#also i think showing a wide variety of talent (beyond who /I/ think is right) allows us for lots of different visions!

[hotvintagepoll]

I saw your reblog of the Marquand poll saying Gregory Peck wasn't right for it in the tags and so out of genuine curiosity I wanted to ask, why include actors you think aren't suited for the roll on the poll? Also how many of the actors "cast" do you think are miscasts? (If you don't wanna name names that's fine, I'm just curious about the numbers)

uhhh that one was just a mistake tbh, I made the last batch of polls really quickly and I threw Greg in there just because I was like, eh, he's played a lawyer, this will be funny. In general with the polls I do try to show a wide variety of potential (and legitimate) takes on each character that all still feel plausible to an element of the character we see in the book, even if I don't agree on prioritizing that element, so everyone can vote for their version of Dracula.

[we-love-imagines]

Hi! Can you do a one shot college au Jotaro x reader? The idea is: all Joestars are brothers and they create a playlist for Jotaro that he'll have to make the reader listen to as a way to confess. All the songs are romantic, except the last one which is an addition from Joseph, Josuke and Jolyne and which would be "E-GIRLS ARE RUINING MY LIFE", just to embarrass him in front of the reader and also to make a funny moment lolol You are a very talented writer! I'm happy that I found you on tumblr:D

This anon has my heart, you’re so sweet!!! I’m so sorry this took so long!!! I hope you enjoy!

Warnings: Cursing and lots of fluff!

I Should Have Never Asked For Help

It is a well-known fact among the Joestars that Jotaro is bad with words. Comically so. The only way he’d ever say “I love you,” to the rest of them would be through gritted teeth, pulling his signature black cap over his eyes. They loved him all the same, knowing how he cared for his family deep down, but they all acknowledged how affection was never his strong-suit.

That’s why when Joseph claimed Jotaro had the hots for someone, nobody believed him. Joseph and Jotaro shared a math class at university, and Joseph was picking up on the lingering stares he sent your way during lectures. When you started a study group before finals, he was the first to sign up. Joseph was taken aback when you greeted Jotaro before class, and he didn’t tell you to fuck off. He knew something was up with his little brother, and having no respect for boundaries, he couldn’t help but tease.

Usually huffing in response, Jotaro would brush off his older brother’s teasing. While he did feel something towards you, he certainly didn’t have the means to act on it. Jotaro wasn’t entirely used to the feeling, and he was happy with how things were. As Joseph’s teasing grew more bold and incessant, making kissy faces whenever you were around, Jotaro started to get pissy. Even the lightest of teasing while you were nearby really pushed Jotaro’s buttons.

One day, when Joseph made a comment about catching Jotaro staring at you while you were within earshot, it all boiled over. Jotaro ushered his brother away from you, hiding his blushing face under his hat as he finally admitted to Joseph that he did have a thing for you. Ecstatic, Joseph insisted Jotaro ask you out. Jotaro had thought about it, for sure, but he admitted to his brother he didn’t know how. While girls tended to gravitate towards Jotaro in highschool, he’d never asked anyone out on a proper date before.

Thinking back on how he won Suzie Q over with a mixtape, Joseph got an idea to help his brother. When the pair got home, Joseph pulled out his phone and asked each Joestar sibling their favorite love song, hoping someone’s music taste would overlap with yours. There was a good variety in there, too; some slow, sweet songs picked out by Jonathan and Giorno, some light pop picked out by Josuke, and some fun additions from Jolyne and Joseph himself.

When Jolyne asked what this was for, Joseph confided with her that this was to help Jotaro ask someone out. A mischievous glint appeared in her eye, never missing an opportunity to mess with her older brother. Being pretty active online, Jolyne had become very familiar with Corpse Husband and the millions of fangirls raving about him 24/7, and she’d heard his signature song a handful of times. The edgy, deep-voiced Internet personality kind of reminded her of her brother, so she couldn’t resist pulling his leg a little bit.

Getting a notification on his phone, Jotaro saw that Joseph had sent him the completed playlist. He let out a deep sigh, too nervous to look at the songs they had picked out, and even more nervous to show them to you. Trusting his siblings, just this once, he put his phone down and went to bed.

~

The next day, Jotaro got up early to meet with you before classes started. He took extra care to get himself ready, brushing his teeth for an extra few seconds and applying slightly more cologne than usual. He was nervous beyond belief, leaving the house without a word to an excited Joseph to find you.

You usually met him inside the library, which housed your study room, but he was surprised to see you standing outside the building. Smiling and waving as you saw him, you motioned for him to follow you inside. Had you been waiting for him?

“How are you, Jojo?” you hum, making your way into the study room and taking your normal seat at the table. Jotaro made a huffing noise and shrugged in response. Warm, morning sunlight poured into the room as you pulled the textbooks from your bag, quickly glancing at your phone to see the other few members of your group couldn’t make it today.

“Looks like it’s just us today,” you sigh to him, opening up your textbook to the bookmarked page, “We left off here last time-”

“-Wait, before we start,” he cut you off, capturing your attention as you readied your materials, “You’re into music, right?”

You chuckled lightly in response, “Who isn’t?”

He gulped, pulling his phone from his pocket as he fiddled around to find where he had saved the playlist. Thank god he had a good poker face, his body a bundle of nerves as he hoped it didn’t show. His only tell were the few beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he turned to face you, showing you his device.

“I made you a playlist,” he stated in almost monotone, trying to hide how his cheeks pinked when your smile widened at his words. Truly taken aback, you couldn’t hide your own blush as you took the phone from his hands, adjusting the screen to see it better in the morning light. The playlist was titled simply, ‘For (y/n)’, but it still made your heart flutter.

“Thank you Jotaro, this is really sweet!” You chime at him, Jotaro only nodding in response, “May I play it?”

Jotaro gulped again. This was it.

“You may.”

You hit play, placing the phone on the table as you quietly thanked Jotaro once again. Slow notes began playing, Jotaro’s nervous ticks showing more, his foot anxiously tapping against the carpet. This song was a cheesy classic, surely a pick by Jonathan: Elvis’s I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You. It was a little on-the-nose for his taste, but he watched as you got an excited glint in your eyes as you recognized the first few bars.

“I love this song!” you chirp, happily grooving along as you begin moving your attention back to your textbook. He nervously wondered if the meaning of the playlist was lost on you. It released the tension in his body, the thought of rejection flying out the window, but he was left with a bit of disappointment in his gut. Ideally, you would have caught on and returned his affections, but that gratification would never come.

You continued to enjoy the music as you worked, quietly singing along as you two quizzed each other on the various concepts. You enjoyed the varied music, some songs slower and others more upbeat. As you continued to listen, you paid more attention to the words- were these songs all romantic?

“I didn’t take you for a sap, Jojo,” you jested, “These are all pretty lovey-dovey!”

“-That’s the point.”

He was surprised with his own boldness, all his nerves returning as he saw your eyes go wide in realization. Quickly going tomato red, your heart thumped in your chest as you put it together that Jotaro was asking you out. While you had developed a little crush on him yourself, you never thought he would ever reciprocate your feelings, let alone make the first move.

“Oh!” you shakily breathe, “This is- wow, this is out of left field!”

“Is this weird?” he hesitantly asked, letting slip a little anxiousness in his voice. Touching his hand, you reach out to him.

“Oh no no no-” you hurriedly reassure, “No! I really like it, Jojo!”

You take a deep breath as you finish your thought.

“I really like you, Jojo!”

With that, he lets slip a breathy sigh from his lips, giving you a rare smile as he reciprocates your touch. He places his thumb over the back of your palm, rubbing a little circle on it as he wipes the sweat from his brow.

“That’s a relief,” he jokingly murmured, sharing a little laugh with you as the song that was playing ended. You both were caught off guard as a new, louder song filled the room.

CHOKE ME LIKE YOU HATE ME BUT YOU LOVE ME-

Immediately he went red again, whispering his annoyed catchphrase to himself as he put his hand to his cap. You couldn’t hold your laughter as the filthy Corpse song filled your ears.

“Now this is more your style!” you tease him, nudging him lightly.

“I didn’t make it alone,” he confesses, giving you a small smile as the shock wore off, “But this is the last time I ask for help.”

I Hope you enjoyed! I also made a playlist based off this fic for my sweet anon:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/06A7aN1LtLYWCDNQs04rGa?si=sYaMp0B4RWK3N3zc62gZow

[nutty1005]

Xiao Zhan – Beijing Beijing

Translator’s Note: This article comes from PEOPLE Magazine 2020 2nd Issue.

In between “seems beautiful” and “very beautiful”, there can be one or many different views. For example, the phrase “famous after a battle” (TN: Xiao Zhan’s “Zhan” sounds like battle in Chinese), we could analyze the keywords in many ways.

Xiao Zhan, born 1991. Could you imagine how you and I would be when we were 28? Xiao Zhan is like this –

Fan View

“His looks are totally my type” “As warm and gentle as jade, a gentleman who is peerless” “A precious boy with the soul as crystalline as prismatic glass”

“Famous after a battle”, is the most effective “wartime story”. Using this analogy in the entertainment business, there are many who had been battling for quite a while. Xiao Zhan is like this as well…

Audience View

The summer of 2019, the antihero Wei Wuxian (portrayed by Xiao Zhan), came from “The Untamed” into the living rooms of countless viewers, and straight into their hearts;

Platform View

As the Beijing TV Spring Night Spokesperson, as a celebrity with more than 20 million fans on Weibo, as Tencent’s “Most Popular Artist of 2019” and “Drama Actor of the Year”, as iQiyi’s “Breakthrough Popularity Actor of the Year”…

When we change our point of view, will the world become more interesting?

With regards to his looks, Xiao Zhan said he is “ordinary”, and only scored himself a 6.

With regards to his age, Xiao Zhan said his mother’s method of urging him to start a family has went from straight-to-the-point to indirect and tactful.

With regards to “famous after one battle”, is it really as straightforward as standing out from the big data and being ahead of everyone else? Xiao Zhan, who is 1.83m, reduced his weight from 70kg to 58kg for his outstanding portrayal of Wei Wuxian – is this really the result of a day’s work? Does anyone remember the hardworking youth, with a caption “Designer from Chongqing”, from the 2015 idol search variety show “X-Fire”? Does anyone remember that in 2016, after debuting as the lead singer for X9, Xiao Zhan admitted that there were instances of zero income, zero entertainment and zero social activities?

No matter whether it was “very beautiful” or it “seemed beautiful”, would it be free of worries?

Xiao Zhan looked down and smiled, slightly bashful, his expression serene, “Sweet worries.”

He actually loves Beijing so much

On 28 Feb 2019, I (a reporter) entered a dressing room in Beijing TV. The narrow and long dressing room had been split in the middle into two narrower sections. Near the corner, after the staff has dispersed, I finally set my eyes on Xiao Zhan, who sat obediently on a chair while styling his hair.

The stylist stood on the right of Xiao Zhan; to the left of Xiao Zhan was a giant suitcase. After we tried to push the suitcase aside, I managed to stand in the gap. In such a tight space, I could only put the phone in front of Xiao Zhan, on top of the opened makeup case, for voice recording. After some more effort from everyone, there was finally space for the phone.

He was covered in a white hairdresser cape, his long legs enveloped by a pair of black pants – his thick black hair was being kept in order, his handsome side profile, relaxed and natural attitude, polite words, and after some close observation, no piercings on his ears.

How did this unguarded Xiao Zhan look like?

There was no need for exquisite words, just simple and pure wonderfulness.

If it remained unimaginable, it would not be too complex to imagine the warm smiles of the good looking youths on the streets of Beijing. All of these people could have been born in Beijing or traveled to Beijing from their hometowns.

“Chongqinger” Xiao Zhan said, “Beijing, in fact, besides my hometown Chongqing, is my longest lived in city. If we use 2020 to calculate, it would have been 5 years. Beijing, is a striving city, and like any other youths, Beijing means dreams and endeavors to us – this is a city of ambition. Hence, as Beijing TV’s Spring Night spokesperson, I feel that this special meaning, I’m very happy and very excited.”

Indeed, during the release conference in the afternoon, when being asked about how he felt spending his “Year of the Rat” Spring Night with Beijing TV, and expressing that by singing, Xiao Zhan, who was nicknamed “The Little Chinese Music Archive”, thought about it seriously and suddenly sang, “I’m beautiful, beautiful, beautiful……”

Haha, this quick wit and humor was almost as cute as “The Chipmunks”.

Spring Night is a big event, and it required absolute secrecy. We secretly asked Xiao Zhan about Beijing TV Spring Night from his personal point of view. Xiao Zhan continued to be witty, “I feel it’ll be exciting, at least I’ll be performing with a… senior that I really like.” When asked who it would be, Xiao Zhan smiled, “Let’s keep it a mystery, and we welcome everyone to watch Beijing TV Spring Night!”

This “Chongqinger”, who still could not confirm if he could return to his hometown for Chinese New Year, would sometimes show his inner thoughts – “If I could go back I definitely would”, but yet his words lingered on Beijing TV Spring Night.

Xiao Zhan, he actually loves Beijing so much.

He actually likes Zhou Xun so much

Who are the actors that Xiao Zhan admires the most? If he were to pick two, it would be Zhou Xun and Tony Leung.

Xiao Zhan said, “I really like Zhou Xun, her views, her experiences, are all mesmerizing to me. She has many performances that give me the urge to rush into the screen to rescue her. Her performances are very vivacious, it feels like you’re beside her experiencing her performances with her, my attention is all on her, she just has great charisma.”

Xiao Zhan emphasized that he liked Zhou Xun all along, and as we stood and studied his side profile, his face, we suddenly remembered a classic scene from “Palace of Desire”, where the young Princess Taiping removed Xue Shao’s mask.

That year, Zhou Xun was 26, Winston Chao was 40, but it did not prevent her from portraying a young girl’s infatuation. This drama was almost 20 years old, and the female audiences at that time would exclaim that Winston Chao was “as warm and gentle as jade, a gentleman who is peerless”. If this seemed familiar, this phrase was also used by many of Xiao Zhan’s fans to describe him.

Time, in the long river of ages, cycles endlessly Memories, in our past and present lives, crosses endlessly

– Lyrics from “Yu Nian”

This is the lyrics from Xiao Zhan’s song “Yu Nian”, which is the ending song for “Joy of Life”. Who knew that time cycles? Who knew that memories crosses paths?

As of now, Xiao Zhan is similar in age to Zhou Xun’s age then. If we could time travel and Xiao Zhan were to act as Xue Shao, could we guess the ending?

And since we are at this point, we could add another statement – “Traffic” / “Celebrity” / “Actor” – what difference do they make in the face of time? If there are no answers, why not listen to Xiao Zhan’s “Yu Nian”.

Time will tell, it is just that we are too impatient – regardless of our need for speed, we still ought to seek the truth.

He actually admires Vincent van Gogh so much

Xiao Zhan, like many of us, went through the tough period of studying overnight for university entry examinations. He became a student of Chongqing Business and Technology University, majoring in Design. However, this did not prevent Xiao Zhan from becoming a “Top 10 Inter-school Singer”, he self mockingly called himself a “literary enthusiast”, but in fact became one of the stars in many girls’ eyes – someone who was good looking, tall, stylish and could sing and take photographs. Immediately after he graduated, he became a designer, but he would still be brought up by his ex-teachers, one of whom recommended him to participate in “X-Fire”.

When reviewing “X-Fire”, you would realize that Xiao Zhan had a round face, an obedient expression and mild temperament – in fact, you would think that he did not pose much of a threat. But as one by one, the youths started getting eliminated, as their teams were getting regrouped, as they were getting more and more difficult tasks, it seemed as though Xiao Zhan was being sculpted on the spot – his face became more chiselled, he started slimming down, his eyes started having the steady gaze of ambition… Talent search variety shows are, in fact, cruel and all the participants were getting re-sculpted and remodeled – whatever that was removed was not the meant to be in the final product.

So what did Xiao Zhan keep in his heart? These were all the passwords to his past – drawing, design and art. Like anyone who learnt design, they all had an artist that they favored, and they were all different. Xiao Zhan’s answer – Vincent van Gogh.

Xiao Zhan said, “I was asked previously – if I could have a conversation with a past personality, who would it be? I would just choose Vincent van Gogh, because I want to listen to what he had experienced then, how he lived then, such that he was able to create such a beautiful world and paintings. Such as “Starry Night” or “Self Portrait”, I feel that he was able to step away from himself, into very amazing angles, and then create them.”

Those who learned design would usually be able to draw quite well, and usually beyond the levels of self taught hobbyists. Hence, these would also become part of his self cultivation.

Xiao Zhan confirmed this, “Yes, I think starting from aesthetic views to detailed observation, I feel that there were definitely influences.”

On whether Xiao Zhan still went to art exhibitions, the question seemed like a luxury to him – his eyes widened, he straightened himself, and he started smiling widely, “There is very little time now for art exhibitions, I would see them via friends who went and posted in their social media, or those art-related media accounts.”

There could be no burden I could sway my head I could stay my steps I could surrender to you

– Lyrics from “Two Tigers”

This is the promotion song from movie “Two Tigers” sung by Xiao Zhan. There was once in a variety show that he was requested to use his facial muscles to move a cookie on the side of his face into his mouth, while singing. Before the game started, Xiao Zhan pointed at the camera and laughed, “I really do have an idol’s image burden! I really do have an idol’s image burden!” However, after the game started, you see no sign of his “burden”, just 100% into moving his facial muscles, working hard to get to the cookie.

What is an idol’s image burden? Is there art in an idol’s image burden? There are no answers, but we can look for it in Xiao Zhan’s “Two Tigers”.

Art often gave the answers to philosophy. For example, an idol’s image burden could be thrown away, hence it is definitely not art; Art follows the heartbeat, follows life, just like the Vincent van Gogh, a man whose life bloomed and withered like the summer flowers, in the hearts of people like Xiao Zhan.

This phrase “A designer who can’t sing isn’t a good actor” seemed nonsensical, but if you think about it, it seemed to suit Xiao Zhan a lot.

He actually yearns the audiences’ recognition so much

It seemed like Xiao Zhan did gain fame after a single battle, but it was not just one battle – there were more raging battles before then.

The dancing spirit, wearing bright red and green clothes, in “Monster Hunt 2” – the camera panned past him without a HD shot; The minor role of a special agent in “The Rookies” – with some onscreen time less than a minute… And there were more, such as “Star Academy”, “Oh! My Emperor”, “Battle Through the Heaven”, “Shuttle Love Millennium”… Never heard of them? Eh, well this proved a problem – how could there be so many people who became “famous after a battle”?

What next? Xiao Zhan happily shared, “If everything goes well, there would be three roles coming to meet everyone, two period, one modern.”

Alright, the modern role would be Doctor Gu of “Oath of Love”. In fact, there were already naughty fans yelling that they were going to register for Doctor Gu’s hospital. Two period roles from “Douluo Continent” and “The Wolf”. Which do Xiao Zhan like the most? Xiao Zhan was unable to answer, “I feel like I like them all. Three different roles, three different pace!”

So, for the audiences who are already familiar with the two roles from “Joy of Life” and “The Untamed”, which are the ones that are closest to Xiao Zhan himself?

Xiao Zhan shook his head, “They weren’t quite similar to me.”

With regards to his roles, his works, let us get to some quick Q&A.

Q: After experiencing the life of the role, would that some what affect yourself? A: I feel that there are some influences to my usual personality.

Q: Would it make you mature faster? A: I feel that it makes my life richer, it means that I have experienced multiple different lives.

Q: What is your long term goal as an actor? A: If we are talking about long term goal, it is definitely being able to act in a drama that I love, and then gain audiences’ recognition for that. I feel that this is my ultimate term goal.

Q: Which role do you like? How do you live with your roles? A: I feel that there isn’t the most loved, I’m just someone who enjoys the moment. For example, when I’m in the current role, I will invest myself entirely into that role, and then I will cherish him and love him. But when I have to go to my next battle, I will put him down and let him go. And then, I will invest all of my passion for the next one.

He actually likes to smile so much

Observing Xiao Zhan up close and personal – his head narrow, his face small and firm, the folded long legs were especially straight and long. Xiao Zhan, is really thin.

When asked if he was at his thinnest, Xiao Zhan smiled, “No, I was the lightest during ‘The Untamed’, it was shot with ‘Joy of Life’, that was the period. I feel like I’ve regained more than what I’ve lost.”

Wei Wuxian in “The Untamed” liked to smile, all the time, everywhere; Yan Bingyun in “Joy of Life” was cold, all the time, as cold as ice. These two roles shot at the same time, just the emotions were already poles apart – the effort in switching in between them definitely exhausted a lot of brain cells.

When asked if he remembered his longest working day ever since his debut, Xiao Zhan looked down and smiled, then exclaimed at the same time with me, “A few days!”

Whether he could mentally sustain the current pace was not the main point – whether he could physically sustain was hotly debated. On this, Xiao Zhan replied especially fast, “I could adjust to it, really! I personally preferred a busier schedule, the feeling of being busy, makes me feel more fulfilling, and more sense of security.”

“Sense of security” – Xiao Zhan used this phrase, how did he understand it?

