiful lighting. Wonderful score. Excellent performances all around.

A truly great end to a truly great episode.

Like, it makes me retroactively sad, that we’re only getting 5x19, as opposed to 5x19 and 5x20 because I wish that the crew/writers/actors had a little more space to let all of this good work they’ve done settle and breathe. 

(But also, it was good that they stopped production, from a safety standpoint, so. Can’t be too upset.)

And, regardless of how the next episode goes down (b/c I’m gonna be real, SG always does really great set-ups for their season finales and then kinda...rushes to the finish line and that can only be further exacerbated in this particular case) I’m just really impressed with this effort here.  

...but also LET’S TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SOME WILD GUESSES. Specifically, what is Alex’s vigilante name gonna be??? 

...

Alright I generally try to avoid addressing specific fandom complaints in these things b/c I generally try to avoid the fandom itself but of course some stuff has already leaked through all of my blocks/muting so:

‘Lena didn’t apologize!’ The words ‘I’m sorry’ were not said, sure, but 1.) season’s not over and 2.) for Lena, admitting she was wrong is huge. HUUUUUUUGE. It’s solid character growth and I really wish various subsets of fandom would recognize that it’s not fun, when fans hold on to negative stuff from characters’ past and refuse to acknowledge that the characters have changed.

‘Brainy should have seen this coming!’ This one is kind of more down to personal preference I guess but I feel like they’ve established that Brainy’s got a bit of a blindspot due to his feelings about his friends, so I don’t take this as a knock against his intelligence so much as him being stretched fairly thin because he’s playing all sides, and worried about the people he loves. YMMV, though. 

All the ‘fix-it’ stuff re: the last scene, by making Kara immediately forgive Lena. Lose me with that nonsense, bleh. 

[spirit-science-blog]

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a story about the infinite layers between a person's ego and a person's soul, and in that, the self-discovery and expression of the soul through the connection we have with each other. Much of this coming of age story is centered around being an outcast in a world of sameness, telling us of uniqueness, individuality, and that each of us has the potential to live our best lives if we can just get out of our own way. While the story is based in 1991, it relates very well with most demographics of the last 40 years, minus all the mix-tapes, as much of the message is universal to our human consciousness today.

The story was both written and directed by Steven Chbosky, for both the novel and the screenplay - and while generally, we’ll be focusing on the movie, for those interested - the book adds many dimensions to the story that we don’t see in the film. With that, here’s your Spoiler Alert, and here we go!

The film opens and closes with the infinity tunnel, the place which - to the main characters - seems to be a place of pure experience, an experience of the infinite. We see Sam and later Charlie experience this by standing up in the back of a truck, holding their arms out in joyous surrender to the expansive and seemingly never-ending tunnel. There is where we find Charlie's legendary line that became the Tagline of the movie “We are infinite”.

What’s especially amazing and curious about this is that it subtly explores the line between danger and conscious expansion. In the back of the truck, there is a notable sense of danger, as if the truck bounced or a strong wind blew through in the other direction, these kids could fall off the truck and bump their noggins! Yet, in the surrender of the will of the soul, it opens for this expansive experience that few are familiar with, which deepens their connection to themselves, feelings of freedom, and each other.

Now, in the book and a core part of the movie, is that the narrative is told through Charlie writing these letters to us, the audience, essentially providing a more intimate look at what’s going on inside Charlie’s mind and heart. Throughout the story, we peel back the layers of his nature and go deeper into resonance with his soul, but what's more so, we can see the various layers of his personality, both ego, and soul, that are steering the ship of his life.

And truly, one remarkable aspect of this story in particular is that every character feels like real people, which makes it easy for the film to connect well with anyone, as opposed to some of those other Hollywood highschools where everyone is 30… or constantly breaking into song.

But perhaps one of the challenges of going back to high school through this movie is that in a lot of ways, this is really accurate, which brings up all kinds of memories. For myself personally, there’s a lot of this story that just feels like… exactly my high school life.

Take this girl for instance… *play the clips* WHO HURT YOU!?!

But yet - if the story gives us any indication, is that each of us, with our multitude of layers, has this incredible bank of life experience, and all of us have been hurt in some ways, though rarely we show it openly. Throughout the film, we slowly bury deeper into the layers of these characters and explore the abuse that was experienced in childhood, and how they were able to overcome it, and grow as people.

So even as we watch, for those with the heart to explore it, even the people who are not so nice, like the girl in Charlies class, the teacher who calls his student nothing, or Brad and his friends - are all people who are suffering in their own ways, but just haven’t yet faced it within themselves. Perhaps one of the most significant lessons here is that… Hurt people hurt people.

So getting to know Charlie, we learn that he is a young, budding writer, making these journals and describing his life experiences… If we go into our ancient past - we find many legendary sages telling us that it is through our words that we create and steer our lives and reality, and what’s more so, that writing our words give them lasting power, which is why things like journaling and even vision boards can be so powerful both in creating new things in life, and developing wisdom and meaningful self reflection.

Charlie actively demonstrates this throughout the story by the words that he uses while he’s journaling. Early on, he writes about how his old friend and people he used to know don’t want to connect with him, and he says  “well, i’m me, so who am I kidding?” Putting himself down and reinforcing the belief in himself that he’s not worth very much. Yet, he also writes that he wants to make new friends, because he wants to turn things around… and this very intention puts him on the path to actually make some.

Now, the first friend that charlie makes is really his teacher, Paul Rudd, however - charlies own shame prevents him from acknowledging this at the start, but throughout the story, Mr. Rudd essentially becomes charlies guiding mentor, providing him wisdom in the form of books, and supporting him in becoming an intelligent writer.

We are also introduced to Patrick. Patrick really represents the outspoken voice of those who are misrepresented in the world, and one who will stand up for those who are outcasts from society. When we first meet Patrick, he is drawing a beard on himself, pretending to be the shop class teacher, and the teacher comes in and calls him pattycakes. So Patrick says “Look, my name is patrick, so either call me patrick or call me nothing”. And the teacher calls him nothing! In the book, this plays out a bit differently, but we can gleam a lesson here nonetheless.

Because of this exchange, basically all of the kids in school refer to Patrick as nothing. However, by the end of the story we see the transmutation of this energy, as he puts “Nothing hates you” on the top of his hat - owning and even changing the energy, and demonstrating some wisdom and compassion all the same. Nothing hates you, there is only love, get it? Well, this probably went over most people's heads, which... might be a pun, because it was on the top of his hat.

Speaking to friendships, the final of the main trio in the story is Sam. Now the name Sam itself actually translates from Hebrew, meaning “God has Heard” or “Listen, Name of God”, and she plays a significant role not just in her own story, but helping Charlie to open his heart, and supporting him throughout his own self discovery. There is a lesson here too for all of us in the question of - who are we showing up for in our lives? The beautiful thing about Sam is that she really shows up for nearly everyone.

There is a subtle allusion to this in that the first time we see her, she has bright stadium lights behind, depicting angelic radiance. Yet at the same time, Sam herself represents the loss of innocence, for she used to have a reputation of getting drunk with all the boys and you can imagine where that train ends. We can see this in many areas throughout the movie, such as the red and black that she often wears, which falls in stark contrast to the pink wall and twinkly lights of her bedroom, and deeper still, with her story of being taken advantage of by her dad's boss at the age of 11, which twisted her own ego into becoming the girl with the reputation.

Yet, the quality of her soul allowed her to grow as a person - she is not defined by these aspects of herself anymore, moving beyond her past into a higher reality, and progressively does so even to the end, getting into penn state, sharing that things do get better. The tunnel scene, which we explored earlier, is a scene of soaring, flying, trust, and freedom, all things that help Charlie in embodying the same thing by the end too!

Having made some friends, Charlie is initiated into the group by attending his first party, where he experiences his first plant medicine experience, eating a cannabis brownie, and opening up to his new friends in a quirky way, where they essentially adopt him into the group. Welcome to the island of misfit toys, Sam says, after Patrick gives Charlie a toast.

One of the primary activities of this group is going to and participating in the rocky horror picture show. We spoke before about how the tunnel represents freedom, and this is another special place where freedom of expression reigns supreme and inhibitions go out the window. Honestly - these scenes deserve a shout out, both to Steven Chbosky for weaving this into the narrative in a really meaningful way, and also the actors for having such courage to get on stage in front of cameras and an audience of thousands, and perform the Rocky Horror Picture! Mad respect!

Now, one of the primary a

Now, speaking of freedom and big changes, a little while later, Charlie also experiences LSD for the first and probably last time.  In addition to exploring Cannabis, later on Charlie also tries LSD. Cinematically, it’s a funny segway between taking the eucharist at church, and doing a tab - which shows a direct correlation to entering the depths of spirituality and all of the ways we can do this. But nobody ever taught Charlie that the best way to practice with psychedelics is in nature or with meditation, so he doesn’t have the best time. At one point, he ends up shoveling snow in a circle on the driveway for a while... Wait a second, THIS HOUSE HAS 6 GARAGE DOORS. WHAT?! … That seems a little excessive but okay.

Anyway, during this scene Charlie says “I just saw this tree but it was a dragon, then it was a tree again, it just lied to me”, and, I’m certain that this was probably unintentional, but when you learn about Yggdrasil, the norse edition of the Tree of Life system, we find that there is this dragon called Nidhogg. In historical Viking society, Nidhogg was a great and terrible dragon whose actions intended to pull the cosmos into chaos, and who also chewed the bodies of those who were guilty of terrible crimes. This is curious, because it relates to the undercurrent of darkness that runs throughout the story, as both Sam and Charlie, and even Aunt Helen were abused when they were kids. Again - probably not intentional, but Charlie seeing the tree become a dragon could be indicative of uncovering the darkness at the bottom of his own inner tree of life.

See, this part of the story really does begin the inward spiral that leads into himself to uncover the truth of his past, represented by the end of his LSD trip, creating a snow angel - representing his purification and rebirth.

Speaking to this undercurrent of trauma, and how it shows up for us often in life, is this idea that “We accept the love we think we deserve”, a key point made throughout as we see so many characters accepting love that deep down they know is only holding them back from becoming more authentic versions of themselves. Whether it’s Candace and Ponytail Derek, Patrick and his secret lover Brad, Sam and Craig, and Mary Elizabeth and Charlie.

The film really explores the idea that we often do things that we don’t want to do for the wrong reasons. Charlie dates Mary Elizabeth and hates it, he has nothing good to say about it at all, and yet he stays in it - why? Because he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings. Even though it’s not a healthy relationship, Charlie can’t see past his own ego or what he’s creating by staying in the relationship. What's more so, even after the relationship ends, Charlie is still trying to make up with her because he feels bad, he feels guilty - and in this we even gain a subtle reflection for ourselves in how we weave our own traps of suffering…

We can see this expressed during one scene where he has this black dot on his third eye, a symbol of Ash Wednesday from his church, and Mary-elizabeth wipes it off. For much of the film, she seems to represent the spiritual ego, by her tendency to boast about spiritual concepts, but doesn’t really behave much like the buddhist she claims to be.

The story asks us to reflect on our own relationships and our lives in this same way, what are we doing, and why are we doing it? Are our actions in the highest alignment with our souls? However, we must also acknowledge that - as we go deeper, we see that Charlie’s guilt of feeling responsible for his Aunt Helen’s death, also stems into not being able to tell Mary Elizabeth the truth about how he feels. From this, we may discover within ourselves that all of our actions and feelings are interwoven together, far deeper than we know.

To the surprise of many people who first watch it or read the book, towards the end, Charlie goes through what resembles a dark night of the soul, a common thing during the awakening process, where we must face some aspect of our past, we must go through the trauma and the pain, in order to emerge on the other side of it and find healing.

Throughout the film, Charlie’s pain wells up within him in a number of ways, such as the fight in the Cafeteria. Later on, when he is taken to the hospital, he says something very interesting. He asks the doctor how to make it stop, how he can stop seeing everyones pain, that everyone is in pain, all of the time. Yet, the one thing he can’t see is his own pain. It reminded me of a bible verse from Matthew 7 - “First, remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.”  Charlie can’t even see his own pain, but it’s so strongly there that it manifests itself as if he’s seeing everyone elses pain. It’s as if his pain itself has anchored him to this frequency of pain and suffering, but unless he faces the darkness within himself, he won’t be able to stop seeing it in others too.

As he faces his past, and comes to terms with it, he begins to let go and find healing. Something we all must do on our journey of reconciling our own pasts. Here we find another moving lesson, as Charlie lets go of his past, he must also let go of his friends, as they graduate and move on into new realities. Yet, not forgetting or losing their friendship, just adding some distance.

One final aspect of the story we must explore, is this very human moment where Sam and Charlie have a serious talk, and Sam asks… why didn’t you ever ask me out? Now - this might not be a fair question, because she was with someone for a long time and hey, maybe Charlie was just being respectful that she had a boyfriend… Yet, Sam reveals something very deep and moving, something we can all learn from. She says that she doesn’t want to just be someones crush, but that she wants someone to love her for who she truly is. It is a powerful and very heartfelt moment, revealing the deepest part of their characters, showing the soul from all of the ego, and for the characters expressing what they really want most, on a heart-centered level and a natural expression of the soul.

As the story comes to a close, Charlie discovers that we may accept the love we think we deserve but it is our duty to show people that they deserve more. We all deserve to fly through the tunnels, see “the light and everything that makes you wonder, with those who love most in this world, and realize that deep down, in all of our hearts... “We are infinite”!

[momonetmoproblems]

Virtual Identities & Oversharing

The Spammer & The Paparazzi: How much is too much?

Social Media has fashioned a space for persons across the world to depart from the realities of their average lives and enter a world in which, with an email address or cell number and a few abstract characters strung together to create a password, they can be whomever or whatever they like. Sometimes these personas are an extension of the true self or they may be fictitious and misleading characters to disguise a user’s genuine identity. People develop various personalities across social media platforms to suit their audience “like a chameleon that changes colours to suit its background or settings, so the online personality can change to adapt and fit in to an online community” says Stacey Koosel in The Renegotiated Self: Social Media’s Effects on Identity. This can range from the Perfect Christian on Facebook for the approval of familial onlookers to Miss #FlewedOut on Instagram for the admiration and acceptance of other IG “baddies” to the I Hate Men posse for the recognition of Feminist Twitter. Social Media is a performative space where users carry out a balancing act, never breaking character and executing top notch shows in exchange for rave reviews in the form of Likes, Retweets and Comments. 

From the impersonating of famous celebrities to World Record Eggs, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook among other platforms are breeding grounds for Virtual Identities, most of which, arguably, are false in nature. These concocted personas are often the manifestations of who one thinks he or she is or wishes he or she could be. The Spammer and The Paparazzi, as I will affectionately call them, are two of the foremost personas plaguing the internet, shifting perceptions of reality subtly but unmistakably, often through oversharing, and the repercussions can be grave.

Jaron Lanier, Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft, in the 2020 docudrama The Social Dilemma, states that social media causes a gradual, slight, imperceptible change in people’s behavior and perception altering what they do, how they think and who they are. Social Media, by nature, can turn users into “oversharers”, it is to be expected.  Afterall, Facebook prompts its users with “What’s on your mind?” and Twitter with “What’s happening?” And as more actors join these performative spaces, it can be observed that the more outrageous the spectacle, the more interactions, engagements, and impressions it will receive as it “[inspires] the passive audience to become more active, interactive and creative” avers Koosel. Gradually, there is more and more competition for the spotlight. So, what do people do? They generate more content in the hopes of finally or repeatedly going viral. Who wouldn’t want to see themselves on Good Morning America for their viral #VogueChallenge or get their artwork of Nicki Minaj acknowledged by the rapper with over 123 million followers and potential customers on Instagram? Unfortunately, not everyone is talented in these traditional ways, thus the performance becomes one of improvisation with very personal, provocative or pretended anecdotes, pictures or videos to spark a controversy. But it is imperative that we ask ourselves “How much is too much? 

The Spammer

The ultimate oversharer that will leave you screaming “T.M.I.” to your screen at least every other minute is the Spammer. Their tweets are often extremely personal and frequently appear in quick succession of each other. This type of user’s downfall is most likely that one post that the world did not need to see (believe it or not, the first tweet from the screenshot above is very real). This piece of information regularly falls in the hands of the worst person imaginable - an employer, parent, significant other or worse. This is the reality on the popular platform, Twitter. 

Take the case of Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Adley Duncan, for example. The series of tweets below has forced the DPP to establish a social media policy after backlash ensued on the timeline in response to Duncan’s unnecessary and inappropriate confession. He has since deactivated his account.

Twitter user and YouTuber, Niakumi, is another oversharer. Unfortunately, in her case, it cost her a little more than her Twitter account. YouTube has become Oversharing Central and has cost several vloggers their careers, accounts and fanbases because of a Storytime that never should have left their hard drive or a tweet that should never have left their drafts. 

