#the main theme of the book IS literally not being able to put a label on things

[flavia8]

Book Musings - Long Live Evil

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan

Genre: Fantasy Villainess Otome Isekai

There WILL BE SPOILERS!!! (LONG POST)

In terms of what it attempted to do in the exploration of the themes and ideas present within the narrative, this book failed. It’s not that subversive at all because of that failure. Anybody who tries to come at me with “It’s a comedy! It’s irreverent! You’re putting too much thought into it.” - Humor has always been and always will be a genuine way to illustrate a point or explore a concept. Just because something tries to be funny doesn’t mean it’s not saying anything serious.

What themes and ideas are present then? That would be the dichotomy between good and wicked, survival, and feminism. Minor theme of stories/storytelling. (There are of course, sub themes like personal agency but overall I think those four are the main 3 and the primary sub theme)

It may seem fairly obvious since the title is Long Live Evil, but let me do my AP English Lit thing here and justify what I’m saying.

The main character Rae/Rahela, is quite literally given a second chance at life in the body of a villainess, Rahela, from a story she loves. As Rahela, she must navigate the original story, using her knowledge of it and storytelling conventions in general to achieve her goal, interacting with the original characters along the way. Her outward and internal identity conflict as Rae must act “wicked.” The original story presents Rahela as “the beauty dipped in blood”, a lascivious, seductive, well endowed harlot, set against the heroes. The “good” manifests through Lia, Rahela’s stepsister, the original heroine noted for her innocence, kindness, and general angelic, pure nature.

Well look a that! A nice Madonna/Whore complex set up, right there. Genuinely, the set up is good and the themes are compelling, so why do I think this book fails to achieve it’s goals?

Execution.

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Wicked Vs Good

Rae never actually does anything wicked, even if she thinks she does. The narrative desperately tries to convince you that Rae is going all in for the villainess role, leaning into it and taking advantage of what comes with playing the role of Rahela, the beauty dipped in blood, when she doesn’t do anything for that except claim that she’s evil. The author is trying to have it be – Evil is good and good is evil, except Rae’s just good, and the evil is just evil, so that subversion doesn’t work.

Some might say that it’s commentary on how fucked up it is that Rahela/Rae is automatically perceived as an evil whore due to her appearance while her actions are good starting out, that perception driving her behavior until ultimately she tries to kill the stepsister she is constantly pitted against. t’s fucked up how Rae/Rahela are not allowed to be human, to react when she’s been wronged lest she be labeled as ungrateful and disrespectful and “wicked.” Rae, and every other female character should be able to just exist and live - Rahela wasn’t truly evil until she was driven to it. “Villains are made, not born” as they say.

That’s all well and good, and I do think that is what the author was trying to do, but the author fucks up their own thesis. Rae never actually doing anything wicked regardless of her perceptions on the matter contradicts the point of women, as flawed humans still deserving to live freely, without being subject to intense societal scrutiny, judgment and punishment because she’s not actually flawed. Her perceptions of her own “flaws” would have been an interesting spin on how women and girls are constantly blamed for the actions/perceptions of others, except for the fact that the things Rae considers herself to be terrible for are all her own. It would have helped for Rae to actually have done bad things in this case too, since women fuck up, and do awful things but they STILL should not be held responsible for the actions/perceptions of others.

The main things Rae considers herself to be “villainous” for consist of:

Deceiving 2 characters and planning to “betray” them, the betrayal being her disappearing into her world when the time came, letting those characters go free.

Lying to secure her place as a prophet – in order to protect herself from being executed. “Sacrificing/failing/betraying Key”- Patently not the case. Tried to save him and it backfired. Treated him well. Taught him how to read and nursed him to health. WTF is she even on about.

She does push someone into a ravine to their death, but it's self defense/protecting her people.

So you can see how the exploration of good and evil falls flat through Rae, but what about the other characters? Well it’s about the same. The Cobra? Scheming, sneaky, decidedly not wicked at all. Marius? Repressed, naive, and unobservant, sure, but not evil. Lia, the heroine is revealed to be conniving and manipulative, but this is to ensure her own survival, and she doesn’t actually hurt anybody, with the possible exception of the original Rahela, who tried to frame and get her executed first, so.

Are there any salient points about how perhaps Rahela, as a “wicked” woman has more freedom and flexibility and is less likely to be seen as a doormat/taken advantage of in certain ways, whereas Lia, though she must be extremely careful of her image and reputation is more likely to freely enter where Rahela may not? How Lia is more likely to have allies and support? No.

Honestly? While I really appreciate the fact that the women of the story support each other, it might have been better if Lia was actually a genuinely shitty person. It would have added a lot more nuance, as having her be a heinous bitch but still saying that the way she’s been treated is wrong is much more meaningful, as touched on above.

Key is an interesting case as he is a mass murderer, but it’s mostly played for laughs and benefits the main character directly, as he’s protecting her. He does play into the “villains are made, not born” theme with his backstory. Conveniently, a lot of his victims deserved to die. When he becomes the Emperor, things change as his army of the dead sweeps through the city, killing people. Pretty evil right? Yeah, note however, that’s what ends up saving the city from an ongoing siege/raid from an enemy country. Additionally, the emperor is the hero in the original story. Good is still good.

The true source of evil in this story would be Octavian, and I really appreciate that he is awful in an entirely realistic and mundane way. The author did really well with that, because evil is mundane. However, evil is still evil. Octavian didn’t change. You might ask why it wasn’t inherently flipped due to Rae taking Rahela’s place and being good, and the reason is simple: Octavian is the same. The same person, the same events, the same actions, the same death. Of course, in OVI villains can stay villains, heroes can stay heroes, but the major events and their responses change. Things shift, flip around ect and Octavian...didn’t. What’s so subversive about that, in a meta-fantasy about flipping the script? The main villain remained the main villain, in the exact same way of the original.

Also, It’s suspicious. OVI is all about defying fate. That is it’s CORE CONCEPT. It’s not a good OVI if fate is played completely straight. In fact, I’d argue that if in your OVI, fate is fate, then it is not an OVI. Even parody romances have happy endings. And honestly? There are signs that it will be, it’s definitely reminding me of +A No Tachiichi, the worst manga I’ve ever read in my life. This book is not the worst I’ve ever read, not even remotely close, and this is all just speculation. But I dearly, dearly hope the author does not implement fate.

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Survival

Rae is dying of cancer, something the author has personal experience with. I really appreciate how the Sara Rees Brennan wrote this, as she must have drawn on personal experience. In those parts, the sense of emptiness, of slow and hollow grief as her cancer ate through her, and the things she experienced were very poignant. Rae herself seizes her second chance at life, determined to live. This aspect, the will to survive ,is one of the reasons I love Otome Villainess isekai and other stories where it’s a prominent theme, it’s very important to me. That determination, Rae’s will to survive is severely undercut by the humor of this book. (One of many things undercut by the humor actually, even though this book is sometimes Extremely funny) Yes, just because something tries to be funny doesn’t mean it’s not saying anything serious, but it has to be well implemented.

The implementation of humor in this book is poor – here are some lines specifically from situations where Rae is fighting to survive, as in immediate danger of death. (She’s fighting to survive throughout because she’s trying to achieve her second chance at life)

“I’m a heartless monster with strong character and stronger eyeliner game, and I intend to get away with my crimes”

“Watch me, this is my villain origin story.”

“Sorry, but the old Rahela can’t come to the phone right now”

“There’s a villainess loose on the romantic balcony, and nobody knows what she’ll do, not even the villainess”

He wasn’t actually dead! She was a fool, the murderer always seemed dead, then wasn’t dead after all. Rae gazed down at the assassin’s still face. He looked dead.

“Now’s not the time for adorable clumsiness!”

I wish this wasn’t as undercut as it was, and that there was more exploration surrounding Rae’s feelings about having a healthy body. I’m all for humor in the face of danger, but these are the same type of jokes every time, the humor is losing it’s impact. Also, There’s barely any insight into that or Rae’s feelings about leaving her family behind. Rae does reflect on these things, but shortly, and I wish there was more.

Also, throughout the story as a coping mechanism, Rae refuses to acknowledge that the world around her is reality, which is par for the course, except for how long it takes for her to accept that it is reality. (It took over half the book) and I think this was handled poorly as it fucked with the already poor pacing and Rae was solidly delusional after a point, because of this and also being very unobservant. There is no sense of urgency or determination throughout most of the book.

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Feminism

Ultimately, like I mentioned before, all the women in this story support each other, instead of trying to tear each other down, which is important. Society is always trying to pit women against each other, and it’s really harmful, and here that’s successfully subverted. This is really well executed because there isn’t any trite, obvious “funny”commentary about it. It’s the same for the queerness in the story. The queer characters just are, as a fact. Sarah Rees Brennan did this extremely well, and as a result it’s impactful! She also draws an apt comparison between virginity and stocks/bonds, noting how stupid it is, a comparison I think is apt and done well. That isn’t the case for everything, though.

For instance,there are incessant mentions about Rahela’s body being seductive, and Rahela’s usually the one mentioning it. The author is trying to point out how ridiculous that is, that a woman’s body isn’t inherently seductive, that women are constantly objectified. For a little bit, I also thought it might be because Rae was happy to have a healthy adult body, which is mentioned a few times. (Rae felt a wicked thrill at wielding her new body, which might inspire contempt but never pity)

Except, because of how much it’s mentioned, all that does is objectify Rahela. The satire just turned into the thing it was trying to satirize, the appreciation becomes objectifying. This also happens with her voice, but it’s more prominent with her breasts. Additionally, Lady Rahela’s body is described as “wanton” and she feels aroused at a touch. “Rae could have some fun, if she wanted. She could blame it on Rahela’s wanton body.” It feels icky.

