#but yeah I actually feel really good about it! they said they were interviewing s few more ppl though so we shall see

[coffeebanana]

I always say I’m honest about writing fanfiction in my real life but I definitely levelled up by admitting to that in a job interview today 💀

[controld3vil]

chaotic duo

pairing(s): dune cast x actor!reader (platonic), oscar isaac x actor!reader

synopsis: requested by this ask!

⤷ alt: even your on-screen son can't deny how delightful his on-screen parents were.

notes: absolutely no shade to rebecca ferguson i adore her too much. reader is considered to have fem pronouns. ALSO ive been feeling iffy about trying to write for dune characters?? personally, although i love writing these actor!reader stories, writing for the actual characters i feel would be more challenging. dune's still pretty new to me but i kinda wanna give it a shot if i can make a good storyline T-T

It all started with the Dune Cast Q&A brought together by Nerdist. Timothee Chalamet and Denis Villeneuve had just finished chatting with the host, Stephen Colbert about their perspectives on Paul's character. Much emphasis had gone on the young actor's performance. And Denis's decision to cast such a well-experienced one.

After finishing up their last question together, Stephen decides to introduce two additional members. "Timothee let's bring out the man and the woman who play your parents, Duke Leto Atreides and Lady Jessica." A transition between screens to display your camera view and Oscar's. He introduces both your names.

"Hi!" You grin at the camera, comfortably leaning against one of the arms of your chair. Similar to everyone else's backdrop, yours was pitch gray, covering all but your silhouette and chair.

"Hey Stephen," Oscar greets at ease, as you proceed to wave to each of the people seen onscreen.

It cuts immediately to the host gesturing in continuation for a question. "Tell me and the audience about Duke Leto Atreides. What do we need to know?"

"He's the father and human. I think that's the biggest thing and uh under incredible pressure to save his family. Save his house but to adapt to this new existential threat situation which is moving to this strange planet," Your fellow costar puts into short. Short and concise was what was expected.

Content with his answer, Stephen moves the attention to you. He calls out your name, eagerly. "Rereading the books uh- right now, I am struck by how much of the story- uh the backstory and the action story is driven by the decisions Lady Jessica makes." A smile grows on your face, knowing how much fun was a character to play for you.

Along his last few words, you find yourself nodding in agreement. "I'm impressed with that you, Stephen actually read the books again!" An instant grin comes from the said man. "But it's all applause to Denny- he highlighted this from the book. In the film, her decisions basically create, fractures and disrupts everything."

"Best parents ever," In a low whisper, Timothee murmurs and the five of you burst into short chuckles and snickers.

"The best you could ever have!" You clapped your hands together, shaking them above your head in victory. And when the screen expands to show everyone's reactions, the audience can noticeably pinpoint Oscar's playful eye-rolling.

Another fun interview you had the pleasure of sharing was with Grazia UK. It was in a more comfortable setting. With you and Oscar in a lounge room, with the Zoom camera on. While the female interviewer complimenting a kind smile.

"Can I ask you something," Not within a second of the conversation, you rose up with a peculiar question. "Do you remember his beard?" Your costar beside you, looks away in disappointment. Even raising his hand to emphasize his discouraged state.

"A bit yes..."

"Yeah,"

"Yes!"

"Why? It was an impressive beard," Sort of clueless really, the interviewer says, of why you wanted to the topic up.

"Yeah, it was impressive!" Oscar looks back and forth between you and the camera, directing towards the woman on the other side. While you shriveled in embarrassment, leaning your head behind his shoulder, with a few snorts of laughter. "She doesn't even remember if I had a beard or not in the movie! She just saw it."

"Quite a prominent beard!"

"Yes yes, well I can remember so much," You chaste, leaning closer, locking eyes with your costar. Threatening really in a playful way.

"We shot together for a few months! How could you not remember?!" He exclaims, raising both his hands in the air in exasperation. You puff, adorning a pouty-like look.

"I work with what's in front of me," you turn to address the interviewer, pointing at Oscar accusingly. Because much contrast to what he looked months ago, he no longer had that impressive beard. He was clean-shaven, much to your display.

Next to you, Oscar scoffs. "Apparently not!" Bumping shoulders with you as you fought back, poking him many times obnoxiously.

You both later discussed a provoking quote referenced multiple times from Dune posters. Fear is the mind killer. Truly a simple yet intriguing phrase that fitted well with the film. And in generally, you and Oscar compared each others quotes from personal experience.

"I guess you could combine them together," Taking a sip out of your glass, you eyed at Oscar. He hums back and smooths his hands comfortably down his hips.

"It will pass and love prevails!" He cheerfully expresses. Even from afar, the interviewer can notice how much fun you two were having with the question.

"Right and, it plays perfectly with the film," You add onto your little spiel, nodding as you go, "Besides the fact that- you know, fear is the mind killer."

The male actor lets out a long sigh. "Makes you forget how violent the movie is."

On the other side of the screen, the blonde interviewer shrugs her shoulders. "Well- it's only included in small parts in the movie."

It was your turn to hum, dragging out the M sound. "I think maybe the film focusses too much on romance."

A caught off cough comes from Oscar as he tries to his best to dismiss his your sarcastic comment. "I feel like there should've been more of it."

"Really?!" The shot pans to your exaggerated shocked gaze. You then turn to look at the interviewer. "He has no idea how to write a movie." Instantaneously the male actor bursts out laughing, shaking his head back and forth in little denial. Even you couldn't hold it together and giggled a little.

"You play Timothee's parents so spent a lot of time with him. What is the most interesting thing we do not about Timothee Chalamet?" The interviewer prompts, having their arms supported on top the their desk with pure keenness.

Pursing your lips together in concentration, your attention turns towards your partner. "Well coming from me- I mean I don't know if people know this about him or not- but he's very open hearted." Oscar continues, "And me, having to play his father- hence the beard!"

"Ah!" Giving more emphasis, you raised your brow in recollection.

He goes on comparing the analogy of having to play Duke Leto as a powerful leader of a House. Without his people and court, he wouldn't resemble much of an prestige leader. However Oscar later mentions that Timothee's performance was the catalyst to their relationship look authentic. He is young yet incredibly sympathetic towards what's to be done for the film. His time with both of you really sold your relationship as a family, you'd think.

"So that's a very generous thing to do for a young actor. And I was impressed and admired that," In the background, you can be heard mumbling in agreement. Your partner shifts his posture, facing and expecting you to go next.

Licking your lips, you took one last glance at him before focusing strictly at the Zoom camera. "I think for me, to have a young actor like him- he's very driven about it all. When he's on and off screen, Timothee's just focused- he's very serious and concentrates heavily on what Denny says- and I can say I respect that." You punctuate your point, tapping lightly on your knee. "And I play his mother you know, and I try to accommodate with that. I play along and we work until we find a good rhythm with each other." The older woman on the screen seemed enamored by your compliments regarding your costar. Yet her eyes quickly makes it's way to Oscar, sitting quietly and listening to you ramble.

His laidback posture showed how greatly he took your words in. You grab your glass and take a quick sip before hearing him say, "We raised him well." Taking your hand in both of his as a sign of pride.

A delightful chuckle comes from both you and the interviewer while your partner gives a satisfied grin. "We really did!"

The media did not need proof to know of your enjoyed time during the production of Dune. In fact, multiple vlogs and documentaries about the film had fans and viewers alike become fond of your positive and laid back attitude about it all. Despite playing a calculating character such as Lady Jessica, you were nothing of serious when on screen with your costars.

"Welcome to Arrakis!" You popped into frame, wearing an exquisite dress, costumed by one of the designers. It was golden yellow with chains running down from the bottom half of your face to your chest. A faint veil covered your head but for right now, you had it placed on your hair. You spread your arms with anticipation for the cameraman to pan around your surroundings. "It's sunny today so I think we'd be out here for some time." You moved extremely close to the camera, before moving out of the frame to the side.

Abu Dhabi was bliss. The production and crew worked diligently day and night working in the deserts. And on this particular day, most of the cast had been present as well for the introduction of House Atriedes on Arrakis.

A few shots slowly pans from the crew's tents and Denny far into the sandy mountains as he speaks with Timothee. Another shot slyly captures you showing Josh Brolin an unknown video, sideways. Which somehow made him cackle very enthusiastically, holding his stomach to air as you quickly pat his back multiple of times. In all, everyone of the cast members were having a blast in the dry outskirts of the unknown.

"Hello," Brolin pops in another clip where he stands, wearing the Atreides armor. Under a massive shade area, a few people can be spotted in the background, moving equipment and conversing with others. From afar, the people filming the documentary can be heard presenting a few questions for him to touch upon. "Ah what do I think about Lady Jessica being played by," He says your name sincerely.

The video cuts to you having a conversation with your on and screen husband. A hand covering above your face to shield yourself from the sun, while Oscar tries to move where the light is hitting you as the best he could.

"I mean a phenomenal actor like her playing in that kind of role is guaranteed to have an amazing performance. She's- We've known each for a long time since Sicario and with Denny," The male actor softly grins, staring at where you were. "But Oscar on the other hand, eh- not so much." His tone becoming monotonous, as if the shift in topic was distasteful to the touch.

"Whatcha say, Gurney?!" A scream echoes and it's Oscar, cupping both his hands into an O.

The older actor couldn't keep it together before breaking into frivolous giggles. "Nothing, my lord!" He takes one last glance back before seeing you give him two big thumbs up with a silly smirk. "No in all seriousness, those two are just the best! You can never have a bad day with them."

Another prominent section in the video fans adored was with the actors that played Duncan Idaho and Dr. Liet Kynes. This time they are situated in what looked like the structure of Arrakeen. Where all ornithopters were supposedly stationed and the introduction of Dr. Kynes.

"They're so mom and dad," Jason Momoa shaking his head playfully with his hands clamped together. Both him and Sharon Duncan-Brewster wore still suits unlike many other extras who wore Atreides armor. "I mean- they're playing Paul's parents- but in real life it's just so different."

"Definitely more chaotic," Brewster jumps in, earning a hum from her costar. "They act nothing like them."

A cool shot from different location displays you in a dark with Timothee. It was the scene after Paul is put to test to by the Reverent Mother. It was a chilling scene yes, but in post production, many realize how unprofessional you sometimes were even in the most serious times.

The cameras were not live however the film crew were about to pan to you gesturing back and forth with your on-screen son. It was a interactive and intriguing conversation you both were having. You looking in purely engaged with what the French actor was saying. After a few sentences being spoken, it looked as though you chided a teasing joke which gave the reaction of Timothee slightly snickering, backing away slowly.

"I mean do they look like my parents? No," The young actor states shortly. It looked as though the clip was shot right after capturing your cute moment togehter. "But I'd say- yeah Oscar Isaac's a great actor and- to be able to play my dad is pretty cool. Even though we look nothing alike." Nervous laughter spouts as he clears his throat.

"I feel like I get the resemblances from my mom though," Affectionately stating your name, "You can tell where I got my powers, good looks from." Momentarily readjusting his collar as he takes a quick look from behind, knowing your footsteps.

"See? I'm the favorite parent!" In hushed squeal, you wrapped your hands around Timothee's shoulders, earning a lovable grin back.

[isagrimorie]

This is a really good interview with Jac Schaeffer about episode 7 of Agatha All Along.

Schaeffer orchestrates “Death’s Hand in Mind” to unfold with an emotional clarity that allows LuPone to shine in one of her best ever on-screen performances.

[snip]

What sort of feedback would she be giving?

She has a number of mini-monologues, and as we got closer, I tweaked a few of them. She came to me and was like, “Can we please just do it how it was?” And I was like, “You’re the boss, absolutely.” She’s a theater actor. She respects the page. I was trying to streamline and get us moving, and she was like, “No, I want to say all these things.” And bless her, I’m so glad she said all the things.

There are really two different tracks in the episode: the linear timeline as the other characters are experiencing it, and the emotional timeline as Lily is experiencing it. How did you and Patti navigate that?

Patti asked for a script in correct order so she could understand what she was doing. She really did have a solid handle on it, but she would get lost a little bit. Her focus was, “Where is the big emotion? When do I really unravel?” That’s why she wanted to see the episode strung out linearly, but I was like, “You’re the one bouncing around.” She’s the constant, so whenever she’s feeling the deep emotion of it, that is correct, because she’s being wrenched all over the place. So I think her process was finding when the pulling around really starts to trigger her vulnerability.

[SNIP]

The other thing that was very complicated about this episode was the practical part. Those swords are real, and they’re on piano wire. We had to number them and know the order and decide where they went before any actors set foot on the set. So we had this sword map that was nuts, and Ishi was my sword angel, keeping all that in both our minds. And the actors — they were so lovely — they were willing to let me say, “We cannot explore dancing around the space. I need you here right now, otherwise a sword is going to hit you in the face.”

THEY USED REAL SWORDS. When they said that they used minimal CGI… they were not kidding about it!

[snip]

Lilia, Alice, Mrs. Hart — are they all really dead?