The same can be identified in the case of the young JMMB employee who tweeted a “rape joke” which was quickly escalated to the JCF, Digicel and JMMB. The employee has since lost his job. 

The Paparazzi

Erving Goffman in The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life postulates when individuals interact with others, they attempt to police how they are perceived by constructing a certain image of desired impressions. Goffman illustrates that these individuals choose their own stage, props, and costumes for specific audiences. Though Goffman was referring to real life interactions, as the world becomes increasingly digital, these performances are most appreciated on social media. Enli and Thumim, in Socializing and Self-Representation Online, posit that users meticulously select the best information to convey to their respective audiences which may establish a certain status for that user based on popularity. And where can one find the best arena for a popularity contest? If you said “Instagram”, you are absolutely correct. 

The Paparazzi, best represented on IG, generates his or her “digiSelf” as Mark Federman used in The Cultural Paradox of the Global Village, by snapping a shot of every second of the day. This often includes: 

Their outfit (the costume)

Who they are with (God forbid the person is even minutely famous)

What they are driving, and the music played

The journey

The scenery

The destination (the stage)

The food, drinks – bring out the top shelf liquor – and the bill (the props)

Cyberstalking is now birthed from oversharing in the establishing of these virtual identities as this user is not only a danger to themselves but to those around them as they enable stalkers and others with ill intent to live-track their location making them an easy target. Several Jamaican women find themselves being plagued by their very own Joe (don’t say you haven’t watched You on Netflix) which the above Jamaica Observer article speaks to as six men summarize the ways in which they kept tabs on an ex using social media, while international artistes, Tay Way and Pop Smoke, have fallen victim to this habit and the repercussions were fatal in both cases.

Users must be cognizant that their Virtual Identities or digiSelves, so long as they are associated with their governmental naming, are a reflection of whatever entity they find themselves employed, even if they do not intend it. These brands have worked tirelessly for years to maintain their image and will not hesitate to shed dead weight tainting their brand identity. Moreover, the savages viewers on social media are out for blood and will not hesitate to pull out the pitchforks and torches when someone missteps, #CancelCulture. Other users will not give the benefit of separating one’s real self and the digiSelf, they are far more likely to take one’s content at face value. Therefore, think upon what you want people to see when they type in your name or “handle”, what should they take away from your profile? 

Furthermore, social media, when overused and abused, leave users vulnerable to the ill-minded lurkers in the shadows. Tactics like keeping a low profile, utilizing privacy settings by being specific about who can view one’s content and the follow or friend requests accepted, reducing the amount of personal information associated with one’s account and, if one must snap, posting the content when safely home enable users to lessen the likelihood of being cyberstalked.

To be safe overall? 

Next time Twitter asks, “What’s happening”, or the next time you hit the road for a night on the town, ask yourself “How much is too much?”

References

Dazio, S. (2020, July 10). Police: Pop Smoke's social media led killers to LA home. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/police-arrested-los-angeles-death-rapper-pop-smoke-71695053

Enli, S & Thumim, N. (2012). Socializing and Self Representation Online: Exploring Facebook.

Federman, M. (2006). The cultural paradox of the global village. Keynote Speech at McLuhan Programme in Culture and Technology, University of Toronto.

Gartrell, N. & Bouscher, D. (2020, September 18). Richmond rapper Tay Way gunned down minutes after posting Instagram video that revealed his location. Mercury News. https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/09/18/three-shot-one-killed-in-richmond-drive-by-shooting/

Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.

Knight, C. (2019, April 29). All Woman Relationships Stalker mode: 'I would dial her number just to listen to her voice'. The Jamaica Observer. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/all-woman/stalker-mode-i-would-dial-her-number-just-to-listen-to-her-voice-_163249?profile=1263

Koosel, S. (2015). The Renegotiated Self: Social Media’s Effects on Identity. Alfapress.

Zaman, M. (2020, September 2). The People Who Created Facebook & YouTube Are Sorry. Refinery 29. https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/09/10002175/social-media-effects-the-social-dilemma-netflix-documentary

[littlemonstersau-blog]

The Feels Awaken, Interlude 2: One Rogue Thought

Written by @jkl-fff

PART I - PART II [Interlude] - PART III - PART IV [Interlude] (you are here) - PART V [FINAL]

——————————————————————————————–

Bill, putting DVD back in case: Well, now you’ve seen ‘em all (until they finish the new ones, of which only Renegade 6 will be stupendous, and that largely thanks to everyone dying—much pathos by meatbag standards, much comedy by mine). So … Whaddya think, Fordsy?

Ford, taking in a deep breath: I think … I think I’m personally going to make a working lasercutlass (with SCIENCE!), drive to wherever the hell George Dufas lives—

Bill, helpfully: That would be Skyjogger Ranch, not too far north of San Francisco. I know, because I know lots of things.

Ford: Alright then, I’m going to drive to Skyjogger Ranch, and then I’M GONNA SHOVE MY HOMEMADE LASERCUTLASS RIGHT UP HIS SCRIPT-SPEWING ASS AND ACTIVATE IT!

Stan, startling awake in easy chair: Wha?! Huh?!

Ford: THAT WAS THE BIGGEST WRECK OF TRAINS THAT WERE LOADED WITH ASS-SHIT THAT I’VE EVER SEEN! [rises to his feet, stamps around, gestures emphatically] AND I’VE BEEN TO SEVERAL DIMENSIONS WITH EXTREMELY SHODDY RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURES AND BOOMING, FERTILIZER-BASED ECONOMIES! MEANING SEVERAL DIMENSIONS WITH FREQUENT AND NOTABLE WRECKS OF ASS-SHIT-LOADED TRAINS!

Stan, rubbing eyes: Yeah, we picked up on your meanin’ there. [yawns, scratches self] What time’s it, anyway?

Bill, grinning at this development: What’d you think of the acting?

Ford: WOODEN! FLAT! LIFELESS! LIKE THIS FLOOR!

Bill: All George Dufas’s fault. Those were all highly acclaimed, highly trained actors, and highly gifted actors. He insisted as Director they act like they didn’t know how to. Like I said before.

Ford: WHAT?! WHY?! RRRAAARRRGHGHGH!

Stan, yawning: Moses, it’s past midnight already …

Bill, egging it on: Heh. And the depiction of non-human meatbags?

Ford: MOSTLY INFURIATINGLY RACIST CARICATURES OF HUMAN MEATBAG CULTURES—er, “human cultures”, I meant just “human cultures”—AND BLANDLY UNIMAGINATIVE OR INSUFFERABLY ANNOYING (LIKE JERKJERK)!

Stan, heaving himself upright: Hey, Sixer?

Bill: Hehehe! George Dufas’s influence again. And the use of the Force? The lasercutlass duels?

Ford: THE FIRST WAS SO UNDERUTILIZED AS TO BE FUCKING POINTLESS, THE OTHER SO OVERDONE AS TO BE SHITTING BORING! THEY MADE SWORDFIGHTING WITH LASERS BECOME BORING! HOW?! WHY?!

Stan: Sixer?

Bill: Hahaha! Still George Dufas! And the script?

Ford: THE SCRIPT?! WHAT SCRIPT?! THAT WAS USED, BARGAIN-PRICED TOILET PAPER! RRRAAARRRGHGHGH!

Stan: Sixer!

Ford: WHAT?! … Er, sorry. What?

Stan: It’s past midnight. Meanin’ it’s bedtime. You comin’ or what?

Ford: Gah! I couldn’t possibly sleep now! I’m too enraged!

Stan, shrugging: Well, I am. So … keep the nerd-ragin’ at, y’know, an “indoor voice” level of volume. ‘kay? [kisses him goodnight, shuffles out]

Ford, momentarily taken aback: Um … Where was I?

Bill, helpfully: The script. Which was also George Dufas’s fault. Basically, the whole prequel trilogy is a case study of what happens if you give a man who had one or two good ideas in the past— when there was an entire team of more talented people to shoot down his one or two thousand bad ideas and sculpt the few good ones— complete creative control of a project.

Ford, remembering how disgusted he is: No, it’s a case study of what happens if a tornado picks up a barn full of diarrhetic animals— A LITERAL SHITSTORM—hits a warehouse of blank paper, then some fuckwattle decides to gather up the pages and use it as a script! It made exactly 0.0 sense as a story! According to SCIENCE! itself there wasn’t even a measurable amount of sense made in this story! And, believe me, I understand that writing isn’t easy, but they had … How long exactly to work on the scripts?

Bill, promptly: Almost exactly16 years to work on the first one, then almost exactly 3 years for the second one, and another 3 for the third.

Ford, trembling with self-control: S-sssixteen years for one script? And that mmmakes … t-t-twenty-two years total to come up with … with that p-pile of hot, fffffuck-juggling shhhhhhhhhhhit … [loses it, explodes] OH MY VARIOUS ENTITIES OF COSMIC POWER FOR WHOM THE TERM “GODS” COULD REASONABLY BE USED AS A SHORTHAND, EVEN IF IT IS SOMEWHAT MISLEADING!

Stan, from the other room: Indoor voice!

Ford, stomping around: WE COULD COME UP WITH A BETTER PLOTLINE FOR A PREQUEL TRILOGY IN ONE NIGHT THAN THAT MOVING BAG OF NEGATIVE FUCKGUZZLE DID IN TWENTY-FUCKING-TWO FUCKING YEARS! AND Y’KNOW WHAT?! [takes Bill by the shoulders] WE WILL, GODSDAMNIT!

Bill, disbelieving: Really? You wanna do something with me?

Ford: AND IT’LL HAVE COMPELLING CHARACTER ARCS, AND SUBTLY DEEP WORLDBUILDING FOR THE GALAXY, AND THE FORCE’LL BE SHOWN—

Stan, from other room: IF YOU DON’T KEEP IT DOWN, STANFORD PINES, I’LL COME OUT THERE AND SHOW YOU MY FORCE RIGHT UPSIDE YOUR FOOL HEAD!

Bill, excited: Mabel left a bunch of … of arts and crafts stuff upstairs. We can use those for this! I’ll just … just run and get them! Hang on! [scampers up the stairs]

Ford, suddenly alone: … wait a minute … [stops short, looks around deserted room) What the freeze-dried hell am I doing?

Stan, grouching back in: What you’re doin’ is bein’ a pain in my ass—a loud pain in my ass!

Ford, almost panicking: No, I’m … about to write better plots for the prequels? With Cipher? I think?

Stan: And? What’s the problem?

Ford: And I don’t … I can’t trust him! That is the problem!

Stan: You can’t trust him to help write what is essentially gonna be a Cosmos Conflicts fanfic? [rolls eyes] C’mon, Sixer, it’s not like he could write anything worse than what we just watched. You were just goin’ on about that.

Ford, faltering: No, I mean, he’s still planning to takeover! No one can trust him, so what am I—

Stan: Just be the scribe yourself; that way, you maintain creative control of the fanfic and he can’t take it over.

Ford: I mean the planet! Er, the galaxy! Gah, no, the dimen—

Stan, deadpan: Oh, yeah, that’s a real dilemma right there. Can’t have Farth Bill takin’ over that nerdlinger galaxy, or we’ll hafta write a whole ‘nother generation of whiney Skyjoggers masterin’ the Force to confront him.

Ford, irritated: Damn it, Stanly, you know what I’m talking about!

Stan, rubbing eyes: Look, I’m gonna share some Old Wisdom™ I learned as a professional conman with you. And which, in fact, you yourself told me rather recently. [lays hands on brother’s shoulders, looks him in the eyes] You don’t hafta trust someone to work with ‘em, ya dumbass. And don’t hafta trust ‘em to be nice to ‘em, neither, ya dumbass. Or even to like ‘em, ya dumbass. You can do all that, while still not trustin’ ‘em … ya dumbass.

Ford, blinking owlishly: … What? I told you that? But—

Stan, slowly: Listen, I didn’t trust Bill at the start of the summer, but I still talked to him. Still interacted with him and was nice … ish and such. And only a week after? I had him workin’ for me. [gestures dismissively] Yeah, he caused some trouble at the start, but I didn’t lock him up ‘cause of it. I was patient with him, I showed him I’d work with him, and I showed the l’il bastard he can’t beat me at my own game— I always got an eye on him, so he can’t get anything major past me. And now? He’s just like any other employee I’ve ever had (except for Soos) … Slacks off and shoplifts about the same amount, too.

Ford: … And you’re bragging about that?

Stan, smugly: Heh. Yep. Think about it, Sixer. For him, that’s huge progress.

Ford, reluctantly: I guess, but—

Stan: Listen, you don’t hafta trust Bill. Okay? You know already he’s up to something (or so you’re convinced, anyway), so he can’t trick you. You’ll be suspicious of absolutely everything, so he won’t be able to get something past you in the middle of, say, writin’ your stupid, nerd fanfic. Or talkin’ ‘bout an anomaly. Or just havin’ a civil conversation every now and then. Okay? This gettin’ through that metal plate in your skull? I mean, it should be able to since—not to put too fine a point on it—you suggested it to me not too long ago.

Ford: I don’t … need … to trust Cipher … to be nice to him …

Stan: Exactly. And—Moses on a moped!—his name is Bill. [turns, goes to leave, pauses in doorway] And for fffffuck’s sake, keep it down while you two do whatever. Some of us are tryin’ to actually sleep.

Ford, standing lost in thought: … can’t believe it … so simple … really have been a silly, old fool not to see it all along …

Bill, returning: Sorry that took so long. I got buried in an avalanche of Mabel’s spare sweaters while digging this stuff out. [unloads an armload onto the table, pulls up paper and pencil] Where do we start, Fordsy?

Ford, a little overwhelmed: Um … honestly, I’m not sure …

Bill: Hmm … Well, what’re the big problems that gotta be fixed? Let’s start with that. What made you mad in the movie?

Ford, after only a split second of thought: Midi-chlorians firstly. Those go, because the Force is a mystical power-energy thing— damn it all!—and not some sorta bacterial infection!

Bill, making a note: Good. Good. How about that Rule of Two? Speaking as a megalomaniac, I can say it’s stupid to only have one agent working for you. You’d get nothing done!

Ford: Um …

Bill: What? Oh, Yog-Sothoth’s sixth soleus, that was a joke.

Ford, deciding to believe that: R-right. Um … None of that immaculate conception or prophecy crap, either. That’s gone. Came out of nowhere, served no purpose, we don’t need it.

Bill, making a note: What, you don’t like the idea of Space Jesus? How about rewriting the romance so that it doesn’t just … happen, y’know? So that there actually is a romance, and not just two straight characters who bone ‘cause they’re the opposite genders?

Ford, getting excited: Moses, yes! And rewriting Otherkin so he isn’t some whiney kid who just … just does stuff because the plot needs some action! We could do that for all of them! We could make it all as great as it deserves to be!

[hours and hours of excited fanboy collaboration transpire …]

[aion-rsa]

Ed Asner: The Most Memorable Animated Roles From the TV Legend

https://ift.tt/3mIPwHm

We lost a great one this weekend with Ed Asner. The lovably gruff actor died at 91. Asner was a prolific actor, not only having well over 400 credits to his name, but also still performing roles to the end. Sure, every obituary is going to talk up how well known he was for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and all that, but for many of us, he was a huge part of our childhoods.

Ed Asner did plenty of voice work. More than I can talk about here, but his deep, growly, and at times friendly voice lent itself well to a lot of cartoon characters. Not just the old man from Up, but lots of villains and supporting characters in superhero shows. He was also in FoodFight, but we don’t need to talk about FoodFight.

Here are our favorite animated characters that Ed Asner gave voice to…

Roland Daggett (Batman: The Animated Series)

It really says a lot about how high-quality Batman: The Animated Series was when they had Ed Asner doing a bang up job playing Roland Daggett and he was probably considered the least interesting recurring villain. Giving Batman his own Lex Luthor wasn’t as strong a dynamic as it should have been and other than being a side villain in the Clayface origin episodes, Daggett’s episodes don’t really stand out among the rest.

When you do watch one of those episodes and remember that Daggett exists, Asner’s charm definitely does some heavy lifting. He absolutely pulled whatever blood he could out of that stone.

Hoggish Greedly (Captain Planet and the Planeteers)

Ah, Captain Planet. Incredibly cheesy, but honestly way better than it really had any right to be. Asner played Hoggish Greedly, one of the various go-to villains on the show and one of the villains who was so on the nose that he’s made to look like a literal gross animal to drive the point home how evil he is. Greedly was half-pig/half-Trump, which led to Asner doing oink-based laughter that went on way too long. I’m sure that saved on the animation budget.

Asner’s Greedly also did a lot of yelling at his sidekick Rigger and that guy was voiced by John Ratzenberger. Forget all the pollution and trying to murder children and eco-Jesus. Being mean to Cliff Clavin is going too far!