“I can get used to this. I’ve been a stranger to myself before. After the whole world and your own body changes, you know you’re not safe. The world can always turn on you.” Her own body? Emer remembered Rahela being upset when she had a bosom years before the other girls. Rahela had tried to cover her bosom up, When nothing worked, she started showing them off” This excerpt is from page 34, and I wanted to highlight it because it’s really good. Now, the rest. Its supposed to be funny and instead becomes grating.

“I’m Lady Rahela Domitia, and I am burdened with glorious prophecy! Also a glorious bosom, but that’s not relevant.” P. 77

“Her chest expanded when drawing her bow. Given her current chest situation, any expansion was alarming.” P. 118

“She wasn’t shaped for modesty” P. 147

“Rae moved to the music, her new assets jiggling.” P. 165

This happens periodically, noticeably, throughout the book. Sometimes in moments where it’s jarring. Some credit, her body isn’t mentioned like this during some very important scenes. Like I said, I know it’s supposed to be funny commentary but it ultimately becomes unfunny, ineffective and detrimental to the story.

Another thing that I think works against the feminist themes is how Rae...just doesn’t THINK about things, it feels really contrived, an obvious and inelegant mechanic that truly makes Rae look...Dumb as hell. (Honestly also some other characters suffer from this, but as she’s the Main Character I will focus on her) Listen. Listen. Many people jump to conclusions. Many people are unobservant. Many people think they know best, only to get burned later. Many people don’t actually think critically about the things that happen to them and around them. This is a little more than that.

Rae not noticing Emer didn’t take the Oath

Refusing to believe that she’s in a reality, even after she almost dies multiple times. At one point, she’s like Oh shit, it’s real! And then Goes back to “Nope, not real.” It’s a coping mechanism, yes, but you’d think after the 3rd time she almost dies she’d at least be like ‘Ah, for now I’ll treat it like it’s reality” if you want to have that aspect.

This relates to the point above, but Rae considering Eric to be dead when she finds out he failed to get the flower. This was just stupid, because Eric was literally standing right there, talking to her. He held her hand! This legit made her seem incredibly stupid

Rae doesn’t actually do much scheming. She just kinda bumbles around

She’s so unobservant/willfully "ignorant". Everything about Octavian --- she either doesn’t notice, or is like oh he’s gotta go through character development :)

Doesn’t notice people trying to kill her even though in the beginning she noted that people would try to kill her.

Rae’s thoughts regarding Key have absolutely no basis. They make no sense. (And honestly, the romance is...somewhat poorly done IMO. It feels rushed. While the reasons Rae and Key have to care about each other make sense, that foundation isn’t developed well. Plus Rae’s...tendency...to not think critically about circumstances that makes the romance less believable, and I already had trouble with it)

This was a frustrating read, in ways, and I’m tired. There were some things done really well, and I hope I illustrated that. While those things were amazing, this book had problems, problems enough that in my personal opinion it failed at what I think it was trying to do.

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Sidenote: I wear glasses and I don't become a pathetic clutz when I'm not wearing them. My Mom has worse vision than me and ALSO does not trip over air when not wearing them. Rae tells Lia she'll still be pretty with glasses on. It's such a minor part of the story but it pissed me off so bad, and it's so WEIRD because the the author seems to wear glasses. Lia may have a depth perception problem and thats why it's like that, but Fuck Offff lol

[walks-the-ages]

since people are unaware of what "flagging a post for a 'Mature' label actually means, this is what it does.

ID: A screenshot of a tumblr post that has been flagged with the Community Label of Mature Content, plus Sexual Themes. It shows the username of the OP (myself, Walks-the-ages), the timestamp below the username, and the tags of the post which read "#this is a test #This is not actual nsfw content don't worry" , while the post itself is hidden until you click an option below the content warnings that says "show post". end ID]

And guess what happens when you click on it?

[ID: The same text post described above, now with text visible that reads "testing testing one two three" . It looks like a normal post, except in the top right corner there is a new button in blue text that reads "hide post". end ID]

and guess what! You can hide the post again, and it will go back to looking like the first image !

Thats it!

If you refuse to tag your shit properly , you do not get to fucking complain about people protecting other people from random fucking porn or nudity. Posts are not getting removed with the Community Labels , they're being hidden (while still being able to see all of the original tags for context) until you choose to look at the content. If you don't like what you see, you can hide it again and be on your merry way.

You are not being censored if someone applies a community label to your post.

"Blacklist the tags!" --People aren't tagging things properly

"Block people!" -- Obviously, I block people for this, but see point #1 -- people aren't tagging things properly. Me blocking someone does not protect anyone else from their untagged content.

"Why are you following someone who puts porn on your dash if you don't want to see porn?" -- sometimes, someone I followed for something else will randomly put fucking porn on my dash.

and Guess what. If they had it properly tagged (see point #1!!!!!) and I didn't have to see it, I wouldn't care. Except I'm seeing it. Which means it's not being tagged for anyone else who has the tags blacklisted. Which means everyone else is being exposed to it.

Also, I could literally be just searching a tag, and see shit. Especially if it's in the main tag for any kind of content primarily aimed at kids -- movies, shows, books, etc. Again. This shit, if I am seeing it, is untagged despite my million blacklisted tags. That means not only are fellow adults being exposed to porn untagged and unwillingly, but so are any kids and teens looking up fandom content.

so, long story short?

TAG YOUR SHIT AS NSFW OR DO NOT FUCKING COMPLAIN IF OTHERS HAVE TO DO IT FOR YOU

if you as a normal tumblr user go around flagging posts for mature labels you are A Fucking Cop

[vidalinav]

Hi! I love your vision about the Acotar characters and I wanted to see the opinion of someone else on a thought I've been keeping on my mind. Well, in acosf it was clear that Nesta had no idea of the mating bond, but, I think we can all agree that Cassian knew it, he said that to her after she refused to acknowledge that they were mates. Anyway, the question I keep running on my mind is: if there wasn't a mating bond at all, would Cassian fall in love with Nesta? Does he only wanted to be with her because of this attraction? Or even better: does Cassian only got attracted, fell in love, with Nesta because of the effects of the mating bond? Their feelings towards each other only exist because of the mating bond? I like to think that no, that they really started to falling in love when they start to get to know each other, but it's hard to have any arguments to prove it. We haven't a lot of moments of them making their feelings pretty clear. It got a bit of confused to me. Seems just the mating bond talking sometimes and it feels like they wouldn't be together without it. Idk, I want some opinions here hahahah

Wow, okay. Flattered that you want my opinion of this. I love receiving anons.

I'd say on a surface level it boils down to how much you are convinced of their romance, because mating bonds don’t mean anything contextually. I’ll explain. 

Many people are not convinced of the romance, which is why a lot of people don't care too much for Cassian. A lot of other people like Cassian but either choose to ignore many narratively weird things he does or how he works in "Nesta's story" (putting quotation marks since he is a dual pov) or categorize it as his "flaws." My own stance is that I can admit that Cassian can and should have flaws, but what his flaws were to what they are now are not as complicated or complex as they were prior to acofas. It's infinitely more interesting to read about how Cassian wants Nesta but perhaps doesn't want to admit it for fear of rejection, fear of how things are going to change regarding Mor and Azriel, fear of just being loved and not knowing how that feels. Change is scary. And in acowar, I LOVED that push and pull. That I can't resist you, but I also don't want to admit it. That I'm going to show you a thousand ways I love you, but it's intimate and quiet and sacred and right now it's a secret that I don't want to tell anyone, you know that I’m going to take my hand away when Mor gets in the room circumstance. It fit so much his dynamic of being the comedy relief, the other characters maybe not taking him seriously or what he does, and then also playing this buffer, you know because all of this is a mask or one facet of him, and Nesta's standoffishness was a mask as well and merely one facet of her. It was a beautiful thing, this idea that they could see each other and wanted to see each other, protect each other, not being able to stay away. The potential for that was amazing, because it integrated both romance and potential character development. A mating bond didn’t matter at this point, though we speculated. But even if they didn’t have one, we knew the connection was set in stone. 

In acosf, it really was a let down, because we learn Cassian can't really see Nesta, and doesn't really understand her or put effort into knowing what she's going through. He puts effort in some areas, but motivations are questionable and the areas he puts effort in are questionable. Which is so odd, when you think of the fact that this is the guy who is the only one who validates what Nesta went through in the cauldron, that "her body was violated. It stopped belonging entirely to her." The one who kept coming back over and over, who couldn’t stay away. Before acofas, I'd say 100% the mating bond didn't matter. They might of had one, but that was not what their romance was based on. It was deeper than any frilly bond that any one and everyone does have.

So I agree both with people who think he's horrible and those who don't think he's horrible and is very sweet, and this makes all the difference to “is the romance fulfilling or not?” Which then segments this notion of the mating bond. The mating bond doesn’t make the relationship. The relationship makes the mating bond. Unfortunately, I'm going to once again mention that SJM wrote this story weird, where there's a lack of grey but a heavy amount of black and white. That's how I'm going to explain it. Because there was so much of two different extremes and no meeting in the middle. The push and pull was gone or maybe reduced to the sexual aspect of their relationship, but I say even that is not a push and pull because they aren't really fighting against their relationship. It's a very shallow push and pull, rather it seems that SJM wants to say there's a push and pull but that actual problems within their relationship have everything to do with how characters are perceived particularly Nesta, rather than conflicts within their narratives and their relationships with other people. It wasn’t about Cassian and his insecurities, and it should have been at the same time, because he was grappling them when he didn’t go to Nesta, when he pulled his hand away, when she laid her body over his and then spent weeks healing without any acknowledgment of that moment by her. It was all about Nesta's reputation, their opinion of her and her opinion of herself, and the readers’ opinion, and changing this stance. I can't say that it was really about anything else at the core. It certainly was not a healing arc. It was not her discovering her powers. It was not even about her training or making friends. That is what I will remember of it, but it wasn’t the main recurring theme. It wasn’t even involving Nesta’s own internal monologue beyond her self criticism and changing this to appreciation. Personal thoughts are way more complicated than this, even if people relate. Cassian could have had a better and more thorough narrative that could’ve sold me completely on this romance. We get action that we can equate to emotion yes, but we don’t get true emotional integrity and this makes romance iffy, because romance is 100% about emotion and how people fee. It’s the problem with show don’t tell. It cannot be all show and no tell.