I anticipated this question today, and I’ve been thinking about my answer. What I want to say is that this is a show about death. We actually have the character of Death in our show. I am interested in that conversation, and I am fascinated by how death is used in the comic space and in the MCU. Personally, I feel that when a person dies, you can still talk to them and feel them, and they can still be in your lives. But death is immutable. It is permanent. With this show, we wanted to pay respect to that. So this a more earnest and grave conversation about death than maybe you would find in another superhero project.

I like this actually. I like that in WandaVision the show dealt with grief and trauma. This time it’s dealing with death face to face and having an honest discussion what death is.

I think what it will end up showing is that death… is not evil. Death just is. It is a fact of life.

To paraphrase the Ninth Doctor: Everything has its time and everything ends.

So are the Salem Seven dead?

Yeah, the Salem Seven are dead. They’re off the board in our show, is what I will say. Lilia has saved everybody!

And true to my hypothesis, when Jac is fibbing or not telling the whole truth, she answers as succinctly as possible. Because it is technically true the Salem Seven are dead because the remaining Salem members are now just the Salem Two.

Since only five appeared in the Tower.

Lady Death has been a significant character in the Marvel Comics for a long time. When did you decide to include your version of that character in the show?

Oooh, it’s so fun to be talking about this now. We wanted a pursuant character. We wanted somebody who was going to be after Agatha, and therefore after the coven, because we liked the logic of whatever Agatha’s problem is, once they become a coven, it becomes the problem of the whole group. Very, very early, we had this character we called the Debt Collector. Witchcraft is a lot about intention and exchange and checks and balances. So we had this notion of someone being after them for unpaid debts of witchcraft. I don’t remember when we pivoted to death, but it was just so sexy. We were just like, who is the perfect ex-lover of Agatha Harkness? It was just so obviously Lady Death. It felt so right. 

It’s so interesting what they conceptualized for the ‘pursuant’ character before locking on to Rio/Lady Death. The ‘Debt Collector’, it says a lot about their initial thoughts and rules for Witchcraft which sounded (to me) something similar to Fullmetal Alchemist’s philosophy of ‘Equivalent exchange’.

The intention of checks and balances and unpaid debts of witchcraft.

Also, I still love that the person, the character who brought Lady Death, the cosmic being into the MCU wasn’t Thanos with his trillions of death via snap. It’s not Deadpool.

The character who brought Lady Death into being is Agatha Harkness.

Executive producer Mary Livanos and writer Giovanna Sarquis were instrumental in the character. Giovanna came in with the Dia de los Muertos [look] and having her be Latinx, and Mary was very much an influence on Rio’s darkness and toxicity and how enmeshed Agatha and Rio are. It was something that needed approval from on high. We had to get the sign off from Kevin [Feige]. There was a moment where we were all holding our breath, worried we weren’t going to get it. We were really delighted that we got the OK.

I love this, @mswyrr pointed out that Santa Muerte and Lady Death actually has similarities. And to know now that it’s deliberate? It’s so amazing.

Also, Mary pointing out the darkness and toxicity knowing that Mary Livanos is a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan and quite possibly a Buffy/Faith shipper… The knife scene in the first episode feels more like a deliberate reference now!

This is what happens when fangirls become in charge! Wooo!

You said Rio is a “pursuant character” — is she a villain, or at least an antagonist?

Yes, I would classify her as an antagonist. I would classify everyone in the show as a villain and a hero at one point or another.

[snip]

Again with a carefully short answer. But also the emphasis that she is an antagonist and Jac’s insistence that in the show no one is purely a hero nor a villain. Because people are more complicated than that.

we designed this show to really take off dramatically in the back half. I’ve been really interested to see how that lands with people. I think for the most part, people are on the track that we hope they will be. It’s not about the specifics of characters showing up or cameos or revelations, really. But it sounds to me like what people are emotionally interested in, I hope that we deliver on that. There is more Agatha, there is more Rio, and there is a conclusion to this story, and there is some truth to be shared about Agatha.

I like that— for Jac it’s not the cameos or the revelations, it’s the emotional interest and investment. It’s the unpacking of Agatha as a character, its Agatha and Rio individually and together. This is what Jac and the writer’s room are interested in.

I love that in superhero show, they’re tackling the very heavy subject of death. And I trust this team of writers to bring it home.

[tavolgisvist]

What we were talking about

The teenage Paul McCartney would love the idea of fame. That’s what he was trying to do, that was the dream. But it’s funny – life gives you minor premonitions. You don’t think of them as premonitions until the dream comes true and then you think, ‘Hey, I wonder if that was a sign’. I remember when John and I were first hanging out together, I had a dream about digging in the garden with my hands. I’d dreamt that before but I’d never found anything other than an old tin can. But in this dream I found a gold coin. I kept digging and I found another. And another. The next day I told John about this amazing dream I’d had and he said, ‘That’s funny, I had the same dream’. So both of us had this dream of finding this treasure. And I suppose you could say it came true. I remember years later talking about it – ‘Remember that dream we had?’; ‘Yeah, that was far out’. So the message of that dream was: keep digging lads.

(Paul McCartney, Feb 2012, interview for The Big Issue)

Paul: They’re onto that thing. They just want to be near to each other. So I just think it’s just silly of me, or of anyone, to try and say to him, “No, you can’t,” you know. It’s like, ‘cause – okay, they’re – they’re going overboard about it, but John always does! And Yoko probably always does. So that’s their scene. You can’t go saying – you know, “Don’t go overboard about this thing. Be sensible about it. Don’t bring it to meetings.” It’s his decision, that. It’s – it’s none of our business, to start interfering in that. Even when it comes into our business, you still can’t really say much, unless – except, “Look, I don’t like it, John.” And then he can say, well, “Screw you,” or, “I like it,” or, “Well, I won’t do it so much,” or blablabla. Like, that’s the only way, you know. To tell John about that. Michael Lindsay-Hogg: Have you done that already? Paul: Well, I told him I didn’t like writing songs… with him and Yoko.

(Paul McCartney, Get Back sessions, 13 January, 1969)

John’s John. John wants to wipe everything away and start again, but in doing so he never wipes anything away. He wants it to be him and Yoko against the world, or whatever, but he`s still in with all the others, in with all the contracts and going into the meetings and everything. “He’s getting pissed off with it though – I sense it. I’ve had a couple of good conversations recently with just John, and I’ve felt a lot of common ground with him.* And I watched him on the Parkinson show, and really a lot of the things he’s into, we’re into as well.”

(Paul McCartney, Nov 1971, interview with Steve Peacock for Sounds)

*after John’s ‘Imagine’ with HDYS but befor John's letter to Paul in Melody Maker

More about fight John and Paul had through the Melody Maker here

There’s no hard feelings or anything, but you just don’t hang around with your ex-wife. We’ve completely finished. ’Cos, you know, I’m just not that keen on John after all he’s done. I mean, you can be friendly with someone, and they can shit on you, and you’re just a fool if you keep friends with them. I’m not just going to lie down and let him shit on me again. I think he’s a bit daft, to tell you the truth. I talked to him about the Klein thing, and he’s so misinformed it’s ridiculous.**

(Paul McCartney interviewed by student journalist Ian McNulty for the Hull University Torch, May 1972 [From The McCartney Legacy, Volume 1: 1969 – 1973 by Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair, 2022)

**after John's letter to Paul in Melody Maker (published 4th Dec 1971)

We'd had a bread strike over here*** and I rang him and I was saying, What are you doing? He says. I'm baking some bread.' 'Oh! Me too.' Imagine, with the stereotypes, John and Paul talking about baking bread.

(Paul McCartney, May 2001, interview for Mojo magazine)

***a bread strike in England was in Nov 1978

Q: Do you regret that your life has become so public? A: I realized that a good fifteen years ago. I remember actually thinking when I went on holiday somewhere, ‘God I’d really better start thinking now about keeping a few countries aside where we don’t sell records. I won’t be able to go anywhere without being recognized.’ But now I think, ‘Really, I’ve reached the point of no return. There’s no going back.’ Even if I didn’t want to sing anymore, I’d just be like Greta Garbo or Brigitte Bardot. They both retired but you’d never know it. John said this to me a year before he died. He said, ‘Be careful what you wish for, it might just come true.’ That’s the way I look at it. I wished for all this and I got it. To regret it would mean I’d have to sit here and live with negative thoughts about it. I know that would only sink me. Even if I had feelings of regret my personality would not really let them out. ‘Look mate, you don’t regret it. Look on the other side,’ that’s me. Not to sink. I always used to do that instinctively, and not allow too many negative thoughts to surface.

(Paul McCartney, April/May 1982, interview for Music Express)

Q: Do you remember your last conversation with John? A: Yes. That is a nice thing, a consoling factor for me, because I do feel it was sad that we never actually sat down and straightened our differences out. But fortunately for me, the last phone conversation I ever had with him was really great, and we didn’t have any kind of blowup. It could have easily been one of the other phone calls, when we blew up at each other and slammed the phone down. PLAYBOY: Do you remember what you talked about? PAUL: It was just a very happy conversation about his family, my family. Enjoying his life very much; Sean was a very big part of it. And thining about getting on with his career. I remember he said, “Oh, God, I’m like Aunt Mimi, padding round here in me dressing gown”– robe, as he called it, ’cause he was picking up the American vernacular –“feeding the cats in me robe and cooking and putting a cup of tea on. This housewife wants a career!” It was that time for him. He was about to launch Double Fantasy.*

(Paul McCartney, Dec 1984, interview for Playboy)

*Double Fantasy released 17 November 1980

I tell you, he said one thing to me which made me understand what they were up to just as two people, not as anything else. Just as two people. He just said, ‘I tell you, it’s like holding hands on the back row of the pictures.’ <…> John. . . he says, ‘It’s too bad if I look. . . if we look, like people think we’re funny. It’s too bad. This is how we are and we’re very straight.’ ’Cause they are, really. They’re two great people, you know, and they’re very much in love. So you can’t say anything more than that.

(Paul McCartney, May 1969, interview with Roy Corlett)

SALEWICZ: Well, I always found it interesting the fact that he got – I mean, it seemed too much like coincidence to me, the fact that he got married a week or month after you. You know what I mean? PAUL: Yeah. I think we spurred each other into marriage. I mean, you know. They were very strong together, which left me out of the picture. So I got together with Linda and then we got strong with our own kind of thing. And I used to listen to a lot of what they said. I remember him saying to me, "You've got to work at marriage," which is something I still remember as a bit of advice. I still remember that. Um… And then yeah, I think they were a little bit peeved that we got married first. Probably. In a little way, you know, just minor jealousies. And so they got married. I don't know if that's – I mean, who knows… [inaudible] making it up, anyway.

(Paul McCartney, 1986, interview with Chris Salewicz for Q Magazine)

I spoke to the Eastmans. I said, “If we all think he’s not going to have a tax consequence, let’s give [the indemnity] to him.”’Cause, you know, if all sides are that smart, let’s all offer it. Break the deadlock. I went to New York, feeling like the bringer of good news. I rang him up. “Hello, John, how are you? Hello, how’s the kids? Oh, great. What’s all this about publishing? Yeah, great”—laugh laugh laugh—“What about Apple?” Tense. You know, that was the unfortunate thing in the last ten years. The moment you mention the word Apple, all of us go, eeeeep! Dread and horror and shock goes through all our systems. I said, “Look, as I understand it, you need this indemnity.” John said, “Fucking indemnity. Fucking this, fucking that. You don’t need to give me fucking indemnity, you fucking—” I think we ended up just sort of swearing at each other. I said, “Fuck you, ya big cunt,” ’cause I just couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t be sweet and reasonable anymore. I was shaking for an hour after that. Of course, the funniest thing was, I then meant to ring John Eastman and say to him, “No, no, it’s not gonna work, this whole thing. I tried to do the indemnity, it’s not gonna work.” Of course, I got the phone numbers wrong. I rang John Lennon back instead. [When the phone was answered, I said,] “Hello, John? Yeah, listen, I just—oh—yeah well…” But it was Yoko this time, and then I said, “Look, I didn’t mean for it to get like that—but, shit, you know, it seems to have got…” The funny thing was, they knew I was trying to ring John Eastman immediately after, so that would have reinforced their little feelings about me double-dealing. I’ve hardly talked to him since. I rang last Christmas, and I was smart enough not to mention Apple. We had a pleasant conversation. I was allowed to talk to his son, which was lovely. His son seemed very nice.

