#i will have to look more into luna sea if any of you are fans please send me your favorite songs/albums/projects of theirs

[a9saga]

tbt - luna sea - gravity // grasping at straws to call this song from when i was an infant a "throwback"

[turtleations]

Interview with SUGIZO (Luna Sea / G) (summarized)

Published in the hide BIBLE (by Akemi Oshima) 2008

Note: Still not good at Japanese, but I like to delude myself that I am gettling slightly better. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong about something anyway.

I have changed the format of these "summaries". This is as close to an actual translation as I can currently make it, and in many places it is an actual translation, just moved from first to third person. You can often tell where from the awkward English.

I also included the prompts of the interviewer to make it flow more naturally, though I often paraphrased them.

Sugizo's thoughts on hide as a guitarist after X JAPAN’s reunion live

There isn’t a lot of talk about hide as a guitarist, with there being more attention on him being an expressive support or a unique performer. Sugizo thinks he was actually a quite technical player. X’s songs are rather difficult – especially the ones made by Yoshiki deviate from so-called normal rock, and it’s not easy to find players suitable for that. Remove even one nuance from it and the whole construct becomes unstable. This goes especially for the precise guitar harmonies and arrangements, as Yoshiki’s approach to writing music is close to classical compositions. Sugizo once again realized that with the reunion. In classical composition, every last note is planned and to tamper with even one of them is a sacrilege against the composer. Every note is intentional, a part of the composer’s soul, and the player had to protect that intention before anything else, like expressing their own individuality. Sugizo now came to understand how close X was to that way of composing. His own intention was to play hide’s parts without tampering with them. How could he put his own nuances in there, when by staying faithful to the original, he believed he could show his respect for hide and also for X JAPAN? He wrestled with those feelings and couldn’t relax while playing, finally understanding that during X JAPAN’s lives, and especially Yoshiki’s songs, you couldn’t move much because you had to concentrate so hard. It wasn’t just about looking cool – you don’t move because you can’t move.

Is that so?

Of course you also have free parts, and parts where you interact with the audience, but most of the time it’s so tight and you have to focus so hard you can’t move.

Nobody moved during “Art of Live”.

The same goes for “Blue Blood” and “Silent Jealousy”. Sugizo played with them himself now, but X JAPAN is at the top of the Japanese heavy metal bands that came up in the 80s. They set the precedence for how far a performance could go, how high you could sing, how offensive you could be, how difficult you could make it, how flashy you could look. X has pushed forward all the elements of the metal scene and was the first band acknowledged by the general public. Therefore, the peak of the metal scene was the start of the new visual scene as seeds sown by X. That said, Luna Sea’s methods and musical structures are completely different from X. He thinks that X’s way of expressing themselves was the final form of all the metal bands. Maybe there isn’t as of yet any other band in Japan going that far, that high, that flashy. One needs a clear stance to realize a clear standard. If you don’t diligently research them, you can’t play X’s songs. On the contrary, you have to bring this degree of understanding. And now Sugizo has become an X-music-critic (laughs).

With Sugizo chasing after X, being used to a different system, how has he decided to support them?

A long time ago, Yoshiki brought it up with Sugizo. But back then he said, “Impossible. No one can fill the hole left by hide-san.” There is no person whose existence is that big. At first, Sugizo was quite negative towards the idea, because the fans would kill him. He knew he would be drowned in criticism, and that was a difficult thing to take on. And he didn’t quite know how he felt about it himself. But when the reunion became a more concrete concept, Yoshiki asked him again and he started thinking about it objectively. He had been active at the same time as hide, but could he do this for three hours on stage? Of course, they could have done without someone on stage, but there are limits to what you can express without a live human player, and out of everyone in the current Japanese scene, Sugizo felt he was the only one who had the necessary meaningful and existential connection to hide to take over this part. No other reason. He did it out of respect, and because it wouldn’t happen if he didn’t help out. Even if he feared criticism, he needed to do it for his irreplaceable friend and for his respected seniors. He meant to support them and express hide’s existence through his own play as closely as possible. He wasn’t really at the forefront, rather, he became a medium. If he could channel hide’s dying wish into sound through himself, he would consider it a success.

About I.V.

I.V. had a completely different feeling. Here, Sugizo could do his own thing – in fact, Yoshiki, the creator, told him to. Not just that, but the intention of hide was transmitted through Sugizo’s fingertips. So even with criticism and attacks, in the end he was grateful and there were a lot of positive aspects to it.

On the impression he had on being on a really big stage with X

Such a giant band in every sense: The scope, the size of the stage, the amount of time by which the performance was delayed (laughs). The scale was too big; this isn’t a normal rock band anymore. The size of their existence and the showmanship with which they entertain everyone. Luna Sea is a normal band in comparison, just a small fish. Sugizo felt lucky that he got to experience that – that he got to exist in the whirlpool of those two bands is a precious experience. And one more thing: The affection of the staff was amazing, and he understood well hide’s part in it. He understood well that without hide, there can be no X JAPAN. And thus, this X without hide was stuggling. Not just from the outside, but from the inside as well. Sugizo came to realize just how important hide’s role within the band had been. They started out started wobbly, but ascended on the third day – this band is truly divine. It felt like he was diligently playing guitar with hide, and competing with him musically, for the first time ever. Although they have been close like brothers and often went drinking together, Sugizo had never experienced hide on guitar like this before. Nearly twenty years after meeting him, this was the first time he really felt like they were together. It was an amazing experience. Sugizo’s close friends Wes (Borland, ex-Limp Biskit) and Richard (Fortis, Guns & Roses) were also stuck by admiration for X JAPAN’s greatness and hide’s awesomeness. In any case, for Sugizo it was a very valuable experience.

The impression hide left on Sugizo

Thinking about it now, he was a person like Mozart. Someone who was like a force of nature until the first half of his thirties, went all out, caught everyone around him in his inescapable nexus, and then died. The people who survive, like them, grow tattered as they reach old age, while experiencing the sorrows and the joys of aging people.

About their first meeting

Sugizo doesn’t remember it well because it was a messy time. But drinking places come to mind. At that time, Luna Sea had only just formed, and X was already at the top, but they drank at the same Issakayas. At first, that was scary, but while drinking with hide, Sugizo soon found out that they were very kindred spirits and they unexpectedly became friends. So, he can’t remember where and how they met for the first time. But it was certainly in Meguro, close to Rokumeikan, at a normal Izakaya like Tsubuhachi or Shoya.

His impression of hide back then

Like someone out of a magazine. It felt like, “Oh, there’s a person from a magazine right in front of my eyes.”

Wearing a hat and sunglasses?

This was hide in a private setting. At that time, when going out in front of people in private, he wore a big black hat and cats eye sunglasses. He must have worn something like that, which is just what Sugizo imagined people from magazines would look like. While they drank, their talk suddenly turned to music: “I like JAPAN” [British punk and pop band active from 1974-82 , and in 1991], and they found a connection. “Fast, that’s good!” – “Fast music is the best!” – “But, I hate the later period.” – “No way! I love the later period just as much.” – “Looks like we have different tastes,” and such (laughs). “Who’s your favourite guitarist?” – “I like Frank Zappa the best.” – “Zappa, huh? I don’t like him at all.” He remembers well how they went back and forth like this.

This was before Luna Sea signed up with Extasy?

Before. But they were active at Rokumeikan, so inevitably, someone knew someone who had a connection. At that time, there weren’t many other bands with their kind of sound, so they were pretty isolated. Hide must have thought that they were “weird and interesting”. Hide and Sugizo’s aesthetics matched, they took a similar stance on expressing themselves, and so they became good friends. Around them, there were a lot of artists in the style of previous generation metal or hardcore bands like VIRUS or AION, but Luna Sea was different from those and something new. Sugizo thinks they were in a similar vein as D’erlanger or ZI:Kill, but you could also see it differently.

Their motivation for joining Extasy

On top of being friends with hide, Yoshiki came to see their live at Rokumeikan. They came and went at Extasy drinking parties, and in the autumn of 1990 it was decided that Extasy would bring out their album.

Did hide recommend them?

Probably. Sugizo thinks that hide said to Yoshiki, “There’s an interesting band,” even though he never directly told them that he was the one making that introduction.

The impression was that hide was advertising Luna Sea to a lot of people.

In that regard, hide didn’t change until the end. He was always looking for new sounds and new images. No matter what their career level was compared to his, hide always had his antennas out for new, exciting, interesting artists. And then he would continue to socialize with them. A very hide-like thing.

That’s how LEMONed came to be.

Right. Luna Sea was probably the first band where hide said, “That’s interesting, let’s do it!”, and mobilized for them. But that time was a muddy mess.

Meaning?

The drinking parties were messy. At the establishments, artists, fans, people from the media were all jumbled together. It was great fun, but Sugizo has quite enough of it (laughs).

Lack of stamina?

Since Sugizo had been in his early twenties, that had not been a problem. He drank to the point of collapse, had violent fights with anyone and anything, and work up the next day with wounds all over his body.

His memories of hide from that time

He has countless of those, since they hung out together so much. Over the course of maybe two years, they were drinking together every two to three days. They drank until morning, went to the onsen, did radio gymnastics with everyone else, were in a fight in Asagaya. When they were drinking in Asagaya together with Ken and Kyo from Zi:Kill, they got into a big fight with some guys who looked like college students. At some point in the middle of the fight, Sugizo became aware that hide was nowhere to be seen. A few minutes later, hide came back wielding a dustpan and yelling, “You assholes!” He was the kind of person who would go and calmly search for an effective weapon while they were all hitting each other with fists. In the end, they all got banned (laughs).

But that effective weapon was a dustpan (laughs).

Ken was hitting his opponent with the shoes he took off, but suddenly realized that those were the slippers provided by the place they were drinking at and didn’t do any damage whatsoever (laughs). He wanted to hit his opponent with his boots or whatever, with all his strength, but he didn’t hurt him at all. It was terrible when everyone had to laugh in the middle of the fight. They rarely suffered serious injuries, in any case.

Small injuries?

Scratches and stuff. Sugizo doesn’t really remember, but when he got really mad, he got stopped by his friend George from Ladiesroom in the beginning (laughs).

That happened?

Hide also stopped him. When Sugizo went off and had a hard time, hide would come and have a drink with him. He was always looking out for him. Even though they raged a lot, there was never an intention to really hurt the opponent. It was violent, but it was fun.

Everyone says that.

Even after violent fights, everyone joked about it the next day. Also, hide loved messing with people. When they went to an onsen in Hakone, hide hid all of their clothes in a crack (laughs). Since it was dawn and there was no one around, it wasn’t a problem and it was never worse than silly mischief. Sugizo looked around, but there was nothing to wear except the noren [cloth sign at the entrance], so he spontaneously made the executive decision that that would serve as his clothes. He likes onsens, but to exchange the yutaka [light kimono, usually provided by the onsen] with a noren… (laughs). Further, hide ate a lot in the morning. Since they fooled around all night, the others didn’t want to eat anything, but hide enthusiastically gulped down everything on his own. They would ask him how he could eat like that, but he would explain that he’d get in trouble if he didn’t eat in the morning and devour like 3 bowls of rice. Then they’d got to an amusement part and slide down a grassy slope in a cardboard box, playing like children.

Adults don’t usually play like that.

Hide had a driver’s license but never drove. When asked why, he explained that he had once been in a collision accident. He couldn’t forget the feeling of the car hitting a person and so, he didn’t want to drive. Sugizo understood, but he thinks that hide’s power of imagination was too strong. When talking about going to the shooting range in America, hide asked, “Sugizo, did you ever shoot a gun?”

“Not yet, but I would like to try it.”

“You’s better not.” At the shooting range, hide would suddenly think, “What if I turned now and shot the person next to me and their blood splattered everywhere,” and just be horrified. Once he started thinking like that, one thought would lead to another and he would become terrified. So he didn’t shoot, and he didn’t drive. Sugizo understood that, because he, too, had an overactive imagination since he was a child. He doesn’t eat a lot of meat anyway, but when he thinks about the time when those creatures were alive, he feels bad. When he thinks about how they are roasting the dead body of an animal, he has to imagine their dying wails of agony. Both he and hide are people with an extreme power of imagination.

They can make their music come alive through that.

It’s great when it comes to music and expressing yourself, but when it comes to your normal life, it’s very inconvenient. When it comes to creating, one thing Sugizo often remembered later was one time he and hide went drinking before hide had a contract for his solo activities. He talked about wanting to do solo work but having doubts about it. Sugizo told him he should definitely do it, because solo-artist-hide would be interesting. A few weeks later, hide said, “I mostly decided on a solo contract, but Sugizo, I was surprised.” – “Why?” – “Can’t tell you yet.” And then he didn’t. Turns out, he ended up with the same record label as Luna Sea. Sugizo remembers well how often they talked when hide first started his solo activities.

Did they talk about what they wanted to do?

Sugizo doesn’t remember the contents of those conversations well, but hide talked about wanting to do pop. Since his starting point was KISS, he probably originally liked rock with big shows. That was 15 years ago. It makes Sugizo feel nostalgic.

What did hide say about Luna Sea?

Sugizo doesn’t really remember him talking about musical things, only drinking and having fun. But he liked their early pop songs like “Déjà Vu” and “Wish” and told them they should do more like that. “Believe” was their first single. When hide saw the PV, he said, “You should have related a pop single like this sooner.” They had the same hair and make- up artist, Okayama Tetsuya, and they often went to his place to drink.

Hide often came to Luna Sea’s lives.

Hide said that Luna Sea’s sadness was unbearable. “It came with a bang,” and “Deeply moving like Dinosaur Jr.”. Sugizo doesn’t understand that at all (laughs). Sugizo likes Dinosaur too, and got a melancholic feeling from them, but he thinks this was an impression specific to hide. “That feeling tightening your chest is nice, but there are no such elements for me.” Maybe he saw such tones in bands like Luna Sea or Zi:Kill.

He also often went to see Zi:Kill.

Hide liked Tusk. He also had a close relationship with Ken, but if pressed, Sugizo would say that Ken was being messed with (laughs).

He was often made fun of. (laughs)

But maybe hide and Sugizo were opposites when it came to their personality. Hide was blood type AB, and there are aspects of AB-types that Sugizo can’t understand. There are things that are normal for AB-types, but mysterious and incomprehensible for O-Types like Sugizo. Hide was no exception. “What is that guy saying so quickly?” Sugizo often thought. It was not a problem, because hide was in a position of seniority to Sugizo, but if they had been of equal standing, they would probably have fought if spending a lot of time together. Actually, their way of thinking and their interests were so different in hide’s last years that, while it never got to the point of fighting, they had a lot of disputes.

Conversely, that was the extent of the relationship they could have.

Sugizo wonders about that. At that time, X JAPAN set up base in L.A. and only had activities about once a year, so hide was rarely in Japan anymore. When he was home, they occasionally met for drinks, or they ran into each other at the “Music Station Special” and went out drinking afterwards, but that was the extent of it. Sugizo worked from London at the time but was never in L.A., so their points of activity were just different.

Sugizo also did his solo recording in London.

Nowadays, Sugizo often goes to L.A. and hangs out with Yoshiki, but the last one or two years before hide died, there was some distance. Nevertheless, whenever they were both in Japan, they met without fail. In the 90s, Sugizo was in L.A. not even once.

Is that so?

The first time he went to L.A. was in 2000. Since then, he’s been there almost 30 times. At first, it didn’t fit the image of hide’s L.A. The feeling was a little darker. But it matched, thinking about hide’s roots.

In the beginning, hide said he didn’t like L.A. very much.

KISS is an American band, though. And hide made Zilch in L.A. Zilch was great. But now [Paul] Raven has also passed away… Sugizo was close to the members of Zilch, somehow, they were all connected.

Did he hear stories about Zilch?

Yes, he did. “I’m not going to produce, I want to focus on performing,” hide said. “It’s going to be mainly in English, so I’ll focus on singing and playing the guitar. We’ve got a good producer.” The producer in question was Ray [McVeigh]. Sugizo thinks hide and Ray met because Ray was producing Oblivion Dust. Sugizo heard about it about one year before Zilch really started.

In his solo works, hide did everything on his own.

He probably wanted to relax and take a different approach to music. Sugizo remembers, there is a song called “Drink or Die”, that hide came up with when they were drinking together. “I want to make a song about ‘drinking or dying’.”

“About drinking until you die…?”

“Yeah, that’s it, that’s the song I’m going to make.” (laughs)

He swiftly wrote down the lyric on some paper right there in that place.

He did. The group they always hung out and drank with was called the “Legion of Hell”, and he said he wanted to make a theme song for them. “Legion of Hell” was of course a KISS reference. (or was it?) When he drank, that guy often went wild.

Him, too?

When the others went into s drunken frenzy, hide would, too (laughs).

Sugizo didn’t?

Sugizo doesn’t frenzy (laughs). Sugizo doesn’t change when drunk, but hide could change completely, as if a switch was flipped. It would go into a fun direction, or he could play too hard and get injured. He’d mess up and break his bones. One time, he ran off with joy and didn’t notice a wall in front of him until he ran into it face first. After that, he was down for a day (laughs).

Referring to their shared photo session?

They were photographed together in connection with a magazine interview, but hide managed to run into a white wall so hard his make-up left the imprint of half his face on it (laughs) He was in high spirits, got injured, and went down. He was an entertaining guy. He could change completely from one moment to the next, get silly or start fighting. Then, suddenly, he’d give a lecture.

Lecture, in what sense?

He was a guy who would suddenly lecture you if he was drinking. Sugizo got those lectures, their other buddies got them, too. For example, both Sugizo and Yoshiki liked the word “art” and probably used it a lot. Hide, on the other hand, hated that word and would tell him, “Sugizo, don’t call every single thing you make art.” And, “What I do is also often called art, but that’s not what it is. It’s simply me doing things I enjoy. Those on their high horse speaking of “art” can go fuck themselves! Listen, Sugizo! Don’t say shit like that.” (sour smile)

He certainly wanted to emphasize that.

Hide had a lot of particular views, and if you went against those, it rubbed him the wrong way, Sugizo thinks. Anyway, the talk is all over the place. They spend so much time together, but hide has been gone for ten years, and the chronological order is all messed up. In those ten years, Sugizo changed a lot. In any case, in that time, he wanted to talk, to drink, to mingle with a lot of people. In that, he and hide matched perfectly. Nowadays, Sugizo wouldn’t be able to spend his time like that anymore. That said, he also doesn’t spend a lot of time peacefully at home.

He often got summoned.

Very often (laughs). He’d suddenly get told, “Come over now.” He did it, too, which is strange. They should have been very busy back then. How did they have time for that?

No cell phones back then

None whatsoever. How did hide manage to contact him? Sugizo didn’t have a cell phone until 1995. The time when they were constantly hanging out was around 1992, 1993, so there shouldn’t have been any cell phones available in the beginning. If Sugizo was in the studio for something, hide would find out about that, too, and contact him there. His talent for research was astonishing (laughs). Since he got along well with everyone in the office, he always got info on who was where and did what. Sugizo still can’t believe he was that informed in a time when cell phones weren’t a thing yet. Speaking on which, after drinking in Roppongi one time, they all went to eat ramen. While eating, hide asked if those ramen were tasty or not. “I honestly can’t tell the taste.” (laughs) He asked them, “Because I don’t know if they are good or not, tell me.” They then told him, “They’re good,” and he said “Yay!” and ate happily. It was one of those times where Sugizo thought he was weird. (laughs)

Hide’s lacking sense of taste is a topic within his circle of friends.

Between Yoshiki and hide, they also fought, each accusing the other of being taste-blind. It was pretty ridiculous. Also, when Luna Sea were still indies, when they were visiting hide’s place to drink, it happened that when morning came, hide would suddenly prepare a meal for them. He could cook, that guy. Suddenly, at six AM or so, he would go and make fried kimchi or something. He was a strange guy, but he was also a bundle of affection. Sugizo thinks he just loved taking care of people. “Come to my place and I’ll feed you!” He gave them lectures, chased them everywhere (laughs). Sugizo always responded to that affection, because it made him really happy. Above that, he always rushed to respond, because he wanted to be seen as someone who always came quickly, no matter what was going on (laughs).

Even if the other members couldn’t come, Sugizo always did.

Thinking about it now, Sugizo really went for it. And there was the “salt incident” that was really fun. Whenever Sugizo used the phrase “Did that have the right amount of salt?” [Meaning something like, “Did that match your expectations?] on some grandpa or someone in some town, and hide laughed his ass off. “Young people don’t talk like that these days. Can you also ask the audience at Luna Sea’s live if you gave them the right amount of salty flavour?” So Sugizo said, “If the opportunity come up.” (laughs) Thus promised, several days later, Sugizo addressed the audience at an outdoor concert in Hibiya with, “Did that have the right amount of salt, you fuckers?” and hide lost it again (laughs).