So regarding the mating bond, I don't really think it matters. I wouldn't think too much about it, because in a text, even without the use of a mating bond, the author would show some "fated" connection to two people, that of course may extend cosmic levels if we're being romantic. We don't have to label it mating bond when two people have some connection, but a mating bond works the same way in this series regarding romance. Mating bonds don't mean anything and I say this because there's no clear rules as to what they are and what they do. Characters can reject mates, the cauldron doesn't get them right all the time "theoretically," they don't mean relationships will last, they sometimes are great, they might mean only strongest offspring. It's basically SJM saying hey this literally doesn't mean anything, but know that this relationship is special for some reason but who knows really, especially now that all my mains have them or will have them. Ultimately, it’s mating bonds are decided by the mates in question. (rolls eyes) What you need to be convinced on is the romance, and are you convinced?

It's something I'll never be able to answer contextually with acosf, because that book was a hot mess. I'd spend hours writing about every way that it is, but I have fics to write and that's more enjoyable.

(edited)

[funigami-games]

A dream come true! The Prince's Heart is getting a Voice Over

When we started The Prince's Heart, we never thought we'd find so many wonderful persons willing to collaborate on our project.  Here we are now, a month later, with an entire crew of professional and aspiring Voice Actors willing to help us realize our Visual Novel!

Special thanks to our amazing Casting Director, Jacob Wilson, who directed the whole Voice Over process.

Let's meet the entire cast (in order of appearance in the game)!

Nick Chang as Edward (Protagonist)

I was born in Manhattan, but raised in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where I currently reside. I also proudly identify as a 2nd generation Asian American (half Hong Kong via my mother, half Taiwanese via my father) and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community (gay and demisexual). Since childhood, I have had a distinct love of music and performance. Having played violin from 4th to 12th grade and sung for even longer, I used music as a primary means to express myself growing up. As I progressed from high school to college, I discovered online voice acting, but it was not until my time in graduate school that I formally decided to become an actor. My interest initially stemmed from a desire to help out in localization projects, but over the time I have spent voice acting, I have come to not only develop a great appreciation of the craft of acting, but also further deepen my love of music and rekindle my love of performance. With my singing experience as a basis to my unique perspectives, I hope to bring sensitivity, curiosity, and innovation to every project I work on!

Jacob Wilson as Adam

I’m a voice actor, Casting and voice director based in Dallas Texas. I’ve been working in this field for almost four years Now. It’s a journey that has taken me literally around the world and I’m so thankful for all I’m able to do and have accomplished. Being a part of amazing projects like this one are what fuel me to pursue my passions. I realized I was bisexual when I was 18. It’s a group in the LGBT+ community that continues to get flak from seemingly all over. But my faith in it and myself has always been unshaken. Outside of VO I am a drag artist in the making under the name “Twilight Stunning”, who I’m going to show more properly in the coming months! I’m so thankful I’m in the position I am, and I can’t wait to see what we have in store for y’all!

Bradley Gareth as Michael (Main Character)

Bradley was raised in Western Pennsylvania, learning piano from age 5 and taking up local community theater at age 10. He pursued the performing arts throughout high school, consistently participating in high school musicals and chorus festivals during his tenure there. At the end of high school, he also took multiple classes in musical composition and began doing online voiceover work.

During his time in college, Bradley participated in numerous professional and amateur voiceover productions both online and at the University of Pittsburgh's student radio station, WPTS Radio. While at WPTS, Bradley also began writing advertisements and online content for websites.

Now out of school, Bradley continues to lend his voice to multiple productions, dabble in musical composition, and provide content writing for WrightlySo.com.

Jared Prize as David (Main Character)

Singing provides me with some of the greatest joy in life. Outside of that, I love voice acting, hiking, and hanging with friends. My day job involves working with computers, so I like to find a bit of an escape into the creative-realm during my free time. My sexuality has always been a struggle, but I find comfort in not putting a label on it (at least for now). Mostly, I am very excited to be a part of an ambition team of lovely people. Working within a project like this brings excitement during the process, and even more-so while waiting for the final piece! I hope you enjoy what's to come xo

Marisa Duran as Lady Marie

Hey there, I’m Marisa Duran. I’m an actress working and living in Dallas, Texas.

I caught the "theatre bug" at a young age. My parents will tell you that it started when I was two years-old, dancing around to the Barney theme song. I agree wholeheartedly.

I grew up in a suburb on the east side of Dallas and was fortunate to have the opportunity to explore a city known for its rich culture and artistic influence. My passion for theatre was fueled by the many musicals that toured through town and I quickly decided that I wanted to spend the rest of my life as a professional actor.

In 2016 I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas with my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre, emphasis in Acting. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of working with multiple professional theatre companies in the DFW area. I’ve also expanded my career into the worlds of film and voiceover, landing roles in short films, webseries, and commercials, and lending my voice to over a dozen anime titles at FUNimation.

Art has the power to heal, to change, and to empower. As an artist, I believe that my purpose on this earth is to tell stories, and through these stories I hope to make a positive impact and leave people better than I found them. I consider it an honor to be able to use my talents in such a profound way.

Whenever I’m not rehearsing or recording, you can usually find me at my day-time marketing job, playing video-games, or drinking coffee at a local coffeeshop.

Kiba Walker as Zachariah

Born Arthur Lee Walker III in Tacoma, Washington, Kiba Walker is an American actor, musician, director, writer, and performer based out of Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.

Kiba trained under the likes of various industry professionals such as Shane Sparks, Donyelle Jones, Tony Oliver, Betty "Waters" Kennedy, Chuck Huber, Sonny Strait, Chris Rager, Justine Reyes, Lorette Spicer, Bill Quinby, Angie Irons, Dan Lorge, Holly Clark Lorge, Spencer Christian, and many others. With 16 years of collective industry knowledge, Kiba has performed with the likes of Alice Underground, The Stereo Killers, Frankly Fictitious, CRVSH, Grant Davis, Ashley Ann Farley, Steve "Warky" Nunez, BASH!, Ryland Lynch, Ross Lynch, Will Jay, and more.

Voice over came to Kiba in his later years, around the age of 18, when he found his love doing an ask blog for Tumblr. From there, he took the craft seriously and networked profusely with various actors and companies in the voice over realm. His first roles were as Boku Temagawa in "Love Games" and Mike Connelly in "Zoolaplex".

Since 2014, he's been cast in various other projects including MY HERO ACADEMIA, HORIMIYA, GENSHIN IMPACT, FRUITS BASKET, ONE PIECE, SAINT SEIYA (2019 Sentai Dub), BLACK CLOVER, BOFURI! I DON'T WANNA GET HURT SO I'LL MAX OUT MY DEFENSE, CAUTIOUS HERO: THE HERO IS OVERPOWERED BUT OVERLY CAUTIOUS, CASE FILE NO.221 KABUKICHO, CAMP BUDDY, FULL SERVICE, TO TRUST AN INCUBUS, TO LOVE RU, O MAIDENS IN YOUR SAVAGE SEASON, EARTHLOCK, POPUP DUNGEON, SOMETHING IN THE DARK, RADIANT, and many more!

He's also directed such titles as FULL SERVICE, IDUEL: BATTLE  FOR STARDOM, ISHIDA & ASAKURA, THE TITAN'S BRIDE, and CAMP BUDDY.

As a musician now, Kiba currently has one album out, titled "XO", that released in May 2016. He runs a music channel called "KibaKovers", adapting anime and video game openings into English for a broader audience, as well as regular Top 40 covers. He is also one of the champions of the hit Fort Worth Drag Competition, The 3, as Salem Moon!

Mike Young as Sir Tiphis

Hello, I’m Mike Young. A dynamic, versatile and different British VP voice actor with gravitas, who can turn on various shades of Bristol, and run the spectrum of silky smooth, to warm and friendly.

Under the brilliant tutelage of Tanya Rich, my road to a professional voice acting career begin in 2018, having produced a wide variety of stories and audiobooks.

I lend my talent to a range of different projects:

Hard sell and soft sell commercial and corporate scripts

IVR for telephone systems and mobile apps

Instructional e-learning courses

Promotional adverts and trailers

Public service announcements

Character narration for video games, film, audio dramas and books

…and more!

I love it all, I do it all! And if you like what you hear, contact me! I’ll be sure to make your project gurt lush.

[ginnyzero]

Getting Your Message Across

In today’s social media driven knowledge and talent economy everyone (supposedly) has a brand and a message that they’re trying to get out there to say “look at me, hire me, buy my things, I’m you!” (Some people are a lot better at it than others.) It didn’t used to be this way or at least it wasn’t as important. For writers, this trying to convey a message through words is something that we have been doing for hundreds of years whether we mean to or not.

And sometimes our messages in our books and stories gets through. And sometimes, the messages that are found in our stories aren’t the messages we thought we put in and that’s okay. Sometimes, we don’t think we have a message because we have a story we want to tell and that’s okay too. The story can be the message, something about that story is important to you even if you can’t verbalize what it is.

It can be okay to not be able to verbalize something. You might not know what you needed to get out of that story until it’s done and you’re finished and you can step back and evaluate and go “yeah, that’s it, that’s what I wanted to say.”

