#he can probably?? swim between different depths and not worry about the pressure changes

[maareyas]

Not as comprehensive design-wise as Silver was, but here's my take on a merhog Shadow ✨ Still some sort of half-alien experiment, but now his Chaos energy is just plain old nuclear radiation.

An aggressive merhog who haunts the remains of a deep sea research facility after an explosion wiped it out. He's the only one who can survive being in the exclusion zone, so it's been difficult for him to find new friends. (and food, but he's surviving off the radiation well enough)

[kopikokun]

Maybe It’s The Chlorine༄ l.jn

↳ Jeno feels like he’s swimming in jealousy as he watches you and Renjun from afar.

pairing; swimmer!jeno x reader

genre; fluff

wordcount; 2265 words

Request 23: Jeno + Friends to Lovers + “Did you do something different with your hair?” (65) + “Are you jealous?” (77)

— 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧. | 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬.

You don’t think being a little boastful is a bad thing.

Sure, pride is one of the seven deadly sins, in fact, if you’re not mistaken, it’s the very first one listed. You’re not sure… maybe it’s the second?

Anyway, back to your previous point.

Being a little proud is definitely not a cardinal sin. At least in your eyes it’s not. It’s basic human nature!

So, you excuse yourself when your ego inflates to roughly the size of a hot air balloon as the cutest boy in your year, Huang Renjun, offers you a compliment about your hair.

“I like it,” he says casually, smile as bright as the Sun. “You look nice with your hair like that.”

You lower your face, hiding your grin as you fiddle with the hem of your uniform. You meet his eye, showing him that ‘innocently beautiful’ face you’ve been practicing for the past week in the mirror. It’s not quite done yet, it needs a bit of refinement honestly--you haven’t been able to embody that almost angelic purity or make your eyes glimmer on the spot yet--but it’s getting there and all your efforts are proven fruitful when Renjun smiles softly.

“Really? I don’t think I look that n--”

A heavy weight befalls your shoulders, and you choke on your words at the sudden impact. The arm around your shoulder is damp, and you can feel the cold water seeping through the fabric of your top.

“Renjun!” the boy beside you greets, way louder than necessary might you add. If it weren’t for the fact that Renjun is standing right in front of you, you’d have smacked Jeno upside the head. “Coach’s waiting for you! Go and get changed, dude!”

Renjun’s eyes shift between you and Jeno, staying glued on his arm around your shoulders momentarily before he breaks out into a smile. “Sure. Sorry for being a little late.”

Jeno waves him away, laughing obnoxiously in your ear. The moment Renjun disappears into the changing rooms, you finally seize the opportunity to jab Jeno in the side with your elbow.

“Ow! Shit!” he hisses, clutching his side. He pouts at you. “Aww, why’d you do that? What if I get a cramp in the pool and drown?”

“Then drown, asshole.”

“Ouch, that hurwt my feewings,” Jeno whines, faking a cry. He wraps his arms around your shoulders from behind, caging you against him.

“Ew! You’re so gross!” You can’t help but turn a shameful shade of crimson as you feel the defined muscles of his taut body, a result of all those gruelling swim practices and competitions against your back. The skin tight material of his swimming suit isn’t making things any better either. His shoulders seem as wide as the Earth’s diameter as you’re practically engulfed by him. “Y-You’re gonna get my back drenched, dumbass!”

“Don’t worry, stinky,” he teases and you scowl at the nickname. “I wiped myself down just now.”

“Whatever, just get off me before Renjun sees,” you say, prying his beefy arms off of you.

Jeno crosses his arms, making them seem even more ridiculously muscular. You can’t help but stare. “Who cares? Let him see.”

You flush an even deeper colour. How can he say that so nonchalantly? “You’re so dumb, Jeno.”

“But you lo--”

“For somebody who was rushing me to get in the pool, you seem to be taking your sweet time, Jeno,” jokes Renjun, a hint of amusement present in his eyes as his gaze flickers between the two of you. He squeezes Jeno’s shoulder with his right hand, goggles hooked on his crooked index finger.

You can’t help but stare at Renjun’s lean body too. He’s more on the skinnier side compared to Jeno, but you know that you shouldn’t be so easily fooled by his appearance. Beneath his frame, lies almost a decade’s worth of hard-earned muscle. Oh, how you love the swim team.

Yet somehow, embarrassingly, you can’t help but compare Renjun’s body to Jeno’s, finding that you prefer the latters. Your ears grow hot again. It’s unfair to Renjun though, seeing as you have the biggest crush on Jeno. You’re not usually this humiliatingly whipped for Jeno—maybe it’s the unbearable stench of chlorine getting to you.

“Let’s go, Jeno,” says Renjun brightly, patting Jeno’s back before walking off to the pool. He sends you a little wave as he walks, and you wave back, smiling.

You really wish you had fallen for Renjun instead of Jeno. Things would be so much more simpler. You wouldn’t have to worry about a seven year friendship being sacrificed if you had.

Jeno scoffs beside you, imitating your weak wave in an exaggerated manner. “How come you don’t wave like that for me?”

You roll your eyes. “Don’t be such a baby, Jeno. Now go get to the pool before Coach whips your ass.”

Jeno smiles from ear-to-ear, raising his arm in a mock salute. “Yes, ma'am.”

You can’t stop the smile tugging at your lips, giggling at Jeno’s cute, but admittedly childish behaviour.

You’re barely two steps up the stairs of the bleachers when Jeno calls out to you, a few of the swim team turning to look at you before shaking their heads softly. “Hey!”

You turn to face Jeno, whose cheeks are dusted in pink, a catty ‘What?’ at the tip of your tongue.

“Did you do something different with your hair?”

Your breath catches in your throat, heart rate accelerating. You’d totally forgotten after all the commotion Jeno had caused.

“I like it! You look pretty!”

Some senior beside Jeno, who you faintly recall is Jaeho or Jaehyun or something (honestly, who cares right now?), nudges Jeno in the waist, a knowing smirk etched onto his lips. Jeno laughs, his cheeks growing redder.

You bite your lip in excitement, a warm sensation blossoming in your chest.

Dumbass.

This is definitely the chlorine’s doing.

You groan softly as you rummage through your bag, fishing out your water bottle. You frown at it. It’s empty. It’s not the bottle’s fault, really, it isn’t. You had already reminded yourself in your last period to refill it, but obviously, from the evident lack of water in the bottle, you had forgotten. It’s not the bottle’s fault but you still find yourself squeezing and stuffing it back into the depths of your bag. You slump in your seat.

“Hey, you want a sip?”

You look at Renjun who’s offering you some of his drink. A bit of his bangs fall into his eye as he tilts his head at you, an inviting smile playing at his lips.

You smile, touched that he noticed--although you weren’t being particularly discreet about it. “Sure. Thanks, Renjun.”

“It’s no big deal.”

You take a long, grateful sip,--well it’s more of a gulp really, but that’s up for debate--relishing in the feeling of the water sliding down your throat. Ironically, even though you’re surrounded by water, you’re thirsty. Maybe it’s all that thirst for Jeno you’ve been suppressing for all these years, something whispers to you and you dismiss the thought, nearly choking on Renjun’s drink.

You wipe your chin with the back of your hand, passing Renjun his drink back with a refreshed smile.