Before that performance, hide excitedly wondered if Sugizo would really do it.

The strange thing is, hide was bad at dirty talk. One day, he askes Sugizo, and seemed to struggle with it, “The boy’s bit, ca… can you say that?” Sugizo thought he asked weird questions. And when he in return asked, “Do you mean ‘penis*’?”, hide was excited. “Amazing! You can say it! So manly! I admire you!” It was a great commotion. “None of the X-members can say it.” So Sugizo said, “Ours is a band that makes a lot of dirty jokes. So, it’s okay for you to give it a try.” And hide tried, “Pe… pe… No! I can’t say it!” and hung his head (laughs). Sugizo thought he was weird, but Yoshiki can’t say it even now (laughs). But, after starting his solo activities, hide managed to yell the word “Penis!” on stage. Sugizo thinks it was their influence, pulling him down to their level (laughs). In the beginning, he was above such things.

[*) Ironically, the word is censored throughout the text.]

His mental state changed (laughs).

For the sake of showmanship, he knew no shame. After the performance, they told him, “hide-san, you changed. Now you can say the word “penis” on stage with all your might!” and hide was super happy because he, too, had become a grown-up (laughs).

He grew up, right. (laughs)

Sugizo thinks that hide was such a great person thanks to his amazing family. Both his father and his mother were very warm people and thus able to raise a person like that. Sugizo was quite jealous of the good relationship hide had with his parents. It’s well known that Luna Sea is a band where everyone came from a broken home environment, so the warmth of a household, the affection of father and mother is something they barely experienced. That’s why hide was such an incredibly warm guy himself. The Luna Sea guys were all rebellious, messed up people. Even though they are now in their late thirties and have mostly left their childhood traumas behind, in their twenties it was still very present. The still dragged their childhood environment and traumas with them, had trouble with their personal relationships, didn’t express themselves well – there were all sorts of issues. To Sugizo at that time, hide’s family was something he envied him for. Even now hide’s parents are wonderful to him. Whenever he meets them, they invite him to their home. “Pata-chan comes often, so, come with him.” They are so full of affection, it’s amazing.

Has he ever done a session together with hide?

Yes, at the power station, when Sugizo was still indies. Hide sang, Sugizo played the guitar, Shinya was on drums, and on bass was Sexy Rose Harry. They played songs by Damned and Ziggy Stardust. Nostalgic. That was in 1991, a long time before hide started his solo activities, but Sugizo wonders if he wasn’t developing a vision for that back then. The way he sang changed a lot. He got serious about it. If he had to sing, he abstained from alcohol, went to bed early to stay healthy. He said to Ryuichi, “Singers are really respectable. I’m not there yet.” And then he worked hard to get there.

Did he see Sugizo’s solo activities?

He probably did, but since that started just before he died, they didn’t discuss it much. Luna Sea started their solo activities when X was in the process of breaking up, so hide was dealing with his own problems. He talked a lot to J, who was based in L.A., but didn’t have a lot of opportunities to talk to Sugizo or the others. But Sugizo hung out with the members of Spread Beaver, since he’s friends with all of them. In the year before hide died, they only met a few times and didn’t get to talk about their solo music much. If they had, Sugizo imagines it something like this: hide would have asked him if he was still playing with “art”, Sugizo would have insisted on going with that, and then hide would have told him not to, and they would have gotten into an argument (laughs).

Is there anything he would like to say to hide?

The things hide did have now blossomed to their full meaning. Hide and the things he wanted to express are now loved throughout the world. Sugizo wants to say, “Congratulations!” The distance between the countries is disappearing and hide’s music is now going out into the world. Some people had problems because CDs are not selling anymore, but there are now other ways for music to be distributed. Sugizo often wonders what hide would be doing if he were still alive in this time. He would probably be at the forefront of some brand new thing. When he thinks about such things, Sugizo wants to say, “It was too early, hide-san!” If you live a long life, various people are going to die before you. Those who die young are eternally beautiful, those left behind are, struggling and shining, growing older day by day. Sugizo, for his part, plans to keep doing music with all his strength until he goes to the place where hide is. He wants to keep doing music to the point where he gets as far as hide has gone.

[thepriceofbeingaroseisloneliness]

Kaoru (DIR EN GREY) & Hazuki SPECIAL INTERVIEW 1/2 Translation

Notes before reading: This is the first part of the special interview broadcasted on Hazuki’s Youtube channel, you can still watch it there. The special interview is 45 min long, this part covers until minute 24. I will upload the second part in a day or two.

You can watch the interview here  Please watch and support Hazuki’s channel!

Feel free to correct me if you spot any mistakes or any confusing parts. Links or credits to this post when the content is reposted or captured in other SNS is appreciated :) ----- Hazuki: Today’s guest is already here! Kaoru from Dir en grey! Kaoru: Thank you (laughs) Hazuki: Thank you for being here! (laughs) Kaoru: Well, somehow as the tension is different than usual, I got a bit surprised…(laughs)  *he means the program started suddenly* Hazuki: (The program started) In a single blow…I cut in with a single blow…. I’m sorry… Well, I’ve been on Youtube since last year….I already had Ryuichi Kawamura (Luna Sea’s vocalist) and an acquaintance who is a death metal/death growls instructor….being able to do talks like this it’s a bit special so I want to do more and more….like for example, telling everyone stories about Kaoru they’ve never heard before….I would like to see that more and more….I asked you (to come here) and you agreed immediately so thank you so much… Kaoru: No,no…you don’t need to (thank me)…. Hazuki: I’m really thankful…. Kaoru: But, the first time we talked about this was last year…. Hazuki: It was actually a while ago, that’s true… Kaoru: But somehow, I wondered if there was something good we could talk about here…. Hazuki: This time, “Oboro” will be released on 28th April….so I’d like to talk about that as well…there are also a few things here *pointing at the table* so it’s not just that…. I often met Kaoru but there are times we meet from the beginning but sometimes we meet in a second or third different stages…. Kaoru: After eating… Hazuki: There are some patterns about coming together, like sometimes it’s the two of us at the beginning…. Kaoru: Yes Hazuki: Or both of us staying until the end…..to this day, I haven’t get used to that situation at all….*laughs* Kaoru: At those times, you are a bit…..like this…..*starts imitating Hazuki, making awkward movements* Like this…..*Hazuki laughs, Kaoru too* At that moment I feel like  “ohh” *ego boost gesture lol* Hazuki: No,no…. (laughs) It feels exactly like that to me…..yes….I feel it…. So, before these talks, I get a drink for the guest that is here. I brought a lot of things but for the time being, let’s open a beer and after getting some alcohol in our bodies… Kaoru: That’s right… let’s start with this, right?.... because if you don’t drink, you won’t say anything…. Hazuki: I’m sorry….as there is a little distance between us…. I’m nervous so I need to drink alcohol…because you are a big senpai for me….cheers! Kaoru: Cheers! They both toast with their beer cans. Hazuki: It’s good…everyone is curious about one thing…. It’s really in the way….*Hazuki puts his hand on a bottle that it’s on the centre of the table, covered by a cloth* It’s really an object that stands out but,  the drink that I want to serve for Kaoru today is….well, for me this…..how long has it been?  I think 15-16 years… but in this long time there is especially one drink that left an impression in me…. Kaoru: Is something we drank together? Hazuki: We did….I get to know this type of alcohol/sake from Kaoru…. I couldn’t drink it at that time… Kaoru: I wonder what it is… Hazuki:I couldn’t drink it but as you were really into it and drank it….I was like….”I want to drink it with Kaoru”, so I tried  and it was delicious….so I was able to drink it that’s why today I brought it…do you know what is it?...*pointing at the cloth* Kaoru:*Laughs* I wonder… what can it be?.... Because of the size I would say it’s whisky… Hazuki: Ah yes the size…..but it’s not….it’s another thing…. Kaoru: Sweet potato shōchū? Hazuki: Ah, you are quite close….it’s a type of shōchū…. Kaoru: Eh? Hazuki: It’s not Sweet potato shōchū Kaoru: Is it Tantakatan? * Tantakatan is a shōchū made with perilla leaves. It is produced in Hokkaido, Japan. Hazuki: *screams* AH!...that’s it…..*Kaoru and Hazuki laugh* That’s amazing *Hazuki starts clapping* You knew it so well…*Hazuki takes off the cloth of the bottle* Kaoru: It’s been a long time! Hazuki: It’s Tantankatan…. Kaoru: This makes me feel really nostalgic…. Hazuki: How many years ago? Kaoru: A lot…. Hazuki: I think it was 23 years ago…. Kaoru: I used to drink this a lot…. Hazuki: Drinking this kind of alcohol on the rocks…. I was still young at that time, I’ve only drank beer, shōchū and highball shōchū. I thought “I should really try this”. When you asked me to join you, drinking this, I drank a lot and got really into it. After this, there was a boom in potato-fermented drinks *Kaoru laughs* But because you asked me to drink it together, I got to like it. *Kaoru laughs* *On the rocks” means serving an alcoholic beverage in a cocktail glass with ice. I think Hazuki means is “a fancy drink”. Kaoru: How nostalgic….I barely drink this anymore…. Hazuki: I drink it…. I thought “this is definitely the drink I want to share with him”…..after drinking this beer…. Kaoru: Let’s drink it….let’s finish the beers… Hazuki: You don’t need to hurry….we still have time…. Hazuki seems to be amazed by Kaoru’s reaction towards the Tantankatan. Kaoru: This makes me feel really nostalgic! Do they sell this at convenience stores? Hazuki: They do. Hazuki wants to know when Kaoru had the first chance to try Tantakatan. Kaoru: Maybe on tour… Hazuki: I see, because it was popular/a trend…to drink it with everyone… Kaoru:  Maybe the first time I drank it…. It was with Mr Ito, from the security company of X (X Japan)….that person’s face looked like a gorilla….*Hazuki laughs* when we started going on tour together, I started drinking it with him…. *Mr. Ito was popular for being in charge of the security of  X Japan and Luna Sea. He worked later with other bands like Dir en grey. He is said to be the saviour of many fans as he worked sometimes in the front lines. Hazuki: He gave it to you and you drank it together….I see…. Actually, it’s not the first time you appear in a program I’m doing…. Kaoru: You mean the radio one? Hazuki: Yes, the one called 「Weekly lynch」. When was it? 8 or 7 years ago. At that time, you were about to release “The Unraveling”. You were releasing “The Unraveling” so you came to the program. Since then, probably most of the people who are watching this haven’t heard that radio program, especially Lynch fans so, roughly I’d like to talk about how we ended up here….I would like to talk about this again…our first encounter….do you remember it? *Hazuki starts laughing softly but ends up laughing loudly when he sees Kaoru struggling to remember it* *Kaoru appeared as a guest in「Weekly lynch」in NACK5 FM on March 2013. Kaoru: It was because of Reo, right? Hazuki: That’s it, that’s it…. Kaoru: I remember it was Reo (Lynch’s guitarist)  who introduced you to me…. About where it was…..I think it was at some hotel lobby… Hazuki: That’s it, that’s it…at that time you were staying at a hotel in Nagoya…. Reo and I went to the lobby to meet you and we went to a shop…..I was really really nervous…I was thinking “finally I’m going to meet Dir en grey”,  as I knew the band since I was in high school…I was really nervous about meeting you for the first time but….at that hotel lobby there were many fans showing up as well…like waiting for the members….I was thinking “as expected from stars/famous people” when you were getting off quickly…*Hazuki laughs* Kaoru: I see….it was at a hotel…

Hazuki: That time we hardly talk…. Kaoru: That’s true….I talked to Reo mostly… Hazuki: But I was listening to you in the sideway….at that time I already liked to drink…. But Reo doesn’t drink right?...*Kaoru nods* I guess he can’t drink…. I don’t know though….but he didn’t drink…the next time you came to Nagoya, I find the courage to invite you, I was like “tonight I’m going to invite Kaoru!”, but at that time you have another plan with other person so you told me “I’m sorry”…so I went back home…. The next day, you contacted me by email to meet in the afternoon… Kaoru: Suddenly? Hazuki: Suddenly…I thought it was weird because it was your day off… I got super excited….and we went to “Mountain”… Kaoru: Aaaaaa Hazuki: (Mountain) in Nagoya….I want everyone to google it….it’s a pasta place among other things… Kaoru: I’m sure your fans know it well….I get to know this place from you…. Hazuki: Is that so?-….*laughs*.. I was the one who introduced this place to you… Kaoru: That’s it, that’s it…. Hazuki: Well….since that moment….. each time that Kaoru came to Nagoya with Dir en grey…we would usually drink together….it was almost like a perfect attendance award, right? Kaoru: Right…. Hazuki talks a little bit more about attending Dir’s live when they came to play at Zepp Nagoya even though he lived in a rural area. Hazuki: At that time, I lived at my parents house in a really rural area of Nagoya.  As going by train to Nagoya was hard, coming back was also hard, manga cafe… Kaoru: *cutting in* That’s it! They both starting laughing. Kaoru: I asked you if you were ok (staying there)…. Hazuki: The first  time after the live was over….at the first after party…..the other members were there….there were many people gathering there… every one was talking and I didn’t do much there… the second time you told me to wait for you….when we finished drinking it was past midnight….early in the morning…. There wasn’t a night bus and I didn’t have money to come back by taxi….so I came to the manga café, slept a bit and came back by train in the morning… Kaoru: That’s it…. Hazuki: For me, that you came to Nagoya and we could drink together….it was something really valuable for me….it makes me feel nostalgic….those days have kept going these 15-16 years….it might feel a bit like “why a vocalist and a guitarist *laughs* but you are really a big senpai that I respect…that’s right…this program….for this talk corner….nothing has been decided…*Kaoru nods* I really didn't decide anything….what could be the first topic?....mmm…I think we could talk about the moment you got into rock music…. Kaoru: Like when I started playing? Hazuki: That’s right….for example, I only listened to kayōkyoku ( Japanese popular music from Showa Era) when I was an elementary student….at that time it started to sound “Rosier” by Luna Sea and I was like “what is this?” so I got into the rock world…is there something like that for you? Something like “oh that’s amazing!” or so…. Kaoru: The first time I listened to something and thought “that’s rock” was BOOWY. Hazuki: Eh?? Is that so? Kaoru: I think it was a thing for my generation…..everyone listened to BOOWY. Hazuki: They were still active? Kaoru: Barely….it was before their disband.…. Hazuki: I see… Kaoru: But at middle school everyone listened to them….but the band I listened to before them was Seikima-II…. Hazuki laughs. Kaoru: Singles at that time were records (LP), right?.. Hazuki: Yes… Kaoru: I bought it and listened to it….even at that time, like when it comes to bands and rock music it was like…..something amazing and flashy… Seikima-II felt like “this is it”….that’s how it felt when I listened and looked at them….I didn’t listen to them with the image of “this is rock” or a “band”…. But when I heard that kind of band, the guitars, the bass….everything together I thought “this is cool”….as expected, BOOWY’s (activities) at that time were decreasing but there was also bands like Barbee Boys and Ziggy…. But among all those bands I listened to….when I was in middle school, a transferred student came to my school to my class….he looked  very serious…in that class he felt like the calm type….he sat next to me….and once we were going back home he invited me to hang out with him…even thought he was a middle school student….his room was full of records…..he had everything….an amplifier, record player, tapes…he also have CDs that were a recent thing at that time….he also had this huge speaker…of course he had a bed as well as it was his room…. Hazuki: But it was your friend’s stuff? Not his father’s? Kaoru: It wasn’t his father’s stuff, all belonged to him… Hazuki: Ehhhh Kaoru: It was amazing….it looked like an unknown world to me….I went to his house often to hang out after school…we would listen to the records that he had, he told to listen to the music he liked….one of the things he made me listen to was metal…. Hazuki: Western music? Kaoru: There was a lot of western music as well…like Iron Maiden and Judas…also Japanese metal and so but….it was like a “no way, no way” for me…. Hazuki: At time it wasn’t your cup of tea? Kaoru: At all…. Hazuki: Eh… Kaoru: I liked music in English….like Michael Jackson…I like Pop….music from the UK…..I listened to new wave bands for example….but that kind of hard rock or metal….I have this image of muscular guys playing in shorts jumping around energetically while playing….with those things in their shoulders that made them look like Saint Seiya….*Hazuki laughs* I had that kind of image… Hazuki: This is after BOOWY? Kaoru: It’s after BOOWY….I still was listening to BOØWY’s all the time….*Kaoru mumbles something about BOOWY’s CD covers?* Hazuki mentions Japan ( A new wave band from the Uk). They also mention again BOOWY’ and finally, X Japan appears. Kaoru mentions X’s Vanishing vision and that he didn’t like it at first because of the fierce and fast tempo songs. Hazuki: Eh? *laughs* I really can’t believe what you are saying right now… Kaoru: It was like a “no,no” for me…but among them, there were one or two songs that I liked… Hazuki: Yes, yes… Kaoru: Then, at high school…..I graduated from middle school and I started high school on April…and the 21st of April “Blue blood” was released…. Hazuki: Oh! Kaoru: At the bookstore and so there were X stuff there, I already knew them….and I preordered the CD…. Hazuki: *Laughs* How did that happen? Kaoru: I don’t know….I just did it… Hazuki: But you didn’t like them at that time….*laughs* Kaoru: But somehow for the first time, I was interested in them so I went the day of the release to buy the CD, I went back home,I listened to it at the radio-cassette and I was like “what on Earth is this?” *Hazuki laughs* Hazuki: That wasn’t too fast and fierce for you… Kaoru: It wasn’t….at all… Hazuki points out that the song called like the album “Blue blood” is fast and fierce but Kaoru seems to not care about that as he was amazed by the album. For Hazuki, it was too fast and fierce so it was a “No” for him at that moment. Kaoru: I was like “what’s this”?.... Hazuki: And because of that opportunity, even though it was fierce and fast, as you bought the CD yourself… Kaoru:  For me, it was the feeling of the whole “Blue blood” album….it was like listening to something amazing… Hazuki: But you got interested in that album when you saw that add (at the bookstore)…. Kaoru; That’s it, That’s it…. Hazuki: From there, you got into that world-view…. Kaoru: Certainly…that’s it, that’s it…at first, as expected, I didn’t know much about instruments and their sound….but the songs…and the atmosphere when I listened to the songs….I saw there was a live at the medium hall of the Kousei Nenkin Kaikan in Osaka but the tickets were already sold out. I feel like going to the venue at that moment…. Hazuki: But you didn’t have a ticket…. Kaoru tells next the story about how he got the ticket after walking around the venue. It seems  he was first offered a ticket by a old guy who asked for 5000 yen for the ticket (the real price was 3000 yen) but Kaoru didn’t have the money for it as he needed some for the train back home. Kaoru gave up about getting a ticket and he was wondering if he should buy some merch as people started to gather for the concert.  Then, another old guy guy approached him and offered him a ticket, that was a seat in the last row of the first floor, and Kaoru got it. Kaoru adds he was kind of careless for doing that? ( getting a ticket from a scalper) And Hazuki starts laughing nervously. Hazuki: Well, well it’s ok…..because  it’s an old story…. Kaoru: Then at the live I was on the right side…. Hazuki: That was Hide’s…. Kaoru: When I saw him….I was shocked…. Hazuki: Like it was something you shouldn’t see…. Were you a middle school student at that moment? Kaoru: A High school student…. Hazuki: Ah, you were in high school…. Kaoru: After seeing him, I just could see this person… Hazuki: But you are Dir en grey’s leader, right? Everyone…that fast and fierce songs were a “no” for you *laughs* Kaoru: It was really a “no-no” for me….for real….no way… Hazuki: And after that, the most intense and fast songs……but you didn’t like that at the beginning….but because of Hide…..X japan at that time was really fierce/violent….*Kaoru nods* With their hair up this way…*makes the gesture of the hair* Kaoru: All of them have their hair up…..but at the beginning, I was a little reluctant to get into foreign metal…. Hazuki: I understand that, it was the same for me….I was reluctant to it…. Kaoru: It was like it felt hard to get into it…. Hazuki: But when I was reading interviews of the artist I liked, they wrote about other musicians they liked, right? I wanted to try to listen to them, but I couldn’t really do it….because I didn’t like it…. Kaoru: That’s right… Hazuki: It was like that….was it the same for you? Kaoru: Like Alice Cooper with all that heavy black make-up…..he looked scary….when I listened to it, I didn’t really understand it… Hazuki: Like “X is better”, right?….it was like that for me too…. Kaoru: Hide was into pop music so I got into some artists because of him. Hazuki: I see… Kaoru: It’s stuff that I still listen nowadays….at that time he introduced these artist to his fans and I got into it. Now I listen to it and I think it’s cool...somehow it became like my roots….but at that time when it comes to rock, it was like “I don’t get it”…. Hazuki: I see….at that time, the members of Luna Sea would talk about Guns N' Roses or Nirvana….I rent some stuff from them but I was like “it’s not fierce, it’s not dark or bright, it’s just different”. Another time I listened to Korn and Slipknot and I was like “Oh, I like this”…until then, I barely listen to anything like that…. Kaoru: So since that time, you started to listen to western music…. Hazuki: Yes, I started to listen to it properly…..you already finished your beer… Kaoru: I did…. Hazuki: Oh, I’m sorry….*Hazuki grabs the bottle of “Tantakatan” to open it* That guy you talked about, the guy with the audio equipment, what happened to him after that? Kaoru: At that time, we graduated from middle school and…. Hazuki: Is that so? Kaoru: I don’t know what he is doing since then at all…. Hazuki: Eh??? Kaoru: Truth is….I would like to try to meet him…. Hazuki: If he is watching this…..if you see this, you can definitely contact us….so,  about music....this talk is because you are going to release  a single and it would be strange to not talk about it… Kaoru: It feels weird… Hazuki: It’s embarrassing for me because I’m not used to this. It’s a bit embarrassing but I really want to ask you about it…. “Oboro”, which is going to be released on 28th April… ....Tbc....