Writers most often come across this conundrum in the parallel problem of expressing emotions. Because emotions are things you feel rather than something you can touch, taste, see, smell or hear. Emotions are bound up in thought and many people don’t know what they are or how to express them properly. They’re ephemeral. And your message can be just as ephemeral.

Messages and emotions have to be worked around and expressed explicitly at times to convey them and have them hit home. Because your message serves absolutely no purpose if no one understands it or even gets that it’s there.

Other people are not in your brain.

Unlike the science fiction and fantasy worlds that I write in and that I love to read, people in our reality tend not to be telepaths or empaths or psychic or mind readers. Especially when it comes to the written word. They don’t know your thought process or that you spent hours of time agonizing over five variations of the same dialogue or how to convey character movement without making the characters appear like they’re fidgeting. (Unless the character is a chronic fidgeter.)

So, you, the writer, are going to have to convey your message in different ways. You’re going to have show it and tell it. (Throw that "show, don’t tell" advice out the window on this one. It’s show and tell time, ladies and gents. Just like back in kindergarten when you brought in that cool action figure.)

Comics are a great medium to study to learn about this. They are a very constrained medium. Many comics use four panels per day or week to get their point across. And there are a lot of different types of comics. There are funny comics. There are dramatic story comics. There are comics that are political and comics that are about life.

A really good comic that I love to read (because it fits my “brand”) is Manly Guys Do Manly Things at thepunchlineismachismo.com by Coelasquid aka Kelly Turnbull (a storyboard artist for Ben10 and all around amazing person tbh. I wish I had her health, seriously.) Those are the first two messages right there, the name of the comic and the website URL. I know instantly that this webcomic is about to revolve around beefy action hero types doing action hero like things.

The main original character is named Commander Rock Lobster Badass for goodness sake. You’ve got Canada Guy running around randomly killing moose. And everyone from Ganondorf to Duke Nukem popping their heads in and making commentary. (Riddick runs the occasional DnD session.) And then you’ve got Jared. And Jared is the everyman with limp noodle arms and a magikarp in this insane world to give a reason for the Commander to translate all this craziness for us to understand.

There are one off funny comics, there are story arcs, and there is the occasional political lampoon commentary, lots of bits about Overwatch, and then there are bits where the Commander explains the philosophy of Marlon Brando and his own version of actually very healthy masculinity. (Round pegs don’t go in square holes and square pegs don’t go in round holes. Do what works for you.) And there are other places where he shows healthy masculinity in being an all around awesome dad and mentor. (Seriously, don’t be Goku standing around screaming for hours.) I love the fact that Commander Badass is in a relationship with Jonesy that he refuses to pin down with labels. Because not all romantic relationships need labels!

And she does this once a week despite holding down a demanding job and breaking her limbs in motorcycle accidents and going off to Wasteland every year and keeping pigeons. (That inspired some adorable velociraptors.) Even her pictures reflect her brand!

And if that’s the type of content you might enjoy, I encourage you to check out Commander Badass. Or go read and analyze your favorite comic(s.) (I also recommend Girls With Slingshots.)

As a writer and a storyteller, you have to show your message and you have to outright tell people your message in your stories and through your stories. And some characters might not be quite as literal as Commander Badass there.

Say your story is based on the message of “Girl, you need that man like a fish needs a bicycle.” (See entertaining Sinfest Comic strip.) So, you’re story is probably going to open up with your female character thinking she needs the male in her life. Her friends and family don’t think so and tell her so and probably try to encourage her to be more independent. “You don’t need him!” “You’re better than that!” But she’s stuck in that thought pattern that she needs a man.

And she’s not going to change until she comes to the realization on her own quite possibly at her lowest point when he’s betrayed her in whatever way is the most important to her. (Or she’s done something that even shocks herself that she’d thought she’d never do.) Then she’s going to believe “Oh, I don’t need that man. “And no doubt, she’s going to think it and she might get angry about it. Now she wants to get free and be independent and she wants it badly. She’s hurt. She’s lashing out. And she may or may not lash out constructively! (Conflict! Angst! Girl Power! Boo Yah!)

Then you have to show you quite possibly kicking this man out of her life. And then doing whatever it is that needs to be done to be more independent and take care of herself. Then, the character is going to have to figure out why emotionally and psychologically she thought she needed that man. (Therapy is good people.) Or else, she’s just going to fall back into the same pattern and not learn anything or grow as a character. (Character growth is the best.) So that when she finds a new man, that man is nice and all and she likes having him around, but she doesn’t need him to fill whatever emotional or psychological need that the previous man was filling.

Give it a fancy title that reflects your message of freedom or breaking chains or independence and call it a day! (Simplistic example is simplistic.)

It’s the age old problem of show versus telling. But in this case you have to show and tell to get the point across. The point being that somewhere in your story that your main character or a character around your main characters in a not preachy way manages to say your message clearly and succinctly.

Because brevity, brevity, brevity.

People don’t come to a story for the message. They come to be entertained and yeah, the message or the theme may resonate with them. They want to see the message in action more than they wanted to be talked at about the message for a good hour or 300 pages. (Look, if I want a moral lecture I’ll go back to church.) If your brand is about romance, the story should focus more on the romance and answering the question of “why can’t they be together right now” than the message of “You don’t need that man, honey.” (Okay, contradictory to an extent, but um, not at the same time. Healthy romances, HEALTHY folks.) If your stories are like mine and are about adventure and explosions with a side of finding your place in the world, then the story should focus on action, explosions and finding your place in that world.

Your message needs to be clear and consistent and even though you as a person might not agree with something that a character is doing, it doesn’t mean that you endorse what that character is doing. You can always show that the character is wrong, that their methods are bad by giving them consequences.

And remember, just because your story has a message, it doesn’t have to be about the message. You can still save the universe and convey that being gay is okay or that racism is wrong or true love can strike twice. Stories are allowed layers.

The key being that if no one at all gets the message you wanted or the opposite message or no message at all when you’ve tried to put one in then you’ve failed as a writer. And that’s not okay.

[kaleidographia]

[Analysis] The "Weird" One: Where The Last Jedi Fits

I have a confession to make.

This may be a weird way to start what is essentially the first post of a new media critique blog, but I consider it to be essential knowledge. Every reviewer and analyst brings their own unique perspective to their writing, and I am no different; sooner or later, this truth will make itself known. To know this fact about me is to gain a new understanding of what makes me tick as a consumer of art, and it is one that it best to get out of the way as soon as possible, for it is better for a reader to lose interest now than to string along until the awkwardness of hiding such a secret reveals itself.

Here it is:

I LOVE the Star Wars prequels.

Oh, not only do I love them, completely and unironically, I actually do not care much for the original trilogy. It’s all right. But it doesn’t make my heart sing.

Attack of the Clones does.

Okay, okay, I can already hear the groans of disgust and the clicks of mice leaving my blog to the wilds of the web, but I promise this is going somewhere. I am not unaware of the many flaws the Prequel trilogy has, and I can’t in good conscience call them cinematic masterpieces, but I think this opinion derives itself not from poor taste, but the relative lack of blockbuster quality movies that tap into very particular themes and structural quirks that I appreciate. I may dive into those specifics at a later time, but the reason why I am bringing this up now is because it inextricably ties into my feelings about the most recent film in the franchise’s main series, which would be impossible for me to discuss without addressing this aspect of my formative film influences.

The Last Jedi has already received tons of coverage, controversy, and counter-controversy, so if you’re interested in picking apart the finer aspects of the plot and characters, feel free to look those up — I am sure there is a brilliant video essay on Youtube tailor-made just for you. I am more interested in the meta-narrative surrounding its position in terms of fanservice to what is an enourmous empire of not only fans of the original trilogy, but fans of its many derivations, spin-offs, and cultural foundations.

Star Wars is no longer just a film about a space farmer who learns he’s a space wizard and goes on a perfect beat-by-beat hero’s journey. It encompasses more than that: two sequels, an expanded universe of books upon books, comics, videogames, pinball machines — a holiday special (and no, I have not watched it) — toys, cartoons, parodies, reiterations, iconic images, phrases, cinematic touchstones, and, of course, the Prequels.

When the new Sequel trilogy was announced, the filmmakers had a real challenge to contend with: How can one follow up on not only a legacy of films, but also a legacy of expectations of what such a sequel would be like? I am not just referring to the fact that Disney, post acquisition of Lucasfilm, decided to just toss out the previous expanded universe, label it “Legends”, and start afresh with a new canon. I am also referring to the literal millions of fans who were already thoroughly familiar with not only the films but also their cultural impact. How could one possibly please them, especially when the Prequel trilogy was so universally mocked?

It was clear that Disney needed to win the crowd over, and to do so they leaned heavily into a safe bet: the Original trilogy. The Force Awakens released with a sort of wink-and-nudge, reflected in its story beats, characterization, and practical effects, that said “hey, we hear you. We know you’re scared because you don’t trust us to do this material justice and we know you love the original films, so we’re gonna give you exactly what you’re looking for”. It’s hard not to see the fanservice and whether or not it was successful has already been discussed to death, so I won’t get into it here, but the point is — and I am sure this wasn’t really intentional — to someone like me, who actually liked the prequels and a lot of the expanded universe, this approach felt incredibly alienating. Everyone was having fun with the new film, but to me it felt like it was saying, “all those things you love about Star Wars are not the reasons why anyone else loves Star Wars,” and I’m not gonna lie, I was pretty hurt, but at the very least The Force Awakens gave me a cast to fall in love with.

This is why when The Last Jedi was in production, I was intrigued to hear that this film was going to be “weird” and “unlike any other Star Wars film”. My expectations were tempered by the fact that ultimately this was going to be a Disney movie anyway, so it was probably not going to reach my standard of Weird (my dad showed me Koyaanisqatsi when I was 7, to give you an idea). Nevertheless, after the very safe rehash of Episode 4 that was The Force Awakens, I was just hoping for anything that might show me the franchise still had room for creativity.