For example, Xiao Zhan said that there were instances of him in bad temper, and then he was asked if he would flip tables. Xiao Zhan was slightly taken aback, and answered with a smile, “I can see that you’ve never done design, a designer is a contractor working for his clients, if the clients have opinions, you need to communicate properly and slowly convince them…”

Everyone has a different understanding and adaptation when it comes to “bad temper”, a lot of it came from experience and self control of emotions – similarly, our understanding and adaptation of “sense of security” would be different as well, because everyone’s sense of responsibility and experiences would be different. For a youth to openly bring up “sense of security” and fight for that, we could only choose to give him our blessings. Because, in the blur of the mind, we could almost see ourselves in him.

Before I could give him my well wishes, Xiao Zhan gave the readers and audiences an especially down-to-earth and warm blessing, “I feel that more well wishes are repeated too often. I will simply wish everyone a smooth path ahead, and then peace and safety would be nice!”

Finally, we would emphasize one point – Xiao Zhan really likes to smile!

Moreover, Xiao Zhan’s smiles are varied – there is gentle, healing, mischievous, surprising, confident, hearty, shy, embarrassed… and every one of these smiles could be extended into a language of its own.

There is this saying about a child who likes to smile…

His luck will never be lacking.

[goneseriesanalysis]

Astrid Ellison

So here are my opinions on Astrid Ellison from book 1. Astrid was the character on which my opinion changed the most, which is why it’s taken me so long to get my thoughts together. Sorry for the length again but it seems I have a talent for ✨rambling✨

Spoilers for Gone by Michael Grant down below

Original Opinion: Astrid was one of my least favourite characters. I remember finding her irritating and self-righteous and honestly couldn’t think of a single good thing to say about her.

New Opinion: Astrid was my favourite character in this book. She had moments where I found her slightly irritating - but I think that was Michael struggling to right a smart character more than anything else. She was so kind and brave and not at all like the emotionless and manipulative girl that I remember hating at the grand age of 14. 

1.) Astrid’s appearance - Astrid is one of the better described characters in Gone. In the first chapter we find out that she “had shoulder-length blonde hair, and liked to wear starched white short-sleeved blouses that never failed to catch Sam’s eye.” This description immediately establishes her as Sam’s love interest, from her being the first character to get a proper description to Sam’s clear infatuation with her. This is perhaps one of the reasons why I’m not a huge fan of their relationship – it was obvious from page 3 that they were going to end up together.  We get three other main descriptions of Astrid throughout the book that really stood out to me:

“Her normally sharp, discerning blue eyes were wide, with way too much white showing” – Chapter 1

“She sat in the big white wicker rocker with her feet propped up on the railing. Her bare legs were blazing white in the sunshine.” – Chapter 20

“The starched white blouses of the pre-FAYZ had given way to t-shirts” – Chapter 28

What really stood out to me in these descriptions is the repeated use of the colour white. Now, in religion white is symbolic of faith, innocence and sacrifice, all of which really seem to fit the characterisation of Astrid. She has a lot of faith in the beginning, not only in God but also in herself. She is relatively confident in who she is and in her place in the world. As the book continues, however, she begins to lose this faith. As she sacrifices more of her time to the care of Little Pete (I really don’t like how Michael constantly treated him as a burden but that is a topic for another post), she becomes less and less confident in her faith and begins to resent what she has become. 

As for Astrid’s innocence, I believe this is more of an insight into how Sam views her as opposed to how she actually is. Astrid is intelligent and brave and caring (although a lot of the time I think she struggles to show it) – but is she innocent?? I don’t think so, at least not in the traditional sense. She has grown up as a parent, been forced to mature faster than other children her age. She is Little Pete’s constant defender, and I think in this way Sam underestimates her. As the book continues, he begins to see this, with her staple white blouses transforming into t-shirts, he begins to see her for who she is. 

2.) Astrid’s Personality and Character - Aside from Astrid’s intelligence and religious beliefs, Astrid has a very well-rounded personality. She is brave and kind-hearted but seems somewhat socially inept, meaning that the softer side of her personality is often hidden by her cool exterior. (I think there is a possibility that Astrid is autistic-coded but I don’t know enough about the topic to develop this point past mere observation). She takes on the role of a mother to Little Pete and this calmer, kinder, and more protective side of Astrid is often shown in small moments throughout the books. Astrid is the first person to offer comfort to Quinn when he realises his parents are missing, and it is only once she does this that Quinn finally allows himself to fall apart (Chapter 2). She places a hand on his shoulder and for the first night is the one who hears out Quinn’s wild theories, instead of shooting them down (cough cough Sam). 

Her relationship with Little Pete is a complicated one. While she often seems resentful about her new position as a guardian, it feels like her resentment towards Little Pete is a way for her to mask her anger at things that are beyond her control. She is furious that the FAYZ has left her without parents, and is even more furious because she can’t truly understand why it has happened. So, to stop these feelings of helplessness, she targets her resentment towards the person she is closest do (as most of us unfortunately do when we feel this way). But despite her anger, her unconditional love always wins out. And this is one of the things I absolutely adored about her when re-reading. Despite her often feeling trapped by her new role in Little Pete’s life, she is still willing to distance herself from Sam, Edilio and Quinn (who are, as far as we know, the closest thing she has to friends) in order to keep him safe. She realises that Little Pete caused the FAYZ in chapter 11 and, even when Sam confronts her, her first move is to defend LP – she is not concerned with what they think of her, only with the safety of her brother. 

Further on in the book, after Drake forces her to call Little Pete a slur, she is horrified with herself. She gives almost no thought to the pain she went through stating that “now she was far more angry at herself than she had ever been at him.” I think this really just shows how devoted Astrid is to her brother and, when you remember that she is only 14 it really is amazing how strong she forces herself to be for him. I began to notice on this read through just how much she neglects her own emotions and wellbeing in favour of protecting others (she even shields LP with her own body when the church collapses on top of them and we get no indication as to how injured SHE is). Once again her thoughts are only on her brother. While I wish she had made more of an effort to communicate with Little Pete in a way that he could understand (the few times she does this in the book, he does respond well and it would have been interesting to develop this side of their relationship more, rather than just the one sided protector/protected dynamic), when you think about her age and the trauma that she must be experiencing, I think she does exceptionally well to stay so kind, patient and collected for the majority of the time.

 One thing that really surprised me the most when revisiting Astrid’s character was her immense bravery. This is a huge part of her character that I had completely forgotten about, leading me to remember her as little more than a typical damsel in distress. While she often uses her intelligence as a defence mechanism, such as in Chapter 15 when she stands up to Diana, in times when a verbal smack down is inappropriate, she is perfectly willing to put herself in danger in order to protect those that she cares about. We first see this in chapter 10 when she breaks up the fight on the highway. We see it again when Panda and Quinn attack Little Pete, with one of my favourite quotes of the whole book, “Did you throw a rock at my brother?’ Astrid yelled. Fearless in her outrage.” It reminds me so much of the Frankenstein quote “I am fearless and therefore powerful” and was the point in the book where my past prejudices got completely wiped away and were replaced by my new love for her. She cares so much about people, and gets hardly any recognition for it. I just want to give her a hug 😥

Another thing I noticed about Astrid, which I thinks fit’s in really well with the idea of her being this awkward social outcast (I mean did she even have any friends before??) is that while many pop culture references are made by a variety of characters, Astrid makes multiple references to historical figures:

“Patrick was named for Patrick Star, the not-very-bright character on Spongebob” – Lana’s pov Chapter 2

“It’s like a roadrunner cartoon” – Quinn Chapter 9

“I’ll bet you’re one of those brainy Lisa Simpson types” – Diana Chapter 14

“Let me guess, you’re secretly a wizard who was raised by muggles.” – Sam Chapter 21

“And this isn’t exactly the time for me to consult Yoda on how to use my power” – Sam Chapter 26

“..an ornate, heavy iron thing that Coates kids joked was the tenth Nazgul” – Jack’s pov Chapter 32

“Too bad Dr Phil’s not around.” – Diana 39

VS

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” – Astrid Chapter 5

“To understand this you’d have to be Einstein or Heisenburg or Feynman, on that level” – Astrid Chapter 13

“Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. I forgot who said it.” – Astrid Chapter 17

I don’t have much else to say about this other than I find it quite interesting and I think it perfectly highlights how Astrid never quite fits in, no matter how hard she tries. 

3.) Astrid’s Intelligence - Astrid’s intelligence is mainly used for world building throughout the first book. It is from Astrid that we learn the full story of the power plant incident, learn that the barrier is a dome and are introduced to the idea of animal mutations, as well as many theories about the outside world/ what caused the FAYZ (although those last theories are a misdirection on her part). This works well for the most part as it means that important information can be spaced evenly throughout the book, without the need for info-dumps. However, sometimes Michael’s attempts to showcase Astrid’s intelligence were, I think, a little on the nose and took me out of the story. The worst offender for this, in my opinion, is in chapter 2 with the line “Is that meant to be a pro forma reassurance or a specific commitment?” This is a really nit-picky complaint but this line just really bugged me as it seemed like he was making her smart for the sake of being smart and it kind of came off as annoying. I know one of her character flaws is her social awkwardness but this just felt too much. I love the way she over-explains and over-analyses things when she’s nervous, and I think her constant referencing to things that the other characters just don’t understand perfectly demonstrate this flaw, but lines like this seemed a little irritating and obnoxious. 

The secondary use for Astrid’s intelligence in this book is as her primary line of defence. Her intellect is something that she prides herself on, but it is also something that separates her from everyone else. People are intimidated by her, and, as a result, she has learned to use her intelligence as a weapon when necessary. This is clearly seen in chapter 14, when Diana tries to intimidate her and Astrid immediately starts asking Diana questions about the cause of the FAYZ (questions that she knows Diana has no answer to). It’s later seen in chapter 22. When Drake begins to bully Astrid into calling LP a slur, she fights back by explaining that said slur is outdated; explaining the meaning of it; and then explaining how it does not fit LP anyway. While she knows that she cannot use her physical strength, her intellect is something that she can weaponise in certain situations in order to protect herself and those she loves. Her proficiency in this tactic also leads me to believe that Astrid has probably been in similar situations before. Everyone in Perdido Beach seems to know about LP. Is that why she has no friends?? Has she distanced herself from her peers in order to protect LP from their ignorance, whether consciously or not??

4.) Astrid and Religion - I don’t have as much to say about this, as I’m not religious myself and have very little understanding of Christianity (Or Catholicism – I’m actually not sure which Astrid is meant to be so if anyone knows I would appreciate it), but I feel like this is a such a huge part of who Astrid is that I had to at least mention it. One thing that I do like is Astrid’s seemingly constant battle between her scientific beliefs and her religious beliefs. While she does believe in God, she won’t accept him as an explanation for the FAYZ, and still looks for a scientific answer. Her relationship with religion seems to act as more of a moral guideline rather than a fundamental belief system. She looks to God for guidance and support in times of trouble, such as at Bette’s funeral (Chapter 17), as she is being chased by Drake (Chapter 24) and when the church is collapsed on top of her (Chapter 45) and seems to be convinced that her morality is directly tied to her faith. However, she relies on facts (things she can explain and control) for true comfort, and doesn’t allow her faith to interfere with her action. I think these ideas are perfectly encompassed by this quote from Chapter 40 “No. I believe in free will. I think we make our own decisions and carry out our own actions. And our actions have consequences. The world is what we make it. But I think sometimes we can ask God to help us and He will.” – And I am quite excited to see how her faith/ loss of faith changes her perceptions in the later books. 

5.) Astrid’s Role in The Book - For the most part, Astrid has three main roles in this book:

- To act as LP’s protector

 -To act as a source of plot-relevant and world building information to the reader

-To be Sam’s main motivation is becoming the leader

And this, in my opinion, is a phenomenal waste. Astrid was the perfect candidate for the leader of the FAYZ, and giving the role to Sam made no sense?? I think what Michael was trying to do was suggest that Sam had to be the leader instead of Astrid because, while Astrid is the intelligent one who knows how to work people, Sam is the one who people look to when things go wrong. (Think of Katniss and Peeta’s dynamic in The Hunger Games). But, it just doesn’t work. For one, we know that what the people of Perdido Beach think has very little effect on leadership. There was no uproar when Caine took over. Were people scared and upset?? Yes. Did they run to Sam’s aid and rebel against Caine?? No. So why should it matter whether they prefer Sam to Astrid – Sam could still be the hero without being the leader. In fact, I think it would have made both characters so much better if this was the case. Also we know that in times of crisis, people DO look to Astrid. Albert’s cat anyone?? Furthermore, Astrid’s ability to use her intellect to play on people’s emotions is a much better match for Caine’s easy charm than Sam with his flame throwers. I mean please. Astrid has a cool and intimidating exterior that actually hides a well of deep emotions that she can pull from and use to manipulate people into doing things they never thought they were capable of (we mostly see this work with Sam in this book during the fire, chapter 4, and the first time he controls his powers, chapter 28). Caine has an easy going and charming exterior that hides his lack of empathy, allowing him to use people for his own gain as he sees them as expendable. They are such PERFECTLY MATCHED OPPOSITES. But no. Michael wanted the leader to be Sam because?? Fire?? Ugh. Even when the question of who will take over if Sam poofs comes up in chapter 40, NOBODY EVEN MENTIONS HER. Astrid suggests that Edilio takes over and that’s that. (With that being said I do find it interesting that Astrid basically chose both the leader AND the backup leader but still. Let her live up to her full potential Michael.)

I think I’ve pretty much covered the first two bullet points in other sections but I’ll just quickly mention her part in Sam becoming the leader. It’s very clear from the fire onwards that Sam being in charge is Astrid’s main goal. Is this so that Sam can protect her?? Maybe. Idk. But it kind of frustrates me that she is broken down into Sam’s love interest towards the end, rather than coming into her own role. We are constantly shown that she is the main reason that Sam is becoming the leader, and this is even explicitly stated when Sam tells his mother/the gaiphage that he has “someone I have to stay here for” – chapter 46. I think the book should have ended with Astrid taking on her own role (as the leader obvs but I would have settled for something smaller or, you know, ANYTHING), instead of her just becoming Caine’s human shield. I do have more to say on this topic but I feel like it falls more into the relationship category so I’ll leave that for a later post.

And I’m not even going to talk about her powers past saying: what was the reason?? As far as I can gather Michael wanted a reason for Astrid being so insistent about Sam taking on the role of leader and so gave her a weird power and then decided hmm no. 

Thank you so much for reading and I would love to hear all of your thoughts on Astrid. I think I’m going to do Caine next but who knows.

[k7l4d4]

Revamping Near-forgotten Retro Cartoons!!

Hey all, today, I decided to revisit some of the cartoon reruns I saw on TV back when I was like, wow, six or seven I think? How the time flies! Well, I decided to look some of them up, and decided, why not give them a revamp for the modern era? Everybody clap your hands!!

When Cartoons first started getting serious, beyond just shorts and whatnot, anything even remotely successful was milked to the bone, copied and cloned to hell and back, and just rung out all together. This is me attempting to find those old shows and make them a little more unique. Enjoy!

Jabberjaw: You would expect a show about a band travelling an aquatic world with a frequently disrespected and harassed shark to be a pretty unique concept, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, of all the clones of Scooby-Doo, this, to me, was one of the laziest, even though I loved the show. NO effort in the slightest was made to give it any original flavor beyond the setting, like, at all.

My version, would have the friends still be a band, but, instead of being native to the fantastic, setting, would be struggling local performers of a sea-side town who, despite being acknowledged as some of the best in the state talent-wise, are frequently the subject of local mockery and disdain, as they can never seem to stick to a theme or style. The band consists of Buford “Biff” Brisk, the lead guitar, Charlie “Clamhead” Wilter on the Trumpet, Wendy Bubbles on Keyboard and occasionally Keytar, and Shelly Swanson on Bass.

For all there skill, in an effort to find a theme they can work with and stick with, the band attempt to practice in a local cove. After a few hours of jamming and experimentation, the tide comes in, and, just as they believe they are going to drown, they wake up to find themselves in a strange, almost futuristic aquatic world, inhabited by Fishfolk and Merfolk, with themselves being some of the incredibly few Mammals in existence. While they initially panic over the lack of air, they rapidly calm down as they realize they can still breath.

The band’s near unique status has them pegged as a side-show attraction, granting them no small amount of fame, and plenty of gigs. However, the lack of a drummer, something they have always struggled with, and their inconsistent theme, causes them to lose both gigs and crowds, their primary source of income as they try to find a way back home. While wandering the local waters, searching for a drummer, they eventually discover some of the impressive drumming any of them have ever heard, but when they go to investigate, who do they encounter but a shark!?

After the initial bout of panic, the shark manages to calm them down and introduce himself. Enter Joebar Jawkowski, also known locally as Jabberjaw. In this world, sharks are highly prejudiced against and ostracized, seen as thugs and bullies at best and vicious monsters and killers at worst. Jabberjaw has always tried to bridge the gap between sharks and the rest of the water-dwellers, yet his efforts are always rebuffed; every time he tried to hang out with others, he was either chased away for being a shark, or used as a scapegoat to avoid getting in trouble. After all, who would belief that the local guppies would splatter ink all over someone’s house as opposed to the “dangerous and brutal shark!” His efforts to hang and bond have often resulted in him accidentally blabbing about his fellow sharks, revealing local hangouts and meeting places, causing many of the local sharks to be harassed and persecuted by abusive authority, losing him the trust of others.

However, despite his bad rep and numerous screwups, Jabberjaw is a sweetheart to his core, always willing to help and be there for his friends, and he still wants to make friends with others. After they hear his story, the band tentatively, but genuinely offer him the role of their drummer; he’s done so much and gotten himself nothing but grief, so why not? Of course, Jabberjaw accepted.

Biff is the leader of the band, always being the first one to show up to practice, and the one who always insists on staying after to clean up. Passionate and upbeat, Biff is the driving force behind the band, always pushing forward to have the band succeed, and always ready to listen, to be a shoulder to cry on, and just be there for his friends. He isn’t perfect though. For all his claims about being all about the music, Biff is usually always the one getting caught up in whatever fame the band has managed to accrue at any given moment, much to the annoyance and occasionally concern of the others. Biff comes from a pretty conservative family, and while they love him, they do not approve of or respect his decision to be a musician, often wondering when he’s going to “Stop all that nonsense and get a real job.”

Clamhead doesn’t say much, but when he does start talking, it usually means something is going down. Clamhead was frequently bullied as a child due to his constant use of made-up words when he got excited, as well as his strange turns of phrases and his near exclusively seafood diet. Due to this harassment, Clamhead became something of a self-imposed mute, often using the bare minimum of words, when he managed to talk at all. Music quickly became a strong outlet for his feelings, allowing him to express himself more effectively. Clamhead rapidly formed a strong bond with Jabberjaw, due to their shared diet and the ire it earned them from the locals.

Bubbles, she prefers to go by her last name, is a sweetheart to her core, often going out of her way to help even people who everyone would agree are self-absorbed jerks, themselves included. Bubbles, for all her ditzy demeanor and simplistic language, has always been a true genius. Even as far back as Elementary School, she took high school and college classes in her free time, having racked up an intimidating number of degrees and diplomas before she ever even Officially graduated. Bubbles was routinely bullied into submission as a child, as her spacey demeanor caused many to look down on her and not take her seriously, mocking her whenever she tried to help with, well, anything!

Shelly is a cynical introvert, bitter and detached from the world, not that you’d know it by looking at her. Shelly has always been extraordinarily beautiful, attracting attention from a wide variety of sources, including those that are... creepy. This attention unnerved and confused her as a child, leading to her closing herself off, and later to biting back with viciousness, and in some cases cruelty, as she got older. She genuinely enjoys her time with the band and considers them all her best friends, yet occasionally feels like an outsider looking in, in comparison to her gloomier attitude and behavior in relation to the others. Much to her surprise and disgust, the odd attractive quality that draws others to her is even stronger in the new world, leading to all sorts of... unwanted attention.

[honeyjaez]

A solo stan who is thinking about checking other groups out?

There is nothing wrong with being a solo stan (as in only liking 1 group) as long as you are kind and courteous to other groups.

Also this post might not be for you.

But if you are a solo stan (usually starting with BTS) or just in need of finding new groups and thinking about spreading your wings here are some suggestions. 🙂

When I first got into kpop way back in the 2010 years I had no clue what I had stumbled on and I only liked 2 groups max for the longest time because I didnt know about any other groups. Since then I’ve come to love so many groups that I wish I knew about sooner.

Now mind you. I am primarily a boy group stan so there are not a lot of girl groups on her so please forgive me. -*edit I’ve decided to do a part 2 of just girl groups so stay tuned

This is also under the impression you already know BTS and their brother group TXT.

also if your fav is not on this list I dearly apologize. I picked groups that might be a good intro to like multiple groups.

Groups down below ˅˅˅˅

SEVENTEEN:

-13 Member group under Pledis Entertainment.

- Debuted May 26, 2015

-Popular in Korea and slowly gaining popularity internationally.

-AMAZING dancers.

-Like the synchronization is unreal for 13 people.

- Divided into 3 sub-units; Performance Unit, Hip-Hop Unit, and Vocal Unit

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Don’t Wanna Cry. Hit, Clap

iKON:

-Currently a 6 Member group under YG Entertainment

-Debuted September 15th, 2015

-Addicting Chorus’s and bad ass rapping

-Their Leader B.I recently left the group early this year, but fans are hopeful for a reunion. But that doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate OT7 right now.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Bling Bling, Love Scenario, B-Day

ONEUS:

-6 Member group under RBW Entertainment

-Debuted January 9th, 2019.