(Paul McCartney, 1980, in All You Need Is Love by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines)

We were submerged in business troubles at the time. There was incredible bitterness. At one point, to get some peace in the camp, I told my lawyers I wanted to give John an indemnity he had been seeking against a certain clause in one of the Apple contracts. I said, “Someone’s gotta make the first move. I’d love to be the voice of reason here.” I happened to be on my way to the Caribbean, so, passing through New York, I rang John up. But there was so much suspicion, even though I came bearing the olive branch. I said, “Hey, I’d like to see you.” He said, “What for? What do you really want?” It was very difficult. Finally . . . he had a great line for me: he said, “You’re all pizza and fairy tales.” He’d become sort of Americanized by then, so the best insult I could think of was to say, “Oh, fuck off, Kojak,” and slam the phone down. “Pizza and fairy tales” – I almost made that an album title. That was about the strength of our relationship then – very, very bitter – and we didn’t get over that for a long, long time. But thank God, at the very end, we suddenly realized that all we had to do was not mention Apple if we phoned each other. We could talk about the kids, talk about his cats, talk about writin’ songs – the one paramount thing was not to mention Apple. So then the last couple of phone calls we had were getting very nice. I remember once he said to me, “Do they play me against you like they play you against me?” Because there were always people in the background pitting us against each other. And I said, “Yeah, they do. They sure do.” That was a couple of months before he . . . it’s still weird even to say, “before he died.” I still can’t come to terms with that. I still don’t believe it. It’s like, you know, those dreams you have, where he’s still alive; then you wake up and . . . “Oh.”

(Paul McCartney, September 1986, interview with Kurt Loder for Rolling Stones)

add to this

and this

[rxmqnova]

Well, i was thinking about Lizzie and Yn are together and they went to an event.

Normally, Yn is a bit scared about it, her ex girlfriend wasn't the best person to be around in those situations, she wouldn't let her talk, always wanted her near her and with her mouth closed. Never being proud of her, what she was working or like introduce her to other people.

So It was the first event of Yn and Lizzie together, and even if Lizzie never was like that, she had that fear, and where Lizzie was talking with another person while yn went to have a drink for her too, when she went to Lizzie's side, Lizzie instantly introduce yn and told that she is her girlfriend, every time she met someone or even if they were a coworker, she introduced yn and was so proud of telling everyone that yn was her girlfriend.

Even if she knew before, yn was 100% sure that Lizzie was the love of her life and a gift for every she went through

The love of her life

NO ONE'S POV Y/N takes a deep breath, looking out of the window at all the people with cameras, her girlfriend looks beautiful as ever sitting next to her, holding Y/N's hand and rubbing her thumb over Y/N's knuckles.

The pair only just arrived to the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness premier. It's their first event they've come as a pair ever. Lizzie couldn't be happier to finally have Y/N by her side when they finally went public with their relationship.

Y/N, on the other hand, has been feeling super anxious. It's just that Y/N's ex-girlfriend was also an actress and whenever Y/N went with her to any kind of event, she just felt horrible.

Y/N was not allowed to speak, not allowed to go anywhere without her ex-girlfriend. She felt like she was being showed like a stupid throphy. 'Just stand still and look pretty' Is what her ex-girlfriend always said.

"Are you okay, baby?" Lizzie asks softly, noticing her girlfriend looks a bit off.

"What? Yeah, all good" Y/N fakes a smile and Lizzie immediately knows her girlfriend's lying. But before she can say anything, Y/N speaks again. "Oh, we're here" She informs, getting out of the car and holding her hand out for Lizzie who accepts it with a sigh.

Of course first comes taking photos and Lizzie practically drags her girlfriend there. Y/N wasn't sure if she should be there as her ex-girlfriend always used to tell her to wait on the side. But Lizzie's just completely different and is proud that Y/N is her girlfriend.

Even in the interviews that come next Lizzie always includes her girlfriend somehow, asking about her opinion or mentioning her whenever she has a chance.

Y/N left for some drinks now though while Lizzie got into talking with Benedict. Handing Lizzie a drink she brought for her, Y/N's met with a huge smile on her girlfriend's face.

"There you are. Benedict, this is my girlfriend Y/N. Y/N/N, this is Benedict" Lizzie says with a huge smile playing on her lips, interlocking her fingers with Y/N's.

"I see. Nice to meet you, Y/N" Benedict smiles. "Lizzie has told me a lot about you"

"S-she did?" Y/N questions surprised on which Lizzie gives her hand a little squeeze.

"Well, of course I did. I want everyone to know I have such an amazing girlfriend" Lizzie smiles, rubbing her thumb over her girlfriend's knuckles, making Y/N blush.

The conversation goes on and Y/N has to admit she's actually having a great time. It's a nice change to be included in the conversation and not receiving death glares for telling something.

Of course Benedict isn't the only one Lizzie wants to introduce her girlfriend to. Lizzie leads her girlfriend to her other friends and co-workers, one by one, introducing Y/N to everyone and having a quick conversation with them.

The time flies fast though and both girls get tired, so when Lizzie suggests to go home, Y/N can't say no and happily agrees.

"Did you have a good time today?" Lizzie asks softly, rubbing Y/N's knuckles with her thumbs.

"Yeah. I really enjoyed the time I could spend with you. Thank you, Lizzie" Y/N smiles warmly.

"You don't have to thank me for anything, baby. I'm glad you were there with me" Lizzie smiles back, leaning in to peck her girlfriend's lips with a kiss.

When the pair is finally back home, the first thing both girls do is taking a hot shower. And after putting on the comfiest clothes they could find, they just snuggle up together in their bed, deciding to watch a movie.

Y/N's head is comfortably resting on Lizzie's chest while Lizzie's hand is rubbing circles on Y/N's back. Every now and then Lizzie places a kiss to her girlfriend's head which never fails and makes Y/N smile widely.

"You can close your eyes, baby. I know how tired you are" Lizzie tells her girlfriend softly, noticing Y/N is struggling to keep her eyes opened to watch the movie.

"I love you so much, Lizzie" Y/N mumbles out, allowing herself to close her eyes and wonder what did she do to deserve such an amazing girlfriend.

"I love you more, Y/N/N" Lizzie says quietly, a smile playing on her lips as she keeps rubbing Y/N's back in circles.

Lizzie surely must be a gift for everything Y/N's been through. She's finally happy and it's all thanks to Lizzie.

And after this day Y/N's completely sure that Lizzie is the love of her life and that there is no one in the whole world she would rather spend the rest of her life with, even though they're dating only for a few months.

----------------------

Elizabeth Olsen masterlist

Masterlist

[caratheewriter]

'Teasing the fans' - Harry Collett x poc! non-binary! reader

Synopsis: You and Harry explain the premise of your upcoming movie and your characters while teasing the fans.

Rating: PG-13

Warning(s): mentions of swearing

(the interview questions are bold)

Word Count: 694

Swords & Spirits' Y/n L/n & Harry Collett talk Swords, Spirits, and Character Dynamics | Explain This | Esquire

"Hi! I'm Y/n L/n."

"Hello, I'm Harry Collett."

"And Esquire asked us to explain some things."

"Some things?"

"Yes. Some thin- things about our movie, Swords & Spirits."

"That's better."

"Oh hush."

"If you could change one thing about your character, what would it be?"

You take a minute, thinking hard about your answer, "I would change the fact that Z uses their parents' death as an excuse for their attitude. Sometimes it was valid and other times, it was just too much and it got so fucking annoying. I won't say much but Z will take you through an emotional rollercoaster. Haz?"

"I would change Icarus' nothing. Icarus, to me, is a pretty stable characters. He sticks to his morals and holds Z accountable which is much needed. Yeah, Icarus is fine. He's also more emotionally aware than Z and he also a damn good best friend."

"He reminds me of Percy Jackson."

"Really?"

"Yeah. 'cause Percy's fatal flaw is loyalty and there are moments where Icarus' loyalty to Z is sometimes deadly."

"Yeah. Yeah, I can see that."

"Describe Icarus and Z's dynamic as if you were explaining it to a 5-year old."

"Ha! I don't know if I can do that."

"Ok, ok. Here's how it'll start: Z and Icarus are best friends. But sometimes they get closer than that."

"I can hear my niece going, "like mommy and daddy?" and I will not answer that."

"What would you say?"

"I would just say that they are best friends and leave it at that, besides why is a 5-year old watching it anyways."

"Fair point."

"How was it, fighting with actual weapons?"

"It took a while to get used to. The swords in House of The Dragon... there's a real one for scene stills and when we're filming, the one I had was made from aluminum, I believe. It was really hard to learn archery 'cause Icarus also has a bow and arrow, and I had to learn within a week so, I had a limited amount of experience and teaching."

"It was cool but, I hated the fact that I couldn't get a butterfly knife."

"You wanted a butterfly knife?"

"Yes! They said that a butterfly knife is too detailed to make a prop of and I couldn't use a real one for obvious reasons. Even though I know all of the precautions and how to safely use it."

You stick your tongue out to the camera.

"Explain the progression of your characters' relationship."

"Icarus and Z are best friends."

"Childhood besties, and they are very close mainly due to their mothers' friendship. Their moms were soul-swords during their time as active duty in the Society of Swords."

"Z and Icarus are also soul-swords. Z is the one that gets them into trouble, and Icarus either goes along with it or tries to reel Z back in."

"And then, they are relieved of their duty after they disregard direct orders. Losing your sigil is painful and you can feel the connection breaking. Icarus and Z never really had to tell each other what they were feeling because the other already knew."

"But now, they lost that soul connection. They don't know what to do with themselves. As the film progresses, they get to connect more naturally and feelings are caught."

"My favorite scene that shows the interpretation of them is when Mrs. Kennedy, Icarus' mother, tells them who they're named after. Icarus and Z start to reevaluate their feelings for each other. As for, do they become a couple or not? You just have to watch and find out."

"Is there any tension between Icarus and Z?"

"Yes, but you have to really analyze them. At first glance, it seems like they're just being besties but, they do have their moments."

"There's this one scene that's actually a flashback. Icarus and Z's first kiss and afterwards, you can see the moment where Icarus falls. Z, however, is a bit more complex. They spend more time training and plotting revenge on the High Table so, dating is like the last thing on their mind."

"But who knows? Maybe? maybe not?"

[thetomorrowshow]

hi i’m the anon who asked to make more of the reverse au

i realised i’m actually pretty terrible at writing and am terrified of posting my work anywhere but i still have so many ideas. i thought i’d just share them here in case you or anyone else is interested (you don’t have to read them i just want to get them out of my head)

-scott and jimmy become pen pals and write to each more and more until it’s a daily occurrence. through the letters jimmy tells scott everything that was said in dissonant air (he can’t control his powers, he never meant to hurt anyone, the depressing thoughts, etc)

-they see each others real faces during a poorly timed letter delivery. scott had come to give jimmy his letter in his civilian get-up at the same time jimmy was leaving his apartment

-scott didn’t return to being a hero between the times he was kidnapped from his injuries and from his fear of seeing xornoth again. he stayed trapped in his house writing letters. his friends were more than happy to help him buy groceries and stuff every once in a while. nobody noticed when he got kidnapped except for jimmy, since the letters stopped coming. at first jimmy thought scott had come to his senses and stopped talking to him but still had a feeling something was wrong

-jimmy tried to tell the other hero’s something was wrong but they didn’t trust him. after days of constantly bothering them and insisting major was in danger they finally complied. jimmy told them about scott’s previous kidnapping and they got on the case

-the hero’s tried to find xornoths lair by themselves (they wouldn’t let jimmy help for obvious reasons) but gave in after months of failure and let poor jimmy help. he used what information he could find from all of the letters he was sent. it wasn’t a lot but it was enough to work with

wow this got long. sorry about that! there’s still other stuff i had in my head with this (like with what was going on with scott during all of this and how they get him out) but idk if you’d want to hear more. sorry if this was bad i’m not the best with writing and grammar

I never thought I would write anything else for this au of an au. But hey, here we are.

For clarity's sake, Jimmy is 'S' and Scott is 'M'.

---

Hey! Hope everything’s good. Sorry about your security camera :/ I think I broke it… But I just wanted to say thank you for not mentioning me to the police. Or the reporters. Yeah. Sorry. But I hope you’re getting to feeling better! Thanks again and sorry again

Thanks

S

~

Thank you for your help.

-M

~

Hey, just wanted to let you know I got your note! Glad I could help, really. I feel like I never do anything right, so it was nice to be able to help someone for once. On a related note, I think your groceries went bad. Sorry :( I should start pre-writing these so that I don’t stand on your doorstep for so long. But how does getting groceries delivered work? I’ve been wanting to try it for a while because supermarkets are a landmine. But I hope you’re well! I hope you’re eating enough. Sorry about the groceries.

Thanks!!

S

~

Please do not stand on my doorstep to write notes.

You visit the store’s website and click the delivery option.

-M

~

Thanks for the advice about the whole shopping thing! I haven’t done it yet because I dropped my phone into an incinerator the other day and I’m still trying to buy a new one but the power goes out every time I walk into an electronics store. I’ll try it out once I have a new one though!! And I’m so so sorry I know I shouldn’t stand on your doorstep because like anyone could pass by, which is why I’ve only been stopping by at night, but I think Pearl almost saw me the other night so I’ll be more careful.

Sorry again!!

S

P.S. Sorry I’m standing on your doorstep but I was just wondering why you haven’t done any interviews?? You’ve been back for while now and people are going to worry… just checking to make sure you’re okay! Getting kidnapped can kind of take it out of you for a while :/

~

Sorry you haven’t said anything I just wanted to let you know that I tried out the delivery thing!! It worked really well actually I didn’t have to sign for it or anything just came right up to my doorstep. A lot of the stuff wasn’t what I ordered and the jam I wanted had shattered but it worked and it was way less stressful than usual so you’re the best for telling me how to do it thanks so much!