[voldemorts-tap-shoes]

A very very happy (early) birthday to the wonderful, amazing @accio-broom !

🎂🎂🎂

So thankful to have you as a friend and beta! I hope you have a fabulous birthday weekend!! 🥳❤️

Harpies vs Cannons

It’s not like Hermione to be late, truly.

The thing was that she had been working on a new filing system all week—the most pressing of a laundry list of improvements that she intended to make in her new post as the librarian at Devon Academy—and had completely lost track of the time. Her predecessor at the school had been long-overdue for retirement, and from the sounds of things, quite checked out in her management of the school’s resources.

Even as she is scrambling out of her car, in a tizzy over her own tardiness, Hermione chuckles at the unintentional pun in her inner thoughts. It’s quirks like this, Hermione thinks as she hurries across the parking lot, that have kept her from being adept at making friends, though to be honest, she’s quite content with her lot. She was the same growing up—satisfied to be surrounded by books rather than her peers. She has her work, her beloved cat, and her own space. What more could a girl want?

Of course, the journalism teacher at the Academy, who happened to be Hermione’s roommate in her first year at uni, and quirkier than Hermione had ever dreamed of being, had other plans for her. She knew that Luna had moved back to her hometown after graduation, but she had switched courses so many times in school—”the pursuit of knowledge is its own reward,” Luna had cryptically said to her after one such academic pivot—that Hermione wasn’t sure what sort of career she had landed on until coming face to face with her at her first faculty meeting. The two weren’t particularly close at uni, but it was still nice to see a familiar face. Hermione didn’t know anyone else in the small town of Ottery St. Catchpole, and Luna had been trying to rectify that since their very first day of school.

Hermione had been offering excuses for weeks about needing to unpack and wanting to get settled in, but Luna had been insistent about tonight. “It’s the first bout of the season,” she had said to Hermione over a mid-morning coffee in the breakroom. “You should come and meet the other girls.”

Hermione had frowned in confusion. “A bout?” she questioned. “What season?”

Luna tapped the bulletin board over the coffee machine, where a green and yellow flyer boldly displayed the word Harpies across the top. “Roller derby.”

“You play roller derby?” Hermione asked, unable to keep the skepticism out of her voice. Luna’s slight figure and airy personality didn’t seem like they would be well-suited to such a sport, though Hermione admittedly knew very little about it.

“Oh yes, it’s quite fun,” Luna replied. “And we usually all go to the pub afterwards. It’ll be a great chance for you to meet people in town.” The warning bell for the start of the next class let out an ear-splitting clang above their heads, cutting short any chance Hermione may have had at an argument. “Seven o’clock,” Luna called over her shoulder as she hurried out into the hallway. “It’ll be fun!”

And while Hermione had her doubts about that, she really, truly, hadn’t intended to be late.

She hurries into the large but unassuming building where Luna has directed her and is hit immediately with a cacophony of sound and color. The full parking lot should have sufficed to tell her how popular these events are, but she still finds herself surprised at the size of the crowd inside, all cheering and yelling as the girls speed around the track. To her left, the fans are decked out in the green and yellow hues of the flyer at school, and the crowd on the right is an undulating sea of orange and black.

Trying to take it all in as she weaves through the throng of fans, Hermione looks up and sees that the clock’s timer is down to under five minutes. A quick Google search during her afternoon free period told her that the matches—bouts, she reminds herself—are played in two thirty-minute halves, and she knows she’s not late enough to have missed the entire thing, so it must be nearly halftime. Hopefully Luna won’t be too disappointed by her late arrival.

Hermione makes her way around to the bleachers on the left and spots an empty space on the front row. Just as she is starting to lower herself to what is surely an uncomfortable metal seat, the Harpies fans surrounding her erupt in jeers. The referee is signaling to one of the Harpies skaters to take a seat in the penalty box, and it’s clear the fans aren’t happy about it. The complaints seem to be the loudest from a raucous group just behind her, all with shocking red hair that matches the long ponytail dangling from beneath the penalized player’s helmet.

Two of the men are twins, and they are flinging the most colorful of the taunts at the referee. Two others from the group—one of whom she didn’t realize was a part of it on account of the jet black hair that doesn’t match the rest—break off and speed down the stairs beside her. The penalized player skates over to have an animated chat with the two men over the track barrier before taking her seat in the box with a huff.

Hermione waits a moment for the two men to return to their seats as play resumes, but they remain leaning against the barricade to watch. It’s quite rude to the spectators behind them, especially considering how tall the red-haired one is. She gives a loud clearing of her throat, but the noise from the crowd drowns out even the exaggerated gesture. It’s not as if she understands what’s going on, but she would still like to see it.

She stands from her seat with a frown and approaches the barricade. “Excuse me,” she says, taking care to make her voice firm but not aggressive.

The red haired man turns to her and meets her gaze with blue eyes so deep she’s in danger of drowning in them. The crooked half-smile he gives her has her nearly forgetting why she’s approached him in the first place. “Yes?” he questions, his voice warm and friendly.

Hermione points to the empty spot in the bleachers that she has just vacated. “My seat is over there, and I’m afraid I can’t see around you. Would you mind sitting down?”

“Yeah, reckon I would actually. This is the best spot to watch from.” Hermione opens her mouth to form an angry retort, but he continues before she can get it out. “So maybe you’d like to join me up here? I’m Ron.”

He holds his hand out for her to shake. Hermione hesitates before deciding that she might actually like to take him up on his offer. “Hermione,” she replies, accepting the gesture.

To her surprise, his eyes light up with recognition. “You must be Luna’s friend, then?”

Hermione nods as she steps up next to him, deciding to see if he’s right about the view. “Yes, we were roommates in uni, and now we work together at the school.”

“Oh yeah, cool. This is Harry, by the way.” Ron elbows the black-haired man, who affords them barely a glance before resuming the animated conversation he seems to be having entirely in hand gestures with the penalized player. Ron gives her an apologetic smile as he turns back to the track. “Derby boyfriends,” he snorts by way of explanation.

They watch the action in silence for a few minutes before Ron ventures, “So, do you play?”

Hermione shakes her head. “No, I don’t even skate.”

“That’s okay. Luna didn’t either when Ginny first got her into it.”

“Ginny?” Hermione repeats, wondering despite herself if Ron, too, is a derby boyfriend.

He points to the redhead now leaving the penalty box to rejoin the action. “My sister.”

“Oh.” She can’t help the smile that creeps onto her face as the buzzer signals the end of the first half. Their little bubble collapses with Luna and Ginny skating over to greet them and a torrent of what must be Ron’s family descends from the stands.

An older woman who was previously concealed by the height of the rest of the group makes her way to the center of the cluster, leaning over the bannister to kiss Ginny’s cheek. “I’m headed home to start supper,” she says as she stuffs a green pennant into her oversized handbag. “Luna, dear, would you like to join us?”

“Oh, that’s quite alright, Mrs. Weasley,” Luna replies in her airy voice. “I told Hermione we would go to the pub after the bout. It’s her first time at roller derby.”

Mrs. Weasley’s soft maternal gaze lands on Hermione without any introduction. “Any friend of Luna’s is a friend of ours, of course you’re welcome to come too, dear.”

“Oh, that’s…” Hermione finds herself at a rare loss for words, but then she catches Ron watching her, awaiting her response, and finds her voice. “That sounds lovely. Thank you for the invitation.”

“Don’t worry,” whispers one of the twins as their mother heads off with a wave.

“We’ll still go to the pub after,” adds the other, completing his brother’s thought.

The referee blows a long, shrill whistle, indicating the second half of the bout is set to resume.

“Sorry,” Ron says, and she notices a faint blush creeping up his neck. “Mum can be a bit pushy.”

“It’s okay. That’s very kind of her.” Hermione gives him a reassuring smile.

“Besides,” Harry puts in, joining the conversation even as his eyes never leave Ginny, “once you’ve been to dinner at the Weasleys, you’ll have met half the town.”

Luna nods her agreement as she reaffixes her helmet and its striped cover. “Aren’t you glad you came tonight?” she asks, letting herself roll backwards towards her team.

Hermione’s eyes flicker to Ron, and she feels the blush that colors her own cheeks. “Very.”

[adobe-outdesign]

Reviews of All Scrapped Spaceword Betas

Exactly what it says in the title. This is also for my reference, as I might redesign some of these later for funsies. 

I’m only including Pokemon that were 100% scrapped (we’re not here to argue what might have become what) and aren’t evos/pre-evos of existing Pokemon. Also, I’m using the English fan-translations for the names because I don’t speak Japanese.

Flambear/Volbear/Dynabear

Our original fire starter, and yeah, I can see why this was scrapped. For starters (heh), it looks more like a rodent that evolves into a lion than anything resembling a bear. And secondly... it doesn’t really have a clear focus, nor a memorable design. It’s just kind of a rodent-bear thing with flames tacked onto it. 

The best Pokes usually have a "catch” to them, and these guys lack that. For example, this got replaced by Cyndaquil, which has the concept of flaming spikes that form out of its back. That’s memorable. This, well, isn’t.

Possible reason for being scrapped: Lack of focus/interesting design

Pokes to fill the void: Teddiursa and Ursaring are probably the closest in terms of being bears. Something about it also reminds me of Growlithe/Arcanine, probably because it’s a fluffy fire thing that evolves into a bigger fluffy fire thing with a mane and black markings.

Cruz/Aqua/Aquaria

This has the same problem as the Flambear line, just less extreme. It’s okay, being a little plesiosaur that evolves into a bigger plesiosaur, but it also lacks an interesting catch to it. The pearls are maybe something, but they’re not really emphasized, just kind of tacked on. Plus Dragonair kind of has the crystal neck ornaments on lock. And the horn. And the underbelly. And the water theme...

Whoops.

I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to a plesiosaur water starter in the future, but it would probably have to be completely redesigned.

Possible reason for being scrapped: Lack of focus/interesting design; too similar to Dragonair

Pokes to fill the void: Dragonair, as mentioned above. If you want a plesiosaur, Lapras is always a thing.

Putting the rest under the cut for length.

Sunmola1/Anchorage/Grotess

This is one of the most chaotic beta evolutions out there, aside from beta Girafarig. I can see the resemblance between Sunmola1 and Anchorage to some extent--counter-shaded blue fish with two fins and a short body--but the anchor part of the evolution comes out of nowhere. Then it sporadically turns into a gulper eel, which has nothing to do with the previous two evolutions at all.

I’ve heard some people suggest that Sunmola1 basically gets dragged into the depths and turns into a deep-sea creature due to its anchor, which is a fantastic idea. However, if that’s what they were going for here it’s not really clear, and I think it could be executed much better.

Individually, Sumola1 is a little plain. Not terrible, but I think they could do something more interesting with the little head thing. Anchorage is memorable, but there’s something very un-Pokemonish about it. I think it’s just the fact that it’s basically cut in half--I keep expecting the backsprite to show its organs or something. Grotess is also a bit too plain.

It’s also worth noting that at some point, this was the evolutionary line, which is more consistent but much less interesting (save for the middle evo’s eyes, which are pretty great).

Possible reason for being scrapped: Lack of evolutionary consistency; some designs plain or not very fitting for Pokemon

Pokes to fill the void: Alomomola is a sunfish Pokemon. Sharpedo is a shark crossed with an object, and Grotess almost certainly became Huntail and Gorebyss.

Rinring/Bellboyant

These two... are pretty good. They have a simple catch--black cats with bells--and the designs are nicely executed and memorable.

If I had one complaint, it’s that they maybe seems a tad unfocused in the backend of things. They’re dark types, but have a bunch of “cutesy” moves, and it’s not clear why’d they be dark apart from being black cats. They seem to have a magical girl vibe (Bellboyant looks a bit like Luna from Sailor Moon, which is probably not a coincidence), which also has nothing to do with the bells or the dark theme. I do think that the designs themselves are fine though, and that if you just focused on the sound concept a hair more you’d have a pretty great Pokemon.

Possible reason for being scrapped: Not entirely sure, these definitely would’ve been popular. Might’ve just been a balancing thing, or it lost the dev popularity contest. 

Pokes to fill the void: Skitty kind of has the same vibe as Rinring. They also remind me a bit of the Meowth line, being cat Pokemon with metal attached to them. The Purrloin line takes over the “dark-type cat” aspect.

Bomseel

I’m torn on this one. On the one hand, it’s a very plain looking Pokemon. The idea of it balancing a fireball/bomb on its nose instead of a ball is clever and memorable enough... except that it’s dependent on it being on that pose. It can’t balance that 24/7, and once it stops all you’re left with is a plain sea lion with dark points.

However, it’s fire/water. The only fire/water we have right now is a legendary, so it would be sweet to have one that’s just a regular poke. So it’s not that the concept itself is bad, using a water-based animal and adding a fire type; it’s just more that the execution is lackluster. Give this guy a hook not related to the fireball and make the seal itself more interesting and I think you’d have something here.

Possible reason for being scrapped: Lack of interesting design

Pokes to fill the void: Volcanion is our only fire/water Pokemon for now. In terms of seals/sea lions with a circus theme, Popplio is a decent enough match.

Tigrette/Electiger

Someone at Gamefreak hates tigerballs, because this line was planned for Gen 1, scrapped, then planned for Gen 2 and scrapped again. Which is strange, because while it’s not the best design it’s not bad either. It’s very very cute, and could definitely find an audience.

However, I’m not really sure what the premise is here. If it’s based on tiger clay bells, then it doesn’t really play into the bell theme much at all. And if it’s not... why is it so round? It’s not that the roundness is bad, but it would usually form the hook for this Pokemon, like it collects static electricity in its fur that makes it puff out or something. Maybe some dex descriptions would’ve made this clearer, who knows.

Also, Electiger is literally the exact same design as Tigrette, just bigger. It would either need a completely new final evolution or would need to show up as a single evo. 

While that sounds harsh, I do really like this design. Fix the evo, figure out/build on the hook of it being round or bell like, and maybe refine the markings a touch and it would be pretty perfect.

Possible reason for being scrapped: Not sure. Might’ve been too similar to Pikachu (both being yellow round electric type Pokemon with zig-zag tails, and og fat Pikachu was also very round). The need to rework the evolution also might’ve turned GameFreak off of it.

Pokes to fill the void: Spheal and Rowlet are both pleasantly round. Pikachu is cute and electric themed in a similar way. In terms of tigers, Raikou is also electric-type. The exact way the stripes are done here is also very similar to Litten.

Kurstraw/Pangshi

GameFreak. GameFreak, you are telling me that we almost had a voodoo-doll Pokemon based off of Ushi-no-Toki-Mairi that evolves into a fucking jiangshi panda?? You are killing me here.

A few interesting things to note here:

Kurstraw evolves at level 1. How? Why? No idea. It could just be a placeholder, but...

The fact that Kurstraw was set to have Curse as its signature move (then called “nail”) and that it only learned this move at level 100 makes it evolving at level 1 seem intentional.

To make things more confusing, it almost seems like (and this is speculation on my part) GameFreak’s intention was to encourage players to not evolve this thing. Stats are comparable, Kurstraw only gets its signature move if you level it up to where it can’t evolve, and Kurstraw has the better moveset (getting frigging destiny bond at lv. 16, while Pangshi gets... splash (which. makes more sense when you consider it’s called “hop” in Japan but it’s still useless). If that was what they were aiming for, then that’s a really unique mechanic that would really make this poke stand out.

Design wise, Kurstraw is... well, it’s a doll with a nail rammed through it. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s not very Pokemon-ish. Meanwhile, Pangshi is maybe a little too much like a Jianshi rather than being reminiscent of one, right down to the little hat. The pose, fangs, and panda colors (which resemble Jiangshi mandarin robes) are more than enough to get the hook across.

What I really love about these two are the expressions. They are just like, so dissonantly happy. Kurstraw is literally like

and Pangshi has the dead-eyed thousand-yard stare of Espurr, except unlike Espurr it looks completely and utter deranged. It looks like if this Pokemon ended up in Mystery Dungeon, it would respond to every question with “my favorite color is blood”. Amazing.

Possible reason for being scrapped: I think these two might’ve been scrapped just because they were too scary. I mean, it’s a voodoo doll impaled on a giant nail that evolves into a literal actual corpse. The implied violence was probably just a bit much for GameFreak.

The reason I think this is, beside the fact that they have fairly solid designs, good hooks, and all of their stats and moves in place, most beta Pokemon have had their premises revisited at some point. But we’ve really never gotten a voodoo doll Pokemon since this, and we definitely haven’t gotten any jiangshi Pokemon either, which suggests the problem lied in the very concept rather than the execution.

Pokes to fill the void: People say that Kurstraw was reworked into Banette, but if anyone Pokemon resembles it to be, it would actually be Mimikyu. They both have cloth bodies with drawn-on smiley faces that resemble something cuter than them and they both want to curse you for existing.

For Pangshi... well, there’s Pancham if you’re looking for tiny pandas. If you’re after a jiangshi though, you’re out of luck.

Wolfman/Warwolf

This Pokemon has a great hook. I mean, a Pokemon that wears a pelt that transforms it into a werewolf? Hell yeah. Not to mention it might be a reference to an obscure Nordic tale about people donning wolf pelts to turn into wolves for ten days.

Design wise, it... well, Wolfman looks almost exactly like Venonat. I’m not the only one who sees this, right?

That aside, I think the idea could be played up a little more. Wolfman is fine, save for its Venonat-ishness, but Warwolf doesn’t do much for me, basically just being a larger version with claws and fangs. If the idea is that it turns into a werewolf by wearing the pelt, what if its evolution looked somewhat like a wolf? Or better yet, the actually body of the thing changes to fill the wolf skin more, so it looks like its a part of it? That would really elevate this Pokemon to a new level.

Possible reason for being scrapped: I’d guess that it’s the same problem as Kurstraw and Pangshi--too scary. I mean, that is a dead pelt of some kind, which means that it killed and skinned some kind of Pokemon, and that’s not getting into questions of what Pokemon they got that from.

It’s also worth noting that when we did finally get a werewolf Pokemon via Lycanroc, it was minus the pelt concept.

Pokes to fill the void: Lycanroc as our werewolf Pokemon. In terms of design, Venonat is very similar as noted above. And something about it really reminds me of Snorunt, being little critters with glowing eyes that wear a cloak of some kind and live in the cold (this line was ice-type).

[polythremed]

wheres the essay op i want whitsun bugs

there might not have been an essay before, but there is now! bugs and inverts are hugely overlooked. however, the victorians loved insects! they were huge inspirations in art, shells were used in fashion, so what would be more vogue than a giant bug for a pet?

(Punch, September 29, 1877)

the bulk of this talk will be under the cut but tl;dr is that arachnids still offer a lot of potential, beetles and moths live in the neath and were popular at the time, and there are a lot of lesser-known bugs that fit fallen london

also cw for bug images because there’s a lot of them beyond here, this is for people with good taste only

firstly: arachnids

FL has a lot of arachnids and this year’s whitsun saw the introduction of a squirrel with a scorpion tail! i think it’s a fun design personally, but arachnid companions are Not obsolete. the most relevant arachnids are crabs, and crabs are more varied than you might think!