-They are a crazy good for a rookie group and have a lot of bangers.

-Their choreography is no joke

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Valkyrie (Debut song), Twilight, Lit

(Seriously they have no bad songs)

NCT 127:

(NCT is actually a massive group divided up into sub-units)

-10 Member group under SM Entertainment.

-Debuted July 10th, 2016

-Crazy Powerful dance moves.

-Look mean, but are actually sweethearts.

-Gaining popularity in the west.

-Some songs to introduce you to them:Cherry Bomb, Touch, Highway to Heaven

NCT Dream:

-Currently a 6 member group under SM Entertainment

-Debuted August 24th, 2016

-Cute Charm and Powerful stage presence. 

-NCT Dream is as this moment not a fixed unit and based on idols age.

-When they get old enough the members “graduate” and join other NCT sub-units

-Mark of NCT 127 was once the leader but he reached the age limit and “Graduated” and thus no longer apart of the group.

-Many fans detest this concept and wish SM to make them a fixed unit but that doens’t mean you can’t love OT6 or OT7 at the moment.

-Some songs to introduce you to them:  Boom, We Go Up, Go

Stray Kids:

-8  member group under JYP Entertainment

-Debuted March 25th, 2018

-Gained a lot of popularity through their survival show of the same name

-Strong and Meaningful songs that deal a lot with self struggle and depression. 

-All songs are produced by members Bang Chan, Changbin and Han who make up the sub-unit 3racha.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Hellavator Levanter, Voices, My Pace, Double Knot, God’s Menu, Back Door (I mean this list can go on and on)

GOT7:

-7 Member group under JYP Entertainment

-Debuted January 16th, 2014

-Another amazing dancing group

-Strong Charisma on stage.

-Variety Kings

-Goofballs

-Some songs to introduce you to them:Hard Carry, Eclipse, You Are 

VAV:

-7 Member group under A Team Entertainment

-Debuted October 31st, 2015.

-Severely underrated 

-Has lost some members and gains some as well.

-They work super hard year round with hardly and rest.

-Please stan VAV.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: She’s Mine, Poison, Spotlight. 

ASTRO:

-6 Member group under Fantagio Entertainment

-Debuted February 23rd, 2016.

-Cute, Charming group.

-The boys are actual angels.

-The group is a breath of fresh air.

-Super Talented.

-Addicting songs that just make you smile

-Can have the same concept as literally any other group but still make it their own.

-Vocals are beyond this world.

-Also just overall very pretty.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: All Night, Blue Flame, Baby, Always You. 

The Boyz:

-11 Member group under Cre.Ker Entertainment

-Debuted December 6th, 2017

-A really fun and charming group.

-Their song’s are very addicting

-Dance like songs

-Sweet sweet boys who deserve love.

-Member Hwall left in October of 2019 due to health reasons 

-Some songs to introduce you to them: D.D.D, No Air, Giddy Up 

Day6:

-5 Member group under JYP Entertainment

-Debuted September 7th, 2015

-An actual band so they don’t dance on stage

-but crazy talented

-Their songs are known to make people feel happier.

-I don’t think it is possible to have a bad Day6 song.

-Jae’s twitter is quite possible my favorite place on this earth.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: I smile. Time of our lives. Colors, I need Somebody. Dance Dance. Literally any of them.

PENTAGON:

-Currently a 9 Member group under Cube Entertainment.

-Debuted October 10th, 2016.

-Also Underrated.

-Such amazing discography.

-UNIQUE VOICES 

-Strong vocals and major crackheads

-Went through their survival show “Pentagon Maker” and debuted as 10 members.

-Former Member E’Dawn was basically kicked out of Cube and Pentagon after revealing he was dating label mate HyunA. Fans are still hopeful for an OT10 reunion.

-But we can support OT9 now.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Sha La La, Shine, Like This, Cosmo (Japanese song).

SF9:

-9 Member group under FNC Entertainment

-Debuted October 5th, 2016

-FNC’s first dance boy group.

-SEVERELY UNDERRATED.

-If you want any songs to put on your workout playlist, or just get you hyped then their are your boys.

-AMAZING Dancers.

-They are almost all actors as well. If you watch K-Drama’s you might recognize Chani (their maknae) from widely popular Sky Castle and Rowoon from new K-Drama “Extraordinary You”

-Stan SF9. Stream RPM

-Some songs to introduce you to them: O Sole Mio, RPM, Now or Never, Easy Love

Monsta X

-A SEVEN Member group under Starship Entertainment

-Literally the definition of hard-working.

-Powerful Choreography, crazy stage presence, intense charisma...must I go on.

-Literally deserve the world.

-Were formed through the survival program No Mercy and have not stopped since.

-Their songs are so addicting and on top of that are actual sweethearts.

-Only want to make people smile and feel loved through their music.

-Would possibly die for their fans.

-Okay I’m talking too much.

-Gaining popularity in the Western regions.

-In October of 2019, member Wonho (the orange hair in the gif) left the group due to rumors and lies being spread about him. He didn’t want to hurt Monsta X’s reputation so he left the group but fans have strongly opposed this, fighting for starship to help clear his name and have him return. The protest continues on even after almost a month.

(Trust me, if you knew this group and Wonho, you would understand why fans are opposing this.)

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Follow, Shoot Out, Beautiful, Dramarama, All In, Alligator.

NU’EST:

-5 Member group under Pledis Entertainment

-Debuted March 15th, 2012

-Very unique style and concept with their albums.  Sticks to their own specific style.

-Addicting chorus.

-Honey Sweet vocals. 

-Had a sub-united called NU’EST W while Minhyun was promoting as a member of Wanna One. (The W stood for ‘Waiting’ which should tell you the type of guys they are).

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Bet Bet, Love Me, Face (Debut  Song), Help Me (Nu’est W song).

BTOB:

-7 Member group under Cube Entertainment

-Debuted March 21st, 2012.

-Ballads anyone?

-Are primarily a vocal focus group

-But understandably because BTOB has one of the strongest vocals in Kpop.

-But can also dance.

-Honest to good crack heads

-Variety Kings #2

-Currently 3 members are serving their military service but you can still support them in their quiet time.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: I’ll be your man, Only one for me, Beautiful Pain, Missing You.

ATEEZ:

-8 Member group under KQ Entertainment

-Debuted October 24th, 2018.

-ROOKIE KINGS.

-In their one year so far since debut they have shown the world that they are not a group to underestimate. 

-Strong Dancers, powerful choreography. 

-Their stage presence is no joke.

-Songs are super addicting and go hard so if you need a workout playlist Ateez is your group.

THE DUALITY OF EACH MEMBER. 

-San is Satan in disguise.

-Prepared for debut for a really REALLY long time. 

-Already signed up with a US record label.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Wonderland, Pirate King, Treasure, Say My name, Wave. literally any of them.

EXO:

-9 Member group under SM Entertainment

-Debuted April 8th, 2012.

-If you know BTS, you probably know about them.

-But EXO are worth all the hype.

-Korea’s chosen representative (Whether you agree with it or not, it’s true) 

-Deadly Stage Presence and Charisma

-Their songs are always iconic.

-Leader Suho just might be god I haven’t figured it out yet.

-As of November 2019, 3 of their members are not promoting with the group. Lay is off promoting solo stuff and stuff in china and america (because SM doesn’t want EXOLS happy) and the other 2 members, Xiumin and D.O are currently serving in the military.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Monster, Love Shot, Lotto, Tempo.

Golden Child

-10 Member group under Woollim Entertainment.

-Debuted August 28th, 2017.

-Underrated group x 10.

-Dancing is on point.

-Stage presence on point

-Hardworking

-cute songs

-They are just charming boys who smile more than the sun i swear.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Wannabe, DamDaDi, Genie, Let Me

A.C.E:

-5 Member group under Beat Interactive

-Debuted May 23rd, 2017

-I literally don’t understand why they are so underrated.

-They have created their own unique style in kpop with a rock vibe that is hardly used in the community. 

-POWERFUL dancers.

-Rude as fuck but thats besides the point.

-Another great group if you need workout songs.

-Some songs to introduce you to them: Undercover, Savage, Callin, Take Me Higher.

Other groups that I did not talk about but I think should be mentioned:

-AB6IX

-CIX

-VICTON

-VIXX

-Great Guys 

-Infinite

-JBJ95

-Kim Donghan(solo)

N.Flying!

-Noir!!!!!

-Spectrum

[aion-rsa]

Celebrating Black Voices in Anime with Funimation

https://ift.tt/2Zl6eQ9

This virtual panel is presented in partnership with Funimation.

The anime industry only continues to grow larger and more mainstream with each passing year. It’s remarkable to see the growth, whether it’s through the wider prevalence and variety of dubbed content or the number of anime-based streaming services. Anime has alway been on the fringe of pop culture’s interests, but part of what makes it such an exciting form of art is that it doesn’t just entertain audiences in unpredictable ways, but it often excels with its inclusion of underrepresented groups. This has helped anime become such a universal product that doesn’t just speak to everyone, but specifically highlights those that may get overlooked elsewhere. 

Dani Chambers (The Ancient Magus Bride, Ace Attorney, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising) and Lee George (Appare-Ranman!, Listeners, Smile Down the Runway) are two talented voice actors from Funimation who have taken some time to discuss and spotlight Blackrepresentation in the anime industry, the connection that they’ve had with anime throughout their lives, and the power that anime has to empower certain communities. 

You can watch the full panel below or read on for the Q&A transcript!

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DEN OF GEEK: Lee, Dani, thank you both for your time today to talk about this and to begin with, did you have any kind of relationship with anime before working in it? Were you two fans before you were a part of the industry?

DANI CHAMBERS: Yeah, I grew up on anime, like Sailor Moon, Tenchi Muyo!, you know, all kinds of anime that I feel like everybody was into, but I just loved it. It was always a part of me and growing up, I loved doing theater and acting. So it was like one day I knew that I wanted to do that, but I never knew what it was. Iit’s always been a part of my life and it’s amazing that I can be a part of it like this now.

LEE GEORGE: And likewise, you could always find me on the playground, charging up a Kamehameha hot blast, or trying to instant transmit somewhere. And it was definitely a big part of my social circle growing up, which was nice to find that kind of camaraderie.

Those are definitely the shows that I gravitated to as well when I was growing up. And what do you think the initial allure was about those programs? Was it fulfilling something that wasn’t getting satisfied in other kinds of shows?

DANI CHAMBERS: I think that’s possible, yeah. When I first watched Sailor Moon, for example, I was like, “Dude, they’re cute anime girls who can kick butt with hearts and rainbows and stuff. What?” Growing up it was always seen that that kind of stuff was too girly, but it’s like now they were kicking butt with it. They destroy these weird, scary looking aliens, but with the power of love and friendship. So that was very cool to me and it helped me appreciate friendship–well I always appreciate friendship–but it made me appreciate camaraderie a bit more with my friends that I shared this with. I loved it and it allowed me to just be comfortable in it without having to be feared or judged by other people about it.

LEE GEORGE: Yeah, I think there was, too. There’s a rawness to anime that you don’t find in more traditional cartoons. Characters feel so strongly about something that they’ll explode, or power up, or release tension in some kind of emotionally powerful way. The depth of a lot of what you see in anime is very mirrored in real life, even though it’s a little extreme. So I think that was really cool to have at your fingertips as a young adult.

Absolutely. It’s such an exaggerated form of media, regardless of whether it’s the action, or the comedy, or the friendship. And there is a real sense of unity, not even in the programs themselves, but like the fandom around them. Fandom itself, I think has grown into a very huge thing. But in anime, in particular, there’s a very intense kind of fandom. Have you had much experience with anime fandom, whether it’s been at conventions or on social media?

LEE GEORGE: I’ve never done a convention before. I mean, I’ve gotten to do Funimation’s virtual con that they did in the middle of last year, which was incredible, but I’ve never been to an in-person convention. However, I think a cool thing that’s come out of doing voice acting is I’ve gotten a lot of messages on Instagram and Twitter from young aspiring voice actors and young anime fans, whether they be Black or what have you, just appreciating the art form, which is really cool. And it’s something I’m still not used to, but it’s incredible to see and experience.

DANI CHAMBERS: So I’ve done like two conventions at most, but I’ve had one person come up to me, which really resonated with me. They loved my performance of a character and they didn’t say that it necessarily changed their life, but it kind of like helped evaluate the situation that they were going through at the time. That’s what I want to do. I want to help. Like Lee, I’ve also had messages sent to me from, you know, other POC aspiring voice actors who want to do this. And they’re like, “Thank you for helping and inspiring me to go do this.” And that’s why I wanted to be doing this. Just to see others go after their dreams and actually do the thing that they said they wanted to do is so heartwarming. So seeing that in the community just fills my heart up with so much joy and I’m glad it’s happening.

That’s amazing. I think it’s so important when children see themselves represented in something and it must be so validating to be a part of that and to give those kids that experience, especially when you’ve gone through that same thing yourselves.

LEE GEORGE: Absolutely. Recently I was talking to a friend about this and how there’s a difference between wishing for something and hoping for something. So when you don’t see yourself in the things that you enjoy and doing them later in life, it feels more like a wish than a hope. You hope for attainable things, but you wish for, you know, the ability to fly or to do a Kamehameha one day. So being a part of that transformation of turning voice acting as a wish into a hope just brings a smile to my face all the time.

I think anime has the ability to tell some very creative stories that couldn’t be done anywhere else, but it also examines such a wide spectrum of characters that aren’t necessarily human, or can even feel beyond race at times. Has that made a difference at all when it comes to representation and casting or the variety of characters that you’re able to play in anime versus other mediums?

LEE GEORGE: Yes, that’s definitely true that anime is full of the wildest creations. I don’t know that I’ve played many non-human characters, but we’re talking about a medium where they don’t necessarily have our same racial context that we kind of place on ourselves and the world around us. So being able to voice a character who is fair-skinned, but has naturally blue hair and can summon a soul sword feels as different as voicing a dragon creature. It’s easier to detach my self-identity as a Black man to who this character is even though I’m the one voicing it.

DANI CHAMBERS: Lee pretty much took the words right out of my mouth. I come from a theater background where you kind of have to fit the mold of what the play calls for. So jumping from where my options are limited to a medium where I can pretty much be anything was a huge realization. I can be a depressed anime girl with red hair and magic powers. That’s amazing. It was truly like a shock jumping into this industry, but it made me aware that I shouldn’t have to be limited in this industry. It was just a very important wake up call for me.

It’s interesting to see how anime has also gained such a presence in the rap and hip hop community. Why do you think there’s been that response or that synergy between those particular markets?

LEE GEORGE: It’s easy to reduce an anime plot into something that mirrors the Black experience. My Hero Academia for example, is about an unpowered youth in a world, surrounded by people with powers and privileges. Midoriya’s perception in that world is that he wishes for the opportunity and finally gets the chance to show that he deserves that same respect and ability. And that he can do great things with that kind of power. So I think that since rap is all about expression and breaking through molds that we or the world put ourselves into. They kind of go hand-in-hand, in a way.

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DANI CHAMBERS: Yeah, I definitely agree with that. It breaks the mold of what people expect us to be in. Everybody has their own box of what they think people should be looking like or sounding like. Anime kind of broke that and just went in a way where it doesn’t have to follow what the world deems and it can be whatever it wants. Being in this culture kind of opened their eyes and realized that, “Oh my God, these stories are like ours!” And they are stories that can help us change, not only ourselves, but our communities around us. And I think that helps inspire other people to make change, too. 

The people who are influenced by it in that culture and have influence over their communities can help spread that same message of what the anime was saying. It helps people to change their behaviors and negative mindsets, which is helpful to all cultures and communities. When there are influential people who take up a stand like that and explain why they think that it’s cool then it can read to really positive change.

There have also been changes going on in the voice acting industry over the past year to kind of show effort towards better representation being reflected. There was the recasting of roles in Big Mouth and Central Park. Do you think actions like that are helping move the industry in a more positive direction and getting things in what’s perhaps a better place?

DANI CHAMBERS: For me, with people stepping down from those roles, I personally don’t think they really needed to do that. I think that what we’re trying to get at is the opportunity to audition and to be a part of it, not just a pity cast because we need this person. We don’t want to get cast just because we’re the only POC people available for this role. We want every opportunity to audition for whatever role there is. Not just because we fit this mold of what they want. Obviously there’s a difference with things like historical pieces that require it. But when it comes to anything that’s fantasy it should go beyond being limited to play just the minority characters. We should have access to everything just like how everybody else does. So it’s a matter of opportunity rather than requirement, if that makes sense.

LEE GEORGE: I 100% agree with that. However, to also play devil’s advocate because I think it’s worth it with this discussion, I also come from a theater background and as an actor you’re expected to play outside of yourself. That’s a main argument for why I shouldn’t have to be confined to my own racial identity when it comes to acting in any form or medium. I think in certain arenas, as they are right now, the majority have a large claim on a lot of opportunities as Dani was pointing out, and opportunities are a thing that we want.

If the argument is that you should be able to act outside of yourself so that you can play these roles that are written as people of color, then what’s happening is that there’s a disregard that a marginalized group is saying that we’re having a hard time even playing ourselves in these roles. Some people are worried about expanding beyond their range and we’re just trying to get the representation that’s written for us in certain media. So, absolutely, it’s all about opportunity and we have to reach a point where there is enough intake of people of color roles so it even moves beyond opportunity and it’s not about racial casting or stereotyping when it comes to those roles.

Dani, I suppose the inverse of that can be seen with how you voice Ironheart in Marvel Avenger Academy. It must be exciting to see these new versions of these iconic characters happening now that would have seemed impossible not that long ago.

DANI CHAMBERS: Yeah, it’s really cool. When I got that audition I was excited, but then when I booked it I just freaked out. It’s an incredible opportunity for something like that where it’s a Black superhero who is also female. You want to cast somebody–a Black female–for that role because of representation, but to have the opportunity to do that was amazing. It was just a few lines for a mobile game, but it’s still had a huge impact on me. A lot of people have been like, “Oh my God, I loved your Ironheart in Marvel Avenger Academy. You inspired me. I wanted to go voice anything too.” That’s so important to help people realize that they can voice anybody that they want. It was really a dream come true.

Amazing. Both of you have played very diverse characters that have gone all over the spectrum. But are there any kinds of roles that you haven’t gotten to tackle yet that you’d like to be able to explore at some point?

LEE GEORGE: I’d love to play someone that’s just really eccentric and out there. I have the tonal variety of a robot, so it’s often sullen characters and maybe emotionally unavailable individuals, which I totally understand. But I’d love a chance to just really get weird. I don’t know why. The actor in me is like, “Oh that’d be fun. That’d be really cool.”

DANI CHAMBERS: I think for me it’s kind of the opposite. I play a lot of eccentric characters, like little girls or the childhood best friend who’s just always happy. Like my first role was a very monotone, very depressed character. So that was fun, but I think I’d want to try maybe like a hero or somebody who is very committed to their mission. A very mission-centered person who wants to accomplish whatever they need to, but then gets betrayed in the end and just kind of Hulks out. I’d love to do that.

With all of this talk on representation, are there any anime series that have made you feel especially seen or a program that excels in that area? 

DANI CHAMBERS: Well I’m not in it, but Lee is. Appare-Ranman! Is a good one. It has a whole cast of fun characters with different accents and there’s a lot of diversity, even with the voice actors. It’s so good and it’s just a lot of fun to watch. It’s a big race and you just get to enjoy the characters. They all have culture-specific problems and it’s so interesting how everything collides together, yet they can still work together through the chaos. 

LEE GEORGE: That’s too sweet. Well I’ll also say to look out for Horimiya, which is new and looks incredible. The cast is just all heavy hitters and very diverse. I’ve been told that it’s a hidden rom-com in the making. So if that’s your cup of tea then definitely check out Horimiya. 

Great picks, and Dani, what you said about Appare-Ranman! and its dubbing is so true. Other series like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure will also experiment with regional dialects in dubs and I think it allows the dubs to get even better than the original version in some cases. It’s fun to see that come together.

DANI CHAMBERS: It’s great. Actually, Appare-Ranman! and Horimiya are both directed by Caitlin Glass and she cares a lot about casting diversity and making sure that everyone gets an opportunity. She’s a phenomenal director and it’s great that she’s a big part of this. I’m grateful to her so much.

LEE GEORGE: Likewise.

The post Celebrating Black Voices in Anime with Funimation appeared first on Den of Geek.

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J.J. Jamieson Interview

A writer, producer and former network executive, J.J. Jamieson, has produced movies for Hallmark Channel, including all three Graceland movies (Christmas at Graceland, Wedding at Graceland and Christmas at Graceland: Home for the Holidays), and is now working with Bounce TV, writing both their 2019 original, Greyson Family Christmas, and this year’s Marry Me This Christmas, starring Brandon Jay McLaren and Gabrielle Graham.

Ahead of Marry Me This Christmas’ December 6th debut on Bounce (also available On Demand in Canada on December 8th), Jamieson was kind enough to take the time to talk from his Santa Monica home about what makes Christmas moviemaking special, and how Bounce’s latest holiday entry came together despite a global pandemic.

Q: How did you get involved in moviemaking?