Hudson (Gargoyles)

Third season excluded, Gargoyles was one of those shows that was so good that you can’t help but look back in wonder at how fortunate we were to have something so good. Asner was the team’s resident grizzled mentor character Hudson (who named himself that after thinking that naming a river is stupid as hell). He brought his A-game, plus a Scottish accent, but was a bit overshadowed by the team’s leader Goliath. Asner may have had a gravely voice, but he was a silver medalist to Keith David’s gold in that regard.

Despite being a battle-weary soul, Hudson always brought a weird sense of optimism to the show whenever he was around. He acted like living as long as he had was something to be celebrated and that he was lucky for it.

Mike Cosgrove (Freakazoid)

As the story goes, Asner was prepared to voice Sgt. Cosgrove with more pep and emotion, but when he blandly read through the lines to get them down first, others told him to just go with that. Cosgrove’s complete lack of enthusiasm in contrast to Freakazoid’s over-the-top behavior is what makes him so memorable and likeable. He was like the anti-straight man.

There’s a real Dadaist charm to Cosgrove, who is entirely competent (he once caused a Cthulhu-like being to back off via a threat to bust his lip), but really outlines the utter weirdness of Freakazoid’s world with his mild banter. It doesn’t matter how dire the situation is, if Cosgrove invites Freakazoid to some random distraction, it will almost always work. Then he’ll tell him something odd like how pigs are smarter than bears, but they can’t ride bikes. Then he’ll convince Freakazoid to get back to the plot and move on.

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This did lead to the biggest BS moment of the show, though. One time Freakazoid couldn’t go get a yogurt with Cosgrove, so Cosgrove asked the viewer if they wanted to join him, followed by reacting as if we said no. Don’t you put that evil on me, Steven Spielberg! I don’t appreciate the gaslighting and I know I’m not the only one.

Asner did get to reprise the role one last time in a recent episode of Teen Titans Go! that guest starred Freakazoid. Once again, he got distracted from a life-or-death situation because Cosgrove wanted to buy him a donut and then discuss the different types of donuts.

J. Jonah Jameson (Spider-Man: The Animated Series)

When it comes to Jameson, it’s all but unanimous that JK Simmons is THE portrayal. Even in terms of animation, people tend to think of Paul Kligman for nailing the character back in the 1960s. That said, Asner played him a different way and it worked. Asner’s Jameson wasn’t a motormouth with an inflated sense of importance. He was a gruff and, for lack of a better term, menacing boss who was a thorn in the side of Peter Parker’s two identities.

While he did come off as a jerk, they made sure to emphasize that he wasn’t a bad guy, just a grouch with an axe to grind. That made it all the better in the aftermath of Peter’s wedding when he revealed in secret that he paid for the whole thing, but didn’t want Peter to know he actually liked him.

Even though Asner was able to play Peter’s cantankerous quasi-father figure, he did get a brief shot at Peter’s more loving one in Spectacular Spider-Man. As Uncle Ben, Asner showed some real grizzled warmth that really stood out despite being a very short role.

Granny Goodness (Superman: The Animated Series)

I already mentioned Daggett earlier, but Asner has done his lion’s share of DC characters. The animated adaptation of All-Star Superman had him as Perry White, which is so obvious in retrospect that I can’t believe it took that long to do (Asner had also been considered for the role as far back as Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie). He was also Hephaestus in an episode of Justice League Unlimited, which was overshadowed by the extremely inspired casting of the brothers from Wonder Years as Hawk and Dove.

Just as inspired was Asner as Granny Goodness. A cosmic evil in the form of a “loving” grandmother type is one of the most Jack Kirby of Jack Kirby ideas. Having Asner trying to use his menacing gravel voice for a female character is just so fun to check out, especially once you figure out it’s him. Granny didn’t get too much use, but I would love to see the footage of Asner in the booth trying to make it work.

Carl Fredricksen (Up)

While I can talk about Cosgrove and Jameson for days, Asner’s most famous role is that of Carl, the crotchety old man from Up. It helps that by the time we first hear Asner’s voice in the movie, we’ve already seen Carl through his whole life, including the heartbreaking tragedy that comes with it. It lets us know that underneath the harsh growling, there’s a sensitive man underneath and Asner’s performance opens up throughout.

Though again, he’s mean to John Ratzenberger and I can’t abide by that!

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Up is a great companion piece to A Goofy Movie, in how it hits differently for each generation. Much like how kids identify with Max while adults identify with Goofy, Up has Russell the scout and Carl. When Kevin the bird gets kidnapped, Russell can only scold Carl in disbelief for letting it happen. Carl, whose house and belongings were literally just on fire a moment ago, responds with the emotional and fed-up, “I DIDN’T ASK FOR ANY OF THIS!” which is probably my favorite Asner line read.

I’m really not looking forward to rewatching that movie. I love it, but it’s going to break me. Let’s see what else Disney+ has to offer… Oh, Dug has his own series of shorts! …Oh man.

Santa Claus (Various)

One of roles people these days remember Asner for is Santa Claus in Elf. That was neither the first time nor the last time Asner portrayed Jolly Old Saint Nick. He’s played the character various times in various projects. For some reason, Ed Asner just made for a fantastic Santa. It’s not like he was playing him the same way every time.

His performance in The Story of Santa Claus was your regular vanilla take. The version in Elf (which had an animated spinoff short, so it’s on-topic!) felt like a well-meaning but flawed take on the legend. Olive, the Other Reindeer added some real cynicism to Santa while Regular Show went even further to the point of absurdity. But yet no matter the version, Asner added warmth and wisdom to his portrayal of the seasonal gift-giver.

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Honestly, an Ed Asner Santa marathon isn’t the worst idea for this December. It’s a good way to remember such a beloved talent that I’m certainly going to miss.

The post Ed Asner: The Most Memorable Animated Roles From the TV Legend appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3BpRlwP

[nikkilbook]

Autistic Coding: Pearl vs. Keith

I’ve been in the #actuallyautistic Tumblr-space for about a year and a half now. Because I’m a writer, and because I love stories, one of the things that keeps drawing my attention is the various autistic headcanons that surround popular media, particularly the ones that a large number of people agree on. Last year, Pearl from Steven Universe was all over my dash. This year, it’s Keith from Voltron: Legendary Defender.

I saw both this headcanons before I had watched the shows, before I had any real idea of what the shows were even about. These headcanons were what ultimately got me to watch the shows. I wanted to see if Pearl and Keith were anything like me.

(Now, I just want to say here that if you identify with either of these characters in a way that runs contrary to what I have to say, that is totally fine. I’m not trying to say that this is the only way to experience these characters. I’m just describing my own experience and emotions surrounding them.)

Last September, I watched the entirety of Steven Universe over the course of 72 hours. The last episode I watched was “Last One Out of Beach City”, I believe. Later, when I mentioned this to someone, they said I must have really enjoyed it to watch that far into the series.

In reality, I kept watching because I couldn’t look away, possibly in the same way one cannot look away from a train crash. A train crash labeled “Pearl”.

This isn’t to say that the cartoon was bad. Overall, I think it was quite nicely written. But Pearl… I kept hoping that something would change, that I’d suddenly see why everyone agreed that this character was supposed to be like me, and it never happened.

From what I could see, Pearl was the wet blanket of the group. She was stuck in the past, micromanaged the team, and at one point manipulated Garnet into fusing with her over and over. She refused to trust new people, she trained Connie to be willing to give up her life for Steven, and just overall seemed… toxic.

Now, for a little backstory.

When I was in high school, before I knew I was autistic, I had a(n emotionally manipulative) friend with whom I once performed a character swap. I created a character to go in her story (a girl named Moira), she created one to go in mine. They were basically self-inserts, little homages to each other. The couple times she wrote something with Moira before our friendship was terminated, though, I discovered a trend. Moira was an authority figure, who used her authority to rain on everyone else’s parade. She ruined everyone’s fun by enforcing the rules. She was the wet blanket.

Fast forward six years, and all that came back as I was watching Pearl be the buzzkill friend. I felt sick inside, thinking of a line in a post I’d read that essentially said “the whole internet universally agrees that this character is 100% autistic!” Which translated in my head as “the whole internet universally agrees that this is you.”

“You are the buzzkill friend.”

Is this an overgeneralization that is partially rooted in unresolved emotional issues? Probs. But that didn’t change the fact that, almost everywhere I looked, I saw this version of myself. “You are a wet blanket. You ruin everyone’s fun. No one wants you here.”

Is this who I am? Are the only people who stay around me the ones who have been there so long it’s just become habit, the ones who are so kind and goodnatured that they’d befriend literally anyone?

Is this the only thing I can be?

Fast forward a year, and I start seeing headcanons about someone named Keith pop up on my dash. I have no idea what is going on, but a very cursory check shows that V:LD is available on Netflix. Eh. Cool, I’ll file that away.

A few days ago, I finished watching my latest show, and needed to pick something new. I was a little anxious about starting Voltron (it’s the middle of the semester. I’m already fighting brain-crap without getting trapped in the Pearl headspace again), but I pull it open and give it a shot.

I finished the latest episode this morning at 6am. I already miss them.

At first I was nervous, because Keith seemed grumpy and buzzkill-y. But then the story made it clear that those moods always had an antecedent. It wasn’t just “who he was.” It was an emotional reaction to a situation or event—you know, as people do.

I think the biggest thing was that Keith was given a preexisting friend in Shiro.** Even before we know any of the characters’ history, ​Shiro treats Keith as an equal and a trusted friend. They make allusions to past events that show just how close they are (like brothers, Keith says), and just how much Keith relies on Shiro for support. You get the feeling that Shiro and Keith can really see each other—that they can recognize the most intimate parts of each other’s personality, and know how to respond. They provide spaces where the other can be vulnerable. Every time crap hits the fan for one or the other, they put on a brave, stoic face for the rest of the Paladins, but allow themselves to be themselves around each other. We see a very distinct Keith when he is speaks to Shiro. A Keith that isn’t 100% sure, but is trying. Because he knows Shiro believes in him. 

**And, as I write this, I ask myself how this differs from Pearl and the Crystal Gems, or even Pearl and Steven. I think it’s because the relationships Pearl had aren’t unique to her. The Crystal Gems are friends with her because they are a team formed by someone else. Steven is friends with her because... Steven is friends with literally everyone. That’s part of his character. He’s kind and offers friendship and love to literally everyone, regardless of whether they reciprocate it (Lars, anyone?). So that relationship says more about Steven than it does about Pearl, and whether or not she is particularly deserving. Shiro makes it clear that he believes Keith to be a person with worthy attributes. He makes it clear that he wants Keith around. 

The other thing that reached out and grabbed my heart was Keith’s emotional state. His big emotions tend toward “angry”. He gets snippy with other characters (coughLANCEcough) from time to time, as most people do, but, interestingly, Shiro’s always there to reel him back in when he tries to fly off the handle. However, and this is just brilliance on the part of the voice actor here, in the majority of Keith’s regular dialogue—specifically around Shiro, but with others characters too, as the series progresses—there’s this undercurrent that messes with the inflection of his words, like they are unstable, or that he’s not entirely sure what’s happening. 

My voice does that. 

It happens when all the colors inside me get jumbled together, when they get mixed up with the ones radiating from the people around me and I can’t tell which way is up and the colors doesn’t have names because they aren’t really colors, but I can’t call them emotions because I don’t know what those names are either. It’s just colors and weight and there’s just so much and I need to let it out and I can’t figure out how except to gather up all the colors that feel like red and let them out, because red looks enough like anger that I can sort of figure out how to do it. 

And that’s a lot of inference from some unsteady dialogue, and is it self-projecting based on a distinctly personal way of how I interface with the world? Probs. But that doesn’t change the fact that within a bare handful of episodes, couldn’t stop watching because I needed, more than anything, for Keith to be okay. I needed to see him be accepted into the group, even after the unexpected revelation in Season 2, because I needed to be reminded, again and again, that there are people who will always be there for people like me, and they’ll do it because, at some point, they decided I was worth being there for. 

Even when I make shortsighted decisions, even when I pull away because I don’t know how to explain what I’m thinking/feeling/fear. Even when I have to do something that I know there’s no way I can accomplish. 

The Paladins where there for Keith when he did all that. So maybe my friends will be there for me when I do it. 

I’ve already gone back and watched a few of the episodes over again, and I’m going to keep doing it, because I still need Keith, and Shiro’s relationship with Keith, to be here in my head. I need him—and me—to be okay. I need him to be happy. I need to be reminded, every day, that happy is a thing that exists. That it’s one of the colors inside me, and that I can find it and let it out. I need to see Keith find his happiness, to maybe show me how to find mine. 

The lines between Pearl and Keith aren’t terribly academic. It’s possible it just comes down to brainspace. But in the end, I’m glad I found Keith. I’m glad I got to watch him stumble about trying to make sense of who he was and what that meant, and that I got to watch a whole group of people be glad that they had him with them. I’m glad I got to see Keith be a little grumpy and abrasive sometimes, and then turn around and do his best to help his friends, because no. That’s not all we can be. 

I miss my boys. I need them to be okay.

[yusenki]

Interview with Eren’s & Erwin’s VA: Yuki Kaji x Daisuke Ono

[translation: @yusenki | editing: twitter@braunsofsteel | scans: @m-u-m-i ] Note: This interview took place after SNK season 2 episode 10 was aired.

Eren Yeager: A boy who dreams of the world outside the wall. After he graduated from the Training Corps, he joined the Survey Corps, which attempts to advance outside the walls. He has strong motivation, so he tends to be reckless.

Erwin Smith: The Commander of the Survey Corps. Ruthless with excellent leadership, even Levi acknowledges his superiority. Basically, he almost never shows his emotion.

The thrill of the series lies on the fear that your position may crumble at any point in time.

Journalist (J): Finally, after 4 years, SNK season 2 is here!

Kaji (K): Although it seems like in these 4 years I have been constantly involved with SNK recording projects—such as collaboration events, narrations, extra story parodies, with of all those various works, when I finally returned to the main series’ atmosphere, part of me still feels anxiety. We need to go back to that timeline when Eren and co. just learned the shocking truth about Annie’s true form.

Ono (O): It has been a while since I played Erwin. During season 1, I personally didn't grasp the full picture of Erwin and I'd thought, “I want to know more about Erwin. I want to know more about SNK”. The fact that season 2 exists fills me with happiness.

K: Ever since season 1, there are the charms from shocking developments, (character) portrayals, and extravagant battle scenes. However, my impression is that season 2 will be added with the charm of mystery. If I were to say that season 1 was filled with an intense, blazing red flame, the image of season 2 is the core of that flame, a calm blue flame that slowly burns.

J: It feels like the composition has completely changed from fighting against the titans, whose origins are unknown, to the doubt that the truth may be about human vs human.

K: That’s why there is an increase of scenes without titan transformation. Like the scene where Eren was intensely debating with Reiner, Bertolt, and Ymir.

O: It made people think that the enemy is not just mindless beasts that simply attack, but it's like they might be more intelligent… In season 1 Erwin asked Eren, “What do you see?” I felt that question was also directed to us. I feel that it is getting more interesting, not only just the story. At the same time, we can also see deeper into characters’ backgrounds. Sasha’s father, who speaks in Oita *(prefecture in Japan) dialect also made his appearance.

K: When we know the background, we will feel more affection. In season one, the story revolves around the perspective of a group of people with Eren as the center. However, in season 2, there are many occasions where Eren doesn’t make his appearance and other members receive intense spotlight. I can strongly feel that each character is actually alive and it doesn’t feel that they are just part of a flock. That is the reason that every death is heavy…

J: As soon as season 2 starts, it gave such a huge impact with Mike meeting his heroic end.

O: Well… in season 1, most of the strong impression I got was of his olfactory senses.

K: Also his image was of a skilled soldier with a unique habit. Now it has been revealed what he thinks and his commitment.

O: He is someone who upholds the “we haven’t lost as long as we continue fighting” belief and his capabilities are second only to Levi. By all means, it was shocking to see someone like him defeated in one brief second. At the same time, all the things that have been piling up at that moment disappeared, and I finally felt that I have returned to the SNK.

K: I understand. Me too. I also felt the real sensation that this is the SNK world, when I returned to the moment where Oluo & co., the old Levi’s squad were just gone.

O: It is scary because your foothold can suddenly crumble.

J: Ono-san, have you checked out the SNK manga?

O: I have heard about developments afterward from people around me and I ended up checking it up myself because it occupied my thought.

K: On the contrary, because I am playing Eren, I try not to find out future developments. However, I think it is a good idea to know about future developments when you’re performing a character like Erwin.

O: Well, even though I asked Isayama-sensei about Erwin, the answer was unexpected. “Erwin is modelled after Clark Kent.” *laughs* Anyway, the only way is to look at the comic. Unexpectedly, Erwin had a long-standing appearance.