(image by abc.net.au)

the yeti crab was the first crab to come to mind, related to hermit crabs and living in hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean. it means we’ve got another underground beast, and could you imagine this as a spired crab? it could be the product of shapeling arts, and the yeti crab’s famously hairy arms have the potential to be used as arm warmers or 1890s uggs for the discerning londoner!

there’s also the japanese giant spider crab, which might be more lanky than it’s neathy angler crab cousins, but look at those legs! how big do you think it is? how about taller than the average person?

you have to understand how badly i want to be this man they also inhabit vents near the bottom of the ocean (the crabs, not this man), they’re omnivores and one specimen’s measured in at 3.8 metres (12ft) across its outstretched legs! it’d probably be a dreaded companion by the sheer size of it, but imagine the walking sticks you could get from those legs

arrowhead crabs and horseshoe crabs are also runners up for this!

mites also came to mind, being small arachnids- the mite above is an adult female tea mite, and not much is known about mites! they’re primitive but have a terrible reputation, and FBG have shone the spotlight on other unloved creatures in the past. there’s also Caveat Emptor which tells us that the bazaar has parasites which are probably like mites? you could have your own romance vampire, surely nothing could go wrong

and if you’ve come here for spiders, how about the pelican spider? with a pelican-like head, pelican spiders prey exclusively on other spiders! isn’t that a fun way to counter sorrow spider infestations? introducing new species is a good thing, right?

higher tiers of this companion could start to own the whole pelican thing. i’ve seen monster designs of spiders with human heads but never a spider with a pelican head!

(image by me)

all he needs is some love and spiders

close arachnid contenders that i want to mention before this whole post is made up of eight-legged companions: camel spiders, harvestmen, and whip scorpions!

secondly: beetles

as john b. s. haldane once said, “god has an inordinate fondness for beetles”. and he’s right because there are more known species of beetle than types of mammal

in fact, the victorians fucking loved beetles (and butterflies but we’ll get to that)

we have phosphorescent scarabs as luminosity items and a few mentions of beetles in airs texts and in sunless sea, the latter where a beetle has been eating through your ship’s supplies. being from england, i have a vague idea of what sort of beetles would end up in london!

there are still stag beetles, rove beetles, and even cardinal beetles, but these by themselves might feel pretty basic. they’d be good t1 companions, but why not have a companion that’s a whole insect keeping setup? there’s even some colourful beauties like the scarlet malachite beetle which are now incredibly endangered

but if you want something Huge and Large and easily convertible into a fashion accessory, hercules beetles have a lot of potential! horns that can be used for knives in dockside brawls, or you could take most of the bug features and place them on a furry animal like a guinea pig since seas already gave us the guinea page

these beetles could also add diversity for the phosphorescent scarabs- and speaking of phosphorescent beetles, why not look to fireflies? they aren’t fire and nor are they flies, but to carry on with FBG’s habit of “slapping animals together to see what happens”, you could easily make something with the features of a firefly larvae

or you could take the even more interesting approach of having a grub the size of a cat, for example. hercules beetles have some of the largest larvae and the feast of the rose gave us maggots, so why not have one of these babies but the size of a cat? and glowing? they’re a possible light source that might make you more bizarre or respectable

a close runner up that i wanted to mention was diving beetles and how freaky they can get if they’ve adapted to the zee but the sabretooth longhorn beetle is going to close this segment as an embodiment of a dangerous and respectable companion- it already looks like it’s been carved out of wood! i think a carved polythreme beetle would be incredible

(see also: bombardier beetles, weevils, oil beetles, tiger beetles, harlequin beetles, trilobite beetles, and giraffe weevils!)

moths, and less commonly found underground, butterflies

another love of the victorians: butterflies!

butterflies are basically moths by a different name (there are way more moths than butterflies) and we do have canon dreams where a frostmoth the size of your head appears in your window, and wouldn’t that be useful for hunting in parabola? much like the beetles, there’s a lot of diversity that can be explored especially if we add shapeling arts

white plume moths are also found in the UK and just look at those wings

we can have a usual approach of adding the wings to something else, like a particularly unlucky bat, or just have something bizarre with the moth itself! more eyes? more eyes has been a common theme lately, or you can combine an insect with an arachnid and give it whip scorpion hands

these wings would be one hell of a decoration because white plume moths are considered to be micromoths

on the other end of the spectrum and taking the role of a respectable companion, the white witch moth is considered to be one of the largest insects on earth because of its wingspan! maybe they’re a more risky cousin of the frostmoth, maybe you could turn the markings on these wings into shifting sigils? don’t set your moths on fire

(image by Acrocynus)

white witch moths themselves have a lot of diversity while cup moths are another contender for an animal you could combine with another animal

(image by itchydogimages)

why not add the tail of a squirrel to this one? or a scorpion’s tail? a lion? with enough of these, you could end up with a very striking tawny coat. this thing is the embodiment of being neathproofed. even if they’re opposites of frostmoths and are associated with embers because of it, or if the tail is closer to being a candle!

moths are also good at mimicking in order to defend themselves, which is why you see so many moths and butterflies with eye patterns on their wings. birds hate eyes so much so there’s room for some real eyes on your brand new butterfly or moth companion

but some moths also mimic snakes, so for any fingerking fans out there: behold the atlas moth

this is such a mithridacy companion. can you imagine the t3 version of this where the snake heads are alive? we have a two-headed terror bird, so why not snakes on a moth? there’s even jokes to be made about one head telling truths and another telling lies, maybe the only head that could tell you the difference is the moths!

for butterflies themselves, we have butterflies that drink the tears of alligators and tortoises- so melancholy butterflies that only appear to feed on lacre? (and they might not be butterflies down here, you might’ve already mistaken a day-flying moth for a butterfly, not that the difference matters for much in the neath)

another strong mention is vampire moths if we’re carrying on the theme of insects drinking odd things, but a vampire moth with bat wings could be wonderful at ruining the lives of taxonomists

luna moths are also massive and could be more fitting now that we know who the creditor is, and that whitsun is talking so much about the bazaar and the masters

other lesser-known but interesting insects

we don’t entirely need to cover bees and wasps but it would be nice to have a piece of media showing wasps in a way that doesn’t present them as evil, but wasps could wait until hell is really significant again since wasps and bees are incredibly cool cousins. and thread waisted wasps!

(image by Bev Wigney)

get a load of that! these don’t even have the ability to sting humans, what would a thread waisted wasp-themed spindlewolf look like? how much shadowy with something with these colours give you? imagine the corsets inspired by these things

assassin bugs are another dangerous option considering how good they are at hunting other insects, and the neath wouldn’t be complete without more creatures that burrow underground and can find themselves in this weird cavern

(image by Fir0002)

their forearms are specifically developed to dig! perhaps they can dig through a rival’s belongings, or perhaps you can fashion their claws into brass knuckles or a belt buckle?

(image by faraaz abdool)

another fashionable, lesser-known invert is the velvet worm! we have plenty of slugs in fallen london, but you know what they’re lacking? legs

about 200 species of velvet worms have been described and they’re already quite rare! they all fall under the onychophora name and there isn’t anything else like them. you could easily have some persuasive with this, or if you turn it into a stole that can hold however many hands you want!

(image by docj96)

also, thrips! i found out about these today and apparently you’re likely to hear about them if you’re into gardening. sometimes they have crab claws for forelegs, so hey- more bazaar similarities! they have an interesting method of flight (clapping their wings together) but this might not bee too impactful unless you want a novel way to raise your investigating

flies are also criminally underrated, but i couldn’t tell you how many flies live in fallen london. stalk-eyed flies, however, are gorgeous things that would work so well as t2 companions! you could even go all out with a horsefly taking on attributes of an actual horse

(image by minden pictures)

the stalk eyed fly sees you five minutes before you can see it

there are genuinely so many more that come to mind (even neathy types of mantis- orchid mantids that have adapted to blend in with mushrooms! imagine!) but a good way to finish this off is with a love story

there are centipedes who will guard and hold their young close to them! giant centipedes are protective mothers and you can get hundreds of companions in one- or perhaps just one companion who really misses her hundreds of kids. and they hold their eggs just as carefully whilst waiting for them to hatch!

isn’t that a good love story? there’s a lot you can combine this with, but i’ve spent most of today writing this one! do with these creatures what you will, i definitely enjoyed talking about neathy possibilities for insects!

(bogleech also has a fantastic article on insects that should be used as the basis for pokemon designs, if you want even more out there bugs be sure to look here)

[fandumbstuff]

The Star Wars Saga, ranked best to worst.

1. The Empire Strikes Back Directed by Irvin Kershner

Upon close consideration, I’ve come to the shocking conclusion that Empire is the best Star Wars film. There’s a wealth of world-building and character development here that in many ways makes Star Wars the living breathing universe it is now. A richly complex melodrama lies at the heart of Empire, giving a whole new meaning to the term “space opera”. The performances here are some of the strongest in the entire franchise. Mark Hamill not only fleshes out Luke’s character, but in his training with Yoda and his duel with Vader he establishes the profound nature of the force, and how every future character interacts with it. As Han and Leia, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher create authenticity to their characters’ relationship. Often misinterpreted as playfully hostile or sassy, there’s a real and endearing sense of affection between them, particularly in the infamous “I love you”/”I know” line- shedding their previously petty flirtation and affirming their true feelings. The emotional crux of Empire lies not in the most memorable twist, but in the moments immediately following it - In Luke and Leia reaching out to each other, reconnecting a relationship that was lost, rekindling hope in the force after we thought it was lost.

2. A New Hope  Directed by George Lucas

I’ll be the first in line to make fun of dorky George Lucas and his woeful attempts at writing dialogue or romance. However, it’s pretty damn impossible to ignore what he achieved with Star Wars in 1977. The sheer audacity of his vision and his determination in executing it despite the naysaying from producers and supposed friends. Lucas had the bold idea of using cinema for it’s absolute worth- more than just a storytelling medium but a theatrical one. A cacaphony of sight and sound that could draw mass audiences and create a lasting impression. It’s a formula that every Hollywood and Bollywood blockbuster strives and more often than not fails to follow. It’s hard to dissociate A New Hope from the cultural phenomenon it helped create, but when you do, it stands as an impressive film on it’s own. Groundbreaking in terms of it’s visual effects and nostalgic in the simplicity of it’s sci-fi serial story, Star Wars ticked all the right boxes for so many people. If I was to boil Star Wars down to an essence, i think it lies in 2 scenes: Luke looking out at the binary sunset on Tattooine, and Han Solo yahooing after the Falcon saves Luke in the Death Star trenches. Those two scenes, Wistfulness and Exuberance, are the two sides of one concept- Adventure. Star Wars ignited those emotions in every child’s imagination, and it’s a flame that’s likely to never go out. 

3. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Directed by Gareth Evans

Hard to believe this is a Disney movie. While the house of mouse may have a reputation for emotional gut punches in kids movies, it’s never felt quite so... permanent. Rogue One is an unrelenting emotional journey barelling towards surefire tragedy. We spend moments with characters that seem to be carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. The sense of desperation that permeates the movie almost overpowers any sense of heroism. It’s so unlike anything we’ve seen in a Star Wars movie. Their courage comes from a place that is wholly genuine and believable. We see the rebellion for the despondent group that they are. Sorely outnumbered by the Empire, their actions in this movie show a reckless, darker side to them and makes the morality of Star Wars so much more complex. The first time we meet Cassian Andor- the stand out performace of the film by Diego Luna- we see him kill another rebel to protect their secrets. It’s a movie that reframes the original Star Wars trilogy, making it a richer, complex universe and more intriguing as a result. Also, the last five minutes might be the best five minutes in any Star Wars movie.

4. Return of the Jedi Directed by Richard Marquand

The one sore spot in the original trilogy for me are the Ewoks. I realise it's ridiculous for me to complain about kid-friendly creatures in a kid's movie, but Star Wars has done this a lot more tolerably in the form of Porgs and Baby Yoda. Just something about these furry, Tibetan speaking monsters who somehow have the wherewithal to defeat an elite and well equipped empire rubs me the long way. Anyway, other than that, the movie's pretty fantastic. The culmination of Luke's journey comes to a head in an extremely emotional and effective climax. John Williams score crescendos to operatic heights and Mark Hamill's stellar performance sells Luke’s torment. It’s also worth noting that in those final moments of moral dilemma, Darth Vader is silent- it’s David Prowse’s performance entirely that sells this. His incredible presence throughout the trilogy builds to this moment and you can feel the weight of it in those closeups on Vader. Every other cast member rounds the story out perfectly- from Lando and Han’s playful rapport to Leia’s more militaristic side in planning the rebellions final moves. I still bemoan the fact that they changed the final song- an opinion that I’m apparently a minority on- but it’s a pretty incredible ending altogether and wonderfully cathartic to watch over and over again.

5. The Last Jedi Directed by Rian Johnson

With Last Jedi, Rian Johnson analyzed the universe Star Wars inhabits, and what drives it’s characters. The characters that we love are pushed to their limits, struggle against insurmountable odds and their own innate flaws. And we see all of them fail in turn. It is remarkably bleak, but not without purpose. It is out of this failure that the Resistance needs to recoup and come back stronger. The performances here, are arguably the best you’ll find in the entire franchise. Daisy Ridley has to break down Rey’s naivete and find a deeper sense of self actualization. Adam Driver hands in some of his best work, by swerving the audience into believing Kylo Ren and then creating a desperate plea in THAT throne room scene, and eventually turning him into a snivelling villain, all in the same movie. Mark Hamill’s performance here is heartbreaking- revealing the bleakest version of Luke, and struggling to find his redemption. Last Jedi is a bold deconstuction of these characters, of what they stand for, and what makes Star Wars beautiful.

6. The Force Awakens Directed by J. J. Abrams

In many ways, a safe movie to announce the return of Star Wars. But it’s hard to fault this. Disney’s decision making was shrewd here, bringing on J. J. Abrams to pay homage to George Lucas’ original vision, returning the franchise to it’s roots of practical effects and shooting on film. There was something truly special about experiencing this film in theatres, so much so that I did it eleven times. It captured a sense of wonder for fans new and old- hearing the scream of Tie Fighters, John Williams herald the return of the Millenium Falcon, and the look of awe on Rey’s face as she clutches her destiny in her hand. I’ll be honest, the film loses some of this magic without the shared experience of an audience, and it’s flaws are more noticeable. But being swept up in the excitement of adventure felt so darn good in 2015, and that’s so key to this franchise.

7. Revenge of the Sith Directed by George Lucas

This movie has risen so much in my opinion, entirely due to the animated Clone Wars series. Revenge of the Sith depicts the overwhelming tragedy that frames the original Star Wars. Watching Clone Wars explains explicitly what makes this film so tragic. But it’s more than that- it’s a catastrophic failure on behalf of the Jedi Order. Ignorance and pride allow evil to fester and grow. George Lucas took the simplicity of the moral struggle he established in 1977 and tried to give it depth and complexity with the prequels, and it pays off in Revenge of the Sith. It leads into the original trilogy quite brilliantly, with a promise of hope and resilience.

8. The Phantom Menace Directed by George Lucas

It has not aged well. While the advent of CGI I’m sure felt exciting at the time, and you almost can’t fault George Lucas for his insistence on staying at the forefront of VFX innovation as he has always done, it’s his reliance on so much of it that fails horribly. Like a kid in a candy store, Lucas stuffs the pockets of this film with so many bizarre effects for absolutely no reason. That sea monster scene is one of the worst displays I’ve ever seen and it’s absurd that it sits in a Star Wars film. Add to that the boring political plotline and ridiculous midichlorian dilemma and there’s very little redemptive about this film. However, it does have podracing, and Duel of the Fates, and it’s remarkable how much that salves the wound.

9. The Rise of Skywalker Directed by J. J. Abrams

Alright, well obviously this film has been problematic. However, I’m not about to bemoan the idea that Disney has ruined Star Wars and I have nothing left to live for. So let’s all just calm down. Ultimately J. J. Abrams was faced with the impossible task of wrapping up the Skywalker saga, with very few Skywalkers to work with. I firmly believe this would have been a very different film if Carrie Fisher was around to complete her performance. But left with nothing but the new cast, Abrams is caught between summing up the past while also looking to the future. It forces an awkward plotline with Palpatine- despite Ian McDiarmid's solid performance, the writing here seems wildly derivative of the franchise. There are some truly beautiful scenes, most notably the chemistry that Adam Driver gets to share with Harrison Ford, and Joonas Suotamo’s critically emotional outburst as Chewbacca. Some of the production design and score is so entirely different from the rest of the franchise it's inherently intriguing. But there’s very little here to save some of the poorer choices the film makes: the open plot hole with Finn, the derailing of Rey’s character development, and most crucially, the deeply perturbing culmination of Rey and Kylo’s relationship. The audience literally went “ew”.

10. Solo: A Star Wars Story Directed by Ron Howard

The biggest problem with Solo is that it operates under the presumption that people will be enamoured and invested in it. Not just in one movie, but in an entire series of movies. Solo clearly operates as a setup for further sequels. As a result, many plot lines remain unresolved, and Qi’ra winds up being a completely under-baked character. Her motivations make no sense, and a twist ending that I assume was supposed to be exciting is instead downright confusing. There’s a lot of unnecessary exposition into Han’s past too. As an origin story, I don’t need to know every aspect of Han’s past- especially not cute winks at inane things like “Why’s he called Solo?”. All this being said, The movie features some solid performances- Donald Glover is expectedly phenomenal as Lando, and Alden Ehrenreich excels as Solo, adding some welcome flavour to the character- particularly his friendship with Chewbacca, and a brilliantly executed final scene between him and Woody Harrelson’s Beckett.

11. Attack of the Clones Directed by George Lucas

How in the world this film made it all the way to production and into filming, with no one pulling Lucas aside and saying “Hey George, those kids have no chemistry” is beyond me. And I’m not going to blame Hayden Christensen or Natalie Portman on this one, because the whole damn love story makes no sense. Maybe falling for a dude who admits he murdered women and children isn’t such a great idea? Then there’s the increasingly convoluted political climate set up in Phantom Menace, and the machinations of the dark side that would take the entire Clone Wars series to fully explain. All this being said, Temuera Morrison, Samuel L. Jackson, Ewan MacGregor AND Christopher Lee are all in this movie. And they’re pretty damn fantastic.

12. The Clone Wars Directed by Dave Filoni

It’s inexplicable that Dave Filoni would go on to have a hand in some of the best Star Wars content ever made in Clone Wars, Rebels and the Mandalorian. And yet he got his start in the franchise by putting up this piece of junk. And junk is being a little generous. The humour is so juvenile it’s insulting to even the youngest of audiences it’s intended for. The plotline feels way to thin to warrant a feature film, and if this was in fact intended as a pilot for the TV series, they sure picked to most uninteresting story to pique our interest. Skip the movie, watch the show. 

[secret-engima]

story-spinner

Having a bad day. You happen to have any HCs or snippets for Kings Skjald verse? You may not but your writing always seems to cheer me up so

Me: So sorry I missed this! I didn’t log in yesterday like- at ALL and I only just got the notification. I unfortunately do not have any snippets to share, but HCs I can do. :)

-In the aftermath of Souls of the Sea (Still Belong to Blue Tides) and everything that happened in there, a couple things happen. One of the big ones being that Ravus joins the Kingsglaive. It takes him a year of stubbornly arguing with his mother over it, because she does NOT want Ravus to go haring off to war, but in the end Ravus wins and joins up at 17.

-The glaives at first are not too sold on this idea. Because... prince. Tenebraen prince with a resting murder face. He’s probably a wimp. Or just a jerk. Will he even obey orders and work with us non-royal Galahdian/Lucian nobodies?

-Then they actually throw Ravus into boot camp and learn that this boy may have enough formal manners to perfectly blend in with Lucian high society but once you take him out of that environment and stick a sword in his hand he becomes a bundle of Feral Anger And Bloodlust with a side of Really Scary Cunning. Also he spent part of those months on the run being grilled by Gladiolus in how to fight (on top of the royal sword training he’d already been receiving pre-Tenebrae’s Fall obviously) and spent putting food on the camp grill for his mother and sister by Killing It Really Hard First.

-Basically he fits riigghhtt in with the rest of the feral, chip-on-their-shoulder-rookies.

-Also, Ravus may not be a Reborn Viking of Pure Awesome like Gladiolus, so he can’t stand toe to toe with Cor the Immortal or anything but like- in canon this boy was able to claw his way up the ranks of a foreign military that WOULDN’T HAVE WANTED HIM THERE (see: Uldor’s comments during the Ignis DLC, and that cutscene with Besithia making snide comments at Ravus in the main game) and eventually become SiC and then Supreme Commander. Kid has talent and the stubborn to back it up.

