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sophiexteresa · 4 years ago

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Thomas Sanders Instagram Q&A Transcript

From @thatsthat24’s Instagram story, 25/8/2020. Questions in bold. Text added to the story in (parenthesis/brackets), and descriptive info in *italics*. I tried uploading the video(s) too, but Tumblr is having issues, so here’s the transcript only!

Thomas: I had some time this evening so I figured, hey, why not? Another lil’ Q an’ A, so if you want to ask a question *posh French voice* be my guest!

When approximately will the next sanders sides be out? Very good question! Uh, we are aiming this for a late September release, that’s what we’re all working towards.

Favourite musical you have been in or just favourite musical in general? This is really tough, I can’t decide. I’m between Rent where I was in the ensemble, Peter Pan where I played Slightly Soiled, which was just one of the lost boyos — boyos? Boys — and, uh, Into The Woods where I played Cinderella’s prince and that’s where Roman’s first costume came from.

Are you ever gonna due your hair purple again? I loved it! Yes! I miss the purple hair too.

Do you love me? *laughing* Yes of course! I do love me.

What would each of the sides’ reaction be to seeing the Grand Canyon? *speaking very quickly* Roman would be revelling that we made the journey, Patton would be marvelling at the memories being made, Logan would be telling you to look at these fascinating signs for important information, Virgil would be telling you to ‘get back from those cliffs!’, Janus would be telling you to take pictures to make it look like you’re next to the cliff, ‘for clout’, and Remus would be like *Remus voice* ‘you could push somebody and get away with it’.

Also when will we get more Picani, I miss him? You and me both, Bri, and honestly with the amount of amazing cartoons that have come out recently *sighs while smiling* yeah, I am a-hankering (?) to get back to Emile!

How have you been doing, like really? Mental health is important as you teach us: I feel like everybody’s kinda struggling with mental health right now, especially people in the USA with COVID. Uhm *clears throat* for me I continuously struggle with the balance between work and leisure time, um, social media makes that difficult, blurs the lines, and I’m working on it.

Do you have any tattoos? Umm, I don’t, uh, I struggle with the permanence of tattoos. And like do I, can I, make a decision that I like? But! There are tattoos that I might like. Where I’d put them, I have no idea, umm, but I think like, maybe like, little stars!

What rank of “Gay” are you? Big gay? What rank? *speechless pause* uh... General. You know? I wanna do my duty. Come back a hero. An all-American Queero *gets an idea* *roughly quoting Hamilton* Queer comes the General!

Can you please make Logan day something Patton would say? *Logan’s voice* Something Patton would say? Umm... please, I request more baked goods from the kitchen so that I can fill Thomas’s body with more trans-fats at 3 am. I don’t know, I don’t like this game.

Have you ever dated a girl? *awkward silence* I have. It was pretty uneventful.

Do you miss your friends? *laughs* Oh... *face crumples as if he’s about to cry*

What are you voice acting in or are you now allowed to say? Not until tomorrow.

When did you know you were gay? I think I answered this one on the last Q&A, but it was early. I was like, 9 or 10 at least.

When will we see Gavin? Gavin has started school! He’s back in his hometown, so I don’t know when I’m gonna see him. He’s still getting taller — I can actually include a picture of him that his mom sent me after he got a new little hairdo *insert photo of an awesome Gavin here*

Do you miss vine? For like, sentimental reasons, yes. Uh, I mean, technically it had its issues and I don’t miss being restricted to 6 seconds anymore *laughs*

What has been your favourite part of the day? My favourite part of today was actually... I came up with this last minute short video, and I got it done and I sent it to some friends and they really liked it. I have to save it until Thursday thought, but it’s just nice to come up with stuff that makes your friends laugh.

Janus acting like Remus? *Remus’ voice* Remus here! Looks like the Dukey just dropped in! *Remus’ laugh* *Takes a breath and snaps into Janus’ character* I spend a lot of time with him so I’ve had a lot of practise.

Why do I feel like we’re gonna have another angsty Virgil moment? When is Virgil not being angsty...?

Please can you say trans rights? Uh, heck yah trans rights! I, uh, this one was very simple but I wanted to say it!

Do you think Virgil would be into anime? Actually, if you remember from, uh, Accepting Anxiety, uh, part 2, there’s actually a Death Note poster in his room, so he definitely likes some anime.

Hi! Can you say hola to the Hispanic fanders in el vecindario fander? Please? We love you! Oh my gosh, *a very naturally american pronunciation* hola! that’s very kind of you guys. I appreciate all of the support you guys give, and I love all of you guys.

STORYTIME! I love you: *upbeat voice* Storytime! I love you back.

How gay are you? Like, 15 gay! I rank General!

How did you end up meeting and babysitting Gavin? Gavin is actually Leo’s nephew, so he would come up here, uh, during the holidays or during the summer, and alternate being baby-sat between me and Leo’s mom - his grandma.

What was the inspo for Janus’ outfit? Ooh, that’s a really good question, uh... Joan had a vision in their mind for almost kind of like this early 20th century or late 19th century kinda Jack the Ripper vibe.

Any advice for gaybies to fit in with society? Don’t apologise for being yourself. If people have an issue, that’s their issue that they have to work through. Do not apologise for being yourself.

What type of gay are you? (Math gay, plant gay, caffine gay, etc): Wait, there’s such thing as a math gay? I am absolutely that, and I feel like I’m just gonna be naming traits about myself but I’m a trivia gay, a driving gay, apparently a math gay, a Disney gay *laughs* and a theatre gay.

Not a question but I’m glad to be alive at the same time as someone as great as you: Dude, this stuff is really sweet. *laughs* That’s really sweet, umm, trust me, I feel the same way about all of you. Honestly.

Why don’t you own a doggo yet? I... went to Petsmart today - I didn’t get an animal, but like... I’m thinking about it and this question is like... hmmm...

I’ve run out of cartoons to watch, any recommendations? Owl house! Owl house, owl house. I just tried it, and I immediately got hooked. Infinity train’s also a really good one, duck tales is amazing, and I’m getting ready to start Tangled: the animated series, so *shrugs*.

What is Patton’s opinion on rats? *adorable Patton voice, slowly zooming in on his face* They are tiny little squishy precious babies!!!

How do I ask people for their pronouns? I don’t know, I mean, I don’t think it’s like a big deal? I hope we could get to the point where we could just be like ‘what are your pronouns?’ and then they would tell you, and then you’d just, you know, carry on the rest of your conversation.

A circle has no bounds and it’s the same with your beauty: This is really precious, and it of course came from Nash (?) who is a poet, he published a lot of wonderful, wonderful poems on twitter, they are are amazing, and you are once again far too sweet, Nash.

Dream role? This is a pretty broad question, so maybe dream theatrical role would be Sweeny Todd, dream movie role would be anything in the marvel universe, uh, really just give me anything in any voice acting role, *smiling mischievously* egg rolls are also really good.

Can Remus please say ‘I am the sand guardian, guardian of the sand’? *Remus voice* I am the sand guardian, guardian of the sand! (love that vine)

Are there still plans for the Roman series? *nods* Oh, yeah, yeah, it was definitely hindered by COVID, uh, as was this Sanders Asides episode that’s coming up, which is why it’s taking longer in the editing stage, it is our, uh... strategy, for circumventing the obstacle, and we hope you like it.

Are we still getting an August playlist? Uh, heck yah you are! But honestly, actually, if you guys have any suggestions I should include in the playlist, lemme know! I’d be happy to get some suggestions - but yes. You will be definitely getting one.

May I please see your feet? *confused, slightly disgusted expression* *begins to move the camera away from his face* *holds up a tape measure, extended to 1 foot long* *grins*

Any shows on Netflix to recommend? Umbrella Academy is really good, Dragon Prince, uh, She-Ra, of course, umm The Hollow (?) is really cool, there’s a documentary about video games called High Score, that was really fun.

Roman, who would you say the gayest side is? *Roman’s voice* Oh, we’re all equally gay, okay? *chuckles* it’s a sexuality, not a personality trait. *takes a breath and speaks quickly* I’m just kidding it’s *sings* meeeeee!

If you were not a YouTuber, what would you see yourself doing and why? Uh, maybe putting my chemical engineering degree to some use. *laughs awkwardly* Uh, I went to school for 5 years for that one.

Like you literally make me so flipping happy: I’m glad! I don’t know what I’m doing to do that, but the feeling is absolutely mutual.

Can we have Virgil saying “Falsehood”? *hair already over one eye, in Virgil’s voice* Uh, c’mon, okay, sure. *very quietly and unenthusiastically* falsehood. Is that good? Is that? I don’t know, I don’t wanna steal his bit.

Which Sanders Side do you feel you embody most? Ah, I would probably say it’s either Patton or Roman because Patton can be definitely me, all the time, just really enthusiastic about things and finding things cute, but Roman... Roman’s sensitivity, oh. That’s me.

What was the first job you had? I actually worked as a page in a library! A- pages basically just kinda like, shelve books, check books out; it’s one of the chillest jobs I’ve ever had, one of my favourites, and my dad always had a lovely dad joke for it: ‘you’re working as a page, when do you get promoted to a book?’

How tall are you? I usually say 5ft 10, but I think I’m trying to be a little more realistic with myself. And I’m probably 5ft 9 and a half. *zooms in on his face, staring into the camera* I’m holding onto that half a foot for all dear life.

DROP THE SKIN ROUTINE PLEASE! This is very sweet, uh, I, *laughs nervously*, uh, I use Curology? They’re very nice. Umm, just... different kinds of lotion, I guess. (I suppose I should write down what I do lol)

Can we get a FALSEHOOD? *is standing* *clears throat* *points upwards from his eyeline* FALSEHOOD!

Do you have a boyfriend if not are you planning on dating soon? I do not, uh, dating is kinda difficult right now midst COVID, you know, kinda tough... love... in the time of Corona... umm, but, you know, option’s open.

When was your first kiss? I’m sure I’ve answered this somewhere, it was in high school, I might have been 15 or 16. It was with a girl. *Shakes head* And all I can remember is hitting teeth. A lot.

Can we get a super super vague hint about the new Asides episode? Alright, I’m getting ready to end the Q&A, so this, you know, if you’ve made it so far you deserve this super vague answer, umm... it includes a side that was not in the last episode. (This isn’t much, I apologise lol)

Thomas: And that is it for this evening! Thank you so much, you guys, for watching. I know some of you are still over in Europe watching and it’s like 4 in the morning, and I need to go to bed so thank you all so much for your questions - I gotta do this more often ‘cause I really enjoy it. Love you guys, gals, and non-binary pals. Peace out!

#edit: if you want to see the video(s) then please feel free to ask and i’ll try to send it to you! thanks so much #WOAH #This took me literaly hours to write up #probably 5 or so hours #i've been at it all day #anyhow tags!#thomas sanders #sanders sides #tss #tssides #ts roman #ts patton #ts logan #ts janus #ts remus #ts virgil #ts #if there's any corrections i need to make please tell me since i'm too tired to re-read

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fortunatelyunadulteratedmagazine · 4 years ago

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Civ 6 Gold Cheat Engine

This trainer +20 developed by CheatHappens for game version 1.0.6.9 521158. November 1 2020:Cheat Engine 7.2 Released for Windows and Mac: I'm proud to announce that Cheat Engine 7.2 has been released. Money is an important commodity in the game and using this civ 6 gold cheat you can get unlimited money. '));return t=btoa(t),t=btoa(t[0]+t),n+t}(e.href)}))}function r(){var e=document.getElementById('download_link');if(e){var n=e.getElementsByTagName('a');n.length>0&&(e=n[0])}return e}function o(){var e=! Cheat Engine will show quite a lot of values now - in my case it was around 50. Click “… Also, check out my patreon for progress updates and prerelease binaries (which you can also get if you where to compile ce yourself) How activate the script ? Unlimited Money Cheat for Civilization VI.

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Civilization 6 Gathering Storm Gold Cheat Engine

Before you attach Cheat Engine to a process, please make sure that you are not violating the EULA/TOS of the specific game/application. If you experience any difficulty in the game «Sid Meier’s Civilization 6» (2020) or just want to have fun, this cheat is created specially for you! Press alt+tab in-game to access cheat engine.

Civilization 6 Cheats: More Science = Higher Progress Science performs one of the most important functions in all Civilization games - it develops (unlocks) your technologies. As a result - you get units and new abilities for your citizens. Code: Select all Game Title: Civilization VI - Gathering Storm Game Version: 1.0.6.9 (521158) Game Sponsor: Fennix102 + daipm (XP1 and XP2) Process Name: CivilizationVI.exe Relevant Info: 64bits/TBS/New Engine Script Version: 3.10-AOB CE Version: 7.0 Release date: 24-Oct-2020 Author: Recifense History: 22-Oct-2016: Preliminary Release 1 (7 features) 24-Oct-2016: Preliminary. Firstly you need a freeware called Cheat Engine which you can download from here cheat engine. Domination is the usual military-style way to win but it costs a lot of money. Add text damnit, the steam browser is bugged With the vast realm of Civilization 6, its no surprise you’re looking for some cheats to help you on your way.

scripts dont seem to work anymore. Many improvements and features to make your gaming better Resources: Diplomatic Favor Firstly you need a freeware called Cheat Engine which you can download from here cheat engine 1. Added an AVX2 version of CE, which will speed up all those floating point operations CE does so much... Symbolhandler can now have the following types in front of pointers : (BYTE), (WORD), (DWORD), (QWORD), (CHAR), (SHORT), (INT), (INT64) to typecast the pointer to a value of that type, Structure dissect can detect vc++ and object pascal classnames now, Dissect code now also detects references to strings, Sorting the addresslist now sorts faster and more properly with regards to groups (depends on the level your current selection is), Rightclick the addresslist header to bring up a menu which allows you to disable sorting, The chosen floating point rounding type is now saved in the registry, You can now use (addresslist description) as an address, DBVM doesn't activate the TSC hook by default. 4. Select the Civilization 6 process. Und mit Pokémon (...) mehr, Dieser Charakter in Watch Dogs: Legion war so nicht beabsichtigt.In Watch Dogs: Legion sollen alle Charakter (...) mehr, Cheats und Trainer für ein leichtes Spiel, Einsteiger-Guide: Tipps und Tricks für einen erfolgreichen Start, Das Aufbaustrategiespiel - jetzt auch für Konsole, Anno 1800 | Kartennummer anzeigen und beste Karten, Anno 1800 | Baupläne für effiziente Produktionsketten. Multiply 20 by 256 which is 5120 and type in the values 4700 and 5500 - click on 'Next Scan' like 2 times. Age of Empires 3 Definitive Edition Trainer v100.12.3552.0, Subnautica: Below Zero Trainer (Oct-2020 37024), NumPad 3: Fast Build Buildings and Wonders.

if (UserWidth <= 1024) Selected Unit: Unit Can Level Up Therefore you multiply 10 by 256 which is 2.560 and search for a value between 2.000 and 3.000 (just switch 'Scan type' to 'Value between' to be able to enter two values) just to make sure to hit it. 3. Resources: Gold Select the Civilization 6 process. added ansicode character support for textRect, added loadFromStream and saveToStream to the RasterImage class, added readAnsiString and writeAnsiString to the Stream class, Better document the mode field of createFileStream, Added the DrawItemEvent general GUI property to Lua's callback system, Added the MenuDrawItemEvent general GUI property to Lua's callback system, Added the ContextPopupEvent general GUI property to Lua's callback system, Created a new Diagram class group which can allow you to create graphs and diagrams, Memoryrecord.DropDownValue and DropDownDescription work now (still RO), Stackview can now show by reference , previously it did nothing, the 'resume thread' in the threadlist now resumes threads instead of freezing them, fixed an error popping up when editing registers with no debugger attached, getNameFromAddress will not show userdefined symbols when symbols are disabled, Waiting till all symbols have been loaded has been removed, Launching structure compare from dissect data now only needs 1 address, though it's recommended to have at least 2 each, Code completion in lua engine is now more smoother, You can now compare traces generated by the tracer, Threadlist window now has a copy to clipboard, Structure compare now digs deeper into pointers, Pointerscan import/export now works with newer types as well, Added rudimentary sort to the structure compare window (based on levelwidth only), Referenced strings now also shows if it's unicode, Formdesigner now has a context menu to add undocumented controls, added getWriteLog (Let's you get the writelog and activate it), HexadecimalView: added the OnCharacterRender and OnValueRender events.

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Civilization VI: Gathering Storm Cheats

Enable Console

Start by head to the following file location:

C:Users[USER NAME]DocumentsMy GamesSid Meier’s Civilization VI

Now, make a backup of the AppOptions.txt file. Open that file and scroll down to the [Debug] section of the file. Look for a line containing the following text:

EnableDebugMenu 0

Change the 0 in that text so that it reads 1, and start playing the game like usual. Then press ~ (TILDE, THE KEY ABOVE TAB) to access the debug console.

Easy Deity Win (Exploit)

You can win the game on Deity difficulty and score some easy achievements by taking the following steps:

Choose your civilization.

Create a custom game with only “Score Victory” checked, and change the turn limit to 1.

Load the game and choose the Found City option.

End your turn as soon as the option becomes available.

You win the match, just like that, and you will unlock numerous achievements. This works on any difficulty setting.

Reveal the Entire Map

Use a text editor to edit the “Config.ini” file in your Steam Apps folder or the “DocumentsMy GamesSid Meier’s Civilization 6” directory.

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Find the “DebugPanel = 0” line and change it to “DebugPanel = 1”

Save and close the “Config.ini” file.

While playing the game, press ~ to display the debug panel.

Select “Reveal All” to reveal the entire map.

There are also other debug options you can enable.

Now you can easily access Debug Console in Civilization VI in-game. In order to activate it you just need to PRESS TILDE “~”. It will open a Debug Window, from there select “Reveal All” option.

Trading Glitch

When trading with the AI, you can use two major glitchs:

1- Give any strategic or luxury resources and as much gold per turn as possible, then click the option whatwill you give me for this?, the AI will break and will offer insane amounts of goldand gold per turn just for the resource.

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2- Ask for whatever you want from the AI (cities included) and start putting gold (not gold per turn, only normal gold) untilthey accept the deal, then reduce until you’re as close as possible to the required amount, Ex: 25890 Gold of 26000 required, and click on the option make this trade equitable, this will break the AI and will ask an amount of gold per turn proportional to how close you were to the real price. (I bought 5 cities for 3 gold per turn and a jeans in emperor difficulty). This glitch can also be used in multiplayer matches that include AI, but will surely get patched soon.

Early Domination

If you want to enjoy Civilization 6’s battle systems, it’ll be best to pick up the Aztecs, Scythia, or the Spartan Greece. Aztecs allow your own territories to have more tile improvements as their Eagle Warriors convert slain units into Builder units. Meanwhile, Scythia’s units have bonuses against targeting wounded enemy units. Lastly, the Spartan Greece units generate Culture per enemy unit killed. Waging war in the earlier eras yields fewer Warmonger penalties, so feel free tosiege other Civilizations or City States if you need something from them. If you manage to take every Capital or wipe out every leader in the match, your Civilization will attain the laborious and difficult Domination Victory.

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Camera keys

With Civilization VI now out in the wild, one of the biggest gripes is the camera control not being mapped to WASD. The good news is that camera keys can be changedwith some simple file editing. To change the camera control keys do the following: ..SteamsteamappscommonSid Meier’s Civilization ViBaseAssetsUI

Open the “WorldInput.lua” file in a text editor such as Notepad or Notepad++ Find the DefaultKeyDownHandler section Find the line if( uiKey Keys.VK_UP ) and then make the changes as follows if( uiKey Keys.VK_UP or uiKey Keys.W) if( uiKey Keys.VK_RIGHT or uiKey Keys.A) if( uiKey Keys.VK_DOWN or uiKey Keys.S) if( uiKey Keys.VK_LEFT or uiKey Keys.D)

Next you need to add the same entries above to the DefaultKeyUpHandler section. Note that you will also need to rebind the default Attack and Great Works default keys to something else so your new camera keys do not conflict.

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Rename Cities

1) Go to the Civilization VI installation folder – C:Program FilesSteamsteamappscommonSid Meier’s Civilization VI.

2) Go to Base > Assets > Text > install language – ..SteamsteamappscommonSid Meier’s Civilization VIBaseAssetsTexten_US.

3) Then open the file named “CityNames_Text.xml” with any text editor, then search for the city/civilization that you want to rename. Change the name there and save. Once you are all done reload the game and you will find your city name changed.

Disable Unit Auto Cycle

Go to ..UsersDocumentsMy GamesSid Meier’s Civilization VI

Then open “UserOptions.txt”

After that go to “line 60” then change “AutoUnitCycle 1” to “AutoUnitCycle 0”

Save the file “UserOptions.txt”

Once you are all done then save (Ctrl + S)

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Now you are all set to enjoy the Civilization VI game without Unit Auto Cycle.

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It’s end. I hope “Civilization VI: Gathering Storm Cheats, Cheat Codes” helps you. Feel free to contribute the topic. If you have also comments or suggestions, comment us.

Civilization 6 Gathering Storm Gold Cheat Engine

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kattahj · 5 years ago

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Thoughts on Sword of Destiny

I finished reading Sword of Destiny weeks ago, but never got around to posting thoughts, in part because commenting on every story took some effort, but also because... well, a lot of it is complaining, and I don't want to rain on anyone's parade. But OTOH, there's a part of me that really really wants to gripe, and I did enjoy some of it. So, thoughts.

Story 1: The Bounds of Reason

I have already talked about how the descriptions of Tea and Vea made me feel like I was inside teenage Andrzej Sapkowski's locker room. There's some other not-great stuff too with Yennefer - she gets tied to a wagon, has her shirt ripped off, and the dragon baby seeks comfort in her intimate parts, all of which has Jaskier going "nice!" STFU Jaskier, you're intolerable in this.

(Note to people wondering why I'm still calling him that, I've primarily read the Swedish version, which calls him Riddarsporre, and if I used that name no one would know who I'm talking about. Calling him Dandelion feels weird, since it's neither his original name nor the one in use in the translation. So Jaskier it is.) I even got the English e-book and started taking screencaps of all the passages in this short story that made me roll my eyes over the sexism, and after 15-20 something screencaps I went, "This is way too long for a tumblr post." So now they're just lying around.

Apart from that, it's a nice story. Some things are the same, others very different. There are more people around, which is fine, but I think it was the right choice to cull the herd a bit for the show. There's more explicit discussions around hierarchies, what makes a hero, what makes a monster, and so on.

Interestingly, Geralt and Yennefer's plotline is rather reverse to what it's like in the show. In the book, she arrives pissed as FUCK at Geralt and claims she'll never forgive him, yet by the end of the story they're cozy with each other again. Which of course also means that there's no quarrel between Geralt and Jaskier either. In fact, Jaskier arrives separately and is all, "Oh, hey Geralt, I thought I'd hang around and write a new ballad," and the rest let him stay because, as they put it, he's not of any use but he's not any bother either.

I guess the way it went down in the show was in order to return Yennefer and Geralt to separate storylines for the finale and make sure Geralt is properly isolated too. (And properly grumpy - as someone pointed out, the episodes including Jaskier tend to be lighter than the others, because that's the way he sees them.)

Story 2: A Shard of Ice

In which Yennefer is fucking Geralt and Istredd on alternate days, and Istredd wants to close the relationship and tells Geralt to fuck off because he's an emotionless Witcher, and Geralt pouts. Then Istredd wants to fight to the death, and Geralt accepts, and Yennefer dumps both of their asses, and Istredd wants to fight to the death anyway, and Geralt is like, "uh, no, I'm not here to help you commit suicide" and leaves. Also there's some Snow Queen imagery shoehorned in that really could have been used better.

Yeah, this was pretty much my least favourite story of the lot. I don't like love triangles at the best of times, and this wasn't even a particularly good one. Plus, any time that guys think they can decide between themselves who gets to date a girl, they deserve to be dumped. So I was all, "good for you, Yen, go find someone better." Though of course she won't.

I also started wondering if Yennefer's based on one (or more) of Sapkowski's exes, because there are so many times where Geralt's all, "Why does she act in such a way!?" and I'm all, "I bet if you two ever TALKED PROPERLY you'd find out!"

Like. Damn. I know people complained that their love story in the show was sudden and forced, but I ship them more there than I do in the books so far.

Story 3: Eternal Flame

I quite liked this one! It's a fun little romp and expands nicely on the concept of dopplers, as well as introduces the Nilfgaardian religion. I have a feeling that I've seen the concept somewhere before, where a person imitating a merchant does a better job doing business than the merchant himself. But if it's based on a fairy tale I can't remember which one.

There is some groan-worthy stuff between Jaskier and his ex-girlfriend, but that's so minor it doesn't mar the story much. (I have to say though, book Jaskier is SUCH an asshole, and yet book Geralt is so much nicer to him. It really makes me question Geralt's judgement.)

Story 4: A Little Sacrifice

This one started with some pretty shitty stuff with the little mermaid (showcasing the recurring themes of a) boobs and b) women making demands that can be easily dismissed as unreasonable), but then we got Essi Daven, who was a good, likeable character. I enjoyed reading about her. Even Jaskier was more tolerable in this story! I was all, OMG Sapkowski, you're actually writing a woman well, go you...

...but then of course she instantly fell in love with Geralt (cue Juliet's gay friend: "You met him SUNDAY!") and we're told that she wears his pearl until she dies of smallpox a few years later. Which, of course. Of COURSE a girl who has flirted with the great Geralt of Rivia can't just get over him and live her life in peace. Oh no, it HAS to be disappointment, disfigurement and death.

So ultimately, the bits I liked made me even grumpier about the bits I didn't like. But still, Essi was fun while she lasted.

Story 5: The Sword of Destiny

This is the first one where I actually don't have any complains about Sapkowski's writing of women. The dryads are okay, their story is interesting, and the interactions between Geralt and Ciri are very cute indeed. It's rather sad that we lost those interactions in the show, though it would have been hard to include them with the way it was written, since it all depends on neither Geralt nor the reader knowing who this little kid is. (Though I'm pretty sure even unspoiled readers could guess.) Still, it makes the destiny feel more natural and not just the "family at first sight" thing we got on the show.

I basically only have two gripes, a small one and a big one.

The small one is that it's VERY HARD to take the dryads seriously when part of their Elder Language is barely disguised English slang. I don't know if this was a thing in the Polish edition, or if it happened in the English translation and was then carried through to the Swedish one, but it snaps me right out of the story when they say things like "Bloede arss!"