It’s sudden and you’re pleasantly surprised by the gesture when Renjun pats your head affectionately. Sort of like you’re his little sister. You’re struck with relief that you don’t like the guy.

Your gaze returns to the pool where you’re confused to find is now missing one of its swimmers.

Your eyes scan the area, sort of desperately searching for Jeno’s familiar figure. It isn’t hard to spot him due to the stark contrast between his dark swimsuit and the white, albeit a little grayish tiles that surround the pool.

You’re flustered and a tad bit unsettled to find him staring right at you, his face tense and shoulders rigid. You frown.

What’s up with him?

You pay him no mind as you huff and start a lighthearted conversation with Renjun. He’s easy to get along with and is a pretty decent guy. And maybe, you’re a little swayed since he complimented you and offered you some of his drink. What can you say? You’re easily won over.

Unbeknownst to you, you ignoring Jeno and solely focusing your attention on Renjun has the former even more aggrieved than he previously was.

He thinks you’re so absorbed in your little chat with Renjun that you haven’t noticed the way Jeno’s practically stomping up the stairs, probably creating a dent in each step. Obviously, you do notice but you brush it off as him being cranky after a swim. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Hey.”

You look up at Jeno who towers over you imposingly. It’s unfair how attractive he looks with little beads of water dripping down his face and his wet hair slicked back, a few stubborn strands falling forward. You resist the temptation to lick your lips. This isn’t some teen fic from 2016.

“What are you doing?”

You furrow your eyebrows at his tone, sensing his hostility. “I’m talking to Renjun, obviously.”

Jeno frowns. “Yeah, cool.” Now he’s the one to grasp Renjun’s shoulder, but instead of patting it lightly, he applies such extreme pressure that Renjun can’t help but wince. “Can I sit here?”

You scoff, gesturing to the available seat on your right. “There’s literally a seat right here—”

Renjun laughs despite feeling like his shoulder’s about to pop out of its socket. “No, no, it’s fine. Jeno seems like he’s dying to sit here.” He stands from his seat, glad to be free from Jeno’s death grip before leaving down the stairs. He sends you a small wave again, and Jeno, a cheeky grin.

You huff as Jeno falls into the seat beside you, replacing the cheery Renjun. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“Why were you being so nasty to Renjun?”

Jeno quirks a brow at you, a silent challenge. “Why? Do you like him?”

“No, of course I don’t.” Dumbass, you think. The one I like is you.

“Then why were you being so lovey dovey with him?”

You can’t help but laugh in disbelief. What is he? A grandma? Who says lovey dovey? “No, I wasn’t.” You cross your arms, positioning your body so you’re facing Jeno head-on. “What’s up with you? Why’ve you got a stick up your ass?”

“Cause’,” he pauses, his once steady, almost interrogative voice reducing to a whisper, “cause’ you kissed him.”

You literally do a double-take. That’s how taken aback you are. “What? When did I kiss Renjun?”

“When you, uh, when you—” Jeno scratches the back of his ear, a nervous habit you’ve picked up on from all those years of silent pining. “Nevermind. Forget I said anything. It’s dumb.”

At the way his cheeks are overtaken by a pink tint is enough of a reason to pry. “Come on, Lee Jeno. Spit it out.” You smile wickedly. “Jeno,” you whine, “please?”

From the way he sneaks a glance at your pleading expression and hides his smirk behind his hand, you know he’s given in.

“You drank from his water bottle.”

Your eyebrows slowly raise as your brain short circuits. “What?”

“You know, it- it was an indirect kiss.”

A laugh is bubbling in your throat, threatening to escape if you’re not careful.

“Remember when we were in middle school and you wouldn’t let me drink from your bottle because that’d be like kissing?” he rambles, pulling on the long sleeve of his swimsuit and letting it snap back against his wrist.

“Jeno, we were kids back then.”

“And last week, you wouldn’t let me drink from your bottle because of the exact same reason?”

“Oh my God,” you snicker, “I was joking!”

“I- I know that!” he says, exasperated. “I just- Whatever! Like I said, it’s dumb.” Jeno flushes. “Don’t laugh at me!” He runs his hands down his face. “Oh my God.”

“Aw, Jeno,” you coo, coaxing another reaction out of him. “Are you jealous?”

“Yes,” he says, matter-of-fact, his face still in his hands. “Of course I’m jealous that you seemed so close with Renjun. How could I not be when I like you?”

Your laughter stops dead as Jeno’s… confession is left hanging in the air. “What?

“No, forget it,” Jeno says, getting up from his seat. “Forget I said that.”

You shake your head. “Wait, no, Jeno.” You grip his wrist, tugging at it softly, wordlessly asking him to stay. “You like me?”

Jeno swallows dryly. “Yeah, I do.” He looks at you, observing you, trying to gauge your reaction. “You can just ignore what I said if you don’t feel the same way, I don’t- I don’t want my personal feelings to ruin our friendship.” Jeno scratches the back of his ear once again. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” He laughs lightly, trying to diminish the tension. “Now, it’s going to be awkward between us, huh?”

“Who said it’s going to be awkward?” You smile warmly. “And who said I don’t like you too?”

Jeno seems stunned, his eyes wide. “You like me?”

“Yeah, dumbass,” you let go of his wrist, letting your hands rest in your lap. “Don’t make me say it again.”

Jeno goes silent as he comprehends what you’ve just told him.

“So, does that mean I can drink from your bottle now?”

You hang your head. “No, obviously you can’t.” From the corner of your eye, you catch the way Jeno’s shoulders sag. “Cause’ you can just kiss me instead.”

[sweetwritertanya]

Midnight Swim

Summary: When a famous group comes to stay for a month in the holiday inn you are working at, you never expected to start a relationship with one of the idolized guys. And you had never thought you would go out for a midnight swim ever, until he asked you to.

Warnings: this is mainly just FLUFF, with just the tiniest bit of erotic body touching by the end, and that’s it! Also, we are dealing with an insecure reader, nothing too major, but still. You are warned.

Word Count: 3571

To say you were nervous would be the understatement of the year. It all still felt so very confusing in your head, like some sort of weird dream mixing with cold reality, this unexplainable feeling of fatal momentary bliss. From the very first unexplainable moments to the very breathtaking sensual last ones.

This summer job proved to be lifechanging for you. Honestly, the only reason you even agreed to coming to this remote holiday inn, beautifully surrounded by tall green mountains and bathed by a teal lake, was to escape the stressful problems from the city you lived in. All the toxicity of the people around you, the crumbling feeling of anxiety. Yearning for a breath of fresh air, you applied to be a receptionist during the busy season.

Starting in June, all would go well until the last week of July and the whole month of August. That’s when they arrived. When you met him.

No one told you this very popular group was renting the space for a full month while filming for a music video and some photoshoots for an apparently new album in the works. While preparing for what you assumed was another normal day, a large crew with big bags and large equipment came in through the inn’s door, alongside seven good-looking younger guys.

Someone, you assume their manager, asked you a few questions but you were so surprised it took you a few moments to respond. Your eyes crossed with almond shaped dark brown eyes, ends scrunching up with a smile hidden by the black face mask. His eyes looked so happy and awake for such an early morning that they just drew you in, apart from everyone’s else, but as soon as he looked back at you, your eyes avoided him and you felt your cheeks flushing.