S

P.S. sorry sorry sorry but you don’t have to write me back if you don’t want to, I just wanted to check that you’re doing okay! Have a good week :) 

~

If they sent you the wrong items, you should get a refund.

Thank you. I don’t plan on any public appearances until I don’t panic when I go outside for the time being. I am recovering well.

-M

~

Okay you didn’t say to stop writing but it was good to hear from you! I felt really bad that I couldn’t help you more that night so I just worry. I’ve been thinking lately though that you probably don’t want to hear from me though so I can stop.

I do need to say something first, though. I mentioned it when you were at my at that apartment with me, but I don’t know how much you remember from then or anything. But basically I’m so so sorry about everything. Like literally everything. I’ve never forgiven myself for Aeor and I don’t expect you to, either, but I just wanted to let you know that I’m sorry. If I could change everything I would. Believe me I would. I’ve hurt too many people. It would be better if I didn’t exist. I don’t deserve to I’ve hurt I should just start a new note at this point, haha. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I understand if you don’t want me to write any more notes. I’ll stop. I hope you’re doing well and you continue to recover!

S

P.S. last time I got kidnapped I was really scared of going back to my apartment so I moved and I felt better, so maybe you need a bit of time out of the city to help you get tip-top :)

~

Thank you for the apology.

And my therapist thinks that might be an unhealthy way of coping, as much as I might agree with you that getting away sounds nice. I’m working through it.

You don’t have to stop writing.

-M

~

I AM SO SORRY I DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE AT MY DOOR BEFORE I WALKED OUT LET’S NEVER TALK ABOUT IT AGAIN

Anyways wow you have a therapist that’s good!! My advice isn’t really good haha sorry. I actually did therapy for a little when I was in school but then everything went really bad with my powers and but then things didn’t work out. I don’t know why I crossed that out. Basically I was in therapy to try and learn how to control my powers and well we know how that ended up.

Quick question maybe I haven’t paid enough attention to you on tv but are your eyes naturally that blue? Because it’s really blue.

S

~

This is my natural eye color.

I didn’t know that there was a therapy program for children who struggle to control their powers. You said it didn’t help, though. I’m glad that you were able to figure it out without professional help.

You were kidnapped before. Does it get any easier? I’m sorry to hear that.

-M

~

Oh so about the therapy thing yeah my powers came when I was like 15 and that’s usually a little old for that therapy but they made a special exception. But no it didn’t work. Actually my parents were planning to send me away to a specialist where I could get the help I needed but it never ended up happening. So I just never learned how to control them.

On a related note a giraffe ate my new phone but I tried out the delivery thing again before that! I kind of expect to get the wrong things because of my powers haha so I’m not going to complain about my ten bottles of ketchup. But my jam did shatter again so I have to decide if it’s worth the anxiety of going to the store.

The first time I got kidnapped, I was really scared. I didn’t know what was happening. They wanted information, I think? I was panicking really bad because they kept pointing guns at my head. I got out pretty quick but it was bad for a long time. I didn’t want to leave my apartment. I mean I never do, really, but it was even worse.

I don’t know when I moved on. I think my sink broke and I was forced to leave the house, but moving isn’t the same as moving on, you know? Like you can run anywhere but it’s usually just running away. You have to face it.

S

~

Thanks for the advice. I really liked that last thing you said.

I don’t want to face them, though. I know I have to, but what if they take me again?

I’m sorry. These are my problems, not yours.

-M

~

Oh gosh I didn’t mean you have to face Xornoth!! No that sounds bad! They literally kidnapped and tortured you for like a month dude! Honestly forget what I said about the whole running away thing, you should really try to get away from this situation if you can. You shouldn’t feel responsible for Xornoth when they hurt you like that, let someone else deal with that! There are tons of supers in the city, just tell one of your friends that you don’t want to be involved with Xornoth and they’ll take care of it!

S

~

I’m the Primary Protector, though. It’s my job to face the city’s greatest threats, and Xornoth is one of them. I should be able to handle them.

I don’t want my friends to see me any differently. They already give me weird looks. I honestly wasn’t very badly hurt—I was mostly malnourished. They don’t understand why I’m not back in the game yet. I don’t know how to tell them.

I wish I could leave.

-M

~

:(( it sounds like you’re really struggling. Do you think you might have PTSD? You don’t have to answer that. But you should take your time! If it was anyone else, I think they’d have moved very far away to get away from the danger which is smart. It’s actually really upsetting that you can’t. Maybe you can work out like a code with your friends so that they can come in and handle Xornoth if they show up while you’re working? Honestly just the fact that they were able to kidnap you once means that there should be extra protection for you. Heck maybe I can do something.

If you need anything though I’m here. I don’t get it exactly but I kind of know what it’s like. I mean yeah I’ve been kidnapped before a couple of times but I know what it’s like to not want to go outside in general. To be scared of what could happen. Well you have other friends but I’m here to help if I can. I don't make promises ever because they never work out for me but I'm here.

S

~

Thank you for the offer. I don’t think there’s anything you can do to help.

I have been diagnosed with PTSD, actually. I’m also readjusting to my antidepressants still, so my therapist thinks some of my anxieties come from the meds change and will even out in time.

I think I’ll do a public interview soon. I don’t want them to think that they’ve scared me away.

They’re dangerous. Please don’t endanger yourself. They experimented on me They might try to It isn’t worth the risk.

-M

~

The craziest fight happened downtown!

Okay so I was really just trying to get to the Planet Fitness to take a shower (I’m not homeless haha my shower is broken again) but Mythics was battling Pearl downtown and it was WILD. Like they were not pulling any punches, and I thought they were kind of friendly rivals but this was just crazy! But then the Oracle got involved? So the fight just kind of stopped when he touched them and then he left. I thought the Oracle was a villain but that was vigilante behavior if you ask me. I get it though, if I could’ve done that I would’ve. Like maybe he just needed to take a shower too.

Anyways my powers decided to make everything ten times worse like usual so a giant worm burst out of the ground. Maybe I should have let the Oracle touch me too so that I could join Mythics and Pearl on the ground crying. They’re fine btw some civilians dragged them out of the way of the worm. I was too busy trying to figure out a way to deal with the worm. I think Mythics woke up and magicked it into one of his portal things.

But anyways it was crazy. Well you probably already saw it on the news or something.

I hope the interview goes well!! How does that even work? Like does somebody come to your house or do you go to the news station or what? I'm assuming you've done a couple of interviews before idk.

S

~

I saw about the attack. You should look up ‘tired man throws phone at giant worm video’ if you haven't seen it.

For the interview, I reach out to a news outlet and set up an interview (or, more often, they reach out to me). Then we usually meet in a nice room in their office. I've done tons of interviews, you can find them on my twitter or on youtube.

I'm nervous about the interview. I tried to get a reporter I like but I just know that they'll ask me why I've been away. I don't want them to think I'm weak. It isn't your problem, anyways. I'll talk about it with my therapist.

Really though, you should watch that video.

-M

~

NOOO THAT'S SO BAD THAT SHOULD BE A CRIME

In my defense I was really tired and I just threw whatever was in my hand at the worm, I didn't realize it was my phone.

I've never given an interview before but man that sounds stressful. I hope it goes well! I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention me in it of course but you know that. Good luck and let me know how it goes!

Also if it helps at all taking time off definitely doesn't make you weak. Sometimes it's even stronger to admit you need a break than to keep powering through. Especially after being held captive and tortured for a month.

Good luck again!!

S

P.S. your cat is super cute but maybe she shouldn't be outside? It's really dangerous for cats to live outdoors and I don't want to accidentally hurt her :((

~

Thanks for the kind words.

I can send you the link to the interview if you tell me your phone number. Or I can dm it to you on twitter—is the verified account actually you? The one that mostly shares scam links and random ip addresses?

Also I'm working on leash training Elle, so that we can go on walks and she can be an inside cat.

-M

~

I've tried to write this note like fifty times but the paper keeps tearing so I'll keep it short. My phone number changes a lot and I currently don't have a phone (giraffe again) but I'll just look it up when I get one! And yep that's my twitter, I try to delete the old pictures of me it posts but I gave up on when it posts my location.

Good luck again!

S

~

Why don’t you delete twitter?

-M

~

I did :( 

S

~

Solidarity, your life kind of sucks.

-M

~

You’ve got no room to talk, mister.

S

~

So that’s what it is, isn’t it? We’re just two losers.

-M

P.S. but, for the record, your life is way worse than mine.

~

Okay I’ve got a new phone and I watched the interview! You did incredible, I think I would’ve run away like two seconds in. Like even when they asked that one question about why you weren’t back to work when you’re pretty much physically all right, you really kept it together. I was genuinely so impressed.

Also you’re looking good! I don’t know how to explain it haha, but you look a lot better than you did on my living room floor. How are you doing? Do you think it went well?

S

~

I’d look a lot better in your bed Thanks for watching. It was hard. It was really hard. But I think it helped. I feel kind of better about getting back into it all. Not yet, but maybe soon.

Do you ever wish you’d chosen a different path in life?

-M

~

I never really had a choice to make.

S

P.S. but if I wasn’t powered, I think I’d want to do something with my hands. I used to think subways were the coolest thing ever. I wouldn’t mind learning how to fix a subway car.

~

I studied to be an architect. I loved city architecture. I wanted to design skyscrapers.

I didn’t ever plan to be a hero full-time, but I do like it. I enjoy my job. I’m famous, I live comfortably, I do cool stuff on TV.

But what if I would’ve been happier as an architect?

Sorry, this isn’t your problem. I should talk to my therapist about it.

-M

P.S. Maybe you can take a community college mechanics course?

~

I really can’t, cars tend to break down around me. I don’t even take Ubers anymore (not related to the car breaking-down thing, but because last time the driver held me at gunpoint and stole my phone and wallet).

Honestly mate, if you want to be an architect I'd say go for it. Even if it's only something you can do on the side you know? There's tons of people who never got the chance to do what they love. You deserve a good life.

S

~

Thanks. I'm sorry that you never got to choose. You deserve a good life, too.

I can't let Xornoth win. If I run away, it's defeat. If I don't do anything about it, they might hurt someone else.

I need to take care of this myself.

-M

~

That sounds like a suicide note.

S

~

Wouldn't be the first time.

-M

~

You should ask your friends for help. You don't have to do this alone. You shouldn't face them alone.

S

~

I haven't really talked to anyone since I got back. I know it isn't healthy but I can't. They don't get it. They don't know what Xornoth did to me. I can't let it happen to anyone else. They're a danger to the city and it's my duty to take them down. Alone.

I'm sorry.

-M

~

You aren't alone, okay? If you have no one else, you have me.

S

~

Thank you.

-M

P.S. it means so much to me. I consider you a friend. You have me, too.

~

I saw you on the news fighting the Engineers. You looked good! The fight went really well. How do you feel about it? Is there anything I can do to like support you?

S

P.S. Elle won't stop begging me for belly rubs but each time I try she nips my fingers :(

~

Hey are you doing all right? I mean you took a little bit of a hit in that fight so it's okay if you can't make it to my apartment to drop off a note haha. You can email me if it's easier awsumwingback8@yahoo.com.

S

~

Major please just like let me know that you're okay.

S

~

I may have broken into Blossom’s house (I meant to just knock but the door fell down) and she kicked my butt but she hasn't seen you in a while, she said. Are you okay? I'll break into your house next haha.

S

~

I know you told me not to write notes while I'm on your doorstep but if you don't open the door by tomorrow night I'm breaking in. Elle keeps trying to get me to follow her inside. I'm going to watch your house until tomorrow night, okay? You don't have to write back, just open the door.

I'll come for you.

S

P.S. I didn't mean to sound weird or creepy I mean I have your back. I'll come save you if they got you. 

I promise.

[tiredlilguy]

BSD|The Flags Poly HC's

come get your girl dinner, you know who you are cw: not proofread, suggestive//, a little fucked up (what do you expect though... they're mafia) notes: not adding chuuya because he was 16 at the same time they were around their 20's, reader suggested to be around their age. im just trying to cope with the recent chapter ;-;

I feel like Pianoman, Lippman, and Albatross would probably be the most provocative and louder lovers, while Iceman and Doc are kind of like “they’ll come around to me when they want to” attitude

Pianoman LOVES having you on his lap, he’s always using his “leader privilege” to be able to hold you the longest

Pianoman is handsy, but Alb is clingy… like Pianoman would be the one to try and sneak a hand to your ass, but Alb just likes hugs and holding you

Speaking of Alb, he definitely likes to steal you away all the time

Can and will just take you out of a cafe date with Lippman so then he can drive you to some random empty parking lot in the middle of nowhere just to make out with you

You have them all of a leash, and they will be there at your beck and call

Bet if you’re in trouble with something (they know very well you’re capable), doesn’t matter if it’s personal or not, they’re there

Iceman is a simp, I can definitely see him trying to be chill about your attention being on everyone else, but he’s a little jealous… he won’t say anything though

One time, Lippmann was watching Pianoman’s hand that was on your thigh as you were sitting on his lap. Pianoman eventually noticed and looked up at Lippman with a smirk and said: “ You wanna join?”