A: I’m originally from Princeton, N.J. and way back in the late 1800s (laughs), I joined NBC as a page and eventually became an assistant in the movies and miniseries department, as that just happened to be where there was an opening, and then stayed there for the better part of a decade, eventually becoming a creative executive.

When I left NBC, I moved out here [to California], because show business is what I felt like I should be doing, and this is where show business is. I became a producer and worked for a variety of different companies, and sometimes for myself, and because movies and miniseries were what I knew, I occasionally worked on TV movies including—much to the horror of my children—one called Spring Break Shark Attack (laughs). You gotta pay the bills, right?

But, whatever you’re doing, my goal as a producer is to always to do the best with what you’re handed. Sometimes that turns out better than others, but the work is always the work, and you have to find that something that makes every project special.

A: How do you go from producing Spring Break Shark Attack to Hallmark movies?

Q: A friend of mine, Michael Larkin, a very accomplished creative producer, was working with Hallmark and said they needed a producer, someone to be the network’s eyes and ears on the ground, for a movie (Wedding of Dreams), and he couldn’t do it, so he said if they were really desperate, they could hire me (laughs).

Hallmark makes so many movies a year, their executives can’t be on set for the, usually, six weeks it takes to make them—three to prep, three to film—and then the edit, so they need someone on set to make sure everything is in alignment with the aesthetics of Hallmark.

…So, I did one movie with them, and then three more movies after that.

Q: What’s different about working on a Hallmark movie?

A: I’ve worked on a lot of different types of TV shows and movies, and have never been involved in anything else where there’s this fantastic love of the genre. People just love these movies.

I was shooting something in Tennessee, and struck up a conversation with this cop who was just sitting in his car, blocking the street while we were shooting outside, and he asked what we were filming, and when I said it was a Hallmark movie, his response was, ‘Oh, I love Hallmark movies,’ and I was thinking, ‘Really? You do?’

But he was serious. He was a fan. I think there are just a wide variety of people that these movies appeal to. Much broader than most imagine.

I think there’s comfort in the fact that when you sit down to watch, you know what you’re going to get. You’re going to get a happy ending, you know it’s all going to work out, and ‘What’s wrong with that?,’ as my niece, who is also a fan, said to me once.

When I think about why Hallmark movies are so popular, I think of a conversation I had once with a friend of my wife’s, an MBA, a very accomplished woman, and she watches these movies. When I asked her, ‘What is it about Hallmark movies that you find so enrapturing, when there’s usually so little conflict?’ She said to me: I don’t need conflict. I’ve got enough stress with the kids, stress with my ex-husband, stress at the office…I don’t need more stress. I want to sit down and watch something devoid of stress that feels good for the soul.

I think that’s the key, and I think it’s what Hallmark has tapped into, and the competition to emulate that is just fanatical, particularly with the Christmas movies.

Q: What do you think of the explosion of Christmas movies across the dial?

A: People want to be in this game. When every other cable channel’s ratings were falling, Hallmark was the only one going up. They were doing something right. They had tapped into something. Which I think is why Lifetime wants to do the same thing. I don’t think they have quite captured it, yet, but there’s also Netflix, doing it in a little bit of a different way. And then all these other channels, too, what, a dozen now? More? Producing their own [holiday] movies.

I’m shocked there’s not a saturation in the market, actually, because they keep on trying to spin that same wheel, but the appetite is obviously there, and I think there’s room, especially when you’re trying to do something a little bit different.

Q: How did you go from producing, to writing and producing, or in the case of Marry Me This Christmas, just writing? Are you a producer who writes, or a writer who also happens to produce?

A: It’s really a very different skill set, writers tend to be more introverted, more comfortable in front of a computer screen, because that’s mostly what writing is, just you in front of your computer, creating a world. Producing is more a job of management, making sure everyone shares the same vision of what the network wants.

To be a producer, is to be a generalist, and I guess I’m a generalist. I’m not a musician, but I can have a conversation with a composer and know enough to talk about what elements of a score I think a scene needs. I’m not a director, but know enough to see a scene and say, ‘Let’s try one that’s less big,’ or whatever. I’m not a cinematographer, but I can see where we might want to try a few more lights, so we don’t lose the actor in a scene.

Being a producer is an incredibly humbling job. One of my favorite parts of being on set is the first day. It always reminds me why I came out to Hollywood to do this. You’re surrounded by a team of experts, all of whom are brilliant at their specific job—the hair stylists, the makeup artists, lighting, sound…Every single one of them knows more about their jobs than I ever will, and you feel humbled by that. It makes one appreciative of the collaborative aspect of this art form. It’s nobody’s movie. It’s not the writers, or the producer’s, or the executives’, or even the director’s or actors’—every movie is a product of everyone who worked on it, and it’s all our movie.

I had a good friend who went from being a creative producer to being a line producer (NOTE: a line producer’s role is usually to manage the budget and act as an on-set human resources department; someone who puts out the inevitable fires that come up during filming), and I asked him, ‘But don’t you miss the creative side?’ And he said to me, ‘It’s all filmmaking. We’re all filmmakers and it’s all essential.’ I thought that was a lovely sentiment, and a testament to the overall teamwork nature of filmmaking. The people signing the checks in accounting are just as important as anyone else, because you can’t make the movie without them.

So, to finally answer your question, I think I’m more of a producer that also writes. A producer who spent enough time working with writers to get story ideas made, so that the idea of writing things myself began to feel realistic. And, so far, my record of giving my ideas to other writers, versus just me writing my ideas myself, has a pretty good percentage of getting things into production. The way I look at it, at least this way I have no one to blame but myself if something doesn’t work.

Q: How did you get involved with Bounce TV? And, for those like me who didn’t know Bounce even existed until last year, can you share a little about the network?

A: Sure, and you’re definitely not alone. Bounce is a sizeable basic cable and broadcast network, based in Atlanta. They’re in 94 million homes. They’re not in all markets yet, but that’s part of their mission, to increase their penetration and increase awareness.

I got involved because a good friend of mine that’s a talented producer and former Turner executive, David Hudson, moved from Santa Monica to Atlanta to oversee original programming for Bounce. His background is more in unscripted programming, so when Bounce decided they wanted more TV movies, he reached out to me and the first thing he said was that he needed a holiday picture for that same year.

Greyson Family Christmas was originally Greyson Family Thanksgiving. He gave me the premise—a family lives next door to each other, one more conservative, one more liberal, and the daughter brings home her white boyfriend for the holidays—and he needed a script. Given that it was so specific, I thought it would be easier if I just wrote it, which I did, and then worked as a producer on set during the shoot in Baton Rouge.

Q: Greyson Family Christmas ended up being one of my personal favorite movies of last season, and one thing I liked is that it was a little bit different. It wasn’t just a broad comedy or a straightforward holiday rom-com with little conflict.

A: Thank you, and we did try to make it about more than silliness. We wanted it to be light and fun, but also to say a little something about some of the very real things we wanted to address about race and family.

And we got so incredibly lucky with our cast, who were just amazing. Part of the trick of making a movie that has a lower budget, is doing what you can afford to do, and doing it well. Not stretching beyond what that budget allows. And we were very aware of that during production. With that incredibly short schedule—we shot Greyson in 12 days—and tight budget, you have to be.

Look, I know you can’t please everyone with these movies. I mean, some people hate Dickens and Hemingway—and I’m not saying Greyson is that, but I was really pleased with how the movie turned out, and think we had a great group working on it to make that happen.

We didn’t have a ton of money for publicity beyond the promos that aired on Bounce—no billboards, or things like that—but the cast was great at promoting Greyson on social media, and even with the tight timeline and everything else, it ended up being the highest-rated original movie in the history of the network.

Whenever you make a movie, you try to make it the best you can, and how it performs is really out of your hands in a lot of ways, but it sure is nice when you haven’t let down your network, and it was doubly important for me, given my friendship and fondness for David Hudson, who my kids all call Uncle David.

Greyson Family Christmas will be re-airing this December, so I really hope even more people get a chance to discover it, because it really was a labor of love for me, and the network and, really, everyone involved.

[NOTE: Bounce currently has encore airings of Greyson Family Christmas scheduled for December 6th, 11th, 18th and 24th.]

A: The latest Bounce original holiday movie, Marry Me This Christmas, debuts on December 6th, which you also wrote. Tell us a little about the movie, and the process of filming it during a global pandemic.

Q: I didn’t produce this one, mostly due to COVID, [which is also why] it was shot in Canada.

Tonally we were trying to go for something more like a dramedy—some comedy, but some real bit of business going on in the story.

I actually wrote this one a couple of years ago, not as a Christmas movie originally, and the whole idea is born out of the one joke at the end at the end of the first act, where she comes in to the pastor and says, ‘I know we haven’t known each other long, but you’ve become really important to me, and this may sound crazy, but I really want you to marry me,’ and this guy who has had a huge crush on her is all excited and says ‘Yes, yes,’ and her response is, ‘Great, my fiancé will be thrilled.’

That’s the joke, and it’s silly. It’s a dad joke, really, but the whole movie was built out from there, and as silly as that idea is, we wanted to explore what would really happen if this young pastor fell in love with someone engaged to someone else. To try to make believable, and be about something.

Q: Was that inherent element of faith something that came from you, or a direction from the network?

A: This was all my own. I was raised Catholic, and grew up going to church every Sunday. My sons then went to Catholic School, so religion has kind of hung over my life like the cloud of dirt over Pigpen. (laughs) I mean, if I wasn’t going to hell before, I probably am for that line, right? (laughs, again)

Anyway, I really was interested in this notion of trying to be a good person playing against the other qualities of our human nature. Sometimes our hearts are drawn to do certain things—not bad or evil, just being human beings, not little boxes of saintliness. To me, the essence of the story was putting that around this character whose actual job it was to be a good guy, but on the other hand he’s also a man, wrestling with the nature of love, and finally coming around to a greater sense of understanding than he had at the beginning.

We are all supposed to act with a sense of service and self-sacrifice, but on the other hand, we’re not utterly devoid of self. To be a human, even a human in service of God or goodness, doesn’t mean you’re also not supposed to fall in love with that same, almost religious, fervor, which is what I hope he realizes at the end. And it’s all a lot more ambitious than that ‘ha, ha’ dad joke of the premise.

I hope this movie is for everyone, not just people of faith. That’s why I put in there that the best friend is an atheist. That a pastor and someone who doesn’t believe can still be friends. That [the non-believer] is still this supportive friend, and a good guy.

I was also very deliberate in that I didn’t want our pastor to pray for God’s help and receive it in a [direct] way. There’s a scene in the chapel with the Bible, and I wanted it to be very clear that you’re not going to just get the answer to your problems [divinely], you have to figure out those sorts of matters yourself.

Q: How did the pandemic effect production?

A: Well, COVID has trimmed the number of original productions at Bounce in 2020. The plan is to increase our original movie production, and that’s been at least temporarily waylaid by all the [fallout] from COVID, but we did want to have at least one new movie for the fourth quarter… and knowing how well last year’s original holiday movie did for them, there was definitely the sentiment of, ‘Let’s do another Christmas movie,’ so it was a conscious and deliberate effort to make that happen, despite the pandemic.

So, I reached out to a friend of a friend, Thomas Michael [of Fella Films], because Canada had lower COVID infections and a rich film community, and he became our partner and producer. There also [had to be] a little extra money for COVID protections, and [filming] took a few extra days just due to safety protocols for the cast and crew. Plus, our cast is entirely Canadian, due to restrictions.

David Hudson and I, working as a consultant for the network, were looking for holiday movies, or rom-coms we could spin into a holiday movie. We were even looking at stories to develop into full scripts, and we just weren’t finding what we’re looking for, so I said, ‘Look, this has been sitting on my shelf, it’s available, and I’m a cheap date.’ (laughs)

Q: Hallmark, in particular, has said casting Black actors in Canada is difficult, was that an issue you experienced?

A: I will say it was a question raised, because that’s not our usual production [location]. And working with Thomas Michael, we moved towards Ontario, because they do have a larger pool of Black Canadian actors, just because they have a larger Black population overall.

After some [research], we all felt very comfortable with the talent pool, and I think we once again got really lucky with our cast. These guys were just all really great. We did a read through, and I was just choked up by how good they all were.

They might not have the same name recognition of some of the actors in Greyson, like Stan Shaw or Robinne Lee, but they’re all working actors. Brandon Jay McLaren, our pastor, is working on the new Turner and Hooch series, and I worked with him on a TV pilot 10 years ago. Gabrielle Graham, our female lead, has been a regular on two Amazon Prime series, [The Expanse and 21 Thunder].

I really hope people will respond to them, because I think they did a great job with the characters.

Q: How did Marry Me This Christmas end up with Megan Follows, best known as Anne of Green Gables, directing?

A: Once we had the determination to do it in Canada, we began looking for a Canadian director, on a pretty tight timeline. Our producer had a [working] relationship with Megan, and she has been directing more and more. We reached out to her and she responded well to the material, and I think got what we wanted to do with it.

She and the cast were terrific. And I think we just got lucky it turned out as well it did, given all the circumstances.

Q: There was talk there might be a Greyson Family Christmas sequel, was that idea a casualty of COVID?

A: Unfortunately, yes. We had a story worked out for a wedding, but with COVID and the difficulty in production, the soonest we’d have been able to get it on the air was spring or summer 2021, and that’s a long time to wait for a sequel. But I like to think of Maya and Trent, and the rest of the Greyson family, living on happily, safely and healthily, nevertheless.

Q: Bounce is a network geared towards an African-American audience, does the fact you’re not Black come up when writing these stories?

A: Definitely. Especially in the first movie, Greyson, which really digs into more sensitive and deeper matters of race, having this white guy from New Jersey writing the movie was a little unusual, as I’ll be the first to admit.

I mean, when you’re telling a story, you are always putting yourself into characters unlike yourself—teenage kids, the 75-year-old grandmother—and trying to do it in a way that resonates and feels authentic. But, yes, I got help from people of color. Particularly for Greyson, where I was on set, the cast was extraordinarily helpful, making changes and making sure the voice was right.

I will say that where the characters in Greyson succeed, in respect to race, I give all the credit to the actors, who inhabited those characters and made them their own, and if anything feels a little off to an audience, I take the blame for those shortcomings.

In that movie, where I was a producer, and in my Hallmark movies too, I made an extra effort to hire and fill out our teams looking beyond the first resumes we received, because if Bounce can’t be supportive of the black filmmaking community, who can? We really did try to hire a crew that was reflective of America’s demographics.

For too long, in this industry primarily driven by white men who have the tendency to hire other white men, that wasn’t the case, so you have to be open to the person who has 7 credits but might not have had the same opportunities, versus someone who has 35 credits, and not just pick the default. To undo that unconscious bias. I’m sure I’ve been guilty of favoring people with longer resumes, instead of saying we need those diverse voices that are more reflective of society at large. It’s something I hope to keep working on, because I think it makes the final product better as a result.

Q: What do you hope viewers take away from Marry Me This Christmas?

A: As a filmmaker there’s always something fun anytime you have an idea in your head and it ends up on screen for other people to see, so I’m just excited for it to air and hope people like it.

Bounce wants to be in that arena, making holiday feel-good movies, but maybe doing something a little bit more. Yes, it’s a rom-com at Christmas, but I think it’s a little bit of an alternative to all those other kinds of movies, and you might get something you don’t expect. A little present under the tree you didn’t realize was there. I hope it brings just a little extra joy for the holiday.

[kasienda]

Stutters - A Miraculous Identity Reveal

Adrien could not stay focused. His skin itched in agitation and he kept fidgeting in his seat, glancing backwards forlornly at the vacant desk behind him. He tried again and again to find a comfortable position or at least force himself to follow the text Ms. Bustier was reading aloud, but it was a lost cause.

Marinette was still absent. This was the third day.

He missed her. Class wasn’t the same without her soft whispers to Alya behind him or her tendency to make word salad whenever he looked in her direction. Her presence made him smile. Made him feel warm. Made him feel safe.

And clearly he couldn’t function properly while filled up to the brim with anxious worry.

He had asked Alya about Marinette twice in the last two days. The first day she had shrugged, as mystified as him. On the second day, she had smirked, her honey brown eyes twinkling in amusement.

“If you’re so worried, Sunshine, you should text her yourself.”

He had blushed and turned back around, determined to get his chemistry work done. He fought with his brain for an hour and then his worry overcame his embarrassment, and he had texted.

She had never responded.

Read on Ao3 Read on FF.net

He had planned to ask Alya again before class, but she had arrived uncharacteristically late. He hoped that meant she had checked in on Marinette.

He turned to Alya the second the bell signaled the end of class. “Have you heard from Marinette yet?”

Alya winced. “She’s really sick apparently. She caught the flu that’s been going around. She can’t get out of bed without hurling. Sabine warned me to stay away for my own protection.”

Adrien sighed. First, Ladybug had asked him to take over her patrols because she was ill, and now, Marinette hadn’t made it to class the whole week! This flu was beyond cruel in its choice of victims. Adrien could not think of two people less deserving of the sickness’s wrath.

He knew he had no way of visiting Ladybug, but perhaps he could swing by Marinette’s.

He shook his head at himself. Sabine was probably right. It was better to stay away. With Ladybug out of commission, he couldn’t afford to get sick himself. Hawkmoth might have been quiet the last few days, but he couldn’t count on that to last. And he had to be prepared to fight alone.

That conclusion was easy to reach. It was rational and pragmatic. It’s what Ladybug would have advised him to do, but when his normal patrol route brought him just two rooftops away from Marinette’s balcony, he could resist peeking in on her.

Her form lay curled up in the fetal position surrounded by a nest of pillows and blankets. She was asleep, but even unconscious her looked pale and waxy. He pulled back from the little round window feeling guilty for invading her privacy and witnessing her in this moment of weakness. He wished he could do something to help her feel better.

He was about to vault away when his eyes landed on the terrace garden filled with potted plants. The normally vibrant green leaves were drooping down as if they, too, were mourning the lack of Marinette's presence in their daily life. Upon closer inspection, Chat Noir discovered crumbly and dry soil in each pot. He knew almost nothing about taking care of plants. Gardening was something his father would hire someone for. But the heir to the Agreste fortune did at least know they needed water.

He clapped his hands together with a grin. This was something he could do.

It didn’t take long to find her watering can and fill it up at the nozzle located on the lowest part of the wall in the balcony’s corner. He added small amounts of water to each clay pot, only then noticing that each home was carefully hand painted with flowers and vines or little hearts and stars. His favorite pot showed off little black kittens chasing flying ladybugs.

Marinette really was amazingly talented.

She also tended to a huge variety of plant life. She had herbs, vines, grass-like stalks, and he knew from experience that there should have been flowering buds, but they were sealed tightly closed refusing to flaunt their bright colors for all the birds and bugs to see. He knew that gardening was difficult and that each plant probably needed something slightly different.

He glanced back through Marinette’s round window, to her very still roll on the bed. He had never seen her so still. Who knew when she would be able to make it out here again.

After he was finished watering, he cut his patrol short and headed straight home. Chat Noir had research to do.

It turned out that potted plants needed fertilizer or some kind of plant food to reintroduce nutrients into their soil. But different varieties needed it with varying amounts and frequencies. He didn’t know all the plants Marinette had, but he supposed the next day he would have to take pictures of each one and come home to identify them so he would be able to find more specific care instructions.

It did seem that most plants did well with water in the morning and/or evening because in the middle of the day the wet leaves could fry in the hottest part of the day. And apparently, over watering was a danger as well.

And some plants needed regular pruning.

He glanced through his schedule. If he got up an hour earlier than Nathalie’s scheduled wake up call, he would have time to take pictures of and water all of Marinette’s plants and be back in his room with ten minutes to spare.

Then, he could spend all of his free period with the pictures identifying what they were and put specific care instructions for each one in a document that he could send to his staff and refer to whenever he needed to.

Quickly stopping by Marinette’s as Chat Noir in the morning and evening had quickly become part of his routine. His secret gardening consoled some restless part of his soul. He was able to peek in on her and feel like he was helping in some small way.

He could even focus in class again. In fact, he had to be insanely efficient with his time in order to complete his homework, fill his modeling obligations, go on a daily patrol, and stop by his favorite balcony. Somehow, he pulled it all off smoothly each and every day, and the twice daily stops were quickly becoming his favorite parts of the day.

It was peaceful and colorful now that the flowers were willing to show their petals again. He had long since stopped feeling self conscious amongst the plants. He talked and sang to them. His research had said that also would help them.

Really he shouldn’t have been surprised when she caught him on the fourth day.

“Kitty? What are you doing out there?”

Startled at her sudden presence, he dropped the cap full of miracle grow onto the ground with a curse. The green liquid spread out across the deck, seeping into the panels of stained wood. He looked around rapidly for some kind of towel to soak it up. He knew the stuff was toxic to many birds and he wouldn’t want them to get sick because of his carelessness.

“Uh, hey there, princess!” He greeted distractedly as he mopped up his spill. “Are you feeling better?”

He glanced up at her then and smiled. Her eyes shined with their usual vibrant blue, and she had just a hint of color in her cheeks. In short, she looked healthy again, and he could not be more relieved.

“Loads,” she answered with a friendly smile. “I might even be able to make it back to school on Monday. Were you watering my plants?”