K: When I saw Ono-san at the recording of the first episode of season 1, I was quite bewildered, “Was Erwin actually here in the manga (first chapter)?” *laugh*.

O: The current him is here now because he is one of the SC soldiers during that expedition. Actually, it is inevitable. As my feelings grew deeper along with his appearance, I couldn’t help doubting whether he is actually a bad guy or not. But in fact, due to his pure desire to learn more about this world and titans, I got the philosophy of his behaviour. Because I could finally understand him, I changed my approach on his portrayal this time. For I, who has been blank for these 4 years, this is a positive direction. On the contrary, for Kaji-kun, this may be a bit heavy after 4 years of blankness.

K: The atmosphere after recording was indeed different, there might be some anxiety when you finally returned as the leader back then… Even though we were naturally pulled back when it started. When we gathered at that moment, each of us was trying to grasp what we need to do (we had to work individually to grasp it). There had been a lot of worries.

O: The atmosphere was like when everyone puts their lives on the line.

K: There are a lot of good things, but as a voice actor, this is a role with more hardships. There were almost no fun… That’s why everyone compensates at SNK the Real Game *laugh*.

O: Even people who were supposedly busy also came.

K: I could feel that everyone seriously aimed to complete this series successfully. I feel that this also can be the other way of enjoying the SNK series that delights everyone.

J: Speaking of VA, new cast like the Beast Titan’s VA, Takehito Koyasu and others, have also gained some attention.

O: There are many (recording) takes where Koyasu-san tried to perform in various patterns. It was through trial and error to get the right one.

K: I think that’s the way to achieve the right performance. The current form is the result from the perseverance in finding “how far the Beast Titan could talk”. Even for the staff, they wondered a lot on many things, like what kind of effect should be applied to the voice, how to credit Koyasu-san’s name.

O: It feels like in the midst of darkness where nobody knows the truth.  Everyone is fumbling and pursuing for the light. For Erwin, that is the most intriguing subject, but I personally really like Koyasu-san’s performance, so I asked for permission to observe the recording.

J: In season 2, the shocking truth that Reiner and Bertolt can transform into titans, was revealed.

K: When I read the manga, I totally didn’t realize Reiner and Bertolt’s real form. I was just shocked… It was also because the revelation was done in a casual manner, behind the other characters’ conversation, so I was really surprised! *laugh*

O: I was not performing at that scene, but was surprised to hear that an important dialogue was performed like background chatter, just like in the manga.

K: To retain the flowing atmosphere of the scene, I even wanted to perform the scene with a pre-recording method, before the drawings were completed. Moreover, Reiner’s VA, Yoshimasa Hosoya-san, performed the confession in such a natural way at that moment, I was shaken just like Eren…That’s when I felt connected to Eren’s reaction, “You traitors!” Despite the connection through rage, during the recording, I felt not only anger but also the sadness of despair… It’s obvious since he thought that they were comrades, but they turned out to be enemies.

O: To be honest, I can sympathize with how they act based on their own objectives. I don’t know if it’s because I am playing Erwin, but I came to understand that each of us has our own justification.

K: There was also a moment where Reiner even forgot that he was actually lying. He had been deceiving himself for long.

O: My chest hurts when I think that each SNK character is fighting their own conflict during the time not shown in the anime. The next episode with Hannes-san’s big scene makes my heart wrench. When I think about it, there are a lot of people in this world who live, not for themselves, but for others. Yet they don’t talk it and only spit out their real feelings at their deathbed. Because of that, it made me feel like, “you should have said it out earlier…”

K: That’s so SNK. *laughs*

O: Nanaba also left an impression in season 2.

K: Since the manga, her death has left such an impression. The song’s influence was really effective. I thought, “The most impressive part of season 1’s song will be played here, right?”

J: Speaking about drama, the relationship between Christa and Ymir, has been uncovered bit by bit.

O: Honestly, at the beginning, I thought Christa was only cute. I didn’t think that she would have such drama. Sorry about it.

K: I didn’t even know that the Ymir character existed. She didn’t have much presence (in season 1) since her name was displayed as ‘Freckles’. To think that in season 2… *laugh* In summary, all of the characters’ drama is really interlocked in a complicated way. It is more like Eren doesn’t have much presence. Moreover, rather than being the one who saves, he is the one that is being saved *laugh*.

J: Rather than being a hero, he is more of a princess *laugh*.

O: That’s right!

K: This series says that even if you can transform into a titan, it doesn’t mean that you become the strongest, and that includes Eren too.The shonen manga theory does not apply to SNK.

O: It’s not all about if Eren works hard, he can do it. I think from Erwin’s point of view, all of us rely too much on Eren.

K: It’s not impossible, wanting to rely on the obtained titan transformation power.

O: While having that thought, it turned out that the enemies have more people who have that ability, and also there are collisions among comrades…This story is about how far this present situation can deteriorate. However, I am glad to find that each character’s real face was revealed because they didn’t rely on Eren’s power. In season 2, maybe it is about many soldiers’ stories, not about Eren. Although there were painful moments, as long as people witness our way of life without missing any single moment— whether it is Erwin's or mine—we are happy.

K: Despite only knowing this much, I think it is amazing that every week when I am watching the show being aired, I want to know what will happen next. The series is still ongoing. It will become even more interesting and also even more painful. Please enjoy it with resolution. Thank you!

Q: Which character would you want to have as a superior or subordinate?

O: I definitely want Levi to be my subordinate.

K: Are you speaking as Erwin? It will be a serious hardship for someone like Ono-san to deal with Levi.

O: If it’s Ono Daisuke…it’s impossible. No, it’s possible if we worked together on the radio (program)* for 10 years *laugh*.

*T/N: Erwin’s VA & Levi’s VA have a radio program together. The radio program has been on going for 10 years. 

K: If you say that, won’t Hiroshi Kamiya (Levi’s VA) get mad at you? Is that alright? *laugh*

O: Seems like this is not alright, let’s end the conversation here. *laugh* Nevertheless, I admire the prowess of Levi being a one-man army, a guy who makes it through to the core by himself. Whether I can manage him is another matter.

K: On the contrary, I want to be Erwin’s subordinate, because he is the man that Levi placed his trust in, and that equals the person who we should follow, right? Well, since he is the leader, who gives extreme orders, there must be some complexity in the subordinates’ point of view.

O: In season 1, Armin made a reference to Erwin: “In order to achieve something, they need to leave behind their humanity”. The fast growing Armin has the potential to become Erwin’s successor. He realized that such extreme decisions are necessary in order to lead mankind… My personal thought as Ono Daisuke is that Armin is Erwin’s successor, but I have mixed feelings about it. I also don’t want him to be his successor.

K: You don’t want Armin to end up like him. As Eren, I think so too.

Kaji’s message to Eren: Maybe it's "I understand your sadness, but keep fighting!". As for Reiner and Bertolt, "What was that smile for?!" I personally want to scream it out.

Ono’s message to Erwin: "What can your current self see?" I want to ask him that.

[weekendwarriorblog]

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND September 27, 2019  - ABOMINABLE, FIRST LOVE, JUDY, THE LAUNDROMAT

There’s only one movie in wide release this week, and it’s the second DreamWorks Animation/Universal animated movie of the year, ABOMINABLE, which is also the third animated movie involving some sort of Bigfoot, Sasquatch or Yeti (if you don’t include Monsters Inc. and Monsters University). 

I actually really enjoyed this movie quite immensely, even though I’m not sure I’m up for a full review. It features the voice of Chloe Bennet (from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as Yi, a young Chinese girl who finds a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building and goes on a magical adventure to bring the beast (she dubs “Everest”) back to his home (on Mount Everest) along with her two friends, one voiced by Albert Tsai from Fresh Off the Boat. DreamWorks has been somewhat erratic in my book as far as their recent animated films, but Abominable really offered a lot to enjoy, from some of the sillier humor to the magical fantasy elements. There’s also a lot of really touching and even moving moments that really hit me in the feels, partially thanks to the score by Rupert Gregson-Williams. (How this guy has not been nominated for an Oscar is beyond me.) So yeah, this is the third animated movie of the last year involving a Yeti, but I think DreamWorks and director Jill Culton really nailed the storytelling and visuals in a way that was lacking, at least in The Missing Link earlier this year.

You can read my interview with Chloe Bennet over at The Beat later today.

The movie that people should definitely try to find is Takashi Miike’s latest crime thriller, FIRST LOVE (Hatsukoi), released by Well GO USA in New York (at the Angelika) and L.A. (at the Laemmle Nuart) on Friday then expanding on October 2.

Besides returning Miike to his crime roots, being a movie that involves the Yakuza, it also is as much a love story as Ichi the Killer only without all the genre weirdness that made that one (and many of Miike’s other movies) such a hard sell to mainstream audiences. First Love still has a lot of fun and a tiny bit of weirdness, but it’s also something more akin to the work of Tarantino, at least with Kill Bill.

It stars Masataka Kubota as a young boxer named Leo, who learns he has a tumor and little time to live when he encounters a call girl named Yuri who being forced into paying off a debt to the Yakuza (played by Sakurako Konishi). They meet under the strangest circumstances, as the two go on the run, her trying to escape from being used by a rival faction as a scapegoat in a planned drug heist.

Despite the title, this isn’t a romance film although it definitely has romantic elements between the two characters. The film sets up an intricate cast of characters around them with various factions and double-dealings that unfold over the course of the movie. That’s partially what makes True Love such a breakthrough for Miike, who has been doing so much Manga-derived work in recent years. He manages to take the incredible ensemble of actors and give all of them some good screen time as we follow Leo and Yuri trying to evadde those various factions, most of whom want them dead. It culminates in one of the most amazing action-packed last acts that’s up there with anything in 13 Assassins and Blade of the Immortal, two of Miike’s fairly recent Edo-period films.

As someone who has seen a LOT, if not most of Miike’s films over the last 20 years – we’re talking almost fifty films, here – First Love is his best movie since Audition, and having seen that again recently, I think it’s even better than that. It’s just a brilliant action-thriller from the filmmaking vet that I hope people will look for, even if they’re not a fan of Miike’s work before this.

RATING: 8.5/10

The other movie worthy of note is the biopic JUDY (LD Entertainment/Roadside Attractions) starring Renée Zellwegger as Judy Garland, directed by British theater director Rupert Goold (True Story). I have to be honest that I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie, because I was never a really big Judy Garland fan—I’m not even sure I’ve seen many of her movies besides The Wizard of Oz– and I can’t say I’m really a fan of Zellwegger either.

Although Judy has a few traditional biopic elements as it flashes back to Judy’s dealings with Louis B. Mayer (one of the M’s in MGM) lording over Judy as a teenager around the time of “Wizard,” it mostly takes place in the mid-to-late 60s as she’s fighting for custody of her two kids with her ex Sid, falling for a young piano-playing entrepreneur played by Finn Wittrock and trying to maintain a comeback at a London residency that’s plagued by her bouts with drugs and alcohol.

In some ways, the movie reminded me a little of last year’s Stan and Ollie, another great film about screen stars of yesteryear in their later years based around a solid script. In this case, the script is by someone named Tom Edge (The Crown) who clearly did enough research that as you’re watching the movie, you’re likely to wonder “Did that really happen?”

One of those moment is when Judy meets two elderly gay fans and ends up spending the night hanging with them at their home, a moment that will play a pivotal part later. I also liked some of the rest of the cast around her including Jessie Buckley (who was amazing in Wild Rose) and Finn Witrock, as Judy’s closest confidante.

More than anything, it’s about how Zellwegger embodies Judy Garland, and it’s more than just an impression, as she pulls out some amazing emotions as she struggles with life without her kids, but as soon as she steps on stage in front of an audience, she goes through an amazing transformation.

Again, Judy really surprised me in how much I enjoyed it, but I won’t be even remotely surprised if Zellwegger wins her second Oscar

RATING: 8/10

LOCAL FESTIVALS

Before we get to the rest of this week’s limited releases, I need to talk about two great film festivals, one on each coast. Of course, I have to talk about Film at Lincoln Center’s New York Film Festival first, since I’ve been attending it now for almost sixteen years, and it’s another banner year beginning this Friday with the WORLD PREMIERE of Martin Scorsese’s long-anticipated return to crime and reunion with Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel with The Irishman, which also brings Al Pacino into the fold as Jimmy Hoffa. (I’ll be seeing this Friday morning and reviewing for The Beatsometime over the weekend.) The closing night film is Edward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn, a crime novel that he’s been trying to get made for nearly a decade or more, but this one also has a significantly incredible cast around him, including Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Willem Dafoe and many more. I’ll also review it for The Beat.

Beyond that, NYFF includes a lot of upcoming releases that I’ve missed by not going to many other festivals this year, including Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story (the Centerpiece) and a bunch of other movies that have played Cannes, TIFF and other festivals. There’s also a few docs in there that I’m looking forward to, including Michael Apted’s 63-Up, the latest in his ongoing series that began way back in the 60s with a television special about a group of schoolkids who the filmmaker followed over the course of their lives, revisiting every seven years without fail. It’s a pretty amazing achievement, and I’m definitely in until the filmmaker decides to stop (or more likely and sadly, dies). I hope to write more about the New York Film Festival both here and over at The Beatover the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

Over in Los Angeles, the 2019 Beyond Fest will be taking over the Hulu Theater at the American Cinemateque’s Egyptian starting Weds. and for the next few weeks, kicking off with the West Coast Premieres of Richard Stanley’s Color Out of Space in a double feature with Daniel isn’t Real, two movies from Elijah Wood’s excellent horror production company SpectreVision. The festival will also screen Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit and Bong Joon-wo’s Parasite, two movies I still haven’t had a chance to see, probably making me the last person on earth to see both of them. (They both open in October, so I expect that to change soon.) Other movies playing Beyond Fest include The Lodge, Little Monsters (which is a lot of fun) and a few repertory screenings that I’ll mention in the appropriate section below.

LIMITED RELEASES

A few weeks back, I was a little remiss by forgetting to include the Bulgarian drama ÁGA (Big World Pictures) in my column when it played at New York’s Film Forum. I want to make up for it this weekend, as it opens at the Laemmle Royal in L.A. Milko Lazarov’s film is set in a yurt in the furthest regions of Siberia, and honestly, I thought I was watching a documentary at first, since it’s filmed in such a cinema verité way where you think you’re watching real people, but nope, it’s a scripted film with local actors. It revolves around a couple, Sedna and Nannok, living in that yurt, whose only connection to the outside world is their son Chena, who tells him that he’s found their daughter Ága after a family argument that made her leave home.  I won’t say much more but the way that the story is told and shot really takes advantage of the locale, and I was glad to hear that Bulgaria selected it for the Oscars’ newly-titled “International Film” category.

Another fun movie worth seeking out is Daniel Schneiber’s dark comedy THE DEATH OF DICK LONG (A24), the first solo feature from one half ofSwiss Army Mandirectors, “The Daniels.” Schneiber also plays the title character, essentially a corpse – I’m seeing a trend here –as the film involves two friends who are involved with the accidental death of another man, actually the drummer in their band. We won’t find out for quite some time how “Dick Long” died, and I’m not going to spoil it, because it’s the film’s oddest turn – maybe one where it will lose a few people—but I think it’s another creative film with a great cast, mostly of lesser known actors but ones that really deliver a fun experience. I’m not sure where this is all playing, but I do know that one of the places is the Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn on Friday night.

Similarly opening at the Metrograph this weekend for one screening only on Saturday -- but one where star Timothy Blake Nelson will be present for a QnA – is Chris Poché’s The True Don Quixote, which also stars Jacob Batalon from Spider-Man: Far from Home. It’s a new take on Cervantes’ classic tale that shifts it into Louisiana with Nelson’s Danny Kehoe accompanied by Batalon’s Sancho. It’s odd this is coming out the same year as Terry Gilliam’s long-in-development-hell The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, but I’m checking it out on Saturday for sure.

I won’t be seeing Stephen Soderbergh’s THE LAUNDROMAT (Netflix) until after this column posts, but I know a little bit about it. Like I know that it stars Meryl Streep, who plays a widow who is investigating insurance fraud and finding two law partners in Panama City (Antonio Banderas, Gary Oldman) who are exploiting the world’s financial system. Soderbergh’s cast also includes Will Forte, Jeffrey Wright, David Schwimmer and Sharon Stone, and it’s probably his The Big Short. It won’t be on Netflix until October 18, so if you want to see it, you’ll have to find one of the select cities where it’s playing, including New York’s IFC Center where it opens Friday.

Mini-Review: Let’s just get this out of the way, because I wrote the above before actually seeing the movie, but yes, The Laundromat is indeed Soderbergh’s attempt at making a Big Short-like examination of the world of finance and shell corporations and how the rich exploit the poor or “the meek”… and he has a cast full of well-known actors, many in a higher tax bracket, to tell what ends up being something that is probably more apropos for a documentary than an attempted comedy.