As a recepcionist, you expected to only cross paths with them maybe once or twice a day, only when they would come in or go out and you’d be at the front desk, but it turns out you and the rest of the inn’s staff were asked to help the guests during the day, since there would be no other costumers for the next month. Probably to keep the famous group’s location as secretive as possible.

It started out unexpectedly ordinary, catching a glance or two your way while you helped around their set, an exchanged of ‘thank you’ and ‘you’re welcome’ when bringing them food. You truly could not see any reason such a winsome man would show any interest in your bulky large person, especially in the tight white shirt and red vest that evidenced your rolls at your sides and on your back, along with the dark grey knee-length skirt that made your legs look shorter and bigger than they already were. You never liked seeing yourself in the inn’s uniform, but it wasn’t your choice.

But then, after a day or two, the honey tanned skin man would constantly come around to help you moving the chairs or lifting a table, anything you would be doing that the crew asked, he would find himself next to you, defined dark pink lips smiling at you, wrinkles at corner of his eyes angling up.

He introduced himself by the third time you met, shaking your timid hand and asking for your name. Before you knew it, Hoseok knew more about you than you shared with most of the people you worked with during the summer. Full name, age, how long you’d been working at the inn, how long would you stay, where you were from, your family members and pets. Favorite colour, favorite season and why, the way you liked your coffee.

It creeped up on you. How much you grew to like him. Hoseok was so warm and inviting, so easy to get along with. Only he would get a true laugh out of you, from the depths of your stomach, and could get you talking for hours without realizing. Of course, he was an extroverted guy and got along well with everyone. But he payed close attention to you, something even the other guys in the group seemed to notice if their smirks and shared whispers when you came in the room were any indication.

Even so, you refused to believe he had any non-platonic interest in you. You were both totally different people that just happened to get along, that was it. That was what you told yourself when you woke up every day and your first thought was of him. When you walked into the cafeteria and searched for his fit frame in the room. When your heart expanded so much in your chest that it made it hard to breathe whenever he noticed you and smiled widely.

But even with all of this denial, there was no denying the way he kissed you in the infirmary room after you fell down and hit your head while on set for a photography shoot. With only a few bruises and an ice bag cooling down the bump at the side of your head, not even you could hypothesize it was some sort of hallucination. Not with the desperate look of worry when he burst in, something you had never seen in his face before. Not with the delicate way he held your hands in his warm and slightly clammy ones as the medic left the room. Not with the tears behind his nervous eyes, even as you promised him you were completely fine and there was nothing to worry about.

And definitely not with the way he got a hold of your chubby cheeks between his hands and pulled you in, eyes closing and head leaning to the side just instants before his lips were on yours with despairing pressure. And after the shock of the first few moments, you kissed him back. To the point that what he may have assumed was a simple peck turned into a head swooning and breath impeding session of deep and ardent kisses, filled with repressed want and love and passion.

The few weeks after that transformed into more than you could ever imagine and hope for. Brushing hands while passing by each other, sharing glances that spoke louder than words, stolen kisses in closet rooms, keeping the relationship a secret to the best of your abilities. You didn’t know if it would last, if it would even go past the month of August they would be staying here, but you couldn’t force yourself to care at the moment. You just enjoyed his company and affection.

With that said, at this particular moment in time, as you walked the dirt path, your nerves returned to the life long habit of stealing any joy associated with your plans. Hoseok had asked you to meet him by the lake, at a spot you both knew was away from any prying eyes, hidden between the emerald trees around the inn. He had excitedly talked about a midnight swim.

You weren’t sure how to bring it up to him that you had no intention of going swimming. More particularly, you were dreading the thought of even having to remove any article of clothing around him. Kissing and tight hugging and wandering hands over clothes was one thing, but you could not shake the fear of his reaction if Hoseok was to ever see more of your naked skin. You had seen a lot more of him than he had seen of you, if only because he had to change clothes for photoshoots and would get very hot when practicing with the boys, removing his shirt and switching to something a little cooler. You knew the body he had, that athletic build of a great dancer. The bewitching face of an artist. The humor and personality that so many women dreamed of finding.

And yet, he had found himself curious about you. Out of all the beautiful women in the world. In your mind, not only didn’t it line up, you weren’t about to risk it all by undressing and revealing all your imperfections for him.

“What are you thinking about?”

The sudden cheerful voice coming from the edge of the path had you screaming and jumping in place, having been completely absorbed by your thoughts the whole way over.

“God, you scared me!” you yelled, taking a hand to your racing heart.

“Sorry, Y/N, I didn’t mean to!” he apologized immediately, but instantly smiling that bright contagious smile of his and linking your arm in his as he pulled you along for the ride. “I was just wondering what you were thinking about. You looked so cute, deep in your head.”

“Hum? Oh, just some silly thoughts, not a big deal” you shrugged off, leaning in to him as you walked. You tried to keep your nerves to a minimum. “Anyone saw you leave? Asked where you were going?”

Hoseok made a face and shook his head no. “They were all sound asleep by the time I left. I already have a hard time falling asleep as it is, but knowing I was meeting you made it just impossible. I came out as soon as I could.”

“That’s sweet” you said, resting your chin in his shoulder and looking sweetly at him. “But that means you must be very tired. You sure you don’t want to go back? We can always do this another time.” As much as you tried, there was no denying your hopeful tone, wanting nothing more than for him to agree and forget the whole thing.

“Are you kidding? I already have my trunks on, I can’t wait” he excitedly shared. “We all went in the water this morning and it was amazing.”

“I noticed. Especially the way you trembled before actually getting in with Jungkook” you tease, remembering the scared and hesitant look on his face.

“Hey, I thought the water was deeper than it was!” he defended himself, back going all straight. “Turns out we have feet for almost half a mile before it gets deep, I didn’t know that.”

“They kept telling you it was safe and don’t think I didn’t hear you questioning if there were monsters in the water” you chuckle.

“And, we’re here!” he shouts in an attempt to change the subject. You laugh and shake your head before looking ahead at the end of the path, a small clearing before the earth met the water.

At night, the lake was painted a beautiful deep marine blue, water sparkling with the shine of the moonlight, tall in the starry sky above your heads. The trees reflected in the water as an upside world beneath it, silence only interrupted by the nocturnal creatures roaming around the greenery. This was exactly what a city girl like you so desperately needed.

“C’mon, let’s get in!” He propels, already taking off his sneakers and starting to undo the zipper of his hooded jacket, but your hand on his forearm stops him.

You lick your lips as you stare at the ground, heart hammering in your chest and unsure of how to say anything. Taking a deep breath, you glance back up at Hoseok’s confused stare.

“I, hum… I didn’t… bring a swimsuit” you confess in a low whisper.

After a moment of standstill, you notice Hoseok fidgeting his feet in place and scratching at his right cheek. Looking carefully up at him, you realize he is the one avoiding eye contact now, a slight colour painting his skin red.

“I don’t- I mean, I have nothing against-” he struggled with words for a moment. “Skinny dipping is cool by me if you… if you want, of course.”

Understanding he took your words in a whole different way, you chuckle embarrassed, taking your hands to hide your blushing face, before clarifying it to him.