You ended up in between them that night (god, I desperately want that to be me)

You hear all the hospital drama from doc:

“ You remember […]?”

“ Yeah?”

“ Well they lost their other leg. When I tell you that I’m probably going to run out of prosthetics to put on this guy… Though, I may consider trying to Frankenstein them with a new leg. What do you think?”

Doc gifts you flowers, but he always gets the ones that are small (he thinks that they are like him, so that’s why he gets them for you), OR he’d gift you jars of severed limbs/eyes/etc

If he does surgery on you, he’s going to find some way to give you an extra organ and just not tell you about it. I guess enjoy your new third kidney babes (this is a crack hc, but I did see it from a meme)

Albatross seems like the typa guy to gift you a taxidermied animal, idk why… he gives me those vibes, like how a crow will gift you a dead mouse as thanks for saving it (Albatross is the name of a bird after all)

NO ACTUALLY, ALB DEFINITELY GIFTS ILLEGAL FISH/WHALE BONES

He’s definitely a genius at getting stuff on the black market (I mean, he can operate and fix every/any vehicle), probably had the highest bid on like an extinct whale tooth and smuggled it in to gift to you somehow

Doc and alb are fucked in the head, they just wanna show you that they love you

Anyways

Iceman seems like the type to gift you either old records, things that remind you of him, or things the reminds him of you

Lippman gifts really expensive things like designer bags or clothing

Pianoman doesn’t seem like much of a gift person, but he’d probably get you something more sentimental: like a simple (but expensive) necklace, or very romantic letters

Lippmann LOVES to spoil you: literally will take you to everything, always has you at any of his interviews (though you’re probably in disguise), or at movie/tv show shoots

Iceman definitely likes to have you to himself, he doesn’t mind the poly relationship, but if you’re with him, he doesn’t like to share

That said, if he does have you for a night, bet it’s going to be a good night (in both ways)

If you are getting shared it’s most likely pianoman + Lippmann or alb + doc

Though of course the six of you are always together, I mean hey, u got the cream of the crop of the Port Mafia all to yourself 

If you get signed a solo mission, at least one of them is either going with you or watching you on the sidelines

One time it ended up being where all of them showed up and they comedically fell out from behind a corner (the sillies)

I can imagine a scenario where you all end up going on a vacation to somewhere where there’s a beach

It was Lippmann’s idea

The end goal was to see you in swimwear- like that was the original idea… they’re horndogs

Pianoman puts his coat on you if you’re feeling cold, likes to see you put the sleeves on and see the coat sort of pool over you

Trust, if someone hurts you, that person is getting their ass demolished, beaten tf up, burned, sunk into the ground, dead as hell

They’d probably make a mess of the person who hurt you, so much so that the person is beyond recognition

Probably the one time that they let Albatross go loose (he’s probably beating the shit out of the dead body)

They do love you, they’re just a little fucked in the head

The skrunklies

[accio-victuuri]

BJYX - Thursday Madness ( 12/7/23 )

I don’t know what’s with this date that they both decided to attack us with updates. We were prepared for WYB, because the event was planned tho he still surprised us with some bits. I swear when I saw the alert on my phone for XZS update I was 🫢🫢🫢. They are both feeding us so well.

Here’s my attempt at doing a recap of the candies ( and other things ) we got today. This may not be all inclusive, I only added the popular ones being talked about.

let this lovely boy invite you in….

Our day started pretty early when WYB posted on his Weibo. All of the attendees of the event were actually sharing some pre show photos on their accounts and some of us were waiting what’s he gonna post. Everyone else were sharing professional photos but then WYB goes ahead and shares a b&w photo that tells us he is still in bed 😂😂😂 this bitch. I also feel like he didn’t want to shoot outside the exclusive “town” cause there are people going around and they may crowd if he does opening shooting. The night he arrived, 12/6, everyone saw Lele / Yanyan around but no WYB. So he was really trying to not be seen unless it was time for the show.

The photo itself is kinda mysterious tbh. It’s like something you can send to your s/o and be — “im waiting for you” HAHAHAHAHA! Tho I think for WYB he can send a more explicit one to XZ 🫢🫢🫢 So we get the PG version. What we noticed is the channel he is tuned in is CCTV 5. He said this in an interview with XZ, that when he is alone, he keeps the TV open with CCTV 5 and Volume 3. So he’s still doing it! Also, this was taken using his Leica M11 b&w. I feel so happy knowing that! He is still on his photography hobby. Too bad he couldn’t go around the venue cause i bet there are lots of sights to see. The Leica CPN is only getting stronger. ☺️ ( I have already talked about the Leica CPN at length, so just search it on my blog ). Side note, even if the photo was so simple it went on HS #7 lol. His power.

Then it was time for WYB to make his appearance and he didn’t disappoint. First of all, he was in YELLOW. BXG color. Yeah, it could be a stylist choice or whatever. But this is a clowning space and I think we are free to interpret it as a sign for us.

But what’s more glaring is his hat. It looks so much like the one he wore at CQL concert & fan meet. Also reminds us of the whole One Piece CPN between them ( the post i’m linking is a starter but there has been more examples since like this one ).

To be fair, WYB is someone who loves a good old hat/cap. from his bucket hats & caps — that is more for anonymity. It also extends to his performances like 11/11 finesse or the initial photoshoot for ROMW. What i’m saying is, we should not forget the fact that this is his personal preference as well and not entirely because of candy. Tho I have to say that the style is interesting. Why does it have to be so close to that? It’s like he is bringing us back memory lane.

WYB is honestly so beautiful today. He always is but there was something about his aura. He is chill. He was genuinely interested and i found it sweet of him, during the boat ride, he was clapping for Rocco, like applauding him for the event i guess. In the meantime, on Weibo, the top hot search were people criticizing the “boat” thing on GQ ( literally something like GQ boat embarrassment was the tag ) As soon as the live started it went on 1 or 2. I don’t know if Bobo saw that but I just like how he showed his appreciation to Rocco, and by extension, his team. That’s just my interpretation and it could be a completely different thing but knowing WYB, he is very generous with acknowledging people.

I also want to address another “candy” some cpfs are laughing about, it’s a fancam where Rocco moves to sit with WYB before the boat sailed and WYB smiled and said no. They were interpreting that as WYB doesn’t want Rocco to sit with him. Speculating that as he doesn’t want to get close cause ZZ will be jealous. But if you look at it, he was asked if he wants to switch seats. WYB declined. He was okay with his position. I guess some people have some beef with Rocco & GQ and that’s fine. However, what we feel about certain things is not the same as what the boys would feel. I also think that at this point, It’s in WYB’s best interest to have a good relationship with people in the industry. For example him attending 10c Starlight, even if a lot of his so/os hate Tencent ( and with good reason ok sure ). He is only extending his reach and it’s better to not burn bridges.

That got serious, so here, have some comparison between the gremlin in 2018 to now. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

I was cackling at the comments that they should have invited XZ so they can be paired up and quarrel for 9 mins 😂😂😂😂

NEXT UP IS GG’s VLOG. I don’t know why it slipped my mind, they usually post on Thursdays, but anyway —

The first thing is the BGM for the exercise section of the vlog Hans Zimmer/Richard Harvey《Preparation》 which was used in the 2015 movie The Little Prince. A favorite CPN symbol among us. Another glaring one is Uptown Funk. Hello. Bruno Mars? That’s WYB’s thing. Yes, ZZ has his own team who edits these but I am one of those that believes ZZ approves the final cut. He is also asked about certain choices cause let’s be honest — his suggestions matter cause he knows what looks good. He is a professional in that aspect too.

Next is his hand held fan! It’s the same brand but a different design. They finally upgraded!!!! 🥹🥹

This scene (p1) with ZZ’s fondness for leaning on railings and balconies. It reminds me of the fake rumor before that WYB hates it when he does that.

XZ has a habit of lying on the balcony guardrail in a daze. Sometimes on a higher floor, WYB feels unsafe and won’t let XZ get close to the guardrail. Except for shooting, XZ is prohibited from approaching the balcony guardrail.

I would have loved to get some more day to day bits of his vacation cause there is usually more candy in that. I want to see him roaming around, like this part, these two love to mimic what they see and take a photo beside it. Tho this is mostly GG’s thing. They really have the same braincell.

LASTLY, Let’s discuss XZS 🤝 YBO.

XZS starts talking about the hot wind, which is most likely talking about the weather in Singapore. But then minutes later, here comes YBO talking about a comfortable breeze. Lol. The the hot could also allude to that “summer” since WYB decided to remind us all with his photo and hat. Then YBO’s caption, drawing more attention to his hat, knowing that CPFs are clowning over it.

and what time did they post their last set for the day?? 00:38. These clowns. Zhan Bo. 🫢

Some are saying it’s out of character for XZS to post stuff like this when there is an event going on. For example today, the hot search is filled with talk about GQ. Which I can agree on to some degree, but his team have been posting mostly on Thursdays and they are already “due” for a vlog. However, when they have a vlog ready, the fans can usually see it on Weibo, we know that there will be something coming and i didn’t see any talk of that today. Or maybe i missed it? Others are clowning that this is his “answer” to WYB’s strong candy today, i personally don’t think so but it’s all good for us cause we have so much content!!!!! 💛

BONUS: this transition 👀👀👀👀. Their editors are dating!!!!!!

[project-sekai-facts]

based on the interview posts, it's definitely thought-provoking to consider what's going to happen next. personally i do wonder if pjsekai will become "multi-generational" if it remains popular enough to continue (which is nearly impossible not to be considering a good portion of its competitors have been going for longer than 6 years at this point), the original 5 units would be the first generation, a conceptual new number of units being the next, and so on, because of the implication that "the original 5's stories will reach their conclusions and have an end" and after their conclusions are reached then, while they could write a new story with the characters with new adult issues and seeing them grow up further, there are still a lot of opportunities to expand on the game's lore and universe with new units, how the original units affected others, and especially sekai lore, especially since a lot of the game's lore has to do with miku helping out many individuals with their problems, and currently the majority of that is only done through the original unit's sekais, which is only a select 20 people's views (minus the vs fes cards which only have little lore anyways). Maybe it will be something like lovelive where the original generation (u's) has officially graduated but are still featured in newer games and still get some content in those games. Ultimately what happens next is something we just have to see the game develop closer to, but it's a solid option that the game can technically go for.

yeah like they said it's a difficult decisions. because on the one hand you've got these beloved characters and stories that people will have grown up with at that point, and continuing them on into 3rd year/university would mean there's more things you can do with them and new ideas you could include. and i think in a natural storytelling sense it would make sense to carry on with the main 5 because quite frankly having them all achieve their dreams and that before they've even finished high school is... somewhat unfulfilling? especially with n25 i think it would make a lot of sense to carry them on into uni, maybe have Ena go to art school and Mafuyu go to nursing school. even if their stories ended before they graduated uni I feel like that would be a really satisfying conclusion for them compared to maybe just mentioning that's where they're going when they finish high school. but then there's the fact they mentioned about just carrying on because it's popular and the story going stale because they only wrote so far. and that's definitely a threat because that can happen if they've only planned so far ahead. then again, the writing team is generally top-notch and other games have proven that you can stick around without people ever getting tired of the story.

i do however think the generational format could work. as you said it could expand more on the lore, introduce new characters with new problems, and prevent people from growing tired of the old ones. on the lore side of things i wonder if they would be included in the Tree SEKAI with the main 5, or if there would be a new collective sekai for them? the only thing about having a generational format similar to Love Live (where you completely conclude the story of the previous generation before the next generation...ish) is that you have to execute it well. SIP -> Sunshine worked because there was an in-universe 5 year timeskip. it left you with this legacy that u's had left that people were trying to chase, and Aqours had to learn that they had to find their own radiance instead of trying to directly copy u's. u's was long gone from the story and never actually appeared in the present day and that worked really well and i think was the best decision they could have made because actually having them there i think would ruin the whole idea of legacies and how they can work (sorry for rambling on a bit here I really like Sunshine). even in Superstar and Nijigaku there are nods to SIP and Sunshine but the characters never actually appear. It's similar to the VBS story actually with Nagi and trying to carry her legacy (with the difference is that u's and aqours are still alive. probably.).

that got a bit rambly but what i'm trying to say is that if you want to do a completely new generation and retire the old ones completely, it has to be done in a way that doesn't rely to much on stuff like random coincidences. you need there to be solid reasons why some kid would look up to a group of 4 kids who performed at a disneyland equivalent or 4 kids who held a music event. obviously there will be development in their stories between now and new units being added but I think adding in a timeskip and saying "yeah, they went on to do this really big inspiring thing" would be much more effective than a bunch of new characters who are hugely inspired by a niche teen music group that honesly doesn't really have much of an impact on anything. the reason VBS' story with legacies works is because there's actual stakes. RADder was a hugely successful group that had CD sales, national tours and a member that became a successful independent artist worldwide. RAD WEEKEND, although more limited to Tokyo, was still massively popular and inspired many people to put on an event that will surpass it. RADder is a big name and a big inspiration and leaves big shoes to fill, and that's why it works so well because there's big goals to work towards.

also in some ways as well a bunch of characters surpassing RW2 just after we saw VBS&Co put on RW2 would be a little bit unsatisfying I think. RADder are side characters who people are less attached to than VBS, but if you were to introduce VBS2 just after the original, even if there's a timeskip, it would probably leave a bit of a bad taste for some fans of the original VBS who'd spent years following their story.

to throw my own personal wishes for the games story on here, i think doing something similar to bandori or d4dj would work best for them. as in, adding new units who kinda take centre stage but still having the old units getting events and stories of their own. we could have new characters to keep things fresh but still get to see the original 20 growing up, having their careers take off, facing more adult problems and such. you could have the OG20 around to mentor the new characters as well, and keep the whole tree sekai lore intact with that being something that revolves around the original 5 units (and actually fucking develop the lore holy shit colopale it's been 3 years don't drag it out another 3 and then actually reveal all the lore before then completely retiring it). ahaha maybe this is a bit too self-indulgent and wishful thinking because I am way too attached to the main 20 but also from the perspective of someone who has done screenwriting classes at college it does work.