I was in fact happy with the result, although it doesn’t surprise me at all that it attracted controversy. Some of my close friends, whose opinions I highly respect, hated the film for various reasons and I can even agree with them on some points. Others, like me, loved it. Overall, however, what I like most isn’t necessarily anything about the film itself, but its position as a nod to fans who wanted their corners of the Star Wars universe acknowledged. To put it bluntly, as a Prequels fan, I felt represented.

Going even beyond the Prequels, The Last Jedi contains themes from my favourite piece of Star Wars media, the Bioware-produced videogame Knights of the Old Republic and its Obsidian-produced sequel, which layer critique of what it means to be a Force user and what the role of Jedi and Sith are in the grand scheme of things. “Jedi” does not necessarily mean “good”, a fact Luke highlights in his role as reluctant mentor to Rey, and while there are some things I would change about his portrayal here, this perspective is absolutely one I wanted to see more of in the main series. Even as a kid, good-vs-evil stories bored me; it’s one reason why the Original trilogy failed to speak to me, because even though I wouldn’t have been able to articulate why at the time, the setup was just too easy. It didn’t challenge me to think that there’s a side that’s inherently good and a side that’s inherently evil, but when Knights of the Old Republic put decisions about when and how to use the Force in front of me, that was a much more interesting proposition, and the idea that doctrine about the nature of the Force could be wrong or even damaging was outright enticing. I honestly can’t remember whether playing the games or watching the Prequels came first, but I get the feeling it was the games, because that malleable view of what the Force means and who the Jedi and Sith are has carried through for me ever since.

The Last Jedi does kind of play it safe in some ways, ultimately being a Disney property that has to sell lots of merchandise and bring people to theme parks, but it also boldly rejects just about every expectation one might have of a “Star Wars Film”, characters make mistakes, they fail, things go wrong at the worst possible times, some act selfishly or foolishly, and by the time the credits roll there’s actually very little to be excited about, as the heroes are in a much worse position than they were when the film started, which was already very bleak. But in a way, that was the most exciting part to me, as someone who grew tired of the popular culture perception of Star Wars and who felt shut out of the Sequel trilogy by its first film; The Last Jedi may have been agonizing, but it was agonizing in a way that promised more, giving hope to those of us who were looking for a less straightforward narrative at a time when powerful politicians can be comically villainous in public and yet people would bend over backwards to excuse their actions as if an “evil empire” didn’t already exist. Over the last couple of years I have seen people post a gif of Padmé Amidala’s iconic line, “So this is how liberty dies… with thunderous applause”, saying this was the only part of the Prequel trilogy that aged well, and yet to me the truth was already glaringly obvious back when the film was released, contributing strongly to my own critical interpretation of it. The Last Jedi is a film that picks up on the thought that people can make foolish and terrible decisions and runs with it, but it is by no means the first in the series to approach this theme.

(I should note that as a Brazilian, whose country was freshly out of a dictatorship when I was born and which is now hurtling towards another at full speed, my views on what counts as an Evil Empire and how and why a democracy dies may be somewhat sharper than the average American’s. This is by no means the only reason why I’m into this kind of storytelling, nor is it exclusive to me, but it is a big one, and it would be short-sighted to ignore it.)

Ultimately I understand why The Last Jedi is so polarizing; it doesn’t pull punches and some of the punches it throws are even a bit misaimed, thus the description of it as “weird” and “unprecedented” makes sense. It just isn’t quite as weird or unprecedented when compared to previous attempts at broadening the scope of the Star Wars narrative both within the main film series and the expanded universe (at least pre-Disney; I haven’t engaged with any post-Legends canon aside from the Rebels cartoon, so I can’t say for sure). It also serves as a complete 180° turn from the Sequel trilogy establishing itself as a safe haven for Original trilogy fans and a middle chapter leading into a final film we still know nothing about, so whether its narrative leaps will pay off are still a mystery. In any case, The Last Jedi rejects superficial concerns in favour of theme, leading to a certain degree of dissatisfaction from fans who really wanted to know Rey’s parentage and what exactly was up with Snoke, but I think this is a good thing, because they gave new meanings to previously established Star Wars tropes and drove the whole thing into uncharted territory. I for one am glad the franchise has freed itself of these particular burdens; it simply remains to be seen whether the conclusion will maintain this momentum.

All this to say, I like the Last Jedi because it likes the things I like about Star Wars, and now I know I’m not the only one.

[astralbooks]

Amy of the Necromancers - Jimena I Novaro

Read: 22/07/2021 - 08/08/2021

Rating: 3/5

Rep: sapphic main character, sapphic love interest, non-binary side character, black love interest, black side characters, vietnamese-american side character, latina side character, main character with depression and bouts of dissociation

CW: child death, d slur used as an insult, drug use, interactions with police, discussion of terminal illness, death due to cancer in backstory, stillbirth in backstory, discussion of domestic violence, child abuse, suicide attempt

Review:

I’ve ended up feeling pretty meh about this book. As I was reading it, I enjoyed it. The characters were likeable enough that I cared enough about what would happen to them that I was okay with continuing to read. I liked the pacing of the story and that we were given the time and opportunity to get to know all of the characters, which was something that was sorely needed due to there being so many of them. Even when I put the book down for a long time, I was still able to remember who everyone was when I picked it back up, and that’s because the characters had been given the room they needed to be well established. The themes of the book, of dealing with death & grief and of family, were handled well.

At no point while reading this book did I think that I’d rather be doing something else with my time. However, at no point while not reading this book did I think that I’d rather be reading it, which meant that it always took a lot to convince myself to pick it back up again, which in turn led to the aforementioned incidents of me putting the book down for a long time. This happened more than once.

Amy’s tendency to dissociate was written really well. It was clear that Novaro knew what she was doing during those segments. Dissociation is something that I’ve only experienced a couple of times myself, and Novaro nailed the descriptions of it perfectly. I’d recommend this book for the representation of dissociation alone.

Neither Amy nor her love interest clarify their sexualities or use any terminology to describe themselves other than to say that they like girls, and I could argue the pros and cons of this approach, but when it happens in conjunction with a minor character calling the protagonist the d slur in a scene that has no purpose other than to demonstrate that teenagers are assholes sometimes, it’s a lot more questionable. Why was there space for the protagonist to be called a slur, but apparently no space for her to call herself a lesbian or bisexual or another label or to clarify that she specifically doesn’t use any? I’m 99% sure that the reader is supposed to understand that Amy’s a lesbian, but if someone came away from this book with a different conclusion then that would be perfectly valid because as far as I’m concerned there’s nothing here to contradict that.

It’s specifically said that all of the women in Amy’s family are born with some kind of necromancy related ability. I’m genderqueer, and it bugs me when a story features powers that rely on a character’s gender and then doesn’t attempt to address how trans people would factor into this system. The powers being restricted to women within Amy’s family doesn’t serve any purpose, it could have been said that the powers are restricted to people in Amy’s family and literally nothing about the story would need to change to accommodate this. Amy’s family being made up of mostly women wouldn’t need to change, and neither would Amy’s father not having powers. Amy’s father married into the family so of course he wouldn’t have any powers. What was the reason behind saying that only the women in Amy’s family have these abilities? This didn’t feel like a malicious choice by Novaro, more so a thoughtless one.

It’s a lot easier to pick out the things I didn’t like about this book than the things that I did, but overall I did enjoy reading this book, and if the premise sounds at all interesting to you then I would recommend checking it out, and I’d especially recommend it if you’re looking for a book that features a well written portrayal of dissociation. I don’t feel like I wasted my time here. Like I said at the top of this review: meh.

Thank you to BookSirens and the author for providing me with an e-arc in return for an honest review.

[mercerislandbooks]

Homebody

Hello mid-April. I started thinking about and drafting this piece in the early days of March, and with each passing week and new development in our current lives, the words I had to say around this subject changed. Little did I know then how apropos the subject of home would become. With at least the rest of the month to go, I think we’re all trying to make some sense of where we find ourselves: Home.

Back at the beginning of March our Island Books Knitting Book Club read Marisa de los Santos’s I’ll Be Your Blue Sky, which coincidentally has a predominant theme of home. De los Santos asks a series of questions in her novel: Where is home, who is home, what is the importance of have a home to go to? What happens when you lose your home? Her writing is beautiful, and I found myself envying both the homes described and the friendships enjoyed. In this dual timeline story the predominant “home” is Blue Sky House, a place of refuge for both Edith, in the 1950′s, and later for Clare in the present day. For Clare it contains a safe place to recover from a broken engagement, and also an intriguing mystery to solve concerning Edith and her life in the small coastal town in Delaware. 

Reading local writer Erica Bauermeister’s new memoir, House Lessons illuminated for me components that would make even the fictional Blue Sky House have such a welcoming atmosphere. Author of the well known novel The School of Essential Ingredients, and the recent Reese Witherspoon book club pick, The Scent Keeper, she has now written her first memoir, a thoughtful exploration of what makes a house a home.

When Bauermeister and her family drive by a derelict 100 year old house in Port Townsend, she and her husband are drawn to it in a way they can’t explain. Putting in an offer that includes clearing out the house of decades of accumulated clutter, they wait in limbo for months before finally being able to secure it. It’s then that the real work begins. Bauermeister spares no detail in the often distasteful labor of ridding the home of layers of detritus. Once the house is free of all that covered it up and weighed it down (literally) the possibilities of bringing new life to this lovely structure are unveiled. Erica and her family go on quite a journey from remaking this historic home, to the time when she and her husband are able to make it their permanent residence.