There is little question that The Laundromat is intended to be a comedy, beginning with the “wacky accents” sported by Oldman and Banderas as lawyers Jürgen Mosseck and Ramón Fonseca who begin to explain how the world of finance works. Before that, we meet Meryl Streep’s Ellen Martin and her husband Joe (James Cromwell) on a romantic anniversary get-away where their tour boat topsizes, drowning 21 people, including Joe. She then learns that she can’t collect from the boat company’s insurance due to a series of shell companies that she traces back to Mosseck and Fonseca in Panama. Before that, we see Jeffrey Wright appear as someone else involved in a way that is never quite understandable…. And that’s while the entire time, Mosseck and Fonseca break the fourth wall to try to make what’s happening EASIER to understand.

Frequent Soderbergh collaborator Scott Z. Burns is a fantastic writer – his screenplay for The Report, which he also directed, is proof-positive – but something about this one gets lost in translation. There’s clearly a desire to

The oddest decision is to cast two GENUINELY funny actors like Will Forte and Chris Parnell, and literally have them in one scene before killing them off. That’s just one of the many tangents that seem to come from out of nowhere and have very little to do with the overall “story” – and I use that term loosely. If I were watching this on Netflix, the first major tangent into the dalliances of a wealthy African businessman (Nonso Anozie) trying to buy his daughter’s silence about his affair was me sitting on the remote and actually switching to another movie. The second tangent to China – a complete waste of Rosalin Chao -- is even worse.

And yet, that’s still better than all of the shenanigans and silliness we’re forced to watch great actors like Oldman and Banderas (who is AMAZING in Almodovar’s new film Pain and Glory) get up to – it’s actually painful. Most people already know how little I care for Streep but to play what seems like a kindly widow trying to get through her grief only to have that not being entirely the case. (I won’t spoil it, but if you can’t figure out that it’s Streep under the make-up playing ANOTHER character, then you’re probably not going to get the attempted intricacies of the world of finance being explored.)

Despite being only ninety minutes long, this was a chore to sit through, partially due to the confusing tangents, but also due to some of the questionable filmmaking decisions which would seem below a filmmaker of Soderbergh’s caliber.

It feels like everyone involved with Soderbergh’s latest has grown tired of the Oscars on their mantle and decided to make a concentrated effort to go for a few Razzies. They might get their wish.

Rating: 4.5/10

One of the ACTUAL docs I’ve seen this weekend is Bill Haney’s new doc Jim Allison: Breakthrough (DADA Films), which follows the career of Jim Allison, an amazing geneticist who specializes in immunology, making huge breakthroughs into curing cancer by discovering that antibodies have a special nodes that help them fight against illness and disease and how cancer tumors shut them off. Allison won the Nobel Prize in Medicine last December. It’s a fairly brainy and scientific doc that at times seems more like an advertising for the pharmaceutical company who mass-produced the drug that came out of Allison’s research, but there’s a great case study of a woman who is diagnosed with myeloma and given only a few years to live. The doc is opening at a couple theaters in New York, including the Quad Cinema, and a couple in L.A., and then it expands to other cities next Friday. Oh, and it’s narrated by Woody Harrelson!

I’m a little more mixed on the doc Anthropocene: The Human Epoch (Kino Lorber), a combined effort by Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier  and Edward Burtynsky, which also opens at the IFC Center. I’m not even sure I can properly describe this world-spanning environmental doc… so I won’t try. It’s beautifully shot but not quite so obvious what the filmmakers were going for.

I haven’t had a chance to watch Chris Morris’ The Day Shall Come (IFC Films), which stars Anna Kendrick as an FBI agent who must go to great lengths to catch Moses Al Shabaz (Marchánt Davis), a Miami street preacher who wants to overthrow the US government who gets the backing of a Middle Eastern terrorist organization. And apparently, it’s a comedy? Okay, then.s

The last vestiges of MoviePass is their sole movie production, Bryan A. Miller’s 10 Minutes Gone (Lionsgate), an action-thriller starring Bruce Willis as crime-boss Rex, who hires Michael Chiklis’s Frank to lead a crew on as jewel heist, but when things go wrong and Frank wakes up with no memory of what happened (and no jewels), he must solve that before Rex has him killed. It will open in select cities but probably will be seen by most on Video On Demand.

I was kind of hoping I’d have a chance to see Fatih Akin’s new film The Golden Glove (Strand Releasing) as I’ve been a fan of the filmmaker for some time, but no such luck. This tells the story of notorious German serial killer Fritz Honka who terrorized Hamburg’s red light district – I’ve actually been there!!! – in the ‘70s, frequenting the “Golden Glove” bar and chasing after lonely women… and presumably killing them… cause he’s a serial killer. It’s opening at the IFC Center and presumably somewhere in L.A. as well?

Gilles Lelouch’s French comedy Sink or Swim (Level Film) stars Mathieu Amalric as one of a group of 40-something men who decide to form their pool’s first-ever all-male synchronized swimming team.

Samantha Buck & Marie Schlingmann’s Sister Aimee (1091/Obscured Pictures) stars Anna Margaret Hollyman as the title character, America’s most famous evangelist who is fed up with her success, so she goes on a wild trip to the Mexican border with her lover.  It opens in select theaters Friday and will On Demand next Tuesday.

Other films out this week in select cities (and On Demand) include Matthew Currie Ross’ The Curse of Buckout Road (Vertical/TriMuse Entertaiinment), starring Evan Ross, Henry Czerny and more. It takes place on New York State’s “most haunted road.” It should not be confuse with the Venezuelan thriller The Vampire of the Lake (Uncork’d Pictures/Dark Star Pictures), which only opens at L.A.’s Laemmle Glendale on Friday.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

This weekend, the Metrograph will begin screening a restored 35mm print of Alain Corneau’s 1979 film Série Noir, which adapts a Jim Thompson novel for the screen. Welcome To Metrograph: Redux will screen Antonioni’s Le Amiche (1955) a few times over the weekend and Pierre Schoendoerff’s documentary The Anderson Platoon (1967), neither which I’ve seen or know much about. The series will also screen the 1955 film Artists and Models, starring Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, s and Fassbinder’s 1974 film Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, two movies which I ALSO have never seen. (I’m more likely to see the former.) Late Nites at Metrograph  will show David Lynch’s 2001 film Mulholland Drive, which is actually a rather boring choice for the usually innovative series. (Heck, I can go see that at the New Beverly one the one day they’re not showing Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood if I lived in L.A..) On the other hand, my favorite ongoing Metrograph series Playtime: Family Matinees will screen the 1979 film The Black Stallion this weekend, and that’s another movie I have never seen.

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

Since I’m sort of back on schedule, although tonight’s “Weird Wednesday” Tank Girlis already sold out. You can still get tickets for the weekend screenings of Joel Schumacher’s 1987 film The Lost Boys on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Claude Chabrol’s The Cérémonie from 1995 will screen on Saturday as part of “Cutting Class: Films Inspired by Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite” – wait, shouldn’t that be the other way around? Oh, I guess maybe the programming was inspired by seeing Parasite, which I haven’t seen yet. Buster Keaton’s 1923 film Our Hospitality will screen on Sunday with “live theater organ accompaniment” – what is this? The Film Forum?  Kidding… Monday night screenings include Mark Wahlberg’s 1996 film Fear and (separately Millennium Actress (2002), the latter part of the “Anime-Zing” series. Next week’s “Terror Tuesday” is Tony Scott’s The Hunger from 1983, but earlier is a 4k restoration of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Joseph Losey’s The Servant from 1963 will also play that night, as a movie that inspired Bong Joon-ho vs. the other way around. Next week’s Weird Wednesday is Hulk Hogan’s 1989 movie No Holds Barred, which is not sold out… yet.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Although Robert Altman’s Nashville will end on Thursday, the Film Forum will begin a week-long run of a 4k restoration of Fritz Lang’s Indian epic with the two parts, The Tiger of Eschnapor and The Indian Tomb, both from 1959 shown with separate admission fees rather than as a double feature. (Sad trombone.) The movie was originally shown in the U.S. in an edited (almost cut in half) version, so this is a rare chance to see the full movie on the big screen starting Friday. This weekend’s Film Forum Jr. is appropriately Jim Henson and Frank Oz’s beloved 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Although the Hulu(ween) Theater is being taken over by Beyond Fest (see above) much of this week and next, there’s a few repertory screenings including a 30th Anniversary screenings of Killer Crocodile and Luigi Cozzi’s 1989 film Paganini Horror on Friday and a 10th anniversary screening of Karyn Kusama’s Jennifer’s Body (with Kusama AND Megan Fox in person!) on Sunday. They’re also showing a screening of Al Adamson’s 1971 film Dracula Vs Frankenstein on Sunday.

AERO  (LA):

A bunch of non-rep stuff going on this week but on Saturday, they’ll screen a new 35mm print of Joan Tewkesbury’s 1979 directorial debutOld Boyfriends with Tewkesbury, stars Talia Shire and Keith Carradine in person! Sunday is the monthly “The Style of Sin: Pre-Code Film” series with a Marlene Dietrich double feature of 1930’s Morocco and the 1932 film Shanghai Express, both directed by her frequent collaborator Josef Von Sternberg. On Sunday night is a screening of Easy Rider (1969) in tribute to the late Peter Fonda. On Tuesday is a matinee screening of Fritz Lang’s 1931 film M, starring Peter Lorre, as part of “Tuesdays with Lorre,” free to Cinematheque members.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

FilmLinc is probably going to be pretty busy this week with the New York Film Festival starting Friday (see above), but it includes a few repertory screenings that I’ll try to mention. This weekend, they’re premiering a new restoration of Luis Buñuel’s 1930 film L’age d’or on Sunday as well as a new restoration of his 1950 film Los Olvidados. Béla Tarr’s 1994 film Sátántángo will also premiere in a new restoration on Sunday. On Tuesday, there’s a new restoration of Valerio Zurlini’s Le Professeur, while on Monday will screen new restorations of Three Short Films by Sergei Parajanov.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Weekend Classics: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is Paul Verhoeven’s Black Book (2006), starring Carice van Houten from Game of Thrones, picked by “Carlos” in a rare 35mm print! Waverly Midnights: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), a great choice by “Tashika.” Late Night Favorites: Summer 2019 ends with something new that hasn’t been shown all summer… the 1986 film Critters, chosen by “Shane”!

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

“See It Big! Ghost Stories” continues this weekend with The Innocents (1961), which inspired Alejandro Amenabar’s 2001 film The Others, and the Japanese thriller Empire of Passion (1978).Also starting Friday is “Five by Forsyth,” as in Bill Forsyth, showing five movies including his 1979 debut That Sinking Feeling, as well as Comfort and Joy (’84), Breaking In (’89), Local Hero(’83) and Housekeeping (’87). On Saturday night, MOMI is also screening William Peter Blatty’s 1980 debut The Ninth Configurationas part of its ongong “Disreputable Cinema” series.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

Sadly, “Laws of Desire: The Films of Antonio Banderas” ends on Thursday, but it will end with a screening of Steven Soderbergh’s new movie, The Laundromat as it opens theatrically… at the IFC Center further downtown. (Waugh Waugh….)

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

Friday night’s midnight offering is the ever-popular Anime Vampire Hunter Dfrom 1985.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

On Wednesday night, there’s a special screening of the doc The Blank Generation (1976) about the New York new wave/pun scene with director Amos Poe doing a QnA afterwards. (The movie is also screening on Saturday sans QnA.) On Friday, they’re screening Susan Seidelman’s 1983 punk movie Smithereens. Otherwise, it’s all Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. What the holy fuck?

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Still showing Once Upon a Time …  in Hollywood most of the time so still relegated to the bottom of the repertory section ‘cause IT ISN’T REPERTORY! But at least October is looking more promising for the New Bev to get back on track. We’ll see. The New Bev is showing the 1949 Burt Lancast film Criss Crossas a Wednesday matinee and one of my most beloved Disney movies ever That Darn Cat! (1965) over the weekend as its “Kiddee Matinee” but otherwise, it’s all Tarantino all the time. (Kill Bill: Volume 1 is the Saturday midnight offering.)

STREAMING AND CABLE

Pretty excited to hear that Jim Mickle, who directed Stakeland and Cold in July has a new movie on Netflix called IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON – part of Netflix’s “Netflix and Chills” series (har har). This one stars Boyd Holbrook from Logan as Philadelphia police officer Thomas Lockhart, who begins tracking a serial killer who keeps reappearing every nine years, his murders defying any scientific explanation. I haven’t seen it yet, but it also stars Michael C. Hall from Dexter and Cleopatra Coleman.

Apparently, Gwyneth Paltrow is in a new series called The Politician, but I know nothing about it, except that it’s Ryan Murphy’s first series for Netflix. Sorry!

I don’t have Shudder, so I can’t really say much about its programming, although this week, it will debut its new anthology series based on the George Romero anthology movie Creepshow, which might be a reason for me to subscribe. We’ll see.

Next week, it’s Joaquin Phoenix as Joker, a movie I’ve yet to be invited to see, as of this writing. Sad clown face…

[kazliin]

Top 10 fanfic title and summaries?

Sacchariwrites - top 10 most popular in universe viktuuri fanfics? lol

Ok so for these are the top 15 (I couldn’t stick to top 10, I had too many ideas!) most popular Viktuuri fanfics of the Rivals universe AO3. As a disclaimer they are not based on any existing Viktuuri fanfic irl and they are not all fics and tropes I would necessarily read, write or like (I don’t even like RPF myself), they are just the kind of fic that I imagine would be most popular in the Rivals universe considering what is publicly known of Viktor and Yuuri’s story and how they are each viewed by the public in general and their fans, plus the kind of fics that tend to be popular in most fandoms. 

Top Fifteen Most Popular Fanfics In the ‘Rivals’ AlternateUniverse AO3

1)     Title: TheLife We Live

Rating:  Explicit

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Figure Skating RPF

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Viktor Nikiforov

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Viktor Nikiforov, PhichitChulanont, Christophe Giacometti, Celestino Cialdini, Yakov Feltsman, YuriPlisetsky, Georgi Popovich, Mila Babicheva, Otabek Altin  

Additional tags: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Love,Romance, Kissing, Sexual Content, Ice Skating (obviously)

Summary:

Everyone knows thelove story of Katsuki and Nikiforov and the kiss that shocked the world. Whatnot so many people know however, is what came after.

(My take on thedomestic lives of Viktor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki based on interviews,social media and fan speculation)

 2)     Title: Love!!!On Ice

Rating:  Explicit

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Figure Skating RPF

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Viktor Nikiforov

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Viktor Nikiforov, Phichit Chulanont,Christophe Giacometti, other minor characters

Additional tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe –Coach and Student, Coach AU

Summary:

When the world’s topskater Viktor Nikiforov is permanently injured in a freak skating accident andforced to retire from skating for good he knows his life will never be the sameagain. But while his life is empty without skating to fill it, being forced tobecome the unwilling coach of a headstrong Japanese rising star skater was thevery last way he wanted to return to the ice.

The reluctant coachand unwilling student clash over almost everything but even through the hatred,something different slowly begins to emerge. Can Nikiforov teach Katsuki thesecrets to finally winning the gold? And can Katsuki bring back the meaning tohis life that Nikiforov thought he had lost forever?

 3)     Title: AMelody Sung, With Words Unspoken

Rating:  Mature

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Figure Skating RPF

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Viktor Nikiforov

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Viktor Nikiforov, PhichitChulanont, Christophe Giacometti, Yuri Plisetsky, Otabek Altin, Jean-JacquesLeroy, various other skaters

Additional tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe –Canon Divergence, Injury, Angst and Fluff, Enemies to Lovers

Summary:

At the height of hiscareer and at the brink of winning gold for the first time, Yuuri Katsuki isinstead injured and prevented from ever returning to competitive skating.Unable to let go of his love for the ice he instead turns to choreography,creating record-breaking routines that every skater dreams of one day skatingto. World renown for his work, he is in constant high demand but willing to workwith any skater who needs his help, from the youngest juniors to the mostdecorated seniors. All but one, his ex-rival Viktor Nikiforov, the world’s topskater and seemingly the only person who has never skated to a Katsuki routine.

Inspired by theemotive creations of Katsuki, Nikiforov sets out on a quest to convince theex-skater to help him choreograph the routines for his final and definitiveseason. Just how far will he have to go to convince his once-enemy to worktogether and what hidden secrets will he learn along the way?  