The big one is that either Sapkowski has no idea how children mature, or Geralt doesn't, because no WAY is Ciri ten or close to it in this story. Now, Geralt is presumably a big guy, so it's not impossible to think that he could carry a smallish 10-year-old on his shoulders... but I have a hard time seeing a 10-year-old allowing it. Or walking around snotty without caring. Or just in general talking and behaving the way Ciri does here.

To put things in perspective, 10 years old is one year younger than Harry Potter is in The Philosopher’s Stone, and two years younger than Meggie Folchart in Inkheart. The only way I can make ANY sort of sense of Ciri in this story, is by thinking that Geralt, being so old himself, has no concept of children's ages, and she's actually five or six.

Which would mean she's also being betrothed at five or six, but hey, Scandinavian Queen Margaret I was betrothed at age four, and I wouldn't put it past Calanthe. If she can sell her granddaughter at ten she can probably sell her at six too.

Story 6: Something More

Listen, I soaked up Geralt's injured hallucinations on the show, and the book is no different. Some of the dialogue with Visenna is exactly the same. I'm purring. The circumstances are different, but both versions work well. I like the way the transitions were done between reality, memory and dream, and the ending is very sweet. I have no complaints. :-)

#the witcher #sword of destiny #geralt of rivia #yennefer of vengerberg #cirilla of cintra #jaskier

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dustedmagazine · 5 years ago

Text

Dust Volume 6, Number 2

Grisha Shakhnes

Time for another collection of short, sharp reviews, covering a gamut of styles. Our most tireless contributor, Bill Meyer, turned in a record eight Dusts this time, so if you like jazz, improv and experimental music, this is your edition. Other writers included Ray Garraty, Jennifer Kelly, Justin Cober-Lake, Tim Clarke and Ian Mathers.

Max B — House Money (Self-released)

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Max B is doing 75 years in prison, yet before his bid he recorded a lot of music to be used by trusted collaborators. Last year’s Coke Wave 5 with French Montana felt authentic enough to be confused with Max’s pre-prison mixtapes, only a bit more polished. This new EP is no less wave-y and goofy, but too many guest verses dilute the fun. If French, with whom Max B recorded a lot of mixtapes together, seems like a natural collaborator, the rest of the guests are an uneasy fit. House Money is a Frankenstein-y affair exactly because Max himself wouldn’t invite them to his booth (not that they are lousy talents, they are just on a different frequency with Max B). It is probably mixed and produced by someone who thought that these collaborators would attract additional audience, yet the result is the opposite: Max B’s fans would feel alienated by impostors in his own domain.

Ray Garraty

Jeb Bishop / Jaap Blonk / Weasel Walter / Damon Smith — JaJeWeDa (Balance Point Acoustics)

Pioneer Works Vol. 1 BPA 19 by JeJaWeDa (Jeb Bishop / Jaap Blonk / Weasel Walter / Damon Smith)

No matter how big the stage they occupy, it isn’t big enough for Jaap Blonk and Weasel Walter. Both men are masters of strategic exaggeration. Put them together and a clash is inevitable. Blonk not only spews sound poetry like a symphony of pan-lingual news broadcasts and surreptitiously recorded mouthwash experiments, he manipulates electronics with a video game controller that looks especially ridiculous in his gangly hands. Walter mugs and wallops, each movement lunging simultaneously at your ears and your funny bone. Perhaps you’re wondering, “isn’t this a record review? How will these visual descriptions clue me into the sound?” Play this record and you will know. And you will also marvel at the way bassist Damon Smith and trombonist Jeb Bishop balance the other half of the band’s nuttiness with seriousness so unfailing, you might put your money on them against Roscoe Mitchell in a game of poker.

Bill Meyer

Ben Carey — Antimatter (Hospital Hill)

ANTIMATTER by Ben Carey

Sydney-based electronic musician Ben Carey played saxophone before he took on modular synthesizers. This may explain the quivering, palpable presence of the sounds he devises; he makes static pulse and shake like swollen lips engaged in the act of vocalizing. His deployments of attenuated tones, sudden swells, and insistent chimes are discontinuous and episodic, but also quite thoughtfully planned out. Both the sudden shifts and the long considerations of discrete elements feel as essential as the unforgettable bridge in a bubblegum cart hit, and the qualities of the sounds Carey ponders amply reward the attention required to follow their shifts in and out of audibility and back and forth across the stereo spectrum. If you’re inclined to get well acquainted with Antimatter, consider springing for the LP. Since both Carey and his label are situated in Australia, it might take some looking and spending, but Rashad Becker’s cut and the 45-rpm playing speed guarantee maximum presence.

Bill Meyer

John Chantler — Tomorrow Is Too Late (Room40)

Tomorrow Is Too Late by John Chantler

From the pig’s ass on the sleeve to the titles of the album’s two tracks, John Chantler’s Tomorrow is Too Late promises to deal with endings. But when you put the record on, you find yourself adrift in events that defy linear description, let alone the definition of a final point. Oh, sure, both of them end, but they don’t spend the time leading up to those terminations making sure that you know where they’re going. The title track was commissioned for the 2018 iteration of the French electronic music institution INA GRM’s Présences Électronique festival, and most of its sounds were obtained from a François Coupigny synthesizer that is over 50 years old. Rare earl synths are like worlds unto themselves, and the listener is adrift with Chantler as he invites sounds to converge, dispel, and recongregate in winking, restless masses. On “We’re Always at the End,” the electronic sound convergence make way for a pipe organ, which coheres into a solid sonic presence, but when it disappears, the piece does not. This is music to inhabit, over and over again.

Bill Meyer

Richard Dawson — 2020 (Weird World)

2020 by Richard Dawson

This sixth full-length from cult songwriter Richard Dawson unspools like a series of linked short stories, the characters sharing a blighted, latter-day English backdrop and perhaps avoiding one another’s eyes as they pass on the streets. Sung in Dawson’s wavery tenor — with flights up into a very uncertain falsetto — and backed with the most straightforward of rock-ish instrumental arrangements, the songs flourish in their specificity. The metal-riffing “Jogging,” for instance, tells the story of a mid-life crisis with startling exact-ness, an ex-school counselor, laid off and too anxious to leave the house, advised by a doctor to take up jogging. The story is told first person, in the most straightforward way possible, with minimal embellishments. If it weren’t for the crashing guitar chords, the squiggly lines of synth, you might be listening to a friend over coffee. The scenarios are mostly dreary, of people stuck in soul-sucking jobs, in towns where things go wrong through neglect and inertia. Yet, once in a while the sun comes piercing through, and life, however stunted and bare and grey, turns ever so slightly hopeful. I’ll leave you with verse from lacerating “The Queen’s Head.”

“The guy from the vape shop Ferrying his chocolate labs Waves to us cheerily From a leaky kayak ‘I've lost everything apart from what counts’ Pointing to his dogs and then at his heart.”

Now that’s a pre-chorus.

Jennifer Kelly

Frank Denyer — The Boundaries of Intimacy (Another Timbre)

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On The Boundaries of Intimacy, composer Frank Denyer explores volume dropped to a soft level. The approach produces a sort of intimacy, nearly everything sounds hushed, although it remains unclear whether, as listeners, we're leaning into a confidant or cupping our hand to a wall to eavesdrop. Regardless of our position as listeners, Denyer continues his work with unpredictable instrumentation, highlighting sneh and koto playing in various places (including two version of a koto piece), and combining flute and electronics for a strange tonal study called “Beyond the Boundaries of Intimacy.” When he works with a more traditional set of instruments, as on “String Quartet,” the ostensibly comfortable sounds become unfamiliar, an experienced aided by Denyer's play with dynamics, turning from a crescendo to a near disappearance. Denyer presents those sorts of challenges across these pieces (written over the past 40 years). He requires attentive, patient listening, but rewards it with unsettling experiences.

Justin Cober-Lake

Avram Fefer Quartet—Testament (Clean Feed)

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This record is credited to the Avram Fefer Quartet, and it’s true that the Brooklyn-based alto and tenor saxophone wrote the tunes and leads the band. But he’s not necessarily the guy you will listen to every time that you play it. Not that there’s anything wrong with Fefer’s playing, which combines Sonny Rollins’ muscularity with an affinity for bold melodies rooted equally in soul jazz and West African pop music. He’s got ideas, emotion and chops to spare. But damn, what a band! Fefer and bassist Eric Revis have an association going back to the 1990s; no matter which way the music rolls, the foundation is solid. Drummer Chad Taylor is a regular member of a trio with Fefer and Revis which made a couple records a decade or so back, and he’s also a member of bands led by Revis and guitarist Marc Ribot. Taylor never misses a chance to turn the music up a little closer to a boil, and the blues-rooted tone that Ribot favors here adds steely sentiment to the blues, mass to the Afrobeat repetitions, and confident complexity to the free interludes in this music. So, if your attention wavers from the saxophone for a second, it’s probably because you’re listening to how one of his accompanists is playing off of another one. Wotta band!

Bill Meyer

Roc Marciano — Marcielago (Self-released)

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In “Saw” Roc Marciano says, “Sometimes I pinch myself in disbelief,” referring to a level of fame he’s achieved after 20 years in the rap game. The listeners are pinching themselves as well, but for a different reason: Marciano doesn’t repeat himself. Roc Marci works with his lyrics on two levels: line by line as well as bar by bar. As defined by Marci, his songs are “poetry over beats.”Marcielago is a quieter effort, closer to Rosebudd’s Revenge 1 and 2, than to 2018’s KAOS and Behold a Dark Horse. To rephrase the poet himself, on Marcielago he’s more like a pimp than a mack. The standout here is “Ephesians” which starts with early electronica and then explodes into a full-scale attack. Marci’s long time collaborator Ka spits here a verse which does an impossible thing: Marciano is murdered on his own turf.

Ray Garraty

Machtelinckx / Badenhorst / Cools / Gouband — Porous Structures (Aspen Edities)

porous structures by Machtelinckx/Badenhorst/Cools/Gouband

This quartet comprises two steel-stringed acoustic guitarists, one percussionist prone to placing stones on his drums, and one clarinet and a saxophone player who likes to sing. The album’s title implies permeability, and the music delivers by creating the impression of actions happen in different places at the same time. Ruben Machtelinckx and Bert Cools’ guitars create structures made of slow-moving, finger-picked patterns. Toma Gouband and Joachim Badenhorst often sound like they are playing in some resonant space outside of the guitars’ sanctuary, where their sounds can spread a halo of echo around and occasionally blow through the dry, close-miked string sounds. The former’s rattling rocks create more texture than motion; the latter’s distant croons and spare tones create a sense of distance. In their own quiet way, these musicians have arrived at a sound that can’t be mistaken for anyone else’s.

Bill Meyer

Salim Nourallah — Jesus of Sad (Palo Santo)

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The narrators of Salim Nourallah's songs don't often find things going so well. Nourallah's taken that point to its logical conclusion on new EP Jesus of Sad. Rather than indulging depressive tendencies, though, the songwriter brings his sense of humor for a parodic take. “So, you think you've suffered?” he sings to open the disc. “I sip the tears of the world from my coffee cup.” The hyperbole might immediately develops his exaggerated character. Accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Billy Harvey, Nourallah moves on to “Born with a Broken Heart,” a funky number owing something to Soul Coughing while providing one of the best bass lines in his catalog. The cut's full of wit while addressing serious questions about faith, gender equality, and more.

“This Doesn't Feel like Peace, Love, or Understanding” (the second track here to echo a Nick Lowe title) sounds like quintessential Nourallah, with a pop-rock sound that would have fit on any of his last few records and a relatable sentiment conveyed in smart lyrics. Two versions of “Misanthrope” close out the disc. Nourallah co-wrote the song with Rhett Miller, but here he turns away from the Old 97's' bouncy version (called“She Hates Everyone”). Nourallah slows it down, building complex feelings; he can't fully enjoy his strange love now under his anxiety about the future. It closes the EP well, being yet more honest emotion that manages to misdirect and complicate things, the true heart covered by the knowing satire of “Jesus of Sad.”

Justin Cober-Lake

Parashi—Tape From Oort Cloud (Sedimental/Skell)

When a record provokes images of a Captain Beefheart lyric turned inside out, you know its makers are on to something. The squelchy sounds that usher in “The Vanishing Coast,” which is the first of this LP’s four tracks, does not bring to mind synthesizers, even though that’s what Mike Griffin (that’s Mr. Parashi to you) probably used some time them. Nor does it bring to mind someone else’s record. Rather, I hear the words “slow and bulbous” as the music sinks slowly into its own swampy stealth. “Broadcast Failures” leaves even those alinear coordinates behind as it pings its way woozily into the depths. The titular malfunctions might be echoed calls which fail to distract the sonar-like main body of sound, or the squashed, distant carousel that follows. Or maybe it doesn’t. File this under best practice befuddlement, but be sure to tape a bookmark to the plastic outer sleeve to remind yourself of the necessity of playing it.

Bill Meyer

Tom Redwood — The Glue (self released)

The Glue by Tom Redwood

With The Glue, his fourth album, Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Tom Redwood has tapped into a rewarding strain of country/folk that pulls hard on traditional roots, while adding a knowing wink, flowing performances, and plenty of tuneful song craft. As in Jim O’Rourke’s beloved series of Drag City albums, the music-making is taken seriously but is undercut by self-deprecating humor. On “Easy Love” Redwood sings, “When I was young I was easy loving / But now that I’m old, I’m not so dumb,” and on the title track he makes a playful reference to “round, gorgeous thighs.” He’s not afraid to play it straight, though, such as on the haunting “Cold Mother Night,” and reflective closer “Shut the Door.” There’s superb lap steel playing by Kier Stevens, smart counterpoint on guitar and “cheesy keys” from producer Matt Walker, and ethereal backing vocals from Rosie Luby, which contrasts nicely with Redwood’s aw-shucks delivery.

Tim Clarke

Grisha Shakhnes — Being There (Unfathomless)

being there by grisha shakhnes

Being There presents the listener with a document of actor, action and the arena in which the former enacts the latter. Essentially, Grisha Shakhnes recorded himself recording and recorded the room in which he was recording. Sometimes a recording device filters the subjects of his inquiry on the way to the recorder; while the sounds were captured by a Zoom digital recorded, some of them went through a Rvox reel-to-reel tape deck along the way. Equipped with the knowledge that you’re hearing Shakhnes making recordings, you quickly find yourself making decisions about what sounds to follow, and then dealing with the consequences of the choices you made as your act of following draws you into the chain of events that made the album in the first place. You are present with Shakhnes, sharing in the creation of Being There.

Bill Meyer

Six by Seven — Dream On (Cargo)

D R E A M . O N by six by seven

One of the great shoulda beens of 1990s British rock (on the other side of the Atlantic, it’s doubtful anyone not reading something like the NME at the time would have heard much of them), Six by Seven are also one of the few from that era to keep going in a way that’s not just repeating old glories. Now almost entirely just frontman Chris Olley (his son Charlie drums here, but otherwise it’s a solo show) you wouldn’t guess it from the massive, warmly analogue psychedelic/motorik drones and drifts here. Stylistically speaking, Olley can be a restless guy, never really revisiting the glory of Six by Seven’s first three albums (what you might call their classic period, and well worth checking out) but also covering an astonishing breadth during the years since. The recent Dream On is as good a place to dip into his stream of work as any, boasting three massive soundscapes (the best of which might be “And No One Knows Your Name” as well as briefer, dreamier song like “Hey Kid” and the title track. Both his muse and the demands of making music your day job keep Olley forever moving, though — even writing up this release was marked by the appearance of a double album-length Dream On 2, so anyone on Olley’s wavelength can expect a lot to keep up with.

Ian Mathers

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m2mtl · 5 years ago

Text

(ENG translation) Fake Cinderella - Chapter 8

Chapter 8 raw (click for link)

Previous chapters (1-7) link

t/n: Hiya, I decided to pick up the Fake Cinderella novel. This is just MTL so feel free to point out corrections and I'm not sure about some parts and just inferred based on context (MTL sometimes give out really weird translations lol). I'll try to do at least 2-4 chapters every month, but I'm not promising anything. So yeah, here goes~

(7/28/19) t/n: Edited some parts, for better understanding as well as some points that I realized weren’t translated that accurately.

TOC - Next Chapter

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8. Report

The culprit - I was told that he was the cook of the soup at the kitchen.

(I do not know if it's true)

As if it's a detective drama, it was "no charges due to the death of the suspect."

Really. That guy, he was dead.

He was there during the uproar about Ellelucia, but soon he was out of sight, and when he was found he was no longer breathing.

They say it was the same poison as with Ellelucia.

(The dead cannot speak...)

There was no definite evidence that he was the criminal, but according to this report which was handed to me, the Elsevelt justice officer had determined that it was suicide. And while the investigation will continue, there is a strong suspicion that he was the perpetrator.

We cannot prove his innocence, and it is easy to judge him as the criminal. Even if there is no solid evidence, the circumstantial evidence is sufficient.

With one word of the judiciary, he is considered as if he were the criminal already.

Like a lamb in a sacrifice.

The dead cannot argue.

After that, the people around him just piled up stories showing that he was suspicious.

Several testimonies from the people around him were included in the report.

It was poorly written.

He liked gambling.

He was in debt and needed money.

He always said that he wanted money.

He talked about having a profit... each and everyone of these stories are insufficient as evidence.

These are often heard everywhere, and it's not particularly suspicious.

But when each of these stories comes together, it feels as if he were a criminal.

It is even more so because the judiciary has proclaimed it.

(The assumption is strong.)

Even if it was not the truth, it is considered the truth to those who believed it.

The weight of the real truth is automatically added there.

Whether the judicial officer really thinks he's the culprit or is trying to make himself think so, there's too little information to judge.

Another report was submitted by my escort.

As this is in Elsevert territory, this report is not an official document but only an informal one.

The name of the reporter is Count Najec = Rajé = Vera = Stasen (t/n: I just kept the name similar to the romanization).

He is the head of my escort and is a qualified judicial officer.

A judicial officer is a professional qualification who is given the authority of a judge and a police officer, and is called by the title "Vera", but "Judicial officer" does not strictly equal to "Vera".

"Vera" means a person who graduated from university, in a sense it's basically a "scholar."

Since all the people who graduated from university can become judicial officers, the judicial officers eventually became called "Vera."

Wherever you go in this continent, you can get a high-ranking official position if you have acquired the title "Vera." Really. Even if it is a former slave.

I hear that the prime minister of the Royal Roland Empire in the North is a "Vera" that was a former slave.

I was wondering why one could become an expert in law just after graduating from college, so I was determined to know how the mentioned university here works. Universities in this world are highly advanced and specialized academic institutions, it is difficult to enter and even more difficult to graduate.

Admission qualifications require that only those who have passed the entrance exam for under 30 years old, but the scope of entrance exams is quite diverse. The test subjects are three essential subjects: law, history, and language, but they must have knowledge in all fields because the history exam may ask about the zinc purification method of the unified empire era, and the language exam may ask about the economy of the second empire period.

Depending on the year, successful applicants may only total to a single digit.

Laws naturally vary from country to country. The basic law is the old Unified Imperial Law called the "Continental Law." University students learn all the laws of the five major powers, including Dardinia. If you do not pass in the three essential subjects of law, history, and language, you can not advance to the specialized course nor graduate.

The Royal Academy exists as a senior educational institution, but in every country, it is regarded as belonging only to nobles. There are some famous private schools, but they are only recognized within their own countries.

An ivory tower with absolute authority, without swaying in status, position or power. That is the university here.

They are meritocratic, no matter how high your status, no matter how much money you accumulate, you will not be allowed to take a step in unless you pass the entrance examination on your own.

Incidentally, Prince Nadir has this "Vera."

At present, there is no other prince in the continent who has "Vera." It is said that when he ascends to the throne, he would become the first king to have the title "Vera."

Let's get back to the report.

As a matter of course, the report of Count Stasen naturally differs in perspective from the Elsevert's judicial officer.

So, even if the same fact is written, the impression is completely different.

The poor are all farmers in the villages, and it is common practice for the village men to play darts at the bar of the village, do dice betting and poker, and to lose at these games. Even if they lost three days in a row, it was possible to pay with the next month salary.

People who want money, they're not uncommon for them, and the word profit can make you a little curious, but for instance, if you sell a new kind of sweet potatoes directly in the town rather than in the village market... it's a big profit for the farmers.

(There are two sides to things...)

Even if it is not the opposite of the two sides, just as the view changes depending on how the light is applied, the facts that come up from different perspectives are different.

(Even though there is one truth, what you see is different from person to person)

There is no more excuses from him.

There is no one to refute for him.

Now there is no evidence, but the suspicion of circumstantial evidence, and in time there may be a considerable sum of money, or some poison which he is said to have used, that will be discovered from his luggage.

Such a thing, I don't know if I can let it go afterwards.

(... or perhaps he was really involved)

Maybe I'm being too suspicious. It may be better to honestly believe in the circumstantial evidence.

If there is a lot of doubtful evidence, it's hard to say, because it was his turn to make the soup.

That clam soup was a bit bad for acclaim. But I think it was technically okay.

The clam itself was deliciously processed. The thick, large clam was simmered without being too boiled. It didn't feel too firm and I didn't taste the rawness ... it was well cooked.

There is no gas. Nor do they have ranges or timers. I don't think he could have done anything but make soup on the open fire.

He should not have had the time of doing something unnecessary with the soup.

(The soup is next to the oven, and the stove of the stir-fried dishes is beyond the bread-kiln...)

The report also describes the location of the kitchen seasoning shelves. The information attached to either report is quite detailed, but the information submitted by Elsevert's official is even more so - it includes the description of what is in the shelf. The name of the person who wrote it is blurred. (t/n: not sure about this, it was literally translated as “The character of the person I wrote is blurred.”)

If you were in the kitchen, you might think there are many chances to put poison in, but the corner where you made soup is far from the one where you made stir-fried dishes. Moreover, there is a bread kiln between them, and there are, of course, people in charge for that too.

There is no evidence that he approached the oven where the stir-fried dishes were being made.

It is almost impossible to put it after it is served. It is said that when he was done he soon served the soup, and there is no evidence of him approaching there.

There were more than ten people in the kitchen at that time. The chef, who oversaw all the work, testified that no one had done anything funny.

His skill may be inadequate, but his attitude to protect his men against a judicial officer who regarded him as the criminal is worthy of praise.

(I think I'm going to be confused...)

I had a lot to think about.

I don't think I've lived without thinking about anything, but I feel like I've been thinking a lot since I came here.

The position of the Duke of Elsevert is not very good, as the judicial officer considered him as partly the culprit... Rather, they are secretly regarded as the true masterminds.

(His family, for generations, was it a peasant of the Duke...)

The relationship between tenant farmers and feudal lords is similar to slaves and masters who follow voluntarily. Although peasants were not in the position of slaves, they could not oppose the order of their lords.

It is quite natural to regard it as having been done by the order of the duke.

The duke seems to have tried to come and explain many times, but my escort commander said that the excuse was useless, and it seems that even Lilia refused the offer.

(Well, he is naturally, suspected... in a sense, of course)

On the contrary, I doubt his involvement this time.

I don't think he'll use such an easy-to-understand method.

In the castle of Elsevert, poison is found in the dish made by the cook of Elsevert... The culprit deduced from this... it's too easy to understand.

(I don't think they'll use such a simple trick)

The Duke of Elsevert would come up with a situation in which he could prove that he was never the culprit, and a means in which he would never be doubted.

That duke is paranoid and a perfectionist. That type should be very particular about details.

Of course, there are exceptions, but the duke is absolutely fine. Because, the list of seasoning shelves was probably written directly by the duke.

It was found in both reports that, as soon as Ellelucia fell, my bodyguards began to seize the kitchen of the castle to examine all the rest of the material which had remained for my breakfast.

The materials itself seemed to be perfectly normal. Seasonings too.

The poison was found only in the dish of 'fried green vegetables and soybean dishes' that was carried to my room.

The frying pan had been washed, so it was unclear if it was mixed during cooking or if it was mixed while being transported to my room after cooking.

It was Ellelucia who carried "green vegetables and stir-fried dishes" from the kitchen to my room. It seems that the lady has poisoned herself with what she carried.

(What is the form of the poison? ... Powder or ... Liquid? ...)

Is it possible to be mixed in the corridors or not?

The poison is still under investigation, but it is written that it is probably a poison of Rigis.

Rigis is is a medicinal herb that has analgesic effects in its flowers and a sedative effect in the leaves. It is widely used, and every home is planted with Rigis, and it is so common for girls to bring the potted plant as a bride's tool.

However, according to a book left by the famous alchemist, Trigias, about two centuries ago, it is possible to refine the root by a special refining method and produce a terrible poison. It is said that it can kill a dozen of adults with just one drop of liquid or with the powder amounting to only a tip of the finger.

The terrifying part of this poison is that it is not immediate. There is nothing for a while after taking it, and it is too late when you realize it. You can't vomit it anymore.

It dissolves in the internal organs and you die before long. It is said that the skin of the body is decayed and that purple spots appear over time.

(Well, all poisons that can not be identified are said to be Rigis poison.)

Indeed, this Rigis poison is a mystery poison. The 'special refinements' and the other information have not been recorded anywhere, only the efficacy of the poison and the observation that Trigius had conducted on death row prisoners.

The roots of the Rigus are edible when boiled. It tastes like a lily root, and I ate it a few days ago. By the way, it seems to be a medicine for bruises if you grind it.

It's a mystery how it becomes poisonous. Well, it's not that strange because medicine and poison are two sides of the same coin.

(...... Is there anything that Ellelucia aims at?)

Was there a reason for being targeted by Ellelucia? Now that I think of it.

She was a bright and pretty girl. It is said her swordsmanship skills were quite good. She was told to be my shield at an emergency.

However, it seemed to me that it had nothing to do with the fact that Ellelucia was my maid after all.

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TOC - Next Chapter

#fakecinderella #fakecinderellachapter8 #englishtranslation #translations

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bedlamgames · 5 years ago

Text

Q&A #100

Yes, been a hundred of this things. Totally a meaningless milestone which is one of my oldest tags on here (assuming any are left after the purge...) still I thought I’d do something for it.

Specifically I’ve gone back over the old Q&A’s and found some favourite questions and answers which I’ll be including in this after the usual round of outstanding ones. Possibly also with some extra commentary where appropriate.