[nalyra-dreaming]

aah, I wish Jacob had been allowed to talk more about 'truth and falsehood' on the show. I know he was never gonna give specific spoilers, but it seems some fans are still in denial about Louis being an unreliable narrator at all. The fact that these kinds of discussions were happening behind the scenes suggests the cast knew from day 1 that something about season 1's narrative was false or misleading, they just didn't know exactly what.

Yeah.... I saw some posts around^^. (And the podcast host also pointed out that Louis was an unreliable narrator...)

I mean, it kinda feels like some kind of "gag order" has dropped away, because Jacob (and Sam) have been very blunt about that (and the Loustat relationship) in the last few interviews, but actually the fact that they all were discussing (and therefore knowing) what was true, and not is, actually, nothing new:

"Whenever I talked about something that Louis had said or that was in the script, because this show is Louis’ recollection of events, Sam would just be like, “Lie. Lie. That’s a lie. Did that happen? Is it real? Didn’t happen that way.” Very unhelpful for my preparation. [Laughs] I got really icy about it a few times. “I don’t want hear this. I have to believe something is true.” It’s nice be able to believe what you’re saying."

That's from October '22.

So the fact that he is, in fact, an unreliable narrator (or misremembers) and the reason why he changes some things stands in the room with him...

Like, if you watched the first season, and heard Daniel calling bullshit again and again, and saw him literally destroy the narrative of the last part and did not get any of the hints that are strewn throughout the show... then you simply haven't been paying attention.

And I know, there's so many layers. So many other - important! - stuff to focus on. Racial conflicts, patriarchy, power dynamics, cheating. The list goes on. But ultimately... this will be their - Lestat's and Louis' - love story, and this has been re-iterated in these last interviews, as well as that they're following the books, and... well.

POV changes, revisits and changes of perspective (and being called out for lying, too) are part of the books.

It's just that some fans don't want to apply this to Louis, for representative reasons I believe.

But... as Jacob put it so nicely in one of the last interviews:

"Something that can get misunderstood about representation is that all representation has to be good representation. It's important actually that we don't show a queer couple as a monolith or a Black character as a monolithic thing. I love that the show is willing to explore the multitudes of that relationship."

A lot of fans don't want to see the "bad" in Louis, or Claudia for that matter (and I use "bad" here very loosely, because there are no "bad", or, for that matter, "good" vampires in the chronicles). The hate I've gotten for pointing out weaknesses or simply flaws in the narrative, or when their behavior didn't make sense to me - or when I interpreted it differently in the light of later books... was off the charts at times. And I fear a lot of people will have a very hard time with the shifts that will come in soon.

But... they've been hinting at that since the beginning. And yes, they've obviously known, too. (And I would argue they would have needed to know which scenes would be revisited - and, honestly, Jacob's comment above does hint at that, imho.)

[puhpandas]

I still see fans use the glamrocks dismantlings against greg! which is crazy cuz the game makes us do it and we’re never faced with an alternative ever. It’s not like greg was presented with a faz wrench, realized he could reboot the bots, then turn around and said nahh. He had maybe 3-4 hours left on the clock and I doubt any kid could make a plan to reboot 3 violent robots while also worrying about vanny within that amount of time

Their dismantlings, while sad in ruin, feels like a cheap attempt at glamrock angst when the glamrock angst should’ve been focused on how FE treats/neglects their robots. Why are we blaming the child over the greed/carelessness of men that put him, and everyone else, in that situation? Sotm better pull through and show how evil big corporations are so fans can parallel it with FE smh

YEAH I've actually never really thought about that second part. I think that's actually why I was so miffed by it in ruin and it didnt hit, and I love the glamrocks so it really should have!! it felt too cheap and thrown in, like there wasnt any buildup. and jtop literally SAID in the john interview that they put in chicas rebeakening as fan service to be able to feel that satisfaction at fixing her. he pretty blatantly either said or implied idk which but pretty sure it's the former that it was so you could fix what Gregory had done, which is. kind of strange

I understand it from an outside player perspective, bc it's like everybody felt bad breaking them, but I feel like this wasnt the way to go about it, especially because Gregory himself was not even involved when they were being fixed. theres nothing about the actual situation being expanded upon, just one part being put back into place by the "kind" child to fix what the "other" child had done

I think that's why I was miffed by cassie and roxys relationship too and it didnt hit like Gregory and freddys. it felt so sanitized, like, the whole point of roxy is that she isnt at all what a perfect character for the brand would be like and shes insecure and mean and lashes out, but then as soon as cassie finds her under the forklift shes suddenly back to being a soulless entertainer robot that's nothing but kind? her voice acting LITERALLY turns robotic!! it's like her entire personality was stripped away for her to be more likeable, even if that wasnt the intention, and it just didnt make it feel genuine

that's what it feels like with 'fixing' chica too. theres no real genuineness to it, it's just slapping a bandaid on it and not talking about what really matters about the situation. PLUS in the process it just paints Gregory who's already in an atrocious light from another event from the exact same game in an even worse light, especially with how jtop implied it in the interview that he was the "bad" to Cassies "good".

it feels like less to actually make you care or think about chica being sentient trapped in this building and broken and STILL under the virus and just. heres a bandaid, hope you guys feel better about (gregory) breaking them! isnt cassie a sweetheart for doing this? (theres an unlike unsaid there)

no hate to cassie or anything /gen. I have zero problem with her, it's just how it all as a whole was handled. this feels like a mistake theyve been making a lot recently with focusing on the wrong things. not focusing on the sentient Fazbear ent characters and how they each dont fit into their boxes for one reason or another and instead just the "look roxy and cassie are friends and shes back to acting like her animatronic performer self and now you as the player get to experience satisfaction but nothing about the situation actually changes". it's like this with mimic too, where they keep focusing on the boring mortal parts of mimic of it just being an old ass rusty robot instead of the glitchtrap AI virus parts of it, which are the actual dangerous scary parts that make it feel powerful and hard to beat in any capacity

ur so right about the Fazbear ent stuff not being focused on enough, especially since it's one of the most prominent amazing storylines in sb!! Bonnie in ruin should have served that, but it didn't, it just added more kindle to the fire in our own minds to make the story better. they didnt actually talk about the implications of bonnie being there and dead and phased out but it's there. the implication is good enough I guess, but it's just another thing about how it could have been expanded upon. like cassie could have had a little dialogue putting it into perspective like "omg he was here the whole time? it looked like someone killed him! it's so unfair that they just phased him out like that :(" or something then boom, makes the player think about it

ur so right about all the things u said in ur ask about the "glamrock angst" instead of focusing on the actual sad parts of their story that are AMAZING. especially since they're framing them being broken as the most terrible worst thing to ever happen to them and the ONLY bad thing when it was done by Gregory and not the mistreatment and abuse from Fazbear ent that made Freddy abandon the place (bc of bonnie) which was done BY the company. its framing Gregory as being the bad one twice in the same game when he didnt need another player while Fazbear ent, who is already the culprit of the glamrocks story that isnt expanded upon enough, isnt emphasized so players only focus on Gregory breaking them as being their worst fates

[where-theres-smoak-2]

I feel bad for Jessie because their screen time as Alina was cut for the Crows that are the SB writers' favorite characters. They confirmed this in an interview. Also, they worried Alina wouldn't seem as likeable in S2. They liked her corruption arc, but they still wanted her to seem genuine. Along with blatantly trying to promote the Crows spinoff over Alina's story, the writers also claimed Ben lied about there being a cut scene where Aleks gave Alina his powers as added protection. 🙄 Yeah, I believe Ben and Jessie over them any day of the week. It's obvious that the writers desperately wanted the Crows spinoff and neglected SB S2 for it. But, now it's backfired, because without strong viewer ratings the Crow Show won't happen.

Yeah I also believe ben and jessie over the writers any day, I don't see why ben would lie about that cut scene, what would be the point? The only thing I can think of is that the scene they cut wasn't written in the script and was an idea that was bounced around on set that day, they filmed but ultimately decided not to use it, possibly why the writer said it didn't exist because they didn't write it but I don't know I'm just spit balling here.

It does make me both sad and angry that they cut so much of Alina's story for the sake of the crows and the new characters. Like they rushed through books 2 and 3 and Alina's story just so they could get to the crows story and it really did damage the show in the process. The irony is that because they rushed season 2 now no one trusts them to do the crows story proper justice, it backfired in a huge way. I think they were hoping that the popularity of the crows would mean viewers wouldn't care about Alina's rushed storyline, they wrongly assumed that the viewers too wanted to get to the crows story as quick as possible. But they forgot about a couple of things. One is the viewers who have only read the S&B Trilogy and therefore cared about that story, maybe not more than the crows, but just as much as them. And also the show viewers only who haven't read any of the books and so were expecting a well paced, well written story and instead got a rushed, muddled mess of a story.

If by some miracle they do get a season 3 then I hope they learn from this lesson and actually take their time with all of the characters, especially Alina seeing as she is supposed to be the main character and so you shoudln't really be cutting her story down, and the plot points and give as a good story.

[thedragonagebigbang]

Bang Creator Interview: Tumblr: @bardandbear 

The Collaboration period has begun! In these quiet months before works are due, we want to foster a sense of excitement, camaraderie, and celebration among our participants. To that end, all participants were given the option of a formal interview by our mod, Dema, or an informal “ask-game” survey. We hope you enjoy getting to know our phenomenal creators as much as we have!

Interview with Kes

Kes and Dema talk DA homecoming, tragic plotlines, and inlfuencing you (yes you!) to buy a [redacted]

Dema: As an artist who creates a lot for the Dragon Age fandom, what inspired you to start?

Kes: Well, I've always loved stories and fantasy, but I wasn't really able to get into the visual (gaming) side of things until I built my first PC with my dad when I was 15. The first thing I did was dump an extraordinary amount of time into Skyrim, and then I was recommended Dragon Age Origins as a similar game on Steam. I'd always been sort of arty but never people - Dragon Age Origins really changed that and I desperately needed to draw a bunch of the stories I'd imagined (and written) for my Warden. The reader/writer to artist pipeline if you will. The DA storytelling was like getting to read a book, but instead I could interact with it and see it. Totally changed the game for me.

Dema: Were you playing them as they came out?

Kes: I think that was a little bit after DAO came out, but I played DA2 and DAI on release

Dema: Have there been any lulls in your Dragon Age devotion, or has it remained pretty steady?

Kes: My interest built up steadily but I went properly unhinged around DAI's release and the 3ish years following. Adulthood was a good distraction in the hibernation period between Trespasser and DA4, and I actually foolishly thought I'd been reformed, then the DA4 news really started dropping and I've completely fallen for it all over again. It feels like coming home.

Dema: I'd love to ask what specifically about it feels like a homecoming 💖

Kes: Nothing since DAI and Trespasser has quite scratched the Dragon Age itch - that very specific combination of its exploratory lore, very unique takes on magic and world-building and the character complexity. I've spent the whole time hungry for more of Thedas and wanting to know what happened/what will come next, nothing could actually fill that void. Enough time made me sort of forget about the intensity of said Dragon Age itch but after the gameplay reveal I was like, oh yeah, this is what I have been missing.

Dema: Right?? I think it's the depth of the character development for me, in particular. Do you have a favorite character or plotline? Something you get your teeth into and want to shake like a dog?

Kes: Oh so many. I adore the loneliness and isolation and despair of the warden Mahariel questline, Alistair actually asking your Mahariel what the Dalish do to mourn their loved ones in a game that had up until that point largely ostracised her continues to alter my brain chemistry to this day. Morrigan and Flemeth's deeply troubled mother daughter relationship is always so meaty to dig into, every time they resurface I think we get more tragic layers. I think the evolving plot over what spirits are is probably my favourite in the series though, the way they interact with the world, what they've become vs what they were? Makes me insane actually.