“No, no, that’s not it! I mean, I don’t really wanna go in the water. You can totally go; I don’t mind at all! I’ll just… stay here and watch?”

That seems to confuse him even more than the notion you had any intent on going in naked.

“What? Why not? We’ll only stay in the shallow waters.”

You press your lips together and cross your arms around your middle tightly, eyes set on the lake instead of the man in front of you.

“That’s not really the problem, Hoseok…”

Maybe it was your body language, maybe it was the tremor in your voice or maybe it just dawned on him after a few more minutes of utter confusion, but when he stepped closer, took hold of your face in between his large hands and pecked at your pursued lips, his kind chocolate eyes told you he understood what was impeding you.

“Y/N, I know we just met not too long ago, but can you trust me on this? I really like you, truly, a lot, and that is not going to change if you go to a swim with me.” He smiled kindly and his eyes showed nothing but honesty, and yet it was hard to accept it.

“You say that, but…” What you wanted to say was ‘how can you like me when you are always surrounded by beautiful girls, singers and dancers that belong to your world instead of me?’.

“I won’t force you, but it’s a hot night and you are already sweating in this sweatshirt you’re in” he points out, cleaning a drop of sweat from your temple with his thumb. “How about this, I’ll go in first and I won’t look until you’re next to me. Okay?”

Taking your silence as a yes, Hoseok steps back and strips down to his swim shorts, delectable toned body on display until he carefully steps into the water and goes shoulder deep, the further his fears would allow him to go.

“It feels great, it’s your turn!” he yells, waving his hand and an open smile on his bright face before turning the other way, back to you.

Sighing, your hesitant hands give in to his wishes and you start undressing slowly, each second doubting your decisions. It felt like you would hurt him if you didn’t trust him, and it felt like he would hurt your feelings once you did and he saw you. There was no winning in your mind.

Down to your panties and bra, since you didn’t put on a swimsuit, it takes all of your courage to go ahead and step into the water, slowly pushing forward as the cold temperature cooled off your flushing skin. You called Hoseok once you were comfortably covered by the dark water, hiding you from your neck down.

He smiles when he looks back to find you in the water behind him, swimming your way with approval glinting in his eyes. He reaches his hands to you and you gave him yours in return, which he held underwater as he pulled you in and caught your mouth for a brain-shutting kiss.

“See? It’s not that bad, right?” he asks, still holding your hands and making you both float around the calm waves of the lake.

“I guess not” you concede, still unsure of how this would end.

“Just us two in a small lake, away from everyone, the bright moon and no dangerous animals around… It’s awesome!” he chuckles, splashing around a bit with carelessness.

“Yeah…” Feeling a bit better by now, you actually decide to tease him a bit. “If you don’t count the alligators, of course.”

The reaction is priceless. The carefree boy swimming around loses his stance, tripping and head sinking in the water as he gasps in surprise, hands splashing around this time in a panic, making it difficult for you to even go and catch his arms, helping him back up.

“Alligators!?” The desperate boy breathes out as soon as he stands back up, water running down his oblong face from his wet hair, a terrified look in his wide eyes and still trying to catch his breath.

“Kidding, I was kidding!” you reassure even as you are holding back your laugh, Hoseok’s hands clawing at your shoulders with how scared he got. “No animals in the lake, I promise.”

“I think I just had a heart-attack” he overreacts with a relieved expression.

“Well, now you know how I felt before coming here” it escapes you before you realize, the admission of how nervous you were.

Back on his feet and with a settled down mind, Hoseok comes closer and embraces you strongly, warm but wet arms coming around your almost submersed shoulders, water splashing around your bodies with the movement of such an act. You tense up at the feeling of skin on skin, the only barrier between your torsos being your bra. This was it, he would feel your voluptuous body and the body rolls that came with it.

“I’m glad you’re here, Y/N.” He whispers closely to your ear, one hand in your shoulder and the other tangling at the hairs at the back of our neck. “I never felt so strongly about someone like I feel about you.”

Surprised, you try and pull your head back but he doesn’t quite let you, sinking further into your arms and hiding his face in your shoulder. Butterflies flutter at the pit of your stomach and your skin tingles beneath the contact of his body against yours.  The arms that felt chained to heavy sinking rocks broke free and you smile as your hands move to rest at his biceps, soothing the skin there.

“Really?” you murmur back, almost in skepticism.

“Really. It’s the first time I fell for someone so quickly. It’s also the first time I came swimming at night with anyone. You’re really special to me, Y/N.”

Amazingly appeased by his words and lack of judgement of your body type, you find yourself giggling into his shoulder and hugging him back, feet lifting from the ground and allowing your bodies to float in the lake.

Hoseok presses his lips to the spot where your shoulder meets your neck and you reciprocate by landing a kiss by the end of his clavicle. Encouraged by that, he leaves hummingbird pecks up your neck to the soft skin of your jaw, one hand still at the back of your head and the other falling down to the curve at your lower back. Your own hands run up and down his naked spine as you sigh with pleasure.

Pulling you by your head just enough for you to lift your face to him, Hoseok kisses around your jaw, up to your cheeks, before claiming you mouth, lips moving slowly over yours in the most loving ways, tongue sweeping your bottom lip in an inquire for entrance, which you allow avidly. Still an exotic flavor he was to you, becoming ever more familiar each time.

Long kisses take their sweet time exploring the recesses of your mouth, the hand not holding your head in place traveling your body and discovering every single one of your insecurities and throwing them out with delicate caresses, shameless squeezes, desperate touching. Soon you are throwing your arms around his shoulder, pulling all your weight on him and forcing him to get his feet back in the ground so your heads stay above the water.

His hands end up attaching themselves to the fluffy skin around your ribcage, sending goosebumps all over your body, slowly climbing up until his palms are cupping your covered breasts, a hesitant touch that requires your permission for him to continue. Suddenly emboldened, you grab his hand under yours and lead him to squeeze your boobs at the same time you bite down on his lower lip just enough to pull it with you when you lean your head back. Hoseok groans heavily at that and needs no further encouraging.

Bodies mingle together in the lake and explore each other wondrously, alone with nature and the small waves of the lake, enjoying each other playfully but innocently enough, until the night grows longer and the skin grows cold. Infinitely happier than when you went in, you exit the lake with your almost naked body and hair dripping water and search for your clothes, hoping they would help you keep you warm until you reach a shower.

When you look back, you are surprised Hoseok is still waist down in the water, seemingly hesitant to come out.

“Hey, are you not coming?” you ask, jumbled.

“Yeah, in a sec” he says, avoiding his eyes.

“You must be cold, come on. Want me to grab your clothes?” you offer, still not understanding why he was still in the water when the hairs in his arms where standing up with the cold.

“I, hum… I have a slight problem. Can… Can you turn around and give me my pants?” he shyly asks, pointing at the shorts he had on top of his swimwear.

It dawns on you then and you chortle, ignoring his protests of not being able to control it and handing him his clothes as you turned your back as he requested and put on the rest of your clothes too. Hoseok refused to put on his jacket and instead held it waist high the rest of the way to the holiday inn, before wishing you goodnight and leaving back to his room.