Anonymous said: Hey. Any pair of characters connected by an Owned relationship/reputation seems to crash the game if you use either one of them on an assignment. Any chance of this being fixed?

- That should be sorted in yesterday’s update.

Anonymous said: Got a Forest Goblin with both Dancer and Clumsy. This seems like a very strange combination, but imagining it kind of makes me want to laugh my head off.

- Agreed I think that just works due to being amusing. Less poetry in motion and more of a limerick.

Anonymous said: In No Haven 0.871 the trait " Elementalist: Air " does not appear when using the estimate value function.

- Cheers for pointing out that oversight. Will sort.

Anonymous said: Hi sory english isn't my native langage, In No Have 0.871 TF Edition I have aquired a slaver But with a bug first i don't know how i acquire her and two she had noting , no name no perk jus a little description i will copy the full examine optin on it : - - - - ExamineName: Race: - Sex: - Status: - Reputation: Traits: Condition: 0 Will: 0 Estimated Value: 0 has a flat chest, a regular pussy, and has an unremarkable ass. She is the same size as most goblins, and .She is .

- That looks like an empty character in all respects. I believe there was an issue with Ritual Casting where that could happen and is now sorted. If you see it happen again please let me know what you were doing when they appeared.

Anonymous said: Hey Bedlam, watched stream where you discussed not selling slaves debuff, thing is i always imagined slavers being in this business for fun and pleasure first, and gold second. I mean why else would they agree to live in some Skyrim style, long abandoned really, hard to get to fort in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by hills and marshes(at least that how i imagine it)? So maybe you could make something like,"no new slaves, or slave training for X days, getting bored" or something like that?

- It wouldn’t be too harsh at all. Just a bit of a poke to encourage that you’re business model is based around being a slaver over the leader disappearing to the coast for a week and returning with suspiciously large amounts of gold. In that case you’ve got to think that your slavers might feel that they’re surplus to requirements :D

Anonymous said: I hope you're happy for taking so many hours of my life away from me lol. But playing this again; got a question about NH. Any plans on making some rival groups that we can interact with? Diplomacy, getting tribute, ect. It would be kinda cool to have rivals that push you along

Glad you’re enjoying it!

Likely yes. There’s ways currently now to set up a few ways to get tribute every so often. More groups though who are more hostile than the not-witches in the marshlands or the mistress of the Ensnared Rose are sure to be a thing sooner or later.

doof-ex-machina said: Have you read the Gorean saga by John Nornan? If yes, did it influence your vision of the No Haven world? Gor explores a legal female-oriented slave system, yheah, but there are pretty close similarities with NH in regards to the numbers of ‘fodder’ and the ways of training. Anyway, me personally thinks your world is even better because magic and draenei/succubi boobs, duh.

I haven’t but I am aware of them in general.

NH is a lot more equal opportunities than Gor where males doing it to females, females doing it to males, and all possible variations of that including others like futanari and sissies are likely to happen. Still high praise indeed, thanks!

And now onto some old questions starting with one from before where I realised beginning to combine these might be a good idea.

onedrift from 2015: Trying this again...what's your coder fuel of choice? Red bull, Monster, coffee? None of the above? Soon to be bimbofied slavemakers want to know!

- Heh, totally giving my nationality away (if it wasn’t blatantly obvious already) but the fuel of choice is copious amounts of Earl Grey tea.

Anonymous from 2015: Hiya, been a fan of your work for a long time, captions and games thanks for making them, but a question regarding whorelocks revenge, is it possible to get the tangle infection and bonds of insanity? in all my time playing them I never had either I dont think.

- Not in the current version. Basically I wasn’t happy with the implementation in terms of how they were removed so I disabled them for a bit till I can sort it out… which unfortunately has lasted quite some time.

Soon as I got this No Haven update done they’re top of my list of things to sort in Whorelocks.

(Oh zogging hell. Still not done that yet... Extenuating circumstance for sure with NH taking off and WR was still in RAGS at that point, but even so)

Anonymous from 2015: This is probably a poor place to respond to your open-ended poll question, but have you looked into Twine?

- I’ve looked at Twine and when I one day get round to Rough Landing 3 it’s definitely going to be done using it, but to me it looks like an incredibly poor fit for working on No Haven.

(Oh past me why would say such a thing even if it did make a lot of sense at the time. Let’s hope that guy was wrong)

Anonymous from Q&A #1: Title image is hype, cant wait for next update. recall you mentioned that you had enchantments planed for the update after next (or something there abouts) how far ahead have you planned ahead and any spoilers for the update after this one? :D

- Why thank you! I have several pages bullet pointed of what I have planned along with what I have in my head. For stuff not in the next update I’d say not counting more slave training assignments and options and more assignments in the other areas the big bits of content outstanding are;

Way more potions. (Still do do)

Enchantment/cursing of items system. (Also still do do)

Crafting Devices. (Also, also still do do)

Ways to manage encampments when they get to large by sending slavers/slaves to new areas to provide ongoing gold/supplies along with the occasional assignment. (Oh dear, also, also still do do)

More stuff for you like going on every assignment, bad ends for some of them, more interactions, being enslaved and so on. Basically lots more sub and also some dom content for when you’re not managing the encampment. (Woo progress made! Bad ends for some assignments going on are indeed a thing. Still work to do as I do want to give Crossbones and Into the Depths the QAYL treatment sometime)

Special events that will occur every so often that will affect things be it for good and bad. This will include a way to get a lost slaver back though perhaps forever altered by their experiences. (Woo again this is done. Definitely could do with more done with)

Encampment reputation to reflect a slaver’s standing with how the other slaver’s see them. This will includes slavers becoming slaves and visa versa. (On a roll now as a great deal of this implemented)

More biomancy options and improving thanks to a multi-part assignment. There will also be other multi-part story based assignments. (Partially done and the biomancy multi-part assignment has been started)

And a bunch more basically but those are the priorities after this next update. Probably not all in the same update though.

Anonymous from Q&A #6: I would play the hell out of Paranoia set in No Haven.

- Temptation to give slavers and you conflicting secret societies and agendas rising.

Y’know like…

Dire Panthers: A mottley band of young savage orcs, amazons and trolls out to raise hell by breaking stuff, setting stuff on fire and generally being a nuisance to everyone.

The Cooperative: A dedicated group of Frozen Queen cultists out to oppose the Human Empire by working together to make things better for the common people… till you know the Queen awakens and buries all the land in eternal ice.

Mage Smashers: Magic iz like wrong an’ stuff! We smash dem in dere stupid face till dey not so smart.

Fellowship-Fel: The denizens that lurk beyond our reality and infect our dreams with tainted nightmares are our friends! We must expose ourselves to as much corruption as possible to make ourselves like them. We see no flaws in this plan whatsoever, you see the chorus of whispers in our minds entirely agrees with us.

Psion: No changes need to be made whatsoever from the original version.

Trekksters: …and I think that’s enough of that, or further evidence of why I shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near RAGS or indeed tumblr when I have my old sourcebooks nearby :D

(Also apologies to most of you who have no idea what that was about!) (This is still far too much of a good idea)

Anonymous from Q&A #17: 2/2 and another hilarious one: Your succubus slave Jaeil was not looking so hot right now so Virholen just held her close and told Jaeil that everything would be alright. Jaeil was oddly quiet everytime you looked in on them and you wonder if they have resigned themselves to their fate. Condition: 45 (Change: 20) - Will: 47 (Change: 15)

After their mistreatment Jaeil sees no reason not to only care for them self as clearly no one else will leaving them hardened and even outright cruel. usc++

- You win best bug report in ages, that is beautiful :D

Anonymous from Q&A #37: Will there be other spirit races in the game besides wisps, such as undynes, gnomes, and dryads? And finally Im new to patreon. I decided to pay for the your character teir but ask for a unique because I dont really understand it. Is the “play your character” a scenario or what? And where do I go to talk with you on what I would like for it?

- True story, I had to google undyines and for ages I couldn’t work out what you were referring too as so many of the results were of that character from Undertale :D

Undines themselves would be no, but I do have a water spirit of a kind planned. (Still do!) Gnomes no, as I’m happy with Hakh Dwarven and the various Goblins as my short races. Dryads absolutely yes, and will be one of the advanced races. See the last Q&A for more details of those.

Thank you for your support! Those options are for those that want to play a specific character that isn’t available in the standard options or design a specific slaver that you can have in your encampment. If you want to see some examples of ones others have asked for before on the playable character front then Orc Wright Raptor, Lago’Mae Scholar or Goblin Underground Potioneer would be a good ones to look at to start off with.

As for the unique slavers then pretty much any of the slavers available under Strong Right Arm/Recruiter.

How much detail you want to go into is up to you. If you want to say oh I just want a Kitsune lady who likes to pole-dance then I’d put something together for your approval, or you can go full on detailing everything about them from their art, description, traits etc. and I’ll work with you to the point I’m happy having it as an option in the game. (Note: If you want an entirely new race like the Golems you need to go for the lore tier given the significantly larger amount of work involved)

For discussing please send me a message on patreon and we can take it further from there.

One thing to bare in mind is that patreon only charges at the end of the month, and so while I’m more than willing to talk it out, if you want to me to do a lot of work on your request I’m going to need to see a pledge go through first. It sucks I know, but this is the unfortunate reality of the internet that alas trust can only go so for.

I’m always happy to discuss things though, I really am, and some people have asked to pay some of their pledge upfront via paypal to get round this which is not a problem if that’s what you want to do.

valhallaimmortan from Q&A #47: I managed to get a elven smith who makes fancy armor that is usually masterwork quality, and equipped my ‘Basher’ Squad with it, the Basher’s are all Ogre’s who I recruited and I have a alchemist who seriously creeps me out with how many petrification potions he has been pumping out. I also like the Lago'mae Scholar how now the Lizard man is using her as his new project… poor Scholar… and I got to ask is it actually possible to recruit a keldan from the keldan mission in the city?

- I love this question, absolutely adore it, and you made the patron who requested the lizardman unique really happy when I mentioned it to them. If people want to send in their favourite/amusing/interesting slavers/slaves that have resulted from generation and gameplay I might do a tumblr post series on them called ‘Tell me about your Character’.

As to the question yes she should be on the critical result.

Anonymous from Q&A #61: Silly question. For clothing and armor, what in your mind is the major difference between micro, and impractical? I can’t really visualize a difference between the two when reading armor/clothing descriptions. Scandalously short is divergent enough that it creates its own image for me. The other two seem as if they would be interchangeable, but they aren’t since there is a distinction so what is it?

- Yay silly questions are always the best questions. Okay micro is where you have outfits that are recognizable bits of clothing but it’s incredibly brief so a skirt that’s more a belt than actually trying to cover anything whatsoever and/or a bikini top so teeny-weeny that it doesn’t even cover all of the nipples. Completely impractical though is the kind of clothing beloved by a certain kind of fantasy art which just doesn’t make any kind of sense whatsoever where looking good trumps any pretension of realism, and the only way it could stay on is either with copious amounts of glue or magic being involved.

Anonymous from Q&A #66: Hello again! I’m the guy who asked about the post-slave [slaver] titles. I’m going to very respectfully push the idea that ex-slaves should get unique titles. First, I honestly think having the unique titles is cooler. It’s more interesting to send a Chosen, an Acolyte, and a Hedge-Witch on an assignment than it is to send three Slavers. It’s a rarity thing, sort of? If you get a character who qualifies for one of those things, it’s a BIG DEAL. Secondly, it already changes with jobs, so…

- Alright, alright, you’ve twisted my arm :)

That should now be included for the most recent update along with a couple of new titles so that all of the more rare traits (not counting crafting ones) should have one. Let me know if there’s any issues as while it was a fairly straightforward change I didn’t get a chance to test that particular bit.

Thanks for reading and here’s to another hundred of these.

#Q&A #meaningless milestones

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we-be-writing-bts-stuff · 6 years ago

Text

Love Through a Lens: Makeup Malfunction

Pairing: GamingYouTuber!Jungkook/BeautyGuruYouTuber!Y/N

Plot: The many adventures of you and your boyfriend on each of your respective channels.

Subplot: You let your boyfriend do your makeup for a video.

Word Count: 2269

A/N: So in this series I imagine that Jungkook grew up in Korea and then moved to the US at some point. So he is fluent in both English and Korean as a result of that. I mention Mykie’s (Glam and Gore on YouTube) wig collaboration with Bellami wigs. I am not endorsing them at all. I feel it’s realistic for the character mention other brands and people as they film. I also linked them in case any of you wanted to see what they looked like.

~Bagel

“Hey guys! I’m really excited for this. You have been asking for this ever since we went public. I’m joined here by Jungkook and he’ll be doing my makeup today!” You say excitedly. Clapping your hands and then gesturing towards the male that jumps into the frame. Causing you to shriek and start to laugh. He pulls you into his lap and waves to the camera. “If you’re into gaming channels I highly recommend his channel KookieMonsterGaming and he has a vlog channel as well where you can see more of us, our friends, and get a glimpse into his life called KookieMonsterVlogs. Links are down below in the description. Check them out! But before we get started, make sure to like the video, comment and if you’re new here, click that subscribe button to join the fam and ring that bell for notifications.” You begin to tell the virtual audience the rules of the ‘challenge’ that they all probably know at this point and trying to deal with a cuddly Jungkook hanging onto your waist. Hooking his chin on your shoulder as he looks into the camera. Stealing neck kisses every few words. Once you get done with all of the explanations with minimal giggles and show the collection on the table in front of you two. Which includes your multitude of palettes and single shadows, brushes, foundations, concealers and anything else you could think of grabbing for him to choose and use. You turn towards the male as best you can while keeping the shot look good.

“Okay. Now let me off of your lap so you can start on my makeup.” You tell him. Causing an adorable pout and something mumbled in Korean that you can’t quite make out. He gives you a kiss and then places you next to him.

“What’s first?” He asks you. Looking down at the large collection of things that you have laid out for him to choose from. You giggle and shrug your shoulders.

“You know I can’t help you. My face is your canvas and my makeup your paint.” You remind him. Causing another frown and more mumbling. As he thinks back through your routine that he’s only half paid attention to over your time together.

“Foundation! That’s first.” He says happily once he remembers. Grabbing the Fenty bottle that’s about half used and a big fluffy brush (much to your disappointment, you were hoping for him to grab the trusty beauty sponge). While looking at you for confirmation.

Seeing no signs either way he pumps some product directly onto the brush and starts to paint it on. You quickly close your eyes and giggle a bit. Just imagining the amount of concentration that he is putting into this task.

“What kind of look are you going for baby?” You ask him. Filling the space and silence with something more than your giggles.

“Something different. You do too many neutral looks.” He tells you in his native tongue. Making you giggle some more. Knowing he tries his best to keep speaking English, especially in videos, so a wider audience could understand him. The slip up showing you how much he was focusing on the application right now to fall back on his first language.

“And how are you going to do that?” You ask back. Knowing that you’re just causing more work for yourself by having to subtitle the video when you edit, but not caring too much. He stops what he’s doing and looks at you when he hears your Korean. A slow realization creeps up on him as he figures out why you spoke to him in the different language. His jaw dropping and mouth making an ‘o’ shape. Causing you to giggle once again and lean in to kiss his nose.

“It’s okay. You tend to do that when you concentrate really hard.” You reassure him. He sighs and starts to spread the foundation again. Picking up the conversation again.

“I’ll choose colors other than brown and beige and more..... um....... What’s that called in English? Goes on your cheek and nose and is really bright.” He asks and explains. Gesturing with his hands to his cheeks and almost a flashing signal. Looking at you as he tries to remember. Make-up brush still sitting between his fingers.

“Highlighter?” You ask tentatively. The only thing coming to your mind as he explains.

“Yes! Highlighter. Lots of highlighter. And some blush. You never use it. Maybe contour too.” He says happily. Finishing up the foundation. You look over your shoulder at the monitor showing what the camera sees. Not being too mad about the application so far. It was a little streaky and still needed some more blending, but still good for a first time.

“No. No. No. Look at me. You can’t see until its done.” He says. Pulling your head back to face him. You roll your eyes and look back to him.

“Then tell me what you are doing now.” You tell him. Seeing him look back at the multitude of products on the table.

“Eyebrows.” He says a bit unsure. Looking back to you. “Can I put you in one of your wigs?” He asks. You can see the wheels turning in his head at this moment. You smile back and nod.

“Whatever you want love. Just tell me which one or you can grab it.” He smiles brightly and runs over to the wig area of the room. He loved to look at them and helped to pick out several of them. Going to his latest favorite that you just got recently through a PR package. Carefully bringing the whole styrofoam head with the wig still on it. Smiling widely as he shows it to the camera.

“Why do you like Regan so much? What about Carrie? That’s different for me. Or I even wear Clarice less than Regan. If different is what you’re going for.” You question. Giggling once he smiles widely at you while shaking his head.

“Carrie is too red. And I don’t want you to wear pink hair today.” He provides. Putting the wig on the desk behind you two. Having it out of the way while keeping it in the frame. Coming back to his spot and grabbing the darker eyebrow gel you have and beginning to fill in your brows.

“For those of you that don’t know those are wigs that are a part of Mykie’s or better known as Glam and Gore’s wig collaboration with Bellami wigs. They are great and I was lucky enough to get them in a PR package. Thank you Bellami and Mykie.” You explain to the people that may not know. A soft oops can be heard from Jungkook as he pulls away and looks at his handiwork.

“Oops? What did you do that warrants an oops?!” You question in a panic reaching for one of your small mirrors before he grabs his hand and brings them to his chest.

“I’ll fix it. Calm down.” He leans forward and kisses your forehead. This makes you pout, but you relent. Leaning back into your seat and letting him do what he will. He smiles and goes back to trying to fix his mistake.

Idle chatter filling the space and he moves on to the eyeshadow. Grabbing a small fluffy brush and dipping into a shimmery gray/silver pigment. Swiping the color over the entirety of your eyelids. You cringe inwardly at the thought of the fallout that is bound to be covering your cheeks by now after seeing his heavy handedness when going into the shade.

“What color are you using?”

“Grey.” He says simply. Shrugging his shoulders and going back into the single shade to layer up the color.

“No honey. Like what is the brand and shade name you’re using?” You try again. Which only causes him to look at you confused. With a sigh you grab the pan and look at the back.

“For anyone wondering, this is Morphe ES18 ‘I’m so Fancy’.” You provide to the presumed audience. “Make sure to say what products you’re using baby.” Leaning forward and kissing his cheek. Going back to closing your eyes so he can finish putting the pigment on you.

“Okay open your eyes.” He instructs. You do as he says and looks over to him. Giggling when he looks at you and starts to pout. Grabbing and looking through your brushes once again for something that looks like the brush he was previously using.

“Why is there so many brushes? Ahhhhh!” He says. Clearly frustrated and a small growl in his voice showing up as he searches. It makes a smile appear on your face and you lean over to kiss his cheek.

“Relax love. It is okay. Just choose a brush. It doesn’t have to be perfect.” You assure him. He sighs and chooses a slightly bigger blending brush. He goes into a matte black shade and starts to go straight into your crease. Trying to blend it out and putting it in the outer third of your eyelid. Going back and forth for what seems like forever.

“The color love.” You gently remind him. Hearing a soft swear from him.

“Um. The black color in this Alien Palette. Its called ‘Black Hole’. And I think this is from Jeffree Starr.” He says. Going back to blending it out once again.

He pulls away and tells you to open your eyes and look at him. He bites his lip and sucks in some air. A look of almost panic and regret on his face. Causing you to gasp and push him lightly.

“Why are you looking at me like that?!” You ask him. He smiles and kisses you softly.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be okay. I’ll fix it.”

“Fix what?!”

He says nothing else and makes you close your eyes again. Causing you to pout and let him do his thing. Feeling him sweep some color on the outer third of your lids. After a while he leans back once again and smiles.

“There now we need to do liner, mascara, lashes and the rest of the face.” He says. Reaching over for the eye liner.

“Oh! Someone’s confident if you want to try false lashes.” You tease him a bit and smile. He huffs at you and shakes the liquid liner. Uncapping it and coming towards your eye. You quickly close them and let him start. Feeling him do a less bold eyeliner than you normally do in your normal looks and especially in a look that it seems that he is doing.

He goes through and does mascara, the false lashes, blush, highlighter, and concealer. He gave up on the contouring after finding out that you needed to mix colors to find a good enough match your skin. Not wanting to make it look bad. Keeping up the conversation and both of you making jokes. Doing what you can to keep the video interesting, fun and minimize the amount of silence.

“Okay. Lipstick then we’re done.” He says. Looking down to the entirety of your lipstick collection and chuckling a bit.

“Why are you laughing?” You ask. Blinking a bit more than normal due to his slightly wonky placement of your lashes.

“Why is there so much red? I think you may have a problem.” He answers. Smiling widely as you gape at him in disbelief.

“It’s my signature lip color. I don’t hear you complaining about it ever.”

“Well I think we should change that for today’s look. How about this?” He says. Reaching and grabbing for two Jeffree Starr liquid lipsticks. Showing them to you.

“You know I can’t choose for you. But I’ll tell you this. Weirdo is a black while Triggered is a dark purple with sparkles in it.” You provide. He sets down Weirdo and starts to look around.

“Do you use a brush to put this on too?”

“I don’t know. Do I?” He just huffs at your answer and uncaps the makeup. Smiling when he sees the applicator and abandons his search for a brush.

“Open your mouth.” You roll your eyes at the command and do as he says. His brow furrowing as he starts to paint your bottom lip.

After what feels like forever he sets the lipstick down and smiles. Clapping his hands and grabbing your wig for you to put on before he hands you your big hand mirror to look at the final look.

“Oh wow. Okay. I see what you were trying to do.” You say softly. In reality the look wasn’t bad. It was messy and needed more cohesiveness. The lip, although pretty, didn’t quite match the eye look and the lashes are way off from where they need to be and kinda crooked.

“Do you like it?” He asks. His expression hopeful and eyes wide.

“Yeah. It’s not bad. There is definitely room for improvement, but it isn’t a train wreck.” You put down the mirror and smile at him. He smiles back and pulls you into his lap. Kissing your cheek and turning your head to kiss your lips. This causes you to giggle.

You turn to the camera and say your goodbyes and outro. Waving towards the camera and turning it off. Then turning around to face Jungkook and wrap your arms around him. “You did great baby. Thank you for doing this.” You tell him softly.

“Don’t thank me. I would do anything for you.” He says back with a wide smile. Leaning forward and kissing you once again.

#youtuber au #youtuber bts #youtuber jungkook #gamer jungkook #jungkook x reader #BTS jungkook #jeon jungkook bts #beauty vlogger reader #love through a lens

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poisonappletales · 6 years ago

Text

Upcoming Valentine Event

Hello, everyone! Good evening from here.

Hope you’ve all been doing well! January is almost over, so do you know what that means? Valentine’s Day is coming soon.

I’ve got two special events in store. The first one is an old tradition - give a Valentine and receive one back on White Day! The second is a Host Event. I’ll go into more detail on that later.

Here’s how this Valentine tradition works:

1) Make a Valentine.

It can be a card like this, an audio piece like so, a drawing - or anything else outside the box! Just keep it PG-13 and clean. Here’s a full list of previous Valentines (along with the men’s accompanying replies).

2) Give your Valentine to one of the men (or women) from any of our games (i.e. Don’t Take This Risk or Beauty and the War).

The webtoon’s included. You can give a Valentine to multiple characters if you so wish! (This is Girl x Boy and Boy x Girl, so if you give a Valentine to a man, he’ll treat you as a woman and vice versa.)

To give us a Valentine, there are several ways to do this. Make a post on tumblr and tag us. E-mail us at [poisonappletales(at)gmail(dot)com]. Send us a tweet. As long as we know where it is and where to find it, then it’s all good!

You can do this from now until February 18, 2019.

3) Get a Valentine back about a month later!

This is based off Japan’s practice of White Day. (Please note that Virgo Island natives don’t actually have a White Day. I personally find it to be an interesting tradition...and it gives me time to make the replies.)

Now for the very special Host Event ♥:

This will take place on our fair and lovely Discord!

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m going to hop online on select days and roleplay as one of my men, who will woo every lady online like he’s your boyfriend/host. That’s the concept of a host club (from Japan) - handsome men catering to your needs and being a perfectly loving beau.

Now, I don’t have time to roleplay every single one of my characters, so I’m going to do a select few. I asked my patrons who they wanted this Valentine’s Day, and here are the three they chose:

King Barium

“A fine choice - one you won’t regret. I know how to treat a woman like the beautiful princess she is.”

As the one who came in last place for the War: Valentine Edition poll, King Barium was a surprising request! But as the owner of a harem, he’s more than qualified to be your host...

Love Style: Indulgent, smooth and flirty.

Arsenik of the Hulder

“It’ll be my pleasure to serve you. But...wait - I’m supposed to see every single woman there as my beloved? I’m not entirely sure how to make that work. When I love someone, she has my heart entirely. There’s no room for anyone else.”

[The corner of his lips quirks up with a hint of amusement. Jestingly:] “Am I supposed to imagine each one as a duplicate of the other? This will prove to be quite interesting...” [Chuckling:] “If I’m there to entertain, I’ll certainly make quite the spectacle of myself!”

Like Arsenik said, he’ll have to think about how to make this work, but he’ll do his best to please you. He’s an intelligent man, so he’ll figure it out.

Love Style: Devoted, attentive and sweet. Shyer than he looks.

Unknown

“Ooh, yes. I am the obvious choice, am I not? You know you want me. I know I want you...kihihi! I love you, kittens. ♥”

This host list just wouldn’t be complete without Unknown, would it?

Love Style: Aggressive, sensual and...sensual. All right, he’s also unexpected. Perhaps even dangerous...

Note: When I say “aggressive,” I mean aggressive. He doesn’t always take “no” for an answer, you might notice. If he’s ever making you uncomfortable in the Discord and you want him to back off, just let me know.

You could say, “Hey, Crown Ruler! Get this guy away from me!” or “OOC (out of character): Get him off me!” Anything along those lines will work. Something that tells me you’re serious and not just reacting to the roleplay.

I’ve already told Unknown not to cross the wrong lines while he’s there (and to give no spoilers), but I can’t guarantee he’ll always listen. Still, I will restrain him when needed.