Throughout the memoir Bauermeister draws connections between the process of renovation and the larger implications of each component of the house and restoration to an inner life. She heads her chapters with such titles as “The Hearth” and “Architects and Builders” and “The Empty Nest”. We all, if we are fortunate, live somewhere, and right now we are never more aware of it. Her belief is that the physical space around us has weight and meaning, impacting our emotions.

She says:

A study by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1989 determined that Americans spend more than 90 percent of their time indoors — a number that has almost certainly risen since then. This means that whatever influence our buildings have upon us, they get a lot of time to do it — even if we are not consciously aware of it. We feel it, though. We wander about a cavernous great room and find ourselves unable to settle. Other times, we walk up a wide front porch, and it is as if arms have invisibly opened to us. We make our way through a sunlit house, seemingly drawn from one room to the next. Houses embody their own kind of magic; we just rarely pay attention to the magicians.

I have to admit that I am a homebody. Over a year ago, I spent a week at home due to some knee issues, and aside from feeling frustrated that I couldn’t go to work and my limited mobility, I was fine to rest and read and knit. At least one of my days off I usually don’t leave the house at all, puttering around, doing my “life maintenance” (as my brother calls it), and I find it restorative. I grocery shop once a week, and run a few errands. Other than that my main time away from home is at work, which feels like a second home. But being told that you have to stay home is a very different thing, indeed. 

Navigating this “new normal” of being more at home than ever before has been a daily process of adjustment. Setting up my desk to accommodate all the order pads and paper clips and mailing labels that allow me to work from home; learning the heretofore unknown habits of the people I live with who have their own routines that go on while I’ve been at work; and using technology to stay connected to my co-workers and friends and family is all new. Every day brings new things to learn how to navigate and new challenges. I’m becoming more practiced at stepping back, evaluating how well a thing is working for me, and making changes. 

But underneath all of this I am deeply aware of a permeating gratitude. In one sense it is the very basic gratefulness for having a roof over my head and a cozy place to sleep, food on the table and people to share it with. I am privileged to have these things, and, most especially now, I don’t take it for granted. As I make my bed and take my shower, as I cook dinner or steep a cup of tea, I am aware of how fortunate I am to be safe and healthy. I can look out the window at a beautiful cherry tree blooming in our backyard, watch the birds congregating around the feeders, and relax on the couch for an hour with innumerable books to chose from. After reading House Lessons, I have to wonder how the physical places I am inhabiting influence my state of mind. If they do it is yet another thing to be grateful for, to live in a place that helps calm me in the midst of these anxious times.

I am sending out my wishes that all of you find some calm spaces in the corners of your homes. It always helps to have books.

— Lori

[colachampagnedad]

In an interview with Zane Lowe, the only one Kendrick has done since DAMN.‘s release, Kendrick was extremely cagey about the overall concept for the album. He did drop 2 major hints, for those listening closely. In discussing the opening song, “BLOOD.,” Lowe asks “Is it the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning?” “I can’t tell you that. That’s what I can’t tell you,” Kendrick says with a grin. “Come on, now. That’s the whole thing!,” he continues.

It turns out that was one of the most meaningful exchanges in the entire 44-minute interview. “BLOOD.” opens with “Is it wickedness. Is it weakness. You decide. Are we going to live or die?” That is the key to the entire sonic journey that Kendrick has architected with DAMN.

The theme of “wickedness or weakness” is one that plays out through the entire project. Kendrick asks the question multiple times. It is a deeply philosophical question akin to whether our paths are determined by destiny or whether we have free will to make our own choices. We all sin. There’s no debate about that. What Kendrick wants to know is are our transgressions a result of wickedness that is native to us or do we just have moments of weakness that can be overcome by choosing to walk the righteous path. Kendrick never gives us a definitive answer to the question, but he made 2 albums with 2 different endings—one where the answer is wickedness, which leads to his death, and another where the answer is weakness which finds him alive and flourishing because weakness was overcome. When Kendrick says “You decide. Are we going to live or die,” on “BLOOD.,” those words are deeply intentional. He is literally telling us as listeners that, as many of us did as kids when we read books that allowed us to pick from multiple endings, we have the choice to experience DAMN. 2 completely different ways.

When we listen to the album in the order in which it was released, it takes us down a path of gradual enlightenment. The question of “wickedness or weakness” is explored through several contrasting themes. Kendrick seems to make several choices that show he is not wicked and is often able to overcome weakness. The order of the song titles suggest the evolution. Kendrick moves from “LUST.” to “LOVE.,” “PRIDE.” to being “HUMBLE.,” having “FEAR.” to feeling like a “GOD.”

He struggles, for sure. He articulates his difficulty staying righteous on “FEAR.,” where he raps “I’m talkin’ fear, fear of losin’ loyalty from pride, ’cause my DNA won’t let me involve in the light of God. I’m talkin’ fear, fear that my humbleness is gone. I’m talkin’ fear, fear that love ain’t livin’ here no more. I’m talkin’ fear, fear that it’s wickedness or weakness. Fear, whatever it is, both is distinctive.” It is also on that record where Kendrick’s Uncle Carl gives him the answers for which he’s been searching. He tells Kendrick that people have been punished by God for not following God’s commandments, but they can lift God’s curses by living righteously.

The album culminates with “DUCKWORTH.,” the ultimate example of how curses can be reversed when people overcome their weaknesses and live righteously. In the song, Kendrick lays out the real-life story of how Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, Kendrick’s mentor and the owner of his label, and Kendrick’s father, Ducky, knew each other as young men. Top had robbed the restaurant where Ducky worked before he started working there, and Top intended to do so again. Ducky sensed that Top was dangerous, and rather than treat him hostilely, he chose to act kindly by offering him free food. Top eventually decided against robbing Ducky. The two men would not see each other again for 20 years, and did not realize their profound connection through Kendrick, until the first time they met in the studio. Had either Top or Ducky acted differently 20 years prior, there lives may have been fundamentally different. As Kendrick raps:

“Pay attention, that one decision changed both of they lives, one curse at a time Reverse the manifest and good karma, and I’ll tell you why You take two strangers, and put ’em in random predicaments Give ’em a soul, so they can make their own choices and live with it Twenty years later, them same strangers you make ’em meet again Inside recording studios where they reapin’ their benefits Then you start remindin’ them about that chicken incident Whoever thought the greatest rapper would be from coincidence? Because if Anthony killed Ducky, Top Dawg could be servin’ life While I grew up without a father and die in a gunfight”

Kendrick lays it all out in that one passage. We have souls and can make choices. Top Dawg could have chosen to rob Ducky, but he did not give in to the weakness of temptation. As a result, both Top and Ducky have prospered and Kendrick is thriving.

In addition to providing a mind-blowing end to the story of DAMN., “DUCKWORTH.” is also instructional. Near the beginning of the song, DJ Kid Capri says “We gonna put it in reverse.” Like most things on the album, that phrase can be interpreted in a couple of different ways. In listening to DAMN. from front to back, it could simply mean the album is going to go back in time. After all, most of “DUCKWORTH.” is about Top and Ducky’s lives decades ago. However, soon after the DAMN. and NATION. theory surfaced, another theory arose that suggested DAMN. was actually meant to be experienced in reverse order. Thus, in saying “let’s put it in reverse,” Kid Capri was being instructional rather than descriptive. That interpretation of Kid Capri’s words also unlocks the significance of Kendrick’s hint about listening to the album “over and over and over again to fully understand the direction.”

When listened to in reverse order, DAMN. takes on a completely different feeling. From the beginning of “DUCKWORTH.,” the wickedness (or destiny) theme begins to take shape. The song opens with “It was always me vs. the world. Until I found it’s me vs. me.” Right off the bat, Kendrick is telling us that in this journey he is not battling the choices that the world presents that allow for weakness. Instead, his battle is internal, likely with wickedness.

Aside from Kendrick progressively moving down a path of wickedness in the song titles–going from feeling like a “GOD.” to “FEAR.,” moving from “LOVE.” to “LUST.,” and going from being “HUMBLE.” to embracing “PRIDE.”–the album has a very different sonic arc, as well. In its original order DAMN. gets progressively more introspective and melodic, ending with the deeply soulful “DUCKWORTH.” In reverse, the album gets increasingly aggressive, culminating in the ultra hostile “DNA.” Where “DUCKWORTH.” is about choice and overcoming weakness, “DNA.” is all about Kendrick’s wickedness being hard wired into him. He literally ends his last verse by forecasting his death and acknowledging his inherent wickedness. “Tell me when destruction gonna be my fate, gonna be your fate, gonna be our faith. Peace to the world, let it rotate. Sex, money, murder—our DNA.”

Of course, the last song on the album in reverse is “BLOOD.,” and the final occurrence on the song is Kendrick dying from a gunshot. In reverse, Kendrick’s death is foreshadowed a number of times, starting on “DUCKWORTH.”–which culminated in a gunshot after the album is replayed at hyper-speed, backwards–and continuing through “DNA.” The person who shoots Kendrick is a woman, and that also likely not a coincidence. On his album To Pimp A Butterfly, he makes a number of references to “Lucy,” short for Lucifer. Lucy is a temptress, always luring Kendrick into destructive situations and, just as Kendrick had an in-person encounter with God on TPAB‘s “How Much A Dollar Cost,” it’s not far fetched to believe that his walking down a path of wickedness would end with his death literally at the hands of the devil.