 4)     Title: OnLove: Eros

Rating:  Explicit

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Figure Skating RPF

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Viktor Nikiforov

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Viktor Nikiforov

Additional tags: The Eros Costume, Smut, Shameless Smut,Sexual Content, Top Viktor Nikiforov, Bottom Yuuri Katsuki, Porn with a littlebit of plot, Seduction, Riding, Oral Sex, Barebacking, Hair-pulling,Finger-fucking, Dirty talk, Orgasm Denial, the real story of how Katsukiconvinced Nikiforov to give him the Eros costume

Summary:

“Why?” Nikiforov saidand his eyes were as dark as his words were cold. “Why would I ever want tohelp you?”

Katsuki licked hislips, looking up at the other skater with a heated gaze and smirking a littleas he ran his fingers up Nikiforov’s arm to rest tantalisingly on his shoulder.

“I think I can make itworth your while.”

 5)     Title: Beforethe Camera, Behind the Screen

Rating:  Explicit

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Figure Skating RPF

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Viktor Nikiforov

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Viktor Nikiforov, PhichitChulanont, Christophe Giacometti, Celestino Cialdini, Yakov Feltsman

Additional tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe –Actors, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, they’re actors playingfigure skaters for a big Hollywood movie, and they hate each other, at first atleast, why do they not use body doubles for their sex scenes?, plot reasonsthat’s why

Summary:

Sweat-slicked skingleamed under the lights, two bodies moving as one as gasps of pleasure filledthe quiet room. Katsuki had his head thrown back, eyes glazed as he rode outthe sensation, thighs clamped tight around the warm body beneath him and handsfisted into silver hair…

“Cut.” Came the harshvoice of the director as the studio lights snapped back on, flooding the scenewith a glaring brightness. “Take five everyone.”

“And you two.” heturned to the two actors who were both blinking in the sudden light and wipingthe fake sweat from where it was lying stickily across their skin. “You need toget it together soon or this whole movie is going to be a disaster. You’resupposed to be in love for Christ’s sake! Katsuki, you look like you’recounting down the minutes until you can finish this scene and go and get lunchand Nikiforov, you’re just looking bored. You’re supposed to be actors! I don’tcare how much you hate each other, you better act like you don’t or you’re bothgetting fired.”

Katsuki glared down atNikiforov who was still lying beneath him, looking annoyed.

“You better step upyour game.” Nikiforov drawled, looking disparagingly up at the man stillstraddling him. “I have a reputation to uphold and I’m not going to lose it toa bad movie because of one amateur, one-hit-wonder actor who can’t do his jobproperly.”

“Maybe it would beeasier to do my job if you weren’t such an arrogant ass who can’t admit to hisown mistakes.” Katsuki shot back, glare intensifying. “And stop acting likeyou’re such a big deal. You might be famous but you’re not that impressive.”

“I don’t know, I’vebeen reliably informed by a lot of people that I’m very impressive.”

Nikiforov flicked hiseyes to where their bodies were joined, only the smallest pieces of fabricseparating them, eyebrow raised suggestively. Katsuki snorted in disgust, thenrolled his hips in an unexpected movement that made a certain part of Nikiforovperk up in unintentional interest.

“I’ve seen better.”

 6)           Title: The Calm Before The Storm

Rating:  GeneralAudiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: Gen

Fandom: Figure Skating RPF

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri and Viktor Nikiforov

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Viktor Nikiforov, PhichitChulanont, Christophe Giacometti, other character tags to be added

Additional tags: Backstory, Childhood Friends, BackstorySpeculation, Fluff, Angst and Heartbreak, Nikiforov/Katsuki Rivalry Backstory

Summary:

Another speculative ficabout the origins of the Katsuki/Nikiforov rivalry. Based on the popular theorythat they were childhood friends until something went horribly wrong.

7)     Title: coffee,cupcakes and other ways to fall in love

Rating:  Teen And UpAudiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Figure Skating RPF

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Viktor Nikiforov

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Viktor Nikiforov, PhichitChulanont, Christophe Giacometti, other character tags to be added

Additional tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - CoffeeShops & Cafés, Barista!Katsuki, Nikiforov is still a figure skater, Enemiesto Friends to Lovers, Katsuki is the cute barista Nikforov has been trying tocharm for weeks, Katsuki is having none of it

Summary:

“You know, I like mymen like I like my coffee.” Nikiforov said, leaning closer across the counterand trying out his best, award winning smile. The cute barista - whose nametagwas always suspiciously absent whenever Nikiforov was in the shop and whosename he still couldn’t charm out of him, although not from lack of trying -merely glared in response and continued to make his order without replying.

“Dark, strong and alittle bitter.” Nikiforov added with a flirtatious wink, making a point oflooking at the man’s feathery dark hair and the lean muscles that stood out inhis arms, accentuated by short sleeves of the uniform he was wearing.

“That’s funny. I likeyou just like I like my coffee too.” The barista’s glare changed in an instantto a coy smirk and Nikiforov’s heart leapt a little in his chest at the sight.It had been weeks since he had first spotted the man at his favourite coffeeshop and he had been trying to charm him from the moment their eyes first met. Unsuccessfullyso far but he knew it couldn’t be long now.

“And how is that?”Nikiforov replied, layering his tone with as much suggestiveness as he couldmuster.

“I don’t like coffee.”

The barista turnedaway to serve the next customer with a look of triumph and Nikiforov could feelhis face fall. Oh well, there was always next time. After all, he didn’t giveup easily and he always loved a challenge.

 8)     Title: AllThings Must Die (Except You and I)

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Figure Skating RPF

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Viktor Nikiforov

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Viktor Nikiforov, Other CharacterTags To Be Added

Additional tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe –Greek Mythology, Alternate Universe – Gods and Goddesses, Hades and Persephone,Hades and Persephone AU with a twist

Summary:

The God of Death andthe God of Spring have been waging a silent war for years. Spring, with hiseyes the colour of the sky and his hair like precious metals, brings life andlaughter while Death, dark like a shadow, ends all things and sorrow walks inhis wake. For centuries their silent war raged on, until one day the power ofthe God of Spring grew too great and he taunted the God of Death, creating aneternal Spring on earth where nothing could ever die.

Angered by thearrogance of the other God, the God of Death kidnaped the God of Spring for hismockery, locking him away in the underworld and plunging the world above intoan eternal winter. But hatred slowly began to change into something new and thetwo Gods came to realise they might not be as different as they once seemed.But both were needed to keep the balance in the world, one above and one below,and as the long winter raged on even love was called into question. Because cananyone truly be in love if they are also not free?

 9)     Title: doingit backwards

Rating: Explicit

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Figure Skating RPF

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Viktor Nikiforov

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Viktor Nikiforov

Additional tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega KatsukiYuuri, Alpha Victor Nikiforov, Mpreg, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Knotting, Biting,Mating, Nesting, Protective Viktor Nikiforov, Viktor being a good dad before heeven knows he’s the dad, Angst With a Happy Ending

Summary:

Katsuki hatesNikiforov and always has. But after one night of ill-advised passion leaves himwith a lot more than just hatred to remember the other man by, he realises hislife is about to change, and not necessarily for the better. And what’s worse,he knows he has to hide this new development from the other skater or face whatmight be terrible consequences.

Otherwise known as thefic where Viktor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki fall in love, get married and havekids. Not necessarily in that order.

 10)  Title: wingedCupid painted blind

Rating:  Teen And UpAudiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Figure Skating RPF

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Viktor Nikiforov

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Viktor Nikiforov

Additional tags: Secret Identities, Mistaken Identities, PenPals, Falling In Love

Summary:

Being the world’s bestfigure skating is exhilarating but also lonely. After a string of failedrelationships, Viktor Nikiforov decides to forgo love for good, knowing thatpeople only want the version of him they see on the TV and not who he really isinside. After finding a website for anonymous people just wanting someone totalk to, he quickly discovers that it is a good way to deal with his feelingswithout the pressure or expectation of his fame. Another user, KYKatsudon,quickly catches his attention and the two of them click instantly. Viktor findshe can talk to the other man about just about anything and the other man hassimilar feelings and fears. Slowly he begins to fall for the mysterious man atthe other end of the conversations and he wonders if maybe it might be worthtrying out love one more time. The only problem is he has no idea whoKYKatsudon really is, and he has never revealed his own identity either.

They might both be infor a surprise…

 11)  Title: EveryPawn Can Become A Queen

Rating:  Explicit

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Category: M/M

Fandom: Figure Skating RPF

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Viktor Nikiforov

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Viktor Nikiforov, Katsuki Mari, PhichitChulanont, Christophe Giacometti, Yuri Plisetsky, Otabek Altin, Jean-JacquesLeroy, Georgi Popovich, Mila Babicheva, Other Character Tags To Be Added

Additional tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe -Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe – Historical Fantasy, Alternate Universe– Royalty, Plotting, Assassination Attempts, Enemies to Lovers

Summary:

Yuuri is the Prince ofan Empire, second in line for the throne and renown in battle, a formidablewarrior who has been fighting for almost half his life against the neighbouringEmpire and their barbaric ways. But after tragedy strikes both kingdoms, anuneasy peace must be formed between the two opposing sides, a peace that mustbe sealed with the strongest of bonds.

Charged with keepingthe peace for the sake of his people, Yuuri is forced to leave his homelandforever and marry the only son and heir of the opposing kingdom, forging analliance with marriage to protect the empire built on the backs and blood ofhis family and now ruled by his beloved sister. But Yuuri knows what themarriage truly is beneath the pretty words. A life-sentence, imprisoned foreverunder the rule of a man he hates and has faced on the battlefield countlesstime.

But the politicalmachinations of the foreign court might prove to be an even deadlierbattlefield than the one he just left and he must keep the peace between thetwo kingdoms to save the lives of millions, whatever the cost. And what’s more,his long-time enemy and new husband is not the man he believed him to be andhis position as Prince Consort holds more power than he ever expected. For theone who holds the heart of the future king is the one who can control thekingdom.

 12)  whatwould I pay, to stay here beside you

Rating:  Teen and UpAudiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Figure Skating RPF

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Viktor Nikiforov

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Viktor Nikiforov, PhichitChulanont, Christophe Giacometti, Yuri Plisetsky, Otabek Altin, GeorgiPopovich, Mila Babicheva, Celestino Cialdini, Yakov Feltsman

Additional tags: Alternate Universe - The Little MermaidFusion (original), Mermaid!Viktor, Prince!Yuuri, Happy Ending

Summary:

Viktor has always beenfascinated by the human world and especially one human in particular, a man heonce saved from drowning one stormy night after a shipwreck. A dashing princewith a beautiful laugh, kind and beloved by all who know him. After loving himfrom afar for years Viktor makes a deal with the sea-witch, in exchange for hissilver hair he has one month to make the prince fall in love and marry him orhe will lose his life and be turned to nothing but foam on the sea. Known byall as impulsive and rash, Viktor takes the deal without a second thought andbegins a life on land with the intention of wooing the prince and finding hishappily ever after.

The one problem? ThePrince hates him on sight.

Working against theclock, Viktor has one month to uncover the mystery of the Prince’s past anddiscover why he is so hated by the other man. And not only that but he mustalso convince the prince to fall in love and marry him, least he be lost to thesea forever.

13)   Title: Saving Viktor Nikiforov

Rating:  Mature

Archive Warning: Major Character Death

Category: M/M

Fandom: Figure Skating RPF

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Viktor Nikiforov

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Viktor Nikiforov, PhichitChulanont, Christophe Giacometti, Other Skaters, Celestino Cialdini, YakovFeltsman

Additional tags: Temporary Character Death, AlternateUniverse – Time Travel, Slow Burn

Summary:

After a tragicaccident out on the ice, the world mourned the loss of figure skating legendViktor Nikiforov. Consumed by guilt, his rival Yuuri Katsuki lost all love ofthe sport that was once his life and wished desperately to change whathappened. In an unexpected turn of events his wish was granted and he was sentback in time, all the way back to his senior debut before the rivalry evenbegan. His one goal? Save Viktor Nikiforov.

 14)  ThroughAnother’s Eyes

Rating:  Gen

Archive Warning:  CreatorChose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Fandom: Figure Skating RPF

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Viktor Nikiforov

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Viktor Nikiforov, PhichitChulanont, Christophe Giacometti, Yuri Plisetsky, Celestino Cialdini, YakovFeltsman, Jean-Jacques Leroy, Otabek Altin

Additional tags: Fluff and Angst, Changing POV, based onpublic and social media reactions of each person, also based on YuriPlisetsky’s face when they kissed on the podium at the end

Summary:

A look at theNikiforov/Katsuki rivalry over the years from a variety of different points ofview

 15)  Roses andBlood

Rating:  Explicit

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Category: M/M

Fandom: Figure Skating RPF

Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Viktor Nikiforov

Characters: Katsuki Yuuri, Viktor Nikiforov, PhichitChulanont, Christophe Giacometti, Other Character(s)

Additional tags: Alternate Universe – Mafia, AlternateUniverse – Assassins and Hitmen, Enemies to Lovers

Summary:

Katsuki Yuuri is oneof the most successful and feared assassins in the world, his reputation onlysucceeded by his greatest rival, an opposing hitman called Viktor Nikiforov.But after circumstances bring the two of them together for a complex andlong-lasting job an uneasy peace is formed and gradually hatred turns to trustand respect and from that grows something more.

Job complete and awareof his new feelings for the man he once thought he hated, Katsuki returns tothe organisation holding his leash - controlling him with the only other thinghe cares about - to be given his next job, something he cannot refuse no matterwhat.

Hisnext assignment. Kill Viktor Nikiforov.

[oh-my-otome]

How do you know so much about todo??!? Please spill your secrets!

What I know about Todo can be learned in Kyo and Haru’s routes and from characters talking about them in various other routes. 

What I like about DtL is that you don’t have to be playing a particular route to learn about a character. If you pay attention, you can trace the continuity of a character’s backstory, and even their likes and dislikes, from different stories. 

It’s really quite fun!

There are spoilers for all kinds of things below!

If you don’t mind skipping to the good stuff, come with me!

We know that Kyo and Todo are identical twins based on not only other people saying that they look exactly alike, but Kyo and Todo themselves saying that they are the same– they each refer to the other as “another version of myself:”

They are all referring to their facial structure, body, voice and even their handedness being exactly the same.

Which means that one or both of them dyes their hair (including eyebrows), as that is the only physical attribute that is different among them.

Someone’s drapes and carpets don’t match!

The only other thing is the rim of their irises, which are colored differently, but that seems to be a design choice to make Todo look more sinister.

I was surprised that they didn’t have the same voice actor do both characters, since their voices would sound identical. But then I thought about the fact that they grew up hundreds of years apart, and all of the language differences that would naturally be present.

Which brings us to something else we learn about them: Kyo is not a Shinomiya, but a Todo. They are Todo Heisuke and Todo X, as Kyo was not given a name by his parents when he was born

Also, the Todo twins were likely born in the late 1830s.

So Kyo calling you “senpai” is kind of weird– he’s almost 200 years older than you! 

The Shinsengumi was created in 1864, and you’re a college graduate with several years as an office worker under your belt. If Kyo and Todo were born in 1839, and you were born in 1990, they’re 151 years older than you.

We already know that the DtL universe is one in which magic, like time travel, exists. However, we also learn that some people also have special abilities, such as Sakamoto’s preternatural intuition.

But when we meet Todo for the first time, we learn that he not only can manipulate time at will, but that he is an empath, specializing in pathokinesis, or emotion manipulation:

By thinking something, or simply saying Kyo’s name, Todo can stop his brother in his tracks and cause him to instantly feel sick and in pain to the point of being incapacitated when he was just fine before. 

Because he only does this to Kyo, we don’t know if it is because they are identical twins or if he can do it to anyone and simply chooses not to.

We see Todo has manipulated time before, without anyone even realizing it:

We know from this that Kyo and Todo fought before, but Todo is the only one who remembers it. So we learn a lot of things from just this scene:

Todo can freely move backwards and forwards through time, as many times as he likes.

This scene has already occurred, since Todo is amused that Kyo thinks it is only the second time that they are fighting.

Todo can change the outcome of an event that has already happened, since he is here giving exposition and not fighting with Kyo. We don’t know how many times they’ve actually fought, since this scene has occurred before, but it is no fewer than three times, since this is not the second time.

It explains why Todo’s view of death is as detached and meaningless as it is, since he’s a time lord who can just go back before a person died.

It also explains why he is always so “bored” all the time. Not only has he already seen what has happened, we later learn that he has seen what will happen:

He already knows about the fall of the Shinsengumi and the Tokugawa shogunate. No wonder he defected!

We know that the Todo clan was quite wealthy from Haru’s route. When Haru talks about his childhood, we learn that he was taken away as a baby and raised in the Todo manor. 

Haru says this about himself:

We now know that the Todo clan was not only wealthy, but that they had a connection to assassins, as they trained even their servants to become them.