If I do have the time, I’ll bring in some of my other men as well. In which case, here are the possible other hosts who might be there to entertain you:

Chase of the Trold

“Huh? I don’t think anyone would really want me as a...as a ‘host.’ But if I’m there, I’ll do my best to make you happy!”

Love Style: Friendly, awkward and cheerful. You might say he’s a little like the boy next door...

Wind of the Imugi

“I don’t care to do this. Find somebody else to waste time with those girls.”

Love Style: Hot and cold. A snarky, arrogant grump. He doesn’t even like this description I’m writing for him.

Night of the Vi

“Why not? I’ve never done something like this before. I like it. Let’s make the most of it.”

Love Style: The bad boy who’s cool, easygoing and fun.

Onyx of the Vi

“Tell me what’s expected of me.”

Love Style: Distant, cold and silent. He doesn’t really have a love style, to be honest.

Viktor of the Hulder

“Oh-ho! A host? I wouldn’t mind trying my hand at that at all. It’ll be nice to get acquainted with other women and make new friends. Well, I know the point of the exercise isn’t to befriend them, but since this isn’t a serious thing, I imagine quite a few friendships could come out of this!

It all depends on who I’m meeting. Hmm? Was I supposed to say something more romantic? I’m not supposed to be promoting myself, am I? I mean, what that war chief - Onyx - said was hardly enticing. Unless there was some sort of double meaning behind it. A hidden innuendo! What a sly man...”

Love Style: Bubbly, outgoing and talkative! As you might have just seen...

X from Prison

“I’m the best out of all these chumps! You see my White Day card up there, baby? It beats all the others - what with its firey burst and everything. Yeah, you know it’s true!

Even if you’re with some other host, I’ll steal you away from him.”

Love Style: He has the X Love Style. I think that’s all that needs to be said.

Now, you might be wondering what days these men will show up in the Discord. I don’t have a complete idea of my February schedule just yet, so what I’m going to do is announce it a few days before each host’s visit.

I can guarantee that I’ll be in the Discord at least three times - once each for King Barium, Arsenik and Unknown as requested by my beloved patrons.

If I find I have the time, I’ll do a spontaneous visit, in which I’d either announce it a few hours before or just jump in without any forewarning. I’ve never done the latter before, except for a beloved patron and friend’s birthday, so I might as well see what’s that like. If I had my schedule set in stone, I probably wouldn’t do this, but it is what it is. As X would say, let’s roll with it.

In the event of a surprise visit, I’ll bring in a different host or one that you request.

So, stay tuned for the date and time of each host’s visit to the Discord! They hope to see you there.

That’s all I have to say about these upcoming Valentine events. I have a lot of things I want to reblog from y’all and asks I want to answer. I appreciate each and every one. I assure you that I’ll get to those as soon as possible!

Before I bring this to an end, here are some fun pre-Valentine “skits.” They’re a mix of sweet and spicy romance with a large helping of comedy. They just happened to spring to mind, so I’m putting them down here!

If you came here solely for details on the Valentine event, feel free to mosey along. Otherwise, if you have some spare time and you want to be amused, read on! Please don’t forget to pay attention to the rating.

Rating: 14+ for very sensual themes and some dubiously consensual things.

Ambrosia’s Host Guide

“Yes, dear? You want me to describe each host’s...love style for everyone?” [chuckling] “I certainly don’t mind. It’s quite nice of these men to devote their time to making others happy.”

King Barium’s Love Style (by Ambrosia): “A natural-born lover. You can be at ease with him. Please feel free to share your thoughts frankly with him. Even if you aren’t interested, he’ll understand and won’t pressure you.”

Arsenik’s Love Style (by Ambrosia): “A true gentlemen and a dutiful warrior! Now, as a gentleman, he feels obligated to accommodate nearly every lady’s request, so please don’t take advantage of him too much. ＾◡＾ ”

Unknown’s Love Style (by Ambrosia): “If you’re interested in him, he’ll surely fly to the moon and back for you! But if you aren’t, please be wary of catching his eye. If you run into any trouble, please seek one of the other hosts or myself to help you.”

Chase’s Love Style (by Ambrosia): “He’s a sweet man, who tries very hard. He’s quite fun to be around with! You’ll surely enjoy your time with him.”

Wind’s Love Style (by Ambrosia): “He can speak sharply, but be patient with him. You might see other sides of him! But if he does get out of hand, please come see me.”

Night’s Love Style (by Ambrosia): “Take my advice: You don’t want this man as your host.”

Onyx’s Love Style (by Ambrosia): “As the war chief, he has a great deal of experience with battles and all things related to them! You can learn a lot from him. Don’t worry - the king won’t allow him to hurt you.”

Viktor’s Love Style (by Ambrosia): “A very sunny man who will make every conversation lively and amusing! He enjoys getting to know others, so don’t hesitate to approach him. Unless you’re from the Trold or the Valkyrie but I doubt you would wish to seek him out then.”

X’s Love Style (by Ambrosia): “Don’t let him intimidate you. Of course, you shouldn’t unnecessarily provoke him either. As a criminal, I don’t think he would hesitate to hurt someone...but please don’t let that scare you! If he’s acting out, please seek one of the other hosts or myself.”

“There we are. I feel like I had to attach quite a few warnings to these descriptions, but these should help anyone seeking a host.”

Q. Ambrosia, which host would you want to spend a night with?

“Eh? We’re not done? Oh, I-I see...”

Prompt: Men, take a turn each trying to convince her to choose you!

“Oh, I’m first? Excellent.

Ambrosia...” [King Barium reaches forward to scoop up her hand.] “Don’t worry. If this is your first time, I’ll be gentle.”

“Um...”

[The king slips the stalk of a rose between his lips and playfully lifts his eyebrows a few times.]

“What are you doing?” [Snarling, Wind shoves King Barium away from her.]

“Ambrosia, you obviously want to be with me. Nobody else would take you anyway.”

“Really! This is how you’re acting as a host?”

[Facing towards Wind, Onyx begins to unsheathe his blade.] “Do not touch the king.”

“Now, hold on, Onyx. You’re supposed to convince Ambrosia to choose you first.”

[to Ambrosia:] “We’ll do anything you want for a night.”

[He turns back and begins to approach Wind, who has his claws unfurled.]

“Oh! Sir Onyx, Sir Wind, must you fight?”

“Uh...weren’t we supposed to take turns? It’s not very organized like this...”

“Miss Ambrosia...” [Arsenik’s voice is too quiet to be heard.]

“You know, I would try to convince you, Ambrosia, but I have a feeling you’re already set against me. Even your host description for me was: ‘You don’t want this man.’”

“Then, please don’t even try.”

“Miss Ambrosia...” [His voice is still too low.]

“Ahh...darling~♥.” [Unknown slides an arm around her shoulders.] “I’ll make sure this is a night you never forget. Trust me - you’ll never want it to end, love.”

[With each word, he leans closer and closer to her lips.]

[Pulling back from him, she makes a smile, speaking a bit teasingly:] “...What if I want it to end already?”

“Knock it off, Unknown.

Ambrosia, uh...I don’t know what I’m doing, but I won’t be a creep like some people - honest. But choose whoever you’re comfortable with, okay?”

“Oh, that’s not a bad piece of reverse psychology.”

“I wasn’t trying to do that, Viktor.”

“I know. But you did just that anyway.”

“Huh?”

“M-Miss Ambrosia!”

[His raised voice nearly makes her jump.] “Y-Yes, Sir Arsenik?”

[He smiles in apology.] “Pardon me, Miss Ambrosia. I...well, I suppose my voice kept failing me earlier. I was trying to catch your attention. And now...it seems that words are failing me, heh.”

“I think you’re talking just fine like you always do.”

“You’re much too kind, Miss Ambrosia.” [There they are, falling back to their usual patterns of formality. The gears of his brain are flying into overdrive.] “You should choose me...”

[He trails off. She smiles and nods for him to continue. Staring into her darkly pretty eyes, thoughts escape him for another moment longer.]

“...Forgive me. I can’t think of a single reason why you should. I...” [Arsenik breaks away from her gaze, looking towards the floor.] “...don’t deserve you.”

“Oh, Sir Arsenik...”

“That’s right. You should be with me, princess!”

[With a single motion, he lifts her gasping into his arms.] “Come on. Let’s go.”

“Sir X...if you’re hoping to convince me this way, this is hardly your best effort.”

“Oh, yeah? Always hard to please, ain’t you? Don’t worry. You’ll see I’m not all show when we’re alone tonight.”

[Arsenik moves to stand in his way.] “I don’t believe the lady has said she wanted you.”

“You’re makin’ a mistake, blondie. You really think you can stand up to me?”

[Arsenik’s smile curves with the edges of a smirk.] “Of course.”

“Heh.” [He lowers Ambrosia onto a table behind him.] “Stay here, princess. I’ll come back for ya later.”

“You’re talking like both the hero and the villain. I hardly know which one you mean to play.”

“What are you talking about? You know you want me...” [His voice drops to a whisper as his smile falls away for a moment.] “...right?”

[As X turns back towards Arsenik, Viktor steps up to her.]

“Are you comfortable sitting on the table like that? He really is some kind of brute. He ought to know better than to give a lady an inappropriate ‘chair’ like that. Let me help you off and find you a better place to sit.”

“I feel like I should make my choice soon to put an end to all this. What a strange exercise we’re undergoing!”

“Haha! Indeed. But let me make my appeal to you first, if I may.

Miss Ambrosia...” [He falls silent for a few beats. She waits patiently as he takes in a deep breath before uttering his next words.] “I’ll...I’ll make you feel good!”

“Hmm?” [She didn’t know what answer to expect from him, but it certainly wasn’t this.]

“I...I won’t make you feel uncomfortable. If you are, simply tell me and I’ll stop. No, I think I’ll know without you even needing to say anything. You’ve always been wonderfully expressive, and I admire that. I’ll treat you well and set the mood just as you like it.

Do you fancy candlelight? Perhaps, flower petals? I can certainly decorate the bedroom with such things. Whatever is to your liking!”

“The...the bedroom?” [Her face flushes crimson.]

[There’s a blush on Viktor’s cheeks as well, but he keeps going.] “I’ll truly savor a night with you, Miss Ambrosia. I...I know you’re delicate, so I won’t be rough. I mean, unless you want it that way, but since you’ve never done it before, I think that’s something you would have to build up to, if you so desire.

Not that I’m saying you aren’t strong in your own way, Miss Ambrosia! Yes, I’ve always known you to have a fair strength of character. But what I mean is that your constitution isn’t...well, I don’t think it’s meant for rough handling -”

“Um...Sir Viktor...”

“- or throwing around or pounding, you know? So, I won’t do any of those things or have any unreasonable expectations of you. I’ll treat you tenderly and ensure that you enjoy it.”

[Farther back, Unknown tosses his head back in a laugh.] “Gyahaha...!”

“S-Sir Viktor...can I...ah, I’d like to ask you something.”

“By all means, ask away. Is there something you’re confused about?”

“Yes. I mean - Sir Viktor...I’m not sure what kind of lady you think I am, but I’m surprised by your...very bold intentions, if I should choose to come with you.”

“What do you mean? Oh, was I speaking too frankly? I just wanted to make it clear that I would be a proper lover to you. Was I being insensitive with my choice of words? It’s hard to be otherwise with a matter like this.”

“...I think I’m very disappointed in you, Sir Viktor. Perhaps, I should have attached a warning to your host description, too...!”

“Eh? Miss Ambrosia! Please don’t be upset. I don’t understand what I said to offend you.

You were being asked who you wanted to spend a night with, weren’t you? How else was I supposed to convince you of my eligibility?”

“Sir Viktor! I-I don’t think the question was supposed to be interpreted that way!”

“Really? I thought it was.”

“Oh, so it’s not just me! Kyahaha!”

“It’s totally about doing it, right?”

“You’re just being naïve, Ambrosia.”

“Honestly, the question could go either way, but I wondered how you might perceive it, Miss Ambrosia. In the event that you did choose me, I wasn’t about to force you into anything.”

“Sounds like the general consensus is ‘yes, the question is a naughty one.’ I bet that makes you even more repulsed by me, doesn’t it?”

“Uh, for the record...I wasn’t entirely sure.”

“But you admit it was a possibility.”

“W-Well...I mean, why does it have to be phrased that way?!”

“So, who do you want to sleep with, lovely? It’s me, isn’t it?”

“I...”

“Nah, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. She wants me.”

“How about we hear the answer from her lips first?”

“No need. Her body should tell you the answer.”

“I -”

“But she said it herself, you know. I’m a natural-born lover. That means I have the most experience here.”

“Experience doesn’t always mean better, does it?”

“Hmm...how should I answer that question?”

“W-Well...I don’t know!” [Chase’s face grows as red as a tomato.] “Don’t feelings count for something? That’s more important than...than being experienced and all that. That can come later, can’t it?”

[groans] “Ambrosia, if you don’t spit it out, I’m coming over there.”

“Beat you to it.”

“I refuse to answer this question! It’s completely inappropriate, and I’m shocked by the lengths your minds went. All of you are acting like boys! Men, please grow up - and take a cold bath.”

[She whirls away on her heel and marches away.]

“I-Is she mad?”

“I’d say so. That, and embarrassed - particularly if the blush on her face is any indication. But I suppose it’s only natural for a lady to react in such a way, particularly if she’s...untouched.”

“Let’s end the gossip here. I’ve already known her to be a lady of class. I feel horrible for having upset her...”

“If you ask me, you contributed the least to that. As for me, I think just being here puts her in a bad mood.”

“Actually, Onyx wins out over him. He didn’t say a peep after trying to convince her. Good job, by the way, Onyx.”

“It’s all right. I know she wanted me.”

“Nuh-uh. She’s my woman. That thing about taking a bath? Clearly an invitation for me to join her.”

“I’m fairly certain she wants you to take that bath. Alone.”

“Oh, so now you have your tongue.”

“Certainly. There’s only one woman who turns me into a fool.”

“You think that’s something to be proud about?”

“So, I think we’re done here. It really is a shame we never managed to hear her answer...”

Skit Finale - The Hostess Club

[Bo-Peep pouts and puts her hands on her hips.]“Aww, it’s no fair the boys get to have all the fun.” [Her face lights up.] “We should have our very own Hostess Event!”

“Ooh, ooh! I like it!” [Rosemary clasps her hands against her chest, stars in her eyes.] “Being able to cozy up to all the cute guys...”

“I don’t think it’s such a good idea for you to be involved, Lady Rosemary. You’ll latch onto all of them and never let go.”

“You’re just saying that because you want them all for yourself, Lady Jasmine! You’ll act all nice - smiling, giggling, batting your eyelashes...”

“Excuse me? I am nice.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am. You’re just being a brat.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are!”

[Brooks smirks.]“But ya know, some of the guys that come over won’t always be ‘cute.’”

“W-What?!”

“Uh-huh. Think of someone like Chasey boy coming here for some lovin’!”

[crinkling her nose in disgust]“Ewww!”

[On Brooks’s right, Wildfire rolls her eyes.]“Why are we here again?”

“I dunno. To do somethin’ new? Kyahaha!”

“I’m not here to ‘entertain’ anyone. Boys entertain me.”

“Oh, come on. Be a good sport!”

“Right! Lady Ambrosia, you’ll take care of all the un-cute ones, right?”

“I’ll do all the ones you aren’t willing to service.”

“Pfft!” [Bo-Peep covers her mouth with both hands, trying and failing to stifle her giggles.] “You’ll do them...! Oh, you’ll service them all right...! Heeheehee!”

[smirking] “Doll face walked right into that one.”

“Oh dear...” [Ambrosia shakes her head, smiling.] “Don’t tell me you two are as bad as the men...”

“Huh? Oh, you mean about the whole sleeping-together fiasco?”

“E-Eh? You heard about that already?”

“Well, of course! King Barium tells me everything. So, who would you have picked?”

“We’re not here to talk about that.”

“Aww, why not?”

“We’re trying to set up a hostess event, aren’t we?”

“Not like you’ll all have very many guys with faces like yours.”

“Or yours.”

“I’m just glad I don’t look like you. Besides, I’m not here to play the hostess. I’m just here to laugh at you all.”

“Hyahaha!”

“If you aren’t here to participate, then please excuse us. But I do advise you not to celebrate prematurely.”

[As Wildfire smirks, Jasmine ushers Bo-Peep, Rosemary and Ambrosia away from the Valkyrie. Once they’re out of earshot, she whirls towards them with narrowed eyes.]

“This hostess event has to succeed.”

“Oh, definitely!”

“Uh, that’s a given, isn’t it?”

“You don’t understand. We can’t let those Valkyrie skanks have the last laugh. You don’t want that, do you?”

“Of course not!”

“No way, no way!”

“It sounds like you already have a battle plan in mind, Lady Jasmine. Please tell us what it is.”

“All right. Lady Ambrosia!” [She points a finger at her cousin.] “Tell me what a hostess is.”

“A hostess is much like an entertainer. They keep you amused and smiling, treating each man as if they were already within the stages of courtship.”

“That’s right.”

“You didn’t know that?”

[Jasmine goes red.] “Of course I did!”

“No, you didn’t.”

“I did! I’m just making sure brats like you understand the concept of what we’re doing here.”

“And your point is...?”

“To make this hostess event a success, we need to draw in as many men as possible and ensure they have the best possible experience.

Being fun, graceful and charming is one thing. But I think we all know that men care about presentation as well. The more they like what they see, the more they’ll want to come back and tell others about it.

So, let’s start with our apparel.”

“Ooh, costume and wardrobe? That’s my specialty!”

[She whips out a selection of clothes that she so happens to have on hand.] “Here, take a look at these dresses!”

“Hmm...it would help to see how it looks on someone. Lady Ambrosia, can you wear one of these?”

“Ah, yes, I’d be delighted to help.”

“Here you go, Ambrosia!”

[Bo-Peep hands her the prettiest, glitziest dress of the bunch. Ambrosia leaves to change into it and then returns to model it in front of Jasmine.]

“Ooh, you look good in it!”

“Oh, thank you, Lady Bo-Peep! You’re much too kind. I feel like I haven’t done this lovely gown justice...”

“No, no, it’s no good. Can you make some changes to it, Lady Bo-Peep?”

“Of course! Just let me know what you want fixed.”

“Okay, good. Make the length of the dress shorter.”

“All right.” [She pins up the hem of the dress, making it knee-length.]

“No, shorter.”

“Up to the thighs here? You have really pretty ones, by the way, Ambrosia.”

“Um...isn’t this a little too short?”

“No, shorter!”

“Like this?”

“L-Lady Bo-Peep!” [She tries to tug her shortened skirt further down.] “T-They’ll see that...!”

“What’s that? Your underwear? Your butt cheeks? That’s okay! You’re just with us ladies!”

“B-But we’re supposed to be wearing this in public later, aren’t we?”

“That’s okay! I’ll give you some pretty lingerie to wear.”

“T-This is not okay!”

“You should give all of us that, Lady Bo-Peep.”

“Some pretty lingerie? Sure! I have plenty.”

“Lady Jasmine, are you really fine with wearing this?!”

“Oh no, I don’t plan on showing anyone what I’m wearing underneath. But if we make the dress a little sheer...that would show it off without really showing it off, right?”

“L-Lady Jasmine, you aren’t making any sense!”

“Why don’t we have different themes? Like, I’m the cute one, Lady Jasmine’s the elegant one, Lady Bo-Peep’s the stylish one, and Lady Ambrosia’s the slutty one!”

“Lady Rosemary!”

“I don’t mean it in a bad way. I mean, like, the sexy one. There - is that any better?”

“No - no, it isn’t!”

“Okay, good. Keep holding your skirt down and making that blushing face. It’ll make men think of bedroom things.”

“Oh, please, why are you talking this way...!”

“Ooh, Ambrosia, you should try saying the same line you said earlier. The thing about doing them and servicing them and whatnot.”

“That’s perfect! With a motto like that, all the men will flock to our event!”

“This is growing completely out of hand!”

“Okay, one last thing. We need a trial run.”

“That...I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Lady Bo-Peep.” [She takes the redhead’s arm and whispers into her ear.]

“I-I think I’ll just leave. After changing, of course.”

“Not so fast! Lady Rosemary, grab her!”

“On it!”

[Rosemary lunges for Ambrosia’s arm while Jasmine snatches the other one.]

“A-Ah! Oh, oh...dears, I know you’re having fun, but this is really taking it too far!”

“All right, let’s head out!”

[The two Phoenix begin to drag Ambrosia out of the room, with Bo-Peep trailing behind with a beaming face.]

“W-Wait, please tell me where you’re taking me! And if you’re bringing me out in public, can’t one of you at least pull down my skirt...!”

“Didn’t I tell you, Ambrosia? I’m sure your underwear and butt cheeks are juuuust fine!”

“F-For a hostess event, I don’t see why I have to be the only one subjected to this...!”

“You want me to show off my underwear and butt cheeks, too? I don’t mind!”

“T-That really isn’t what I mean!”

“Okay, stop right here.” [She looks at Bo-Peep.] “The next guy that comes by, you know what to do.”

[Bo-Peep gives a vigorous nod, her red curls bouncing with the movement.]

“Um...” [Half-resigned to whatever they have planned, Ambrosia’s shoulders droop and she murmurs to herself:] “Do I really want to know what that means?”

“Someone’s coming!”

“Ooh, ooh, who is it? Who is it?”

“I don’t know. It’s a guy!”

“How do you know?”

“Well, because he doesn’t have the parts women have - obviously!”

“I mean, you can tell that much, but you still don’t know who it is?”

“Shh! Be quiet!”

“Please don’t come over here!”

[hissing] “Shut up!” [She pinches Ambrosia’s arm.]

[wincing] “Nn...!”

[Hearing the footsteps stop, Jasmine calls over:]“Actually, it’d be nice if you could come here and give us a helping hand.”

[The footsteps resume. Jasmine exchanges glances with Bo-Peep, who nods.]

“Lady Jasmine, you’re letting your competitive nature blind you!”

“Lady Ambrosia, we simply can’t let those Valkyrie look down on us!”

[She gives Ambrosia a sidelong glance before letting out a sigh.] “Okay, look. You give the man who’s coming over a proper invitation to the event, and I’ll release your arm. You can pull down your skirt like I know you want to - not that it’ll help much.

But only if you invite him appropriately!”

[Ambrosia’s face brightens.] “I-I will! So, you’ll let me go?”

“Lady Rosemary will still be holding onto your other arm, though.”

“Thank you, Lady Jasmine! I’ll take what I can. Even though I would appreciate having my freedom back.”

“Make sure you tell him: ‘We’re having a hostess event! Please come inside, and I’ll service you nicely!’”

“...I don’t know if I really want to say that.”

“You don’t even know the implications behind it!”

“But I can still tell there’s something wrong with it based off everyone’s reaction!”

“Do you want me to lift your skirt and show off your unmentionables again?”

“N-No...!”

[to Jasmine:] “Told you you were mean.”

“This is war! I know you want to reign victorious over the Valkyrie, too.”

“Uh...well, I care more about having lots of cute guys in the room.”

“And this will do it. Lady Ambrosia, say what I told you to or I’m revoking your modesty privileges!”

[murmuring to herself:] “W-What about this is modest?” [Hearing the footsteps drawing ever closer, Ambrosia heaves a sigh.]

“Fine. But Lady Jasmine, there are other ways to draw in men without using me like this! I don’t even think I’m the best candidate for this!”

“Of course you are! Now, don’t forget to smile, everyone.”

“You know...I-I think it could be a little boy approaching us!”

“No, it isn’t. I know it’s not for a fact.”

“Stop struggling already and just give in, Lady Ambrosia. Don’t forget what I said!”

“Oh, this is so embarrassing...!”

[As soon as the stranger rounds the corner, Ambrosia dips forward in a bow, completely wanting to avoid eye contact.]

“W-We’re having a hostess event!” [Clenching the front of her skirt tightly, she draws in a deep breath and rushes through her next words.] “P-Please come inside, and I’ll service you nicely!”

[As she straightens herself, her gaze falls upon the last man she wanted to see.]

“Oh no.”

“Hmm...you’ll service me nicely, will you? That’s a first.”

“I take it back. I’ll never service y-”

[Jasmine gives Ambrosia’s arm another hard pinch, making her whimper, and then shoots a pointed look in Bo-Peep’s direction.]

[perking up]“That’s right! If you want to play with her...” [One slender hand begins to reach towards Ambrosia.]

“Um...Lady Bo-Peep...!”

“Come on over and tell all your friends about it!” [Seizing the neckline, she yanks down on it, hard enough for Ambrosia’s chest to pop out of it.]

“Whoops! Sorry, Ambrosia! I used a little too much strength, hehe. I only meant to show off more of your cleavage!”

“I don’t mind.” [A playful smile dances across Night’s lips.] “So, this is the kind of service you’re offering, Ambrosia?”

“No!” [She wraps her free arm around her chest.] “You...you beast!”

“I’m not sure why you’re saying that when I’m not even the one doing that to you.”

“By that, she means you ‘sexy beast.’”

[jokingly] “Oh, that makes more sense now.”

[She struggles to worm herself free of Rosemary’s grip without success.] “Avert your eyes already!”

“I thought you were offering to service me?”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“Hmm...one ‘no’ and two ‘yes’s.” [Night makes a show of rubbing his chin.] “This is a hard situation to grasp. Do you want me to help you, Ambrosia?”

“No, I don’t need your help! Just please make yourself scarce!”

“But it sounds like they don’t want me to go.”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“NO!”

[hissing in her ear:] “Lady Ambrosia, stop covering yourself so much!”

“L-Lady Jasmine - kyaaa! No, stop! Stop, this is madness! Anyone but him - please make him go away!

NO!”

[teasingly...?] “Oh, yes.”

So, these skits were pretty much pure comedy...well, for the most part. Hopefully, you didn’t find anything too disturbing. And for once, it isn’t all thanks to Unknown.

I was thinking of having Unknown be the approaching stranger, but I almost wonder if he wasn’t partly expected. Plus, he’d no doubt make the situation ten times worse for poor Ambrosia.

Anyway, any questions or comments, just let me know. Have a great rest of the day!