In addition to the dramatic ending “BLOOD.” provides the album, as the last song, other parts of DAMN. start to fit together differently when it is played in reverse order. For example, going back to “FEAR.,” the last thing Uncle Carl says on the record is “Until we come back to these laws, statutes, and commandments, and do what the Lord said, these curses are gonna be upon us. We’re gonna be at a lower state in this life that we live here in today, in the United States of America. I love you, son, and I pray for you. God bless you, shalom.” In reverse order, the next song is “XXX.” which opens with Bekon singing “America, God bless you if it’s good to you. America, please take my hand. Can you help me underst…”

With nuances like that unlocking, it’s easy to start to believe that the “right” order in which to play DAMN. is, indeed, in reverse. But, again, the very first words we hear on the album, when starting with “BLOOD.” are “Is it wickedness? Is it weakness? You decide. Are we gonna live or die?” “DUCKWORTH.” ends with Kendrick living and thriving because Top resisted weakness and made choices that broke the curses of which Uncle Carl spoke in “FEAR.” “BLOOD.” ends with Kendrick dying because the wickedness coded into his DNA has caused him to fall from grace into the hands of the devil. Is “BLOOD.” the beginning or the end? “That’s the whole thing!”

Kendrick’s response to Zane Lowe and “BLOOD.’s” opening words suggest that the album is meant to be experienced in both directions. A tweet by Sounwave, Kendrick’s longtime collaborator, also supports the theory. Before the album was released he posted a cryptic tweet. It was simply a picture of Laurence Fishburne’s character “Morpheus,” from the film The Matrix. The picture is of Morpheus seated in the chair when he offers the main character the choice of which existence he wants to have. “You take the blue pill — the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill — you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”“You take the blue pill — the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill — you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes,” Morpheus says. Red and Blue. There are those two colors, again.

Kendrick did release two albums on April 14. The first album, the forward version, is the Red album, since it is one of enlightenment. Humans succumb to their weaknesses at times, but are also able to overcome them and live righteously. The second album, which plays in reverse, is the Blue album since it ends in death (and was the second color Kendrick uploaded on his Spotify profile). It is one in which wickedness is fateful and fatal.

Besides the song order and bookends/beginnings of “BLOOD.” and “DUCKWORTH.,” there are loads of other themes and occurrences that take place throughout the album, that change its arc and meaning depending on which direction it is played. Kid Capri’s role is one of the most readily accessible examples. When played in its original order, he does not appear until the third song, “YAH.” He simply says “New sh*t. New Kung Fu Kenny.” He appears several other times, and his presence feels like a throwback to his mixtape days in the 90s and 00s, where his drops were an integral part of setting the energy for the tape. When played in reverse, however, Kid Capri’s words seem more like they are advancing the narrative of the story, rather than ad libs to set the mood. In addition to his directions to put it in reverse on “DUCKWORTH.,” transitions like the one between “FEEL.” and “ELEMENT.” start to seem more like commentary. After Kendrick has repeated his refrain of “Ain’t nobody praying for me multiple times,” Kid Capri affirms it on “ELEMENT.,” saying “New Kung Fu Kenny. Ain’t nobody praying for me.” However, he also says “Y’all know what happens on Earth stays on Earth,” foreshadowing Kendrick’s death.

Other examples include the role Kendrick’s Uncle Carl plays on the album. In forward order, Kendrick briefly references him on “YAH.,” but it isn’t until “FEAR.” that we understand his huge significance. After Kendrick has said “ain’t nobody praying for me” a number of times throughout the album, we learn that his Uncle Carl actually literally is praying for Kendrick, and Carl’s revelations seem to be what allow Kendrick to become righteous and thrive.

When played in reverse, however, by continuing to go down a wicked path after receiving Uncle Carl’s knowledge, Kendrick seems to rebuff his words of wisdom. It leads to an increased sense of isolation, which is heard on “FEAR.,” and he outright rejects Carl on “YAH” where he says “My cousin called, my cousin Carl Duckworth. Said know my worth and Deuteronomy say that we all been cursed. I know he walks the Earth, but it’s money to get, bitches to hit.” His disregard of Carl’s teachings causes him to remain cursed and it ultimately costs him his life.

There are certainly several other examples. DAMN. is as dense as it gets…both versions. In his interview with Zane Lowe Kendrick said of the album “I want it to live for the next 20 years.” Given the unbelievable originality of is double album within an album, it seems very likely DAMN. will live for a long, long time.

[hetmusic]

Q&A with HÅN | HumanHuman

HÅN’s single “The Children” has been named one of the most stunning debuts of the year with praise from When The Horn Blows, Indietronica, HighClouds, Going Solo and The Line Of Best Fit, with a review written by none other than discoverer Matthew Kent. In the space of a few months the 21-year-old newcomer from Lake Garda, in Northern Italy, soared to the position of Promising Artist with an impressive 25 agrees from some of our most influential users.

In the last month, the dark-pop musician has delivered a stunning sophomore album titled “1986”, a cinematic approach to songwriting that glistens with Balearic tinges and wistful vocals. It’s also the second track from HÅN’s forthcoming EP, which she openly speaks about, “‘1986′ is to me the strangest track on the EP since it’s very personal lyrically but at the same time, it has a production which is really different from everything I’ve ever made.” With yet more material to be revealed, we’re keen to learn more about this rising, alternative talent and here we discuss her music, songwriting, the Italian music scene and some of her favourite artists right now.

Hello, HÅN! First of all, were you surprised to be regarded as a Promising Discovery on HumanHuman so soon after your first release?

During these months many wonderful things have happened, and I did not expect any of them. My goal is to constantly improve, so being defined as a promising artist, is something that I truly appreciate.

That debut is “The Children”, a wonderfully airy dark-pop song, which you’ve described as “like someone running away from the things that they know and from the place in which they always been, becoming aware of the oppression of 'the safe place'.” Can you expand on this backstory?

When I wrote this song I wasn't thinking about a certain theme or something. I just put out some phrases that I knew were what I was feeling in that moment. It was just when I finished the lyrics, that I realized the song actually had a theme. It’s about this big mess which is growing. It's the urge to get away from something you've always known because you need to live and take risks, decide for yourself and all that kind of stuff. But you’re aware that you can’t really “get away” from something which has always been in your life. You grow and you leave things behind but at the same time you miss them. So it’s an ambivalent feeling.

Right now, you’re 20-years-old, but when did you first begin your interest in music and particularly in songwriting?

The first instrument I've ever played was the violin, and I was in primary schools. I started singing a lot later actually, and I got into songwriting around 15-16 years old, even if I had already tried to write something by the age of 12. (typical “bad first attempt” sort of things) In the last few years, songwriting has become not only my main means of expression but also what I really want to do with my life. Being able to create my own world is something I could never get tired of.

Which artists have been most influential to your sound?

Lately I've been listening to a lot of major alt-pop acts (Halsey, The 1975, Lorde, Melanie Martinez etc.) that emerged during these years, as I am really interested in knowing what works and what doesn't work today, as well as in their music concept, but I wouldn't say they have been my main influence.

In terms of sound, bands like The Smiths and Radiohead have helped me to develop a more mature vision of music. I would also say that artists like Björk, James Blake and Jeff Buckley have been a big influence to me. I like to explore various corners of contemporary music, and lately, I've been really fascinated by pop culture.

Are there any contemporary musicians who have been on your radar as of late?

Let’s Eat Grandma! What I like about them is the freedom of their music and their childish vibe, which you can see mainly through their live shows. They’re cool because they seem to come from another world, and as a result they do music in their own personal way. I would say they make pop, but it’s a weird one for sure. Another original thing about them is how they use a lot of instruments on stage, including a saxophone, a flute and a xylophone.

Speaking of current talent, you also share a label (Factory Flaws) with fellow Promising Discovery Giungla. That must be a great feeling?

I met her during a live show in Padua where we both played, but I already knew her because we’re on the same label (Factory Flaws.) I was really curious about seeing her live show because she performs completely alone on stage, with just pedals and guitar. Her live energy and stage presence struck me, so I would definitely recommend to give her more than a listen.

The italian music industry is basically sorted into three categories: the rap/trap scene, the Italian indie music, and singers of the hour from the latest talent show. Obviously, I’m talking about what the majors are pushing and promoting. From an independent point of view, there are a lot of brand new artists that are offering quality music. I genuinely believe that we have many talented songwriters, artists who I personally feel are most of the time underrated. I would say it’s difficult for the audience to discover them, since they aren’t well-publicised, and the majority of people here just listens to what the media push forward. But still, if you are an avid listener you’ll find a way to reach the right network.

Do you still live in your hometown near Lake Garda? Do you think that rural, somewhat isolated setting led you to seek out the world of music?

Yes, I still divide myself between my hometown and Trento, where I study. I actually traveled a lot during my teen years, and I think that opened my mind a lot. I love meeting people and sharing opinions, though that's not the main reason why I started making music. But yes, that played a part. Being a big artist means being able to connect with a lot of people, and that is a thing that surely enriches your life.

Could you recall your first musical memory?

When I was in preschool my father and I used to listen to “Peter and the Wolf” by Prokofiev, which is a symphonic fairy tale that features horns, string instruments, timpani, and bass drum. Every character is represented by a different instrument. I remember just sitting there, completely struck by the sounds I heard. Maybe that’s why I love so much deep, dark sounds.

Aside from music, do you have any other passions or interests? Perhaps these also find their way into your songwriting?

I really enjoy traveling, I almost visited the whole of Europe, but I've never been in America or Japan, two countries I'm longing to visit. Books and poetry have been a big influence lyrically speaking. I love poetry that uses small words and goes right to the essential.

Recently, there’s been whispers of a SoundCloud shutdown, which we both know is incredibly important to the online music community. How have online platforms like SoundCloud helped your own career so far?

I believe that online platforms can make a substantial difference in terms of trends in today’s music industry. Platforms like Spotify decide what is trending right now, when for example they put a song in a 500k-followers playlist, and so on. In my experience, I was really surprised by the number of streams my song got in a month (both on Soundcloud and Spotify), considering that I'm an emerging artist and literally no one knew who I was. Still, I think that there’s so much competition in today’s music industry that it is really hard to reach a significant number of streams and impactful interaction if you’re an independent artist. But, I’m still trying to understand the degrees of importance of everything.