[bythebigcoolingtower]

Eye on Springfield - An Interview with Raymie Muzquiz

Since working on eighteen episodes of seasons two and three of the Simpsons, Raymie Muzquiz has enjoyed a strong, thirty plus years career in the animation industry, including directing eight episodes of Futurama’s second run. Here, Raymie talks about his spell on both shows, his other projects and the industry itself.

Let’s start at the start, how did you get into animation and end up at Klasky-Csupo?

In 1988-89, I was working for a movie trailer company. I was a production assistant and then a post coordinator for about 2 years. I learned a lot about film post production and worked on a flatbed editor, dubbing machines, etc. (all pre-digital). However, it was nonetheless a miserable, unartistic, poorly-paying job that laid bare all those awful “Swimming With Sharks”, fear-and-loathing tropes of the movie business. My boss was a horror. He’d yell at me about the dressing in his salad, or the variety of bread on the sandwich. I was his presumed personal assistant to deride. Yet he would shamelessly “lick the boots” of celebs and execs higher up the food chain. To this day, I cannot watch movie trailers. On the rare trip to a theater, I sit in the lobby and have my wife text me when the feature starts.

During this awful period I would look daily through the trades for another job. One day in the Hollywood Reporter there was an ad that included a picture of Marge (I think). Klasky-Csupo (just blocks from my apartment!) was looking to staff for Season 2 of The Simpsons. Since I storyboarded all my student films and some action sequences in live-action low-budget features at Roger Corman’s Concorde/New Horizons in the late 80’s. I applied for a storyboard position. What happened next gave me whiplash. I was given a test. Hours after turning the in the test I hired as a staff storyboard artist to start two weeks hence and immediately given a freelance assignment.  

How did I get this plum position with zero experience? This requires some context. The Simpsons was an unexpected TV-animation phoenix rising from the ashes of a poverty-row industry. It is little exaggeration to say that the TV animation talent pool (as opposed to feature animation) consisted largely of old, alcoholic and broken-spirited artists doing Saturday-morning hack-work, subsuming their talent to low budgets and low cel counts. The necessary talent were simply nonexistent for this new, hip renaissance. The doors opened to the young, the students and the inexperienced like me; someone who didn’t go to art school nor drew for a living. It was a singular event for me. I was ignorant that there was even a difference between animation and live action storyboards. I was even naive about my drawing ability. Imagine my reaction when I saw trained artists draw in a professional environment. It blew my mind! My only saving grace was that as a live-action film graduate, I knew film language. I could stage without “crossing the line”. Scenes “cut” together and “hooked up” and I was staging in depth rather than in the traditional “proscenium” cartoon style. My acting was restrained, not broad or cartoony.

I did my first storyboard freelance while still at the trailer company. It was for Jim Reardon; his first directing assignment: Itchy & Scratchy & Marge in 1989.

Can you explain the work you did on the Simpsons?

Everybody probably knows what storyboarding is, so I’ll keep it short. It’s the visualisation of the script/story. It’s TV animation’s biggest step from script to screen. You are staging the characters in space and acting them out and breaking it up into separate scenes that informs the entire rest of the process. Design, layout, key posing, action and timing build off the storyboard.

When you were assigned to work on the show what were your thoughts? It was a phenomenon by that point.

The first season’s episodes of the Simpsons were being re-runned to death. I remember doubting if they’d successfully make more before the buzz died off. When I was hired I couldn’t believe my luck. The Simpsons was THE hip show of the moment. To actually be a creative team member on something fresh and original AND get paid more than beggar’s wages was like winning the lottery.

How closely did you work with the directors and writers, what kind of notes and feedback did you receive?

When I arrived for my first meeting, Mark Kirkland and Jim Reardon were crowded in a small room with folding tables, right off of reception. I believe they were both directing for the first time. Although I was already hired to work in-house, I had to give two weeks to my current, satanic employer, so I was assigned work as a freelancer. It was to board an act of Itchy & Scratchy & Marge by its director, Jim Reardon. Little did I know what I was getting into.

I never had to draw so much in my life! My drawing hand (left) was killing me in those early months. I had to develop a callous on the middle finger. They gave me the “radio-play;” an audio cassette of the recorded dialog to draw to and tons of model sheets.  

I remember being overwhelmed by the volume. And you had to draw in these tiny boxes of the formatted storyboard page. I didn’t have that kind of discipline (I never did: I eventually developed a style of drawing on blank pages, then fielding and formatting them onto a page. Sometimes I scaled my drawings down on the xerox machine. I also drew on post-its (the greatest invention in animation after cels) and taped them onto the formatted sheet.  

As this was freelance, I actually only met with Jim twice: Once for the hand-out and then again to show him my roughs. I vaguely remember him asking for changes that I thought were off-show (I’d seen all extant episodes multiple times on TV by then). Plus this was my first time and really had no expectations of what the process was.

But--he was the director--I addressed his notes and turned in the storyboard to the receptionist without further feedback. This almost became my undoing. In future, I would know the director should go over the storyboard and decide if it was ready, needed further revision or even just check the “bookkeeping”; the placement of dialog, notes and scene and page numbering before releasing it to the producers (all the Executives at Gracie Films across town). However--for whatever reason--this didn’t happen. It went directly from reception to Gracie. And evidently the executives didn’t react well. I was ignorant of all of this for years; until Mark Kirkland told me what happened...

The Executives were displeased with the storyboard and demanded to know what happened. Someone blamed it on the new guy (me!). So it was decided I had to be fired (before I even started my first day on staff)!  

Did I get thrown under the bus? I can’t say. I wasn’t there. I am only relating events second hand.  

Anyway, Mark Kirkland, who shared the room with Jim Reardon and was present during my meetings came to my rescue (again, completely unbeknownst to me). He vouched for my character and said I was worthy of rescue and rather than firing me, I could work with him. 

So I have Mark to thank for my career. If I was fired, it would have been crushing and I think it’s safe to say I would never have become the artist I’ve become in the thirty plus years of my career.

What was the pressure like working on the show and at the studios during that time?

Because of my lack of experience, I found it difficult judging deadlines and the necessary labor (and just pencil mileage) to succeed. Plus I was traumatised by my previous job; I was conditioned to fear punishment and humiliation at anytime for something I did or didn’t do.

The climate at Klasky/Csupo couldn’t be more starkly different; so egalitarian! Everyone was socialising and goofing around. Gabor Csupo couldn’t be a more laid-back boss! Long lunches with side-trips for comic books and toys! Nerf guns in the hall. I shared a tiny room with two other board artists, Peter Avanzino and Steve Moore. They would both have to vacate the room for me to reach my desk in the far corner. We bantered and laughed more than worked. Celebrities would drop by (Most memorable was meeting Frank Zappa). There were events always going on; bowling, screenings and parties. And yet, a ton of thought and drawing was necessary; especially for me. I worried I couldn’t work as fast as other artists. I often had to work nights and weekends to meet my deadlines. However, there always were other artists doing the same thing; they may have been more experienced than me, but they were young and not so disciplined; so I was never alone. Plus, you never knew how off the mark your roughs could be and after a meeting with the director and Brad Bird, you might suddenly be looking at a ton of revision work. I also remember that Brad was busy weekdays and meetings could sometimes only be done on Saturdays. I simply had a lot to learn and time to put in to build my proficiency. And Brad Bird was very important influence in those days: I could be nervous and exhausted preparing for a meeting with him, but he’d so infect you with his enthusiasm and creative vision that you’d end up re-doing the whole thing but be excited about doing it. He emphasized the cinematic aspects and empowered us to be bold and push the limits of traditional animation staging.