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starberry-cupcake · 6 years ago

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Disney Concert in Teatro Colón

You folks I cried my eyes out today. The thing hadn’t even started, Donald came out from a theater box dressed in a tuxedo to say hi and I started crying. I was expecting an orchestra and a movie screen and knew I was gonna cry anyway but by the second song, Aladdin and Jasmine were suspended midair in a flying carpet over the entire orchestra and I knew I was in for a journey. By the time the intermission came in, I was bawling and a guy who was recording the crowd for a promotional video was right next to me filming and I was there crying like a baby in the potential promotional video. But anyway, I’m gonna share a bit of a summary, the setlist, descriptions and some pictures (taken when it was allowed to take them) and a bit of an explanation of what this concert was and how it came to be, even if just for my own safekeeping.

This is a collaboration between Disney Concerts (the part of Disney Music Group which works with licences and promotion for different type of worldwide concert productions, like the symphonic Star Wars concerts or the special orchestra editions of movie releases and so on) and Teatro Colón, their orchestra and conductor (Enrique Arturo Diemecke), their dancers and choreographers, and some stage musical performers and other folk who were brought in for this specific thing (I recognized at least 4 ensemble members from having seen them in local productions of musicals like Bare, Pleybill and Phantom).

I thought it was going to be like those movie editions which have a screen and the orchestra. It was enough to want me to see it and know for sure I was going to cry, but it ended up having on stage performances with effects, costumes, face characters, beautiful scenery and puppetry.

Before the show began, Donald, Goofy and Pluto came out from boxes on the sides of the stage to say hi to the audience and once it began Mickey and Minnie also joined. All the fab 5 had costume changes, Mickey was the one to have most of them.

The setlist was as follows:

Act I (52 minutes)

Overture (Bob Hilliard/Jimmie Dodd/Sammy Cahn/Al Hoffman/Jerry Livingston/Allie Wrubel/Sammy Fain/Mack David/Ray Gilbert/Richard Sherman/Robert Sherman)

This was a great medley with a lot of things I won’t fully remember but you can guess by the composers listed. It included Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, The Mickey Mouse March, various Cinderella songs (I teared up there), Peter Pan’s You Can Fly!x3, Small World and a Mary Poppins medley, among others. I loved that one of the kids next to me shouted more for Mary Poppins than for any other movie in the entire concert, he was so excited when Chim Chim Cher-ee started. I mean, same. Also in the end there was a Walt quote with his photo and I was crying once more.

Aladdin

Friend Like Me (Howard Ashman/Alan Menken)

This was sang by 3 singers rather than only one and had a very big choreography including pyrotechnics, ensemble singers, dancers and a lot of props.

A Whole New World (Howard Ashman/Alan Menken)

I already mentioned it but there was an actual carpet suspended over the orchestra which flew around the stage with Aladdin and Jasmine as they sang this one, with the movie background on a double screen. It was pretty magical.

The Princess and the Frog

Down in New Orleans (Randy Newman)

I loved how this song was performed but I was confused by Tiana’s costumes in both songs, this one had an entire ensemble singing as well, with props and really nice costumes.

Almost There (Randy Newman)

Tiana had a costume change but I still didn’t quite understand it because they didn’t match the movie ones. I mean, they were appropriate for the time period, but not quite like any of hers. Maybe they changed the palette because of staging reasons idk. She didn’t have the dress from the parks either, maybe because it isn’t very comfortable for dancing. In any case, Tiana had a great voice and this song isn’t easy to keep up with but she did great.

Fantasia

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Paul Dukas)

This was just the orchestra with the movie sequence, without any actors until the very end, which I appreciated because I wanted to see the orchestra performing a segment I have so vividly in my mind I can hear it in my head and see what each instrument was doing. Kids got scared because who didn’t get scared with Fantasia as a kid. In the last bit, Mickey came in with his red robe and the two buckets and it was adorable.

Beauty and the Beast

Be Our Guest (Howard Ashman/Alan Menken)

Lumiere had a similar outfit to the Broadway production and, like in the Broadway production, was one of the only characters, aside from the fab 5, to interact with the audience. Lumiere is always a good MC. The performance was also similar to the Broadway one but scaled down for the occasion, it was like a simplified version of that one, in a way.

Beauty and the Beast (Howard Ashman/Alan Menken)

The entire audience audibly gasped when Belle and the Beast came in. The performance was based on the Celine Dion/Peabo Bryson version instead of the movie one, so there were two singers instead of one, all dressed in period attire and Belle’s dress was more sparkly than her usual, to glimmer under the lights of the theater. It was so magical.

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty Medley (Piotr Tchaikovsky)

This was a medley that involved some of the ballet music, including Once Upon A Dream and I Wonder. There were no singers and a couple of ballet dancers in their classic attires for this ballet rather than characterized as in the movie, which is something I’ll mention again later. It was very beautifully performed.

Mulan

Reflection (David Zippel/Matthew Wilder)

The performance was based on the pop single more so on the movie version, much like with Beauty and the Beast and not like in Aladdin where they kept the movie one. I assume this had to do with length, since it was the only Mulan song featured, so they went with the longer version. There was some choreography and an ensemble together with her on stage.

Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean Medley (Klaus Badelt/Geoffrey Zanelli/Ramin Djawadi/James Dooley/Hans Zimmer/Sreve Jablonsky)

Well, this was inescapable. It’s not the first thing I think of when I think “Disney concert” but the music is good and it appeals to a big audience and the performance was pretty epic, so it’s ok. The sequences didn’t showcase actors specifically much, it was more an edited track with action and scenes along with the tempo of the music, which was cool. I have to admit I got kind of focused on the fact that as this was going, they were setting up the props for the next segment, which I was looking forward to.

Moana

Tulou Tagaloa (Opetaia Tavita Foa’i)

There were several effects in the Moana segment and it started with one third of the stage, which had been lowered, coming back up with someone starting to sing, then the opposite third also came up, with the middle of the stage still “submerged” in the ocean.

How Far I’ll Go (Lin Manuel Miranda)

Moana came in from beside the orchestra and she moved across the stage with the boat still submerged in the ocean. This part made me weep, I’m not even gonna lie. Moana’s outfit wasn’t exactly like the one in the parks but wasn’t as far off as Tiana’s, it was a bit of a blend. This was one of my favorite performances overall.

We Know The Way (Lin Manuel Miranda/Opetaia Tavita Foa’i)

If the first two parts of the Moana segment made me weep, here I was outright crying. The ocean rose to the shore with several dancers and performers, a part of which used a sheet and movements to lift Moana’s boat and carry it to her, it looked amazingly impressive.

Intermission (20 minutes)

Act II (43 minutes)

Fantasia 2000

The Firebird Suite (Igor Stravinsky)

This one, much like the segment from the first Fantasia, was just the screen with the animation accompanied by the orchestra. I was surprised they’d include something from Fantasia 2000 but given that there were a good amount of classics included, this one was a good choice with the animation being one of the most well-remembered of Fantasia 2000. It didn’t give me the chills The Sorcerer’s Apprentice did though.

Hercules

Zero to Hero (David Zippel/Alan Menken)

BOY OH BOY I LOVED THIS ONE. The Muses were great, there was a chorus of ladies and they danced and everything was beautiful. The Muses were on the lower stage in pillars posing as statues and as the music started, the stage came up and they started dancing. Before the song began the orchestra did the intro for the movie with the scene of Olympus and a bit of Go The Distance.

A Star Is Born (David Zippel/Alan Menken)

PEOPLE WERE SO INTO THIS ONE. The little girl in front of me was dancing so much and I don’t think she even saw Hercules at all because she didn’t know who they were but she was so into it and I’m glad, Hercules deserves more love. These ladies brought the house down in two songs, it was epic.

Tangled

When Will My Life Begin & Reprise (Glenn Slater/Alan Menken)

Rapunzel came in on a gorgeous piece of scenery painted like her room with props and stairs and the Claire Keane painting and at least 3 grown ups around me sighed when they saw her and I started weeping again. This was the point when I realized I know most of these songs in two languages by heart and I sang along all the Tangled songs in Spanish too. Rapunzel was gorgeous, her outfit was just like in the parks, as was her hair, and her voice was so good. She sang both the original and the first reprise back to back.

I’ve Got A Dream (Glenn Slater/Alan Menken)

The stage that was lowered came up again with a good bunch of the pub thugs with the Snuggly Duckling on the screen behind. Some where doing pirouettes and it was impressive. Then there were even more thugs coming in and Eugene entered a bit later, when everyone was singing. The crowd noticed, let me assure you. He sang his bit and then Rapunzel did hers and when the song was done, the thugs said goodbye and left them along to sing the last part.

I See The Light (Glenn Slater/Alan Menken)

OH BOY THIS. I LOST IT AT THIS. The moment Eugene brought out the lantern, the entire theater illuminated faintly with lights and there were projectors with the Corona sun lighting up the ceiling. Now, for context, let me show you some picture of the theater.

Imagine those lights faintly glowing with he rest of the lights out. Now look at this chandelier.

Picture that chandelier with its multiple tiny yellow lights also glowing and the ceiling illuminated by corona suns.

Everything while the stage there had Rapunzel and Eugene and one lit lantern in their hands. Amazing. The Tangled bit was the best bit and people loved it the most as well.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

Waltz of the Flowers (Piotr Tchaikovsky)

I personally think this was a bit of a cop out, in terms of song selection, people aren’t immediately thinking of Nutcracker when they think Disney, even if Helen Mirren is my goddess, but the performance allowed the kid dancers to perform and they were so good I can’t complain. They were adorable and the girl playing Clara was stellar.

Tarzan

Two Worlds (Phil Collins)

So, these performances were a bit strange but I can’t complain because some of the ensemble members are performers I’ve been following for a while and I really like, so I’ll allow it. The group of singers were dressed in rock attire, I guess, not in any sort of Tarzan related clothes, maybe it was a take on making it more Phil Collins-y.

You’ll Be In My Heart (Phil Collins)

This one was sang primarily by one lead singer and accompanied by the previous ensemble. Remember when I said the ballet dancers from Sleeping Beauty didn’t have their movie character costumes? There was a couple dancing to this song as the singer performed it and their costumes looked more like what I was expecting from Sleeping Beauty than from Tarzan (pink dress, red-ish vest, boots, you know the thing). I wonder (pun intended) what happened there. I attended the very first of 6 shows so maybe it was something that they’ll fix later.

Son of Man (Phil Collins)

Ok so, here’s the thing. This song is my weakness. I love it. I know it in two languages and I sing it in both. I have an unreasonable amount of love for this song and it was performed so well and Pilar Muerza is one of my favorites and she nailed the song so I’m happy with this.

Frozen

Do You Want To Build A Snowman? (Robert Lopez/Kristen Anderson-Lopez)

This was sung by only little Anna and it was more heartbreaking than the movie. Only the first two bits were performed and the “hang in there, Joan” bit was so cute. Little Anna did great.

For the First Time In Forever (Robert Lopez/Kristen Anderson-Lopez)

This one was also just Anna’s bit, and here we had face character singer Anna, with her parks attire (not the coronation one, the other one). She was a good Anna, her energy was really great and she was accompanied by an ensemble to sing with and perform with on stage.

Let It Go (Robert Lopez/Kristen Anderson-Lopez)

Instead of moving towards Elsa’s bit on the previous song, the medley changed to Let It Go, which was performed fully. I thought this was going to bring the house down but apparently Tangled and Hercules were the favorites over Elsa in this round. There wasn’t a dress change (I have not seen a single Elsa outfit and hair in any incarnation of Frozen by Disney I have liked, not in the parks, not on Broadway, not on UOAT, not On Ice, not here either). But, this Elsa could sing. She was one of the best singers of the day and the competition was tough. I’ve seen this song performed SO MANY TIMES and very rarely I see someone nailing it 100%, this girl did. There were snow effects and light effects but the Tangled effects had already spoiled us from the best of the best.

The Lion King

The Circle of Life (Tim Rice/Elton John)

This was one of the favorites of the audience, hands down. It was a blend between the Broadway version, with some of the costumes, puppets and stilt performers, and halfway kid-friendly, with some more noticeable animal costumes, which were also very nice. There was a huge ensemble for this one, a kid chorus, the stage elevated again and a row of animals entered from the hallway and onto the stage. This was a huge performance.

Finale

Fantasmic (Bruce Healey)

Am I the only one who cries when she hears the Fantasmic song? I cannot deal, I don’t know what is. Is it the idea that imagination defeats pain and sorrow? Is it that it brings you to a magical place where good is always stronger than evil? Is it Mickey? I don’t know, but Fantasmic, guys. In this one, the fab 5 were on stage all together, Pluto entered first, then Goofy, then Donald (who was the best, as usual), and then Minnie (who made a pirouette, in those shoes) and Mickey, who said goodbye and thanked the audience. Some of the face characters who had performed came in for a last bow and both Minnie and Mickey brought the conductor to the front of the stage and people clapped and gave a standing ovation.

And that’s all, my experience crying my eyes out in a Disney symphonic concert. I missed having The Litter Mermaid and Snow White featured, but that’s ok. If anything, I wanted to keep this all in my blog for safekeeping, now that it’s fresh in my memories, because it was an amazing experience I want to keep forever. Also, Mickey told us to never give up on our dreams in the end and that also made me cry.

#disney #disney in concert #disney concerts #teatro colon #disney en concierto #frozen #tangled #the princess and the frog #hercules #tarzan #fantasia #I'm not gonna tag them all so there #luly rambles #long post when expanded

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beardyallen · 6 years ago

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Day 3 - An extensive recap

First, I want to extend my apologies to those who have been patiently awaiting this post. I had every intention of writing this yesterday, which got away from me (as you’ll see if you keep reading), and then I had every intention of writing this in the morning, which disappeared (again, as you’ll see if you keep reading). It’s now 5:38pm on Wednesday, February 20th as I’m typing this sentence, and I’m once again exhausted from a long day.

[Edit 2: TL;DR for the following TL;DR -- A bunch of cool stuff happened, including books, dragons, lions, motorcycles, KFC, banks, SIM cards, a Starbucks, public transit, and traveling to two opposite ends of Beijing in a single day. Also my trip went from horribly lonely and daunting to pretty freaking cool and slightly less daunting in less than 24 hours. Done typing this at 8:55pm]

Edit: It’s legit 8:37pm when I’m making this edit, only a bit after posting the original. I wanted to add a tl;dr for those not interesting in reading all of this shit. Basically, I made 4 friends in Beijing, none of them from the same country, only one of them is white, only one is male, and only one is from the US. All three of these descriptions describe CB, my supervisor. His wife, RB, is Indian and works with children orphaned due to birth defects. There’s ML, a half-Brazilian, half-Japanese Communications instructor at ICB, and her friend R, who is herself a former Chinese physician turned public health professional/liaison/something-or-other that seems far more impressive and is exactly what she wants to be. All of them are really cool, interesting people that I’m very glad I had the opportunity to meet. In no particular order, I went to several bookstores, a Starbucks, a KFC early in the morning, the supermarket (twice) and got beer (both times) for ridiculously low prices, experienced the Lantern Festival (still not entirely sure what this is, but there were dragons and lions and motorcycles doing crazy synchronized stunts in a metal globe) at an amusement park, rode 5-6 different subway trains and a city bus, ate 10+ new foods, bought a book (because of course I did) which has both the original English and the translate Chinese characters on each page, tried to open a bank account, then got a SIM card, then actually opened a bank account, finally unpacked my luggage, and spent 3 hours typing this blog post. Also the long flight and trip from the airport to my new apartment were mostly uneventful. See? Even this was super long!]

The last you all heard from me here was as I was sitting in a bar in the Vancouver Airport, Sunday morning. Which was sort of 2 days ago, but sort of 3. Time zones are funky, especially when you cross the International Date Line. *shrug*

After I finished writing that post, I lumbered over to my gate and waited to board with the other couple hundred passengers. At one point, I noticed an older woman (probably in her 60′s or 70′s?) trucking along on one of those things that I can only manage to call a human-conveyor-belt that you see in airports. I mention this as she, had she been on carpeted flooring, she would have been making good time; as it so happens, she was on the conveyor belt that was going opposite of her destination. She was still making progress, but every so slowly, and seemed maddeningly oblivious to the fact that the floor was fighting her at every step. Fortunately, she made it to the other end without incident, although the same cannot be said for when she attempted to enter the next belt; a concerned employee using that particular belt in the intended fashion beckoned that she stop and try the other. So she stopped walking. And didn’t do anything, even when her feet made it back to where she had started. Naturally, she took a pretty solid tumble, lessened only by the shocked, and rightfully flustered, employee, who managed to help her to her feet as half of the onlookers gawked.

The actual flight, all 9 hours of it, went off rather uneventfully. Especially compared to the above story. It was nice having the longer flight second, as completing the first gave me an unearned sense of accomplishment; I’m nervous for my return as I’ll have actually achieved something when I get back to Vancouver, only to have to sit back down for three more hours. Seems less enticing, especially as I won’t be going back to an apartment that I’m renting. Oh well: that’s a problem for Future-Me, as are most things. I will say that the food on the flight was quite satisfying, and the complementary wine was much tastier than expected! And I managed to read a good chunk of Dan Brown’s Origin.

After landing in the Beijing airport, I managed to get through customs without too much trouble and had my first several experiences of what I’ll just refer to here as stranger-staring. #sarcasticwoo

I was met near baggage claim by an undergraduate at the University who chose to call himself Paul. I would later find out that, although it is common practice for Chinese residents to give themselves “American” or “Western” names, they don’t seem to share those names with their fellow residents.

Needless to say, I was exhausted and just wanted to eat something and lie down without dealing with anymore people. To his credit, Paul was an excellent host, his English was quite good, and he helped me to my apartment without incident. I think he was expecting to escort me to dinner at one of the nearby dining halls on campus (Princess Building), but I (hopefully graciously) conveyed that I would really rather just go to bed. After he left, I took a stroll on campus to the Princess Building to check it out for myself, and then stopped at a nearby convenience store to grab some snacks. GUYS! THEY HAVE CUCUMBER-FLAVORED LAYS POTATO CHIPS!!! And so many other flavors that are mind-boggling, and somehow simultaneously vague and specific.

Once I was back in my apartment, I chowed down on some fruit bread, drank some water, had a moment of near paralyzing fear/anxiety/regret/shame/etc., scolded myself for being (I think understandably) pathetic, and then went to sleep. By that point, I had been up for nearly 23 hours, and it was somehow already 7pm on Monday, Feb. 18. I slept until 6am the next morning.

That morning, I got in touch with CB, my supervisor, who was more than happy to meet with me around 11am. So I spent the morning figuring out how to be an adult person in Beijing. Several standard things took place that were daunting only because I’m in Beijing: showering, brushing my teeth, grabbing some toilet paper to carry with me, deciding how much cash to keep in my wallet, etc. I also came to the disturbing realization that there are precisely three outlets, each with one port. One of them was occupied by the television, one by the mini-fridge, and one was free to charge my tablet; it was then that I decided to try to go shopping and track down a power strip.

Day 2: Merry Mart

First, I want to say one quick thing: the exchange rate from RMB (also called yuan) to USD is approximately 0.15:1. So, as an example, I spotted a can of beer for 5.90 yuan, or roughly $0.90. For those of you who know me, you may understand why this was my first example.

Now, the supermarket that I was heading towards is located on the other side of the north gate of the CAU (China Agricultural University, which houses ICB, or the International College of Beijing, where I’m living and instructing), and my apartment is in the very southeast corner of campus, about a 10 minute walk away. And it’s not even 8am yet. I mention this as, when I approached the supermarket, or rather the building housing the supermarket and a dozen or so other shops, I noticed a KFC right next door. Now, I shouldn’t have been shocked to see the advertisements were for food that you would never find at a KFC in the States, but I was. What I feel completely justified in being shocked at was that the KFC was already quite busy. Naturally, I stepped inside and saw that a “Chicken Burger” with a glass of milk (and maybe a side?) was going for 12 yuan, or $1.80. So cheap!!

I stepped out without buying anything and continued into the supermarket. Oh, the wonders I beheld. I’ll try to keep it short, but I’ll point out that I’ve never paid so much attention in the produce and meat sections of a supermarket as I did yesterday. Once I made it past these sections, I experienced an onslaught of packing that looked both familiar and foreign (yes, I realized how stupid that sounds as I typed it). As I was on a bit of a mission (for hand soap and a couple power strips), I contained my curiosity as best I could. But I did take a peak at all of the flavors of Lays Chips in the snack section...

Fortunately, I managed to find a power strip! They had Philips power strips going for 70 yuan (~$10.50) and some from a company I’ve never heard of for 30/40 yuan. Naturally, I grabbed on of the cheaper variety. It seems I didn’t bring enough cash the first time. I moved on, failing to find anything that I could guarantee was hand soap, but let me tell you: after being around people who I could not understand, guessing at products based on the images along, and recognizing that I’m waaaaay in over my head, I have never been so happy to see a can of Budweiser in my life!

Now, I can’t be certain, but I’m pretty sure a 3-pack 16-oz or 500 mL or whatever-their-volume cans came out to 9 yuan, or $1.35. What a deal! (Fast forward to this morning, and I stumbled an even better find: 500 mL cans of Guiness with nitrous rockets for 15 yuan ($2.25) a pop! In the States, those usually run $16 for four!)

After spotting way more milk (a recent trend, apparently) than I’ve ever seen, ultra-pasteurized so it can sit on an uncooled shelf for months at a time, heaps and heaps of “sanitary tissue” and slew of snacks that boggled my poor, unworldly mind, I made my way to the checkout. Fortunately, I stick out so damn much that people just expect that I don’t speak Chinese; the look of mild irritation isn’t grating at all, it just lets me know that I’m not the only one who feels moderately uncomfortable at my residing in Beijing for these next 4 months. The interaction at the stand was pleasant enough, and we mimed our way through the bits that weren’t communicable. Then I headed back home to meet with CB.

Day 2: The Book

So, I’m already feeling wildly unprepared to teaching a senior-level mathematics course, but one of the few things that was keeping me grounded was that the book was to be selected by administrators at ICB/CAU, so that would save me having to make most of the decisions regarding content for my Probability class. Moreover, the university would provide the textbooks to the students. Little did I know, and little did CB know, and little did the person supposedly in charge of retrieving said textbooks from the library, no textbook was on file for this class. #sarcasticwoo

FORTUNATELY (can’t believe how many lucky breaks I’m catching!), there happened to be a textbook titled Probability and Statistics for Engineers and something-or-other. To be honest, my eyes glazed over at “Engineers,” not because they are lesser scientists, because they are most assuredly not, but because they just don’t appreciate the fine nuances of theoretical mathematics. That is to say, they’re lesser scientists. ;) #allinjest #imsuretheyvegotsickerburnsforme So, I guess I’m teaching from an Engineering textbook.

During this brief window of time with CB, I learned how various countries measure the breathability of the air, acquired a facemask, and snagged an air purifier. Things necessary to life in Beijing! I was then invited out to lunch with CB and his wife RB; I was unaware that their would be fourth, ML. Having never met RB, and being unaware that ML existed, I waited for the 20 minutes that CB needed to get a couple things ready before lunch in my room, then headed down to the entrance of the Guest House (where my apartment and office are located, in case I haven’t mentioned it by name yet). Waiting there was a 30-something Asian-descent woman who somehow didn’t look like she was a native Chinese resident. Best guess: RB. She smiles at me and asks if I’m here to have lunch with R, to which I say confirm and ask if that’s her. Turns out it’s ML, and a reference to a particular Disney movie popped into my head. (I bet you’re not thinking of the same one I was, though!) Anyway, it’s 12:30pm at that point, and I wouldn’t spend the next 11 hours with ML, a Communications instructor for ICB who has only been in Beijing since September, barely speaks any Chinese and gets by reading it as she knows Japanese. Turns out she was born in Brazil, though! That certainly explained why her features were not quite Chinese.

CB and RB showed up a few awkward, mostly silent, minutes later as, not anticipating a fourth left me just socially awkward enough to just keep my mouth shut and let my mind wander. RB led the way to a Chinese restaurant around the corner, and we had a ridiculously cheap meal. Everything was delicious, even the rice noodles and cabbage dish! CB asked how open I was to trying things I’ve never had before, and I responded that I’m hear to make the make the most of this opportunity. He followed up with, “So, you’ll try chicken feet?” I’ve never so quickly doubted my convictions before! Fortunately, the food we order was basic enough fare for a Chinese restaurant, so I didn’t have to prove my grit just yet.

Day 2: The Big Adventure

During the meal, ML mentioned that the “lantern festival” was that night, and that she’d be joining a friend of her’s somewhere in Beijing, TBD. CB mentioned off-handedly that there was a 4-story bookstore several kilometers away. My interest was piqued, but having no means of transportation, I kept my mouth shut. ML did not. She expressed serious interest in venturing out to the store, and I asked if it would be in imposition if I joined. After lunch, CB and RB gave us a rough pin location for the building, walked us over to a bus stop, explained to me how to use my transit card (Thanks, CG!!!), and saw us off on our adventure. At this point, it seems relevant to mention that, although I have two cell phones (my usual American one, and a Chinese phone bought secondhand from ES) (THANKS ES!!!), I don’t have internet access or any real means to contact CB or RB. I also don’t access to a map app (see: I don’t have internet access). As it turns out, ML’s access is hindered by the fact that her iPhone is apparently dated enough to not operate at full capacity with a Chinese SIM card. So she has spotty internet. SPOILERS: Her cell phone would die later that evening. #dundundun

The bus ride was uneventful, and we got off where we thought was should. Without the name of the bookstore or any solid evidence to suggest precisely where the bookstore was, ML then confides in me that she has frequently found herself incapable of finding her destination, wandered around for several hours, then given up and went home. My confidence was soaring. But, as they say, “When in Beijing...”

After finding a map of the surrounding area and comparing it to a screenshot of the rough-pin-location of the bookstore in question, I managed to match shapes cut out by walkways and roads and spot where we should be heading. The pin led us to a bookstore. But this bookstore had only one floor, although the building housing it had 20 floors and an elevator that looked out over the surrounding area. Needless to say, we rode the elevator for a moment before deciding to continue exploring. Stepping outside, we tried to reach CB...and we did! He gave us a more accurate pin and the name of the bookstore. Only one of those two things wound up being helpful.

On our way over to the new location (2 more blocks West), we stumbled on a developed “alley” that housed a wide plethora of shops, including....A BOOKSTORE!!! Dudes and Dudettes: let me tell you, this bookstore was amazing!! Check out the pictures below:

So cool! But this wasn’t where the pin was located, only had two floors, and when we scaled the spiral staircase, some 20-something employees started walking towards us and speaking in Mandarin. ML goes, “I’m sorry, we don’t speak any Mandarin, but we think we know what you’re trying to say. Have a nice day!” And we walked out of the store with our tails tucked loosely between our legs.