His gloved hand flew unconsciously to the back of his neck. “Uh yeah. Watering.” He pointed to the plant he had just given the plant food. “And the Internet said that this one needed fertilizer every other day and yesterday, I pruned this one because it was looking crowded. I hope you don’t mind. I heard you were sick and when I was passing by on patrol I noticed the plants were looking a little dry. And I thought it would be such a shame if your garden took a hit just because you were ill. I know you love it up here.”

He eyed her warily trying to gauge her reaction. She wouldn’t feel irritated at him invading her space, would she? His form loosened in relief when she only smiled again.

“That was really thoughtful Chat Noir,” she said, as she took a seat on one of the balcony’s chairs. “Thank you. I didn’t realIze you gardened.”

Heat rose to his face. “I don’t really. Never done it before this week actually.”

“But then, how did you know about the pruning and the fertilizer?”

“I… uh. I kinda looked it up?” he admitted, jumping into the seat behind her to hide his embarrassment. “I really just looked up how much water to give, but then it gave different directions for different plants, so I had to come back and take pictures of each one, so I could look up directions for each one.”

“Y-you t-took the time to identify each plant?!” she repeated, her eyes blown wide, staring at him in surprise.

“Well, I didn’t want to do it wrong and then ruin the garden I was trying to save for you,” he said.

“Th-that’s… you… that was so yind of kew. I mean! Kind! I meant kind of y-you. Y-you definitely didn’t h-have t-to do that.”

The teenaged hero frowned at her stutter. She only stuttered around Adrien.

“You okay princess? Maybe you should go lie back down.”

“Y-yeah, you’re nice… I mean, right. You’re right. I should back lie… I mean lie back down.”

Chat hovered behind her ready to catch her should she stumble or fall. Watching her go down the ladder was the worst, but she made it without the slightest sway and cooperatively climbed back into her bed. He brought up the blankets to cover her and she gathered them in a cocoon around her.

“W-will you come back tomorrow?” she asked with pleading eyes. “J-just time one… one time.”

“Anything for you, princess.” He winked as he leapt agilely up the ladder and back into the balcony.

He bounded away towards home, trying to puzzle out her new behavior. Had he done something to offend her? Perhaps she thought it was creepy that he was right outside her bedroom window every day, twice a day. He really hadn’t thought this through at all.

He tried to ease the anxious mental spiral. He was probably overthinking this. She was sick after all. That was probably why she was stuttering.

He came back the next morning, and she had croissants fresh from the oven and steaming tea ready for him. She had already taken care of the plants. He tried not to be disappointed by this fact. He had enjoyed tending to the delicate life forms. It was nice to work at creating something for a change.

“These are amazing,” he gushed, after taking his first bite. Really the buttery confections never got old, especially when he was hardly allowed simple carbs. “My compliments to the baker! You really didn’t have to feed me though you know.”

“I w-wanted to say thank you,” she stammered, her face blushing in red.

“You look so much better with color in your cheeks,” he told her thoughtlessly. But he really had been worried about her.

Her eyes turned away as her cheeks somehow became even redder. “I r-really meel fuch better!” She managed. “Much better!! Gah!” her face fell into her hands in embarrassment.

This was way too familiar. This was how she acted around Adrien all the time. His mind spiraled into the worst possible explanation and he felt the blood drain from his face. He dropped the croissant, that was now forgotten in his lap.

“How did you figure it out?” he made himself ask.

“F-figure what?”

He leaned forward and took her hands in his own. “You can’t tell anyone,” he beseeched. “Please, Marinette.” He pulled back again, and dragged his hands through his hair. “God, Ladybug’s going to kill me.”

“Chat calm down,” Marinette urged, her delicate fingers rested hesitantly on his shoulder trying to reassure him. “It’s okay. I would never tell anyone anything if you don’t want me to.”

His eyes flew back to hers and he felt a bit calmer in her gentle blue gaze. Marinette was trustworthy. He knew that better than anyone. “I hope you’re not mad at me.”

“W-why would I be mad?”

“Sometimes it just seemed so two faced to come here as Chat because you treated me so differently as Adrien.”

She stumbled backwards and fell over the chair. He rushed over to her and helped her up.

“W-what?!” Her scream was shrill. “You’re Adrien?!”

Once they were both standing steadily she hit his arm. Hard.

“You stupid cat! Why would you tell me that?!” Her stutter had vanished, he noted. And she was angry. Very angry.

The air rushed out of his lungs and he blinked at her as her words registered. “I thought you knew?”

Now, Ladybug was really going to kill him. It was bad enough when he thought that Marinette had him figured out, but she hadn’t. He had just blurted it out like an idiot.

“Based on what?” she demanded.

“You’ve always been awkward around me as Adrien. But you’re so sassy and confident around everyone else. Even Chat Noir! Maybe especially Chat Noir. But when you started mixing up your words around Chat the same way you do sometimes around Adrien, I figured that you had me pegged.”

She looked like she had been hit by a train. She just stared at him.

“You literally only treat Adrien that way,” he added, mostly to break the silence.

“That’s not... I don’t...” she spluttered.

“If you hadn’t figured it out, why did you start treating Chat Noir differently?” he asked. “You don’t like him either? Has he done something wrong?”

��You think that I don’t like you?” she whispered. Her voice sounded so small, so far away.

He winced. “I mean, not exactly! You just seem so nervous a lot of the time. Am I that frightening or intimidating?” He was started to panic down another spiral. That he realized it didn’t help him at all.

…

Marinette could see that he was freaking out. Adrien was standing there in front of her, only he was Chat Noir. And she wanted to process that. She needed to. But she couldn’t. He was hurt. And she had put that hurt there.

Before anything else, she had to fix that.

Marinette took a breath, stepped forward, and gently enclosed his clawed hand into her own, trying to communicate what she’s never been able to put into words.

His green eyes swivelled back to her, swimming in confusion, begging her to explain. Because he still didn’t understand.

“I... I...” she stammered. She inwardly cursed her inability to communicate with him.

This time, he squeezed her hand. And she drew courage from that. This wasn’t just Adrien. This was Chat Noir, and yes, she had just figured out that she loved him as his superhero self and that made her nervous. But he was her partner. She trusted him more than anyone else on the whole planet. He had proven time again that he would protect her life. Maybe it was time to let him protect her heart as well.

And however this is going to go, he would be gentle with her.

“Adrien has made me nervous for a long time,” she admitted staring down into their clasped hands. Somehow it was easier talking about him in third person even though she knew she was talking to him. “It’s not because he’s scary or famous or that I don’t like him... quite the opposite in fact...”

She glanced up, the green sclera opened beseechingly. He waited with so much patience.

“I’ve always stuttered or mixed up my words around Adrien because... I was...” she licked her lips, fidgeted from one foot to the other, and glanced up at his face again. “...in love with him.” She rushed the words out. Part of her felt more anxious than ever. But she also felt lighter, freer.

“I always behave that way around boys that I like...” she admitted, and looked down again as heat bloomed in her face and neck.

She glanced up again. Chat... no, Adrien looked like he had swallowed a melon whole. His eyes were wide, his grip on her hands tightened, and she was no longer certain he was even breathing.

“Please say something,” she begged, wringing her hand even though he still held it.

“You... you love Adrien?” He whispered.

“That’s what I said.”

“And-and you started mixing up your words around Chat because... you like him too?”

She nodded, her cheeks burned hotter than before.

“You fell for both of me?” It was like he couldn’t believe it.

And then, his eyes watered.

“Please don’t cry kitty,” she begged, wiping a fallen tear from his black mask. She had never seen him cry before in either persona. She didn’t know what to do.

He pulled her into a hard hug, his arms swept around her and he pressed her form into the hard leather of his catsuit. Soon, he was balling into her shoulder.

Marinette let herself melt into his embrace, tracing soothing patterns onto his back. She was still unsure how he felt about her confession, but she was determined to be there for him.

He finally quieted, and with one last comforting squeeze, he pulled away. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I’m crying. I’m so embarrassed.”

“It’s okay,” she soothed.

“You’re just so amazing, Marinette. I don’t know that I could ever deserve you. I don’t know what someone like you could ever see in someone like me. And that you do see something in both sides of me, that means a lot to me. You are so kind. You have no idea how much I admire you!”

Marinette felt like she might break from the growing tension - like a violin string pulled too tight - ready to snap. Listening to him gush was amazing, but she still couldn’t tell if he was letting her down easy or preparing for their wedding.

The silence grew and Marinette couldn’t take it.

“So... does that mean?” she prompted.

“Would you like to go on a date?” he blurted.

And just like that, the tension eased as if it had never been. And she started giggling.

“I would love that kitty. What did you have in mind?”

“Umm... is it okay if it’s a surprise?”

She rolled her eyes. “Sure, but don’t go too crazy A-Adrien.”

“You called me Adrien,” he said gleefully.

“I-I did.”

“Plagg, claws in.”

And there he was standing in front of her, his white overshirt over his usual black t-shirt. His face bare and without a mask was as familiar as her partner’s. Her nerves exploded again, and she couldn’t speak.

“You still okay?” He asked with a small smile that spoke with the gentleness of a butterfly’s wing.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. He glanced at her lips. “M-may I kiss you?”

She nodded and just before their lips touched, her eyes landed on Plagg. Who floated ominously over Adrien’s shoulder with a cold glower directed right at her. And she understood. This was unfair.

She stopped him with a hand to the chest. “No wait!”

“Something wrong princess?”

She closed her eyes, and drew in a deep breath. Apparently, the call for bravery was not over.

“Before you kiss me,” she began, drawing comfort from the hand that remained on his chest. “Before you agree to date me or be my b-boyfriend.” Could it be any hotter up here?! “I h-have to tell you something.”

He pulled back and waited. But she didn’t speak. ��Whatever it is, I’m sure that...”

“Please, let me say this,” she begged. “You need to know! Plus, Plagg may cataclysm me in my sleep if I don’t come clean.”

“Plagg?” Adrien repeated in confusion, turning towards the floating Kwami of destruction. “How do you know Plagg?”

She sighed. “We’ve met. A few times actually. He uh... he helped me defeat Style Queen when you lost…” she trailed off. Adrien had been Style Queen’s first victim. Of course, Chat Noir hadn’t been so irresponsible as to lose his miraculous. “No, when you had turned into a statue. And during Sandboy we collaborated a plan together.”

“Plagg helped... you.” He repeated slowly. He licked his lips. “He helped you... defeat Style Queen.”

He was staring at her in shock and for once she held his gaze. She had to.

“M’Lady?”

She nodded.

“Really?!” He was grinning like a cat who had fallen into a vat of cream. He picked her up by the waist and twirled her around. “This is perfect!” He laughed, his mirth spilling over into the very air around them.

“It is?” she asked, not quite sharing in his joy. “You’re not mad at all those times I rejected you for... well, you?”

“Marinette, I did the same thing to you when you confessed to me as Chat Noir.”

“I mean, it’s not the same thing! I confessed under false pretenses. You’re not mad about that either?”

“Wait! False pretenses?” He froze and considered her for a moment. She tried not to fidget in his green eyed gaze as he put the pieces together. “I almost stumbled onto your identity that day… you didn’t love me.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t admit it, no.”

“You did it to distract me.”

“Yeah…”

He looked away, lost in the memory. “I was so excited that day. That was the first time I had received a genuine confession.”

“A-are you mad?” she asked, anxiously pulling at her sleeve’s hem.

He just grinned and shook his head. “I might have been at some point. Now, it seems kinda funny.”

He broke into giggles and she did too.

“Too bad you didn’t figure it out,” she managed between giggles. “Maybe we could have saved ourselves months of chasing each other’s tails.”

“Goodness, we are so stupid,” he drawled out.

“Blind,” she corrected with a soft smile.

“What?”

“You were never stupid. Tikki says love is blind.”

TIkki flew out at that exact moment. “Hello Adrien, it’s nice to see you again under better circumstances.”

He smiled at the red kwami. “Likewise,” he agreed, with a small nod. Then he turned back to Marinette.

“So... can I kiss you now? We have Kwami approval?” Tikki looked pleased and Plagg shrugged as if to say “if you must”.

“M’lady?”

She nodded.

His lips pressed into hers. And it wasn’t how kisses were in stories. There were no fireworks. She didn’t feel like her feet left the floor. If anything, it was awkward because neither of them could stop smiling long enough to really let their lips melt into the other.

But that was okay. They now had all the time in the world to practice.

Marinette jerked away. “You shouldn’t be kissing me actually.”

“What?” He went rigid in her arms, clearly worried he had done something wrong.

“I don’t want you to get sick,” she observed worriedly.

He relaxed his forehead against hers and smiled again. “I don’t care about that.”

“You say that now. This bug knocked me out for a solid week and I’m still shaky.”

Adrien did get sick two days later. Ladybug brought him broth. She knew from experience that he wouldn’t be able to hold anything else down and even the broth was a toss-up.

“I feel awful,” he complained to her.

“I told you,” the heroine quipped without sympathy even as she nestled down next to him in bed.

He just leaned into her presence, his eyes remained closed. “It was worth it,” he told her. “I have no regrets. If I die from this, I will die happy.”

“No!” She barked in objection. “You have to live forever!”

He laughed weakly and then started coughing instead. When the coughing finally subsided, he threaded his fingers through hers. “I promise I will, Buginette. That, or I will die trying.”

She nuzzled against him, and released her transformation. She couldn’t ask for better than that.

“See that you do, kitty. See that you do.”

He started purring, and they both promptly fell asleep. Marinette still hadn’t entirely recovered from her own illness after all, and the worst had yet to hit Adrien. But they would weather it together.

…

[composereggwrites]

Imprint Zine: New Creators’ Spotlight

This is my full article for the twewy @imprintzine!!! There’s still digital copies available of the full zine, and some merch left too!!! It was a blast to write and work with the other participants!

If you like this and wanna chat with me about it hit me up here or in my twewy discord!!!

Ao3

NEW CREATORS SPOTLIGHT

Hello again readers, and welcome to this month’s New Creator Spotlight! We find up-and-coming artists of all types to highlight! From fashion, music, and art, we know how to find the hidden talent in Shibuya and illuminate them all for you to see!

Mr. Mew Creations

First up is Mr. Mew Creations, a new fashion brand led by the fabulous Eri and Shiki Misaki. This duo has taken the fashion scene by storm with their innovative ideas and inspiring designs. From dresses to bright three-piece suits, these two push the boundaries of how we define outfits.

The star of their debut collection is a marvelous dress suit! It’s a dress, and a suit, combined into one! The top half is styled as a silken tuxedo jacket in bold fuchsia, with a pale lavender undershirt and iridescent pearl buttons. The bottom half, however, is a skirt designed to evoke the image of an elegant ball gown. The slip is comfortable enough to wear all day, while providing a backing to the outermost layer, which is a cascade of feathers dyed a stunning cobalt blue.

They have a myriad of other pieces in this lineup, going beyond the binary while staying fashionable and comfortable. From a simple purple shirt with embroidered orange foxes along the hem, to a yellow sweater with a detailed pink squirrel on the front, there’s a wide variety to choose from!

We sat down with the girls for an interview in their studio to talk about their threads, and they had a lot to say!

Thank you for interviewing with us. Could you both introduce yourselves for our readers?

Eri: Yeah sure! Thank you for interviewing us! I’m Eri, the lead designer of our two-person team, Mr. Mew Creations! I do most of the conceptual work, putting ideas down on paper and seeing where that gets us. Shiki definitely helps with that, but her talent shines in, well-- She can tell you!

Shiki: Hah, yeah! I’m Shiki Misaki! I’m the seamstress, so I made all the outfits you can see here in our workspace! Taking what Eri gives me, I bring our ideas to life! We’re both good in each other’s field, but together it feels like we’re unstoppable. She’s handed me some amazing designs to work with, and some I never thought I’d be able to turn into reality. The star of our show, the dress, was one of those. It almost ended up in the trash on more than one occasion, actually. We had to completely redesign it multiple times because we’re both perfectionists, and because someone sees the laws of physics as a challenge to beat. Eri likes to see how far we can push things past their limits, but we work best together because I can reel her back in if it goes too far.

We’re glad you two make such a good team! What led you to make the half-dress, half-suit outfit?

Eri: We wanted to design something that ignored gender norms. Something that defied them, without defaulting to a vaguely-masculine, androgynous look. The fact that clothing is gendered is ridiculous, and there’s this idea that men’s clothing is the default when you want a “gender neutral” item. We decided to go in the opposite direction, and add as much gender as we could, without being limited to one gender.

Shiki: It, like most of our line, is inspired by one of our friends. This dress was originally designed for him, before we decided to use it as part of our lineup. Gender is weird, and the society we live in makes navigating it more confusing than it needs to be. To be able to wear what you want, without worrying about the perception others have of you, without worrying about the way you’ll be labeled? That’s the ideal we strive for, and we hope our work can make a difference.

You said your friends inspired your line. What can you tell us about your creative choices?

Eri: Our friends are unique individuals, and we are too, so we know how to take a look at what people want, and what they need. Not everyone has the perfect model body. Not everyone wants to wear the high-fashion bling, or keep up with all the latest trends. The trick is to find what people want to wear, and design that, instead of chasing what’s trendy. If it’s stylish, people will want it, but it has to look nice and fit right.

Shiki: Just because something is comfortable, doesn’t mean it can’t have style. People are going to notice if you’re not at ease in the clothes you wear, and that unease ruins otherwise perfect appearances. We custom make everything here, and as the seamstress it’s my job to take what Eri gives me for the design and bring it to life. Doing that, while taking sensory issues into account, and ensuring nothing irritates the person who will be wearing it, is of the utmost importance.

Can you tell us a bit about  yourselves and your brand? How you got started, or where your mascot came from?

Shiki: Oh! Our mascot, Mr. Mew, was the first thing I ever made. I still have the original, and I carry him around with me. My quality of work has improved a lot, but he’s a big comfort item. He helps me face all the big scary monsters of the world, and I want him to be there to help others too.

Eri: We met when we were younger, back in middle school. I’ve always been good at making friends, but Shiki was a lot more shy then. Actually, we got in an argument, once when we were 15. I was so worried, I thought I was going to lose my best friend forever over a misunderstanding. Thankfully, we worked it all out, and here we are now! She’s a wonderful seamstress, and all of our friends are so supportive, so it’s nice. I don’t think we’d be where we are today without each other, and the help of everyone in our lives.

 It’s clear that these girls put lots of effort and dedication into what they do!

These girls offer more than some great threads! The namesake of their brand, Mr. Mew, is an adorable cat, and you can get merchandise of him too! Show off your love by picking up one of their plushies, cat ear headbands, and more!

Check out their full line at https://MrMewCreations.Com

 Neku Sakuraba

The artist of the month is none other than Neku Sakuraba! If you’ve taken a walk around Shibuya, you’ve already seen his stuff! This graffiti expert has been gaining a name for himself with stunning displays of color and intricate designs. If you frequent 104 or Molco, you’ll have seen his stylish bold lines on ads for some of the stores!

He first started making waves in the art world last December, when he put up a mural in the Miyashita Park Underpass. Dubbed Hachiko’s Guardian Angel by the public, it features a glowing figure standing over Hachiko, with white feathery wings stretched out over Shibuya’s night-time skyline. There are people at the base of the statue, and musical notes fill the outer space. We reached out to Sakuraba himself for commentary, and managed to secure an interview in his studio!

The space was big, half-finished paintings and sketches scattered across the room. Cans of spray-paint, colored pencils, and charcoal were everywhere. Interestingly, we also spotted a couple Mr. Mew plushies laying around. A second guest, a friend of Sakuraba’s who insisted on being called Joshua, was also in the studio.

But without further ado, the interview:

Thanks for welcoming us to your studio! Can you give us an introduction?

Neku: Right, hi, thanks for interviewing me. I’m Neku Sakuraba. Music geek, CAT fanboy, unwilling follower of fashion trends. That one over there [he gestures toward his friend] is Joshua. Please ignore everything he says. He decided to be here for “moral support,” but I think he just wants to tease me.

[Joshua, at this, gasped, and said, “I would never!” but as requested, his further commentary has been cut from the interview.]

Got it! What inspired you to start making art?

Neku: I’ve always been a doodler. My mom has artwork from back when I was six. The big moment of inspiration for me, when I went, I want to do this, was when I saw CATs art. Looking up at the mural in Udagawa for the first time, back when I was ten, I felt a spark, and I haven’t let go of that feeling since. It’s been rough, I’ve struggled with mental health issues, but art has always been a solace in the dark. I never thought I’d make it this far, or get as much recognition as I have. It’s amazing, and wonderful, and terrifying all at once.

You first got popular because of the mural you put up last December, in the Miyashita Park Underpass. Can you tell us anything about it?

Neku: Oh, yeah! It was the first mural I’d ever done, and I drew a lot of inspiration from Shibuya. In my head, I’ve nicknamed it Shibuya’s Composition. The piece is loosely based off a dream, if I’m being honest. The glowing white figure in the center, with the wings, is meant to be a guardian of Shibuya. Someone who helps the city grow. Meanwhile, the people at Hachiko are waiting for their friend to show, but he can’t, because he’s watching from above, protecting them from afar.

Fascinating! Do you feel like there’s a story you can make from that, one you might tell in the future?