There are plenty of artists that built a following through online platforms, especially like Youtube, which I believe is the most “audience-directed” online platform of them all.

Are there any favourite musicians who you discovered through SoundCloud?

I discovered Peacock Affect through SoundCloud, and two songs in particular have caught my attention: “Wallflower” and “Who Cares If You Exist”. He may seem depressing but he’s not, he’s emotional! The lyrics and the titles of the songs are a bit pessimistic, but they’re part of the character, I think. His songs are perfect when there’s rain outside and something is not going in the right way.

It’s now been two months since making your debut, what have you been up to since then?

We recorded all the songs for my upcoming EP and decided how the graphic would have looked like along with the whole aesthetic of the project. We toured a bit testing the live show, we laid all the foundations, and now we're waiting for things to happen haha.

Do you have plans to start playing live shows in the future?

We actually did a small tour this summer around Italy, and we also played a gig in London at Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen. It was a lot of fun. I had never toured before, so I'm just now starting to learn what it's like. We will start playing live shows again around October.

https://humanhuman.com/articles/interview-with-han

[goope-jp-tenmei]

Behind the Stationery: PleaseNotes

For our next Behind the Stationery feature, I’m excited to have Cheryl Sutherland’s share her empowering story behind PleaseNotes. Cheryl’s journey is rooted in realness and self-discovery, which is an important part of the business that isn’t always talked about. She talks about everything from exploring her manufacturing options to exploring herself to discover what she wanted to her line to become. Take it away, Cheryl! —Megan Soh

From Cheryl: I would’ve never thought that I would be interviewing anyone, especially not an internationally acclaimed speaker like Les Brown, but as I was adjusting the lighting rig in his hotel room in Toronto it hit me. My life had unfolded in a way that I could of never expected based on one decision to follow my inspiration.

Growing up my family unit was pretty ordinary. My parents were from St. Vincent, a small island in the Caribbean, and had divorced shortly after I was born. The youngest of three, I noticed how much emphasis my parents put on working to support themselves and additional family back home without regard for their own personal enjoyment in their work. When it was time for me to go to university, I wanted to be different from my parents and to choose something that interested me, that aligned with my personality and gave me the ability to grow. That decision making process is what got me through school, into some great positions, and drove my decision to move to Los Angeles from Canada.

I got the idea for PleaseNotes after reaching the end of the road with my last employer. At that point I wanted to work on something I was really passionate about, learn new things, and feel excited and confident when I spoke about work. I had always seen myself as a great second in command, but not good enough to actually run a business or even have a good idea for one. I knew in order to level up I needed to make a huge shift. I took a leap of faith, quit my job and focused on changing myself. I knew I had something important to contribute, so I worked with affirmations, read amazing books, and started journaling. I had taken and supported tons of personal growth courses in Canada and the USA, and journaling allowed me to realize what thought processes I had that were detrimental, and replaced them with ones that encouraged me to believe in myself and see myself in a bigger, bolder way.

I wished there were a way to surround myself with reminders of who I really was and stay positive, and that’s when I got the idea for the PleaseNotes Sticky Notes which had a different affirmation or sweet message on each page. After a couple months, I realized that I had another really great idea to take the work a little bit deeper through a guided journal. I poured processes and exercises that I loved and used when I was “finding” myself into it and added tons of secret messages, affirmations, and extra love and care into it. I decided to launch it as a Kickstarter and it was an amazing success—shipping to the US, Canada, UK, Spain and Asia! A couple more ideas flowed in to round out the whole product line. I wanted to make my line tailored yet inclusive, so the products outside of the Journals are color coded and fall in one of three themes.

Since people have different things they want to work on I called the bright blue Carefree, and filled with messages of “I Am Living With Grace and Ease” and “ Life Loves Me” that are great for those struggling with anxiety or that want to have more fun every day. The bright pink is Cheeky, filled with messages that are more sarcastic like, “I Am A Gift The World Gets To Unwrap” and “ I Am Amazing At Everything And Anything I Do.” Lastly, the Confident collection is black and gold and is filled with grounding messages of “I Am Powerful Beyond Measure” and “I Am A Magical Manifestor.” These are reflected in the sticky notes, the mirror decals, and these really cool dual-sided water bottle labels. The thing I love about my company is it’s not just aesthetically beautiful, it has the ability to catalyze someone into changing the way they feel about themselves and their world. Being able to go into a situation and say “I can do this” versus “ I can’t do this” is literally the ability to change the whole course of someone’s life, and I feel so grateful that I get to do this.

My creative process is pretty holistic. I’m really grateful that I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Big Magic” because it helped me set new expectations and grow as an entrepreneur coming out of the corporate space. I get an idea and then ask myself if it is something I can do or not, which the answer has always been yes! If it’s a brand new item, I start sketching, decide on the medium and logistics, and send it to my amazing graphic designer friend for feedback and revision. After I get it back, I tweak it until I feel really good about it usually in InDesign or Illustrator. At the same time, I look for a manufacturer. Since the Journal and Sticky Notes are highly customized, it took a while to find manufacturers I liked who also had the ability to scale and maintain the same level of quality. My favorite part of working with manufacturers is getting samples and going back and forth in the creative process. That’s allowed me to see, experience, and notice nuances like paper color and texture, ribbon and elastic characteristics and different textured covers. I want people to have a authentic, safe, luxury-like self care experience, and it shows itself in the details. You may notice little things I’ve tucked in like sacred geometry and symbolism, and there’s a bunch that only myself and my manufacturers are aware of. It’s like a little blessing for the user and based on feedback, that feeling comes through.

When I found out about the National Stationery Show, I thought it would be an amazing chance to really get my name out there. I walked it in 2017, exhibited in 2018, and I loved the experience of being there, seeing what other companies were doing, and getting great feedback about the line from “real” stationery people that my line was as great as I thought it was. I really wanted to connect with people who “got it” such as stationery reps, wholesale buyers, retailers and media. There were some really great contacts that I connected with and I’m excited to build great relationships.

My day is pretty go with the flow. I primarily work from home or a co-working space like WeWork or Make Lemonade here in Toronto. This allows me to go to the gym, meditate and eat properly. I usually have a list of things I want to complete this week or month and knock them out or add to them. I tend to work best between 10am – 7pm. Right now my main focus has been marketing. I’m still figuring out how to best convey and connect people to the magic, so I’ve been playing a lot with influencer marketing, videos on IGTV and YouTube, and creating new exercises that people can download. I really enjoy working on custom journals and right now I just started a new project with one of my influencers that I know people will love that is super authentic for both her brand and mine! I use a fulfillment center in California to ship out the goods since they get a better rate then I would.

Flashing back to September 14, 2017, I was setting up my booth at an E-Women Network event in Orange County and I was feeling great being there. I always loved the women that attended and the vibe. That day shouldn’t have been any different, however they ended up having a surprise last minute attendee. I heard whispers about Les Brown and I thought it was hilarious because I actually have a couple of his quotes included in my Journal. When he came in, the room became his as he walked around, shook hands and took pictures. Eventually he ended up at my table and I was able to tell him about my line. That day was one of my proudest moments because someone who was such a noted icon in the industry that I respected not only loved my brand, gave me a endorsement, he also offered to do a Facebook Live with me to share PleaseNotes with his followers!

This was just one of the amazing things that have happened to me because I chose into following this dream and I’m so grateful for all the things I’ve been able to see and do as a result of building PleaseNotes. If I had to give advice to anyone thinking about going down this path it would be to expect great things to happen to you, dwell on the positives and breathe in the great moments.

All photos courtesy of Cheryl Sutherland.

Want to be featured in the Behind the Stationery column? Reach out to Megan at megan [at] ohsobeautifulpaper [dot] com for more details.

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[emilyfraserblog-blog]

These are my designs in which I created with the Sketcharound collection in mind.

These items are mix and match of oversized and fitted items, together in one garment.

My first design (top left hand corner) includes floral designs using dissolvable materials in which you stitch on which reveals the structured threads, exaggerated sleeves, trousers with a stretchy insert, also thread details that reveal some skin, but keeps the material together. All these aspects one way or another get across the genderless theme, but these garments I have designed are my favourites out of all my designs. There are a lot of literal gender lines, threads that are attaching garment pieces together showing the gender lines coming together.

The second design though, consists of another element. There are parts detached from the garment, this really exaggerating the threads holding the garment together, really getting across the literal gender lines coming together. Also, I have briefly mentioned a label being involved because the unisex collections I have seen so far contradict themselves as they say they are unisex - meaning 'designed to be suitable for both sexes' - but some say '(for women)' or have only women modelling the clothes when clicking on to buying the clothes. So, I feel as though a label saying the clothes are unisex, would clarify that my clothes are unisex, open to female and male. Maybe putting it in an obvious place. Instead of having the tag hidden from eye sight as labels usually are on clothes, I would have it in clear sight as I need people to know that anyone is welcome to wear my garment.

The second last garment is more formal. It features exaggerated shoulders, with slightly wider sleeves than usual and trousers again with a stretchy feature. I would have mesh sleeves as it shows in the sketch, you can still see the arms through the sketch. Really enjoy how the top is longer than you would usually have tops. I prefer the oversized and longer look. Will take these aspects further to my final design.

I decided to take a different approach, try and have a shift dress structure. With a mesh type of material in between the thicker material, you would be able to see the body outline, I think this would be really nice to see this on different people, showing off their figure. On a female or male it would be nice to have high waisted black knickers, and some form of crop top and the dress on top. Think this would be a really good look. The only doubts I have about this is practicality, personally I like to make clothes that I would wear myself and I believe trousers are the comfiest item of clothing to wear.

All the aspects that I mentioned I liked I will put in to my final design book and choose from these certain aspects which ones that will go on to the main garment.