I was I could accurately convey all of the things I saw that struck me as fascinating while we explored this area of Beijing, but honestly there was just too much, and I can’t imagine you all are still reading this carefully, given that I’m not exactly giving the “Reader’s Digest” version of events. Or so you may think. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m doing my best to keep this short while still conveying how crazy this day was. And we’re only a couple hours into my afternoon/evening with ML. I applaud any and all who keep reading attentively. I’ll try to make it entertaining.

I will say that in this alley, I got stared down by a police officer. Mildly intimidating and recalled to mind the other intimidating visual to grace me. Just after checking out at the supermarket that morning, while I was packing the couple of items I had purchased into my backpack, I looked up and saw, for the first time in my life, 4 full sets of riot gear. Helmet, vest, nightstick (or whatever it’s called), and some sort of gun in a padded case. Sure, I know that I’ve been around those things before in my life, but never were they in plain view, seemingly on display.

After a few more minutes, a few more crossed streets, and pulling ML out of the way of a car that didn’t seem to care that she was there, we made our way to the pin’s location. And none of the stores around us bore the name of the 4-story bookstore. But we did find another bookstore.........and it turned out to be the right one! Crazy!! Of course, this was after trying out what we guessed was a calligraphy shop that seemed to primarily sell books? The words on the door were somewhat misleading. Anyway, let me tell you: in spite of being in a bookstore filled with words that I can’t understand, I still felt so calm and secure being surrounded by all of those books!

At this point, ML and I seemed to have figured out each other’s senses of humor and made frequent jokes and shared stores as we roamed the shelves, looking desperately for books written in English. After searching all four floors, some twice, we find a section with no markings nearby that happened to have some books in English. After looking over all of the classics (pretty much all they had), discussing the ones we’ve read, conversing about those we haven’t, we each picked one out to buy. I’ve seen Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World referenced too many times in crossword puzzles and trivia questions to not have developed an absurd curiousity for this book I’ve never read. So naturally I bought it. It seems like a rather nice-looking copy, no artwork to speak of, but elegant in a somewhat formal-Chinese kind of way. It came to 26 yuan, or about $3.90. HOW AM I BUYING A BOOK FOR THAT CHEAP?! WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING WITH MY LIFE?! *sigh* Well, I seem to be getting by without my Kindle fine enough for now...(THANKS AGAIN RS FOR SHIPPING IT TO ME!!! I’ll let you know as soon as it arrives!)

Day 2: The Lantern Festival

At this point, ML had heard from her friend who I will just call R (have yet to become privy to her family name), and we were given the name of the place we were headed towards: Happy Park. By now, it was around 4:15pm, and we needed to somehow figure out where Happy Park was, how to get there, and manage to not get lost in the process by 6:30pm. So we went for tea. The place we stopped in was what seemed to be a solid attempt at a German tea/coffee shop-slash-bakery. And I got a cup of English Breakfast Tea for 22 yuan ($3.30). Not the best deal, but I learned an invaluable lesson: just take a picture of what you want to order! So simple, so elegant, so effective!!! I was also by this time learning that most people make purchases using the main “social media” app, WeChat. In fact, many shops and restaurants don’t carry any cash as WeChat is just a more effective means of payment. You can link a debit card to your account and you’re good to go! (More on this in Day 3).

<I’ve been writing for almost 2 hours! Yikes!!!> <I wonder if I can get a book deal out of this...>

Without really knowing where to find a subway station, ML and I headed back to where the bus dropped us off, thinking at the very least we could head back to campus and the subway station there. (Also, for those of you who don’t know: I’ve never ridden a subway. Sure, I use RTD rails almost daily in Denver, but somehow this just seemed different. Especially given how many lines there are and that we didn’t actually know where we were going...) We found a bus heading back towards campus, hopped on, and almost immediately spotted a subway station. The bus didn’t drop us off for 2-3 more blocks...

After meandering back to the subway station, we found a map and lo-and-behold there was a stop dedicated to whatever Happy Park is. And it’s on the complete opposite side of town. #unethusedyay #adventuretime We plotted our course and hopped on the train without incident if you don’t count the pile of vomit that I would almost certainly have stepped in had ML not avoided it just before me! *phew* The subway itself was on par, if not nicer, than the trains in Denver, if only a bit louder. Confined spaces and all that. By the time we made our three transfers and got to the other side of Beijing, the sun had set, it was 6:20pm, and we had made it just in time! R met us at the station minutes after.

When we turned to see where we were headed, I was floored. Right in front of us with giant glowing words spelling out (in two languages) “Happy Park” was an amusement park that rivals some Disney parks in it’s show-y-ness. As it was dark, I can’t say precisely how big it was, but I was impressed. Tickets for entry were 145 yuan (roughly $20), which I fortunately had brought along that morning, not realizing precisely how crazy the day would get.

Once inside, R informed us that there’d be a show starting in a few minutes. We tried to find a spot, but the girls had trouble seeing over the heads of the people ahead of us. In fact, I had to stand on my tiptoes as most of the people in front of me were holding up their children, phones, and self-sticks. There was a small mound that almost certainly was not intended for foot-traffic, but nonetheless had a solid 75 people standing on 6-foot-tall trees. When we joined the crowd up there, hoping for a better vantage point, we were disappoint. That is, until ML decided to climb a tree. And I joined her. Naturally. I don’t have pictures of the entire show, sadly. I was too busy being floored and hoping that my one leg that was supporting my weight would hold up! I’m also not including them here as I have to format the videos. But stay tuned in the near future for videos!!

After the show, we wandered around the park for several more hours. I was quite impressed. And the food we got was quite delicious!! Small, fried potatos balls, and donut-hole sized balls loosely-based on a Japanese dish that I couldn’t possibly spell correctly, topped with dried fish. YUM! Check out the pictures of some of the attractions we saw:

This was the interior of an Aquariam-themed section of the park. It was a welcome respite near the end of the night, given that it felt like it was nearing 10F outside.

A Mayan temple, with a restaurant inside and, probably, a water-slide ride built into it? Hard to say. If only our phones hadn’t died and we weren’t so cold by the time we made it to the Athenian/Spartan-inspired section of the park! So many cool statues and buildings!

A still shot as 5 motorcyclists entered the arena after some drum-dancers! Stay tuned for videos of them riding inside the wire ball on the right! [Edit 3: the videos will likely get posted as gifs. Quality will probs be not great. One of them will involve the motorcyclists doing loop-stunts, and the other will involve a dragon-dance with dope fireworks. I didn’t get any video of the lion-dancers from earlier in the show, but take my word for it: it was dope as fuck. So much so that I don’t feel bad about dropping an f-bomb in this edit. I can’t possibly find the words after 3.5 hours of writing to convey just how cool this show was!]

Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what this is, but it looked cool!

This was a small bridge, reminiscent of the bridges in Europe where people write their initials on padlocks and toss the keys into the river below. From what we could tell (thanks to R’s understanding of her native tongue), the pieces all talk about the love between family, friends or significant others.

After the Aquarium-themed building got us toasty warm, and it was ticking closer and closer to 10pm, we bee-lined it out of the park and back to to the subway station. Another three transfers, some more conversation, and we were back on campus. While on the trains, either to or from Happy Park, I don’t remember which, ML commented on how quiet I had been earlier that day while waiting for CB and RB before lunch. Given how quiet I was at lunch, she was understandably worried that the pattern would continue. If you know me, you know it just takes a bit for me to get comfortable and figure out how to talk to you. Needless to say, I told too many stories with a surplus of details in each of the bookstores, on each of the trains, and all of the time in between. I’m thinking ML is going to be a pretty solid friend these next couple of months, if I she doesn’t get sick of my stories first!

As I alluded to above, it was around 11pm before we were back in the Guest House. I was ridiculously pooped but not entirely unimpressed at how not-jet-lagged I was! I passed out soon thereafter and woke up for the third and final time around 7am.

Day 3: Merry Mart II, the Second Part

Alas, morning came; and with it came a surplus of energy to spent getting my life together in Beijing. I still hadn’t unpacked my luggage, there were too many things my apartment was still missing, and I didn’t have a reliable means of feeding myself as I had been warned (and witnessed) that many places just simply don’t carry cash. And naturally don’t accept American credit cards.

So I packed a small bag and headed out again. I stopped by Starbucks, attempted to order a Black Tea Latte from the girl who said “Morning” to me, and made the false assumption that this particular colloquialism implied English-fluency. I wound up with a regular Latte. Still good, though! After that, I made my way to the KFC near the Merry Mart only to find that this establishment is one described above. My cash wouldn’t do me much good there. *shrug*

In the Merry Mart, I grabbed several more bread-based food items, a microwavable meal in a bowl, another power strip, some gum, and more chips. Pringles. American flavors. Two cans of Guiness, and two bottles of hand soap. This time, I kept track of the price of each individual item so I knew how much cash to have ready at the register. This time went far more smoothly, and I filled my entire backpack with items that ran up to 134 yuan (~$20). HOW?! HOW AM I GETTING SO MUCH FOR SO LITTLE I LOVE THIS!!!

Day 3: Getting my shit together

After that, my mind was set on opening a bank account to connect to my WeChat account. I reached out to CB, who graciously offered his assistance for a small amount of time. Ideally, this wouldn’t take too long. After all, he has plenty of work to be getting on with!

Well, the first bank we tried didn’t work because I’m not staying in town for more than 2 years. The second bank was more accepting. He translated exceptionally while I filled out documents written completely in Chinese. I was having an internal panic attack as I did something that felt incredibly wrong or anything. No, not at all. It’s totally okay to sign your name on documents that you can’t read. Yup, totally okay...

As it turns out, the bank would need to send me verification texts, so I gave them my phone number. But my American phone number wouldn’t work for them (they didn’t even try!), so after 30 minutes of waiting and 10 minutes of paperwork, CB and I headed down the street to get a SIM card and a cellular plan. Oh boy. All told, I think I waited for another hour there while CB got some work done; the paperwork and discussions took another 20-30 minutes. Once I had my phone situated, CB assured me that I could handle the rest of the bank stuff on my own as the staff would certainly recognize me and remember what I wanted. Plus, most of the paperwork was already filled out, right? Right? *sigh

The staff at the bank were less than enthused to find that CB hadn’t joined me. This was gonna be a blast, let me tell ya...

All told, I filled out twice as much paperwork as the staff scrambled to find a way to communicate with the moronic American who didn’t have the slightest idea what was going on around him. Of course, filling out this paperwork and determining exactly what they wanted and whether or not I wrote down the right things (i.e. understood exactly what information they were after) included 5-8 different sessions with several different employees, each with somewhere between 10-70 min wait-times. On the plus side, I’m almost done with Dan Brown’s Origin. Not his best work, but certainly entertaining enough to pass the time in a bank surrounded by people who probably would rather I not exist. To be clear, I don’t begrudge them at all; their service was impeccable, and their patience was never-ending, and the entire thing was significantly less annoying than it had any right to be, given the language barrier.

I left their establishment many hours later with a debit card, Chinese bank account, and the means to buy stuff wherever I wanted to go. And a significant amount of confidence that I can get through the next four months quite contentedly. Granted, I didn’t do nearly as much to earn this confidence as the staff at my new bank did!

After the fiasco at the bank, I went back to the Guest House, unpacked my suitcases, and laid down in bed to type this novella. That was several hours ago.

Convinced that I’ve had a crazy few days?

A coworker from Denver asked me how China has been so far, and I told him that it “[w]ent from shit to fantastic so damn fast.” Hopefully my long, rambling story has here has justified that claim for those of you reading this.

There was only one other day in my life that I can recall feeling as justifiably petrified as I did Monday night. I described the feeling as trying to wake up from a dream only to find that you’re wide awake. I was encouraged earlier today to remember that I don’t have to get through all 4 months of this experience at once; I just need to take it one day at a time. I usually don’t find these adages and idioms to be particularly helpful, but this one seems to be true.

In the future, blog posts probably won’t be nearly as long. Thanks for reading!

Now to finish this beer and book!

Sláinte,

BeardyAllen

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filmandthefemalegaze · 4 years ago

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Interview with Hayley Cox

For this project, I decided to conduct an interview with my friend, Hayley Cox, a current Film and Directing student, to help understand what it is like to create film through a female perspective as well as highlight her experiences in a male-dominated major.

Maddi Young: Hello! Would you please introduce yourself?

Hayley Cox: Hi! Hi! I’m Hayley Cox, pronouns are she/her. I’m a student at the University of Central Florida currently majoring in Film and Directing.

MY: First of all I want to thank you for taking some time and answering my questions. I really appreciate it. To begin, could you explain what drew you to pursuing a career in film?

HC: Yeah! Growing up I never got tired of watching movies. I would watch them all day if I could.When I learned about the amount of people it took to make a film and the fact I could be one of them, I sort of knew right then that it was what I wanted to do. People love to be entertained and there are so many stories left to tell. I want to be one of those people, telling stories that I’ve held in my head and heart since I was a child.

MY: How has your path been, studying this in college and being on sets?

HC: I have loved most of my classes and I like learning about different ways to tell a story. But, it hasn’t always been easy. I recall my final project my freshman year. My partner was a guy and we were co-directing our short film we had spent the semester writing. I had written most of the script. He would give me his ideas and I would write it. I did the storyboards and the shot list prior to filming, while he did the call sheet and found actors. On the day of production, I was basically running around like an assistant. Making copies, setting up the snacks, and organizing the props. He kind of took over as the director but then I noticed how badly the takes/shots were. Boom mics and lights could be seen in the shot, which would only make post production more difficult. So I kindly stepped in and pointed out what we needed to be careful about. For the rest of the day it was more equal amongst the both of us on filming, but I couldn’t help but feel like I overstepped. Which is completely ridiculous since we were partners, and in reality I had done most of the work. After we wrapped and started editing, we only had to turn in one copy for our production class. When it came time to decide whose we would turn it, we had only watched mine before he said to turn in mine. I’m proud of the work and I’m glad he liked it, but the effort wasn’t equal in the slightest. I felt like he got to receive credit for my hard work, and he was happy to do so.

MY: So, would you say that he took advantage of his identity as a man to make you do the heavy-lifting? And expect you to do so?

HC: Yeah, I think so. Back then, all I cared about was doing my best. I didn’t notice the extent of it, that I was putting in all the effort and he was reaping the benefits.

MY: This leads into my next question regarding men’s place in film and the “male gaze”. Have you heard of this term before?

HC: I have. Honestly, though, I couldn’t explain to you exactly what it is.

MY: That’s okay! It’s still a relatively new phrase and/or concept. The male gaze is essentially the way men, whether that be the director, the audience, or the character in the film, view women. It’s typically objectifying, seeing women as sexual beings, or, well, objects.

HC: Yes! That’s what I was thinking.

MY: Yeah! So, do any films come to mind when you think of the male gaze?

HC: Uhm...now that I think of it, it feels like a lot of movies would fit that description. Like, Marvel movies for instance. I love Marvel, but Black Widow is always shown in a sexual way. Including unnecessary shots of her body that I guess are supposed to appeal to the male viewer. Even her, and some other female characters’, costumes are sexualized for no reason. The fact that Scarlet Witch wears a corset in battle is insane.

MY: Right? The objectification happens so passively sometimes that we don’t even think twice anymore. But, the more we talk about it and the more we demand for better from these directors, the issue will begin to lessen.

HC: I agree.

MY: Now that we’ve talked about the male gaze, have you heard of the term, “female gaze”?

HC: No, I haven’t. I’m guessing it’s kind of like the male gaze, just through a woman’s eyes instead?

MY: Yeah, kinda! It’s a little different though. In the way that the male gaze is objectifying, the female gaze typically personifies. And since men are the oppressor in society and women are the oppressed, the female gaze cannot be an equal to the male gaze.

HC: That makes sense. So like, women characters for instance. They aren’t written to objectify the male characters, they're written to see the male as a person.

MY: Exactly.

HC: I feel like that also explains the motivation of characters, in respect to the director as well. Like, why female characters shot or written by women see a male counterpart and romanticize it, making them a person even when they don’t know them. And male characters [shot by men] see the female characters as sexual beings or as devices to further their story.

MY: That completely makes sense. It reminds me of the “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” trope.

HC: *laughing* Oh my god, yes.

MY: So, now that you’re familiar with the term, can you think of any movies you think exhibit the female gaze?

HC: Let me think for a moment.

HC: Portrait of a Lady on Fire comes to mind.

MY: Could you elaborate on why?

HC: One of the main characters is a female painter, and she’s commissioned to paint another woman, but she can’t reveal that she’s there to paint her. She has to secretly observe the other woman and her body, since it’s like the 1800s or something and they can’t take pictures. So the movie is basically about how a woman is perceived through another woman’s view.

MY: I love that movie. It’s directed by a woman, too.

HC: Yeah, so that adds a whole other layer. How a woman chooses to shoot a woman versus how a man would.

MY: Kind of on that same wave length, when women shoot films the idea of making it “feminist” is always looming overhead. What do you think makes a feminist film?

HC: I think a “feminist” film is one that gets the audience thinking about the role of women in real life, not just in the movie. It enlightens the audience on what it could be like being a woman and how women are treated by society or others. There’s more to it, of course, but that’s initially what I think of.

MY: I think that’s a good explanation. Now, since you are a women entering the film industry, do you feel pressured to create movies that qualify as “feminist”?

HC: Hmm. Yes and no? I mean, I just want to tell stories, like I said before. But being a feminist is a part of who I am and how I view things, so I think that they’ll be feminist whether intentional or not. But men never have to be asked that question, you know? They just get to create. And I don’t know, maybe they should be asked it.

MY: True.

HC: I do feel a pressure sometimes, though. As a woman in directing. We’re still the minority in the field, so every time a woman succeeds- or fails- everyone knows.

MY: Also true. But I think you’re doing a wonderful job.

HC: Thank you so much.

MY: I just have one more question. Do you have any advice for other women, or young girls, wanting to pursue a career in film?

HC: Yes. Your gender should not hinder your success in the industry, no matter what anyone says. Out of the many jobs in the film industry, find the one you love and do it.

MY: I love it. Thank you again, Hayley. It has been so fun to talk about this with you.

HC: Same! I feel like now I’m going to be noticing the “gazes” when I watch movies now. So thanks for that. *laughs*

MY: Oh, you are so welcome.

_______________________________________

#mine #interview

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nerdarchy-blog · 7 years ago

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Hello gamers! Our crate unboxing segments are moving from our video series to a new home here on the website as we shuffle things around to best provide all the things we want to offer between here and the Nerdarchy YouTube channel. Check back every month should you wish to learn of the awesome stuff that comes in that month crate. This time we are unboxing the March 2018 Dungeon Crate.

March 2018 Dungeon Crate unboxing

From the insert

March is a well-known month for drinking holidays, so we offer a tavern themed crate this month. Taverns are the best place for adventurers to get the scoop on the local area, find new quests, and settle in for some rest and relaxation. The items in this crate revolve around some of our favorite Halcyon establishments.

Check out the gallery below for some images of the cool stuff included in the March 2018 Dungeon Crate.

The first item is Epic Encounters: Tavern Builder. Normally we get a small folded card with a ready-made encounter to use right away in your fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons game. However, this is a great insert that you can use to make a tavern. I do a lot of improv as a Dungeon Master and when players want to go to a tavern I struggle at times coming up with a good name. This Tavern Builder card can be a major asset to solving this issue. But it does not stop with a name chart. You have options for an inn, the tavern, a pub, and the dive. You get options for the size of the building, descriptions, notable occupants – even a menu. This is a good get for a DM to use either on the fly or during your prep time to make exactly what you want. I am happy to have something like this to aid in my gaming.

The images that appear on the pint glasses are also available as T-shirts! Click the image to check out the Dungeon Crate shirt shop for these and others. [Art by Dungeon Doodles]

Going along with the tavern theme, the next item is the Etched Steel Tavern Logo Pint Glass. Made by Advanced Deployment and with art by Dungeon Doodles, this glass has one of four design options. I am not sure of what all the options are but the one I received is from the Shady Lady. It is a cool design and I wonder if maybe the Dungeon Crate shop will eventually have for sale all the options so you can collect them all.

If you know anything about Nerdarchist Ted, you know I like miniatures and dice. And the next handful of items are right up my ally. Next are two miniatures from the Reaper Bones line. We get a dwarven brewer and a townsfolk innkeeper. The dwarf stands next to a keg almost as big as he is with some great detail.

The notion that brewing and dwarves go well together is represented in this detailed mini. I am happy to add this to my collection and I am set for the next dwarf I play who specializes in brewing supplies. The innkeeper is another great asset. Maybe not as a player character mini but one that if you want to set the scene and have a combat in the tavern, you have something to represent the barkeeper so those monsters can threaten your NPCs as well as the adventurers.

Minis, check. But I said dice as well and this crate has those as well. You get three in fact. First by GameScience you get a d10. GameScience dice are known for their precision balance and quality. This is number three in a set as we got the d20 and the d12 in the previous two crates so I suspected that this one was coming. It is cool to be able to get the whole collection over time, really adding extra value to getting the crate every month. But if you missed something there are options.

You know the manufacturer of the thing and if it is not available over at the Dungeon Crate shop you can always check out the GameScience store and get it from them directly. But that is not all for dice. While GameScience is cool these d4s, in my honest opinion, blow them out of the water. I know many people love and are used to the typical triangle “caltrop” d4 but the company Doublesix Dice has made these super amazing d4s that are essentially a 12-sided die marked with one through four, three times each.

For a bit of hilarity, the first one of these I got months ago, also in a Dungeon Crate, was gold with black triangles for pips. It looked really cool, but because it had 12 sides I did not know what it was. Once I figured out what it was it became my favorite d4. From the same company we get two more of this style d4. One is black with gold triangles as pips, while the other is an orangish gold with black swirls as pips. I’m super happy to have more of this awesome style of dice to add to my growing collection.

And the last item in the box, which I would have missed buried in the packaging had it not been for the insert saying what all the items were, is a set of coins. For those of you who do not know, the guy behind Dungeon Crate is a fanatic for coins, so they do not come in every crate but in a bunch of them. These ones are a three piece set from Rare Elements Foundry.

Coins are a great thing to have at the gaming table. They can be cool props for when the adventurers travel to a new land or when they uncover a treasure horde. They can be used as inspiration tokens, or heck, if you ever have the need to roll a d2. Lastly they can be used as atmosphere or roleplaying tools. Your rogue, or any gold-loving character, could constantly fiddle with their coins. Here you have props to provide that sound and help you get into character. You could of course just have them around the table adding to the atmosphere or environment of your gaming table.

So if you think these are cool and want in on the next crate feel free to head over to the Dungeon Crate site. Make sure you use the promo code Nerdarchy to get 10 percent off your first month’s subscription. If you want to check out the store and maybe see what they have from past months you can do that too. You never know what you are going to get.

Thanks for reading and check out this great create service and until next time, stay nerdy!

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Everything you need to build an epic tavern for your #DnD game in this @Dungeoncrate Hello gamers! Our crate unboxing segments are moving from our video series to a new home here on the website as we shuffle things around to best provide all the things we want to offer between here and the

#Dungeon Crate #unboxing

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seenashwrite · 7 years ago

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The Nail: August 2017

The Nail isn’t about perfection. It isn’t about award-level contenders. It’s about seeing focus and effort and hard work radiate off of the screen.

And The Nail’s purpose isn’t to highlight genres of fics or specific ships or pieces written during a certain time frame - the sole focus is quality.

Character dimension. Writing with clever readers in mind. Solid world-building. Tension through boundaries. Crazy crisp dialogue. Incredibly tight plotting. Big emotion.

And though yours truly - nice to meet you, new folks, I’m Nash! - is editor of the list, the goal is for YOU to curate the content.

Read more about how all this came to be, find past editions, see what factors are considered when constructing the list, and how to get your recommendations in/be a curator HERE.

Hey, ramblers? Let’s get ramblin’.

For your reblogging convenience, here’s The Nail Master Post of Editions!

Quickie Nash Note:

As this project evolves, I'm still determining the best way to present it for easiest reader use.

And so, faithful followers of The Nail, you'll notice a touch of a categorization change-up. The lengths are still the m.o. vs. type ["angst", "fluff", etc.], but are now listed in order of word count, low to high. The rest of the categories remain the same, plus a new one that may or may not appear on every edition [you'll see why!].

I've also put a new page on my blog, mainly for authors, with explanation for things they may question regarding this format - things I’ve mentioned prior, but it takes up too much space. Some of the current FAQs are....

- Why did someone make up a summary/why didn't you use my summary? - Why did someone make up a title for my story/poem? - What are those Q comments? - Is Nash actually reading all of this?

One last thing: The Nail is meant to go out the first full week of each month, and was mostly ready this weekend, however I just wasn't in a jovial, woo-hoo mood, I made a brief post why, I've no doubt each and every one of you understand, but you have my apologies nonetheless as poor time allocation on my part meant this wasn't out at some point during the past week.

XO - Nash.

* ~ * ALL FROM THE WORLD OF "SUPERNATURAL” UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED * ~ *

- SUPERNATURAL SUPERSTARS - Organized by length.

THE BOY KING'S DEMONS - @rex-daemoniorum / @vengeuse WORD COUNT - 279

Sam understands that there are exceptions to even his own rules.

Q: Nice detail, pertinents given painted the picture effectively/no belaboring; through-line present of Sam's ability to relate without spelling it out/written for intelligent readers; complexity of situation related in short amount of space

[Nash Note: Additional shout-out to @azazelsocks, who provided a high-quality prompt, as - if your humble editor may be blunt - most fic prompts are beyond lame. Well done, 'Socks.]

--> I cannot tag these folks, if someone could kindly let them know or give it a go in your reblog

CIRCUMSTANCES - @jessmoorechesters WORD COUNT - 347 words As years pass, the Moores have often found their thoughts turning to Sam.

Q: While perhaps started as headcanon, reads third-person omniscient; emotional, rambling, almost panicked cadence/style/lack of caps/punctuation absolutely works for this subject matter; nice full-stop short sentence toward end; inclusion of poignant details/no unneeded detail

[Nash Note: I already had this on the list, had a couple informal suggestions to check it out, spotted it more than once in my feed - overall, this resonated with many of you, and rightfully so.]

