#expectation vs reality from before and after their debuts

[curetsun]

2人の第一印象(個人的な) by ゆー ※If you like this artwork please support the artist by visiting the source!

[boobabietch]

Chapter II: "A Rookie’s Obsession, A Legend’s Indifference: Is Diana Taurasi ready for Victoria O’Hara?” | Diana Taurasi x OC

Warnings: fight fight fight!! And a tad bit narcissistic Diana

A/N: I’m having a shitload of fun writing this lmao, so here’s another chapter I hope you like. As always English is not my first language so if you find something wrong tell me so I can change it asap, I can’t wait for y’all to read this and the next chapters I’m so excited. Likes, comments (!!!) and reblogs are highly appreciated and my ask box is always open. Love Sof :))

Making headlines masterlist

There’s a funny thing about being the best in women’s sports. People either love you or wait for you to fall. But when you’ve been around long enough, it doesn’t matter what they think. You know your place. And you protect it.

That’s what I’ve been doing since my debut in the WNBA. Owning the court. Owning the pressure. Every game, every season, everyone expects the same thing from me: perfection. Winning is never enough because when your name is Diana Taurasi, nothing is ever enough.

Then, she showed up.

Victoria O’Hara. The rookie everyone wouldn’t shut up about. Reminded me of me, hungry, talented, a little too much attitude for her own good. The first time I saw her was just before our game against San Antonio. I’d heard her name, knew she had something. But there’s a difference between hype and reality.

May 19, 2017

Game day. I could feel her eyes on me during warm-ups, it was cute honestly, I could see the gears working hard on her mind, probably wondering what it’s like to be me, to dominate the way I have. They all wonder. But what she didn’t know yet is that being good in college doesn’t mean shit here. Welcome to the W, kid.

I didn’t give her a second glance. What was there to say? Another rookie trying to prove something. I’ve seen it all. I’ve been that girl. But this one, this woman, had something extra in her. I could see it the minute the game started. Every time she took a shot, it was like she was aiming at me, if I didn’t know she wanted to rip my throat out I’d say she was in love. Every drive, every step, was a challenge.

I could hear the yelling in the crowd, I’d hear her teammates tell her to relax, feel the energy shift. People loved watching us, golden veteran vs. golden rookie. A fucking classic. O’Hara wanted to make a statement. I could tell she was on the edge, burning herself out just to prove she belonged. And every time, I’d remind her, I’ve been there. I’ve fought harder battles. If she wanted to be the next big thing, she was going to have to earn it. She was good, but I wasn’t worried. I’ve dealt with players like her before. They rise fast, burn out faster. But this one... she kept pushing.

Every game we played after that, it was like she had a personal vendetta. I couldn’t walk on the court without feeling her eyes drilling into me. She was obsessed. It was funny, really. This kid was trying so hard to beat me, to make me see her.

I saw her. I always see them coming.

July 7, 2017

We were in San Antonio. Close game. O’Hara played her heart out, I’ll give her that. But we still won. After the game, I found her slumped on the bench, wiped out. I should’ve just left her there. But something in me couldn’t resist. The kid had fire. I respected that.

“Not bad, O’Hara. Keep it up, and you might actually be a challenge someday.”

Her face said it all. She was rattled, but she had that spark. I liked seeing it. She looked at me like she was trying to figure out if I was serious. I was. Kinda. Then, she shot back:

“Someday? I’m already a problem for you.”

I almost laughed. Her confidence was impressive, misplaced, but impressive. I glanced down, smirked. Let her have that moment.

“Of course you are,” I said, walking off.

Sometimes I wonder what things would be like if I never said that, lucky for everyone I did.

July 30, 2017

Maybe I overestimated how in control I am of everything; the game, the rookie, and my body.

We were playing again, tensions running high. It was bound to happen. O’Hara wanted her moment, wanted to prove herself. And me? I wasn’t giving her an inch. Then, somewhere in the third quarter, it happened.

I saw her coming, her eyes locked on me with a mix of defiance and determination. She made a quick drive, cutting to the basket with an intensity that almost made me respect her. But I wasn’t about to let a rookie get one over on me. I slammed into her, blocking her path with enough force to knock her off balance. She hit the floor hard, her elbows scraping against the court. The whistle blew, and for a moment, I watched her lay there, her frustration almost palpable.

“Get up,” I muttered, standing over her. “You’re gonna need more than that to take me down, rook”

I saw the anger in her eyes as she pushed herself up, pressing her chest on mine. Damn, was she this tall the whole time? The way she glared at me, it was almost as if she was daring me to push her further. “You think you’re untouchable? Just fucking wait.”

My smirk didn’t waver. I’d seen that fire in rookies before, puffed up, ready to prove themselves. “I don’t think, O’Hara. I know.” I said with the most arrogant tone I owned.

“Oh you’re just a fucking bitch, aren’t you?” Before I could react further, she shoved me hard. Everyone erupted into chaos. I felt the rush of adrenaline as I moved to shove her back, but the moment I lunged, my teammates were already there, hands gripping my arms and holding me back.

O’Hara wasn’t any better off. Many of her teammates were swarming around her, trying to pull her away from me. I could see the frustration in her eyes as she struggled against their hold, her fists clenched and ready to throw.

Fun fact about fights: when you need the strength of 4 pro basketball players to hold you back, it makes you look really fucking dangerous.

We both tried to break through the human barriers restraining us. I could almost feel the impact of our fists connecting, the unfinished fight burning in my veins. But with every struggle, every strained push against the hands holding us back, the reality set in: we were not going to get to finish this here.

I didn’t care. I didn’t care about the cameras, the refs, or the impending technical. All I cared about was feeling that fire she was throwing at me. I wanted her to know what it felt like to face me, to try and break through the wall I’d built around myself.

Eventually, the refs managed to get us both under control, leading us to opposite sides of the court. As I was pulled away, I couldn’t help but glance back at O’Hara, her eyes still blazing with that same fire. Despite the chaos, a small part of me felt a twisted respect for her, a rookie who was not just willing to challenge me, but was ready to throw down if necessary.

The arena buzzed with excitement and disbelief as we were separated, but the fight between us was far from over.

That was the moment I knew this kid wasn’t going anywhere. And maybe, just maybe, I’d finally met someone who could keep up.

Little did I know.

Fucking Victoria.

"Rivalry Ignites: O’Hara and Taurasi Get into Fiery Altercation During Friday Game"

"San Antonio Stars Victoria O’Hara Adidas Grey and Black Edition Player Jersey | SOLD OUT"

Requests are Open!

Masterlist

[writing-sam]

Fans of Paramore, fredo disco, The Greeting Committee, and any female lead indie rock band can finally quench their musical thirst because Long Beach’s very own Chase Petra has released a new EP, titled 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

It’s been almost three years since their debut album Liminal launched them from their local pop punk scene onto the national stage. With over 100,000 monthly listeners and a cumulative 4.2 million streams on Spotify, a tour currently blazing up the West coast, and a new label, their new EP is sure to stir up a buzz in the independent rock community.

4 o’clock in the afternoon is the first release under their new label, Wax Bodega, who puts out other indie musicians such as Hot Mulligan and Carly Cosgrove. Their new EP features 6 total tracks and 3 singles released earlier this year: ‘Keanu Reeves’, ‘Josslyn’, and ‘Pacific’, all of which feature their staple 20-something angst with catchy bass lines, melancholic lyrics, and vivid California imagery. They tug at your heartstrings no matter where you’re from, touching on themes of mental health, belonging, escapism, and sociocultural topics.

In addition to the singles, the album features 3 new tracks ‘Nature vs Nurture’, ‘October Windfall’, and ‘Sightseer’. These songs have a slower tempo than the singles, giving this EP a balanced blend of upbeat and mellow pessimism.

With lyrics including “there’s no such thing as destiny, you choose what you wanna be”, Chase Petra confronts quarter life crisis head on, inspiring listeners to ‘bash [away] your sorrow’ as the Wax Bodega website puts it. The tracks on the album push you to analyze our society and culture and urge you to challenge what you’re told and what you believe.

The first lyrics powerhouse vocalist Hunter Allen delivers in the fifth song, ‘Sightseer’ are “consciousness is a phase”, continuing the verse to describe the endless cycle of self reassurance in a society whose expectations can never be met. The larger focus of the song is on anxiety and dissociation, on seeking a sense of identity while outside sources pull you in every direction.

Single ‘Josslyn’ is a rebel anthem and an earworm; its chorus beckons you to scream along to it and it’s catchy enough that it feels great doing so. It’s an homage to activists and any people fighting for their liberation as said in the chorus: “those that have come before you/burn bright with a hope and a truth too”. ‘Josslyn’ doesn’t shy away from the harsh reality of activism, instead embracing the chaos by exclaiming that Josslyn, who is a stand-in for the modern politically active listener, is “really in for it now”. Aren’t we all?

Evoking After Laughter-era Paramore with contrasting boppy beats and passionate vocals, Chase Petra draws the listeners into an autumnal California, chock full of gloomy imagery and a feeling of not belonging. If you’ve ever needed a soundtrack to drive down an empty highway to, 4 o’clock in the afternoon is the album to blast.

[kuromantic]

Tales of Zombish: Haikyuu Light Novel Translation

*This is my translation of the Zombie Knight Zombish snippets from the light novel. It’s split into 5 parts, and inserted between each chapter of the light novel. Don’t copy this to another site. The translation is under the cut!

Zombie Knight Zombish

 1: Zombish is Born!!

Nightfall. A lone swordsman wakes up. A swordsman that does not know of true death, because of experiencing a false death. 

“...Wait, it’s still evening, you stupid crow!” 

The man yells at the small crow beside him, having just woken up by a thin bush. The man’s body was wrapped up in an old, tattered cloth—which must have been a cloak some time ago—which covered his entire body. 

“I could have gotten burned by the setting sun…” The man blocks out the sunlight with the tattered cloth, and the crow caws apologetically. 

“Well, it’s okay. I don’t even have a body that can be burned.” 

The man laughs, and the crow flaps its black wings, flying ahead up into the sky. The man follows it with his gaze, squinting at the brightness. He stands up. 

“Oh, well. Guess I’ll go.” 

The man starts to walk. His frame was thin and delicate, which could be seen even when it was covered with the tattered cloth. And on his back, was a sword. 

The sword, which is large enough to not be recognized as one at first glance, does not suit the lean man. 

“Man, I wonder if a car will pass by… Eh, I guess no sane person would have gasoline now.” 

There’s no road where the man looks ahead. 

In the dead world where smokey, dried up wastelands stretch out for seemingly forever, the man continues to walk alone today.

“Yeah, isn’t this good? Isn’t this good? It sounds like the story’s just begun, right?” 

The rookie mangaka, Udai Tenma, stands up with an excited face and gets another drink from the self-service fountains. He returns to his table with a glass of cola in his hand. He continues working on his storyboard. 

The only equipment on the table is a notebook, a pencil and an eraser. On the open page, there are scribbles that nobody else could decipher. It’s the storyboard Udai made with all his effort. 

I wanna try and make a manga. I like it. With that, Udai had drawn a manga during his college years. And it had won an honourable mention in the rookie awards. He had gotten an editor and debuted as a mangaka. But the reality was, he wasn’t quite reaching serialization. 

But now, “Zombie Knight Zombish”, is being created in the restaurant. And there’s a confidence that hasn’t been there before. 

“‘Everything but death is nothing but a scratch’? He needs to get over himself… No, maybe ‘Mortal bodies, they make me jealous.’...” 

Udai mumbles dialogues to himself, changing his expressions to suit the main character’s. The other customers at the restaurant glance at him. 

But he can’t afford to care about those gazes.

Zombish needs to help the heroine attacked by the enemy, in an extremely cool and overdramatic manner. 

And the enemy has to be a fated opponent that Zombish has known before turning into a zombie. The heroine needs to be a key person, for Zombish to return from zombie to human. And of course, she needs to be cute, a little strong-willed, who tries to join in on the fighting sometimes. But also a girl who you just want to protect…

A flash. 

The girl’s eyes can only capture the white hand, emerging from the tattered cloth and gripping the sword on his back. 

She feels wind brush past her cheeks, and closes her eyes. She opens them again, and the bandits have already collapsed onto the dry ground. 

“Huh? What…?” 

As the girl struggles to comprehend what had happened, Zombish is already starting to walk away. 

“Hey, don’t leave me behind!” 

She grabs the knight. At that moment, the tattered cloth on him rips and falls to the ground. 

What appears is not the handsome knight she expected. Nor a fighter that’s big and well-muscled. It’s a skeleton. 

“...Wait, bone?! Why bone! Bone? Wait, do bones even talk?!” 

“Yeah, I’m bone! So sorry I’m bone, sue me!” 

The knight picks up the truly tattered piece of rag, and hides his body. It truly looks like a skeletal model. He turns his back to the girl. 

“Anyway, I’m bone. So I can’t go with you. Protect yourself, you’re on your own.” 

The “bone”, that had slain a crowd of bandits instantly, tries to walk away from one single girl, as if to escape from her. 

Staring at Zombish’s lanky, weak-looking back and the huge sword on it, the girl shouts over at him. 

“Hey, bone! Can you eat?” 

Zombish turns around, lifts the tattered cloth, and points around his stomach with a laugh. 

“You wanna see me eat? It’s hilarious.” 

“If you don’t eat… That means I don’t have to share my food or water with you, right?”

“Huh?” 

“It doesn’t matter if you’re bone or not, if you can defeat these guys. You’re pretty strong.” The girl points to the iron-clad, muscular bandit with a mohawk. “And I should sew that cloth I ripped back together…” 

Zombish laughs, his hard skull distorting a little. “I’m not strong. Those guys are just small fries. But I guess I’ll have you fix this cloth for me.” 

At those words, the girl runs up to him. 

In the dried-up world of death, two footsteps mark their paths. Up above in the sky, a crow flies around in circles. As if to watch over them. 

Zombish’s journey has just started!! 

“I wonder what my editor will say…” 

 The man, once the “Little Giant”, leaves the restaurant and returns home. And without changing his clothes, collapses into his futon for the first time in a while.

2. VS Editor A!! 

“Zombies aren’t usually skeletons, right?” Akaashi Keiji opens his heavy mouth, holding his coffee in one hand. It makes Akaashi heavy-hearted to meddle with a work an author brought to him. 

Kanda, Chiyoda City, Tokyo. 

In the editorial department of Weekly Shonen Vie, there’s an extreme lack of people in the afternoon. 

The rookie mangaka, Udai Tenma, freezes momentarily in the meeting space. And he attempts to brush it off with a laugh. 

“Yeah, I thought, ‘Is a skeleton okay?’ for a bit. But maybe a Japanese-style zombie would be new, and I thought I could pull it off. We all get cremated in Japan, too. Hahaha.” 

“I see.” 

Akaashi looks at the copy of “Zombie Knight Zombish” on the table, and Udai laughing in front of him. And he says one more time, with force behind his words. That this is the last time he’ll say this, and he won’t say the same thing again. 

“Zombies aren’t usually skeletons, right.” 

The question mark had disappeared. 

It’s not a question, but a confirmation of fact. 

“...Yeah.” Udai replies weakly. He drops his shoulders, and bites the straw of his cola. 

 It’s tough. 

It had been his best work. He had a confidence in it, that he hadn’t before with his other works. But his concept had been fundamentally criticized. 

The editor continues talking to the crestfallen Udai. 

“And one more thing.” 

“...What is it?” 