You worked on some of the show’s early classics, could you tell from your position how the episodes would come out?

My next episode for Jim Reardon was “When Flanders Failed”. Because of the kerfuffle of the first episode I did for him, I was anxious to be as professional and impressive as possible. I thought the act I did showed improvement. However, the episode seemed to languish at some point (after animation?) and word got around that it was a bust and wouldn’t reach air. My memory is hazy about this, but I was bummed at the time; thinking my working relationship with Jim was snake-bit.  

A season later, it eventually did air. I’m not giving a very good account of this, sorry.

“Flaming Moe’s” was an episode I was excited about. I remember Brad Bird suggesting some very exciting staging that turned my head around. Especially the part where Homer ends up--“Phantom of the Opera-ish”--in the rafters. I think that was a turning point for me; I was going to be a Brad disciple and determined to push the staging from then on.

“Stark Raving Dad”, is memorable to me, but not for a good reason. It was one of the last episodes I worked on; only doing an act. I remember being scandalized that Michael Jackson was the subject of the episode. Being a Simpsons purist, I believed that the show existed in a parallel universe and celebrities were parodied for laughs; it was too hip to be a shill for celebrity. There was no Arnold Swarzenegger, there was McBain. There was no Hal Fishman (our local channel 5 anchor), there was Kent Brockman. Dr. Hibbert was a parody of Bill Cosby. Mayor Quimby was a parody of Ted Kennedy. Even Nick Riviera was supposed to be Gabor Csupo! Having Michael Jackson exist in this universe and embodied in a sympathetic character (rather than a target of ridicule) was seriously “jumping the shark” in my opinion. I believed the show had done the unthinkable and it would prove fatal to the series.  

Of course I was wrong. The Simpsons goes on like a perpetual motion machine. But I couldn’t abide watching this wise and subversive show trample over its principles to star-fuck. Now of course, which celebrity HASN’T been on the Simpsons. As you may well know, “Stark Raving Dad” has been pulled from the series since the premiere of the HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland”, giving some credence to my long ago objection: sometimes it bites you on the ass.

“Black Widower” was my swan song. I remember meeting Kelsey Grammer at the table read and being mesmerized by his voice. He sounded just like Orson Welles. The act I boarded included Bob and Selma’s honeymoon. I wanted to give the staging a Hitchcockian influence with deep-focus, Z-axis compositions (like looking out of the fireplace, across the gas burner to Selma and Bob) and my first-ever use of DX (double exposed) shadows to provide menace. I thought that was my best work of the series.

One of my favourite early episodes is ‘Homer at the Bat’ which you storyboarded. What are your recollections on working on it? Did you get any specific notes when it came to the players?

“Homer” was my third “at bat” (pardon the pun) with Jim. He’s a baseball fan as I am, but he also PLAYED Chicago-Style Softball (baseball with a huge, soft ball). I’m a baseball fan too, but I felt I’d be exposed a dilettante due to my terminal lack of athleticism. I was assigned all three acts of the show as well! I really had to be on my game (again, pardon) and not miss any of the references. I reluctantly took him up on his offer playing in one of the Chicago-Style games one Saturday in Burbank. It was a sacrifice as I had to work weekends to keep up with the workload of this episode. I went with a fellow board artist, who’ll remain unnamed (to remain friends).  

It went terribly. At bat, I whiffed three pitches in a row, and Jim kept pitching more and more out of pity. I missed them all. He finally had to tell me to just give the bat to the next guy. In the outfield, I stunk just as badly. The piece-de-resistance was when my fellow board artist was at bat and swung hard on a pitch. He missed the ball AND dislocated his knee. I ran to him as he plopped down in agony onto home plate with his knee, shin and foot pointed in the wrong direction. “If my leg stays like this much longer, I think I’m gonna start crying,” he said through the pain.  After a terribly long moment, his shin and foot rotated snapped back into place. We hobbled off the field as Jim and his pals resumed the game. Could things have gone any worse? I was certain that Jim had no faith in me by that time. If so, he never said it. He was a laconic guy.  

I worked on it a hundred years ago so I don’t feel the pride I objectively should. The episode went against The Cosby Show and beat it in the ratings!  There’s even an exhibit in The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, that I wasn’t aware of until I went there. No artist other than Matt is mentioned. It’s all about the writers and the players who voiced the show.

I still have the storyboards of Jose Canseco in the bathtub with Ms. Krabappel that Jose objected to and we had to cut. I’ll post them someday.

How do you reflect on your time working on the show? Do you ever watch those seasons and episodes back?

See below for details; but no. I haven’t watched the episodes I worked on or those seasons for decades. I haven’t watched any episodes after the 3rd season at all. I did see the movie.

The relationship between Klasky-Csupo and Gracie Films finished at the end of the third season, when Gracie decided to move production to Film Roman, what was your view of that situation?

With the handwriting on the wall that Fox might pull The Simpsons from Klasky-Csupo, the in-house producer Sherry Gunther countered by getting all us artists to sign a document tying us exclusively to Klasky-Csupo in an effort to block Fox access to the crew. That gambit didn’t dissuade Fox. They pulled the show anyway and took it to Film Roman. At the time, I wanted desperately to follow the show, but naively thought I couldn’t because I was bound by Sherry’s contract. Virtually everyone left Klasky-Csupo for Film Roman anyways; contract be damned.

The studio became a ghost town. I stayed, distressed that I had to work on Rugrats. However, I eventually concluded that being torn away from The Simpsons was the best thing for my creative growth. Wherein The Simpsons was written so well, closely supervised and finding its stride, The Rugrats scripts were mediocre and the gags not funny. Rugrats was a vacuum to fill and I was empowered to add gags and exercise Gabor’s mandate to really push the staging into warped and low-angled baby POVs that defined the series. It lacked the regimentation of The Simpsons and I exposed to all the other processes in making cartoons. On the Chanukah special I directed, I timed the animation, I even helped direct the voice talent and supervise animatic and final edit.

The Simpsons, like many prime-time animated shows, are dominated by writer/producers who closely control the creative aspects and the artists are more or less staying in their lanes.

After the Simpsons you were assigned to work on ‘Duckman’ where you directed eight episodes, what was the step up to direction like?

I didn’t go directly to Duckman. There was a period of boarding on Rugrats and assistant directing on two Edith-Ann specials for ABC. It was a sad time, something like being in purgatory, but one which I believe was necessary in retrospect.

Speaking of being in purgatory, here’s an anecdote. Klasky-Csupo was a bunch of empty rooms after the Simpsons left. I was working on Edith Ann one day and Gabor was walking a tour of potential clients through. I showed them what I was doing and then Gabor directed them to the next room; opening a door to usher them in, various large and small auto parts suddenly tumbled noisily out onto the floor. A car bumper, pieces of trim, a fender and hub-caps.  