DESIGNATED DUTIES - @fanforfanatic WORD COUNT - 412

A tale about the seemingly ordinary things we do for one another.

Q: Moves at a crisp clip; heartfelt without bending sappy; several great lines/points of humor, prevents getting too heavy given the short length/action in question; nice cap-off/prompts reader to use imagination while not ending on a proverbial cliffhanger

HELLO, DARLING - @whispersandwhiskerburn WORD COUNT - 789

Crowley and Billie have a little chat.

Q: Excellent use of vocab in descriptions; quick, crisp dialogue; spot-on characterization; kept story moving/pacing well done; didn't waste time on explaining things/rehashing things readers already know from watching the show/written for clever readers

SHAPE OF YOU - @winchester-family-business WORD COUNT - 1K [minus song lyrics]

In which Dean walks into a bar, has a drink, meets a woman, and whether it's for now or forever, it's definitely meaningful.

Q: A get-in-and-get-out in the opener, setting the scene with just enough information and moving on to the actual story/no wasting time with a long set-up; excellent use of a "gimmick", re: initial communication; nicely fleshed-out protag who has her own thing going on, which he respects, which is in line with the character we know; took a commonly used set-up and took it to a thoughtful but not belabored/shmoopy place

GOOD NIGHT, LITTLE KING - @moonlightcas WORD COUNT - 1.6K

At the age of six, Sam is visited by Lucifer.

Q: in medias res; excellent pacing; perfectly plausible in canon; slightly chilling and pressing and foreboding without being suffocating; timing of the name reveal is Absolutely. Spot. On.

ONE, TWO, THREE - @kathaswings WORD COUNT - 3.4K

A trip to a bookstore turns out to be more than you - or Sam - could have imagined.

Q: in medias res; structure that would please any screenwriter; meet-cute without being immature/shmoopy/saccharine, specifically - protag didn't turn into a pile of weepies or gigglies/displayed strength; nice choice to include action; solid ending/author knew when to step away from the keyboard

[Nash Note: author's inspiration is revealed post-story, however they kept a light hand/did not merely re-hash source material bit-by-bit & just throw SPN atop it, instead made it their own - points and gold stars for this, always]

SUNDOWN, SUNDOWN - @thayerkerbasy WORD COUNT - 6.2K

"Crowley was done. After hundreds of years and one last sacrifice, he was done. Except, somehow, he wasn't."

Q: in medias res; spot-on characterization; tackled character departure in unique manner that could have easily gone shmoopy/author demonstrated restraint in walking the emotional line/kept that slightly off-kilter tone; moved at quick clip/efficient structure/fluid; touched on things/events seen in show but did not belabor/used as tool vs. crutch; phenomenal end dialogue/last line

- POEMS & POETICAL PROSE - Mostly quick reads, these are actual poems of any structure & short [< 2K] stories that have a poetic feel to the narrative with appropriate use of poetic verbiage given the subject matter and / or setting; pieces in the less-than-300 words neighborhood are considered quality in their entirety, therefore no "Q" notations; organized by length.

SECOND FALLING - @vintagesam WORD COUNT - 135

"Despite the silence in the church, the earth is deafening."

INTOXICATION - @copbydayfangirlbynight WORD COUNT - 199

"Out of nowhere, these two guys you’ve never seen show up and slip onto the bar stools next to you."

THE LEGEND - @quailpower WORD COUNT - approx. 300 words

Exploring the costs of immortality, and what one angel chooses to do with his time.

JULIET - @roxy-davenport WORD COUNT - 1.7K [minus song lyrics]

A night in the life of Crowley's beloved hellhound.

Q: HERE [Nash Note: Short version? Knowing when it is appropriate to inject "flowery" verbiage into a narrative. Hint: fits the time period and/or character, is kept crisp, to-the-point, and used sparingly, regardless]

- MULTI-PARTERS - Stories with a minimum of 2 parts, max of 3-to-4, with modestly sized [1-to-2K] chapters; completed as of this list; organized alphabetically by title.

None this time! [but I’ve got a couple bookmarked whose wrap-ups appear to be en route]

- SERIES SPOTLIGHT : SUPERNATURAL & SPN CROSS-OVERS - Works that are completed series, as well as ongoing / in progress series, with at least 3 parts published as of/prior to the edition of The Nail in question; unfinished series must have been updated within roughly 6 months of this post; these are lengthier than multi-parters, getting into a 5K+ range per chapter; organized alphabetically by title.

MISE EN PLACE - @sp-oops

A look inside the ways you - and the rest of the family - help Dean deal with the effects of the Mark of Cain.

Q: in medias res; quick, crisp dialogue & pace; no heavy-handed/laborious descriptors of setting/emotions, whether internal or verbal; nice character development/casual, easy feel to character interactions; sex fit into plot organically/didn't feel forced; plausible reactions by Dean/Sam/protag regarding the complexities of the residual impacts of the mark; witty humor throughout; nice cap-off/author knew when to step away from the keyboard

Curated by @smi727 , who said: "Stumbled upon this little beauty of a series recently. I was seriously blown away by the plot, the writing, the reader’s personality, everything! Please Nash, share this wonderful writer with the world!"

- RANDOM FANDOMS - All types, all lengths, all the things that aren’t SPN but are still pretty damn super; organized alphabetically by title.

AGENT 15 [series in progress] - @bellamysgirl

[MARVEL - AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.]

"Agent 15 was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agents - that all changed when a mission went terribly wrong... but Coulson found a way to drag her back."

Q: in medias res; moves at a quick clip/no time wasted on extraneous detail; well-done characterization of both known/O.C.; reads as if watching episodes/movie; nice format/use of time flip vs. heavy exposition telling another character about those events; keeps intensity while splashing in moments of camaraderie

VERY MUCH FAEBLOODED [drabble] - @mickeyrowan

[POTTERVERSE]

"She knows she’s different. She’s always been different... No place lets her forget this."

Q: Introspective without taking the reader on a deep, angst-filled dive; even-handed character portrayal; tone consistent; nice choice of event highlighting vs. a traditional narrative; well done on complementary kick-off/wrap-up

WHO YOU ARE [one-shot] - @blackcaptainrogers

[MARVEL - AVENGERS]

Bucky knows showing love takes on a variety of forms.

Q: HERE

[Nash Note: Short version? Your audience consists of such variety, it’ll take your breath away. And, well...]

On that piece of white paper, Sam wrote, "Write about me sometime." And I typed something back to her, standing right there in her bedroom. I just typed, "I will.” ― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

- ORIGINAL WORKS - Anything from haiku to novella; pieces in the less-than-300 words neighborhood are considered quality in their entirety, therefore no "Q" notations; organized by length.

IT IS SO TIRING TO BE DIVINE - @mythaelogy WORD COUNT - 52

"The architecture of your bones was built by conquerors."

MYSTERY GIRL - @inkskinned WORD COUNT - 111

"[A] girl who convinces you of magic, who flickers just a little on the edge of reality..."

I HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THE STARS IN A MONTH - @poemsforpersephone WORD COUNT - 125

"It’s an easy thing, to open a window, to step outside."

A TRADITION - @wakor-rising / @wakor & @sonatagreen WORD COUNT - 189

"In peacetime, the ruler grows their hair long. In war, they cut it short."

--> I cannot tag these folks, if someone could kindly let them know or give it a go in your reblog

NEW YORK CITY TO RICHMOND - @haleyincarnate WORD COUNT - 269

"I wonder if he knows that I can see the trying part of him..."

THE HOUSE OF GRUMLY - @erinnightwalker WORD COUNT - 553

"Everyone knew that the Widow Grumly’s granddaughter was a werewolf."

Q: Sharp start with a phenomenal choice of an opening sentence; took a "historical fact", ran with it, and created a captivating world / plot in an incredibly short span of time; formatting, flow, verbiage crisp; nice & layered/written with a clever audience in mind

THE ADVENTURES OF ROXY AND JUJU - @wheresthekillswitch WORD COUNT - 2.4K [part one/series in progress]

"JuJu finally relents and hands over the car keys to Roxy. It couldn’t possibly go more wrong than it did the last time Roxy drove…. right?"

Q: in medias res; crisp dialogue; absolutely engaging, witty characters developed in a short amount of space; vivid descriptors without being heavy-handed; leans into a vignette [character study] feel vs. hashing out a distinct plot; nice intro/kick-off for a series, though if author opts not to proceed, works just fine as stand-a-lone...

[...which is why I broke my own damn series criteria rule, so sue me. -N.]

- STUFF SO CREATIVE & UNIQUE, IT JUST CAN'T BE CATEGORIZED - What it says, organized alphabetically by title.

ENTRIES - @cardinaleyes

An inside look into the journals of Team Free Will:

DEAN

SAM

CASTIEL

Q: an ongoing pseudo-series with a creative concept; keeps distinct style for each; bonus points regarding convenience for the reader by having a "home" for each character vs. all together in one blog

JEOPARDY

In which Team Free Will plays a game.

It began with a piece of fanart by @lastlabyrinth ....

....which got some dialogue by @phantomrose96 ....

.... which got a follow-up by @casonly, and a nice wrap-up from @guntheramvs

Q: Written with sharp, quick-witted audience in mind; spit-take worthy humor; great characterization, spot-on in fact regarding our host for the evening; crisp, fun dialogue; excellent collaboration by all involved

[h/t @waywardafbabygirl ]

JOURNAL OF A MAN OF LETTERS - @petite-madame

From the creator: "[This is] a diary in first-person narrative written from Sam's point of view. Once a week, I post an art and a ficlet inspired by an episode or a scene. I'm following the show timeline as close as I can but I'm taking liberty with canon here and there."

Q: Extraordinary, above-and-beyond, clearly evident care, devotion, countless hours put into this project, and it has paid off many times over - there is some of the most beautiful art you'll ever see, there are stories [have a sample] that will hit you right in the feels, there are moments ranging from light-hearted to introspection, and you even have an option of platform - go HERE for the LiveJournal headquarters. Phenomenal, top-to-bottom. I am not over-selling this.

TWO AGENTS MISSING, PRESUMED DEAD - @bohoartist & @piecesofscully

[THE X-FILES]

Two agents are missing - follow the twists and turns as clues are examined, leads are followed, and information is exchanged.

Q: The planning and execution throughout was nothing short of excellent; written/developed with smart audience in mind; methodology of storytelling unique and, more importantly, appropriate for how the authors chose to unfold the plot; format/use of images was spot-on; clear through-line and tone; mystery that was engaging, teasing but not frustrating

[h/t @itssteaksauce ]

*~* Shameless Self-Promotion *~*

Happy Reading! XO - Nash.

* Authors, I encourage you to express your appreciation to your curator(s). Readers, if you enjoy curator selections & found them to be of quality, I encourage you to not only give the authors feedback, but also thank the curator(s) for bringing the story/series to your attention. I suspect they’ll dig it. *

#The Nail #Nailed It!#Quality Writing #Must Reads

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kunalkarankapoor · 5 years ago

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I'm a crazy fan of NBT & KKK… i have watched NBT's Tamil dubbed version 'Nenjam Peuthe'. it's a unique story i have never seen...!!! I like KKK's hairstyle, expressions, acting & specially his eyes...!!! I haven't enough words to express my feelings about NBT & KKK..but my drawings can..... From, Sinthu Sagayan, tamil fan of NBT & KKK

By Pushpa Kunal Karan Kapoor is a rainbow in my life. I don’t know where to start and what to write about Kunal’s performance. I am not a writer, lots my FB friends wrote lots of things about Kunal’s performance so i want to write about how Kunal came into my life, how he changed my thoughts about life and how crazy I am over him. Kunal came into my life like a fresh air, he is my rainbow because he brought lots of colours into my life. Before NBT, there was a bleakness in my life, bareness and loneliness captured my life to the fullest. I felt very depressed even when there were lots of people around me. I used to have lots of negative thoughts in my mind. I used to feel my life was meaningless and wondered why I am living a life like this etc,.. Being a disabled girl, home is my world. I have never seen the outside world much. The only time i used to see the world is when I go to hospital. So TV is my world and I used to watch lots of tv programs and of course serials too. That time I used to like GC a lot .On 9th Jan 2012 when I was watching his serial at 10:30p.m, during AD break I was switching channels when I saw a guy is chasing a girl. Due to curiosity I stopped, that was the first time I saw KUNAL. The truth is, the next day I didn’t watch NBT on prime time BUT I never forgot to watch it in repeat telecast. Things went on like this for few days. The first thing which attracted me towards Kunal was his mischievous deeds and dialogue, mesmerizing gaze n captivating voice and most importantly his natural acting. Till then I saw lots of actors overacting including my then favourite GC. I never saw all this combination in one man before. Slowly Kunal’s magic was capturing my mind. One day I was watching GC performing a emotional scene, my mind automatically started to compare his acting with Kunal. My mind said What is he doing? If Kunal was in this scene he would have nailed it right on the dot with his expressions. That was the last time I watched GC and I shifted to NBT on prime time. I started to amazed , mesmerized seeing his performance in each episode. I used to watch all episodes repeated telecast also because of Kunal’s magic. My sister used to scold me saying I have gone mad? I became more crazier after navaratri episode and lift scene... Whenever I feel low or depressed I used to watch his episodes, interviews, VM's. I will feel automatically refreshed n charged up. Before NBT , i know nothing about computers, internet. I don’t even have basic knowledge about them. After season 1, I wanted to know more about Kunal as a person . Till then I knew only him as Mohan Bhatnagar. Due to this reason I bought a tab through my saving . Slowly, I found out who Kunal is as a person. I used to watch lots of award functions and interviews of other stars. I used to get irritated with the arrogance of some television stars that I came across. But whenever I see Kunal I used to be amazed with his simplicity. When I got the privilege to watch his interviews, I found out what a nice, down to earth person he is! Whenever i watch his interviews I will have a big smile on my face. He will always be very genuine and honest in his reply, I like this he most about him. I never felt as if i am watching a celebrity. In the journey of exploring more about Kunal, I started downloading all his previous shows episode which I never got a chance to watch before. Whenever I watch Angad, I will smile and blush . I mean, I smile at a local goon teasing a girl. But when I realize the real reason behind is , of course the reason is KUNAL KARAN KAPOOR. It was super duper fun to watch him as Madonna. Playing a girl role was not easy but he did it with so much ease. Hats off to you Kunal. The suicide attempt scene of Yudi gave me the shudders-goose bumps, brought a wave of sadness that remained with me for long. I found AMREEK as a very adorable character. In the end I cried seeing his character being killed. I just love his Punjabi ascent. Reading about him gives me lots of happiness . I searched lots of article about him and I wanted to keep them my whole life, so I have taken printed copy of them. I am not fond of reading but reading articles about him gives me immense happiness. One thing I adopted from Kunal reading habit. Before NBT, I don’t know anything about FB, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, INDIA FORUM, TUMBLR, IMGUR. But just to follow him I joined all them and he is the first person I followed. Through all of this I explored lots of things in my life which I never knew before. Then came the sensational NBT, which completely stole the hearts of thousands of audience, including me. Whatever I described about NBT, it will never be the most appropriate as I am not able to put the impact of NBT in words. It is just above words and description. Then out of the blue within a short notice came another of his benchmark show, Doli Armano Ki. I saw again the amazing performance of Kunal in another perspective altogether. It was an addition to the collection of memories of Kunal. Still cherishing it, while regrets are there of it’s short life span. I don’t have lots of friends before NBT, my life was confined within the four walls of my room. Because of NBT and Kunal I got lots of friends. I started learning to express my thoughts and feelings. I learnt editing pic & video, Now , makingVMs on Kunal’s show is my hobby. My happiest moment of life is when Kunal got ITA Award n 18th Jan 2015, 22Jan 2015, 22 july2015, 22aug 2015.These are the days Kunal liked my comment n read my messages. I used to message him during Doli Armano Ki, and he always read my message. I felt as if the whole world of joy was at my disposal. If Kunal is nominated for any award, if he didn’t get it I would feel very sad through out the day. If Kunal is nominated for any poll, I will vote him for hours . These little little things gave me lots of happiness n satisfaction For the last 3 years I celebrate his birthday with my tuition students. They used to ask me “akka today is Kunal’s birthday? They also know my craziness for him. It gives me immense happiness and satisfaction. I have only one wish in my life, that is I want to meet KUNAL. I know this wish will never come true in this janam, So at least if Kunal mention my name or write my name, that day will be my best day in my life. I cannot describe the words.... I missed the chance to contribute for his birthday celebration, if I contributed my name would have appeared in front of his eyes. I regret that every day. Whenever I see non talented, non deserving persons ruling the tv industry n award function it feels deeply hurting. It’s really sad to see that an actor of a great caliber, Kunal Karan Kapoor has to wait so long to get a role worth his talent. He deserves lots of success than most other tv actors. Kunal has set up the standard of acting at such a great height,that it is impossible now to find any current actor or show watchable. I miss you so much Kunal, i wish you get a new show as per your liking and come back soon to mesmerize us through your performance. Always be happy n also make us happy too. I wish you lots and lots of happiness, success, fame, health and wealth in your life forever. Lastly, thanks Kunal for coming into my life. You have influenced, inspired my life in many ways. Thanks for making me believe and obtaining hope in life through your characters. Lots of love KUNAL. Thank u so much to the admin of Kunal’s fan page for giving me such a great opportunity to express my love for KUNAL.

Ahana Mitra Nbt happened to me...it impressed me and left it's impressions on my mind.. I can never forget those evenings spent watching nbt..those wonderful moments imagining the moment when megha and Mohan would unite..dreaming about kunal and akangsha.. I was very young Back then..11 years..I was emotionally attached to Mohan..I used to cry into the nights..when Mohan despaired..used to go to school and discuss last days episode.. Nbt moulded my character..made me what I am..I dress and talk like a boy..I dream of becoming a journalist..I am on the way to becoming a successful direction..I love acting..all thanks to Mohan.. I believe Kunal is a great actor..his "arey yaar" will be immortal..his comradie with nanhi will be immortal.. When season one came to an end..I stopped watching tv ..it was too lonesome without them.. Personally..kunals travelling instincts..bookishness ..talent..intellectualism..all appeal to me a lot..one of my role models in life..kkk stay happy stay mohan

By Riya

Hi This is for the very first time I'm writing something for you Kunal ..,Actually I can't express how much I respect you & adore you...You are the Most talented actor I have ever seen... How I met Kunal I was a girl who can watch anything & everything ...but wasn't addicted to any particular show or actor ... It was mid March of 2012 & my 12th board exams were going on ...I think it was Sunday morning & my cousin who is a lawyer was watching a TV show .. Initially I was surprised because I have never seen him watching any frictional show & my reaction was like what is this bhaiya you watching a TV show? & he was like watch it first .. & I started watching with him.. It was the repeat telecast of NBT mahaepisode..."The very famous lift wala episode". I thoroughly enjoyed ...I was like how can any show be so realistic ...specially the last scene where Mohan was singing .. It's was so real & natural ...From then on-words I started watching NBT...After watching NBT I realised what real acting is & what all crap I was watching before ...Never seen any actor who can emote well that sometimes I feel it's not Mohan its Kunal...gradually I realised its Kunal who made me crazy for the show ...My respect & love for Kunal increased further after watching his interviews and off screen segment ..He is truly an inspiration ...The most humble, down to earth & an honest person ...His smile have a power to make you smile no matter what the situation is...I never followed any celebrity from Hollywood, Bollywood or Tally Wood except Kunal ...whenever I feel low or depressed I just watch his show or his interviews & feel refreshed & happy...Not only NBT I watched all his previous show...and I always feel how can someone be so perfect ...He was equally good in his all shows ...loved his performance ... After NBT, LRL is my second most favourite show ...your absence hurts a lot & a update from you makes me happy like anything...After NBT I really missed you a lot ...used to check your Twitter & Facebook account in every hour to get any news or update ... & you came back as Shaurya...I was very upset on that day & thought to check your Twitter account to divert my mind ..and I saw your tweet : "Oh and btw...I think you guys should watch @ZeeTV tonite at 10.30... #jussayin...love...". And I was suddenly very excited .. Why he said this? .. I was aware about the leap, but the promo guy was not at all like Kunal...maybe he is promoting his friend..!! Maybe voiceover..maybe he is back !!! I was full of excitement ...read fans comment ..and finally it was confirmed he is back .. I was on cloud 9...Enjoyed each & every episode of DAK & of screen bonding of the DAK cast ...I was very sad & disappointed with new of DAK ending ... But then as our hero said everything happens for the best .. I'm sure something bigger and better is waiting for Him.. Can't express the kind of excitement & happiness I feel when you are on screen..waiting for the excitement & happiness Kunal ... Hope the wait will end soon..wish you lots of happiness & success .. May you get all you wish for .. Keep smiling & keep rocking .. Maybe I'm not the biggest fan but I'm surely a die heart fan of yours.. Riya ...

March 2016

First of all, this show is the only serial that I have ever watched in my entire life. I saw one of my friend seeing this serial in youtube. I started watching this character... and instantly fell in love with Mohan and Megha.

Mohan is not only a funny character but also a guy of high intelligence and obedience... He was so true to his character that it never felt like he was acting, Mohan was real… The serial itself rocks so much, all characters are just the best. With a superb and important essence of Mr.Mohan Bhatnagar. Mohan = kunal, the best human being and the best character. I fell more for him when he became a matured father in season 2, where his role in season 2 was epic.. incomparable to any other star.

I being a big fan of his, wanted a partner just like him. To my amazement, yes… I did. He is not exactly Mohan but a man of same principles. Thus if any of the Admin or someone who truly like my post, please convey my heartfelt thanks to Kunal Karan Kapoor, if by any chance u meet him. Following him and his ways has changed my thoughts and has brought a lot of happiness in my life.

Mr Kunal Karan Kapoor.. bas ek akhiri baat bas yahi kehni h tumse.. "yadon me kitni dafa tumhara naam pukarti rahi magar kya kru mujse hi aaya na gaya..ek gam jo tumne dia mujse bhulaya na gaya..." forever in love with you Mohan.. forever..

From, an ardent fan of Kunal Karan Kapoor

Vanshu S ........Kunal aka Mohan No doubt he's d best actor ever on TV d way he acts and connect his emotions to d viewers..... Every time he cried for Megha he made me cry..... I feel lucky coz even my name is Megha.... those wavy uncombed hair... That sharp pointed nose... That habit of eating chewing gum... D blunders he made.... I can say I am in love with mohan..... His relationship with chavanni (nanhi) and mirchi madam (megha) and guru..... I just remember d episode he cried for d first tym for Megha..... Every background song played in d show.... Every spcl episode.... I even watch it on YouTube when I miss kunal.... That was d best show ever with a moral story.... D perfect couple..... D best actors like kunal and akansha.... I was so happy with d sequel as well..... I hope kunal keeps going with d grt work ..... Want to c him again on screen with a bang.... And a bold unforgettable character as mohan.... Love u kunal Keep up d gud work....

Hi! I would like to share my thoughts on KKK too. There it goes.... Beginning of everything has some or the other memory attached to it! 4 years back, in 2012, it was basically a start of new life for me, as school was over and college was being looked forward to. Never was I a fan of hindi TV soaps, but when parents came back home, tea time with them was always with a side-dose of then running shows. And just like that, the promos of NBTNMKK started airing! The profession of a journalist has always had me a little inclined, because my grandfather was one! And then appears this character, Mohan Bhatnagar. Messy hair, plaid shirt and that signature reporter jacket and like a cherry on this perfect cake, that noncholant tone of voice! There was something very intriguing yet relaxing about it all. And hence began the journey of the show and my attachment to it. Every episode was a roller-coaster ride and every end was a cliff-hanger to me, I was that addicted to it. Maybe it was the emotional turmoil for beginning a new life or the nostalgia of leaving the old days behind, this character gave me a stand to support my mind on! I got involved in college, forgot about television as the craze and frenzy of movies took over. There was only me and my laptop. As I welcomed 2016, there was yet another change. Job life starts. I am to re-locate yet again. Leaving 4 years of memories just like that, not even a proper gooddbye. And while surfing youtube, I stumbled upon the show again. Started watching it again. Like crazy. Back in 2012, I was quite kiddish. Now I see, how lively Kunal Karan Kapoor has made the character. There is so much to him, and every detail is projected so beautifully! Great idea of the crew to team it up with Shafqat Amanat Ali's soulful songs! Its all just a treat for a craving soul. A soul craving for some support, some re-assurance, that everything will be alright! Years ago, I had taken the support of this character and I am doing the same now. I am so very thankful for the creation of Mohan Bhatnagar, and even more thankful to Mr.Kunal Karan Kapoor for giving so much life to the words, that its more than over-whelming! Little things make people happy. Beyond the serene storyline and perfection of direction, there is some spark in his character, all credits to him, that still holds the power of re-surrecting a drowning soul!

Devanshi Nigam

At first I had seen Kunal Karan Kapoor in Pratigya and I was like “eeekk ye kon hai, paan khata hoa”. But my sister says “ye kisi ache role me ayega na phir dekhna”. In 2011, I was going through depression phase, totally shattered and then the magician came as a relief from my stressful life. I had seen trailers and I was stunned “aray ye to pratigya wala villain hai, kitna change lag raha hai, sooo handsome. My sister said “maine kaha tha na”.

I turned on television on 9th of January 2012, at the time when Nanhi was making wish and here comes the Spiderman, Nanhi’s wish was fulfilled. I had seen the whole season and liked it very much; it was not like regular saas bahu dramas. The friendship bond between Chawwani and Spiderman, Mohan-Guru bond, fights of Mohan and Mirchi Madam, Mohan’s tagline “aray yar, suunnna” and Megha’s “aji! suntay ho”, all the elements are really superb and extraordinary.

And then it was any month of 2015; I was getting so much bored. Nothing good on television so I decided to start seeing NBTNMKK Season 1 again as nothing else is good as it is, so I just started. I could not see whole season 2 in 2013 and did not have any intention to see it again, but one day when I was searching for season 1 episodes suddenly I caught by the episode in which Mohan died, I played that episode casually. I was really upset by seeing how much Addu is bitter towards Mohan and then suddenly Mohan fell from the hill and that was the moment; it was like “Mohan ke girnay ke sath sath mera dil bhi doobta ja raha tha”. Then I see whole season 2, and I was amazed by Kunal Karan Kapoor’s acting, I was amazed that how a person can portray one character in totally two different ways. Mohan Bhatnagar in SSN 1; carefree but still so much caring, hilarious and his bindaas style uff ! and Mohan Bhatnagar in SSN 2; having so much pain and guilt in his heart. I searched about him and his dramas and started seeing Left Right Left, see Dolly Armano Ki just because of him. I get to know how much talented and fine actor he is and above all how wonderful he is as a human being.