Udai hunches his shoulders, looking up at Akaashi like a scolded child. Akaashi sips his coffee, adjusts his glasses and lets out a breath. He opens his mouth slowly. 

“We’ve established that a skeleton is not a zombie. But I think this skeleton’s design is a little lacking, in the first place. It’s no different to any old skeleton. For the main character, I want a quirk that will tell you it’s Zombish with just one look.” 

“Any old skeleton?” Udai says, and draws a normal-looking skeleton into his notebook. 

“Yes. For example, he could be wearing glasses, or he could have a large scar. I want a unique design. Even if you draw him simply, you would know it’s him. If I were to ask for more, I’d even say make his silhouette recognizable. That’s how strong his design should be.” 

Udai adds a scar to his skeleton, and mumbles, “I guess it can’t be a scar, if his silhouette has to be recognizable.” 

“The scar is just one example.” 

“I’m sorry…” 

Udai slurps the cola at the bottom of the glass, which is pretty much melted ice. He laughs disappointedly. 

“I thought the skeleton was fine, since he was cremated. Like a Japanese-style zombie. Well, there’s no zombie-ness, I guess…” 

At those words, Akaashi’s glasses shine. 

“Then… How about you make Zombish look more Japanese? It could link with his sword, too.” 

“What?” 

“Well, this is just one what-if scenario.” 

“...No, I think it could work. I’ll think about it! Then maybe he can look different from any old zombie!” Udai grabs his pen, and draws a Japanese-style zombie in his notebook. “If it’s Japanese clothes and a sword, he’d just be a samurai… How do I give him the zombie knight feeling…”

Watching the pen move busily and create many versions of Zombish, Akaashi feels a weight lift from his heart. 

It makes him heavy-hearted to meddle with other people’s works. But sometimes, his words make the author take a step in a good direction. That must be why he can continue with this job. 

“So now, please brush up on the work. And, depending on the edited manuscript, I may bring it up during the serialization meeting.” 

Udai’s pen stops moving. “Wait, why?! You’ve been talking about my work so harshly and tearing into it this whole time!” 

“...I haven’t been tearing into it. It’s entertaining, so I just want to make the story even more entertaining.” 

Udai’s face crumples, as he looks up at Akaashi. “Akaashi-san, you weren’t just an unpleasant person, after all!” 

“I’m an unpleasant person…?” 

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean it that way! I meant it in an um, good way!” 

Akaashi doesn’t ask what exactly he means by that, and organizes the manuscript. “Zombish is very entertaining, compared to the works you have brought me so far. I think you have a chance.” 

“Thank you!” 

“Oh, and lastly…” 

“There’s… still more?” Udai tenses. 

 Akaashi chuckles, before talking. “I’ve been thinking for a while, but this bit on the edge of the page, saying ‘Zombish’s journey has only just begun!’. You don’t need to write that. It’s the editor’s job.” 

“...!!”

4. Get Serialized!! 

It’s just past noon. Noticing that the phone is ringing, Udai reaches out from under the futon. He checks, and realizes it’s Akaashi. He gets out of the futon in a hurry, and answers. 

“You were asleep.” Akaashi says, in the same straightforward tone. 

“...I’m sorry.” 

“No, I’m sorry too. I’m going to get into it. Your one-shot is well-received.” 

At those words, Udai’s hand begins to sweat. He had been told to make a one-shot for the extra issue, and had made “Zombie Knight Zombish” with everything he’d got. 

He had changed Zombish’s design into a young man with patchwork skin, after Akaashi’s critique. He likes the way the bandages show around his collar. It can’t have been a skeleton, he thinks. It’s hard to relate to a skeleton. 

The “recognizable by silhouette” task had been cleared with the axe on his head. The zombie knight element was incorporated, by making him detach his left arm to wield his sword. Maybe they’ll make a movable figure out of the character. 

Above all, it was a work he’d been confident in. If it had still been absolutely hopeless, Udai wouldn’t have been able to recover from it. 

“Thank god…” Udai feels the tension drain out of him, and Akaashi continues. 

“And now, I would like to brush up Zombish to prepare for serialization.” 

“Of course! With pleasure!” Udai answers with gusto, almost like an izakaya employee. 

“Firstly, your heroine.” 

“Yes!” 

I should probably fix up the heroine a bit more, Udai thinks. Make her cuter, better… But Akaashi doesn’t steer the conversation in that direction. 

“In the one-shot, Zombish saves her, and they decide to go on a journey together, and it ends there.” 

“Huh? Oh, yes.” 

“If the one-shot will be chapter one, are they going to be travelling together in chapter two and beyond?” 

It’s not anything fun, like about making the heroine have a good figure or about how revealing her clothes should be. 

And really, Udai hadn’t been thinking what would happen once it got serialized. Well, he supposes it would be like what Akaashi just said. 

“Wouldn’t the readers grow bored of that?” As if to read Udai’s mind, Akaashi says. 

“What?” 

“The main character and the heroine go on a journey together the whole time, an enemy appears, he saves her, he defeats the enemy, and then moves on. And they continue like that until the final boss.” 

“Yeah…” 

“Wouldn’t that bore people?” 

Wait, am I getting given out to? 

No, he’d only been thinking of the one-shot as a base, so he hadn’t set anything beyond that in stone. He had only thought that leaving the readers hoping for more would be enough. 

“...Um, if it’s possible, I’d like to talk about this in person.” Udai says, wiping the sweat off his palms with his t-shirt. 

“All right. When are you free?” 

And so, in the editorial department the day after, the brainstorming session in the meeting space had continued for more than two hours. 

“So then, instead of a heroine that just keeps getting saved…” 

“She’d be like a buddy that also gives witty comebacks.” 

Udai draws a bunch of expressions for the female character. Flustered, angry, glaring… He stops his pen, and looks at Akaashi. 

“Then maybe Zombish will have a goofy side, instead of just being cool?” 

“But please don’t make it into a gag manga. Looking at the survey results, there are a lot of people saying that the manga is interesting because Zombish is cool.” Akaashi answers, looking at the survey chart. 

“I see… Balancing it out is hard.” Udai draws out a bunch of Zombish’s expressions in his notebook, and laughs. “But it’s fun. It feels like I’m making a manga.” 

“It’s good to hear that.” Akaashi smiles for a moment, and continues. “And also, about the enemy. Instead of them being a group of bandits in the harsh world, making them an organization would add depth to the story.” 

“Oh, maybe they’re the reason Zombish turned into a zombie?” 

“Sounds good.” 

Udai’s mood lifts from Akaashi’s acknowledgement, and opens up a page earlier on in his notebook. 

“Look here! The final boss is a fated opponent from before Zombish turned into a zombie. And the heroine is a key person for Zombish to turn back into a human. So I thought right now, maybe the heroine is the daughter of the final boss.” 

In contrast to the excited Udai, Akaashi lets out a low groan of uncertainty. 

“...So what, exactly, is Zombish fighting for?” 

“You always ask questions that can make the whole thing fall apart, Akaashi-san.” 

“Well, isn’t that the most important part?” 

Expanding ideas simple-mindedly is fun. The more he expands, picking up the pieces and making the story coherent will be hell, though. But knowing that, talking about final bosses and rivals is genuinely fun. 

“Secret hideouts are great, aren’t they?” 

“If they’ve taken over this world, isn’t there no need to keep it a secret? Something that would display their power…” 

“A castle!”

7. Secret Technique: Bolster Up! 

Just after serialization, the response had been very good. It had been. Udai had been in a good mood, asking “This will definitely be turned into an anime, right?” 

But now, it had gotten to a point where they couldn’t let it get any lower on the survey rankings. 

“........” 

“Are you okay?” Akaashi’s senior sees him with his head in his hands, and speaks to him. 

“...Oh, yes.” 

“It’s about Zombish, right? You should bolster it up with something. Like, with a pretty girl or a handsome guy,” the senior says. “Well, I don’t know.” He returns to his seat, after saying his part. 

“Bolster it up…” 

Akaashi’s brows knit together. 

Would that be enough? Could such a hasty, superficial solution entertain the readers? Well, the current results point to the fact that they’re not entertained. But even so, shouldn’t they be charming the audience with the protagonist’s appeal, or how interesting the story is? 

“The protagonist’s appeal, huh…” 

But what are the features of a protagonist that will be loved? 

What kind of story makes the readers want to come back for more? 

“.....” 

It would be the anticipation the readers have for the main character. What will happen next week? What will he show us next? Expectations as such. There must have been a lack of absolute protagonist strength, if he thinks about it. 

But that was the result of trying to create a dark fantasy, painting a delicate picture of emotions. Precisely because it was an absurd world with a zombie knight appearing in it. Was that what they had done wrong? Was it impossible for his literature department-aspiring self to make an entertaining manga, after all…?

After pondering for a long time, Akaashi lifts his head with a start. 

“....!” 

Wait a minute. 

Am I making the same mistake again? 

Am I thinking I could control the author and the readers? 

“...No. Pour your spirit into each ball, pour your spirit into each ball…” 

Yes. Focus on the next point, the next ball. Focus on this week’s story, the obstacle the protagonist must overcome. 

His desk becomes messier each day, as if to reflect inside his heart. Akaashi closes his eyes, and focuses his mental state. 

“Don’t think about what’s easy, think about what’s fun. What’s fun…” 

The survey rankings going down, getting discontinued isn’t fun. Then what is he meant to do…?

“Give feedback… Connect it to the next step… The next…” 

The seniors look at Akaashi worriedly, in front of the printer. 

“Akaashi is muttering to himself again, is he okay? He won’t quit, will he?” 

“He always comes back to life afterwards, you can leave him alone.” 

“Yep.”

“I want an absolute, strong main character.” Akaashi says to Udai, during their meeting. 

“Absolute?” 

“Yes. Like a star that hits any ball with his utmost ability.” 

“Am I going to get discontinued?!” 

Udai stands up with a clatter, face growing pale. Akaashi shakes his head quietly. 

“...Please calm down. It’s not getting discontinued, yet.” 

“...Yet…” Udai shrinks, and sits back down. 

“It’s a tough situation, but let’s turn things around.” 

They’re burning their bridges behind them. 

On the walls around the meeting space, there are many posters of works that had been turned into anime and movies. And the cardboard boxes blocking the corridor are packed with samples of goods. 

They have to join the ranks of those popular works, at all cost…!

Akaashi brings his gaze back to Udai, and starts to summarize the things he had thought about for the past week. 

“The main character… Zombish is a ‘star’. The readers have expectations for the star. What will he do next? What awesome moves will he show us? What kind of crazy risks will he take?

“We want the main character to amaze us with unexpected, yet charming actions. Whether Zombish sinks or swims will depend on how he overcomes next week’s desperate situation.” 

Akaashi lifts the paper bag on the floor. “And there’s a favour I want to ask from you.” 

“What’s this? I was wondering about it for a while.” The paper bag handed to him is unexpectedly heavy. Udai glances inside. “A blu-ray?” 

“Yes. I picked out swashbuckler films of all types, that have useful scenes for composition and pose references. At this point, we should take in anything cool and flashy.” 

“Thank you!”

“Also, it will be hard for you to watch it all, so I wrote the times for scenes I want you to watch.” Akaashi gives him a note. 

“I’ll definitely watch it! I’ll use them as references!” 

“I’ll do anything I can as well. Let’s both try our best.” 

There’s no way Akaashi can control what story the author will bring to him, what the other works will be like, how the readers will react. 

So, he should think about what he can do, what he should do. 

Avoiding discontinuation— it’s hard, but it shouldn’t be impossible.

10. Our fight has only just begun! 

“Zombish is getting discontinued… You have seven chapters left…” 

After getting the phone call informing him of the discontinuation, Udai had gone outside. Staying in his room felt too painful. But why, and how he’d come to the editing department, he doesn’t remember. 

Akaashi had been taken aback, after Udai had come without contacting him. But one look at his face, and he knew he couldn’t leave him by himself. And so he had taken him to a nearby coffee shop to talk to him. It was just his luck that he hadn’t gone outside the company. 

“Please order anything you like.” 

Akaashi gives the menu to Udai sitting opposite to him, but Udai drops it onto the table, not having enough energy to hold it. 

Akaashi pulls the menu closer to himself, trying not to show his shock. “Is coffee all right, then?” 

“........” 

There’s no answer, but Akaashi asks for two cups of coffee from the waiter. He chooses his words carefully, and begins to speak. 

“We had unfortunate results this time, but…” Akaashi continues, to the dejected Udai. “And as a suggestion from me…”

“........”

“I would like to get a fresh start with a new work. We should solidify the concept more for your next work, and compete with a work only you can make.” 

“Next…?” Udai raises his head at last, only to slam it back into the table. “There’s nothing! There’s no such thing that only I can make!” He lifts his crumpled face, and yells. 

“That’s not true. There must be something…”

“It is too! There’s nothing!”

Akaashi can only bite his lip, while his assigned author descends into total panic. 

What should he do…

He can’t just say “Bye, then,” and leave him feeling downcast. He had wanted to part ways with him in a positive manner, connecting him to the next step. That might just be his own ego talking, though.

“...I’m sure there’s a good theme for you. Is there anything you liked as a child, or something you put your heart into?” 

“I’m just a jack-of-all-trades, average guy. I’ve just gotten by in regards to study, sports, art and music…” 

When Udai had been in good form, he had preened about it, saying “I can do pretty much anything!”, but now he’s totally dejected. Well, that can’t be helped. He’s getting discontinued, after all. 

The only thing Akaashi can do, is to tell him his completely honest thoughts. 

“I don’t think a serialized author is just a jack-of-all-trades, average person.” 

“I’m not a serialized author anymore, I’m a discontinued author…”

At that moment, the waiter arrives. He shows a slightly intrigued face at Udai’s words, but immediately puts on his professional face and turns on his heels. 

Akaashi takes the cup, and inhales the aroma of coffee to calm himself down. He thinks. Maybe he should make some small talk, and change the mood. 

What should he talk about? Not about his work, or about what lays ahead. Then, about Udai himself? He wonders what he had talked about with him recently. What club had he joined in college? Where was he from? 

And he remembers. 

“Udai-san, you told me before that you’re from Tohoku. Were there any unusual traditions there? That you can write a manga about.” 

“...Yeah, I’m from Miyagi. But I lived in a normal estate, it was all pretty normal.” 

Udai says with a hoarse voice, and absentmindedly puts sugar cubes into his coffee. Many, many sugar cubes. Akaashi thinks he’s adding a bit too much, but there’s an atmosphere around them that makes him unable to say that. 

“Well, maybe where I live is in the middle of nowhere in the countryside, to you. You’re from Tokyo, after all.” 

“That’s not…”

Akaashi thinks that Udai is getting a little too dejected with him, but he can’t be blamed. “Zombie Knight Zombish” is Udai’s first serialization, and his first discontinuation. 

Food, sleep… Udai had sacrificed such human necessities, and yet his work had not been well-received. Of course he would be dejected. 

And as a new employee, “Zombie Knight Zombish” was Akaashi’s first work that he had launched from nothing. Due to being emotionally invested in it, Akaashi had felt deeply disappointed about the decision made for Zombish. 

Which is exactly why he had wanted to end it on a positive note. Surely there’s something in common with them, that they can talk about…

Akaashi, feeling cornered, opens his mouth. And starts to talk about something unexpected, even to himself.

“...Actually, I have someone I know in Miyagi. It was in relation to the club I was in during high school.” 

“I see.” 

Udai stirs his coffee with lifeless eyes, not picking up the conversation at all. He doesn’t even drink the coffee that is surely too sweet. 

“........” 