Neku: I don’t think this is ever going to be a story or comic, unfortunately. It’s more of a personal piece. A few years ago, I only had one friend, my first friend, but I lost him. When he died, I isolated myself, and it took a lot from some special people to draw me out of that shell. Even now, I wish I could see him again, and the idea of him still being out there, watching over me and my new friends, comforts me when I miss him the most. I guess I’m like Hachiko, waiting for a dead person to come home.

I’m sorry for your loss. Can you tell us anything about your other artwork?

Neku: I do a lot of graffiti-style works. There’s no other big murals out there by me yet, but I’m working on a few designs right now. People have commissioned me to do stuff ranging from tattoo designs to album covers and store promotions. One of my favorite things to do when I make art, though, is to take the mundane and re-imagine it as something mystical. Why can’t you make foxes purple? Who says there isn’t danger lurking in the shadows? What’s stopping me from adding fire and lightning as weapons, from creating fantastical fights?

Another big source of inspiration is Shibuya. I’ve grown up in this city, it’s my home. If I can look around and see things others don’t? Then I can put that down on paper. Whether it’s as simple as catching the neon lights illuminating the Scramble, or the leaves falling around Hachiko, I can see that, pull it apart, and let my imagination run wild.

That’s pretty cool. You mentioned doing album artwork earlier, so can you tell us what it was like to design the cover for the latest album by The Albatross?

Neku: It was fun! I can’t tell you anything about them, obviously, but it came as a shock when they asked me if I could take on this project. In hindsight, it makes perfect sense. But what I can say, without getting myself vaporized on the spot, is that it was enjoyable, and they’re fun to work with. Even if they’re kinda a priss. The amount of artistic freedom I had was nice, and I think we collaborate well together. So there might be more partnership between us in the future, but nothing’s certain yet.

Wonderful! With that, one last question: what motivates you to create?

Neku: Art has always been an escape for me. It can be pretty, or loud. It can shout your thoughts from the rooftops or disguise them under the rustling of leaves in the wind. You can influence others with it, if you’re lucky. I create art for myself, first and foremost. But if I can provide a glimpse into my own secret garden, and let others see pieces of who I am in my work? Then I’m glad. I want to share it. I want to make my mark on the world, and provide others with the escape I once sought.

 This up-and-coming young artist is going to be a big name someday! With his talent, dedication, and heart, Neku Sakuraba might just be the next CAT!

If you want to support him, you can find information about him, his store, and his commission prices at https://nekusakuraba.com

 The Albatross

Our final creator of the month, someone a bit less new, but never interviewed, is The Albatross! Their first album, Noise, featured CAT artwork on the cover: an albatross in flight, with TV static cutting through the image. These two are a mysterious duo, but The Albatross takes the title of most elusive. Despite gaining fame from fans latching onto CAT art, The Albatross has never given the public a single word.

Until now, that is! With their second album, Pulse, set to release in a couple of weeks, they have consented to an interview for the first time!

The album artwork was done by Neku Sakuraba, and it features a feathered white wing, sprouting from the right-hand side of the image. Some of the lower feathers have been replaced with graffiti-like designs.

As for the music itself, their first album featured orchestral tracks, heavy on the violin, alongside electro-punk tunes! Some were instrumental, while others had lyrics. Pulse is looking to be the same style, but rather than the dark themes of Noise, it contains brighter, more hopeful songs.

We went through a lot of paperwork, involving multiple non-disclosure agreements, and the interview took place over a call while they utilized a voice changer, but it was worth it! And we’re happy to share what we’ve learned with you!

Thank you for choosing to have your first interview ever be with us! Can you give us an introduction? Nothing too personal is required!

Albatross: You were the only ones I felt were trustworthy, and the only ones completely willing to honor my anonymity. Also, a friend may have bribed me into it with promises of ramen. As for introductions… I am The Albatross, composer of music, avid Tin Pin fan, and a nerd when it comes to all things Shibuyan. History, culture, the trends. I thrive off her, it’s like the city’s got a pulse that matches my heartbeat.

Shibuya is amazing, we agree. Can you tell us why you chose your alias?

Albatross: There’s a lot of symbolism in the albatross. The bird can be a sign of good luck for sailors, historically. In the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, though, one of the sailors kills an albatross, and thus it becomes a curse. He bears the burden as the other sailors hang the bird around his neck, reminding him of how he’s doomed them all. I’ll let fans keep speculating on why I picked it, though. I can’t give away all my secrets here.

Of course. We wouldn’t want you to spoil all the fun! How do you make your music?

Albatross: It’s amazing what you can do with technology! I know how to play the violin and piano, so any parts in my songs with those are actually me playing, but for the rest I use a few different music programs! For vocals, I outsource it to Shibuyan singers, but all lyrics are still written by me. In the end, I weave everything together, and finagle it so it fits.

Sounds like a lot of work. Where do you get your inspiration for it all?

Albatross: From Shibuya! This city has a life of her own. Feet tapping against pavement, voices reaching through the air, all the beeps and honks and the myriad of noises that resound in every corner; it all creates a rhythm, it creates music. Sometimes I’ll sit and let it all wash over me. The city holds so much, a million stories fighting for attention. They echo in my head, begging to be told, so I write them. I turn them into music in the hopes of expressing their messages for everyone to hear.

The tone between your first and second album has changed a lot, from what the previews are showing. Is there a reason for this?

Albatross: Yeah. I’m going to be blunt. When I wrote and released my first album, I was suicidal. Completely isolated from the rest of humanity, with no friends or good experiences to fall back on for comfort. My only outlet was music, and because I was so depressed and misanthropic, my work reflected this. I saw the world as poisoned, felt like people would never change, and thought my existence contributed to the negativity.

But now? I have friends. Someone entered my life, not quite of their own free will, but they stuck around. They dragged me into the sun, undoing all my self-sabotaging attempts, and they helped me grow. Helped me learn to see the good in humanity again. Shibuya is full of life, full of creativity, of people trying to do their best and help others. I wasn’t able to see it before, vision clouded with my own preconceived notions, but they… Removed the tinted glasses from my face, so to speak. And this is why my new album is more hopeful and lighthearted.

You mentioned mental health, just now. Are you able to elaborate on any of that?

Albatross: Mhm, I can. It’s not pleasant, but… Mental health isn’t talked about enough, even though it impacts so many people. I’ve had depression for years now. I still do. Some friends and a few bonding experiences doesn’t magically cure everything. There is no magic cure. What helps is finding people you can rely on when things get tough. If I lock myself in my apartment, I used to hide away for weeks. Now, though? One of them comes knocking after a few days, with ramen and orders to shower. Sometimes it can feel like you’re going to shatter into a million pieces. But instead of falling apart in secret and cutting myself on the shards of glass, I have people who hold me as I break, minimize the damage, and help me piece myself back together.

Recovery is not a straight line, and there’s no end to the winding trail you take. What’s important is having friends there with you. People who help you stand up when you stumble, who help you make camp when you need to rest. Find someone who makes you feel safe enough to fall apart. Someone who can be there to pick up the broken shards, and help you create something new and beautiful with the pieces.

 The Albatross is still a mystery to us all, but hopefully their words and music have reached those of you who need to hear them!

They don’t have an official website, but you can find The Albatross on your preferred music streaming service, or head to a local music shop to pick up their stuff! Don’t forget to pre-order their newest album, Pulse, and if you haven’t grabbed Noise yet, be sure to snag that too!

And that’s all for our New Creators Spotlight this month! Be sure to get next month’s issue for all our latest stories, and to discover the up-and-coming talents of Shibuya!

[dionysus-is-my-dude]

Fae - Chapter One

Go easy on me, guys. I’ve never posted original works on here before. I’m an exposition nut, and I haven’t decided on our little human dollhouse maker’s name. What do you guys think it should be? Also, yes, I type in UK English. Sue me. Enjoy!

Fae 1

Humans have nearly destroyed what's left of the Old World. You may not remember what it was like. Hardly any of us do that live today. The elves perhaps, but no one sees them anymore. They live in complete isolation, unwilling to allow any kind privy to their history and knowledge. Many dwarves have integrated with the human world, those wonderful miners and crafters. Humans just think they are short people with a talent for jewelry and gold. I don't know what has become of mermaids, but I do know that sirens have come to land and become quite wealthy as popular performers.

You may be wondering, "All these mythical creatures, but what are YOU?" Well, as evident by my lovely wings, tiny stature, and use of magick, it's quite plain to see that I am a fairy. A sprite, if you'd prefer. Fae folk live in the forests these days, casting circles of mushrooms and flowers to dance and celebrate in, causing mischief for any human who passes by, but generally staying far from your loud and chaotic towns. Fae folk mainly live in small kingdoms, named after the tree we live in or the area of the forest we're in. I live in the Great Oak kingdom, named so because our tree is the largest oak tree in the forest. A perfect place for such a large kingdom of fairies to live and thrive. We have survived for so long due to how deep into the vast forest our tree has grown in. Most humans do not come this far, and the ones that do see nothing due to our glamour.

You see, in the Old World, humans were quite jealous of the elves, fairies, and other creatures of magick and wealth. Humans are known far and wide for their endless greed and thievery, and would hunt us down, either enslaving us or killing us to take our treasures for themselves. That is why so many of us have gone into deep hiding, to protect our descendants from the pain that humans bring. It's the highest law in the Great Oak kingdom, in fact, to never show yourself to any human. For if you are caught, they will take you back to their world and you will never be seen again.

Contrary to what you may have heard about fairies, we are not lazy. The elves are the lazy folk, drinking and feasting and reading all day long. We fairies, on the other hand, can be very busy creatures. In a kingdom as large as mine, there is always a job to be done. Cooking, cleaning, creating tools, weaving, food-collecting, and everything else that go into keeping a kingdom running safely and smoothly. Everyone has a job to do, and mine is important. I'm a seamstress. Fairies in the olden days wore no clothes, but along the way, when humans and their strange fashions were introduced to us, many decided that they wanted to look even more beautiful than they already do. Not EVERYONE wears clothes, especially in the Summer, but whenever there is a celebration or formal feast, you will see many fairies dressed in the finest spiderweb silk and flower petals. Seamstresses are very highly thought of in our kingdom, especially in the court. Anyone who can create gorgeous gowns and ensembles that the royal court will be seen in is considered especially talented.

I work very hard everyday to create designs, collect my materials, and sew them together to make something that the PRINCE may wear. My family has been sewing for the court for a VERY long time, and I take great pride in my work. It makes me immensely proud to attend a celebration and see my pieces being worn.

Ah, but...I often become quite bored. My favourite FAVOURITE thing to do is to leave the tree to go out and find materials. Spiderwebs are popular, as is silkworm silk, but those ARE rather easy to find, though they are considered the most beautiful as they are so delicate. But I adore using flowers and their petals. Unlike silk and spiderwebs, petals only last a short while. You only wear them once or twice before the petals wither and grow dark and hard. That is why so few of the ladies in the court wear them. What good is a gown that dies and becomes ugly only a short time after you wear it?

Still, they're my favourite to make, and I spend a good part of my days flying about the forest, searching for the perfect flowers, and even herbs, if I find any. The Wide Wood provides very few but lovely flowers for me. The pink plums, bearberries, magnolias, and the flowers before they bear fruit on many trees and shrubs. With such a small variety to choose from, I'm always seeking further from the boundaries of the kingdom, searching for something new, something everyone will remember me for.

So I gather supplies into my bag, including a little food if I don't return right away, and make my way out of my home. It's a very nice home, a hollow notch in the tree filled with sewing tools and my bed, which is a small nest that a cardinal abandoned filled with soft moss. Many fairies prefer nice beds, crafted by the wood-workers of a birch tree nearby and softened by woven spiderwebs. But I like the nest. It makes me feel safer and warmer on cold, Winter nights.

With my bag over my shoulder, I flit over to my doorway and look out at the view. It's the end of Winter, the Pussywillow trees beginning to bloom. We'll all be using them as pillows soon. There is no more snow on the ground, but the air is still chill, so I'm wearing my thick shawl made of the pelt of a squirrel. Those in the court would never wear pelts. Only the workers and collectors wear them, as they leave the tree the most. But I refuse to freeze to death to gather my flower petals, so I tighten my belt and take off into the brisk air.

I can't imagine how jealous humans must be of us, of our beautiful wings and ability to fly. It's said that, if a human holds you and believes they can fly, then they will, but only so long as they hold you. I've been told that holding a fairy makes you very happy, too. It's no wonder that humans kidnap us. So unhappy with their greedy, dull lives that they will steal their happiness if need be. Flying through the trees never fails to bring me joy. Seeing the forest floor from high above, the scurrying ground animals and the moss, flying side-by-side with the birds and insects, it's incredible. How could a human ever feel like this? This free?

There are markers everywhere to tell me where I am. And a lost fairy will ALWAYS be able to return to her home tree, besides. A certain patch of mushrooms here, a patch of moss there. All places I've already explored. I want to see more. And today, today I will search further. I NEED to know what else is out there!

So I fly past the boundaries of the kingdom, uncaring of what I may find. We're so deep in the forest. I doubt I'd reach the edge in only a day. I should be just fine.

There are messes of fallen leaves upon the ground, everything still sleeping and withered from Winter's icy hold. I'm not expecting to find anything blooming right now. It's still too early for Spring. I pass by a Pussywillow, unable not to stop and run my hands and cheeks all over one of the fuzzy parts. So soft, like a caterpillar.

Flying East against the Sun is where I know the edge of the forest is. The ones who have reached that far say it's a full day's journey, and that they've seen humans pass in big, machines that move very fast. It does not sound very interesting to me. I want to see what's beyond that road that the humans have created. But, not today. Today, I want to stay within the forest.

I fly lower and decide to land on a patch of moss to eat some of my honey. I HAVE been flying for some time now. Looking around, I see just a seemingly-endless amount of tall trees and shrubs. It's very quiet, even in the middle of the day. The birds are only just beginning to return from their journey down South. Soon, the forest will be filled with their melodies as they attract a mate and lay their eggs, bringing more beautiful songs into the trees.

Once I've rested and regained my strength, I'm back in the air, flying lower this time to get a better view of what's on the ground. Some leaves, but it's too late to collect them. I grab a few acorns, though. They're good for hats, and we make pancakes out of them. Ohhh, but I reach a few pine trees! I immediately dive down and find a pinecone, breaking off the pieces and stuffing them into my bag. These are uncomfortable to wear, but the furniture crafters use them to make many things. Fairies love decorations, and we often change them with the seasons.

A squirrel scurries past me, and it's when I watch it run off that I see it. A house. A human's house. It looks smaller than I'd imagined they would be. Granted, I've never seen a human before. How big are they? Does only one live there? I stay on the ground, staring at it. There are no signs that anyone is home. No smoke from the chimney, no lights from candles, and there isn't one of those large machines. Perhaps it's abandoned! Imagine what they may have left behind!

Steeling my nerves, I fly over to the house and find a window, but there are curtains blocking the view inside. I fly around, looking for a way in, letting out a shout of success when I find one window cracked open just enough for me to slide through.

Inside, the house is dark, but fairies have very good eyes. And we cast our own illumination with our fairy dust. Just looking around, I see a bed, a dresser, a table, a very small kitchen, and...a little house, just my size. With no human in sight, I hesitantly float down to it. It really is a little house! But only half! It's open like you're meant to reach inside and move things around. It looks much nicer than this little house the human lives in. Why don't they live here? Or is this made for their children? How small are human children?

Nothing is real in the little house, though, when I push on things and lay in the bed, finding it very uncomfortable and the blanket much too thin to feel warm. Why would a human make this? What is it for? The furniture in it is very nice. The table is too small for me, but it would make a lovely little bedside table. There is even a desk with frozen, clear water on it so I can see myself, and I sit there and look at my long, brown curls and large, hazelnut eyes. Yes, I was named Hazelnut due to my eyes, though many simply call me Hazel.

I wish I was able to carry this desk home with me. I suppose I could make it lighter with my magick, but that would take so much energy out of me. Such a shame. I wonder if there is any human food I could bring back with me? Flitting over to the kitchen, I open cupboards to find boxes and jars of sweet-smelling things. There is a jar of honey shaped like a bear that is almost as tall as I am! And there's this white crystal-like spice that's really, really sweet. There are a lot of spices I've never seen before, but some are sweet and others are spicy. Strange. Where do these spices come from? What kind of food does this human put them on?

I'm so caught up in my many questions that I don't sense the human returning. I fly down and hide under the bed as the door opens, frozen in fear as the human appears. I cannot tell if it's a girl or boy. They look tall and lean, with very short, light brown hair and dark brown eyes. They are wearing uncomfortable-looking, dark blue pants and a patterned shirt with long sleeves and many buttons. And their boots look much bigger than any that the men wear back home. Their face seems so different yet so similar to my kind's. Not as beautiful, with sharp lines instead of soft cheeks. Their skin is pale compared to mine, as well, not kissed by the Sun after so many years of celebrations. Do all humans look like that? They look sick.

I watch the human set down a bag and take off their boots, going to the kitchen and opening some kind of chest that is holding even more food, releasing air as cold as the wind outside into the room. They pull out a bottle of what must be water before closing the chest, moving to sit at the little table to drink from it. They say nothing. They don't really look at anything either. They just...sit and drink, utterly alone and clearly sad. What are they sad about? That they are alone here? Don't they have a kingdom of their own? Or a town to belong to? Don't they have any friends or family? I've heard that humans are commonly found living together. So why is this one here on their own?

They eventually sigh and put the half-empty bottle back into the cold chest. I freeze and rush back when they start walking towards the bed, but they don't see me, and the bed creaks when they climb up onto it. I hear the rustle of the blanket, then silence. Are they going to sleep so early? The Sun is still up! Is this because they're sad?

I stay under the bed for a long time, but the human doesn't move more than once, so they MUST be asleep, yes? Just in case, I cast a glamour on myself before emerging and floating up. The human IS asleep, thank goodness, but they still seem so unhappy. There's a wrinkle between their brows, and they even look like they're frowning. So sad, even in sleep? So strange. Fairies are very jovial creatures. Elves were, too, at one time in history. Dwarves have magnificent feasts and greatly enjoy singing and dancing. They're quite like us in that regard. But humans, at least from what I've been told by some of the elders in The Great Oak kingdom, are often so sad and miserable with their lives. They find little joy in anything other than power and wealth. Humans often eat alone, live alone, go through their whole lives alone. They barely sing, they hardly dance. Certainly not with each other.

I lift myself up onto the bed and sit, just looking at this human. What makes them sad? Is it because they're alone, out here in the forest? Do they not have any friends or family to spend time with? Oh, perhaps they are dead? Maybe that's why they're so upset.

My own parents are gone. My father abandoned my mother when I was born, leaving behind his entire heritage to grow and live life as a human. My mother passed some time ago, too heartsick to go on. We fairies are so tiny, it's difficult to handle our emotions, especially at the same time. My mother was happy to have me and watch me grow, to teach me the craft of needlework. But she felt heartbreak too great from my father's abandonment. Sadness and loneliness swallowed her whole, until she couldn't fly, couldn't use her magick, and simply wasted away. It was horrible to watch her get weaker and weaker. I tried to ease her passing with my own magick, and I swore to myself that I would never feel the heartbreak of love.

Perhaps THAT is why this human is so sad. They have felt that pain and emptiness, and it hurts ME to see them so unhappy. If I could cease their pain, just long enough for them to sleep soundly, that would be enough. So I carefully move closer, enough to feel their warm breath. Reaching up to gently place my hand on their forehead, I think of happy thoughts: my mother teaching me to fly, showing her the first dress I ever made, the pride on her face. Even remembering those moments puts a smile on my face, and I feel the warm, loving energy move through me and into the human. They gasp softly, still very much asleep, but the crease between their brows slowly disappears, colour returning to their cheeks as a soft smile graces their face, as does mine as I take my hand away. Sleep is important. And good dreams make all the difference.

I fly back down under the bed to grab my back, cast one more look at the dreaming human with that smile, and feel warmth seep into my fingers and toes at the sight. They look much more appealing when they're smiling. With pride humming in my chest, I squeeze out the cracked window and make my way back home.

"Where WERE you? You were gone for HOURS!" is the first thing I hear when I return to my bedroom. My friend, Thorn, the fastest flyer in our kingdom, is hovering in the air above my bed, arms and legs crossed and a very pouty expression on her face.

"I was out collecting things. You know I do that often," I tell her honestly, setting my heavy bag down. "I, unfortunately, didn't find anything all that interesting." Except a human, but she definitely doesn't need to know that. She would go out of her way to cause nothing but mischief for them.

"But you were gone such a long time," she pouts, blowing a long, black strand of hair out of her face. "I was getting worried."

I sigh, wishing I could simply be left alone for the rest of the day. "I appreciate your concern, Thorn, I do. But I'm expected to create the best outfits for the court. I can't simply use the same materials over and over. They'll become bored of me!"

"No one is bored of you," she assures me, flitting over to squeeze my shoulders. "You're the most talented seamstress in the kingdom. Everyone knows how creative you are. You have the most interesting ideas for dresses and costumes. But you know I worry about you when you go off on your own. You KNOW there are humans that sometimes come to the forest." I do my best to mask my fear of her finding out that I actually TOUCHED one. "You know what humans can do to us fairy folk. If they catch you, they'll take you away and suck all the magick out of you."

She huffs and pulls me into her arms. "I'm so scared of losing you like that, Hazel. You're my best friend. The only one to talk sense into me. What would I do without you?"