-Nyx is not a fan of being Braincelled by this younger, more aggressive Tenenbraen, especially when half the time Ravus is only in yelling range because he’s DOING THE DUMB RIGHT ALONGSIDE NYX.

-Luche and Libertus are both a Stress.

-Tredd finds it fun to wind the kid up even though it repeatedly gets him a broken nose.

-Anyway as a side effect of Ravus joining the Kingsglaive, Luna and Gladiolus both take an interest in the Kingsglaive as a whole, and of course, whatever THEY take an interest in, Noctis will take an interest in too.

-Cue Smol Prince following along whenever Luna comes to check on her brother (and secretly use her magic to heal them even though Mother Strictly Forbids Using Her Magic Outside Emergencies Until She’s Fully Trained) and Gladiolus making friends with people physically a lot older than him but not mentally. And maybe mopping the floor with anyone who dares challenge him to a spar (this is the year Gladiolus is finally good enough to win against Cor in a spar according to a previous HC of mine, sorry but the Glaives have no chance, they give it a good go though).

-Gladiolus may or may not accidentally teach the Kingsglaive how to swear in Old Norse.

-I really really want the other Astrals (minus Bahamut) to start noticing and taking an interest in Leviathan’s new “kid”, because no one has given blessings since Solheim’s fall and of all of them, LEVIATHAN was not the one they expected to buck the mold in that way (in other ways sure, but Blessing a human???? THEIR angry rage snek???). But I’m still working out how all that ... goes.

-Leviathan probably browbeats the others into keeping it a secret from Bahamut tho. Because she is protective of her child and there’s no way she’s letting Bahamut hurt her Chosen again, even by accident.

-Gladiolus, with his newfound abilities to breathe underwater and such, sometimes gets an itch to go swimming. Considering the ocean is miles away most of the time and the pool has chlorine that stings his lungs when he breathes it, he finds the Royal Aquarium with all its ocean fish a much better place to hang out for a few hours.

-Clarus, Juno, Regis, Ignis, Cor, and more than a few freaked out Crownsguard would like to STRONGLY DISAGREE.

-Gladiolus, who lost track of time swimming around with the Really Dangerous Fish that won’t bother him because they can sense Leviathan’s Blessing, is just like- sorry? I’ll warn you next time.

-Everybody: WHAT DO YOU MEAN NEXT TIME.

-Sylva becomes a major voice in Lucian noble circles in favor of the Kingsglaive and efforts to clean up the refugee sector. Because she may not be Lucian, but she is the ORACLE and her voice carries a LOT of weight and she’s lived through what the Galahdians and other refugee groups have suffered through. She knows the smell of your home burning and blood on your clothes as you run from MT units and pray they don’t find you. She knows what it’s like to flee to another country. What it’s like to be HUNGRY and SCARED. What it’s like to cling to the children at night on a Haven, cold and tired but unable to sleep because the daemons wander and scream only a few yards away, and while the mind says they cannot come onto the Haven, the heart and the instincts do not believe. She knows ALL OF THAT.

-She also knows what it’s like to be saved. To be found and sheltered and taken to safety by soldiers who are just like her, and know to give her and her children soup and soft foods, who know to approach from the front rather than the sides and to move slow and open, to always say what they’re doing before they do it. She knows what it’s like to be so grateful for those simple kindnesses that it takes all she can muster not to start crying, because if she starts she will not stop and then her children will start crying too.

-So whenever some Lucian noble makes contemptuous noises over the “necessity” of the Kingsglaive or the refugee sector, or makes a comment on how Insomnia is for LUCIANS and not ragged strays, she will look them in the eye and say something perfectly cool and polite and deadly. Something that sharply reminds the noble that SHE, the HOLY ORACLE, is a refugee just like all the other “ragged strays”. That she and hers were “found” by Kingsglaive and escorted safely home. That her SON is now part of that very same organization.

-But do go on and tell her how the Kingsglaive are a waste of money and refugees should be left to fend for themselves.

-Needless to say, between Sylva backing them politically, Luna healing them on the sly (and also Sylva does come heal the bad cases whenever she has time), and Ravus being his feral budding terrifying strategist self, the Kingsglaive and Little Galahd as a whole rapidly come to adore the Nox Fleuret family. These are their Oracles. No touchy. They will Fite You.

-And of course, Noctis adores Luna and tries to emulate her because she’s Cool, and also his Shield-Brother cares for the Kingsglaive, and Big Brother Ravus IS a Kingsglaive, so Noctis rolls up his little sleeves and tries to help too. He’s too young to have a voice in politics, but he can and will follow his dad around nagging that hey-hey Ravus says their shoes don’t fit and the quartermaster won’t give them potions even though IGNIS says they have the budget for it and hey hey hey- (Regis would like to know how Ignis the Eleven Year Old got his hands on the Kingsglaive budget, but Cor has been making dire noises along these lines already so he sighs and siccs the auditors on the quartermaster).

-Noctis also visits a lot, and tries to give the Glaives games and things because hey those make him feel better so maybe it’ll make the glaives not look so tired too.

-The Entire Kingsglaive as they proverbially (and sometimes literally) pick up Noctis: We’ve only known this princeling for a few months but if anything happened to him we would kill everyone in Niflheim and then ourselves.

-Gladiolus approves this feeling.

I think that’s all the HCs I got for the moment, I hope these made your day a little better. :)

[sonickedtrowel]

oh.. River/Eleven with 25 - things you said in the back seat of a cab. If it sparks anything for you that'd be amazing, in my head it's at least a little steamy

Hey, so I write very very slow!  But I wrote this!!  I went back and forth over how horny on main I wanted to be, deleting and rewriting the steamy part, and decided I’ll just put part of it here and link to ao3 for anyone who wants to read the rest  😂 Tbh it might be pushing explicit a tiny bit more than I normally do even though it’s brief so I had to put it behind a link lol.  

Somebody say old Eleven young River?  Just me?  Oh well! Thank you for the prompt!!! 

the whole thing on ao3

“Oh, here,” River said, waving to an approaching car on the street, “let’s catch a cab.”

“Don’t you want to walk?” asked the Doctor, sliding his arm around her back.  “It’s a beautiful night!”

It was a lovely evening.  Spring on Luna always was; it helped that the weather was engineered.  It was breezy and warm, the air sweet with the scent of blossoming trees.  But after dinner at the sort of restaurant that essentially required time travel to get a booking, River found walking back to the hall of residence a much less appealing proposition.

“I’ve got two hearts, sweetie, not two stomachs.  If you want to walk home, you can pick a place with fewer courses next time.”

The Doctor amiably relented, dropping a kiss on her head as he turned to the cab, which had paused on the side of the street.  In the 51st century they were sleek, shiny things, all black with tinted glass and a domed roof.  “What is that one, a Lunar Link?” he asked.  “They’re all autopilot in this decade, aren’t they?”

“All the ones I’ve seen.  Why?”

“No reason.”  He cleared his throat, opening the door for her to step inside.  As he clambered in after her, he quickly produced the sonic from his pocket and aimed it at the control panel.

“Dodging the fare?” River asked as he shut the door.  “That’s usually my area.”

“Um, no.  Scrambling the CC feed and facial recognition.”  She raised an eyebrow expectantly, and he sighed.  “Let’s just say we’re… no longer welcome in several of these companies’ cabs.”

She let out a burst of delighted laughter.  “And you’re always telling me to keep out of trouble!”

“Because I’ve seen the trouble first-hand!”

“Sounds like you were more participating than observing.”

“Yes, well.  You’re a terrible influence,” he grumbled, with poorly disguised fondness.

“In that case,” she said, grasping him by the lapel, “far be it from me to break with tradition.”

“See?”  The Doctor smiled as she tugged him closer.  “Terrible.”

He hummed contentedly as his lips met hers, and a shiver went through River’s body.  She’d just about gotten over being embarrassed by how easily he could disarm her.  Imagine, if she’d killed him with just one fleeting brush of her lips, a mockery of a kiss, and never experienced the real thing.  What a dreadful waste that would have been.

They were interrupted all too soon by a series of chirping beeps and a polite, slightly robotic voice requesting, “Please input your destination.”  They breathlessly broke apart, and the Doctor fumbled for his sonic, buzzed it at the control panel once more, and was already turning back to her as the cab pulled into the street.  Their smiling mouths crashed together somewhat messily in their eagerness, and then his arms were around her, his hand under her hip, pulling her to him.  River went along gladly, throwing her leg over his hip and settling in his lap.

“Destination?” she asked, brushing a kiss at the corner of his mouth.

“Taking the long way round.”  He lifted his hand to her face, tipping her chin up to kiss her properly.

She sighed happily.  “Have you always been this agreeable?”

“No,” the Doctor said, his laughing breath fanning over her cheek and sending another shiver down her spine.  “And if— god forbid— you run into me when I’m young anytime soon, I’d appreciate it if you tried not to give me any heart attacks.”

“Mmm.  I bet you’d like it.”

“Well, yeah, but don’t tell me that.”

She laughed against his lips as he kissed her again, winding her arms around his neck.  His hand splayed over her back, keeping her close, while the other lingered against her jaw, his thumb brushing gently over her cheek.  He always touched her with a tenderness that seemed tinged with desperation; as though she might disappear if he dared to let go.  He hardly had to worry.  She didn’t want to be anywhere else.

It had been a few months now of settling into life on Luna, settling into being River Song, and beginning to learn her way around their life together, such as it was.  Months of leaving her last lecture each Friday afternoon to find him waiting with flowers and dinner plans or an exploding planet they just couldn’t miss.  It was good to escape into the wider universe, chasing some danger and excitement after a long week of lectures and essays and pretending to tolerate undergraduates.  But this was better.  

River wondered if the novelty of being wildly in love would ever wear off.  It was her first time with anything like this, after all, and she felt a little at sea sometimes, unsure of what she should expect.  If it would ever stop being so intoxicatingly good, and just be… normally pleasant.  But the Doctor was much older.  And judging by the way her insides melted at the pressure of his hands gripping her hips, the warmth of his breathing over her skin, the soft curve of his tongue behind her teeth— well, it seemed the honeymoon period wasn’t about to end anytime soon.

And that was another thing, she reflected as she fumbled blindly with the buttons on his trousers.  There was something very settled about him, too.  Something that was just solid: comfortable and trusting and content with her.  She couldn’t seem to stop wondering, particularly after her latest bit of research, exactly what the nature of that settledness was.

Eventually, curiosity got the better of her.  She’d barely broken away from his lips when she blurted, “Are we married?”

“What?”  The Doctor blinked at her, dazed.  In his defence, she did have her hand in his pants.  

“Are we married?” she repeated.  “I think it’s a reasonable question, in the circumstances.”

His eyebrows lifted and he shook his head slightly, huffing out a breath as he pushed his hair out of his face.  “River, you know I can’t tell you.”

“I found a book that says we’re married.”  

He groaned, his head collapsing back onto the seat.  “I’m sure I’ve told you not to do that.”

“Also found a book that says I’ve killed you,” she added thoughtfully.  “Which, in fairness, I did.  But the place and the date are wrong.”

“See?  A whole lot of nonsense, so no point in filling your head with it.”

“But once you’ve read your own personal future— once you’ve been told what it is, doesn’t it have to happen?”

“Only if it’s true.  We’re not all beholden to the prophecies of gossip magazines.”  He sat up again, wrapping his arms around her as he began to press warm, lingering kisses to her face, her neck, her shoulder.  River stifled a whimper as his parted lips lingered on her throat, sending a ripple of want throbbing through her body as her mind filled with everywhere else she’d like him to put that sweet, soft mouth.  Oh, he was far too good at distracting her.  Well, she supposed technically she was the one distracting them this time; they’d been busy when she was overcome with the need to question him.

“And is it true?” she stubbornly persisted.

The Doctor lifted his head and watched her silently for a moment, rubbing his hands soothingly up and down her back.  “I asked you, once,” he said at last.  “Well, I asked if you were married.  May have sort of accidentally proposed in the process.”

“Accidentally?”

“I was young.”

“And what did I tell you?”

“The truth,” he laughed, shaking his head and looking at her with such aching affection.  “You really shouldn’t have done that.”

“Because once you knew, it had to happen that way?”

“No, not quite.  River, the important things—  they’re up to us.  We always have a choice.”

She looked him over consideringly.  “You don’t have a wedding ring.”

“No,” he agreed after a moment, fiddling with his bow tie as he glanced out the window. 

“But you could just take it off when you come to see me, since it would be a bit of a giveaway.”

“River,” the Doctor said wearily, “you really need to stop.  It’s all spoilers.”  When she didn’t object, he pulled her closer, his hand cradling the back of her head.

“Would you even want to be married?” she asked, just before he could kiss her.

He exhaled, patiently studying her face.  “Generally speaking, or to you specifically?”

“Is the answer different?”

“Yes.”  

River swallowed, her hearts nervously fluttering.  “Either I should be insulted, or you’re showing your hand a bit, Doctor,” she said softly.

“Well, I’ll leave that to your judgement, dear,” he murmured, and she finally stopped interrogating him long enough for him to kiss her.  

[kyotakumrau]

2020.09.19 ROCK AND READ 091 - interview with utA - translation PART 1/2

'I'll be damned, what was that?!'

Interview: Yukinobu Hasegawa

Photos: Yosuke Komatsu (ODD JOB LTD.)

Translation: kyotaku You can buy the magazine on amazon, tower records etc ฅ( ̳• ·̫ • ̳ฅ)♡

After Kyo, Takumi and YUCHI from sukekiyo, it’s time for the interview with utA.

He’s experienced white collar work in his hometown Niigata, but couldn’t give up his dream of being in a band, so he moved to Tokyo, his band 9GOATS BLACK OUT attracted attention because of their fantastical music yet then disbanded, but because Kyo had listened to their music utA has started a new episode of his music life.

We ask him about the very start of his interest in music and his life until now.

And then... With many interesting stories like the one about the eerie episode when he came to Tokyo, we can show you utA’s odd music history.

utA  / sukekiyo: profile & information

birthday March 26th. joined Kyo’s project sukekiyo as a guitarist in 2013. other members are Kyo (vocal), Takumi (guitar, piano), YUCHI (bass) and Mika (drums). their last release is the video compilation ‘LIQUEFACIO’ with the live footage from their show in Nakano Sunplaza in June 2019.

-- First, I’d like to ask you about the time you got into rock and playing the guitar. Were there any significant bands or guitarists for you when you were young?

utA: I think it was around elementary grade 5 or 6, it was X (-Japan). I was born in Joetsu city in Niigata, there was a CD shop stocked with v-kei and rock stuff there. It was a rural town, but at that time, there was a shop that was selling nothing but rock stuff.

-- It seems to be a quite early to start frequenting CD shops as a elementary school student.

utA: Yeah, I think it was early. I had a friend who was playing the piano, I heard him playing songs like “Silent jealousy” from X, I think that was how I got to know X and their heartrending phrases I love. After that I wanted to hear more from them so I listened to their first indies album “Vanishing Vision”. And then their first major release “BLUE BLOOD”.

-- You weren’t playing the guitar yet when you got to know X as an elementary school student?

utA: It was accidental, but my brother was playing the guitar. I think he liked ZIGGY, JACKSONS’N’JOKER, COLOR, BUCK-TICK etc when I was five. So I have seen my brother playing the guitar at home, but he didn’t influence me at all (laughing). I remember he liked to sing by himself while playing, I have this impression that he was a good singer, but didn’t play the guitar that well (laughing). But we were far apart in age, we weren't that attached, I felt if I just grabbed the guitar I could play. So I borrowed it and fumbled trying to play the songs as I listened to them.

-- But playing the guitar was then just something fun to do?

utA: It was definitely something fun, but I remember entering a music studio around junior high. I briefly started a band with friends. I guess there was no proper shape to it, but I wanted to play some songs, gathered friends and we played “Silent Jealousy”. I played the guitar, I tried really hard with the main phrases and so on. But I really couldn’t play well (laughing). My brother taught me things like A chord or E chord, in basic power chords, things like guitar solos came out very shaky. I recorded that. With a very simple cassette recorder with two buttons, play and record. I have no idea what happened with those cassette tapes, but I’d really kill to listen to them now (laughing).

-- To start a band and use a music studio in the junior high, that's quite remarkable. You were driven this much?

utA: Yeah, by X. I was also attracted by their looks and make up. It's not like all my friends were into the exactly same stuff but there were people who liked music. And there was one music instrument shop, I also went there often. The recording on the cassette tape happened at the end of junior high or start of high school. After X came LUNA SEA. It's a bit hard to explain, but in a way LUNA SEA matched my preferences better. Isn't LUNA SEA a metal band? With INORAN's clean guitar and SUGIZO's distorted guitar, this kind of separation was also novel. I got a shock running through me like 'I'll be damned, what was that?' There is such an awesome clean guitar like that? I though cleanly played super impressive phrases were amazing.

-- Your guitarist opinion was born at that time.

utA: That's right. It was a great impact, from creating sound, through phrases all the way to arrangement. I needed to know how do they get such beautiful sound. Until then I kept thinking that guitar sound should be distorted. I also learnt from music magazines etc that with a delay and chorus you will get a nice effect. And I remember listening to late night radio show "Break Out" or it was in some magazine that SUGIZO advised 'you can get our sound if you use an effector like this'. That's why the first effector I bought was the delay and chorus. My brother had the ones to create distortion, so I only had to add the delay and chorus. I also used my brother's Fender Made in Japan Strato(caster), so it was perfect for clean sounds.

-- So when you became a high school student did you get even more friends interested in music?

utA: I did. I would start talking about music right after coming back home. My home was our hanging out place, people were often surprised by the amount of CDs in my house (laughing). Listening to songs, we watched live DVDs and we all talked about the cool phrases we heard. And then I decided to buy a guitar model used by the artist I liked. So then it was exciting to talk about saving up for one (laughing).

-- You were already using a Stratocaster, but had another guitar you wanted?

utA: Now I know well that Fender’s Strato is a really good guitar, but at that time the look of the guitar was very important, it felt like strato was too simple. And that’s why I bought a guitar used by the artist I haven’t mentioned yet, so it might feel like coming out of nowhere, but it was the model used by Shin from Kuroyume. It was a Les Paul Model that came from GrassRoots, with two single coils. One of my friends was a big fan of Kuroyume so I often listened to their music and really got into Shin’s playing style. Les Paul models have nice shape and they can produce both clean and distorted/dirty sounds, so I decided to get Shin’s model. I was torn if I should get INORAN’s model instead, but it gave an impression of clean sound and because I also wanted to produce distorted sound I went with Shin’s. As a stupid kid your whole evaluation criteria is based on the sound created by the musician, right? Ah, but I just remembered that time I chose single coil. Even though for rock you’re much better off with guitars equipped with Humbucker.

-- You’re using the Fender’s Strato with sukekiyo.

utA: I am. I’m also using a Dragonfly, I’m swapping between them with a tap switch. If I had to say which is better, I like the sound of the single coil. I definitely got influenced by the clean sound created by INORAN. Even now I care a lot when creating clean sounds.

-- When JHS students get into bands and guitars, isn’t it easy for them to get easily misguided? They start to neglect their studies, join some band as a bassist, choose their high school based on the chances of starting a band there and so on.

utA: By some band you mean sukekiyo (laughing)? I don’t have an interesting story here, I really did my best studying as much as I could. My parents were so amazingly kind/supportive so I wanted to make them happy. I still feel like this. I didn’t want to give them any shock (laughing). At that time I remember I often felt they would be happy if I got good test scores. And I simply hate losing. I’m not someone for whom studying comes naturally, so I remember studying extra hard before the tests. In the past we also got ranked (depending on the test scores) so it was another motivation not to lose. But well, I ended up losing (laughing).

-- So you properly continued to high school?

(kyotaku: in Japan compulsory education ends with junior high school at the age of 16; high school is mostly for the sake of going to university.)

utA: If possible I wanted to go to the a good high school, but my teacher told me ‘it might be a close call so it’s better to go there’ (laughing). I went to the school they recommended. It wasn’t a normal high school, it was a technical school.

-- You get specific qualifications. So the course of your future was decided then?

utA: I loved music and guitar, but I didn’t see it as my dream future then. That’s why I was planning on going to university. If not I would be starting work, so I wanted to go to university. At the technical school you learn things like civil engineering or construction. So I applied for the referral to the university that had classes like that, but I was rejected. And I came to hate studying for entrance exams so I gave up on university (laughing).