Of course. Someone else’s high school years is the most irrelevant subject to Udai right now. But really, what should he do? Telling someone they’re being discontinued, and thinking of what happens afterwards, is a first for Akaashi. And it’s a big job. He isn’t sure what the correct thing to do is. 

Akaashi falls silent, and Udai opens his mouth. “...What club were you in, during high school?”  He asks, not sounding that interested. It feels more like he asked out of obligation, because there was a break in the conversation. 

Akaashi feels regret, after realizing he’s made Udai read the room for him. But at the same time, he feels relieved that some of Udai’s energy has come back. 

“Volleyball.” 

“I see. I did volleyball, too.” Udai says. “During my years, we went to the Spring High nationals, too.” 

At those words, Akaashi places the coffee he had lifted back onto the table. 

“Oh, me… too.” 

“Really?! That’s amazing, Akaashi-san!” 

“No, you too.” 

And with a light premonition, Akaashi asks. “...Which school did you attend in Miyagi?” 

“It’s not a powerhouse, so I don’t know if you’d know…” Udai laughs, before answering. “It’s called Karasuno.”

Please look forward to Udai-sensei’s next work, “Meteo Attack”! 

[electronicyarn]

REALLY Not Live Blogging RWBY Vol. 8

Yes, I’ve FINALLY finished watching Volume 8. I’m only months late to the party. Well, for the sake of tradition here are my thoughts. The short version is thus. What an awful start. What a spectacular finish.

I’m not going to lie. For a while there I thought we might have another Volume 4 on our hands. Although I guess that’s not entirely fair. Volume 4’s big crime was being aggressively mediocre, something RWBY should never be. The first five episodes of Volume 8 were really bad. Not any-scene-with-Caroline-in-it-in-Volume-6 bad, but still pretty bad. The opening in particular I found to be forced and artificial. The disagreement between Ruby and Yang didn’t really come from anywhere, and half the team seemed to be divvied up based purely on the needs of the narrative rather than any proper character motivations.

Other highlights (lowlights?) include them twice using “falling from a great height” as a shorthand for danger (something that the principal cast proved they could handle early in Volume 1 with the landing strategies scene) and The Hound’s introduction where he kidnapped Oscar. I get what they were going for with The Hound’s big debut, but Team Yang really didn’t fight back. At all. They just kind of stood there with their mouths hanging open. It wasn’t a good way to credibly establish The Hound as a threat. For point of contrast, see The Neo vs. Yang fight way back in Volume 2. There was no doubt after that was over that Neo was a very real threat.

I also found everything surrounding the first Penny vs. Cinder fight (Neo vs. Maria, Emerald, etc.) to be distinctly underwhelming. It’s a problem that RWBY’s had for a while now. The less important fights in a volume are rather poorly thought out and animated. But maybe I shouldn’t complain. They do still do a great job on the primary battles. Maybe RWBY needs fewer fight scenes? Feels weird to even suggest that.

But now that I’ve ragged on Volume 8 for three paragraphs…. Wow, what a turnaround. Everything from about Episode 6 on was spectacular. Oscar and Ozpin’s relationship. Everything involving Hazel. The reveal that, yes Cinder had a horrible childhood, but she was always evil. Establishing a more personal connection between Salem and Yang, mirroring the one that Salem and Ruby already have. The destruction of Atlas. I could go on and on. And I will. But there are several things I want to talk about more specifically.

I guess first up is Nora and Ren. They’re now fully-fledged characters, having completed their slow transition from caricatures. I’ve got to be honest. I’m kind of neutral on Nora and Ren. I’m not really invested in their story, but it doesn’t annoy me either. I did however find it amusing that they simultaneously confirmed and shut down Ren/Nora being canon. Two characters in an official relationship? In our RWBY? No way! Leave it for the fanfic writers. But they did say I love you. That’s more than any other potential pairing’s gotten. (I think? I could be forgetting something.) So there’s that.

As an aside, I’m pleased that we got our requisite dose of Bumbleby subtext but also frustrated that they don’t have the stones to do more than that. I’m not surprised however. This is exactly what I predicted would happen.

Also as an aside, when Team RWBY was summoning Ambrosius, I literally said out loud something to the effect of, “Alright, Rooster Teeth. Let me see the sexy man counterpart to Jinn.” I was not disappointed. Good job, Rooster Teeth.

The next topic is Penny’s and Ironwood’s character arcs for this season. I loved both of these. Ironwood’s was one of pure tragedy. Plus it had the side effect of clearing out extraneous characters, something I always approve of as RWBY has precious little running time for what it’s trying to do. And Penny got to complete her more-literal-than-I-expected Pinocchio story. I have no doubt that some people were upset with her death, but while probably not strictly necessary, I think it was done well. It was the culmination of her self-actualization as a person. I’m not going to lie though. I thought the Winter Maiden power was going to go to Weiss (since Ruby had been conveniently dropped out of reality by that point). Way back in Volume 3 when we first learned about the Maidens my second thought was, “Four Maidens, four main characters. Hmm.” It’s pretty obvious now that’s not going to happen. Or if it does, it’ll be in the last volume.

(For the record, my first thought was, “Did you come up with the idea of the Maidens before or after you named one character ‘Summer’ and another one ‘Winter’.” And hey look. You saw what happened this volume.)

And that brings us to Neo. Neo-mother-effing-politan. Neo- “I’m going to steal from the literal devil because I know I’m going to get away with it” -politan. Yang may be my favorite character, but Neo is the best character. If she wasn’t before, this volume has sealed the deal. I loved everything about her this volume. From her meeting Salem and obviously thinking “Oh hell no.” to her skipping through a field of death showing Prometheus how stealing fire from the gods is supposed to be done. She is the most strongly characterized character in the whole show (barring possibly Torchwick himself) and she doesn’t even speak. Aaand now she’s left Remanent along with Team RWBY. I did predict back before Volume 4 started that Neo would ultimately end up teaming up with Ruby and company. It was really a just-for-fun prediction. Buuut….

Well I guess there’s nothing left to talk about except the ending. I do admit, I was a little panicked when Yang took the plunge. I don’t pay attention to any of the official social media or news surrounding RWBY. Stuff like that usually ruins a show for me. So I was worried that maybe Barbara had decided to leave the cast. But then Ruby and Blake fell off too, and I was like, “Ah. This is what we’re doing.”

But what’s going to happen to Team RWBY? I can tell you what I hope’s going to happen. I think it’s time for Team RWBY to get a power up. Maybe it’s time for some intense training in a world removed from Remanent à la the Hyperbolic Time Chamber from Dragon Ball Z? My dream scenario is they spend a year or two or three doing something and then make it back to Remnant to find only a few days have passed. But we’ll see. All I know is I’m excited. In my opinion, the second half of Volume 8 was just the shot in the arm RWBY needed. I’m really looking forward to whatever comes next in a way that I haven’t in quite a while.

[fexiom]

old army here

KBS uploaded BTS’s debut in 2019 and I saw the dumbest comment ever:

First of all, we know that the big broadcasting companies suck. But this world is not fiction, neither it is a comic, a drama, anything you like to read or watch. This world is reality. In reality, evil isn’t always evil. Of course, there are exceptions, but it isn’t the rule. Not everything evil does is meant to be evil. Just like good people don’t always do good, and they aren’t always the victim. They might not be the perpetrator, but they aren’t always the victim. They could just be an involved party.

Anyway, what I mean to say is that comment was probably written by a kid, or at least I hope so. In 2013, YouTube couldn’t support high quality videos. It’s pretty common for broadcasting companies to reupload old videos in better quality. For example, these days, one of them reuploaded Girls’ Generation’s debut stage in high quality. Some are also reuploading old SHINee’s stages with Jonghyun. Some even delete the old videos to reupload the new ones.

Another thing that used to happen: in that time, YouTube was still growing, so it had many bugs. I can’t remember exactly what group was it, but one K-pop group even had all their videos deleted (Was it EXO? Nu’est?) out of nowhere. Many videos were deleted just because. So don’t jump to conclusions just because some old videos don’t exist anymore. 

Back then, BTS’s debut and stages were everywhere. They came from a small company, but there was some expectation on them. Their pre-debut was strong. The “hip hop” “dark” “bad boy” concept was still new, mostly represented by Block B and B.A.P. So people were like “yaaaay, another group who’s doing a different concept than bubble gum pop!” They had support. Small, of course, but they did. They even got the ROOKIE OF THE YEAR. They only became mainstream a short while after debut with Boy in Luv (like a year after debut), but it’s not like they came from nothing to everything in a minute.

All KBS did was reuploading a song, do we need to make it another ‘BTS vs. The World’ fiction? “KBS only wanted views and money” of course, that’s their job. Let me tell you a secret: BTS wants views and money too. Otherwise, why would they be celebrities? “But they love what they do” we all love our jobs, but we also love to get paid. Would you do it all for free? Remember, it’s a job.

Summary: stop being annoying. Annoying ARMYs are the reason why new people don’t even try to listen to BTS before talking shit.

[aion-rsa]

The Losers: Chris Evans, Idris Elba and Zoe Saldana’s Forgotten Superhero Movie

https://ift.tt/3CsNhNU

Even The Losers get lucky sometimes. Before the DCEU was formed to compete against the ever-expanding, cash cow that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the approach at Warner Bros. was far looser. With the booming business of comic book adaptations in full swing, the studio was throwing money at several eclectic comic book titles like Watchmen and Jonah Hex, trying to stay competitive and seemingly more adult than their rivals. Hence before leaving to create his own superhero project, Hancock, wrier-director Peter Berg started penning an adaptation of DC/Vertigo’s The Losers, bringing in French director Sylvain White to helm the picture.

Produced by Joel Silver, The Losers centered on a team of elite, black-ops Special Forces operatives betrayed by their handler. Director White connected with the material immediately. 

“What appealed to me about The Losers was that it wasn’t the typical superhero-with-superpowers thing,” White told MTV. “It was based on real characters—realistic characters—and based in reality, like a lot of the European graphic novels that I had grown up reading.” The director worked with creators Jock and Andy Diggle to refine the script and lend their expertise with design to give the film a distinct visual palette that changes with new locations.

Frequent Silver collaborator Idris Elba was cast as Captain William Roque, with the cast being rounded out by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, coming off his turn as The Comedian in the studio’s adaptation of Watchmen, Zoe Saldana, fresh off of starring in the highest-grossing film of all-time, Avatar, Chris Evans, still mainly known for playing the Human Torch in Fox’s early Fantastic Four films, and rising actor Columbus Short. While current audiences would go on to become intimately familiar with most of this cast, their names didn’t generate enough buzz in 2010 to get folks into the theater. The Losers only made about $30 million on a $25 million budget.

Of course a tepid response at the box office does not mean that a movie is destined for obscurity. Just recently hitting Netflix and ready to capitalize off its now A-list cast, The Losers is currently the most popular film on the streaming service. Besides the even greater interest in comic book properties, the cast of The Losers have gone on to such success that they revitalized interest in one of DC’s almost-forgotten adaptations. Let’s look at where the cast of The Losers have been since the film’s release in 2010 to explain the sudden spike in love.

Idris Elba

While Elba, a star of British television via Luther, had already made an impression with American audiences by 2010 thanks to 28 Weeks Later, Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla, and a guest stint on The Office, Elba’s star would rise considerably after his appearance in The Losers. In 2011, Elba would join the MCU as Heimdall in Thor, who’s role in the Thor films would expand as the franchise progressed. Elba would also pop up in prominent roles in blockbusters like Prometheus, Pacific Rim, The Jungle Book, and Star Trek Beyond. Away from blockbusters though he really broke out with a SAG-winning performance in Beasts of No Nations, and starring in fare like Aaron Sorkin’s Molly’s Game.

More recently, Elba stole scenes away from Jason Statham and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the villain in Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw. Finally, things have come a bit full circle for Elba, as he’s set to appear in another DC adaptation over 10 years after The Losers, portraying Bloodsport in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

In 2010, Jeffrey Dean Morgan was probably most well-known for his roles on television in series like Supernatural and Grey’s Anatomy. That all changed after Morgan was cast in an adaptation of the “unfilmable” graphic novel Watchmen as The Comedian. While his time onscreen in the Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons adaptation was minimal, bringing such an iconic comic book character to life earned Morgan a deeper cachet with the Comic-Con crowd. Morgan would work steadily in films like The Possession and the Red Dawn remake, but he arguably made a bigger impact on television portraying yet another iconic comic book character on AMC’s The Walking Dead, Negan.

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Morgan received critical acclaim for his portrayal of the villainous Negan upon his debut, earning the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series, MTV Movie and TV Award for Best Villain, and Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television. He’s been going steady as Negan since while doing other occasional comic-con friendly projects like Rampage.

Zoe Saldana

Zoe Saldana was on top of the world in 2010, and in the time since, she’s only become more successful. After appearing in the buzzy Star Trek reboot in 2009 and a little film called Avatar, the former Center Stage star would go on to headline her own action film Colombiana. However, that would seem like small potatoes compared to what would come in 2014. Saldana was cast as Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel’s riskiest adaptation to date. Would audiences get onboard with an off-beat space opera featuring C-tier Marvel characters? Turns out, yes. Gamora not only became the heart of the Guardians, but the character would feature prominently in the grand Phase 3 finales Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

In the shadow of that, Saldana has starred in more Star Trek sequels, an ill-advised TV remake of Rosemary’s Baby, and as Nina Simone in in Nina, a performance did come under fire for due to the lightness of her skin. Still, Saldana now has leading roles in the two highest grossing films of all-time, and is still expected to star in Guardians and Avatar sequels. Not too shabby.

Chris Evans

Speaking of the MCU, Chris Evans wasn’t floundering in 2010, but he did seem to be stuck in a bit of a rut, typecast as handsome smart alecks prior to The Losers. In fact, his big mainstream break is probably the less than classic spoof comedy, Not Another Teen Movie (2001); afterward he played Johnny Storm in Tim Story’s lukewarm Fantastic Four movies in the mid-2000s; in fact, arguably his most amusing role up to 2010 was when he appeared as a douchebag movie star in Edgar Wright’s genre-bending comedy, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010).

Read more

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Knives Out: When Murder Makes You a Better Person

By Natalie Zutter

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$400 Million Knives Out 2 Deal Gives Netflix Major Movie Franchise

By David Crow

That said, The Losers found him playing against type as an awkward tech expert. Perhaps his chance to show a different side of himself led to his life-changing role as Steve Rogers in the MCU’s Captain America. Anchoring the Avengers franchise for eight years, Chris Evans rose to the top of the A-list, and used that newfound celebrity to help get passion projects like Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer and Rian Johnson’s Knives Out made. Evans is one of the most popular celebrities on social media right now and looks to continue his profitable relationship with Disney by voicing Buzz Lightyear in the animated origin film, Lightyear. 

Columbus Short

Perhaps the only member of the cast not to launch into the stratosphere after The Losers, Columbus Short has had a few issues that have prevented his rise. Short booked a role on the popular ABC series Scandal, but personal issues derailed his involvement in the show. In 2014, as part of a no-jail plea agreement, Short pled guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence and performed 30 hours of community service. Short also avoided jail by pleading no contest to a felony assault charge after throwing “a running punch” at his in-law during a family gathering at a bar.

In an interview with Access Hollywood Live, Short shared that substance abuse due to the stress of family issues and personal loss had led to his departure from Scandal. However, Short has appeared to move past his personal struggles and can next been seen portraying Martin Luther King Jr. in Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Storyand returning as Quadir Richards in True to the Game 3. 