Dema: I am losing my mind over that glimpse of Morrigan in the DA4 trailer. Since this is also an artist interview: did any visuals in the game particularly strike you? A demon's design, a location, an object, or something else? And related to that, is there something from DA that you particularly enjoy as an art subject?

Kes: Like basically every artist in the DA fandom I'm fairly sure the DAI tarot card art style changed me as a person. In general the progression from DA2's stylisation to the DAI stylisation I think is really lovely and I've been trying to incorporate some of that texture and movement and composition into every artwork I've done ever since. Surprising absolutely no one, I've actually really loved drawing DA elves, so many of them fit what I call the 'elf lines theory' where they have this very 'geometric' shape / proportions. I feel like Solas does this in the most exaggerated way because there's no distraction of hair, but all elves are my favourite to draw for this reason.

Dema: Do you have any tools you can't live without? 

Kes: Unsure if this is allowed because it might sound like a bit of a shill, but I would like to shout out my trusty tablet that I've had for almost a decade and I still love using. For anyone who has been a Wacom user their whole lives, I really urge you to try Huion tablets.

Dema: Not a shill, I for one love to know what other artists like using! When you're working on a collaboration like this, what does that process look like for you?

Kes: Generally I will read/watch something and an idea will really 'catch' me while I'm doing that which I want to draw. What's really fun about this collaborative process is getting access to the artist that inspired me to really pick their brain and test my ideas against their vision.

Dema: Oh that's exciting! How's your progress on the Bang piece? Are you feeling excited about it?

Kes: I think the challenge has been the story I'm trying to capture has a lot of really rich progression of character over a long period, so I've had a lot of different ideas I wanted to represent, and I had a lot of original concept ideas that I've sketched and combined and discarded and taken elements from. It's been an evolutionary process but I think I did finally get to turn a lot of those ideas into a cohesive main piece I'm really excited to see finished.

Dema: I am very excited to see it, too! Thank you for taking this time to be interviewed, Kes, it's been delightful.

Kes: No problemo!

[iuteamstarcandy]

Vogue Girl (November 2010)

<Apple-like IU>

It’s a photoshoot that showcases IU’s slyness.

IU: I was a little surprised when I first saw the concept. I was worried if I would be able to do a good job because such a photoshoot is suitable for people who are tall, slender and pretty, but I had fun.

Why did you feel intimidated even before you tried it?

IU: I’ve always lacked confidence in my physical appearance. Wearing stylish clothes and doing poses seems to be something that celebrities do. (Interviewer: But it’s true that you’re a celebrity.) Haha. Oh yeah. But I can’t do pretty expressions and I’m not good at dressing up either. I don’t look like a celebrity.

Are you someone who isn’t easily satisfied with yourself?

IU: There are indeed parts I feel I’m lacking in. I’ve long given up on wishing I were taller. I want to have the ‘celebrity pose’ though. I hope when I walk on the streets and meet people, they would go, “Uwah, it’s a celebrity!”, because if they all went, “Omo, IU!”, I would feel glad (to meet them).

There are many celebrities who want to have a friendly image.

IU: That’s right. But when I first went on ‘Heroes’, the unnies are so pretty that I felt rather discouraged. I even debuted a year or so earlier than T-ara’s Jiyeon, but Jiyeon looks more like a celebrity and I’ve contemplated why I lack charisma before too.

You can win with your ability to entertain instead.

IU: I’m not good at being funny by thinking on my feet, so when my turn came, I thought to myself, ‘I’ve got to make good use of this opportunity’. There’s a lot I want to say, but if I hesitate just slightly, I miss the timing. (Interviewer: Isn’t it because you were stoning?) I wasn’t. Actually, I was thinking really intently. I was thinking that the way they filmed or that the unnies are really interesting, but during those moments, I look like I’m stoning when I appear on camera. I’m thinking about a lot of things.

What made you spend the longest time thinking about recently?

IU: I realised this while filming for variety shows, but there are really people who belittle celebrities who look awkward on TV, thinking that’s their real personality. I don’t like that. (Interviewer: Have you experienced that before?) If you’re a celebrity, you would have had that experience. At school, sometimes there are people who mess with me. In that case, I treat them the same way they treat me too. Rumours will start to spread anyway, so I do need to be careful, but I don’t want them to think I’m someone they can mess with lightly. Going on variety shows and being a celebrity is something I chose to do, but whether I’m cut out for it, ultimately, I’m just another high schooler like the rest of them too.

Is there anyone you consider a ‘friend’ among those doing broadcasts?

IU: From being on ‘Heroes’, I’ve gotten closer to Jiyeon, there’s f(x)’s Luna that I knew well to begin with and I’m also close to actor Yoo Seungho, whom I sang a duet with. I’m thinking whether to make a 93 line gradually (t/n: Those born in 1993, who are IU’s same-aged friends, by Korean definition.) (Interviewer: When you meet, do you talk about music?) No! We absolutely don’t talk about music. Perhaps because we made our debut at a young age, we’re all foxes who are sharp about the ways of the world. We discuss things like our agency and how much share of the profits we get, or male celebrities that we take an interest in. If someone says so-and-so seems not bad, we also discuss how the person actually isn’t that great based on our experience talking to him in real life.

I thought you said you like nice guys?

IU: Not just a nice guy, but a ‘really nice’ guy. It hurts my pride though, if he is doing better than me, so I don’t think I’ll be able to date one. I really hate to be compared, you know. If the person is a celebrity, the comparison becomes even worse. So I don’t like it. I want to show my boyfriend only how cool I am and not be envious of that person.

Do guys who are not doing as well as you look cool to you?

IU: Ironically, those who I think are cool are all doing better than me. If I have a boyfriend who is doing well, I would probably be constantly trying to be better than him. Umm, I think I’ll have to meet someone who’s doing well then.

Anyway, it won’t be easy for you to find a boyfriend within the entertainment industry right?

IU: There’s no one I’m interested in. Everyone seems so cool and that makes it more unrealistic actually. We only see a person’s outer appearance first, so we won’t know what kind of person they are until we get to know them better. It’s not somewhere we can easily make friends in the first place, so I wonder how I would be able to find a boyfriend.

Isn’t it tiring for you to promote alone, while your same-aged peers are all members of groups?

IU: I don’t really care whether my peers are members of a group or not. I didn’t even have time to think about that initially. I made my debut with the song ‘Mia’, but I did not get much attention, among the groups that were singing and dancing prettily. I was in low spirits for a short while, but I think there are still many opportunities ahead, so I did as I was told to and did what I wanted to.

If an opportunity arises, will you fling yourself at it tenaciously?

IU: Those who don’t know me well think that I survived because I’m strong, but that’s not the case. I was 16 back then, so I thought it would be fine as long as my company doesn’t abandon me and helps me continuously to release new albums, even if I’m not a popular singer. By letting go of myself, I felt the pressure on me disappear.

Then after you made your debut, have you ever thought about wanting to become a popular singer?

IU: When I first made my debut, of course I wanted to become a popular singer. But that’s not up to me. Honestly, when I was very young, growing up in an affluent environment, I could get what I wanted without putting in much effort. So I thought I could become a popular star if I wanted to as well. Eventually, I wasn’t able to make it as big as I wanted to and I realised I was being too conceited. Now that I know I can’t have something no matter how desperate I am for it, in order to not become disappointed the next time, I ended up letting go of my greed.

Isn’t there a goal you have in mind as a singer or a level you would like to achieve?

IU: There isn’t one. Since I’m a female solo singer, people ask me if I want to become like Lee Hyori. I wonder if I should be having such thoughts. Anyway, it seems I’m not suitable to become a popular star, so I’ve never thought about becoming like someone. After dreaming of becoming a singer, I think I haven’t tried other things and became a singer. Even my popularity these days seems excessive to me. To the extent that it’s kind of dangerous.

Is it dangerous to be popular?

IU: If I’m really popular, I don’t think it will be a good thing for me. (Interviewer: Are you worried that you might become arrogant?) I don’t like becoming arrogant and I think I’ll be having a really hard time. Many people recognise me, so I’ll find it fascinating and be happy, but there will be misunderstandings about trivial things and I’ll have to be careful even with my small actions. I want to work comfortably in a natural way, but I keep ending up ‘pretending’ to be something. Doing interviews is interesting, but without realising it, I tend to put weight on my words. Even things without meaning are given meaning. For example, if they ask me why I started singing, instead of answering, “the only thing I know how to do is to sing”, I end up saying, “because I like it”. Whether I succeed or not, I don’t like to put on a mask.

Even so, you were glad to come in 1st place for ‘Nagging’ right?

IU: I didn’t go through a hard time for ‘Nagging’, so I’m not sure if I should be glad about it. If ‘Marshmallow’ came in 1st place, even though I wouldn’t be crying my eyes out, I would at least be feeling proud of myself. Since I did promotions for it. Certainly, receiving an award for the first time since I made my debut makes me happy, I think it was all thanks to 2AM’s Seulong oppa and I think it’s an award that should be given to the composer instead. In a way, I think it’s a relief that ‘Marshmallow’ didn’t come in 1st place. I want to come in 1st place for a song that suits me better and a song I care a lot about.

What kind of song would suit IU?

IU: Depending on the song, my voice sounds thicker or huskier, so it’s hard for me to pinpoint one style of song. In general, I like my natural voice best and a song that allows me to use that voice. When I sing pop songs, I like how my voice sounds, but I think it’s a pity that I can’t sing my songs like pop songs.

You did a cover by rearranging one of your senior singer’s songs too right? (t/n: The interviewer is probably referring to Wheesung’s Rain Drop.)

IU: That’s why I’ve often heard people say I sing well when I was younger. But if I exclude the age factor, I think I sing as well as any singer would be able to. (Interviewer: Would you like to exclude the age factor?) I don’t want to be evaluated while receiving preferential treatment because of my young age. Because I’ll become an adult one day too.

Isn’t it because you sing well, that’s why you’ve received many opportunities to sing duets?

IU: It could be because there aren’t many female solo singers too. Having a variety of vocal styles is also a prerequisite for singing duets. If you listen to ‘Believe in Love’ that I sang with Seungho and ‘It’s You’ that I sang with Sikyung oppa, my voices sound so different to the extent that you might question your hearing. Ah, I’ve sung too many duets, so now I want to stop singing them.

Which voice do you prefer?

IU: I’m fine with whichever voice as long as it sounds natural. It seems that the general public likes my bright and pretty voice better. Since I’m a singer for the general public, showing the side of me that they want takes priority, of course. During Chuseok (Mid-autumn Festival) recently, I sang Son Dambi’s ‘Queen’ while dancing and it was well-received. There are many things that my fans request for and many things I want to do, but anyway, only one (performance) gets to be shown on stage, so I’m having a lot of thoughts as I work on my new album.

Do you mean you could be singing and dancing for your new album?

IU: I’ll definitely be singing on this album, but recently, I have thoughts that it’s not a bad idea to do dance music either. The title song on my previous album was ‘Marshmallow’, so if I suddenly sing with a heavy voice, people might find it awkward. I’m not sure if I’ll dance. I practised so hard to perform ‘Queen’.

What is ‘IU’s style’? Most solo singers are clear about their style.

IU: The IU part is a bit of a pity. I’ve showcased ballads to dance and expanded the type of songs I can perform, but I have yet to establish my own style. I hope to find my own style in my next album and show it to everyone. There is music that I want to do as well.

What music genre would that be?

IU: I want to try acoustic music at least once. I do like singing, but I never focused on a particular genre. That was until I went into acoustic music and became engrossed in it. But that wouldn't be on my upcoming album. I’ll prepare thoroughly and release a perfect album. It’s something that I definitely shouldn’t rush into, so I’m taking my time with it. After all, there’s no need for me to be ambitious about something I can’t do.

By not being able to do it, do you mean you won’t do it?

IU: There are things I’m good at and I’m confident of doing well with that, so is there really a need for me to struggle to do well in things I’m not good at? Also, for people who don’t know me well, if I start singing with an acoustic guitar, they’ll think, ‘What does a young kid know?’ It can’t be helped. The songs I’ve sung so far are not songs that I can handle with outstanding vocal ability. I don’t think I have the skills and enough years of experience to be stubborn about the music I do yet.

You have a philosophical attitude.

IU: I really think a lot (laughs). My point is that I do intend to do the music I want to do, but I want to gain experience by trying to sing songs that suit me as well as adjusting to try singing songs that don’t suit me that well. I think I’ll be able to wait until the music I want to do matches me well, until I’m that much older.

How would you score yourself based on your current singing ability?

IU: 60 marks? I feel bad that rather than not being good at it, I get really annoyed with myself. If I had prepared a bit more and put my mind to it for just a few seconds, I would have been able to do a satisfactory job, but often, I was not able to do that. As I was not well-prepared enough, I can’t give myself a high score.

If it’s a song that you like, you’ll put in more effort to prepare for it right?