-- Didn’t Takumi go to the university to study designing?

utA: He did. In this we are a bit similar. Our personalities are totally different, but we definitely share some things like our roots and some points. Takumi managed to go to university though, as I failed to get referred I had to look for another way (laughing).

-- And finally we are talking about starting a band?

utA: No, I started to work full time. At a surveying office in Niigata. I worked there for about 2 years. I hated studying for the entrance exams, but I got the national qualification for surveying. I remember I was thinking that if I have to do it then I have to get it and I was studying like crazy (laughing).

-- When you start working full time I think you shift to a totally different mode from being a student.

utA: Yeah, it was like that. But even as I was doing my best at work, after coming back home from work I was just listening to music all the time. And I spent all the money I earned going to music stores and buying up all the CDs. I had meant to enter a different mode but in the end it wasn’t possible. Most of the bands and musicians who were releasing music at the time were the same age as me, or just a bit older.

-- Did you start to feel a bit envious, feeling more that you could do that as well?

utA: Yeah. I started to write my original songs a bit from the end of HS. I was thinking that if I could make music that was my own style I could make it in music. That feeling has not changed until now.

-- If you were to describe your first original song, what was it like?

utA: Simply saying, it was very influenced by LUNA SEA (laughing). It wasn't a metal song, but it had clean and distorted sounds layered. I created 2~3 songs before I turned 20.

-- Did you do anything wanting to release those songs?

utA: So. I'd made a firm decision to quit my job at surveying office. When quitting I said honestly 'I want to pursue music, so please let me go' (laughing). And then my boss and coworkers cheerfully told me 'then do it!' I even had a farewell party with 'let us know when you release something' (laughing).

-- But for parents, there's no way they reacted like that. Like, 'my son who tried so hard, started working and even got a licence, now wants to quit to do music', there's no way a parent would be happy about that (laughing).

utA: You're right. My parents had a lot to say. It was probably the biggest nagging of my life, seriously. It was worse than puberty (laughing).

-- But you didn't change your mind?

utA: No, the need to pursue music was stronger than that. I quit my company when I was around 20, started to look for band members when I was around 21, when I actually managed to start a band I was around 22~23.

-- Did you try contacting your band mates from elementary and jhs times to network?

utA: I stayed in touch with my classmates, but they totally quit music. There was no way for a deep talk there. That's why I had to do it by myself, in a way starting from zero. First I started to look for band members through the music instrument shops. I've made posters about looking, wrote my contact information, the type of posters where you tear off the bottom bit. The shop staff let me post them in their shops.

-- A simple method. If I remember right, people used to post some self-introduction and a description what kind of band they'd like to do.

utA: I will again add another band name, but I listed X, LUNA SEA and La'cryma Christi. I was also hit hard by La'cryma Christi's worldview. Even as I heard about them quite late, I think after I graduated high school. X, LUNA SEA and La'cryma Christi had the biggest impact on me. My 3 pillars. I absolutely adore La'cryma Christi's "Henseifu". The moment you hear the song doesn't it feel like various scenes just come up?

-- Those scenes are stateless.

utA: Exactly, they are stateless, and full of sadness. When I first heard the 7/8 time signature, I was surprised like 'I'll be damned, what was that?' I was totally owned by that worldview. At that time, La'cryma Christi was my number one. For a while now I've been friends with HIRO, was able to play together with them once and even had a photo shoot together.

-- But currently TAKA is working in a jewellery industry, no? By the way, when you posted your 'looking for band members' ad, how many replies did you get?

utA: There were few, but one came from someone with whom we formed a band at the time. In 2013 my own band had disbanded, but I was most surprised when contacted by the guy who then spent all this time with this band. He asked 'please let me join', but I also asked him formally to join. I'm talking about the bassist, hati.

-- This band we're talking about is the visual kei of Niigata that has changed several times?

utA: Yeah. First it was Laypua, after that Layarch, then Rayarch. It was changing keeping the 'Lay/Ray' connection. The live performance activities were focused on Niigata city.

-- From looking for the band members to the formation of the band it took about one year, during that time were you writing original music ?

utA: I don't think we had more than 10 songs,  but we had enough for one album. The band that done those songs took about one year to finally start activities. At the time, there was a music club (live house) near Niigata station called Z-1. I think now it's called CLUB RIVERST., my first live performing experience was at that club.

-- So it was the first show as a band that is the first step in following your dream. What was the response like?

utA: I think it was really terrible (laughing). At the time it was when we just decided our form/style, so we just went with 'let's hope this is cool enough' (laughing). I was looking for guitar phrases that would be very me, but I couldn't play them at all. We were trying really hard only with things to show, we also had heavy make up. For the so called artist photos, our vocalist was very skilled with creating great photos, so there was a lot of 'let's do make up more like this' etc, so at the meetings of band members the topic of the vusuals came overwhelmingly more often than music (laughing).

-- Your songs were similar style to La'cryma Christi?

utA: Nope, I loved La'cryma Christi, but our music was more like 'The Visual Kei' style. For our worldview, it felt like there's still more to come. It was quite heavy rock, could be said it was Tsutatsuta-kei (laughing). I was playing in this band in Niigata until I went to Tokyo, for about 4, 5 years.

(*Tsutatsuta-kei was a v-kei subgenre that developed in the early 2000s, as you can imagine from utA's comment it's heavy and fast; and like Nu Metal that influenced the subgenre there's a lot of shouting, and unconventional structures and variety of different styles)

-- If you continued for that long it means you had to have some fans?

utA: In Niigata we did, yeah. I felt 'I can do it' as it wasn't a band with no fans, so from the band's later time I started thinking about going to Tokyo. In Niigata what we could do was limited. So I told the band 'let's go to Tokyo, but most of members wanted to stay in Niigata. Each of them had their own life there.

-- Did other band members have proper jobs?

utA: Nah, everyone was working part-time. All of us prioritized the band. That's why I suggested we should go to Tokyo, but only me and hati, the bassist, were interested. And we left our home Niigata with guitar and bass for Tokyo having only about 40~50k yen between the two of us.

(*400~500 US dollars, 300~400 euro)

PART 2 HERE

[keyofjetwolf]

Bonus Question Answers! (anime heat 2)

I asked a silly question! You gave me incredible answers. SO VERY MANY INCREDIBLE ANSWERS. Now, I present my favourites! And really, they were ALL favourites. Mmm, headcanony goodness.

Oh, special shoutout to this unattributed one, which I suspect fell prey to someone submitting early, but as phrased, made me snort laugh: “one of my longest held headcanons is that ami“

SAME, FRIEND

Anyway, If your answer is listed below, you’ve earned an entry in a random draw to win a GIFTENING liveblog OF YOUR CHOICE

—

Q: Senshi headcanon time! Intrigue me, humour me, crush me, FEED ME.

* Michiru actually did have a guardian cat, once. It was silvery grey with dark blue eyes. It did not speak, but it was always there to provide support and comfort in a life which had little of either. The first time Michiru had a strong vision, which left her cold and senseless on the floor of her room, it was the small warmth from her cat that brought her back to the world of color and light and solidity. The cat was a friend and confidante in those early days, when Michiru was unsure if this experience was real or the beginnings of schizophrenia. The fact that her mother could see the cat, and regularly make comments about the uncleanliness of such creatures, was proof of Michiru's new reality. So when the cat entered the fray to distract a youma, saving Michiru, but being killed in the process, it became one more thing that the Moon had given her, only to steal away. Michiru promised herself to never rely on another again, or to allow the Moon to have her heart again. And she had done fairly well at this. Haruka, for all her charms, was a plaything, and not something to sacrifice herself for. But pausing outside the Marine Cathedral, Michiru found herself looking into dark blue eyes, so different, but so similar, and knew that she would do anything and everything in her power to keep from having to watch them close, again. -- @incorrecttact  [YOU ARE ALSO KILLING THESE QUESTIONS. This hit me right in the kokoro, and I welcomed its sweet sweet pain.]

~~

*  Mako teaches Hotaru, Chibiusa, and the Amazon Quartet to cook and bake as a bonding activity. Hotaru LOVES making cakes and decorating them. Chibiusa likes cooking with noodles and even making her own; it doesn’t sound special, but the food she makes is DELICIOUS. Ves, the red one, finds cooking easy, but doesn’t like it and so never does outside of being coaxed into it. Jun, the green one, finds baking easy, but also doesn’t like sweet things, which limits her repertoire. Cere, the pink one, has no natural talent, but she very much WANTS to be good at it, so she turns out to be the best cook of her Senshi group. Palla takes to neither, but she is very enthusiastic about eating their experiments.  --  Jules  [I am an absolute slut for Mako and moments with the kids, and including the Quartet was a brilliant stroke.]

~~

*  A Serenity is not supposed to be reborn. They are born, they live, they die, and they are done. They are not like the Senshi, whose souls reincarnate, carefully bound to Serenity blood. They are not supposed to be reborn, so when Queen Serenity sees everything fail and decides to send their souls to the future, the Senshi are easy. Serenity is not. In desperation, Serenity does something she would have never considered in any other circumstance: she ties Serenity's soul to the Senshi. What was once a one way tie, has now become an equal bond, and so everything changes.  -- @madegeeky  [Ooo, this is some lovely twists on my own reincarnation headcanons, while still keeping the “this is a mistake” flavour. IT TASTES GOOD.]

~~

*  How about more Rei whistle antics? You headcanon Usagi would use the whistle for every mundane thing and Rei would come. Usagi would do this at 2 AM in the morning too and Rei would still be woken up and still come even in pajamas if she need be because Usagi had a spooky nightmare or "Rei-chan I fell off my bed and now my face hurts". Knowing Rei whistle antics can be funny for us and maybe aggravating for Rei at times because "Usagi you blew the whistle because you fell off the bed?" what if we can make it a pinch sad? Like what if Rei can tell what sort of peril Usagi is in by the way she blows the whistle in tone? Like when it's a sad somewhat weaker whistle, even if it's just a tiny subtle tone, Rei can IMMEDIATELLY tell "USAGI IS SAD AND NEEDS ME" and she will RUSH over in 5 seconds like in her Rei way, she might even have the mind to bring snacks, cocoa and plush to hug for the comfort.  --  Mrs. Duckling  [HOW ABOUT INDEED. I hadn’t thought about the different ways the whistle can be blown and what it might say, what a wonderful addition. THANK YOU FOR CATERING DIRECTLY TO ME AND MY NEEDS]

~~

*  PGSM!Sailor Mars - [REDACTED] Oh. Right. You're not there yet. Awkward... Anime!Minako is a huge fan of romance manga, but for all the wrong reasons. She tried drawing doujinshi of crack ships before realizing that A) she's not really a writer and B) she's REALLY not an artist. She plans on using some of her rich idol singer money to commission really bizarre romance stories. The sort that make you go WTF?! Of course, step one is "become a rich and famous idol"... Meanwhile, Rei also buys the romance manga that Minako gets into, (partially so she'll shut up about it) but mainly just analyzes them for mood and the characters, and gets frustrated when they inevitably devolve into nothing but sappy kissing and mooning over each other. She's trying to see why Minako gets so obsessed, but doesn't want to flat out admit that she doesn't get it and have to ask. -- Peter "Pigeons!" Svensson  [I had nothing but fun with this, fantastic. ps: THANK YOU FOR THE PIGEONS NOMINATION]

~~

* If these four* Senshi were to meet you, I think they'd each also be meeting some of their best qualities: Usagi is love, and that love is infectious as HELL. Much like a certain blogger who has amassed an international following on the strength of her love for her favourite media, wouldn't you say? Ami is very impressed by your office set-up! But when she sees you re-enter the room with a sprightly little black cat riding on your shoulder, she knows she has discovered a kindred spirit. Where can Rei-chan possibly begin? From your passionately informed and encyclopedic knowledge of their interactions ("She has RECEIPTS, Usagi!"), to your, let's call it tenacity ("She stirred that sugar for TWO HOURS, Usagi!!"), Rei finds so much to admire. And while no one could ever possibly love Rei as much as she loves herself, she magnanimously allows that you are a close second. As for Haruka, well! World Shaking? More like Toilet Breaking! You wrecked that shit and unleashed the sea. She can certainly relate *eyebrows, eyebrows* *would that i had time to write out blurbs for the others! but we're heading back into lockdown today, and i need to get to the post office to mail you a package. PRIORITIES! xo  -- @rasiqra-revulva​  [Okay look when I said “crush me” I didn’t mean WITH NICENESS. Also thank you for the huge laughs. *eyebrows, eyebrows*]

~~

*  Minako manages to write a tell-all book (anonymously, of course, and with names changed to protect the relevant,) about their first few years as Senshi in the lull between Stars and Shit Escalating Again. Even more astoundingly, she manages to get it optioned as a film and play Sailor Mars without blowing her cover! Rei seethes. Minako’s annoyed because she tried out for Usagi. Usagi’s just happy Minako’s successful. The film manages to pick up nominations come award season, and Michiru even arranges for the rest of the Senshi to attend. Minako loses to some film from a really overrated director that manages to out-award bait her reenactment of D-Point. She’s silently fuming through his acceptance speech when he’s Burning Mandala’d mid-sentence. And that’s how the Senshi discovered that Jadeite survived getting run over with planes, joined the entertainment industry after Beryl’s defeat, and had been using it to drain energy ever since! Sailor Mars’s speech about how he disgraces the passion of filmmakers everywhere and her comrade’s hard work goes viral. -- Regalli  [LOVED THE TWIST ENDING, also Rei basically stealing the awards show stage, as we all know she would]

~~

*  Not Senshi, but cats! One day, when Usagi is queen, she's going to decide to knight the cats. Luna thinks it's silly and figures Usagi is just acting on a whim, but Artemis has his chest puffed out and is glowing with pride. They're given tiny medals made by Endymion. -- RibbonFinale  [Oh I DID want this. I wanted this very much, THANK YOU.]

~~

*  Makoto can't culture bonsai trees. It's not a matter of ability, or scale — she can work with tiny tools with equal facility as large ones — but she can't bring herself to push the things down, to cut and twist and bind them to grow the way _she_ wants, not the way it wants to grow.   The tiny pine she bought to try it out, years ago, is in a pot in the corner of her apartment; it's just now grown taller than she is. -- Taperwolf  [I didn’t expect this one to hit me as hard as it did when I started reading. Love it, love it, love it.]

~~

*  You know those 'meetings Usagi doesn't know about'? the ones where the girls dive into the nitty gritty about being senshi, the ones where they decide who will take up being the Disguise Pen Decoy if Minako is killed? Usagi knows about them. it was one of those 'character A eavesdrops and hears character B talking about them' setups, but instead of hearing Ami call Usagi a ditz, she hears Ami saying 'I'm the weakest fighter, if Minako is assassinated and we need someone to be decoy it'd be easier to explain away my absence than Rei's or Mako's' In these meetings they speak very coldly about themselves, Ami is always first to call herself the weak one, Minako calls into attention her showboating, Mako will openly remind people she doesn't think things through on the battlefield, and Rei derides herself on her inability to keep her cool (heh) and they all come up with contingencies to cover for eachother to the minutest detail. Usagi only ever evesdrops on one of these meetings, but now she knows they happen. and she can't un-know.  -- Vega  [OOOOOOOOOOOOOO.]

~~

Manga Sailor Pluto has picked her nose 2,013,417 times. -- too ashamed to say  [WHY THE SHAME THIS IS CORRECT  AND NOW RIGHTFULLY CANON]

---

I’ll be drawing for the bonus liveblog around the start of THE GIFTENING 2020 (currently looking to be Monday, 11 January 2021). Each bonus question is another chance to earn an entry! I CAN ABSOLUTELY AND SHAMELESSLY BE BOUGHT.

[lovemademoisellebelle]

Uh oh... did we do that?

Pairing: Draco x y/n

Warnings: underage drinking, mild swearing

A/N: been reading and writing fan fiction for years but I've never uploaded any of my own work, so please be nice! any feedback is highly appreciated. P.S. this sounded and looked a lot better in my head 

inspired by Emma Watson dancing in The Bling Ring, endless amounts of videos on DracoTok and the vibes that 212 by Azealia Banks gives me

Slytherin common room party – think low-key green lighting, firewhiskey, Draco in an all-black suit that kinda thing 

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

In the hundreds of years since Hogwarts’s conception, not once have the Slytherin house hosted an ‘all houses invited’ party. Sure, they were invited (and rarely came) to the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor parties, but they never thought to return the favour. That is until Pansy’s raging crush on a Ravenclaw boy in the year above prompted her to throw an all-inclusive rager, much to the dismay of her Slytherin classmates.  

Naturally, this caused some concern from the other houses, as the new spread around the Great Hall the morning of the so-called ‘unmissable’ event. There was a palpable buzz of deliberation from the separate tables, with the clearly same queries on everyone’s minds.

“I don’t know Ron – I mean, these are the Slytherin’s we’re talking about,” Hermione cast a furtive glance to the sea of emerald robes on the far side of the hall, much to Ron’s dismay.

“Oh come on ‘Mione, what’s the worst that can happen?”

“Oh I don’t know, how about humiliation from Malfoy’s smug face when we realise it’s a prank, or maybe a fight where irreversible hexes are thrown around?” Harry quipped, clearly sharing Hermione’s caution.

Ron and y/n shared a knowing look, both being the more carefree members of the group.

“Here’s an idea,” y/n explained rationally, “how about we just show up anyway – fashionably late, of course – and if the whole thing turns out to be some big joke, we can host our own impromptu party in the common room? That way it won’t be a complete waste of time… or alcohol.”

It was Harry and Hermione’s turn to share a look, knowing no matter how hard they tried they were inevitably going to give in eventually.

“Fine,” Hermione grumbled, “but if it all turns pear shaped, I’m sending you both to the hospital wing with a nasty bat bogey hex.

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

The much-awaited night had finally rolled around, and y/n felt that nervous but excited anticipation that she often felt before occasions such as tonight’s. All day the latest gossip of the party could be heard between the older Hogwarts’s students. At one point, Madame Pince had to usher around 20 students out of the library for whispering ‘too loudly’ about the event. Multiple classmates had come up to y/n throughout the day, all asking the same question: ‘Are you thinking of going tonight?’ As usual with Hogwarts, news never failed to travel fast.

“Are you sure this looks ok?” Hermione twisted her hips side to side in the dorm’s full-length mirror, trying to discern if the length of her skirt showed to much leg or not.

“’Mione, are you kidding? You look incredible, seriously. Ron’s gonna flip when he sees you, won’t be able to take his eyes off your a-” y/n’s sentence was cut short by a well-timed pillow being tossed at her head by Hermione, who had started to form a pink blush across her cheeks.

With both of them re-checking your outfits and makeup in the mirror, y/n and Hermione did a quick, pre-party shot for luck and headed down to the common room to meet the boys.

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

By the time they had arrived at the Slytherin common room, the party was already in full swing; couples were spotted around the corridor outside, claiming to ‘need some air’ whilst making out against the stone walls, and the pungent smell of firewhiskey with a slight cut of something sweeter (butterbeer?) hit them like a brick wall as the group entered. The room was encased in dark green lighting, highlighted by the murky lake shimmering some light into the otherwise darkened room.

It seemed as if almost every student – 5th year and above – were present, either seen dancing and grinding on the makeshift dancefloor at the back, loitering around the drinks table in search of another drink or, if you were Pansy Parkinson, sat on one of the plush sofas on the lap of a Ravenclaw boy, who looked equal parts satisfised and confused about his current situation.

Either way most people were already fucked, or at least on their way.

“What were you saying earlier about a prank Hermione?” Ron smirked smugly, as he grabbed her hand and pushed his way over to the drinks table with a blushing Hermione trailing after.

Y/n couldn’t help but think, maybe tonight will be fun after all.

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

An hour later, and y/n could definitely feel the numb tingling of the firewhiskey spread throughout her body, offering a pleasant release from the previous week’s stress. Though not yet brave enough to venture onto the dancefloor, she swayed her hips lightly to the music as she chatted happily with Luna in the corner – apparently the Ministry were behind the recent surge of wrackspurts in the air, using them to control our minds.

“Well well, if it isn’t Weaslebee and Scar-head polluting my common room,” a little ways across the room however, Ron and Harry were having less of a pleasant time.

Turning around to see the towering, slender figure of Draco Malfoy with his signature smugness, flanked by his usual cronies Crabbe and Goyle. Stood tall in his black turtleneck and blazer combo, with his platinum hair perfectly styled (of course), Draco was unsurprisingly catching the attention of most of the girls (and a fair amount of guys) in the room. Wherever he moved, eager eyes tended to follow, with the hope of him glancing their way. Harry and Ron, however, were unfazed.

“Malfoy,” Harry briefly and glumly acknowledged Draco with the turn of his head, before turning back to people watch.