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

[dalegoldberg]

Will movie theaters be relevant in a post-pandemic world? It's now up to you.

On Monday, the beloved Arclight and Pacific Theaters announced they’re closing for good. ArcLight Cinemas is arguably Hollywood's most cherished theater and Pacific has been a mainstay in Los Angeles since 1946. The announcement of their closing shocked many as another casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the company announcement, they said "This was not the outcome anyone wanted, but despite a huge effort that exhausted all potential options, the company does not have a viable way forward." One can understand how a movie theater might go under in the middle of a pandemic but I did find it interesting that they felt there was truly no way forward.

One might've expected some members of the Hollywood elite to come clamoring forward with a bucket of cash to at least front the company long enough to sustain it through the pandemic so that it could reopen when the time was right.

Back in 2014, Kodak faced a similarly dire situation (for different reasons, obviously) and was ready to close its doors. That was until J.J. Abrams, Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, Judd Apatow and other filmmakers banded together to save the floundering company. Their shared love of film compelled them to save the dying medium and, thanks to those filmmakers and their studio backers, the company is still alive today.

But that hasn’t happened with these theaters. I'm not saying that can't happen, of course. The announcement just came this week so time will tell. I will say, however, it sounds like the company may have already exhausted their options (in light of the no "viable way forward" statement).

The death of ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theaters may not just signify another casualty of the pandemic but may actually be a sign of the times. Even prior to the pandemic many were wondering, amongst cord cutting and increasing interest in streaming content, how much longer would movie theaters stay relevant?

The pandemic has shifted the world in general, of course, and one of those big changes coming post-pandemic may be a world where movie theaters have a drastically different business model. Perhaps, one that makes them unrecognizable to us as we know them today.

Does that seem like too bold a claim? Perhaps. Let's just look at the state of the business now.

The state of the business pre-Covid

Prior to the pandemic, movie studios were beholden to the theaters to release their movies in theaters for a certain period of time. So if Warner Brothers wanted to release "Godzilla vs Kong" in theaters, they would have had to wait 90 days before releasing the film on Blu-Ray or to a streaming platform. There was a bit of flexibility on this when it came to digital rentals but otherwise 90 days was the standard. Now, movie studios did have the option of by-passing the theatrical exhibition altogether if they wanted and just going straight to people's homes. Why didn't they?

One reason might've been the Paramount Consent Decrees. The Consent Decrees date back to 1948 when the Supreme Court ruled that movie studios had to separate their distribution operations from their exhibition operations. Essentially, studios were barred from owning movie theaters as it was seen as a monopolistic practice and not fair to consumers. At the time, the only way you could see a movie was in a theater. Gradually, over time, of course, that changed and technology enabled us to watch movies at home. We got VHS, then DVD's, then Blu-Rays, then iTunes Movies, then Netflix and so on. But the theaters remained as a mainstay. Why?

I know many of my friends would argue it's because there's no better way to see a movie than in a theater. If you said that twenty years ago I would have agreed. But today, I'd say that's become largely subjective given the technology available at home. From a purely business oriented perspective, though, there's a host of little reasons theaters remained important such as films not being eligible for Oscar nominations without a theatrical release and, possibly, because studios worried that bypassing theaters would result in further regulations by the courts.

But mostly, it's because we, the audience, were accustomed to theaters. It gave a film legitimacy when it was presented in a theater. It used to be that if a movie went “straight to home video” it was considered cheap and probably low budget. Because of that, even though the studios were giving up 50% of their revenue to the theaters, their gross still was greater than what home distribution netted them in the initial release window.

Even after the invention of Blu-Rays and iTunes Movies, studios were still sending movies to theaters (1) because it was a huge source of revenue and (2) because it helped market the movie. The movie’s success at the box office gave us a reason to want that movie at home.

A shift in Public perceptions

There's a growing number of people that no longer think that way. If a movie goes to streaming now (the new home video), we no longer assume the movie is cheap or low budget. The content on streaming is just as good as the stuff we're seeing in theaters. There’s been a massive shift in our perception of what great “cinema” is. Yeah, you might still wanna' see some things in theaters but it doesn’t cheapen the movie for you if you don't.

And that’s a big problem for theaters. The leverage they’ve had over the studios up till now has been the Consent Decrees and our perception of what great cinema is. Significant, no doubt, but those two things have changed. In August of last year, the Paramount Consent Decrees were terminated with a two-year sunset period on certain aspects of the Decrees all but ensuring that studios could now vertically integrate if they wanted to. Or just bypass the theaters altogether - as some studios already have been experimenting with.

Even at the start of the pandemic, many movies were removed from theaters and sent straight to streaming with studios reporting that the revenue gained from VOD and online rentals rivaled the profit gained from theatrical distribution. As various studios like Paramount and Warner Brothers enter the streaming game alongside Disney (Disney Plus, Hulu) and Netflix, they too are experimenting. As you may have heard, Warner Bros. is releasing all their movies this year on their streaming platform HBOMax on the same day the films are released in theaters (a practice known as "day and date"). No doubt, the bean counters at Warner Bros. will be looking to see if this is a practice that should stay. It’d be fair to say that these experiments are not true representations of reality given the state of the world we’re testing this new distribution model with. But it is changing our perception of how important movie theaters are.

Studios are altering the deal

During the pandemic, theaters have been brought to their knees and have been forced to renegotiate certain terms with the studios including the release window between theatrical and home distribution. Most studios now have negotiated a home release date that comes just 17 days after the movie debuts in theaters - far shorter than the original 90 days.

This, of course, can be argued to just be a by-product of the pandemic. Theaters don't have leverage now but once the pandemic is over they will and they'll renegotiate. Right?

That really hinges on whether or not audiences still think a movie has more value if it was presented in a theater before they got to see it at home. Does it enhance the movie for me if it gets shown in a theater or am I just as interested (or maybe even more interested) in seeing it if it is sent straight to my home?

Other big changes are happening

There's other factors to consider as well. One might be the massive shift of homeowners into the suburbs and away from the city during the pandemic. Many employers are making it possible to work from home (a trend that will likely continue post-pandemic as the internet improves and more businesses see the benefits of a remote workforce) resulting in a mass exodus from cities to suburbs. Living in the suburbs means you don’t have the same pull of massive audiences in large gatherings the way you used to. We’re also investing more in our homes to make them enjoyable places to not only live but play as well. It’s a shift in our culture.

Another factor is that our perception of long form content has changed. Episodic television used to be where big movie stars went to end their careers after a career starring in movies. Now, it’s the reverse. A lot of stars are starting in television rather than finishing there because we (the audience) love binging on serialized content and when we’re not binging episodes we’re watching four hour movies (The Irishman, Zack Snyder's Justice League). Those experiences don’t work well in theaters where you’re stuck sitting in the same place and can’t hit the pause button.

Ultimately, the biggest factor might be what it usually comes down to - money. Before the pandemic audiences were already lamenting about the cost of movie tickets. A single afternoon of me taking my wife and kids to see the latest Disney movie in a theater could cost me $50 - $60 just for admission (not to mention the cost of food and drinks). But during the pandemic I was able to rent “Mulan” for $30 from comfort of my own home. Or, if I wanted, I could just wait three months and then see it as part of my regular Disney Plus subscription (which I was already paying for anyways so I could watch “The Mandalorian”).

As things open back up, many people are not necessarily swimming in money and, while I think the Covid relief packages have probably helped, a lot of people are still hurting and will be looking for any which way to save money. It seems unlikely that theaters will be able to lower their costs at this point given the need to recoup their losses from the pandemic and the probable need to make new investments in their facilities to stay competitive. They will need to get creative to show real value to audiences that might be reluctant to rush back in to theaters.

So what will happen to theaters post-pandemic?

For those of you worried I’m predicting doomsday for theaters - relax. I think theaters are probably here to stay regardless of what happens. They’re too much a part of what movies are to simply disappear. That said, they are a business and, currently, a failing one. What they look like post-pandemic doesn’t look great, from my perspective, unless the business model changes.

One possible scenario is that theaters become like playhouses or music festivals. In other words, they’ll still exist but in fewer quantities and will become more niche, featuring elevated experiences centered around tentpole movie properties which audiences are willing to pay a premium for (think “Top Gun: Maverick” or “Godzilla vs Kong”). I can see this form of adaptation working well in everyone’s favor.

Another possibility is that the studios buy out the movie theaters. The termination of the consent decrees has made that a real possibility. And then, once they’ve purchased them, build brand experiences centered around their properties. Something like miniature Disney Lands. They would most likely close a significant number of locations leaving only the flagships they felt would bring in a large audience and use them to promote the movies on their slate. A company like Disney with a large library of films could also use the theaters as a means of re-presenting old films from their library, borrowing a tactic from LucasFilm, and refresh old content to make it new again for theatrical. In essense, the net effect would be the same as in the first scenario: fewer theaters, more niche experiences.

I say this because it is somewhat unclear, to me at least, how the current model can persist if studios own theaters. Yes, they’d control theatrical distribution but they’d likely only be purchasing a theater to distribute their own movies. Would a company like Paramount, who’s only releasing seven movies this year, see the value of owning a theater chain? Even Disney’s slate only consists of 14 movies. To make the business viable (at least as it exists now), they would have to present movies from other studios. Would one studio trust that the studio in ownership of the theater was giving them a fair number of screens for presentation? It seems untenable under the current model.

What happens next is really up to you

The biggest change from the pandemic is that we as audiences have changed the way we look at movies. We’re ok with watching movies at home and, thus, the leverage theaters have to negotiate longer release windows between theatrical and home distribution has all but disappeared. The artificial pillars that made theaters a necessity are all but gone. And yes, the Oscars will likely still require that movies be released in theaters to be eligible for nomination but the standards of what a "theatrical release" means do not require as vast a distribution as you might think (see page 2, sub-section D of the General Entry rules). Plus, let's be honest - not all movies are meant to be Oscar contenders.

So really, the only thing to keep theaters relevant now is you - the audience. My prediction is that we’ll initially see some high demand for theaters as cities are re-opened and we try to return to our regular lives. But after we get back to a sense of normalcy (whatever that means in the future) we’ll see how much audiences really want to keep paying $20 per ticket to see a movie when they could just pay $30 once to rent it at home with the entire family or binge the new hot show on Netflix / Amazon / Apple TV/ Paramount Plus / Disney Plus / Hulu / Peacock / whatever else is out there.

At that point, the studios will do some math and if the profit they’re making from streaming outweighs the profit from the box office, theaters won’t have much of a leg to stand on. That is, unless audiences continue to demand theaters be a relevant part of the movie watching experience. Without considerable innovation on behalf of the theaters, though, I question how likely that is to happen.

[mykpopconfession]

It's long but hey, thank you so much for allowing me to share my thoughts as kpop is something I do enjoy but I like to look at it from other points of view, how it looks to me from various perspectives, not just as face value kpop fans have tantrums every time something isn't right or whenever idol does something so small and irrelevant it becomes a scandal… shocking but idols are humans and won't always perform to the fans standard.

Fans bitch and whine about how the standard of kpop industry is too harsh yet it's not the industry that is encouraging it, it's the fans themselves, they cant accept minor mistakes and everything gets taken out of context while fans claim they know the idols… ie: Jennie's “lazy” scandal.

Yet they don’t scrutinize the idols whenever they are sexist, colorist, ageist, misogynist, racist, because they can “do no wrong” or their fans, will come to save their asses… even the flipping companies encourage it because they want them to be younger. After all, it's more appealing??? but what 25+-year-old fans are going to be drawn to teens in a group? I don't even find itzy, txt appealing and their whole group’s image is directly for those of teenagers and below, the music/dances, the image, it’s all catered that specifically of a younger audience, shame, I would’ve liked them otherwise.

The younger the idols = the better publicity and the higher chances of gaining popularity by getting into “scandals” for the lack of maturity and social awareness nor are they likely to take accountability and just do whatever they please anyway because they’re idols and their fans will still claim that their age isn’t a problem or because they’re a child/teenager/minor then its okay kpop idols are so out of touch with reality that when they have some form of criticism they start banning and suing left right & center… because they live as though everyone is going to fall head over heels for them and blindly accept everything they do because most kpop fans are already blinded by their idols and cant accept when an idol says or does something disgustingly wrong nor can they accept mild criticism without getting their pitchforks out.. its a cult, no denying it. 

As lovely as the choreography might be I don't want to watch the idols if they are doing any of the above: dancing overly provocatively (especially when they may be on the minor age scale), twerking or grinding the stage or anything overly sexual at that. 

Kpop fans lap it up because its socially acceptable to objectify the idols and make them appealing because of their “dancing/performance” when it is turning them into some trend because they “danced” overly sexy/cute, that's all they amount to is the dancing side of it

TBH I found it intriguing at first but now every kpop group tries to have this “sexy” look and it just doesn't work. it’s like asking a foreigner to be interested in kpop when they act cute except its not normal to appear cute over here, it's only going to appeal to those who maybe find it intriguing or different from their own culture. 

Yet cute/sexy is all kpop idols can amount to even if it looks so uncomfortable and unpleasing to watch. alas they are idols, they’re not humans, they can twerk, dance provocatively and act cute all because the fans will enjoy it no matter what it is or who it is… age isn’t even considered but the younger the better they stand a greater chance. 

Which is like bighit canceling everyone of the older generations who maybe possess the same talent but with a maturer image and behavior… its both ageist and sexist, why is it some huge fetish that just boys in or around 1999 only for their new survival show thing i-land? I find it… odd more than exciting or interesting cause I know its just typical for the members to be more younger but less appealing to older generation cause I have nothing that I’d relate too I don't even relate to the TikTok trend because that's all it is, another trend or bandwagon. yet everyone treats it as being this incredible new thing that suddenly acceptable for young folk even though it brings so much disgusting behavior/drama along with it, its a recycled version of the vine but worse, in the same sense this is what kpop does, recycle groups once they’re less appealing to make way for the same groups but look slightly different. 2ne1/blackpink, BTS/txt yet the fans don't say nothing about how it is encouraging the sexual appeal and almost asking for fans to thirst over them because this is what “dance” supposedly should be. sexy/cute nothing in between, it's saying that idols should portray this image cause it’s more appealing than the music itself. if the male idols show their abs/skin even better, females? wear the most uncomfortable looking clothing and ur good to go. 

The kpop sounds now have become about the group's image, level of popularity, as opposed to actual talent, creative freedom and ability to give off a genuine performance that doesn’t include anything generic or robotic image. its got to be loud, bright, vivid because its all for the dance/sexual appeal of both the male and female gender is almost aligned with the concept for it.

The lyrics can be as disgusting as they please because its okay, its only kpop. any lyrics are acceptable, bts got called out for their lyrics in one song yet not in any of the others? same for other groups, so few call out the lyrics because lyrics mean nothing. it's about the visual appeal of the groups and the kind of fame they gather from it alone so you can have the visuals but do the bare minimum and not have much stage presence but be classed as a main singer or dancer, its okay fans will lap it up no matter what it is. also, I’ve noticed the same sound being used across several groups depending on the concept of the song… repetitive much? why does kpop fear change or standing out? why get idols to become something they are not ie: whitening their naturally beautiful dark skin, have idols who don’t need to, lose weight. it's not the company its the idols encouraging it because it's acceptable and normalized to be anything other than thick, natural and healthy. 