So Todo and Haru grew up together for at least a little bit. We also know that Todo used to be friends with Haru, and also Yamazaki (who was ordered to kill him), and that Okita never liked Todo:

We know that Todo can pull other people with him through time:

We know that Todo has been visiting Kyo in the present many times and also that Todo doesn’t fully understand his power:

He thought he was only dreaming, when he was actually traveling through time. It was only when something physically touched him that he realized it wasn’t a dream. 

So, by sheer luck, every time he would visit Kyo in the present time, no one ever bumped into Todo, or saw Todo standing there, and nothing ever fell on him. 

We also know that Todo is struggling with superstitions and identity. Long before the 1800s, twins were considered to be bad luck in Japan because it was thought that a demon was trying to take the place of the real baby by replicating its appearance:

This is why Todo calls Kyo a “shoddy imitation,” an “imposter,” and says that there was “only one” of them in the womb and that they were “split in two.” It reflects the ignorance of the times, wherever the Todo clan was situated.

Maybe if they spent more on education and less on butler assassins?  

We also learn that their parents left one of the babies, Kyo, to die. In real life around this time, this did happen, and there are stories of the spirit of the baby who died coming back as a vengeful ghost.

Because Todo was raised believing the same superstition, he sometimes thinks of Kyo as his twin, and sometimes thinks of Kyo as literally an extension of himself, to the point where Todo thinks that Kyo’s interests and possessions are his:

On one hand, he understands that they are two different people, and on the other, he knows it conflicts with what he believes to be true (the superstition).

We don’t know why their parents kept one of them over the other. It could be eenie meenie miny moe for all we know.

Since Kyo went to the present time by himself, we also know that he has at least some ability to travel through time on his own. 

However, it is in a much weaker capacity, since Kyo goes to the present and remains there until Todo pulls him back.

We know that Kyo and Todo “call to each other,” as Todo can also go to where Kyo is, regardless of time period. But you three are not the only ones who time travel.

There is also Saito, who was pulled through time as a child and remained in the Bakumatsu period.

It would seem that there needs to be some tertiary connection to Todo that pulls people through time:

Kyo is Todo’s identical twin, so he gets pulled

Both twins love you, and Todo misses his twin, so you get pulled

Saito loves you, so he gets pulled

Okita and Takasugi love you, so they get pulled to the present

Your letter is important to you, so it gets pulled

Saito has not been revealed to have any kind of powers, so he was probably dragged back through time accidentally, and Todo may not even know about it. Todo does know Saito, as Todo was one of the many Shinsengumi captains, but there’s nothing saying that they know each other outside of just work.

We learn that Kyo and Todo’s sword, Kazusanosuke Kaneshige, is the only item from their family that they have left:

So, of course, they break it while fighting with each other.

We also know that Todo left his sword with Yuki for safe-keeping, who in turn gave it to Kyo when he first met him.

Also, after the last time they fight, Kyo experiences a mysterious fever and collapses, going in and out of consciousness. Could this be Todo’s pathokinesis?

[toraonice]

Yuri on Ice 2017/03/03 event report “Figure Skate wo 100-bai Tanoshimu Shuuchuu Kougi”

Since I went to the other day’s event and took notes, here’s a detailed report. I went to both the afternoon event (at the actual hall) and the evening one (live viewing from a cinema) and took notes at both, but since this time it was over 2 hours and not 30 minutes like the last event I couldn’t possibly write down everything. I left out most basic information about figure skating that you can easily look up online and kept anecdotes and more detailed information. Still, it’s very long. You don’t want to know how many hours it took me to type this out...

The purpose of the event was to explain figure skating to people who don’t know much about it, so people who already know a lot might find some of the information in the report “obvious”. Please kindly remember the target audience before thinking “who doesn’t know this??”…

The flow of the event was the same in both the afternoon and evening shows, except some parts and some things they said that were different. The participants were also different. You probably know who Kenji Miyamoto is already, but if you don’t know Akiko Suzuki click on the name.

The evening show is actually going to be broadcast on TV Asahi’s satellite channel in April. It’s probably also a way to advertise the ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating, which is held later on in April and will also be coincidentally broadcast by TV Asahi. (You can see that TV Asahi is putting a lot of effort into dragging more people into figure skating with YOI, but I guess it’s a good thing)

Translation under the cut because it’s very long...

“Figure Skate wo 100-bai Tanoshimu Shuuchuu Kougi” (“Intensive lecture to enjoy figure skating 100 times more”) Participants: Toshiyuki Toyonaga, Mitsurou Kubo, Kenji Miyamoto, Akiko Suzuki, Yuutarou Honjou (afternoon only), Shunichi Toki (afternoon only), Kouki Uchiyama (evening only). MC: Hiroki Mikami (TV Asahi sports announcer)

***AFTERNOON SHOW***

The show started with the OP footage (History Maker) shown on a screen at the back of the stage. The background colors were a bit different than the original version. It was followed by a picture drama that featured pictures of the characters from the key visual image over a simple school background. In the drama, which was voiced in real time by the voice actors from behind the scenes, Yuuri wakes up in the morning and finds himself in a classroom instead than in his bedroom in Hasetsu. While he is puzzled, Guang-Hong and Leo suddenly appear and behave as if they are his classmates, saying that the school is specialized in figure skating and their assignment is about the short program. The drama ends with Yuuri still in disbelief. By the way, in the drama Yuuri says that Victor let him eat a bit of katsudon the evening before because the accuracy of his jumps improved (say hello to new hidden setting).

After this the MC came on stage and was followed by the participants. The event setting is also a “school”, therefore Toyonaga (voice of Yuuri), Honjou (voice of Guang-Hong) and Toki (voice of Leo) were wearing “gakuran”, the Japanese black school uniform that can be seen worn by Yuuri, Victor and Yurio in the new illustration Kubo drew for the event. Kubo was dressed normally but had an “ita-bag” with lots of charms and goods from the show (to imitate a high school girl). Miyamoto and Suzuki had fashionable outfits. In this “setting”, the voice actors are student, Kubo is the head of the student council and Miyamoto & Suzuki are teachers (they joke about this a few times).

Before starting the main part of the event, they showed a nice digest footage of YOI.

The event was divided into “lessons”, and every time a lesson ended you could hear a chime. The 1st lesson was an introduction of legendary and contemporary figure skaters. It showed footage of various male skaters, foreigners first and then Japanese ones. I didn’t write it down so I might be forgetting someone, but they showed: Stéphane Lambiel, Evgeni Plushenko, Jeffrey Buttle, Johnny Weir, Patrick Chan, Javier Fernandez, Nathan Chen, Dennis Ten, Yuzuru Hanyu, Shoma Uno, Takahito Mura, Daisuke Takahashi.

I didn’t really take notes in this part because it was just information on the players, but you can easily look that up anywhere on the net.

The 2nd lesson was about “expressions/representations”.

They asked Miyamoto about how he choreographed Eros and Agape, and he was nice enough to answer in a slightly different way than in the bonus footage of the BDs. Regarding Eros, he said that the movements create a “shape”, the hands move close to the body because it’s more sensual, and the choreography shows off the curves of the body, which is also sensual. Regarding Agape, he said that the movements are more “abstract” and do not create an actual shape, and the hands move far from the body, in a way that all movements connect smoothly. There are also many movements of the arms that start low and go upwards.

He also said that, in general, the fingers are kept in a way that the hands always look tridimensional no matter where you look at them from, and never look flat.

They asked him about the difference between women’s and men’s postures, and he said that women usually stand in a slightly diagonal line because it shows their curves, while men stand upright with their foreheads pushed a little forward and shoulder blades pulled backwards. (The seiyuu tried to imitate this with more or less success, lol)

After this they brought on stage Yuuri’s FS costume, borrowed from Chacott. Kubo commented that the size is actually quite small (people who went to the Chacott Cafe reported that Yuuri’s costume was made based on his real body sizes, which are undisclosed, and that a guy from the staff who is more or less Yuuri’s height said he couldn’t fit in it, so despite what is said about him putting on weight easily Yuuri is actually quite thin when he competes).

They commented that many skaters have a thin waist, and Suzuki said that it’s because they have to do many movements that require twisting your body, so your waist will naturally get slimmer. For this reason, she also suggested that women who want to shape up try figure skating (lol). About muscles, they also said that it really depends on the skater, and while some are very muscular some will be thinner. In all cases, they have a very strong body trunk and core because it’s required for the movements they have to perform.

Regarding the costumes, Kubo commented that especially European skaters tend to wear more flamboyant or weird costumes.

Regarding other coreographies, Miyamoto said that for Chris’ SP he was asked to mimic a shower scene, like coming out of the shower and drying your body with a towel. The ass part was Kubo’s request just because she wanted to see it (lol). They also mentioned Michele’s SP, that uses a showy costume reminiscent of a knight but it’s actually deep because it expresses his frank love for his sister. Kubo said that she found amusing how Miyamoto mimicked a guitar in Minami’s FS and also Seung-gil’s mambo (but the latter was more because she imagined Seung-gil dancing that and found it hilarious).

Miyamoto said that he always takes inspiration for his choreographies from everything around him, not only people but animals, plants and inanimate objects too. He likes to go to zoos and aquariums to observe the animals’ movements and then he thinks about how to incorporate them into his choreographies. He said that animals do not make “unnecessary” movements, they are all natural and so they look fluid and beautiful. He also takes inspiration from statues in museums (you might remember how he was inspired by stone statues for Victor’s throat in his FS) and from many other things like falling leaves, melting ice cream etc.

Suzuki said that when she looks at landscapes music starts playing inside her head, and when she skates on the ice rink she sees landscapes appearing on the ice. The landscape depends on what she is skating, so she might see grass or a desert or something else.

The seiyuu asked if they get nervous when they make a mistake, and Suzuki said she does. Miyamoto said that he used to tell himself “it’s ok, you can do it”. When asked whether it’s normal for a skater to change elements in a program, for example to gain back points they lost due to a mistake, Suzuki said that it’s possible but that on the ice you need both “passion” and “calmness”. If you’re not calm enough you might make mistakes when you change something, for example ending up doing something against the rules, and that would detract even more points. However, if you’re too calm and not passionate enough it might affect your performance and make it less convincing.

They also talked about entering a “zone”, like reaching a mental dimension where you’re absolutely concentrated on your act and aren’t affected by what happens around you, but they also commented that it’s not something you can do on purpose (you cannot be like “ok, I’m gonna enter the zone now”).

At this point they asked the voice actors how they improve their ability to express something. Toyonaga (who was originally a theater actor and not a voice actor) said that he believes “acting is life”, therefore he always pays attention to anything he does in his everyday life to use it as a reference for when he acts, even simple things like unlocking a door or drinking water. When he is asked to act realistically he remembers what he does in his everyday life, and when he is asked to be “hyperrealistic” he exaggerates the everyday movements, so he basically uses them as a “standard”. He said people often ask him if he gets tired doing that (like, constantly paying attention to everything he does), but he says it’s not as terrible as it sounds because he does it very naturally. Toki said he tries to imitate the things his character does to get closer to them. For example, one time he had to play a character who didn’t eat anything and only drank water for a week, so he tried to do the same, but gave up after 3 days. They asked him whether it affected his work and he said that he did his best and somehow managed to perform anyway, but that he did feel exhausted. Honjou said that being in a choir was helpful because you have to express the contents of a song without moving. According to him, learning how to express something when singing also becomes a reference when you are doing voice acting.

Kubo said that when she creates a character’s personality she often does it piece by piece like a puzzle. She also said that she likes to know new things about people, and mentioned an anecdote from a meeting in a restaurant with Miyamoto. He stood up to go blow his nose, and even though they told him “it’s ok, there’s only us” he replied “no way!” and strode out. She said she was happy to see a new “side” of him. Miyamoto explained that figure skaters often blow their nose when they’re on the rink, but he always teaches his students that it’s better not to do it outside in front of people (in Japan it’s not considered good manners to blow your nose in public), so he tries to do the same to set an example.

In this part they also showed a program by Satoko Miyahara and explained what she was trying to express (it was her feelings toward skating, though I haven’t taken notes for this part as I was watching the program so I don’t remember in detail..).

After this the 3rd lesson started. The title is basically “does that scene happen in real life too!?”. They showed footage from the Chuu-shikoku regional tournament in episode 5, first showing Victor getting sulky over Yuuri ignoring him when he was trying to think what to do when seeing him off on the rink, and then the part where he tells him to turn around and hugs him from behind. The topic of discussion is what coaches and athletes do right before the athlete skates his program.

Suzuki said that she put her hands on the border of the rink and did a stretching movement, then her coach would put his hands on top of hers and tell her “itterasshai” (it literally means “go!” but it’s a word that you use when seeing a person off and can imply a variety of meanings like “have a nice trip” or “take care”, so it’s more gentle and meaningful than a normal “go”. I’m sure you hear it a lot in anime). The seiyuu asked whether it happens that the voices of people cheering and the scores of the previous skater being announced are too loud and you can’t hear what your coach says, but she said that you can hear it fine. She also said that sometimes, depending on your condition, you might interpret the words of your coach in different ways, and that coaches also worry a lot about what they tell skaters, especially the last words before seeing a skater off. She said that even her coach (I think it was Hiroshi Nagakubo, the one that has been with her for the longest time) still worried about that even though he had been doing that job for 20 years.

Miyamoto said that his coach just told him “I’m waiting for you, you know”. (Kind of like, “I’m waiting for you to come back, so do your best”)

They also asked them whether skaters happen to have fights with their coaches, and Suzuki said that it happens pretty normally. She said that when you have been with the same coach for a long time (she had the same coach for many years by the way) both coach and athlete believe that they know what each other thinks, but in fact their interpretation of each other might not always be correct, so there are misunderstandings. And in some cases you might interpret what your coach tells you (for example when you make a mistake) as something too harsh and might think “well you don’t have to say it that way…”. At this point Toyonaga was like “that’s just Yuuri and Victor!!!!” (he voiced what everyone in the hall was thinking, lol). Suzuki continued saying that it’s a good thing because it means that both are very serious and have a good relationship. If a coach and athlete didn’t have a deep relationship they wouldn’t fight in the first place because they would not say what they actually think out loud, and if an athlete didn’t care about what their coach says they wouldn’t be affected by their words enough to fight. She said that clashing requires a lot of energy, but that it will help you move forward.

Here the seiyuu were asked whether they also have something they always do before recording. Toyonaga said that recording studios are usually very casual, they’re not as tense as a sports arena could be before a match, but when they start recording everyone is like they “enter a zone”, they all suddenly become focused. Toki said that he usually stretches at home before recording because his body tends to become stiff. Honjou said that he moves around in the recording studio, like doing some light exercising. Also, when he’s recording something alone (for example narration), he walks in a circle repeating the lines.

They also showed footage of Satoko Miyahara with her coach. They usually have a forehead touch before she goes skating. They said to pay attention to what coaches and athletes do right before a performance because it can tell you many things about them. (I haven’t watched enough figure skating to be able to give a list of examples, but I’ve seen some athletes do things that aren’t so different than Yuuri and Victor, like, holding hands seems to be somewhat common?)

After this they moved to the 4th lesson, which is about jumps.

Kubo said that when they started to create the story for YOI no one had ever landed a quadruple flip yet, but then Shoma landed it in April 2016 and after him came Nathan etc. They made the quad flip Victor’s signature move because they wanted to use something that had not happened in real life yet, however reality “caught up” sooner than they expected.

They showed footage of Yuuri’s triple axel preceded by an eagle (you can see what a spread eagle is here) in his SP, and then of Yuzuru’s eagle+triple axel+eagle, and explained how it worked. They said that from Yuzuru’s footage it looks like an easy feat but it’s actually very difficult, and Suzuki said that actually she can’t even do the eagle in the first place (you need to have flexible hips and knee joints, so some people can do it more easily and some can’t do it at all), let alone connect it to a jump. They went on to explain how in the past athletes usually skated straight before a jump to prepare for it, while now it’s common to do lots of steps right before a jump, because it’s more difficult therefore you will get more points, and it’s easier to fit the jump into the choreography without making it look out of place or disconnected.

The seiyuu asked whether it hurts when you fall during a jump, and what happens when you fall. Miyamoto explained that skaters know their songs very well and can calculate how many seconds they lost when they fall, so instead of trying to do all the steps that they missed they just “cut” that part and start from the steps connected to the passage that is currently playing. This is both because if you try to catch up you might just mess it up more, and because it’s not visually nice to do steps that are unrelated to the music, so you would not get a good score. Suzuki said that when you are in a match you don’t really feel the pain because you’re focused on the program and your mind is too busy with getting up as soon as possible to continue the choreography. However, it hurts later when you have finished skating. And during training it normally hurts a lot. She also said that, if you fall, hearing people cheer on you really helps give you courage to get up and continue.