I hug her back just as tight. "You'd fight for me. I know you would. You'd pull your worst tricks on the human, bite and kick and pinch them until they let me go."

"You're damn right, I would," she agrees. "I wish you'd let me come with you when you go out."

"And take all the fun out of showing you what I've collected?" I tease.

"I'd rather have YOU than some floozy flower petals."

I rest my cheek on her shoulder and sigh. Thorn has always been protective of me. I was such a clumsy babe, always falling out of the tree and hurting myself. She would always catch me before I hit the ground, but if I scraped my legs or hurt my wings, she'd take care of me right away. My mother was fond of her, but told me not to do as she does, for she's quite the trickster. If you hear of humans running from the forest in fear or annoyance, it's because of Thorn playing tricks on them. She claims it's to protect us, but we really know she just likes to play. As the fastest flyer, she delivers messages to and fro. She likes knowing everyone's business, so it certainly is the perfect job for her. But she always makes time to spend with me. And I'm very grateful to her for keeping me company since Mother passed.

"I've grown a lot, you know," I remind her. "I'm not the clumsy child you once knew."

"I know. But I still feel responsible for you," she tells me, then lets me go and smiles. "Come, get changed. You must look nice for supper."

"I can't outshine the court, you know. It would be improper," I smile, watching her flit over to my wardrobe to choose a gown for me.

"You outshine them all the same," she says dismissively with a wave of her hand, then pulls out a simple, white, shawl made of spiderwebs.

I'm the only fairy accepted in the court to bare so much of my nude body. I feel far more comfortable nude, but those in the high court view nudity as an archaic thing. They are constantly clothed in the very finest fashions that I've created for them. But they think of my preference to nudity as "eccentric" and "traditional", and therefore, they allow me to wear what I please, which is generally very little.

I let Thorn dress me in the delicate shawl, and she tells me about her day running messages as she braids my hair before flying with me to the high branches, where the court holds their feasts. She isn't allowed to dine with us, due to her being of a lower class, but she is very encouraging of me being accepted amongst the royals.

She is the only one to know of my disdain for dining here every night, and she is sworn to secrecy never to let ANYONE else know about it.

The Great Oak court is comprised of the royal family -King Stone, Queen Laurelai, and Prince Cedar-, and then various members of nobility, royal bodyguards, and the like. They are very high-class and invested in art, music, and every other important aspect of our culture. For the most part, they are very kind folk. They ARE the ones that do their best to keep us safe and peaceful. And, well, they ARE the ones giving me a job. I'm very thankful for their acceptance and patronage.

I'm escorted to a speaking room, where several of dignitaries are gathered in conversation. Here in the high court, you engage with each other before being called to supper. Afterwards, we'll go to a sitting room to drink and engage for a while longer.

I recognize several of his Majesty's advisers and other high-ranking members of the court, who turn and smile when I entre the room. "Ah, Lady Hazelnut has arrived!" Lord Chamberlain, Ash, declares, his cheeks already very flushed from the pre-supper wine.

"Here I am," I smile in return, flying over to his small group. "Good evening, everyone."

"Good evening, my lady," Lady Ember replies. "Are you drinking this evening?"

"I'll have one or two glasses of wine, yes. You know I'm not the safest flyer when drunk."

The dignitaries chuckle heartily at the joke. "I understand, my lady," Lady Ember says. "Tonight is not much of a celebration. Simply another night until Spring. Stay here. I shall fetch you a glass."

"Thank you, my lady."

"I heard you were out quite late today, Lady Hazelnut," Lord Briar notes. "Your friend, Thorn, seemed intent to organize a search party."

"She's a kind friend, no doubt, but I assure you, I was perfectly safe," I assure everyone.

"Well, did you find anything interesting?" Lady North asks. They're always so excited when I find something I like, which warms my heart to know they're so fascinated by my explorations. They never truly leave the tree.

"I found a pine tree that grew the fattest pinecones I've ever seen," I say dramatically. The high court members LOVE a good story, and I'm told I'm quite good at telling them. "Too large for me to even pick up! I filled nearly half my bag with all the chips off of it. Oh! And on my way back, I was attacked by a crow!"

My audience gasps in shock. "How ever did you make it back in one piece?" Lady Ember asks, having now returned with a cup of wine for me. "I don't see a single scratch on you."

"I had to use all my strength to swing my bag at him, screaming my head off until he fled," I explain. "All he took from me was a few strands of hair, thankfully. I nearly lost an eye!"

"You really should take a guard with you," Lord Briar advises me. "You really are such a tiny thing, my lady. I'm amazed you haven't so much as broken a wing."

"I was raised well, I hope?"

"Indeed," Lady North declares, lifting her glass. "To Lady Hazelnut's safe travels!"

"Here, here!" we cheer, clinking our cups together.

We chat for a short while longer about more mundane things, like how the kingdom is running and the minor issues being dealt with over the course of the day. Finally, we're called to the dining room, which is the second largest room in the tree -the first being the ballroom for parties when it's too cold to go outside. The bark here is so shiny, you can see your reflection, the table long and wide to accommodate all of us and our food. I take my place near the far end of the table, waiting beside everyone else as the Page announces the arrival of the King, Queen, and Prince.

King Stone is exactly as you'd imagine a fairy king to be, if you've ever imagined a fairy king. He's tall and imposing, but with kind eyes and a loud voice that is easily heard by his subjects. Queen Lauralei is beautiful, of course, with flowing, golden hair and bright, blue eyes. She delights all who gaze upon her. And finally, Prince Cedar appears behind his parents. Every bit as tall as his father, with the golden hair of his mother and her blue eyes, he's a very handsome man. Many girls tell me I'm very lucky to be able to dine with him, even though I've told them that he and I sit on opposite ends of the table and never interact over dinner. I'm more than happy to not make a fool of myself where the royal family can see. At least the advisers think I'm simply entertaining when I make jokes and give details about designs I have for any upcoming celebration. We have many throughout the year.

We wait for the King and Queen to welcome us to supper and take their seats before we sit as well. Food and drink is quickly set on the table by staff, and conversations about court duties and other such high-class things lull the room into a peaceful setting. I do very much enjoy partaking in the court traditions. I enjoy entertaining the nobility and hearing the inner workings of our kingdom. Even though I'm simply a seamstress, being at the high dining table makes me feel more important. Like I'm a part of the bigger picture.

"Prince Cedar is apparently asking about your travels today," Lord Briar informs me when word has reached our end of the table.

My stomach twists, my smile suddenly shaky. "Oh? Why would such a brave prince be concerned about little, old me? Does he not have other things to worry about?" Damn, that last sentence came out a little snippish.

"He's quite enamoured with you, you know," Lady North grins. "He often pulls you aside to speak in private, does he not?"

My stomach twists tighter, my hands beginning to sweat as my face flushes. "He simply asks about what I have planned for his attire at the next celebration." That's not a COMPLETE lie.

"Is that ALL you two talk about?" Lady North pushes.

No, but I refuse to speak of it to anyone but Thorn. "Just that," I lie, pushing aside my second cup of wine. The last thing I want to do is get drunk enough to confess everything.

The rest of supper goes smoothly, thank goodness, but...after is what I dread. I try to stay as close to Lady Ember, my closest friend here in the high court, keeping myself within arm's reach of her. But I can't escape him.

"Lady Hazelnut."

My stomach twists so tight that I nearly double over with the pain of it. But I've come to learn how to hide my true feelings, unlike other fairies. So I put on an open face and turn to see Prince Cedar, giving me his most charming smile.  "Yes, my Prince?"

"I heard that you had a scare from a crow," he says. "You must tell me all about it."

I swallow past the lump in my throat. "Surely, you would rather hear it from Lady Ember. You know my memory is not the best, and hers is wonderful."

But my breath catches when he shakes his head. "Nonsense. You're the most dramatic storyteller." He offers his arm, and I stare at the limb like it will burn me if I touch it. "Come, my lady. I promise not to keep you long."

A lie. An outright lie. But I can't say "no" to the Prince. It would ruin my relations with the court. So, putting on a strained smile, I place my hand in the crook of his elbow. "If you say so."

My heart feels like a bird in a cage, and I desperately try not to show it as I let Prince Cedar lead me out to a balcony. The crisp, night air makes my head a little clearer. I very much hope that the young Prince has not had much to drink tonight.

"Isn't it lovely tonight? The moonlight shining through the leafless trees," he describes, looking out into the night.

"I can't wait until Spring," I reply.

"Ah, yes, so you can make your famous flower petal ensembles," he chuckles, and the sound sends a shudder through me. "Now, tell me about this crow who came so close to taking away our loveliest seamstress?"

"He must have simply been bored," I say blandly, all of my normal theatrics gone. "He dived at me, managed to snag a few strands of hair, then flew off when I fought back."

The Prince hums. "You're always so different with the others than you are with me. You seem so excited and happy with everyone else. What makes ME any different?"

Oh, you damn well know WHY. "You're the Prince, your highness. I must be respectful towards you."

"Is this why you pull away when I try to touch you?" he asks, reaching his hand out to hold mine, but I pull away. "Why do you do that?" he insists. "You KNOW of my feelings for you, Hazelnut. I have been courting you for ages, yet you deny my every attempt."

I take a step back when he turns to me with anger emanating from his aura. "Your highness, I understand your admiration of me, but I canNOT accept your feelings. I'm sorry."

"But why?" he demands, his voice getting louder. "I can give you everything you've ever desired. I will give you all of my heart. You will want for nothing! Why do you not love me in return?"

My lungs are beginning to hurt, the cold air biting my throat. I glance back and start moving towards the door. If I can just get away from him and back in public, I can escape. "The heart can't be bought, your highness," I tell him. "Your wealth and status don't matter to me. I can't explain why I don't love you. I simply don't. PLEASE accept my true feelings, your highness."

I'm in the hall now, but he comes right after me, his aura becoming even redder. "Any woman would KILL to be in your position! I have NUMEROUS ladies vying for my attention!"

"Then cast your gaze on THEM and give up on me!" I urge, surging off down the hall faster than he can chase me. He knows better than to cause a scene in front of other folk.

I make a hasty excuse to my friends that I am feeling tired after a very long day, and as soon as they bid me "good-night", I leave the court and fly out, wanting to put as much distance between myself and the Prince as possible. So I fly and fly, uncaring about crows or owls or any other birds. Tears blur my vision, and I hastily wipe them away, but more simply take their place. My aura is a dark blue when I look at my hands, and I rub them together to get rid of the feeling of his hand just barely brushing mine. Enough to make me feel dirty.

He's disgusting. Everything I could hate about a man. Arrogant, conceited, aggressive, and uncooperative. I pity his mother and father. I can't help but wonder where they went wrong with him. Why would a prince go after a seamstress?! I'm only considered high-class due to my work being so popular amongst the court. Nothing more! I don't come from wealth or power. The only reason he must see anything in me worthy to dedicate his time to is my beauty. But there are plenty of ladies far more beautiful than I am! And who come from better backgrounds. Ones who could give him the love he desires. Why would he continue to waste his time after nearly a YEAR of me rejecting his affections? Why ME?

I stop when I smell smoke. Where am I? I flew too far. But where is the smoke coming from? A forest fire? Humans?

I follow the smoke and find the house of the sad human from earlier. Now there's a fire in the chimney, the lights on. Are they still awake this late at night? I fly over to a window and look through it, finding the hot stove now lit, the human sitting at their small table and whittling. There's something different about them. They look...focused. Alert. Damn, did I make it hard for them to sleep now? I should have checked how much of my magick I was giving them. I fly around the little house and find one window slightly ajar, squeezing myself into the very warm home. The crackle of the fire in the stove is soothing to my cold wings, and the soft shhh sound of the human whittling is gentle on my ears after the night I just had.

I can't get too close to the stove without burning myself, but I also can't reveal myself to the human, so I quietly fly over to the bed and slip underneath it. Ah, it's warm here. And quiet. The energy in here is much nicer. I'll just...rest here for a short while...where I'm safe...

[yourkeeperoftherunners]

DDU-DU DDU-DU Thoughts

After seeing an article talking about some symbolism in the latest BLACKPINK MV, it got me thinking about some observations I’ve made. (Under a cut because it get lengthy.) *These are MY personal thoughts.

Black and white are used as contrasts and to exhibit different images/personas. This isn’t a new concept – it’s a common thing in film and art. Here, it is using dark/black to represent the truth, whereas white is seen as an ideal or perhaps a fantasy.

Jennie

White Jennie sports a girly, form fitting, short outfit with a huge, wide-brimmed sun hat while carrying shopping bags. Early on in her career, Jennie was dubbed ‘YG’s Princess’ and today many call her ‘Human Gucci’ or in this case, ‘Human Chanel’ with her recent endorsement for the brand. I’ve read and seen comments where casual observers or people who do not stan Jennie mislabel her as a diva or high maintenance compared to the other members for a variety of reasons. (Ex. Facial expressions, fashion choices, stage presence, etc.) This version of Jennie is stereotyped as a superficial beauty who prizes shopping and the finer things in her white ensemble.

Black Jennie is on top of a tank, eating popcorn and kicking back, before using the tank to run over White Jennie’s shopping bags. Her look is more edgy and practical – pants and boots versus the short shorts and heels, hair pulled back versus perfect waves and down. Going back to her looks we saw in BLACKPINK House, Jennie mixed a combination of feminine and casual looks in her outfit choices. We know she likes fashion but she has shown that there’s a balance in her choices, versus everyone identifying her as a prim, always pretty and girly figure based on appearances and media publications. We also have seen Jennie enjoying good food with her band mates versus dieting or starving herself – the popcorn represents that. The whole image of her sitting and watching while on a tank eating popcorn and throwing it at the camera is reminiscent of a critic – she is aware many think of her a certain way and she sits and watches, waiting for the opportunity to strike where she can break down those misconceptions.

Rosé

White/Light Rosé is placed on a pedestal with a spotlight, while sporting a glam dress, perfect makeup that highlights her sculpted face, and a crown on her head. To almost everyone who Googles or has heard of BLACKPINK, one of the things Rosé is noted for is her figure, namely her tiny waist, which was announced incorrectly at 19″. She was quick to dispel this rumor on Masked Singer, stating that she is 24″ in her waist, adding that 19″ didn’t seem healthy for a human being. Waist size aside, many have commented on how visually pretty Rosé is, especially given that she is one of the taller members in the group. To borrow a line from a Kate Voegele song, this Rosé is a case of “put me up on a pedestal / I’ve got nowhere to go but down”, based on what she’s heard from casual people or online critics.

Black/dark Rosé enters the room housing the pedestal version of herself and looks up. She is shrouded in the shadows, wearing less makeup and a muted outfit. She is serious as she takes in the Light version of herself. Many fans know her as a sweet, bubbly girl who cares about the people in her life. Yet she has stated in interviews that there were times during training where she missed her parents and sister, wishing she could be home. She also noted in one interview that early on in training, she envied the others for having things she didn’t have, like Lisa’s natural talent for dancing and questioned her own abilities. As she once said, “I’m a real human being!” – in this case, she has a broad range of emotions and feelings beyond her public persona that people know her for. Like everyone, she is feels she has flaws and has felt sadness or envy from time to time as her career blossomed. She acknowledges that she cannot always be the bubbly, happy girl all the time and that she has the right to express other feelings.

Jisoo

White Jisoo wears a funky outfit with a bright pink bob wig. She walks past her admirers who snap pics of her glossy advertisement image (this figure also in white) behind her, before tripping. She stands up, only to find her admirers have turned their devices (now covered in gun-shaped phone cases) on her. Considering the advertisement image that the admirers photograph, she has her long dark hair flowing and looks sophisticated and glam. Because she is the eldest in the group, I sense there’s a bit of a stereotype assumption that she’s obligated to be mature and responsible all the time. (I think back to some other older members of other groups like Red Velvet’s Irene, and sometimes in promotional material or in quick glimpses of public appearance noticed by fans, older members like Irene get typecast as mature, serious-only figures, while the younger members are bubbly, mischievous, and fun.) Also to note, the admirers aren’t looking at the pink bob wig version of Jisoo – they’re all focused on her glam, mature advertisement image.

Black Jisoo sports a classic Audrey Hepburn-esque look with her pearls, black dress, and umbrella. She carries herself in a graceful, slightly cold manner. Again, she looks very mature and sophisticated, which is how many casual observers identify her in the group.

Unlike the other members who use the black versions to expose the truths about themselves, I feel that the pink bob version is Jisoo’s true side. The look she sports is more youthful and fun, also it is jarringly different from her stage look that others have associated with her. Because people associate her as the oldest, it is difficult for her to escape criticism and judgment for acting younger or as goofy as the younger members when it is fitting or whenever she wants to. In BLACKPINK House, one got to see her letting loose and having fun, wearing sweats instead of girly clothes, and being a regular, young twenty-something having fun. In one interview, she shared she is the youngest in her family, hence her usual persona that many didn’t see until the reality show. She knows she is the eldest of the group, but she wishes to remind everyone that she is a young woman who can have fun, can show a goofy side, and shouldn’t be limited to a narrow perception based on looks or stage personas.

Lisa

White Lisa wears a sleeveless top, pants, Valentino studded shoes, loud jewelry, and has a cockatoo perched on her hand. People holding a bird seem to evoke a sort of exotic air about them, as birds seen more as a spectacle than a dog or cat. In relation to Lisa, many early articles drew attention to the fact that she was the first Thai candidate cast by YG to be part of a major group, whereas the others are all Korean. Plus, many hosts on talk or variety shows drew attention to the fact that she had to learn Korean while training, and note that her Korean is very good for someone outside of the country. I felt this was a correlation to her early days when people looked at her as a rare case because she was a non-Korean person being cast by a major entertainment company, versus acknowledging her talents that got her into YG. (Ex. Articles saying “She’s the first Thai candidate to join YG”.)

While she doesn’t wear a black/dark outfit when contrasted against the white version of herself, we have her pink suit ensemble where she’s in front of a blackboard with nods back to BLACKPINK’s success and information from their debut to now. (Ex. YouTube views, facts about their MVs, etc.) A woman in a suit is considered independent and powerful; coupled with the glasses, Lisa looks sharp. Noted that Lisa’s strong rap takes place during these scenes – schooling the casual observers and people typecasting her that she’s more than just the Thai girl in a Korean girl group spitting bad-ass raps while in loud, edgy ensembles. (Ex. Her tube dress/varsity jacket/thigh high boots ensemble seen in the MV.) She knows her stuff (dancing, singing, rapping, and the Korean language) and commands to be taken seriously.

Conclusion

All four members have come a long way since debut. The title song acts as an anthem about breaking those perceived concepts people have labeled them with and taking control of their identities, embracing their true selves. For their fans, perhaps it serves to encourage them to take control of their images and embrace their true personalities flawed or not.

[akemilena]

Interview with Fujiwara (General Producer of Tsukipro)

From LiNK vol. 002

“I seek realism and friendliness”

Fujiwara-san, who launched Tsukiuta and has been involved with all the Tsukipro series after that. We asked her, the producer, who is also participating as the story’s draft writer in “Proani”, what was she aiming for with this anime, and what plans does she have for Tsukipro from now on.

It’s been 5 years since “Tsukiuta” started in 2012, but could you tell us your feelings again?

Lately I have the feeling that time goes by really fast. The first 3 years it was only developed as a CD series and it had quite a narrow scope, but in 2016 “Tsukiuta” was made into an anime, the stage play started, and because of it the scope got suddenly really wide.

Now, the amount of talents belonging to Tsukipro has increased and it got many developments including a smartphone app and live-action programs. Did you expect it to become so huge?

At first I really didn’t even imagine it. “Tsukiuta” started just because I thought “I want to do this!” and presented a proposal to my boss. At that time, I was the only person in this project. Even after it actually started moving and more people joined, we were just 3 people. That’s why, for a while after it was in motion, I did many things alone. Of course, there were illustrators and music producers and so on, but I was doing can badges and such by myself. In a corner of the company (laughs).

Like a side job (laughs).

That’s right. I was making can badges and posters alone while side glancing at popular titles and dreaming “I wish we could become like that someday”. That’s why, when the amount of people helping started to grow, and the number of followers on twitter also increased, and, like the situation right now, we got an anime, I felt really grateful.

Then, were you surprised when this second anime project got decided?

If you compare it to when “Tsukiuta THE ANIMATION” got decided, I was somewhat calmer, as far as pure surprise goes. Also because when the first anime finished airing, I thought “I want to do the next one” so it felt more like having passed one objective.

I see. “Proani” is centered on the succeeding units of “Tsukiuta”, but did you have an image of what you wanted the anime to be from the beginning?

The four units that are the center [of this anime] have a shorter history than “Tsukiuta”, so of course they are less known. But I think their music and their charm as they grow as units is really good. And for that, first of all we need people to get to know them. “Proani”’s objective is to become at least a cause for people to touch the project.

Like an introduction, that “These kids are also a part of Tsukipro”.

Yes. Because when it’s an anime, the chances of people seeing it will increase. Then, if you listen to the music, I’m sure you’ll get to understand the charms of all these very individual boys. We’re making music that we purely think it’s good, so first something like “Please listen to our music for a bit” or “Please look how our children work” (laughs).

The units and the talents have all very rich personalities, right.

Until now, it’s been progressing as a drama CD series, and the talents already have their personalities very defined, so the moment it became an anime, we had as a major premise that they wouldn’t waver.