Ppl act like trying to shove kpop into the western music genre will make it appeal any better, the fans act like they couldn’t see the racism coming, but that's what happened bts were forced into a culture that had nothing to do with them because in western we generally hop from one bandwagon to the next and just roll with it since it's popular it must be good.

ie: one direction, psy, 5 seconds of summer and now bts… how do so many don't see the pattern nor did they see bts coming? you expect Asian artists to become greatly admired over here too but when you shove it in ppl’s faces and try to get it to become the next big thing, not everyone is gonna see the appeal I honestly feel like it's been forced… not by the companies but by the international fans. now instead of trying to gain popularity in their home country kpop groups try too hard to appeal to the western market… you can’t even deny how vastly generic bts’ music has become SINCE they hit the American music awards or whatever it was. note: they didn’t even win awards for their music, but simply their popularity is what got them there

I loved boyz with fun, despised boy with Luv yet because they’ve been in the American industry’s eyes they put it out what has become popular just using their language… well sometimes, even idol, what could’ve been a great song with a nice meaning missed some marks, as in the overuse of auto-tune has become almost normal for them? vs using natural vocal abilities, I'm no coach but straining one's voice to hit a high note in a slow song doesn’t sound healthy. when all bts have done in the past is upbeat music is why they struggle to maintain high notes in slow songs because they’ve followed the same music style for so long then suddenly changed it so their voices don't match softer songs… which I’d appreciate more of instead of just dark lyrics and over-hyped upbeat poppy music.

ie: I loved the sound for serendipity, but the lyrics weren’t as good and Jimin kinda struggled to sing it well enough both in-studio and live, however its one of my more favorite songs. I’d also appreciate a slower gentle song that isn’t about a relationship too thanks looking @ you euphoria. 

You think it's about the music, lyrical side of it but I disagree, it's merely the concept of yet another boy group that's sadly taken over in the most overbearingly forced way possible and you all act like the racism wasn’t going to occur. nct had an incredibly shit time in America during their tour its because it's not meant for America, its trying force kpop to become something it's not just to fit in with western music taste. I miss when they did full songs in Korean now they do English full versions with hella cringe-worthy lyrics and expect them to blow up or become the next big thing. 

I’ve been walking with the cheese and the queso????? if ur happy and u know it clap ur hands???? theses ones make me laugh more than wanting to listen repeatedly, they throw them in there simply to appeal to western music, no matter if its a bad lyric, doesn't make sense or is cringe-worthy. 

Kpop is built for Korean consumption it's great to see it's expanded however, its in the wrong directions for the wrong appeal. bts did not pave the way when psy also existed the same year they debuted. bts tried to get a following in America but failed because naturally psy was almost made fun of for just being an Asian doing what he does best yet the hype quickly dyed down & everyone moved on until bts came into the scene… so far behind than when they should’ve gone viral years before. not the companies fault but merely the appeal of the image/music wasn’t suited to the western music genre so when they become familiar more with America they switched the songs to sound pop-like… nothing wrong but less appealing than their original image/music, which I prefer, I’d say it started to change with not today era. 

The only reason being bts have stuck around now is because of the boy group concept even if the lyrics aren’t that great when translated into English, they’ve already tried and IMO, failed to push their music into the western music industry and they’ve won awards solely based on the fandom/popularity alone kpop has become less and less about the music, energy of the performances, now it's about if they look right together as a group. how the group as a whole appeal to the fans and what makes the fans blinded by them… which is essentially their sex appeal, whether the idols are grown women or men or even teenagers, who might be uncomfortable with fans lusting after them. whether they’re dancing sexy or acting somewhat cute doesn’t matter because it's become acceptable and a must if you want to be an idol so fans can thirst over them. 

Sorry not sorry but kpop has become much less about the music itself and see what is trendy puts it to music and calls it the next big thing. which is a shame I love the language I love how it sounds in the songs & I also love that it encourages me to learn the language that's more appealing than the group image/songs itself but they’re letting looks matter to the point where groups are mistreated abroad by both media and fans alike all because of this group image concept. nct getting mixed up with bts was pure racist but how can they fail to tell how different they are? wait, no, any Asian boys in a group must be considered to be bts… see its just one hype train after the other, even Astro got mixed and when parasite become popular and rightly won the awards some were racist. Trump's comment was appalling but at least he got the country right, yes, everything that's become popularised in America is from South Korea, gold star for that. 

Its the concept of boy groups. not the music itself. if it were music then day6 would have a similar appeal, gain the same momentum as bts/nct have done, yet because they differ from the typical dance style boy group they won't gain the same effect as their counterparts, bts / nct & whoever else. 

Yet they’re still appealing to the wider international audience and did very well with their tours, same for the rose, they don’t trend in the same way boy groups do but have some form of appeal because it’s a different concept/image style altogether than the way bts / nct, etc are put together but still they don’t have the same effect as some of the more dance-based groups have because its a different genre but still from the same industry…

Different genre means less appealing or less popular but I’d say day6 are doing better, producing a greater amount of pleasing music, with reasonable lyrics but don't receive the same amount of popularity. compare to bts / nct who follow similar styles mixed up of what is trendy and call it a day. whereas kpop dance groups throw anything out there and its okay cause fans will lap it up too.

It's not the song that got blackpink to Coachella, its purely the appeal of yet another young women based group, again solely so they can push the feminism, girl power movement through their “songs” but it's their image of youthful cutely acting girls that gains the attention of western men/women… little mix tried it so why not blackpink, heck even fifth harmony failed to maintain the popularity because the appeal wasn’t there in the songs, but they were females in a group, therefore, they must have some form of appeal to the public / recent trends, bandwagons

[littlemisssquiggles]

I was watching Phoenix/Night’s chapter 11 review video, he had ideas of what’d happened to Oscar. One of them was that maybe he was able to get away from Neo and try to run away from her but he wasn’t fast enough to get away and somehow got captured by her. I assume that Neo took him to the Vault of the Relic of Creation where I assume the Oscar vs Neo fight is gonna happen. I believe it’s gonna parallel the Raven vs Cinder fight in V5, a fight for the two relics. What do you think about that?

Hey Chels. Hmm…I’m not sure about the vault part, fam.

Even if Neo managed to take Oscarhostage, why would she take him down to the Vault of the Winter Maiden? As faras the audience is aware of, Neo (and by extension Cinder) doesn’t know thewhereabouts of the Vault within Atlas Academy. Nor is she aware that Oscarknows about it either. While I agree with the part about a potential fight downin the Vault, I doubt it’ll be between Oscar and Neo. For me, I’m moreexpecting Oscar and Ironwood to have a confrontation either down in the Vaultor on the way to the Vault. My assumption is that Ironwood went down to theVault and is probably waiting for Winter to join him down there once she’sclaimed Fria’s power. That way Winter would open the Vault for Ironwood so thathe could use the staff’s power to hoist Atlas Kingdom into the orbit; removingthe kingdom and its citizens from Remnant.

However, my presumption on whatmight really end up happening is one of the following few concepts--

Ironwood will be waiting down in theVault for Winter only for Cinder to show up instead to challenge him for theStaff. A fight then breaks out however Ironwood is unfortunately overpowered byCinder who had the strength of two Maidens on her side after successfullyclaiming Fria’s power for herself; confirming much to Ironwood’s despair thatWinter Schnee---his right hand and top operative---had been killed by one ofSalem’s very own. Cinder then goes to kill Ironwood but he’s saved from neardeath by Oscar and Ruby arriving down in the Vault. Oscar then instructs Rubyto take the injured Ironwood to safety while he tries and stop Cinder fromtaking the Staff. A fight then breaks out between Oscar and Cinder, rekindlingthe fateful rematch us Pineheads have been itching for.

The alternative to this is Ironwoodwaiting for Winter down in the Vault but Oscar shows up. Since the othersalerted him of the General’s intentions, Oscar attempts to talk some sense toJames but at this point he’s too far gone. He won’t listen to reason. He eventrains his gun on Oscar. But just as it appears as if the two were going toclash, Cinder arrives down in the Vault to claim the Relic.

As a third alternative, Ironwoodgoes down to the Vault to wait for Winter. But as he enters the vault he isbemused to discover a narcissistic Cinder Fall already waiting there for himwith the corpse of Winter Schnee in one hand and the remains of a dismantledPenny Polendina in another which she wickedly lays at Ironwood’s feet; as if togloat of her accomplishments. A fight ensues between the two. At this time,Ruby and Oscar arrive at the Vault in an attempt to stop Ironwood. But as thetwo Rosebuds arrive down the Vault they are met by Cinder who has alreadysucceeded in gaining the Relic of Creation. With the staff in her hand, thingsget a bit topsy-turvy as Atlas begins to fall out of the sky as a result of thestaff’s removal leading to Oscar and Ruby to fight gravity and a dual-powered MaidenCinder for the Staff as a means of stopping the collapse.

Those are just a few ideas I have. Eitherway, my headcanon remains that Oscar willbe the one to fight Cinder in the end. I have a feeling that V7 endgamecould parallel V3 with Oscar sending his allies away to safety while he staysbehind to prevent Cinder from claiming the Relic of Creation. This way I canimagine Oscar embodying both Ozpin and Pyrhha--ensuring that his friends---thepeople he cared for and whose lives he was more or less entrusted with---madeit out alive before moving forward to do whatever he could to stop Cinder; evenif it meant sacrificing his own life to stop her. The last time, a Wizard ofLight challenged Fall Maiden Cinder, they lost. The last time Oz stood up toCinder, she killed him and that was back when she only had one Maiden power.

Somehow I kinda like the concept of Oscar challenging Cinder and avenging Ozpinby being the one to put a stop to Cinder. I don’t know what the CRWBYWriters’ plans for Cinder are. But in the event that V7 is to be her final curtain call, I feel like it wouldbe fitting if Oscar was the one tofinally do so.

@moondrop04, I know I told you Ididn’t like the idea of Oscar sacrificing himself for his friends. However I’vehad more time to think about it and now I can actually picture it beingsomething Oscar would do as a testament to his bravery. This doesn’t mean thatI think Oscar will die though. Nah. If anything I expect Oscar to fight Cinderand survive. I like the idea of Oscar sacrificing himself to try and stopCinder just like Oz. Who knows? Perhaps,in a similar fashion to V3 with Pyrhha, Rubyends up going down to the Vault just in time to find Cinder about to kill Oscar. At first she suffersdifficulty to summon forth her Silver Eye power as a result of the fear Saleminstilled in her in regards to her mother’s death by her hands. It’s a momentwhere Ruby finds it impossible toclear her mind long enough to think of positive thoughts to protect everyone.So in that moment, Ruby does the just thing. She basically emulates the advicethat Other Dimension Peter Parker gave to Miles Morale about becoming a hero inSpiderman: Into the Spider-verse.

“…Youcan’t always just think about saving everyone. You have to think about saving atleast one person first.” 

Or something alongthose lines since I’m paraphrasing here. Sobasically that’s what Ruby does. She thinksabout Oscar; how much he’s proven to care about her and their team sincethey met and the way he made her feel. Because in that moment, Ruby wasn'ttrying to save everyone. All she wanted to accomplish in that moment was protectingOscar. Because in that moment, saving him was all that mattered and she was notabout to let Cinder Fall kill another friend she loved ever again.

Soin a nutshell, Ruby is able to summon her Silver Eyes at full blast which issuper effective again Cinder who shrinks back from being exposed to the light.As Cinder lunges for Ruby, she is finished by Oscar who lands the final killingblow. Imagine if… crystalized stalactites with the the Vault. Perhaps Oscar could use the magic of the Long Memory to cause oneof the stalactites to fall on top of Cinder, crushing her before she could getto Ruby.

Notsure how to feel about Oscar killing someone, even if it is a villain. I don’twish for a repeat of what transpired with Bumblebee last season with AdamTaurus now with the RosegardeningRosebuds. I’m not even sure if Cinder will actually be killed off. I’mstill waiting to see what the PLOT does with her especially since we’resupposed to learn more about her backstory at some point for this arc trilogy.Regardless, still wanted to toss the idea on the table.

As I said to @daggerpawstudios inanother, I’m starting to like the idea of Oscar trying to get away from Neo. Soin that regard, I agree with Phoenix/Night. However where I deviate is that Ilike the idea of Oscar not being kidnapped at all. My headcanon is that Oscarsuccessfully escaped Neo’s attempt at taking the Relic off of him and iscurrently somewhere else on Atlas premises trying to get as far away from Neoas possibly. However V6 highlighted Neo being able to mask objects with hersemblance (as she did with Mistral airship), my idea is that currently Neo haspoor Oscar trapped in an illusion where he’s been attempting to find an exithowever Neo has disguised all the exits as dead ends, making Oscar think he wastrapped with no way out and with no way of getting in contact with his comradessince Ironwood locked off communication within the hero group.

I like this concept since it’s aninteresting way to show off Neo’s cunningness as a villain while additionallytesting Oscar’s resolve. I dig the idea of Neo messing with Oscar psychologicallythrough her illusions, making him believe he was all alone trapped in a maze ofher creation with no way of finding his friends. 

What’s more terrifying is thatNeo could also disguise herself as any of Oscar’s female allies, inclusive ofRuby. Oscar wouldn’t know where to turn and who to trust since, in Neo’sillusion, he wouldn’t know what’s fake from reality.

It’s cool since it provides an opendoor for Oz to return and guide Oscar in the same manner as he did back inArgus. Not to mention that it also provides an opportunity for Ren to debut hisevolved semblance. 

Imagine if…JNR hasbeen trying to find Oscar too but Neo’s illusion winds up confusing them aswell and keeping them from reaching Oscar until Ren reveals a new ability thathe’d been developing all season where he can possibly locate Oscar’swhereabouts by locking onto his emotions specifically. 

I really do that have afeeling that Ren might play a role in finding Oscar; especially in the eventthat he’s stuck inside an illusion that’s keeping him trapped inside and anyoneelse trying to find him outside. 

I like this concept a lot and I think I’llkeep that as my main hunch for RWBY V7CH12 until the episode debuts.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2020)

[an-avid-reader]

The Sun is Also a Star - Nicola Yoon

my rating: 3.5/5

Natasha is an undocumented citizen, her family moved from Jamica to America when she was a little girl. For the most part, her family has laid low and stayed out of trouble until one day, her father receives a DUI, which means that they have been discovered. Natasha and her family have less than a day to leave the US, before they get in more trouble. Daniel is Korean-American. His immigrant parents want the best for their sons, that means going to school and living a better life. But Daniel’s interests lie elsewhere—both in career and what it means to fall in love. When Daniel and Natasha cross paths, their differences may seem incompatible...but after all, don’t opposites attract?

Link to Goodreads || Spoiler-free review below

Let me start off by saying that I’m still unsure about my rating; I’m slightly conflicted with my opinions on this book. I will say that in terms of the development of the story, I prefer it to Everything, Everything, which is Yoon’s debut novel. Both are love stories in very extreme/unique situations and diverse characters. Yoon’s writing is easy to read and eloquent, in my opinion--I can definitely see that it improved in The Sun is Also a Star. Bonus: love the title and the cover of the book.

This book is supposedly written from the point of view of the universe, which probably explains why we switch from first person to third person. For the most part, I didn’t really notice it, and I could distinguish Daniel and Natasha’s chapters (most of the book is from their point of view). However, there was one ‘chapter’ where it was just super confusing, unfortunately I don’t remember which one it was! I found that to be interesting though--and I wonder how different the book would be if we had it all in third person as opposed to switching back and forth.