In this lesson Suzuki explained the differences between all 6 figure skating jumps, but I will skip that because it’s something you can find anywhere online (you might want to check the abbreviations because I’m using them in the report).They didn’t really show footage though, she just explained it and showed how the feet are positioned.

After this, the seiyuu and Kubo took part in a quiz where they had to look at footage and guess how many rotations a jump had. They did it one by one. Honjou got Shoma’s 4T but he couldn’t guess it (he said triple). Toki got Patrick Chan’s 4T+3T and complained that “no one told me it was gonna be a combination!!” (lol). He also got it wrong. Toyonaga got Rippon’s 3F+3T and he guessed the rotations (he didn’t guess the type of jump but it wasn’t requested). This was funny because he was trying to understand whether it was a quad or triple, and actually the commentator in the footage was saying “there are no quads in this program”, so they told him “there’s actually a hint in the commentary..”. He asked to play the footage a third time and they did, but when the commentator was speaking Toki suddenly said “by the way Toyonaga-san, what did you eat today again?” overlapping with the voice (on purpose of course) so Toyonaga couldn’t hear, which was amusing. Kubo got Lambiel’s 3F and she did guess the triple but got the jump type wrong. In the beginning she was all hyper because she heard the “correct” sound and thought she got it all right, but then she was told that the sound was because of the rotations and the type was wrong, so she was like “ok that was embarrassing”.

They talked about Yurio’s quad salchow, because normally (in what is considered the “standard salchow”) before jumping a salchow the athlete puts his feet in a spread position that reminds of the Japanese ハ character, which is also used as a hint to recognize the jump. However, Yurio doesn’t do that, his foot brushes the ice in a different way, therefore it’s considered a “particular” jump and it would be rated higher than a regular version. They said that jumps preceded by an “unexpected” sequence (a step sequence that is not normally used before that jump, usually because it’s difficult) and jumps that are correct but in a style different than regular ones are rated higher. The eagle before the triple axel is also among those.

After this they showed the footage of Yuuri’s last FS in episode 12. By the way, during each video they usually had a square in the upper right corner where they showed the face of one of the participants. Toyonaga did something silly 80% of the time, like imitating someone’s gestures in the footage. At the very beginning of the event, when they showed Victor’s FS in the YOI digest footage, he imitated a movement Victor does with his right hand next to his jaw (difficult to explain without pictures..) and it became a recurring joke in both events. He called it “saiin” (it’s onomatopoeic).

When talking about jumps and points, Kubo consulted some data (maybe the protocols?) she had with her and said that Victor’s score was still above Nathan’s, but real life skaters are currently evolving at an amazing speed, therefore in her opinion last autumn was the last chance to air YOI the way it is, because now there are so many skaters jumping multiple quads in one program that it doesn’t look like a stunning feat anymore. Suzuki said this is a historic moment for figure skating, because of all the new types of quads that more than one athlete is able to land in matches.

The seiyuu asked to tell them some “skating slang” that will make you sound like you know a lot about figure skating even if you don’t (lol), and Miyamoto said that skaters (in Japan) call “gurinko” an under-rotated jump, and “pattanko” or “pattan” a downgraded jump. Suzuki agreed on the first one but she said she never heard the second one, and Miyamoto said it probably changes depending on the local dialect (he said Daisuke Takahashi used this word). Still regarding what skaters do when watching other people skate, Suzuki said that when you see a fascinating choreography you want to imitate it right away, so if someone skates a nice choreography other skaters might imitate it while watching it.

They also showed the footage of Yuzuru’s program with which he broke the world record for the highest total score. Kubo said that she was actually there at the arena and that she even spotted herself in the footage (lol).

Near the end they showed a commercial for the “ISU World Team Trophy 2017” (which is going to be broadcast by TV Asahi of course). This is a tournament where skaters compete as teams and the country that gets the highest total score wins. They said the difference with other tournaments is that they participate as teams so they put a lot of effort into cheering for each other, and many will also take things like party goods to cheer. Kubo said that the US team usually brings the funniest party goods and that the kiss & cry is especially interesting to watch because normally it’s just the athlete and their coach, while in this tournament there’s the whole team.

After the final greetings the participants left and there was a final part of the picture drama, with the characters saying a few comments about real figure skaters (Yuuri said things like “Akiko Suzuki is so beautiful” and “Daisuki Takahashi”, which is a famous play on words with Daisuke’s name). Then an alarm started ringing, and Yuuri woke up in his bed in Hasetsu, his last words being “Waaah need to go training!!! Victoooor I’m sorryyyyyy”.

***EVENING SHOW***

The first part is the same, except for the fact that the picture drama had Yuuri and Yurio, and the character pictures were not from the key visual but from Kubo’s new illustration with the school uniforms. What they said was not very different from the other drama.

Another difference is that Uchiyama (voice of Yurio), unlike the others, didn’t wear a school uniform, but no one was surprised about that. He was actually amused that Toyonaga was wearing one. This time Kubo, beside the ita-bag, also brought 3 notebooks (the notebooks that were released recently), and Toyonaga asked to have one. She gave Minami to Uchiyama, Phichit to Toyonaga, and she kept the one with Yuuri and Victor. When they showed the notebooks, Uchiyama said “respect!”, like what is written on the cover, Toyonaga said “I can’t read it!” (because it’s written in thai) and Kubo said “new life! I wonder what kind of new life this is…” (”shinseikatsu” = “new life” is the title of the notebook).

After the introduction of real life skaters, Kubo said that when they got the former competitive skater Takeshi Honda to star in YOI she thought they already used up all the funds, but then Nobunari Oda asked himself to have a part in YOI, and then somehow they got Lambiel too. She didn’t get into details about how they got Lambiel, but it seems that it was something decided at the very last minute and everyone in TV Asahi was panicking because they also had to redraw some scenes and re-dub them 2-3 days before the episode was going to air on TV.

Uchiyama said that even if he doesn’t understand figure skating a lot, when he watches skaters perform he can still perceive the beauty in it.

After showing the Japanese skaters, Miyamoto extensively commented about Daisuke’s sexiness, saying that he really oozes sex appeal and when you watch him skate you just want to give him more points. He said that of course when he created choreographies for him he used movements that would bring out his sexiness. (By the way, the footage they showed for him was from his SP “Eye”, which was choreographed by Miyamoto) About Daisuke they also said that he was always very tense before skating but as soon as he started he looked totally confident, and Suzuki was always amazed by how he he changed completely. Miyamoto also said jokingly that he’s the kind of person who looks absolutely cool on the ice and then in his everyday life has holes in his socks (lol).

Still commenting about Japanese skaters, they also said that most men only perform the Biellmann spin when they’re still juniors and do not usually perform it when they become senior (mostly because you need to be very flexible). It’s one of Yuzuru’s trademark moves.

Miyamoto said that he created all YOI choreographies so that every skater, if they skated perfectly, could become champion (of course it also depends on the jumps etc, because if they all perform their program correctly the ones with a higher basic score due to the technical elements will still win).

Regarding Eros and Agape, he said something different than the afternoon show. He said that in Eros the hands move as if they have some thick liquid sticking to them, as if the skater has honey on their hands, while in Agape they move more smoothly, more lightly. Kubo said that when ordering the choreography she still hadn’t thought about comparing it to katsudon, and she got that idea after hearing Miyamoto compare movements to food. That’s also why Victor when teaching Yuuri tells him to move like he’s “mixing with the egg”.

Talking about women’s postures, Miyamoto said that he likes the Japanese “mikaeri bijin” (beauty looking back) that was popular especially in the Edo period. Suzuki also said that Miyamoto pays a lot of attention to the throat line, that must be in a position so that the neck looks longer. Kubo remembered that, when they told Miyamoto that they were going to use a woman to skate Yurio’s program (because it was difficult to trace Miyamoto’s body when animating the sequence since it was so different than Yurio’s), his first reaction was “I can do that too!”, because he took it as they didn’t think that he could skate in a feminine way.

When they took out Yuuri’s FS costume, Kubo said that “transparent oufits are a man’s dream” (and some of the others were like “??”). Though actually the waist part of that costume is made to look transparent but is not really transparent. Kubo knows too of course. Like in the afternoon show, they said that European skaters tend to have more flashy and “creative” costumes, though according to Kubo when they get older they suddenly start to use super sober costumes that look like normal everyday clothes (she said “they could just walk home dressed that way and no one would notice” and “they look like a combination of items bought at Uniqlo”, lol). She said that she wants to see “more weird costumes”. Suzuki said that if you like your costume it’s easier to get into the part. Miyamoto said that when he creates a choreography for a skater he also tells them what kind of costume and what color would look good with it, and sometimes (according to Suzuki) he even suggests the nail color and earrings a skater should use. Suzuki said that he is actually also good at drawing and sketches the costumes himself.

They showed Evgenia Medvedeva’s program and explained that she was representing a person who lost her dear one during 9/11. The seiyuu asked whether it was distracting to have sounds that are not music in the program (in her performance she had sounds like sirens), but they said that it doesn’t because it’s just part of the program and skaters always practice on that.

Like in the afternoon, the seiyuu were asked what they do to improve their ability to express something. Toyonaga said more or less the same things as in the afternoon show. Uchiyama said that he pays attention to how people speak in movies, and to how actors in old and recent movies use their voices in different ways.

Kubo said that she tries to watch the world through other people (to imagine the world through someone else’s eyes, how it looks to them). She says that usually when she knows new people she looks at them without thinking about how they really are inside, but just how they are. For example, if a person is nice to her, she doesn’t think whether they are actually a good or a bad person, because she doesn’t want to be influenced by that. She also says that wherever she is she always imagines characters in that situation. For example, when she was on vacation in Switzerland she went to a very good cheese restaurant, and she imagined Chris going there to eat cheese fondue with the guy from the Swiss Skating Federation. She also imagined things like Chris and Victor participating in ice shows together (she also went to watch an ice show when she was in Europe by the way). She said that the stories just play out inside her head.

During lesson 3, after they showed the scene where Victor hugs Yuuri from behind, Uchiyama commented (about the photographers taking pictures of Yuuri and Victor’s hug) “I wonder how the press is going to comment those pictures”, and Toyonaga kept on repeating “the music and the direction, the music and the direction”. (Judging from his face, I think he meant to say that the scene looks “awkward” because of the BGM and the way it’s shown, lol)

Regarding the relationship between coaches and athletes, they said more or less the same as in the afternoon. Miyamoto said that when his coach was French he was just told “have a nice skating” before matches, and when they asked him “just that??” he said “well I don’t know French, so even if they told me more things I wouldn’t understand the meaning”.

They showed the footage of Miyahara’s forehead touch with her coach again, and Suzuki said that you can probably feel your coach’s energy flowing into you from their forehead and hands, so it’s a very important moment, and she said that just watching that made her teary eyed. (They didn’t mention it here, but I automatically thought about all of Yuuri and Victor’s “bonding moments” before matches) Kubo said that she always tries to look at how coaches and athletes behave, and at the kiss & cry, but in most arenas you can just watch and cannot hear what they say. However, in smaller venues like the regional Japanese tournaments it’s possible to get seats very close to the rink and so she tries to eavesdrop (lol). She also mentioned how Yuka Nagai pulls up the zipper of her jersey super fast (she also said this in a magazine interview but that time she didn’t mention the name of the skater).

Kubo asked what a skater would want to be told by the coach after finishing their program. Suzuki said that when she didn’t skate well her coach would be like “uff~” when she came back, and then he would scold her in the backstage. When she skated well he smiled or hugged her, or things like that. She also said that sometimes, after they had a fight, they wouldn’t talk to each other for a while, but then other people would tell her that what the coach said wasn’t meant in a bad way, and in the end she realized that maybe she just overreacted and apologized to her coach. Toyonaga commented that Yuuri must pretty stubborn because he never really apologized for something, and Kubo agreed. (Somewhere in this part they also said “just like Yuuri and Victor!!!” once again, lol, and I don’t remember whether it was in the afternoon or evening show, but one of the seiyuu told Kubo “see, you got the relationship between coach and athlete right!”)

Kubo also said that after watching lots of scenes (real life scenes) she thought that it could be ok to write about a skater that doesn’t listen to his coach, and Miyamoto was like “it’s not ok!!” (as in “it’s not ok that a skater doesn’t listen to their coach”, lol).

Ultimately they said that what a skater wants to be told by their coach depends a lot on the skater’s age and other things, so it’s something personal and there isn’t one correct answer that is valid for everyone, which is probably also why coaches have a hard time deciding what to say (as they mentioned in the afternoon show).

Regarding things the seiyuu do before recording, Uchiyama said that Toyonaga always has the pockets of his pants full of stuff like his wallet, keys and other items, and he always wonders “isn’t it distracting to have so much stuff in your pocket during recording?”. Toyonaga says that it’s not something he does on purpose, and actually it’s because he doesn’t plan it properly that he ends up with his pockets full of stuff. He said sometimes he has candies too.

I don’t remember how it was connected to the talk, but Toyonaga also said that Yuuri has a very “narrow field of vision”, basically he only sees Victor and every once in a while he sees Yurio too, while Yurio has a wider field of vision and sees more people and things around himself.

They moved to lesson 4, the one about jumps, and it was mostly like in the afternoon, with explanations about the jumps and so on. The only difference is that this time they talked about jumps with one or two hands over one’s head (which is something Yurio does in the series). They showed footage of Evgenia’s jumps and of Rippon’s lutz. They said that it’s very difficult to do it because the hands above your head make your body longer, so the center of gravity shifts and it’s harder to keep your position stable while you’re in the air. It works better if you’re short. Normally the best way to jump is to keep your hands close to your chest because it’s easier to control the position.

The seiyuu asked a few things about spins. For example, the position of the hands. Miyamoto said that your hands will look different depending on the position of the hand compared to the spin axis, like the same hand could look like an open flower or a closed bud depending on where it is positioned during the spin. Skaters know this and may decide to keep their hands in a certain position for the performance. Regarding what they see when they spin (which is something they were wondering in the previous all night event), Miyamoto said that they just see lines, and the colors of the background all mixed together. Regarding whether it hurts when they spin, Suzuki said that especially the elbows hurt, and that when you perform high speed spins sometimes you can feel the capillaries on the back of your hand popping. One time she had a sty on an eye during practice and she said it hurt a lot when she did spins and she could really feel the centrifugal force. Kubo said that she noticed Western skaters tend to get redder in the faces after spins than Asian skaters.

They also asked them whether it happens that your nose runs during a performance, and what they do if it does. Suzuki said that it happens, and that since of course they cannot wipe it normally but it still isn’t nice to see, one time after finishing a spin she made an elegant movement with her arm while at the same time bringing the hand to her face so she could very casually wipe her nose unnoticed.

In the evening I didn’t write down the jumps used in the quiz, but if I remember correctly one was Shoma’s and the last one I’m sure it was Fernandez. Uchiyama lacked confidence so much that he didn’t even try to guess, he just said “ok I couldn’t get it at all”. I think Toyonaga got the number of rotations right. And Kubo identified Fernandez’s quad salchow right away, not because she made it out from the video but because she recognized the performance and so she remembered the jump. Toyonaga commented that it’s cheating because the answer is just based on your knowledge of the athlete (lol). Kubo said that Fernandez’s quad salchow, Patrick Chan’s triple lutz and someone else’s (sorry I couldn’t hear the name) triple axel are very beautiful and therefore were a good reference for the animators.

Regarding figure skating slang used by athletes, beside the “gurinko” and “pattan” also mentioned in the afternoon, they added a new word, “burin”, which is referred to the shape of the change of edge when skating backwards and they said it’s often seen among US female skaters. By the way, all these names are onomatopoeic.

At the end they showed once again Yuuri’s last performance of his FS in episode 12, and Yuzuru’s program (not the same as in the afternoon, another one, and by the way Kubo was at the arena this time too, lol).

During the last greetings, Toyonaga revealed that when Yuuri says his monologue in the last FS (the one where he says “I don’t want it to end, Victor”) the first time he recorded it he actually put more feelings into it, but he was requested to make it sound like “Yuuri has become a little more mature than Victor” and so they re-recorded it that way.

At the end Kubo handed out her notebook to a girl in the first row. Apparently she had drawn something on it but unfortunately the picture didn’t show up on the SNS… A person who saw it wrote on Twitter that it had a picture of Otabek from the front and a picture of JJ from behind, and that she took a photo but wasn’t allowed to put it online (I don’t know if Kubo said this or if it’s something decided by the person who got the notebook.. to be honest I find it a bit weird that Kubo would prohibit to put it online since she allowed to upload all the pictures she drew at the autograph session. Sad we couldn’t get to see the drawing...).

The event ended with the second part of the picture drama, that was more or less the same as in the afternoon (some of Yuuri’s comments about other figure skaters were different, but the last lines after he wakes up were the same).