“You know, I’ve always heard that Gryffindor parties are supposed to be some of the best,” Draco taunted, “but I have to say your lot seem pretty boring to me. I mean, I thought you were supposed to be the ‘fun ones’”. Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind him, always quick to boost his ego.

“This is nothing,” Ron countered, the alcohol only intensifying his competitive nature, “you should see the way y/n and Hermione get when that bloody muggle song of theirs plays – they go mad.”

“Yeah right,” the blonde scoffed, “they’re both too stuck up to ever actually have fun.”

“Oh yeah? I’ll prove it to you!”

“C’mon Ron, let’s just leave it-”

“No Harry, there’s no way I’m losing this argument. Oi Lee,” Ron hollered to Lee Jordan, the trusted DJ at every Hogwarts party, “put on that song – you know – that one muggle song… can’t remember the bloody name now,” Ron started to trail off.

Luckily, Lee was able to decipher Ron’s drunk slurs, “You got it Ron.”

As soon as the first few beats thumped out of the speakers, y/n let out a squeal of joy. Searching for Hermione, they caught eyes from across the room and both knew what they had to do; meet on the dancefloor between them and let loose. Both being muggle born, the two girls shared a love of muggle music that their magical born friends didn’t. It bonded them when they first became friends and now had influenced even those who weren’t muggle born to enjoy it too.

As the beat dropped, the girls started to dance. Bopping their heads from side to side, they swung their hips in time with the music. With her back to Hermione’s chest, y/n let her head roll back onto her friends’ shoulder as they drunkenly laughed for no apparent reason. Y/n’s black mini dress had begun to ride up her thighs slightly, meanwhile her hips continued to roll and grind suggestively – neither girls remotely aware of anyone around them, nor the shock of particularly their Slytherin classmates, who weren’t used to seeing this side of them.

Especially not Draco Malfoy, his jaw slack as his eyes were entranced in the girl’s direction.

“Uh oh,” Harry teased, “looks like Malfoy’s got his eyes on your girlfriend.”

“Um Harry,” Ron stared at Draco’s face in disbelief, with a slight hint of amusement, “it’s not ‘Mione he’s looking at.”

Unaware of the intense gaze from her long-time enemy Draco Malfoy, y/n continued to dance seductively.

Draco’s initial expression of shock had now turned into his signature grin, his icy blue-grey eyes trailing over y/n’s curves. His eyes expressed admiration (something rare for someone who usually showed distain for almost everything) and apparent attraction for the girl. His head filled with lewd thoughts as he yearned to know more about her – until now he thought he’d had her sussed, but now he started to question his good-girl perception of her. His hand rubbing at his jaw slightly, completely entranced by every swing of her hips.

“Godric, he’s looking at her as if he’s in love with her,” Harry uttered, entirely bewildered by the look on Malfoy’s face – it was a look of attraction and almost tenderness that was starting to scare him.

Ron brought a hand up to his forehead, “Uh oh… did we do that?”

hey, if you managed to get all the way to the end, thank u sm!! any feedback is appreciated. I have an idea for part 2 if anyone wants that :) 

[soradoll]

1997/GUITAR HEROES

Guitar Heroes Opening Special

SUGIZO/hide/Imai Hisashi

Photography: Hideo Canno

Text: Kou Imazu

Conversation: SUGIZO (Luna Sea) hide (X japan) Imai Hisashi (Buck-tick)

Brilliant, radical, aesthetic, shocking, liberating, fascinating. How many more adjectives like these can be used to describe these 3 men. the opening for "Guitar Heroes" issue is a dream conversation between Luna Sea's SUGIZO, X-JAPAN's hide, and BUCK-TICK's Hisashi Imai. Living in this chaos-filled era, what is the world view of these charismatic guitarists?

---First, I would like to ask you for your impressions of each other.

Hide: Imai-kun is amazing, still making underground-sounding music while being signed to a major label. Also, as a guitar player, I feel like he has a strange sense for music, which is disregarding any level of being "crazy" or "correct". As for SUGIZO-kun, he looks very cool preforming live and in interviews, so at first, I thought he was a show-off (laughs). But, in reality he has a lot of consideration for being part of a band.

Imai: I first learned about hide-kun from N's video. After seeing it, I was filled with thoughts. Not just from the way he sounds, but from the way he acted, too. I felt like he had parts to him that are in common with me. SUGIZO gave me an impression of someone who dislikes those sorts of things…

Hide: "why are you playing so sloppy? Why is there guitar howling in this part?" things like that.

Imai: yeah, yeah (laughs)

SUGIZO: so, Imai-san. Imai-san always seemed very strict to me. Maybe its due to his musical roots and approach to music which are very far from my own, but also thinking about "a cool performance" always make me think of BUCK-TICK first (laughs). To an ordinary person, it would seem very strange, but for me, it makes me feel very comfortable too look at.

---By the way, Imai-kun plays guitar left-handed even though he is right-handed.

Hide: what?! You are not left-handed?!

Imai: yeah. When I first started on the guitar, I just held it like that without knowing anything about playing. It just felt right, so I kept playing it like that the whole time.

SUGIZO: when a Shorinji fighter¹ becomes a boxer, his stance is reversed, as if he is doing a southpaw² stance. But in Imai's and mine cases, it might be our blood. I have a lot of left-handed relatives (laughs)

SUGIZO: Anyways, I find That both Imai-san's and hide-san's are cool. It is not just the way they play, but the constant anarchic approach to music that I find especially cool. It's very different to Eric Clapton, who hasn't changed his way of playing in decades (laughs). When it comes to playing guitar, the orthodox style is more comfortable to me.

Hide: My guitar… when I started, I played the koto³, I liked playing the oriental style. I'd play one chord and go "whew!!" (laughs). You can only really play with an orchestra with that one (laughs). However, with that type of guitar it's hard to play in a group, that is not an ornate-sounding band.

SUGIZO: That, if you ask me, reminds me of YMO⁴, the cover they did for "Day tripper" and some of Makoto Ayukawa's⁵ ultra-orthodox guitars were used in a very techno sounding bands.

---Imai-kun, You are influenced by YMO, aren't you?

Imai: yeah. Maybe that's why whenever I'm composing a song, it's not the guitar I hear in my mind, but the sound of the synths.

SUGIZO: When I first heard BUCK-TICK's "M.A.D.", I was very impressed. At the time, I didn't know that Imai-san liked YMO, and thought "wow, this sounds very cool and techno-ish." Later, I learned that the working title for the song was "techno" (laughs).

Hide: I have a hard time listening to techno, especially the newest type, unless its while being in a club or something like that. Because there's a lot of repetition, and it sounds like environmental music. I'd rather listen to industrial music and things like that over techno.

SUGIZO: I like that type of music as well. I've been a fan since the days of Neubauten⁶.

Hide: Aren't Neubauten the ones who used to make music by beating metal objects together? That's all it sounded like to me. That's what makes the guitar different. A guitar can make a more violent sound when you put your mind into different picking.

SUGIZO: You're right. At first glance, it might look like you are playing wildly, but there is in fact a precise pressure on the fingers. In fact, it's a very petty instrument (laughs).

Imai: Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. (laughs)

SUGIZO: Sometimes when I get tired of it, I'd rather run into action instead of focusing playing the guitar (laughs).

Hide: Speaking of which, all three of us are from bands that uses two guitarists. So it's ok for us to not play from time to time (laughs)

SUGIZO: yeah. Imai-san writes his songs from the beginning in such a way so that he doesn't have to play them live on stage (laughs)

Imai:  No, nothing like that… (laughs) Well, if the song is written by someone else, it's harder to approach it freely like that, you know.

SUGIZO: Since you can't tell what the other members were thinking about when they wrote their songs, so it makes every member irreplaceable that way.

Hide: I'm the opposite of that. I enjoy being part of X, while being constrained to YOSHIKI's music compositions.

SUGIZO: We don't really do that in our group, so we keep having clashing ideas with each other (laughs). Ryuichi is amazing for singing so well with those conditions (laughs).

Imai: from a guitarist's point of view, it's like "well, you're the vocalist so you should sing well no matter what" (laughs). Lately I've been composing songs in such a way that makes the singer's voice feel the most comfortable.

---Well. I don't want to ruin the mood while you are having fun, But I'd like to end the chat soon. For the last question, I'd like to ask you about your "Guitar Hero".

SUGIZO: Those words bring nothing to mind.

Hide: Of course, the sound of the guitar is very important to us, but it's just one of the things used while a songs are being weaved together.

SUGIZO: Exactly!

Imai: I have never focused solely on the guitar, either. What other instruments could I play? I've always been fascinated by people who had cool forms, not because the were "cool" as people, but because they're using cool forms, like YMO or Hotei⁷…

Hide: I like Jimmy Paige, but it's more like I'm interested in his adventurous spirit and the way he combined various elements into one song.

SUGIZO: I understand. I feel honored being chosen as one of the three guitarists for this interview, but the guitar is just one part of my being. I think there's just more than one way of looking at it.

  ¹: Shorinji Kempo s a Japanese martial art considered to be a modified version of Shaolin Kung Fu.

²: a boxer who leads with the right hand and off the right foot as opposed to the orthodox style of leading with the left.

³: The koto (箏) is a Japanese stringed musical instrument and the national instrument of Japan. The most common type uses 13 strings strung over movable bridges used for tuning, different pieces possibly requiring different tuning.

⁴: Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) is a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978. The group is considered influential and innovative in the field of popular electronic music. They were pioneers in their use of synthesizers, samplers, sequencers, drum machines, computers, and digital recording technology.

⁵: Guitarist for rock band "Sheena & The Rokkets".

⁶:Einstürzende Neubauten is a German experimental music group, originally formed in West Berlin in 1980.

⁷: Hotei is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer and actor. Hotei first rose to prominence in the 1980s as the guitarist for Boøwy, one of Japan's most popular rock bands, before starting a solo career.

[p-and-p-admin]

Interview given to The Severus Snape and Hermione Granger Shipping Fan Group.  (sharing here Admin approved)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/199718373383293/

Hello Oracle Obscured and welcome to Behind the Quill, thank-you for letting us get to know you a little better.

Many readers will know you already and if they don’t I encourage them to look your works up including Teaching Miss Granger and How I learned to love teachers’ meetings

Okay, let’s jump right in.

What's the story behind your pen name?

Hmmm ... that’s kind of a weird answer for me. I wanted to choose a name that didn’t immediately indicate whether I was male or female. I’d noticed a certain freedom afforded to authors of indistinguishable gender. With no societal construct about the “nature” of the creator, the story stood on its own, without prejudice or conditioned expectations.

I brainstormed about six or seven names and then picked the one that appealed to me most. I’ve always felt drawn to the idea of oracles (those who see beyond). And I definitely felt obscured in that department. (Hell, at the time, my whole life felt obscured.)

Which Harry Potter character do you identify with the most?

I don’t know if I do. I guess if I had to pick, I’d say Hermione, as I have a tendency to be an obsessive perfectionist when it comes to work/studying. I like to be organized and plan things out. And I can be quite demanding and harsh with myself when I feel like I’m not measuring up to my own insane ideals.

But I took that openpsychometrics.org statistical quiz a while back, where you answer like a bazillion comparison questions (I did the longer version), and my highest HP match was Remus Lupin (83%). Yeah, I can see that.

Luna is my favorite character, but I don’t know if I identify with her more than anyone else.

Do you have a favourite genre to read? (not in fic, just in general)

It used to be horror/suspense, but ... I don’t know ... I’m just not as into it anymore. Maybe it’s because the real world is horrifying enough without adding fictional monsters to the mix.

Now I mostly read classics.

Do you have a favourite "classic" novel?

To Kill a Mockingbird.

At what age did you start writing?

Just writing stories in general? Maybe second grade. It wasn’t a passion or anything, just something I was pretty good at. I only really did it at school, though, not so much at home. I read A LOT growing up, so I naturally imagined that I might be an author one day. I tried to write a book when I was about 13 or 14, but less than one chapter in, I decided it was too hard. (I was NOT a Hermione growing up. Planning and perseverance were not my style.)

I took a massive break from thinking after high school (the smorgasbord of medications I was on didn’t like me using my brain too much, and my plans for college went out the window when my depression become unmanageable). I didn’t really start writing again until I was about twenty-seven. That was when I found fanfiction. I consider that when I really started writing.

How did you get into writing fanfiction?

I found fanfiction while looking for erotica. Needless to say I discovered the motherlode, and I was hooked. Over the years, I’d written bits and pieces of my own sexy scenarios (which is what you do when you grow up without the internet and you have to depend on your imagination for all your kink requirements), but I’d never really thought about taking someone else’s “story world” and using it as my setting. For a little over a year I read/devoured all the HP fanfiction I could, and then I realized I could take all the fantasies in my head and play them out with my favorite characters.

The first story I wrote was a funny/smutty Ginny/Draco thing, and it was HORRIBLE. The story and the sex were fine, but the writing was a nightmare. I submitted it to The Restricted Section, which was the only site I knew at the time, and they vetted their stories, so I had to get approved. They wrote me back saying it needed work and I should get a beta. So I went on the forum and found one (which was rather brave of me now that I think back). The person who helped me must’ve had the patience of a saint, because he/she(?) never said a damn thing about all the mistakes and shitty-ness. Suggestions and corrections were made, and I changed some of the pronouns to names so it wouldn’t sound so repetitive. The next time I submitted it, they accepted, and I got a decent response for a first-time writer (like three or four nice reviews). No one seemed to hate it, and the reviewers said the sex was hot, so I tried again, hoping to do better.

That’s when I wrote the first chapter of Teaching Miss Granger. It started out as just a oneshot. And it got a much better response. I wanted to write more, but I became extremely depressed and lethargic, and I didn’t really do anything for the next six or seven years. (I mean nothing. Unless you consider watching every episode of Law & Order CI and SVU ten times over to be an accomplishment.)

I came back to it years later, intending to add a few chapters to TMG where they have sex, but ... it just sort of evolved into the monster that it is. I worked on it pretty much every day for about a year. I’d never stuck with ANYTHING that long in my entire life.

What's the best theme you've ever come across in a fic? Is it a theme represented in your own works?

I would say love or “the power of love” is probably my favorite theme. But that includes synonyms for love as well. (Like wholeness, which is the theme of Quartet.)

What fandoms are you involved in other than Harry Potter?

None. I like other fandoms, but I don’t write for them, and I don’t usually read their fanfiction.

If you could make one change to canon, what would it be? Do you have a favourite piece of fanon?

I’ve never really thought about changing cannon. I mean, I change it to suit my fictional purposes (like Snape lives etc.), but I wouldn’t want to change canon for real. The deaths in HP serve a purpose, and while I find many of those deaths heartbreaking, that’s kind of the point. Hatred is bleak and destructive, and good people don’t survive wars simply because they’re good; bad things happen to good people all the time. As for changing something about the individual characters, I can’t get behind that either. The reasons people do things are multifaceted and complex and they’re colored by a lifetime of experiences I will never know or understand, so I don’t feel I can really judge. I can’t say I understand all the choices I’ve made in my own life, and there’ve been plenty of times where I had no choice at all. I can’t hold others to more rigorous standards than I myself can meet. We all have our shortcomings. (And that’s cool. Without them, there would be no growth or diversity.)

Do I have a favorite piece of fanon? Hmmm ... probably Head Boy and Head girl rooming together or having private rooms.

Oh! And uniforms.

Do you listen to music when you write or do you prefer quiet?

I used to listen to really quiet classical music while wearing headphones. Every little sound in the house distracts me, and I have to block it out. But lately I’ve just been running this old box fan that drowns out the noise.

What are your favourite fanfictions of all time?

Crap, I don’t know if I can choose. (Plus I feel like I’ve forgotten a lot of what I’ve read.)

My friend Desert Sea is my fav Hermione/Severus writer. Out of her stories, the ones I like best are In Their Hands and At the Headmaster’s Discretion.

After a brief search of my accounts, I’ll go with:

Do Not Go Gentle by senlinyu

Another Dream by dragoon811

The Last Twenty-Four Hours of Severus Snape by CryingCinderella

Pretty much everything by Aurette

Pet Project by Caeria

Post Tenebras, Lux by Loten

All the SS/HG stuff from snapeslittleblackbuttons

There’s a Teddy Radiator story that I like a lot, but I can’t remember the name of it. (Or what it’s about.) (Yes, very helpful, I know.)

And in a category all it’s own is Farmer Granger and the Most Glorious Cock by MyWitch. (Seriously, I read this like once a month and it makes me laugh every time.)

I read a lot of Drarry too. Drarry stories I love:

Everything by bixgrl1, but especially Balance Imperfect and In Evidence of Magical Theory

Everything by lq_traintracks (even the non-Drarry stuff). The writing is amazing.

I love all the advent stories by Saras_girl.

I like all the Drarry stories I’ve read by Faithwood.

I really like RZZMG’s writing. (No particular story or pairing.)

And I just rediscovered a story I found in 2007 (the first m/m fic I ever read). It’s a Snarry, which I know isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it was excellent. Snape: the Home Fries Nazi by pir8fancier

Are you a plotter or a pantser? How does that affect your writing process?

I enjoy a bit of both. My oneshots are all pantsed. TMG was totally pantsed. But Getting Personal and Quartet were both plotted and planned. For GP I did sort of a chapter by chapter synopsis before starting my rough draft, and for Q I went into even more detail—EVERYTHING was planned out ahead of time. The only thing that changed during the first draft was I ended up combining some of the chapters.

How does plotting affect my writing process compared to pantsing? It streamlines it. In a oneshot there’s not much to streamline; the basic story (or general idea) is all you really need. There’s not enough story to get muddled. But when I’m writing something longer, with multiple chapters, I find it’s better to know where the story is going. How deeply I go into that planning can vary. Sometimes there’s just a basic outline of the major plot points and then I fly by the seat of my pants from there. Sometimes I write out a very rough synopsis (sort of like a short and loose first draft) and then start writing as if it’s my second draft. Things inevitably get changed once I really start writing, so the planning isn’t set in stone by any means, but when I plan, the story goes in the general direction I intend without veering too far off course and there aren’t any plot holes. After I wrote TMG (with no planning) I saw that there was A LOT I could have cut or combined without affecting anything important. I learned a little more with each story I wrote, and when I got to Q, there was a lot of complicated ideas that I wanted to incorporate, and there were so many characters (and character arcs) going on that I had to plan extensively to make sure everything fit together. If I hadn’t worked it out ahead of time, it would’ve been like throwing a heap of puzzle pieces on the table but not being given a reference picture to know what it was I was working toward.

What is your writing genre of choice?

I have no idea. Plotty sex? Erotic dramady? Some of it is just straight up PWP, but I usually like to have something meaningful in there too.

Which of your stories are you most proud of? Why?

Usually the answer is whatever I’ve most recently written, as it’s the most likely to represent my current “best.” In terms of writing, I’ll go with A Brush with Magic, but Quartet is probably my best storytelling. A lot went into that (symbolism, planning, obsessive re-writes) and it holds a good deal of personal meaning to me. So, I guess I’ll go with Q due to the time and effort involved.

Did it unfold as you imagined it or did you find the unexpected cropped up as you wrote? What did you learn from writing it?

The unexpected always crops up (even with all my planning), and it’s the unexpected that makes the magic.

While I had many insights into my own nature while writing Quartet, in the end I think it taught me to trust/listen to myself more.

Later, however, it brought me a very different message. While writing it, I felt a lot of tension and anxiety; I wanted to “do it right” and present my story in the best light. But after some time away, I realized I’d been so worried because I felt as if that story represented me, as if it defined me. And the pressure of being judged worthy or unworthy had been eating me alive.

But I don’t feel that way anymore. Now it’s like I wrote all my stories in another lifetime. While they all might be a snapshot of a fraction of my mind, nothing I create ever says a damn thing about who or what I truly am. Since letting go of that, I’ve found a sense of freedom around writing. I still like to express things as clearly and beautifully as I can, but it’s more a celebration of words than a search for acceptance.

How personal is the story to you, and do you think that made it harder or easier to write?

Quartet was extremely personal to me when I wrote it, and in a lot of ways I think that made it easier to write. When I have to go strictly by imagination, I feel as if I’m missing some depth of understanding (like I’m getting the surface-level stuff, but missing the nuance). When I write from experience, it has an entirely different quality. Richer. More intimate. It’s work to write what I don’t know, but it’s easy to write the truth.

Posting, however, is an entirely different story. Other people don’t always want the truth, and if you feel like your story is an extension of you, it can hurt to have any part of it rejected.

What books or authors have influenced you? How do you think that shows in your writing?