For the characters, I love the diversity we see, and how there was inspiration from Yoon’s own relationship. I agree with her reasoning--there needs to be more portrayal of POC in books, movies, shows, etc. That being said, I found that there were A LOT of stereotypes. Don’t get me wrong, stereotypes exist because they are a version of someone’s story (as stated by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie), but there were some that made me dislike Natasha’s character. It wasn’t really the racial stereotypes that bothered me, but rather the science stereotype. At one point, Natasha and Daniel get on the topic of religion and god, and she plays the “science is all we need” card. My issue is that science and religion can coexist (as a current biochem student who went to a catholic school with amazing and unbiased science teachers, I can attest that they can indeed coexist!). The thing is religion is based on belief--that belief can stem from comfort, a reason to be alive/to be good, something to confine in, morals, etc. Science is based on facts and evidence. You don’t believe in science, it’s factual, but you can choose to believe (or not believe) in religion--either is fine, regardless of religion. I’ve realized that the whole science vs religion story is not for me, it just makes me angry. There was a good chunk of the middle part of the book where Natasha is less “extreme” about her views, but then she hit me with that “science is all we need” and I just became annoyed. 

Daniel was more reasonable in my opinion. I personally haven’t met anyone that follows his story; where he wants to pursue a creative career but his parents want him to become a doctor (as an immigrant myself, this isn’t something that I can relate to either). Again Natasha comes in and says that he’ll be a starving artist, which just annoyed me again! Yes, we need scientists and engineers, but creative people--authors, film directors, actors, etc. are necessary to keep our society sane. Furthermore, some careers require the cooperation of the arts and the sciences, like architecture. So once again, let’s stop pinning science against the arts when we need them both (also lowkey organic chemistry and biochemistry are arts but that’s just my opinion). Actually maybe we need to stop putting science on this pedestal from time to time *sips tea*.

Okay so stereotypes and annoyances aside, I loved the progression of their love story. I also love that the questions to “fall in love” were consistent throughout the whole story. I appreciated that Yoon mentioned when people were staring at them, as an interracial couple. I think that there is still a lot of racism embedded in our society, not just white people against other races, but other situations like this where it was Korean vs Jamaican. I also liked that Charlie, Daniel’s brother, actually rejected his culture--I think that was his version of coping with an identity crisis, and I believe that there are others like him who do this in order to fit it, which actually saddens me a little bit. I think these small, but important details capture the reality of being a non-“natural” citizen/immigrant/not being white. I can’t say I’ve read many books like this, so it definitely stands out against other coming of age books, and YA romance books.

I really liked the sprinkle of knowledge along the way. For example, at one point, the universe explains to us the multiverse (which is a pretty simple explanation that is accurate and easy to follow). One thing that sort of surprised me was the juxtaposition between the tone of the book (which I guess in some ways is a little dark) and the cover, and then there’s one character that has suicidal thoughts. It literally came out of nowhere. And then there’s the progression of the language that progresses. I would never expect to read "...graduates summa cum laude..." in such a colourful book, but here we are. I’ve never heard that phrase until last year in university, and now it seems that it pops up everywhere (o.O)

The book takes place over the course of a few hours, yet it didn’t seem to drag on. We hop from one adventure to another and we get to see Natasha and Daniel’s love story develop, even though their love is set up to be doomed from the beginning. Yet, they bump into each other and end up finding each other in the big city of NYC. This book was super interesting from a story-telling point of view, even if I wasn’t a huge fan of some of the characters. I think that’s why, at the end of the day, I’m sort of distraught by my rating because the story itself wasn’t super cringey to me and I can clearly see that Yoon’s writing developed from one book to another, but the stuff I didn’t like are prominent and crucial to the story...well except maybe the epilogue which I felt was just thrown in there to try to satiate the book but it felt unnecessary.

If you’ve read this book, I’d love to hear what are your thoughts--did you enjoy this book or was it overhyped? (and if you’ve seen the adaptation, is it worth it?) 

Thank you for reading my review, I hope you are having a pleasant day, wherever you are in the world!

~ Cassandra / an-avid-reader

[thesportssoundoff]

“It’s all about the Eraser vs the SOG, dudes” UFC 241 Preview

Joey

August 12th, 2019

So this card is great! Seriously I lack a greater word to describe this card besides great. In many ways, this card is an old school style UFC card. You have a tremendous title fight (arguably the GOAT if not a top 5 fighter of all time) and the best UFC HW ever in terms of resume with a co-main event that isn't a title fight but pits two superstars against one another in a strikers delight. Paulo Costa vs Yoel Romero is legit a main event anywhere else in the world sans PPV and Ian Heinisch vs Derek Brunson would be a solid co-main event on any ESPN card they could put on. Throw in a really great FW fight between kickboxer Benito Lopez and super well rounded Sodiq Yusuff. The prelims aren't quite as name heavy and are hurt by the loss of John Makdessi BUT it's hard to knock a slate that features two really good bantamweight fights in Cory Sandhagen vs Raphael Assuncao and Manny Bermudez vs Casey Kenney. Even the return of prospect Devonte Smith is worth keeping an eye on despite the opponent change. The ESPN+ portion of the prelims are okay I suppose as Sabino Mazo vs Shana Dobson and Brandon Davis vs Kyung Ho Kang figures to be a fun as hell action fight. After the poor on paper UFC 240, it's hard to not get a bit excited for what is a damn good return to PPV before the fun stuff with UFC 242 and 243 hit us in September and October.

Fights: 12

Debuts: Clay Collard

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 2 (Poliana Botelho vs Maryna Moroz CANCELLED, John Makdessi OUT, Clay Collard IN vs Devonte Smith)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 7 (Daniel Cormier, Stipe Miocic, Yoel Romero, Nate Diaz, Anthony Pettis, Derek Brunson, Raphael Assuncao)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 1 (Jodie Esquibel)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 10 (Daniel Cormier, Paulo Costa, Soqid Yusuff, Manny Bermudez, Ian Heinisch, Devonte Smith, Cory Sandhagen, Manny Bermudez, Drakkar Klose, Christos Giagos)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2017 (in the UFC):  23-9

Daniel Cormier- 4-0 (1 NC) Stipe Miocic- 2-1 Nate Diaz- 0-0 Anthony Pettis- 3-2 Yoel Romero- 1-2 Paulo Costa- 4-0 Gabriel Benitez- 2-1 Sodiq Yusuff- 2-0 Derek Brunson- 3-3 Ian Heinisch- 2-0

Fights By Weight Class (yearly number here):

Bantamweight- 3 (43) Middleweight- 2 (28) Lightweight- 2 (51) Featherweight-  1 (40) Women’s Flyweight- 1 (27) Women’s Strawweight- 1 (21) Heavyweight- 1 (24) Welterweight- 1 (47)

Light Heavyweight-  (31) Flyweight-  (11) Women’s Featherweight- (7) Women’s Bantamweight- (13)

2019 Number Tracker

Debuting Fighters (22-46)- Clay Collard

Short Notice Fighters (22-30)- Clay Collard

Second Fight (44-22)- Sabina Mazo, Casey Kenney

Cage Corrosion (Fighters who have not fought within a year of the date of the fight) (17-29)-  Nate Diaz, Stipe Miocic, Yoel Romero, Gabriel Benitez, Paulo Costa, Shana Dobson

Undefeated Fighters (28-30)- Paulo Costa, Manny Bermudez

Fighters with at least four fights in the UFC with 0 wins over competition still in the organization (9-8)- Kyung Ho Kang

Weight Class Jumpers (Fighters competing outside of the weight class of their last fight even if they’re returning BACK to their “normal weight class”) (25-17)-

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- So is Daniel Cormier going to mentally get up for this fight? Cormier knocked out Miocic in July of 2018 and basically cemented his legacy as one of the best fighters ever by winning titles in two weight classes Conor McGregor style. He also became the first champion to defend a belt while being double champion, doing so when he finished Derrick Lewis in the third round of their fight. Cormier was hoping to retire in March of 2019 after a fight with Brock Lesnar BUT the Lesnar fight fell apart and Brock retired before DC ever could. Having lost the Brock fight, DC put off his retirement to take a fight against Stipe Miocic and potentially Jon Jones. This was clearly Cormier's back up option as he admitted that him vs Miocic was more about him fulfilling his promise to Stipe that he'd give him a rematch. Cormier has talked about a Jones fight as well but seems like that would just be a big cash out for him. DC is in that "I've proven myself, now I'm going to get my money" phase of his life. I wonder if he's viewing this fight and a potential Jones fight as high level big check cash out fights and if it's fair to be concerned about DC showing up just to show up.

2- How quickly does the winner of Miocic vs DC get the turnaround fight? Ngannou vs DC/Miocic in November in MSG? December in Vegas? Gotta be options out there I'm assuming.

3- I literally have no idea what to expect from Anthony Pettis vs Nate Diaz. Let's set the scene/stage first; Anthony Pettis is really a case of combat sports fans just not giving a shit about reality because what you did five years ago still counts for something. So long as you win JUST enough, you can never truly dip out of the public view. Pettis lost three straight fights in 2015 and 2016, had a really ill fitted decision to drop to 145 lbs, barely scraped by another ill fitted 145 lbers then got smoked by Max Holloway. From there he'd beat the fighters he should (Michael Chiesa was particularly impressive) and lose to the dudes who replaced him at the top of the 155 lb ladder. Pettis campaigned for a fight at 170 lbs vs Stephen Thompson and got it in large part due to Santiago Ponzinibbio turning down the fight. He got boxed up by Thompson for two rounds, landed a sizable chunk of his own offense but then closed the show in emphatic fashion with a superman punch that put Wonderboy to sleep. One win made a lot of folks forget a lot of things en route to earning Pettis a co-main event spot on this very great card. His opponent is Nate Diaz, another fighter who made a lot of folks forget a lot of things on the back of one big win. Nate went from being the Diaz brother the UFC could deal with to a guy who has caused more noise for them than Nick ever did. Nate looked like he was going to disappear from the scene after the Bendo and Josh Thomson losses, beating the corpse of Gray Maynard before RDA just casually shut him down in a fight Nate was Nate missed weight, pulled out of his press obligations and just seemed not all there from a fighter standpoint. Everything changed with the McGregor fight where he upset Conor McGregor on short notice at 170 lbs. With some leverage, Nate put himself in position to earn a big payday and snagged it for a rematch. Since then he and the UFC have had a bit of a square dance in trying to get him fights vs Nate trying to maximize his leverage. A rumored fight with Tyron Woodley fell apart for December of 2017, Nate vs Dustin Poirier was on the books for November of 2018 and then the "official" ending to that was Dustin Poirier pulling out with a hip injury even if Dustin claims that Nate had pulled out weeks ahead of time and so he was the fall guy of sorts. All of this creates a situation where there's no way to know what is or isn't real here. Is Pettis better suited at 170 lbs where he, like Masvidal, feels more comfortable letting his hands go and fighting at a more unforgiving pace? Is Nate Diaz the dude who nearly toppled the UFC's apple cart vs Conor McGregor or the guy who went 1-3 and pretty much quit on the sport? To be honest does it even matter either? These two from a stylistic matchup create a compelling fight and even if we never see Nate again or Pettis eventually reverts back to being the dude Max Holloway made quit or Edson Barboza kickboxed up, we'll always have this one, right?

4- Really curious to see how Nate Diaz does in terms of his conditioning. Yes, he hasn't fought in three years BUT the counter to that is that Nate was training for fights during that time period that just never saw the light of day for various reasons. Also Nate has a style that's cardio friendly for the most part, taking steam off of his punches to throw combinations early on and then pouring it on late when his opponent is more tired than he is. As puts it, Nate Diaz just knows how to fight tired better than most guys.

5- You guys, we are absolutely about to get Yoel Romero vs Paolo Costa.

6- So we talk about Robert Whittaker being shop worn and it's true BUT conversely, what about Yoel Romero? Romero was in those five rounds wars with Whittaker, is old as hell, has years of high level wear and tear on his body and at some point he's simply going to fall off. Paulo Costa's body work is something that Yoel Romero has never had to tend to before. Most guys are terrified of getting in tight with Romero because unless you're an insane wrestler, chances are he's going to put the burners on you with an overhand right/flying knee or clinch you and get you on the mat if he's uncomfortable with the space and range. Costa though is an all pressure march ahead and throw caution to the wind striker who just overwhelms you with his intensity and his mental toughness. We've seen Yoel Romero just casually beat up on those grit and toughness dudes before and so this is a fine enough test for what remains of Romero and what Costa can bring differently compared to most guys.

7- If Costa wins, is there a chance that the UFC will do Paulo Costa vs the winner of Adesanya/Whittaker?  Or is the winner of Hermansson vs Cannonier a lock for the title shot?

8- Bruson vs Heinisch is going to be bowling shoe ugly, am I right dudes?

9- While Moggly/Sodiq Yusuff is a great fight and there's plenty of solid WMMA action, the biggest fight outside of the top 3 is Cory Sandhagen vs Raphael Assuncao. Assuncao is back in that spot he's found himself in before; needing to pull off an extensive winning streak to put himself in #1 contender contention again. He had another impressive streak snapped by Marlon Moraes in February and now we're left to figure out if Assuncao is in the Jon Fitch portion of his career where he's more a Top 5 tester/professional MMA hitman. His opponent is the sort of dude who Assuncao has historically found ways to check at the high level; the very young, very athletic yet somewhat flawed Cory  Sandhagen.  Sandhagen's UFC resume are two fights on short notice vs guys you'd expect him to blow out (Mario Bautista and Austin Arnett), a statement war over Iuri Alcantara and then the fight that solidified him as a top 10 guy when he took a split decision over John Lineker in a back and forth fight on the feet. Sandhagen has proven himself to be well worthy of his spot in the top 10 but Assuncao has only lost to two dudes at 135 lbs; TJ Dillashaw and Marlon Moraes. Long story short, this would be a massive insane win for Cory Sandhagen.

10- So the UFC thinks they might've found something in Devonte Smith and I'm not entirely sure if they're right or wrong either way. Including his DWCS performance, Smith has three wins in under a round under the watchful eye of the UFC. He ran through undefeated Joseph Lowry on the Contenders Series and then ended 2018 blasting out Julian Erosa in about thirty seconds. He opened up 2019 by KOing Dong Hyun Ma in Australia, again in short order and so we're left to try and figure out what Smith really has to offer. He has one pro loss (available on youtube) against Jon Gunther where he beat the fuck out of Gunther early, got worn down, tuckered out and then finished in the third round. He's only been out of the first round one other time recently-ish and that was a five round title fight where he looked perfectly fine going into the championship rounds. Thus far all we have is Smith running through folks in quite and easy order and you'd assume AT SOME POINT he's going to get tested. I'm just not sure that short notice Clay Collard is "the guy" to test him.

11- Christos Giagos made the UFC in 2014 and after a 1-2 run, he was sent away. He returned in 2018 on short notice vs Charles Oliveira in September and after losing (impressively I'd add), he's won two in a row. He's got the very solid Drakkar Klose up to face him and if he wins, we're looking at three in a row to solidify himself as an actual long term member of the roster.

12- If Brandon Davis and Kyung Ho Kang isn't the FOTN then something went wrong OR something went really right.

[alethia000]

[TRANS] Nichkhun’s Interview with SUDSAPDA Magazine (March 2019)

[Thai-English Trans by Daffodil0624]

 Nichkhun Horvejkul

Turning 30, Growth and New Challenges in Life

Speaking of 2PM’s Nichkhun, we all know he is a globally famous K-Pop idol and one of the top idols in Asia. Especially for Thai people, Nichkhun has been the pride of Thailand. He has demonstrated his capabilities in the South Korean entertainment industry as a Thai idol who has become highly successful.