You may ask why auto parts were in there? I’ll tell you: When Rich Moore worked there, his office overlooked the corner of Highland and Fountain avenues. Over time, he and his crew witnessed a lot of auto collisions on that corner. They would go and retrieve the parts left behind and hang them on the wall. Rich obviously left without taking his collection and somebody decided to hide them all in this room. Suffice to say, it didn’t look professional and I felt terrible for Gabor at that moment.

When I did become director, there was many moments of panic. I was used to storyboarding to my personal standard and quality that defined my aesthetic. Paradoxically, being a director meant losing close control. I had to depend on clearly communicating to the storyboard artists, quickly learning you can only tell artists so much before they “top-off” and forget what you said. No one took notes! It was all by memory! I always took notes as a board artist. A good board artist makes a director look good. There are far more mediocre storyboard artists than good ones; mainly because the good ones are promoted to directors (I feel the quality has improved over time). And I had to deal with freelancers for the first time. They are the guys that fill-in when there’s not enough staff artists. These people were usually moonlighting for extra money and end up storyboarding your show in the style of the show they were working on during the day. There just wasn’t enough time in the schedule to fix everything without working crazy hours. The Simpsons had layout. So storyboards didn’t have to be so precise and if something wasn’t staged right or acting out in storyboard, you could work with a layout artist in shorthand to correct it. Virtually my entire career has been absent layouts. They are very rare for TV nowadays. This makes the storyboard all the more important. The bar must be high; we call them “layout storyboards”; they need to be closer to model and the acting must be spot on.  

Animation timing was also something I had to get control of; At first, Duckman didn’t have a supervising timing director, who could maintain the quality and the timing aesthetics particular to the show. It was up to the director to check timing. I had almost no experience and it was a new show. No one person had the answers. I could review the timer’s work (so often a dreaded freelancer) and I could see it wasn’t at all right and I’d wholesale erase it, but then I panicked that I might have done more damage than good; suddenly in over my head. It took time, but I got it.

I believe that the director who masters his x-sheets is true master of his show.  I could add quality and personal aesthetics in a new dimension.

Does you background as a storyboard artist influence the way in which you direct?

Absolutely. In animation history, there were directors who didn’t storyboard or even draw. There were a few of these “dinosaurs” on Rugrats. They sat and read the paper when we boarded their shows. But because of the overseas process of animation and the loss of layouts here at home, if you are going to direct at all, you have to be comfortable drawing a detailed, informed layout storyboard. It is literally the blueprint of your show.

That said, I had to mature as a director who storyboarded. It was insane to try and board all my episodes personally, though directors will put some work aside for themselves, especially if its a sequence that would be too hard to delegate to another artist. If a sequence involves a new character, location or prop integral to the story, it may not be designed yet, so I’ll take it on and “feel it out;” designing as I board.

I had to learn how to be a good delegator and a clear communicator. I pitch sequences to the board artist before they begin and give them roughs of designs, poses or staging I think is important for the sequence. From my boarding experience, I don’t like directors who don’t tell you what they want until after you’ve drawn the storyboard. That wastes time and effort. And morale. I want the artists to know my take and hopefully that will inform the storyboard they do. I also know from my board experience that you should balance criticism with praise. Communicate what you like about how they do this and that before you go through critiquing the parts that aren’t working. Ultimately, you want to help the board artists be successful in storyboarding it their way, not my way. If it works, don’t change it just because it isn’t the way you’d do it. Lean into and support what they’ve done.

‘Duckman’ had a cavalcade of guest stars throughout the shows run, did you ever get to meet any of them, and if so, do you have a favourite encounter?

I was always of two minds regarding using live-action stars for animation. Yeah, it’s fun to meet them and some like Jason Alexander can knock-it-out-of-the-park, but sometimes this kind of “stunt casting” backfires. In my first episode, we used Crispin Glover in a stunt role as a crazed maniac with only one line. He showed up brandishing an eight inch hunting knife acting like a REAL maniac. Maybe it was method acting, but we were scared of him and got him in and out as fast as we could. His delivery didn’t work for the line and it spoiled the joke in my opinion, but it remained in the episode. If we used one of the legion of professional voice actors available, we could have worked with them for the perfect “voice” and delivery and nailed it.

We also used Teri Garr for an episode (not one I was directing) and I attended because I was a huge fan of hers. I got to see her behind the mike as she looked over her pages and said acidly, “This isn’t exactly Tolstoy, is it.” That is the opposite attitude you should have when you’re hired. She was soon pitching underwear afterwards...obviously not Tolstoy either.

So I’ll say it again: using celebrities can bite you on the ass.

Performances aside, I certainly did enjoy meeting legends. Carl Reiner played a priest in Noir Gang. Mind you we recorded in a small studio that was in the back of the Rugrats building that was essentially a cavernous storage room. Ed Asner looked visibly uncomfortable when we huddled around him in there. I’ll never forget the look on Marina Sirtis’ face when she arrived to record an episode. Me and a couple of other guys were laying in wait in this sketchy storage area eating our lunches. She was concerned: “is this the right place?” I felt like a lech and stopped going to records that I didn’t have to be at.

Overall, if the celebrity you’ve cast for a voice roll has theater experience, you are more likely to get a good vocal performance. Especially musical theater experience. They are more aware of their voice and have the tools. This goes for Jason and others like Tim Curry and Bebe Neuwirth; all great voice talent to have behind the mic.

You worked on the second run of Futurama, had you been a fan of the original seasons?

No. I didn’t watch the show before. I had to catch up and learn the “canon” when I was hired.

How did you get involved in working on Futurama?

The animating studio, Rough Draft, was something of a clique. They didn’t just hire “anybody” and unlike most studios, they maintain a staff of lifers who usually have the choice positions. I knew Peter Avanzino from our Simpsons days doing storyboards together, so he vouched for me. I was hired to direct on the 2nd season of Drawn Together. So they had a taste of what they could expect from me. I was no longer an unknown quantity when Futurama came around.

One of the eight episodes you directed was, ‘The Mutants are Revolting’, the shows hundredth episode. How special was it to work on such a landmark episode?

It had the most visibility of my episodes, at least internally. They made T-shirts and some publicity art and even the script had a nicer cover. But it was the episode with the most headaches. The scope of the story was huge with multiple set pieces. The opening newsreel, movie in a movie of the Land-Titanic, the asteroid delivery, the party at Planet Express, the riot in the sewers and the flood and “parting of the red sea” climax all required a ton of designs and characters; plus more hand-drawn and CG effects. That’s a lot to manage and marshall for a TV show. Most episodes don’t require the director to do this kind of heavy lifting. I find that when a show demands this much visually, the story ends up being more superficial, gag driven and episodic feeling. Such is the case for this episode. It was visually pumped up because it was representing the 100th episode; meaning I was saddled with managing lots of logistics rather than the usual character-based comedy and emotion of say, Tip of The Zoidberg, which is a relationship story that--as a director--I feel I give more time to flourish and shine with.

‘The Mutants are Revolting’ features some fantastic animation, most notably a brief sequence of Bender standing perfectly still as the Planet Express ship moves around him. Can you explain the challenges of a sequence like that?