I think everything I’ve ever read or seen has influenced me. In terms of writing, I guess I’d say I’m inspired by beauty in all its forms. When I first started reading fanfiction, I just searched for the kinks I liked; it was all about the sex (with bonus points for having a decent plot). Then one day I read an extremely well-written PWP (I don’t remember what), and the way the author described the sex was so unlike anything I had ever read, it totally blew my mind. It was art. Exquisite art. And before that, I didn’t know sex could be art. That author didn’t just recount the characters’ actions, they painted a word masterpiece—they turned porn into poetry. THAT was what I wanted in my life. And I didn’t know it until that moment.

Books/authors that stick with me:

The Harry Potter series (obviously).

Shel Silverstein (Love the poetry, but The Giving Tree is one of my favorite books of all time.)

Dr. Seuss (Always.)

Judy Blume (I still have my copy of Are You There God it’s Me Margaret from when I was, like, 10. Tiger Eyes is my favorite of hers.)

R.L. Stine (I got hooked prior to the creation of the Goosebumps series, but I had EVERY Fear Street Book he wrote when I was in middle school.)

Weekend by Christopher Pike (This was the first YA thriller I ever read. *Sigh* memories. I still have my original copy, and I still read it every once in a while. The characters and plot are great.)

Stephen King (Carrie is my fav.)

Anne Rice (I’ve read all the vampire and witch books, but The Witching Hour is the only one I’ve read multiple times. Blackwood Farm is my next favorite.)

To Kill a Mockingbird

Charles Dickens (David Copperfield is my fav.)

Jane Austen (I can’t pick between Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility.)

Thomas Harris (Brilliant writing, and Hannibal might be one of the most intriguing anti-heros ever.)

Stieg Larsson (Another brilliant writer with a brilliant character.)

The Giver by Lois Lowry (I haven’t read the rest of the trilogy. And I haven’t seen the movie. I refuse to besmirch my childhood love with Hollywood’s interpretation.)

Bridge to Terabithia (This book devastated me as a child.)

Gillian Flynn (Sharp Objects is my fav.)

Liane Moriarty (I like all of her books, especially Big Little Lies. The way she plays with the timeline is masterful.)

Frank Herbert’s Dune. (I grew up on this. It’s my dad’s all-time favorite book. And, yes, we’re looking forward to the new movie.)

Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale is horrifyingly wonderful. And Atwood herself is fascinating. Watch her Masterclass if you get the chance.)

Steinbeck’s East of Eden (This might be my second favorite book.)

The Lucifer Effect by Phillip Zimbardo (This isn’t fiction, but it was the first book that really affected the way I see the world.)

Eisler’s The Chalice and the Blade (Also not fiction. If you’re interested in the divine feminine and a more egalitarian society, this is the book for you.)

Loving What Is by Byron Katie (The only self-help book that’s ever actually helped me.)

Daphne Du Maurier (I love Rebecca, but she also has a story called “The Blue Lenses” that isn’t really intended to be scary, but it freaked me the fuck out.)

The Secret History by Donna Tartt (Gorgeous writing, and the plot left me seriously disturbed.)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey (Gah! I love this. The writing and the story and the characters and EVERYTHING!)

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (I Bradbury’s writing style, but the plot of F451 is pure horror for any book hoarder lover.)

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding (This might be my third favorite book ever. No, wait, I might like it better than East of Eden. I can’t choose!)

The Diary of Anne Frank (How in the hell could anyone read this and not be affected by it?)

Do people in your everyday life know you write fanfiction?

No. This is my own private world, and I like it that way.

How true for you is the notion of "writing for yourself"?

Very. I write what I want to read. There are certain adjustments I make when I write for other people as opposed to what I do when writing strictly for myself, but nothing major. I refuse to write things I have no interest in, and I don’t write to make people happy. I write to please myself. (But it’s nice when what pleases me pleases others. It’s wonderful to share that connection.)

How important is it for you to interact with your audience? How do you engage with them? Just at the point of publishing? Through social media?

I like hearing from my readers. I don’t have a lot of time to interact, but I like talking to my audience and listening to their insights. I try to reply to all the comments I get on AO3 (it’s just too hard on FFN). And when I have free time (which isn’t often) I check my FB groups to see what’s going on. To me, the interaction kind of completes the creative cycle; it helps me set the story free and allow it to be. It really belongs to the reader once I’ve published, and it’s nice to see the ripples creativity creates.

What is the best advice you've received about writing?

Unless it’s absolutely necessary, stop using the word “was.” Completely changed my writing.

What do you do when you hit writer's block?

It doesn’t really happen that much, as I usually know where I’m going with my story, but there can be glitches between scenes or times when I can’t find the words for something (like ending a chapter). When that happens, I usually just leave it and come back later—I can’t force it if it won’t come.

If I really need to get it done for some reason, I read what I have over and over, adding a little bit more each time, trying out words that “sound right” and building what I need bit by bit. What I come up with isn’t always right or what I want, but at least I have something to work with. Sometimes seeing what’s wrong makes what you want more obvious.

Has anything in real life trickled down into your writing?

Yeah, just about everything Sex, depression, anxiety, personal growth, likes/dislikes, insights, interests, philosophy, all my little neuroses. Every once in a while I’ll even include some dialogue from real life.

Do you have any stories in the works? Can you give us a teaser?

I’m juggling about five long stories right now (plus a couple oneshots). And I haven’t worked on any of them in ages. I don’t know what’s going on with me; I’m just not in the mood. I don’t want to say what they are, as I might never finish them. (Two are Drarry and three are Sevmione. One is a compilation of oneshots. Four of them are completely planned out and just need to be written. The unplanned Drarry was always just meant to be for myself and I doubt I’ll ever release it.)

Any words of encouragement to other writers?

Yes. Enjoy the whole writing/creative process as much as possible. Try not to beat yourself up, and don’t try to force yourself to be better. You will naturally get better the more you write. Change is inevitable; allow it to happen. Read books about writing, and read good writers. Notice what brings you the most pleasure when you read and tap into that same pleasure when you write. Play with words and ideas just for fun. Watch and see what appears. There is no perfect.

If you’re writing about sex (because I get asked about that a lot), write what turns YOU on. Don’t try to be sexy. Don’t try to write what you think other people want to hear. Don’t worry about what other people think (at least in the first draft). If they don’t like it they can go read something else. But if YOU like it, it will shine through in your writing, and that will have a bigger impact on your reader than any activity you describe. Also, the physicality is only a fraction of the sexual experience. Don’t turn your sex scenes into a play-by-play. You’re not really writing about what the characters are doing so much as how what they’re doing affects them. It’s a personal experience, and the more personal you make it (the more honest and vulnerable you are as a writer) the more satisfying the story will be for your reader. Wise words! Thank-you so much for speaking with us today Oracle Obscured.

[comradesalazar]

2020 Creator Wrap: Favorite Works

I will admit I got a lil Emotional that I got tagged in this but I’m so excited to go through it because this year has been SO PRODUCTIVE for me when it comes to writing. Thank you to the legend @that0negayslytherin​ for tagging me and the other legends, you the real MVP (and also thanks again for setting up the LV fic discord bc that place... really b Wild and really b a wonderful place to motivate each other to be our best.) Legends only!!

Anyhway! Onto this thing... I’m excited.

[rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (or so) favourite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought to the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!]

So. Most of my works from this year have been Venji related because I’m still in the deep pit of Love, Victor obsession and idk when that’ll go away. Hopefully not anytime soon because I’m having a great time and fic was an amazing way for me to improve my craft. I do have one piece of original work on this list, but the rest is fic. It’s difficult to choose favorites so I think I’ll go chronologically. A couple of these have graphics but not all of them. Anyway... let’s get into this, shall we.

Arakhne of the Floating Mountain

So this the first work I completed this year. It’s an original novella I wrote for Wattpad’s Open Novella Contest and it’s a very fun, character-centric story that reimagines Arakhne/Arachne (the one from the legend who gets turned into a spider after challenging Athena) as a lonely lesbian who lives alone on, you guessed it, a palace on a mountain in the sky, until three sisters drop by asking for her to create their coronation dresses for when they become the queens of Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. The sisters (Soledad, Luna and Estelle) basically try to court her and it’s a good time. Obviously, I didn’t win the competition but it was still a really fun story for me to write and part of my journey of realizing I can create a writing habit and work on something over the course of a long time, since the only other completed long work I had was for NaNo, which was just binge-writing over 30 days before I had the chance to get bored. If you’re into magical lesbians, check it out!

The stars will love me even if you don’t

I have so much to say about this work. I started it just on a whim in August after I watched Love, Victor in July and began wanting to actually contribute to the works of fandom. Little did I know that I would be embarking on a journey of 120k words and counting, with 33 chapters. This story deals with a whole random of issues -- from long-distance relationships, substance abuse, mental health problems especially around anxiety and depression/suicidality, toxic relationships, codependency, self-harm, the project of becoming oneself and being able to manage life and navigate the world in a healthy way, all the things. In a lot of ways, it is a personal project. But also in a lot of ways I wanted to correct a lot of ideas we have about what constitutes a healthy relationship and what love should look like. There were many times when I wanted to give up on this project due to frustration and exhaustion, but I continued to work at it. I learned so much about my own capabilities, about developing a writing habit, and about what it’s like to write a behemoth of a story. It isn’t perfect by any means but I appreciate the people who have reached out to me and told me that they learned some things about themselves from reading. This is truly a labor of love and I can see that it already accomplished the goal I set for myself which was to help people. It’s lit. And thank you so much to @callmevenji​ for the lovely cover!! She’s a legend!! 

The Thousand-Eyed Wraith (TTEW)

This was a little one-shot I wrote for the Halloween Venji Fic Fest and it takes place in the world of my original work, The Thousand-Eyed Crow. Basically, it’s about what would happen if Venji ended up in that world and had to deal with some spooky nonsense and eventually ended up joining a cult. It was fun for me because it was more stream of consciousness and post-modernist, which is very different to how I normally write but it was a really fun experiment tbh. 

You Only Live Forever (YOLF)

This was another one-shot I wrote for the Fic Fest, but this one was much smuttier and mature than TTEW. I was really inspired by Beyonce’s “Partition” (the song and the video lmao) and thought it would be interesting to put Venji in a world similar to Greendale in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina but with s*x magic, so it was essentially a Love, Victor and CAOS cross-over for grownups lol. Apparently it worked out well, though, and they ended up trying to summon Satan which went... questionably. But I had a lot of fun writing this, as well, especially when it came to sorta balancing the old-timey setting with the modern day and the smutty scenes with the softer, fluffier ones. 

Part of Your World

So one day I had an idea to write a Little Mermaid-inspired Venji story that would be so sweet and romantic... And so I did. I took a lot of inspiration from several sources -- one, of course, was the Disney version of the Little Mermaid, as well as the original version which is a lot darker and more sinister, as well as mythology around sirens and selkies and just, I guess like, class warfare. So I ended up with a sorta more adult-version of the Little Mermaid where Benji gets attacked by humans and is distrustful of them until he meets Victor who is “not like other humans” and helps patch him up, and they embark on a bit of a whirlwind romance. This has been a treat to work on even though it’s probably one of my least popular fics because I imagine people are coming for something a bit more light-hearted but I’m incapable of writing something that is 100% fun and not chock full of imagery and meaning. I think this has also been the work that showcased and tested my imagery-writing and dialogue-writing abilities the most and brought out my inner poet. And once again a huge thank you to @callmevenji​ for the fanart, if you haven’t already followed her you should bc she’s a legend.

Dead Men Feed the Fish

Finally, my last and most recent work is also the story I worked on for NaNoWriMo this year. 63,000 words completed in less than a month, depicting the initial meeting of Venji and the way their romance develops and deepens over time. It’s just (chef’s kiss). I had originally had the idea for pirate!Venji and really wanted to write it because I was inspired by That One Scene in Pirates of the Caribbean, which is probably one of the most romantic scenes I’ve ever seen and between the only het pairing I stan. So I just had to write a story that included this scene and that allowed me to write my dream scenario of Venji out on the open seas being gay and having a good time and going on adventures and having homoerotic sword fights. This story has basically everything -- romance, action, adventure, magic/fantasy, a lil bit of spice/kink, good communication, tension, cute animals, everyone is gay, what’s not to love. I’m also looking to edit and publish traditionally so I’m in the process of fixing all that up now. And once again, thank you to @callmevenji​ for the brilliant fanart!

Anyway, that was that, and I hope that if you have the time and you get the chance, that you give some of my works a shot because I would be very grateful and I think you will have fun. 

I’ll tag @kateis-cakeis​, @g531​, and I guess anyone else who wants to do this! 

[romioneficfest]

Lose Yourself

Title: Lose Yourself name: Prompt: Day 4: Quidditch / Hogwarts Rated: K+ / PG Brief Summary: Rose Weasley Granger is about to step on the biggest pitch of her entire life, one that she has been training for almost her entire life: The Quidditch World Cup Final. Before she is off at the starting whistle, she needs validation from the one person whose approval she desperately needs. Warning: Oliver Wood’s guest commentary. Tagging @weasleyisourroyalfamily for the headcanon inspirations.

“Rose Weasley-Granger, the star seeker for the English National team is a bit of a prodigy. Her Dad put her on her first broom a year old, way she tells it. Uncle Harry Potter coached her early on. He was a bit of a star during his secondary years until life got in the way,” the play-by-play announcer nodded in full understanding as most of the English population 40 and up easily recalled, “and later coached by her Aunt Ginny Weasley-Potter, who was an enormous star for the Holyhead Harpies in the UK Quidditch League and taught her so much, even though she was a Chaser by profession in the Quidditch Leagues.”

“She also started as Second Chaser for the English National Team in 2002 and 2006 before retiring after the tournament.”

“That’s right Oliver,” Lee Jordan’s voice crackled over the airwaves to the delight of all the fans. “Rumor has it that Weasley-Granger was tutored in the summer months during her years at Hogwarts by the Hall of Fame Seeker and family friend Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian National team legend who caught the Snitch in the 1994 World Cup match played in the UK, and then again in the 2014 World Cup final in Patagonia, Argentina. Krum retired after that last International match, participating only in charity matches in England and on the Continent, raising funds for the Prewitt Trust, the post-war orphan trust for children whose parents were murdered by the Voldemort regime in 1997 through May 1998.”

Wood interrupted. “Speaking of, there is the Bulgarian Legend Krum, in the minister’s Box alongside the others. His wife Natalia is present and their oldest, Sergei, attends Hogwarts now as a Fifth-year Prefect, and their older daughter Mina as well. All we are waiting on now are the Ministers for the UK and Mexico to arrive.” 

“Back to Weasley-Granger, she made a name for herself starting while in secondary at Hogwarts, catching the snitch in every match she played starting in her second year. By the start of her fifth year, all the professional teams in the UK and a few abroad were recruiting her when she performed a Wronkski feint which turned at the last second into a sloth roll to catch the snitch that had flown under her opponent and sealed the win for her House team that year. At that match, the recruiting scout for the Chudley Cannons, of all the teams, was present at the match and not a week later they were sending owls to the Weasley-Granger residence trying to sign her - at 16. 

“Her Mum, Hermione Granger, who had assumed the role of Minister earlier that term, forbade her from signing any professional contracts until the end of her sixth year after she’d turned 17. The day after the end of term, recruiters were desperate to sign young Weasley-Granger. And each one she turned down, telling all of them, “I bleed orange and Black and am a Chudley Cannon through and through. Sorry fellas,” as she went back to work on their property, using a scythe to clear the back yard of overgrown grass as her daily workout. But the National team, having already watched her first season as a seeker for the Cannons, immediately invited her out for the team before the end of her first year. She beat out 16 other Seekers to become the starter, being the youngest since Krum started for Bulgaria at 18 back in 1994.”

“She’s been nothing short of legendary at the National competition level. I’ve watched her and her vision on the pitch is astounding.”

“And there is Minister Curazon of Mexico and British Minister Granger, along with the entire Weasley clan arriving, lead by Patriarch Ron Weasley-Granger, co-owner of Weasleys’ Wizarding Wheezes. Also present is Rose’s younger brother Hugo, who is already a renown Rune translator and spell researcher. Arriving with them are the Potters including Lily Luna, the starting third chaser for the Tutshill Tornadoes. Wood, you’ve been a part of a friendly with the Weasley Potter Granger clan. How much fun is it?”

“Lee, I have to say it’s much more fun refereeing them than trying to keep up. Between Rose and Lily Luna Potter, few stand a chance. I’m sore for three days facing Lily Luna, much less her Mum and Rose.”

The music shifted again, sounding like a celebration.

Oliver Wood stood, looking out at the fans. “Ladies, Gentlemen, Distinguished guests,” his voice boomed over the stadium, still strong years after retiring from Puddlemere United, "I give you the Mexican National team. At Keeper, Miguel Gonzales; Beaters Julio Sanchez and Juan Carrasco; Chasers Alejandro , Jorge Hernandez, and Rafael ‘Lobo’ Vasquez; and Seeker Teresa Blanco-Calderon !”

Seven red, green, and white rockets took off from the portal, racing around the Holyhead pitch at breakneck speeds, before taking their places at the centre of the pitch, with Calderon circling high above.

“There’s Ron Weasley, standing tall in the Minister’s Box, with Minister Granger by his side, wearing the customary Home White Lions uniform with blazing red of the St. George’s Cross. I spy underneath his jacket, a sprig of Orange. I‘m guessing, under his Weasley-Granger National jersey on the back, was his pride and joy - his daughter’s replica Chudley Cannons team jersey.”

Ron ignored the commentary from Lee Jordan, focusing at his wife at his side at his wife, the current Minister of Magic who was officially off duty tonight and letting Oliver Wood handle the festivities. Tears were streaming down her face, completely oblivious to anyone who might notice. Ron glanced right and saw his sister, brother in law, Viktor and his remaining family standing there, all beaming with pride, waiting for the English national team. Ron leaned down to give his wife a peck on the lips, ignoring the hoots and catcalls around them.

“That’s Weasley for you. He prefers his wife over propriety.” Guffaws broke out around the couple before Ron kissed her again before turning back to the player’s tunnel.

The Mexican team finished their racing circuits of the stadium and they settled in, waiting. 

A thrum started, like a heartbeat. Ever so slowly, a roar erupted, punctuated with chanting known all over the British Isles: 'Weasley is our Queen'

“And starting for the English National team, we have at Keeper Charles Wood; Beaters Marius Pucey and Aiden Flint; Chasers Zeb Smith, Khalil Reeves, and Mohammed Siddiq-Smythe, and last but certainly not least, Seeker Rose Weasley-Granger,” the announcer roared over the crowds watching the Ginger Wonder Woman, as the English Press referred to the Prime Minister’s daughter. Sure enough, panning the crowds to the Minister’s Box stood Minister of Magic for the UK Hermione Granger, along with 2002 English 2nd Chaser Ginny Weasley Potter, her husband Harry Potter, and the minister’s husband Ron Weasley-Granger.

All eyes turned to the lanky Seeker, wearing her home White uniform with blood-red boots and cape, and her name embossed in Red on the back. The smile on her face was as bright as the fireworks that announced the team, shining above everyone. Rose soared, feeling the brisk air as she rode the jetstream and raced down to the ground, pulling up from the ground a foot from the pitch to fly almost straight up above the stadium.

“Win or lose, Lee, this is her moment, the one she’s trained a lifetime for.”

Rose dared look down at the Minister’s Box and saw her family, including ‘Uncle’ Viktor. An entire sea of ginger-haired people was looking up at her, waving frantically, led by her Dad, her #1 fan. But she only had eyes for her Mum, beaming in pride up at her. Her breath hitched when she saw her Mum signing to her ‘Little Lion Queen, Fly Fast; love you' up at her. She signed back, 'Love you' before deciding to do one last reckless thing before the whistle blew. Rose took off for one sprint around the top of the stadium, weaving in and out of the portals, giving the blurry a faces a momentary glance of her before stopping at the Minister’s Box. Rose waved at everyone before racing to the top of the pitch, settling in next to the Mexican Seeker Calderon, meters above the lights. 

Quidditch chairwizard of the International Quidditch Association Faed Zozimar came walking out, his hair completely white with a moustache that reminded Hermione of a certain famous Singer from the 70s and 80s stood at the centre of the pitch with the official ball box. He kicked it open, letting the snitch escape into the sea of colours along with the two bludgers. He mounted his broom and awaited for Wood to make the official announcement.

“Players, on the whistle,” Wood boomed before an ear-splitting whistle broke the silence of the stadium. The quaffle went up and the match was on.

The crowd roared.

Rose raced off in a rush, feeling like the first time her Mum told her she was proud of her.