Over ten years as an idol in South Korea, Nichkhun is constantly improving himself in order to prove his abilities. He has grown both in his versatility and attitude towards life. Nevertheless, one thing that remains perpetually unchanged is his youthful looks that many people envy.

Despite his boyish looks, Nichkhun is already 30.

“I am 30 years old and turning 31 this year. (Nichkhun was born on June 24, 1988.) I don’t feel old. I still feel young. I still want to learn new things because there are so many things I don’t know. I don’t feel old if I don’t think of the number. Every now and then I was a bit shocked about my age after meeting new idols. When I asked their age and they replied 18, hmm… I am pretty old actually.” (laugh)

“Physically, I get tired a bit more quickly than before. (laugh) But I have always kept my body fit. I take a few vitamin supplements. I focus on exercising regularly, going to the gym, and playing golf and badminton. I have always encouraged my fans to exercise. Don’t gain weight. My fans often said they would wait for me to gain weight first.” (smile)

(SUDSAPDA: You have such a youthful appearance for a 30-year-old man. Can you tell us your tips for staying young?)

“Using Dr. Jill as my skincare product. (laugh heartily) It’s a product selling time. However, the most important things are getting enough sleep, drinking plenty of water and exercising. These are 3 things you need to do along with applying good skincare products. If we don’t take care of ourselves, using expensive skincare products won’t help. I have to take good care of myself and maintain a high level of discipline. I don’t have much time (because of my busy schedules). I don’t sleep or eat meals at a regular time. Sometimes I am in a hurry and have to eat fast food like hamburgers or French fries. Eating a lot of fast food is unhealthy.”

Seeing the world through the eyes of a man who has grown up

“I have become more relaxed with my work system. In the past, I was too strict with myself and people around me. Everything had to be perfect. You could not veer off track. I was very serious and stressed out with my works. Nowadays, I have learned that everyone has different capabilities and personalities. Other people may be different from the kind of person I am. Nobody is right or wrong. We don’t have to adjust people around us to be like us. We should find the middle ground. Compromising is the best solution.”

“These days I am trying not to stress myself out. I believe this is one of the reasons I still feel young. I am enjoying everything around me unceasingly. As I mentioned before, it is important that we have to take care of our body. However, our thoughts and mind are the most important. My age may change but my endeavour to improve myself and to be a better man remains unchanged. I am always trying.”

“In my 20s, I was like a kid who went to Disneyland for the first time. Everything looked like fun and exciting. I could not clearly remember everything I did during the time. Every day I met new people. I had so many new works/things to do that I could not focus. I did not know whether I did those things because I wanted to or because I had to.”

“When I was 25, I started to manage myself better. I began to learn how to behave as a singer and a star. I was extremely busy and stressed. As I said earlier, I was too strict with everything. I never let things go. Everything needed to be perfect. Now that I have reached my 30s (smile), things seem more relaxing. I have learned to let go. I have learned how to talk to certain people and how to treat them while I am working. I think I have become more mature as I get older.”

Eleven years as a Korean idol

“Twelve to thirteen years ago, I moved to Korea to become a JYPE trainee. I took singing, rapping, dancing, acting, and Korean classes. It was similar to a boarding school. My dorm was next to the company. I went to the company in the morning to practice, had my lunch break, and went back to practice. I went home in the evening or at night. I didn’t know what my future would be like because I had not debuted yet. After debuting, we had a very busy work schedule. I had an opportunity to work in Thailand too. My life was surrounded by things like fame and money. At first, my mother was worried about whether I would get carried away and become arrogant. Fortunately, I am Thai. My parents have taught me to behave appropriately according to time and place and to show respect for elders. I know that I should do the “wai,” Thai traditional form of greeting to greet and say goodbye. It is something I do habitually. No matter where I live, as a Thai person, I always behave politely, humbly and respectfully towards others. It is fortunate I have these characteristics. To be honest, I don’t have time to become conceited. (smile) I have a very intense work schedule. Every so often I was so busy I didn’t know what I was doing. I just did what they told me to do. At times, things went by in a blur.”

“I respect the Korean way of work. They are methodical and control everything explicitly. They would tell us exactly what we cannot do. A manager lived with us in our dorm. Every time we wanted to go out to see our friends, we had to ask for his permission first. If he said it was okay to go, we had to come back to the dorm on time. Our Korean teams are strict but they have their reasons. If we think thoroughly, we are considered a product. If anything happens to us, it is like their product is damaged. The company may suffer losses after assessing the cost of production.”

(SUDSAPDA: When did you know you became well-known as an artist?)

“When I went out and people wanted to take photos with me, walked or ran to follow me around. It was a little strange. After times passed, I have understood this is my life. I have to face these things from now on. I have to accept the ways things are and be able to adjust myself.”

“For 11 years as 2PM’s Nichkhun, I have to fight a battle since the very first day I made a decision to walk this path. Every day is a battle. The battle within myself occurs most frequently and is the toughest battle I have fought. We hardly have to fight with everything around us that we have no control over. What we are able to control is our action, mind, thought and speech, all of which can affect everything in our life. I believe a battle within oneself is most arduous.”

“I have regularly reminded myself if I live a leisurely and easy life, I will never grow or improve. We have to encounter both positive and negative experiences. Then we will become a better person. We will know things more than we previously knew. Lastly, we will be able to think more comprehensively. I feel fortunate for having a chance to work and live overseas. I have been able to learn people’s thoughts in each country that I visited. Applying and learning from different thoughts, I have gained a broader perspective and become more understanding and perceptive of other people.”

Thai idol

Pride vs Expectation

“The word ‘idol’ paved the way for me until I have reached this position. I don’t feel like I am an idol though. Most people possibly consider idols as someone untouchable. I prefer to believe I am working and having a career as an actor, a singer and an artist.”

“I have to say I was lucky for getting into music business during the period of the global K-pop boom. I am one of the first foreigners who have become successful in South Korea. It was such great timing. I have been fortunate for meeting and working with great people. Luck and opportunity came along at the right moments.”

“I have often heard sentences like: “Nichkhun is the first Thai who has become successful in the Korean entertainment business. Nichkhun is the pride of Thailand.” My feelings after hearing these sentences have changed. Initially, I didn’t know how well-known or successful I was. When I heard these sentences, I felt like it was a burdensome expectation. I didn’t understand why people had to say I was the national pride. During that time, I was just trying to fulfil my responsibilities. After a while, I have understood that I have received this nickname because I am Thai. People admire me for being able to come this far. That’s why I am careful not to do anything that will damage the reputation of my country. I have always tried to think good thoughts, say good words, and do good deeds. In reality, I am human and I make mistakes sometimes. However, I have drawn a line for myself that I will never cross. I have always felt that Thai fans are my personal pride. They have given me moral support until I am able to come this far. Being considered as the pride of my country is one of the great honours of my life.”

2PM and their strong friendship

“My achievement as a member of 2PM is one of the most memorable things in my life. However, what impresses me most is the fact that six members of 2PM who are remarkably different have been able to work and live together like we are in the same family. I am glad that in my life I have met and become friends with these five people. To be frank, during the earliest days of working together as a band, we were still competitors. (laugh) We didn’t totally hit it off. There were some feelings like I wanted to have more airtime or singing parts. Nevertheless, we have worked together for a long period of time now. We have experienced several good and bad situations together. We have stood by each other through thick and thin for 10 years. Including our trainee days, we have been together for 12 years. I know they are my true friends. I can say I consider them my real friends whom I am willing to sacrifice my life for. Nowadays, when anything happens, we yield to (the wishes or opinions of) each other.”

(SUDSAPDA: Younger idols consider 2PM as an exemplary boy band. How do you maintain strong friendships in the group?)

“Opening up to each other. Living and spending time together almost all the time, we sometimes got irritated, angry or mad at each other. Even people in the same family get mad at each other occasionally. When we were upset or had some conflicts, we would honestly talk to each other. Even though they were issues between two people, six of us would get together to straighten things out. Everything had to be clear before we went our separate ways or went to sleep. We would not leave things unresolved. These days we know each other inside out. If someone has certain facial expressions, we know what’s on his mind (or know that there’s something wrong).”

Nichkhun’s free days

“Besides exercising, if I have a free day, I usually stay at home. I hardly go out. I work overseas, travel, and stay at hotels all the time. When I have some free time, I want to stay home. I enjoy cooking and eating. I have a dream that one day I will open a restaurant. I have more work schedules in Thailand lately. If I have some spare time, I often go to Hua Hin with my family. If I don’t have much time, I try to see my family every time I come back. I had a meal with over 20 relatives recently. It felt great. Thailand is my home no matter what.”

Nichkhun’s pride in his first solo album

“I consider releasing a solo album as a new step in my career. It is a new challenge for me in my thirties. I have said time and again that my path in the entertainment business truly started below zero. I had no interest in singing, dancing, or performing in front of hundreds or thousands of people. After passing the audition and becoming a JYPE trainee, I began to learn and practice everything. It’s like I started counting from zero. Ten years later, I have an opportunity to release my own album. It makes me profoundly proud of myself. At the same time, I have wondered why I didn’t do it earlier.” (laugh)

(SUDSAPDA: Why didn’t you release your album in your twenties?)

“During the time, I had never thought I was a talented singer. I never thought I would be able to sing alone. I didn’t have any confidence. I have small singing parts in 2PM’s albums but I have been happy with my works. I enjoy working with my friends. If some of us have something lacking in certain areas, we help to complement each other. Now that some of my friends are in the army, I have to find my own path. Focusing solely on acting is too limiting. I would like to try doing something different. Releasing a solo album is definitely new for me. I was deeply anxious that I had to perform in a two-hour concert alone. I didn’t know whether I would do it well or be able to hold everything together in front of thousands of audience members. After I went on stage and started performing, I felt relieved that everything went smoothly. Huh… I am not as bad as I thought. (smile) I worried beforehand.”

“I am thankful for having been a member of 2PM for 10 years. I can perform in a solo concert today because of prior experiences with my friends. I think of my solo album as the first step to being an artist, not an idol. My album “ME” results from the music styles I like. I have participated in composing and writing songs, singing and playing musical instruments. I have come up with concepts for each song and decided how it was going to begin and end. Then my producers helped me creating music. I cannot do everything all by myself. At the moment, I have been practising piano and guitar for my concerts so frequently my fingers hurt. I want to be proficient at playing these instruments because I aim to create my own songs all by myself. I want to make music that appeals to a broad base of fans, music that they can listen to any time.”

“I like every song in my album “ME.” If I have to choose, Mars is my favourite song. I once had an idea that I wanted to make a song called Mars. I wrote this song while I was on the way to vacation in Hua Hin with my family. Sitting in the van alone, I hummed a tune and felt these melodies were pretty good. I recorded them on my phone and wrote the lyrics later. I asked my friend who composed my first song, Let It Rain, to listen to the melodies. We had a discussion and I told him I wanted it to be a song with only piano (and vocals). After he played these melodies for me, I recorded the song. From what I have learned, a good time to write a song is when I have a clear head. The easiest time is when I take a shower. A warm shower can be so relaxing my mind is bright, clear, and overflowing with ideas and melodies. Sometimes I had to hastily pick up my phone to record these ideas even before I finished taking a shower.” (laugh)

Nichkhun’s upcoming works

“I released my album “ME” at the end of last year. I am planning an Asian Tour this year. For Thai fans, please wait a little longer. I will absolutely hold a solo concert in Thailand. We are having a discussion about timing. I will release an international version of my album which includes a Thai version as well. Please stay tuned for my upcoming works. I have always told my fans I want them to be happy, healthy, and wealthy. (smile) I may not be able to see all of my fans. What I can give you most is an inspiration and my works that I have put a lot of effort into. Whenever you are sad or disheartened, I want you to listen to “ME.” I hope you will be happy and feel encouraged to keep going.”

[Thai-English Trans by Daffodil0624]

MAY BE TAKEN OUT WITH PROPER CREDITS

[tabloidtoc]

OK, November 23

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Jeff Bridges opens up about the fight of his life 

Page 2: Contents 

Page 3: Contents 

Page 4: Lori Loughlin’s life behind bars -- Lori’s been having a hard time adjusting to her new reality

Page 6: The holiday season will look a little different for Prince Harry this year -- originally the plan was for Harry to travel to England around Christmastime and Meghan Markle reluctantly agreed though she was far from happy with the idea but now with new travel restrictions in place due to Covid-19 she’s told him there’s no way they’re leaving California which is crushing for Harry who was looking forward to spending the holidays with the royals especially since he missed out last year and he’s been horribly homesick these last few months and he misses the holiday traditions he grew up with even though he loves his life in America with Meghan and son Archie 

Page 7: Newly single Kelly Clarkson has been swooning over country crooner Brett Eldredge her collaborator on the flirty new Christmas tune Under the Mistletoe -- they spent lots of time together in the studio and on the phone and really bonded while they were cutting this sexy song, Brad Pitt’s most recent ex-girlfriend Nicole Poturalski has started talking to friends about what happened between them in detail and it’s an embarrassing mess for Brad who prides himself on privacy, after 16 seasons as colleagues and sparring BFFs on The Voice Adam Levine and Blake Shelton are besties no more because there was a lot of talk between them about keeping in touch and hanging out after Adam left the show but amid lingering tensions neither has made an effort and Adam may not even be invited when Blake marries Gwen Stefani

Page 8: Ever since Sofia Richie split for good from Scott Disick she’s been out every night with some really shady types to the dismay of her dad Lionel Richie who is not liking what he’s hearing about her partying and dating habits -- Sofia has already jumped into a new relationship with Cha Cha Matcha founder Matthew Morton and is hanging nonstop with his crew -- Lionel thought breaking free from Scott would mean a calmer life but it just sees like she’s gone off the rails, Betty White is already gearing up to celebrate her 99th birthday in January with a low-key yet reverent bash, she’s been linked to several Hollywood hunks of late but Lily James just wants her old beau back and she’s regretting breaking off her five-year relationship with Matt Smith -- since the split she’s been linked to Dominic West and Armie Hammer and Chris Evans and the onslaught has only made her miss Matt more -- Matt’s always had her back and Lily knows she made a mistake letting him go but Matt feels duped regarding all the rumors about her and other guys but she swears nothing happened and that she misses him

Page 10: Red Hot on the Red Carpet -- stars wow in romantic ruffled gowns -- Keke Palmer, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kirsten Dunst 

Page 11: Lupita Nyong’o, Halsey 

Page 12: Who Wore It Better? Renee Bargh vs. Alessandra Ambrosio

Page 14: News In Photos -- Paris Jackson posed for a portrait in Beverly Hills days before releasing her debut solo album 

Page 15: Adam Brody with his newborn son in Malibu, pregnant Jinger Duggar stepped out in Venice with husband Jeremy Vuolo and their daughter Felicity for lunch, Lady Gaga on stage at a drive-in concert in Pittsburgh 

Page 16: Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell headed out for brunch with one of their twin daughters in Encino, Camila Cabello held on tight to one of her three pups while chasing another one who escaped from his leash in Miami, Pierce Brosnan playing golf in Hawaii 

Page 18: DJ Diplo took a dip in the ocean in Miami, John Legend took his Ford Mustang out for a spin with wife Chrissy Teigen and one of their dogs in Beverly Hills 

Page 19: Bella Thorne and boyfriend Benjamin Mascolo in Rome, Scott Disick was Ace Ventura for Halloween in L.A. 