That’s a good, insightful question. A shot like this shows off the resources Rough Draft has that aren’t available at just any other studio doing TV animation. The interior of the Planet Express Ship was built and animated in CG. At it’s gimbal point was a CG version of a stationary Bender; locked to field, but who’s feet move with the CG ship. Once the CG elements were approved, they were printed out as wire frame drawings printed onto pegged paper. My Assistant Director drew key poses of the characters on a separate layer in register with the CG print outs, old school on a light box animation disc. This all was sent to our overseas studio Rough Draft Korea for inbetweening and color of the characters only. That came back as an alpha-channeled digital file and layered over the CG animation in our digital compositing department.

Scott Vanzo runs the department and directs all the CG animation effects. I can’t remember who exactly built the interior of the PE ship and animated it, so I’ll rely on IMDb: Don Kim and Jason Plapp. But all the guys in the digital department do tremendous work and allowed us to fine tune a lot of animation (that doesn’t have CG in it); giving us the ability that raises the quality and takes the curse off of overseas animation limitations.

‘The Tip of the Zoidberg’ was nominated for a Primetime Emmy, how proud were you of that achievement and the episode itself?

The episode was one of my favorites; it was character focused and elaborating on canon so a director couldn’t ask for more. As for the Emmy nomination, it’s one of those show business awards that I realized early I can’t get emotionally vested in. The Futurama guys have a formula for figuring out which episode will be submitted. I think it has something to do with each writer getting a shot at the statue. And then from then on it’s just politics.

You’ve also done work on ‘Disenchantment’, giving you the distinction of having worked on all three of Matt Groening’s shows. What’s your relationship like with him?

I can’t help but laugh at this question. I’ve run into him twice out in public over the years and he didn’t recognize me. Once at the Moscow Cat Circus! But that humbling fact aside, he’s a genuinely nice, funny person devoid of pretence and he’s said some very complementary things about my work. However, it’s all business. Like virtually all primetime shows, he’s with the writers at their separate production office. Animation production takes place in a different geographical location. My face time is limited to usually 2-3 meeting points in a show’s schedule. Anything in between are fielded via emails routed through coordinators and assistants.

As well as short form animation you’ve been involved with several feature length productions, including ‘The Rugrats Movie’ and ‘Despicable Me’, what are the key differences between long from and short form animated projects?

I don’t think I’ve ever had a purely feature production experience. The Rugrats Movie(s) were spin-offs from TV series so some processes were grandfathered in from TV production. Despicable Me was truly off-the-wall in that the storyboard artists were working remotely from literally all over the world. No one met each other. I met with Chris Renaud once. I was not allowed to see the entire script, only pages here and there. It was called “Evil Me” at the time. I was truly working in the dark and ultimately, they didn’t use anything I drew. Which to me seemed par-for-the-course: this was one harebrained, inefficient, right-hand-doesn’t-know-what-the-left-hand-is-doing way to make a show. Again, I predicted it would fail. Again, I was wrong.

At the time I was working on Despicable Me, Gru looked like Snape from Harry Potter and there were no minions yet, just an “Igor” kind of 2nd banana that was a shorter version of the final Gru design.  

So my takeaway from those experiences is that I prefer TV production. You don’t have the luxury of a feature schedule, but there is less time for executives to get replaced, sundry monkey-business and creatives pulling the rug out from under you. However, TV is catching up in those regards. See below.

Do you have a scene or episode you’re particularly proud of working on?

I feel fulfilled and proud of directing and being supervising producer on Hey Arnold: The Jungle Movie. I was empowered to work in every aspect of the process and benefit from my experience to make it the smoothest running ship and happiest crew ever. Only at the very end did the executives get into overdrive meddling. But it ran well and looked good. It may not be as funny as my prime time stuff, but I think we elevated the material across the board; writing, design, animation quality. And it was a project put in mothballs 15 years before being resurrected. So it completes me in a way.

Ultimately, I believe work is about relationships and quality of life. The shows where you were empowered and respected and not overworked due to inefficiency are the shows I’m proud to work on. As Jim Duffy would always say, “It’s only a cartoon.”

Often sequences are cut or revised before broadcast. Do you have any favourites that didn’t make it in?

If I had, I’ve forgotten them.  

What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the industry over your time and what do you think the next big change will be?

The trend seems to be as I get better and more efficient at my job, creators and writers (especially in streaming prime-time) are becoming more entitled, indecisive, mecurial and demanding. As processes have evolved in digital technology, we’ve opened the door for those in power indulging in more rewrites, revisions, reviews, etc. Despite the technical advancements, animation remains expensive and time intensive and good artists (especially in TV) have to work intelligently and diligently on tight schedules to produce funny, inspired, detail-oriented work. Rewrites and revisions burn out artists and make us feel like office machines and though our overlords pay for the last minute re-dos, they are often throwing out higher quality work for patchwork revisions that lower the overall quality of a show.

Who inspired you as a young animator and who do you look to now?

Ironically, I never saw myself becoming an animator. I did do some stop-motion on Super 8 as a kid. But that was because I didn’t have access to peers to act and help. What inspired me were live action directors with strong, individual styles: Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Peter Greenaway and Terry Gilliam. I think of these guys in essence as “live-action-animation directors”. The stylization in their sequence planning, shot selection and composition as well as how production design integrates in their storytelling reminds me of how background design and art direction naturally occur in animation production.  

I’m sure there are new visionaries out there, but I’ve become so disenchanted with modern cinema, I rarely see new movies anymore. I find streaming TV much more interesting. Current movies strike me as self-consciously mannered and hyperactive. I find it endlessly fascinating looking back into cinema history before movies had to begin with three or four production company logos whooshing noisily about.

What advice would you give to people looking to break into the animation industry?

I’ve seen an improvement in the college educated animation students over the years. They seem to be of a higher intellectual standard than before. They aren’t as thrown by the rigors of schedule and they ALL can draw circles around me.  

Be original in your own work, but also be a craftsman (as opposed to purely an artist) who can take criticism neutrally and have the tools to fit in the grand scheme of a show that might challenge your personal aesthetics.  

Denis Sanders, a directing teacher I had in college said the director’s job is to be “an expert at all things”. In animation, that translates into intellegently knowing what to draw. If a character is looking under the hood of a car, know what an internal combustion engine looks like and what reasonable pieces you can have your character toss out of said engine. The distributor, the carburettor. Find and use reference! Go that extra step and inform your work with the texture of reality.

Don’t regurgitate old tropes. A trite example of what I’m talking about: If a character is peeking at another, avoid the obvious keyhole in the door trope. Keyholes aren’t in doors anymore. It’s been a cliche from the beginning of cinema. Rather, crack the door open, slide your cellphone under the door, look through a window or punch a hole in the door and look in. Like I said, this is a trite example, but making non-obvious choices rather than knee-jerk non-choices makes cartoons fresh and funnier.

What animated shows do you currently watch and what’s your opinion on the current state of animation?

It’s a terrible admission, but I’m not watching anything in animation. There’s a lot of animation that seems to be just writer-driven, animated live-action sit-coms. There isn’t a reason for them to be animated. Those are the kind of jobs I get offered a lot. It seems like a more trouble than it’s worth.

Who are some young animators you think we should be looking out for?

Gosh, I don’t know.

What projects are you currently working on?

I’m productively unemployed at the moment.

Where can people follow you on social media?

I only do tumblr: mashymilkiesinc.tumblr.com