IU: I don’t think so. Even if I say I definitely won’t go on stage (t/n: to perform the song), I don’t want to be embarrassed and I want to be acknowledged, so once I get started, I work really hard at it. The moment I stand on stage, I’ve got to pull my senses together and show everything I’ve got before I come back down. If it’s a song that I want to sing, I do get a stronger tingling sensation.

If it’s an IU concert, you will be able to sing the songs you want to right?

IU: That’s not easy either. While going on broadcasts, I get categorised as an idol. When I go to concerts of idol singers as a guest performer, I get the sense that the audience seems to be there to see the singer’s face, rather than to listen to the singer sing. When I go on stage, the crowd cheers for me and when I sing songs they know, the crowd cheers for me, but what if I sing a song I want to sing and they yawn and feign indifference, what should I do? It’s not that the audience is being mean, but I don’t have the confidence for the audience to enjoy my concert because of me, even if they don’t know the song and to sing well enough to stir their hearts, not yet.

What kind of singer do you want to become in future? Or should I ask what kind of entertainer you want to become?

Rather than an entertainer, I think being a singer suits me better. Umm, in a way, the work I do is to make use of myself after all. So if that’s the case, I want to make use of myself wisely. I want to become a singer who confidently and cleverly does music of my liking. Living as a celebrity can’t become shackles for me. I should be happy, right?

Translated by IUteamstarcandy

Source: [1]

[tyforthevnm]

Interview with Livewire Online - My Chemical Romance

Posted November 12, 2003

KM, CC, JS Another thing to add to my "What Punk Isn't" List: being an asshole.

I got into punk rock because I wasn't accepted anywhere else and it was a place where everyone was accepted for who they were and what they wanted to be and to go there and make that a scene thats scary for kids to come to, being elitists about that, just defeats the whole purpose. So don't be an asshole.

LW: This is your 3rd night on the tour? Gerard: Uhh.....4th LW: Ah, ok, so how's it been so far? All: Awesome Ray: It's been cool cause Philly hasn't always been the best but... Frank: Yeah, we've always sucked it up in Philly. Gerard: Yeah, kids aren't too keen on us here but... LW: The first night on this tour was a full house at the 9:30 in DC. How does that compare to he smaller club tour with Piebald? Gerard: Piebald tour was really awesome cause...it wasn't necessarily a full house every night but the nights that it was and the nights that the kids were really good and responsive were almost magical, you know? Frank: It was cool cause there were smaller venues too, so it was more intimate. Ray: There were shows that had 70 people tops, like St. Louis. Mikey: Yeah, that one night there were like 30. Ray: Yeah and still every show was just fun. Less people, but definitely cool. LW: How have people reacted to you guys on this tour so far? Matt: Really good. Gerard: They wanna dance and have fun, you know? Mikey: Yeah, we dig the crowds that wanna have fun. LW: How do you respond to negative criticism? Frank: Bring it! Matt: We actually like it. Gerard: Yeah, especially hecklers, we like hecklers. It gives us more to do... Frank: But if you heckle a band, right? And the band is like, "Ok, why don't you come up and say that?", don't say it when they turn their back. Don't not say anything while they're facing you. That really sucks and you're a pussy. But if you're gonna heckle somebody, heckle them as hard as you would if they fucking talked to you. Ray: Yeah, if you say somethin and we're like, "Come up here and get killed", and you don't do that, like... LW: So Ray, your 80's Session guitar, how reliable is it on the road? Ray: I think in...Charlotte...it fell off the stage and busted in half basically. It probably can be fixed but I haven't gotten around to it. I've been playing Frank's, no, Mikey's SG and I actually like it better. It's a lot lighter but I do miss my Session guitar. LW: Do you guys like to experiment with vintage equipment in the studio that you wouldn't otherwise use on tour? Matt: We haven't had the chance. Gerard: Yeah, we can't afford it. Matt: On the record we did play with one vintage bass but that's about it. Frank: If you wanna, like, let us borrow one for recording feel free to do that. LW: You guys list a lot of 80's bands as influences, what are you into now? Gerard: The same bands. LW: I mean, like recent bands. Matt: Recover, Alkaline Trio Mikey: I like the new Doves a lot, the new Zwan record... Frank: Glassjaw LW: You kinda look like Billy Corgan. Gerard: Actually the very first time we played the Electric Factory, we got a review in Revolver that said I looked like the creepy son of Billy Corgan or something like that. It was a good review though. Mikey: Yeah, you look like how Jakob Dylan looks like his dad, you look like that with Billy Corgan. LW: Jakob Dylan is hotter than his dad so that's sort of a compliment. Mikey: Yeah, it is. Matt: He kept his hair. Frank: Have you seen Bob Dylan lately? They need to whell him out, he's dead. I think he's dead and no one's saying anything. LW: What do you think about your local scene? Gerard: Can't wait to go back to it. Frank: Ahh, Jersey. LW: Where in Jersey are you from? Frank: Newark. LW: Oh, ok. I'm from Cherry Hill. Frank: Oh really? Listen to Bombshelter Productions.They're really good. Gerard: Yeah, we're doing a hall show with Bombshelter... Ray: February 28. Gerard: Yeah, February 28. Frank: Big Wig... Mikey: We're gonna try to do those as many times as possible. LW: Yeah, its fun to see a local band come back and play a show. Gerard: It sucks cause because, it's like we, fuckin like almost wasted away too early in really big shows and we didn't play enough of the halls. Like, I can count on 2 hands probably, the number of halls we played. It sucks. And basements. Our best shows have been at colleges, halls, and basements. We've had a couple great shows on big stages, you know, but that barricade, thats fuckin shit. The fact that we're all 10 feet above... Frank: I dunno how you got through that monitor, dude. I thought I was gonna bust my ass. Ray: Well, I scoped it out before... Gerard: I tested it out before too, but, I was still like, "Fuck this!" Frank: DC was fine, like, it wasn't that far but I still didn't like the barricade. LW: The TLA down on South Street is better. Frank: I wanna play there! Ray: Do they still have barricades up like that? LW: They still have barricades but the stage is lower so you can see everything a lot better. LW: How did you guys get hooked up with Eyeball? Gerard: I had known Alex for years and he made a big policy not to sign friends' bands, and we were friends for years so I didn't think he would sign us but he saw us at like our 3rd show and he was like, "Dude, why don't you just come be part of the family? We can make it work". And we did. And it's pretty cool. LW: This lineup's been together since 2002? Gerard: Yeah, Frankie hopped on right before we recorded the record. Frank: I was in a band that was on Eyeball before. Matt: Yeah, so we used to play together. Gerard: They helped start us. LW: How important are sales stats to you? Do you get any pressure from your label? Frank: Pshhh... Gerard: That's one of the best parts about being on Eyeball: they don't give a shit. We always try to be successful and we want the music out there, that's the most important thing. Like, sound scanning doesn't mean shit to us, anything like stats doesn't mean anything to us. When we get to a venue or a city and we show up and we get on stage and we see all these kids sing along, that's how we know. Ray: Its not like a piece of paper that says 39 or 10 or whatever, it's the kids. Matt: They can all go get if off the internet anyway so why even care, you know? LW: I was going to ask that next. What about the availability of your music on the internet? Frank: Get it however you can! Gerard: I feel that like bands that are really small at the indie level, and labels that are at that level that are struggling, you should support them. Download it, if you like it, go buy it. Ray: Anything though, go to a show and buy some merch. Frank: We'd rather you come see us live. Mikey: I love the artwork, like album covers and the linear notes, like how can you get a stack of cds that say like... Gerard: Sharpieee Frank: I'm such a collector of music that I need the cover art, so I mean, like, go steal it... LW: What are your plans for the next release? Do you have any ideas production or material-wise? Frank: The first song we played... Gerard: The first track that we opened with is pretty much going to be the track that summarizes the whole record. It's a concept about revenge. We're taking March off just to write. We're not going into the studio anytime soon but we have all this music in us from the last 6 months and we wanna get it down so maybe we'll start playin some of this newer stuff out live. We wanna support this record. LW: Are you looking forward to Skate & Surf? All: Yeah! Frank: Oh yeah. Andrew WK! We met him last night. Ray: That was awesome. Frank: He wore tight green sweatpants and flannel and, uh, a big hat. I love that guy. LW: Do you have any other big festivals planned? What else are you doing this year? Gerard: Europe. Reading Festival. Mikey: The one that, like, Oasis always plays. LW: What goals have you accomplished this year? Gerard: Everything we wanted to and more. Frank: We've been so lucky it's not even funny. Gerard: It was me and Mikey's personal goal to play in Irving Plaza. We did that last night...and the night before. Every single goal. To have a record out, we did it, play in front of as many people as possible... Matt: Play Warped Tour Gerard: I think Warped Tour is the only thing left that we all sat around and said, "Hey, we wanna do this." Frank: So as soon as that happens, we're done! Matt: We can just stop. LW: So that's the only major thing left? All: No... Gerard: I dunno what we're striving for. I personally...we're striving to get it out to as many people as possible. Have that energy that we're putting out spit back at us. And to create really great moments when we play instead of us just, "Hey, we're a band you've never heard of, come check us out". I wanna get past that. That's my personal goal. LW: Have you faced any big challenges so far? Gerard: Getting used to touring. I mean that's the hardest thing any band has to do and once they get over that hump and get used to it they can really do whatever they want. I mean, a touring band is the kind of band that reaches people. MP3's don't reach people, getting out there reaches people. LW: As a band, how have you changed since the beginning? Gerard: A lot! Matt: We got Frankie! Frank: I got skinnier, we don't eat on tour. Gerard: [pointing at Ray] He's got an afro now! We got way more violent on stage. We're not trying to bring a violent message...it's not so much violence as a release of positive and negative energy. That causes accidents sometimes. LW: Where do you see yourselves heading in the future? Frank: Creating an MCR universe... Ray: A little MCR world. Gerard: I dunno, doin what we're doin now, touring. Frank: Reaching as many kids as possible and just... Matt: It's hard to tell cause we were just seein this in the near future, and it's hard to even think what's after this. Gerard: Yeah, I dunno what's after this. Frank: You don't know how lucky we've been. We've been together for a year. It's so silly, it's fuckin silly. We're really appreciative. I'm still collecting applications for Burger King... LW: If you had to write a State-of-the-Union-address-style speech about popular music, what would your main points be? Ray: Oh boy. Do it Frankie. Matt: Kill it! Mikey: I mean, there's nothin wrong with pop music. It's all the songs that everyone listens to when nobody's around, you know? Everybody loves that shit, so if you say you don't like it, you're fuckin lying. Everyone loves the new Justin Timberlake song and if you don't you're probably lying. Frank: I'm sick and fucking tired of people not writing their own goddam songs and getting on the radio and pretending like they're...like they know what's up. And, like, I'm tired of all that. I'm tired of bands that totally suck and kids buyin their t-shirts and being like, "Oh, this is what punk is" or "This is what hardcore is". And all these people don't know or care what it's all about or anything like that and I'm really psyched for real music and honest music to come out. Like Thursday. Bands like The Ghost, Sleep Station, Midtown, AFI. Bands that mean it, that have been there, that kids don't even know about and all these bands like Good Charlotte and Sum 41 and all these fuckin shit pop bands out there are influenced by these bands and rip them off. Matt: Or their writers rip them off. Frank: And no one fucking cares. I dunno, I'm really waiting for all this shit to be destroyed and that's one of my goals too. To get up there and if I get 10 kids to not buy Sum 41 cds and actually get into real music, like buy a Refused cd, please. If I can do that, then I'll feel like I've done something. And that's the way I feel about that! LW: Feel better? Frank: Little bit. Yeah. LW: Is there anything else we didn't touch on that you wanna share? Frank: Yes! Support indie scenes, support your local scene, support local bands! Put on a show. Do something. Write a letter to your fuckin asshole president who is bombing innocent people for no reason. Just make a difference. Cause one person can do something. If you just sit back and pretend, like, you know, like, "Oh it's not my problem" or "I can't do anything about it", you're just adding to the bullshit. And don't talk shit about things you don't know about, like, bands like Thursday and Midtown and bands that are comin out that worked their asses off to get stuff. People call them sellouts because they got success. There's a fine line between selling out and success. Don't you think it'd be better to hear Thursday on the radio than Creed? Seriously. This is our scene, all of ours, support it! Don't fuck up venues. Don't be an asshole. It's not punk rock to be an asshole. And another thing. If you go to shows just to kick somebody's ass, you're stupid, you're a jock and you're fuckin ruining everything. I got into punk rock because I wasn't accepted anywhere else and it was a place where everyone was accepted for who they were and what they wanted to be and to go there and make that a scene thats scary for kids to come to, being elitists about that, just defeats the whole purpose. So don't be an asshole. LW: What do you have to say about the bashing that Midtown gets for the whole, uh, thing? Frank: Fuck you! Do you have any clue what happened with that? No! You have no clue dude. Seriously. Not that it's a situation to even be made known, but you don't know what they went through cause it's no one's fuckin business. And trust me. They worked for everything they've gotten.