Page 20: Ruff Life -- stars show love for their canine companions -- Ariel Winter and her latest rescue Cobey, Jamie Chung and her dog, soccer star Alex Morgan with her dogs Kona and Blue 

Page 21: Nev Schulman cuddled up with Dancing With the Stars partner Jenna Johnson’s dog Ziggy, PLEASE ADOPT, DON’T SHOP  

Page 22: Shawn Mendes on a walk in Miami, Kate Mara stopped by Target with her daughter, Ellen DeGeneres dressed up as a nurse who is her favorite superhero 

Page 24: Skai Jackson headed to rehearsals for Dancing With the Stars, Elizabeth Lyn Vargas of Real Housewives of Orange County gave a tour of her home, Joe Jonas strolling daughter Willa around the neighborhood 

Page 25: Thomas Brodie-Sangster attended the premiere of Stardust a biopic about David Bowie in London, Donnie Wahlberg and Steve Schirripa filmed a scene for Blue Bloods in Brooklyn 

Page 26: Taking over duties from Prince Harry his stepmother Duchess Camilla arrived at the Field of Remembrance to commemorate those who lost their lives in the armed forces in London, Amber Heard enjoyed a hike with her dog in L.A., Renee Elisa Goldsberry and Sara Bareilles and Paula Pell and Busy Philipps filmed a scene for Tina Fey’s upcoming series Girls5Eva in NYC 

Page 27: Offset delivered free food to voters waiting in line on Election Day, Ciara in Seattle 

Page 28: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes have finally become husband and wife in a low-key ceremony in the backyard of their L.A. home with just a handful of family and close friends like Steve Carell and Emma Stone were in attendance -- Ryan wore jeans with a button-down shirt while Eva wore a red dress from her own collection -- now that the party’s over Eva and Ryan have been talking about having a third child

Page 29: Reality hit Love Is Blind hooked viewers with its OMG premise but the show’s married cohosts Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey were decidedly less riveting and their presenting style was laughably wooden and stiff and while the duo is slated to return for the show’s second season Nick and Vanessa have been put on notice to spice it up, Tori Spelling is freaking out at the prospect of her husband Dean McDermott spending six months alone in Toronto which is the same town where he cheated on her seven years ago -- Dean has signed on to star in Canadian TV show Lady Dicks and while Tori should be thrilled that that he’ll be bringing in some income for their often-struggling family of seven she is preparing for the worst 

Page 30: While it appears Nina Dobrev and Shaun White have spent 2020 in hardcore flirt mode Nina’s friends have cautioned that this is a dead-end romance because Shaun shows up and posts pictures of them on social media but the fact is they’ve barely spent any time together and they hook up and then he goes back to his own place -- Shaun rarely invites Nina to either of his two Hollywood Hills pads and is proving his flaky reputation is legit, things are looking up for parents-to-be Kit Harington and Rose Leslie after a rocky start to their marriage the two are finally in a happy place -- Kit has stopped boozing and this baby has put a fire under him to be more accommodating and besides helping update and baby-proof the couple’s 15th century countryside manor Kit’s been more attentive to Rose in every way, Love Bites -- Erika Jayne and Tom Girardi split, Maya Erskine and Michael Angarano are engaged and expecting, Ashlee Simpson welcomed her second child with husband Evan Ross 

Page 32: Cover Story -- Jeff Bridges: I’m not giving up -- how the beloved star is coping during his brave health battle 

Page 36: Katherine Heigl why she disappeared -- the reason Katherine walked away from the spotlight ad how she found her way back 

Page 38: Home Alone turns 30 -- in honor of the holiday classic’s milestone anniversary secrets and trivia about the movie and its stars 

Page 40: Feel the Burn -- fitness fanatic Morgan Coleman is here to take your home workout up a notch 

Page 42: Healthy Holidays -- how stars stay fit and feeling their best during the festive season 

Page 46: Style Week -- Olivia Culpo has teamed up with her siblings on an exclusive collection for Macy’s 

Page 48: What’s Hot Right Now -- Madewell wants you to Make Weekends Longer with its new sustainable MWL collection 

Page 49: Steal Her Style -- Drew Barrymore 

Page 50: Dress the Halls -- festive pieces to rock through the holidays even if you’re celebrating at home -- AnnaSophia Robb 

Page 54: Entertainment 

Page 55: Q&A -- Jake Tyson

Page 58: Buzz -- Just weeks after Kim Kardashian West was slammed over her 40th birthday bash Kendall Jenner received similar criticism for throwing a jam-packed soiree for her 25th birthday 

Page 60: Sound Bites -- Cameron Diaz on having a baby at 47, Conan O’Brien on the props that were stolen from his late-night set, Sacha Baron Cohen joking that he and his wife Isla Fisher are not A-listers, Anne Hathaway on the embarrassing ways she handled the lockdown 

Page 61: Florence Pugh on her close relationship with her Black Widow costar Scarlett Johansson, Christine Quinn on not being bothered by negative comments, Chelsea Handler on crushing on New York governor Andrew Cuomo 

Page 62: Horoscope -- Lisa Bonet turned 53 on November 16 

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Colin Jost

[aion-rsa]

5 Criminally Underrated Alan Parker Movies You Need to See

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A working-class Londoner who started out in advertising, Parker knew how to play to the crowd but wasn’t afraid to take risks or challenge convention.  

That was evident from his feature debut, Bugsy Malone, an inspired pastiche of Hollywood gangster films that saw Parker defy genre norms with the recruitment of an all-child cast wielding ‘Splurge’ guns firing whipped cream instead of bullets.  

It was a decision that drew anger in some quarters with noted critic John Simon famously branding the film “an outrage” in New York Magazine.  

“Wholesome youngsters have been duped into acting like adults,” he said, “stupid, brutal, criminal adults, at that.”  

Bugsy Malone flopped in the US but Parker soon established himself stateside with Midnight Express and Fame, two box office hits and examples of Parker’s unrivalled versatility and habit of defying expectations.  

In time, Bugsy Malone enjoyed critical reappraisal, emerging as a firm favourite with audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.  

Over a varied and wide-ranging career, Parker is often remembered for crowd-pleasing efforts like The Commitments and Evita. 

However, arguably his most fascinating work came when he took risks – as these five films attest.

Shoot the Moon

After the success of Fame, Parker was brought back down to earth with this underappreciated family drama which bombed at the box office despite earning rave reviews from critics. 

Based on an early script from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest screenwriter Bo Goldman, Shoot the Moon centered on the crumbling marriage of George and Faith Dunlap and the impact their eventual separation has on their four children. 

Goldman had unsuccessfully, pitched the movie to several major studios for nearly a decade before Parker got involved.  

Together, they rewrote the script, drawing from personal experiences to depict the film’s deteriorating relationships and, crucially, recruited Albert Finney and Diane Keaton to star as George and Faith, respectively. 

Arriving at a time when films like Ordinary People and Kramer vs Kramer were bringing divorce and family dysfunction to multiplexes, Parker’s film unfairly ended up lost in the shuffle. 

It remains a powerful, if at times, deliberately difficult watch, bolstered by career-best turns from Finney and Keaton, whose emotionally raw performances earned them both Golden Globe nominations.  

Birdy

Adapted from William Wharton’s acclaimed novel of the same name, Birdy was one of the first films to address the horrors of Vietnam, pre-dating the likes of Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July. 

Matthew Modine stars as Birdy, a serial daydreamer left mentally shattered by Vietnam, who spends his days couped up in a mental hospital acting like a parakeet, visited daily by his wounded best friend Al (a young Nicolas Cage) who is determined to bring him back to reality.

Modine originally read for the role of Al by was convinced to take on the  role of Birdy by Parker who correctly identified a “”introverted honest quality” to the star that was essential to making the character, who remains monosyllabic for much of the film, an endearing protagonist.

Told out of chronological order through flashbacks, Parker’s film is a dizzying odyssey through a damaged mind, addressing themes of friendship, obsession and the impact of trauma.

The filmmaker deploys a bag of tricks to bring this unique tale to life – Birdy is notable for being the first film to utilise Skycam technology, a computer-controlled cable-suspended camera system used to capture the moment Birdy imagines taking flight.

The result is his most complex and rewarding film, one that won the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury prize at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival.

Angel Heart

Like many of the surprise turns in Parker’s eclectic career, Angel Heart was greeted with mixed reviews and middling box office returns upon release in 1987. 

That perception changed in the years that followed, with many now regarding it as Parker’s best film and certainly Mickey Rourke’s best performance. 

Rourke is at his mesmerising best as Harry Angel, a 1950s private eye hired by Robert De Niro’s mysterious Louis Cyphre to track down a pop singer who owes a substantial debt. 

As Angel’s investigation continues, however,it becomes apparent that something sinister is afoot, with every possible witness or lead ending up the victim of bloody, ritualistic murder. 

Read more

Movies

Revisiting Alan Parker’s Angel Heart

By Brogan Morris

Movies

Looking Back at Angel Heart

By Tony Sokol

Adapted from William Hjortsberg’s 1978 novel Falling Angel, Parker script saw the action move from the book’s original setting of New York to New Orleans.

That proved something of a masterstroke, imbuing the film’s already distinctive blend of film noir thriller and Satanic horror with a decaying Southern Gothic feel. 

Though a controversial sex scene involving pints and pints of blood feels a touch unnecessary when watching the film back, Angel Heart is near enough a masterpiece; a moody, psychological thriller that has influenced countless filmmakers, with Christopher Nolan one noted admirer.

Mississippi Burning

Parker made a habit of playing fast and loose with the facts when it came to adapting non-fiction. Midnight Express previously drew criticism for its portrayal ofvTurkish characters, as well as for deviating from survivor Billy Hayes’ real-life story. However, it remains an engaging piece of filmmaking. 

It’s a similar story with Mississippi Burning, which purports to be based on a real-life investigation into the killings of three civil rights activists in 1964 America but proved more fiction than fact and suffered at the hands of many critics as a result. 

Leaving aside the debates over the film’s authenticity, Mississippi Burning still succeeds in shining a light on a dark period in American history, albeit from a distinctly white perspective. 

It’s a vividly realised depiction of 1960s America, full of striking imagery that touches on issues of segregation in the south and the looming spectre of the Ku Klux Klan and its burning crosses. 

While Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe prove a magnetic duo as the film’s central pairing of older, more cynical, FBI agent and his younger, idealistic charge, the standout performance comes from Frances McDormand as the local deputy sheriff’s downtrodden housewife.

Come See the Paradise

Come See the Paradise divided critics upon release but is worth seeking out, at the very least for the fact it remains one of the only major studio movies to focus on the Japanese-American internment camps of the Second World War.

Dismissed by some as a sappy love story, Parker’s movie is more ambitious and complex than that; an interracial romance set against the backdrop of one of the most complex and ethically charged periods in American history.

A vividly-realised period piece, Dennis Quaid does solid work as Jack McGurn, the Irish-American projectionist who falls for his Japanese-American boss’s daughter only for them to end up separated in the ensuing conflict.

However, it’s the film’s other star-crossed lover, Tamlyn Tomita’s Lily, who proves most fascinating. Best known for The Karate Kid Part II at the time, Come See the Paradise had a personal edge for Tomita, whose father spent time in a real California internment camp.

Through Lily, Parker presents the stark human injustice faced by the interned,  people who not only lost civil liberties but also their sense of identity. It’s just a shame Tomita is not afforded nearly as much screen time as Quaid.

The post 5 Criminally Underrated Alan Parker Movies You Need to See appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[kpoppernov-10]

Battle of the Groups: East vs. West

Although many Kpop fans only focus on groups from South Korea, there have been quite a number of successful boy and girl groups from other parts of the world as well. I actually liked some of them way before I found Kpop, and I even found one that I like after becoming a Kpop fan. All of these groups share some similarities because there seems to be some kind of group-making formula that many music industries use; but there are also some differences that I find interesting. Anyway, here’s what I think.

Companies 

The level of company visibility for pop groups in the west is much lower than it is in Kpop. In Korea, many music companies are based heavily (or only) on making groups -- constantly training, debuting, and managing young people in hopes of having successful groups that make them tons of money*. But in the west the group market is much smaller and many record labels focus on acts other than boy or girl groups. Even though the most successful pop groups in history are from the west, most people have no idea which companies they’re from. Similarly, even though people like Simon Cowell and Lou Pearlman are associated with some groups, their connections to a company/label are not as visible as the ones between Lee Soo Man, Park Jin Young, etc. and their Kpop empires. In general, the “Big Three” and a few other companies dominate an important part of South Korea’s music industry and are so well known that SM, YG, etc. stans exist and company leaders can be as famous as the groups they helped create.

Group Formation

Just like in Kpop, many groups are formed either by someone directly from the music industry or from a reality TV show. There are some cases where group members were childhood friends before their careers began together (e.g. Destiny’s Child and New Edition), but oftentimes members meet through other parts of the industry (e.g. Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez were on the Mickey Mouse Club) or meet separately through music competitions (e.g. X Factor). There aren’t that many cases of childhood friends in Kpop (e.g. Block B’s Zico and Kyung), but many idols know each other because they’re around the same age and met by being trainees in different companies before debut. Also, Kpop groups formed by reality shows are usually meant to be temporary since most of the members are already part of groups before they go on the show. 

One of the most notable differences between eastern and western groups is the number of members and the fact that there can be unit groups within one group. Most western groups have about five members maximum, yet that could be considered a small group by Kpop standards. Groups often have 7-13 members, and in the case of NCT their number of members is supposedly unlimited! It’s also common to have subunits and soloists promote while the group is still active, but in the west a group member usually goes solo after the group disbands and subunits are pretty nonexistent altogether.

Music

Nearly all groups make upbeat, public-friendly songs about love or having fun. Western groups usually make either pop or R&B music, but Kpop groups often release a variety of music using/blending different genres. Western groups usually don’t have a member that makes their group’s music, but this is now somewhat common in Kpop considering people like GD, Zico, Woozi, B.I, Jinyoung, etc. I think that’s because some Kpop fans demand that idols have a chance to make their own music while fans of western groups don’t really care who makes the music. Although groups are expected to have at least a basic level of vocal ability, strong vocal skills are required for R&B pop and Kpop ballad groups with most or even all members having impressive vocals (2AM, Boyz II Men, En Vogue, etc.). Pop groups don’t necessarily need to have great singers, but vocal talent is still a valuable skill to have in any music industry. 

Dance

Kpop clearly outshines western groups in terms of dance due to the level of difficulty and creativity in their choreography. Although there are some western solo artists who are/were exceptional dancers (Michael and Janet Jackson, Usher, etc.), western groups usually don’t dance anywhere near as much as Kpop groups. Some western groups had full dance routines and even memorable dance moves (e.g. in NSYNC’s Bye Bye Bye and NKOTB’s The Right Stuff), but nearly all Kpop groups dance nonstop and it’s more common for dances to become popular with the public (e.g. Wonder Girl’s Tell Me and Super Junior’s Sorry Sorry). Dancing for western groups has become less important over the years, but dancing continues to be essential in Kpop.

Longevity

Unfortunately, one thing all of these groups have in common is that they don’t last very long. Groups going on haitus or simply disbanding is pretty common for Kpop and western groups, but the difference is that Kpop companies are constantly making new groups to replace other groups. There aren’t many western groups around at any given time, so it could be years before another one becomes popular after a previous one fades away. Kpop has longevity in the sense that there’s always a group that can become super popular overnight, but  Kpop groups (except for Shinhwa) have about the same lifespan as most western groups. One thing that is great though is the fact that many western groups from the past are reuniting and going on tour (Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, etc.), so I hope more Kpop groups do that in the future.

*Although this is similar to groups from the Motown era, this post mainly focuses on groups from the 80′s to now.