The most amazing fact about him he is the reason of smile to a lot of people. But I like this fact of him most because he make me smile when I forgot what is happiness, I forgot how to laugh. He is the charmer,magician and above all he is inspiration for me. He is inspiration for me to do something for myself.

Kunal Karan Kapoor I wish you all the best and hope to see you soon on screen, Cheers

Asha Pari's story!

"yaadon me kitni dafa, tumhari gali tumhara dard pukarta raha..." yeh shayari waise toh aam hai, but jab aapki aawaaz me suni, tab uske har lafz ki gehraai ko samajh paai. Tab se lekar aaj tak meri ek hi wish hai ki main just once in a lifetime aap se milu aur aapko yeh poem sunau. kam se kam 10 baar maine iss poem ki recording kii but apni awaaz main wo dard hi na laa paai jo aapki awaaz me tha. K3, the king of expressions, the most versatile actor of television, etc NA BOLE TUM NA MAINE KUCH KAHA toh chala gaya, par apne saath de gaya woh hame kuch khatti-meethi yaadein, kuch log jo jaane anjaane hamari zindagi ka ek atut hissa ban gaye i.e K3, akangsha singh, etc jinse milna mushkil hoga but namumkin nahi, chahe mile na mile but unke liye hamara pyaar toh hamesha rahega unconditional. some really unforgettable things of nbtnmkk, 1."arrre yaaar" jo aaj kal koi bhi kahe, par ham mudkar jaroor dekhte hai ki wo kahi kunal karan kapoor toh nahi. 2."paapu" aajkal toh main apne papa ko bhi paapu keh ke bulaati hu. 3."mirchi madam" ab toh har mirchi hame mirchi madam ki yaad dilaati hai. 4."ae chavvani sunna " chavani milna toh band ho gayi, but yeh chavvni koi nahi bhool payega. 5."spiderman" ab tak sabke liye spiderman sirf ek laal kapde pehen kar ucchalne wala insaan tha, but tabse spiderman ki toh paribhasha hi badal gayi. kuch aisi yaadein aur inke kirdaar chahe kitne hi kyun na badal jaye par hamare liye kabhi nahi badlenge... issi ke saath main K3 ko apne future ke liye all the best kehna chahungi aur unke fans ko fans ko bhi all the best kehna chahungi ki wo bhi kabhi na kabhi unse mil paaye, aur sabse bada all the best mere liye .....TAAKI MAIN APNI LIFETIME ME BAS EK BAAR UNSE MIL PAAU.... -- Varishka

It was d month of March 2012 and d Holi track was going on in NBT,when I first watched it..12th board exams were going on & I needed something as a stress buster,so as per my cousin sister's suggestion I thought to give it a try!! From that very episode,I got curious to know about its plot & luckily d same week I saw its 'Kahani ab tak'..I wondered why I missed it despite it was one of my family's favorites..!! My first reaction after hearing Mohan's name was..Wow..my father's name..:) !! Mohan..d name itself says-"Charmer"..Mohan Bhatnagar charmed us in every still-be it with his Chawanni as her Spiderman,or with Guru or with Megha..!! I loved his attitude & nature,he was not a typical hero with well-gelled hairs,six packs,dole shole & all..instead we got a carefree 'lafanga patrakaar' whose style & mannerisms were totally unique!! Mohan Bhatnagar was someone whom U can relate to,the character had a realistic approach..And it would not had been possible without Kunal Karan Kapoor..he left his viewers spellbounded by his phenomenal acting..!! My addiction for d show started with season 2 of NBT..every single scene of d same gave d feeling of awe..it showed d transformed avatar of Mohan-d carefree news reporter to a much sensible & mature head journalist of Awaz India!! Watching KKK as Mohan was & is always a treat even if we watch d same scene repeatedly..!! The way Kunal presented himself as Mohan,no other could have done it..I not only admire & adore Mohan but in hard times I get inspired from him..there r a few male characters who have been my favorites but Mohan Bhatnagar still tops my favorite list..!! • Vasu was another memorable character in NBT 2 which made a special place in d hearts of d viewers..although it was short-lived,but if chances would have been given,then Vasu too surely would have been an iconic character..KKK said in an interview- " let people hate him"..; I must say he was truly successful in it..initially I hated Vasu but as d story progressed Vasu became my 2nd fav after Mohan!! I would like to thank d whole team of NBT..directors,actors,producers everyone..for giving us a masterpiece!!

There r only 2 actors whom I adore them for who they r as a person..1st is Mr Amitabh Bachchan & 2nd is Kunal Karan Kapoor..!! We,all fans of KKK love his personality,simple yet enchanting,down to earth,calm,talented actor & what not..!! On a concluding note I would like to add that I'm proud to be his fan will b forever..!! May God bless him always & best wishes for all ur upcoming projects.

Dilwali Kudi Kunalian

Shameem

The Magical Mr.Kunal Karan Kapoor, 'Bash!' entered my life two years ago. It was my sister who introduced Mr.Mohan Bhatnagar to me. It was 9pm, that's when I heard the iconic title song of NBT first time (In Tamil). Episode started, with Megha losing her luggage, she got to wear Mohan's kurti, yeah right, it was their honeymoon! Sis tried to explain the scenario, and immediately Mohan’s role hit me.

It was absolute pleasure watching the cute couple and their cute kids. Day by day I fell more and more for the serial. Carefree Mohan trying to be a responsible husband, a perfect family man, he changed for his love, his pure love was endearing and very beautiful. It really did change the perceptions I had on serials. I felt really bad because the show was ending. My first ever watched and loved serial is ending. But to our surprise, the next day the show started as season 2.

The very first episode drove me crazy, so much of suspense that I could not wait to know what happened! I searched and found the serial online…watched episodes after episode. The surprising fact was though I didn't understand Hindi well, his performance, his expressions, voice modulations and the excellent background score was phenomenal that I didn't realize the need of any language. It was extremely interesting that I couldn't stop watching. The show was full of ingenious ideas and situations. It’s characteristics have made this show one of a kind. The twist in the plot, personified performances and it’s signature art of storytelling was mesmerizing. I ended up watching the show till 4am with bloodshot eyes. I laughed and cried with this family.

There were moments I stood paralyzed hugging my computer, especially when Mohan left Addu's hand to die! After the sleepless days and nights the show concluded. (including season 1). Mohan and Nanhi's astounding bond, Mr and Mrs. Bhatnagar’s incredible love story, Vaasu the real Mohan. . . was all like a beautiful magical dream that happened to me. I was so overwhelmed and pleased! Truly NBT happened to me on right time, thank heavens. At that time frame I was in a critical situation, thorny period of my life where none could help me. There were lots of people around me but not someone like Nanhi has, her Spiderman. Looking at them I urged for love. Honestly, I soulfully loved spiderman, who made me regard him like my own dad. Though not true but that love made me feel better, loved and pampered! As a 16 year old girl I needed nothing else.

I really loved the adorable, charming and handsome Kunal Karan Kapoor. Admired the way he fought for chocolates. He is a skillful photographer, passionate traveller and a delightful bookworm. What a heavenly combination! Next things I loved, the interviews of the real Mohan and Megha. It was an interview by Tinsel Gupta. . .which I was dumbstruck! I admired his honesty, dedication, simplicity, his sophisticated talent, uniqueness and his calmness with dropped jaw. What a wonderful human being! Fell flat for this man! Two photographs of his made me realise the loving and emotional side of him. One during Shveta Di's marriage, He was holding one side of the Saree above her like a shelter. I don't know why the ritual is for, but it somehow reflected his love and affection for his bestie. Another one, was when he held a baby in his shoulder, which he posted with a caption 'Parii ka mamu'. Seeing that I went speechless. . .

Lastly, thank you for being my greatest inspiration. Your smile gives me greatest pleasure and it abundantly fills my heart with happiness. Wish I had some magical powers to still your smile. If I ever had Alladin's lamp, my first wish would be 'I want Kunal Karan Kapoor to be the Happiest Person on Earth'. . . I would like to thank Kunal for giving me such a sweet Kunalian family. I feel proud being part of your family!

Hi Kunal.... This is Juhi Malhotra from Mumbai... Read the post regarding the write-ups for you... To be frank I am not that good at it... But still would like to say a few words for you... First and foremost... I know everybody says this... But still I would like to tell you that I am a diehard fan of yours... People have started calling me a psycho because of my OBSESSION for NBTNMKK... N this is only and only because of you Kunal.... How can somebody not love you?? You are such a sweetheart ... I am such a person who has never watched any serial apart from NBTNMKK... Never in my life did I ever watch any kind of serial... But NBT has taken my heart away 💕 Sometimes I repent.. I wish I had watched Left Right Left and Doli Armanon Ki... But it's ok... I am satisfied with NBT... Because in NBT I feel you have given your best... You are the most genuine and most natural actor I have ever seen... The way you have enacted Mohan's and Vasu's role, nobody could have ever acted the way you have.... You are ULTIMATE, Your expressions .. Your smile .. Your hair... Your way of talking and walking ... Your looks... Your charm... Your personality.... Your voice.. You are the only one who made me cry whenever I saw u crying on TV.... This is the impact of you Kunal... Everything thing about you is just WOWWW!!!! ...for me perfection=kunal. Not to forget the way you say 'Aye Chavanni... Sunnnn naa', 'mirchi madam' and ‘Mother India' ... Kunal you are the Greek God of Indian Television!!! It is only and only because of you that I have watched NBT (season 1 and 2) almost all the episodes 5 times... I mean it's unimaginable... A girl who never watched any kind of serial watches NBT that too both the seasons 5 times!!! It's possible only because of a magician... And that MAGICIAN is none other than you KUNAL KARAN KAPOOR!!!!!! Your magic has made me crazy kunal... You are the best.... Nobody can be better than you..... You are stupendofantabulously fabulous... It's my wish to meet you once.... And to hear from you 'Aye Juhi... Sunn naa' because the way u say it, nobody can say it the same way.....It's the only wish of my life... Just to meet you once... And last but not the least.... LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK KUNAL!!! MAY YOU BE SUPER SUCCESSFUL AND SUPER DUPER HAPPY THROUGHOUT YOUR LIFE!!!! GOD BLESS YOU!!! TONS OF MAGIC DUST FOR YOU KUNAL... Love you 💕💕

February 2016

Hello Everyone!! So! How I met Kunal Karan Kapoor..... I watched the promo of 'Na Bole tum na Maine kuch kaha' and I found it really interesting. I mean the promo itself had uniqueness and a magnetic effect which attracted me towards it. I remember I watched the first episode and the starting story was all about Megha and I had my exams going on so I left it at half. Then I could not manage to watch the show. But one day my Sister was watching the episode where Megha started feeling for Mohan. The 'o re piya' scene.! Each and every scene which Megha was recapturing was so heart melting. With Megha I also started feeling for Kunal. And there I met him.. After that I didn't miss to watch any of the episodes. I got attached to the show emotionally. I watched the episodes which I missed before on YouTube. His role as Mohan made me love him. I loved each and everything about him. His eyes, his smile, his voice, his hair, his body language, the way he called Megha 'Mirchi Madam'and 'Mrs.Vyas , The way he used to say 'Sunn Na', 'Arrey Yaar' and the cutest one 'Ae Chawanni'. Even if he hated kids but he loved Nanhi unconditionally. And The Mohan-Guru bond was more than awesome . The childish behavior of Guru and the 'Gusse wali Nazar' of Mohan was really funny' This was my love for Mohan Bhatnagar but after knowing about his personal life and feelings, my love and respect for Kunal started growing day by day. But then the show ended with a promise of season 2 and I started waiting for it. Then Season 2 came and my eyes were searching for him and there he entered. My whole family used to watch Season 2 and I was the one who explained them of season 1 if required. And then Season 2 ended with tears in my eyes. But I was still attached to Kunal and was waiting for his comback. Then again one day. My sister was again watching a show. She was watching 'Doli Armanon Ki ' and coincidentally I sat with her to watch it. That time I did not use fb or Twitter or anything for one month so I did not had any news related to Kunal. I remember when Grown up Shaurya Sinha entered, it showed him from the back and he was moving towards the stage. As soon as I saw him from the back I told my sister that his hair and the way he walks is similar to Kunal. But I didn't take much concern to it I don't know why. But the next day when I opened my twitter account and saw his post about the grown up Shaurya, I got surprised. For a moment I thought, 'Is it a dream?' and it wasn't. I was really very happy . That was all how I met Kunal Karan Kapoor. Thank You so much Kunal. You are the one who make me feel good eveyday. What if you don't post your pictures everyday, I have your pictures to see and smile and feel good eveyday. While writing this I really went down to the memory lane. So Thank You so much to the admins of Kunal's page for giving us such opportunities to express ourselves. Thank You.

Akanksha Kashyap February 2016

Sometimes we want to say a lot of things but some make us speechless with their act. The same thing is always happened with me whenever I watch the performance of King of expression and emotions Mr KUNAL KARAN KAPOOR…. I have never seen KUNAL KARAN KAPOOR before NA BOLE TUM ….BUT after seeing him in the promo of NBT one question is always in my mind “Why do we connect with a cinematic character ,a film, a TV series , a phrase , a poem ?’’The day one I was connected with the character MOHAN BHATNAGAR . The above question is always in my mind and after seeing only two and three episodes I got my answer “Every time something connects with me, it completes something, answers something, heals something and so on ….. Then another question came up “Why only it happens with MOHAN not others? This also I got the answer “ BECAUSE the person behind MOHAN knows HOW TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE which is UNIQUE and BEST THING about KUNAL that he knows HOW TO INFLUENCE the AUDIENCES . I do know that KUNAL is gifted. He is capable of protraying different shades on screen which is his strength. His best shade is emotion as his eyes speaks volumes. His best character till date is Mohan Bhatnagar . I love Mohan a lot, smile emoticon Mohan is a character from which we can learn. He makes us to feel his pain of suffering. He is imperfectly perfect in all his work. We all love a person but he loves a person's ability and strength. Mohan is a world in itself. Mohan is a immortal character who cannot die. I think Kunal karan kapoor has made Mohan immortal. I know milestone cannot be made every day, kunal made Mohan a milestone and I know he can make many more. As mohan has given my a lot I have always seen that the writer’s makes the character a great one BUT here it’s the actor how make the character immortal . REALLY MOHAN BHATNAGAR cannot die in any of the audience heart . BUT STILL I WANT SAY IN FRONT OF ALL THAT I personally cannot see NBT as the love story but I rather see to it as the MOHAN ‘s JOURNEY and this CREDIT ONLY GOES TO KUNAL KARAN KAPOOR . MOHAN BHATNAGAR have given me many lessons that “never give up hope’’ ,”people who have suffered in pain can live without anyone ,even without it’s lover ,because the grief is enough to allow him to live. I would Love to believe..People like Mohan still exist in this materialistic world, otherwise I'll lose Faith on Love...may be yeh meri 'galat fahmi' hai but as Mohan said... "Zinda rahne ke liye kabhi kabhi galat fahmiyan bhi jaruri hoti hai...". I want to write a lot about the MOHAN’s character but right now I have to move on to vasu it is also greatly developed character because of KUNAL KARAN KAPOOR .It has potential but it does not have time to develop as much he can. I conclude by saying: Pleaseeee come back as early as possible with any new and great project.

My Jaan Kunal

By Dusky: Kunal karan kapoor- A magician. You make me smile. You make my heart beat. My association with Kunal goes back to Remix days. You frittered in and out . and I didn't pay attention to the nerd. The turning point was ' left right left' . started watching it only for my then favorite actor Rajeev Khandelwal. Slowly I started liking all cadets. Cadet yudi became my favourite. I used to hate it when he was teased n made him the butt of everyone's jokes. The madona track; suicide and the detention track blew everyone away. I was one of them. Time went on. My carrier started. It was going great guns. And being a performer I was transferred to Delhi. Professionally great. Personally I got immense pain in a relationship.I became a wreck. Took the next flight to mumbai. Heartache refused to go.job was in doldrums. Yes I'm a victim of depression.. Dec2011 I was wallowing in self pity and surfing tv channels. There I saw this guy. He tugged my heartstrings. I tried to recollect why is this boy is so endearing. And then it came as a flash. Cadet yudi.. Kunal karan kapoor back. His first project as the lead role.the ads were very appealing. 9th Jan 2012 the TV was switched on. 15th mnts into d first half I wondered if its a sas bahu show. I still stuck to the show and nanhis wish was fulfilled. The dashing lafanga had made his entery. Like tsunami everyone fell for him. No holds barred. No age limit. It was not difficult not to like him. He had his imperfections, brash, gentle with the kids, love hate relationship with mirchi madam. And boy he had a job. A real job. A news reporter. A job which was his passion and he did in with utmost sincerity. I have not seen any other actor getting into the skin of the character. No actor can boast that any other actor has won both accolades fr himself n the character he is playing. I have walked , laughed and cried with bmohan bhatnagar. He is a directors actor. Kudos to sonal gantara mam for etching such a wonderful character. I can watch this show on a repeat mode and don't get bored I remembered when Nbt ended there was chaos every where. We want season 2 every where. Season 2 came albeit with a difference. Viewers were shocked. But we got to see a spectacular performance by our ' king of expressions'. His angst, his seperation from megha, navikas indifference with her superman was the final blow. I have cried a lot in season 2. Oh then the much needed relief. VASU...nor once did I see mohan bhatnagar in vasu. Two of them were different entities. We wished time would remain still. But no. We had to wait for two painful years before we got our hero.. SHAURYA. A devoted son, a protector, the pain in his eyes, trying to wipe out the past.. Brilliantly portrayed by an ace actor. Many of his scenes demands an encore. Kunal is responsible for giving us such good friends. There have been hurt souls who felt it, and connected with each other .. Became fast friends. We are there for each other. And love is mutual. Nbt and Kunal you both are very special.. Mr kapoor a comeback soon plz.

January 2016

Belicia Alphonso

KUNAL KARAN KAPOOR – JUST EXTRAORDINARY Well it all started with Na Bole Tum and I became part of Kunal’s fandom. I had seen him as Angad in Pratigya which was my first encounter with my rockstar, but as I wasn’t following the show it went unnoticed. But then NBT promos went on air in 2012, felt that this is interesting but wasn’t sure whether I will follow it religiously. But then I happened to watch MAHASHIVRATRI EPISODES and instantly fell in Love with the show and tried catching up with all the previous episodes and soon fell in love with Spiderman Chavanni bond which was unique and refreshing. This show was breeze of fresh air and slowly I became Kunal Karan Kapoor’s diehard fan. NBT1 and NBT2 gave us our most beloved character MOHAN BHATNAGAR and I admit no one could do it the way Kunal did it, it was simply flawless. My favourite scenes they are so many. MAHASHIVRATRI EPISODES love the whole sequence it wouldn’t be unfair if I say this was the best track. But the episode where I fell in Love with Kunal’s performance was where Megha tells Mohan that she too loves him and the reaction that Mohan gave, I mean the way Kunal performed was sheer brilliance. It made me wonder how this guy can be so natural. His all scenes with Ashnoor Kaur aka our nanhi they are just filled with such innocence. Then comes the second innings of NBT. Aahhhhhh!!!!! “eh! Pharmal jacket, agar dil hota toh vasu ki pehchaan ni hoti” still echoes in my ears. VASU RAJVARDHAN, another brilliant character NBT gave us. Vasu is my topmost favourite character that Kunal played. A complete mixture of ruthlessness and innocence. His attitude speaks for him. NBT2 had matured Mohan and Vasu was Mohan redefined which I loved thoroughly. Again Vasu Jaan and Mohan jaan scenes rules my heart. Kunal’s emotional scenes as Mohan still makes my eyes wet. Simultaneously, Ruku and Vasu’s mucky scene make me smile like anything. By then Kunal Karan Kapoor had made me addicted to his performance so much so that I do not like any other actor’s performance. THANK YOU A LOT KUNAL FOR POTRAYING MOHAN BHANTNAGAR/VASU RAJVARDHAN WITH SUCH PERFECTION. Then came another character that is Shaurya of Doli Armanon ki, another gem. A very emotional character. It had so many shades, if only the character was given enough time. It had lot of depth and the way Kunal portrayed every emotion was amazing. Kunal always left us wanting more be it any character. Now, I follow his old shows too. His every character had message in it. If Yadhuvansh sahni (Left Right Left) taught us the actual meaning of strength, Mohan taught us selflessness. Every character is memorable be it Angad, Amrik,Sukhi, Varun or Monty. They reside and have a special place in my heart. Besides Kunal come across as a down to earth person and honesty in his eyes is evident, which makes fans like me proud and his smile makes us crazy. When you won best actor award we felt like we conquered the whole world. Lastly I want to put full stop here with this line of Shaurya which I feel completely applies for Kunal “itni shiddat se nibhao apna kirdar, ke parda girne par bhi taaliyan bajti rahein”. ohhh yesss Kunal you indeed portray your each character which such perfection that it will be remembered forever and Taaliyan abhi tak baj rahi hain. Here’s me waiting with lots of enthusiasm and excitement for you to comeback with another amazing character. WITH LOTS OF LOVE AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU WITH ALL SUCCESS AND HEALTH.

Bhagya Sahoo

On 28th January 2013, time provably 9:50 pm I was watching any programme on TV. I have a big problem that i always change channels when i sit to watch tv . Suddenly my eye saw a MAN who talk to someone in mobile & became irritated and said ARE YAARRRR .It really sounds very good. So from that moment i was attracted towards him just like a magnet . I continued to watch . When that episode was finished i just open the internet and impatiently wanted to know who is this charming MAN . Then i read about the serial and knew he is none other than Kunal Karan Kapoor as Mohan Bhatnagar whose basic line is Are yaar ;Suuunaa . Then i downloaded some pic showed to my mother . My mother said, :what a handsome guy” with a big smile with her face . This is the first day experience for me with Kunal as Mohan with NBTNKMKK-2. Not only me my entire family love u Kunal as Mohan . Day after day I became more addicted to Mohan . Then i started to know more about Kunal karan Kapoor as a person . I m always think about u that what r u doing, how r u etc just typically like a mother. I can't explain in words that how much i love u, care for u, respect u. One of the best gift that god gifted me is U "KUNAL KARAN KAPOOR" . Another thing soooo unique about "Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha " is that, I never ever expected that a serial became a vital organ of life. Honestly i always feel that NBT family is like my another family. It is sooo real that it can attract any one. Another important thing I'm just like Mohan Bhatnagar nature wise & behaviour etc . I watch NBT everyday but one thing is strange that it arises same feelings just like i watched it for the first time. I love the NBT family . I love u Kunal .My love will continues till my last breath . Lastly i m really thankful to the creator , the maker & total team of NBT for giving such a unique family that remain with us for lifetime . Great honour to God for his lovely creation "Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha ".

Kunal Karan Kapoor....name is all for me.I met him way back....11 years ago in a show called Remix....he played a nerd viz Varun....sheepish, stammering half the time he spoke, butt of all jokes and then came Varun's resurrection and when I saw that I said to myself "boy,this actor is something else". To be honest I was a tvholic and I had other favourites... But Varun did leave a mark...silently...With time I flew...Kunal honestly took a back seat...Suddenly one fine day my path crossed with Yadhuvansh Sahni aka Yudi in Left Right Left...I was keen on LRL more because of Rajeev Khandelwal who still is amongst my list of best actors. I quite liked the way Yudi was...in fact I was almost the same in my class..very cool...yo yo types....struggling to mix with the herd...yet there was so much depth that was hiding inside Yudi...nobody knew...nobody noticed!!!!!!only that suicide scene when everyone understood that happy go lucky Yudi suffered and his pain was almost like a volcano that erupted saying " enough is enough"....sometimes I question was it Yudi or Kunal ?Kunal had to be Yudi or Yudi had to be Kunal....it was that powerhouse actor who overtook...I was amazed, awed..... Again time passed Kunal performed but I was glued to his negative portrayal of Angad in Man Ki Awaz Pratigya...I simply adore that rowdy Angad...Kunal is very sophisticated yet it is amazing to see him performing a rustic gundaa...thoroughly entertaining... I was growing fond of him day by day. Kunal Karan Kapoor the actor took me over. And then came Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha......an ode to pristine performance and screenplay.Mohan Bhatnagar.....ohh!!!! He is still a lifeline... I have heard destiny plays game with us.NBT happened when I was broken and shattered...a mere TV serial,a character can give you life....yes is the answer....positivity of Mohan, purity of Spiderman and Chavanni relationship, unconditional love of Mohan....bindaas attitude of the righteous journalist who believed in triumph of truth instilled HOPE in me....and it was the actor Kunal who made me believe in Mohan in all its perfection and imperfection. SALUTE to Kunal for converting a scripted character Mohan into someone of flesh and blood. I presume it had to be Kunal this great actor became my mantra of living. He continued to amaze me in the avatar of matured Mohan carrying a sense of guilt and unbearable pain in the second innings of NBT...perfection at its peak(no exaggeration).... And so also total contrast in the same platform as Vasu....the adorable baddie....Flawless!!!! I was overwhelmed by Kunal Karan Kapoor.....so also Shaurya in Doli Armano Ki....lasted a bit but Shaurya is someone whom I can never forget....self made, righteousness being the attributes of Shaurya yet I was attracted to the inner struggle of Shaurya which was aptly portrayed by Kunal....so much so I at times thought that intensity.....is Kunal in real so intense? Its really difficult to confine such a beautiful actor into string of words and sentences. I am blessed to be his fan, a performer par excellence. Through his acting Kunal won my heart and my entire being.and with time I got to know a little part of my prince charming in reality. He is almost the same as the Mohan Bhatnagar that I am so fond of with a little twist. the most correlating stuff is that Kunal is as down-to-earth as Mohan is.all this stardom,fandom yet #kunalkarankapoor is so grounded. respect is what comes and echoes for my Rockstar.To this Charmer, my lifeline I just want to wish you all the very best and may he gets whatever he wishes for and deserves. I love you #Kunal.God bless.Rock n Roll Charmer -----Debapriya

#kunal karan kapoor #nbtnmkk

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