The fans that have been following it since the drama CDs would feel uncomfortable if their images of the characters were off.

An amazing amount of people are involved in the production of an anime. But the people we directly talk to are just a few who are in the center, and there are many more people beyond them that also work on it. And among that huge amount of people, we had to make sure that the personalities of the talents wouldn’t be off, no matter what. For that reason, this time, while acting as the producer, I’m also involved in the story’s draft.

Is there something inside you that is absolute about their personalities?

Yes. Inside me, the talents exist very actively, and I have clear things like “He would never do this gesture” or “In this moment, he would act like this”, and so on. But that doesn’t mean that I’ll give something very concrete in the draft, I’m just giving the plot to the staff like “This anime’s image is like this”, and I’m leaving the way they are going to express it to the professionals. Though as a result of letting them express quite freely, there are times I ask for corrections. But I think my duty this time is how to express the talent’s personalities in the anime without them feeling off, so I decided not to give in, and talked a lot with the staff.

Tsukipro’s talents grow old every year, so their process of growing and their history in the drama CDs until now is important too, right.

Of course we’re taking care of the talent’s personalities that have been written until now, but I thought that the amount of people who see this work for the first time will be bigger [than the ones who already know it], so we made it so people can enjoy it even without that previous information. It’s episodic, so you can watch it just casually. And of course, for the people who know them from the drama CDs, we’ve included small references here and there, so if you notice them you’ll cry, or laugh even more. I’d be happy if people who have known them thanks to the anime would want to investigate further and listen to the CDs as well.

So you can enjoy it just as an anime, and if you listen to the drama CDs it will be even more fun.

That’s right. But it’s not like “listen to the past series no matter what!”, I would just like everyone to enjoy it in their own way. “Proani” too of course, but all of Tsukipro’s works are generally made with that feeling in mind. There are some people that will continue following and pouring love into the series they like even if their lifestyle becomes more difficult. I also think that is wonderful too, and I’m grateful, but I think I would like them to have fun with our works. There’s no need to follow them all from 1 to 10, so I want it to be a story where you can comfortably enjoy just the parts you like.

Enjoying it freely is what’s more important.

Yes. Actually, the entertainment contents we make, like the anime, is something that you don’t essentially need to continue living. You can live your life even if you don’t know it, but if you do, your life will become at least a bit richer. That’s why I think that it’s kind of wrong if following the things you like makes your life harder, or it’s emotionally painful. I want it, most importantly, to be fun, no matter how far you go. How would you call it, like “food at home”.

Food at home?

Probably other idol things tend to be a special being, like “Today I’m going to eat steak!”, or “I came with a dress in accordance to the restaurant”, like getting fired up and going to eat out. But in the Tsukipro series, the daily life of the talents is always written, so it’s something more familiar.

Certainly, they’re very friendly and close.

They even go just normally to the konbini to buy tea in the anime.

And they go to eat stand-up soba restaurants too (laughs)

That’s right (laughs). That’s why, I’d like people to see them as another human being living in the same world, a close presence. This is the basis. This is also the reason that we write their daily lives, so people can enjoy it comfortably.

So you want them to be an existence which is part of daily life, which can be enjoyed without hesitation, like the food at home.

Exactly. And that’s how we’re conveying the life-sized form of the talents.

A lot of realism is also felt from this work. Actually, the anime has the same time axis as reality, and we see the same enterprises and places that exist in the real world.

That’s something I was particular about too. I wanted to depict the way the talents live their daily lives as realistically as possible, so I got permission from the places and companies that appear. So that when you go to visit that place, you can think “he was here”, or “he was eating that”, and feel a bit happy fantasizing about it. So when the talents go shopping around the city, you can go to the same places and eat the same things. If people could get involved with the work with that close sense of distance it’d be ideal.

And precisely because it’s written so realistically, it gives our imagination much more room.

If people’s daily lives could get even a bit more fun thanks to this, it’d be wonderful. Like, you can dream. Even though you know it’s the anime’s world, just thinking “maybe he was here” or “maybe we just passed each other”, makes you kind of excited, doesn’t it?

So precisely because it gets closer to the customers’ daily lives like that, people can enjoy it comfortably. That’s the most important thought.

Yes. Because following it every day gets tiring, so if someone loses interest, they can get away from it once, and when there’s a new talent that seems interesting they can come back again. I think that much is fine. I’d be happy if people can enjoy it and love it freely and lightheartedly, for a very long time.

Do you have any objectives you want to fulfill with Tsukipro, or any forecast for the future?

I’m thinking of introducing a new unit every year. Tsukipro still doesn’t have any comedians or actresses, so there still are a lot of slots to fill. I want to touch many more genres and increase the talents. And each one of them, like I said earlier, that “could actually live” in an extension of daily life.

So you’re saying we could see comedians debut from Tsukipro.

This could seem like we’re straying, but if you’re not too focused on the types, you could run into new encounters and new things that you didn’t think of, so I’m going to run around intentionally. Someday we might see not only anime, but dramas or variety shows made with Tsukipro talents too (laughs). I want to be at least that free.

Understood. Looks like “Proani” and “Tsukipro” will get even more fun.

That’s right. But first of all I want everyone to enjoy “Proani”. It’s expressed as a “music-daily life anime”, and that being the case, only for the opening there’s already 4 songs, and all the endings make 12 songs. I think you can enjoy the music even if you don’t know the talents’ background, so first I’d like people to enter from that, and then become interested in the ones who sing. And on the contrary, for the people who already know them, they’re singing songs that could have a different impression from the unit, so you could discover a new face of them. I’d be happy if you can look over them as they challenge new things.

Translation index

TL notes:

Hello hello! I’m back with a wonderful interview with our God and Savior the producer of Tsukipro! This is from a magazine which has a feature on tsukipro of no less than 70 pages!!!!! I’m also preparing a post with the highlights of the rest of the interviews (because there’s a LOT) but I just needed to translate this whole one. I think it’s very important for us fans to see what’s behind the things we love, especially if they’re made with so much care as Fujiwara-san has!!! 

It was a truly amazing read and I hope I can convey the very caring way she talks about it. Please excuse any awkward and repetitive-sounding phrases... I hate japanese (nonexistent) word order...

Thanks for reading!

[ancientbrit]

Natter # 15  07/13/2016

Subject: MI MG Natter #15 2016 Date: July 13, 2016 at 9:38:13 PM PDT No Farmers Market last weekend , but I have been so busy you would not believe! At least, I didn't seem to get much done in the time available. That is busy - right? I suppose that I tend to get a bit anxious in the few days before giving one of my little talks and last week was no different. I can't seem to settle to do anything worth while - I fiddle about I suppose. I did manage to prepare a handout list for the Saturday, but it wasn't until I was in the shower on Saturday morning that it occurred to me that I didn't have an assessment form - so I had to knock one up as I was eating breakfast. Sooo professional I felt! I was surprised that I was able to do this, as mornings and I do not normally work side by side! I had set my alarm clock for 7, but my alarm clock, having a mind of it's own, always makes itself known twenty minutes before set time. Not that it mattered very much as I had been awake since 0545. I should have leaped out of bed at that time I suppose, but I was convinced that as I had an hour until the alarm welcomed me to another day, I could get more sleep time. This of course was ridiculous and I spent about 30 minutes setting the world to rights before I decided that an early cup of tea would fit the bill. And so ten minutes later, my early morning cup of tea, along with a couple of Rich Tea Biscuits started my day, followed by a shower and opening the greenhouse lower vents, watering the seeds and plants therein, cutting some Weigela  and Ceanothus branches, loading MG sign boards and my class kit of essential stuff. After breakfast, during which I wrote the assessment sheet, I took off copies and was on my way by 0920, reaching The Grange at 0945 to find one MG already there waiting to help me set up. This we did in good time, setting out three tables, by which time most of the others had arrived. There had been ten who signed up and we waited until 10:20 for the last two but they never showed up, so we started. Apparently, all of them, with the exception of one second year Intern, had successfully taken cuttings in the past and this event really ended showing all of them which plants were prepared in which way. Some of the plants brought in were unsuitable at this time of the year, which was a shame. I had asked repeatedly that I be told beforehand which plants were proposed just so that I could advise whether or not it would suitable and I hated to say no - so we prepared them and hoped for the best. Never say die. There was a beautiful hardy Fuchsia which was in great demand, unfortunately it was nameless, but we can maybe identify it later once it blooms. I had estimated that we would be there for a couple of hours, but time ran on until 1:30pm, all of the time being well employed and I think we all had a good time. After everybody had helped clean up the mess, I was pleased to see that some of the ladies had gone into The Grange to buy rooting compound. It was nice to think that The Grange saw some return for their generosity. The next class on the 16th looks like being cancelled as only two have signed up. I will hold on until Thursday just in case there is a last minute rush, but I somehow doubt it will happen. The 23rd is good to go with ten signed up there too. I have to commend the staff at The Grange for their public spiritedness in providing this facility at no charge. I had been told when I gave a talk there last October that it was possible that this policy might change in the future, but I was not told anything like that this time. I was in fact, told that at any time in the future we needed it, the facility would be available to us again. you can't really say fairer than that and in addition anybody wearing their MG badge can get a 10% discount on any purchases. Coming home on Sunday from meeting a friend in Kirkland I hadn't seen in 20 years (she lives in Montana) I saw a dead deer on the west side of the 405. They are obviously increasing in number and I imagine there will be a load more before long, together with car accidents.  Mercer Island has also had several run-ins with about 3 or 4 deaths around the Island and it is only a question of time for when somebody drives around a corner in wet or otherwise dodgy conditions to be confronted with deer, slam on the brakes and go off the road or hit somebody. Not a pleasant thought that. My research assistant (Jean) dug me out some really interesting information about raspberries - a BLACK Raspberry to be precise - namely "Jewel." Apparently Jewel is neither a blackberry nor a raspberry, but a distinct species from North America - Rubus occidentalis. It has an intensely sweet flavor and complex aroma. The taste is apparently like a combination of raspberry cordial mixed with Bramble Jelly - quite incredible. It's talents do not end there as it contains a whopping five times the anthocyanin content of some blackberry varieties. This has attracted the interest of medical researchers, with a growing body of studies revealing intriguing results. For example, in one Phase 1 clinical trial (the first step in drug development) at the University of Ohio), researchers reported that consuming the fruit could reduce the markers of DNA damage in oral cancer survivors. The authors of the study are careful not to make claims beyond their limited evidence and more research is underway, but being sweet, delicious and just as easy to grow as any blackberry they deserve to be much more widely planted. Raintree features "Jewel Black" in their catalogue, where they describe the flavor as richer than red or yellow types. The bushes are larger than other types as well as vigorous and highly productive and quite disease resistant. Priced at $7.50 each (or 5 for $25) they are one plant I will have to try next year. One thing I like about them is that they won't run like raspberries - they propagate by tip-rooting like blackberries. What's not to like?

[ralphlayton]

Best Of Social Media Marketing: Fuel Your 2021 With Our Top 10 SMM Posts

In 2020 B2B marketers continued to find new and creative uses of social media marketing during a pandemic year unlike any other, and we've been fortunate to feature many excellent articles on our blog over the year that explore how marketers are pushing social media marketing to fuel new levels of success. We're lucky to have a wealth of talented B2B marketing professionals contributing to the TopRank Marketing blog — which will celebrate its 18th year in 2021 — including our CEO Lee Odden, Joshua Nite, Elizabeth Williams, Anne Leuman, Nick Nelson, Debbie Friez, Birdie Zepeda, the author of this post, and Alexis Hall, among others. The insight and expertise our team has acquired helping some of the top brands in the world including 3M, Adobe, SAP, LinkedIn, and Oracle plan, implement and measure a variety of marketing programs has often made it here to our blog. To help our blog community grow their social media marketing knowledge, we're delighted to offer our annual list of the most popular social media marketing posts of 2020. The social media marketing posts that proved to be our most popular of 2020 based on web analytics and social media data are listed below. We hope that they will help you ask the right questions and provide best-answer solutions to some of the most important challenges we'll all be facing anew in 2021. We give many thanks to all of our blog authors for their work in advocating social media marketing best practices, and especially to our dedicated readers for continuing to make the TopRank Marketing blog a go-to B2B marketing resource.

Our Most Popular Social Media Marketing Posts in 2020:

1. Social Media Polls For Marketers: 6 B2B Brands Winning With LinkedIn Polls — Lane R. Ellis

Data from social media polls shows what customers are thinking about when it comes to a variety of important subjects, and in the most popular social media marketing post of 2020 on our blog, I took a look at how B2B brands Microsoft, Olive Communications UK, Redis Labs, LinkedIn News, Dell, and RateLinx are winning with LinkedIn polls. Polls offer a unique two-for-one value for B2B marketers, providing quality feedback on what customers want while also offering brands a powerful interactive social media marketing element. This post examines the year's changes in online polls, and gives examines of how B2B marketers and brands are using social media polls in innovative ways, including six B2B brands winning with LinkedIn polls. You can check out all of my posts here, and follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn. [bctt tweet="“Poll data shows what marketers are thinking about when it comes to a variety of important subjects, ranging from everyday tasks to far-reaching future trends.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

2. Get Ready For Video In 2021: Watch 5 Creative Examples of B2B Marketing on YouTube — Lane R. Ellis

In our second most popular social media marketing post of the year, I share the latest from YouTube, and how B2B marketers are using the video platform to power creative and engaging campaigns. Taking a look at YouTube Shorts and other features adding in 2020, we also share five creative examples of successful B2B marketing on the platform from:

HP

Adobe*

Constant Contact

Deloitte

Ernst & Young

[bctt tweet="“YouTube’s orbit casts a wide swath in the B2B marketing universe, and 64 percent of B2B buyers have increased their use of online video during the pandemic.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

3. 32 Top Social Media Marketing Influencers To Follow — Lane R. Ellis

With a powerful group of 32 top social media marketing professionals to follow and learn from, our third most popular social media marketing article highlights how the SMM industry is bursting with innovative B2B marketing professionals — people who push the boundaries of existing social platforms, embrace new ones, and ditch low-performers. We’ve put together a list of 32 top social media marketers that includes a number of fantastic folks who may not already be on your Twitter “following” list, in addition to some industry stalwarts who those new to social media marketing would be wise to follow and learn from. We’ve also added a quote, tip, or short lesson from each of these 32 subject matter experts, to help inspire your own social media marketing efforts. [bctt tweet="“With unprecedented targeting via the social media platforms, it is essential brands and media companies not take a one size fits all approach with their social video strategy.” — Caitlin Angeloff @caitlinangeloff" username="toprank"]

4. 5 Things to Know About Building Trust in the Age of Social Media — Nick Nelson

In the fourth most popular social media marketing post of 2020, our content marketing manager Nick Nelson shares five items to help build trust in the age of social media. Nick also explores the roles that trust and transparency play in developing an effective B2B social media strategy during this unprecedented time, along with examining how brands can best reach the crucial objective of trust-building using social media today. You can check out all of Nick's posts here, and follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn. [bctt tweet="“The worst stand any brand can take is standing still.” @NickNelsonMN #SocialMediaMarketing #PurposeDriven #B2B" username="toprank"]

5. Active Social Media Listening: Tips for a New Era of COVID-19 — Debbie Friez

Now is the time to listen beyond your basic brand searches, and in our fifth most popular social media marketing post of the year, our influencer marketing strategist Debbie Friez helps you dive into the many insights B2B marketers can gain from social media listening, along with tips for better social marketing during times of crisis. Debbie shares insight from Meltwater's Lance Concannon, Brandwatch's Joshua Boyd, Sprout Social's Kristin Johnson, Sprinklr's Ragy Thomas, and other subject matter experts. Social media listening requires marketers to move beyond monitoring to analyzing the full situation, which can often be a moving target, and Debbie takes a close look in this insightful piece. You can check out all of Debbie's posts here, and follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn. [bctt tweet="“Social listening tools move beyond the top level of monitoring and help hone your strategy with deeper insights into the sentiment, regional differences, and understanding of the conversation.” — Debbie Friez @dfriez" username="toprank"]

6. 10 Fresh Social Media Marketing Tools To Boost Brand Storytelling — Lane R. Ellis

Have you tried all 10 of these fresh social media marketing tools? In our sixth most popular post of the year, I show how to refine and expand your brand storytelling with 10 of the year's latest social media tools. Sifting through tens of thousands of available tools can be a hit and miss proposition, but these 10 fresh marketing tools let you skip most of the research queue and get right into useful tools for helping you tell marketing stories in new ways through social media. Learn from our collection of 10 fresh tools to boost your social media marketing experiences, including image and video manipulation tools, headline analysis utilities, social media monitoring apps, and more. [bctt tweet="“Sifting through thousands of available tools can be a hit and miss proposition, making reviews and vetted lists of truly useful utilities more useful than ever for helping you tell marketing stories in new ways.” @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

7. 8 Things B2B Marketers Need To Know About Reddit in 2021 — Lane R. Ellis

In our seventh most popular social media marketing post of the year, I take a look at whether B2B marketers should be using Reddit, and share eight things B2B marketers need to know, including how businesses are using it, the latest news from the social media platform, and why more firms than ever will be using it in 2021 and beyond. We also take a look at just how effective Reddit is for advertising and organic marketing communication, and dig in to some of the top tips and advice for B2B marketers new to Reddit or those looking to expand their presence on the social media platform. While Reddit may no longer be the wild west for B2B marketers, incorporating it into your strategy doesn’t have to be a shootout at high noon if you take to heart the information explored in this article.

[bctt tweet="“Reddit has also been a popular platform for hosting ask-me-anything (AMA) events, which can be a good way for B2B firms to begin utilizing the service if the interviewee is especially relevant to a particular topic.” @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

8. Our 10 Top Social Media Marketing Posts of 2019 — Lane R. Ellis

In our eighth most popular social media marketing article of the year, I examine some of the writing that resonated with B2B marketers over the year, offering a variety of approaches to social media marketing success. From top-notch B2B marketers to follow lists, under-the-radar LinkedIn* features, social media statistics to the subtleties of Twitter lists and B2B social video, these practical and helpful posts offer a glimpse at many aspects of successful social strategy. [bctt tweet="“It’s clear that B2B social media marketing is strong and growing stronger, and it’s also apparent that direction and guidance in where to focus your B2B social efforts is needed now more than ever.” @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

9. 5 Ways to Make Brand Social Media Profiles More Compelling — Joshua Nite

In our ninth most-popular B2B social media marketing post of the year, our senior content marketing manager Joshua Nite shares five ways to make brand social media profiles more compelling. "Brands have never had such rich opportunities to interact with customers and potential customers. They’ve never been able to so easily display what the brand is about, what it stands for, and how it can bring value to people," Josh noted in this insightful and popular piece, in which he shows how savvy B2B marketers can:

Ditch the Corporate-Speak

Eliminate Problematic Language

Say Why You’re Here

Focus on What You Do for Your Audience

Include a Call to Action

You can check out all of Josh's posts here, and follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn. [bctt tweet="“There’s still a real possibility to engage with your audience on social, start conversations, and build relationships. And it all starts with making sure your profile invites people in and gives them a next step to take.” @NiteWrites" username="toprank"]

10. 5 Case Studies on How to Optimize B2B Influencer Engagement on LinkedIn — Lee Odden

How are B2B brands successfully working with influencers to achieve marketing goals using professional social media platform LinkedIn? In the tenth most popular social media marketing article of the year, our CEO Lee Odden shares five helpful case studies showing how to successfully engage B2B influencers on LinkedIn. "While there are robust opportunities to connect with potential customers on LinkedIn, the platform is busier than ever, making it hard to stand out," Lee noted. "There are also challenges in terms of reduced organic visibility and the trend towards distrust of sales outreach and what brands publish directly. With so much information, many buyers are suffering what I call Content Attention Deficit," Lee explained — a deficit he explores in detail in this insight-filled article. You can check out all of Lee's 2,600+ posts here, and follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn. [bctt tweet="“Before you get started with B2B influencer engagement on LinkedIn, it’s essential that you have a documented influencer marketing strategy.” — Lee Odden @LeeOdden" username="toprank"]

Thanks TopRank Marketing Writers & Readers

There you have it — an especially strong array of our 10 most popular social media marketing posts from the particularly unusual year of 2020. Additionally, we publish several social media influencer lists every year, and we wanted to share them here as a helpful way to find and follow some of the leading digital marketing influencers:

25 Top B2B Marketing Influencers To Follow In 2021 #MPB2B

50 Top B2B Content Marketing Influencers To Follow in 2021 #CMWorld

20 B2B Influencer Marketing Pros to Follow from Top Brands

32 Top Social Media Marketing Influencers To Follow

Another helpful resource for B2B marketers to learn about crafting a successful B2B influencer marketing program is our recently-launched Inside Influence series, featuring interviews with top industry experts such as the latest episode with Marshall Kirkpatrick of Sprinklr. We published dozens of posts this year specifically about social media marketing, a tradition we'll continue in 2021, so stay tuned. Please let us know which social media marketing topics and ideas you'd like to see us focus on for 2021 — we'd love to hear your suggestions. Many thanks to each of you who read our blog regularly, and to all of you who comment on and share our posts on the TopRank Marketing social media channels at Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. *Dell, RateLinx, Adobe, and LinkedIn are TopRank Marketing clients.

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